temple-news.com VOL. 90 ISS. 22
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
A District in Dissent
Big East takes in Temple After years, Temple will rejoin the Big East for all sports during a two-year span. BRIAN DZENIS Editor-in-Chief
Bill number 120020, as it sits in council, lays out a plan in which the NCNID would answer to the North Central Management Corporation, a nonprofit created for the district that would act as the Neighborhood Improvement District Management Association. The affected area would roughly stretch from York Street to Girard Avenue and from 19th Street to Broad Street, excluding properties on Broad Street. The district also includes the area ranging east from Watts Street to the SEPTA Regional Rail tracks and south
The Owls are back in the Big East Conference. After the football team exited the Big East in 2004 after originally being voted out of the conference in 2001 due to a lack of competitiveness on the field and funding off the field, the team will return in 2012 while Temple’s 21 other sports will join it in 2013, Big East commissioner John Marinatto announced last Wednesday, March 7, at Madison Square Garden. The move had been in the works for more than a year. “[Athletic Director] Bill Bradshaw and I first met to explore possible Big East Conference membership well over a year ago, and our discussions intensified over the past several weeks,” Marinatto said. “I also had the pleasure of working with Board Chair [Patrick J.] O’Connor and General Counsel George Moore to bring a potential partnership together.” One of the key points in that partnership was figuring out a way to exit the Mid-American Conference, where Temple football used to play and the Atlantic Ten Conference, where all of Temple’s other sports resided with the exception of gymnastics. Originally, leaving the MAC required a $2.5 million exit fee with two years’ notice and the A-10 required a year’s notice and $1 million. Temple will pay $6 million to the MAC and $1 million to the A-10. Assistant Vice President of University Communications Ray Betzner told The Temple News last week that the Big East will be covering all of Temple’s exit fees. “No college money will be paying for this,” Betzner said. Marinatto declined to specify how much and in what fashion the exit fees will be covered by the Big East.
NID PAGE 2
BIG EAST PAGE 3
TIMOTHY VALSHTEIN TTN
Plans to improve the North Central Philadelphia area near Main Campus have angered many long-time residents, who said they want more representatation in the proposed neighborhood improvement district. The district will be signed into law in coming months, unless affected property owners vote the bill down.
Improvement plans have divided residents and property owners pushing the bill. SEAN CARLIN Assistant News Editor
I
t’s a familiar sight: A group of developers and a pastor sit in a room on North Sydenham Street, talking about their investment in the community seated just off Main Campus. Perhaps a familiar setting, but it’s not familiar in terms of context. Instead of talking about student rates or building more apartments, the group’s discussion of late, in this TempleTown Realty office, has been about a different issue: an extra tax. And the same people pushing the extra fee are among the ones who would be paying it. This site, along with others throughout the community, is where the idea behind the North Central Neighborhood Improvement District was
OPINION BIG RIVALS, p.4 Joey Cranney discusses Villanova’s impact on Temple’s delayed Big East admitance in basketball.
LIVING RECOGNIZING WOMEN, p.7 In honor of March being National Women’s History Month, The Temple News profiles Women of Color, which unites diverse women.
A&E CITY STORY p.9 The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent reopened with two exhibits after a three-year hiatus.
SPORTS MARCH MADNESS, p.20 The Owls look to regroup after a loss in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament, as the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
molded. “A lot of hours have been spent in this room and other rooms in this neighborhood trying to figure this thing out,” said Herb Reid, a landlord in the area and member or the informal steering committee pushing the bill. Though the process of putting the bill together may have been exhausting in and of itself, the hard labor is yet to come. The NCNID is supported by City Council President Darrell Clarke, who introduced the bill to council, and Temple, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the district. But the reaction from the community has been all but supportive.
FRAMEWORK
A NID is a nonprofit set up by the city in a specific zone and funded through outside resources in order to improve the appearance, economy and security of the neighborhood. Throughout Philadelphia, NIDs and business improvement districts have been created
as a way to, “improve business never be able to figure out what profitability and property val- exactly they bring to a neighues,” according to the Drexel borhood in terms of quantitaLaw Review. tive value added.” These districts range in The idea for NCNID was size and stature from zones born out of meetings in Nowith more than vember 2010 4,000 properties, among longas seen in the time residents, Center City Dislandlords and trict, to blocks of Clarke, who land that feature represents the fewer than 100 area, which is properties as seen included in the in the Port Richfifth district. mond Industrial The meetings Development Enwere held to terprise. address issues While each between studistrict is differdents, landent, Richardson lords and resiDilworth, director Peter Crawford / dents in the tapa member, developer area, Reid, a of Drexel University’s Center for member of the Public Policy said he’s been Temple Area Property Associaimpressed by the impact of tion, said. NIDs on the community. “Sixteen months ago, we “In my experience from sat in City Hall. [Clarke] had dealing with [NIDs], I have brought together a concerned been really impressed at what group of landlords, the unithey’ve brought the neighbor- versity [representatives], a hoods,” Dilworth said. “You’ll concerned group of residents,
“We’ve got the resources as landlords, the residents have the vision. Instead of fighting each other, let’s work together.”
among others,” Reid said. “What we discussed that night was longstanding issues and some new issues that plague the community.” Reid added: “What [Clarke] said was, ‘I think the answer to this is a neighborhood improvement district,’ and basically he told us to get it done.”
NUTS AND BOLTS
Activists sit-in at Board of Trustees session Trustees approved a number of items as student-activists sat-in at their meeting. ANGELO FICHERA News Editor Not on the schedule of speakers at yesterday’s Board of Trustees meeting, studentactivists sat-in and addressed the university’s top-decision makers before the board approved a slew of actions recommended from their committees. Members of Temple Community Against Mountaintop Removal, a student-activist group associated with Occupy Temple that seeks to end the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining, demonstrated before the board yesterday, March 12, for the second time¬. The group first
NEWS DESK 215-204-7419
surfaced when it protested at a public session meeting in October 2011. Donning tape over their mouths, members of the group and of several other campus organizations, including Temple Democratic Socialists and Students for Justice in Palestine, stood in front of their seats in the Feinstein Lounge of Sullivan Hall silently as the meeting began. When President Ann Weaver Hart finished delivering a report about student leaders on campus, the group chimed in. “Speaking of student leaders...as students, we feel we deserve a better manner for dialogue, engagement and decisionmaking with the administration. Until these manners are made available to us, it is our statement that we have no voice,” the activists chanted, following the
BOARD PAGE 1
ABI REIMOLD TTN
Student-activists with Temple Community Against Mountaintop Removal staged a sit-in at yesterday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Members said they wanted to bring their cause and concerns about student voices at the university to light.
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NEWS temple-news.com
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
Residents seek representation for NID NID PAGE 1 from York Street to Susquehanna Avenue. Affected properties would also include Diamond Green, Kardon-Atlantic Terminal Building, University Village and the Wanamaker School development. When asked why the area is staggered, Reid said that it aims to cover areas where students are most likely living off Main Campus. “[Temple] students are part of the overall community,” Reid said. “They needed to be part of this because they have so many students and so many of them are part of the community. They party on the west side, they party throughout the east side and everyone needed to be included.” Peter Crawford, a developer and member of TAPA, added that the map is not continuous because Temple is in the middle of the land and the Yorktown neighborhood does not allow for most student leasing. “The reason it’s not contiguous is both because the university is right there and because the neighborhood of Yorktown, which is a single-family neighborhood, does not permit student housing,” Crawford, a member of the informal steering committee, said. “They are a little cut off and they’re little islands of student housing, but they should still be part of the broader effort.” Preliminary plans suggest the district’s first year budget would be $450,000, which would be paid for through a yet to be announced donation from Temple, donations from local nonprofits and a fee on property owners equaling about 7 percent of their current real estate tax. The fee would not be imposed on owner-occupants in the area. Of the $450,000 budget, more than half would be dedicated to appearance of the neighborhood in the way of cleaning and streetscape enhancements. Another $80,000 would be reserved for administrative and marketing fees to pay for an executive director to oversee the NID and additional costs associated with it, Nick Pizzola, vice president of TAPA, said. Initial plans call for an unpaid board of directors that consists of two representatives from Temple, four landlords, a representative from the city and two members of the community.
During a Feb. 22 meeting concerning the NCNID, Reid said the board would contain a total of six landlords and Temple representatives because they are the ones who are footing the bill for the district. “Those are the folks paying into it, they’re going to want to be represented,” Reid said. “There’s no way around that. The university is going to want to have some representation, they’re going to be writing a six-figure check to help make this thing work.” Pastor Lewis Nash, a member of the informal steering committee, added that while this district would add services, the city can’t take any existing services away. “Legally, the city can’t take any services away, this would add services to the community,” Nash said. The bill was re-introduced to City Council on Jan. 26, and will face two public hearings, the first today, March 13, before a 45-day period in which the bill can be voted down by a negative vote of 51 percent of the affected property owners.
COMMUNITY WATCH
To date, there has only been one NID that has been shot down by the community it would be affecting. The Callowhill Reading Viaduct Neighborhood Improvement District was voted down by property owners because, Dilworth said, it fell victim to a few fatal flaws. “At that time there was a lot of public sentiment against taxation,” Dilworth said. “They had some specific community struggles in terms of communicating what they were trying to do. It was also, unlike the other ones, going to be mostly financed through individual property owners.” Although, the NCNID has been hailed by the steering committee and the council president, residents throughout the affected area have been wary about the improvement district and some vow to make sure the NCNID is the second NID to be rejected. Concerns have varied from the exclusion of residents in the decision-making process to the encroachment of Main Campus on the surrounding community. “My concern as a resident of 54 years is that we’re not being included in the plans or any-
TIMOTHY VALSHTEIN TTN
Vacant lands filled with trash and debris would be targeted if the North Central Neighborhood Improvement District is approved. An outlined budget would give $275,000 toward cleaning and $20,000 toward streetscape enhancements in the first year. thing that’s happening in North ing the NCNID, Tarik Nasir, a Philadelphia and I’m concerned local landlord and member of that we’ll be taxed out of our TAPA, also expressed outrage community,” said Denise Ri- at the bill. pley, a resident and block cap“When I read the text of tain on the 1500 block of North the [bill], I’ve never been more Uber Street. incensed in my life, it was the Ripley, who said she is out- worst thing I’ve ever read,” Naside of the affected area, said sir said. “I do not support this she fears that plan and many their neighmembers of TAPA borhood is bebelieve as I do ing divided by that its name has the legislation. been hijacked. Vivian All single-family VanStory, a [dwelling] owners resident of the are left out of the 1500 block of decision-making West Master process on issues Street, echoed that would directly the same senaffect them and timents. their families.” “They did VanStory said not include the she’s been passing community [in out petitions and Tarik Nassir / the process],” literature against tapa member, landlord VanStory said. the bill, hoping to “How can get 51 percent of they determine our needs based the affected property owners to on what they assess themselves reject the bill. when they have been part of the “[Passing out] petitions is problem? Because we weren’t a one of the things that we have to part of the decision making pro- go against it to make sure we get cess, they can’t determine the 51 percent [against it],” VanStoneeds for us.” ry said. “Clarke should realize At a March 6 community that the people don’t want it.” meeting in Ritter Hall concern-
“All singlefamily owners are left out of the decision-making process on issues that would directly affect them.”
MOVING FORWARD
After an initial meeting between the steering committee and residents on Feb. 22, Pizzola admitted that while he expected some backlash, he did not expect the level of outrage exhibited at the meeting toward the bill. “I didn’t expect it to be as rough as it was,” Pizzola said. During the March 6 meeting leading up to the first hearing at City Hall, both sides took positives from a meeting that was filled with impassioned speeches and raw emotion. “I think we got a significant amount of the misconceptions about this bill cleared up,” Clarke said. “People are passionate about their neighborhood and most of the people in here are long-term residents. I understand that when something is proposed for their neighborhood, and particularly when they think that they haven’t been a part of the process from day one, they naturally have some concern.” VanStory also said that she hopes the community has sent a message to the city through its interactions with the steering committee and the council
president. “They realize that the community is not sleeping here, we’re aware of what’s going on, but we don’t want their plan,” VanStory said. Reid added after the last meeting that some of the content of the bill is going to have to be changed after hearing the community’s concerns. “There’s definitely some changes that need to come into the bill,” Reid said. “We tried to add a bit of clarity. There’s some representation from the neighborhood that needs to change.” While a majority of the time at outreach meetings has been spent combating fears from the community, Crawford said he looks forward to working with the residents in figuring out how to make the NCNID work. “My message to the community is this: Let’s work together, let’s make something positive,” Crawford said. “We’ve got the resources as landlords, the residents have the vision. Instead of fighting each other, let’s work together to make this place better.” Sean Carlin can be reached at sean.carlin@temple.edu.
Board approves 4.5 percent housing rate increase BOARD PAGE 1
ABI REIMOLD TTN
Patrick J. O’Connor, chairman of the Board of Trustees, guided the board through a number of recommendations at yesterday’s meeting.
lead of senior Latin American Studies major Ethan Jury. The board did not verbally reply or recognize the studentactivists or their claims, but continued its agenda following the brief action. Ray Betzner, assistant vice president of university communications, said the administration has met with the activist group, citing meetings between TCAMR members and Dean of Students Dr. Stephanie Ives and Associate University Counsel Valerie Harrison. The members also met with Hart and Patrick J. O’Connor, chairman of the board, after the October 2011 public session. “The protesters asked for a dialogue with the university, and they have been having a dialogue with the university,” Betzner said. “We will continue that dialogue.” Following the verbal action by the activists, O’Connor led the board in quick unanimous approvals of recommendations from committees.
The board approved the housing rates for 2012-13 was appointment of Dennis Alter approved, as recommended by and Edward Rudolph as state- the student affairs committee. appointed voting trustees. The increase ranges from $288 Recommended by the fa- for Johnson and Hardwick and cilities committee, the board Peabody residence halls, to approved a $378 for Triannumber of congle Apartments. struction acW h e n tions, including O’Connor adthe $17.5 miljourned the lion design of meeting, board the new library members were on Broad Street invited to meet proposed in with student Temple’s 20/20 representatives plan. The board at Pearson and Ethan Jury / McGonigle. also approved an increase of senior latin american studies major As trustees $37 million and administrafor the construction of the sci- tors shuffled out of the lounge, ence education research center, the group of activists once again which will total $137 million. addressed the room. Finishing renovations of “The way the administraPearson and McGongigle halls tion functions…these open seswere also granted an increase sions, they’ve already decided of more than $1.5 million – a on everything,” Jury said after project with a cost of more than the meeting. “We want to have $59.8 million. a voice in the way that this uniA 4.5 percent across-the- versity functions.” board increase in university Trustee Emeritus Edward
“We want to have a voice in the way that this university functions.”
H. Rosen, who said he was an invited guest at the meeting, met with members of TCAMR following its close to listen to their concerns. “It was out of curiosity that I went back and talked to these young people, and they explained their position and I’m going to try to find out more about it,” Rosen said. “I admit that I’m not knowledgeable [on their cause], but I will be.” Angelo Fichera can be reached at afichera@temple.edu.
CORRECTIONS
The Temple News strives to be a newspaper of record by printing factually correct and balanced articles. 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 Brian Dzenis at editor@templenews.com or 215.204.6737.
