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, September 8, 1997
Volume 2, Number 6
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) A Big Night for Student Council: Resignation; Election
2) No blaze, just a parade, as fire engines converge on Swarthmore
3) Linda Chavez-Thompson addresses students
4) World news round up
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Peterkin Named All-American
2) Field Hockey starts out strong
3) Cross Country slams Haverford
4) Swat Kick Classic: Mixed Results for Women’s Soccer
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Partly sunny, light winds. High near 80.
Go outside and enjoy it — you can’t tomorrow.
Tonight: A few more clouds. Low around 60.
Good night night to curl up with your favorite (text)book.
Tomorrow: Increasing cloudiness, afternoon rain likely. High of 75.
NEWS REPORT
1) A Big Night for Student Council: Resignation; Election
In an email sent to members of the Student Council, the Phoenix, and The
Daily Gazette, Trang Pham ’00 announced her resignation from Student
Council.
“I’m not resigning to protest anything,” she stated. “I’m not losing faith
in Student Council.” Rather, as a Lang Scholar, she felt that she needed
to refocus her efforts on “creating and executing [her] Lang project” in
addition to devoting more time to academics.
“There is sufficient leadership on council. I know [Student Council] will
succeed.” She does not think her resignation will have a significant
impact on the Council or its actions. “I simply think someone else can
do[my job] better.”
Ari Plost ’98, Co-Chair of Student Council, released the following
statement (printed in full) upon learning of Pham’s resignation to Student
Council and The Daily Gazette:
“Fellow members,
A loss of any experienced member is, of course, a particular loss to
the Student Council as a whole. This is especially true due to the depth
of new members on council. Specifically, also, Trang had some very good
ideas which I would have enjoyed seeing her pursue during the course of her
term.
I will reiterate, however, that I believe serving Swarthmore’s student
government should be seen as an honor and a privalege [sic]. Resigning from
council is not, in my opinion, an action that warrants respect.
Due to Trang’s resignation, Council will have to work extra hard to
ensure that it can fulfill its objectives and continue serving Swarthmore’s
student body in every way possible. I believe that council is still
completely capable of performing this role.
We will consider the options of filling Trang’s vacancy at our next
meeting. Tentatively, this will be scheduled from 8-10 on Sunday night.
Despite this recent occurence, I wish Trang the very best in the future.”
Student Council also elected Sarah Pheasant ’98 Co-Chair in an open
meeting. Breaking with past tradition, anyone from the Swarthmore
community was allowed to sit in on the question/answer period and the
subsequent discussion period. The decision to open the meeting was
supported in a vote of 10-2. Pheasant was nominated by Pham and one other
member. She was elected by a vote of 10 yays and 2 abstentions. Pham
characterized Pheasant as “astute, well-articulated,…well viewed by the
administration.”
In other matters, Student Council split into three task forces to address
issues such as Tarble credit, student space, and Student Council/SAC
relations. They also welcomed Melissa Amir-Arjomand ’00 to the Council.
Resolving Pham’s resignation is the first item on the agenda for next
week’s Student Council meeting.
— Kate Doty, Board of Editors
*****
2) No blaze, just a parade, as fire engines converge on Swarthmore
Sirens resounded Saturday afternoon as members of 18 Delaware County fire
companies paraded through the borough to celebrate the renovation of the
Swarthmore volunteer fire company’s station. They brought equipment ranging
>from fire trucks to a hovercraft.
“The idea with the parade is to show off the equipment and to roust people
out so they know what’s happening,” said Swarthmore firefighter Charlie
Mayer ’98.
A dedication ceremony featuring speakers including U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon,
R-Pa., and a feast of hot dogs and birch beer awaited at the end of the
parade. According to Mayer, 920 hot dogs and three kegs of birch beer were
served.
>From the spring of 1995 to the fall of 1996, the fire company operated out
of a temporary station it built at Meyers Ave. and the railroad tracks
while the permanent firehouse was renovated and expanded. The firehouse now
has two floors instead of one, with offices and a recreation area, more
space for equipment, and state-of-the-art features such as a new
ventilation system, Mayer said.
The dedication was not held until this fall because planning for the event
and final renovation work took some time.
— Sam Schulhofer-Wohl, Board of Editors
*****
3) Linda Chavez-Thompson addresses students
Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO (American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization), spoke at the
first Collection on Friday afternoon in the LPAC Cinema.
Ms. Chavez-Thompson’s talk focussed on the state of labor organization in
the United States, and the goals of the AFL-CIO. As a “calm, mature,
militant labor activist,” she wished to send out a message on behalf of the
AFL-CIO: the organization cares about all working people. She described an
“ugly picture in coporate America,” with down-sizing, chopped-up jobs,
decreased benefit packages, and decreased job security threatening the
welfare of American labor.
The first Cooper event of the year was attended by a full house in the LPAC
Cinema; the audience included students, faculty, staff, administration
(including President Al Bloom), and members of the community.
Ms. Chavez-Thompson discussed the various projects that the AFL-CIO is
working on. One focusses on creating a “culture of organizers” to mobilize
the work force around the country through programs such as Union Summer.
“We are recruiting and training younger organizers,” she said, “because we
know that you are the future of labor.”
