TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 VOL. 95 ISS. 24
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.
TAUP, university still negotiating
Aramark reveals plans for dining
FOOTBALL
The two parties have been negotiating adding adjuncts to TAUP’s contract for 10 months.
Students will have fewer chances to use meal swipes at locations like Cosi and similar meal vendors.
By GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK Assistant News Editor
By JACOB GARNJOST Campus Beat Reporter
fter negotiating for nearly a year to draft a contract, the university and the Temple Association of University Professionals are still working to come together on several key issues. In December 2015, more than 600 part-time faculty voted to add the 1,400 part-time faculty members to TAUP, the university’s faculty union. Negotiations to add part-time faculty didn’t begin until May 2016, but several of the same issues are still being discussed, officials from the university and TAUP said. The full-time faculty contract expires in October 2018. TAUP Vice President Steve Newman said “both sides feel the urgency” to add the part-time faculty before negotiations begin for the entire faculty. Full-time faculty have been unionized since the 1970s, which makes adding adjunct faculty to the existing contract more complicated, said Sharon Boyle, Temple’s vice president of human resources and the university’s chief negotiator. “Adjunct faculty work in a very different way,” Boyle said. “But we’ve made really good progress on a good number of items.” Despite making agreements on items like affirmative action, the two parties are still working to define what constitutes a part-time faculty member. Both Newman and Boyle said the two parties are close to agreeing on the terms, but that this definition still hasn’t been finalized.
Aramark released its plans to change student meal plans and vendors around Main Campus as well as renovations for the Student Center at a launch event last week. Meal plans will have two noticeable changes starting in Fall 2017. First, it will extend the current unlimited meal plan to cover both the Johnson and Hardwick cafeteria and Morgan Hall food court. Previously, this plan only allowed for unlimited use at J&H. The other change will be how it deals with meal equivalency, which allows students to use a meal swipe to pay for food at vendors that have an agreement with the university, like Cosi and several brands in the Student Center and bottom floor of Morgan. The meal equivalency pays for a specific dollar value at those restaurants: $6.54 for breakfast and $8.49 for
A
NEGOTIATION | PAGE 6
ARAMARK | PAGE 3
COURTNEY REDMON | THE TEMPLE NEWS
WHO WILL IT BE? After the departure of four-year starter Phillip Walker, coach Geoff Collins and his staff are searching for the Owls’ next starting quarterback this spring. READ MORE ON PAGE 18
BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Aramark hosted a brand launch event in the Liacouras Center on March 21 to debut the changes in Temple’s Dining Services.
Students, police condemn racist stickers on campus A white nationalist hate group posted racist slogans last week. By JULIE CHRISTIE News Editor
BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Students walk past a poster for WalkTU, a more inclusive version of the Wellness Resource Center’s “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” event.
WalkTU: a more inclusive effort The event was formerly called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes and only allowed men to walk.
Members of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault were planning to protest Temple’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, an international men’s march to raise awareness for sexual assault by walking in red heels.
But instead, SAASA vice president Tyrell Mann-Barnes said the organization was invited by Tom Johnson, the assistant director of the Wellness Resource Center, to help revamp the event and make it more inclusive of other groups. The former Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event only allowed men to walk. On Wednesday, the new event, WalkTU: Engaging New Voices in Ending Sexual Violence, will ditch the heels and allow anyone to participate. “Part of what my job is, is doing education around interpersonal violence and sexual assault,” Johnson
NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6
OPINION | PAGES 4-5
FEATURES | PAGES 7-14
SPORTS | PAGES 15-18
The Temple News takes a look at how the demographics for enrolled students have changed in the past 12 years. Read more on Page 2.
Our columnist urges professors to submit grades and return assignments in a timely manner. Read more on Page 5.
An exhibit at the Old City Jewish Arts Center features art tied to the Jewish holiday Purim. Read more on Page 7.
The lacrosse team is 1-1 through two games of Big East Conference play with tough tests coming. Read more on Page 18.
By ERIN MORAN Deputy Features Editor
said. “And when you look at the data, you see that you can’t just look at interpersonal and sexual violence on a gender binary. … We’re committed to ending violence against all members of our community.” Transgender college students are at higher risk for sexual violence. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 21 percent of transgender, genderqueer and gender non-conforming students have experienced sexual violence. This is compared to 18 percent of cisgender — people who identify as the gender
Stickers promoting white nationalism and racism shocked many students when they were seen around Main Campus late last week, spurring a conversation about race among Temple students and an investigation by Temple Police. The stickers featured the logo of a Pennsylvania “skinhead” organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has characterized as an extremist hate group. The group’s Twitter account featured photos of the stickers after they were posted around Main Campus. Several students interacted with a Facebook post that included the pictures. To minimize the spread of hate speech, The Temple News is not naming the group that created the stickers. Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services, wrote in an email that Temple Student Government alerted Temple Police about the stickers on Thursday night. He said detectives checked Main Campus on Friday and found one sticker near Annen-
berg Hall, which they removed. Several university organizations released statements on social media about the messages conveyed in the stickers. “TSG is aware of recent instances of hateful stickers being placed around campus and condemns this as against the values Temple University holds dear,” TSG tweeted on March 24, the day after the pictures of the stickers surfaced on Facebook. “We are in contact with administration regarding this and will continue to provide a welcoming environment to all students.” Activate TU and Connecting TU, the teams running to lead TSG next year, both issued statements condemning the distribution and message of the stickers. The Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership also issued a statement on Friday from Nu’Rodney Prad, the office’s director of student engagement, saying that it “does not support nor condone this type of rhetoric as it can impact those with marginalized identities.” Leone wrote that TUPD has also been in contact with the Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights anti-Semitism and hate speech. On Monday, Leone told The Temple News that TUPD is look-
AWARENESS | PAGE 13
STICKERS | PAGE 6
NEWS
PAGE 2
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
PART ONE
Changing face: how the student demographic is changing
By GRACE SHALLOW Deputy Features Editor
Pennsylvania residency 80 70
In-State Residents 60 50 40
Out-of-State Residents
30 20 0 2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
Facts” that 51.8 percent of its 30,194 students taking credit and noncredit courses are Black. White students only make up a quarter of the student population and Hispanic and Latino students make up 13.6 percent. Student Profiles and TU Fact Books also report the residency of enrolled students. Nearly 30 percent of students are non-Pennsylvania residents, a percentage that has decreased since 2012-13, when the string of record-breaking applicants began. Black said an increase in students will cause fluctuation for racial demographics. “I would like to emphasize that the student profile at Temple is one that is very, very balanced and has remained that way for many, many years,” he said. Black said race is not used as a criterion when recruiting or accepting students, and the office is generally focused on “talent and diversity.” He added that incoming students often name racial and socioeconomic diversity in the student body as one of the reasons they chose to attend. Black said recruiting students in
2005-06
While Temple has set records for the most applicants and the student population has grown four years in a row, the percentage of Black students enrolled has decreased every academic year since 2005-06. According to data The Temple News collected from Temple’s Student Profiles and Fact Books, the university’s undergraduate population was 18.7 percent Black in 2005-06. This year, despite an undergraduate population that’s increased by almost 5,000 students, Black students only make up 12.53 percent of students. The total number of black students decreased from 4,591 in 2005-06 to 3,685 in 2016-17. The percentages of Hispanic, Latino and Asian students increased
over the last 12 years, while the percentage of students who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native fluctuated. Currently, 0.11 percent of students are American Indian/Alaska native. White students have made up more than half of the undergraduate population since at least 2005, never dipping below 55 percent. “We like to think of ourselves as Philadelphia’s public university, and we know there is a diverse population in Philadelphia,” said William Black, the senior vice provost of enrollment management. According to 2010 census data, 43.4 percent of Philadelphia residents are Black, which is 30.9 percent more than the percentage of Black students currently enrolled at Temple. The census data also shows that white people make up 41 percent of Philadelphia’s population. Temple has a larger proportion of white people in its undergraduate student body, at about 55 percent. The Community College of Philadelphia, while not a university, is the only other public institution of higher education in the city. CCP reported on its webpage under “Key
Percent
Class sizes are increasing, but some racial groups are not growing at the same rate.
SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS
local and out-of-state areas that “yield a diverse applicant pool,” like Atlanta, is built into the Office of Admissions’ strategy from the start. There is also a full-time staff member solely responsible for recruiting Philadelphia high school students, he added. Temple reaches out to prospective students in Philadelphia through recruiting trips to high schools, char-
ter schools and Catholic schools, along with the 20/20 scholarships — 25 $5,000 awards given to students living in the 19121, 19122, 19132 and 19133 ZIP codes. grace.shallow@temple.edu @grace_shallow
Racial breakdown of undergraduate students SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS
35,000
30,000
Student Population
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
Because the labels and methods for collecting this data have changed over the years, The Temple News adjusted labels and KEY some numbers to present consistent data. The total number of undergraduate students was calculated by adding the number White of students listed in the “Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity” category. From 2005-06, American Indian/Alaska Native was labeled as Black “Native American.” The Temple News combined the number of Asian students and Pacific Islander students because from 2005Asian/Pacific Islander 06 through 2010-11 in the profile, the categories were combined. Unknown/Other From 2005-06 through 2010-11, there was no data for students who identified as two or more races. In 2011-12, there was Hispanic/Latino no data for international students. In 2005, the Student Profile listed figures that were inaccurate. The profile lists 724 Native International American students, 48 white students, 2,057 International students and 14,088 other/unknown students. After comparing the Two or more races profile to the 2005 common data set (which only counts students at Temple’s U.S. campuses, so the exact figures are not the same), American Indian/Alaskan The Temple News determined that there were 48 Native American Students, 14,088 white students, 724 International students Native and 2,057 other/unknown students.
TUPD seeks national law enforcement accreditation The accreditation process started in May 2014 and the department will know the results in November. By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter Temple University Police could become accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies after the department completes a lengthy assessment. To be accredited by the commission, law enforcement departments must have certified, high-quality training standards for officers and administrators. The accreditation process includes a self-assessment, an on-site assessment conducted by CALEA assessors and a CALEA committee review of TUPD. “They come in and tear the whole place up,” said Joe Garcia, Temple Police’s deputy chief News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com
of administration, told the The Temple News in September 2016. “They really scrutinize everything you do.” Former TUPD administrations have considered undergoing accreditation but there was no follow-through because of the long process, said Lt. Thelisie Roberts, the accreditation manager for Campus Safety Services. When Charlie Leone, the current director of Campus Safety Services, was appointed in August 2014, he made it one of his goals to obtain CALEA accreditation for TUPD, Roberts added. “It is certainly a big boost, it’s a higher standard of professionalism,” Leone said. He added that accreditation would “open up the door” for funding and grants. The self-evaluation for TUPD began with a look at the current facilities and operations, Roberts said. “When you look into your directors and your policies, you look at the guidelines the
commission offers you … to see whether you’re compliant,” Roberts said. “You have to look at all the documentation and the practices and procedures. Do you practice the procedures that you say you do? Are we conducting ourselves the way we say we do?” The self-evaluation began in May 2014 and officially concluded two weeks ago. The next step, an on-site evaluation, has been scheduled for June 5 through 7, Garcia said. CALEA evaluators will ask TUPD officers about their performance and how they’ve been taught to ensure “best practices” are being met, Roberts said. CALEA will bill TUPD for the total cost of the evaluation, but neither organization will know the cost for a few months, Garcia and Robinson said. During the three-day evaluation, Temple students, staff and faculty members as well as North Philadelphia residents will be encouraged to call a CALEA hotline and express their suggestions and opinions regarding TUPD. “Policing is always changing,” Roberts said.
“It’s always evolving, and I think this decision to become accredited is very important, especially with how policing is viewed in the world right now.” TUPD will be the fourth college police department in Philadelphia to receive a CALEA accreditation. The University of Pennsylvania’s police department has been CALEA accredited since 2001. Drexel and Villanova have been accredited since 2011. To maintain CALEA accreditation, Temple Police must continue to comply with CALEA standards. TUPD must also submit an annual agency status report. The next CALEA accreditation ceremony will be held in November, where accredited departments will be announced. “TUPD will be there in hopes of getting our accreditation and bringing it home,” Garcia said. amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
NEWS
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 STUDENT DEBT
PAGE 3 COMMUNITY
Environmental group troubled by construction Dirt blowing from a building site can affect people with breathing problems, a ward leader said. By KELLY BRENNAN Community Beat Reporter
GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Many Temple students are receiving Pell Grants to attend school and may see effects from a proposed $3.9 billion cut to the grants, which USA Today reported about earlier this month.
