Tuesday, October 29, 2002

by Jeremy Schifeling
Gazette Co-Managing Editor

Chirag Chotalia ’03, the Student Council’s Appointments Chair, resigned from
his position yesterday, citing the demands on his time in his final semester
at Swat.  Meanwhile, the Council had its own major announcement Monday,
revealing that its much-anticipated van service to Philly will be
inaugurated this weekend.

Regarding his resignation, Chotalia noted that “It was a difficult decision,
but when I originally ran [for SC office], I didn’t know this would be my
last semester at Swarthmore.”

“As things turn out,” said Chotalia, “I will be travelling next semester to
do field work for my thesis and graduating in June.  Since I have such
little time left here, I feel it should be spent on doing things where I can
maximize my impact on the activities I feel most strongly about.”

While he looks forward to studying abroad and possibly pursuing a business
career beyond that, Chotalia recalls “a strong management of the
appointments process” and the installation of new washing machines across
campus as his most notable achievements during his Council tenure.

Coinciding with Chotalia’s announcement, the Council considered a bylaw
proposal at last night’s meeting that would change the way that the SC
handles mid-term replacements.  The bylaw, which was unanimously approved
and added to the Council’s constitution, allows the co-Presidents to
“jointly nominate a student to fill the vacated spot as an interim member
until a special election may be held.”

Such a temporary replacement would fulfill the departed member’s
administrative duties (i.e., chairing a committee), but would not be able to
vote on general matters presented to the Council.  Additionally, a stringent
2/3 vote of the Council would be required to approve the interim
appointment.

These restrictive provisos are essential to maintaining the Council’s
democratic integrity according to co-President Ryan Budish ’04.  “We take
very seriously that the Council is elected and don’t just want to bring
someone on,” said Budish.

If a suitable replacement cannot be found amongst the student body prior to
an election, the duties of the vacant office will revert to an “able and
willing Council member,” or failing that, to one of the co-Presidents.

Budish and fellow co-President Matt Rubin ’03 will decide what course of
action to take regarding Chotalia’s vacant position over the next week.

In the meantime, the Council is excitedly readying its Philly van service
for a weekend debut.  Vans will begin running this Friday and Saturday,
making four runs per night, with a capacity of 10 passengers per van.  The
shuttles will stop at a number of popular Center City destinations and
students will be required to reserve spots on the vans prior to departure.
Full details about this process will be made available later this week.

*****

* A student at the University of Arizona College of Nursing, identified as
Robert Flores, 41, shot and killed three professors and then turned his gun
on himself Monday morning. The three victims were all clinical associate
professors at the school. Flores entered a lecture hall around 8:40 AM where
students were taking a midterm exam and proceeded to shoot the two
professors proctoring it. Flores then told the students to leave before
shooting himself. The first professor was killed in her office before Flores
reached the lecture hall. Police are still uncertain about the motives for
the killing, but Sgt. Marco Borboa of the Tucson Police Department said that
Flores was struggling with a variety of issues at home and at school.

* A US diplomat was shot and killed outside his home in Amman, Jordan on
Monday. Laurence Foley was an official with the US Agency for International
Development. The assailant made his escape successfully and no one has yet
claimed responsibility for the attack. Foley was hit six times as he entered
his car on his way to work. Foley’s wife informed authorities of the attack,
but was still in shock at the time and had not yet been able to make a
statement to the authorities.

* Four counties, three in Virginia and one in Maryland, filed murder and
attempted murder charges against sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and
John Lee Malvo on Monday. The federal government has not yet made any formal
charges, but is expected to do so as early as Tuesday. The two suspects were
arrested while parked in a rest area last Thursday. Both Virginia and
Maryland allow the death penalty for first degree murder charges, and it is
expected that prosecutors will pursue it.

*****

NASA Cooper Event: Gerald Vizenor
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:00 p.m.

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

Argentine Tango Class
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

Animal Rights Coalition
Hicks 211, 9:15 p.m.

————
Find out about the state of public education in Pennsylvania. How come PA is
one of only 7 states that doesn’t provide state funding for pre-school? How
come one district spends over $14,000 per student while others can only
afford barely over $5,000? This is an issue about social justice – find out
what you can do. Come to the Good Schools Pennsylvania Educational on
Wednesday October 30, at 7pm in the IC big room.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Although the final score in sets (3-0) indicated a thorough Swat defeat, the
volleyball team’s match against Cabrini last night was actually rather hotly
contested, as evinced by the point tallies (30-27, 30-25, 30-23).  And in
fact, the game featured a number of strong performances from Swat, including
that of Natalie Dunphy ’05, who notched eight digs and two blocks, to go
along with a career-best seven aces.  Also putting up big numbers were
Patrice Berry ’06, who recorded a team-high eight kills, Emma Benn ’04
(seven kills and 10 digs), and Emily Conlon ’06 (20 assists and 10 digs).
The Garnet, who fall to 5-18 overall with the loss, have just two match
dates left this season, and will next be in action when they travel to
Haverford tomorrow.

*****

Today:
Field hockey hosts Washington, 3:30 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Women’s soccer hosts Haverford 3:30 p.m.
Men’s soccer at Washington, 3:00 p.m.
Volleyball at Haverford, 7:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”
–Woody Allen

*****
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