Issue 26

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 VOL. 95 ISS. 26

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

Activate TU wins in close election The team won by 56 votes after an hourlong suspension and investigation into the campaign’s finances.

By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter

A

ctivate TU won the executive ticket for Temple Student Government on Friday after a close competition that included a temporary suspension and delay of the election result announcement from the Elections Committee.

“I’m speechless,” Student Body President-elect Tyrell Mann-Barnes said after the announcement on Friday. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m so happy I could cry.”

Mann-Barnes said one of the first actions of his team will be to open an application for the Ethics Board that was discussed in Activate TU’s campaign. The team opened applications for executive branch positions on Monday night.

TSG announced Parliament winners a little less than an hour after the new executive ticket.

“It wasn’t just about getting enough votes to win,” said Paige Hill, vice president-elect of external affairs. “We wanted to make sure that people really knew they could vote, really came out to vote and let their voices be heard.”

Ari Abramson, the presidential candidate on the Connecting TU ticket, said he isn’t sure if his campaign will continue to be involved with TSG. “We’ll just have to see how things play out,” Abramson said.

Abby Moore, a junior media studies and production major, thought the campaigns were “weirdly messy.”

“I’ve never seen so many ‘scandals,’” she said. “I think [Activate TU] got dragged through a bunch of drama they didn’t ask for. I’m glad they won.”

Activate TU was suspended for about an hour before voting closed last Wednesday night. The Elections Committee delayed announcing the results of the election while it investigated Activate TU’s finances — which were found to be within the spending limit.

Activate TU’s platform was founded on increased transparency within TSG and increased collaboration with Women Organized Against Rape and Student Health Services. The

Take a look at what’s new in Philly’s music scene inside this issue and online at temple-news.com.

PHOTOS BY ALLIE VALERO (TOP), NICK SEAGREAVES (LEFT) AND COURTESY DENEKA PENISTON (RIGHT)

‘This is what we were born to do’

Students show ‘love’ to Syrian refugees

Former lacrosse player Jean Baylor and her husband Marcus released their album in February.

By EVAN EASTERLING Assistant Sports Editor Jean Baylor graduated from Temple in 1993 after studying jazz as a vocal performance major. But her fame initially came from R&B. While at Temple, Baylor met Renee Neufville, and the pair formed the duo Zhané. Their single “Hey, Mr. DJ” peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned the duo a contract with Motown Records in 1994. Their debut album produced two Top 40 hits. Zhané released a second album in 1997 before splitting in 1999.

Baylor played jazz shows throughout her career, including gigs in Philadelphia while at Temple. She released her first jazz recording, “The Journey,” with her husband Marcus on Feb. 10.

It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Jazz Chart and reached No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart. Jean said it was cool seeing her album next to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s.

“Other genres, pop, R&B, rock, they’re usually tied to the hook and tied to the catchiness of the music that someone is going to repeat over and over again, where jazz isn’t

BAYLOR | PAGE 17

ELECTIONS | PAGE 3

QUANG DO FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Salim Gurbuz, a Turkish visiting scholar from University of Pennsylvania, paints Ebru a style of paper marbling, in Mitten Hall on Sunday.

The gala event featured musical performances and Middle Eastern dishes.

By QUANG DO For The Temple News When Iman Soliman met a refugee family for the first time, her mother invited the family to their house for a holiday dinner.

The family experienced one of the bombings in Syria. A piece of shrapnel flew into the father’s eyes and left him blind. He

is now raising four children in Philadelphia, and none of them speak English.

Soliman’s mother works with the PA Refugee Task Force — an organization that helps refugees in Pennsylvania with resettlement.

“There are some cases of families who live in roach-infested apartments and people try to come in and help improve the conditions,” said Soliman, a sophomore neuroscience major. “There are tutoring and English classes, and my mom goes to their houses and helps them learn how to use the washing machines.”

That family is just one of 40 Syrian refugee families who have recently come

to Philadelphia, said Soliman, the events coordinator of United Muslim Relief at Temple — a chapter of a nonprofit organization that works to alleviate poverty, with a focus on Muslim populations, throughout the world.

On Sunday, Soliman, along with Hira Majid, the president of Temple United Muslim Relief, organized the event “Home Is Where The Refugees Are // With Love, Syria” in Mitten Hall with the goal of making Philadelphia’s refugees feel more comfortable.

All the money raised by selling tickets and artwork for the sold-out event were donated to Syrian refugee families in Philadelphia.

The event was co-hosted by the Temple Arab Student Society. This collaboration gave the audience a broader perspective of Syria because UMR focuses on humanitarian issues while TASS is a cultural organization, Majid said.

When President Donald Trump’s instituted his travel ban, which includes banning refugees for 120 days, said Majid, a senior biomedical engineering major.

Majid said she wanted to raise awareness about the Syrian civil war and help families in need.

“It’s not like they don’t belong here,” Majid said.

The event was organized as a black tie banquet, where attendees could try Middle Eastern cuisine like kofta, a meatloaf dish, and hummus. They also listened to

REFUGEES | PAGE 12

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-14

SPORTS | PAGES 15-18

Even though Diamond Street is a historical district, developers are putting up signs that are against regulation. Read more on Page 2.

Temple’s invovement in the GEAR UP program is a good start to being more involved in local schools. Read more on Page 4.

Soft Idiot, a band comprised of four students, describe its sound as “bedroom pop.” Read more on Page 7.

Redshirt-junior offensive lineman Jaelin Robinson didn’t play football until he was a high school senior. Read more on Page 18.

NEWS

PAGE 2 COMMUNITY

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

TSG

Historic district rules go unenforced off campus Developers and property owners are posting rental signs that could violate a Historical Commission regulation.

By KELLY BRENNAN Community Beat Reporter Jane Swinney Wilson has lived on Diamond Street for the past 28 years. She said the street now looks drastically different than it did when she moved in.

Today, Wilson, 63, can see real estate and housing advertisements nailed to the homes — a practice that is illegal but often goes unregulated.

Diamond between Carlisle and Van Pelt streets is part of a historical district in the city, and the Historic Preservation Ordinance, written in 2012, prevents developers and property owners from interfering with the aesthetic of the historic district. This means putting up realtors’ signs without approval could violate the ordinance.

According to the ordinance, a developer must obtain a permit from the Department of Licenses and Inspections in order to build or restore a building in a historic district. After the permit is granted, all work done that alters a building must “conform to the requirements” of that permit. The commission considers the “historical, architectural or aesthetic significance” of a building and a developer’s proposed alterations.

According to the Historical Commission’s website, “the Historical Commission has jurisdiction over the entire exterior envelopes of buildings, their sites and all site [attachments].”

“The real estate signs on Diamond Street and everywhere else are likely not approved by the Historical Commission or permitted by Licenses and Inspections,” said Ajeenah Amir, the deputy communications director for the Mayor’s office. “There are just too many of them.”

“There are elements of that building that you might not find today,” Amir added. “Those elements might need to be protected.”

Amir said the crux of the problem is a lack of resources.

“It is a law,” Amir said. “It’s on the books, but laws have to be enforced.” She added that without sufficient funding, this law is difficult

to regulate.

Amir said the Historical Commission would likely need more funding to be able to enforce the ordinance.

Wilson, who currently lives on Diamond Street near 17th, said her block has fewer advertisements than other blocks of the street.

“It just creates havoc when you look up and down Diamond Street and see all of these different advertisements,” she said.

Wilson added that she contacted the Historic Commission, landlords and management companies about the signs. She plans to contact the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission in order to get these signs taken off the homes on Diamond Street.

Judith Robinson, the Democratic chairperson of the 32nd ward, said the signs on Diamond Street became “overwhelming” when more students started living off campus.

There are elements of that building that you might not find today. Those elements might need to be protected.

Ajeenah Amir Deputy Communications Director, Mayor’s Office

The signs staying up “says ‘this is a place where you can do things illegally and not have the laws enforced,’” Robinson said, adding that it implies residents “don’t care.”

“But that’s not true,” she said.

She added that these signs could possibly deter “average citizens” from living in this area because he or she may think that the homes are only for students.

“It’s sort of like a quiet way of saying, ‘Here is for students, and here is for other people,’” she said.

Ultimately, Wilson wants the signs gone from her neighborhood.

“For me, all this says is that this is just for Temple students, not for the people in the neighborhood,” Wilson said. “I would like to say to the developers, ‘Do you want all of that stuff in your neighborhood? Do you want all these signs or flags in your neighborhood?’” kelly.brennan@temple.edu @_kellybrennan

turnout for executive election 29,942 did not vote 5,180 voted 2,618 for Activate TU

2,562 for Connecting TU SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS

TSG turnout reaches high The record turnout could have been influenced by adding Parliament to the ballot.

By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter In a race that was decided by only a few dozen votes, turnout for Temple Student Government’s Executive Branch election reached a record high since data started being collected in 2004.

Voter turnout for the executive election was 14.7 percent, a 2 percent increase from last year’s turnout of 12.7 percent.

Activate TU won by 56 votes and received 2,618 votes. Connecting TU received 2,562 votes.

“I’m exceptionally happy with the way things turned out, but there’s always more goals to set,” said Noah Goff, TSG’s elections commissioner.

Goff said 35,122 students were eligible to vote in the executive election. Because the number was calculated by computer services and part of the ballot included voting for representative seats on Parliament, there isn’t one specific group of students that can vote for the Executive Branch. In the past, it was only undergraduate students.

TSG set up voting tables in the Student Center on April 4 and 5 in an effort to encourage voter turnout, where students could access the online ballot. “[People] came and went depending on what time it was, how many people were trying to get lunch at the time,” Goff said. “Just having the physical reminder, even if you didn’t go to vote, there was still a good way to keep people’s memories fresh.”

Goff said he believes holding the Parliament and Executive Branch elections at the same time also boosted turnout. For the current

TSG, students voted for the Executive Branch last April and for Parliament in January.

“I think it would be a mistake to try to run the elections separate, because then people try to vote twice instead of once,” Goff said. “I thought the voting process was very smooth this time as opposed to in the fall.”

“One of the people running messaged me and told me to vote,” said Tory Dubendorf, a freshman journalism major.

Aside from posts on Facebook, Dubendorf said she didn’t see anything that informed her about the campaigns and their platforms.

Two freshman representative seats and the Residents Hall Association representative seat for Parliament will be filled in Fall 2017 after the class of 2021 arrives. The Greek Life seat will be filled by the Temple University Greek Association, at a yet-to-be-determined date.

Parliament will hold open elections for the three unfilled seats for the College of Engineering, Boyer College of Music and Dance and the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts at the beginning of Fall 2017.

No students from Boyer ran for the college’s representative seat in January, and it was never filled.

The average number of votes cast for a seat in Parliament was 440. The five at-large seats — which any student can vote for — had the highest turnout at 1,844 votes for a 5.26 percent turnout.

An announcement about the winner of the Disability Resource Services seat is “pending,” according to a statement TSG posted on Twitter.

Goff cited a possible issue with the “interaction with the computer system” as the reason for the DRS seat’s pending status.

“We want to hold off on that just briefly, like a couple days … to figure out a solution to a problem that may or may not exist,” he said.

“We just want to make sure that everything is good before we announce a [winner].” amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien

RESEARCH

Professor working on policy shift to include female brains Debra Bangasser studies the biological difference between brains in male and female rats.

By NOAH TANEN Research Beat Reporter In graduate school, Debra Bangasser wondered why researchers only used male subjects in animal testing. Since then, the psychology and neuroscience professor at Temple has been studying the differences between male and female brains.

Historically, researchers only studied male animals out of concern that testing female animals would have variable data because of the nature of their hormones, Bangasser said. Studying both female and male animal brains allows researchers to understand why each sex is more prone to different psychiatric disorders.

Bangasser follows a policy set by the National Institutes of Health in 2014 that requires testing be performed on both male and female animals. Her research and the NIH policy both suggest that brains operate differently depending on the subject’s sex.

In order to understand why males and females are more prone to different psychiatric disorders, Bangasser said her lab, the Neuroendocrinology and Behavior Laboratory, News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com

compares biological and behavioral responses to stress in rats based on their sex.

“My research has looked at this for a long time,” Bangasser said.

“While I was a graduate student, I was like, ‘Why aren’t we looking at female brains? I’m a woman, I want to understand what’s happening in female brains.’ … Now, the broader scientific community is appreciating how, by only understanding male

biology, we might be missing some important concepts and we might not have the full picture of how treatments work in females.”

Bangasser’s findings show that female rats groom more in response to certain stress hormones.

“We see that there are different patterns of brain activation in male versus female rats,” she added.

Now that the NIH requires studies to test on both male and female

animals, some claim the mandate is costly and time consuming, Bangasser said.

Others argue that the inclusion of both male and female subjects, there are now twice as many subjects, and it will cost twice as much and take twice as long to complete a study, she added.

Bangasser doesn’t share this frustration, and neither does her lab.

NOAH TANEN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Madeleine Salvatore, a research assistant and lab technician, is helping psychology and neuroscience professor Debra Bangasser study the biological differences between male and female rat brains.

“[Testing male and female animals] creates a more representative sample,” said Madeleine Salvatore, a research assistant and lab technician in Bangasser’s lab. “Assuming that the endgame of all research is to create information that is applicable to human beings, human beings are both male and female. … You have to include samples that represent reality.”

Hanna Lefebo, a junior neuroscience major who works in Bangasser’s lab, said when it comes to medication, males and females don’t react the same way and studying both sexes is necessary “to get more accurate data.”

“There’s evidence that women have more adverse drug reactions than men,” Bangasser said. “You wonder if that is in part because the drugs were designed for male rodents.”

Bangasser’s lab is currently studying a potential antidepressant treatment. So far, females have been more responsive to the treatment.

Bangasser said the male and female brains are “not vastly different,” but it’s important to understand any differences.

“In some cases, those subtle differences may mean nothing,” she said.

“But in other cases, they may be really important to understanding vulnerability or resilience to disease.”

“That’s going to always be a focus of my lab,” she said. “As long as I continue to do research.” noah.tanen@temple.edu

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

PAGE 3

PART TWO

Changing face: marketing and admissions strategies The university does not target specific student demographics for recruitment.

By GRACE SHALLOW Deputy Features Editor Even though Temple advertises itself as a diverse university, its marketing and admissions teams said they don’t apply specific efforts to attract minority students to the school.

Instead, officials said they reach out to places that are already diverse to recruit students.

Two weeks ago, The Temple News explored data focusing on the changing racial demographics of the student body starting in 2005-06.

Even though the student population has grown and the university has repeatedly broken its record for most applications, some minority groups take up less of the student population.

White students remained consistently between 55 and 61 percent of the student body. The percent of Black students declined by about 6 percent while the number of international students almost tripled.

The next step is to find out why.

