4/4 risks loom over Lafayette`s future

The Lafayetle
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The
SATURDAY
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Vol. 124
Issue 19
April 17, 1998
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Lafayette College
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4/4 risks loom over Lafayette's future
by ROBERT V A U G H N
"Please understand that this was a
period of planning for the faculty and
we were not in a position to give the
information [conceming 4/4] because
that information w a s not yet accurate," said Provost June Schlueter
about the past year of 4 / 4 deliberations. At a Brown Bag on Wednesday
a panel composed of Schlueter, Professor Susan Averett, Former Registrar
Cyrus Fleck Jr. '52, Seth Marlatt '98,
and Professor Nancy McCreary-Waters, attempted to dispel some confusion and secrecy which had been covering the planned switch to a 4 / 4 curriculum.
The plan to switch to 4 / 4 can be
traced as far back as 1996. A Middle
States review at that time, which compared Lafayette's curriculum to other
high-ranking schools, helped inspire
the change. Schlueter sees the system as standard a m o n g institutions
comparable to Lafayette. Economic
efficiency w a s also a factor, commented Schlueter d u r i n g the
curriculum's planning stages, stating
" w e have been hiring a brigade of
adjuncts and visitors that are costing
us millions of dollars a year."
Wednesday's brown bag focused on
explaining w h a t will be expected and
what will be required of students under the n e w system. Averett suggested that students would be responsible for what they could learn under
4 / 4 , adding "I think students will see
more of their professors" both in and
out of the classroom.
Proponents of 4 / 4 argue that taking four courses instead of five will
mean more work per class, so that any
given semester load under the new
system will be equivalent to the old
five course system. Lafayette will be-
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Tenure
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p. 3
come a college focused on "depth, not
breadth," explained Averett.
The biggest s t u d e n t concern expressed Wednesday was the possibility that taking the accustomed variety
of non-major courses, experiencing a
wealth of course topics in different departments, would be closed to them.
Karin Marangosian '98 said, "I spent
two years taking various courses trying to decide w h a t to major in, and
when I finally focused on English and
French I barely fit it in; and that was
with five courses per semester instead
of four."
There was also distress over having
to spend the equivalent of four credits
on core-curriculum requirements, instead of spending only three credits on
such requirements and focusing proportionally more on major courses.
Marangosian continued, "Once you
decide on your major, you don't want
to spend four credits worth of 'in-
photo by Mc'^an Gallagher
depth class time' on something like calculus or computer science. I'd rather
spend that extra time on a course in
one of my majors or interests."
More depth and more focus in each
course could be ideal, 4 / 4 proponents
declare, for Lafayette's h o p e to increase academic standards. Not all students, however, come to Lafayette in
search of an academically intense experience. A large percentage of the student body base their interest in extracurricular activities, sports, c o m m u nity outreach, or social experience.
Brian Want '00 said, for instance, "The
problem I see is a greater polarization,
that w e ' r e going to end u p with a
g r o u p of really motivated students,
w h o are going to want to do things,
and I think of myself as one of them,
but then we're leaving all these other
people in the dust w h o may get frustrated and end up participating even
less [in class]."
Neurosurgeon to
speak on
experience
Easton native Marc Flitter, M.D., a
n e u r o s u r g e o n a n d author, will give
a talk entitled "From E m p a t h y to Det a c h m e n t , the Physician-Patient Relationship" at noon, Monday, April
20, in the Interfaith C h a p e l of H o g g
Hall.
Flitter, a m e m b e r of L a f a y e t t e ' s
Class of 1965, is chief of the division
of n e u r o s u r g e r y at the H a m o t M e d i cal Center, Erie, Pa. H e is the a u t h o r
of J u d i t h ' s Pavilion: The H a u n t i n g
M e m o r i e s of a N e u r o s u r g e o n , p u b lished in 1997 by Steerforth Press. In
stories that P u b l i s h e r s Weekly calls
"heartbreakingly and deeply moving," Flitter r e c o u n t s , w i t h n a m e s
c h a n g e d , his failures a n d the lessons
they t a u g h t him.
Fraternities debate alcofiol-free policies; may
(depend on individual school's circumstances
by EMILY FINK
Brown Daily Herald
(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In
Robert Miller's dream world, college
s t u d e n t s would fight to change the
national drinking age from 21 to 18,
and they would act responsibly when
c o n s u m i n g alcohol consumption. In
this world, however, he'll have to be
content with banning alcohol from fraternity chapter houses.
As National Director of Phi Kappa
Sigma, Miller has been concerned for
a long time about the phenomenon of
binge drinking— defined as heavy
drinking done solely for inebriation —
on college campuses. While Miller believes binge drinking is a campus-wide
problem, he said he felt that it is important for fraternities to help reduce
the liabilities associated with underage
alcohol consumption.
Phi Kappa Sigma, like several other
national fraternities, has adopted an
"alcohol-free" policy which will prohibit alcohol at chapter houses by July
2000.
Phi Delta Theta [xvhich has aiso decided
at the national level to go dry - Editor's
note] Spokesperson Rob Pasquinucci
said that the fraternity's alcohol-free
policy, passed in March 1997, is essentially a "return to our roots."
"The resolution isn't anything new,
b u t it f o c u s e s on w h a t w e w e r e
founded on—friendship, camaraderie,
higher learning and s u p p o r t networks," said Pasquinucci. "Fraternities were never meant to be drinking
clubs."
According to Miller, it is only in the
"She has incredible talent for a woman"
Waltraud Maierhofer, internationally acclaimed specialist on the era
of G e r m a n p o e t a n d d r a m a t i s t
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, will
give a talk a n d slide presentation
entitled "'She has incredible talent
for a woman...': The Painter Angelica
Kauffmann" at 4:30 p.m. Monday,
April 20, in the Interfaith Chapel Of
Hogg Hall.
Maierhofer is a professor of German at the University of Iowa. She
past two decades that binge drinking
has become a problem. "I really think
it was different 20 or 30 years ago. Today, the minute you mention the word
'social,' college students think 'alcohol,'" he said.
