Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
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The Daily Gazette
Swarthmore College
Friday, March 29, 2002
Volume 6, Number 105
Our new email address: daily@swarthmore.edu
Photo of the day: http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/photo.html
Today’s issue: http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/
NEWS IN BRIEF
1) Math team receives honorable mention at Putnam competition
SPORTS IN BRIEF
WEATHER FORECAST
Today: Mostly cloudy. High around 59.
This weekend is actually shaping up to be pretty interesting.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with light rain late. Low around 45.
I mean, it’d be wild enough with “Cabaret” going on.
Saturday: Rain. High near 58
But to schedule the Sager party for the same weekend.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy. High around 58.
Do I sense people really needing to relieve some frustration?
TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU
Lunch: Beef with broccoli, jasmine rice, three bean casserole, eggplant
creole, veggie blend, fortune cookies, wrap bar
Dinner: Chicken picante, rice pilaf, tabouleh, baby carrots, peas, pizza bar
NEWS REPORT
1) Math team receives honorable mention at Putnam competition
from the Office of News and Information
Swarthmore College’s student math team finished among the top ten at the
62nd Annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Swarthmore’s
eighth-place finish out of a field of more than 300 teams from the U.S. and
Canada–which warranted an honorable mention–represents the College’s best
in its last 20 years of participation in the event. Although the
competition took place in December, the results were announced last week.
Swarthmore’s team consisted of Yijun Li ’05, a freshman from Shanghai, P.R.
China, Amy Marinello ’02, a math major and computer science minor from
Leicester, Mass., and Benjamin Schak ’03, a math major and linguistics
minor from Minneapolis, Minn. Individually, Schak scored in the top 20 out
of 2,954 contestants from 453 colleges and universities and earned $250,
while Marinello scored in the top 200 and Li scored in the top 500.
The Putnam competition, administered by the Mathematical Association of
America, is a six-hour math exam given on the first Saturday of each
December. According to James Wiseman, a visiting assistant professor of
mathematics at Swarthmore, the median score on the exam “is usually about
zero or one out of 120, so it’s pretty tough. I attribute the team’s
success to the Tasty Kakes at the practice sessions.”
Eleven additional Swarthmore students took the exam. They are: David Berger
’04, Krisna Duong-Ly ’05, Abram Falk ’03, Daniel Finkel ’02, Matt Fowles
’04, Daniel Keys ’05, David McCandlish ’05, Mark Romanowsky ’03, Jonathan
Schneider ’05, Jiwon Shin ’05, and Ursula Whitcher ’03.
*****
* According to Palestinian officials, approximately 30 Israeli tanks
entered Ramallah on the West Bank early Friday morning and armored
bulldozers began demolishing the fence surrounding Yasser Arafat’s
headquarters compound. The incursion followed a statement by Arafat that he
was “prepared for an immediate cease-fire” in the wake of a Palestinian
suicide bombing which killed 20 Passover celebrants at a hotel on
Wednesday. The Israeli government rejected Arafat’s truce offer and
confirmed that an army operation is currently taking place in Ramallah,
although they would not give any further details. When asked if the U.S.
was urging Israeli restraint in response to Wednesday’s bombing, State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, “Both sides need to do their
utmost to end violence and intimidation, to avoid escalation, to end
provocation and incitement, to consider the consequences of their actions.”
* U.S. prosecutors Paul McNulty and James Comey announced yesterday that
they will seek the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui for his alleged
part in the hijacking terrorist attacks of September 11. In their court
filing, the prosecutors justified their decision by stating that “the
actions of defendant Zacarias Moussaoui resulted in the deaths of
approximately 3,000 people from more than 15 countries” in “the largest
loss of life resulting from a criminal act in the history of the United
States.” Attorney General John Ashcroft approved the decision in a press
conference despite pleas from the French Justice Ministry not to seek
capital punishment for the French citizen, who at this point is the only
person charged in the United States in connection with the September 11
attacks. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said that France regretted
the decision and would not transmit any evidence against Moussaoui to the
U.S. if it could possibly be used to back up a death sentence. Vedrine
added, however, that France would continue to cooperate with the United
States in the war on terrorism and in the investigation of the September 11
attacks. Moussaoui’s trial is scheduled to begin in Alexandria, Virginia on
September 30 with jury selection.
* A team of scientists at UC Berkeley reported yesterday that they have
produced the first generation of cheap, portable plastic solar cells that
could someday power a host of portable and even wearable electronic
devices. In contrast to the bulky silicon-based solar cells widely used
today, the new cells are composed of hair-thin nanorods dispersed in
plastic and sandwiched between electrodes. In addition, one of the
scientists working on the project noted, the new cells can be made “quick
and dirty” in a laboratory beaker without the sophisticated processing
or
expensive equipment that is needed for contemporary solar cells. While
admitting that their current design is not yet as efficient as traditional
solar cells, the team hopes that with further development the technology
could have a host of practical applications, including solar panels on
radios, small computer processors, or even LED’s (light emitting diodes)
sewn into clothing. “The beauty of this is that you could put solar cells
directly on plastic, which has unlimited flexibility,” one of the study
participants commented.
*****
Friday:
Information session on Coastal Environmental Management Program
Gail Cannon, Duke University
Kirby Lecture Hall, 12:00 p.m.
Physics and Astronomy student thesis talks
Dupont 133, 4:00 p.m.
“How Computers Change Human Work”
Frank Levy, Rose Professor of Urban Economics, MIT
Kohlberg 226, 4:30 p.m.
Shabbat services and dinner
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.
