Friday, February 6, 2004

by Brendan Moriarty
Gazette Reporter

The failure of the College Democrats to secure funding from the
Social Affairs Committee for an all-campus study break on the night
of last week’s New Hampshire primaries has sparked debate over a SAC
rule that prevents funding of political events.

A clause in the SAC bylaws states that the committee is not
allowed
to fund “activities directly related to religious ceremonies or
events which advance political ideologies.” The rule prevented the
committee from granting funds to the Democrats for their all-campus
study break on January 27th. The College Democrats were forced to
draw money from their limited budget to see the event through. With
an annual budget of only $100 granted by SBC, the Democrats have
little resources left to fund events for the remainder of the term.

College Democrats co-president Doru Gavril respected the decision
of
the committee to avoid what he described as a potentially “slippery
slope.” However, the law threatens to unravel the group’s ambitious
plans. A change in leadership that included the election of
co-presidents Gavril and Patrick Hart has breathed new life into this
previously stagnant student organization. In a year that will see a
contentious presidential election, interest in national politics is
high. The group is planning a number of non-partisan events to
service this interest and encourage political engagement. The plans
call for the first statistically sound political poll of the student
body, a voter registration drive for Swarthmore and Chester, and an
outdoor picnic. Without funding, Gavril said that the plans would
likely be forestalled.

In a Student Council meeting on Tuesday night, Council President
Emiliano Rodriguez suggested that SAC consider dropping the rule,
reminding co-presidents Brandon Carver and Christina Pao that the
purpose of SAC is to fund social events. However, Carver and Pao came
out strongly in defense of the rule, suggesting that funding for such
events is more appropriately the responsibility of the Forum for Free
Speech, another organization under the purview of Student Council. In
a phone interview, Pao stated the committee’s desire to avoid
conflict.

Observers to the meeting reported that the exchange was
contentious.
Carver and Pao expressed their concern that events hosted by a
political organization would be threatening to some students. To
this, Student Council responded that parties at the fraternities
would probably be threatening to people who aren’t interested in
drinking. SAC does fund fraternity parties.

Pao stated that SAC would meet to reconsider the rule in light of
the
committee’s purpose and Student Council’s insistence.

*****

by Jonathan Ference
Living and Arts Editor

Welcome to yet another weekend. If you’re like this writer, you’re
a
little bit tired of needing to wear crampons to master the ice
outside your dorm–and you’ve had just about enough of this winter
and all the opportunities it’s given Student Council to send you
loving e-mails about black ice. So, it’s time to break out of the
doldrums and think blissfully unrealistic utopian thoughts about the
swift arrival of a spring… with no mud. Break out in style with
none other than the ever-popular weekend roundup!

* According to a speech made by CIA Director George Tenet on
Thursday,
analysts may have overestimated the threat of Iraq to the U.S. While
the urgency of such a danger was the main reason used by George W.
Bush for going to war, analysts beforehand had varying opinions as to
whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Tenet blamed the
intelligence gaps on a failure to infiltrate the interior of the
Iraqi government and on outside information that had been received
from dubious sources. Although no illicit weapons have currently been
found in Iraq, Tenet said he believed that Iraq had the capabilities
and intentions of producing weapons. Tenet’s speech came as a
response to statements made by former weapons inspector David Kay,
who admitted last week that he believed there were probably no
weapons hidden in prewar Iraq.

* After determining that the system was too vulnerable, the
Pentagon
has decided to scrap plans for an Internet voting system. The system
was designed as a more efficient way for overseas U.S citizens to
vote. There are about 6 million U.S voters living abroad, the
majority of which are members of the military. Computer security
experts who looked over the system, known as the Secure Electronic
Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE), said that it could be
easily hacked into, allowing others to change votes or collect
information about the users. The Pentagon had originally planned on
testing SERVE during South Carolina’s primary on Tuesday but canceled
the trial the day before. The decision to abandon SERVE entirely was
made on Thursday by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

* Surgery begins today in Santo Domingo for Rebeca Martinez, a
7-week-old Dominican girl who was born with two heads. The second
head is a conjoined twin that died in the womb after partially
developing. Only eight cases of this condition, known as craniopagus
parasiticus, have been documented worldwide and Rebeca is the only
infant to have survived childbirth. The other head has a partially
formed brain, ears, eyes, and lips, and moves its mouth when Rebeca
is breastfed. The surgery is risky as the two heads share arteries,
but if it is completed successfully Rebeca will develop normally and
not require physical therapy. The $100,000 surgery is being covered
by CURE International, a charity that provides medical care for
children in developing countries.

