Phoenix October 26th, 2017 by The Phoenix

Today in OPINIONS: Jack Pokorny on self-efficacy and social media A4, Editorial: Our op-ed section A4,

PHOENIX

THE

A fall break sports recap

VOL. 144, NO. 6

Chill Russel at WSRN

OCTOBER 26, 2017

The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881

Ethnic Studies programs face obstacles by Reuben Gelley Newman News Writer On Oct. 9, the Swarthmore Indigenous Students’ Association highlighted in their demands to the college that the school does not have an Indigenous Studies program and offers few courses in indigenous studies in general. The creation and backing of ethnic studies programs has lagged behind other departments for many years, due to structural and institutional obstacles. Students have called for a Black Studies major since at least the

The week ahead

1970s, as reported in the Feb. 29,1972 issue of The Phoenix. At that time, the Student Council endorsed a Black Studies major, as proposed by the Swarthmore African-American Students’ Association (SASS), and supported SASS’ proposal to revive an Ad Hoc Committee on Black Studies to discuss the idea further. Answering faculty questions about the proposal, a member of SASS said that “Swarthmore is coming late to the black studies field.” Another Phoenix article — this one from November 20th, 2003 — said that many students in a

debate about the issue “felt that there should be a major in black or Africana studies, but opinion differed on whether or not a separate department for black/Africana studies should be created, and, if so, what the major should focus on.” Members SASS and head of the Black Studies program Nina Johnson were not able to be reached for comment. Black Studies is still not a major and is a interdisciplinary program rather than a department, offering honors and course minors. Latino and Latin American

Studies (LALS), and Asian Studies programs are interdisciplinary programs, not departments. As detailed on the college’s website, the Black Studies program offers honors and course minors, the LALS program offers honors and course minors along with a special major, and the Asian Studies Program offers honors and course majors and minors. Some of the college’s peer institutions have majors or departments in these or related fields, but others have only minors or concentrations. For example, while Amherst has departments

and majors in Black Studies, Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Latinx and Latin American Studies, Williams has concentrations in Africana Studies and Latino Studies and a department in Asian Studies. Provost Tom Stephenson outlined the process for creating and expanding interdisciplinary programs. He said that programs originate from faculty proposals based on the need for more curriculum in these areas. The authorization to offer a minor comes with continued on page A2

Culture and Identity Appreciation Week Kickoff

Thursday The Lang center is hosting a pumpkin spice-themed October study break. There will be lattes, waffles, cookies, and more with pumpkin spice! The event will be from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Lang Center. Phi Beta Kappa is bringing Stephen Walt Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University to give a talk on “Where is U.S. Foreign Policy Headed?” The talk will be at 7:30 in Sci 101. Friday McCabe will host Frankenstein & Friends: A Halloween Pop-Up to celebrate Frankenstein’s birthday with cakes, snacks, historical texts, and films. The party will be from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in McCabe. Saturday Latino Heritage Month is hosting “Breakfast, Latinx Documentary, and Discussion” at 11:00 a.m. in Mephistos lounge. There will be breakfast and a documentary highlighting important issues to the Latinx community with a discussion following. Monday The Lang Center is hosting Pat Colgan, Senior Adviser to the Irish Government based in Bogota, Colombia and former Director of the EU Peace Program in Ireland, Chuck Lacy, social impact investor and former managing director of Ben & Jerry’s (1980s) Des Doherty, international human rights lawyer in Northern Ireland to help answer the question “What is social impact investing.” The discussion will be in the Keith Room of the Lang Center from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday HALLOWEEN

Lauren Knudson / The Phoenix

One in five high school students who play contact sports suffer a concussion each year, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. To facilitate recovery of concussed students, Swarthmore has a Concussion Team in place to support injured students. However, concussion symptoms still pose significant challenges for students, as they affect academic performance, physical well being, social interactions, and mental health. According to a 2014 NCAA report, 13.1 percent of female NCAA athletes and 19.4 percent of male NCAA athletes selfreported as having incurred one or more concussions during their collegiate career. Courtney Caolo ’21, a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team, is one of those students. This May, a player on a competing team body-slammed her from the side during a lacrosse game, causing her to fall over. She continued playing and did not notice any symptoms until two hours later, when she tried to drive herself home and felt shooting pains down her neck. “It wasn’t that bad of a fall, but I had gotten a concussion the same way the previous year, so I think that’s what caused it to be that bad again,” Caolo said. “It was the same kind of whiplash.” Since the beginning of the fall semester, 20 students have reported having concussions. According to Holland, three of them were diagnosed with concussions at the Health and Wellness Center. During the 2016-2017 academic year, 42 reported there with concussion symptoms. According to Sakumura, ten have continued on page A2

Bio Professor Siwicki cited in Nobel prize-winning research by Abby Young News Writer A research paper on the gene regulating the circadian rhythm that Professor of Biology Kathy Siwicki worked with a team on a research project about the gene regulating the circadian rhythm. On Oct. 2, this research won the Nobel Prize. The paper, titled “Antibodies to the period gene product of Drosophila reveal diverse tissue distribution and rhythmic changes in the visual system,”

was carried out by five researchers. Siwicki and the others were studying a gene in fruit flies that regulates the circadian rhythm, which are endogenous biological rhythms that most organisms have. They are biological “clocks” that regulate the timing of an organism’s behavior and physiology so that it coordinates with the day-night cycle. According to Siwicki, in this particular gene (called the period gene) that regulates be-

havioral rhythms, the protein that the gene produced had its own daily rhythm. Levels would increase during the night and decrease during the day, even in the darkness. They concluded that the differing levels were not a reaction to light. This finding led to development of a model for how the circadian clock works through changes in the expression of the gene, which was originally proposed around 1990. It explained not just fruit flies’ circadian clocks but all organisms’ circa-

dian clocks through the same mechanism. All animals have period genes; humans have three. “We were studying fruit fly clocks because it was a fascinating biological puzzle, not because we necessarily wanted to solve the puzzle of the human circadian clock … we didn’t know it at the time, but the mechanism we were studying in fruit flies laid the groundwork for understanding human circadian clocks as well,” Siwicki said.

They were hopeful that the mechanisms in fruit flies would be relevant to the understanding of the human circadian clock as well as those of other animals and plants. Siwicki believes that the surprising homology and similarity between the clocks of various organisms is part of the reason that her research is being recognized. The connection between a gene and a behavior is a “complex biological puzzle” that hadn’t really been worked continued on page A4

Pub-Safe, Swat police clarify relationship by George Rubin News Writer

CONTENTS Campus news A1-A2 Arts news A3 Opinions A4 Sports A5-A6

by Bayliss Wagner News Writer

CIA week aims to celebrate the culture and diversity on the campus with events ranging from panels to parties throughout the week. For a full list of events you can find “Culture and Identity Appreciation Week” on Facebook or reference posters around campus.

Weather High of 58 degrees, and a low of realizing I haven’t finished all my work for tomorrow.