She asserted that it is “okay to be non-union, but it is not okay to be
denied wages or good health insurance, or a sense of job security. Today we
don’t have any of that in America…if we don’t do something to stop what
is happening to labor, the big corporations are going to win.” She ended
with a challenge to young people to go out and become involved, to try and
make a difference.
Hillary Thompson ’99 said that before the lecture, “I didn’t know very
much about the AFL-CIO, and I left not knowing very much about it.” Amy
Albert ’98 felt that the lecture “had a lot of pro-union spirit…though it
didn’t go that in-depth into the issues, it was great to see union energy
going in new directions.”
— Aarti Iyer, Board of Editors
*****
4) World news roundup
PRINCESS DIANA, MOTHER TERESA MOURNED
People around the globe mourned this weekend for Princess Diana, who was
buried Saturday in England, and Mother Teresa, who died of a heart attack
Friday in Calcutta, India. In Britain alone, 31.5 million people watched
the broadcast of Diana’s Westminster Abbey funeral, far more than the 22
million who watched her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles. Sunday in Calcutta,
thousands of mourners filed past Mother Teresa’s body, which will lie in
state until her funeral next Saturday. The 87-year-old nun founded the
Missionaries of Charity, an order that now runs over 500 orphanages, AIDS
hospices, homes for the poor, and other charitable organizations around the
world. In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.
FORMER ZAIRE DICTATOR MOBUTU DIES
Mobutu Sese Seko, who fled Zaire in May after 32 years of despotic rule,
died Sunday of prostate cancer in a military hospital in Rabat, Morocco.
Rebels led by Laurent Kabila deposed Mobutu after eight months of fighting
in the Central African nation, which Kabila renamed the Democratic Republic
of Congo. During much of the fighting, Mobutu was in Europe for cancer
treatment. During his time in power, he accumulated a personal fortune
estimated at from $5 billion to $8 billion, but he left his resource-rich
nation in deep poverty.
— Compiled by Sam Schulhofer-Wohl, Board of Editors
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Peterkin Named All-American
This past May Swarthmore outdoor track and field athlete Desiree Peterkin
’00 snagged the title of All-American women’s tripple jumper. The top nine
division III jumpers in the nation are awarded the title after two rounds
of competition which were held at University Wisconsin LaCrosse. The final
round was held in the pouring rain Saturday May 24th. Peterkin’s first two
jumps “just sucked,” but, facing her final chance Peterkin, cheered on by
coach Ted Dixon and fellow teammates Cat Laine ’98 and Amber Thompson ’97
thought “I only have one more chance,” and jumped 36′ 11.” While not as
far as her personal best of 37′ 6,” the jump secured her 9th place and the
much coveted title.
— Lorrin Nelson, Board of Editors
2) Field Hockey starts out strong
On Saturday, the field hockey team blew Goucher College away with an
impressive 6-0 win. The six scorers were led by Danielle Duffy ’98 who had
one goal and four assists, and Holly Baker ’99 and Julie Finnegan ’00 who
each scored one goal and one assist. With such a great season opener, the
team hopes to trounce Elizabethtown on Tuesday, September 9.
— Karen Lloyd, Board of Editors
3) Cross Country slams Haverford
For the first time in coach Ted Dixon’s five seasons with Swarthmore cross
country, the women beat Haverford College at Saturday’s Ursinus
Invitational. The other teams attending were Franklin and Marshall,
Ursinus, Bryn Marr, Valley Forge Christian, Widener, and Williamston. The
Swarthmore men came in third place behind Haverford and Franklin and
Marshall. The women team’s top scorers were Danielle Wall ’98 who finished
in second place and Joko Agunloye ’01 who came in third. The men’s team
was led by Marc Nierman ’01 who finished thirteenth. Both teams are
preparing for the Alumni Meet on Saturday, September 20, against Johns
Hopkins, Catholic, and their returning alumni.
— Karen Lloyd, Board of Editors
4) Swat Kick Classic: Mixed Results for Women’s Soccer
The results of the Swat Kick Classic are in. Coach Alex Ely could be heard
muttering many complaints about the referee’s calls throughout the first
game, but no amount of questionable calls could stop Swat: the final score
was a 4-2 victory over Goucher College. One of Swat’s four goals was
scored Heather Marandola ë01, who dove to head the ball into the goal off
>of a corner kick. On Sunday Swarthmore played Kutztown University
(Division II), losing 3-1. Swarthmore never played Alvernia College’s
team, which lost 8-0 to both Kutztown and Goucher College. This is
Alvernia’s first season. “We played really well compared to last year;
we’re starting out the season really strong,” captain Sarah Jaquette ’98
said.
— Lorrin Nelson, Board of Editors
*****
Interested in reporting or writing for the Gazette? Just want to tell us
what you think? Contact the Board of Editors at
gazette-management@student-publications.swarthmore.edu.
Got a news tip for us?
E-mail gazette-news@student-publications.swarthmore.edu.
Want to contact our sports editors?
E-mail gazette-sports@student-publications.swarthmore.edu.
The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Fred Bush
Kate Doty
Aarti Iyer
Jennifer Klein
Karen Lloyd
Sarah McClure
Lorrin Nelson
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
Weatherman
Rafi Dowty
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1997 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.