Swarthmore College Video

A Tapestry of Narratives: Conversations through Poetry

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:00:00 400

Mary Jean Chan '12 gives a preview of her TEDxSwarthmore talk, which will address the question, "What makes a good society?" The day-long event, also featuring talks by Swarthmore alumni, faculty, and a current parent, will take place March 31 in the Lang Performing Arts Center.

Chan, a political science honors major and English literature minor from Hong Kong, China, is passionate about heterodox economics, the intersection between politics and poetry, and other forms of literary expression. She is currently collaboratively working on organizing a conference, “The Progress Paradox: Critical Perspectives on Development,” to be held at Swarthmore April 8-16 this year. Chan was selected through the TEDxSwarthmore Student Challenge to join the speaker lineup as a student representative of Swarthmore College.

Engineers Week 2012

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:04:19 500

Just in time for the lunch rush, Andreas Bastian '12 and Alex Burka '12 transformed the main entrance in Sharples Dining Hall into a musical staircase as part of Engineers Week. They were joined by Nick Rhinehart '12, who wrote code for the project, Nick Felt '13, Keliang He '13, Jackie Kay '14, Chris Lekas '14, Julian Leland '12, Eric Verhasselt '13, and Seth Foster '13, who first suggested the idea.

Wishing You Peace and Good Will

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:34:41 500

Celebrate Swarthmore's beautiful campus and campus life in President Rebecca Chopp's holiday greeting in which she shares wishes for peace and good will for all. Featuring music composed by Peter Schickele '57 and performed by Joyce Han '13 and Andrew Hauze '94.

Sixteen Feet Reunion Concert

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 10:16:10 500

From two founders in the Class of 1981 to members from the Class of 2015, more than 40 current and past members of Sixteen Feet gathered on the Lang Concert Hall during Garnet Weekend stage for the group's first full-fledged reunion concert. After a cheesesteak lunch under the bell tower, the "Feet" rehearsed for several hours before the show. They even learned a new song, arranged by Jove Graham '96 and comprising in part�a song written by Andrew Gregory '04, for the occasion. Videography by Mariam Zakhary '13

Garnet Weekend 2011

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 09:05:40 400

Students and their families, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College enjoyed a host of academic, athletic, and social events at this year's Garnet Family and Homecoming Weekend.

Magic Bullets and Smoking Guns, Flying Pigs and Sitting Ducks

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:09:38 400

Immunization has saved millions of lives, but vaccine controversies abound. Tackling today's public health scourges requires preparing for the unexpected and adapting to change. In the 2011 McCabe Lecture during Garnet Weekend, Anne Schuchat '80, the assistant surgeon general of the United States Public Health Service and director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, reflects on more than two decades at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schuchat, a one-time Swarthmore philosophy major, joined the CDC in 1988. In her career, she has headed the CDC's anthrax response team after 9/11, the World Health Organization's team in China during the SARS outbreak, and the 2009 H1N1 response. Her work has also included meningitis vaccine studies in West Africa and the prevention of infectious streptococcal disease in children.

Unnatural Selection: Sex Selection and Asia's 160 Millon 'Missing' Females

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:04:09 400

Hvistendahl is a Beijing-based correspondent for Science Magazine and the author of�Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men (2011). Her award-winning writing has been published in Harper's, Scientific American, Popular Science, The Financial Times, and Foreign Policy. She has appeared as a commentator on NPR, MSNBC, and the BBC, and taught journalism at Fudan University in Shanghai.]]>

My Neurons Made Me Do It

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:57:59 400

Jed Rakoff '64, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, spoke on Constitution Day 2011 about how neuroscience is challenging the law's view of criminal and moral responsibility. Rakoff, admired for legal opinions filled with sharp writing and laced with wit, is wellknown for decisions in which he rejected a $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bank of America, overturned the federal death penalty (reversed on appeal), and forced the Pentagon to reveal the names and nationalities of hundreds of detainees held at Guant�namo Bay. Rakoff was born in Philadelphia and, after graduating from Swarthmore, attended Oxford and Harvard Law School. He soon joined the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, where he worked as a prosecutor for seven years, including two as chief of the securities fraud unit. President Clinton appointed Rakoff to the federal bench in 1995. He is also the author of a number of books and more than 100 articles.

Orit Hofshi: Resilience

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:30:14 400

Orit Hofshi's monumental and profoundly moving woodcuts, mixed media works, and installations explore the relation of humanity to landscape - places that have been contested, destroyed, or reclaimed. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Hofshi's art speaks to universal experiences of loss, dislocation, and resilience. Her numerous awards include the Jacob Pins Award for an Israeli Printmaker from the Israel Museum; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; and the Prize for Outstanding Quality in Contemporary Israeli Art, from the Ministry of Science and Culture, Israel. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Print Center, Philadelphia and distinguished venues in Israel including the Open Museum, Tefen; the The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. In this lecture, she discusses her work in the List Gallery, where her work is on display this fall.

