Temple’s Department of Public Safety prepared new resources and hired new staff to revitalize its investigation programs.
WHAT’S INSIDE DATA, Pages 12-13
The Temple News surveyed 200-plus students to find out their thoughts on the upcoming presidential election.
FEATURES, Page 16
Temple’s most prominent student activist and the organization she revived are entering a year of transition.
Samuel O’Neal Editor-in-Chief
Sidney Rochnik Managing Editor
Claire Zeffer Managing Editor
Anna Augustine Co-Chief Copy Editor
Valeria Uribe Co-Chief Copy Editor
Evelyn Blower News Editor
Nurbanu Sahin Assistant News Editor
Samantha Morgan Assistant News Editor
Mccaillaigh Rouse Opinion Editor
Bradley McEntee Assistant Opinion Editor
Navya Nair Features Editor
Bayleh Alexander Assistant Features Editor
Jadon George Features Staff Writer
Ryan Mack Sports Editor
Colin Schofield Assistant Sports Editor
Sienna Conaghan Assistant Sports Editor
Jaison Nieves Sports Social Media Manager
Allison Beck Investigations Editor
Julia Anderson Director of Audience Engagement
Oliver Economidis Public Engagement Coordinator
Isabella Farrow Audience Engagement Editor
Rai Ganesan Audience Engagement Editor
Jack Larson Photo Editor
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Noel Chacko Staff Photographer
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Ava Fitzgerald Data Editor
Pablo Rouco Podcast Editor
Anna Rowland Newsletter Editor
Ashley Gideon Web Editor
Lolade Kola-Adewuyi Advertising Manager
Matthew Eaton Advertising Manager
Daivik Bewtra Business Manager
The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community.
Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News.
Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News.
The Editorial Board is made up of The Temple News’ Editor-inChief, Managing Editors, Chief Copy Editor, Deputy Copy Editor, News Editor and Opinion Editors. The views expressed in editorials only reflect those of the Board, and not of the entire Temple News staff.
ON THE COVER
Following years of low recruitment, TUPD made efforts during the summer to revitalize the police department.
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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 Samuel O’Neal at editor@temple-news.com.
Temple Student Government holds a philosophy of unifying itself with student organizations.
BY NURBANU SAHIN Assistant News Editor
Since being sworn in, Student Body President Ray Epstein, Vice President Kiyah Hamilton and the rest of their administration are focusing on reorganizing Temple Student Government and emphasizing a relationship with student organizations.
Epstein’s administration plans to be more accessible to students via social media and their website. She believes many students do not know about TSG or its role on campus.
“[Our goal] is to be an accessible administration that is constantly online and reaching people, so people are reminded that we’re here and what we’re doing all the time, which is really difficult to put on one person,” Epstein said. “It was important for us to build out a very large comms team.”
The administration wants to provide its services as a one-stop hub for students. TSG is in the process of consolidating resources on mental health support, disability resources, sexual assault and other relevant issues to students on their website to make it a central spot for student support.
Epstein emphasized the importance of working to ensure that student organizations receive the funding they deserve in a timely and orderly fashion. TSG hopes to strengthen the influence and platform of organizations to bolster their ability to provide safe spaces for students on campus.
Advocacy is high up on the agenda, beginning with the relationship of students and TSG. Hamilton, a junior health professions major, said its focus is to make life more affordable, safer and accessible for students.
TSG worked alongside Temple’s chapter of Swipe Out Hunger, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing student hunger, and Aramark to bring back lim-
ited guest meal swipes for students this summer.
They are currently brainstorming ideas to improve resources for students, including beginning a textbook swap on campus, to cut out financial stress. The program would allow students to drop off books they no longer need. Students who need those books would be able to pick them up free of charge.
“The idea of it is to really tackle affordability of textbooks, especially because there are some that are super specific to classes,” Hamilton said.
Another one of Epstein and Hamilton’s goals is to update the FLIGHT system for easier utilization and to bring more awareness to the resource. FLIGHT is Temple’s shuttle service that circulates the main campus’ patrol zone. It operates seven days a week, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. TSG plans to update the live tracking to see where the FlLIGHT is and when it will arrive at your stop.
TSG also plans to increase community engagement through their new Youth Community Engagement Director position, which Epstein created for Isabelle Bernard after hearing her plan for a mentorship program between Temple and the surrounding neighborhood.
“I noticed that there was a lot of tension last year with the kids coming onto campus, [Temple] students were uncomfortable, and the police were being pretty rough with the kids,” said Bernard, a senior psychology major. “It inspired me to make a mentoring program.”
The mentoring system, still in progress, aims to form a connection with students in surrounding organizations that support youth in need through educational programs, career resources and opportunities. Bernard wants to provide local kids a role model and give Temple students an opportunity to give back to their community.
“Temple students sometimes don’t have a ton of cultural awareness, and there’s a lot of bias, there’s a lot of fear,” Bernard said. “Being able to get to know these kids on a more personal level would help foster a more positive relationship on both sides.”
Wes Greer, a junior biophysics major and TSG’s Director of Community Engagement, began a similar project to Bernard to work on forming a coalition between the Temple and North Philadelphia communities.
Greer is focused on collaborating with student organizations on campus that have similar initiatives in community service.
“I want people in the student body to be involved because the people around our community are always looking for help,” Greer said. “We see the disparity in our surrounding community and the world at this current moment, and a lot of people are kind of tired of the constant stagnation, and people want action.”
Epstein and others want to prioritize interconnecting TSG with student organizations to enhance the student experience on campus.
“My goal is just to make sure that there’s a balance of what me and Kiyah wanted to get done when we first ran,
and balance of what all of these people who are coming in see as their vision of what Temple improved looks like,” Epstein said.
nurbanu@temple.edu @nurbanusahinn
PUBLIC SAFETY
Hirings, promotions, unit creations and new cameras were on the department’s agenda.
BY EVELYN BLOWER News Editor
Temple’s Department of Public Safety prepared new resources and hired more staff during the summer in hopes of revitalizing the police and investigation programs following years of low recruitment.
DPS updated their dispatch computer system and center, while the detective unit expanded by two to a total of eight detectives and is in the final steps of hiring a sergeant of investigations. The sergeant would assist as a supervisor and mentor to help lead the team.
Seven new officers were hired in late June — two coming from nearby suburban police departments and one former National Guard officer. In late July, DPS also installed license plate reader cameras to help deter crime.
The LPR cameras installed around campus help to detect license plates involved in any investigations, such as stolen vehicles, a missing person or wanted suspects. Temple is the first university in Pennsylvania to use the technology. TUPD recovered a stolen vehicle at the 1700 block of Fontain Street in early August with the new cameras.
“It’s not just throwing police officers at every issue, and from a community policing aspect that’s not always the best option, and that’s not always what the community wants,” said Temple’s Vice president for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin. “It’s really about finding ways that we can use technology, our personnel and working with the city and other resources on how we can create a safe environment here at Temple.”
Since Griffin took over the position two years ago, updates to field training and different educational opportunities have taken priority. Temple allocated almost $33 million to public safety for
the 2024 fiscal year, and aims to increase that number by 4.2% in 2025, to $34.4 million.
“Policing is about evolving, being flexible, and adapting to the situation,” Griffin said. “We’ve done probably three dozen different upgrades for training and equipment, and within the last year, gotten everything brand new between tasers, long guns, handguns, body-worn vest carriers, cars, even in all the technology we want to roll out this semester.”
The Automated Records Management System, the new dispatch system, improves communication and response time. The old system required dispatchers to manually input address information while the new system automatically provides an address based on a given building name.
The system will also notify police officers’ in-vehicle computers of an incident. Dispatchers will still verbally inform the officers of an emergency, but the system will automatically tell on-du-
ty police officers the location of an incident.
The new Temple Student Government administration is prioritizing collaboration with DPS to make sure students also get timely safety updates.
“I definitely think with their new technology, the new hiring, [which TSG is] all supportive of, and I would say the main thing we pushed for in our campaign was a newsletter of sorts,” said TSG Director of Public Safety Tanner Wood. “Something that would send a [public safety] update through email to students to let them know the main things: what’s happening on campus, crime trends.”
DPS hired two new detectives, both of whom have experience as law enforcement officers. Alongside these hirings, detective Tom Macartney was promoted to Captain of Public Safety. He comes with 33 years of experience from the Philadelphia Police Department.
“The Department of Public Safety is always looking for more people, and
we’re looking down the road to add more detectives and just to help with students,” Macartney said. “We’re able to work with the system that Philadelphia Police Department uses online, so we’ll be able to investigate a case start to finish if it’s Temple related and be able to follow that through.”
DPS hopes to keep updating their systems, whether it’s hiring staff or finding new ways to cooperate with PPD or different university departments to aid in Temple’s safety needs.
