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 10, 2000
Volume 4, Number 74
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Dar Williams comes to Swat
2) Vagina Monologues to be performed this weekend
3) Former “Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman to chat on WSRN
4) Willets vandalized
5) World news roundup
6) Campus events
SPORTS IN BRIEF
1) World sports roundup
2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Cloudy with 40 percent chance of morning rain. High in the upper 40s.
Ahh, rain. It will wash away all the now-dirty, icy snow…
Tonight: Mostly clear early…then increasing cloudiness. Low in the upper
20s.
All the sand and salt left on the paths will wash away…
Saturday: Cloudy with a good chance of snow in the afternoon. High in the
upper
30s.
Noooo! Not more snow!
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Lows around 20 and highs in the upper 30s.
Oi vey.
NEWS REPORT
1) Dar Williams come to Swat
Dar is coming… Dar is coming… Such has been the growing chant in
the Swarthmore community over the past few weeks. And now, on Friday night,
the anticipation will become reality. Dar is here.
Thanks to the efforts of Amber Adamson ’01, Mark Landreman ’02, and a
whole cast of others, Ms. Williams will take to the LPAC stage around 9 PM
tomorrow evening. Including Swarthmore band Ellipsis and Williams’s
standard opening act, Dee Carstensen, playing a mean piano and electric harp
combo, the event is sure to draw much campus support. As Adamson notes,
“this is the biggest thing to come here since Dave Matthews.”
However, the concert was no small feat to pull off. Money
was an issue. After winning support (to the tune of an
unofficially-calculated $15,000) from the Large Scale Events Committee (a
separate entity from Cooper) for their co-authored proposal, Adamson and
Landreman then had to find a date which was agreeable both for Dar and for
the venue. After what was described by Landreman “as about 100 emails
between us (the students) and Ms. Williams’s booking agent,” a day and time
were settled on. Since that moment, just a short time prior to tomorrow’s
engagement, the two students have been rushing around, trying to prepare for
the monumental task. Along the way, they have gotten support from numerous
sources, including Nick Kourtides, Susan Smythe, and the entire LPAC crew, as
well as Student Activities Coordinator, Davirah Timm-Dinkins.
Fans are very excited for the performance. Self-described “superfan,” Free
Williams ’03 (no
relation), puts it this way: “Dar has the most intelligent and
eloquently written songs I’ve ever heard. Her voice is just amazing.
Everybody should attend.” While Williams was not alone in his laudatory
assessment, some members of the Swarthmore community professed no prior
knowledge of Dar, or were even critical of the college’s decision to bring
her here. “I think that if we are willing to spend so much money for one
performance, we should at least bring in a widely-recognized act,” argued
Josh Loeffler ’03.
Regardless of your approval of the committee’s decision, though, should
you wish to attend the concert, the organizers, anticipating a large
turnout, suggest coming as early as possible. Swarthmore community members
will be issued tickets starting at 8 PM on a first-come, first-serve basis,
with doors opening at 8:30. Following that, should the 600-seat theater be
unfilled, admission to the general public will be offered. Miss this
opportunity, however, and you will find that the new chant on campus is: Dar
is gone.
-j.s.
2) Vagina Monologues to be performed this weekend
The Vagina Monologues, a collection of 16 short monologues written and
originally performed by Eve Ensler, will be performed on Swarthmores campus
this Saturday and Sunday. The monologues discuss different female characters
perspectives on and experiences with their vaginas, including learning to
orgasm, giving birth, and feeling reluctant to talk about the vagina at all.
The production, which is directed by Anna Woodiwiss, 02, and co-sponsored by
the Feminist Majority and Drama Board, is part of a large-scale initiative to
perform the piece at numerous colleges and universities around Valentines
Day.
This year the V-Day Initiative, as Ensler has termed it, has resulted in
performances at over 150 colleges in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, and
Australia, as well as live performances by celebrity casts in Boston and
Chicago.
Woodiwiss decided to direct Swarthmores production of The Vagina Monologues
last fall when she attended a performance and workshop about the monologues in
New York City with Andy Hoang, 02, president of the Feminist Majority. I
really love the piece, she says, because it celebrates women and encourages
them to discuss all of themselves, yet its not a diatribe and doesnt have an
anti-man message. She adds, I think people will find it very accessible, and
entertaining too!
