Monday, February 25, 2002

August 25, 1989: Huey P. Newton, Black Panther Party Co-Founder,
Dies

Huey P. Newton was born to a family of six in Monroe, Louisiana
in
1942.Soon after his birth, his family moved to Oakland, California,
where
Huey wouldspend the rest of his life fighting racism. He taught
himself to
read at the age of 18 and went on to Oakland’s Merritt College,
where he
met Bobby Seale. Together they founded the Black Panther Party
for
Self-Defense in October of 1966.Newtonwas the Minister of
Defense. He saw
that the police wereoften using guns to threaten and harass
the Black
community andsuggested that Blacks take a stand against such
injustices.
Panthers began to do Police Patrols, in which they legally
carried their
guns and watched over police interactions from a safe, yet
uncomfortable
(for the police) position.It was ideas such as these that
made Newton a
target of the police force. In 1967, he was charged with manslaughter
when
a police officer was killed after stopping Newton and a friend
at a traffic
light. Although the charges were overturned in 1970, Newton
served a year
in the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. Thousands
of supporters
gathered outside the jail and courthouse, yelling chants of
“Free Huey,”
but he told them that they must have the desire to free themselves.Shortly

after his release, he was forced to flee the country. He returned
in 1977
and received a Ph.D. from the University of California in
1980. Huey P.
Newton was shot to death in Oakland in 1989.

*****

* The Washington Times is reporting that a former U.S. government

laboratory scientist is now the chief suspect in the anthrax
attacks after
September 11 that killed five people. The scientist was discovered
after
more than 300 people were interviewed, including 50 researchers
known to
have the ability to produce the anthrax strains in the infected
letters.
The alleged suspect is believed to have been fired twice from
government
jobs, one as a former employee at the U.S. Army Medical Research
Institute
of Infectious Diseases in Maryland. No charges have yet been
filed against
the unidentified scientist, and the FBI were not available
for comment.

* A hole has been discovered in an underground passageway
alongside the
U.S. embassy in Rome, and sources say there may have been
plans to plant a
chemical bomb there. The discovery was made following the
arrest of four
Moroccan men who were found in possession of large quantities
of a cyanide
compound, explosive powder, and maps of the water system surrounding
the
embassy. Alerted by the arrest, Italian police inspected the
tunnels around
the embassy and found the hole, which reportedly was not there
during the
last inspection in mid-January. Investigators have been quotes
as saying,
“An attack by an al Qaeda terrorist commando on the American
embassy might
have been just days away, or even hours away.”

* A group of Marxist guerrillas belonging to the Revolutionary
Armed Forces
of Colombia kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt, a candidate for the
Colombian
presidency, after she ignored military advice and tried to
enter an area of
disputed jungle territory on Saturday afternoon. Clara Rojas,
Betancourt’s
campaign manager, was also taken. Staff members with the politician
were
detained but later released. Military helicopters have been
searching for
the two women, but officials said that sending in ground troops
would be
too risky. Colombia has a history of violence leading up to
elections: in
1990, three presidential candidates were shot by drug gangs.

*****

Lecture and Slide Presentation by Kukuli Velarde, Mixed Media
Artist
LPAC Cinema, 4:30 p.m.

Iranian Film: “Leila”
LPAC Cinema, 6:30 p.m.

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

Urban Education Semester Information Session
Bond Memorial Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Film: “In the Land of the Deaf”
Kohlberg 330, 8:30 p.m.

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

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

SWIL movie night: “Pi”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 10:00 p.m.

———

UPCOMING EVENTS

Lecture by Diego Castellanos
Scheuer Room. Wednesday, February 27, 4:30 p.m.

The Intercultural Center, as part of the 10 Year Anniversary
Celebration,
presents a lecture by Diego Castellanos, the ABC television
host of Puerto
Rican Panorama for the last 30 years.He will come and speak
about his
experience with the Latino/a community in Philadelphia, its
growth, and its
challenges.Contact Meghna Bhagat for more information.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

by Jeremy Schifeling
Section Editor

By all accounts, it had been a very good week for the women’s
basketball
team. On Monday, Katie Robinson ’04 was named the Centennial
Conference
Player of the Year and Heather Kile ’02 was selected to the
All-Conference
First-Team for the fourth consecutive year. Then, on Wednesday,
the team
upset Franklin & Marshall in the Conference semifinals
to advance to their
second Centennial Championship in as many seasons.