NEWS
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
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All sports to join As construction booms, Big East by 2013 donors earn namesakes BIG EAST PAGE 1 “We think we’re going to give the Big East exactly what they deserve, and really they’ve given us financially the opportunity to run a stable program,” Lewis Katz, a trustee and chairman of the board’s athletics committee added. “I mean, without the specifics, [the Big East has] changed our athletic budget by 800 percent next year.” Another key point was finding a way to appease Villanova, Temple’s new in-conference rival, which had previously tried to block Temple’s entry into the conference in November 2011, according to numerous media reports. The motivation behind that was the theory that the addition of another Philadelphia school in the Big East would hurt Villanova on and off the field. To compromise, all of Temple’s sports besides football will join the conference in 2013 after exploring a way for Temple and Villanova to “coexist in the same marketplace,” Marinatto said. For the football team, being a member of the Big East makes them members of a Bowl Championship Series conference, meaning if the Owls were to become Big East champions, it would earn a bid one of college football’s five BCS bowl games, the most coveted bowl games in college football. The university also stands to benefit financially by taking a larger slice of college athletics’ overall revenues from three sources. The first is tied to college football’s Bowl Championship Series, which during the 2010-11 Fiscal Year, gave $22,515,095 of its $181,912,310 in total revenue to the Big East to divide among its member institutions, while the MAC received $2,633,683 according to the NCAA’s website. The second source is tied to NCAA revenues from the men’s basketball tournament in March. During March Madness, a conference receives a “unit” for every game its member institu-
tions plays in except the championship game. In the 2009-10 Fiscal Year, one unit was worth $222,206 adding up to a total of $167.1 million in revenue. The Big East received $23,109,436 in such revenue, while the A-10 received $6,443,977. The NCAA encourages conferences to share the money evenly, but the conferences are not obligated to do so. The third is with the Big East’s television contract with ABC and ESPN, which is set to expire in 2013 and is currently being renegotiated. Under the current deal, universities who play both football and basketball in the Big East receive a little more than $3 million a year. The move will also likely mark an increase in the university’s athletic budget. The average budget of schools that compete in the Big East in all sports is approximately $47.9 million and Temple’s athletic budget is approximately $29.7 million according to the United States Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis database. Getting back into the Big East was poignant to Katz, who had seen the football team through its down years. “It was dreadful several years ago… You know, we didn’t deserve, truthfully, to be in the football competition in those years, but it’s hard to get kicked out,” Katz said. “When we started to negotiate to come back in, I thought it was just a wonderful, wonderful way to remove a blemish on our football program.” “We have a football program, we have a real football program,” Katz added. Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu.
20/20 projects offer opportunities for donors to leave their mark on campus. EMMA PURCELL The Temple News
For the price of $10,000, the new student athlete’s locker room in Pearson and McGonigle halls’ new basketball practice facility could don one’s name. At Temple, a donation can mean naming rights of a building, room or athletic locker. “Temple, like many institutions, has a policy for deciding the philanthropic price of spaces,” David Unruh, senior vice president for institutional advancement, said. It is not uncommon for universities to place prices on newly built buildings or spaces of any kind on campus for a generous donation from alumni, trustees or sports fans. Unruh said that, in order to assign a building or space a conceptual cost, Temple must consider a series of qualities attributed to that space: price of construction, square footage and visibility, among others. Once a decision is made, the price must be approved by the Board of Trustees. As donors come forward and make commitments to their donations, the space will be named in their honor as recognition after all paperwork is processed and the agreement is finally approved by the trustees. Donors may name the space after themselves or to whoever they wish to give the recognition. The donations may also be paid during a period of time. “Dollars received don’t have to go to the specific space,” Unruh said. “We can be flexible.” In case faced with the “pleasant problem” of two donors wanting the same naming opportunity, Unruh said university officials would have to,
MICHELLE GISH TTN
The South Gateway project will likely don the names of Mictchell Morgan, a trustee, and his wife, Hilarie. The couple is expected to donate $5 million to the university for the namesake. “sit down with both parties and work it out.” By either dually naming the space or having one donor give a gift for an equivalent space, the problem would be resolved, rather than allowing it to become a bidding war, Unruh said. He said that, in his 20 years of work at Temple, such a situation has never occurred. Sometime soon, the new residence hall complex, located at Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Broad Street, will officially bear a name. At the Dec. 13, 2011 Board of Trustees meeting, the possibility of a $5 million donation from Trustee Mitchell Morgan and his wife, Hilarie Morgan, was approved. The negotiation has yet to be finalized. Other spaces’ official names approved at the Dec. 13 meeting included the Temple Performing Arts Center’s new box office and green room after Kal Rudman, an alumnus, and wife Lucille, Edberg-Olson Hall’s new coach’s locker room after J. William Mills III, a trustee, and hydrotherapy training center for Peter Chodoff. Chodoff, an alumnus and booster for Temple, also has the
practice football field, located adjacent to the Edberg-Olson Hall, named on his behalf. With the 20/20 plan underway, multiple new naming opportunities will transpire. Pearson and McGonigle hall’s new basketball facility is the newest addition and has multiple opportunities waiting to be claimed. The only spoken for space is the men’s practice gym, named after Donald Resnick and Nancy Resnick, which collected a donation of $1.5 million. Still holding 30 opportunities for name recognition, the basketball facility has a fundraising goal of $13.5 million total. The overall facility naming right is going for $7.5 million. At the University of Pennsylvania, fundraising for its College House has a goal of $15 million. The residence hall, housing 500 students, is equipped with laundry facilities, fitness rooms, music practice rooms, computer labs, seminar rooms, and libraries. In comparison, Temple’s new residence hall is planned to house nearly 900 students. Other schools have similar projects. Penn State University
asked for $2.5 million gift for their Knowledge Commons, an addition to the already standing library. Pittsburgh University’s Swanson School of Engineering is undergoing a transformation plan that will build a new building and renovate their current building, with a $100 million goal. “We are similar to some and less than others,” Unruh said, when comparing naming opportunities with peer institutions. Conceptual prices for spaces are decided by construction costs and the price that university actually pays. Bonds and funding from the state of Pennsylvania can sometimes cover a substantial amount of a building’s cost to Temple, a luxury private schools typically do not have. Emma Purcell can be reached at emma.purcell@temple.edu.
Current worker, customer opt to open lunch trucks Familiar faces on Main Campus prepare to serve students with new trucks. CONNOR SHOWALTER The Temple News A lunch truck vendor who has served the Temple community for more than 25 years will soon be opening a new truck that will be located near University Village and Kardon-Atlantic Terminal Building. Owner Emo Tahiri said the paperwork to operate the lunch truck is being finalized with the city government and within two weeks his new custom truck, Mountain Pizza and Grill, will be parked at 1000 West Montgomery. The new truck will also be positioned near the facilities management office. “I really take this seriously and I really try to take care of my customers,” Tahiri said. Moving a truck closer to employees of the facility management building was one of the reasons Tahiri listed on his proposal to the university. Mountain Pizza and Grill will utilize a commercial kitchen for a fresh, made-to-order
ANGELO FICHERA TTN
Emo Tahiri, who works in several lunch trucks, will open his own in the next few weeks. service that Tahiri expects to provide customers. He also plans to provide delivery services. “We’re going to provide Temple students with good kinds of food and very good prices,” Tahiri said. “I’m going to let the students try for themselves, but everything is going to be delicious. For all the years I’ve been at Temple, never have I had any complaints about my
food.” Tahiri has family ties and working relationships with several of the lunch trucks around campus, like Fame’s Famous Pizza, but said his new lunch truck will feature a new pizza recipe, along with salads, sandwiches and other food items. “The pizza is going to be almost the same because we have almost the same recipe,” Tahiri said of his family’s recipe
at Fame’s Famous Pizza. “It is going to be just the ingredients to make the dough.” Originally from Albania, Tahiri said he couldn’t imagine working as a food vendor anywhere else. “I like to serve these students and all the other people because I get tired physically, but I have relationships with people,” Tahiri said. “I really do respect this place because when
I came to America, it was hard, but I always felt good in this place and the business is one of the places that I feel most comfortable.” Tahiri also helps his nephew, Nazim Brother, with his own business, Brother’s Pizza Inc., which has been located on 12th Street between Norris Street and Montgomery Avenue for the past four years. “Lately, I have been going to his place like two or three times a week to eat pizza just to see if [Brother] makes it the way I taught him and everything is the same,” Tahiri said. “He does a very good pizza, too. So I’m happy about him.” One of Fame’s Famous Pizza customers, Mark Trieshi, expects to open his own lunch truck at 13th and Norris streets next week. The truck will be named “Temple’s Best” and serve salads and hoagies. “I’m going to try to stay with the flow of the prices,” Trieshi said. “My philosophy is to serve [food] fast and clean.” Trieshi also said he’s a fan of the way Tahiri makes pizza. “What else do you want me to say, it’s the best,” Trieshi said. “The best dough. It’s a secret dough, how you bake it. It’s one of the secrets that [Tahiri] is never going to reveal to you.”
“Pizza has three simple components: sauce, dough and cheese,” Trieshi added. “How you’re mastering them, that’s the point and how you combine them, that’s the secret. And he is one of the best here, period.” Formerly an artist from Albania, Trieshi recently returned from the army after being deployed to Europe for 12 years. After traveling around the country as a chef, he decided to open his own lunch truck. “I accidently learned how to cook,” Trieshi said. “I’ve been working from dish washer until I’ve become a chef in very high-class restaurants in Michigan and Philadelphia.” Tahiri said he enjoys the routine of working on Main Campus as a vendor and warns other lunch truck owners that once they start working on Temple’s campus, they won’t want to leave either. “You’re happy to wake up in the morning and come here,” Tahiri said. “I come in the morning and say, ‘Hi,’ to everybody. You feel comfortable like it’s your home. You probably spend more time here than your home.” Connor Showalter can be reached at connor.showalter@temple.edu.
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OPINION
A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Brian Dzenis, Editor-in-Chief Valerie Rubinksy, Managing Editor Angelo Fichera, News Editor Kierra Bussey, Opinion Editor Cara Stefchak, Chief Copy Editor
Becky Kerner, Web Editor Kate McCann, Photography Editor Abi Reimold, Asst. Photography Editor Lucas Ballasy, Designer Cory Popp, Designer Ana Tamaccio, Designer Joey Pasko, Designer David Hamme, Advertising Manager Tatiana Bowie, Business Manager Sarah Kelly, Billing Manager
Alexis Sachdev, Living Editor Kara Savidge, A&E Editor Connor Showalter, Sports Editor Luis Rodriguez, Multimedia Editor Sean Carlin, Asst. News Editor Joey Cranney, Asst. Sports Editor Saba Aregai, Asst. Multimedia Editor Lauren Hertzler, Copy Editor Alexandra Olivier, Copy Editor
temple-news.com
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
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. 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
EDITORIALS
Big Expectation
T
he Temple News is happy to learn the university is now an all-sports member of the Big East Conference. It’s a major victory for Temple. Not every student cares about sports, but it will be hard to ignore the impact this move will have on the entire university community in the coming months. The university will receive more revenue, which will hopefully reduce the need to subsidize athletics with millions of dollars. Students will be able to see more elite competition at Lincoln Financial Field and the Liacouras Center. Make no bones about it, Rutgers and Connecticut are more exciting draws than Bowling Green and St. Bonaventure. Fan attendance has been fickle during the years and now that Temple is in an elite conference, there should not be any excuses for fans not to attend games throughout the season. Before spring break, The Temple News gave athletics a to-do list to pursue if it became a member of the Big East. Now
Unclear Intentions
S
ince the fall, The Temple News has covered the proposed North Central Neighborhood Improvement District. The district would undoubtedly benefit the area – with increased lighting, safety patrols and cleanliness – but its proponents’ lack of transparency throughout the process has left the public feeling uneasy, and for good reason. Lifelong residents of the area near Main Campus have overtly rejected the bill at meetings for one main reason: They weren’t included in talks about changes for their own community. More community representation and more landlords – not those with just the Temple Area Property Association – should sit on the steering committee and management of the district. Although Temple is set to give an annual financial contribution to the district, university officials have still not yet released an amount. At a time when tuition rates may rise because of further cuts in state appropriations, it’s unsettling for students to not know how much, and to where, university money is being spent. The source of the funding must also be made clear. By excluding Yorktown – where, except for some excep-
Temple’s acceptance into the Big East brings bigger tasks and brighter future with sports. that Temple is in the Big East, here is the list again: First and foremost, the focus should be on helping student athletes, specifically athletes that have to be walk-ons because their team cannot provide the maximum number of scholarships because of a lack of funding. With more money coming in from television deals and bowl payouts, this issue should solve itself. The second item is a commitment to reducing the university’s subsidy to athletics. The Temple News understands that Temple will inevitably have to give certain coaches and administrators a pay raise in order to pay them at a rate commensurate with his or her peers in the Big East to retain them. However, the university should not be too liberal when it comes to athletic spending just because of new revenue streams. As a member of the Big East, the subsidy should be shrinking, not growing. Now that Temple is in the Big East, the university will have to step up its game – both on and off the field.
The Temple News questions the transparency of the NCNID bill. tions, student housing is banned – those championing the NCNID are demonstrating that the bill is targeting students and their landlords. Although some students contribute to problems plaguing the area and its upkeep, TAPA and City Council President Darrell Clarke should realize many of the problems were there before students, too. Moreover, Clarke and TAPA representatives need to include accountability measures in the bill before it’s approved. Property owners paying into the district have the right to know that additional tax dollars are being handled properly. The district must be transparent with the public in releasing specific line-item expenditures at any point during its existence. As it’s outlined in the bill, administration for the district will receive $75,000 plus $5,000 for marketing, making it the second highest expenditure category – set to receive more funding than security and streetscape enhancements. It’s things like this that have us scratching our heads, and concluding that more transparency is needed if those spearheading the district hope to gain the blessing of the neighborhood they so desperately want to improve.
JOEY PASKO TTN
PHOTO COMMENT
WALBERT YOUNG TTN
(Left) St. Patrick Day parade Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dancing performs in front of judges at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . (Right) The men’s basketball team receives its fifth seed selection in the NCAA tournament at Liacouras Center.
POLLING PEOPLE Last week on temple-news.com, we asked: Do you think that online classes are as effective as traditional classes?
32% 25%
No. Online classes don’t offer faceto-face classroom learning.
Maybe. Online classes offer flexibility, which is a plus in the learning environment.
30% 13%
No. Focus shouldn’t be shifted to online classes, but rather strengthening traditional classrooms. Yes. They offer the same skills you receive in a traditional classroom.
NEXT WEEK’S POLL Where are you most likely to purchase alcohol?
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
Visit temple-news.com to take our online poll, or send your comments to letters@ temple-news.com. Letters may regard any current issue but must include your full name, position and location. Students can give year and major. Submissions should be 350 words or fewer.
*Out of 56 votes
CITY VIEW Temple was a Big East member in football from 1991-2004 and now joins again in 2012.
NOTABLE QUOTEABLE “Whatever, as long as I get that sweet, sweet ice cream cake.”
