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
Wednesday, February 4, 1998
Volume 2, Number 73
CORRECTION
On Tuesday, February 3, the Gazette reported in the International Club
story that SAC stands for Student Activities Committee. The acronym stands
for Social Affairs Committee.
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) President of NOW speaks to an enthusiastic audience
2) World news roundup
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Track and field performs strongly at Wesleyan Invitational
2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Snow early, then heavy rain; windy with strong gusts.
Don’t bother with umbrellas — they’ll probably break.
Tonight: Very windy, more hard rain. Low of 35.
All this fancy technology, and we still get wet when it rains.
Thursday: Still windy, light rain possible. High near 40.
NEWS REPORT
1) President of NOW speaks to an enthusiastic audience
Anyone aware of the correlation between the importance of a speaker and
amount of vegetation put on the stage where she is supposed to speak would
have known last night that someone of note was visiting. Patricia Ireland,
the president since 1991 of the National Organization of Women, spoke
yesterday at the LPAC. Ireland sat on a stool between bunches of lilies and
told the story of her role in the feminist movement
humorously, humbly, and with much zest.
Her first contact with NOW occurred when she was working as a stewardess
and couldn’t get health benefits for her husband’s dental surgery from the
Pan Am because she was a woman, Ireland said. The end to the story was one
of her favorites, she said–she went on to become the president of NOW, the
woman from NOW who helped her get her health benefits is currently in
Congress, and Pan Am is bankrupt.
Ireland said that her favorite definition of feminism was from Rebecca
West–“I can’t distinguish exactly what feminism is; I just know that it’s
what people call me when I express sentiments that differ from those of a
doormat”–a
fierce but not blindly angry understanding of her situation that was
reflected in the speech she gave. “They were talking recently about the
Year of the Woman,” she said. “Do they think that we will be satisfied with
one year and one woman?” She included descriptions of advancements just as
often as she mentioned incidents or statistics of how women continue to be
wronged.
For example, in the recent picketing of Mitsubishi dealerships for their
attempts to uncover their female employees’ past sex lives in order to
prove their promiscuity, the women from NOW kept up a continous protest
across the country until the dealers went back to Japan for a stockholders
meeting, Ireland said: “No doubt they were thinking that they were glad to
be getting away from all of these crazy American women. But what do you
think was the first thing they saw when they got back to Tokyo? A group of
Japanese women picketing the stock building.”
She related some more sobering statistics as well, though: in the last
20 years, there have been 1700 violent attacks on abortion clinics–7 per
month; and a woman working for Saks Fifth Avenue who was raped by a
security guard, who attempted to sue the company for disregard of the
reports of his sexual harassment which led to his crime, was told that she
had no grounds for a court case and that she should go to the workmans comp
office instead. Nevertheless, Ireland’s methods include humor as often as
not. To an irate cab driver who once complained to her that feminists have
no sense of humor, she replied, “What’s a gross stupidity? 144 men.”
*****
2) World news roundup
ALBRIGHT ENDS MIDEAST TOUR; SAYS ARABS MAY SUPPORT US AGAINST IRAQ
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright returned from a whirlwind visit to
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Palestinian Authority
yesterday, saying that all of the leaders she met with would not object to
the use of force against Iraq if diplomatic measures fail to force that
country to comply with UN weapons inspection teams. However, Albright
noted that the leaders of the Arab states are more optimistic than the US
that diplomatic measures will be suffici ent to force Iraqi compliance.
An Arab League delegation is scheduled to visit Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein. Only Great Britain has said that it is unconditionally willing
to support US military action against Iraq.
STORMS ON BOTH COASTS DRENCH CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA
Powerful storms in both Florida and California caused extensive flooding
on both coasts and left hundreds of thousands without power. On the West
Coast, a storm stretched the entire length of California, stopping Amtrak
service from San Diego to Seattle, and leaving motorists in LA stranded on
top of their cars. In Florida, several ships were driven aground, and the
storm is now affecting areas which have not had electric power since last
week. Two deaths have been attributed to the storms.
IN OTHER NEWS…
Texas executed Carla Faye Tucker, who had been convicted of two 1983
pick-axe murders, although she had since become a born-again-Christian and
her plea for clemency was supported by many high-profile advocates of the
death penalty. … Charlie Trie, indicted on charges of using donations
to buy access to President Clinton during the 1996 presidential campaign,
surrendered to FBI agents at Dulles airport, near Washington, DC. … A US
marine plane on a training mission in Italy clipped a cable car line with
its wing, sending 20 skiers from a resort in Cavalese to their deaths. …
Researchers from the University of Washington have found the AIDS virus in
blood samples taken from a man who died in what is now Kinshasa, Zaire, in
1959. … Gas tanks in a refrigeration factory in York, PA, (about 100
miles west of Swarthmore) exploded, killing one workman and sending chunks
of metal flying as far as 12 blocks.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Track and field performs strongly at Wesleyan Invitational
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams finished fourth out of
seventeen teams at the Wesleyan Invitational Friday night. The men were
led by co-captain Wyndam Strodtbeck ’98, who won the 1000 meter open run.
On the women’s side, the powerful 800 meter relay of Catherine Laine ’98,
Danielle Duffy ’98, Raylene Ross ’00 and Desiree Peterkin ’00 blew away the
rest of the field. Peterkin also won the tripple jump with Laine taking
third. Both teams had strong showings in the 1600 meter relays, each
finishing second. The men’s 3200 meter relay also finished second. Both
the men’s and women’s teams will be in action on Saturday for a home meet.
2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
TODAY
Men’s basketball travels to Haverford for an 8:00 p.m. contest.
Women’s basketball treks to Haverford for a 6:00 p.m. battle.
TOMORROW
Badminton hosts Bryn Mawr in a 7:30 p.m. match.
*****
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The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Mary Elizabeth Alvarez
Ross Bowling
Massey Burke
Fred Bush
Steve Dawson
Lorrin Nelson
Cathy Polinsky
Staff Writers
Elizabeth Weber
Aarti Iyer
Tamala Montgomery
Josh Bess
Nathanael Stulman
Weatherman
Rafi Dowty
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1998 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.