PHOENIX
THE
SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SINCE 1881 • VOLUME 134, ISSUE 3
Inside: Crum sewer project set back by rain Nathalie Anderson presents new poetry book Men’s soccer off to a strong start
Does the current trend of meeting on Facebook before meeting in person create lasting friendships? p.7
The Phoenix
Thursday, September 8, 2011 Volume 134, Issue 3
The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881. EDITORIAL BOARD Amelia Possanza Editor in Chief Menghan Jin Managing Editor Marcus Mello Managing Editor Adam Schlegel News Editor Patrick Ammerman Assistant News Editor Dina Zingaro Living & Arts Editor Parker Murray Assistant Living & Arts Editor Reem Abdou Opinions Editor Tim Bernstein Sports Editor Allegra Pocinki Photo Editor Peter Akkies Webmaster Eric Sherman Webmaster
Julia Carleton The Phoenix
Israeli artist Orit Hofshi stands in front of her piece “Reclaim”, a nine foot wide drawing. Hofshi’s exhibit “Resilience”, which features media such as woodcuts, paintings and rubbings, opens in List Gallery today. Page 12
News Sewer project despite delays
ations from from sabbatical advances
After delays in sewer line construction in the Crum Woods, work threatens to spill over into the spring semester. PAGE 3
After a yearlong semester sabbatical, Professor Nathalie Anderson shares her personal discoveries in the form of a new book of poetry. PAGE 8
Bryn Mawr’s new program gives students free SEPTA tokens and tickets for travel into Philadelphia while Swatties continue to pay fare. PAGE 14
Romney’s right: CorporaPMA offers abundance of tions are people Republic presidential nominee Mitt art with music opportuni- Romney maintains that corporations ties are people. Tyler Becker validates this Jen Johnson acquaints readers with one of
bold claim and explains why Romney’s
College releases strategic Philly’s most famed cultural treasures — belief makes him a viable candidate for Philadelphia Museum of Art. president. planning draft for public The PAGE 8 PAGE 15 comment College will recognize 10 Danish politics may be remA new draft released by the Strategic Planning Council outlines its recommendations year anniversary of national edy for US partisanship for the future, included a new dining hall Studying abroad in Copenhagen, Olivia tragedy and increasing faculty diversity. Natan reflects on her encounter with the PAGE 4
Free SEPTA tokens are now available to Mawrters
A new token system at Bryn Mawr allows students transit on SEPTA for recreational activities. PAGE 5
Students reflect on the eve of the anniversary of Sept. 11 as the college prepares to commemorate the date. PAGE 9
Salute to Summer
Photographer Elèna Ruyter captures students’ style as the summer fades to autumn. PAGE 9
cooperative politics of Denmark and the way in which it can serve as a lesson for American politicization. PAGE 15
Sports
Director of Public Safety Artist to demonstrate retires after 30 years Owen Redgrave’s reitrement after 30 years unpredictability of nature Field hockey starts fast, but prompts the college to begin its search for a This Friday, Orit Hofshi’s art exhibit “Renew Director of Public Safety. silience” opens following her lecture that never lets up in opener PAGE 5
Living & Arts
will offer an inside look at her inspirations. PAGE 10
Amongst the vines, it’s a family affair From the vineyards of California, alum Scott Young ’06 offers a glimpse into his unique post-Swarthmore experience. PAGE 11
First-years’ Facebook groups provide insight with Contemporary Young Adult fiction mimics classics of limitations First-years’ Facebook groups undergo re- the past cent changes, but remain valuable sources of information. Do they lead to long-term friendships? PAGE 7
U.S. take on British show produces a lovable cast
Johnny Taeschler discusses The Office’s twist on the British show, which has successfully created a supremely awkward, yet lovable cast of characters. PAGE 8
From Twilight to Harry Potter, Susana Medeiros explores the contemporary popularity of Young Adult fiction. PAGE 12
Opinions
Cross country comes out of gate strong in first meet
They’re staying modest, calling it a glorified workout, but it’s hard not to be impressed by the Garnet cross country teams at the Bryn Mawr Invitational. PAGE 18
Soccer drops two, ends week on high note
Refusing to be rattled by two early losses, the Garnet rebounded to beat top-ranked Messiah in the first week of play. PAGE 18
BUSINESS STAFF Business Manager Ian Anderson Advertising Manager Paul Chung COVER DESIGN Amelia Kucic Image courtesy of 4.bp.blogspot.com CONTRIBUTORS Alyssa Bowie, Victor Brady, Julia Carleton, Andrew Cheng, Ariel Finegold, Chris Nam, Max Nesterak, Yared Portillo, Chi Zhang OPINIONS BOARD Amelia Possanza, Menghan Jin and Marcus Mello EDITOR’S PICKS PHOTOS COURTESY OF: (clockwise from top left) http://savingadvice.com http://jeffreyapplegate.com http://russellbranca.com http://entertainmentwallpaper.com TO ADVERTISE: E-mail: advertising@swarthmorephoenix.com Advertising phone: (610) 328-7362 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Direct advertising requests to Amelia Possanza. The Phoenix reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Advertising rates subject to change. CONTACT INFORMATION Offices: Parrish Hall 470-472 E-mail: editor@swarthmorephoenix.com Newsroom phone: (610) 328-8172 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Web site: www.swarthmorephoenix.com Mail subscriptions are available for $60 a year or $35 a semester. Direct subscription requests to Amelia Possanza. The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. All contents copyright © 2011 The Phoenix. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
Men’s soccer wins one in rout, then one in thriller
Like Bryn Mawr, Swat Professor shares poetic cre- should pick up SEPTA tab 2
Katie Teleky lead the way with two goals for the Garnet, who had little trouble dealing with Virginia Wesleyan in their home opener. PAGE 17
STAFF Sera Jeong Living & Arts Writer Steven Hazel Living & Arts Writer Nolan Gear Living & Arts Columnist Jen Johnson Living & Arts Columnist Lauren Kim Living & Arts Columnist Vianca Masucci Living & Arts Columnist Susana Medeiros Living & Arts Columnist Aliya Padamsee Living & Arts Columnist Johnny Taeschler Living & Arts Columnist Naia Poyer Living & Arts Artist Tyler Becker Opinions Columnist Danielle Charette Opinions Columnist Olivia Natan Opinions Columnist Peter Gross Opinions Columnist Shimian Zhang Opinions Columnist Emma Waitzman Political Cartoonist Renee Flores Sports Writer Ana Apostoleris Sports Writer Paul Chung Photographer Simone Forrester Photographer Christina Matamoros Photographer Elèna Ruyter Photographer Holly Smith Photographer Renee Flores Chief Copy Editor Sophie Diamond Copy Editor Robert “Conor” Heins Copy Editor Shashwati Rao Copy Editor Alli Shultes Copy Editor
The Garnet men’s soccer team showed it can come back as well as front-run, blowing out Immaculata then squeaking by Rutgers-Camden to start the season 2-0. PAGE 20
September 8, 2011
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Events Menu Today Orit Hofshi lecture Orit Hofshi’s works include woodcuts, mixed media works and installations. Her works focus on human interaction with the land. Hofshi lives and works in Herzliya, Israel, and has received numerous awards for her work. The lecture begins at 4:30 p.m. in the LPAC List Gallery, where her collection “Resilience” will be on display.
Sewer project advances despite delays
Tomorrow Solar Viewing All are welcome to view the Sun through specially-designed telescopes on the Science Center Patio 11:20 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Observe sunspots, prominences, and other features of the Sun’s surface. Business Fundamentals Course Those interested in a 5-week, non-credit course designed to give students an introduction to management, business, finance, and marketing can attend the first class from 3 to 6 p.m. The course will run from September 9 through October 7 with weekly classes on Friday evenings. Those interested in learning more can visit the Career Services office. SQU Movie Night: “But I’m a Cheerleader” At 8 p.m., an open screening of the comic movie “But I’m a Cheerleader” will take place in the Swarthmore Intercultural Center. Sunday, September 11th Reflection and Memorial To commemorate the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, President Rebecca Chopp, several faculty members, and representatives of Swarthmore religious and cultural groups will speak in the Friend’s Meeting House. The ceremony will be 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., including time for individual reflection and the chance for those attending to create prayer flags. Monday, September 12th Teach-in on Nonviolent Responses to Terrorism A panel of several faculty members will hold a discussion around the topic of non-violent responses to terrorism. Tuesday, September 13th Reporting 9/11 Three Philadelphia journalists will be coming to campus to discuss media coverage on the events of 9/11 and their lasting impact on the U.S. The event, to be put on by The Phoenix and The Daily Gazette, will take place 7:30 to 9 p.m. in SCI 199. Lang Center Reception A reception will be held for all students and student groups that are sponsored by Lang Center Programs from 4 to 6:30 p.m. E-mail submissions for the events menu to news@swarthmorephoenix. com.
Justin Toran-Burrell The Phoenix
A bulldozer was brought into the Crum Woods to assist with the sewer line project, which won’t be completed until this November. By Patrick Ammerman pammerm1@swarthmore.edu
Students may begin seeing more of the construction work in the Crum Woods near campus in the upcoming weeks. The construction, being done to replace an aging sewer line that runs through the Crum, will soon begin to move from areas south of the college near the ville towards the segment of creek near the hiking trails behind Dana and Hallowell dorms. According to Director of Grounds Jeff Jabco, construction is set to move farther up the creek as soon as it is dry enough to do so. The next area to be worked on will be in the area known as the “holly meadow,” which is located near Crumhenge. The walking trail leading down to the holly meadow will be closed to the public during the duration of the construction. The walking paths that pass by Dana and Hallowell will not be closed, but construction work will be visible on the opposite side of the river. Construction on the section of the sewer line in the Crum Woods was originally scheduled so that construction would be completed by the end of August. A layer of mixed grasses would then be planted on the construction site. “The schedule keeps [being revised]. They were much later on getting started on this section because they were working farther upstream earlier on, and because of the late winter we had last year … and a fairly wet spring,” Jabco said. Another setback to the project was Hurricane Irene, which both saturated the soil with water and caused water lev-
els in Crum Creek to rise to a level that had not been reached since Hurricane Floyd hit in 1999. “They spent a couple days preparing for the [hurricane]. Then, after the storm, it was probably several days … waiting for the water to recede and then . . . to wait for it to dry enough so you can get equipment back there,” Jabco said. The rising of water levels in the Crum Creek also carried away a number of expensive materials, which were lost for a short time when the men returned to work. “I bumped into some construction men [near the hollies]. They had seen a bunch of their pipes and such that they had laid out got washed away downstream,” Becky Roberts, PR and Volunteer Coordinator for the Scott Arboretum, said. There was a strong sense of concern about the missing pipes, which cost over $1,000 each, but they were found and successfully retrieved by the site’s workers. According to Jabco, those working on the sewer line had been warned of how high water levels may rise. Luckily, the adrift pieces of piping did not travel far and didn’t damage trees in the area. Jabco has been acting as college liaison to the Central Delaware County Authority, which is implementing the restoration along the entire length of the sewer line. According to him, the reasons behind the project’s delays are due to a combination of unfavorable weather and a late start. “[The construction is] maybe 35 to 45 percent finished … and [it] was some of the most difficult areas because [the land is] very, very steep hillside,” Jabco said.
THE PHOENIX September 8, 2011
“The original schedule was that they would be all finished here by early to mid-November. I wouldn’t expect them to finish on that schedule now.” However, the recent record setting rainfalls in the month of August and Hurricane Irene have again created delays on the project. Students who are accustomed to taking walks in the Crum cannot help but notice the work that is being done. “[Since it started] it’s always changed the experience of walking. It’s very jarring,” Dinah Dewald ’13 said. Another student, Leah Gallant ’14, agreed. “It was all overgrown on the other side … lots of trees, and now it’s just wood chips,” Gallant said. Many students were upset last year when they heard that the construction was scheduled to take place. “I would have rather there had been more transparency… I didn’t learn about it until someone told me about it a week before they started,” Dewald said. However, both Dewald and Gallant agree that the construction is necessary and hope that those areas affected will be replanted with vegetation once the construction is over. Restoration work that the Central Delaware County Authority has agreed to do — the leveling, grading, and seeding of the area that has been dug up — was originally scheduled to be finished before the winter, but now it seems unlikely to be completed until next spring. Jabco hopes that the college and the CDCA will be able to make arrangements whereby portions of the land will be seeded before this winter. Official plans, however, have yet to be made.
