Friday, February 7, 2003

by Greg Leiserson
Gazette Reporter

Late Thursday night Mephistos overflowed with Swatties responding to the
provocative call of posters asking, “Why should I suffer for past
injustices?” Students and panelists met and outlined opposing viewpoints on
affirmative action in higher education, though at the end of the night it
seemed that most left with their opinions largely unchanged.

Moderated by Jon Rosa ’03 and Katrina Clark ’03, the panel consisted of
Kristie LaSalle ’06, Randy Goldstein ’05, Jessica Pope ’05, and Chela
Delgado ’03. LaSalle and Goldstein generally opposed affirmative action in
higher education, while Pope and Delgado generally supported it.

A few issues would be sticking points the entire night. What is the ultimate
goal of affirmative action? Who is responsible for racial and socioeconomic
inequalities, and how does and should that play out in affirmative action
policies? Does institutional racism exist in college admissions policies
and, if so, how does it affect the students admitted?

These questions appeared early in the opening statements of many of the
panelists. A common element in the opening statements of Goldstein and
LaSalle was that the most important goal of admissions policies should be to
bring in a student body that embodied a wide variety of experiences. Said
Goldstein, “racial diversity does not necessarily lead to a diversity of
ideas,” which, he continued, was the most important requirement for a
vibrant intellectual community. Another key point in their comments was
that, while racism is an ill in society that needs to be addressed,
affirmative action is not the way it should be done, and has not succeeded
in reaching many of its goals. According to LaSalle, at this point in time
affirmative action is “perpetuating what it was meant to absolve” and she
noted “it’s not appropriate to keep it because it’s an emotional topic.”
Both Goldstein and LaSalle expressed interest in affirmative action policies
seeking to address issues relating to disparities in socioeconomic class in
applicants.

The common theme highlighted throughout Delgado and Pope’s opening remarks
was that while blatant racism was no longer the dominant concern in college
admissions, institutional racism plays a major factor. Summarized by
Delgado, “institutional racism is about result not intent.” In her remarks,
Delgado spoke about a variety of issues to illustrate her comments about
institutional racism, in addition to college admissions. She spoke of the
under representation of minorities in political office and in high-profile
jobs and also spoke of variances in the patterns of criminal prosecution of
minorities. She added that one major benefit of affirmative action is that
it sets an example of what people are capable of, motivating future
generations.

Perhaps most interesting in Pope’s opening statement was the comment, “class
has to do not only with income but access to resources.” This would prove to
be a significant sticking point throughout the night, as students and
panelists would continually come back to the issue of whether students of
different races with similar experiences and family incomes truly had the
same opportunities and whether they should be treated in the same fashion in
the application process.

Following the opening statements, there was time for small group discussion
and also a question and answer period. Students overwhelmingly supported
affirmative action, asking questions and describing personal anecdotes in
support of their views. By the end of the night, Goldstein decided to spend
most of his time listening to students’ comments. However, at that point
most students seemed not seriously interested in listening to his beliefs,
but rather in forcibly persuading him to support their own.

Attendees shared a multitude of interesting observations and remarks. One
student commented that in the college interview process admissions officers
often evaluate the interview based on a feeling that there was a connection
between him/herself and the student, yet this connection is often influenced
by race. If interviews do not accurately reflect the quality of the
applicant for no other reason than their race, should not something be done
to address the disparity?

Finally, students discussed the relationship between institutional racism in
society and the applicant pool for colleges. The question was asked, if
institutional racism adversely affects the applicant pool, how can
color-blind admissions policies allow students to show their true
capabilities and get into colleges commensurate with their abilities?

The evening closed with Dean of Admissions Jim Bock reading from the
college’s statement of mission and summarizing a statement that would be
passed on to lawyers formulating a brief for the University of Michigan
lawsuit that the college would be signing.

by Wendy Cheung
Gazette Reporter

On Thursday night at 7:30, the first father/daughter pair to read poetry
together at Swarthmore shared the podium in the Kohlberg Scheuer room. The
event was brought together by the English Literature department and
co-sponsored by the Swarthmore Asian Organization.

Swarthmore alum Sofiya Cabalquinto ’01 and her father, Luis Cabalquinto,
held a joint poetry reading in the Kohlberg Scheuer Room.After a personal
introduction from English professor Peter Schmidt, Sofiya shared a number of
pieces for half an hour, covering topics as diverse as childhood memories,
her college days, and her Filipina roots. Sofiya received a B.A. in English
Literature with a concentration in creative writing and was an editor of
Small Craft Warnings. Her poetry also appears in numerous anthologies,
including Love Gathers All: An Anthology of Love Poetry and the Asian
Pacific American Journal.

