Phoenix 8/26/10

AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SINCE 1881 • VOLUME 133, ISSUE 1

PHOENIX Inside:Moodle officially chosen over Blackboard 9

Top 10 campus hang-outsPig Iron Theater gets six Barrymore nominations

Rekindling CompostTwo solar-powered composters eating up trash on campus, p. 5

NewsCollege swears in firstfemale presidentRebecca Chopp was inducted as the 14thpresident of the college in May. She is thefirst woman to hold that position, but one ofmany influential women throughoutSwarthmore’s history. PAGE 3

College to transition toMoodle by fall 2012In two years time, the tri-colleges will bemaking a transition from Blackboard, ourcurrent learning management system, toMoodle, an economical open-sourced soft-ware with tools comparable to those inBlackboard. PAGE 4

Good Food keeps campus’green momentum rollingThis summer, two solar-powered rotarycompost bins were installed in Hicks Hall.Compost will come from excess dining hallfood and will be used to fertilize Mertz field.PAGE 5

Summer residents leavecostly mess The mess left behind in Mary Lyons by sum-mer residents affected both coordinatorsand students alike. Students are in conflict,being against receiving an undeservedpenalty but also understanding the circum-stances from which it stemmed. PAGE 6

Egg vandals plagueBorough of SwarthmoreNews Editor Dante Fuoco conducted a Q&Awith next year’s Lang Visiting Professor forIssues of Social Change Louis Massiah todiscuss Massiah’s work with film and mediaprojects and his plans for the classroom atSwarthmore. PAGE 7

Living & ArtsOrientation week 2010Swarthmore may not have the biggestcampus, but it can still be hard to deter-mine where the best places to study, reador just hang out are. Writer John Oh looksat ten locations on campus perfect forstudying, relaxing and socializing. PAGE 8

Alumni theater group nomi-nated for six BarrymoresThe Pig Iron Theatre Company, foundedby seven Swarthmore alumni, receivedsix Barrymore nominations for its 2009production, “Welcome to Yuba City.” Thecritically acclaimed show is nominatedfor Outstanding Overall Production of aPlay and Outstanding Direction of a Play,to name a few. Alums shed light on theirtheatrical process and what they learnedat Swarthmore. PAGE 9

Getting to and from Philly:the Liberty Bell by TrainGoing to school only half an hour outside ofPhiladelphia can be a great chance toexplore much of America’s founding histo-ry first-hand. But the SEPTA system can beoverwhelming and confusing at first.Columnist Jennifer Johnson guides stu-dents through riding public transportationinto Philly to visit the Liberty Bell andother Philadelphia landmarks. PAGE 10

Cera’s Scott Pilgrim closessummer season with funScott Pilgrim Vs. the World may seem likejust another entry into Michael Cera's listof portrayals of awkward teens in search oflove. But writer Isaac Han finds that ScottPilgrim's combination of romance andvideo game send-offs is both poignant andfun. PAGE 12

Bridging social commen-tary and cheap entertain-mentDoes pulp fiction offer more than justcheap entertainment? A current exhibitionin McCabe, curated by Hilary Trout ’13,attempts to explore this question, examin-ing pieces by authors such as John MurrayReynolds, H.P. Lovecraft, Ray AveryMyers, and even famous literary figuressuch as Ursula K. LeGuin and IsaacAsimov. PAGE 12

OpinionsFrom red pens to freedomFor a first-year international student,Swarthmore offers a more fluid educationand a reprieve from censorship in hishomeland. PAGE 14

‘PC’ lexicon is crutch, nottool, for toleranceDespite its intentions, politically correctlanguage closes off dialogue and leads toconfusion. PAGE 14

SportsTaking a crack at settling theclutch-hitting debateTim discusses the debate over clutch hit-ting — do some players come throughwhen the pressure is on, or is the clutchhitter just a baseball myth? PAGE 15

Women’s soccerAfter one of the most exciting seasons inSwarthmore Athletics history, fans chooseto honor women's soccer three-peat as theSwarthmore Athletics Moment of the Year.PAGE 16

Thursday, August 26, 2010 Volume 133, Issue 1 The PhoenixThe independent campus newspaper of SwarthmoreCollege since 1881.

EDITORIAL BOARDJeff Davidson Editor in ChiefAmelia Possanza Managing EditorLinda Hou News EditorMenghan Jin Assistant News EditorLauren Kim Assistant News EditorMiriam Hauser Living & Arts EditorCamila Ryder Living & Arts EditorDante Fuoco Opinions EditorMarcus Mello Sports EditorVictor Brady Sports EditorJacqueline Small Copy ChiefOlivia Natan Photo EditorXingyu Zhang Photo EditorJulia Kaparti Aesthetics CoordinatorEric Sherman Director of Web Development

STAFFJacqueline Small News WriterQuitterie Gounot Living & Arts WriterIsaac Han Living & Arts WriterDina Zingaro Living & Arts WriterJasper Goldberg Living & Arts ColumnistMaki Somoset Living & Arts ColumnistJen Johnson Living & Arts ColumnistAlex Israel Living & Arts ColumnistBen Schneiderman Crossword WriterTimothy Bernstein Sports ColumnistMark Chin Sports ColumnistSam Green Opinions ColumnistAndrew Cheng PhotographerEric Verhasselt Photographer

BUSINESS STAFFMarcus Mello Circulation Manager

COVER DESIGNJulia Kaparti

CONTRIBUTORSJim Graham, Aaron Friedman, MariamZachary, John Oh, Sinan Kazaklar, JaredBrown

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TO ADVERTISE:E-mail: [email protected] phone: (610) 328-7362Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College,500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081

Direct advertising requests to Jeff Davidson.The Phoenix reserves the right to refuseany advertising. Advertising rates subject tochange.

CONTACT INFORMATIONOffices: Parrish Hall 470-472E-mail: [email protected] phone: (610) 328-8172Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College,500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081Web site: www.swarthmorephoenix.com

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The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing,Inc. The Phoenix is a member of theAssociated College Press and thePennsylvania Newspaper Association.

All contents copyright © 2010 The Phoenix.All rights reserved. No part of this publica-tion may be reproduced without permission.

2 August 26, 2010 THE PHOENIX

Andrew Cheng Phoenix Staff

New students twist and turn to form a human knot at orientation.

Page

8

News

tHe PHOenIX August 26, 2010 3

swarthmorephoenix.com

events menu

TodayOrientation play: ‘Life at Swarthmore’Quirky and hilarious, the annual

orientation play introduces life atSwarthmore with a mix of perform-ance and film. The play is opened byAssistant Dean Karen Henry and willbe from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Pearson-Hall Theater in LPAC.

List Gallery ExhibitionIn an exhibit entitled “Aesthetics

of Intimacy,” still life paintingsshowcasing intimacy by Suan Walp,Mark Karnes and Don Southard areon display in the List Gallery everyTuesday through Sunday from 12p.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 10.

Sex, Action and Social CommentaryAn examination of how pulp fic-

tion reflects on the fears and ideas ofthe late 1890s till the 1950s, the exhibitwill be on display in McCabe Lobbyuntil Sept. 17th during McCabe openhours.

Tomorrow Game nightPlay various board and card

games or sing karaoke in ParrishParlors from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.Games will be provided.

Saturday, August 28Capture the Flag at the CrumhengeExplore the Crum woods’ creek

and circle of stones and play capturethe flag at the Crumhenge at 12:30p.m. to 2 p.m. Coolers of water will beprovided.

Comedy showSketch comedy group Boys Meets

Tractor and improv comedy troupeVertigo-go will be performing andshowing videos in Sci 101 from 9 p.m.to 10 p.m.

Sunday, August 28Activities fairMany campus groups will be show-

casing their organization at variousbooths of the activities fair as they tryto recruit new students. The fair is onParrish Beach, or Tarble-in-Clothierin rain, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Black Cultural Center open houseThe BCC, located in the Robinson

House, is hosting its first open housefrom 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Interfaith Center open houseMeet representatives from all

campus religious groups at theInterfaith Center in Bond Hall from5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Refreshmentswill be served.

‘The Graduate’This classic movie is shown on

Parrish Beach on the eve of eachschool year.

E-mail submissions for the eventsmenu to news editor Linda Hou [email protected] byWednesday at noon.

College swears in first female president

Photo courtesy of Jim Graham

Rebecca Chopp speaks to the gathered campus community at her inauguration in early May.

BY JACQUELINE [email protected]

Lucretia Mott, one of Swarthmore'sfounders, would have been happy toattend President Rebecca Chopp's inau-guration. Not only is Chopp an accomplished

scholar and administrator, her officialinduction as the college's first femalepresident this May was a clear victoryfor Mott’s vision of equal rights.The weekend of the inauguration was

marked by a symposium of professorsand alumni who spoke on panels aboutcivil discourse and sustainable living. Alumni and faculty also participated

in arts performances and readings at aprogram on Friday evening called, “ACelebration of Community:Performances in Honor of RebeccaChopp's Inauguration as 14th Presidentof Swarthmore College.” Many of themattended the ceremony itself, as didSwarthmore students and representa-tives from neighboring institutionssuch as Haverford, Bryn Mawr,University of Pennsylvania andWidener University. One of the six speakers at the cere-

mony was the provost of the college,Constance Hungerford, who spoke ofChopp’s merits as an individual. “We hail you especially as a fellow

scholar, who brings a distinguishedrecord of ground-breaking research infeminism and theology, a pursuit ofinquiry and writing that you have sus-tained even through the distractions ofadministrative responsibility at Emory,and then the Yale Divinity School and,finally, at Colgate,” she said.Nathaniel Erskine ’10, who served a

term last year as StuCo vice president,gave a speech at the inauguration prais-ing Chopp’s accessibility to students. “President Chopp [is] an attentive

and reflective listener. She continuallywelcomes ideas and stories whetherthey are about a freshman's transition

to Swarthmore, budgetary policy, or herbeloved discipline of theology. Studentsare glad to have a leader who proactive-ly values their contributions.”Several speeches mentioned that

Chopp’s interest in progressive reli-gious movements and how those move-ments are influenced by women willsuit the college’s history as a schoolfounded by the Society of Friends.Barbara Mather ’65, who is the first

woman to be chair of the SwarthmoreBoard of Managers, opened the ceremo-ny. In her welcoming speech, she said,“The inauguration of any president is amomentous occasion, but the inaugura-tion of Rebecca Chopp is a long-awaitedand very welcome affirmation of thevision of [our] founders and each of ourfoundational cornerstones.”Swarthmore was one of the first coed-

ucational institutions in the UnitedStates, admitting female students likefamed feminist Alice Paul and hiringwomen as faculty members, such asMaria Sanford, before it became stan-dard. But 146 years passed with onlymale presidents. In May, RebeccaChopp was inaugurated asSwarthmore’s fourteenth president, andfirst female, to hold that position.“I think the glass ceiling has deci-

sively been shattered at Swarthmore,once and for all,” Chopp said in an inter-view after the inauguration, adding thatthe college has already had women inimportant positions such as provost andtreasurer.Many of the other speeches referred

to the progressiveness of the founders,especially Lucretia Mott, who was a suf-fragist and abolitionist.

