Syeda Tasnim ’08, Marilyn Batonga ’08, New York Connecton Co-Chair Lily Ng ’08, and Jasmine Narang ’09 were among those enjoying the New York Connection’s Variety Show in January.

New York: In January, the New York City Connection held an Alumni Variety Show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The group included more than 18 performers representing alumni from the Class of 1956 through the Class of 2009—and even included a current student, Taleah Kennedy ’10. Special thanks go to Dan Gallant ’98, the executive director at Nuyorican, for working with Connection organizers and welcoming a large group of Swarthmoreans.

Philadelphia Between two major East Coast snow storms, the Philadelphia Connection—in conjunction with the Stanford Alumni Association—held a panel discussion titled “The Media’s Impact on Children.” The audience included Swarthmore alumni and current students, along with Stanford alumni from the Philadelphia area. The panel featured four area faculty including John Pollock ’64, Nancy Signorelli, and
Donald Roberts—all professors of communication at The College of New Jersey, University of Delaware, and Stanford University, respectively—and Swarthmore’s own Timothy Burke, professor of history.

Washington, D.C. A turn-of-their-decade happy hour organized by Danielle Sass Byrnett ’99 and Jeremy Peterson ’99 for alumni of the late 1990s was moved from Feb. 11, which turned out to be the height of the second blizzard in less than a week, to early March.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Philadelphia On April 24, the Philadelphia Connection will be participating in a trolley tour of mural art in Philadelphia. Jane Golden, founder and director of the city’s Mural Arts Program and recipient of an honorary degree from Swarthmore in 1998, will lead the tour. Golden started the program in 1984; since its founding, it has enabled more than 2,800 community-planned murals to be created.