There was about a 34 percent increase in applications to Temple from 2014 to 2017. The university does not have data for the racial, socioeconomic and geographic breakdown of applicants.

The university’s most recent Common Data Set from 2015-16 lists factors of “relative importance” in admissions decisions. For factors like religion, the university marked that is “not considered” for admissions. But the row in the form about whether race is considered has not been filled out since the 2014-15 Common Data Set, when the university logged that race and ethnicity were considered

in admissions decisions. In each Common Data Set from 2002-03 to 2011-12, the university marked race and ethnicity as “not considered” in admissions decisions.

Director of Admissions Karin Mormando said the number of applicants in every demographic has increased, but Temple’s recent “momentum” for factors like athletics, academics and on-campus development may attract students who wouldn’t have been interested in the university otherwise.

Between September and January, Temple received more than 880 million impressions through media coverage and five nationally televised football appearances during the 2016 football season — when Temple tied the record set in 2015 for most wins in school history. Temple received its highest ranking in the 2016 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges report, and its research was named to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s highest standard last February, a classification shared by four percent of fouryear institutions in the nation. Main Campus is also currently undergoing 11 renovations.

“If we go back 15 to 20 years, the amount of physical and capital development on this campus has been pretty significant,” Mormando said.

Emily Spitale, the associate vice president of strategic marketing and communications, said the marketing department has used new techniques to appeal to prospective students within the last three or four years, like looking at national research to better understand prospective students’ goals when researching higher education institutions. In 2015, Temple also began to use sites like BuzzFeed to create sponsored content and reach out to high school freshmen and sophomores who are just beginning to consider college.

Spitale said national research states that students are often curi-

ous about universities’ degrees and programs, affordability, location and student life. She said the marketing department will use social media to emphasize these points.

Temple’s diversity is highlighted during its marketing campaigns “all the time” and answers prospective students’ questions about what oncampus life is like, she added.

Ashlei Gentry, the president of the Black Student Union, said the diverse image Temple portrays doesn’t match her initial experience on Main Campus.

She added that BSU programs and meetings are packed in the beginning of the academic year because Black students feel like they need to seek out peers like themselves — the same reason she joined the student organization three years ago.

“In my classes, there are very few African American students,” Gentry, a senior political science major, said.

“If you’re just walking [on campus], you see Black people because you know where they are. But at first I didn’t know where they were.”

Spitale said the marketing team does not target specific student demographics for recruitment, but interacts with interested students who were recruited by admissions counselors and seek out Temple through various platforms.

William Black, the senior vice provost of enrollment management, said in March that Temple recruits “a diverse applicant pool” in places like Atlanta and Washington, D.C., and this strategy is built into the Office of Admissions’ strategy from the start.

Mormando said her goal is to enroll the most academically talented class she can, no matter the size of the applicant pool.

She added that the suggested GPA and standardized test scores for applicants have increased over the

By LAURA SMYTHE For The Temple News After being forced to relocate as a result of new zoning restrictions and the construction of the new library, food truck owners actually saw a boost in business. “[The construction] has actually been kind of nice,” said Michael Zorzy, a sophomore business major who has worked at El Guaco Loco since September. The truck is at the corner of 13th and Norris streets every weekday. The construction for the library is across the intersection from the truck.

“There’s been more customers because the construction workers come here,” Zorzy said. “I don’t see many negatives or positives really, just that there’s more people here.”

Virginia Apostolopoulos, owner of the Creperie at Temple, said construction hasn’t had much of an impact on her business. Her truck is also near the corner of 12th and Norris streets.

The university reportedly sent out an email to food truck owners warning them of potential difficulty from library construction.

In Fall 2015, several food truck owners said they were concerned about relocating as part of the zoning restrictions and also the switch from generators to cables to provide electricity to the trucks.

City Council passed an ordinance in 2015 when construction on the new library began that created a zone in which food trucks would be allowed. The param-

grace.shallow@temple.edu @grace_shallow Julie Christie contributed reporting.

GENEVA HEFFERNAN FILE PHOTO Temple’s marketing department and admissions office are using social media to attract prospective students.

Food trucks report boost in business After relocating for zoning rules and construction, some truck owners reported more business.

last four years. The Temple Option, which allows students to answer “selfreflective” questions through writing instead of submitting test scores, was offered for the first time in 2014.

That year, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing calculated that every student who scored lower than their peers on the SATs was in a lower income bracket.

Mormando said the alternative admissions method can be seen as a way to appeal to “diverse populations,” on a racial, socioeconomic and geographic level.

“Ultimately, I’m looking to recruit a class of future alumni,” Mormando said. “We really have to hone in on that academic experience.”

eters of the food truck-friendly zone are Diamond, 10th, Oxford and 16th streets.

However, the trucks are prohibited from parking or operating on constructionheavy 13th Street.

Tommy’s Lunch Truck is one of the food trucks that had to relocate because of construction. Last year the truck moved two times: once in May and September and another relocation is anticipated this summer, said owner Teresa Dinh.

She said she was concerned when she first had to move her business, but that it worked out alright.

“All my customers have found us here,” Dinh said, adding that the construction increased traffic to her food truck as

well. The truck currently sits on Norris Street across from the library construction.

Tommy’s Lunch Truck also experienced electric and water problems, which Dinh attributes to construction.

Susan Allen, a sophomore speech, language and hearing major who works at Burger Tank, a truck parked near the corner of 13th and Norris streets, says the construction did not negatively affected the business, but instead increased it.

Construction of the library is projected to finish in October 2018. laura.smythe@temple.edu Nenseh Koneh contributed reporting.

KIERAN LYONS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Some food truck owners reported an increase in business despite being across the street from a construction site.

SRC NOMINEE, FORMER EAGLES COACH TO BE AWARDED DEGREES See this story in full at temple-news.com/news/degrees Continued from Page 1

ELECTIONS team also openly opposed the construction of an on-campus football stadium.

Jason Croft, a senior journalism major, voted for Connecting TU because they “seemed to be more neutral.”

“As a true fan of Temple athletics, I couldn’t vote for a group that came out as anti-stadium,” he said.

Five members of the Activate TU campaign team have had experience on TSG’s current executive team. Current Student Body President Aron Cowen said his team would explore the best options of transition with Activate TU. “I think that we’re all here for the same reason, so I think we’ll make it work,” Cowen said.

Adam Bershad, a junior sport and recreation management major, thought that the campaigns had “too much bashing of the opposing platform.”

“I hope that Activate TU stays true to their word and is inclusive to everyone,” Bershad said.

Leo Greene, a senior economics and political science major, said he voted for Activate TU because he believed they recognize their “duty and obligation to the community where Temple exists.”

“The stadium will happen regardless of how badly the incoming [TSG] administration will oppose it,” he said.

“The real question is, can the administration pivot fast enough from ‘we flat out don’t want the stadium’ to ‘we must negotiate with the school to make sure the individuals being misplaced get some kind of good deal’.”

Greene also hoped that there will be better communication between Parliament and the Executive Branch.

“I think this would be something the incoming folks would want to nip in the bud,” he added.

The new executive team will be sworn into office on May 1. amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien

News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com

OPINION

PAGE 4

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

EDUCATION 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

The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community.

Emily Scott Features Editor Owen McCue Sports Editor Gillian McGoldrick Asst. News Editor Evan Easterling Asst. Sports Editor Grace Shallow Deputy Features Editor Erin Moran Deputy Features Editor Linh Than Multimedia Editor Abbie Lee Multimedia Editor

Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News.

Tom Lee Web Manager Donna Fanelle Web Designer Brianna Spause Photography Editor Geneva Heffernan Asst. Photography Editor Finnian Saylor Design Editor Courtney Redmon Designer Sasha Lasakow Designer Xiaoye (Spark) Xu Advertising Manager Jeanie Davey Business & Marketing Manager

Visit us online at temple-news.com.

Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com.

The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122

Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News.

EDITORIALS

Get involved with TSG Students need to take it upon themselves to participate in Temple Student Government.

The election results were announced for Temple Student Government Friday with ActivateTU winning the executive branch by 56 votes.

Voter turnout for the executive election was 14.8 percent, which is slightly more than 2 percent above last year’s turnout.

Despite this increased turnout, nearly 30,000 students, or 85 percent, who were eligible did not. Too many students decided not to participate.

When The Temple News interviewed students for our Voices question in Features, students told our reporter TSG did not do enough to advertise the election to students. However, throughout the election TSG candidates actively posted about the election on Facebook class pages, spoke to student clubs and organizations, sent out emails to class email lists and campaigned at the Bell Tower. On April 4 and 5, TSG also set up voting tables in the Student Center to encourage students to vote.

The current TSG administration as well as both ActivateTU and ConnectingTU sufficiently sought to make students aware of this elec-

tion. It appears as though the real problem with low voter turnout is student apathy.

But students can’t afford to be disinterested in who holds student office. The decisions student leaders make will impact their lives whether they chose to cast their ballot or not.

TSG was involved with advocating for gender-neutral housing. Next fall, students will have this housing option available to them.

Throughout the academic year, various columnists have written about issues affecting students on Main Campus — including problems with the shuttle service Flight, long waits at Tuttleman Counseling Services and misunderstandings about how TU Alerts work.

TSG can advocate for changes to solve these issues.

But if students aren’t choosing their elected officials, how can they be sure their concerns will be addressed?

The Temple News encourages students to take more interest in student government and to take advantage of the opportunity to share their voices when TSG reaches out.

Diverse deans needed The Tyler School of Art should look to include diverse candidates in its applicant pool.

Temple announced four candidates applying for the role of dean in the Tyler School of Art, but none of them are people of color.

A third of Tyler’s student body is not white.

When the Beasley School of Law began searching for deans, it put out a call for candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. Why couldn’t Tyler do the same?

Temple constantly boasts its diversity among the student body and should start making efforts to stake that claim in its administration.

A majority of the deans

at Temple are white men, but less than half of the student body is male, and only a little more than 55 percent of the student body is white, according to the 2016 Student Profile.

Temple needs to make a more concerted effort as an institution to better represent its students. But this cannot happen when diverse applicants are not even being considered for these leadership positions. The Temple News encourages the university to be more deliberate in seeking out diverse talent for roles in the administration.

CORRECTIONS An article that ran on April 4 on Page 6, with the headline “Architecture comittee vetoes Fox skywalk,” improperly attributed the source for information about the proposed cosmetic changes to 1800 Liarouras Walk. The information came from Plan Philly.

An article that ran on April 4 on Page 8, with the headline “Digging ‘in the trash’ for art, reflection,” misstated how long Maria Möller practiced photography. She started in 1996. It also misstated Möller’s idea for “One Last Time,” a photography project about mortality featuring objects from RAIR that will be recycled at its end.

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@temple-news.com or 215-204-6737. letters@temple-news.com

Students: stay involved in local schools Temple has gotten involved in GEAR UP, but sustained efforts are needed to make an educational impact.

T

hrough my experiences volunteering at two Philadelphia schools, I have seen firsthand the challenges some students face. Many struggle with literacy, math and comprehension skills to the point where help outside the classroom is necessary.

But in some cases, there are no resources for extra help. I’ve seen the impact this educational struggle has on students’ confidence at an age when positive self-image is vital.

A 2015 National Center for Education Statistics study found that school districts in ALEX VOISINE Pennsylvania with the highest poverty rates receive one-third fewer state and local dollars, per pupil. Nationally, Pennsylvania is ranked the worst state with respect to equitable district funding. And Philadelphia, which is a high-poverty district, has suffered from funding issues in recent years due to state budget cuts to education.

Ultimately, the state’s unwillingness to provide equitable funding to Philadelphia schools negatively impacts students, many of whom reside in low-income neighborhoods like North Philadelphia.

In an effort to help combat this educational inequality, Temple recently partnered with GEAR UP, a Department of Education program funded in Philadelphia with a $29 million federal grant, that seeks to encourage college readiness for low-income middle school students.

Temple’s involvement in the program is consistent with its mission of making higher education accessible for Philadelphia students, but this should only be the

beginning of Temple’s outreach and influence in local public schools.

“The state makes up a huge chunk of schools’ revenues,” said sociology professor Joshua Klugman. “And Pennsylvania is pretty bad when it comes to allocating its share of school funds to equitably serve low-income schools.”

He advocates his students volunteer as GEAR UP tutors in his Sociology of Education class.

As Temple expands into the North Philadelphia community, everyone at Temple must make an effort to try to positively impact the lives of local students who face the challenges presented by the public school system. For students, outreach from Temple can make college seem like more of a possibility.

As part of the university’s involvement with GEAR UP, Temple students and faculty members will mentor and tutor Philadelphia students, hold collegereadiness workshops and create a relationship with public schools, nonprofits, universities and industry leaders in the city.

JeNell LaRue, the assistant director of GEAR UP Philadelphia, said the program is a way to “prepare students and their families for their next steps going into college,” while also “working with our students to decrease the dropout rate.”

While GEAR UP has the potential to forge bonds between Temple and local public schools, the program does have limitations.

“The [main] limitation with GEAR UP is that we’re gone in 2021,” LaRue said, explaining that the grant will only sustain the program for four more years.

“So one of the things we are working on feverishly is sustainability.”

The best way for Temple to maintain productive relationships with local schools once the partnership with GEAR UP ends is by not only collaborating with organizations and industry partners outside of Temple, but also by utilizing resources and opportunities for collabora-

tion within the university.

The College of Education has already taken an active and calculated approach to building relationships with local schools.

“We want to make sure that we [engage with] schools and in appropriate ways, and build their capacity and partnership with the college,” Dean Gregory Anderson said.

The college supports internships for its students and works to place pre-service teachers in high-need schools. These efforts are commendable, but I believe a university-wide effort that engages students and faculty from all disciplines is a necessary next step.

“My students do seem to be making connections to students, but those connections only last for a semester,” Klugman said.

All schools and colleges at Temple should not only encourage students to work in community schools, but should also consider incentivizing it with stipends or course credit. This way connections between Temple mentors and local students could last an entire school year or longer.

For example, the College of Science and Technology could encourage its students to give science lessons to local students, and the Fox School of Business could offer financial literacy workshops.

“North Philadelphia presents a great opportunity for students to take what they’re learning in the classroom and really see how it impacts people,” Lehrman said. “If students leave this university without knowing what’s outside of the [university’s] boundaries, then I don’t think we’ve done our job.”

As Temple expands, so should our impact on local schools. It’s imperative that Temple presents itself as a university that cares about students in local public schools and creates a space that is comfortable and welcoming, so local students feel that one day they can study here too. alex.voisine@temple.edu

LEGISLATION

Extend juvenile court’s jurisdiction Young adults have not fully developed decision-making skills so they shouldn’t serve lengthy sentences.

I

spend my Wednesday afternoons at State Correctional InstitutionGraterford, a maximum-security prison about an hour away from Temple by car. Here, 10 inmates and the 10 students in my Death and Dying class join together in an Inside-Out course designed to foster transformative learning experiences between people who are incarcerated and those who are not.

