Editor's Note: This is a double issue.

PR Newswire

Dr. Alex D. Curtis Invested as President of Choate Rosemary Hall

 September 28, 2011

Dr. Alex D. Curtis, born in London and raised in Windsor, Berkshire, was invested as President of Choate Rosemary Hall, a college preparatory school of 850 boarding and day students located in Wallingford, Connecticut, on September 21, 2011.

In his remarks, Dr. Curtis spoke about the future of education and the challenges that lie ahead. He reminded those gathered that 17th century British architect Christopher Wren faced similar challenges. "Wren understood, and was excited by, the dawning of a new age, that which was ushered in by the Scientific Revolution. We, too, face a new age, that of the Digital Revolution. We should welcome it with the same excitement that Wren would, for it will be just as significant - if not more so - than all previous industrial and scientific revolutions. It forces us to change the way we think; it demands creativity; and it requires collaboration." ...

Dr. Curtis attended boarding school in London at St. Paul's School, and is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where he majored in Ancient History, and minored in Art History and Latin. He studied for his doctorate at Princeton University where, in 1995, he was awarded a Ph.D. by the Department of Art and Archaeology.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

In film, Moms See the Struggle

By Monica Yant Kinney; Inquirer Columnist

September 28, 2011

 I Don't Know How She Does It is ostensibly a comedy, a laugh-with-her romp about a crazed working mother who dismisses a pesky case of head lice as "probably just my stress eczema flaring up again."

And yet, I heard sniffling in the theater during the pivotal dramatic scene, as the heroine's speech-delayed son utters his first words, "Bye-bye, Mama." Why cry? Because he comes to life just as she's fleeing her family for another business trip - on Thanksgiving.

In the dark, I am surrounded by six women who can commiserate. Mostly strangers, these type-A working moms from the city, suburbs, and South Jersey agreed to help me review a movie aimed at an audience too busy to see it and too self-critical to enjoy it.

Our group included attorneys and law professors, an elementary schoolteacher and an anthropologist, accomplished women in their late 30s and 40s, operating on all cylinders and fumes.

Some of them felt so guilty disappearing for a few hours that they cooked for the kids before leaving for the Sunday matinee. By them, of course, I also mean me.

...Over fig-tinis, Diet Coke, and burgers at Le Bus, I learn I'm not the only paranoid parent who saw herself on-screen

...The ceaseless competition and carping among women in the film troubled Farha Ghannam, a Swarthmore anthropologist raised in Jordan, far from the mommy wars.

"It made at-home mothers so horrible," she laments. "That's unfortunate and untrue."

Collectively, my amateur cinephiles thought the movie felt most real and raw when it showed the lengths Parker's character went to ensure her children didn't suffer for her success.

"Her kids," McElroy notes, "were in the forefront of her mind."...

CNN News Room

Music Group Chiddy Bang Profiled

September 26, 2011

Brooke Baldwin: If you watch this show regularly, you know I like all kinds of music, Indy rock, bluegrass, punk, jazz, classical. And today's music is a genre that I love. Chiddy Bang can't be classified as another rap or hip hop group. Their upcoming album is called breakfast is "Mind your Manners". You think they might have something to do with the fact they are both 21 years of age? My producer friend, Julian Cummings, sat down with the duo to hear how they crafted their unique sound.

Anamege, : I'm Chiddy.

Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin, Musician: I'm Xaphoon Jones.

Anamege: Together we are Chiddy Bang. We were in college freshmen. This is two and a half years ago, three years ago.

Jones: I was DJ-ing at parties.

...Jones: I didn't think either of us too it to seriously until we did a show at Swarthmore College. It was a club basement in the middle of the woods with like 100 kids, 160 kids. They looked at us literally after we posted like three songs on the Internet. And it was like, you guys are like -- you guys are on it. There are people who figuring out our music now. It gets to the show, one, two, three and everyone knows the lyrics. I think that's the first time we were like maybe this could be a possibility.  ...

