SPRING 2017 Periodical Postage PAID Philadelphia, PA and Additional Mailing Offices EMPATHY & ARABIC p8 BIKER MAMA p11 WALL STREET WOMEN p34 ISSUE III 500 College Ave. Swarthmore, PA 19081–1306 www.swarthmore.edu VOLUME CXIV SWARTHMORE COLLEGE BULLETIN LAURENCE KESTERSON SPRING 2017 COME BACK TO THE BEACH! Alumni Weekend/Memorial Day Weekend, May 26–28 alumniweekend.swarthmore.edu Impact in this issue 26 WRITE WHERE YOU ARE Words With Friends Making an impact on others through the wonder of writing. DAN Z. JOHNSON by Elizabeth Slocum MOMENT IN TIME In honor of those who have suffered injustice, Brandon Bennett Guallpa ’20 participated in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day candlelight vigil. 18 38 40 FEATURES A Spark, Then Room to Grow The Lang Center’s people embody its mission of making a more just world. by Kate Campbell Making a Difference 2.0 by Rio Akasaka ’09 and Kendell Byrd ’17 Righteous Among Nations They escaped the darkness of Nazism without losing their light. 2 DIALOGUE Editor’s Column Letters Community Voices Andrea Packard ’85 Rewind Richard Kuhta ’73 Books Global Thinking Brendan Work ’10 9 COMMON GOOD Swarthmore Stories Learning Curve Marc Hofstadter ’67 Liberal Arts Lives Michael Forster Rothbart ’94 A’Dorian Murray-Thomas ’16 45 CLASS NOTES 72 SPOKEN WORD Valerie Smith WEB EXCLUSIVES BULLETIN.SWARTHMORE.EDU TYPEWRITER RODEO Saddle up, buckaroos, for a video that’s just “write.” ROMANCE VS. REALITY Susan Cotts Watkins ’60 on AIDS altruism in Africa. WORLD CHANGERS Discover more about the Lang Center’s people and projects. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Learn about Louise Hawes ’65 and The Language of Stars. BRAND-NEW BLOG Read what Center for Innovation and Learning students are doing in their own words. DIGITAL DO-GOODERS Dial up a gallery of tech-savvy, world-saving Swatties. ON THE COVER Amelia Estrada ’17’s dance class photographed by Laurence Kesterson Alumni News and Events Profiles Kevin Radell ’77 and Raissa Radell ’85 by Michael Agresta SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 1 dialogue EDITOR’S COLUMN LETTERS We’re All Ears ... and Halloween Bats SWARTHMORE COLLEGE BULLETIN Editor Jonathan Riggs Managing Editor Kate Campbell Class Notes Editor Elizabeth Slocum Designer Phillip Stern ’84 Photographer Laurence Kesterson Administrative/Editorial Assistant Michelle Crumsho LAURENCE KESTERSON Editorial Assistants Cody McElhinny ’17 Eishna Ranganathan ’20 Editor Emerita Maralyn Orbison Gillespie ’49 by JONATHAN RIGGS Editor ASK YOURSELF: What’s my impact? No matter how you answer, I bet the truth is this: much bigger than you realize. At the Bulletin, we’re lucky to not only hear how we’re doing—I’m still jubilant over our winter LGBTQ issue touching so many—but also to hear how (and what) you’re doing. After all, when it comes to the Swarthmore community, “impact” is a way of life. It’s also the first of four themes the Bulletin will focus on this year—there are as many definitions of it as there are readers of this magazine. So what’s your impact? Tell us everything. bulletin.swarthmore.edu facebook.com/SwarthmoreBulletin instagram.com/SwarthmoreBulletin Email: bulletin@swarthmore.edu Telephone: 610-328-8435 We welcome letters on subjects covered in the magazine. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, clarity, and style. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the official views or policies of the College. Send letters and story ideas to bulletin@swarthmore.edu Send address changes to records@swarthmore.edu pr inted w i th Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 ©2017 Swarthmore College. Printed in USA. nd e 2 Printed with agri-based inks. Please recycle after reading. e c o-fri I greatly enjoyed Elizabeth Vogdes’s “The Poetry of Pen and Ink” (winter 2016), and can testify to the tactile pleasure fountain pens provide. Using one connects the mind with the body in the act of writing. I can’t say the same for ballpoints. Nevertheless, I’m a ballpoint enthusiast and a collector, mostly of vintage Paper Mates. They are nearly as elegant in their way, more reliable, and require a lot less maintenance. Mine are mostly from the 1950s and early ’60s. I was introduced to Paper Mates at the Swarthmore Bookstore (then located in the basement of Parrish), where they cost $2 in the 1970s. Now, you’re lucky to get a used one for $20; new—or rather, mint unused—ones go for more. They replaced the 19-cent Bic pens I had used in high school, which made excellent delivery systems for spitballs. Swarthmore classes, I discovered, didn’t require many spitballs. Admittedly, I’m guilty of reverse snobbery. Along with my princely Paper Mates, I also have (thanks to eBay) dozens of cheaper ballpoints, old dowagers whose lives I like to think I’m extending and improving. The elegance of fountain pens can also present a challenge. There’s nothing more frustrating for a writer than having a fine pen in hand and anticipating the mental and physical, if not spiritual, joy of incising great thoughts on paper, only to realize that you have nothing to say. —JEFF SCHEUER ’75, New York, N.Y. The Swarthmore College Bulletin (ISSN 0888-2126), of which this is volume CXIV, number III, is published in October, January, April, and July by Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081-1390. Periodicals postage paid at Philadelphia, PA and additional mailing offices. Permit No. 0530-620. Postmaster: Send address changes to Swarthmore College Bulletin, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081-1390. ly H-UV I was pleased with the winter 2017 issue’s LGBTQ focus. The 1973 student-run course on homosexuality organized by Jesse Ford ’73 and Tina Crosby ’74 with faculty support from Jeanne Marecek was a turning point in my life. I was conscious of gay feelings as early as I can remember and, sadly, conscious of the need to hide them almost as early. I tried to change myself, without success, and then sought help from a succession of psychiatrists to no avail. I was depressed and suicidal, wondering how I could get through life, only playacting at love, but never experiencing it. My psychiatrist never said outright that I was sick. Nevertheless, he delved with great energy into the psychic factors that had shaped my sickness. An intelligent kid from a liberal, well-educated family, it never occurred to me that this was not my problem. Then I heard about this course. I had shared with my girlfriend my “bisexual feelings” and together we decided to enroll. The class—and indeed the gay movement on campus at the time—was almost entirely female, a reflection of the greater support provided to women by the feminist movement. Although this was hardly the best context for me to “find a date,” having a political rather than a sexual introduction to the topic was just what I needed. It was the first time I had ever read a political analysis of homophobia, the first time I had seen psychiatry’s studies of homosexual pathology methodologically criticized, and the first time I had shared my experiences with a group of people like me. My psychological transformation was rapid and dramatic. By the time the course was over, I had fired my psychiatrist and come out to my classmates and parents. I had turned self-hatred and depression into anger, activism, and a vision for the future. Most important, I discovered I was strong, and brave, and ready to build relationships based in honesty. And the story has another happy ending: I did find “real love” and am married to the man I met 43 years ago, soon after completing the course that provided such excellent preparation. Together we have continued the struggle for LGBTQ liberation. —JOHN WHYTE ’74, Philadelphia, Pa. MANY BRANCHES After reading “Deeply Rooted” (winter 2017), I remembered how my grandmother used to laugh about how my uncle Robert Miller Stabler ’27 could study even with the radio on. (He was the brother of Laurence, who was married to Sarah Stabler ’22.) He later got his doctorate, and he and his wife did important research in ornithology, isolating a bird disease. —RHODA WESLEY, via bulletin.swarthmore.edu ks PEN ULTIMATE HEARTFELT, HOPEFUL, HAPPY in + WRITE TO US: bulletin@swarthmore.edu Planter Of Seeds I enjoyed “Deeply Rooted” (winter 2017), in part because I count myself a seedling of the Swarthmore family tree of Ida Palmer Stabler, Class of 1898. Lois Kelly Stabler ’49 was my high school history teacher. Mrs. Stabler opened up wider worlds for students in our public high school in Keene, N.H. She took us to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; introduced us to Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic religious traditions; and had us research and debate current issues, from abortion to the Vietnam War. Lois Stabler encouraged her students to be educated and aware citizens, and she encouraged me to apply to Swarthmore. My family’s income was low enough to qualify for a precursor of the Perkins Loan program, but Mrs. Stabler assured me that would be no barrier. Sadly, Lois Stabler died in 2007. A decade later, we have a president hostile to the respect for facts—and for all human beings—that I learned in her classes. But Mrs. Stabler, and the Swarthmore education she helped me gain, also gave me the tools to fight back. On Jan. 21, I joined three Swarthmore classmates (all us of educators), and over half a million other people, at the Women’s March on Washington. As we stood near the White House chanting, “This is what democracy looks like,” I silently thanked Mrs. Stabler, and all the other teachers who have made a difference in my life. —MARY BATTENFELD ’80, Jamaica Plain, Mass. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION I am troubled by Arthur “Arky” Ciancutti ’65’s attitude toward those who have fought in wars (“First Do No Harm,” winter 2017). I am a Vietnam veteran myself, though I am in no way a hero. I did my duty and was lucky enough to come home intact. Others in my unit did not. I agree with him that the Vietnam War was completely unjustified and unwinnable. But there are other wars that do not fit that characterization. Our Civil War was fought over the issue of whether all men and women are created equal or whether some should be masters and others slaves. World War II was fought against one regime that believed there should be a master race with all others subservient or exterminated. I doubt that those few who were rescued from Dachau would agree that that war was unjustified. The older I get, the less I accept sweeping generalizations on complex topics. —PETER COFFIN ’71, Berkeley, Calif. LINCOLN’S LETTER Regarding Arthur Ciancutti ’65’s letter that all wars and their participants are evil (“First Do No Harm”), I recommend for his reflection the beautiful letter Abraham Lincoln wrote to the Quaker Eliza P. Gurney during the Civil War: Your people—the Friends—have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some have chosen one horn, and some the other. For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you believe this I doubt not; and believing it, I shall still receive, for our country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in heaven. Arky, I served. I believe Gurney and Lincoln would understand. —RALPH LEE SMITH ’51, Reston, Va. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 3 dialogue COMMUNITY VOICES PETER ARKLE AN ARTFUL MILESTONE I N SEPTEMBER so much creativity dilute the “rigor” of 1981, when I took one’s Swarthmore education. my swim test at I pursued postbaccalaureate and gradSwarthmore, the pool uate art studies after Swarthmore, but was located in nearly when I returned to direct the List Gallery the same place as the in 1996, the Lang Performing Arts Center List Gallery is today, near the entrance was 5 years old and students could finally to the Lang Performing Arts Center. I truly major in the arts. would’ve laughed to think that I would The gallery’s proximity to the Theater, eventually devote more than 20 years Dance, and English departments to the same length of inspired numerous collabby space, working with some orations, including one of of the most interesting my first curatorial projects, artists of our time. an exhibition of Polish theIn the early 1980s, ater posters selected from Kohlberg Hall, Ware Pool, the collection of Professor the Matchbox, the Science Allen Kuharski. Another Center, and numerinterdisciplinary exhibit, ous other buildings did not exist. The History, Memory, and Representation: Florence Wilcox Gallery, as our exhiResponses to Genocide, presented exembition space was known then, conplary paintings, sculptures,and photosisted of a hallway in Pearson Hall. By graphs while also informing a course the time I graduated, it had moved to on the Holocaust taught by Professors a converted second-floor classroom in Robert Weinberg and Marion Faber. Beardsley Hall. The faculty brought in Similarly, an exhibition of art by Carmen strong artists, including woodworker Lomas Garza was integral to a course on George Nakashima, but security was Chicano culture, and I trained students provisional, the gallery lacked visito lead gallery tours and papel picado bility, and gems in the College’s perworkshops for more than 400 visiting manent collection, such as Edward schoolchildren. Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom, languished A survey of works by Robert Turner in storage. Students were allowed to ’36, one of the most important American take only five courses for credit in stuceramic artists and teachers of the 20th dio art, dance, music, or theater, lest century, also earned regional attention. ANDREA PACKARD ’85 Director “Art connects us to our humanity, expresses global concerns, and sparks innovation.” 4 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 Turner, a lifelong Quaker and a conscientious objector during World War II, modeled the way art connects us to our humanity, expresses global concerns, and sparks innovation. Turner and other artists who have exhibited at Swarthmore do not share a particular style, but instead demonstrate high standards of conceptual integrity, craft, and social engagement. Whether we look at Buzz Spector’s artist books documenting peaceful protests, Alison Saar’s critiques of racial stereotypes, Daniel Heyman’s humanizing portraits of victims of torture, or the painterly abstractions of Ying Li, a survivor of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, we study rigorous peacemaking. I have also been honored to assist studio majors who spend their senior year developing a coherent body of work, learning how to professionally install and light a solo exhibition in the gallery, and crafting their first artist’s statement. Most art programs only offer group shows, but Swarthmore’s Senior Thesis Exhibition Series raises the bar. Memorable thesis exhibits have included the first “collection” presented by fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra ’05, and an installation of drawings and paintings by Njideka Akunyili-Crosby ’04, who has earned prestigious international prizes and museum exhibitions. The next time you’re near the List Gallery, I invite you to dive into this ever-changing space. It may carry you out of your depth, challenge habits of seeing, or offer renewed buoyancy. ANDREA PACKARD ’85 is director of the List Gallery. + SEE PAST SHOWS AND LEARN MORE: bit.ly/ListGallery FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY Happy 25th anniversary to Swarthmore’s List Gallery REWIND: ‘MY LIBRARY WAS DUKEDOM LARGE ENOUGH’ On journeying from Swarthmore to Shakespeare McCABE LIBRARY was the beginning. It was all so different—I saw beautiful stone, polished wood, comfortable seating, miles of books, and red-carpeted stairs. My first time there, I slowly circled every floor, stopped to gaze at huge trees through slim vertical windows, and felt a stillness that, for me, was unknown. by After four years of military service, I felt ’73 so grateful, and classes hadn’t even started yet. I had flown military standby into Philadelphia, stood at the bottom of Magill Walk that first night, and cried. The next day I went to the Office of Financial Aid, where a lovely woman said, “I’ve been waiting for you.” It was overwhelming, going from a difficult, loud, lonely time to a place where kind people spoke quietly in complete sentences and talked about everything, upright or sprawled in deeply cushioned lounge areas of the library. I made a friend who was a real poet, and still is. Another could recite King Lear, front to back. People read Thomas Mann in German, for fun. I learned about Einstein’s trains, listened to a prepared piano, and saw W.H. Auden give a reading in his bedroom slippers. Soon my days began and ended in McCabe: my touchstone, a place of solace and concentration. I saw that other students had their routines: preferred corners, favorite chairs, reading in comfortable postures or gazing out those same windows, thinking. I’d never known anything like that privacy and RICHARD KUHTA calm. Between classes I bent over exhibition cases or walked through the stacks picking up books, smelling them, books I knew about and wanted to read, along with unfamiliar titles. It changed my life to know that I could reach out and touch anything I wanted. I became interested in how libraries work, and why they don’t. I became a student of library operations, not just the mechanics of collecting and circulating resources, but in the care and management of those resources, the details of conservation and bibliographic control, and, most important, in the feel of a place. It was in McCabe that I learned to appreciate the vitality of research environments, without knowing that creating them would become my life’s work. I went on to spend 15 years as librarian of the Folger Shakespeare Library and am often asked what it was like. It was a privilege. I worked with talented, remarkable people who gave everything to their work, who lived it. For all of us, the thrill of being at the Folger was living every day with that peerless collection, which included the largest holdings of early English printed books in North America, from Caxton to Dryden, with rare editions of Spenser, Marlowe, Jonson, Milton, Donne—from the Tudor-Stuart period through the Restoration—and of course everything by and about Shakespeare from the 16th century to date. Alas, scholarship is a lonely business. At times, even people who love you don’t want to hear about it anymore. That’s where librarians come in. We listen, discuss, and provide resources that scholars know about, and others they don’t. We are their support system. It’s why we unlock the doors in the morning, with a simple commitment to support study and research. It’s the integrity of the work that draws us. For me, everything began at Swarthmore, in my classes and in the McCabe Library, and it makes perfect sense, in retrospect, that it led to a career in librarianship. That respect for learning and love of the resources that sustain it, the physical objects as well as the content— it ultimately lit my path, as I hope it does and always will for all patrons of Swarthmore’s libraries. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 5 dialogue BOOK REVIEW AUTHOR Q&A SHE’S A REBEL SONG OF A STARGAZER: LOUISE HAWES ’65 by Adrián Gras-Velázquez AFTER THE DEATH of his Mennonite-turned-Marxist mother, Peter Andreas ’87 discovered more than a hundred of her journals from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s, detailing her thoughts, fears, and adventures. Piecing together her words and his memories, Andreas wrote Rebel Mother: My Childhood Chasing the Revolution (Simon & Schuster), painting a vivid portrait of a mother-son relationship that spans continents and cultures. The John Hay Professor of International Studies at Brown University, Andreas excels at illuminating the historical and political climate of 1970s Latin America writ large as well as at the level of family relations, unconventional motherly love, and childhood innocence. You feel as if you are in the same room as these people and their world: Life in communes and Peruvian slums, the Chilean coup, his parents’ custody battles, and his mother’s sexual escapades are all engrossingly told. And yet, for all the Latin American political history that the book covers, you never lose sight of Andreas’s voice as a child attempting to make sense of it all. Although Andreas skims over some tantalizingly fascinating periods— such as his time spent traveling Peru as a street performer—Rebel Mother is a highly compelling and rewarding read—as well as a resonant reminder of what, for many, is one of life’s most formative relationships. What inspired you? I happened to stumble on a newspaper article about a group of teens caught throwing a party in Robert Frost’s historically preserved summer home. They’d vandalized and set fire to the place, but few of them were over 18. A resourceful judge sentenced them to take a course in Frost’s poetry, and my writer’s “what-if” machinery kicked in. ADRIÁN GRAS-VELÁZQUEZ is a visiting assistant professor in the Spanish Department. Sarah has to write a love poem to herself. What would yours be? Here is the first verse of “Reflection: A Tough Love Poem”: “If you could see me, as I see you. / If my words could find you, / stones hurled toward a far shore.” How did being on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts shape you and this book? I am forever enlivened and recharged by the writers I work with in the program I helped found some 20 years ago. Whenever I’ve flirted with despair, with the notion that writing is less useful, less important, and oh-my-aching-heart far less easy than other work, my students have shown me why I persist. They give me courage. In my book, I think that this same rededication happens for KATE MITCHELL Louise Hawes weaves poetry throughout The Language of Stars (Margaret K. McElderry Books), a fictional story inspired by a true event. At once lonely and lyrical, her protagonist Sarah embarks on a journey of self-discovery, gaining confidence through writing and self-reflection. my Frost stand-in Rufus Baylor when he encounters Sarah and borrows most of his class exercises from yours truly. From writing with music, to field walks, to blind typing, there isn’t one of Baylor’s “odd” pedagogical approaches that hasn’t been used by this “odd” mentor! + READ MORE bulletin. swarthmore.edu HOT TYPE: NEW BOOKS BY SWARTHMOREANS Jocelyn Roberts Davis ’84 The Greats on Leadership Nicholas Brealey Publishing 6 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING SPRING 2017 2017 Illuminating the practical wisdom of sages across the ages, Davis imagines how history’s greatest minds would navigate 20 modern workplace obstacles. Her esteemed classical guides include Jane Austen on talent-mining and Hannibal on handling competition. She dubs Shakespeare’s Henry V “the learning king,” noting that “he never suffers from analysis paralysis. Rather, he asks questions in order to learn and then applies that learning, quickly, to the situation at hand.” Ken Moskowitz ’76 Adaptation in Bulgaria Penny-a-Page Press Retired diplomat Moskowitz, exploring new productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Angels in America, and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, approached this book with one driving question: What determines if these current Bulgarian adaptations are successful? “What I have not done is probe for literary, social, political, or symbolic meanings, or write about possible interpretations,” he notes. “My purpose was only to learn what critics and audiences understand or feel … in the U.S. and Bulgaria.” Drawing on his long career in medicine, Holtzman delves into the competitive world of scientific research in his fourth novel. When lead character Jason Pearce makes compromises to ensure funding for his Alzheimer’s research, one of his subjects dies, setting the stage for a complicated ethical journey. “Readers who were riveted by The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will be drawn in,” reviewers rave. Tony Holtzman ’55 Blame Cloudsplitter Press Megan Crowley-Matoka ’92 Delineating the fiercely familial kidney transplantation industry in Guadalajara, Mexico, Crowley-Matoka writes with sensitivity and precision about the patients and professionals existing at the center of it all. “We may not have operating rooms or money or all the medications that we need, but our people will do anything for their families; we can get more live donors than you’ll ever see in the United States,” she reports one doctor saying. “That’s what keeps us going.” Domesticating Organ Transplant Duke University Press SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 7 common good dialogue SHARING SUCCESS AND STORIES OF SWARTHMORE GLOBAL THINKING SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE His immersion in Arabic became a lesson in empathy BRENDAN WORK ’10 jokingly tells his students that they are learning “an enemy language.” “They sometimes ask, ‘Why is there so much politics in Arabic class?’” says Work, a high-school teacher in Missoula, Mont. “Well, when you’re learning Spanish or French, there just isn’t an international conflict with the U.S. that involves those speakers now.” This is important context for his students, who must work through so much history and tension tied up in the study of the language through class discussions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Iraq War, and Syrian refugees. He seeks to offer them a point of view beyond bias or preconceived notions that he honed as a reporter. “I knew I wanted to find employment at the intersection of Arabic and journalism,” says Work, who studied the language at the College as a comparative literature major. “I was looking for the big story, so I bought a one-way ticket into the occupied territory,” at a time when Palestine was submitting its statehood bid to the U.N. Work secured a job at a small press agency in Bethlehem where he improved his language skills in-house—“It was no secret I was Swarthmore’s worst Arabic student for all four years,” he laughs—before heading into the field as a reporter and photographer. As Work detailed the struggles of those in the conflict zone, he realized the Arab narrative was often told from a limited perspective. For example, while covering a planned protest near the West Bank wall on the day of the statehood bid, a clash escalated and a Palestinian teen was struck by a tear-gas canister. (A Reuters photographer captured an image of Work aiding the boy moments 8 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 after the violence.) Denied access to the nearest hospital because it was on the other side of the wall, the youth ultimately lost his eye. Later, out of concern, Work met with the teen’s parents. “You’ll see in comments sections of articles, ‘Why didn’t these parents keep their kid at home?’ That feeds into this idea that people we’re warring against don’t care about their kids,” Work says. “That idea that human life is somehow more sacred to us—that we would protect our kids— harshly came into contact with reality after hearing those parents: ‘We encouraged him to go, he’s our son and he’s our hero, and we agree with him.’ “Their thinking was, ‘Resistance is our reality.’ In America, I thought, protests happened out of a sense—rather than a reality— of injustice.” Work brought this empathy back to his Montana hometown, where an Arabic teaching position opened shortly after his return. In the classroom, he encourages students to see past stereotypes and to instead learn the cultures and customs of Arabic speakers. In fact, Work is planning a visit to Morocco this spring—the first Missoula school trip to an Arab nation. Compassion, he teaches, is key. He and his students were instrumental in helping two Syrian families resettle in Missoula, mere weeks before LAURENCE KESTERSON by Elizabeth Slocum BRENDAN WORK ’10 Teacher President Trump’s refugee ban. “The community wanted to do something, they contacted the International Rescue Committee, and they convinced them to set up an office here,” Work says. “It’s really a great example of what concerned moms can do in an isolated place like Missoula.” The prospect of refugee children attending public school in Missoula excites Work. So does the idea of building a community of native Arabic speakers from whom his own students can learn. Already, his young charges are challenging their families to consider the many sides of the Arabic— and ultimately, the human—story. “They enjoy the responsibility of being their family FAQ,” he says. “When their dad sees something about Iraq on the television, they love being in the room so they can say, ‘Here’s what I learned in Arabic today.’” ON THE WEB LOOK, UP IN THE SKY Astronomer Eric Jensen on the new planets discovered “right around the block of our galactic neighborhood.” + EXPLORE bit.ly/EJSpace ART LIVES Music and dance alumni trace vibrantly varied career trajectories. + HEAR THEIR JOURNEYS bit.ly/CreativePaths PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP Educator Nelson Flores ’03 gave the keynote address at a Public Discourse & Democracy series event. + LISTEN AND LEARN bit.ly/Flores03 BUILDING BLOCKS Lego immortalizes iconic astronomer Nancy Grace Roman ’46, H’76 in a Women of NASA set, which also features the first American woman in space, Sally Ride ’72. + HEAR HER REFLECT bit.ly/RomanLEGO “I knew I wanted to find employment at the intersection of Arabic and journalism.” SWAT O’CLOCK Time to Make Change, Together by Emily Weisgrau art by Phillip Stern ’84 SOCIAL ACTION. Academics. Athletics. When Swarthmoreans unite around a goal, our collective strength makes anything possible. That’s how “Changing Lives, Changing the World” (pg. 72) will succeed—as an inclusive effort. On April 26 at noon EDT, join forces for a special challenge honoring the College’s founding: 1,864 donors in 1,864 minutes. If the goal is met before 7:04 p.m. April 27, an anonymous Board of Managers member and spouse will donate $1 million. Will you be the change? + JOIN THE CHALLENGE: swarthmore.edu/challenge SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 9 common good GO WITH THE FLOW GUINNESS GODDESS When Desireé Melonas began teaching yoga at Swarthmore, she set an intention: to create a community, emphasis on the om. “I’d never taught consistently outside of a studio space, so I wondered how that would work,” says the visiting assistant professor of political science, a certified yoga instructor and former studio owner. “And it turned out to be one of the most lovely communities—something special happens here.” Every Monday at lunchtime, Melonas leads student, staff, and faculty yogis of all ability levels in a Vinyasa flow series as part of the free SwatFit wellness program. The takeaway from each class—renewed focus and serenity—she hopes, is the same for everyone, herself included. “Time spent away from our desks doesn’t make us any less as workers,” she says. “The more that we tend to other aspects of being human, the more present and thoughtful and creative and kind and more interesting we become.” —ELIZABETH SLOCUM + FEELING TENSE? Try these tips from Desireé: LARRY MANIERI bulletin.swarthmore.edu. Movie Man Pianist Annette DiMedio ’75 took second in the American Prize Lorin Hollander Award competition. + HEAR HER PLAY: bulletin.swarthmore.edu 10 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 iTunes, GooglePlay, and Amazon Video. Response has been encouraging: Page Six has repeatedly called Johnson a noteworthy up-and-coming filmmaker, and he’s already hard at work on two movies with Tony Awardwinning producer John Hart. “I want to make entertaining films that are challenging and new,” Johnson says. “What excites me is talking to people who are on their fifth movie and how much more they know than I do—I can’t wait to learn all that for myself.” —JONATHAN RIGGS LAURENCE KESTERSON DURING HIS four years at Swarthmore, Grant Johnson ’14 was too busy to watch movies, let alone make one. After graduation, however, the art history major achieved his lifelong dream when he wrote, directed, and produced his feature debut, the subversive dark comedy Frat Star. “Wearing every hat on set, I learned so much every day about filmmaking and the industry,” he says. “This was my grad school and rite of passage.” Budgeted at $200,000, Frat Star is available on 20 platforms, including “I believe we all can do so much more and for so much longer than we think we can,” Lynn West Salvo ’71 said at the triumphant end of her ride. Life Is Like a Bike I ’VE BEEN living on my bike since spring 2015,” jokes Lynn West Salvo ’71, who set a Guinness World Record as the oldest woman to cross America by bicycle. To do so, she spent September and October cycling coast-to-coast across the United States: a 3,163-mile, 13-state, 59-day trek from Oceanside, Calif., to Bethany Beach, Del. Though cycling has been one of her longtime passions, it was not until September 2014 when Salvo sold MathTree—a business she incorporated that offers summer math camps to children—that she felt free to pursue more ambitious rides. She became fixated on the prospect of a cross-country cycling endeavor echoing the Race Across America route and trained rigorously, preparing her mind and body. “I repeated to myself an Eleanor Roosevelt quote: ‘Do the thing you think you cannot do,’” she says, and she did just that—everything from changing her own flat tires to riding on traffic-heavy roads to keeping a blog of her adventures: lifeislikeabike.wordpress.com. “I wanted to enjoy an incredible route on my own terms,” says Salvo, “while meeting the rigorous requirements to set a world record.” And she’s not stopping there—Salvo is applying to attempt another record by biking across Canada in 2018. — CODY McELHINNY ’17 + SEE her journey: bit.ly/LWSRecord and her interview at the Guinness World Records office: bit.ly/LWSGWR LYNN’S FOUR P’S: BIKE/LIFE TIPS 1. Places: I constantly drew inspiration from all the stunning, diverse scenery I traveled. 2. People: I assembled the best support team, saw old friends along the way, and met wonderful new people. 3. Preparation: I cycled more than 6,000 miles in 2016 to train, planned my daily route with contingencies months beforehand, and referred constantly to my prep work in a 3-inch-thick binder that traveled in the support car. 4. Prevention: I avoided issues like heatstroke on 100-degree desert days by pouring cold water over myself and tucking ice in my pockets every mile or so. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 11 common good THE NAPKIN CHRONICLES Brokered Dreams, Broken Hearts SNUGLY TUCKED into the collar or draped across the knees, the hardworking napkin lives to serve. At Swarthmore, this industrious tool has one more role: messenger. For decades, many Swarthmoreans—maybe even you—have tacked up napkins bearing questions and requests about the Sharples menu on the dining hall bulletin board. Dining Services Director Linda McDougall, the answer maven who responds to each napkin, shares a few more answers with us. —KATE CAMPBELL The Pirate Prince of Publishers LAURENCE KESTERSON THOMAS BIRD MOSHER was an unlikely person to become America’s first publisher of beautiful limited editions of fine literature at affordable prices. Born in 1852 as the son of a Maine clipper ship captain, Mosher ended his formal education at eighth grade. By his early teens, he’d rounded Cape Horn four times in his father’s ship, voraciously reading English literature by the light of a dim oil lamp. He ultimately published hundreds of jewel-like books, principally by late Victorian authors, with and without their permission. I recently donated my father’s collection of 58 Mosher books to Swarthmore, so drop by McCabe Library to take a look. —RALPH LEE SMITH ’51 SPRING 2017 JAMES GATHANY, CDC “On Jan. 20, I assumed the roles of acting director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and acting administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,” says Anne Schuchat ’80, H’05. “I view this as a privilege as well as a great responsibility, and one I will do my best to meet.” Swarthmore College Bulletin / authors: bulletin.swarthmore.edu Ralph Lee Smith ’51 showcases his gift of Mosher books to McCabe Library. Congratulations 12 + READ a first-person essay by the LAURENCE KESTERSON • “As long as I have been here, 25 years, the napkin board has been in existence.” • “I’m trying to respond every week.” • “People ask us anything, from requesting specific cereals to taking certain items off the menu.” • “We love when students compliment a recipe or employee. We always share feedback and shout-outs with staff. We need to celebrate our successes!” • “After we answer the question, all the napkins go in the compost bin.” • “I’m fine if my identity is no longer secret. Keep those questions coming!” Fantasy and mixed signals aren’t just the stuff of romance—they’re also part of international altruism, as Susan Cotts Watkins ’60 and Ann Swidler discovered over years of research in Malawi, a tiny country with a massive AIDS epidemic. tle sense these make in the lives of most Malawians,” says Watkins. “Rural Malawians must depend on each other to survive, and African women are far from the passive victims that donors imagine.” In the end, the authors conclude, these supposedly “sustainable” programs sustain only the jobs of the westerners who plan the projects and the salaries of African brokers. This led Watkins to form a romantic vision of her own: that her book will open the eyes of donors. “They are too far away to understand the circumstances and motivations of the villagers they want to help,” she says, “and too far away to understand all the things that are likely to go wrong when their dreams are actually implemented.” —CARA EHLENFELDT ’16 Their new book, A Fraught Embrace: The Romance and Reality of AIDS Altruism in Africa (Princeton University Press), explores the complicated love triangle of global donor organizations, impoverished Malawian recipients, and local “brokers” who serve as salaried go-betweens. “We saw that, like a romance, all parties dream of finding a perfect partner,” Watkins explains, “but then there are difficulties, disappointments, and betrayals.” In shabby motels in rural Malawi, where bun-and-soda breaks punctuate donorsponsored, broker-run training sessions, Watkins and Swidler were amazed to discover a fraught disconnect between dreams and realities. “These trainings on AIDS emphasize human rights, especially the empowerment of women, personal autonomy, and gender equality, but if the donors knew anything about the villagers, they would see how lit- Swat [Outside the Box] is a blog sponsored by the Center for Innovation and Leadership and designed to highlight how students and alumni are making changes in their chosen fields. Get inspired by stories of success, creativity, and resilience like Christina Hui ’17’s account of traveling to Morocco for a climate-change conference: bit.ly/SwatOTB ONE FOR THE BOOKS! The Swarthmore men’s basketball team made history, winning the program’s first Centennial Conference championship and earning its first automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Garnet fell to Christopher Newport University, 77-67, in the tournament’s second round—but not before Cam Wiley ’19 (above) set his own team record, with 537 points in the season. + NOTHING BUT NET … AND A GALLERY bulletin.swarthmore.edu SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 13 common good BASKETBALL Lindsay O’Sullivan ’20 ranked second in freethrow percentage in the Centennial Conference. SWIMMING Liz Staton ’19 broke a 20-year-old school record in the 200-yard breaststroke at the Gettysburg Invite. Christina Labows ’18, Rachel Bronkema ’18, Anna Scheibmeir ’18, and Lily Wushanley ’18 protest on the National Mall. Student-Athlete-Activists by Roy Greim ’14 Clare Cushing ’20 was voted Most Outstanding Rookie at the Centennial Conference championship. By an amazing 120 points, men’s swimming won its first conference title. TRACK & FIELD On Jan. 21, millions of people globally joined together in Women’s Marches to show support for progressive causes. An estimated 500,000 demonstrators descended on our nation’s capital for the main march alone. Among them were Swarthmore studentathletes who, like their sisters across the country, can trace part of their empowerment to Title IX, the groundbreaking federal legislation that outlawed sex-based discrimination in education and fostered immense growth of women’s athletics. This year marks its 45th anniversary. “If not for Title IX, we wouldn’t be competing in the same capacity we are today,” says Christina Labows ’18, a women’s lacrosse team member. “It is important to me that our country does not take steps backward with regards to equality for women.” “What motivated me to participate in 14 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 the march was this really intense collective feeling I had to take part in the resistance against Trump’s presidency,” says field hockey player Clare Perez ’18. “I was tired of just feeling angry about everything, and I wanted to actually take action and be part of something.” “I used to let other people take the activist stand because I was afraid of taking it myself,” adds teammate Lizzy Stant ’19, “but at this point, I’m more afraid of what’s going to happen to our country and planet if we just sit around.” “People often forget that Title IX is only 45 years old. I am so privileged not just to have access to the education at Swarthmore, but also to be able to play softball for all four years,” says Sara Planthaber ’17. “People in positions of privilege need to be more aware and stand up.” Maggie O’Neil ’17 won the Coach I Open shotput and Centennial Conference Athlete of the Week. John Gagnon ’17 set a program record in the 3,000-meter run by nearly 10 seconds. LEARNING CURVE WRITE THIS WAY Poetry powered—and saved—Marc Hofstadter ’67’s life by Gina Myers IT WAS NOT SURPRISING that Marc Hofstadter ’67 originally intended to become a professor—he was raised in a family of scholars, including an uncle who won the Nobel Prize and two cousins who won Pulitzers. What was surprising was that, after returning from teaching overseas at the Universite d’Orleans and Tel Aviv University, he decided to chuck the academy in favor of pursuing poetry. “I found the academic world exceedingly competitive and goal-oriented,” he explains. “In the world of poetry, I could create however I chose without caring as much whether I won awards.” Hofstadter credits two “favorable accidents” for cementing his decision: One, he was turned down for a tenure-track position, and two, he came out as a gay man and soon after was diagnosed with HIV. Determined to achieve his dreams, he completed a second master’s and became a librarian, first at Rand Information Systems and then part time at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. “That was a perfect job,” he says, “because it was inherently interesting, yet gave me plenty of time to write.” Today, Hofstadter is the author of six books of poetry and a collection of essays. While much of his work has focused on simple, direct language, he has recently begun to challenge structural and thematic conventions. “For many years I was not an experimental writer but used ordinary sentences, spoke of people and events, and tried to express ideas,” he says. “However, in the past several years I’ve begun writing more avant-garde poems, poems that aren’t ‘about’ anything but that are linguistic and imagistic explorations.” LYDIA DANILLER In order to celebrate Black History Month, we honored a few of our community members whose character and contributions enriched Swarthmore Athletics’s history, on and off the field: bit.ly/SwatBHM His next book, Autumnal, focuses on “late life” issues. “I feel immensely lucky to have lived to age 71, of having lived with my dark brother of HIV for 34 years,” he says. “I don’t know if Autumnal will be my last book, but it might be. Or maybe I’ll live to write its sequel, Wintry.” “When I write, the world comes into focus. I feel alive and rejoice in the process!” SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 15 common good LIBERAL ARTS LIVES MICHAEL FORSTER ROTHBART ’94 Michael Forster Rothbart ’94 took this self-portrait in a destroyed building near his apartment in Donetsk Oblast. “In Ukraine,” he says, “I do feel like my witnessing, sharing people’s stories and portraits with outside viewers, does some incremental good.” LIBERAL ARTS LIVES AN EMPATHETIC EYE He looks at the world and sees hope by Carol Brévart-Demm 16 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 “Creative people are out of their minds,” laughs Michael Forster Rothbart ’94 in his TEDx talk “Boxing Outside the Think” (bit. ly/MFR-TED). In the most socially conscious ways, he’s his own perfect example. After Swarthmore, he traveled India and China, photographing areas of conflict, including a World Bank-financed dam, to expose the impact on displaced communities. Later projects included documentaries on hydrofracking and on rural life and democracy movements in Central Asia, as well as a travel book about his two years living in Kazakhstan. From 2007 to 2009, Forster Rothbart spent time on a Fulbright grant in Sukachi, a village in Ukraine next to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, interviewing and recording the lives of Chernobyl residents a generation after the nuclear meltdown. Five years later, he began a parallel project on Fukushima, Japan, photographing plant workers, refugees, and residents returning after a similar disaster. To better communicate the motivation of the people who live and work in these areas, Forster Rothbart produced a 2013 exhibit and TED book, Would You Stay?, composed of personal narratives, photos, maps, and interviews. Last fall, Forster Rothbart began to monitor the cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and the separatist Donetsk republic during six months with a special monitoring mission for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. “It’s not quite a peace treaty, because they continue to attack each other, but it is an important step in working toward peace here,” he says. When he’s not behind the camera, Forster Rothbart writes stories, designs maps and games, and plays with his two kids— activities that support his desire to use creativity as a tool for building community. “Swarthmore helped me develop the most important skills an artist and journalist needs,” he says, “like the ability to talk and listen to anyone, compassion for those who are suffering, a tendency to think critically and look for hidden structures, and a belief that anything is possible.” WINNIE AU Documentary Photographer “We want to offer our SHE Wins! students enrichment experiences,” says A’Dorian Murray-Thomas ’16. “That could be anything from a workplace tour to a lunchtime conversation—anything that gives our girls more learning opportunities is greatly appreciated.” JOY AND STRENGTH She’s proving that when ‘SHE Wins!’ … we all do by Jonathan Riggs PERSPECTIVE—and a sense of humor—is crucial to connect with high school and younger-aged students. “My girls call me an old lady,” laughs A’Dorian Murray-Thomas ’16, at once exuberantly optimistic and fiercely pragmatic. Despite her advanced age (21), she has wisdom, empathy, and vision to spare, all of which she’s putting to use on behalf of her charges. By day, she works directly with at-risk or suspended high schoolers in Newark, N.J., helping them develop social, academic, and emotional strategies to succeed. By night—and weekends (and always, really)—she serves as founder and executive director of SHE Wins! (shewins.org), her Lang Opportunity Project turned sustainable real-world nonprofit that helps girls whose lives have been affected by violence to excel in and out of school. It’s a mission dear to MurrayThomas’s heart—when she was 7, her father was murdered. “My goal is for my girls to learn how to become more in tune with their strengths, gifts, and potential,” she says. “I want them to know that, no matter what they have gone through, they can achieve their goals.” Part of this comes through community-service projects, networking sessions, mentorship and leadership programs, and poetry and public-speaking workshops MurrayThomas organizes; part of this comes from the living, breathing example she provides as a warm and attentive role model, friend, and fellow traveler. “Ensuring that SHE Wins! remains an organization that’s not just doing things for girls, but with them, giving them the opportunity to take control and have a real say, is crucial to me,” she says. “From the moment I started this, I knew that creating a space for girls to feel safe and empowered and loved and believed-in is something I had to do.” + WATCH her “Black Girl Magic” episode: bit.ly/AMTESSENCE A’DORIAN MURRAY-THOMAS ’16 Community Leader SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 17 A SPARK, THEN ROOM TO GROW Since 2001, Swarthmore’s Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility has built on the pioneering vision of philanthropist Eugene M. Lang ’38, H’81. The singular goal of this son of Hungarian immigrants was to enhance the connections among coursework, fieldwork, and citizenship. His commitment to growing a more just and beautiful world continues to be cultivated—and then some. by Kate Campbell T HERE ARE ALWAYS flowers for those who want to see them,” Henri Matisse said. Swarthmore, especially, produces these gardeners of the common good—artists and architects of a better world who see life’s beauty, not necessarily as it is, but how it might be. They are gripping ladders, scrambling to city rooftops, and converting sunlight into power. They are constructing robots in rural Ghanaian schoolrooms and tech hubs in Nepalese farming communities. They are rerouting Philadelphia’s storm water to force blooms in bare patches, harnessing steam to minimize carbon footprints, and caring for the Crum Woods to measure the forest’s health. Their vision is grounded in 18 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 study and coursework so their hearts and hands can change the world. Much of this remarkable scholarship and service springs forth from the same place—Swarthmore College’s Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, a light-filled building on the north end of campus. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Eugene M. Lang ’38, H’81 created the “I Have a Dream” Foundation and Project Pericles. “Gene Lang was ahead of his time,” says Ben Berger, associate professor of political science and the Lang Center’s executive director. “He praised the connection between the liberal arts curriculum, the intensive classroom, and the pursuit of responsible citizenship. “The Lang Center has been refining and advancing his vision ever since.” Ultimately, Berger sees the center as an incubator. “We provide stakeholders with financial, social, and human capital,” he says. “Engaged scholarship requires funding, and we assist with that, but just as importantly, we connect students, faculty, and staff to mentors, collaborators, and community partners. Our staff provides expert advising and strategic planning to help our constituencies achieve their goals.” The Lang Center’s success comes from recognizing the potential in students’ ideas, adds Nimesh Ghimire ’16, who received a Davis Projects for Peace Award for his work in western Nepal. And part of that success stems from giving these students, these seeds, room to grow. Sedinam Worlanyo ’17 (left), winner of a Lang Opportunity Scholarship to study, plan, establish, and assess a sustainable project that addresses community needs in Ghana, wanted to make a stronger connection between her robotics lessons and her students’ daily realities. Worlanyo invited scholar Jessica Quaye (right) to speak to the class. Photo by Yaw Owusu-Ansah. SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 19 GLOBAL ROOTS semester,” says Worlanyo, who grew up in metropolitan Accra, two hours from the school in Odoben. “It was a reality check that made me reflect on my own privilege.” Worlanyo, a Lang Scholar, realized she wanted to make a stronger connection between her robotics lessons and her students’ daily realities. “For the rest of the program,” she says, “I tried to emphasize that even though robotics was fun, it was a vehicle for getting them to think about issues they face every day while exposing them to wider opportunities.” It’s this process of listening, collaborating, and learning that exemplifies what the Lang Center is all about: “responsive and responsible project design through engaged scholarship,” says Jennifer Magee, associate director of the Lang Center. Although Worlanyo faced cultural and gender barriers in creating YenAra Odoben Robotics—YenAra means “Our Very Own” in Twi—Worlanyo’s threemonth course ultimately inspired everyone involved. “In addition to building the EV3 robots, we had a design-thinking workshop and a leadership workshop, which our students really loved,” she says, noting that the girls became bolder and more vocal than usual in their robotics classes—and Worlanyo herself couldn’t help but feed off their excitement. “I love facilitating workshops and connecting people with ideas,” she says. “I would always light up during my sessions with the girls.” LAURENCE KESTERSON A FTER A LIVELY start, Sedinam Worlanyo ’17 was surprised when she walked into the classroom for her all-girls robotics pilot program in rural Ghana and realized some of her students were missing. It was her third week teaching engineering, science, technology, and math concepts to 25 students at the Odoben Senior High School of Ghana. “I was a bit taken aback, because they had been consistently showing up to class,” says Worlanyo, who quickly learned the reason for the empty seats: The primarily agricultural community was having an important farming day. “The missing students had to help support their parents to earn money for their tuition for the coming Partnering in storm-water management are (clockwise from left) Jerome Shabazz of the Overbrook Environmental Education Center, Professor Art McGarity, engineering major Jonathan Cohen ’17, Lang Center Scholar-in-Residence Arto Woodley, Temple University’s Christina Rosan, and engineering major Alexandra Philyaw ’17. FROM SCRUB, NEW GROWTH YAW OWUSU-ANSAH L Instead of rote memorization, Sedinam Worlanyo ’17 wanted her high school students to learn problem-solving and criticalthinking skills that she believes are instrumental for Ghanaian youth to carry forward to their communities. 20 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 ESS THAN 24 hours after a freak midwinter deluge, Professor of Engineering and Environmental Studies Art McGarity sits at his desk peering closely at the city website that monitors sewer-­ runoff hot spots. “Those red triangles,” he says, tapping at a cluster of blinking signals, “show locations of combined sewer overflows in Philadelphia that will spill into the Delaware River, the Schuylkill River, Tacony Creek, and Cobbs Creek whenever it rains more than a quarterinch or so in one day.” The alarms are virtual evidence of an urban center’s very real aging infrastructure that includes 3,000 miles of sewers and 79,000 storm-water inlets in the Philadelphia area. Working with students, faculty, and community members to discover ways to manage those waterways winding and coursing through the Delaware River Watershed and its seven main subwatersheds is McGarity’s passion. “We want to inspire engineering students to make a social impact,” says McGarity. He and colleagues, including Christina Rosan of Temple University, have created projects that present Philadelphia as a model for water management. “We’re hoping the work we’re doing will become a model nationwide.” When McGarity learned in 2013 that he had been awarded a $1 million four-year research grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lead water projects that would control Philadelphia’s storm-water runoff, he was ecstatic. It allowed him to create simulations so city planners can choose which green infrastructure technologies to use in public spaces and which ones to incentivize on private properties, as well as to build new alliances, including with the Overbrook Environmental Education Center (OEEC) in West Philadelphia. Arto Woodley of the Lang Center shared insights and expertise that helped to actualize some of McGarity’s community partnerships. “Art’s StormWise program will help us monetize and put value on storm-water management in our area,” says OEEC director Jerome Shabazz, who will work with Swarthmore students this summer. “If we want to encourage green infrastructure development, we have to be able to justify the value of open space. By pulling in academia and local stakeholders, we can get the job done.” SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 21 DANCE FLOWERS E ARLY ON a January Saturday, a light snow fell outside the Lang Performing Arts Center. For the most part, the campus was still. But inside the dance studio, Amelia Estrada ’17 was already in a full sweat, charging across the smooth floor demonstrating athletic leaps and scissorlike steps to her young dance troupe. In an unintended tribute to Degas, the clutch of 10-year-olds observed her in varying states of concentration. One looped herself across the long wooden bar; another gazed at her reflection in the wall of mirrors, lost in thought. 22 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 “Step, kick—I want to see straight legs,” Estrada called out cheerily. “Try your best. Clean, straight lines. Nice!” Wearing T-shirts emblazened with slogans like Born2Shine and Stargazer, the girls raced to fashion their movements after Estrada’s, reflecting her distilled energy. Since September, Estrada, an honors dance and classics major, has been leading the students every weekend under the guidance of Sharon Friedler, professor emerita of dance. The 16 girls, all members of Chester Children’s Chorus, are learning a Horton-based modern dance curriculum. The class is the core of Estrada’s honors thesis and brings to life her A GARDEN OF GOOD IDEAS W ITH 15 minutes left in her Sustainability Research Methods class, English Professor Betsy Bolton dashed a few final notes on the board. “It’s been remarkable,” Bolton says as her students collaborate, some with heads bent low in conversation, others exuberantly trading ideas. “This has been our first year and we’ve exceeded expectations.” The yearlong course is part of the President’s Sustainability Research Fellowship (PSRF)—a rigorous new program created by Bolton, Ben Berger, and Director of Sustainability Aurora Winslade, and sponsored by the President’s Office, the Lang Center, the Office of Sustainability, and the Environmental Studies Program— where students seek real-world solutions for complex sustainability issues. “Within the PSRF program, students learn to lead by leading,” says Bolton. With a stream of projects in motion, the work can sometimes feel frenetic. And faculty, too, accustomed to being in charge, must learn a new role of letting the students take the reins. “There are times when it can feel a little like a three-ring circus,” she laughs. “But the students are doing amazing work.” One of those students is biology and studio art major Gavriela Mallory ’17, who hopes to pursue farm-based education after graduation. She recently led the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee to articulate best forestry practices for Swarthmore. “I built a document that will serve as a framework for institutional management of the woods going forward,” Mallory says. “That’s a pretty rewarding contribution to make.” The PSRF program has also allowed the College to implement changes beyond the classroom with the hiring of Climate Action Senior Fellow Nathan Graf ’16. Graf works closely with Aaron Metheny ’18, an economics major, and Steve Golub, the Franklin and Betty Barr Professor of Economics, to construct a model for how the College will most effectively enact carbon charging. (This involves internal audits that “tax” each department based on their production of carbon emissions. Revenues from the charge will be applied toward renewables, efficiency, metering, and education projects.) Swarthmore is one of a few schools, like Yale and Vassar, leading the way on carbon charging; the College hosted a conference on the topic in January. In fact, Swarthmore has committed to being carbon-neutral by 2035. But that’s the long view. Meanwhile, Graf, Golub, and Metheny meet weekly in the Lang Center to discuss and develop strategies for the College’s carbon-charge blueprint. In addition to working through articles in a class-directed reading, they look at carbon pricing in the private sector. The answers are rarely simple, but the group remains optimistic. “It’s still a work in progress,” says Graf. “Carbon pricing is a fair, feasible, and powerful solution to the climate crisis, and Swarthmore is taking a valuable leadership role in moving that solution forward.” LAURENCE KESTERSON LAURENCE KESTERSON Amelia Estrada ’17 uses dance as a tool for empowerment as she works with students from Chester to create an original piece for a recital this spring. “You can help young people discover a way to be active, to be physically creative and also learn the discipline that comes from dance and apply that to other areas of their lives,” she says. belief that dance—and the arts in general—can transform disenfranchised communities. “The act of dancing,” says Pallabi Chakravorty, associate professor and director of the dance program, “allows us to collectively imagine and then take action for a better future.” Friedler agrees, and the retired professor so believed in Estrada that she returned to guide the student through her thesis. The two planned the dance course curriculum for eight months on a grant from the Lang Center’s Swarthmore Fund. In fact, Friedler’s outstanding career inspired the Lang Center to establish Arts and Social Action, which Chakravorty now heads, as one of four faculty-led initiatives that empower professors to innovate and collaborate in their areas of expertise—including on projects like Estrada’s. “Amelia’s work is important for a thousand reasons,” Friedler says. “As a young woman of color, she wants to empower her students through dance. When challenges happen in their lives, they can be heard, and work through them, via the discipline of the arts.” Growing up in Boxborough, Mass., Estrada was one of the only Latina students in her mostly white suburban community, which heightened her awareness of race and class. Adding to her worldview was a diagnosis of dyslexia that prevented her from being able to read until third grade. “My dyslexia is part of the reason I am creative,” says Estrada, whose parents eventually advocated for a move to a different school where she bloomed. “Dance as a release is a wonderful tool that makes me feel vulnerable and open in a positive way as opposed to being graded or judged. My students have the ability to transfer that energy.” As the Saturday class ended, Estrada called the young dancers to the center of the room. They joined hands in a circle, thanking each other for participating. To close the session, they began singing a well-rehearsed piece from the Children’s Chorus, their voices tied in ethereal harmony. Then, in a blur, they were through the door and out into the world. Aaron Metheny ’18, Professor Steve Golub, and Climate Action Senior Fellow Nathan Graf ’16 discuss constructing a model for how the College will most effectively enact carbon charging. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 23 GROWING TOWARD THE LIGHT LAURENCE KESTERSON Denise Crossan is the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues in Social Change. “I’m a huge advocate of experiential learning,” says Crossan, who taught at Trinity College Dublin before coming to Swarthmore. Crossan teaches courses on social innovation and is building a new makers’ space, the Social Innovation Lab at the Lang Center. “We want to give students a chance to see themselves as social innovators. Covering the theory is not enough—they have to have exposure to how it works in the field.” 24 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 “I am well-aware of the neglect that this neighborhood faces,” says Houston. “I had just moved to campus and was getting accustomed to what, to me, was this fancy institution. Then I came across this group of people with the audacity to envision that the disinvested and neglected North Philly neighborhood that I grew up in could create its own cycle of urban revitalization.” He was so inspired, he says, that he joined the project. Working with community members has been extremely gratifying, adds Everbach, “because they are genuinely interested in learning about new things that would benefit their neighborhood. We have learned so much from them, too—Serenity Soular is a true partnership of mutualism, community, and love.” In fact, two neighbors who started as apprentices, Ky Sanders and Robert Crawford, are now fully trained as solar installers. “We have this vision of creating a solarized community that fights the historic pattern of gentrification with a steady stream of good, green jobs,” says Di Chiro. “Through all this work we are demonstrating place-making and a step together toward sustainable economic development and against displacement of a beloved community.” “The Lang Center supplies resources; colleagues, students, and community partners supply dreams. Together we’re redefining higher education.” —Ben Berger, executive director LAURENCE KESTERSON from the Swarthmore Project Pericles Fund, established by Eugene Lang and administered by the Lang Center, put the project on solid ground. Laura Rigell ’16 began working with Serenity Soular her freshman year. “I’ve been involved ever since,” she says. Her work with Serenity Soular helped Rigell to “figure out what climate justice means on the ground. We are working to ensure that these residents, who have faced decades of structural racism and disinvestment, are able to participate in and benefit from the growing green economy. I have learned that by working across our differences, we can create miracles.” Patrick Houston ’17 grew up in Hunting Park, just three miles north of Serenity House. Among those who power the Lang Center (from left): Assistant Director for Co-Curricular Programming and Outreach Katie Price; Scholar-in-Residence Arto Woodley; Associate Director Jennifer Magee; Administrative Assistant Delores Robinson; Executive Director and Associate Professor of Political Science Ben Berger; and Civic Education and Engagement Fellow Hana Lehmann ’13. BEAUTY AND A BETTER WORLD BLOSSOM N ENGRAVINGS © CAN STOCK PHOTO / MORPHART O N A WARM SPRING night in 2013, a group of Swarthmore students and professors Giovanna Di Chiro and Carr Everbach made their way to North Philadelphia. The destination was Serenity House, an outreach center where they planned to share a dinner with residents and talk about ways to build sustainable practices and help reconstitute vibrancy in the struggling West Lehigh Avenue neighborhood. Eventually, a consensus was reached. In an effort to cut electricity costs at the center, the group decided to explore transitioning to solar power—without losing the “soul” of the community—and the Serenity Soular Project was born. A three-year grant OW 81, Edgar Cahn ’56 has spent a lifetime fiercely sowing the seeds of justice. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” says Cahn, who was a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy. (He discussed his career in a 2015 campus lecture: bit.ly/ Cahn56.) Still devoted to law and teaching—and still working with Lang Center students each summer on social-justice projects such as Youth Courts and Time Banking—Cahn sees Henri Matisse’s flowers and how Swarthmorean roots help them grow. “It’s not enough to be an elite island and citadel of learning—hope and possibility come from brainstorming how to change things we don’t want to tolerate,” says Cahn. “The meaning of what’s learned only realizes its potential if it’s radiating out, and the Lang Center seeks to bridge all worlds.” Every fall since 1968, Cahn has hand-planted thousands of bulbs— crocuses, irises, and tulips—in front of the Washington, D.C., house he bought with his wife, Jean Camper ’57, whom he met at Swarthmore. The racism of that era didn’t stop them from marrying—Camper was black; Cahn is white—or from embarking on careers devoted to improving access to the legal system for all Americans, especially those living in poverty. Camper died from breast cancer at 55. Her flowers—their flowers—make Cahn think about hope and promise. He recognizes that rare beauty— real and metaphorical—as he reflects on all he’s planted and tended over the course of his life. “The joy of gardening is something I learned at Swarthmore—just believing good things can happen. We are a good and caring species; it’s wired into us,” he says. “It has never occurred to me to give up. What I see is a world that is capable of producing abundance.” That same sense of optimism also shimmers in a short film about Eugene Lang. In it, he looks into the camera and describes how, when it comes to a changing world, Swarthmore has been “a lodestar” and “remarkably constructive in considering ideas.” During that filming decades ago, Lang likely had no idea the ways in which, on campus and beyond, his vision for the Lang Center would evolve into a stunning global reality. Today, around the world, the scholarship and service of students, faculty, and alumni is blooming—like so many flowers. + MORE VOICES FROM THE LANG CENTER bulletin.swarthmore.edu SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 25 WORDS WITH FRIENDS Making an impact on others through the wonder of writing by Elizabeth Slocum photography by Laurence Kesterson 26 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 27 A VOICE FROM THE VOICELESS Without poetry, Haydil Henriquez ’14 may never have left the South Bronx. She also may never have returned. “As a young woman of color growing up in a historically disadvantaged community, I didn’t see reflections of myself in the media, or in academia, or in anything that was claimed successful,” says Henriquez, a daughter of Dominican immigrants. “Through poetry and being exposed to other writers, I realized, This isn’t the only world that I know. The Bronx isn’t the only world that exists.” Henriquez embraced poetry as a way to share “an untold story that was very alive, that was eating me up inside.” As a student at an upstart performing-arts high school, Henriquez stood out at poetry slams, received an award in the name of poet Martín Espada—and caught the attention of Swarthmore. “When I visited the campus, I had never been in a space outside of Central Park that had that many trees, and I went nuts,” says Henriquez, the first in her family to attend college. “I thought, This is amazing. I can breathe.” Swarthmore was the kind of place that inspired Henriquez’s writing, but also made it necessary for her to write. She found her niche through the student writing “In order for us to fill voids within us, we need to speak, we need to feel community, we need to share our stories.” —Haydil Henriquez ’14 28 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 collective OASIS (Our Art Spoken in Soul), which allowed her to “maintain sanity” through her rigorous course load. “OASIS was really a healing force for me,” she says. “It’s something so basic, but we often forget we’re humans. In order for us to fill voids within us, we need to speak, we need to feel community, we need to share our stories.” After graduating, Henriquez chose to return to her South Bronx community—where she now helps high schoolers share their stories. As manager of outreach and college advising for DreamYard Art Center, a community organization affiliated with her former high school, she connects students to colleges through their personal essays, homing in on periods of resilience and growth. “Folks forget how much truth is in the personal statement,” Henriquez says. “They’ll have a story, which is often My father wasn’t around, or I had all these responsibilities at home, or I immigrated into this country, and they’ll feel that those are such typical stories that there is no value in them. I’ve been challenged with allowing young people to see how a story’s power is maximized when you hear it in a way that provides an authentic voice.” PHILLIP STERN ’84 I T’S THE SKEPTICS who are the most fun for Jodi Sherman Egerton ’97, the challenging ones who wait in line just to find out what all the laughing and crying and frenetic rat-a-tat-tat-DINGs! are all about. What do you mean you’re writing free poems on the spot? “Come on, give me one word,” Egerton prods. She promises not to disappoint. “They’ll go, ‘All right, well, how about dragon or spatula,” she says. “Those are always my favorites because there’s so much you can do. And then they love it and realize that poetry can be for anyone.” But sometimes, through that one word—or one sentence or one-minute-long conversation—Egerton’s typewriter taps into something deeper: Can you give me a poem about my brother? We’ve been distant for 10 years, and he’s coming to town. I’m really nervous about it. “Then all of a sudden, there’s this intimate moment where they’ve let you into the biggest struggle that they’re dealing with,” Egerton says. “I’ve been given this amazing gift: I get to be honest and say, ‘This is going to be powerful and fun and hard, but wait till you see the other side’—without actually saying it. I write this all down and then hand them these words that hopefully capture something they connect with.” That’s where Typewriter Rodeo—Egerton and her troupe of typists—shines. Hired at events to write customized poems for guests, these friends with backgrounds in writing and improv become three-minute therapists, using the power of their words for the greater good. And they’re not alone in embracing that Quaker ideal: Many Swarthmorean writers, in looking out for their fellow humans, have set out to prove just how mighty the pen—or typewriter or computer keyboard—can truly be. “Oftentimes, when it comes to Bronx youth, the story is, ‘They’re delinquents, they’re violent, they go to college and drop out,’” says Haydil Henriquez ’14. “I want to challenge that message because it’s not the truth. There are other things—barriers—that impede young people from reaching success.” SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 29 PHILLIP STERN ’84 Mendez has “a great deal of academic background that is relevant to almost nothing except for these games,” he quips: He studied West African religion, English literature, and Brazilian and North Indian dance at Swarthmore, and received a master’s degree in Eastern classics, covering Japan, China, and India, from St. John’s College in New Mexico. All of which, combined with his Filipino-American heritage, made him an ideal writing candidate for RPG companies looking to diversify. As a staff writer with John Wick Presents, a producer of tabletop RPGs, the New York-based Mendez casts a liberal arts eye to find the “most interesting and characterful and important things relative to the setting we’re working on,” whether it’s Imperial Mali, the Aztec Empire, or the Dutch West India Company. But Mendez never claims to be an expert on any culture but his own. “I know a lot about people of many different backgrounds, but I’m still a person with only my background,” he says. “It’s important to me to make sure that I check anything that I create against a real person from that culture.” His cultural research and creativity also come into play in his side project, converting Homer’s The Iliad into a modern-day hip-hop epic. “Rap was the original format of The Iliad,” says Mendez, who as “MC Lula” is crowdfunding the translation at bit.ly/ IliadRap. “The poem had a very set rhythm and meter, but a lot of it was actually freestyled. And contentwise, it’s all about booty and machismo and a lot of the most frustrating and also captivating elements of hip-hop culture. So I wanted to translate it from its original format, into its original format.” Through the power of imagination and words, Mendez believes we all can transcend and connect. “I want people to feel like they can engage with subjects where they were worried about being inaccurate or offending someone, by playing a game and having fun in that setting,” Mendez says. “Swarthmore taught me that every topic was worth exploring, even the really scary ones—especially the really scary ones.” “Swarthmore was full of people who were not afraid to do something super weird because they were really interested in it,” says James Mendez Hodes ’08. “Swarthmore was a place where it was safe to care too much.” Just as she discovered a world beyond the Bronx, she encourages her students to take a broad view. “Their guidance counselors are telling them, ‘Just apply to all these local colleges,’ when there are other places that would actually tickle your brain,” she says. “That’s one thing that Swarthmore does really, really well—it builds activists who are challenging the world, it builds character, it builds writers.” PLAYING HIS ROLE James Mendez Hodes ’08 brings new perspectives to the table—literally. As a freshman at Swarthmore, Mendez began playing tabletop role-playing games, or RPGs, in which participants take on a character and advance a storyline based on a fictional setting, à la Dungeons & Dragons. For Mendez, a “I know a lot about people of many different backgrounds, but I’m still a person with only my background.” —James Mendez Hodes ’08 30 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 religion major with interests in theater and poetry, the games provided a perfect mix of acting and writing. But these RPG worlds—traditionally dreamed up, played, and promoted by white, straight, cisgender men—often lacked the diversity and authenticity of the actual world, he says. “Historically, most role-playing games were set in a Tolkien-like fantasy or Europe,” says Mendez, who made a career of his hobby by becoming an RPG writer. “But these days, there’s a lot more attention paid to having authentic research—and not having people get mad at you on the internet.” WHOSE LAND IS IT ANYWAY? In the introduction to This Land Is Our Land, her recent book tracing the 400-plus-year history of American immigration, Linda Barrett Osborne ’71 poses a question to her young readers: “Is it our land, the land of the people who already live here, who were once but are no longer immigrants? Or is it our land, including the people who still come here for opportunity and freedom to make the United States their home?” Ultimately, she lets her readers decide. “I want them to have a fair and clear-eyed view of our history, to counter the divisive, hate-filled rhetoric we hear SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 31 “It’s realizing that this collection of words and symbols touches something inside of you.” —Jodi Sherman Egerton ’97 JUST THE RIGHT TYPE Typewriter Rodeo was never meant to be more than a onetime gig. Jodi Sherman Egerton ’97 simply hoped to enter the Maker Faire—a celebration of all things artisan—as it landed in Austin, Texas, in 2013. “I gathered up a couple of good friends and antique typewriters. We had this tiny, little booth and we said, ‘OK, we’ll have one person going and we’ll trade off every few hours—it’ll be fine,’” she remembers. “‘We’ll write a few poems or a couple of stories, and we’ll see.’ Within a half-hour of us starting, there were three of us typing, and we had lines 20 people deep.” She realized, in that typewriter bonanza, that something had clicked. “A couple of hours in, someone asked if we did events. We turned and looked at each other and said, ‘Yup, we do!’” she says. “At some point, some random person walked by and said, ‘Whoa! That looks like a typewriter rodeo!’ And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s our name.’ It must have been six or eight hours that we typed, and it was amazing and so much fun. I went home that night and bought the domain name for typewriterrodeo.com.” Ever since, the group has been available for hire for wedding receptions, corporate parties, and other events—always with at least two writers typing in tandem to feed off each other’s energy. One memorable gig brought them to Willie “We talk about fake news; I’m against fake history.” —Linda Barrett Osborne ’71 32 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 behind the image of America as one big happy melting pot. Osborne’s books—which also cover slavery, segregation, and other aspects of black history—have been wellreceived by teachers and education groups, “I think because they honestly deal with the negative parts of American history,” Osborne says, “but they also show how people— whether immigrants or African-Americans—have overcome huge obstacles to succeed.” This Land received high praise from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal, and was a finalist for the American Library Association’s 2017 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. As an English major at Swarthmore, Osborne never expected to write for a young audience, but she recently completed her fifth text for kids, Come On In, America, marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s entry into World War I. “I do it because there are cracks and spaces in the history I learned growing up—and in what we hear now—and I’m obsessive about filling in the story,” she says. “Kids pick up information everywhere, a lot of it incorrect, incomplete, or oversimplified. “But I also think kids have a sense of what is true or reasonable and what is propaganda when they are presented with narratives that are backed up with facts and personal stories. They just need to know what they are and see them explained in an engaging way.” + DO-SI-DO WITH TYPEWRITER RODEO: bulletin.swarthmore.edu “I love being able to be a force that’s like, ‘You’ve got this,’” says Jodi Sherman Egerton ’97. “‘We—the greater we—are all behind you. You can do this.’” TYPEWRITER RODEO today,” says Osborne, a former senior writer/editor for the Library of Congress. “We talk about fake news; I’m against fake history.” After working on a book on Italian-Americans for the Library of Congress, Osborne set out to write This Land, inspired by the experiences of her eight great-grandparents, who all emigrated from Italy in the late 19th century. “I hadn’t realized how vicious and demeaning the language used by politicians, the press, and the public against them was,” she says. “This has been true at some point for nearly all ethnic groups immigrating to America. Obviously, some immigrant groups are being denigrated today.” Using memoirs, letters, and interviews—plus vivid artwork and historic photographs—Osborne shares the stories of these immigrants to present the more complex reality PHILLIP STERN ’84 “I hope that kids come to understand that we are a nation of immigrants or descendants of immigrants—the Pilgrims as much as my Italian great-grandparents,” says Linda Barrett Osborne ’71. “I want kids to see that they have a choice: to treat immigrants with fear and contempt, or to treat them with respect and compassion.” Nelson’s ranch during the South by Southwest festival, where they typed nonstop for nine hours. “That was the first time where actually I thought, I can’t continue. I am in so much pain,” Egerton laughs. Despite having sent thousands of poems out into the world—enough for the group to land a book deal, with plans to publish next spring—Egerton rarely suffers from writer’s block. “A lot of it is momentum,” says Egerton, who also has a Ph.D. in English. “It’s like diving in and just going with it. The improv part of me is very big and exuberant and performative and enthusiastic, and so I get in it and I’m like, ‘Yes! Bring on the next poem! I can’t wait to do this!” The whole Rodeo experience, from that “one word” to printed poem, typically takes just minutes. It’s enough time, though, for Egerton to put into words what others can’t—to translate the intangibility of humanity onto the page. “It’s realizing that this collection of words and symbols touches something inside of you, and maybe it’s inspiring or soothing or commiserating or challenging or encouraging,” Egerton says. “If I can just do that for tons of people out there, for whatever their next life journey is, it feels like we’re doing something good.” SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 33 WALL STREET WOMEN Helping ‘leading ladies from the liberal arts’ get in—and win—the game by Jonathan Riggs photography by Laurence Kesterson 34 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 “Seeing women collaborating, sharing their successes and failures, and lifting each other up is so poignant and powerful,” says Christine Kim ’17. “It’s beautiful to see the mechanics of Redefine Her Street in action.” SPRING 2017/ Swarthmore College Bulletin 35 T HE WAY ONTO WALL STREET can be challenging, especially for women—and especially for liberal arts women. Christine Kim ’17 experienced this firsthand her junior year while trying to lock in an investment banking internship. What she lacked in ready-made inroads, she made up for with resourcefulness and persistence. With support from the Korea Finance Society and Swarthmore alumni whom she tracked down on LinkedIn, Kim achieved her goal: She spent the summer doing trading comparables and drafting company overviews at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Her success there led to an offer of a post-graduation job on their leveraged finance team. “Not being from a target school for the big banks, it was fairly unheard of for someone like me to get that opportunity, and I had seen other students face the struggle, too,” the political science major says. “The only thing that was really blocking us, I realized, was information asymmetry—we just needed more support and resources.” So she opted to immediately pay her success forward. Mere weeks after she received that coveted internship offer, Kim presided over the initial interest meeting for Redefine Her Street (RHS), a new student organization aimed at equipping women from liberal arts colleges for careers in the financial sector. The mission of RHS is twofold: to create a community of “leading ladies from the liberal arts” who are interested in being the next principals of finance, consulting, and business; and to give them hands-on support navigating the complex and demanding recruiting process necessary to land their dream jobs. “We’ve appreciated the efforts of RHS members to raise awareness of the wide range of meaningful for-profit careers available to Swarthmore students,” says Nancy Burkett, director of career services. “It’s exciting to see our students discovering creative ways to prove there’s no limit to where a 36 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 liberal arts education can take you.” The inaugural RHS Swarthmore College chapter is going strong, with close to 30 members. Kim chairs the board of directors, which also includes chapter co-founders Irene Xiang ’18 and Karen Nguyen ’18, as well as Keana Bloomfield, a Bryn Mawr junior. The organization is in the process of being registered as a national 501(c)(3), and Bloomfield is leading the launch of a chapter on Bryn Mawr’s campus next fall. Now in its second year, RHS has systematized its programming. Expert- and student-led workshops such as Financial Institutions and Investments 101 help lay a foundation, while twice-monthly chapter meetings provide women with space to compare notes and ask questions of their peers. An annual Economic & Finance Forum brings distinguished alumni to campus to share insights gained in the field. Students accepted into the by-application-only RHS Finance Fellows Program receive guidance throughout the internship- and job-recruiting processes from mentors in their area of interest. In the Peer 2 Peer Mentorship Program, upperclasswomen are paired with younger students to help them investigate business career opportunities. Women 2 Women events, which have included brunches in Philadelphia and movie screenings, build community among RHS members. Kim herself has benefited from the mentorship of the RHS national board of directors, which she also chairs. These board members include Wall Street execs Jaky Joseph ’06, Robert Steelman ’92, and Donna McCormick ’84. “Donna is my first woman mentor in this field, and it has meant so much to me on both a personal and professional level to learn from her,” Kim says. “RHS really opened my eyes to the fact that there just aren’t enough women in this industry.” Xiang realized the disparity after attending the inaugural summer intensive program of Girls Who Invest, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership. “When you manage a portfolio of securities,” Xiang explains, “you want to diversify as much as possible across asset classes and across industries. Why don’t we also advocate for more diversified investment teams?” McCormick agrees. “The field’s senior people are still predominantly male,” says the managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “but it goes beyond gender—having everybody with a finance or accounting major is not very diverse.” A classics major, McCormick credits her Swarthmore study of Plato, Homer, and Euripides with cultivating her curiosity, pushing her to seek deeper, more creative liberal arts answers beyond the obvious. “I’m constantly amazed at how brilliantly and out-of-thebox Swarthmore students think about things—they add value in ways no one else can,” Kim says. “I’m especially proud of how RHS is helping liberal arts students tailor their skills to get to where they want to go.” Coming from an institution like Swarthmore, however, can prove challenging to aspiring Wall Street titans. Xiang, who originally intended to go to medical school, has had peers “Financial services is considered the very epitome of power and yet it remains one of the toughest industries for women to climb to the top,” says Irene Xiang ’18, a chemistry and math major. “Changing the balance of power and money will ultimately remedy gender inequality issues.” question her change in direction. Kim notes that freshmen at the fall activity fair wondered whether Wall Street wasn’t “a bad name to be associated with” on Swarthmore’s progressive campus. “We need to acknowledge what’s contributed to Wall Street’s bad reputation,” Kim says, “but also what the good is, and how we can fix things.” “What many don’t understand,” Xiang adds, “is that there’s a whole other part of finance where you can actually implement social change.” Impact investment is the support of social and environmental projects with a financial return. For example, impact investors might loan money to a fair-trade coffee cooperative or a provider of affordable housing for low-income families. It’s what expert Morgan Simon ’04 calls “the world’s hottest trend in philanthropy and development.” “This is the trillion-dollar trend that most people have never heard of,” she says. “Still, compared to traditional finance, you see a lot more women in social investment because it’s a great opportunity to have a deep impact.” Opening minds and doors to Swatties interested in impact investment is important to the success of RHS, but it’s just part of a larger change the organization is spearheading in the way liberal arts alumni perceive the role and value of money. “The bottom line is that you don’t have to go into finance to benefit from understanding how capital works—successful nonprofits and activism rely on it,” Kim says. “RHS is about more than encouraging women to go into finance, it’s about inspiring our community to talk about how capital moves in the world and how we can make it play the role we want it to.” That goes for alumni, too—Kim is actively searching for board members and volunteers to expand and deepen the resources and support that RHS offers its members. As excited as she is to join Bank of America Merrill Lynch full time after graduation, Kim is perhaps even more inspired by the momentum of the movement she’s helped start. “Redefine Her Street is about changing Wall Street from the inside out,” she says. “Yes, we need Swatties out there protesting, but we also need Swatties who are willing to go into the belly of the beast to use their wonderful, critical liberal arts thinking to revolutionize this industry for the better.” —Sophia (Katharine) Merow ’06 contributed to this story. IMPACT INVESTMENT “We’re all connected to money one way or another,” says Morgan Simon ’04. “We need to think about the leverage point where we can create changes.” As a Swarthmore senior, Simon co-founded—along with fellow student activists from Barnard, Duke, Penn, and Williams—the Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC). Now a presence on 100 campuses nationwide, REC empowers students to challenge their institutions of higher education to invest responsibly and proactively, thereby bringing socially and environmentally responsible investment practices to endowment funds totaling in the tens of billions. The author of Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change, Simon founded two other leading impact investment players: Toniic and Transform Finance. The former bills itself as “an action community for global impact investment” while the latter supports investors, communities, and entrepreneurs in a broad range of efforts to use finance as a positive tool for equity and shared prosperity. Reflecting on her decade-plus of wielding the powerful tool of finance to effect social change, Simon says it remains to be seen whether impact investment will live up to its full world-improving potential. “Are we going to make people slightly better off but keep the pre-existing power structures in terms of haves and have-nots and general disrespect for the environment?” she wonders. “Or are we going to seize this moment to really lead to systemic change in the way we make our investments?” SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 37 KENDELL BYRD ’17: Hey, Rio. How’d you first become interested in tech? RIO AKASAKA ’09: Growing up, I had the liberty to play around with—and break—gadgets, which allowed me to think about how our ability to understand and interact with tech is equally as important as tech itself. How’d you start? My senior year of high school, I did a research project on using robotics and EEG (electroencephalogram) to aid in communication for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). My research adviser was also in charge of my school’s entrepreneurship program, where students were allowed to go to this startup incubator called 1871 and work with companies. During the second semester of my senior year, I visited 1871 and completely fell in love with the environment. It was so cool seeing how all these worlds interacted, and made me determined to learn coding and go into computer science. Very cool. After I graduated from Swarthmore, I spent a year working in Boston as a user-interface engineer before I realized I wanted to define features rather than build them. I went to grad school for computer science, engineering, and linguistics, and then joined Google, where I worked on YouTube apps, Google Maps, and Google Drive. 38 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 I like the ways tech can bring people together from different fields and experiences, and how we can use everything we’re interested in with our tech work. Even in my economics course, we’re talking about Google and Microsoft and market power and competition. It’s exciting that so much of tech is about collaboration and not being afraid to fail. I completely agree, and that reminds me of how, when I was with Google Maps, I got the chance to start thinking about accessibility—not on an official team, but as something I was interested in and wanted to learn more about. Even though I’ve moved to Google Drive here in Boulder, Colo., I’m still invested in the work I started at Maps, and I’m still working with a globally situated team of engineers, product managers, and user-experience designers to increase accessibility. That’s a reason I’m going to Buzzfeed. I love theater and am in our sketch-comedy troupe Boy Meets Tractor, and right off the bat, Buzzfeed gave me the opportunity to do programming and work on videos, too. I am happy to be in a broad environment where people have a variety of interests. I’m learning as much as I can about it all—a lot like here at Swarthmore. Exactly! I’m working on a bunch of neat features for Google Drive. What excites me is devoting whatever extra time I have to improving the accessibility of Google Maps, whether that’s for users who are in wheelchairs or are visually impaired. I see an opportunity for us to design for better discovery and more reassurance for these individuals, and I want to continue doing this kind of work even further. LAURENCE KESTERSON Kendell Byrd ’17 and Rio Akasaka ’09 talk tech That’s great. I remember that feeling of being so eager and excited to build something and get involved myself. A really cool thing about being in the tech sector is that it’s easy to say, “I have an idea—let me try it!” and then to put it front of people. Swarthmore and its community really fostered that; I remember working on a website for the Global Health Forum that helped inspire a lot of people. ELIZABETH CROW MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2.0 I’m studying computer science and economics. I’ve done research with the engineering department and internships at Jawbone, JP Morgan, and Facebook. After graduation, I will be working at Buzzfeed doing software engineering on their video tools team, combining entertainment and technology. “I like to believe that one of the most powerful transformations for technology is for it to do good, to be a force for change, for more transparency and awareness,” says Rio Akasaka ’09. Kendell Byrd ’17 agrees. “Throughout my time in tech,” she adds, “I have learned that my struggles don’t define me—the ways in which I overcome them do.” I’m really inspired by how tech can improve the quality of the human condition, whether that’s virtual reality or self-driving cars, and it’s cool how, today, it’s easier than ever for anyone to access the tech itself to do it. Swatties I know are making apps for late-night food deliveries and shared scooter rentals, and that’s just on campus. Tech today feels a lot like Lego: You’ve got so much infrastructure, it can’t be used as an excuse that you can’t build something. What’s important for us to remember, though, is that tech can also be a source of education. Not everyone needs wheelchair accessibility from Google Maps, but if knowing that we’ve made it a feature sparks even one out of 1,000 users to think about the needs of others and how to make a positive difference for them, tech has done some of its job. I agree. One of the biggest challenges in the industry that I see, though, is diversity—several times, I have been the only black or female engineer on a team. There’s a lot of important work to be done increasing diverse represen- tation at companies and during the recruiting process. My tech hero is Laura Weidman Powers, CEO and co-founder of Code2040, for dedicating herself to this cause. Yes—tech can be problematic, especially when we restrict ourselves to designing only for the space we see. Plus, the most successful technologies we rely on have created individual silos—you’re staring at your own phone, pursuing your own reality—but more people are understanding how it’s really just creating division. It’s like you say, Kendell: We all need to break ourselves out of that bubble and keep a broad, diverse focus about who we’re designing for—and designing with—so that we’re as inclusive as possible. For sure. I’ve come to see that one of my main goals in tech, and in life, is what we learn at Swarthmore—it’s our responsibility to better not just ourselves, but the rest of the world. Part of the reason we come here in the first place is because we want to do good. It might sound clichéd, but when I wake up, I ask myself, “What is the most impactful thing I can do today?” Yes, technology makes it possible to have a huge impact, but I also want to remember that I can make a difference in other ways, too, big and small. + VIEW A GALLERY of tech-savvy, world-changing Swatties: bulletin.swarthmore.edu SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 39 RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS As the Nazi shadow spread across Europe, two future Swarthmoreans experienced the worst—and the best—of humanity by Michael Agresta Photography by Laurence Kesterson I N JULY 1938, a 7-year-old Jewish boy boarded a train in Vienna, bound for Brussels. First, he would have to pass all the way through Nazi Germany. The boy, Franz Leichter ’52, carried false travel documents belonging to a different child. The woman with whom he traveled, a Gentile family friend, instructed Franz to call her “Mutti” (“Mommy”) in the presence of German 40 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 authorities. Just hours before, Franz had left the arms of his own mother. He would never see her alive again. Frightened and confused, Franz could not fully comprehend the threat, nor the subterfuge required to pass through the Nazi heartland unharmed. In a swirl of emotion, Franz forgot his instructions. “Irma!” he shouted, calling his guardian by first name. “If we had been discovered, the consequences would have been very serious,” Franz says, nearly 80 years later. By some unknowable combination of good fortune, preparedness, and the benevolence of others, Franz arrived safely in Brussels. Along with his father and brother, Henry Leichter ’48, he would escape. So would France Juliard Pruitt ’56, who survived the Nazi occupation of her native Belgium by hiding with her family in the remote Cévennes mountains of southern France. “We were saved by people who didn’t even know us,” France says. “It’s a Franz Leichter ’52 and his older brother, Henry ’48, escaped the Nazi occupation. ISSUE SPRING YEAR 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 41 Their mother, Käthe, died in Ravensbrück. beautiful story: of love, of freedom, and of careful planning. My parents knew that if we stayed in Belgium, like 64 other members of our family did, there was no hope.” Both Franz and France would go on to create meaningful lives and careers in America, “minding the light,” to quote an unofficial Swarthmore motto, despite the darkness they survived. ‘FORTUNATE’ SON When Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Franz’s parents, Otto and Käthe, found themselves among the Gestapo’s most wanted. Not only did they share Jewish heritage, they were also prominent members of the banned Social Democratic Party of Austria. “The real risk at first was as socialists and anti-fascists,” Franz says. “My parents were in immediate danger when the Nazi occupation occurred.” Within days, the Gestapo came looking for Otto, who slipped out of the country with a false passport. Käthe perhaps should have left then, too, but she stayed in Vienna to arrange safe passage for her mother and two young sons. For Franz’s escape, she accepted the help of Irma Turnsek, a friend, political associate, and housekeeper for the Leichter family. Irma had applied for—and received— visas for herself and her son, Helmut, to resettle in England. Franz, age 7, was to impersonate Helmut, his beloved playmate, as he crossed Germany to meet his father in Brussels. Käthe planned to follow weeks later. Then Irma would return to Vienna to retrieve the real Helmut. Why would Irma endanger herself and her son to help save his life? “She had a great friendship with my mother,” Franz says. “She wanted to be as helpful as she could.” Irma’s smuggling of Franz into Brussels was ultimately successful, but the night before Käthe was to leave Vienna to join Franz, she was betrayed by an associate and arrested. Around that time, the Gestapo learned of Irma’s ruse and barred her return. “She was not able to pick up her son until 1947,” Franz says, with an audible burden of guilt. “Meanwhile, Helmut spent a miserable eight years 42 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 France Juliard Pruitt ’56 was only 5 when she was forced into hiding. “My parents knew,” she says, “that if we stayed in Belgium, like 64 other members of our family did, there was no hope.” “I would call myself a lucky person,” says France, who will speak at a Righteous Among Nations ceremony in July honoring those who sheltered her family. in foster care and orphanages.” As for Franz, his brother Henry, and their father, they remained hunted people on an increasingly hostile continent. After settling in Paris, they had to flee when Nazi tanks rolled in. They briefly found refuge in the Zone Libre of southern France, a poorer, less industrial part of the country that Hitler’s army largely ignored. The three took refuge in the city of Montauban as part of a group of two dozen prominent Austrian socialists. They’d been there for about three months when the entire group was suddenly offered visas to resettle in the United States, thanks largely to social connections between Austrian socialist émigrés and the White House. By the end of 1940, young Franz was on a ship bound for America. For a third time—after his mother and Irma mother had died of typhoid. But that was a lie. She was gassed.” Franz survived, but he lost his mother, his nationality, and his childhood to the Nazis. “It’s one of the millions of stories of what people endured in these difficult years,” he says. “I was one of the fortunate ones.” Turnsek—one woman’s conscience and willingness to work against the grain of a racist system had helped save his life. This champion exemplified an important, if uneven, tradition of courageous American leaders accepting wartime refugees over the xenophobic complaints of their countrymen. “The State Department was very anti-Semitic and didn’t want to admit Jews,” Franz says, referencing historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time. “But Eleanor Roosevelt leaned on FDR, and he leaned on the State Department.” Two years later, in boarding school in Darien, Conn., Franz received word that his mother had died in Ravensbrück. “The Nazis were always trying to disguise what they’d done,” he says. “There was still an aunt of hers living in Vienna, and she heard my LEARNING TO LIE As the Leichters and their fellow Austrian refugees cut across southern France in late 1940, they may have passed within miles of 5-year-old France Juliard (now Pruitt). Lacking the international political connections of the Leichters, France’s family took a different approach to survival: They sought deep cover. The seeds of their escape were planted in the early 1930s, when France’s father, a chemist, traveled to the United States and happened to sit next to Albert Einstein on a train. In conversation, the famous German-born physicist spoke of the dangers on the