Issue 18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 VOL. 95 ISS. 18

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

Financial need considered for merit awards The merit scholarship program was reviewed and changed after it was overdrawn by $22 million in the summer.

By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter

tion and I got questioned and then they just let me go. And I just thought, ‘This is really traumatizing.’”

Now, students who experience sexual assault have access to 24-hour support. Women Organized Against Rape, a Philadelphia-based sexual violence crisis center, opened a satellite office on Main Campus last Wednesday.

A week after the assault, she said she was called in for a follow-up to discuss her options moving forward. She was encouraged to switch residence

Administrators have created a plan to limit the university’s merit scholarship program without overspending on the budget.

In July 2016, the university was forced to reconfigure its budget after the scholarship program resulted in a $22 million deficit and led to former President Neil Theobald stepping down from his role. The program has since been put under review.

University CFO and treasurer Ken Kaiser said the changes to the program would make sure it remains “onbudget and sustainable.”

“Tuition was not, and will not be raised and no one’s scholarship is being reduced because of it,” Kaiser added.

Unlike in the past, not all students will be able to receive the scholarship. Instead, the number of merit scholarships offered will now be capped based on the “size, quality and characteristics of the overall applicant pool,” according to the website of Student Financial Services.

Kaiser said the main criteria to offer students scholarships are their financial need, their GPA, SAT or ACT scores and the number of students who are eligible.

Kaiser said his office and the Provost’s office will now work together to evaluate and manage the new merit scholarship program.

In the past, Temple published a chart with required GPA, SAT or ACT scores and the scholarship amounts that corre-

WOAR | PAGE 12

SCHOLARSHIPS | PAGE 3

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS During her freshman year, Richelle Kota was sexually assaulted in Johnson Hall. She said she didn’t feel supported by the university after the incident.

Students, faculty react to WOAR opening A student shares her stories of sexual assault and what the new center means for survivors.

By ERIN MORAN Deputy Features Editor

R

ight before Thanksgiving break during Richelle Kota’s freshman year, she was walking to a bathroom in Johnson Hall when she was sexually assaulted by

a floormate’s overnight guest.

Unsure of what to do next, she got away from the guest and tried again to walk toward the bathroom. Her resident assistant walked by and asked her why she looked so upset. She told him what happened, and he called the police.

Before she knew it, the police had found the guest passed out in the bathroom and Kota was sitting in the back of a police car.

“I [didn’t] want to be there,” she said. “It’s cold, it was hard. I felt like I had done something bad. I felt like I was a criminal. And they took me to the sta-

FOOTBALL

Collins proves he’s a ‘relentless’ recruiter The new football coach signed 16 recruits from the Class of 2017.

By OWEN MCCUE Sports Editor Geoff Collins often wakes up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea in his head. He’ll grab his phone and text his coaching staff.

Sometimes it’s a new hashtag he wants them to start tweeting. Other times, it’s a motivational tactic he wants to use at practice the next day.

It doesn’t matter that it’s 3 a.m.

Collins, who spent the last four seasons as a defensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference, is learning that’s the type of thing you can do when you’re the head coach.

“You go from being somebody that’s suggesting and having good ideas, now you go from somebody that has ideas and then people go and do it,” Collins said.

When he took over as Temple’s head football coach in place of Matt Rhule on Dec. 14, Collins had one month to assemble a staff before he was allowed to visit recruits on Jan. 12. He then had two and a half weeks to

COLLINS | PAGE 14

JAMIE COTTRELL FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS North Philadelphia resident Christian “Mach Phive” Walker joined the Temple Bboys after discovering the dance group when he was his own routines and competing at local gyms in the city.

READ MORE ON PAGE 8

Towing companies respond to new law Vehicles must now be ticketed by police before they can be towed from privately owned lots.

By KELLY BRENNAN Community Beat Reporter

EVAN EASTERLING/THE TEMPLE NEWS Football coach Geoff Collins speaks about his first recruiting class at Temple on Wednesday at Edberg-Olson Hall.

Several tow truck drivers employed by George Smith Towing Inc. huddled together for two hours on Thursday, waiting for Philadelphia Police in the parking lot on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 15th Street, so

they could tow illegally parked cars.

The empty and unhitched tow trucks were lined up, ready to tow.