Students concerned about proposed Pell Grant cuts Recent data shows that more than a quarter of students at Temple receive the grant. By NENSEH KONEH For The Temple News
Next year may be especially challenging for low-income students to pay their tuition if President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut $3.9 billion from the Pell Grant program is approved as part of his 2018 budget. This cut is part of the $9 billion total that he plans to cut from the U.S. Department of Education next year, USA Today reported earlier this month. The Pell Grant program, created in 1972, is the largest federal grant program in the country. It has benefitted mostly students who live in households with income less than $40,000 per year. Students who have a household income of around $20,000 receive the most benefits. The grant can send students up to $5,920 in aid if they need it. Students who receive the Pell Grant to assist in their college finances said the potential cuts are concerning. “I think it’s obvious [Donald Trump is] taking money from people who can’t afford to lose it,” said Nia Fraser, an undeclared freshman in the Fox School of Business. “I generally cannot afford to be here without a Pell Grant, and it’s just one extra thing added to the list of things that are gone with his administration and it is exhausting.” “I don’t agree with it being cut because even though I only receive about $3,000 from the Continued from Page 1
ARAMARK lunch, dinner and fourth meal this year. The new meal plan limits students to a certain number of swipes per week for a meal equivalency. In the current plan, students can use all of their meal swipes as meal equivalency. For example, a meal plan with 10 swipes a week allows students to use five of those swipes as meal equivalencies. Next year, breakfast will cost $6.71 and lunch, dinner and “late night,” which is replacing fourth meal, will cost $8.69. “I hate it because let’s say I had eight meal swipes, I can only use four in the [Student Center] and the rest in Morgan and J&H,” said Karina Mur-
grant, even if it’s cut down a little bit, my family can’t afford to lose that money,” said Aliya Bright, a freshman chemistry major. “My mom is the only adult with a job in my household, and my dad doesn’t receive much money, so we need every little bit that we can get.” Bright and Fraser are two of the thousands of students who receive the federal aid at Temple. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 9,672 students received Pell Grants at Temple in 2014-15, the most recently reported year. Students with Pell Grants made up about 34 percent of the student body that year, and on average receive $4,151 from the federal program. Temple had the second highest percent of students to receive Pell Grants among staterelated universities — 63 percent of students at Lincoln University had Pell Grants, 16 percent at Penn State and 17 percent at the University of Pittsburgh. “As a top-tier public research university, Temple appreciates federal investment in programs that promote college access, student success and scientific discovery, all of which are absolutely fundamental to our mission and values,” Stephanie Ives, associate vice president and dean of students, wrote in an email. She added that the university will “track” the funding for Pell Grants and contact the state’s congressional representatives. Trump also proposed the elimination of the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, which is for students with more financial need. Congress must still approve Trump’s budget proposal before any funds can actually be cut. nensehalexiskoneh@temple.edu
cia, a freshman social work major. “I don’t always have time to sit down and wait for food. Sometimes I just need to grab food and go. The [Student Center] is more convenient.” Temple and Aramark also announced their final plans for renovations to the Student Center, which the Board of Trustees approved in July 2016. The renovations would change the floor plan of the food court, so that the seating could always be open. The restaurants will be set up in a storefront style. Aramark also announced that a Starbucks will open in the atrium. “We’re creating usable space for the students,” said Endri Baduni, Aramark’s resident district manager. “It doesn’t matter if we’re open or closed, you get to use [those seats]. This serves the true purpose of a student
The construction of the new Student Health and Wellness Center on 15th Street near Montgomery Avenue has left large dirt piles and raised environmental and health concerns from Susquehanna Clean Up/ Pick Up Inc., a local environmental organization. Judith Robinson, the Democratic chairperson of the 32nd ward, posted on the Facebook page for Susquehanna Clean Up/Pick Up Inc., to voice her concern about uncovered piles of dirt near Amos Recreation Center on 16th Street near Montgomery Avenue, right next to the construction site. “Little particles are blowing in our air, we are breathing as we sit and play,” Robinson, who is also the group’s director, wrote. “Temple University cares about the impact construction projects may have on nearby residents and does its best to respond to any concerns raised by community members who live near construction sites,” wrote Dozie Ibeh, associate vice president of the university’s Project Delivery Group, in a statement. Robinson said her organization has for years dealt with the impact of uncovered dirt piles that are left in the community from construction sites. “That air, every day with wind, is moving around our community,” Robinson said. “We have children with asthma and many senior citizens with respiratory conditions that are being challenged.” “There are some major problems going on where our community is disrespected, as
far as environmental justice is concerned,” Robinson added. Ibeh said in the statement that Temple follows the guidelines of the Philadelphia Water Department for stormwater management and erosion and sediment control, and additionally attempts to keep mounds of dirt to a minimum so they are less susceptible to being blown by the wind. “We also install fence screening to help keep adjacent areas as clean as possible,” Ibeh wrote in the statement. “In certain projects, water cannons help minimize dust during excavation or demolition.” This method was used to reduce dust in the air during the demolition of Barton Hall in Fall 2015. Part of the fencing surrounding the construction site, where the large piles of dirt are located, either has no cloth screening or the cloth screening is falling off the fence. Robinson said Tom McCreesh, the university’s director of Regulatory Compliance and Special Projects, told her he would address the uncovered dirt piles at the construction site. McCreesh could not be reached for comment. Robinson said she held a community meeting about the SHWC construction, but turnout was low. “Right now, people are focused on issues that are ‘sexier,’” Robinson said. “Dirt getting in your lungs is not one of those cute issues.” “We, as a community, could have taken more time to really deal with some of these issues that we can affect,” Robinson added. “We couldn’t have stopped the building from being built because it’s [Temple’s] right, but we could have affected how it was being built and how our community would be affected.” kelly.brennan@temple.edu @_kellybrennan
LUCY THORNTON FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS The mounds of dirt in the construction site for the Student Health and Wellness Center concern Susquehanna Pick Up/Clean Up Inc., a local environmental organization.
center, to get people together.” “The design for the student center food court is something we’re working on jointly with Aramark,” said Michael Scales, the associate vice president of Business Services. Aramark will also replace the vendors in the Student Center with a new group of restaurants, including Chick-Fil-A, Twisted Taco’s, and BurgerFi. Aramark will also bring Philadelphia-based Saladworks, Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, Zaya Mediterranean Grill and Zen Japanese Food Fast to the Student Center. This is Zen’s first location on a college campus. “I was never fond of the current setup,” said Illya Trofymenko, a junior civil engineering major. “So change is good from my perspective.” She added that she finds the Stu-
dent Center food court to be slow and more expensive than she’d like. With the addition of Zaya to the Student Center food court and Olive Branch in Morgan Hall, the university will now have two locations that offer Halal food to students through their meal plan. Halal is food that is made in accordance with Islamic practices. Aramark will continue to offer food for people with dietary restrictions at J&H and Morgan dining halls. Both dining halls will offer gluten free, allergen free, vegetarian and vegan options. “We want to make sure that no matter where you eat, you have the ability to get something,” said John Scheers, Aramark’s marketing coordinator of dining services. “We’ve had people from the student board in as well as alumni,” said
Kasey Marsicano, Aramark’s marketing manager for higher education. Most of the food options around campus like Sodexo’s Fresh-to-Go stations will be replaced with comparable versions from Aramark. The Southside Diner at Morgan downstairs will be replaced with the Night Owl Diner. Similar changes will occur at the cafes in buildings like Annenberg Hall, Alter Hall and the Science Education and Research Center. Aramark will also have a kosher deli service at the Hillel at the Edward H. Rosen Center for Jewish Life at Norris and 15th streets. Baduni said that Aramark finds it very important to be working with people that know what they are doing. jacob.garnjost@temple.edu
News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com
OPINION
PAGE 4
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
SEXUAL ASSAULT A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Joe Brandt Editor-in-Chief Paige Gross Managing Editor Michaela Winberg Supervising Editor Julie Christie News Editor Jenny Roberts Opinion Editor
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EDITORIALS
Find contract compromise The university and TAUP need to come to an agreement on contract negotiations soon. The university and the Temple Association of University Professionals have been trying to draft a contract for almost a year, but there is still disagreement on key issues like dues deductions and wages. This lack of agreement is concerning given the contract for full-time faculty expires in October 2018. If TAUP and the university do not come to an agreement before then, this will complicate the contract process for full-time faculty as well. It will raise questions about how both parties will be able to devote the time and resources to handling two contract negotiations at once. It is essential that all faculty members feel satisfied in their contract so they are able to focus their time and energy on their classes and students. The Temple News hopes contract negotiations between the university and TAUP do not take until the full-time faculty’s contract expires. However, it seems like a possibility. The university and TAUP have not even been able to agree on a definition of a part-time faculty member this far into the process. Sharon Boyle, vice president of
human resources and lead negotiator, and Steve Newman, vice president of TAUP, have both said they are close to agreeing on terms for this definition. We hope they are right. As contract talks continue, we also hope that communication between adjuncts and the university is open and productive. But it seems like tension between the two parties may be affecting progress. Boyle wrote a letter to the editor at the beginning of this month criticizing “numerous misstatements” the adjuncts told The Temple News for a February article. And on Monday, The Temple News published a letter to the editor online from Wende Marshall, an adjunct in the Intellectual Heritage program, in which she wrote, “negotiations are not going well.” The Temple News finds this disconnect between those at the negotiation table disconcerting. We hope the university and TAUP are able to actually sit down and discuss compromises on contract terms before this process becomes messier than it needs to be.
Remember community Temple should consider how construction impacts the surrounding community. Construction workers began pouring the foundation in October for the future Student Health and Wellness Center on 15th Street near Montgomery Avenue. So far, it seems the construction has caused a disturbance for North Philadelphia residents. Earlier this month, officials from the Amos Recreation Center at 16th Street near Montgomery Avenue expressed their disappointment that the construction left their children with less room to play outside. Now, Judith Robinson, the director of Susquehanna Clean Up/Pick Up Inc., said she’s unhappy about the uncovered piles of dirt near the playground left by construction. “That air, every day with wind, is moving around our community,” Robinson told The Temple News. “We have children with asthma and many senior citizens with respiratory conditions that are
being challenged.” We understand the importance of new, state-of-theart facilities for academic and extracurricular programs at Temple, and we understand construction can get messy — but we also hope the university remembers the impact its decisions have on the community. Dozie Ibeh, the associate vice president of Temple’s Project Delivery Group, wrote in a statement that Temple cares about the impact that construction has on the community and will respond to residents’ concerns. Part of meeting this promise is listening to North Philadelphia residents, like Robinson, who are concerned about the health of their family members and friends. We hope Temple continues to keep in mind those who lived here long before construction began, and deserve a voice in its effects.
CORRECTIONS An article that ran on March 21 on Page 1, with the headline “TSG campaigns begin for Executive, Parliament,” misstated who the current representative for the Fox School of Business in Parliament is. Ari Abramson is the representative. Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor-in-Chief Joe Brandt at editor@templenews.com or 215-204-6737.
letters@temple-news.com
WalkTU offers necessary inclusivity All students need to participate in conversations about sexual assault.
W
hen last year’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event took place, I remember feeling mocked. Burly athletes and fraternity brothers awkwardly making their way through Main Campus in red heels — as female volunteers cheered them on — didn’t seem like the most appropriate way to raise awareness for sexual assault. After the event, I saw a peer who participated in the walk share a photo of himself on Facebook, striking a stereotypically feminine pose in his red heels. This image left me feeling JENNY ROBERTS further patronized OPINION EDITOR for my experience as a woman — not to mention the image had offensive homophobic and transphobic undertones. That’s why I am glad the Wellness Resource Center decided to replace Walk a Mile in Her Shoes with WalkTU: Engaging New Voices in Ending Sexual Violence, a new awareness walk that will lose the heels and instead offer inclusivity. It will be open to female and LGBTQ students, as well as male students. It is important that this event and the conversation around sexual assault at large include the experiences of all students, and that men choose to stay involved even when they are not the main focus of the dialogue. “The most important aspect in terms of challenging violence is to challenge our power structures, whether it’s in terms of white privilege or male privilege or heterosexual privilege or ability privilege,” said Rujuta Chincholkar-Mandelia, a gender, sexuality and women’s studies professor who teaches a class about domestic violence as a social issue every fall semester. “We need to recognize that and really have that conversation in terms of how we can change certain things about
our thought processes within this patriarchal system.” The truth is: all people have the potential to be perpetrators of violence and abuse. And all people unfortunately have the potential to become victims of abuse, too. One in five women and one in 16 men will be sexually assaulted during college, according to data from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. With so many college students being affected by sexual violence, this conversation is urgent. But too often when we actually do talk about sexual violence, it’s only in heteronormative terms. Sexual violence also occurs within the LGBTQ community. About one in eight lesbian women and nearly half of bisexual women have been raped, according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The center also reports that four in 10 gay men and nearly half of bisexual men have experienced some form of sexual violence. These experiences need to be acknowledged, and WalkTU is better able to do that than Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes was a large, one-day awareness event around sexual violence, and then it’s like, ‘OK, it’s only for men, male-identified individuals to walk, and it’s called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,’ so it tends to seem like it’s on that gender binary,” Tom Johnson, the assistant director of the Wellness Resource Center, told The Temple News. “It can feel somewhat heteronormative in terms of the messaging.” “We don’t want an event that has also evolved into kind of a kick-off for Sexual Assault Awareness Month to be somewhat exclusive in those ways,” Johnson added. I agree that it’s important this event is no longer exclusive. However, the men who were targeted for involvement in previous walks — athletes and fraternity brothers — need to stay involved. Statistically, men are more often perpetrators of sexual violence, which means prevention can only occur when men are involved in these dialogues. “Obviously educating men and having that inclusiveness of discussing this
with men and having them recognize their privilege in society is extremely important to eradicating violence against women,” Chincholkar-Mandelia said. Luckily, Johnson said turnout for Wednesday’s WalkTU event looks like it will be close to the turnout in previous years for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, including representation from Greek life and the athletic department. However, I would encourage these athletes and fraternity brothers to recognize their power on Main Campus and in society by engaging with this issue outside of the one-day WalkTU event. The Temple News reported on a group of five students who reached out to fraternities and men’s sports teams to invite them to participate in a conversation about sexual assault as part of a community arts project last semester. Only two out of 20 officers from these groups responded, and both answers were negative. It’s unfortunate that an opportunity for discussion of sexual assault was turned down or ignored by every one of these male groups, especially given that real change happens from individual conversations. “Education, classes in gender studies or actually having conversations with victims and having in interaction with populations that are oppressed really makes a big difference,” Chincholkar-Mandelia said. “Marches and walks make a statement in terms of, ‘We are in this together,’ but the actual implementation of the work needs more than a march and a walk.” WalkTU is a great start for opening up dialogue regarding sexual assault to everyone and to acknowledging the validity of everyone’s experiences with sexual assault. But it should only be the beginning of this dialogue. As we head into Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, I hope participation in these conversations continues and that all voices continue to be raised up. jenny.roberts@temple.edu @jennyroberts511
THE ESSAYIST
Unwinding in the dining room A student shares the meaning behind her family’s Sunday dinner ritual.
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espite rushing down the steps to catch the train home on a Friday afternoon, I still missed it. The doors closed just seconds before I could board, deserting me on the subway platform. “It’s just not my day,” I thought. As I waited for the next train in rain-soaked socks, my mind drifted to other things that weren’t going well, like the paper I couldn’t seem to finish and its fast-approaching deadline. My empty belly growled, reminding me of something that would surely lift my mood that weekend: a homecooked meal with family. At least one Sunday a month, my brother and I join our mom for dinner, and the three of us take turns preparing a meal. Although it can be difficult to find a date that works with all our busy schedules, we always find time for our Sunday dinners. Last month was my mom’s turn to cook. She eagerly searched for a new recipe, then texted my brother and me when she found it. She sent a picture of pan-seared pork chops with slices of Gala apples, red onions and sprigs of fresh rosemary. “Doesn’t that look good?” she said. I could tell my mom was excited to make this dish, and I was happy to see her so enthusiastic. My mom works stressful, demanding hours at a nursing home, where she devotes so much time to taking care of others that it can be hard to take care of herself, let alone the rest of our family. She comes home from work — sometimes as late as 2 a.m. — complain-
By BASIA WILSON ing of aches and unruly patients, but somehow remains exuberant and chatty. Some nights before I go to sleep my mom will waltz into my room, still wearing her scrubs, to tell me a joke she heard at work or ask what I ate for dinner that night.
