Tuesday, February 20, 2001

Tuesday, February 20, 2001
Volume 5, Number 84

NEWS IN BRIEF

SPORTS IN BRIEF

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Cloudy. High 54.
There’s something different about Swatties these days: Whispered Secrets. Furtive Glances. Cygnet Proliferation.

Tonight: Cloudy with showers likely. Low 43.
Could it be that some huge Swat tradition involving roommates finding blind dates for each other is coming up?

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy with scattered showers until late afternoon. Highs in the mid 40s.
Nah.

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: Moo goo gai pan, jasmine rice, *vegetable moo goo gai pan, eggplant casserole, baby lima beans, mixed vegetables
**Mexican bar

Dinner: Boneless center cut pork chops with chutney, roasted red bliss potatoes, *three bean casserole, broccoli-mushroom bake, vegetable blend
**Pizza bar

NEWS REPORT

1) DU and QSA join forces for blood drive

The Delta Upsilon fraternity and the Queer-Straight Alliance are teaming up for today’s blood drive, which takes place from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Upper Tarble.

The annual event is sponsored by DU, but this year organizer Matt Asano ’01 was contacted by QSA leaders Tim Stewart-Winter and Talia Young ’01 about a possible joint effort.

“DU and the queer community have had some issues in the past,” Stewart-Winter said, “so hopefully this can help us form a better relationship for the future.”

Last year, Stewart-Winter and Cory Datz-Greenberg ’00 were frustrated when they found out that they were unable to donate blood due to an FDA restriction that refuses blood from any man who has had sexual relations with another man since 1977.

“We wanted to give blood, but couldn’t,” Stewart-Winter said. “And that felt weird.”

He and Datz-Greenberg wrote an op-ed piece (http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-02-17/opinions/homosexualblood.html) decrying the policy, saying that it not only discriminates against homosexuals, but perpetuates deep-rooted cultural fears that have been proven scientifically false.

Though they were too late to do anything about it at last year’s blood drive, this year Stewart Winter and Young have written up a petition and will table in Sharples today along with members of DU.

“When I talked to Matt, he had already had enough help but he said we could combine tabling – present a united front, create a positive feeling,” Stewart-Winter said.

At first, Asano was worried that the petition might send the wrong message. “You walk a fine line when you push for a change like this,” he said. “Because on the one hand you want to protest the rule because it’s wrong, but on the other hand you don’t want to chase anyone away, so it’s a matter of finding the best way to make people aware and do something about it at the same time.”

He later added, “I think the way Tim and Talia are handling it is best.”

Stewart-Winter said that the petition will be presented at Sharples as opposed to in Upper Tarble for two reasons. First, it will reach more people in Sharples. Second, they didn’t want the Red Cross workers to feel uncomfortable.

“We support blood drives – we want people who are eligible to give blood to give it,” he said. “All of this comes out a frustration at not being able to give blood – people who are HIV negative and want to give blood ought to be able to do it.”

According to Asano, 130 students, faculty and administration have signed up to donate. The early morning hours are reserved for faculty, but he says there are openings throughout the day. “The only busy time is after 4:00, when everyone gets out of class,” Asano said. “But if you don’t have an appointment and you want to give blood, if you can come by anytime before 4:00 you’ll most likely have no problem.”

The entire text of QSA’s petition can be found at http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/archive/spring_2001/20010220extra.html. If you’d like to, you can sign the petition electronically through this link.

– Jeff Heckelman

2) World news roundup

For the second straight day, thousands of Iraqis protested in Baghdad against US and British airstrikes. Their voices were joined by threats from Iraqi officials to retaliate against the agressors and their allies, which include Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, France, Russia, and China, amongst many others, continued their criticism of the two nations’ actions.

Robert Tulloch, 17, and James Parker, 16, suspects in the slayings of two Dartmouth professors, were arrested yesterday in Indiana by after fleeing from their homes in Vermont over the weekend. The two boys were picked up when they tried to hitch-hike with a big-rig truck driver to California. New Hampshire officials say they will be tried as adults when they are extradited.

President Bush dedicated a museum to the victims and survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing yesterday. Calling the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center “a place of peace,” Bush said it would serve to remind generations of Americans of the need for vigilance in protecting their fellow citizens. The April 19, 1995 attack was the deadliest instance of domestic terrorism in American history.

3) Campus events

SPORTS UPDATE

1) World sports roundup

Drivers and fans remembered Dale Earnhardt Sr. yesterday, following his death in the final lap of Sunday’s Daytona 500. Flags flew at half-staff across the NASCAR circuit and fans came from across the nation to place flowers at a memorial set up in his hometown of Mooresville, North Carolina. Meanwhile, members of the NASCAR community are using the tragedy to call for increased safety measures in a league that has now seen four deaths in the past year.

Despite beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 last night, the New York Rangers suffered a major loss when goalie Mike Richter went out with a torn ACL. Richter will be out for the rest of the season while the Rangers try to secure a playoff berth by moving up from their current 10th place standing in the Eastern Conference.

Gord Kirke, lawyer for disgruntled Philadelphia Flyers star Eric Lindros, says that his client is about to be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lindros, who grew up in Ontario, has said that he only wants to play in Toronto.

2) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

Today:

Badminton vs. Bryn Mawr, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:

Women’s basketball vs. F&M – Centennial Conference Semifinals, 7:00 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY