By Katie Monroe
Staff Writer

On Friday and Saturday nights, the Spring Dance Concert at Goodhart Auditorium showcased the hard work of students and faculty involved in Bryn Mawr’s many dance ensembles. A diverse set of pieces, ranging from accessible to downright strange, made for an engaging evening.
The show opened with “Echoes,” performed by the African Dance ensemble, and choreographed by Rev. Nia Eubanks-Dixon in collaboration with the dancers. Combining narration, flowing white garb, and an incredible amount of energy flowing straight from the dancers’ bodies into the audience, it was a strong way to begin the evening.
The second section, “Chrysalis,” was excerpted from the final choreographic efforts of Bryn Mawr senior Caitlin Iles. I had the opportunity to see the full work earlier this semester in the Tabitha show, but it was great to see it reach a larger audience. Focused on themes of instability, the two pieces performed this weekend represented various forms of mental instability and addiction. The dancers portrayed obsession, depression, and paranoia too effectively for the audience to just sit back and watch comfortably. The tortured duet between Aliza Rothstein BMC ‘12 and Anisha Chirmule BMC ‘10, portraying addict and addiction, needed no explanation. Their dynamic was instantly recognizable, with Chirmule creepily controlling Rothstein, who repeatedly tried (and failed) to break free.
The modern ensemble followed, performing “liminal states,” choreographed by Dance Program Director Linda Caruso Haviland. Half the dancers wore crystal-encrusted flowing white costumes – they seemed to be angels – while the mere mortals wore pink velvet. I liked how the piece evolved, with the groups of angels and mortals dancing independently at first, relatively unaware (or at least uninterested) in each other. By the end, they had paired off, with each angel directing her respective mortal – albeit much more benevolently than we saw in the addiction duet.
The last piece before the intermission, a Michael Jackson tribute choreographed by Crystal Frazier and performed by the Hip Hop ensemble was a crowd-pleaser. The music, dancing, and costumes came together, embodying the legendary figure through all the hits – "Beat It," "Thriller," and "Smooth Criminal" figured prominently – and all the signature moves, perfectly executed.
After this relatively straightforward fun, the show shifted gears with “Stunts, Acrobatics and How to Stay Alive in the Woods for Girls and Women,” performed by the second-semester modern ensemble and choreographed by Gabrielle Revlock. Practically defying description, this piece was experimental dance at its wackiest, and its most fun. Let’s just say: there were actual trees on the stage, the dancers wore Girl Scout costumes and wigs and brandished knives and lipstick tubes, and the dancing included quite a few impressive acrobatic feats, many involving multiple dancers balancing on each other. This was certainly not Girl Scouts as I remember it (outed myself!)– these were badass zombie-esque acrobats, leaving me more concerned for the safety anyone unfortunate enough to encounter them in the woods than for them.
In a 180-degree shift, the second-to-last piece, “A Moment’s Time,” was a girly meditation on crushing (sample lyrics: “You haven’t written to me in a week/I’m wondering why that is/Are you too nervous to be lovers/friendships ruined with just one kiss”), performed by the contemporary-infused ballet ensemble. The lavender and pink costumes, smiling dancers, fun ensemble choreography by Heidi Cruz-Austin that can best be described as cute, and even a swing on stage all made for a conception of femaleness pretty far removed from the creepy girl scouts. I’m hoping there’s some middle ground to be had.
The show’s closer, “Mokoyoubi” was choreographed by Myra Bazell and performed by the jazz ensemble. Sara Navin, a Haverford sophomore featured in the piece, explained, “Myra said the piece was about just having fun – the purpose of it was pleasure for the dancers and for the audience.”
Its success was apparent in the joyful bodies and faces of the dancers as well as the crowd – a strong closing performance to a vibrant show. 

By Hannah Jaenicke
News Editor

Haverford’s Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) and Dining Center (DC) announced new environmentally friendly initiatives last week.
The CPGC’s changes, which include using more locally sourced food and recyclable utensils, are part of a larger initiative to go greener. They include tentative plans to carbon-offset students’ flights to their internships through collaboration with the Committee for Environmental Responsibility (CER).
“We have an interest as part of our mission to expose the Haverford community to key global issues,” Parker Snowe, the CPGC’s Executive Director, said. “For us, having a cafe and making it more sustainable in terms of its practice goes right along with our mission.”

All events that take place at the CPGC, even those it does not sponsor or cater, have to comply by the new initiative’s rules of composting food waste and using recyclable utensils, plates, and cups.

The CER and CPGC have been in close cooperation for more than a year, working on composting plans, increasing the availability of recyclable plastics, and making the cafe more sustainable.

Isobel Grad ‘11, who works in the CPGC cafe, said that workers had been talking about composting food waste for a long time, but that little had come about until recently when the CER and CPGC set the current system up.

Claudia Kent, Manager of Grounds, said that the composted food waste from both the CPGC and the DC is used on the Nature Trail, in staff and faculty’s gardens, and elsewhere on campus.

“We are using everything that we are making, which is a huge plus,” she said.

The DC, which already composts food waste that occurs during meal preparation through collaboration with CER, instituted “Trayless Tuesdays” this week. Although trays remain available, their less prominent position is intended to encourage students to forsake them and as a result cut back on the amount of water needed for washing.

Despite previous opposition from student athletes to the idea of going trayless, most students appeared ambivalent to the new set-up, although, as Sarah Petty ‘10 said, “if you’re getting more than just a single plate and a cup, it’s hard to balance everything.”

“I’m not seeing any Haverford students dying of malnutrition, so as far as I’m concerned it worked,” Students’ Council Co-President Harrison Haas ‘10 said.

Haas added that the Council of Twelve, which has voted in favor of traylessness multiple times in the past, hopes that trays could be completely eliminated from the DC, “except for students who have a physical need for them.”

 Haas said that while the CPGC’s move towards more sustainable practices is good, more can be done. He cited the need for metered heating as one of his priorities, so that the central heating in up-campus dorms can be better controlled.

 The College’s energy consumption is also a main concern of Grad’s, as is the availability of more sustainable food on campus at events and in day-to-day situations.

The CPGC’s concerted efforts to go greener have not gone unnoticed, with many students attending the locally sourced lunch provided this week.

“It doesn’t amount to much if you set up a system and no one behaves and puts the stuff in the right container – this is an education process,” said Snowe.

By Carrie Kolar

Stairs are back on the agenda for Haverford’s newest dorm, built by internationally-renowned architecture firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA), following an open meeting held a week ago by Director of Facilities Management Ron Tola.

Although one of the reasons for the meeting was the campus-wide discussion about the proposed lack of stairs after a prior meeting between TWBTA and students, it was poorly-attended.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Margaret Ernst
Editor-In-Chief

In high school I played Frenchy in “Grease,” from which the only line I remember was “LINE." That’s about the extent of my theater career.

But for a few summers I did intern at a summerstock theater in my town, where people were a few years older than me smoked, read plays for fun, and didn’t speak to me very much. The plays are put on in a building that used to be a chapel, the interior of which is supposed to resemble the hold of a ship. I would rummage through a basement room full of old clocks and dinnerware to find props for the children’s show, and I sold Kit Kats during intermission. For 45 minutes before shows I ushered, while feeling painfully aware that I wasn’t in college yet.

One summer at that theater is when I learned to like “Godspell," the topic of this week’s hard-hitting Head to Head. Other issues may abound in the bi-co, but this one clearly needs to be resolved.

A sexy version of the beatitudes. A tap war between Jesus and John the Baptist. Rock organs. Like opera or pep rallies, done wrong it can send you to your grave. Done right, it can tug at you.

I wouldn’t be caught singing “Day By Day” on the back of a bus with raucous youth group members, but I remember feeling breathless when the guy playing Jesus swung on the sparsely lit stage, one of the only times I had felt anything about Jesus having died for the world’s sins, etc. He also happened to be really dreamy.

I once was in a choir that sang a Chanukah song written by Stephen Schwartz called “We Are Lights."  Clearly the guy has no fear of sacrilege.**

Sitting in the back of that tiny theater by myself, sitting on the extra programs, “Godspell” earned a place in my heart that my news editor just can’t understand. I don’t blame you, Jacob. It takes a pretty pure heart to get eternal life, vaudeville-style.

By Liz Hood

Columnist

The time of year has officially come when my fellow seniors and I are inundated with the inevitable question: “Do you know what you’re doing next year?” I’ve realized you can only say “Nah, I’m not sure yet” so many times before you start to wonder if maybe you’re doing something wrong.
Are you not looking hard enough? Are your expectations too high? What is it you actually want to do? Then comes the nausea followed by the highly popular anxiety attack and/or blinding rage. I think I just finally understood what Ed Norton’s character was ranting about in “Fight Club.” Funny how those moments of clarity just come to you.
Anyway, I can’t help but think that I am perhaps too nonchalant about my plans for the future. Though I’m convinced that to some extent the anxiety of senior year is simply a result of herd mentality, I can understand the worry and intrigue of the future. What is going to become of us come September when we no longer have to be concerned with dorm-openings and back to school shopping?
To put it frankly, I have no solid plans for next year. However I do have an abundance of possible ideas. Are most of them a bit farfetched? You betcha, but generally I’m fine not knowing where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing come the fall.
I don’t want to have to worry about next year; the idea of not knowing is exciting and exhilarating. While this mentality has held up rather well during the course of the year, it’s comments like “Oh hey, did you know there are only two weeks left of school?” that make me wonder if maybe I should be acting a little less hippie and a little more hardcore. But again, I find myself wondering if worrying is something I need to be doing or if it’s simply a case of society “tuggin’ at my heart-strings?”
I’m fine with having plans up in the air. With them floating high overhead I’m able to stroll through campus, explore uncharted territory (I literally just went to Brecon for the first time ever), and enjoy the general beauty of spring. I’ve said it before, and get ready because I’m going to say it again: with death comes a blinding sense of clarity accompanied by a blinding ray of light.
As I find my college self slowly dying before my very eyes, I feel that I should give its life justice. I need to make its time here on Earth the very best it can possibly be.
It’s like the time-old question, if you knew you only had a couple more weeks to live, what would you do? Would you sit in the library studying for a test you won’t remember next month, never mind next year? Or would you try to connect with friends who have drifted away over the past four years and try to have as many amazing experiences as possible?
It’s your call, but if I might be so bold, I think you’re quite literally insane if you’d rather spend your days inside worrying instead of experiencing the last of your college life. When are you ever again going to be able to (or even want to) go to another shitty Drinker party or trek all the way to Swarthmore to dance like a fool at Paces?
When are you going to have a picnic on Merion Green on a random Tuesday afternoon or sunbathe by the cherry blossoms by the Pembroke West walk? The littlest thing can have the most monumental effect on your memory here on campus. I urge you to literally wake the fuck up and smell the flowers.
I’m of the “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” school of thought. So I can’t help but pity my fellow stressing seniors who are fretting away their last month here at beautiful Bryn Mawr on ideas and concepts that really shouldn’t concern us quite yet, like seminars on financial planning and 401k. Are you fucking kidding me? We have so much more to live for right now besides those very real yet currently unimportant concepts. Call me crazy, call me irresponsible, but you can never say I’m unsentimental.
Maybe I’m just not ready to move on yet. Maybe my obstinate attitude towards concrete objectives is really just a self-preservation tool. Though our futures may be cloudy, the weather here on our lovely campus is anything but. Though your GPA (and your parents, for that matter) may not thank me, I think if you take the time to really invest in enjoying yourself for the short time you have left in college, you’ll appreciate the connections, friends, happiness, and memories that are remarkably still available.
If you find yourself in need of inspiration on how to stick it to the man, the man with the plan that is, just follow the example of Steve Miller: “I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner. I’m playin’ my music in the sun. I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker. I sure don’t want to hurt no one.”
Will I be there to defend you from the iron fist of reality (and your parents)? No, but I will be there for a mental high-five. If that isn’t persuasive enough to get you to stop fretting, then I really don’t know what is.

Hood, a senior political science major with an economics and French double minor, can be reached at ejhood@brynmawr.edu.

By Daniel Weaver
Staff Writer

For the third year in a row, the hip hop symposium “AcadeMIX” has brought in hip hop artists whose music often includes intellectual considerations to participate in a panel and performance expressing their musical and academic pursuits. This year they had by far the most impressive lineup at both Thursday night’s panel and Friday night’s performance, with dead prez, Chiddy Bang, and other established hip hop artists speaking and performing alongside Haverford and Bryn Mawr students.
Students on the AcadeMIX Board went all out for this event, and with help from Director of Student Activities Jason McGraw, helped pull together perhaps the greatest hip hop performance and panel Haverford has every seen.

At the panel in Zubrow, stic.man and M-1 of dead prez, Professor Jesse Shipley (who shot a music video for M-1), Simone Crew HC ‘13, Howard Brown HC ‘12, and Nikki Lopez BMC ‘10 each discussed how they were introduced to hip hop and what influence “academics” has on their music and other artistic endeavors.

Shipley’s study of anthropology and religion in West African nations sparked his interest in African hip hop, leading him to produce the documentary film ‘Living the Hip Life’ on West African hip hop. Shipley is currently in the process of completing his book on the same topic.

stic.man was interested in music at a very early age and wrote lyrics and rhymes inspired by records his older brother brought home. In ninth grade for a performance for Black History Month, he wrote a rap describing the troubles of members of his community and the past oppression of black people. Shortly after he began the performance, a white school administrator turned off the microphone and music, arguing that the lyrics of the rap were “divisive.”

These school administrators were controlling celebrations of black history, not permitting a true acknowledgment of historic and current prejudices. This incident prompted stic.man to further explore the social justice issues that go into his music.

M-1 found his inspiration at an early age in “the struggles of Africans living in America.” At Florida A&M University, his concern was not obtaining a degree, but rather obtaining knowledge and gaining an understanding of the world around him. Thus, when he met stic.man there, the duo connected over a mutual interest in music with a bent toward intellect and social justice.

After the panelists discussed their inspirations and influences, students in the audience were given the opportunity to ask them questions.

Shanaye Jeffers HC ’12 asked about the intent of the title of dead prez’s 2004 album “Revolutionary But Gangsta.” stic.man explained that the term gangsta means “not going along with the status quo” and explained that “there was a time when opposing slavery was gansta.” Continuing with this explanation of the term gansta, M-1 explained that being able to redefine terms is a source of power and that being able to make up one’s own mind makes one free. Thus, gangsta means grabbing power and freedom in a society in which many African Americans have neither. The term gansta makes sense with their final goal of putting “power in the hands of the people” and describes the intent of a revolutionary movement in “plain, proletariat English.”

Next, Jason Lozada HC ’11 asked a question about the effect of hip hop lyrics on incarcerated black youth. stic.man explained that the “violence on the streets is a product of the capitalist system, not hip hop.” After all, the violence on the streets that they spoke of has existed long before hip hop and is clearly more a product of the poverty and prejudices that many black people face. Although mass media may portray it differently, M-1 explained, people “do not love to sell crack.” It is often simply the best way to pay the bills.