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College releases strategic planning draft for public comment
Week in pictures
Braun said that while the college has worked hard to create a student body that is diverse in terms of race, A new dining hall, the creation of ethnicity, socio-economic class and an Institute for Liberal Arts in the other factors, it needs to turn that 21st Century and increasing faculty same attention to the faculty and diversity are included in a draft re- staff. leased for comment by the Strategic Plans for more student involvePlanning Counment in sumcil on Tuesday. mer research “Strategic experience and Directions for new ways to These ideas come Swarthmore encourage infrom the community, College: Planterdisciplinary ning Update” creativity, such so the community can is based on a as adding new year’s worth of now weigh-in on it. faculty meminput from over bers and more Rebecca Chopp 1500 people, instudent support, cluding staff, President are also a part of faculty, alumni the draft. and current The final students. These recommendasame groups, along with the Board of tion is for the creation of an Institute Managers, will give feedback in the for Liberal Arts in the 21st Century. upcoming months to further refine Chopp said that while there are many the plan. think tanks devoted to large research “These ideas come from the com- institutions, there are currently none munity, so the community can now that focus on the 2-3% of the American weigh in on it,” said President Rebec- undergraduate population studying ca Chopp. Once the final document is at small residential colleges. approved, hopefully before the end of The institute would foster scholarthe year, the college will launch an ef- ly activity, propelled by both Swarthfort to raise funds for these possible more and visiting faculty, centered projects. on the future of the liberal arts colIn a meeting with The Daily Ga- lege. zette and The Phoenix, Chopp and Many of these recommendations Dean of Students Liz Braun high- are meant to address the challenges lighted both the strengths identified the liberal arts currently face, such by the committee, called “principles,” as the incorporation of technology in and the recommendations for the fu- the classroom, the instability of the ture. financial markets and the questions The draft suggests new facilities that arise about the relevance of the for engineering, biology and psy- liberal arts model. chology. Old faIn addition to cilities, such as proposing changHicks, would be es, the draft idenrefurbished and The recalibrated course tifies five of the used by other decollege’s defining load would be partments. characteristics: four plus one. It also recomacademic rigor, mends the cona vibrant and roStrategic Planning struction of a bust community, Draft for new dining hall faculty exceland a new fitness lence, a diverse Public Comment center as well as student body and finding a space, a committment new or old, for a to leadership. media center. Old facilities would be The draft does not mention areas repurposed and used in a new way. such as the creation of new departIn the academic realm, the plan ments, the honors program or the recommends changing the faculty Lang Center for Civic and Social course-load so that the faculty can Responsibility because each is congive more attention to activities such trolled by a separate committee. It as advising and scholarship. “The also does not talk about the cost of recalibrated course load would be these initiatives. four plus one, with the fifth “course” Swarthmore’s previous capital being used to support teaching, re- campaign, “The Meaning of Swarthsearch and artistic production,” the more,” ran from 1999 to 2006. It raised document says. $245 million, exceeding its $230 milChopp said that new faculty mem- lion goal. bers would need to be hired so that Community members can read the the student-to-faculty ratio would the full draft and submit feedback at remain unchanged. http://sp.swarthmore.edu/. The webThe document also notes that the site also has a schedule of meetings college should increase the diversity that community members can particiof the faculty and staff. pate in. By amelia possanza apossan1@swarthmore.edu
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
On Sunday afternoon, student clubs and organizations gathered in front of Parrish to reach out to first-years.
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Jessie Cannizarro performs sketch comedy with the group Boy Meets Tractor on Friday. The group performed with Vertigo-go in SCI 101.
Holly Smith The Phoenix
Students talk about community service opportunities in the area at the Rotaract Parlour Party on Wednesday.
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September 8, 2011
THE PHOENIX
News Free SEPTA tokens are now available to Mawrters swarthmorephoenix.com
By Chris Nam knam1@swarthmore.edu This semester, Bryn Mawr College has begun distributing free rail passes and tokens for students to use on the SEPTA on their way to Philadelphia, mainly so they can squeeze in some relaxation and cultural learning into their high-pressure academic lives. Bryn Mawr students may obtain up to 20 one-way tickets and 20 tokens for use on the train per semester, a concept that materialized last spring and came into fruition in the summer through the exploits of Michele Rasmussen, Dean of the Undergraduate College at Bryn Mawr. “I had a number of conversations with undergraduates last year about student life,” Dean Rasmussen said. “As someone who really enjoyed going into the city of Philadelphia, I found myself encouraging students to do the same and learned that the cost of transportation posed a barrier to many students.” Rasmussen based Bryn Mawr’s fare
request program on the model already etc.),” according to details on Bryn in place at Haverford College. She be- Mawr’s website. Students have already begun exergan thinking about creating the program last spring, and was able to obtain cising these newfound privileges. Elsie Chung ’15, for exfunding for it over ample, capped her the summer. first weekend as Rasmussen As someone who a Mawrter in the went on to explain “I actually that these rail really enjoyed going into city. just used a rail passes are solely ... Philadelphia, I found pass to head into for Bryn Mawr Philadelphia this students to “demyself encouraging past weekend to compress and find the time to enjoy students to do the same. shop and eat with Chung the experience of Michelle Rasmussen friends,” said. being at college Dean of But students beyond the literal may not share and metaphorical Undergraduate College these privileges campus walls.” with Bryn Mawr That being said, faculty and adstudents may not use these passes “for attending classes ministrators, whose need for such at Penn, travel for Praxis programs, services is relatively non-existent. community service, employment or “Graduate students, faculty, and staff for travel outside of Philadelphia (i.e., live all over southeastern Philadelphia airport, to catch Amtrak, bus to NYC, and even commute from New Jersey
and Delaware, so providing them with fares between Bryn Mawr and the city makes less sense,” Rasmussen said. Swarthmore College currently offers students two ways to get free rides into Philly. One is fare reimbursement for students taking classes at Penn. Students can also get tokens and rail tickets for political and volunteering activities through the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. This system only allows free use of SEPTA for academic and extracurricular activities. Students who want to go to the city for a concert, art exhibit or other entertainment reasons must pay their own SEPTA fares. Dean of Students Liz Braun said that if there is student interest, the administration would be willing to look at starting a similar program at Swarthmore. “We’d be open to thinking about it more,” she said. The primary factors that determine whether the college could begin its own program are staffing and funding.
Director of Public Safety retires after 30 years By YareD portillo yportil1@swarthmore.edu The college is currently searching for a new director of public safety following the retirement of Owen Redgrave, who retired this summer after 30 years of serving as Swarthmore’s Director of Public Safety. A hiring committee has been formed to review applicants. Currently, as the committee works to find a new director, Captain Herb Barron will serve as Acting Director of Public Safety. Barron has been serving with public safety for eight years now. Review of applicants is planned to begin September 15 and will continue until October 18, when the application period closes. The committee will be chaired by Vice President for Facilities and Service Stuart Hain and will consist of Dean of Students Liz Braun, Associate Vice President for Planning Garikai Campbell, Student Health Services Director Beth Kotarski, Maintenance Director Ralph Thayer, Library Access and Lending Services Supervisor Alison Masterpasqua and two students appointed by Student Council, as was explained in an email sent out by Hain. “This will be a national search so we are looking forward to reviewing many potential applicants,” Hain said. While reviewing applicants, committee members will have access to all information regarding each applicant. The committee will then evaluate applicants together. According to Hain, the process will be highly transparent. “Ultimately, the campus community will have a chance to meet with finalists for the position,” Hain said. A final decision will not be made until the campus community has had this chance to get to know the candidates. Although the student members of the search committee have yet to be appointed, Student Council Vice President Olivia Ensign plans on meeting with a Campus Public Safety Consultant today “to review the current public safety department and make suggestions for the future.” According to the job description found in Swarthmore Human Resources, the Director of Public Safety is in charge of maintaining “a safe and secure campus environment for a community of students, faculty, staff and visitors.” Human Resources also describes a strong candidate as one with a “Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree preferred), ASIS Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and/or Physical Security Professional (PSP) designations and a minimum of five years of progressively responsible security or law enforcement experience in a college campus setting with three of those years including direct supervisory experience.” The plan is to fill Redgrave’s position by early next semester.
Paul Chung The Phoenix
A hiring committee is currently looking to find a successor to Director of Public Safety Owen Redgrave, who is retiring after serving 30 years for the college.
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September 8, 2011
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Around Higher Education
Penn grapples with the aftermath of the debt crisis By melanie bavaria dailypennsylvanian.com, Sept. 6, 2011
This summer, the United States debt ceiling crisis nearly toppled the country’s economy and forced massive spending cuts that have left Penn’s administration concerned about looming budget decisions. The Budget Control Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Aug. 2, was the result of compromise and scrambling by both parties in Congress to avoid defaulting on the federal debt. The bill specifies $917 billion in spending cuts over 10 years. The Act also established a budget “super-committee” to find another $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. According to William Schilling, Director of Financial Aid, Penn’s financial-aid policy “stayed and will stay the same — full need and no loans.” However, “any further cuts would make it harder” to maintain this commitment. Among the ways the resulting compromise has affected the University so far are federal grants for student financial aid, the way graduate students will be able to
pay off loans and federal research funding. “One of the best outcomes is that Pell Grants were the only area of the federal government that got an increase in funding — $17 billion,” said Dawn Maglicco Dietch, director of Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs. The Pell Grant program awards need-based grant money to low-income students. The OGCA is a lobbying group that “represents the University’s interests at every level of government that affect how Penn operates,” OGCA Vice President Jeffrey Cooper said. The OGCA makes sure “our voice is heard,” Cooper added, by working with city, state and federal governments. Though funding for Pell Grants increased, an already-existing deficit for the program meant that students won’t see an increase in grant money. “The appropriations covered that deficit, but the [maximum grant] amount given stayed the same” at $5,550, Schilling said. Unfortunately for Penn graduate students, interest subsidized loans for graduate and professional students have been eliminated by the bill, which “will make their
Pell Grants were the only area of the federal government that got an increase in funding. Dawn Maglicco Dietch Penn Office of Government and Community Affairs
THE SWEDISH PROGRAM SWARTHMORE COLLEGE 5.88" X 7"
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loans more burdensome,” Schilling said. Penn is taking an active role in the federal and state budget debates leading up to the final compromise. Michelle Brown-Nevers, associate vice president of Penn’s Student Registration and Financial Services, went to Washington, D.C. over the summer to speak with the offices of Senators Bob Casey (Pa.-D) and Pat Toomey (Pa.-R), as well as Representative Chaka Fattah (Pa.-D) to make sure they were aware of how Penn’s community would be affected by federal cuts to student financial aid programs. She said her message was, overall, “received really well.” However, she added she had concerns after speaking with one of these congressional offices which she declined to identify. Penn President Amy Gutmann has also added her voice budget debate. “I have written to all of our representatives, our Pennsylvanian delegation to tell them what I think are the priorities for higher education and Penn,” Gutmann said. “I’m pleased that Pell Grants have not been cut, but there have been cuts and proposed cuts that would be detrimental to students, both undergraduates and graduate students.” Gutmann expressed her support for protecting funding for programs such as the Pell Grants, TRIO, Title VI and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. “Cuts have to be made, and I have used whatever influence Penn, and I have to indicate how counterproductive we think it would be to cut the engine of innovation for our society.”
STUDY ABROAD IN ENGLISH
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Living & Arts
First-years’ Facebook groups provide insight with limitations By HENRY KIETZMAN hkietzm1@swarthmore.edu
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg created the social networking site Facebook, which has risen to Internet prominence by providing a convenient and efficient way for people to connect with friends and stay updated in their lives. Over the last few years, Swarthmore started using the site as a meeting ground for incoming first-years. Before arriving on campus, Swarthmore students can meet fellow first-years, introduce themselves and connect over similar interests and activities. “It’s a really good place for them to do the initial awkward mingling that takes place during orientation,” said Ellen Sanchez-Huerta ’13, who has been active in welcoming incoming students.
professors that are interesting, they can ask upperclassmen [in an informal setting] who have that experience … where Admissions wouldn’t be very helpful,” Sanchez-Huerta said.