Through this ZACHARY JACOBS class, I have been able to see our country’s alarming mass incarceration problem up close. The United States imprisons more people than any other developed country in the world, according to the World Prison Brief.

Many of my fellow classmates are at least 40 years old and have been incarcerated since their early 20s. In 2010, the U.S. prison population for people ages 18-24 was 400,000 people. The failure to understand criminal motivation and adolescent development has resulted in a failure to rehabilitate these young adults.

The goal of prison should be rehabilitation, not punishment. And because adolescents in particular are vulnerable to making poor decisions due to the underdevelopment of their prefrontal cortex, those who are incarcerated should not spend an extraordinary amount of time paying the price. By shortening sentencing for minors and raising the maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction, the nation can better rehabilitate young offenders and return them to society as productive members.

It was only five years ago that the

Supreme Court ruled that an automatic life sentence without parole for children 17 years old and younger is unconstitutional. In January 2016, this began to be applied retroactively to those who were sentenced to life without parole as minors — Philadelphia is home to about 300 people sentenced this way.

“The next issue on the horizon is what to do in the instance of individuals between 18 and 21,” said psychology professor Laurence Steinberg, who worked on this case.

Now, the maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction is 17 years old and is as low as 15 in some states. Anyone older than their states defined age is automatically tried as an adult in criminal court.

It would benefit the U.S. — and the many young people currently incarcerated — to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to at least 21 years old.

“Adolescents are less able [than adults] to make thoughtful decisions about things,” Steinberg said. “They are more impulsive and are less likely to think about the cost of their decisions.

The brain and psychological science suggest that some of these brain systems are still developing into a person’s 20s.”

Though this country treats 18-yearolds as adults in regards to voting and enlisting in the army, they are still not allowed to drink until 21. The rationale for this is the detrimental effect alcohol consumption has on brain development. The prefrontal cortex does not completely finish developing until a person is 25. This area of the brain is concerned with rational thinking and long-term judgment.

When it comes to those who are currently counted as minors by the justice system, only violent offenders, like those who commit rape or murder, should be tried in criminal court as an adult.

“It is imprudent to judge what the rest of somebody’s life will be like on the basis of what they did when they were 16 or 17 years old,” Steinberg said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that minors tried

as adults in criminal court were 34 percent more likely to reoffend than those retained in an age-appropriate procedure.

Instead of developing effective rehabilitation programs, the U.S. opts for punishment and stains the records of convicted women and men whose criminal actions are largely a product of their age, health, and environment.

Incarcerated persons — prior to their incarceration — had an income 41 percent less than non-incarcerated persons, and 68 percent of those incarcerated in state prisons did not receive a high school diploma.

Conviction in criminal court results in an adult criminal record. This often means difficulty finding employment after release. The person might also be barred from receiving financial aid or receive limited funding to pursue higherlevel education.

Incarcerating a minor can cost $148,767 per year, according to the Justice Policy Institute. We can better allocate these resources to sentence youth to age-appropriate programs and facilities with intensive behavior therapy programs designed to prepare them for release and entrance into the workforce or return to school. Studies indicate two-thirds of male and three-quarters of female juvenile offenders experience a mental illness. By sentencing juveniles to intensive therapy programs instead of typical incarceration, we may be able to treat the underlying issues of their criminality.

The justice system should not rip adolescents away from their childhood or formative years, especially when environmental and health factors often shape their criminal behavior. It is our duty as a nation to help rehabilitate young offenders so they can contribute to society upon release.

Raising the age of juvenile court and reallocating current resources is an efficient and cost-effective way to reduce this country’s juvenile incarceration rate. zljacobs24@temple.edu

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

OPINION

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

PAGE 5

THE ESSAYIST

Musical standards: race and genre A student reflects on how others assume she only listens to hip-hop and rap music.

By CIERRA WILLIAMS

“

D

on’t you just love Future, he always gets me so pumped to go out!”

“Oh my God, you haven’t heard that new Drake yet? I definitely thought you

would’ve.”

I have always struggled with being a person of color and sharing my musical preferences, because most people assume I exclusively listen to rap, or more recently, trap music — a subgenre of rap that focuses on life in the streets.

I do like trap music, but I also like a plethora of other music like French pop from the 1960s, deep house beats, alternative rock and U.K. Grime.

Because of this, my musical taste has always been labeled by others — even my parents — as “different,” or more often, as “weird.”

Music has always been a reflection of my identity at a specific moment in time. As I have evolved as a person, so has my music preferences.

For this reason, when someone stereotypes or criticizes my music taste, I feel like I’m doing something wrong.

I feel like I’m not “Black enough,” like I’m not accepted within my own community.

In the past, I would try to remedy this feeling by only listening to hip-hop.

Hip-hop and rap are often seen as quintessential to the Black experience. It’s music created by Black artists as a solution to feeling voiceless or ignored. It usually focuses on a rags-to-riches storyline, and it often discusses issues some Black people face, like police brutality, poverty and violence.

SAS

HA LA

S A KO W | T H E

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While hip-hop is vital to the Black community, many people tend to forget that it is not the only genre to which Black people have made substantial contributions.

People criticize me for liking electronic house music — characterized by rhythmic beats with a futuristic sound.

When I tell them I like the artists Toro y Moi, Mura Masa or even Kaytranada, they tell me I like “white people music.” But it is obvious to me that they are not as well-versed in music history as they seem to think.

I learned in my Mass Media in the Black Community class that house music developed in the 1980s in Chicago.

Black DJs mixed hip-hop beats with drums and synthesizers to create a unique sound as a solution to disco’s declining popularity. Meanwhile in Detroit, Black DJs who were fond of the Chicago house music scene expanded upon the house genre by adding more of an electronic futuristic sound. Thus, techno was born.

Since then, there have been many subgenres, like trance, electro house and chillwave, which all stemmed from the creation of house and techno music by Black artists in the 1980s.

I understand hip-hop made it OK for Black people to express themselves in a way that was different from the mainstream. And while I love both hip-hop and rap, I do not believe that I or other Black people should be typecast into liking only this genre.

Constantly being judged on my music taste is both draining and insulting.

After years of trying to fit into the musical standard that others placed on me, I have decided to continue listening to music of my choice without feeling shame.

All people should be able to see the beauty in something as universal as music, no matter the genre. cierra.williams@temple.edu

SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS

The Queen song that became mine A student shares her love for Queen’s music and recounts her experiences attending the concerts of the tribute band Almost Queen.

I

have always been a huge Queen fan.

I grew up listening to the band’s music with my family, and I can distinctly remember getting their “Greatest Hits” album for Christmas one year. My appreciation for Queen’s music intensified when I had the chance to see the tribute band Almost Queen for the first time in 2007.

I was 14 years old and I was not as familiar with Queen’s music as some other audience members. But the music was incredible, and I got to meet the members of the band after the show. I remember telling them that I wanted to be a musician — I play the flute — and they were nothing but encouraging. The lead singer — the one who “plays” Freddie Mercury— had his hand on my shoulder the whole time we talked.

I continued to see Almost Queen sporadically until I got to community college and had to work on the weekends, forcing me to give up seeing the band for a couple years. My mom and brother continued to go to their concerts and would tell me how great they were.

I got the chance to see them again in November 2014. I was excited to finally see the band I remembered being talented and personable both on and off the stage.

During the show, they covered big hits as well as some lesser-known songs

By ASHLEY PASKILL like “White Queen” and “These Are the Days of Our Lives.” I fell in love with the tribute band and Queen’s music all over again, and I looked forward to seeing Almost Queen the following year.

In the meantime, I explored even more of Queen’s music. I listened to “Don’t Stop Me Now” for the first time, and I was instantly in love. It was upbeat, catchy and positive.

It got me through one of my most challenging journalism classes — Audio/ Visual Newsgathering — and inspired me when loved ones were in and out of the hospital with surgeries. It was emotionally hard seeing loved ones suffer, but having “Don’t Stop Me Now” to listen to never ceased to put a smile on my face — even if only for the duration of the song.

When Almost Queen tickets for that upcoming November show went on sale, I jumped at the opportunity to see them again. I looked forward to the show, counting down the months, weeks and days.

When I picked up the tickets on the day of the show, I saw the bass player walking into the auditorium before the concert. My brother and I noticed him and said hi. He commented on how early

we were for the show.

When the concert finally started, it was amazing as always. The first act focused on some lesser-known Queen songs, but they promised more hits in the second act.

Intermission came too soon and lasted far too long.

Then, the bassist took the microphone. He told the audience about the band’s social media accounts, and he said, “There’s a girl here who’s very active on social media, always commenting on our stuff.”

My heart began to pound, hoping it was me.

“Ashley, this song’s for you.”

My mom and I exchanged looks and I screamed. I was smiling ear to ear.

The song they dedicated? “Don’t Stop Me Now.” After the show, I saw the bassist and gave him a big hug, thanking him for the song dedication and for playing my favorite Queen song.

That night the song I always loved took on a new meaning. Now, it is not only my go-to happy song, it is the song that reminds me of how loved I am, even by people I only see once a year. ashley.paskill@temple.edu

The trials of a secret country fan

G

A student feels like she must keep her love for country music hidden.

oing into this year, my roommate and I knew that we were going to have a happy home.

We’d been suitemates freshman year, and we had faith that we could resolve any disagreements that came along. There was just one caveat: I like country music, and like many students here in the North, she most certainly does not. We’ve worked out a convenient system, an unspoken rule: We play music we both love when we’re together, like hits by Ed Sheeran and Adele, and I belt out my country ballads alone.

I come from Pittsburgh, so my love for country music isn’t cultural or regional. Like many people, I never thought I could like country music. All I could picture were cheesy ballads about beer and corn fields.

But in 2015, I went to an international youth group convention and made a new friend from the South. We were hanging out and she played Miranda Lambert’s “Little Red Wagon.” Starting out gritty and slow, but quickly picking up speed, Lambert was belting out lyrics about self-empowerment and being proud. I was hooked.

I’m not thinking about twanging banjos — that’s more bluegrass than I’m looking for. I’m talking about modern country, like Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and the Zac Brown Band.

There’s something to be said about how emotional the songs can be despite the

By RUTH OSHLAG all-too-common superficial themes in a lot of country music: alcohol and women.

It certainly doesn’t help my case for the genre that my country playlist on Spotify features Lee Brice’s “Drinking Class” and Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks Into A Bar.” But not all country music deserves an eye roll. I attempted to convince my friends during a recent road trip from Pittsburgh to New York City. I got control of the radio, and I wanted to demonstrate to my friends that not all country music has to be misogynistic or groan-worthy. I put on Maddie & Tae’s “Girl In A Country Song.” I thought it was a good choice — the women offer a critique of their own genre, singing about how they “used to get a little respect,” but now have been demoted to mere objects and trophy wives in the songs of some fellow artists.

It did not go well. We barely made it through a minute of poppy acoustic tunes before my radio privileges were revoked.

My love for modern country is a secret I must carefully decide whether to reveal to others, on par with my support of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steelers.

Why is it my friends can proclaim their love for Justin Bieber and One Direction with minimal scrutiny, but when I control the radio, my country picks are immediately accompanied by groans?

I certainly don’t deny that the vast

majority of songs playing on the country radio stations and featured on Spotify’s Hot Country playlist contain repetitive lyrics sung by men, who see women for their bodies rather than their brains. I’m a proud feminist whose worth extends far beyond physical looks, and I’d be astounded if those who know me think I could be content with music degrading women. It pains me that those songs seem to represent all country music.

One of my favorite country bands, the group that first got me interested in the genre, is The Show Ponies. I was first exposed to the group through a friend’s playlist, and its music has stuck with me.

Rather than the light-hearted lyrics featured on the Hot Country playlist, each song focuses on an internal struggle: failed expectations, being afraid to love, pressure to plan for the future. The meaningful lyrics are surrounded by a folky sound that gives the band a timeless feel.

I will admit the majority of country music could use a serious face-lift. The modern country played on the radio needs to move away from its simplification and objectification of women.

But that won’t keep me from searching out those empowering tunes I keep coming back to again and again. Following the advice of The Avett Brothers, I’ll “decide what to be, and go be it.” ruth.oshlag@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

NEWS

PAGE 6

NEWS BRIEFS UNIVERSITY NEWS

Temple administrator up for Lincoln presidency Clarence Armbrister, a former executive vice president at Temple, is one of five candidates being considered for president of Lincoln University — a historically Black institution and state-related university — the Philadelphia Tribune reported.

Armbrister left the university in 2007 to be former Mayor Michael Nutter’s chief of staff. Currently, Armbrister is the President of Girard College near 20th Street and Girard Avenue.

According to the Philadelphia Tribune, Armbrister is scheduled to visit Lincoln on Wednesday. The five will be in a public forum on Lincoln’s campus, where the public can meet and ask the candidates questions.

Lincoln “has been without permanent leadership” for the past three years, when the former president resigned after making offensive comments toward women and about sexual assault, the Tribune reported.

- Kelly Brennan

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Tyler dean search close to finish The search stalled over the summer after administrative upheaval.

By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter The Tyler School of Art Search Advisory Committee is finalizing its search for the school’s next dean after a threemonth hiatus over the summer.

Susan Cahan, Reed Kroloff, Christopher Bratton and Rachel Schreiber are the four finalists being considered for the position.

Cahan is an associate dean at Yale College. Kroloff is a principal of Jones Kroloff, an architecture design firm in Washington, D.C. Bratton is the former president of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston.

Schreiber is the current provost and senior vice president at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Kroloff came to Main Campus on Monday and will return Tuesday for an open meeting with Tyler faculty. Bratton will present to students and faculty on Wednesday and hold open meetings for Tyler students and faculty on Thursday.

Schreiber and Cahan visited Main Campus last week.

David Boardman, chair of the committee searching for Tyler’s dean and dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication, said former Provost Hai-Lung Dai’s dismissal and former President Neil Theobald’s resignation halted the search for several months.

“It’s hard to attract good people if it appears that your university is in some state of disarray,” Boardman said.

The committee resumed reviewing and interviewing applicants when faculty returned to campus in August.

Temple hired Isaacson, Miller — a search firm with offices in Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco — to aid in the selection of potential candidates.

Candidates either applied for the position or were solicited by Isaacson, Miller, said Boardman.

Isaacson, Miller declined to comment on the search. The firm also led the dean search for the College of Liberal Arts last year.

The search committee for Tyler’s dean is made up of Tyler faculty members, faculty members from other colleges, representatives from the provost’s office and an undergraduate and graduate student from Tyler, Boardman said.

The committee met with candidates last month for a series of confidential interviews. The finalists who are visiting Temple this week will present their

academic and professional qualifications to Tyler students and faculty, Boardman said.

