Monday, November 15, 2004

by Roxanne Yaghoubi
World News Editor

“Heard on the Hill,” a new series of speakers organized by Doru Gavril ’05 and the President’s office, gets off to an exciting start on Monday when Congressman Peter Deutsch (D-Florida) ’79 speaks at Swarthmore. Congressman Deutsch’s speech will start at 7:30 in Science Center 101 and is just the first in a series of speeches by current members of Congress.

Other planned speakers include Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan) ’56, and Congressman Robert Brady (D-PA). Though Congressman Brady is not a Swarthmore alum, he represents Southern Philadelphia and Chester in the House of Representatives, and so is very familiar with concerns affecting Swarthmore students and residents. Sen. Levin will speak on November 29, and Representative Brady will come to campus in February. However, this is only a partial list; even more speakers are expected to be announced next semester.

All of the Congressmen will discuss similar themes like their motivation for going into public service, and their everyday life on Capitol Hill. But they will also discuss their individual experiences, which is important because they represent different geographic areas and serve on difference committees. Congressman Deutsch, for example, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is the ranking member (lead Democrat) on the Oversight and Investigations Committee. The Congressman can also give a unique perspective on Florida politics since he participated in the 2004 primary for the senate seat vacated by Senator Bob Graham. Though Deutsch lost that primary to Betty Castor, he should still provide an interesting perspective on the 2004 election experience.

Doru Gavril ’05, coordinator of the event, hopes that the series will “focus on the practical insights of politics…[and] bridge the trust gap between elected officials and constituents.”

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by Micaela Baranello
Gazette Reporter

Tonight, Margaret Leng Tan will perform the first two volumes of George Crumb’s “Makrokosmos,” a series of ambitious works for solo piano dating from 1972-3, in celebration of the composer’s 75th birthday. Patterned after such other two-volume works such as Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Debussy’s Preludes, each piece of each set is assigned a Zodiac symbol, and the strange timbres Crumb coaxes from an ordinary piano reinforces the mystical dimension. The piano itself is amplified, and the pianist must reach inside the instrument to pluck the strings by hand, chant Latin incantations and strike the frame of the piano with her knuckles (one movement also requires a whistler). “I was very excited about the expanding possibilities of the piano medium- it seemed as if a whole new world was opening up to composers,” the composer says in his notes to the piece. The title (meaning “large world”) also implicitly acknowledges Bela Bartok, whose “Mikrokosmos” (“little world”) are familiar to many beginning piano students.

Margaret Leng Tan was the first women to receive a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Julliard. She is known for her performances of modern and avant-garde music, particularly music of Asian composers. She is also the world’s only professional toy pianist and has recorded a CD of works for toy piano, giving it a new legitimacy. Crumb has called her one of the finest interpreters of his music.

The concert will take place at 8:00 in Lang Concert Hall.

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by Andrew Quinton
Gazette Reporter

Jon Estey ’08 and Julia Bertaut ’08 are bringing Unitarian/Universalism back to the Swarthmore campus. The gazette staff was curious as to just what Unitarian/Universalism is and how the new group is doing, so this reporter sat down with one of the founders in order to get the inside scoop.

Daily Gazette: Unitarian/Universalism (UUism) isn’t something everybody knows about. What are some of its main facets?
Jon Estey: It’s odd because it’s a religion without a creed. Usually religions are based a certain set of beliefs, but UUism is about how you arrive at your beliefs instead of what those beliefs are and we believe that what you believe in can change. UUs are dedicated to a lifelong search for truth. We have seven principles to guide one’s search and look to each other to support rather than to a common God.

DG: What is your background with UUism?
JE: I’ve been a UU all my life. My father was raised as one and my mother was born Jewish but converted early in life. It suits her spiritual needs much better than Judaism did. I haven’t been doing to the conns, though, so I’ve really only been experienced to the pale side of UUism.
DG: So what is a conn?
JE: It’s a youth gathering where society rules go out the window. You just do all sorts of fun stuff like watching movies. Kind of like college without all of the work.
DG: Do you talk about religion?
JE: There are religious moments, but mostly it’s all about fun. That’s eomething we can all share.

