Monday, February 11, 2002

by Mary Harrison
Gazette News Reporter

After spending several hours in a prison cell, the three
Swarthmore
students arrested during the World Economic Forum protests
last weekend
returned to school on Wednesday.

Their 6:20 p.m. train from New York was met at the Swarthmore
station by a
group of friends and fellow activists. During the anxious
period between
the students’ arrest and their return, these friends were
constantly
pooling information, eager for any news relating to their
situation, little
of which had been forthcoming.

Exhausted from sleeping on concrete floors and bearing red
marks and
bruises on their wrists from the plastic handcuffs, Gregory
Holt ’05,
Jessica Colman ’05 and Jesse O’Brien ’03 returned to a pile
of work, the
support of friends, and the focus of the college media.

Colman was released at midnight on Monday, after her arraignment,
to a
crowd of activist-supporters and the independent media. O’Brien
was
releasedTuesday afternoon, and Holt at 7:30 on Tuesday evening,
one of the
last to be let out. None had to post bail.

Both Colman and Holt were shaken from their incarceration.
According to
Colman, “the conditions were bad in that they didn’t
give you all your
rights, but it was better than what a lot of people experienced.”

The WEF protestors were placed in special cells marked “World
Economic
Forum Movement,” separated by sex. Of the other 25 women
in Colman’s cell,
several were experienced activists who knew what to expect
and how to go
about getting legal aid. They also helped keep spirits up;
according to
Colman, the level of solidarity was high. Having nothing else
to do, she
said, the protestors “sang a lot–radical cheerleader
chants,” especially
when being moved. Colman also noticed people in other cells
bowling, using
empty cereal boxes for pins.

Holt, for his part, strongly condemned the behavior of the
police. When
asked to describe police treatment, Holt said “they ignored
medical
problems. A boy with a broken finger was denied treatment
for 8 hours. When
they finally took him to the hospital, the doctors were appalled.
That
basically sums it up.”

In addition to being held for 54 hours before arraignment,
18 hours over
the legal limit, Holt was interrogated. “It was really
bizarre,” he said.
“They were being nice in a really fake way. They were
trying to get me to
reveal information about other organizations they thought
I might be
associated with.”

According to Holt, the police also fired a question in Russian
at him to
try to catch him off guard, and asked whether his dark nail
polish meant he
was affiliated with Goths.

Holt was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing
government
administration. Colman and O’Brien face the same charges,
as well as the
charge of parading without a permit. All three declined to
discussthe
circumstances of their arrests because of their pending legal
trials. They
are now talking with their lawyers and awaiting their trials,
at which they
plan to plead not-guilty. They are also planning a class action
lawsuit
against the NYPD along with other jailed protestors.

When asked how his time in jail affected him, Holt said,”I
had an
intellectual understanding of it before, but I was surprised
to encounter
that sort of degradation. It made me more certain of the things
I already
believed in. It strengthened my commitment–both because of
the police and
because of the people I was with.”

*****

by Jeremy Schifeling
Section Editor

Charged last year by the College with the task of evaluating
the
institution’s current land usage, as well as its options for
future growth,
the Land Use Planning Committee will discuss the results of
its analysis
with both students and staff in two separate meetings this
week.

While the Committee’s primary objective has been to help
guide the
College’s decision-making, it also has been asked to aid the
Borough of
Swarthmore’s review of zoning and property use in the area.

“To respond to their request, we have identified values
and principles of
land use, and we have developed a broad-based strategy for
land use in the
future,” said Susan Sayer of the Facilities Design and
Construction department.

The make-up of the Committee, which is co-chaired by Larry
Schall, VP for
Facilities and Services, and Carr Everbach, an Associate Professor
of
Engineering, is quite diverse, including administrators, faculty,
staff,
and students. Seniors Johanna Yoon and Olga Rostapshova are
the student
representatives.

The Committee members encourage interested staff to attend
a brown bag
lunch today at noon in the Scheuer Room. A fireside chat for
students is
scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Kohlberg Lounge.

At each event, Schall and Sayer will answer questions and
preview the land
use report that they plan to present to the Borough Planning
Commission
later this semester.

*****

by Shavaugn Lewis
Gazette Sportswriter

November 9, 1731: Inventor Benjamin Banneker is born in Ellicott
City,
Maryland.

Born to an English family in which two generations of women
had married
their (former) slaves, Banneker was free by law but very much
a slave in
the minds of many Americans. Despite being told that he was
worthless, he
proved that he was quite the opposite when he created his
own clock, made
entirely of wood, in 1753. It was the first clock built in
the New World,
and it kept perfect time for nearly 40 years. In 1789, he
predicted an
eclipse and continued to publish his predictions from 1792
to 1802. He sent
a copy to Thomas Jefferson and reminded him that though Jefferson
had said
that all men were equal, he himself had slaves. Jefferson
placed Banneker
on the planning committee for designing Washington, D.C.,
and when the main
designer walked out, Banneker recreated the plans for our
nation’s capitol
from memory, including streets, parks, and major buildings.

