Tuesday, December 5, 2000

Tuesday, December 5, 2000
Volume 5, Number 57

On the Daily Gazette web site right now:

– Photos from last night’s fireside chat
– Links to all articles from major newspapers
– Discuss the sports cut issue on the New York Times Abuzz
– Full search of all Gazette issues ever published
– Breaking news as it happens

Visit the Daily Gazette website at http://daily.swarthmore.edu

NEWS IN BRIEF

1) Fireside chat quells some fires, leaves many still frustrated
2) Students plan sit-in
3) Clarifications from Public Safety
4) World news roundup
5) Campus events

SPORTS IN BRIEF

1) Frozen Foot Results
2) World sports roundup
3) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Mostly sunny with some wind. Highs in the upper 40s.
Why can’t the football team and the Board of Managers resolve their dispute the old-fashioned way?

Tonight: Clear and windy. Lows in the upper teens.
Through a nice, civilized game of badminton…

Tomorrow: Sunny and crisp. Highs in the mid 30s.
Oh wait. It’s not an official NCAA sport according to the Board. Never mind.

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: BBQ chicken sandwich, cottage fries, *ratatouille, pierogies, brussel sprouts, corn on the cob
**Chef salad bar

Dinner: Chicken marsala, buttered noodles, *baked tofu, thai sweet potatoes, spinach, peas and carrots
**Caribbean bar

NEWS REPORT

1) Fireside chat quells some fires, leaves many still frustrated

Maybe it was because no parents were present. Maybe it was because there weren’t any NBC or FOX cameras blaring. Maybe the aura of the Friends Meeting House imposed its will on the hundreds of students on the one side, and members of the Board of Managers and Athletic Review Committee on the other.

Whatever the reason, compared with Sunday’s explosive spectacle in the Field House, all those in attendance at Monday night’s Fireside Chat were remarkably well-behaved.

Due to the sheer number of students who piled into the coffee bar in Kohlberg, the meeting was abruptly moved to the Friends Meeting House. The meeting started with President Al Bloom extolling the virtues of dialogue, and he did his part by trying to explain why the Board of Managers acted as quickly and hastily as they did.

Many arguments presented by Bloom, Provost Jennie Keith, and others were similar to sentiments they expressed during Sunday’s meeting. Monday night, they were joined by members of the Board of Managers and the Athletic Review Committee, including Dead of Students Bob Gross, philosophy professor Hans Oberdiek, economics professor John Caskey, interim head of admissions Jim Bock, the four students that were on the ARC, and Delonte Gholston ’02, the student-elected observer to the Board of Managers.

Some football players brought forth a proposal written up by Neil Austrian ’61, which allows for football to remain viable, along with badminton, in a system where admissions grants acceptance with priority to athletics to 17% of their accepted students. The proposal points to overlap between sports such as baseball and football and says that four slots would be taken away from baseball, but it would be acceptable because recruited football players would take those spots in the spring.

Keith and members of the Board said they addressed proposals such as this one in their deliberations, but it was deemed unrealistic. One Board member said this proposal would not result in a viable football program, and it would compromise all the other sports in the process.

Bloom was then put on the spot regarding the issue of cutting the badminton team. Since the badminton team doesn’t recruit its players, and therefore doesn’t take up any admissions slots and is not part of the 15% mark agreed upon, the question was asked as to the rationale behind cutting badminton, and what the process had to gain by such a move.

Bloom said that moving badminton from a varsity to a club sport would not affect their experience – that they will still be able to compete against other schools and they will still be able to compete at Nationals.

At that point, co-captain Karen Lange ’02 came forward to show that this is not necessarily true. As an emerging women’s sport in the NCAA, badminton is not yet funded by the NCAA, but it is supported. “It is still unclear whether we can play in our conference if we’re not a varsity sport,” she said.

This led Bloom to state, “If this is true, that there is a difference in what you can do, this was not the intent of the committee, to have that happen. I think we have to resolve this – we have to work together to find out what kinds of constraints this puts on you.”

“If there is a constraint,” the President said, “it has to be rethought.”

Later, the question of admissions policy and standards, in terms of diversity, was brought up. Jim Bock answered, “Five years ago, we were admitting 1,200 students for 375 spaces. Now, we’re admitting 900 students for those same 375 spaces. We have fewer to go around.”

He went on, “We’ve been accused of discriminating against athletes. Let me tell you something: we don’t discriminate against athletes, we discriminate against everyone.

“We deny 77 percent of the applicant pool. We’re admitting fewer athletes, fewer blacks, fewer Hispanics, fewer Asians, fewer women, fewer men…whoever you are, there are fewer of you here today,” Bock said.

Many questions were raised throughout the night regarding equity, culture, dialogue, consensus, and other issues. Nearly two hours after the meeting began, many students became noticeably frustrated. Kate Nelson-Lee stood up, accused the administration of not listening to the students, and announced that she was walking out the door, imploring others to follow her.

She made good on her word, and many got up to follow her as Student Council facilitators rose to try and restore order. Gholston made an impassioned plea to the crowd to stay, and after a few tense minutes, most remained for the duration of the meeting.

Gholston, the Board of Managers Observer, took the opportunity to tell his account of the weekends’ proceedings. He repeatedly used the word “non-irreversible” to describe the Board’s decisions. As eyes darted back and forth among Board members, Bloom, and Keith, Gholston talked about how this process is not necessarily over, and that rather than protesting in anger, having clear, rational dialogue would be the best way to bring about a reconsideration on the part of the Board.

