Wednesday, November 6, 2002

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

A student crashed his car into five parked vehicles in the “C” parking lot
while driving down Fieldhouse Lane last Thursday night.

Steve Ciraolo ’03, the driver, alerted Public Safety and police to the
accident, which occurred after his car careened off a guardrail on the
right side of the road and plowed into the vehicles stationed by the left side.

The Swarthmore Borough Police officer responding to the incident noted a
“strong odor of intoxicants” on the driver’s breath. “The operator was then
asked to take several field sobriety tests which he failed,” said Borough
Police Chief Brian Craig.

Ciraolo was charged with driving under the influence, after which he was
arraigned and released on $1 bail. Chief Craig says the student was advised
to obtain a lawyer and will be notified of future court proceedings.

While “there were no reported injuries at the time of the incident,”
according to Owen Redgrave, Director of Public Safety, the damage to the
vehicles was extensive.

“At least two of the vehicles were damaged to the extent that they will
need to be towed away,” said Redgrave. Additionally, Chief Craig noted that
“one of the parked cars had its left rear wheel ripped off.”

With the borough police still awaiting blood-alcohol content results from
the State Police Crime Lab, the investigation into the accident is ongoing,
according to Chief Craig. More information will be provided as it becomes
available.

by Pei Pei Liu
Co-Managing Editor

Costumes at the annual Halloween party last October 26 and anonymous emails
received on the same day have sparked campus-wide debates and concern from
the Dean’s Office on how to address the incidents.

Several costumes at the party were reported to the deans after many
students found them racially offensive. At the center of the conflict was
William Kraig ’04, a white student who wore blackface to the party as part
of his costume. Approached by offended students at the party, Kraig removed
the paint and left the party. Other reports of offensive costumes included
two students dressed as drunken Mexicans and a student dressed as an “Arab
male.”

Also on October 26, in the fourth report made to the Dean’s Office, three
African-American Muslim students received an anonymous email that include
offensive messages and explicitly targeted and threatened the students.

In response to the incidents, Darryl Smaw, Associate Dean for Multicultural
Affairs, released a statement to the college community this past Monday.
Condemning the offensive actions, Smaw outlined some of the measures the
Dean’s Office is considering to assist students, faculty, and staff in
responding to the incidents. These include “meeting with the appropriate
student groups and/or individuals to reassure them of their safety on
campus,” as well as plans for designing an educational event or program for
the community and sponsoring discussion or dialogue sessions. The first of
these sessions is scheduled for Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. Addressing the
blackface incident, the Black Cultural Center will host a screening of
Spike Lee’s film “Bamboozled,” with discussion to follow.

Meanwhile, the anonymous emails will be investigated by Information
Technology Services. While the office has not yet received copies of the
emails, ITS Director Judy Downing explained, they will carry on normal
procedures for investigating the source of the messages. According to
Networking and Systems Manager Mark Dumic, this includes “look[ing] at the
header information attached to an e-mail message which usually shows the
complete path that the message has taken from sender to recipient. That will
often allow us to tie it to a specific network address associated with a
particular person.”

“Depending on the specific situation,” Dumic added, “there are usually
other ways to double-check the validity of the match.”

Any information will then be immediately relayed to the Dean’s Office, said
Downing. There, according to Smaw, “appropriate sanctions/discipline will
be imposed” on the culprits. As for Kraig, while the deans feel that his
“intent was not hateful or intended to be offensive,” they have organized
regular meeting times to discuss the implications of the blackface incident
and the larger issues surrounding it. In January, Kraig will also attend
the Winter Institute, a three-day long series of workshops and discussion
groups concerning multiculturalism for students, faculty, and staff in the
Tri-College community.

Further coverage of the BCC discussion, ITS investigation, and the college
community’s responses to the incidents will be provided as information
becomes available.

*****

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

Kevin Bovard ’03 was selected by the Student Council to serve as the
interim Appointments Committee chair in the Council’s meeting this past
Monday night.

Bovard is filling a position left empty by fellow senior Chirag Chotalia’s
resignation last week. Under new bylaws approved at the previous week’s
meeting, the SC co-presidents can nominate an outside student to take on
vacant roles, with the appointment needing confirmation by a 2/3 vote of
the Council. Bovard was approved by all present members this week, except
for Carmen Barron ’05 and Joe Dickerson ’04, who abstained on grounds that
they were not familiar with the appointee’s abilities.

SC Co-president Ryan Budish ’04, though, spoke highly of Bovard’s potential.