The following night in Founders Hall, dead prez and artists 40 Love, XV, and Chiddy Bang brought their ideas to the stage. While past AcadeMIX performances have focused more on the social justice aspects of their music and attracted fewer students, the lineup this year brought a greater number of students less interested in the revolution and more interested in the beats. The group, each with a unique musical style, brought students away from the staircase and foyer and into the main room.

The energy in Founders peaked during the performances by Chiddy Bang and dead prez, the most well known groups of the lineup. Chiddy Bang — even though its members are younger than I am and are currently taking time off from their academics at Drexel University — had a set that sounded as though it was shaped by years of experience.

Students were particularly excited by Chiddy Bang’s rendition of their hit song “Opposite of Adults.” It sounded perfect, even with Founders’ bizarre acoustics.

Although students were just as energetic when dead prez came on the stage, Founders was no longer full by that time, a late 1 a.m. Dead prez emphasized the academic part of AcadeMIX far more than any of the other performers, with political and revolutionary topics like those discussed in their albums. They had a vigourous performance and fed off the energy from students, which they said they were impressed and surprised by.

“The concert was crazy. It was awesome and fantastic,” said Adam Mayer HC ‘12, one of the members of the AcadeMIX Board who helped to organize the event. “The panel was informative and educational in a way I was very much hoping it would be.”

In fact, Mayer helped to get Chiddy Bang on the lineup because he is friends with the DJ/drummer/producer “from back in the day,” he said.

AcadeMIX this year showed how well-attended and exciting musical performances can be when Haverford student groups bring impressive acts to campus. Other student groups on campus might look at the success of events organized by Jason McGraw when deciding what artists to bring in the future.

By Elizabeth Held
News Editor

SGA hosted its semi-annual “Big Cheese” forum on Sunday night. President Jane McAuliffe, Dean of the Undergraduate College Karen Tidmarsh, Chief Enrollment and Communications Officer Jenny Rickard, Chief Financial Officer John Griffith and Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Berenson were all on hand to answer student’s questions.
Students asked about the future of Guild and the former Rhoads dining hall, the state of Bryn Mawr’s endowment, student employment and the emergency referendum regarding health center staffing, passed at Spring Plenary.

Emergency Referendum

Tidmarsh said that staffing the Health Center during weekends of big parties would not necessarily be as helpful as students think.
“I’m not sure it’s the solution people think it will be…In general, the kind of emergencies that happen at big event weekends, need to go to the Emergency Room.”
Colleen Haley ’11 who presented the referendum at Plenary spoke in its favor.
“If they’re on the edge and you don’t know if you should send them back to their room with friends or if they might go down a worse path [and need hospitalization],” she said, “what the student body is looking for is… someone who is in a trained medical position who knows immediately at which point [a student needs to go to the hospital].”
Tidmarsh responded, “All night medical monitoring is what an ER provides…It’s not something you can replicate in a small college health center.”
Tidmarsh said the campus life assistants, who will begin working next year, will help to support students in these type of positions.

College Budget

Griffith reported that the college currently has a balanced budget and discussed the coming years.
“[We have] very tight budgets coming forward,” he said
Griffith also said that he currently doesn’t see more budget cuts on the horizon, but given the tenuous state of the economy, that could change.

Guild

McAuliffe said Guild was unoccupied this year, in large part, because the Graduate School of Social Work was considering using the space. The school has decided against it.
She asked students how they would like to see Guild used. Students said a space like Haverford’s Ryan Gym or a music venue.
McAuliffe said such ideas were “certainly a possibility.”

Student Employment

SGA President Sophie Papavizas ’11 asked about how student employment had been affected by the closure of Rhoads Dining Hall.
Berenson explained they added to the budgets of various departments to allow them to hire students not hired by dining services.
The administrators also spoke about the future of student employment on campus.
“We’re unusual that all students who want to work, work. We don’t give preference to students who were promised a job through financial aid. We might have to go to that,” said Berenson.
Rickard explained that part of the Student Services reorganization is to make student employment a “meaningful work experience.”
She said they were exploring options as to how on-campus employment could be used to help students in the career hunt.
For instance, the communications office is looking to hire students to be writers and content providers.
Rickard explained that both the college and the students will benefit because it’s less expensive to hire student workers than a full time employee with benefits.

Bi-College and Tri-College Collaboration

Berenson said there is work to increase collaboration between Haverford and Bryn Mawr in areas besides safety and dining services.
The two facilities departments are currently making joint bids and administrators are looking for potential to increase collaboration between the two registrars’ offices, copy centers and health centers.
“We’re not sure that’s going to be putting departments together, the way we have with dining services and public safety, but we do think that, if nothing else, getting the best ideas of what each of us is doing can help,” he said.
McAuliffe said there is currently an effort to increase tri-college collaboration in the area of information services.
She explained she recently met with Haverford President Steve Emerson and Swarthmore President Rebecca Chop to discuss “what would be the optimal IT environment for our three schools to make the experience for a Swarthmore or Bryn Mawr or Haverford student as seamless as possible on any of those three campuses.”