With that, Larry Shane ’56, Chair of the Board of Managers, was asked if the Board would reconsider its decision. He replied, “I have no plans to reconsider this decision.” He later clarified, saying, “I said I have no PLANS to reconsider.”

Still, no member of the administration stated one way or another whether the Board of Managers would reconvene to readdress this issue, or whether they would even consider reconsidering it.

Around 10:30, the meeting was called to a close, with promises from all involved that it wouldn’t be the last such meeting.

– Jeff Heckelman

2) Students plan sit-in

An unsigned email to the entire student body at 2:30 a.m. announced that there will be a sit-in to protest the Board of Managers decision in Parrish Parlours on Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The email said, “whether or not you are an athlete it is of imperative importance that every student at this school stand up against allowing a precedent to be set by a decision making process that denied the voice of its student body.”

It later said, “no matter where your sympathies may lie this is a situation in which students must have solidarity against this kind of dishonorable action by the institution they truly believe has the potential to return to a place of trust.”

– Jeff Heckelman

3) Clarifications from Public Safety

Contrary to statements made in the Daily Gazette yesterday by the victims of last week’s mugging incident, Director of Public Safety Owen Redgrave points to the following:

– Their records indicate that Public Safety Officers were on the scene at 9:55 p.m. – just two minutes after taking the initial information from the victim – By 9:57 p.m., the report says they had completed a preliminary search of the immediate crime scene. Swarthmore Police were also notified promptly by Public Safety through Delaware County Communications and arrived at approximately 9:59 p.m. – For approximately the next thirty minutes they, along with Public Safety, continued the search for the actors with the assistance of Media, Nether Providence and Morton Police Departments. – The Dean on call was notified and she attempted to contact the victims. At 10:10 p.m. Public Safety heard from a student witness and detailed an officer to interview them while at about the same time a more thorough interview was conducted with the victims. – Swarthmore Police concluded their initial investigation and search at about 10:30 p.m., at which time the victims were transported to Swarthmore Borough Hall in order to give their statements.

Based on Public Safety reports, they responded quickly and effectively upon being notified by the victims.

Sometime soon, the Daily Gazette hopes to clarify with Public Safety procedural guidelines with Redgrave. In the meantime, students should understand that in the event of an emergency, Public Safety should be notified immediately.

– Jeff Heckelman

4) World news roundup

Al Gore suffered two critical losses yesterday in his ongoing legal battle to force a vote recount in Florida. First, the Supreme Court demanded that the state Supreme Court reevaluate manual recounts it ordered after the Nov. 14th ballot inclusion deadline. Then, a Florida district court rejected Gore’s call for a recount of 14,000 contested votes. As a result, Gore’s legal team immediately appealed the decision, sending it to the Florida Supreme Court as well. Thus, as the disputed election heads into the home-stretch, the highest court in Florida has the massive task of resolving the result once and for all.

American citizen, Jaed Hijazi, has been made a prime suspect in the October bombing of the USS Cole. Hijazi, who has been described as a Muslim militant with ties to Osama bin Laden, is now awaiting trial in Jordan, having been arrested and tried in Syria last month. He is accused of training and supporting the terrorists who perpetrated the attack.

With conflicts raging on in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak faced another challenge Monday in the form of Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned from months in America. Netanyahu, the hawkish PM succeeded by Barak, is expected to contest his old foe in the upcoming election. Meanwhile, Bethlehem was the site of skirmishes between Isreaelis and Palestinians, resulting in the death of a Palestinian as he attempted to set a bomb.

5) Campus events

Lang Presentation by Karima Wilson and Mel Okudo
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 3:30 p.m.

“Festen” & “Girl Power”
LPAC Cinema, 7:00 p.m.

Swarthbucklers Practice
Upper Trable, 7:30 p.m.

Animal Rights Coalition
Trotter 303, 7:30 p.m.

Scottish Country Dancing
LPAC – Dance Studio 3, 8:15 p.m.

SQU Small Group Discussion
SQU Room – IC, 9 p.m.

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

SPORTS UPDATE

1) Frozen Foot Results

The first Frozen Foot Race of the year was held this past Sunday morning in temperatures that were literally freezing. However, blazing their way through the frigid course were seniors Keith Gilmore, Ambrose Dieringer, and Sam Evans. Each finished in a time of 22:54 to cement the three-way tie. Also turning the egalitarian trifecta were juniors Loring Pfeiffer and Christen Lungren, and senior Sarah Jay. They traversed the tundra in just 23:53.

2) World sports roundup

Jockey Chris Antley, was found dead in his home on Sunday. Investigations yesterday indicated that the death was a homicide, possibly related to Antley’s previous involvement with drugs. A suspect identified only as an associate of Antley was arrested Monday on drug charges. Antley, the rider who led Charismatic to wins in the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, was 34… The Downtown Athletic Club of New York named quarterbacks Drew Brees of Purdue, Josh Heupel of Oklahoma and Chris Weinke of Florida State, and running back LaDainian Tomlinson of Texas as the finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy. The prize will be awarded this Saturday… Despite still having a slight chance of making the playoffs, the Washington Redskins fired head coach Norv Turner yesterday. Turner has taken much of the blame for producing a mediocre season with the high-priced Washington lineup. Passing game coordinator Terry Robiskie was promoted to the top spot to temporarily fill the void.

3) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

Today:

Men’s basketball at Washington, 8:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:

Women’s basketball at Washington, 7:00 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Non-irreversible.” – Delonte Gholston ’02