Friday, January 24, 2003

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

Mark Hanis ’04, elected to Student Council last November, has decided to
forego his term as Campus Relations Representative in favor of spending the
semester working in Sierra Leone.

According to SC Co-President Anna Morgan ’04, who spoke to Hanis recently,
he will be involved with that nation’s committee on war crimes tribunals
after funding for the project over winter break  And while Hanis was aware
of the opportunity last semester, he did not think that he would receive
funding, which is why he ran for Student Council.

Hanis was unavailable for comment.

Both Morgan and fellow Co-President Ryan Budish ’04 expressed regret that
Hanis would not be able to serve his term on Council, but supported his
decision.  “While I think he would have been a good addition to the Council,
I am glad that he was able to pursue this opportunity,” said Morgan.

As a result, there are now three Council positions up for grabs in the
upcoming special election: Appointments Chair and Campus Relations Rep (each
a full-year job), and Educational Policy Rep (a one-semester term).
Declarations for these positions are due by Monday at noon, to be followed
by Web voting on Tuesday and Wednesday and Sharples balloting on Thursday
and Friday.  The Council will then begin its weekly meetings the following
week.

by Alexis Reedy (Point) & Mary Harrison (Counterpoint)

——-
Editor’s Note: This two-sided review marks the first in what will hopefully
become a new Gazette feature – snappy critiques of movies, restaurants, and
music that tell you what you want to know without getting caught up in the
morass of critical “blah.”  Here, our two critics examine “My Big Fat Greek
Wedding,” which is playing on campus tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 & 10 p.m.
So check it out and let us know what you think – the best comments may even
be posted on the Gazette website for others to enjoy!
——-

POINT

Here are the reasons why I liked “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”:

I laughed a lot. Yes there is some slapstick comedy in there, but it’s not
over-the-top. What really made me laugh was the way the movie portrayed the
family dynamics. The truth is, they weren’t all that outrageous. The movie
took things that can happen in real families and exaggerated them for
comedic effect, which is really how comedy works.

In fact, during the course of the movie, I was constantly reminded of my own
family. My great-grandmother once tried to cure my father of fear and my
mother of the evil eye. My grandmother is always trying to feed us, even
when we say we aren’t hungry. Although some of the characters were
exaggerated, I could still relate to them easily.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about this movie, however, was it’s
ability to have a happy ending that wasn’t forced, faked or too sweet, which
does not always happen in romantic comedies today.

COUNTERPOINT

All right. I’ll admit it. I hated “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” And I have
good reason.

Despite its supposedly “indie” nature, the movie is one cliche after
another. The plot is built around tired old movie staples such as flashbacks
to the main character’s ugly duckling childhood complete with bitchy blond
classmates, and her blossoming into a confident professionl young woman
mainly through mastering the use of blush. For a comedy, it is pretty weak,
forced to resort to the kind of slapstick “falling-down” gags that seem to
be the hallmark of bad comedies nowadays, presumably meant to show us that
the heroine is down to earth and adorably clumsy. It is hard to believe that
the star (Nia Vardalos) is a comedian as I can not remember one funny line
coming out of her mouth.

Perhaps my biggest problem with the movie is that it is being touted as a
step in the direction of multiculturalism in film, as an effort to bring
more portrayals of minorities to the big screen. Yet it is jam-packed with
sterotypes and the kind of cartoonish charaters that minority actors are
constantly fighting.

*****

by Evelyn Khoo
Living & Arts Editor

Given the exceedingly unfriendly weather outside this week (not exactly
welcoming is it?), it looks like it might be a good idea to spend your first
weekend back at Swarthmore, where it’s warm and toasty indoors. So make this
a manic movie weekend – there’s a whole host of big screen antics happening
on campus to keep you occupied.

On Friday, check out Movie Committee’s offering of ‘My Big Fat Greek
Wedding’, 7:30 and 10 p.m. in LPAC Cinema.  If you’re looking for romance in
a more bizarre form, check out the International Club’s showing of Shunji
Iwai’s ‘Love Letter’, 8 p.m. in the SCCS Amphitheater.  It’s about a girl
who writes a letter to her dead lover. And gets a reply!

On Saturday, hop on the Philly van and check out ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ at
Ritz at the Bourse, a film about three Aboriginal girls who are kidnapped by
the Australian government to train as domestic servants. Watch how they
attempt to make their way back to their families.

On Sunday, stay in your room, catch up with reading (we know you haven’t
done any all weekend!), but take a break by stopping by McCabe and renting a
video. McCabe librarian Megan Adams recommends ‘Party Girl’, starring Parker
Posey. Invite your hallmates, pop some popcorn and turn it into an impromptu
study break!

*****

* North and South Korea agreed on Friday to peacefully resolve their dispute
over North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons. The cabinet-level meetings in
Seoul are the first official contact in months between the two countries.
North Korea repeatedly insisted on working only with the US, and this caused
South Korea to remark that the agreement fell short of what they would have
wished.

*After a long partisan battle, the Senate passed a spending bill on
Thursday. The bill, which would appropriate $390 billion, was in the end
supported by nineteen Democrats and fify Republicans. Many Democrats alleged
that the bill left out many issues such as education and health, while
placing too much emphasis on terrorism and the economy.

* The Colombian Marxist group ELN has kidnapped two American journalists.
Ruth Morris and Scott Dalton both worked for the LA Times and were captured
in Aracua, a war-torn province of the country. The ELN group stated that the
two people were in the area without ELN’s permission, and that they will be
released when the political and military situation is right.

*****

Today:

Shabbat Services & Dinner
Bond Memorial Hall, 5:30 p.m.

Italian Wine Tasting
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:00 p.m.

Film: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

Film: “Love Letter”
SCCS Media Lounge, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Film: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Arboretum Lecture
LPAC Cinema, 1:00 p.m.

Memorial Service for Somayyah Siddiqi ’02
Friends Meetinghouse, 3:30 p.m.

WSRN DJ Application Meeting
Upper Tarble, 4:00 p.m.

Quaker Decision-Making Workshop
Bond Memorial Hall, 4:00 p.m.

————-
All are welcome to the following events at Swarthmore Meeting, January 26:
9:30 Breakfast for College Students in Rushmore Room of Swarthmore Meeting
10.00 Meeting for Worship
11:15 Fellowship and Quaker Quick Notes
11:45 Chester Quarterly Meeting Program – Discussions on the draft and
sustainable development

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The badminton squad eeked out a narrow 3-2 victory over Haverford last
night, dropping both doubles matches but taking all three singles contests
to win their home opener.  Surbhi Gupta ’04 (11-3, 11-1), Anjali Aggarwal
’06 (11-0, 11-0), and Ay Jy Phoun ’04 (default) all were victorious in
singles play while  the doubles teams of Liz Leininger ’04 & Wuryati Morris
’04 (15-6, 15-7) and Jessica Larson ’06 & Sachie Uchimaru ’03 (15-1, 15-13)
were unable to defeat their opponents.  The Garnet are now 1-0 on the season
and will next play Bryn Athyn on Wednesday.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Women’s basketball at Muhlenberg, 1:00 p.m.
Swimming hosts Drew, 2:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball hosts Muhlenberg, 3:00 p.m.

Sunday:
Track at Haverford, 10:00 a.m.
Men’s tennis at Penn, 1:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter
and those who matter don’t mind.”
–Dr. Seuss

*****
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