Garnet Weekend
Happy to be Home
Clear, crisp, colorful, congenial—all are words that describe the three days in October when more than 1,000 alumni, parents, friends, faculty, and staff convened on campus for Swarthmore’s first-ever Garnet Homecoming and Family Weekend. Outside, beneath brilliant blue skies and autumnal trees, groups gathered together to take tours of the Crum, follow Friends Historical Library Curator Christopher Densmore around the campus to learn about the College’s connections to the Underground Railroad, or see gems of the Scott Arboretum revealed. Sports enthusiasts reveled in suspenseful Garnet soccer, volleyball, squash, and hockey matches. Those with an appetite for food followed their noses to a delightful picnic of local foods, served in a tent on Parrish Beach. Indoors, a pep rally drew raucous crowds; McCabe lecturer Glamour magazine editor in chief Cindi Leive ’88 attracted a fascinated audience of more than 400; a variety of faculty lectures lured the intellectually curious; and multiple receptions and organized conversations gave occasion for visitors to chat with President Rebecca Chopp, the innovator of an event that was declared a resounding success—to be repeated Oct. 21 to 23, 2011.
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Associate Professor of Biology Jose-Luis Machado (above) and Professor of English Literature Betsy Bolton (below left, in red) co-lead a tour of the Crum Woods.
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For participants in the Crum Regatta, winning was considerably less important than getting really wet.
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Glamour magazine editor Cindi Leive ’88 chats with students at lunch before delivering the annual McCabe Lecture to an enthusiastic crowd that packed the Pearson-Hall theater.
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Tarble Pavilion resounds with laughter and pounding feet, as a game of “kick the balloons” involving a large red bird gets under way at the pep rally.