Changes in the group dynamics In past years, accepted students were first invited to the admissions-run 2015 Facebook page, where the student-run group could immediately advertise and encourage students to check their group as well. However, this year for the class of 2015, the upperclassmen could neither post nor advertise on the admissions-run group until the end of the summer. “What we want to do is create a space where students who are all accepted can get together with the knowledge that they’re just speaking to incoming students,” Admissions Counselor Dan Chung ’10 said. Unfortunately this year, Chodrow believes that Early sources of insight there were fewer students exposed to the informal Each year, there are two separate first-year Face- page and thus, these changes prevented many stubook groups: a formal admitted students welcome dents from accessing a lot of the informal Swarthgroup run by Swarthmore admissions and a more in- more information that upperclassmen offer. formal group run by current Swarthmore students for Sophomore Sarah Timreck agrees that the 2014 inthe incoming first-years. formal group offered unique information. She said, “I Primarily, the admissions group is a forum for get- used both, but I feel like I got more information out of ting answers to questions about dorms, roommates the informal page. It was more of a student resource.” and important dates, but also is a means to set up Next year, admissions’ plan is to open up the admitcommunication between students in the new class. “It ted students page to upperclassmen at the beginning really helped me keep track of deadlines,” Stephanie of the summer rather than at the end. “I do think that Carrera-Lozano ’15 said. Over the summer, she found there is definitely a need to open it up earlier because that the interaction on the admissions-run page was [upperclassmen] really want to advertise, really want especially helpful. to interact ... prospective students have questions that Although admissions sent nocan only be answered by curtifications via Swatmail, many rent students,” Chung said. of the incoming first-years were Chung believes that proalready used to checking their Meeting people in person spective students may be iniFacebook, so the group provided tially bombarded by a small is much different from another medium for informasampling of current students tion to spread. that highly advocate for their being virtual friends. Accepted first-years posted clubs and groups, leaving othIris Fang ’15 reminders about deadlines and er groups at a disadvantage. information more often than the “Our goal is two-fold. At admissions office. “It was very the beginning, to keep it student run. It was all about the people in the group closed, to make sure that we’re there to answer — in … [The administration wasn’t] the biggest part of the an official capacity — the hard questions. Then, later group,” Carrera-Lozano said. on, prospective students are [encouraged] to make This year, prior to arriving at Swarthmore, many connections with students on campus,” Chung said. students introduced themselves to their peers and even created forum topics on the group page, includ- Limitations in generating genuine friendships Overall, most students agree that both groups sucing discussions on favorite movies or music. “I used it every day. I think it really helped to broaden my con- cessfully facilitate helpful open discussion prior to nections, so I could meet people before actually seeing arrival on campus, however such socialization in them in person and get a feel for what kind of class cyberspace might not be conducive in fostering longterm friendships. “The people who were active on I’m in,” Iris Fang ’15 said. In addition, the informal group provided a sepa- Facebook were really easily recognizable, and I felt rate space for newly accepted students to ask about somewhat familiar with them, but it was strange to the college social life, what classes to sign up for and see them without a voice and then seeing them in person” Carrera-Lozano said. which professors to seek out. Fang agreed that there are limits to the socializing In the past years, both Phil Chodrow ’12 and Ellen Sanchez-Huerta ’13 have been highly involved in the on the groups. She said, “I think it’s a good [way to student-run first-year class group. Chodrow said, “I make a] ‘temporary friend’ … [but] meeting people in answered questions. I talked about what campus was person is much different from being virtual friends.” Though quite effective in eliminating some of the like, and I talked about my study habits … The transawkwardness of journeying to a completely new place fer of information was [a] good thing.” After his positive experience with the Facebook and environment, some upperclassmen similarly group for his class, he felt motivated to help other in- question the actual lasting power of these initial Facecoming classes. “I wanted to pass the love on,” he said. book friendships. “Honestly, the people I was friends Chodrow made friends in his group and continues to with on Facebook before I came, I don’t consider them make friends through the site. “[The initial Facebook my close friends now,” Timreck said. Similarly, students believe the groups are somemeeting] isn’t usually enough to constitute a friendship — if we had some other reason to be friends, what uncharacteristic of what their student bodies ended up being like. On the groups, Fang believes that though, we’d hit it off great,” Chodrow said. Both Chodrow and Sanchez-Huerta believe that the some people were unsure of what to expect from their informal Facebook group, run by current students, of- fellow Swatties, and therefore felt the need to exagfers valuable opportunities to incoming students to gerate their intellects and personalities, which Fang get in contact with upperclassmen in order to become found unnecessary. “In real life, they’re just really further acquainted with the social side of Swarthmore cool people,” Fang said. For some students, the Facebook groups made outside of admission supervision. “Maybe if [students] aren’t comfortable asking them more nervous about coming to Swarthmore. “I questions about drinking or [about which] specific was a little more intimidated by the people I met on THE PHOENIX
September 8, 2011
Andrew Cheng for The Phoenix
Andrew Cheng for The Phoenix
Andrew Cheng for The Phoenix
Many students believe that interacting online rarely corresponds sufficiently with actually meeting fellow classmates during Orientation Week.
Facebook before coming to Swat,” Timreck said, noting threads on the 2014 page where students would talk about their other admitted school options or their long string of accomplishments. Further, she believes that people who continuously posted on Facebook did not represent the entire class since they were typically the most proactive and talkative of all the incoming first-years. Many students agree that these groups do create a virtual space for first-years to mingle, but in the end, do not compare to meeting the incoming class on campus in August. “The people I meet in person will be the lasting friendships. The people that are just on Facebook and don’t really talk to me in person, they’re not going to be my real friends,” Fang said.
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U.S. take on British show produces a lovable cast Back in the spring of 2005, I eagerly tuned in to watch the series premiere of the American adaptation of “The Office,” Ricky Gervais’ scathingly funny BBC sitcom. I was ultimately disappointed to find that the first season failed to live up to the wealth of comedic talent involved. While I’m not at all averse to uncomfortably humorous shows, the American “Office” took an awkward middle ground during its first season by attempting to retain certain characters’ off-putting traits, specifically those of the company’s boorish manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his ingratiating lieutenant Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), that defined their British counterparts. however, the writers opted to neuJohnny Taeschler ter Simultaneously, the caustic bite of the British version to fit a wider American audience, creating a wildly uneven batch of Viewer Discretion Advised episodes that managed to pull off a small miracle in getting renewed for a second season. I didn’t watch “The Office” again until the summer of 2006, after the second season had just ended. Several friends had been gushing for months about the hilarity of the now-classic episodes “Christmas Party,” “Booze Cruise” and “Casino Night.” While catching up over the summer, I realized that not only were these second season episodes genuinely funny, but they also accomplished something that was largely downplayed in the British version: an emotional attachment to the show’s supremely awkward characters. Over the course of the second season, the writers gradually managed to induce viewers to care about these individuals who had been so unlikable just one year before. This task was relatively simple for Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fisher), the friends who everyone knows are made for each other but can’t act on their not-so-secret crushes because of her damn fiancée who will never understand her the way Jim does (OK that concludes my PB&J shipper rant). The British “Office” had already explored this territory in the Tim/Dawn relationship, but the heartbreaking back-and-forth between Krasinski and Fisher was played with such understated affection that it still seemed fresh. Any skeptics need only watch the last five minutes of “Casino Night” when the usually nonchalant Jim awkwardly yet sweetly confesses his love for Pam. Fisher’s delivery of the line “What do you expect me to say to that?” which brilliantly conveys Pam’s love, shock, fear and helplessness all at once, should have earned her an Emmy. While the emotional dilemma between Jim and Pam had its roots in the British original, the American “Office” did break new ground in its development of the show’s ostensible protagonist, Michael Scott. His analogue, David Brent, was the very embodiment of the nightmare boss: racist, sexist, incompetent, and arrogant … but also truly hilarious to watch. Although Steve Carell’s Michael contained some of these traits, his need for social acceptance quickly became the driving force behind the character. Thus, Michael gradually evolved into an endearing buffoon, someone who made awful choices with the best intentions. Throughout Michael’s seven seasons, Steve Carell pulled off a subtle transformation, turning his character from the desperately crass lout of season one to the show’s emotional center, a position that Gervais’ noxious David Brent could never occupy. Sprinkled throughout the series, Carell was allowed to shine in little moments that
played to the character’s underlying sweetness. Take, for example, the end of the season three episode “Business School.” After Pam spends the entirety of the episode inviting coworkers to her art show, the only one to show up is Oscar, whom she overhears mocking her work. Just as she is dejectedly taking down her drawings, Michael arrives and immediately begins showering her with praise. As Pam silently hugs him, this touching moment manages to avoid sliding into mawkishness through Michael’s sheer obliviousness to her reaction. His apparent flaw in remaining unable to anticipate the consequences of his actions occasionally becomes his greatest asset, as he imbues the line “I’m so proud of you” with the utmost sincerity. In distinguishing Michael Scott from David Brent, I’m not attempting to establish a qualitative difference between these two shows. Michael may be more emotionally affecting, but the comedic potential of Carell’s character is often eclipsed by the meaner and edgier David Brent. Instead, I want to draw a parallel between the tonalities of the shows and the broadcast strategies of their respective countries. On the BBC, “The Office” lasted for two, six-episode seasons, whereas the NBC version is beginning its eighth season on September 22. The former model is much more conducive to straight comedy, providing an optimal time frame for a misanthropic character like David Brent to consistently make audiences laugh with his shockingly offensive comCourtesy of http://tiny.cc/2hzph ments before becoming overly repellent. Conversely, the American system of continual renewals (as long as the show’s ratings remain high) has given the NBC version the opportunity to infuse its characters with noticeably greater depth. While seven seasons of the American “Office” has not completely eroded my appreciation for the show, Michael’s departure at the end of this past season (an Courtesy of http://tiny.cc/bf2ad episode handled with such skill that it reduced me to a blubbering mess) should act as a harbinger for the series finale. Even though the later seasons have still produced inspired episodes, the audience has had to endure an increasing amount of lackluster ones to reach them. It would be remiss of NBC to tarnish the reputation of this hilarious and frequently moving show by continually trotting out replacement managers to fill Carell’s impossibly large shoes. Johnny is a junior. You can reach him at jtaesch1@swarthmore.edu.
Professor shares poetic creations from sabbatical BY PRESTON COOPER pcooper1@swarthmore.edu “Every book of poems tells a story,” said Nathalie Anderson, Professor of the English Department, at the start of the launch event for her newest poetry collection, “Quiver.” “Quiver” is a 94-page volume written by Professor Anderson while on sabbatical. “[The collection] is about loss, consolation, and the possibility of transcendence,” Anderson said. “Quiver” features a variety of works, ranging from dramatic, eloquent verses about the rocky shorelines of Ireland, to sublime and sensual poems about the deli-
Allegra Pockincki Phoenix Staff
Professor Anderson read from her newest collection, while eliciting laughter and tears from her audience. 8
cacy of the human mind or the relationship to a lover. Many of her compositions elicited roaring laughter from the audience as she demonstrated her ability to make commonplace topics unique and engaging. Experiences of “airport hell,” the associative powers of the human mind and the irritating woman in the row behind you who sings along during a concert were all touched upon. In contrast, a quartet of poems based on Anderson’s experiences in Ireland, with breathtaking energy and magnificent language, generated tears in the eyes of listeners. “The Vortex,” a poem about a sailing disaster, was particularly moving in its personification of the sea and passionate appeals for remembrance of the lives lost. Fellow English professor Betsy Bolton, who gave the introductory speech at the event on Monday, illuminated some of Anderson’s signature styles and themes. “What I love most are the textures,” Bolton said. “Words buzzing at the lip — triggered, happy, skittish, ready to fly.” Professor Bolton is one of the members of the English Department with whom Anderson shares her work most frequently. The Department functions, in a sense, as a community of writers. “All of us [in the Department] have shared our work with everyone else at some point,” Anderson said in a separate interview.