David Cohen ’77, chair of theUniversity of Pennsylvania’s board oftrustees, who Mather called one of “ourfriends in higher education,” said in hisspeech. “I think [Mott] would be pleased and

delighted to see Rebecca Chopp inaugu-rated as the first woman president in

Swarthmore's illustrious history.”Cohen also asked rhetorically why it

had taken "so long" for a woman to behired as president.

Chopp later said in an interview,“My sense is that it didn’t take all thatlong, in light of the fact that women did-n’t become the presidents of any col-leges until the ’70s or ’80s. ... Women hadto work their way up the administrativeladder in regard to college administra-tion.” She also pointed out that former

President Al Bloom’s “immensely suc-cessful tenure of 18 years” overlappedwith the beginning of this phase ofequality in higher education.Although women have been reaching

the rank of college president for a fewdecades, Chopp said in the interviewthat women in academia still face manychallenges. She said that the difficulties of bal-

ancing family obligations remain anobstacle for faculty and staff, especiallyfor women who have young children.Also, she said that in spite of the pres-ence of “very successful women in thesciences as professors and certainly asstudents,” women are still underrepre-sented in the natural sciences.While Chopp stressed in the inter-

view that differences in gender shouldnot be regarded as inherent parts ofhuman nature, she said that she thinkswomen “tend to be more focused on con-sensus and they embrace getting lots ofvoices at the table.” She added that in her studies of col-

laborative religious communities found-ed by women, she has found that “at thispoint in our history, women tend tothink very holistically ... and this issomething we see played out in womenpresidencies.”Chopp also said that she believes

many more women will continue tobecome college presidents, and that sheis eager to see more women of color inthe position.

4 August 26, 2010 tHe pHOeniX

News swarthmorephoenix.com

Week in pictures


Summer Miller-Walfish hands a dorm room key to a first-year student during move-inday on Tuesday.


Kira White and Rebecca Contreras, both Campus Advisors, blow bubbles and get in touchwith their childhood roots. The theme for orientation is “Camp Swartmore.”


Liz Braun, dean of students, leads an activity that simulates the sound of rain at thefirst meeting for all new students on Tuesday in Lang Concert Hall.

BY MENGHAN [email protected]

Over the next two years, the col-lege will be making a transitionfrom Blackboard, the current learn-ing management system, to an opensource software called Moodle. Faculty members can use either

Blackboard or Moodle for theircourses until the Fall 2012 semester,when Moodle will become the onlylearning management system avail-able throughout the Tri-Co commu-nityChief information technology

officers from Swarthmore,Haverford andBryn Mawrmade the deci-sion at lastsemester’s endafter the com-pletion of apilot projectrun by Tri-CoI n f o rma t i o nT e c h n o l o g yofficers. Thisproject allowed30 faculty mem-bers and 200students acrossall threeschools to testa newer version of Blackboardagainst Moodle.“Moodle is used by something

like 25 percent of the liberal arts col-leges in the U.S.,” said GayleBarton, the college’s chief informa-tion technology officer, in an e-mail. “It’s the second most commonly

used learning management system[after Blackboard] among schools ofour size and mission, plus it’s opensource so there’s no license fee andit's supported by a large communityof people, so it was the logicalchoice to compare to Blackboard.” At the conclusion of the pilot

project, an assessment ofBlackboard, Blackboard 9 andMoodle showed that between allthree, Moodle offered the same toolsas both versions of Blackboard at alower cost.“We didn’t get a lot of feedback

saying Blackboard’s worth a lotmore than Moodle,” said AndrewRuether, academic technologist forthe natural sciences and engineer-ingThe licensing fees of Blackboard

alone total $40,000 annually and,according to Barton, switching toMoodle will save the Tri-Co about$100,000 a year.“If it’s the same, cheaper is bet-

ter, right?” said Eric Jensen, associ-ate professor of astronomy, who alsoparticipated in the pilot project.A survey sent out by ITS from all

three Tri-Co schools to both facultyand students at the end of the proj-ect concluded that faculty and staffof the pilot project had no particularpreference for either the newerBlackboard 9 or Moodle.“We had some faculty that slight-

ly preferred Blackboard 9, some fac-ulty that slightly preferred Moodle,

but generally the consensus of thepeople that piloted both systems lastyear was: ‘They both do what I needthem to do,’ ” Ruether said.Faculty members of the pilot did

stumble upon some differencesbetween the two learning manage-ment systems. While Blackboard offers more

organization through the capabilityto create different folders, Moodleoffers a simpler chronological lay-out.Jensen found Moodle relatively

straightforward to set up, butprefers the option to make folders inBlackboard and will be sticking

w i t hB l a c k b o a r dwhile it’s stillavailable.Also, most

of the standardfeatures usedin Blackboardare not stan-dard inMoodle, butare plug-ins. F o r

A s s o c i a t eProfessor ofEng in e e r i n gCarr Everbach,he found that

he could only send out an e-mail tohis entire class through Moodle — astandard feature in both versions ofBlackboard — by adding such aplug-in. “Moodle requires more training

to use, especially if you’re familiarwith Blackboard,” Everbach said.“You’ll need to recalibrate yourbrain.”While it may be more difficult

constructing a course on Moodle, onthe user end of the spectrum,Everbach’s students found Moodle’ssimplified layout pretty easy to use.“They were able to get the read-

ings, do the readings and postresponses so that the class could seethem,” Everbach said. “We had adigital dropbox; they emailed eachother through Moodle. I think, ingeneral, they liked it. “I don’t think they felt it was sig-

nificantly different from their pointof view. It’s a little bit harder for theperson constructing the course.That requires a little bit more train-ing and work.”ITS will be offering guidance and

support for any faculty memberwho wishes to transfer their coursesto Moodle during the next two yearsof transition.“It’s going to be time transferring

courses from Blackboard to Moodle,training people, having people learnand definitely ITS is going to pro-vide a lot of support for that processand helping as much as we can inmigrating the courses over,”Ruether said.Ruether is optimistic that the

next two years will go by smoothly. “It’s doable,” he said about the

transition. “It’s just, it will takesome time. I don’t anticipate anyproblems.”

College to transition to Moodle by fall 2012

“We didn’t get a lot offeedback saying

Blackboard’s worth a lotmore than Moodle.”Andrew Ruether

AcademicTechnologist for the

Natural Sciences andEngineering

BY JACQUELINE [email protected]

Composting at Swarthmore is aboutto become much more efficient. After two years of collaborating

with students, Kanti Somani’s projectof installing solar-powered compostbins on campus has reached its finalstage. In a partnership with the col-lege, Somani, the owner of a compostcompany called worms.com, appliedfor a $16,000 grant from the common-wealth of Pennsylvania in early 2008.They were awarded the grant in 2009,and two bins were installed in HicksHall and test-ed.The bins

will turn foodscraps andother wasteinto plant fer-tilizer, whichwill be used foran organiclawn projecton Mertz Fieldand in commu-nity gardens inChester. The goal is to fertilize MertzField entirely with compost from thedining hall instead of man-made fertil-izers. This will stop food waste fromSharples and Essie Mae’s from goingto landfills or being incinerated.Somani said he hopes to be able to usesome of the compost to feed his worms,as well.Somani’s business, worms.com,

sells compost bins, worms, and booksabout composting throughout theUnited States and Canada. Initially, hethought he would apply for the grantfor himself, but decided to team upwith a college and chose Swarthmoreafter hearing about the Good FoodProject.Over the summer, three students,

Andy Bastian ’12, Jean Dahlquist ’11,and Camille Robertson ’13, wereinvolved with the project. Bastianworked on remodelling the bins to bemore effective, and Dahlquist andRobertson, both of whom arepart of the Good FoodProject, helpeddetermine wherethe new binsshould be placed oncampus and whattheir role should bein the existing com-posting routine. Normally, compost

bins must be manuallyor machine-turned toallow oxygen to reachthe waste and help itdecompose. The solarpowered bins have manybenefits over other types.“These will be fully sus-tainable because they’ll be totally pow-ered by the sun. Air is forced into it,and all your organic material can gointo it. This really speeds up theprocess, so something that could takea couple of weeks only takes a coupleof days. We also don’t have to worryabout whether it’s getting enough air,”Somani said.Each of the bins, which are about as

wide as a desk, has a 900-pound capac-

ity welded aluminum drum with insu-lated walls, which sits on a set ofrollers that turn to spin the contents ofthe drum. While the drum tumbles, anair pump allows the oxygen to contactthe compost.“The aeration is essential to fuel

the aerobic microorganisms that areresponsible for breaking down theorganic material in the drum. Withoutaeration, anaerobic organisms takeover and produce really smelly by-products,” Bastian said in an e-mail.As the organic materials decom-

pose, they generate considerableamounts of heat, which is why this

kind of compost-ing is called ther-mophilic compost-ing. “The maind e c o m p o s e r sthrive in hight em p e r a t u r e s ,usually between120 and 140d e g r e e sF a h r e n h e i t , ”Bastian said.“Temperatures [inthe bin] can get up

to almost 160 degrees though, which ishot enough to cook a steak to mediumrare.”When the bins first came to campus

after being shipped from Texas, therewere several problems with them. “Wesaw that we were going to make a lotof changes,” Bastian said. “The systemworked, just not well.” The units didnot work well when the sun was notout, such as overnight or over a seriesof cloudy days, which drained the bat-tery quickly.Bastian spent a few weeks trying to

modify the system, but eventuallyremoved and replaced it with a morerobust and efficient one. “The wholeproject was a good exercise in hands-on engineering design and I learned alot about composting and workingwith solar power,” he said. Somanistressed the importance of his dedica-

tion and that after about threedays, he knew he could relyon Bastian to finish the proj-ect.

The bins will use foodfrom the dining hall andsnack bar during the year.During summer, becauseSharples was closed, thebins broke down paperdust, coffee bean chaff,and other waste sub-stances donated bycompanies includingK imb e r l y - C l a r k ,ABC Lids, and OpenSky. Somani said, “I

feel that it is very impor-tant to team up with local busi-

nesses and try to give back to the com-munity.” He added that these compa-nies are part of the SustainableBusiness Network of GreaterPhiladelphia.According to its website, sbn-

philadelphia.org, the SBN is “a non-profit network of local triple-bottom-line businesses and social entrepre-neurs. We are local business people,professionals, social entrepreneurs,investors, not-for-profit leaders, andgovernment representatives who are

committed to building a more socially,environmentally, and financially sus-tainable local economy.”Samples of the compost have been

sent to Pennsylvania State University,and Somani said they “received somevery favorable results.”Jean Dahlquist ’11, co-coordinator

of the Good Food Compost Project,

said in an e-mail that she wasimpressed by the speed with whichthis project has progressed since thegrant was awarded. “It is amazing what you can do at

Swarthmore with a few determinedstudents... I just hope we can keep upthe flow of new ideas and lots ofdrive.”

News

THE PHOENiX August 26, 2010 5


Good food keeps campus’ green momentum rolling

Photo courtesy of Mariam Zachary

Andy Bastian ’12 fiddles with the two new rotary composters in the basement of HicksHall to make them more efficient.

