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 17, 1997
Volume 1, Number 18
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) New Bryn Mawr president chosen
2) Odetta charms campus audience
3) SC rules debate continues
4) Engineers Week highlights: sleepover, egg crushing
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) The weekend’s results
2) Track and field continues to blow competition away
3) Men’s hoops one step away from playoff berth
4) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests
NEWS REPORT
1) New Bryn Mawr president chosen
Bryn Mawr College trustees Saturday picked Nancy J. Vickers, dean of
curriculum and instruction at the University of Southern California, to
serve as Bryn Mawr’s next president.
Vickers will start work this summer, replacing Mary Patterson McPherson,
Bryn Mawr’s president since 1978, who will become a senior program
officer at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Bryn Mawr students gave Vickers mixed reviews when she visited the campus
in early February, the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Bi-College News reported last
week. The Bi-Co News quoted students as saying they thought Vickers was
“intelligent and capable” but “not very well informed about Bryn Mawr.”
Vickers, a specialist in French, Italian and comparative literature, was
the only finalist for the job.
*****
2) Odetta charms campus audience
Odetta knows about style. That was evident Friday night as soon as her
guitar was placed on stage. The stick of incense in its neck sent up a
captivating wisp of smoke. When the famous folk singer/interpreter
stepped on stage, however, she became the center of attention. The
audience was quite large — a line had formed outside 45 minutes before
the concert, and LPAC’s Pearson Hall was well over half full — but
everyone sat in respectful silence.
The singer’s voice is not now as powerful and rich as it used to be. The
deep range with which she belted out the songs on her early albums is all
but gone. But her ingenious presentation techniques and infectious
enthusiasm make this loss easy to ignore.
The woman is hilarious! She takes on personas during her songs, singing
in a whimsical falsetto or in a grating “tough guy” growl. As she works
into a tune and her excitement builds, a maniacal cackle escapes her
lips. A rendition of “Rock-a-bye Baby” was downright terrifying, as with
her threatening tone Odetta evoked the paranoia which she sees behind the
song.
Odetta has a peculiar sort of self-absorption, allowing her to be in her
interior world while under the gaze of hundreds. Although this sometimes
leads to mysterious comments on her part, it also makes for an especially
gripping concert; Odetta kept the audience guessing what she would do
next, and enjoying it the whole time.
*****
3) SC rules debate continues
Student Council’s discussion of decision-making rules dragged into a
third week Sunday night, as SC began to design procedures for the
democratic decision-making process it adopted last week.
Council discussed the number of votes that would be required to pass
resolutions, the circumstances under which SC members may be ruled out of
order, and numerous other questions. Few decisions were reached; an ad
hoc committee was directed to examine the issues and propose solutions at
next Sunday’s SC meeting.
In other business, SC member-at-large Chris Seaman ’99 announced he is
considering resigning because he feels he may be too busy to do a good
job on SC. He promised to make a decision next weekend, after the swim
team, of which he is a member, finishes its season. If Seaman resigns, he
will be the third Council member to leave mid-term this year; Seth Harvey
’97 and Jude Uzowanne ’98 were the first two.
SC also debated security procedures for this week’s special election to
replace Harvey and select an Appointments Chair. Elections Chair Josh
Kramer ’00 said he thought voters should be required to show
identification, but other SC members argued that would slow down voting
too much. Instead, voters will be asked to tell election judges their
telephone extensions as well as their names.
The compromise plan should prevent casual vote fraud but won’t be enough
to stop concerted efforts to rig the election, SC member Alyssa
Rayman-Read ’99 predicted. “We’re decreasing the likelihood of fraud,”
she said. “We’re not eliminating the likelihood of fraud.”
Voting will take place Monday and Tuesday in Sharples Dining Hall.
Students can vote at the north entrance to the building Monday at lunch
and dinner and Tuesday at lunch; they can vote at the building’s south
entrance Tuesday at dinner.
Council briefly discussed complaints from campus athletes that Saturday’s
Screw Your Roommate dance conflicts with conference championship meets,
but took no action on the issue. “There is no plan right now for SC to do
anything about the Screw controversy,” said SC co-chair Naomi Michlin
’98.
*****
4) Engineers Week highlights: sleepover, egg crushing
Swarthmore engineering students are planning a slumber party in the
engineering building and an egg-crushing contest to celebrate National
Engineers Week, which starts today.
