WHAT’S INSIDE
SPORTS, Page 29
Temple Football’s defense improved but coaching decisions proved costly.
DATA, Pages 14-15
The Temple News surveyed students on how they are voting this election.
VOL 103 // ISSUE 4
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2024 temple-news.com @thetemplenews
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ON THE COVER TUPD continues to navigate safety challenges a year after Hamas attacked Israel.
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On Sept. 24, an article on page 9 titled “Temple should amend it’s unjust sick leave policy” did not include a contributing reporting credit to Nurbanu Sahin.
On Sept. 24, an article on page 5 “Temple recognized for suicide prevention efforts” misidentified Tuttleman Counseling Service’s TogetherAll initiative.
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Arrests at a career fair prompted concerns on how TUPD enforces protest guidelines.
BY EVELYN BLOWER & AUBREN VILLASENOR FOR THE
Following a turbulent fall and spring semester marked by rallies and off-campus encampments in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Temple has faced backlash for its newly tightened restrictions around on-campus demonstrations.
Student organizations and CAIR-Philadelphia have criticized Temple Police Department’s response to Temple Students for Justice in Palestine’s Sept. 27 career fair protest that ended in the club’s suspension. For many, the incident called into question how TUPD is trained to respond to demonstrations.
Temple Public Safety does not have any Temple-specific protest or demonstration guidelines that they educate their force on, said Sean Quinn, president of Temple University Police Association. Temple officers report on the event and send the report to Student Affairs, then Student Affairs decides if they will penalize a student depending on if they are found to have violated the Student Code of Conduct.
Under the updated demonstration guidelines, TUPD is able to move or request the removal of any demonstrator believed to be in violation of university policy, regulations or guidelines.
Officers receive Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission classes from the state police. All officers are mandated to take at least four courses, or 12 hours of course material each year.
During the summer, all TUPD officers attended riot and protest training from this commission in congruence with State Police, as well as a Philadelphia Police Department session that gave equivalent training.
“They show us formations, what we should and shouldn’t do, how to affect
their guidelines during the
an arrest if you have to, all basic stuff,” Quinn said. “It’s essentially the same thing with the state police, just a refresher course. I’m assuming probably every year from now on, we’ll have to go to a refresher course for this. It might even become a [Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission] standard.”
Students representing both pro-Palestinian organizations and pro-Israeli organizations have held events around campus, including various vigils at the Bell Tower or various rallies, since Oct. 7, 2023. Students are expected to go through Student Affairs to request a room or space for a protest or demonstration in private spaces on campus.
“As soon as we hear about it, we make contact with the organizer and ask them, ‘What do you guys plan [to do]? Can you share with us?’” said Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin in an interview for The Temple News last year. “Do you have an idea on numbers? Are you moving, are you stationary? And then based on that, we plan out what our response will be.”
The university has faced criticism from free-speech advocates like the
American Civil Liberties Union for its handling of previous protests. The Council of American Islamic Relations held a press conference on Oct. 2 calling for an investigation of the arrests of four students at a protest at a career fair and TUPD and PPD’s conduct throughout.
Following the press conference, TUPD released a statement stating they did not find evidence of wrongdoing by TUPD officers. The department has not released body camera footage from those involved.
The Israel-Hamas war has pushed universities deeper into the ongoing “culture wars” particularly around issues of free speech. Universities have faced strong criticisms on both ends of the political spectrum; conservative lawmakers denounced the protests as a symptom of “woke” identities while more liberal members claimed that universities are unfairly suppressing students’ freespeech.
Temple is not alone in its crackdown on demonstrations, with several other high profile universities, like Columbia University, also announcing revised campus demonstration policies. At Columbia, home of the first pro-Palestinian
encampment, students are now required to inform administrators of planned protests. Their guidelines were also updated to prohibit “substantially inhibit the primary purposes” of university space, essentially barring encampments.
“There was a working group from administrators throughout the university that tried to pull all of the different policies that were relevant into fewer policies, then advertise them and put them transparent on the website,” Griffin said. “Police officers are notified of those, and we frequently will respond to different issues.”
The demonstration guidelines also encompass building or occupying any kind of privately made structures or sleeping outside. Griffin encouraged that anyone planning to protest should review the website and the “easily accessible” guidelines that the administration reviewed during the summer.
“We don’t discipline – what we do is we enforce laws, we uphold the Constitution, that’s our role and that’s the role every police officer takes,” said Andrew Lanetti, vice president of TUPA.
evelyn.blower@temple.edu
The Temple News recaps a year of activism on campus amid the Israel-Palestine conflict.
TTN NEWS STAFF
For The Temple News
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Temple University comment
APR. 25 - TEMPLE SJP MARCH FROM CAMPUS TO CITY HALL, BEGINNING OF UPENN COLLEGE GREEN TAKEOVER:
Temple SJP took part in organizing a march to advocate for the liberation of Palestine. Temple students, faculty and community members marched from Main Campus to City Hall. Hundreds of participants gathered for this event. This occurred amid an increase of pro-Palestine demonstrations and student groups across the country urging their institutions to divest from companies that supported Israel.
OCT. 7 - BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT:
Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel and killed an estimated 1,400 Israeli citizens and took more than 220 Israeli hostages. The attack began multiple Israeli airstrikes into Palestinian territories.
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APR. 30 - HILLEL HOSTS PASSOVER SEDER FOR HOSTAGES:
Temple’s Hillel members hosted a seder, a Jewish service and ceremonial dinner hosted the first one to two nights of Passover. The seder displayed 133 empty seats in representation of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. Students arranged posters which included the names, ages and pictures of the hostages with the line “Bring him/her home now” written over top.
MAY 10 - PENN ENCAMPMENT DISMANTLED, MISDEMEANOR CHARGES:
After a 16 day long pro-Palestinian encampment at Penn, student protesters from multiple colleges, including Temple, were arrested for misdemeanor charges. Philadelphia Police arrested roughly 30 protesters and dismantled the encampment. Protesters were given a 2 minute warning by police to exit the campus or they would risk arrest.
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JULY 27 - AEPI INCIDENT, TEMPLE ADDRESSES ANTISEMITISM:
The third AEPI incident involving anti-semitic acts occurred. A large group of people went to the rooftop of the Jewish fraternity and banged on the access door. The incident included the same two individuals from the second AEPi vandalism case. Temple condemned the incidents on Aug. 2 and announced the arrest warrant for two individuals connected to the incident on Aug. 12. Temple Public Safety, Student Affairs, Philadelphia DA Office, the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League are all involved in the case.
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AUG. 29 - SJP PROTESTS AT CHARLES AND HILLEL, TEMPLE CONDEMNS EVENT:
A protest, named “dis-orientation rally”, originated at the Charles Library and moved to the Hillel at the Rosen Center. Englert condemned the protest, writing “We are deeply saddened and concerned by these events.Targeting a group of individuals because of their Jewish identity is not acceptable and intimidation and harassment tactics like those seen today will not be tolerated.”
AUG. 15 - ACLU REPRESENTING STUDENTS FOR UPENN ENCAMPMENT:
Attorney Solomon F. Worlds begins representing the three students who are facing disciplinary action for their participation at the Penn encampment.
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SEPT. 27 - TEMPLE PLACES SJP ON INTERIM SUSPENSION FOR CAREER FAIR PROTEST:
Temple placed SJP on interim suspension following the career fair protest. Temple said that SJP violated the on-campus demonstration guidelines.
“Failure to abide by university policies and these guidelines has consequences for student organizations as well as individual students,” said a university spokesperson.
“As a result of recent conduct, Temple has placed [SJP] on interim suspension in accordance with the Student Conduct Code during the pendency of the conduct process.”
8 AUGUST - CAMPUS DEMONSTRATION POLICIES UPDATE:
Temple included a copy of the Student Code of Conduct and guidelines for demonstrations in a welcome email to students. The email did not specify policy changes, nor was it listed in the revisions. The guidelines were changed by the university in August 2024.
“As we routinely do during the summer, university personnel spent time reviewing our existing policies, regulations and guidelines with an eye towards streamlining and clarifying them,” a university spokesperson wrote in a statement to
OCT. 7 - SJP FORMS COALITION AND PROTEST AT DREXEL, HILLEL HOSTS EVENTS:
Temple SJP joined the four other universities in Philadelphia SJP Alliance at Drexel Square Park to commemorate a year of resistance. Temple Law Students for Justice in Palestine opened a space in Klein Hall alongside Muslim Law Students Association to honor those killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces. Temple Hillel planned a week’s worth of events, including a memorial, a roundtable for discussions, a yoga and a cooking event in honor of the hostages.
LABOR Temple’s resident assistants and peer mentors have unionized following pay cuts.
BY SAMANTHA MORGAN Assistant News Editor
After Temple resident assistants, peer mentors and resident hall association executive board members announced they would unionize, Temple did not respond to their request for union recognition by the organization’s deadline of Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.
The Temple Union of RAs formed their union at the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153. Members of TURA were not shocked by Temple’s decision not to recognize their union by their deadline.
“I think it was just disappointing, but not surprising,” said Gianna Voges, a junior journalism major and member of TURA.
Temple did not respond to TURA directly, but told The Temple News they are still reviewing their request for recognition.
“We recently received notice that our student resident assistants, peer mentors and executive board members of the Residence Hall Association are interested in forming a collective bargaining unit,” wrote a university spokesperson in a statement to The Temple News. “We deeply value the contributions of these students, and we are committed to providing them with outstanding leadership opportunities and learning experiences. We are presently reviewing their request.”
Voges said TURA had already been prepared for this response and were advised this may happen by OPEIU.
“We were told that they’ll try to push it off as long as possible,” Voges said.
If Temple does not officially recognize TURA, the student-run union will continue to rally support in the community and take their petition to Harrisburg, Voges said.
The members of TURA believe a decision by Temple to not recognize
them as a union would go against the university’s founding principles.
