Phoenix November 16, 2017

Today in OPINIONS: Brittni Teresi: The beauty of an unintelligible world A4, Jacob Brady reflects on the first year of the Trump presidency A5

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“Closed Place, Open Space” at Kitao

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November 16, 2017

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The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881

Dean Rivera to leave IC, new leadership to be determined

by Bayliss Wagner News Writer On the morning of Nov. 13, Dean of Students Elizabeth Braun announced over email that Rivera would be leaving the college at the end of the fall semester to accept a new position.

“It is with very mixed emotions that I write to share the news that Jason Rivera, Dean of the Sophomore Class and Director of the Intercultural Center, has accepted the position of Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Success at Rutgers University, Camden Campus,” Braun said in

The week ahead

the email.

The Intercultural Center, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has recently struggled with high turnover of its directors, so much so that the Intercultural Center Director and Dean of the Sophomore Class Jason Rivera, who joined the college on July 1, 2016, was known to tell students about his intention to maintain the position.

“If you ever talked to him, and you talked to him about the turnover rate, he would say, ‘I’m here. I’m gonna stay here,’” Cindy Lopez ’20, IC intern and

member of the Pride Month planning committee, said.

Rivera has overseen the planning of the IC’s planned expansion into the Sproul Observatory, created the LGBTQ advisory committee and hired Cooper Kidd, the college’s 20172018 LGBTQ fellow. According to Rivera, the change in position will afford him greater agency and ability to affect change on a larger scale.

“This role provides me with an important opportunity to reach a greater number of students and to work at a significantly higher level to support student success

across the RU-Camden campus,” Rivera said in an email. “As I have grown in my career, I have become deeply passionate about and committed to supporting students as they pursue their goals and aspirations. Often times, the barriers that impede student success are structural and systemic. The work I will be doing at RU-Camden will allow me to identify, address and/or dismantle those barriers and help a greater number of students achieve their fullest potential.”

Lopez, who was appointed an IC intern this semester, formed

a close relationship with Rivera last year.

“Last year I wasn’t a huge part of the IC, but after the election, after other stuff that happened last semester and last year in general, I got really close to him because I would just go to his office and play with his dog ... and you know, just hang out and chill, so for me he’s kind of a big part of campus,” she said. “It’s just nice having him around.”

Lopez did not know about Rivera’s planned departure until she read Dean Braun’s email. continued on page A2

Swarthmore College Orchestra concert features David Kim

Thursday Sari Altschuler ’01 will return to campus to discuss her new book “The Medical Imagination: Literature and Health in the Early United States.” The talk will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Scheuer.

Speak2Swatties will host a study break with cookies and coloring sheets from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in Shane lounge.

Friday The Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music will host a concert at 8:00 p.m. in Lang Concert Hall.

“Parrish is Burning: A Drag Event” will bring Drag Queens from the Philly area will put on a performance at Olde Club from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Saturday The Swarthmore College Wind Ensemble will perform their fall program featuring Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy and more. The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. and be in Lang Concert Hall.

Sunday Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble will host their concert from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. in Lang Concert Hall.

Monday Swarthmore Political Science is organizing “Islamophobia in the Name of Women’s Rights” featuring Sara Farris from the University of London at 4:15 p.m. in Sci 199.

Peace and Conflict Studies and Environmental Studies will host Professor Randall Amster, author of Peace Ecology, to discuss “WEaving the Threads: Intersectionality, Sustainability & Environmental Justice” The talk will be from 4:15-5:45 p.m. in Kohlberg 116.

Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

On Sunday Nov. 12th Swarthmore College Orchestra hosted their fall concert which featured David Kim who is the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. They performed several pieces including Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers and Delius’s The Walk to the Paradise Garden.

by Kat Capossela News Writer Every eight years, Swarthmore must evaluate their quality of education to be approved by Middle States, a Philadelphia-based accreditation organization. The school’s most recent cycle of reaccreditation began last year and will continue into 2019, during which time the college reports on aspects of its work, ranging from the effectiveness of the curriculum and the college’s

mission to the student experience and institutional integrity.

Accreditation ensures that institutions of higher learning are meeting expectations put in place by a private organization. Although the mandatory process is tedious and labor-intensive, the parties involved see it as an opportunity for the college to reflect on its institutional goals and constant improvement.

The process is overseen by co-chairs political science professor Carol Nackenoff

Sunrise lead a successful effort to elect opponents of the Mariner East II pipeline, currently under construction, to township boards in Chester County. Four officials who won last Tuesday’s municipal elections promise they will enforce local ordinances designed to protect community members from the dangers of a highpressure natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline connects the Marcellus Shale formations of Western Pennsylvania, an area rich in natural gas, to a shipping terminal in Marcus Hook, a town nine miles from Swarthmore. Petroleum manufacturer and distribution company Sunoco intends to export much of the natural gas to Europe.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the pipeline in 2014, but there is currently a lawsuit being reviewed by an intermediate appeals court in Harrisburg arguing that local townships can assert zoning control. The Commission has banned drilling in West Goshen Township until a hearing regarding the site of a valve scheduled for April of next year. Sunoco started construction on the valve earlier this year, but a judge halted construction, arguing the property was not covered by an earlier agreement.

Sunoco’s parent company, Energy Transfer Partners, announced Wednesday that completion of the project would be pushed to the second quarter of 2018 despite the fact that 99 percent of the pipeline will be in the ground by the end of 2017, according to Stateimpact NPR. The delays are due continued on page A2

and director of institutional research and assessment Robin Shores and a Core Committee, comprised of Provost Tom Stephenson, Dean of Students Liz Braun, Vice President of Finance and Administration Greg Brown, General Counsel Assistant Secretary of the college Sharmaine Bradham LaMar. Middle States recently condensed the number of standards an institution must create and adhere to from 14 to seven. These standards include “Mission and Goals,”

“Ethics and Integrity,” “Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience,” “Support of the Student Experience,” “Educational Effectiveness Assessment,” “Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement,” and “Governance, Leadership, and Administration.” To tackle this, the process leaders assigned a working group, comprised of several students, faculty, staff, and sometimes board members, to each standard.

The college must also prove

that they meet the 15 requirements of affiliation imposed by Middle States. Most of these fit under a standard, the co-chairs reported, but to handle the unmapped requirements of affiliation, an eighth working group was created.

According to the college’s website, last year, Middle States approved a Self Study that outlined the college’s standards and set up for the completed report. This year, the Core continued on page A2

Record Swattie turnout helps Dems win local elections

by Daniel Lee News Writer

Thursday Happy Thanksgiving!

Weather: Ask your tall friend

CONTENTS

Copyright © 2017 The Phoenix

by George Rubin News Writer

College to go through Middle State’s accreditation process again

Wednesday Thanksgiving break starts after class on Wednesday.

Campus news A1-A2 Arts news A3 Opinions A4-A5 Campus Journal A6-A7 Sports A8 Read more at swarthmorephoenix.com

Anti-pipeline candidates elected with help from Sunrise

Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

On Nov. 7, Democrats came out victorious as Brian Zidek and Kevin Madden won two seats on the Delaware County Council. This was the first time in over 30 years that Democrats have secured seats on the Council, which has historically been Republican dominated.

Many community members were involved in helping campaign for the Democrat candidates as signs that read “Zidek Madden Vote Nov 7th: Bring Sanity Back” were dispersed throughout the County. The Swarthmore College Democrats parallelled these efforts by campaigning on campus to students; their efforts were rewarded when Swarthmore College student voter turnout was the highest ever for a local election.

Taylor Morgan ’19, president of Swat Dems, was approached by the County Democrats and candidates after their win and thanked for the student turnout.

“I heard from the people at the polling place, and also at a victory party at the Inn later that night, from the County Democrats and the candidates, that this year was the most significant turnout of Swarthmore students for local elections. All the candidates came up to me at the victory party that night and were thrilled at the engagement and involvement of Swarthmore students canvassing, voting, and in other ways supporting their candidacy,” said Morgan.

Swat Dems’ efforts started way before election day and extended past the college campus. According to Morgan, the organization’s strategy

was to provide information about the election, both about the campaigns of the different candidates, and on the logistics of the voting process, in order to actually help students to go out and vote on Nov. 7.

Before the election, Swat Dems worked to enable students not only to vote, but also be involved in the campaigning process.

“I brought in two canvassing trainers to campus and hosted about 19 students who got trained to do paid canvassing.

Secondly, we had a ‘Get Out the Vote’ operation which consisted of phone banking; canvassing around campus; dorm storming, which consisted of putting voter day information under the doors; tabling in Sharples to sign people up to drive shuttles; and to volunteer for continued on page A2

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November 16, 2017

Local elections, continued from A1 campaigns,” said Morgan.

On the day of the election, Swat Dems were joined by the Sunrise Group and the Swarthmore Conservative Society to coordinate efforts to get people out to vote. President of Swat Conservatives Gilbert Guerra ’19 said that his group abstained from endorsing specific candidates but still believed it was important to get out and vote.

“We joined in the Get Out the Vote effort by advertising it on our social media accounts and by tabling on the day of the election,” said Guerra.

Swat Dems also tried to incentivize students to go vote through food trucks.

“I researched two Blackowned businesses in the area, and I found two food trucks with the help of Andy Rosen, who is the chair of Swarthmore’s Farmer’s Market called Plum Pit Bistro and Catering, and The Sweetest Rose Cupcake Company. So we incentivized students to go vote through food catering. We encouraged students to get on the volun-

teer shuttles behind the food trucks before or after they were getting their food. And I think this really channeled a lot of students to get in the car and go down the street to vote,” said Morgan.

Morgan was also able to get community members to volunteer as drivers through connections from previous local campaign work.

“I was able to secure 17 local drivers who functioned as volunteer shuttles throughout the day, who used their personal time and vehicles to just drive Swarthmore students back and forth from the polling places,” said Morgan.

Morgan was hesitant to call the Democrats gaining seats a victory but is still optimistic about the future.

“I’m hesitant to call it a win because that implies that the challenge leading up to Tuesday is over, but on the contrary it has just begun.

Delaware County, the college, and the community members have been facing complete obstruction and this is due to

have actually supported legislation that works at dismantling it. Also, Delaware County has the only for-profit prison in the state of Pennsylvania, and this is due to [Republican backing over the years],” said Morgan.

Peter Foggo ’21, a Democrat, decided to partake in local politics because of this Republican machine that Morgan described.

“I decided to participate in the local elections mainly because Delaware County has historically been controlled by Republican officials, but after the outrage following the most recent presidential election, I think that a lot of people in Delaware County realized that change was not only needed, but a realistic goal,” said Foggo.

Yasmeen Namazie ’19 echoed the importance of local politics bringing change to greater political platforms.

“I went out and voted because I understand the significance of local elections and their power in informing federal policy outcomes. After the Trump election, the Republican

stronghold in the Senate and House has created a shortage in Democratic influence. As a Democrat, I want Democrats in local leadership to regain the House in 2018 and reverse the draconian policies implemented by the Trump administration: reinstate DACA, fund Planned Parenthood, repeal the travel ban, etc,” said Namazie.

Morgan hopes that this recent success will motivate students to get more involved

in future democratic processes.

“To the group as a whole, I think that precisely because there was such a clear link between student engagement and victory, maybe students will be more likely to be involved in the future. And maybe, exactly this will kind of change the way students see the significance and effect of local politics,” said Morgan.

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on how we are doing.”

Nackenoff called the process a catalyst for valuable self-evaluation that might not normally have been be prioritized.

“It’s a great opportunity for members of the community to reflect on where we are in terms of meeting our goals and aspirations and to think about areas where improvement might be appropriate,” she said.

“You take what you learn and

feed back into discussions on how you can do better in these different domains. This process of using feedback to improve is the point of assessment, and it is ongoing.”

Nackenoff said that although she doesn’t believe the college’s accreditation is in jeopardy, it’s important to take the process seriously. She added that scheduling meetings is the hardest part of the process.

“The timetable is pretty ruthless,” she said, referring to the three years allotted to complete the process. “It made us pretty nervous. There is not much room for slippage.”

