Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The Daily Gazette
Swarthmore College
Monday, February 3, 1997
Volume 1, Number 8
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Collection focuses on faculty/staff pay and financial aid
2) Swatties flock to local theaters for Star Wars re-release
3) Student Council deals with decision-making process
4) Pakurar ’97 ventures to Punxsutawny, Phil forecasts early spring
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) The weekend’s results
2) Garnet ground Bullets for fourth consecutive win
3) Swimmers lose to unbeaten Gettysburg
4) Track and field stacks well against conference
5) Tonight’s and Tuesday’s contests
NEWS REPORT
1) Collection focuses on faculty/staff pay and financial aid
For Friday’s Collection, the College Budget Committee hosted a question
and answer session for the Swarthmore community which focused mainly on
questions about staff pay and the long-term future of financial aid. The
Collection marked the first time the administration has openly discussed
budget plans before sending the budget to the Board of Managers for
approval. Student protests last winter convinced administrators to be
more open.
Next year’s budget, which contains no major changes from the current one,
goes to the Board’s Finance and Trusts committee Feb. 24, and then to the
full Board March 1. More than half the budget goes to faculty and staff
compensation. All salaries are set based on prevailing market levels;
faculty get 102.5 percent of the average salary at similar colleges,
while staff receive 100 percent of the market rate.
Asked why professors receive a higher percentage than staff members,
President Al Bloom said faculty should earn more because “the center of
this organization is its educational effect on the students, and the
people most closely involved with that are the faculty.” But in an
interview the day before the Collection, Paul Aslanian, vice president
for finance and planning, questioned the difference in pay benchmarks. “I
think that the fact that one is 102.5 and one is 100 starts us off a step
back.” he said.
As the Collection drew to a close, Aslanian outlined financial problems
the College needs to solve. Topping his list was the question of how to
pay for financial aid, which will total over $1 million more next year
than last year’s five year plan estimated. Much of the deficit will be
covered from the reserve fund, but that strategy can’t last forever. In
the long run, additional aid funds must come from increased endowment
spending or gifts to the College, Aslanian said.
Bloom said the Board would discuss long-term solutions to funding
financial aid in March. “The Board is absolutely committed to raising
whatever we need to support the financial aid policy,” he said.
*****
2) Swatties flock to local theaters for Star Wars re-release
Friday’s premiere of the re-released Star Wars motion picture drew
enthusiastic Swarthmore crowds to the local Marple AMC theater, which
showed the blockbuster on two screens to sold-out audiences. Though
Danawell and Mary Lyon RAs had been led to believe that they could rent
out a theater at Marple for their dorms’ private viewing of the film on
Saturday, they were stymied in their attempt at the last minute.
According to enthusiastic filmgoer Annika Stroope ’97, highlights of the
re-mastered film included a new digitally enhanced Jabba the Hut scene,
in which His Grossness “sort of talks like the Godfather,” and the newly
animated Womprats, dinosaur-like creatures whose lifelike appearance was
such that “all of a sudden it was a lot like Jurassic Park.”
Swarthmore students apparently did not go unprepared to the theaters this
weekend. According to Kate Doty ’00, Victor Pineiro ’00 dressed up as
Princess Leah, Jacob Hartog ’00 brought his light saber, and Noam Unger
’99 made impressive Chewbacca noises throughout.
The next two editions of the Star Wars trilogy are coming soon, The
Empire Strikes Back on February 21st and the Return of the Jedi on March
7.
*****
3) Student Council deals with decision-making process
Two weeks into the semester, Student Council still hasn’t decided whether
to make decisions by vote or by consensus. The decision on which method
to use must be made by consensus.
A lengthy discussion Sunday night on the relative merits of consensus
versus voting led nowhere: Council ran out of time and had to adjourn its
meeting before reaching a decision. Ironically, the debate focused on
whether a consensus decision-making process would move too slowly and
waste too much of Council’s time.
Council co-chair Sean Barney ’98 said Council needs to find a way to make
decisions more efficiently than it does at present. “We look like a
debating club,” he said. “We make a decision here, semester after
semester, that nobody agrees with, and that is to be ineffective.”
SC will continue discussing the issue at meetings in Kohlberg 330 on
Thursday, Feb. 6, at 9 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 9, at 7:15 p.m.
In other business, Council discussed plans for the upcoming special
election to choose an Appointments Chair and replace Seth Harvey ’97, who
is resigning as representative to the Council on Educational Policy. All
students, including those living off-campus, will vote at Sharples Dining
Hall Feb. 17 and 18.
Also, Charter Chair Josh Kramer ’00 announced that four new campus
organizations were granted charters this weekend. The groups are:
Swarthmore Emergency Services Union; Vague, a publication; A Cappella
Board; and Oscar & Emily, an a cappella group.