NEwS iN BriEf

Over the summer, the quiet townof Swarthmore was hit with a seriesof vandalism attacks.According to the police report,

between July 27th and August 3rd,various residents reported vandalsarmed with eggs, water balloonsand pellet guns attacking houses,homes, and in some cases, individu-als.The incidents, which were com-

mitted during the late evening andearly morning hours, occurred atHarvard and Yale Avenues, the 300block of N. Princeton Avenue, the400 block of Drew Avenue, the 600block of Yale Avenue, the 200 blockof Cornell Avenue, the 400 block ofHarvard Avenue, the 200 block ofYale Avenue, the 300 block of SouthChester Road and the unit block ofSouth Chester Road, according tothe police report.Police have obtained a vehicle

description and possible licenseplate number from one of the inci-dents and are actively investigatingthe crimes.Despite these cases of vandalism,

Swarthmore has consistently had acrime rate below the national aver-age, with 52% fewer occurrences ofproperty crime per person, 53%fewer occurrences of violent crime,and 52% fewer occurrences of totalcrime, in 2008.

Still, the police report cautionsthat while some may see these inci-dents as “harmless pranks,” theyare “dangerous activities that couldcause injury.” They add that “Persons identi-

fied committing these offenses willbe charged to the fullest extent ofthe law.”Swarthmore borough manager

Jane Billings said that she did notknow of the vandalism cases beforehand, but considers Swarthmore afairly safe town. When asked how vandalism

affects the borough, she said thatthe incident "affects somebody ifthey're [directly] affected by them,but not the borough as a whole."When asked whether measures

should be taken to prevent futurecases, Billings said that such meas-ures will be taken only if they arerecommended by the police depart-ment, which does not report to theborough directly. The Chief of Police of the

Swarthmore Police was on vacationand unable to be reached at the timeof publication.“I would completely defer to the

police on that. If they had a problemand they thought it was necessary,they would bring it to the Borough,”said Billings.

BY AARON FRIEDMAN

Egg vandals plauge Borough of Swarthmore

“Temperatures [in the bin]can get up to almost 160degress though, which is

hot enough to cook asteak to medium rare.”

Andy Bastian ’12


News swarthmorephoenix.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Summer residentsleave costly messBY LAUREN [email protected]

M a i n t e n a n c e ,Environmental ServicesTechnicians and numerousother summer program coordi-nators were greeted with amessy kitchen and trash-filledhallways when they visitedMary Lyons dorm on Monday,August 9.Maintenance and EVS

Technicians called on RachelHead, assistant dean for resi-dential life, and Patti Shields,director of environmental serv-ices, after having gone throughweeks of gradually deteriorat-ing conditions in the off-cam-pus dorm. Director of SummerPrograms and FacilitiesCoordinator Patricia Maloneyhad already been surprised byML’s lobby conditions whenshe made a brief visit onSaturday. But Maloney saidthat Monday’s scene was “com-pletely unacceptable.”The incident incurred some

serious consequences. None ofthe 87 summer residents in MLwere refunded their $50 securi-ty deposits. This penalty was especially

unpopular with those whoclaimed ‘not guilty.’ They werejust as taken aback by the accu-mulated mess as maintenanceand EVS staff had been. Theysent remarks and commentsthrough e-mail as insiderexplanations of what had hap-pened and also as replies towhat they felt about beingpenalized for the mess. XingdaZhai ’13 said in an e-mail thatmany students had left early,and that the mess had beenmade after their departure. Other students remarked on

how they had unwillingly con-tributed to the final trashbuildup due to circumstancesat the time.“There was no cleaning by

staff in the last few days, whichrendered all other cleaningimpossible,” summer residentBenjamin Yesley ’11 said in ane-mail. “By Friday, every trashbin in ML was overflowing,and the halls were congestedwith things that no one in MLwould ever want to claim. I wastotally unable to dispose oftrash in any civilized way, andended up putting more refuseon the floor, or leaving it in myroom, because there was liter-ally no better place to put it.”ML conditions had appar-

ently not been too bothersome,at least until the last couple ofdays. Daniel Cho ’13, one of thesummer residents, said thatany mess that might have beenmade during the initial periodhad not been too extreme as toalert the EVS staff. There hadbeen students who constantlycleaned the kitchen and the

trash that others had leftbehind. Party remnants were afew bottles that students couldtake care of.But it was toward the end

that the mess had accumulatedto a much higher degree, espe-cially in the kitchen. Cho recalled that in the

excitement of leaving, studentshad neglected to wash the dish-es they had used with their pre-vious care. They had also failedto clean up the free food thathad been scattered in the MLkitchen for all to take and eat.“I understand why our

deposits weren't refunded,”said Doug Woos ’11, anothersummer resident. “Bothkitchens were extremely dirty,and I don't envy the EVS peoplewho were tasked with cleaningup the mess. Most people havethe common sense to clean upafter themselves, especiallywhen the space is shared withso many other students, andmost people did a pretty goodjob; a few specific individualswere responsible for theChernobyl in the kitchens.”The kitchen had been

strewn with food scraps, leav-ing the area “filthy with rot-ting food.” The refrigeratorswere in equally “filthy” condi-tion. Maloney commented on the

state of the mess, saying thatshe worked alongside the EVSstaff in cleaning rotting foodfrom three of the refrigeratorsin particular because she“could not leave [the EVS staffmembers] to this disgustingtask alone.”In addition to the mess in

the kitchen, the hallways anddorm rooms were filled withtrash as well. Maloney said that clean up

involved taking out countlessbags of trash and that the floorwas a sticky mess. As a collec-tive mess, the situation at MLtook far longer to take care ofthan a normal residence hallclean up.The summer coordinators

had repeatedly reminded stu-dents to clean after themselves.Cho recalled Maloney sendingoccasional messages when thetrash level seemed to beincreasing. The summer coor-dinators had also recognizedthe RA’s effort in informingeveryone about consistentlycleaning up their rooms andthe kitchen and the fact thatnot all contributed directly tothe mess. However, they noted that

the situation was a result ofcollective action.“I understand that not

everyone contributed to themess,” said Maloney. “But it isa community living at ML forthe summer and so everyone isresponsible.”

Eric Verhasselt Phoenix Staff

Students line up to greet and help first-years for the start orientation week.

News

the PhoeniX August 26, 2010 7


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INTERESTED IN JOURNALISM? BUSINESS? CIRCULATION? THE WEB?

Join the Phoenix staff for a fun and informative meeting at 8 p.m. onMonday August 30th in Science Center 101 to learn how YOU can get

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around higher education

BY NOLAN HICKSDAILY TEXAN, AUG. 25

A Travis County district judge ruledTuesday the long-standing saga over alle-gations Tom DeLay laundered money tofund Republican candidates running forthe Texas House during the 2002 electionwill go to trial.

Judge Pat Priest, who was speciallyappointed to the case, ruled that DeLaywould receive a trial ahead of two co-defendants but he won’t rule until todayon whether a change of venue should begranted.

“I think we need to try Mr. DeLayfirst,” Priest said. “[DeLay] has beendemanding trial since day one and he’sgoing to get it.”

The judge also rejected several defensemotions to dismiss charges againstDeLay and his co-defendants based onprosecutorial misconduct.

The pre-trial hearings began at 9 a.m.and lasted into the late afternoon, butDeLay appeared confident. He insisted toreporters during a break in proceedingsthat he would be proven innocent ofmoney laundering and conspiracy tolaunder money but said that he would notreceive a fair trial in Travis County.

“This is a political maneuver by arogue district attorney [Former TravisCounty District Attorney Ronnie Earle],”he said. “And if I had gotten my trialspeedily, like I think I’m entitled to, Imay still be in Congress and I may still bein the leadership of Congress.”

The Texas charges were brought byEarle, who was investigating if $190,000in corporate campaign contributionsdonated to DeLay’s Texas political actioncommittee, laundered through the RNCand then donated to seven Republicancandidates running in Texas House races,was in violation of Texas’ ban on corpo-rate contributions to candidates runningfor state office. It was also revealedrecently that the Justice Department hadconcluded its probe into the relationshipbetween DeLay and former lobbyist JackAbramoff, who plead guilty to charges ofcorrupting public officials in 2006. A con-gressman, two White House officials fromthe Bush administration and two ofDeLay’s congressional aides were amongthose convicted of accepting bribes fromAbramoff.

He said he wouldn’t have done any-thing differently to prevent the appear-ance of impropriety that triggered a six-year federal probe into his ties withAbramoff and indictments in Texas.

“I don’t think there’s enough money inpolitics,” DeLay said. “Money is corrupt-ible to the corruptible, it is up to the indi-vidual. There is nothing wrong with par-ticipating in the process and [raisingmoney to help] candidates get elected. I’mnot ashamed of anything I’ve done.”

Charges against DeLay in theAbramoff inquiry were dropped lastweek by the Department of Justice.

Priest quickly ruled on a motion fromDeLay’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, that he

should be tried separately from two co-defendants, James Ellis and JohnColyandro. Ellis was DeLay’s chief Texasfundraiser and ran Americans for aRepublican Majority Political ActionCommittee, which Texans for aRepublican Majority was modeled after.Colyandro was selected by DeLay andEllis to run TRMPAC.

After ruling that DeLay’s trial shouldproceed separately, Priest heard a seriesof motions from defense lawyers to dis-miss the charges.

The judge heard arguments in closedsession — because of discussions aboutgrand jury material — after lunch on thelegitimacy of Earle’s use of three grandjuries to obtain an indictment of the for-mer congressman. DeLay’s lawyer,DeGuerin, said before the closed sessionthat after failing to obtain an indictmentfrom one grand jury, Earle used a newlyinstalled panel that produced the indict-ment.

“The defense is standing in a verydeep hole with a very short stick, but Idon’t want to preclude them from pre-senting their case,” Priest said after hear-ing a series arguments alleging prosecu-torial misconduct.

DeLay said he didn’t expect a favor-able ruling from the judge on the issue ofprosecutorial misconduct, but that theimportant thing was putting the questionon the record, so that it could be appealedand challenge the Travis County DistrictAttorney’s authority.

“What’s important here is to make the

case and put it on the record becausethere will be other things coming downthe pike when it’s all done,” DeLay said.

The judge also heard arguments onwhether Earle and current DistrictAttorney Rosemary Lehmberg hadbiased the potential jurors by speakingwith the press.

The judge ruled against severalmotions to dismiss the charges Tuesdayand indicated that he’s likely to reject theothers today.

“They would liked to have the indict-ments dismissed but they were not,” saidUT law professor Steve Bickerstaff, whoattended the hearing. “The impressionthat was conveyed today is that JudgePriest is ready to go to trial.”

DeLay’s lawyer will argue today thathe cannot get a fair trial in Austinbecause of his role in the controversial2003 mid-cycle redistricting of Texas’ con-gressional map.

“Everybody knows that Travis Countyis the last bastion of liberalism in thestate of Texas and that everyone wholives in Austin either belongs to anorganization or is politically motivatedone way or another and knows what’sgoing on because they talk to each other,”DeLay said. “We will present our case tothe judge. There’s no way I can get a freeand fair trial in this county.”

After the hearing was adjourned at 5p.m., DeGuerin said the case was proba-bly moving forward to trial phase.

“It’s just a matter of when and where,”he said.

