Opinions

Letter to the Editor: Rob Jordan on Borough Taxes 

December 4, 2025
Swarthmore Borough is facing another large tax increase in 2026 and every borough expenditure must be analyzed for its return on investment. Implementing a new food scraps program in 2026 for $150,000 is neither a valid nor logical new large ongoing expense to incur for the borough. A mouse could not survive on my own food scraps and many residents will not utilize this curb pickup program — so the high cost will benefit only a few. If food scraps are that large of a problem in the borough, we can explore ways to merge it into the yard waste

The Duality of the U.S. Foreign Policy — Jolani in the White House

December 4, 2025
The politics of Islamophobia in the U.S. is inextricably linked with the “war on terror,” and yet, in the last few weeks, the world saw a rather strange constellation of events that may bewilder the uninformed observer. An immigrant-born Muslim who is a self-described Democratic Socialist was not supposed to win a mayoral election in New York under a Trump presidency. Neither is the emir of what was once considered the largest offshoot of Al Qaeda supposed to visit the White House under the same administration. Yet here we are, in 2025. Both of these previously inconceivable things have happened

Arts

Sports

Features

More

Portrait of Aja Washington smiling in the woods

Aja Washington ’25 on Personal Portraiture 

December 5, 2024
Portraiture is incredibly intimate. A few years back, my art teacher shared an anecdote in class. Using her husband as a model, she practiced a new viewing technique. Trying to better understand the physicality of portraiture, she gazed at him, slowly caressing

Presidential Pardon Hijinks

December 5, 2024
Presidential pardons: love them or hate them (probably the latter), they have existed since George Washington’s presidency. Now, this topic has recently been brought back into the public eye with President Joe Biden pardoning his son Hunter of his federal gun and
The Frick Collection - Fragonard's Room

Masterpiece Mimesis: On Walter Gay’s ‘The Fragonard Room’

December 5, 2024
Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably seen Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s work. His painting, “The Swing,” even makes a cameo in Disney’s “Frozen” (2013). Amidst pre-French-Revolution tensions, the French court painter built a career depicting hedonism, eroticism, and extravagance. Purchased by Henry

Rallying Support for the Halcyon

December 5, 2024
The Halcyon, Swarthmore College’s yearbook, has long been a cherished archive, capturing the essence of the college’s history. The last known Halcyon publication was in 2015, disappearing in the following years due to a lack of active student leadership. Nine years later,

GSC on Donald Trump and Access to Care

December 5, 2024
After the election of President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 5, medical care professionals and advocates are confronting questions surrounding changes to access to reproductive and gender affirming care. This uncertainty is magnified by the overturning of Roe v. Wade (1973) in 2022

In Our Defense: Gossips

December 5, 2024
Before I start defending us gossips, I think it would be useful to first propose the following definitions to clarify exactly to whom I am referring. Gossip: a hot new title cast forth by daunting, mysterious pressures at Swarthmore and colleges alike

What’s Going On in Romania?

December 5, 2024
Romania has surprisingly become a major flashpoint in the battle between establishment and insurgent political forces. For the past 24 years, Romanian politics has been dominated by three major political groups: the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), and
1 38 39 40 41 42 1,297
The Phoenix