Braun mentioned a different difficulty.

“I think the most challenging part is managing just the sheer volume of information that needs to be collected, analyzed, and digested into a coherent

report,” she said.

Despite the difficult work that still remains, Shore said that a great part of the process is watching different community members learn and engage together.

“For students, faculty, staff, and board members to work together and learn about the college has been a really great opportunity,” she said.

h t r b d w a c a w c s a r t b i I

com reported. The election saw anti-pipeline majorities on the Board of Supervisors for each township.

“We talked to voters that were very supportive but needed that extra push, needed someone to contact them to get them to the polls,” said SeitzBrown. “It feels good when you know you’re the difference.”

Construction on the entire pipeline was held up in August by an emergency order blocking horizontal drilling practices used by Sunoco after it contaminated residents’ water wells. In one case this summer, 15 households in Chester County were without water for weeks after Sunoco punctured an aquifer, said Stateimpact NPR. The company reached a settlement with environmental organizations requiring it to better notify residents, improve its geological evaluation tech-

niques, and offer to test the wells of nearby residents.

Olivia Robbins ’21 emphasized the importance of prioritizing environmental concerns in policy.

“The environment ought to be weighed most heavily because it will have the longest lasting impact,” she said. “The economic concerns that develop out of environmental travesties end up being far greater than the economic incentive.”

The closest the pipeline runs to the college is about three and a half miles. Its impact zone, which is identified as a 1,300-foot radius around the pipeline, includes 105,419 people and a total of 40 public and private schools. Middletown High School in Dauphin County is only seven feet away from the pipeline, making an emergency evacuation almost

impossible should there be a leakage. It also crosses through four environmental justice areas dominated by poor and minority communities, reported Fractracker.

“The first thing you need to think about is who the economic benefits are going to be allocated to,” said Robbins. “ I care a lot if Chester, which is a pretty impoverished area in general and one of the most under-resourced school systems, didn’t get a huge economic benefit. From my understanding of the pipeline, it’s not.”

Chester County Charter School for the Arts is located 419 feet from the pipeline, enrolls 98 percent Black and Hispanic students, and will likely receive little tax benefit from the pipeline. Philly.com reported the terminal at Marcus Hook will contribute an additional

$4.8 million in property taxes next year, raising property taxes for the site to $7.1 million. While Chichester schools will receive $5 million, only an additional $700,000 will go to Delaware County, a county with a tax revenue of $353 million making little impact on other school districts.

FracTracker Alliance, an antioil and gas research organization, reported 4,215 pipeline failures since 2010 resulting in 100 reported fatalities and 470 injuries. The property damage exceeded $3.4 billion.

Although the election itself happened in Chester County, this victory is one for Delaware County residents as well. With the pipeline currently held up in court until April, and opponents of the pipeline pledging to enforce local zoning laws, the completion date looks to be far away.

fill the position of Mo Lotif, who resigned in April 2017.

Lopez expressed concern about the fact that after Rivera leaves, the IC leadership will have little combined experience dealing with student groups and issues at the college.

“We don’t know who will be the interim director of the IC,” Lopez said. “If it’s a current faculty member, then that’s fine because they know the history of the IC and the culture and stuff like that, but if they bring an outside person, then they’re gonna have to be learning everything and we already have Cooper, who’s new as well and is also just learning stuff, so if we have both new people learning stuff then it’s just gonna be Nyk, and Nyk’s only been here for a year.”

According to Julia Wakeford ’19, member of the Swarthmore Indigenous Students Society (SISA), the lack of administrative continuity at the IC hinders the progress of student groups.

“The hiring process takes as long as these people fill these roles for,” she said. “I feel like it’s almost like the students are here longer than the administrators, which is insane. It’s supposed to be the reverse. It’s just frustrating because we have to re-explain ourselves and who we are and what we’re trying to get done on campus to different administrators, it feels like, each semester or each year we reexplain ourselves over again.”

Though Braun stated in her

email that the Dean’s Office will work “to develop a plan to ensure that students are well supported during this transition and that the Intercultural Center continues to thrive,” Lopez feels that the change of hands further complicates circumstances that have made this year an especially busy one for the IC, including what she feels is a tense political climate on campus.

“This was already a transitional year because of the Sproul Observatory being remodeled, so that was already a challenge, and we were gonna have programming surrounding that,” Lopez said. “And in another sense, too, since it’s the 25th anniversary and all of these events have already been planned for this year, and he won’t be around to see them through, which really sucks…[and] other stuff that’s happened on campus has just caused it to be a very tense place, which is not to say that that’s necessarily bad, but it just adds on to this jumble that’s happening.”

Students will still be able to carry out these initiatives and their individual projects in the spring without Rivera, but the consistently high turnover rate of the Director positions at the IC makes the future of the IC uncertain. For example, Rivera and the intern team created “Conversations around CARE” as part of their long-term goal to “promote further discussion, provide resources and education, as well as generate support

from other members of our community.”

“It’s going to be hard. But we, the students, don’t want to see it fall apart and I don’t think Nyk or Cooper is going to let that happen, and there’s also a lot of other faculty that are going to make sure that doesn’t happen because this is such a necessary space on campus,” Lopez said.

“It’s going to be fine, it’s just going to be hard, and annoying and frustrating, but I think we’re going to be fine, hopefully.”

the Republican Machine. But now, we actually have people who recognize a lot of community needs and crises that are happening locally, that are at the table, and they can at least impart change that has for so long been obstructed. So to me, the ‘win’ means that there is a more likely chance that people will be able to access these changes, not necessarily that these changes will come,” said Morgan.

Morgan described the ‘Republican machine’ as a product of gerrymandering, which is the manipulation of district boundaries to provide advantage to one political party.

“Our district is the most gerrymandered district in the country. This is largely due to the regime of Republican machine in Delaware county.

In college courses, Delaware County is held up as an example of what gerrymandering is and the dangers of it. And so the people that were elected, named Brian Zidek and Kevin Madden, have come out publicly against gerrymandering and

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Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

Reaccreditation, continued from A1 Committee is aiding the working groups in finalizing their respective reports up for review next year. This includes reviewing materials, gathering input, analyzing findings, and writing a final report.

Nackenoff and Shores agreed that even after decades of grappling with the accreditation process, it still requires a tremendous amount of work.

The co-chairs reported that

they spend a quarter to half of their time every day working on the process, averaging 10 hours a week, including summers, because of the ever-changing process and ever-changing college.

“We do self-reflection and self-assessment periodically because we want to always be improving,” Shores said. “The institution evolves, and we should be continuing to reflect

Mariner East, continued from A1 to regulatory disputes with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection over the practice of horizontal drilling. The project has ninety reported drilling fluid spills in forty locations, NPR said. In one case, the company had four spillages in less than a week at its East Goshen drilling operation, and the DEP must decide whether the company has violated soil erosion permits.

If the pipeline can be held up by the courts, costs may be high enough to justify scrapping the project. In the case of the Dakota Access Pipeline, for example, the government halted construction on federal land when it angered the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The resulting delays cost the owner of the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, $450 million.

“Now that we’ve elected township supervisors that are

committed to enforcing the ordinance, it should be able to hold up the pipeline,” said Jeremy Seitz-Brown ’18, a leader of Sunrise. “The more these things can be delayed, eventually people can want out.”

Sunrise, founded this year, is an extension of a previous group at the College called Mountain Justice. The group focuses on divestment, grassroots organizing, and anti-pipeline activism to pursue the broader goal of stopping climate change. The group drove nine students to knock on doors the Saturday before the election in West Goshen and Uwchlan townships, where there were four anti-pipeline candidates running. Sunrise partnered with Food and Water Action, a political advocacy group supporting clean water and sustainable energy, which spent $40,000 on the election, Philly.

Rivera, continued from A1 The news shocked her because she expected that he would be the director during all of her time at the college.

“It’s just the fact that he said he was going to stay for a long time and even this semester, I was talking to him and he wanted to do a lot more long-term stuff, like long-lasting, and now he’s leaving so it’s like all those ideas, all that planning--sure, they might still have them, but he won’t be there,” she said. “It’s also really unexpected, like I was

so surprised when I saw he was leaving. It’s never something that I would have thought would have happened, like ever, and not during my four years here.”

During the transition period until a new IC director is hired, interim IC assistant director Nyk Robertson will work with the Dean’s Office to lead the IC. Hiring new staff members in higher education often takes multiple months, if not longer.

Last year, Robertson, then the LGBTQ fellow, was appointed to

Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

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Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

ARTS

November 16, 2017 PAGE A3

Theater department hosts first musical Cristopher Alvarado Arts Writer This past weekend, students from Swarthmore’s theater department shoneunder the pressure of the crowd as they returned to middle school to compete in Putnam County’s 25th Annual Spelling Bee in four separate showings . Serving as Swarthmore’s first production of Broadway musical, a winner of the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, the musical drew the Swarthmore community into a competitive sphere of quirky contestants all destined for greatestness in the spotlight of the spelling bee.

The following is a review of the 8 p.m. performance on Saturday, Nov. 11th.

The Pearson-Hall Theatre had undergone a transformation perfectly suited for the raucous spectacle that would be taking place. The stage was decorated like a gymnasium, with a basketball hoop hanging above the visually stimulating color scheme of orange, white, and blue. To stage right, there were two rows of chairs for the contestants to sit in, and on stage left, the judges’ table was assembled. As I took my seat, I recalled my own experience participating in the district spelling bee in the Eighth grade – and inevitably failing miserably as I became the first contestant

to exit the bee. Although not a pleasant memory, I was eager to return to that period of vibrant lucidity, where you are one with the English language.

As the lights dimmed, Rona Lisa Peretti, played by Jonie Ross ’21, took to the stage for set-up, carrying a box with the glorious trophy all winners yearned to hold. Moderator of the spelling bee and former winner herself, she flashes back to her winning word, “syzygy”, exuding confidence in front of the microphone and setting the tone for the whimsical humor and unique characters and storytelling that made the musical such a success.

After an opening number that introduced us to each contestant, as well as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, the only nonsinging role with a standout performance by Colin Spangler ’20. Shortly after, four individuals from the crowd, who had arrived early and were invited to spell on the mainstage alongside the performers, were called up to participate.

For the next two hours, the spellers vied for their rightful place as victor, but the performers held their own as their backstories were presented through a variety of solos. Omar CamperKamrin ’20 , playing Leaf Coneybear, with his pajama-like attire, ridiculous cape, and “dumb kid” persona, left the crowd gasping for breath as he spelled words

such as “acouchi” like a goofily possessed magician.

Ziv Stern ’20, was utterly convincing as the touchy William Morris Barfée; his special spelling technique, the “Magic Foot” was a pleasure to watch onstage, as well as the continued mispronunciation of his name (accompanied by hysterical banter with the Vice Principal).

Lali Pizarro ‘20 did a phenomenal job as Logainne “Schwarzy” SchwartzandGrubenierre, spelling with an amusing lisp and delivering biting political commentary and a fun presentation of her unfortunately strict relationship with her gay fathers in the number “Woe is Me”.

Zach Weiss ‘20 , who played Charlito “Chip” Tolentino, had possibly the most hilarious moment as the contestant who won last year but was unable to reprise his role as the winner due to bein distracted by his erection. (I really wish I’d had some of the “confection that would ruin my complexion” thrown at me in his later number, “My Unfortunate Erection”.)

Grace Dumdaw ’21 performed as the stoic, “business-like” Marcy Parks, the most perfect of the contestants but quickly tiring of her successes. Although I wish her character had more speaking time, her singing was stunning.

Finally, Maya Kikuchi ’20 had arguably the most essential role

in the musical, touching the hearts of the audience with the most compelling backstory and personality as Olive Ostrovosky, a soft-spoken girl who made friends with her dictionary and is waiting for her father to arrive to see her win.

The play contained a number of surprise highlights that kept me and the people around me thoroughly entertained throughout the performance.

During one of the musical’s earliest group numbers, “Pandemonium,” the performance suffered a hiccup when one of the legs of the trophy broke off.

