Tuesday, September 12, 2000

Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Volume 5, Number 4

1) SAMs proxy for first-year footballers at registration
2) Student Council holds first meeting
3) World news roundup
4) Campus events

SPORTS IN BRIEF

1) World sports roundup
2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Mostly cloudy, maybe late showers. Highs in the upper 70s.
Well, the first fire alarm went off in Wharton Monday night…

Tonight: Rain, chance of T-storms. Lows in the mid 60s.
…but it was a false alarm, so no sprinklers went off.

Tomorrow: Early clouds and rain, then sun. Highs in the upper 70s.
It figures – 15 gallons of water per minute was all we needed to brighten this week up.

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: Open face turkey-ham sandwich, curly fries, *vegetarian chili, open face vegetable sandwich, French cut green beans, mixed vegetables
**Asian chicken salad bar

Dinner: Catfish with Creole tartar sauce, corn pudding, *broccoli-mushroom stir-fry, tomatoes Provencal, Brussels sprouts
**Cajun bar

NEWS REPORT

1) SAMs proxy for first-year footballers at registration

Student Academic Mentors (SAMs) proxied for first-year members of the football team at Sharples registration this semester and were sent into Sharples ahead of everyone else, raising questions of favoritism on the part of some students and putting Registrar Martin Warner in a difficult situation.

Months ago, the football team scheduled an away contest at Oberlin College for the same day as registration for classes on campus. The Athletics Department contacted the Registrar’s Office at the time to see what could be done about the conflict. After the deans met, they reached a consensus that the 20 or so freshmen involved would have proxies go to Sharples for them and sign them up for their intended classes.

According to Warner, “this was not what anyone wanted, but at the time, we were stuck.” The SAMs were chosen to be the proxies, Warner said, because “if you have to have proxies, the SAMs are the best for the job.”  

In the past, the proxy registration system had not been officially supported by the Registrar’s Office, but they still allowed people to “fill in” for fellow students in extreme individual cases. The difference this year is that they officially supported the system.

This led to some anxiety on the part of both SAMs and people waiting in line at Sharples that day. Some felt that this was a case of football favoritism on the part of the school, since the soccer teams had contests as well and proxies were not organized for them.

Warner acknowledged that he knew about the soccer team’s conflict, but only because a student on the team came to him the day before registration and told him about it. “The football team told us months ago – unfortunately, the soccer team didn’t do the same, so we didn’t have the time to help them as much,” Warner said. He added, “I certainly tried, and I was able to scrape together a few proxies for the soccer team, but I could only do so much.”

“The fact that it was the football team honestly didn’t enter into it,” added one SAM, who asked to remain nameless. “If the soccer teams had gone to the Registrar months ago and the football team did two weeks ago, the same thing would have happened and we wouldn’t even be talking about this now.”

What caused the most anxiety was the fact that the SAMs were sent into Sharples ahead of everyone, which some saw as another example of favoritism. “Quite the contrary,” said Warner, “I was just trying to get them in and out of there as quickly as possible so this whole thing could be over.”

“It didn’t affect anyone else’s chances of getting into any classes, and it certainly wasn’t a matter of preference on the part of myself or anyone else,” he added.

Some students have suggested that registration didn’t go quite so smoothly for all, and that some classes and sections of classes did fill up rather quickly. However, as of press time nothing could be verified one way or the other.

While some SAMs openly voiced their displeasure, others took a more understanding approach. “Overall,” the anonymous SAM added, “it just shouldn’t have happened, but I didn’t see the point in complaining about it because I understood that the Registrar was stuck, and it sort of filtered down to us.”

Warner agreed, saying, “it was an unfortunate situation, and I certainly hope that a conflict like this never happens again.”

– Jeff Heckelman

2) Student Council holds first meeting

The 2000-2001 Student Council convened for its first open meeting of the year Monday night in Parrish Parlours. Co-chaired by Jen Pao ’01 and Jordan Brackett ’01, the group met amidst much optimism following its weekend retreat and brainstorming session.

