The Spotter is back, and we are not talking polka dots

Well hello, Sphinges, it is a new year (sort of, a new semester and a New Year by the Jewish calendar) and the citer is back and stalking. The first bit of news is a big welcome to our newest members (welcome to the world of ancient monuments — we are glad to have to here with us):

Kwabena Asiedu
Nana Baffoe-Bonnie
Colleen Donovan
Brittany Middlebrooks
Nick Roosevelt
Ashley Thomas
Jessica Trief

The second biggest news has to do with the biggest thing on campus from Asia with a fantastic showing from the Sphinge crowd, this charity FUNd raiser was a success… Still in the works, the biggest man on campus. Sphinx participation will be meant with equal enthusiasm.

This success was followed up in a big way by the one and only SPEC to bring Whoopi to campus with a crowd that could not be kwelled, Ben Kwell-ered, would be a better explanation of connaissance business (connaissance, connaissance, connaissance) over the weekend as SPEC brought both Whoopi Goldberg and Ben Kweller to Campus with Ingrid Michaelson.

Upcoming BIG things (it seems to be a trend that we attribute to our ancestors, we build big):

Monday, October 8: Mad4 Happy hour
4-When the idea of work drives you back into the depths of Van Pelt
Get to know your fellow Sphinges with the benefit of margaritas.

Tuesday, October 9: Gear day
You wear your colors like it is your job aka get on your black and gold, peeps.

Wednesday, October 10: PILATES FOR PINK
7 - 8:30pm
Pottruck Fitness Center (meet in main lobby by the info desk)
$10 suggested donation
Generous raffle prizes provided by Douglas Cosmetics

Thursday, October 11: National Coming Out Day
the Queer Student Alliance, in conjunction with Lambda Alliance and its constituents, will be celebrating National Coming Out Day. Sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, National Coming Out Day aims to increase awareness of LGBT related issues.
-We encourage everyone to wear pink on Thursday to show support for the LGBT community

Thursday, October 18: BREAST CANCER AWARENESS COFFEEHOUSE
Come show your support for the cause with a night of unlimited coffee, snacks and great entertainment! All proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
7 - 9pm
Phi Kappa Sigma / Skulls house (36th & Locust)
$5 suggested donation
Performances by: Penn Masala, Off the Beat, Pan-Asian Dance Troupe, Pennchants, Excelano Project, and more
Generous raffle prizes provided by White Dog Cafe, Douglas Cosmetics, Bubble House, Penn Book Center, Saturn Club, Black Cat, and more

Now, send in your spottings to iseesphingeees@gmail.com and we will be rolling out more citings before you can even say celibate monk.

Sphinx News - May 3, 2007

Well, it's official. Our very own tight end will be moving up to good ol' Montreal to play for the Alouettes. Brett Thalmann has already blogged about it at Progresive Dispatches.

Via Progressive Dispatches, you can listen to an interview Mizell gave to KYW's Matt Leon here,

Chris Mizell was a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection as a senior and he is set to head to Canada as he will sign with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

In other great news, David Fraga was selected to sing the National Anthem at Penn's 251st Commencement. Maybe we'll see Fraga do a duet with Arethra Franklin. Who knows, it could happen! In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, Brett Thalmann discussed the selection process for this year's commencement speaker, James Baker.

Thalmann, a political science and business management major graduating in 2008, said the faculty and student input is valued and taken very seriously.

"Students emphasized trying to get a speaker that was internationally known for their public service. Last year, we had Jodie Foster and there were some concerns among students around that time that it wasn't the best choice. Jodie turned out to be a really great speaker and very engaging," said Thalmann.

In more awards news, Tammy Brockow will recieve the Student Award of Merit and the BBB program's Edward N. Pugh, Jr. Award, "awarded to a graduating senior for academic excellence". Way to go Tammy!

~SN

Breaking Sphinx News: Senior Honor Awards

You heard it here first!

Congratulations to the 5 Sphinges who won Senior Honor Awards!!

Althea K. Hottel Award: Catey Mark
Gaylord P. Harnwell Award: Kate Liberman
David R. Goddard Award: Caroline Gammill
R. Jean Brownlee Award: Alexis Ruby Howe

Spoon Award: Andrew Kaplan
Bowl Award: Zach Coopersmith
Cane Award: Stefon Burns
Spade Award: Ezra Billinkoff

~Sphinx Newsie

Sphinx News: April 25, 2007

Another day, another 4 front page stories in the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Guards lead charge for more sick days

Following complaints from guards about not receiving paid leave for illnesses, the University has decided to fund a program for AlliedBarton to provide guards working on campus with sick days.

"If the University can create this policy, they can do better," said Shakirah Simley, co-president of SLAP. "Penn has a lot of power and a lot of influence."

Safer Hey Day Secures Tradition

Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum credited the "diligent work of the classes of 2008 and 2007" for this year's turnaround.