“Temple claims that they are committed to their founding principles,” the union wrote in a statement on social media posted on Oct. 4. “One of them is ‘Creating a collaborative community of outstanding faculty and staff who foster inclusion and encourage the aspirations of Temple students.’ By ignoring our petition to form TURA, Temple is ignoring its founding principles.”
RAs recently took a pay cut, motivating student workers for change. Students found out that rather than the $200 to $400 stipend they normally get for training and books, they would now only receive a $200 tuition credit.
Voges shared that this change furthered TURA’s decision to unionize, but was not the sole cause of their decision.
“Another thing we are fighting for is mental health support,” Voges said. “We are the first responders to crises that happen in our halls. We have to assist with residents who don’t have the best home life, who have Title IX cases and stuff, and we aren’t really offered a lot of support for dealing with that on our
own.”
Some of the responsibilities of RAs at Temple include being a first responder to any emergencies in the building, meetings with each resident on their floor, attending weekly staff meetings, planning monthly events for residents, dorm checks and more.
Another complaint amongst the RAs were the staffing ratios. Some RAs are required to attend to 70 residents at one time, said Jam Stebbins, an RA at Morgan South.
“There has to be a RA in the building at all times even during breaks and right now we are getting paid $45 a day for that and last year we were getting paid even less than that,” said Stebbins, a senior psychology major. “On Christmas we get paid less than $3 an hour to not be with our families.”
Stebbins said that other unionized RAs, like those at Drexel and Penn, are receiving better benefits than Temple’s RAs. Stebbins’ main goal in joining TURA is to give RAs a voice in contract negotiations.
“I want to be able to sit with or have somebody sit with the admin at Tem-
ple and say, ‘Do we actually think what we’re getting is fair?’ because right now we don’t have any of that decision,” Stebbins said.
Some benefits that other OPEIU union members at Drexel, Penn and Wesleyan have received include seniority pay bumps, raises proportional to residential fees, additional per diem payment if workers are required to work more than outlined in their contract, a labor management committee and guaranteed days off for specified holidays.
Stebbins emphasized that TURA members are just looking for equitable pay and support for the work they are doing.
“We as RAs don’t dislike our jobs,” Stebbins said. “We aren’t looking for a fight with administration. We just know what we are getting isn’t fair.”
Gianna Voges has previously freelanced for The Temple News. She did not contribute to the writing, reporting or editing of this story.
samantha.morgan@temple.edu @sammimorgann
Students who found their cars vandalized near Temple’s campus want affordable parking.
BY NURBANU SAHIN Assistant News Editor
The 2024 Department of Public Safety’s Annual Security and Fire Safety report showed a 100% increase in vandalism crimes within Temple University Police Department patrol zone – 30 reported incidents in 2022, 63 reported 2023.
The report, released on Sept. 30, includes statistics, policies, and definitions of crime, fire and general safety guidelines on campus. The department is required to share information on campus crime through the Jeanne Clery Act. The Clery Act crimes include domestic violence, assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. The department also includes non-Clery Act disclosures such as vandalism in their reports.
“The vandalism [incidents] can be anything from graffiti to a broken window,” said Vice President of Public Safety Jennifer Griffin. “What we have seen in those numbers are a lot of them are car vehicles.”
TUPD handles crime on and off-campus within its patrol zone, which covers from 9th to 18th Street and Susquehanna to Girard Avenue. About 18% of crimes in the 2024 report fall under the vandalism category.
A few of these vandalisms include vehicles that are not parked in university-owned parking garages, like the Liacouras and Montgomery garages. They also frequently occur on streets that include off-campus student housing.
Students have reported seeing postit notes from TUPD on their vandalized vehicles. The note often includes a message from an officer, instructing the owner to contact the department to file a report with them if it is within the patrol zone.
“It depends on when we find them,”
Griffin said. “Sometimes we find those in the middle of the night, so it’s like we’re not going to go knock on doors at three in the morning. [The officer] will leave a note to say, ‘Hey, we noticed this.’ We also don’t know if it’s new damage or old damage.”
Some students aren’t aware of the damage to their cars until after they are contacted by TUPD or the Philadelphia Police Department, including John Brownlee, a senior marketing major.
Brownlee found his window had been broken and his car crashed into a building in August 2023. Aside from additional surveillance from TUPD and the PPD station located on Montgomery Avenue, students, including Brownlee, want more accessible parking centers from the university.
“It was unfortunate because [the vandalism] was before parking was made available for the semester,” Brownlee said. “I just moved back two days before the semester Liacouras parking started, and they don’t necessarily advertise that you can pay to park early there before
the semester.”
Sometimes students choose to not report a vandalism incident despite TUPD’s communication system. Lily Brunetto, a junior criminal justice major, also had her car broken into during the summer. She chose not to report it because she believed “TUPD wouldn’t do much about it.”
“[The perpetrators] took everything out of my compartments,” Brunetto said. “I guess they ate in there so there was food trash and silverware all over.”
Temple has two parking garages, Montgomery Garage and Liacouras Garage, alongside two metered lots. The university has multiple parking plans available, including a commuter and overnight option for students.
“I feel like the parking garages and parking lots we have here are so expensive,” Brunetto said. “I feel like cars are definitely safer there but I literally can’t afford it.”
The Liacouras Center parking garage currently charges a rate of $22 per day for its visitors. Overnight parking
at all of its garages on campus are $426 per semester before any processing fees or taxes. Passes for the fall semester open up for purchase in July. There is no information listed about acquiring a pass early for the summer time.
“If you’re a student that lives here in the summer and you have to pay both semesters of parking, you end up having to pay over $1,000 for parking for the full year,” Brownlee said. “I think that is just a little ridiculous.”
TUPD does not have their own cameras in some off-campus parts of the patrol zone, but they have access to those that are owned by the city. In the event that a crime occurs in the few spots that have those cameras, they reach out to cooperate with the city.
“We have been seeing great success with utilizing the cameras and license plate readers,” Griffin said. “So we continue to try to leverage technology with some of these crimes.”
nurbanu@temple.edu @nurbanusahinn
Last week, four individuals were detained by the Temple University Police Department during a protest at a career fair for the College of Engineering. The demonstration was organized by Temple Students for Justice in Palestine to object to the presence of Lockheed Martin and Ghost Robotics, who manufacture weapons for the Israel Defense Forces.
The events followed Temple administration’s decision to change demonstration guidelines in Aug. 2024. The new guidelines restrict the use of voice amplifiers, prohibit interference with pedestrian or vehicular traffic and prevent protests from disturbing or obstructing the university’s educational processes, The Temple News reported.
The Council of American-Islamic Relations of Philadelphia is pursuing legal action against Temple for changing protest policies to target Muslim and pro-Palestinian protestors culminating in SJP’s interim suspension.
Following the events at the career fair, President Richard Englert sent a statement to the Temple community stressing the importance of the First Amendment as a core principle of the university.
The recent amendments to campus guidelines are negligent of Temple’s rich history of political demonstrations. The Editorial Board urges Temple administration to recognize the value of disturbance to daily campus life while advocating for social and political change.
Throughout Temple’s history, disruptive yet peaceful demonstrations have been an effective measure of political expression for students. These methods have allowed individuals to express their dissent to the university administration and highlight pressing global issues.
Like many universities
throughout the 20th century, Temple held demonstrations to advocate against civil injustices. In 1990, Temple Association of University Professionals began to protest unfair wages. Around 500 students stood in solidarity, signing a petition promising to withdraw from the university if the strike was not settled promptly. Following a rally at the Bell Tower, students took to Broad Street, blocking traffic for an hour and stopping only when threatened with arrest.
Protests like the one in 1990 use disorder in a nonviolent manner to draw attention to contentious issues. Similarly, the protest that took place last week during the Engineering Career Fair was disruptive but still peaceful. Temple should understand the importance of protests like this and reinstate their previous policies instead of penalizing students for political advocacy.
The revision to the protest guidelines ignores the divisive nature of political disagreements. Dissenters would risk their own civil liberties for the prosperity of their cause. Protests are not effective unless heads are turned.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter is written by a student at Temple and reader of The Temple News. The content in this letter is not reflective of the opinions of The Temple News. All students, faculty, staff and readers are encouraged to send letters to the editor to have their voice or opinion heard.
Additionally, the alleged incidents in this letter occurred prior to the hiring of current TUPD leadership, including Chief of Police Jennifer Griffin.
Temple is an institution that prides itself on taking sexual misconduct seriously, but two years ago I was sexually assaulted — and this letter is to let the student body know that the university did not take my instance of sexual violence seriously. I have done everything in my power to fight for myself, and it is time I told my story.
During my third semester at Temple, I first reported my sexual assault to the Temple Police. Like any survivor looking to report, the primary fear is not being believed to the core. TUPD made the claim — based on a “lack of evidence” — that it never happened due to the lengthy nature it took for me to report the incident.
I reported only six months after I was assaulted — it took me that long to fully comprehend that what happened to me was assault. Every instance of sexual assault should be taken seriously, regardless of when the survivor can bring themselves to report it. I cannot walk past the TUPD without feeling the anxiety and rage toward my experience.
Additionally, when I first took my case to the University’s Title IX office, no action was taken. The university, based on the official Title IX laws, has the responsibility to respond and act promptly and efficiently, but had not when I made my first official Title IX complaint.
My right to report it to the university has been infringed upon with no available information on when, or how I would be able to move forward with any type of valid Title IX procedure. The Title IX office knew of my correspondence with the
police, and despite my greatest efforts to be believed, I was once again pushed into this dangerous place that comes from not being believed.
I wish I had never reported my assault. This should never be the case — no survivor should ever regret reporting.
The university has the obligation to act with the rights of survivors in mind — I have the right for my assault to be handled in a fair and timely manner.
Additionally, it is the right of survivors to not be retaliated against by the university — another right that Temple had infringed upon. After taking my case to TUPD, the officer in charge of handling my case took it to the university — in which the attempt at retaliation had taken place and succeeded.
