The Official Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881 VOL. 136, ISSUE 3
Inn Update Liquor License Moves Through Approval Process
The Phoenix THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
‘Too Much’
TODAY: Mainly sunny. Winds light and variable. High 81, Low 59. TOMORROW: Partly cloudy. Chance of rain. High 80, Low 63.
SWARTHMOREPHOENIX.COM
Swarthmore in Philly Fringe A Guide to Upcoming Shows and Events
By ANNA GONZALES News Writer
By JEANNETTE LEOPOLD Living & Arts Writer
Over the summer, the College filed an application for a liquor license to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, propelling further development of the Swarthmore Inn project. Vice President for Facilities and Services Stuart C. Hain, who serves on the Design Oversight Committee for the Town Center West Project, one component of a 34-point plan to revitalize the borough’s downtown area and commerce, expects the liquor license to be approved, despite opposition from residents of the Swarthmore area. This would make the inn the only place able to serve alcohol in the borough of Swarthmore. The borough’s long history as a “dry” town presents an obstacle for the project. “An inn and restaurant without a liquor license are not economically feasible,” Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Suzanne Welsh said. In 1949, an overwhelming majority of Swarthmore residents voted to forbid the sale of alcoholic beverages within the bounds of the borough, but in 2001 a small majority of residents passed a referendum that “approved liquor and wine to be served in a restaurant in a hotel on College property,” according to the Town Center West page on the college’s website. “They were in favor of it because they knew it wouldn’t be just a bar on the corner, it would be in a nice building, a hotel, in a nice restaurant. It wouldn’t be all of the negative things you might think about,” Welsh said. Hain said that, though the college applied for the license this summer expecting approval, “I’d be surprised if it wasn’t without some opposition.” In 2009, another referendum on the town’s alcohol policy appeared on the ballot. Again, the borough population voted to remain dry. The referendum was seen by some residents as a challenge to the 2001 vote allowing the College to apply for a liquor license. “The people who brought that petition believe that that referendum overrode the referendum from 2001. Essentially they voted to say that we couldn’t have the liquor license. I think it’s a matter of interpretation,” Hain said. William Stanton, a local carpenter, strongly objects to the liquor license for the proposed inn, firstly on a legal basis. “There’s still an open question over the legal status of that latest referendum,” Stanton explained. He does not believe that the exception to the town’s dry status still applies for the college following the latest referendum, which, he said, at the ballot box did not
The Life Arts Festival and Philly Fringe is back! And just like every year, the theater, music, dance and general performance lovers around campus swear up and down that this year, they’re going to see everything. Or if not everything, at least those five shows that they know someone is in or that they heard were really good. Or if not those shows, then at least… something? It’s easy for the Live Arts and Fringe to slip by. It’s also difficult to manage the huge list of available shows! For those who do want to flip through the magazine, titled, “Live Arts Festival and Philly Arts in Philly Fringe,” and featuring an adorable child standing beside a huge duck mascot head, the magazines are available across from the mailboxes in Parish. For everyone else, I’ve compiled a list of shows that Swarthmore students might, for a variety of reasons, find interesting. The festival, which is a collection of new and established theater, dance, and music groups, runs from September 1 through September 23, and features plays, comedy, improv, dance, music, visual art and film, and all manner of combinations of those genres. Tickets are usually cheap. Tickets for the Live Arts Festival shows are $18 for students or people under 25 years old. Tickets for Fringe shows tend to be $10-20, and students or people under 25 years old get a five dollar discount if the ticket price is $15 or more. It is generally wise to purchase tickets in advance, online at www.livearts-fringe.org or by calling the Box Office at 215-413-1318. If the show is not sold out, tickets can be bought at the door within 30 minutes of the show. Most venues only accept cash.
CHANELLE SIMMONS/PHOENIX STAFF
Cecily Bumbray, who graduated from Swarthmore this past June, recently starred in a music video for her song “Too Much” that was filmed and produced by former classmate Tayarisha Poe.
By AXEL KODAT Living & Arts Writer Since graduation, Cecily Bumbray ’12 has energetically pursued a career as a singer-songwriter. And while she’s only been gone for a little more than three months, last Thursday Bumbray returned to Swarthmore — not to visit old friends and professors, reminisce, or casually revel in the vibrant late summer arboretum colors, but instead to film part of the music video for her first single, “Too Much,” on LPAC’s main stage. Though she majored in Political Science with a minor in Black Studies, Bumbray knew relatively early into her time at Swarthmore that she wanted to pursue a career in music. “The moment I decided that I wanted to be a singer and a performer instead of a diplomat was actually the summer after my freshman year at Swarthmore,” she says. “I went to Italy with my family to a music
festival … It was such an amazing week … I was watching someone perform and I was just like, ‘You know, I want to do that.’ That moment is when I kind of got serious about it.” Over her four years at Swarthmore, Bumbray was involved in a range of musical groups on campus, including Mixed Company for one year, Essence of Soul for two, Swarthmore Chorus and Gospel Choir. Additionally, she took private voice lessons once a week. Bumbray likes to describe her sound as “acoustic pop soul,” and lists as three of her primary influences Anita Baker, Jill Scott and Adele, whom she credits with having “paved the way for the type of music that I love to do.” Why this style in particular? “When I think of pop soul it’s basically just soul music that everyone can feel but that has a crossover appeal to it,” she explains, “and I definitely try to stick with an acoustic sound because I think it fits my Continued on Page 7
Cecily Bumbray ’12 shoots music video
Continued on Page 4
Zero Cost House What: “Zero Cost House.” The piece, which focuses on “3/11… the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima” and a man who declares himself Prime Minister of Japan, is a “time- and space-bending autobiographical production about drastic relocations, rereading “Walden,” remaking government, and the freedom and heaviness of that moment when what’s impossible becomes concrete.” (Livearts website). Who: “Zero Cost House” is by the Pig Iron Theater Company and Toskhiki Okada. Pig Iron Theater Company was founded in 1995 by Swarthmore grads, and is one of the most astounding, innovative and hilarious groups in Philly today. This show is directed by Dan Rothenberg ’95 and stars Alex Torra, who directed last year’s acting thesis, “American Buffalo,” and Dito van Reigersberg ’94 (van Reigersberg performed in Olde Club as Martha GrahamCracker several years back). Where: Arts Bank at The University of the Arts; 601 South Broad Street (at South Street).
Continued on Page 8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NEWS MORE POINTS PLEASE: INSIDE THE MEAL PLAN
LIVING & ARTS SWAT’S FAVORITE SEX EXPERT RETURNS
OPINIONS NEW COLUMN: LOVE IN THIS (OLDE) CLUB
SPORTS WOMEN SOCCER CLUB RECEIVES CHARTER
The first article in a two-part series explains recent changes in the meal plan. Amongst other changes, Dining Services has revamped the plan with an extra 20 points and meal guest passes. PAGE 3
Vianca Masucci returns with advice for first-years on navigating Swarthmore’s “all-you-can-fuck fiesta” during their first semester of newfound freedom. Read up firstyears! PAGE 7
In his debut installment of “Real Talk with Slam,” Sean Bryant breaks down the classic hook-up situation and offers pointers on how to connect with a potential mate in Olde Club. PAGE 16
Former ultimate Frisbee players Eliana Bisgaard-Church ’13 and Alison Koziol ’15 are in the process of forming a women’s soccer club and have already began attracting interest from the student body. PAGE 19
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix MARCUS MELLO, Editor in Chief MENGHAN JIN, Managing Editor
The News Section KOBY LEVIN, Editor AMANDA EPSTEIN, Assistant Editor News Writers SARAH COE-ODESS ANNA GONZALEZ CHARLES HEPPER
NEHMAT KAUR CHI ZHANG PATRICK HAN
The Living & Arts Section STEVEN HAZEL, Editor ALLI SHULTES, Assistant Editor GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE, Columnist AKURE IMES, Columnist DEBORAH KRIEGER, Columnist BRAD LENOX, Columnist KIERAN REICHERT, Columnist LANIE SCHLESSINGER, Columnist ELIZABETH KRAMER, Artist RENU NADKARNI, Artist PRESTON COOPER, Puzzlemaster Living & Arts Writers TAYLOR HODGES AXEL KODAT SERA JEONG
JEANNETTE LEOPOLD ZOE WRAY
ZHENGLONG ZHOU/PHOENIX STAFF
The Opinions Section
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Lady Philosophers and Women in the Sciences offer community for female minorities, PAGE 14 (Photo by Sadie Rittman)
NEWS Activist Picnic Hosts Breadth of Student Groups
The Activist Picnic this past Saturday proved to be a great place for groups to showcase their ideas, causes and goals and engage students. PAGE 3
More Points Please, Pointing Out Changes In Meal Plan After a management planning meeting in July, Dining Services decides to revamp meal plan with an extra 20 points and meal guest passes. PAGE 3
Attempted Robbery in McCabe
Student finds unidentified man searching through her bag on the second floor of McCabe Library. PAGE 4
Student Groups Gear Up for Upcoming Election
STAND, Swat Dems and Swat Conservatives hope to obtain support from students during period before election. PAGE 5
LIVING & ARTS Doing the Impossible: Sex at Swat
Missing Parts publishes it’s inaugural column of the semester with an introduction to sex at Swat, with a particular focus on the top sex tips from a senior to new Swatties. PAGE 7
New Columnist Explores the “Fleeting Beauty” of a Swarthmore Education
Kieran Riechert introduces “Habit of Art” with a narrative detailing his literary exploration in Kyrgyzstan and his personal relationship with writing. His column holds an aesthetic lens to the routine facets of campus life. PAGE 9
Barnes Collection’s New Location Dazzles
Taylor Hodges reviews the Barnes Collection’s new location on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway during First
Friday festivities. PAGE 11
How to Buy the Best for Less: Beer Buying Guide Part Two
Brew’s Clues concludes a beer buying guide by offering words of caution on which beers to buy well past the bottling date -- and when to steer clear. PAGE 12
The Aesthetics and Emotions of Photographing Prom
Mary Ellen Mark’s exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art of photographs from dozens of high school proms highlights both the expectations and realities of adulthood that emerge in this coming of age ritual. PAGE 12
Why the 2012 Pulitzer Committee Got it Wrong
Bibbliobabble reviews the three works that were not chosen for the Pulitzer Prize this year, and concludes with her own recommendation of which of these outstanding novels is most worth your leisure hours. PAGE 13
Compendium Boutique Offers Top Designers and Local Products
Smart Swat Shopping’s Gabriela Campoverde gives this Chester Road clothing co-op 4 out of 5 stars for its chic interior, U.S.-made products and unique steals. PAGE 13
OPINIONS Where’s the Policy? Candidates leave us guessing
The Phoenix calls out President Obama and Governor Romney for their failure to present detailed and credible economic plans. PAGE 15
Harnessing the Ocean’s Waves to Power our Future
The Phoenix’s resident science guy draws attention to a renewable energy source that could soon power coastal
areas worldwide - the waves of the ocean itself. PAGE 16
Love in This (Olde) Club
In a new straight-talking column about life at Swat, Sean counsels wannabe romantics on how to approach that special someone. PAGE 16
Give the Campus a Voice
In the wake of the sorority controversy, Sam argues that campus-wide opinions are underrepresented and suggests a monthly poll on a hot-button issue. PAGE 17
Rendering Swarthmore Politics
Danielle chronicles the evolution of the political landscape at Swarthmore - the College has grown more tolerant of diversity of opinion, but we still have a ways to go. PAGE 17
SPORTS Matt Midkiff Joins Garnet Baseball as Head Coach
After serving as assistant coach during the 2007-08 seasons for the Garnet, Matt Midkiff returns as the new head coach for the baseball team, replacing former coach Stan Exeter. PAGE 18
Should Stephen Strasburg Have Been Shut Down? James is back with Out of Left Field, and discusses the Washington Nationals’ chances at the playoffs this season. PAGE 18
Women’s Club Soccer Gets Off to a Running Start
After obtaining a charter, the women’s club soccer team has been actively recruiting new players and practicing to elevate their game. PAGE 19
Garnet Volleyball Sets Sights High
Though many key players graduated this past June, Garnet volleyball is still looking to take home a Centennial Conference championship. PAGE 20
News
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
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The Phoenix
Pointing Out Changes in the Meal Plan
Dining Services Revamps Meal Plan for 2012-2013 Academic Year By AMANDA EPSTEIN Assistant News Editor
Unlike most rumors, the one relating to the increase in dining points is true. During a management planning meeting in early July, Swarthmore’s Dining Services decided that the meal plan was due for a change. “We looked at our budget and decided an addition was in line, as we do every few years,” said Dining Services Director Linda McDougall. Along with the extra 20 dining points being added to every meal plan that includes points, the change entitles students to three guest meals per semester. As has been the case in past years, unused points will not roll-over from semester to semester, and the same will hold true for guest meals. According to McDougall, the intention of the guest meals is for “when you have family or friends visiting campus.” They can be used by alerting the checker. With the exception of students who are off campus and want fewer meals, Swatties
pay a flat fee each semester for any meal plan. The fee this year is $3,085, the same as last year, only this year students can choose between 14 meals and 170 points, 17 meals and 100 points or 20 meals and no points. That means an extra 20 points for points-based plans and no change for the 20 meal plan. According to Executive Assistant for Facilities and Services Paula Dale, there are currently 1,388 students on the meal plan. This means that the college receives over 8.5 million dollars annually for dining services. The budget for Dining Services is furnished entirely by student payments. It is managed by the college administration and approved annually by the Board of Managers. The Dining Services management team, which consists of eight managers, meets regularly to discuss the current budget and to look for ways to reduce costs and increase quality, Dale said. At the end of the year, the team also meets to plan the budget proposal for the upcoming academic year. Dining Services received an increase in
their allotted funds this year to cover the price increases they are receiving across the board from their vendors. “[There have been] increased costs for food at the grocery store and fuel at the gas pumps,” said Dale. “[They] affect a large portion of our budget, and this year’s budget increased to help offset those.” The budget not only covers the cost of food, but also supports overhead expenses, like “the facilities in which the meals are prepared and served, and staff salaries and benefits,” according to Dale. This is one of the reasons that a meal equivalency at Essie Mae’s, the snack bar on campus, is disproportionate to the cost of paying for a meal at Sharples as a college visitor. A meal at Essie Mae’s is $4.60, while at Sharples it is $10. “The meal equivalency for Essie Mae’s is based on the direct cost of serving a similar meal at Sharples,” said Dale. “For non-College folks who walk in the door at Sharples, we charge $10 to cover the cost of their meal plus a little more to help defray the cost for students.” The size of the stipend paid by students
is what mainly determines the size of the budget. When students pay for a meal plan, they are given credit for 14, 17 or 20 meals (plus the corresponding amount of points) in return. At other schools, like the University of Maryland, the money paid merely goes into a sort of debit card, dedicated solely to the purchase of food. Because the school gives students money and not credits for meals, on-campus (or nearby) restaurants accept their dining cards as well. At Swarthmore, for a snack bar or coffee bar to accept points or meals, it must be included in the budget for Dining Services. According to Treasure Tinsley ’15, co-director of Paces Café, this is the reason why Paces can neither accept meals nor points. The student-run café is separate from Dining Services and depends on other money the administration provides. Because points work as credit to be used within Dining Services’ facilities, if points were used at the café, Dining Services would be losing credit that was originally allocated to their budget and consequent expenditures.