“Our students are coming in with a lot of unique challenges, some coming with financial or mental health or academic or relationship challenges,” Griffin said. “To support all of the students, you need a lot of back end resources and people to help students navigate those resources. These different positions help us in that aspect, to clear those crimes and bring them to a solvable, successful conclusion.”
evelyn.blower@temple.edu @BlowerEvel93667
POLITICS A new bill in the Gen. Assembly requires three public universities to exchange info for funding.
BY NURBANU SAHIN Assistant News Editor
The Pennsylvania General Assembly this summer passed a bill introducing performance-based funding for state-related universities. The universities in the bill, Temple, Penn State and Pitt, will be reviewed by a council who will request multiple sets of data in order to qualify, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The Performance-based Funding Act, formerly Senate Bill 1154, will require state-related universities to submit performance data in order to qualify for future state funding. The data will include multiple metrics about the universities, including its affordability, retention and graduation rates, profiles of students and post-graduate employment rates and salaries.
Universities will still receive the flat funding they have always received, with chances to gain additional funding based on their performance.
“All three universities will be represented, and you need a two-thirds vote, which means four or five votes on the Council to approve anything,” said Pennsylvania State Rep. Jesse Topper. “The makeup of the council limits any kind of concern that [a university] would get left out in the cold in terms of how the metrics are designed.”
Temple leadership has been open to the idea of performance-based funding as a whole. The plan originally was proposed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, highlighting his plans for a higher education “overhaul” that he announced in February. Temple, along with Penn State, participated in a group sponsored by the governor when the idea was initially developing.
Submitting data to the council for transparency is not a new request for Temple, who has already provided this information for years, said Temple’s Chief Operating Officer Ken Kaiser.
Kaiser supports the bill, but also said
its success will largely depend on whether or not Temple will be asked to provide data that is measurable.
“One of the principles of performance-based funding is it should be simple, easy to understand, and not have too many metrics in there,” Kaiser said. “The key here is we can only give them data that we have. So the metrics can only be based on data that schools collect.”
The submission of data that displays the affordability of the university is currently unknown. It is also unclear if the required tuition data will contain student loans and any federal aid.
“I would argue [affordability data] shouldn’t be based on student debt because the profile of students at Temple are way different than they are at Pitt and Penn State,” Kaiser said. “If your students come in being able to afford less, they may have more debt. You have to really be careful about the metrics you’re selecting. You don’t want unintended consequences.”
Performance-based funding has become an increasingly popular plan in higher education — 32 states use this kind of funding for at least one sector. States determine how much money an institution gets based on a set of measures. The funding strategy aims to incentivize these institutions into doing better for their students, attract more students with grant money and improve transparency about the university’s internal functions.
Transparency is marked as a concern by those who support the bill, including Republican lawmakers who cited issues in research, gender-affirming care and campus protests over the war in Gaza.
Temple has received flat funding without increase from the state for the sixth year in a row. The hope with the new bill is to secure an increase in funding for the university regardless of the past six years. The bill received bipartisan support, alongside government and university officials.
“The primary goal is to see if we can establish something that would allow these universities to increases that would be performance based,” Topper
said. “As opposed to just what we’ve done in the past, which is kind of throwing a dart at a dartboard and saying, ‘Oh, this year you should get a 5% increase. Or this year a 2% increase, or this year flat funded.’”
Student leaders on campus, like Temple Student Government President Ray Epstein, think major issues could arise from a performanced-based funding model.
“While programs like these do have the potential to be successful and benefit universities, there are some issues I can visualize arising,” Epstein said. “There is potential for marginalized groups to be negatively affected, or for admissions criteria to change.”
Many states include incentives for institutions who have more outcomes of minority groups completing their programs. However, many institutions with higher percentages of Pell Grant recipients see less state support than those with fewer-lower income students.
“It’s early and difficult to predict how this will impact the different universities in Pennsylvania that it names,” Epstein said.
nurbanu@temple.edu @nurbanusahinn
The clinic will provide psychiatric evaluations, counseling sessions, prescription refills and referrals.
BY SAMANTHA MORGAN Assistant News Editor
The Merakey Mental Health WalkIn Clinic, located on Broad Street near Allegheny close to Temple’s Main Campus, will be the first in Philadelphia to offer walk-in mental health services for individuals in non-emergency situations.
The clinic will begin offering services on Sept. 3 and will help adults with mental health struggles and addiction. It will offer a range of short-term services such as psychiatric evaluations, counseling sessions, prescription refills and referrals based on the needs of the patient.
The clinic is funded by the city and operated by Merakey, a non-profit that provides support for several different health concerns. It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The overall mission is to provide an immediate, accessible place for individuals to receive mental health care,” said Mark O’Dwyer, executive director for mental health outpatient services at Merakey. “The outcomes are that more people can quickly access the mental health care system and services. We intended for this to reduce the reliance on emergency departments, crisis response centers, and higher levels of care because people will be able to receive care when they are not in crisis.”
The clinic will not provide emergency crisis services. When an individual arrives at the clinic, they will undergo a brief assessment to determine their needs.
“The main difference between our services and a crisis response center is really who the service is intended for,” O’Dwyer said. “The walk-in clinic is meant for somebody who is not in a state of crisis. They could have an urgent issue, which could be depression, they
could be nervous or anxious, but they’re not at a place where they’re thinking about hurting themselves or hurting somebody else.”
Temple University Hospital offers a Crisis Response Center at their Episcopal Campus. The CRC is a 24-hour psychiatric emergency clinic where patients are treated for similar issues of mental health episodes and substance abuse.
The Merakey Clinic is also offering services to individuals regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.
If patients are uninsured, the clinic will help them explore insurance options that may work for them, Todd Loeb, corporate director of communication and administration at Merakey, wrote in an email to The Temple News.
The clinic will work with local providers to make referrals for those interested in ongoing services and in need of long-term support.
Individuals who are in need of medication will be prescribed a bridge medication to stabilize the patient while they wait to connect to more long-term out-
patient care or a doctor.
“We will be working alongside the city and our partners to monitor that value [of patients] over the first year to determine who’s presenting, how many people are presenting, so that we can really assess the need for this particular level of care in the city of Philadelphia,” said Nicole Connell, senior executive director for adult behavior services at Merakey.
Emily Verespy, a senior nursing major, thinks this will make mental health care more accessible for students.
“Temple provides many resources through Tuttleman Counseling Services, yet sometimes these services are hard to get at a moment’s notice and require some time to set up,” Verespy said. “Advocation for mental health has improved in recent years, but creating this clinic is one step closer to making resources freely available to anyone who needs them.”
Verespy also believes the access to care will benefit the Temple and Philadelphia communities. When people need help, it can be hard to get imme-
diate care and it can require many steps and surveys to see an expert. Verespy is hopeful that the Merakey Clinic can change that, she said.
With the Merakey Clinic just north of Temple’s campus, Loeb believes it will be well equipped to support the Temple community.
“[Merakey Clinic] is uniquely positioned to support the Temple University community by providing accessible, immediate mental health services tailored to the needs of students, faculty, and staff,” Loeb wrote. “As the pressures of academic life, work, and personal responsibilities continue to rise, we can be a resource that offers timely, professional support. Our urgent care facility addresses a range of behavioral health concerns and can help mitigate the impact of stressors before they escalate, contributing to a healthier, more resilient university environment.”
samantha.morgan@temple.edu @sammimorgann
Dear readers,
The Temple News has a long history of serving the Temple community. For 103 years, we have kept the university’s students, faculty, alumni and community members informed.
But in the past few years alone, The Temple News has stepped up to the plate to cover major high-stakes stories. We have covered national stories like union strikes, the resignation of a president, the death of another president, two presidential searches, the death of a campus police officer, name, image and likeness shortcomings and multiple on-campus protests.
The Temple News has always given our readers our all, but that has been put on even further display during the last few years. Our staff has worked schedules equivalent to those of full-time journalists, all while juggling other jobs and competitive internships at major publications like The Philadelphia Inquirer, POLITICO, WHYY, The Philadelphia Citizen, Spotlight PA and many more. We have shown time and time again that we are equipped with the tools, resources and dedicated reporters to cover this community — and to cover it well.
I am honored to serve as the editor-in-chief of The Temple News for our 103rd year of publication. We have a lot of fun things planned as the year goes on. Under my leadership, I can promise the Temple community that our staff will exhaust every effort to serve
as the most reliable, accurate news source for Temple’s students, parents, alumni and faculty.
There are a lot of news outlets here on campus, and even more in Philadelphia. None cover Temple like we do.
I’ve been lucky enough to intern and work with students from talented, top-notch journalism schools. Columbia, Syracuse, American and Brown just to name a few. But I’m picking the journalists I’ve worked with during my four years at The Temple News every single time.