Parrish Parlors Piano Dedication

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:32:38 400

A newly restored, nearly 100-year-old Steinway 'O' piano is now ensconced in Parrish Parlors. The dedication ceremony this fall featured performances by Associate in Perfomance Andrew Hauze '04 (solo at 14:40), Joyce Han '13, Corey Silberstein '12 (8:25), Visiting Instructor in Educational Studies Elaine Allard '01, Professor of Physics Carl Grossman (24:45), and Visiting Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies George Lakey (31:22). "The quest for this piano began at least two years ago," said Maurice Eldridge '61, vice president for college and community relations at the event. "It is a wonderful, gracious piece of community life to have this at Swarthmore as a resource." Videography by Mahandra Rodriguez '12

English Literature Professor Craig Williamson Reads from His Translation of Beowulf

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 07:11:59 400

When Professor of English Literature Craig Williamson first let his students hear the 200 lines of Beowulf he had translated, one of them threw a copy of an already published translation they had been reading in class on the floor. He told Williamson the translator of that version should be ashamed. The class enjoyed Williamson's translation so much, they �"assigned" him a certain number of lines to translate every week. When the class ended, Williamson continued to finish what is now a completed translation, Beowulf and Other Old English Poems (2011, University of Pennsylvania Press). Here, Williamson reads and then translates about 20 lines of the poem from his book during an honors seminar.

Teach-In on Nonviolent Responses to Terrorism

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:07:44 400

President Rebecca Chopp facilitated a panel discussion on the aftermath of 9/11 and the role of government on the global stage. Panelists Assistant Professor of Statistics Lynne Steuerle Schofield '99, Associate Professor of Sociology Lee Smithey, and Visiting Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies George Lakey also reflected on the personal, practical activism of individual citizens.

Behind the Scenes in the Dominican Republic

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:56:20 400

This spring, 11 students spent a week traveling and filming in the Dominican Republic as part of a documentary filmmaking class taught by Lang Visiting Professor Louis Massiah. Their goal: to each produce a film that examined how concepts of "nation" and "state" developed in this post-colonial society. In his film, for instance, sociology major Zein Nakhoda '12 examined the relationship between colonial history and contemporary tourist economies. Bertolain Elysee '11, who graduated with a B.A. in sociology and anthropology, used water as a lens through which to explore the kinds of economic and social exchanges which have been tangibly enabled by it as well as the symbolic values ascribed to it. Here, Zein and Elysee give a behind the scenes glimpse at the trip and the experiences they shared. In addition to Nakhoda and Elysee, students in the class are: Morgan Bartz '14 Philippe Celestin '11 Taryn Colonnese '13 Ben Firestone '11 Andr�s Freire '11 Eva McKend '11 Sara Nawaz '11 Deivid Rojas '11 Emilyn Sosa '11

Move-In Day 2011

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:35:35 400

Swarthmore began the 2011-2012 academic year, its 143rd year of instruction, with 386 first-year students and 10 transfer students. On Move-In Day, President Rebecca Chopp joined Dean of Students Liz Braun and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jim Bock '90 in welcoming them, their parents, families, and friends and answering their questions. The Class of 2015 was selected from among a record 6,547 applicants, of whom 15 percent were offered admission.

Garnet Men's Soccer in Greece

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:37:42 400

The Garnet Men's Soccer team displayed some moves not normally in their repertoire when they took to the dance floor during a team meal in Crete. Forward David Sterngold '12 provides an account of the experience. The team's trip to Greece included four matches, training sessions, and an afternoon at the Institute of Children with Special Needs in Athens.

Alumni Weekend 2011

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:49:17 400

Messiah with Joanna Curtis '01 as a featured soloist, and the List Gallery hosted its third alumni art show. June Rothman Scott '61 gave the Collection address and Evan Gregory '01 led the amphitheater crowd in singing the alma mater.]]>

Commencement 2011

Mon, 30 May 2011 12:56:15 400

At Swarthmore's 139th commencement, President Rebecca Chopp awarded honorary degrees to innovative publisher and philanthropist David Bradley '75, acclaimed criminologist David Kennedy '80, and noted entrepreneur and educator Iqbal Quadir '81. In addition, 366 undergraduates were awarded degrees at the ceremony, held at the Scott Amphitheater.

Natalie Bamdad '11

Mon, 30 May 2011 12:46:52 400

"Some of us are headed off to grad school or to new jobs," said senior class speaker Natalie Bamdad '11 at the 2011 Commencement. "Others of us have found comfort in the belief that jobs are just social constructions, made for greedy people who don't see the value in returning to your roots, spending some time with good 'ole mom and dad, sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal, existing as a warm body radiating love."

President Rebecca Chopp

Mon, 30 May 2011 12:46:17 400

"Swarthmore passion, so honed by critical thinking, is almost always guided by the demands and needs of the world in all its many dimensions," said President Rebecca Chopp at Swarthmore's 139th commencement, "whether it is to figure out a particular problem in math, to design a program to improve the lives of impoverished women and children, or to sculpt a new expression of beauty," "Swarthmore passion, it seems to me, is always the incredible combination of your heart's gladness and the world's great need."

David Bradley '75

Mon, 30 May 2011 12:45:20 400

At the 2011 Commencement, President Chopp bestowed upon publisher and philanthropist David Bradley '75 the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. "I can still see the change in me that year as if it were a physical crossing," he said. "My mental frame was as if you could think and think and think and eventually hit a wall where the insights stopped. Then, against any reasonable expectation, Swarthmore would demand you think farther. And, suddenly you discover that terminal wall in that is porous. It's like a gauze curtain. And, thinking harder, you cross over ? or through ? and find a whole new space of original ideas."