But due to a citywide regulation that started on Wednesday, they needed to wait until the vehicles were ticketed for illegal parking.

The regulation prohibits tow truck operators from removing an illegally parked vehicle from privately owned parking lots or driveways without Philadelphia Police, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, university police or SEPTA ticketing the vehicle first.

Philadelphia councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, a Democrat, introduced the bill last November to

reform towing practices.

The previous policy, which forced tow truck operators to take photos of an illegally parked vehicle before it is towed, did not provide enough protection for the public, according to a towing reform document from Quiñones-Sánchez.

“Comprehensive towing reform will help ensure that all Philadelphians are protected from predatory practices and that business on our city streets is conducted legally,” Quiñones-Sánchez said in a statement last month after Mayor Jim Kenney signed the law.

TOWING | PAGE 6

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-12

SPORTS | PAGES 13-16

After being turned away on Jan. 27, a student’s family returned from Syria to the U.S. on Monday.

Read more on Page 6.

Women’s sports should receive the same amount of attention and support given to men’s teams.

Read more on Page 5.

A master’s student wonders about her future and career in the United States because of the ban on travel from Iran. Read more on Page 7.

Freshman gymnast Daisy Todd is helping the Owls break program records with her all-around scores.

Read more on Page 16.

NEWS

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

CRIME

Police report increase in alcohol-related incidents There were 10 more alcoholrelated incidents this January than in past years.

By JULIE CHRISTIE News Editor Temple Police reported an uptick in alcohol-related incidents in January compared to past years, causing an increase in patrols around Main Campus.

“Alcohol-related [incidents], which is public drunkenness and underage drinking, that’s where we saw craziness,” said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services.

“The past couple of weekends there were a lot of parties, a lot of intoxication.”

According to crime logs, the number of alcohol-related incidents increased from 34 in January 2016 to 42 in January 2017. January

2015 had almost the same number of alcoholrelated incidents as 2016.

In the last weekend of January, crime logs show 12 reports of underage drinking and one report of underage alcohol possession. Over the course of the whole month, there were 42 total alcohol-related incidents, which includes underage consumption, public drunkenness and driving under the influence.

It was more than Leone said he could remember compared to past years at the start of a spring semester, “usually because it’s cold.”

Leone said the uptick was partly related to increased temperatures.

“When it’s cold, you’re not going to see as much activity outside,” he added. “As it starts getting warmer and right now with it unseasonably warm, people are going to open their window, so that leaves them more vulnerable to a burglary. You’re going to be out a lot.”

Leone said cold temperatures coincide with fewer burglaries and robberies.

“People are going to have their windows

closed, so from a burglary standpoint, your house is more tightly secured,” he said. “From being outside, you’re not going to have as much of the vulnerability factor. As it starts getting warmer … people are going to open their windows, so that leaves them more vulnerable to a burglary.”

He added that when people wear heavier coats during the winter, they are less vulnerable to robberies because they keep their valuables in their pockets.

“If you’re wearing a lighter jacket without all these pockets, maybe you’re carrying your phone in your hand,” he said.

Leone added that most of the alcohol-related incidents in January were reported on Main Campus, probably as a result of drinking elsewhere and then returning intoxicated to residence halls.

“My suspicion with that is you’re at a party off-campus and then when you come back to the residence hall, you’re pretty intoxicated and you get stopped by security when you’re coming

in,” Leone said. “Then they call us, and we take you to the hospital because you’re pretty inebriated.”

The increase in alcohol-related incidents was accompanied by an increase in total crime, TUPD reported.

According to crime logs, the overall number of reported crimes in January increased 17.7 percent from 2015 to 2017.

In response to the increase of partying that Temple Police dealt with in the first few weeks of the semester, Leone said that Temple and Philadelphia police increased their patrols.

“We’ve seen the parties,” he said. “Between us and Philadelphia Police as well, we both increased our resources.”

“The warmer it is, the more people are out, the more vulnerable you are,” Leone said. julie.christie@temple.edu @ChristieJules

total reported crimes in january 2017 Reported Crimes

Crime picked up the weekend students returned to Main Campus for classes and during the weekends since.

20 10 0 Jan. 1

Jan. 5

Jan. 10

Jan. 15

Classes begin Jan. 17

Jan. 20

Jan. 25

Jan. 30

SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS

TSG

TSG looking to lower SEPTA TrailPass price for students TSG and the Office of Sustainability are working with SEPTA to offer $350 TrailPasses.