The threat of both suspension and expulsion from the university was made. Where the university had an obligation to not only reject the instance of retaliation but to provide a safe space for me to report, it failed to do so. I fear what would happen if I ever needed to utilize Title IX resources again, as well as what outcome could be received.
My perpetrator is still attending the university, and it is my responsibility to use everything in my power to exercise my rights, which have been completely taken away. I wish to make sure they are also held accountable for violating my autonomy and stop them from violating anyone else’s on this campus.
Temple has failed me, and I wish to do everything in my power to ensure that no other survivor ever experiences this type of negligence. How is the student body supposed to feel safe enough to report sexual misconduct, if the fear of retaliation is ever-so looming?
I beg Temple to please do better. Be the institution I used to be proud to be a student of.
The author of this letter was granted anonymity for their safety. The full letter can be found at temple-news.com.
A student encourages professors to reconsider compulsory and punitive attendance policies.
BY MCCAILLAIGH ROUSE Opinion Editor
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Temple changed its absence policy for the 2020-21 academic school year. Under the new policy, students who missed class for health-related reasons weren’t penalized and didn’t have to submit formal documentation to be excused.
Temple has since put the attendance policy back into the hands of faculty, allowing professors to choose their course guidelines. Following the repeal of the COVID-19-era attendance policy, many professors set rigid guidelines, like multiple absences resulting in dropping grades or even failing the class.
Consistent class attendance is important for a student’s academic success. However, strict attendance can harm students’ academic performance. If students are pressured by mandatory attendance, they may feel powerless over their education and lose interest in learning.
Regular class attendance is a fair expectation for professors, but stern approaches can be counterproductive. Strict abscence policies make many choose between their health and grades. Professors should base their attendance policies on a course’s number of meetings and be lenient with students who miss class for reasons out of their control.
Students shouldn’t attend classes while sick because it increases the chances of spreading illnesses to others, some of whom may be immunocompromised. When students are ill, they need extra time to rest and sleep, according to SUNY Upstate Medical University. Coming to class will slow students’ recovery and make it harder for them to perform at their highest potential.
This semester, Natalie Skeba faced a difficult decision: attend her physics course while under the weather, or potentially let her grade suffer.
“So, I have to choose whether or not
I should go to class and risk getting people sick, or I shouldn’t go to class and just, like, get my grade lowered,” said Skeba, a freshman mathematics major.
Many professors accommodate illnesses in their guidelines by giving excused absences if students provide proof. However, stringent policies and penal language may pressure students to attend courses, even while ill or struggling with mental health.
During Temple’s fall and spring semesters, courses that meet three times a week have at leasr forty classes. If a student is sick for a week, they can run out of excused absences for the entire semester. Professors with restrictive policies that lower grades after a few absences give students limited flexibility to take days off for any reason.
David Le wants professors to understand students’ circumstances before imposing strict attendance requirements.
“Understand a student’s situation first before actually saying, like, ‘Show me all this evidence,’” said Le, a first-year grad student in the School of Pharmacy. “Instead, believe the students because we are all adults. And believe mental health always comes first before anything else.”
Consistent attendance is a privilege and those facing financial hardships may need to balance other obligations that prevent them from attending consistently. Forty percent of full-time college students have jobs, according to a 2020 study by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Additionally, some students have disabilities affect their day-to-day functioning. While Disability Resource Services provide accommodations, these options may not be accessible to disadvantaged students. Some students may be undiagnosed due to socioeconomic or cultural reasons and do not meet the qualifications for these accommodations, according to a Feb. 2024 study in the National Library of Medicine.
Professors can alleviate students’ struggles by offering lecture notes,
make-up work and an open line of communication. Creating an engaging classroom environment is crucial, but attendance isn’t the only indicator of student engagement. Participation can instead be measured through assignments such as quizzes, assessments like office hours, or constructive feedback.
Jordan Shapiro, an associate Intellectual Heritage and gender, sexuality and women studies professor, believes faculty must reevaluate their educational approaches for a productive learning environment.
“Sometimes there’s a good reason to maintain control over the class, but make sure it’s really aimed at learning,” Shapiro said. “The goal here is not to have kids in their seats. The goal here is to educate young adults so that they become wonderful, not young adults, old adults, I guess, grown-ups.”
College is a time in which students further their educational pursuits. But draconian, mandatory attendance policies create idyllic yet unrealistic standards, which can create inequitable learning environments. Professors should drop the punitive attendance in favor of policies that empower and motivate students to take charge of their education.
mccaillaigh.rouse@temple.edu
A student urges Temple to build more gender neutral bathrooms to be more inclusive.
BY BRADLEY MCENTEE Assistant Opinion Editor
Nicole Clements, a transgender student, has often felt anxiety about using the bathroom while on campus. But an event in the women’s bathroom during her sophomore year turned her off from using gendered restrooms entirely.
“I went into the women’s bathroom in the library, and as I’m coming out, this cleaning lady comes in the door,” said Clements, a junior psychology and Spanish major. “She just gives me this look, and very pointedly points at the sign that says ‘Women’ on the door, like, ‘Oh my god, I can never do this again.’”
Temple has sought to be a safe space for LGBTQ students by promoting queer student activities like Lavender Graduation and National Coming Out Week. However, adequate amounts of gender-neutral bathrooms are one of Temple’s shortcomings. Across all lecture halls and student recreation buildings, there are only 55 gender-neutral restrooms for approximately 30,000 Temple students.
In current campus facilities, gender non-conforming students are barred from doing something as simple as using the bathroom comfortably. Temple should prioritize constructing more gender-neutral restrooms as one of the first steps in fostering a more inclusive environment for queer students.
Temple published an ArcGIS map detailing where gender-neutral bathrooms are located across campus. While the map is a valuable resource for queer students, it showcases the scarcity of these facilities.
Despite the large number of classes in Mazur Hall and Tuttleman Learning Center, both only have one gender-neutral restroom. LGBTQ students often fear judgment from others while searching for a suitable bathroom.
“I also feel embarrassed really running around trying to find the one gender-neutral bathroom in the entire building, because it feels like, ‘Oh my god, everyone’s watching me,’” Clements said.
Debates about transgender people in public restrooms have heightened in recent years. Many Republican-leaning states have laws that forbid transgender individuals from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, NPR reported.
Although Pennsylvania doesn’t have bathroom laws, social stigma is still strong. Sixty percent of people believe gender is determined by assigned sex at birth, according to a 2022 poll conducted by Pew Research Center. Constructing more gender-neutral restrooms is critical to making transgender students feel accepted on campus.
Rob Faunce, an associate professor in English and gender, sexuality and women’s studies, says that as one of the most popular universities in Pennsylvania, it’s imperative for Temple to set a standard for queer inclusion.
“This is an institution that prides itself out of its commitment [to diversity and inclusion] and has been in the first crowd for a long time. So Temple has a chance here to continue that and to be distinguished on an issue,” Faunce said.
Though cost may be an issue, Temple has proved its devotion to improving campus facilities with the development of the new Paley Hall and the new media center for the Klein College of Communication. The addition of gender-neutral bathrooms is a necessary extension of their current development, as it establishes a safe and comfortable environment for all students.
In addition to scarcity concerns for queer students, Jules Budlow says many of the gender-neutral facilities on campus are also the only wheelchair-acces-
sible ones.
“You can’t properly serve both demographics by just putting random single-person bathrooms in some buildings,” said Budlow, a senior sociology major.
In buildings like Mazur and Tuttleman, students wishing to use gender-neutral restrooms have to choose between disrupting their education by going out of their way to use a bathroom 10 floors away or waiting until a more convenient time.
With transgender individuals being more frequently victimized by public and legislative scrutiny, Temple needs to prioritize setting a standard of inclusion by making gender-neutral facilities more widespread on campus.
The disruption of college education
just to relieve oneself is one that cisgender students seldom deal with. If Temple wishes to continue to stand by their mission statement of inclusivity, more gender-neutral bathrooms need to be constructed. It is crucial for the safety and educational prosperity of one of Temple’s vulnerable student communities.
bradley.mcentee@temple.edu
A student reflects on how a photography project while abroad gave her a love of learning.
BY SARAH RETALLICK
When I was a child, I loved learning. When I learned to read and make sense of numbers I could suddenly understand things I couldn’t before. This gave me my first taste of independence and self-sufficiency. Around middle school, understanding became more difficult. Real-life applications became harder to come by as I was taught complex mathematical formulas and technical terms I didn’t understand.
The more time passed, the more I focused on getting good grades. I learned just enough to test well so I could finish each academic year and be done with the schoolwork I now loathed.
It wasn’t until this year I realized how much I truly missed understanding the content in my classes. My love for learning was revived this past spring semester when I studied abroad in Rome. I didn’t expect to enjoy my classes much more in Italy than at home.
Living in a foreign country forced me to navigate a language barrier. I was surprised at how much easier it was to learn Italian because everyone around me spoke it fluently.
When I first arrived in Rome, the only word I knew was “ciao,” which means hello. During my first week, the security guard in my apartment building asked me where I was from and how my day was. I had to use Google Translate to answer his simple questions.
Eventually, I could converse with the woman in my building, exchanging
kind greetings I hadn’t known before. I struggled with language classes in the past because I treated them as a means to an end to pass the class with a good grade. In Italy, I was more involved with class and began learning to talk to the people around me.
For my final project in my photography class, instructed by Liana Miuccio, we could choose any subject to focus on. I chose to focus on photographing people on the street to push myself outside of my comfort zone even more.
I learned to talk to locals, take their photo and then send it to them. I felt that feeling of unlocking the world again, which was something I had lost since childhood.
I focused on taking pictures of people and trying to capture how they felt. Looking back at them now, months later, I remember each subject’s voice and how kind they had been to me when my Italian was less than great. The photos bring back memories of how I was feeling, where I was going and what I was doing on the days they were taken.
