Will Treece

The sudden influx of soldiers on the GI Bill who enrolled in Swarthmore after serving overseas was completely unprecedented in American higher education, and while Swarthmore didn’t suddenly increase enrollment like many schools, the college did change. The war years were turbulent,

When America broke out of its isolationism in 1941, Swarthmore faced a dilemma: how could a college with a traditionally pacifist Quaker ideology respond? Swarthmore founder Benjamin Hallowell was a conscientious objector in the war of 1812. Should the college encourage students

In 1964, a college press release spoke of “a place of noble proportions” that had sprung up at Swarthmore. The alumni bulletin called it “a humane setting for the fine art of eating.” This, of course, was Sharples.

Given current discussions about student activism at Swarthmore, it’s fitting to look back to the era of student protest and arrest: the 1960's.

In the wake of Halloween, I think it’s appropriate to celebrate the 80th anniversary of one of the more wonderful pranks ever pulled at Swarthmore: the Cow Episode. On December 4, 1929, the editor of the Phoenix received a letter from the