Tuesday, September 21, 2004

by Lauren Janowitz
Gazette Reporter

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the New Dorm will soon
be getting a name, and it won’t be “Kalafus” or “Racitiland.” The $2
million gift completes the fundraising for the dorm, which cost $12.6
million altogether. However, according to Vice President Maurice
Eldridge, the donor does not wish to name the dorm and instead would
like the student body to have an input, though the administration has
not yet determined what the method will be.

The Science Center still remains to be named. While the building is
complete, only $45 million of the $60.7 million cost has been received.
“No hard and fast minimum is set to name the science center,” says Vice
President Dan West, “but it would need to be a significant amount. It
will eventually be named.”

This last donation is just one of many in Swarthmore’s fundraising
campaign, “The Meaning of Swarthmore.” Since the campaign was announced
in September 2001, over $160 million has be raised. Says Eldridge, “We
have raised more money than ever before at one time.” The College has
two and a half more years to raise $70 million and reach its goal of
$230 million.

*****

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

Earthlust, Swarthmore’s environmental group, held its annual Storm the
Dorms on Monday.  The group spread the word about important campus
environmental issues including energy conservation and recycling.

On Monday night, fourteen members of Earthlust visited all dorms
housing first-year students to pass out information as well as to
survey students about their own energy usage.  Earthlust primarily
targeted freshmen since many upper classmen were “stormed” during their
first year at Swarthmore. According to Earthlust coordinators E.B.
Fouts ’07 and Kristy Simmons ’07, members of their group spoke to about
one hundred students on Monday night.

Most of Earthlust’s questions and information dealt with computer and
light usage.  The group suggests to turn off computer speakers and
printers when they are not being used.  Earthlust recommends
automatically setting computers to go to sleep when not in use; their
suggested settings are 10 minutes without use for the monitor and 30
minutes for the hard disk.

Earthlust members also stress using fluorescent bulbs (instead of
incandescent ones) as they save energy.  Fouts and Simmons also
pointed out that number 5 plastics, used in yogurt and various other
containers, are now recyclable as are the number 1 and 2 plastics as in
past years.

Earthlust also notes that doing laundry is another large component of
energy use, and using drying racks helps in part to reduce this
problem.  According to preliminary data taken during Storm the
Dorms, Fouts said, “A lot of people would be interested in buying
[drying racks] if they were available.”

Simmons noted that Storm the Dorms is and has been useful because it
helps Earthlust “get a sense of what student feelings are.”  She
added that the event gets people interested and asking questions. 
Since some of Swarthmore’s energy comes from wind power, a relatively
expensive yet environmentally friendly option, Earthlust tries to
educate members of the campus community on energy conservation in order
to help reduce costs.

Aside from Storm the Dorms, Earthlust is planning to work with Sharples
to get more organic and local produce as well as a lower amount of
Styrofoam products.  In addition, the group is hoping to increase
the levels or double sided printing and is working on maintaining the
current recycling program.

*****

* In a video posted online by Jihad and Unification, a group led by Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, four or five black-clad insurgents beheaded Eugene
Armstrong, an American living in Baghdad and working for Gulf Supplies
and Commercial Services. The men in the video, which was replayed on
Al-Jazeera, demand that Muslim women be freed from Iraqi prisons in 48
hours, or they will kill other hostages. U.S. officials deny the
presence of these women in prison.

* In a possible attempt to switch his campaign’s focus from the economy
to Iraq, John Kerry gave a speech denouncing President Bush’s judgement
on the war and claimed that he himself would not have invaded, despite
his record of voting to give him the authority. The speech, given on
Monday at New York University, sets a stronger tone for Kerry’s bid for
election than earlier campaigning. In it he claimed that if he were
president, he would emphasize repairing alliances and strengthening
reconstruction efforts in Iraq, trying to get troops home starting next
year. Bush said that this proposal is “exactly what we’re currently
doing,” while a spokesman claimed that Kerry’s plan to pull troops out
of Iraq would send “a clear signal of defeat… to America’s enemies.”

* While a tropical storm, the now-hurricane Jeanne caused intense
flooding, mudslides and more than 500 deaths in Haiti over the weekend.
The storm had hit Puerto Rico before wreaking havoc on the island
nation, but now has spun out to sea and officials claim that it poses
no more danger to land. A team of relief workers has been trying to
reach hard-hit areas, but it still somewhat impeded by the floods.

*****

Study Abroad visit with Pitzer College programs in Botswana, China,
Ecuador, India, Italy and Nepal
Sharples Dining Hall Room #5, 12:00 p.m.

Information session/panel with USC, Duke, SC-Berkeley, and University
of Chicago law schools
Bond, 4:00 p.m.

Mathematics and Statistics Colloquium: Fluxions and the Vicar’s
Daughter: A Tale of Eighteenth-Century Mathematics
Science Center 199, 4:30 p.m.

Soros Scholarship Information Session
Kohlberg 115, 4:30 p.m.

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures international film:
Babette’s Feast
Science Center 101, 7:00 p.m.

Information session with M&T Bank Corporation
Bond, 7:00 p.m.

Observance of International Day of Peace
Friends Meeting House, 7:00 p.m.

Self-defense class
Kohlberg 115, 7:00 p.m.

SAM college note-taking workshop
Scheuer Room, 8:00 p.m.

Shaolin Kung Fu class
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.

Tango class
Upper Tarble, 9:30 p.m.

Student Council meeting
Kohlberg 230, 10:30 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The Warmothers went 0 and 3 at the sectional tournament in Turkey
Swamp, NJ this past weekend.  They fell to Princeton (8-5),
Haverford (9-4), and Electric Koolaid (15-2).  While the team
failed to win any games, they did play some tough points and gave a
strong showing for a relatively young team.

Thanks to Jillian Astarita for providing the results

*****

Today:
Golf at Holy Family, 1:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer hosts Scranton, 7:00 p.m.
Volleyball at Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
There are no contests scheduled for tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your
ice cream while it’s on your plate–that’s my philosophy.”
–Thornton Wilder

*****

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