The Phoenix

MARCH 24, 2011 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SINCE 1881 • VOLUME 133, ISSUE 22

PHOENIX

Inside: Professors Lakey, Smithey unveil global database Author discusses experience in ‘Bible boot camp’ President Chopp addresses concerns over inn

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StuCo is currently discussing possible construction of a gazebo for campus community, but the project remains in the planning process p. 4

The Phoenix

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Volume 133, Issue 22

The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881.

Page

20 Paul Chung Phoenix Staff

Lefty Andy Allen delivers a pitch in the Garnet’s 8-5 loss to Ursinus. Allen pitched 4.2 innings and struck out four batters.

News One-of-a-kind makes its debut

Senior vocalists to show- Examining the cycle case talent in recital caused by stinky bracket Ben Starr and Sirkka Natti will be holding syndrome database their senior recitals on Saturday in Lang, Greeny takes a look at the painful and

Peace and Conflict Professor George Lakey, along with students in his research seminar, have recently announced the creation of an online resource that will catalogue over 500 nonviolent campaigns for activism upon its completion. PAGE 3

where they will show how they have matured as artists. PAGE 10

Identity theft: can you prove you’re really you?

Business columnist Aliya Padamsee gives advice on how to prevent identity theft, and what to do if you’re accused of stealing your own identity. PAGE 10

Plans to construct a gazebo in limbo ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ delivStudent Council has recently been engaging in discussions concerning the potential con- ers, even with its clichés struction of a gazebo on campus, intended to serve as a new outdoor community space.

PAGE 4

“The Lincoln Lwayer,” featuring Matthew McConaughey in a film he can finally carry, is pleasantly diverting, laughably outlandish and overbearingly clichéd.

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perennial cycle suffered by all March Madness bracket holders. This cycle is due to one thing: stinky bracket syndrome.

PAGE 17

Tennis teams see mixed results in recent matches The men’s and women’s tennis teams have picked up a slew of wins and losses. The men and women are both 2-5. PAGE 17

Men’s and women’s lacrosse lose to Ursinus Bears

The lacrosse teams dropped close games to Students enter urban classthe Ursinus Bears on Saturday, with the losing 11-9 and the women losing 15-11.. rooms to teach ‘The Owls’ portrays les- men PAGE 18 Three Swarthmore students recently participated in the Urban Education Initiative pro- bians who desire acceptgram in order to tutor and provide college ance Purkey provides proof for application assistance to students in urban Director Cheryl Dunye will be present at a classrooms. PAGE 5 talk-back after the screening of her movie how to win an NCAA trophy

Model Solar Car Project up and running again After last year’s budget cuts forced the after school program in Chester’s middle school to end, the model solar car and bridge programs were moved to Chester’s high school, allowing the project to enter its 16th year of existence. PAGE 6

Living & Arts

‘The Owls,’ a pathological lesbian thriller.

PAGE 12

Sports columnist Hannah Purkey, using scientific studies, shares four pointers on how to win an NCAA basketball championship. PAGE 19

Baseball picks up wins against Immaculata, PSU

Opinions Intervention in Libya needs multilateral support The US faces opposition at home and abroad for its questionable participation in the no-fly zone over Libya. PAGE 14

The baseball team, which sports a 9-5 overall record, gathered a total of three wins over Immaculata and Penn St.Brandywine, yet dropped its most recent game to Widener by an 8-5 score. PAGE 20

Afrika Owes case highRoose to discuss his expe- lights invisible reality rience at “Bible boot camp” Columnist Eva McKend reminds us how Kevin Roose, author of The Unlikely Discipline, discusses his study abroad at Liberty University, founded on evangelical Christian roots. PAGE 8

often the racial and gendered reality of young black women is overlooked. PAGE 15

Buffett and Gates confuse with the IRS Niche programming comes charity When the very rich argue for more prowith its pros and cons gressive taxes, something is off, Danielle

In the day and age when hundreds of channels are at a viewer’s disposal, niche programming allows execs to take risks, but also puts smaller shows in danger of cancellation. PAGE 9

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argues. PAGE 16

Sports

Corrections FROM THE ISSUE:

MARCH

17,

2011

in last week’s article “SNCC panel recalls stories of their past,” two panelists and SNCC members Debbie Amis and Martha Noonan were omitted. Amis and Noonan participated in the earlier panel of the panel “Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts of Women in the SNCC.”

EDITORIAL BOARD Camila Ryder Editor in Chief Marcus Mello Managing Editor Menghan Jin News Editor Adam Schlegel Assistant News Editor Susana Medeiros Living & Arts Editor Dina Zingaro Living & Arts Editor Olivia Natan Opinions Editor Paul Chung Photo Editor Allegra Pocinki Photo Editor Julia Karpati Graphics Editor Peter Akkies Director of Web Development Eric Sherman Director of Web Development Jeffrey Davidson Editor Emeritus STAFF Navin Sabharwal News Writer Patrick Ammerman News Writer Sera Jeong Living & Arts Writer Steven Hazel Living & Arts Writer Steve Dean Living & Arts Columnist Alex Israel Living & Arts Columnist Ariel Swyer Living & Arts Columnist Aliya Padamsee Living & Arts Columnist Timothy Bernstein Film Critic Renu Nadkarni Artist Naia Poyer Artist Ben Schneiderman Crossword Writer Holly Smith Crossword Writer Tyler Becker Opinions Columnist Danielle Charette Opinions Columnist Eva McKend Opinions Columnist Jon Erwin-Frank Opinions Columnist Emma Waitzman Artist Ana Apostoleris Sports Writer Daniel Duncan Sports Writer Renee Flores Sports Writer Timothy Bernstein Sports Columnist Hannah Purkey Sports Columnist Andrew Greenblatt Sports Columnist Renee Flores Copy Editor Lauren Kim Copy Editor Susanna Pretzer Copy Editor Jakob Mrozewski Photographer Eric Verhasselt Photographer BUSINESS STAFF Ian Anderson Director of Business Development Patricia Zarate Circulation Manager GRAPHICS Julia Karpati Cover Design Parker Murray Layout Assistant CONTRIBUTORS Henry Kietzman, Rachel Killackey, Aaron Kramer, Anna Rothschild, Eli Siegel OPINIONS BOARD Camila Ryder, Marcus Mello, Olivia Natan EDITORS’ PICKS PHOTOS COURTESY OF: (clockwise from top left): bitchspot.jadedragononline.com http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid= 207959445886860 p2pays.org tpy-tma.com theautismnews.com rmtc.fsdb.k12.fl.us COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF: http://tiny.cc/g72gy http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/115/ swarthmore_science_center.jpg TO ADVERTISE: E-mail: advertising@swarthmorephoenix.com Advertising phone: (610) 328-7362 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Direct advertising requests to Camila Ryder.

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CONTACT INFORMATION Offices: Parrish Hall 470-472 E-mail: editor@swarthmorephoenix.com Newsroom phone: (610) 328-8172 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Web site: www.swarthmorephoenix.com Mail subscriptions are available for $60 a year or $35 a semester. Direct subscription requests to Camila Ryder.

The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

All contents copyright © 2011 The Phoenix.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

For these and any other mistakes we may have unintentionally made, we extend our sincerest apologies.

March 24, 2011

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events menu Today Brown Bag Lunch with Charlie Mayer ’98 Swat alum Charlie Mayer ‘98, Director of Operations for NPR will be hosting a lecture about his nearly 20 years of work at NPR in Upper Tarble at 12:30 p.m.

One-of-a-kind database makes its debut

Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells us about Morality Patricia Churchland, UC San Diego Professor Emerita of Philosophy, will be speaking about morality from a neuroscientific perspective at 7 p.m. in Bond Hall.

Tomorrow Prof. George Moskos’ Memorial Join the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in celebrating the life of Professor George Moskos, beginning at 2 p.m. in Bond Hall.

"The Owls" film screening with Director Cheryl Dunye As part of the 2011 Queer and Trans Conference, director Cheryl Dunye will be screening her film at 7 p.m. in Sci 101.

George Bernard Shaw's “Farfetched Fables” Head to LPAC at 8 p.m. to see Swatties put on Shaw’s late work, which features “radical” subjects such as eugenics, global chemical warfare, and the fundamental problem of education. There will be additional showings on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, March 26th Martial Arts Seminar with Sensei Victor Valentin Haverford Martial Arts Alliance is sponsoring a selfdefense seminar led by Victor Valentin, the founder of M-5 combat arts, at 11 a.m. in the multipurpose room on the second floor of the Althetics building (GLAC).

Love is for EveryBODY: Workshop with Bevin Branlandigham Come to the Kohlberg’s Scheuer Room at 2 p.m. for a workshop, sponsored by the Queer and Trans Conference 2011, that will be exploring the notion of loving your body the way it is.

Green Iron Chef The biannual sustainable cooking competition sponsored by Earthlust will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Shane Lounge and will star this semester’s special ingredient: button mushrooms.

Sunday, March 27th Guided tour: a walk with the curator Curator Andrew Bunting will be hosting a walking tour of the Scott Arboretum, starting at the Arboretum office at 2:30 p.m.

E-mail submissions for the events menu to news@swarthmorephoenix.com

tHe PHOenIX

Allegra Pocinki Phoenix Staff

Hanna King, one of George Lakey’s students assisting the creation of the Global Nonviolent Action Database, is one of several students who presented the project to the campus community on Wednesday.

BY ELI SIEGEL esiegel2@swarthmore.edu

Professor George Lakey and students in his research seminar on Nonviolent Strategy and Struggle recently announced the creation of the Global Nonviolent Action Database Project, an online catalog that contains detailed accounts of over 400 cases of nonviolent campaigns for human rights, economic justice, environmental justice, race and religion. It includes information from roughly 150 countries on six continents with its oldest case being from the fifth century B.C.E. Each case study contains a segmented narrative of the campaign

that details the tactics used by the activists and assesses whether or not they were successful.

The first of its kind, the database can open doors for contemporary activists to see what techniques work and which do not, according to Lakey.

“As a young activist I would have loved to have a database like this,” Lakey said. “It’s a place to bring together the ingredients [for social change].”

Lakey believes the database will allow scholars to look for patterns over time in order to enhance and develop the most effective nonviolent action techniques. For example, scholars often break up nonviolent action

March 24, 2011

techniques into ones of social change, which challenge old rules, and ones of social defense, which seek to keep past traditions. With this database scholars will now have enough concrete data to see which one of these two techniques is most successful. This will in turn allow current activists to see if it would be better to frame their action as social defense or social change.

In addition, the database reveals waves of nonviolent campaigns throughout history that lead to significant results. For example, it shows the wave of nonviolent action that took place in Eastern Europe in 1989 just before the downfall of the Soviet Union. A similar wave of action can been seen in Southeastern Europe that lead to the overthrow of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Students in Professor Lakey’s seminar have been powering the project.

Each student writes 12 cases per semester for the database, developing their research methods and learning about sociological concepts. The seminar was first offered in the fall of 2009 and has been offered every semester due to continued student interest.

Students from Georgetown University and students volunteers at Swarthmore have also written cases for the database. “[The database] was something I was really interested in,” Max Rennebohm ’13 said, who is a psychology and peace and conflict studies double major. “It will be useful to future activists.”

Lakey believes that creating the database can change the way students look at the world and understand complex issues.

“When Egypt erupted with mass nonviolent direct action, the media largely portrayed it as spontaneous. A number of my students [were surprised by this], because they could tell that there had been movement organizing and strategic planning prior to the mass action,” Lakey said.

“My students turned out to be right.

Their course work gave them more insight than some journalists on the scene,” Lakey added.

This in turn allows students to feel that their efforts really can make a difference.

“Working on the database project is the most empowering single thing I did during my college years. It contradicted my cynicism about whether change is really possible and showed me that people like myself can organize campaigns that matter,” Shandra Bernath-Plaisted ’09 said.

The experience of creating the database has had a profound impact on Lakey’s students.

“As someone who is socially engaged,” said Will Lawrence ‘13, “the [project] transformed the way I view history, activism and power.”

Lakey and his students plan to launch the database publicly this summer. When launched the database will have over 500 cases from almost every country.

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Plans to construct a gazebo in limbo

Week in Pictures

BY AARON KRAMER akramer2@swarthmore.edu

Allegra Pocinki Phoenix Staff

On Wednesday, Jeff Hiller of JobBound hosted a professional development workshop to provide students with the tools to achieve career-related success.

Jake Mrozewski Phoenix Staff

Nigel Dower of the University of Aberdeen spoke this past Sunday on the topic of climate change and global responsibility.

Jake Mrozewski Phoenix Staff

Renowned New York illustrator Rich Tu lectured of his experiences in publications on Friday and collaborated with members of the audience to create a new piece.

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For the past seven weeks, Student Council has been the discussing the possibility of constructing a gazebo on campus. The list of potential uses is quite varied.

“It’s going to be a place to rest, a place to socialize, a place where classes and seminars could be taught,” said StuCo President Simon Zhu ’11. “I think that there’s also an aesthetic element to it, there’s a communal element to it; it could be a place for productions and musical performances.”

According to Zhu, similar spaces are limited on campus given that there is no student center. However, Student Council is not investing a lot of time in the project at the moment because it’s in its preliminary stages. “We’re very much still exploring our options,” Zhu said.

At this point, the gazebo proposal is in conceptual stages; no formal proposals have been drafted. Questions yet to be addressed include the final cost of construction, maintenance mechanisms and costs, materials, location and architecture. “Those questions will have to be vetted in the community to see what makes sense,” said Claire Sawyers, Director of the Scott Arboretum. “We have a lot of people who have strong opinions about what architecture works here and what doesn’t work here, [and] what materials are appropriate.”

