Tuesday, February 11, 2003

by Alexis Reedy
News Editor

On Friday, February 7, the Large Scale Event Committee met to decide what
the large scale event would be this year. The decision was down to two
groups, DJ Shadow and G Love and Special Sauce.

“We decided to go with DJ Shadow,” said Jeff Traczynski ’04, chair of the
committee. DJ Shadow plays hip-hop/electronica music and has worked with
Tom Yorke of Radiohead, Richard Ashcroft of the Verve and Mike D of Beastie
Boys.

The main reason for choosing DJ Shadow was because of the strict budget
constraint the committee had to deal with. “We only had $20,000 to work
with,” said Traczynski.

“Admittedly, we tried to get the Flaming Lips at first, but their agent
doubled their original asking price. Then we tried for Sonic Youth but they
were $15,000 so we ended up looking into DJ Shadow,” said Caroline Bermudez
’04, who wrote the proposal for DJ Shadow.

“What people don’t realize is that $20,000 doesn’t mean that you can get a
band for $20,000,” Bermudez added. “In fact, you can probably only pay at
most $13,000 for the band. It is extremely difficult to get well-known acts
for this kind of price. There are other costs outside of the band that have
to be considered, like technical costs, an opener, and items from the
hospitality rider.”

Originally, proposals for the large scale event were not subjected to such
a strict cost constraint. “At the time of the original request [for
proposals], the total budget was unknown,” said Traczynski. But after the
proposals that were handed in were above the $20,000 limit, another request
was made, “and I made a point of asking for the proposals to be under
$20,000,” said Traczynski. The budget for the large scale event is
determined by Maurice Eldridge and the Student Budget Committee.

“We applied in the second round,” said Bermudez. “I heard from Jeff
Traczynski that the budget wasn’t firm. I wasn’t really comfortable
approaching an agent when I didn’t know what kind of budget we were working
with, so we didn’t turn in a proposal. But after the two proposals that
were turned in at first were rejected, and I found out how much the budget
was, I decided to apply with a few other people.”

Bermudez added in an email, “The people who helped with the proposal were
Matt Rubin (he talked to the agent and made an audio sample of DJ Shadow’s
work), David Berger (he gathered press clippings), and Dave McCandlish (he
handled the technical rider). The proposal was submitted by Olde Club and
Soundmachine. Matt is a coordinator of Soundmachine, while the rest of us
are Olde Club staff.”

But budget wasn’t the only reason to choose DJ Shadow. “DJ Shadow would be
an event unlike any other event that we have had at Swarthmore. It would
have a very different tone,” Traczynski said.

Added Bermudez, “DJ Shadow is a radical departure from what we have had in
the past. And it’s something I think a lot of Swatties are going to
appreciate.”

Traczynski is also looking ahead to changes to the selection process in the
future. “Next year, I look forward to working on having applications due
earlier and perhaps putting forth different options to the student body,
allow students to express their opinion,” he said. “I look forward to
working with Student Council to perhaps get it on the ballot with the
winter elections.”

“I was a little disappointed that not many people submitted proposals. You
hear all these complaints about the large scale events and then no one
wants to submit a proposal. If you want to change what type of bands come
here, you have to take part in the process,” said Bermudez. “I really urge
people to submit proposals. I think it’s really great that we can bring
notable acts to our campus, but if no one submits proposals, then it can’t
happen.”

Bermudez has some advice for students thinking about submitting a proposal
next year. “First of all, pick a band that you like. Second of all, be sure
to think about how accessible the band is–are 500 Swatties going to like
this band? Third, you have to consider price very carefully. Fourth, you
have to realize that if your proposal wins, there is a lot of planning that
has to go into the event. There is a lot of legwork that needs to be done
and so many details you have to consider.”

*****

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

It’s a refrain that’s certainly been heard before: “This semester’s Student
Council will make things happen.” Nevertheless, while it would be easy to
write this prophesy off as naive optimism from students ignorant of past
Council failures, returning members on the newest edition of the Council
actually have solid track-records to back up their promises.

To be sure, the most recent Councils have been faced with the same problems
that plague the student institution every year, from uncooperative
administrators to member resignations. However, to their credit, they have
overcome these obstacles and made such important contributions as the
17-meal plan, Philly van service, and class recommendation books.

Thus, when SC co-President Anna Morgan ’04 says she thinks “this semester’s
Council is full of potential, “it’s hard not to give her the benefit of the
doubt. Couple that sentiment with excited, new Council members and
returning reps who “are coming back ready to work harder this semester,”
according to fellow co-Prez Ryan Budish ’04, and the aforementioned
optimism almost becomes contagious.

