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, March 23, 1998
Volume 2, Number 101
RESPONSE TO THE READER SURVEYS
Many thanks to all 303 of you who replied to our reader surveys. The staff
of the Gazette was pleased to hear from its readership concerning our
performance as a news service to both people on campus and the extended
college community. Heeding your suggestion, we are planning to add a new
section to appear daily which briefly outlines upcoming cultural events
here at Swarthmore. In order to facilitate this addition, we are soliciting
one or two volunteers to help coordinate this effort. The answer to our
question concerning the mailing of each section of the Gazette separately
was a resounding no, so the Gazette will remain in one piece for you to
scroll through at your leisure. We are still contemplating the addition of
an opinion/letters to the editor section, possibly as a different edition
sent out weekly.
In other business, we will be doing a second printing of Daily Gazette
t-shirts, which sell for $8. Send an email to management to place an order.
As always, we thank you, the devoted readers, for making us feel like the
time it takes to produce this publication is well-spent. The best way to
show your support and appreciation is by recruiting more subscribers and
keeping the staff informed on events on campus. We can only report what we
hear about, so keep us posted through the emails listed at the bottom of
every edition of the Gazette.
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) SWIL sponsors 15th annual Pterodactyl Hunt despite nasty weather
2) Alumni return to campus to network with students
3) World news roundup
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Gerson represents Swarthmore in NCAA National Swimming Championships
2) Volleyball destroys Widener
3) Men’s lacrosse ups Wooster College
4) Rainy weather forces teams to postpone contests
5) Weekend scoreboard
5) Upcoming contests
WEATHER REPORT
Today: Hardly a break in the clouds. High of 50.
I am not happy about this weather.
Tonight: Cloudy again. Low near 30.
Hopefully, someone with more power than me is reading this.
Tuesday: Mostly overcast. High around 50.
NEWS REPORT
1) SWIL sponsors Pterodactyl Hunt despite nasty weather
Orcs, Monsters, and Adventurers were out in force for the 15th annual
Pterodactyl hunt Friday night hosted by Swarthmore Warders of Imaginary
Literature on North Campus. The Hunt begun with the Folk Dance Club and
continues today as “good harmless fun even though you’re killing people”
according to Seth Murray ’98. Murray is a devotee of the event and its
master, both vanquishing a prized pterodactyl and killing the most
monsters. His swashbuckling efforts were rewarded with pizza and candy.
Although it was rainy, windy, and cold, many members of the college
community took part in the festivities. Melissa Binde ’98, one of the
coordinators of the event commented, “Because of the rain, turnout was
lower than expected, but the high level of enthusiasm more than made up for
it.” About 100 people participated altogether. The fresh blood was strong
in competition as Galen O’Toole ’01 killed the other pterodactyl and
finished third place behind Murray and John Christodouleas ’98 for most
monsters killed.
A highlight was the return to North Campus after four years displacement
due to construction. Binde noted, “it was better because there were more
places to hide.” Cathy Polinsky ’99 was one of the pterodactyls armed with
a water pistol to ward off potential assassins and said, “it was cold and I
was wet, but it was fun anyway.”
*****
2) Alumni return to campus to network with students
The college was alive with the return of hordes of alumni for various
events this past weekend. The Alumni Council met this weekend and heard
presentations from the Student Academic Mentoring program and Health
Sciences advising. Dorrie Morrell Leader ’44 said, “You’ve really put a
human face on Swarthmore for us” in her comments after the panel discussion
concerning mentoring and advising at Swarthmore.
In conjunction with Career Planning and Placement, the second annual
networking dinner was held in Tarble-in-Clothier preceded by a reception in
the Scheuer room. Almost 100 students of all classes were in attendance to
meet and mingle with alumni from a wide variety of backgrounds and
interests. The dinner tables were organized according to fields of
interest. Some reported that the eclectic table had the liveliest
discussion. While the science table had many eager students, no alumni
chose to sit. Claire Baxter ’98 suggested “we sign up for tables in
advance to ensure alumni-student interaction.”
Also part of the party was the Black Alumni Weekend sponsored by Swarthmore
African-American Students Society. Events included workshops, discussions
and the production Dilemma of a Ghost. Michelle McKeithan ’00, who was part
of the planning process for the weekend said, “We got to talk about a lot
of issues surrounding the status of the Black community. It was nice to get
their perspective.”
Taking SASS’s lead, Swarthmore Asian Organization sponsored its first ever
Asian-American Alumni weekend. Because of many factors including late
publicity and a fairly new structure for Asian-American connections,
attendance was sparse. Jen Lee ’98 remarked, “We got the message out and
hopefully the idea of a return to campus planned around events specifically
important to Asian-Americans will be planted.” The event was not a total
bust, as Provost Jennie Keith was still made available to discuss
strategies to bring more minority scholars to campus. Jenny Yang ’00
stated, “it was important to set this as a precedent.” The largest
collection of alumni on campus occurs in June after graduation when the
college hosts its annual reunion weekend.