Miller illustrated his point with the
example of Louisiana State University
s t u d e n t Benjamin Wynne, w h o died
last fall from alcohol poisoning.
"That kid drank the equivalent of 24
shots in the space of an hour," said
Miller. "If he had done that alone in
continued on page 2
Maierhofer to speak
on Swiss painter
authored
a
monograph
on
Kauffmann (1741-1807), a Swiss w h o
lived in L o n d o n from 1766 to 1781
and in Rome after 1781, p r o d u c e d
more than 500 paintings. H e r graceful, sentimental stvle w a s extremely
p o p u l a r in the late 18th century.
Her p r e s e n t a t i o n is s p o n s o r e d by
L a f a y e t t e ' s d e p a r t m e n t of foreign
l a n g u a g e s a n d literatures.
April 17, 1997
The Lafayette
S e c u r i t y Logr Circumstances dictate policy
April
06 to April
13,
1998
04/01 Student reported that she had her
keys at he:^ workplace at Skillman Library and when she went to get them
they were gone. Student later found
the keys. (Case unfounded.)
04/08 Contractor from Keefe Hall construction project reported the theft of
a sign which read ''HARD HAT AREA."
04/09 Student reported the theft of her
Pacific Trail coat removed from her
belongings which were outside the
squash court at Alumni Gym. Removed
between 6:00.and 6:30 PM.
04/10 Student reported the theft of his
room key, mailbox key and card access
key. Unknown location.
04/10 Students reported the theft of
money removed from their unlocked room
at Ruef Hall. Incident under investigation.
04/11 Officers discovered alcoholic
beverages in the Zeta Psi basement area
unattended. Referred to Dean of Students .
04/11 Officers discovered alcoholic
beverages in the basement area of Delta
Upsilon. Students were underage. Referred to Dean of Students.
Reprixited from the Lafayette
of Security
and Safety
Daily
College
Office
Crime
Log.
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continuedfrom page 1
dent of the Ohio Beta chapter
his dorm room, we could have of Phi Delta Theta at Ohio
called it suicide. But what do Wesleyan University, said his
you call it when he's out with house reacted favorably when
his frat brothers who are all Phi Delta went dry, although
watching him?"
it was a shock at first.
In addition to physical and
Goodman said when he first
financial liabilities, binge arrived at Ohio Wesleyan, Phi
drinking has caused fratemi- Delta "definitely lived up to
ties to lose popularity with in- the 'Animal House' reputacoming students, said Miller. tion." Several Phi Delta brothAccording to the National Fra- ers had been suspended and
ternity Conference, only 14 "tried to push a piano out of
percent of incoming freshmen the second-story window bepledge to fraternities, com- fore they left," Goodman said.
pared to 30 percent in 1967.
"Basically, those were some
"Right now, we're market- low times for our chapter."
ing a four-year alcohol expeThe national chapter of Phi
rience," Miller said. "People Delta offered the Ohio chapare saying, '1 don't have tojoin ter $20,000 and a 10 percent
your frat to drink alcohol, I can reduction on insurance as an
do that on my own. If all we're incentive to go dry. Although
doing now is going out and the Ohio chapter hesitated at
drinking every night, how of- first, the policy was eventually
ten do you think I'll call you adopted.
when I'm 35?'"
With the funding they reAlthough some fraternities ceived. Phi Delta bought "four
prohibit alcohol at chapter new computers, a fax, and
houses, members are still free copy machine, a scanner, new
to go out to drink. "It's a gross furniture and new kitchen
misconception that these fra- equipment," said Goodman.
ternities have banned alcohol
"Sometimes it's tough when
altogether," said Jacques you just want to sit down and
Vauclain, the executive direc- have a beer," said Goodman.
tor at the headquarters of the "But then you think, ^Well,
264-member Sigma Phi Epsi- there's a time and a place for
lon.
that.'"
Vauclain fears that fraterniGoodman believes Phi
ties who haven't adopted al- Delta's dry status has created
cohol-free policies will be a closer bond between chap"lambasted." Sigma Phi's ter members. "Out of the 11
ideal goal is "for every frats on campus, we're the
undergrad to act responsibly tightest group of guys. I think
and use common sense in de- alcohol can make for shallow
cision-making," he said. "We relationships," he said.
want to build leaders, and
At Brown, the fraternity atyou're not much of a leader if mosphere is different from
you're told what to do all the that of other schools, said
time."
Jorge Casimiro '98 of Phi
Mike Goodman '00, presi- Kappa Psi, which does not
have a dry policy.
"Brown students are here
for education first and foremost," Casimiro said.
" I
think people really have the
wrong notion when they say
frats are all about drinking
and partying. It's really up to
the individual if they want to
drink."
"Fraternities are certainly
not about drinking," said Peter Cohen '98, president of
Brown's Alpha Epsilon Pi
chapter. "At the core, they are
about bonds between people."
Although the Brown AEPi
chapter does not have an alcohol-free policy, Cohen said
that he and his brothers experienced no problems related to
drinking. Cohen is critical of
the trend towards dry houses.
"National chapters have
adopted dry policies because
they get substantial cuts in
their insurance," said Cohen,
who believes that fraternity
members should act responsibly, but according to their own
judgment.
Cohen also believes that dry
policies may have some dangerous side effects.
"I don't think it's safe, especially on a campus where bars
and halls are far away, because
people will drive," said
Cohen. "Probably the safest
place to drink is in your own
living room."
While Miller supports dry
policies for all fraternities, he
said he would rather see societal values change as a whole.
"Alcohol-free housing is a
step in the right direction," he
said. "But is it a solution to all
our problems? Absolutely
not."
Escape from Haggis Island
Foreign Correspondent: Spring Break
by SHAYNE LESLIE
FIGUEROA
Day One- Alright, let me
just say up front that buses
bite. Try to "sleep" on one as
Editorial Board
it makes its eight hour jourROBERT VAUGHN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ney from Glasgow to LonKIM LEEDER
don and you'll know what 1
JAMES ABELS
NEWS EDITOR
mean. The transition from
the bus to the Virgin AtlanSPORTS EDITORS
^ " ^ ' 5 3 ^ 1 l JEREMY V^INKLER
tic airplane, though . . . ahh,
STEPHEN DORSCH
bliss.