I knew rejection from people who didn’t want to be photographed was inevitable. Yet no one was rude to me, they would just mutter a polite “no thank you” and move on. Even the rejection felt good because at least I had a nice interaction with someone in another language.
I was much more academically involved once I realized how much I missed that feeling of understanding. My classes were suddenly more interesting, and I worried about my comprehension rather than my grades.
After my semester abroad, I’m now finding my specialty in journalism is photography. I’m fascinated by strangers on the street, because of their interesting sense of style and how they carry them-
selves. Sometimes it’s even the emotion in their eyes. Photography allows me to converse with strangers and attempt to capture their spirit.
It was amazing to have the opportunity to capture complex emotions like happiness and sorrow. The feelings of excitement and achievement are immortalized on my camera and I can revisit them whenever I’d like. I viewed photography as a hobby, but after spending a semester abroad I realized it is so much more than that.
As a senior, I feel like my time in school isn’t finished. The ending I’ve been waiting for is right around the corner and instead of being excited, I now dread it. I began researching graduate schools abroad after discovering a different appreciation for education during
my time in Italy.
The motivation that new places and experiences provide is enough to make me consider moving away from home. I’d like to return to Europe after I graduate from Temple and continue taking photos while exploring new countries. My time in Italy showed me how much I love photography. Not just the feeling of taking a beautiful picture but getting to talk to people and understand them.
sarah.retallick@temple.edu
A student reflects on how being bad at baking has become a positive outlet for life’s stressors.
BY MCCAILLAIGH ROUSE Opinion Editor
On a stressful evening during my sophomore year of high school, I started baking to avoid studying for an AP exam. It all began with a batch of chocolate chip cookies I made from scratch. The recipe came off the back of a Nestlé chocolate chip bag, simple enough that even a child could follow along.
I gathered the ingredients in front of me in perfect measurements as Joni Mitchell’s album “Blue” radiated through the kitchen. I combined the wet and dry ingredients, folded in the chocolate chips and placed the dough on a pan in the oven. My face was inches from the glass door, anxiously watching the cookies rise as they baked. When I finally took them out of the oven, they looked and smelled perfect.
My hard work seemingly paid off, and I felt proud of my accomplishments. It wasn’t until I ate one that I realized I had messed up the recipe. I used sea salt instead of regular salt, which made the cookies have a grainy texture and horrendous taste. My brother, who was waiting patiently to try the cookies, was so upset by my mistake that he made his own, perfect cookies.
Messing up the cookies was humbling, especially since my brother used the same recipe to make a flawless batch of cookies, but I also felt a sense of relief. Although the outcome of my baking was not ideal, it relieved me from the pressure and anxiety of studying.
Since that day, I’ve continued to bake frequently but I wouldn’t say it’s a passion, and I wouldn’t even call myself
an adequate baker. I often miss an ingredient, add too much water, drop eggshells or confuse baking powder for baking soda, occasionally resulting in inedible food. I rarely bake a perfect treat, but the imperfection of my baking never outweighs my content during the process.
When the opportunity arises, or when I’m feeling stressed and anxious, I make items like muffins, bread loaves, cakes, pies and cookies, or anything that can be made using a simple follow-along recipe.
During my sophomore year of college, I made each of my friends a specialized cake for their birthdays. That year I was prescribed Accutane, an oral acne medication, and I experienced side effects that negatively affected my mood and made me fear the mundane parts of the day. Baking cakes became a meditative outlet to face anxieties caused by the medication.
Baking birthday cakes for my friends soon became an expression of adoration and appreciation. I would ask each person their favorite colors and flavors so I could bake them the cake of their dreams.
I made seven cakes that year. The first one I made was rough, to say the least. The sponge fell apart because I made it too moist and the icing stuck to all the crumbling pieces. It ended up being a jumbled mess, but by my seventh attempt, I made a perfect chocolate cake with strawberry icing.
Through repeated trial and error, I realized there was so much to be learned from making mistakes and baking imperfectly. As I continued to improve my skills, I transformed baking into an expression of love towards my friends and myself. I mastered turning raw ingredients into a delicious reality and sharing it with those I care about most.
Lately, I’ve rekindled my love for baking as a way to cope with the stress of work, school and my impending graduation. I’ve been particularly focused on
baking pumpkin-flavored treats, especially pumpkin bread. The recipe was passed down to me by my grandmother, and I’ve been striving to perfect it.
I’ve begun refining the recipe, finding what icing works best with the loaf and how to get the most unique flavor combinations. I’ve experimented with regular pumpkin bread by adding chocolate chips and cream cheese icing, or by including different spices like cinnamon and ginger.
The pumpkin bread has been an outlet for when I feel I have no control over my own life. The few hours I spent measuring and combining the ingredients have transformed into a meditative medium. When I bake, it feels like I’m able to control that one task and alleviate my anxieties.
Although I enjoy baking, I never do
it as a source of true artistic expression. I bake as a source of catharsis — it’s an area I go to when I need to let off some steam. I’ve come to accept that I am a stress baker. I’m not very good at it, but it’s one of the key emotional outlets I have.
mccaillaigh.rouse@temple.edu
14
The Temple News surveyed students on preparedness for the upcoming presidential election.
BY AVA FITZGERALD Data Editor
The overwhelming majority of Temple students are registered to vote, and many switched their registration status prior to the upcoming election, according to a poll conducted by The Temple News between Sept. 20 and Oct. 5.
The survey of more than 140 students shared their registration status and voting plans. Approximately 97% of students confirmed they are registered and plan to vote on Nov. 5. A very low percentage of students are registered and not voting or not registered and not planning on voting at all, approximately 3%.
Lourdes Cardamone, a junior political science major and president of Temple University Democrats, is helping students on campus register to vote. She believes students on campus are passionate about voting, but sometimes lack the knowledge of registration and polling locations.
“That’s definitely one thing that Temple Dems has been working on, is trying to get a lot of young people to realize you can vote with your address here,” Cardamone said. “You do not need to be from here to be able to get to the polls.”
Temple University Republicans president and junior political science major Billy Walker agrees on the importance of informing voters.
“It’s important to educate voters on the issues and make sure everyone has upto-date information and knows their options when considering voting,” Walker wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “Doing this is important not just in Temple’s community but across the state.”
Both TU Democrats and Republicans have tables dedicated to registering students. They focus mostly on freshmen students who are new to the area. Car-
damone also believes there are misconceptions when it comes to encouraging this generation of students to vote.
“We’re very passionate, we’re very fiery and very impatient,” Cardamone said. “And so I think moving forward, people are invested in this election. I don’t think everybody is 100% for Harris, 100% for Trump, but at the end of the day, we’re 100% for our constitutional right to vote.”
Approximately 52% of out-of-state students have changed their voter registration to cast their ballot in Pennsylvania. A small percentage of students plan to but have not yet, at 3%. Pennsylvania is a swing state, and currently Harris is leading in The New York Times’ polls at 49%. Youth voter turnout could have an influential impact on the election.
“Pennsylvania is the important place to be,” Birkenstamm said. “I think students are coming around to that and are curious and they want to learn more. I love being out here and being able to help.”
More students are supporting Harris compared to The Temple News’ previous survey conducted in July and August, with approximately 75% of students in favor — an increase of five percentage points. Only 14% of students are supporting President Donald Trump, a three percent decrease. Undecided voters decreased by four percent.
Chris Birkenstamm, a sophomore political science major, can be found walking around campus with Project 26, an organization whose mission is to expand voter engagement, asking students what issues are important to them on the ballot. Sometimes he has a clipboard to get students registered. He believes his efforts are helping people become more knowledgeable about their voting decisions, which comes at a time when many students are undecided.
“We have a lot of independents who come up too, and are just like, ‘I really don’t care for either of the candidates, can you tell me about these issues, though?’” Birkenstamm said. “‘Can you
point me in the direction of a party or candidate who might align with that?’
And we can do that for them.”
About a quarter of students believe the presidential debate had an influence on their voter decision, while the majority said otherwise.
Birkenstamm has tabled with TU Democrats and Republicans to raise awareness of issues, alongside getting students registered. According to Birkenstamm, on the day of their tabling collaboration more than 100 students stopped by, filled out the Project 26 survey and showed their interest.
While taking a nonpartisan approach to issues, Birkenstamm feels strongly about the barriers for student voting.
“There’s a major barrier and it’s the fact that the university doesn’t give off on Tuesday, Nov. 5,” Birkenstamm said.
“But that said, I think that the Philadelphia board of elections, whoever’s in charge of putting polling places in places, does a fantastic job when it comes to college campuses.”
Last year, there were ten polling places near Temple’s campus, which is accessible to the many different streets that stu-
dents live on. Brikenstamm, along with Cardamone, said their efforts include directing students to their polling location for the upcoming election. Their work comes at a time when many students, some who may be voting for the first time in the neighborhood, are uncertain. Approximately 19% of students are voting in person and do not know where their polling location is. Almost half of students, around 48%, are voting in person and know their polling location. Less students are voting by mail, 32%, and very little do not know how to access their mail-in ballot.
Walker, who also serves as the vice-chairman of Pennsylvania’s Federation of College Republicans, believes this election is more important than any other, and that Pennsylvania is a key factor.
“Pennsylvania is likely to be one of the closest states in the country,” Walker wrote. “It could be decided by only thousands of votes. Out of state students across [Pennsylvania] could absolutely impact the results of the election.”
ava.fitzgerald@temple.edu
BY JARED TATZ Assistant Photo Editor
On Saturday, Oct. 5, people from all across Philadelphia filled the blocks of 24th and Berks to enjoy the festivities of Sanctuary Farm’s Harvest Festival during a sunny fall afternoon. Giddy children ran to the goats as they arrived while their parents attempted to contain them. No matter their age, there was something for everyone to do at the festival.
