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, February 27, 1998
Volume 2, Number 90
CORRECTIONS
In Thursday’s Daily Gazette, the article on the IC Round Table discussion
contained errors. The shaving cream incident took place in Mertz last
semester, not Willets. Also, the full text of the shaving cream message was
“Fuck Fag —— —–” (the student’s name has been withheld by request –
11/02).
The message targeted the student specifically.
The following movie was inadvertently left off of Upcoming movies on campus:
MICKEY MOUSE GOES TO HAITI Monday, 3/2 8:00 Kirby
A documentary on Disney’s labor practices in Haiti, where clothing workers
are paid 28 cents an hour. Workers who appeared in the film risked being
fired. (Documentary, 28 minutes, 1996).
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Pulitzer Prize-winning poet visits Swarthmore
2) World news roundup
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Today’s and this weekend’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Morning sun, afternoon clouds. High of 50.
Power failures, midterms and wind storms, oh my!
Tonight: Chance of rain in the evening. Low of 32.
Extended Weekend Forecast
Saturday: Mostly sunny and mild. High in the low to mid 40’s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. High near 50.
Sexy senior seeks witty weatherman. Meet me at the coffee bar 11am
Saturday with the flower of your choice.
NEWS REPORT
1) Pulitzer Prize-winning poet visits Swarthmore
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa delivered a stirring reading
of his poetry last night to a packed house in Kohlberg’s Schuerer Room.
Komunyakaa won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Neon Vernacular: Selected
Poems 1977-89 in 1994. Last night he read selections from his latest work,
Thieves of Paradise, and selections from other works.
Both current and former members of the Swarthmore community came to hear
Komunyakaa speak. “He can really capture the essence of a visual image,”
noted Kia Hayes ’00, who also attended a poetry workshop featuring
Komunyakaa earlier that day. “I was curious,” remarked retired Swarthmore
Professor Kathryn Morgan.
Reactions to Komunyakaa were very positive. Jessica Fisher ’98 described
his poetry as “amazing.” Delila Leber ’98 commented, “I think that his
reading and his poetry is like a song.” Observers drew analogies between
his poetry and Jazz.
Komunyakaa himself acknowledged the connection between his poetry and Jazz
music. “It introduces a certain improvisation and it makes one aware of
the natural rhythm patterns in everyday speech. I think of language as
music.”
According to Peter Schmidt, Professor of English, Komunyakaa’s visit
intended to give students of poetry the chance to understand poetry through
the voice of a “living writer.” The reading was co-sponsored by the Cooper
Foundation, English Department, the Black Cultural Center, and the College
libraries.
*****
2) World news roundup
US LIFTS NARCOTICS-RELATED SANCTIONS ON COLUMBIA
The US lifted two year old trade sanctions with Columbia, saying that the
country has increased its efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs to the
US. The sanctions have cost Columbia nearly a billion dollars in US aid
over the past two years. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that
the coming departure of Columbian President Ernesto Samper from office was
one of the major factors influencing the State Department decision;
sanctions were imposed on Columbia after Samper came to power, allegedly
with campaign funds provided by Columbia’s drug barons. Only Afghanistan,
Burma, Iran, and Nigeria remain on the list of countries which have not
been certified by the State Department as cooperative with US anti-drug
efforts and subject to sanctions. However, Columbia has not yet joined the
list of countries which the State Department deems fully cooperative with
US anti-drug efforts.
STARR INTERVIEWS ANOTHER WHITE HOUSE AIDE, AS DEMOCRATS CRY FOUL
In their continuing investigation into allegations that President Clinton
had an affair with a former intern and then persuaded her to lie about it
under oath, federal prosecutors with the office of Whitewater Special
Prosecutor Kenneth Starr called White House Senior Communications aide
Sidney Blumenthal before a Grand Jury. Blumenthal said that he was asked
about conversations with the President and the media concerning the special
prosecutor. Meanwhile, 14 Democratic members of the House Judiciary
Committee have written to the Attorney General, accusing Starr of tampering
with freedom of the press.
IN OTHER NEWS…
Members of the UN Security Council are working on a resolution concerning
the recent weapons inspection agreement reached with Iraq; the US and
Britain want a resolution threatening Iraq with the use of force if it
fails to live up to the agreement, while Russia, China, and France say they
will not agree to such a thing. … “Free speech not only lives. It
rocks!”, said talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, after a Texas jury dismissed an
11 million dollar beef-libel suit brought against her by a group of
cattlemen who argued that a 1996 show on Mad Cow disease had damaged their
businesses. … Millions of pages of internal tobacco industry documents
will be released on the Internet today, in accordance with promises made by
industry leaders to Congress last month. … A full solar eclipse swept
across a swath of Latin America yesterday, in the last such event visible
from the Western Hemisphere until 2017.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Today’s and this weekend’s contests
TODAY
Men’s and women’s track and field travel to Dickinson to compete in the
Centennial Conference Championship meet at 5:30 p.m.
Badminton travels to Bryn Mawr for the Mid-Atlantic Tournament.
SATURDAY:
Men’s tennis hosts Kutztown at 11:00 a.m.
Women’s rugby hosts Lehigh at 11:00 a.m.
Men’s Ultimate travels to Lehigh for an all day tournament.
SUNDAY:
Skinny Awkward Tools and BA Barakus square off in the Non-Comp Intramural
Basketball Championship at 2:00 p.m.
*****
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
Mary Elizabeth Alvarez
Ross Bowling
Massey Burke
Fred Bush
Steve Dawson
Lorrin Nelson
Cathy Polinsky
Elizabeth Weber
Staff Writers
Josh Bess
Tamala Montgomery
Nathanael Stulman
Jennifer Klein
Aarti Iyer
Temporary Weatherman
Steve Dawson
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1998 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.