KEVIN STAIRIKER “Fear of Music” Page 11
Illustration Jiey Pasko
COMMENTARY
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
PAGE 5
Villanova can’t hold Temple back anymore
N
othing makes a rivalry grow like a school trying to block another from getting into a power conference. The Temple and Villanova rivalry, which sports an illustrious 98-year history in basketball and has spiked recently in football as the Mayor’s Cup enters its fourth year, added a new chapter with Temple’s all-sports entry into the Big East. Temple will play football in the Big East in 2012 and all other sports will join the conference JOEY in 2013, it was announced Wednesday, March 7. CRANNEY The move was rumored to be in the works for months, but was delayed and had its terms Cranney set by Villanova, which plays basketball in the argues Big East. Temple was a natural fit to fill space in that after the Big East after Pittsburgh and Syracuse anopposition, nounced they would be leaving the conference Temple and in September 2011. Villanova are As the Big East fished for schools to replace now Big East its departing members in the fall, Temple’s name rivals. came up time and time again. At one point, it wasn’t a question of if Temple would get into the Big East, but when. But Villanova stepped in and flexed its basketball muscle to keep Temple out, at least temporarily. Multiple published reports in November 2011 concluded that Villanova generated enough support from the basketball schools in the Big
East to block Temple from gaining admission. The Big-5 school didn’t want to share the Philadelphia media market and pool of recruits on an even playing field with Temple, which has the sixth-winningest basketball program in the country despite always playing in a non-power conference. Leaving Temple out, the Big East extended football-only offers to Air Force, Navy and Boise State and all-sports invites to Central Florida, Houston and Southern Methodist University. The Owls could only shake their heads and wonder what happened. How was it that Houston, which hasn’t won a game in the NCAA tournament since Phi Slama Jama in 1984, and SMU, which literally scored 28 total points in a basketball game this season, gained entry into the most storied basketball conference in the country, and not Temple? It was only natural for Temple fans to think that something had run amok, and for those who follow the news, it became apparent that Villanova was the cause for the Big East’s questionable decisions. Only after West Virginia negotiated an early exit from the Big East for football for 2012 did the Big East get desperate and offer Temple its all-sports invite, but not before Villanova’s onelast act of defiance. The Owls will have to wait until 2013 to join the Big East for basketball and all other sports,
because, according to Big East Commissioner John Marinatto, the Big East has to explore how Temple and Villanova could “coexist in the same marketplace, maintaining their separate identities there, and continue moving forward to share the Big East conference brand.” Villanova put up enough of a fuss with the Big East to delay Temple’s basketball membership by a year so the Wildcats could have a oneyear head start on recruiting. At the very least, it was clear Villanova played a huge role in the process when Villanova President, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, was on the dais that included Temple’s athletic director, chairman of the athletics committee of the Board of Trustees and football coach, at the press conference that indicated Temple’s Big East membership. “It’s critical that the conference and both universities succeed in Philadelphia, even as my loyalty and obligation is to Villanova,” Donohue said at the press conference. “We recognized early on that we could not achieve that we could achieve this win win win, which ultimately we did. We just needed time to work through all the issues together.” Donohue’s statement is hard to believe when the facts are taken into consideration. Villanova doesn’t play football in the Big East because its FBS football program doesn’t have the
BIG EAST PAGE 6
Proposal to keep bars open is counter productive
W
hat is the best way to extinguish a fire? Pour water on it or pour gasoline on it? While most people would say former without a moment’s hesitation, City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown might just say “pour gasoline on it.” Brown has proposed a bill to City Council to keep Philadelphia bars open an hour later, changing closing the time from 2 a.m. to 3 SARAH a.m. Additional liquor tax revenue raised during GUY this hour would go to fund Philadelphia public schools. Unfortunately, while Brown’s plan Guy argues would raise significant funds for a struggling that keeping institution, its implementation would be like atPhiladelphia tempting to fight fires with lighter fluid. In recent years, Philadelphia has consistentbars open later ly been the location of rampant crime activity. in order to aid Gang and drug violence occurs frequently on the troubled public streets, and despite the best efforts of city offischools is not cials and crime prevention forces, it is not getbeneficial. ting any better. One contributing factor to urban violence is, indeed, poor education. University of Chicago professor Jens Ludwig explained how a low-income or poverty stricken household can lead to an inferior education. This se-
verely limits the availability of jobs and stable futures for lower class youth, and increases the chances that they will resort to crime and gang life for resources. For that reason, it is essential that students in Philadelphia receive a quality education in order to obtain the skills, incentive and hope for a future. However, does it logically follow to use liquor tax revenues to fund this? Rutgers University’s Crime Prevention Service published an article discussing the violence that frequently occurs in and around bars and clubs. It explains that the consumption of alcohol in general “is associated with aggression and violence” as well as how the general construct of bars encourage violence – everything from the large, packed-in crowds of people, excessive noise and heat, and smoking. Furthermore, verbal aggression and refusal of service can encourage violence and aggression. Finally, it explains that the general promotion of excessive hours – such as happy hour and extended bar hours – will inevitably lead to heightened violence and aggression. This Rutgers study hit too close to home earlier this year on Jan. 14. Early that morning,
2010 alumnus Kevin Kless was beaten to death after leaving a bar in the Old City. Why? Police have stated that it appears that Kless’ three assailants were thrown into an alcohol-induced stupor after a misunderstanding about hailing a cab. Taking all this into consideration, it would seem that the proposed legislation is, at best, counterproductive, and at worst destructive. In order to fund schools to better education so that children will be less inclined to street dwelling and violence, bars will be kept open later, thereby heightening the probability of violence. Though it has been argued that raising tobacco taxes to fund health care, and promoting gambling through the lottery are similar forms of fundraising, none of these is as dangerous as expanding the times of inebriation and violence on the streets of Philadelphia. For the greater good of the city, we can only hope that others council members bring water to fight this fire. Sarah Elizabeth Guy can be reached at sarah.elizabeth.guy@temple.edu.
D
EMILY DICICCO
DiCicco argues that the NYPD surveillance program is unconsitutional and does not serve to protect national security.
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
PAIGE BISHOP
dents for surveillance based on their religion, they are violating this basic right of the people. Despite the fact that the investigations are an infringement on these rights, they are legal. Under the USA Patriot Act, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,” measures were taken to strengthen policies against all aspects of terrorism. The act, created in response to the 9/11 attacks, allows for more leeway in investigating individuals. This illustrates while an act may be legal, it is not always ethical, or constitutional. While the Patriot Act itself, or the actions of the NYPD, may come as a surprise to some individuals, the country has participated in segregated surveillance for almost the entirety of its history. One of the most prominent examples is the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. During this shameful time, Japanese Americans along the Pacific Coast were subject to search and seizure, unending questioning and eventual internment until the end of the war in segregated centers. Later, the government apologized for the internment, and deemed its actions extreme and unacceptable. While this case may seem far from what the NYPD is doing, it may not be so. Once one human right is violated, it is increasingly easy to justify violating other basic rights. Would citizens object to detaining all Mus-
FRESHMAN
UNIVERSITY STUDIES
Would you like to see bike lanes on Main Campus?
“Yeah because I’ve almost been hit by multiple bikes on the sidewalk and street.”
“No, I don’t agree that the president is a snob. I just think Santorum did the public a service, albeit well-hidden, by calling attention to the reality that not everybody needs to spend four years in college. (Obama has been saying that all along.)”
Robert McCartney,
Washington Post columnist on “Santorum’s ‘snob’ gaffe offers a sliver of truth about college”
“There is no paucity of women leaders on campus, and for some reason they seem to flock to other leadership opportunities. Capable and smart women – why are you letting your male peers control your money and speak on your behalf?”
Philip Yannella, a
professor of English and American studies, in philly.com on “Temple provost’s ideas for cost-cutting stir campus debate”
“Discriminating against anyone by causing or threatening physical harm should never be tolerated, and hate crime laws can add an extra deterrent to this kind of behavior. But they must be narrowly tailored, so they punish the crime itself, and not the expression of beliefs that we find objectionable.”
Chris Anders, in the
nytimes.com, on “Hate Crime Laws Deter Violent Crime”
NYPD surveillance program defies American principles on’t mention that! Remember to edit out those words! Don’t discuss that event! Under authoritative governments, citizens are forced to censor not only their emails, but their daily conversations, for fear of government action against them. Unfortunately, for students at 15 northeastern universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, they are dealing with the same treatment, based on one thing: their religion. During the past few years, the New York Police Department has been conducting a surveillance program targeting Muslim college students, particularly those who participate in Muslim student activities, despite the fact that there was not any criminal activity found. This surveillance program implemented by the NYPD is an infringement of Americans’ rights, as granted by the Constitution. While it is within the rights granted under the USA Patriot Act, the act itself should be considered unconstitutional. The Bill of Rights protects the “unalienable” human rights of American citizens. The First Amendment promises freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, freedom to petition the government, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. This amendment has long served as a symbol of American democracy and freedom. When the NYPD selects certain stu-
SOMEONE ELSE’S OPINION
lim Americans in “relocation centers” until terrorism by Muslims is completely destroyed? A line must be drawn. It is how civil rights are protected during a country’s most shaky times that reveal its true nature. There are emotional arguments, which hail the surveillance of Muslim Americans as the greater good in protecting national security and programs similar to the NYPD’s as our best defense to terrorism because the government does not have the resources to monitor all citizens. Supporters argue that we must do everything possible to protect our country. They say that protection against even the possibility of terrorism is more important than civil rights. While this argument may convince some authoritarians, I cannot agree. I am not suggesting that we should not protect our country against terrorism. What I am suggesting is that innocent college students should not be monitored because of their race or religion. We must revert back to the beautiful principles that America was founded on.
“There is no paucity of women leaders on campus, and for some reason they seem to flock to other leadership opportunities. Capable and smart women – why are you letting your male peers control your money and speak on your behalf?”
Geni Venable, senior
Whitman College student in the huffingtonpost.com on “College Student Government: Where Are the Women.”
Emily DiCicco can be reached at emily.dicicco@temple.edu.
JOHN STAUDT
JUNIOR
JESSICA TANGITAV
PRE-HEALTH PHYSICAL THERAPY
“Yes. I see people ride on the sidewalks sometimes, and it gets really crowded. It leads to unnecessary commotion.”
SOPHOMORE
PSYCHOLOGY
“Yes, I’m always nervous about riding on these tiny Philly streets. I’d feel a little safer with that extra space, even if cars did drive in the bike lanes like they usually do.”
GRACE DICKINSON TTN
OPINION DESK 215-204-9540
LETTERS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
PAGE 6
WORD WEB...
Owls take on Villanova rivalry
on the
temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
Unedited for content.
Alumni says on “Big East Discussion” on March 9, 2012 at 6:21 p.m. $6,000,000 payment to leave the MAC conference… While Temple’s educational state assistance has dramatically shrunk and you are calling for more scholarships for athletes on the backs of paying students… Irregardless, Temple Football has been a blackhole of funding and will continue to drain precious resources over the coming years. But, of course, to attact talent, you have to pay the big bucks! I hope that Big East acceptance will allow for some sort of parity when it comes to profit sharing and ticket sales. Eitherway, I am still pretty excited about them joining, but still feel bad for the current students who will have to foot the bill. Go OWLS! Charles Measley says on “Letters to the editor” on Feb. 29, 2012 at 10:43 p.m. It’s not about contraception it’s about the First Amendment and freedom of religion! It’s about the federal government forcing religious institutions to take part in actions that directly violate their beliefs! JRNStudent says on “Police ID suspect for threatening videos” on March 1, 2012 at 2:43 a.m. The university definitely knew about these videos a while back. A friend of mine actually reported one of them to campus police a month ago after seeing it come up on his Facebook page. When I asked some employees what Temple should do to control the situation, they completely brushed off the videos and let the matter dissipate until students and parents saw them, leading them to take matters into their own hands. Whether its a prank, a project, or a real-life threatening piece of material, it should not take students and parents to push the university to do something… Especially if campus police had prior knowledge of this material to begin with. I know nowadays, we can become overly sensitive and fearful of what’s out there. But when you’re dealing with a community of tens of thousands of students and faculty, you can never be too careful. PHL790 says on “Students should practice what they preach” on March 8, 2012 at 5:59 p.m. Hi Emily, Your logic that low student attendance at “Occupy Philly” events is due to slactivism does not account for the fact that “Occupy” is not the only way for students to be involved politically. I see you made that assumption based on your idea that Temple is a “liberal” school. Just because liberal arts professors spew trash that gives Temple a “liberal” tag does not mean that the students are buying it. Any reasonable person wouldn’t touch “Occupy” with a ten foot pole, and not just because of the wretched stench.
BIG EAST PAGE 5
facilities or university support to make the jump to Division I. Villanova’s men’s basketball program has only one more NCAA tournament appearance than Temple during the past decade despite having the allure of a power conference to recruits. For Villanova, Temple into the Big East for all sports isn’t a “win win win,” it could be a step toward the Owls taking a stranglehold on college sports in Philadelphia. Given the two schools’ standing history, Temple’s foray into the Big East and Villanova’s actions that predicated it will only intensify the rivalry. Temple Chairman of the Athletics Committee of the Board of Trustees Lewis Katz said it best when he spoke honestly about the competition between Villanova and Temple. “Everybody come on down and watch us kick Villanova’s butt one more time,” Katz said.
Big East
Use the QR code below on your Web-enabled mobile device to view a press conference on Temple’s admittance to the Big East. If you don’t have a smartphone, visit: http://www.bigeast.org/ Home/NewMembers.aspx.
Joey Cranney can be reached at joseph.cranney@temple.edu.
temple-news.com/QR
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, Last week a student from University of Pennsylvania took the liberty to write in to The Temple News to express her opinions regarding contraception in the newspaper. The record needs to be set straight about this for one final time so there is no more distortion and misinformation coming from one side in this debate. The contraceptive mandate in President Barack Obama’s healthcare plan obfuscates liberals who are quick to think that Catholic institutions must provide contraception, regardless of their religious views. This inclination is wrong, based on our Bill of Rights. It is not within the government’s power to force its religiosity onto private entities who are expressing their freedom of religion. Not once has any GOP candidate come out to oppose contraception and at no point have they ever said states should ban contraception during this campaign. The true issue-at-hand is the ability of religiously affiliated institutions to provide care that is in line with their morals and beliefs. The First Amendment allows for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The Obama administration would be wise to take this fact into consideration before trying to force Catholic institutions to provide services that are not “rights” in any sense of the word. Let’s say the government mandates that birth control, which is very affordable and readily available, be covered in any plan or at any religious institution, regardless of their beliefs and
based on a sense of “public health.” At what point will the government stop forcing institutions to do things that are contradictory to their First Amendment protected beliefs? Should we get free toothbrushes because they are good for “public health?” Obvious answer here is “no.” This person also came out in support of Planned Parenthood with more misinformation. According to their own services manual online, Planned Parenthood uses 3 percent of its budget to finance abortions, and performed 329,445 abortions in 2010, all at taxpayer expense. Since our public tax dollars are used to fund and subsidize abortions, I think it is only natural that people would want to remove all federal dollars from Planned Parenthood. After all, if they have so much money left over to perform abortions, why are they receiving any tax dollars in the first place? A clear answer to the Planned Parenthood situation is this: If each liberal that complained about zeroing out funding donated just $10 to Planned Parenthood, I am sure they would be more than adequately-funded. Regardless of their anti abortion or prochoice stances, the GOP candidates do not support public financing of abortions or the usurpation of religious liberty at the hands of an overzealous government, nor should they. Sincerely, Erik Jacobs President, Temple College Republicans
Dear Editor, On March 1, five students of the Occupy movement entered the Student Center building and in a cult-like fashion one yelled and the other four repeated: “Mic check, do you want free education? Are you tired of student loans? Are you tired of being in debt? Then follow us down to Governor [Tom] Corbett’s’ office.” It is too bad some students’ support this, but fortunately I did not see anyone follow them out and from what I heard there was a small turnout. I would like to take time to answer the questions that these students posed to the crowd. The first question was, “Do I want free education?” No, I do not and no one should. If a college education was free, it would be worthless. Take a look at how much your high school diploma is worth. We go to college to get a valuable education. The next two questions regarding taking out loans and incurring debt to obtain your degree is simple to answer. When you applied to Temple or any other school, did they hide the tuition costs from you? They did not. When you decided to come to Temple, you decided to take on debt that no one forced you to take. If you do not want to take on this debt, you can go to a community college for two years then select a cheaper four-year school for your bachelor’s degree. It is possible to accomplish a four-year degree and only take on $24,000 in debt by the time you graduate. Even if your degree puts you into a low-paying job you would be able to handle paying off those loans. If you decided to be
an on-campus student for all four years at Temple and decided to finance it through loans, you knew what the end result would be. It was your choice, but do not cry about after the fact when you knew the price going in. I think the most embarrassing events involved in this walkout were the stories I heard about professors giving these walkout students an excused absence for the day to participate in this event, eliminating their responsibility as students at Temple. To the Occupy activists who may be on campus, I have a chant of my own. Occupy some personal responsibility, not our streets. Occupy a job, not our campus. Sincerely, Paul Fritchey Temple College Republicans
COMMUNITY VOICE
Women leaders pave the way for others
Elaine Mackey discusses what Women’s History Month means to her. KIERRA BUSSEY Opinion Editor Women’s History Month is celebrated during the month of March and commemorates the achievements that women have made throughout American history. This year’s theme celebrates women’s education and empowerment. Although women now outnumber men in American colleges nationwide, the reversal of the gender gap is a very recent phenomenon, according to womenshistorymonth.gov. Elaine Mackey, 28, who was raised in West Philadelphia, said she admires women who are politically active. In her community she said she admires the efforts of State Sen. Shirley M. Kitchen. “She helps women and men with job employment,” Mackey said. “She helps people get ahead in life.” Since 1996, Kitchen has represented the 3rd District of Philadelphia, winning four-year subsequent terms. Kitchen represents the small minority of African-American women who have served as state senate in Pennsylvania. She is the second African-American women to be elected. Mackey said she acknowledges Women’s History Month as a time to commemorate the history and fight for women rights. “A long time ago we couldn’t vote,” she said. “Now we can.” Mackey mentions that women didn’t have a fair chance at employment and housing, but now
notes that these situations have improved through the strides of women have made in history, like Kitchen. Yet, Mackey said she would like to see more women enter into avenues usually dominated by men, including politics. “I would love to see women more politically active,” Mackey said. “It all starts at home. You have to be raised around strong and confident people to feel like you can do that.” Most importantly, Mackey calls for support among all women in her community in order to continue to have a presence in history. “Here in North Philadelphia we are all close together, but we don’t work together,” Mackey said. “We need to break that habit. We always need to support one another.” Kierra Bussey can be reached at kierrajb@temple.edu.
