Tuesday, March 23, 2004

by Megan Mills
Communications Editor

Fulfilling a promise made last week in a reserved-students email,
Swarthmore’s Information Technology Services disconnected all of the
student computers that did not have the latest anti-virus software at
around 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning.

Though the number of at-risk machines was as high as 700 last
Wednesday, many students installed the necessary anti-virus software by
the Monday deadline, according to Robin Jacobsen, Manager of Client
Services. In addition, once a machine acquired VirusScan, the only
acceptable program for the Swarthmore network, it was let back on with
minimal effort. By 1:20 p.m, dozens of students had fixed the problem
and only 76 machines were left disconnected.

Currently, other anti-virus programs such as Norton are not allowed.
However, in response to student requests, ITS has allowed more freedom
in selecting the settings of VirusScan than was previously the case.
“In the Fall we…heard from students who installed Virus Scan software
that they wanted more control of the settings,” said Jacobsen, “and as
a result the new Virus Scan
(https://netreg.swarthmore.edu/software.php) image restrictions have
been lifted as long as the machine communicates with the ePolicy
server.”

These strict cautionary measures were prompted by numerous threats
to Swat’s network from recent viruses such as Blaster, SoBig, and
MyDoom. In recent months, these threats have increased at an alarming
rate.

Said Jacobsen, “In the past eight weeks, Network Associates has
signaled its internal virus alarm bell, called a ‘Virus Outbreak
Process,’ 11 times. Ringing the bell means an entire slate of emergency
procedures are set in motion: Researchers have to return to their desks
in the middle of the night, major customers receive warnings, the press
is notified. Eleven alerts is more than Network Associates issued in
2002. Symantec Corp., has six different viruses currently rated a
medium or high risk. Generally, the company averages one or two a
month.”

This problem is not restricted to Swarthmore; not surprisingly,
other campuses are also taking serious safety measures such as
firewalls, filters, and mandatory anti-virus software. The Chronicle of
Higher Education cites the financial cost of these worms as substantial
— Stanford reportedly paid $806,000 to repair 6,000 damaged computers.

Unfortunately, the outlook is not good. “In the near future we will
see a whole next generation of more sophisticated viruses and worms
which will be more sophisticated in the use of the resultant zombies —
computer that have been compromised but not used in any way that
attracts notice,” said Jacobsen.

*****

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

Sharples will no longer serve veal as part of its dinner rotation as
a result of a recent campaign from the Animal Rights Coalition (ARC).
Much of the campaign that ARC had planned became unnecessary after the
issue was settled promptly with Dining Services.

According to ARC president Neil Mehta ’05, “Since veal is perhaps
the cruelest form of meat production, we thought we had a real chance
of succeeding with our campaign.” Eleanor Joseph ’07 noted that ARC
originally planned to have a large campaign that would have included a
petition as well as tabling and signs that informed students about the
inhumane ways that veal cows are raised.

When members of ARC first approached Linda McDougall, Director of
Dining Services, they were told that they would need a petition signed
by half of the student body in order to stop the serving of veal.
According to Mehta, ARC “later sent [McDougall] a letter explaining the
cruelty of factory farming practices used on veal calves, and
mentioning that the Haverford and Bryn Mawr cafeterias don’t serve
veal.”

This strategy worked as McDougall informed ARC soon after that
Sharples would no longer be serving veal. According to McDougall, “Some
battles are not worth fighting. Once I got the letter from [Mehta] I
thought it best to remove the veal from the menu.” McDougall also noted
it is unclear at this point as to what will replace veal but that “we
better think quickly since it would be on the menu this Friday. Janet
Kassab our menu planner will come up with something delicious. Any
suggestions will be appreciated.”

ARC member Jayne Koellhoffer ’07 added that members of ARC “are
still planning to put up information regarding veal in the hopes that
students at Swat will understand why we so strongly object to this
industry.” Mehta noted, “I’d really like to thank Sharples for no
longer serving veal – this is a big step forward for our cafeteria, and
we greatly appreciate it!”

ARC members have received positive feedback thus far. Mehta and
Koellhoffer acknowledge that there may be some people who are upset
with the decision but that they believe that most people will support
it. Mehta said, “That’s why we wanted to do a petition among the
students in the first place.”

According to Joseph, ARC has worked on a variety of other issues
this semester including a successful request for more vegan and
vegetarian options at Tarble. In addition, they worked with the
bookstore to ensure that there are products available that are not
tested on animals. She added that ARC plans to do some campaigning in
Philadelphia regarding animal rights issues.

*****

by Brendan Moriarty
Gazette Reporter

Go to the front page of the Swarthmore College website. Scroll
down…down below the list of links on the left side…down in the
corner where you will stumble upon the likeness of one Timothy Burke,
Associate Professor of History. There he is, gazing back at you through
skeptical eyes, with a subtle smile that seems to convey that he knows
something you don’t – something juicy and significant. Click on that
face and you will have entered the intellectual world of Professor
Burke’s blog: Easily Distracted. Don’t be…focus…let me present a
few slices of this interesting man by way of the College Corner…

Daily Gazette: Where would you place yourself on the political spectrum?
Timothy Burke: I’m an iconoclast…I find myself taking positions that
are libertarian…I take my cues from 19th century liberalism.

DG: Describe your blog.
TB: The title comes pretty close to describing it. I have some
consistent interests: geek culture (science fiction, Lord of the
Rings)…the war on terror; I think that’s because I’m in the camp of
agonizing liberals who see some good in the war on terror…popular
culture, which reflects a long standing interest…and the politics and
nature of academia.