Paul LaFreniere ’13, who has experience working in architecture, has mixed feelings. “One of the things I really like about the aesthetics of the campus is how we have these open, unencumbered green spaces buttressed by trees,” LaFreniere said.

“I’ve never heard anyone express a burning desire for a gazebo, especially considering the financial constraints of the school … Hopefully, it will function as a locus that draws and arranges people around it because if it doesn’t, it will just become a public eyesore.”

“There is obviously a cost issue,” Zhu said. “We would have to secure funding, but we think this could add value to the campus. There are a lot of potential benefits, but we don’t what kind of price tag we’re looking at and whether we would have funding for it.

There will of be a question of opportunity cost, what else we could do with the money,” he said.

LaFreniere also believes that the conceptual phases of the project should be opened to the student population so that interested parties could submit ideas. “If this is going to work, a lot of care and thought and public input has to go into determining how [the gazebo] is going to be used.”

Student Council discussed a prefabricated design, which would be significantly cheaper than a custom one. The design had a price tag of about $9,000 and is about 15 feet across. Stuart Hain, Vice President of Facilities and Services, is concerned that the design does not live up to building standards of the college.

“I’m concerned about the quality of this structure,” Hain said, “[the gazebo] should be of a higher quality of materials than a residential gazebo should be in order to sustain much

March 24, 2011

heavier use.” No custom designs have been submitted, but they generally range between ten and fifty thousand dollars.

For projects like this, sources of funding are usually varied. The College has a facilities capital budget, but the gazebo proposal will likely face strong headwinds as the college is tightening its belt in response to the recent recession. Funding for capital projects has been and will remain at a reduced level: $3.1 million for facilities projects were approved for the 2011-12 academic year, while in the 2008-09 year the figure was $10.8 million.

The gazebo proposal may in fact be competing for funds with a similar proposal for a student activities plaza between the fraternities and the Faulkner Tennis Courts.

“The capital budget is stretched to exhaustion,” said Stuart Hain.

According to Hain, Swarthmore’s capital facilities budget doesn’t normally fund projects like the gazebo and that discretionary use of the budget will be low so as to protect the college’s infrastructure.

StuCo could approach the Arboretum as well. Claire Sawyers, Director of the Scott Arboretum, wants to consult with StuCo on the project, but does not believe that the Arboretum can help fund the construction of a gazebo. The Arboretum’s funds have been depleted, in part due to the construction of the $3.8 million Wister Center, a space for public horticultural education and displays as well as a greenhouse.

“There’s not one recipe to go about making this happen,” Sawyers said, “this is part of the way Swarthmore works. You build consensus, you build momentum, and then you work on funding.” According to Sawyers, Student Council could solicit the Alumni Association for a portion of the funds, as a Gazebo could serve alumni weekend functions. Projects like this can also take the form of senior class gifts.

Student Council has been speaking with the Engineering Department about the project. The Department’s sponsorship appears unlikely as it has little funds and does not view the construction of a gazebo as educational.

Vandalism is another concern.

According to Sawyer, unless the gazebo is in a very public location, it may be a target for defacement. Where the gazebo might be built will depend on the size of the gazebo and the input of Facilities and Services and the Arboretum, but one proposed location is near the Rose Garden, between Trotter and McCabe Library.

The consensus seems to be that the idea of building a gazebo on campus is a good one. “I think creating spaces where people can be comfortable and slow down in a place like Swarthmore is a good idea,” Hain said. But financial constraints and other practical concerns will likely postpone the project until the College is more solvent.

To complete projects like this in Swarthmore, one must navigate a labyrinth of administrative and departmental constraints. “Its like a jungle out there,” said LaFreniere, “maybe one day it’ll have a gazebo in it.”

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Students enter urban classrooms to teach ileged,” she said, “[and] it’s easy to forget [problems people face]. It’s great to be reminded [of this] and Three Swarthmore students working with a bunch of college sturecently participated in the Urban dents who are equally passionate Educational Intiative (UEI) Program. about the issue is rejuvenating,” she Evelyn Fraga ’13, Bridget Boakye ’12 said. and Elizabeth Bryant ’13 assisted in Serving as a fellow also helped her urban classrooms, provided students develop and solidify her perspectives with one-on-one tutoring and assisted on education. For instance, she now them with the college application supports youth activism, the idea that process. children should play an active role in According to its website, the pro- their education, an issue which gram, founded and supported by comes up during her Educational Smith College, encourages students Policy course. to become leaders in the field of Fraga was drawn to the program urban education by developing their when she found out that she would be understanding of both theoretical and able to extern through the Schuler practical issues facing urban schools Scholar program, a non-profit organithrough service learning. zation that she was a part of as a high Both Boakye and Fraga heard school student. The organization about the program through educa- works with low-income, first generational studies Professor Lisa tion college students who are mostly Smulyan, who sought for students to students of color. excel in this field. “The goal of this She also cited her personal experiprogram is to encourage Swarthmore ence as inspiration. “After attending students to become leaders in this a high school in which the graduation urban education rate was by enhancing extremely low, their underme real“Working with a bunch of itizemade standing of the how the type theoretical, college students who are of education practical, and t u d e n t s equally passionate about sreceive human issues is closefacing urban the issue is rejuvenating.” ly linked to youth and city issues of class Bridget Boakye ’12 s c h o o l s , ” race,” she UEI Program participant and Smulyan said. said in an eBoakye, who mail.

At is also an educaSwarthmore, tion minor, spent two weeks working her activism and interests revolve with high school students in New around equal-access education and York City. Inspired by both her passing the DREAM act, a proposal coursework and personal life, she that would provide residency to alien was eager to engage in this program. students who arrived in the United “Based on what I’ve been doing [at States as minors.

Swarthmore] with urban education Attending the program also helped and my own personal background, it her decide to pursue a career in colseemed like the perfect fit,” Boakye lege counseling, specifically one in a said. school with a higher population of Though initially hesitant as to how students of color and from lowmuch she wanted to work with the income families like the one the students, she realized that she did not Shuler program works with. want to watch as a critical observer, The UEI is also sponsored by the instead deciding to actively partici- Consortium for Excellence in Teacher pate in the classroom.

Education (CETE), a group of colleges “I got involved whenever the and universities developed to proteacher needed help [and] I would be mote the efforts of teacher educators the intermediary [between the stu- and student member institutions in dents and teachers],” she said. She addition to school personnel who also helped grade exams and set up work with faculty of the institutions. classrooms.

Recently, the Ford Foundation Boakye also felt that working in awarded the group a grant to support urban schools helped renew her inter- teachers in a two-year “Leadership est in education. “Growing up in the for Urban Schools” program, consistBronx and going to a charter school ing of a summer institute at and coming to Swat and taking [class- Swarthmore College in addition to es] here ... I lost the experience of regular meetings during the academwhat education meant to me as a ic year. A flyer for the program states whole,” Boakye said. that it seeks to help teachers in their She went on to describe how going 3rd - 11th year of teaching, “experiback to the Bronx refreshed her per- ment with the various forms of eduspective, shifting it from one in a cational leadership, learn the skills Swarthmore classroom to one in real- needed to be an effective teacher, ity. [and] develop a cohort within which “It’s easy to be here and to be priv- to share knowledge and experience.”

News iN pictures

BY NAVIN SABHARWAL nsabhar1@swarthmore.edu

tHe pHOeNiX

Allegra Pocinki Phoenix Staff

A fireside chat about the Strategic Planning process took place on Monday night with Working Group 2: Knowledge, Teaching, and Learning. Students were able to ask the group questions and contribute to the ongoing process and discussions.

March 24, 2011

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Model Solar Car Project up and running again

BY PATRICK AMMERMAN pammerm1@swarthmore.edu

The Model Solar Car Project, an outreach initiative for students who are enrolled in Chester’s public school system, is entering its 16th year of existence. Swarthmore engineering professor Nelson Macken heads and runs the project, which invites students in Chester to build their own solar powered model car, working one hour a week for four to five weeks during Chester’s after school program.

Every spring, four or five Swarthmore students volunteer with the project to help make the experience as positive and beneficial to the Chester students as possible.

“The whole thrust of this is to try to get the students interested in science and technology,” Macken said. He has been working with Swarthmore students to offer this opportunity for children in Chester since the project’s inception. A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lead a similar program in his own community, which inspired Macken to create his own program for Chester’s schools.

In the beginning of Macken’s program, the cars were built so that the students could enter a national contest known as “Junior Solar Sprint,” in which seventh and eighth grade students race their cars against one another’s.

But, there were a few logistical issues that made it difficult for students to attend and compete in the contest. Finding transportation for the students to go to downtown Philadelphia to participate was challenging.

Also, the contest is in June every year and many of the Swarthmore volunteers have left campus before the event. “For many years now … we haven’t been a part of the contest, but we do our own thing and have a contest between the kids who make the solar cars,” Macken said.

Swarthmore students who volunteer with the Courtesy of Nelson Macken Model Solar Car Project don’t need to have any sort of prior experience. Macken recruits students from Engineering Professor Nelson Macken and his students intend to use the model solar car and bridge programs to raise within the engineering department as well as from interest in science among school-age children in Chester area schools. the rest of the campus with the help of the Lang Center, which disseminated an e-mail about volun- result, Macken has instead begun working with ADVERTISEMENT students in the after school program at Chester’s teering in the project last week.

Macken has found that building the model cars high school during the Model Solar Car and Model has not only been a fun and rewarding experience Bridge projects.

Although the ages of the students he is working for Chester students, but the volunteers really get a with is different, Macken hasn’t changed much in lot out of it as well.

“It’s not unusual to have students [volunteer] at the project’s design. “It seems to be working out least a couple years … but most of the time we get pretty well,” he said.

Still, Macken acknowledged that some changes new students almost every time we do this,” would need to be made to suit the needs of older stuMacken said.

One volunteer who is participating in the project dents. According to Alex Cannon ’14, who is volunteering with the project for the first time and for his second year is Eric Verhasselt ’13.

Verhasselt participated in a similar bridge con- recently went to the project’s first session, the high school students drew up struction project last design plans for their fall, which is organized cars which “overby Macken every fall so “The whole thrust of this is to try achieved” the project’s that Swarthmore stugoals. The volunteers dents can help students to get the students interested in are hoping to bring addiat Chester engage in science and technology.” tional materials that the hands-on scientific high school students can learning year round.

Prof.

Nelson Macken use to construct what After his experience Engineerng Dept. they’ve designed. in the bridge building Verhasselt thought there program, Verhasselt volwas a large difference in unteered to take charge of the model solar cars while Macken was away on that many of the high school students had already declared what they would be doing after graduatleave last spring.

Both Macken and Verhasselt mentioned the ing. “The original goal [of the project] cannot be occasional difficulties of collaborating with the the same,” he said.

“The kids … are really invested in the project,” Chester school system. Frequent turnover of staff and budget issues have created difficulties in mak- Cannon said after their first week. The Model Solar ing arrangements with staff in the past. Macken Car Project will continue for the next month or so, usually relies on just one or two teacher contacts he and culminate in a race between the students’ cars, has to arrange for Chester students to participate with the winner getting a small prize.

Disclaimer: Eric Verhasselt is a photographer for in the program.

Just last year, budget cuts forced the after school The Phoenix. He had no role in the production of this program in Chester’s middle school to end. As a article.

The Jonathan R. Lax ’71 Conference on Entrepreneurship at Swarthmore College Sunday March 27, 2011 * 10:15am-5pm * Science Center “Social Entrepreneurship: The Business of Transforming the World” Find details and register at www.swarthmore.edu/lax

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March 24, 2011

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around higher education

Students across the state fight proposed cuts

BY MICHAEL MACAGNONE pittnews.com, Mar. 20, 2011

Three weeks ago, Pitt senior Nick Brink didn’t picture himself becoming the leader of a state-wide student organization.

The neuroscience major is now the acting president of the Coalition of Pennsylvania Students, an organization founded after Gov. Tom Corbett proposed halving state spending on Pitt and other Pennsylvania universities in his budget address two weeks ago.

Brink and the 11 members of the group’s board — which is comprised of students throughout the state — are trying to bridge a gap between various universities in the two state-supported systems: the four state-related universities and the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

“There was not one organization that wanted to coordinate with all schools,” he said. “We’ve worked nonstop over spring break to get all of the organization started.”

He created a Facebook event hours after Corbett’s budget address two weeks ago, “GOV CORBETT 50% Appropriation Reduction for Higher Education- UNACCEPTABLE” that now has more than 22,000 attendees.

The cuts, part of Gov. Tom Corbett’s first budget, amount to almost $900 million in education spending and would reduce Pitt’s $185 million appropriation by more than half, to $80.2 million. State legislators will hold hearings on the budget throughout April before setting a date to vote on it.

Accounting for inflation, the appropriation — which accounted for nine percent of Pitt’s budget this year — would be the smallest Pitt has received since becoming state-related in the 1960s.

Pitt will also lose more than $10 million in federal funds this coming year. Its total budget is more than $1.9 billion.

Corbett called his $27.3 billion, 1,100-page proposal a “reality-based budget.” It includes no tax increases — in line with his campaign promises — and cuts state spending to 2008 levels.

The initial outcry over the Internet among students has turned into organized activism from both long-established and more recently formed student organizations across the state.