Activist Picnic Hosts Breadth of Student Groups The Activist Picnic This Past Saturday Showcased Groups’ Ideas, Causes and Goals By CHI ZHANG News Writer
Swarthmore activists gathered this past Saturday afternoon for the activist orientation picnic, having relaxed conservations and sharing new activities plans. Swarthmore Feminists, Swatties for a Dream, STAND, Swarthmore Chinese Society, Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine, Swarthmore Labor Action Project were a few of the student groups that took part in the event. “It’s a space where we could have longer conversations so that first-year students can really find out what kinds of different campaigns that are happening,” said Rachel Giovanniello ’14, one of the organizers of the picnic, “It’s also cool for upper class students to get to talk to each other and hear what’s going on.” Swarthmore Feminists, standing for equality and justice among all genders, shares “certain political goals that we work toward, like reproductive justice and equal pay, for instance,” Leah Foster, the president of the organization, said in an email. Last spring, the group screened the movie “Miss Representation,” about sexism and the media, and held a faculty-student panel on body image and the media. They also brought in blogger Latoya Peterson and Voices of Men performer Ben Atherton-Zeman. This year, Swarthmore Feminists plans to hold an alumni event, invite a speaker to come, continue hosting faculty panels and have a lobby training day off campus. The first meeting for the semester is this Sunday night. To end modern day slavery worldwide, Natalia Choi ’15 and Aileen Eisenberg ’15 are considering initiating a chapter of Free and Slaves, an international nonprofit organization. Working on ending slavery since high school, Choi and Eisenberg hope to “focus on bringing attention to the fact that there are 27 million people in slavery nowadays and brainstorm creative ways to engage in actions to abolish modern day slavery.” “Since modern day slavery is a broad and complex issue that touches on issues of poverty, discrimination, globalization, and development, we are excited to coordinate with other groups on campus to galvanize efforts to fight slavery together,” said Choi. Gender issues and contemporary slavery are only a few of Swatties’ concerns. Swatties for a Dream is a student organization that mobilizes support for “undocumented students’ rights, access to higher education, and immigrant rights,” said Jovanna Hernandez ’13, one of the co-founders of the group. Two years ago, Swatties for a Dream campaigned for Swarthmore to support the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow certain illegal immigrants to obtain higherlevel education. To receive student support for the campaign, the group built coalition, hosted panels, screened films and demonstrated to heighten people’s awareness. This year, Swatties for a Dream is campaigning for
RAISA REYES/PHOENIX STAFF
Students listen intently to speaker at the Activist Picnic, where student groups showcased their ideas, causes and goals in hopes of engaging students.
equitable admissions to undocumented students and will take part in Tri-co demonstrations. “Since Swatties for a Dream works closely with Mawrter’s for Immigrant Rights and Ford’s for Immigrant Rights and Philadelphia’s Dream Activist PA.,” Hernandez said. “One of our concrete first goal is to urge Swarthmore to follow Bryn Mawr’s commitment and state that, ‘Swarthmore College does not discriminate on the basis of citizenship status,’ as Bryn Mawr College explicitly states in their Frequently Asked Questions for First Years.” Swarthmore’s Labor Action Project is a studentworker solidarity group. “We spent last year talking to workers and came up with a list of seven demands,” said Kate Aronoff ’14, a
member of the Project. These demands include an “increase in living wage, grievance procedure and contract parity,” according to Aronoff, and the group will be running a campaign based on that. Swat STAND, a chapter of STAND, a student antigenocide coalition, hopes to bring more open discussions on mass atrocity issues, according to president Danny Hirschel-Burns ’14. “There’s only so much students can do to stop genocide right now. A lot of people here are going to be the next leaders, so we want them to be informed, knowledgeable and critical about mass atrocity issues,” Hirschel-Burns said. The picnic hosted only the first of many discussions the student groups hope to have on campus this year.
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News
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
McCabe Robbery Scare Student apprehends unidentified man searching through her bag on the second floor of the library By NEHMAT KAUR News Writer
Week in Pictures
GABRIEL BENJAMIN/FACEBOOK
Swatties promote extracurriculuar activities at the yearly Activities Fair
On Thursday evening at around 5 p.m., JM ’13 found herself chasing after a man she had just found going through her brieflyunattended bag on the second floor of McCabe Library. “I was reading at my thesis carrel, which is tucked away in a quiet corner of McCabe, when an early evening caffeine craving hit me.” JM said in an email. She encountered the man as she was returning from the water fountain. “When I rounded the corner, I saw down the aisle a man standing over my tote bag with my unzipped wallet in one hand and my cash and credit card in the other,” she said. JM, who chose not to be identified by her full name, reckons that the thief spent some time watching her and attempted to steal her possessions once he thought she had left for the bathroom. “He must have thought I had gone to the restroom and was startled that I was back so soon. It’s creepy to think I was being watched,” she said. When she asked the man what he was doing, he made an unconvincing excuse about finding her wallet on the ground and tried to walk away after shoving everything back in her bag. JM picked her bag off the ground, and started following him, but the delight caused her to lose sight of him. Another witness, Taylor Hodges ’13, said that the man appeared to have another accomplice — something JM could not confirm — and that both men looked to be in their mid-20’s and “way older than Swarthmore students.” JM phoned Public Safety and informed the librarians of the attempted theft. The witness’ observations of the two men and their estimated age were confirmed by Public Safety. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that there were two uniden-
tified males observed exiting the area. Public Safety officers checked the area but the subjects exited the area prior to arrival and were not able to be identified,” Associate Director of Public Safety Josephine Gallagher said. It remains unclear whether any other students in McCabe were robbed that night or if JM was the first attempt. Public Safety has informed JM that they will go through the images caught on McCabe’s security cameras, which could lead to the thieves being caught in the future. Their pictures have been put up on McCabe’s “Wall of Fame,” reserved for suspected thieves, and JM is confident that the man she caught red handed will be recognized and caught if he ever returns to campus. On the issue of security in McCabe and the campus in general, JM acknowledges that the open and welcoming atmosphere of the library is valued by the community and increased security measures would be expensive and cumbersome to implement. “In the absence of increased security measures, we need to rely on one another to keep the library secure,” she said. Speaking to the college community on behalf of Public Safety, Gallagher wrote in an email, “The Department of Public Safety would like to remind students, staff and faculty to be alert to unfamiliar persons in your area and to contact Public Safety immediately to file a report with the Department of Public Safety for all items stolen or lost. All personal items such as laptops, purses, wallets and cell phones should always be secured and not left unattended.” Public Safety has recorded the incident in their logs and made a note of it in the weekly summary of campus events that is sent to people across campus. Extra patrols in the area have also been instituted. Taylor Hodges is a living & arts writer and photographer for The Phoenix. He had no role in the production of this article.
ZHENGLONG ZHOU/PHOENIX STAFF AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/PHOENIX STAFF
Spot in McCabe Library where student saw stranger going through her bag.
News
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
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The Phoenix
‘Inn Update’, continued from page 1 entail a continued exception for the college. According to Welsh, however, “The interpretation given by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, prior to the election, was, ‘if you stay “dry,” your exception to that “dry” remains,’ so that vote was interpreted as being a ratification of the status.” Stanton also worries about the availability of liquor for college students. “One of the many reasons that I and other residents have been opposed to this whole development is because of the bar and the liquor license. Swarthmore College is the only college I’ve ever heard of that’s actually bringing a bar on campus. Most other colleges are fighting the influence of bars in their towns, and wouldn’t dream of bringing a bar onto a college campus. It’s not even 500 feet from a dormitory, and to me that’s just incredible that people would think that was okay.” The liquor license is only one of many elements the college must secure to fully realize the project. Hain said that the college plans to submit drawings of the inn, designed by the Philadelphia firm Cope Linder Architects, to the Borough Planning Commission for approval by the end of fall. The process aims to ensure that the project contribute to development of the borough and meet all zoning codes. Finally, the Swarthmore Borough Council will vote to approve the project. The approval process is the final step in the lengthy history of the inn. In 1999, the borough and the college met and conducted a revitalization study with expert consulting firms Urban Partners with Kise Straw and Kolodner. Town Center West, which will include not only the 40-room inn but will have meeting spaces, a restaurant, the capacity to host weddings and the new location for an expanded bookstore, will be built to L.E.E.D. Silver standards, and was one of 34 ideas that emerged from the Swarthmore Town Center Revitalization Strategy. Welsh explained that the study aimed to discover what could be done to keep the town growing and vital through market analysis of economic conditions in the borough and interviewing members of the college community and borough residents. “At the same time, the college was looking at it from the point of view of what would be good for our admission,” she said. Many of the study’s recommendations, such as new paving, streetlights, and co-op renovation, have already been accomplished. “One of the recommendations was that it would be a good idea to develop an inn and a restaurant in the Ville,” Welsh said. “We’d be able to host our admissions visitors there more easily, we could hold symposia and entertain alumni and other guests, and for the borough it would be good because it would bring business and new real estate,” she said. The college’s website elaborated on the benefits for the borough as well as for the school. “The Town Center West
KAYLA MORITZKY/PHOENIX STAFF
This summer, the College filed for a liquor license, which would allow the future inn proposed in the Town Center West Project to serve alcohol.
project will contribute new tax revenues to the Borough, it will generate jobs, and it will foster increased foot traffic to the Borough’s existing commercial district.” Residents such as Stanton take issue with these positive claims. “The main is they’ve never proved that this will revitalize the town. It amazes me that this has gone on for 12 years and the college and the supporters in the borough have never really had to justify that claim,” he said. “The piece about tax revenues and jobs hasn’t been proven either. They’ve just thrown around a lot of statistics. They don’t admit that there are any negative repercussions from this thing at all.” Some of these negative repercussions, according to Stanton, would stem from a proposed traffic circle or light to be built on Chester Road as part of the development, which would change traffic patterns, cause diversions
and result in a decreased number of customers for local business. “If you make it more difficult or more time-consuming, some people will just shop other places,” Stanton said. “When the underpass was reconstructed a number of years ago, all of the traffic was diverted and a number of businesses in town when that happened got hurt. The business didn’t come back,” he said. Despite opposition from borough residents, after overcoming the recession and economic downturn and receiving a $2 million state grant in support of Town Center West from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the project seems to be moving forward. “We think it’s going to be very good for the college and for the borough,” Welsh said. “A lot should happen on it this year.” “The hope is to be in the ground next fall,” Hain said.
Student Groups Gear Up for Upcoming Election By SARAH COE-ODESS News Writer
With the United States’ presidential election less than two months away, several student groups, including Swarthmore Democrats, Swarthmore Conservatives and STAND are vocalizing their political opinions, from participation on campus to activism off-campus. A major election focus on Swarthmore’s campus concerns Pennsylvania’s voter identification registration law. The law, implemented this year, requires that any registered Pennsylvania voter own a government-issued photo ID with a valid expiration date. After much outcry that this law discriminates against students, the elderly and lower-income citizens, Swarthmore found a way to allow its students to still vote. “The Swarthmore College student ID card is a legal voter ID for voting in Swarthmore, PA, because the College ID has your name, photo, an (unexpired) expiration date and proves your Swarthmore affiliation,” Registrar Martin Warner wrote in an e-mail sent to the entire student body. Warner is not the only person on campus who is trying to get the word out about voting. Swarthmore Conservatives, Swarthmore Democrats and STAND also plan to be particularly politically active in relation to the upcoming presidential election. Swarthmore College Democrats will be tabling in Sharples Dining Hall later this month to increase voter registration on campus. “I’m hoping we get the word out enough that [students] realize that [the Swarthmore ID] is fine,” Swarthmore College Democrats President Allegra Pocinki ’14 said.
Anyone in the Swarthmore community cussions the following day to discuss what who wants to learn more about the law is each candidate proposes in relation to genowelcome to attend Harvard Professor Alex- cide. The Swarthmore Conservatives, too, plan ander Keyssar’s talk about voting rights and voter suppression in America in the Lang to hold viewings and discussions for the dePerforming Arts Center on Friday, Septem- bates. Additionally, they are trying to get involved in Mitt Romney’s campaign and ber 14 at 4:30 p.m. Additionally, the Swarthmore Democrats hope to assist at Romney’s Pennsylvania ofare working on three campaigns for this fice, which is close by in Springfield. On camelection — the Barack Obama presidential pus, the Swarthmore Conservatives hope to campaign, the George Badey seventh con- educate people on the conservative point of gressional district campaign and the Larry view, a minority perspective at Swarthmore. “[The DeMarco s m a l l state house amount of a campaign If we were at a big state school, we conservative for the perspective 164th diswould be ... hearing voices from both on camtrict. In fact, sides ... I would be interested to know pus] does Badey spoke bother me at Swarthhow many people are quietly a little bit,” more on voting for Romney. SwarthSeptember more Con4. Danielle Charette ’14 servatives “We are co-founder organizing Tyler Beckgroups of students who want to work for specific cam- er ’14 said. “When it bothers me is when paigns to take them to the campaign offic- people tell me they would like to be more es,” Pocinki said. “We’re also doing a lot for involved. I think it would be good for the the voter ID law, helping people [in Ches- environment to be a little more positive and ter] fill out forms, getting them educated on be able to argue issues without feeling like you’re being degraded.” what’s different this year.” Both Becker and Pocinki shared that Pocinki’s primary focus is on the local elections, as those are what she feels are most membership, and interest in their respective student groups increases significantly relevant to Swarthmore’s student body. STAND, a student anti-genocide coali- during times of midterm and presidential tion, is also trying to spread political aware- elections. Still, though, politically active ness on campus. While predominantly students are not completely satisfied with focusing on the budget cut on foreign aid, Swarthmore students’ activism and political which prevents genocide, STAND President voice. “If we were at a big state school, we would Danny Hirschel-Burns ’14 also plans to hold a viewing party for the debates and hold dis- be hearing more about the elec-
tion and hearing voices from both sides,” Swarthmore Conservatives co-founder Danielle Charette ’14 said. “I would be interested to know how many people are quietly voting for Romney.” Not only do people believe that a more politically diverse school would feel more comfortable vocalizing their opinions, but Pocinki also thinks that some form of a student debate or cross-party discussion would help solidify people’s opinions. “When you hang out with a lot of the people who have the same opinion as you, you don’t have to argue your opinion and think about it,” she said. “Just because someone has a different opinion as you doesn’t mean it’s ludicrous.” Allegra Pocinki is a graphics editor for The Phoenix, and Danielle Charette and Tyler Becker are opinions columnists. They had no role in the production of this article.
COURTESY OF ASTRODYNAMICS.NET
News
PAGE 6
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Scott Arboretum Transitions to Organic Lawn Care By PATRICK HAN News Writer
After two years of planning and waiting, the Scott Arboretum has finally made the transition to an organic lawn care system. Nicole Selby ’02, a staff gardener at the Scott Arboretum and the organic lawn initiative coordinator drafted a proposal in 2010 to make the transition in order to receive startup loans from Swarthmore College Sustainability Committee’s Renewing Fund for Resource Conservation. Since then, the initiative has been receiving all sorts of support from a host of campus organizations including the Grounds Department, Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore Foundation, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and the Biology, Chemistry and Engineering Departments. These groups have assisted with everything from funding water testing, to lending microscopes, to hosting consultants and producing brochures. According to Selby, organic lawn care “involves the use of natural materials and cultural practices instead of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides” in order to optimize both plant health and aesthetics. It doesn’t only promote the wellbeing of the plants — it also promotes the health of the entire ecosystem, including humans. “[This less artificial approach] protects the watershed from contamination and humans and wildlife from exposure to chemicals that have long-term health risks,” she said. In fact, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the health hazards of synthetic landscaping chemicals, resulting in increasing legislation by many state and local governments prohibiting their use for “cosmetic purposes.” This organic lawn care initiative is among many measures that seek to implement green design principles to the campus. The Wister Education Center and Greenhouse, for instance, “provides a classroom for public educational activities, a greenhouse for cultivation and propagation, and support space for arboretum staff and volunteers” according to its website. It was completed in 2009 and has several innovative features that make it incredibly sustainable. Similarly, the vegetated “Green Roofs” of Scott Arboretum and several residence halls on campus maximize building efficiency by cutting air conditioning costs and managing stormwater. The transition to organic lawn care processes also means a temporary array of dead patches of grass. According to Selby, the brown patches on the lawn in front of Clothier Hall are caused by a synthetic herbicide called glyphosate. The Arboretum has chosen to use this non-organic chemical in the transitional process because it is effective in eliminating a problem weed known as “wiregrass” (also known as “Bermuda grass”), which would be very difficult to manage using organic practices. “Wiregrass is undesirable in our region because it turns completely brown and dormant in cool weather,” Selby said. “We will likely continue non-organic spot treatment of this weed for the coming year, even as we transition other management practices on the lawn to organic methods.” The “brown swath” along the northern edge of Mertz lawn, on the other hand, is an area of wiregrass being experimentally combated with an organic citric acid based herbicide, which can kill the exposed grass blades but does not affect the roots like glyphosate. “With repeated applications, we hope to deplete the roots of their energy
stores and eventually kill off the weed patch” Selby said. Students have had several different responses to the change made by the college. “Swarthmore would do that,” Taylor Tai ’16 said. “I think this is a good reminder that it’s not just the big farms that pollute the Earth. I mean I think it’s great when people start a garden and grow their own food but it doesn’t help much if you’re also spraying chemicals into the soil.” Kathryn Wu ’14, a member of envi-
ronmental group Earthlust, agrees. “I’m really excited about the organic lawn and think it’s great that the arboretum is making efforts to reduce synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use,” she said. On the other hand, a student who would rather remain anonymous, believes that the large sum of money siphoned toward organic lawn care could be better spent elsewhere given that the lawns will ultimately look the same whether conventional or organic systems are used. There is a belief that there are more pressing needs on
campus. Since its inception, Swarthmore has always been at the forefront in the fight for the issues and causes of the day. Environmentally sustainable land care policy is no exception. In advancing this organic lawn care, Selby and her co-workers “are striving to be leaders in public horticulture at creating beautiful, sustainable grounds in this manner.” About a dozen students have made significant contributions to the organic lawn project, either for their academic coursework or as paid jobs.
Various lawns across campus are transitioning this fall to organic lawn care, which will promote ecosystem health.