Former Rep. Tom DeLay heading for jury trial, judge rules

Living & Arts swarthmorephoenix.com

8 August 26, 2010 THE�PHOENIX

Underhill LibraryUnderhill Library is typically not one of thepopular libraries, but that may be its allure.With a beautiful view of the Crum, you can doyour homework while sitting in a comfortablechair, complete with pillows. There’s also acushioned bench - a great place for takingnaps.

Paces CaféOpen from Sunday through Wednesday, PacesCafé is a neat location to get your fourth mealon while hanging out with your friends ordoing homework. The prices are perfect forfrugal college students. And on Thursdays,Paces transforms into Pub Nite, a perfect wayto unwind, if you’re so inclined.

McCabe First FloorGot homework? Need to hang out withfriends? Do them both on the first floor ofMcCabe. Many groups like to hang out and dohomework together while enjoying the perk of10 p.m. coffee and snacks provided by thelibrary.

The Crum The Crum is part of Swarthmore’s extensivearboretum and a haven to get away from thestress of schoolwork. Take a hike around thetrails and get reacquainted with the beauty ofnature.

CrumhengeUpperclassmen might know Crumhenge fromtheir freshman orientation trust walk, andfreshman will be meeting it soon. It’s anothergreat nature setting to escape away from thestress that is schoolwork.

Science Center Café and LoungeAt the heart of the Science Center is the Caféand Lounge, complete with chairs, tables, andcouches for working in groups or by yourself.It’s right next to the Cornell Library and closeto many classes. The Café and Lounge is defi-nitely a popular location to study.

Mullan Fitness CenterWhether you’re an athlete or not, it’s good lifechoice to come exercise at Mullan FitnessCenter, to jog, lift weights or use the elliptical.The tennis courts are located at this locationas well.

Wharton CourtyardDuring the springtime, the Wharton court-yard boasts cherry blossom and magnoliatrees in full bloom. It’s really a special sight.Barbecues and hangouts are common sightsat this beautiful and convenient location.

Pearson Education LibraryThe Pearson Education Library may be small,but it’s fully equipped with computers, achalkboard, and quiet. It’s a great place tostudy without being bothered, whether you’reby yourself or in a group.

LPAC 2nd Floor Lounge This second floor lounge is a nifty niche thatoverlooks part of the hallway in LPAC. Theartistic layout of the lounge is enough to luremost people, but it’s also a great place to graba book and read.

BY JOHN OH

Top 10:Campus hang-outs

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of EgyptThe most famous and last pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra,has remained a mystery to explorers, historians andthe world – until now. Underwater expeditionsunearthed Cleopatra’s royal palace, ancient cities andartifacts, thought to be lost at sea. The new exhibit,which runs until January 2, 2011 at The FranklinInstitute, boasts over 140 artifacts. Check outwww.fi.edu/cleopatra/ for ticket information andmore.

Friday Night Lights Fireworks SeriesCheck out the brilliant and dazzling fireworks atPenn’s Landing this Friday! Every Friday untilSeptember 3rd, enjoy a free fireworks display, startingat 9:15 p.m. on the waterfront.

Summer Samba Festival 2010Celebrate the end of summer with great music, danc-ing and food. The Summer Samba Festival, starting onFriday and partying until this Sunday, will feature art

shows, discount shopping, cheap food and drink,capoeira, music and dance performances throughoutthe weekend. The festival will be at the Head HouseSquare and South Street district.

Free Summer Dance PerformanceThe final summer dance performance will be thisSaturday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. Come out to 40th andWalnut Street for a free performance, featuring RennieHarris RHAW, Project Capoeira and KeturahNicole,for eclectic and exciting dancing. Check out www.uni-versitycity.org for more information.

Food Truck: Cupcake EditionHaven’t dabbled into the food truck phenomenonsweeping the nation yet? Check out Philly’s own cup-cake trucks, including Buttercream, Sugar Philly, andBrown Betty Petite. Find their locations online andhead out for a sugar-coated adventure in the city.

BY CAMI RYDER

Explore Philly: Upcoming events in the city

Orientation Week 2010

Eric Verhasselt and Andrew Cheng Phoenix Staff

Living & Arts

THE PHOENIX August 26, 2010 9


Name: Jessica CannizzaroYear: 2012From: Manhattan, NYCurrent Residence: London, British American DramaAcademy

What She’s Wearing: Cannizzaro’s jacket is from a London thrift store and

she found her black, newspaper-boy cap at a hat shop inJapan. “I love these shoes,” Cannizzaro said of her tanoxfords, which she found in Swarthmore’s famous littlecostume shop. “I liked the shoes so much and they fit soperfectly, the teacher said I could keep them!” Her kneehigh socks are from Target, a Swarthmore student madeher shirt, and her navy knit skirt is American Apparel,which she paired with an Urban Outfitter’s necklaceand her mother’s vintage leather purse.

It’s an outfit of basic colors, but Cannizzaro finds theperfect look for the transition from summer to fall, withthe short, summery lengths of her skirt to the jacket,knee highs and oxfords rounding out the look for fall.Her outfit also hits the runway mark, as it was definite-ly back to basics for Fall 2010 collections like Celine,Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney (the former twobeing Cannizzarro’s favorite designers).

How She Describes Her Style:“It kind of changes all the time,” Cannizzaro says of

her style. “It’s kind of how I’m feeing at the moment andI think style is just knowing who exactly you are in thatmoment and I try to be true to that.” From floral, femi-nine dresses one day to ripped jeans and t-shirts thenext, Cannizzaro’s changes up her look with chameleon-ic style. She recently chopped off her brown locks for anedgier, shorter haircut and has found that her new hairgives her a new perspective on her style. “I think every-one should … try something extremely drastic with

their hair at least once intheir life.”

Where She Likes to Shop:For Cannizzaro, shop-

ping hits close to home, asshe frequents her friends’and family’s closets, as wellas the unending closets atthrift stores. “I love going tothrift stores and finding allthose incredible little thingsthat people give away,” shesaid. Some of her favorites areNew York’s Beacon’s Closet andthe Village Thrift Store as wellas Goodwill, Buffalo Exchangeand the Salvation Army.Cannizzaro also loves sales atUrban Outfitters and quirky,Americana items from roadsideshops, like the oversizedAmerican flag sweater she foundon a recent road trip to Gettysburg.

Never Leaves the House Without: Vests. “I was told a lot this sum-

mer that my signature seems to bevests,” she said. “I think a good vestcan really complete and pull togetheran outfit.”

TEXT BY CAMILA RYDERPHOTO BY MARY JANE

CANNIZZARO

Swat Style Snapshot

Jessica Cannizzaro ’12

Alumni theater group nominated for six BarrymoresBY DINA [email protected]

The Pig Iron Theatre Company, founded bySwarthmore graduates, recently received sixnominations for The 2010 Barrymore Awards forExcellence in Theatre for its 2009 production of“Welcome to Yuba City.” The slew of nominationsrecognized director Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel '94with Outstanding Direction of a Play, playwrightDeborah Stein ’99 with the IndependenceFoundation Award for Outstanding New Play andactors Dito van Reigersberg '94 and Sarah Sanford'99 with Outstanding Ensemble in a Play. Pig Ironis also nominated for Outstanding OverallProduction of a Play, Outstanding Set Design andOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Play.

Pig Iron, a previous recipient of sevenBarrymore Awards, generated a great deal ofnoise with “Welcome to Yuba City.” The produc-tion was the highest attended show last summerat the 2009 Live Arts Festival in Philadelphia,while simultaneously selling out 14 shows.

The ensemble created a comical portrayal ofthe American West. Pig Iron’s production processis an “open beginning,” which means there is aninitial sense of the work’s setting, but a script andcharacters are absent. Bauriedel said, “Everytime we are making something from scratch, thechallenges are trying to follow what’s exciting inthe rehearsal room.”

Each actor imagined his or her own charactersusing the director’s initial concept of theAmerican West. “Everyone in the ensemble wasabsolutely stunning. One of the pleasures of theplay was watching the actors transform into thesewidely different and interesting characters,”Bauriedel said.

In rehearsals, the cast improvised while Steinwrote in response to what the actors created.Stein’s approach to playwriting tends to “leave alot of space for [her] collaborators to bring theirown visions and mark on the roles.” She believesher style is greatly influenced by her work withPig Iron, which includes six plays since 2000. “It'sa huge honor, for the whole company, to see ourwork recognized in this way,” Stein said.

Though Bauriedel shares Stein’s sentiments,his personal satisfaction with the productionremains unchanged. “An award is very exciting,but at the same time I feel very strongly for somepieces that didn’t have the same popular appealand that didn’t get the same recognition,”Bauriedel said.

Seven alumni, Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, SoliHolum, Nate Read, Jay Rhoderick, DanRothenberg, Dito van Reigersberg, and TeloryWilliamson, founded Pig Iron. The founders con-vened on campus in the summer of ’95 and weregranted use of the relatively new LPAC building.The group found success with its first show atLPAC and later in Edinboro, PA, before making itshome in Philly. Now, three of the originalfounders, Rothenberg, Van Reigersberg, andBauriedel remain with Pig Iron as the company’sco-artistic directors alongside an administrativestaff, company members, and a board of directors.

The trio is responsible for core decisions aboutthe company’s operations, work as liaisons to theboard of directors, and attract funders since PigIron is a non-profit organization. Bauriedel, whograduated as a theatre major, said, “Swarthmorewas a hugely influential time for me where I real-ly was able to take theatre from so many differentangles … I began to meet people who were kindredspirits who wanted to break convention and make

theatre that was not stale and old and somethingvibrant, fresh, and new.”

Pig Iron continues to maintain this early desirefor the edgy and exploratory. The company is aninterdisciplinary ensemble, and therefore, worksfrom a multitude of perspectives such as dance,puppetry, realistic theatre, experimental physicaltheatre, cabaret, visual art, and music.

The company’s name further reflects its knackfor the unusual. Pig iron, a raw iron material, isthe counter-balance weight used backstage tomove scenery in and out of the scenes. Bauriedelsaid, “It does something totally artificial and the-atrical, but also really useful and raw and kind ofunperformed about it.”

Van Reigersberg credits Swarthmore’s theaterdepartment for instilling in him “a desire tochange the face of what theatre can be, a yearningto both engage the heart and prod the brain, a loveof ensembles, and a sense of daring.” To currentstudents, he said, “Fail gloriously. This is yourmost expansive moment, maybe in your wholelife, when the playing field is wide and full of pos-sibility.”

Like Bauriedel and Van Reigersberg, Steinbelieves in the possibility of finding your fellowdreamers right around you. She said, “Find yourcommunity of people--fellow travelers, like-mind-ed creative folk, people you can stay up all nightdreaming up stuff with—and stick with them.”

The company plans to open The Pig Iron Schoolfor Advanced Performance, a two-year theatreprogram in physical and ensemble-created the-atre. Also, the ensemble is busy with its newestoriginal work “Cankerblossom,” which will runfrom September 1-18. The production delves into aplanar world where a young couple tries to rescueits adopted child who is made of cardboard.


swarthmorephoenix.comLiving & Arts

Welcome to Swarth-more. If you’re not from thearea, when you say you goto Swarth-more and theperson you’ve informedasks, “Where’s that?” youprobably reply,“Philadelphia.” And if yousay Philadelphia, thechances are they’ll say, “So,have you seen the LibertyBell?”