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly President Nila Devanath helped Brink organize on Facebook and launch the Coalition of Pennsylvania Students’ website. Brink has also worked to promote GPSA’s online petition against the cuts — which by Friday had more than 4,000 signatures from students at more than two dozen universities across the state.

Devanath also emphasized the importance of Pitt Day in Harrisburg on April 5. Student Government Board will bus students to the capitol building for a day of lobbying legislators in person.

“We want to fill as many buses as we can,” she said.

“When you are talking to that legislator or that staffer face-to-face, it’s hard to be ignored by them.”

Other student leaders have focused most of their advocacy on their campuses, or coordinated through the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students, an organization formed last semester to support public funding for Pitt, Penn State University, Temple University and Lincoln University.

“There’s no need to re-invent the wheel here,” said Christian Ragland, the president of Penn State’s University Park Undergraduate Association, referring to

the new coalition.

“I admire [Brink’s] efforts and I hope to continue to help him in the future,” he said. “But we need to get behind the organizations that are already established.”

The efforts of the state’s most populous campus — with more than 40,000 students — have focused on getting stories out to legislators. In the last week, Penn State has gathered video stories from students on its campus, and Ragland said UPUA wants to organize a phone bank to reach out to legislators in the next few weeks.

The phone bank is similar to a letter writing campaign on Pitt’s campus sponsored by SGB and GPSA that kicks off tomorrow. Devanath said that Chancellor Mark Nordenberg is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. to start the campaign, which runs through Wednesday.

The two groups will also coordinate district lobby visits and calling days.

But SGB President Molly Stieber said the biggest event will be a rally on March 30. Although details about the location have yet to be finalized, Stieber said she was “in talks” with city administration to possibly shut down Bigelow Boulevard and hold the rally there.

Timed less than a week before Pitt’s Day in Harrisburg, the rally would not be an SGB event. Stieber said she wanted it to be “student-driven, student-led.”

Pitt students will go to Harrisburg the same day as Penn State’s students, although Ragland said that the two schools did not coordinate the event. He thinks that reaching out to legislators — especially this year — will be the best way for students to enact change.

“Students didn’t really understand the importance of days like that until this year,” he said. “I think that the protest, the activism, plays a defined role in this process, but it is up to the legislators to vote.”

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March 24, 2011

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Living & Arts

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Roose to discuss his experience at “Bible boot camp”

BY HENRY KIETZMAN hkietzm1@swarthmore.edu Established in 1971, Liberty University was named “Bible Boot Camp” by its founder, the late Reverend Jerry Falwell. Falwell designed the academic institution to provide a small liberal arts education without the temptations of a traditional liberal arts school — to train “champions for Christ,” as stated on the school’s website.

Now, 40 years later, Liberty is the largest private university in Virginia, with 60 programs of study, 12,000 students enrolled on campus and nearly 53,000 students enrolled online. Kevin Roose, a graduate of Brown University, will describe his own experience “going abroad” to this exotic world of evangelical Christianity this Friday in the Scheuer Room at 2:30 p.m.

Jesse Dashefsky ’13 wanted to bring Roose to campus after reading a review of Roose’s memoir, “The Unlikely Disciple.” “It struck me as a genuinely different sort of project — an endeavor that was at once pretty daring, wacky, and fundamentally interesting,” Dashefsky said. He believed that Roose’s political and cultural questions were quite relevant to Swarthmore, and also admired Roose’s unique approach to exploring such questions.

Last summer, Dashefsky e-mailed Roose a question he had concerning the book and, in addition, asked if the author would like to visit campus. “[Roose] was really enthusiastic about the idea, and six months of planning later, here we are,” Dashefsky said.

Joyce Tompkins, the Protestant adviser on campus, helped Dashefsky in organizing the event, along with Tompkin’s interfaith interns, Sydni Adler ’13 and Ashley Vogel ’13, the Religion department and the Sociology and Anthropolgy Department. “[Jesse] worked very hard to bring together different groups and funding to accomplish his goal of bringing Roose here to Swarthmore,” Tompkins said.

Gwynn Kessler, professor of religion studies, is currently teaching a firstyear seminar course entitled Spiritual Journeys - Into the Wild, in which Roose’s “The Unlikely Disciple” is studied. Kessler hopes that Friday’s lecture will further enlighten students about the religious traditions and practices of evangelical Christians. “I think Swarthmore students, and any reader of the book, can learn a bit more about a group of people who they might be tempted to dismiss and to see only in stereotypical ways,” Kessler said.

Also, she feels that the lecture will serve to humanize a controversial and often stereotyped denomination.

“Religions exist in large part due to their adherents, and meeting individuals personally, in a way that Roose draws them in the book, helps make us aware of the potential problems inherent in more broad sweeping generalizations.”

Tompkins admires Roose’s experimental and ‘hands-on’ approach to learning about evangelical Christianity. “Roose’s experience gives Swatties of all backgrounds, faith or non-faith, a different way of approach-

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ing the religious-secular debate,” gap he discovered even further.

Tompkins said. “Rather than condemn At the start of his study abroad, the evangelical Christians [he] won- Roose fostered a large number of stereodered about, Roose went to live and types, but tried to be as open-minded as learn among them.” possible during his visit to Liberty. “I In 2007, Roose decided to visit did try to play it straight and let the Liberty for a semester after attending a story unfold around me without going Jerry Falwell megachurch during his in with a point to prove,” Roose said. time at Brown. Roose, whose parents Initially, Roose found it difficult to met at Swarthmore, described his adhere to Liberty’s 46-page Code of upbringing Conduct, in an “alterwhich includnate, secular, ed fines and “Rather than condemn the l i b e r a l reprimands home.” for watching evangelical Christians [he] His parwondered about, Roose went Rm -o rv ai te es d, ents were Quakers who to live and learn among them.” swearing or worked for hugging with Joyce Tompkins Ralph Nader a member of and particithe opposite Campus Protestant adviser pated in camgender for pus activism longer than 3 in the ’60s. When visiting the seconds. megachurch, Roose met a group of However, he was surprised by the Liberty students and felt shocked by the similarities he discovered between differences between him and the stu- Liberty and Brown students. “The disdents. “We all were born in this coun- tance between these two worlds wasn’t try, raised in similar circumstances … a million miles. It wasn’t small; it might we looked alike, but there was this have been 100,000 miles. But there were immense culture gap separating us,” similarities and commonalities even Roose said. Thus, Roose desired to par- though the most obvious characteristicipate in a “modified study abroad tics were polar opposites,” Roose said. [program]” in order to investigate the Roose hopes his own story will help

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March 24, 2011

b y

n a i a

Swarthmore students relate with their diverse campus, and will hopefully bridge the gap between these two worlds.

In addition, he hopes to demonstrate that Liberty students also compose a very diverse community.

For example, he explained that his friends at Liberty held a variety of views and not all were “planning antiabortion rallies.”

Since ending his study abroad period at Liberty, Roose has developed a respect and appreciation for the role that religion plays in the lives of those he met at Liberty.

“I look at [religion] as something that when worn correctly can be great and life-changing and can inspire people in ways that a secular atmosphere has more trouble with. But I also have come to understand some of the dangers of a rigid theology that separates people into inside and out or saved and unsaved,” Roose said.

For this Friday, Roose anticipates his visit to campus will be an opportunity to share his stories.

“This was the richest, most productive semester of my life and hopefully it’ll inspire some thinking among Swarthmore student as to how and why someone might do something as crazy as this,” Roose said.

p o y e r

THE PHOENIX

Living & Arts Niche programming comes with its pros and cons swarthmorephoenix.com

“I invite each of you vision, with the exception of events like the to sit down in front of Superbowl and the Academy Awards. Yes, there are your own television set shows that attract large numbers of viewers and when your station goes have buzzy episodes — the first-season finale of on the air and stay there, “Lost” comes to mind — but these shows are few and for a day, without a book, far between, and are far from universally watched. without a magazine, Due to the drastic increase in niche programming without a newspaper, and audience fragmentation, we will likely never without a profit and loss again experience the kind of communal moments sheet or a rating book to like the series finale of “M*A*S*H,” (which was distract you. Keep your watched by 60 percent of households in the U.S.), or eyes glued to that set the famous Dallas episode that left everyone wonAlex Israel until the station signs dering “Who Shot J.R.?” (53.3 percent of households off. I can assure you that watched that one). With the possible exception of the Pencils Down, what you will observe is series finale of a cultural institution like “The Pass the Remote Simpsons,” there will probably never be another a vast wasteland.” watershed moment like those mentioned, when – Newton N. Minow Minow’s famous (and everyone could get together the next day and talk frequently misquoted) speech is often used by cul- about the same episode of the same show.

Of course, it’s no longer a problem to find sometural critics who claim that television rots the brains of children, causes obesity and attention one to talk about a show with; thanks to the deficit disorder and is rapidly ushering our society Internet, the 7.5 percent of Americans who watched into a level of decadence not seen since the last days the “Lost” finale could discuss it to their heart’s content on discussion of the Roman Empire boards, blogs and and, honestly, there are columns. It can’t be some days when I agree “What would Newton Minow say denied that this kind of with him. After all, anyprogramming one who has ever sat at now, about those of us who live niche has led to much more home in the afternoon, with hundreds of channels and risk-taking among netflipping through chanwork executives. After nels that contain nothnothing to watch?” all, when your audiing more than endless ence goal lies someVH1 countdowns of where between five and “Best Celebrity Doghouses” and reruns of “The Real Housewives of 10 million viewers (much less on a cable network) Seriously, Why Are There Like A Hundred Versions you can greenlight a weird, twisty sci-fi show, an of This Show?” can attest to the large amount of absurdist comedy or a sprawling saga of urban pure drivel that passes for television these days. crime and know that, even if you only manage to And Minow lived in the days of four networks. What attract a small percentage of loyal viewers, your would the man say now, about those of us who live show can still be profitable. (Of course, if your show with hundreds of channels and nothing to watch?

I’m not going to deny that there is a truly incredible amount of brain-rotting crap hitting the airwaves on a daily basis. However, those who only focus on “Jersey Shore” and “America’s Next Top Model” are missing the bigger picture; over the course of the last decade, television has entered a golden age, with shows like “The Wire,” “Lost,” “Community” and “Fringe” daring to tell original provocative stories that are too sprawling for film and too visceral for literature.

This creative awakening is due, in no small part, to audience fragmentation and niche networks — some pay channels, like HBO and Showtime, and some basic cable channels like FX and AMC — that allow writers and showrunners to take risks that never would have been possible when there were only four networks and they were all fighting their hardest to gain the largest audience share.

Of course, there are drawbacks to this kind of audience fragmentation; when viewers are confronted with so many quality shows, it becomes challenging for a show to do well in the ratings, particularly when said show airs on one of the major networks.

For example, AMC’s recent hit series “The Walking Dead” drew 6 million viewers for its finale, a recordbreaking number for a cable network, but a middling to bad number for a series on a major network.

This sort of audience fragmentation can lead to major problems for network shows with a more niche audience, like FOX’s amazing sci-fi series “Fringe”; last week, “Fringe” pulled in a little less than 4 million viewers, a really solid number for a cable drama but one that only increases fans’ worries that the series will not be renewed for a fourth season. (In case you couldn’t guess, this discussion is really an attempt to get everyone to watch “Fringe.” So please watch it, if only because I’ve been having a good couple of weeks, and all that happiness is going to go down the drain if “Fringe” gets cancelled.)

Another side effect of niche programming is the loss of truly popular water-cooler moments in teleTHE PHOENIX

March 24, 2011

Courtesy of http://tiny.cc/47uh0

The season finale of “M*A*S*H” was watched by 60 percent of U.S. households.

manages to sell a lot of DVDs or makes it long enough to be sold into syndication, that helps). I know that I’m willing to worry about whether “Fringe” will be renewed (although seriously TV gods, if it’s not renewed I might have to quit television) in exchange for the privilege of watching “Fringe” in the first place.

After all, as Minow once said (in the same speech as the “vast wasteland” comment): “When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better.” That speech was made in 1961, but when I hear that quote I think of “Fringe,” of “Community” and “30 Rock,” of “The Vampire Diaries” and the fourth magnificent season of “The Wire” and I feel incredibly lucky to live in an era when these kinds of stories can be told on air.

Alex is a senior. You can reach her at aisrael1@swarthmore.edu.

Anna Rothschild Phoenix Staff

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Senior vocalists to showcase talent in recital

BY STEVEN HAZEL shazel1@swarthmore.edu At 8 p.m. this Saturday, Swarthmore students and staff will have the opportunity to listen to two vocalists, Ben Starr ’11 and Sirkka Natti ’11, for their senior recitals in the Lang Concert Hall.

Sponsored by the department of music and dance, senior recitals offer music and dance majors an opportunity to showcase their interests, either through selections from a specific artist or a certain group of works that they feel particularly drawn to.

At an early age, both Natti and Starr were enthralled with music, which seemed to foreshadow their later passion. “I have been singing since before I can remember. I love being able to express myself in such a pure way,” Natti said. Although her musical interest was obvious to those around her, for Natti, music as an academic endeavor was far from apparent. “Coming into Swat, I wanted to be a political science major,” Natti said. “But the more I did other things, the more I realized that music was something that I wanted to do [in the real world]. I started taking it seriously.”

On the other hand, Starr developed an interest in instrumental music first. “I started piano lessons around age six. I’ve always loved music, and I have an eclectic musical taste,” Starr said. Although he continued to play the piano, he also developed a new musical interest as a vocalist when he arrived on campus.