*****
4) Pakurar ’97 ventures to Punxsutawny, Phil forecasts early spring
It was cold at 4:30 a.m. in Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania, but the emcee of
the 111th annual Groundhog Day spectacular made the best of it. He led
chants for Phil, the famed groundhog. He sang and danced along with the
DJ’s music to keep the crowd of 50,000 surging and excited until sunrise,
when Phil would finally show himself. He called out the names of the
local schools to goad cheers from the huge contingent of frat boys and
sorority girls there: Penn State, West Chester, Slippery Rock, some SUNY
school.
Swarthmore wasn’t called, but we were there to see Phil yesterday morning
anyway. We stood in the 20 degree cold from 2 a.m. till sunrise to save
our second row spots, get on national TV, and see the ritual first-hand.
The Inner Circle of the Groundhog’s Club, a dozen or so somber men in top
hats and tails, finally advanced on Phil’s stump at 7:15 to start the
ceremony. After the national anthem, the Groundhog Handler pulled Phil
out of his cage and showed him off to the crowd, and at 7:25, the
Proclaimer read the proclamation handed him by the President:
Phil, Seer of Seers and Prognosticator Extraordinaire, did not see his
shadow for only the eighth time in 111 years, thus forecasting an early
spring.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) The weekend’s results
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Franklin and Marshall 75, Swarthmore 44
With the loss Swarthmore falls to 6-10 overall, 3-6 in conference.
WRESTLING
At the Ursinus quad meet this past Saturday: Ursinus 46, Swarthmore 6
Western Maryland 49, Swarthmore 0
Washington and Lee 28, Swarthmore 16
Swarthmore wrestling is now 6-13 overall, and 3-3 in the Centennial
Conference.
BADMINTON
Swarthmore 3, Albright 2
Swarthmore badminton advances to 2-1 on the season.
*****
2) Garnet ground Bullets for fourth consecutive win
The Swarthmore men’s basketball team continued its winning ways Saturday
afternoon against Centennial Conference rival Gettysburg. The 74-60 win
is the Garnet’s fourth in a row and improves the team’s record to 10-8
overall and 4-3 in conference. Colin Convey ’97 led Swarthmore with 16
points. Aaron Bond ’97 (15 pts., 14 reb.) and Ben Schall ’97 (15 pts., 11
reb.) each notched double-doubles. Swarthmore stands in second place in
the East Division behind Washington (6-2). On Wednesday the team hosts
archrival Haverford in what is traditionally the most emotional game of
the year.
*****
3) Swimmers lose to unbeaten Gettysburg
In a battle of unbeatens, both the men’s and women’s swimming teams
suffered their first Centennial Conference losses of the year to
powerhouse Gettysburg. The women (8-4, 4-1) lost 138-67, but several
swimmers had notable performances. Molly Marino ’98 won the 200
Individual Medley. Claire Arbour ’00 took first in the 500 freestroke,
and Jenny Harvey ’99 won the 200 breaststroke. The men’s team (7-4, 3-1)
fared a little better in losing 122-83. Mark Friedberg ’98 won an
unprecedented (against Gettysburg) three events: the 400 IM, the 500
freestyle, and the 1000 freestyle. The Garnet look to return to their
winnings ways next Saturday at Ursinus.
*****
4) Track and field stacks well against conference
Swarthmore track and field performed very well in the Franklin and
Marshall Invitational, a meet which promises to be a preview of the
Centennial Conference championships. Strong performances:
Stephanie Herring ’99 made her debut in the high jump with a win at 5’0″.
Steve Dawson ’00 won the high jump for the men with a jump of 6’4″.
Danielle Duffy ’98 easily won the open 400m in 61.5. Mason Tootel ’99
placed second in the 55m high hurdles in 8.1. Catherine Laine ’98 went
8.9 in the 55m hurdles, a mark within a tenth of the school record.
In the 1500m, Liam O’Neill ’00 was barely edged out of first by a
Haverford runner. O’Neill’s time was 4:02.7.
Swarthmore took 3 of the top 7 spots in the men’s open 800m run. Eric
Pakurar ’97 was the top Centennial Conference finisher in 1:59.9, and
took third overall.
Laine and Desiree Peterkin ’00 took second and third in the triple jump,
both with jumps over 34 feet.
The men’s 4×400 relay of Tootel, Tony Sturm ’99, O’Neill, and Pakurar
finished a strong second in a season best time of 3:31.6.
*****
5) Tonight’s and Tuesday’s contests
TONIGHT
There are no contests scheduled for tonight.
TUESDAY (4 Feb.)
Badminton hosts Harcum Junior College at 7:30 p.m. in the Tarble
Pavilion.
*****
The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Fred Bush
Kate Doty
Jennifer Klein
David Lischer
Eric Pakurar
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
Sylvia Weedman
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This concludes today’s report.