By the end of the year,be able to answer “Yes.”

Swarthmore is abouteleven miles southwest ofthe birthplace of the UnitedStates. Depending on what

mode of transportation you take, what time of day, andwhat day of the week it is, it takes between thirty-fiveminutes and two hours to get downtown.

Driving and parking downtown can be expensive anda hassle–however, taking a car into the urban center is aproblem most Swatties don’t have. Most Swatties rely onthe Southeastern Pennsylvania TransportationAuthority (SEPTA) via the Media-Elwyn Line (formerlythe R3), which stops at the foot of campus. Trains runonce an hour and more frequently during rush hours.Schedules can be found on the SEPTA website(www.septa.org), and the Student Dashboard lists thearrival times of the next three inbound trains, which willtake you to Center City. Schedules and fares are subjectto change throughout the year, so a paper railway timeguide will not be accurate indefinitely. The organiza-tion’s website lists service changes, but reportedly, themost reliable way to get updates about service changes isto subscribe to its Twitter feed.

The train is more likely to be late than early, but mostoff-peak (non-rush hour) trains are punctual. Inboundtrains arrive on the platform nearest to the softball field,next to the station office. Bring $15 cash for the train fare.After you board the train and it starts rolling, the con-ductor will come through and ask for, “All tickets andpasses.” If you have purchased a ticket beforehand, slideit into the black clip on the seat in front of you, and theconductor will validate it as he passes through. Advancefares are cheaper than onboard fares, and can be pur-chased at the station office Monday through Friday from5:30 AM to noon. Currently, weekend and eveningonboard fares are the same as advanced purchase fares,but weekday fares before 7:00 PM are more expensiveonboard ($12.00) than in advance ($10.75). If you buy yourticket onboard, tell the conductor you’d like a round trip

ticket to Market East Station. You can also ask for around trip to Center City, which is the fare zone. Eitherway, to get to the Liberty Bell, you should get off atMarket East. If the trains are moving well, it takes aboutforty minutes to arrive.

Unfortunately, your train could arrive on any of sev-eral tracks within Market East, making the nearest exit avariable factor. To get to your destination, make yourway up to the street and find a corner. Make a tour of theblock if necessary–if you do, you should see ReadingTerminal Market, a great place to grab lunch that is quitea destination itself.

Ideally, you want to find yourself between the HardRock Café on the corner of 12th & Market and theBurlington Coat Factory on the corner of 10th & Market.There should be an important-looking building with astatue of William Penn on top down the street to yourright; this is City Hall.

If you have time, it’s worth a look, but your destina-tion is in the other direction. In Philadelphia, numberedstreets run roughly north-south, and named streets runroughly east-west.

Walk away from City Hall on Market Street as thenumbered cross streets decline. At 6th and Market, thescenery changes from urban jungle to small-and-well-manicured national park, and you have arrived.

At the north end of the park between Race & ArchStreets, the National Constitution Center is an interac-tive historical museum concerned with the birth of theUnited States, open 9:30-5:00 Monday through Saturday(open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays) and noon-5:00 onSundays. Adult admission is $12. The Independence

Visitors’ Center between Arch & Market is where manydifferent city tours begin, as well as the site of the near-est public restroom. The Liberty Bell and IndependenceHall are open daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.. Tickets are requiredMarch through December for Independence Hall, but canbe reserved by phone or online. Tickets are normallyfree, but there is a $1.50 per ticket surcharge for advancereservations.

When you’re ready to return to campus, reversecourse. Just make sure you’ve kept your train ticket. Ifyou feel likely to get lost, the weather turns out to beawful, or walking from Market East to 6th & Market is ahardship, the alternative to walking is to stay under-ground and change to the Market-Frankford Line (youwill have to pay again, though not so much) and ride it to5th & Market. Unfortunately, SEPTA’s rail system is notparticularly good at accommodating physical disabilitiesaffecting walking.

To call this area the historic part of Philadelphia doesnot do justice to the city’s life apart from its political sig-nificance to the creation of the nation.

Yet, it is the history of this area that exists inAmerican culture as the most popular idea ofPhiladelphia. The trip to the Liberty Bell, IndependenceHall, and the National Constitution Center is not so sim-ple that you couldn’t get lost, or so quick that it onlyrequires you to set aside two or three hours. It is never-theless a good first trip off campus. On the whole, it’s asafe and straightforward trip with a clear and significantgoal, and should you get lost downtown, it shouldn’t behard to reorient yourself and get directions.

Welcome to Philadelphia.

Courtesy of Google Maps, Map Data

Getting to and from Philly: the Liberty Bell by train

In-town, Off-campus

JenJohnson

BY ISAAC [email protected]

If the overwhelming experience of theScott Pilgrim vs the World could besummed up in one word, the word would

be “fun.” Thisaction-packedfilm, an adapta-tion of the ScottPilgrim graphicnovel series byBryan LeeO’Malley featur-ing Michael

Cera, adds an anime and video game-inspired action element to spice up thetale of an awkward teen in searh ofromance, which seemingly-typecastCera has already explored in numerousfilms.

In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, ScottPilgrim (Michael Cera) encounters theliteral girl of his dreams, RamonaFlowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead),though he’s dating high school studentKnives Chau (Ellen Wong). Once hefinally gets Ramona to go on a date withhim, he finds that there is a League of

Ramona’s Evil Exes out to get him. Inorder to date Ramona, he must defeat allof these exes.

The movie is presented as if it were avideo game. For each object and charac-ter there is a list of details as the viewerscans and surveys parts of the room toget a better feel for and ready immersioninto the world of the film, just as onewould when playing a role-playing videogame. This aide to immersion draws theviewer into the film and the action neverslows, assuring that the viewer, whomthe film seems to assume has attentiondeficit disorder, is never bored.

The fast and upbeat pace of ScottPilgrim vs. the World is refreshing andallows the film to be at once entertainingand appealing, especially to anyone whohas ever played an arcade game likeMortal Combat or Dance DanceRevolution. The fight sequences whereScott battles Ramona’s exes each com-mence with the classic “vs. screen” rightout of any arcade fighting game, andafter each kill there point scores light upthe screen and coins burst into the air toreward each victory and signal the endof a level, a stage of the game that is the

movie. This innovative device ensuresthat the viewer will pay attention and beentertained.

Along the way, the themes of thestruggles of teenage love and romanceemerge throughout the film, making thefun more than just sheer enjoyment butalso a poignant take on the genre. Aftereach battle, the trust of the couple ofRamona and Scott gets tested as charac-ter flaws get revealed. After battlingsome strange exes, Scott begins to ques-tion Ramona’s character and their rela-tionship begins to tear apart. It seems asthough the League has done its job. It isonly when Scott begins to learn self-respect that he is able to look pastRamona’s flaws and accept their rela-tionship enough to continue to fight forits success. The film increases its mean-ingfulness by making comments onromance and break-ups, and the impor-tance of self-respect in creating lastingrelationships.

It is this combination of pure enter-tainment value and poignant, thoughoccassionally cliched, observations thatmakes Scott Pilgrim a delight to watchand more than just another Michael

Cera movie about teenage awkwardness.It takes a familiar genre and adds a wel-come flavor to the experience. Theaction-packed fight scenes in whichScott Pilgrim uses advanced martial artsand acrobatics expands on the awkwardteen type-cast in which Cera isentrapped, making him as much anaction hero as an awkward nerdy hip-ster. The innocence and nonchalance bywhich the character of Scott Pilgrim cantraverse between the tropes of the nerv-ous teen who is squeamish around girlsand those of the the martial arts guruthat can defeat even the baddest of foesadds to the humor of the film thatcharms the audience into getting behindScott Pilgrim as he battles for a love thathe respects and in which he believes.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one ofthose summer hits that proves to be atotal entertainment experience. Inblending the pleasing aspects of teenageromance, martial arts action, visualeffects reminiscent of classic videogames and humor, it is a movie that willsurely bring you out of that summerfunk and remind you what the summermovie season is all about: having fun.

Cera’s Scott Pilgrim closes summer season with fun

Movie ReviewCritic rating: 7.5/10

Rotten TomatoesRating: 81%

THE�PHOENIX August 26, 2010 11

is

HIRING

Managing editor (2)The managing editor(s) are responsible for the comple-tion of the newspaper and for delegating tasks to othereditors and staff members, to support the role of theeditor in chief. The managing editor(s) have significantinvolvement in the editorial, design and layout process-es, and must be present in the office during productionon Tuesday nights and Wednesday.Approximate hours per week: 25.

News editorThe news editor must have a current and comprehen-sive knowledge of events, people and issues on cam-pus. Job duties include reading and editing all newscopy, leading a staff meeting on Monday nights towork with reporters and develop future story ideas,working with other editors to select news content anddirecting reporters. Frequent communication withreporters, photographers and senior editors is essen-tial. Applicants should be competent reporters, willingto write last-minute news stories and take photos.Approximate hours per week: 18.

Living & Arts editorThe Living & Arts editor must be able to develop cre-ative feature and art ideas for the section each week;maintain familiarity with the art, music and theaterscene, both on campus and in the Philadelphia area;and select events to feature as editor’s picks. The liv-ing section allows for more creativity in design thando other sections in the paper.

Approximate hours per week: 16.

Opinions editorThe opinions editor’s primary job is to ensure thata diverse range of views relevant to the campusare represented on the editorial pages.Responsibilities include soliciting op-ed pieces,working with staff columnists and cartoonists todevelop and carry out ideas and ensuring comple-tion of the staff editorial each week. The opinionseditor must also keep abreast of relevant campusand world events.Approximate hours per week: 12.

Sports editorThe sports editor should maintain a comprehensiveknowledge of all varsity and club teams on cam-pus. Duties include reading and editing all sportscopy and assigning sports photos. Applicants mustbe competent sportswriters who are willing to writeand take photos as needed.Approximate hours per week: 12.

Assistant section editorsAssistant editors in news, living and arts, sportsand opinions may be added as training positions.Assistant section editors are responsible for help-ing the section editor in all duties and learning allaspects of production essential to the section,including layout design and editing. Assistant sec-tion editors are also responsible for writing for theirsections as necessary.Approximate hours per week: 8–10.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Reporters / staff writers (8 news, 6 living, 5sports)Reporters write at least one story a week for theirsection. Writers must attend weekly meetings.Approximate hours per week: 6–8.

Columnists / Bloggers (6 opinions, 2 sports, 8 liv-ing & arts)A columnist receives a biweekly column. The colum-nists are expected to work closely with their respec-tive section editors in developing topics and improv-ing their writing styles. Approximate hours per week: 3—4.

Copy editorsCopy editors check facts, style and grammar andproof pages. Approximate hours per week: 3—5.

PhotographersPhotographers are expected to fulfill weekly assign-ments. This includes taking photos at the assignedtime and uploading the photos onto the Phoenix serv-er in a timely fashion.

Approximate hours per week: varies.

Staff artists (3)Staff artists are required to submit at least one illus-tration per issue, for various sections of the paper. Approximate hours per week: varies.

Cartoonists (4) Cartoonistsmay apply to work as either an op-artist or a living &arts artist, and will be required to submit pieces bi-weekly.Approximate hours per week: 2.