The final selection of the Tyler dean is made by the provost and university president, although students and faculty are invited to give feedback, Boardman said. The exact date of the final decision is not known yet, but Boardman expects it to be by the end of the academic year.

Boardman said faculty voices were especially important in the search for a new dean at Tyler. Faculty members are looking for someone who has a strong vision for the future of Tyler, a healthy respect for its history and legacy, the creativity to help lead an art school in the 21st century, “which has a different set of challenges than there has been in the past” and someone who will have the skills to raise money for the school, he added.

Interim Dean Hester Stinnett will not be involved in the selection process, Boardman said.

“She has done a great job of keeping the school moving forward,” Boardman said. “That’s part of what has made it such an attractive position.” amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien

ADVERTISEMENT

SEAN BROWN FILE PHOTO Charles Blockson, the namesake of the Charles Blockson Afro-American Collection in Sullivan Hall, has artifacts in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Charles Blockson to receive Philadelphia Award Charles Blockson, the namesake of the Charles Blockson Afro-American Collection in Sullivan Hall, will receive the Philadelphia Award for 2016 in honor of his documentation of African-American history in Philadelphia and nationwide. He will be presented with the award on May 25 at Temple, the Philadelphia Tribune reported.

The Philadelphia Award is given each year to a Philadelphia citizen who worked to serve the community’s best interests. It was created in 1921 by Edward Bok, a Philadelphia author, editor, philanthropist, and community leader.

The winner is selected by the award’s Board of Trustees and given a $25,000 honorarium.

“I am incredibly humbled by this recognition, and thank the trustees for recognizing the value of preserving the record of people of African descent,” Blockson said in a statement to the Tribune.

Blockson has donated his collection of more than 500,000 books, photographs, and other documents to Temple; co-founded Philadelphia’s African American Museum; and gifted other historical items to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution and Pennsylvania State University.

David L. Cohen, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Award, said in a statement to the Tribune, “[Blockson] is one of those rare souls who has put all of his energies into understanding and celebrating every triumph and travail of African-American history, so that future generations of fourth-graders may never be left wondering where they came from.”

“His life work truly embodies the mission of the Philadelphia Award, and fellow members of our community are fortunate to have access to his impressive collection right here at Temple University,” he added.

- Laura Smythe

Date for funding advocacy in Harrisburg announced Temple Student Government announced the date for Owls on the Hill, Temple’s yearly trip to the state capitol in Harrisburg to advocate for more funding for state-related universities.

Owls on the Hill is a day for students to lobby for Temple’s state appropriation. Students travel along with alumni and educators to knock on their elected officials’ doors.

Students can travel with TSG to Harrisburg on April 24, with food and transportation costs covered. Students attending will need to attend a brief training session on Tuesday before traveling for the event.

- Gillian McGoldrick

News Desk 215-204-7419 news@temple-news.com

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 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 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.

Candidates should submit a completed copy of the proposal packet, two letters of recommendation, a current resume and a number of 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

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

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

features

F E AT U R E S

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

PAGE 7

Soft Idiot releases album online, on cassette tapes

The band, which is comprised of four students, released “stillborn” last month.

ONLINE

Watch the “Hear All About It” session at temple-news.com/ multimedia.

By IAN WALKER For The Temple News

J

ustin Roth’s mother always wanted to name her son after Justin Hayward, the leader of the English classic rock band The Moody Blues.

But Roth almost wasn’t that person.

Several years before Roth was born, he said his mother was pregnant with a son, but later suffered a miscarriage. Roth said he owes his life — and his name — to that unborn person.

“If that kid had lived, that kid would’ve been Justin,” said Roth, a sophomore media studies and production major. “That’s the only reason that I’m here.”

In March, Roth’s band Soft Idiot released a new album, “stillborn,” which Roth dedicated to his mother’s miscarried child. On April 14, Soft Idiot will perform at a release party for the album at Trash

DIY | PAGE 14

NICK SEAGREAVES FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Soft Idiot, a “bedroom pop” four-piece band is made up of students: sophomore media studies and production majors Justin Roth and Cullen Quinn, Mike Whalen, a junior media studies and production major and Sagar Vasishtha, a sophomore film and media arts major. The band performed in the Temple News’ newsroom on April 4.

Student finds encouragement to release album Nina de Vitry is currently on a gap year and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund distribution costs for an album.

By MEGAN PLATT For The Temple News Nina de Vitry’s moment of clarity found her in a little bar in Montreal this past fall.

Amid the noise and politically charged graffiti, her friend Greg — whom she met while visiting the city — took her by the shoulders and made her promise that she would pursue music instead of going to nursing school.

“That was the encouragement I needed,” said de Vitry, who came to Temple in Fall 2015.

De Vitry always thought she would go to nursing school after she finished her undergraduate degree in Spanish.

She said she fell in love with exploring language through Temple’s Latin American Studies Semester, a program she participated in last spring as a freshman.

The LASS program — held every spring on Main Campus — is a Spanish immersion experience where students take a full semester’s worth of classes solely in the language. The classes discuss contemporary issues in Latin

KICKSTARTER | PAGE 13

BRIAN TOM FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Dance professor Jillian Harris performs new techniques in interpretive dance in her Modern Technique dance class in Pearson Hall on Thursday for her upcoming film project.

Professor explores trauma with mud, dance “Mud: Bodies of History,” a dance professor’s film, is set in Colombia.

By LAURA SMYTHE For The Temple News In 2015, Jillian Harris saw a YouTube video of a man rolling around in a mud pool in Eastern Europe. She was transfixed.

“I began to think of mud and what mud represents metaphorically to us,” said Harris, a dance professor. “The phrase is sometimes used, ‘I feel stuck in the mud,’ and I’ve seen that image used

a lot, particularly among people I know who’ve experienced depression or some sort of traumatic event. They have this feeling that they’re being held back, being pulled down.”

Harris is producing “Mud: Bodies of History,” a dance film set in Cartagena, Colombia. The film will feature three performers submerged in mud, and their stories of trauma will be revealed to the audience through dance, Harris said.

Harris’ film will take about four years to complete. She said she intends to enter it in film festivals and post it online when it’s done.

When the performers are in the mud, Harris plans to use imagery created by the interactive media tool Z Vector, which she

previously used in 2015 for “Invasion,” a dance installation about reflecting on the past and living in the present.

Z Vector is a visualization tool commonly used at music festivals that turns movement and sound into three-dimensional visuals with depth-sensor cameras, Harris said. These cameras, like the Microsoft Kinect, project light to detect how far away an object is, then integrate that data to create 3-D images. On stage, when Z Vector is used, dancers’ movements are projected on a screen behind the performers.

Harris said she loves the tool because it mixes reality with the virtual world.

DANCE | PAGE 11

THERAPY | PAGE 8

CAMPAIGN | PAGE 8

HIP-HOP | PAGE 11

TREATMENT | PAGE 12

The music therapy program will introduce new classes to teach students about meditation and mindfulness techniques.

A YouTube campaign invites international students to Main Campus and aims to help make them feel comfortable.

Student hip-hop artists use platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud to promote their music and interact with listeners.

The criminal justice department is conducting research about the impact of implementing peer mentors into treatment courts.

F E AT U R E S

PAGE 8

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Music therapy expanding with fieldwork, classes There will be two new music therapy courses offered in the next school year.

By PATRICK BILOW Classroom Beat Reporter When Juan Zambonini studied in Argentina, many of his textbooks were written by Temple’s music therapy professors. He dreamed of going to Temple.

“It’s an internationally known program,” said Zambonini, a thirdyear music therapy graduate student.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of.”

Today, he supervises a fieldwork project for the Boyer College of Music and Dance that offers music therapy to facilities like Edison Fareira High School in North Philadelphia.

Darlene Brooks, the director of the music therapy program, sets up fieldwork opportunities for music therapy students, including Zambonini.

Music therapy is the use of music, like singing or playing instruments, to improve social and motor skills for people with developmental disabilities. Brooks said it requires a close relationship between a therapist and client.

“I see our students as ambassa-

dors who educate about music therapy and will eventually blossom into professionals who work to change people’s lives,” Brooks said.

During Fall 2016, Brooks introduced Zambonini and junior music therapy majors Robert DiBartolomeo and Shannan Morgan to administrators at Edison Fareira High School so they could work with a class of students with developmental disabilities.

Each day, the music therapy students lead the class in a good morning song, improvise on instruments and end class with a thank you and goodbye song.

“I worked with a similar population of teens in Argentina,” Zambonini said. “It is incredible to watch them grow and to be more comfortable with themselves.”

When Zambonini arrived at the high school with DiBartolomeo and Morgan, many of the students they worked with were frustrated by dayto-day challenges, like communicating with others or developing motor skills. But Zambonini said the group is eager to get to the music room every day, where they make progress with every session.

“I can’t tell you how many high schools have called requesting music therapy services after the success we are having at Edison,” said Brooks about the students’ calmness.

Brooks will also introduce two new classes to the music therapy pro-

gram: one in Fall 2017 and one in Spring 2018.

She said these classes emerged out of a nine-month sabbatical she took to practice mindfulness and meditation. The first course will give students the opportunity to get in touch with themselves through practices like meditation, she said. The second will focus on which mindfulness techniques are appropriate to use with different clients.

“In the demanding environment of a university, a lot is going on and many of us become stressed,” Brooks said. “Mindfulness practices have helped me see, understand and respond to that stress in a better way.”

She thinks her students can benefit from similar practices because music therapists are often affected by the pain and struggles their clients face because they develop such close relationships.

“I have no idea how this is going to work,” Brooks said. “It’s new for us, but I think it will benefit many of our students.”

“Our program was founded with a purpose to train students to make a difference,” Brooks added. “And I see it continuing as a force that drives the evolution of music therapy.” patrick.bilow@temple.edu

SYDNEY SCHAEFER FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Darlene Brooks, the director of the music therapy program, explores the website of the “Compassion Project” that she is currently working on.

Brooks will also introduce two new classes to the program next year.

University ‘spearheads’ inclusive campaign for international students

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Left: Jessica Sandberg, the director of international admissions, and others from the Office of International Affairs have worked to turn #YouAreWelcomeHere into a national campaign to reach out to international students or individuals who are interested in coming to the U.S. for their education. Middle: Thanh Tran, a freshman economics major, is an international student from Vietnam. Right: Thao Le, a freshman horticulture major, holds a bear she had made in Vietnam before she came to Temple in August.

More than 200 institutions have participated in #YouAreWelcomeHere.

By AYOOLUWA ARIYO For The Temple News Using one YouTube video, Jessica Sandberg told 7,000 people that international students are welcome at Temple.

The video featured Temple faculty members and students all saying one simple message: “you are welcome here.”

“I thought that we really needed to stand up and make it known that international students are welcome, and not just say it, but show it,” said Sandberg, the director of admissions in the Office of International Affairs.

Study Group, a company that creates educational programming for international students, introduced the campaign #YouAreWelcomeHere to reach out to the students they serve. The company posted a video of people from schools across the country, like Roosevelt University in Chicago, saying “you are welcome here” in November 2016.

The campaign inspired Sandberg to make a similar video, which was posted a week after Study Group’s original version. Last month, the Office of International Affairs posted another video that featured Mayor Jim Kenney, Gov. Tom Wolf and features@temple-news.com

alumni saying the same message.

Sandberg advocated for the campaign with a “one-person promotional tour,” she said. She talked about its message in December 2016 with administrators from other universities and organizations at events like a conference hosted by the American International Recruitment Council, which works to protect the interests of international students with ethical international admissions. More than 200 institutions have participated in the campaign by using the hashtag on social media.

Temple manages the campaign’s official Facebook page, Twitter ac-

count and website.

Thao Le, a freshman horticulture major from Vietnam, said coming to Temple was a huge, demanding change. She said her professors and friends supported her and helped her avoid a “breakdown.”

Le said the campaign doesn’t change her perception of Temple because she thinks the university always welcomed international students.

“I have total trust in Temple,” she said.

Thanh Tran, a freshman economics major from Vietnam, said the video isn’t effective because it seems superficial.

“I smiled while watching the video because they are all very warm and welcoming,” Tran said. “I think it’s also very good that the mayor and the governor are in those videos. But to be honest, I think it’s just a video and not as real as it is in real life.”

Tran said more international students should be featured in the videos to discuss how they’ve adapted to the United States.

Le said the Office of International Affairs could be more involved with how international students adapt to life at Temple by encouraging more people to participate with the International Student Association, a

student organization that hopes to promote cultural diversity on Main Campus. Le is also a member of the organization.

Sandberg said most of the programming that helps students adjust is handled by her office. She also works with Temple’s International Student and Scholar Services, which advises international students about issues like acquiring legal documents, and the Intensive English Language Program — a resource some international students use to improve their English and communication skills.

She said she also works with the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership, which offers a safe space for students to discuss their college experiences.

“What I like about how we are organized is that all of us are working for international students in some capacity,” Sandberg said.

Sandberg said Temple isn’t just participating in #YouAreWelcomeHere — the university is leading it through social media.

“I really like to think that that says a lot about our commitment to international students,” Sandberg said. “I think that it’s a point of pride that we are really making a major commitment to international students by spearheading this campaign and trying to spread it around the United States.” ayooluwa.ariyo@temple.edu

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Thanh Tran, a freshman economics major, thinks the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign should have included more international students.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

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PAGE 9

Sculpture class focuses on ‘what sound is’ through artmaking Art students include music in their work with sound sculptures.

By MADISON HALL For The Temple News Jacob Christopher Hammes, a Tyler School of Art instructor, thinks there are three approaches to understanding the relationship between art and sound: art history, technical demonstration and conceptualization.

Hammes is one of a few artists in the Tyler School of Art who use sound and music in artwork.

He utilizes sound when he teaches Sound as Sculpture, an art class about “what sound is” and how music and art are related.

For one assignment, Hammes makes his students think about an instrument as a non-musical sculpture.

Hammes said the instrument requires interaction with a person in a specific moment in time to become musical.

Hammes studied sound at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 2000s and made weekly live broadcasts on his music radio show.

The show lasted two years, and then he started working with sculpture. Eventually, he merged his two interests.

In 2013, Hammes began to pursue his master’s in sculpture at Temple.

He worked with sound in different capacities, including film and video and completed his degree in 2015.

In class, Hammes tells his students to use their voices as their medium by experimenting with live performance and poetry. He teaches

his students recording techniques and made a soundproof booth in the sculpture department for students to record their projects.

“I even get into the physics of sound, and I don’t think anyone was expecting that,” Hammes said.

In addition to the technical demonstration of sound, Hammes stresses that art history is important and that it’s not something to be scared of.

“When I was younger, I think I was afraid of what other artists were doing, thinking ‘if I know this expanding field, and come up with an idea that’s already been done, I won’t be compelled to do it,”’ Hammes said.

