Becoming a Gardener

Becoming a Gardener

Andrew Bunting
In the Garden

I have always loved gardening’s wide accessibility. Gardening transcends ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, and political party. I am fortunate that my passion is my profession. Going to work has never felt like working. After “work,” I come home and garden. When I go on vacation, I often seek out gardens to visit around the country and world. I still find as much joy growing an orange zinnia from seed as embarking on plant exploration tours in the wilds of China or Vietnam.

Facelift for Gateway Park

Facelift for Gateway Park

Corey Ullman

The triangular patch of land situated at the intersection of Baltimore Pike and Route 320 is Gateway Park. Recently, weeds and overgrown thistle have slowly strangled the flowers. Their thick tangle has obscured the “Welcome to Swarthmore” stone marker, dark at night due to a broken floodlight. Finding a volunteer garden manager willing to oversee the park has been a recurring thorn in the side of the Swarthmore Horticultural Society (SHS). But now, it appears, the right gardener for the job has come along.

My Choice for School Choice

My Choice for School Choice

Stefan Roots
Opinion

The topic of education has come up a lot in the past few weeks as decisions are being made about how schools will respond to the coronavirus this fall. Some colleges are going all online, and some are limiting their campuses to just freshman and sophomores. Local school districts are trying to decide whether to go fully open or to mix in-school and home-school learning. I know it’s not on the table, but maybe one day someone would consider allowing students from one Delco public school to use vouchers to attend school elsewhere in the county. Right now, Chester-Upland funding follows the student to a charter school. What if it also followed them to Strath Haven, Garnet Valley, Haverford, or Radnor? Opinion Piece

Embrace Accessibility in Swarthmore

Embrace Accessibility in Swarthmore

Samina Iqbal
Opinion

My husband has used a wheelchair since 2006. Despite this life-changing challenge, we are able to live our lives here in Swarthmore, where we are grateful to the schools, businesses, and libraries to which we have access. However, we can do these things in only a subset of places. There are many places where we still cannot participate in places of public activity. When it comes to compliance with accessibility requirements, complacent inaction is the norm. Why, in Swarthmore, is this most physical denial of civil rights perennially acceptable? Opinion Piece

Big Help for Little Crum Creek

Big Help for Little Crum Creek

Swarthmorean Staff
People of Swarthmore

Since 1998, Susan Kelly has worked to improve Little Crum Creek Park, Swarthmore’s largest park, located on the eastern edge of town between Harvard and Yale avenues. As part of Swarthmore’s Environmental Advisory Council and other groups, she has coordinated several work days a year and built a list of many hardy locals who don’t mind getting dirty: the Park Pals. But that didn’t seem like enough.

Youth Baseball Plays it Safe

Youth Baseball Plays it Safe

Colwyn Hals
Sports

On Monday, July 6, it poured at Houston Park in Nether Providence. The downpour flashed in streaks of silver past the brand-new lights on the baseball field. The first youth baseball game played under these lights was supposed to take place months ago. But now, even the half-inning of play before the rainout felt like a step in the right direction.

Resolution Supporting the Development of an Anti-Racist School Climate

Swarthmorean Staff
WSSD School Board

At the July 20 Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting, the board unanimously passed the following resolution, stating “Wallingford-Swarthmore School District School Board unequivocally stands firm in our collective responsibility to foster an equitable and inclusive environment for every student, staff member, parent/guardian, and community member. We commit to use our role as school board directors to recognize, respond, and speak out against injustice and racial inequity in our school community.”

Mask On

Mask On

Swarthmorean Staff

Signs have been appearing around Swarthmore: “Mask On — Swarthmore.” “A simple reminder for a simple act,” says Louise Coffin of the Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association (SSCA), which is behind the new signs. “Simple, but so very important.”

Virtual Cooking Class: In a Pickle

Virtual Cooking Class: In a Pickle

Swarthmorean Staff

By late summer, veggie gardeners everywhere have lots of cucumbers on hand. On August 6, Scott Arboretum Education Programs and Events Assistant Mandie Curtis Banks will guide viewers through a step-by-step process for making homemade pickles with their surplus cukes. The class will also make peach salsa, combining that sweet stone fruit with another veggie garden staple: the tomato.

A Place to Call Home

A Place to Call Home

Guest User
The Swarthmorean, People of Swarthmore, Editorial

Underneath the newspaper’s name, the Swarthmorean banner reads “Serving Swarthmore and Surrounding Communities Since 1893.” This publication seeks to support and lift up the community it represents. I find that a noble mission and ambition for a local paper. When I learned that the position of associate editor was available, that mission drew me in.

A Tight Spot

A Tight Spot

Jon Cohen
Humor

This morning, randoming around the internet, I came upon this description of Buckminster Fuller: “Mr. Fuller was an engineer, inventor, mathematician, architect, cartographer, philosopher, poet, cosmogonist, comprehensive designer and choreographer.’’ Well, yawn, big deal, I mean, who isn’t a cosmogonist? Buckminster Fuller, curse him, invented the geodesic dome. Ever been in one? Not the spacious kind you don’t feel, like at Epcot, but a pint-sized version? I have. It was the site of my first panic attack.

Invasion of the Spotted Lanternfly

Invasion of the Spotted Lanternfly

David Page

It sounds like the title of this summer’s blockbuster movie, but it’s not. It’s reality TV, and whether or not you have seen them in your yard or garden, you can be almost certain they are lurking there. They are an invasive insect called the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delacatula) – SLF for short. They’re currently morphing through one of several nymph stages. Very soon there will be thousands of adult lanternflies in our community. They attack trees, vines, and shrubs, and there isn’t much we can do about it.

Nether-Swarthmore TimeBank

Nether-Swarthmore TimeBank

Swarthmorean Staff

The Nether-Swarthmore TimeBank has stepped up its efforts to help neighbors connect with each other by sharing time and talents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, members have found creative ways to help each other and the community.

Empathy and Exploration: A Journey to the Holy Land Offers Immersive Lessons in Understanding Conflict

Empathy and Exploration: A Journey to the Holy Land Offers Immersive Lessons in Understanding Conflict

Alisa Giardinelli
Swarthmore College

Hebrew University of Jerusalem anthropologist Guy Shalev encourages the 36 Swarthmore College students visiting the region with their eight faculty and staff chaperones not only to ask questions, but to ask “the right questions.” A 20-plus-year member of the college’s communications office, I audited the class and joined the trip as a chaperone with the intention of writing about it for the community.

Hydrangea Haven

Hydrangea Haven

Andrew Bunting
In the Garden

The hydrangea may be the most planted shrub in North America, if not the world. The genus comprises dozens of species and over 1,000 cultivars, selections, and hybrids. One hydrangea or another will grow in every state. Some species are native, while others have been hybridized for decades.

A Rally, a March, and a Call to Action

A Rally, a March, and a Call to Action

Swarthmorean Staff

A Black Lives Matter rally and march will take place Saturday, July 18, at Umoja Park in Swarthmore. The goal is raising awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement and its #WhatMatters2020 priorities. These include fighting racial injustice, police brutality, economic injustice, and voter suppression, as well as advocating for common-sense gun laws, LGBTQIA+ and human rights, and reform of the criminal justice and education systems.

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