These job descriptions are intended to inform applicants of what would be expected of them if hired. All appli-cations must be submitted online at swarthmorephoenix.com/applyQuestions? Want more information? Contact us at [email protected]

EDITORIAL POSITIONS Section editors are responsible for ensuring the completion of their section, reading and editing all copy submitted for publi-

cation in the section, coordinating their staff of writers, writing items for publication and laying out pages in QuarkXPress. The

section editors must be present in the office for their respective deadlines until the Editor in Chief is satisfied with their com-

pleted section. Additionally, the section editors must attend all weekly editorial board meetings on Monday and Thursday

evenings, and they must communicate regularly with the writers of their sections to assess their progress and to develop

story ideas. The responsibilities of a section editor may be divided between two individuals.

STAFF POSITIONS

APPLICATIONS DUESEPT. 5 @ 5 P.M.

Please see our website foradditional information and toobtain an application. Go to

swarthmorephoenix.com/applyto submit an application.

WRITING, BUSINESS, EDITORIAL & WEB POSITIONS

Chief copy editorThe chief copy editor of The Phoenix is responsiblefor the factual and grammatical aspects of all copyin the newspaper. Responsibilities include readingall copy, reading proofs of all pages, coordinatingthe schedules of a staff of copy editors, maintainingand updating The Phoenix stylebook and providingeditorial feedback to the writers and editors. Approximate hours per week: 12.

Graphics editorResponsibilities include working with the editors andstaff artist(s) to conceptualize and create cover artand graphics within page designs. The graphic design-er should coordinate art and is responsible for ensur-ing completion of graphics or photo-intensive pages.The graphic designer will also attend editorial boardmeetings. Previous work with Photoshop is required.Approximate hours per week: 8.

Photo editor

Responsibilities include taking, uploading and edit-ing photos; maintaining a staff of photographers;coordinating the use of the paper’s digital cameras;and communicating with editors at editorial boardmeetings and throughout the week.

Approximate hours per week: 10

WEB STAFF (NEW!)Web Editor (2)The Web Editor(s) edits all stories that appear only onthe web, moderates comments, posts to and moder-ates the forums, and coordinates the newly createdPhoenix Web Staff. The Web Editor will hold a weeklyor twice-weekly meeting with the Web Staff to ensurethere is plenty of fresh content to keep the website aslively as possible. Approximate hours per week: 5-7.

Web Staff (4)Web staffers are in charge of keeping The Phoenixwebsite up-to-date throughout the week. Staffers willwrite stories, post blogs and/or take additional pho-tos for the website. Staffers are required to attendweekly meetings to discuss the content to be placedon the website and will be required to post severalitems every week. WIth much less time commitment,it’s a great way to get started on The Phoenix.Approximate hours per week: 3-4.

Assistant Webmaster / Ruby on Rails WebDeveloperThe webmaster is responsible both for maintainingthe website and for improving it in ways that engageour readers. Expect to post content, tweak styles,optimize the server configuration and maybe evenbuild entirely new sections of the website. A wemas-ter must have experience with Rails or an avid inter-est in learning Rails as an extension of some existingweb development background. Knowlege of HTML,CSS, and JavaScript is required.

FALL2010

FOR HIRING RULES, FULL JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR FALL 2010:h t t p : //www. swa r t hmo rephoen i x . c om/h i r i ng

Advertising manager (2)The advertising manager(s) work to recruit local andnational ads. Responsibilities include keeping up-to-date advertising records, sending out invoices andtearsheets to the advertisers, documenting paidinvoices; providing up-to-date advertising income fig-ures and attending weekly business staff meetings. Approximate hours per week: 6.

Circulation manager (2)The circulation manager(s) must distribute copies ofThe Phoenix to areas across campus early Thursdaymornings, stuff faculty and administration mailboxes,maintain subscriber lists and ensure that subscrip-tions are mailed out each Thursday on a weekly basis,deliver extra copies to The Phoenix office and answersubscription requests as they are received. Approximate hours per week: 3.

Advertisers (3)Advertisers sell ads for The Phoenix website and printedition to local businesses. This position pays a commis-sion for ads sold. Having access to a car is preferablebut not required.Approximate hours per week: varies.

BUSINESS POSITIONS

12 August 26, 2010 THE�PHoENIX

swarthmorephoenix.comLiving & Arts

BY QUITTERIE [email protected]

For many people, the words “pulp fiction” evoke avery specific and immediate association: the 1994movie by Quentin Tarantino. Both an example and aparody of the film noir genre, Pulp Fiction immersesthe viewer into the fragmented yet interconnectedlives of Las Vegas mobsters and small time criminals. Fewer people, however, know about pulp fiction,

the genre which gave the famous film its name.Perhaps it is the very nature of the genre that is toblame. After all, pulp fiction is not the kind of litera-ture that teachers like to pass out for students tostudy. Known for their lurid stories, filled with gratu-itous and explicit sex and violence, pulp magazinesare not exactly considered art. As students in 2010, isthere anything for us to learn from the cheap enter-tainment popular in the early part of last century? This is a question that has been on the mind of

Hilary Trout ’13 for some time and developed into thecurrent McCabe exhibit, “Sex, Action, and SocialCommentary: Pulp Magazines in America.” Spanningsome eight cases all around the entrance and lobby ofthe library, this exhibit brings together over thirtyspecimens of the pulp fiction genre, and other originaldocuments such as letters concerning alleged copy-right violations. This collection, donated toSwarthmore College by Philadelphian author DavidH. Keller’s family, includes many of his own stories.However, the collection also features stories,

essays, and poems by a variety of other authors suchas John Murray Reynolds, H.P. Lovecraft, and RayAvery Myers. Visitors might be surprised to see men-tions of famous literary figures like Ursula LeGuinand Isaac Asimov. “Under the grim and grime of pulp,you get some major household names,” Trout said.In fact, many well-known American writers of the

past century launched their literary careers that way.For example, both Ray Bradbury and TennesseeWilliams published their first stories in pulp maga-zines.Pulp fiction might seem out of place at an institu-

tion like Swarthmore, as it is first and foremost cheapentertainment, deriving its name from the low-gradewood pulp paper on which it was printed. With a vary-ing but always low price, pulp magazines did not pre-tend to compete with the so-called classier entertain-ment of the “slicks,” more expensive publications rec-ognizable due to their glossy covers. The writing wasoften amateur and almost always verbose becausewriters were typically paid by the word. All the same,it is precisely this commonplace quality that made thepulps such a staple of American newsstands fromtheir appearance in the late 1890’s to their decline inthe 1950’s. “It was popular because it was cheap,” Trout said.

“It was something everyone could afford, entertain-ment everyone had access to as long as they couldread or get someone to read it to them.” Beyond shockingly racist cover art and depictions

of scantily clad women, pulp fiction can be seen as avehicle for social and political ideas. Stories thatmight strike us as profoundly sexist in their portray-al of gender roles are countered by many examplesmore sympathetic to a feminist audience. Pulp fictionencompasses views as diametrically opposed associalism and capitalism. The modern audience iscalled to sift through and identify for him or herselfthose ideas that are worthy. “The authors are begin-ning to work through questions like racism, sexismand technological mayhem on the page, though notalways in ways progressive people would like to see,”librarian Melanie Maksin said. “It’s a medium that isfar out there in many ways, including socially andpolitically.” As the exhibit makes clear, pulp fiction reflects the

prevalent anxieties of its time, such as the advent oftechnological warfare, the excesses and inefficienciesof governments, and the depletion of naturalresources. “The pulps were a small glimpse into whatwas going on in the cultural subconscious,” Troutsaid.Through the pulps, writers of all social origins,

professions, and political persuasions delivered a rawbulk of stories and ideas. Much like Wikipedia today,the pulp can be blamed for its inconsistent quality, the

“anything and everything” that seem to make it up.But it can be praised for its wonderful accessibilityand integration of popular involvement. One thing is sure: the significance of pulp fiction

has been seriously overlooked. “By showcasing our collections, we want students

to think about what else may be lurking in thelibrary,” librarian Pam Harris said.

SWARTHMORE OR LESS

ACROSS1 Where some write notes6 Chipotle chow11 TV scientist Bill14 Like some bonds and bears15 “Fame” actress Cara16 Comparative suffix17 Pong maker18 Subject of the documentary“An Unreasonable Man”19 He claimed “Hip Hop is Dead”in 200620 Swarth_____ (incoming fresh-men)23 When repeated, a Gabor24 Eater’s start?25 Hurt29 _______ TV33 G.I. Bill beneficiaries 36 Tongue-in-cheek38 Summons40 Swarth____ (professors)43 Etch44 “All About Eve” actress Davis45 Nikita’s “no”46 Succinct49 Molt50 “____ is everything:” AndyWarhol52 By way of54 Swarth_____ (rising seniors)62 Never alternative63 Kafka’s “The _____ Colony”64 Back-to-school purchases65 Corrida cry66 Hagar’s dog67 Blue hue68 “____ Blaue Reiter” 69 Asinine70 -Watt and -byte prefixes

DOWN1 It may be “Hot & Spicy” or“Hickory Smoked”2 Dorothy’s pooch3 Banned apple spray4 Meter’s message5 “M” director Lang6 It’s not good for conducting

7 Composer Khachaturian8 Let go9 Lollapalooza10 “Tilted Arc” sculptor Richard11 Suffragists’ amendment 12 Wine label datum13 Hosp. areas21 1940s White House monogram22 Cites25 Deans, e.g.: abbr.26 Chum27 Engine measure28 Member of a college30 Actor who won comedy anddrama Emmys for the same role31 Failure in Manila?32 “Treme” airer34 Short-term investment, briefly35 Lopped (off)37 Env. contents

39 Where to throw darts, perhaps41 Run’s partner42 Sixteenth prez47 Trim48 Norse goddess51 Brand promoted by ArethaFranklin, Britney Spears, andMichael Jackson53 MLB statistic54 Chemistry unit55 Philadelphia campus56 Fit for duty57 Give notice58 Seep59 BYOB part60 Gumbo vegetable61 Manipulates62 Snooze, with “off”

BY ANNA SHECHTMAN

Crossword

For the solution to this week’s puzzle, see The Phoenix’s online edition atwww.swarthmorephoenix.com.

Bridging social commentary and cheap entertainment


“Sex, Action, and Social Commentary” is the newest McCabe exhibit covering the oft-hidden genre of pulp fiction.