The Society of Women Engineers will hold its annual sleepover Wednesday
night starting at 10 p.m. in the Hicks Mural Room. “Everyone is invited,
especially anyone who has ever slept through a class in Hicks,” said
Allison Marsh ’98, SWE co-president.
On Saturday afternoon, SWE and the American Society of Civil Engineers
are planning an egg-crushing contest. Entrants will build small
structures out of popsicle sticks and tape. Eggs will be placed under the
structures and weights will be dropped on the structures; whichever
structure successfully protects an egg from the impact of the heaviest
weight will win.
The contest site has not been chosen; watch campus signs for more
details.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) The weekend’s results
WRESTLING
At the Centennial Conference championship meet, Pete Balvanz ’98 finished
third in the 150 pound weight class. Sean Lewis ’00 took fourth place in
the 190 pound class.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Ursinus 69, Swarthmore 44
Pia Houseal ’97 scored 13 points and collected nine rebounds in the
losing effort.
BADMINTON
At Sunday’s Northeastern Intercollegiate Championship in Tarble Pavilion,
Paul Wachter ’97 took second place in men’s singles. The doubles team of
Thanh Hoang ’97 and Vanya Tepavcevic ’97 lost in the semifinals.
*****
2) Track and field continues to blow competition away
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Even without two of their best 400-meter runners, Jill Wildonger ’97 and
Danielle Duffy ’98, the Garnet defeated all comers Saturday, outscoring
their closest competitors, New York University, by 55 points, and
improving their season record to 10-1.
The winners for Swarthmore:
*Becky Riskey ’98, Shalini Ayyagari ’00 and Jessica George ’00 took the
top three spots in the open 800-meter run, Riskey winning in 2:30.99.
*Stephanie Herring ’99 won the high jump with a personal best of 5’2″.
*Catherine Laine ’98 and Herring went 1-2 in the 55 hurdles, Laine
winning in 8.9 seconds.
*The 4×400-meter relay won in 4:25.98, and the 4×800-meter relay won in
11:17.10.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The Garnet had the talent to run against Widener, but lacked the depth to
ultimately beat them. Swarthmore ended up second by a scant four points
in a quad meet Saturday against Widener, Lebanon Valley, and NYU, and is
now 7-1 on the season.
Swarthmore’s best performances:
*Nate Mason ’99 won the pole vault at 13’6″, Steve Dawson ’00 cleared
6’6″ to win the high jump, and Eric Walton ’97 had a personal best by
1’8″ in the shot put to take second place with 42’7″.
*Mason Tootell ’99 won the 55-meter high hurdles in 8.0 seconds.
*Wyn Strodtbeck ’98 blew past a strong Widener runner and the rest of the
pack to win the 1500-meter run in 4:10.5.
*Eric Pakurar ’97 edged out Widener runners to win the 400-meter dash in
51.6, and also jumped 42’11” to win the triple jump.
*Liam O’Neill ’00 and Gordon Roble ’99 took first and third in the 800m
run, O’Neill winning in 1:56.38.
*The 4×400-meter relay team fought hard but took second to Widener by
0.03 seconds. Swarthmore’s time was 3:32.18. The 4×800-meter relay team
had an easier time of it, running 8:20.5 and blowing Widener out of the
water by a solid 20 seconds.
*****
3) Men’s hoops one step away from playoff berth
With three seconds left on the clock, Ben Schall ’97 calmly stepped to
the free throw line and hit one of his two shots to give the Garnet a
64-63 victory Saturday night over Dickinson. It was the final home game
in the careers of Schall and fellow seniors Colin Convey, Aaron Bond,
A.J. Shanley, and Chad Brown, who were all honored in a pregame ceremony.
By defeating Dickinson, Swarthmore stayed one game ahead of Muhlenberg
for the second and final playoff spot in the East Division. Schall scored
a game-high 21 points, and Bond added 11 points and 14 boards. At
half-time, the Garnet trailed 34-39, and they remained behind for much of
the second half. But the team picked up its level of play in the final
six minutes to close the gap. Swarthmore stands at 13-9 overall, 7-4 in
the conference and can clinch the final playoff spot with a win at
Muhlenberg on Wednesday.
*****
4) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests
TONIGHT
There are no contests scheduled for tonight.
TUESDAY (18 Feb.)
Women’s basketball takes on Muhlenberg in Tarble Pavilion at 7:30.
*****
The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Fred Bush
Kate Doty
Jennifer Klein
David Lischer
Eric Pakurar
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
Sylvia Weedman
Contributing Writer
Gabriel Cumming
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1997 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.