C. T. Jasper, a sculpture professor, explores sound through his visual work, similar to Hammes.

In Jasper’s introductory sculpture class, junior sculpture major Princeton Cange had his first opportunity to use sound in an art project that dealt with the concept of time.

“I don’t think that music and art are separate entities,” Cange said. “Art not only encompasses visual compositions, but musical and auditory ones as well.”

Cange said he loves that music has the ability to convey feeling and express a wide range of deep emotions that may have a profound effect on the listener.

“Music and art are both a process of discovering how to tap into ideas, emotions, and ways of thinking,” Hammes said. “I am interested in ideas that take you to a certain place and don’t tell you what to think, but a path of how to think.” madison.hall@temple.edu

ELENA IWATA FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Tyler School of Art instructor Jacob Christopher Hammes and junior fine arts major Mike Nease discuss Nease’s latest project in the Sound as Sculpture class.

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F E AT U R E S

PAGE 10

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

ALLIE VALERO FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS

Penn punk frat hosts 39th annual day-long DIY show The University of Pennsylvania chapter of Pi Lambda Phi, also known as Pilam, has a fraternity house that doubles as a house show venue on Spruce Street near 40th. The organization hosted its 39th annual barbecue and music festival on Saturday. The day-long event, PILAM BBQ XXXIX, lasted from noon to midnight with a bill of 20 bands and served barbecue fare with vegan-friendly options. “[The] barbecue went really well,” said Amanda Silberling, a junior English major at Penn and promoter for the barbecue. “We had bands from all across the country perform and it was amazing to see everyone come together.”

Silberling said putting together a 12-hour festival is tough, but worth it to see all of the bands come together. The show had representation from Philadelphia bands like CLIQUE and Brandon Can’t Dance, but also bands like Oh, Adeona from Fairfield, Connecticut, Screaming Females from New Brunswick, New Jersey and Lisa Prank and Dogbreth, which are both from Seattle, and are touring the East Coast together. The show was open to people of all ages and was BYOB. “All-ages venues are important because they give anyone who enjoys music a chance to become a part of a community,” Silberling said.

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April 14- 16, 2017 Temple Performing Arts Center NICK SEAGREAVES FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS

Freely Magazine, a multicultural online magazine for international students, hosted a free music showcase, themed “Rock Night” at the Underground in the Student Center on Friday. HASS, a heavy rock band made up of Temple students, was one of the performers.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

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PAGE 11

Social media platforms help artists in the Internet age Two student artists navigate the hip-hop scene using online platforms.

By HENRY SAVAGE For The Temple News Last August, Nahla Ward posted a cover of “So Gone” — an early 2000s R&B song by Monica — for a social media challenge that gained popularity after Chance The Rapper performed the song in a short clip that went viral on Twitter.

Months later, she has more than 11,000 views on her #SoGoneChallenge video on YouTube and she performed the song in Los Angeles for Fox’s daytime show, The Real, where she met the song’s original artist, Monica Brown.

Ward is one of many independent hip-hop artists who use social media platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram and Twitter to promote music. She considers her musical achievements to be her proudest moments so far.

The senior criminal justice major is originally from Danbury, Connecticut, but moved to Philadelphia in 2013 to experience a large city and attend college to pursue her goal of becoming an attorney.

Since she came to Temple, she has worked toward her artistic goals, too.

“The drive that allowed me to continue pursuing music and find my purpose in music was seeing how people love to hear me sing and how it affected people in a positive way,” Ward said.

Ward is forming her own genre of neo-soul R&B that utilizes hip-hop and jazz. She’s inspired by the musical artists she grew up listening to, like Lauryn Hill, Anthony Hamilton and Nas. She calls her style “life music.”

Ward began singing in preschool and has been navigating the music scene ever since, she said. She is active on social media and connects with her audience through YouTube and live performances.

COURTESY NAHLA WARD

COURTESY KAYLA JACKSON Top: Senior criminal justice major Nahla Ward uses YouTube and Instagram to promote her independent neo-soul R&B music. Bottom: Kayla Jackson, a junior media studies and production major, who performs under the stage name Frex, releases her music for free streaming on SoundCloud.

Ward began performing at Temple by singing at events for the Owl Team and NAACP events, but she saw a surge in support after her #SoGoneChallenge and her active social media presence on YouTube and In

stagram.

“I think it’s the combination of putting yourself out there and people just liking what they hear,” she said.

“Speaking from Instagram, it’s where I receive most of my clout. I think so-

cial media really plays a part in getting your name out there.”

Another student musician, Kayla Jackson, is in the process of building her audience and preparing new music.

The junior media studies and production major goes by the stage name Frex, after her many freckles.

Jackson said she doesn’t adhere to one genre. Like Ward, she experiments with R&B and hip-hop, but said her style is “alternative R&B,” with spacey digital instrumentals and high reverberation, she said.

In June 2016, Jackson lived in Los Angeles for a month and connected with others who encouraged her to continue making music. Not even two weeks after she returned home, she met — and later joined — the Philadelphia art collective Ol’Souls.

“They took me under their wing, and since the first time we hung out, I see them like every two weeks,” Jackson said. “It’s really nice because we kind of keep tabs on each other, and having that support system helps.”

Jackson performed at the Fillmore in December and released her solo project in February. She released “white sun,” a mixtape that focuses on her past relationships and experiences, on SoundCloud — an audio sharing platform. Jackson’s two most recent singles, “Brand New” and “Euphoria,” revolve around her current situation: a new relationship and a positive attitude.

Jackson releases all of her music on SoundCloud and connects with fans through Twitter and Instagram.

She said she sees some musicians focus too much on the social media side, and not enough on the music.

Both Ward and Jackson plan to outgrow platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud and bring their music to other cities and larger audiences.

“It’s fine getting to know people through social media,” Jackson said.

“If people feel like they know you, they’re more excited for you to succeed and have a personal connection with your music.”

“But when you look at certain artists, half of their followers don’t even know what their music sounds like, they just know the person,” she added. “I think you lose credibility as a musician when that’s the only reason people are listening to the music.” henry.savage@temple.edu

BRIAN TOM FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Jillian Harris, who teaches Modern Technique in the Boyer College of Music and Dance, will create a dance film in Cartagena, Colombia titled “Mud: Bodies of History.” The film will feature three dancers submerged in mud who share stories of traumatic experiences through a performance.

Continued from Page 7

DANCE “It’s real bodies in real time and space, interacting with captured bodies from the past,” she said.

Harris is also considering using Eko, an interactive video tool that allows viewers to select the narrative characters to follow by clicking on certain pop-ups within a video.

“It’s creating videos that in essence feel like interactive games,”

Harris said.

She began thinking about “Mud” after she finished working on “Red Earth Calling” in 2015, a film set in Utah’s Arches National Park that highlighted the dancers’ connection to the natural landscape. It won 17 awards at exhibits like the Philadelphia Screendance Festival.

Harris said her goal is to reconnect people to natural landscapes through her films. Her work is designed to contradict the abundance of videos shot in urban settings, she said.

“In this day and age, because of technology and our sedentary lifestyle, we have become quite disconnected to our natural landscapes,” Harris said.

Chris Farrell, Harris’ husband and dance instructor, will write the original score for “Mud,” which he also did for “Red Earth Calling” and “Invasion.” Farrell founded Rit Mo Collective, a Philadelphia-based group that plays a mix of world, contemporary jazz, Americana, funk and classical Indian music.

Farrell and Harris will visit Co-

lombia in May to see the film’s set.

Farrell said he will keep a journal and record sounds — like people walking on the streets, cars and church bells — while abroad to help determine the best music for the film.

“Once I step into the mud pool, I’ll have a strong feeling of what that pool’s voice is,” Farrell said. “I’ll be bringing very simple but effective recording devices to be there and experience it before myself, what I smell, hear and sense when I’m there.”

Harris’ newest film is an extension of her love of dance, which be-

gan when she was 10 years old. Since then, she toured nationally and internationally with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, a Utah-based contemporary dance company.

“Part of how I negotiate the world is through movement,” Harris said. “I’m not happy unless I’m dancing, moving expressively.” laura.smythe@temple.edu

features@temple-news.com

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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Criminal justice program researches impact of mentors in recovery The study is the first of its kind to look at the impact of peer recovery specialists in courts.

By DYLAN LONG For The Temple News Ingrid Johnson thinks peer recovery specialists bring a “unique sense of wisdom” to the table for people in recovery.

“These are people who have been through the drug treatment program themselves and eventually graduated, so they can act as sort of a peer mentor for the people going through the process,” said Johnson, a sixth-year criminal justice Ph.D. candidate.

Johnson is a research assistant for Steven Belenko, a criminal justice professor conducting a study on the impact of peer recovery specialists.

The PROSPER project, or Philadelphia Revived: Obtaining Success through Peer Encouraged Recovery, seeks to study the effects of implementing peer recovery specialists into the drug treatment court process. The first phase of the study began in December and was finalized in February. The second phase kicked off in January.

Peer recovery specialists are certified mentors who help individuals recovering from mental illness or substance use disorder. Drug treatment courts are a specialized criminal justice program that work with criminal defendants who have dependencies on drug and alcohol.

For a minimum of one year, participants are provided with addiction treatment and support. If the individual remains in recovery for the full time allotted, then the court case does not continue any further. Philadelphia has a drug treatment court on Arch Street near Broad.

The study is being conducted by Belenko, Johnson and Doris Weiland, a senior research associate in the criminal justice department, alongside several members of the Public Health Management Corporation, a nonprofit public health institute in Philadelphia.

The project is a collaborative ef-

Continued from Page 1

REFUGEES musician Hadi Eldebek play on the oud, a string instrument similar to a lute or mandolin that is played in several Middle Eastern countries.

Jeremy McLellan, a comedian from South Carolina, was the keynote speaker. His comedy is popular in Muslim communities because of his focus on liberal ideas geared toward immigration, race, religion and Islamophobia, according to a VICE article.

The organizations also hosted a silent art auction where attendees could buy art pieces made by student artists like Tanya Patra, a senior advertising major, and Yusra Nahri, a senior biology major.

There was an Arab-themed photo booth with choices of colorful Arab dresses, teapots and cups. Attendees also had the chance to get henna art — a temporary dye that tattoos the body, which has roots in the Arabian Peninsula — and ebru, the art of paper marbling, or painting with water and floated color, from Turkey.

At the event, Joseph Assali, a junior biology major, spoke about his relatives’ experience after being deported back to Syria from the Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 28.

Six members of his family, including his aunts, uncles and their children, have been seeking entry to the United States since 2003. They were granted features@temple-news.com

BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Ingrid Johnson is a sixth-year criminal justice Ph.D. candidate and research assistant for the PROSPER project, a program that is studying the impact of peer recovery specialists in drug treatment courts.

fort that will explore the use of peer recovery specialists in helping people through their recovery as they complete their programs in the Philadelphia Treatment Court.

Belenko became interested in identifying ways that drug courts can work better with a peer mentoring model, he said.

While working with PHMC, the project received funding in Summer 2016 from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation — a private foundation that focuses on reform in criminal justice and education.

“My work generally is treatment intervention in criminal justice and juvenile justice,” Belenko said. “I’ve always been interested in working on improving treatment in criminal models.”

The study is the first of its kind in the United States, said Archana Bodas LaPollo, the senior research associate in the research and evaluation group at PHMC.

“We’ve started to integrate peer recovery specialists into a lot of behavioral health work,” Bodas Lapollo said. “What hasn’t been done yet is integrating peer recovery support into the drug courts.”

The first phase of the study consisted of focus groups and interviews with members of the court and case managers, along with recruiting clients to be a part of the study. The first phase has been completed.

The second phase, which began in January, will last nine months.

During the second phase, 112 newly enrolled treatment court clients will be randomly assigned to either connect with a specialist or receive treatment as usual.

“We can compare those who get the peer recovery specialists and those who do the treatment court process as per usual,” Johnson said.

“And see if the people who got the recovery specialists do better and have a better outcome.”

Belenko said overall, he hopes the study will increase treatment attendance, reduce relapse rates and reduce recidivism in treatment court cases.

“We believe that peer specialists help them maintain their recovery program and work effectively with their counselor and participate more meaningful by supporting them, giving them information and navigate through different programs,” Belenko said. “They have a person to talk to outside of the court that they may trust more and that could help them through any issues they have.”

Johnson said the study comes after years of research pointing to the positive effects of peer recovery specialists.

“We’re hoping that the extra support of the peer recovery specialists can help drug court clients go through the program in a way that’s supportive to them,” Bodas LaPollo said. “The core of it is improving out-

comes for participants.”

Belenko said the second phase of the study should be finalized in the fall and a report will be finalized a little over a year from now. He added that the department is looking into conducting a larger study on multiple drug courts in different cities.

The specialists will also continue to work and support participants even after the study and until they leave or complete the treatment court.

“It could prove to be a cost-effective model for drug courts and a way for the people who graduated [from treatment court’ who are doing well to give back to the program in a way,” Belenko said. “So I think it will be pretty positive. It has a lot of potential.” dylan.long@temple.edu Emily Scott contributed reporting.

visas for the first time last year, but when the family arrived to the U.S., they were detained and questioned individually.

Members of the Assali family were forced to leave the next day and were not permitted to contact anyone until they were already on the plane.

“When I found out that they were already on the flight back, I was devastated,” Assali said. “I felt completely powerless because we couldn’t stop them from being sent back to the war zone.”

More than one week after being sent back to Syria, the family was able to come back to the U.S. after a Seattle federal judge blocked President Trump’s executive order.

“It’s all too easy to take for granted the comforts of life,” he added. “We can attend class and get [an] education, while parents in Syria are fearful of sending their children to school, uncertain of when the next bomb will be waiting for them.”

Ammar Alattar, the Arab Student Society’s vice president, said all Arab countries are “one country, one family” and they need to help one another.

“Our families in Syria are suffering,” said Alattar, a junior chemistry major. “Those families, who got the chance to leave for the United States, have nothing. They do hard work and try to get a better life. It’s our duty to help them.” quang.duc.do@temple.edu

QUANG DO FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Guests at the “Home is Where the Refugees Are // With Love, Syria ” event in Mitten Hall could bid on art, listen to Middle Eastern music and try traditional dishes on Sunday.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

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PAGE 13

EVENTS

The song is about wondering, and can you trust that what you want to do is what you should be doing?

Nina de Vitry Musician and Spanish sophomore on a gap year

Q&A, screening about history of Muslim Spain The College of Liberal Arts’ Intellectual Heritage program is presenting Jacob Bender’s film “Out of Cordoba” on Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in The Reel.

The documentary is about Islam’s prevalence in the Iberian Peninsula, which is home to countries like Spain and Portugal, between the 8th and 15th centuries. It focuses on issues like religion, history and cultural understanding.

Bender, the executive director of Philadelphia’s chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, will hold a Q&A session after the screening.

