the independent campus newspaper of swarthmore college since 1881

Friday, May 25, 2012

C.A. Chase

Is Obama the end of cynicism in politics? Probably not.

The election of our president-to-be threatens cynicism’s central position vis-à-vis politics. I’ll be frank. It’s hard not to raise an eyebrow in appraising appreciation when the current James Bond th…

The problematic placebo

Just in case you thought self-medication was on the outs, you might want to add a new facet to the concept of unironically listening to crap music/egregious and rather ghoulish abuse of household clea…

The redefinition of ‘making it’: the new latchkey kids

The market unease has brought into sharp relief a lot of mixed feelings about what it means to “make it.” As New York Times columnist Judith Warner described in “Waiting for Schadenfreude,” those not …

Learning the economic lessons of Morrissey

For market matters, the focus this week has been on events most devious, truculent, and unreliable. Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns have gone bankrupt, we’re sliding down into a recession, and sooner…

The political disconnect

Politics is the loneliest of sports. There’s no swell of the crowd and spray of blood or hope as in boxing, politics’ closest comparison. Instead of punches and cuts and hits that mean something, the…