Jezebel

How To Talk About Religion Without Starting A Fight

September 22, 2011

Religion is one of the three things you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table (along with politics and The Great Pumpkin). And yet it's pretty important to a lot of people. Here's how to discuss God stuff without getting into a shouting match. ...

 Dr. Yvonne Chireau, professor of religion at Swarthmore College and author of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition, told me,

Sometimes it is best to approach the subject with a "know-nothing attitude" while simultaneously being open and curious enough to want to learn more. We have to learn more before we speak! Read books, take classes.

So don't just assume that because you read a newspaper article one time you know everything there is to know about Islam. If you're going to discuss somebody else's religion, it helps to actually listen to them. And if you really want to learn, you might do some research first.

Get on the same page.

Says Chireau,

The biggest mistake that I see and hear is that when people speak about "religion" they come to the conversation with different definitions, assumptions and ideas of what they are talking about. Is "religion" an institution, or something that people "do" on Friday Saturday or Sunday - if for example, you are a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian? Or is "religion" something like "spirituality," something that everyone has and does. I think it is best to come to an agreement about what we are talking about before we talk about "religion," especially to avoid misunderstandings. That part of the conversation can be fun and interesting. 

...

USA Today

San Francisco OKs 'bird-safe' building standard

By William M. Welch, USA Today

September 21, 2011

San Francisco's for the birds - at least its new buildings will be.

At Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, a science building has patterned plate glass that is both visually attractive and visible to birds, to deter them from crashing into it. Now, San Francisco is following suit.

An ordinance approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors requires that new buildings in parts of the city use "bird-safe" standards that reduce the risk of winged creatures hitting panes of glass.

Advocates say that hundreds of millions of birds die each year after flying into glass windows or walls in the USA, and that San Francisco's action will boost efforts to encourage bird-safe buildings nationally.

"It's a global problem," says Christine Sheppard, bird collisions campaign manager for the American Bird Conservancy. "Everywhere you find glass, you will find dead birds. One of the reasons that people don't recognize it is a problem is that it is so widely distributed. There are some buildings that kill thousands of birds a year."

Transparent and reflective glass both pose a threat to migratory and local birds, Sheppard says. Birds don't see glass or recognize it as a barrier and think they are flying to vegetation they see through the window or in a reflection, she says.

Marking windows with dots or other designs, or shielding the glass with screens or other architectural devices, can reduce fatal accidents, Sheppard says. ...

Above Average Jane

White House Honors 2 with PA Ties

September 19, 2011

The Agentes de Cambio/Agents of Change Latino Youth Roudtable is part of a series of Hispanic Heritage Month events the Administration is hosting throughout the months of September and October. The youth chosen to be highlighted as Agentes de Cambio/Agents of Change were recognized by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation for their outstanding leadership and service to the community. ...

Two of those honored have times to Pennsylvania, one with a Swarthmore degree:

Andrea Cornejo is a Research Assistant at KNG Health LLC, where she conducts empirical research projects to analyze the social and economic impacts of annual US health policies and regulations on various health sectors, and a LOFT Foreign Affairs Fellow for the LOFT Institute, for which she has organized the First Annual Foreign Affairs Bootcamp in Washington D.C. earlier this year. Previously, she was a Scholar at the Center for Progressive Leadership while serving as a Research Assistant at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, where she published four academic and journalistic articles on economic and political developments in the Latin American region. Prior to joining Partners of the Americas, Andrea interned at France Amerique Latine, a human rights NGO focused on Latin America based in Paris, France. There she organized several fund raising events and cultural fairs with the Latin American immigrant population. Andrea graduated with a B.A. from Swarthmore College in 2010 with a degree in Economics and Political Science, with a concentration in international development. At Swarthmore, she was the recipient of the Talisma Nasrin Community Building Award. ...

Her most amazing accomplishment so far has been during her time with Partners of the Americas, where she worked closely with the Partners Chapter in Texas and in Lima, Peru to build and implement a library for the Viña Vieja elementary public school in Ica, Peru.