Read more at swarthmorephoenix.com

Despite support, concussed students face pressure

Grace Zhang / The Phoenix

Students frequently spot police officers on campus, with headlights fixed on the pathways students use to return from parties. Yet, Public Safety employs more personnel than the Swarthmore Borough Police Department; Director of Public Safety Michael Hill has twenty five staff members versus the police department’s eight. According to Hill, the borough police and the college administration have a close working relationship. The police meet with the college administration every month, and have a written Memorandum of Understanding with Public Safety. “The MOU puts in writing the practices and protocols that we have in place around a variety of issues, such as emergency response,” said Hill in an email. The main purpose of the

Memorandum is to make clear what information the two parties can share. Public safety can’t share certain information due to Department of Education regulations, according Chief of Police Brian Craig. The Swarthmore police department also has restrictions on what it can share with the college in terms of criminal history records. The Memorandum makes clear that the college ID is a viable form of identification, said Craig, except for moving violations or a violation committed by the driver of a vehicle, students need a government issued identification. The agreement includes a non-pursuit policy which allows public safety to respond initially to auto-accidents and other issues, then call the police to file a report in their system. The Memorandum also includes agreed upon practices, such as 911 hang-ups. When someone calls 911 and hangs

up, the call gets forwarded to the police. The police then call public safety and ask them to check on the situation. The police only respond to the call if public safety requests them to. This practice keeps police out of campus buildings unless a direct 911 call is made. While the police do patrol Swarthmore’s campus, they only do so in vehicles similarly to the way they monitor the rest of the borough. “We’re not looking to get involved in the campus,” said Craig. “We take our responsibility to keep it safe very seriously … Our officers patrol the campus, but we don’t go into the dorms unless we’re called for something.” While the Memorandum is an established written document, the police assess situations on a case by case basis. continued on page A4

THE PHOENIX NEWS

PAGE A2

OCTOBER 26, 2017

Ethnic Studies, continued from A1 the establishment of the program, and programs must apply to offer regular majors. Criteria to expand or establish a program include a “compelling argument” from faculty and adequate staffing to run the program. Karen Avila ‘20, a board member of ENLACE, the college’s Latinx student group, believes that professor retention is critical for the survival of ethnic studies programs. She called Milton Machuca-Galvez, a visiting professor in Latino and Latin American Studies, “the backbone of the Latino Studies department,” and said that other students in ENLACE agreed with her. “I still don’t understand why his position is not secured within the Latino Studies department,” Avila said. “That’s a very significant defect in sustaining the LALS department. If you can’t even keep a professor who clearly is so fundamental to the program, you’re not interested in making the program something institutionalized, because you’re not listening to students’ feedback in the first place.” ENLACE students would also be interested in expanding the LALS program more generally, according to Avila, but she said they couldn’t do it on their own. “I feel like we’re all on board if there was something that the institution would offer us a chance to partake in,” she said. “We can’t forefront a project; we need some support.” Professor Edwin Mayorga, an Education professor affiliated

with LALS, is offering some of that support. He has started talking with students and faculty about expanding ethnic studies and organizing the programs in a more sustainable way. Addressing why ethnic studies programs have not become traditional departments, Stephenson said it’s largely because of “institutional culture.” “We have chosen to look at [ethnic studies] as best taught in the context of the traditional disciplines,” Stephenson said. “I think that’s been the approach of the current faculty that we’ve had who are staffing the Black Studies interdisciplinary program; that’s not to say it won’t evolve in the future.” As an example of how the programs could change, he cited the way the Film and Media Studies has evolved from an interdisciplinary program to a department that offers a regular major. But Mayorga questioned the stability of interdisciplinary programs. “The suggestion of interdisciplinary focus seems premature as a rationalization” for not having more stable programs or departments, said Mayorga. He said that the LALS program was “very fragile” and that the various ethnic studies programs often relied on visiting professors, or, in the case of indigenous studies, studentrun courses. He called for more conversation across constituencies and then translating that conversation into action.

In contrast, Professor Christopher Fraga, program coordinator for LALS, said that one of the LALS program’s “greatest strengths is that it is robustly interdisciplinary,” and also pointed out the transnational perspective of the program. “In the past three to five years, there’s been a pretty concerted effort, I think, to broaden the scope of the courses that we’re offering to include not only Latin America as a geopolitical region but also Latina/Latino/Latinx experiences in the U.S. as well,” said Fraga. He particularly mentioned Professor Désirée Díaz’s focus on Latinx studies as responding to “a felt need” of both students and faculty. Still, Fraga acknowledged the program’s instability. “I think it’s fair to see the program as being in a moment of transition or transformation right now,” he said, largely because the faculty associated with it were predominantly junior faculty, although many of them are on tenure track. Although the proposals to expand interdisciplinary programs have to come from faculty, Fraga pointed out the value of student voices in influencing the expansion of LALS. “Student interest has been very powerful in our case, and I would also just take a moment to say that student interest in other kinds of ethnic studies programs is also going to be a really important thing for our institution; I’m

thinking of, for example, AsianAmerican Studies,” Fraga said. That student interest is definitely present from members of ENLACE, the college’s Latinx group and the Swarthmore Asian Organization (SAO). “What we want to do is kind of different from Asian Studies, what we want to do is Asian-American Studies,” said co-president of SAO Josie Hung. She highlighted the dearth of Asian-American studies courses, which have been largely supported by Bakirathi Mani, a Professor of English who teaches an Asian American Literature course. According to Hung, members of SAO have talked to Professor Mani about possible barriers to expanding the courses on Asian-American studies. “What admin like to see is numbers. That’s super hard because sometimes [Mani’s] classes would be really popular, sometimes they wouldn’t have that many people, and you have to show people that there’s interest,” said Hung. “But we’ve also talked about how there’s this cycle that’s going on: if you don’t have any courses that are offered about your identity, sometimes you don’t know you need it, or you don’t know there’s these issues that exist, or you might have other interests and it’s nice to not always have to address only your identity.” She called for faculty members teaching courses that discuss race and ethnicity to go beyond the black/white binary and to work

in other ways to support AsianAmerican studies. “I think the push has to come from faculty members, because I think they’re the ones that suggest inviting or hiring other faculty members,” said Hung. William Gardner, the program coordinator for Asian Studies, also highlighted Professor Mani’s role. “[Professor Mani] is clearly an important faculty member and has been responsible to a large extent for holding up the AsianAmerican part of the curriculum at Swarthmore, together with different visiting faculty over the years, but I think it’s still something where we’d like to see more permanent faculty,” said Gardner. He also mentioned Professor Lei Ouyang Bryant and her new course on Taiko and the Asian American Experience as an important addition to the program. But Hung said there was pushback to having Bryant’s Taiko and the Asian American Experience course under Asian Studies. Regardless, Gardner emphasized the program’s support of AsianAmerican studies and work on the Asian diaspora. “My sense from the faculty [in Asian Studies] is that we’re open to see how Asian American Studies and ethnic studies at the college evolve,” said Gardner, “We think it’s a really important part of what Swarthmore should be teaching, and what students should be learning.” Similarly to Asian Studies’ attempt to include Asian-American

Studies, LALS faculty members have tried to include indigenous studies, according to Fraga. “I think particularly Professor Machuca and myself as the two anthropologists contributing to the program have tried to ensure that indigenous perspectives and indigenous history in the region are featuring in our courses,” said Fraga. “If there were dedicated positions for people doing indigenous studies, absolutely LALS would be the kind of program to write letters of support, to include courses as being cross-listed, assuming that they’re relevant. In principle I think that there’s a great opportunity for allyship there, and a great opportunity for collaboration. I’m not aware of any specific opportunities that are currently on the table, but I wouldn’t preclude that from being the case in the future.” Fraga emphasized the limitations of these opportunities, saying that “there’s not a blank check to just bring in all of the different kinds of scholars that everyone in the college would like to have present.” Members of SISA also could not be reached for comment. Despite efforts from students and faculty to expand and stabilize ethnic studies programs, changes are likely to take a long time and a great deal of work.

According to assistant director of student disability services Jenna Rose, extended testing time, quiet testing environments, and extended deadlines for class assignments are accommodations that SDS commonly authorizes for concussed students. For many Swarthmore students with concussions, their main concerns are about not falling behind in class and keeping up their grades. “Luckily my professors are really understanding and I was able to get some tests moved and some papers extended,” Caolo said. “But there [were] a good two weeks when it was really rough trying to schedule all my work in and making sure that I wasn’t pushing myself over the edge.” In addition, everyday campus activities like getting meals add to the difficulty of having a concussion. “It’s not easy, especially because there’s no time when you can really rest,” Caolo said. “It’s not like high school, where you can just take the week off of school. You just kind of always have to be going to stuff and always walking around and always going to get food so it’s kind of difficult, moving around when you don’t even feel like sitting up, but it’s been manageable so far.” Sakomura emphasized that concussed students, however heavy their course loads, need to prioritize rest. “It’s very tricky because stress can contribute to the concussion not healing in time and students also want to do really well

