Monday, March 1, 2004

by Josh Hausman
Gazette Weatherman

Summary: Spring-like temperatures will continue this week. Highs
will be in the 50s and 60s with lows in the 30s and 40s.

by Jonathan Ference
Living and Arts Editor

It should come as no surprise to Swarthmore students that sometimes
partying isn’t the preferred method of kicking back and relieving
stress. In fact, it should come as even less of a surprise that many
times relaxation on this campus is associated with spending time doing
things that still can be considered remotely, if not overtly, mentally
stimulating, a pastime that is disarmingly fun yet still has a whole
academic department devoted to its art. I speak, of course, of the
great art of film.

Movie viewing at Swat truly is a popular way to waste away the
hours. With three state-of-the-art, comfortable venues for viewing, one
does not wonder why a screening of some sort can be found practically
daily in the list of campus events. Whether it’s in the austere LPAC
Cinema, the sparkling Science Center 101, or perhaps in 101’s
stepbrother Science Center 199, there seems to be a genre of film that
everyone might like to view.

Specialty series of screenings always seem to be running at
Swarthmore, for instance, a series of biology films running on
Wednesday nights just concluded, having been sponsored by campus club
Bios. Monday nights can always be capped off in a SWIL manner in
Science Center 101, with a wide array of science-fiction, fantasy, or
hard-to-categorize films making their appearance. Those interested in
Japanese culture can stop by Friday Anime Club screenings; if
sentimentality is more your bag, a series of “Great Love Stories” has
also been appearing on Friday nights.

In addition, Swarthmore professors always seem to be supplementing
their courses with mandatory or supplemental movie screenings; setting
aside the German 5 film screening that magically appears every day in
the campus events database when this writer assembles the Daily
Gazette’s list of events, it seems that classes in nearly all
disciplines can be improved with the arrangement of a class screening,
or even just the availability of a cassette in McCabe.

Then, though, there are the two heavy-hitters of campus film: the
Movie Committee and the Film Society. One is a weekend four-screening
staple; the other has gained campus recognition for its diverse
once-a-week Wednesday showings. Though their purposes and methods of
operation vary, both draw significant crowds to the movies they show.

Movie Committee is actually a committee appointed by the Student
Council; members are appointed “for life” and, according to member
Jeremy Cristol ’05, are held accountable to the council. Movies are
selected for the whole semester in just one meeting, where, according
to Cristol: “The selection process consists of each committee member
suggesting about 20 movies…we all meet in a room in Kohlberg and go
through each suggestion until we agree on a suitable list for the next
semester with a few alternates in case some are unavailable…the chair
sends the list to our movie distributor and they send us a movie each
week.” These movies are shown both Friday and Saturday nights in early
(7:30) and late (10:00) showings, usually in the LPAC Cinema or Science
Center 101.

Asked how the committee decides which flicks to show, Cristol
explained that the committee tries to please the student body: “We try
to pick a broad range of movies for the semester to appeal to the
largest segment of campus possible. We get mostly movies that are not
yet out on tape, as our goal is to provide the student body with a way
to see movies that they have missed in the theater.” This emphasis on
popularity as opposed to quality seems to be the major difference
between the Movie Committee and Film Society; in a way, Movie Committee
is like a free second-run movie theater.

Many students may be surprised to learn that the Movie Committee has
nothing to do with the student projectionists, who are actually hired
separately by Student Council to be responsible for the logistics of
any given showing. Thus, past difficulties that students have
experienced with screenings are not the fault of the Movie Committee
itself, though the committee may step up to ensure successful
screenings. According to Cristol: “We have already begun improving
these lines of communication, and we will likely implement a new plan
to have each movie committee member trained as a projectionist, and
then requiring each member to be on-call one weekend a semester to make
sure the movie is shown.”

The remaining Movie Committee movies for the semester are: Last
Samurai, Spellbound, Mystic River, 21 Grams, Wet Hot American Summer,
and Big Fish.