Still, even the most dedicated Council might feel slightly daunted by the
list of issues in front of the group this semester. Here’s just a sample:

Traveling to Tri-Co neighbor Haverford this weekend, the Amos J. Peaslee
Debate Society racked up several individual and team accolades. Foremost
amongst these awards was that for runner-up team, awarded to the duo of
Sarah Drescher ’03 and Rob Peterson ’03. In addition, Sonya Hoo ’05 and
Aviva Aron-Dine ’05 were named the ninth-place team, while the teams of
David Bing ’03 & Emily Tredeau ’06 and Andrew Gisselquist ’05 & Dave
Majumdar ’05 also made it to the playoff rounds. Individually, Bing and
Peterson were selected the seventh and eighth-place speakers, respectively,
and Tredeau was named the second-best novice of the tournament.

*****

Plan ahead y’all! The final votes are in and Saturday, March 1 has been
declared the date for the annual Screw-Your-Roommate Spring Formal. We know
all of you already know who you want to be screwed with, so get your info
moving! Underclassmen: do it for the experience. Upperclassmen: do it for
the last time. Coming next week: Screw’s theme.

Events This Week:

Thursday, February 13
SASS Workshop and Dinner with Local Poets
BCC, 6:00 p.m.

SASS Poetry Slam with Local Poets
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.

Friday, February 14
Our Story Multilingual Reading
IC Big Room, 8:00 p.m.

SASS Black Revolutionary Party
BCC, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 15
International Club’s Valentine’s Day Formal
Upper Tarble, 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 16
Bollywood Experience Party
WRC, time TBA

*****

* President Bush announced that he was “disappointed” after Belgium,
France, and Germany blocked a proposal by the U.S. to begin increasing NATO
forces in Turkey to defend the country in case of possible war with Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that the U.S. would move forward and
increase Turkish defensive capabilities even without full NATO support.
Belgium, France and Germany objected to the move because they feel that it
will impede efforts to resolve the Iraq crisis peacefully.

* African leaders began arriving in Ivory Coast on Monday, hoping to
finalize plans for the implementation of a month-old French-brokered peace
deal. Rebels demanded that the deal be implemented within a week or
threatened to march on the main city of Abidjan. Current Ivory Coast
President Gbagbo has given the deal a “lukewarm endorsement” according to
CNN.com, but there remain serious problems among his supporters who object
to rebels being given posts in the new government.

* Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered troops to close off the West
Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday, in response to a perceived terror threat.
The restrictions will remain in place for four days, during which
Palestinians will be unable to enter Israel for any reason.

* The second attempt in two months to elect a new president in Montenegro
failed as turnout did not reach the required level of 50%. Independent
observers blamed the voter apathy and a boycott by opposition politicians
for the low turnout.

*****

Biology Department garage sale
Martin 101, 12:00 p.m.

“Lo Andino en la Literatura Hispanoamericana”
Lecture by Antonio Melis
Kohlberg 115, 4:15 p.m.

Developmental Biology candidate search
Kirby Lecture Hall, 4:15 p.m.

Aikido Club practice
Lamb-Miller Fieldhouse – Wrestling Room, 7:00 p.m.

German Film Series
Kohlberg 328, 7:00 p.m.

Observatory Open House – Planetarium Program
Upper Tarble, 7:00 p.m.

Observatory Open House
Sproul Observatory, 8:00 p.m.

SAM workshop: “Managing Your Reading, or Do They Really Expect Me to Read
All of This?”
Scheuer Room, 9:00 p.m.

Good Schools PA meeting
Parrish Parlors – West, 10:00 p.m.

Student Council meeting
CRC – Parrish 2nd, 10:30 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Junior Katie Robinson earned Centennial Conference Player of the Week
honors after averaging 24.5 points, seven rebounds, seven steals, and 3.5
assists in two games against Washington and Franklin & Marshall last week.
As reported yesterday, Robinson also set a Swat and Centennial Conference
record with her 11 steals against F&M on Saturday. She has posted
double-doubles in four consecutive games and leads the conference in
scoring and steals, with an average of 17.7 points and 4.7 steals–eighth
in the NCAA–per game.

*****

Last night’s badminton match against Bryn Athyn was postponed. A
rescheduling has not yet been announced.

*****

Today:
Women’s Basketball at Bryn Mawr, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Badminton at Haverford, 5:00 p.m.
Swimming hosts Washington, 6:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball hosts Johns Hopkins, 8:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Sometimes I get the feeling the whole world is against me, but deep down I
know that’s not true: some smaller countries are neutral.”
–Robert Orben

*****
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