*****

Friday:

Soul Shack Art Gallery Opening and Reception
BCC, 12:00 p.m.

“African Americans & the Color Line Over the 1990s”: Dr. Michael A.
Stoll
Scheuer Room, 2:30 p.m.

Shabbat Services and Dinner
Bond, 5:30 p.m.

SQU Movie Screening: Boys Don’t Cry
IC, 7:00 p.m.

Film Screening: Rushmore
LPAC, 7:30 p.m and 10:00 p.m.

Anime/Manga Club Screening: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Kohlberg 228, 9:00 p.m.

Film Screening: Great Love Stories: Bringing Up Baby
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Soul Shack Art Gallery Open
BCC, 12:00-5:00 p.m.

Film Screening: Rushmore
Science Center 199, 7:30 p.m and 10:00 p.m.

Faculty Dance Concert
LPAC (Pearson-Hall), 8:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Catholic Mass
Bond, 11:00 a.m.

Soul Shack Art Gallery Open
BCC, 1:00-7:00 p.m.

Soul Shack Performance: “An Original Voice”
BCC, 7:00 p.m.

Dead Man Walking: A Showing by the PAC Anti-Death Penalty Group
Science Center 101, 7:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

by Maki Sato
Gazette Reporter

It was an exciting game last night when the Garnet Tide took on
the
Owls from Bryn Mawr. Both teams played strong games, but in the very
end, Swarthmore defeated Bryn Mawr 3-2.

In singles, Surbhi Gupta ’04 played an intense set with Bryn
Mawr’s
Ioana Butoi. Their games were dominated by hard hits, and both girls
remained energetic throughout the course of their play. In the
beginning, Gupta aimed her hits toward her opponent’s body, making it
difficult for her challenger to hit the shuttle, but her opponent
gained
momentum and pulled two wins in the end (11-7, 11-4).

Laurel Beesemyer ’04 also played a heated set that remained close
throughout the games. Both girls played a variety of shots, taking
turns hitting hard and soft, close to the net and near the
boundaries. It looked like an evenly paired match; both girls
seemed to truly test their opponent’s abilities. Although Bryn Mawr
won the two games in this set (11-4, 11-5), Beesemyer fought hard,
giving her rival a noble challenge.

Ay Jy Phoun ’04 shut her opponent out 11-0 for both games,
finishing
each in less than ten minutes. After her victory, she said, “She
[her opponent] wasn’t hard to beat. I felt confident about every
hit. I knew she couldn’t hit backhand so I kept hitting there.” It
was a fast and clean win.

The doubles teams both won their sets, giving Swarthmore the
victory
in the match. Anjali Aggarwal ’06 and Candice Cherk ’07 played very
well, winning their first two games (15-10, 15-11). And Liz
Leininger ’04 and Jessica Larson ’06 played the defining game in the
end after their 1 win-1 loss split. Before the game, Leininger,
co-captain of the girls badminton team, had exclaimed, “This is going
to
be an exciting game. They are our archrivals. We always step it up for
them. The last time we beat them twice, it was my first year (2001).
This year is the year to beat them twice again.” She proved them right
as she and Jessica triumphed in their heated game (8-15, 15-12, 17-16)
that was neck and neck for many suspenseful moments. Larson noted
“I think we have a great team this year; I’m really happy.” In light of
last
night’s victory and the team’s overall strength, she added, “I really
think this will help our program stay Varsity.”

First-time spectators also enjoyed the games: Cong Cao ’07
described
the games, “more intense” than she expected, and Anthony Manfredi
’07, a student enrolled in the badminton class, commented, “It was
interesting to compare this with what goes on in the PE classes, to
see all the techniques we’ve been learning about actually used in a
real match.”

Swarthmore hosts the Northeast Collegiate on Sunday February 15th,
starting at 8 a.m.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Indoor Track at Ursinus, 10:00 a.m.
Men’s Tennis hosts FDU, 1:00 p.m.
Swimming at Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball at Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball hosts Dickinson, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday:
There are no contests scheduled for Sunday.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.”
–Mark Twain

*****

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