“When I first came to Swat, I was really musical, but my primary instrument was piano,” Starr said. “I’ve since focused a lot more on singing, and developing my voice.”

Here at Swarthmore, Natti and Starr followed very different paths for their love of music. Starr became involved with Sixteen Feet, the capuses oldest allmale a capella group that was founded in 1981. Starr is the music director of the group, which performs songs of diverse genres such as pop, soul and jazz.“I have seen Ben Starr and Sixteen Feet multiple times at Swat, and I always find [much] to enjoy at their shows,” Danielle Sullivan ’14 said. During his time on campus, Starr believes he has matured as an artist. “I had an intuitive understanding of harmony when I was a freshman, but I think my understanding of harmony has become more sophisticated and nuanced through my study here,” Starr said. In 2009, he performed as the opening act for the Jazz Group Trio (Blue) when they visited campus to perform.

On the other hand, Natti has participated with the arts in several plays at Swarthmore, including “Eats Shoots and Ladders” and “Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding).” Natti believes that her musical education within the Swarthmore music department have inspired her to pursue music as a career. “I have learned so much over the last few years, and singing has gone from something I did for fun to something I want to do for a living. Although that is really scary, I think

Swat has prepared me to try to achieve that goal,” Natti said. Her inspiration comes from “anyone who puts their heart on their sleeves and moves mine.”

Specifically, she loves German composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms, and a bit more modern rock music such as the Beatles.

For Starr, his musical taste is “really eclectic” and ranges from across many genres.

For Saturday, Natti selected a song cycle — a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence to achieve a unified effect — called “Fiancailles Pour Rire” by Francis Poulenc, a French composer from the early 20th century. The collection of songs addresses friends who are separated by distance. “I picked it because it has a wonderful longing quality that I find intriguing,” Natti said. Also, she will perform two arias, including “Kommt Ein Schlanker Bursch Gegangen” by Carl Maria von Weber, which Natti describes as “flirty and fun.”

Her second aria, “Steal Me Sweet Thief”

by Gian Carlo Menotti, depicts a maid hoping her love will come rescue her from her ordinary life.

For his selections, Starr chose a different route and choose Robert Schumann’s op.39 “Lierderkreis,” which is a song cycle of 12 songs that focus on a particular musical theme. Also, he will perform five songs from Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s posthumous “Lieder.” As opposed to Natti’s theme of love and longing, Starr’s selections are united in their

origin — these songs are adapted from the work of German poet Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff.

Both performers hope that listeners will be able to experience the emotion infused in the music. “In an ideal world, [the audience] will take away the truth that is in the music, and the love that I have for it. Music, for me, expresses so much of what makes the world beautiful,” Natti said. “Hopefully something will touch [the audience].”

Allegra Pocinki Phoenix Staff

Music director of Sixteen Feet, Starr discovered his passion for singing at Swarthmore.

Identity theft: can you prove you’re really you?

Aliya Padamsee Money Matter$

Picture this scenario: You’re at the checkout counter at a department store, and your purchase is declined. Suddenly you are amazed that the security guards are being summoned, and you are detained for questioning.

“How can this be happening?”

You are accused that you are impersonating yourself! You are shocked as you realize how difficult it is to convince the authorities that you are who you say you are.

You may make a big scene once you realize that your identity has been stolen, but suddenly, you’re under arrest because you can’t prove that you’re not the thief. Depending on the severity of your case, you may have to hire a lawyer and exhaustively search for personal identification documents to prove your

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identity.

Credit card fraud is one of the most common types of identity theft, and on average, 4.8 percent of Americans are victims each year, according to the First Financial Credit Union. Dan DeFelippi, who was convicted of credit card fraud, identity theft and phishing schemes that exploited AOL and PayPal customers in 2004, commented on how “committing credit card fraud is still ridiculously easy to do. Anyone with a computer and $100 could start making big money tomorrow.”

Every credit card has a magnetic stripe on the back with data on it and there are thieves who hack into computers where that data is being stored. There are also waitresses, waiters and fullserve gas pumpers with handheld skimmers who steal the data and sell it online. DeFelippi would pay $10 to $50 for the information from one card, use an encoder to put the data on a fake card and then go into a store to purchase hot-ticket items.

ATM skimming is a similar furtive tactic to drain accounts quickly. ATM skimming occurs when someone uses a card reader designed to look like part of the ATM, captures your PIN, then goes to empty your bank account.

According to Bankrate.com, theft from ATM skimming is approaching $1 million annually.

In addition to ATM skimming, debit card fraud dominates right now since fast cash is king. A downside to paying with debit cards as opposed to credit cards is that an identity thief could deplete your hard-earned money in your bank account instantly.

Your cash is gone until you fill out a lot of paperwork and persuade the bank to give it back to you. Credit cards are much better at protecting you against fraud. Some credit card companies even call you if they detect suspicious, uncharacteristic purchases to your card.

So how can you protect yourself from getting into a pickle?

1. Don’t voluntarily provide your full birth date, address or telephone number on Facebook.

Thieves don’t need your credit card in order to steal your identity. All they need is one piece of information about you to gain access to the rest.

Also, use free WiFi connections sparingly. You’re making yourself vulnerable to hackers who use “cookies” to gain access to e-mail and social networking accounts.

2. Answer some personal security questions for bank accounts incorrectly and create strong passwords. According to MSN Money, a 3-character password would take 0.86 seconds to hack if it consisted of any character, but 0.02 seconds with only

March 24, 2011

lower case letters. A 14-character password would take 154,640,721,434 millenniums with all character combinations and 2,046 millenniums as a lowercase word. See the difference?

3. Don’t carry extra credit cards or other ID documents unless needed. Once your wallet gets lifted, you’ll be in a world of hurt. Over the phone, never give out personal information unless you have initiated the call and can verify the legitimacy of the business.

Cancel unused credit card accounts and use ATMs at banks, rather than at convenience stores and malls. Be sure to watch your accounts, and not just once a month since someone can start using your card at the beginning of the billing cycle and can do a lot of damage before you catch it.

4. Watch for unfamiliar, small charges on your monthly statement. Thieves “bank” on most cardholders allowing tiny charges, of even a few pennies, go through. If the first charge succeeds, they'll buy the stolen data and make a much larger charge.

Many fraud alerts aren't triggered by small dollar amounts.

5. When trashing old credit cards, pass them through a crossshredder. Otherwise, run a strong magnet along the card’s magnetic stripe to scramble all the data. Then, cut up the card

into many pieces and throw pieces into different trash bins.

Recycling bins are not safer than trash bins for disposing of documents with important identification numbers. At a recycling center, materials pass through a conveyor belt, and confidential information could easily be taken off the belt by someone who's looking for it.

6. Check your credit report at least twice a year to make sure that no one is applying for credit under your name. Also, you can protect your Social Security Number when applying for a loan, credit card or anything requiring a credit report, and request that your SSN on the application be truncated or destroyed and that your report be returned to you once a decision has been made. Be cautious about giving out your SSN, as it is the key to your credit report and other financial or personal information.

We may all think, “it won’t happen to me,” and leave ourselves vulnerable by ignoring the hassles above. If you take these extra measures, your mind will be at ease knowing that your identity isn’t as readily up for grabs. Take heed because your identity should be yours and no one else’s.

Aliya is a first-year. You can reach her at apadams@swarthmore.edu.

THE PHOENIX

Living­&­Arts

swarthmorephoenix.com

R ­ ewinding­back­to­their­Swarthmore­days Alum: Margaret Stone Class: 1975 Major: Economics Minor: Political Science Post-Swat Education: Masters in City Planning, UC Berkeley, 1977 Her Recent Career: Though now retired for four years, Stone worked at CSG Advisors, a private firm that advises public clients on affordable housing finance. The company worked with tax exempt bonds, federal (and often state) tax credits, loans from both public and private sources, and various grants, all in order to lower the cost of housing — usually rental housing.

Path to Her Career Choice: After graduating from UC Berkeley for city planning, Stone worked as a research assistant until she was eventually promoted to planner at The National Economic Development and Law Center, where she worked to provide funding for housing rehabilitation, health centers and start-up businesses for low-income individuals.

When President Reagan cut back legal services funding, she applied for a job in the classifieds with the City of Hayward, CA and came to develop an economic development program for the city. Five years later, she got a job with Daly City, CA and after eight years of running their planning and redevelopment department, she was then recruited by Merritt Capital, a nonprofit tax credit syndication fund. Then, in 1997, she was asked to join CSG Advisors.

Rewards and Challenges: Stone believes that her work on affordable housing was rewarding in that it provided the most visible

results. As she drove through various cities, Stone had the opportunity to literally witness her work’s impact.

Regardless of all the rewards of her job, as with any job, there are a few pitfalls. “One major problem with being a consultant … is that you are not in control of work flow,” she said. “If they all call up on Wednesday evening with urgent demands, you are overwhelmed.”

While it helps to be flexible and willing to sacrifice weekends, Stone admits that the job required a great deal of traveling, which got old very quickly.

Becoming a Jack of All Trades: Her job as Vice President of CSG Advisors granted Stone the opportunity to work as a “jack of all trades.”

For example, CSG advised the New Orleans Housing Authority before and after the Katrina disaster. Stone needed mathematical competence in order to organize all the various funding sources into a workable whole; comprehension of laws, regulations and legal documents to negotiate with funders and fit all disparate requirements together; an understanding of political nuances to make the financing approach acceptable to communities and the city; and personal skills to help the housing authority understand the new world it was entering.

Stone is proud of what she has accomplished. In the case of New Orleans, CSG Advisors prevented the New Orleans housing authority from structuring auction rate bonds, one of the first forms of financing to collapse when the financial crisis hit. In addition, the type of insurance they acquired for the bonds led to the housing authority getting fire, flood and property insurance on all of its properties, which it did not have at all prior to this. “That insurance,” she said, “cost a half a million dollars. It paid off over $20 million for Katrina-related damages nine months later.”

Swarthmore’s Influence: “Swarthmore really changed my life profoundly,” Stone said. Though at first she wasn’t sure she belonged — she admits that she was not the valedictorian of her high school — Stone soon discovered both her place in the Swarthmore community and her individual intellectual gifts. Being surrounded by other students who were

hungry to learn helped Stone feel more at home. “I found other people who like thinking, which I always thought was this weird thing that I had to hide under a bushel,” she said.

Another challenge she discovered later in the working world was the need to “dress as was required, and look as was required … and learn to pick my battles.”

For Stone, such things were easy at Swat. “[Swarthmore] made a great place to come out — that was wonderful — and in 1972 or ‘73, there weren’t all that many places like that,” Stone said.

Words of Advice: Stone feels empathetic with those enduring the plight of finding a job in today’s economy. “In the early ‘70s it was a very tough time to get a job,” she said. Yet, she feels that people should not be “afraid to get out there and get something in the work world, whether it’s a mailing room at a publishing house or secretary at a small firm.” In her own work, Stone explains that she recognized employees in secretarial positions and promoted them because of their strong work ethic.

Looking back, Stone now realizes the importance of working prior to graduate school and regrets her own decision not to work before continuing on to UC Berkeley. She mentioned law students, for example, who had the tendency of getting a high-paying job straight out of law school when they had very little or no familiarity with the working world. Stone felt similarly disadvantaged at her first job.

Once out in the real world, being able to write clearly and concisely became a sought-after skill. Stone added that people skills and the ability to understand one’s own limitations became incredibly important. “I’d say that about 80 percent of the limitations I saw in my colleagues and employees originated in emotional limitations … Anger, passivity [and/or] fear of failure got in their way,” Stone said. However, she believes that eventually everyone figures this out on their own. “It’s just that the sooner you do, the easier and more fun your life will be,” she said.

TEXT BY SUSANA MEDEIROS

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ delivers, even with its clichés sneer than the last. The one with the biggest sneer actually asks Haller, “How can you sleep at night with all the scum It’s not the review that writes itself for you put on the streets?” and the question a movie like this, but the blurbs that tend seems oddly naïve. In as jaded a film as to, and they generally take one of three this, the detective character should know forms. The question is, will the movie turn that all the lawyer has to do is pop a couple out to be “pleasantly diverting,” “laugh- of AmbienL and he’s out like a light. ably outlandish” or “overbearingly For the same reasons, it is just as hard clichéd”? In the case of Brad Furman’s to imagine anyone here who can be fooled, “The Lincoln Lawyer,” the but that is exactly what hapanswer is all of the above. pens to Mick, and we’re off It is difficult to recall a Movie Review and running. From there the movie hinging on idealism plot begins to coil around that manages to be this itself like a snake; it adds layproud of the cynical world it ers but, to its credit, never Rotten Tomatoes inhabits. There is never any quite implodes.

Rating: 83% question that we are meant It turns out that the to admire Mick Haller, answer to the Roulet mystery played with oil to spare by might involve one of Mick’s Matthew McConaughey, as he glides clients from years ago, now serving a life through the courts and prisons of down- sentence in San Quentin for a murder he town Los Angeles in his Lincoln town car, might not have committed. This is mostly facilely dispensing Pez-sized pieces of his notable because it gives McConaughey a legal magic to anyone who can produce a chance to yell, “I’m trying to make this thick enough envelope. This includes the right!” not once, but twice in one scene. guilty, the less guilty and the high-profile William H. Macy adds to the mystery as heir Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) accused Mick’s lived-in and loyal personal investiof assaulting a young woman. Roulet gator who gets in too deep. Macy, whose claims to be innocent, and Mick is sur- character looks like he sleeps in a bed of prised to find that he believes him. dirt, does a better job than the film More skeptical is Maggie McPherson deserved in an underused role.