She also commended the junior and senior class presidents - Wharton junior Puneet Singh and Wharton senior Andrew Kaplan, respectively - for being "scrupulously thoughtful about their planning" in fostering cooperation between classes.

In the end, Kaplan and Singh said they felt their efforts paid off.

"Our class and the community and the University were able to change the most historic tradition for the better," Singh said.

Borat Impersonator seeks a 'face' for UA

After being elected last week as the next Undergraduate Assembly chairman, College junior Jason Karsh sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss life at the UA, goals for the year and girls with the new big man on campus.

Sarah Waxman makes Women's First-Team All Penn

• Ivy League-best 6.03 goals against average
• Helped take Quakers to No. 4 spot in nation

DP Cheers:

• To the Undergraduate Assembly, for bringing free newspapers, Ruckus, buses to the airport and other programs to campus, as well as for their support for sustainable practices.
• To the Social Planning and Events Committee, for choosing two bands that appealed widely to student taste and negotiating with the performers to make sure there were more tickets available.
• To the junior and senior classes, for acting responsibly on Hey Day and ensuring the survival of this tradition for future classes.

UA Releases end-of-year report

This summer, the University will begin to make small improvements to the low-rise college houses, the result of a UA proposal. In addition, Student Health Services will likely move to a new location in part because of talks with the UA.

This year, the UA brought improvements to student life in the form of Ruckus, the free music downloading service; free copies of The New York Times, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News; and $3 buses to and from the airport during peak travel times, like school vacations.

"I was happy that we were able to balance focusing on long term major initiatives and delivering short term tangible results," said Wharton senior Brett Thalmann, the outgoing UA chairman.

W. Lax enters final test perfect in Ivies

Having clinched the Ivy title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last Wednesday against Princeton, the women lacrosse team's 12-4 win over Brown on Sunday may have seemed like icing on the cake.

But the No. 3 Quakers (13-1, 7-0 Ivy) knew they still had a lot to play for.

By defeating the Bears (4-9, 1-4), Penn clinched its first outright Ivy title in program history and took one more step towards homefield advantage throughout the NCAAs.

After failing to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities in the first half, Penn went into the break with only a 3-0 lead. That they even had a lead at all came thanks to strong play by goalkeeper Sarah Waxman and the Quakers defense.

The DP also got a shoutout in the Penn Parents Magazine:



~Sphinx Newsie

Keep the awards coming...

Click for larger picture:

Sphinx News - April 22, 2007

This week, it was all about winning championship titles, saving Penn traditions and coming together as a community to reflect on the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

After Sphinx witnessed a great victory over Princeton earlier in the week, the Women's Lacrosse team went on to complete a perfect season by beating Brown 12-4 on Saturday.

Sarah Waxman and Emily Szelest split time in goal, with Waxman picking up her 13^th win. Szelest, despite playing only 9:30, was outstanding, making three saves and allowing a goal in that span to preserve the game.

In other sports news, Penn Crew came third on Saturday at the Award Plaque at Lake Carnegie. Way to go Catie!

With the last day of classes came the 76-year tradition known as Hey Day and Sphinges were ready to see how their year-long efforts to change the culture of Hey Day would turn out:

Wharton senior and class president Andrew Kaplan said over 550 seniors have signed a pledge not to throw non-approved items - like eggs, ketchup and mustard - this afternoon at juniors walking down Locust Walk.

This activity, often labeled as hazing, has recently put the 76 year-old tradition in jeopardy.

So, as part of a campuswide effort to make sure Hey Day doesn't go anywhere, student government officials have been working tirelessly to promote a safer Hey Day.

Student leadership has done "a fabulous job collaborating for change," Vice Provost of University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said.

And the initial media reports on Hey Day were relatively positive with the Philly Inquirer going with the headline: Penn's Junior Day cleans up - a bit

It wasn't clean. It wasn't dry. And it certainly wasn't ketchup-free, as University of Pennsylvania officials and student government leaders had hoped.

But yesterday's raucous junior class procession through campus, known as "Hey Day," wasn't nearly as gooey as in years past.

Senior class president Andrew Kaplan, who helped devise and push the new rules, said he thought the vast majority had abided by them.

"It was very celebratory as opposed to a hazing atmosphere," he said.

On Thursday evening, Sphinx was out in force at the student-led Candlelight Vigil:

The candelight vigil, organized by 21 student groups, featured remarks by University President Amy Gutmann, Vice Provost of University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum and associate chaplain Charles Howard.

College senior Raffi Cohn, who was at the vigil, said the event played an important role in the healing process.

"I was amazed at how many students showed up," he said. "Everyone just feels helpless and it's really scary. But by so many people coming together, it kind of lets you know that you're not the only one who's thinking that."