horizon for Europeans of Jewish descent. Returning home to Belgium determined to plan for the safety of his family, France’s father scoured maps of Europe and came to focus on the Cévennes mountains, a Huguenot homeland and longtime bastion for victims of religious persecution. France’s earliest memories are of the days following the Nazi occupation of Belgium in May 1940. Her family—her parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins, including Chantal Juliard Astore ’56—fled Brussels immediately. France dimly recalls spending a night outdoors at the French border, unable to cross because of a large mass of refugees. The family slept on the grass near a canal, she says, and she nearly rolled down into the water during the night but was rescued by her mother. The next day, her father was wrongly accused of theft. “We were all in the family Buick, with a trailer in back, surrounded by the police, because the car of the king had been stolen,” she recalls. This primordial scene of persecution, suspicion, and danger would set the template for the next several years of her life. After proving their ownership of the vehicle, France’s family immediately made for the south of France, where they settled in a small valley village. They found the locals welcoming and even willing to help them learn to farm. “The whole family had never touched dirt,” she explains. “But my father helped the farmers turn their plums into prunes. They never had done that. Later on, my father taught people how to make soap out of fat. It was a win-win. My parents learned how to grow carrots, and they were the best in the town, because they used chemical fertilizer.” As the Nazis continued their string of early victories, France’s parents began to look for refuge even deeper in the mountains, taking up residence on an abandoned farm with no running water. For food, they kept goats, rabbits, and a pair of pigs named—without affection—Goebbels and Göring. One day, word came that decrees had gone out to round up Jews. “I still remember the face of the woman who came running up from the village to warn us,” she says, emotion in her voice. “That night, we had to empty the farm.” Their escape came at a very personal cost for young France and her cousin Chantal. They had adopted a dog, which accompanied and protected them as they hiked the mountain path to the village and its one-room schoolhouse. That night, the family decided that, to keep their tracks hidden as they sought cover, they would have to shoot the dog—a heartbreaking sacrifice for the children. A couple active in the French Resistance hid the younger adult men—France’s father and uncle—in an unheated barn for a year and a half, SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 43 Franz Leichter ’52 went on to a career in politics, fighting for civil rights and the public good as a New York state assemblyman and state senator from 1968 to 1998. while France and her mother were sheltered by a widow two mountains away. After hiding for a year, France attended school, but under a false name. “I was a new person, France Millard instead of France Juliard,” she says. “I had to learn to lie at age 8.” Still, she says, her situation was easy compared to that of Chantal, who hid in a teacher’s apartment above a schoolhouse. Chantal was not allowed to move during the day, for fear of provoking the students’ suspicions. France and her family received help from a large number of families and individuals over the course of the war, each acting for their own reasons. Some, she thinks, were motivated by their Huguenot heritage of resistance and respect for religious freedom. Others were Quakers, the first she ever met, and from whom she learned values she would forever hold dear. Her greatest help, she says, was her own resilient character. “I would call myself a lucky person,” France says. “I tend to remember only the positive things.” BROKEN BRIDGES When Berlin fell in May 1945, the extraordinary threat to the lives of European Jews ended, but France and Franz faced uncertain futures. France remembers traveling with her family back to Belgium over a scarred landscape. “Most of the railroad bridges had been blown up by the Resistance, 44 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 trying to stop the German retreat,” she says. “It was quite a sad adventure.” Eventually, the family resettled in the United States, where her father accepted a position as one of the first Fulbright professors of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, choosing a place with a strong tradition of religious freedom and tolerance. “They decided to come to Philadelphia,” she says, “because this was the City of Brotherly Love with Quakers.” In college, Franz preferred not to look back, but to instead focus on improving the future. “My parents’ commitment to a political life, and also to social justice, had a deep influence on me,” he says, “which was heightened at Swarthmore.” As a New York state assemblyman and state senator from 1968 to 1998, Franz made a career fighting for civil rights and the public good. His legacy includes an early statewide abortion legalization that influenced Roe v. Wade; important bills on LGBT marriage, tenants’ rights, campaign finance, and consumer protection; and two New York City parks—Riverbank State Park in upper Manhattan and Hudson River Park from the Battery to 59th Street. (His brother and fellow alum, Henry, would serve in World War II as a combat medic as well as a U.S. soldier, earning two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for heroism. He died in 2010.) Over the years, Franz fell out of contact with Irma and Helmut Turnsek. That changed in 2013, when the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem let him know that it was considering bestowing on the recently deceased Irma the designation of Righteous Among Nations, awarded to people who risked their lives to save Jews during the war. When Franz learned that Helmut was still alive— albeit very ill—in London, he rushed across the Atlantic to visit the man whose identity he’d once borrowed to escape certain death. “Of course, I promised I’d do everything I could,” he says, and Irma was officially honored in 2015 with a ceremony in London with her surviving relatives. (Sadly, Helmut died one week after Franz’s visit.) For France, who also chose to look forward rather than back, her education at Swarthmore was a time of great freedom and self-discovery. “I was a child in a chocolate shop,” she says. “I’d never had such opportunities.” After college, France started a family—which went on to include Paul Pruitt ’84 and Katherine Pruitt ’20— and made a career in international education. About 10 years ago, she published a memoir, Faith, Courage, and Survival in a Time of Trouble, and she is working on a new edition covering the French Resistance. Sharing her story, France emphasizes the compassion of those who helped her, in particular the religious-minority communities of southern France. (In fact, the couple who hid her father and uncle and the town that sheltered them all have been named Righteous Among Nations.) So what inspired Irma Turnsek and so many others to courageously risk their lives to protect others in the face of unimaginable horror? France’s answer comes from her understanding of the Quaker faith. “Whether you’re a general or a laborer or a child, whether you’re an enemy or a friend, there’s a part of God in each person, and you need to help them survive,” she says. “Every human being counts.” class notes A TREASURY OF ALUMNI-RELATED ITEMS CHANGING LIVES, CHANGING THE WORLD Join President Valerie Smith to learn how our comprehensive campaign will make a difference on campus and beyond. Mix, mingle, and joyfully celebrate Swarthmore! April 25: San Francisco May 10: London Register: bit.ly/ ChangingLivesSC 1,864 DONORS IN 1,864 MINUTES Community Challenge April 26–27 Details: Pg. 9 ALUMNI WEEKEND May 26–28 Start planning your trip to campus now to join classmates and friends for the Parade of Classes, Alumni Collection, and so much more this Memorial Day Weekend! alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu LAURENCE KESTERSON ALUMNI EVENTS Do you want to build a snowman? Isabel Llosa ’20 and Peter Chong ’20 did, after a surprise squall coated Swarthmore’s campus in snow in late January. 1935 Ken Hechler, former West Virginia congressman and author, died Dec. 10 at home in Romney, W.Va. Ken was a combat historian during World War II. He was with the 9th Armored Division when one of its tank forces captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany; his book about that event, The Bridge at Remagen, was later turned into a movie starring George Segal and Robert Vaughn. After serving as a White House assistant to President Truman, Ken was elected to Congress in 1958. He was the only U.S. representative to march with Martin Luther King Jr. at Selma, Ala., and was the principal author of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Ken was West Virginia secretary of state from 1985 to 2001, and remained an advocate for miners’ safety well into his 90s. He is survived by wife Carol Kitzmiller, his longtime companion whom he married at age 98. 1936 Carolyn Keyes Cadwalla­ der, a passionate volunteer and avid traveler, died Jan. 1. Carolyn studied history at Swarthmore, where she met her future husband, the late Sidney Cadwallader. The pair married in 1938 and first resided in Langhorne, Pa., where Carolyn became active in the Yardley Friends Meeting, the Junior Civic Club, and the League of Women Voters. She was secretary of the George School committee for many years and compiled Class Notes for the B ­ ulletin for a decade. A lifelong student, Carolyn was rarely seen without The New York Times at her elbow, and she viewed traveling and museum visits as opportunities to enhance her education. She is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 45 class notes 1937 Joseph Hafkenschiel Jr., an Army Air Corps veteran with a passion for golf, died Oct. 26. Joseph graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1941 and completed an internship and medical residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He married Lucinda Thomas ’34 in July 1942. From 1943 to 1945, he served in the Army Air Corps in the China-Burma-India Theater, where he instructed pilots on the use of oxygen for high-altitude flights. After the war, Joseph did a cardiology fellowship at Penn and in 1965 accepted a position as medical director for Sandoz in San Francisco. Joseph later served on the staff of the Stanford Cardiac Clinic, Stanford Student Health, the Menlo Park VA Hospital, and Agnews Hospital. After Lucinda’s death in 1983, he was married to Carol Rush for 20 years before they divorced. He is survived by sons Joseph III ’68, Tom ’69, Mark ’72, and John ’75; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Frederick Wiest, an attorney, Army Air Forces veteran, and longtime community servant, died Jan. 18. Fred graduated from Harvard Law in 1940 and went on to practice law for 70 years, retiring in 2012. In February 1942, Fred was inducted into the Army Air Forces and served mainly in the Northern Pacific Theater of World War II; he was discharged as a captain in 1946. Known as a remarkable scholar and a true 46 Swarthmore College Bulletin / gentleman, Fred was also an avid reader, an amateur dendrologist, and keenly interested in astronomy and the stock market. Fred was preceded in death by wife Elizabeth Hay Wiest ’38, son Frederick III, and sister Jean Wiest ’40. He is survived by children Marian and Richard and two grandsons. 1941 Libby Murch Livingston lizliv33@gmail.com I enjoyed a good chat with David Oliver. He lives in Solomons, Md., where he has been for many years. It sounds like one of the especially fine retirement communities that have grown up over the past 30 or so years and are a boon to us oldies and our families. Dave is well, though sorry to be unable to drive, as is true for so many our age. He enjoys walking the large, beautiful campus of his home. I was sorry not to be able to talk to Walt Steuber but had a good chat with his son David, who cares for him in their home just outside Swarthmore. Although his physical health limits him, Walt is busy on his computer and has a grand time “Skyping” with many friends. Now that I know this, I shall use my daughter’s computer to join the fun. I hope others will contact Walt this way. Amazing this “stuff” that I stored away in this not-too-big Maine cottage. I came upon a very thought-provoking copy of The Phoenix, our old school paper, from Jan. 29, 1969. On the front page was a black-edged SPRING 2017 “In Memoriam,” a tribute to College President Courtney Smith, who died unexpectedly in his office Jan. 17. Inside the paper, a special supplement headlined “Crisis ’69: Semester of Misunderstanding and Frustrations” gave comprehensive coverage of the occupation of the admissions office and other actions and opinions of the board, the faculty, and the students. Today, it is almost eerie to view first our time at Swarthmore in the late ’30s and early ’40s, then this crisis that evolved in the turbulent ’60s, which led to so many changes. I would not venture to express an opinion, but it gave me the perspective of time in looking back on this issue. 1942 Mary Weintraub Delbanco delbanco660@gmail.com Let’s maintain our Class Notes presence. Please think how welcome an update on your life and interests would be to those who went through the same four years as you. Lucy Rickman Baruch and husband Bernard celebrated 65 years of marriage and were honored to receive a congratulatory card from Queen Elizabeth II. Bernard retired from a psychiatry career and FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin Lucy from volunteering with young children. They moved to a care home, Cliveden Manor, in Marlow, England. Lucy adds, “I had an eventful Alumni Weekend last June with our son John because I very much doubt that I can make our 75th Reunion this year, but will be with you all in spirit.” Thanks, Lucy, for reminding us that this year is a significant milestone. Lucy Selligman Schnei­ der has been my good friend through these many years. Until her retirement, she was an editor of children’s books at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Lucy has lived in the same apartment building almost continuously since graduation, and I have been her guest many times. Last year, she had the courage and the energy to have her entire apartment repainted. I moved from New York City to Baltimore six years ago after the death of my husband, Kurt. My home now is in a retirement community, Roland Park Place, a few blocks from my daughter, Janet Felsten, and her family. It is situated on a green campus with many lovely trees and ample space for walking. Ruth Wolf Page died Oct. 30 after an outstanding career. Although a resident of Vermont, Ruth was widely known beyond its borders. Her early career as a journalist began after the purchase of a weekly newspaper by Ruth and husband Proc. Although they later sold it, they gained a wide knowledge of and wrote about Vermont politics. Ruth also became a commentator on Vermont Public Radio where she emphasized her concerns for the natural world. She received many honors by her appointment to state boards where her presence served the public interest. In retirement, Ruth was a volunteer at an elementary school library where she read to children and shared with them her love of the natural world. Ruth is survived by children Candace, Patti Ruth, and Robert and their families. We’ve had long lives and have many memories of significant moments. Please become a recorder and share your thoughts with your classmates of the past and present. 1943 ALUMNI IN ACTION Hayden Dahmm ’15 and his Seeing Eye dog, Fathom, met Queen Elizabeth II last semester at Goodenough College in London, where Hayden lived while pursuing his master’s degree. Her Majesty was reportedly quite taken with Fathom. Alumni gathered in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 22 for “Secret Gardens,” a performance on oboe and English horn by Sara Fraker ’99. Andrea Young ’76 debuted the book Andrew Young and the Making of Modern Atlanta on Nov. 1 with her co-authors at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Author Emily Robbins ’07 and translator Lissie Jaquette ’07 spoke in Philadelphia on Feb. 15 about their Arabic scholarship and lauded publications. President Valerie Smith traveled to Portland, Ore., and Seattle in February for the final leg of her first set of alumni visits, “A Conversation with President Valerie Smith.” Betty Glenn Webber bettywebber22@yahoo.com 616-245-2687 What is the world coming to? With a January birthday, I just renewed my driver’s license. I was given a card with a few pertinent questions, such as whether I have episodes of dizziness while driving. I haven’t, but what’s to prevent my saying no, regardless? Following a cursory vision test, the good lady said, “You’re all set.” In Michigan, that means I’m good to go for four more years, until I’m 99—no questions asked! My kids periodically check my roadworthiness, but the secretary of state has no idea of my competence—how can she sleep at night? I’m blessed by the independence I can enjoy, but the process seems ridiculous. Is it the same where you live? We are saddened by the death of Peggy Bebie Thomson, one of my closest College friends. She Swarthmorean faculty members at Choate Rosemary Hall and spouses got together at the holiday party for the Connecticut prep school. From left: Tim Applebee ’03, Jessica Cuni ’00, Alex Curtis ’89, Beth Fecko-Curtis ’89, and Marcia Landesman ’91. John Mather ’68, H’94 checks out a New York Times article from November featuring the James Webb Space Telescope, for which he’s the senior project scientist. Susan Rudisill ’76 presents her painting North Umpqua Narrows, which took top honors in October’s 1859 Art Show in Oregon. The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles hosted a lecture Feb. 16 by critic and curator Robert Storr ’72 on “The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois.” + SEND YOUR PHOTOS/BLURBS TO BULLETIN@SWARTHMORE.EDU entered college at 16 and, during freshman week, met her future husband, John Thomson. They married in 1945 during a furlough from Johnny’s Navy duty. Peggy settled into an NYC apartment with Swarthmore friends; her writing career started there at Life magazine. Postwar, Johnny took his poli-sci Ph.D. to the University of Wisconsin where they lived until a 1957 move to Chevy Chase, Md., for his CIA job. With children Christo­ pher ’71, Hilary, and David in school, Peggy wrote for the Washington Post, Potomac magazine, and as a Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin freelancer. One of her five books for the Smithsonian was an award-winner for young-adult nonfiction. Social activism and civil-rights involvement marked the Thomsons’ Washington life. Summers often brought trips to the area of Switzerland from which her parents emigrated; later it was Cape Cod, Mass., where they vacationed. Peggy, widowed in 1998, relocated in 2010 to Massachusetts to be near family; her dementia, coupled with a broken hip, took her to assisted living in 2013. My friendship with her flourished during the three years we roomed close by at Swarthmore. I saw firsthand her intellectual prowess as she cranked out papers in German and French for her honors seminars; she introduced me to 4711 cologne, with a few dabs for an event to celebrate or a few to empathize with a sadness. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 47 class notes We were bridesmaids for each other, we corresponded, and our families visited back and forth. She was a funny, thoughtful, brilliant person, now sorely missed. We also received the sad news that Bob Coleman died Dec. 20. A Christmas note had reported an unfortunate return of prostate cancer after a long hiatus, and the disease had spread to his bones. Our deepest condolences to Bob’s family. We know everyone, pro and con, is concerned to see how the new presidential administration evolves. We surely long for a less-confrontational atmosphere and a Washington that can replace gridlock with constructive progress. Since you are reading this, you are obviously interested in how the ’43ers are doing. They, too, are concerned about you, so do send word, please. 1945 Verdenal Hoag Johnson verdij76@comcast.net Another era has passed. After almost a year of not being well, my Edward ’46 died at midnight Thanksgiving Day. We knew it was going to happen; he had been in the nursing center for almost five months, but we did not expect it to happen so soon. He must have known, though, because he got to see everyone in the family the week before Thanksgiving. Daughter Candy and I had gone to St. Anne’s to have Thanksgiving dinner with him, and then we got the phone call in the middle 48 Swarthmore College Bulletin / of the night. People have been telling me, “I’m sorry for your loss.” I quickly explain that all I lost was a tired, old body that wasn’t functioning well. After 70 years of marriage and two years before that when we could not marry (he was in the ROTC, and the Navy didn’t allow it), my very being is imbued with Edward’s spirit in each and every cell. He wanted to go so much that I could not have been happier when he got his wish. I am sure his spirit will hang around for as long as I or any other of his loved ones need him and then it will be free to be “assigned” to another human being. I am not sure when each of us received our soul, but I know someone in the far future will meet someone else and think: I know this person from somewhere. Our souls were together at some time in the distant past. I am sure many of you have had this experience. That immediate rapport—that “I know I know you” feeling—has happened a number of times in my life. “… and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them.” —Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin SPRING 2017 1946 Nancy Fitts Donaldson n.f.donaldson@gmail.com I hope those who read this are doing well, as the only news I usually receive for this column is that of classmates’ deaths. Surely, some of you are hale and hearty and can send some good news of the activities and things in life that keep you going. Do send me some cheery notes. I did, however, receive a letter of thanks from the College written by Michael Tinti ’18, recipient of our class scholarship. Two classmates passed away in the last few months. Nancy Garver Hoover died in the fall at home in Roaring Spring, Pa., where she had lived all her life. She is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grands. Nancy was very active in her community as a founding member of the town’s Girl Scout troop and as a volunteer in many organizations, including the Red Cross. Edward Johnson, who came to Swarthmore as part of the Navy V-12 and there met Verdenal Hoag ’45, who became his wife after her graduation, died in November. Ed was a high school guidance counselor and swimming coach who was made a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame for high school coaches. He was an avid photographer and very active in the Episcopal Church. He and Verdi opened an art gallery, which they ran for several years, and Ed was active in many civic organizations. We send condolences to the families of Nancy and Ed. 1947 Marshall Schmidt kinmarshal@aol.com Our 70th Reunion is fast approaching. If you are planning to stay at the brand-new Inn at Swarthmore, reserve early—there are only 30 rooms. Drop me a note if you think you can make the 70th. Jean Fischer Winch writes from Kennett Square, Pa.: “It has been a good year for me. You may recall that in 2015 after a hospital stay, I was discharged on hospice and moved to skilled care (Firbank West) here at Crosslands. It was a difficult period, but so many people reached out with prayers, love, and encouragement. In spring 2015, I was well enough to be taken off hospice, and in April, I moved back into a beautiful little apartment in Audland. What a joy. In July I had a procedure to repair my pacemaker and have been regaining strength and energy ever since. I am even back to exercising again … amazing. They tell me I am the first resident to move into Firbank and then back to Audland. An answer to a prayer.” Jean goes on with a long list of visits with children and the impending arrival of her 16th great-grandchild later this year. She would love to hear from friends: jeanfwinch@ gmail.com, 484-770-5715 (home), or 484-832-0571 (cell). Demmie Affleck Carrell sends an update via her daughter’s email, since she’s given up on computers, she says. “At age 90, I decided it was time to move into assisted living in my Quaker retirement community, Kendal at Oberlin in Ohio. [The late] Jep ’45 and I were founders of the community, and there are several Swarthmoreans who live here now. I’ve retreated from civic engagement these days, but the last thing that Jep and I worked on together, the Ninde Scholars Program (to encourage high school students to become first-generation college students), is moving along well. Last year, Michelle Obama came to Oberlin to present her Reach Higher Initiative’s first-place award to the Ninde program. It really was Jep’s commitment to this program that made it so successful; we wish he could have been there to hear Mrs. Obama sing its praises. “My children are all over the U.S., from Seattle to Phoenix to Bethlehem, Pa., and grandchildren there and in Denver, as well. There are even three great-grandchildren as of this year, and counting—I don’t travel at this point, but photos and phone calls keep me up to date.” Sadly, Marjorie Howard Johnson died in November. The daughter of the editor of The Cleveland News, Marjorie was a lifelong reader who graduated from Swarthmore with a French degree, then received a master’s from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University of California–­ Berkeley. A Fulbright Scholar, Marjorie went on to teach, manage an art gallery, model in Paris, and Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin write fiction and poetry. She is survived by sons James ’79 and Nathaniel and one grandchild. especially the iconic saddle shoes. 1950 1949 Marjorie Merwin Daggett mmdaggett@verizon.net The Class of ’49 is rather shy of notes. Many of us live in retirement communities. Our activities are probably similar; still, we’d like to hear about you and them. From Indiana, Roger Birdsell writes, “I am retired and in an independent-living apartment at Holy Cross Village near the University of Notre Dame. I retired after a career in newspaper journalism, hospital public relations, and fundraising. Still reasonably active and trying to adjust to the recent election debacle.” In November, I spoke in NYC at the memorial service for Joanne Donovan Banta, who died in June. I just returned to Concord, Mass., after an almost three-week holiday with family in Mill Valley, Calif., and Seattle. The flora of that part of California is such a shock after New England, though a pleasant one with iris and camellias blooming and holly everywhere. Seattle, in contrast, was as cold as Concord. On my return, I found a Christmas card from Nancy Burnholz Rawson ’48; it was a picture, taken probably in 1947, of Nancy and late husband Ed ’48 holding hands in front of a tree at Swarthmore. It brought back memories of old friends, good times, and the clothes we wore, Robert Greenawalt died Dec. 8 in Berlin, Vt. He served in the Army Air Corps after high school and enrolled at Swarthmore under the GI Bill after World War II. He met his future wife, Barbara, at his first job—as an engineer with Fairbanks Morse in Beloit, Wis. The pair married in 1951, had one child, Ann, and settled in Barrington, R.I., where Bob was an engineer for 55 years. In 2013, Bob and Barbara moved to Montpelier, Vt., to be close to family. A quintessential problem solver, Bob also had a passion for music, enjoyed sailing and flying, and had been a member of Toastmasters International. His wife preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughter and two grandchildren. Ross Eckler, a mathematician and wordsmith, died Dec. 9. Ross graduated from Swarthmore with high honors and received a mathematics Ph.D. from Princeton in 1954. He worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories for 30 years, and in 1970 launched a second career as editor and publisher of Word Ways, a small journal devoted to recreational letterplay and wordplay. He and wife Faith Wood­ ward Eckler ’51, whom he married on the day of her Swarthmore graduation, enjoyed hiking and explored major mountain chains in the U.S. and the British Isles. In addition to Faith, he is survived by daughters Margaret, Lois, and Susan, and five grandchildren, including Alexa Malishchak ’09. Charles Craver died Dec. 30 in Pittsfield, Ill. Charles graduated from Swarthmore with an English literature degree and served in the Navy during the Korean War, running a courier office at Moffett Field, Calif. From 1956 to 2016, he tended the family farm and was primarily known for his herd of Arabian horses, of which he produced nearly 600. Awards for his service included the Arabian Breeders’ Association’s first Foundation Breeder’s Award. Throughout his long life, Charles was best friends with his Swarthmore roommate, the late Andy Segal ’50. Charles is survived by his wife of 42 years, Jeanne. Editor’s note: 1950 is in need of a class secretary. If you are interested in becoming the next class scribe, please contact Class Notes Editor ­Elizabeth Slocum at ­eslocum1@swarthmore. edu. 1951 Elisabeth “Liesje” Boessenkool Ketchel eketchel@netscape.com Ralph Lee Smith has some words of wisdom: “As liberals gird up for a four- or eight-year battle, a little magazine asked me to recommend a couple of books that anti-Trump warriors might read. I responded that it is good to remember that America has experienced heavy assaults on its freedoms before, notably during the McCarthy era and the ‘blacklisting’ attacks on the entertainment industry by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). I recommended the April 1954 issue of The Progressive magazine, which was entirely devoted to the article ‘McCarthy: A Documented Record,’ and the book by Victor Navasky ’54 entitled Naming Names, which describes HUAC’s blacklisting attacks. The magazine asked for an extended review of the article and the book, which I will write for them.” Woody Thomas writes that wife Merrillan Murray Thomas ’53 and their daughter “enjoyed the reunion, even though the attendance of our class was very small. The campus was in good shape, and there were plenty of other classes there. It was a pleasure to shake hands with our new president; it was clear that that she was trying to meet as many alums as possible. That’s a good start, I would say. We were booked on the first floor of the Alice Paul building, which was a great help to Merrillan, who has difficulty going up and down stairs. A few months later, we visited the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and found Alice Paul’s plaque on the wall. “We have, fortunately, not much snow up here in the part of the north land where we live [Naples, N.Y.], but plenty of snow nearby. The temperature outside last night was down to 2 degrees. Hope to be able to make it [to the reunion] in five years.” Walter Blass, ever the traveler despite a torn tendon in his foot, flew to Europe for 25 days in September. Everywhere, he was questioned about Trump, and he channeled Churchill with his answer: “Americans always do the right thing, after they have tried everything else.” Since so few of you wrote, I will fill in a bit with my current life. I live in a retirement community where I am active in the administration, serving on two committees and the resident council. My children being grown, grandchildren growing apace, and great-grands—though young—being distant, I missed having children in my life. So seven years ago, I trained as a guardian ad litem and have since represented more than 50 children who are in the court system due to neglect or abuse. I find this work rewarding and fall in love with each child I represent. For exercise, I lawn-bowl, line-dance, and walk my two Pekingese. I heard from an alum’s daughter that we have lost another classmate. Lori Lloyd writes on Dec. 1: “I am sad to tell you that my father, Alan Lloyd, died in Kailua, Hawaii. He was pleased with the article and photo published about him in Summer 2016’s Class Notes” (bit.ly/ AlanLloyd). 1952 Barbara Wolff Searle bsearle70@msn.com Stephen Clark writes, “My guess is that I’m the only member of the Class of 1952 to be a retired Marine officer. My 61-year marriage with Dolores ‘Dee’ Webster Clark ’54 takes us to the top [in SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 49 class notes years] of Swarthmore marriages. I would like to say that my wife is the best female athlete ever to attend Swarthmore. She was on varsity hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams and captain of all three.” Can anyone beat that? Sadly, I have several deaths to report. Nancy Parks Valelly died Nov. 29 in Charleston, S.C., after a brief illness. In her 60s and 70s, she became a successful “outsider” artist and had several shows of her large, striking canvas paintings of Negro League baseball teams and players, African-American church bake sales, and African-American jazz musicians. She was married for more than 60 years to the late Richard Valelly, who spent his career in the international division of Citicorp. She is survived by several children. Roger Pott died Nov. 19 after a brief battle with Alzheimer’s and a subsequent stroke. A native of Summit, N.J., he starred in three sports in high school—baseball, basketball, and soccer. He continued with sports at Swarthmore and at the end of his sophomore year was named All-American Goalkeeper. He also continued his relationship with his high school sweetheart, Nancy Pawell Norris, whom he subsequently married. Although they divorced after 22 years and Roger married twice more, he and Nancy were forever grateful for their terrific shared gene pool. Roger left Swarthmore at the end of his sophomore year to enlist in the Air Force (during the Korean War). He was assigned to Security Services and learned Russian. He and Nancy married in 50 Swarthmore College Bulletin / 1952, and he served his time in England. When he was discharged, Roger completed his undergraduate degree at Syracuse. He became a lawyer and spent most of his career in private practice, continuing his active law practice into his 80s. His lifelong love of sports continued. He became an avid golfer and eventually switched his full-time athletic participation to tennis. He is survived by three children and lots of grandchildren. Frederic Jenkins died in March 2016 in ­Champaign, Ill. Fred received a B.A. from Swarthmore, followed by a master’s degree from the University of California–Berkeley and a Ph.D. from the University of California–San Diego, all in French. He was a French professor at the University of Illinois for more than 33 years. Fred was an avid bicyclist who, along with his daughters, participated in the 1976 Bikecentennial ride across America, which led to the formation of the Adventure Cycling Association. He also enjoyed tennis, badminton, and growing pine trees from seedlings in his backyard. He was secretary of the American Association of Teachers of French for many years, and made multiple trips to France with his wife, Shirley. The College also reported the deaths of Janet Letts in December 2015, Eldon Woodcock in January 2016, Hamilton Carson in January 2016, Howard Fussell in June 2016, and Junetta Kemp Gillespie in May 2016. I have no further information about any of them. Do you? I’d love to hear from you—about people I’ve mentioned or about yourself. CAPTION THIS YOUR CAPTION HERE! Be creative! Submit a caption by June 16 to bulletin@swarthmore.edu. To see last issue’s cartoon with suggested captions, go to Page 70. SPRING 2017 1953 Carol Lange Davis cldavis5@optonline.net As the deadline for Class Notes approached, I found I had no news to report. A desperate email to classmates produced some great responses. Clark Dean: “On Nov. 21 I suffered my third stroke (Bastille Day 2006, Cinco de Mayo 2009, and Thanksgiving 2016). My biggest problem this time was double vision, but that seems to have gone away. An article I wrote will appear in an early 2017 edition of the quarterly American Genealogist. ‘Following George Washington’s Example’ is about my ancestor Thomas Violett of Woodford County, Ky., who freed his slaves in his 1809 will, 10 years after George Washington did so in his own will.” Bob Fetter: “I am now home from a most interesting and active Swarthmore Alumni College Abroad Authentic Hawaii trip. Each of the six days we moved out from our ‘base camp’ in Hilo to varied outdoor locales on the Big Island. There were just nine of us, including two faculty, led by two leaders from the China Advocates touring company. At 85, I was the oldest, with the other alums from classes in the late 1960s and 1970s. Lots of time hiking around lava flows and calderas past and present, walking through gardens and woodlands, past ocean coves with swimming opportunities—even slowly hiking up an almost 10,000-foot small peak on the side of Mauna Kea. Back home in Hilo, our ‘classes’ focused on astronomy, birds, and creative writing. “Hawaii was my 50th state to visit—and well worth the trip. I benefited from reading about Hawaii’s geology and volcanoes and the arrival of varied life forms—eventually with the human settlement and development, and now a diverse, multicultural population. “I was surprised to find out about the Big Island railroads, functioning until a major tsunami in 1946. We picnicked one day under a former rail trestle, now used for a highway, that easily matched Swarthmore’s Crum Creek rail trestle.” Margy Morey Zabriskie: “Writing now after the elections from the land of Bernie Sanders and Ben and Jerry’s, I’ll probably irritate some folks politically. But I’m working on a project, ‘Building Bridges with Friend Families.’ The idea is to develop a personal relationship with someone of another culture, religion, or ethnic group to reduce fear and estrangement, and hopefully to counteract racism and build trust. We have a fair-sized Muslim and Christian immigrant community in Burlington, Vt. “I’m still trying to make sense of the Bible Belt voting for someone who has been married three times, says hateful things about our minority neighbors, and doesn’t seem to support the minimum-wage hike despite historic income inequality. “Husband Sandy and I had a lovely time over dinner with Mary Jane Winde Gentry at Wake Robin [Shelburne, Vt.] life-care community in November. She continues to be active and involved Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin with her family and others. Wake Robin, which she and late husband Stokes ’51 initiated, has been a great success. Several Swarthmoreans now reside there.” Tedd Osgood: “One of the high points of this past year was hosting the June Higstock celebration at Silver Lake, N.H., for the first time. This was the annual gathering of many of wife Dorothy’s relatives. We rented two adjoining cottages (and bought a second fridge) and, thus, were able to accommodate on the premises nearly all of the 40 family members who arrived for the occasion. “In May, together with another couple from Kendal at Hanover, N.H., with whom I had previously journeyed abroad, I spent a chilly but very rewarding fortnight in Iceland. We covered much of the island from Akureyri (settled in the ninth century) in the north to Selfoss in the south, stopping at innumerable waterfalls, bubbling thermal springs, and volcanic formations— including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—in between. “Early this fall, I filled in a number of blanks in my knowledge of the American landscape by joining a bus tour from South Dakota to Utah, and another excursion by boat up the Columbia River. Along the way I visited Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Devils Tower, Little Bighorn, Yellowstone National Park, the Tetons, and Salt Lake City.” 1954 Elizabeth Dun Colten lizcolten@aol.com The year 2017 … a “significant” birthday year for many? Stand up and be counted! Courtesy of Judy Kahlenberg Hestoft, I share the following Bob Hope quote: “I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.” Raymond and Mary Wren Swain celebrated Ray’s 85th birthday with a December trip to St. Lucia. Corinne Lyman’s 2016 travels were mainly in the U.S.: North Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts. In March 2016, Naomi Lichtman Rose spent two weeks in London with Cor­ nelia Fuller (16 plays in 11 days), and in October took three children to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to see polar bears. Fred and Elena Sogan Kyle had one major trip this past year, Rome to Barcelona. Jack and Ruth Maurer Kelly continued their usual pattern, spending the summer on Beaver Island, Mich., and the rest of the year on Jekyll Island, Ga. They also revisited the western national parks, saw friends in Oregon and Montana, and, in the fall, flew to England to see their daughter and then went on to Prague. Their house escaped Hurricane Matthew (although they were forced to evacuate), but the pottery studio where Ruth works was under 2 feet of water. A clarification from Bill “Football” Jones. It was Bill “Chemistry” Jones whose 2006 death was reported in the fall 2016 Bulletin. Bill and wife Mar­ gery Paxson Jones ’56 live in a retirement community in Macon, Ga., and they have three children and five grandchildren. He was drafted into the Army in 1955, received an M.A. from Penn in 1963, and spent his business career in investment management, retiring in 1995. Many have moved recently to smaller quarters, to warmer climates, or closer to supportive families. Cornelia Fuller and Lee Johnson are “extremely happy in their retirement home—MonteCedro, Altadena, Calif.” Punky ’55 and Anne Chan­ dler Fristrom enjoy musical programs and bridge at their village in Spring Valley, Calif. Anne is still in charge of the Point Loma Library book sale. Peter and Pat Bryson Van Pelt like Northampton, Mass. Their community emphasizes independent living, but they wish it were closer to stores for more walkability and less car dependence. Lynn Barrera Matzen feels well taken care of at Founders Ridge, with family members nearby. Though, she says that 3 1/2 years ago, she never thought she would leave New York, much less end up in Minnesota. After 51 years, Caryl and Richard Carle left their home in Derry, N.H., and moved to an over-55 community in the adjacent town of Londonderry. This location allows them to maintain friendships and doctors. Caryl’s baby grand piano is settled in Derry’s Pinkerton Academy in the room where Robert Frost once taught English. Dick was enticed to become a trustee of that academy, replacing astronaut Alan Shepard, a Derry native. Bob Merin’s wife, Barba- ra, died Nov. 16. A graduate of Cornell University– New York Hospital School of Nursing, she was a published author and swimming champion. After living in South Carolina once Bob retired, in 2004 they moved to Dunwoody, Newtown Square, Pa. We send condolences to the Merin family, including son Michael and daughters Jan ’85 and Sarah ’88. Phyllis Hall Raymond leads a quiet life on the edge of Swarthmore’s campus, enjoying College concerts and theater, and notes that it is exciting to see new buildings appear. Larry Franck enjoys sunny Florida during the winter months, with church and yacht club activities, but maintains a Maryland home. In December, Jay Ochroch received the Philadelphia Bar Association PNC Achievement Award, “presented annually to honorees who have made substantial and generous contributions toward improving the administration of justice.” I noted 28 (!) 1954 names on the 25+ list of consecutive donors to the College, plus several others mentioned in other categories. Commendable, especially considering our advanced ages and depleted ranks. 1955 Sally Schneckenburger Rumbaugh srumbaugh@san.rr.com Mike Dukakis is still active politically and has strongly repeated his call to abolish the Electoral College, according to Politico. Bernard and Ethel Smith Webb ’58 have left their Bernie-designed home of 25 years and moved into the village of Keene Valley, N.Y. “Quite a nice change and much better connected to our friends.” Anne and Ron Decker live in Chicago in an 18th-floor apartment overlooking Lake Michigan, with a distant view of Wrigley Field. While Anne works, Ron engages in small historical research projects and makes travel arrangements. Last year besides taking group tours to Tanzania and Spain, they made trips to Arlington, Va., to visit daughter Alice Decker Burke ’98 and her family, and made their annual August weekend trip to Spring Green, Wis., “for the best outdoor theater in the Midwest.” In December, Ron participated as a founding member in the 40th anniversary of the Chicago Map Society. Ron also sent me spectacular photographs he took in Tanzania; one showed a lioness with a scar on her side carrying a piece of a dead antelope. “We watched her dramatically steal it from a cheetah who had killed the antelope, then pick up the carcass and carry it into some brush.” Another, taken five years later, showed the same lioness. Sadly, we have lost three classmates. Kate Sasse Popenoe died Thanksgiving Day. After marrying David Popenoe, whose love and partnership enriched her life until the end, she received a master’s in social work from Bryn Mawr College. The couple moved to Princeton, N.J., and Kate was a psychiatric social worker before having their two daughters. She served in many volunteer capacities including as president of the Princeton SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 51 class notes Family Service Agency board in the 1970s, and on the boards of Chapin School, Family Service Association of America, and the Princeton Area League of Women Voters. After her children were grown, she returned to full-time work, first as a senior admissions officer at Princeton University and later at the Lawrence School, where she served as an associate director of college counseling and as assistant headmaster, before her 1998 retirement. “Kate had an insightful intelligence; a renaissance knowledge of art, language, and literature; and was a beautiful writer,” her obit says. “She was also a talented drawer, especially of people, and played the piano with feeling and verve right up to a few months before her death. … Even as the dementia that marked the last decade of her life advanced, she continued to be engaged with life and to show love and kindness to all she encountered.” Elizabeth Bomar Wallace died Dec. 9 in Florence, Ala. Having graduated with history honors, she earned a master’s in history at Emory University. She enjoyed art, gardening, sewing, and volunteering. An active member of the Florence Episcopal Church, she was involved in many community services, including Meals on Wheels and the soup kitchen. Julie Lange Hall died Dec. 10. She had family ties to Swarthmore, starting with her mother, Barbara Pearson Lange Godfrey ’31, who was born in Benjamin West House and devoted her life to the College, including as director of dramatics. Nevertheless, Julie started 52 Swarthmore College Bulletin / at Oberlin, transferring to Swarthmore as a sophomore. Within a year of receiving her B.A. in English literature, she married Parker Hall in the Friends Meeting House on campus. Julie pursued a career in education and held her first teaching position at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Mass. She spent 23 years at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Ill., where she taught in all three divisions and served as middle school head, academic dean, field hockey coach, sex education teacher, and library program director before being chosen, after a national search, as the first woman appointed head of school. Julie and her husband, who had a successful finance career, gave generously to many institutions nationwide. They were major contributors to the Swarthmore Fund and the myriad initiatives it supports, and were instrumental in the completion of the Lang Performing Arts Center. Given her and her family’s devotion to the arts, it is fitting that Pearson-Hall Theatre is named for them. They also endowed Lange House—her family’s home, now used for College housing—and supported the renovation of Parrish Hall and Project Pericles. Julie served on the Chicago Women’s Board and the boards of Independent Schools of the Central States, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Laboratory Schools of the University of Chicago, Opportunity International, and American Secondary Schools for International Students and Teachers. She joined Swarthmore’s Board of Managers in 1993, and SPRING 2017 although she retired in 2007, she remained active as an emerita member. In recognition of her support of the College, she received the Joseph Shane ’25 Award in 2000. 1956 Caro Luhrs celuhrs@verizon.net Although “a little slowed down,” Sandy ’55 and Ruth Cooper Lamb are still involved in very pertinent projects—aging in place, sustainable farming, gardening, and access to locally grown food. They had some nice trips last year to visit their three children, grandchildren, and other family members in various parts of the U.S. Another beautiful painting—of a saucy, little red-bellied woodpecker—arrived on Mary Lou Jones Toal’s 2016 Christmas card. Mary Lou is a talented artist, and each year I look forward to a sample of her work. She and husband John had a lovely Danube river cruise last year as well as a nice trip to California. Sally Pattullo McGar­ ry notes that “living in paradise” (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) was like living in hell after being hit by Hurricane Matthew and its attendant tornadoes. Fortunately, her house was not damaged but the surrounding property took a blow. Besides attending our 60th Reunion, Sally took two trips last year—to Scotland and the Adriatic coast of Italy. Ruthie Renfer Kitchin was another serious traveler. She explored Kauai, Hawaii, with granddaugh- ter Kaila, 14. Felicity Heath Hansen had a serious stroke and now lives at a life-care center in Westminster, Colo. Husband Jack lives in their home close by. Felicity writes that she is fortunate to “keep all my wits about me and to enjoy TV and read good books on Kindle.” I am sad to report the death of Susanna Perkins Jaeger on June 17. Son Jim lived near her in Gorham, Maine, and would love to be in touch with old classmate friends. Jim’s phone numbers are 207-839-4495 (farm) or 207-831-1706 (cell). Lois Rostow Kuznets Dowling died Nov. 14. She came to our 60th Reunion accompanied by daughter Naomi Kuznets ’82. Lois was very happy to be with us and apparently knew at that time that she was really saying goodbye to longtime friends. Lois was a children’s literature expert and had been president of the Children’s Literature Association. She taught for many years at Lehman College in New York and San Diego State University. Lois was predeceased in 2014 by her husband of 40 years, Jim Dowling. She leaves two daughters, two grandsons, and many other close family members. They suggest that we honor her memory by “reclining on a sofa with good reading in hand and a friendly mammal within reach.” Jeremy Stone ’57 died Jan. 1. He was a remarkable person and a good friend. To see his impressive bio, read his obits from The Washington Post (bit.ly/ JStoneWaPo) and The New York Times (bit.ly/ JStoneNYT). Although he was not in our class, I am reporting Jeremy’s death because he joined us for our 60th Reunion. His wife of almost 60 years, B.J. Yannet Stone ’57, had died and he thought it would be nice to be back at Swarthmore and to be part of our class; he didn’t want to wait for his 60th Reunion. I encouraged him to come, and we adopted him into our class. He had a great time. 1957 Minna Newman Nathanson jm@nathansons.net Deborah Smith Dempsey writes, “Chuck Torrey ’55 and I are happy to be known as partners and expect to be together until one of us drops dead. We won’t be in the same place all the time, since by temperament that would probably make us crazy, but we will spend time traveling and in residence in St. Paul, Minn., Philadelphia, and Nova Scotia.” In memory of Barba­ ra Behnke De Laszlo, husband Michael and daughter Kathryn created a book of writings by and about her. Barbara’s writing reminds one of her whimsies, acute vision and intelligent responses, appreciation of beauty, and irreverence for the expected niceties. Friends’ reflections demonstrate that she shared all those traits with others and always, as Norm Rush ’56 wrote, without judgment. These memories of Bar­ bara increase my regret about being remiss in maintaining relationships and lead me to urge you to come and revive some of your college friendships at our 60th Reunion. Longtime class president Jeremy Stone died Jan. 1 at home in California. As president of the Federation of American Scientists—a near-dormant organization he revived in 1970—he was an activist in international nuclear restraint, arms control, and other areas involving science and technology. The New York Times noted that although Jeremy described the federation as an “idea factory,” the ideas were almost always his own, and in the beginning, he was the factory’s sole worker. These efforts took him to meetings in Russia and China (with late wife B.J. Yannet Stone to translate) and to coordinate exchanges with scientists in Iran and North Korea. After leaving the federation in 2000, Jeremy launched Catalytic Diplomacy to privately pursue issues of international conflict resolution and dietary studies. I’ve enjoyed being asked to create messages of advice for my great-greatnieces to read on their 18th birthdays, a task that not only will connect me to adult versions of young children I won’t be around to see become adults, but also allows me to reflect on what has mattered most in my own adult life. 1958 Vera Lundy Jones 549 East Ave. Bay Head, NJ 08742 verajonesbayhead@­ comcast.net Janet Lewis Honecker reports that her grandchildren are “in various stages of life, including law school, working at Whitman College, and attending West Liberty University,” which is near Janet’s house in Wheeling, W.Va., so she often gets to see granddaughter Whitney, a student there. Janet and stepdaughter Beth took a trip with Country Walkers to Slovakia in celebration of Beth’s father and Janet’s husband, Ben. It was their 16th trip together. Tex Wyndham sent me a flier about a performance of his Red Lion Jazz Band in Bethesda, Md. A critic of his performance wrote that the band “has been dazzling and delighting audiences for some 52 years now. … This fine revivalist Dixieland combo has gained a well-deserved reputation as one of the best such Dixieland bands in the land.” David Goslin and wife Nancy have moved to 35 Sundew Road in Savannah, Ga. Janet Smith Warfield reports, “At age 80, I’m still going strong.” Janet was recognized by the International Association of Top Professionals as its 2016–17 Top Professional in Consciousness Education. In September she facilitated an interactive webinar with the Association for Global New Thought, and in November she participated in the Integral Living Room in Boulder, Colo. She was one of two keynote speakers in December at the International Association of Top Professionals awards banquet in NYC and planned to have breakfast the next morning with Bob Freedman. Peter Durkson died in November. He lived in Washington City, Utah, with wife Cindy Roy and was stepfather to Joe and Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin Kori. Peter was a Navy officer from 1959 to 1963 and later did graduate work at Harvard. Peter was a champion of environmental causes. Carolyn Walch Slayman, deputy dean for academic and scientific affairs at Yale, died in December. Carolyn was a faculty member and leader at the medical school for almost 50 years and was the first woman to head a department when she was named chair of human genetics in 1984. Carolyn earned a Ph.D. in biochemical genetics from Rockefeller University; she was the only woman in her class. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University and joined Yale in 1967. Carolyn is survived by husband Clifford and children Andrew and Rachel. The class extends its sympathy to Peter’s and Carolyn’s families. Correction: Christoph Lohmann, who died in 2015, had been an English professor at Indiana University. The wrong school was provided in the winter 2016 Class Notes. 1959 Miriam Repp Staloff staloff@verizon.net Edward Keenan writes: “My book Mathematical Structures in Language just came out. I’ve been retired for four years from UCLA’s linguistics department, but I think I should get a job so I can work less.” Edward is also proud of his new, feisty granddaughter, Rilke. In addition to a messy but interesting life as a painter, I, Miriam, have been active with the library advisory board in my New Jersey town. I look forward to finishing my latest painting, a two-year project, and to assisting with a library renovation project, scheduled to begin in early spring. For those who regret the paucity of notes, please share something of your lives with me. 1960 Jeanette Strasser Pfaff jfalk2@mac.com Our theme this time seems to be staying and moving. Dave and Getta Harrar Denhardt moved from Bridgewater, Conn., about two years ago. Dave writes, “We now live in Greensboro, N.C. (where our eldest daughter lives), in good health, physically and mentally active. Getta has an active social life. I’m studying and writing about stress and epigenetics, including my own genome (inherited variants) and methyl epi­ genome (consequence of real-life experiences). I am writing a review, ‘Effect of Stress on Human Biology: Epigenetics, Adaptation, Inheritance and Social Significance.’” John Harbeson says he put his fingers to work counting the moves he and wife Ann have made in their 53 years together. He must have used his toes, too, because he came up with 11. “We managed to be in Kenya just after independence (so we’ve grown up, so to speak, with independent Kenya), in Ethiopia when the emperor was overthrown and the empire more or less dissolved, and in Washington, D.C., and Kenya when I was on leave with USAID at two very exciting times.” In between were several not-very-exciting moves back to Wisconsin. Now, he and Ann are enjoying their eighth year near D.C. and have no plans for more moves. Sara Bolyard Chase writes, “At this point, for me, ordinary chores (especially in a yard that is about one-quarter wooded with white pines and maples—such rafts of brown pine needles that I swear those evergreens are in fact deciduous) take a little longer and recovery from strenuous physical activity takes about twice as long as it used to. But for me, at this point, the more activity the better. So, as long as my partner is willing to be here in our house, I’ll keep doing what needs to be done.” From Gil Harman: “Lucy and I have been in our house in Princeton, N.J., since 1976. (Before that we lived in New York. I commuted to Princeton.) Our daughter Elizabeth lives 2 1/2 blocks away and teaches philosophy, as I still do.” Mary Lynne Ahroon Poole shares, “I had lived in my home in Providence, R.I., for 27 years when, in 2001, I received a fine compliment from my eldest son and his wife— they invited me to move to be near them … across the country in Bellevue, Wash. I had been divorced for five years, but I had a small computer consulting business and lots of friends. I thanked them and said, ‘Maybe in five years.’ My daughter-inlaw was the wise one. She said, ‘But if you wait, the kids will be teenagers and it will be harder to SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 53 class notes bond with them.’ I knew that there were nice people everywhere and that I knew how to make friends. I quickly bought a modern house a half-mile from them and sold my Providence Victorian. The move has been very good for all of us, including my Washington and Oregon grandchildren.” Susan Turner writes about another sort of moving: “It’s hard to incorporate a truly life-changing event at our age, but my weeklong workshop with Joanna Macy with a focus on the threat to our environment has had a major impact on my life. Her exercises bring one to a new way of knowing. That makes the experience so indelible. It also informs the approach I am taking to work on personal racism. I plan to take an online training course, 37days.com/racism, and hope by April that I will have some new ways of working on this insidious evil in our culture.” This column doesn’t usually report on trips-tobe, but Peter Offenhartz’s plan might inspire others. “Barbara [Hopf Offen­ hartz ’58] and I usually spend our summers on Eagle Island off the coast of Maine, but this year we have a different plan: We’re flying to Seattle on Aug. 16, renting a house near Sunriver, Ore., and flying back on the 25th, all so we can see the total eclipse of the sun on the morning of Aug. 21. The last time we saw a total eclipse was March 7, 1970, when I rented a plane near Amherst, Mass., and flew Barbara and our two children out past Nantucket, Mass.; it was the experience of a lifetime. The eclipse will be visible from Georgia to the West Coast, but we’re 54 Swarthmore College Bulletin / hoping the east side of the Oregon Cascades will have the best chance of cloudless skies. Wish us good weather.” I have the sad duty to report the October death of Mary Gooden, one of the pioneers in the computer and IT field. She added a second career when, after age 50, she earned a law degree. She was known both for her intelligence and her dry sense of humor. 1961 Pat Myers Westine pat@westinefamily.com Outside my window, the first snow of Virginia’s winter is falling and it is early January. My thanks to those who not only send me holiday letters but also email me updates. Holiday updates: Emily and Bob Rowley in Connecticut sent an annual report on their granddaughters: Amanda, 19, a member of the first class at the Institute for American Musical Theatre in NYC; Robyn, 15, a high school freshman whose story was told in a People magazine article on 9/11 children; and Casey, 12, a competitive team cheerleader. Marilyn “Emmi” Emerson Lanctot, still in Bucks County, Pa., spent the last year with husband Paul traveling with their “brand-new” camper to bluegrass festivals, where Paul played the banjo. Marilyn still volunteers at her library, quilts, and helps a nursing home resident with laundry and finances. Jean Geil in Hawaii has “relinquished her responsibility” as SPRING 2017 library committee chair at her retirement community, Craigside, and now— among other activities— reads to and visits with her brother, a Parkinson’s patient who lives at the same community. Two classmates included family pictures. Louise Todd Taylor wrote of her delight at seeing friends “from a lifetime ago” at last spring’s reunion and sent a picture of grandchildren Vivian, 6, and Landis, 2. Pat Clark Kenschaft included a family picture of three generations. Pat’s been working on getting solar panels on public buildings and a year-round ban on leaf blowers. She is co-clerk of the Peace and Service Committee of Montclair Meeting in New Jersey and continues her large garden that provides most of their vegetables year round. Every year, Hugh Martin sends a wonderfully illustrated and comprehensive holiday letter from his family with all of his children adding their own sections. The Martins had a wedding and a new grandchild this year. Hugh earlier sent me notice of the death of his first wife, Susan Preston-Martin ’63. Sheila Maginniss Bell, whom I was happy to see and sit with at a Swarthmore College Orchestra concert in early December, wrote of two Road Scholar trips this year: a 17-day tour of Spain’s arts and artists, and a 10-day adventure in the Galapagos Islands with her grandson. Sheila reads to primary students at the Chester Charter School for the Arts, is a Scott Associate at Swarthmore’s Scott Arboretum, is secretary of the Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association, and presents programs through Art Goes to School, which helps students look closely, form opinions, and appreciate diverse artists. Email responses: Dick and Mary Sargent Coles ’62 still live in Hoene Spring, Mo., in their 60-year-old house, which they “are trying to make elder friendly” as they both deal with mobility issues. Even with a walker and newly installed pacemaker, Dick still birds several times a week but without the more extensive hiking he once did. Their granddaughters include a 25-year-old Grinnell graduate working as a “headhunter”; a 22-year-old graduate of William Woods University working as a microbiology research assistant at Colorado State; and a 19-year-old biomedical engineering freshman at the Colorado School of Mines. Dick won’t be able to accompany Mary to her 55th Reunion this spring as he will be a nature counselor at the New Hampshire camp he once attended. Cecily Langdale Davis’s last news update included her husband’s death and her serious fall in Amsterdam, which necessitated three surgeries and a prolonged recovery period. After lengthy physical therapy, she is now “genuinely on the mend.” She has returned full time to her art gallery, started many years ago with her husband and continued after his death. Cecily stays in touch with Ricki Feingold Waldman and Carolyn Goldberg Burke, and enjoys New York’s theater, opera, museums, and movies. My granddaughter Kira Emmons ’20, with two engineering friends and the financial backing of the engineering department, built a boat complete with oars that won the annual Crum Regatta (held in the College pool, as the trestle was being replaced in the Crum). Happy 2017 to all of you, and please keep sending me your updates. 1962 Evelyn Edson 268 Springtree Lane Scottsville, VA 24590 eedson@pvcc.edu I spent the last few weeks reading books by two classmates. The first, The Travails of Two Woodpeckers, co-written by Noel Snyder, analyzes the decline and disappearance of the ivory-billed woodpecker (once abundant in the American Southeast and Cuba) and the closely related imperial woodpecker of Mexico. Noel thinks that recent supposed sightings of the ivory-bill are problematic and that the bird is now extinct. While most researchers have blamed its decline on the destruction of its habitat—swamp forests—Noel and his fellow authors believe that its numbers were already diminishing in the early 20th century due to hunting. Loud, large (2 feet long), and relatively unafraid of humans, the ivory-bill was an easy mark for hunters, who shot them for trophies (its red crest and ivory bill), for museum and private collections, for food, and generally for target practice. Says Noel, “They didn’t have much of a chance for co-existence with our species.” Among the illustrations in the book, the most heart-wrenching are those of woodpecker skins laid out on display. A 2004 book by Noel described the similar, though earlier, extinction of the colorful Carolina parakeet. Faithful readers will remember that Noel was actively involved in the rescue of the California condor. I had an interesting conversation with him at the bird walk organized by John Solodar at our 50th Reunion. Speaking of which, our 55th Reunion is imminent. I hope those of you who can still walk and talk will plan to attend. My other book was Arlie Russell Hochschild’s Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. If you need some help in our new political era, listen to Arlie: bit.ly/ArlieRH I notice that many of us are taking Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) classes. I am about to embark on teaching my first course in history of cartography. I have been teaching in the University of Virginia’s adult degree program, but it is going toward online teaching, something in which I definitely am not interested. So I am moving to OLLI in quest of live students. Any tips? I have already been advised that the students are wonderful­—­but don’t read. Is that true? It was a surprise at a recent meeting of OLLI teachers to hear from Bernard Beitman ’64. A Jungian psychiatrist on the University of Virginia faculty, he teaches “Connecting with Coincidence: Using Synchronicity and Serendipity in Your Life.” Sounded very interesting. It is my sad duty to report the death of Frank Farlow Dec. 30. Frank and wife Martha “Marty” Anderson Farlow ’63 lived in Brookline, Mass., where they started an early childhood education program. Frank was very active in local politics, serving as a member of the town meeting since 1986, where he drafted several bylaws and resolutions on a broad range of liberal issues. He was also deeply involved in Brookline PAX, attending a weekly peace vigil since 2003. His obituary headline described him as an “activist.” He sounded like someone we need now more than ever. Our sympathies to Marty, his brother and sister, and his son Jed and daughter-inlaw Simone. 