This annual harvest festival was
hosted on Sanctuary Farm’s property and included scarecrow making, face painting, free food, goats and many more activities. The festival garnered an audience of all ages from infants to senior citizens. There was a DJ and plenty of volunteers helping out at the event.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, Sanctuary Farm serves the North West Philadelphia community with a free produce stand, which serves around 100 people each week. They also host gardening and cooking education classes for people in the community and children’s programming in the summer.
“I’ve been doing work in communities, living on the margins for years, and just kind of got frustrated with my
patients not having access to what they needed to live a healthy life,” said Andrea Vettori, a nurse practitioner and founder of Sanctuary Farm. “Places to gather like this, fresh produce, education, farming, gardening, being out in nature in and of itself, is so healing.”
There were also organizations at the festival including The Food Trust, a nonprofit that focuses on helping people gain access to healthy and nutritional food. Sanctuary Farm partners with their nutrition navigator, an upcoming online map designed to help people find food education programs. All of the organizations at The Harvest Festival were connected to serving underprivileged communities.
“We’re at this specific event because it actually gives you a lot of opportunities to get healthy and to provide areas to get healthier access to foods and just to get into farming and a healthier lifestyle,” said Kelly O’Brien, an intern at the American Heart Association.
The inclusion of educational resources and fun activities shows the true essence of Sanctuary Farm.
“The festival has grown out of both celebrating our harvest, but more importantly, celebrating our neighbors who have welcomed us here and have allowed us to grow here,” said Jane Seaburg, volunteer staff member for Sanctuary Farm.
jared.tatz@temple.edu
A
Two attendees chat In the middle of one of Sanctuary Farm’s plots of growing produce.
Wagner Institute
Uptown Theater
Ark of Safety
Broad Street
Amos Playground
Cecil B Moore
Susquehanna
Tree House Books
Champ’s Diner
Mecca Salon
Twist Creamery
Philly Style
DOWN
1. South 4th Street is also known as ___ Row
2. It has a crack in it!
4. Who founded Philly in 1682?
5. His statue can be found by the Philadelphia Museum of Art
7. The Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback
8. Famous Philly sandwich
9. Philly’s famous river (be sure to spell it right!)
ACROSS
3. ___ Terminal Market
6. The Phillies’ mascot
8. This West Philly park hosts Shakespeare in the Park every summer
10. From West Philadelphia, born and raised!
11. It’s Always ___ in Philadelphia
North Philadelphia’s rich culture and history are prioritized by the community, and many fight to preserve its vibrance in the face of growing tensions between the students and locals.
Neighborhood barber shops transform into spaces for men to engage in community discourse, barricaded from an exterior political storm. Frequenters at local recreation centers strive to keep these spaces safe and enjoyable for their children and for generations to come.
North Central is a resilient and powerful community, but it’s an ongoing struggle for students to respect the neighborhood in which they temporarily reside. The dichotomy between Temple and North Central locals continues to be a long-time dialogue on the university’s impact.
Part of Temple’s uniqueness comes from its urban integration. Students must learn community respect and become accustomed to a neighborhood they are not familiar with. But for locals, this area is their livelihood. North Central is their source of familiarity, a prideful corner of Philadelphia where their foundations are deeply rooted.
All these reasons, and more, are why The Temple News decided to highlight North Philadelphia with its first-ever Community Issue. The TTN Features team takes an inside look into the locals preserving the ever-blossoming neighborhood. Many reflect on their triumphs, along with the hardships discovered along the way.
We hope these stories provide just a small glimpse into just how special this community is.
From,
Alexander
Temple admitted 42 students from the Carver High School of Engineering and Science.
BY BAYLEH ALEXANDER Features Editor
Temple has long pushed for greater enrollment from North Philadelphia high school students, and a new initiative spearheaded by the university’s Department of Public Safety has now helped accomplish that goal.
The university didn’t have to look far from Main Campus to recruit 42 students from Carver High School of Engineering and Science. The public magnet school, located at Norris and 16th Streets, stands amid a sea of local homes and off-campus student housing.
“Students who are not from the area come here, and they might be only here for four or five years,” said Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin. “But by recruiting students who have already lived here, they have relationships. They have community. Bringing them to Temple helps bridge the gap between the university and North Philadelphia. We are part of the community, and they’re a part of us.”
The initiative came out of the DPS’s Community Engagement and Research unit and was spearheaded by Officer Leroy Wimberly, who mentored and recruited North Philly students to strengthen the connection between the neighborhood and the university — a relationship that has long been fractured.
“For those that didn’t want to go to college, they had no idea after high school,” Wimberly said. “[The students] said, ‘I’m just going to get a job.’ And I always kept pushing the education part, [telling them] ‘You should further your education. It’s going to do nothing but better you.’”
This is not Temple’s only high school recruitment initiative: The Cecil B. Moore Scholars Program offers 50 high school students from eight nearby zip codes the opportunity to take a free dual enrollment course during their senior year. Of the 50 students, 20-25 are selected to enroll at Temple after a summer bridge program.
While these programs support local students’ transitions to Temple, many feel the university’s ef-
forts are underdeveloped for communities outside of the patrol zone.
Taimar Ward-Stubbs, a junior media studies and production major and former CHS student, was unable to receive the Cecil B. Moore Scholars scholarship because he resided in Olney, which was slightly outside of the scholarship’s location parameters.
“Every kid from Philadelphia that wants to go to college, everyone needs that assistance,” Stubbs said. “And I think Temple is throwing that scholarship in their face. [Temple is saying] ‘Let’s make [the university] look better. We have more North Philly kids coming to Temple.’”
The student body at CHS is a diverse group spanning from all parts of the city and even the suburbs, Wimberly said. The school’s admission requirements are selective, only admitting highly qualified students.
CHS’ admission requires students to have a 3.0 grade point average, 95% attendance in their previous school, no disciplinary records and be in the 85th percentile or higher in reading and mathematics PSSA’s. The school also boasts a 100% post-secondary education rate for its students.
Despite the rigor of CHS’ curriculum, Wimberly feels the Temple 42 program guidance is crucial to students’ university adjustment.
“Some [students] are unsure of themselves and sometimes they need that push,” Wimberly said. “[Having] that guy, especially from an outsider looking in and them getting to understand you and feeling comfortable.”
Stubbs is unable to recall a time when any Temple recruitment came to CHS during his time there from 2018-22, but is grateful to hear they’re now initiating engagement with the students. He emphasizes the need for room and board included in the scholarship aid.
“[Temple] should have a little better program at CHS,” Stubbs said. “I feel as though they should have some type of partnership where they should get five kids from the graduating class, give them a full-ride scholarship, tuition and board and all that because they’re the closest school to the facility.”
bayleh.alexander@temple.edu
COMMUNITY Queue Rainey has hosted Freestyle Fridays out of his North Philly basement since 1998.
BY ANNA AUGUSTINE Co-Chief Copy Editor
Basements are a hallmark of Philadelphia’s music scene. Countless artists across the city go subterranean on a regular basis to record, perform or practice their craft. Queue Rainey has been doing the same for the past 26 years, but after a stint hosting his Freestyle Friday events at WRTI radio’s facilities, he’s ready for more fresh air.
“A lot of these guys, I think, deserve so much more,” said Rainey, founder and operator of Everquest Recordings. “Staying off streets, staying out of trouble, keeping their lives together, doing so much for themselves, and now starting their new families, and the newer generation coming in, one trying to find a place to fit in. I would hate to see it just get thrown away just because of lack of funds.”
Freestyle Fridays with WRTI were a hit, Rainey recalls. The station’s high-quality facilities drew a much larger crowd than the weekly events Rainey hosts out of his home studio. But they were cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a portion of the budget for the collaboration unused. The organizations have collaborated in the past year to host a jazz night at a club near South Street, but progress on a WRTI Freestyle Friday revival has stagnated.
Before COVID, WRTI worked with Temple’s Intellectual Heritage department to procure funds for the Freestyle Fridays. Students from IH classes were invited for studio tours and the recording sessions as a part of the general education curriculum and a means of community outreach.
The collaboration was halted when the pandemic struck, but WRTI hopes to rekindle their collaboration with IH and, eventually, Freestyle Fridays.
“It’s important for everyone in the community to try to find ways to con-
nect,” said J. Michael Harrison, a jazz host at WRTI who coordinated the collaboration. “It’s just natural in many respects. But we’re part of that ecosystem and we play a significant role.”
The events started out of Rainey’s North Philly basement in 1998. Rainey and his wife, despite a lack of experience in music, were looking to create a way to keep their young children off of the street. They noticed the broad interest in hip-hop and began piecing together a home studio with whatever equipment they could gather.
Rainey, a carpenter by trade, remodeled his basement into what is now Everquest Recording’s professional studio on Van Pelt Street near Susquehanna, equipped with a recording booth, professional speakers and space to accommodate up to 30 attendees. Each week, he creates backing tracks and welcomes people to freestyle and workshop their music. On Saturdays, he invites people back for recording sessions based on the previous night’s progress.
The event’s turnout and content vary by the week. Attendance has taken a blow since COVID-19, but Rainey is working to rebuild the once-thriving community. His attempts at revitalization vary from his efforts to garner grants from Philadelphia nonprofits to his purchase of an inflatable projector screen, which he sets up outside to show old rap tapes.
“There’s not so many rewards I can offer them or give them,” Rainey said. “You know, we can do this and do that. I even, actually, I went out and bought me this 50 foot movie screen just to show random films out on the corner, just you know, maybe trying to get the attention of some of these kids.”
Rainey has also noticed a shift in the musical culture in North Philadelphia since COVID-19. He worries that social media has nudged much of the music into a more violent direction with the increasing popularity of drill rap, a harsher lyrical and production style that gained popularity in the 2010s with artists like Chief Keef and Pop Smoke.
He still believes that music is the way to connect to the younger generation and hopes the drill rap scene has begun to die out, noting a shift towards a more poppy, dance-forward sound.