Hopes for Next Year

Sarah Theobold ’12 asked each administrator what they would like to see students or SGA do next year.
Griffith encouraged students to thank alumnae who donate to the college, and to donate themselves once they graduate.
Tidmarsh said she’d like to see the bi-co customs experience re-configured.
Berenson is hoping students get behind the work being done by the sustainability committee and the Campus Greens.
Rickard encouraged students to approach her, or any other administrator, if they had a question “anytime, not just at the Big Cheese.”
 

By Carrie Kolar
Staff Writer
As a part of Haverford’s ongoing search to fill the position of Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), the fourth and final candidate arrived on campus Tuesday, April 13.
Few students attended the dinner meeting with Candidate Four, but those who did grilled Four on his views and qualifications. Four enthusiastically and humorously responded to student’s questions.
Candidate Four is currently an Assistant Dean at a college on the East Coast, where he has worked for almost a decade. When asked about his experience with multicultural work in his current position, he answered the he does not simply “do multiculturalism.”
“It’s impossible to separate dealing with multicultural issues from the other aspects of my work,” he said.
One student asked what Candidate Four sees as the OMA’s mission. Four replied that he understands the mission of the OMA to be to “focus programs and support on the needs of students of color and other nontraditional students while also embracing other elements of diversity that all students bring.” He believes that the mission of the OMA should be to provide “formal and informal” ways for students to learn to live together and to constructively work through differences between groups, both inside and outside the classroom.
During a discussion of the needs of the OMA, Candidate Four agreed that the office needs to increase its profile and credibility on campus. However, he said that it would be unwise to map onto Haverford processes that work for other colleges without acknowledging the way in which the College operates, as Haverford has many unique methods of relating to students and getting results.
He acknowledged that whichever candidate is chosen for the position would have to spend time at Haverford to understand how the College and the OMA work before starting to make plans.
When asked why he wants this job, Candidate Four replied, “It’s a natural progression for the work that I’ve done through my career. Haverford’s values of integrity, the pursuit of rigorous intellectual inquiry in the service of social justice and the greater good as well as the sense of collective responsibility that each community member has in building a cohesive community, as challenging as that is, resonate deeply with me.”

By Jacob Horn

News Editor

Over 40 people packed Haverford’s CPGC Café last Wednesday for the third debate between Political Science Professors Craig Borowiak and Barak Mendelsohn, entitled “The Future of US Power in World Politics.”

Professor Christina Beltran, who both hosted and moderated the debate, stated that it is the mix of ideologies and temperaments that makes the Haverford Political Science Department so interesting.

She added that while often “the anxiety over conflict makes it hard to have a good fight,” the debates between Borowiak and Mendelsohn showed that the professors could still engage in an “intellectual cage match.”

Borowiak then posed the debate’s central questions on the current state of the United States’ power, whether or not the U.S. is in decline, and what the next 20 years hold.

Opening with the idea that the U.S. is in the grip of a Freudian “death wish,” Borowiak proceeded to plough into the “tectonic shifts” occurring in international politics as  the notion of what is considered “American” is threatened by globalization. Adding to the international confusion is the shift from the use of hard to soft power – in which the first is physical while the second signifies less tangible incentives.

He criticized the neoconservative agenda as lunatic, squandering international goodwill while exposing the military’s weaknesses through overuse.

Through this lens, Borowiak said, Barack Obama can be viewed as more “Machiavellian.” While George Bush tried to fight the river heading towards him, Obama is trying to channel the river and insert a US liberal ideology in the global government structure.

Borowiak closed with the conclusions that the U.S. is declining, but in a more complex way than simply yielding power to China. Our coherence may be being challenged, and we may lose our superpower status, but this is not necessarily a problem, depending on how the nation’s role in the world is perceived.

Mendelsohn then took the stage and explored the commonly held notion that more power equals more influence, questioning the true significance of U.S. military power when it is so limited by “norms,” such as commonly held beliefs about what legitimate targets for use of force are.  

“Power can provide you security, hopefully,” he said, “and hopefully power will give you influence over outcomes, and that influence is mediated by perceptions.”  He said that after World War II, when the US was credited for playing a large role in the creation of infrastructure for western economies, it enjoyed greater legitimacy as a result.  

He said that even when the US has appeared to be in the strongest position, however, its ability to influence international situations was tenuous at best and that the country cannot use coercion to achieve its every end. He emphasized that hard power is often ineffective against insurgencies and that the importance of other, less materially powerful actors, such as the European Union, should not be underestimated.

Meldelsohn addressed Borowiak’s references to soft and hard power. He called President Obama “the embodiment of soft power” and said that soft power may appear more helpful in the long run, “but in the long run, we are all dead.”

Closing, Mendelsohn concluded that the US and its people are in for “a healthy dose of reality.”  He said that more modesty will do the US good, as the country assumes a new role where it is “no longer the policeman, no longer the beacon of light in a dark world.”

Borowiak told The Bi-College News that Mendelsohn first came up with the idea for the debates.

“Initially, it was a recognition that we actually have overlapping interests but we come from pretty radically different paradigms and education backgrounds, so we have a hard time sometimes agreeing on the frame of reference, or the question even, even though we’re both talking about international politics,” he said.