I am also excited to announce that TTN will be returning to its previous model of printing bi-weekly while producing daily online content, ending a one-year model of printing just once a month.
It is important to me that The Temple News is able to meet our readers wherever we want and need to. Whether that be through our two podcasts, three newsletters, daily online stories, bi-weekly prints or our revamped data and investigations desks. While we are spending more time and resources on printing, our commitment to keeping up with digital trends will not waver.
Thank you for trusting us for more than 100 years to serve as the official watchdog of Temple University. We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
You can count on The Temple News.
-- Samuel O’Neal, Editor-in-Chief
A student urges their peers to be more mindful when shopping for the upcoming school year.
BY BRADLEY MCENTEE Assistant Opinion Editor
Gwynn Edwards vividly remembers her first lecture at Temple and how she felt more underprepared than ever.
“I saw so many people pull out iPads with their iPad pen, and have to take notes on that, and I’m just on my Notes app on my MacBook,” said Edwards, a sophomore business management major. “I was like, oh my god, Mom, I need more stuff.”
As the fall semester begins, students are shopping for new school supplies and technological devices. Back-to-school videos flood social media platforms like TikTok, advising incoming college students on the items needed to succeed in school.
Students should be mindful of whether or not they actually need new technological devices or school supplies at the beginning of every school year. It’s common to feel pressure to start the semester with new materials, but it’s not feasible for every student.
“I overpacked things that I never used or wore,” Edwards said. “Especially going through my first year of college, I learned and got more focused on putting everything on my Macbook. Like using the calendar and notes app. It’s so much easier and limits your school supplies to what is definitely necessary.”
Influencers often recommend investing in the “Apple ecosystem,” which includes the purchase of an iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Airpods and an Apple Pencil. This isn’t plausible for most students considering necessary costs like food and tuition expenses.
Students should take advantage of the resources Temple offers to avoid unnecessary technology expenses. OWLtech rents laptops to Temple students for less than $300 a semester and the TECH Center offers laptop loans that can reduce students’ financial burden.
Khei Woods noticed the added stress of moving into their freshman year dorm but learned to be more cost-effective this year.
“[People think] dorm decor should look [a certain way], especially here a lot of buildings are made out of cinder blocks or concrete,” said Woods, a sophomore mathematics and physics major. “Reassessing your objects and using them for a different purpose is the biggest way to just save money.”
Students can analyze the space and repurpose the items they own to avoid falling into overconsumption tendencies.
There are other budget-friendly alternatives to purchasing all new items. Thrift stores are reliable for decorations, supplies and clothes. Students can also reach out to family members for any extra materials they no longer use.
Jackie Lopez believes the reason for students’ high spending is a result of the repeated shopping trips taken from kindergarten through high school.
“It’s symbolic,” said Lopez, an Honors academic advisor. “You’re almost shifting your mindset in terms of, ‘Okay we’re starting a new school year. Everything needs to be fresh and new.’”
Material items don’t guarantee success, but finding effective study habits and acquiring only the necessary supplies can have a bigger influence on academic performance. The urge to buy new things is understandable, but it may cause unnecessary burdens when there are other options like reusing old products or finding second-hand alternatives.
“I think it’s hard as a student to know what is almost like the trend and what is absolutely necessary,” Lopez said. “We don’t know how helpful or the longevity of a tool would be until we almost find our own way of using it.”
Students should look into resourceful, affordable options for their supplies instead of buying new supplies they may not use. As the culture surrounding school shopping persists, students need to be aware of the more mindful options available to them.
bradley.mcentee@temple.edu
ESSAY A student reflects on her first experience on the subway and how it made her love the city.
BY MCCAILLAIGH ROUSE Opinion Editor
The moment I fell in love with the city of Philadelphia was my first time on the subway.
After a week of hovering around Temple’s campus as apprehensive freshmen, my roommate Kathryn and I built up the courage to take the subway into Center City to visit Rittenhouse Square.
The subway was a foreign concept to us as we both hailed from car-centric suburbia with minor public transportation. I come from a slow-paced lifestyle in Savannah, Georgia, surrounded by people with southern-charmed manners.
After I moved to a city in the northeast, the culture shock and momentum of everyday life knocked me back. During my first week in Philadelphia, city life seemed to be more than I could handle. I felt like a brine shrimp Sea Monkey dumped into the Atlantic Ocean while shopping in the Fresh Grocer on Broad and Oxford.
Philadelphians weave between each other, while the South is characterized by going at one’s own pace and the sense of reaching your destination eventually. The two worlds could not be more different, and I felt unprepared and fearful of fumbling through the next four years of college in the city.
The thing I feared the most about Philadelphia, its high-speed pace, is coincidentally a primary reason why I moved here. Growing up in Georgia, I grew tired of the unhurried tempo and absence of progress in the Southern lifestyle. While the rest of the world moves forward, the South is stationary and stuck in its gentile ways.
Life back home felt monotonous, and I started to long for fast-paced
change and to evolve into the best version of myself. Philadelphia seemed like the complete opposite of what I had experienced my whole life and I believed putting myself in an uncomfortable situation would force me to learn more about myself and grow as a person.
Despite my initial apprehension towards Philadelphia and its people, I began to appreciate the unfamiliarity and discomfort in my life during my first week at Temple. I became increasingly interested in exploring more of Philadelphia, so I felt inclined when Kathryn suggested taking the subway to Rittenhouse.
Kathryn and I waited at the Cecil B. Moore SEPTA station in silence. I was equally excited to see more of the city and nervous about the unknown. We copied the other riders who stood confidently as the train light beams approached, and when the train came to a halt, we followed their lead, filing into the subway cart.
I immediately noticed the level of noise and the intensity of the people. There was no uniformity or outright pleasantry — everyone was in their world and living as loudly as possible. At each stop, some people moved to the side to let passengers out, while other times shoulders collided as people shoved to get to their destination.
The motion was overwhelming and I had never faced people with such a rushed intensity, making me feel fearful and unsure of my decision to move to Philadelphia. I stared out the window trying to escape the chaos of the subway, pretending the ride was scenic and acknowledging the different colors of each station.
As we departed from the Spring Garden station, another train passed with orange-lit windows taking up the darkness of the subway tunnel. The win-
dows were filled with people and individual lives going through the motion of a train cart. Everyone in the parallel trains observed one another but immediately returned to their lives. Within seconds, the other train blew by us as fast as it approached.
When that train passed, I saw faces of people going in the same direction as me, but with a different destination. I was one of those people going in a resolute direction in an orange-lit window.
The moment could be seen as nothing more than scheduled paths of the city’s public transportation. But to me, it was a moment that defined the next few
years of my life. I came to Philadelphia to learn about myself, and in the chaos I’ve found moments of clarity and self-reflection.
Moving to Philadelphia was still overwhelming, but the faces of people passing reassured me I would find my path. The commotion of the subway never ceases and Philadelphia never lulls in speed, but every time I see passing subway carts it feels like time stops. I knew then that Philadelphia was a city full of movement and it was the place I was meant to be.
mccaillaigh.rouse@temple.edu
A student argues Temple’s need for improved communication and clarity in tuition increases.
BY MCCAILLAIGH ROUSE Opinion Editor
On July 9, Temple’s Board of Trustees announced an average 4.2% tuition increase for both in-state and out-of-state students as part of the university’s 202425 operating budget. The announcement came less than two months before the start of the fall semester, leaving students little time to prepare financially.
Despite receiving significant amounts of financial aid when she first enrolled, Faith Franklin’s aid did not increase with the tuition raise, leaving her feeling frustrated and trapped in her education.
“I was always going to come to Temple this year, like that wasn’t an option,” said Franklin, a senior criminal justice major. “But it definitely doesn’t make me love Temple any more, it does make me question the type of place that I’m going to, that can just spring higher prices on without really any warning.”
A sudden increase in tuition and poor communication have left students uncertain about their pursuit of higher education. Temple should use emails and provide educational opportunities to improve timely communication with students regarding tuition and the rationale behind budget changes.
Temple announced the tuition increase through Temple Now, the university’s official online news source. Students need to sign up for the Temple Now newsletter if they want to receive email notifications about university updates.
Because students were not contacted by the school directly, they may be unaware of important financial decisions. Temple should send out mass, direct emails or disclose significant budget changes directly to students to ensure everyone is well-informed and alleviate concerns regarding Temple’s expenses.
Temple releases a projected budget
plan annually in compliance with the Right to Know law, which ensures public access to records of commonwealth agencies. The document outlines specific budget decisions, expenditure adjustments and the rationale behind these changes.