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And no matter how exhausted she may be, she always manages to save enough energy to whip up a phenomenal Sunday dinner for my brother and me. Her capacity for compassion always feels boundless. Like all my mom’s meals, the pork chops she made for last month’s Sunday dinner were wonderful. That night, my brother came to our mom’s house in New Jersey from his home in South Philly. He’s mellow and laid-back, but still quirky like my mom — just in his own way. A drummer, he often taps his fin-
gers on the dinner table to capture some imagined beat floating through his head — something my mom and I always tease him about. When my mom, brother and I gathered for dinner that Sunday, we took a break from our daily demands to nurture each other and ourselves. Any problems looming over our heads disappeared, at least for a little while. My mom didn’t dwell on pushing a medical cart down long hallways, my brother wasn’t stressing about his next gig and I was no longer panicking about meeting the page count for my paper. There were no difficult decisions to be made during dinner. Just simple ones. “Whose turn is it to cook next?” my brother said. We decided it’s mine. And I’m just as eager as my mom was. I’ve already found a recipe: crispy spring rolls stuffed with chicken, shredded cabbage, scallions, minced ginger and garlic, plus a blend of vegetable stir fry on rice. I look forward to our next Sunday dinner — being in a warm kitchen, working with my hands and wringing out stress as I listen to my mom and brother’s laughter filling the dining room. I didn’t have control over the rain seeping into my shoes that Friday, the essay requirements set by my professor or the train that took off without me. But I knew I could count on an inspiring recipe and a table full of food and family to give me a sense of calm. basia.serafina.wilson@temple.edu
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
OPINION
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 GRADES
Professors should be more timely with entering grades It’s important for students to know how they are doing in a class to gauge their progress.
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took an economics class during my first semester at Temple that only consisted of three homework assignments, a midterm and a final exam. Throughout the semester, I remember my classmates and myself anxiously waiting to find out how we did on each assignment — but the professor kept us all in suspense, with a lengthy waiting time between each grade. Many students have experienced a class like this at one point in their academic careers. Professors give students specific deadlines for assignments, but often don’t hold themselves to any sort of timeline for posting grades or JENSEN returning assignments. TOUSSAINT “There’s usually at least one class every semester,” said Daniel Latorre, a senior computer engineering student. “It gives me no perspective on how the grading scheme is in the class. … It’s not apparent whether I’m failing or passing.” “For my [management information systems] class, I’ve been waiting on my assignment, and I just noticed that professors like to take their time with submitting assignments,” said Rimaaz Wali, a sophomore marketing major. “And that can be irritating just because I’d like to know my grades sooner than later.” Professors should hold themselves accountable for grading in a timely manner, and they should actively communicate with their students about their progress in the course. Students deserve to know how they’re doing in a class, and professors should provide this information through timely grades. Temple has a policy that grades must be entered within 48 hours after the last day of final exams. But other than midterm progress ratings, “there aren’t any other grading deadlines professors have to meet” over the course of a semester, said Annette McMenamin Bakley, the senior vice dean of undergraduate affairs in the College of Liberal Arts. But this doesn’t mean professors shouldn’t set deadlines for themselves during the semester. Cory Ng, an assistant accounting professor, said he makes an effort to return exams in about a week, but projects may take longer
to grade. “I prioritize returning grades to students in a timely fashion,” Ng said. “I understand that students desire timely feedback.” Some students who I spoke with agreed that a week or two is a reasonable turnaround time for professors to grade completed assignments. It’s especially important that grades are posted by the end of the class withdrawal period, right around the midpoint of the semester. “I would say the biggest reason for students to have timely feedback is so that they can make a well-informed decision on whether they need to withdraw or not from the course,” said Rob O’Malley, a College of Education academic adviser. I understand that some professors teach multiple classes each semester, but students also have to balance multiple classes and assignments. Many of us also have extracurricular activities, jobs and internships. We need to know if we should be altering our schedules to invest more studying time in a class to improve or if we should withdraw from the class altogether. Rob Crawford, a senior film major, said without regular grades, it’s hard for him to know whether he’s meeting his professor’s expectations — like in his film history class this semester. “We haven’t gotten a grade yet,” Crawford said. “We’ve had probably three or four [assignments], just haven’t gotten a grade on them.” If students are concerned about receiving their grades, O’Malley suggests they speak to their professors outside of class. “We advise for them to reach out directly with the professor, have a one-on-one conversation, be very direct about their concerns regarding their grades and seeing if they can get specific feedback,” O’Malley said. Still, professors should try to be timely in posting grades so this meetup isn’t necessary in the first place. And if they’re going to take a little longer to return grades, professors should communicate that to their students. Ultimately, timeliness and communication from both professors and students creates a positive classroom environment where everyone can make the best of their time together.
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FROM THE ARCHIVE
March 28, 1986: Members of Temple’s B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation celebrated Purim at the Bell Tower. Purim celebrates how the Jews were saved from destruction in Ancient Persia. Esther, the Jewish wife of King Ahasuerus, revealed her Jewish identity and convinced her husband to execute Haman, the prime minister who called for the destruction of the Jews. Robin Halpren-Ruder, who studied sculpture at Tyler School of Art in 1967, has work on display at The Old City Jewish Art Center for the this month’s exhibit, titled “The Color of Happiness,” which celebrates Purim. Purim occured March 11-12. Read more on Page 7. CLASSROOM
I knew it! I knew he was alive!
jensen.toussaint@temple.edu CHINEME ANIAGBA FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Professor Aaron Smith teaches a class called “Tupac Shakur and the Hip Hop Revolution” in the Africology and African American studies department.
POLITICS
Immigration process must be reformed, made easier The wait time for immigrants to receive visas and green cards needs to be reduced.
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hen my father arrived in this country from India in June 1994, he came here on a work visa, which only took him a few months to obtain. Then, he was able to live in the United States with a green card for years before he became an American citizen in 2008. When he came here in search of the American dream, like most immigrants in our history, the U.S. took him in and made him one of its own. VARUN But this is an SIVAKUMAR opportunity that is now more difficult to take advantage of. There are longer wait times to obtain immigrant visas and green cards. An immigrant visa is a legal document allowing someone to enter a different country where they plan to eventually become permanent residents, while a green card is a legal document that authorizes an indi-
vidual to live and work in the United States permanently. The longer wait times to obtain these documents are due to a growing number of applicants, caps on immigrants coming from certain countries and the bureaucracy that comes with multiple offices conducting background checks. Americans and government leaders need to advocate to make these processes shorter and easier. That way, immigrants who want to come to the U.S. to start a new life can do so legally. And with more reasonable immigration laws, our government can enforce strict border security with a clear conscience. But recently, both sides of the political spectrum have turned to extremes in proposing solutions to improve our immigration system. President Donald Trump’s recent travel bans — both of which were struck down by federal judges — have only raised anxiety among immigrants living in the U.S. without finding a long-term solution to the problems with the immigration system. “I’m not a citizen yet, and I am really afraid,” said senior marketing major and Bangladeshi immigrant Safwatul Islam, who came to the U.S. with a green card. “I talked with lawyers to make sure that I was fine, especially because I came here legally.”
But completely open borders or lax immigration laws, the latter of which has been proposed by the political left, would not help fix our broken immigration system either. The country may not be able to sustain the subsequent spike in population that would follow, and American workers could see a decrease in wages. Now is the time for political compromise. The American immigration system must find a way to vet immigrants while also making it easier for them to enter the nation legally. This would be best done by increasing immigrant quotas, or by removing the bureaucracy that clogs up the system when multiple offices handle one immigrant’s paperwork. Shortening wait times for visas is also an essential step toward simplifying our immigration system. Since 2016, people hoping to immigrate to the U.S. must wait more than five years to obtain a visa if they are an unmarried child of U.S. citizens. If they are a sibling of a U.S. citizen, they might face wait times of 10 years or more. For certain countries, like Mexico and China with high immigration levels, wait times are closer to 20 years. “It’s extremely difficult to get legal entry into this country,” said Kevin Fandl, a law professor who previously worked at the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement Office. “It depends on what type of visa you’re applying for, but if you’re coming as a low-skilled worker, it’s nearly impossible.” While there are thousands of people worldwide waiting patiently for these immigration documents to enter legally, others are taking advantage of our broken immigration system by entering without documentation. This is done primarily by crossing the border in areas where there are no security personnel, like in the desert along the Mexican border. “Our border is much too open, and it has been an ongoing problem,” said Jan Ting, an immigration law professor. “There is no magic bullet that can fully stop the problem, but there are ways of mitigating the problem.” According to the Pew Research Center, there are about 11 million undocumented immigrants who came to the United States illegally. This hampers our nation’s ability to sustain increased numbers of legal immigrants, and discourages legal immigration, which seems more lengthy and complicated than illegal entry into the U.S. It’s logistically and economically impractical to deport the millions of people who fall into this category.
Still, the government must strictly enforce border security to prevent the number of undocumented immigrants from continuing to grow. This solution shouldn’t be reduced to simply an impenetrable wall, like the one proposed by Trump. Instead, it must come in the form of increased border security in areas that are lacking. “Building a wall by itself will not solve the problem,” Ting said. “An equally important part aside from the barrier are new policies at the border that deter people from even attempting to enter the United States without documentation.” In addition to increased security, the U.S. must create easier pathways to legal immigration, and this includes a reform of the immigration process. Making visas and green cards more accessible would ensure that America maintains its status as a melting pot, welcoming those who come here in search of better opportunities, like my father did years ago. As a nation, we need to recognize the benefits of legal immigration, while simultaneously protecting ourselves from illegal immigration. varun.sivakumar@temple.edu
letters@temple-news.com
NEWS
PAGE 6 COMMUNITY
NEWS BRIEFS
Forum held on housing, gentrification
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Temple: most sexually active school in country Temple has the most sexually active students on campus in the nation, according to a survey from CollegeStats.org. A survey was given to 2,000 current and former students across the country who were asked about their frequency of intercourse, number of partners and use of protection. According to CollegeStats, male respondents from Temple reported having more sexual partners than women, with a total of 14 partners. Women reported having 12 sexual partners during their time at the university. Rutgers University, Texas A&M University and University of South Carolina rank behind Temple in their amount of sexually active students on campus. - Kelly Brennan
Artist Patti LaBelle to perform for TUH’s 125th anniversary Grammy Award-winning performer and Philadelphian Patti LaBelle will give a private concert at Temple University Hospital’s Acres of Diamonds Gala on April 29 at the Please Touch Museum to commemorate TUH’s 125th anniversary, the hospital announced in a statement. The annual fundraiser, emceed by TV personality and Flyers anthemist Lauren Hart, will use the proceeds to improve facilities for patients and families and to benefit the Women and Infants Division at TUH. University President Richard Englert will receive the Diamond Award at the gala for his more than 40 years of service to the university. In 2010, LaBelle was given an honorary degree from Temple. She also gave birth to her son at TUH in 1973. - Noah Tanen
CITY NEWS
Soda Tax blamed for Pepsi, Coca-Cola layoffs in Philly Officials from Pepsi and Coca-Cola allege that sales of the companies’ products have fallen since the recent implementation of Philadelphia’s soda tax. Pepsi’s officials said its “larger package” sales have decreased more than 50 percent in Philadelphia and beverage sales have fallen 10 to 15 percent in the suburbs, the Inquirer reported. The companies have shifted to selling smaller containers of soft drinks that will incur less tax in order to stimulate sales. Pepsi’s 2-liter bottles will be replaced by 1-liters across the city, while Coke reported a sales increase of smaller portion products. Pepsi announced plans to lay off 80 to 100 employees at its North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and Wilmington production plants. The plants will decrease production of sugary beverages distributed in Philadelphia. Job cuts will affect all employees from managers to shelf stockers. The layoffs are a result of the “economic realities created by the recently enacted beverage tax,” Dave DeCecco a Pepsi spokesman, told the Inquirer. - Laura Smythe
SEPTA police to crack down on youth violence SEPTA officials will ride all trains in Philadelphia from 3 to 7 p.m., Philadelphia magazine reported. SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas Nestel said in a news conference last week that this time of day, when students leave school to travel home, has become increasingly violent. He gave this announcement the same day that 10 teenagers were arrested for a brawl at the RaceVine stop on the Broad Street Line two weeks ago, Philadelphia magazine reported. The brawl was caught on a video that showed several teens punching and kicking two other teens at the station. Nestel said the violence is not a case of neglectful parents, but that these events are caused by social media pressures among other factors, the Inquirer reported. - Amanda Lien
News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
High school students told stories of how gentrification affects them. By KELLY BRENNAN Community Beat Reporter A group of high school students held the second “What Matters” forum about housing and gentrification in North Philadelphia on Thursday at the Church of the Advocate on Diamond Street near 18th. The Advocate Leadership Council, which is composed of the students, chose this month’s topic so attendees could share real-life experiences about housing and gentrification issues in North Philadelphia, hoping to ultimately to create a dialogue and explore solutions to these problems. In November, the first ALC “What Matters” forum discussed the tension between the North Philadelphia community and Temple. Jaylah Lee, a ninth-grade student at Simon Gratz High School, and Isaiah Allen, a ninth-grade student at TECH Freire Charter School, represented the ALC on the forum’s panel. Other panelists included 32nd ward Democratic chairperson Judith Robinson, urban geography Ph.D. candidate Kwesi Daniels and Cornelius Moody, a senior neuroscience major and member of the Philadelphia Coalition for R.E.A.L. Justice. Lee and Allen said they have experienced issues with housing and gentrification
throughout their childhood. Both students agreed that moving from home to home when the landlord raised the price of bills impacted their education. “When I was supposed to be learning to read and write, I was moving around,” Allen said. Daniels said the problem is less about gentrification and more about the failure to address its effects, like displacement of longterm residents. “If this is what is happening now, I’m scared of what will happen 20 to 30 years down the line,” Daniels added. Moody said his understanding of this problem is limited because he commutes to Main Campus and did not live in North Philadelphia. Still, he added that all Philadelphians should be here and know what is happening. “For Black and Brown communities, we can’t lose sight of the fact that it’s also closely tied to racism,” Daniels said. “We say, ‘What is racism?’ It’s this big word, but when you look at people being displaced, and it’s disproportionately African Americans or other Brown people, clearly there is a racial component to that.” For the remainder of the forum, the panel focused on exploring solutions to these issues. Daniels said self-empowerment in communities facing gentrification is the first step to solving its resulting problems. “Solutions need to come from within,” Daniels said. “The way to combat this is to re-educate ourselves and figure out ways to
build in the spaces that are ours.” Victoria Engelstad, 30, who lives on Emerald Street near Lehigh Avenue, has lived in Fishtown for years and has witnessed gentrification near her home. She said she came to the forum hoping to learn more about these issues. “This was a really amazing way to hear the different perspectives, especially from academic people and students who’ve lived through it,” Engelstad said. “It was really impactful.” Katherine Blunt, 65, who lives on Oxford Street near 10th, said she hopes people take action to solve gentrification in North Philadelphia. She suggested residents contact their representatives about gentrification issues as an easy way to begin to speak out and create change. “This problem exists throughout the city of Philadelphia where long-term homeowners, especially seniors, Black, white or indifferent, are being pushed out,” Blunt said. “It was a good way to get the conversation started. Most of the people here are the choir and come with an idea about what is going on, not liking what’s going on, and want to move to action.” “I believe the next step is to move to action, concrete action,” Blunt added. The ALC will hold the next “What Matters” forum in May at the Church of the Advocate. kelly.brennan@temple.edu @_kellybrennan
Continued from Page 1
NEGOTIATION Negotiators on both sides have voiced their positions on dues deductions — which is the university docking dues directly from union members’ paychecks to go to the union — and maintained that their stances are non-negotiable. TAUP wants the university to deduct these dues, but Boyle said the university will not do so because it’s “administratively very hard” due to part-time faculty’s schedules. The two parties also continue to disagree on wages. Boyle said the union initially proposed a 43 to 109 percent increase for adjunct faculty, which would increase the current base rate for adjunct faculty from $1,300 per credit to $1,859. The most recent wage increases were between 1 and 3 percent, she added. But Newman said the university has offered no wage increase to the part-time faculty. He said his position to increase wages is “not negotiable,” adding that the current $1,300-per-credit-hour rate hasn’t been adjusted for inflation, and thus doesn’t account for the rising cost of living. “A 0 percent raise is off the table,” he said. “We will not agree to that.” Although part-time faculty make up 51 percent of the teaching staff on Main Campus, the 1,400 instructors only teach about 25 percent of the courses at the university. Local institutions like the Community College of Philadelphia and Rutgers University have part-time faculty and full-time faculty in their collective bargaining agreements. Newman said these are successful examples to look at while negotiating with the university. TAUP will host a demonstration in support of adjunct faculty at the Bell Tower on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. The union hosted a demonstration in February, which prompted Boyle to pen a letter to The Temple News about Newman’s alleged misstatements surrounding part-time faculty conditions. “TAUP’s public and media strategy is diContinued from Page 1
STICKERS ing through surveillance footage from the past several weeks to attempt to identify the individual who placed the stickers, one of which was near the grassy area between Beury Hall and the Biology Life Sciences Building. Leone said a student removed two stickers “of their own accord, which was good.” “Our priority is to figure out who did this,” he said. “If it’s a student, they could be facing a [Student Code of Conduct] violation.” Whoever posted the stickers could also face charges of graffiti or vandalism, he said. Hannah Larocca, a sophomore media studies and production major, shared photos of the stickers and tagged the university’s of-
ASH LAVACCA FILE PHOTO Students and adjunct professors gathered at the Bell Tower on Feb. 24, as the Temple Association of University Professionals staged a protest.