SPORTS

The Delaware County Daily Times (PA)

COLLEGES: Rao scores two, including OT winner for Swarthmore

Times Staff



September 28, 2011

Aarti Rao's goal 13 minutes into overtime, her second of the game, lifted Swarthmore to a 4-3 win over host Eastern in field hockey action Tuesday.

Swarthmore rallied from an early deficit to take a one-goal lead in the second half before Eastern's Kelby Bolton tied it with 17 minutes left in regulation.
Despite being outshot 24-13 and out-cornered 14-7, the Garnet (3-4, 1-2) came out with the win. Katie Telesky and Taryn Colonnese also added goals for Swarthmore.

The Delaware County Daily Times (PA)

College Golf: Swarthmore's Park takes fifth

Times Staff


September 27, 2011

Andrew Park finished fifth at the Franklin and Marshall Invitational at Bent Creek Country Club in Lancaster, where Park and Swarthmore placed ninth in the team standings.
Park fired a team-best round, a 4-over 75, to shoot in the 70s in three straight tournaments. The Garnet shot 45-over 329 as a team.


The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Inquirer Academic All-Stars - The players who excel as students and athletes are selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association.

September 23, 2011

Men's Lacrosse

Brian Karalunas and Maria Horning were named the 2010-11 overall players of the year.

 Karalunas was a senior men's lacrosse player from Villanova, and Horning was a junior volleyball player at Eastern.

 ...

Max Hubbard Swarthmore Jr. Economics/biology

...

Women's Track

Rutgers-Camden's Robin England, a senior economics major and mathematics minor, earned the performer of the year award for the second consecutive year.

...

Rebecca Hammond Swarthmore So. Biology

...

The Delaware County Daily Times (PA)

Colleges: Sterngold helps Swarthmore keep unbeaten roll going

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Times Staff

David Sterngold scored his fifth goal of the season and Kieran Reichert notched an important insurance tally as the Swarthmore men's soccer team - ranked fourth in the nation - remained perfect on the young season with a 2-1 victory at home over 24th-ranked Franklin & Marshall Saturday afternoon in the Centennial Conference opener for both.

Swarthmore (5-0, 1-0) outshot the Diplomats (3-2-1, 0-1), 21-6, and caught a break when F&M keeper Zach Fernberger picked up a red card in the 70th minute.

The Philadelphia Daily News

Young Union lineup good for win over first-place Columbus

By Kerith Gabriel

September 19, 2011

GIVEN THE LINEUPS Peter Nowak has fielded in the past, it's evident he is an agent of change.

But never take the Union boss for a gambler.

Against first-place Columbus and out for its first win in 2 months, Saturday night's Union lineup consisted of its 16-year-old homegrown midfielder Zach Pfeffer, who earned his first MLS start, Morgan Langley, called up late last week from USL Pro affiliate Harrisburg as a late substitute, with no true defender in reserve, relying heavily on the customary back four of Gabriel Farfan, Sheanon Williams, Carlos Valdes and Danny Califf, who assumed the captaincy in place of injured goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.

An emphatic, 1-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 18,904, the third largest gathering in the club's 2-year history at PPL Park. Even more astounding is that this young corps actually replicated the early season play that had the Union first in MLS' East for a third of the season.

Morgan Langley, who entered in the 80th minute against Columbus in place of Roger Torres, was beaming postgame as he spoke to reporters. A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Langley was an All-America at nearby Swarthmore College. As he spoke about "getting to experience his lifelong dream," Gabriel Farfan, overhearing the dialogue, finished Langley's sentence: "Two weeks ago, this kid was hitting me up for tickets; he calls me up and he's all like 'Yo man, think I can get two?' "

Additionally, Langley is the second victim of a misspelled jersey in his debut. On the back of his No. 26 appeared "Langely." Last year it was Pfeffer who made his debut with "Peffer" on his kit. "I couldn't believe it [when I was told, by a teammate after the match], that's hilarious," said Langley. "It's certainly a story to add to this already amazing one for me, that's for sure."