Despite being public information, many students are unaware of this document due to limited communication of its existence. The 19-page document contains details and terminology that students may have difficulty understanding. Temple should ensure that the student population is informed about the budget plan and provide opportunities to educate those interested in the document.
Andrew Malick was unaware of the document’s existence but is interested in possibilities for communication regarding tuition increase.
“I think it’s good if it’s there, you know, and that people can come and see, at least an attempt to be transparent with where money is going,” said Malick, a sophomore music education major. “Because if tuition is going to keep going up, I think we’re entitled to know why, you know, just to make sure it’s not going towards stuff that may not be at the greater interest of the university.”
Aside from emails, Temple should offer opportunities, like open houses or information sessions, to educate those interested in the proposed budget plan document.
Ken Kaiser, the senior vice president and chief operating officer, agrees the budget proposal document deserves a greater explanation and is open to hosting informative sessions to educate students on the budget.
“I would be open, and typically we work with student government, having five smaller sessions throughout the spring saying, ‘Let’s educate you on the budget,’” Kaiser said.
Currently, the tuition increase announcement left little time for students to make significant financial decisions, resulting in students potentially taking out larger loans and extending their debt.
Temple’s budget plan is developed to work in the best interests of all of the university, Kaiser said.
“Any idea to avoid a tuition increase and raise revenue or cut expenses in other ways we’ve thought of,” Kaiser said. “Some years, enrollment’s up, but the last eight or nine, enrollment [has] gone down. Sadly, we’re good at cutting the budget and keeping the increase as low as possible.”
Temple has struggled with student retention rates and enrollment declines, with enrollment declining by 16.5% since 2017.
If tuition raises are unavoidable, Temple should be transparent through emails, newsletters and educational in-person forums including the timeline and reasoning for financial changes.
“When you’re trying to appeal to college students who are attending your university, out of their own free will, be-
cause they want to be here, want to live here, want to study here, it makes sense to alter the way you communicate with us,” Franklin said. “Having emails that are actually informative and makes sense to the typical person.”
As education costs continue to rise across the country, it can feel like higher education is no longer a public good or a right — it’s becoming privatized. With no definitive end in sight to the privatization of education, communication is our most vital tool.
mccaillaigh.rouse@temple.edu
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A student reflects on Dune and how it helped them come to terms with generational trauma.
BY BRADLEY MCENTEE Assistant Opinion Editor
From the age of four to my current age of 20, it feels like obsessing has been ingrained into my DNA. Even my earliest memories are plagued by my obsessive-compulsive disorder, which has persisted throughout my life with no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Sometimes I worry I was doomed
from the start because my OCD symptoms started when I was so young. One side of my family is Irish Catholic and riddled with alcoholism. The other side is somewhat of a mystery with distant family members we know almost nothing about.
Because OCD is fairly rare, I spent much of my youth wondering where it came from. It was clear to me growing up that I possibly inherited it from someone in my family.
I always felt frustrated by the lack of information I had about my mother’s side of the family. Since half of my lineage is an enigma, it was never clear whether my genetics made me think this way or if I was just an anomaly.
To relieve some of the emotional tension that unknowingness caused, I’ve learned to find my obsessive feelings reflected in the art around me. Being able to relate to characters, even a little, makes dealing with my issues in the real world a little less challenging.
The most recent and apt example of this for me is the story of Dune and the protagonist Paul Atreides. Central to Paul’s character is the conflict of being gifted a legacy he never asked for, which immediately resonated with me and my experience with my family history.
As the film’s prophecy states, Paul is destined to become a messiah to the people of Arrakis, referred to as the Fremen. His main goal is to assist the Fremen in fighting against their colonizers and deliver them to eternal paradise. However, saving the Fremen means learning he is a direct descendant of the empirical powers he is fighting against.
As Paul’s sister says in Dune: Part Two, “You are not prepared for what is to come. You’ll now learn the truth
about our family and it will hurt you to the core.”
When Paul finds out the truth about his family, he becomes bitter and a selfish lover, having the sole motive of starting a holy war to murder his family responsible for the Fremen’s suffering. While not to the extreme degree of the movie, I worry my DNA is destined to make me resentful like Paul and the anxieties programmed in my brain will consume me.
Paul is a sign I don’t have to yield to my family history, because the moment he does, all the good he was meant to do goes to nothing. Sometimes I wish I had the missing pieces to my family history because there could be solace in having a holistic picture of why I think and act the way I do. That comfort dissipates when I remember what happened with Paul when he leaned into the unknown, and I would rather avoid that fate.
I know enough about my dad’s side to know that I’ve most likely inherited my disorders from them, but I’m still hyper-focused on what I don’t know. Because my mom’s side is so distant, I can’t
guarantee they didn’t contribute to my mental makeup and I’m not sure I want to find out. I imagine it may be easier to live in blissful ignorance, believing that her side was filled with nothing but joy and nonchalance.
If I delved into untying the mystery of my mom’s side, I could learn that I never had a chance at being normal. I could become like Paul and lose all of the sanity I’ve been trying so desperately to stay latched on to. I could also be better off having all the answers. I’m not quite sure which I’d prefer, but I believe the anxieties surrounding the consequences of knowing may be worse than uncertainty.
It’s difficult to realize genetics can be conspirators and Paul understands that more than anyone. But I learned from Dune that it’s worth it to resist, to feel love just one more day at a time. Though your knife may chip and shatter, as Paul says, being able to walk out on the other side and not be in pieces is what matters.
bradley.mcentee@temple.edu
The Temple News surveyed 200plus students on their thoughts about the upcoming election.
BY AVA FITZGERALD Data Editor
Temple students feel more enthusiastic to show up to the polls and support Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, according to a poll conducted by The Temple News between July 29 and Aug. 11.
More than 200 students shared their thoughts in the survey conducted by The Temple News on the upcoming election. 70% of Temple students supported Harris, while 17.2% supported Donald Trump. The survey found that 4.4% supported Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump on Aug. 23. As of the survey’s Aug. 11 closure, 7.9% of students remain undecided.
Jaiman Kondisetty, secretary of Temple University Democrats, believes the change in the Democratic nominee has engaged students.
“People are talking about it,” said Kondisetty, a junior risk management major. “They’re talking about their plan to vote on Election Day. They’re requesting their mail-in ballot. I think a lot of those people, maybe, before [Biden] dropped out, would have ended up forgetting to vote on Election Day, and now they’re more enthusiastic to.”
In light of Biden’s withdrawal from the race, 88% of students believe that Harris is a better fit for the Democratic nomination, TTN’s poll found.
“I’m definitely a part of the youth voters that got activated when Kamala announced she was running,” wrote a survey respondent. “Since Harris’ announcement, I registered to vote in PA (which is very easy btw) and now I’m excited to vote in my first election!”
Many responses to the survey noted Harris and the Democratic party as a means of prevention rather than a perfect solution.
“I am voting for Kamala Harris purely as harm reduction,” a survey respondent wrote. “Although I find her to be far too moderate, with her stances on things like criminal justice and foreign policy to be abhorrent, the damage to things like LGBTQ+ rights, the environment, social welfare, and many more that another Trump presidency could do is worth voting against him.”
Kondisetty supports Harris this election due to concerns about Trump’s integrity. In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump accumulated $130,000 of hush money to keep voters in the dark about his infidelity around the time of the 2016 election.
“President Trump’s a convicted felon, along with [his] policy, things like abortion rights, the environment, just the entirety of Project 2025,” Kondisetty said.
Project 2025 would cut funding for renewable energy, restrict access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, and cut funds for Planned Parenthood. It was designed by The Heritage Foundation, an organization focused on establishing conservative values through the executive office.
For some, Project 2025 is not an issue because it is not endorsed by the Trump campaign and the former president has repeatedly condemned the operation. Others are worried, as many of those who worked on Project 2025 have worked for Trump in the past.
“Anyone voting for Kamala is uninformed and has fallen for the democratic fear-mongering such as Project 2025,” a survey respondent wrote.
About 72% of respondents noted that reproductive rights are a serious issue affecting their motivation to vote. But the survey found a difference in party priorities: while 89% of those supporting Harris felt this was important, only 26% of Trump supporters felt it is an important issue to vote on.
“I think women going through horrible situations deserve the kind of holistic support pregnancy centers provide in conjunction with pro-life medical professionals that care for both patients, not the option to kill,” one Trump supporting survey respondent wrote.
For Rose Morgan, a junior chemistry major, the fear is real. Abortion rights are her top reason for supporting Harris.
“I have a lot of health problems within my family and kind of scary situations in my family, that could have been a lot worse if these bans and such had been 10 years prior, and it’s scary that we’re going back to that,” Morgan said.
When Harris and Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz visited The Liacouras Center in early August, they emphasized protecting reproductive rights.