KIERRA BUSSEY TTN
Elaine Macket, 28, addresses the importance of women in the community.
LIVING temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
PAGE 7
Women of Color
Illustration Joey Pasko
In honor of Women’s History Month, The Temple News honors Women of Color, an organization that offers support to a diverse group.
ast year, junior strategic and organizational communications major Aisha Folkes did not know that a per chance email from a friend would lead her to becoming one of the first scholarship recipients from the newly-formed Temple University Women of Color group. “My friend randomly sent me an email,” Folkes said. “I had no clue [about TU-WoC]. I went to their bazaar in the Student Center atrium the
year prior, but didn’t know who held it.” and retention in the Office of Institutional DiverThe scholarship fund is just one of the efforts sity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership. of TU-WoC – a multi-culturAmey-Taylor said al networking group comTU-WoC was born after a prised of Temple faculty and group of women connected employees. The group was to Temple noticed a group founded out of a networking of men on Main Campus event led by Marie Ameywho would meet regularly Dr. Marie Amey-Taylor / and plan professional deTaylor, Ph.D., the assistant assistant vice president of learning and velopment events. vice president of learning development of human resources and development for hu“We asked the womman resources, and Tiffenia en [at our first meeting], Archie, Ph.D., the director of faculty recruitment ‘What do you want?’” she said. “Women want
“This was a group of women really interested in having needs met.”
ALEXIS SACHDEV Living Editor
Courtesy Judith Levine
Dr. Judith Levine, assistant professor in the sociology department, has dedicated much of her research and teaching to gender equality and gender implications in various facets of society, specifically family and the labor market. Levine is currently on leave from the university, and in her time away is working on a book detailing the lives of low-income mothers during the current administration’s efforts to reform welfare. In the past, Levine has also published books on the lives of children born to single mothers, and gender stratification in the workforce. In honor of Women’s History Month, The Temple News spoke with Levine to discuss her current research, gender equality and the importance of honoring women’s achievements. The Temple News: What does your current research entail? Judith Levine: I am finishing a book on low-income mothers’ lives in the era of welfare reform. In it, I argue that our policy approach to women in poverty often involves trying to “fix” them as individuals rather than attending to the more systematic forces that shape the contexts in which low-income women find themselves. I am also conducting a study comparing women’s experiences at work in different work settings. That is a fun study because I use a dataset that includes “beeper” data. For a week, women wore beeper watches that went off eight times a day. When the beeper beeped, the women recorded where they were, what they were doing and how they were feeling.
JUDITH LEVINE BIKING BRAWL
The Temple News analyzes Main Campus’ lack of bike lanes in regards to the tensions between cyclists and motorists.
LIVING DESK 215-204-7418
TTN: According to your curriculum vitae, a lot of your research and teaching surrounds gender stratification in the workforce, in families and in regards to the glass ceiling. When and how did this interest and spe-
WORKING WITH WATER
TTN reporter Amy Stansbury reports on Dr. Rominder Suri’s newest methods to purify drinking water, including vibrations.
the opportunity to get together and do things. This was a group of women really interested in having needs met.” Now in its third year, TU-WoC sponsors opportunities for women of color including brown bag lunch discussions, a book club that caters members’ reading interests and a trip to an African-American dance show by the Philadelphia Dance Company. Some events have been a bit more personal. “Sharing Our Stories,” a performance in August
TU-WOC PAGE 14
cialization in gender stratification develop? JL: I have had a long-standing interest in inequality in general. I think ever since I was very young, I found it puzzling that some people with great skill and talent do not get to share in the rewards that others enjoy. That curiosity led me to want to study the structural barriers women – and other groups – face in achieving equality. TTN: Do you believe gender equality exists today? JL: Many societies have made tremendous progress in working toward gender equality, but we are far from having achieved it. In the U.S., for example, more women between the ages of 25 and 34 have earned college degrees than men in the same age group and women are more likely to have a graduate degree. Yet, women who work full-time and full-year still only make 77 percent of what full-time, full-year male workers make. Women still do the majority of the work of taking care of children and homes which has repercussions for their labor market success. While women’s labor force participation steadily rose for several decades, it now appears to have tapered off. Most singleparent households are headed by women and single mothers and their children have the highest poverty rate of any family form. We see signs of tremendous inequality in other realms as well. In some parts of the world, raping women is a tool of political oppression and young girls in arranged marriages face disfiguring violence if they attempt to leave. TTN: Why is it so important to honor women during Women’s History Month? JL: Women’s achievements have often been invisible since they were not historically recognized or celebrated. Women’s History Month offers an opportunity to rectify the record – to make clear that women’s intelligence, determination, creativity, and sacrifice have brought benefits to all of us. Gender equality will be hard to achieve unless
LEVINE PAGE 15
NEXT WEEK
L
ANTHONY MAY The Temple News
IN HER SHOES
The Temple News will preview the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, planned to occur on Main Campus on March 22. The event raises awareness to end domestic abuse.
LIVING@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
LIVING
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
Bikers, drivers share street space After several accidents between bikers, drivers and pedestrians, the need for designated bike lanes on Main Campus becomes apparent. KHOURY JOHNSON The Temple News The Office of Transportation and Mobility is working on extending bike lines east of the Berks Street train station and south from Cecil B. Moore Avenue on 11th, 12th and 13th streets. Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Oxford and Diamond streets may also see bike lanes soon. The proposed lanes are geared to connecting an alternative route around Main Campus, connecting it to other parts of the city while at the same time discouraging city bikers from crossing through campus on their paths around town. Charles Carmalt, coordinator of Mayor Michael Nutter’s Office of Transportation and Mobility, said the university’s official stance to not implement on-campus bike lanes stems from a lack of perceived danger of the still relatively low number of biking students, and therefore does not officially prohibit biking on Main Campus as much as they want to encourage using alternative routes to traverse the city to keep congestion at a minimum. “We talked to the campus planners about designating Polett Walk,” Carmalt said. “But the campus planners didn’t want us to designate it. They don’t prohibit people from riding bikes [on campus], but they didn’t want to encourage people who are just trying to get across the city instead of using other routes around campus.” This extension is one response the city is taking to the increasing number of bikers in the past 10 years. From 2000 to 2010, the number of bicycles in Philadelphia has increased two-fold, said Carmalt. While the health and economic effects of biking are evident, with government officials like Carmalt promoting the practice, tensions rise between bikers, drivers and pedestrians as the number of bikes in the city grows. “[The university’s] top priority is really the safety of the walkers, but as of right now there isn’t enough traffic on [Main Campus] to warrant any implementation of bike lanes,” Carmalt said. Carmalt said the streets straddling Main Campus’ borders can be potential breeding grounds for bike-related accidents if the number of bikers continues to rise. In his years with the office, he said he’s heard horror stories of people in parked cars opening their car door for passing bikers to run into. Incidences of crashes with open doors or collisions with cars in intersections are all too common. “I feel like as an experienced biker, it’s not a big deal anymore,” junior film and criminal justice major Stephanie Irwin said. “I mean, it is a big deal, but I’ve been hit [by a car] before. The first couple of times it wasn’t really a shocker. It was like, ‘Why is this my fault?’” Irwin is the co-founder of Bike Party!, a soiree of ‘road rules’ adherent bikers in Rittenhouse Square, has been a facilitator of the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride and has volunteered for the Philadelphia Bike Expo. As a Lancaster, Pa. native, Irwin stressed the importance of learning urban road rules for bikers of similar backgrounds. The consequences of not doing so, Irwin said, can result in often-violent accidents. “Temple’s campus isn’t really built for bikers,” Irwin said. “It’s built for people to walk around and not really bike through.” In recent years, the number of bikers on Main Campus has increased dramatically. As students commute to school from the surrounding areas, they are choosing to ride bikes as a cheaper, more efficient alternative to driving a car or public transportation. “The main thing about bikes on campus, and about those who commute, is that in 2008-09 commuters made up about 8 [percent] to 9 percent of the student body,” said Izzat Rahman, co-owner of Kayuh Bicycles, an upstart vintage bike shop that caters to the cycling needs of college students in and around Philadelphia. “That’s not a lot of students, but when students rode to campus I saw it as a drawback the lack of bike lanes, bike knowledge and the overall lack of protection and gear bikers used,” Rahman said. Rahman, who graduated from Temple last year with a degree in entrepreneurship, said that his plan to alleviate thoroughfare congestion would be to utilize Main Campus roads, such as Montgomery Street, to create street lanes “designated specifically just for bikes.” The lanes, per his description, should be as distinguishable as
BIKING PAGE 15 ABI REIMOLD TTN
(Above) Main Campus has experienced an increase in the number of student cyclists, who now must share the road and walkways with motorists and pedestrians. (Below) Though some streets surrounding Main Campus have designated bike lanes, such as Cecil B. Moore Avenue, most main streets used by students do not have designated bike paths.
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
PAGE 9
Writing and recording a city’s story The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent partially reopened after a three-year hiatus.
While Philadelphia’s story is nothing short of historic, the newly reopened Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent is putting a modern spin on how it is told. “It’s very different from what you would have had in the old Atwater Kent, which was described by some people as a book on the wall and somewhat dry,” said Charles Croce, executive director of the Atwater Kent. Previously, Croce has worked at the Kimmel Center and Philadelphia Museum of Art. He referenced the way the exhibits are written and displayed. “This is much richer and written in first person – it’s a conversational tone, not pedagogical, not didactic or scholarly, but much more conversational,” Croce said. “It’s very different from the way most history museums present their text.” The museum, housed in the original Franklin Institute building at 15 S. Sev-
enth St., is historic itself, and was built in 1826. And it seems that every inch of the museum, rather than just the exhibits themselves, have some sort of legacy. The admissions desk in the front lobby was crafted from wood cladding taken from the Independence Hall clock tower, which dates back to 1820. “The goal is really to get Philadelphians to kind of look at the city in a different way,” Croce said. “People say history is a bunch of old things, but history is being made every day. Look at Occupy [Philadelphia] – that’s making history – this city was built on protests, like with the Revolutionary War.” “There’s more contemporary history being made every day,” Croce added. The museum originally opened there in 1938, and closed in 2009 for what was intended to be minor upgrades. Three years and $5.8 million later, the building has received a top-to-bottom renovation, including new elevators, air conditioning, ventilation, security and other infrastructure improvements.
NICKEE PLASKEN TTN
Post-it Notes hang with Philadelphians’ stories in the Philadelphia Museum of History.
HISTORY PAGE 10
Taylor Kitsch and Director Andrew Stanton give a behind the scenes scoop on the creation and filming of “John Carter,” which premiered March 9. MATT FLOCCO The Temple News Aliens, time travel, cowboys, warfare, animation, special effects, social commentary – it seems everything that Hollywood has to offer is packed into two hours of Disney’s latest film, “John Carter.” The film, based on the novel character written 100 years ago by Edgar Rice Burroughs, follows the story of a man who is transported from Civil War America to the planet of Barsoom – better known by humans as Mars. While there, he lands amidst the planet’s own civil war. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton (“Wall-E,” “Finding Nemo”) and starring Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights,”) the film is bursting with intense action sequences, creative characters and complex CGI. This was a different step for Stanton, who is used to working as an actor, writer and animator for Pixar films. “I didn’t approach the story any differently,” Stanton said, when asked about the difference between live-action and animation. “I think that’s the
misconception about animation, we don’t approach our stories any differently than we would [normally], we just treat every character like an actor is going to play it.” Set against a backdrop of both historical and narrative warfare, the plot of the story focuses on how American hero John Carter adapts to his new surroundings and the varied civilizations he encounters on the planet. These groups include two human-like kingdoms fighting a major war, with “Thark” natives caught in the middle. In addition, there is a group of “therns” who oversee the destruction of the planet. These groups run parallel to most civil wars: two power-hungry sides, natives in the middle and God above. More important than the Barsoom’s war, however, is the war that Carter has with himself. He is a broken man when he leaves planet Earth, and has just lost his wife. He had almost given up everything when he got to Barsoom, but finds new love, and a new and beautiful reason for existence. Kitsch, who plays the title character, told The Temple News
BASS LINE
Junior bass major Ross Garlow frequents Philly venues, and is now exploring the world of folk music.
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that while the film was physically demanding, it was much more about this inner struggle. “I don’t see it as just an action role,” Kitsch said. “What really makes the role is the people I’m surrounded with – and the arc of who I got to play – of the guy that’s lost his cause completely. Through this action and through the people who come into his life, that light is shined back in.” While the film has a very large budget – approximately $250 million, according to the Internet Movie Database – it has a great deal of intimacy and heart to make it very relevant to the audience. It features themes
CARTER PAGE 10
SUBWAY SOUNDS
Meet the performers who liven up the subway, performing for passerby.
women’s history movement is important to the work of women today. It is important that we understand that this movement is more collective than we really think. It is important that we reflect on women and their deliverance to this country. All of these women who came before us had to break through glass ceilings. TTN: What do you think the solution to the Philadelphia literacy crisis is? SR: We have to stop talking, do something about the problem and move on it. We have 60,000 children in our education system. The success of the child and the power of the family are very important. There are multiple parts to solving this problem, but I think we first have to put the money where we are talking. TTN: Why did you come to the Free Library of Philadelphia? SR: I was working in the New York Public Library system in the mid-‘80s, and there was a huge transformation taking place in the New York system. I began to look at the Philadelphia Public Library system and realized they were going through this same transformation, as most large urban areas at the time were. “A Prayer for the City” by Buzz Bissinger really encouraged me to be a part of this change. There was a job opening in the FLP system and I immediately applied for the job. There is so much potential for this city, it cannot be compared to any other. TTN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? SR: That’s a long way from now, but I definitely see myself where I am now. I see this as a place I want to be, there is so much going on here. I have seen technology transform this library system. The library has a relationship with the community, and serves as a community anchor in this relationship. - Priscilla Ward
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: SIOBHAN REARDON
Disney recreates classic science fiction novel
Siobhan Reardon is a literacy advocate. After moving from New York City – where she worked at the New York Public Library System in the mid-80s and then the Brooklyn Public Library – she came to the Free Library of Philadelphia. Now, Reardon actively engages with the challenge of combating the literacy epidemic in Philadelphia. She said she is on a mission to close media literacy gaps, and bring people into important conversations that ultimately lead to solutions. In 2008, Reardon was appointed the president and director of the FLP system. She is its seventh president, and the first woman in 114 years to hold the position. Since joining the FLP system, Reardon has lead the development of the library’s digital media. The transformations taking place within the FLP system are the beginning to ending the literacy crisis in Philadelphia, and Reardon has played a prime role in creating them. The Temple News: What does it mean to you to be the first woman in 114 years to hold the title of president and executive director of the Free Library system? Siobhan Reardon: The glass ceiling has been broken. It’s [also] important to recognize that librarianship is largely a female profession and women are quite capable of handling the “big” job. TTN: Why does the word ‘feminism’ sometimes have a negative connotation? SR: I see feminism as an empowering word. I think it’s wrong that we are taught it’s a dirty word. I take feminism as you have to have women in strong roles, because you have to have women as equalizers. Feminism is a profound word that I hope impacts not only women, but people in general and what they want to do for their community as a whole. TTN: What does Women’s History Month mean to you? SR: We get to reflect on the significant roles of women in the development of this country. The
NEXT WEEK
KARA SAVIDGE Arts and Entertainment Editor
BAR GUIDE
Check out TTN’s special coverage of the city’s drinking culture, and what each of its best watering holes have to offer.
ARTSandENTERTAINMENT@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
Film blends action and emotion CARTER PAGE 9 such as oppression of minority groups, empowerment of women and the questioning of fate and warfare’s existence. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the film’s overarching themes also include the advancement of technology, which in cinema has time and again played a role in challenging faith. Though these messages and more can be found in the film’s subtext, Stanton does not read as much into them in terms of how they play a role in today’s society. “I don’t really consider those things,” Stanton said. “My interest was the timeless human aspect of the character, and the story that speaks to me no matter what is going on
in the world.” When it comes down to it, though the messages can be interpreted for social context, “John Carter” is really about a man who struggles to find his identity and purpose in an ever-changing world. This is something that anyone can relate to in almost any stage of her or his life. “Having a person that discovers that they think their purpose in life is over and was misguided to begin with, [to] suddenly find where they really do fit in, I think that’s what all of us are searching to do,” Stanton said. “Heck, that’s why [students] are in college, right? [They’re] trying to figure out, ‘where do I fit in and what’s my true call-
ing?’” Carter is found at the end of the film, and encourages others to find themselves. “Take up a cause,” Carter said. “Fall in love, read a book.” Stanton’s vision and Kitsch’s character remind the audience of the true heart of a well-made Disney film. It inspires us to do better in the world, no matter how different or foreign it may be. Matt Flocco can be reached at matthew.flocco@temple.edu.