DG: Can you be in a “traditional” religion and still be a UU?
JE: Sure. There are UUs from all kind of dominations. There is a difference between, say, Christian UUs and other Christians. A Christian UU should have an open-mindedness and willingness to change beliefs.

DG: I understand that there used to be a UU group on campus, but it had been defunct until you and Julia arrived?
JE: Yes, there used to be a group, but its leaders graduated.
DG: How are you going about reforming the UU group?
JE: I’m getting names of people who are interested. We’re trying to publicize ourselves with flyers, and we had a reserved-students email sent out. We meet from 7:00-8:00 p.m on Saturdays in Bond.
DG: So if somebody is interested in getting involved, they should go to a meeting?
JE: Yes. It’s very simple; you can just come and have fun.

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The Peaslee Debaters attended the University of Pennsylvania Pro-Ams this weekend. Julie Baker continued her impressive run with another first place finish in the Novice Speaker category. She also placed 6th overall out of 144 speakers. Other placing novice speakers were Sam Asarnow in sixth, Corlett Wood in 8th, and Daniel Putnam in 12th. In the novice team competition, Baker and Putname teamed up to place first, with Tom Emmons and Michael Pollack finishing third, Max Parke and Ben Warren placing fourth, and Wood and JeYong Oh coming in sixth.

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In Thursday’s issue the Gazette reported that “it would cost $4,000 to replace additional [lamp] poles and fixtures” on campus. $4,000 is the cost per pole and fixture that need to be replaced.

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*On Friday, Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his wife and unborn child. The Peterson case had become the most closely watched media trial since that of O.J. Simpson nine years ago. Now Peterson’s lawyers will have to fight for his life. The sentencing phase of his trial will begin November 22nd, and it is expected that Laci Peterson’s mother will take the stand and plead for the execution of her son-in-law. Peterson himself is unlikely to take the stand-for that would require him to admit guilt, which would in turn reduce the chance of his winning an appeal.

*Mahmoud Abbas, who is the lead contender to replace Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, was caught in a barrage of gunfire on Sunday. The gunfight occurred while the new leader was visiting a memorial for Mr. Arafat near Gaza City. Though Mr. Abbas escaped unharmed, two security officers died and six others were injured. Witnesses to the shooting have said that they heard the gunmen shout “Abbas and Dahlen are agents of the Americas” just before the shooting started. Dahlen refers to Mohammed Dahlen, who is the former chief of security in Palestine.

*A small plane crashed near San Antonio, Texas on Sunday. The crash, which came near a seniors’ apartment complex, killed five people with no survivors on board. The passengers included a pilot and a pair of fathers and their sons-all of who were believed to be returning from a pheasant hunting trip in Kansas. Though officials are still investigating the cause of the crash, they do know that at the time of the crash it was raining hard with poor visibility.

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Japanese Calligraphy Workshop
Kohlberg 228, 4:30 p.m.

Film Studies evening screening: “Taxi Driver”
LPAC Cinema, 7:00 p.m.

Swarthmore College Bowl
Kohlberg 202, 7:00 p.m.

Heard on the Hill: Congressman Peter Deutch (D-Fla.) speaks
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m.

Cumb’s Kosmos: A George Crumb 75th Birthday Tribute
Lang Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m.

SATO meeting
Kohlberg 228, 8:00 p.m.

Sproul Observatory Open House
Sproul Observatory, 8:00 p.m.

Earthlust meeting
Kohlberg 116, 9:00 p.m.

Swing Dance Club Class
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

Feminist Majority meeting
Kohlberg 226, 10:00 p.m.

Swil movie: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

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SPORTS UPDATE

by Andrew Quinton
Gazette Reporter

The men’s soccer team extended their season-long home unbeaten streak to 11 games on Saturday with a 5-3 win over Washington and Jefferson, but could not keep the magic alive on Sunday in the ECAC tournament finals, losing to Wesley by a 3-1 margin. The Garnet close out their season at 12-7-2.

