Poll: Favorite Swat Tradition
Midnight Breakfast/Primal Scream: 4
Pterodactyl Hunt: 2
Crum Regatta: 2
Screw Your Roommate: 1
Sex Toy Bingo: 1
Ninjagrams: 1
pARTy: 1
Poll: Favorite Sci Cafe Food
Caesar Salad: 2
Croissant: 2
Veggie Drunken Noodles: 1
Spare Ribs: 1
Muffins: 1
Scallion Pancakes: 1
Chicken Lo Mein: 1
Cinnamon Role: 1
Iced Chai with Almond Milk and a Shot of Caramel: 1
Do Swat students need to party more?
Logan Roth ’27: Yes and no. I don’t think we need to party more, but I think we need to party better. It’s like Tyler The Creator’s quote on not being afraid to be weird. It made me think that people get too socially awkward. I mean, that’s also me, but I feel it wouldn’t be as awkward if everyone was just going for it.
Margalit Mauricio ’28: That’s a really personal thing, because personally, parties are not really my thing. I think there are some people who tend to go to more parties and some who don’t.
Alex Thompson ’29: Yes, oh my God, yeah. I was talking about this with someone today. I think our school would have less of an issue with mental health if there were more opportunities to … just go outside.
Charlie Schuetz ’27: I think there’s a healthy way to go out and party. Some people have [unhealthy] relationships with going out, drinking way too much, and doing stupid things. There’s a healthy balance where people can go out and spend time with friends where it, if anything, will help their school performance.
Melisa Velasquez Zunun ’29: To some degree, maybe, yeah. I feel like the social culture is a little bit … awkward? But I understand that, obviously, students need to study.
Aziza Kakhramonova ’29: I think it depends on the student, because I know some students – they’re out every weekend. [Melisa in response: It’s never at Swarthmore. It’s always somewhere else. ] Yeah, the social life, specifically at our school, is kind of dead besides Olde Club … [Melisa in response: It is dead.].
Asiya Johnson ’27: I think people party at a normal rate here. Some days I hear like three different parties happening, and I’m like “Oh.” I guess it also depends on who is hosting it. Usually, if the host is good, people will come out, but if they are playing random songs, no one will go.
Nii Tigah ’29: Yes. People are too locked in. They pre-game and just stay there; there is no game. Then they start puking in the bathroom.
Charisma Santa ’28: No. No. I guess they are locked in [on school], but I think the party culture is just them getting real, you know [drunk]. They are just masking it as a party.
Dahlia Bedward ’26: I would say yes. Well, maybe not more, but the parties need to be better. I’m fine with only having Saturday as the main night, but sometimes Olde Club is not up to par.
Doris Serrano ’26: Okay, the answer is obviously yes, and if anyone disagrees, they can come challenge me, because there’s no way. I feel like the party scene has definitely changed since my first year — I feel like it’s gotten worse, definitely attendance-wise. It’s sad to see Olde Club not be what it used to be.
Sammi Chai ’26: I feel like Swarthmore students are the worst type of partygoers because they go and expect the party to already be there. They’re not the dancers, they’re the people on the side who [are] there to see other people dancing. And so no one’s dancing or having fun, and then everyone leaves early and is sad. I feel like Swarthmore’s got to get its game on.
What do you think of President Val Smith’s announcement that she will be leaving at the end of next year, and who should be her replacement?
Asiya Johnson ’27: Everyone has time to move on, and people will move on at different rates. I personally won’t miss her. Having a Black president won’t save you.
Logan Roth ’27: I don’t know. I’m sure that people argue she’s doing so much behind the scenes. Other people hate her. Maybe I’m overprivileged, but I don’t feel the impact of President Val Smith on a day-to-day basis. In a perfect world, someone from [Environmental Services].
Margalit Mauricio ’28: I think her dog might be good [as a replacement]. I don’t have strong feelings about Val Smith. I know people who do, but I’m kind of neutral.