rected at motivating students and others to pressure the university to accede to TAUP’s demands notwithstanding that many would disadvantage both current adjuncts and fulltime faculty,” Boyle wrote in the letter, published on March 3. In response, intellectual heritage adjunct professor Wende Marshall wrote a letter to the editor, published on March 27, arguing that adjunct professors teaching the maximum amount of classes still lives under the cost of living for Philadelphia. “From my vantage point as an adjunct I see the arc of Temple’s moral universe bending decisively toward rank exploitation,” Marshall added in her letter. “I see a ballooning and overcompensated corps of administrators, and the construction of sparkly new buildings that undercut Temple’s commitment to teaching as the highest priority.” Adjunct professors have been demonstrating and speaking with students about adjunct working conditions through an “adjunct office” titled “Our Temple,” which was built by Jennie Shanker, TAUP’s chair of adjunct constituency. The stand has been moved around Main Campus to visualize how adjuncts feel about their working conditions at the university, specifically surrounding space issues. But the criticism of the space issues through the “Our Temple” booth was taken off the negotiating table earlier this year and resolved for a joint committee to address the
space issues adjuncts face, officials said. These demonstrations, Boyle said, are examples of the union attempting to “paint a picture” of the university that is incorrect. “To me, this kind of strategy of trying to garner sympathy from students is a misrepresentation,” Boyle added. Shanker said she is working to get a contract for adjuncts because she has worked at Temple for 15 years, with five of them as a full-time faculty member and administrator and the rest as an adjunct professor. “I can’t do the type of teaching and type of work that I’d like to be able to do for my students, the kind of work that I was doing when I was full-time,” she said. “There’s no way I could possibly focus on my classes and on my students, understand the kind of resources that are available to them if they need help, any number of things that when you’re struggling to get by, are things you can’t offer your students.” Until the contract is settled, Newman said TAUP will continue to “agitate” through demonstrations on Main Campus. “The clock is ticking on getting [the contract] done this semester,” Newman said. “I’m hoping that the speed of this can pick up on these crucial issues.”
ficial Facebook page because she believed it was important to make people aware of the group’s presence on Main Campus. “Especially Temple, which is in a location that is not only occupied by predominantly people of color, the community members, but a lot of our students are of color as well … when there’s all of these people who are being targeted by this essentially hate group, I feel like it’s important for people to know that those people are around,” she said. Larocca’s post was shared more than 50 times and she said the response was mostly from people who were just as angry as she was about the stickers. “A lot of people were taking issue with the fact that I apparently sanctioned violence against them and were making the argument that they are entitled to free speech,” she said.
“They don’t deserve a platform. … Free speech means that you can say what you want without fear of incarceration, not that you’re free from getting punched in the face for being a Nazi.” Larocca added that the post was not meant to be about “hating white people” but instead, white supremacy. “It makes me just angry … it’s not even insulting, I see this and it reminds me of the people who are out there who are looking to hurt people who don’t look like them,” she said. “To see this kind of hate on display toward members of the community that are of color and students of color just makes me burn to my core, honestly.”
gillian.mcgoldrick@temple.edu @gill_mcgoldrick
julie.christie@temple.edu @ChristieJules
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
features TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
F E AT U R E S
PAGE 7
Former student’s work on display celebrating joy of Purim The Jewish holiday, which is a part of a month of happiness, fits with the theme of Robin Halpren-Ruder’s colorful paintings.
By MORIAH THOMAN For The Temple News
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or Robin Halpren-Ruder, art is a way to present her attitude to the world. “Hello! I’m here, recognize me,” she said. “I want you to see me.” Her work consists of brightly colored paintings of flowers, fake food and landscapes, all usually outlined in white. She
finds frames at flea markets and yard sales and has them filled with masonite — an engineered wood product — to create her pieces. She creates banners and adds rhinestones to some of her pieces. Halpren-Ruder, who studied sculpture at Tyler School of Art in 1967 for two and a half years before she transferred to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Bucks County-based artist Rae
BILIN LIN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Philadelphia artist Larry Becker (pictured), views “The Color of Happiness” exhbit on display at the Old City Jewish Arts Center. Robin Halpren-Ruder, who attended Tyler in the late 1960s, has her paintings on display.
EXHIBIT | PAGE 11
Freshman named 2016 Bostonian of the Year
Students, faculty assist Guatemala’s ‘huge need’
The sociology major and her friend fought against racism at their high school through social media.
Hearts in Motion plans the annual trip, providing health care around the Central American country.
By TAYLOR HORN Online Beat Reporter
By ANGELA GERVASI For The Temple News
The day before her birthday this year, Kylie Webster-Cazeau found out she and her best friend were named 2016 Bostonians of the Year when she read an article in the Boston Globe. “It kind of felt surreal,” Webster-Cazeau said. “It was this thing that blew up and everyone kept texting and calling and congratulating me, but it never really felt real.” Webster-Cazeau, a freshman sociology major, received the award with Meggie Noel, her friend from Boston Latin School — a public community school they attended together. Both of the girls noticed that racism among their classmates at their school was not being dealt with, and they fought to make their school a welcoming place for people of color. It started when Webster-Cazeau and Noel were sophomores in high school. After the death of Michael Brown — an unarmed 18 year old from Ferguson, Missouri who was killed by police officer Darren Wilson — the two noticed their classmates posting racist
When Carole Tucker is in her office at the Health Sciences campus, Temple University Hospital is just minutes away. In Guatemala, things are different. When Tucker volunteered in the Central American country, she saw people go to great lengths just to access a health clinic. She saw a mother climb the hill of her mountain village, carrying her physically disabled teenage daughter on her back, just to find proper medical treatment at a pop-up clinic. “A lot of times, it’s the only time they see a medical person of any sort for years,” said Tucker, who works as a physical therapist, engineer and professor. Tucker has traveled to Guatemala with physical therapy professors and students annually since 2014 as a volunteer for Hearts in Motion, an Indiana-based nonprofit that facilitates service trips. Volunteers help with a variety of issues, from providing dental care to combating malnutrition. While most participating practitioners are American, several
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SYDNEY SCHAEFER FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Kylie Webster-Cazeau, a freshman sociology major, has a framed photo of herself and her friend on the cover of Globe Magazine as Bostonians of the Year in her Morgan Hall North room.
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TIME magazine named an alumna to its list of 51 Instagram Photographers to Follow in the U.S.
After a social media campaign, the university partnered with a free summer camp for children whose parents have cancer.
An African American studies professor developed a class about Tupac Shakur’s life, music and message.
A North Philadelphia native and journalism alumna will publish three books on one day in April.
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Alumna named to TIME photographer list: ‘a profound moment’ A film and media arts alumna is one of TIME’s 51 Instagram photographers to follow. By EMILY SCOTT Features Editor In the middle of a Philadelphia photojournalism conference in 2004, an umbrella factory caught fire. The photographers, including Meredith Edlow, grabbed their equipment and rushed to document the blaze in Old City. That moment got her “hooked” on documentary storytelling. Edlow, a 2004 film and media arts alumna and freelance photographer, was named on TIME’s 51 Instagram Photographers to Follow in the U.S. last year. Her Instagram account includes street, portrait and documentary photography. Edlow said she was a “latecomer” to Instagram around the end of 2013, but has found it to be a great vehicle for storytelling. “It made me feel like I could get attention on stories and my pictures a lot easier than I had been at any point in my career, and I could do it myself with an audience that was dedicated to seeing my images,” she said. She added that she considers her account to be a “sketchbook” of her mind. It’s not just protest and politics, but also street and music photography. Edlow was “ecstatic” to find out she was named to TIME’s list of Instagram photographers to follow. “It was a really profound moment,” Edlow said. “A lot of times, you don’t get a lot of Black females that get that sort of attention and that was something that was really important to me and validating as someone who really puts a lot of effort into their craft and takes it very seriously.” Conrad Benner, the founder of Streets Dept — a Philadelphia street art blog — met Edlow through a mutual friend when Benner was searching for someone to take him into the subway to see graffiti. Although Edlow had only been down in the prohibited parts of the city’s subway once at midnight around three years ago, she retraced her steps to show Benner the graffiti work. Benner said she brings a “natural eye” to photography. “Her [photography] lends itself to exploring things as the way they are in a naturally beautiful way,” Benner said. “She seems like a classic photographer living in the modern age.” Edlow said she never really enjoyed writing down her thoughts when she was in high school. She convinced her Latin and English teachers to allow her to make video projects instead of writing essays to convey her ideas. “I understood that there was something visually that I understood about communicating better than writing it down,” Edlow said. “That kind of sparked it all.” Originally from Yorktown, Virginia, Edlow became infatuated with Philadelphia after she volunteered with the Welcome America! Festival.
“My world just exponentially expanded,” Edlow said. “I was able to meet people who were transgender volunteers and that was a new thing coming from Virginia, which is very homogeneous and very Christian, and so seeing all these different types of people was exciting.” After studying at Villanova University for two years, Edlow transferred to Temple to pursue film. Other than a point-and-shoot six-megapixel camera she had in high school, Edlow had never picked up a camera until she came to Temple. She recalled using a Bolex H-16 REX-5 camera in her filmmaking class. “That kind of shooting and executing and trying to craft images that way is so limiting, but you learn so much from the limitations and what you could do if you had more options,” said Edlow, now a teaching assistant for Design for Journalists. After graduation, Edlow worked in event production, but she wanted to work in journalism. She researched photojournalism during her lunch breaks at work. One day she stumbled upon journalism professor Edward Trayes’ photojournalism class website. She joked she “took” Trayes’ class, because she followed along with the work online. From the class site, she made contact with other Philadelphia journalists like Jim MacMillan, who told her about the photojournalism conference, a monthly meetup of the city’s photojournalists. MacMillan is the assistant director of external affairs in the School of Media and Communication. Edlow freelanced with the Daily News from 2004 through 2005, then took a staff job with the South Philly Review, which she said was an opportunity to see how community journalism
works. Since then, she has worked and lived at International House Philadelphia — a center for international arts, culture, educational and residential activities, according to its site — documenting the lives of international students. Rakia Reynolds, a 2001 marketing and international business alumna and the president and founder of Skai Blue Media — a multimedia communications agency in the city — said she sees this as a “great accolade” for Edlow. “She’s really honing in on her artistry because she takes a multidimensional approach to photography and in that she knows about her subjects,” said Reynolds, who met Edlow through the photographer’s work at Visit Philadelphia. “She gets her subjects, she’s talking to
them and interviewing them.” Edlow said her spot on the list is a testament to the craft of journalism today. “They didn’t have to choose someone with my following,” she said. “My following isn’t the largest in Pennsylvania and a lot of times they just seek out what is the most popular, but if you do a little digging, you’ll find some people doing some really great storytelling and imagemaking.” emily.ivy.scott@temple.edu @Emilyivyscott
ANGELA GERVASI FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Meredith Edlow, a 2004 film and media arts alumna, shoots a gala celebrating the 40th anniversary of the African American Museum in Philadelphia on Friday.