Mendelsohn said that when he arrived at the college, his first impression was that “Haverford students tend to shy from debates.”  While he found this disappointing, he also was curious given the amount of debate that he regularly engaged in with his colleagues. He said that the debates are a good way to promote critical thinking among students.
 
Borowiak had similar observations of students sometimes trying to avoid conflicting opinions.

“So we thought this is a great opportunity for Haverford, for students to actually see two people talking about the same question but actually speaking from two very different directions,” he said.

“Besides,” said Mendelsohn, “this is fun for the two of us – there are so many issues we can’t address in class, and this is a good opportunity to advertise the department and the CPGC and to open up interesting topics to students who don’t take our classes.”

By Rebecca Militello

Staff Writer

A group of Bryn Mawr students lived in the Mermont Plaza Apartments during the 2008-2009 school year, but due to budget constraints, the apartments were not offered as an option for room draw last year.

Recently, the college announced that students would once again have the opportunity to draw into the apartment. An email from Director of Residential Life Angie Sheets sent Monday notified students of the new housing options. Turn around was quick: students had to submit housing cards by Wednesday to be entered into the apartment draw.

Fifteen pairs of students submitted cards to participate. The draw for the apartments was run similarly to the Multiple Occupancy Room draw: seniors with the highest priority numbers were given preference.

Sheets said that the apartments are back after a hiatus as the result of a “special arrangement with the township” that makes them a more affordable option for the college.

Yet the most significant reason the apartments are being offered again this year is the impending housing crunch.

Residential Life has ensure there are rooms for not only the projected number of incoming freshman, but also transfers and McBride scholars.

“We anticipate that we’ll be at full capacity,” Sheets said.

Moving ten students to the apartments opens up some much-needed space on campus.

Sheets also said she expects that the number of applicants for the apartments will increase if the options is offered on a regular basis. Students would have more time to consider living off campus if the apartments became a fixture of Bryn Mawr housing.

Still, no one can say for sure if this alternative housing option will be available in the future.

Laurel Lemon ’11 will be living in the Mermont apartments next year and is excited to have the opportunity to do so. Although she fears feeling “removed from the campus,” she’s looking forward to cooking for herself.

The Mermont apartment complex is located on the corner of Merion and Montgomery Avenues. Each of the five apartments has one bedroom, living room, kitchen, bath, and laundry area. Each apartment will house two students.

Housing costs will be the same students who live in the apartments as those who live off campus. However, the students are expected to pay for their own Internet and cable. And while the college will provide basic furniture, including beds, sofas, and desks, students in the apartments will be responsible for other furnishings.

Sheets said students have been extremely happy with the apartments in the past.

“It’s a good deal for the right students,” she said.

By Lizzie Douglas

Staff Writer

Haverford has not had a permanent Dean of Multicultural Affairs since Sunni Tolbert retired early last March.

This year, Frederic MacDonald-Dennis filled the spot of Interim Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA).

In the past two weeks, three of the final four candidates for the position have come to campus in the last two weeks. By July 1, the results of the search should come to fruition, and the office should have a permanent Dean and director.

Dean of the College Martha Denney, who headed the search committee, said that the College wants “a leader to lead us in conversations about issues of diversity and multiculturalism.”

She said that the Dean of Multicultural Affairs is also an advising dean, so the ideal candidate would need to have experience in advising the whole student body, not just minority students.

Students were invited to meet the candidates and talk to them in open discussion sessions.

As the selection process is still in progress, candidates remain anonymous and will only be identified by an assigned number. This article will refer to all candidates by these numbers.

Candidate #1 currently works as a large university as an assistant dean. #1 has extensive experience in multicultural programming at that institution and said that multiculturalism “should include everyone, not just specific ethnicities. It includes religion, sexuality, ethnicity and race.” #1 said that because of the religious nature of university at which they currently work, the multicultural program does not address LGBT issues.

#1 emphasized the need for the OMA to reach out to the majority community and raise the profile of the office. One possible way of doing this, they suggested, was having a welcoming picnic at the beginning of the academic year in order to make the office better known.

Additionally, #1 felt that OMA programming should focus on quality over quantity: instead of trying to hold many OMA-sponsored events, they would prefer to hold a successful few.

Candidate #2 could not be contacted by The Bi-College News.

Candidate #3 is from a small liberal arts college and has had experience in running multicultural programming as well as LGBT specific programming. #3 defines multiculturalism as “a community of people from different ethnicities, life experiences, and socioeconomic classes coming together.”

#3 recognized that the OMA is an office in transition and that the interim director has been collating a report regarding the office’s role at Haverford this year. However, #3 said that an essential role of the OMA is to be a “place for the marginalized to come and be fortified, where they don’t have to explain who they are or educate people.”

Like #1, #3 felt that there was a role for the OMA to play in regards to the majority community on campus. #3 wanted the office to become “an integral part of the community…[by] establishing linkages with academic affairs, educating people, and working with staff [and] faculty.”

In an interview with The Bi-College News, President of the College Dr. Stephen G. Emerson ’74 expressed his desire for the OMA to be an office not just restricted to minority students.

“What we learned over the past several years is that the OMA functions best when it’s an office for everybody – all the students. That it functions to bring students together multiculturally, and not be specifically focused on one group or another,” he said.