I spent the next four
CAITLIN GRAY
ARTS EDITOR
hours
among the clouds
ASHLEY WHITE
P H O T O EDITOR
with the angels. Oh, just to
MEGAN GALLAGHER
tantalize all the alcoholics on
WILL WERMUTH
ASST PHOTO EDITOR
campus: free drinks for the
Business Staff
whole flight.
BUSINES MANAGER
JENNIFER BEANE
I finally arrived in Athens,
ADVERTISING
COLLEEN TUTELLA
home of Homer, and made
my way to the hostel. I met
my friend there and we
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome resfjonses from our readers. Feel free to submit a let- wimped out with gyros from
ter or article at any time; please type and send it to us on diskette as a street vendor before going
a text (*.txt)file.The deadline for Friday publication is 5 p.m. of the to bed.
preceding Monday. All submissions are subject to editing.
Day Two- These entries
Opinion Policy: Opinions stated in columns, cartoons, and Letters gotta get shorter or else it
to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff.
will turn into an odyssey of
Editorial Policy: Editorials are written as staff conensus.
my own. So, we all know
that Rome wasn't built in a
day, but 1 managed to "do"
Athens in that time. Acropolis—check. Marketplace—
check. Museum of Popular
Greek Instruments—check.
National Gardens—check.
Run-in with skeezy Greek
guy who wanted to be my
best friend—check.
Day Three- Woke up at 6 to
catch the ferry to Crete, only
to find that it leaves at 7 p.m.
everyday. Decided to go to
Santorini first, and was aweinspired by its blue and
white houses atop of this big
huge caldera. The guy who
ran the youth hostel there
had been studying in Crete
at the University and went to
Santorini, supposedly for
one weekend . . . that was 7
years ago. It's a good thing
there are no tropical paradises near Easton.
Day Four- Iraklion, the
capital port city of Crete, is
a concrete hell.
Day Five- Another bus.
yay! This time it was only
two hours to Chania, what
should have been a quaint
little tourist beach town.
Unfortunately they were
tearing up all the streets, so
it was a quaint beach town
under heavy construction. I
still had fun and found the
best tzaziki in the world.
Day Six- Denied moped
rental because my friend has
absolutely no hand-eye coordination. Took a cautious
w a d e in the slightly too
nippy Mediterranean.
Day Seven- Found a minaret and screamed from it
(Dave Matthews fans should
appreciate that). Then I got
on an overnight ferry back to
Athens.
Day Eight- Wake up at 6
a.m. on the ferry only to find
it completely deserted and
docked. Get back to hostel.
Eat more good food and
meet an obnoxious french
guy who only wants to "find
a woman to looove."
continued on page 4
April 17, 1997
The
Letter to the Editor
opmiori
Human decisions and human
mistakes in tenure process
Scholars protest treatment of prof
It has come to the attention members' of the larger
of the members of the Lafayette community.
McKelvy Scholars Program
As a school that prides itself
that Helena Silverstein was on the quality and dedication
not granted tenure. This infor- of its professors, the decision
mation was received initially of the tenure committee marks
with disbelief and conse- an unfortunate deviation from
quently with utter sadness. Lafayette's espoused focus on
We find this action of the ten- committed teaching and camure committee to be inconsis- pus-wide involvement. We
tent with our experience of write this letter out of concern
Helena both in and out of the for both the future of the
classroom.
McKelvy Scholars Program
Her contribution as the and that of the Lafayette expeMcKelvy Scholars advisor for rience.
the past two and a half years
has been characterized by un- Sincerely,
precedented enthusiasm,
dedication, and productivity. The McKelvy Scholars:
Helena is continually avail- Mary R Barker '99
able to each of us not only at Amanda Basta '99
our tri-weekly intellectual dis- Jeremy Brodney '00
cussions and other official JoEllen DeLucia '98
McKelvy functions, but also as Damon Eckert '00
an informal advisor and Wendy Erdly '99
trusted confidante. By push- Carl Giannone '99
ing each member to a new Kellie Goncalves '98
level of self-expression, she Daniel Gray '00
has single-handedly infused Brent Hierman '00
the program with the energy Beverly Kendall '00
and direction that it desper- Kim Leeder '98
ately needed.
Helena Erin Muller '00
Silverstein has undoubtedly Emily Quillen '99
raised the standard of what it Peggy Roach '98
is to be a McKelvy Scholar, Ryanne Segalla '99
while also encouraging us to Nicholas C. Trotta '00
reach our full potential as Rob Vaughn '98
Lafayette
by KIMBERLY LEEDER
It is an accepted tenet that,
being human, we all make
mistakes, Chu understanding
of the ua\iverse is incomplete
and subjective, so no matter
how informed we try to make
our decisions, they are never
wholly substantiated.
Normally, this is acceptable.
We acknowledge our shortcomings and move on. However, in the face of the recent
tenure decisions we must face
the fact that Lafayette College
has made a grave mistake.
Surely it is a difficult task on
the part of a committee to determine the needs and priorities of the College, for they
face a distinct challenge in trying to evaluate professors on
a .lifeless, two-dimensional
scale. Without the enlightenment of watching a professor
while teaching, meeting with
students, or engaging in research, such a committee is at
a severe disadvantage.
It is for this reason that rize the material but underLafayette students are obliged stand, translate, and apply
to respond to tenure deci- that with which we were presions. It is for this reason that sented. I realized that I had
we must point out the short- not been truly learning up
comings of the decisions com- until that moment. She
mittee and offer our own in- opened for me a door that I
sights and depths to a flat, had never realized was
lacking file. It is for this rea- closed, one that is invaluable
son that I must call attention in the learning process. And
to one important oversight on after speaking to other stuthe committee's part of which dents, I realize that Lam not
I have been exceedingly dis- the only one for whom Professor Silverstein has offered
turbed to heeu-.