*****
3) World news roundup
MEN’S NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Saturday:
WEST REGIONAL EAST REGIONAL
Utah (3) 76 North Carolina (1) 75
Arizona (1) 51 Connecticut (2) 64
Sunday:
MIDWEST REGIONAL SOUTH REGIONAL
Stanford (3) 79 Kentucky (2) 86
Rhode Island (8) 77 Duke (1) 84
REPUBLIC OF CONGO EXPELS U.N. INVESTIGATORS
On Sunday the Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) told a U.N. team of
investigators that they would have to leave by March 31. The team had been
exhuming graves as part of their investigation into the alleged massacres
by government forces. Congolese military authorities accused the U.N. of
desecrating graves. The massacres allegedly occurred during the country’s
seven-month civil rebellion last May. Investigators suspect that the
killings occurred in revenge for the 1994 genocide by Hutu rebels of
500,000 Tutusis in neighboring Rwanda.
SINN FEIN REENTERS NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE TALKS
After being barred from talks in February as punishment for violence
attributed to the Irish Republican Army, Sinn Fein, the political party of
the IRA, will rejoin negotiations today in Belfast. The goal is to reach a
resolution by Easter between the Catholic and Protestant opposition that
will end the constant warfare that has plagued Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein
leader Gerry Adams stated he wants no compromise, but complete union with
Catholic Ireland to the south. Protestant leaders want to remain under
British rule as part of the United Kingdom. An independent coalition
government will be proposed with a system of checks to allow both parties
room to govern themselves. Participants in talk are hopeful, but are trying
to play down high expectations for lasting peace. March 9th was the
original date set to commence negotiations, but Sinn Fein delayed joining
until after meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London and
President Clinton in Washington, DC. Chief negotiator for Sinn Fein,
Martin McGuinness, has a positive outlook and hopes to have constructive
dialogue in order to end the violence.
IN OTHER NEWS
Ethnic Albanians boycotted Serbian institutions and held a vote in Kosovo
yesterday for their own president and parliament. The elections were
dismissed as illegal and held against the advice of UN nations. Most
countries support autonomy for Kosovo, but not independence from Serbia.
…SEPTA and its largest union, consisting of bus and trolley drivers enter
their second week of contract negotiations. …Chief UN weapons inspector
Richard Butler is back in Baghdad and predicted work would proceed swiftly
to find Iraq’s armament stockpile. …Recently released files of
Mississippi’s Sovereignty Commission reveal that ordinary citizens were its
main targets of surveillance. …The Clintons began a ground breaking
12-day trip to Africa yesterday. This most ambitious tour to date by a US
president will include stops in Botswana, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South
Africa, and Uganda…
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Gerson represents Swarthmore in NCAA National Swimming Championships
Fred Gerson ’99 travelled to St. Louis last week to compete in the NCAA
Divisions III National Swimming Championship. Gerson qualified in the 100
and 200 breaststroke and was the lone Swarthmore student to get invited to
the meet this year. He finished 17th in the 100 breaststroke just missing
All-American status. Gerson commented on the experience, “It was a fast and
fun meet…It was kinda tough being there by myself where ESPN Sportscenter
was my best friend, plus Howard Stern is not on in St. Louis. I’m looking
forward to going next year, though when we qualify more swimmers and a
relay.”
*****
2) Volleyball destroys Widener
The Swarthmore men’s volleyball team defeated visiting Widener 3 games to
none Sunday afternoon. The men overpowered the visiting squad with brutal
kills and superior overall athleticism. George Matula ’98 provided plenty
of lift with his 19 kills and 15 blocks and Imran Posner ’00 had 10 kills
and 7 blocks. Charlie Ellis ’00 added 12 kills while Tony Cho ’01 continued
his fantastic setting pouring in 50 assists. The small but vocal crowd also
overpowered the visitors, drowning any Widener cheer with devastating
pro-Swarthmore rallies.
*****
3) Men’s lacrosse ups Wooster College
The men’s lacrosse team beat Wooster College 4-3 on Saturday. Steve Shin
’98 led the team with two goals. Mark Dingfield ’01 and Tobie Patterson
’00 each scored a goal. Goalie Sig Rydquist ’00 had 12 saves in the game.
*****
4) Rainy weather forces teams to postpone contests
Saturday’s women’s lacrosse was postponed due to poor field conditions.
Saturday’s men’s baseball was postponed due to poor field conditions.
Sunday’s softball game was postponed due to poor field conditions.
*****
5) Weekend scoreboard
Men’s tennis:
Swarthmore 3 Emory 4
Men’s Rugby
Swarthmore 28 University of Pennsylvania 25
Women’s Rugby
Swarthmore 5 University of Pennsylvania 0
Swarthmore 0 University of Pennsylvania 10 (B side)
Women’s Ultimate at University of Maryland:
Swarthmore 9 Princeton 10
Swarthmore 13 Maryland 9
Swarthmore 2 Cornell 13
Swarthmore 7 University of Vermont 1
*****
5) Upcoming contests
TODAY
Baseball travels to Widener for a 3:15 p.m. game.
Golf hosts Philadelphia Pharmacy and Drexel at 1:00 p.m.
TOMORROW
Women’s lacrosse jets to Washington College for a 4:00 p.m. match.
Softball hosts Washington in a double header starting at 2:30 p.m.
Women’s tennis hosts Washington in a 3:30 p.m. match.
*****
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
Joseph Genereux
Aarti Iyer
Jennifer Klein
Tamala Montgomery
Nathanael Stulman
Maureen Vernon
Weatherman
Rafi Dowty
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1998 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.