Charlie Schuetz ’27: I don’t know enough about this to say anything.
Alex Thompson ’29: I saw somewhere that longtime donors weren’t super happy with her reign. She seemed fine. I don’t really know what she did directly. As for her successor, maybe [it should be] Corinne Lafont ’26 [the interviewer].
Charisma Santa ’28: I was shocked. To be fair, I didn’t know the type of president she was. I’m glad she told the school as soon as she did. I guess, in terms of who should replace her… [Dean of First-Year Students Karen Henry ’87]! I think she would make a good president. I think we should still have a woman of color as president for sure.
Nii Tigah ’29: I’m a [first year] I’ve heard things happened [under her watch], but I don’t really know much. I guess good for you; go on your break.
Melisa Velasquez Zunun ’29: I don’t have a specific replacement in mind. I just read about it yesterday, so my current thoughts on it are … I mean, I’m a first year, so I don’t really know much about her. From what I heard, she’s pretty neutral in the eyes of students, so … I’m gonna be neutral about her, too.
Aziza Kakhramonova ’29: Yeah. I also don’t know much about her as a first year, but … she made a sanctuary statement back in 2019, and we’re working with SIR, which is Student Immigration Rights on campus. I think before she leaves, she should reaffirm the statement she made back then.
Dahlia Bedward ’26: I was surprised, because I didn’t feel like it was coming. I’m not gonna be here, so it’s kind of irrelevant for me, and I’m not sure who’s gonna take her place.
Doris Serrano ’26: The heading of the email she sent out was such a clickbaity headline; it made me laugh because I was like: there’s no way this just got sent to everyone at Swarthmore. I have no idea who could or should replace her — hopefully someone with good character.
Sammi Chai ’26: I don’t have that much of an opinion on her leadership, although I didn’t like how she treated a lot of the student protesters during the years. But that is as far as I know about her leadership. It always feels murkier when you figure out what school admin’s roles are. I hope the person who replaces her will be someone who feels more in line with the stuff that Swarthmore promises, like a lot of social justice involvement or involvement in the Philly political or activism scene.
What should be the new name of the Old Science Hall?
Logan Roth ’27: Greg Hall.
Charisma Santa ’28: I feel like they should name it in honor of someone who was affected by the bad things [former Biology Professor Spencer Trotter] did.
Margalit Mauricio ’28: Helen North Hall, after an old classics professor who died in 2012. She’s really big in the field.
Alex Thompson ’29: Maybe named after a top donor or someone really cool, like me. I would appreciate a building named after myself.
Charlie Schuetz ’27: I don’t know. After another faculty member or a student.
Asiya Johnson ’27: It should be named after someone in the political science department … like a professor. But I don’t really have an opinion on what it should be named; I don’t do poli sci. I support changing the name, though, because that evil name should not be on any buildings here.
Nii Tigah ’29: Anyone apart from a white person. Too many of them are out here.
Melisa Velasquez Zunun ’29: Great question. Definitely not anything related to science? Because I feel like the building is more humanities and social studies and stuff like that. Maybe something writing themed, just ’cause the [Writing Center] is there.
Aziza Kakhramonova ’29: Yeah, same.
Dahlia Bedward ’26: I definitely think it should be renamed. I don’t like Old Science Hall, because I actually got it confused with [the Science Center] and went to the wrong room at the beginning of this semester for one of my classes. I feel like it should be named with something about English or history because I like to know if I’m in the right place.
Doris Serrano ’26: I’m glad the college is recognizing that Trotter had a very distasteful history. Not sure about Old Science Hall. It doesn’t feel very creative, and I feel like Swarthmore students would come up with something better. Maybe some rich alum will just come along, and they can name it after them.
Sammi Chai ’26: I kind of forgot they were renaming Trotter, because no one really calls it anything else, unfortunately. When they sent the email, I thought they were renaming [the Science Center], not Trotter. Old Science Hall is a stupid name — whatever they come up with will be better than that.