1963 Diana Judd Stevens djsteven1@verizon.net The day before these notes were due, Dorothy Earley Weitzman emailed that Marty Anderson Far­ low’s husband, Frank ’62, died Dec. 30. Frank was a Brookline, Mass., activist, involved in town meeting and Brookline PAX, a liberal advocacy group. Many of you know via email that Susan Preston-­ Martin died of breast cancer Nov. 13. Susan was the first female fellow at the University of Southern California and the first woman to receive a visiting scientist award at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. She loved traveling with husband David, spending time with her grandchildren, and mentoring junior faculty. On behalf of our class, I sent notes to Susan’s and Marty’s families. News from holiday letters: Mike and Eugenia Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin IN MEMORIAM Alumni death notices received by the College from Nov. 13, 2016, through Feb. 11, 2017. View expanded memorials at bulletin.swarthmore.edu. 1935 1948 Ken Hechler Dec. 12, 2016 Richard Held Nov. 22, 2016 1936 Nancy Bowing Jahraus Jan. 2, 2017 Michael Juviler Jan. 20, 2017 Sue Williams Saul Jan. 23, 2017 1957 Martha Spencer Burke July 2, 2012 Carolyn Keyes Cadwallader Jan. 1, 2017 1937 Frederick Wiest Jr. Jan. 18, 2017 1941 Barbara Newborg Oct. 5, 2016 1942 Laurence Lohman Dec. 4, 2016 1943 Robert Coleman Dec. 20, 2016 1944 Irving Taylor Jr. Oct. 14, 1999 1945 Richard Burrowes Unknown John Butler Jr. Jan. 1, 2013 Charles Hewins Dec. 24, 2016 Bruce Stewart Dec. 25, 2016 1946 Warren Jacobs June 15, 2012 Hildreth Strode Dec. 14, 2016 Navy Edward Johnson Nov. 25, 2016 1947 Marjorie Howard Johnson Nov. 17, 2016 Elizabeth Bomar Wallace Dec. 9, 2016 Carolyn Bryan Field Dec. 21, 2016 1956 Lois Kuznets Dowling Nov. 14, 2016 Jeremy Stone Jan. 1, 2017 1949 1958 William Amis Jan. 18, 2017 Peter Durkson Nov. 24, 2016 1950 Charles Craver III Dec. 30, 2016 Carolyn Walch Slayman Dec. 27, 2016 Ross Eckler Dec. 9, 2016 1960 Mary Gooden Oct. 9, 2016 Robert Greenawalt Dec. 8, 2016 1961 Lawrence Shepley Dec. 30, 2016 Elizabeth Lockhart Jan. 23, 2017 1962 Marion Harkness Nentwig Jan. 30, 2017 Frank Farlow Dec. 30, 2016 1963 1951 Susan Preston-Martin Nov. 13, 2016 Constance Merrill Cameron Sept. 11, 2014 1965 Mark Frankena Jan. 11, 2017 Joseph Cary Jr. Jan. 24, 2017 Alan Lloyd Nov. 1, 2016 Keith MacAdam Nov. 6, 2016 Setha Goodyear Olson Jan. 13, 2017 1970 John Busillo June 21, 2007 1952 Roger Pott Nov. 19, 2016 Morton Winston Jan. 13, 2017 Nancy Parks Valelly Nov. 29, 2016 1972 Robert Kemp Jr. Aug. 4, 2016 1955 1977 Julie Lange Hall Dec. 10, 2016 Katharine Sasse Popenoe Nov. 24, 2016 Jon Kaplan April 6, 2016 1982 Colin Wightman Oct. 17, 2016 WINTER 2017 SPRING 2017 // Swarthmore Swarthmore College College Bulletin Bulletin 55 55 class notes Margosian Becker were in Vietnam and Cambodia in late 2015; had their Salem, Ore., house seismically reinforced and outfitted with a new kitchen; and continue to volunteer. Despite cardiomyopathy, Eugenia teaches religious education classes at the Beckers’ Unitarian Universalist church and is an active birder. Mike mediates landlord–tenant disputes and leads a Community Emergency Response Team that covers 2 square miles. Cay Hall Roberts’s femur has broken twice since late 2015 because of an anti-osteoporosis drug she took for too long. Nevertheless, she and husband Dick, active Rotarians, stay busy at Bristol Village retirement community in Ohio. Dick is a hospice volunteer and sings in a men’s chorus. Cay is vice president of the computer club, serves on the library board, writes a column on recycling for the community’s newsletter, counts birds, sings, and plays the recorder. Last year, Linda and Bill Steelman toured Utah and Arizona’s national parks and enjoyed visits with family in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and at their Nantucket, Mass., home. Bill’s recovery from a stroke and heart attack was overshadowed by a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Medication has lessened the symptoms, so he feels great and is fully functioning as an associate minister of the First Congregational Church, Nantucket. Linda sings and is a historical interpreter at the Nantucket Whaling Museum. Nancy Hall Colburn Farrell responded well to chemotherapy for multiple myeloma. She and Jack 56 Swarthmore College Bulletin / are preparing to move to a retirement community in Fort Myers, Fla., and an apartment in Boulder, Colo. Their 2016 travels included Mexico, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. Highlights of 2016 for Jane Jonas Srivastava: visiting Toronto and Ottawa to celebrate grandson Owen reaching double digits; dancing; and being near the Arctic Circle on a trip to the Yukon Territory. News in response to emails I’ve sent: Seth Armstrong is organizing a response team to oppose Trump policies as they come up. Despite being on dialysis three times a week, Alice Handsaker Kidder has time and energy to volunteer: helping to establish the Values Over Violence Institute and working with Peace Action on a campaign against spending trillions on nuclear weapons upgrades. Susan Potter Evangelista is appalled by the actions of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte filling Manila Bay with corpses as he said he would. Living in Palawan, she is far from the center of things and continues her work providing female reproductive health care and education. Abby Pollak and Helen are busy with grandchildren, pets, gardens, editing, and cooking. Abby teaches writing to third-graders and has returned to piano lessons after a 60-year hiatus. On his book tour for The African Svelte, Dan Menaker connected with Dave McLanahan in Seattle. They remembered each other after 53 years. In D.C., Gail MacColl heard Dan discuss his book and was astounded when he spelled “MacColl” correctly. Gail and Connie Kain Milner have attended Kennedy Center perfor- SPRING 2017 mances and will perform in a quartet later this year. After spinal surgery removed a calcified disc, Monica Pannwitt Bradsher received three months of rehabilitation therapy in New York City. She and Henry enjoyed seeing their New York son and family and their other son’s family visiting from Taiwan and were glad to go home to Baton Rouge, La., March 9. Mary Williams Clark and Jerry visited family in Texas. Laurie and Jerry Gelles traveled to Sardinia. Austine Read Wood Comarow was commissioned to do a Polage for Maui Jim for China. Two trips framed 2016 for Barbara Daly Metcalf: Pakistan where she lectured and Portugal with Road Scholar. The year ended with a family first: Both sons, their families, and a dog spent Christmas with the Metcalfs in Berkeley, Calif. Sandy McConnell Condry was quoted in a Rochester, N.Y., business journal: “This city has so much going on and at my age there is no value in putting things off.” Sandy seems to do it all: exercises, makes jewelry, takes classes, travels (Lebanon and Oman earlier this year). Mary Dewees Pietris also travels. She and John have taken 33 cruises with No. 34 planned for spring. In 2017, I resolve to contact class members from whom we have not heard in a while. Many thanks FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin to each of you who have written. 1964 Diana Bailey Harris harris.diana@gmail.com swarthmore64.com Paul Booth observes, “Looks like I won’t be serving in the Clinton administration. And I’m retiring from the union Feb. 28—after 42 years.” Peter Freedman “just started reading the paper again, still not watching the news (not even NPR) since the disastrous election. But I am back fighting the fight on Facebook. I’m mostly depressed about the state of the nation—but Lynda and I are healthy. I’ve joined Bernie Sanders’s Our Revolution, but have yet to see where they (we?) are really heading. Enjoying (but not participating in) the many anti-Trump—i.e. pro-life in its true sense— protests in Portland, Ore. God bless the young. And it’s their world, so they’ll have to carry the burden of making it a peaceful, loving one.” Steve and Sue Zinn Eisinger explored Morocco in late October. “The guide shared so much of his knowledge and feelings about his country that we learned more than we might have expected in eight days. The focus on health care delivery was especially interesting to us. “We were shocked and dismayed by the national election results. We struggle with our reaction, but it seems that continuing our positive contributions to the community is even more important.” Peter Linebaugh has a new book, about May Day. “Who taught us U.S. labor history in 1963 or 1964? I can’t remember. That’s where I first learned about Haymarket (1886) and Merry Mount (1627). Both stories are told in my book, The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. I am confident that some of you will agree that we need these stories with their reminders of ‘the power of the people.’” “Mirabile dictu. Nes nadol (great miracle): The 40th anniversary issue of the independent, Jewish, and frankly feminist magazine Lilith is out.” Amy Stone, one of the founding mothers, is still a contributing editor and blogger. “Subscribe, please, but also check out this issue at lilith.org: fearless takes on gender, power, sex, secrets, disrupting stereotypes, Torah, Yiddish, LGBTQ inclusion, hamantaschen, and more.” Six True Things, about growing up in the Manhattan Project town of Oak Ridge, Tenn., is Robin Smith Chapman’s new book of poetry. And there’s a connected solo show of 20 of her paintings at the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters this spring: Trees, Flowers, Fields, and Woods. Alan Feingold writes that teaching science in a Jewish elementary school and getting kids excited about learning is like reliving his life. “I used a toy gyroscope to illustrate how dreidels work ­because I’d been given a toy gyroscope when I was 9 years old. I used Faraday’s book that I read in high school to teach how a candle works. I taught Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin about Rachel Carson and her fight against DDT, having read Silent Spring in college. I’ve been teaching second-graders about jellyfish, arthropods, and mollusks—things learned in Dr. Meinkoth’s Invertebrate Zoology course. I use rocks collected from volcanos or glacial rivers on my vacations when I teach geology.” Peter Setlow celebrated 45 years as a faculty member at UConn Health Center in August, saying, “I don’t know if I’ll make 50 years …” Miki McCaslin Holden reflects that “living on the California central coast has been wonderful. However, David and I have realized that managing and maintaining 100 acres in our mid-70s is more than we enjoy doing. At the end of January, we’ll move to New Mexico. We look forward to being near our (so far) only grandchild, Orin. Our new house is in a rural canyon 20 minutes outside Santa Fe, a little way down a gravel road from Orin’s family.” Philip Morehead is “settling into our new location, Dwight, Ontario, just west of Algonquin Park. Pat plays oboe in two orchestras, North Bay Symphony and the Haliburton Chamber Orchestra. I conduct and coach with the Highlands Opera Studio, play piano in the Muskoka Big Band, sing tenor in the Loft Singers, and, in February, I’ll play piano in South Pacific. We’ve joined the Lions Club in Dwight and one of the PROBUS clubs in Huntsville. “In January, we’ll take a three-week cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, by way of Antarctica. We may survive.” Anne Cochran Sloan planned to “spend 10 days over Christmas in Anacortes, Wash., with [son] Ian, seeing a nephew or two, plus one of the guys I sponsored at the Naval Academy and his wife and toddler—closest I am to come to grandkids, I fear.” Jerry Blum reports, “Not really much new, just lots of dancing and hosting the bands and callers from nearby dances.” 1965 Kiki Skagen Munshi kiki@skagenranch.com smore65.com Many of us continue to lead active, busy lives and to travel. Julie Bunce Elf­ ving and a small group of other students accompanied their taiji teacher to her home village in China, taiji’s birthplace. They also visited several World Heritage Sites. One excursion took them to a mountain range where rivers carved deep gorges through the sandstone. Trails and walkways have been developed along, down, and through the gorges with spectacular scenery. They visited temple complexes as well as an extensive series of carved Buddhist images in niches along riverside cliffs. Ron Hale writes that he and Lynn spent Holy Week in Oaxaca, Mexico, visiting with artists in and around the city. Meg and Earl Tar­ ble took a weeklong Mississippi riverboat cruise with friends to Memphis from New Orleans in May. Earl especially loved going to the crossroads of blues, Clarksdale, Miss. In October they took a Viking River Cruise from Amster- dam to Budapest, going through German Bavaria, Austria, and Hungary. Ruth and Walt Pinkus went to California for Thanksgiving; Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a family reunion in June; New York for a wedding one week later; Maine for three weeks in August; and several national parks in Utah in September. Kay and Warren “Tuck” Forsythe enjoyed a week hiking in Switzerland with fabulous views, flowers, trails, trams, and postbuses, followed by a week in Paris. Peter Meyer explored Bhutan in late September–early October with wife Kristen and her friend: “Gross national happiness lives and seems to do more for people’s lives that pursuit of GNP.” Peter is still involved with financing green development and climate-change amelioration efforts, which led him to Wuppertal, Germany, in September for a meeting of an outfit he hadn’t previously known existed, the Low Carbon Society Research Network. He was the only person from the United States there, and he was encouraged to get more U.S. involvement. Diana Burgin said the best thing that happened to her in 2016 was the publication of Performing Life, her book on her mother, Ruth Posselt. Ruth was a violinist, and the book traces her career from her debut as a child prodigy at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1923 to her last appearance in the 1970s, detailing her struggles with the widespread gender bias against female violinists as well as the lesser-known prejudice of American audiences and managers against American-born virtuosos. More: bit.ly/RuthPosselt On the downside, a number of us suffered injuries and effected repairs to our (No! Not us!) aging bodies. Dick Grossman was hit by a car while crossing a street in a crosswalk. Injuries were amazingly minor, he says, but still significant. Julie Bunce Elfving had cataract surgery on both eyes. One of the big surprises was with color perception—she hadn’t realized how much hers had deteriorated over the years. Earl Tarble joined those of us who set off metal detectors because of fake joints—in his case, a knee. Tom Kramer set his personal worst time in the Marine Corps Marathon, but he finished—for the 40th straight year. Julie also writes that she is moving to a Lifecare community, not far from her original home, in Lenexa, Kan. Her “cottage” is about 1,700 square feet (bigger than my house), and she will be able to garden around the perimeter. The downside is this means sifting through a lifetime’s accumulation of stuff. Margaret Nelson still works for a cooperative art gallery. She has expanded beyond abstract and digital works on paper to a series of artist books. These are “real” books, and this year her public library accepted six of them into its new Local Voices collection. The other work taking a good deal of her time is looking after two elderly relatives who have no one else to oversee their care. She’s sure this is familiar to many of us. Nick Warren and wife Kitty are involved in singing—a folk trio and the Five College Early Music collegium. They recently gave a concert built around Nick’s favorite piece, William Byrd’s Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2017 May 26–28 Spend Memorial Day weekend with your fellow Swarthmoreans alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu four-part Mass. Ron Hale retired in October from his contract position as New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils’ executive director. He is continuing as the organization’s co-chair, as well as serving on the board of a nonprofit that brings music into institutional settings and produces summer concerts on the Santa Fe Plaza. Son Jesse lives in Imperial Beach, Calif., and is a full-time Spanish and English teacher at Chula Vista High School, which Ron attended 60 years ago. Regretfully, we learned that Mark Frankena died Jan. 11 at home in Alexandria, Va. An obituary is at smore65.com. 1966 Jill Robinson Grubb jillgrubb44@gmail.com swarthmore66.com In response to November’s chill from “he who shall not be named,” Mike Fer­ ber has been strategizing, raising and sending money, and reconnecting with old comrades. Some wise political friends have sent him good ideas; anyone interested should email mferber@unh.edu. Turned into a radicalized SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 57 class notes Unitarian Universalist, Janet Griffin Abbott plans to follow the “smart” lead of tax avoidance. Using a donor-advised fund, she’ll take the maximum deduction while donating to our Chester internship fund and other worthy causes the new administration might neglect. Deb Taylor is connecting with political groups figuring out how best to stop the Trump “terribleness.” Anthony Loeb was active during the run-up to the election, making 1,400 calls for Hillary. He will probably stay active in the context of Russian relations, as he still has contacts (and interest) there. Meanwhile, Tony’s keeping busy with soonto-be college-aged sons. From Seattle’s Office of Policy Planning to an executive with a real estate development company, Barbara Jahnel Dingfield moved into philanthropy in the ’90s. After five years as director of Microsoft’s corporate giving, she was involved in the early development of the Gates Foundation and then became a consultant (for 10 years) to private and corporate foundations. In her varied career, Barbara remembers being one of the few—or only—women in the room. Good news. Alex Capron and Barbara Jahnel Ding­ field report our Class of ’66 Internship Fund holds almost $120,000, with $20,000 more pledged. The fund has been invested in the College’s Fossil Fuel-Free Fund. Thanks to an extension of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, the Science for Kids (SFK) program will be in full swing this summer. Our fund’s investment income will pay honoraria for five student interns to participate in SFK. 58 Swarthmore College Bulletin / Before children, Dor­ othy Woods Chronister worked at the Institute for Learning, part of Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia, evaluating children with learning disabilities. Once her children were born, Dorothy volunteered in libraries, helped with early computer education, and worked for her church. She later volunteered with hospice and now assists homeless people. Dorothy remembers the beauty of the College, exploring Crum Woods, moving to the new dining hall, playing “stretch” after meals, climbing Clothier Tower, crawling around on the roof of Parrish, sneaking through the tunnel to explore Book & Key, playing trombone in the band at football games, Dr. Haight’s chemistry lectures, walking along the trestle to tutor in Wallingford, the emotions of the political turmoil of the times, and—of course— meeting Rod ’67 and starting a lifelong relationship based on love. John Wehmiller took fifth place in the 2015 Photo Review competition. That’s not surprising. Pam Corbett Hoffer writes that she and Phil ’65 entered into a dog-sharing agreement with another family. Puppy Quigley stays with them during the week, bringing pleasure to both and stimulating Phil to take Q on many walks a day. Quigley’s other family has him on weekends. Nancy Cooley is also cherishing a new puppy, Arwyn. Ken Boyer is working part time doing what he loves: studying clinical infectious disease, teaching students and residents, researching toxoplasmosis and HIV, and growing dahlias. Two of his and SPRING 2017 Sue’s kids will be married this year. He especially remembers professors Ed Fehnel, John Hunter, and Hedley Rhys and coach Jimmy McAdoo but thinks his fellow students taught him more. When Wendy Prindle Berlind was 7, she told family members she wanted to be a grandmother when she grew up. Goal achieved. Three grandchildren. Beyond ecstatic, Liz Probasco Kutchai has a grandson, Lewis Ethan Daisy, born Dec. 30. Daughter Emma and Tim brought him home New Year’s Day, just as Liz arrived in Chicago to spend the month. Her job was to nurture the new parents. On a sad note, Jules Moskowitz lost his beloved wife, Beti, to lymphoma in September. Judy Walenta doesn’t fight but dances with cancer, a catalyst for her to travel all over the world investigating various nontoxic treatments and cures. She also takes on bigotry, sexism, and other deplorable prejudices and was glad to be part of the civil rights movement. Jan Burgess Bays’s profile at swarthmore66.com is so gorgeous you must read the whole thing yourselves. Jan “loved studying early in the morning in Martin Hall library … the smell of the mimeo machine … the daffodils in Crum Meadow, my sweet roommate Dorothy Woods [Chronister] and our tiny freshman dorm room in Parrish Hall … the silence of Quaker meeting, and caving trips with Peter Hartline ’64. … It was the best of times. It was the very best of times.” 1968 Katie Bode Darlington katedarlington@gmail.com There’s only about a year to go until our 50th Reunion. Come hear John Mather describe how ­NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will see the first galaxies formed in the universe—and new galaxies forming now. Can’t wait? Check out John’s talks on YouTube or a November New York Times article on the telescope (bit.ly/MatherNYT). Also in the spotlight was Lynn Etheredge, who received a tribute from the National Academy of Social Insurance for his contributions to rapid-­ learning health systems that use “big data” to tailor/personalize medical practices and treatments. Lynn was also recognized for his 40-year involvement in uninsured-coverage initiatives. And, likely inspired by garden tours through Italy/England/ Japan, he planted 1,000 bluebells in one week. Paul and Janet Cooper Alexander in Monterey, Calif., would gladly see classmates. Janet writes, “I took emerita status as a professor at Stanford Law School in summer 2016. I continue to follow my fields of federal courts, complex litigation, and the war on terrorism, all of which, sadly, seem likely to see new, ghastly developments after Jan. 21.” Also hoping to hear from S’moreans are Maureen “Mickey” Durham in Portland, Ore., and Caroline Acker in the Bay Area. Caroline is a professor emerita of history at Carnegie Mellon and lives in Berkeley near her children and grandchildren. She remains an engaged scholar and drug-abuse harm reductionist. Emily Albrink Hartigan taught Go Set a Watchman in her St. Mary’s University School of Law course, with its sense of backlash against progress as seen through the lens of Atticus Finch. She made two trips to Iran and has been remodeling her kitchen: “Every aspect of the job has been messed up; being too old to do it myself leads to more frustration than I’d imagined. I’m sure it’s a spiritual challenge.” Dick Gregor’s physical challenge is knee-surgery recuperation, and he’s reading Gratitude, appropriately. Jon Summerton, whose knee is fine, retired after 20 years in vacation-­ rental real estate and expects grandchildren to take up all his extra time. Dave Thoenen is sharpening his ice tools for a winter trip to Ouray, Colo., and psyching himself up to lead a climbing team to Iran in the fall (and “hanging out with my grand girl anytime, anyplace”). Dan Botsford is exploring other dimensions of living besides medicine and neurology, returning to piano lessons and reading more history and fiction. Rich­ ard Figiel writes, “I’ve sold my vineyard and winery in the Finger Lakes [N.Y.]—a 30-year adventure. Farming is great. So is not farming. It has given me time for writing projects and joining protests.” Florence Battis Mini and her husband moved to Kendal at Longwood, a Quaker continuing-care retirement community in Pennsylvania. She says, “There is a sense that we are all here to take care of each other and a rueful Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin acceptance of the increasing absent-mindedness that afflicts all of us to an extent.” For several years, Peter Fraser has been primary caregiver to his father, Herbert ’43. Peter’s wife Soffia is a native of C ­ olombia, where he served part of his Peace Corps tour from 1968 to 1970. Jeff Carter sent an eloquent email about his career as a physical therapist, adding, “I don’t much like retirement. There’s just so much excitement you can milk from the garden or repairing the roof.” But Jeff’s satisfaction with making pottery continues. “It’s a simple, mechanical activity. When you’re done, voila! Something is there. It was a good balance to the murkier results of my day job.” Many wrote movingly about the outcome of the presidential election. Florence Battis Mini wrote of “men and women of courage and commitment making daily decisions to live lives of loving humanity. We can do that, too, no matter who leads in Washington.” Bruce Rockwood coordinated a showing of the film Denial and hosted a discussion on the burgeoning fact-free universe. John Schairer provided psychiatric advice: Prevent anger, fear, and retribution from controlling our actions. Choose love, meaning, life-giving, caring, truthful action. Likewise, Hal Kwalwas­ ser writes, “As someone who has known the Donald since he was 3, I am beyond disbelief. That he could become president is just unfathomable. … I spent October through Election Day in Miami working for Hillary. We left the campaign HQ on Tuesday night feeling as if we had won, and then it all just fell apart. We were stunned … the next four years will remind us, in case we had forgotten, why respect, honesty, inclusiveness, and respect for law and the truth are so important to us.” Nancy Bennett added mindfulness and meditation to her counseling, and hopes “we can somehow lumber our way to our 50th with grace and community.” Here’s hoping we all lumber our way to the reunion, June 1–3, 2018. 1970 Margaret Nordstrom hon.margi@comcast.net Not much news to report, but I’m happy to have heard from two people who have been quiet for a while. I’d love to hear from more of you, like the person who used to crochet with me in Worth lounge. You know who you are. Aaron Schwartz is retiring from law but is carrying on as an actor and had great fun doing a comedy web series, My 90-YearOld Roommate. Although he did not have the title role, he says he felt like it sometimes. You can see an episode posted on our class Facebook page or check it out on YouTube (bit.ly/90YearOld)—it really is great fun. Aaron also wants to know if “any of you showbiz types got a part for a curmudgeon.” Two-and-a-half years ago, Bruce Bush and wife Rhoda moved to Frederick, Md., a beautiful, historic city. Rhoda is retired, and Bruce plans to retire in June. He has been a custom woodworker for 30 years, the last few as a sideline. Bruce returned to college for a master’s 18 years ago and has been teaching ever since—ESL in the Frederick school system, and Spanish and English in a bilingual elementary program. He, like many of us, looks forward to retirement, but expects he will miss his colleagues and the wonderful children he works with. Bruce also looks forward to our 50th Reunion, as I hope many of you do. We class agents have already started to think about it and would be interested in hearing about the events/programs/whatever that would inspire you to visit Swarthmore for the last hurrah before we become Garnet Sages. I am grieved to report the loss of Mort Winston, who died suddenly in January while on vacation in Peru. Everyone who knew Mort was aware of how special he was. He was an internationally recognized human rights scholar, educator, and activist. Mort joined the faculty of the College of New Jersey in 1979 where he taught and developed courses on bioethics; genocide and human rights; environmental ethics; human rights in international relations; philosophy of technology; and mind, language, and computers. He chaired the philosophy department from 1982 to 1988, and again from 2005 to 2012. Not surprisingly, Mort was very active in human rights organizations. During the late 1980s, he led the South Africa Country Group for Amnesty International USA. He was elected to the national board of directors in 1991, and was chairman from 1995 to 1997 and again in 2012. These are but a small part of his life accomplishments, which are truly too many to mention. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. He will be missed. 1972 Nan Waksman Schanbacher nanschanbacher@ comcast.net Condolences to the family of Robert “Butch” Kemp Jr., who died in August after a heroic two-year battle with glioblastoma. “Captain” Butch was well-known for his love of sailing, classic boats, old-school navigation, and storytelling, particularly about his many adventures on land and sea. Ernie Abbott continues to practice and teach federal disaster law in D.C. “The unfortunate increased frequency and severity of disaster events has meant that this is a growing practice.” Ernie is in his third year as board president of the Cathedral Choral Society, where he also sings. He reports that wife Cathy Good Abbott enjoys her work as district superintendent for 50 United Methodist churches and 78 clergy in northern Virginia, and takes every opportunity to create art—currently, cut-paper works with themes from Ethiopian icons and jewelry using beads discovered wherever they travel. During a recent trip to Thailand, Ernie’s family was given a tour by Chris Buffum Tananone, who has lived there for 30 years. Congrats to Nancy Noble Holland for finishing her dissertation. Nancy will receive her doctor of musical arts in choral music this spring from USC’s Thornton School of Music. When he is not trying to stop Spectra Energy’s “needless, costly, dangerous, and environmentally harmful” fracking expansion project, Paul Lauen­ stein spends time trying to get Massachusetts to join the five states (Vermont, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) that have already called constitutional-amendment conventions to overturn Citizens United v. FEC. Saralinda Bernstein Lichtblau happily reports that last spring she was named director of education at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, N.Y., where she’s worked in programming, interpretation, partnerships, and community outreach for 12 years. John Lubar has spent all but six years since leaving Swarthmore in Canada, the last 12 on the west coast of Newfoundland, which is “generally an excellent place to live.” John is concerned with the challenges faced by rural coastal communities dependent on local resources where climate change is having an impact. Marianne McKenna is celebrating 30 years in practice with her own architectural firm in Toronto. The firm has completed “projects across academic, cultural, commercial, and institutional sectors” throughout Canada and at Princeton, Dartmouth, Northwestern (new SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 59 class notes ALUMNI PROFILE 60 Swarthmore College Bulletin / be found in their fusedglass studio making bowls, plates, jewelry, and larger pieces such as panels and abstract sculptures. This year, they were commissioned to design and create illuminated glass panels for the entrance of a local Italian restaurant. Predictably, Cigus Vanni is busier in retirement than when he worked in a public school. He performs neighborhood services, volunteers in a couple of schools, is actively involved with his students’ families, and has become involved with “a national initiative to study admissions practices among our institutions of higher ed [where there are] many potentially infectious issues these days—widespread SAT/ACT cheating in Asia, absurd number[s] of students accepted early decision, admissions officers [who] accept cash, and perquisites to visit China and recruit.” 1974 Randall Grometstein rgrometstein@verizon.net Congratulations to John Whyte, who was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine for work in brain-injury rehabilitation. Claudia Kawas was on 60 Minutes for her work researching Alzheimer’s SPOTLIGHT ON … MADELYN WESSEL ’76 Madelyn Wessel ’76 has been named university counsel and secretary of the corporation for Cornell University— the first woman to hold that position. “What’s interesting is that I’ve been a ‘first’ in many areas throughout my working life,” says Wessel, “which points only to how relatively recently women (and certainly also racial and religious minorities) have had opportunities to participate fully in the life of this country. I look forward to a time when ‘firsts’ can become irrelevant because they’ve stopped being noteworthy.” More: bulletin.swarthmore.edu (bit.ly/CKawas). John Morken was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2017. An estate litigation partner, John was also recognized as a Leading Individual by Chambers High Net Worth 2016. Vaneese Thomas dropped a new album, The Long Journey Home, Sept. 16 (bit.ly/Vaneese). While it’s wonderful that our class continues to prove our high school guidance counselors correct, please don’t be intimidated if you haven’t won a prize lately. We would still love to hear how you, and those dear to you, are doing. Drop me an email before June 1 and tell us what sustains you. 1976 Fran Brokaw fran.brokaw@gmail.com FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin SPRING 2017 Plenty of news to share! Susan Rudisill missed our reunion last year due to the wedding of son Sky, lead wildlife technician for the Deschutes National Forest, to Shawn Paulino. Susan continues to paint and teach art, and won first prize from 1859 magazine for her painting North Umpqua Narrows (bit.ly/Rudisill). Since the 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, Susan has worked with a group on gun-­ safety issues. Swimmer Jackie Heineman Gidas was inducted into the Garnet Athletics Hall of Fame. Did you know that she was the first female student-­ athlete in Swarthmore history to earn All-America status? She held records in five individual events and factored into four top relay times. Go, Jackie! LeBris “Lee” Smith Quinn retired after a career in molecular endocrinology at the University of Washington and VA Puget Sound Health Care System. She remains emeritus faculty at UW. Lee authored more than 60 peer-reviewed research publications including one of the first demonstrations of stem cells in 1985. She and her husband divide time between their homes on Puget Sound and near Tucson, Ariz., enjoying golf, sea kayaking, hiking, and gardening. Paul Schofield was so surprised to see his name in the fall Bulletin, he sent more news. After Swarthmore, Paul got a master’s in nuclear engineering from Oregon State, and worked at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California from 1980 until retiring last year. He has a son and daughter from his first marriage, and married wife Edie in 2013, adding two more daughters into the family. He loves traveling. In the past few years, he’s visited Antarctica, hiked the Inca Trail, cruised the Galapagos Islands, honey­ mooned in Tahiti, and visited Israel and Jordan. Since the reunion, he has also visited Costa Rica, Singapore, and Myanmar, and planned a February trip to Iceland and Norway to see the northern lights. An unexpected outcome from the reunion was reconnecting with Doug Smith, and in October, they toured Ireland together. “If you had asked me a year ago who I would be traveling around Ireland with, I doubt Doug would have been in my first 50 guesses. Had a lot Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin LAURENCE KESTERSON Kellogg School of Management), and the Brearley School in NYC. Patty O’Connor retired from her office job last year, but still teaches piano and sings in a rock band. Music from her Swarthmore band, Phaedra, can now be accessed through iTunes, Spotify, and ­Collegeband.com. Bill Prindle “was thinking of semi-retiring next year, but the election has changed my plans. My entire profession [energy and environmental consulting] is coming under attack, as are many professions, and I will stay on the front lines to fend off the worst.” Kizmin Reeves has spent the last five years rescuing tigers in the U.S. and is now in the middle of a large big-cat rescue—“over 100 cats, including 75 tigers, working with a network of 17 big-cat sanctuaries to provide lifetime homes with large enclosures, excellent care including nutrition, vet care, and enrichment. … If you are interested or want to help, get in touch with Tigers in America on Facebook” or at tigersinamerica.org. Tom Snyder claims he’ll retire for the 17th time at the end of this year. Meanwhile, he continues to “work either in educational software or comedy animation.” Last year he finished an audio musical, Is Anyone All Right?, about twentysomethings who fail to leave their college town. Find it on Amazon or Audible.com. Laurie Tompkins and husband Larry Yager spent last year traveling to San Francisco, Colorado, New Mexico, Atlanta, Tennessee, Alaska (for the Aurora Borealis), and New Zealand (for an earthquake). At home, they can “For Renée to succeed as a figurative oil painter from grass-roots America on talent alone was quite an achievement,” say siblings Raissa ’85 and Kevin Radell ’77, with I and Thou. BOLD STROKES Honoring their artist mother’s legacy by Elizabeth Redden ’05 GROWING UP as one of five kids in a country home built by his father, Kevin Radell ’77 took art classes from his mother, painter Renée Radell, and talked with her about mythology in her studio. “Everybody in rural Michigan sensed that she was different,” he says. Kevin recently released a monograph about