Film Society, then, is Movie Committee’s avant garde counterpart, a
distinction made, as Cristol points out, even in nomenclature: there
seem to be subtle semantic differences between “films” and “movies.”
The society, unlike the committee, is an independent group chartered by
the Student Council. This status means that the society does receive
financial support, though, in its goal of “showcasing the best in new
and revival independent and world cinema”, according to coordinator
Duolan Li ’04.

Along with Stella Kyriakopoulos ’05 and with input from regulars at
society screenings, Li compiles a list of films to show at the
beginning of each semester. Regarding the common threat of selection,
she said: “We provide a forum for Swarthmore students to watch quality
artistic films that they otherwise might not see.” A new initiative for
the group has been attempts to get film curators or even filmmakers
themselves to come speak about their movies that are being shown.

The results have been positive; Li said that attendance regularly is
about 30-50 students, with over 100 on at least three occasions this
year, including the highly controversial “City of God”. With the help
of regular advertising, Film Society has become a strong option for
students who want to catch a movie. In the past, Li said, “Film Society
suffered as a campus group because there was a lack of publicity and
many of the films selected were a bit obscure for most students.”

With the rise to prominence of the independent-minded Film Society
and the Movie Committee’s redoubled commitment to consistency, as well
as the specialty options, Swarthmore students of all tastes can look
forward to catching a flick that’s right for them, be it independent,
popular, science fiction, or even science reality.

*****

The Peaslee Debate Society team of Sonya Hoo ’05 and Emily Tredeau
’06 broke through to the semifinals and finished third in the varsity
category at the Princeton tournament last weekend. 87 teams attended,
including teams from Yale, Brown, Harvard, and Stanford. Lake Bookman
’07 finished as the 8th place novice speaker and Sonya Hoo finished as
the 18th place speaker overall.

*****

* The Bow Mariner, a tanker carrying 3.5 million gallons of ethanol,
exploded and sank Saturday night about 50 miles off Virginia’s Eastern
Shore. Three men died and six were rescued. Three of the survivors were
released Sunday from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The others were
in good condition and could be released Monday morning, hospital
spokeswoman Ann Keffer said. Eighteen crewmembers are still missing,
and the Coast Guard on Sunday night suspended the search for them, and
was unsure whether search efforts would resume Monday morning.
“Realistically, the longer the search goes on, the less likely it is
that we will find anyone who is still alive,” Rear Adm. Sally
Brice-O’Hara, commander of the Coast Guard’s 5th District, said early
Sunday. Coast Guard officials were investigating the cause of the
explosion. They have no reason to believe it was anything other than an
accident.

* President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left his native
Haiti to unknown whereabouts on early Sunday. With the news of this
departure, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to send a
multinational peacekeeping force to Haiti for up to three months.
Shortly before the U.N. vote, a small group of U.S. Marines landed at
the airport in Port-au-Prince. With a bloody rebel insurgency
dominating the streets of Port-au-Prince, President Bush ordered the
Marines to the country as part of a multinational interim force. “I
urge the people of Haiti to reject violence and give this break from
the past a chance to work and the United States is prepared to help,”
Bush said. After Aristide’s departure, Haiti’s Supreme Court Chief
Justice Boniface Alexandre was installed as the nation’s president in a
transitional government. Rebel leader Guy Philippe said that interim
President Alexandre had his “unconditional support.” Philippe also told
CNN his forces would welcome the Marines and other international
forces. “We need them. I think the worst is over now,” he said. “And we
are waiting for the international force. They will have our full
cooperation.” Philippe said his rebels “don’t intend to fight anymore.”

