Monday, April 23, 2001

Monday, April 23, 2001
Volume 5, Number 122

NEWS IN BRIEF

SPORTS IN BRIEF

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Partly cloudy. High of 77.
I’m done with housing! I’m done with housing! Nanny-nanny-poo-poo!

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 60.
Wow, did I just say “nanny-nanny-poo-poo”?

Tomorrow: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs approaching 80.
Don’t worry, I’m about to start kicking my own ass, thank you very much.

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: Chicken nuggets, curly fries, *tofu joe, baked penne with mushrooms, corn, spinach
**Cheesesteak bar

Dinner: Seafood scampi, rice, Indian style chick peas, *spicy peanut noodle, broccoli and cauliflower
**Picnic bar

NEWS REPORT

1) Noted Psychologist to speak on “stereotype threat”

Claude Steele, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, will present a talk entitled, “How Stereotypes Shape the Intellectual Performance of Women and Minorities” in the LPAC Cinema at 4:15 p.m. this Wednesday, April 25.

Professor Steele has received international attention for his ground-breaking research on both the causes and potential remedies regarding academic under-achievement by groups facing what he calls “stereotype threat.”

He has shown in the laboratory that under conditions where subjects’ expectations were changed, the differences in test scores predicted by their race or gender disappear.

Along with the Psychology Department, the talk is co-sponsored by Black Studies, Education, Sociology and Anthropology, the Dean’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and the Office of the President. A reception will follow.

2) The inside scoop on housing

At the end of the Housing Lottery for rising seniors, Dean Myrt Westphal didn’t notice any overwhelming trends, though the constant bottleneck at the Wharton table led to some delays near the middle of the lottery.

“Folks were more picky about the size of the room,” she said, noting that students were especially concerned that some rooms were much smaller than others. Westphal reported that there are still five singles left in Wharton, along with two quads, one triple and five doubles.

There was also a steady stream into Worth and Parrish, especially the second and third floors of Parrish.

Westphal also noted that so far, none of the rooms that are being offered for the first time as possibly co-ed have been chosen by a mixed-sex group, either in the lottery or during block housing last week. There are still two options, she reported – in Worth I, a two-room double and a two room triple could still go co-ed.

Finally, Westphal said, no rising seniors chose into Willets this year, as opposed to past years when one or two inexplicably do so.

3) College Bowl fares well at Princeton

This Saturday, a team composed of Peter Austin ¹02, Jonah Volk ¹03, Michael Noda ¹04, Adrian Packel ¹04 and Jeff Traczynski ¹04 attended the fourth annual Princeton University Buzzerfest tournament.

The team ended the day in fourth place overall with a record of 13-3, including close wins over Penn and NYU and a win over Florida Atlantic, the third-place finisher.

Individually, Austin scored an average of 65 points per game (including 110 points in a single game), while Volk averaged 23 points per game and Noda averaged 18.

4) PACES menu for this week

Monday through Wednesday

Parmesan herb foccacia with garlic oil: Italian herb bread with garlic-infused olive oil
Potato salad with green chile-cilantro salsa
Roasted eggplant lasagne with broiled tomato sauce
Orange chicken: with peppers, onion, and pineapple
Cherry-almond ice cream cake with chocolate sauce

Daily Dessert Specials

Monday: Apple cake, vegan chocolate cranberry bliss
Tuesday: Chocolate almond coffeecake, streusel-topped peach cobbler
Wednesday: Chocolate pecan bundt cake, vegan rhubarb crisp

5) World news roundup

In a standoff over what Instanbul Governor Erol Cakir is calling “political demands” and nothing more, at least 20 pro-Chechen gunmen armed with automatic rifles and shotguns stormed one of Istanbul’s top luxury hotels Sunday, taking dozens of guests and staff members hostage, police said. It was not clear if anyone was injured in the standoff that began late Sunday; police said early Monday at least 30 people were being held in a conference hall on the fifth floor.

Junichiro Koizumi, a former Japanese health minister whose loud calls for reform have struck a chord with many of the nation’s citizens, extended his lead in the fourth day of voting for Prime Minister by local chapters of the nation’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The fiery populist’s lead is now being considered stunning and possibly unbeatable. The election is for a successor to unpopular Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

In an effort to combat online music piracy, Napster will use new technology that identifies songs by mapping their sound patterns. Napster announced a deal on Friday with the Virginia company that developed the technology. Napster is trying to counter criticism that it has not done enough to stem the illegal trading of copyrighted songs on the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America, Napster’s main foe in the legal battle, gave cautious praise to this new effort. “Napster’s apparent interest in complying with the court’s order is good news for creators and seems to be a step in the right direction,” said Cary Sherman, the RIAA’s general counsel.

6) Campus events

Class of 2003 Housing Lottery
Field House Tarble Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.

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

SWIL Movie: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Kirby Lecture Hall, 10:00 p.m.

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

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

Dialogues Discussion Group
Mary Lyons Breakfast Room, 10:15 p.m.

SPORTS UPDATE

1) Track teams fare well against tough competition

Facing some of the best athletes not only in the Centennial Conference, but the entire region, the men’s and women’s outdoor Track and Field teams more than held their own at Saturday’s Widener Invitational.

For the women, Imo Akpan ’02 won the 400 meter dash in a time of 57.73, provisionally qualifying her for the NCAA Division III championship.