*****

WEEKLY SPECIALS:
Noodles with Spicy Lime Soba Sauce
Gong Hay Fat Choy (Happy New Year) pancakes
Autumn Gold Soup
Greek Salad

DESSERTS:
MONDAY
German Chocolate Pound Cake
Coconut Fudge Cheesecake

TUESDAY
Lemon Coconut Layer Cake
Chocolate Cream Pie

WEDNESDAY
Coconut Cake
Chocolate Raspberry Streusel Squares

*****

* Using Apache helicopters and F-16 warplanes, the Israeli
military
attacked targets in the Gaza strip yesterday. Bombs were dropped
on Yasser
Arafat’s presidential compound and the naval police headquarters
were
destroyed. At least eight missiles were fired at a metal workshop
where
Israelis allege that Palestinian militants have been producing
mortar
shells. At least 30 people were injured in the attacks.

* Workers began a major clean up operation yesterday off
the coast of New
Zealand to remove the 25-40 tons of oil that have already
leaked from the
log carrier Jody F. Millennium. The ship, which was carrying
more than 700
tons of oil, ran aground in high seas four days ago near the
North Island
port of Gisborne. Officials say that the vessel has stopped
leaking oil,
and the remainder will be pumped off today. So far, only about
75 birds
have been found with slight oiling, and one red-billed gull
has been
treated for oil contamination.

* To many drug users, Switzerland has become the place to
live. Once the
country with the highest HIV and heroin addiction rates in
Europe, the
government has now implemented a highly controversial heroin
prescription
program to reduce harm to addicts. Patients are allowed into
a clinic once
an hour, where they take a number, a clean syringe, and inject
the drug in
an orderly fashion under staff supervision. Dr. Daniel Meili,
who is in
charge of Zurich’s program, defends the plan: “Our patients
have achieved
more stable lifestyles, their health has improved, and some
even have
jobs…many of these people have hepatitis, or are HIV positive.
If they
didn’t get heroin here, they’d be out on the street.”

*****

Land Use Planning Committee presentation
Scheuer Room, 12:00 p.m.

Denver Publishing Institute information session
Sharples Room 6, 12:00 p.m.

“The 2000 Census: An Interaction of Politics and Statistics”
Jerome Reiter, University of California at Santa Barbara
Kohlberg 330, 4:00 p.m.

Lecture by candidate for Political Theory position in Department
of
Political Science
Kohlberg 115, 4:30 p.m.

“How Politics Built a Prison Nation”
Sasha Abramsky, Journalist and Author of “Hard Time Blues”
Scheuer Room, 4:30 p.m.

J.P. Morgan Chase information session
Bond Memorial Hall, 7:00 p.m.

French Cinema Club video showing
Kohlberg 302, 7:30 p.m.

Hebrew Bible Text Study: Love Relationships
Lodge Five, 7:30 p.m.

Queer and Questioning Small Group
SQU Room, 8:30 p.m.

Swarthmore Progressive Action Committee
Kohlberg 228, 9:30 p.m.

“Vagina Night” women’s open mic
Paces, 9:30 p.m.

Student Council meeting
CRC, 10:00 p.m.

SWIL movie night: “Return of the Killer Tomatoes”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 10:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Facing off against the Red Devils of Dickinson on Saturday,
the women’s
swimming team emerged victorious, 111-84, while the men’s
squad fell, 118-87.

For the women, Natalie Briones ’03 was a triple-winner, taking
the 200 IM
and 200 breaststroke and swimming in the victorious 400 medley
relay. Amy
Auerbach ’02 and Davita Burkhead-Weiner ’03 also contributed
to that win
before helping Swat capture the 400 freestyle relay. Additionally,

first-years Melanie Johncilla and Katherine Reid each won
an individual
race, taking the 200 free and 500 free, respectively. With
the win, the
women’s record improves to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Centennial
Conference.

On the men’s side, John Lillvis ’03 was also a triple-winner,
capturing the
200 IM and 200 butterfly, and contributing to the Swat victory
in the 400
medley relay. Fellow junior Mike Dudley also swam for the
Garnet in that
race and then won the 200 butterfly as well. Meanwhile, David
Whitehead ’03
was victorious in both the 100 and 200 freestyle competitions.

Unfortunately, their performances were not enough and the
team’s record
falls to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Conference as a result.