academically in class, so there’s always this struggle,” Sakomura said. “We always try to help the student not to worry so much because that can contribute to the symptoms. It’s really hard not to stress, of course, but really, rest needs to come first.” Lydia Koku ’18, who was injured in February 2017 and experienced concussion symptoms until May, described the stress that their concussion caused them. “Having a concussion intensified my spring semester but simultaneously forced me to prioritize my well-being first,” Koku said in an email. “I withdrew from one of my required Honors seminars because I could not keep up with the demands of the course and yet continued to struggle with my three remaining courses. These academic stressors were accompanied by persistent anxieties about whether I would be able to graduate on time and with Honors.” Some of the lesser-known symptoms of concussions, which fall outside of the domain of dean Sakomura and the Worth Health Center, are emotional issues such as nervousness, mood changes, irritability, and sadness, according to the CDC. According to ‘Scientific American,’ an established science journal, head injuries increase the risk of mental illness. Concussions often intensify mental health issues present before the injury and sometimes cause new issues to arise. For Koku, the pain and long recovery time they experienced

led to increased depression. “This weakened internal locus of control intensified my depression over the course of the injury and afterwards,” they said. “Due to my experience, I now understand the heightened importance of self-care and attempt to infuse patience into my daily life.” Both Holland and Rose mentioned Counseling and Psychological Services as the resource for students with mental health issues. CAPS provides free, voluntary, and confidential psychological counseling to students, among other services. For Koku, this has been helpful. “I love CAPS and go every week,” they said. On top of these concerns, the physical symptoms of concussions, especially constant fatigue and sensitivity to light and loud noises, can inhibit social interactions. Caolo described her experience recovering from a concussion during the first few weeks of freshman year. “Especially in the beginning of the year I was like, ‘I really don’t feel like myself, so it’s going to be really weird trying to make friends when I don’t even feel like me,’” Caolo said. “You’re not as outgoing or as bubbly and can’t really stay your normal self just because you’re very tired all the time and [your] head is hurting all the time ... I really can’t go to anything that’s very loud, which is an issue because that’s most social events.” Despite these challenges, Caolo was able to attend all of her class sessions the first half of the

semester, and with her accommodations, she was able to improve her grades from the first round of tests. She feels that her professors and the faculty with which she communicated helped her significantly. “It’s actually been a lot easier,” Caolo said. “When I went to go take the next round of tests, it was definitely better with the accommodations.” Koku also feels that the Swarthmore Concussion Team effectively assured their recovery. “I could not have asked for a better support system,” they said. “Deans and faculty alike advocated for my continuation at Swarthmore and helped me plan to complete my coursework on time. Professors were accommodating with extensions if I advocated for myself.” Sakomura feels that the interdepartmental Concussion Team contributes significantly to the efficacy of concussion treatments. “I’d really like to celebrate the fact that the team around concussions is one example of different divisions at the college working together, and I think that’s really rare, and it’s really lovely,” she said. Though concussions create additional hurdles and challenges for college students, faculty and staff collaborating and handling concussions with flexibility and understanding can alleviate lasting effects on academic performance and personal health.

[’20], with about two inches to spare above the water line. And while the construction did involve a speedy visit to the ER (huge thanks to Pub Safe!), the process brought us closer together. “I was holding [a PVC pipe] under pressure, accidentally let it go, [and] the end [hit] me right besides the nose,” said Pokorny from Team Facial Laceration. There was also drama the morning of the competition, as one of teams could not find its vessel. “The Pub Nite team strapped two empty half-kegs together [and] tested it out on the Crum on the night before the race, but when they went to collect the boat from its hiding place near the Little Falls, they found it had been taken. Luckily, after a tense 15 minutes of searching they found that it had been thrown into the Crum north of the meadow. They pulled it out and made it to the race in time,” said Semenuk. While the competition had been fun, there were some drawbacks to this year’s Regat-

ta. The Regatta traditionally has a mass start; every team starts together. This year, however, the water levels in the Crum — and in eastern Pennsylvania in general — are very low. “The traditional racing format of every team starting at the same time had to give way to a time-trial format. This was to take advantage of the single track deep channel that was available,” said Semenuk. “A longer course with a mass start would bolster the level of fun exponentially in my opinion,” said Pokorny.

Pokorny also brought up the need to preserve the Crum Creek’s cleanliness, especially after the Crum Regatta every year. “I hope more emphasis could be placed on cleaning up the Crum watershed. It is not uncommon to see trash floating down the river. For a school that places heavy emphasis on sustainability and environmental consciousness, we have a messy backyard,” said Pokorny.

Concussions, continued from A1 been cleared and ten continue to work with her and the college’s Concussion Team, which also includes the sports medicine department for student-athletes and director of student of health and wellness Alice Holland for other students. According to Holland, health care providers administer post-concussive symptom scales and physical assessments to students who come in with a concussion to determine how to care for them over time. “If emergent care is not warranted, special attention is given to stage of healing, social activity, academic activity and athletic activity,” Holland said in an email. “Students are educated on pain management, nutrition, and stress reduction to aid in their recovery.” Caolo has not yet been cleared. She communicated primarily with Michelle Ray, current interim Title IX director, before the responsibility shifted to Sakomura. “When a student has a concussion, I reach out to professors and then the student,” Sakomura said. “Once I communicate with the student, the student comes in and then we have a one-on-one conversation about what kind of classes they’re in, what kind of jobs they have, and ... how best to navigate the situation because they have this injury.” According to Caolo, she communicated with Sakomura often throughout her first few weeks of school as she adjusted to the demands of her course load: Biology 001, Chem 010, Art History and Economics.

“The first few weeks when we were still trying to figure everything out, it was really stressful, but I sat down with each of my professors and they all told me, ‘The best thing for you is not to be stressed out about work and just to focus on getting better,’” Caolo said. However, concussion symptoms can change quickly, requiring flexible recovery plans and accommodations. “There was one Friday where I had a bio quiz and a chem test,” Caolo said. “I was okay the beginning of that week and then the rest of that week, I just really wasn’t feeling well, to the point where I really wasn’t walking around much, so by probably midweek I was getting really worried, like, ‘I’m not going to have enough time to study for this,’ or even, ‘I’m not sure if I can take both tests in one day.’” With help from Sakomura, she was able to take one of her tests later. But without yet having official paperwork from student disability services, her professors could not give her extra time during tests until a week later. “If professors don’t have anything that’s official, it’s hard for them to just make accommodations, because they just really can’t,” Caolo said. “I know that even when I was meeting with dean Sakomura, she was worried about disability services taking a while to get the paperwork done, so that might have been a concern in the past for some people, but I didn’t really have an issue with it.”

Crum Regatta returns to creek by Leren Gao News Writer

The Crum Regatta, one of Swarthmore’s most long-lived and notable traditions, returned to the Crum Creek after two years. In 2015 and 2016, due to the reconstruction of the train trestle, the Regatta as held in the Ware Pool. This year during Garnet Weekend, the area was finally free of the disruption of machinery and fencing. At total of twenty-four students, split into five teams each with a homemade vessel, competed in the Regatta this year: Pub Nite Lime with the U.S.S. Keg Stand, Jaded and Faded with the HMS Fomo, the United Federal Reserve of Planets with the USS Free Enterprise, Facial Laceration with the The Transfer Trawler, and the Balloondry Basketeers with the Balloondry Basket. “As a junior transfer student, Swarthmore traditions are novel to me. But as someone who hails from the Pacific Northwest and has a passion for the outdoors, the Crum Regatta imme-

diately appealed to those sentiments,” said Jack Pokorny ’19. Last year’s winning team, the Soviet Union of International Waters, returned this year as the United Federal Reserve of Planets and claimed first place again. “They were the favorite heading into race day, but there was a question about their ability to make the transition from the relative calm of Ware Pool to the wild environs of the Crum. They built a kayak this year, with Rhys [Manley ’20] again as the pilot, and they won a close race. Second place went to the Jaded and Faded team, [sailing] an inflatable clamshell-type craft that relied on the overwhelming propulsion of swim team members,” said associate director of alumni and parent engagement Geoff Semenuk. In fact, the regatta has technically never left the Crum Creek. “Even though the 2015 and 2016 Regattas were in the Ware Pool, they were still technically in Crum Creek water owing to the fact that the college

water supply comes from the Crum [and is] collected, filtered, sanitized and pumped from the Aqua facility several miles upstream from campus,” said Semenuk. Semenuk has been in charge of organizing the Crum Regatta for 20 years. Until several years ago, the Regatta had always been in the spring semester. “It [...] was often postponed because of ice and snow. Several years ago there was an idea to hold it in the fall as part of Garnet Weekend. In my mind this was a great idea because the race time water temperature is about 25 or 30 degrees warmer in early October than it is in early April. The water level is lower in the fall, but the comfort level is much higher,” said Semenuk. This year’s Regatta engendered bonding of team members as well as a fair share of excitement. “I assisted in constructing a boat out of PVC piping, duck tape, and brooms. The boat fit two lanky underclassmen, John Kriney [’20] and Zachary Weiss