Njideka Akunydli ’04 finished right behind in eighth place, while Jessica Rickabaugh ’02 took fourth. Akunydli also finished fourth in the intermediate hurdles, while Rickabaugh also finished eighth in the high jump, clearing 4′ 7″.

Sarah Jay ’01 finished fifth in the 800 meter run, with Claire Hoverman right behind in seventh. Krista Gigone ’04 took ninth in the 1500 meter run, while Loring Pfeiffer ’02 took 23rd in the 3000 meter run. Meredith Leigh ’04 finished sixth in the 5000 meter run.

Clara Fuchsman ’01 took ninth in the shotput and tenth in the discus throw, while Sarah Selling ’03 cleared eight feet to take eighth place in the pole vault.

On the men’s side, Kwaku Ntoso ’03 finished eighth in both the 110 high hurdles and the 400 intermediate hurdles. Matt Williams ’04 was ninth in the 110s, and 14th in the intermediates. The throwing squad also finished strong, with Ed Albers ’02 taking sixth place in the shotput with a throw of 41′ 8.5″ as well as eighth in the discus throw. Justin Pagliei ’02 took 14th in the shotput, 16th in the discus, and 19th in the javelin throw.

In the distance events, Marc Jeuland ’01 took 15th place in the 1500 meter run, in a time of 3:59.16. Joe Makin ’03 finished 17th in the 5000 meter run, and Ambrose Dieringer ’01 finished 30th in the 800 meter run. In the sprints, Sanjay Richards ’03 finished 33rd in the 400 meter dash, while Nu Addy ’03 finished 37th. Also, the Gazette’s own Kai Xu ’03 sped to a 41st-place finish in the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.20.

2) Women’s tennis clinches Conference championship

Everybody won on Saturday, as the women’s tennis team swept Western Maryland 9-0 to bring its record to 12-2 on the season. They won the Centennial Conference with an undefeated 10-0 record. Leading the way for Swat in singles play were #1 Anjani Reddy ’04, #2 Caroline Celano ’04, #3 Kristina Pao ’04, #4 Fran Simonds ’02, #5 Elizabeth Nolte ’03, and #6 Stacey Wagaman ’01. In doubles, victories went to the teams of Reddy/Celano, Pao/Krista Hollis ’01, and Nolte/Wagaman.

3) Softball comes on strong in late-season

After a rough start to the season, the softball team finally seems to be hitting it’s stride as the season winds down to a close. They defeated Franklin & Marshall 3-1 in the opener of a Saturday doubleheader. Lindsay VanSciver ’03 scattered 10 hits in the win. Though they dropped the second contest 5-0, it took little away from the fact that the team has now won two of its last four games, bringing its record to 3-19, 3-10 on the year.

4) Golf wins two of three

The men’s golf team finished second out of four schools in a quad match last Friday at Edgmont, Widener’s home course. The team finished with a total score of 352, good enough to defeat Philadelphia University (364) and Gwynned Mercy (393), but not enough to beat Widener, which shot a 336. Leading the way for Swat was James Dolan ’02, who shot a 78 for the best score of the day. He was followed by Ben Rhee ’04, who shot 87, Doug Kneeland ’02 (91) and Jeff Heckelman ’02 (96). The team’s record is now 4-2 on the season.

5) Men’s lax falls to Gettysburg

The men’s lacrosse team fell 18-6 to Gettysburg on Saturday. Joe DeSimone ’04 scored two goals for Swat in the losing cause. The team’s record is now 3-9, 0-6.

6) Baseball splits twin-bill

The baseball team split a doubleheader with Gettysburg on Saturday, winning the first game 5-2 and dropping the nightcap 12-3. Scott Kushner ’02 went 3-4 with two runs scored in the first game, and he hit a two-run home run in the second game’s losing effort. The team’s record is 4-18, 3-12 going into their final game next weekend against Haverford.

7) Intramural basketball playoff scoreboard

Non-Competitive League Quarterfinals

#4 Mertz Mad Monkeys 34
#5 Mothership Connection 16

#6 DU Pigroast 50
#3 The Wahooligans 38

#2 Team 3 44
#7 Big Gay Buggers 25

#1 Jelly Donut advances by forfeit

8) World sports roundup

It’s all about the NBA Playoffs: In Sunday’s Game 1 action, the Knicks beat the Raptors, 92-85, as Latrell Sprewell and co. held Toronto mega-star Vince Carter to only 13 points on just 5-22 shooting. The Phoenix Suns upset third-seeded Sacramento at home, 86-83. Jason Kidd scored 18 points and dished out a game-high 14 assists. After missing one of two free throws with only 3 seconds left in the game, Kidd left the door open for the Kings to tie the game and send it to overtime, but Sacramento point guard Jason Williams air-balled a three-pointer at the buzzer to seal it for the Suns. In Sunday’s other games, the Lakers got 24 points and 20 rebounds from Shaquille O’Neal to beat the Portland Trailblazers 106-93. Kobe Bryant added 28 points for L.A. In Milwaukee, the Bucks defeated Orlando 103-90 despite poor shooting from their big trio of Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen. They won despite a game-high 33 points from Magic star Tracy McGrady.

9) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

QUOTE OF THE DAY