Friday, December 5, 2003

by Jonathan Ference
Gazette Reporter

Though Orientation Week 2004 is many months away, a reserved-students email
sent Wednesday alerted students to a lack of students interested in stepping
up to the task of being the Orientation Committee (OC) for next year. Student
Council Appointments chairperson Chris Ciarleglio ’04 announced an extension
of the application deadline, allowing applications to be submitted until 11:59
PM on Sunday, December 7th. The reason given for the changing of the deadline,
which was originally November 21st, was simply “a lack of applications.”
Yet, the dearth of interest in applications for this highly visible role raised
discussion about the OC process Wednesday.

Orientation Committee is unique among Swarthmore’s committees in that those
interested apply as a group. According to the OC application page on the Appointment
Committee (AC) website, “The AC believes that orientation is an extremely
important part of the 1st year experience” and “as such, [has] made
the application process for 2004 more intensive than in the past.” The
most obvious change is the move to select the committee in the fall as opposed
to the spring. The page also details the various parts required in an OC application,
including a standard form, a proposal of events and a timeline for orientation
week, a proposal for applications for Campus Advisors (CA’s), and individual
supplements from each person applying. Lest potential applicants be deterred
by the work this application would seem to require, the page also notes, “Please
do not be intimidated by this process. The AC only truly desires that a truly
enthusiastic group will gain the appointment.”

According to Ciarleglio, the AC was fortunate that this year’s OC leaders,
chaired by Brandon Carver ’04, decided to apply. He noted that they dealt with
the challenges that face the committee “extremely well and organized an
outstanding orientation period.” Ciarleglio went on to explain that “this
dearth of applications is not uncommon”, citing three reasons for the change
to the fall for making the OC appointment: first, the spring did not afford
applicants enough time to complete a “concise, well-done application;”
second, that the late selection put extra pressure on the OC to organize and
have meetings before the semester ended; and lastly, that “this overall
disorganization causes low morale on the committee.” An additional reason
Ciarleglio added was that having the application process in the fall before
his term ends helps prevent overloading the new Appointments chairperson next
semester.

Asked whether the lack of applications was a true cause for concern, Ciarleglio
expressed a firm belief that “it takes a special kind of person to have
the desire and group dynamics to run this committee successfully.” He also
explained that it is not at all unusual for Orientation Committee to have a
lack of applications.

To questions of the administration’s role in the application process, Ciarleglio
explained that the appointment of the OC is purely the Student Council’s responsibility.
At this point, the AC is “under no obligation to choose a group if it feels
the group is not worthy of appointment.” Such a decision would result in
a reopening of the application process in the spring.

Asked what he thought about the lack of applications, freshman Jeff Merkle
commented, “it was unfortunate that more people aren’t interested, because
it’s such an important role.” Several first-years were of the same opinion
as Merkle, noting that even though the OC wasn’t highly visible to them during
their orientation, they had respect for how important its role in preparation
must be.

by Greg Leiserson
Campus News Editor

Mark Danner, a professor of journalism at UC Berkeley, and Leon Wieseltier,
literary editor of “The New Republic”, faced off in a second debate
on the Iraq war in front of a crowded LPAC Cinema Thursday night. Titled “Justice,
Security, and the War in Iraq”, the event was billed as a continuation
of the discussion started last spring, but in this round there was little real
contention between the two speakers.

While Danner was and is opposed to the war, he believes that because the United
States has already started it, the country must stay in Iraq until the job is
completed. As a pro-war voice Wieseltier shares the view that the US should
remain until the job is done, and, since the majority of the forum centered
on issues of reconstruction, the speakers differed on only a few points. Both
frequently criticized the Bush administration and both said that the US should
remain in Iraq for a significant period of time rather than rushing to get out
of the country.

In his opening remarks, Wieseltier argued that there was no evidence that deterrence
would be a successful method of dealing with Saddam Hussein since he had used
weapons of mass destruction in the past against his own people. He pointed to
political turmoil in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as proof of “a delegitimization
of dictatorship [and] of the absence of democratic regimes in the Arab world.”
Referring to President Bush, he noted that sometimes a person you despise can
do something good and it is by one’s actions that a person must be judged.