Foremost in the Council’s focus were issues related to the revision of SC’s constitution, and its subsequent ratification by campus-wide referendum after Fall Break. Additionally, the members addressed a request by the deans to examine and possibly revise the College’s alcohol policy.

Also in the list of main topics were proposals to promote voter registration and absentee ballot usage among students, along with a suggestion by Delonte Gholston ’02 to hold an all-campus study break involving the big-screen projection of a presidential debate in LPAC, accompanied by pizza and commentary from professors.

These ideas aroused great controversy as many Council members expressed concern that the two events would portray the group as too political. Nevertheless, neither proposition was nixed outright and the study break idea was supported when Olympic coverage was substituted in place of the debates.

Following these central considerations, the Council then moved on to discuss the 43 initiatives which had been generated during their retreat.

Ideas mentioned in the past included:
    – Free washing machines
    – A hotel in the Ville
    – Prolonging reading week

New Council directives included:
    – A push for more campus televisions
    – Expanded storage options
    – An examination of the “Wellness of the Swattie”

This final initiative may prove to be a capstone issue for the group as much concern was displayed for all aspects of Swarthmore health – from Worth and Psych Services to dining and athletic facilities.

Lastly, there were the requisite demands for clothes dryers that actually dry, late night food and coffee, and bathroom doors that swing outward. These hopeful suggestions had their fair share of detractors. Valid opposition was directed at the difficulty of achieving some of the goals and the lack of concrete steps laid out for the larger proposals.

Despite these detractions, the one thing upon which most present agreed was a sentiment voiced best by Brackett: “This is a great group of people. It’s going to be a great semester for Student Council.”

– Jeremy Schifeling

3) World news roundup

Hillary Rodham Clinton received an award from the World Jewish Congress for arranging a meeting between President Clinton and WJC President Edgar Bronfman. Some critics have questioned the appropriateness of the award, given that Bronfman is an adviser to Clinton’s New York Senate campaign and that Jewish people make up a crucial voting bloc in the Senate race.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday on findings that foreign-born residents of the U.S. are about as likely as other Americans to be college graduates. However, those who don’t have degrees tend to be less educated than the rest of the population. The figures are further broken down by country of origin; for instance, 45 percent of migrants from Asia have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 11 percent of those from Latin America.

Vice President Al Gore appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show Monday, answering a slew of personal questions in a usually lighthearted manner. When asked about his favorite cereal, Gore replied, “Oprah. …Oh, I thought you meant serialized TV show.” He later confessed that he doesn’t eat much cereal.

Despite uncertain issues regarding legality, the number of people using Napster to download music files quadrupled in just five months, from 1.1 million users in January to nearly 4.9 million in July. That total represents six percent of U.S. home PC users with modems, according to Media Metrix, which monitors the way people use their computers. Napster was also used at work by 887,000 people in July alone.

4) Campus events

College Venture Program Information Session
Kohlberg 116, 4:30 p.m.

Movie: “Black Is, Black Ain’t”
Kohlberg 226, 7:00 p.m.

Swarthbucklers Fencing Practice
Upper Tarble, 7:30 p.m.

Phonathon Info Session
Parrish Parlor – West, 8:00 p.m.

Ballroom and Swing Dance
Upper Tarble, 9:30 p.m.

SPORTS UPDATE

1) World sports roundup

The New York Jets rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns for a 20-19 victory over New England and former Jets coach Bill Belichick. …The Indiana University athletic director indicated that a decision could be made regarding Bobby Knight’s replacement as head basketball coach as early as next Tuesday. Thought to be high on the list for the job are current assistants Mike Davis and John Treloar. …Darryl Strawberry was jailed Monday after hitting a street sign and then running into a car stopped at a light. His attorney claims that the suspended Yankees outfielder, who has fought cancer and drug abuse, says Strawberry “blacked out” from prescription medication.

2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

TODAY

There are no contests scheduled for today

TOMORROW

There are no contests scheduled for tomorrow

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Wise men make proverbs, but fools repeat them.” – Samuel Palmer