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
Tuesday, October 28, 1997
Volume 2, Number 37
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Morning shuttle draws plenty of riders, a bit of criticism
2) Coming Out Week in full swing
3) Roadmark prepares for first LPAC performance
4) World news roundup
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Mostly sunny, but very windy. High near 60.
Keep those hats on tight or you’ll lose ’em.
Tonight: Clear, cool. Low around 35.
And if you didn’t have a hat on before, now you _need_ one.
Wednesday: A few clouds, but mostly nice. High around 60.
CORRECTION
A sports article in Monday’s edition of The Daily Gazette misspelled the
name of the winner in the men’s single division of the intramural
triathlon. He is Dan Schwartz, not Dan Swartz.
NEWS REPORT
1) Morning shuttle draws plenty of riders, a bit of criticism
The morning shuttle has carried a steady stream of riders every day since
it began running Oct. 20. The shuttle drives from Mary Lyon, Palmer,
Pittenger and Roberts dormitories to Parrish Hall every 15 minutes, with
the first run leaving ML at 8 a.m. and the last run leaving ML at 10 a.m.
Budget Committee Treasurer Vincent Jones ’98, who is in charge of the
morning shuttle, said that although he does not have exact statistics on
the number of riders, “it was very packed on the first day.” Jones
estimated that, on average, there are six riders on each scheduled run.
There has been limited criticism of the morning shuttle, Jones said.
He received an e-mail that expressed concern over increased pollution
caused by the new shuttle. The e-mail also argued that the walk from ML to
campus is quite nice and pointed out that when the weather becomes too bad
to walk to campus, conditions will also prevent driving on the roads.
Starr Glidden ’98, the resident assistant in Palmer, said that she
“thought it (the morning shuttle) was going to bomb, but everybody loves
it. … My hall is always talking about it.”
*****
2) Coming Out Week in full swing
The Swarthmore Queer Union and the Queer-Straight Alliance are celebrating
Coming Out Week until Wednesday. The week is a “celebration of being out
and queer,” said Justin Suh ’00, coordinator of SQU and a founding member
of the Queer-Straight Alliance. David Adler ’00, SQU’s Intercultural
Center intern, said he sees it as “a time to unify and solidify our
community, and to make those outside of our community aware of our
presence.”
Among the week’s events is the first meeting of the Queer-Straight
Alliance, tonight at 7:30. The weekly SQU meeting and a movie night will
round out the week on Wednesday at 10 p.m. A meeting for queer and
questioning Jewish students, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, follows the week’s
official events. All activities will take place in the IC.
Earlier events included a jazz party Friday night and a lecture by Pieter
Judson, associate professor of history, about the evolution of queer
issues at Swarthmore. Plans to chalk messages on sidewalks were canceled
because of rain Sunday night.
Swarthmore’s Coming Out Week is being observed a week and a half after
National Coming Out Week, which was celebrated during fall break. The
entire month of October is Gay and Lesbian History Month, according to Suh.
Suh said the week drew mixed responses last year. “From what I remember,
it was sort of shocking for the campus to be exposed to a few in-your-face
messages that we chalked,” he said. “But it sparked discussion, and
discussion is essential to raising awareness.”
*****
3) Roadmark prepares for first LPAC performance
Roadmark, a group that performs student-written fiction, drama, and poetry,
is preparing for a large-scale show later this semester. Founded last year
by Dan Gallant ’98, the group meets every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kirby
Lecture Hall for readings of various student-written pieces.
Having chosen five student-written pieces to perform later this semester,
Roadmark is currently auditioning potential cast members. Writers Gallant,
Isaac Reed ’00, Sarah Scheckter ’00, Andrew Bryce ’00 and Jessica Harbour
’99 spent the weekend screening “about 10 people,” Gallant said, and will
make their final choices after auditions late Tuesday afternoon.
Among other things, auditioners were asked to read a monologue written by
Bryce. The piece, “Spoon River Monologues,” is based on Edgar Lee
Matthews’ “Spoon River Anthology,” in which “people who have lived and
died in this small town come back from the dead and give their final
message,” Bryce said.
Gallant said the Roadmark performance would take place Dec. 6 and 7 in the
Lang Performing Arts Center’s Pearson-Hall Theater. “Last year in the
spring we had a full-scale performance in Paces with two hours of scenes
and an ensemble cast. It was standing-room only,” said Gallant, who added
that he was glad to have the larger LPAC stage to work with this semester.
*****
4) World news roundup
DOW PLUNGES 550 POINTS, SHUTTING DOWN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 554.26 points, or 7.18 percent,
to 7161.15 on Monday. It was the largest point drop ever for the average
but only the 12th biggest in percentage terms. The slide resulted in a
$600 billion loss in stock value. It triggered “circuit breaker” rules,
implemented to prevent future stock market crashes after the Dow lost 22.6
percent on Oct. 19, 1987, that shut down the New York Stock Exchange. The
last time the market closed was after the 1981 assassination attempt on
President Reagan.
JACKSON LEADS MARCH PROTESTING PROP. 209
The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a march to California’s state Capitol on Monday
to protest anti-affirmative action legislation. Jackson has campaigned
against what he called “the undermining of federal civil rights,” advising
the multiracial crowd at the march to pressure public officials not to
implement Proposition 209, which bans race and gender preferences in
public employment, education and contracting. Although a federal appeals
court ruled that Proposition 209 is constitutional, protesters have
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
IN OTHER NEWS…
President Clinton announced that strong economic growth and higher tax
revenues have pushed the federal deficit down to $22.6 billion, the lowest
since 1974. … According to the Worldwatch Institute, over half a billion
small arms — such as grenades, assault rifles and land mines — are in
circulation worldwide, and more than half are in the United States. … A
bomb exploded at Beirut’s American University, destroying part of a
building and a car; there were no casualties.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
TODAY
Field hockey brings Bryn Mawr home for a 3:30 p.m. game.
Women’s soccer travels to Muhlenberg for a 3 p.m. game.
TOMORROW
Men’s soccer journeys to Ursinus for a 3 p.m. battle.
Volleyball stands across the net from Haverford at a 7:30 p.m. away game.
*****
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The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Fred Bush
Kate Doty
Aarti Iyer
Karen Lloyd
Lorrin Nelson
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
Staff Writers
Julie Falk
Jennifer Klein
Trang Pham
Weatherman
Rafi Dowty
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1997 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.