Students, too, receive the benefits of the Department’s attention to their own projects. Julia Finkelstein ’13, a student of Anderson’s, described how her professor helped her improve her work by guiding her along the process of composition in a poetry workshop. “Professor Anderson showed us ... that writing poetry requires devotion and extreme revision. It is always a pleasure to have Nathalie Anderson read your poetry because she can draw attention to the most effective sections and then give specific and meaningful suggestions for the sections that need revision.” Anderson expounded on her own journey from aspirational poet to published, renowned wordsmith. “When I was in college, it was easy for me to drive things together; I could aim for a final line,” she said. She discovered, however, that such an approach was wrong for her. “I started trying to not write quickly and not write neatly,” she reflects. “Now, poems sometimes spill over several days, several weeks, several months. Sometimes I’ll pick something up after a year and go back to it.” In the classroom, Anderson “tr[ies] to influence students to be as much themselves on the page as possible, to let their own work flower.” She teaches several poetry classes, seminars and workshops at Swarthmore, but occasionally takes time off to work on her collections or travel in
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search of inspiration. (This semester, she is teaching the “Subverting Verses” FirstYear Seminar, the Modern Poetry class, and the Lyric Encounters class.) Interestingly, though, she notes that it is difficult to write about a place while there — it is only with distance that the words come most naturally. Anderson’s career, though, is not limited to her professorship at Swarthmore and “Quiver.” Professor Bolton describes the extension of her talents to venues throughout Philadelphia as “a herd of Nats.” Anderson is the librettist for seven musical compositions, among them three operas. She is the Poet in Residence for the Rosenbach Museum and Library and has authored two other collections of poems in addition to “Quiver” — “Following Fred Astaire” and “Crawlers.” In addition, she has completed a fourth poetry collection, entitled Stain, and has a year’s worth of unpublished poems that she is currently revising and stringing together. “Nathalie Anderson is a wordsmith; she makes expected phrases unexpected and pays particular attention to sound in order to create swift and elegant poems,” Finkelstein said. She gives life to the inanimate and individuality to the commonplace. Her latest collection, “Quiver,” is nothing short of a success. Quiver is available for purchase at the Swarthmore College Bookstore.
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PMA offers abundance of art and music opportunities
T h e Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) has many c l a i m s to fame: First, it’s one of the city’s architectural Jen Johnson gems. The Benjamin In-town, Off-Campus Franklin Parkway is dotted with columnar buildings of its kind from City Hall up along the esplanade, but the Museum is by far the most spectacular, and the Parkway leads all westbound traffic to it like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. It holds the largest public collection of Rodin sculptures in the Auguste Rodin Museum. And, of course, it became an American pop cultural icon in 1976 when zero-to-hero cinemagic boxer Rocky ran up the great staircase of the East Entrance on his way to victory. Of all Philadelphia attractions, the Museum of Art may be the best visited by Swatties: If you haven’t been there, one of your friends has. One of the best programs the Museum offers is Art After 5, where, for the price of regular museum admission ($12 for students, $16 for adults, $14 for seniors, and free for members), you can enjoy three and a half hours of live music in a beautiful venue, at the foot of the main stairs of the museum. On most Friday nights throughout the year, as part of the Art After 5 program, the PMA stays open until 8:45 PM. The Perelman Building and the Rodin Museum, unfortunately, close at their normal times, as do the second floor galleries of the main building. The special
exhibit, however, stays open — the current exhibit, Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus ($8 for students in addition to general admission), runs through October 30. The act of the night plays two 90-minute sets, a 5:15 set and a 7:15 set. The main floor galleries and special exhibit are open throughout evening, and people come and go from the tables on the floor and the informal seating on the grand staircase, but the set break between 6:45 and 7:15 provides an ideal opportunity to browse the main floor galleries. The Museum has an excellent but pricey restaurant inside, as well as a more modest café, and serves a limited menu to event-goers. The hors d’oevres plates, for example, fruit and cheese, are pricey enough to want to share ($12), but too small to satisfy a group. The sandwiches and salads are more fulfilling, but no less expensive. Waiters wander the crowd during the show, but if you want to be served, try to get there early and snag a table. It is possible to flag down a waiter and eat on the stairs, but is more awkward, and obliges you to stay put until you’ve paid the bill. Drinks are also available for purchase on the north side of the grand staircase, and wine is definitely the crowd’s drink of choice. This is a public museum, and there’s no dress code — but most people who come specifically for Art After 5 are “well-dressed.” Last Friday, the Museum welcomed Fourth Wall Arts Salon, a collective of artists from across the city who created an eclectic variety show: think hip hop, jazz, a DJ, and chamber music, interspersed with visual illusions from a former America’s Got Talent contestant, a poetry slam from the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement, and categorydefying dancing from North Philadelphia-native Mighty Mouse. The program is typically not so eclectic–there’s
usually only one act performing during the night. This Friday night, the Modern Rock Ensemble will cover iconic American and British songs from the 1960s and 70s; to close the month, New York-based group Red Baraat will bring North Indian flavor and a distinctive cultural melange to the Museum. For a link to complete information about the upcoming Art After 5 shows, see this column online. 30th Street Station and Suburban Station are both suitable train stops for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Museum is located at 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway; it’s certainly more visible from 30th Street Station — look north at sunset as your train goes into the Station on your way back to Swat for a spectacular view — but not necessarily more accessible. For specific directions, see the online version of this column. On a warm evening, walking back to 30th Street Station along the
Schuykill River Trail after the event is picturesque: the illuminated bridges have a European feel, and the city lights reflect on the water. It’s romantic if you can ignore the smell of the Schuykill. But during twilight, when the light is streaming through the trees, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is more Polaroid-worthy. Walking the Parkway from Suburban Station at this time of year, the leaves on the mature ornamentals lend only glimpses of the Museum’s columns on the approach from City Hall; but during the winter, when the trees lose their lush foliage, the fountains and statues of the museum grounds beckon intrepid pedestrians forward. Art After 5 is well worth the walk. For more information about train tickets, maps and directions, as well as more recommendations of places to eat, shop and explore, please visit In-Town, Off-campus on The Phoenix website at swarthmorephoenix.com.
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College to recognize 10 year anniversary of national tragedy By CHI ZHANG czhang1@swarthmore.edu
This Sunday, Sept. 11, marks the tenth anniversary of the attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. In order to remember this event, the college will host two activities on campus on Sept.11 and 12. The first memorial service will be held on Sunday at 4:30 in the Friends Meeting House. During this service, President Rebecca Chopp will deliver a speech. She hopes that the students at the college can remember those who lost their lives in 9/11 and can understand the responsibility and opportunity to be peacemakers and to oppose all kinds of terrorism. Together with the President, both Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Lee Smithey and Assistant Professor of Statistics Lynne Steuerle Schofield ‘99, will share with the students their own stories and experiences of the event. Soon after these
remarks, prayers which introduced by the interfaith interns Sydni Adler ‘13 and Sarah Timreck ‘14 will take place. A variety of religious groups, ranging from the Muslim Student Association to the Young Friends, will introduce their beliefs and faiths to the audiences. The interfaith prayers will also include a time of silent reflection and then participants are welcomed to write down their prayers on prayer flags, which will be displayed in the Meeting House and in Parrish Hall. On Monday at 4:30 p.m., there will be a teach-in session on non-violent responses to terrorism at the Science Center 101. During this session, students can hear three faculty members, Lee Smithey, Lynne Steuerle Schofield ‘99 and George Lakey, who will speak on the actions they are taking in reaction to terrorism, both shortly after 9/11 and in some recent situations. Meanwhile, participants are invited to dis-
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cuss the ways they can have to promote conservations among differences. Few could ever forget the tragedy ten years ago, though most students were just primary school students at that time. Much of the media around the world immediately focused all efforts to spread news of the attacks. Nick Palazzolo’13 said, “There’s lot of uncertainty and panic. A lot of people responded because they didn’t know what was going on.” Some families who lost their members are already trying to respond to this event in a positive way. Lynne Schofield, who lost her mother in 9/11, said, “Over the past ten years, my father, my sister and I have done sort of various activities, started a few charities and work with other familities who lost people on 9/11.” The Sept. 11 event brought people pain and sorrow but also motivated people to look for more mutual understanding and communications. According to Lynne, the response to September 8, 2011
terrorism should not be given just by the governments, diplomats and military. It should be the duty of every individuals. “Act locally. Think globally.” Some students on campus shared some of their ideas. Wonbin Sohn ‘13 said, “I think the best way to foster understanding among people from different perspective and idea is to admit the difference from the beginning, share their peculiar opinions and experiences in a friendly environment. Through the repetitive exposure to different people’s different stories, we perhaps may develop an unbiased view toward each other.” To understand the differences at first is fundamental for further dialogues. According to Sarah Timreck ‘14, students can find diversity everywhere at Swarthmore. She suggested that by just speaking with people around us and by asking questions, Swatties can understand others’ different viewpoints. Similarly, Julia Karpati ‘13
also believes that “prejudice rises out of ignorance, and ignorance is perpetuated without dialogue and discourse.”
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CAMPUS PANACHE Photos by Elèna Ruyter
Salute to Summer
With August behind us and the days of summer numbered, both guys and girls seem to have taken a page from “The Official Preppy Handbook.” Whether paired with a button-up, blouse or t-shirt, these clean cut, khaki shorts are a popular choice for students. Fun floral dresses dominate the girls’ fashion choices as most opt for simple patterns in aboveknee cuts and tend to accessorize with boldy-buckled belts.