However, in addition to these positive comments, he argued that the claim that
the US could be out in as little as 18 months is ridiculous, that the US has
mishandled relations with Iraq’s Shia population, and that elections are not
the best index of democratization in a country.

Danner painted a much bleaker picture in his opening statements, saying that
the war was getting worse as time went on and that US forces have not shown
themselves able to fight the type of war currently being waged in Iraq. He also
responded to Wieseltier’s comments about Hussein, arguing that “the notion
that Saddam Hussein had shown that he could not be deterred is rubbish.”
He disagreed with the argument that the political turmoil in other countries
was the result of increased democratization in Iraq, but rather pointed to attacks
by al Qaeda in those countries as the primary cause.

After the opening statements, the discussion shifted almost entirely to reconstruction
and the two speakers either agreed or expressed almost identical beliefs on
most topics. Both speakers expressed contempt for the quality of US diplomacy
and what they viewed as an increase in the politicization of reconstruction.
Said Wieseltier, “The only thing worse than Donald Rumsfeld running post
war Iraq [would be] Karl Rove running post war Iraq.”

The forum ended with a period for questions and answers from the audience.
Audience members questioned the journalists on issues ranging from the practicalities
of how democracy improves people’s lives to what influence the neoconservatives
in Washington may have had on the decision to go to war.

by Evelyn Khoo
Living and Arts Editor

Last night about 35 people gathered in Mephistos to discuss whether student
support groups at Swat for racial and gender minorities should be open or closed.
On the panel were Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham ’07, Rajaa Shakir ’04 and James Madden
’06.

Among other issues, some of the key questions raised were why there is a need
for some groups to be open or closed, what side effects these support groups
have on the rest of the campus, and where the responsibility for increasing
overall campus diversity (which was at least one thing everyone at the discussion
held in common) lies – with the support groups themselves or with the greater
campus community.

In response to the argument that since some groups are open all groups should
be open, Shakir argued that because the various minority groups on campus have
different historical records with racial relations in America, and therefore
vastly different life experiences and issues, each group needs a different kind
of secure setting to deal with those issues.

Goldsmith-Pinkham ’07 wondered about a possible self-perpetuating segregation
effect that support groups have had on campus, citing what he perceived as self-selecting
social segregation in Sharples where obvious racial communities sit together
for meals. This argument was countered by members of minority groups stating
that there are also many all-white groups sitting to eat together but that this
is not pointed out. Others in the audience also noted that this was not exclusion,
that non-members of these minority groups can reach out to these communities
outside of the support group structure.

This led to a discussion of where responsibility for campus diversity lies.
Shakir, along with other members of the audience, felt that by forcing support
groups to be open the entire burden of responsibility for campus diversity is
placed solely on the shoulders of the members of those groups and that this
was not the intended function of support groups. Instead, these support groups’
primary responsibility is to provide a safe space for its members to discuss
issues which they do not have in their everyday environment. The inclusion of
majority members, despite good intentions, could disrupt these safe environments.

Madden, who was the main proponent for a campus group outside of the support
groups dedicated to increasing awareness of these issues, reiterated that there
needs to be more of a sense of responsibility from the greater campus community
to want to be aware of the differences in experience that minorities face.

Some members of the audience felt that this effort could be and has been extended
by both sides of the community. They agreed that there should be an aspect of
cultural outreach by minority groups, but that simultaneously the rest of the
campus needs to be educated so that they will also reach out responsibly towards
minority groups, and not expect to be simply handed diversity.

*****

* On Thursday, President Bush ended the import tariffs on steel that he imposed
last year. The tariffs were meant to help the struggling US steel industry,
which is a key force in swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania critical to
Bush’s re-election. The President justified his choice by saying that in the
21 months since the tariffs had been put into place, the steel industry has
been given a chance to modernize. He also cited “changed economic circumstances”
as a reason for why the tariffs were no longer needed.