There will be an open session with Candidate #4 tonight, Tuesday, from 7-8 p.m. in Founders Common Room. Candidates’ resumes are on reserve in Magill Library and can be viewed by members of the community.

By Elizabeth Held

News Editor

New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof and Melanne Verveer, United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, are making the two keynote addresses at a conference on girls’ and women’s education as part of Bryn Mawr’s 125th anniversary celebration.

The conference, entitled “Heritage and Hope: Women’s Education in a Global Context,” will be held during the college’s birthday weekend, September 23-25.

The conference will kick off with a cake cutting ceremony. The cake will be supplied by none other than Charm City Cakes, of “Ace of Cakes” fame.

Laurel Lemon ’11, a member of the 125th Anniversary Planning Committee, came up with the original idea to order a cake, which she said seemed like a fitting way to celebrate the college’s birthday.

Besides an excuse to eat cake, the true goal of the conference is to promote discussion about the future of women’s education in both the U.S and the world.

The idea for a conference grew out conversations between Shore and Joanna Semel Rose ’52 at a Friends of the Library Board meeting. Semel Rose offered to underwrite the expenses for Bryn Mawr to host a conference devoted to women’s education as part of the 125th celebration.

Chief Enrollment and Communications Officer Jenny Rickard, who is co-chairing the 125th Anniversary committee with Chief Information Office Elliot Shore, said of the conference:

“[The goal is to] bring together leading experts from all over the world on the goal and need for educating women, looking to the past as well as to the future to chart a course for what that future path is for women’s education globally.”

Both Kristof and Verveer were chosen because of their dedication to the cause.

Kristof has written “prolifically and effectively” on the theme of conference and educating women globally, Shore said, “He seemed to be a very fitting keynote.”

Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn most recently published “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” a book exploring sex trafficking, sexual violence, microfinance and girls’ education.

As for Verveer, Shore said, “She’s the person in the United States who’s the representative to various international bodies for the importance of keeping women’s issues on the global agenda.”

Kristof and Verveer are just two of many speakers headed to campus. The tentative schedule includes directors of U.S primary girls’ schools, presidents of women’s colleges from around the world, and leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to assisting women.

Ruth Lindeborg, Secretary of the College and post-doctoral fellow Anne Bruder have been working to organize the conference.

Bruder said in an email that she chose the speakers “based on their particular and impressive contributions to the fields of girls’ and women’s learning, social justice, leadership, history, and global policy… We wanted the conversations to be dynamic and so we chose diverse panelists who would each bring a different perspective to the conversation.”

Lindeborg said that President Jane McAuliffe wanted to include NGOs, and has been very interested in those that are working to advance women’s rights and education around the world. She said McAuliffe thinks there could be “an important and interesting conversation between girls’ schools, women’s colleges and those NGOs about potentials for collaboration.”

Both Lindeborg and Bruder are excited about the possibility of promoting collaboration between the different groups represented at the conference.

Lindeborg said that there is plenty of opportunity for cooperation, and that the conversations have begun – “but to bring all those conversations together here, is great.”

The conference is open to students. Registration opens on May 1st. While there is a registration fee, students will get a fifty percent discount.

“I absolutely hope students who are interested in these kinds of conversations will look for opportunities to participate; because if this is a forward-looking conference, the current generation of college women, Bryn Mawr or from other places, are important players in moving a progressive vision for women’s education forward,” Lindeborg said.

By Lakshmi Somasundarami

Staff Writer

Is dying unAmerican? Is death unpatriotic?

Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, President-Elect of Mount Holyoke College, explored these questions at the annual Bernard Rothenberg Lecture Thursday afternoon in Wyndham. Pasquerella is the latest in a series of lectures brought to campus by the series, which seeks to promote discussion of biology and public policy in the community.

Pasquerella, who is currently the Provost at the University of Hartford, is a medical ethicist and global advocate for women’s education and empowerment, both locally and globally. She is also a board director for the Africa Center for Engineering Social Solutions, a non-governmental organization that focuses on empowering women with AIDS in Kenya.

Her lecture, entitled “Biology and the Concept of Death as UnAmerican,” was attended by many students, professors and physicians.

Prior to her speech, Pasquerella said she felt a sense of “sisterhood” between Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke.

She said that there are two burgeoning trends regarding death: the autonomy of the individual and whether or not we should view death as a failure? Dying in America is about pain, suffering, and financial burden. Most Americans die in moderate to severe pain. Funeral and medical costs associated with death are often exorbitant.

Pasquerella mentioned that we, as Americans, forcefully resist the notion of death, refuse to ask our health providers questions, and are reluctant to talk about such matters with family and friends. There is also a high practice of negotiated death between families and physicians. Americans believe they have an immunity to death and see it as annihilation and meaningless life.

Pasquerella suggested that having experts in the field, including biologists, bioethicists and physicians, stimulate discussion would be a way to resolve this worldview. She encouraged the community not to equate death to failure, but as something “good” and eventually acceptable.

Meredith Skiba ‘12 said that until Pasquerella’s lecture, she had never considered death as unAmerican.