In addition to the honorary Sphinges who spoke, Ezra, Mana and Brett all spoke to the huge crowd that had gathered on College Green. The DP, low-balled the attendance at 200, but anyone who was there knows that the number was closer to 800.

~Sphinx Newsie

2 Sick 2 Be Funny

The human body wasn't made to write witty diatribes about Penn's finest week in and week out. Under such pressure, it cracks and confines even the Sphinx Citer to a miserable, sniffling huddle on the couch. Thus, this week the Citings must speak for themselves -- and what a week (or so) it was!! Before we get going, a big shoutout to Stacie who was cited turning 21 and to Shak who had a birthday several weeks ago but was neglected by yours truly!

First off, most every Sphinge, every pre-frosh previewing Penn and their Moms (literally) were cited at the Darfur rally which was a "real success." It raised an incredible $1,820.50, with special thanks to Ezra. A hilarious, if somewhat surreal sight during the sit-in was the Darfur sitters, the Mask & Wig "protesters," the crazy man preaching against homosexuality in front of Van Pelt, and the frisbee team all trying to get out their message within a few yards of each other. True diversity if there ever was.

Off the Green and into our mailboxes, Andy Kaplan (with the help of Tammy no doubt) announced Senior Week, "to ensure that your final days at Penn are your best days at Penn." No word on just how far Andy will go to make sure each and every one of us truly have our best days, but Penn girls are waiting with baited breath. In other governmental affairs, Brett presided over his final UA meeting, next to Sarah Abroms and Jason Karsh. Numerous Sphinges were in attendance, doing the wave at times. They were cited eating much of the food and taking pictures which no one sent to the Sphinx Citer.

In sports, Sarah Waxman was cited winning the Women's Lacrosse Title in the Ivy League, 14-10 over Princeton. Srikant, Ryan, Mana, Caroline, and Jeff were in attendance. Catie V. was also rumored to be a big winner in rowing. According to Catie, "Penn crew has now separated itself from the bottom of the top to the top of the top." Catey, Jareau, and Mana were in attendance at the race.

Moving on to the obviously drunken elephant in the Quad: Spring Fling. Apparently Jeff did something inappropriate during at the Zetes petting zoo. The sheep are rumored to be sore, and say Jeff is "baaaaad." Catey Mark was cited pulling off an "unbelievable spring fling." There was a "killer turn-out" at the carnival after Jazzy's soiree which included a raging dance party. "Many a sphinge partook in the revelry including the always stylish Mr. Greenwald and the amazingly fun-loving Val Swain-Cade McColloum (also pictured busting a move!)."

Josh Head and Fraga were cited singing a killer duet at their last Mask
and Wig fling concert. Watson pulled off the event "with unparalleled class, singing a solo while working the blacks and whites AND looking delicious." Head and Fraga, in traditional form, got naked at the end of the concert. "Beware their beautiful bods."
Witnesses reported seeing Josh Head's head. Head and Fraga were also cited performing with celebrity host Dan Bakhedal of the Daily Show at SPEC and Mask and Wig's 9th Annual ComFest.

In real accomplishments, Jack Abraham won first place in the Wharton Venture Award Competition! He won $10,000 and will be starting up his tech firm in Philly this summer. He is hiring interns and has employees who are twice his age -- all this further confirmation that Jack is the sh*t and the rest is just flies. Elsewhere, Shak won her CORO fellowship which is a tremendous accomplishment after years of hard work. She was also successful in getting the "United States Cross Cultural Analysis Requirement" admitted into the College Curriculum. Congrats, Shak! See Sphinx News for more on this.

In other society notes, 5 Sphinges were ciited at Oracle initiation: Shirley Liang, Jun Li, Puneet Singh, Samir Sheth and Samir Malik. The 5 Sphinges were found acting like "sock-em-bop-em gophers with the button, acting out animals on the compass, drinking incessant amounts of maple syrup, and tying red and yellow ribbons around trees on Locust Walk Wednesday night." It should be noted that the Sphinges "took the whole event very lightly, as it was a walk in the park compared to the Sphinx Arts & Crafts night."

Finally, Ryan and Catey went out to a BYO dinner with some friends to commemorate the olden days. As usual, they confessed their freshman love to one another and vowed to cuddle again one day. Ryan also completed his proposal for a Glee Club endowment with the University and received approvals from the powers that be. He will be leading the kickoff of a $150,000 capital campaign for the Club, commencing with an Alumni Club gala and concert on Alumni Day. He is quite proud to not yet be a "has-been," contrary to whatever 34th St. has to say about Sphinges.

In this week's doghouse section, Healey was cited attempting to sabotage Sphinx Happy Hour by inviting everyone to his Sitar concert. While Caroline, Jeff, Ryan, Mana, Brett, Ezra, and Jack, hated him for this malfeasance, rumor has that Healey plucks a mean string.

That's all, folks! Cough-sniffle-cough. See Sphinx News for more details on these citings!

-Sphinx Citer