However, the cast members on stage continued on like professionals, throwing away the broken piece and returning the trophy to its place as if nothing had happened.

The invited contestants themselves stuck out like sore thumbs among the enthusiastic cast, but they behaved well, treating the performance as a legitimate spelling bee. My favorite moment of the musical was the improvisation of the last “guest” contestant as he accidentally spelled a difficult word. The Vice Principal then prompted him with an impossible word and rung the bell prematurely, prompting the guest contestant’s exit (with, of course, a juice box) and Lee Gelpi ’20’s star moment as comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney, delivering

an absolutely stunning vocal performance full of unbelievable soul singing that made me feel like I was in church.

Speaking of which, the appearance of Jesus after Grace Dumdaw ’21 performed her impressive solo “I Speak Six Languages” was my candidate for the most unexpected moment.

Strangely, it fit with the quirky style of the musical and kept my attention glued to the stage.

The most impressive musical numbers would have to be a tie between Olive’s “I Love You” song with her “chimerical” parents and the duet between Barfee and Olive, “Second.”

Both occurring near the end of the play, the former inevitably tugged at my heartstrings with tour de force singing from Kikuchi and her parents, played

by Ross and Camper-Karmin.

Gillie Tillson / The Phoenix

“Made in Ireland” at the student-run Kitao Gallery Abraham Lyon Arts Writer

This summer, Max Barry ‘19, Simona Dwass ‘19 and Masie Yixuan Luo ‘19 traveled with Professor Randall Exon to Ballycastle, a small town on the northern coast of Ireland.

During their six-week stay, the students worked with professor Exon and the Ballinglen Arts Foundation to compose a series of paintings.

“I got to experience being a full-time artist, having a studio, managing my own time, and finding inspirations, without worrying about other things,” said Luo. Uninterested in the Irish postcard-like landscapes, Luo painted several complete works that experimented with perspective. By meshing several paintings of the same subject into an almost-patchwork piece, Luo asks us to reconsider the scope of a painting. Her paintings are not defined by any clear edge. Their subjects grow and change, moving through the aesthetic space of the painting.

“I realized the perspective shifts every time I turn my head or naturally move my eyes when looking. And I also realize that I should not be limited by

Grace Zhang/The Phoenix

the edges of one frame when I paint, so I started adding planes as I looked around and painted different perspectives … I start from one panel and let it grow as I look around. I change the perspective in each panel, so it is closer to the way we look at things,” Luo said.

Breaking out of the rectangular confines of a single canvas painting meant Luo could better capture, for example, the interior of a library, a street or a tree in Ballycastle, by painting a different perspective onto each canvas. Luo’s experimental technique allows her to capture the mutability of her subjects in her paintings and to metaphysically approach her three dimensional subjects in a two dimensional space. While the trip to Ballycastle inspired Luo to experiment with her art, for Dwass, the trip marked her first

time painting.

“Being forced to spend all my time surrounded by other artists and artwork made me start looking at everything in terms of how I could portray it on paper,” Dwass said.

Several of Dwass’s first painting were based off her fascination with chairs. Each was painted using a combination of two contrasting colors.

Her paintings ask us to consider what the experience of a chair is in two-dimensional and two color space. Her paintings force us to look again at the simple object we spend all our lives sitting on. The paintings seem to acknowledge the ubiquity and weight of chairs in our lives.

“Because many of my paintings are more exploratory than full-sized paintings, I did actually work on several at once. I tended to take pictures of things

that I saw and liked around the Foundation, at the houses of other artists, and around the Irish countryside. Then, I worked on six or eight pieces at once, sketching each composition out first, then adding one color, and then adding the other color,” said Dwass, describing her artistic process.

Dwass also painted a collection of small pieces, displayed in the structure of a grid. According to Dwass, these painting-explored the positive and negative spaces she encountered around the Ballinglen Art Foundation. The subjects of paintings seemed beautiful yet eerie, solid yet ephemeral.

“The first thing I noticed upon my arrival was the lack of activity … When you take away the hectic chatter that is integral to life here at Swarthmore, you start to appreciate the details that didn’t manage to hold your attention before.

The latter focused on the Barfee and Olive’s brewing relationship, which initially felt forced but later became something much sweeter and endearing following the conclusion of the spelling bee. Regardless, both demonstrated the vocal chops of the performers and helped serve as powerful conclusion pieces to the musical.

The feel-good atmosphere left me smiling through the shows two-hour run. By the time the cast had sung “The Last Goodbye,” I was already missing the presence of all the quirky personalities I had been observing on stage. The Swarthmore theater department and the cast members all delivered a spectacular, wholesome production that has left me longing for the next musical.

The works featured here are a reflection of the average moment that might not seem like anything special until you look a little closer,” wrote Barry in a description of his works.

Barry’s work, entitled “Bull at Sunset”, portrays an astonishing white bull painted in oil.

The painting seems at once real and surreal. From afar, the bull seems commonplace, its gaze looking outward. When approached, the painting begins to move, blur and focus again. The brushstrokes become noticeable, highlighting a detailed lack of detail and an almost material texture. The white bull seems somehow dark and unapproachable in the soft light of the sunset. The setting and intense focus of their trip pushed Barry, Dwass, and Luo to explore new forms and techniques in their artistry.

“It is also very rewarding to show students how experienced

and established artists manage their efforts and time focusing exclusively on the creative process. Inspiration is important — and in County Mayo one is surrounded by inspiration — but practice and daily practice with few interruptions is key,” said professor Exon, who has led the annual trip to Ballycastle for the past five years.

Upon returning to Swarthmore this fall, the students decided to display their paintings in the Kitao Gallery, the college’s only student-run gallery space. On Thursday, Nov. 9, the students opened their exhibition “Made in Ireland,” hosting a reception for students to talk to the artists and check out their paintings. The show will be on display until Nov. 25 and is well worth the walk.

Grace Zhang/The Phoenix

Pride Month Committee hosts “Closed Place, Open Space” open mic at Kitao

by Joe Mariani Arts Editor

Since October, the Pride Month Committee has been holding a variety of events including panels, Paces parties, music and art shows. Last Friday the committee organized a number of events, including inviting Juliana Huxtable,

a queer artist based in New York, to give a talk and perform at Olde Club. Also this past Friday the committee held the “Closed Place, Open Space” open mic in the Kitao Art Gallery to feature the work of queer students. Pride Month committee members Ian Ortiz ’20 and Cindy Lopez ’20 organized the show. Ortiz says that

Shelby Dolch/The Phoenix

Lopez originally came up with the idea of an open mic, and they worked together to get artists to come to the show.

“It was Cindy who proposed the idea of having a queer open mic night and art exhibition, when we were all brainstorming all of the pride events… I knew a poet who frequently participates in open mic nights from Widener University that could help us in finding talented people from the greater Philadelphia area,” said Ortiz.

After that, Ortiz said it was just “a matter of finding people who might want to share their art and story with other people in the queer community.”

The event was meant to not only feature the work of artist who wanted to perform but also to create a space where people who attended the event would not feel inhibited to participate as artists themselves.

“We wanted to have a space that was free for people to express themselves openly with others who might understand their struggles with self-expression and their identity. It was

unknown what the turnout would be like, but having our community come together in the way that they did, by feeling inspired to go on stage and share a piece of themselves, was phenomenal to experience,” Ortiz said.

That night Kitao was somewhere over the rainbow flags that lined the walkway that leads to the entrance. All the chairs in Kitao were occupied, and people were sitting close together facing a microphone in front of them.

People read poems off of their phones or from scrap paper, including ones they admitted were unfinished. I was transfixed by the poems I heard, and it seemed like the rest of the audience was too. This was some of the most compelling poetry I had heard at Swarthmore, or even in my life.

People seemed to open up to the sense of community that appeared to me to exist in the room.

Despite all of their preparation, Ortiz and Lopez did not know exactly how the was going to unfold. An open mic, is by its very nature, loosely structured, and it was unclear how many people would take the opportunity to

perform when they had not been planning to.

“We could not have predicted how, or in what ways, the artists chose to present their work. Some people told us directly what they wanted bring on stage and some people, who originally came just to observe, felt compelled to find some of their work to share it with us all. I suppose the turnout was just by happenstance,” Ortiz said.

The audience participation was indicative of the overall success of the event in the eyes of those who organized it.

“I don’t think we could have had a more satisfying turnout.

The room was rich with emotion and creativity. We had a room full of people who took time out of their day to attend our event.

It was truly incredible, and we would like to thank them all,” Ortiz said.

Audience members seemed similarly impressed with the quality and quantity of work shared by students at the open mic. Despite the frigid temperatures that night, the atmosphere in Kitao was extremely warm.

“That night was an especially cold night, but I opened the door into Kitao a little bit before the open mic started, and it was really nice just to see everyone sitting together and talking in a group in the warm room, with a big rainbow flag hanging one one side and many snacks [on the other],” said Liv Elmore ’20, who attended the event.

The poetry was pleasing to Elmore, but she also noted her appreciation of the space itself.

“The art was great, but mostly I loved just being in the space. I really appreciated how comfortable and warm and welcoming Cindy and Ian and whoever else worked to make it. Some of my favorite poetry of the night came from Widener students who came to read and to support their friends,” said Elmore.

The Pride Month committee plans to hold another event this Saturday night. The Committee will host a drag show called “Parrish is Burning,” featuring Miss Gay Philadelphia Aida S. Stratton beginning at 8 p.m.

OPINIONS

November 16, 2017 PAGE A4

I’ll never forget my first experience abroad, which was this semester. Exiting the plane for the first time, as I stepped into Hanoi, Vietnam, it was as if I had been transported to a whole new universe. Looking around me, I was mesmerized by all the signs in Vietnamese.

Continuing on to a restaurant for dinner after the flight, I couldn’t help but notice that,

BRITTNI TERESI SWAT GLOBAL for the first time, English was not the dominant language flooding my ears. Instead, I was in a crowded buffet room with people yelling syllables to me that resembled an old voiceover cartoon. The letters of the signs surrounding me were strung together in indecipherable units, although they were supposed to be words. Clearly, these units did not add any clarity to the situation.

As my time in Vietnam continued, it became clear that communicating with others was not going to hold the same meaning as it did in the United States. The first few days, when I needed to know where to get off the bus, I had to rapidly point at an address I had writ-

ten and hope that someone would know my destination and nod at me when to get off. During lunch, I could only yell “an chay” (vegetarian) at the street vendor, and wait for my food to arrive with no idea what dish would be placed in front of me.

At first, I was terrified in Vietnam. Since I didn’t know the language, I felt like disaster could happen so easily. All I had to do was take the bus stop one street too far and find myself completely lost. All I had to do was misunderstand a social cue and I would find myself offending someone. If disaster occurred, I would have no idea how to remedy the situation since I had always relied on my voice.

But as time continued, I learned to navigate the city and realized just how powerful social connections and interactions could become, even without a common language.

There’s something beautiful about living in a place where words suddenly begin to fail and observation becomes the greatest tool for understanding one’s surroundings. It’s as if the pressure of continuously asking questions or searching for a social connection through voice suddenly ceases. Instead of talking and diverting atten-

tion away from the physical environment, one is forced to simply observe and take in all that is happening around them.

There is so much beauty that can be missed if one is not paying full attention. For example, watching people on the bus every day, I realized that it is custom for younger people to stand up and give their seats away to elders. Not only did I find this such a beautifully nuanced and important part of the culture, but I also found myself able to replicate this norm on the bus because I had watched others do the same. Through observation in Vietnam, I counterintuitively started to feel more like I belonged. I learned to walk on the side of the road since the sidewalk is needed for motorbike parking and to use chopsticks with my right hand even though I am left-handed, because in Vietnam, using the left hand is just strange.

But beyond creating a new way of belonging, the loss of common language created whole new types of relationships for me, which I had never before had the honor of experiencing. For example, I lived with my host family who could speak limited English. We could not speak deeply about family history, values, or beliefs. Yet

my best memories in Vietnam are those with my host mom and sister. I looked forward to meals together every night as my host mom would prepare an “an chay” dish she’d be excited for us to try, and we’d all enjoy each other’s company at the table, laughing over facial expressions or bonding over how much we truly appreciated the food.