"I do feel that it is a valid point: in med school doctors are taught to save lives and many times family members want their loved ones to live. It seems that there may be a different notion of death in other cultures where death is perhaps more accepted. Overall this notion of acceptance of death seems like it may relate back to policy regarding end of life care,” she said.

By Sam Kaplan

Staff Writer

After Thursday night, I hope it’s safe to say that students will no longer confuse "The Haverford Journal," Haverford’s academic journal, with "The Haverford Review", its literary magazine. After all, would "The Haverford Review" ever have "bought out" Lunt Cafe for a night, guaranteeing all attendees to free food from its special spring menu? So says the launch party’s Facebook event, viewable at facebook.com/event.php?eid=113813521963600

I served on the Editorial Board of The Haverford Review (and that of "The Journal," but I’ll get to that in a moment), and I can tell you with complete certainty that not once was the idea even discussed at any "Review" meetings I attended.

In all seriousness, though, the event—a celebration of the release of "The Journal’s" fourth issue—was a resounding success, to the extent that when I arrived promptly at 8:30 p.m. the cafe was already quite crowded. Editorial Board member Nick Lotito ‘10 was not even there yet, clearly used to Haverford’s usual attendance record, which generally involves a slow trickling in of guests for the first hour or so of any given event.

The "party"—as Lotito himself referred to it—featured an open conversation about Journal author Michael Grant ’07’s paper "The Construction, Deconstruction, and Purpose of the Main Line Myth," complete with an appearance by Grant himself, who conveniently lives mere blocks away from Haverford, in the very same Ardmore housing complex in which I myself reside.

At this point I feel I must disclose that I was, in fact, a member of "The Haverford Journal" when it accepted Grant’s paper, and so I was already somewhat familiar with its contents. (This is a fact that I completely forgot when accepting this commission, so I hope you will excuse the conflict of interest.)

Grant defines the Main Line myth as the perception, from approximately 1870 to 1930, that the Main Line consisted exclusively of rich elites. Nurtured by what Grant calls "exclusionary town planning and estate architecture," as well as romanticized portrayals of the Main Line in popular culture ("The Philadelphia Story," for example) and one-sided historical writing, the myth masked and essentially denied the existence of the Main Line’s vast underclass, most of them laborers and servants.

Grant described his paper to an attentive audience, and lively discussion followed. Asked what Haverford was like during the time of the Main Line myth, Grant replied that he was not sure, to the disappointment of some attendees. Asked about the Main Line today, however, Grant said that "it’s a very different world now"—something I agree with, given my experiences as an off-campus student living in Ardmore. Grant and I discussed this briefly, and we concluded that Ardmore now seems like an economically and racially diverse town with a wonderful sense of community.

"If it wasn’t so close to Haverford, I’d stay here forever," I believe I told him, a sentiment he seemed to share.

Afterwards, I made my rounds, surveying various students to gauge their reactions to the discussion, the event, and "The Journal" overall.

First up was "Journal" Editorial Board member Hannah Silverblank ‘12, who outlined her vision for the publication:

"Something that should be so great at Haverford is the dialogue between disciplines, because it’s such a small school," Silverblank said.

"We don’t really have one location for everyone to come and share their academic perspectives about particular topics, though. One of our goals is to get people from different disciplines into a dialogue about the same topic to see what light they can shed upon it."

Another way "The Journal" hopes to accomplish that task is with a potential second publication, to be titled "J.5."

"The idea is for it to be a more free-form academic magazine about everyday life," Silverblank said. "It could be anything from a miniature book to a giant fold-out Russian newspaper."

"The Journal" has also surged into the Web 2.0 era with an official Twitter account (twitter.com/thereal_thej) and a website (haverford.edu/haverfordjournal). Upcoming "Journal" events include a possible symposium on the ethics of animal research with future "Journal" author David Fischer ‘10, whose paper "Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You: Resituating Animal Research" will be published in "The Journal’s" next issue.

That issue will also feature the debut of Duncan Cooper ’09’s graphic design work for "The Journal," a preview of which is already available in the form of the poster Cooper designed for this very launch party (see the Facebook event).

"Duncan has done wonders for us so far," Silverblank said.

I next turned to our faithful Lunt Cafe employees, who had witnessed the night’s proceedings from the other side of the counter.

Jane Holloway ‘11 was moved by the considerable track team attendance of the event, which she interpreted as a show of support for Grant.

"They just love each other, and that rules," she said.

"I think this is a great thing for Haverford," David Richardson ‘12 said, before asking if anyone had ever forced an interview on me. They had not—you were the first, David.

David went on to compliment Jane’s "sweet job" on the milkshakes. I assume no pun was intended—the milkshakes were, in fact, quite sweet.

By Robin Riskin and Will Stone 

Managing Editor and Sports Editor

The Henry S. Drinker House, known simply as “Drinker” to most Fords, has long housed Haverford’s baseball team. With a large backyard, deck, and several annual parties, the spacious two-story home remains a prominent feature in the physical and social landscape of the College.

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By Carrie Kolar

Staff Writer

In the wake of recent sexual assault incidents and discussions at Haverford, a group of students formed a working group with the goal of changing the college’s rape and sexual assault policies.  

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