ARTS

OCTOBER 26, 2017 PAGE A3

Chill Russell jams and converses at WSRN by Joe Mariani Arts Editor On the morning of Sunday Oct. 15th, the alternative rock band Chill Russell stopped by WSRN studios to perform a set that included their latest tracks and to chat with Swarthmore students. Chill Russell formed in Austin, Texas in 2015. They came to Swarthmore on the final leg of a two week tour across the U.S., playing WSRN after performing several times in New York City. Chase Matkin plays guitar and is the band’s lead singer, Daniel Ducloux strokes the bass, and tousled-headed Patrick Barrow bangs on the drums. A fan of Chill Russell at Swarthmore who is also involved with WSRN saw that the

band would be in the area on Oct. 15th and invited them to perform at WSRN. They agreed, and they arrived at our leafy campus with the foggy Sunday morning. A gaggle of students came to watch Chill Russell preform. The band was conversational before, during and after performing their set. Each member of the band became interested in music at an early age and they all have already performed and worked as a musicians for several years, in addition to holding down day jobs like working in a record store and working for Apple. Matkin started playing guitar fifteen years ago and started playing on electric rather than acoustic guitar. 1960s psychedelic rock was a major influence on Matkin’s musical tastes, as it continues to

influence the band’s sound. Matkin mentioned specifically Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, and the Beatles. After deciding to become a musician when he was 18, Matkin preformed in his hometown of Dallas for a couple of years before moving to Austin and forming the band. The city vibrant musical scene drew all the band members to the town. “If you grow up anywhere in Texas, then you know Austin the place to go to start a music career,” Matkin said during his performance at WSRN. While Matkin admitted to admiring the great psychedelic rock musicians of the 1960s, he noted that in a dynamic music scene like the one in Austin, people were looking for innovation more than imitation from new musical groups.

“At the end of the day, people wanna see some originality,” Matkin noted. Asked by several Swarthmore students for advice about becoming professional musicians, the band’s lead singer advised elbow grease. “Prepare to work harder than any job you ever imagined. It’s really about putting in the work, love what you do, and dedicate yourself to it,” said Matkin. Daniel Ducloux, the band’s swarthy-haired bassist and newest member, mentioned working as a Session player for country music bands in Texas as a way he trained to be a professional musician. “For me I would like to have more of the encouragement ‘don’t worry about what the radio wants to hear, just try to

make it’ ,” said Ducloux Reflecting on their tour, the band believed it had brought them closer together. “We just spend a few nights in New York City, and we three shared a double bed. The only way we could all fit was if we layed on our sides. But what are you gonna do pay $300 a night for a hotel room and fit three guys in a bed?,” said Matkin. “You kinda hate the way the person breathes but you gotta embrace it,” added Bratton “Literally!”, interjected director of WSRN Tobin FeldmanFitzthum, ’19. OVRLD, a prominent music blog in Austin, referred to the band’s sound as having a “laidback beach flare with a side of psychedelics, as if Brian Wilson himself had taken Pet Sounds and added some mescaline for a

very chilled beach side hang.” Personally, my favorite song the band preformed was “Know What I Need.” Matkin’s voice and his lyrics give a sense of a downtrodden young man who’s had his heart broken, is hurt, but is resolved to move on even as he confronts his former lover. The guitar, bass, and drums beep and pop and they makes me want to bounce and dance. Matkin wrote the song after a take-out food order got his order wrong. Chill Russell’s new seveninch vinyl will be released on Friday, with two new songs, “Know What I Need” and “Answers,” both of which they preformed at WSRN. They will begin work on their debut full length later this year.

Halloween-ready? Theater Department hosts costume sale

On Wednesday afternoon the trash of the theater department, the gently used costumes from shows of yesteryear, were sold to the public in the Lang Performing Arts Center, just in time for Halloween. The public responded with a massive show of support, demonstrating the community’s commitment to celebrating Halloween and to supporting performing arts at the college.

Grace Zhang/ The Phoenix

Nobody said it was easy being a popstar: A Lunch Hour Concert spotlight by Cristopher Alvarado Arts Writer

Every Monday afternoon at 12:30 p.m., if you have a moment to spare, stopping by Parrish Parlors is the best way to relax and introduce yourself to the musical talent the Swarthmore community has to offer. As one passes through the hallways of Parrish, it’s impossible not to feed your curiosity and take a peek inside the parlors to see who’s playing. Gathered in the “piano room,” some sit on the couches working on their lastminute assignments (such as myself), unable to resist the urge to watch a free performance. Others simply lounge on the floor, taking a break from their day to support their fellow Swatties. Despite the attentiveness of those in the room, the pressure of a formal concert is practically null; with no expectations, everyone is there just to have a good time and forget their troubles. These performances were established this year by the department of music and dance to encourage students and faculty to display their musical prowess. The concert that took place this Monday was only the fifth of the series, following performances by the Jasper String Quartet, Asher Wolf ’18, Professor Andrew Hauze, and Alice Dong and Jack Rubien. Following this concert, there will be three more performances before Thanksgiving Break led by Joshua Mundinger ’18, Lily Wushanley ’18, and a trio with Kevin Lai ’18, Kyle Yee ’19, and

Berlin Chen ’19. This week, to start off the second half of the semester, David Wimble ’18, Navdeep Maini ’19, and Franz Chee ’21 took the opportunity to make their first official debut together. Sitting in the middle of the room, cozily set up behind their stands and sheets of music and lyrics, all three were radiating enthusiasm. As soon as the clock hit 12:30, the trio launched into their first cover, “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton. With Navdeep’s casual guitar licks effortlessly cutting through the silence of the Parlors and David’s soothing acoustic guitar accompaniment harmonizing along with him. Meanwhile, Franz carried the song with his melodious voice, not straining as he enjoyed himself in his blissful moment. The next six songs continued in similar fashion, with a couple minor hiccups along the way. Navdeep took the lead with his vocals in his rendition of “Say it Ain’t So” by Weezer, David let his baritone voice ring in the song “21 Guns” by Green Day, Franz channeled his inner Frank Sinatra playing the piano for the song “Island in the Sun” by Weezer, and they concluded with the song that started it all, “The Scientist” by Coldplay. Later in the evening, I took the opportunity to interview the three musicians regarding their performance during the concert. However, I first investigated their “origin story” as a group. Jokingly, Franz initially declared that they were all childhood friends before clarifying himself. “I didn’t know any of these

people until like, six weeks ago.” - Franz Chee ‘21 said Ironically,the Parrish parlors has become a hub of inspiration for these three musicians. One night, Franz and Navdeep bonded in the parlors talking about music, specifically the band Weezer. They decided that they would jam out together one Saturday night, during which David heard their rendition of Coldplay’s The Scientist and decided to join in on the fun. “I honestly just felt like playing the piano and I go down some stairs and their playing The Scientist, or they’re just starting, and I’m like, ‘Ooh, I know this song’. So I start playing with them, and then we play some other songs” said David ‘18. When the sign-ups for the lunch hour concert ceries were announced during Fall Break, they decided that they had absolutely nothing to lose. “About a week ago, me and David had our first practice for this concert thing. Us three had our first practice together two days ago! So, we had two total practices,” said Navdeep Maini ’19, chuckling. Afterwards, I asked them about how they did throughout their performance. “Okay,” said Franz ’21. “Some of the songs I didn’t really know”. Looking towards Navdeep and David and giggling, he continued, “Like, I’d be singing with y’all, and like, I don’t know, you had a thing, like, you didn’t really have to say stuff, like, you both are good at singing…I kinda ruined your