her career, Renée Radell: Web of Circumstance, through his publishing company, Predmore Press, named for the scenic road about 30 miles outside Detroit where the family lived. The 220-page book—framed as a celebration of underrecognized women artists—catalogues Renée’s far-ranging oeuvre, which encompasses political commentaries, mural-scale works, allegorically themed paintings, portraits, and landscapes. In her introduction, art critic Eleanor Heartney writes that family is a recurring theme in Renée’s works, although she avoided sentimental conventions. “Instead,” Heartney writes, “she imbued her paintings with a sense of the tensions and obligations of motherhood and used the theme to examine more universal truths. For instance I and Thou, painted two weeks after the birth of Radell’s fifth child [Raissa ’85], presents a resolute mother clasping her child in her sturdy arms. Her face is tipped upward, asking guidance, perhaps, or expressing the anxiety that comes with motherhood.” An art history major at Swarthmore who now runs a successful portrait business, Raissa has I and Thou hanging in her home. She counts a summer spent studying painting with Renée at the Lacoste School of Art in France and the years teaching alongside her at Parsons School of Design in New York City among her fondest memories. “My mother’s art infiltrated every part of her being,” says Raissa, who after Swarthmore earned a BFA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Kevin holds master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He works as a corporate finance and strategic planning consultant with particular expertise in private market transactions, alternative assets, and Chinese alliances. He has, along with his father, been cataloging Renée’s art for the past 25 years. In addition to handling the business of the book’s production, he worked with his parents and Heartney to select images from a body of work that includes about 1,000 paintings. “After this, I have tremendous respect for editors and art book publishers,” says Kevin. “The detail, even for a son and research enthusiast, is seemingly endless, but ultimately it was a very rewarding project. Her artistic legacy needed to be recorded.” The book focuses on Renée’s accomplishments as a pioneering socialcommentary painter as well as the constraints she faced as an artist with familial responsibilities who, early in her career, used her refrigerator as an easel. Renée, with more than 40 solo exhibitions among her credentials, moved from Michigan to New York City in 1984, after her children were grown. “Radell has achieved a great deal, but it is hard not to imagine how much smoother the ride might have been if her circumstances were different, i.e. if she had been a man, if she had been free to move to New York when she was just starting out,” Heartney writes. “She never quits,” Kevin says of his mother, now 87. “She has been able to live in multiple dimensions: the dimensions of a woman, of a mother, an artist, and a philosopher. I learned from her that we can multiprocess, and I found that Swarthmore was the perfect place to develop that broad perspective.” SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 61 class notes SPOTLIGHT ON … SUSANNE WEIL ’80 Susanne Weil ’80, an English professor at Centralia College in Washington state, received the Evergreen State College 2016 Teacher Excellence Award. “While it’s always an honor to be recognized by peers,” Weil says, “it means even more to be singled out by former students as a teacher who made a difference in their lives­— after all, teaching is about them, not us!” More: bulletin.swarthmore.edu of fun, heard some great pub bands, and consumed our share of Guinness and Irish whiskey.” Liz Owens Dean reports that becoming a composer in later life has turned out remarkably well. “There is a niche for the small composer that is both friendly and deeply satisfying, a fact I could not have foreseen when I returned to Wellesley College 11 years ago to study music theory. That small first step changed my life. Now, most days find me sitting with my books and plants writing music for amazingly talented musicians who, almost to my astonishment, are delighted to receive it. I am struck with wonder by this.” Ken Gibson, who teaches high school physics in Atlanta, reports that after 43 years, he enjoyed being a student once again in a class taught by Professor John Boccio. John recently retired to Atlanta and taught a course on Chaos, Fractals, Self-Organiza- FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin 62 Swarthmore College Bulletin / tion, and Emergence. Robert Martin stays in touch with several classmates, partly through a fun Swarthmore book/film club in NYC. Bob is still deputy director of the legal services plan of a large municipal labor union, DC 37 of AFSCME, in New York. His job includes lots of consumer work, like organizing to keep payday loans out of his state. He is also involved in combating housing discrimination as an officer in the main fair-housing organization in the New York area. Wife Kate Abell ’78 recently semiretired from teaching, and they are traveling more. The Paul Newman household moved last year from Oregon to upstate New York. They are reconnecting with old friends and family members in the Northeast while Paul finishes his career at the chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries. They live in lovely Saratoga Springs and invite area classmates to get in touch. Marian Evans Melnick has lived around Boston for 30 years. She retired as a librarian three years ago and enjoys the altered rhythm of life by helping provide day care for her granddaughter. Daughter Emily Melnick ’13 lives in NYC working for a SPRING 2017 nonprofit, and they enjoy seeing her often. We extend deep condolences to Julie Berger Hochstrasser and husband Scott, whose daughter Heidi was killed in a car accident in December. We hold you in our hearts. 1978 Donna Caliendo Devlin dmcdevlin@aol.com No news to report—please email me! 1980 Martin Fleisher marty@meflaw.com Barry Koster is now an associate teaching professor of computer science at Georgetown. He moved to the D.C. area because his fiancée, who is in the Mexican foreign service, was posted to her embassy there. Like many of us, he reports feeling very lucky on a lot of fronts. Ida Oberman writes that the Community School for Creative Education, the Oakland, Calif., school she founded in 2011, got renewed with flying colors for another five years. “We’re now ‘at size,’ serving transitional kindergarten to eighth grade, and we’re the most diverse school in the state and the country’s first public Waldorf school. My wife, Lis, and I just celebrated our 21st anniversary together. Swarthmore friends continue to adorn our lives—with a New York visit to attend Richard Mann ’79’s surprise 60th birthday party and a viewing of Richard Osterweil ’74’s latest paintings as recent high points.” Internet freedom fighter Eben Moglen delivered part of the keynote speech at the 2016 Re:publica conference in Berlin, touching on the nature of the digital economy and the tyranny of online advertisers. His conclusions are not particularly optimistic, to say the least (bit.ly/EMoglen). Effective with the inauguration of President Trump, Anne Schuchat will be acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Readers of this column know that she has been principal deputy director since 2015. We hope this is a lifetime appointment. On a personal note, over the summer my bridge team won the Spingold, one of the two or three major U.S. bridge championships. Virtually all the world’s top players participated and it was a great thrill to win (bit.ly/ Spingold). On a somewhat less exciting note, I was named president of the U.S. Bridge Federation, which is charged with organizing the tournaments to determine the U.S. teams that enter the world championship. The five other eligible candidates all declined to run. 1982 David Chapman dchapman29@gmail.com Greetings from Charlottesville, Va.! Joe More shared information about the Swarthmore Football Reunion Dinner, held Dec. 3 at the Inn at Swarthmore, with 36 people, representing classes 1977 through 1986. “This gathering has grown by word of mouth from six guys getting together for dinner around the holidays about 30 years ago to what you see in the photo,” Joe reports. “The original group consisted of me, Steve McGrath, Joe Gallo, Bill Ellis, [the late] Tony Burton, and Greg Hansen.” Anne Bauman Wightman passed along terribly sad news: “Colin Wightman died unexpectedly Oct. 17. We had a memorial service in Quincy, Mass., where we have lived for just over a year. Both our daughters, Evelyn Wightman ’16 and Leslie Wightman, were here, as well as family and friends, including Celia Gelfman, Tom Sgouros, Anne-Marie Sherry, Ruth Haas, David Clemens, David Shaiken, Martha Sielman, Patricia Hazeltine ’83, Margaret Gillespie, Jason Green­ berg, Jacob Greenberg ’16, Lisa “Hershey” Hirschkop, and Alan Dixon.” Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2017 May 26–28 Spend Memorial Day weekend with your fellow Swarthmoreans alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu 1984 Karen Linnea Searle linnea.searle@gmail.com Erik Guyot and Sharon Chiang are delighted that 1-year-old daughter Christine Jean Guyot is a healthy, happy baby. “We hope more Swat friends will visit Taiwan,” he writes. “The island hosts the finest Chinese art in the world, arguably the freest speech in Asia, and the tallest mountains in Asia, outside the Himalayas.” Beth Armington sends her greetings. She’s enjoyed getting together with alumni in D.C. through the Swarthmore Book Club and hanging out with old friends Christopher “Kit” Mendelson and Mark Handwerger ’85. Beth celebrated the college graduation of her son last April. Work at the Department of Justice is busy with the current merger wave, and she’s looking ahead with more than the usual civil-servant anxiety about her next boss. Alan Rudy writes, “My co-authored book, Environments, Natures, and Social Theory: Towards a Critical Hybridity, was released in fall 2015, finally tipping the scales on tenure and promotion—late, but incrementally calming, nevertheless. I continue to serve as an associate editor of the journal Critical Sociology and am organizing a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the working seminar from which the articles in the first issue of Capitalism Nature Socialism were derived. The latter will possibly lead us back to Santa Cruz, Calif., this summer and the former to Cuba in the fall. Particularly after the election, it gets harder and harder as a faculty member to realize the public mission of higher education in a world of fiscal crisis, instrumental efficiencies, and students seeking job skills rather than an education.” Alan continues, “After plantar fasciitis and shoulder, knee, and partial-knee replacement surgeries over seven years, I finally called it quits on soccer coaching. To remain overbusy, however, my co-coach and I organized a trip to Oneonta, N.Y., for our baseball U12 team to play for a week at the Cooperstown All-Star Village last summer. I actually survived living in a one-room dorm with Shea and 10 other 11- and 12-year-olds, and our community-based team won two games out of seven against teams from Texas to California, Georgia to Ohio. Aiden, our 14-yearold, appears to be surviving soccer, swimming, baseball, marching band, symphonic band, and jazz band—as well as academics—in his freshman year of high school. We’ll see if anything gets dropped as time moves forward.” Alan concludes, “Over the last year, I’ve missed opportunities to see Miriam Wallace and Eben Weitzman but have stayed in touch with a good number of alumni—ahh, Facebook—including a very enjoyable reconnection with Bruce Venarde.” Mary Spayne writes, “I immigrated to Toronto about 10 years ago and am happy to report I’m now SPOTLIGHT ON … TOM BUTCAVAGE ’82 Tom Butcavage ’82, vice president and leader of the Higher Education Studio at the architecture firm SmithGroupJJR, was elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows. “I am grateful for this recognition,” Butcavage says, “for my work based on my belief in the power of innovative architecture to engage and inspire students.” More: bulletin.swarthmore.edu a proud Canadian (not a moment too soon). I am an epidemiologist and scientific writer, which enables me to marry my love of writing and my scientific skills. Also, I freelance, in the company of my cat—an even happier match. I love this solitary work; I also love plein air watercolor painting, which I do once a week with a group of friends around the city and everywhere else I happen to be. My husband, Bill, and I travel a lot: remote canoe tripping in Canada’s northern wilderness, which I love; hiking in France; and frequent visits to Portugal, where I grew up. Hugs to all my Swarthmore friends.” As for me, Linnea, I still live in Carlsbad, Calif. I just joined Playwrights Project, a nonprofit in San Diego that conducts playwriting residencies in schools and for more marginalized populations, including at-risk kids, foster youth, and the incarcerated. My older son, Calder, is experiencing his first real winter at the University of Chicago, and his younger brother, Powell, is celebrating his newly acquired driver’s license (as are his parents). I look forward to hearing from you soon! 1986 Karen Leidy Gerstel kgerstel@msn.com Jessica Russo Perez-Mesa jessicaperezmesa@ yahoo.com Leading the charge for the ’86ers who have abstained from contributing to the Bulletin for many decades, Drew Newitt writes that he and wife Jennifer Wilson Newitt ’85 have lived for eight years in Bayville, N.Y., where he is an admissions counselor for Embry-­ Riddle Aeronautical University and she teaches biology at the Friends Academy. Daughter Julia attends Brown, while son Tyler is at Embry-Riddle in Florida. When not working or dealing with aging parents, Drew is riding his new recumbent bike or piloting his flying club’s plane. Although sorry he missed our 30th Reunion, he proudly wears his garnet “Swarthmore 1986” sweatshirt—thanks, Neal Finkelstein! Alexander Gavis is senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Fidelity Investments in Boston, where his family has met annually with five other Swat families for 20 years. He has launched one son to college (UChicago), and the next son will be off in a year. “Visit if you’re in Boston.” Another new contributor, Ashley Cross, lives in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., in a little green Sears cottage with daughter Jasmine, 11. She is a full professor of English at Manhattan College. Congrats on her latest book, Mary Robinson and the Genesis of Romanticism. Also out with a new book, Cinema, Democracy, and Perfectionism, and reporting from LA is Josh­ ua Dienstag. He and wife Jennifer Mnookin teach at UCLA, where she is law school dean. Daughter Sophia is a high school senior, and son Isaac is in eighth grade. Sticking with the college-­ professor-couples theme, David Cateforis is an art SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 63 class notes history professor at the University of Kansas, where wife Beth teaches law. He is proud of son Alex, a KU sophomore who has grown to enjoy visiting museums with Dad. Jonathan Alger is in his fifth year as president of James Madison University in Virginia and wonders where the time went now that daughter Eleanor is a high school senior. Extending another invitation to come visit is Amy McMichael. She lives in Greensboro, N.C., with husband Ralph and a son who is a high school junior; their daughter is a freshman at Vanderbilt. Amy is the dermatology department chair at Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston–Salem, N.C. Deirdre Bell missed our reunion by just days, getting deployed to the U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for a oneyear rotation, where she is an anesthesiologist. She looks forward to her transfer this summer to the Naval Hospital Bremerton in Washington state. Tamara Payne-Alex reports from San Jose, Calif., where she is a manager with KinderCare Education and husband Mike teaches high school English. Daughter Kalaya graduates from Amherst this spring, and son Sias is a sophomore at Skidmore. Catherine Paplin’s big news is that she married Susan Hazelrig last summer, with John Huitema as best man. She credits Gwen Riles ’88 for introducing them 21 years ago. With stepson Cooper, they are moving from Staten Island to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Catherine is seeking a new role as an architect after owning a firm for 10 years. Bettina Lauf Forbes is also in transition, from 64 Swarthmore College Bulletin / co-founder of the infantand maternal-­healthand-happiness nonprofit Bestforbabes.org to an advisory role as she eyes her next social entrepreneurial project. Along with two teens, two cats, two birds, and one very patient husband, she lives in Red Bank, N.J. David Vinjamuri and his family live in Pleasantville, N.Y., with three kids under 7. He teaches marketing at NYU and writes the occasional Forbes column. A few years ago and quite by accident, one article brought him to the attention of the American Library Association. He has traveled the country ever since training librarians on how to unite to discover and promote new authors. Adam Summers teaches biomechanics at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories. As a rather nifty result of spending much of his life studying how fish move, he is Pixar’s “fabulous fish guy,” advising on ichthyology for Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. Many thanks to Cynthia Richie Terrell, the first to respond to my plea for updates. She and husband Robert live outside D.C., where they run FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for fairer voting systems, a national popular vote for president, universal voter registration, and other reforms. Does that get any more timely? She FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin SPRING 2017 also runs Representation­20/20, which focuses on winning gender parity for women in elected office through institutional reforms to the recruitment process and voting system. They are parents to a recent college graduate and two Haverford students. A huge thank-you to all who responded to our pleas for contributions—we love catching up with classmates. I, Karen, am guilty of having “abstained” for these past 30 years and now am co-class secretary. Irony, karma, poetic justice? 1990 Jim Sailer jim.sailer@gmail.com Sad news: Bridget Drury died in August. Bridget was a primary-care physician in Elk Grove Village, Ill., and is survived by husband Thomas Mathy Jr. and their three children. Tributes to Bridget show that she was a caring and dedicated professional. As one patient wrote, “I will remember Dr. Drury as an excellent doctor and a kind soul.” Our deepest condolences to Brid­ get’s family, friends, and patients. We also had news of two weddings. Sharon Marroquin married Miguel Marroquin (yes, same last name!) in 2014, although they had known each other since they danced for the same company 25 years ago. Sharon still lives in Austin, Texas, is a dual-language elementary teacher, and choreographs and performs ­whenever­ she can. She is an artist-in-residence at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center and is creating an evening-length piece, “Las Cuatro Estaciones.” Karin Wagner married Bernard Mohr in August in Petit Manan, Maine. A number of Swarthmoreans were there, including Carolyn Comiskey, Dave Feinstein, Charlotte Gill, Susan “Suma” McGourty, Lise Wagner ’85 (sister of the bride), Arthur Fink ’68, and Rudy and Libby Charles Amann ’57. Car­ olyn made a three-tiered, flower-bedecked, lemon-­ buttercream cake that one observer reported was “amazing” and was much admired by all attendees. Ruth Brown Walkup lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and consults on international organizational and professional development issues, much of it with the U.S. government. She returned from three months in Delhi, India, serving as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ interim health attaché. During the short posting, Ruth worked on air quality and health, integrative care with traditional Indian medical systems and Western medicine, and the enormous social impact that the Indian aging population will have in the coming decades. Ruth is in touch with Cigdem Oktem, who performed again in the D.C. Capital Fringe festival with her one-woman show, The Human Algorithm, which got rave reviews (one such review called it “wonderfully entertaining”). Lisa Byrne Miller writes: “Ed ’91 and I live outside Hanover, N.H. He’s a professor in Dartmouth’s history department, and I run study-abroad programs at Tuck, Dartmouth’s business school. We travel frequently for work, and our family (kids Sophia, 16, and Sean, 11) had the opportunity to spend extended periods in Vietnam and France while Ed did research. I feel more connected to Swarthmore than ever—at Tuck, I work closely with Kerry Laufer ’94; every year we have wonderful Tuck students who are Swat alumni, and now Sophia is interested in visiting Swarthmore as she starts to look at colleges.” Andy Mouer founded a general business-services law firm that expanded and is now called MouerHuston PC. Andy’s specialty is mergers and acquisitions, and the firm’s expansion allows them to do more litigation. They are based in Houston, in Andy’s home state of Texas. Congrats, Andy! Kevin and Rachael Hen­ riques Porter celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in 2016. Kevin was bitten by the triathlon bug; he did his first in 2015 and is training for another. Rachael and Kevin’s sons are now high schoolers, and college visits began last fall for their eldest, a junior. They also went to Jamaica to attend the 100th birthday party of Rachael’s grandmother. We picked up media updates—Martin Hunt was hired as a managing director by Emerging Growth Equities in King of Prussia, Pa. Congrats, Marty! Danielle Moss Lee was interviewed in the “Corner Office” business feature in The New York Times,. Danielle is CEO of the YWCA of the City of New York. Sonja Fritts wrote in with a great update, her first Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin ever: “I live on Bainbridge Island, Wash.—a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle—with my husband, Mike Griffin, and our four children, Kieran, 13, Ingrid, 11, Elsa, 9, and Anya, 6. I graduated from New York Law School in 1995, and after practicing for nine years, stayed home with my children while they were young. During that time, I volunteered extensively, practiced yoga, traveled to India, and participated in our Seattle Swarthmore Book Club, which kept me sane when I craved intellectual conversation. Most recently, I returned to work full time, practicing labor and employment law in the Seattle office of national law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. I love living in the woods on Bainbridge, where we can observe wildlife such as owls teaching their young to fly and hunt, while easily accessing Seattle city life. If ever in the neighborhood, please let me know.” Class of 1992, Dena Rin­ gold. Dena, husband David Gossett, and daughter Melissa, 3 1/2, welcomed Leah Ringold Gossett on Dec. 29. I’m always awaiting news of even younger offspring. Congratulations to Adam Haslett, whose 2016 novel, Imagine Me Gone, was on the longlist for the National Book Award for fiction. (I even recommended it to my mother-in-law.) Congrats also to Dana Calvo, whose television drama Good Girls Revolt was named a best new show of 2016 by Newsweek. And we’ll hope that congratulations are in order by next year for Stephanie Hirsch, who is running to be alderman (alderperson?) at-large for Somerville, Mass., where she has lived and worked for 13 years. I hope to see many of you at our 25th Reunion this Memorial Day Weekend! 1994 1992 Joanna Vondrasek joanna.vondrasek@gmail.com Libby Starling libbystarling@comcast.net Can you believe we are about to have our 25th Reunion? Or that those whippersnappers in the Class of 2017 were born well after we graduated by giving nametags to President Al Bloom? Fortunately, you’re only as old as you feel. Demonstrating our continued youth is our latest winner in the Class Notes competition of youngest child of a member of the Our class was busy writing during the past year. Joe McGinniss received critical acclaim for his novel Carousel Court and also penned “Lessons From My Father”—a touching tribute published in The New Yorker. Kari Hong reflected on the “sacred aspect of LGBT bars” and called for gun control after the Orlando, Fla., shootings on the Cognoscenti blog for WBUR, Boston’s NPR station. Shanalyna Palmer’s new TV show, Miss Winn’s Garden, was recognized with a Diamond Award in the Television Production Competition of the California Film Awards. Shanalyna produced and directed a script by Lucy Fazely with Brenda Porter (as Miss Winn) leading the cast to victory. “There is more in store for this wonderful heartfelt project that takes a look at one foster-care family’s journey towards love and understanding,” Shanaly­ na wrote on our class Facebook page. “Watch our trailer and find out more: misswinnsgarden. strikingly.com.” Although I, Joanna, did not see any ’94ers in 2016, I managed to see quite a few ’95 folks. Guian McKee ’92 and I had a lovely visit with Matt Peck ’95, Laura Bartley ’95, and their children in Charlottesville, Va., last summer, as Matt and Laura were on an East Coast car trip. The fact that their Oklahoma license plate was stolen from their car in front of our house, while unfortunate, did provide us with a bonus visit day while they replaced it. We also had an impromptu brunch with Melissa Kreider ’95 at a diner near Elizabethtown, Pa., in June. Just before Christmas, I took my son to get his hair cut, and as we entered his name on the waitlist, I saw the previous name was “Rohit M.” I spent a few minutes wondering if there could be another Rohit M. in Charlottesville when Rohit Malhotra ’95 wandered in, and we had a nice chat. 1996 1998 Gerardo Aquino aquinonyc@yahoo.com Rani Shankar rani_shankar@yahoo.com Melissa Clark melissa.a.clark@gmail.com Amita Sudhir amitasudhir@gmail.com In October, Jove Graham, Dom Sagolla, Ken Wil­ liams, Chris Henry, Jon Birge, and Scott Friesen ’97 joined dozens of others alums for the 35th anniversary of the a cappella group Sixteen Feet. This included a reunion concert in the Lang Performing Arts Center and multiple trips to the Tom Jones Diner. A few months prior, Jove directed a production of Of Thee I Sing, his first Gershwin musical; his 8-year-old daughter played Sonia Sotomayor. Jove looks forward to puppeteering the role of Nicky in a production of Avenue Q. Marc Pachon started a job as legal counsel for the Department of Homeland Security’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Section. Jason Zengerle participated in a PBS Frontline miniseries, “Divided States of America” (bit.ly/DividedStates). There is not much news to report, however, many of us stay in touch through social media. We had so much fun at our 20th Reunion that many of us have talked about crashing the party for the Class of ’97 (and any other class that will allow us to play Prince’s “7” at their dance party). If interested, Alumni Weekend is May 26–28. Save the date. Howdy and happy New Year, folks. We start with some uplifting news from Jamie Duckman: “Since my stroke (actually, two strokes and the accompanying seizures) on May 27, 2014, I have been going to rehab. What I lost was nearly of all my speech and the right side of body. (Hello, left hand!) After 2 1/2 years I returned to my job (municipal bonds with Bank of America Merrill Lynch). I can’t thank my family, co-workers, and friends enough. My wife, Emily, and Charley and Eala are doing fantastic.” Since 2004, Robert Monk has lived in West Philadelphia in a communal household where he’s started hosting a monthly music jam. He recently returned to Swarthmore as master electrician for Solar-States.com, a solar- and smart-energy electrical installer serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Mary Elizabeth Alvarez is moving to Milwaukee for a job at the Medical College of Wisconsin heading up their primary-care behavioral health integration project. “I’m taking a break now to enjoy my last Mardi Gras as a New Orleanian.” Party on, Mary Elizabeth! Also on the academic track is Noah Daniels. He is an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Rhode Island and lives in North Kingstown, R.I., with his SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 65 class notes wife and three ferrets. Jessica Howington sends an update from Louisville, Ky.: “Nancy Benson-Nicol moved from Louisville to Houston in the summer. Still, every time I see a bright-blue car (she had a blue Subaru), I get excited and then disappointed. In the last year, I’ve seen several ’96ers: Daniel Gottlieb in Durango, Colo.; Jonathan Evans, who visited Louisville twice for work; and Matt Trebelhorn, who lives in Lexington, Ky. My job as a behavior analyst is still amazing and lets me do all sorts of things: 1:1 dialectical behavior therapy, remote tele-supervision with a client in Hawaii, and homework help for overwhelmed parents of overloaded elementary-­ school kids. It’s always something different.” Rachel Breitman commiserated postelection with Shirley Salmeron, Tamala Montgomery, and Cat Laine in New York. The group planned to reconvene for the Women’s March on Washington in January. Vincent Jones visited Rachel and her family in D.C., and they all went museum-hopping. Others who greeted Vincent included Sharon Coleman and Giridhar Srinivasan. Also planning to march (in Des Moines, Iowa) in January was Emily Willits. I, Rani, was lucky to see her and her family over Thanksgiving when they visited the Delaware shore. Emily is an attorney and lives in Des Moines with husband Craig and sons Charlie and Owen. Graham Lucks claims to have spent most of the fall and winter at the Sacred Stone Camp on the Missouri River in North Dakota working as a 66 Swarthmore College Bulletin / private security contractor for Energy Transfer Partners. “While it was ultimately demoralizing to have the Obama administration reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline, we did shoot a firehose at some hippies—was happy to check that off my bucket list,” Graham writes. 2000 Michaela DeSoucey mdesoucey@gmail.com Emily Shu emily.n.shu@gmail.com Nice to hear from some first-time contributors. After Swat, Rafael Luna “took on many odd jobs, including with Barnes & Noble and Citibank. I went to grad school in 2004 for a master’s in special education. I also trained to be a Dahn yoga instructor and did that for three years.” This is now his 12th year as a special education teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y. Christina Sornito Carter, newly installed as an assistant professor of anthropology at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., is co-directing the launch of the Appalachian State Ethnography Lab. She writes, “I also am the mom of Pancho, the sweetest German shepherd mix that ever chased a squirrel.” George Flaherty was promoted with tenure to associate professor of Latin American and U.S. Latino art history at the University of Texas at Austin. His first book came out in August, Hotel Mexico: Dwelling on the ’68 Movement. Samira Mehta, an assis- SPRING 2017 tant professor of religious studies at Albright College, was awarded a fellowship at the Library of Congress to research contraception and American religion. Jocelyn Kea Manigo completed an educational leadership doctorate at Widener University, where she is an academic coach. Kat Vidal is happily working in New York City again after spending five years in New Jersey. She works at the Speyer Legacy School and would love to hang out with nearby Swattie educators. In Connecticut, Jessica Cuni, visual arts program head at Choate Rosemary Hall, and husband Tim Applebee ’03 celebrated the holidays with Choate colleagues Marcia Landes­ man ’91 and Alex Curtis ’89 and Alex’s wife, Beth Fecko-Curtis ’89. Alison Young is a marine biologist and co-leader of Citizen Science at the California Academy of Sciences. She and her co-leader received the 2017 Local Heroes for Environmental Education Award from Bay Nature. Alison reports, “I live with my partner in Sonoma, where I have a backyard food garden that’s slightly too large, and spend many weekends hiking and kayaking in the area.” Isiuwa Iyahen still lives in Barbados, “working to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment with U.N. Women.” Class of 2000 families continue to grow. I, Mi­ chaela DeSoucey, husband John, and son Jasper welcomed Zachary in September. On leave, I did PR for my book, Contested Tastes: Foie Gras and the Politics of Food. We joke that I had two babies in one year. Nadia and Jerry Meli­ char had Rose Rai in May, who joined brother Luke. The couple hired their first babysitter to attend Sarah Archer’s Manhattan book signing for Midcentury Christmas. Jerry shifted careers into digital advertising operations at Carrot Creative, Vice Media’s digital agency. He occasionally sees Victor Pineiro, who works in the same building. Dana Nashaat-Liu and husband Sean Drewett had son Alistair in July. Leslie Young and family had daughter Parker in November. Leslie works in Copenhagen with the U.N. Refugee Agency. Dean and Reena Vaidya Krishna had daughter Ellora, to the delight of siblings Asha and Veer. Morgan Adam became a dad in November. “Debatably influenced by that day’s supermoon, Skylar Rose was born three weeks and 18 hours ahead of schedule, derailing Mom and Dad’s plan for a home birth. Due to her cuteness, Mom and Dad are finding it impossible to hold a grudge.” Eva Allan writes, “Our rainbow baby, Kai August, was born healthy in July after a fraught pregnancy. He is adored by his older siblings and all who see him. I’m taking time off from a postdoc to cherish some baby time. He came home from the hospital on the first anniversary of buying our house, a fixer-upper in Berkeley, Calif.” Pete and Becca Newlin Hutchinson moved near Portland, Maine, and had Violet, who joins sibs Xander and Eloise. Pete is an orthopedic hand surgeon, and Becca is a hospice and palliative care doctor. In another full household, Sean and Catherine Mont­ gomery Hearne had son Isaac, who joins Charlotte, Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2017 May 26–28 Spend Memorial Day weekend with your fellow Swarthmoreans alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu Gavin, Patrick, three cats, and several race cars. Rochelle Arms married Daniel Nerenberg in the fall. Rochelle is in her fourth year of a Ph.D. program in conflict analysis and resolution at George Mason University and is a proud auntie to Brooklyn neighbor Prachi Patankar’s baby. Prachi is a senior program officer at Brooklyn Community Foundation. She and her partner had their baby in the fall and visited Prachi’s family in India in December. Finally, Lars Jan’s global art and activism project, Holoscenes, has been widely featured. Enjoy a preview at ­bit.ly/­ ­Holoscenes. 