If nothing else, mere inertia should have brought the team
success in its
weekend championship showdown with Western Maryland. Unfortunately
for the
Garnet Tide, success often defies the laws of physics, and
their wonderful
week came to a sour end Saturday with a 66-38 loss to the
Green Terror.

The game, which was attended by a large number of Swat fans
who made the
two-and-a-half hour trek down to Westminster, MD, began poorly
for the
Garnet. Despite winning the opening tip-off, the team quickly
turned it
over and Western Maryland went on a 6-0 run during the first
three minutes.
Robinson finally put the Garnet on the board after nearly
four minutes had
passed, but an ominous trend had been started – one from which
the team
would never fully recover.

Throughout the first half, the Tide struggled to get anything
going on
offense. Strict officiating and a constant Green Terror full-court
trap
restricted Swat’s ability to drive effectively, but ice-cold
shooting (19%
for the half) proved to be the real culprit. Meanwhile, Western
Maryland
shot at a 44% clip and generated numerous second-chance opportunities
on
the occasions when their aim was off. This accuracy differential
manifested
itself most visibly on the scoreboard, as the Green Terror
took a 29-12
lead into halftime.

While the first half appeared to be an aberration, considering
the team’s
consistently strong play all season, its trends continued
well into the
second. Though the Garnet finally began to hit some shots,
the Green Terror
just picked up the pace on offense. As a result, all of the
team’s attempts
to make a comeback run were punctured by lapses on defense
and Western
Maryland’s strong presence on the offensive glass. In particular,
6’2″ Kris
Brust overpowered the Swat interior while Second-Team All-Conference
guard
Jen Piccolomini scorched the Garnet from all over the court,
leading all
scorers with 14 points.

As the contest dragged on, Swat got further and further away
from its
strengths. The team stopped trying to penetrate altogether
and settled for
perimeter shots, which it continued to miss with some regularity.
To make
matters worse, Kile, the team’s all-time leading scorer, fouled
out midway
through the second half, after notching one of the team’s
19 fouls on the
afternoon. Her exit served a final blow to the team’s hopes
and, depending
on the squad’s involvement with other postseason tournaments,
may prove to
have been a sad farewell to one of the College’s greatest
athletes of all time.

However, Kile left the contest on the same note with which
she began her
illustrious Swat career – playing hard and hustling for the
ball. She
finished the game with 10 points, second only to Robinson’s
12. And as she
always has, she led the team in the one category that truly
defines hustle
– rebounds – pulling down seven boards in the contest.

With the disappointing loss, the team retained an outside
shot at earning
an at-large bid from the NCAA Selection Committee, which picks
the teams
for the Division III tournament that begins this Wednesday.
Unfortunately,
the Garnet, who made it to the second round of the tournament
last year,
were passed over this time around when the Committee released
its
selections last night.

The team still has the opportunity to see more action this
year with a bid
for the ECAC tournament. Selections for that competition will
be announced
this afternoon.

Regardless of the outcome though, from the individual honors
to the strong
team play, it was a season to remember for the Tide. And in
Heather Kile, a
player who cannot be forgotten.

*****

The women’s swim team is the Centennial Conference champion
for the second
year in a row after placing first at this weekend’s Conference

Championships. Meanwhile, the men’s squad finished fourth
and set a number
of school records in the process.

On the women’s side, Melanie Johncilla ’05, Amy Auerbach
’02, Davita
Burkhead-Weiner ’03, and Natalie Briones ’03 led the team
to victory with a
meet and school record-breaking performance in the 400 freestyle
relay.
Johncilla, Auerbach, and Burkhead-Weiner also teamed with
Katherine Reid
’05 to take the 800 freestyle and set another school mark.
Finally, Briones
and Burkhead-Weiner joined Kathryn Stauffer ’05 and Leah Davis
’04 to win
the 200 freestyle, with yet another historic performance.
Each of the times
was also good enough for NCAA “B-Cut” qualifying
status, as was Briones’s
time in the 100 breast stroke.

