Fox News

At Swarthmore, Students Can Graduate En Espanol

Associated Press

May 27, 2011

Deivid Rojas, a senior at Swarthmore College, has waited four years to hear the congratulatory remarks that will come with receiving his degree from the elite liberal arts school.

Now, his Spanish-speaking father will be able to understand them as well: "Felicidades a los recién graduados!" (Congratulations to our new graduates!)

Swarthmore is offering a live, simultaneous translation of Sunday's commencement, where guests will be able to listen to a Spanish version of the ceremony using wireless headsets.

Many universities, including Swarthmore, have long offered sign-language interpreters or closed captioning at their graduations for the deaf and hard of hearing. But translation into foreign languages appears to be uncommon.

...Some Hispanic advocacy groups expressed surprise when told of Swarthmore's endeavor, calling it an unusual and welcome development for the nation's growing Latino population.

... Rojas approached Maurice Eldridge, vice president for college and community relations, with the translation idea.

Eldridge was immediately receptive. Though the expected need among the 350 graduates was not overwhelming, offering the service embodies the private school's mission and ethos, said Eldridge.

"It was a reasonable extension of services to make such a significant event in the lives of our students and their families more accessible to them," he said.

...The audio equipment has the capacity to add channels, and next year the school may provide Korean or Chinese translations as well, said Eldridge. The college will also continue to offer American Sign Language interpreters. (full story)

This story appeared in more than 150 media outlets around the country, including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post , The Houston Chronicle, Forbes, Newsday, The Miami Herald and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The San Francisco Chronicle

When it's time to turn the office back into a bedroom

By Nellie Bowles, Chronicle Staff Writer

May 29, 2011

Cole Armstrong, 24, graduated with degrees in political science and economics from Swarthmore, going on to win a prestigious internship at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association.

Just one hitch: It is part time and unpaid.

So he moved home to live rent-free at his parents' in the Castro district.

...Whether it's the economy, lack of planning or friendlier relationships between generations, young adults are returning in droves to their old bedrooms after college. According to the independent Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, in 1980 just 11 percent of young adults lived with their parents. By 2008, 20 percent did. And as the Baby Boomers brace for another fleet of Boomerangers to graduate this year, psychologists talk of a sea change in family dynamics. "Suddenly you have multiple generations of adults in the same house again, and it's just hard," says Dr. Rodney Shapiro, director of Networks Family Counseling Center in San Francisco.

...His parents had not prepared for the realities of having a full-grown young man living in the house.

"I stayed out all night without telling them, and they freaked out."

"If you're living in a house with somebody," says his mother, "even if you're a guest, if you disappear for the night, I want to know at what point do I call the cops."

There were also noise complaints. Ultimately, both sides compromised.

"I've learned to be more respectful, to not have people over at night," Cole Armstrong says. "My parents learned to text."...

The Virgin Islands Daily News

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Interviews Lewis

By Daniel Shea,

May 25, 2011

May 25--St. Thomas native Wilma Lewis appeared Tuesday afternoon before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing after President Barack Obama nominated her earlier this year to be a District Court judge in the Virgin Islands.

...Christensen said Lewis would "bring an extensive, varied and broad wealth of experience from both the public and private sector to the District Court," according to a statement from the delegate's office.

It was not Lewis's first confirmation hearing before the Senate. In August 2009, Lewis was approved by the Senate after she was appointed to be the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management with the U.S. Interior Department.

...Lewis was born and raised on St. Thomas, but her professional career has kept her predominantly around New England -- attending college in Pennsylvania, law school in Massachusetts and working mostly in Washington, D.C.

..."I have a strong commitment to public service," Lewis said. "I will be fair and firm. I want to hear opposing perspectives, and I will set the tone for a courtroom where all litigants will have their day in court."

...Lewis received her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1981, and she earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science, with distinction, from Swarthmore College in 1978, where she also was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. ...

Targeted News Service

International Design Visionary Bill Moggridge Headlines 133rd Commencement

May 19, 2011

The University of the Arts issued the following news release:

International design visionary Bill Moggridge delivered the keynote address and received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts (HDFA) at the 133rd Commencement of the University of the Arts, held May 19, 2011, at the Academy of Music on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts.

In addition to Moggridge, Emmy Award-winning independent documentary filmmaker Louis J. Massiah also received an HDFA. The founder and executive director of Philadelphia's Scribe Video Center (http://www.scribe.org/) is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship and two Rockefeller Intercultural Fellowships. Massiah is currently the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change at Swarthmore College.

SPORTS

Sacramento Bee

Catching up with ... Track Athlete Rebecca Hammond

By Jeff Caraska

May 26, 2011

Catching Up

Former Davis High School standout Rebecca Hammond broke the Swarthmore College 800-meter run record when she finished the race in 2 minutes, 13.44 seconds this month. Hammond provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, which begin today at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio.

Earlier in May, Hammond anchored Swarthmore's 4x800 relay team to a victory in the Centennial Conference Championship Meet, and placed second in the 1,500 in 4:42.20.

Hammond, a sophomore, is faring well academically, too. She made the conference's academic honor roll, which requires a minimum 3.40 grade-point average.  ...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lebo Seniors Keep Tradition High School Lacrosse

Nicholas Tolomeo, Tri-State Sports & News Service

May 26, 2011

Mike Ermer can appreciate the talent level of Division III collegiate lacrosse.

After graduating from Mt. Lebanon in 1996, Ermer went onto a four-year career at Division III Denison in Ohio.

Now in his second year as Mt. Lebanon boys lacrosse coach, Ermer is ready to send two of his seniors to top in-state Division III programs.

His leading attack men, Nate Relich and Bijan Firouzan, are both Division III bound. Relich will be attending Swarthmore College, a Philadelphia-area school known as one of the top academic schools in the state, while Firouzan will attend Gettysburg College, home to an elite lacrosse program.

"I'm a Division III guy myself, so this is great. The level of play is really high," Ermer said.  ...

The Star Democrat (Easton, MD)

Sports Stories

Experience at the highest level among Colonel's goals

William Haufe Sports Editor

May 26, 2011

..."We won two relays (400, 800) at Baysides, and we just took those four girls and put them in four separate events at regionals," said Allen of Chastity Hopkins, Lael Richards, Talea Cannon and Tynieka Brown. "We knew we had freshmen we could stick in the relays, and they basically stepped up."

A senior who plans on playing volleyball and running track for Swarthmore College later this year, Hopkins won three individual titles at regionals as the Colonels amassed 238 points to overwhelm runner-up Snow Hill (74) and the rest of the seven-team field in perhaps the most lopsided victory since North Caroline's girls buried the 1A East field by 159 points in 2005. Hopkins totaled 38 points herself, winning the long jump (14 feet, 3 inches) and triple jump (29-9), surpassing both her region marks from a year ago. She also won the high jump (4-6) and placed second in the 200 meters (28.32 seconds).

"She is a pure track athlete," Allen said of Hopkins. ...