Friday, April 23, 2004

by Jonathan Ference

Living and Arts Editor

The calm of a balmy night was broken Thursday by a Parrish fire alarm
that resulted in a 30 minute evacuation of the building and in the
calling of three fire trucks to the scene.  Though the alarm was
only caused by smoke from overcooked food, according to Public Safety
Corporal Stephano, the arrival of the fire department left a
significant crowd on Parrish Beach wondering what had happened.

According to Parrish resident Michael Drezner ’07, the fire alarm first
went off at approximately 10:40 p.m.  Though no smoke was visible
from the front of the building, the Ville fire department was called to
the scene, and the special four-horn signal was blown, as opposed to
the traditional three-horn signal that Swarthmore students are
accustomed to hearing.  This four-horn signal, a widespread legend
among students, does seem to actually exist, and serve the purpose of
warning of danger to the College’s most cherished building.

The department was on the scene immediately, and a crowd gathered in
front of the building to pass the twenty minutes it took to clear the
building.  According to Corporal Stephano, food in a kitchen had
been overcooked and generated a “moderate level of smoke,” causing
enough concern that the fire department was brought in to both use heat
sensors to confirm a lack of further danger and to ventilate the
smoke-filled area.

The presence of a fire truck right in front of Parrish Parlours
attracted a lot of attention and some concern–the former primarily
from budding photographers, the latter mainly from prospective students
and others who weren’t sure of what had happened.  A “Meet the
Student Council” session for prospectives was delayed and resumed
immediately following the reopening of the building a little after
11:05 p.m.; a small crowd filtered back towards Earthlust’s “Lust on
the Beach” event.  By about 11:20, Parrish Beach was again
copacetic, spotted with groups of students enjoying the warm night.

Parrish Hall fire alarms always draw special attention, particularly
because of the 1881 fire that guttted the building.  In this case,
there was no danger to the building, and the presence of multiple fire
engines was merely a precaution.

*****

by Jonathan Ference

Living and Arts Editor

Students packed the normally deadly silent basement level of McCabe
library late Thursday night for the annual running of the McCabe mile,
a footrace that is a tradition commemorating Thomas McCabe’s
involvement in the Scott Tissue corporation.

The race consists of eighteen laps around the basement stacks, with the
slamming of a book replacing a starter’s pistol.  The winners–one
for each gender–receive a roll of genuine Scott one-ply toilet tissue.

This year’s contest brought out a wide range of students, from cross
country team stars to everyday book enthusiasts.  Though keeping
track of the participants was at times challenging, it is believed that
between 20 and 30 students ran this year.

Despite one brutal tumble and pileup in the third turn (at the
southwestern most corner of the library), the runners were able to
proceed mostly uninhibited, cheered on by friends and other
well-wishers from within the stacks.

Claiming ultimate line honors were Njideka Akunyili ’04, for women’s,
and Justin Durand ’05 in the men’s category.  Asked to comment on
his win, Durand responded, “I actually did this…for the past 62
hours, I’ve had 2.5 hours of sleep.”

*****

The winners of the annual A. Edward Norton Book Award for best
collection with a unifying theme were:

First Prize and $500: Micah Horwith ’06, “Epics”

Second Prize and $250: Sarah St. Vincent ’04, “Asian Literature”

Third Prize and $150: Benjamin Kabak ’05, “Books on Baseball”

This year’s competition, judged by a committee of librarians,
professors, and students, saw a record number of entries.

Thanks to Rachel Burnstein ’04 for providing these results.

*****

by Megan Mills

Communcations Editor

You’ve all seen the Daily Jolt countdown–7 days left till classes
end.  So what are you going to do this weekend?

The Trocadero is a great little venue right near Chinatown in Philly,
and there’s some interesting-looking shows for this weekend. Friday is
Blood Simple, Orcus, Spellbound, and From Nothing, and on Sunday you
could see Cursive, Darkest Hour, Denali, and Mike Park on their Plea
for Peace Tour. The former is $8 and the latter is $16, so you might
want to check out this historical landmark theatre.

On the much more expensive hand, you could drop a large amount of money
to go see the Philadelphia Flyers in their second round second home
game of the Conference Semifinals. They won against the Toronto Maple
Leafs on Thursday 3-1, so Sunday’s game promises to be interesting. And
hockey might be a good way to vent some of your frustrations at finals.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you take time to study. Like I
will be. All weekend. (I hope my professors subscribe.)

*****

* Two North Korean fuel trains collided yesterday near the Ryongchon
station, igniting a massive explosion and killing as many as 3000
people. One train was carrying oil while the other had petroleum gas;
the collision obliterated the station and caused debris to be strew up
to 10 miles away. The highly secretive North Korean government has
blocked off the scene, preventing the escape of information, but South
Korean officials noted that the crash was an accident. They believe
that it was due mostly to North Korea’s failing infrastructure, which
had led to numerous delays and train breakdowns.

* A new malfunction in the International space station was detected on
Wednesday, but poses no risk to the crew aboard. One of the station’s
four stabilizing gyroscopes simply stopped working; technicians suspect
a power failure is to blame. Another one of the station’s gyroscopes
had broken down two years ago; however, only two gyroscopes are needed
to keep the station in its particular orbit. NASA is planning on
sending two astronauts on a spacewalk sometime within the next month in
order to fix the problem.

