THE GIRLS OF WILLETS
To the Editor:
I very much enjoyed the article "The Campus That Never Was" [September 1998]. However, for those of us who don't get back to the campus very much, it would have been a plus to have included some of the buildings that did get built. Willets, for example, was being built in 1959, the year I graduated. My group of friends didn't like the look of it at all and felt that the campus was being ruined. I remember a derogatory rhyme that began "_____ like saucepans, heads like skillets, we're the girls who live in Willets." Does anyone remember the entire rhyme?
Susan Barker Gutterman '59
New York
SAVED BY THE DEPRESSION
To the Editor:
For those of us who lived through it, the Great Depression has to be considered a dismal experience. Yet from "The Campus That Never Was," it appears that it may have unknowingly saved Swarthmore's beautiful campus. We should all be most grateful for that&emdash;as well as for the subsequent appearance of architect Vincent Kling. Imagine Parrish Hall without its Mansard roof!
J.C. Bennett '45
Morris Plains, N.J.
BEST OF THE BEST
To the Editor:
In reading "The Campus That Never Was," I was particularly struck by the mention of a supposed congruent style among Swarthmore's buildings. For my part, I've often boasted that one can tour several times and places simply by walking the campus. In short order, one can visit a:
• Victorian mansion
(Parrish Hall)
• Medieval fortress (McCabe Library)
• Modern Swiss ski lodge (Sharples Dining Hall)
• Site of ancient muster and moot (Scott Amphitheater)
• Timeless European inn (Worth and Bond)
• Holiday Inn of indistinguishable locale (Willets)
• Gothic cathedral com- plete with cloister (Clothier Hall)
• Formally disciplined, utterly exuberant garden
Actually, I was referring to the rose garden there, but it does describe the precious best-of-the-best that I got in my brief years at Swarthmore.
Karellynne Wertheimer Watkins '74
Denver
FRAUGHT WITH NAUGHT
To the Editor:
We are surprised that Louise Zimmerman Forscher '44 objects to Associate Dean Joy Charlton's use of the word "fraught" to describe the student environment at Swarthmore. The Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (1987) gives, as meaning 4, the definition "distressed; distressing," and it cites, along with a Dick Francis novel, the Spectator of 1966: "All that had gone before led me to expect an end more fraught." We have encountered many linguistic innovations at Swarthmore&emdash;some of them quite distressing&emdash;but this is not one of them.
Ellen Magenheim
Department of Economics
William Turpin
Department of Classics
DIRTY MONEY?
To the Editor:
I read with interest the recent article in The Garnet Letter (summer/fall 1998) announcing the establishment of a scholarship fund in the name of Edward L. Dobbins '39. This fund, which I have learned was established with the help of $50,000 in matching funds from the General Electric Co. (GE), is intended for "a student from Massachusetts, with preference to a Berkshire County resident, who is deeply committed to the betterment of society and exhibits such dedication through community or environmental activism."
There's a great irony here because in Berkshire County, GE is widely regarded as a toxic polluter. The company's Large Transformer Division in Pittsfield dumped tons of PCBs onto the ground and into the Housa-tonic River. Polluted properties have become worthless, parks and playgrounds have been fenced off, and Pittsfield is now dominated by a huge abandoned industrial site infested with PCBs.
GE has fought for years to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from declaring the area a Superfund site and has gone so far as to run full-page ads in the Berkshire Eagle, claiming no danger from PCB exposure. Yet recent studies show that exposure to even minute amounts of PCBs can cause endocrine disruption, leading to birth defects, learning disorders, and other health problems.
Does Swarthmore really feel OK about taking scholarship money from a defiant toxic polluter? I hope the College will think twice about taking dirty money.
Andy Gordon '71
Lenox, Mass.
Editor's Note: In September, a consent agreement was announced between the EPA and General Electric. The company has promised to remove PCBs from 1.5 miles of the Housatonic River bottom, help with economic redevelopment in Berkshire County, seek greater public participation in decisions about the cleanup, and contribute $25 million to natural resources restoration in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
WRITE TO US
The Bulletin welcomes letters concerning the contents of the magazine or issues relating to the College. All letters must be signed and may be edited for clarity and space. Address your letters to: Editor, Swarthmore College Bulletin, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore PA 19081-1397, or send by e-mail to bulletin@swarthmore.edu.
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