Thursday, September 19, 2002

by Greg Leiserson
Gazette News Reporter

The Crum Woods may usually be a blissful haven for students seeking to avoid
writing their
English papers, but for the next six weekends the silence will be interrupted by
work on the
Crum Creek Railroad Bridge. SEPTA will be replacing old timbers and improving
the emergency
walkways on the bridge, which is just south of the Swarthmore Station. While
construction is
being done, the train service from Swat to Elwyn will be replaced by shuttle
busses
departing from the station.

Contractors will be removing the tracks, guard rail and walkways each weekend
and then
replacing as many timbers as time allows. At the end of the weekend, they will
reconstruct
the bridge, allowing for the resumption of service on Monday.

Travelers can expect weekend delays of approximately twenty minutes when
traveling beyond
Swarthmore. Trains to Philadelphia will be leaving Swarthmore five minutes
earlier than
regularly scheduled runs, and will be departing from the outbound side of the
tracks nearest
to campus.

The Public Safety Committee of the Swarthmore Borough Council has been
discussing how to
address concerns of business area residents regarding loud and boisterous
behavior during
the later evening hours. Over the summer the police department received numerous
calls,
usually between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., regarding excessive noise.  Officers
tried their
best to inform those present they were welcome to gather peacefully in the
business district
but they had certain responsibilities.  On several occasions the behavior and
size of the
crowd necessitated the officers to order crowds to disperse after they
continually engaged
in loud behavior and blocked the street.

Fortunately the occasions requiring police intervention have not resulted in 
enforcement
actions.  One of the suggestions resulting from the Public Safety Committee
meeting was to
provide information about existing laws officers can use to deal with problem
situations.

One topic of discussion was a possible curfew. Swarthmore does not have a curfew
ordinance.
However, every surrounding municipality does have a curfew.  Persons under the
age of 18
should be aware of those provisions as they may be in violation of those
ordinances when
returning home.  Additionally, those driving vehicles and in possession of a
junior driver’s
license may be in violation if driving after 11:00 p.m.

The Codified Ordinances of the Borough of Swarthmore, Chapter 624, deals with
disorderly
conduct and peace disturbances.  Section 624.01 identifies twelve provisions
defined as
disorderly conduct.  Several refer to activities that have been observed by
police.
Subsection (c) prohibits the writing upon, defacing, removal, injury to,
destruction of, or
misuse of any real or personal property without proper authorization of the
owner.
Subsection (d) bans the whole or partial obstruction of any street or portion
thereof, any
private walk or entrance, where such obstruction is avoidable and unnecessary. 
Free access
to public and private facilities or business establishments is covered by
subsection (e).

Additional provisions of this section cover fighting, unnecessary noise by human
or
mechanical means, being found in a drunken or intoxicated condition tending to
disturb the
neighborhood, and various other restrictions.

The police department’s goal is to serve all segments of the community including
the
downtown residents and visitors.  We encourage the peaceful gathering of young
people
looking to share conversation and company.  The hope is that parents will
reinforce to their
children the need to be responsible for their individual behavior and
considerate of others.
Officers would prefer to dedicate their time to preventive patrol of the
community and
addressing more serious issues. We look forward to the continuing dialog
sponsored by the
Public Safety Committee to clarify community standards and expectations and then
working to
meet those expectations.

* Unable to curry strong support in the United Nations for a resolution
demanding full and
rapid Iraqi disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration
is now
turning to Congress for an allocation of presidential military power should Iraq
fail to
comply with American demands.  Meanwhile, UN weapons inspectors are getting
ready to return
to Iraq for the first time after being expelled four years ago.  However, the US
and England
have argued that Iraq’s latest acquiescence is insufficient to guarantee the
disarmament of
the country’s most powerful weapons.  France, Russia, and several Arab nations
have
disagreed with the Anglo-American assessment.

* Speaking before a joint House and Senate intelligence committee yesterday,
congressional
staffer Eleanor Hill relayed the findings of an investigation into the
intelligence failure
surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Hill claimed that the investigation had
unearthed
evidence showing prior American awareness of Osama bin Laden’s intentions to
launch a major
attack inside the US, as well as knowledge of terrorist plans to use airplanes
as weapons.
In both cases, the US intelligence community did nothing to alert Americans to
the potential
threat.  However, Hill noted that none of this previous intelligence would have
guaranteed
the prevention of last year’s attacks.

* In separate celebrations yesterday, North and South Korean troops entered the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to begin removing landmines that are blocking the path
of a new
North-South rail connection.  The DMZ, which had previously symbolized the
divide between
the two nations, now represents the countries’ thawing relationship.  Some of
the rail
routes may be opened as early as December, opening the way for an “Iron Silk
Road” that will
connect the Korean peninsula with Asia and Europe.

*****

Dance Class with Jacek Luminski
Upper Tarble, 5:00 p.m.

Aikido Club Practice
Wrestling Room – Lamb-Miller Field House, 7:00 p.m.

Deloitte “Crack The Case Workshop”
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:00 p.m.

Lecture: “How to Read Hegel… According to Adorno & Others”
Papazian 324, 8:00 p.m.

Environmental Study-Abroad Information Session
Kirby Lecture Hall – Martin, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

After one regulation, two overtimes, and 110 total minutes of hard-fought
soccer, neither
Swarthmore nor Philadelphia Biblical College had proven themselves to be the
better squad
yesterday, leaving the lengthy Wednesday match deadlocked at 1-1.  Though the
Garnet
statistically bested their opponents, outshooting the Crimson Eagles 26-16, they
could not
outdo them in the only category that mattered, with their lone goal coming from
Anteneh
Tesfaye ’03 off an assist by John Tuthill ’06.  Reuben Heyman-Kantor ’06 was
solid in goal,
adding 11 saves in the tie.  The Garnet are now 4-2-1 on the young season and
will launch
their Centennial Conference season this Saturday, at Johns Hopkins.

*****

Like their male counterparts, the women’s soccer team took their Wednesday
contest into the
dramatic arena of sudden-death overtime.  And while the squad was ultimately
defeated on an
empty-net shot by their McDaniel (previously known as Western Maryland) foes,
they too
packed a lot of tough soccer action into one afternoon.  Indeed, despite
spending most of
the first half defending their own end and taking a 1-0 deficit into the break,
the team
re-energized in the second half and notched things up on a Shavaugn Lewis ’05
goal off an
assist from fellow soph Lauren Kett.  The goal was Lewis’s fourth of the season
and sent the
squads into overtime.  And though the Garnet would not emerge victorious, they
continued to
receive outstanding goaltending from Catherine Salussolia ’04, who recorded 12
saves in the
game.  The squad is now 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the Centennial.

*****

There are no contests scheduled for today or tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine out of ten
people
couldn’t start a conversation.”
— Kin Hubbard

*****
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