Artwork to demonstrate unpredictability of nature BY STEVEN HAZEL shazel1@swarthmore.edu
“Although the thin paper sheets now overflow with detail, they were once mere blank pages just waiting to be filled. Working steadily, Orit Hofshi uses a spoon to rub the paper against the ink-covered wood, as she follows patterns and allows the stark contrast between the ink and colorless space to inspire contemplation for the viewer. Though the woodcut has been carefully prepared beforehand, these sweeping lines and imperfections serve as a tribute to the unpredictability of nature and the human experience. This is the work of Israeli artist Hofshi whose upcoming List Gallery exhibition, “Resilience,” will feature woodcuts as well as paintings, rubbings and other media. The exhibition will open on Thursday, September 8 and will be followed by a lecture at 4:30 p.m. in the List Gallery. According to the Merriam-Webster, resilience is defined as “the capability to recover size and shape after compression” and the exhibition will similarly pay tribute to chaos and entropy within both the natural and human worlds. “‘Resilience’ reflects my philosophy, my perception, and my existence,” Hofshi said. “[Resilience] is something I want for myself, and for my children. My parents had it, and I am here to continue it — I am trying to speak in a universal language.” Born in Israel and after studying at Leeds University in England, Hofshi graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with a major in painting and printmaking. Since the 90s, Hofshi has focused primarily on printing and painting, while creating major exhibitions including; “The Road Not Taken,” which is a collection of epically scaled woodcuts at the Print Center in Philadelphia; “The Disenchanted Forest,” a combination of ink
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drawing and woodcuts at The Israel Museum in Jerusalem; and also collections from Israel to Ireland. “I love to travel to Iceland, Ireland, Finland, and so my work is a collage — there is no one scenery reflected in any one image, they are a blend, invented,” Hofshi said. The exhibition combines several different media and themes. “I see [“Resilience”] as a culmination of a lot of the elements in her work, responses to the landscape, themes of change and natural entropy,” said Andrea Packard, Director of the List Gallery. “[There is] also a focus on the malleability of the creative process and the malleability of perception. The landscape shifts, but how we perceive it shifts too, depending on where you stand.” Hofshi’s work has also been critically acclaimed, winning the Jacob Pins Award for a distinguished Israeli printmaker, as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Also, she has won fellowships at the University of Southern California, in North Mayo, Ireland and in Leipzig, Germany. “Size impresses, but cutting with great expertise and such sensitivity given to material, as Orit Hofshi possesses, impresses even more. To work successfully on such scale is demanding of the artist’s control,” said Professor Dan Miller of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in “The Woodcut: Meaning and Mission”, 2004. Reflecting upon her youth in Israel, Hofshi draws inspiration from her childhood in Israel, a country which is no stranger to changing boundaries and the desolation of war. Her work emphasizes and reflects upon shattered landscapes and solitary figures. For artistic influences, Hofshi looks to both Albrecht Dürer, the 16th century German painter, and Kathe Kollwitz, a 20th century German painter whose work focuses on survivors of various international traumas. “I am inspired by three sources, by nature itself, by reality. I am interested in photographs of current events in Israeli newspapers and by my own imagination,” Hofshi said. Specifically, the reality of the geography and land-
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scapes of Israel strongly influences Hofshi’s work. She finds inspiration in both small construction sites near her home and the tells of Israel, which are mounds created by ancient communities and then abandoned. “Israel is both young and old. We don’t have the architecture of Europe or even the United States, but instead we have tells,” Hofshi said. “You look and see a mound shape while you are driving, and you know that there was an ancient city, an ancient community.” At the List Gallery, the inner room has been transformed for the exhibit to contain “Convergence,” a piece designed specifically for this room. Along with the walls painted black and with images shrouded in shadow in the background, a group of woodcut prints are suspended at an angle towards the viewer. “There’s a tremendous amount of detail that goes into [the exhibition design], and if it works well then you won’t notice it,” Packard said. “When you go in, the overall effect should be incredibly spare and clean.” Such a combination of scale and detail distinguishes Resilience from prior List Gallery exhibitions. “You can see the handiwork, which is important because although there’s an overwhelming expansiveness to the work, there’s also an intimacy and even a personality to [Hofshi’s] sense of touch,” Packard said. With titles such as “Uprise,” “Remnant” and “Vestige,” the collections suggest the personal struggles etched within the ink. “I draw on the wood and in the wood. It all comes from drawings and the imagination,” Hofshi said. “My work belongs to the viewer’s interpretation, but I hope they leave with a sense of respect — to the land, to each other, with no difference in religion or culture, realizing that we exist in a chain linking us back in history, back to the communities of the past.” Orit Hofshi will give a lecture on her work today at 4:30 in the List Gallery. Her exhibition, “Resilience” will be on display in the List Gallery until October 22nd.
See photo spread of “Resilience” Exhibit, p.12 THE PHOENIX
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Rewinding Back to Their Swarthmore Days
Scott Young for The Phoenix
Amongst the vines, it’s a family affair Scott Young for The Phoenix
Scott Young for The Phoenix
(L to R): Young stands amongst the vines just a few days ago; these Merlot grapes will be harvested in about two weeks; the family property includes 18-acres of beautiful vineyard land. BY DINA ZINGARO dzingar1@swarthmore.edu Following graduation as a double major in Education and Peace and Conflict Studies with a minor in Dance, Hofan Chau ’03 studied at the London International School of Performing Arts & Jacques Lecoq School in Paris where she also discovered the art of Tai Chi. After returning to her homeland of Hong Kong, the alumna pursued her passion for dance and physical expression as a director, performer and teacher. Since 2003, she has been creating works under the Burnt Mango Dance Theatre Collaborative as the Artistic Director. However, through her social activism, Chau does not limit expression to the stage and strives to dissolve the boundary that often seems to separate the world within and beyond the theater. Encouraging expression to permeate into her local community, Chau has most recently protested against the building of a high speed rail that will raze down the Choi Yuen Village. Dina Zingaro: So, I just have to ask, what inspired the name Burnt Mango? Hofan Chau: Everyone keeps asking, but I’m not sure. I’ve never tasted burnt mangoes before. The name just sort of popped into my head. I think I like it for its contradictions in color; and somehow I imagine it being very tasty. DZ: So, what was your journey like after graduation? HC: Wow, this is a big one. Well, I returned to Hong Kong after graduating, still not entirely clear what I wanted to do, but nevertheless I headed for the classified [section] and tried to find a job. DZ: Ah, the wariness of post-graduation and job-searching … an experience I’m sure many recent graduates can relate to, particularly with this tough economy. HC: Yes, definitely. In fact, the year I graduated was the year SARS hit Hong Kong, and the economy was doing terribly, so it was a couple of months before I found a job as a research assistant. That year in the cubicle made me realize that I am really someone who can’t sit still in an office. But, I had fallen in love with dancing at Swarthmore, but I couldn’t find the right dance teacher back in Hong Kong, so I started going to auditions and theater workshops after my work. I had so much
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creative energy left over, and I just had to find an outlet. DZ: In your alumnus profile on the Career Services website, you encourage Swatties “to find their root.” As you mentioned, you found yourself unsatisfied behind a desk after graduation, so when do you believe someone should just “tough it out” at an unfulfilling job or choose to pursue their passion or “root”? HC: Well, I always think that if you care enough about something you will always find a way to do it. DZ: So, perhaps getting there just isn’t always so straightforward? HC: Exactly. See, for me, I fell in love with dance at Swarthmore, but there wasn’t the right teacher for me in Hong Kong. So, I discovered Tai Chi and crossed over to physical theater, because it was movement based, and it felt more honest. However, looking back, I don’t think experiences are ever wasted. The first fulllength piece I directed in Hong Kong was called “Concrete Jungle Berzerk!” — it was all about the unnaturalness of cubicle life. So, even though that first job may not have been long term, I learned a lot that year — I learned about hierarchy, bureaucracy ... DZ: When creating choreography for your pieces, from where do you tend to draw from for inspiration? HC: It’s difficult to say. Sometimes it’s a sensation, sometimes it’s a piece of music, sometimes it’s a particular image. For example, my first dance solo was called “Aftermath (with Cocoa)”; it was about a car crash I was in. A later piece was inspired by a scene I experienced, walking into the apartment one day to the sounds of gunshots … my boyfriend was on the computer, playing Counterstrike [a first person shooting game] DZ: Wow, that’s pretty eclectic. HC: Seriously, inspiration comes from everywhere; and it comes from observing life, it comes from reading a lot, listening at lot, and enjoying a lot. DZ: Do you feel that your inspiration has changed over the years? HC: I think as I grow older, I feel less of a need to do pieces based on personal experience. Maybe I have fewer personal problems to work through, and my attention now is on the community around me and giving voice to things happening here. Sometimes I think that expression doesn’t even have to be in the theater.
larly vivid? HC: Well, I remember lying in the Troy dance Lab in the Lang Performing Arts Center before class with the high ceilings and the afternoon sun streaming through all the glass windows. Also, I remember the pumpernickel bagels at Sharples — we don’t have those in Hong Kong. I was so enamored I even did an a semi-abstract art piece on it, with the cream cheese oozing out. It was orgasmic. And of course, the tomato basil cream pasta. I was a big fan of the tomato-basil cream pasta. DZ: Hmm, that’s funny since most Swatties seem to hate Sharples. But, personally, I’m not a Sharples-hater. I spoke with a senior last year who said that one of the things they were going to miss was going to breakfast and having over 7 different cereals to choose from every morning. I guess it’s just the small things sometimes. HC: I think everyone gets a bit tired of the Sharples food cycle at some point, but after the first year I moved off campus, and would get my friends to swipe me in with their unused meal credits. And when you have to pay for every single meal again, you realize how lucky you are to have such abundance of food every day, and good friends to eat with. DZ: Before we wrap up our conversation, with the class of 2015 celebrating the traditional First Gathering tomorrow in the Amphitheater, do you have any words of wisdom? HC: Enjoy your time. Four years goes by like a blur. Watch more shows. Take more classes. Party more. Because there are very few places after you graduate that will have as many high quality performances that you can see for free. There will be fewer occasions to party in such a safe environment with a bunch of your friends. Fall in love. Walk in the woods. Take advantage of the grants and the opportunity to work with professors. Start your own club. And then when you graduate, know that all these things are possible, that all these opportunities are still here, but you might have to look harder, that’s all. To read more on Chau’s social activism, Tai Chi, theatre and teaching, visit her blog at http://hofan.burntmango.org/
DZ: In a sense then, would you say that through your activism you are working to erase the barrier between the art of expression and the world outside the theatre? HC: Definitely. Expression is not restricted to the theater. Awhile ago we were protesting against the demolishing of the high speed rail in Hong Kong; it evolved into a form that involved holding grains of rice in one hand, walking twenty six steps and prostrating on the street. That was a powerful form, and it really struck a chord into people. DZ: Do you hold Swarthmore responsible in any way for influencing your current interest in activism? HC: Certainly, however, I think when I was Swarthmore I wanted to do something, but I wasn’t sure what to do; and I think partly that came from studying abroad. I mean, I went to feed the homeless and joined Earthlust and so on; but when I think about it now, I don’t think it was really grounded in me. I think being home in Hong Kong now really makes a difference. DZ: So, specifically in activism, there seems to be again this importance of students “finding their roots” in order to feel strongly committed to a cause. HC: Yes, because in the end, when you are abroad, unless you really commit to being there properly — the same way, say, Mother Teresa committed to Calcutta — you’re a visitor. It’s not your fight. It’s only when it’s your place that it becomes your own fight. DZ: Is there a moment, not necessarily catharScott Young for The Phoenix tic or climactic, Working at Domaine Leflaive in 2006, Young wears the massive about your time “panier,” which harvesters carry as the other workers empty their at Swarthmore baskets of Chardonnay grapes before he empties it into a large that is particu- trailer.
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Contemporary Young Adult Fiction mimics classics of the past The fact that young adults buy and read YA (Young Adult) fiction isn’t surprising. What’s surprising is the fact that our moms read YA, college students read YA, that train conductor in the SEPTA station reads YA — popular culture now commands a basic knowledge of the genre, Susana Medeiros and it seems everyone is at least familiar with Four Eyed Literati heavyweights like “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and the Harry Potter series. Explanations for the upsurge in YA fiction are varied: acclaimed author David Levithan pondered in Newsweek’s blog, The Daily Beast, whether YA recently recognized the growing sophistication and emotional maturity of its audience; the NY Times, in an article reporting that YA e-books comprised 25% of the YA market, remarked on what is commonly referred to as “the Harry Potter phenomena;” a book published in June called “Bringing Light to Twilight,” focuses on why Twilight has reached a wide and diverse audience. But these explanations seem too specific to me, and at times inaccurate. If you’re a fan of the acclaimed science fiction novel “Ender’s Game,” published in 1985, then you know that YA can be rich and heartwrenchingly dark. Harry Potter et al. can be seen as a bookend, even a catalyst, but it did not cause the YA surge. And let’s pretend I didn’t know about an academic book on Twilight. YA, I think, is both the answer to a decade of strife and sustenance for a generation that routinely looks
to the past. Books reflect the time in which they were written, and this surge in fantasy, post-apocalyptic plots, illicit romances and the like, provides an escape from our own disaster-laden lives. Most importantly, YA novels feature adolescent protagonists, most of whom overcome great odds to combat school bullying or their evil arch nemesis. Who doesn’t want to be reminded of the years they knew they could accomplish anything, be anyone, back when they didn’t have to pay taxes or rent, when they only had to worry about boys or girls or dragons, back when they were someone who never smarted in the face of danger (or sarcasm)? I remember being ten and waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter, so I wonder whether the adults in the audience of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” this summer were hoping for the same. The other day, I was reading a review of “Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to Its Own Past” by Simon Reynolds, which worries that our “obsession with antiquity” has stunted the art of music, limiting it to remixes, mash-ups and the next Bob Dylan. Then I had a Eureka! moment. What is the “Hunger Games” but a rehashed “Battle Royale” (2000)? Shouldn’t the title of First Book to Feature a Wizard School go to “Wizard’s Hall” (1991)? Isn’t Twilight just a reborn obsession with Dracula and Anne Rice? They say the same plots are repeated over and over, and that it’s the way you tell the story that counts, which I think is true, but I think there’s something to be said about the proliferation of adults reading YA on the train, or the way parents and teens/tweens have shared books. Never before have we seen such an established, mutual appreciation of culture between Generation Y and their parents (who can themselves range from Generation X to the Baby Boomers). My mom and I steal songs from each other’s iTunes libraries, are
avid True Blood fans; we read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, Christopher Paolini’s books and The Artemis Fowl series together. I’m not verifying this 100%, but maybe, just maybe, she lent me a Portuguese translation of Twilight (Crepúsculo) a few weeks ago. Some of these books have been helped and/or popularized by their movie adaptations, but the success of the genre is significant, especially because reading YA has become less stigmatized for older readers. Fantasy and Science Fiction seem to be having a resurgence as well (and don’t even get me talking about YA Fantasy!). I’m particularly glad that Fantasy and SF, typically marginalized by the literary significance of literary fiction (or something), have been met with growing respect. Maybe another day you’ll get a list of all the books I wish I had time to reread, but today I want to emphasize what I think is an important point about YA: not all YA is brilliant. Like any diet, you need a healthy serving of leafy poetry and meaty non-fiction or whatever in your food pyramid, but it has become a significant part of our culture, and I’m up for anything book-related that can do that. Reading is already a burden in a busy world and people seem to be dropping the habit altogether. There are countless books we are supposed to have read and are pretending we’ve read, most of them erudite and intimidating at first glance, boasting girth and a prize in incomprehensible fiction, so is it surprising that we’ve retreated to our comfort zone? Good YA manages to be multi-layered, generally easy to read and an absolute page-turner. I haven’t heard the same about “Gravity’s Rainbow” lately. Never before have we seen such an established, mutual appreciation of culture between Generation Y and their parents (who can themselves range from Generation X to the Baby Boomers). Susana is a sophomore. You can reach her at smedeir1@swarthmore.edu.