The stars seemed to be aligned for the Garnet coming into the weekend, as the #1, #2, and #3 seeds in the ECAC conference tournament all had to lose to allow the 4th seeded Garnet to host the weekend finale. But things started out very poorly in Saturday’s match, as the Presidents controlled play early. Garnet goaltender Nate Shupe ’05 had to come well out of the goal to make a nice save on Mike Chiodo. The crowd roared its approval, but the Garnet were unable to build on the momentum and fell behind 1-0 when a wide-open Mike Seminiero converted a Brian Witkowitz cross at 25:53.

Minutes later, Brandon Washington ’08 was forced out of bounds by a Washington and Jefferson player and knocked over the medical table. This seemed to perk up the Garnet, as they scored twice before halftime, with Andrew Terker ’06 notching his 8th tally of the season by directing a Colton Bangs ’07 feed straight into the back of the net at 36:57 and Alex Elkins ’06 receiving an early cross from Vernon Chaplin ’07 and beating the goalkeeper only two minutes later. At halftime, the score was close at 2-1 but the Garnet clearly had the momentum.

Swarthmore piled it on in the second half, scoring three more goals before the Presidents scored twice in garbage time. Things might have been different, though, if Duncan Gromko ’07 had not managed to kick away a shot from Brad Cherry that had gotten by Shupe in the 67th minute. This was the Presidents’ last real chance; 5 minutes later, Matt Schiller ’07 put a Kirk Ellison ’05 cross just past goalkeeper Mike Garet and into the net. Chaplin got in on the scoring blitz at 78:50, with Bangs picking up his second assist, and David Hoyt ’06 picked up the final goal for the Garnet at 83:12, taking a pass from Chaplin and knocking it off a President defender and into the net. Shupe left the game in the 77th minute, and the Presidents picked up two late goals with Ruben Heyman-Kantor ’06 in the net, but the match was already decided. For the game, each team had 15 shots, and Shupe made 3 saves to Garet’s 2.

Wesley advanced to the championship game by scoring three goals in the final 17 minutes vs. Franklin and Marshall to tie the game at 3 and then winning in a shootout. The Wolverines got to the semifinals by defeating McDaniel 1-0 without starting goalkeeper Edward Hunt, who was suspended for the match.

So it was the undefeated at home against the team of destiny on Sunday, and unfortunately for the Garnet, destiny won out. Wesley dominated the first half, only allowing the Garnet two shots that went nowhere near the goal. The only goal of the half came at 11:24 when, after Michael Bonesteel was given a questionable cautionary yellow card, Stuart Trafford blasted the ensuing free kick onto the head of Evan Myers and past Shupe. By the end of the half, the Wolverines had an 8-2 shot advantage, and the duo of Myers and Derek Roberts-Dukes were having plenty of success against the Garnet defense.

Things got better in the second half, but not quickly enough. Myers, who was named the most valuable player of the tournament, added his second goal at 55:17 off of an Andrew Tescione cross. The Garnet pulled back within one when Brandon Washington put the ball past a shocked and unmoving Hunt at 61:45. Both teams saw plenty of offensive chances as Swarthmore brought more players into the attack, meaning that Wesley was able to create chances when the Garnet lost possession of the ball. The Wolverines nearly made it 3-1 in the 68th minute when Myers crossed the ball to Roberts-Dukes, but Shupe dove and deflected the shot into the post before covering up the rebound. But the Wolverines came back just a minute later when CJ Twombly blasted the ball into the net. Swarthmore tried to come back, but a Kirk Ellison goal was called back due to a violation in the 81st minute and Hunt made a diving stop of a Terker header just 2 minutes later. The Garnet charge continued, but it was too little too late, and Wesley took the match and the championship by a 3-1 margin. After the game, the crowd of 275 stood up and gave the Garnet one final ovation for their fine season.

*****

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

The men’s swim team brought their conference record to 2-0 this Saturday with a 121-84 victory over the Diplomats from Franklin & Marshall. The Garnet’s win over last year’s Centennial Conference Champion.brings their overall record to 2-1.