Courtesy Universal Pictures Illustration Ana Tamaccio
“My interest was the timeless human aspect of the character, and the story that speaks to me no matter what is going on in the world” Andrew Stanton / “john carter” director
Philadelphia history museum reopens HISTORY PAGE 9 The Feb. 15 reopening includes two rooms of exhibits, and a third that houses a large floor map of the city, stretching from Ridley Park in the southwest and New Jersey in the southeast, to various sections of the northeast. “It’s an appetizer, just a taste of what’s to come,” Croce said. “We’re viewing this as a new museum – not the old Atwater Kent museum reopening with different lights and paint. It’s a totally different concept.” The first room houses “City Stories: An Introduction to Philadelphia.” The concise introduction covers 330 years in a modest, single room, with 40 objects on display. A “reader rail” describes important landmarks and significant moments throughout the city’s history. The artifacts and several paintings such as a portrait of Martha Washington, circa 1790, tell the story of Philadelphia’s immediate and not so recent past. A video with stories from Philadelphians discussing their own stories and what the city means to them plays on loop in the same room. About 10,000 of the objects in the museum’s collec-
tion came from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and comprise much of what’s seen in this room. A more inventive aspect of the exhibit comes from a real-time “tag cloud.” Visitors can text a word to describe the city and its history, and the words grow on the screen based on how many participants have used them. “Philadelphians have pride in their city, but don’t necessarily know its rich history,” Croce said. “Certainly they know the American Revolution – the three cornered hat, the liberty bell – but we’re talking about the history of manufacturing; I’m not sure people realize this city was considered the workshop to the world.” The second front room, titled “Philadelphia Voices,” showcases artifacts from the city’s more recent history, such as boxing legend Joe Frazier’s boxing gloves, and acts as a “preview gallery,” outlining what is set to fill the rest of the museum once it is completely reopened. Plans for a “Made in Philadelphia” exhibit reinforce the idea of Philadelphia as the “world’s workshop,” and its industrial history, producing textiles, clothing, beer, locomotives and many other objects. Another potential exhibit, dubbed “Played in Philadelphia,” will look at the longstanding tradition of Philadelphia sports teams. Future exhibits will also invite the input of the general public to explore neighborhoods
outside of those that are most frequently documented. One exhibit will intentionally focus on three intersections outside the common tourist hubs of Old City and Center City – Ninth Street and Washington Avenue, Eighth and Lehigh streets and Cecil B. Moore and Ridge avenues – where many of the more common historical destinations exist. The exhibit will examine how these intersections have changed during the years and look to the future of each, incorporating data such as the 2035 Plan – the city planning commission’s comprehensive outline of development in the city during the next 23 years. In an aim to further incorporate everyday Philadelphians’ stories, visitors are invited to post their own stories on a wall map of the city, which was filled with notecards within the first few weeks of the building’s opening. This, and dialogues with community groups, nonprofits and other local organizations will form the basis of content for the future “Community Voices” exhibit. Stories are contributed either in the museum or on its blog. Croce said that one of the most interesting stories so far came from a Roxbury woman, whose grandmother was an Irish immigrant who had worked as a cook in the estate of Atwater Kent – the man for whom the museum was named. More than 100 people have contributed stories so far. “We found that people are very willing to talk about what
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NICKEE PLASKEN TTN (Top) Charles Croce stands in front of the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent. A visitor observes the “Introduction to Philadelphia” exhibit.
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they think should be included, we were pleasantly surprised at the reaction,” Croce said. “It’s the antithesis of how we describe Philadelphians – they may be opinionated, but want to share a great, underlying affection for a city they grew up in or their grandparents grew up in.” With two galleries open and six left to fill until the museum will launch fully, Croce said that raising funds has become “the most important thing.” The remaining exhibits are planned to open by June, and Croce said that 634 visitors came to the museum in its first weeks. He added that the museum is intended to give an overview
of the city’s history, rather than focusing on one time period or area. Its Old City location, just blocks from Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the National Museum of American Jewish History and other destinations, along with this broad format in which it is curated, makes it an ideal starting point for visitors to the city continuing on to other cultural and historical attractions. “The idea is you come here, we present you with an overview, and guide you like a beacon into other areas of the city,” Croce said. While the museum’s collection is “pretty rich” in 18th
and 19th century collections, Croce said they are looking to add to and expand their collection from the 1950s and onward. “It’s extremely important for this city to document its history, it’s like no other city in the U.S.,” Croce said. “Every other city naturally has a history, but this city is the quintessential study of the country’s history.” Kara Savidge can be reached at kara.savidge@temple.edu.
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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St. Patrick’s Day Parade
WALBERT YOUNG TTN
WALBERT YOUNG TTN
Students of the St. Aloysius Elementary Band, of Bryn Mawr, look up at spectators on hotel balconies along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Members of the Timoney School of Irish Dancing, based in Glenside, dance down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Fear of Music
T
KEVIN STAIRIKER
Music shapes memories
Columnist Kevin Stairiker celebrates his birthday by recalling musical moments.
urning 20 isn’t a big deal. Assuming that you’re skimming through this article on the date of its release, I’m currently “celebrating” my 20th. Birthdays in general are a weird tradition. What exactly are we celebrating? Surviving the world and all of its increasingly strenuous hurdles? Whatever, as long as I get that sweet, sweet ice cream cake. Since this is a music column, I figured I’d highlight some important musical moments in my life thus far.
AGE 8
The new millennium brought with it many bizarre and makeshift ideas, one of them being five dudes in space suits with hoverboards. The night that 1999 morphed into 2000, I was with my cousins watching music videos on Zoog Disney in their basement. Right before the clock struck, all of the kids were supposed to run upstairs in time for the countdown. Roughly a minute before that happened, the Backstreet Boys’ “Larger Than Life” video came on and I was completely transfixed. It was like nothing I had ever seen. My cousins shouted my name to trudge up the stairs – I didn’t want to go. That video represented every new and strange idea that I thought the new millennium held. I thought the video was a literal representation, as if Howie, Kevin, A.J., Brian and Nick were given the tools to present an advance screening of what the future had in store. When I awoke the next morning, I knew I was mistaken – it wouldn’t be the last time.
AGE 10
It all started with Smash Mouth – kind of. On my 10th birthday, my mom got me probably the best gifts I could’ve wanted: “NOW 8,” Smash Mouth’s eponymous album and my very own CD player to play them on. I was ecstatic. I’d like to say that I tore into the genrehopping “NOW” CD, featuring such luminaries as Destiny’s Child, Gorillaz and, uh, Fuel, but I was obsessed with that Smash Mouth CD. I memorized tracks with names like “Sister Psychic” and “Shoes N’ Hats” willingly. It was a golden age. It started off the obsessive relationship I still have with music. There’s this intrinsic value I put on physically owning my music, to hold it and find out why it exists and why it deserves to exist.
AGE 13
What a year. Not only was I journeying from sixth to seventh grade, but I was also traveling to a new school in a different district, and with that came all of the dramatic
emotions you might assume a transplanted 13-year-old would have. I looked all over the place for a song that would describe what I was feeling at the time. Somewhat tragically, my brain latched onto Switchfoot’s seminal “Dare You To Move,” which I also took 100 percent literally at the time. I was moving and I didn’t want to, but darn it, Switchfoot dared me to. How could I not?
AGE 16
During the summer of my 16th year, I officially joined the work force in the form of being a janitor at my junior high. I would ride my bike to the school most days at 7 a.m., and then ride back home at 3:30 p.m. It was a terrible, time-consuming job, but I was allowed to listen to music the whole time so I suppose it evened out. I decided I’d kickstart a project where I would try to listen to 500 albums before summer ended and keep track of all of them. It made every work day seem worthwhile, even though every work day was usually a steaming pile of things I can’t say in this newspaper. I’d clean the library to the White Stripes, watch the sun rise to Sufjan Stevens, and weird out my co-workers by blasting Tom Waits. I did it the next two summers with 100 (collective) more albums, but it didn’t feel the same as how good I felt at the end of the first summer. I want to know the music I listen to on a molecular level. And that’s where I am today, 20 years to the day of my falling onto the world. It might sound dumb, but I’ve heard a lot of music thus far and I honestly can’t wait to hear whatever comes up next. I’m not asking you to be the same way. All I ask is that you appreciate the truly weird sensation that music brings with it, the longing you feel for specific songs or bands you love and the silence that follows the next song you hear.
5 SONGS I’LL PROBABLY LISTEN TO TODAY:
“Mean Streets” -Van Halen “Playing In A Band” -The Bird Calls “Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear” -Randy Newman “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” -X “Unhappy Birthday” -The Smiths Kevin Stairiker can be reached at kevin.stairiker@temple.edu.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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SPECIAL SCREENING OF “THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 5 – 8 P.M. THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER 525 ARCH ST. $15-$20 CONSTITUTIONCENTER.ORG/ SPRINGSTEEN A New Jersey legend, Bruce Springsteen has earned the appropriate nickname “The Boss.” He and his fellow musicians, the E Street Band, have been belting out classic Americana since the early ‘70s, and have garnered international appraise. In addition to winning more than 20 Grammy Awards, Springsteen is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Needless to say, he’s quite the boss. Given that record, which few recording artists can hold a lighter to, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame created an exhibit in Springsteen’s honor: From Asbury Park to the Promised Land, which makes its first stop at the National Constitution Center. “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town” is a special 90-minute documentary on the making of the band’s fourth studio album, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978). Tickets to the exhibition include access to the screening, so you can also check out Springsteen’s famous Corvette, pages of hand-written songs and some of the legend’s Grammy Awards.
NIGHT AT THE MUTTER MUSEUM WITH DR. SKETCHY FRIDAY, MARCH 16 6 – 8:30 P.M. MUTTER MUSEUM 19 S. 22ND ST. DRSKETCHY.COM 21+
ST. PATRICK’S DAY TOUR, TASTES AND TOASTS SATURDAY, MARCH 17 1 P.M. LAUREL HILL CEMETERY 3822 RIDGE AVE. $17-$20 LAURELHILLCEMETERY.ORG
Spending the night in the Mutter Museum. Sounds sketchy, right? With the wall of skulls, preserved baby fetuses and a vast collection of human skeletons, this historic museum could almost too perfectly be the backdrop to M.Night Shyamalan’s next psychological thriller or slasher flick. There’s no reason to be scared, though. Nationally renowned Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is hosting an event for drawers of all experience levels at the Mutter. According to its website, the art school was founded more than five years ago in a Brooklyn bar as an outlet for alternative art lessons. “Artists draw glamorous underground performers in an atmosphere of boozy conviviality,” the website reports. Now, there are more than 100 locations of Dr. Sketchy’s throughout the nation. There’s no required skill level, but all attendees are encouraged to BYO – bring their own materials, that is. Booze will be offered at the bar to drink away those creepy crawlies of the museum.
We know: St. Patty’s Day is by no means considered “Under the Radar.” You’ve probably been stocking up on Guinness and saved all your green Mardi Gras beads for this special day. But for those who aren’t planning an epic bar crawl – here’s to hoping those of you who are don’t actually end up crawling to the bar – St. Patty’s Day in the city does offer more cultured activities, especially down at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Since Philly has played host to large populations of Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans, it’s no wonder there is a large Irish presence in Laurel Hill. On March 17, the cemetery will host Jerry McCormick and Bill Doran as tour guides through the burial grounds, recounting tales of Philadelphia’s Irish souls. Afterward, guests will be able to sample beer and traditional Irish food at the Gatehouse. -Alexis Sachdev
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
MICHELLE GISH TTN
Ross Garlow JENELLE JANCI The Temple News Although junior bass major Ross Garlow studies jazz music in class, he is showing his guns to the folk world. A transfer student from the University of the Arts, Garlow has frequented Philadelphia music venues including Raven Lounge and North Star Bar as a singer-songwriter. A multi instrumentalist, he started learning how to play guitar at the age of five. Since then, he’s learned how to play the guitar, bass, piano, trumpet and mandolin. His heavily jazz-influenced musical background created roots for him in the world of improv musicianship – what he prefers to call a “jam band.” So, how does a guy go from writing bass lines to folk songs? In Garlow’s case, it all started with an assignment from a guitar teacher to go home and write a song using a technique he had learned in his lesson. Garlow returned to class with a
song called, “Mama.” A hand- words, “boondocked it” on free ful of videos of Garlow per- campgrounds when that was forming the song are available not an option. on YouTube. Although Garlow is enjoyGarlow may have gotten ing himself in his singer-songhis start in writer endeavors, songwrithe seems to be ing by a staying true to nudge from his jazz roots, and his teacher, hopes to one day but he took teach bass at the the initiative college level. on his own The Temple when it came News: Are your to planning parents musihis tour last cally inclined? summer. Ross GarA c t low: My dad’s ing as his a big consumer. own manHe’s been to more ager, Garlow Ross Garlow / than 200 Grateful traveled the junior bass major Dead shows, and country for just about anyone two-and-aelse you can think half weeks, of. He’s the only making stops in Texas, North Dead Head in the world that has Carolina, South Carolina, Illi- a stack of CD’s and you will nois, Wisconsin, Tennessee and find classical music in there, Virginia – alone in his Jeep. you will find jazz in there, you Garlow stayed with friends will find blues in there, you will when he could, but in his own find surfer music in there, you
“Going the next step further, that’s pretty important. And that’s what jazz is all about, going the next step further.”
STREET SOUNDS PAGE 13
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Artists and performers make music underground
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Subway performers take to Suburban Station, each with their own musical backgrounds. EMILY DICICCO The Temple News Suited professionals on their way to the office dart around schools of unhurried senior citizens, gossiping students and pacing police officers. Soft pretzels, plain slices and rich ethnic combinations create an aroma indigenous to Suburban Station, the underground SEPTA concourse at 15th and Market streets. Calming elevator-like music and bellowing train time announcements juxtapose in the air. And everyone is on the move, headed somewhere: Thorndale, Lawndale, Lansdale. Everyone is going somewhere, except for Dr. Russell Rich, Gregory Underwood, Kia and Day-Day. These street performers are, for the most part, stationary. They remain in Suburban, singing, playing and dancing, while people pass them by. They perform, hoping to pick up extra cash, to hone their art and entertain passerby. By Track 0, in a corner adjacent to a Dunkin Donuts, Rich plays his tender saxophone for a woman who is recording the show on her cell phone. He stands on his marble tile stage, next to a cream folding chair and the open case of his instrument. After he finishes his song, he stops, and asks, “Baby, let me hear that.” Even on a cell phone recording, the clarity of his instrument is clear. Rich is no stranger to mu-
sic, or Philadelphia. Born in Louisiana, he said he came to Philly, “in search of something.” “Life, liberty and the pursuit of music,” he said. He began his love affair with music in fourth grade, playing the trombone and performing in the band. He later studied music at Southern University in Louisiana. Once in Philadelphia, he taught music and assisted the band at Roxborough High School. For those who care to listen, he can teach them about the nuances of style in sound in each type of saxophone, from soprano to bass. Now, he makes a living doing what he loves, every weekday, from 6 to 11 a.m. “Instruments are my thing – that’s what I do,” Rich said. He even has a few fans – people he sees every day – who request specific songs from the musician. On the weekends, he plays at a few restaurants around the city, including Firinji in Ardmore, Pa. But what keeps him coming back day after day, in the first hours of the morning? He says it’s more than the “decent” money he makes. “I do it to put a smile on someone’s face, to leave a good impression on them while they’re at work,” Rich said. He added that the best part is, “when someone’s lying in bed with one of my tunes stuck in their head, even if they don’t know where they got it from.” Rich is only one of the many street performers at Suburban Station. Travel deeper into the sta-
tion and one will find Gregory Underwood, playing gospel, blues, R&B and jazz on his guitar, accompanied by his hearty voice. Every Wednesday and Friday, from 8:00 a.m. until he’s “ready,” he sits with his acoustic guitar and his for-sale CD’s, strumming along almost methodically. Underwood said he prefers an electric guitar, however, these are now banned due to more strict station regulations on performers. Like Rich, Underwood, studied music in high school in Philadelphia. When he was 10, his father, also a musician, instilled in him a love of music while teaching him the guitar and the piano. After many years, he has returned to music. But his career isn’t limited to the station – he performs on Sundays at Warm Daddy’s, at Front and Reed streets. Underwood said he only has one rule for playing: Always think positively. “I can’t play if I’m sad and I can’t make other people happy if I’m sad,” he added. Deeper still in the station, along a slightly dimmer passageway, two teenagers, Kia and Day-Day, dance. In this grimy hallway, the sisters clad in simple black attire perform for subway goers. To the beat of Will Smith or Nicki Minaj, the girls put on an energetic hip-hop show. But, they admit, they enjoy all types of music, not just hip-hop. To set up their stage, they place large cardboard planks down to make room for their retro CD player – not an iHome
– and big red bucket marked for “donations.” Behind them, a yellow sign for the Broad Street and Westbound Trolleys and a mural of a young girl complete the scene. These sisters have been dancing since they were around 7-years-old, but have never received any formal dance training. “We’re self-taught,” Kia said. “We come here and practice to get perfect,” Day-Day added. Dance is what they’re most focused on. They come to perform almost every day, and practice constantly. To construct the dances, they collaborate and choreograph them together. While they admit that the hallway leading to the subway isn’t the best location for dancing, they’ve had some memorable times down there. “Sometimes other dancers jump in with us – but, they always ask first,” Kia said. It is sometimes the tendency to label a street performer as a talentless beggar, but neither Rich, Underwood, Kia or DayDay fit into this category. Rather, they are passionate about music and they relish in bringing some joy into commuters’ otherwise dull morning. Kia and Day-Day said they hope to become famous. “I hope all of this pays off,” Day-Day said. Emily DiCicco can be reached at emily.dicicco@temple.edu.