TASHA KURONEN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Edlow was recently named one of TIME Magazine’s 51 Instagram Photographers to Follow in the U.S.
Students bring camp for kids affected by cancer to Temple Temple became one of Camp Kesem’s new partners after a social media campaign. By MEGAN PLATT For The Temple News Erika Richardson, a junior early childhood-elementary special education major, sang camp songs every morning for five weeks last summer to wake up children at Dragonfly Forest, a summer camp for children with autism and other medical conditions. While she worked there, she heard about Camp Kesem — a weeklong free summer camp for children whose lives have been affected by parents who have died from, survived or are currently fighting cancer — and she wondered why Temple didn’t have a branch of the organization. The camp is a nonprofit run entirely by college students at least 80 partner schools. In November 2016, Richardson applied for Temple to become a partner, and the university features@temple-news.com
will open its chapter during Summer 2018 at an off-campus location. Temple and 11 other universities participated in a social media contest in late January and early February. For five days, people voted for the schools online, and the top 10 became partners with Camp Kesem. Richardson enlisted her friends, senior painting major Gabrielle Marshall and junior biology major Mollie McCloskey — who both worked at Dragonfly Forest this summer — to help her with the campaign. “We basically harassed people to vote,” McCloskey said. “I would message people I didn’t even know … but it worked.” At the end of the campaign, Richardson said Temple came in with the third most votes, which secured the partnership. Marshall said the national Camp Kesem headquarters is currently in the process of selecting directors, nurses and mental health professionals to work at Temple’s branch. The 2017-18 academic year will be spent fundraising to meet the camp’s $30,000 goal, which will go toward buying supplies and renting an off-
campus, American Camp Association-accredited campsite, Richardson said. ACA credentials ensure that the campsite offers safe, healthy and quality programs, according to its website. Jenna Barnett, the operations director and university liaison for Camp Kesem’s national headquarters, said her favorite part of the camp is watching the kids connect during the week. Barnett said Camp Kesem has
“cabin chats” — nightly discussions among the kids facilitated by the college student counselors — to help kids connect. There is also an “Empowerment Ceremony” at the end of camp for kids to reflect on the week and their experiences. Barnett said one of the most touching memories was when a young girl and boy talked openly to each other about losing their dads to cancer.
MICHELLE GOLDSBOROUGH FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Gabrielle Marshall (left), a senior painting major, junior biology major Mollie McCloskey and junior early childhood-elementary special education major Erika Richardson, helped bring Camp Kesem — a free summer camp for kids affected by cancer — to Temple.
“She never talked about it before, and she was able to talk about it to everyone without being the kid whose dad has cancer,” Barnett said. “When you’re at Camp Kesem, you’re you, and everyone gets it.” Richardson said she thought Camp Kesem would be a great opportunity for some children living in the area surrounding Temple and a good leadership experience for students. “Because it’s a free program, a lot of children in a low-income household can go and experience it with other kids,” Richardson said. “Temple students would really enjoy it too because it’s such a community-driven school.” Although Marshall will graduate before the camp opens, she thinks the impact is worth the hard work the student-run organization requires. “A lot of kids in Philly can’t go to camp normally, especially those who have all this extra stress in life from having a sick parent,” she said. “It’s really nice for them to just be a kid for once.” megan.platt@temple.edu
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Coming up for The Temple News Are you the next Editor-in-Chief of The Temple News? The Temple News, Temple University’s award-winning student newspaper, is looking for an editor-in-chief for the 201718 academic year. Candidates must be enrolled, matriculated Temple students who, if chosen as editor, will be registered for at least nine hours of undergraduate coursework or five hours of graduate work during their entire term of office. A good candidate demonstrates strong leadership ability and proven managerial skills with prior media experience. A candidate's experience in the business, editorial and design aspects of newspaper publishing will be factors in the selection of the editor. Contact Student Media Managing Director John DiCarlo at jdicarlo@temple.edu to obtain an application. Candidates should submit a completed copy of the proposal packet, two letters of recommendation, a current resume and a number of writing samples to the Office of Student Media in Room 243 of the Howard Gittis Student Center. Finalists for the position will be interviewed and selected by the Temple University Publications Board. Applications are due Friday, April 14
Are you the next Templar Editor? Templar, Temple University’s award-winning yearbook, is looking for its editor for the 2017-18 academic year. Candidates must be enrolled, matriculated Temple students who, if chosen as editor, will be registered for at least nine hours of coursework during their entire term of office. A good candidate should demonstrate leadership ability and proven managerial skills, with prior media experience. A candidate's experience in the business, editorial and design aspects of yearbook publishing will be factors in the selection of the editor. Candidates should submit a completed copy of a proposal packet, two letters of recommendation, a current resume and a number of layout, design and writing samples to John DiCarlo, Student Media Managing Director, in Room 243 of the Howard Gittis Student Center. Please send an email to jdicarlo@temple.edu to obtain a proposal packet. Finalists for the position will be interviewed and selected by the Temple University Publications Board. Applications are due Friday, April 14
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Music Issue, April 11 Throughout this issue of The Temple News, you’ll get a multifaceted coverage of musically inclined members of the Temple community. Check out what our staff listened to in the last year and follow our playlist on Spotify. Make sure to also check out temple-news.com for our multimedia coverage and Hear All About It video sessions.
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Dance workshop promotes femininity in safe spaces Facilitating Femininity, a dance workshop, was hosted by freshman dance major Tyra Jones-Blain on Sunday in Pearson Hall’s dancing studio. The purpose of this workshop was to create a safe space for women to express their femininity. The workshop included pop and modern dance movements. “Desexualization, to me, is stemming away from the stereotype that just because a girl dresses up or moves or dances sexy, she is a very sexual being,” said Amaria Estes, a junior advertising major. “Women have the right to take back their body. They should be allowed to find their femininity and bring out their sexual orientation without being judged.” The workshop was also created to promote an upcoming event, “Phenomenal Women in Philly.” The first annual discussion was created by Only Elite Matters — a visual media start-up organization. The event, which will take place on Friday at The Mannequin Factory in Kensington, will include talks from Ellen Weber, the executive director of Fox School of Business’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, Sofiya Ballin, a 2014 journalism alumna and reporter for the Inquirer, Ashley Fox, a financial education specialist, Devon Milan, a celebrity stylist and Cheldin Barlatt Rumer, a host on This Is It, a daily digital lifestyle program. The event, which will include live music and networking opportunities, is meant to be a discussion of what it means to be a “phenomenal” woman. features@temple-news.com
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Students find service trip alternatives, experience ‘rewarding’ Some students choose to participate in service trips over spring break and summer. By ERIN MORAN Deputy Features Editor Four students met outside Tuttleman Learning Center on March 12 — one of the first days of spring break — at 9 a.m. and introduced themselves. The same day, Dustin Miller, a junior secondary education major, drove the group the entire nine-hour drive to Monroe, North Carolina because no one else knew how to drive a stick shift. “It was kind of just like, ‘Hi, let’s go,’” said Andrea Sarmiento, a fresh-
man global studies major who went on the trip. Sarmiento and Miller went on the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge, a service trip alternative to spring break. Miller is the fundraising chair for Temple’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that builds or improves houses, and Sarmiento was looking to get more involved with service groups on Main Campus. Sarmiento and Miller are two of many students who choose to spend spring break or the summer doing service trips around the country. “I think it’s a good thing to go to a new state and be a part of something,” Sarmiento said. “You get to meet new people, maybe like from the club at Temple or another school or just like the employees.” The four students who went to North Carolina with Habitat for
Humanity met up with 19 other students from Springfield College in Massachusetts, Sarmiento said. The students stayed in the upstairs loft of a ReStore, Habitat for Humanity’s chain of thrift stores that sell appliances and used furniture. Sarmiento said it was “like a giant sleepover.” Other service trips at Temple occur over the summer rather than during spring break. Faithe Beadle, a sophomore psychology major, will travel to El Paso, Texas from May 13 to 20 on a service immersion program through Temple. The trip is organized through the Border Immersion Program at Cristo Rey Catholic Church in El Paso, which takes in groups of students to allow them to hear stories from people who regularly cross the border between the United States and Mexico. “Basically right now we’re fundraising, because obviously we have to
donate money to the church to keep it running,” Beadle said. “And then once we get there, we will be helping out in the church, but we’re not like providing help. If anything, they’re providing their stories to us.” Beadle said the point of the trip is primarily to learn and understand a different way of life, then incorporate what participants learned into their everyday lives. “The goal right off the bat is just awareness,” she said. “I think it’s also to share stories. … Sharing stories is important, especially in the area of social justice issues. When you have a group of people who are oppressed or underprivileged, sharing their stories with the people who are oppressing them or are more privileged than them, that can be groundbreaking.” Beadle said she went on her first service trip as a junior in high school. She traveled to the South and helped
teach young children grammar and the alphabet at a church. She said she expects this trip to be different because she’s less comfortable this time, having never been to Texas with minimal knowledge of the Spanish language. Both Beadle and Sarmiento said meeting new people and gaining new experiences are the best parts of taking service trips. “I think it was very rewarding,” Sarmiento said. “We got to meet some of the homeowners who we were building houses for.” “I think it’s definitely good to make yourself aware,” Beadle said. “I think it’s important to try and do your best to help.” erin.moran@temple.edu @ernmrntweets
COURTESY ANDREA SARMIENTO Left: Freshman global studies major Andrea Sarmiento (left), freshman economics major Veronika Konovalova, junior secondary education major Dustin Miller and sophomore education major Amanda Anstotz work on a house in Monroe, North Carolina during a Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge trip over spring break.
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EXHIBIT Chichilnitsky will have their work on display until April 2 at The Old City Jewish Arts Center. The theme of the exhibit this month, titled “The Color of Happiness,” celebrates the Jewish holiday Purim. Purim is celebrated during the Hebrew calendar’s month of Adar, which is considered to be a month of happiness. Zalman Wircberg — known as Rabbi Zash by his congregation — is the co-director of the Old City Jewish Arts Center. He said Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday that celebrates happiness and the survival of Jewish people being saved from extermination, based off the Book of Esther. Purim this year occurred from sunset on March 11 to nightfall on March 12. Wircberg added that the holiday is very family oriented and is the “epitome of celebration.” Festivities during the holiday include dressing up in costumes, eating food and spending time with family. Chichilnitsky’s work includes depictions of Queen Esther — the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther — and several other religious scenes, figures and landscapes. Halpren-Ruder said she wasn’t thinking about Purim when she was creating her art — just about making viewers happy. She said that Henri Matisse, one of her artistic influences, created paintings that dance and sing, and that she tries to create that exuberance in the people that view her art. Halpren-Ruder added that her work is influenced by graphic, pop and folk art.
“I paint what makes me feel good,” Halpren-Ruder said. “To bring a smile to someone’s face one day is just a really lovely thing to be able to do. So that’s the goal that I have, to take that moment and feel good and smile and then be able to deal with the rest of the world.”
“It was a perfect fit,” Wircberg said. “A perfect match for March for Purim. It’s very colorful, it’s very happy, it’s very bright. It just puts a smile on your face, and that’s kind of what this month is supposed to be doing.” Wircberg added that the exhibit is adorned with quotes from ancient
Jewish texts that relate to the theme. The goal was for people to walk through the exhibit and be enriched and educated about the different messages of joy and happiness in Judaism. “Overall, we’re exploring the universal messages of Judaism through the universal language of arts,” Wir-
cberg said. “Through the universal language of arts, we’re exploring and promoting universal messages of Judaism. What better way to do it than in an arts center?” moriah.thoman@temple.edu
BILIN LIN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Robin Halpren-Ruder (right), who attended the Tyler School of Art in the late 1960s, stands with her paintings on display at “The Color of Happiness” exhibit at the Old City Jewish Arts Center.
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Discussing the ‘consciousness,’ message of hip-hop Aaron Smith’s class contextualizes the lyrics of hiphop artist Tupac Shakur. By PATRICK BILOW Classroom Beat Reporter One of Aaron Smith’s favorite songs is Tupac Shakur’s “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” because of its bold beat, empowering lyrics and purpose. “Tupac was an artist with a message,” said Smith, an African American studies professor. “An activist, not the gangster that people portray him as.” Smith teaches a class in the Department of Africology and African American Studies called Tupac Shakur and the Hip Hop Revolution. The class is dedicated to studying Tupac’s message, the direction of his life and his symbolic significance as an artist and an activist. “I felt it was necessary to reintroduce Tupac and his message to a new generation,” Smith said. “His vision and his work went unfinished and many people never understood who he was and what he was really about.” In Smith’s classroom, speakers hang from the ceiling and blare the music of Tupac and
other artists of that generation, like the Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. The music can be heard from the halls of Tuttleman Learning Center during his class, but when an artist drops a controversial line, like Tupac’s “I think it’s time to kill for our women,” from his 1993 song “Keep Ya Head Up,” Smith pauses the music and the conversation begins. As a rapper himself, Smith is fully emerged in hip-hop culture and explained his class is
part motivational speaking, part historical research and contextualization. “We try to take a metaphysical, life-centered approach to education,” Smith said. “Students are welcome to have conversations about the same sort of issues Tupac advocated for.” His exams include discussions of U.S. history in relation to Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement — a way to contextualize the conversations rappers like Tupac have in their
music. Smith said he reflects often on an interview Tupac had at the Baltimore School for the Arts when the late rapper was only 17 years old. In the interview at the rapper’s high school, Tupac said he believes traditional education isn’t relevant to real life. With that in mind, Smith said he tries to make his classroom more relatable to real-life experiences by asking students what sort of issues are being brought up in certain songs and what can be done to solve those issues today. “What made Tupac’s music revolutionary, and what makes his life important today, was that he had courage and a connection to consciousness,” Smith said. “He understood the issues of the world around him, like racial or gender inequality, and he didn’t hesitate to express how he felt about those issues through his music.” “Tupac was very vocal about his problems with traditionalized racism,” Smith added. “And he understood that those issues were larger than racial stratification and oppression.” Jenise Clark, a senior public relations major enrolled in the class, said although the class is centered around Tupac, she has learned about more than just the artist. She said she has learned to be conscious of what is going on around her and of the hardships people may face. “This class is super relevant and very inclusive,” Clark said. “It definitely fits into the bracket of making people more worldly and more aware of what is going on.” Amari Johnson, an African American studies professor, grew up hearing artists like Tupac, but said he came to realize Tupac’s significance and message later in life. He said there are always people knocking on Smith’s door to try to get into the class because the class offers a different meaning to hip-hop. “Tupac’s life modeled a sense of inclusivity,” Johnson said. “He represented different issues and he spoke to a lot of different people so it seems likely that so many people would be attracted to his message today.” Johnson added that today, it is important to model Tupac’s unapologetic and firm leadership in the face of injustice. Smith said Tupac remains one of the most influential artists in history, both in the music industry and as a social activist. Through his class, Smith hopes Tupac’s mission can be continued and a difference can be made. “This class is about being a better person and learning how we can all change the world the way Tupac had,” Smith said. patrick.bilow@temple.edu
VEENA PRAKRIYA FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Aaron Smith, an Africology and African American studies professor, addresses his Tupac Shakur and the Hip Hop Revolution class in Tuttleman Learning Center on March 21.