I have leamed an immea- such a valuable discovery.
I am shocked and disapsurable amoxmt over the past
four years from Lafayette pro- pointed to watch, two years
fessors. Still, it is rare to find later, as a professor who ena professor who stands out, tirely changed my academic
who challenges students to career is excluded from the
think in new and exciting permanent Lafayette conunuways, w h o completely nity. I am ashamed to find
changes our perspective on that Lafayette—^and, by extenlearning. During my sopho- sion, I—^have treated Profesmore year at Lafayette, I met sor Silverstein with such inmy first example of such a gratitude for aU that she has
professor. In a course entitled brought to our college. I can
"Law and Society," Professor only hope that she will appeal
Helena Silverstein didn't just this decision, and that the comteach—she demanded that we mittee will realize its mistake
leam, that we not only memo- before it is too late to correct.
Good Will Hunting: A modern day fairy tale
by JEREMY POCHMAN
Ben Affleck and Matt
Damon created a modern day
fairy tale in their first screen
play. Good Will Hunting. The
protagonist. Will Hunting
(played by Damon), possesses
the magic of genius intellect in
impoverished (south) Boston.
Proud of his home and
friends. Hunting ignores his
gift and potential to better his
station. He spends his days
cleaning the halls of the mathematics building of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology surrounded by the finest mathematical minds and
problems. Bored and unchallenged by everyday enigmas.
Hunting turns to the advanced equations presented
as extra credit for the MIT students.
Resigning himself to the
position of janitor. Hunting
keeps his nights free to roam
the town with his fellow
southies. He and his closest
friend (Ben Affleck) carouse
the bars, drinking and instigating fights.
Due to his talent. Hunting
finds romance (Minnie
Driver) and a wonderful mentor (Robin Williams - winner
of the '98 Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor in the
film).
The magnificent intellect of
Will Hunting supplants the
magical aspect of a fairy tale
in a technological world skep-
tical of the fantastic.
Hunting's "magic" fulfills the
requisite love and guides him
past danger expected of a
fairy tale.
The method acting performances by Affleck and
Damon represent the culmination of a real life fairy tale.
The two had created the tale
of Will Hunting when
younger, hoping to play the
roles of Will Hunting and his
closest friend. Unable to find
a director willing to cast the
pair in their respective roles,
Affleck and Damon postponed the production of their
story. Gus Van Sant was their
saving grace and offered to
direct their tale as they
wanted it done.
Good Will Hunting and the
tale of Affleck and Damon's
success inspire hope; a hope
similar to the dreams stirred
by Cinderella to marry a
prince, or the hope to be a
knight in shining armor like
King Arthur or Sir Lancelot.
How would you improve Greek week at Lafayette?
by Megan Gallagher
"I don't even know what
goes on during Greek
week."
"More promotion throughout the year."
-April Sommer '00
-Justin Kidweli '00
"What's Greek Week?'
-Damon Gabriel '00
"Take the fraternilies ol
probation."
-Rachel Spahn '99
-Jill Trubenbach '99
-Sara Weizenbaum '99
The
Lafayette
April 17, 1997
MOVIE: North by Northwest
by GREG FEATHERMAN
dir. Alfred Hitchcock
One of the films featured
this past week at the 1998
Roethke Humanities Festival
was the 1959 classic North by
Northwest from renowned director Alfred Hitchcock.
While it is too late to catch the
film on campus now (it
played last Monday night) if
you missed it, it is certainly
worth seeing.
The film tells the story of
Roger O. Thornhill (played by
the effable Cary Grant), a
middle aged Madison Avenue
ad executive who is accidently mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies.
In the course of his efforts,
Thornhill dodges the spies,
gets framed for murder, gets
chased by the police, runs
into a beautiful w o m a n
(played by the appropriately
beautiful Eva Marie Saint),
gets betrayed, risks his life
and gets kicked out of an
auction.
I am treading lightly
around the details of the plot,
as discovering the twists and
turns of the film are one of its
delights.
It is also a delight to realize
that the film is, aside from be-
ing a riveting
suspense
thriller, a farcical
comedy.
Many of the
situations
Grant is put
into are ridiculous, and
are appropriately played
for l a u g h s .
Grant, known
for his debonair style and
rugged good
looks, proves
that he is able
to play physical comedy as
well.
Another remarkab1e
thing about
the film is the
meticulous
arrangement
of each shot
achieve
a
single effect. Done almost as
efficiently as in his classic Vertigo, Hitchcock, the Edgar
Allen Poe of the screen,
frames and positions his characters in ways to achieve
subtle, but noticeable, effects.
It is amazing to note that
Thornhill appears on the left
side of the screen in almost
every in which he appears in
the film. Whether this is used
to indicate his uniformity
amidst the constant betrayal
surrounding him, or whether
it serves some other purpose,
the effect is startling to behold.
In the spring of 1996, Entertainment Weekly published a
list of the top 50 directors of
all time. On top of that list
was none other than Alfred
^
Hitchcock. While the list is
debateable, (Fellini or
Scorsese get my vote)
Hitchcock's power and influence as a visionary are undeniable. Hitchcock's style is
unmistakable: he includes a
cameo of himself in every
movie, he uses bathrooms as
plot devices in every film, his
characters often try to change
women into the image of a
blonde-haired beauty.
Most notably, Hitchcock
was referred to as the master
of suspense. Nowhere is this
more evident than the plane
attack sequence in North by
Northwest. If Hitchcock is the
Michael Jordan of directors,
the plane attack sequence is
Jordan scoring six three pointers in one half against Portland in the 1992 finals (i.e.
Hitchcock at the top of his
game). While this scene is one
of the most emulated scenes
in film history, describing it
would ruin its magic and suspense. For that scene alone.
North By Northwest is worth
watching.
Shayne's Odyssey
continued from page 2
7pm
Friday
7 and 10pm
Saturday
Sunday-Tuesday 10pm
Day Nine- Visit a monastery. Very quiet and respectful.
Then accidently get on the wrong bus and end up in the
"hood" of Athens by accident. Survive thanks to my indepth knowledge of universal gang signs and colors.