CHRIS MONTGOMERY TTN
(Top) Bill Douglas plays in Suburban Station. (bottom) Felix Wilkins, a graduate of Brooklyn College of Music, plays his flute. Wilkins took music education classes at Temple.
Jazz enthusiast, bass major dabbles in folk music realm will find European folk music in there. He is one of the few Dead Heads that can talk about anything. And my mom is from New Orleans. Her father was a jazz musician in New Orleans. And I look just like him, so I think I got a lot of it from him, too. TTN: Have you always been a solo artist, or have you been in other bands before? RG: I was in a whole bunch of bands growing up as a kid. In junior high, I started two bands. I was in a mix of a bad
crowd and a good crowd. In the bad crowd, I was playing punk rock and heavy metal and hardcore music. In the good crowd, I was playing jazz and jam band music and rock music and subtler stuff like that. But the best band I was ever in was with a kid who actually goes to Temple, Bobby Jofred. We were in a band together called the Abington Limits. TTN: Do the things you learn about jazz music at Temple ever overlap with your folk music?
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RG: Sure, I take things that I learn in my jazz curriculum and take them to playing the guitar. I definitely take a lot from what I learn in the jazz world, especially the way I voice chords. I play a lot of chords that jazz musicians would play, not folk musicians, but I’m still playing folk music. A guy I got really into in high school was Keller Williams. He plays [what is] technically jam band music, but he doesn’t use chords your average folk guitar player uses.
Going the next step further, that’s pretty important. And that’s what jazz is all about, going the next step further. TTN: There’s a YouTube video of you covering “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” What are some of your other favorite songs to cover? RG: I like playing some things that people don’t see coming, something that comes from left field. Something like, “Insane in the Membrane” by
Cypress Hill or “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie – I’ve got some alternate verses for that. And right after I play a song like that, like neo hip-hop, I’ll come in a play like a really dirty south bluegrass song. TTN: Do you have any hidden talents? RG: If it wasn’t going to be music, it would be cooking. I want to own a restaurant someday. I’m a super good cook. That is my passion besides music. I could be a guy on like a weird TV show eating the
weirdest stuff that most people won’t eat and I’d enjoy every second of it. And if it wasn’t food, math. I’m really good at math. I’m a renaissance man. I snowboard, and I’m a really good fly fisherman. If I wanted to, I could move out of the city and back to the mountains and be a fly fisherman. Jenelle Janci can be reached at jenelle.janci@temple.edu.
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Like-minded women in community assemble ogy major Rochelle Cassells said just applying for the scholarship helped increase her awareness. “[Receiving the scholarship] has helped me truly consider what [are] uniting alongside people who are administrative assisit means to be a woman of color, something I hadn’t given much tants.” thought,” Cassells said. “I’ve come to embrace that role in my dayAmey-Taylor, who is in her 22nd year as a university employto-day life which I think has been a tremendous addition.” ee, agreed that it’s rare to see a group that functions so well together. The three scholarship awardees – Cassels, Fol“I’ve been around a long time and have been kes and senior marketing major Deann Cox – were part of a lot of different institutions,” Amey-Taylor invited to attend a banquet in their honor along with said. “People put a lot of energy and time in. I have all other scholarship applicants in an effort to create never really witnessed a group come together like a more professional connection with members of the this.” group. The group has seen an increase in memberFolkes said that the banquet helped her to learn ship. At one of its conferences last year, there was more about the organization itself. an anticipated group of 50 participants and ap“When I got to the banquet I was pleased to see proximately 100 arrived. There are more than 200 women that I knew from various departments of the people on the Blackboard listserv for the organizauniversity,” she said. “I loved hearing about the inition, as well. tiatives they do including the book club and trips.” Archie said the impact is even greater, reachThough some students had not known about the ing across cultures and backgrounds. group before, Archie said that its next phase will in“I think the reach is much broader, and not volve a greater outreach to undergraduates. just for African-American women,” she said. “It is Archie said this will help spread the affirming broad for all kinds of racial and ethnic diversity.” Dr. Marie Amey-Taylor / message that TU-WoC gives to women of color that, Both Archie and Amey-Taylor said that beco-founder, temple university “we exist we have value, we add value…and we’re women of color cause of this dedication and support, it is rare that here.” members do not accomplish their set goals. One of
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“People put a lot of energy and time in. I have never really witnessed a group come together like this.”
Courtesy University Communications
Marie Amey-Taylor is one of the co-founders of Women of Color, an organization on Main Campus aimed at gathering diverse women for professional, educational and emotional support.
the dreams was the creation of a scholarship fund that would be able to provide book stipends to students. This project was partially funded by a bazaar hosted in the Student Center atrium, at which members sold cookbooks containing ethnic recipes ranging from soul food to Latin cuisine. In 2011, TU-WoC was able to award $500 scholarships to three undergraduate students. Senior scholarship recipient and psychol-
Anthony Curtis can be reached at anthony.curtis@temple.edu.
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Main Campus to implement bike lanes BIKING PAGE 8 possible so that they do not become lanes only in theory as they are on Broad and Susquehanna streets. New and improved bike lanes, Rahman said, would give riders “more of an opportunity to see the campus,” and the ability to bike around without worrying about cars or oblivious pedestrians. Rahman added that the issue is not as simple as dragging chalk on a slab of pavement. “Bike lanes are a huge investment and it takes a lot of initiative to figure out where they would fit,” Rahman said. “[Bikers] should be taught or advised how to ride safely and not…zoom really fast around campus. Aaron Kraus, a senior history major, said that when it comes to biking on Main Campus, “it’s like an accident waiting to happen.” “Some get off their bikes and walk with the crowd – that’s how it’s supposed to be done,” Kraus added. “Others just don’t care.” Lindsey Graham, coordinator of Bike Temple in the Office of Sustainability, is a key component in educating on-campus bikers. Her duties, and the paramount goal of Bike Temple, involve taking the lead in organizing and implementing courses that stress proper street etiquette in urban settings. “The biggest thing we have going right now is our Urban Rider Basics program, which teaches
students who are new to an urban setting different [made] to expand the current programs being ofaspects, like bike safety check, hand signals, pro- fered,” Rahman said. “If there are an increasing tection habits and things of that nature,” Graham number of commuters, the city and school should said. cater to those growing number Graham asserted that the of people cycling to campus sheer magnitude of bikers in and should follow through the city and on Main Camwith those steps.” pus – with a large number Among the programs Rahof those riders coming from man is referring to is the recent suburban or rural areas – was initiative of the Bike Coalition part of the reason why the of Greater Philadelphia to inclasses were made. stall more than 400 new bike “In Philadelphia, because signs throughout the city. The there are so many people that initiative aims to encourage bike, I think it’s definitely bicycling and to improve the important to offer [classes] overall infrastructure of city to students who don’t come streets with regards to cyclists. from the city,” Graham said. “Signs are cool, but what Izzat Rahman / “It’s all about giving them anare they really going to do?” co-owner of kayuh bicycles other resource to learn. Plus, Irwin said. “A sign isn’t going it keeps them healthy, and it’s to do it for you. People need to good for the environment, so take on their own responsibilit’s a win-win situation.” ity to be a safer biker.” But according to RahCarmalt agrees with this, man, whose business prides citing his own condemnation itself on affordability and of bikers who run red lights, convenience to the surrounding community, don’t dismount in crowds, and are obtusely neawareness is only half the battle. glectful to common driving formalities. He lauds “More strides and initiatives should be bike education programs, such as Bike Temple,
“If there are an increasing number of commuters, the city and school should cater to those growing number of people cycling to campus.”
LEVINE PAGE 7 children learn early on to think of both women and men as leaders in a variety of fields. TTN: Critics of Women’s History Month will say that to isolate honoring women to one month is actually demeaning, and should instead be a part of our national conscience year-round. How would you respond to this argument? JL: There is always a trade-off between same treatment and different treatment. In an ideal world, we would integrate women’s achievements into our national conscience year-round. But we have not yet succeeded in doing that. Women’s History Month ensures that women’s achievements are not lost to history.
WITH JUDITH LEVINE
TTN: Generally speaking, a negative stigma in society surrounds feminists and women who work toward advancing fellow women. What do you think can be done to abolish this stigma? JL: In her book “Why We Lost the ERA,” political scientist Jane Mansbridge argues that the majority of the population actually agreed with the Equal Rights Amendment’s very simple statement that men
as key components in ensuring that these new bikers, including some that hail from more rural areas, can ride in congruence with the already established rules of the urban road. Junior film major Joey Corpora said that bikers on campus, although sometimes a nuisance, don’t really raise that much of a concern. “Bikes can be pretty aggressive, but they don’t bother me,” Corpora said. “I never got hit by anyone. They should just try to be courteous of people walking around, and that’s all you can really ask.” Biases aside, Irwin said that responsibility of street safety ultimately must come from mutual effort and understanding from those on wheels, including cars, and those on the ground. Khoury Johnson can be reached at khoury.johnson@temple.edu.
and women should have equal rights but that the legislation failed to pass because it got associated with feminism, which turned people off. There is a cultural meaning to the word “feminism” that is distinct from the feminist value of equality with which many people actually agree. That meaning is hard to pin down, but has something to do with what is seen as an unpleasant dogmatism. The stereotyping of feminists is also part of a backlash against the challenges to the status quo brought by the women’s movement. The best way I know to combat the stigma is to point out the kinds of inequality that existed before the 1970s. It is easy to take for granted the basic rights that women enjoy today, which were hard won for them by feminists of that earlier generation. Alexis Sachdev can be reached at asachdev@temple.edu.
Researchers test various means of water purification Dr. Rominder Suri, a researcher in the Water and Environmental Technology Center, uses vibration and other methods to purify water. AMY STANSBURY The Temple News Americans use a lot of water. The average family of four living in the United States uses approximately 400 gallons of water per day, compared with the five gallons used by the average family living in Africa. Although water might appear to be abundant and free in the U.S., a lot of effort and money goes into providing consumers with a clean and safe product. Environmental engineering professor Rominder Suri, Ph.D. is one of the many scientists who is developing more comprehensive and less expensive water treatment techniques. With the help of a
grant from the National Science Foundation, Suri works in Temple’s Water and Environmental Technology Center searching for alternative water purification methods. One such method involves the use of Ozone gas and ultraviolet light to destroy foreign contaminates. This method has already had a great deal of success in the laboratory and is in the process of being tested on a larger scale. Every water treatment method in the WET lab must undergo a series of tests before it can be introduced into a commercial market. First, it must pass small scale experimentation, then it can be brought into an intermediary pilot stage and lastly commercial implementation. Suri is currently working on bringing four of his projects into their pilot stages. One of these projects utilizes selective absorbance to purify water. In his lab, Suri has transformed water-soluble glucose molecules into insoluble forms to help remove organic compounds including estrogen from the water. Estrogen hormones have become a problem as they make their way into the water system and have actually led to the feminization
of some fish. One study conducted by the University of New Brunswick in Canada demonstrated the harmful effects of these estrogen hormones, discovering that increased estrogen in a lake in Ontario resulted in the inability of the fathead minnow to reproduce at all. Eventually, 99 percent of the specie’s population in the lake was lost. A loss of this size then has the potential to disrupt the balance of the entire ecosystem. The study stressed the importance of developing water treatment techniques to fix this problem. “Any chemicals that we use leave our homes and go to waste water plants, which weren’t designed to treat these contaminants,” Suri said. “So, they end up passing right through them.” This holds true for antibacterial soap as well, when it is washed down household sinks into water ways. This could be responsible for increased antibacterial resistance. Suri is also in the process of scaling water treatment methods involving the use of ultrasound and ion exchange. By sending sound waves through the water, he is able to create small cavities that kill foreign materials upon contact. By using ion exchange resins, he is able to remove contaminants from industrial wastewater. The benefit of this method is that these resins are reusable, which reduces overall costs. Now the hope is that these methods will continue to work and be cost-effective when they are introduced on a larger scale. “There is a lot of engineering involved in scaling up,” Suri said. “Many times things work at a small scale but as they get larger things go wrong.” However, Suri is still optimistic about the prospects for his methods. “It’s important to push science to new frontiers and develop more sustainable and cheaper methods,” Suri said. “That’s how as a society we progress.” Amy Stansbury can be reached at amy.stansbury@temple.edu.
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Columnist analyzes fracking debate GREEN SPACE
JOE HOEY
Columnist Joe Hoey breaks down both sides of the fracking debate and Aubrey McClendon’s role in the issue.
I
remember the first time I heard about fracking. I was sitting in the Student Center as a freshman and there was this pretty smelly guy yelling different cliché slogans replacing a less-than-socially-acceptable word with “frack.” Completely confused and slightly taken back, I decided it was important that I looked into what this guy was going on about. After looking into what fracking – short for hydraulic fracturing – was, it turned out I already knew “what the frack” he was talking about, I was just confused by the jargon. In the years that followed, I became more concerned with what fracking means for me. I like the rivers, creeks and well-water of my native Pennsylvania home, but I could not even imagine being able to set my tap water on fire, as I had seen in the haunting 2010 fracking documentary, “Gasland” But, I never considered the business behind fracking until recently. For the past few years, the fracking debate has become increasingly polarized along with other political issues of the day. The left has snappy posters with slogans like “no fracking way” or “don’t frack with our water,” while the right has engaged in smear campaigns claiming that peer-reviewed legitimate scientific studeis are biased. The lines in the fracking debate have been drawn, and it has largely become a battle between industrial money and grassroots environmentalism. Natural gas industry groups spend considerable amounts of money every year flooding the airwaves and Internet promoting natural gas extraction as a solution to everything, from terrorism and energy dependence to global warming and unemployment. Meanwhile, environmentalists and fracking victims engage in acts of protest, muckraking and grassroots organizing in an attempt to raise awareness of the environmental woes fracking has caused, and likely will continue to cause.