By AMANDA LIEN TSG Beat Reporter Temple Student Government’s Sustainability Task Force hopes to open negotiations with SEPTA about a new student TrailPass program, which would offer an unlimited pass on Regional Rail for the academic year to Temple students at a steeply discounted rate.

The TrailPass program is a joint effort between TSG and the Office of Sustainability.

According to a survey published

by TSG, the passes would be valid during the academic year and winter break, but not during the summer.

The survey calls for 11,000 responses.

“We’re hoping that by the end of February we’ll have 11,000, but we’re okay with 6,000 to 7,000,” said Aaron Weckstein, TSG’s director of grounds and sustainability. “At the end of February, I’m meeting with the Office of Sustainability, a couple of administrators, including someone from the president’s office, and someone from SEPTA … to see where we are.”

“From there we’ll see if SEPTA makes an offer to us and then we’ll continue the negotiations,” he added.

The University Pass offered by the Bursar’s Office is an unlimited SEPTA TrailPass that covers the duration of the academic year for $689.70.

TSG hopes to use the TrailPass program to lower the price to $350 for the academic year.

TSG arrived at that price based on a survey done by the Office of Sustainability to find how much the average commuter student spends per year in 2016, Weckstein said.

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

KIERAN LYONS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Temple Student Government is coordinating a way for SEPTA to provide discounted trail passes for students who commute on Regional Rail.

TSG is hoping that the Trailpass will replace the University Pass Program.

“We just need the provost to be on board with this,” Weckstein said.

“They’re a little bit concerned about the amount of risk that the university will take on. We would buy a certain number of TrailPasses in bulk like we do with the Bursar’s passes but we would buy over our ridership levels. That way, if things don’t go as planned, we take on the risk so we have the extra passes.”

TSG consulted the Office of Sustainability and the Youth Advisory Council, SEPTA’s outreach organiza-

tion to riders age 14 to 22, about the language of the survey.

“We are interested from a sustainability perspective, from a student services perspective to explore what a university pass program could look like here at Temple and in the broader city,” Grady said. “I think the challenge is that we’re still waiting to hear what SEPTA’s proposal is, like a formal proposal.”

“That meeting at the end of February is going to tell us a lot because we don’t know what SEPTA is coming to the table with,” Weckstein said.

“Because of equity issues, we don’t get to learn about the numbers spe-

cifically in terms of what they offer.

It sounds like SEPTA is more willing than it ever has been to work with us.”

A SEPTA spokesperson said they could not comment on the TrailPass negotiations at the time.

“You have to take a certain amount of risk off of SEPTA in order for them to negotiate,” Weckstein added.

Both TSG and the Office of Sustainability have heard student opinions through surveys and in-person meetings.

“We did a couple town-hall meetings where people were able to give us feedback on their top issues

and a SEPTA pass came and was by far the most voted and we took it on as an issue,” Weckstein said.

“We’re really trying to advocate for a TrailPass program that works for students and that is equitable and fair but also provides them with access to SEPTA services,” Grady said. “We will continue to have conversations to try to make sure that the pass program would work for Temple students.” amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

PAGE 3

RESEARCH

Professors to test effects of emergency grants The grants are for students close to graduation who could drop out for financial reasons.

By JULIE CHRISTIE News Editor Temple researchers announced Monday that they had received an almost $4 million grant from the United States Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.

The grant is part of a partnership between Temple and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, which is made up of 235 public research universities including Temple.

Researchers will use the money to study programs at seven APLU institutions that give small completion grants, which aim to prevent low-income students who are close to graduation from dropping out due to emergency financial issues. Then, the researchers will conduct a trial at 10 APLU institutions to determine how effective the completion grants are at keeping students in school.

“I know every student would think that this kind of program would help them, but we actually don’t really know that it will,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a higher education professor and a principal investigator of the study. “I’ve studied financial aid for a long time and I think this is promising, but I’m still skeptical.”

Goldrick-Rab said the study would help determine the difference between students who needed money from a completion grant that ranges anywhere between $500 and $1,500 to graduate and those who “would have graduated anyway.”

While Temple students will not be part of the study, Goldrick-Rab said the university would be able to use the results of the study to create an effective emergency financial aid program for students.

