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 13, 1998
Volume 3, Number 43
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) “Respect, Safety, Unity” rally attracts hundreds
2) Housing Committee adopts new lottery policy
3) World news roundup
4) Campus events
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid-50s.
It’s Friday the 13th!
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid to upper 30s.
Watch out for black cats, stay away from ladders and don’t talk to
anyone named Freddy.
Extended Weekend Forecast
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid-50s.
Sunday: Fair. Highs in the mid-40s to mid-50s.
NEWS REPORT
1) “Respect, Safety, Unity” rally attracts hundreds
Cries of “Respect, safety, unity!” echoed through the campus yesterday
afternoon as students gathered in front of Parrish to show their support
for the Intercultural Center (IC). An estimated 500 to 550 students
attended the rally, which was organized by members of support groups,
diversity groups, the administration, and the faculty and student body in
response to the recent vandalism of the IC. Jenny Yang ’00 and Michelle
McKeithan ’00 were the Masters of Ceremony; other speakers on the program
were Benedict Maulbeck ’99, Maria McMath ’99, Jackie Aponte ’02, Rodney
Morris ’00, Katrina Clark ’01, Marissa Colston ’00, and Yuhki Tajima ’99.
In addition, over 25 members of the Tri-Co community spoke during the Open
Mike segment of the rally.
Many of the speakers expressed outrage at the violation of the IC, and they
stressed the importance of “respect, safety, and unity” on campus. Morris
emphasized the value of support groups and spaces such as the IC, saying
that students need a place where they can go and “not be embarrassed, not
be afraid, not be alone…. Whey you violate that space, you violate me.”
Aponte reminded the audience of similar incidents which have occurred here
over the years. Aponte added, “[Swarthmore] is not an ivory tower where we
can hide behind our thoughts, our theories, our books, and our equations.”
Some students, like Open Mike speaker Josh Tropp ’01, were more optimistic.
“We have to remember that this is a handful of bad apples doing bad things,
a handful of people who are hateful and scared,” noted Tropp. The general
message of the speakers was one encouraging diversity and understanding.
Many individuals were moved by the candor and emotion of the speeches, most
notably the speech by Maulbeck. Maulbeck described his initial revulsion
upon hearing about the violation of the IC: “I was overcome by tears and
mucus… It wasn’t a good cry; it was a bad cry… I barely slept that
night.” When he described his current feeling of “inspiration” and “tears
of hope” at the sight of support and unity at the rally, several audience
members wiped their own eyes. Anna Maria Cobo, Director of the IC, elicited
more tears as she described how she “felt as if [her] home had been
violated” and the painful healing process which lies ahead for herself and
the campus.
Many students considered the rally a success. Several speakers noted how
“empowering” the rally was and how safe they felt among their peers. Other
students praised how the rally reaffirmed the solidarity of the campus and
engendered dialogue regarding multiculturalism. Sarah Bergstrom ’00
expressed hope that the campus will remain unified “tomorrow, next week,
next month, next year, when no one has to hurt us to bring us together.”
2) Housing Committee adopts new lottery policy
On Monday, the Housing Committee decided to recommend the adoption of a new
lottery insurance policy effective for the class of 2002. The new policy is
more extensive than the current lottery insurance policy and will prevent
students from choosing housing in the lower half of their class three years
consecutively.
The so-called “cohort” system will divide the rising sophomore class into
three cohorts, based on the order in which rising Sophomores choose rooms.
Each cohort will choose rooms in the upper third of the class one year, in
the lower third of the class another year, and in the middle third for the
remaining year. The cohorts will be determined after the lottery for
Sophomore housing and will be based on the order in which the rising
Sophomores actually choose housing rather than simply on their lottery
numbers. Since many sophomores with low numbers will choose rooms based on
their roommates’ higher lottery numbers, the cohorts will be determined by
the actual order of room choosing rather than the lottery numbers of each
individual student. Students receiving blocks as rising sophomores will be
placed in the same cohort as students who choose in the upper third of the
class.
According to Housing Dean Myrt Westphal, this year was a natural time to
reevaluate housing lottery policies because the housing office is switching
to a new data base. The Housing Committee was initially hesitant to adopt
the new lottery system but came to a consensus in favor of it after a
proposal to make cohort assignment based on order of room selection rather
than lottery numbers. Westphal indicated that the perception that the new
lottery system was more fair was critical in its adoption. The new lottery
rules have yet to be integrated into the housing office’s computer program.