Looking back, it is impossible to capture how strong of a relationship I formed with my host family and how much I learned from Vietnam because of—rather than in spite of— not knowing the language. It is as if a whole new perspective of the world is gained through less talking and more observing, listening, and embracing. And this lesson shapes my view of academics on campus as well.

At Swarthmore, it is easy to get lost in attempting to speak the most in seminars or talking over people who have a different perspective. Yet perhaps the beauty of not communicating verbally is entering what is typically deemed the “introvert” world. As Susan Cain discusses in her book “Quiet,” there is “zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.” While it can feel natural to want to

What do you want in a provost?

The student body has a chance to make huge amounts of change this semester and next. No, it’s not necessarily through a new walk out or protest, and Election Day has come and gone. Instead,

EDITORIAL

we can guide essential programming of our academic program here at the college.

A panel of faculty has come together to begin selection of a new college provost. As leader of faculty and director of curriculum, the provost commands

a great deal of power over the academic program and a huge portion of our lives here as undergraduates. We think that most students do not have direct contact with the provost, but the student body should be very conscious of the decisionmaking process. Because the provost has the power to define academic programming for years, we should think on what our academic priorities are and voice support for candidates that will be receptive to those proposals.

Consistent considerations

students bring up are a social justice distribution requirement, Credit / No Credit reform, and the expansion of programs that center on marginalized groups to majors. This selection gives students a more timely reason to discuss these issues as a campus more wholeheartedly and redefine our objectives for these potential programs instead of relegating these discussions to random roundtables on Cornell first or in committees.

These discussions could accomplish three goals. First, it

Open Letter to President Smith Dear President Smith,

Since the founding of Swarthmore in 1864, the college has educated students in terms of global impact and social change. From Helen Magill to Micah White, students have been encouraged to engage in community and speak out against injustice; to become righteous voices in troubling times and recognize the responsibility that such an education endows upon them.

It is only fair that we call on our own leaders to do the same.

Here in Pennsylvania, methane from fracking is polluting our air, oil pipelines are spilling into our water, and rising temperatures endanger the economy and our lives. On the west side of our country, we’re burning, and on the east, we’re drowning. All the while, Swarthmore continues to have an endowment invested in the fossil fuel industries that catalyze this destruction.

In addition, our federal government is recklessly rolling back environmental protections that affect targeted regions and groups of people within the country. Right now, world leaders are gathered in Bonn, Germany, negotiating how to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement after the world’s biggest economy has withdrawn. Across the nation, local leaders, from mayors and governors to college and university presidents like you, are committing to show leadership when our President refuses to.

But we are at a turning point in history, and must make our commitments real by standing up every time that our voice is needed. We write to you, as your students, asking that you choose to stand on the right

side by endorsing divestment from fossil fuels.

On November 18th, the Sunrise movement will be hosting ceremonies in Philadelphia and over two dozen other cities across the country, commemorating what we love and have to lose to climate change. We will be building our legacy, and burying a time capsule that will be unearthed in 50 years. It will be a time for mourning, for reckoning, for uniting, and for building our future.

If you meet our request, you are invited to join us on the 18th at the Philadelphia City Hall and contribute your commitment and a letter or item to the time capsule. We have asked our politicians to refuse money from fossil fuel billionaires, commit to 100% renewable energy by 2050, and halt the construction of dangerous new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Swarthmore has committed to be carbon neutral and is growing its sustainability initiatives, but we continue to profit from the fossil fuel industry that we are otherwise trying to stop.

Just as we want our political leaders to represent us and reject fossil fuel money, we want our educational leaders to represent us too. If Swarthmore wants to be remembered as a leader on climate, we must divest from the dangerous fossil fuel industry.

Overwhelming majorities of students, faculty, staff and alumni have made clear time and time again how we want to be remembered. We know the Swarthmore we are proud of, and we are committed to forging ahead and building a just and equitable future, where all people have access to clean water and safe homes. We would love nothing more than

for you to lead with us, and be remembered as somebody who chose to stand up in the face of corrupt politics and fossil fuel money.

But if you choose to remain silent, we will document that as well. In 2067, when the time capsule is unearthed, Swarthmore has two potential legacies. Students might remember Swarthmore as a leader in the fight against climate change: the birthplace of the fossil fuel divestment movement, supporting necessary measures to move our society away from the coal and gas of yesterday and towards the clean energy economy of tomorrow.

Or, Swarthmore could look back upon 2017 as the year of a lost promise. When local leaders across the world were pledging to take action on climate change, the institution of Swarthmore chose to remain silent in the face of climate devastation.

President Smith, there are two paths in front of you: one where you stand with the fossil fuel billionaires who endanger our health and wellbeing, and another where you stand with the students of Swarthmore who are asking you to be the kind of leader they are taught to be.

This is your chance to choose your climate legacy. You have until November 18.

Sincerely, Gabriel Brossy de Dios, September Porras Payea, and Aru Shiney-Ajay Members of Sunrise Swarthmore (Formerly Swarthmore Mountain Justice)

will outline a student proposal to present to the college for potential change, the opportunity to connect wide and narrow interests, and give us a unified voice to negotiate with faculty and administrators. Second, it also gives us qualities and motivations we want to see in a provost. Lastly, it could also give the student body points of conversation with the incoming provost about ways to better incorporate student initiative in academia.

These considerations and potential benefits are not the only

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The beauty of an unintelligible world

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speak the most or fill the empty spaces in class discussions, space must be made for embracing the silence, observing the dance of everyday life, and listening to the sounds beyond the words. As I have discovered through not having the ability to speak my thoughts, often more can be learned from watching and listening than from anything I could articulate myself.

Now in Buenos Aires for the final aspect of my adventure, I

am in a country where I don’t quite understand all of the language, yet I am also not completely lost. While I am happy to be able to communicate with those around me, I think I’ll also continue to embrace the lost part of myself a little more. By listening and observing before speaking, individuals can gain more perspectives and learn new insights.

things relevant to the selection of provost, and provosts do much more than just cater to student wants and motivations. However, we engage here as students most everyday, and if academic policy will be shaped for years to come, we should take initiative to have as much space in the room as we can.

As this long term process proceeds, students should reach out to professors they know or learn how to be on the selection committee. Let them know what you would value in a provost and

what you want to stay the same or change about the academic program here. How can your time as a student here be made better?

Things here don’t change in a matter of a year, and usually not in a student’s time at the college either. We should take the opportunities we have to make change when the institution, which historically does not barrell through decisionmaking, is in a changing mood.

Swat-sgiving, and why thankfulness matters Swarthmore can be overwhelming and tiring. Classes are often difficult, and sometimes campus feels like a rat-race. Sometimes, I get to Sharples and just cannot bring

LAURA WAGNER WORD BY WAGNER myself to wait in the line for the bar I want, and so I settle for a less satisfactory alternative. Sometimes I miss the shuttle from PPR to campus by less than a minute. Sometimes I do make it onto the evening shuttle, only to be taken to Mary Lyons and then back to campus before going back to PPR. Waking up in the morning is hard after staying up doing work. There is an endless litany of complaints about Swarthmore, far beyond the ones that I have listed here. But I was recently reminded about how lucky I am to go here by a pizza delivery driver at 1:00a.m. on Halloween weekend. When I met the delivery driver in the PPR circle, he mentioned how great of a school Swarthmore is and how I am fortunate to get to go here. I looked up towards campus, took it all in, thanked him, and agreed that I am so, so lucky.

As the holiday season progresses, I think it is important that we, as a community, take a moment to take stock of what we’re thankful for. Thanksgiving itself can be tough, travelling with family can be difficult, and returning home and seeing people from high school is often awkward. And presumably, there are some first-years that tried to make a long-distance relationship work who are going to be both victims and perpetrators of the infamous

dump-sgiving festivities. Despite all of that, it’s a built-in day of the year to look around and take in the best parts of life. Thanksgiving is one week from today, but thankfulness should be something we practice every day.

While every person faces a unique set of personal challenges ranging in magnitude, thankfulness is something that many people can benefit from. I forced myself to become an optimist in my early teens by filling a jar with at least one good thing that happened to me that day written on an index card, and my outlook on life changed permanently. Being thankful for the most trivial things in my life made me happier. Was I lowering the bar for things that brought me joy? I quite possibly was, but getting excited about small accomplishments and casual events increased my average level of joy. Thankfulness is not a panacea; it cannot improve situations that are outside of one’s immediate control, but it can be comforting to many, and is something that we often forget. Thankfulness can change the way we see the world, and in its best form, can soften the blow of disappointments and increase the joy of success. Even on my worst days, I am trained to look for one good thing and harness it so any day can be positive.

There is no one person, thing, or activity that we should be thankful for, so we should all look for many things that we can be thankful for. Life is not just the big successes, life happens in the small moments, so when we don’t let ourselves enjoy the small things that make us happy because they don’t fit in with what we typically see as success, we can lose out on life.

Life is messy, and it is often full of surprises. Sometimes, we don’t do as well as we wanted on assignments; other times we do better than expected.

We have bad weeks, good days, rough moments, and happy times. There are certainly times when we don’t have to be thankful, people that we don’t have to be grateful to, and experiences that just really bring us down. What makes graditude beautiful is that it is entirely determined by an individual and is for that individual.

Of course, those that we are thankful to appreciate graciousness and many deserve it, but the real benefits of thankfulness are inherent in our own selves. Determining one’s own thankfulness helps fill the soul with warmth and lets a person create their own happiness, regardless of outside expectations and naysayers.

I am thankful for every time that I wake up and start a new day, and every time I make it to the morning shuttle in time and can skip a chilly walk to campus. Any time that Sci Center still has my favorite kind of bagel when I get to the front of the line fills me with a sense of contentment that I have trained myself to feel and enjoy. I like to look on the bright side of life because, if I don’t, my life would be taken over by problem sets and papers, and while there is no one way to cope with the rigor of Swarthmore, we’re pretty damn lucky to be here, and reminding ourselves of that, right along with the tiny successes and moments of bliss, can maybe help us all keep it together just a little bit more as the second round of midterms hits right before Thanksgiving.

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November 16, 2017

THE PHOENIX OPINIONS

PAGE A5

One year later: A reflection on the election

When I tell people that I’m a conservative, their first assumption tends to be “Oh, he voted for Trump.” Now sometimes they do give me the courtesy of asking first, and my answer is always a) I couldn’t vote in the 2016 elec-

JACOB BRADY OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR tion as I was not yet of voting age, and b) I wouldn’t have even if I could.

Perhaps this is surprising for people to hear, but to me, much of what Trump stood for during the election does not agree with what I consider to be my conservative ideals. As a conservative I believe in small government, the power of the free market, and generally high standards of behavior from the representative of the American people. I also believe in the rule of law and the fair application thereof. During the election, one of the key policies that Trump pushed was economic populism and protectionism, including voiding such

agreements as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

As a believer in the importance of the free market, repealing free trade agreements runs counter to my beliefs, although the TPP did have a number of issues. Trump spoke of “bringing back coal” through government intervention, which again conflicts with my belief in the free market. Trump’s demeanor and statements throughout the campaign seemed to run counter to the high standard of behavior that is expected of the American president, the so-called leader of the free world.

Trump began his presidency with the travel ban against immigrants from a number of nations in the Middle East and northern Africa. This rather rushed decision seemed ineffective at best and to be an attempt to target a specific group of foreign nationals based on their religion at worst. Regardless of any potential merits of this particular policy decision, such discussion was superseded by

claims of Islamophobia, regardless of whether or not that was indeed the intention. The whole Russia investigation has been a blight on the administration and, in some eyes, continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the administration.

