Issue 17

Page 1

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 VOL. 95 ISS. 17

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

University answers calls for rape crisis center with hotline Students can call at any time to receive in-person support on Main Campus. By JULIE CHRISTIE News Editor BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Protesters rallied at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration and some travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries.

STUDENT’S FAMILY SPLIT AS CLASSMATES PROTEST An executive order limiting immigration led to a student’s family being returned to Syria, while Temple advised nationals from 7 countries to delay traveling. By GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK Assistant News Editor

F

or the past year and a half, junior biology major Joey Assali’s father, Ghassan Assali, left his office every day and headed to a townhouse on 2nd Street in Allentown, Pa. He went there to fix-up the six-person home for his two brothers and their families, who live in Syria. He had hoped the house would be a safe place from the violence of the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011 and has displaced more than 13 million people. But now it will remain vacant longer than he expected. “[The house] was all set up, it was all ready,” Joey said. “Now, the house is just sitting there, empty still.” For more than 13 years, Joey’s extended family had been trying to move to the United States, where his immediate family has lived for his whole life. They began their paperwork for

BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior biology major Joey Assali displays hand-made signs from the Philadelphia International Airport protest on Sunday in the window of his offcampus apartment. Members of his family were detained at the Philadelphia airport, then sent back to Syria on Saturday.

visas and green cards in 2003. But when they landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday, they were detained for three hours. Then, they were sent back on a plane to Doha, Qatar. Assali’s two uncles, two aunts and two cousins were sent back because of President Donald Trump’s executive order “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals” that was signed on Friday. The order prohibits people

AIRPORT | PAGE 6

Women Organized Against Rape, a Philadelphiabased sexual violence crisis center, will open a satellite office on Main Campus on Wednesday to provide 24hour support to survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence, the university announced Tuesday. The service will act as a third party not associated with Temple, where students can report incidents of sexual assault. The location of the office will not be released to prevent students from being targeted or revealing that they have sought out services, said Kelly Dawson, Temple Student Government’s vice president of Internal Services. Instead, students who call the office’s hotline can request an in-person meeting with a trained WOAR representative on Main Campus, at any time, and any day. Dawson acted as a liaison between Temple’s administration and students. When she spoke to administrators about what students wanted, Dawson said the university was already working on creating a center. Concerns about sexual assault resources came up dur-

ing last year’s TSG elections. “For a while, for students, we found through the [Presidential Committee on Sexual Misconduct] that students were asking for something,” said Andrea Seiss, Temple’s Title IX coordinator. “Whether it be a rape crisis center to be on campus or for there to be 24/7 availability of someone who could work with students who are struggling, especially with issues involving sexual violence and dating violence.” Seiss is responsible for ensuring the university complies with Title IX’s stipulations and requirements, which prohibit federally funded education programs from sexual discrimination. She also leads investigations of Title IX complaints. “There can be concerns about the politics of accusing someone,” Dawson said. “It’s important that Temple create a third party.” When students call the WOAR hotline, they will be given access to all of the university’s resources, but WOAR will not release students’ personal information to Temple, Seiss said. “[WOAR] will provide aggregate data,” she added. “They might let [Temple] know they met with 10 students over a one-month period. They’ll let me know if have any type of data that’s useful for patterns.” WOAR has always had some form of partnership with Temple, said Monique

WOAR | PAGE 3

Replacement for South Florida snaps Owls’ win streak Blackboard tested WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Three meetings allowed students to test a new software that could replace Blackboard this summer. By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter Computer Services held three town hall-style meetings at Kiva Auditorium between Ritter Hall and Ritter Annex last Wednesday to get feedback on whether the university should switch from Blackboard to Canvas. The meetings included presentations to students, faculty and administration about Canvas, a learning management system for teachers and students to organize classwork and assignments. Computer Services assembled the Learning Management Selection Committee to evaluate Canvas’ viability as a replacement for Blackboard, which students have been using to see grades, access classwork and organize their courses. “It’s a best practice to regularly review technology platforms to ensure the best solutions for the university,” said Mark Haubrich, director of information technology with Computer Services. “The [Learning Management System] hasn’t been evaluated for a number of years. A lot has changed in the higher education

BLACKBOARD | PAGE 3

CHRISTOPHER HOOKS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior guard Donnaizha Fountain dribbles down the court in Temple’s 55-51 loss to South Florida on Sunday.

The Owls hadn’t lost a game since Dec. 7 before Sunday’s 55-51 loss to South Florida. By KEVIN SCHAEFFER Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter After three missed chances to tie the game with less than 30 seconds left, junior guard Khadijah Berger looked down at the court in disbelief.

Temple had an opportunity to beat its second Top 25 team of the season but fell 5551 to South Florida on Sunday for the Owls’ first loss in the American Athletic Conference. It was an unfamiliar feeling for the Owls, who hadn’t lost since Dec. 7 and came into the matchup on a 12-game win streak. “It was a tough loss,” coach Tonya Cardoza said. “I thought we really fought hard in that fourth quarter. But to start the game, I thought we just got caught up in ourselves as individuals, focusing on the shots we weren’t

making.” The Owls (16-4, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) trailed for almost the entire game and faced a double-digit deficit for most of the contest, but made a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Cardoza went with five guards to start the quarter in order to give a different look against South Florida. Berger joined senior Feyonda Fitzgerald and juniors Alliya Butts, Tanaya Atkinson and Donnaizha Fountain as the fifth guard on the court. She added instant offense that sparked a comeback. Berger went on a personal 8-0 run to bring Temple within single digits for the first time since the first bucket of the third quarter. Berger hit another three to bring all the fans in McGonigle Hall to their feet and cut the deficit to two points with one minute, 45 seconds left. After a hectic minute and a half, Berger would have two more 3-point attempts — one to give the Owls the lead and then one to tie it. She missed both and Temple missed out on a fourth-quarter comeback. Temple had one of its worst shooting games of the season against South Florida. The Owls shot just 25.8 percent from the floor and 18.5 percent from three. The players Temple leaned on all season had the most evident struggles. Fitzgerald and Butts combined to shoot 8-for-37 from

OWLS | PAGE 15

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-14

SPORTS | PAGES 15-18

If the plan for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act isn’t clear, TUH could lose millions in revenue. Read more on Page 3.

Tuttleman Counseling needs to hire more staff and decrease wait times for the mental health of students. Read more on page 4.

Two film majors traveled to Iceland to produce a film for their senior thesis. Read more on Page 7.

Sophomore guard Shizz Alston Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps by coming to Temple. Read more on Page 18.


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