Thursday, March 20, 2003

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

After being trashed by vandals at the end of last semester, the basement of
Olde Club will finally be fixed up over the next few days.  Closed to
non-music events these past few months as a result of the damage, the Club
will once again be able to host campus parties and other social functions.

by Pei Pei Liu
Co-Managing Editor

———–
In the second part of our feature on the new changes to admitted student
programming, the Daily Gazette looks at Project SMART.
———–

The pilot run of Project SMART got underway yesterday with participating
Swatties being matched with their admitted students. Over the next few
weeks, these Swatties will communicate with their three to five prospective
students via postcards, telephone calls, and emails, and may ultimately have
the opportunity to meet or even host their correspondents face to face at
pre-frosh orientation, April 23-25.

Project SMART originated out of the concerns of current students with the
recruitment process for prospective students of color, explained Tevera
Stith, Associate Dean of Admissions and Dean of Multicultural Admissions.

“When I first came to Swat, we had an open meeting with students of color to
listen to some of their concerns,” Stith said. “Students voiced issues about
whether we were recruiting in the right areas, targeting community
organizations like urban centers, and using our alums and other connections
to their full potential.”

Whereas a phonathon or an overnight host provides only a one-time connection
between current Swatties and prospective students, Project SMART aims to
“make more deliberate matches,” according to Stith. “We want to speak to
students’ particular sensitivities, and forge links beyond cultural
background. We want to acknowledge the diversity within ethnic or racial
groups, and make more informed matches based on academic interests,
extracurricular activities, or geographical location, as well as race and
culture.”

The program is also intended to develop continuous relationships and
facilitate communication between prospective students, current Swatties, and
the admissions office. “[Current Swatties] become the direct liaison to four
or five kids,” Stith explained. “You’re their admissions person, their link
to Swat.”

The idea is that Swatties in communication with prospective students can
inform Admissions if their student is not receptive to the program or does
not seem interested in enrolling at Swarthmore. This saves on the resources,
time, and effort being spent on encouraging an uninterested student to
attend. The program also allows prospective students access to the current
Swatties’ network of connections with other students, faculty, and staff
members, enabling them to address their specific questions and areas of
interest beyond their cultural community.

“It also makes the process more fulfilling for current Swatties,” Stith
added. “If your kid comes, you feel like you had a hand in their decision,
you knew you made a difference. Or if not, we know that we’ve done all we
could have done.”

ADVICE and the Intercultural Center student groups seem to be responding
positively to the implementation of the program, although they stress that
it should not take the place of the extra day of orientation and other
programming specifically for students of color. Admissions intern and SAO
member Michelle Lo ’04 said, “SMART is simply an extra step the admissions
office is taking to attract more students of color to come to Swarthmore,
and should not be looked at as a substitute for minority pre-frosh weekend.
If SMART is successful this year, I believe that in the years to come, it
will be working in conjunction with minority pre-frosh to increase student
of color enrollment at Swarthmore.”

Although Project SMART is currently an exclusively students of color
initiative, Stith admitted that the possibility for expanding the scope of
the program is not out of the question. “[This year] will be a good testing
ground,” she said. “If it’s successful, yes, we might expand it and take a
broader look at all prospective students’ interests and needs.”

by Pei Pei Liu – Co-Managing Editor
additional reporting by Alexis Reedy

Hollis Easter ’03 has been selected as one of the 48 Watson Fellows for
2003-2004. The Watson Fellowship, awarded annually to college seniors at
participating institutions nationwide, supplies funding for travel abroad
and a year of independent study following graduation.

Easter plans to travel to Scotland for his project, “Auld Tunes and New: The
Bagpipe Music of Scotland.”

“I’m very excited about doing bagpipe study for the Watson because it allows
a form of learning that’s very difficult in the conventional system,” Easter
said. “The sorts of things I want to learn aren’t really taught in a
classroom anywhere, and with the fellowship I’ll have the freedom to travel
around the country, seeking out teachers and musicians.”

“And I’ll have time to practice! This alone is exciting, but combined with
living in the home of the music I love, it’s a wonderful package. I feel a
bit overwhelmed by the details of putting together a year of independent
study and travel–I’ve never done it before! The prospect of leaving behind
friends, family, most possessions, and everything else familiar is a little
daunting.”