At the same time, Morgan worries that reproductive rights are just a strategic talking point for the Democratic party.
“It’s going to be mentioned in every single ad, at least on Kamala Harris’
side,” Morgan said. “So as it keeps getting mentioned more and more, there has to be a statement from the Republican Party about it, and I’m honestly curious as to what they’re gonna say.”
JD Vance, the vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party, has recently emphasized that abortion rights should be at the discretion of the states.
According to the survey, reproductive rights are not the most important issue motivating Republicans to vote at Temple. Instead, 100% of Republican supporters felt the economy was a critical issue, followed by foreign policy with 74% of Republican responses.
“The last four years under Biden have been significantly worse than the four years before under Trump,” wrote one survey respondent who strongly disapproves of Biden’s presidency and believes the economy is an important issue.
In June 2022, the inflation rate was 9.6%. In July 2024, the inflation rate depreciated to 2.9%, but the peak of inflation may have left its mark.
Morgan, however, said she believes that the economy cannot be blamed on one factor, such as a president.
The survey revealed an overall approval rating of 35% for Biden and a disapproval rating of 40%. Disapproval came from not just Trump supporters — 30% of the disapproval rating came from
Harris supporters.
75% of students who are undecided disapprove of Biden’s presidency. While many felt encouraged to vote following the change in candidacy, the disapproval for Biden could potentially affect Democratic voters’ decisions.
While 89% of students are sure they will vote in this election, 6% are undecided and 4% of students are unlikely to vote. Youth voter turnout will likely be crucial to the outcome of the election.
“I really feel that if young people show up to vote and show that they’re a sizable part of the electorate that actually swing an election, it’ll motivate politicians to work with us more and legislate for us, and not just older Americans,” Kondisetty said.
Another variable influencing voter turnout is the role of the executive office in foreign disputes, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most respondents who expressed comments supporting Palestine were also undecided voters or declared they were not voting for a major candidate.
Nathan Mutale, a senior journalism major, believes that a vote still matters even when he disagrees with a politician on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“They are two sides of the same coin, and no matter who is elected as president, I don’t necessarily see either of them dealing with the current conflict any differently,” Mutale said. “I will say in terms of human rights, that one thousand percent I would put my support behind Kamala Harris opposed to Donald Trump.”
Mutale is also a producer for Love Now Media, which works with the Every Voice, Every Vote organization. Their goal is to ensure Philadelphian voices are uplifted in media and political campaigns.
“There’s no specific person we’re trying to push,” Mutale said. “There’s no specific agenda that we’re trying to push, per se, it’s more so just please go educate yourself, make your own decisions, vote or whatever, but please make those decisions.”
ava.fitzgerald@temple.edu
the floor browsing the shelves at The Wooden Shoe on South Street near 7th.
BY JACK LARSON
Editor
On Saturday morning, large and small Philadelphia bookstores opened their doors to venturers pathfinding their way toward their next reads for the second annual Philly Bookstore Crawl.
“I hadn’t even heard of the Philly Book Crawl but it’s really lovely,” said Matthew Douglas, a resident of the Art Museum neighborhood as he knelt on
The day drew crowds of book lovers into 40 businesses across the region on Saturday.
The book crawl allowed readers to create their own path between Philadelphia bookstores, grabbing free products, attending special events and listening to author readings along the way. Several stores who hosted book crawl events reported record-breaking days of sales and inventory sell-outs.
“It’s probably one of the biggest sales days for us,” said Carl Crafk, owner of The Wooden Shoe.
The Wooden Shoe is a volunteer-run shop with a selection of books
and music that focus on anarchy and “radical literature.” Crafk brought out free posters and postcards for the event, which attracted customers like Douglas.
Participating stores hosted events like evening percussion music at Partners and Son, an independent comic store on 6th Street near Kater, where shoppers could listen to live music while leafing through a selection of comics.
The day also encouraged business collaborations: customers of Molly’s Books & Records on 9th Street near Kimball who purchased the Monster-Building Handbook gained access to a workshop next door at Binding Agents, a “cook and book” shop.
“I cannot believe how many people
it brought out,” said Molly Russakoff, owner of Molly’s Books & Records.
Russakoff operates the store in the Italian Market neighborhood alongside her husband, Joe, and son, Johnny. They handpick the store’s stock of books and music selection and purchase records from customers for second-hand sale.
“I wouldn’t miss this, the crawl is really fun,” Russakoff said.
This event served as a community builder to help Philadelphians get to know their local book shops.
“We have a good, strong business, but to see the amount of people, it was very heartening,” Russakoff said.
jack.larson@temple.edu
16
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off in Old City for the first debate since Biden’s withdrawal.
BY BAYLEH ALEXANDER Assistant Features Editor
After Joe Biden’s less-thanstellar debate performance against Donald Trump in June, he took the advice of Democrats and Republicans alike and dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. On Aug. 22, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination, making history as the first woman of color to lead a major party.
Election forecasters currently project Harris to take a slight lead against Trump in November, but as seen with Biden, poor debate performances can wreak havoc on presidential campaigns. Temple students are looking forward to watching the candidates face each other on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center.
“I think the interesting thing is a lot of Trump’s early campaign was based around Biden’s age, and now Trump is the older candidate,” said Ethan Shanahan, a freshman psychology major. “I think it’ll be interesting to see how he handles questions about that.”
While Trump dubbed 81-year-old Biden ‘Sleepy Joe,’ his ridicule surrounding Biden’s age is starting to backfire. An Aug. 7 poll conducted by Marquette Law School reports that 57% of respondents say Trump, who recently turned 78, is too old to be president.
Temple students are also eager to hear the candidates discuss abortion during their debate, especially after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion.
“I also think that abortion right now, especially with Roe v. Wade, and the status of where it’s at, should be talk-
ed about,” said Grace Sullivan, a senior film and media arts major. “I’m a woman from the South myself, so I’m obviously kind of worried about what’s going to happen to us depending on who gets elected here.”
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, fourteen primarily southern Republican-controlled states implemented total abortion bans with limited exceptions. Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Trump’s updated abortion position leaves decisions regarding reproductive rights to the states, while Harris has historically supported national abortion rights and condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Abortion has been a topic of contention throughout the campaign since Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices during his term. His choice to replace the now-deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a conservative, Amy Coney Barrett, generated fear within the Democratic Party. Barrett, along with Trump’s other two picks, all voted to overturn Roe V. Wade.
“I hope that they can talk about who they’re going to put as a Supreme Court nomination because we know what Trump did and what that led to, and Kamala is going to have, I think, two options for it based off of who’s retiring,“ said Lillian Huber, a junior exercise and sports science major. “So doing that and making sure, like abortion pills, like nationwide, all those types of laws that we can protect and what bills we want and won’t sign.”
While Trump has not explicitly endorsed a national abortion ban, Project 2025, the Republican-led blueprint for his potential second term, would place restrictions on emergency contraceptives, birth control and at-home medication abortions. Trump claims to have no involvement with Project 2025, but more than 140 former advisors from his
administration have been involved.
A major priority among students ahead of the debate is hearing what Harris and Trump have to say regarding the Israel-Hamas war. The United States’ longstanding allyship with Israel has yet to crack amid increasing pressure from protesters for a ceasefire agreement.
The Biden Administration has received significant backlash from college-aged protesters for financially supporting Israel’s military during the war. Harris contrasted Biden’s pro-Israel views in July, telling Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that it’s time to end the war.
“I don’t think we can ignore the fact that Kamala is actively vice president during all of this like she’s not just a candidate going on,” said an environmental engineering student who was granted anonymity. “So I do think there’s an add-
ed level of pressure for her to speak on these things.”
Some feel Harris’ verbal support for Palestinians is not enough to secure her Gen Z vote; many students want to hear her develop plans to reduce Israeli allyship. Although the Biden Administration received criticism for supporting Israel, students are hopeful Kamala will be a strong voice that the Democratic Party lacked in the last debate.
“I think this is a great debate and great opportunity for the Democratic Party because Kamala Harris contrasts Donald Trump a lot and contrasts Joe Biden a lot,” said Evelyn Consolla, a freshman hospitality major. “She is a very concise speaker that has her talking points together, I believe, and has a youthful edge over Donald Trump.”
bayleh.alexander@temple.edu
CAMPUS
A look into the team’s take on the controversial Olympic performance by Rachael Gunn.
BY NAVYA NAIR Features Editor
Breakdancer Rachael Gunn, also known as “Raygun,” caused a stir when she made some bold moves during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The dance’s interpretive nature — at one point Raygun, an Australian native, hopped across the stage, miming a kangaroo — caused many to question her routine.
Members of Temple Breakers, the university’s student breakdancing team, had a different view of the performance, focusing on the discussion’s broader meaning for their art.