Day Ten- My friend
leaves, so 1 conquer
more of Athens in a
Han S o l o / S h a y n e
fashion. National Archeological
Museum—I've
seen
enough black and tan
vases to last me a lifetime.
Day Eleven- I wake
up at 5 a.m. and get to the airport. Virgin Atlantic treats me
like god again, and I cling to these memories as 1 sit on the
bus back to Glasgow, on which my white girl butt got even
flatter than before. Arrived safely in Stirling and was
greeted by cold winds and, yes, a little bit of snow flurries.
Suddenly, those absurdly long ferry cruises through the blue
Mediterranean took on a warm, happy glow. I have since
adjusted, and am now back to my quest for a hot man in a
kilt to warm me up. Well, that and an in-depth appreciation
of Scottish culture, of course.
Entertainment
April 17, 1997
The
Lafayette
Rolling Stone don't know S#$
about Cantrell's new solo album
by PHIL WINGERT
How many people out there
listened to Alice in Chains
back in the day? How many
still do? I fear I am only one
of a few people at Lafayette
who even care that AIC's
"founder / guitarist /
songwriter" Jerry Cantrell just
recently released his first solo
album. Boggy Depot. For me,
this is a major event of the
music year (AIC is one of my
favorite bands). Regardless of
whether or not you like Alice
in Chains, you "BEST RECOGNIZE" that Jerry Cantrell
is among the most respected
songwriters in the rock business. Beyond that, he is
among the most respected
guitarists in the world. His
guitar work has been personified as "an omery flame looking for a reason to use its
ability...to burn all pop music
from the face of the earth."
I almost forgot. "Grunge is
dead," supposedly. At least
the Rolling Stone critic who reviewed Boggy Depot thinks
so, because he used this absurd assumption to downplay
Cantrell's impressive first
solo
effort.
Given only two
and a half stars,
Cantrell was
written off as a
derivative of a
greater glory.
The
Rolling
Stone
critic
even went so
far as to accuse
Cantrell of Led
Zeppelin robbery (which
will be disproved later in
this article).
Just so everyone knows, I
am more than aware of the fact
that "grunge music" is considered no longer "in style"; yet,
I turn on MTV and see bands
like Creed and Days of the
This week at
New, both selling lots of
records. Unsurprisingly, their
albums make nice complements to old Screaming Trees
and Alice in Chains albums. Is
photo from GS
it just me, or is grunge still
here, as dark and moody as
ever, thriving in some form?
Contrary to current critics'
opinions, grunge never blatantly stole anything Led Zep-
LAFayette
sponsored by the Lafayette Activities Forum
Elvira Kurt is a veteran
stand-up comic whose performances at Montreal's
"Just For Laughs Festival",
Toronto's "Comedy Slam
Festival" and over 100 college campuses during the
past year, are bringing her
brand of humor to wider
audiences.
As a gifted writer, the critical acclaim received from
Elvira's solo work resulted
in her joining the writing team
of Canada's number one comedy show, "This Hour Has 22
Minutes". She managed to
tind the lighter side of such
topics as economics and the
internet when she wrote and
performed in the National
Film Board of Canada's
"Economix!" series and the
Discovery Channel's hot special "Wired Women". Elvira's
own highly rated comedy spe-
cial on CBC, "Comicsl-Elvira
Kurt" also showcased both
her acting and writing talents.
The Hollywood Reporter
wrote "Elvira Kurt's routine
revolves around her skirmishes with her family and
is acerbically hilarious. She
puts the audience into hysterics."
Elvira will appear in the
Snack Bar on Friday, April 17
at 9 p.m. Sponsored by LAF.
€•••
pelin (or Black
Sabbath, The
Who, etc.) ever
did. Grunge entered the scene
as a nearly revolutionary movement in music, ending up as a natural progression from late 60's / 70's
rock, putting an end to the
Poison and Motley Crue of the
80's. Grunge was compared
to older rock because it revitalized interest in figures like
Pete Townshend and Jimmy
Page. The reason? The music
made it seem as if John
Bonham and Keith Moon
never died, as if Zeppelin and
the Who never broke up. The
magic that was grunge provided for both originality and
nostalgia.
What does Jerry Cantrell
have to do with this? Well,
Rolling Stone made it seem by
their harsh review as if
Cantrell wasn't allowed to release his solo album. Apparently, he released it a few years
too late. Because of the lack
of major dark-rock presence in
the current radio scheme of
things
(example:
Soundgarden is out. Third Eye
Blind is in), it seems like the
music magazine industry is
once again wary to take a
chance on anything. Why are
they content to throw support
into pop rock bands just because they're selling well? It's
not fair! There's more out
there. For example, Jerry
Cantrell, Scott Weiland, Pearl
Jam, Foo Fighters, and, of
course, the new bands.
RoUing Stone never considered the possibility of originality in Cantrell's new efforts;
looking for old Zeppelin
chord progressions in NEW
guitar work, they forgot that
it all goes back to MUDDY
WATERS! (Basically, don't
talk to me about grunge copying off of old music — grunge,
like classic rock, is merely a
variant form of blues minus
the subject matter. If you don't
believe me, ask Mike
McCready of Pearl Jam, who
was outraged when critics accused him of Zeppelin robbery on "Given To Fly").
Just because Cantrell sings
of "going to California" on his
standout track, "Between,"
does not mean he's focused on
ripping off Led Zeppelin's
ntertainment
fourth album, or any of their albums,
for that matter. If he used the
word "Revolution" in a song,
would it mean he's taking
from the Beatles? No. For crying out loud, Al Jolson (remember him?) sang, "California, here I come" around seventy-five years ago, before
Robert Plant was even born;
did Led Zeppelin steal from
this? Also, to argue Rolling
Stone's hasty review, let it be
noted that there is not a single
song on Boggy Depot which
sounds like Zeppelin's "No
Quarter." Sometimes, these
Rolling Stone critics just make
their reviews up out of pure
imagination!
