Friday, February 13, 2004

by Megan Mills
Communcations Editor

Last Saturday, students in ML were serenaded by the up-and-coming
band Common Rotation–and stunned by a surprise guest appearance by
Amber Benson, a TV star who most famously played Tara Maclay on the
cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Common Rotation, whose members include Eric Kufs, Ken Beck, Michael
Uhler, and Adam Busch, also formerly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has
opened for bands as big as They Might Be Giants. Recently, however,
they decided to skip on the large venue beaurocracy and launch a
“Living Room Tour.” Dan Crosta ’06, a big fan, decided to take
advantage of the idea.

Booking the band was simple, said Crosta. “I wrote to them, inviting
them to come play in ML, and they agreed.” When planning the event, he
strove for small numbers. “My RA didn’t want it to turn into a
large-scale all-campus event, so he asked me not to post fliers up
around campus, but I did ask WSRN DJs to both play music by Common Ro
and to announce the concert.” Nevertheless, the crowd stayed at about
30 people and even waited an extra hour when the band was late.

The appearance of Amber Benson was a complete surprise. The actress,
who is on tour with the band to help out and sell CDs, was described as
friendly by many attendees, and she spoke personally with quite a few
fans. When Kate Goddard ’06 ran out barefoot into the cold to meet
Benson the actress lent her her shoes and coat for the duration of
their conversation.

For the students who were able to see the show, the experience was
an exciting one. “I hadn’t heard of Common Rotation before, and I was
sort of suspicious because they had volunteered to play in a dorm,”
said Cari Carlson ’06, “but as it turned out, the band was excellent.
“The fact that there were semi-famous people hanging out in the dorm
and selling T-shirts added to the coolness of the concert, as well as
to the general surrealistic atmosphere. We should definitely have more
study breaks like this.”

Luckily for those who missed them, Common Rotation seemed so happy
with the Swarthmore crowd that they are considering coming back in the
near future, said Crosta. Another show at Bryn Mawr is also being
planned, along with a possible appearance on WSRN.

by Jonathan Ference
Living and Arts Editor

This week has seen, among other things, the long-awaited release of
the Living Wage report…and, as residents of Mertz know all too well,
the first big thaw of spring. Tired of permanent mud splotches on the
bottom of every pair of pants you own or had enough of that lovely
shade of brown all your shoes have turned? Don’t think about how much
more mud is in your future as spring continues: it’s weekend time,
folks. Get a secure hold on a stationary object or the nearest sentient
being; it’s time for the weekend roundup!

First off, you’re making a big mistake if you don’t check out “Orfeo
ed Euridice”, a Viennese opera being produced completely by students
this weekend. Mark Thatcher ’06, a countertenor playing Orfeo, is also
directing the show; from costuming to musical backgrounds, this show is
student-made from the ground up. This is the first student-run opera
being produced at Swarthmore in over twenty years. If you don’t make
your way to Lang Concert Hall at 7:30 either Friday or Sunday, you’re
missing out.

* The U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday that he
believed it was unlikely that Iraqis would be able to organize a direct
election before June 30th, the date on which the United States is
supposed to relinquish control of Iraq to an interim government in
Baghdad. Annan says that this could lead to either an extension of the
turnover date, or a new plan for choosing a government. Direct
elections are the method of choice for picking the new government in
Iraq, and have been called for by the Shi’ite majority since the
summer. The US plan had originally called for a series of caucuses to
choose a legislature, but this method was unpopular and will be
scrapped. It is likely that President Bush will try to stick to the
June 30th date in attempts to look good for the November election.

* San Francisco officials married nearly 100 gay couples yesterday
as part of National Freedom to Marry day, which has been celebrated on
February 12th since 1998. The weddings, which took about five minutes
each, are not officially recognized by the state, which voted in 2000
against same-sex marriages. The city policy was changed by San
Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who declared that gays had a right to
marriage under California’s equal protection clause. It is unclear as
to whether or not the marriage licenses will be recognized in any way.
Conservative groups, such as the Traditional Values Coalition, have
condemned the weddings, saying they believed that mayor had made a huge
mistake. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had no comment, but had been
against gay marriages in the past.

* The US had indicated that it may support Israel’s new proposal for
a withdrawal from parts of the Gaza strip and West Bank. The US has
been operating on the belief that tensions between Israel and Palestine
can only be maintained through negotiations between the two. However,
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon argued that such negotiations are
not possible at the moment, and the move would reduce current friction
between Israel and Palestine. The US is hesitant to accept the plan
because it would create further setbacks for an independent Palestinian
state.

*****

Friday:
Living Wage Report: Faculty
Science Center 101, 12:30 p.m.

Film Lecture: Manishita Dass
LPAC Cinema, 4:15 p.m.

Philosophy Lecture: Geoff Sayre-McCord
Papazian 324, 4:15 p.m.

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

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

Film Screening: Love Actually
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m.; Science Center 199, 10:00 p.m.

Valentine’s Formal
Tarble All-Campus Space, 10:00 p.m.

Love Stories Screening: “Notorious”
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:
Film Screening: Love Actually
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:
Post-Valentine’s Breakfast (Cinnamon buns) and Quaker Meeting
Quaker Meeting House, 9:30 a.m.

Catholic Mass
Bond, 11:00 a.m.

Movie Viewing: The 10th Kingdom
Science Center 101, 2:30 p.m.

Living Wage Report: Students
Science Center 101, 6:30 p.m.

*****

For questions regarding Cooper applications please contact any of
the following committee members:

Syd Carpenter, Maurice Eldridge, Farha Gannam, Ann Garrison, Jerry
Levinson, Jeffrey Murer, Rich Schuldenfrei, Daryl Smaw, Susan Smythe,
Helene Shapiro, and students Tanya Aydelott, Jyothi Natarajan, and
Stephen Wang.

The deadline is Monday February 23rd at 12 noon. No applications
will be received by the department of Music and Dance as originally
indicated on the application form.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The women’s basketball team soundly defeated the Bryn Mawr Owls
65-21 in front of the home crowd last night. Their offense was led by
Zoey Adams-Deutsch ’06, who scored a season high 17 points, and Katie
Robinson ’04 who had 11 points. Swarthmore took the lead in the first
half and never looked back in this key conference victory. The Garnet,
now 13-8, 8-6 look ahead to their next game at Franklin and Marshall,
which will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday. F&M is currently in
fourth place, and Swarthmore is 2 games behind them in fifth, so this
game is crucial for the Garnet in order to have a chance at the fourth
and final conference playoff spot.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Indoor Track at Boston University, 10:30 a.m.
Men’s Tennis hosts Temple, 12:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball hosts McDaniel, 2:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball at F&M, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday
Badminton hosts NE Collegiate, 8:00 a.m.
Men’s Tennis hosts Mount Saint Mary’s, 10:00 a.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Calvin: With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and
impenetrable fog. Want to see my book report?
Hobbes: “The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in
‘Dick and Jane’: A Study of Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes.”
Calvin: Academia, here I come!”
–Bill Watterson, “Calvin and Hobbes”

*****

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