Anime Club showing
Kohlberg 330, 7:00 p.m.
Sager film: “Don’t Tell Anyone”
Intercultural Center, 7:30 p.m.
Swarthmore Christian Fellowship meeting
Kohlberg 115, 7:30 p.m.
Film: “Monsters Inc.”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.
International Club movie night
Kohlberg 116, 8:00 p.m.
“Café con leche” Intercultural Center coffee house
Kohlberg Coffee Bar, 8:00 p.m.
“Cabaret,” directed by Tiffany Lennon ’02
LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 8:00 p.m.
Deshi’s Holi Party
Paces, 10:00 p.m.
Saturday:
SWIL video showing
Kohlberg 116, 1:30 p.m.
“Cabaret,” directed by Tiffany Lennon ’02
LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Passover
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.
Film: “Monsters Inc.”
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.
Muslim Student Association prayer group
Parrish 370, 9:00 p.m.
Sager Party: “Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Olde Club and WRC, 10:00 p.m.
Sunday:
Celebration of Mass
Bond Memorial Hall, 11:00 a.m.
Open COLORS meeting
Intercultural Center, 4:00 p.m.
Protestant Worship
Bond second floor, 4:00 p.m.
Passover
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.
Higher Ground meeting
Kohlberg 115, 9:00 p.m.
———–
Friday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.
“I Agree With Matt”
Kohlberg 115
Wonder what all the t-shirts are about? Come hear Matt Asano ’02 speak on
Friday.
———–
SCARLET LETTERS
Swarthmore’s Women’s Literary Magazine
Calling for submissions of poetry, prose and art work by female students,
staff, faculty and alums.
We’re interested in all types and topics so please send us your work!
Submissions due by this Friday the 29th of March to kkuiper1@swarthmore.edu
———-
Sunday, April 31
Early morning “Easter Sunrise Service”
Scott Outdoor Amphitheater
SCF’s annual Eastern Sunrise Service will be held once again this Sunday
morning. In case of rain, meet in Upper Tarble. Rides to local churches
will be provided afterwards for interested students.
———-
Film & Lecture: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WAR
Monday April 1, 2002
4:30 pm
LPAC Cinema
The environment is not often thought of as a casualty of war, but the
Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Yugoslavian wars all left grim legacies of
ecological contamination. The film shows that environmental contamination
carries human costs: e.g., depleted uranium used in Desert Storm and in
Yugoslavia threatens to slowly kill survivors of those wars. The 1977
Environment Modification Convention, establishing an international protocol
to protect the environment during wartime, was ratified by the U.S. in
1979, but as the film explains, the Pentagon has already violated it in the
Gulf War, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere.
Film: The Environmental Impact of War
1999/29 min/America’s Defense Monitor
Speaker: Jay Austin, Environmental Law Institute
Senior Staff Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). Mr. Austin
specializes in environmental law, policy, and education and environmental
justice.
Sponsored by the Forum for Free Speech, the President’s Office, the
Economics and Political Science Departments. Contact ypham1@swarthmore.edu
for questions or to comment.
———-
Ever wonder about the culture of the chicken? Is there perhaps something
more to the living form of that delectable white meat? Or what about Cane
Toads? What’s their deal?Come find out at a SAC-sponsored study break.
We’ll be watching “The Natural History of the Chicken” as well as
“Cane
Toads.” The event will be replete with scrumptious chicken and toad treats.
April 2, LPAC Cinema, 10:00 p.m.
*****
SPORTS UPDATE
* Michael Jordan told reporters yesterday that he will not play in the NBA
next season if his knee problems, which have hampered his performance all
year, do not get better. However, he also said that he plans to honor his
two-year contract with the Washington Wizards if he is physically capable
of doing so. Jordan’s statement came in response to comments made by
Wizards’ coach Doug Collins on Wednesday that indicated MJ was not likely
to return next season.
* Serena Williams beat her older sister Venus in the semifinals of the
Nasdaq-100 Open yesterday, 6-2, 6-2. It was only the second time in seven
meetings that the younger sibling had triumphed. Serena will now move on to
face Jennifer Capriati in the finals on Saturday. Capriati outlasted Monica
Seles in the other semifinal, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
* Memphis defeated South Carolina 72-62 last night to claim the 2002 NIT
Championship. Earl Barron notched a career-high 25 points for the Tigers,
while tournament MVP Dajuan Wagner scored 16. Many college basketball
analysts expect this to be Wagner’s last collegiate game with the NBA draft
coming up. Though he has not decided to enter the draft, Wagner, a
freshman, could be among the first 13 players selected according to Memphis
coach John Calipari.
*****
Today:
Baseball at Washington, 3:00 p.m.
Women’s tennis hosts Washington, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday:
Track and field at Widener Invite, 11:00 a.m.
Baseball hosts Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
Women’s lacrosse at Gettysburg, 1:00 p.m.
Men’s lacrosse at Western Maryland, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday:
Men’s tennis hosts Washington & Lee, 10:00 a.m.
*****
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Laws are like sausages; it is better not to see them being made.”
–Otto von Bismarck
*****
.
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Section Editors: Karla Gilbride
Pei Pei Liu
Jeremy Schifeling
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News Reporters: Mary Harrison
Evelyn Khoo
Sanggee Kim
Natacha Pascal
Kent Qian
Alexis Reedy
Chiara Ricciardone
Sportswriters: Muhsin Abdur-Rahman
Shavaugn Lewis
Pat Quinn
Photographer: Casey Reed
World News: Karla Gilbride
Campus and
World Sports: Jeremy Schifeling
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This concludes today’s report.
