Rafi Karpowitz '27 argues that the drama this summer surrounding SEPTA's funding is representative of a more broad phenomenon, in which politics is defined fundamentally by theatrics and calculated posturing that is often detrimental to the people whom political actors should serve.
On Sept. 8, Governor Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) administration allowed the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to use $394 million from a state trust fund designated for long-term public transportation maintenance. The money represents a one-time infusion that will enable the agency to
On Nov. 22, at the Frankford Transportation Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced he was directing Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll to devote $153 million of federal highway funding to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The decision comes after
During Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate (which many Swatties watched at a viewing party in Sharples Commons), observers may have recalled a time when they expected Vice President Kamala Harris to select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be up on that stage. Harris’s
In 2018, the Editorial Board wrote that Swarthmore’s failure to recognize election day as a federal holiday conflicted with its commitment to increase student turnout and promote civic participation. In the four years since, our nation’s aspirational commitment to representative democracy continues
Although the Pennsylvania general election does not take place until Nov. 8, committed Swarthmore students and on-campus organizations such as Swarthmore Democrats and the non-partisan voting group SwatVotes, have begun mobilizing their efforts towards voter registration and increasing voter turnout. According to
Despite Swarthmore’s widely-held reputation as a college committed to democratic engagement, more than half of Swarthmore students did not exercise their civic right to vote in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Seeking to rectify this shortcoming and placing a high value on
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG. Although it
We write this op-ed to express our frustration at the recent Supreme Court decision to block the Clean Power Plan, an important piece of climate change legislation that had the potential to drastically reduce U.S. carbon emissions. We strongly encourage Pennsylvania legislators