duo.” Navdeep recalled, “I remember [for “Island in the Sun”], you had the “hip, hips” in the wrong place”. “Really? During the actual concert?”, asked Franz Chee ’21 as we all bursted out laughing. “I screwed the “Say it Ain’t So” solo, like so much…so much,” responded Navdeep Maini. “And I started “21 Guns” in the wrong key,” said David. Regardless, as I was observing their performances, these mistakes were hardly noticeable, as it seemed as if the three men were simply having a blast. Although Franz suggested that he was simply performing for fun, he went ahead and asked the most valuable question of the night for Navdeep and David: What are your aspirations as a musician? “[Mainly] music education, because I want to teach,” said David Wimble ’18, the sole music major in the group. “One of my goals is to write a pop song. But like an actual, catchy, good pop song,” responded Navdeep, a music minor. If you didn’t have the opportunity to see them this Monday, Navdeep and David will be dressed as nerds doing a Weezer cover show at the Loud and Underground concert taking place this Friday from at Olde Club. Franz may also, have a guest appearance for the undisputed classic, “Island in the Sun”. In addition, make sure to check out the next lunch hour concert.

Grace Zhang/ The Phoenix

A rose by Andi Cheng

OPINIONS

OCTOBER 26, 2017 PAGE A4

A dialogue has opened up on campus and around the nation about the role of journalism. As the nation becomes more and more polarized, so too do news organizations and publications. Publications are easily labeled “conservative” or “liberal,” and their readers often exclusively fit into those categories. As a publication, the ideas of free speech and the first amendment are always on our minds. As

EDITORIAL student journalists, we recognize the responsibility we have to the campus to report accurate stories, represent the community, and be a space for people to express their opinions. The Student Press Law Center offers guides and tips for student publications across the country. The SPLC lays out four key goals to which every student journalist should adhere. We quote the goals below, and these and later quotes can be found on the SPLC’s website. 1. Produce media based upon professional standards of accuracy, objectivity and fairness; 2. Review material to improve sentence structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation; 3. Reasonably check and verify all facts and the accuracy [of] quotations; and 4. In the case of editorials or letters to the editor concerning

controversial issues, determine the need for rebuttal comments and opinions and provide space or airtime, if appropriate. Although some of these guidelines may seem straightforward, they can be difficult to implement, especially on a campus such as ours where much of the community is attentive to its constituents’ positionality, and capturing each sentiment is nearly impossible. We at the Phoenix aim to make our paper, including our opinion section, a place that presents factual, wellarticulated stories and arguments that represent our community as accurately as possible. We aim to make our opinions section a place where people can come to voice their opinions and participate in civil and productive intellectual debate, even those writers with controversial thoughts from across different social strata. As we discuss more below, we are also aware of our responsibility not to cause the community harm. To ensure that every article we publish is productive, we review and update our letter to the editor and op-ed policies every semester, printed in the lower right hand corner of this page, to reflect these goals. We review each opinions piece we receive and edit it for clarity, style, length, and factual accuracy. We aim to give voice to community members’ well-reasoned

arguments while making sure nothing we publish is damaging to our living and learning environment. We at the Phoenix know that our opinions section sometimes has too narrow a field of viewpoints and is often perceived as representative of the Editorial Board’s opinions. This disparity is mostly due to the lack of submissions we receive to the opinions section. First, editorials stand for the opinions of the board members, but board members cannot, by Phoenix policy, write for the opinions section themselves. Further, we do not actively refuse most pieces; instead, we publish, following editing and reviewing pieces, what we receive because we do not receive many outside arguments. Yes, this problem is in part due to the limits of our social reach to garner opinions, but by no means do we cherry-pick our pieces. We can only publish what we receive. That being said, there are some obvious things that we decline to publish. We support the need to prevent any hate speech and language that dismisses the marginalization of groups or disparages attempts to break social barriers. The SPLC carefully lays out some guidelines with regards to omissions. The items below are quoted from the organization. 1. Material that is obscene, as defined by state law and this

policy. 2. Libelous material, as defined by state law. 3. Material that unlawfully invades a person’s right to privacy, as defined by state law. 4. Material that will cause “a material and substantial disruption” of college activities. Separating ourselves from one of SPLC’s guidelines, disruption is not always a bad thing. We want articles that incite constructive discussion and protest. We will bar, however, any hate speech from our pages. We will never be perfect at this dismissal, but we hope to diminish its presence as much as possible. The Phoenix has a long history on this campus. We have published some really great pieces and some not so great pieces over our 136 years on this campus. We aim to improve upon the Phoenix’s legacy. We recognize that even now, we are not perfect and have many ways to improve. We’d love to hear from you about those ways. We are open to suggestions from the public and actively solicit constructive criticism through our weekly Thursday evening editorial meetings from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. and events similar to the forum reported in “Phoenix forum yields feedback,” an editorial in the Sept. 15, 2016 issue. To reiterate, the op-eds that the Phoenix publishes do not

PHOENIX

THE

On our op-ed section

Lauren Knudson Ganesh Setty Kwate Quartey Bobby Zipp

Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor Managing Editor Editor Emeritus

NEWS Shreya Chattopadhyay Editor Evangela Shread Editor

BY JACK POKORNY OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR onstration for Swat students and staff, Thile spoke about a delicate part of being human. He presented us with a paradigm of creativity: the frustrations of attempting to think individually. To do so means to be creative, but also independent, in your work and life. If you were not a child prodigy like Thile was, getting to a level of mastery that is conducive to exploring the borders of music, literature, science, and math might seem a little farfetched. For many of us, the daily chores of life can be challenging enough. And let’s not even talk about dating. In a 2015 interview for

Rolling Stone, Thile said, “We travel all over the place and we interact with people, and [we see] person after person experiencing life through phones … The basic human desire to connect with other human beings is alive and well, but the quality of the connection we are settling for is lower.” Conversing, as a basic human function, has its roses and its weights. When we talk to one another, we respond almost instantaneously with our own, unadulterated selves. It’s a gift and a burden, wrapped up in a word, a smile, a simple one-line response. We cannot edit what we don’t like about ourselves. But the hope is that we come to tolerate, if not love, the parts that make us the most us and, in the process, find a sense of self-efficacy. Albert Bandura, a leader in positive psychology, defines the term as a person’s belief in performing at a level that allows them to exercise

influence over the events that affect their lives. Through conversations, although there are risks, we often find ourselves projecting the most individual sides of ourselves. One might think that social media would bolster users’ selfefficacy. Platforms give people the skills of communication, without the baggage of body language, class, ethnicity, and gender. In theory, this sounds like a utopia for garnering individual thought and self-efficacy through dialogue. The shadow cast on your screen, however, comes from the inadequacy of these platforms to create the equivalent social gravity of engaging in a conversation face to face. This is part of why they are so appealing. It is also why striking up a conversation when your phone is in your pocket can be especially hard. Little by little, our capacity to present ourselves, without caricature, to

people we have not met before could be dwindling to the lullaby of social media. Social media is not some neoliberal comfort pill, but rather a tragic reality. Relying on social media for instant gratification, for relief from loneliness, depletes one’s social capital of real world friends, lovers, and family. It conflates our hurtles and achievements into the humdrum of feeds and icons and a flat grey malaise. This kind of communication is such an oversimplification of human interaction that I fear we become simpler ourselves. Vaclav Havel, the Czech president and playwright who saw the fall of the USSR and the splitting of Czechoslovakia, predicated of our generation, “The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.” I acknowledge that in places

LAYOUT Emma Giordano Editor COPY Gina Goosby Chief Editor

CAMPUS JOURNAL Jasmine Rashid Editor Emma Walker Editor

BUSINESS Ryan Kennedy Manager DIGITAL OPERATIONS Ellen Liu Editor Matt Parker Editor