The attempts to repeal Obamacare were laughable, especially given the Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. Trump’s response to the protests in Charlottesville over the summer, in trying to draw a moral equivalency between the actions of Antifa and white nationalists / Neo-Nazis, was incomprehensible. While the actions of Antifa often seem to cross the line into thuggery, as a member of the American Jewish community I found the comparison rather troubling. One of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about Trump is his behavior on Twitter which, along with his general demeanor, has often come off as immature and unpresidential. The current heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea,

The joy of letting things go I am easily stressed. I always feel the need to accomplish something even though I do not have to. Whenever I see people cranking out essays furiously in McCabe or complaining (read: humblebragging)

PEEM LERDPUTTIPONGPORN OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR about how sleep-deprived they are, I psych myself out, questioning whether I have worked enough. Even though I have the pass-fail cushion this semester, I have bailed out of social events on several occasions for fear of not studying enough. At a high-pressure institution like Swarthmore, it is sometimes difficult to relax, even for just a moment. An unexpected event changed my mindset. How? Here’s my story.

Three weeks ago, I received an e-mail about SwatDeck, offering $15, a one-day Independence Pass to Philadelphia, and an opportunity to travel with three Swarthmore students. I signed up without hesitation, even though I did not totally understand how the event worked. However, as the day for SwatDeck approached and work started piling up, ambivalence

struck my mind: would it be alright if I took a break? Soon, the day came; I deviated from my study-Sunday for the first time by joining SwatDeck. I did not regret my decision.

When I arrived at the Swarthmore Station, there were many Swatties chatting with one another while waiting for the train to arrive. After checking in with the organizers of SwatDeck, I introduced myself to the other three members in my group, two of whom I had come across but never talked to. The group’s diversity was impressive. In terms of academics, there was an interest in classics, economics, computer science, and foreign languages.

In terms of extracurriculars, we had lacrosse, badminton, and softball athletes, as well as a columnist for the Phoenix (me, apparently). None of us live in the same dormitory or take the same classes. Indeed, the event provides an escape from the “Swarthmore bubble.”

Soon after, the organizers handed us a list of recommended places, such as the popular restaurants in Chinatown, historic sites within Philadelphia, etc. Fortunately, the Philadelphia Museum of Art offers a free entrance on the first Sunday of every month, and

because this coincided with SwatDeck, my group paid a visit to the museum to see the art exhibition. Having never visited any art museum before, I was thrilled to see such famous works of art as Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain.”

Thanks to the fact that one of the members in my SwatDeck group was knowledgeable in art history, I could see the art and appreciate the background behind some of the works as well. Moreover, the museum trip introduced me to many controversial debates, such as whether a work of art could be made of non-art structures and what the essence of art is. After our museum trip concluded, my group dined at a delicious Chinese restaurant nearby and had a great conversation.

What do I make of this experience? First of all, after reflecting upon SwatDeck, I realized that, counterintuitive as this claim sounds, I learn more from “learning” less. During the past few months, I have focused on the classes I am taking to an extreme degree.

As each class intensifies in its difficulty, I find it progressively more difficult to explore other subjects with which I am unfamiliar. However, Swat-

both nuclear powers, weakens global security and the power of the United States.

That it is not to say that the Trump administration has been without its accomplishment. The appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court was certainly a victory for those who wish to see judicial restraint remain a part of the high court for the foreseeable future. ISIS is retreating in Iraq and Syria, arguably in large part due to the increased commitment of the American-led coalition. A new tax plan is currently under debate in the halls of Congress, and while the current version certainly has its flaws, there is hope that the tax plan will bring increased prosperity to Americans.

The approval of the the Dakota and Keystone pipelines brings hope that American can increase its energy independence, thus decreasing the necessity of its role in the geopolitical quagmire that is the Middle East, while still leaving the door open for private and state and local investment in renewable energy and green

initiatives that will one day wean us off of fossil fuels.

But in spite of his promises during campaign season, Trump has not really gone through with many of the policies that were the hallmarks of his campaign.

Throughout the campaign, Trump railed against China as a currency manipulator and blamed them for the loss of jobs of many Americans who worked in industrial settings. Yet in his time in office, Trump has instead pursued a much more measured and diplomatic approach to China. In his recent visit to China, he announced the signing of trade deals worth billions of dollars, a far cry from his previous promises to punish China.

Trump has also demonstrated a commitment to seeking peace in the Middle East, especially in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

So this begs the question, is Trump really the president we expected him to be during the campaign season, or is he the person we often continue to view him as? Indeed, it can

certainly be said that Trump’s demeanor and behavior continue to be rather unpresidential.

Many people liked him for this reason: he was an outsider, a non-traditional politician who neither spoke nor acted like the classic inside-the-beltway type. But arguably, Trump has not stayed true to those policies that mobilized the masses, those vitriolic speeches that brought middle America to the voting booths, that turned blue into red. In policy, Trump has simply acted as a normal Republican president would. Perhaps it is the power of the office that gives someone a new perspective on the world, and not even Trump could escape that. Many will admit that so far Trump’s victories have been few. He lacks any sort of signature policy or piece of legislation that can be shown to help America. But if we are to see three or even seven more years under Trump, perhaps we will see a great leader emerge, even if it takes a few decades of perspective to see. That’s what any true patriot wants.

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Deck made me realize that doing random activities can be educational, as well. Thanks to my visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I understand more when my friends debate such topics as what qualifies as a work of art or whether one should, when interpreting art, take the artist’s history into account. Had I decided to finish my homework that day, I would not have found my interest in art or art history. The joy of letting the pressure to work go led me to somewhere unexpected.

What I also appreciated about SwatDeck is that the event helps people who are unlikely to meet to socialize with one another. Although the small size of the Swarthmore community can help foster close relationships, such relationships may not necessarily occur. In my case, because I am not heavily involved in sports and usually take STEM classes, I would never have met an athlete who enjoys studying classics had it not been for SwatDeck. This situation applies to every person across our institution. It is unrealistic to take the size of Swarthmore for granted and expect to meet new people automatically. To break out of the “Swarthmore bubble,” one must take the

initiative to meet and build relationships with those outside of one’s social circle.

Lastly, when I let go of the work-first mindset, I experienced the joy of living in the moment. The thought “I must work” does not cloud my mind as it used to. I realized how unrealistic it is to tell myself I must finish every piece of work before I can relax; no matter what day of the year it is, I still have some tasks to finish or some activities I want to do.

In other words, one will never truly have free time; work always exists, no matter what.

Sometimes, work can wait, and we can focus on some events that cannot.

All in all, by deviating from my habits, I discovered an unexpected joy from meeting new people and visiting places I had never been. The joy of living in the moment comes from freeing oneself from the binding pressure to always work and differentiating between what needs to be done and what needs to be done now. And this joy is invaluable, indeed.

Letters and Op-Ed Policy Letters and opinion pieces represent the views of their writers and not those of the Phoenix staff or Editorial Board. The Phoenix reserves the right to edit all pieces submitted for print publication for length clarity, and factual accuracy. The Phoenix does not edit op-ed or letter submissions for content. The Phoenix also reserves the right to withhold any letters or op-eds from publication.

The Phoenix does not accept anonymous submissions of letters or op-eds. The senior editors may choose to publish submissions without the writer’s name in exceptional circumstances. In no case will the Phoenix publish the name of anyone submitting a letter or op-ed with a request for anonymous publication. Letters may be signed by a maximum of five individuals. Op-eds may be signed by a maximum of two individuals. The Phoenix will not accept pieces exclusively attributed to groups, although individual writers may request that their group affiliation be included.

Please submit letters and report corrections to: editor@swarthmorephonix. com

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Biblical exile Noodle dish popular in dorms Slanted text: Abbr.

Body chambers Halloween flyer Bushfire haze Driver’s protection

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Spruce Beverage that’s sometimes boxed Cosmic phenomenon Inhabit Wife of Odysseus Paperless party summons “Homeland” spy org.

5k participant, e.g.

Roams around Non-reflective finish Penn of Hollywood Primo pitcher Messy locks Location of a small canal?

Enzyme’s end University of Arizona locale TV aerials Something to get a spot out of?

Threatening position Put the pop in pop Military mail abbr.

Western defense alliance

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Mariachi instruments Out for dinner, perhaps Portuguese rchipelago Phys. or chem., for short Infiltrate So darn cute Gooey road cover Slipped past the bouncer, maybe Pundit’s essay ____ Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

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Feudal farm laborer Automaker Maserati Golfer’s hat Game for hustlers “Jack Sprat could ____ fat…”

Debatable House figure, briefly Beauty retreat Ankara notable, once “Absolument pas!”

Answer to last week’s puzzle

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Campus Journal

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ARTS FASHION FOOD LIVING PHILLY PROFILES ST YLES

Where you’ve been and where you’re going

Boy Scouts and burning American flags

by Joe Mariani Arts Editor

When I was a Boy Scout, I burned hundreds of American flags. Once or twice a year, at summer camp or at a Court of Honor (basically a barbeque where merit badges and rank advancements were awarded), my scoutmaster would bring boxes and boxes of tattered and worn American flags to be “retired,” as he called it. This was done in accordance with the U.S. Flag Code provision that directs: “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

The flags themselves varied in size; some were the size of envelopes, while some were so big it took six people at each bisector of the rectangle to hold the flag so that no part of it touched the ground. My scoutmaster was a notable man in the small town where he had lived in all his life.

He had been fire chief and he was head of the security at a large hospital nearby, he smoked cigarettes and was the scoutmaster of the Boy Scout troop. By virtue of all these different hats he wore, he came into contact with many people who regularly felt compelled to give him their torn and tattered flags to be respectfully

disintegrated. Additionally, my scoutmaster regularly put American flags on the graves of war veterans, many of which were the recently uncovered graves of Civil War veterans buried nearby in an overgrown church yard that had been cleared by an enterprising Eagle Scout at the request of my scoutmaster. Putting flags on the graves meant checking to make sure they were still in good condition, and those that did not meet the standard were also added to the collection of doomed flags my scoutmaster would accumulate.

The flags also varied in material, meaning they all burned differently. Some were made out of some kind of thin cloth, and these would burn fast and turn immediately to dust. Some were plastic and only melted when the fire became extremely hot, leaving a hardened mass of black goo behind the next day. Some of the flags were truly massive and would throw off tremendous heat and light and burn in a spectacular variety of ways depending on the angle at which the cloth was lying and such variables.

Pretty much everything burned, since fire does a very good job of burning things. For some reason though, the little sticks with the small American flags that are put on soldier’s graves or used as decoration for somebody’s walk for the fourth of July, mostly

didn’t burn up but just blackened a little.

I do not remember exactly what was said at these ceremonies, but it was very much like the, to turn a phrase, “typical flag patriotic stuff” they play in big stadiums from loud speakers you cannot see, from an announcer who does not sound human. I do remember that several times a particular speech was read that described the symbolism of each part of the American flag, including the white stars, the blue field on which they lie, and each of the thirteen stripes, which were said to stand not for the colonies but for the cardinal American principles and supreme sacrifices that were made and would continue to be made by those fighting in our wars on behalf of our government. After each statement was read to some effect, a stripe would be torn by a Scout and thrown into the fire.

The fire gave off an unbelievable amount of light and heat.

Everyone had to move back behind the benches that enriched the fire circle, and it was as light as day when the fire reached its zenith, illuminating us as we stood around in silence watching all the flags burn.

I have more patriotic leanings than the average swattie, partially for ideological reasons, but

The art of the flip flop (or not)

by Emilie Hautemont CJ Writer

I recently came in contact with a high school classmate through the powers of Snapchat, which I’ve been clumsily using for about a week now. Last I’d seen him, our plans were pretty much the opposite of each other — he was off to a large, public California university as a pre-med, hoping to become a doctor and help people. I had my heart set on studying English at Swarthmore, with absolutely zero career paths in mind (I never quite recovered from being told I couldn’t be a princess at the age of seven).

To his family’s shock, he is now a linguistics major — he took one class and fell in love with the subject. It made me wonder how we get there, from a simple major as declared on our application, occasionally lying through our teeth, to whatever we’ve decided to pursue. Shayne Rothman ’20 hasn’t written her sophomore plan yet but has already considered a variety of majors.