The event is free and open to the public.

-Alexis Anderson

Alumnus opens campus phone repair cart

COURTESY NINA DE VITRY After spending months studying Spanish through the Latin American Studies Semester program, Nina de Vitry decided to take a gap year. She has traveled to both Canada and Nashville, Tennessee, which inspired her to release an EP album.

Continued from Page 7

KICKSTARTER America and finish up the semester with a three week trip to Costa Rica, staying with a local family.

The program aims to teach students “how to be fearless with language,” said Patricia Moore-Martinez, the LASS program coordinator.

“It’s about how the way you communicate matters,” she added.

A fearless approach to communication led de Vitry to that Montreal bar in Fall 2016, one of the first stops during her gap year from Temple. It included visits to the Gaspé — a peninsula to the east of Quebec, Canada — and Nashville, Tennessee.

Now back home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she decided to continue her journey by launching a Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday to fund her first EP. Kickstarter is an online platform that allows the public to have a direct hand in supporting a creative project by pledging funds to the campaign. Her campaign has an all-ornothing goal of $5,000, meaning that if she doesn’t meet her goal after 30 days, she loses

all the money she previously raised.

The EP, “Trust A Dream,” is inspired by the name of a song de Vitry wrote one Nashville morning over a bowl of cereal, wondering if she was wasting her time on the gap year. “[Trust a Dream] is a song I wrote talking to myself,” de Vitry said. “The song is about wondering, and can you trust that what you want to do is what you should be doing? Do you feel at home with what you’re doing?”

It was after de Vitry’s trip to Costa Rica when she began to question whether she wanted to be at school.

“I told her, a university degree is an amazing thing, but only if you appreciate every minute of it while you’re there,” MooreMartinez said. “I told her she should never be in school if that’s not what you want to do.”

De Vitry said writing the EP was the comfort she needed to hear when she felt overwhelmed with the “stability” of having a major.

De Vitry describes her collection of soft songs on the EP as “original music with folk, jazz and R&B influence.”

So far, de Vitry has written all but one of the five songs she plans to include on the EP. She said she has “felt at home” studying languages like Spanish and French and practicing music. She first writes songs on guitar and then translates them into a livelier sound with horns and bass.

If she meets her Kickstarter goal, de Vitry said she will use the money to rent 45 hours worth of recording time in The SugarTank in Lancaster to record her original songs for the first time.

The rest of the funds will go to transportation, ordering an estimated 500 hardcover CDs and studio musician costs like basses, drums, horns and possibly a keyboard.

De Vitry does not know yet whether she will return to Temple after her gap year is over.

“I hope when people listen to [the EP] they can realize that it doesn’t matter what people expect you to do,” de Vitry said. “I’m just exasperated with myself and trying to focus on what I want. That’s the conclusion I came to this year.” megan.platt@temple.edu

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On Wednesday, Repair U will host a grand opening party for its cart on 13th Street near Norris from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Repair U, a phone repair business that offers student-friendly prices, was founded by Jesse DiLaura, a 2016 entrepreneurship alumnus. DiLaura started it in his dorm room at 1300 Residence Hall during his freshman year.

DiLaura used the crowdfunding loan site Kiva to raise money to purchase the cart and some tools.

He received $5,000, his fundraising goal, last month.

The grand opening event will feature food, drinks and music.

-Grace Shallow

Alumnus lectures on U.S. foreign policy Osamah Khalil, a Temple alumnus and history professor at Syracuse University, will lecture about American foreign policy and President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Gladfelter Hall’s Room 914.

The talk is based on Khalil’s book “America’s Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State,” which was published in 2016 and examines the relationship between academic research and government policy throughout American history. Khalil will update his research with information about President Donald Trump’s administration during the lecture.

-Ian Walker

Environmental club host film screening On Monday, Students for Environmental Action, a student organization that raises awareness about environmental issues, is hosting a screening of “Tapped,” a film that examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on health and climate change, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Room 322 of the Student Center.

There will be food and a raffle at the event. The screening is part of the organization’s campaign to reduce plastic water bottles on Main Campus.

-Grace Shallow

Annual event at museum honors Katz alumna

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Dr. Salman Akhtar will lecture about how some adolescents’ lack of cultural identity is caused by growing up in an ethnocentric area or having parents who are immigrants. The talk will take place on Monday at the Mϋtter Museum in Center City from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Akhtar, a psychiatry professor at Thomas Jefferson University, argues that this lack of culture can be exploited by “self-serving, narcissistic leaders” and cause radicalization or terrorist acts, according to the event’s Facebook page.

Akhtar’s talk is part of the 2017 Sonia Stupniker Isard Lecture, an annual event that began in 1993.

Stupniker graduated from Temple’s School of Medicine in 1934, and was a physician at the Albert Einstein Medical Center for 60 years. She was also a fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which houses the Mϋtter Museum.

The event is $5 for college students and $10 for general admission.

-Grace Shallow features@temple-news.com

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Continued from Page 7

DIY

What music have you been listening to recently?

House, a student-run DIY music venue on Diamond Street near 18th. Cassette tapes of “stillborn,” which is also available digitally on Soft Idiot’s Bandcamp page, will be sold at the show.

Soft Idiot is a four-piece band comprised of guitarist Roth, bassist and junior media studies and production major Mike Whalen, keyboardist and sophomore film and media arts major Sagar Vasishtha and drummer and sophomore media studies and production major Cullen Quinn. Roth describes the group’s sound as “bedroom pop,” a style of music characterized by the use of lo-fi home recording techniques.

As early as ninth grade, Roth said he began composing and recording music in his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Though his only method of recording was a “wacky” stereo recorder without a proper microphone, Roth said the process enabled him to develop new music constantly, free from the hassles of booking professional studio time.

“If you’re not on tour, why aren’t

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 you always making something?” Roth said. “[Bands are] like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going in the studio, couple months it’s gonna come out,’ and I’m like, ‘Do it at home and put it out tomorrow.’”

Although Soft Idiot performs live as a full band, Roth recorded the majority of the instrumentals for “stillborn” by himself.

Vasishtha said he still isn’t used to performing live. Like Roth, he began recording at home as a high school student. He started by rapping and producing beats under the moniker Bumsweat.

“I never really imagined myself as playing keys in an indie rock band,” Vasishtha said. “I’ve always made music in my bedroom and now transitioning to a live show for a lot of people to watch, if I mess up … that’s like a real thing.”

In addition to their work on Soft Idiot, Roth and Pat Chabot, Soft Idiot’s manager and a sophomore media studies and production major, recently founded their own micro-label, Sock Puppet Records, to produce cassette tapes. With “stillborn” as the label’s first release, the pair said they plan to publish more tapes throughout the year, including Vasishtha’s upcoming

rap album.

Roth said he feels cassette tapes offer both a “warmer” sound and a satisfying tactile experience unmatched by more advanced digital technology.

“There’s something about holding the tape and the way it shakes around, and it makes like a noise,” Roth said.

“It’s like the lowest fidelity audio possible, but sometimes that’s what you go for.”

“It’s like a cool experience to actually have your name on something and put out a copy,” Chabot said.

Chabot added that “stillborn” is a “basic Philly emo album.” But he said Soft Idiot’s next project will likely incorporate more distinctive elements — like the banjo and fuzz effects present in the song “Love Like” — into the band’s overall sound.

“I’m very excited to see where Justin will grow as a songwriter,” Chabot said. “I think him having a full band now will make the creative process better and more fulfilling because he’ll have so many other people contributing to the music.” ian.walker@temple.edu @ian_walker12

ALFI NURDIN Junior Visual Studies

So recently I’ve been listening to Thundercat has a new album out called “Drunk.” It’s really fun. The lyrics are really funny, but then the music and production is on point. ... And then since there’s a Toro y Moi concert [at Johnny Brenda’s on April 15] I’ve been listening to Toro y Moi a lot more. I want to go to the Panorama music festival in New York because Solange is headlining and then Frank [Ocean] is going.

NICK SEAGREAVES FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Soft Idiot performs songs from “stillborn,” their most recent album, in The Temple News’ newsroom on April 4.

STAFF PICKS

KATLYN ETIENNE Junior Management and Information Systems and Supply Chain Management

I’ve been listening to “More Life” a lot, that’s Drake’s new album that he just dropped, which I really like. This summer actually for my birthday we’re going to go see Future. His concert is at the BB&T [Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey] so it’s with Migos, Tory Lanez and Kodak Black, so really excited for that. Kind of in that realm, the hip-hop, trap music I’ve been listening to.

ALEX FAZIO Freshman Architecture

Oh boy, well I go to shows all the time. I like a lot of local music, so on Friday night my own sister was playing at a bar, so we went there. I listen to a lot of indie stuff, indie punk rock so I go to see Joyce Manor, we saw The Hotelier, Hippo Campus. But also I’ve been listening to Drake’s new album on Spotify, Frank Ocean, I still listen to J. Cole. … I have friends who are in a band [called Nowadays] and they’re touring, playing around the northeast, like small gigs so we go see them whenever we can. … Hopefully they’re going to blow up, but I love supporting local music. It’s just good stuff. features@temple-news.com

Peep what we’ve been listening to on Spotify with the playlist at: temple-news.com/lifestyle/music-issue-2017

Song

Artist

Staffer

Ain’t No Man

The Avett Brothers

Spark Xu // Advertising Manager

Angels (feat. Saba)

Chance The Rapper

Donna Fanelle // Web Designer

Angel Down

Lady Gaga

Jenny Roberts // Opinion Editor

Aphasia

Pinegrove

Gillian McGoldrick // Assistant News Editor

Avalon

Foxygen

Joe Brandt // Editor-in-Chief

Best to You

Blood Orange

Courtney Redmon // Designer

Blessings (Reprise)

Chance The Rapper

Brianna Spause // Photo Editor

Green Light

Lorde

Abbie Lee // Co-Multimedia Editor

Golden Days

Whitney

Emily Scott // Features Editor

Into You

Ariana Grande

Finnian Saylor // Design Editor

Ivy

Frank Ocean

Sasha Lasakow // Designer

Kitchen

Kid Cudi

Evan Easterling // Assistant Sports Editor

Move

Saint Motel

Geneva Heffernan // Assistant Photo Editor

My Favorite Part

Mac Miller & Ariana Grande

Grace Shallow // Deputy Features Editor

OOOUUU

Young M.A.

Owen McCue // Sports Editor

Testify (ft. Crystal Waters)

Hifi Sean

Erin Moran // Deputy Features Editor

Self Control

Frank Ocean

Michaela Winberg // Supervising Editor

Sorry

Beyonce

Paige Gross // Managing Editor

That’s What I Like

Bruno Mars

Julie Christie // News Editor

Wax

kinda alright

Linh Than // Co-Multimedia Editor

24K Magic

Bruno Mars

Jeanie Davey // Business & Marketing Manager COURTNEY REDMON | THE TEMPLE NEWS

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

S P O RT S

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 TRACK & FIELD

Continued from Page 18

BONDS

BILIN LIN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore Cortlyn Raynes practices throwing javelin at the Temple Sports Complex on Friday.

Sophomore transfer is Forde’s first javelinist Cortlyn Raynes transferred from Ithaca College to compete at the D-I level.

By ADDISON HUNSICKER For The Temple News Behind the stands of the Temple Sports Complex, isolated from the track, is an open field where Temple’s only javelin thrower practices.

Sophomore Cortlyn Raynes has had to manage a new school and an increase in athletic competition, with the added pressure of being the sole member of her team to compete in the javelin event.

After the 2015-16 academic year, Raynes transferred to Temple from Ithaca College, which has a Division III track & field program. She earned second-team all-Empire 8 Conference honors for her 34.3-meter throw during the 2016 outdoor season.

The jump to Division I has been a challenge for Raynes, but it’s a challenge she’s willing to take on.

“Being a part of something bigger really intrigued me,” Raynes said. “Going from D-III to D-I was exciting because I never had the athletic background that goes with the typical D-I athlete.”

Raynes is the only javelin thrower on coach Elvis Forde’s roster, so she often has to practice alone. Forde commends Raynes’ work ethic and willingness to embrace the task of transitioning to a D-I athlete, despite having to work with Raynes’ practice situation.

Raynes is the only javelinist Forde has coached since joining the Owls in August 2014.

“She’s a hard worker and still has some growing to do,” Forde said. “She’s a good student of the sport, which makes training sessions easier because she communicates on what she wants to do better.”

“It can be challenging at times,” Raynes said. “Coach Forde hasn’t had a thrower yet, so the two of us are working out the practice situation together.”

Continued from Page 18

BEDON ers. Bedon, like most players in Peru, was used to playing on clay courts instead of Temple’s hardcourts.

Mauro said she struggled when she first began playing for Temple because she had to deal with these changes at just 16 years old. But he said her growth as a player was remarkable.

“When she first got here she was very young and it took her a while to acclimate to speaking English, going to school, the practice style and all that,” Mauro said. “But she continued to work and every year her game got better and better.”

Bedon said fellow seniors Anais Nussaume and Dina Karina were both very supportive from the beginning of their time at Temple in Fall 2013. She said the upperclassmen on the team also helped.

Mauro said Alicia Doms, a senior captain when Bedon was a freshman in the 2013-14 season, took Bedon “under her wing” and helped her get used to college

Raynes said she used the indoor season to train for the outdoor season, as she didn’t do much competing because there weren’t any javelin events during the indoor competitions.

She ran the 60-meter dash at the Lehigh Season Opener on Dec. 2, finishing the race in 9.03 seconds to place 32nd. The following week, she competed in the shot put at the Seahawk Shootout in Staten Island, New York. Raynes won her flight but finished 25th overall.

She made her javelin debut at the Joe Walker Invitational on March 24 in Oxford, Mississippi. She finished eighth out of 20 competitors with a 32.18-meter javelin throw.

Raynes was scheduled to compete in the javelin at the Colonial Relays, hosted by the College of William & Mary, on March 31 and April 1, but the event was canceled.

She said she can improve from her performance in her first javelin event and will treat the outdoor season as a chance to constantly progress.

“It’s going to get better,” Raynes said.

“I’ve started off rough, but I know that it has been awhile since I’ve been competing.”

“She has some skill sets that will allow her to continue to develop and help our program,” Forde said. “When you’re in a competitive atmosphere, you’re always looking for results. But sometimes, the results don’t always come as fast. From her vantage point, it’ll be a learning process.”

Forde has been recruiting more throwers for the 2018 season. He said when he first arrived, the coaching staff wanted to focus on the team’s strengths. Now it’s time to “branch out,” he said. Raynes won’t have to practice alone next year.

Raynes thought her transition to D-I was going to be difficult. But now that she has grown more comfortable, she said her main goal is to improve and help pioneer Forde’s javelin program.

“Looking back on everything I’ve accomplished since the beginning of the season, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made,” Raynes said.

in June.