JULIA CARLETON/ THE PHOENIX
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
PAGE 7
The Phoenix
Swat’s Favorite Sex Columnist Is Back Tips for First Years: Getting It In At College
Ah, the beginning of my final year at Swat, the only college where students have more homework than sex. Regardless of how much (or how little) VIANCA sex happens on this MASUCCI campus, I’m happy to be a sexually deacMissing Parts tivated student here. And since I am a senior, I’m going to take some time away from pulling wank to pull rank. I’m Vianca, a weathered Swattie trying my damnedest to graduate by May 2013. Throughout the course of this semester, I will be writing my column, “Missing Parts,” which I started in an attempt to provide students with the meaty specifics of sex and sexual intimacy that your 80-year-old sex ed teacher probably forgot about 20 years ago. In addition to writing my bi-weekly piece, I’m also inviting students to submit questions, concerns and/or inquires for advice on sex, sexuality, sexual health or relationships. As I work my ass off to get out, I’ll help you work your way into some ass. Now that I have arrived at my senior year, I get so nostalgic looking back at my freshman year. It was a time when everything existed in a haze of awkwardness and raging, rioting, rampant hormones. As freshmen, it was the first time many of us were in complete control over our own sex lives. No obnoxious parents barging into seemingly locked doors, no restrictions as to availability of space (there are couches literally everywhere) and a stock of equally horny (and awkward) counterparts. As lovely as I remember that being (note the sarcasm), I also remember how fragile my sexual self was. That jump from no sexual freedom at all to, potentially, an all-you-canfuck fiesta can be overwhelming. The way in
which one copes with that experience dictates it may seem like all your friends are in, like, the development of your college sexual self. oh-so-serious-but-not-really sexual relationFor that reason, I am going to use this week’s ships already, and this may pressure you to column as an opportunity to reach out to the feel like you need to hop on the cockwagon. first years. These are five things I wish I under- Don’t have sex because you feel obliged to be a stood better when I was a freshman: “crazy” college student. Have sex when you’ve Number one: Don’t feel self-conscious found someone you want to have sex with about how much sexual experience you have. who wants to have sex with you. There is no No matter how composed everyone may seem expiration date on your sex organs. Your cock, when it comes to sex, on the inside, everyone twat and/or ass will not go sour if you don’t is secretly freaking out about it. No one here use it before graduation. Until you find somehas any gold medals in munchin’ on panty pi- one, masturbate. Like crazy. The first step to ranha or swallowing boxer beef. Let’s face it, becoming a good lover is understanding how we’re young. pleasure The percentworks for age of our you and lives during Don’t have sex because you feel obliged your body. which we Choking the to be a “crazy” college student. Have have been chicken gets sexually acyou familsex when you’ve found someone you tive, no matiar with the want to have sex with who wants to ter who you barn and, are, is very once you have sex with you. small. The understand jump from how to manhigh school age your to college is not very significant and most peo- property, it makes it that much easier to train ple still carry those lingering feelings of inse- your successor. curity surrounding sex. That’s not something If you feel as though you’re not interested you get over in a couple of years. We are all in sex right now, that’s okay, too. It is not untechnically newbies to sex, whether you be a common to be in non-sexual relationships or freshman or a super-senior. Remember that if to be content with not being in a relationship you decide to enter the realm of sexual activity at all on this campus. I know my four classes on campus. If you are unfortunate enough to fuck me every night; I don’t need a second find yourself opposite that kid who is just as lover just now. pretentious about pussy as he/she/ze is about Number three: No matter what you look philosophy, flee as quickly as you can. If you like, what kind of person you are, or what kind hate sitting next to that kid in class, you’ll of sex you’re into, there is someone out there definitely hate sitting on their face later in the that’s into it. This is apparent by the fact that night even more. Mitt Romney has a wife. Human sexuality and Number two: It’s okay to fly solo. I know pattern of sexual attraction is very complex.
‘Too Much’, continued from page 1 personality well, it fits my songwriting and it really shows off my voice.” Although Bumbray admits to having little formal background in music theory or the more pragmatic aspects of making a career in music, she plans to begin classes in music theory and the music business this fall. Meanwhile, she’s busy working on her first EP, which she hopes will be released in April 2013. “As I work up to that,” she says, “I’m going to do, maybe not my own live shows as often, but kind of do gigs where I can, definitely go to open mics, really have a grassroots approach in terms of networking and building a fan base in anticipation for my EP.” The music video for “Too Much” was filmed and produced by Tayarisha Poe ’12, a friend of Bumbray’s from their time together at Swarthmore. According to Poe, “the idea behind the video itself is showing the progress of a relationship in a staggered format.” Poe graduated last year with a special major in film and English. “Cecily liked my style, I guess, and she reached out to me, late this summer, when she knew she wanted to have a video done for her single coming out in September, and I
CHANELLE SIMMONS/PHOENIX STAFF
Cecily applies makeup in preparation for the shooting of the video.
said definitely,” she recounts. “She’s got a beautiful voice, so I jumped at the opportunity.” The portion of the video filmed at Lang Performing Arts Center features Bumbray singing alone in a spotlight on the otherwise dark stage. The song itself fits easily into Bumbray’s “acoustic pop soul” ideal. Later, Bumbray and Poe headed down to the dressing rooms, where they shot some takes of Bumbray alternately staring and singing into the mirrors, make-up containers strewn around her. For Poe, the choice to use LPAC for the video was simple: “We’ve already got a relationship with the school, and there’s something about LPAC that just stands out to me as being so extra-theatrical. As soon as she said she wanted some sort of stage scene I just said, ‘Well, let’s do LPAC.’” On Friday, the pair continued filming at Poe’s home in West Philly. Bumbray aims to release the “Too Much” single and video
Everyone in the world has a different opinion as to what kind of person sends their skyrocket into flight or dings their doorbell. Seriously, google ________ looking for _________ and I guarantee you’ll find loads of personal ads geared at getting peeps like you in bed. The image of beauty that the mainstream media is constantly trying to measure you up against is fascist, corrupt, and prejudiced. As Swatties, we’re against all that by nature. Don’t allow yourself to believe you need to be a certain way to find a relationship. That’s conformist bullshit. Number four: Swarthmore is not the only place to find some ass, thank Aphrodite. If you ever feel discouraged by the dating scene on this painfully small campus, you can find painfully big pleasure elsewhere. We have Philadelphia at our disposal. Take advantage of that. In the real world, our social awkwardness frequently passes as endearing and our intelligence can be a real turn-on. Put yourself out there and see what you can find. Number five: This can never be stressed enough: always, always, always have safe sex. Each dorm has free condoms available usually within a 20 foot radius of your room and Worth Health Center has a full stock of everything else one might need. Use condoms for penetrative and oral sex involving penises, sterilize all penetrations tools, including fingers, before penetration, use dental dams for all swan-diving endeavors, and always be prepared for sex. Remember, Jackson Pollock pussy/penis is not a good time by any standards. Sex is lovely and as long as you approach it with a positive attitude, you’re going to have a positive experience. There is no doin’ it right or doin’ it wrong; there is just doin’ it. And doin’ it is something we all can get into.
by October 15th on the independent label Harmonious Grits. It will be available on iTunes and Google Play, in addition to other MP3 distribution websites. As she looks forward to a promising career in music, Bumbray reflects on her time at Swarthmore: “In my last two years at Swarthmore, especially, I had a lot of opportunities to perform at various events, and it really gave me the amazing opportunity to get more comfortable on stage in a supportive environment. Being a student at Swarthmore made it difficult for me to have time to write music and to rehearse often, but it did give me a taste of real life experience: putting together a performance in a very limited amount of time with limited resources. Overall, I think Swarthmore taught me to think outside of the box and to be conceptual, and these are teachings I constantly apply to my music.”
“MAPPING THE TARBLES” ACROSS 1. Paul or Joe 6. Dubious 10. Western Great Britain lingo 11. Let’s go fly it 12. Other name for a Tarble 14. It has the Sharples menu 16. Extreme pain 19. Athlete’s Tarble 22. Pittsburgh player 23. Indicate 24. Grade composite 25. 90’s-era Sony gaming center 28. Secure Storage Tarble 29. Grass and soil DOWN 1. Liberal arts college in Norfolk 2. Slinky fish 3. Stretching out 4. California time 5. Library command 6. Furniture shop 7. Evergreens 8. Pink newspaper 9. Something you don’t hear very often in Congress these days 13. Peaceful place 15. One of the things we must get down to business to defeat 16. Tibetan dogs: Lhasa ___
17. What Willets feels like on these hot summer days 18. Dutch negative 20. In other words 21. Special science classes
23. Like doc or xls 25. West Bank political org. 26. Put together BY PRESTON COOPER
For the solution to this week’s puzzle, see The Phoenix’s online edition at www.swarthmorephoenix.com under the multimedia tab.
PAGE 8
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
‘Swarthmore in Philly Fringe’, continued from page 1 When: September 13 and 14 at 7 pm; 15 at 2 and 9 pm; 16 at 2 pm; 18-20 at 7 pm; 21 at 9 pm; 22 at 2 and 9 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $18 for students. The show runs 120 minutes with intermission.
When: 13- 23; Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30, and Sundays at 2:30. Price and Length: Tickets are $10-15 for students. The show runs 105 minutes.
Private Places
Othello, Desdemona and Iago Walk Into a Bar
What: “Private Places.” This dance piece “plays with the stylized movement of the service industry and the high-powered approach of J-Sette, a dance culture developed in black gay clubs with roots in drill team and majorette events of Southern historically black universities.” (Livearts website) Who: By IdiosynCrazy productions, under the direction of Swarthmore Professor of Dance Jumatatu Poe. Where: Live Arts Studio; 919 North 5th Street (at Poplar). When: September 15 at 8 pm; 16 at 4 pm; 18 at 8 pm; 19 at 9 pm; 20 at 8 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $18 for students. The show runs 75 minutes.
27 What: “27.” “Welcome to the afterlife,” says in their description on the Livearts website, “Where the laws of the universe are ignored. Where life is brilliant. Where victory means self-destruction in the most pleasurable way possible. And defeat means fading from view.” Or, put more succinctly by director Whit MacLaughlin, “If you don’t have a direction in life by the age of 27, you’ve got to wonder if maybe you’re screwed.” “…There’s not much text,” said Webb in an interview. “It’s very physical… The performers are pretty amazing, and it’s not a very traditional play.” Who: New Paradise Laboratories. This show is under the direction of Whit MacLaughlin, a wildly creative genius of devised work and performance ensemble. Swarthmore Professor Matt Saunders is the show’s set designer, and Swarthmore staff member and graduate Tara Webb ’94 is the costume designer. Where: Plays &Players Theatre; 1714 Delancey Place When: September 13 and 14 at 8 pm; 15 at 4 and 8 pm; 16 at 4 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $18 for students. The show runs 75 minutes.
Hoist What: “Hoist” is a site-specific dance piece that “integrates voice into this compelling new work.” (Livearts magazine) Who: Leah Stein Dance Company. The show is choreographed by Swarthmore Associate in Performance Leah Stein. Where: Maas Building; 1325 Randolph Street. When: September 19 at 6 pm; 21 -22 at 6:30 pm; 23 at 4 and 6:30 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $15 for students. The show runs 60 minutes.
Nichole Canuso Dance Company What: “Nichole Canuso Dance Company at the APS Museum.” This company produces genrebending work, incorporating elements of video, acting, and dance. This show should be thoughtprovoking and beautiful. Who: Nichole Canuso Dance Company and the APS Museum. Where: Jefferson Garden and Philosophical Hall; American Philosophical Society; 104 South 5th Street. When: September 19 and 21 at 6 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $12. The show runs 45 minutes.
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia What: “Ivona, Princess of Burgundia” by Witold Gombrowicz. This play was produced last spring by the Department of Theater. It is an absurdist play about a fairy-tale world that is rocked by the addition of someone who is so different that everyone wants to kill her. Who: The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium. Theater Department Professor Allen Kuharski is the show’s dramaturg. Where: Walnut Street Theater Studio 5; 825 Walnut Street.
What: “Othello, Desdemona and Iago Walk Into a Bar” is what happens “when you mix Shakespeare, sex, a whiskey go-go bar, and your soul.” (Livearts magazine) Who: Ad hoc theatre project. The show features Haverford grad Emily Letts, who majored in theater at Swarthmore. Where: The Trestle Inn; 339 North 11th Street. When: September 13- 23 at 6 pm. Price and Length: Tickets are $10 for students. The show runs 60 minutes.
OUTSIDE the BUBBLE Center City District Sips 2012
The Funeral of Enerio López What: “The Funeral of Enerio López” is an interactive solo performance piece in which “Magical realism meets Miami as you are taken deep into the inner lives of Cuban-American women left to their own devices” (Livearts magazine). The show, which premiered at Swarthmore as Lori Barkin ’12’s solo performance thesis, is stupendous, and Barkin’s physical transformations throughout are fascinating. Who: The solo performer (the writer and actor) of the piece is Swarthmore graduate Lori FelipeBarkin ’12. Where: Maas Building; 1325 Randolph Street. When: September 14 and 15 at 10 pm; 20 at 8 pm; 22 at 10 pm. Tickets and Length: Tickets are $10 for students. The show runs about one hour.
Seek and Hide
Various locations in Philadelphia Now-September 26, Wednesdays
Though Restaurant Week is still a few weeks away, there’s still a way to enjoy the delicious food and drinks of Philadelphia’s. Every Wednesday from 5-7 p.m., participating restaurants and bars offer up $5 specialty cocktails, $4 wine, $3 beer and half-priced appetizers. Lasting only until September 26, it’s definitely a great way to enjoy Philadelphia’s happy hour on a Wednesday evening. For a list of restaurants and menu offerings, check out http://www.centercityphila.org/life/Sips.php. COURTESY OF MIDORI-WORLD.COM
Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show and Farmers Market 18th & Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
What: “Seek and Hide” is a children’s play about someone who lost her imagination. “While I definitely think it is enjoyable for adults, it was created specifically for kids ages 3-7. I totally love it (among other characters, I play a Triking, the playful, tricycle-riding cousin of the Vikings) and think it’s really smart and progressive kids programming, but it may not be what your average Swattie would check out on the weekend!” said Isa St. Clair in an interview. Who: Dragon’s Eye Theatre. The show features Swarthmore Alum Isa St. Clair ’11. Where: Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse; Reservoir Drive; East Fairmount Park. When: Every Saturday and Sunday through September 23rd at 10:00 am, 11:30 am, and 1:00 pm. Tickets and Length: Tickets are $10. The show runs 45 minutes.
One of the biggest events to hit Rittenhouse Square is happening this weekend, starting off with Friday’s Fine Arts Show, which will feature hundreds of artists selling a variety of art in the square. With dates also on Saturday and Sunday, it’s an event not to miss, especially since the deliciously local Farmers Market will run on Saturday from 9 am - 3 p.m. on 18th and Walnut Streets. The market features specialty vendors, like Blue Mountain Vineyard, Frecon Farms and John & Kira’s Chocolates.
You Don’t Say
If you have the daredevil streak, this Saturday’s Red Bull Flugtag may be the ticket for you. Taking over the Delaware River will be a mixture of hilarious and weird, homemade flying machines. Launching off of a 30-foot ramp on the river, over 30 teams will be judged for their flight’s distance, as well as their machine’s creativity. With gates opening at 11 a.m. at the Camden Waterfront, the first flight will launch at 1 p.m. It’s quite a popular, free event, so definitely arrive early for prime viewing. For more info, check out www.redbullflugtagusa.com.
What: “You Don’t Say.” “Seven women gather for a dinner party that turns surreal when Tangle’s aerial acrobats climb the curtains, cartwheel across tables, spark new relationships, and resist the pull of gravity. A trapeze doubles as loveseat for a budding romance. Small talk between strangers turns into a gymnastic exploration of chairs, tables, and one another, while old friends work out their frustration and flirtation in a dance that traverses the room and reaches the ceiling,” explained founder Lauren Rile Smith ’08. Who: Tangle. “I founded Tangle in 2010 with the goal of producing circus-dance-theater with feminist values,” said Smith in an interview. “There is so much trust involved in performing acrobatics together; it pushes you to be generous and good at communicating. I love that my friendships with these women can include knowing how to pick someone up by one hand, or when to grab someone’s foot just at the right time to keep her from falling.” Need more convincing that this is a show to see? “I feel that, frequently in media, relationships between women aren’t highlighted or glamorized,” Smith said. “That’s the subtle feminist backbone of our show-- we get to depict these deep friendships and romantic relationships between strong women.” Where: Philadelphia Soundstages; 1600 North 5th Street. When: September 13 and 14 at 8 pm; 15 at 3 and 8 pm. Tickets and Length: Tickets are $10 for students. The show runs for 90 minutes.
COURTESY OF GOODLIFER.COM
Red Bull Flugtag September 15
You Don’t Say
LAUREN RILE SMITH FOR THE PHOENIX
“You Don’t Say” features aerial acrobats.