Sofiya later turned the mic over to her father, Luis Cabalquinto, who was
originally from the Phillipines and writes in English and two Phillipine
languages. He shared a number of pieces, including a piece about New York
City, where he and his daughter currently reside. As Stephen Huang ’05 puts
it, “He is someone who speaks with very few words but makes them count.”
Luis studied at Cornell University, The New School, and New York University.
His poetry appears in the United States and eight other countries.

Overall, this night of engaging poetry left students and other attendees
impressed and delighted. Reflecting on the poetry reading, Joan Javier ’03
said, “It’s good to have recent alumni come back to share with the
Swarthmore community. It was also nice to hear Filipino artists because you
don’t see them that often.”

SAO hosted the reception in the faculty lounge at Kohlberg, where sushi was
served and copies of Luis Cabalquinto’s latest book, “Bridgeable Shores,”
were for sale. With much admiration for Sofiya and her father’s work, Peter
Schmidt, who helped put the event together, thought the event went well and
was glad that different groups collaborated on this event.

Copies of “Bridgeable Shores” are available at the English Department for
$10.

*****

by Pei Pei Liu
Co-Managing Editor

Two Japanese contemporary dance companies are wrapping up a week-long
residency at Swat and Temple University yesterday, and will be performing at
Temple this Sunday.

Leni-Basso and Study of Live Works Baneto held afternoon master classes in
the LPAC dance studios on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, and came
together for a joint lecture on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the growth of
Japanese contemporary dance in general and their particular styles of
choreography and movement.

Leni-Basso was formed in 1994 by choreographer Akiko Kitamura as a group of
artists, computer graphic and lighting designers, composers, and
photographers. Speaking through an interpreter, Ryuichi said that the
production of each dance was a joint effort by the whole company, with each
component of music, light, visuals, and motion all equally valued. In
addition to being collaborative efforts, the dances do not convey a
specific story or emotion, as Ryuichi explained that the company does not
want to present a single vision of a single choreographer. Rather, they
prefer to leave the dance open to different perspectives and
interpretations.

Study of Live Works Baneto was represented by art manager Kohei Negiyama and
choreographer Tsuyoshi Shirai, who, together with composer Yusuke Awazu,
founded the company in 1996 when the three were college students at Tokyo
University. Negiyama and Shirai emphasized that at the time, there were no
official dance programs or dance majors in Japanese schools; they formed the
company as an independent project. While the group prides itself on not
being limited to a single technique or choreographic style, one consistent
theme in Baneto’s works is the incorporation of contemporary pop
culture and innovatively edited video and sound pieces.

According to director of dance Sharon Friedler in a press release for the
companies, “This residency supports the international focus of Swarthmore’s
dance program. We are grateful for the opportunity to generate further
dialogue between the dance programs at Temple and Swarthmore and the local
professional dance community.”

———–
Leni-Basso and Study of Live Works Baneto will be performing at the Conwell
Dance Theater at Temple University on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The dance
department has organized vans to take students into Philadelphia, and both
the vans and concert are available at no charge to interested Swatties
(regular ticket price $10). See Sharon Friedler for details and
reservations.

*****

by Aude Scheuer (Point) and Evelyn Khoo (Counterpoint)

POINT

Cowboy Bebop is an original idea that was meant to spawn a whole new type of
anime, but has since fallen into a relatively underappreciated category of
anime, possibly because of the structure of the series. It starts off in the
present and then works out the past of each of the characters. This makes
for interesting plot-twists and a healthy amount of mystery, but it also
makes it an absolute pain to watch episodes out of order. However,
Cowboy Bebop has a very interesting set of characters in the cowboy (bounty
hunters) crew, which keeps growing for the first few episodes. The
characters are all fundamentally different from each other, which provides
for interesting conflicts, and while they never actually get the bounty for
their villains, each criminal provides an interesting variation to the
previous one. Of course, the best tidbit of the series is when the past of a
certain character comes into play. And is it just me, or would Ed make
the perfect Swat student?

COUNTERPOINT

Let’s be clear: I definitely don’t hate Cowboy Bebop (I watched the whole
series in a span of about 3 weekends. That’s dedication! Okay, maybe
procrastination, but that’s another story.). But I have one huge bugbear.
Why do Spike and Jet (or, if you’re lucky enough to get hold of the Japanese
version, ‘Spike-r’ and ‘Jet-r’) get to hog all the airtime? And
get all the fun stuff to do? (i.e. fly the spaceships into ridiculously
impossible situations and kill all the bad guys with cool special effects)
The series definitely needed more of the feminine touch – more Faye
Valentine! She was feisty, bad-tempered, and unscrupulous but she always
managed to throw the sometimes annoyingly unflappable Spike into flustered
confusion. Faye was given the short end of the stick here, and I’m sure
she’s out to punch those writers’ lights out. You go, girl!