Jamie Rowen, 03, describes her experience of acting in The Vagina
Monologues
as both uplifting and educational. She feels that a lot of people, both men
and women, are really uncomfortable discussing vaginas for some reason, so
much
so that the word is almost taboo. I hope that seeing this play will help
people
to get past that discomfort. Her monologue, which is entitled Cunt,
describes the texture and sensations associated with the vagina through the
sounds in the word cunt. Rowen believes that the sensual imagery attached to
the word in this monologue makes it seem like a word that women can embrace as
a description of something beautiful about themselves rather than an
epithet to
be used against them.
Sarah Yardney, 02, who will be performing two monologues, says that she is
surprised by how much controversy the upcoming performance has caused.
Theres
been a whole debate going on with people writing stuff on the walls of the
bathrooms in Cornell about whether the piece is appropriate to perform here,
and I really didnt expect that that kind of thing would happen. Ive also
heard lots of wild rumors floating around, like that people will be performing
naked, and Im interested to see what people think once they actually see it.
The Vagina Monologues will be performed on Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM
and on
Sunday afternoon at 2 PM. Performances will be held in Old Club and seating
will be first-come, first-served. No reservations are accepted, and there
will
be no nudity.
-k.g.
******
3) Former “Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman to chat on WSRN
WSRN Swarthmore 91.5 announced Thursday that it has booked a phone
interview with Gary Coleman for this Sunday, February 13, during its 10-11
p.m. time slot, a talk show called “Beam Me Up Fatty,” hosted by Brendan
Nyhan ’01 and David Plante ’00.
Coleman, who starred in “Diff’rent Strokes” from 1978-1986 as well as
a number of TV movies and feature films, is promoting UGO Networks,
the entertainment mecca for 18-34 year old men. UGO recently held a
Web-a-thon for Coleman to help pay off his debts and avert bankruptcy
(webathon.ugo.com). He now serves as a columnist and critic for
UGO.com.
Nyhan explained the phone interview as a desire to bring “fun celebrities” to
Swarthmore. He said, “I contacted Gary Coleman because I’ve seen that he’s
had
something of a resurgence in the last couple years, as a sort of long standing
celebrity, with the whole cultural fascination with child stars and what they
were doing now.” Aside from the Coleman’s re-found popularity, Nyhan
emphasized his desire to lighten up Swarthmore’s list of speakers: “I’ve
always
had this thing about Swat never having any fun celebrities. We get all these
important scholars but never just the fun celebrities that other schools
get!”
Unfortunately, Nyhan was unable to actually bring him to campus, but was happy
to obtain the phone interview. “He’s a wacky guy with a weird life. His
parents stole his money, he has medical problems, he’s into model trains,
video
games, and other weird stuff.” Said Nyhan, “It will be surreal to have a real
celebrity on WSRN, which I believe is unprecendented.”
“Beam Me Up Fatty” airs every Sunday on WSRN from 10-11 p.m..
Nyhan and Plante focus on Swarthmore issues, politics and entertainment.
Nick Attanasio ’00 and Rory Alarcon ’00 serve as guest co-hosts on a
regular basis.
Listeners outside WSRN’s broadcast area can listen to the station via
Real Audio at wsrn.swarthmore.edu.
-j.h. and c.p.t.
4) Willets vandalized
Early Wednesday morning, at around 4:30 a.m, parts of Willets went
cold–and without ethernet connections.
According to Owen Redgrave of Public Safety, someone entered the basement
mechanical room–which appeared to have been accidentally left
unlocked–and tampered with ethernet wires and the circuit breaker,
cutting all emergency power and heat. In addition, the basement men’s room
was vandalized. Redgrave said that people have turned off circuit breakers
before, but he can’t recall anyone ever pulling ethernet cords. “There was
a fair amount of work involved” in the entire incident, he said, with
individual wires pulled out and individual breakers switched.
Pat Murray ’01, the Willets basement RA, said that the vandalism shocked
his hall. “The community felt violated,” he said. “People said, ‘I can’t
believe that could happen here.'” He said that the vandalism was first
discovered when Public Safety noticed outside lights dark at 5 a.m. that
had been on at 4 a.m. They then checked out the machine room, where the
switchboard is, and found the damage. Murray also said that
systems were restored within hours, and that most residents were probably
asleep during the time without heat. “Maintenance and public safety did a
wonderful job taking care of this,” he said.
As of right now, Murray said, he does not know of a suspect. “Public
safety is running the investigation. If there is a suspect, they would
know that. I have no knowledge,” he said.