Mixing genres: alumna to release three novels in one day Mya Douglas found her calling as a novelist after taking a children’s writing course. By IAN WALKER For The Temple News When Mya Douglas was in first grade, she wrote a book about two talking dogs. She asked an artistic classmate to illustrate the story, offering 25 cents per picture. Even then, Douglas said she recognized her passion for creative writing. “I think that’s when it really bit me,” Douglas said. On April 4, Douglas, a Tioga native and 2007 journalism alumna, is publishing three books on a single day. She will also hold a book signing from noon to 2 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble on Broad Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Two of Douglas’ upcoming books are cowritten celebrity memoirs. “Before Empire: Raising Bryshere ‘Yazz the Greatest’ Gray” tells the story of Andria Mayberry, the mother of “Empire” actor Bryshere Gray, both of whom are from Philadelphia. “S.E.A.L.: Sex, Entertainment & Lies” is a biography of Londell “Nikko London” Smith, a star on the reality television series “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.” Her fictional book, “Battling Brelyn,” is a young-adult novel about a teenager living with lupus. The novel is the first book in “The Clover Chronicles,” a series that will focus on the impact of different social issues on teens. Douglas said the second book in the series will examine sex trafficking. Douglas said she never anticipated all three of her release dates would overlap. features@temple-news.com
“It comes off like it was planned, but it really wasn’t,” Douglas said. “The books were ready, the covers were ready, [my publisher] loved the presentation.” SD Green is Douglas’ publisher and a senior consultant at The TMG Firm, a New York City consulting firm and independent book publisher. Green said Douglas’ accomplishment is especially unusual because she’s publishing both fiction and nonfiction books at the same time. “Authors typically do not release multiple books in that kind of way in different genres,” Green said. After she graduated from Temple, Douglas earned her master’s in creative writing from Arcadia University in 2010. During her studies, Douglas said she took her first children’s writing course, where she discovered her calling as a novelist. “It was the writing for children class that changed everything for me,” Douglas said. “That was when I decided that I was going to write young adult, middle-grade, picture books,” Her professor, Gretchen Haertsch, said Douglas was very “single-minded” about the direction of her career. “She just had really good goal-setting skills, was able to work independently and was very good at networking,” Haertsch said. “That equals success.” Since then, Douglas has published an anthology, a nonfiction writing guide and several novels. She said she strives to portray important topics in her fiction, particularly within her new Clover Chronicles series. “There’s a lot of teens that suffer from lupus that people just don’t know,” Douglas said. “I wanted to write a story that touched on real-life issues.” Coupled with her focus on social problems,
Douglas said she wants to emphasize positive African-American representation. “Even when it’s fiction, I want there to be a great positive depiction of the African-American woman and the African-American family, period,” Douglas said. Sam Jaffe, a former adjunct journalism professor, taught Douglas in Magazine Article Writing in Fall 2006. Jaffe said while many of his students shied away from asking questions about their writing, Douglas always enthusiastically sought criticism of her work. “After class, she would come up to me and just go over every word of what she wrote,” Jaffe said. “She was by far my favorite student that I taught in the four or five years that I taught at Temple.”
Douglas said her biggest goal is to write books that entire families can enjoy. She fondly remembers watching TV shows like “Family Matters” during her childhood, but said children today have far fewer family-oriented entertainment options. “I could sit down with my mom and watch TV back in the day,” Douglas said. “Now you can’t really do that because there’s no more family shows.” “I’m definitely hoping [the Clover Chronicles] is one that moms and daughters can be like, ‘We read that together,’” she said. ian.walker@temple.edu @ian_walker12
COURTESY ARDELL MCDUFFIE Mya Douglas, a 2007 journalism alumna, will publish three books on April 4. Two of the books are co-written celebrity memoirs and one is the first novel of a young-adult series.
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AWARENESS they were assigned at birth — college women, and 4 percent of cisgender college men. The old event was held on Main Campus for five years and involved male-identifying participants — many of whom were from fraternities or athletic teams — and female-identifying volunteers who cheered them along the way. The event started at Founder’s Garden and included speakers. “The day will look probably very similar in a lot of ways, except we won’t have people handing in shoes,” Johnson said. Johnson formed a committee of students and faculty members who planned the event. The committee included four students from SAASA — junior English and biology major Mann-Barnes, SAASA marketing director Amelia Burns, SAASA campus liaison Dinsio WaloWright and SAASA events coordinator Kirsten Vagle. Tim Greene, a senior criminal justice major and a student worker for Campus Safety Services, was also on the committee to help coordinate a safe route for the walk and represent Donna Gray, CSS’s special services coordinator who handles cases of sexual assault. “[Sexual violence] is an unfortunate reality but it’s prevalent on and off campus, so anything to spread the word is extremely beneficial,” Greene said. “All different departments at Temple and [people from] all different backgrounds are involved in the planning of the event to make it happen.” In addition to the changes to be more inclusive, junior journalism and political science major Burns said there will be a new focus on art this year so the event remains eye-catching without the red heels. Burns reached out to Take the Time — a group of students from the Tyler School of Art who created on-campus installations to raise awareness of sexual assault — to contribute to the event.
Walo-Wright, a sophomore communication studies major, and Vagle, a junior religion major, will speak on behalf of SAASA at WalkTU. There will also be a speaker from Women Organized Against Rape — a rape crisis center in the city that opened a satellite office on Main Campus last month — and the WRC will hand out cards with information about sexual assault resources on campus. Johnson said WalkTU is a kick-off to other programming throughout April for National Assault Awareness Month. This month’s theme is “Engaging New Voices,” and all programming has been planned
If people are going to come out and talk about sexual assault, it’s important that they’re getting the right information about it. Amelia Burns SAASA Marketing Director
ANTIONETTE LEE FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Tom Johnson, assistant director of the Wellness Resource Center, was involved in making the walk a more inclusive event.
with inclusivity in mind, he added. “[The planning process] was having those conversations to understand what are the different groups of people that are actually impacted by this more statistically and how to incorporate them in this walk so that it’s more inclusive,” Mann-Barnes said. “And I feel like every conversation is surrounded around that.” On April 6, the WRC will host a presentation and Q&A with WOAR. Other events for National Sexual Assault Awareness Month include an Owl Talk Tuesday — a monthly discussion for students hosted by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership — about sexual assault on April 11 and the Clothesline Project — an installation that shares survivors’ stories on T-shirts hanging on clotheslines — on April 12 and 13. SAASA will host a sexual assault resource panel, which Johnson called a “tailgate” to WalkTU, on Tuesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 200A of the Student Center. The panel will feature Johnson, Title IX Coordinator Andrea Seiss and representatives from WOAR. The main goal of the changes to the event, Mann-Barnes said, is to include as many people as possible and give everyone a space to share their experiences. The committee aims to connect people with the resources they need to find support on campus, Burns added. “If people are going to come out and talk about sexual assault, it’s important that they’re getting the right information about it,” Burns said. “Because it’s already not talked about, the last thing we want is having events about that, that aren’t getting anything done.” “I think we need to create more space where it’s okay to talk about [sexual assault], it’s okay to get the resources that you need to heal and to feel better about it in your own time,” Mann-Barnes said. “And I don’t think that was happening before.” erin.moran@temple.edu @ernmrntweets
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EVENTS
Professors host discussion about U.S. border security Law professors Jaya Ramji-Nogales and Peter Spiro will host “Making Sense of the Legal Headlines: Border Security and Interior Enforcement” on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 1D of Klein Hall. They will talk about current events, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, and their legal implications. “Making Sense of the Legal Headlines” is a series of events organized by the Sheller Center for Social Justice, which connects students to community groups and local legal services organizations for research and advocacy projects. Upcoming presentations in the series will be about crime and policing, refugee and travel bans — which will also be hosted by Ramji-Nogales and Spiro — and climate change and federal policy. -Grace Shallow
Tyler hosts lecture on sustainable activism Tom Amoroso, a 1997 landscape architecture alumnus and a principal at Andropogon — a landscape architecture and ecological design firm — will speak on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Room 104 of the Architecture Building. He and other Andropogon architects will discuss the company’s environmental agenda, strategic planning and design. The lecture is part of the Seeing Stories: Visualizing Sustainable Citizenship series, co-curated by Temple Contemporary, the Office of Sustainability and Temple University Libraries, along with faculty and graduate students from the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts and the Center for the Cinematic and Performing Arts.
T H E U N I V E RS I TY O F S C R A N TO N
-Alexis Anderson
Professor is panelist for talk on historic preservation On Thursday, the Philadelphia History Museum will host its 37th annual celebration of Women’s History Month. There will be a panel discussion about women in historic preservation and the challenges and opportunities that they face. The panelists are Hilary Lowe, a history professor at Temple, Sandra Mackenzie Lloyd, a historian at Historic Philadelphia, Kimberly Staub, the collections and exhibitions manager at the Betsy Ross House and Kris Myers, the program director at the Alice Paul Institute. The event begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $6 for students and grant access to the museum’s galleries. -Taylor Horn
S U M M E R AT
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2017 DATES: SUMMER I: 5/31-6/29, SUMMER II: 7/10-8/7 TUITION RATE: $586 per credit - more than 45% OFF the regular tuition rate Of approximately 60 courses being offered this summer, about half are online. Please note that students enrolled at another college or university will need approval from the home college for all courses to be taken at The University of Scranton.
For more information visit scranton.edu/summer
Women’s Fest Film Screening on Friday The first annual Women’s Fest Film Screening will be held on Friday at 6 p.m. in Room 3 of Annenberg Hall. The festival will showcase the work of women in the Department of Film and Media Arts as writers, directors and cinematographers. It is presented by Diamond Screen Film Series and Mise-en-Femme Productions, a student networking organization focused on feminism and film. Attendees can register for the event at events.temple. edu. -Ian Walker
Former student curated women’s history playlist Former Temple student Quinta Brunson curated a Spotify playlist, “About a Girl,” in honor of Women’s History Month. In a recorded introduction to the playlist, Brunson said she chose artists who have “helped her along [her] way,” like Rihanna, Solange and Amy Winehouse. It also includes recorded anecdotes from Brunson, like being introduced to new music by her older sister during car rides when Brunson was younger. Brunson, who was named on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list for 2017, dropped out of Temple and moved to Los Angeles, where she started working at an Apple store, doing comedic stand-ups and improvisation. She is now a development partner at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and sold two shows she created to YouTube Red. -Grace Shallow features@temple-news.com
F E AT U R E S
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GUATEMALA
How do you feel about President Trump’s plan to cut funding from the Pell Grant program?
JORDAN HAWKINS Junior Actuarial Science
Guatemalan physical therapists based in Zacapa — a municipality near the country’s border with Honduras — participate as well. This upcoming August, the largest group of Temple participants will volunteer with the organization. At least 30 students will embark on the service trip to provide physical therapy, occupational therapy and speechlanguage pathology services throughout Zacapa. “From year to year, I still see that there’s a huge need for medical services,” Tucker said. The still-lingering Zika virus, she added, could cause even more health problems in the country, which spends only 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product on health care — significantly less than the 17.8 percent spent in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “What struck me the most was really the level of need in public health,” said Zoe Hunter, a speech-language pathologist and adjunct clinical supervisor. Hunter volunteered with Hearts in Motion for the first time last year. “This is really an interdisciplinary, international effort this year,” Tucker said. While Hearts in Motion has two standing clinics in Zacapa, the organization also sets up pop-up clinics for rural Guatemalans who would
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 otherwise lack access to medical care at all. Advertising through local news outlets and word of mouth brings long lines of prospective patients. “They just come in and they sit so patiently and you’re wondering, ‘Who’s next? Who do I pick?’” Hunter said. “I don’t want to just grab someone when someone else has been sitting three hours.” “But they know,” Hunter added, explaining the country’s sense of community. “You go out and they all point, ‘She’s next.’” Despite the volunteers’ medical skills, the group still faces obstacles during the trips. Hunter remembers a 2-year-old child afflicted with a tapeworm. The government’s supply of medication had run out, leaving the girl uncured, lethargic and severely underweight at 16 pounds. Another patient living with severe cerebral palsy lacked the ability to speak. When given a picture book, however, the boy quickly learned to communicate by pointing to images. “If he were in this country, he would be in the special [education] classroom, he would have specialized wheelchair equipment. … He would have every privilege and likely go to college,” Hunter said. “But in Guatemala, you know, he’s never been to school.” Speech pathologists urge patients with disabilities to communicate through exercises, sometimes using tools like mirrors. While she assigned an exercise to one patient, Hunter learned that their family’s home
lacked mirrors and windows. In 2017, the CIA World Factbook estimated more than 50 percent of Guatemala’s population lives below the poverty line, with 23 percent living in extreme poverty. “We treated on dirt floors,” said Julie Skrzat, a physical therapist who will earn her Ph.D. in movement science from Temple this year. “And we just embraced it.” Tucker, who plans to return to Guatemala in August with Hunter and Skrzat, said the patients aren’t the only ones who benefit. “We learn a lot from them because we look at what it’s like to live with some adversities that we’ve never thought of,” Tucker said. “They’re always really appreciative of what we do.” Remembering her time in Guatemala, Tucker spoke of poverty: old plumbing pipes, a desolate job market, the surge in undocumented minors who crossed the border between the United States and Mexico. But she also remembered cultural wealth — spicy picamas sauce, basilicas and rich Mayan history. “I think that something that we as Americans don’t often appreciate is that they are proud to be Guatemalan, they are proud of their culture,” she added. “They’re not looking for us to feel sorry for them. They’re very resilient, they’re really resilient in the light of what we would consider adversity.” angela.gervasi@temple.edu @AngGervasi
Honestly, that would be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, just because freshman year, I depended on the Pell Grant, and technically next semester I’ll probably depend on the Pell Grant again. [If the proposed cuts go through], I would have to take out even more money in loans and just pay off more debt in the future. Honestly, [the grant] might not seem like much of an effect now in the present, but in the future, it’ll really help out.