*****

Despite a season-best game from Matt Gustafson ’05, the men’s
hoopsters
dropped their Saturday matchup against Ursinus, 79-68. Gustafson
notched 24
points, a high mark in his young career, to go along with
his 12 boards in
recording his first collegiate double-double. First-year Blair
Haxel also
had a break-out game, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven
rebounds–both
career-highs. However, the dynamic freshman duo and their
teammates did not
have enough gas in the tank to hold onto a marginal lead with
four minutes
to go. As a result, Ursinus outscored the Garnet 18-6 the
rest of the way,
sealing Swat’s fate and dropping the team’s record to 6-17
overall and 1-10
in the Conference.

*****

Playing in their first competition of the month, the men’s
tennis team
defeated two Division I squads in a tough Saturday triple-match.
In the
morning, the Garnet easily dispatched Mt. St. Mary’s 5-0.
Then, in the
afternoon, the team narrowly beat St. Joseph’s 3-2. Individual
stats from
the matches were not available at publication.

*****

The men’s and women’s track teams traveled to Franklin &
Marshall over the
weekend to strut their stuff at the host’s annual Indoor Classic.

The women did extremely well in a number of contests. Imo
Akpan ’02 won the
200 meter race with a time of 26.21 and then took the 55 meter
event in
7.29 seconds. Elizabeth Gardner ’05 was the runner-up in the
800 meter
dash, missing first by just twenty-hundredths of a second,
while Loring
Pfeiffer ’02 took fourth in the 3000 meters. Meanwhile, Jessica
Rickabaugh
’02 captured third in the high jump contest with a mark of
4’10”, and the
4×400 meter relay squad took their competition outright.

The men, though not as successful as their female counterparts,
had a
number of strong performances. Lang Reynolds ’05 cruised to
a relatively
easy victory in the 3000 meter race, recording a time of 9:03.3
that placed
him more than 20 seconds ahead of the nearest finisher. Rory
Konrad ’02
took fifth in that contest, while Dan Keys ’05 was seventh.
In the shot put
event, Justin Pagliei ’02 finished fourth, followed by Rob
Melick ’03 and
Doug Kneeland ’02 in sixth and seventh, respectively.

The teams return to action at next week’s Haverford Invite.

*****

* The NBA All-Star game took place Sunday night in Philadelphia’s
First
Union Center, with the West winning 135-120. Despite the game
being
something of a homecoming for Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe
Bryant, who
grew up in the area and whose father played for the Philadelphia
76ers, the
crowd sent down a cascade of boos the minute he showed his
face, a reaction
that only intensified when, after scoring 31 points to lead
the West,he was
named MVP. Sixers star Allen Iverson, who wore number six
to honor Julius
Erving (Dr. J), was held to a mere five points. Michael Jordan,
who missed
a one-handed dunk but was able to laugh it off with his teammates,
also had
a lackluster performance, scoring just eight. Tracy McGrady
was the only
Eastern player to score in double-figures (24) and astonished
the crowd
with a dunk that he bounced to himself off of the backboard.

* Kelly Clark brought home gold for the U.S. in the snowboarding
halfpipe
competition at the Winter Olympics. The former World and Junior
Champion
was second behind France’s Doriane Vidal going into the final
round but
pulled of a magnificent run and was the only one to improve
her score,
beating out Vidal (silver) and Switzerland’s Fabienne Reuteler
to win the
day. Clark’s gold is the first for the U.S. in the Salt Lake
Olympics.

* The Super Bowl may have passed, but for Pro Bowlers, football
was not
over yet.The NFL’s annual Pro Bowl took place yesterday in
Honolulu, and
the AFC reclaimed the title 38-30 thanks to a fourth-quarter
touchdown by
Ray Lewis. The Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker took a pitch from
Super Bowl
winner Ty Law after Law intercepted a pass from Eagles quarterback
Donovan
McNabb. Raider’s quarterback Rich Gannon, who recovered from
his opening
fumble that led to an Ahman Green touchdown, was the Pro Bowl
MVP. He
completed eight of 10 passes for 137 yards, including two
touchdown passes.
He is the only player to be named MVP of back-to-back Pro
Bowls; however,
many of his teammates felt that the honor should have been
given to Lewis
for his fourth-quarter magic. Nonetheless, AFC players celebrated
late into
the night after winning back bragging rights for next season.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Badminton at Bryn Athyn, 7:30 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Work is the curse of the drinking classes.”
–Oscar Wilde

*****
.
Interested in reporting or writing for the Gazette?
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Contact the staff at daily@swarthmore.edu

Section Editors: Karla Gilbride
Pei Pei Liu
Jeremy Schifeling
Photo Editor: Casey Reed
World News: Chiara Ricciardone
Campus Sports: Jeremy Schifeling
World Sports: Shavaugn Lewis
News Reporters: Mary Harrison
Evelyn Khoo
Sanggee Kim
Natacha Pascal
Kent Qian
Alexis Reedy
Chiara Ricciardone
Sportswriters: Muhsin Abdur-Rahman
Shavaugn Lewis
Pat Quinn

The Daily Gazette is published Monday through Friday by an
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This concludes today’s report.