Friday, April 25, 1997

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
Friday, April 25, 1997
Volume 1, Number 60

NEWS IN BRIEF

1) Council votes down budget amendment

2) Eugene Lang donates $30 million to the College

3) Weekend party plans

SPORTS IN BRIEF

1) Women’s 4x400m relay defends Penn Relays title

2) Yesterday’s results: softball, women’s lacrosse

3) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests

Weather Forecast

Today: Mostly sunny, nice. High of 65.
Its SPRING. Again. Maybe. Dress appropriately.
Tonight: Clear and cool. Low around 45.
Put a jacket on over those choice spring fashions.
Extended weekend forecast:
Saturday: Sunny all day. High around 65.
Sunday: Nice early, cooling off and becoming cloudy. High of 60.

NEWS REPORT

1) Council votes down budget amendment

Capping off a marathon three-and-a-half hour meeting, Student Council last
night voted 5-0 to abandon a proposed constitutional amendment that would
have strengthened SC’s control of the Student Activities Fund.

Six Council members abstained from the vote, and one was absent. No one
voted in favor of the amendment, not even SC Co-Chair Sean Barney ’98, who
initially proposed it.

Barney said he wanted to discuss compromise solutions and felt that a vote
to accept the amendment as is or drop it entirely presented a poor set of
options. “This amendment was killed,” he said. “I didn’t want to be part of
that process.”

But SC members who voted against the amendment said people who favored the
amendment should have voted for it instead of abstaining. “People complain
all the time about Student Council’s apathy and about how we can’t make any
decisions,” said Council member Mandara Meyers ’99. “And then when we come
to the point where we’re going to make a decision, the majority of SC
abstains.”

The proposed amendment asserted SC’s authority to spend SAF monies.
Council’s constitution already said it had final authority over the fund.
But until now SC used that authority primarily by hearing appeals from
Budget Committee, which SC appoints. Opponents of the measure, including BC
Treasurer Vincent Jones ’98, said the amendment would allow SC to spend
money without going through BC.

Council debated the proposal at length, and tempers flared as the meeting
wore on. Jones called the meeting “a primary example of why student
government at Swarthmore does not do shit,” drawing fire from SC members
who said that Jones should watch his language and that SC needs to take its
time to make good decisions.

The roll call for the budget amendment vote:

Voting yes: none.

Voting no: Jeannie Gallego ’00, Rachel Henighan ’97, Josh Kramer ’00,
Mandara Meyers ’99 and Chris Seaman ’99.

Abstaining: Josh Alloy ’98, Sean Barney ’98, Naomi Michlin ’98, Trang Pham
’00, Alyssa Rayman-Read ’99 and Sara Schulman ’99.

Absent: Frank Mote ’00.

In other business, Council decided to delay voting on the new SC Bylaws in
order to work with the language of the proposals.

Council’s next meeting is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. in Kohlberg 226.

*****

2) Eugene Lang donates $30 million to the College

President Alfred Bloom announced yesterday that alumnus Eugene Lang, class
of 1938, is donating $30 million dollars to the College. This will be the
largest monetary gift the College has received as well as one of the most
generous donations ever given to a liberal arts college.

Lang, who funded the Lang Opportunity Scholarship Program in 1980, is the
chairman emeritus of the Swarthmore Board of Managers and founder of the “I
Have a Dream” program. President Clinton awarded Lang the Presidential
Medal of Freedom this last September.

Eugene Lang still works closely with the Lang Scholars here at Swarthmore
and meets with the students each semester to hear their progress reports on
their social service projects. Elida Salcedo ’00, a Lang Scholar who plans
on establing a college preparation course for disadvantaged youth in the
Bronx, commented that “the first time I met Eugene Lang, he treated me like
he already knew me. I felt pretty special.”

Lang and his family plan on working with the leaders of the College over
the next few years to decide the final designations of the donation.

*****

3) Weekend party plans

The Social Affairs Committee is funding numerous parties this weekend, SAC
members said. The events are:

*party organized by the Swarthmore Christian Fellowship, Friday night in Paces;
*a Black Coffee party Friday night in Upper Tarble All Campus Space;
*the Spring Formal on Saturday in Upper Tarble All Campus Space.

All SAC-funded events are free and open to the entire student body.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

1) Women’s 4x400m relay defends Penn Relays title

The women’s 4x400m relay team of Jill Wildonger ’97, Stephanie Herring ’99,
Danielle Duffy ’98, and Catherine Laine ’98 successfully defended
Swarthmore’s title in the Mid-Atlantic Conference 4x400m relay race at the
Penn Relays. Laine and Duffy ran the fastest splits — each turning in a
59 second performance, Duffy’s in spite of being hit with a baton by a
Western Maryland runner. The team ran 4:05.0, crossing the line nearly
three seconds in front of their nearest competition.

The 4x100m relay of Wonda Joseph ’00, Desiree Peterkin ’00, Wildonger, and
Laine ran a strong race, finishing within a half-second of the school record.

*****

2) Yesterday’s results: softball, women’s lacrosse

SOFTBALL
Franklin & Marshall 8, Swarthmore 0
Franklin & Marshall 5, Swarthmore 4
Nette Witgert had two hits, scored a run, and drove in two during the
second game.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Johns Hopkins 10, Swarthmore 6
Laura Starita ’97 scored two goals, and Holly Baker ’99 tallied three
assists. The Garnet falls to 10-4 overall, 6-2 in the conference.

*****

3) Tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests

TODAY
Baseball travels to Ursinus for a 3:30 p.m. game.
The men’s track and field team will compete at the Penn Relays.

SATURDAY (26 April)
Baseball hosts Haverford in a season-ending doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
The softball team also hosts the Fords, 1 p.m. start.
The men’s lacrosse team travels to Haverford for a 1:30 p.m. contest.
Women’s lacrosse faces Western Maryland on Cunningham Fields at 1 p.m.
Men’s tennis travels north to SUNY-Binghamton for a 1 p.m. match.
The men’s track and field team travels to Moravian at 11 a.m.
Women’s tennis competes in the Centennial Conference Individual Championships.
The ultimate teams compete in the North Mid-Atlantic Sectionals at Princeton.
Men’s and women’s rugby play alumni games.

*****

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This concludes today’s report.