Finally, here is some information on the new album. On
the standout track "My Song,"
Cantrell provides the necessary lesson for critics everywhere: "It's still not a crime to
sing my song." Surely, it's no
crime to rock with "Cut You
In," "Keep The Light On," and
one of my favorites, "Breaks
My Back," which, contrary to
Zeppelin, sounds more like
Tool than Jimmy Page. "Settling Down" is one of the best
ballads I've ever heard from
the Seattle crew -1 know Chris
Cornell would be proud. On
all the new songs Cantrell offers the edgy guitar AIC fans
know and love; in fact, some
of the grooves are even better
than those on the classic Dirt
album of grunge's past. "Into
the flood again!" Now it's better than the trip it was back
then.
AIC drummer Sean Kinney
rocks the kit on all of the
tracks, while Les Claypool
from Primus helps out on
some of the bass. For the most
part, this album can be considered Alice in Chains minus
bassist Mike Inez (he's probably touring with Ozzy) and
singer Layne Staley.
Definitely buy this album if
you're open to what I have
said here. Of course. Boggy
Depot is a must purchase for
all Alice in Chains fans...("feed
my eyes, can you sew them
shut?" This review is OVER!).
ATTENTION LAFAYETTE BANDS
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
May 2nd, 1998, Proceeds Benefit
Third Street Alliance, Easton, Pa.
$$$ prize & winner plays All Coiiege Day
Interested call Fletch 253-5458
April 17, 1997
The Lafayette
An FIBI Agent
Inside the Clinton
%
White House
Gary Aldrich was a 30-year FBI
veteran. As a Special Agent he had
jailed mobsters, drug dealers and
terrorists.
But it was working in the security office of theClintoTT
White House that made Mr. Aldrich give up his career. What he saw
at the White House alarmed and angered him, convincing him to
write a book warning the American people of the irresponsible and
illegal activity taking place under the Clintons.
In 1996 Gary Aldrich published a book on his White House years
called Unlimited Access. The book was shunned by reviewers and
the talk shows; but word-of-mouth put his book on the New York
Times bestseller list for 26 weeks.
The second edition of Unlimited Access has just been released with
four new chapters on the Clintons,
their cronies and their crimes.
C o m e to hear Gary Aldrich...
Tuesday, April 21, 1998
8:00 PM
Kirby Hall of Civil Rights Lecture Hall
SPONSORED BY:
student G o v e r n m e n t
Lafayette College Republicans
Delta Upsilon
Young America's Foundation
April 17, 1997
The
Lafayette
Sport
Softball team gets first league
victory over Bucknell, 4-3
an early lead.
The Bison struck back immediately, though, with a pair
of runs in the top of the secThe drought is over. The ond. They held that lead the
softball team has a Patriot rest of the way, adding an unLeague win, at second-place earned insurance run in their
Bucknell's expense.
final at-bat for a 3-1 win.
Lafayette collected all six of Michelle Garvey '01 took the
its hits for the game in a deci- loss on the mound.
sive sixth inning, erupting for
After falling in Saturday's
four runs en route to a 4-3 win first game, Bucknell denied
in the first game of Saturday's Lafayette a winning streak by
doubleheader. Ali Berlin's emerging with a 6-3 victory.
two-run, pinch-hit double The Bison scored five runs off
highlighted the uprising, Garvey in the second and
which broke the Leopards' added another in the third to
ten-game league losing streak. earn the doubleheader split.
Tara Novak '98 ignited the
The team's road woes conrally, which began with the tinued Tuesday, as the LeopBison leading 1-0. Novak led ards dropped a pair of games
off the inning with her team's to Penn, 5-1 and 3-0.
first hit, a single, and then stole
The Quakers went ahead for
second base. "[She] gave us a good in the first inning ofboth
real good spark," says coach games. Kelly Mulligan '00 (1Stacey Cagenello.
6) was tagged for three runs in
Fellow senior Abby Bomba the opening stanza of game
added a double later in the one. She allowed six hits but
just one earned run in five ininning.
Erin Hall '00 (2-8) eamed the nings of work.
complete-game victory, pitchBack-to-back doubles by
ing solidly throughout and Rebecca Chmielowski '01 and
then cutting short a Bucknell Amy Hessels '99 gave the
comeback bid in the seventh. Leopards their only run. Gina
Despite a misleading record. Galati '01 had a pair of hits in
Hall has paced the staff this three at-bats.
season with a 2.68 earned run
Garvey (1-8) returned to the
average.
mound in the second game
The remainder of the week- and Penn touched her for a
end produced results that pairof early runs. Meanwhile,
the hitting continued to
weren't so appealing.
In Friday's early action. Hall struggle in being shut out for
pitched a five-hit gem, allow- the eighth time this year.
ing just a single run while
The Leopards now stand at
striking out three and walking 1-11 in the Patriot League and
none. However, her offense 5-25 overall, but their coach
could only muster three hits doesn't believe those marks
and failed to score at all, sad- accurately reflect the team's
dling the pitcher with a tough quality.
1-0 loss.
"I certainly feel we're a betThe offense improved a bit ter team than our record indiin the nightcap, collecting cates. We've played 12 league
seven hits. Liz Lichtman '98 games and eight of them have
drew a walk leading off the been decided by one or two
game for the Leopards and runs," Cagenello points out,
eventually came around on a "so we're not far behind, but
Bomba single as the hosts took we're just not doing everyby STEPHEN DORSCH
thing that it takes to win."
Overall, the squad has gone
3-5 in one-run games and 1-4
in games decided by a pair.
Those things Lafayette has
not done are hitting and defense. The offense has been
handcuffed by opposing
pitchers all year, scoring five
or more runs just twice in 30
games. They have failed to
score more than twice on 23
occasions and are hitting just
.237 on the season.
In addition, the squad's
glovework has been suspect at
times. Over 22% of the runs
the pitching staff has allowed
have been unearned, including four thanks to errors in
Tuesday's first game. They
had to overcome two miscues
to beat Bucknell Saturday.
"I'm glad we got that win in
the Patriot League... I certainly
hope that this weekend
against Colgate we can play
well and at least get two or
three wins."