* After months of no new developments, the Chinese government reported
that two women are suspected to have SARS. The first case, a 20-year
old nurse working in Beijing has been quarantined, and over 150 people
who have been in close contact with her are under observation. The
other case was a 26-year old woman from the eastern Anhui province, who
had recently been studying in Beijing and had visited the hospital
where the nurse worked. The Chinese government has already begun
setting up anti-SARS defense, including a body temperature check at all
ports of entry.

*****

Friday:

Annual Interpretation Theory Lecture, by Lauren Berlant: “Capitalism,
Compassion, and the Children: Rosetta and La Promesse”

Kohlberg 226, 12:30 p.m.

Lecture by Peter Friedman ’58: How to get writings published

Scheuer Room, Workshop 2:30 p.m., Talk 4:30 p.m.

Senior Thesis Exhibition and Reception: Leah Davis

List Gallery, 4:00 p.m.

Lecture by Asma Barlas: “The Qur’an, Male Power, and Women’s
Liberation”

SCI 101, 4:30 p.m.

Spring Student Dance Concert

LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 4:30 p.m.

Shabbat Services and Dinner

Bond, 5:30 p.m.

Swarthmore Christian Fellowship Meeting

Kohlberg 115, 7:00 p.m.

Freeculture.org launch and talk by Lawrence Lessig

SCI 101, 7:00 p.m.

Theatre Performance: Phaedra’s Love

Frear Ensemble Theatre, 7:00 & 10:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: “Mystic River”

LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

SHC Movie Screening: The Safer Sex Video

SCI 199, 9:00 p.m.

Anime/Manga Club “Cookies and Choosing”

Kohlberg 228, 9:00 p.m.

Boy Meets Tractor Sketch Comedy Show

SCI 101, 10:00 p.m.

Love Stories Screening: Manon des Sources

SCI 199, 10:00 p.m.

Pop Party

Kitao Gallery, 10:00 p.m.

SAO Tsunami Party

Paces, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Arbor Day Celebration

Scott Arboretum, 1:00 p.m.

Muslim Students Association Meeting

Kohlberg 228, 1:30 p.m.

PCTF Study Break

Parrish Parlours, 3:00 p.m.

Theatre Performance: Phaedra’s Love

Frear Ensemble Theatre, 7:00 & 10:00 p.m.

Contra Dance

Upper Tarble, 7:00 p.m.

Film Screening: “Germany and the Secret Genocide”

SCI 199, 7:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: “Mystic River”

LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

Spring Student Dance Concert

LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre, 8:00 p.m.

Phi Psi Heaven and Hell Party

Phi Psi Lodge, 10:00 p.m.

Olde Club Show: Cordalene, The Perfection!sts, and f*ckrock This
Radiant Boy

Olde Club, 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Quaker Meeting

Friends Meetinghouse, 10:00 a.m.

Catholic Mass

Bond, 11:00 a.m.

Used Bike Drive: “Pedals for Progress”

Benjamin West parking lot, 1:00 p.m.

Peter Gram Swing Lecture by Peter Schickele ’57: “I Gotta Sing to Write
the Blues”

Lang Concert Hall, 3:00 p.m.

Theatre Performance: Phaedra’s Love

Frear Ensemble Theatre, 8:00 p.m.

Living Wage Campaign Meeting

Trotter 303, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Swarthmore’s softball team won in both games yesterday (5-3, 12-0) in a
double header against Neumann College.  The wins bring the team’s
record to 9-20 overall.  Mary Mintel led the Garnet offense with
four hits and five runs.  Emily Remus ’06 and Marianne Klingaman
’07 each earned a win for the Garnet.  Remus allowed two earned
runs and struck out four, while Klingaman held on for the shutout in
the second game while also striking out four and letting Neumann get
two hits.

*****

The Muhlenberg tennis team clinched its Centennial Conference title
yesterday with a 7-2 win over Johns Hopkins.  The win leaves the
Mules at a perfect 10-0 in the conference.  Swarthmore finished in
second place with a 9-1 conference record.  The Garnet will
attempt to claim individual victories in singles and doubles play this
weekend in the Centennial Conference Championships being held at
Swarthmore.

*****

Today:

Women’s tennis hosts Centennial Conference Championships, 9:00 a.m.

Golf at Centennial Conference Championships, 11:30 a.m.

Track at Penn Relays

Tomorrow:

Women’s frisbee hosts Alumni Game

Golf at Centennial Conference Championships, 8:00 a.m.

Women’s tennis hosts Centennial Conference Championships, 9:00 a.m.

Softball at McDaniel (double header), 12:00 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse at McDaniel, 12:00 p.m.

Baseball at Haverford (double header), 1:00 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse at Franklin & Marshall, 1:00 p.m.

Men’s rugby at Widener, 1:00 p.m.

Women’s rugby at Widener, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Golf at Centennial Conference Championships, 8:00 a.m.

Women’s tennis hosts Centennial Conference Championships, 9:00 a.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’d rather be sailing thinking about God than in church thinking about
sailing.”

–L. D. Muldoon

*****

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