The application for the Watson includes a proposal and a personal statement,
and two letters of recommendation. In addition, the participating college or
university must endorse the candidate in order for the student to receive an
interview.

According to the official website for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Program, “A Watson project is something that you have wanted to do and
dreamed about doing for a considerable period of time. You must want to do
this so badly that when it is cold and rainy, and you have lost your
passport, and your camera has been stolen, and you’re sick, and your best
friend is getting married back home, you will still want to stay abroad and
pursue your project.”

Sustaining interest and motivation won’t be a problem for Easter. “I hope to
come back with greatly improved technical skills, certainly, but what I
really hope to glean from a year in Scotland is a closeness with the music,
the beginnings of an understanding that goes beyond what can be written
down,” he said. “I look forward to meeting the people, walking the hills,
and playing the tunes. Scottish bagpiping has an oral tradition that dates
from the fifteenth century onward, and I want to tap it.”

* In what was described as a “decapitation attack” by Pentagon officials, US
forces attacked targets of military importance in the city of Baghdad
Wednesday night (EST) in an attempt to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
It is unknown at this time whether the strikes were successful and will
probably remain unknown for some time. The attack was carried out by a
number of F-117 stealth bombers in combination with Tomahawk cruise missiles
launched from ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. In a televised address
to the nation at 10:15 p.m., President Bush announced that “American and
coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm
Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave dangerS.This
will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome
except victory.”

* New clues emerged on Wednesday as to the origin of an outbreak of a
relatively unknown form of pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome,
which has killed as many as 14 people and infected more than 200 in 10
countries. The Hong Kong Health Department discovered that seven of those
who died from the disease stayed at the same hotel between February 12 and
March 2. Doctors at the CDC and the WHO are looking at a number of viruses
in their attempts to isolate the cause of the infection, including some
similar to the ones that cause mumps and measles.

* According to the UN Command in South Korea, North Korean officials have
refused a request to discuss the joint military exercises now taking place
in the South. The UN Command issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the
exercises are “unrelated to current world events.” The North continues to
repeat its claim that the exercises are preparation for an invasion of their
country in the near future.

*****

Networking Workshop
Sponsored by Career Services
Trotter 203, 6:30 p.m.

Reading by Marina Carr (in memory of College Librarian Micheal J. Durkan)
Sponsored by the Associates of Swarthmore College Libraries, and the
departments of Theatre and English Literature
Kohlberg- Scheuer Room, 6:30 p.m.

Movie: “Bullet in the Head” (John Woo)
Sponsored by Films of Fury
SCCS Lounge, 7:30 p.m.

“The Magic Flute” Performance
Lang Music Building Lobby, 8:00 p.m.

—–

ALUMNI STUDENT CAREER / LIFE DINNER
You are invited to join us Sat. March 29 5:30-8pm in TIC for a fabulous
evening of good food, excellent conversation and great learning
opportunities.  You’ll talk with alumni representing a variety of interests
and career paths.  You don’t need to know what you want to do with the rest
of your life, just come and learn. You’ll make great contacts for your
future.  Space is limited for this very popular event so sign up early.
Sign-ups are Mon. 3/17 – Fri. 3/21, in Career Services.  Call x8352 for more
info.

—–

Swarthmore College and the Peaceful Investment Project invite you to a
campus-wide Collection featuring guest speaker Frida Berrigan of the Arms
Trade Resource Center, a project of the World Policy Institute on the
Economics and Politics of the US Arms Trade
Friday, March 21st
1pm
Friends’ Meeting House
Students, faculty, staff and members of the greater community are encouraged
to attend

*****

In Monday’s World News Roundup, the Gazette incorrectly stated that the
American student killed in Israel on Sunday was the first American killed
there during the last 29 months of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In
fact, as our readers pointed out, several Americans died in Israel during
last year’s Hebrew University bombing.  The Gazette apologizes for its
mistake.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Softball at Neumann, 4:00 p.m.
Men’s Volleyball Club hosts Widener, 8:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
No contests scheduled for tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is the devilish thing about foreign affairs: they are foreign and will
not always conform to our whim”
–James Reston

*****
.
Interested in reporting or writing for the Gazette?
Got a news or sports tip for us?
Just want to tell us what you think?