The offense will need to step
up its production if the Leopards are to beat Colgate ace
Tara McGoff. The league's
Pitcher of the Week has 11
wins (4 last week) and a
miniscule 1.42 ERA.
"We have to get her early,"
says Cagenello. "If we can
score a couple runs in the early
innings of the first game on
Saturday, 1 think that will get
us jump-started."
McGoff is also a .366 hitter,
but she'll get more resistance
from the Lafayette pitching
staff than from the lineup.
Says the Leopards' coach,
"We've gotten very good
pitching this year on the
whole. Erin [Hall] has pitched
extremely well and consistent,
and we just aren't scoring
runs."
Elegant Lafayette Graduation Dinner
Saturday, May 23rd
4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Reservations are suggested, call 799-2727
Serving Dinner Monday through Saturday 5:30-10:00.
Cedar Crest Boulevard, Allentown
Just 20 Minutes From Lafayette College.
(Route 22 West to Cedar Crest Exit,
2.8 miles north of Route 22)
Mbil
Travel Guide
continuedfrom page 8
to even the four-game set
with a 13-2 win. Starter Jeff
Melhck '98 was rouglied up
and tagged with his fourth
loss of the season without a
victory.
Witii a record of 4-8 (6-18
overall), Lafayette now
stands in fifth place in the
Patriot League, a game behind Army and two games
behind Lehigh for the final
playoff slot.
For the Leopards to make
a run at the playoffs, the
pitching will need to find its
groove soon. The team currently sports a staff ERA of
10,62 — two runs worse than
anyone else in the league —
and opponents were hitting
.381 against Lafayette hurlers.
Kacuba has been the staff's
undisputed ace since holding
Canisius to two hits in the
third game of the season. He
ranked third in the league in
ERA at 3.09 runs per game
through Saturday's games
and has averaged almost 10
strikeouts per nine innings
while holding opposing batters to a .216 average.
The team's potent offense
has done an admirable job of
compensating for the muchmaligned pitching staff, but
double-digit scoring every
game is a bit much to ask.
Tom Stoudt '98 has tom up
opposing pitching totihetune
of a .426 average, second in
the league. He has ripped
four home runs—tops on the
team — and has knocked in
18, a total eclipsed only by
sophomore Bob Osipower's
19 RBI.
Osipower has three home
runs and a nifty .393 batting
average, along with a teamhigh 6 doubles.
The Leopards have just two
series left in the Patriot
League, b u t they come
against last-place Holy Cross
this weekend and A r m y
April 25-26In a d d i t i o n . Army a n d
Lehigh clash this weekend in
a battle for the third and final tournament berth. If
those two teams play to a
draw and the Leopards can
take advantage of a 3-9 team,
they could find therr^selves in
position to make a run at
third place. Lehigh still must
deal w i t h second-place
Bucknell the final weekend.
Lafayette played a pair of
non-conference w a r m - u p
games this week for the Holy
Cross series, falling 13-6 at La
Salle on Tuesday before traveling to Monmouth on Thursday, They next retum home
Tuesday for a 3:30 matchup
against Seton Hall.
FOR UP-TO-DATE STATISTICS,
VISIT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE'S,
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
/
WWW.LEHIGH.EDII/~iNPAI
Track & field teams take four
events at Lehigh Invitational
by JEREMY WINKLER
ai5TOaANTE(
Lafayette, Lehigh
trade doubleheaders
Last Saturday the men's
and women's outdoor track
and field teams traveled to
Lehigh for a non-scoring invitational. Lafayette garnered four first place finishes as well as several additional good performances
in
preparation
for
tomorrow's Lafayette Invitational, which starts at 9:30
in the morning.
On the women's team, senior Hope McCorkle placed
first in the shotput with a
toss of 44' 2.5", while newcomer Rhonda Snyder captured first in the hammer
throw with a 164' 7" hurl.
The men also had two first
place finishers in juniors Jeff
Rios and Nitesh Kadakia. Rios
won the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.86.
Kadakia won the 800-meter
witha time of 1:55.20.
Showing how much hundredths of a second can matter was sophomore Dan
Eagleson, who placed second
behind Kadakia with a time of
1:55.63.
Senior David
Robinson, who has had a stellar career at Lafayette, finished
second in the 1500-meter
event. Also placing in the top
five in the 1500 was Jon
Smolenski '01.
In the short distance events
rookie Brian Meyers missed
fifth place by .13 seconds in
the 200-meters. Sophomore
Sean Callahan edged the competitor from Lehigh to finish
fourth in the 400-meters.
In the long distance events,
sophomore Mark Kitz placed
fifth in the 5000-meters with a
time of 15:38 even.
Lafayette competes in
tomorrow's Invitational and
then travels to the Penn Relays
over next weekend. The
women will begin competition on Thursday while the
men wait until Friday.
The Penn Relays are followed immediately by the
Blue and Gray Invitational at
Moravian. Lafayette finishes
its season at the Princeton Invitational on May 9, following
the Patriot League Championships to be held at Holy Cross
May 2-3.
The Lafayette
April 17, 1997
Sports
Athletic scandals touch
even elite institutions
by CAITLIN ARMISTEAD
Brown Daily Herald
(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE,
R.I. — Brown and its elite peer
institutions sometime seem to
exist in an ivy-tinged bubble,
far removed from the downand-dirty world of big-time
college athletics, where pointshaving and gambling scandals are, if not commonplace,
at least not unheard of.
But the bubble recently
popped when two of the
nation's premier universities
— Columbia and Northwestern — garnering national
headlines for just such scandals. Reports of the scandals
elicited mild, surprised reactions among student-athletes
at Brown.
Early in March, two former
Northwestern basketball playphoto by Amy Dorfman ers were indicted on charges
Sophomore Katie Todd takes on a Seton Hall opponent in a Tuesday of point shaving during three
afternoon match. Afterfinishing its regular season schedule at St. games in their 1995 season.
