Monday, December 11, 2000

Monday, December 11, 2000
Volume 5, Number 61

NEWS IN BRIEF

1) Alumni flock to campus for tonight’s meeting
2) Online SC voting ends tonight
3) Gazette polls say bring back badminton
4) PACES menu for the week
5) World news roundup
6) Campus events

SPORTS IN BRIEF

1) Strath Haven wins second straight state football championship
2) Men’s swimming wins
3) Women’s swimming wins
4) Men’s basketball falls
5) World sports roundup
6) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 40s.
One of the great things about chalkings is that they disappear when it rains.

Tonight: Rain likely. Lows near 40.
But the signs of Student Council candidates just sit there all soggy and smeared and ripped and dirty.

Tomorrow: Early rain, then partly sunny. Highs in the low 50s.
Kinda like, oh, never mind…

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: Chicken fingers, French fries, *Asian pasta, tuscan bean bake, corn, carrots
** Nacho bar

Dinner: Chicken with spinach and feta, basmati rice, *tempeh with hoisin sauce, stuffed peppers, peas and carrots, vegetable blend
** Cheese steak bar

NEWS REPORT

1) Alumni flock to campus for tomorrow night’s meeting

Today’s Delaware-County Times reports that Swarthmore alumni, having used the Internet as a rallying cry, will descend upon campus Tuesday night for a meeting with President Al Bloom and members of the Board of Managers to voice their apparent displeasure with the decision to cut football, badminton and wrestling.

Two websites started by Swarthmore alums – www.saveswatsports.com and www.supportswarthmoreathletics.com – are serving as message boards and information archives for alumni around the world. The former site lists the results of its alumni survey, which shows that a majority of those who completed the survey do not support the decision. Furthermore, a similar majority said their future contributions to the school will be affected by the decision.

The meeting Tuesday night will be in the Friends Meeting House starting at 7:30. It is unclear whether the meeting is open to the public, as it has not yet been advertised as such.

To read the article from the Delaware-County Times, go to http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1164568&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=1 8171&rfi=6

2) Online SC voting ends tonight

Now that its problems have been fixed, you have until midnight tonight to vote for Student Council at https://csps.swarthmore.edu/csps/sc_ballot.html. After tonight, voting will still take place in Sharples through Wednesday.

Here is a quick reminder of who’s running for what…

Co-President
Michael DeFillipo ’04
Brandon Silverman ’02
Dave Thomas ’02

Campus Life Representative
Boris Epshteyn ’04
Adrienne Fowler ’03
Sanggee Kim ’04
Will Ortman ’02
Lauren Tobias ’02

Campus Relations Representative
David Berger ’04
Sonal Bhatia ’02
Doug Kneeland ’02
Dan Korobkin ’02

Appointments Chair
Chris Morello ’03
Liane Rice ’03

Secretary
Brian Byrnes ’02
Robert Cox ’03
Kristina Pao ’04
Poulami Roychowdhury ’03

Student Events Advisor
Sara Edelstein ’03
David Ellis ’02
Kisa Gigone ’04
Anna Morgan ’04

Student Groups Advisor
Marvin Barron ’02
Sydney Beveridge ’03
Julie Cohen ’02
Shawn C. Kyzer ’04
Alan May ’04

Platforms can be read at http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-12-07/opinions/10536.html

3) Gazette polls say bring back badminton

This week, two questions were posed to the readers of the Daily Gazette web site. Early in the week, we asked, “Should we keep any of these teams – football, badminton, wrestling, or none?”

Out of 588 votes, 218, or 37%, said we should keep badminton as a varsity sport. An additional 32% said football, while 21% said wrestling and 9% said none of the sports should be kept.

Later in the week, we asked if you thought the Board of Managers’ decision was reached in a fair manner. Out of 365 votes, just over 76% said no, with 24% saying yes.

President Al Bloom, Provost Jennie Keith, and members of the ARC and the Board of Managers are currently meeting with each team on an individual basis to further explain their rationale.

4) PACES menu for the week

Monday through Wednesday

– Warm potato-chevre salad with rosemary
– Scallion-onion rolls with aged cheddar and sage
– Linguine with roasted plum tomato sauce
– Broiled chicken breast with coffee-maple glaze and sugared almonds
– Honeydew in cardamom-lime syrup with vanilla cream

Bakers’ menu

Monday – Vegan pecan tart – Anni’s orgasmic fudgy bonbons
Tuesday – Pine nut chocolate chip bars – Birthday cake for hillary!
Wednesday – Cardamom nut cake – Vegan chocolate raspberry cake

5) World news roundup

Thirty-four days after Election Day, the US Supreme Court may decide who will be President today, as they hear arguments regarding disputed Florida ballots. If the court rules in favor of George W. Bush, it will likely be the end of the road for Al Gore. Democrats say he will likely concede in the event that such a decision is made.

Hoping to renew interest in railroad travel and lure customers away from airlines, Amtrak will unveil its new high-speed Acela Express train today. The train, which travels at a top speed of 150 miles per hour, will leave Monday morning from Washington D.C. and is scheduled to arrive in Boston by noon.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigned in order to run for re-election, just as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally declared his candidacy and asked Parliament to change the rules so he can run. Barak lags far behind Netanyahu in early opinion polls.

6) Campus events

“Molecular Analysis of Somite and Vertebral Morphogenesis and Dysmorphogenesis” by Dr. Rocky Tuan, Thomas Jefferson University
Kirby Lecture Hall, 1:45 p.m.

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

SWIL Movie: The Neverending Story
Kirby Lecture Hall, 10:00 p.m.

Student Council Meeting
Parrish Parlor – East, 10:00 p.m.

Earthlust Meeting
Parrish Parlor – West, 10:00 p.m.

SPORTS UPDATE

1) Strath Haven wins second straight state football championship

In local high school news, the Strath Haven Panthers finished their undefeated 15-0 season in style, defeating West Allegheny 31-28 Friday night to win their second straight PIAA Class AAA championship.

Junior Carl Schoenman kicked a 24-yard field goal with one second left in the game to provide the margin of victory in a game that saw the lead change hands five times.

Senior quarterback Mike Connor will graduate with a 43-1 record as a starter for Strath Haven.

2) Men’s swimming wins

The men’s swim team defeated NYU 109.5 – 94.5 Saturday. David Whitehead ’03 was a triple winner, taking the 50 free, the 100 free, and swimming a leg in the winning 400 medley relay. John Lilvis ’03 was also a triple winner, taking the 200 IM, the 400 free, and also swimming a leg in the relay. Ted Sherer ’01 and Mike Dudley ’03 were double winners. Each swam legs in the relay while Sherer won the 200 breaststroke and Dudley won the 200 backstroke. The team is now 3-3 on the season.

3) Women’s swimming wins

The women’s swim team also defeated NYU, 109-98. Amy Auerbach ’02 was a triple winner, taking the 200 free, the 200 butterfly, and swimming a leg in the 400 freestyle relay. Natalie Briones ’03 won the 50 free and the 200 breaststroke. Tara Trout ’04 won the 200 IM and also swam a leg in the relay. Leah Davis ’04 and Davita Burkhead-Weiner ’03 swam the other legs in the relay. The team’s record is now 5-1.

4) Men’s basketball falls

The men’s basketball team dropped to 1-7 on the season following a 102-82 loss to Union College. David Pearce ’03 led Swarthmore with 19 points. Zack Ellison ’04 scored 17, Eran Ganot ’03 scored 12, Chris Loeffler ’04 added 10, and Jacob Letendre ’04 chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

5) World sports roundup

Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers are close to completing the largest contract in sports history. The free-agent shortstop may sign a 12 year deal worth $240 million as early as today with Texas. Sources told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the total package could approach $264 million. Last week, Mike Hampton signed what was then the richest deal in baseball history with the Colorado Rockies at $121 million. …The Mets are close to healing the wound left by Hampton’s absence with the presence of Kevin Appier. Sources say the Mets are close to signing the starter for four years at $42 million. …Donovan McNabb threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a 35-24 victory over Cleveland for the Eagles’ first playoff berth since 1996.

6) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

There are no contests scheduled for today or tomorrow.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s Al’s party” – alumni message on www.saveswatsports.com