Tuesday, March 25, 2003

by Roxanne Yaghoubi
Gazette News Reporter

On Monday night, members of Housing Committee, along with Dean of Housing
Myrt Westphal, held a meeting regarding the new theme housing that will be
available on campus next year. There were also two subsequent meetings to
address the specific residential options being offered: substance-free
housing and the multicultural education hall. About 30 students total
attended the event, which was held in the CRC.

During the substance-free housing info session, Westphal and the committee
spent a large amount of time explaining how the room-choosing process would
work.

Since Woolman is the location for the substance-free housing, only 21
people, excluding the RA, would be able to pick into the dorm. There are
currently 2 blocks, each consisting of 2 doubles. These, and several other
doubles generally go to sophomores. There are also 3 singles available for
juniors and seniors.

Westphal emphasized that choosing to apply for this dorm would now involve
blocking for it, and students would be held to their choice if selected.

Questions also arose as to the nature of the theme housing. Students wanted
clarification on the difference between substance-free housing and a
substance-free lifestyle. In other words, would students living in the dorm
be expected not to smoke, drink or use drugs simply in Woolman, or in
general?

The committee emphasized that this, along with appropriate substance-free
programming for the dorm and the wider college community, would be up to the
discretion of the dorm’s residents.

Following the information about substance-free housing, Westphal and the
committee spoke about the multicultural education hall.

Many of the same issues regarding room selection and blocking were raised.
The process would be much the same as choosing to live in the substance-free
housing, with the exception that students would have to live in the
multicultural-themed housing for a year. The decision to not allow students
going abroad for one semester to apply for the dorm was made in order to
ensure that the process of discussion and education about multiculturalism
would continue without interruption caused by people leaving the hall.

The purpose of the hall, set to take place on Mertz 3rd North, is to provide
residential dialogue across lines of difference, according to the committee.
And while the committee emphasized that they are not only looking for
students who are of a particular race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation,
they do expect that the students who live on the hall would be comfortable
interacting with, and learning from, students from a wide variety of
backgrounds.

Anna Morgan ’04 and William Tran ’03, originators of a student petition
against the hall, raised a variety of concerns at the meeting. Among such
concerns, they questioned how the College would decide after the first trial
year if the hall was indeed successful. Additionally, they wondered how the
campus would be affected by placing the people interested in multicultural
education into the same hall rather than spreading them throughout the
dorms.

In response the committee emphasized the hall’s role in conducting
campus-wide events each semester on multiculturalism. Additionally, many
people said that discussions about race do not usually occur in dorms, and
that many students tend to self-segregate themselves in certain dorms
anyway.

In closing Jon Rosa ’03, a member of the committee, said that “we’re aware
of the concerns and share the concerns, but we’re wiling to take a risk.”

———–
If you missed the meetings but still want to apply for either housing
option, you can pick up an application in Parrish 110. Both applications are
due April 10.

*****

by Greg Leiserson
Gazette News Reporter

In a campaign to raise awareness of the large quantity of food waste
produced at Sharples every day, members of the campus environmental group
Earthlust collected and weighed the excess food three nights last week.

After an initial run Monday night, chalkings appeared around campus noting
that those eating at the dining hall the night before had produced over 250
pounds of food waste. This initial tally did not separate between edible
food waste and inedible food waste.

Improving their technique as the week went on, however, members collected
184 pounds of edible food waste on Wednesday. Further numerical figures from
the campaign were not yet available at the time of publication.

The discussion that would eventually result in the campaign started out on
the issue of composting food waste from Sharples. Later, Earthlust members
decided to start with a simpler goal and work to increase student awareness
of the amount of food wasted each day as they fill their trays. Keefe Keeley
’06 described the goal of the campaign as “getting people to think about how
much they were taking and how much they would actually eat.”

Keeley described the people coming to empty their trays after eating as
consisting of “some very open, supportive people and a lot of indifferent
ones.” He also noted that the group did not want to greatly inconvenience
people and reasoned that “three days shouldn’t be too much of a cause for
concern.”

The campaign also weighed the food waste produced at Sharples three days
before spring break so that there would be a base level for comparison with
the figures obtained during the active portion of the campaign and so that
they could see if there was any immediate effect on the amount of waste
produced.