———–
“Cowboy Bebop” is playing on campus Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

*****

by Sanggee Kim
Gazette Reporter

It’s Friday! Kick back, relax, and watch “Bowling for Columbine,” hosted by
the Movie Committee this weekend. This documentary film explores the tragic
Columbine shooting incident and the history of children and gun control.
>From the film’s website: “‘Bowling for Columbine’ was the first documentary
film accepted into competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 46 years. The
Cannes jury unanimously awarded it the 55th Anniversary Prize. From a look
at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home
of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes
homemade napalm with The Anarchist’s Cookbook to the murder of a
six-year-old girl by another six-year-old, ‘Bowling for Columbine’ is a
journey through America, and through our past, hoping to discover why our
pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.”

On Saturday, head to Haverford and celebrate the Chinese New Year with lots
of good Asian food, music, and dancing. DJ Phillee Blunt will be spinning
lots of hip-hop, dance, and house in town once again. Or, try the Faculty
Dance Concert at 8:00 p.m. in Pearson Hall Theatre.

On Sunday, go and watch the culminating performance of Leni-Basso’s and
Study of Live Works Baneto’s joint residency at Swarthmore and Temple
University. The two companies will present a shared program of recent
choreography in performances at the Conwell Dance Theater at Temple at 2:00
p.m. Performance tickets are available by calling 215-204-1122, or see
Sharon Friedler in the dance department here.

*****

* President Bush declared on Thursday that “the game is over” for Saddam
Hussein. The administration also made clear that they would accept a second
UN resolution advocating the use of force if Hussein did not reveal and give
up any weapons of mass destruction he might have. It is expected that
Britain will sponsor such a resolution after the weapons inspectors return
from Iraq on February 14. However, France is still balking about the idea of
war.

* NASA is still considering the possiblity that a piece of foam could have
caused the space shuttle Columbia to crash. The foam struck Columbia’s wing
during takeoff, and measured only 20 inches. While NASA officials
acknowledged the foam played an unlikely role in the crash, they urged the
importance of pursuing every lead.

* Roman Catholics in Australia believe that they are seeing the Virgin Mary.
The image is supposed to have appeared in a fence post at Coggee Beach in
the city of Sydney. Many Australians have flocked there to pray, leaving
flowers and other gifts at the site. Some of the visitors believe that Mary
appeared in order to comfort them about a possible war on Iraq.

*****

Friday:

Singing Peace Songs
Parrish Parlor, 1:30 p.m.

The Annual Photo Club “Spring”
Kitao Gallery, 4:00 p.m.

Physics and Astronomy Colloquium
Dupont 133, 4:15 p.m.

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

Italian Wine Tasting
Sheuer Room, 7:00 p.m.

Movie: “Bowling for Columbine”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m

Movie: Men with Brooms
SCCS Amphitheater, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Anime: “Cowboy Bebop Episodes 1-5”
SCCS Media Lounge, 7:00 p.m.

Movie: “Bowling for Columbine”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

33rd Annual English-Scottish Ball
Tarble All-Campus Space, 8:00 p.m.

Faculty Dance Concert
Pearson-Hall Theater, 8:00 p.m..

Sunday:

Breakfast and Meeting for Worship
Friends Meeting House, 9:30 and 10:00 a.m.

Celebration of Mass
Bond Memorial Hall, 11:00 a.m.

Walter Blass ’51 business workshop
Scheuer Room, 2:00 p.m.

Young Friends Meeting for Worship
Bond Common Worship Room, 5:00 p.m.

Movie: “I, Claudius”
Kohlberg 115, 7:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The Swarthmore men’s swimming team trounced Ursinus on Wednesday, with Eric
Shang leading the garnet to a 138-49 victory. Shang was a triple-winner. The
women’s team also embarrassed Ursinus with a victory of 135-62, including
wins in the first nine events.

*****

The Garnet lost 5-0 to the Owl in Tarble Pavilion.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Saturday:
Track & Field at Ursinus, 10:00 a.m.
Swimming hosts Dickinson, 2:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball hosts F&M, 2:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball hosts F&M 4:00 p.m.
Men’s Lacrosse hosts York, 1:00 p.m. (scrimmage at Haverford School)

Sunday:
There are no contests scheduled for Sunday.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Literature is news that stays news.”
–Ezra Pound

*****
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