“In Philadelphia, music seems to be more than just a part of life,” Rainey said. “I think it’s literally how the younger generation moves as far as clout, stature, being oneself, so to speak, and feeling proud within.”
Despite recent drops in turnout, the Freestyle Friday family still has a strong core of attendees. Jermain Bethay started coming to Rainey’s open studio sessions at their inception, and has kept coming back to keep himself out of trouble — something he says he’s known for.
“I’d rather you be in here than out there,” Bethay said. “Out there, you get in trouble, in here you’re alright. You can show your talent and go from there.”
Besides, he said, “It’s family.”
annaaugustine@temple.edu @annaug_
COMMUNITY
Barbershops have assumed a strange, outsized role in American culture and politics.
BY JADON GEORGE Features Staff Writer
It’s the undying conviction that governs hair culture on the sidewalks of Philadelphia: “Young buck, who touched your hair last? Your mother? The barber school by Lawncrest Library? Doesn’t matter. They messed it up.”
The furrowed brows of Philly’s hair stylists betray something deeper than salesmanship. There’s genuine concern. And these comments aren’t just roasts; they’re counsel you can trust.
It’s no different at the Unisex Mecca barber shop on Cecil B. Moore Avenue. The shop has become one of the most popular in North Central. Not just because they are delivering quality cuts, but because they treat their customers like family and give them an outlet to discuss world events.
Why do people view their hair hubs as a centerpiece of Black community and thought?
“Because [they are],” Corey Harris said in the back of the Mecca Unisex Hair Salon. You know: Lil Uzi Vert’s barbershop — the wide-windowed storefront two doors down from 15th and Cecil B. Moore.
Harris would know. He watched his father command the clippers in West Philadelphia, then took them up himself at shops around the city: Germantown. North. A brief jaunt at a joint on his apartment building’s ground floor, during the months his late mother spent battling cancer. He’d seen his clients through some of their most important moments.
“Being a barber, you’re right there in the midst of their lives,” Harris said.
When we first walked in, Harris had been talking to a customer about his decision to quit eating meat. He’d reevaluated his lifestyle when his mother, the actress and singer Joliet F. Harris-Lawton, died in November 2022. Meat these days was too processed, too toxic, he de-
cided.
That’s personal.
Sometimes, the younger Harris brings his mother’s and grandmother’s notebooks to work, every page thick with exquisite handwriting. He does quite a bit of writing himself. That’s personal.
The shop has also allowed people a space to rant on current political topics.
In July, Former President Donald Trump implied that his opponent wasn’t truly Black. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is biracial, had robed herself only in South Asian identity early in her career, Trump told a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago.
“Then, all of a sudden, she happened to turn Black,” Trump griped.
It was a bald-faced lie, channeling Jimmy the Greek and Uncle Ruckus. Even the veteran reporters in the room gasped and groaned.
But the media didn’t know whether the claim had resonated with the public, especially the millions of young Black men said to be giving Trump a second look. So, in a report produced by Harrisburg’s CBS21 and re-aired to thousands of viewers on CNN’s “Smerconish,” a reporter popped into a barbershop and asked: Is Kamala Harris Black?
One can just about guess the answers with a quick Google search. Top results: The New York Post and Fox News.
Michael Smerconish reappeared after CNN’s cut ended. Callers to his radio show had dubbed the barbershop men “low information voters,” he assured the audience. Four guys awaiting a line-up didn’t speak for the nation’s 20 million Black men.
And yet: What else could that CBS21 reporter have been thinking, draped in a gaudy Jumpman T-shirt and blazer? What else were CNN’s producers imagining when they pulled that tape and ran it that Saturday morning?
“For one, it’s laziness, because they don’t have any connections beyond that,” said Linn Washington, Jr., a longtime local journalist now teaching at Temple. “It’s the low-hanging fruit: ‘Let’s go to a barbershop. There should be some peo-
ple there.’”
Somewhere between the 18th-century Haitian Revolution and Nat Turner’s Virginia slave revolt, the American legal system developed a phobia of large, majority-Black gatherings. Barbershops became one of the few places African American men could congregate without violence and suppression from the outside, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The Black church exists, too, and other spaces. Yet CBS21 didn’t walk in on a sanctuary.
Even the Democratic Senate Cam paign Committee filmed an ad attack ing Pennsylvania Republican candidate Dave McCormick in a hair salon. And Donald Trump’s restoration bid used an Atlanta barbershop for a “Black busi ness” forum.
Like church, people trust the cut tery with big moments in their lives— first dates, funerals, and job interviews. They’re putting their lives in the hands of people like Harris and fellow stylist Leticia Kelly-El. Might as well talk about
politics, sports and life.
“The church is a safe space for us,” Kelly-El said. “And the barbershop is a safe space, too.”
We rose to clear out. Harris’s eyes locked onto my hairline. His voice got low.
“Hey…” he looked up. And down. Back and forth. Up again—no easy task. “Are you planning to do something about that?”
jadon.george@temple.edu @jgeorgescribe
BY BAYLEH ALEXANDER Features Editor
When Brandi Rei performs in front of a crowd, she no longer goes by her legal name. She instead adopts her alter ego, Madame. As the leader of her dancers at Brown Suga Burlesque and the overseer of all, Rei makes sure to let the audience know she’s in control.
“I’m a very passionate and very direct dancer, and I’m very in tune with my sexuality,” said Rei, founder of Brown Suga Burlesque, a performance-focused, narrative-building show. “And when I do that and I perform, I connect with audience members by my aura and my confidence. So I just wanted to be able to put that just who I am as a dancer into a physical form, into a show.”
Rei, a North Philadelphia native and former Temple student, found refuge in her body through Dare2Dance, the university’s dance team. The diverse and supportive environment unlocked a confidence previously unbeknownst to her. She dropped out of college to move to Los Angeles, where she fell in love with dancing and ultimately returned to Philly, ready to establish BSB.
During Burlesque shows, dancers taunt and tease the audience, slowly guiding the crowd through an experience as entertaining as it is sensual. While nudity can be an element of burlesque, Gigi Penn, a dancer at BSB, emphasizes this is not the sole factor contributing to their success.
“It’s really about making everybody in this space feel like there is no shame to be had,” Penn said. “Because at the same time, we’re exhibiting something sexual for people to watch. People also feel a way when they watch something sexual happening, or even not sexual. [The performances] don’t have to be explicitly sexual, and [the audience] still discover things about themselves.”
BSB has developed into a bona fide Philadelphia institution since it opened in December 2023. But even with a team of 12 regular performers and dozens of other dancers and supporters, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride.
Their biggest challenges are not resources or booking shows, but misconceptions and judgment, Rei said. Bars and venues hosting all-white dance acts have kicked Brown Suga out for “vulgarity.”
As a Black woman performing erotically, Rei knows the response won’t always be positive.
“They always automatically assume we’re stripping,” Rei said. “It is not the same thing. We have different intentions and different purposes, and it’s more of an art form and creative expression, rather than just being about money.”
Rei hosts her dance classes at Bodies in Motion Performing Arts and Dance School, just blocks away from Temple’s campus on 10th Street near Diamond. When she isn’t teaching classes, her fellow dancers join her for drinks at her
apartment nearby. Rei highlights the importance of building community outside of dancing, regularly hosting cookouts, sip and paints and apartment hang-outs.
Not all the company’s members dance, either. When Daeja Davenport first found the community, she was extremely timid and unsure of herself. As BSB’s content editor and behind-thescenes employee, Davenport slowly found confidence through Rei’s uplifting energy and support.
“[Rei] allowed me to shine through that, and letting me do the editing and doing the background stuff, things I really enjoy doing, and things I want to do in life,” Davenport said. “So I am always so appreciative of her giving me this opportunity to do this and let me shine in ways that I’ve never been able to before.”
Penn remembers being sexualized from a young age, which she attributed to being treated older than she was because of her Blackness. She uses BSB to reclaim her body in an environment where the other women understand her struggles. She credits Rei for cultivating
a shameless community for Black women to be vulnerable and build confidence together.
“It’s really about fighting for our right to be heard and appreciated,” Penn said. “Because black women are our main audience, but it’s literally for anybody who wants to appreciate a Black woman who was invited to BSB. And we just make sure that the girls feel empowered, and it’s not done in a way that feels exploitative.”
bayleh.alexander@temple.edu
22ND ST FAIRMOUNT AVE
Thursdays 3pm-7pm
The Food Trust, with the help of Bookhaven Used Bookstore, hosts a weekly farmers market that showcases several local vendors.
MET SHOWINGS
858 N BROAD ST
3
Attend performances like Gracie Abrams, Orville Peck, and even comedian Larry David this month at The Met.
OPEN HOUSE
2101 S COLLEGE AVE
October 26th 10am-2pm
Learn about Girard College’s Halloween traditions at this free festive event at Founder’s Hall Museum.
22nd & CECIL | 24th & BERKS
Tuesdays/Thursdays 9am-12pm Saturdays 12pm-2pm
The farm stand gives away free produce on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 22nd & Cecil and Saturdays at 24th & Berks.
The playground frequenters by campus say they want more support from Temple.
BY JADON GEORGE Features Staff Writer
When Reggie McBride was a child, his father took him to the neighborhood pool. The two hiked over the burning concrete to the chlorinated shoreline as the waters teemed with families and wandering children.
Then, without warning, McBride’s dad pitched him in.
“I thought maybe he was trying to kill me,” McBride recounted.
That was just how people taught their kids to swim in those days — and it worked. After much thrashing, McBride returned poolside, to his pops. Together, they walked to his grandparents’ house nearby.
Swimming was a parting gift: McBride’s father walked him home that afternoon, and they never saw each other again.
The pool where McBride learned to swim sits at the Amos Recreation Center on 16th Street, a three-part property straddling the Western edge of Temple’s Main Campus.