* Iraq’s oil industry is now producing and exporting almost as much
crude oil as it did before the war, according to officials with the
American-led occupation and the Iraqi oil ministry. The country is
producing 2.3 million to 2.5 million barrels a day, compared with 2.8
million barrels a day before the war. With additional production
increases expected, oil exports this year could add $14 billion to
Iraq’s budget, compared with a little more than $5 billion last year,
said a senior official with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the
occupation government. The official, Robert McKee, a retired Houston
oil executive who has been heading the restoration of Iraq’s oil
fields, said, “We’re well ahead of the targets that we set in the
aftermath of the war.” The revenue from this revival in the oil
industry could help finance Iraq’s economic recovery, thus
strengthening the country’s political stability as it moves to
sovereignty during the next four months.

* The 76th Academy Awards were held last night. “The Lord of the
Rings: The Return of the King,” the last in a trilogy based on the epic
fantasy by J. R. R. Tolkien, won all 11 Oscars for which it was
nominated, including best picture. It tied the record for most wins
with “Titanic” (1997) and “Ben-Hur” (1959). “The Lord of the Rings”
took the Oscars for direction, film editing, art direction, visual
effects, makeup, sound mixing and costume design. The movie also won
for best adapted screenplay, best original score and best original
song. Other winners include Sean Penn for best actor in “Mystic River,”
Charlize Theron for best actress in “Monster,” and “Finding Nemo” for
best animated feature.

*****

Lecture: “Breaking the Silence: The Negotiation of Everyday Racism
Among Girls in Loiza, Puerto Rico”
Scheuer Room, 4:30 p.m.

Living Wage Committee Presentation
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 p.m.

Anne Choi: Film Screening
LPAC Cinema, 9:00 p.m.

Swing Club
Clothier, 9:00 p.m.

SWIL Movie Night: Willow
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

———-

Do you want to be a part of something great and make some changes on
campus? Think you can do a better job with Paces, SAC, SEO or the
Evening Shuttle? Now is the time to prove it!

Party Associates’ Coordinators, Paces Co-directors, Student Affairs
Coordinators, Student Employment Office Co-directors, and Evening
Shuttle Coordinators for the coming year will be selected soon.
Applications are now available outside the Student Employment Office in
Parrish basement 28 and on the job board (across from the post office
window). All you need to do is get an application, fill it out, and sit
for an interview–it’s very easy!

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

The women’s tennis team picked up two key victories this weekend
against some of the best teams in the region. They began the weekend
with a 9-0 sweep of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans at the Mullan Center
and defeated the Salisbury Sea Gulls on the road yesterday 8-1.

The Garnet took all three doubles matches against the Tartans. In
first doubles action, Sonya Reynolds ’07 and Anjani Reddy ’04 defeated
their opponents 8-6. The pairs played hard, but the Swarthmore squad
was serving much better than their opponents. Reynolds had several
shots that were hit so hard that the Tartans didn’t have a chance of
returning.

Sara Sargent ’07 and Waverly Lutz ’07 blanked their opponents 8-0.
The 10:00 a.m. crowd didn’t seem to stop cheering for the pair as every
shot was exciting and different; Lutz and Sargent showed great teamwork
and didn’t give their opponents a chance to catch up. Kristina Pao ’04
and Elli Suzuki ’06 gave their team another victory with an 8-1 defeat
of their opponents. They combined a variety of shots and great footwork
to earn this team win.

Swarthmore’s ladies also took victories in all 6 singles matches.
After her doubles victory, Reddy defeated her singles opponent 6-1,
6-2. Her victory included many great volleys between two skilled
players and featured excellent recovery skills by Reddy in several
situations. Caroline Celano ’04 easily took both of her games 6-0, 6-2
in second singles.

Pao took the third singles victory 6-3, 6-0 and was simply a blur;
her speed on the court easily surpassed that of her opponent. Reynolds,
Suzuki, and Lutz also earned singles victories in the match.

With little rest, the Garnet traveled to Salisbury on Sunday and
came up with the victory for the second day in a row. Reynolds and
Reddy took first doubles 8-0, while Lutz and Sargent combined for an
8-5 second doubles win. Pao teamed with Emily Townsend ’06 to post an
8-1 win in third doubles.