(Marisa Tomei), the prosecuting attorney Furman, directing his second feature with whom Mick just might have a histo- film, avoids getting seduced by the gaudiry, as well as a series of bona fide “hard- ness that an L.A. setting offers, adroitly boiled” detectives, each with a bigger playing up the contrast between the filth of

BY TIMOTHY BERNSTEIN tbernst1@swarthmore.edu

THE PHOENIX

the jail cells Mick is forced to visit and the sterilized emptiness of the courthouses where he does his tap dance. His L.A. looks are meant for an hour-long drama on FX, and that’s a compliment. If the director employs one more TV-style close-up of McConaughey’s face, bathed in anxiety, than he needed, he’s forgiven for getting the strongest performance from his lead since “A Time to Kill.”

McConaughey, while never shirtless, is entirely in his comfort zone as the ultracocky, ultra-polished lawyer whose job means he believes the worst in everybody.

Even if McConaughey can’t quite bring another angle to the table (Loneliness?

Vulnerability?), it’s gratifying to see him finally carry a film.

In truth, nearly the whole not-quite-Alist cast of “The Lincoln Lawyers” comes through on some level. Macy, Tomei and Josh Lucas (as the feckless prosecutor) do good work outside of the script, and Phillippe, though not quite as sinister as he wants to be, is nevertheless convincing as a creepily entitled prince of L.A. The strong support manages to keep “The Lincoln Lawyer” from getting weighed down by the heavy-handedness of its battle to have idealism win out in the end. One guess as to whether it does.

Unfortunately, John Romano’s script (adapted from Michael Connelly’s novel) can’t quite catch all the balls it juggles, and the five or six endings it requires to wrap things up sap the film of much of its ener-

March 24, 2011

gy as it nears the finish line.

Still, in the time of year when the weather isn’t sure whether it should be warm yet and movies aren’t sure whether they should be good yet, “The Lincoln Lawyer” proved to be a laughably outlandish, overbearingly clichéd, but altogether pleasantly diverting time in the theater. Give it a shot before it becomes 70 and sunny every day.

Courtesy of http://tiny.cc/4ax1f

McConaughey is in his comfort zone as the cocky and polished lawyer, Mick Kaller.

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Living & Arts ‘The Owls’ portrays lesbians who desire acceptance

swarthmorephoenix.com

BY SERA JEONG sjeong1@swarthmore.edu “The Owls,” a pathological lesbian thriller, will screen this Friday as part of the 2011 Queer and Trans Conference. The annual symposium is held at Swarthmore College to explore issues pertaining to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. This year’s theme is Envisioning Queer Futures.

The conference website highlights some of the questions that the symposium will address including, “How are we going to form relationships? What are our families and kinship structures going to look like?”

According to the conference organizers, one of the primary objectives of the conference is to “move us toward a better understanding of these questions.”

“The Owls” was created by The Parliament Film Collective, which self-described itself as a “large, queer, multi-racial community.” “The Owls” premiered at the 2011 61st Berlin International Film Festival and has since been screened at the Seattle International Film Festival and Torino LGBT Film Festival.

Cheryl Dunye, the director and one of the actors in the film, will be present at the screening. She attained her BA from Temple University, where she currently teaches in the department of film and media arts. She gained her MFA from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Dunye directed “The Owls” in her signature format of filmmaking, dubbed the “Dunyementary,” by combining narrative with confessional scenes that emulate the style of a documentary.

“It’s a mixture of truth and fiction and the way you want the world to work for you. So many people are not honest about the truths and fictions of their lives and how they coexist… That’s how it’s handled in the film, using documentary and narrative to make everything real,” Dunye said in a press release.

“The Owls” refers to the acronym Older Wiser Lesbians, addressing the main characters, four middleaged lesbians. Set in Los Angeles, the film revolves around two disillusioned and dysfunctional lesbian couples who have yet to conform to the norms of society. The film portrays these women as products of a revolutionary, rebellious lesbian culture of the early ’90s, in contrast to the present, where lesbianism is widely accepted and the challenges OWLs have faced are largely unappreciated. The two couples are tied by the murder of a younger lesbian woman who was killed at the

Courtesy of http://lezgetreal.com

Dunye combined narrative with confessional scenes that emulated the style of a documentary in “The Owls.”

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house of one of the main characters.

These characters are shown struggling to adapt to domestic, normalized relationships. For example Lily, an alcoholic, reminisces about her career as the lead singer of a ’90s lesbian rock band. Lily is in a relationship with another character, MJ,who spends all of her time on the internet inside the couple’s house.

Patricia White, a professor of the program in film and media studies at Swarthmore College who organized the event, highlighted the farcical nature of the film. “I think there is a certain amount of mockery of the optimism of lesbians [of past generations],” she said. The film suggests that there is confusion in the OWL community about accepting a younger generation of naive lesbians who were born into a more accepting society.“In a way the film [conforms to] the image of the drunken, homicidal, predatory, failed, marginal lesbians that is the legacy of mainstream movies. But as gay and lesbian cultures become more mainstream and marriage and domesticity focused, there is certain nostalgia for the image of the outlaw, abject lesbian. This is a confusing legacy,” White said.

White contrasted the representation of lesbianism in

“The Owls” with “The L-Word,” Showtime’s television drama series which ran from 2004 to 2009. “‘The Owls’ is a fun counter to the mainstream, airbrushed and a little bit self-serious ‘The L-Word,” the biggest and most visible media text portraying lesbians,” she said.

The film reflects a diverse LGBT community. “[Most] lesbians are portrayed as either really feminine or really butch. When I read into the plot of this film, I thought the film gave more than a traditional onedimensional view of lesbians,” Paloma Perez ’14 said.

According to Hillary Yee ’14, the unusual storyline of the film may be a fresh change from mainstream movies. “Its not a commercially-made film so there is an appeal if students want to watch a lesbian film that is a change from a Hollywood movie,” Yee said.

The film will screen during the conference to showcase the work of Dunye, a Philadelphian, because the subject matter of the film is relevant to the theme of this year’s symposium. “Any generational concern about what kind of culture comes next has to look a little bit at the recent past. The theme of Envisioning Queer Futures has a thematic relationship to the film,” White said.

Crossword DOWN

ACROSS

mag.

28. Family with the longest running American animated program 29. The 8th plague that God sent to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites 33. Radio Pictures Inc., a Golden Age production company 35. Where the Muffin Man likely works 36. Yes in Spain 39. Gold on the periodic table 41. Raffi wrote a song about a baby one 43. 4 disc Kiss box set with first disc “(Red): The Demon” 45. Haste makes it 48. “We should totally just ___ Caesar!”

49. Me or cooper 51. Red, White, Pin, or Bur 57. A muscle that helps make a six pack

1. Only thing that is certain besides 1. It’s not just a river in Egypt?

7. Titan sentenced to hold the Earth taxes 2. Green deadly sin on his shoulders 3. They Might Be Giants’ first 9. Colossal 10. A measurement of error in stat. album of children’s music 4. Illogically analysis 11. Type of sftwr Norton and 5. Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe in Peru McAfee offer 6. Live, ____, laugh 12. The MS or Amzn 13. Hawaiian staple food made from 7. One way the Von Trapp children say goodbye taro 14. Einstein said that one who 8. “So I Married an ___ Murderer” never made a mistake never tried 10. Someone who is tearful might also be this anything ____ 14. N in DNA 16. Beanie Baby maker 15. Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, & 17. Bond was a secret one Percy’s surname 18. Boyfriend 20. Group that seeks to oversee and 19. A.K.A. golden compass 22. Actress who portrayed A. H. in liberalize international trade 21. Supports about which levers “The Notebook” 23. Neither’s partner pivot 25. Commercial or billboard 24. Asimov or Newton 27. O’Neill’s desire was under these 26. Person reported on in tabloid BY HOLLY SMITH 28. Elphaba said, “And if I’m flying ____, at least I’m flying free” 30. What balloons do when you poke holes in them 31. Ninth element or pumping 32. What Trump doesn’t appear to like to do 34. Those that drive yellow automobiles 37. How tots might describe something gross 38. Peter and Mary’s musical partner 40. Many accuse 59-across of being a ______ 42. A common ground squirrel or the fur of one 44. Often confused with ostrich 46. A small child 47. Common cleanup location 49. How Laura Ingalls Wilder referred to her mother 50. II, IV, XI 52. A soldier of Sauron’s army 53. King who cursed those who disturbed his tomb with early death 54. “Stupid __ as stupid does” 55. Times Sq. State 56. What a Toddler in a Tiara would be entered in 58. A scratched DVD does this 59. Impossibly tall, blonde, and For the solution to this week’s puzzle, see The Phoenix’s online edition at www.swarthmorephoenix.com. busty doll.

March 24, 2011

THE PHoENIX

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d e c i s i o n s

d i s c u s s i o n

What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality University of California Professor of Philosophy Patricia S. Churchland discusses her new book, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality.

In a fatphobic society it is a radical act for anyone to love their body. This workshop provides a safe space for people to explore learning to love your body as it is.

Thursday, Mar. 24 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Bond Memorial Hall

Saturday, Mar. 26 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Scheur Room Sponsored by the Queer and Trans Conference 2011

George Bernard Shaw’s FARFETCHED FABLES

editor’s P I CK S

By Susana Medeiros

In Production Ensemble’s interpretation of Shaw’s last work, FABLES is a series of censored television broadcasts produced back in the days when television was almost always live.

Building Home As Disabled Queer API Women of Color

Friday, Mar. 25 and Saturday, Mar. 26 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Sunday, Mar. 27 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

LPAC

Saturday, Mar. 27 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Scheur Room

d i v e r s i t y

d r a m a THE PHOENIX

March 24, 2011

13

Opinions

swarthmorephoenix.com

Staff Editorial

Intervention in Libya needs multilateral support For all the multilateral rhetoric used with Afghanistan and Iraq, it is understandable that Last Friday, the United Nations approved a resolution for a no-fly zone over Libya that called for a regards to the no-fly zone, the disapproval of the spending $1 million on each of over 162 missiles cease fire immediately and allowed for all measures BRIC countries makes this more of an old boys club seems unfeasible while so many essential domestic necessary to protect the people of Libya. The reso- effort. Germany’s abstention makes the situation programs are slimmed down or eliminated.

The money for the missiles had already been lution does not allow for any ground forces to enter even worse.

How does an effort led by Britain, France and the allocated, and Congress may in the future pay Libya.

The helm of the attacks, namely air strikes on U.S. move us forward from a Western-directed greater attention to cutting down the military budgLibyan anti-aircraft equipment, was taken by world when the Allies of WWII are the ones spear- et.

Though the turnover time between the U.S. deciheading the effort?

NATO, or rather France, Britain and the U.S. sion to support the no-fly zone The media in China The U.S. currently is leading the strike, and the and the beginning of the air American military hegemony makes the U.S.’s has had no trouble spoutstrikes was remarkably and ing this message. capabilities suited to the job.

Though the nature of any necessarily quick, should The New York Times However, we are already embroiled in two messy wars in the Middle East, and the Obama adminis- reported Tuesday that future involvement is not yet Congress have been more in the decision? tration was hesitant to support the idea of a no-fly Chinese media focused on determined, the U.S. should involved On another front, Turkish the no-fly zone “as an zone. officials have announced Should the U.S. even have gotten involved at attempt to grab that counnot involve itself any further. their dissatisfaction with the such a high level? Would just voting for the resolu- try’s oil resources and air strikes. Turkish prime tion without adding military support have been expand American influence in the region,” implying China’s discontent minister Erdogan said Tuesday he would “never more prudent? point a gun at the Libyan people.” The effects of the Though the support of the Arab League and the with the strength of the intervention.

Though being portrayed as a hegemon by the strikes on military personnel — also the people of UN has conferred legitimacy upon the no-fly zone, the U.S. may not have retained the same legitimacy Chinese media could actually help the U.S. main- Libya — and accidental civilian casualties are tain its status as the world leader, butting heads unknown. by taking such an active role.

Without Turkey’s support, NATO may not be Perhaps a more concrete plan for which coun- with developing countries has produced some more tries would provide military support should have serious questions about the usefulness of the no-fly able to continue to play such a leading role in the no-fly zone. Again, this situation could have been zone. been developed as part of the resolution.

Are the air strikes avoided had the UN resolution contained a more Other great powers, necessary to protect fleshed-out plan for who would conduct the air especially developing strikes. citizens? ones, are not in supFor all the multilateral rhetoric used While the U.S. has indicated that it will hand This tactic is floutport of this intervened as being cost-effec- over control of these attacks, it is unclear how the tion, or in some cases, with regards to the no-fly zone, the tive and casualty- U.S. will be involved in the future. any intervention. disapproval of BRIC countries makes minimizing, since it Even past the enforcement of the no-fly zone, the China, India, Russia, U.S. may have some role in the transition to a postdirectly targets miliBrazil and Germany this more of an old boys club effort. tary anti-aircraft Qaddafi Libya. Though the nature of any future abstained from voting equipment while intervention is not yet determined, the U.S. should on the UN resolution to avoiding the use of not involve itself any further. make their disapWho, then, should be left in charge of the situaground forces. proval known.

Nonetheless some critics of the plan — namely tion? The Arab League? The UN? Turkey, a member of NATO, has threatened to Either way, support for future actions in Libya prevent NATO from continuing to lead the imple- members of Congress faced with daunting budget should be truly multilateral and not just backed by mentation of the no-fly zone if the strikes stray out- cuts — take issue with the cost of the no-fly zone.