ALEXANDRA SCHAFER Freshman Undeclared
I don’t know anyone specifically who would be affected, but I definitely think that’s one of the things that really just makes me upset about this administration. I don’t feel like education is a higher priority. I feel like there’s a lot of privatization that’s going on and they just want to kind of shove it under the carpet. I specifically didn’t apply for a Pell Grant, but there are students, I’m sure, that I know that are going to be affected by this and it really sucks because tuition is just so high.
ALISON GABELMAHONE Freshman Journalism
I don’t think I would be affected, but I don’t think he should take away money for kids to go to school who need it. That’s kind of mean. I just don’t like that. I just don’t think he’s a good president because like, why are you cutting away money for the Department of Education, for kids to get educated to become the next president or something? In order to be successful, you need education, like good education.
features@temple-news.com
COURTESY CAROLE TUCKER Physical therapy students and faculty volunteer with Hearts in Motion, a nonprofit organization that plans service trips in-and-around Zacapa, Guatemala, annually.
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BOSTONIAN tweets. “It got really graphic,” WebsterCazeau said. “Students telling other students, ‘Go back to Africa,’ or ‘We should have never bought you’ or students telling other students that if they were at the protests, they would’ve shot them.” At the time, the girls were both part of the group Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge, and Noel was the president. She printed out all the racist social media posts and put them into a blue binder to give to administration. Noel and Webster-Cazeau wanted the headmaster of BLS to reprimand the students who wrote the racist tweets, so that students of color at the school could feel comfortable that something like that would not happen again. The headmaster of BLS told Noel that she agreed something must be done, but after 18 months, the school failed to address the situation, Webster-Cazeau said. “We noticed that things started to get worse,” said Webster-Cazeau of the racism at BLS. She added that a white student screamed at a student of color, saying they should be lynched. The two girls, who were then seniors, decided to get the word out about racial issues that had continued
at the school. “We were like, ‘We shouldn’t have to go through this, like, why are we so stressed?’ Our school should support us, they shouldn’t make us feel like we’re [dispensable,]” Webster-Cazeau said. In January 2016, they uploaded the first video of a campaign called #BLACKAtBLS to YouTube. In the video, Webster-Cazeau and Noel said they refuse to go unacknowledged as Black students and will continue to try to unite their community. “We are here today to make our voices heard and to show BLS administration and everyone that we refuse to be silenced and we’re not afraid to speak up,” Noel said in the video. The video got thousands of views in less than 24 hours and hundreds of students used the hashtag to share their stories of being Black at BLS. This led to the investigation of the Boston public schools and their lack of action against student racism. There was also forums created for parents and students to talk about these issues, as well as the creation of a Black parent council and a Black alumni coalition at BLS. “When we first started B.L.A.C.K. at BLS and the movement, we didn’t really expect much to come out of it, but so much did,” Webster-Cazeau said. Martin J. Walsh, the mayor of Boston, met with the duo in June 2016 and after, Webster-Cazeau said, May-
or Walsh started conversations about race in the city. According to a Boston Globe article, he was inspired by a woman who asked him if he thought Boston was a racist city. The year-long series of racial discussions started in November 2016 and includes elected officials, community representatives, parents and students coming together to talk freely about racism in Boston. At Temple, Webster-Cazeau said she’s been having a better educational experience than she did in high school. She is currently a member of the university’s Black Student Union and the Student Organization for Caribbean Awareness’s club dance team. “Before Temple, I didn’t enjoy going to school and at Temple I enjoy going to school,” Webster-Cazeau said. “It’s definitely a different experience to go to class and there’s at least one other person that looks like me, because I’d really go through my whole day at BLS and have no Black students in any of my classes.” “It’s really reassuring to see Black students at Temple be successful and be a part of organizations and be in fraternities and sororities and be presidents of clubs,” Webster-Cazeau said. “It makes me feel better about being here.” taylor.suzanne.horn@temple.edu
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
S P O RT S
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 TRACK & FIELD
Walk-on Jazmyne Williams took a ‘unique’ path to Temple’s track team
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SPORTS BRIEFS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Fitzgerald and Cardoza receive national honors Senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald earned selection to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association all-region team, and coach Tonya Cardoza is one of 10 finalists for the U.S. Marine Corps/WBCA Division I Coach of the Year Award, the WBCA announced Thursday. Fitzgerald made the Region 3 team, joining four other American Athletic Conference players including Connecticut sophomore guard Katie Lou Samuelson, Huskies’ sophomore forward Napheesa Collier and South Florida sophomore forward Kitija Laksa, the top three scorers in the league. She averaged 17.3 points per game to help Temple reached its first NCAA tournament since 2011. She ends her career as the second-leading scorer in program history with 1,824 career points. Fitzgerald is also Temple’s career and single-season assists leader. Her 232 assists in the 201617 season also set a record in The American. Cardoza made the national coaches’ list for the first time in her career. She became the all-time winningest coach in program history last season. -Evan Easterling
BILIN LIN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Freshman walk-on Jazmyne Williams takes a water break during practice at the Temple Sports Complex on March 8.
Jazmyne Williams didn’t plan to run track in college until a chance meeting with coach Elvis Forde. By BEN BLAUSTEIN For The Temple News As she waited to run her leg of the 4x400 meter relay at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Jazmyne Williams had plenty of reasons to be nervous. Williams, 18, is a freshman walk-on and one of the youngest athletes on Temple’s track & field team. She had a nagging hip injury that limited her performance during the indoor season. And to top things off, she was anchoring the last leg of the relay. The Owls finished with a season-best time of three minutes, 49.49 seconds to place second in their heat and ninth overall. “Typically anchor is the fastest so I was getting down on myself,” Williams said. “But most people perform better under pressure, and I guess I’m one of those people.” Coach Elvis Forde described Williams’ path to Temple as “unique.” Williams started running track during her freshman year at Oakton High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. In
only her third season, she won state, region and district championships as a junior. She applied to Temple at the recommendation of Oakton assistant coach Alisa Byers and was accepted on an academic scholarship. During her senior season at the Virginia state championships, Williams noticed Forde standing on the edge of the track scouting for future recruits. Williams, who was initially unsure about competing in college, then realized she wanted to keep running. Byers walked over and struck up a conversation with Forde. “She had the grades, she was already accepted into the school, so she was pretty low risk for a college coach,” Byers said. “Coach [Forde] was nice enough to listen to what I had to say,” she added. Forde said the “talent pool” with Williams was there, but it was a matter of figuring out how far she “wanted to go.” Forde took a chance on Williams, which paid off deep into the season at the championships. Williams said the transition from high school to college athletics was not always smooth. “Most of my friends aren’t athletes,” Williams said. “Some days I’ll think, ‘I don’t want to do this, I’d rather be sleeping,’ but I know that those are the days that matter the most.” “She had never probably trained this much in her life,” Forde said. Byers said she has kept in contact
with Williams throughout the season, helping her adjust to the demands of college athletics. Byers, who is a former Drexel University graduate student, believes that Williams is in the right environment to grow as an athlete. Now finished with the indoor season, Forde expects improvement from Williams as the team transitions to outdoor competition. Because of the length of her stride, Williams sometimes got boxed-in while running on the indoor tracks, Forde said. Most indoor tracks are only 200 meters long, with smaller lanes. The transition to the 400-meter outdoor tracks should give her more room and improve her times, Forde said. “It’s more strategic indoors,” Forde said. “The best runner doesn’t always win. I think her outdoor season is going to be much better than her indoor.” The Owls traveled to the University of Mississippi this weekend for their first outdoor meet of the season. Williams finished 19th out of 42 participants in the 400 with a time of 58 seconds, which was the fourth-best time of any freshman at the meet and a personal best. “She wants to get better,” Forde said. “As a coach, the challenge is up to you then to prepare them to compete at this level.” “She’s a special one,” Byers said. benjamin.blaustein@temple.edu
HOJUN YU FILE PHOTO Senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald earned all-region team selection from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
GYMNASTICS
Salim-Beasley adds sixth recruit from Class of 2017 Aryanna Anderson is the sixth recruit who will join the Owls in Fall 2017. She earned Junior Olympics national qualification in 2016 by scoring a 37.325 in the all-around to place 22nd. Anderson placed second in the all-around at the Hill’s Maryland Classic in January and won silver medals on beam and floor. Anderson also earned bronze on vault and bars. -Evan Easterling
Todd to compete at NCAA regional this weekend Freshman all-around Daisy Todd will continue her freshman campaign on Saturday at the NCAA Regional in Morgantown, West Virginia. Todd, the first Owl to compete in the event since 2009, is an alternate for the all-around competition. She is also the second uneven bar specialist. She is only the eighth Owl ever to advance to the NCAA Regional. Sophomore Aya Mahgoub will travel to Morgantown as an alternate on the vault. -Owen McCue
FOOTBALL
Assistant leaves program for in-state Power 5 rival Former recruiting coordinator E.J. Barthel announced on Twitter earlier this week that he left Temple for Penn State. Barthel arrived at Temple in January 2016 and was officially hired in September by former coach Matt Rhule. Before that, Barthel was the recruiting director at Rutgers University from March 2015 to January 2016. He helped Temple sign former Rutgers commits redshirt-freshman quarterback Anthony Russo and sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Wright upon his arrival. After playing each other in 10 of the past 11 years, the Owls do not have any meetings scheduled with Penn State. BILIN LIN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Williams sprints at the Temple Sports Complex on March 8. In the 400-meter on Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi, Williams placed 19th out of 42 runners.
-Owen McCue
sports@temple-news.com
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TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Chernykh ‘frustrated’ with injury but happy to be back The graduate student missed more than two months but recently returned to the court. By GRAHAM FOLEY Women’s Tennis Beat Reporter The 7 a.m. practices were already draining for Galina Chernykh. But waking up early every day and traveling four miles to the Legacy Tennis Center in East Falls — just to sit down and watch the team play — was much worse. The graduate student and University of Rhode Island transfer came to Temple to play tennis in her final year of NCAA eligibility. Chernykh said she wanted to join a talented team in a good conference and help the Owls have a deep run in the American Athletic Conference tournament. But an injury in the team’s first match against Old Dominion University on Jan. 14 forced her to sit out for more than two months. “That was the worst,” Chernykh said. “You come to practice at 7 a.m. but you can’t do anything so every day you’d sit for three hours and just are like, ‘Oh my God.’” Chernykh returned to the court on March 16 against the University of Delaware. She and senior Dina Karina made up the third positioned doubles team and won their match, 6-1. The following day, she played singles in the Owls’ 7-0 win against La Salle. She won 6-3, 7-5 in the second flight. “I don’t feel like I came back, because my game is not the same at all
and it’s frustrating,” Chernykh said. “I knew it would be tough, but I didn’t know it would be that bad.” Chernykh said she had Achilles tendinitis in her right heel. Originally, she and coach Steve Mauro believed the injury would not be serious and she would be back in the lineup after a brief absence. But after a few weeks with no progress, it was clear the injury was worse than she thought. “I thought it would be one or two weeks and about a month in, I found out it didn’t get any better,” Chernykh said. “I realized that even if I came back at that moment I would still need so much time to practice and get back in shape.” Chernykh said she worked hard with the training staff to heal as soon as possible. But the key to recovery was rest. For Chernykh, that was difficult. “It was tough to keep in shape,” Chernykh said. “It was my ankle, so I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even bike. I didn’t do a good job because it was just impossible.” “You have to be positive,” Chernykh added. “After you’re sitting for two months at 7 a.m. on the court for three hours, you have to stay positive. There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to accept it’s part of being a student-athlete.” Chernykh played in the top singles position for the Owls against Old Dominion in her only match before injuring her Achilles tendon. Junior Alina Abdurakhimova took over the top spot after Chernykh’s injury and held it until junior Monet StuckeyWillis took played in top flight singles against Delaware on March 16 and against La Salle on March 17. Mauro said Abdurakhimova will be back in the first position. While Chernykh said she is prepared to play
BRIANNA SPAUSE/FILE PHOTO Galina Chernykh (right), volleys at practice on Jan. 11, a few days before injuring her Achilles tendon and missing more than two months of play.
a lower position until she is back in shape, Mauro said he expects her to play the first or second position when she is at full strength. Abdurakhimova is glad to have Chernykh back to give the Owls more talent heading into the conference tournament. “It’s really good to have her back,” Abdurakhimova said. “She may not be in the perfect shape now, but I think it’s just one week, maybe two and she’ll be fine. Most importantly,
she’ll definitely be fine for conference, so I’m really happy we have her back.” “It’s going to take a couple more matches, hopefully sooner,” Mauro said. “I think if she gets two or three more matches under her belt she’ll be ready for the conference tournament.” Mauro said Chernykh’s talent can give the Owls a solid lineup into The American’s tournament, which begins on April 19 in Orlando, Florida. At Rhode Island, Chernykh post-
ed a 38-13 singles record in her first two seasons and was named to the 12-member Atlantic 10 Conference all-conference team. “It’s a lift for the team,” Mauro said. “She’s such a talented player that she definitely gives us a lift at the top of the lineup. She makes our team even more competitive. graham.foley@temple.edu @graham_foley3
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QUARTERBACKS
JOSHUA DICKER FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior midfielder Morgan Glassford takes a shot in Temple’s 17-16 overtime win against Marquette University at Howarth Field on Saturday.