THE�PHOENIX August 26, 2010 13

r e - m i g r a t i o n

a p p r e c i a t i o nd e m o n s t r a t i o n

i m a g i n a t i o n

By Miriam Hauser

editor ’sPICKS


Residence halls open forreturning students (upper-

classmen move in ) Friday, August 27

List Gallery Exhibit:Aesthetics of Intimacy,through September 10

Activities Fair,Sunday, 1:30-3:30

A Capella performances: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Sunday,

Clothier Bell Tower

As Igrew upattendinga conser-v a t i v eparochialschool inthe DeepSouth, myp a r e n t stold methat fol-lowing a“political-ly cor-rect” lexi-con could

often mean that a person shapes hisspeech — and consequently, perhaps,his beliefs — to the standards of thedominant socio-political climate thathe finds himself in, no matter the placeon the spectrum. At my first-year orientation about

four years ago, Imade severalgrievous linguis-tic mistakes,chief amongthem calling theoccasion “fresh-man” orienta-tion. I gotslammed by thestudents on myhall for my per-ceived “insensi-tivity.” I overheard one student, afterthe shock of my faux-pas had passed,whisper to another, “Well maybe hejust doesn’t know because he’s from theBible Belt.” As silly as the comment might seem,

he was right. I didn’t know — the waykids insulted their peers at my highschool was generally by calling them“gay.” But soon I was inundated with a bar-

rage of semi-coerced changes to my lin-guistic diet, and I found myself, meremonths after the “freshman” incident,referring to native-Spanish speakingfolks as “Latino/Latina individuals,”which I will admit was a little silly. And I think that it was at some point

in my career here at Swat that we col-lectively started referring to peoplewho we used to call “African-American” — or, more commonly,“black” — as “people of color” toencompass a wider spectrum of racialand ethnic background. And I know at least a letter or two

has been added to the LGBTQ spectrumacronym since we discussed the specialneeds of middle school students whofall within the LGBTQ spectrum in myfirst-year “Introduction to Education”seminar. And really, isn’t this acronym long

enough already?Now, first-year students of

Swarthmore, esteemed class of 2014, aswe enter the fall semester (or perhaps itshould be referred to as the “autumnovester,” as per the 1994 satirical clas-sic “Politically Correct University”), Ibeg you to not overuse such terms. Why? Because political correctness

discourages free expression of ideasand forces people (particularly studentson a very liberal campus such as theone we have the privilege of inhabiting)to conform to an ideological orthodoxythat, while claiming to equally respectall points of view, is in fact intolerant ofall but a select few. As highly intelligent and socially

conscious students, we are completelycapable of being sensitive to and toler-ant of diverse groups of people on ourcampus and in the wider world withoutthe linguistic crutch that is the “PC”lexicon. The use of such politically correct

terminology as “visually challenged”when we mean “blind” and “weight dis-proportional” for “fat” does not height-en our sensitivity to potential pitfalls ofoffensive language, make us moreaware of our innate prejudices, ormake us kinder, gentler people. Rather, such terms serve to annoy,

confuse, frus-trate speakersand prevent aclear, simpleand direct mes-sage from beingput across. It’s time to

get real whenyou speak. Using politi-

cally correctterms con-

tributes to a linguistic orthodoxywhich isolates those (like my 18-year-old self) who have not been inductedinto the elite ranks of those who knowthe leftist code-words and academic jar-gon that are often used in the place ofintelligent and rational argument. When you speak in politically cor-

rect terms, no one can tell what you’reactually talking about. Rather, just sayyour true message in respectful andclear terms without interjecting thelockstep, group-think opinions entailedby “PC” lexicon. I anticipate writing more about the

issue of the far-left liberal orthodoxythat I have noticed dominates political,social and economic discourse on cam-pus — the same orthodoxy that hasmade me move to a more central posi-tion on the political spectrum. I have chosen to entitle my opinion

column “The Middle Path” to addressthe fact that it is quite possible (and Ibelieve, preferable) to be politically andsocially liberal without complying withall of the demands of a far-left ‘political-ly-correct’ orthodoxy. So far as I understand, our college is

a place where open “dialogue” is one ofthe primary priorities of our collectivesocial agenda. What’s more, college is a time to

expand your worldview and challengeyour assumptions, not to kowtow towhichever ideological establishmentyou find your peers dominated by. Conforming to the linguistic and ide-

ological orthodoxy of “PC” dampensthe freedom of our discourse.

Samuel is a senior. He can be reachedat [email protected]

BY SINAN [email protected]

The 11-hour transatlantic plane rideends with lack of sleep and amplifyingexcitement. Up until then, I realize, I never really

thoroughly thought of what was awaitingme in the United States,Land of the Free.International studentsapply to American colleges

with different motivations. If you ask them about their reasons for

applying to American educational institu-tions, some say “a good education,” others“a change of scenery,” and a small groupdoes not even know. As evidenced even in this small exam-

ple, we, as the international students,come from not only different countries butalso from different mind frames.As a Turkish student from an

American school in Istanbul, I am here fora number of reasons, the most importantof which is to have a multifaceted educa-tion. The European education systemexpects students to make career plansnearly as early as kindergarten and buildsup their education based on that decisionfor the rest of their lives. An engineertakes only technical and “necessary”classes in college, missing out on a lot ofother subjects. As opposed to the strict field education

in Europe, the American liberal arts edu-cation gives the student a broad under-standing of life and the liberty to discovernew things that might be interesting. I canbe on the pre-med track and pursue myinterest in journalism while taking sociol-ogy classes at the same time. What do you call freedom, if not that?On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean,

we drew thick lines between academicfields and stuck to them for our lives. Buthow efficient is it to categorize studentsbased on their initial educational prefer-ences and turn a blind eye on any otherfield? Is it better to encourage students tofocus on a single study and ignore the rest? Then, we end up with well-educated

doctors who do not even know how to com-

municate with the patients and smartengineers who do not know anythingabout the world issues. Those are theunfortunate creations of the system.At a personal level, I must add the

importance of the First Amendment, inother words the freedom of speech. A jour-nalist’s biggest nightmare is probably cen-sorship or the red pen. For different rea-sons, I have been struggling against thered pen in the past few years.In my high school newspaper, we could

not write opinion pieces about politicsbecause it is prohibited by the Ministry ofEducation regulations. Therefore, thecompleted issue was controlled by theDean of Students, and every now and thenwe would publish the issue with a blankspace in a corner because an articlebecame the victim of the red pen. After a point, any kind of critical article

was impossible to publish and it got reallyfrustrating. The newspaper was becomingjust an advertisement booklet where therecent events on campus would be report-ed with as little criticism as possible.

When I realized that there was no wayof fighting the bureaucracy, I decided tofind a loophole in the system and utilize it.I wanted to write about the negative effectsof the strong political polarity in Turkey. The method I came up with was writing

an allegorical article using the chemicalpolarity to portray polarity between theTurkish political parties. It fortunately passed the censorship

and became the first opinion piece to everbe published in my high school. It was atruly fulfilling experience, yet I believejournalists should not need to strugglewith the restrictions to share their opin-ions. Agreeing or disagreeing is one thing;prohibiting the share of ideas is another.

It has not even been a week since Iarrived at Swarthmore, but I am alreadywriting a column, sharing my experiences,opinions, and ideas through the newspa-per. And most importantly, I do it without

any kind of restriction. On the contrary, Iam encouraged to share as much as possi-ble. It is a generous opportunity, and I amplanning to use it as productively as I can.

Opinions swarthmorephoenix.com

14 August 26, 2010 tHe PHOeniX

‘Pc’ lexicon is crutch,not tool, for tolerance

Letter, OP-eD anD cOmment POLicy

Letters, opinion pieces and online com-ments represent the views of their writ-ers and not those of The Phoenix staffor Editorial Board. The Phoenixreserves the right to edit all pieces sub-mitted for print publication for content,length and clarity. The Phoenix alsoreserves the right to withhold any let-ters, op-eds or comments from publica-tion.

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

Letters are a minimum of 250 wordsand may not exceed 500 words. Op-edsare a minimum of 500 words and maynot exceed 750. Letters and op-eds mustbe submitted by 10 p.m. on Monday, andThe Phoenix reserves the right to with-hold letters and op-eds received afterthat time from publication.

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Letters, corrections and news tips mayalso be submitted online to the paper byclicking “Contact” on the Phoenix web-site.

From red pens to freedom

OP-ED

The Middle Path

Samuel Green

When you speak in politically correct terms,

no one can tell whatyou’re actually talking about.

Sports

tHe PHoeniX August 26, 2010 15


taking a crack at settling the clutch-hitting debateT h e

d e b a t ea b o u twhether“clutch”playerst r u l yexist inbaseballis so per-f e c t l yind i ca -tive ofthe greatd i v i d et h a te x i s t sbetween

the statistically-oriented and those contentto judge only by what their eyes providethem. The former — if you believe the latter —

is consisted almost entirely of sun-deprivedbloggers who have never quite made it outof Mom’s basement and who retreat behindthe security of numbers because, really,why bother to actually watch baseballwhen you can write on sports blogs that noone reads anyway? The latter — if you believe the former —

is broken down thusly: 35% fans who haveonly just stopped believing in the ToothFairy, 25% idiotscouts who stilldon’t care abouton-base percentage(as seen in theb o o k“Moneyball”), 20%close-minded vet-eran sportswriterswho should reallyjust do everyone afavor and diealready, 15% jockex-ballplayers, and 5% Joe Morgan*. The Stat Guys refuse to acknowledge

that which cannot be quantified, while theother side is distrustful of data they see aspotentially misleading, preferring to goentirely by what they see, which periodi-cally involves someone who has the slight-ly ethereal ability to rise above human con-cerns such as pressure and perform regard-less. Since seeing is, to them, believing, let’scall that side the True Believers. A littleheavy-handed? Absolutely, but take base-ball out of the equation and the two oppos-ing maxims here are simply “I know noth-ing that cannot be proven” and “I knowbecause I believe.” *The first thing you are taught when

being initiated into the statistical commu-nity is that at the end of the day, just abouteverything is Joe Morgan’s fault, oil spillsand forest fires not excepted. Also, theydon’t care how much he appears to dislikeplaying baseball, J.D. Drew IS, in fact,underrated.What the Stat Guys have going for them

is that, while the stories about great“clutch” moments in baseball have provenendlessly repeatable, the supposed abilityto consistently perform “in the clutch” hasnot. Enter Fangraphs.com. For those unfa-miliar, Fangraphs has asserted itself as theMecca for Stat Guys everywhere — a placeto analyze, debate, reason, conclude, rinse,and repeat — when it comes to baseball sta-tistics**. This does not, however, mean thatthey are satisfied to use only the categoriesthat have already been created. No, in addi-tion to the usual sets of numbers you mightexpect from a baseball-themed website,Fangraphs has created several custom cate-gories of its own. And in the ultimate mid-dle finger to the True Believers, who standfor nothing if not for the fact that you justcan’t even begin to put a number on whatone of the blessed few known as “clutch

players” does for his team…they wentahead and made a statistic that measures“Clutch” performance. **The ideal visitor to Fangraphs is some-

one who is somewhat interested in statis-tics and heavily into baseball. If you areheavily interested in both statistics andbaseball, you will never leave the site, andyour life will slowly begin to erode allaround you.How this statistic (simply labeled

“Clutch” on the website) is calculated isalmost beside the point*** since it wasmore or less created with the sole purposeof proving that it wasn’t actually impor-tant. The Clutch ratings on Fangraphs rou-tinely switch from positive to negative on ayear-by-year basis for just about any playerone can think of. More, perhaps even mostimportantly, is that there is absolutely noconnection whatsoever between being anelite baseball player and occupying the hal-lowed ground reserved for “clutch” players. ***In a nutshell: it takes an aggregate

sum of all plays made by a given playerover the course of a season that adds to theprobability that his team will win a gameand subtracts from it a version of that sumthat takes into account how important thegiven situation was in terms of winning thegame (i.e. batting with the bases loaded andtwo outs in the ninth inning when losing by

one run is a moreimportant, or“higher-leverage”situation than, say,batting with noone on base in thefirst inning whenwinning by threeruns. A home runin both situationsdoes not hold equalimportance forone’s team).