“It is less on Raygun’s performance but more on how traditional media pushes a narrative that puts this community in a bad light,” said Lian Long Xuan, vice president of Temple Breakers and a sophomore dance major.
Though it sparked controversy
within the breaking community, the Temple Breakers viewed Raygun’s performance as proof of breakdancing’s growing influence. Temple’s team members say a stylized, commercial approach that deviated from the dance’s historical roots does not sacrifice authenticity, labeling the public wave of criticism an “overreaction.”
Within the club, Temple Breakers works to foster an environment that encourages the very kind of experimentation Raygun was ridiculed for.
“I was part of Temple Breakers for one day last year and already felt part of the team,” wrote Noah Sickman, a sophomore theater major, in a statement to The Temple News. “The environment we’re surrounded by is very supportive and has no drama.”
Some feel the amount of criticism aimed at Raygun was unwarranted and excessive, but many of the Temple breakers viewed her piece as an individualized form of breaking.
The discussion surrounding Raygun’s performance eventually turns to the larger subject of commercialization.
O I C E S
What are freshman looking forward to most living in Philadelphia for the first time?
The Olympic debut of breaking instilled a sense of fear that the art form would lose its originality as it gained more mainstream recognition.
The Olympic committee decided not to include breaking in the 2028 Olympics before Raygun’s performance. The choice is influenced by the host nation and strikes a compromise between practicality and worldwide appeal.
Despite the negative press in the U.S., breaking continues to receive acclaim in other parts of the world.
“I believe this incident has only affected people’s views on breaking in the U.S.,” said Yasseen Rouni, a junior computer science major and member of Temple Breakers. “The media in the States took Raygun’s performance and milked it for views and impressions.”
The new attention is still exciting to Temple Breakers. They believe that, with careful management, breaking can develop while maintaining its integrity. The debate has encouraged the group to concentrate on their performance in collegiate tournaments.
The team’s immediate objective is
GORDON
Architecture major | She/Her
“ I’m most excited to learn how to take the subway so I can travel. And I’m most excited to switch my major because I don’t want to stay in it anymore. ”
Chemistry major | He/Him
“ Making new friends, new memories. And I want to try the food trucks. ”
to become National Collegiate Breaking Association Champions by winning a collegiate jam, an intercollegiate breakdancing tournament that features dancers or crews competing against one another.
“There’s no doubt that the Olympics are out of reach,” Rouni said. “However, we play in a collegiate league with other East Coast universities like Northeastern, BU, Harvard, Rutgers and Penn.”
The group is still committed to representing breaking with pride and integrity in the face of changing public attitudes and media scrutiny.
Their response to the Olympic controversy demonstrates Temple Breakers’ care for the sport and their desire to see it develop. As the team progresses, their dedication to breaking’s artistic and cultural significance remains unwavering.
“This community has survived tougher times,” Long Xuan said. “So what if we are not in the Olympics in LA 2028? This community will continue to grow with or without the Olympics.”
navya.nair@temple.edu
CAMREN WILEY
Information Science & Technology major | He/Him
“ Thrift shops and like going around and exploring, because I do love a good thrift. ”
Marketing major | He/Him
“ I’m excited to meet new people and roam around and check out some good food. Literally, all the food trucks I want to try. ”
ACROSS
4. Collect resources to build roads and settlements
5. Search a mansion as you attempt to find a killer
8. Pretend to be a doctor in this high-stress game
9. Walk through the Peppermint Forest and Peanut Acres
10. Checkmate your opponent in this game
12. Get tied up in knots by using your arms and legs to win
1. You’ll need to climb ladders and slide down slides in this game
2. When you pass GO, collect $200
3. You have a minute to guess what you are
6. Get married and have children as you go through the stages of _____
7. Draw four!
11. Pull a 1 or 2 to leave START
CAMPUS Amid changes, Temple’s crown jewel of student organizations is beginning to ponder its future.
BY JADON GEORGE Features Staff Writer
Ray Epstein can still remember a chance encounter from her sophomore year in the fall of 2022.
Epstein, who had re-founded Student Activists Against Sexual Assault weeks earlier, was sitting on the steps to Mazur Hall’s terrace when another student, a stranger, spied her, cautiously approached and asked, “Are you Ray?”
“Yes,” Epstein remembers saying. “Who are you?”
The mystery classmate began thanking her profusely and told her everything that SAASA meant to them.
“And then we hugged — and I think it was just, like, the most profound moment of my life,” said Epstein, now a senior English major. “Genuinely.”
SAASA had just held its second meeting in half a decade; the group went dormant in 2017 when its president at the time couldn’t find a successor. But its Epstein-led awakening brought the student organization — and its leader — to national attention.
Temple’s Interfraternity Council tapped SAASA a few months into its second life to help them address a yearslong sexual assault scandal. Epstein’s solution — a mandatory screening of the rape-culture documentary “The Hunting Ground” for all pledges, plus an educational course — proved a hit, and the university’s sororities eventually lifted an embargo on joint social gatherings.
Last September, SAASA secured $200,000 in free rideshares in partnership with Uber. The trips vanished so quickly that Uber offered another $150,000 worth of vouchers on Halloweekend. The state of Pennsylvania took notice, too, awarding SAASA a $20,000 grant this spring in partnership with It’s On Us, a SAASA-aligned national organization that also bills itself as advocating and supporting survivors.
Epstein maintains she was simply a player on a wide and dedicated team. Survivors had more hospitable avenues to share their stories, she said, than what existed in the landscape of the organization’s first run.
But her profile grew anyway as SAASA became the crown jewel of Temple’s student organizations: Epstein received the prestigious Truman Scholarship in the spring, the first Truman award for a Temple student since Kylie Patterson in 2009. Almost simultaneously, her fellow students elected their leader of activists to be their activist leader, elevating her to the position of Temple Student Government president.
But Epstein’s most dearly-held role, alongside SAASA’s other leaders, is one she’s never altered or relinquished: An anytime ally and close confidante to survivors in the immediate aftermath of sexual violence.
“My initial intention was just, ‘I need this place to exist because I know everyone else who experiences this feels exactly the same way,’” Epstein said. “They just want to feel seen, and they want to feel like they’re not alone.”
Next May, Epstein, wearer of many hats, will don her last as a student: The tasseled, rectangular cap that crowns college graduates. Longtime SAASA vice president Valerie Torres finishes her time at Temple in the spring, too — sending the organization on a mission to avert another extended hiatus.
Epstein and Torres invited younger SAASA operatives to intra-institutional meetings, so they could become familiar to those with whom the organization works. And while the organization’s decision-makers — who affectionately call one another “The Core Four” — haven’t yet named a formal successor to the top role, they did appoint a co-vice president, junior criminal justice major Bella Kwok.
“I think Ray envisioned the vice president being someone able to take over,” Kwok, who led a victim-advocacy group of her own in high school. “Since she and Val are the same grade, I think they wanted someone a little younger
than them.”
Epstein says she intends to hold both SAASA and TSG’s presidential roles for the time being. Among her first projects is a collaboration with Temple’s chapter of PERIOD to replace the menstrual product bins they’ve previously installed in on-campus restrooms with mechanical dispensers.
Installing new devices in Temple’s facilities requires a series of administrative approvals, said PERIOD president Allanah Nelligan. Not even those green lights guarantee the club’s initiatives can go forward without hiccups or misunderstandings — which, Nelligan said, made it more meaningful to have a friend in TSG.
“Ray has worked with us in the past,” Nelligan, a senior secondary education major, said. “She knows what we’re trying to achieve on campus. She supports us fully.”
Kwok, too, credited Epstein’s knowledge — both of Temple’s institutions and its stakeholders — with SAASA’s second-act triumph, saying few
could have rebuilt the organization as effectively. But the progress of those first two years, she added, still left more work to be done — for whoever leads Temple’s student activists into the future.
“I think there’s absolutely space for SAASA to expand our reach even more,” Kwok said.
jadon@temple.edu @jgeorgescribe
Despite The Owls’ struggles, it shouldn’t fall on Drayton, writes Sports Editor Ryan Mack.
BY RYAN MACK Sports Editor
Throughout his two seasons as Temple Football’s head coach, Stan Drayton has seen more failures than successes. The Owls have put up a putrid 6-18 record in his two seasons roaming the sidelines and signs point in the same direction for his third.
But when Drayton addressed the media at the American Athletic Conference media day in July, he was confident about the fortunes of his team.
“I’m excited about this football team,” Drayton said. “I know we’ve embarked on a couple of tough years, but I’m excited about this football team. As we embark on this landscape that we are in, and you hear a lot of the horror stories we have to endure as coaches from time to time, there are some positives to come out of this.’”
Safe to say, he might be one of the only ones excited.