Also, a Columbia student
Peter's on Thursday, the women's tennis team journeys to Colgate
and
an alum were charged
this weekendfor the Patriot Leaue Championships. Captain Kerry
with
involvement in a gamCollins '98 and Derry Gushen '00 lead the Leopards in singles
bling ring, which was supposplay, while Todd and Gushen combine to form the team's top
edly connected to the mafia.
doubles pairing.
LEOPAR
EBO
Coming
Results
4/11 vs. Drexel
4/15 vs. St. Joseph's
L17-8
W 14-11
Up
4/18 at Holy Cross
4/22 vs, Bucknell
LOOpm
3:30pm
Women's Lacrosse
iVgmgn'g Lacrosse
4/11 at Holy Cross
4/13 at U. Pennsylvania
4/16 at Temple
W 7-5
W 7-2
4/18 vs. Westchester
4/21 at Lehigh
l:00pm
3:30pm
Jrf.ila.w iW>lwU<UX
Baseball
4/10 at Lehigh (DH)
4/11 at L e h i ^ (DH)
4/14 at La Salle
4/16 at Monmouth
W 6-1, W 13-8
L11-6, L13-2
L13-6
4/18 at Holy Cros?(DH)
4/19 at Holy Cross (DH)
4/21 vs. Seton Hall
4/23 at Towson
12:00pm
12:00pm
3:30pm
3:30pm
These scandals have shaken
sports fans, athletes and students across the country and
at Brown.
In addition, because of the
scandals at Columbia and
Northwestern, the athletic administration will be setting up
extra meetings with each team
to discuss the aftermath of the
revelations.
Many Brown atheletes took
the news personally, pointing
out that point-shaving goes
against the concepts of competitive and team spirits.
"I think, being someone
who is a fierce competitor, it
is hard for me to fathom going against your school and
pride," said co-captain of the
basketball
team
Paul
Krasinski '98. "From Internet
gambling it is easy to get
through to the athletes, but
that is something that the
NCAA is going to have to
crack down on."
Other athletes expressed
shock that these scandals are
happening in elite institutions.
"It's just something that you
would never expect in the
Ivies," said basketball player
Oggie Kapetanovic '00. "I
think the other big schools
probably hide it better. I'm
sure it goes on everywhere."
Some athletes acknow^ledge
that there are some pressures
and concerns that may drive
some competitors to pointshaving and other measures.
For example, collegiate athletes are forbidden to receive
any sort of compensation, financial or otherwise, during
their college career, although,
at many schools, athletics are
a primary source of revenue.
Some college-level athletes
Baseball team splits
four with Lehigh
by STEPHEN DORSCH
Softball
Softball
4/10 vs. Bucknell (DH)
4/11 vs. Bucknell (DH)
4/14 at U. Pennsylvania (DH)
L1-0, L 3-1
W 4-3, L 6-3
L 5-1, L 3-0
4/18 vs. Colgate (DH)
4/19 vs. Colgate (DH)
4/21 vs. Drexel (DH)
LOOpm
00pm
3(^m
Track and Field
Ti^ck and Field
9:30am
4/18 Lafayette Invitational
4/23 Penn Relays at U. Penn (women)
4/11 at Lehigh University Invitational
(non-scoring)
Men's Tennis
Men's Tennis
4 / 9 vs. Villanova
4/11 at Holy Cross
4/15 at Bucknell
Rain
L6-1
L7-0
Women's Tennis
4/10 at Towson
4/14 vs. Seton Hall
4/16 at St Peter's
Cancelled
4/19 vs. Colgate
4/21 at Delaware
4/23 vs. Lehigh
11:00am
3:00pm
3:30pm
Women's Tennis
4/18-19 Patriot League Toumament
at Colgate
Golf
4/21 vs. Lehigh, Moravian, and Muhlenberg
at Northampton Country Club, 1:30pm
simply find themselves unable
to resist the temptation of financial incentives.
In addition, athletes are under enormous pressure to perform well.
"We practice 20 hours a
week, so it's hard to work and
although I think some compensation should be made to
the athletes, [cheating] is just
wrong," said Kapetanovic. "If
I found out that my teammates were doing it, I
wouldn't want them playing
with me."
The Brown athletic administration expressed concern
that these scandals would affect the reputation of studentathletes both here and at
schools across the country.
"It's terrible for college athletics," said Julie Riccardelli,
Brown's NCAA Compliance
Coordinator . "It makes
people look at our studentathletes in a negative way. It
increases everybody's negative stereotypes of our student-athletes. I hate for athletes to have to fight through
more stereotypes."
Riccardelli said that at
Brown, every team must participate in eligibility education
at the beginning of each season. According to Riccardelli,
there is d student-athlete
handbook, a form that each
student-athlete must sign saying that they understand the
eligibility rules (gambling included) and a gambling video
that each team views.
"When everything happened at Columbia, it makes
you realize that you could be
the next one," said Riccardelli.
"Our athletes are well-aware
that gambling is not allowed."
With a four-game split at
Lehigh last weekend, the baseball team has moved within
striking distance of a
postseason berth with eight
games remaining in its Patriot
League schedule.
Lafayette traveled to
Bethlehem Friday afternoon
and quickly wore out their
welcome with a doubleheader
sweep. Jeremy Kacuba '00 (31) turned in a splendid performance from the mound, leading his team to a 6-1 victory in
the first game. The Mountain
Hawks managed just four hits
and committed three errors.
Lehigh's offense came out of
its slumber in the second game
of the doubleheader, scoring
eight runs and collecting 11
hits. The Leopards, however,
erupted for 14 hits themselves
and took advantage of five errors to pull out a 13-8 win.
Right-hander Charles Lovell
'99 picked up the victory to
even his record at 1-1.
Friday's sweep pulled
Lafayette into a fourth-place
tie with Lehigh, but the hosts
ruined all that by sweeping
Saturday's twin bill. The
Leopards fell 11-6 in the first
game, as Lehigh continued to
have defensive problems but
managed to out-hit their
guests, 12-10. Jake Ross '00
took the loss and fell to 0-5.
In the nightcap, the Mountain Hawks earned the sweep
in convincing fashion. They
exploded for 13 runs on 11 hits
continued on page 7