“It was pretty funny because we actually started my senior season together,” Gebert said. “So I started and ended my senior season playing them.”

Senior attacker Anna Frederick, her sister, freshman midfielder Lizzie Frederick and redshirt-freshman defender Taylor Gooch all played together at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Delaware.

Likewise, graduate attacker Brenda McDermott and junior defender Kaitlin Suzuki played together at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Five out of the eight players who will join the Owls in Fall 2017 played together for the Ultimate Lacrosse Club, which has teams in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“We are always out looking,” Rosen said. “We can trust recommendations from coaches, but we really pride ourselves recruiting-wise on finding the right kids, not out of a pipeline.”

In the past eight years, Temple has signed six recruits from Check-Hers Elite, including senior attacker Brooke Williams and junior midfielder Haile Houck.

If the coaches find a group of players from the same club or high school team in the same graduating class, they make sure they are open to playing with each other in college before recruiting them, Rosen said.

“If we sense any sort of reluctance to want to play together then that normally ends recruiting multiple people from that club,” she said.

Though Thompson and Overman visited Temple together and talked about playing together, Nakrasius was the first of the Brandywine Majors players to commit. When Koscinski became more interested in Temple, she asked Nakrasius if it would be OK with her, and they formed a better bond. Gebert was the last to commit.

Koscinski said when she did, all three players “clicked.”

The past connections have helped with chemistry on the field. Nearly half of Temple’s goals are assisted, compared to 41.3 percent last year. But the players don’t just cling to who they knew before they came to Temple.

“What I am most proud of is that we are not a team full of cliques,” Rosen said. “I think that it helps because they are grounded in some friendships that came from the past, so they are even more comfortable to reach out and get to know other people.”

“I think it really helps just our chemistry in general,” Thompson said.

“Everyone gets along really well, and it shows on the field, not playing selfish and everyone is in it together. That’s really important, and I think it really helps us in the long run.” teresa.sayers@temple.edu @SayersTessa

addison.hunsicker@temple.edu

tennis and life.

“She’s been lucky that she’s been around some nice girls that helped her with the transition,” Mauro said. “It’s nice to see one helping another out.”

Bedon said there were some parts of American culture that she enjoyed experiencing for the first time.

Bedon said she was “shocked” by the difference in food between Peru and the U.S. She was particularly surprised by all the varieties of pizza available here. Her new favorite, she said, is barbecue chicken.

Bedon is one of the most lively players on the team. It is a quality Mauro noticed when the two spoke on the phone during the recruiting process.

Junior Monet Stuckey-Willis is one of Bedon’s closest friends on the team and her current doubles partner. Stuckey-Willis said that she and Bedon clicked immediately and their chemistry has allowed them to succeed as a new duo. The two are 2-1 in their first three matches as a doubles team with a victory against American Athletic Conference rival Cincinnati.

“She’s the same off the court as she is on the court,” Stuckey-Willis said. “She’s ener-

getic, nice, outgoing, a lot of fun.”

On the court, Bedon has become a consistent winner for the Owls. This season, she has a 12-5 overall singles record and a 7-3 record in the sixth flight. Her narrow 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory in the sixth position was the deciding score in Temple’s 4-3 win against Drexel University on March 1.

Bedon, an economics major minoring in finance, is set to graduate in Fall 2017. She plans to return to Peru this summer for an internship at a bank. After graduation, she hopes to stay in the Philadelphia area.

She does not want to be far from the team this fall, even though she will be ineligible to play. Bedon said she will bring her vibrant personality to the team’s fall practices and tournaments to cheer on her former teammates before she graduates.

“I’m sure we will see her here,” Mauro said. “We are probably going to make her a volunteer coach or something like that because I like her work ethic. And I know she’ll be successful in her career after Temple.” graham.foley@temple.edu @graham_foley3

PAGE 15

SPORTS BRIEFS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WNBA draft to take place on Thursday The WNBA draft will be held on Thursday at Samsung 837 in New York. The draft will contain three rounds and 36 total selections.

Former Temple guard Feyonda Fitzgerald hopes to be one of the names called on Thursday night.

In its latest mock draft, FanRag Sports Network predicted Fitzgerald going in the second round to the Washington Mystics at 18th overall.

Fitzgerald would be the fourth Owl ever taken in the WNBA draft. The Owls haven’t had a player selected in the WNBA draft since Shey Peddy was selected in the second round in 2012.

Candice Dupree was selected sixth overall in 2006 and Kamesha Hairston went 12th overall in 2007.

-Owen McCue

HOJUN YU FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Former guard Feyonda Fitzgerald (center), hopes to be selected in Thursday’s WNBA draft.

FOOTBALL

Two football players removed from roster Redshirt-sophomore defensive back Cortrelle Simpson and senior punter Alex Starzyk are no longer on the Owls’ roster. A team spokesman announced Simpson’s departure from the team before practice on Thursday. Owlscoop.com’s Matt Vender first reported Starzyk had been suspended indefinitely on Saturday after practice.

Starzyk was a Ray Guy Award candidate last year as the nation’s top punter. In 2016, he averaged 39 yards per punt, including five punts of 50-or more yards. Starzyk pinned his opponents inside the 20-yard line 20 times on 53 punts.

Simpson switched from wide receiver to defensive back this spring. He did not catch a pass, but he ran the ball three times for 39 yards, including a 36-yard run against Stony Brook University on Sept. 10.

-Owen McCue

Owls receive career academic honors The National Football Foundation announced the members of the 2017 NFF Hampshire Honor Society on Wednesday. Former special teamer Tom Bradway and former offensive lineman Brendan McGowan are among the members.

Bradway played every game as the holder on field goals and extra-point attempts during the last two seasons. McGowan was the starting center in 2016. Bradway earned his degree in Fall 2016 and McGowan is a graduate student.

The award is given to student-athletes who maintain a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. More than 1,000 players from 297 schools were vying for a spot in the Honor Society.

-Adam Miller

MEN’S SOCCER

Philadelphia Soccer Six gives awards Freshman midfielder Nick Sarver earned Philadelphia Soccer Six All-Rookie Team honors on Thursday. This honor is given to the best freshman soccer players from Villanova, Drexel University, Saint Joseph’s, the University of Pennsylvania, La Salle and Temple. Sarver played 12 games and made seven starts in 2016.

Freshman midfielder Albert Moreno also earned the honor. He started 17 games and had two assists last season.

Former defender Carlos Moros Gracia and former midfielder and forward Jorge Gomez Sanchez made the Soccer Six All-Star Team.

Moros Gracia led the Owls in minutes played back-to-back seasons, and Gomez Sanchez had 14 goals last season to finish his career tied for Temple’s fifth-leading scorer. Gomez Sanchez also won the Chris Jones Player of the Year Award.

Junior midfielder and forward Joonas Jokinen won the John McAdams Academic Player of the Year Award.

-Adam Miller sports@temple-news.com

S P O RT S

PAGE 16 VOLLEYBALL

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

CLUB RUGBY

Rapacz tries out for US national team The junior spent three days in Colorado Springs, Colorado last month trying to make Team USA.

By KEVIN SCHAEFFER Volleyball Beat Reporter Right as spring practice started in preparation for her senior season, Izzy Rapacz received an invitation to participate in a tryout for the U.S. Women’s National Team in the beginning of March.

Rapacz is the first Temple player to be invited to tryout.

“I think this is a great experience for Izzy to play and compete with best players in the country,” coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “I have no doubt she represented Temple well in front of the national team staff.”

The tryout spanned three days in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rapacz was one of three players from the American Athletic Conference to be invited for the tryout. Southern Methodist redshirtsenior outside hitter Katie Hegarty and Cincinnati sophomore outside hitter Jordan Thompson also competed.

“It was pretty cool to represent the conference, and compete with some of the best players in the country,” Rapacz said. “Our conference is definitely gaining more recognition, especially with Cincinnati earning an at-large [NCAA tournament] bid last season.”

Rapacz was born in Poland but has lived in the United States for almost her entire life, which is why she was eligible to tryout for Team USA. She grew up in Glenview, Illinois and graduated from Glenbrook South High School in 2014, where she was an all-conference selection after leading her team in kills.

Rapacz still has use for her dual nationality. Her mother Dorota played professional volleyball in Poland, and

Continued from Page 18

ROBINSON junior offensive lineman — is competing for a starting spot. Last season’s starting center Brendan McGowan and starting left tackle Dion Dawkins, who CBS Sports projects as a second-round NFL draft pick, are graduating.

“We kept it real simple with people that we knew would let him take his time,” Acquavita said. “We thought this would be the time, like this spring into next season, where he would take that next step into being maybe an elite player.”

Robinson redshirted in 2014 and played three games in 2015. He said the first two years of his career were “rough,” but he worked with former offensive line coach George DeLeone to get more comfortable last season.

Robinson played 12 games in 2016.

He rotated with redshirt-senior offensive lineman Leon Johnson at right tackle during the Owls’ win against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Sept. 24.

Coach Geoff Collins said he was one of the most impressive players in the Owls’ offseason conditioning program.

Robinson said he had the mentality of needing to be the first player to finish a drill, the fastest player and the strongest player.

“I think he’s one of the most athletic linemen we’ve got, so he’s moving pretty good,” junior running back Jager Gardner said.

After practice on April 1, former Owls’ offensive lineman Eric Lofton — who earned first-team all-American Athletic Conference honors in 2015 and signed with the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks in February — joined the reporters asking Robinson questions. Before he left, Lofton thumped the front of Robinson’s shoulsports@temple-news.com

her father Grzegorz played professional soccer there.

“I want to play professionally in Europe after my time at Temple is done,” Rapacz said. “So having connections in Poland is something I can use, but I was honored to have to chance to try out for America.”

More than 200 athletes tried out for the Team USA, including 30 opposites.

After the tryout ended, Rapacz returned to Philadelphia and rejoined the team for spring practice. She is still waiting to find out if she made the team or not. She expects to know by the middle of April because the first tournament for the team she tried out for is the first week of May. But for the time being, Rapacz is focused on working with her teammates for her upcoming senior season. Rapacz earned first-team all-American Athletic Conference honors after her junior campaign.

Rapacz finished the 2016 season second on the team with 349 kills, only behind senior outside hitter Irem Asci.

In her junior season, Rapacz reached career-highs in kills and digs. She finished with 308 digs.

Temple, which last competed at the NCAA tournament in 2002, had its third straight season with at least 20 wins, but just missed out on an at-large bid. Rapacz hopes to use her experience in Colorado to help her team take the next step.

“Everything the coaches on the national team taught me, I’m excited to bring back to show my teammates and make everyone even better,” Rapacz said.

“I’m just looking to set an example for all the younger players that they can do this too. I really want to do whatever I can since it is my last season here.” kevinschaeffer@temple.edu @_kevinschaeffer

der pads and said “This guy is going to be a f---ing star.”

“The best five guys from the coaches’ standpoint are going to be the ones who play,” Robinson said. “So that means you could have me, who has been a right tackle for the majority of my career, if I’m one of the best five, I’ll be playing left [tackle], or I can be playing right guard or left guard. It doesn’t matter. It’s not about position. It's about getting the best O-linemen on the field.”

Acquavita first saw Robinson early in his junior year. He had just transferred from Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Connecticut and was in the auditorium for orientation.

“No way is this a kid,” Acquavita said.

But despite his size, Robinson never played football before. He played basketball instead, helping Wilbur Cross advance to the state semifinals as a junior. Acquavita helped Robinson with his courses and the two became close.

He asked Robinson to try football for 10 days of spring practice. If he didn’t like it, he could quit at least knowing he’d tried.

Robinson primarily played left tackle in high school because Acquavita thought he’d learn the position quicker than defensive line or tight end. He lined up at defensive end for Wilbur Cross’ first defensive play against Amity Regional High School on Oct. 25, 2013. Acquavita said Robinson took a full second to move once the center snapped the ball but still managed to toss the left tackle aside and get a sack.

“I gave it a go, and when I first went out for spring ball my senior year, I absolutely hated football,” Robinson said.

“But I stuck with it, and about midway through the season, I kind of developed a love for it that hasn’t really faded.” evan.easterling@temple.edu @Evan_Easterling

JAMIE COTTRELL FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior Alex Kempinski practices with the rugby team every Tuesday and Thursday at Chodoff Field.

Kempinski transitions from the rink to the rugby pitch After injuries ended his hockey career, senior Alex Kempinski joined the men’s rugby club at the beginning of last semester.

By JAY NEEMEYER For The Temple News Over a span of three games at the end of his junior season with the club ice hockey team, Alex Kempinski suffered a separated shoulder, a broken wrist and a broken elbow.

“It was three games, three ER visits, and after that I knew my hockey career was over,” he said.

Kempinski played hockey at Cranford High School in New Jersey before joining Temple’s club team as a sophomore. He said aside from “an absurd number” of concussions, he had a relatively injuryfree career before that three-game stretch. During Summer 2016, Kempinski told Ryan Dumbach, the hockey club president, he wouldn’t be returning to the ice.

Though Dumbach understood Kempinski’s decision, he said it was a tough loss for the team because Kempinski played physically and could score.

Kempinski tallied three goals and three assists in the 2015-16 season.

“Seeing him get hurt multiple times made you wonder how unlucky he could be,” Dumbach said.

In August 2016, Kempinski tried out for the rugby team. He chose rugby for the game’s physicality and the “similar culture” it shares with hockey. Kempinski earned a spot at flanker in the fall 15-player season and now plays at prop for the seven-player rookie squad.

Both are forward positions, meaning Kempinski participates in scrums when play is restarted.

On offense, props are expected to gain ground by breaking tackles and passing to other forwards, while flankers are expected to be open for passes if other forwards need to get rid of the ball. Defen-

sively, both positions must be strong tacklers.

“I just wasn’t ready to end my athletic career on injuries,” Kempinski said.

Despite his lack of experience, he made an impression in his first practice. Club President Michael Wellstein said Kempinski ran right through experienced players on the team.

“I think his non-specialty is actually an advantage, and because he has no prior rugby experience, we can mold him to play our style,” Wellstein said.

Kempinski said his first scrimmage, a preseason contest against St. Joseph’s, is one of his favorite moments in his rugby career.

He needed to rely on a more experienced teammate to know where to go before kickoff. The ball went directly to him, which was beneficial, he said, because it allowed him to start by running as fast as he could. Kempinski got a confident start to his career by breaking a few tackles from the defense.

Kempinski is still honing his rugby instincts.

He says he relies on his intuition on the field, rather than his experience.

“It’s like trying to learn physics without knowing algebra or calculus,” he said. “It’s tactically very frustrating, because guys like Mike have been playing their whole lives.”

Though Kempinski enjoys rugby and would welcome the opportunity to play against other lessexperienced players, he said he is more likely to seek a recreational men’s hockey league after graduation.