The Owls were picked to finish last in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll and their entire roster has been gutted by transfers and injuries the past two years. The claim could now be made that one more down year might send Drayton packing.
But has Drayton been given a fair shake at competing in the AAC? Probably not. If the Owls do make a change this offseason, Drayton shouldn’t have every finger pointed at him.
The former Texas Longhorns running backs coach stepped into a situation that was hanging by a thread. He was tasked with rebuild-
ing the team after former head coach Rod Carey left the program in disarray and was subsequently fired from the team.
The Owls went to five straight bowls games from 2015-19, and the expectation might have been to recreate that success instead of rebuilding the team as a whole.
Before former head coach Al Golden took control of the program in 2006, the Owls had just one winning season since 1990. Then they ripped off eight in just 13 years after 2006, cracking into the AP Top 25. But to get those results it took patience.
It took Golden three losing seasons before he finally got over the hump and former head coach Matt Rhule didn’t get the elusive AAC title until 2016, his fourth year at the helm.
The two head coaches after Rhule — Carey and Geoff Collins — had lingering recruits that stayed on North Broad and even though they made Bowl games, they couldn’t replicate the former NFL coach’s success.
The entire landscape of college football has changed since Drayton was hired. Now coaches rely on the transfer portal when building a team. While Temple has brought in transfers of their own, that talent hasn’t matched up to what they’ve lost.
Former defensive lineman Darian Varner, a single digit in Drayton’s first season, left at season’s end for the lights of the Big Ten at Wisconsin, and linebacker Kobe Wilson departed for former AAC-member SMU. Wilson led the Mustangs in tackles in 2023 and was named to the All-AAC second team.
The same happened in 2023 when
cornerback Jalen McMurray and offensive lineman Victor Stoffel found new homes at Power Five schools. To make matters worse, the Owls lost quarterback E.J. Warner to fellow AAC member Rice in the offseason.
Whe the Owls have a chance to recoup, the acquisitions are often subpar. Most of the incoming players come from JUCO programs, and the power conference transfers are underperforming players looking to transfer down for more playing time.
While it might be easy for bigger-name schools to seek equal or better talent, the same can’t be said for the Cherry and White.
Temple might not be winning games, but they’ve practiced what Drayton has preached — something that couldn’t be said three years ago. He cultivated a new feeling of optimism in the locker room that wasn’t felt in past years.
At the end of last season, Drayton
wanted to get away from the stressors of coaching and take a vacation with his family to recoup after the grueling fourmonth season. The task of letting go of the team for a few weeks was harder than he thought. One night he found himself texting defensive tackle Demarick Morris.
Morris let Drayton know the players were okay and Drayton went on his vacation. Both the coaching staff and the players are on the same page heading into their week one matchup against Oklahoma despite three tumultuous 3-9 seasons.
There is no telling what Drayton’s fate is at the end of the season, but the Owls head coach has attempted to make the most of the situation he walked into when he took the job.
“[The players] are of the mindset of changing the narrative,” Drayton said. “We’re not looking through the rearview mirror. We’re looking ahead.”
ryanmack0001@temple.edu @ryan_mack18
D.J. Woodbury Sr. learned the role from former Owls and will fill the role in his senior season.
BY RYAN MACK Sports Editor
D.J. Woodbury Sr. spent his first four seasons on Temple Football’s roster attempting to earn his spot in the linebacker rotation. He often found himself taking a back seat to Jordan Magee and Yvandy Rigby, single-digit captains who were staples for the Owls.
They showed Woodbury Sr. the ropes, mentoring him during their four seasons together. Woodbury Sr. shined in the limited playing time he received before a leg injury took him out in a 4826 loss to Tulsa on Sept. 29.
Magee and Rigby both took their talents to the NFL, with Magee being selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Commanders and Rigby signing with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent. When Woodbury Sr. returned for spring camp a few months later, the linebacker room was looking for a new leader.
Woodbury Sr. took the leadership position with authority, entering his fifth season following in his mentor’s footsteps.
“He’s that calming voice of experience and voice of reason in the room,” said linebackers coach Chris Woods. “He’s always chirping at guys. I’ll say something in a meeting, and he’ll be paying attention. He has a lot of pride in our unit about how we want to represent ourselves, and he preaches my message constantly to those guys.”
The Burlington City, New Jersey, native first joined the Owls in 2020 and is one of the few players recruited under former head coach Rod Carey who remains with the program. He traveled
across the Delaware River to a school that has been blooming with stellar linebacker play since the middle of the 2010s.
NFL all-pro linebacker
Haason Reddick and multiyear veteran Tyler Matakevich put the Owls on the map under former head coach Matt Rhule. Once the pair left for the NFL, Shaun Bradley and Chapelle Russell took their place. The four helped put Temple on the rise — while making NFL rosters once their college careers finished.
Magee and Rigby followed behind while Woodbury Sr. watched, hoping to have the same impact. Instead, Woodbury Sr. made his impact on special teams, picking up tips and tricks along the way.
“It’s been a cycle,” Woodbury Sr. said. “Temple has always had great linebackers. It’s been a trend.”
Woodbury Sr. started to crack into the lineup towards the end of the 2022 season, racking up 10 tackles against Navy on Oct. 29, 2022 and finishing the season with 15. He began to hit his stride in 2023, racking up 24 tackles in a five game stretch in defensive coordinator Everett Withers’ scheme.
However, an injury cut his season short. His time off the field gave him a chance to get his mind in the right place during the offseason. While he had the talent to make an impact, he had to improve mentally to take the next step.
“D.J. has taken on that leadership role, but he had to first take care of himself,” said head coach Stan Drayton. “Wasn’t a whole lot of playtime experience again, he got hurt a year ago, and, you know, he’s transitioning into that
position let’s not forget that piece of it. He’s doing a phenomenal job of taking care of his business so that he can be the leader that he’s capable of becoming, you know, but it had to be in that order.”
When Woodbury Sr. came back for fall camp at the end of July, it was like a switch had flipped for him. The maturity change was evident and the coaching staff took note of it. The change earned him the honor that his mentors earned before him; a single digit.
The way he saw the game was more nuanced and slowed down. Defensive tackle Allan Haye saw the change firsthand. The two had a conversation where Woodbury Sr. talked about the difference in how he sees the game of football.
The new attitude earned him a nick-
name; old man Woodbury.
“D.J. has had an unbelievable camp,” Woods said. “Just the most schematically solid guy in my room, and it’s not even close. D.J. has his style, he’s old man Woodbury in that room. He kind of handles things a little bit differently.”
Woodbury Sr. enters his last season as an Owl looking to break through in his first year as a starter while applying what he learned from his NFL mentors.
“Everything [Jordan Magee] taught me, I’m trying to teach younger guys,” Woodbury Sr. said. “Trying to keep the trend going with great success and in that room and great leadership in that room.”
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As the sole returning single-digit, Stewart is ready to be even more of a leader this season.
BY COLIN SCHOFIELD Assistant Sports Editor
Ian Stewart joined the Temple Football program following the 2021 season, stepping into the disarray of what was the Owls’ broken culture. The program was on the heels of back-to-back losing seasons when he joined and had its talent gutted by the transfer portal under former coach Rod Carey.
Stan Drayton was hired as head coach just five months before Stewart joined the program, tasked with turning around the on-field fortunes and rebuilding the disgruntled locker room. Temple’s on-field performance has hardly improved, but the head coach and wide receiver tandem have helped reset the off-the-field culture.
The Woodhaven, Michigan, native’s influence was recognized prior to the 2023 season when he was voted by his teammates as a single-digit. A longstanding tradition at Temple, players chosen as single-digits represent the Owls as leaders both on and off the field.
Stewart earned the single digit following just one season with the program after he transferred in from Michigan State, showing the traits he possessed as a leader — and it is not something he took for granted.
“It means everything in the world,” Stewart said. “Every day since I have been a single digit I have tried to uphold that standard. To be a single digit at a school like this is a blessing to say the least. I carry that with great responsibility and pride every day. There is a standard to protect here and I am going to do everything I can as a single digit to protect that.”
While Stewart has made his impact felt in
the locker room during his two seasons with the Owls, his on-thefield impact has been a different story.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver played sparingly at Michigan State but was expected to be a big contributor to the wide receiver room upon arriving at Temple.
However, injuries have prevented him from leaving his mark on the field thus far.
Stewart has played in just 11 games during his two seasons, grabbing 13 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. This season, Stewart will be competing for snaps in a deep wide receiver room that features fellow returners Dante Wright, John Adams and Zae Baines.
was the only single-digit from last season who returned.
The Owls also added new faces at wide receiver this offseason. There are 43 total new players on the roster across all positions, and being the leader he is, Stewart has made sure to do everything he can to get them acclimated.