OPINIONS Ryan Stanton Editor

represent the opinions of the editorial board. We want our op-ed section to be a space where students can speak articulately. However, we understand and are committed to our responsibility to turn down articles that are purposefully inflammatory, unproductive, or silence marginalized peoples. We will also not tolerate the distortion of facts. Our publication’s goal is to represent the student body and to

like Venezuela, where people are desperate for true, nongovernmental information, social media has been crucial for organizing activists and for supporting freedom of speech in otherwise dim times of oppression. With that said, many of us in the U.S. are abusing social media to our own detriment. Later on in the Rolling Stone interview, Thile says of technology and his Grammy winning record The Phosphorescent Blues, “I think we can start making these things work for us and not the other way around. The record, lyrically, is something of an exploration of those kinds of thoughts. What does connection mean to various kinds of people and how do we best pursue that at a time when it’s very easy to take things connected for granted?” You might be thinking, this is all well and good in grand philosophical terms, but in

NEWS

hold the college administration accountable. We do take pride in our work. We work day in and day out to produce a publication that this campus can be proud of, too. Help us realize our goal by reading and contributing to the Phoenix.

practice, what can I do? Chris Thile’s show reminded me of how we often fail to complement self-efficacy in others, much less in ourselves. It is one of the tragedies of our generation that we spend so much time absorbing what others do instead of creating, inquiring, and reflecting. This essay is not some esoteric call to action, but rather about putting down your phone and thinking about what you have to say — that’s it. At the Thile concert, I saw a person thinking for himself, improvising, and having a damn good time. It is too late to be a child prodigy, sorry reader, but who wants to win a Grammy at sixteen anyways? Nevertheless, it is the perfect time to realize that you are and will ever be more than what a social media platform has to say about you, and to make a little music of your own.

Pub-Safe, continued from A1 The administration and Swarthmore police meet once a month to discuss any disagreements they have. Craig said this occurs sometimes when the police consider someone criminally liable, but the college doesn’t want to prosecute. Because the college is a property owner, administrators can decide whether or not to prosecute in situations when the officer isn’t an eyewitness to the events occurring. Since the police don’t enter the buildings, this would be the dorms and the classrooms. “When we observe [illicit behavior] we can take action, like [for] underage drinking,” said Craig. “Unless the officer actually observes a violation, he can’t take the appropriate jurisdictional action.” The police also include Public Safety’s only channel in the radio band that they monitor. “We just listen to one [radio channel] which is essentially their emergency band as we understand it,” said Craig. Students have mixed opinions on whether this practice should be occurring. “On the one hand it’s still their borough, under their jurisdiction,” said Olivia Robbins ’21. “But on the other hand, [the college is] a private institution with private security measures.” Hill underscored the impor-

PHOTOGRAPHY Grace Zhang Editor Shelby Dolch Editor

ARTS NEWS Joe Mariani Editor

Thoughts on self-efficacy and social media

A couple weekends ago, I saw Chris Thile, a mandolin-playing musician with three Grammys and the MacArthur Genius Award. During a pre-show dem-

SPORTS Ping Promrat Editor Jack Corkery Editor

tance of the practice. “Having the ability to communicate in a crisis with emergency personnel is crucial, and the College’s effort to ensure this level of radio interoperability demonstrates the commitment the institution has towards the safety of our community,” Hill said. As a sworn public department, the police have certain abilities that public safety does not. They carry firearms, which means they respond to any armed crimes. They deal with burglaries and reports of intruders on campus and off campus buildings. The police will also respond to any medical calls; officers are trained first responders and often arrive to the scene before the ambulance does. This allows them to asses the situation and report the details to EMTs when they arrive, but also allows them to issue citations. The Police have a close relationship with the campus community. They participate in RA training, and certain classes such as sensitivity training and critical incident communication. “We don’t consider Swarthmore College a separate entity from swarthmore borough,” said Craig.

Nobel Prize, continued from A1 out for hardly any genes in the 1980s. “There was no road map for how to do this. We were taking it one step at a time, using whatever methods were available to us at the time,” she said. There were two different labs working on the research at the same time and were led by Jeffery C. Hall and Michael Rosbach, two of the Nobel laureates. The two groups collaborated closely, though there was competition between them. The third lab, run by the third Nobel laureate, Michael Young, was at Rockefeller University. The competition between the groups contributed to the progress, mentioned Siwicki. “We just had to work as hard as we could to get data and pro-

Grace Zhang/ The Phoenix

duce evidence that would give us insights and try to get to the finish line before they did,” Siwicki said. “The competition influenced the intensity of our efforts.” However, Siwicki still emphasized the value of working collaboratively with other people. “It’s a combination of hard work and intense intellectual engagement with the problem that is more fun when you’re doing it as a team,” she said. One thing Siwicki tells former students is that she did this recognized work when she was in her early thirties, and the people leading the lab (Nobel laureates) were in their early forties. According to her, scientists get the opportunities to make important discoveries when they’re relatively young. All of her former students who are in their early thirties are in a prime position to make their own discoveries. “There are still big, challenging questions about the connection between genes and complex behavioral phenotypes, including neurological and clinical disorders that still need to be worked out,” Siwicki said. Chair of the Biology Department Elizabeth Vallen emphasized Siwicki’s commitment to mentoring students and sup-

porting their success. “Kathy has been instrumental in promoting neurobiology and neuroscience in the department … she’s just been an incredible mentor and role model, who for a long time has been continually committed to teaching and having a research program in areas that are… competitive,” Vallen said. She used to teach a seminar about circadian rhythms, and she has transitioned to do more work related to behavior, particularly learning and memory, Her interest is the neurobiology of behavior. Her current research program on learning and memory was actually brought to her as an idea by a student from one of her seminars. She works with students at different levels, and is open to new ideas about what kinds of research would work well at Swarthmore. Siwicki has been invited to attend the award ceremony held by the Nobel organization in Stockholm on December 10, where the project will be recognized. “I have no words. It’s exciting and thrilling,” she said. “I kept saying that I feel like my head is going to explode because it was a feeling that I’ve never had before.”

Letters and Op-Ed Policy Letters and opinion pieces represent the views of their writers and not those of the Phoenix staff or Editorial Board. The Phoenix reserves the right to edit all pieces submitted for print publication for length clarity, and factual accuracy. The Phoenix does not edit op-ed or letter submissions for content. The Phoenix also reserves the right to withhold any letters or op-eds from publication. The Phoenix does not accept anonymous submissions of letters or op-eds. The senior editors may choose to publish submissions without the writer’s name in exceptional circumstances. In no case will the Phoenix publish the name of anyone submitting a letter or op-ed with a request for anonymous publication. Letters may be signed by a maximum of five individuals. Op-eds may be signed by a maximum of two individuals. The Phoenix will not accept pieces exclusively attributed to groups, although individual writers may request that their group affiliation be included. Please submit letters and report corrections to: editor@swarthmorephonix. com

SPORTS

OCTOBER 26, 2017 PAGE A5

Revisiting Luke Heimlich’s fall from grace by Ricky Conti Sports Writer For a moment, imagine you are really good at baseball. Like really, really good. In fact, imagine that you are so good, that one of the best programs in college baseball has offered you a scholarship to come play at their institution. Now imagine being the best player on this team, which is now the best team in the country. Life seems pretty great then, right? Now imagine losing all the glory, seemingly overnight. If this is your story, your name is probably Luke Heimlich. The junior pitcher at Oregon State University was the centerpiece of one of the most unfortunate stories in college sports history that blew up earlier this June. Heimlich attended Puyallup High School, a school with a strong baseball program near Tacoma, Wash. After being named Washington’s Gatorade Player of the Year and Lou-

isville Slugger All-American, Heimlich took his talents to Corvallis, Or. to play for the 2006 and 2007 College World Series Champion Oregon State Beavers. After putting together two solid, but not spectacular, seasons at Oregon State, Heimlich broke out his junior season and was undoubtedly the best pitcher in college baseball. He went 11-1 and led the entire NCAA Division I in ERA by being the only pitcher to give up less than a single earned run per nine innings. He did not surrender a homerun, while striking out a whopping 128 batters in only 118 innings of work. To top things off, not only was Heimlich the best pitcher in college baseball, but he also played on the best team. The Beavers finished 56-6 overall while destroying Pac-12 opponents by going 27-3 in conference play. After week six, top polls unanimously placed the Beavers as the number one

