Thursday, October 9, 2003

by Ken Patton
Gazette Reporter

In response to the recent acts of vandalism targeting the Intercultural Center
and SQU, students gathered at the Friends Meeting House on Tuesday night to
discuss the source of these misdemeanors with Deans and members of Student Council.
The discussion focused on the effects that the destructive acts have had on
the community and organizers hoped it would stimulate ideas that could help
promote a more accepting atmosphere in the college as well.

More than fifty people attended the discussion and expressed differing opinions
on who was responsible and how the community should respond to the vandalism.
The discussion was mediated by Darryl Smaw and a panel consisting of students
and several members of the administration.

Part of the discussion focused on how the community should not just seek to
catch the perpetrators, but rather build an environment where such actions are
so unacceptable that people would not think to commit them. As for the perpetrators,
their behavior was “ugly and intimidating” but the community should
try to “convert them to good and better citizenship” according to
Maurice Eldridge.

The discussion did get a bit controversial when members of the audience initiated
a comparison between the recent events against the IC and SQU and similar events
that have occurred in the past to other groups such as the College Republicans.
However, on the whole most people agreed that it would be advantageous to create
more mediums for discussion on campus such that people have venues for expressing
differing ideas in a non-destructive way.

As one student in the audience put it, there is “no place [on campus]
to say ‘I don’t know about that group’ or ‘I don’t like that person.'”
For the future, Rafael Zapata brought up the topic of “who is going up
on that sign next?”

After the discussion Jean Schneider ’06 commented that the discussion was good
but “the comparison to the College Republicans was not the most productive
direction.”

*****

by Roxanne Yaghoubi
World News Editor

For those students worrying about finding a job after graduation, a new opportunity
may have arisen in an unexpected place: the library!

Six academic libraries, including Swarthmore’s, have been awarded $500,000
by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The money is aimed at recruiting more students
to become librarians. Such a program has become necessary because in recent
years the profession has undergone a ‘greying’, with the great majority of librarians
nearing retirement age. At the same time, students may have been discouraged
from the profession because of the negative stereotypes associated with it.

Pam Harris, the Instruction and Outreach Librarian at McCabe Library says that
the program hopes to “dispel individual stereotypes by introducing students
to the wide variety of librarians working in the field today, while attracting
talented students to the profession.”

In that vein, the college will pick four students per year over three years
to participate in a fourteen week library curriculum. This curriculum, which
will be a paid six-hour per week time commitment, will involve field trips and
workshops, as well as working closely with library staff. All Swarthmore students
would be eligible to apply.

Particularly, the library hopes to attract students from a wide variety of
backgrounds, with an eye towards having the profession reflect the diversity
of the wider population.

*****

* Actor and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was victorious Tuesday in the
recall election for California’s governor. He maintained that he would take
on a centrist position and encouraged open dialogue with the Democratic legislature
in Sacramento. According to the New York Times, one of Schwarzenegger’s immediate
plans is to audit the state’s books to determine California’s budget deficit.
Despite the recent accusations of sexual harassment, exit polls did not show
that less women than men voted for Schwarzenegger. A record number of Californians
showed up to vote; voter turnout was estimated at 60 percent.

* Yasir Arafat swore in an emergency government for Palestine Tuesday. The
nine-member cabinet is led by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and is replacing the
government that resigned last month. Qurei, whose function as Prime Minister
is to lessen the stress and power placed upon Arafat, said the government’s
main focus will be on the revitalization of the road map, the Middle East peace
plan. The creation of the cabinet is seen as a move to diminish the chance of
Israeli action against Arafat.

* The accumulating hostility of the United Nations Security Council towards
the United States’ plan for Iraq’s future government has caused the Bush administration
to rethink its plans. Initially, the United States planned to hold a vote seeking
approval for its post-war strategies in hopes that it would persuade other countries
to donate money or troops. Now, the US has canceled immediate voting and may
annul the plan altogether. Support for the plan dropped to a new low after Kofi
Annan, UN secretary general, divulged that he felt the Iraqi attacks on Americans
would cease once a provisional government in Iraq was founded.

*****

T’ai Chi Chih Class
Martin 213, 12:30 p.m.

Upward Bound Tutoring
Kohlberg 334, 4:00 p.m.

“The Emergence of Punk Rock in South Korea”:
Documentary Film Screening and Talk by Professor Stephen Epstein
Scheuer Room, 4:15 p.m.

Deloitte Consulting Info Session
Bond, 6:00 p.m.

College Bowl Meeting
Kohlberg 202, 7:00 p.m.

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Info Session
Scheuer Room, 7:00 p.m.

Anime Film Screening: “Cowboy Bebop, the Movie”
LPAC Cinema, 8:00 p.m.

The Dolly Ranchers
Olde Club, 8:30 p.m.

SPAC Meeting
Kohlberg 302, 8:00 p.m.

Prayers for Peace
Common Worship Room, Bond, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Senior Emma Benn recorded three double-doubles in leading the Garnet to a 3-0
week including conference victories over Muhlenberg and McDaniel, earning her
Centennial Conference Volleyball Player of the Week honors for October 7, 2003.

*****

The Garnet remained undefeated in the Centennial Conference after three matches,
defeating Ursinus 30-21, 31-29, 30-28.

Erica George ’07 posted her ninth double-double of the season, with 13 kills
and 14 digs. Emily Conlon ’06 orchestrated the offense with 28 assists and Patrice
Berry anchored the defense with 19 digs.

Natalie Dunphy ’05, Centennial Conference leader in blocks, put in an all-around
effort with 5 blocks, 9 kills and 2 aces as Swarthmore moved to 11-11, 3-0 in
the conference.

The Garnet travel travel to Haverford for the annual Seven Sisters tournament
on Saturday morning.

*****

Nicole Oberfoell ’07 scored her first career goal but it was not enough as
the Garnet fell 3-1 at Ursinus. Swat falls to 6-6 overall, and 2-3 in the Centennial.

The Garnet host Johns Hopkins on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

*****

Today
No contests are scheduled for today.

Tomorrow
Women’s Soccer hosts Johns Hopkins, 7:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Learn not only to find what you like, learn to like what you find.”
–Anthony J. D’Angelo

*****

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