R e c e n t Swarthmore grad Lauren Rile Smith founded circus-dance-theater troupe Tangle in 2010. Tangle will perform “You Don’t Say” at the Philadelphia Soundstages from September 13-15. Tickets are $10.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Living & Arts
PAGE 9
The Phoenix
A Senior’s Fresh Take on the Arts at Swarthmore
New Columnist Holds Aesthetic Lens to Campus Life In January of 2012, a month remarkable for little else but the nosehair freezing cold in Bishkek, KIERAN Kyrgyzstan, I explored the full REICHERT archive of author The Habit of Art interviews conducted by The Paris Review since its establishment in 1953. Still a mostly aspiring writer, I was searching fiendishly for the key to unlock the potential I knew to be sealed beneath an enamel of doubt and fear. Jim Harrison, author of my favorite “Returning to Earth” and many other celebrated novels, suggested the act of hoeing corn in the fields day after day as a way to “absorb the spirit of repetition” required to write a novel. His interview prompted a brief Google foray into the agricultural opportunities for the coming summer, but that did not yield any words on the page. Gabriel García Márquez, renowned for his modern epic, “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” likened writing a novel to the carpenter’s task of creating with wood. “Both are very hard work… With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood,” he said. Coming from a magical realist, a writer accomplished in massaging reality into fanciful worlds of his own creation, this comparison seemed especially wise, and I sent out email inquiries to several local carpenters about a summer in their tutelage. Finally, John Steinbeck’s bleak commentary on the work of the writer left me silent — on the page and off — for more than a day: “In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. And sometimes if he is very fortunate and if the time is right, a very little of what he is trying to do trickles through — not ever much.” Each of these novelists and others described how hard or repetitious writing is, how it is not a venture for those seeking quick gratification, and I soon arrived at an impasse: I could no longer read these hopeless and hope-sapping confessions with a good chin, which was timely since I’d exhausted the Review’s half century archive. I decided to devote my time and energy to an assault of the blank page — or screen, in this case — in the form of a blog. Just a few weeks into my journey to the other side of the planet, I’d navigated the heavily restricted Internet and created a tumblr, and the first several days had been eventful and busy, thus providing the simple fodder of activity. I titled the blog subtly — “Kieran in Kyrgyzstan” — and the first couple posts matched that tone: it was a travel blog, made for recounting experiences to those whom I could not call with ease anymore. I knew I wanted it to be more than that, but I wasn’t yet sure of what shape it would take. Two things happened over the course of the semester that changed the way I write, the way that I view writing and the flavor of my blog. First, things began to happen to and for me. I secured a job as an
ESL teacher for a local non-profit organization and also got into a serious car accident. These two events were unrelated at the time, but both shed light on my life abroad and propelled me onto the elusive blank page. At the end of January, after just a few weeks living in Bishkek, I witnessed death firsthand. On a provincial road outside of the capital city, a cow made a tentative first step onto the road before committing to crossing, looked back, then continued forward onto the road. Simultaneously, a maroon sedan was headed south, opposite our mini-SUV’s northerly direction, and did not see the cow until they needed to swerve to avoid it, thus sliding across the unlined road and into the front of our vehicle. The driver of the other car died on impact and the passenger was left unconscious. All five occupants of our car were left mostly unharmed, a broken wrist being the most severe injury among us, but stunned. I was driven home in this agitated mental state and I laid on my narrow bed for several hours, idly toiling at the minimal schoolwork I had. I kept going back to the moments immediately following the impact as the local townsfolk emptied out of their houses, noisy with lament and woe — the moments when I thought of Camus. Though I remember the whole of “L’Étranger” fondly, the last few lines are what came to mind that winter day. Meursault, the novel’s protagonist, lays in prison awaiting his execution by guillotine and comes to terms with his existence. “…For the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the benign indifference of the world.” I do not share the pessimism that Camus demonstrated with the next and final line of the novel, yet I know that I felt the same “benign indifference” he described. No longer was I contained safely within my own world, I was in a place foreign to the controlled familiarity of home; a bubble akin to that of Swarthmore had burst and I felt reality’s touch more acutely than ever before. As I write this article, eight months after that incident and in the middle of a Phoenix sandwich in a morning-lit Sharples, a tenuous line forms between the car accident and the second takeaway experience of the semester abroad. That post marked the first in a new style, one that I could not name until late April as I neared the end of my stay in Kyrgyzstan. I had read another Paris Review blog post titled, “Flannery O’Connor and the Habit of Art,” in which blogger Kelly Gerald brings to light O’Connor’s early occupation with visual arts and a turn of phrase the famous author culled from French philosopher Jacques Maritain’s writings. Gerald writes that O’Connor “used [Maritain’s] expression to explain the way of seeing that the artist must cultivate, one that does not separate meaning from experience.” This way of see-
ing, the artist’s eye, proved germane to my blogging project. Those early negative 20-degree January nights became the backdrop to my very own habit of writing. Usually, I’d start a post with an occurrence or idea that had emerged since my last, and I would describe it in detail. For me, the process of writing elucidated the strands of meaning that tangle through day-to-day life. After reading about O’Connor’s way of seeing specific to the artist, I felt that I had
“The goal of my column is to marry the quotidian realities of Swarthmore — eating at Sharples, walking to class, filling out add/drop forms... with the rich world of thought and creation that I, and we, encounter on a daily basis through our various intellectual pursuits.” identified what I’d been doing for a few months. I had accidentally fallen into a habit of art and could now appreciate the craft about whose difficulty I’d read, but of whose elegance is only known through the act itself. The goal of my column is to marry the quotidian realities of Swarthmore — eating at Sharples, walking to class, filling out add/ drop forms (these are just examples of mundanities, hopefully not of the sort I’ll write about) — with the rich world of thought and creation that I, and we, encounter on a daily basis here through our various intellectual pursuits. There seems to me to be a frightening interstitial space between these two realities of Swarthmore and I hope to plumb the depths of this gap using my sensory organs, like the eye, “an organ that eventually involves the whole personality, and as much of the world as can be got into it,” and my habits of artistic consumption and creation. A few words to the why: Swarthmore, observed from the outside, is an incredibly intellectual and exciting place where young adults are actively engaged in becoming the wonderfully interesting people they want to be. And it feels stimulating from the inside, too, sometimes, but it is also a place that lends itself to an insidious dullness by way of routine and overworking. I’d like to call everybody’s — including my own Senior variety — attention to the fleeting beauty that a Swarthmore education brings by way of literature, film, music, art, science and people. This, I think, is better than a collapse beneath the weight of the Sisyphean work of Swarthmore. As Emerson urges, “Doubt not, O poet, but persist. Say, `It is in me, and shall out.’”
Investigation Uncovers Chopp’s Sordid Past Wall Street Involvement Almost As Troubling As Support For Sabre Hummus A multi-year investigation by a team of Phoenix reporters has unearthed new details about president Rebecca Chopp’s past. After reviewing countless documents and interSTEVEN viewing some of Chopp’s closest confidants, The HAZEL Phoenix has determined The Squashed Tomato that, in fact, Chopp was once a lobbyist on what criminals commonly refer to as “Wall Street.” Chopp served the heinous interests of companies from British Petroleum to Haliburton. As a vice executive assistant Secretary of Communications, Chopp is believed to have contributed to the demise of at least three species of endangered ocean creatures. Prior to her inauguration as president, our reporters have discovered that Chopp purged her resume, using a find and replace function to change locations in Manhattan, NY to the innocuous-sounding Chester, PA. Her plan also included extreme changes in her wardrobe, as she retired her characteristic monocle and top hat. Chopp did not, however, retire her distaste for Sharples. A Freedom of Information Act request retrieved a telling letter to her close friend, Mitt Romney. The letter detailed what she called “that horrible vegetarian option” and complained, “At this point, even the pasta bar makes me shudder.” Reactions from across the Swarthmore community ranged from shock to disgust. “As a social scientist, I feel obligated to point out the weakness that Chopp’s presence indicates,” International Politics Professor Dominic Tierney said. “For her to have infiltrated our community so easily points to serious weaknesses in our security apparatus.” Members of the student body also expressed outrage at the news. “I finally understand how betrayed Robespierre and Danton felt way back when,” said a senior Student Council official. “I mean, Louis XVII, Rebecca Chopp — what’s the difference?” Chopp initially refused requests for comment on this story, locking herself into the group study room in McCabe and refusing to emerge without a delivery from Dunkin’ Donuts. After security officers tried and failed to break down the door, they turned to controversial tactics to achieve results. At approximately 9:52 p.m. Sunday evening, Director of Public Safety Michael Hill used a microphone to alert Chopp that the college would begin divesting from Exxon Mobil and other oil companies if she did not emerge from McCabe. This novel tactic brought the desired outcome. By 9:54 p.m., Chopp had materialized, with a tear staining her cheek and a smear of Sabra hummus on her chin. At press time, the President had been taken into custody. The Student Council is expected to rule on her case later this afternoon. The suggested sentence for Chopp’s crime includes mandatory Teach for America service and a five to 10-page paper on Foucault. Meanwhile, a recent Daily Gazette report that Dean of Students Liz Braun was twice convicted of crimes against humanity in neighboring New Jersey appeared to go unnoticed.
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Living & Arts
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
DORM DIVE Steven Gu ’15 Urban Studies, Political Science King of Prussia, PA Harshil Sahai ’15 Economics, Mathematics Saratoga, CA
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arger than most doubles, facing the Crum and with large windows, rooms flanking the ends of Dana and Hallowell rooms are now prime dorm real estate. Originally designed as hall lounges, some of these lounges are now used as overflow housing. Steven Gu and Harshil Sahai, both sophomores, occupy a former lounge on the second floor of Hallowell. For years, the lounges on the left wing of the first, second and third level halls of Danawell were used as rooms. This year, a shortage of rooms instigated a conversion of right wing lounges on the first and second floors into doubles. According to the Assistant Dean for Residential Life, Rachel Head, the conversion of Danawell lounges was necessary to accommodate students, mostly sophomores, waitlisted for rooms. “It was the option that allowed for the most seamless creation of community, the housing was ‘typical and appropriate’ sophomore housing, the bathroom impact was minimal, and because the rooms had been used in the past it was easy to convert them,” said Head. Many of the students on the waitlist were rising sophomores, and as Head suspected, these rooms were quickly and positively received by waitlisted students. Gu couldn’t be more satisfied with his housing assignment. “We got really, really lucky in terms of sophomore housing. It is the largest room in Danawell. Lounge rooms are the biggest rooms so we got even luckier with that,” said Gu. In Sahai’s opinion, the conversion of the lounges into rooms negatively impacts hall life for some Dana and Hallowell halls, as it removes a communal area to congregate. “But I think it’s good because it obviously gives students more options in terms of housing. If the alternative is to have maybe more triples, I think it’s worth it,” he said. Gu is the Student Academic Mentor (SAM) for the 2nd and 3rd floors of Hallowell. As a SAM, he attended Orientation Week and assisted freshmen in acclimating to the academic life at Swarthmore. According to Gu, he and Sahai, who were hallmates last year, had a role-model SAM. As a freshman, he found the SAM’s role in befriending, de-stressing and assisting students with course scheduling invaluable. “I thought it would be really cool if I could give back in that way,” said Gu. His next study break will focus on time management, with cookies and milk
to incentivize attendance. Since there are no lounges remaining on his floor, Gu will host the study break on the 3rd floor, which retained a lounge. As a substitute for lounge space, the former Danawell trailer was recently converted into a communal lounge for both Dana and Hallowell. Gu is openminded to hosting larger, combined SAM events in the newly restored space, but for now he will use the space upstairs. “It’s just kind of inconvenient sometimes because it’s not physically attached to the dorm. You have to go outside to use that space,” he said. Passionate about cities and art, Gu has decorated his portion of the room with posters, signs and artwork. Cities are the inspiration behind many of the decorations. He displays a map of the London Underground as he intends to study abroad there during his junior year. A flag of the 2008 Beijing Olympics hangs above his bed, a souvenir from his time spent there. “It was really cool being in an Olympic city during one of the biggest development times for Beijing,” said Gu. Hanging above his desk is a tea towel that he procured in Washington DC over the summer at an exhibit entitled “36 Views of Mount Fuji” which showcased works by Japanese artist Hikosai. Meanwhile, Sahai is more functional in his approach to dorm decor. “I have interests and passions but I’m lazy to show people,” he said. On the walls are posters including The Beatles and Eminem, which were gifts from his girlfriend. On his bookshelf he has displayed photos of his family and his girlfriend. Sahai is a player on the college’s club squash team and he has placed a trophy his team acquired last year on
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SERA JEONG
his bookshelf. In the corner of the room hangs his squash racquet. The room’s most unique feature is not seen, but heard. The roommates have taken advantage of the noise-reducing nature of their cinder-block walls and installed two sets of sound systems. Gu’s wallmounted speakers and Sahai’s desktop speakers as well as two subwoofers allow the students to play their music with plenty of volume and bass without complaint from their hallmates. “Harshil and I have a very similar taste in music so we can play it really loud,” said Gu, a fan of electronic dance music as well as hip hop. “We’re going to try to put the same song on both sound systems to amplify it from both sides,” said Sahai. Because of the more than ample sound systems and expansively sized rooms, the students see their room as being perfect for hosting gatherings during the upcoming weekends of this semester. Apart from a gaffe involving lost keys and a 2 AM visit from public safety during the first weekend of the semester, the students don’t see many downsides to their current living situation. But the window remains a topic of mixed feelings for the roommates.“We have the Danawell trailer right next to us so we can hear it and see it,” said Gu. On the other hand, Sahai is appreciative of the natural light and views of Crum Woods that it provides. “I’m kind of excited to see how as the year goes on the scenery is going to change,” he said. Harshil Sahai is an opinions columnist for The Phoenix. He had no role in the production of this article.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
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The Phoenix
TAYLOR HODGES/THE PHOENIX
The Barnes Foundation, which just celebrated September’s First Friday, is the new kid on the block in the string of art museums that line the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
By TAYLOR HODGES Living & Arts Writer
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hat is initially most impressive about the Barnes is not its meticulously arranged, first-rate collection of privately-owned Renoirs, Cézannes, and Van Goghs, but the mere architecture of the building. The Barnes Museum is the most beautiful museum in Philadelphia, even Arts in Philly more impressive than its Parkway neighbor, the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In fact, the museum is likely the city’s best application of modern architecture. The building’s exterior is covered in tan, squarecut marble slabs raised from the building’s actual foundational walls. The museum’s central lobby is awash with natural light that streams in from tall, narrow windows. Every fourth wall seems to be made of glass. A glass atrium near the downstairs coat check contains only a tree that grows in the center of the building surrounded by four glass walls. The building cost $150 million to construct, and looks it. But as much as the building aesthetically impresses, it’s merely a distraction from the art contained within what is, for all purposes, another building inside this architectural accomplishment. The museum’s paintings are all kept at the opposite end from the entrance, in a space that was legally required to recreate Albert Barnes’ estate. Barnes had taken great care to arrange his paintings in what he called
Barnes Collection’s New Location Dazzles Foundation’s New Home Maintains Integrity of Albert Barnes’ Experiment in Art Curation “ensembles.” These “ensembles” amount to groups and clusters of paintings whose assemblage pays great attention to the content and history of each painting. One room of the collection contains many close-cropped portraits, while another is reserved for the collection’s few pieces created before the nineteenth century. Barnes insisted that his paintings, which he began to privately collect around 1910, never be moved from where he had placed them throughout almost a dozen rooms of his Lower Merion estate. So when the collection, in a controversial court decision, was allowed to be moved into Philadelphia for greater public accessibility, it was stipulated that its new home had to present the paintings as Barnes intended them to be seen. The Barnes Museum solved this problem by constructing a spatial replica of Barnes’ home within the new museum and hanging the paintings in their corresponding spaces. Asked what he thought of the transfer,
an elderly museum-goer said, “I loved the way they were hung there and I love the way they’re hung here.” On principle, Barnes would most likely have not approved of his collection’s displacement, but he very well may have approved of their new presentation. The intent behind his “ensembles” is as clear as ever, and the museum has even preserved the peripheral antiques that Barnes thoughtfully interspersed throughout the collection. These antiques include tables, trunks, chairs and clay pots as well as pieces of wrought iron mounted on the wall between and above paintings. An intricately carved serving spoon would be hung next to a canvas containing a picnic scene. A large door hinge with an engraved floral pattern would play off the floral pattern on a piece of china held by the subject of a portrait. The collection’s paintings, too, follow this same kind of organizational logic. It may be hard to puzzle out why a certain abstract work was hung in a room populated with seascapes,
until you realize that the series of isosceles triangles mimic the sails of boats. This conversation between works is one of the advantages of how the collection is presented. Unlike in most museums, works of art aren’t flanked by placards that identify them. The artist’s surname can be found engraved into a piece of metal at the bottom of the frame, but these metal pieces are the same color as the frame to which they are attached, and their script is so small that you must inspect it in order to render it legible. The overall effect of this presentation is that the works are largely decontextualized. The viewer no longer connects works in terms of art movements and the historical approaches their creation, but instead simply looks at them. This allows for a more engaging experience with the works. If the paintings on a particular wall exude a certain vibe or emotion, the viewer is confronted with the question of how all these works by different artists working at different times and using different techniques could reach this universality of expression. The pieces themselves become irrelevant. Barnes collected some of Cézanne’s best and Renoir’s worst, but the individual paintings submit themselves to the layout of the collection. Sure, the excellence of some of the paintings makes it difficult to look at certain “ensembles” as wholes, like Monet’s magnificent “Le Bateau Atelier,” but this is not often. The collection flows from room to room well and invites attendees to circle back through the whole collection again. It does a lot of things, but ultimately the collection at the Barnes Museum does what any good collection should. It engages the viewer to think about art.