team in the country. Oregon State was a shoo-in for the College World Series and Heimlich was predicted to be a first round draft pick by many MLB analysts and scouts. However, with only several days before both the Draft and the College World Series, a news story surfaced, saying that Heimlich was a felon convicted of sexually molesting a six-year-old girl when he was younger. As a juvenile, Heimlich pleaded guilty to one count of sexual misconduct in 2011. As punishment, Heimlich was sentenced to probation for two years, during which time he participated in a sex offender program for two years. Additionally, he participated in personalized counseling. Heimlich has since been classified as the lowest level of sexual predator with the least likelihood of reoffending. Once the news broke, many questioned how this would affect Heimlich’s draft stock, as

many teams would be cautious to draft such a player with this type of history. Furthermore, some questioned the legitimacy of his status as a student-athlete, noting that both Oregon State University and the NCAA should ban felons, particularly those who have committed sexual crimes, from competing in intercollegiate athletics. Heimlich pulled himself from the roster in order to divert attention away from the Beavers while they were competing for an NCAA championship. The team ended up being swept by LSU in the semifinals. As most expected, Heimlich went from a sure-fire first rounder to being undrafted in 2017. The unfortunate part of this story is that everyone loses. Heimlich’s actions and any action similar to his is without question utterly unacceptable, and completely reprehensible. However, some might argue that Heimlich has been overpunished at this point, particularly as a first time offender.

Some in the sports world believe that his actions of the past should not prevent him from pursuing his passion on the baseball field. Others argue that this type of crime should never merit a second chance, and that Heimlich’s pursuit of a baseball career should’ve been ended the minute he committed this heinous act. I guess the issue is much broader. There is now a question that we as a society may need to answer more clearly: where do we draw the line? At what point do we give second chances, particularly to those who have committed crimes like Heimlich? We have already decided that sexual predators cannot have jobs working with young children, like being a school teacher or a bus drivers. The Adam Walsh Child and Protection Safety Act has placed heavy restrictions on registered sex offenders. But as we now see, the pursuit of becoming a professional athlete may need to be added to the list.

played four matches over the fall break period, losing three and drawing one. The team holds a record of 4-93 so far, which is similar to last year’s record of 7-10-1. The team played their senior match against Gettysburg College, honoring four seniors: Omadayo Origunwa, Michael Nafziger, Tommy Sheehan, and Ryan Ward. While the Garnet will miss out on playoff action yet again, the team hopes to build next year with a strong nucleus of underclassmen. The team will finish up their regular season this Saturday at Haverford in a rivalry match. The Field Hockey team, with a record of 7-9, look to end their season on a positive note in their final two games. Fall break marked a rough stretch of the season for the Garnet, as they are on a three-game losing streak. Last week, the team had their Senior Day, honoring Ellory Laning, Clare Perez, Amy Gilligan, Jane Blicher, Nicole Phalen, and Sierra Spencer.

They will finish their season against Centennial Conference rival Haverford on Saturday. The volleyball team continues to be a highlight of the Swarthmore athletics program, as they have a record of 18-6 so far, with a 7-2 Centennial Conference record. The team narrowly lost last year in the Centennial Conference final to Johns Hopkins, and are looking to try and avenge that loss in the playoffs this year. Over fall break, the Garnet won three

There is absolutely no justification for his actions. Sexual misconduct of any kind to any degree is beyond unacceptable and should always be punished accordingly. However, is there any room for forgiveness? This isn’t a question for me or for you, but for society as a whole. How far can we punish Luke Heimlich before we become no better than he? Is there any grace we can grant Heimlich, seeing that he committed this crime as a minor? Sexual misconduct of any nature is disgusting. The lives of two individuals in our world have been permanently changed, and not for the better. I think we can all hope that from here on out, both Heimlich and the victim can lead normal, quality lives as properly functioning members of society. I also hope that we as a society can more clearly define the restrictions we place on the lives of people like Luke Heimlich.

Fall Break sports recap by Matthew Becker Sports Writer While most Swarthmore students were at home enjoying fall break and reconnecting with family and friends, many of the varsity sports teams stayed on campus to continue their seasons, or begin preparations for their upcoming year. While both soccer teams, field hockey, and volleyball continued Centennial Conference play, both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams returned to campus early to prepare for their winter seasons. The ten-day break proved to be an eventful one on campus for many of these teams, filled with games, practices, preparations, and team bonding activities. Last year the Men’s Basketball team boasted an unprecedented 23-6 record, which included a Centennial Conference championship and a bid to play in the NCAA Division III tournament. The team ended up winning their first game in the

NCAA tournament, but narrowly lost to Christopher Newport University in the second round of the tournament by a score of 77-67. This was the first time in Swarthmore history that the men’s team reached the NCAA tournament, prompting huge fan turnout at both the conference games, as well as the NCAA tournament games. After graduating only three seniors and retaining three of five starters, the team looks to build on last year’s success. Over fall break, the team participated in a workout and team building regiment called “The Program” that incorporated the new first-years. The Garnet are lead by Swarthmore men’s basketball’s first All-American, Cam Wiley ’19, along with stars Zack Yonda ’18 and Robbie Walsh ’18. The men’s team opens their season up on Nov. 15 with a home game against Hood College. The Women’s Basketball team looks to bounce back this year after experiencing a disap-

pointing season last winter. The team returned to campus on Thursday to begin their new season, with three first-years joining 11 returning players. Head coach Renee DeVarney returns for her 13th season, and she will be joined by new assistant coach Brianne Camden. They have their season opener at home against Widener College on Nov. 15. The Women’s Soccer team has been having an extremely memorable season as they improved their record to 12-3 over the fall break. The Garnet lost their first game to Johns Hopkins but quickly turned it around and won their two following games against Bryn Mawr and Gettysburg. Marin McCoy ’19 led the team with two goals in the win against Bryn Mawr. The Garnet are now ranked 20th in all of Division III and look to continue their stellar play as they face off against Haverford this Saturday. The Men’s Soccer team

Photo courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics

out of their four games, losing narrowly to Johns Hopkins in five sets. Sarah Girard ’19, Emma Morgan-Bennett ’20, and Mehra den Braven ’20 continue to be standouts for the team, and have so far been leaders on the floor. The team finishes their regular season against Haverford on Saturday, as they look to close out the season in style and ready themselves for the Centennial Conference playoffs.

Weekly Crossword

Created by Alex Robey Solve online: http://www.cruciverbalex.com/44/ Across 1. 2. 9. 13. 15.

Spirit of Saint-Louis? About 1/11 of the globe Foot long meal, perhaps Unburdening Delano : FDR :: ___ :

16. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22.

Garfield Albuquerque’s river Strength Philosopher Camus Legal memo heading It’s crude, yet valuable WWI Belgian battle

site 23. “Knocked Up” director Judd 25. San Francisco’s __Valley 26. Mars and others 27. On its way 28. Arizona State locale

32. 33. 34. 36. 38. 39. 41. 42. 43. 45. 46. 47. 51. 52. 53. 55. 57. 59. 60. 61.

62. 63.

Like some steak orders Suit ___ Charleston forerunner “Broadly speaking…” Singles’ grp.? Money man Greenspan Bridge positions? Guitar great Atkins Golf’s Garcia Date for him Do a cobbling job Peak in “The Odyssey” Water turbine setting Bread spread? “Because you’re worth it” brand Sea of Japan port Implied Querulous tone Behave boisterously “___ Declassified School Survival Guide”: 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom Head of the French department? Place to test reflexes-

DOWN

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Wide selection Simon andArmstrong, for two Geography aid Swiss Alpine peak James Cameron megahit of 2009 One of a deadly septet Henry Jones Jr.’s nickname Deadly defoliator used in Vietnam “Last Week Tonight” channel Fallacious

11. 12. 14. 15. 20. 24. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Logical basis Folded breakfast offerings Exemplify humanity, in a way Just a handful Kentucky Derby winner’s wreath United States military honor Enter a pool, maybe Houston athlete, for short Gridiron six-pointer Return to a scabbard The Beatles’ Rita, e.g. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifier

35. 37. 4o. 44. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 54. 56. 58.