Named for Fletcher Amos, a municipal martyr of sorts struck and killed while helping a neighbor in car trouble, Amos Rec was once a wide-open community hub. Those involuntary swimming lessons would have taken place in vast space. Little more than Geasey Field and a flat running track stretched beside it.
But perseverance conquered parts of a space that Temple and Amos Rec had shared since the latter’s inception. Specifically, “perseverance” turned a chunk of the grassy expanse into a mini-dust bowl while building a state-of-the-art weight room—Temple ID holders only.
The playground equipment is only 11 years old. Weeds poke from the edge of Amos’ basketball court. The paint on the center shed’s exterior has paled a little in the summer sun, and McBride says
students living across the street often simply chuck trash out of their windows. But the rec center’s most glaring problem is the pool — which hasn’t opened since 2019.
Local political veteran and block captain Ruth Birchett founded the Heritage Community Development Corporation to spur improvements to spots like Amos Rec. Seeing it as a safe space, Birchett pushed for a reopened pool and a computer lab in the center’s indoor area. Many in local government have supported her efforts to protect and promote the center, she said, including Parks and Rec commissioner Susan Slawson.
But earning city support can be a struggle, with Temple’s footprint wide and looming ever-larger, Birchett said.
“I have regard and respect for [Temple],” Birchett said of the university. “And it wasn’t always like this—I mean, they had people at the leadership at Temple who were very community-oriented.”
Slawson visited Amos Rec last week, the commissioner wrote in a statement to The Temple News, calling it “a vibrant recreation facility that serves all community members including Temple students.”
“The site has dedicated community members that have volunteered with recreation staff at this location for years to ensure that the youth and seniors have opportunities to participate in programming,” Slawson wrote.
Wanting to show Philadelphia’s kids a different side of law enforcement than what filled the news in the 1990s, McBride spent decades as a safety officer in the Philadelphia School District. Now, he hosts families from across the community on rec center grounds, at events he says draw local luminaries into Amos’ hallways.
Amos proved a much tougher draw to Temple’s students, McBride said — even when he tried to start a cornhole league to bring them in.
Among the students who do use the center: political science major Sam Murdoch, who was shooting around on Amos Rec’s basketball court Thursday
afternoon.
“At least where I’m from—I’m gonna be honest—it’s a bunch of white people, especially old white people,” said Murdoch, who grew up near Harrisburg. He found the diversity of North Philadelphia’s cityscape refreshing, he said.
You don’t name a sheep if you see lamb chops in its future. And McBride suspects Temple’s isolation from a space just next door is born of the same ethos.
“They’re trying to take Amos from the community, because it would give them more room to build what they want to build,” McBride said.
From 1928 to 1978, Temple’s football team boasted a stadium all its own in Oak Lane. Then, it joined the NFL’s Eagles at Veterans Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly. But school officials in the mid-2010s pushed for a second Temple Stadium, with retail space, right next to Amos Rec.
Birchett, herself a Temple alumna, rallied North Philadelphia against the plan. City Council President Darrell Clarke rejected it. Stadium talk faded as
the team’s fortunes gave way to some of the worst records in college football. And Amos Rec appeared safe.
At least, for the moment.
“I think Amos could be a real asset to Temple and to the community,” McBride, a Temple dad himself, said. “But I don’t think Temple sees it like that.”
jadon.george@temple.edu @jgeorgescribe
Residents believe Temple can do more to support the North Central Philadelphia community.
BY MIKE NONNEMAKER Assistant Features Editor
In 2015, Temple officials proposed the construction of a new football stadium at Broad and Norris Streets. College football crowds are known to be rowdy and inebriated, and it didn’t take long for North Central community members to express their concerns about a potential increase in noise, trash and traffic.
When city traffic congests Broad Street, many local drivers find 15th Street a more convenient option for traveling south. The stadium’s construction would’ve also required 15th Street to close between Norris and Montgomery, further inconveniencing North Philly residents.
The stadium idea was ultimately shot down, but the proposal is just one example of why many North Philadelphia residents feel there is a disconnect between the university and the community — something that has existed for a long time.
Judith Robinson, a long-time North Philadelphia resident, believes it’s beneficial to have a system of higher education in the community, but Temple’s expansive nature can have a negative effect on the residents.
“Temple University is an institution with a lovely archive and library, all the great international people come from all over the world,” Robinson said. “I’m happy – it’s great, okay? However, the Temple Board of Trustees, the ones who make the decisions, I’m really concerned about how they deal with the Black community as they expand into the neighborhood where we as homeowners live.”
Robinson believes it’s beneficial to have a system of higher education in the community, but Temple’s expansive nature can have a negative effect on the residents.
on Broad Street to house facilities for the Klein College of Media and Communications and the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts.
“It came back really what we thought – not good. Not good,” Robinson said. “They could have asked a novice, and we would have been able to tell them that was the wrong move.”
Based on the backlash Temple received regarding the project, they concluded the proposed stadium would be disruptive to the residential neighborhood and the larger North Philly community. Temple decided to accommodate local concerns in 2016, but it didn’t take long for the university to set its sights on another project that was equally as alarming to North Central residents.
In 2023, Temple announced plans to build a Media and Performance Center
Temple hired architecture firm Moody Nolan in February 2016 and conducted a $1.25 million feasibility study to determine the impacts of the stadium development project. They worked with community members and government officials to address residents’ concerns.
In July of that year, Robinson noticed a black and white flier in the neighborhood that stated, “Come find out what development is going on in your community.” The flier did not present an apparent connection between the event and the university aside from its location: the Temple Performing Arts Center on Broad Street.
Neighbors called Robinson imploring her to attend the meeting due to her involvement in registered community organizations. Upon her arrival, Robinson was disappointed to see Temple’s development team discussing a new project — this time an educational facility instead of a stadium.
“Why on Earth would you be hiding
this?” Robinson said. “Why would you send out a flier that doesn’t have Temple’s logo on it?”
North Philly natives want to be aware of changes in their community, but Temple’s guileful approach left them feeling out of the loop, Robinson said.
With Temple’s expansion comes a large influx of students living off-campus and moving closer to native community members. Residents like Towanda Tanksley have experienced unwanted student activity near their homes as a result.
“I came home after work and a student had taken my parking spot,” said Tanksley, a mail carrier. “The last thing I want to do after working all day is contact the police for them to give out a ticket.”
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
Tanksley also recalls an event when a drunk student knocked loudly on her door in the middle of the night, waking her and causing damage to her property. She believes the Temple Police have gotten better at quickly responding to these situations during the years, but room for improvement remains.
Robinson also doesn’t hold back her criticisms of Temple out of concern for the community she was born into, but she’s quick to give the university credit where it’s due.
“There’s been this adversarial relationship with Temple,” Robinson said. “Some people have even said, ‘Oh, they’re not an anchor of our community.’ Yes, the hell they are. Temple is certainly an anchor of our community, and I’m happy about that. But the back and forth and the negativity, it just should not be.”
Residents like Robinson think Temple is taking steps in the right direction. The university’s recently introduced Good Neighbor Initiative has played a large part in rebuilding the community’s trust in Temple.
The initiative, spearheaded by Student Affairs, educates Temple students to respect their long-standing neighbors. The initiative works to ensure the community is aware of trash days and coordinates large trash pick-ups at the end of each semester. Welcome Wagon events at the start of the school year bring students and community members together with a cookout environment.
Interim Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Rachael Stark says Temple and their students have a responsibility to support the community and play a role in keeping it safe, clean and comfortable for longtime residents.
“Be kind and respectful, take trash out on the appropriate days,” Stark wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “Students need to remember that their time in the Temple community is temporary while some of our neighbors have been here for over 50 years.”
Trash cleanup is heavily prioritized in conversations regarding support for North Central’s neighborhoods. Rats have been an issue due to the significant volume of trash on the sidewalk, Tanksley said.
Robinson acknowledged Temple’s efforts in cleaning up the trash but expressed concern about the lack of prevention.
Robinson believes there’s a way to limit the trash seen on sidewalks by spreading awareness of the sanitation convenience center on Glenwood Avenue. When speaking with parents, she
found that most were unaware of this resource that would prove useful for students.
Robinson also suggested an ambassador program for more interaction between community members and students. This, among other solutions, could help Temple become more connected with the neighborhood it calls home.
“Every semester we could talk to students and say ‘Welcome to North Philly. We want you here. If we ever can be of help to you, here’s our telephone number,’” Robinson said.
mike.nonnemaker@temple.edu
What is your favorite spot in North Philly?
Senior English major | He/Him
“ O’Connor Plaza, nothing better than showing up with a good book and just enjoying the weather. ”
Junior Journalism major | She/Her
“ Pazzo because it’s right around the corner from my apartment, and they’re open really late, so it’s good for some munchies. ”
Junior Political Science major | She/Her
“ I love to go to Twist Creamery because it’s also around the corner from my apartment, and it’s really delicious. ”
Junior Photography major | She/Her
“ Spoons, I like the boba that they have and their dumplings. ”
FOOTBALL Temple lost to UConn on Saturday, spoiling the defense’s three turnover performance.
reason Temple ended up in the predicament.
BY RYAN MACK Sports Editor
On the first drive of Temple’s game against UConn on Saturday, the Owls had a prime opportunity to right the wrongs of their season. The defense was on its heels on a fourth-and-one with a chance to get the Huskies off the field. Quarterback Joe Fagnano handed the ball off to Cam Edwards who had the chains in sight.
Instead, cornerback Elijah Deravail stood him up and forced the turnover on downs. The stop set the tone for the game and echoed head coach Stan Drayton’s message about the defense.
“I think our defense did a great job keeping us in the game,” Drayton said. “The turnovers were good to see. Keeping us in the game. Offense came on a little late, but enough to give us a chance to win the ball game late. We didn’t get it done.”
Temple’s defense looked the best it has all season, holding one of the best rushing offenses in the country in check all game. The unit even forced three turnovers, but Temple (1-5, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) headed back to Philadelphia with a loss — this time for a new reason. Poor coaching decisions down the stretch cost the Owls their first road win since 2021 and erased the defense’s valiant effort.