“Kevin was selected because he has the desire and the qualifications,” said
Budish. “For the past year he has been one of the most active and involved
members of SBC. We believe that Kevin will work hard to help us complete
the appointments process this semester.”

Bovard, whose tenure starts immediately, will not be able to vote on
general Council issues, as stipulated by the new bylaws. However, his
three-week term will be a busy one as he faces a fresh cycle of
appointments over the next couple of weeks.

In addition to chairing the Appointments Committee, Bovard will attend
Council meetings, where he pledges to be a regular, albeit non-voting,
participant.

“I think SC can benefit from having as many voices heard as possible,” said
Bovard. “So I’ll speak up if I’ve got something to offer.”

*****

edited by Charlie Buffie
Gazette News Reporter

November 1:

John Benjamin Klenk, suspected robber of the First Keystone Bank, was
returned to the Swarthmore Police Department by Fort Lauderdale Police, who
had discovered Klenk on October 9 when he attempted to check into a drug
rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Klenk, who is accused of
robbing the First Keystone Bank on June 30, was processed and subsequently
transported to the Delaware County Prison.

At 4:35 p.m. Swarthmore Police Officer Bardo responded to a report of
assault near the 100 block of S. Chester Road.  The victim related three
incidents of assault and identified the assailant, for whom a warrant was
obtained.  The Swarthmore PD was notified on November 4 that the suspect
was already in custody for another charge in the Delaware County Prison,
and the suspect was subsequently processed on the Swarthmore assault charges.

A vehicle parked in the unit block of S. Chester Road was vandalized
between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. The damage included a broken
left side rear view mirror and a torn fuel access door, and was estimated
at approximately $300.

November 3:

Swarthmore Police Sergeant Stuffet pursued and eventually pulled over a
speeding vehicle traveling upwards of 60 miles per hour and disobeying stop
signs down Yale Avenue. After failing several field sobriety tests, the
driver was charged with driving under the influence.

*****

*As Election Day comes to an end, many pundits are projecting that the
results will allow the Republican Party to gain control of the Senate. If
the Republicans do indeed re-gain control this will buck a significant
historical trend where the presidents’ party usually loses control in the
mid-term elections. It appears that the Presidents’ urgent campaigning
across the nation went to good use, particularly in Florida where his
brother Jeb Bush was projected to win over Democrat Bill McBride for
governor of that state. However, there are still a few races where the
outcome is not clear. Unlike in previous years, tonight’s voter turnout was
projected as being relatively high, with the new system of electronic
voting hopefully getting rid of many of the problems that plagued the 2000
election. Several races’ outcomes are still undecided.

*A federal judge on Tuesday ordered John Allen Mohammad, one of the
suspects in the string of recent sniper attacks, to stay behind bars.
Citing flight risk, the judge also denied the suspect bail. Meanwhile
prosecutors in Louisiana, Alabama, Maryland and Virginia sough to connect
the man to still more attacks and to gain the right to prosecute him in
their district.

* Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel announced on Tuesday that he would
call for new elections in 90 days. Taking place eight months ahead of
schedule, the elections would open up a round of political jostling between
the various parties competing for power in Israel. At stake is the
country’s poor economy and security measures in the on-going conflict with
Palestine.

*****

French Film Festival
Kohlberg 328, 7:00 p.m.

Career Planning and Placement Meeting
Kohlberg 116, 7:00 p.m.

Annual Pierson Lecture: “State Aid and Educational Quality”
Martin  Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Movie: “Life and Debt”
Kohlberg 115, 8:00 p.m.

———-
Upcoming events

The Meanings of Blackface
Open Screening of Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”
Thursday, 8:30 p.m. in the Black Cultural Center
Discussion to Follow
Open To The Entire Campus

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The Swat field hockey team closed their season with a tough loss on Tuesday
as they fell to Haverford 2-1. Meg Woodworth ’03 scored her ninth goal of
the season, but it was not enough to propel the team to victory. It was the
first time the team has lost to Haverford since 1991, the end to a 14-game
win streak. Kate Nelson-Lee ’03 made seven saves in goal, ending her Swat
career with 425 and becoming the all-time save leader for Swarthmore College.

*****

The Hood Trophy, named after Swarthmore alum Albert L. Hood, Jr., is given
annually to the school that has the most victories in Swarthmore-Haverford
varsity athletic competitions. After the contests in the fall season,
Haverford has five victories (Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country,
Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, and Field Hockey) to Swarthmore’s one (Women’s
Soccer).

*****

There are no contests scheduled for today or tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more
than he knows.”
–Dwight D. Eisenhower

*****
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