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DEFENSE group of 12 freshmen and redshirt freshmen who didn’t have college experience before the season started. After sitting out four games because of an ankle injury, Hershey returned to the field against Denver. She has a 3-1 record and has made 20 saves in 184 minutes of playing time. Lowell has started the Owls’ last six games. She has given up 79 goals in ten games and 418 minutes of play. She has 52 saves and a 5-1 record. The Owls are ranked ninth in the Big East with 7.2 saves per game, eighth sports@temple-news.com
with 7.7 caused turnovers per game and seventh with 16.4 ground balls per game. They have outscored their opponents 125-123 at the halfway mark of their season. Temple has been relying on its offense to help get wins. The Owls have 10 players who have scored at least four goals. Six of those players have 10 or more goals. Graduate attacker Brenda McDermott and sophomore midfielder Amber Lambeth lead the team with 19 and 17 goals, respectively. “The offense always, especially at the end of the games when we need the goals, they step it up,” Lowell said. “That brings up the tone of the game again and after that we won’t get down anymore. Oftentimes the opponents won’t even score
anymore goals because we are just on top of it.” With a versatile offense and a young defense, Rosen wants her team to do the little things better. “Defensively it’s a real expectation of being disciplined in the way we play and reading the game,” Rosen said. “Offensively one of the things we can do is continue to learn to shoot a little bit better so that every shot opportunity we create is a goal opportunity.” teresa.sayers@temple.edu @SayersTessa
able to, when you’re in front of 100,000 people and everyone’s all chaotic and all nervous, being able to settle everyone down and do your job.” Patenaude knows how important the quarterback position is. He spent last season as Coastal Carolina University’s offensive coordinator. Despite using seven quarterbacks, the Chanticleers went 10-2 in their last season at the Football Championship Subdivision level. Patenaude said his offense will have some uptempo, option and wildcat elements, while maintaining some of former offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas’ offense, like two-back sets. He said who the quarterback is will affect the offense. “You gotta be able to get guys ready,” Patenaude said. “You have to understand what their skill set is. You have to maximize their skill set. You have to be able to play to their skill set. Don’t ask them to do things that they can’t do. Taper your offense around what they can do and we’ll be fine.” “Don’t worry about who is going to play quarterback,” he added. Marchi and Nutile are the only ones competing for the job with Division I experience. Nutile threw a touchdown in 2015 against Tulane. He is 3-for-5 in his career, with two attempts last season. Marchi, who threw for 9,702 yards in high school, completed two passes last year against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “It definitely helps being able to see the speed of the game, transition from high
school to college,” Marchi said. “It’s definitely faster. Being here a couple of years has helped slow the game down a bit.” Russo redshirted last year after switching his commitment from Rutgers University to Temple. Patenaude said he is a “good thrower” and “athletic enough to run some option.” Centeio came to Temple in January as an early enrollee. He threw for more than 4,000 yards in his high school career, including 2,344 yards as a senior in 2016 at William T. Dwyer High School in Florida. Patenaude said he has a “good sense of how to play quarterback.” Wyatt earned first-team all-state honors at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, New Jersey. He scored 27 total touchdowns as a senior in 2015. “The big thing, this whole offseason we were evaluating leadership,” coach Geoff Collins said. “How the guys were positively affecting their teammates, those kind of things.” “We have a great relationship off the field,” Nutile said. “Everyone is really close. But at the end of the day, we’re competitors and everyone wants the job.” The next starting quarterback has the job of continuing what Walker and the rest of Temple’s graduating seniors started. “It’s exciting,” Russo said. “Pressure is what makes a quarterback in my opinion. If you can’t play under pressure, then you’re playing the wrong position.” evan.easterling@temple.edu @Evan_Easterling
temple-news.com @TTN_sports
S P O RT S
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
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CREW
After two surgeries, Dunn contributing in lead boat The junior transferred from the Florida Institute of Technology in Spring 2015. By OWEN MCCUE Sports Editor The tradition of betting shirts is common in rowing. Members of the losing crews give their racing shirts to the winning boat. The typical exchange, however, was a bit awkward for Austin Dunn last spring at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta. After Temple finished second behind the Florida Institute of Technology, Dunn had to give his jersey to his former teammates. Dunn, now a junior, rowed in the Varsity 8 boat for Florida Tech in Fall 2014. He transferred to Temple in Spring 2015 in order to get closer to his home in Long Island, New York. While Dunn arrived at Temple in January 2015, he didn’t compete until Spring 2016. Florida Tech denied his onetime transfer request, so Dunn could go to Temple, but he couldn’t compete for one year. “They basically didn’t want to train someone to have that same person come race against them,” Dunn said. It didn’t matter much because Dunn physically couldn’t compete. Before he left Florida Tech, Dunn suffered a compound fracture in his fibula and tibia during a pickup basketball game. He had surgery in November 2014 and continued physical therapy when he got to Temple in January 2015. As he rehabbed his leg in Spring 2015, Dunn went to practice once a week and showed up at regattas, but he found that he had a lot more time on his hands without rowing. Dunn started rowing in ninth grade, and welcomed the break from the sport. He got to do things he previously couldn’t, like sit down and read the entire New York Times on Sundays. “I started reading more, liking school more,” Dunn said. “Because when your priorities have to change because of something you can’t control, you kind of have time to realize that you like to do other things too.” While coaching at a rowing club in New York after the season, Dunn felt “left out” as he watched kids rowing. Dunn began to return to full health in early August 2015. He was running and biking about
three hours per day to get back into shape. When the team started practice later that month, Dunn was ready to go. Two weeks into the season, he was injured again. This time, Dunn had four umbilical hernias. He had another surgery in October 2015, less than a year after he had surgery on his leg. “Imagine not being able to laugh or cough or sneeze,” Dunn said. Though he only saw Dunn for a short period of time, coach Brian Perkins was impressed with Dunn’s work ethic. “The fact that he hurt himself pulling so hard tells you that he’s the kind of kid that you have to calm down and not necessarily go after him,” Perkins said. “He’s a really fun person to work with as a coach. If there’s guys you have to motivate every single day, that’s not that fun. If there’s a guy you have to tell to turn it down a little bit … that’s exciting.” It took about two months for Dunn to return to full strength again. His first time back in the boat was during the team’s spring break trip to Florida. “I just got thrown right back in the mix and it felt good,” Dunn said. “I was really enjoying it, and I really loved it. I remembered how much I liked it. It was nice to be back because I took a lot of time off rowing.” The wait paid off for Dunn. He earned a spot in the Varsity 8 boat during the Owls’ historic 2016 season. Temple won the San Diego Crew Classic in San Diego, California, medaled at the Dad Vail Regatta for the first time since 2008 and received an invitation to the International Rowing Association National Championships for the first time since 2003. “I have a lot of memories in rowing,” Dunn said. “I’ve been rowing for a while. And that boat last year was really fun. It was just like every single day you wanted to show up to practice.” This season, the Owls are trying to replace five members from last year’s Varsity 8 boat, and Dunn will be one of the athletes Perkins looks to for leadership. “We have guys that are Dad Vail medalists now that need to mentor and bring the other guys along,” Perkins said. “They know what it takes to get through a heat to get to the finals. They know what it takes to get down the course and medal in that event. They need to show these young guys what has to be done.” owen.mccue@temple.edu @Owen_McCue
EVAN EASTERLING/THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior Austin Dunn shows the scar on his ankle from his surgery after breaking his tibia and fibula playing basketball in November 2014. Dunn transferred to Temple from the Florida Institute of Technology the following year and now races in Temple’s Varsity 8 boat.
MEN’S TENNIS
Dorash’s bet on himself paying off in college career The sophomore moved from Belarus to Poland at age 15 to play tougher competition. By DAN WILSON Men’s Tennis Beat Reporter Attending school away from your parents is a big transition. For sophomore Uladzimir Dorash, moving to Philadelphia was simply the next step in his tennis career. At age 15, Dorash moved from his home country of Belarus to Poland to pursue tennis more seriously. His parents stayed behind. Belarus barely had any indoor court spaces for Dorash to play during the notoriously cold and windy winters. There also weren’t many players against whom he could compete, he said. Dorash already had experience playing tournaments in Poland and in Spain before deciding to move. He said there was more facility space and the competition level was higher. Instead of moving to Spain, which would be costly, Dorash moved to Poland where he could make frequent trips home. Before he came to Temple, Dorash visited the United States for three weeks during a tournament in Miami. He spent all of his time during the trip playing tennis against some of the top youth competition from around the world and hanging
out with teammates. He didn’t get to fully adjust to American life like he has now. “The cultural and mentality differences in America are really big,” Dorash said. “I knew how to speak English before coming here, but the transition to the differences in culture was really hard.” As someone who has already lived in three countries before his sophomore year of college, Dorash is fluent in four languages. He speaks both Belarusian and Russian, the official languages of Belarus. He learned English in his elementary school years, and learned how to speak Polish when he lived there. Dorash is 38-16 in singles and 33-10 in doubles in his Temple career. Last year, he won 19 doubles matches, to tie the mark Kacper Rams set in 2010 for second-most wins as a freshman. “I was only able to see videos and his [International Tennis Federation] tournament results,” coach Steve Mauro said. “I could tell that he would fit in well at Temple, as well as our team.” This spring, Dorash is 10-6 in singles and 12-2 in doubles. He has a 9-3 record with his primary partner, freshman Francisco Bohorquez. “I’ve developed a great relationship with Uladzimir both on and off the court,” Bohorquez said. “I hadn’t played that much doubles before coming to Temple, and playing alongside him has definitely made me a lot better at it.” danielwilson20@temple.edu @dan_wilson4
CONOR ROTTMUND FILE PHOTO Sophomore Uladzimir Dorash serves during the Owls’ 6-1 loss to the University of Pennsylvania on Jan. 28.
sports@temple-news.com
SPORTS
S P O RT S
PAGE 18
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017
FOOTBALL
QB battle: ‘Everyone wants the job’ Five quarterbacks are vying to replace Phillip Walker as the starter. By EVAN EASTERLING Assistant Sports Editor
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THIS WEEK AT TEMPLE-NEWS.COM/MULTIMEDIA
fter becoming the first quarterback to lead Temple to multiple bowl games and the Owls’ alltime leading passer, Phillip Walker is now pursuing a professional career. For the first time in three years, the Owls began spring practices with a question mark at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Anthony Russo, redshirt junior Frank Nutile, redshirt sophomore Logan Marchi, redshirt freshman Tommy Wyatt and freshman Todd Centeio are competing for the starting role. Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said the team is looking for one quarterback to emerge as the starter, rather than using a two-quarterback system. A depth chart hasn’t been established yet, he said. “I think the thing that as a quarterback, the best you thing you need is kind of between your ears, that mental aspect of it,” Russo said. “Being able to handle yourself on the field, being able to be a leader. Being
The Temple News sports editors discuss the quartberack competition at spring football practice.
QUARTERBACKS | PAGE 16
PHOTOS BY JAMIE COTTRELL / GRAPHICS BY COURTNEY REDMON From left to right: Redshirt sophomore Logan Marchi throws a pass, redshirt junior Frank Nutile hands the ball to junior running back Jager Gardner, redshirt freshman Anthony Russo walks along the field and freshman Todd Centeio prepares for a snap.
LACROSSE
Defense finding ‘new identity’ in league play The Owls are 1-1 in Big East Conference games with upcoming battles with high-scoring teams. By TESSA SAYERS Lacrosse Beat Reporter With three minutes, 30 seconds left in the Owls’ game against the University of Maryland at Baltimore County on March 4, freshman goalkeeper Maryn Lowell dove on the turf at Howarth Field to keep the ball from going in the net. Temple had a six-goal lead, so the goal likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. But for a young defense that is still trying to find its identity early in the conference schedule, Lowell’s stop was an important one. Temple (8-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) lost its conference opener to the University of Denver on March 19 in Colorado. The Pioneers, who are ranked 14th in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Poll, ended the Owls’ five-game win streak when they won 14-6. “I think our team is hopefully more aware of the level we need to play at in the Big East now and what it will take,” coach Bonnie Rosen said. “I think there is a better sense of urgency that every repetition matters. Coming away from Denver, I think we learned what it’s going to take.” A week later, the Owls won their second conference game against Marquette University in overtime, 17-16.
Temple finished the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 7-1 record. Its only loss came against the ranked Princeton University team. The Tigers, who are currently ranked sixth in the IWLCA poll, won 19-3. Temple received votes in Monday’s Inside Lacrosse poll. In its next eight games, Temple will have to face three teams ranked in the Top 40 in goals per game in Division I: The University of Florida, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt University. Florida, ranked No. 3 in the IWLCA poll, leads Division I in goals per game with an average of 16.67. Cincinnati averages 12.8 goals per game, while Vanderbilt averages 13.62. Temple is ranked fourth in the Big East and 40th in Division I with 12.5 goals per game. One of the biggest positions the Owls had to fill after last year’s run to the Big East championship game was goalkeeper. Jaqi Kakalecik, who was ranked eighth in Division I in goals against average, graduated at season’s end. “Last year, we had four senior veteran defenders and they had a lot of time together and they knew each other and how each other played and had a lot of chemistry,” senior defender Rachel Barile said. “But this year we have new, young, fresh feet and new people, so that kind of helps in a different way. I think we are all hungry to get after it and create a new identity for ourselves.” Lowell and redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Kelsea Hershey have split time in net so far this season. They are part of a
DEFENSE | PAGE 16
JOSHUA DICKER FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior defender Rachel Barile clears the ball from the backfield in the second half of the Owls’ 17-16 overtime win against Marquette University on Saturday.
CREW | PAGE 17
TENNIS | PAGE 16
TRACK & FIELD | PAGE 15
BRIEFS | PAGE 15
Austin Dunn transferred from the Florida Institute of Technology and underwent two surgeries before making the Owls’ top boat.
Graduate student Galina Chernykh missed more than two months with an Achilles tendon injury, forcing lineup changes.
Freshman walk-on Jazmyne Williams decided to run track at Temple when she saw coach Elvis Forde scouting a high school meet.
Fitzgerald and Cardoza earn postseason recognition, Todd to compete at NCAA regionals, other news and notes.