2002 Tanya Wansom swarthmore2002@gmail.com Despite getting together many years post-Swat, Ariel Kobylak writes that the Quaker matchbox struck again, as she and Chris Conaway married in September in a small beach ceremony in Ocean City, Md. They live in Philly, where Chris works at the Red Cross and Ariel is at the Children’s Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin Hospital of Philadelphia. Delonte Gholston ’03 married Claire Wiggins Oct. 3 amid Hurricane Matthew in Durham, N.C.; they live in Pasadena, Calif. In baby news, Melanie Hirsch and Michael Sanders had Alden Sanders-Hirsch on Sept. 5. Alden made his first visit to Swarthmore just three months later. Ben Schweigert and Samara Freemark had Emmeline Rose Schweigert on Oct. 28. They write that she’s adorable and much adored by brother Theodore. Damian and Jeanne Gardner Gutierrez had Elise Emerson on Sept. 1. Jeanne is taking a break from dissertation work at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, but continuing part-time research for the new Center for Women’s History at the New-York Historical Society. Patrick Dostal is very busy with babies, now with three under 3, after welcoming Jacob Lawrence Dostal in December. Siblings Kaitlyn, 2, and Andrew, 1, seem to approve. Zenebe and Mitzie-Ann Davis Woldegebriel had Joshua Zenebe, who joins sister Blen-Rose. Mitzie is chief of gynecologic oncology at Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Atlanta, where she started working in August. Andrew Alderete works publicity at a company that produces concerts in which an orchestra plays a score live in a concert hall as an entire film is shown. He has been immersed in the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, Dreamworks Animation, Gladiator Live, and more. He also likes to run in the mountains with William, his new golden retriever. Zhiling Trowbridge practices family medicine and acupuncture in Grand Rapids, Mich. She and her husband bought an old Victorian house. “We are enjoying fixing it up and taking care of a new puppy, Amos, who likes to play Frisbee,” she writes. Charles Muntz’s first book, Diodorus Siculus and the World of the Late Roman Republic, has been published. Keetje Kuipers writes that she, wife Sarah Fritsch Kuipers ’04, and daughter Nela are enjoying the mountains and the Puget Sound after moving to Seattle. Keetje teaches at the nonprofit Hugo House for writers and is an associate editor for Poetry Northwest. Mimi Hanaoka is an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Richmond. She earned a Ph.D. from Columbia in 2011 and specializes in Islamic history, Iran, and Middle East–East Asia relations. Her book, Authority and Identity in Medieval Islamic Historiography: Persian Histories from the Peripheries, was published in September. I, Tanya Wansom, still live in Bangkok with my family. In addition to serving as a study physician for individuals with acute HIV infection, I also work with academic and government partners to set up cohorts of men who have sex with men and transgender women to measure HIV incidence in three cities in Thailand. Finally, friends of the late Alice Hershey are raising funds for a scholarship. If you are interested in donating, please visit gift. swarthmore.edu and list the Alice Hershey ’02 Memorial Fund as your gift designation. 2004 Daniel Loss Rebecca Rogers swat04classnotes@gmail.com Many thanks to Njideka Akunyili Crosby for compiling the Class Notes for the last 12 years. Abigail Frost works at the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq. Brendan Moriarty writes, “I became a father last December to Avery Hewitt Moriarty. He’s healthy and amazing, and I love being a father. I continue to manage the San Francisco Bay Area conservation program for the Trust for Public Land, going on my seventh year. It remains rewarding and challenging work.” He was on hand to celebrate the wedding of Matthew Goldstein. Matt got married in September to “the love of my life, Myra Sack, in the beautiful mountains of Vermont.” He lives in Boston and leads translational medicine at Neon Therapeutics, a company developing cancer immunotherapies. Jake Beckman teaches art and design full time at the Community College of Philadelphia and is settling into a new West Philly home with wife Lizzy and daughter Cleo, 2, who loves painting, watching otters swim at the zoo, and eating olives. Jake also works on public art projects and other gallery-based projects out of his Philly studio. Marielena Velez de Brown graduated from a preventive medicine and public health residency in June with a master’s of public health and is now the deputy commissioner of public health for Monroe County, N.Y. She writes, “I’m happy to host Swattie visitors to Rochester, N.Y., if anyone wants to come play in the snow or at the National Museum of Play (a great place to bring kids of all ages or adults who are still kids at heart). Rochester is actually quite a lovely place in the summer with lots of water activities (sailing, jet-skiing, kayaking, etc.) on Lake Ontario, the Genesee River, or the Erie Canal.” Former Hallowell roommates Khadijah White and Elaina Barroso each welcomed happy baby boys this year. Elaina’s son Xavier and Khadijah’s son Akinsunmade are already planning a takeover of “The Big Chair.” Amir Jaima finished his philosophy Ph.D. from SUNY–Stony Brook in 2014 and landed a tenure-track gig in Texas A&M’s philosophy department; he started there in the fall. In November 2015, he and partner Amma had son Manu Abudu Asare-Jaima. Elinore Kaufman and Maria Alvarez are back in NYC, where Elinore loves life as a surgery resident, Maria moves her clients toward self-actualization as a hairstylist, and Maggie, 2, enjoys every cement mixer and backhoe in the Second Avenue subway construction. Recent highlights include visits from Maggie’s Uncle Kellan Baker, glimpses of Dan Shargel and his awesome son Isaak, 1, and a recent trip to Portland, Ore., to visit David Conners Isaak ’03 and meet the exquisitely delightful Franny. Elinore was thrilled to be part of the welcoming committee for Talia Young ’01’s new adorable baby, Max, along with Jenny Lunstead ’03 and Jesse Young ’05. Elinore and Maria have enjoyed reuniting in NYC with Sarah Hughes and Jonah Gold, though they do miss Philly and their many feasts with Talia, Anna Morgan, and Sa’ed Atshan ’06. Anna, for her part, misses Elinore’s home-cooked meals, and notes that her “level of self-actualization has dropped since Maria left, and I’ve put my hair in the hands of a much-less-talented stylist.” Adrienne Mackey got married in October to her partner of 10 years, Bradley. Stephanie Gironde married Robert Jackson Best III in August in Camden, Maine. The ceremony took place in an amphitheater reminiscent of Swarthmore’s. Amy Robinson and Andrew Gregory helped the happy couple celebrate. That weekend, Amy introduced her newborn son to summer road trips, and Andrew was memorably bumped from his spot on a harbor cruise by members of the legendary pop band UB40. After more than eight years together, Evan Moses married Susanne Cooper in April 2016 in a ceremony in San Fran­ cisco. They had a fantastic time dancing and partying with guests, including Art Yelsey ’73 and best man SPRING 2017 FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin / Swarthmore College Bulletin 67 class notes SPOTLIGHT ON … EVAN TRAGER ’08 Evan Trager ’08 received the Resident Training Award in Substance Abuse Disorders from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “Ever since my wife, Catalina Martinez ’08, and I became foster parents to two young children, I’ve been aligning my career towards researching ways to improve the mental health of foster children and children in the juvenile justice setting,” he says. “This award allows me to further my professional training, learning skills and techniques for the generation and analysis of clinical data.” More: bulletin.swarthmore.edu Aaron Cantor ’06. Sachin Kale got married in August. Rebecca Rog­ ers, Danny Loss, Rasika Teredesai, Kirsten Van­ nice, Elaina Barroso, and Anna Morgan attended. We, Rebecca Rogers and Danny Loss, still live in Somerville, Mass., where Rebecca is a primary-care physician and Danny teaches in Harvard’s history and literature program. Mostly, though, we read books about owls, play with trains, and pretend to be in a marching band—all thanks to son Gabriel, 2. 2006 Wee Chua wchua1@gmail.com I hope this set of Class Notes finds you well in this brave new world. It has been wonderful serving as class secretary—can’t believe it has been 10 years. I look forward to continuing to serve the Class of ’06. I’m still in Seattle, where our Pacific Northwest 68 Swarthmore College Bulletin / presence continues to grow. James Madden moved away from Boston for the first time since leaving for Swarthmore almost 15 years ago. He accepted a job with Enterprise Community Partners to work on Seattle’s housing crisis by providing funding and technical assistance to community developers creating affordable, mixed-use housing. William ’05 and Anisha Chandra Schwarz are in Seattle. Anisha will finish a pediatric neurology residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2018, while Bil­ ly supports the family as a public defender for King County. They recently introduced son Narayan, 1, to Taiwanese food with the help of myself, Wee Chua, who frequently sees Anisha at work in his capacity as the hospital’s emergency medicine fellow. Anisha reports that residency + motherhood = missing many Swat-related milestones, including Rebecca Brubaker’s wedding, Raghu Karnad ’05’s Seattle book signing, hosting traveling Swatties (Amara Telleen and Ber­ nadette Baird-Zars), and SPRING 2017 our 10th Reunion. If you are in Seattle, please stop by the hospital and say hi. In March 2015, Cortland “Blake” Setlow Tölva and Karen Rustad Tölva married in Marin County, Calif., with eight Swatties attending. Karen and Blake had their first child, Bjorn James Wulfric Tölva, Oct. 15. They live in Redwood City, Calif., where Blake is an iOS system charging engineer with Apple. Katia Lom’s film Double Note (bit.ly/KatiaLom) was an official selection of the Sarasota Film Festival and Bay Area International Children’s Film Festival. Miriam Zoila Pérez wrote about her nuanced feelings about the death of Fidel Castro on Fusion.net (bit.ly/MiriamPerez). Krista Spiller married Ross Aikins in December in Philadelphia with many Swatties tearing it up on the dance floor, including Rhiannon Graybill (who also emceed the ceremony), Sonali Shahi Nii ’04 and Patrice Berry Addy, Simone Boyle ’07, Anna Ruff ’09, Vanessa Wells Torti ’08, Cassie Barnum, Catharine Parnell, Erica George Baugh ’07, Jesse Young ’05, Anna Morgan ’04, and Professor Allen Schneider. Patrick Hart and Scott Storm ’08 moved to Brooklyn, where they enjoy hanging out with neighborhood Swatties. Patrick started a job at the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance providing support, oversight, and technical assistance to programs that improve opportunities for young people in high-poverty NYC neighborhoods. Maddox Holden Piper was born punctually on his due date, Dec. 9. Parents Christi and Mark Piper are thrilled with their firstborn. Jon Greenberg migrated a couple of miles east from San Francisco to Alameda, Calif. He loves living on the water and enjoys commuting via ferry each day. He is busy preparing for his first kid and his last Frisbee season but welcomes all visitors to the Bay Area. Sa’ed Atshan completed his annual class trip with his Swarthmore students to Israel and Palestine. He’ll continue to inspire future generations as an assistant professor of peace and conflict studies. Emily Wistar and Dan Hammer ’07 welcomed Lilian Ada Hammer, Class of 2038, into their family. Emily is on the faculty at UC–San Francisco Medical School, but took six months off to teach Lily to sing. Dan returned to UC–Berkeley after a yearlong stint in the Obama administration. He will spend his waking hours teaching Lily to ignore Emily and especially her singing instructions. Hope 2017 is off to a good start. Please send updates. I hope our paths will cross this year. 2008 Mark Dlugash mark.dlugash@gmail.com From D.C. to Florianópolis—working life: Camila Harrigan-Labarca stills lives near D.C. and works in international development at Creative Associates International. There, she writes budgets for proposals submitted to USAID and the State Department. After a lovely stint in San Diego, Marissa Davis moved to New York to become network lead at an awesome organization called DataKind. She has enjoyed reconnecting with classmates in the city. Rasa Petrauskaite is in the Bay Area working at Merrill Lynch as a financial adviser. Matthew Kurman has been in Seattle for six years. He was on the founding team at Convoy, an Uber-for-trucking company now in its second year of operations. Mat­ thew is always looking for smart people to help on his mission, so if anyone is interested in applying, email matt@convoy.com. Rita Kamani-Renedo lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. She teaches 11th-grade U.S. history and English at the International High School at Prospect Heights, a public high school serving recently arrived immigrant youths. She is grateful for her Swat community in and out of NYC. Anna Mello still lives in Florianópolis, Brazil, working as a science teacher at a bilingual middle school. She met up with sister Maria Mello and Patrick Lindsey in Nashville, Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin Tenn., in July for some good beer and food. Doctors and fellows: Allison Barlow Chaney finished her computer science Ph.D. at Princeton. Ishita Kharode moved to NYC in July to start a pediatric endocrinology fellowship at New York– Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In the news: Nicole Nfo­ noyim-Hara was awarded a Loft Mentor Series award for fiction (bit.ly/ NicoleN-H). Matthew Armstead received the 2016 Frankel-Adair Scholarship for higher ed. In a profile on the open platform Medium, he discussed queer activism, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, and issues facing the LGBTQ community (bit.ly/MArmstead). Celebrations: Chris and Laura Cass Caruso’s daughter Gillian Christina was born Dec. 9, at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21 inches. John ’06 and Rachel Turner Egan had their first son, Olin Turner Egan, Nov. 30. Rachel also received a certification in hand therapy in May. Yafeng Li and Wenxin Du had son Marcus Pingxin Li May 12. He lives in Philly and visited Swarthmore at least four times with parents and/or grandparents in his first six months, enjoying it more each time. Yafeng finishes his M.D.–Ph.D. program at Penn this year. Wenxin is a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board in D.C. They always welcome the opportunity to connect with Swatties visiting Philly or D.C. The year 2016 was great for Cristina Schrum-­ Herrera. In June she gave birth to Nina Rosa Schrum-Herrera, who smiles incessantly and has a ravenous appetite like her mother. Cristina also graduated from law school and got a great job at a plaintiff-side employment law firm in San Francisco. She hopes to learn a new dance form this year. She still hikes and travels with husband Ryan and friends, cooks Asian and Latin American cuisines, and salsa dances on weekends. Salseros should hit her up on Facebook to go clubbing. Joseph Borkowski and Genevra Pittman had Elise Dale Borkowski on May 26. Elise is named, in part, after her very excited great-grandmother Dale Shoup Mayer ’47, who talks about her Swarthmore days every visit. Genevra has worked at the New England Journal of Medicine for three years, and Joseph has been at Harvard’s Language Resource Center for two. They live in Somerville, Mass., with two cats. Finally, George Dahl enjoys his job as a machine learning research scientist on the Google Brain team. An article about his team was published in The New York Times Magazine (bit. ly/GDahl). 2010 Brendan Work theworkzone@gmail.com Once in the beautiful yore, this space was full of 20X alumni, prancing and gamboling in the arbor. Now, the wildlife numbers but 14 specimens, ambling blankly through the wood. Look at their lonely expressions! Their very existence, enchanting though they are, is endangered by their inability to write back to their class secretary. Yes, well-spotted! In the distance you can faintly glimpse Jenny Akchin working with John Krinsky ’91 in New York to publish a revisionist interpretation of the Red Brigades’ kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro through close readings of the Lincoln assassination as it appears in postwar Italian highschool textbooks. Nearby you can just make out Hannah Epstein, teaching music at Community Partnership Charter School in Brooklyn, and the unmistakable outline of a Matt Thurm. Matt’s latest effort, Crown Heights, had its world premiere in the narrative competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, while his present-day urban-Western parable 11:55 hits theaters this summer. Truly, young wilderness scouts, this barren shore we call “the East Coast” once teemed with Swatties eagerly writing in to say what they’d done. Now only the hardiest denizens can manage this task, such as the rugged Kathryn Riley, who is the volunteer softball coach for the alma mater and has reconnected with other (theoretical) classmates around Philadelphia, and the robust Roseanna Sommers, who moved to Cambridge, Mass., for a one-year research fellowship with the Behavioral Insights Group at Harvard. This habitat even boasted the likes of Ashley Miniet, but now that she’s graduated from Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, she’s migrated south and started a pediatric medicine residency at Emory. In such balmy climes, you’re likely to observe the peripatetic Justin diFelici­ antonio, erstwhile substi- tute teacher in southwest Georgia, ashram graduate, and recent visitor to ­Serbia and Kathmandu. Few are the wild creatures left in the western steppe, replete though it once was with Swarthmorean species. Liz Lopez graduated from UC–Davis School of Medicine in June and decided to pursue a career in anesthesiology, moving up to Portland, Ore., with her fiancé to complete an intern year in internal medicine, though she’ll be in Boston this summer. The rarely sighted capoeira artist Caitlin O’Neil moved to Sacramento for a job with the California legislative analyst’s office providing nonpartisan budget and policy advice to the Legislature on California’s prisons, jails, and sentencing laws, and Madeleine Laupheimer graduated from Stanford Law School in June. After moving to Massachusetts to take the bar, she started clerking for a judge on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C. and was privileged to be the maid of honor at the wedding of Ariel Horowitz and Garth Griffin ’09. This startling specimen then helped Helen Stott move into her new house in New Jersey along with Simone Fried. Can you hear that soft rustling in the grass? That’s G Patrick, Pittsburgh practitioner doing his clinical rotations in trauma surgery. He notes FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2017 May 26–28 Spend Memorial Day weekend with your fellow Swarthmoreans alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu that he can resist the temptation to take bites of his patients for up to 30 minutes in the OR, and deeply misses the salsa scene. Farther west, you will see the tracks of a very successful predator: none other than Stephanie Appiah. She joined the startup casino company JACK Entertainment to buy and flip Caesars properties in Ohio, having turned around three casinos and rehired 3,200 people in six months. And those magnificent birds in the sky? That’s Nicco Moretti and Marina Tempelsman, whose brilliant play Room 4 was a Critic’s Pick and called “very funny” by The New York Times. It has been observed among these endangered beasts that while they neglect to write to their class officers, they do conduct informal reunions under the guise of their wedding celebrations. This year Anne Miller was wed to Daniel Ueda with Carey Pietsch, Kaz Uyehara, Michele Perch, Pam Costello, Charlie Mo, Jaymes Fairfax-Columbo, Johanna Bond, Omari Faakye, Nadja Mencin, Ben Good, Helen Hougen, Caitlin O’Neil, Julia Wro­ bel, Casey Osborn, Danny Friel, Reid Wilkening, and Dina Kopansky ’11 in attendance. Out in Philadelphia, Dylan Langley SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 69 class notes married wife Jennifer with Morgan Langley ’11, Pat­ rick Christmas ’08, Rory Stackpole ’09, JP Faunes ’08, Mike Bonesteel ’08, Evan Nesterak ’09, Alex Imas, Andres Freire ’11, Matt Allen, Brendan Grady ’09, Omari Faakye, Ray Zuniga ’11, and Margot Adams in the crowd. Finally, the lowly secretary to whom these missives were addressed was married himself—Brendan Work to Jessi Cahoon—and was supernaturally fortunate to have seen the following wild critters: Alyssa Work ’08, Alex Friedman ’09, Chris Compton ’09, Luke Rampersad, Nicco Moretti, Marina Tempelsman, Su­ zanne Winter, Claire Noble ’14, Brigette Davis, and all the way from literally Antarctica, the irrepressible Wiley Archibald. Congratulations to all! There once was a time when everything that crawled or swam or flew would faithfully write in to its class secretary. But do not shed a tear, little explorers, though that time is gone. It is just the way. 2012 Maia Gerlinger maiagerlinger@gmail.com Not to get #political, but it’s January and sometimes it’s difficult to feel FOLLOW US on Facebook at facebook.com/ SwarthmoreBulletin 70 Swarthmore College Bulletin / as though not everything is terrible all the time. To reassure you, here’s a list of what your incredibly accomplished classmates are up to. You are all superheroes. Be responsible and actively use your powers for good. New England: Adam Chuong begins a master of industrial design program at the Rhode Island School of Design. Solange Hilfinger-Pardo graduates from Yale Law School in May, after which she will be an honors attorney for the Consumer Protection Bureau—“assuming it still exists,” she says. She defends homeowners in foreclosure through her law school clinic. Boston: Natalia CoteMuñoz lives in Cambridge, Mass., where she is pursuing a public policy master’s at the Harvard Kennedy School. Julian Leland and Avery Davis are still going to school. Gabriela Morales is a second-year associate at Goodwin Procter. She specializes in corporate work for technology and life-sciences companies. New York: Callie Feingold lives in Harlem and is a human resources specialist at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. William Campbell is finishing his MBA at Columbia, as is Joseph O’Hara. Hanna Kozlowska lives in Brooklyn, where she is finishing up coverage of the 2016 presidential election cycle for Quartz Media. She has a kitten. Kara Stoever is at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, doing rotations and trying to decide what kind of doctor she will be. Ben Hattem wrote about abuse and neglect inside New York psychiatric wards on BuzzFeed (bit.ly/BHattem). Philadelphia/D.C./Baltimore: Zachary Weiner SPRING 2017 is learning to be a rabbi while simultaneously working as a “baby-chaplain,” a term that is very confusing to me. “I wear ugly ergonomic shoes but a cute bowtie,” he adds, helpfully. Margret Lenfest is in her second year of vet school. Adam Bortner is enjoying the clinical years of medical school. Sara Blanco is pursuing her master of public policy at George Washington University, where she cochairs the Women’s Leadership Fellows Program. She works at Running Start, training young women to run for office. California: Jonathan Gluck finished grad school at the University of Maryland and now works for Apple and lives in San Jose. Arsean Maqami is leaving WeWork after three years to become the development director for a residential developer in San Francisco. Tania Doles left UC–San Diego with a master’s and moved to LA to open a small business with her partner that specializes in professional audio equipment. Andreas Bastian works on large 3-D printers at Autodesk. He travels frequently to Haiti to develop low-cost 3-D-printable upper-limb prostheses. Andrew Stromme lived in Taiwan from June to September and left Google in December for his own language startup. He lives in San Francisco. Katharine Clark is the marketing and communications manager at Khan Lab School, an independent school associated with the Khan Academy. Misc.: Nicholas Rhinehart is still in graduate school at Carnegie Mellon. He does not have any pets. Jennifer Yi continues to work on a clinical psychol- ogy Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina and, more important, is now a proud dog mom. Frances Hunter is in the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor. I, Maia Gerlinger, alternately cajole and threaten 13-year-olds to try to get them to read. Elan Silverblatt-Buser works on a farm with his brother outside Albuquerque, N.M. Their work was featured in an article about inspiring innovations in greenhouse farming (bit.ly/ElanS-B). International: Brice Jordan joined the Foreign Service as a consular officer and is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He wants visitors. Michael Xu left his job at Strikingly and the city of Shanghai and now lives in Beijing. CAPTIONED! “The housing shortage on campus must be more severe than I thought.” —Judith Leeds Inskeep ’60 “Having ‘green’ buildings is getting a little out of hand, isn’t it?” —Geralyn Esposito P’16 “Do you really think that this new dorm will attract more applicants from Greenland?” —Bob Cushman ’71 “Hmm. They must be converting the Sproul Observatory dome to a changing room on Parrish Beach.” —Deborah Maraziti Skapik ’91 “With so many students applying and enrolling, we needed to do something to cool the place off.” —Alexander Gavis ’86 + See more captions: bulletin.swarthmore.edu Share your pics—on campus and off—on Instagram: @swarthmorebulletin, #swatbulletin 2014 Brone Lobichusky blobichusky@gmail.com The first column of the new year finds the Class of 2014 making significant career changes and advancing in their graduate studies. I am always immensely impressed to learn about my classmates’ academic undertakings, inspiring careers, and exciting adventures. Western U.S.: Imoleayo Abel left his job at Epic Systems in wintry Wisconsin and moved to sunny San Diego to start a mechanical engineering Ph.D. at UC–San Diego. Josh Hallquist is still at Intersection and was promoted to marketing manager. Frank Mondelli entered a Stanford doctoral program for Japanese literature, while his lovely wife, Riana Shah, works on an education-technology startup and is looking for a technical co-founder. If you are a technical co-founder, reach out to Riana. Middle U.S.: Paul Cato is in his second year of struggling for a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought (along with Danielle Charette, who is a year ahead). In the fall, the epilepsy-awareness group he co-founded released a series of videos about its members’ experiences with seizures and epilepsy. Paul’s video focuses on his struggles with albeism. Katie Lytle is in her first year of the MBA/master of sports administration program at Ohio University. She will receive her MBA in June after a two-week trip to Italy to complete a consulting project. Next spring, she will graduate from the MSA program. Eastern U.S.: Carolyn Anderson is working on a linguistics Ph.D. at ­UMass–Amherst. After two years of apprenticeships and entry-level positions, Madeline Charne is now a successful freelance theater artist in Philadelphia. She loves her new work and is primarily a dramaturge, stage manager, and teaching artist. At the Philly Fringe Festival, she performed in Scarlet Letters with Patrick Ross ’15, Kimaya Diggs ’15, and Michaela Shuchman ’16. Most recently, she was in New York presenting Holden, a piece that was highly recommended by The New York Times and Time Out. She plans to pursue a graduate program in the next year. Marian Firke is back in the classroom as an apprentice teacher at the Sheridan School in D.C., teaching lower-­ school homeroom and middle-school science. Previously, Marian was the program coordinator at the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, supporting statewide sexual-assault prevention programs related to child sexual abuse, college sexual and dating violence, and the military. She trained hundreds of college administrators across the state and represented Maryland at a meeting convened as part of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. She is very proud of all the progress survivors and advocates in Maryland have made in changing state law. Cameron French started Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2017 May 26–28 Spend Memorial Day weekend with your fellow Swarthmoreans alumniweekend. swarthmore.edu working in the Penn psych lab of psychologist and science writer Angela Duckworth. He is also the editor for Behavioral Scientist, a startup created by Swatties. In the fall, Danny Hirschel-Burns started a political science Ph.D. at Yale. He is studying comparative politics, specifically state-building and violence. He hopes to obtain a grant to study French and begin dissertation research in Francophone West Africa this summer. Stephanie Lechich is wrapping up her first year in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at Long Island University–Brooklyn. Another Epic Systems alum, David Nahmias is now in his second year of an electrical engineering program at the University of Maryland–College Park. He is researching at the FDA on neuro-prosthetics for amputees and understanding brain signals through electrophysiology. He still plays volleyball and always has fun meeting up with D.C.-area Swatties. Melissa O’Connor has a kitten named Tux, who wants to be a puppy. Arya Palakurthi joined Edgemont Capital Partners in New York, a midmarket investment bank focused on health-care services, sell-side mergers, and acquisitions. Aarthi Reddy is in her first year of medical school at George Washington University. She is becoming more familiar with the five-minute walk from her apartment to class, but anatomy lab keeps her pretty busy. Alison Ryland moved near Boston with her two cats and works for Ted Chan ’02 at a small study-app company in Cambridge, Mass. She plans to apply to grad school in the fall. Sarah Timreck completed her first year as a master’s candidate at the Elliott School at George Washington. She is pursuing an M.A. in Middle East studies and is working at the Middle East Institute this spring while taking classes and exploring everything D.C. has to offer. Abroad: After a summer of racing in the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program, Robert Fain left D.C. to begin a master’s in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he ran into Will Schulz ’13. Stuart Russell is in Dakar, Senegal, for a year as a Princeton in Africa fellow with the public-health nongovernmental organization Population Services International. After two years at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Beijing, Collin Smith began a graduate program at the Hopkins–Nanjing Center in September. He expects to graduate in June with a certificate in Chinese and American studies. The author: In addition to her Temple medical school studies, Brone Lobichusky also organized the medical school’s annual formal, set up regular health screen- ings at homeless shelters in North Philadelphia, and attended her first (of, hopefully, many) Mummers Parade. She was last seen in the Temple library double-fisting Starbucks venti espressos. She plans to rejoin the human world (and her third year of medical school) on May 1 upon the completion of Step One, the first (of, unfortunately, many) standardized medical licensing exams. Brone looks forward to learning clinical procedures during her third and fourth years of medical school. 2016 Editor’s note: Your class needs a scribe! If you are interested in becoming 2016’s class secretary, please contact Class Notes Editor Elizabeth Slocum at eslocum1@ swarthmore.edu. SPRING 2017 / Swarthmore College Bulletin 71 spoken word We need to invest in strengthening the core academic mission of the College with a special focus on connecting the liberal arts disciplines and engineering to each other and to the outside world. Third, increased access and inclusion. We need to invest more resources in financial aid and in the programs and funds that help us to meet the “hidden costs” of a Swarthmore education. Fourth, creating vital spaces. We need to invest in campus facilities to ensure that they more adequately support the values of a Swarthmore education. MAKING AN IMPACT by Jonathan Riggs A YEAR AND A HALF after her arrival, Swarthmore President Valerie Smith’s enthusiasm for her work remains palpable. Whether you bump into her at an alumni gathering in Hong Kong, making a speech in Denver, or even taking a quiet stroll up Magill Walk, her ever-present smile is her trademark. It’s fully on display today as she describes the College’s historic new campaign, “Changing Lives, Changing the World.” Why is now a good time to launch the campaign? More than ever, we need to support the College’s core mission: to teach students to think critically, to distinguish fact from fiction and valid arguments from specious claims, to write and to speak persuasively, to solve problems, to work collaboratively, to contribute to the common good, and to participate actively in democratic society. How are all of our community members informing your vision? They share a sense of curiosity about ideas and about the world. I hear how proud they are of the College’s efforts to provide educational opportunities to all qualified students, whatever their financial circumstances. I also hear that they yearn for more opportunities to spend time with other members of the Swarthmore community. What are the campaign’s priorities? First, enhancing our social impact. We need to invest in our ability to enhance the common good, a principle upon which the College was founded. Second, connecting the liberal arts. 72 Swarthmore College Bulletin / SPRING 2017 While the campaign will make lots of new opportunities and positive campus changes possible, what won’t change about the College? Swarthmore will remain defined by its commitment to inclusivity, to academic rigor, and to preparing people to value the importance of learning throughout their lives. I look forward to seeing the impact this campaign will have on our ability to continue to be bold and innovative. Anything else you’d like to say? When you invest in Swarthmore, your dollars have an exponential impact. Just as the investment previous generations made in your education allowed you to go out into the world and change lives, so, too, will your donations— combined with others’—create opportunities for future students to make a difference in the world around them. Giving to an institution that has shaped your life and the lives of your loved ones is a joy and an opportunity. As Maya Angelou once wrote, “Giving liberates the soul of the giver.” + MORE: lifechanging.swarthmore.edu LAURENCE KESTERSON LAURENCE KESTERSON How can we better engage with both the campaign and the College? Attend events, connect with one another, and encourage friends and family to give. The campaign will succeed only if we all commit to giving as generously as our means allow. This campaign is not just for the wealthiest members of our community; this campaign is for everyone. in this issue 26 WRITE WHERE YOU ARE Words With Friends Making an impact on others through the wonder of writing. DAN Z. JOHNSON by Elizabeth Slocum MOMENT IN TIME In honor of those who have suffered injustice, Brandon Bennett Guallpa ’20 participated in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day candlelight vigil. SPRING 2017 Periodical Postage PAID Philadelphia, PA and Additional Mailing Offices EMPATHY & ARABIC p8 BIKER MAMA p11 WALL STREET WOMEN p34 ISSUE III 500 College Ave. Swarthmore, PA 19081–1306 www.swarthmore.edu VOLUME CXIV SWARTHMORE COLLEGE BULLETIN LAURENCE KESTERSON SPRING 2017 COME BACK TO THE BEACH! Alumni Weekend/Memorial Day Weekend, May 26–28 alumniweekend.swarthmore.edu Impact