Politics at Swarthmore?

Forgetmenots
Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:03:58 +0000

As a student who did not want to participate in the checkpoint simulation for a variety of reasons, it was very clearly marked on either side of the simulation that if you did not want to participate, you could use another door into the building. The students didn’t dress up as solders - they all had similar tee-shirts, but nothing intimidating - and it wasn’t a fence all around the building like this is making it sound.

While I’m not sure this was very well thought out or planned well - I think there should’ve been more advertising of what the “wall” was and discussions about it before it went up - it hardly reflects on Swarthmore as a whole as some kind of in-your-face political space. It also hardly signifies how friendly we are: Swatties are notoriously friendly people. There are plenty of “shy, nonpolitical” students at Swat who fit right in. You can always choose to opt out of a dialog or event, although most students would encourage their peers to participate in those discussions. :)