The men also had numerous strong individual performances,
although their
team score was beaten by host-school F&M, Gettysburg,
and Dickinson. Mike
Dudley ’03 took the 200 IM and John Lillvis ’03 was victorious
in the 400
IM race – each of those times breaking the previous school
records. A third
College mark fell when Dudley and Lillvis joined with freshmen
Jacob Ross
and Mike Auerbach to place third in the 200 freestyle relay.
In addition,
Dudley captured the 100 breaststroke and David Whitehead ’03
won both the
100 and 200 butterfly races.

*****

Although the women’s indoor track team finished just sixth
out of ten teams
at this past weekend’s Conference Championships, Imo Akpan
’02 had the
performance of a lifetime, earning six gold medals at the
meet.
Unfortunately, the men were less successful, placing last
in the competition.

Akpan, who was named Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet,
won the 55
meters race, setting a school record and notching an NCAA
qualifying time.
She set another school record in the 200 meters, and was again
victorious
in the 400 meter competition – both meet records. However,
Akpan was not
done. She went on to join with Njideka Akunyili ’04, Elizabeth
Gardner ’05,
and Claire Hoverman ’03 in winning the 4×400 relay and the
Distance Medley
Relay – again breaking school records in the process. And
finally, the
versatile athlete won gold in the long jump contest, smashing
school and
meet marks in mid-flight.

For the men, Lang Reynolds ’05 had the best performance,
taking fifth in
the 3,000 meters. Matt Williams ’04 also placed seventh in
the 55 meter
hurdles for the Garnet.

*****

Playing their first game of the season Saturday, the men’s
lacrosse team
won an overtime thriller when Than Court ’03 scored the game-winner
with
just 21.5 seconds left in the extra period. His goal gave
the Garnet a 10-9
victory over Mary Washington.

Joe DeSimone ’04 led the team with four goals, and helped
the squad
establish a 9-7 lead with just 1:17 to go in regulation. Mary
Washington
struck for two scores in just 23 seconds, however, forcing
overtime.

Steven Isbister ’04 and Ryan Croken ’05 were solid for Swat
between the
pipes, combining for 13 saves.

The team will attempt to continue its early success when
Swat plays
Manhattanville this Saturday.

*****

The men’s tennis team completed a perfect February this Saturday
by beating
Farleigh-Dickinson, 4-3. Swat was 4-0 on the month, with all
their victims
coming from Division I. The team will takes its David vs.
Goliath act into
the month of March when they face University of Chicago Illinois
this Friday.

*****

* Canada won its first men’s hockey gold in 50 years by beating
the US 5-2
in yesterday’s championship game. Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic
each scored
twice for Canada and Martin Brodeur made 31 saves in goal.
It was also the
first time in 70 years that America had lost an Olympic hockey
match on
home ice. The second-place finish brought America’s final
medal count for
the Games to 34, obliterating the previous US record of 13
medals and
finishing just one behind Germany’s top count this year.

* Cross-country skiers Larissa Lazutina of Russia and Johann
Muehlegg of
Spain had their most recent gold medals stripped by the International

Olympic Committee yesterday for testing positive for use of
darbepoetin a
drug that prevents anemia in kidney patients but can also
boost athletic
performance. The drug is not currently on the IOC’s banned
substances list,
but the organization said that the medal forfeitures should
serve as a
warning to athletes trying to stay one step ahead of medical
research. Each
of the athletes had also won gold in previous events at Salt
Lake, but only
the results of the tests conducted after their latest victories
had come
out positive, and as a result, they were allowed to retain
their earlier
medals.

* After the Washington Wizards dropped their fifth game in
a row, losing
92-80 to Miami last night, Michael Jordan said he might go
on the injury
list to allow his bruised right knee to heal. That move would
require the
star to miss five games but may be necessary considering his
ailments
forced him to sit out the final 6:27 of Sunday evening’s contest.

Meanwhile, Toronto dunkmaster Vince Carter returned from the
injury list
last night, after missing seven games with a strained left
quad, but was
unable to help the Raptors end an eight-game losing skid.
Toronto fell to
the Sonics, 101-92, as Brent Barry, Gary Payton, and Rashard
Lewis all
scored over 20 points.

*****

There are no contests scheduled for today or tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might
as well be happy.”
–Cynthia Nelms

*****

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
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.