List Gallery transforms to accomodate new installations Continued from p. 10
“RESILIENCE”
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September 8, 2011
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History With a Future Conversation with Matthew Rubin ’04 Thursday, Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m Trotter 303
TRINITY THRIFT SHOP Trinity Church Swarthmore, PA
Corner of North Chester Rd. and College Ave. Open Friday, Sept. 9 at 8:30 - 1:30 p.m.
editor’s picks
By Dina Zingaro
Sin Nombre Friday, Sept. 9 8:00 p.m. LPAC Cinema
Occupation 101 Friday, Sept. 9 7:30 p.m. Sci 199 14
September 8, 2011
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Staff Editorial
Like Bryn Mawr, Swat should pick up SEPTA tab Swarthmore College is a cradle of culture — a microcosm of the arts, humanities, literature, music, philosophy and the social and natural sciences. Embedded in our arboretum is the opportunity to learn from and engage with some of the best minds of this generation and those of years past, the chance to explore interests that range from spoken word to war and the prospect of showcasing the talents and passions that led us to Swarthmore in the first place. But in this semi-sprawling land of the learned and the learning, we are also unequivocally isolated from a rough and tumble world that boasts police officers instead of Public Safety and concrete instead of the Crum. Yet it is also a world abuzz with culture in its most candid form. And we need not even look to the givens for intellectual and artistic enrichment — New York, Chicago or L.A. We have good old Philly. And with the SEPTA Regional R3 train perched at the verdant foot of our campus, it’s not so hard to go from dorm room to Downtown Philadelphia. This is also the case for Bryn Mawr College. Our sister school, located in Lower Merion Township and aware of the very tangible benefits of being in such close proximity to Philadelphia, has implemented a program through which students may request tickets and tokens for use on regional rail, subway, bus and trolley lines. Up to 20 one-way tickets and 20 tokens can be obtained per semester, while a maximum of four oneway tickets (two round-trip fares) may be requested at one time.
The arrangement, put into effect on August 28 of this year (right at the start of the fall semester) and funded by the Bryn Mawr student activities budget, gives students the option of attending any co- or extra-curricular activity in the city of Philadelphia without having to worry about the cost of transportation. These range from picking up a new pair of ubiquitous boat shoes to wandering any one of Philly’s many galleries and museums. But where does that leave Swatties except for stranded in Sharples and settling for Target? While Swarthmore students already get reimbursed through the Dean’s Office for commuting to classes at the University of Pennsylvania, and SEPTA tokens and tickets through the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility for volunteer and service activities, trips into Philly to shop or see a live band are not at all funded. To eliminate the burden of a transit fare is to pop the “Swarthmore Bubble.” Or, at least, have it quiver threateningly. It is to prompt the history buff to trek on over to the Liberty Bell one rare leisurely afternoon. It is to invite your significant other to a restaurant that doesn’t at all resemble a salad bar. It is to explore every musical or artistic inclination you may have in Philadelphia’s many venues and attractions. It is to honor a commitment to comprehensive financial aid. It is to not use the fact that a SEPTA ticket costs just as much as a couple week’s worth of laundry. But really, think of all the clean socks you’d have.
Emma Waitzman Phoenix Staff
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A SEPTA Regional R6 train makes its way through Philadelphia.
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Romney’s right: Corporations are people August 11, 2011 was supposed to be the day former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s campaign for president came to an end. Swarthmore alum Daniel Symonds ’11 and a group of paid political hecklers sought to alter the dynamics of the race for president at the Iowa State Fair — they managed to get GoverTyler Becker nor Romney to say the unthinkable: “Corporations The Swarthmore are people, my friend.” Conservative They thought, “How could America vote for a candidate who believes that? Corporations are evil. They have no consideration for the average person, yet Mitt contends that they are people? That just couldn’t be possible.” Screaming the ills of corporate greed, the hecklers sought to illicit a response from Romney that would portray him as a man who could care less about the citizens of Middle America. After all, President Obama is the guy who hates corporations and stands up for the average person. These Republicans only want to line the pockets of the fat cats on Wall Street. Mitt’s electability argument was supposed to fly out the window, going down ten points in the polls against President Obama. Suddenly, even congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) seemed more electable than Romney. President Obama started to look like he may actually be reelected, his poll numbers indicating dramatic gains in the Midwest while the media played the sound bite incessantly. Nearly a month following this exchange, none of this has happened. According to the latest Washington Post/
ABC News Poll, Romney has a four-point lead on President Obama nationally. Romney even repeated the line at Senator Jim DeMint’s forum in South Carolina on Monday. Yet no one in the media went wild. The reason is very simple. Mitt’s right: corporations are people. The very definition of a corporation has to do with people. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the corporate firm we are talking about as “an association of employers and employees in a basic industry.” A corporation is made up of stockholders who get a return on their investment if the corporation makes a profit. These stockholders include employees of the corporation, as well as other investors. Many Americans put some of their savings into a 401k so they have money set aside for when they retire. Financial planners diversify these savings into different industries so that their clients can make money on their investment. The media has made a big deal of Exxon Mobile’s record profits in the past few years. It is rarely mentioned in the media that this is a public company that many people have money in, whether these investors are aware of it or not. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, nearly 121 million Americans work for firms and establishments that we call “corporations.” A corporation can be a small business consisting of just one individual, or a large multinational firm employing hundreds of thousands of people. Corporations are formed for people in order to pool resources. While this does not make them “real” people, what happens to a corporation directly impacts the employees, the shareholders, etc. of that corporation. In the Citizens United v. FEC decision by the Supreme Court, this distinction is made. The Court argues that corporations share the same constitutional protections enjoyed by people because people exercise those basic rights in forming a corporation. A defense of the controversial Citizens United ruling is
not even necessary to illustrate what Romney was trying to say when he affirmed the personhood of corporations. The former governor was talking about tax policy, arguing that if the government raises taxes on corporations, the burden of those taxes ultimately falls on the people. A tax increase on a corporation means that more of its profits go to the government rather than to shareholders and employees, many of whom have stock in the company they work for. Tax increases and increased regulation also harm small businesses, which make up seventy-five percent of all firms. Almost four million firms have fewer than ten employees, making the impact of government tax policy on employees and owners of these small businesses directly felt by the individual. Corporations are people. Or, they are at least made up of individuals who endure the effects of government policies. It is likely that either President Obama or a Democratic front group will bring up Romney’s statement in the general election (if Romney turns out to be the Republican nominee). Doing so, however, will serve to show that the increasingly liberal Democratic Party does not care to understand business. Republicans will highlight the failed economic policies of President Obama, who has chosen to demonize business rather than work with private industry to get our economy back on the right track. We need a president who understands how jobs are created, and also how jobs are lost. The unemployment rate remains above nine percent, and Obama is set to propose more stimulus and spending. This is a method that has already been attempted, and has not succeeded. It is no surprise, then, that supporters of the President would see the comment as a liability for Romney. This is because they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the way business operates in this country. Tyler is a sophomore. He can be reached at tbecker1@ swarthmore.edu.
Danish politics may be remedy for US partisanship T h e first thing you notice upon arrival in Kastrup Airport is the contentment – Denmark is rated the happiest country, Olivia Natan after all. Well, I acThe World At Large tually only saw about ten people, m o s t l y tourists and hot dog vendors, but within an hour or two of meeting my host family, we had already begun to discuss Denmark’s healthcare system and the general satisfaction with their universal coverage and the extensive social welfare. I guess I sort of knew that none of the eight major parties here opposed abolishing the welfare state (while the Liberal Alliance does, they have a negligible number of seats), but I just wanted to believe there was some opposition to its existence to make myself feel better about the US. After years of frustration with American politics and attempts to understand opposition to ensuring universal access to healthcare, I guess you could say I’m in a state of political shock. I spent the summer closely following the insanity that is the GOP primary, so it is both relaxing and bittersweet to watch the Danish political system at work. Within each of the two blocs, no real progress on welfare or tax reform has been made,
so the status quo remains as it is. This style of campaigning is suited to a small means that most political squabbling is state where parties have more weight over little or nothing at all. Danes I have than individual politicians. spoken to complain only about how silly Campaigns aside, the political tenor debates between candidates or parties and civil involvement in Denmark offer seem, rather than the vast ideological several key lessons that could be applied gap that characterizes American politics. in the US. In practice, the negative parliaParties here fall typically into two blocs: mentarism (wherein the government can the red or left bloc (Social Democrats, So- stay in power so long as there is not a macialist People’s Party, Radical Liberals jority against it) requires cooperation for and Red-Green Alliance) and the blue or a government to form out of eight parties. right bloc (Liberals, Conservatives, Lib- The biggest parties have no more than eral Alliance and Danish People’s Party) about a quarter of the vote, so comprowith no vote of confidence from Parlia- mise has always been essential for policy ment necessary to remain in power. The to be passed. This tendency to search for blue bloc, curagreement rently in powrather than er, will likely vociferously More humility would help lose to the red talk past each bloc in the other finds its American politicians achieve September 15 basis in Denelection. mark’s singuwhat Denmark’s already Oh – and lar history, a do — compromise. did I mention history where that the cama small, forpaign only merly powerlasts 3 weeks, and there are no television ful state had to ally itself with great powads? To be fair, this description over- ers to retain its sovereignty. looks the entirely different conditions Denmark’s small scale affords its polisurrounding Denmark – making such a tics a level of humility that every Amerisystem almost entirely unviable in the can politician should seek to emulate. I do US – and the fact that Denmark, like any- not hesitate to say that the United States where in the world, has plenty of prob- is in decline. To accompany this waning, lems of its own: disagreements about the more humility would help American poltax burden on individuals and corpora- iticians achieve what Denmark’s already tions, disparate view on immigration and do – compromise. A country whose leadtension surrounding the incorporation of ers know its place in the world, as in Denmulticulturalism into Danish society. mark, serves as a prime example (most Take the short campaign season. If we of the time) for making policy decisions adjust the Danish campaign — which ca- that are focused on where the country is ters to a population of only about 5 mil- now and not where it once was. lion voters — to reflect the American Of course, Denmark’s imperfections population, our campaign season would contradict its own advice at times, as in last over three years. Clearly, the Danish the case of its attitude towards immigra-
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September 8, 2011
tion and multiculturalism. Nonetheless, the sense of shared sacrifice that underlies the Danish welfare system, if applied in some areas of American domestic policy, could work wonders. Though some income tax rates here exceed 50 percent (a bit excessive), the social services provided by the government – free education through university, nationalized healthcare and pensions – are much appreciated, and no one questions their existence. In contrast, the “individual freedom” to pay fewer taxes but miss out on more efficiently provided social services does not seem like it will be missing from American political discussion anytime soon. In a “60 Minutes” program on why Denmark is rated the happiest country, the host interviewed many young Danes about their satisfaction with their lives. One chatty student said that he thought the modest expectations typically held in Denmark led them to be happier with any outcome (he also suggested that Americans should abandon the American Dream). This theme of minimized expectations was repeated throughout the special, and the host suggested that perhaps Americans should lower their sights a little. This advice – to be good but not great – exemplifies the sacrifice and compromise that could make American politics more palatable. I don’t think that the centuries of a widening ideological gap can be erased overnight, or even over the course of a decade. But the American people will be the losers until our politicians, like our citizens, begin to sacrifice their self-interested partisanship and work towards a more compromise-based political process. Olivia is a junior. She can be reached at onatan1@swarthmore.edu.