Environmentalists have focused on the impact fracking has had on sites, often highlighting soil issues and water contamination that has led some water supplies to have methane levels high enough to create “firewater.” However, few have focused on the actual business practices of fracking companies. In fact, I was shocked to see a piece on the incredibly risky business practices of fracking entrepreneur Aubrey McClendon in the most recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine. I had heard about McClendon in the past, but mostly in reference to his hypocritical assaults on the coal industry. McClendon is the current CEO of Chesapeake Energy, the second biggest natural gas producer in the United States, behind ExxonMobil. His firm is renowned for its aggressive ability to locate and obtain leases for natural gas extraction. Chesapeake Energy so often stresses its lease acquisition that it will acquire land leases for natural gas production years before it plans to extract anything. Chesapeake Energy’s long-term lease strategy is troublesome in that it means that Chesapeake is often paying to have leases on land that is not actually providing them with anything of value. In fact, according to a Forbes report on McClendon, it would take Chesapeake approximately 30 years to drill the 600,000 leases and nine million acres of land it currently holds. Chesapeake Energy’s risky business practices are kept afloat through aggressive borrowing. In fact, Chesapeake’s debt-to-capital ratio as of October 2011 was 40 percent, a high percentage among its peers. Chesapeake also hides much of its debt by utilizing rare technical offbalance-sheet-debt, making Chesapeake appear to have less debt than it really does. According to Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell, Chesapeake has been running at a loss since 2003. While Chesapeake Energy may not be the be-all-end-
all of the natural gas industry, concerns about the sustainability of its practices should not be overlooked. Of course, there is some double meaning there. Hydraulic fracturing is a highly understudied practice of which much environmental concern has been raised. Even as the natural gas industry has attempted to market its product as a “cleaner” alternative to coal with less impact on climate change, studies continue to contest even the most modest claims frackers make. Unfortunately, it likely will be “too hard” for our government to assess the risks involved in hydraulic fracturing until it is too late. Similarly, it probably will be too late for investors and landowners with stakes in Chesapeake if and when Chesapeake goes down. Because of its relation to gas prices and its relationship with so many American families, Chesapeake’s fall will likely leave a gash in our economy when it falls, not unlike the gashes its extraction practices have been known to make. The important lesson to take from the controversy revolving around Chesapeake is that there is often more than one angle. While the fracking debate has largely become a conflict between “Gasland”-watching environerds and industrial drill-hards on impact issues, it is vital to look at the actual business practices that give us fracking and natural gas. Most importantly, we should know not to trust people who give us expensive wine and send us packing, as is a signature public relations stunt of McClendon. After all, should McClendon’s self-destructive business fall after trashing our water supply, his expensive wine could be cheaper than both clean water and oil, assuming anyone has a job to buy it. Joe Hoey can be reached at joe.hoey@temple.edu.
Dating site reveals disrespectful male mentality WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Alexis Sachdev
Columnist Lex Sachdev discusses an incident of gender-based disrespect.
S
everal months ago, I assigned our Multimedia Editor Luis Rodriguez an article on DateMySchool.com, a dating site exclusively for college students. An .edu email address is required to create an account, and users can view fellow students from their school, their city or around the country, and subsequently message, and if all goes well, meet other users. It sounded innocent enough to me. Two parts curiosity and one part willingness to help Luis with his research encouraged me to create an account, and thus began my deadly plunge into the dregs of the male population. A male user had found my profile and sent me a message a few months later, long after I had forgotten about the website. But an email notification sent me back to DateMySchool.com where I, at the behest of my gag reflexes, read this: “hi honey, you have a good look. i think we would look good anywhere together. we need to meet to see how good we fit in each others arms. i like the fact that your 5’6”, you can wear high heels if you wanted and i would still be a little taller. i dont like the idea of being shorter than my girl even when shes in heels. You have to enjoy cuddling or it wont work out. i think i enjoy cuddling more than sex. feel you get warm and creamy in my arms then we fall asleep holding each other. If you decide to reply i want you to ask me anything you need to know before we can start spending time together.” Gag me with a spoon, right? I often delude myself into thinking nice guys exist. Hell, for all I know they might in some far-off, Disney
animated dreamland. But something about the personality of Lex Sachdev is a moving target for barneys like the aforementioned d-bag. I told this jerk off in typical, snarky-Lex fashion: “I think that’s incredibly forward of you to say to someone you haven’t even met yet, let alone know anything about. I can only wish you luck in your future endeavors with women. Call me a b**** if you’d like, that’s fine, but just know I’m now more offended than I am flattered. Feeling ‘warm and creamy’ in a stranger’s arms is quite possibly the furthest thing from what I want. And the fact that you’ve mentioned sex – again, without even knowing me – is downright offensive. And again, to assume we’re going to “start spending time together” is entirely too forward, seeing as I have displayed absolutely no interest in you. “Really, good luck. You’re going to need it. Perhaps a simple, ‘hi, how are you?’ would have sufficed and I would have responded more favorably. But should you continue to speak to women in such aggressive ways, you’ll only strike out in the end. Happy Holidays!” If you’re no stranger to my Tumblr, this probably sounds familiar. I have a point, I promise. After spending the bulk of my senior year of high school and freshman year of college catching up on the staples of feminist literature and geeking out over the history of the Women’s Rights Movement, Women’s History Month holds a special place in my heart. It serves, at least in my eyes, as not only a reminder of the greatness our fellow women have achieved, but also that women are forces to be reckoned with.
After reading and editing much of the content in this week’s issue surrounding Women’s History Month, the aforementioned incident oiled the gears of inspiration. At first, I was just deeply offended, and rightly so. But after revisiting the conversation recently, CreeperGate 2011 reminded me of the deeper message. Men, or rather, boys still have a deluded mentality that women are possessions. They believe they can own us, abuse us and control us. And let’s remember that for most of history that was more than a mentality, but the law. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. They think women want these fantastic Disney romances with white horses and fairytale weddings. We don’t. We want, nay, deserve respect. But the blame shouldn’t fall solely on the XY chromosome. Ladies, raise your hand if you or one of your girlfriends has ever complained about how a man is treating you. Now consider: Did you ever put a stop to it? You are not powerless, and it’s an antiquated mindset many women – often myself – adopt that tells us we are at the whim of our male suitor. We’re not. And perhaps that’s the message I’d like my fellow ladies to take away from this declaration: You deserve respect, and if you’re not getting it, demand it or walk away. You are not his property. Celebrate yourself this month, and every month. Alexis Sachdev can be reached at asachdev@temple.edu.
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TEMPLE’S NEXT
On Feb. 28, Residence Hall Association hosted Temple’s Next Top Model in the Student Center to encourage being bold and true to oneself. PRISCILLA WARD The Temple News Society often gets caught up in the vanities of life: being skinny enough, tall enough, having prettier hair, a smaller nose, longer legs, bigger muscles or a better body. In an effort to celebrate diversity and bring the beauty of the student body to the runway, Residence Hall Association encouraged students to break out from their shells. Temple’s Next Top Model, held on Feb. 28 in the Student Center, was a rebuttal against societal standards of the “perfect image.” It was a night to celebrate being bold, and most importantly, being oneself. Students from various backgrounds did just this as they strutted up and down the runway. There was a pre-show before the main event, where the Ladies of Elegance Step organization performed a high-energy routine preparing the crowded room for the runway show. The show began with a creative runway walk, during which each of the models showcased his or her personal style. Next on the show’s schedule was a behind-the-scenes video of what it took to make the show come fruition. After, the models walked once more for what was called the “Night on the Town” walk. Although all the models agreed participating in the show ultimately helped them to breakout of their shells and to be themselves, there had to be winners and losers. Student group Dynasty Models judged the event and selected Dana Dunwoody and Muhammad Usman as Temple’s Next Top Models. The event promoted the importance of appreciating ones self-image. “We are all perfect in our own way,” sophomore marketing major Brian Maher said.
Maher participated in the show, showcasing his personal style with confidence wearing an argyle sweater and khaki pants. Maher is a resident assistant at Temple Towers, and said he was looking for the opportunity to do something different, and ultimately break out of his shell. “I just wanted to expand my horizons and try something completely outside of my comfort zone,” Maher said. Usman, the winner amongst the male models, said, “I was looking for an opportunity to meet more people, so I found this opportunity and decided to try out.” Usman is a residential assistant in White Hall, and is a junior political science major. The mission of RHA is to offer a voice throughout the diverse community on Main Campus. The Top Model event did just that, and sparked friendships amongst a diverse group of students. “This event was good way to celebrate the diversity of this campus, with others who may have hobbies and interest in the same field,” Nu’Rodney Prad, the RHA advisor said. “It was our hope to spread self image and not to fit a particular type, we wanted the students to express who they are and what they like,” Prad added. Some models said that this opportunity allowed them to meet people from all different backgrounds, and walk down a runway in front of a crowd just as diverse as the models. “Temple is a diverse community that encourages its students to express themselves,” junior sociology major and female winner Dunwoody said. “It’s your own personal statement.” Priscilla Ward can be reached at priscilla.ward@temple.edu.
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Owls need to regain mid-season form CRANNEY PAGE 20
just how dangerous UMass can be. The Minutemen run a fullcourt offense and defense, press relentlessly and have multiple three-point shooters. It was UMass’ all-out style that prompted a 15-0 run in the first five minutes of the second half in the A-10 tournament quarterfinal game, a run that would ultimately decide the 7771 outcome in the Minutemen’s favor. During that crucial fiveminute stretch, Temple laid down and let UMass back into the game. The Owls gave up on defense, allowed three UMass treys and turned the ball over six times. “We were up four and we had poor decisions with the ball and it led to baskets down the other end and we can’t do that,” coach Fran Dunphy said after the game. “We got out of character again and that’s what happens. When we get out of character, we’re going to pay the price.” Down the stretch, Temple needs to play like the team midway through the season that didn’t give up leads against inferior teams. For a 10-day span from Jan. 18-28, there were a combined six lead changes in Temple’s four wins against La Salle, Maryland, Charlotte and St. Joseph’s. Now in back-to-back games against UMass, Temple has given up a lead late. In Friday, March 9’s game, the Owls paid the price. This was the worst showing at the A-10 tournament since Dunphy’s first year with the team in 2006. “I think it’s very difficult,” redshirt-senior guard Ramone Moore said after the game. “My
five years being here we’ve always done a great job down here, I think this is our first time going home the first day. It hurts a lot, you know, and this is our last go-round. I wanted it as bad as anybody.” While Moore’s dedication could never be challenged, it’s no stretch to question Temple’s resolve in the A-10 tournament game. Did the Owls look past the Minutemen, even though they nearly lost to them no more than two weeks ago? In both of the two teams games, it looked like UMass simply wanted it more. “We really played poorly,” Dunphy said. “I felt bad for Temple, but I felt good for UMass because they outplayed us. I felt bad for Atlantic City because we let them down. It would’ve been nice to continue to play there and have our fans come. It was disappointing, and we talked about it. Hopefully it will be a renewed understanding of how important every game, every possession in every game, is.” To compound the questions surrounding Temple’s poor showing in the A-10 tournament, even more uncertainty awaits the Owls in the NCAA tournament as Temple’s draw stipulates that the Owls won’t find out who their first-round opponent is until Wednesday. No. 5 Temple will face the winner of the California/South Florida play-in game in the first round in Nashville, Tenn. Temple has never faced South Florida, and the Owls have only played one game, a 57-50 loss last season, against Cal since 1974. “It’s very interesting,” Dunphy said. “We’ll have to study two really good teams
over the next couple of days. But you know you’re going to play a tough team.” “I’m not sure we’re very confident,” Moore added. “We want to try to stay humble and take it one game at a time. We want to focus on California and South Florida and then worry about other teams after that.” Moore and his teammate, graduate center Micheal Eric, went on to say that though the loss to UMass hurt, the team got back on the right track Sunday, March 11 at practice. “We had a great practice,” Moore said. “We got after each other. It was great to see how guys responded. I think a lot of guys put it behind and are just trying to move forward.” “I mean that loss was pretty bad, we took it pretty hard, but we had practice today,” Eric added. “We’ll be ready for our next job at hand and I think we’ll be ready when it comes to play that game in Tennessee.” While both Cal and USF represent challenges for Temple in their own way, Temple’s real enemy during the past week has been itself. If the Owls can limit turnovers, play defense for 40 minutes and stick to what has been effective for them all season, there’s no reason they can’t take the next step in the NCAA tournament and reach the Sweet Sixteen. “We’re almost given a reprieve here,” Dunphy said. “We didn’t play our best against UMass the second time around and that’s disappointing. Hopefully we will be under a greater understanding of how important this next step is.”
can stay together like we did all year long, when guys were hurt and stuff like that, then we have a shot at making some good moves in the tournament,” Eric said.” The Owls will face either the Big East Conference’s South Florida Bulls (20-13, 12-6) or Pac-12’s California Bears (24-9, 13-5). Each team has four players who average double figures in scoring. The Bears average 71.7 points per game and are led by sophomore Allen Crabbe who averages 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per meeting. Defensive-
ly California limits opponents to 61.8 points per game and they will rely on senior guard Jorge Gutierrez, who was named Pac12 Defensive Player of the Year. Bulls’ senior forward Augustus Gilchrist, who averages 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, leads the team on offense. South Florida has one of the worst turnover margins in Division I and ranks in the bottom of the league in scoring with 59.2 points per game.
Joey Cranney can be reached at joseph.cranney@temple.edu.
Play-in game determines opponent MADNESS PAGE 20
are all hoping to make an impact in the tournament. The Owls are looking to improve on their second round win last year against Penn State and make a further run into March Madness. “Whenever we’re feeling good and whenever we’re able to manage the game, we’ve been pretty successful,” Fernandez said. “So we’re definitely going to try to do that and let the game be on our hands and not try to play a game that the other team wants to play.” “The ‘disease of me’ comes in at this time of year and if we
Connor Showalter can be reached at connor.showalter@temple.edu.
ABI REIMOLD TTN
Temple plays the winner of the No. 12 California/South Florida play-in game Friday night.
Men and women’s track compete at regional championships Men’s track breaks two records at IC4A’s in Boston. TYLER SABLICH AND DREW PARENT The Temple News
JAZMYNE ANDERSON TTN file photo
Junior Tonney Smith competed in three events at the meet.
The men’s track and field team traveled to Boston for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championships on March 4 and returned to North Philadelphia with a couple of new team records. Overall, the Owls finished 14th in the competition with strong performances by three sophomores: hurdler Josh McFrazier, distance runner Will Kellar and jumper Gabe Pickett. McFrazier and Kellar each shattered team records in their respective events. In the 60-meter hurdles, McFrazier earned a spot in the finals after finishing third in the semis with a time of 8.02 seconds. He then went on to crush a Temple school record, previously set in 2009, with a time of 7.85 seconds in the finals. McFrazier placed second in the event, behind only Sacred Heart senior Bertony Jean-Louis. Kellar followed McFrazier with a record-setting perfor-
mance of his own. With a time of 2:25.11 in the 1,000 meter run, Kellar broke a 28-year-old school record. Kellar also earned second place honors, finishing behind Monmouth junior Ford Palmer, who edged Kellar with a time of 2:25.9. “[Kellar] is a tenacious competitor and also performs well in the classroom,” distance coach Matt Jelley said. “He doesn’t always run a perfect race but he comes pretty damn close. If something needs to be fixed, he will go out the very next race and fix it.” In addition, Kellar broke a record in an event he is not all that familiar with. “It was shocking because the first time I ran the 1000 meter event was just back in January,” Kellar said. “[McFrazier’s] final pumped me up and I pumped [Pickett] up. It was a chain reaction. It was a pretty cool feeling.” Pickett went on to place second in the triple jump event with an attempt of 15.28 meters, equivalent to 50 feet, 6 inches. Another sophomore jumper, Darryl McDuffie, also turned in a strong performance for the Owls. In the high jump finals, McDuffie landed a distance of 1.9 meters, good enough to earn 11th place overall for the event.
