Independent Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881
Musician, judge, and plant geneticist to receive honorary degrees
At this spring’s Commencement ceremony, Interim President Constance Hungerford will bestow honorary degrees on an esteemed musician and educator, a Delaware Supreme Court Justice and a renowned plant geneticist. John Alston, the founding director of the Chester Children’s Chorus, will receive one
“What can a sincere white person do?”
Author’s note: Based on my personal experience talking about race, and about conflicts on campus more generally, I expected that the activists I interviewed would be most comfortable voicing their opinions under pseudonyms. However, reactions were much more varied than I
Students apologize for offensive Instagram post, college opens investigation
Last Friday, a student posted a controversial picture of himself with his five fellow blockmates on Instagram. The photo bore the text “Comin’ to gang bang yo bitch” and the caption “#GVT #GoodVibeTribe #weoutchea #BDN #hideyobish.” A few hours later, a friend
Students respond and organize after Ferguson verdict
On the night of Monday, November 24, the St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9. Protests erupted across the country by people who had been hoping
Students debate increased diversity education
On Sunday, Peter Amadeo ’15 held an open student meeting to discuss a first-year diversity requirement. Amadeo and others have been thinking and informally discussing options for a diversity requirement for months, but the weekly meetings mark the beginning of a more
Homophobic chalkings resurface on campus
Around 10 p.m. on the night of Monday, October 27, members of the Swarthmore Queer Union chalked queer-positive statements around Swarthmore’s campus for a Pride Month initiative to increase queer visibility in the community. By 2 a.m., at least one chalking expressing
Halloween party rules and venue go through transformation
Last Friday, the Social Affairs Committee sent out a student body-wide email about this year’s Halloween party. The email explained two major changes to the party from last year: moving the party from Sharples to Clothier and the creation of a bring-your-own-beverage
NYTimes College Access Index calculation methods may be misleading
Swarthmore College was placed low a College Access Index in “Top Colleges that Enroll Rich, Middle Class and Poor,” a New York Times article by David Leonhardt that was published last month. While the methodology may prove to be misleading, the fact
College to revert back to old calendar for two years
The faculty met today to vote on the spring semester calendar changes and decided to revert back to the former calendar until at least 2017. The change means that this year’s graduation will return to its former date, May 31st, a week
Pub Nite in flux
Complicating tonight and future Pub Nites, administrators have told seniors that they may no longer collect money from students attending the traditional Thursday night event. The decision to ban Pub Nite fundraising began with an announcement by Provost Tom Stephenson that the