He is more comfortable with the flow of hockey, but he still has to try to keep up mentally when playing rugby.

For now, he’s bringing the same hard-working mentality he had on the ice to the rugby field.

“Alex has an unmatched work ethic,” Wellstein said. “His drive is infectious. I line up next to him during sprints for that reason. There are different types of leaders, and Alex leads by example. By giving 100 percent consistently, every sprint, every drill, every hit, he makes us a better team.” jay.neemeyer@temple.edu

temple-news.com @TTN_sports

S P O RT S

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 WRESTLING

PAGE 17 Continued from Page 1

BAYLOR

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Freshman Ryan Kemmerer displays his All-American certificate in Pearson Hall on Friday. Kemmerer finished second in the 149-pound weight class at the 2017 National College Wrestling Association championships in March.

Two club wrestlers garner All-American recognition Kody Lupfer and Ryan Kemmerer became the first All-Americans in club history at nationals last month.

By MAURA RAZANAUSKAS For The Temple News Sophomore Kody Lupfer was in the “blood round” of last month’s National Collegiate Wrestling Association championships.

The Temple club wrestler needed one more win to secure a top-eight finish and All-American honors. If not, he was headed home empty-handed. In the middle of the match, he injured his foot.

“When it first happened, I heard a popping noise, and I was looking, like, it wasn’t me,” Lupfer said. “I was waiting for the other kid to start screaming or something because I didn’t feel anything. But as I started walking and went to the center of the mat, I could feel my foot getting weaker and weaker.”

Despite the injury, Lupfer continued to wrestle and beat his opponent. The 184-pounder and freshman Ryan Kemmerer both earned AllAmerican distinction at the NCWA championships, becoming the first Temple wrestlers to earn the award in club history.

Wrestling operated as a Division I sport until 1985, and didn’t return until the club was established in 2014.

Temple sent five wrestlers to the championships in just its third season as a program. In order to qualify for the national tournament, first, the wrestlers had to place in the top of their weight classes at the Mid-East Conference tournament.

Kemmerer took first, and Lupfer took third at the conference level.

“It’s a team sport until it gets down to the postseason,” Kemmerer said. “Once you get into the individual season, then it’s basically you in your bracket and you compete with the rest of the club teams and there’s supposedly like 300 teams throughout the country.”

After getting past the “blood round,” Lupfer lost the next match in the round of eight. He had to forfeit against Emmanuel College’s Cody Chaney, the eventual champion, because it was too hard to wrestle with his foot injury.

Kemmerer successfully advanced through four matches to reach the 149-pound final. About 30 minutes before the finals, Kemmerer felt pain in his right shoulder while warming up with a coach. He tried to shake it off, but once the match began, the injury was too much to overcome.

Kemmerer ended his season with a secondplace finish at nationals, but he was disappointed

his injury prevented him from winning a national championship.

“As I wrestled in the first period, 30 seconds in, I got taken down,” Kemmerer said. “Once he tried to tilt me up and I posted up with my head, I felt my whole right side go numb. I needed injury time, I was laying on my back. They just slapped the mat, and that was it.”

Because wrestling is a club sport, it is open to athletes with different levels of experience. Kemmerer and Lupfer are each in their first year at Temple, but they’ve both wrestled before.

Kemmerer, 25, was a two-time state medalist at Upper Perkiomen High School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. He earned a fourth-place medal in 2006 and a fifth-place medal in 2007 at Upper Perkiomen before graduating from Boyertown Area Senior High School in 2009.

In his first two years of high school, Kemmerer trained with his older brother Zack, who was a two-time state champion and four-time state medalist in high school. He also earned AllAmerican honors at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

The brothers were in similar weight classes and made good partners for each other, which is something Ryan has missed since coming to Temple.

“I’ve had a lot to look up to and have to follow in his footsteps,” Ryan said. “He’s definitely the bar-setter. It’s been quite tough, but it was really cool for not only him to be an All-American, but me too.”

Lupfer got into wrestling in 10th grade. In 2014, he made it to states as a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Lupfer had not wrestled in two years before joining the Owls this season.

“I heard there was a wrestling team and I was like, ‘What? Yeah, I’m coming,’” Lupfer said. “I kind of missed it because I did MMA for a little bit. MMA involves wrestling, so I was training and I wanted to see what I had left in the tank.”

“My favorite thing is just getting my hand raised,” he added. “It shows all that hard work is paying off.”

While Lupfer plans to transfer to DeSales University in Lehigh County to pursue nursing, Kemmerer is staying at Temple, looking to nab the championship title he barely missed. He hopes he and his teammate’s successes can help recruit potential wrestlers.

“I love to wrestle, and I have so much to offer to this program,” Kemmerer said. “I could potentially be a three-time finalist, a three-time national champ. I have that potential. That would get the program name out there.” maura.razanauskas@temple.edu @CaptainAMAURAca

that type of situation,” Jean said. “For me, it was coming full circle back into jazz music, but as we got further into the project, we realized that we just kind of wanted to tell our story as individuals and as a unit.”

Jean and Marcus debuted as The Baylor Project in 2013. Like many of his ideas, Marcus thought of it after a long shower.

“That’s the dumbest idea ever,” Jean would often say when he told her one of his revelations.

But this one was different. Marcus’ friend who worked at a music publishing company actually suggested the concept of having a duo where Jean would sing and he would drum to Marcus about 10 or 12 years ago, he said. It finally came to fruition.

They had a residency twice a month at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. When their shows started selling out, they decided to start recording.

“Once we got to the studio, it was just turn-key,” Marcus said. “It was literally just us just having a good time and just playing the songs. … We knew that we had something special.”

“Exercising your craft and playing and singing and doing what you love to do kind of forces you to get better because the more you play, the more you learn your instrument and the more you understand who you are on your instrument,” Jean said. “I think that each musician, singer, whatever it is you do, should have their own voice.”

The last track on The Journey is only vocals and drums. It sprinkles in snippets of Jean and Marcus’ parents talking about what they were like as children. Both of their fathers were pastors, and they each got their start in music by performing in

church. Marcus started drumming as a child and went on to drum for the Yellowjackets, a two-time Grammy-winning quartet, from 2000-10.

He studied jazz at The New School in New York City. Jean needed a drummer for a show in New York around 2000 and got connected with Marcus through a mutual friend.

The two celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday with some takeout pizza from a parlor near their South Jersey home.

In late March, Jean was walking through Philadelphia International Airport after returning home from a trip. She saw a group of women wearing Temple apparel. When she looked closer, she noticed it was the lacrosse team. Jean played for Temple in the early ’90s.

She stopped the team in the airport to take a picture and exchanged contact information with coach Bonnie Rosen.

About a week later, Rosen invited her to speak to the team at a practice.

“It’s so exciting to me to have someone who is involved in the music industry and is just such a talent for our players to see all the different ways you can live your life afterwards, career path-wise, was really cool,” Rosen said.

The Baylors, who work through their own music label, will perform two shows in Alpharetta, Georgia on April 28 before playing in Durham, North Carolina and Delray Beach, Florida to close out the month. They’re working on a West Coast tour for later in the year and already have ideas for their next project.

Jean said she hopes to continue to grow as a musician and mentor younger artists in the years to come.

“This is who we are,” Marcus said.

“This is what we were born to do.” evan.easterling@temple.edu @Evan_Easterling

MEN’S TENNIS

Young core helps Owls avoid rebuilding season The strong play of the freshmen and sophomores has helped replace the loss of five seniors.

By DAN WILSON Men’s Tennis Beat Reporter In Summer 2015, a 10-man roster stepped on the court as a team for the first time.

One year later, the Owls returned for the first workout of the new season.

This time the Owls practiced without five members of the previous year's team that posted a 20-6 record, the most successful year since coach Steve Mauro began his tenure in 2005.

Hicham Belkssir, Santiago Canete, Ian Glessing, Nicolas Paulus and Ondre Cargill all graduated at the end of the 2016 season. In four seasons, the group posted a combined 220-172 singles record and 155-152 doubles mark. Cargill was accepted to the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, causing him to miss team activities last spring.

The Class of 2016 saw the team’s record improve every year they were on the roster. An 8-12 record in 2013 and an 11-11 record in 2014 grew to be a 1510 record in 2015. The five seniors combined to go 62-34 in singles and 37-28 in doubles to help Temple win 20 matches in 2016.

After graduating the largest class during Mauro’s 11-year tenure at the end of last season, the Owls needed a large recruiting class to continue their success.

Mauro successfully acquired four new players — freshmen Eric Biscoveanu, Francisco Bohorquez, Steven Hollander and junior Thomas Sevel, who started his career with the Owls in January after transferring from Augusta University in Georgia.

Bohorquez and Biscoveanu have a combined 25-9 singles record and 17-4

doubles mark this season.

In 2013, the freshman season of the five players who graduated last year, freshmen were a combined 18-27 in singles and 10-17 in doubles matches.

The standout talent is not only found in the current freshmen, but also in the current sophomores.

There are three sophomores on the Owls’ roster: Florian Mayer, Uladzimir Dorash and Artem Kapshuk. Their achievements this season include a combined 31-18 singles record and a 32-18 doubles record. Kapshuk, Temple’s topflight player, earned a spot on the Oracle/ Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Atlantic Regional Top 20 in January.

“We moved to the American Athletic Conference a few years ago, and Temple has been rising in their academic rank,” Mauro said. “Both of these factors have contributed to our ability to recruit even higher-level players.”

The Owls are currently 14-9 on the season, with remaining matches against the University of Delaware, Rider University and Lehigh University.

Despite improved regular-season results, the Owls’ only have one win in their three appearances at the American Athletic Conference tournament. This year’s tournament is in Orlando, Florida from April 20-23.

“The key is about timing and guys hitting their stride at the right time,” Mauro said. “This team believes that they can beat anyone in the country.”

As far as the multi-year future of this team stands, senior Vineet Naran said the possibilities are endless.

“I honestly believe that this team can be ranked in the Top 50 nationally in a couple of years,” Naran said. “This young group is certainly talented enough, it’s just a matter of focus and determination.” danielwilson20@temple.edu @dan_wilson4

sports@temple-news.com

SPORTS

S P O RT S

PAGE 18 LACROSSE

At D-I level, players share field once again

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017 WOMEN’S TENNIS

After arriving at 16 years old, Bedon grows to lead Owls Mariana Bedon was 16 years old when she came to Temple from Peru in 2013.

By GRAHAM FOLEY Women’s Tennis Beat Reporter

“I think they had a really special year, and that’s what we saw, them as a group together that was doing something special,” Rosen said.

In the past five years, the Owls have signed six recruits from Brandywine Majors, including senior midfielder Morgan Glassford. Koscinski said Glassford was “always a role model” for the freshman trio.

Koscinski and Nakrasius also played high school lacrosse together at Garnet Valley High School in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

They ended Gebert’s career at Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania during the second round of the state playoffs

Mariana Bedon was five days away from her 17th birthday when she was put into Temple’s lineup against Villanova on March 23, 2014.

The 16-year-old freshman faced off against Villanova senior Anne Cognetti in the sixth flight of the team’s Big 5 rivalry match. In what seemed like a daunting task for a player that young, Bedon dominated Cognetti and completed an 8-0 shutout victory.

The now 20-year-old senior from Trujillo, Peru said most students in Peru graduate high school at 17 years old. After skipping a grade in middle school, Bedon received her diploma a year early and left for the United States.

“It was crazy,” Bedon said. “It was definitely shocking, and I had to adjust to a lot of things. But the team was great and everyone was supportive.”

Bedon was eligible to play for the Owls in Fall 2013 as a 16-year-old freshman. While her age was unusual, Bedon’s talent made up for her lack of experience. Coach Steve Mauro said when he began to recruit Bedon, she was the top-ranked tennis player under the age of 18 in Peru.

“She is a very accomplished player,” Mauro said. “I saw that she did a great job there and she’s just a great girl. We’re happy that she’s here.”

Mauro said adjusting to student-athlete life abroad takes its toll on all of his international play-

BONDS | PAGE 15

BEDON | PAGE 15

EVAN EASTERLING/THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior attacker Brooke Williams (center), runs onto the field before Temple’s 13-11 win against Villanova on Saturday at Howarth Field. Williams and junior midfielder Haile Houck (23) both played for Check-Hers Elite, a Maryland-based lacrosse club, before coming to Temple.

Several players competed together before becoming Owls.

By TESSA SAYERS Lacrosse Beat Reporter

F

reshmen Abby Overman and Olivia Thompson dreamed about playing college lacrosse together since Thompson asked Overman about her club team in their sixth-grade tech-ed class. Thompson was interested in trying out for Check-Hers Elite, a Maryland-based club team.

Seven years later, Overman and Thompson’s dreams are coming true. They are two of the 12 Owls who played together in high school or on a club team. Six of the Owls’ 10 true freshmen played with someone else on the team before they enrolled at Temple.

“It definitely happens,” coach Bonnie Rosen said. “When you start to watch one person from a club team, you start to notice other people from that team.”

That was the case with freshman midfielder Maddie Gebert, freshman midfielder and defender Michelle Koscinski and freshman midfielder Kara Nakrasius. They all played for the Brandywine Majors Girls Lacrosse Club, based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

FOOTBALL

Former hardcourt standout hopes to cement spot on O-line Jaelin Robinson didn’t play football until his senior season at Wilbur Cross High School.

By EVAN EASTERLING Assistant Sports Editor In Spring 2013, Wilbur Cross High School coach John Acquavita told Mike Siravo to come to New Haven, Connecticut as soon as he could.

“I have a Christmas present for you in June,” Acquavita told Siravo, then the Owls’ linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.

When Siravo arrived, he saw who Acquavita was talking about: Jaelin Robinson, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound high school junior playing football for the first time. Siravo told Acquavita he’d try to get former Temple offensive line coach Allen Mogridge to Wilbur Cross the next day.

Robinson became a “dominant player” around week four or five of his senior high school season, Acquavita said. Toward the end of the fall, he garnered interest from Syracuse University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin. But when it came time to choose a school, Robinson chose the only school Acquavita called: Temple.

Four years later, Robinson — a redshirt-

ROBINSON | PAGE 16

EVAN EASTERLING/THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-junior offensive lineman Jaelin Robinson (center), blocks freshman linebacker Casey Williams during practice at Chodoff Field on April 4.

VOLLEYBALL | PAGE 16

TRACK | PAGE 15

RUGBY | PAGE 16

BRIEFS | PAGE 15

Junior Izzy Rapacz traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado to try out for the U.S. national team last month.

Sophomore Cortlyn Raynes is coach Elvis Forde’s first javelin thrower since he became the Owls’ head man in 2014.

Senior Alex Kempinski joined the men’s rugby club after he suffered three injuries at the end of the 2015-16 club ice hockey season.

Feyonda Fitzgerald prepares for WNBA draft, two football players are no longer with team, other news and notes.