The complete results of the campaign will be publicized by Earthlust when
they are available.

*****

In an all-campus email sent yesterday evening, President Al Bloom announced
that Athletic Director Bob Williams has stepped down from his post of
Director of Athletics.  Bloom also noted that Associate Director of
Athletics Adam Hertz had been offered the position subsequently, after
consultation with Physical Education and Athletics faculty, and that Hertz
had accepted the offer.

The President thanked Williams for his 16 years of service to the College,
including the “wise and dedicated leadership he has brought to our physical
education and athletics program over these years.”  According to the email,
Williams will remain at the College as the Ware Professor of Athletics and
Physical Education.

Additionally, Bloom explained that he had proposed that the Athletic
Director position be given full faculty status, despite being categorized as
an administrative role.  His recommendation was approved by the Committee on
Faculty Procedures and the Board of Managers.

*****

* Coalition troops continued bombing runs over Baghdad, Nasiyira, and Mosul
early Tuesday morning. In Baghdad targets included an air force facility and
the Saddam Hussein International Airport. Military officials stated that
approximately half of all bombing runs in the last 36 hours have focused on
Republican Guard targets. According to CNN.com, Major General Stanley
McChrystal announced at a briefing Monday, “I am sure that [the Medina
Division] has been degraded significantly in the last 48 hours or so.” The
Medina Division is one of the key Republican Guard divisions expected to
challenge the coalition forces as they move towards Baghdad. The number of
confirmed US and British casualties rose to 39 as of late Monday night.

* US officials announced on Monday that Al Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh
Mohammed has provided names and aliases of a number of operatives currently
plotting terrorist attacks. While some of the names were already known by
intelligence officials there were a few that were new. He also told
officials a few limited details about the command and control structure of
the Al Qaeda organization. Overall officials have characterized the ongoing
interrogations as useful.

* The US Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark death penalty case on
Monday that would have broad implications for the quality of legal defense
expected in cases where the death penalty might be applied. Kevin Wiggins
was sentenced to death after being found guilty of drowning an elderly
Baltimore woman in 1988. However, the jury for the case never heard that
Wiggins was repeatedly raped and beaten as a child or that his mother burned
his hands on the stove as a means of punishment. The appeal is based on the
grounds that Wiggins’ was provided with inexperienced lawyers that did not
provide him with the legal defense to which he is constitutionally entitled.
In a friend of the court brief filed for the case, lawyers for former
attorney general Janet Reno and former independent counsel Robert Ray wrote
“a strong statement by this court that it will not condone or excuse
substandard performance in death penalty representation will enhance public
confidence in the criminal justice system.” The Supreme Court is reviewing
only the death penalty sentence and not the murder conviction itself.

*****

Psychology Colloquium: Daniel Ba-ron
Kirby Lecture Hall – Martin, 4:15 p.m.

Peace & Conflict Lecture: “Persistent Resistance to War: Commitment and
Community in the Plowshares Movement”
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 4:30 p.m.

Islamic Calligraphy Presentation
Kohlberg 115, 5:30 p.m.

Diversity Week Event: 16 Feet Perform
Sharples, 6:15 p.m.

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

“Tunnel Kids”
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:00 p.m.

Diversity Week Event: “If Women Ruled the World” Screening & Discussion
Women’s Resource Center, 8:00 p.m.

Tango Dance Lessons
Upper Tarble, 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.

——

Are you tired of meaningless rhetoric? Do you want to hear authoritative
sources talk about the things that matter to you most? Do you care
passionately about food or just simply like to eat it?

Well, if you answer yes to any of the above, come to this year’s
Latka-Hamentaschen debate.

Show your support and engage in productive culinary politics while listening
to the flawless arguments of Professors Joan Friedman and Amy Bug as they
defend those age old enemies – the Latka and the Hamentaschen. The debate
will begin at 7:30 this Wednesday in Kohlberg 115. And yes, the Latka and
the Hamentaschen will be making a special appearance!

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Softball hosts Goldey Beacom, 3:00 p.m.
Baseball at F&M, 3:00 p.m.
Women’s Tennis at Washington, 3:30 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Men’s Lacrosse hosts Ursinus, 3:30 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.”
–Unknown, quoted from Jim Horning

*****
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