While Temple stood tall against the rush, it was instantly overshadowed by how the game ended — a fumble on the goal line which was returned back for a touchdown as time expired. Drayton entered his press conference dejected after being on the receiving end of a 29-20 loss.
Now, Temple faceplants into its bye week sitting at a 1-5 record and off of its most heartbreaking loss in the Drayton era. But a crucial decision could be the
The Owls got the ball with just under four minutes to go in the game with a chance to win or send the game to overtime.
Quarterback Forrest Brock made his return in relief of an injured Evan Simon and seemingly orchestrated a potential game-winning drive.
Brock was unable to get going for much of the game, being limited to throwing short passes. He threw 15 passes five yards or less, and looked uncomfortable to air the ball deep, yet used his legs to get Temple’s only offensive touchdown.
it was absolutely the right call. I would do it again.”
Temple tried to go for the win and Drayton decided to sub backup quarterback Tyler Douglas into the game. Douglas made guest appearances during the game but was handed the keys to be the late-game hero against the Huskies. The plan backfired as soon as it was set into motion.
A bad snap kicked off the disaster and Douglas coughed up the ball, which UConn defensive back Jordan Wright scooped up. Wright added insult to injury by returning the fumble 96 yards to score as time expired.
“I’m going to coach to win, because that’s the way my players want it,” Drayton said. “That’s what we want as a coaching staff. That’s what I want as a head football coach is to win ball games, I think our players have been through so much and they deserve that. I think
The Owls’ defense, which held strong all game Saturday, had been gashed by the opposing team’s running backs this year, giving up 1395 yards on the ground — the second most in the country.
Temple’s game against UConn (42) gave all the signs that it was going to be another uphill battle. The Huskies went into Saturday’s matchup sixth in the country with 1223 rushing yards and looked primed to take full advantage of the Owls’ lack of run support.
But Temple stifled the Huskies’ potent rushing attack, holding their opponent to just 99 yards on the ground. UConn’s three-headed monster of running backs Durell Robinson, Mel Brown and Edwards barely made a peep all game.
The ending ruins what was an oth-
erwise picture-perfect day from the defensive side of the ball. Temple’s defense had been under a microscope for weeks, giving up countless big plays during the first half of the season.
“It comes down to discipline and our eyes,” said defensive tackle Latrell Jean. “We just have to handle our assignment.”
However, the result falls back on Drayton, who kept Brock in a blowout against Navy which ended with him getting hurt. Drayton doubled down on his decision by keeping Simon in during the primetime loss last week against Army and he ended up injured.
“Those are our better players,” Drayton said at Monday’s presser. “They’re in those positions for a reason. We got to play our best guys to give ourselves a chance to win.”
ryan.mack001@temple.edu @ryan_mack18
VOLLEYBALL Temple setter Lexi Yoza has taken strides and become a key player on the court.
BY NATE PRENDERGAST Volleyball Beat Reporter
When Linda Hampton-Keith took the head Volleyball coaching job at Temple in January 2022, she knew a setter was needed to complete the roster. She envisioned a high-paced style of play and was searching for someone who fit the bill.
Hampton-Keith’s attention was quickly drawn to Scottsdale, Arizona native Lexi Yoza.
Yoza made a name for herself in high school at Notre Dame Preparatory Academy, racking up more than 1,200 assists and 200 digs in three seasons. Hampton-Keith made the setter a top priority the moment she started. After a few months of chasing her on the recruiting trail, Temple finally managed to land Yoza — a key player for the most important position.
From the moment Yoza stepped on the court at McGonigle Hall in 2023, she became an important part of a Temple program that has completely turned around under Hampton-Keith’s leadership. Yoza initially shared the starting setter spot with fellow freshman Ava Blascziek, making an impact but leaving much to be desired.
Yoza started in nine of the Owls’ 30 matches last season, playing a crucial role on offense but was not as much of a factor on defense. During the offseason, Yoza made it a priority to be a player who could contribute on both ends of the court and the sophomore has blossomed into one of the best players on the team this year.
“Being a freshman I was definitely nervous,” Yoza said. “I think over time just becoming more confident in myself, but also more comfortable with the team has allowed me to play more calm and confident on the court.”
Yoza took a leap forward on defense this year through the team’s first 16 matches. She leads the team in digs
with 122 while continuing to improve on offense. She also leads the team with 361 assists.
While Yoza has taken strides, the Owls’ overall record has gone backward from last season. They are off to a mediocre 7-9 start this season due to a difficult non-conference slate. Hampton-Keith made the schedule for Temple to prove itself against the best but it instead hurt their record. Temple has also started 1-3 through its first American Athletic Conference matches.
Hampton-Keith has alternated between two systems this year and they both feature Yoza. One has Yoza and Blascziek on the court at the same time and the other features just Yoza as setter. Yoza’s success has allowed Temple to be flexible and switch between the two systems depending on what the game requires.
“The biggest thing that she contributes to our team and on the court is her
steadiness,” Hampton-Keith said. “She is so steady and consistent which is such a valuable asset at the setting position.”
Both Yoza and Blascziek worked with assistant coach Jose Lugo on their setting last spring. The pair focused on gaining chemistry with hitters like Taylor Davenport. The timing and execution are key for the hitters, who rely on players like Yoza to provide them with attacking opportunities.
“She was setting closer to the tempo we wanted to run,” Hampton-Keith said. “She mirrored closer to how we wanted to run our offense, how fast we would want to run and the sets we would want to run.”
Yoza’s work throughout the offseason was evident to Davenport and the team has improved despite a regression in the win-loss column. The team flows better on the offensive side resulting in the outside hitters receiving better kill chances, in particular Davenport who
leads the AAC with 237.
“It’s evident,” Davenport said. “The quality of balls we’ve been getting since spring and summer is all coming together now.”
Despite not being vocal on the court, the soft-spoken Yoza has become a leader for the team. Her calming presence on the court eases the team no matter the situation and is essentially the quarterback on the court at the setter position.
Yoza has received constant praise from her teammates and coaches, however she tries not to focus on herself. She remains zeroed in on getting her job done so the rest of the team can play well off of her — which hopefully leads to wins.
“My number one goal is to just do my job to the best of my ability,” Yoza said. “That’s really all that matters. If everyone does that, everything flows well.”
tus77256@temple.edu @nate_prendy
MEN’S SOCCER
Temple has scored two goals in the last month after scoring four in first two games.
BY CHARLES ERB For The Temple News
In Temple’s second game of the season against Villanova on Aug. 25, the team exploded for three goals and it seemed to set the stage for what looked like a successful offensive season.
Forward Xavier Rimpel especially impressed, accounting for one of the goals and assisting on the other two.
But instead of building on the early success, the Owls’ offense has become their Achilles’ heel.
Temple failed to score another live-action goal until Sept. 29 against Florida Atlantic when midfielder Edgar Bazan finally broke the dry spell. The only other goal the Owls had during the stretch was a penalty kick goal against Akron, which did not come until the 85th minute.
“[Scoring] is the toughest thing in the game to do both from an individual standpoint and a team standpoint,” said head coach Bryan Green. “If we hadn’t been getting looks or had some good attacks, I would have been concerned about that, but the way we’ve been playing has been pretty good.”
Temple hasn’t been efficient throughout the 2024 season. The Owls have scored just six goals so far despite averaging nearly eight shots a game. Despite the lingering dark cloud of not scoring consistently, the Owls haven’t given the lack of offense a second thought.
“We weren’t worried about the streak,” Green said. “We needed to score goals to win games, so that was the importance. We want to win games.”
Green pointed to the Owls’ game against St. Joseph’s on Sept. 24 as an example of when his team should have been able to pull out a win because of the opportunities they created. Temple was knocking on the door the entire game but had five shots saved.
The same thing occurred during Temple’s 1-0 loss to No. 9 Charlotte on Sept. 21, where the Owls couldn’t find a
groove and were gashed by a second-half goal. They had the opportunity to tie the game, but a potential penalty kick went uncalled. In a season-opening draw against Army, the Owls also came close to scoring a win but were denied seven times by Army goalkeeper Blair Camargo.
“I think we’ve been just really unlucky with how some games have gone,” said goalkeeper Flannan Riley. “We’ve missed a few chances in games, keepers have made some good saves, and just that last touch hasn’t been there, but the build-up and getting into the right positions has been really good.”
Temple’s offensive struggles can be traced to a lack of a clear goalscorer. The Owls had the benefit of rostering forward Felix Ewald last season, who led the offense by scoring six goals and assisting five more. Ewald transferred to West Virginia in the offseason, leaving a
void Temple has yet to fill.
Rimpel seemingly took the mantle with his early-season performance against Villanova. However, he has failed to replicate that output in the following games and no other Owl has taken his place. Freshmen Elliot Rigbert, Charlie Votel and Nathan Brown have all showcased potential to take that role, but have not fully grasped it.
“We can get goals from the defenders, the midfielders, the attacking guys,” said midfielder Kemali Green. “It’s about the team, and we can get goals from other places.”
The offensive struggles also put more pressure on the defense. Riley ranks in the top 10 in the American Athletic Conference in saves, but conceding one goal could cost their chances of a win. Temple has only managed a single draw from the six games where they have failed to score.
The goalie pair has provided aid to the struggling offense, but eventually end up folding to the barrage of shots. The defense has also given the team a boost, only conceding six goals in the last four games while the offense sputtered.
Bazan’s strike against FAU has the potential to be a much-needed turning point for an offense that has been stuck in the mud. With the bulk of conference games coming up, the Owls need to start achieving results. As goals begin to find the back of the net, results will come to hopefully push Temple back into the AAC tournament.
“In soccer, you make your own luck,” Kemali said. “I think the guys, they’re trying, and us as a group, we’re trying to find the back of the net again.”
charles.erb@temple.edu