* US forces continued their effort on Thursday to try and weaken Iraqi guerillas.
One of the chief ways that the US is doing this is by attacking one of the guerilla’s
biggest recruiting efforts: money. To that end, old Iraqi dinar notes bearing
Hussein’s likeness will become worthless on January 15. Additionally, the military
wants to conduct raids on black marketeers thought to be financially aiding
the guerillas.

* In Grand Forks North Dakota on Thursday, a five million dollar bail was set
for Alfonso Rodriguez, the man accused of kidnapping a college student. The
bail was set at such a large amount because of Rodriguez’s own concerns for
his safety outside bars. Meanwhile the search continued for Dru Sjodin who went
missing on November 22nd. Rodriguez is a convicted rapist, classified as the
type most likely to commit the crime.

*****

Friday:

Faculty Panel on Post-War Iraq
Science Center 101, 4:00 p.m.

Fall Student Dance Concert
Pearson-Hall Theatre – LPAC, 4:30 p.m.

Physics Department Colloquium: “Squeezing Semiconductor; What Ultrafast
Measurements Tell Us About Mesocopia”
Lecture by Sarah Bolton, Williams College
Science Center 199, 4:30 p.m.

Movie Screening: “Secretary”
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

“A Delicate Balance”
Presented by the 2004 Senior Company
Frear Ensemble Theatre – LPAC, 8:00 p.m.

The Axelrod String Quartet
Lang Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: “All About My Mother” (Spanish)
LPAC Cinema, 8:30 p.m.

Anime Club Film Screening: “Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X OVA”
Science Center 199, 9:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: Woody Allen’s “Love and Death”
Sponsored by Ruach
Kohlberg 228, 9:00 p.m.

Lingerie Night Party
Bryn Mawr Campus Center, 10:00 p.m.

Live Performance by L’Homme Run at Qub
Qub, 10:00 p.m.

Olde Club Performance: Ian Thomas and Good Little Monkey
Olde Club, 10:00 p.m.

SAO’s !Hello DU! Party
Paces, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Choosing Clarity: A Symposium on Voting Transparency
Upper Tarble, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Opera Class Scene Performances
Lang Concert Hall, 3:00 p.m.

Fall Student Dance Concert
Pearson-Hall Theatre – LPAC, 4:30 p.m.

“A Delicate Balance”
Presented by the 2004 Senior Company
Frear Ensemble Theatre – LPAC, 8:00 p.m.

MULTI Block Party
Paces, 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Taiko Workshop: The Mechanics of Hitting
Lang Concert Hall, 11:00 a.m.

“Berries, Bark and Broadleaved Evergreens” Free Guided Tour by the
Scott Arboretum
Scott Arboretum Offices, 1:00 p.m.

Gamelan Semara Santi and the Dance and Drumming Ensemble Joint Concert
Pearson-Hall Theatre – LPAC, 3:00 p.m.

Capoeira
LPAC Lobby, 4:00 p.m.

Film Screening: “Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War”
Sponsored by Why War?, SPAC and MoveOn.org
Science Center 101, 7:00 p.m.

Senior Recital, Andrew Hauze, Organ and Composition
Lang Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

“A Delicate Balance”
Presented by the 2004 Senior Company
Frear Ensemble Theatre – LPAC, 8:00 p.m.

SAC Gingerbread and Cider Study Break
Science Center Commons, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Women’s Basketball in Seven Sisters at Vassar vs. Vassar, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday:
Badminton at Bryn Mawr Main Line Invite, 8:00 a.m.
Men’s Basketball hosts Ursinus, 2:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball in Seven Sisters at Vassar, TBA
Swimming hosts Albright, 1:00 p.m.

Sunday:
Women’s Basketball in Seven Sisters at Vassar, TBA
Indoor Track at Haverford, 12:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be
pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.”
–Elizabeth Taylor

*****

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