With the U.S. already bogged down in ‘a coalition of the willing.’ side what was agreed upon by the UN.

Letter, OP-eD anD cOmment POLIcy

Emma Waitzman Phoenix Staff

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Letters, opinion pieces and online comments 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 content, length and clarity. The Phoenix also reserves the right to withhold any letters, op-eds or comments from publication.

although individual writers may request that their group affiliation be included.

All comments posted online and all op-eds and letters must be signed and should include the writer’s full name.

An editorial represents the opinions of the members of the Opinions Board: Camila Ryder, Marcus Mello and Olivia Natan.

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March 24, 2011

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Opinions

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From the President: a statement of principles

BY REBECCA CHOPP rchopp1@swarthmore.edu

In anticipation of a future inn and restaurant being built as part of the Town Center West project, the student group Swarthmore Labor Action Project (SLAP) has asked the College to enter into a “neutrality” agreement with the hotel industry union UNITE HERE and to endorse a card-check approach to union organizing. I write to state the position of the College administration, which has been shared with the Board of Managers.

Swarthmore College has long been committed to providing a safe, healthy and productive working environment for all who work here. We believe that our community is at its best when individuals are supported in their work; when there is an environment of mutual trust and a genuine exchange of information, opinion and perspectives on all issues among all parties; and when coercion and harassment by any party are explicitly forbidden. Respect, tolerance, support and open communication with one another are preeminent values in our community.

As we plan for an inn that will require new employees, we affirm this statement of principles, drawn from existing College policies, for all employees working on our campus, including the future employees at the inn: 1. Every employee will work in a safe and healthy environment.

2. Every employee will be provided wages consistent with the College’s compensation policies.

3. Every employee will have the right to voice his or her opinion and engage others in free and open discussion with full, uncensored information relevant to any choice they may need to make in order to make an informed decision.

4. Every employee will be respected for his or her right to make uncoerced decisions about joining a union or not.

OP-ED

5. Every employee will have the right to raise concerns about his or her working conditions and to have those grievances addressed fully and impartially.

Under the terms of the neutrality agreement that SLAP and UNITE HERE have proposed, the administration of the College would pre-select for the future workers of the inn and restaurant a specific union, UNITE HERE, and would agree that no member of management would discuss unionization with employees during the union campaign. Depending upon the terms of the contract between UNITE HERE and the College, other stipulations might apply.

Taken literally, “neutrality” in this instance is a misnomer. While the College would agree to remain “neutral” and silent during a union campaign, in effect the College would have already expressed a preference for a union — and a certain union in particular. Such an agreement would afford that union a monopoly or special status as the employees in the potential bargaining unit analyze the question of union representation.

As a practical matter, the union’s would be the only voice on campus during a campaign, which effectively limits employee access to comprehensive information, inhibits critical analysis of representations made and interferes with a full discussion of the issues. This deprives employees of fundamental rights necessary for informed choice.

Such a neutrality agreement also preempts the right of future inn employees to initiate their own union efforts on their own timetable, limits their ability to request full information about both union and nonunion workplaces and prohibits their ability to discuss such issues with managers if they wish to do so.

Thus, neutrality agreements inhibit, and are inconsistent with, core College values such as free speech, self-determination of staff, and choice. We believe that given our fundamental values and practices, neutrality agreements for the College come at too high a price, compromising both the values we

treasure and the positive working environment we work hard to preserve.

SLAP has also indicated that it favors a card-check approach to union organizing, rather than a private ballot system. Akin to signing a petition (though more binding), a card-check system is one in which a card is signed publicly in front of and/or subject to disclosure to peers and union officials, indicating a commitment to a particular union. If the union obtains signed authorization cards from more than 50 percent of the potential bargaining unit members, the union may then be established.

We believe in the right of all of our employees to choose, without coercion, whether or not to be represented by the union of their choice, as articulated in federal legislation and overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. But Swarthmore is an educational institution committed to open dialogue and respect for differences.

Thus we believe an election process is best suited to our culture, as it better allows for all views to be aired in an atmosphere of respect, appreciation and inquiry and then for a decision to be made in private in the election booth. In the past, members of the College staff have also voiced their preference for private ballot elections to protect their right to a confidential choice.

For a further statement on neutrality agreements and card-check versus balloting please see http://www.swarthmore.edu/x32227.xml.

In sum, the College has a deep and abiding commitment to provide a safe and productive workplace.

Our statement of principles will govern our practices for employees of the inn as well as employees of the College.

If the future inn workers decide that a union can best represent their interests, we will support their right to such representation. But let us give them the chance to be heard and to make their own, free choice in an atmosphere that is open, fair, dignified and respectful of the values we hold in highest regard.

Rebecca Chopp is President of Swarthmore College.

Afrika Owes case highlights invisible reality In her documentaries “I Coulda Been Y o u r Cellmate!” and “Behind B a r s , ” Academy Award-winning actress and comedian Mo’Nique performed Eva McKend for over 2,000 According to Eva inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women revealing situations in her past that could have landed her in their unenviable position.

The entertainer did not just visit the women’s prison to collect laughs; she highlighted the structural injustice of a punitive system that criminalizes women who have histories of severe psychological, physical and sexual abuse.

From dealing with a mentally and physically abusive spouse to just not having enough money to afford a prom dress, Mo’Nique emphasized that we are all only one poor decision away from majorly altering the course of our lives.

When I learned of the case of Afrika Owes, a young Harlem teenager who was charged last month with acting as THE PHOENIX

a gun courier for her 20-year-old boyfriend Jaquan Layne and the 137th street crew, I couldn’t help but recall Mo’Nique’s haunting message.

Afrika formerly attended Deerfield Academy, a prestigious private boarding school in Massachusetts but after two years at the institution, she moved back home to enroll at Millennium High School.

Some are deeming the highly accomplished and very intelligent young woman an “Ivy League-bound drug dealer” but the characterization of Afrika as the “gangsta girl” and as “the good girl gone bad” is absent much needed feminist analysis.

Some argue Afrika fell victim to a “no snitching” code but I don’t believe the extremely bright 17-year-old was “playing thug,” hypnotized by the supposed allure of gangsterism or desperately trying to authenticate her blackness.

While the commodification and misrepresentation of life in America’s ghettos are certainly cause for concern, there are very particular challenges black women face in entering institutions where the majority of its students foundational interactions with women of color are with caregivers and housekeepers.

Afrika’s positioning as a black woman in the white space of Deerfield Academy is intrinsic to her story. Her reality speaks to a truth we are far too uncomfortable addressing and that is

the devaluation of black female bodies.

This is perhaps why this case is so compelling. We live in a society that ostracizes black women from mainstream modes of celebration except when it comes time to put them under a harsh microscope. The ramifications of being excluded from prevailing notions of beauty contribute to a cycle of invisibility and desexualization.

Afrika’s pending future speaks to a racial and gendered reality that is underdiscussed. Many might argue that surely Afrika could have found a more affable suitor than an alleged drug dealer but the reality for so many black women is that the higher they rise in academic and professional success, the more unlikely it is they will find a partner at all. One might argue that such relationships, particularly at formative ages, are all together unnecessary and certainly not integral to an understanding of self.

However, heterosexual relationships are the most visible interpersonal representation in American culture and although these relationships saturate the story lines of our favorite television shows and music, black women are often not included in these narratives.

Look no further than Amber Riley’s role as Mercedes Jones on “Glee.” As the second season comes to a near conclusion, she is the only character on the series that does not have any kind of legitimate romance. While all of the

March 24, 2011

white and even other students of color relationships at McKinley High School have been thoroughly explored, Mercedes remains dateless and proud.

No one is attracted to the dark-skinned, heavyset, self-proclaimed diva except when it comes time for her to belt a gospel tune or chime in with a “Hell to the No.” Mercedes’ damaging characterization is a far cry from the nuances that embody the isolated realities of black women in primarily white institutions, particularly when thinking about issues of romance.

Even though one might write off Glee as a profitable adolescent series, its highly influential message is indicative of the invisibility of young women like Afrika Owes.

Black women should not be expected to exhibit a superhuman resiliency that veils them and others to their existence as women. While it might be problematic that Afrika sought validation in a supposedly troubled young man, we live in a society that promotes these kinds of unbalanced partnerships with the unspoken assumption that women will invest more of themselves.

The implications are arguably more fatal in communities that, despite the unprecedented efforts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, do not have the social capital and white privilege to erase Afrika’s nightmare.

Eva is a senior. She can be reached at emckend1@swarthmore.edu.

15

Opinions Buffett and Gates confuse charity with the IRS

swarthmorephoenix.com

These days the Obama Administration trumpets its “Tax Deal” with House Republicans as a praiseworthy slice of bipartisanship. I know, the tax compromise of early December seems like decidedly old news.

After agreeing to extend Bush-era tax rates to all Americans, includDanielle Charette ing households exceeding $250,000 a year, the The Nascent Neoliberal White House moved on to bigger and better things, like sparring with impish GOP freshmen over budget cuts and crafting some semblance of a plan regarding the Libyan disaster. But I want to backpedal to the most recent tax feud because some statements that hooked the jaws of the media struck me as downright odd.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — two mega-billionaire softies who garnered their gargantuan fortunes through the beauties of capitalism — have repeatedly urged the federal government to hike their taxes, arguing that taxing the rich is the smartest method for Washington to boost its income.

Last autumn, NPR and the Huffington Post had a field-day reporting that extending tax cuts to “wealthy” Americans was unnecessary, and perhaps fraudulent, since the uber-wealthy find the 16th Amendment (the Progressive-era graduated income tax) good for the soul anyhow.

I shudder when Bill Gates advocates on behalf of a progressive taxation as high as 90 percent and Buffett editorializes, “I should be paying a lot more in taxes.” In a confusing segment, ABC discussed inflating the taxes of the wealthy in the same episode of “The Week” that highlighted the “Giving Pledge,” an initiative in which folks like Gates and Buffett urge other billionaires to give half of their fortunes to good causes, as if organizing a philanthropic mission and cooperating with the IRS are much the same idea.

To be clear, paying a reasonable sum in taxes is necessary for the functions of our society. What’s more, it’s constitutional. But let’s not pretend for a nanosecond that taxes are a form of charity.

If shoveling his income into Uncle Sam’s top hat world. Equating himself with small business owners, makes the father of Microsoft giddy, why has Gates city managers and a nurse married to a Boston cop is channeled most of his largesse into the Bill and a fantastic farce.

Melinda Gates Foundation, which, at $35 billion, is Kevin Williamson wrote a provocative piece for the largest private foundation on planet earth? Why the National Review Online a week ago entitled, not write a check to the IRS instead?

“There Aren’t Enough Millionaires.” Williamson The answer probably has to do with the fact. points out that the 2006 Census Bureau found that Gates, understandably, wants to feel that his money there are only 2.2 million households earning is actually rendering results. Speaking at a recent $250,000 or more.

National Governors’ Association meeting, Gates himI say “only” because that’s simply not enough self lamented that federal education spending has households to fuel our public national spending doubled since 1970, while national results fall flat. spree. Notably, the vast majority of top earners are The Gates’ Foundation principles advocate that clustered around the 250K mark. Jumping from the simply funneling money into education and health- 50th to 51st percentile of upper wealth may be a game care can never be enough. Real charity and progress of hopscotch, but working one’s way up from the 97th stem from a humble to the 98th percentile outlook, an acknowlis a hefty hill to huredgment of individual dle. talents and a commitReal charity and progress stem from a Many Democrats ment to the lives of insisted last autumn it humble outlook, an acknowledgment was important to others. This philosophy is absolutely corof individual talents and a increase taxes on the rect, which makes “rich” in order to balcommittment to the lives of others.

Gates’ tax-me-more ance the budget. rhetoric all the more I’m no math whiz, mystifying. but if we spread the Dinesh D’Souza, president of King’s College and a projected $1.1 trillion deficit for 2012 across the 250K capitalism groupie, regularly tells a parable I’d like households, each household would need to fork over to paraphrase as we parse the differences between charity and coercion: If a hungry man spots me eat- another $500,000, which gets tricky since most of ing a sandwich and asks for a piece, my voluntary these households are making no more than $450,000 choice to share with him can be a win-win situation. as it is, with half of that evaporating in taxes. Despite He gets a meal and I feel that I’ve helped someone in all of the Bush “tax cuts for the rich” grousing, the Treasury sacrificed about $800 billion in potential need.

On the other hand, if an IRS agent cruises in on a revenue because of the group of 250K earners.

Meanwhile, the Bush tax cuts for the middle class white horse and demands I hand over my tuna melt lest I face time in the slammer, that’s quite a different gave up $2.2 trillion. Now, I’m a cheerleader on behalf scenario. The aftereffect is that I feel resentful and of tax cuts for all Americans, but the notion that the the man’s sense of thankfulness is replaced by a feel- Feds are mostly leaning on the pillars of men and their moneyed mansions is profoundly exaggerated. ing of entitlement.

Buffett has urged, “Do we get more money from The campaigning of Gates and Buffett on behalf of the person that’s gonna serve me lunch today, or do a heftier tax for the top two percent of earners is arrogant, not to mention dangerous. The logical fallacy we get more from me? I think we should get it from here is that men like Buffett are not the knighted me.”

Of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. spokespeople for some caviar-chomping Top Income Problem is, there just aren’t enough rich guys called Bracket Society.