TAYLOR HODGES/THE PHOENIX
The interior of the new Barnes Foundation.
TAYLOR HODGES/THE PHOENIX
The new museum features lovely outdoor seating surrounded by greenery.
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Not Your Mother’s Prom
Julian Levy Gallery Exhibit Topples Stereotypes, One Prom Picture At A Time By ZOE WRAY Living & Arts Writer The high school prom does not usually provide fodder for larger issues of societal representation. It typically entails dancing, hijinks and perhaps tomfoolery — or does it? “Prom: Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark,” view now Arts in Philly on through October 28 in the Julien Levy Gallery in the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, considers prom’s symbolism and implications at high schools across the United States. Mary Ellen Mark, the photographer, visited 13 high schools between 2006 and 2009, seeking places that had “the right mix of students” to give a multi-faceted portrait of prom in its entirety. She visited public, private and charter schools with students who ran the gamut of socioeconomic, geographical, and ethnic backgrounds. Mark took the pictures with a 400-pound Polaroid 24x20” Land Camera, an exceedingly rare device with only five in existence that produces 24x20” prints without negatives. Viewers can enter the gallery and see the photographs in any order they prefer; no predetermined route exists, a metaphor for the uncertainty of prom night and its aftermath. In an exhibition with approximately 60 pieces, only two contain smiling subjects. In the lion’s share of the artworks, the partygoers look solemn, even forlorn. The tone set by their expressions contrasts with the proverbial connotations of prom. The edges of each picture appear burnt; this, along with the unsmiling faces and lack of color, gives the images an antique quality, and at times it almost feels as if we are studying 19th-century wedding photographs. Each teenager’s seriousness contrasts with their flashy clothing that glitters like polished diamonds. The subjects seem so grave that it makes viewers question whether their poses were completely staged and artificial. It seems that although these students put such an effort into preparing for prom, they were not quite content with the results. Prom apparently did not fully throw an opaque tapestry over their everyday lives or put their struggles on hold. Are we seeing these students as they actually are? As the photographs explore the diversity of prom experiences via the attire that subjects of varied strips donned, we lie privy to making assumptions about these people, since all we are given as viewers are outward appearances. The exhibition, in its curator Peter Barberie’s words, “deploys photography’s democratic nature … to query the democratic process of the United States.” To proceed with that query, we must first figure out if what we have seen in these photographs and what we see of the people they capture are in fact genuine.
Enter Martin Bell’s film of 33 minutes that is included in the exhibition, which shows interviews of some of the prom attendees we meet throughout the gallery. The staid, colorless people we saw before suddenly appear in brilliant colors that are easily forgotten amidst the flood of black and white. They all smile and laugh with carefree, optimistic attitudes befitting their youth, a feeling that had been thoroughly obfuscated in the photographs. The film withholds their names and origins, presenting only their personalities, dialects and perspectives on prom and the future. The judgments that naturally arose when we saw their prom photographs before now seem specious and so unnecessarily narrow; we see their faces light up as they ruminate on love, what prom represents and the futures they desire. I had viewed all these prom guests’ faces before I saw the film, and I realize now that I made assumptions about their character. I assumed that the girl with the “Prom Queen” banner draped around her gown was probably the stereotypical silly cheerleader, with a brain as empty and vapid as the wannabes who elected her to this pseudo-prestigious position. She, in fact, was Christina Chang, who ended up attending Princeton University and earning the Presidential Scholar award. I speculated that Latosha Smith, who looked about eight months pregnant in her prom photograph, was an irresponsible, immature little girl in a young adult’s body who would most likely raise a daughter that would have the same-sized belly in her own prom picture eighteen years from now. But in the exhibition catalogue I learned that she made the astutely prescient statement that “I don’t feel like an adult. I feel young still. My child will make me an adult.” Here, “I’ll be an adult” does not serve as a justification for reckless partying and irresponsible sex, but as an affirmation for the new duties Latosha will have to perform and her readiness to do so. Not surprisingly, the diversity of the portrayed students extends into their views on prom, love, and the future. Fulani Ogunjobi, a student from Newark, New Jersey, describes prom as “a competition among females” for best-dressed superlatives. Chang, prom queen of her Houston, Texas high school, claims that people of her age are not capable of legitimately experiencing love, while Thomas Burrows knows with certainty that he “loves everything about” his date, Meghan Connolly. Matthew Wasson and Mallory Ann Wu divulge minutely detailed plans about the lavish homes and ritzy cars they hope to acquire, while Shane Kammauff only wants to “write a great novel or make a great discovery or do something to really change the world.” Based on their photographs alone, no viewer could have ever guessed at the beliefs and opinions held by the individuals portrayed. For all of them, their appearances in hindsight offer no insight into
Even though my previous column was focused on summer and fall seasonal beers, I alluded to the fact that having more beer on the shelves is not necessarily always the best thing for consumers. Like any product, a gap between the information consumers BRAD have when making a purchase and the reality of the product they hope to enjoy LENOX can lead to disappointment. A bad beer Brew’s Clues can turn someone off entirely to a brewer or style, especially if expensive and overhyped. This column will hopefully offer a few simple tips to keep in mind so that the next time you step out of your comfort zone and try something new, you won’t come away feeling shorted or burned. Returning to the topic of a couple weeks ago, seasonal beers are wonderful for the way they provide fresh and timely flavor to the normal slate of options. However, these beers are seasonal in terms of both their flavor profiles and their “best-by” windows. Given how popular, and usually extremely profitable, a style like pumpkin ale is, brewers often invest a great deal of their production capacity in order to ensure that supply will be able to meet demand. This requires a substantial gamble because a brew kettle dedicated to one beer means less equipment is available for other bigticket items and special releases, or even high-sale styles like IPAs.
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their identities. Does this, then, prove that the dominant political parties in American government — while ostensibly representing all the constituents that vote for them — in fact do not come close to advocating everyone’s causes? Countless Americans from across the political spectrum express abject disgust with the machinations of Democrats and Republicans. We continue to loyally vote for them because a vote for a third party always translates into a vote for the opposition. Despite this, the parties continue to refuse to touch “third rail” issues even though that is exactly what everyone desperately wishes they would address. Through their choice of dress, all the people photographed for “Prom” try their utmost to display their beauty, their worth and their uniqueness. But viewers continuously stymie their efforts, as our natural prejudices and biases come to the forefront of our minds no matter how much we wish they would disappear. Prom may be a simple occasion, but the students who attend them, despite their
Seasonal Beers Part II: Beer-Buying Guide In order to guarantee their beer is on shelves when the season, and tastes, start to change, many brewers have started to ignore the weather and calendar and have begun putting seasonal beers on shelves long before most consumers would even have something like pumpkin on their radar. Consequently, as many of you may have already noted, “fall” beers start showing up in late August or early September, which means that they were brewed sometime in June or July at the minimum. That means if you decide to try a pumpkin beer for the first time in late November, a time that to you feels like true fall, you may be buying what could be an expensive experiment that is far past its prime. Beer is a living, organic product that, while somewhat tenacious compared to other food products, is not immortal. Most styles that are not explicitly designed for long term storage will begin to move away from optimal taste pretty much as soon as the beer is in the bottle. Given that many popular beers enjoy a high-rate of turnover, the six pack or 24-bottle sampler you decide to grab out for a cold case will
youth and lack of life experience, are far from simple. I cannot fully explain what “Prom: Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark” was like, because I am stuck in my life scripts. Therein lies the beauty of this exhibition. It proves through the artworks themselves and through our unique interpretations of them that people rarely comprise what their exteriors suggest. Prom is not a universal construct among all high schools; it may be a “coming-of-age ritual,” as Mary Ellen Mark calls it, but it may also be an inevitably failing grasp for teenage-hood. It may have nothing to do with growing up; it may symbolize conformity to what typical teenagers like, and therefore something to avoid at all costs. Maybe it’s just a grand, wild party. What is certain however, is that you won’t know what “Prom: Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark” looks like, even if someone tells you about it or you see pictures online, unless you go and see it for yourself. Even then, it remains a prism of black and white enigmas.
most likely still taste okay. However, this perfect scenario will not always apply, especially when purchasing single bottles. Many large grocery and liquor stores like Whole Foods, Wegman’s or even Total Wine (which has a location right over the border in Delawaew) have joined in the increasingly popular trend of offering “mix six packs” or similar “pick single” deals, allowing a consumer to choose from a set of pre-chosen brands and styles according to their tastes and interest. This is an unbelievable way for wary consumers to branch out and explore unfamiliar epicurean terrain — you may have heard great things about Dale’s Pale Ale, but the price of it in a four-pack may have steered you away in the past. I personally love to create my own six packs, and use any opportunity to try as many new beers as possible with the littlest possible investment, because nothing is worse than being stuck with five beers you utterly hate. However beneficial this arrangement is for consumers, there are a few points to keep in mind. First of all, most companies only make certain beers, usually never their entire stock, available as singles in order to eliminate older stock or otherwise wasted inventory. If only one or two bottles in a six-pack are damaged in transit, it is generally illegal and frowned upon to attempt to sell the product as is — by breaking what would be otherwise a financial loss Continued on Page 14
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The Phoenix
Stay Local and Indulge at Compendium Boutique Compendium Boutique Rating: [4.5 out of 5] 23 S Chester Road Swarthmore, PA 19081 610-543-0283 info@compendiumboutique.com
Compendium Boutique is a co-op which offers a variety of clothing and accessories for women and children from up-and-coming designers. It is unique in that it has brands from around the US and around the globe as well as handmade products. When I first stepped into Compendium Boutique it was hard to describe exactly how I felt. I didn’t really expect anything, and I had low expectations. It was like walking GABRIELA into a beautifully curated gallery and CAMPOVERDE being surprised with Smart Swat Shopping what you see before you. Everything was presented in a simple and wonderful manner. I mind-smiled as I tried to hide the joy of finally finding my victim of those days in which the only thing your poor worked-out brain needs is to be in a peaceful environment, surrounded by gorgeous wear, of course. As much as I would like to stick to the idea that you can never have the chance to get that dress that will blow you away, the shoes that will cause you to be showered in compliments, or even feel good about shopping at a place with a cause in a small town
like Swarthmore, I am going to need to let it go. The idea behind Compendium is awesome. All of the boutique’s merchandise is from independent and emerging designers and made in the USA. Furthermore, it functions as a co-op in which designers are able to reach out to new customers by creating a space where they may join together and split the costs of a storefront. I am beyond confident that a majority of Swatties would agree that this idea is right up our alley. What impressed me the most is the list of diverse designers Compendium offers. Among them are Kate Blossom from Davis, California, Mariel Rojo from Philadelphia, and Simone’s Rose from Toronto, Canada. The boutique is even the only store in the USA that sells Maureen, a brand originally from Paris. Moreover, some of brands sold here include handmade merchandise from those like Small Designers. Big Dreams. Compendium also does just what it claims to do: introduce you to amazing designers you may have never heard of before and will fall in love with, and trust me, you will fall in love. I am sure that everyone has had that moment when you are moving from one class to the other during early fall, and you notice that five other people just on your three-minute-long stroll from Kohlberg to the Science Center are wearing a very similar faded green utilitarian jacket to the one you got from Urban Outfitters. It’s okay. Things are about to make a change for the better. Most of the merchandise appeals more to someone with a chic, bold and polished
GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE/THE PHOENIX
Store owner Emily Scott poses next to Compendium’s sale table.
style, yet any item alone would be a great addition to anyone’s wardrobe. It offers a great selection which may appeal to a range of customers looking for something casual, such as printed pants, or something for a special date, like a cute sundress or edgy high-low shirt. The store is kept up-to-date and seems to be willing to move in the direction of its customers. Although some items are pricey, they are worth the cost. Tops and some dresses start at a $30 to $50 range. If you are looking for discounted items, there are a couple of sale racks which offer a 20 percent discount. Do not be surprised if you run into items priced $80 - $100 dollars, though. The handmade items tend to be the most expensive since they require much care for their creation. Nevertheless, if you are looking to splurge, Compendium also offers high-end brands such as Theory and Joie.
By far, the jewelry is most reasonably priced. Even though most of it is hand-made, the prices are about $10-$15 dollars on average, which is approximately the same price you would spend on a necklace or bracelet that everyone else has. The shoe selection is very small but offers basics that could work with any outfit, and there are also a few clutches and pouches that can be great for everyday use. During my trip, I had the opportunity to meet with boutique owner Emily Scott. Scott is currently extending an invitation to Swatties who would like to display their artwork on the boutique’s walls. As for future plans, Scott hopes to host trunk shows and get involved with more local designers. I know for sure that I will be making frequent trips to Compendium and am thrilled to see what this small boutique will add to the Swarthmore community.
The 2012 Pulitzer Indecision:
The Jury Abstained From Voting, but ‘Swamplandia!’ a Favorite For Schlessinger I think it would be wise to begin with a brief overview of the process by which a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is awarded. The general outline of the process is consistent, though the specific details of the process vary each year. The Pulitzer Board, which consists of 18 LANIE profesSCHLESSINGER distinguished sionals in the fields of literature, journalBibliobabble ism and music, appoints three judges to sit on each jury (at one point, there were five judges on each jury, but that proved to be too many). There are 21 juries who judge their respective material and collaboratively elect three nominees. The board then determines the ultimate winners in each category. The only guidelines set forth by the board each year are that the book must be written by an American, be published in the last calendar year and should preferably reflect American life in some way. These vague guidelines leave quite a bit of room for variance. As the jury members change from year to year, so do the inherent biases that each jury carries. By having a network of multiple professionals review over 300 submissions, the board attempts to block against these biases, and the jury members do seem to call one another out if they feel one is leaning too hard on personal preference. But still, those reading lenses are hard to shed, even under pressure of the responsibility to name a great American work without bias. Of course, the other changing facet of this process is the submissions. Some years include obvious, quickly identified gems such as “The Great Gatsby,” while other years’ juries mull over sparse novels, searching for something to grip. This year, the jury for the fiction prize consisted of Susan Larson, former book editor of the “Times-Picayune” (New Orleans), Maureen Corrigan, a professor of English at Georgetown as well as the book critic on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” and finally, established novelist Michael Cunningham. The judges agreed upon some simple criteria before they began reading: do not search for an obscure author over a work of genius by a known one, and do not favor perfect novellas over slightly flawed, massive novels.