“I applied as a classics major with possible minor in either French or linguistics. I’ve changed that plan a few times. I went from just majoring in linguistics to majoring in linguistics and language to majoring in linguistics and minoring in French to creating my own special major around speech pathology. Now I’m thinking of declaring a major in linguistics and a minor in computer science,” said Rothman.

Rothman has made most of her decisions thus far based on her interests. Her interest in Latin got her interested in language structures in general, and she unexpectedly fell in love with linguistics. She freely admits there is also a more practical component around her choices: she loves CS, but also recognizes it is a useful and lucrative field of study. This attempt to balance passion and practicality feels familiar. When I started working towards my teaching certification, I often reminded my parents that it was good to have something that would lead me directly

to a job. English major, education minor, it felt like an airtight plan.

I even felt confident enough to plan to take Italian at Bryn Mawr, maybe study abroad in Italy at some point.

The Plan barely lasted a year.

I came back to campus freshman spring emotionally exhausted but determined to see it through. To give myself a break, I took what I assumed would be an easy class: Transnational Graphic Fiction, which I hoped would help me reconnect with French culture. It all spiralled out of control from there.

I fell back into my love of French literature in a heartbeat, realized that the department had something to offer and that yes, a French person could study Francophone literature at an American college without wasting their time. As I grew increasingly drawn into “pure” literature, I felt increasingly uncertain about my future. The summer didn’t help; my boss cheerfully asserted no one actually gave a damn about what you majored in until

in no small part because of the terrific impression left on me by watching these ceremonies two or three times a year during my adolescence.

That being said, I think the idea of outlawing the burning of American flags is dangerous and hypocritical. Additionally, the idea of people facing social or economic consequences for protests related to the flag seems unbelievably authoritarian and stupid. To treat such protests like a problem that needs to be stamped out is woefully unpatriotic, since it takes a clear attempt at engagement and treats it like some sort of curse-imposing magic trick. These people treat refusing to stand for the national anthem as if it were the greatest political problem we have in America, as if Colin Kaepernick is causing more social ill in this country than then the ill-gotten gains of some of the billionaire owners of NFL teams. Additionally, the idea that burning an American flag is somehow ipso facto “desecrating it” is illinformed considering 1) that it is the prescribed manner of disposal, and 2) because the American flag code, which is the source of the directive to stand for the national anthem, also specifically bans using the American flag to emblazon clothing or as festoonment. Where’s the outrage over

American flag ties and suits and t-shirts and underwear?

When I heard about the group of Native students burning an American flag on Columbus Day, I was incredibly moved by the events described. I cannot begin to understand what something like Columbus Day means for Native students going to this school anymore than I can understand what life in America is for many other minorities living in this country; I cannot ever even know what an American flag looks like to them.

But I was also struck by the similarities I saw between what the students did on Columbus Day and what I used to do in Boy Scouts. The destruction of the American flag in the exact same way, done solemnly and silently

and accompanied by words of considered reflection. I do not want to equivocate the two very different events. I, feel, though that there must be some common ground that sees much meaning in the burning of the same symbol, whatever that meaning may be. The flag code says, somewhat mystically, that “The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” But debates over the flag are certainly lively, and it seems the meaning of America is being continuously examined and reconsidered in the minds of all those people fighting the good fight. And if America’s meaning is up in the air, so too is its future up for grabs.

I wanted to strangle him. Didn’t ANYONE understand my MAJOR EXISTENTIAL STRUGGLE? This fall, I reached a semblance of peace, mainly thanks to a professor who took the time to talk to me for hours, help me figure out multiple major/minor combinations, and guide me through my existential angst. I owe her a lot, so she may be disappointed to hear my newfound balance is basically “I don’t know what the f*** I’m doing, but neither does anybody else so let’s go along with it.”

“The people who you tend to remember are the people who are very passionate about something.

It’s hard to be at a school where it seems as though everyone else has it figured out and knows what they want to do. I understand that this isn’t necessarily the truth, but it still feels sometimes like you’re the only one who hasn’t got it all together,” Rothman pointed out.

Scott Candey ’20 is one of these people. He came in as an engineering major and hasn’t

wavered. Engineering is notoriously difficult to pursue due to its lengthy list of requirements, but Candey has remained nonetheless.

“The main reason I’m seeing it through is there’s nothing that fits me better. I like creating things, I like science. The best place to build new things on campus right now is the engineering department.”

Candey added that he does sometimes wonder what else he could study or consider other paths, but ultimately, this is what feels right. A few weeks ago I would have burst into tears, shaking him by the shoulders and asking how dare he be so confident. I’d like to think I’ve reached a more mature stage of acceptance — some have it figured out, some don’t, that’s okay. I will never haul myself out of bed early enough to go to Bryn Mawr five times a week and pick up a new language, and that’s also okay.

Even the ever-looming Sophomore Plan is starting to look less ominous. Max Weinstein ‘19 had

some perspective on this plan.

“The sophomore plan was an invitation to think about the next two years, without being demanding or scary, [...] I’m glad I switched from Political Science to English, because English is harder from me, [...] But I’ve become more interested in science lately.

I still have two years, so I’m sure it will all get wrapped up with a bow by graduation time.”

Say what you will about Swarthmore — at the very least, it’s not an especially relaxing environment — but if nothing else, it gives us room to explore. It would be too cliché of me to say something like, “Incoming freshmen, try something completely new and discover new passions!”

There are brochures and orientation pep talks for that. I will say that the IC courtyard is always a nice place for a little existential cry as you contemplate your future. Besides, as my more sympathetic professor pointed out, absolutely nobody knows what they’re doing, so why not put on a good show?

Photo courtesy of creative commons

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Cultural identity celebrated on Swarthmore’s campus

by Victoria Lee-A-Yong CJ Writer Culture and Identity Appreciation Week at Swarthmore came early this year. The festivities began Oct. 24 with a kickoff in the Science Center Commons, and continued with panels on intersectionality, screenings of “Deej” and “Spirited Away”, food events like Kohlcella, Sharples Trial By Fire, African Kitchen, and the i20 Fall Feast, and parties like the Deshi Bollywood party and the carnival held by Students of Caribbean Ancestry. The week recently came to its conclusion on Nov. 5, with a panel on toxic masculinity held in Kohlberg’s Scheuer Room.

“A lot more of the events this year were done in collaboration with each other. I’ve always wanted to have a lot more

collaborations between groups on campus, especially affinity groups,” noted Josie Hung ‘19, the head of the CIA week committee this year. A major goal for CIA Week was to “create a space for people to celebrate who they are [by] mapping after heritage and history months, but doing it as a Swat-specific thing for all the affinity groups.”

Hung is not the only member of the committee pleased with how CIA Week turned out.

“I think CIA Week was a great success this year. I really enjoyed the variety of events ranging in style and form from discussions like the Faith at the Intersections discussion to SOCA’s Carnival. I most hope that CIA Week encourages us all to put a higher importance on the kind of programming we put on and continue to hold community

conversations and celebrations of our many cultures and identities,” said Brandon “Frames” Ekweonu ‘20 in an e-mail.

Of course, members of the committee had their own personal favorites. For Hung, it was Kohlchella. For Ekweonu, it was the toxic masculinity panel, which focused specifically on masculinity in the Black community.

“It was really fulfilling to listen to perspectives on the multi-dimensionality of Black masculinity,” said Ekweonu CIA Week had a profound impact on many Swarthmore students, especially on students of color.

“To me, [CIA Week] means a week in which people’s identities are brought to the forefront in less covert or private ways. I feel like because of all the work this

college gives us, we’re often only given time and space to celebrate and acknowledge our full selves during private, student-run meetings: through affinity groups, other events that happen periodically, or within our friend circles.

I like that CIA Week is intentional in letting all students of this campus know that our humanity and our identities as students cannot be detached from our cultures, genders, sexualities, and so on,” said Alexis Riddick ‘20 “Any time of the year where we as a campus can focus on culture and identity is a good time of year!” added Mads Shoraka ‘20 In future years, Hung and many others hope that CIA Week will become a Swarthmore tradition, and that the school will continue to facilitate the celebration of the cultures that compose it.

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ICYMI: Ta-Nehisi Coates comes to UPenn

by Jasmine Rashid CJ Editor

On Nov. 1, the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium hosted writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and hundreds of audience members who, at one point or another, have found themselves lost in his work.

Myself and many other Swarthmore community members were included in this bunch, making the trek to Penn to catch Coates on this stop of his tour for his forthcoming non-fiction book, “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.” As the first half of the title suggests, Coates chronicles the Obama years. As the second half of the title may suggest (depending on your sociopolitical identity), Coates also chronicles the rise of Trump.

For the past 10 years, Coates has been at The Atlantic as a national correspondent, stirring conversations on race and identity with pieces like “The Case for Reparations,” in addition to his internationally acclaimed book “Between the World and Me” and his Marvel comic series “Black Panther.” His work landed him a MacArthur Fellowship in 2015, more commonly referred to as the “Genius Grant.”

The award, in conjunction with constant acclaim, makes Coates feel “...uncomfortable” But not in an edgy, I-don’t-need-yourpraise-way, exactly.

“It obscures the pain […] [that is] the experience of writing,” he explained to the audience.

Coates doesn’t believe that his work is the product of mere intelligence, as the Genius Grant might connote. Instead, his writing comes from a place of deep emotional pain and aims to pay homage to the greats of Black literature, which he refers to as a “long line of dreambreakers” — challengers of the notion of the American Dream. Like many writers, he acknowledges the cliché that writing really is about rewriting. And rewriting. And rewriting until something “okay” becomes something publishable.

His new project began as a “Best Of” series of his Atlantic pieces, but he soon realized that that didn’t excite or inspire him. “We Were Eight Years in Power” was born of his need to create and challenge the White supremacist dreams marketed to voters in this past election and current presidential administration.

The day before the lecture, Coates was circulating the Twittersphere with a message directed at White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Director of Penn’s Center for Africana Studies Camille Charles, who sat down with Coates for the 40-minute conversation at the University of Pennsylvania, pressed him to expand on what led to this impassioned 32-tweet thread.

“There are some wars in

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history… that are kind of hard to understand,” Coates began, referencing the killing of the Archduke of “where or whatever”. “It’s not hard to figure out what the Civil War was about,” he laughed. “It’s very clear.”

In case you missed it, John Kelly — who, to reiterate, occupies one of the highest offices in the land — publicly commented that the Civil War was the result of the “lack of an ability to compromise.” He also called Robert E. Lee “an honorable man.”

Coates didn’t hesitate to call out Kelly’s creationist theorizing on the Internet (with screenshots of historical documents referencing the fight over slavery as the cause), nor did he hold back his thoughts at this lecture.

Coates deplored the fact that those who occupy the highest positions of power in America, are unable to identify the cause of the most significant internal war in America’s history.

“When you are in power, you can ‘re-write’ history,” Coates says, adding — more than once — to laughs and snaps from the audience, “Trump is professionally stupid.”

“I’m going to talk to you like the world talks to me,” the author says about why “professionally stupid” is his go-to phrase on the president, as well as other phrases like “White people are crazy.”

“You cannot convince me that someone who was Black

and that politically unqualified would even make it as governor,” he continues. “If Donald Trump was Black, he wouldn’t have made it off the block.”

Charles moved on to ask him a question about the Obamas, but that didn’t mean that the conversation on White supremacy stopped. In fact, it was amplified.

“White supremacy has been in denial of bourgeois values,” Coates explained. To him, the Obamas as a family fit the mold of those values. Their education, their social mobility, their family structure etc.

“They have a dog named Bo!” he lamented humorously. “This could be a TV show!”

Though a vocal critic of President Obama’s policies, the respect that Coates has for Obama as a person (and in turn, the respect Obama has for Coates) is evident. However, Coates pokes fun at the “picture-perfect” lives of the Obamas to do one thing: expose the rank hypocrisy of conservatives who blame “Black culture” for racial hierarchy. “[They] hate you. Not because of your standards, but because of who you are. There’s nothing you can do about it. They hate you,” Coates says to us, as if Obama were in the audience too.