Swarthmore swimmers Jeff Schneider ’05, Anders Taylor ’07, Andrew Koczo ’07, and Reid Johnson ’08 won the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:42.91. Koczo had an individual win with a first place finish in the 50 meter freestyle, in a time of 22.78). He also came in first place in the 100 meter backstroke, an event in which the Garnet swept the top three slots. Taylor brought in an individual win of his own in the 200 meter IM. He racked in his third win of the day with a win in the 100 meter backstroke.

The one-two punch of Michael Auerbach ’05 and Jason Horwitz ’07 impressed the crowd with taking the first two spots in the 200 freestyle. The duo also took the top two spots in the 100 meter freestyle.

Andrew Frampton ’08 came close to an individual win in the 1000 freestyle, but his time of 10:01.14 was just surpassed by the Diplomats’ Derek Nowack. Frampton, however, just edged out Nowak in the 500 freestyle to pick up an individual win.

Auerbach commented, “Since Franklin and Marshall won conferences last year, this meet was prime time. We were excited before the meet, and stepped up and had some great swims. This was the most important dual meet of the first semester and we had a lot of fun and swam a strong meet.”

The Garnet return to the pool on Saturday when they travel to NYU for a 2:00 p.m. meet.

*****

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

The women’s swim team fell toe Franklin & Marshall this weekend in a 114-91 contest. Swarthmore was not able to pull off a win against their rival, last year’s Centennial Conference champion

Katherine Reid ’04 was the fastest swimmer in the 1000 meter freestyle, as she defeated her closest competition by eight seconds. Jennie Lewis ’08 was the Garnet’s top finisher in the 100 meter butterfly (1:00.31).

Freshman Franny Zhang ’08 earned a win in the 200 meter freestyle in a time of 1:59.79. She also was victorious in the 100 meter freestyle. Zhang, Lewis, Sarah Cotcamp ’07, and Whitney Nekoba ’08 all teamed for a 1:43.16 time in the 200 meter freestyle relay.

While the Garnet were unable to defeat last year’s champions, they did very well overall Nekoba commented, “Knowing that we were up against very tough competitors really engaged our thoughts and minds in the direction towards a win, although we came up short.” Cotcamp added, “It was a little scary knowing how dominant they were at Conferences last year, but we knew we had a chance to challenge them and even though we didn’t win, I still think we succeeded in that.” Despite the difficult competition, Lewis said, “Due to the awesome meet our guys were having and since many of us were getting good times, everyone was truly excited about the meet and how we were swimming.”

The intensity continues to stay high. Cotcamp commented, “It was exciting to have fast people to race against and everyone stepped up and swam well.” As always, the crowd was a factor for at least some participants. Nekoba noted, “The energy from the crowd really helped to rally the swim team together in the common goal to defeat Franklin and Marshall this past Saturday.”

Members of the team are looking forward to the rest of the season. Cotcamp noted, “I’m excited about our chances at the Conference meet in February, especially once the 5 juniors who are abroad return.” Lewis added, “The team this year can go a long way, both men’s and women’s.” The team encourages members of the Swarthmore community to attend their home meets. Lewis commented, “Come to watch our home meets, they can be fun” She also added that the presence of fans “is encouraging.”

The Garnet’s record stands at 2-1 overall (1-1 in the Centennial Conference). They will travel to NYU next Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. meet.

*****

The women’s cross country team earned seventh place overall at the NCAA Mid East Regionals this past weekend. Sarah Hobbs ’06 placed sixth and earned a spot in the Division III NCAA Championships to be held on November 20th. Hobbs and fellow junior Carrie Ritter (32nd place) earned All-Region status. Elizabeth Gardner ’05 (52nd) and Kavita Hardy ’08 (61st) also placed high for the Garnet.

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The men’s cross country team took seventh place this Saturday at the NCAA Mid East Regionals. Lang Reynolds ’05 was Swarthmore’s top finisher, as he finished in 22nd place. James Golden ’05 placed 32; he and Reynolds were named to the All-Region team. Keefe Keely ’06, Garret Ash ’05, Jim Kreft ’06, Adam Hunt ’06, and Ross Weller ’08 also had top finishes for the Garnet.

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Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
There are no contests scheduled for tomorrow.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.”
–Farmers’ Almanac, 1978

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