Essentially, it shows how much better aplayer performs in an important situationcompared to how he would in a less impor-tant one.Just for fun, I took a look at the players

who have raised their game in the clutchbetter than anyone else this year and puttheir Clutch Ratings opposite Wins AboveReplacement (WAR), a statistic that deter-mines a player’s overall value (measured inhow many more theoretical wins that play-er would be worth to his team over thecourse of a season than, were he injured,the prototypical weak-offense/average-defense free agent who would be availableto sign at a moment’s notice). For reference,4 Wins Above Replacement usually puts aplayer in the top 25 in all of baseball, 3 inthe top 40, and 2 in the top 80. Here are the top 10 from the unfinished

2010 season:

Top 10 “Clutch” Players, 2010Player / Clutch / Wins Above ReplacementMichael Bourn, Astros OF / 1.87 / 2.0Jose Lopez, Mariners 3B / 1.81 / -0.1 Shin-Soo Choo, Indians OF / 1.67 / 4.0Carlos Lee, Astros OF / 1.45 / -0.8Russell Martin, Dodgers C / 1.42 / 2.0Lastins Milledge, Pirates OF / 1.29 / 0.6 Corey Hart, Brewers OF / 1.22 / 1.9Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox 1B / 1.15 / 4.1Yadier Molina, Cardinals C / 1.09 / 1.7Placido Polanco, Phillies 3B / 1.01 / 3.5Clutch Average: 1.40Wins Above Replacement Average: 1.9

The Stat guys would be overjoyed to seethis list; a couple of excellent players, a cou-ple of horrendous ones (you rarely see neg-ative WAR ratings in the major leaguessince, as you might imagine, such playerswould not normally be allowed to play inthe major leagues), but overall a mixed bagthat points to no specific trend. The average

player who is among the elite in the clutchis a good if not spectacular player worthabout 2 wins to his team.Here are the bottom-dwellers, the play-

ers who, in important moments, evidentlystruggle to hold their bats correctly:

Bottom 10 “Clutch” Players, 2010Player / Clutch / Wins Above ReplacementRajai Davis, Athletics OF / -1.62 / 0.7Ben Zobrist, Rays 2B / -1.59 / 2.7 Ryan Theriot, Dodgers IF / -1.50 / 0.2Derrek Lee, Cubs IB / -1.39 / 1.1Jayson Werth, Phillies RF / -1.34 / 3.5Adrian Beltre, Red Sox 3B / -1.27 / 5.6 Cody Ross, Marlins OF / -1.26 / 1.6Adam Jones, Orioles OF / -1.14 / 1.7Carlos Gonzales, Rockies OF / -1.12 / 3.7Alexei Ramirez, White Sox SS / -1.11 / 3.2Clutch Average: -1.33Wins Above Replacement Average: 2.4

Again, nothing illuminating. If any-thing, the chokers appear to be better thantheir Clutch counterparts, at least accord-ing to WAR. Beltre and Gonzales, in partic-ular, are having outstanding seasons, andwould probably not be offered in exchangedfor Jose Lopez and Lastings Milledge. If,however, that is too small of a sample sizefor you, we can widen the picture a bit. Willthe Clutch rating, when its totals from thelast three seasons are added up, reveal anypatterns unto us?

Top 10 “Clutch” Players, 2008-2010Player / Clutch / Wins Above ReplacementCarlos Lee, Astros OF / 3.68 / 5.2Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks SS / 2.78 / 7.3 Raul Ibanez, Phillies OF / 1.67 / 4.0Pedro Feliz, Cardinals 3B / 2.54 / 1.9Ryan Howard, Phillies 1B / 2.35 / 9.6Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners OF / 2.35 / 11.8 Chone Figgins, Mariners IF / 2.25 / 9.1Michael Bourn, Astros OF / 1.95 / 6.4Brian Roberts, Orioles 2B / 1.75 / 9.0Jose Lopez, Mariners IF / 0.88 / 4.7Clutch Average: 2.32Wins Above Replacement Average: 7.2

Yeah….no. Carlos Lee, clutch as he evi-dently is, might just be the worst everydayplayer in baseball right now, and he didn’thave to lower his game that much in orderto achieve that status. Perennial All-StarsIchiro and Howard muddle up the pictureeven more, which is of course the wholepoint. Some great players have happened toperform in clutch situations over a givenperiod of time, but it is not repeatable orconsistent (both Lee and Howard, for exam-ple, have had multiple seasons with nega-tive Clutch ratings). The same is true forthe mediocre and the terrible. Since we’reat it…

Bottom 10 “Clutch” Players, 2008-2010Player / Clutch / Wins Above ReplacementFelipe Lopez, Cardinals IF / -3.97 / 5.6Adrian Beltre, Red Sox 3B / -3.66 / 11.9 Luke Scott, Orioles, OF / -3.59 / 6.2Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies SS / -3.45 / 10.2Chris Young, Diamondbacks OF / -3.44 / 6.3Jayson Werth, Phillies OF / -3.42 / 13.3 Matt Kemp, Dodgers OF / -2.94 / 8.8Chase Utley, Phillies 2B / -2.76 / 18.8Brian McCann, Braves C / -2.66 / 14.0Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals OF / -2.28 / 10.3Clutch Average: -3.22Wins Above Replacement Average: 10.5

Now this is getting ridiculous. By anymeasurement, Utley has been one of the topfive players in baseball over the past threeseasons, and McCann, Tulowitzki andWerth have all been excellent in their ownright. Like I said above, and please note the

inherent caveat here, when judged by thestandards that have been attributed by one

side to what the other side claims cannotbe measured by any such standards…no,there doesn’t really seem to be any suchthing as a consistently “clutch” player, andthose who have posted impressive ratingsin that category do not necessarily belongto baseball’s elite.And yet—and this is going to sound

crazy at this point in the column—is therereally any doubt in anyone’s mind thatclutch players do exist? Is it possible towatch an infielder who has fielded tenthousand ground balls let one carom off ofhis glove with the winning run on thirdbase and say that it doesn’t take a lit-tle…well, something…extra to make thatplay? Do we have to watch one more batter

stand in the box as both the last out and thetying run, looking like he would rather betrapped in a car with Mike Tyson’s pettiger than where he is right now, before weacknowledge that this is not a quality thatevery player possesses inside of himself? Inthe end, the reason this argument willnever be resolved is because everyone—Stat Guys and True Believers alike—is cor-rect.And yet, still they would have us believe

that their views are irreconcilable whenthe truth is that they don’t want them to bereconciled. No, a baseball player cannotcome up with thirty-five consecutive hitsin high-leverage situations because base-ball simply does not allow one to collectthirty-five consecutive hits in any situa-tion. And yes, playing pop psychologist is

pointless, but we shouldn’t need an intro-ductory seminar with Professor ofPsychology Andrew Ward to see what isright in front of our faces—that when thechips are down, some players let it get tothem, so that it affects their performance.And some don’t. To label someone a“clutch” player is to ignore the big picture.To deny the existence of Clutch is to ignorethe little one. As little as either side is interested in

hearing this, there happens to be room forboth of them.

Timothy is a sophomore. You can reachhim at [email protected].

Bullet Points

timothy Bernstein

To label someone a clutchplayer is to ignore the bigpicture. To deny the exis-

tence of Clutch is toignore the little one.

Friday, Sept. 3Women’s soccer vs. BaptistBible, 7 p.m.

Volleyball at GreyhoundPremiere (Moravian), 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 4Volleyball at GreyhoundPremiere (Moravian), 7 p.m.

Field hockey vs. Immaculata,11:30 a.m.

Cross country at Haverford DualMeet, TBA

Men’s soccer vs. GwynnedMercy, 4 p.m.

Women’s soccer vs. LebanonValley, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 5Men’s soccer vs. Immaculata, 2

p.m.

garnet in action

Sports swarthmorephoenix.com

16 August 26, 2010 THE�PHOENIX

Soccer ladies’ ECAC title win voted “Moment of the Year”BY TIM [email protected]

As if they were short on victories.The Swarthmore women’s soccer

team’s ECAC (Eastern CollegeAthletic Conference) South Regionchampionship was voted “Moment ofthe Year” for Swarthmore athletics inthe 2009-2010 season.

The title, which was clinched witha 1-0 victory over PSU-Behrend onNovember 15th of last year, was thethird straight for the Garnet, makingthem the firstthree-time win-ner in the histo-ry of the ECAC’sSouth Region(Johns Hopkins,Gettysburg, andCarnegie Mellonhave all wontwice).

“It’s prettyunique to join aprogram that’s just begun to gainmomentum within the last coupleyears” said midfielder Alexa Ross ’13,who joined the team as a freshmanduring the 2009 season. To be able tobe a part of that building, especially ata time when we have so much energy,is exciting.”

The soccer team’s success easilygathered enough support in the first oftwo polls done on the Swarthmorewebsite, becoming one of five choicesfor the final poll.

Two-thousand votes later, the

championship secured 39% of the voteto finish at number one, outdistancingthe men’s soccer team’s Sweet 16 berthin the NCAA tournament, which fin-ished second, and swimmer TravisPollen’s national championship,which finished third. Rounding outthe final five moments was the base-ball team’s victory over F&M tosecure a playoff spot and the men’sbasketball team’s victory over heavilyfavored Ursinus College.

For head coach Todd Anckaitis,who has won three conference titles in

five seasons atSw a r t hm o r e ,one of the mostlasting impres-sions from thetitle run was theresilience withwhich his teampersevered with-out the benefitof home fielda d v a n t a g e .

Anckaitis pointed out that all three ofthe team’s title victories haveoccurred on the road.

“Even though our energetic Swatcrowds haven’t had the chance to bethere in person for some of [theteam’s] most exciting accomplish-ments, we always feel that essence andtry to play with the extra boost they’dgive us if they should be there,” saidAnckaitis.

“It’s great that they recognized thechance to support our efforts nowamong all the outstanding accomplish-

ments of the Garnet athletes.”On the season, the Garnet finished

16-4-1, peaking at Number 15 in therankings devised by the NationalSoccer Coaches of America (NSCAA).The 2009 season was also the first timethat the program was nationallyranked for the entire year.

Anckaitis was quick to refute thenotion that the soccer team’s phenom-enal success over the past three sea-sons has created heavy expectationsgoing forward.

“Our past performance doesn’t setthe expectations. We always set highexpectations of ourselves regardless ofpast performances” Anckaitis said.“Our successes just validate our plan,the execution and work we put intoit.”

The Garnet begin their thirdstraight title defense with the SwatKick Classic Tournament. The inaugu-ral match takes place on Friday,September 3rd against the Baptist BibleDefenders. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Jared Brown

Members of the women’s soccer team scrimmage and work on their moves during a pre-season practice

Women’s soccer ECAC South Region championship game was easily voted “Moment ofthe Year” on the Swarthmore Athletics website.

“It’s pretty unique to join aprogram that’s just begunto gain momentum within

the last couple years.”Alexa Ross ’13

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