He also referenced a study that found White people view Bo, the dog, as a “less nice dog” when they find out he is the Obama family dog. I Googled it. It’s a

real study.

“Everything that people claim is wrong with Black people has nothing to do with Black people.

It has to do with taking from them,” Coates explained with the laugh that only comes along with a deep frustration with ignorance. If aliens came to earth and saw our history, he said, the truth about how we got to where we are today would be evident.

Charles brought the conversation back to his new book, which he is grateful to have had the opportunity to write. However, as much pride as he has in his work, Coates is still somewhat melancholy about it.

“The period before a piece comes out is when it belongs to you. Then it becomes property of the public,” Coates explained.

With his rise in “fame”, another term that makes him uncomfortable, Coates detailed how he has had to adjust greatly throughout his career. “[Fame] kills something inside you. That openness and curiosity and willingness to engage,” he laughed as he remembered logging onto Facebook and being baffled to see friends criticize him, as if they weren’t friends and he was a distant celebrity.

His position as a writer is constantly changing, but what stays consistent is his need to offer the truth about America’s history of White supremacy and continuous profiting off the backs of Black bodies.

“Why do White people like what I write?” Coates rephrased a question Charles asked him from her neat pile of notecards.

“People think they want absolution. ‘Why won’t he give me hope?’ But then they keep reading. Because deep down, they don’t want to be lied to. They want the truth.”

The lecture ended with time for four audience questions. For all of the questions, askers basically did that long-winded thing where they try to share their life stories and don’t really ask a question. One of the people (after telling her life story) asked which chapter she should assign her students to read of his new book. Another asked if Coates is critical of Obama at all in the book.

“I would suggest you read my book,” Coates responded coyly.

Photo courtesy of creative commons

Into the Archives: a correspondence on divestment

Part I of II on Apartheid Divestment

by Shreya Chattopadhyay News Editor On June 17, 1985, recent alum Perry Chang wrote a handwritten note to then-president of the College David Fraser. The note read: “Dear President Fraser: I would be interested to receive a response to the letter I handed to you at Commencement. I have enclosed a copy of that letter, which I helped draft. Hope you are having a pleasant summer.

Sincerely, Perry Chang.”

The letter enclosed, written by Chang and a few other students who had graduated in 1985, was a call for divestment from companies doing business in South Africa under Apartheid.

“Many of us wear armbands today to remind both College officials and our friends, family, teachers, and fellow students about the deteriorating situation in South Africa and what role the College might play in improving the situation … during the past four years at Swarthmore we have become more and more familiar — through films,

course work, symposiums, and even late-night discussions — with the apartheid system of South Africa,” Chang and others wrote.

They then urged President Fraser to take two specific actions. First, to contact the College’s Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics and Investments, created a the year prior, and urge them to support a new provision. This provision reconsidered the College’s policy since 1978, which established that the College would maintain investments in South Africa as long as they followed the “Sullivan Principles,” which the Swarthmore AntiApartheid committee considered to be a cover for companies wanting to stay in South Africa.

The second thing the students urged was for Fraser to publicly support the proposed AntiApartheid Act of 1985 being considered by Congress.

“We believe the time is ripe for action on the apartheid issue,” the last paragraph of the letter reads. “In South Africa, things grow worse every day.

Over here, the “Free South

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November 16, 2017

Members of the College Anti-Apartheid Committee disrupted the Board of Managers Meeting in February of 1982,

Africa” gains steam, in college campuses and in the halls of Congress. Both the situation in South Africa and the movement here cry out for us to act now. As students here for the past four years, we have waited patiently as the College has put this issue through the slow mechanism of its formal committees. We are running out of patience.”

Chang and others ended with a concrete consequence for the college if it did not divest.

And we suspect that, should the Ethics and Investments Committee effort go nowhere over the summer, next year many of us will likely support the establishment of an “alternative endowment” — a pool of alumni contributions which will not be released to the College until it divests — and younger students who remain at Swarthmore will likely lose faith in the College’s established mechanism for change and opt for a different mechanism. The time for you and the College to act is now.”

On June 28, 1985, President Fraser sent a letter back to Chang. In his letter, he outlined his dismay for the situation.

“Dear Perry: I welcome the chance to make a personal reply to the letter that you and your classmates gave to Gene Lang and me during the Commencement ceremonies. In the letter you raise important issues of what the College’s and our government’s responses should be to the dreadful system of legislated racism that was built up in South Africa forty or fifty years ago, and continues largely in place despite some recent marginal improvements … The College wrestles with a variely

of issues including whether it should be a locus of debate or a debator, whether to use its investments as a polítical or moral statement would compromise its fiduciary responsibilities, and how the College might use its investments most efficiently in effecting change in South Africa.”

Fraser also outlined recent discussions in Washington on Apartheid.

“I spent Wednesday in Washington with a group of college and university presidents debating these issues and cross examining Senator Paul Sarbanes and Assistant Secretary of State Chester Crocker (who have, as I suspect you know, markedly differing views). Crocker argues that the oppression of blacks ín South Africa is lessening, and that our leverage is greater if we are ‘constructively engaged,’ and that forces are already in place that will lead to the dismantling of apartheid in the relatively near future. I find myself unconvinced that our engagement has cause much improvement in the situation of blacks in South Africa, because I do not see that the situation has improved much. I have a harder time judging the validity of his assertion that things will now improve fairly rapidly — I worry that the Botha government is changing things about as quickly as the Afrikaners will permit and that in the present climate only revolution will bring rapid change.”

Despite this, Fraser explained that he was not personally yet convinced that the College would do better to follow total divestment, and that he looked to the committee of guidance. He did accept the

Does love exist at Swarthmore College?

by Dylan Clairmont CJ Writer

Okay, so it might be a bit more complicated than a “no” and nine exclamation points (maybe ten would’ve done the job?). But two months and some change at Swarthmore and it’s easy to get the feeling that it’s a desolate wasteland where the concept of a “crush” fits in neatly with its less colloquial definition. Why is this the case though? Is there something in the Sharples water that comes out of the fountain that constantly, without fail, reads REFILL even though there’s no way that it could possibly still need refilling? Something emitting from the fire moose that causes more than just temporary

casual discomfort?

Coming to Swarthmore, I was elated at the thought that I could finally, for once in my life, have potential romantic interests.

Fantasies involved stolen kisses in the fall-time amphitheater, romantic afternoons on Parrish Beach, and more, but little did I know that romance at Swat begins and ends with pathetic Tinder messages and avoiding eye contact in Sharples the morning after.

This disappointing realization has led me to the pose the question: why the fuck is Swat like this? I mean hey, you have to be at least a little smart to be here, so why the complete and utter lack of any sort of emotional intelligence here? I’ve weighed

the hypotheses, run the tests, and analyzed the data. Or at least I would’ve if there were any actual cases to study here. Unfortunately, the point three semi-functional relationships on this campus couldn’t be reached in between their constant PDAs to remind all of us that we are alone and will never have that. In lieu of actual case studies, I decided to reflect on some of my very own brushes with Swat romance.

It’s certainly sad that it’s not even three months in, and I already feel as though I’ve exhausted any and all Swarthmore options. Tinder currently just creates ring upon ring of faded red that reaffirm that we are in tragic suburban Pennsylvania.

Swat parties consist of running

into guys who 1) your best friend already hooked up with, 2) you already hooked up with, 3) your best friend is in love with, or 4) you’re in love with (and terrified to even make eye contact with).

The idea of finding some manic pixie dream boy who will sweep you off your feet is long dead once you realize that the men at this school get winded walking up Sharple’s hill and are without a doubt, not going to be sweeping anyone off their feet.

Still, you play along with the game. Tell yourself that a real world four is a Swarthmore seven and a real world seven is a Swarthmore eleven. To an outside observer, this could be seen as desperation, but at Swat, it’s adaptation. If we’re going to

Perry Chang’s note attached to a letter that was submitted to Eugene Lang and President Fraser by a group of the class of 1985 calling for total divestment. second demand, and publicly expressed support for the passage of the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985, however warning that this did not commit the college itself to a particular stand.

In 1986, the Anti-Apartheid Act passed in congress and the College board of managers reached a decision to proceed toward full divestment. Full divestment was reached in 1990.

Apartheid legislation in South Africa was outlawed in 1991.

The process, though, was a long and halting one; Chang and President Fraser’s exchange is a mere slice. Next issue, I’ll outline the actual process of the College’s progress toward apartheid divestment.

In many ways, this process can be seen as analogous to the current movement for divestment from fossil fuels: in April of 1985, before the Committee came to a decision, the College held a referendum in which 79%

be here for four years, there’s a necessary irreverence that needs to be taken with Swat’s romantic scene. Everyone here is just a some-degree-of-awkward teen/ young adult who doesn’t know what the fuck they’re doing, even if it looks like they’ve got it all figured out. Experiences here will range from mediocre to downright strange, but regardless of how they end up, you can - at the very least - leave with a good story and a laugh, and most of the time that’s enough.

So does love exist at Swarthmore College? In the typical, fairytale way, I’m going to argue that it’s highly improbable you’re going to find your Prince or Princess charming here. But that doesn’t mean you can’t

of the students who voted called for total divestment to replace the Sullivan principles. Mountain Justice held a similar referendum last year. Then and now, divestment is no easy process — hoops must be jumped through; drawbacks must be considered.

Even so, morality in investment has been a question the College has been struggling with for decades and will, I predict, for years to come.

***Chang and Fraser’s letters are courtesy of the Friend’s Historical Library

love the foolishness that comes along with trying to find love in this loveless land. View every embarrassing hickey as a battle mark that you have pride in, greet every awkward 2 a.m. hookup with a huge smile and a wave in Sharples the next morning, sweep yourself off your own feet at Paces (i.e. slip on the sticky ground and laugh about it with your friends for the next week).

Love doesn’t exist at Swarthmore College, and that’s okay.

SPORTS

November 16, 2017 PAGE A8

Swarthmore Women’s Volleyball makes history

by Arjun Madan Sports Writer After an outstanding performance against the 12th-ranked Johns Hopkins, the Swarthmore Volleyball team has clinched a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals; the team ventures to Grand Rapids, Mi. today to play its quarterfinal match against Wittenberg University, the tournament’s current number one seed.

Swarthmore Volleyball had already set a school record by gaining its first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. Three rounds later, the team’s unprecedented success resulted in Swarthmore’s being the first team from the Centennial Conference to reach the Round of Eight.

Advancing to the round of eight required an unprecedented team effort from Swarthmore

Volleyball. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Swarthmore dominated with a 3-0 win against Randolph-Macon, a liberal arts college of 1,400 students in Ashland, Virginia. Sarah Girard ’19 led the team with 19 digs, and Malia Scott ’18 helped the offense to a .223 hitting percentage with her 33 assists.

The next day, in the second round, the Garnet defeated the 10th ranked Carnegie Mellon with another 3-0 sweep. Swarthmore’s defense was outstanding, limiting the CMU Tartans to .130 hitting percentage. Additionally, as if the score itself was not dramatic enough, the game ended with two consecutive aces from Scott.

Following the win against CMU, on Nov. 12, Swarthmore faced Centennial Conference Champions Johns Hopkins. This

year alone, Swarthmore had previously lost two matches to Hopkins. While the first was a regular season game that the Garnet lost 2-3, the second was the Centennial Conference finals, in which Hopkins defeated Swarthmore 3-1. The loss eerily echoed last year’s loss to Hopkins in the same conference final.

Across the entire season, the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays had only been defeated by three teams, all of which were nationally-ranked. Even so, Swarthmore played a fantastic game, and despite the earlier losses against the Blue Jays, the team rallied to defeat Johns Hopkins 3-2 in an intense nail-biter. Fan support definitely played a role in the win; Swarthmore sent out a packed fan bus on the day of the game to support the team.

Exceeding expectations

by Matthew Becker Sports Writer

The Philadelphia Eagles have shocked the world with an 8-1 start to the 2017-18 NFL season.