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Obama will make audacious jobs speech tonight BY SAM SUSSMAN ssussma1@swarthmore.edu Tonight, President Barack Obama will deliver to a joint session of Congress what will no doubt be a defining speech in his presidency. For nearly two weeks, the Obama Administration has been promoting this speech, during which the president is poised to announce a new strategy to combat unemployment. On the verge of a double dip recession, with 16% of Americans under or unemployed and all other monetary and fiscal options exhausted, the president must rise to the occasion with a bold and dramatic proposal: a public jobs program. Such a program would put unemployed Americans directly to work in areas of urgent social need: teaching in our classrooms, rebuilding broken infrastructure, laying the groundwork for a green energy economy and beautifying communities. With Americans increasingly anxious about our individual and collective futures, anything short of such a bold policy initiative would represent a failure in terms of both economic governance and political strategy. Let’s start with economic governance. For all the Republican gibberish about “big government,” the core problem in this economy is insufficient aggregate demand. The largest banks and corporations are flush with cash, holding over $2 trillion in their collective coffers. Yet firms are not hiring because their medium and long-term forecasts indicate
OP-ED
that consumers don’t have the purchasing power to buy their goods. Why hire a person to produce something nobody can buy? To understand why demand is chronically low, we need to trace some brief economic history. For thirty years, median income has stagnated while education and health costs have risen three to four times the rate of inflation. To maintain middle class standards of living, families have absorbed ever more debt. During the Bush years, these conditions worsened: 65% of income growth went to the wealthiest 1%, while middle class income actually decreased. When the 2008 financial crisis struck, cash-strapped and job-insecure families dramatically cut spending, leading to a concurrent drop in overall demand. Now, we face a classic “collective action” problem: firms would hire if they knew consumers would spend, but consumers won’t spend unless firms hire. The only solution is a large-scale public jobs program, which would decrease job insecurity while increasing consumers’ purchasing power. In response to this new demand, businesses would increase productivity, and, in turn, rapidly accelerate hiring. With time, the program would expire as private sector hiring brought unemployment down to acceptable levels. Of course, reactionary critics -both austerity-infatuated Republicans and cautious Democrats- will argue that a public jobs program would simply be an extension of the “failed” February 2009 stimulus program. This argument is wrong for two reasons: First, the stimu-
lus was effective in turning jobs losses of 800,000 a month into monthly job gains within ten months, and in saving or adding an estimated 3.3 million jobs within fifteen months, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Unfortunately, it was not large enough to sustain long-term recovery, partly because it offset cuts at the local and state level, so that the total increase in public spending was nowhere near the $789 billion price tag. More critically, as stimulus spending slowed, businesses quickly cut back production to meet falling demand levels. By linking the duration of the public jobs creation program to the rate of unemployment, this problem could be avoided. A public jobs program would not just be an economic winner, but also politically advantageous for President Obama and the Democratic Party. By dramatically reducing unemployment, it would prove that government can effectively meet the needs of ordinary Americans— a fact from which, as the “party of government,” the Democratic Party would naturally benefit. Equally important, a bold public jobs program would say to the nation, “Let the Republican Party stand up for Wall St. and Big Oil. We stand for everybody else.” Of course, many Democrats prefer the non-confrontational and less ambitious route of another round of tax incentives for business that hire, payroll tax cuts and the ratification of free trade agreements. The Republicans would block a measure as ambitious as a public jobs program, they argue, so we should settle for less ambitious proposals— even if
they are less effective. Curiously, these Democrats rarely grapple with the logic of a public jobs program in terms of economic governance. After all, it was public job programs like the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps that cut unemployment in half in the first five years of the Great Depression, and it was the largest public jobs program in history — World War II — that finally ended the Depression. That aside, these arguments are shortsighted in terms of political strategy. The fact of the matter is, the GOP is going to block whatever proposal Obama announces next week. Democrats should know by now that whether they propose bold, progressive solutions or seek comprise by recycling ideas proposed by Republicans themselves, the GOP is going to scream “socialism” either way. Many Americans are wondering if President Obama is the visionary leader so many of us believed he was in 2008: a leader willing to advocate a bold vision for our collective future in the face of intransient opposition. If the President is such a leader, then this evening — with unemployment at levels unseen since the Great Depression and the 2012 election rapidly approaching — he will make the question of publicly-sponsored full employment the defining issue of the 112th Congress and the 2012 Presidential election. Nothing would say “Audacity” louder. Sam Sussman is a junior transfer student of politics, philosophy and literature. Send your thoughts to ssussma1@swarthmore.edu
One more thing your phone can do.
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Field hockey starts fast, but never lets up in opener BY RENEE FLORES rflores1@swarthmore.edu The Swarthmore women’s field hockey team hit the field this weekend, opening its season with a 6-2 victory against Virginia Wesleyan at home. The team continued play yesterday, hosting Richard Stockton. Yesterday, the team played in a home game against Richard Stockton, losing 4-3. The team moves to 1-1 on the season. In the Wesleyan game, the team began play quickly, with the first goal coming from Katie Teleky ’13 within two minutes of the start of the game. Teleky lead the team in goals with two in the game, adding one assist. Following this goal was Beth Johnson ’15 with the second goal just minutes later, giving the Garnet a 2-0 lead. Johnson added two assists to game play. The Garnet continued the half strong, recording another three goals after Wesleyan came back with a goal of their own, providing Swat with a comfortable 5-1 lead going into the half. Julia Tallarico ’13 scored the final goal for the Garnet, while Virginia Wesleyan managed one more goal in the game, making the final score 6-2. “The team did well in the first game of the season,” Head Coach Lauren Fuchs said. “The team has a lot to improve on.” Fuchs was happy with the way the
team moved the ball offensively. Some areas the team is working on are: skills on the move, being deceptive, passing sooner and being aggressive. “I knew we had a lot of talent and impact players, but I wasn’t sure how we were going to play together [as a team]. I knew we would figure it out,” Anne Rosenblatt ’14 said. “We did really well.” Teammate Sophia Agathis ’13 agrees, saying “This weekend’s game was a great way to start the season. It wasn’t perfect, but we dominated most of the game and came away with a pretty good win.” Last season, the team lost to Richard Stockton in overtime, and hoping to break that streak, the Garnet followed the pattern of starting play early, scoring the first goal of the game within five minutes of the beginning of the first half. Nia Jones ’14 made the play unassisted from the left wing for the Garnet. The game progressed steadily, with shots from both sides until Stockton scored their first goal well into the first half. The teams were tied going into the second half, and the Garnet racked up two more goals early in play from Taryn Colonnese ’13 and Agathis, making the score 3-1 in the team’s favor. Stockton came right back with two more goals of their own, tying the game again and leading the coach to call a timeout. The last 15 minutes of play saw two blocked shots
from the Garnet and the Garnet ended the game with a hard-fought 4-3 loss in the second game of the season. The season is still young for the young team, with 13 of 19 players being first-years and sophomores. Team dynamic is still developing. Fuchs said it would take time for the team to get to where it wants to be and that the first-years are blending in well with the rest of the team with help from the junior leadership. Rosenblatt agrees that the team needs to up its game, making more moves more often. “We need to be more physical and more skilled than we just saw [in the Virginia Wesleyan game]. We can handle it, it’s just a different type of play,” she said. The team is playing a challenging schedule, but its focus is on the immediate challenge of the next game. “They’re all challenging. The next game is the challenging one. As soon as we talk about Widener, we’re not focusing on what we need to be focusing on. That’s our mindset,” Fuchs said. With the team so focused on its current opponent, all energy is fixed on the win. “Hopefully if we just hold our own throughout the game, we’ll be fine,” Rosenblatt said. The Garnet return to the field on Saturday when they host Widener in its third game of the season. Play is scheduled to begin at noon.
Paul Chung The Phoenix
(Clockwise, l-r.) Sophia Agathis (13) and Aarti Rao (10) defend the middle of the field; Forward Catie Meador chases after a Va. Wesleyan player; The Garnet on offense; Forward Nia Jones battles for the ball. THE PHOENIX
September 8, 2011
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Cross country comes out of gate strong in first meet
“It’s too early in the season for us to really be racing hard, so we just ran yesterday’s race as a workout.” Michael Fleischmann ’13 echoed his teammate’s sentiments. “We didn’t look at [the meet] as a competition but more of a workout,” FleisThe Swarthmore cross country season began on a high note Friday. Both the men’s and women’s teams produced strong showings at the Bryn Mawr chmann said. “Nobody went all-out, but it was good that everyone worked off of each other the Invitational at Media’s Rose Tree Park, with members of the Garnet finishing in whole race. Everyone’s in great shape.” the top five on each team. Despite their tempered perspective on the meet’s significance, the cross-country On the women’s side, Melissa Frick ’12 placed third overall with a time of 21:38.00. Frick finished just one second ahead of Rebecca Hammond ’13 and Stepha- teams have no problem getting excited about the big picture. “Looking at the rest of the season, I think we’re in position for a great year,” nie Beebe ’12. Gerhenson said. Katie Gonzalez ’12 finished sixth with a time of 22:01.00. “We’ve got eleven of our top twelve runners from last year Eastern University’s Whitney Kerner finished first overall at back, everyone looks to be at least as fit as they were, if not 21:26.00, coming in ten seconds ahead of Bryn Mawr’s Kristina Kronauer. If we stay healthy and better, and we have some real quick first-years who I think will contribute in a big way.” The men’s cross-country squad, competing against Eastern fit, we feel we can Coming off a fourth-place finish at last year’s CentenniUniversity and Rosemont College in a 5k run, enjoyed an even al Conference Championship meet, the men’s and women’s more auspicious debut. move beyond the teams look to improve on that this year. Members of the Garnet took the top five spots and twelve of regional level. “We’re still growing as a team,” Fain said, “but this year the top thirteen. we’re hoping for a third-place finish in [the Conference Jacob Phillips ’13 Robert Fain ’14 tied for first overall with Melissa Frick ’12 Championship meet], and a top-10 finish at regionals. matching times of 16:58.18. “We achieved our goal last year, but we maybe didn’t give The two just barely beat out Aidan Dumont-McCaffrey ’13, as much thought to our regional meet as we will this year,” who finished a fraction of a second later. Fain added. John McMinn ’13 and Erik Myers ’15 rounded out the top five. For her part, Frick believes that next step — going past regionals — is well “It was a good introduction to the season,” Frick said of the race. A good way to segue from running nonchalantly in the summer to running com- within the team’s grasp. “If we stay healthy and fit,” Frick said, “we feel we can move beyond the repetitively.” Despite the impressive showing, the Garnet remain realistic about the implica- gional level.” The Garnet men’s and women’s squads return to action next Saturday, Septemtions of the year’s first race. “I think the meet went pretty much as well as we expected,” Zach Gershenson ber 10, at the annual Alumni Meet through the Crum Woods. The start time is scheduled for noon. ’12 said in an email. BY TIMOTHY BERNSTEIN tbernst1@swarthmore.edu
Soccer drops two, ends week on high note BY ANA APOSTOLERIS aaposto1@swarthmore.edu
Although the first week of play did not exactly go according to plan for the Swarthmore women’s soccer team, the Garnet showed promise and resiliency through their first three games of the season. After taking a beating, 1-0 and 4-0, at the hands of Moravian and Messiah respectively at last weekend’s Messiah Classic, the team bounced back to top 320 rival Widener in a decisive 3-0 victory on Tuesday. Head coach Todd Anckaitis was unfazed by the losses, citing Saturday’s game as a testament to Messiah’s strength as opposed to a reflection on Swarthmore. “We were glad to finally get the opportunity to play Messiah in the regular season,” said Anckaitis. “This was the second time in four years we’ve chosen to face a #1 team in the country, and that only helps us grow.” Messiah, ranked first in the country in a D3Soccer. com preseason poll, presented perhaps the toughest challenge of the year in just the second game. “You’d be hard pressed to find any program at any level of sports with the dominance the Messiah women have had,” Anckaitis said. “We knew we were going in facing a tall task but we weren’t intimidated … we got [a] championship-caliber experience in the second game of the season, and that can only make us
better.” The weekend’s games were not without highlights, despite the strength of competition — on Friday in the season opener against Moravian, goalie Beth Martin ’13 allowed just one goal in a full 90 minutes at the net. “I think that we were pleasantly surprised with the resilience and fearlessness exhibited by the team this weekend,” Martin said. Martin will split time in goal this year with Marie Mutryn ’12. “It’s not easy to play the first match of the year without three senior captains … but it caused everyone to step up, including the freshmen who have only been with us for two weeks, and we saw incredible effort from every player.” A number of Garnet players missed the Friday evening match with Moravian due to injury or class conflict, including the three captains, but the diminished roster gave several members of the class of ’15 the chance to gain valuable experience as they took to the pitch for the first time in their college careers. One such first-year, midfielder Amy DiPierro, reported no rookie jitters before Friday’s game. “I felt ready. The women’s soccer team does a phenomenal job of preparing first-years for the physical and emotional arc of a season,” DiPierro said. “We all know we have a really supportive group of coaches and teammates behind us.”