With these guidelines in mind, the three judges set forth on their expedition to find the books most worthy of the Pulitzer. The three judges searched tirelessly through over 300 submissions for what Cunningham described as “the One.” He wrote in an explanatory article published in The New Yorker, “The One would be the novel so monumental, so original and vast and funny and tragic, so clearly important, that only an idiot would deny it the Pulitzer Prize.” But the One never came. The judges scoured the stacks for it, but it did not show. And yet, eventually, Larson, Corrigan and Cunningham all agreed on three nominees about which they each felt strongly positive: “Swamplandia!” by Karen Russell, “Train Dreams” by Denis Johnson and “The Pale King” by David Foster Wallace. It was undoubtedly trying to reach even this stage, but the most trying task each year is left to the board: choosing the one winner. In 2012, for the first time since 1977, the board could not complete this daunting task, or did not want to. The board did not select a winner. Most regard this as an unfortunate decision. Why deny an author profound recognition? Why deny American readers what is effectively a strong book recommendation? It is difficult to see the board’s decision as much less than a cop-out, and yet, the majority of the 18 qualified board members agreed that this decision was the right one, that it held merit. After reading all three of the finalist novels, I can better appreciate the board’s decision to make the year of 2012 a prize-less one. They were faced with a difficult and ultimately painful decision, if for no other reason than that they were required to compare three completely different accomplishments on the same scale. Still, it is clear to me that I would vote for Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! and here’s why: Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson, is rich with dull but beautiful, achingly American passages. The novella is about a railroad worker, Robert Grainier, who loses his wife and child in a forest fire. One can presume that his family died in the fire, and as he attempts to mourn the loss of his family while moving on, he experiences a changing America clouded by his own grief. The novella has a deep, rural, American tone
that reminds me of Stegner and Steinbeck. If the board took the guideline that the prize should go to a novel that reflects American life quite seriously, I’m relatively certain they would choose this one. But it isn’t genius. I don’t think it would ever be anyone’s favorite book. I would not choose this one. The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace, is a stunning work of brilliance, steeped in the natural and painful monotony of life without being boring. In interesting and endearing ways, it conveys some of the most dull or painful messages about life. But it was published posthumously after the author passed away in 2008. Much of it was tweaked by Wallace’s editor, Michael Pietsch. And it’s difficult to separate The Pale King’s radiant, circumstantial glow from its merit to be a Pulitzer Prize winner. Because I believe that adorning The Pale King with a shiny prize would be almost a waste and because I believe that a Pulitzer would somehow cheapen the accomplishment of this novel being published, which speaks for itself, I would pass over this nomination. But Swamplandia! is a completely realistic choice for the prize, in my opinion. It is youthful but powerful, deeply tragic but funny. It is a quirky novel that within only a few pages enables the reader to feel as if she completely understands the vastly different life these characters live. It is the kind of book that can speak to a wide audience, from avid classics readers to those who occasionally indulge in a page-turner when the mood strikes them. It is about a young girl named Ava Bigtree whose family owns hundreds of miles of swampland off the coast of Florida. Their home is a theme park of sorts, which many tourists visit during their Florida vacations. But when they lose their central attraction, Ava’s mom, to cancer, the difficulty of keeping their lives afloat becomes instantly realer and scarier. Ava, her older sister Osceola, her older brother Kiwi, and her father Chief alternate between banding together and breaking apart as they navigate the slippery course before them. Russell is a strikingly good writer. The book is full of quotably beautiful or funny lines. But she is also well-trained and disciplined as a novelist. Despite her youth, both in years and as a writer, the flaws one
finds in Swamplandia! are ultimately insignificant in the scope of enjoying the novel. Only afterwards does a particularly critical reader realize that she relies too heavily on quirks and does not lend enough attention to relatable, human personalities that inevitably exist within each of these characters, though she does acknowledge those shades. One might also critique her for overly flowery language in some passages or overly sparse language in others. But there can be no doubt that Russell’s strengths vastly outweigh her flaws. What I cannot get over is Russell’s stunning ability to be funny and charming while being serious and weighty. She unflinchingly weds these two tones and creates a new one entirely: a tone of soft-spoken importance that does not take itself too seriously. For instance, in describing a bear the Bigtree family adopted, named Judy Garland and taught to dance to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Russell writes that park guests were scared of the bear when it performed its trick. “‘This bear is having a seizure!’ the park guests would cry –the bear had bad rhythm–but we had to keep her, said the chief. The bear was family.” At the same time that Russell conveys the significance of family and tradition to the Bigtree family, at the same time that she strongly sells the Chief’s patriarchal, authoritative position and at the same time that she demonstrates the complete outsider-ness of the tourists who visit the swamp, she mocks the frightened guests and has the reader laughing. We get all of this from a couple lines of text. My choice for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction of 2012 would be Swamplandia!, but I confess that I can clearly understand the board’s reluctance to choose one of these nominees. The most compelling problem in choosing one, to me, is that comparing these works is similar to comparing The Great Gatsby, Sound and the Fury, and Catcher in the Rye. They’re each classics, they each have their own strong merits, and yet, choosing one over the others seems trite because they are so different. Perhaps the board did the reading world a favor by refusing to choose one of the nominees because American readers may now be more inclined to read all three.
Living & Arts
PAGE 14
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Closing the Gender Gap
Creating Community for Lady Scientists, Philosophers both the Lady Philosophers and WITS in facilitating communities for women. Physics Professor Amy Graves, who was the Ann Chen ’13, Quittierre Gounot ’13 first female in Swarthmore’s department and Alex Werth ’14 promoted their newest when she began working for the college additions to Swarthmore’s club culture in over 20 years ago, recalls the effectiveness the age-old forum for effective news dis- of similar community-building groups in educational institutions she’s observed. semination: the bathroom stall. No, not only bathroom stalls — the ac- When potlucks and social events spring tivity fair, after all, is a fertile recruiting up for women in the sciences, it creates ground for old and new groups alike — “a better environment for women,” she and not all bathroom stalls. As the found- shared. Graves sees current gender schemas, ers of the Lady Philosophers and Women in the Sciences (WITS) groups on campus, or internalized stereotypes of what a perthe women frequented only the ladies’ son of a certain gender looks like, playing rooms, an activity which must have pro- a large role in the professional careers of duced a thankful sigh or two over the na- women in the sciences and other underrepresented areas. Noting that careers ture of the groups’ gender exclusivity. While at first glance, the groups may are built on small series of advantages, seem unrelated beyond their closed status, she emphasizes the consequential signifia peek behind the doors of their first inter- cance of not making the right impression est meetings last week reveals cross-disci- at a dinner party, or of being passed over plinary parallels. Both interest meetings in a lecture series for a colleague who may attracted over 20 women, with additional better fit the public’s perception of a scieninquiries arriving via email; both are re- tist. Oftentimes, the public didn’t concepvivals of older groups on campus whose tualize “scientist” as a woman, although membership fizzled out with the gradua- women’s increasing visibility in profestion of key movers and shakers over the sions like pediatrics are helping to break years; and both seek to forge a community down that stereotype. In a time when gender discriminaof like-minded students who are minorition is less ties in their prominent areas of than in the study. I’ve spoken to so many girls days of her The genprofessors, throughout the summer that are der gap in Werth, a the physilooking for a female community on physics and cal sciences and campus... I think all these groups are engineering double maengineering direct responses to that. jor, hopes should not that WITS be novel Alex Werth ’14 will continnews. The ue to learn push to infrom the excrease female enrollment in mathematics and the periences of the school’s faculty, many of sciences is being powered by forces on whom have profoundly felt their minority all levels, from the local (Swarthmore’s status in their own educational and profesCATALYST program brings middle school sional development. She also believes one girls interested in the sciences to campus of the greatest advantages WITS can offer for hands-on learning experiences) to the female scientists is the social connections. national. However, just because the gen- “A lot of people do meet their friends in der divide is “old news” doesn’t dull its the classroom — it’s a way to meet people significance or make its numbers any with common interests,” she said. “It’s better. According to a survey of earned hard to do when there are only two girls in doctorates conducted in 2010 by the De- your classes, and it’s a way to encourage partment of Education Studies, only 30% cross-departmental collaboration.” “Also, anyone who’s part of a minority of students attaining Ph.Ds in the physical sciences were women. Female engineers in a larger setting will feel uncomfortable find themselves in even smaller company, at some point,” she added. “I have, and I with only 23% representation among the know many others have as well.” By closing the group to men, she hopes to elimimale majority. The trend doesn’t improve for female nate some of those feelings of not belongphilosophers. In the same set of surveys, ing. Discomfort in male-dominated settings only 30% of Ph.D.-holding philosophers in 2009 were female — the same percentage is a sensation Swarthmore philosophy as women majoring in the physical scienc- students can relate to. One attendee at the es. The odds of coming across a full-time group’s first meeting spoke of feeling overfemale philosophy professor were report- powered by the male majority in her introed to be even lower: women comprise only duction to philosophy course, noting that 16.6% of the 30,000 professors nationwide. when the guys piped up, the girls tended The percentage places philosophy well be- to quiet down. Classics and Philosophy Professor low every other field in the humanities. The figures attest to the importance of Grace Ledbetter, a scholar of Plato and supporter of the Lady Philosophers group,
cites the argumentative and assertive nature of the discipline as a difficult hurdle to overcome, but notes that it’s probably easier for men to step up to bat when they’re surrounded by peers in a classroom setting. In her opinion, a female professor can play a critical role in creating a comfortable environment for female students surrounded by a male majority. Ledbetter’s colleague Krista Thomason, whose introductory philosophy course drove many to the Ladies’ first meeting, spoke to interested members about seeing her first female philosophy professor — almost halfway through graduate school. “Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to see someone who looked like me up in front of the classroom,” Thomason said. Beyond increasing the number of women role models in the classroom, Ledbetter notes that philosophy syllabi can go a long way in helping female students situate themselves in the discipline. Oftentimes consisting of only male thinkers, reading lists have yet to recognize the works of leading female philosophers — an unfortunate truth exemplified by Chen and Gounot. “We were going to make signs [advertising the first meeting of the Lady Philosophers] that said, ‘Can you name five female philosophers?’ but when we tried, we realized we couldn’t do it,” shared Chen, an honors philosophy major. Despite this lack of classroom exposure to female scholarship, the founders don’t plan on restricting discussion to gender or limiting readings to women philosophers. Combating the hierarchal nature of philosophy, which is commonly thought of resting on canonical, male-authored texts, as well as challenging the dominant gender of a typical philosophy classroom, are higher up on Chen and Gounot’s collective to-do list. “We really just want to encourage everyone to explore their interests and be able to share their ideas,” explained Chen. By holding informal weekly discussions, the founders hope to keep their group accessible to first-time philosophers and honors majors alike. Chen, Gounot and Werth are excited about their own projects — and each other’s. “When we met, we talked about having a big Lady Philosophers v. WITS debate,” Werth shared.
The enthusiasm for both groups may stem in part from a more local source, in addition to its larger situation within the narrative of gender gaps in education: that of a need for more female friendships and community feel on Swarthmore’s campus. When asked whether she saw a relationship between the new female groups on campus and the proposed sorority, Werth answered that she “definitely sees a connection.” “I’ve spoken to so many girls throughout the year and this summer that are looking for a female community on campus,” she said. “I think all these groups — WITS, Lady Philosophers and the sorority — are direct responses to that, and they all have a lot of support... and that strong support shows that we need spaces for women to meet. I’m so happy it’s all happening, and I’m definitely supportive of the other groups — they’re doing a great job.” The second meeting of the Lady Philosophers will take place today at 6:30 — stop by the WRC for snacks and invigorating discussion. WITS have not yet selected a meeting place — email Alex Werth at awerth1@ swarthmore. edu to be added to the mailing list.
‘Seasonal Beer Part II’, continued from page 12
will inevitably be warmed up, but UV rays are the causal agent. That means a beer that has been out on a shelf or even in an artificially lit refrigerated case can be damaged. If there is light in the store the chance for skunking is there. Moreover, even if the beer is undamaged, those looking explicitly for bitter and citrusy IPAs will be disappointed if their choice is over two months old after bottling. Around two months after bottling, the intensity of flavor and bitterness with began to diminish, so an IPA from Wegman’s over six months old won’t be rancid, but it will be disappointing. If the brewer is kind enough to provide a bottling date on the label or bottle itself, one can make a safe and confident choice whether or not a certain hop-forward beer is worth it. Sometimes this information is provided in an extremely unhelpful multi-digit code. If presented with such a string of numbers, try a quick Google search, as oftentimes breweries will give translations into actual dates on their websites. If no bottling date is in sight, it’s best to skip that IPA you had your eye on unless you
enjoy the thrill of a gamble. Returning to the second point, beers that contain a high percentage of alcohol by volume, generally anything over seven or eight, can last for years under proper conditions and may even benefit from some time on a shelf. Ignoring Imperial IPAs, many maltheavy beers — porters, stouts, dopplebocks, barleywines — or anything that contains yeast in the bottle (including most things Belgian) fall into this ABV category. If these beers are to your liking, or if your interested in experimenting with something new, feel free to choose these offerings without fear. With the right luck, you might even be able to pick up dusty old bottle of something like Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (clocking in at 18%) for a discount and pre-aged if the retailer doesn’t realize what is on their shelf. Remember, craft beer is all about empowering the consumer, and the freedom of choice is paramount to that ethos. Just keep these small points in mind to ensure that your choices will end with a happy drinking experience. Cheers and happy drinking!
By ALLISON SHULTES Living & Arts Assistant Editor
into single units, companies make money at the same time as giving consumers added freedom of choice. Moreover, because beer is generally cheaper per ounce the greater the quantity purchased, you will actually be paying more for the same item in relative terms, though obviously with less of an absolute monetary investment. These stakes make getting the best bang for your buck even more important if you want to walk away without feeling cheated and upset after spending a premium amount on what you think should be a premium product. The two most important things to keep in mind when assembling your theoretical picksix are: the prominence of hops in a beer’s style and its total alcohol content. Hop-forward styles like IPAs, Double IPAs or American Pale Ales derive their most charming and flavorful characteristics from the organic compounds found in the resinous oil of the hop flower. These “alpha acids” provide bitterness
and additional compounds contribute pine, citrus, grass or spice aromatic notes to the beer’s flavor profile. Though IPAs, or India Pale Ales were originally designed to be hearty and spoilagefree for the long and hot journey from Britain to India (hence the name), that does not mean that the optimum flavor lasts as long as the beer itself may. IPAs, due to the same volatile compounds that give them their flavor, are especially sensitive to long-term exposure to UV light. After long-term exposure, these resinous acids breakdown, producing the “skunk” flavor you might associate with Corona or Heineken, though it is often an unintended result of poor storage and not an artistic addition. Contrary to many myths and secondhand information, temperature change will never cause a beer to become skunked — leaving a cold case in your trunk for a few hours will not result in adverse changes to flavor. A simple matter of science is likely the cause this myth; a beer kept out in the sun
RENU NADKARNI/THE PHOENIX
Opinions
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
PAGE 15
The Phoenix
Where’s the Policy? Candidates leave us guessing President Obama and Governor Romney each seek to cast 2012 as the most important election in modern memory — Obama by claiming that Staff Editorial year the middle class will suffer under his opponent and Romney by forecasting a fiscal crisis in a second Obama term. Each presents the election as a choice between two distinct paths for the country guided by opposing game plans ... but keeps the country in the dark regarding the playby-play. Obama and Romney are correct on one thing — 2012 is the most important election year of the modern era. The national debt recently left the $16 trillion mark in the dust, and yearly deficits continue to exceed the trillion-dollar mark. Yet despite excessive spending, our economy remains stagnant, with the unemployment rate only falling because more Americans are giving up looking for work. Soaring unemployment and un-payable debt started World War II in Germany. Making the wrong choice in 2012 could mean disaster for the American economy. How wonderful it would be if America knew what its choices were. Romney in particular has made fiscal issues a centerpiece of his campaign. He speaks extensively of reforming the tax code to cut rates (to stimulate the economy) and to close loopholes (to raise revenue). However, Romney has failed to specify which loopholes he will close, leaving the claim that his plan is revenue-neutral unverifiable. In the true spirit of negative campaigning, Obama has latched on to this and purported that the loopholes closed are those that benefit the middle class, therefore equating Romney’s plan with a tax increase for average families. Despite this pressure, Romney still does not reveal the hard facts of his tax plan — which loopholes he will close, how much revenue he will raise. America should demand to see the numbers. Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate, at least has a plan to control runaway entitlement spending. But despite Republican emphasis on balancing the budget, the numbers still don’t match up -- at least until Ryan shows the rest of his hand. As murky as the Romney campaign has been, though, the Obama campaign is even worse. The President entertains a deluded fantasy that raising taxes on millionaires will somehow jumpstart our economy, pay down the national debt and fund a whole set of new government handouts. Once again, the question is: where are the numbers? The President’s proposed “Buffett Rule” will raise a paltry $4.7 billion per year against trillion-dollar deficits. Yet Obama continues to press a millionaire’s tax as if it were the central part of his plan for the next four years. Which it is. While Romney has at least given a vague sketch of his fiscal plan, Obama presents only rhetoric. His convention speech was full of promises with no clues as to how he will achieve them. Obama bashes Ryan extensively for his attempts to reform Medicare, but has failed to let America in on the grand secret of how he will keep these entitlement programs solvent. And when it comes to reviving the economy, Obama hasn’t even indicated a direction — will he cut
Pennsylvania map courtesy of definitiondefine.com
taxes on businesses or continue his theme of government stimulus? And once he chooses one, the question remains -- where are the numbers? In short, both candidates promise to cut the deficit by reining in spending and potentially raising a paltry amount of new revenue. They promise to halve the unemployment rate and keep taxes on the middle class low. They promise the sun and the moon. They promise to put America back on top again. But they continue to dodge the eternal question of how they will do it. And that’s because doing it all is impossible. When you lay out the numbers, cutting the deficit and revving up the economy are incompatible. There is no solution that will satisfyingly do both before the 2016 election — the numbers simply don’t add up. The candidates can’t do it all, and they know it, but saying that to the American people would be political suicide. So they continue to rely on empty promises to carry them through November 6. America should be outraged. As both candidates have said, 2012 is a critical election, one that will possibly determine whether the world economy survives this time of global uncertainty. The man who wins the presidency will have dire choices before him, and America deserves to know what his decisions will be. So let us ask the candidates one more time, where are the numbers? And where are they going to lead us?
A Different View
In a Political Lens, Vagueness Isn’t the Worst Thing We have a general idea of where Obama and Romney are going. It would be nice to hear more, but it’s not a necessity. Many have criticized Romney for not stating which tax loopholes he will close in his plan. Many of those loopholes are likely ones that benefit special interests with powerful Washington lobbyists. If Romney announces which loopholes he will close now, those lobbyists will have months to bulwark their clients’ interests, so that by the time President Romney presents his plan to Congress, it may be impossible to pass. Obama, meanwhile, must play to the progressive base who elevated him to the presidency in the first place. Economy-stimulating ideas like cutting the corporate tax rate might alienate him to the far left, costing him votes and campaign contributions. In fact, both candidates likely have in mind politically unpopular but necessary proposals to fix our fiscal problems, but fear to say them on the campaign trail. Look at the way Paul Ryan got flayed by both sides of the aisle for his proposed cuts to Medicare. However, just because the candidates aren’t vocal about their ideas doesn’t mean those ideas don’t exist. Campaigning and governing are two very different arenas. In the end, we must trust our leaders to do the right thing.