“These are the principles we want to have in the new lottery system. Now we
have to see if we can do it,” Westphal noted. However, she was confident
that the new system could be implemented for the upcoming spring housing
lottery.
*****
3) World news roundup
US SIGNS KYOTO GLOBAL WARMING TREATY
The United States became on Thursday the sixtieth nation to sign the United
Nations treaty crafted last December in Kyoto, Japan, that calls for
reduced emission of gases that may cause global warming. The signing is
largely symbolic because it must be ratified by the Senate before it takes
effect in the U.S., a step that may not be pursued for a couple of years.
The Senate has previously expressed concern that the treaty, oriented
towards curbing pollution from industrial nations, does not bind developing
nations to similar limitations. A UN meeting in Buenos Aires in which 160
countries have been discussing the treaty for ten days will conclude
Friday.
INDONESIAN STUDENT PROTESTS SPARK VIOLENCE
A protest in Jakarta involving as many as twenty thousand angry students
turned violent Thursday night as government forces used tear gas, plastic
bullets, and water cannons to disperse the crowd as it marched against the
Parliament building. Over a hundred protesters were injured, as well as
several policemen. The students oppose a special meeting of the Indonesian
legislative body convened on Tuesday by President B.J. Habibie to reform
the nation’s government, believing that democratic reform is being
hindered.
IN OTHER NEWS…
The Israeli government advertised Thursday for tenders for expanding the
Har Homa settlement in primarily Arab East Jerusalem with over a thousand
new houses. Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as part of a future Arab
state… The United States continues to bolster its Persian Gulf forces
with B-52 bombers and stealth fighters as the prospect of war with Iraq
remained strong… Boris Yeltsin did not attend a planned banquet with
visiting Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi Thursday for unexplained
reasons. The Kremlin says the issue is unrelated to his health… The
University of Texas announced recently that it would re-open the tower on
its campus from which Charles Whitman killed sixteen people during a
shooting spree in 1966.
*****
4) Campus events
FRIDAY
Physics and Astronomy Colloquium
DuPont 142A, 4:00 p.m.
Early Music Ensemble
Lang Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m.
Dead Dog Cafe hosts “Night of Scenes”
Mary Lyons, 8:00 p.m.
Vertigo-go, comedy improv
Mephistos, 9:00 p.m.
Party: Thirteen Candles – goth/industrial/80’s night.
Paces, 10:00 p.m.
Movie: “He Got Game”
DuPont Lecture Hall, 7:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.
SATURDAY
Wisconsin Party
Wharton courtyard, 3:00 p.m.
Wind Ensemble Concert
Lang Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m.
Party: SAO-HOLA-SASS-SQU sponsored
Upper Tarble, 10:00 p.m.
Movie: “X-Files”
DuPont Lecture Hall, 7:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.
SUNDAY
Asian Food Festival
Tarble All Campus, 12:00 p.m.
A cappella Concert
16 Feet Hosts the Tufts Amalgamates
Friends Meeting House, 1:30 p.m.
Blood, Love and Rhetoric
Mephistos, 8:00 p.m.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
TODAY
No contests are scheduled for today
TOMORROW
Football hosts Washington and Lee at 1:00 p.m.
Men’s cross country visits Allentown for the NCAA Mid-East Regional
Women’s cross country visits Allentown for the NCAA Mid-East Regional
Men’s swimming visits Vassar with NYU at 2:00 p.m.
Women’s swimming visits Vassar with NYU at 2:00 p.m.
Wrestling hosts the Swarthmore Takedown Tournament at 10:00 a.m.
*****
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The Daily Gazette
Board of Editors
Joseph Genereux
Jeff Heckelman
Lorrin Nelson
Cathy Polinsky
Jessica Salvatore
Ty Wilde
Staff Writers
Jack Borrebach
Ben Geller
Megan Haberle
Lindsay Herron
Ilya Leskov
Ira Lindsay
Alma Ortiz
Pete Schilla
Jaspal Singh
Nellie Tong
Weathercasters
Rachel Labush
Ben Hanani
Laurie Smith
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This concludes today’s report.
Copyright 1998 by The Daily Gazette. All rights reserved.