In addition to the IC4A Championships, senior Travis Mahoney competed in the Last Chance Columbia Meet on Friday, March 2 at The Armory in New York. Mahoney, the Atlantic Ten Conference Performer of the Year, broke his own team record in the one mile run with a time of 4:00.43. He had previously set the record on Jan. 28 at the Penn State Invitational. The women’s track team competed at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships March 3-4 and came out of it with some strong performances and finished tied for 43rd place. The 4x800 meter relay team, which comprised of juniors Victoria Gocht, Tonney Smith, Jade Wilson, and graduate senior Tamisha Stephens, placed sixth with a final time of 9:02.87. Sophomore Ambrosia Iwugo, junior Tessa West, Smith, and Stephens made up a 4x400 relay that crossed with a time of 3:46.58 and finished 11th. While the distance medley relay, composed of sophomore Anna Pavone, juniors West and Elizabeth-Paige White and freshman Jenna Dubrow, finished in 15th place with a time of 12:02.72. Iwugo took 14th place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.35 and in the 500-meter dash
Smith and Wilson took 16th and 21st place with times of 1:15.46 and 1:16.34, respectively. Stephens also ran in the 800-meter run and took 31st place with a time of 2:17.33. Freshman Margo Britton placed 16th in the shot put with a distance of 42 feet 9 inches, while Alanna Owens took 29th with 49 feet 8.5 inches. Freshman Kiersten LaRoache finished fifth in the high jump indoor pentathlon, as well as seventh in the long jump indoor pentathlon. LaRoache jumped for distances of 5 feet and 3 inches and 17 feet and 6 inches, respectively. She finished in 13th place overall in the pentathlon at the meet. With the indoor track season coming to a close, Jelley has already labeled the 2011-12 season a success. “I think our progress has been evident,” Jelley said. “We started to come together and we put together some great performances.” The indoor track and field team will look to continue this season’s success at the NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho. Tyler Sablich and Drew Parent can be reached at sports@temple-news.com.
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Problems in frontcourt doom women’s basketball ADAMS PAGE 20
ABI REIMOLD TTN
Senior guard Shey Peddy (left) took home A-10 honors for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Junior center Victoria Macaulay averages 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. it paid off at the end,” senior guard Shey Peddy said. “So to end like this, it hurts a lot.” Temple got burnt in the post by Dayton. A-10 first team selection senior forward Justine Raterman led the way for the Flyers with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dayton’s frontcourt accounted for 46 points and 26 rebounds, more than half the team’s totals. “We got rattled, and on the defensive end we weren’t playing smart basketball,” Cardoza said. Macaulay, who emerged as the Owls’ most dominant post player during conference play, continued her strong season with 12 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Brittany Lewis came through off the bench with a career game, recording a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. Peddy gave it her all. But
one day removed from breaking her nose against Duquesne and scoring 20 of her 30 points in the final nine minutes, Dayton found a way to limit her. She put up 10 points, six assists and three rebounds in another physical matchup. “I don’t think any one person in our league can stop [Peddy],” Dayton coach Jim Jabar said. “It wasn’t going to be a one-on-one deal with her because she’s just too good.” “I feel like I picked the worst day to have the worst game of my life,” Peddy said. “They did a good job of containing me, making sure I had no open shots.” The senior guards did their job, though, keeping the game within reach. Kristen McCarthy, BJ Williams and Peddy combined for 32 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and nine steals. The problem for the Owls was senior center Joelle Con-
Freshman carries weight for Owls Freshman Nick Lustrino asserts himself in the lineup. CHASE SENIOR The Temple News The opening line in the chorus of the song freshman baseball infielder Nick Lustrino picked to play during his walk to the plate states, “See I know you like my swagger.” Lustrino’s style consists of an arsenal of swagger, which has aided Lustrino’s transition from high school to the college ranks. “The biggest transition has got to be getting used to the pitching,” Lustrino said. “When you get here you’re facing what would be every high schools No. 1 pitcher.” The freshman has been giving opposing pitchers problems at the dish and is third on the squad with a .321 batting average. In the field, Lustrino has been even better, maintaining a perfect fielding percentage while playing five different positions: Catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base on the field in 12 starts. While at Richmond, firstyear coach Ryan Wheeler was attempting to lure Lustrino to his former club, but now finds himself having the luxury of coaching the utility player in a Cherry and White uniform. “I knew he belonged [at Temple],” Wheeler said. “He had that confidence, I saw that swagger in him and knew he could do it.” The move to Temple looks to be working out perfectly for not just coach Wheeler, but Lustrino as well. “The reason I came [to Temple] is because it’s different,” Lustrino said. “Where
I’m from is kind of like a bubble, a lot of people call it a bubble. I wanted to get out and experience it a little bit and I haven’t looked back since.” Teammates are beginning to notice that Lustrino can make an impact on the field. “[Lustrino] is a great addition to this team,” said redshirt-senior infielder and pitcher Steve Nikorak. “You can put him anywhere on the field. Put him behind the plate and he’ll catch a game for you. You can put him in the middle infield, or put him on the corners. He’s just really versatile and confident as a freshman.” “[Lustrino] is not your usual freshman who comes in and plays tentative,” Nikorak added. “He goes out there and works hard every day and he’s good at what he does.” Seeing time at various positions isn’t a rarity in baseball, but playing as many as five positions is rare. Lustrino’s early dominance on the field puts ranks him as one of the best in fielding percentage on the roster, converting on all 97 of his chances defensively thus far. The transition from high school baseball to college this season has been somewhat of a non-issue for Listrino. Even as a freshman, Lustrino fits right in and looks to be a mainstay with the baseball program. “I knew [Lustrino] was ready to play opening day,” Wheeler said. “I saw the way he was practicing and going about his business and how he had made the adjustment from high school to college baseball.”
nelly, who grabbed two rebounds, blocked three shots, but didn’t score. Temple started Macaulay and Connelly at center and forward, respectively, and the duo played 12 minutes, 21 seconds together during the game. During that span Temple and Dayton tied 22-22, with the Owls allowing just 28.6 percent shooting. Cardoza sat Connelly five minutes into the game for Lewis, as she rotated the three post players throughout the game. Macaulay and Lewis manned the front court for 20 minutes, five seconds, during the game, as the Owls’ shooting percentage jumped three percentage points to 40.5 percent. With them on the floor, Temple scored 1.84 points per minute, and allowed 1.64. “Macaulay’s a force, and I think she blocked a couple of shots, and a great athlete,” Jabar said.
But the wheels fell off whenever Connelly replaced Macaulay at center. In the seven minutes, 34 seconds the Owls didn’t have Macaulay, they managed an abysmal 11.8 percent shooting while allowing 44.4 percent to the Flyers. The points per minute flipped dramatically as well, with Temple posting .53 per minute to Dayton’s 1.98. In the second half, the Owls were outscored 6-13 with Connelly on the floor. With Connelly on the bench Temple put up 28 to Dayton’s 21. And when Macaulay subbed in for Connelly for the last time with six minutes, 57 seconds remaining the Owls made a 14-9 run that ended with one rimmed-out layup. “Even playing horrible basketball, we still gave ourselves a shot to win at the end,” Cardoza said. If Macaulay would have sat the entire 40 minutes, Dayton
would have won handily, 79-21. But Cardoza didn’t want to call out anyone after the game, including Connelly. “I don’t think it was because it was [Connelly],” Cardoza said. “I think all five guys that were on the floor weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing,” she added. “There might have been four guys, three guys, that were probably doing what they were supposed to be doing but there was always someone that wasn’t paying attention and it hurt us.” True, maybe the rest of the team slacked off. But Dayton’s defense was noticeably more effective with Connelly on the floor. In the limited time Macaulay wasn’t playing Temple was outscored 4-15. Open shots were at a premium. Dayton knew they could focus on the perimeter with Connelly on the court because she didn’t have the athleticism
in the paint to guard whoever came into the paint or the ability to score the way Macaulay can. “They take on the personality of their head coach, and she’s tough, and they don’t quit,” Jabar said. Temple has shown they’re more dynamic with Macaulay on the floor. If they want any chance going deep in the NIT tournament, versatility is their best hope. Connelly doesn’t provide that, unfortunately. Quick players blow by her. Big post players overpower her. Cardoza needs to find a way to maximize what she’s getting from Connelly and keep Temple in games. Macaulay needs to be on the floor as much as possible, even if that means playing 40 minutes. But, hey, it’s March Madness. Anything can happen. Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu.
Trio of seniors captain baseball Baseball’s leadership keeps the team on the right track. DREW PARENT The Temple News The Owls’ three senior captains are remaining optimistic despite a 5-9 record thus far with six non-conference games remaining before the Atlantic Ten Conference schedule begins.
Tri-captains redshirt-senior pitcher and infielder Steve Nikorak, senior pitcher Dan Moller and senior outfielder Jabair Khan have set the expectations bar high for this season. Last year the team posted a 2429 overall record and went 4-20 in the A-10. “We’ve gotten off to a slow start, but we’re right where we need to be right now,” Khan said. “We’ve played a lot of close games so far and we have a good cast of guys and I
think we’re going to turn things around and have a strong season.” Moller, who has been progressing well since Tommy John surgery a year ago, cited another important mentality that is key to success. “We’re playing confident ball, which we haven’t done in the last couple of years,” Moller said. “We put in a team effort here and we’re starting to play better as a whole.” “We’ve been starting to put
Chase Senior can be reached at chase.senior@temple.edu
PAUL KLEIN TTN file photo
Redshirt-senior Steve Nikorak won A-10 Player of the Week with a batting average of .500.
all of the aspects of the game together and play a more complete game,” Moller added. Nikorak took an honest stance when discussing Temple’s 9-4 defeat on Sunday, March 11 at the hands of Iona College at Ambler. “We have definitely played better baseball than we did [Sunday],” Nikorak said. The Gaels (3-10) wasted little time in jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead with two singles, and a three-run homerun by senior third baseman Chris Burke. Despite cutting the lead to 7-4 in the seventh inning, Temple would never recover, and Nikorak was unable to pitch past the fourth inning. “I really didn’t pitch well today at all,” Nikorak said. “I didn’t even give us a chance to win.” Although Nikorak had a rough outing on the mound, he picked up two hits to raise his batting average to .222. “I didn’t think we played very well,” coach Ryan Wheeler said. “I was disappointed with our performance especially after winning the first two games of the series.” Going into Sunday’s contest, Temple had recovered from a 3-6 skid with two consecutive wins at home against the Gaels. After the Owls’ latest loss, Wheeler made it clear that this team still has room to improve. “Each player needs to figure out the adjustments that he needs to make in order to get better,” Wheeler said. “We definitely need to get better in every aspect of the game. That’s going to start with practice tomorrow and will continue all the way until the last game of the year. We’re not going to stop working towards getting better.” The Owls will try to bounce back Tuesday, March 13 when they host La Salle at 3 p.m. at Ambler. Drew Parent can be reached at andrew.parent@temple.edu.
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DANCING DAYS temple-news.com
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012
Losses loom as Temple advances Insane in the Joe Crane
Joey Cranney
Men’s basketball enters March Madness amid a cloud of uncertainty.
U
RICHARD HOFFMAN TTN
(Left to right) Sophomore guard Aaron Brown, redshirt-senior guard Ramone Moore and freshman guard Will Cummings react to Temple’s seeding.
Owls earn No. 5 seed for the Big Dance. CONNOR SHOWALTER Sports Editor
T
he men’s basketball team hosted a Selection Sunday party for fans and media to join
Double Dribble
Owls blow chance in A-10 semis
Jake Adams
Women’s basketball lose in A-10’s to Dayton.
T
he final 10 seconds of the women’s basketball team’s loss in the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament semifinals to eventually champion Dayton could have been the season’s defining moment. Instead, with 10 seconds left, junior center Victoria Macaulay – looking to cap off her resurgent season – got the ball, ducked under the basket, under a defender and put up a layup that bounced off the rim and out. And the Owls were left empty handed and heavy hearted in a 66-63 loss. “As a team we really wanted to be the first for coach [Tonya Cardoza] to get the A-10 Championship, and just for us, just to say that all that we’ve been through this season
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the team at the Liacouras Center, as the Owls earned the fifth seed and the right to play No. 12 South Florida or California on Friday, March 16 in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. Temple (24-7, 13-3 Atlantic Ten Conference) won the A-10 title outright for the first time in 22 years under the guid-
ance of coach Fran Dunphy who was named the A-10 Coach of the Year. The Owls will be making their fifth straight trip to the NCAA tournament and their 30th appearance in school history. While some teams can appear over-emotional on the teleconference show when their team is selected for the Big
Dance, the Owls remained content to cheer from their seats. When the show announced they were a fifth seed, the fans, cheer squad and band displayed exuberance, but the players clapped contently, yet modestly. “Coach always tells us to be humble. You have to respect the game,” redshirt-senior guard Ramone Moore said. “We
knew we had a good chance of being selected, but we didn’t want to be too big headed about it. We just wanted to wait it out and see if we got chosen and I’m glad we did.” A trio of seniors in guards Juan Fernandez, Moore and graduate center Micheal Eric
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ncertainty is the word to use to describe the men’s basketball team
right now. Temple fans must feel uncertain about a team that has lost two of its past four games, including a bad loss to Massachusetts in the Owls’ first game of the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament on Friday, March 9. Top-seeded Temple entered that matchup with No. 8 UMass less than two weeks removed from a regular season game against the Minutemen in which the Owls needed overtime to knock off the feisty UMass squad. That game let Temple know
CRANNEY PAGE 18
Reilly adept at football and baseball Connor Reilly is Temple’s only twosport athlete. JOHN MURROW The Temple News Baseball has always been a passion for Temple’s only two-sport athlete, sophomore Connor Reilly, but football is a sport that he developed both recently and quickly. Reilly, a quarterback for the Owls in the fall season also plays a role on the baseball team as an outfielder, first baseman and catcher who recently entered his first season with the team. “I was not aware that I was the only two-sport athlete at Temple,” Reilly said. “It is a lot of work but it is truly a blessing.” Reilly was born into a baseball family, as his father, Neil Reilly, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 28th round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. “I grew up with soccer and baseball,” Reilly said. “My mom got me into playing football and I only began to play in high school.” Due to a conjoining football season, Reilly recently joined the baseball team in the spring. The Fairfax, Va. native has already made an impact on the diamond. Reilly currently has
BASEBALL p.19 Despite a slow start, the baseball team remains confident behind its three seniors.
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a .303 batting average, which is sixth best in the lineup, and eight RBIs. On Feb. 24 against North Carolina A&T, Reilly hit a three-run homerun in the third inning. The Owls went onto win the game 13-9. “It was great to have my first collegiate hit and homerun come in the same at bat,” Reilly said. “[Reilly] is a great young man,” baseball coach Ryan Wheeler said. “He is always smiling and eager to be there at practice.” Wheeler added that Reilly provides depth at the outfield, first base and at catcher positions. “I have seen constant improvement from [Reilly],” Wheeler said. “He continues to get better with each day.” As a quarterback for the Owls, Wheeler noticed Connor’s strong arm from day one. “He does not throw like a baseball player, but has a very strong arm,” Wheeler said. A quarterback’s motion is different from that of a baseball player and Wheeler said Reilly occasionally reverts back to the quarterback motion. “[Reilly] is a great athlete with good size and is very strong,” Wheeler said. “We hope to see that he continues to improve as he was not with us in the fall.” Because of the focus on the football season, Reilly was unable to prepare for the base-
ball season in the fall unlike the rest of his teammates on the baseball team. Wheeler has taken notice of Reilly’s hard work ethic and positive attitude that he brings to the field each day. “[Reilly’s] work ethic seems to improve those around him,” Wheeler said. “I could see him [Reilly] as a leader of this team in the future.” When Reilly is not playing baseball, he spends his time preparing for the football season. In the 2011-12 season, Reilly played quarterback in three games for the Owls. He made his collegiate football debut at Akron, and saw playing time in games against Buffalo and Ball State, all of which resulted in wins for Temple. “[Reilly] is a very talented guy,” said former co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Matt Rhule. When Reilly was not on the field, he spent his time signaling calls to the quarterback on the field. “He signaled in wristband calls to the quarterback, up to 300 calls per game,” Rhule said. Reilly, who will be entering his junior year at Temple in Fall 2012, will be inserted into a competition for the quarterback position. “There will be an open competition between the quarterbacks on our squad this season and we are not set on one
TRACK & FIELD p.18 The men and women’s track teams competed at the regional championships.
PAUL KLEIN TTN
Backup QB Connor Reilly bats .303 for the baseball team. guy yet,” Rhule said. “I am sure he will try to find a way to get out on the field this coming season,” Rhule added. “He is a very talented athlete between football and baseball.” When the Owl’s football season ended with a bowl victory against Wyoming in The Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the baseball season began for Reilly. Once the baseball sea-
son ends for the Cherry and the White, the 2012-13 football season will begin for Reilly. “I always need to maintain strength for both baseball and football,” Reilly said. “ I have absolutely no time for any social activity. It is a lot of work but it is truly a blessing.”
John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu.
MEN’S BASKETBALL NEXT WEEK The Temple News will have a full recap of the Owls opening rounds game(s) in the NCAA tournament.
SPORTS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM