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, November 7, 1997
Volume 2, Number 45
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Students weigh pros, cons of new student center
2) World news roundup
3) Weekend party plans
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Today’s and this weekend’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Overcast, windy, light rain all day. High around 50.
Gray skies are gonna clear up — put on a happy face.
Tonight: Same as today, only darker. Low near 45.
Just kidding (see below).
EXTENDED WEEKEND FORECAST
Saturday: More rain likely. High of 55.
Sunday: Intermittent showers. High close to 50.
NEWS REPORT
1) Students weigh pros, cons of new student center
Students are divided about whether the College should build a new student
center. One of many projects being considered by the College Planning
Committee and the Board of Managers, the student center is still in “the
dream stage,” according to Coordinator of Student Activities Davirah
Timm-Dinkins.
“I’d rather have a parking lot. But I do think I’d do work there (in a
student center). The only thing is that it’s so much money, there are so
many other things they could spend it on, like financial aid, a parking
lot, improving the weight room,” said Liz Ryan ’00.
Last year, Student Council tried to focus debate more on the College’s
financial aid spending than on the possibility of a student center,
according to former SC Co-Chair Sean Barney ’98. “The student center was
not really a big issue because students felt that resources could be
better put to financial aid,” Barney said.
To get a sense of students’ opinions, Timm-Dinkins e-mailed a survey to
the leaders of all student organizations. “Many students like it the way
it is, with all of the groups meeting in different places,” she said.
“Some think that’s what makes Swarthmore the unique place that it is.”
Most of the current discussion centers around whether a new building is
needed, Timm-Dinkins said. “There is a lot of middle ground between not
building a student center and building a new structure,” she explained. A
major renovation to Parrish, for example, could allow it to act as a “de
facto student center.”
“We already have Parrish Parlors and Kohlberg. I like the ambiance of the
places we have now,” said Ryan. “What about if instead of building a
whole new student center they just improved the spaces already on campus?”
“If the buildings now had nice carpets and chairs, people would use them,”
agreed Rohan Hoole ’00.
But Reena Vaidya ’00, co-head of DESHI, felt that “a new building that is
well-equipped would be optimal.” She explained, “In terms of campus life,
a common space could do a lot.”
*****
2) World news roundup
IRAQ TALKS END WITH NO RESOLUTION IN SIGHT
Meetings between Iraqi officials and a U.N.. delegation ended Thursday, and
there was no sign that either side would soon back down in the dispute over
Iraq’s decision banning U.S. citizens from U.N. disarmament inspection
teams. Members of the delegation offered no details of the talks but said
they would hold a news conference today. For the fourth time this week,
inspections were canceled after Iraq turned away American inspectors at
weapons sites. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen warned that Iraq could
face tighter economic sanctions or military strikes if it did not allow
Americans to participate in the inspections.
FLOODS KILL AT LEAST 30 IN SPAIN, PORTUGAL
The heaviest fall rains in memory sent rivers over their banks late
Wednesday and early Thursday in southern Spain and Portugal, killing at
least 30 people, many of whom were trapped in their homes by quickly rising
floodwaters. Hundreds more were left homeless. Winds of up to 60 mph
knocked down trees and power lines, and water and debris blocked major
highways and train routes. At least 10 percent of the cotton crop was
destroyed in the Spanish province of Andalusia.
IN OTHER NEWS …
Senate negotiators agreed Thursday on a plan that would give Amtrak $2.3
billion in investment funds if it reforms its business practices; a vote on
the legislation is expected today. … Two people died and 450 more fell
ill with food poisoning this week after eating a church dinner Sunday in
Chaptico, Maryland. … Sir Isaiah Berlin, the British philosopher and
intellectual historian known for his writings on freedom, died Wednesday
night at the age of 88.
*****
3) Weekend party plans
The Social Affairs Committee is funding several events this weekend, SAC
members said. The activities are:
*A party on Parrish 4th from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday.
*A fashion and talent show at 7 p.m. Friday in Upper Tarble, sponsored by
SASS and the Intercultural Center; a party follows from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
in the Black Cultural Center.
*A pre-formal party at the Delta Upsilon house from 9 p.m. to midnight
Saturday.
*The fall formal, “A Night on the Town,” from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday in
Upper Tarble.
All SAC-funded events are free and open to the entire student body.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Today’s and this weekend’s contests
TODAY
There are no contests scheduled for today.
SATURDAY
Wrestling hosts the Swarthmore Take-Down Tournament.
Women’s rugby hosts Shippensburg at 1 p.m. on DuPont Field.
Field hockey hosts the ECAC Division III mid-Atlantic championships, in
which Swarthmore plays Drew at 11 a.m.
Football hosts Western Maryland at 1 p.m. for Parents’ Day.
Men’s soccer heads to Haverford for a 1 p.m. game.
Men’s and women’s Ultimate travel to U. Penn. for a two-day coed
tournament.
SUNDAY
The first race in the intramural department’s Frozen Foote series starts
at 11 a.m. at the field house lobby.
The championship game in the ECAC field hockey tournament will be
played here at noon.
*****
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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
Trang Pham
Jennifer Klein
Contributing Writer
Josh Bess
Weatherman
Rafi Dowty
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1997 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.