Even the most optimistic of fans would have never predicted a start like this which has placed the Eagles at the top of the league. After ending the 2016 season with another subpar record of 7-9 and finishing last in their conference, the Eagles had a lot to work on coming into 2017. But, with an impressive list of rookies and free agent additions, it became increasingly clear the Eagles were to exceed expectations come the start of the season.

The key to success for the Eagles began in the offseason where they successfully filled holes with a handful of blockbuster trades and key signings in the free agency period. Supplementing the Eagles’ receiving core was an area of emphasis that executive Howie Roseman, owner Jeff Lurie, and head coach Doug Pederson wanted to key in on. The team started their offseason strong by signing San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith. The Eagles then picked up Pro Bowl wide receiver Alshon Jeffery from the struggling 3-13 Chicago Bears.

Jeffrey, now in his fifth year, is a freakishly explosive athlete with big play capabilities that he has consistently shown in his time in Chicago, as well as this season so far. He is undoubtedly a top-10 wide receiver in the NFL whose ceiling is sky high. Additionally, the Eagles signed LeGarrette Blount from the 2016-17 Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots, who boasted a league-leading 19 rushing touchdowns in the Patriots’ titlewinning season. This signing diversified the Eagles run game

with Blount’s hardnose physical running style supplementing the speed of Darren Sproles. These key additions, along with the signing of DE Chris Long, DT Timmy Jernigan, CB Sidney Jones, and CB Rasul Douglas, gave the Eagles a great advantage coming into the 2017 season.

So what sparked this extraordinary start for the Eagles? To begin, Carson Wentz, now in his second season in the NFL, has exceeded all expectations every time he has stepped on the field. He’s been an extremely efficient passer and runner of the ball so far. This, in addition to an impressive touchdown to interception ratio (23-5), has made Wentz the clear favorite for MVP of the NFL, something that no NFL fan expected just two years ago when Wentz was drafted out of North Dakota State University. Wentz has received praise and admiration for his play from coaches and players across the league, including analyst Jon Gruden. “He’s throwing the ball at a high level. He’s seeing the field well. He’s making changes at the line of scrimmage. And he’s making plays – and making plays in critical situations, third down.

When you’re No. 1 in the NFL on third down, that says a lot. So he is making a rapid ascent, no question.” said Gruden on a Monday Night Football broadcast. It is amazing to see Wentz leading his team to victory after victory at such a young age. Wentz has formed great chemistry with tight end Zach Ertz, and they have become one of the best tight end/ quarterback duos in the NFL. Ertz has snagged six touchdowns so far this season and continues to impress in his 5th NFL season.

This duo, along with many other influential players, are the reason the Eagles’ offense ranks so highly across the board. The

Eagles, offensive line, led by Lane Johnson, have been performing above expectations after future hall-of-famer Jason Peters tore his ACL and MCL against the Redskins in week 7.

While the Eagles’ offense has been outstanding this season, the defensive side of the ball is where the Eagles’ have especially excelled. The Eagles defense ranks sixth for most sacks, fourth for interceptions, and first in stopping third down conversions. This defensive success starts with the defensive line, where Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Vinny Curry have been terrorizing quarterbacks and running backs alike all season. The linebacker corps took a hit when young star Jordan Hicks tore his achilles against the Redskins, but the duo of Mychal Kendricks and Nigel Bradham have been able to successfully manage since. Cornerback Ronald Darby will return after the bye week which will help bolster the Eagles’ secondary.

With such promising play on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, is it too early to start talking about the playoffs?

The Eagles’ next game is against conference rival Cowboys, who have been struggling so far this season and now look even weaker with linebacker Sean Lee expected to be out. The Eagles are sitting comfortably in first place in their division and are now working towards a first round bye in the playoffs. Although there are still many games left to be played, Philadelphia is in peak form and will look to push deep into the playoffs later this season.

It is not too wild to think that the Eagles are well on the path to their first super bowl; their potential is limitless.

In a post-game press conference, head coach Harleigh Chwastyk commented on the dynamic between the volleyball teams of Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore.

“They came ready to play, and we did too. It’s been a battle between our programs over the last two years…It’s just, wow. It hasn’t sunk in…We’ve gone five sets with this team on multiple occasions. So, I felt like we had a lot of things in our favor. We weren’t getting the unexpected thrown at us, and I think our composure was fantastic too.”

Scott also spoke on this topic.

When asked what it was like to play Johns Hopkins for the third time this season, she said the following.

“A lot of us, having played them twice, felt like we weren’t able to give it our all in previous

two matches. I think we wanted to come out and be able to show in this vital match what we can do and to play to our full potential. So, I know I was excited to play them again.”

Mehra Den Braven ’20, who was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Regional, shared her teammate’s attitude.

“I agree with Malia. It was exciting to get to play them again and have the outcome be so different from the last two times, but again, it was also a challenge, mentally especially, just because we do know what they are about, and we know that they are a good team.”

The Garnet will have to stay n top of their game and continue to play very well to win today’s quarterfinal match against Wittenberg. Wittenberg is seeded number one in the NCAA Elite

How old is he?

by Ricky Conti Sports Writer

In 2009, the San Diego Padres drafted Donavan Tate, an athletic outfielder from Cartersville, Ga., with the third overall selection in the First-Year Player Draft. The First-Year Player Draft takes place in June, and there are over 40 rounds with over 1200 picks. Tate was a two-sport All-American in high school, also playing quarterback at Cartersville High School.

He was going to take his talents to the University of North Carolina for both sports but instead chose to sign with the Padres out of high school.

Tate’s signing bonus was a whopping $6.7 million, indicating that the Padres had a lot of faith that Tate would one day emerge as a star player in San Diego. He was ranked as high as the 29th best prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus in 2011.

Tate’s career did not start off hot. In 2010, he struggled in the Arizona Rookie League, the lowest level of American minor league baseball. A strong 2011 kept him on the map, but by 2012 he had yet to show the ability to hit Single-A pitching, which is still two levels below the major leagues. Although severe injuries probably hindered his ability to perform, Tate also struggled with substance abuse issues during his time in the minor leagues.

The Padres gave him one last shot in 2015, but he hit a dismal .211 in the California League, one the most hitter-friendly leagues in minor league baseball. After 2015, the Padres decided to part ways with their $6.7 million investment.

Tate never played a single game in the MLB, nor did he even reach AA for that matter. However, this story is not

unique. Predicting which amateur athletes make good professional baseball players is like firing a bow and arrow in the dark — you have no idea if you’re going to hit the target or not. That is why baseball is the only sport with so many levels of developmental leagues and 40 rounds in its amateur draft. Around 10 percent of drafted players make the MLB. What makes Tate’s story interesting is not that he failed to reach the bigs, but rather what he chooses to do now.

Currently, Tate is a quarterback for the University of Arizona Wildcats football team.

Even after seven seasons of professional baseball, the 27-year-old with a wife and three kids is now a college freshman at the University of Arizona majoring in pre-business.

NCAA Division I Football does not impose age limits for student-athletes. So it seems as long as a particular college allows a student to attend its institution, the student is allowed to play.

Other examples of players who went from pro baseball to college football include Malcolm Holland, Chris Weinke, and Brandon Weeden.

In reality, the issue is not heavily debated in the sports world because the issue is a win-win for the teams and the players. At the end of the day, the players get a new opportunity at playing sports for a living and get to earn a college degree, even after already being unsuccessful in another sport. Many of these players have gone on to have successful careers in football. For example, Weeden ended up becoming the oldest player

8 bracket, after winning five straight games, in four of which the score was 3-0.

Currently ranked third in all of Division 3 Volleyball, Wittenberg has had a consistently strong volleyball team in the past as well. The match against Swarthmore today will mark the eighth time that Wittenberg Volleyball has reached the Elite 8, the most recent having been in 2015. Needless to say, the Garnet will have to play hard today.

Still, given how well the postseason has been going, there’s no doubt that the team has a good chance of winning and making it to the semifinals. For those who would like to follow the team’s progress, the game against Wittenberg will be available on live stream through the Swarthmore Athletics website.

drafted in the first round at age 28 when the Browns drafted him in 2012.

Instead, the issue sheds more light on the lack of regulation in NCAA Division I Football.

Although it is not a serious issue, it may not necessarily be fair to have grown men play football against still developing teenagers. This is also not a particularly new issue. Chris Weinke lead the Florida State Seminoles to a national title in 1999, and won the Heisman Trophy at 28 years old the following year. During the heyday of BYU football, there were concerns amongst their opponents that BYU held an unfair advantage because many of their players were much older, due to the fact that many are Mormon and had completed a two-year mission before entering the college. However, there is more to talent than just age. Alabama did make it to the National Championship Game last year with a freshman quarterback. Overall, this may just be a system of second chances for a select few athletes.

Athlete of the Week: Bridget Scott This past weekend, the Swarthmore Women’s Volleyball team made history, winning their NCAA regional bracket, and becoming the first team in Centennial Conference history to advance to the Round of Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament. Bridget Scott ʼ18, the outside hitter hailing from Media, Pa., has largely flown under the radar this past year stats-wise in comparison to her past years, but has been one of the most impactful players in Swat volleyball history over her Swarthmore career. The Delco native has been a two-sport athlete since her freshman year, lettering in both basketball and volleyball. Scott has been a key contributor on both the defensive and offensive ends and was honored by the tournament committee along with the four other seniors at the end of the Round of 16 match versus Johns Hopkins. The Garnet continue dancing in the Round of Eight in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Thursday, Nov. 16 against Wittenberg University, the #1 seed left in the tournament.

Ping Promrat: What is your major, and what are your plans following graduation at Swarthmore?

Bridget Scott: I am a biology and educational studies special major with an environmental studies minor. My plans post graduation are still in the works, but I am really interested in exploring the intersection of sustainability and urban planning, or pursuing the study of sustainability in higher education.

PP: Describe what it felt like to beat Johns Hopkins, particularly after the disappointments the team has faced against them in the Centennial Conference finals the past two years.

Shelby Dolch / The Phoenix

BS: That was the sweetest part of Sunday! Beating Hopkins was a huge accomplishment for us, especially after the disappointment of losing to them twice this year.

What I’m most proud of from that match was our ability to hold our team identity and the integrity of

our team values. We really played Swat volleyball against them.

PP: You have been described by many as the heart of the team.

What do you believe you contribute best on and off the court?

BS: I’ve played on a lot of teams in my life, and we show so much love for each other on this particular team. I think I show that I care, whether that be on or off the court. I really see my role as a motivator. I’m like the mom of the team!

PP: What is it like being a twosport athlete at Swarthmore?

BS: I knew that when I was coming into college that I wanted to play two sports. Having that opportunity along with going to such an amazing school is something that I’m so incredibly grateful for. However, it hasn’t been easy! Regardless, I really value the two sports for the differences and similarities that come along with them, and the

ability to spend so many hours of the week with two amazing groups of players PP: What got you into both volleyball and basketball as a kid?

BS: I started playing volleyball as a kid. My mom was my first coach back in grade school, and I loved it. I’ve been playing basketball all my life too, starting from a very young age, and continuing throughout school. I’ve been so lucky to have such amazing coaches like Harleigh [Chwastyk, the Women’s Volleyball coach] who have really showed me how powerful sports can be. Additionally, being from just down the road has been so great in my college experience. All my old coaches and teammates have been all over my Facebook wall since Sunday, and having that support so close to you is so important to me.

PP: If you could change one thing about Swarthmore, what would it be and why?

BS:I wish more people would say hello when they walk by each other on campus! We have a great sense of community at Swarthmore, but I think it can be strengthened even more. Sometimes, I think we can become preoccupied with the day-to-day little things and lose track of the larger community. People need to laugh more, and lighten up!

PP: Do you believe we can win it all? What are your expectations for the quarterfinals? Swarthmore Volleyball, DIII National Champions has a great ring to it!

BS: Absolutely! This is an amazing opportunity where we are right now, and we have great momentum. My motto for last weekend was, “Let’s go out there and break some hearts.” I really believe we have yet to reach our full potential, and I hope we can do that come Thursday. Anything is possible!