Reddy, Pao, and Reynolds were again victorious in first (6-2, 6-1),
third (6-0, 6-2), and fourth (6-1, 6-1) singles respectively. Marissa
Matthews ’07 earned the win in fifth singles 6-2, 6-3, and Townsend
took sixth singles 6-3, 6-0.

After spring break training in Brazil, the Garnet will travel to
Muhlenberg on March 17 at 3:00 p.m. to play in their first conference
action of the year.

*****

by Jonathan Ference
Living and Arts Editor

Opening day jitters got the best of Swarthmore’s men’s lacrosse team
this Saturday as they fell by a 14-6 margin to non-conference rivals
Stevens Tech, a team with whom they had a score to settle following a
one-goal victory in 2002 and a rough loss in 2003. The Garnet were
outmatched and out-muscled in their first match of the season, getting
outshot 56-27 before a modest crowd at Clothier Field.

Stevens dominated possession from the outset, though good defensive
play and the work of goalkeeper Steven Isbister ’04 managed to keep the
Ducks scoreless for the first five minutes of the game. With 9:29
remaining in the first quarter, Stevens’ Eliot Dahood fielded a pass
from behind the net and put a shot past Isbister to open the scoring.

Stevens would add four more unanswered goals in the first quarter,
patiently moving the ball inside for shots despite a spirited defensive
effort by defenseman Charlie Sussman ’05. One of Swarthmore’s
possessions raised the crowd’s hopes, only to see them dashed as a
Swarthmore shot was deflected from a wide-open net by a lucky
defenseman’s stick.

Stevens’ Jay Wells added a fifth goal for his team before Swarthmore
gained a man advantage and began to pressure Stevens Tech keeper Matt
Cannon. Cannon stopped a Ryan McKenna ’07 shot before captain Joe
DeSimone ’04 scored Swat’s first goal of the season unassisted with 11
minutes left in the half.

Stevens continued to hold onto control of the game, though at times
the Garnet’s frustration became evident in physical play and the
calling of several penalties. As the end of the first half neared with
Swarthmore down 8-1, smart play by DeSimone allowed him to knock the
stick of a Stevens defender right in front of his own goal, freeing the
ball and closing the gap to 8-2.

As the game progressed, it was evident that the damage had been done
to the home team. Even so, Tim Chryssikos ’05 threaded the excellent
Stevens defense to add an unassisted goal; Jay Charles ’07 began to
show composure during face offs against a much larger Stevens player.
Matt Perez ’06 added a tally to make the score 12-4; McKenna assisted
captain John Cleaver ’04 for a Swarthmore power play goal, and Charles
fought hard until the end of the game, taking a pass from Chryssikos to
make the final score 14-6.

Despite the rough box score, bright spots for the Garnet included
goalie Isbister, who only recently received the starting job; he
stopped 21 in a respectable effort. Attack play was distinguished by
the efforts of DeSimone and the defense did its best against a strong
squad. Clearly, as the season progresses and the team settles down, the
foundation for winning games and a solid season is present.

The lacrosse team has an away game at Goucher next Saturday before
leaving for spring break training in Florida.

*****

The 4th ranked men’s tennis team won out over 15th ranked regional
team Carnegie Mellon this weekend, 6 to 1. Swat’s men’s tennis is
currently ranked 19th in the nation for Division III.

Mike Noreika ’04, Frank Visciano ’04, Brian Park ’06 and Zac Rodd
’06 all came away with wins.

*****

The men’s team placed 6th in a tie with Ursinus and the women’s team
finished 9th in this weekend’s Centennial Conference Championships.

The men’s team earned 37 points compared to 1st place Haverford’s
212. Garrett Ash ’05 won two silver medals and set a school record in
the 3000.

The women’s team earned 17 points compared to 1st place Haverford’s
149.5. Njideka Akunyili ’04 won second place in the 800 and sixth place
in the 1500.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
There are no contests scheduled for tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“God this sunburst nipple broach is killing me.”
–Julie Andrews (a.k.a. Billy Crystal)

*****

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