Stand for a portraitist Decada division Pupil-surrounding rings Maltreatment Debauched man Electrolux rival Auto variety Avant-garde composer Erik With no escort Extolling work IV adjusters, often Ablaze

Answer to last week’s puzzle

THE PHOENIX SPORTS

OCTOBER 26, 2017

PAGE A6

The week ahead in sports Four Garnet Teams will head to Haverford to take on the Squirrels this Saturday.

Field Hockey 3:00 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Soccer 1:00 p.m.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming at McDaniel College 1:00 p.m.

The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams will head to Gettysburg, PA to compete in the Centennial Conference Championships. The race will begin at 11:00 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 28

Sunday, Oct. 29 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Centennial Conference Championships Gettysburg, PA 11:00 a.m.

Men’s Soccer 3:30 p.m.

U.S. Men’s National Soccer Teams fails to qualify for World Cup by Arjun Madan Sports Writer For the first time in 31 years, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team failed to qualify for the World Cup after its poor performance in the Confederation of North, Central, American and Caribbean Association of Football (CONCACAF) qualifying hexagonal. To the disappointment of many U.S. fans, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Omar Gonzalez, and Christian Pulisic, all big names in the world of soccer, will not be making an appearance in Russia next summer. The team’s failure was solidified on the night of Oct. 10, in a near-empty Caribbean arena just slightly larger than Swarthmore’s attempt at a stadium. After conceding two goals in the first half, one of which was an accidental own goal, the U.S. simply made too many other mistakes to fully recover. The game concluded with a soulless 2-1 defeat to the already-eliminated Trinidad & Tobago, loser of eight of its previous nine games. U.S. defender Omar Gonzalez, who scored the own goal, responded to the loss with frustration and sadness. “We let down an entire nation today,” he said. Coach Bruce Arena also commented on the outcome of the match. “We foolishly brought Trinidad into the game with the own goal. That was a big goal for Trinidad psychologically. That got them motivated.”

Not all shared the disappointment of the U.S., though. Former CONCACAF president and Trinidad-born Jack Warner called his country’s defeat of the U.S. the happiest day of [his] life, adding that nobody in CONCACAF likes the U.S. Warner, a former FIFA vicepresident, already has some poor history with the U.S., due to his alleged involvement in corruption in the sport and consequently being a main target of the U.S. Department of Justice. However, surprisingly enough, the loss to Trinidad did not by itself guarantee the United States’ failure to qualify. Instead, it was a combination of unfavorable events that resulted in the unfortunate outcome. The CONCACAF hexagonal is the fifth and final round of the World Cup qualifying process that began back in January 2015. It is a six-team round robin tournament from which the top three teams qualify for the World Cup, while the fourth place team plays an intercontinental playoff for a spot. Going into the final matches, the U.S. was in third place, and all they needed to guarantee qualification was a draw against Trinidad. Panama and Honduras were the other teams in the mix. When the U.S. lost the match, the team was even more devastated to find out that both Panama and Honduras had won their matches, pushing the U.S. to fifth place and elimination. “Everything that could have

possibly gone wrong did, in this stadium and in two other stadiums across the region,” commented team captain Michael Bradley. Gonzalez also spoke after the elimination about the loss and his own goal. “It’s one that will haunt me forever. It’s the worst day of my career … What was supposed to be a celebration is now … I don’t even know what to say. It’s terrible,” said Gonzalez. “If you don’t look at yourself after this individually,” he said, “I think you’re f---ed up in the head,” said disconsolate forward Jozy Altidore. Rightfully so, Coach Arena took responsibility for the outcome of the hexagonal. “We should not be staying home for this World Cup,” he said. “And I take responsibility for it. We didn’t qualify for the World Cup that was my job to get the team there,” said Arena Missing the World Cup will likely put the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) on a tighter budget in years to come. The revenue lost from not going to Russia next year will affect salaries for staff members who might already be on the fence about the decision of leaving after this year’s mishap. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the USSF collected a total of $10.5 million — $1.5 million for participating and $9 million for advancing to the round of 16. Playing in a World Cup also attracts sponsors, and although the U.S. team has already locked down many of them, its absence at next year’s World

Cup will definitely make it harder to forge new sponsorship relationships in the future. David Carter, executive director of the Marshall Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, commented on the topic of sponsorships. “[Sponsorship] contracts typically have some contingencies where the amount of money is scaled back. There might be some sort of calibration that will take place so these partners are paying something commensurate with what they are truly getting.” The current status of the U.S. soccer team has larger consequences than just missing this one World Cup, however. The U.S. team’s next World Cup game will take place during Thanksgiving week more than five years from now. And that’s the best case scenario. Teenage wunderkind Christian Pulisic will be 24, several years into his career. Tim Howard, whose last World Cup was without a doubt a legendary performance, will likely leave U.S. soccer with the lasting image of one of his worst performances. And never again will Clint Dempsey and captain Michael Bradley step on soccer’s biggest stage. Furthermore, the subpar performance of the U.S. soccer team has highlighted and brought to attention several other issues with the U.S. soccer landscape, especially for youth players. Under criticism now is the subtle pay-to-play culture that’s made soccer a sport played primarily by

upper-middle class white kids. Doug Anderson, the chairman of U.S. Soccer’s diversity task force saw a broken system in America. He saw well-to-do families spending thousands of dollars each year on club soccer for their children, while thousands of gifted players in mostly African American and Latino neighborhoods get left behind. “People don’t want to talk about it., The system is not working for the underserved community. It’s working for white kids,” said Anderson. Some believe that the struggles of the U.S. team can be attributed to the lack in the ability of certain demographics to afford the high prices of the elite soccer clubs that send kids to the national team. One for-

mer U.S. soccer official shares this opinion about the future of the country’s soccer team. “How good would we be if we could just get the kids in the cities?” he questions. The failure of the U.S. men’s national team to qualify for the World Cup this year was already a disappointing outcome for American sports. Now, with further issues concerning race and socioeconomic backgrounds, we are sure to hear more negative news about United States soccer, both professional and youth, in the near future.

Athlete of the Week: Sophia Stills Jack Corkery: What is your intended major, and what made you choose to study it? Last week, the Swarthmore Women’s Soccer team continued to build on a successful 2017 season, with two big conference wins against Bryn Mawr and Gettysburg. Crucial in the two wins was forward Sophia Stills ’21 of Los Angeles, California, who scored in both games coming off the bench. The Garnet have clinched a playoff spot and currently sit in second place in the Centennial Conference standings. They will play one more game at Haverford this Saturday before the playoffs begin.

Sophia Stills: I am interested in history and peace and conflict studies. Ever since high school, I have been very interested in history, and I had decided then that I was going to probably major in it once I got to college. Peace and conflict studies is something that I really didn’t know much about before coming to Swarthmore. But on the first day of classes, I was introduced to the subject and I gained a keen interest in the topic. JC: What made you decide to attend Swarthmore? SS: A variety of reasons. I think I am very lucky because Swarthmore is a place I can thrive academically, socially, and also it was a good fit with soccer. When I came here for a visit and took my tour, the classic “Swarthmore Student” sounded like a person very similar to myself, which made me realize I wanted to come here. JC: How difficult has the adjustment to college academics and athletics been for you?

Grace Zhang / The Phoenix

SS: The transition was made a lot easier by the fact I had the soccer team behind me. It was great to have a group of people to go to when you needed help with all the new stuff going on, like new professors, new environment, and new side of the country. Also, the social aspect of making friends was made much easier by having the soccer team. JC: How does the team feel about moving into the NCAA regional rankings? SS: I actually am not really sure where we are ranked. As a team, we try not to check the rankings and get caught up in where we are, so we can stay focused on the next team we play. JC: Do you have any goals for the remainder of the season? SS: Personally, my biggest goal is to fill whatever role the team needs me in, whether it is on the field or being a supportive teammate. I think if we continue to focus on being our personal best, our team will continue to have success.