All the pieces came together on Tuesday, however, as the Garnet played through a day’s worth of rain to best the Widener Pride, 3-0. The Garnet defense allowed no shots on goal, giving Mutryn her first shutout of the season, and the offense finally showed up, scoring once in the first half and twice in the second half to give Swarthmore the win. Forward Amber Famiglietti ’14 opened the scoring with a 21st minute shot from 20 yards, breaking through after being responsible for half of the team’s shots on goal over the weekend; first-years Emma Sindelar and DiPierro notched their first career goals to put the game away. With the first win of the season now a thing of the past, the team has all confidence in its ability to continue on the path to a successful season. “There is great energy within the team this year,” Martin said. “We know what kind of energy we want to bring to every game, and we have a real awareness of how everyone around us is feeling.” Anckaitis described the upcoming schedule, nonConference until September 17, as potentially “character-building.” “We want to be the best, so we play the best,” Anckaitis said. The Garnet will look to make it two in a row on Saturday, when they travel to Scranton to take on Marywood University. Play is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
GARNET IN ACTION FRIDAY, SEPT. 9
Volleyball vs. TBD, Garnet Classic, 1:00 p.m.
Volleyball vs. Rutgers-Camden, 6:00 p.m.
Women’s soccer at Marywood,1:00 p.m.
Volleyball vs. Cabrini, 8:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 11
SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
Women’s soccer at Scranton, Joe Bochicchio Memorial Classic,1:00 p.m.
Women’s tennis, Swarthmore Invitational, 9:00 a.m.
Women’s tennis, Swarthmore Invitational, 1:00 p.m.
Volleyball vs. Marymount (Va.), Garnet Classic, 11:00 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14 Men’s soccer vs. Widener, 7:00 p.m.
Cross country, Alumni Meet,12:00 p.m.
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Palestra may host Carmelo, Durant in exhibition
point but added, “There’s definitely interest on Penn’s part. We’d be crazy not to try and get an event like this in the Palestra.” Meanwhile, Warrick tweeted Sunday, “Stay tuned still working on a few deIn less than 19 days, NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant may tails” in response to a question about the game. descend onto Penn’s historic Palestra for a Team Philly-Team Baltimore exhibiRegardless of where the game is held, the exhibition should draw huge crowds tion basketball game. based on the level of talent that will take the hardwood. The event — which remains unofficial as of yet — is the brain child of NBA Anthony, who averaged 25.6 points per game last season, reportedly told Warplayer and Philadelphia native Hakim Warrick, who played alongside Anthony rick he would probably bring along fellow NBA stars from the Washington/ at Syracuse University. Baltimore area, including Durant, the League’s twoWarrick told ESPN he had been planning the game time defending scoring champ, and Denver Nuggets’ for quite some time, but was pushed into action afguard Ty Lawson. ter recent star-studded exhibitions between summer Warrick, on the other hand, would attempt to An epic scoring performance in league teams — such as the Team Melo-Goodman bring along a Philly-based NBA crew headlined by showdown that featured Anthony, Durant, LeBron the Palestra would boost Durant’s the League’s 2010 Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans, James and Chris Paul. St. Joe’s alumnus Jameer Nelson, Philadelphia 76ers’ reputation as arguably the best With Philly chosen as the host city, Warrick would guard Lou Williams, and former Villanova standout basketball player in the world like the game to be held at a college gym — he named Kyle Lowry (now with the Houston Rockets). This exTemple, St. Joseph’s and Penn as possible locales — hibition would be just the next of what has become a but if it’s up to him, the game will be held on 33rd St. growing trend this summer. “My first choice is the Palestra because when you think of Philly, especially With the NBA players and owners still locked out, many of the game’s brightBig 5 Basketball and all the history, you think of the Palestra,” he told ESPN. est stars have taken to summer leagues to stay sharp and entertain fans. The Phoenix Suns forward may very well get his wish. Durant, in particular, has made the past few weeks his personal showcase, Fellow Syracuse alumnus and ESPN Los Angeles beat writer Dave McMe- scoring 66 points in a game at New York’s Rucker Park and 59 points against the namin tweeted on Thursday that the game has been scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Team Melo squad that featured James, Anthony and Paul. Palestra. “The Durantula” has been adding to his legacy each time he hits the court. Still, it appears much needs to be worked out before such an event is set in However, an epic scoring performance in the Palestra, also known as “The stone. Cathedral of College Basketball,” would boost his reputation as arguably the best Penn’s Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney emphasized that basketball player in the world. BY KEVIN ESTEVES thedp.com, September 6, 2011
Garnet athlete of the week
Noah Sterngold SOPH., SOCCER, MUNCY, PA.
WHAT HE’S DONE: A midfielder, Sterngold’s acrobatic goal was the defining highlight-reel moment from Swarthmore’s 9-0 thrashing of Immaculata on Saturday. FAVORITE CAREER MOMENT: “When we won the Centennial Conference Championship last season. The Centennial is a top conference in D3 soccer and to win it with this group of guys was amazing.” WHAT HE WANTS TO DO: “It’s important to win the conference as that’s the only way to guarantee that we’ll be in the NCAA tournament. After last year, though, I know we all want more and think we should still be playing come December.” ON THE U.S. COACHING CHANGE: “I liked Bob Bradley, [but] I do think it was time for a new direction for the team. [New coach Jurgen] Klinsmann is a great coach and I think he’ll do really well with the team.”
Courtesy of the Daily Pennsylvanian
The home of Penn Basketball, the Palestra could play host to a star-studded summer league game featuring NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant THE PHOENIX
September 8, 2011
Simone Forrester The Phoenix
FAVORITE SOCCER PLAYER: “The recently retired Paul Scholes. He did almost nothing fancy yet stil managed to play beautiful scocer in the middle of Manchester United, and was a model professional throughout his career.
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Men’s soccer wins one in rout, then one in thriller BY VICTOR BRADY vbrady1@swarthmore.edu Jack Momeyer ’14 entered his sophomore season with a perfect shooting percentage. As a first-year, the midfielder had taken three shots and scored three goals. But with his team trailing 1-0 in the first half on Sunday against Rutgers-Camden and the Scarlet Raptors keeper beat, Momeyer put a blast towards the gaping goal off the back of the lone defender straddling the goal line. “I said to him at halftime ‘there is a reason that you are on the field, and it’s not so you can miss sitters,’” head coach Eric Wagner joked. “He said ‘Coach, I am going to score a goal.’” It took just five minutes for Momeyer to make good on that promise. After a brilliant cutting ball from midfielder Kieran Reichert ’13 to a forward-minded Pierre Dyer ’12, the senior defender served a cross to Momeyer who buried the equalizer. “I’m real proud of him,” Wagner added. “He is one of the most self-critical guys that we have … and he was just excited to get the chance to get out there and make it better and he sure did.” Buoyed by the goal and with a renewed sense of confidence, Swarthmore scored the game-winner in the 75th minute off the foot of Fabian Castro ’12 to improve to 2-0 on the young season and extend its home unbeaten streak to 27. Sunday’s victory came one day after the Garnet thumped an overmatched Immaculata side 9-0 in the season opener as Swarthmore showed no ill effects in their first game of the post-Morgan Langley era. In the opener, tri-captain Micah Rose opened the
scoring in the 10th minute, brothers Noah ’14 and David Sterngold ’12 combined for three goals in the span of 3:29 midway through the first half, and the Garnet opened up a 7-0 lead before the intermission. The ambitious runs of Dyer and Noah Sterngold from the outside of the defensive line opened the interior for the Garnet’s talented midfield and strikers throughout the weekend’s matches. Though Dyer understands his role as primarily defensive, “when in possession, we get to support the offense by giving them width to stretch the opponent’s defense. Our role is helping our style of play as we are now more looking to control and possess the ball instead of goonkicking it up the field.” “Both [Dyer and Sterngold] are outstanding defenders and outstanding athletes who could play anywhere on the field,” Wagner said. “We seem to have found the right spots for both of them, and the way that teams have been playing against us so far, they have played low pressure allowing us to have a lot of space between our defenders and their pressure. This gives those guys a chance to get a head of steam.” According to Dyer, who also scored in the first half for Swarthmore against Immaculata, the team “came out with confidence and a real desire to win and to prove what we can do in a different style of play.” But Sunday was a different story as Rutgers-Camden looked like the better team in the first half of play and opened the scoring in the seventh minute after a loose ball in front off a long throw deflected to Camden’s premier striker Mitch Grotti alone at the top of the six yard box. “I don’t think that we were quite prepared for the physical nature of the game and for a much stronger opponent,” Wagner said. “As a result, I think that
Midfielder Robert Contreras IV helped the Garnet come back against Rutgers-Camden on September 4.
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[during] the first half of Sunday’s game, we were not playing very well, were not executing our game plan very well, primarily because we just weren’t moving much. But [in] the second half we played much better with a lot more energy, and we got the result.” It took a brilliant save from senior goalkeeper David D’Annunzio later in the half — a full-extension finger-tip deflection over the crossbar — to keep the Garnet within one and set the stage for the second-half comeback. The Garnet is no stranger to come-from-behind victories. In last year’s Centennial Conference tournament, Swarthmore went down a goal to Johns Hopkins in the semi-final before equalizing and advancing on penalties and to Muhlenberg in the final before equalizing and scoring the winner in overtime. Sunday marked the third time in six matches that the Garnet surrendered the opening goal and the fourth time in six matches that Swarthmore scored a game-tying or game-winning goal after the 70th minute. Goaltender David D’Annunzio, who moved within three shutouts of the program record of 25 with the victory on Saturday, believes that the program has adopted a “second-half” mentality. “In some ways, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.” D’Annunzio said. “We will be a second-half team if we keep saying we’re a second-half team. We need to do the simple things right and know that teams can punish us because we are not invincible. Making comebacks is also not the safest way to win.” It may not be safe, but it is sure dramatic. Swarthmore returns to action at Clothier Field on Wednesday, September 14th against Widener. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Justin Toran-Burrell The Phoenix
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