PAGE 16
Love In This (Olde) Club Let’s set the scene. You’re out on a Saturday night and you want to have a great time and meet a new face. Music is blaring, people are laughing, the floor is sticky & gross and—when you put your swoggles on—that cutie you saw in McCabe one night is right across the way. It’s a formula for a good time. But allow me to spit some knowledge (read: tips) at all you Swatties for a minute. Though the majority of people out are really there to dance, most of the time people feel like they have no rhythm or can’t dance for fear of judgment. Realistically, you probSEAN ably can’t dance but that’s BRYANT okay. Just stick to a simple two-step and try not to Real Talk with Slam look like you’re flagging down a plane because if one crashes into Olde Club due to your inability to control your limbs, I may have to make you question all of your life choices. But, if you can manage this simple two-step, then you, my friend, are golden. The next step is to get that hook-up interested. If they seem to be dancing with someone else, please don’t cry. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve witnessed this. It makes you look pitiful. Don’t make me have to tell you to “get a life.” Let them breathe, give them their space and enjoy your night. Always remember that you are out to enjoy yourself (Notice that nowhere in those sentences was the name of the person that you want to hook-up with) but, back to landing that potential hook-up! If you notice that they don’t seem to be preoccupied with anything at the moment, take your hand, mentally grab those testes (or if you don’t have any, pretend) and muster up that courage to introduce yourself. It’s really that simple. Don’t share your life story, don’t talk about classes, don’t interrogate them and never mention any other names of potential hook-ups. When you are talking to this potential hook-up, remember to be engaging; laugh and flirt. It’s okay. Flirting is a beautiful thing when done right. It only takes minimal touch, smiles, laughter and eye contact. Now, while you are doing all of this, be sure to notice this person’s body language. If they seem to be looking around very often, they are probably not interested. At that point you can leave the conversation by being very polite; saying something like, “Well, I’ve got to catch up with some friends but I hope to see you around,” will do just fine. It’s simple, easy and not dramatic by any means. Not to mention, when you do see them around, say “hello.” It shows that you valued that short interaction. Hook-up or not, it’s all about being personable and not keeping it awkward. Swat is small, and you will definitely be seeing them again. Now if this potential hook-up seems to be reciprocating, then you can go with the flow of the conversation. If friends come by to drag this person away, and the potential hook-up tells their friends to come back later, you’re in. However, if they are talking with a friend of theirs and you’re left standing there, walk away and find your home base, aka a platonic friend. If the potential hook-up cares, they’ll be back. Please don’t stand there staring at them like some kind of crazed killer or worse, looking like a puppy who’s got its tail caught in a door. You are grown and act as such. You will get rejected in life but guess what? It. Goes. On. When/if they do come back and you are still willing to leave with them as you keep talking to them throughout the night, then it’s now a mere matter of who will be the first to ask. If you want to ask first, then don’t drag the crush up the Olde Club basement stairs. If you do that, you lose. And I will be forced to have to tell you to “get your life together” and to “have a seat” as I proceed to “read you”. (If you have no idea what I just said, urbandictionary.com is a beautiful thing.) But, if you’re about to ask to leave with them, remember that consent is sexy … I promise. Asking someone “to go somewhere more private” or even “talk with less people around” is a great segway to getting some real quality alone time. At that point, you can do whatever you want, essentially. Nothing is sexier than the eye contact when that potential hook-up says “yes.”
Opinions
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Harnessing the Ocean’s Waves to Power our Future 1,500 homes. Complications arose, however, and the buoys were returned to shore just two months after the project was begun. Management issues within the company financing the project lead to the buoys never being restored to service. The technology available for the capture of wave energy is evolving quickly, and there is still a wide range of techniques being developed that vary significantly from one another. The current favored technique, called the Oscillating Water Column system (OWC), is advantageous because it is relatively simple in design and more economically viable than other systems. In OWC buoys, a water tight, rectangular chamber, open to the sea at the bottom, becomes filled with high velocity, highly pressurized air. This is due to the compressing and decompressing of the air inside the chamber as waves pass beneath it. At the top of the chamber exists a conical air duct, which allows air to pass into and out of the chamber as pressure inside is changing. Within the duct, there is a special turbine known as a Wells turbine, coupled with an alternator/generator that produces the electricity. The Wells turbine is unique in that it turns in the same direction regardless of the direction of airflow, so it moves continuously as waves rise and fall beneath it. In order to be fully efficient, these buoys must adjust the amount they rise up as a wave passes beneath them. That is why the buoy under development by Ocean Powers Technology has been equipped with an array of devices to help it adjust to each incoming wave. With the help of “wave riders,” an umbrella term for a number of small devices that float farther out in the ocean and provide the buoy with information about incoming waves, electronics in the buoy can adjust how it will respond to each wave that passes under it. This system is meant to optimize power generation, and prevent inconsistencies in power generation due to inconsistencies in wave size. However, this is not the only system that has been put into use. The Portuguese wind farm of a few years ago used a different kind of wave capturing system — the attenuator model. These do not look like buoys, but are long and skinny tubes that float on the surface of the water connected by hinges. These devices are anchored to the seabed. As waves hit them, the cylindrical parts drive hydraulic rams that use differences in water pressure to create energy and to power a generator. A potentially highly efficient model of wave power generator, at the research stages, is a design known as Salter’s duck. Salter’s duck is able to convert wave energy into usable electricity with an astounding 81% efficiency in lab conditions, although predictions of its efficiency under realistic conditions have been as low as 50%, which is still very high by today’s standards. Salter’s duck is comprised of a string of floating “ducks” mounted on a central spine that links them all COURTESY OF OCEAN POWER TECHNOLOGIES to one another. The ducks are many areas have been identified as well-suited for this form oriented in a way that wave impacts cause them to flip over of energy generation, such as America’s Pacific Northwest, in the water. When this happens, four gyroscopes inside each Western Scotland, Southern Africa, and Australia — all plac- duck begin to move back and forth, creating energy that can es that have constant winds that generate a constant supply be transferred to a turbine or electricity generator. Wave energy is a hot topic in sustainable energy research, of waves. While wave energy is usually glazed over in conversations of renewable energy, this kind of wave generation and it is the key in tapping the enormous amounts of energy in the ocean’s waves and currents. Theoretically, 0.2 percent has huge potential and is getting closer to bearing fruit. However, high initial costs and a history of failed projects of the energy in ocean waves would itself be enough energy have hindered the development of tidal energy buoys world- to power the entire planet. And, unlike solar and wind energy wide. As is the case with wind energy, the initial costs of de- that are not always readily available depending on weather veloping and constructing energy generators are high. This conditions, ocean waves in many parts of the world provide first buoy built by the New Jersey non-profit Ocean Power remarkably consistent amounts of energy in all weather and Technologies was slated to cost $4 million at the project’s seasons. Moreover, wave power does not produce greenonset. The other nine buoys were presumed to cost a total of house gases like fossil fuel burning does, and is not known to disrupt local ecosystems like some other forms of hydro$60 million in total. Supporters of the project hope that the new technol- electric power (although this is a topic of ongoing research). ogy does not suffer similar fates to its predecessors. A buoy If we are capable of creating systems of energy capture as eflaunched by a Canadian team of researchers in 2007 sank to a ficient as Salter’s duck, who knows how much of the ocean’s watery grave at the bottom of the ocean just months after its vast energy supply we will be able to one day capture as techhighly anticipated launch. Although it succeeded in gather- nologies improve and projects become more economically ing the data it had been designed to obtain, its sinking damp- viable. Perhaps the future of renewable energy will not be ened the enthusiasm surrounding the project. Portugal was marked by fields of solar panels or farms of wind turbines, the first country in the world to develop a coastal wave farm, but by networks of high-efficiency wave farms extending off launched in 2008, which was capable of powering more than of our continents’ coasts. Many think finding a way to generate energy sustainably will be the biggest challenge for our generation. We know it’s a possibility to use sustainable energy to meet all our energy needs, PATRICK but many of the long-term strategies seem stranger than fiction to us toAMMERMAN day. Popular Science One of those fictions will soon grow closer to a reality: getting energy straight from the force of the ocean’s waves. A company in New Jersey is putting the final touches on a buoy that will have the capacity to do just that, and should be ready to be launched off the shores of Portland, Oregon as early as October. The company was recently granted a federal permit to launch 10 such buoys, which will be the first wave-power devices ever to be hooked into the U.S. power grid. These 10 generators could power as many as 1,000 homes. More importantly, they could open up an entirely new sustainable energy market. Another new buoy set to be launched off the coast of Oregon in the near future is a prototype built in collaboration between an Oregon based energy company and the New Zealand Government. Both of these ventures may be catalysts that ignite new interest and bring new funding to wave-power technologies in the northwest of the United States. Used effectively, tidal wave energy could compete with solar and wind energy in terms of costs. Although not all coastal sites could efficiently harness the energy of waves,
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Opinions
Give the Campus a Voice The question of whether the sorority initiative needs to go to a campus-wide referendum highlights our need SAM as a college for an independent, ZHANG systematic, and Qualms statistically sound polling organization. The opinion of the student body at large should have been at the center of the debate — of every debate about campus issues — from the very beginning. While popularity shouldn’t be a prerequisite for any initiative—oftentimes these issues take time to grow in support — it is still a central variable that should be taken into account with any serious proposal. There are a few rough measurements we can get on the popularity of proposals like the sorority—through looking at Facebook groups, online polls on the websites of the Daily Gazette and the Phoenix, and gathering anecdotal evidence from talking to people—but each of these angles is rife with bias. Online polls and Facebook groups suffer from selection bias (the people who choose to do them are more likely to be involved with the issue), anecdotal information is not strong enough to stand on its own, and email surveys sent out to random students often suffer from nonparticipation bias. However, a student group that receives college funding could offer compensation for poll participants, drastically increasing participation rates. As is often the case with politics, the content and tenor of campus-wide discussions is largely set by coalitions on either side. It’s hard to gauge how the actual student body feels about an issue from the articles published in our newspapers alone. A poll would empower the voice of the “silent majority” of Swarthmore students who aren’t invested enough on any particular issue to speak out, yet deserve a representation. There are issues that affect people’s everyday lives, and they may not feel as comfortable disagreeing openly with their peers as with respond-
The Phoenix
ing honestly on an anonymous survey. A monthly poll that reaches out to a random sample of Swarthmore students — and offers compensation for participation — would go a long way toward involving every student in issues that affect them. Not only can polls gauge general student feeling, but perhaps more importantly, they gauge how feelings change, and how specific events factor into that change. Poll data is useful as feedback for both students and the administration, as evidence in discussions, and as interesting things to look at for fun. Moreover, a poll would provide a sketch of the breakdown of issues on campus, by demographic factors. This could be interesting for any number of reasons, if curiosity isn’t sufficient. It could also be a useful resource for social science and statistical research, both now, and many years in the future. After all, poll data would be archived and available for all future generations of Swarthmoreans. I would be interested to ask a plethora of questions that fall outside of the realm of current events, as well. Campus dynamics, such as the relationship between freshman dorm rooms and involvement in campus life, can be examined. Or, for example, we can investigate the popularity of different foods at Sharples. There is an argument to be made that activist groups tend to be more educated on the issues that are they concerned with, and the public is liable to be more apathetic in general, so often the best course of action is to allow special interest groups to lead the discussion and create momentum. However, this and a poll are not mutually exclusive. The presence of a poll would only sharpen our public dialogues, and teach people to conduct it with the entire student population in mind. Polls are not an end-all-be-all solution. Quantification is not, and should not be, a magical button that will solve our issues for us. However, if used effectively, it can be a powerful augmentation to the already strong debates that are held on campus.
LETTER, OP-ED & COMMENT POLICY Letters, opinion pieces and online comments represent the views of their writers and not those of The Phoenix staff or Editorial Board. The Phoenix reserves the right to edit all pieces submitted for print publication for content, length and clarity. The Phoenix also reserves the right to withhold any letters, op-eds or comments from publication. All comments posted online and all op-eds and letters must be signed and should include the writer’s full name. Letters are a minimum of 250 words and may not exceed 500 words. Opeds are a minimum of 500 words and may not exceed 750. Letters and opeds must be submitted by 10 p.m. on Monday, and The Phoenix reserves the right to withhold letters and opeds received after that time from publication. Letters may be signed by a maximum of five individuals. Op-eds may be signed by a maximum of two individuals. The Phoenix will not accept pieces exclusively attributed to groups, although individual writers
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may request that their group affiliation be included. While The Phoenix does not accept anonymous submissions, letters and op-eds may be published without the writer’s name in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the Editorial Board. An editorial represents the opinions of the members of the Opinions Board: Marcus Mello, Menghan Jin and Preston Cooper. Please submit letters to: letters@swarthmorephoenix.com or The Phoenix Swarthmore College 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081 Please report corrections to: corrections@swarthmorephoenix. com Letters, corrections and news tips may also be submitted online to the paper by clicking “Contact” on the Phoenix website.
Rendering Swarthmore Politics
One of Swarthmore’s legendary political science professors, discussing campus politics last year, reminded me, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” In other words, when you’re a citizen in this state called Swarthmore, you have to honor certain unspoken rules. Sure, there DANIELLE are other sources of authority — CHARETTE likely sitting in The Nascent Neoliberal higher, loftier Adirondack chairs— but it’s important to appeal, at least when you’re within the bounds of our arboretum, to the Swarthmore code. At Swarthmore, that means there’s a mandate to be quirky, peppy and engaged. But it has also meant, since the Quakers first took root, that political expression is encouraged, so long as it’s on the left. Quoting Edward Said or Noam Chomsky proves you’re well-read. Citing Edmund Burke or — gasp! — Ronald Reagan — could lead to a swift vote off the island. Starting with a botched attempt to hold a Veterans’ Day service freshman year, let’s just say I haven’t always operated within the Swarthmore framework. In a matter of
few centrist professors—certainly none that are openly right-of-center. A good start would be a few noteworthy or up-andcoming conservative faculty. At Princeton, Catholic legal scholar (and former Swattie) Robert George co-teaches a popular political science class with Cornell West, an outright socialist. I imagine it gets lively. How great would that kind of roundtable be at Swarthmore? I think we’re ripe for it. A high point of my first week back included a humorous hall “debate” between the merits of James Madison versus Alexander Hamilton. Later in the week a classmate and I shared a giddy moment as we talked about the ethical implications of Aristotle by the McCabe printing station. This sounds nerdy, silly or even banal at a place like Swarthmore. But two years ago, these nonpartisan nuggets were exceedingly rare. Unfortunately, the political onesidedness probably stems from the academic agenda set by departments. Why is it that classes deconstructing sexuality abound, while you can literally go years without an American history class making the course catalog? I’m all for approaching the past with a
Unfortunately, the political onesidedness probably stems from the academic agenda set by departments. Why is it that classes deconstructing sexuality abound, while you can literally go years without an American history class making the course catalog? a few tumultuous weeks, I was associated with the “carpet-bombing” of Vietnam, fascism and outright conspiracy. The result (hint: no November 11th honorarium) was partly due to my own bombast and partly because Swatties too often harbor a cartoonish notion of conservatives as fiendish foes of humanity. But a lot’s happened since my freshman fall. So far, I’ve ignored Vice President Biden’s advice and avoided putting anyone in chains. Most liberty lovers, you see, aren’t big fans of enslavement. Today, believe it or not, I think Swarthmore is starting to feel more and more moderate. A wave of political toleration looks to be setting in. Just ask the many people who stopped to chat with the conservative table at our annual activities fair, where we ran out of pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the Cato Institute. On a national level, the GOP shellacked its way to a historic congressional victory in the 2010 midterms. This was a clear measurement of political and economic dissatisfaction, even if the only openly conservative students at Swat at the time had to search far and wide for a television airing the election results. On campus, several conservative and libertarian voices began expressing themselves in our student papers. In 2011, we invited Patrick Michaels, a curmudgeonly climate scientist with unconventional views on global warming, to the Science Center. Most of the audience consisted of protesters who unveiled Exxon Mobil signs, but hey, it was a start. Last spring brought a voluntary talk by Robert Levy, a libertarian Constitutional lawyer and organizer behind the Supreme Court’s landmark D.C. v. Heller Second Amendment case. It was disappointing that we couldn’t get any political science professors on board, but the students who showed— along with a few residents from the Ville— asked great questions and found the lecture informative. Swarthmore, of course, still has a long way to go. To my knowledge, there are very
critical eye, but there’s far more to Western heritage than McCarthyism. Still, there have been important turning points, namely the training session behind last orientation’s Diversity Workshop. Dean Zapata, formerly head of multicultural affairs, drew upon a quote from Professor Emeritus Robert DuPlessis: “Only by encountering and attempting to comprehend the origins, assumptions and logics of perspectives that are different from—even repellent to—our own, can we adequately understand our own convictions. True learning, in short, requires broad exposure along as many parameters as possible. This type of ‘deep’ diversity is not politically correct but educationally mandatory.” Professor Duplessis’ remarks are a bit of a rallying-cry for how I hope to conduct my own mission for change and liberty in Swarthmore-styled education. Our expectations for college discourse must transcend blinding leftism (or raw, snarky conservatism). As a friend and I perused The New York Times one morning, I made a joke about the Wall Street Journal being noticeably absent from the Kohlberg coffee bar. She rolled her eyes at my cheekiness and said I’m the one who chose to attend Swarthmore. The exchange was in good fun, but I have a quibble with the premise behind her statement, as if all students who enroll at Swarthmore forfeit a right to political pluralism. I acknowledge that Swarthmore is a pretty progressive place. Sometimes it’s a source of amusement, sometimes a reason for frustration. I witnessed a far better exchange last Sunday at the activities fair: A freshman confessed he wanted to know more about politics but didn’t know where to start in today’s partisan mayhem. A peer suggested he begin by reading both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and their respective editorial pages. Three cheers for the marketplace of ideas.