“I just try to take them around and show them the city,” Stewart said. “I take myself back to being a new guy because I had to go through that experience. There were certain areas that I knew I was uncomfortable coming here at first so I’m just trying to be there for them. I’m trying to be as helpful as I can football-wise and off-field.”
Stewart’s leadership has been extra valuable this offseason considering he
The rest of the appointed single-digits from last season departed the roster, leaving Stewart alone in the leadership room. With so many new faces on the team, it was important to the coaching staff that Stewart stuck around to help preach the culture Drayton is building, said wide receiver coach Tyron Carrier.
“He’s the next coach in the room,” Carrier said. “When I am in meetings and younger guys want to know certain things, he takes them with him into the meeting room and gets them up to speed. He does a great job of relaying the message I put out there.”
Stewart is now entering his final season of eligibility, hoping to finally put together a healthy campaign. He was a full go in fall camp, showcasing
an improved on-field game to coaches. If Stewart can find a way to stay on the field, a significant role in the wide receiver room could be on the horizon.
The impact he’s had on the locker room is undeniable. Stewart turned Drayton’s vision into a reality and helped turn a lost locker room into the strongest part of the program, defining what it means to be a single digit.
“His leadership has been critical,” Drayton said “He’s been one of the guys who has allowed the new guys to transition into our program smoothly. He carries the culture flag. He always preaches the standard of our program and he’s not afraid to cross over position groups to get that point across. Those are traits of our single digits.”
colin.schofield@temple.edu @ColinSchofield9
The Owls are yet to name a starting quarterback. How will that affect the Owls’ this year?
BY DECLAN LANDIS AND JOHNNY ZAWISLAK For The Temple News
Temple Football had a lot of holes to fill across their roster as they brought in more than 40 players this offseason, but finding a new quarterback was the priority.
The program lost one of its best quarterbacks in recent memory when E.J. Warner departed for Rice in December 2023. To replace him, head coach Stan Drayton brought in Rutgers quarterback Evan Simon and Montana star Clifton McDowell to compete with transfer Forrest Brock and redshirt sophomore Tyler Douglas throughout the spring and summer.
However, the team has yet to find a solution. McDowell re-entered the transfer portal just weeks after joining the Cherry and White, and Brock and Simon have yet to prove they can handle the title of QB1.
“Our quarterbacks were doing a great job competing,” Drayton said following a team scrimmage on Aug. 16. “It did solidify some things, but we are still getting our depth chart together.”
The Owls have seemingly improved their roster, but the quarterback position remains a weak point. Temple’s offense has talent, but the lack of options under center could damper the Owls’ chances in the American Athletic Conference.
Brock, Simon and Douglas each bring something different to the table that makes them a possible option to open the season. Drayton said an internal decision has been made, but that wouldn’t be announced until Friday, when the Owls open their sea-
son against No. 16 Oklahoma.
Brock has the upper hand when it comes to familiarity with the playbook. While he only saw two quarters of action last season, he was still a backup on the roster in 2023, giving him a leg up. By all indications, Brock took a step forward as a passer and became more consistent at hitting his receivers.
But Simon brings playing experience to the battle. The Rutgers transfer played eight games in 2022 and finished with 777 passing yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. He has played more collegiate football than Brock and Douglas and even faced Power 5 teams like Ohio State in his career.
happen with his legs more than his teammates despite remaining a step below Brock and Simon in passing ability.
Douglas has played well this summer, but Simon and Brock have significantly more experience with college-level play concepts, giving them a slight edge against the younger quarterback.
“They all bring a different skill set,” Drayton said. “But with Evan and Forrest grabbing the whole concept of the offense and starting to execute it the way it’s supposed to, it’s just been phenomenal competition.”
Meanwhile, Douglas is the wildcard of the trio. Not many considered the redshirt sophomore a likely candidate for the starting position, but he has the ability to be a serviceable quarterback at the collegiate level.
Douglas’ main advantage is his mobility. He extends plays and makes things
“Tyler really brings a different skill set in terms of what he can do with his legs,” Drayton said, “I think there’s going to be a time and a place for that. I really do.”
Brock could be the first Temple quarterback to trot on the field on Aug. 30 in the season opener. However, he likely won’t be the only one under center.
Oklahoma is a significantly more talented team than Temple. The Sooners have been in national contention for several years and just made the jump to the SEC this season. Temple, on the other hand, hasn’t made a bowl game appearance in six years.
The more important distinction will be who starts the AAC opener against Navy on Sep. 7. That game has higher stakes as the first conference game in
Drayton’s third season. The Owls have yet to win a road game with Drayton at the helm, and they’ve won just one game in the AAC since 2022.
Temple beat Navy last season after falling short in 2022 thanks to how the defense stopped the Midshipmen’s triple option. The Owls’ defense leading the charge may be a recurring theme, especially if the quarterbacks struggle.
Ultimately, the quarterback who looks the best against Navy may have the starting spot for the rest of the season.
The Owls do have a quarterback problem, but they still have a chance to win games. However, Drayton and the coaching staff need to find the one they trust most quickly so Temple has its best chance at success in 2024.
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The Owls open up the season Friday night as 43.5 point underdogs against the No.16 Sooners.
BY RYAN MACK AND COLIN SCHOFIELD For The Temple News
Temple Football head coach Stan Drayton has been assigned a near impossible mission heading into his third season at the helm. The Owls open up their season Friday night traveling down south to take on No. 16 Oklahoma.
Temple heads into its first game with more questions than answers. Drayton has remained coy on who his starting quarterback will be and the Owls brought in new players, most of whom will see the field Friday.
“It’s us, that’s it,” Drayton said. “Everything else we can’t control, but what we can control is what happens in this building. How we go about our preparation, how we approach the game, our mindset leading up to the game, it’s really all about us.”
Do the Owls have a chance to keep the game competitive or possibly upset the Sooners for one of the biggest upsets in program history? Here is everything you need to know ahead of Temple’s week one matchup against Oklahoma.
Temple defensive coordinator Everrett Withers joined the Owls during spring camp last season, inheriting a roster that finished first in the American Athletic Conference in sacks the year prior.
The Owls couldn’t replicate the same success in 2023, with just 22 sacks — just 10th in the AAC. Withers changed the scheme from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this offseason and the early returns have been positive during fall camp.
“I’m coming from places where we get vertical, we go penetrate the backfield,” said defensive tackle Allan Haye. “Getting back playing like that is fun, because last year’s defense was my first time
playing in a 3-4.”
The lack of a consistent pass rush left the secondary exposed and the group was torched toward the end of 2023. The new defense allows Temple to attack the quarterback, something they were unable to do last season.
Defensive end Tra Thomas will be able to wreak havoc rushing the passer this season following the scheme change. The Owls will need that boost on the defensive side of the ball to complete the upset Friday night.
All eyes will be on whoever starts at quarterback. Drayton won’t announce who until game day. The Owls bolstered the rest of their offense during the offseason in hopes of mitigating their signal caller downgrade.
The run game is expected to be a feature of the offense this season and Temple brought in the pieces to make it happen. Antwain Littleton traveled up I-95 from Maryland after being a rotation running back for the Terrapins. Littleton is a big power back who is expected to add a dimension to the run game that the Owls have lacked the last few seasons.
The Owls’ backfield will feature returners Joquez Smith and E.J. Wilson with each back offering a different running style.
“They bring their own thing to the table when it comes to the game,” Littleton said. “I’m the power. You got E.J. [Wilson], he’s mostly all around, he can get jiggy a little bit. You have Joquez, he’s short and compact. He can kill you with speed, make moves with it up at the second level that I haven’t seen from a young guy.”
Temple’s run game last season was lackluster, which was due in part to a revolving door on the offensive line. The Owls addressed the issue in the offseason, with South Carolina trans-
fer Grayson Mains expected to start at center and the rest of the line returning from injury.
If Temple wants to hang with Oklahoma’s high-powered offense, the run game has to be a prominent factor to take some of the load off the quarterback.
Oklahoma is coming off a 10-3 season and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl. The Sooners lost starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to Oregon, but have former top recruit Jackson Arnold ready to take the reins of the offense.
The Sooners return leading rusher Gavin Sawchuk and four of their top five receivers from 2023. Oklahoma is known for its high-powered offense, ranking sixth in the country last season in scoring. Even with a revamped defense, slowing down Oklahoma is going to be a tall task for Temple.
Defensively, the Sooners are just as talented. They return their leading tackler Danny Stutsman, sack leader Ethan Downs and leader in interceptions Bil-
ly Bowman Jr. The Sooners aren’t traditionally known for having a top-tier defense, but they ranked top 50 in the country last season in scoring defense.
colin.schofield@temple.edu @ColinSchofield9
