Friday, February 8, 2002

by Shavaugn Lewis
Gazette Sportswriter

In celebration of diversity on Swarthmore’s campus, the Gazette
would like
to highlight an interesting fact about various cultures and
peoples each
week. In recognition of Black History Month, February’s facts
will focus on
African Americans and their achievements over the years. If
you have an
interesting fact, feel free to write in and share it. We hope
that by
sharing these little-known facts we will increase knowledge
of others and
in turn promote unity amongst all members of the Swat community.

August 8, 1865: Matthew A. Henson is born

Matthew Alexander Henson was always very found of the sea.
He would get the
opportunity of a lifetime to explore the sea and much more
when he met
Robert Peary. Together, they became the first sailors to reach
the North
Pole. After several setbacks, in 1902, Henson and Peary came
within 174
miles of the North Pole in 1902 on the Roosevelt, a ship named
after the
newly elected president. They decided to make one last attempt
in 1908,
and, behind Henson’s great sense of direction, they finally
reached their
destination.

Although Henson was instrumental in navigating himself and
Peary to the
North Pole and also helped to prove that Cook, who had claimed
to reach the
North Pole earlier, was a hoax, he received little recognition
because he
was Black. It was not until 1937, when he was 70, that he
was made an
honorary member of the famed Explorers Club in New York. In
1946 he was
honored by the U.S. Navy with a medal. His most-prized award,
though, was a
gold medal from the Chicago Geographic Society.

Henson died on March 9th, 1955, and was buried in Woodlawn
Cemetery in the
Bronx; however, behind a movement led by Dr. S. Allen Counter,
a Henson
biographer, President Reagan granted permission on the 79th
anniversary of
the discovery of the North Pole to have the remains of both
Henson and his
wife moved to lay adjacent to Robert Peary in Arlington National
Cemetery.

*****

* A congressional panel decreed on Thursday that Amtrak,
the government
subsidized railroad company, should be broken up and the market
opened to
competition. S. Lee Kling, one of the committee members, explained,

“Funding should not be provided without the rail system
operating like a
business, having the controls, the accountability, the planning
and the
marketing. It has to operate like a business or it shouldn’t
be funded.”
Amtrak counters that the report “sidesteps the underlying
policy and
funding issues that must be determined. First, a federal commitment
to
define, develop and invest in the passenger rail system must
be made.” A
new intercity rail system would require public subsidies much
larger than
those Amtrak has received in recent years.

* In a speech after presenting the 2002 Nelson Mandela Health
and Human
Rights award, that former president of South Africa urged
his country to
fight a “war” on HIV and AIDS. With five million
or nearly 11% of South
Africans infected, the country has the world’s single greatest
HIV-positive
population. Mandela says the fight should focus on the problem
of
mother-to-child transmission. Currently, only 10% of HIV-positive
pregnant
women in South Africa have access to the infection-preventing
medication
that can save their unborn babies.

* With a vote of 400-12, the House passed a bill on Thursday
granting $800
million over the next five years to colleges and research
groups to find
new ways to foil computer hackers. The bill was inspired by
the attacks of
September 11 and by a new awareness of the vulnerability of
business and
government computer systems. Although most cyber-attacks have
been
inconvenient rather dangerous, experts predict the assaults
will grow much
more serious. The CIA revealed last year that the U.S., China,
and Russia
are all training forces to attack and defend targets using
the Internet.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) warned, “In this new age,
we must have training
both for a new generation of cyber warriors whose most important
weapon is
not a gun, but a laptop.” If also passed by the Senate,
the bill would fund
new research and education grants at the National Science
Foundation and
the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

*****

Friday:

“Stochastic Social Networks and the Case of the Nonconvergent
Data,” Arnold
Dresden Mathematics and Statistics Lecture
Professor Robin Pemantle, Ohio State University
Kohlberg 115, 4:00 p.m.

Shabbat services and dinner
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.

Anime Club showing
Kohlberg 330, 7:00 p.m.

Swarthmore Christian Fellowship meeting
Kohlberg 115, 7:30 p.m.

Film: “Rocky”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Black History Month Movie Night: “Remember the Titans”
Black Cultural Center, 8:00 p.m.

Ilk Filk Sing-along
Kohlberg 226, 8:00 p.m.

International Club movie night
Kohlberg 116, 7:30 p.m.

Men’s Rugby party
Olde Club, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Film: “Blow-Up”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

32nd Annual English-Scottish Ball
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.

Faculty Dance Concert
LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Celebration of Mass
Bond Memorial Hall, 11:00 a.m.

Svintaje: Balkan and East European Vocal Ensemble
Lang Concert Hall, 3:00 p.m.

Protestant Worship
Bond 2nd floor, 4:00 p.m.

Higher Ground meeting
Kohlberg 115, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

* Shaquille O’Neal will miss his second straight All-Star
gamedue to pain
in his right foot that doctors have identified as arthritis
in his big toe.
He missed last year’s game because of an inflamed arch. Placed
on the
injured list Thursday,O’Neal will also miss four games during
the regular
season,hopefully returning February 19 to play the Boston
Celtics.Without
O’Neal, who averages 26.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.35
blocked shots a
game, the Lakers havebeen 5-4. Elton Brand of the Los Angeles
Clippers
willmake his debut in the All-Star game as O’Neal’s replacement.Although

O’Neal is not playing in the game this weekend, he will still
be there to
support the Western Conference.

* After a 12-13 start and several turnovers, Duke surged
in the second half
to secure an 80-49 victory over Florida State, the unranked
team that upset
them earlier in the season. Behind Mike Dunlevy, whoended
with 20 points
and hit a few clutch three-pointers to get Duke on a roll,
the Devilsgained
their firstten-pointlead midway through the second half.Afterwards,
they
seemed like the number team everyone expected them to be.
As in the last
match-up between the teams, Jason Williams, had another terrible
game,
shooting3-24 on the evening though he normally averages 21.9
points a game.
Despite William’s poor performance, the Devils went on a 36-11
run with 12
minutes remaining in the second half, giving the Seminoles
no chance to
come back.With the win, Duke’s record improves to 22-1.

* Former head coach of the Seattle Sting, Anne Donovan, was
named assistant
coach of the 2002 Women’s Basketball World Championship team.The
head coach
is Van Chancelor, coach of the four-time WNBA championship
Huston Comets.
Donovan was the assistant for the World Championship team
that went 9-0 and
won the gold medal in 1998.Shewas also a three-time Olympian,
winning gold
medals in basketball in 1984 and 1988.She is a great addition
to the
coaching staff because she brings experience and a desire
to win.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Saturday:
Indoor track and field at Franklin and Marshall Invite, 10:00
a.m.
Indoor track and field at Penn State Open, 10:00 a.m.
Men’s tennis versus Mt. St. Mary’s, 10:00 a.m.
Swimming at Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
Women’s basketball at Ursinus, 2:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball at Ursinus, 3:00 p.m.
Men’s tennis versus St. Joseph’s, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday:
There are no contests scheduled for Sunday.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect
of alphabet soup?”
–John Mendosa

*****
.
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Contact the staff at daily@swarthmore.edu

News Editors: Karla Gilbride
Pei Pei Liu
Sports Editor: Jeremy Schifeling
Photo Editor: Casey Reed

World News Roundup: Chiara Ricciardone
World Sports Roundup: Shavaugn Lewis

News Reporters: Mary Harrison
Evelyn Khoo
Sanggee Kim
Natacha Pascal
Kent Qian
Alexis Reedy
Chiara Ricciardone

Sports Writers: Muhsin Abdur-Rahman
Shavaugn Lewis
Pat Quinn

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This concludes today’s report.