Buffett skyrockets far beyond the “upper earner” “Buffett” we can strong-arm into footing the bill.

Danielle is a first-year. She can be reached at label. After all, he’s the second richest man in the country (after Gates) and the third wealthiest in the dcharet1@swarthmore.edu.

aROuNd HIGHER EducaTION

International reflection on nuclear energy needed HEMI H. GANDHI thecrimson.harvard.edu, Mar. 22, 2011

Japan’s nuclear disaster has sobered the world. What’s more is that in the age of globalization, Japan’s tragedy has morphed into a global crisis—international markets have tanked and some of Japan’s radiation has spilled into California and China.

According to the International Energy Agency, over 31 countries currently operate a total of 440 nuclear power plants. The number is likely to exceed 800 by 2025. Therefore, in the aftermath of the Fukushima plant’s very pubic display of the dangers of nuclear power, all countries must reflect on their ambitions for nuclear power.

As seen from the Japanese example, a future nuclear disaster in one country can have an adverse effect on all countries. Facing similar challenges regarding nuclear energy, the international community must work together to establish tighter nuclear protocols and standards.

Internationally, the Fukushima plant disaster has provoked

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sharp criticism of nuclear power as a viable energy source. But regardless of criticisms, the reality is that nuclear power is here to stay.

Many developing countries have no choice but to continue with their nuclear plans. China and India alone have plans to build over 200 plants over the next 20 years. There simply isn’t enough fossil fuel-based energy or cheap renewable alternatives to fuel their energy-hungry economies. In an effort to uplift hundreds of millions of their citizens from poverty, their choice to pursue abundant nuclear power, despite its risks, may be well justified.

At least in the medium term, developed countries like the U.S.—with a 20 percent dependency on nuclear power— can’t simply shut off existing plants or completely rule out the establishment of future plants.

Given the inevitable growth of nuclear power and the fact that the futures of all open economies are intertwined, it makes sense for countries to work together to establish tighter nuclear standards. The U.S. should seize this moment to lead a necessary global

effort to ensure the safety of our own existing plants and the safety and sustainability of new plants in emerging economies.

To begin this effort, a team of independent, international scientists must first review existing reactor designs.

Concerns about fundamental design flaws of the General Electric reactor in the Fukushima plant have been in existence for several years. There are 90 such reactors in plants around the globe—an unbiased review of GE and other vendors’ designs is clearly mandated.

Furthermore, new guidelines for suitability of nuclear sites must be drawn out to minimize the vulnerability of plants to potential catastrophic natural disasters. Currently there are substantial plans for new nuclear power plants in natural disaster prone countries like Indonesia, which lie on the Ring of Fire. In light of the Japanese tragedy, such plans must be critically reviewed.

Nuclear emergency plans must also be established for all countries. Japan has the world’s third-largest economy

March 24, 2011

and has highly sophisticated technology. Yet its impromptu efforts to deal with this crisis appear to be desperate.

It’s scary to think about the level of potential inadequacy with which developing countries like India or Indonesia, that lack the necessary sophistication, experience, and infrastructure, would deal with a similar nuclear crisis. Even in the U.S., a Hurricane Katrina-type response to a nuclear accident could be equally disastrous. Disaster readiness everywhere must subsequently be improved.

Since the Chernobyl disaster fell from the headlines over two decades ago the world has dangerously assumed that we have a mastery of nuclear power. The Japan crisis clearly shows that we do not.

Given the inevitability of many more nuclear plants to come, the U.S. must lead an international effort to substantially increase the safety of nuclear power plants. If the world seriously collaborates on such an effort, Japan’s nuclear crisis will at least have served the purpose of avoiding future tragedies.

THE PHOENIX

Sports Examining the cycle caused by stinky bracket syndrome swarthmorephoenix.com

As the students at Swarthmore College haven’t noticed at all, the NCAA tournament is in full swing, and with this year’s unstoppable surge of basketball enthusiasm comes my yearly transformation into the March Maladroit.

This year, after a promising first round (4/4 on 8/9 games, and I nailed the 5/12 Richmond over Andrew Greenblatt upset, Vanderbilt), I proceeded to The Life of Greeny lose Syracuse, Texas, Notre Dame and Purdue, all in a matter of hours, leaving me with a pedestrian 9 out of the Sweet and Sour Sauce 16. I haven’t lost any Final Four teams, yet, but if there’s one thing I know about stinky bracket syndrome, it’s that it’s perennial and universal.

As stench creeps through your predictions just remember that we’re all going through the same thing. Except that jackass who had Richmond AND Butler in his Sweet 16 and won’t stop talking about it even though he’s watched more “Gilmore Girls” than NCAA hoops in his life, but screw that guy.

Since come March we’re all one big messed up bracket loving family, I’m taking a closer look at what we’re going through: Stage 1: Optimism This is the “remember when” phase, where money predictions of years past give you a false sense of hope for your current prospects. This phase usually lasts about 5 minutes, from the end of Selection Sunday until you actually start picking games. It goes a little something like, “Remember in ’08 when I totally had Davidson in my Final Four? Yeah, this is MY year.”

Stage 2: The Research Phase Wasting time in the library phase. Obscure factoid phase. Don’t believe the ESPN hype phase, or for some people, watch Sportscenter for the first time and believe everything they say phase: Did you know that Pitt is leading the Big East in assists per game with 17.5 and Texas is fifth in the nation in rebounding with 40.3 per game. That’s why they’re both locks for the Sweet 16. This is definitely my year.

By the way, ESPN has completely ruined the research phase. If you have ESPN Insider and tried to research games, you would have seen that no matter where you click Joe Lunardi’s pick is plastered at the top of the page.

That’s a psychological nightmare. Dealing with “the experts” is bad enough (Butler over Wisconsin? C’mon ESPN, Michigan State in the Sweet 16, really Sports Illustrated?), at least give me some solace with my Insider subscription.

Stage 4: The Despair Phase In this phase the pretensions of knowledge are almost completely broken down. This is the reality phase, the “wow I can’t believe my 15 year old niece had VCU in the Sweet 16” phase. Depending on your personality, it’s either the “screw that guy” phase (which definitely isn’t me), or the “how’d he pick that” phase. Either way, you’ll find yourself dealing with some serious bracket envy.

Stage 3: The Denial Phase This is the phase where the true basketball fans get pulled mercilessly back down to Earth when they realize that their cat could pick tourney games just as well as they could. Here’s when those 8/9 games start to go the wrong way and “totally unforeseeable events” start happening. It sounds a little something like this … “If it weren’t for Matt Howard’s put back, Demonte Harper’s three ball, Juan Fernandez’s leaner, Kalin Lucas’ travel and Kevin Anderson’s floater, I’d be killing this bracket pool.

And did you see Nasir Robinson’s foul? (which by the way was absolutely absurd. Why Jamie Dixon has his players on the line with no time left is a complete mystery to me, granted Robinson definitely shouldn’t have hacked Howard, if Dixon has a bit of sense in that situation Pitt would probably have lasted at least one more round before losing prematurely like they always do) … and by the way, if it weren’t for Jacob Pullen eating a bad cheeseburger, the poor water pressure in Notre Dame’s locker room and Georgetown’s itchy uniforms, I’d be killing this bracket pool.

Stage 7: Humility and the Return to Optimism This is the relaxing phase. The “I’m out of my bracket pool but I’m not letting that ruin the championship game for me” phase. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the quality of basketball on display and get lost in bracketology world, but the truth is, an upset may be mildly upsetting to your bracket picks, but imagine what it’s like for the athletes involved, for the seniors especially, who may have seen their best days pass and for the coaches whose livelihood may be at stake (sorry Bruce Pearl).

Stage 5: The Hope Phase Time to go to the scenario generator! Okay, so if Butler beats Wisconsin and Florida and makes it to the final four, all I need is for UCONN to beat San Diego State then lose to Duke, for UNC to beat Ohio State and for Kansas to win the championship. There’s still a chance …

Stage 6: Heartbreak Dammit.

With the Elite 8 games coming up, good luck ignoring inflated bracket ego guy. I hope your scenario generator treats you well and that even if you lose, which you almost definitely will, that you welcome next year as a challenge to lose by less. I hope those of you who picked Pitt learned their lesson and for those of you who picked Butler only because your friend’s cousin went there get wiped out in the next round. A Merry March and a stinky bracket to all!

Andrew is a junior. You can reach him at agreen3@swarthmore.edu.

Tennis teams see mixed results in recent matches

BY RENEE FLORES rflores1@swarthmore.edu The Swarthmore men’s and women’s tennis teams have recently had a slew of matches, with mixed results. The women played Mary Washington, losing 8-1 and a Conference opener against McDaniel, winning 9-0 on Saturday. The men played Mary Washington, losing 7-2, Christopher Newport University, recording a 5-4 win and lost to Kalamazoo on Tuesday, 5-4. The women wrapped up the week with a 7-2 home win against Muhlenberg, improving to 3-5 on the season.

Stephanie Chia’ 13, in the No. 6 singles, scored the sole point for the Garnet in the match at #18 Mary Washington, defeating Cassie Bowman in a two solid sets of 7-5 and 6-4. Katie Samuelson ’14 forced her match into a tie-breaking third set, falling 10-3. No. 2 doubles partners Kelsey Johnson ’13 and Luann Cignavitch ’11 came close to a win, but ended with a 9-7 loss. “It came down to crucial points, and we were not able to push past,” Chia said.

The Centennial Conference opener proved to be better for the Garnet women, as they swept the Green Terror 9-0, leaving no point behind. “It was a good start in terms of morale and players not in the original lineup had a chance to play, and they played wonderfully,” Chia said.

The men played a home match against Mary Washington, recording a 7-2 finish.

Max Kaye ’14 recorded two wins in the day, first in the No. 4 singles 6-2, 6-2, and again in the No. 2 doubles 8-5, with partner Max Bressman ’11. Kaye and Bressman hold a 4-2 record on the season as doubles partners.

Bressman also came close to a win in the No. 3 singles, pushing to a third set, falling 10-8.

The match was close, as it was tie-breaker losses in the No. 3 and No. 5 singles and No. 1 doubles that could have made the

THE PHOENIX

match swing in the other direction.

However, the disappointment was shortlived, as the men recorded a win the next day.

The Garnet men next went head-to-head with Christopher Newport, and took the 5-4 win. Anthony Collard ’14 recorded two wins on the day, winning the sole doubles match 8-3 with partner Seth Udelson ’13 and improving his singles and doubles record to 5-1. Bressman, Kaye and Preston Poon ’14 also recorded wins for the Garnet. “We’ve been improving individually and as a team, the team dynamic has been getting better and we’re way more disciplined as a team,” Kaye said.

The team was expecting a win against Kalamazoo, and came close to achieving that goal. However, the match ended in disappointment, with a 5-4 loss. “We’re playing for the NCAA. A win would help, and everyone wants it,” Bressman said.

Stephen Youngblood ’12 partnered Zak Kelm ’12 to win in the No. 1 doubles 8-6, while Kaye and Bressman continued their impressive doubles competition, adding a 85 win in the No. 2 spot. “We set our standards high and go into every match expecting to win,” Kaye said. Kaye also recorded a strong finish in the No. 4 singles 6-0 and 6-2 moving to a five-win streak. Collard followed with a win in the No. 6 singles 6-7, 6-1 and 61 in the tie-breaking set.

Despite the loss, the team is feeling confident that they can bounce back, and that wins are right around the corner. “We’re starting to feel our oats. We’ll be a strong team by the end of the season,” Bressman said.

In their second Conference match of the season, the Swarthmore women’s tennis team defeated the Mules 7-2, taking the No. 1 doubles with a score of 9-7. The No. 1, 2, 3 and 6 singles went into third set 10-point tiebreakers, taking each win. The match was

Jake Mrozewski Phoenix Staff

Doubles pair Stephanie Chia and Katie Samuelson play against Mary Washington. close, but the Garnet came out on top in the end, dropping only the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches.

With the start of Conference play, the women are now competing to return to the Championships, and every win helps them get there.The win improved the women to 20 in the Centennial Conference, and a twowin streak.

The women next play long-time rival Johns Hopkins this weekend and the competition will be steep. “Everyone knows they’re a powerhouse in tennis, but I do think we will be better prepared to be a

March 24, 2011

rival. But there’s no way of knowing what’s going to happen this Saturday,” Chia said.

The men begin Conference play this afternoon against Ursinus. “It should be fun, and a match that we should win 9-0,” Bressman said.

The Swarthmore men’s tennis team returns to the court today when they play Ursinus in their Conference opener for the season. The match is scheduled to begin 4 p.m. Then the men travel to Johns Hopkins on Saturday, and the women host Johns Hopkins Saturday. Play for the women is set to begin at 2 p.m.

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Sports Men’s and women’s lacrosse lose to Ursinus Bears swarthmorephoenix.com

BY DANIEL DUNCAN dduncan1@swarthmore.edu Despite high-scoring, strong performances, both the Swarthmore men’s and women’s lacrosse teams fell just short against Ursinus in their Centennial Conference openers. The men fell to 1-5 (0-1 CC) while the women now stand at 4-2 (0-1 CC).

The men came flying out of the gates, building a 3-0 lead just seven minutes into the game off goals from Jonathan Molloy ’14, Daniel Kowalyshyn ’14 and Owen Masters ’12. By the end of the first quarter, the Garnet seemed to be in control with a dominating 6-2 lead.

