Tuesday, December 3, 2002

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

The Student Council conducted its semesterly changing of the guard last
night, welcoming four new members into its fold while bidding goodbye to a
number of familiar faces.

from the Office of News & Information & The College Libraries

Seniors Jonah Volk and Chirag Chotalia will be exhibiting some of their
favorite literary works in McCabe this winter after winning two of the
annual A. Edward Newton Student Library Prizes.

The award is given annually to a student who owns, and who personally
collected, the best group of books on a particular author or subject. Their
collections will be on exhibit at McCabe from Dec. 9 to Jan. 17, 2003.

Volk took first prize in the competition with a collection entitled “Graphic
Novels – Comic Books.”  The Fall issue of @Library.edu notes that Volk’s
collection arose “from his dissatisfaction with the standard superhero,”
leading to “a taste for graphic novels that combine words and pictures to
create illustrated novels. These are not for children.”

Chotalia won for his collection, “Macaulay’s Indian Children” – Indian
literature written in the English language.

“What I found in South Asian literature is a unique hybridization of
language,” Chotalia says. “More fundamentally, I found characters with whom
I shared many similar, cultural bonds.” His collection consists of a wide
variety of South Asian literature, including works by Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav
Ghosh, and Arundathi Roy.

———-
Interested in entering next year’s contest?:
The A. Edward Newton Student Library Awards of $500, $250, and $150 are
given annually for the three best undergraduate book collections at
Swarthmore. The student must be the owner and collector of the books. Each
collection will be judged by its unifying theme; for example, an author, a
subject, or a group of authors.
To enter, submit an annotated bibliography of no less than 25 titles. Please
attach a brief commentary describing how, when, where, and why the books
were acquired. Winners will be invited to display their collection in McCabe
Library. Sample entries available upon request. Entries should be submitted
by March 21, 2003 to Pam Harris, McCabe Library, or pharris1.

*****

* With a UN-imposed deadline looming, President Bush called on Iraq to come
clean on its alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction or face
military intervention from the US and allied nations.  Although Sunday is
the cut-off point for Iraq to make such an announcement, UN inspectors have
already announced problems with their investigation, noting that monitoring
cameras and equipment from previous inspections have disappeared.  Iraq
claims that some of these items were destroyed in US bombing while others
have just been moved to new locations.  Meanwhile, America’s largest ally,
the United Kingdom, came forward on Monday with charges that Saddam
Hussein’s regime has been guilty of a string of human rights abuses, from
rape to mass excecutions.

* Al-Qaida has apparently claimed responsiblity for the suicide bombings and
attempted missile attack in Kenya last week.  A statement posted on an
Islamic website credited the attack to the terrorist network behind embassy
bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, as well as the 9/11 tragedy.
American counterterrorism officials said that the statement, which noted
that the attacks had shifted from American targets to Jews in an effort to
support Palestine in its ongoing conflict with Israel, appeared to be
credible.

* The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take on two controversial cases that
will force the Court to re-examine its tenuous precedents in those areas.
The first case deals with the constitutionality of affirmative action
policies in higher education, and is being brought by white applicants to
the University of Michigan Law School who claim that they were rejected
based on unconstitutional racial criteria.  Although the Court ruled in its
landmark Bakke case (1978) that schools may not employ racial quotas in
their admissions process, it did not rule out the use of racial preference.
The other case is being brought by two Texas men who were prosecuted under a
state anti-sodomy statute for engaging in homosexual sex.  The Court has
previously stated that there is no constitutional right in this area (Bowers
v. Hardwick, 1986), but will now take a second look at that precedent.
Hearings in both cases will begin next year and the Court’s decisions will
be announced before July.

*****

RUSS 024 “Russian and East European Cinema”
LPAC 301, 7:00 p.m.

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

David Horowitz Lecture: “War & the Hate-America Left: How the Left
Undermines America’s Security”
Friends Meeting House, 7:30 p.m.

Arboretum Lecture: Frank Cabot
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 p.m.

Economics Guest Lecture: “Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Economy”
by Seth Sanders
Kirby Lecture Hall – Martin, 7:30 p.m.

SAM Program – Preparing for Exams: Overcoming Anxiety & Study Techniques
Kohlberg 226, 8:00 p.m.

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

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

———-
Israeli Folk Dance Class (Beginners Welcome!)
Sponsored by Im Tirtzu and Ruach
7:30 p.m. Wednesday December 4 – Upper Tarble

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Katie Robinson ’04, star forward of the women’s basketball team, was
selected as the Centennial Conference Player of the Week after a stellar,
27-point performance in last week’s conference opener against McDaniel.
Taking on the team that beat them in last year’s championship game, Robinson
led the Garnet with 8-of-12 shooting and a strong 10-of-12 showing at the
line, in addition to six steals, six boards, and three assists.  The Garnet
are back in action tonight when they host Bryn Mawr.

*****

Today:
Women’s basketball hosts Bryn Mawr, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Men’s basketball at Phila. Biblical, 7:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine
are still greater.”
–Albert Einstein

*****
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