Living & Arts

The upcoming summer away from Swarthmore means a rare window of reading books not dictated by sylabi.  For those for whom sudden litereary freedom might be intimidating,  here is a list of summer recommended reads followed by choice selections from Swarthmore English professors.   “On the Road: The Original Scroll” (2007, 408 pgs) by Jack [...]

As many times as I visited New York City in my youth on various museum adventures, I somehow neglected to pay a visit to the Frick Collection.  For those of you not in the know, the Frick Collection is a small but incredibly distinguished collection of European paintings, sculpture, furniture and decorative arts located in [...]

“Prison can be a wise man’s university or a fool’s playground.” This phrase, the mantra of a “lifer” at Graterford Prison Michael Lions, framed the closing ceremony of Associate Professor of Political Science Keith Reeves’ course The Politics of Punishment. Featuring the candid testimonies of ex-convicts Tyrone Werts and KJ, Reeves “could not see a [...]

Assistant Visiting Professor of Theater Quinn Bauriedel’s “Movement Theater” course is arguably the most out-there course offered at Swarthmore College. Those theater classes you’ve heard about where students roll around on the ground? — this is it. It’s also an extraordinarily moving experience (no pun intended) in which students learn about themselves and their abilities. [...]

For many Swatties staggering deliriously towards the hazy end of this semester’s classes, laden with work and seared by the indelible imprint of Sharple’s coffee, there is a singular light at the end of tunnel, a solitary specter of summer bliss gorged with kielbasa, an unwavering, eternal flame powered by solar energy and margaritas: Worthstock. [...]

Due to the amount of work that goes into course work at Swarthmore, people may wonder how much time students can devote to extracurricular activities. But the time and effort that students put into campus activism exemplifies where many of their passions truly lie. This activism highlights inequality and oppression both on and off the [...]

Genderfuck is not only the most attended party on campus, it’s also the most notorious. Students anxiously wait for this one, usually cold, weekend to run down to Sharples in their silliest, most gender-bending outfits. A Swarthmore tradition many students look forward to, the event—previously “Sager,” now “Genderfuck”—has been around for 25 years despite a [...]

Earlier this semester, an informal online poll conducted by The Phoenix revealed startling levels of depression and anxiety among the 12 percent of the student body which chose to respond. The previous article in a Phoenix series about the data focusd on mental health services available at Swarthmore, in the form of Counseling and Psychological [...]

As I sit on my windowsill listening to the animated chatter from Parrish Beach echo throughout campus, I realize that this Swattie behavior signifies the beginning of the end. For most of you, it’s just the end of the semester. You’ll be back in the fall to endure another round of Swat roulette — the [...]

Please Lord, help us to find you once again, and heal this Great Nation. People, we need to wake the fuck up. The violence is out of control. I always tell my kids, “I wish you could have grown up during the time when I grew up.” Problems between people were solved with words, sometimes [...]