A Walk in the Woods

CORNELL VISITING PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERINGWLODZIMIERZ WOJCIK CHALLENGED HISSTUDENTS TO FIND WAYS FOR THE COLLEGE TOMEASURE ITS “ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.“THEIR RESULTS WERE PRESENTED AT A CAMPUSCONFERENCE IN DECEMBER (LEFT).mented the greening efforts of administration,staff (especially the Scott Arboretum),and the student group Earthlust but noted“a lack of collaboration and communication”among these groups.The biggest surprise for Wojcik—who isat Swarthmore as part of the Polandexchange program—was the studentsthemselves. “I thought they would be moreaggressive and would oversimplify, butinstead they seemed to understand thecomplexities of the problem. They saw thatthere is not one simple solution, that thereare many constraints and connections, andmany factors involved in environmentalissues.”Jesse Hartigan ’04 summed this up atthe presentation. “We live in various systems,from the most general, the universe,to the most specific, local ecosystems,” hesaid. “Within each of these systems is aseries of interrelated components, physical,psychic, and spiritual…. The well-being ofeach depends on the well-being of all theothers.”—Cathleen McCarthyTHINKGLOBALHEALTHPulitzer Prize–winningsciencejournalist Laurie Garrettwarned a packedKirby Lecture Hall last November of animpending global health crisis and theperils of ignoring it. Garrett’s talk“Public Health—For Whom?” mixedhard, epidemiological data and sociologicalanalysis with individual storiesand photographs culled from her awardwinningbook The Coming Plague (1994)and her latest Betrayal of Trust: The Collapseof Global Public Health (2000).Garrett described AIDS as “thebiggest killer in the history of ourspecies” and said that the epidemic isstill in its infancy. She also noted thatthe United States spends more onhealth than any other country, yet onein five is still without health insurance.As part of the College’s Media Fellowprogram, Garrett also met with studentjournalists over lunch before her talk.Previous fellows include 60 Minutesreporter Mike Wallace and Tom Bettag,executive producer of Nightline. “Hercommand of the political climate, economics,and all the details is just brilliant,”said Kathryn Tong ’01, a politicalscience major. “Swarthmore students,because of our sense of community, areextremely interested in the issues sheraises, such as access to health care inthe Third World. She’s definitely aninspiration.”—Alisa GiardinelliFORMERPROFESSORRETURNS ASCONGRESSMANCongressman Rush Holt [D–N.J.], whotaught physics at the College from1982 to 1986, returned to Swarthmorein February to offer an insider’s look atthe government. Holt was re-elected inNovember as a democrat from New Jersey’s12th district, by a margin of only750 votes.Civility, which he defined as “not justpolitics [but] courtesy and conformitywith the rules of social order,” is “generallylacking” in the government, he said.Without it, he warned, Congress will becontinually engaged in campaigning andwill approach all issues in a partisanmanner. He also voiced concern aboutPresident Bush’s “divisive policies,”which he believes must be examinedcarefully.He spoke with more warmth about hisexperience at the College. “Swarthmorewas a great place to be,” he said. Whilehe taught here, Holt was an adjunct forthe government, using his academicbackground to give advice on topicssuch as arms control.He continued as a government liaisonwhile serving as assistant director of thePrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory,before running for Congress in 1996.Holt ended his talk by encouraging facultyand students to devote a little timeto politics.—Jonathan Ehrenfeld ’04seasonal effects, Jeuland suggests addingwater-leaching wetlands plants. “The typesof plants being used there could make a significantdifference,” he says. “There hasn’tbeen much research in that area, so it’s hardto know which plants work best.” For hissenior design project, Jeuland plans to producea “constructed wetlands for stormwatertreatment”—using wetlands plants.Claire Sawyers, director of the ScottArboretum, welcomes the input. “Based onour success with the biostream, we’re discussingputting a storm-water retentionpond on Parrish lawn, near Mertz Hall,”she says. “That would give us the opportunityto try additional plants that could serve asbioscreens. If students are able to identifysuch plants, that would be great.”—Cathleen McCarthyCLUMPS OF ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, YELLOW FLAGIRIS, AND JOE PYE WEED WERE PLANTED IN THEBIOSTREAM TO IMITATE A NATURAL STREAMBED(RIGHT). IN 1999, THE PLANTING SURVIVED WHATARBORETUM DIRECTOR CLAIRE SAWYERS CALLS“THE CAPACITY TEST,” WHEN HURRICANE FLOYDDROPPED 6.6 INCHES OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS.STEVEN GOLDBLATT ʼ67M A R C H 2 0 0 19