Sports
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Matt Midkiff Joins Garnet Baseball as Head Coach Dan Duncan sits down with Coach Midkiff for a mini Q&A session
By DAN DUNCAN SportsWriter
Garnet baseball enters a new era this spring under a new head coach, Matt Midkiff, who is taking the reins after former coach Stan Exeter’s departure to Ursinus this summer. Midkiff was an assistant coach at Swarthmore during the 2007-08 seasons, but comes to the college from Eastern, where he coached the Eagles for the last four years. Before that, he attended school and played baseball for the University of South Florida and Wilkes University. Dan Duncan caught Coach Midkiff for a few minutes, where he shared his thoughts on Swarthmore and baseball. Dan Duncan: Why did you decide to come back to Swarthmore? Matt Midkiff: I came back because I thought it was a tremendous opportunity. This institution has so many things to offer that I couldn’t pass it up. I really enjoyed working with the coaches, faculty and staff when I was here previously so it is a lot of fun to have the chance to do that again. DD: What else will you be doing on campus? MM: I will be teaching a fitness course and assisting with some game day management. DD: I saw you were also director of marketing and promotions at Eastern; is that something you’ll continue here? MM: I will also be helping Sports Information with some marketing ideas. DD: What are your goals for the team? MM: Our goals are to be excellent in everything we do and to win every single day. That means no matter if we have practice or we don’t, if we have a game or we don’t, we will do something to get better. We want to go to bed at night saying that was a winning day for Swarthmore Baseball. DD: How do you prevent a late-season swoon like last year? How can the team stay motivated? MM: We aren’t worried about anything but looking forward. We are definitely focusing on our strength and conditioning to make sure we are at our best come playoff time. What continues to motivate this team is that we can always be better. It will also be an exciting and fun environment when we get on the field. They will be fired up to come to practice everyday. DD: What kind of player do you look
KAYLA MORITZKY/THE PHOENIX
Matt Midkiff comes to Swarthmore from Eastern, where he coached for four years, replacing former baseball head coach, Stan Exeter, who left for Ursinus this past summer.
for as a coach? Any particular skills? MM: I look for mentally-tough, hardworking players with a high baseball IQ. Baseball is such a mental game that we need people here who know what to do and why and can battle through difficult situations with the confidence that they will succeed. DD: Which coaches/players/managers inspire your approach to baseball most? How? MM: I have liked Tony Dungy for a long time. The way he treats players with respect and gets the best out of them because of the relationship they have is a model I have used. I also like Joe Maddon
from the Tampa Bay Rays. He thinks outside the box and isn’t afraid to try something bold. My favorite player was Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds. He played the game with energy and focus and more importantly you could see how much fun it was for him to compete by the smile on his face. DD: Does having a new head coach mean an end to the country music during warmups? MM: I was an integral part in the introduction of country music to the warmup mix. I want the guys to have music that represents them and if they continue to enjoy the country music, I am all for it.
DD: What’s your MLB team? MM: I am originally from the Tampa area so I am a Rays fan. DD: Do you think the DH is good or bad for baseball? MM: I think having leagues with some distinctions is kind of fun. It stirs up debates and allows people to lobby for their team being from the superior league. I think with the specialization of players now many pitchers don’t even hit in high school or college so it could be very ugly to watch them face a Major League caliber pitcher. I love the idea of no DH but I think adding the DH in has given some additional excitement to the game.
Should Stephen Strasburg Have Been Shut Down? Imagine you are the general manager of the Washington Nationals. You have been in control of the National League East Division all season and are looking towards the playoffs in JAMES October. The Nationals have never been to the playoffs before and, IVEY since their move to Washington, Out of Left Field have only once even posted a .500 record. So with pressure mounting, do you bench your star pitcher, a 24-year-old righthander with star potential, because he had Tommy John surgery the year before? Do you pull your best pitcher in order to save him for next season or do you hope that he will close out the season with no problems? For Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo the decision was clear: despite the risk to the season Strasburg was too important to lose again. This is a difficult decision to make for any manager in any sport since if a player seems healthy then you want them to play. But in the case of Strasburg his arm was a ticking time bomb and to Rizzo it was not worth chancing his star pitcher’s future health on a push for the play offs. A run to the World Series could wait till next year but when you have so much hope wrapped up in one young player it is not worth destroying future hope for a couple of extra games. While it appears that Rizzo made the wise decision in pulling Strasburg it was a decision that attracted a lot of criticism. Rizzo took a gamble because the Nationals have in no way won the division yet despite the fact that they
lead the division over the Braves by (on Wednesday afternoon) 7.5 games. The Nationals, it appears, have it all to lose with a lead of that proportion. But things can change rapidly and pulling one of your starting rotation could prove costly by the end of the season given how unpredictable September can be. Strasburg had already pitched in 28 games this season winning 15 of those and losing only 6 (a total of 159.1 innings pitched) with an arm that had just had elbow ligaments replaced. Clearly Strasburg is important to the team and his wins, strikes, and ERA are irreplaceable. However, is this decision one that will destroy the season of the Nationals: probably not. Why? Because even though they lost Strasburg they still have a good enough pitching rotation that bringing one person up from the minors will not necessarily destroy what they have so far achieved. Gonzalez, Zimmerman and Jackson are good enough pitchers that they should make the post season and the offense is hardly something to sniff at. So why is this decision so unpopular? The Nationals have yet to make the playoffs since moving to Washington in 2005 and pulling your best pitcher seems to be a decision based on both rational decisionmaking and arrogance. To pull one of the best pitchers in the National League takes a lot of guts and that has to come with a lot of arrogance. Plainly Rizzo does not see the Braves launching a late challenge for the division and the Phillies are much too far-gone despite their late rally in hope of a season extension. Pulling Strasburg just reeks of hubris. And the baseball gods are not kind to those who taunt them.
The Nationals are gambling with their success and with their fan support by pulling Strasburg in a way that very few teams have a chance to do. In their first year as a possible winner they could throw it all away and lose their fan backing because of one decision that broke the season. But that would require a lot of bad luck (it has happened though, ask any Phillies fan about 1964). While this is a contentious issue just because of the timing of it all and the prolific strike rate of Strasburg it is also worth noting that this has been Nationals policy even before Strasburg. This happened last season with Zimmerman. Jordan Zimmerman got pulled last year because he had had Tommy John Surgery and the Nationals did not want to risk his recovery by overstressing the same ligaments that he had just replaced. It was not an issue last year because the Nationals did not see themselves as a play off team like they do this year. At least the policy is consistent though is all I can say in consolation to the Nationals fans who feel betrayed by their management. The Nationals have a great chance at reaching the playoffs and this should be a happy moment for their fans, as they will finally get to go to games as the weather begins to chill in October rather than basking in the sun of July. “Yay, cooler weather for baseball” I hear every Nationals fan cheer. Well, that is what they will get if their team doesn’t suddenly turn from the stallion it currently is into a donkey (again). But that only happens in Shrek right? We’ll see in about a month whether Pixar is true in real life, not just our imaginations.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Sports
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The Phoenix
Women’s Club Soccer Gets Off to a Running Start According to its club sports handbook, the Swarthmore College athletics department currently recognizes eight groups as official club sports: men’s rugby, women’s rugby, men’s ultimate Frisbee, women’s ultimate Frisbee, men’s volleyball, men’s fencing, women’s fencing and men’s badminton, which is now defunct. Currently looking to join this group is the Swarthmore women’s soccer club, which received a charter earlier this year. Despite this recognition from the Student Council, the group will not be able to be an officially recognized club before 2014; in accordance with guidelines laid out in the handbook, an athletic group must be active for a minimum of two years after being chartered before it can apply for club status. In the meantime, the group, which began practicing this week, has been working diligently to attract new members and become increasingly legitimate in the eyes of the administration. Interestingly enough, the idea for the club was born from founder and senior Elliana Bisgaard-Church’s experience with ultimate Frisbee as a member of the Swarthmore Warmothers last fall. There, she met Alison Koziol ’15 and the two quickly discovered they shared soccer as a mutual interest. “Alison and I had met playing ultimate Frisbee and we connected a great deal over the fact that soccer was our first love,” Bisgaard-Church said. “Unfortunately, and despite a lot of fun, Frisbee was not satisfying that soccer itch we both had, so throughout the Frisbee season I started thinking about why we have a men’s club team but no team for women.” After the season, Bisgaard-Church began serious consideration of the issue and decided to gauge the potential interest of the student body in the formation of a
By ROY GREIM SportsWriter
women’s soccer club. After advertising in the Reserved Students Digest (RSD), which is received by all Swarthmore students twice a day, she learned that several others shared her interest in forming a group on campus, and with that in mind, she began to form a team. “I was pleased to find that the process of creating a group is relatively easy; the most difficult part was making a specific budget for [the Student Budget Committee] and even then that was smooth with help all along the way,” Bisgaard-Church said. “It was also difficult to start a team in the middle of the year when students have often already filled their extracurricular schedules,” she continued. “I worked hard, though, to make practices fun and get girls to come out, and, after our first successful and truly teambonding scrimmage against Haverford, could tell that there indeed was a place for women’s club soccer at Swarthmore.” Despite her tireless efforts, Bisgaard-Church will not be at the helm this year after a torn ACL she suffered at the end of last semester left her unable to play regularly. In her place will be Koziol and team captain Thera Naiman ’14, whom Bisgaard-Church approached due to her extensive commitment to the team in the spring.
“After our first . . . scrimmage against Haverford, [I] could tell that there indeed was a place for women’s club soccer at Swarthmore.” Elliana Bisgaard-Church ’13 Co-Founder
Although it is a non-varsity group, the women’s club soccer team still seeks out high-level players and nearly all of its members have experience at the high school and competitive club levels. This desire for serious competition is also reflected in its schedule; this season, the club will face off against various Division I squads, including two teams, Villanova and the University of Delaware, which competed in the 2011 National Campus Championship Series (NCCS) National Soccer Championships. As always, competition against Tri-Co rival Haverford College is also a highlight of the season. “We’re particularly excited about the Haverford game, given the long-standing tradition of friendly rivalry between the two schools,” Naiman said. “Like ours, Haverford’s team formed last year, and we are looking forward to watching our teams grow side by side.” As a fledgling organization, it is always looking for new members, particularly those experienced in the sport, to join and help accelerate this growth. Now, the Swarthmore women’s soccer club begins its first season as it looks to combine a desire for intense competition with the more laid-back atmosphere of club sports. Although official recognition as a club sport will not come before 2014, the prospects look bright for a team committed to providing an alternative option to varsity athletics.
ELLIANA BISGAARD-CHURCH FOR THE PHOENIX, NITHYA SWAMINATHAN/PHOENIX STAFF
Though they won’t be officially recognized as a club sport until 2014, the women’s club soccer team has been working hard at honing their soccer skills and recruiting new players.
Sports
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
The Phoenix
Garnet Volleyball Sets Sights High
Team looks to continue strong early season play into conference season By SCOOP RUXIN Sports Writer
As the Swarthmore College volleyball team opened its season last week at the Haverford Invitational, it faced many question marks. Having graduated a strong senior class led by Genny Pezzola, a player described by Head Coach Harleigh Chawstyk as “the best volleyball player in school history,” the Garnet entered the season looking to prove that this year’s team could enjoy the same success at the 2011 team, which finished 24-8. The loss of Pezzola, along with libero Hillary Santana, combined with the team’s disappointing first round exit from the Centennial Conference tournament last season led to the team being ranked just fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll. However, the Garnet have refused to listen to their doubters. Senior tricaptain Kat Montemurro ’13 stated that the team’s goal is to “contend for and win a conference championship,” a sentiment echoed by Chawstyk. In order to reach these high expectations, Swarthmore will rely on strong upperclassman leadership. Along with Montemurro, fellow senior tri-captain Allie Coleman ’13 will look to improve on an impressive 2011 season that ended with her being named second team all-conference. Montemurro also lauded the “entire junior class, Maggie [Duscyk], Brone [Lobichusky] and Danielle [Sullivan]” for “really stepping up as upperclassmen so far.” The team expects significant contributions from this trio of big hitters throughout the season. Bolstering the team’s upperclassman core will be firstyears Madison Heppe and Sam Dubois. Both have made immediate impacts in the team’s opening games and have earned high praise from the coaching staff. Assistant Coach Kelly Jansen commented that she was “very surprised, pleasantly, at the level of talent from the freshmen” and Chawstyk lauded their fundamentals, experience and their desire to win, describing the first-year class as “fitting in right from the get go, which is really great for
Eastern squad in straight sets, 3-0. Time and time again, our program.” Two new assistant coaches, Jansen and Helen Fitzpat- Eastern ripped serves over the net, and time and time rick, have proven to be valuable new voices on the court again, the Garnet found a way to send them back. Led and at practice. Montemurro praised both for their “great by Heppe and sophomore Kate Amodei, the Garnet back feedback” and “wonderful knowledge of the game.” Mon- line tallied 63 digs, while the front line added 18 blocks. temurro specifically appreciated both coaches ability to Eastern succumbed to the defensive tenacity of the Gar“pick up on the tiny nuances of the game net, who this time made sure to work on finishing the that… as a player you miss out on.” In sets. Though Eastern made strong runs at the end of both close matches, these small pointers the first and third sets, the Swarthmore women stayed foare crucial. They can lead to winning cused and finished out each set. a point t h a t could potentially change the mom e n tum of the match, and in the long run, they can be the difference between being merely a good team and being the conference champion that the team aspires to be. The Haverford Invitational, in which Swarthmore compiled a 3-1 record, provided a series of strong early tests for the young Garnet squad. The team’s lone defeat came at the hands of 10th ranked Juniata. Despite losing the match 3-0, the team took several positives away. AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/PHOENIX STAFF Montemurro said that Garnet volleyball went 3-1 at the Haverford Invitational this past weekend, only losing to “it’s great to be compet- Juniata College. ing at such a high level already,” adding that all The Garnet hope to take the momentum gained from three sets were “very competitive.” Chawstyk noted that the Garnet “stepped up to the challenge, as Allie Cole- their strong start into a conference schedule loaded with man had a service ace for the first point of tough competition. Standing between Swarthmore and the match.”Though Swarthmore managed a conference championship figure to be Johns Hopkins to take some positives out of a tough loss, and Franklin and Marshall. Both teams defeated Swarthit was clear that they felt that they could more last season, and Montemurro says that, “we are all perform better. Chawstyk pointed out that looking for a chance at redemption.” Montemurro knows “we just couldn’t finish,” adding that the that in order to compete with these league powers, the team spent the week practicing finishing team will need to continue to keep up “this energy we out sets and working on defense, particu- have been playing with so far, both mentally and physilarly on “making the first contact a good cally.” The 2012 Swarthmore woman’s volleyball team is deball.” At Friday night’s home opener against termined to take home a Centennial Conference champi9th ranked Eastern University, Swarth- onship. If they can continue competing at the level they more’s practice paid off, as the team ex- did on Friday night, there is no reason to doubt that they celled on defense and defeated a strong will.
“We are all looking for a chance at redemption.” Kat Montemurro ’13 Tri-Captain
GARNET ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Kat Montemurro SEN., VOLLEYBALL, BOGATA, N.J.
What She’s Done:
Led the Garnet with 12 kills and 10 digs to their first win against a nationally ranked opponent in Friday’s 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-23) shocker over No. 10 Eastern.
Favorite Career Moment:
Beating a nationally ranked team last Friday is probably up there.
Biggest Goal This Season:
The major goal is to win a conference championship.
If You Could be Any Animal, You’d be: A lion. Best Part of Being a Senior:
Just appreciating what it means to be on a team knowing it’s my last year. AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/PHOENIX STAFF
Danielle Sullivan sets up for a bump at the Haverford Invitational.
RAISA REYES/PHOENIX STAFF