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, November 10, 1998
Volume 3, Number 40
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Ballroom and Swing Club granted funding
2) Several meetings held to discuss IC vandalism
3) SWIL alumni descend on campus for weekend of fun, frolic, and fond
memories
4) World news roundup
5) Campus events
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Rain. High of 57.
Haven’t seen this one in a while…
Tonight: Rainy and windy. Lows in the upper 50s.
At least now we’ll have more incentive to run to class.
Tomorrow: Thunderstorms. High of 64.
*****
NEWS REPORT
1) Ballroom and Swing Club granted funding
Sunday morning, the Ballroom and Swing Club appeared before the Student
Budget Committee to request funding for the remainder of the year. Of the
$7305 requested, $3475 was awarded. As this expenditure exceeds $1000, it
will have to be approved by Student Council next Thursday. At the same
time, BS Club plans to appeal SBC’s decision, and ask for more money. SBC
member Marvin Barron ’02, who facilitated the meeting, said “I think that
they were funded fairly considering our current Discretionary Fund
constraints.” The fund now has less than $20,000 remaining.
One of the main points of contention between BS Club and SBC was whether
student instructors should be retroactively paid for the past few weeks. On
page 4 of the Organization Treasurer’s Handbook, it states, “Budget
Committee does not fund retroactively.” BS Club representatives indicated
that it was through ensuring student instructors that they would be funded
beforehand that attendance at swing and ballroom instruction attracts over
one hundred students weekly. In an e-mail to the BS Club mailing list, club
secretary Al Bui ’02 wrote “Unfortunately, your fellow
students who taught you since the beginning of the semester are getting
nothing for their efforts. Yes, you read it right, Rachel and Peter, our
enthusiastic, wonderful Swing instructors are getting [expletive deleted].”
Rachel McKnight ’00, however, who has been an instructor in Swing dancing
since the start of the club, volunteered, “If I knew they weren’t going to
pay me, I would still have done it because I really love this club.”
Other cuts included SBC’s decision to provide funding for professional
ballroom instructors every other week, rather than every week, on the
grounds that a student workshop can be held on off weeks. Refreshments were
cut from $100 to $40, and $520 for student DJs (who would have been paid
$10 per hour) was eliminated from the budget.
Allen Friedman ’02, Vice-President and Treasurer of the Ballroom and Swing
Club, vigorously objected to the amount of funding. He said that BS Club
instructors should at least be reimbursed for the three weeks in which the
group lacked a charter due to “bureaucracy inefficiency.” He said that “no
club is as large as Ballroom and Swing Club,” and asked “how can innovative
student groups come about without being able to get funding later [for
their early costs]?”
Josh Bess ’00, Student Budget Committee Treasurer, responded by saying that
“the hardest part of Budget Committee’s job is saying no… In a perfect
world we would have all the money that groups would want.” He said, “We are
very lucky to have the autonomy that we do. [Groups at Swarthmore] don’t
have to go through the college’s bureaucracy, and with that comes
responsibility on the students who make the funding decisions to make them
carefully. To do this best, we have to go through the processes.”
Student Council will decide whether to approve BS club’s funding at their
next meeting, which will be held in Kohlberg 228 at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
*****
2) Several meetings held to discuss IC vandalism
In response to the vandalism of the Intercultural Center Sunday evening,
several meetings were held to address the incident. These included a
special meeting of the Dean’s Advisory Council, a later meeting of the DAC
with board members of the support groups that are associated with the
Intercultural Center, and a meeting in Parrish Parlours that was open to
all campus support group members.
This DAC meeting was the first for three out of the five student members.
It focused mainly on how the administration could best support the IC
community, how to educate the community to help prevent similar events from
occurring in the future, and what can be done now to help students feel
safe. DAC member Meredith Hegg ’00 said that she was impressed by the
Dean’s eagerness to aid the IC groups, but added, “I see it as my
responsibility as a student on the Dean’s Advisory Council to push the
administration to make a more definitive statement on this [incident] to
the student body than they have in the past.” Hegg also stressed that she
and the other students on DAC welcome all student input.
Later on, DAC met with representatives from the boards of the three groups
served by the Intercultural Center, namely the Swarthmore Asian
Organization (SAO), the Hispanic Organization for Latino/a Awareness
(HOLA), and the Swarthmore Queer Union. HOLA President Isaac Mireles ’00
said, “I was pleased to see the support from the faculty and the
administration, but preventive action should have been taken a long time
ago.” He said that it was also important to note that unlike many of the
hate incidents so far in the semester, the IC incident was vandalism, and
thus a crime punishable by law. Many of the support group representatives
were primarily interested in receiving assurances that the deans would do
all within their power to find the vandals, and that they would be severely
punished. Several students at the meeting independently praised President
Al Bloom for being particularly helpful.
Finally, a meeting to which all campus support group members were welcome
was held in Parrish Parlours yesterday evening. It was facilitated by SAO
President Jenny Yang ’00 and SQU Co-coordinator Ben Maulbeck ’00, and
attended by well over one hundred students. Ideas discussed included a
letter-writing campaign to make alumni and parents aware of recent hate
incidents, and a rally, which will be held on Thursday, at 12:30 p.m.
Students at the meeting also discussed many ideas concerning how hate acts
can be prevented in the future. “We’re not just reacting to this one
incident,” stressed Yang.
*****
3) SWIL alumni descend on campus for weekend of fun, frolic, and fond
memories
Many Swarthmore alumni were on campus this past weekend in honor of the
twentieth anniversary of Swarthmore Warders of Imaginative Literature
(SWIL). They came from all over the United States, some accompanied by
their spouses and children, to attend the reunion. More than fifty alumni
and twenty current students attended Saturday’s SWIL meeting, which filled
the small room in Sharples. The weekend’s festivities included a group
photo, a “treasure hunt,” Wink, an English country dance, storyreading,
singing (or “filking”), a “parade” of past SWIL t-shirts, and various
strategy and parlor games. In addition to these activities there was much
reminiscing. Alumni ranging from the class of 1981 to the class of 1998
helped compile a timeline of events extending from SWIL’s inception in 1978
to the present. The timeline will be added to SWIL archives for posterity.
Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Jim Moskowitz ’88 described the
weekend as a “your typical fifty people who haven’t seen each other in
anywhere from three months to ten years acting like it was five minutes ago
celebration.” Anne Mylott ’83 enjoyed seeing friends from the past and
meeting new ones; Mylott explained, “These people are wonderful! They
discuss the morality of genetic engineering and then turn around and try to
juggle boomerangs horizontally.” Kir Talmage ’89 found the reunion
rejuvenating and delightful, noting, “You know how you need a bath every so
often? This is like a mental/play bath.” This was SWIL’s fourth reunion;
past reunions marked the club’s 10th, 13th, and 15th anniversaries.
*****
4) World news roundup
LIVINGSTON LIKELY TO BECOME HOUSE SPEAKER
Representative Bob Livingston, a Republican from Louisiana, is considered
the likely replacement for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who
resigned from his position on Friday. Livingston told news services that he
expects to gain the 112 votes he needs within the next two days; he already
has 100. He is presently Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, which
allocates funds for government spending. Livingston is considered a
moderate Republican and his party’s most pragmatic choice for leadership,
now that their margin of majority has dropped to a slender 6 votes.
DALAI LAMA ISSUES PLEA FROM WASHINGTON
Speaking to the International Campaign for Tibet this weekend, the Dalai
Lama issued a plea for international help in saving the Tibetan culture.
Tibet, which has been a province of China since 1951, was formerly an
independent country twice the size of France; 7 million ethnic Tibetans
live in China today. Chinese President Jiang Zemin suggested this summer
that he would welcome talks with the Dalai Lama, though no definite plans
have been made.
IN OTHER NEWS…
Irish Envoy Albert Reynolds told news sources Monday that he believes Iraq
is prepared to compromise on arms inspection to avoid a military strike.
Reynolds met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz on Sunday… The
Supreme Court ruled yesterday to allow Wisconsin to provide tuition
vouchers of up to $5000 for children attending private schools… The
Supreme Court also rejected two White House appeals yesterday, ruling that
confidentiality does not apply to either President Clinton’s White House
lawyers or to his Secret Service agents.
*****
5) Campus events
Dialogues
Mephistos, 8:30 p.m.
Georgetown Law Center Info Session
Bond, 3:00 p.m.
Black Studies Screening: “The Call of the Jitterbug”
Kohlberg 228, 7:00 p.m.
Movie: “The Distinguished Gentleman”
Kohlberg 116, 7:30 p.m.
Peter Schmidt Poetry Reading
Scheuer Room, 8:00 p.m.
Ballroom Practice
Upper Tarble, 9:30 p.m.
Movie Joy Evening
Kohlberg 116, 10:00 p.m.
****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
TODAY
No contests are scheduled for today
TOMORROW
Men’s swimming hosts Franklin & Marshal at 6:30 p.m.
Women’s swimming hosts Franklin & Marshal at 6:30 p.m.
*****
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The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1998 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.