DG: Who reads this?
TB: Some alumni readers…some academics at other institutions who are
not bloggers but read blogs…and a relatively tight nit group of 20 to
30 academics who read each others’ blogs…

DG: Do you compete with other bloggers?
TB: Not really. I don’t see it that way. If there is [competition], I
would have to be seen as unusually inept at it. [My blog] is 100%
primitive HTML; totally handrolled and primitive.

DG: When do you write and for how long?
TB: I mostly do my writing at night. The average [entry] takes half an
hour to forty-five minutes. If they don’t come quickly to me its almost
not worth doing.

DG: How many books do you read in an average month?
TB: Maybe 10 to 15, depending. Some of those are skimmed…The whole
thing is a way to force myself to write and now a way to force myself
to read.

DG: Favorite video games?
TB: The demo of Unreal Tournament 2004…Return of the King on
PS2…and the Tiger Woods game for PS2…My favorite of all time is
X-COM, the original.

DG: Wow, that’s old school.
TB: Yeah, it is old school.

DG: What was your first computer?
TB: An Apple 128k Mac…the one piece.

DG: Favorite newspaper?
TB: The New York Times…I’ll also read the Wall Street Journal and the
Enquirer.

DG: Favorite movie?
TB: The Maltese Falcon. Star Wars is a close second.

DG: Favorite book?
TB: The Once and Future King

*****

* Israeli helicopters launched missiles at the security headquarters
of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, killing religious icon and
Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin during his early morning prayer. Tens
of thousands of Palestinians gathered in violent protest with black,
yellow, green, and red flags from different fractions to escort Sheik
Yassin’s wooden coffin through the crowded streets of Gaza to the
cemetery called the martyrs graveyard. The NY Times reported, “The
killing starkly illuminated and almost certainly deepened the divide
between the current Israeli and Palestinian leaderships, possibly
ruling out further negotiations between them.” The Israeli government
authorized the attack last week; Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
called Sheikh Yassin an “archmurderer” responsible for “the killing of
Jews wherever they may be and the destruction of the state of Israel.”
Palestinian representative to the US Hasan Rahman commented, “It is
absolutely ridiculous to allege that the man who cannot see, cannot
hear and who is on a wheelchair can constitute a threat to the biggest
military power in the Middle East and one of the biggest in the world.
That’s absolutely nonsense.” Palestinian officials reported at least
seven dead and seventeen wounded in the Israeli attacks. The attacks
isolated Israel from many of the Arab and European nations who strongly
condemned the action.

* The Bush administration responded yesterday to former
anti-terrorism coordinator Richard Clarke’s attacks in his book
“Against All Enemies: Inside American’s War on Terror,” in which he
blamed President Bush for ignoring “terrorism for months, when maybe we
could have done something to stop 9/11.” He also criticized the
response of the administration after the attacks, saying “He [Bush]
should have gone right after Afghanistan, right after bin Laden. And
then he made the whole war on terrorism so much worse by invading
Iraq.” US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN’s
“American Morning” that, “This retrospective rewriting of the history
of the first several months of the administration is not helpful.”
White House spokesman Scott McClellan also defended the administration,
saying Bush’s response after 9/11 helped put the US “well on the road
to winning the war on terrorism.” He called Clarke’s accusations
“deeply irresponsible” and “flat-out wrong,” and pointed out Clarke
“conveniently” released his book in the midst of the presidential
campaign season. However, Clarke denied any political motivation,
having worked for both Democratic and Republican administrations
including that of the first President Bush, and continued to appear on
nation-wide television interviews stating, “I think the American people
needed to know the facts and they weren’t out, and now they are.”

* Leaders of Pakistani soldiers fighting in the southern province of
Waziristan expressed discouragement after finding a series of tunnels
near the besieged complex that may have allowed any so called
“high-value targets” to escape. CNN reported, “The underground
passageways extinguished hopes for the quick capture of any ‘high-value
target’ who might have been inside the remote, 19-square-mile
(50-square-kilometer) part of southern Waziristan province cordoned off
by the military.” The longest of the tunnels, approximately a mile
long, ends near the country’s border with Afghanistan. The battle,
which started last week, is part of an antiterrorism campaign that
Pakistan recently began in the border area. Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussein
described the battle as “practically chasing the shadow” because they
are dealing with “undefined enemies.”

*****

Catholic Lenten Penance Service
Bond, 12:30 p.m.

Faculty Lecture: Ed Kako
Scheuer Room, 4:00 p.m.

Fleming Talk Part 2 of 2
Science Center 181, 4:00 p.m.

Panel and Discussion: Democratization and Difference
Science Center 101, 4:15 p.m.

Satirical Newsmagazine First Meeting
Upper Sharples, 6:00 p.m.

International Club Movie Night: “I Not Stupid”
Kohlberg 115, 6:30 p.m.

Scott Arboretum Evening Lecture
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 p.m.

ENLACE Lecture: “Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold: The real possibility
of Dominican ethnic cleansing against Haitians in the Dominican
Republic”
Intercultural Center Big Room, 7:30 p.m.

Good Schools PA Movie Screening
Kohlberg 328, 8:00 p.m.

Student Debate on the Central American Free Trade Agreement
Science Center 199, 9:00 p.m.

SAO Open Meeting: Asians in Swarthmore’s Agenda and Asian Americans in
US Multiculturalism
IC, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Golf at Dickinson Invitational, 1:00 p.m.
Baseball hosts F&M, 3:00 p.m.
Softball at Alvernia (DH), 3:00 p.m.
Women’s Tennis at Ursinus, 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Softball hosts USP, 4:00 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse at Gettysburg, 4:00 p.m.
Men’s Lacrosse hosts Elizabethtown, 7:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“That is the saving grace of humor, if you fail no one is laughing
at you.”
–A. Whitney Brown

*****

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