– m.h.
*****
5) World news roundup
Researchers discovered in December that they may have accidentally exposed
more
than two dozen young cancer patients to the virus that causes AIDS in a gene
therapy experiment, but did not inform federal regulators until last week….
More than 1,600 tons of nuclear weapons parts reportedly lie scattered around
the Energy Department’s Paducah, Ky., uranium plant, a safety manager informed
regulators yesterday in a new disclosure of potential hazards unknown to
workers or civilian plant supervisors…. The House voted yesterday to cut
income taxes for nearly 25 million married couples, seeking to end quirks in
the tax code that force many such couples to pay higher tax rates than they
would if they were single and filing separately…. Violent crime in Japan is
at a 23-year high, and is still rising. Murders, assaults, robberies and
rapes
throughout Japan, have led to a trend that is arousing deep concern and
eroding
the country’s long-standing reputation for extraordinary safety…. Britain’s
initial euphoria over this morning’s peaceful resolution of the Afghan jet
hijacking crisis morphed into noisy political controversy as evidence mounted
that the plane’s seizure was actually an elaborate plot by the hijackers and
some passengers to win political asylum in England…. Austria’s new
chancellor,
Wolfgang Schuessel, said today that he is convinced the experience of
governing
will temper the views of the far-right Freedom Party and its leader, Joerg
Haider. Schuessel insisted that Haider and his party already are “moving
toward
the center,” less than a week after forming a ruling alliance with Schuessel’s
mainstream conservative People’s Party…. The outlawed Kurdish Workers’
Party
announced yesterday that it will end its 15-year armed struggle to create an
autonomous Kurdish homeland in Turkey and instead will launch a political
campaign to defend Kurdish rights.
*****
6) Campus events
Friday:
Diversity Coalition Roundtable
IC, 12:30 p.m.
Sigma Xi / Science Division Brown Bag Lunch
Scheuer Room, 1:00 p.m.
“Determining the Cellular Basis of Cavitation Damage in Bacteria” Lecture
Scheuer Room, 1:00 p.m.
Shabbat Services and Dinner
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.
Swarthmore Christian Fellowship Meeting
Kohlberg 115, 7:30 p.m.
Film Showing: “When Harry Met Sally”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.
30th Annual English-Scottish Ball
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.
International Club Movie Night: “Tango” (Spain)
Kohlberg 226, 8:00 p.m.
Dar Williams
LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 9:00 p.m.
(tickets available at 8:00 p.m.)
Saturday:
Film Showing: “The Sixth Sense”
LPAC, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.
Sasha Leinster Senior Voice Recital
Lang Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m.
Vagina Monologues
Olde Club, 8:00 p.m.
Vertigo-go
Mephistos, 9:00 p.m.
Valentine’s Day Formal
Upper Tarble, 10:00 p.m.
Sunday:
Celebration of Mass
Bond Memorial Hall, 10:30 a.m.
Vagina Monologues, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Protestant Worship
2nd floor worship room, 4:00 p.m.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
1) World sports roundup
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan has announced his endorsement of Bill
Bradley’s campaign. On March 7th, the campaign will begin to run 30-second
spots of Jordan declaring his support for Bradley, a former New York Knicks
star, based on his commitment to health care for all children, curbing gun
violence and other issues…. Ken Griffey Jr. was traded from the Seattle
Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds yesterday after agreeing to a contract with
his
hometown team…. Michael Weiss, the current men’s figure-skating U.S.
champion, famous for beginning the trend towards quadruple jumps, is defending
his title against rising star Tim Goebel during this weekend’s U.S. figure
skating championships.
*****
2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests
FRIDAY
There are no contests scheduled for Friday.
SATURDAY
Track and Field Six Way Challenge: Lebanon Valley, Widener, Johns Hopkins
University, Ursinus, Mary Washington, Bryn Mawr, Women’s basketball at
Ursinus,
8:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball at Ursinus, 4:00 p.m.
SUNDAY
There are no contests scheduled for Sunday.
*****
Quote of the day: “Never feel secure with the woman you love, for there are
more dangers in a woman’s nature than you imagine.”
–Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, “Venus in Furs”
*****
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Editorial Board
Jeff Heckelman
Melanie Hirsch
Claire Phillips-Thoryn
Staff Writers
Karla Gilbride
Alma Ortiz
Jeremy Schifeling
Kai Xu
Online Editor
Lorrin Nelson
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This concludes today’s report.