“The first quarter was the best quarter of lacrosse we’ve played all season. We were moving the ball well, playing smart, and getting easy lay-ups,” Molloy said. Molloy credits the fast-acting game plan as getting them to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter. “We had the defense on their heels so we just kept dodging, throwing fastballs and dodging again until something opened up. When we executed that, we had plenty of opportunities which we were able to capitalize on.”

But after trading goals with the Bears in the first minute of the second quarter, Swarthmore’s offense went dormant.

Ursinus was able to fight its way back into the game with six unanswered goals. The Bears led 9-7 at halftime.

Defense and caution took over in the second half. Aaron Stein ’11 took a nasty shot to the head late in the second quarter. Ursinus added two more goals before a late Garnet rally cut the deficit back down to two. The Bears came out with an 11-9 win.

Molloy, Masters and Max Hubbard ’12 led the Garnet with two goals apiece. Richard Brode ’11 anchored the defense with four caused turnovers.

The women also found themselves on the wrong end of a back-and-forth game with the Bears. In the first half, the Garnet took the lead, scoring five goals to Ursinus’ early three goals. But after several lead changes in the first half, the Garnet went into halftime down 7-5.

In the second half, the two teams traded goals before Ursinus put the Garnet away with a 4-0 run. The Bears left with a 15-11 win. Annalise Penikis ’13 and Corinne Sommi ’14 accounted for 10 of the 11 Garnet goals in career-best performances. Penikis put the ball in the net six times, while Sommi added four more.

In goal, Michelle Ammerman ’14 made 14 saves.

“Without those saves we would not have been in that game,” Penikis said of Ammerman in an e-mail.

Sommi saw the game as one of the Garnet’s better performances on the season. “Our defense really stepped up, though we received some tough calls for physical play,” Sommi said. But Sommi recognized that despite their strong performance, the team “clearly still [has] a lot of work to do.”

Penikis also agreed that while some aspects of the game were strong, others were not as much. “On the down side, we weren’t able to come up with some 50/50 balls; Ursinus beat us in ground balls (and ground balls win games),” Penikis said.

Last night, the men were scheduled to take on Muhlenberg, but the game was postponed due to snow, but the Garnet will take on the Mules this Thursday at 7 p.m.

The women’s game against Gwynyd-Mercy was postponed until April 11, due to the rain. Up next, the women take the field on Saturday in a Centennial Conference game against Bryn Mawr. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. faceoff at Clothier Field.

Eric Verhasselt Phoenix Staff

Midfielder Emily Evans carries the ball across the field. Evans took two shots in the Garnet’s 15-11 loss to Ursinis.

Eric Verhasselt Phoenix Staff

Paul Chung Phoenix Staff

Annalise Penikis, surrounded by Ursinus opponents, advances into the Bears defensive zone.

Midfielder John Bukawyn looks to move the ball forward further into Ursinus territority. The Bears defeated the Garnet by a close 11-9 score from Clothier Field.

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March 24, 2011

THE PHOENIX

Sports

swarthmorephoenix.com

Purkey provides proof for how to win an ncaa trophy So you want to win an NCAA basketball championship.

It makes sense: the fame, the fortune, the really big trophy. Well, maybe not the fame and fortune part, but definitely the really big trophy. Plus it’s also the ultimate bragging rights. You started a foundation to feed hannah Purkey orphaned children in The Purkey Perspective developing nations during your four years at college?

Well, I conquered March madness and now have this really big trophy to show for it. Take that starving children.

Deciding to win is half of the battle, so you are already well on your way to the champagne shower.

Feel free to pause reading and pat yourself on the back; you deserve it. What is the other half of the battle, you ask? Well, I’m told it has something to do with playing the game of basketball. This may be a problem, you say, as you have never actually been on a basketball court. Nonsense! We’re Swatties — something as silly as a lack of experience shouldn’t stop us from achieving our life goal, the really big trophy.

But just in case you haven’t quite perfected the physics equations necessary to master the game of basketball without ever having played before (those coefficients of friction are so hard to account for with so many different playing surfaces), here are some recently published scientific findings that, when applied to sports, may just help you in your pursuit of that trophy.

Be the little engine that could Do you remember when you were in kindergarten, and you read (or someone read to you) that story about the annoyingly optimistic train? It was the one about the engine that overcame seemingly insurmountable odds with only willpower and by

repeating “I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can.” It may have seemed schmaltzy at the time, but according to a new article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the way you perceive yourself really does affect your performance.

Participants taking a general knowledge test either did better or worse depending on whether they were implicitly exposed to perceptual, semantic or conceptual stimuli associated with being intelligent (did better) or stupid (did worse).

Researchers concluded from this that perception has a direct impact on performance. So instead of actually training in order to do well in sports, you just need to trick yourself into believing that you are already good at sports. Or, conversely, you could try and convince your opponents via subliminal messaging that they are bad at sports. If all else fails, the “I-think-I-can” worked for the little engine that could.

If all else fails, laugh If, despite your best efforts, these bits of advice still don’t propel your team into the Final Four, then all you can do is laugh. As it turns out, this might also function as a last-ditch effort to succeed.

According to a 2006 article in the Journal of Neuroscience, there is a neurological response to hearing laughter or a triumphant yell that makes the listener more likely to laugh as well. So if you are down and you just don’t think you have a chance of coming back, try laughing. Before you know it Write it out In a recent blog post, New York Times columnist your teammates might be joining you, and, with a David Brooks highlighted a study published in more positive attitude, you might just be able to pull off that last-second Science about how Hail Mary. Or, if not, participants asked to at least you got a write down their “Celebrating, even if you don’t really good laugh out of it. feelings of stress I’m not saying before a big exam did have anything to celebrate yet, will these strategies will significantly better help you win. So get your “Glee”-on guarantee you that than participants and show off some team dances.” trophy you have your who did not undereye on, but they are a take this task. This is good place to start. perfect for Swatties.

Even if you don’t There are already writing classes, now we can have writing sports think you will be lacing up for this year’s NCAA events as well. If you are about to take a free throw, tournament, be sure to watch those who do. just quickly run over to the sideline and jot down Research published in the Journal of Consumer some of your thoughts first. It certainly couldn’t Research (last study, I promise) showed that people who had exerted self-control were more likely to hurt your free throw percentage. exhibit angry behavior afterwards. So don’t listen to that little voice in your head; ditch the paper due Celebrate like there’s no tomorrow It turns out all of those ridiculous celebration tomorrow and instead tune in for the last few games dances are not just showing off; they are actually of this year’s tournament.

Hannah is a senior. You can reach her at increasing a team’s chances of winning. An article published in the Journal of Sports Sciences last year hpurkey1@swarthmore.edu.

Garnet in action Thursday, March 24 Softball vs. Widener, 3 p.m.

Men’s tennis vs. Ursinus, 4 p.m.

Softball vs. Widener, 5 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse vs. Muhlenberg, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 25 Baseball at Immaculata, 3 p.m. saTurday, March 26 Men’s tennis at Johns Hopkins, 12 p.m.

Softball at Rowan, 12 p.m.

Baseball vs. Dickinson, 12:30 p.m.

Golf at McDaniel Tournament, TBA Women’s lacrosse vs. Bryn Mawr, 1 p.m.

Women’s tennis vs. Johns Hopkins, 2 p.m.

Softball at Rowan, 2:30 p.m.

claims that winning is in fact contagious, and that the more convincing a celebration, the more likely the team celebrating will win. Of course, if they are already celebrating they probably have made a good start towards winning, but that’s beside the point.

Celebrating, even if you don’t really have anything to celebrate yet, will help you win. So go get your “Glee”-on and show off some team dances, preferably to Beyoncé music.

Garnet athlete of the week Monday, March 28 Golf vs. Neumann, Philadelphia University, Widener at Rolling Green Golf Club, 1 p.m.

Anthony CollArd fy., tennis, villAnovA, pA.

WhAt he’s done: Collard led the Garnet to a 5-4 victory over Christopher newport, winning 6-3, 6-1 in singles and 8-3 in doubles (with seth Udelson).

Tuesday, March 29 Softball at Muhlenberg, 3 p.m.

Baseball vs. Haverford, 3:30 p.m.

Men’s tennis at Muhlenberg, 5 p.m.

Softball at Muhlenberg, 5 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse at McDaniel, 7 p.m.

fAvorite CAreer MoMent: “in our match against vassar during spring break, we were down 4-3 before my teammate preston poon and i took the court. We both needed to win. After being down 4-3 in the first set, i fought back and won the match playing some of the best tennis i have ever played.”

seAson GoAls:

Wednesday, March 30 Golf at Neumann University, TBA Women’s tennis at Washington College, 3:30 p.m.

“since this is my first year, i’m not worried about what position i play or what my winning percentage is. i just want to give my best effort on a daily basis to help my team get the W’s.”

fAvorite eMineM sonG:

sunday, March 27 Golf at McDaniel Tournament, TBA

Go Garnet! the PhoeniX

Eric Verhasselt Phoenix Staff

March 24, 2011

“Considering that i regard eminem as the greatest rapper alive and i have over 100 of his songs on my ipod, this is a tough question. i think i’m going to have to go with ‘like toy soldiers’ and ‘sing for the Moment’ comes a close second.”

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Sports

swarthmorephoenix.com

Baseball picks up wins against Immaculata, PSU

BY ANA APOSTOLERIS aaposto1@swarthmore.edu After an opening week that saw a solid Spring Break and a dominating home opener, the Swarthmore baseball team did not let up in the second week of competition, going 3-2 to bring its overall record to 9-5. The Garnet have been on an offensive tear all season, scoring 10 or more runs in its last three wins and in seven of 13 games overall, and hopes are high as the team rolls into Centennial Conference play.

Following a tough loss to PSU-Abington last Tuesday, the Garnet rebounded in a big way, taking a close 10-7 victory against Immaculata on Friday before crushing PSUBrandywine in a Saturday doubleheader.

The Brandywine twin bill included the first two home runs of the season, highlighting the team’s prolific offensive output.

First baseman Mike Cameron ’12 garnered a three-run homer in the first game to lead the Garnet to a 13-3 victory; in Game 2, right fielder Tim Kwilos ’13 catalyzed a 15-9 win with a grand slam.

Although this week opened with an 8-5 loss to local rival Widener, the Garnet showed resiliency, coming back from an 8-1 deficit to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth.

“We’re swinging the bat very well,” head coach Stan Exeter said. “I’d call it a good week.”

Mike Waterhouse ’12, last week’s Conference Player of the Week, continued his offensive domination of non-conference opponents, going a combined 10-for-17 last week through Saturday to raise his season average to .457. He leads the team with a .674 slugging percentage, a .565 on-base percentage and 16 RBIs. “He’s definitely swinging [well],” Exeter said. “What needs to happen in Conference play is for the guys around him to keep [hitting well] so he … continues to get the pitches he needs. He’s a big-time college hitter now.”

Behind Waterhouse, Nicko Burnett ’14 has proven himself as an offensive team leader through the first two weeks.

Burnett’s college debut has been nothing if not promising, as the primary designated hitter has recorded a robust .410 batting average (2nd on the team), .510 on-base percentage (3rd) and .487 slugging percentage (3rd) through last Saturday.

The transition from high school to college has, apparently, not fazed him. “[It] has been for the most part what I expected,” Burnett said, “but it has been made much easier by all of my coaches and teammates.

They have all been great about getting me and the other freshmen ready for the season and letting us know what we should expect.”

He described his performance at the plate as “pretty locked in so far,” and credits hitting coach Tim Gunn with “[keeping] it pretty simple for me, which has just allowed me to stay aggressive and hit the ball hard.”

At the bottom of the lineup, centerfielder Ben Schneiderman ’11 has also provided significant run production. Schneiderman, a solid career .311 hitter, has gotten his hits at the right times this season and stands second on the team with 15 RBIs. “Everyone in the lineup is hitting right now,” he said, “so run production is up, too.

We’re all locked in and making it easier on our pitchers.”

Left fielder Rory McTear ’13 continues to hit and wreak havoc on the basepaths, stealing four bases in last week’s games while raising his average to an even .400.

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Paul Chung Phoenix Staff

Leadoff hitter Rory McTear (top) waits for a pitch in the Garnet’s 8-5 loss to Widener on Tuesday from Clothier Field. Designated hitter Matt Lamb (below) steps to the plate. McTear had four at-bats and Lamb had two.

Cameron remains a potent threat in the middle of the lineup, hitting .378 with a .556 slugging percentage.

Although the season so far has been highly successful, the true test lies ahead as the Conference season begins on Saturday.

Dickinson, 13-3 in non-Conference play, will be the Garnet’s first challenge; the team will then face Haverford and Gettysburg before its next non-Conference game.

“We’re going to see good pitching and well-executed games,” Exeter said of his new set of opponents. “I’m confident that our pitchers can match theirs. We just need

to step up and do it.”

Exeter’s players are aware of the challenges that face them, but don’t expect personal or team approaches to change significantly. According to Schneiderman, the team is already where it needs to be as far as mentality is concerned.

“We’ve been treating every game as if it were a Conference game, so we’re not going to change our approach,” Schneiderman said. “We’re just going to keep putting ourselves in position to win games by pitching and swinging the bat as well as we have been.”

March 24, 2011

“We expect to be facing a higher caliber of team,” Burnett said, “but we just need to stick with our game and play how we know how to play. We just need to take each game one at a time, keep doing what we’ve been doing, and enter each game expecting to win.”

Dickinson will come to visit on Saturday, kicking off Conference play at Clothier Field in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.

Disclaimer: Ben Schneiderman is a crossword writer for The Phoenix. He had no involvement in the production of this article.

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