“Temple’s not going to throw money into this without knowing first if it

works,” she said. “If we find out that this thing works, I’ll certainly be among the first to say to Temple, ‘This is something we should probably consider trying.’”

Shari Garmise, another principal investigator of the study, said even though the investigators believe the completion grants help increase graduation rates, the study is needed to prove their effectiveness.

“A lot of time we need research to validate that but projects, programs and approaches are not always isolated, they’re part of larger support systems to students,” she said. “This is also to dig deeper, to get a better sense of understanding of how they work and why they work.”

Doug Webber, an assistant economics professor at Temple, will analyze the data to figure out the effect of the policy on the students and universities in the study.

“If we can get a precise enough measurement of the effect science and see what conditions might have led to this effect, [it could be] implemented on a more national scale and the types of places that it worked best at can take up this policy,” Webber said.

Goldrick-Rab said the grant is part of a national effort from universities to increase the percent of students who graduate.

According to a release from the APLU, students at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis were 44 percent more likely to graduate with the help of a completion grant. It added that the graduation rate at Georgia State University was 134 percent higher for students who received a completion grant than similar students who did not receive a grant.

“I’m sure many [Temple students] are frustrated with financial aid,” Goldrick-Rab said. “The current system, in my view, is very broken and what’s good about [this study] is it means that universities are trying to do better.”

Continued from Page 1

SCHOLARSHIPS lated. Before the restructuring, any student who met the criteria was guaranteed a scholarship.

Students enrolled at Temple prior to the change in the merit scholarship program will not have any changes made to their scholarship amount as long as they maintain the required GPA, Kaiser said.

“Any student that received one of our scholarships under the old program has the four-year window to receive that as long as they meet the academic requirements,” Kaiser said.

“The financial aid program criteria and the management of the program is going to be evaluated annually and a presentation about that will be done for the Board of Trustees every year,” Kaiser added.

“There will be constant checking to make sure everything is running properly and it’s on budget. The benefits are still accruing and everything is in good shape.”

The $22 million budget deficit was due to high

participation and a “lack of careful watch over the merit scholarship program,” Kaiser said. To manage the budget in July 2016, administrative offices were asked to cut their operating budgets so the university did not have to raise tuition.

“No one stole any money,” Kaiser said. “Money was never missing. Money simply was allocated to students to discount their tuition and when we made up the money in the budget, tuition was not increased to make up that $22 million. It was found through other means.”

“It really was the result of the success of the program,” Kaiser added. “It had grown really exponentially year after year, beyond any initial expectations said it would. It was really a case of Temple becoming very popular for high-performing students and more of them took advantage of the program than expected. Had we done a deeper dive into it we might have been able to project that there was trouble on the horizon.” amanda.lien@temple.edu @amandajlien

julie.christie@temple.edu @ChristieJules CAITLIN COLLIS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Ken Kaiser, the university’s CFO and treasurer, is working with the Provost’s office to tighten the availability of the merit scholarship program to those with more financial need.

RESEARCH

City, university resurrects survey for underrepresented Temple’s Institute for Survey Research is trying to reach minority communities to evaluate the city’s services.

By NOAH TANEN Research Beat Reporter Along with Philadelphia, Temple’s Institute for Survey Research is collecting data for the Philadelphia Resident Survey, which aims to boost responses from minority and low-income populations, officials said.

The Resident Survey was the city’s way of collecting information about citizens’ perception of city services, before it was suspended almost 10 years ago due to lack of funding, said Heidi Grunwald, managing director of the Institute for Survey Research.

“When Mayor Jim Kenney took office, he commissioned the Office of Performance Management to take up the survey again,” Grunwald said.

Angelina Ruffin, the city’s director of performance management, said when the city attempted to administer the survey last year, the first round of data collection was “not representative of the city demographically.”

To remedy these issues, the city and the Institute for Survey Research are changing their strategy. Ruffin said data collection began again on Jan. 8, and will continue through Feb. 15.

“The approach we’re taking now is more of a targeted outreach,” Ruffin said. “I’m working

with churches across the city in Latino, AfricanAmerican and Asian communities.”

She said she is also working with schools in ZIP codes with high minority populations.

Grunwald said the Institute for Survey Research is also working with civic associations that have a “critical mass of respondents that don’t typically respond or historically are under represented in these types of efforts.”

The lack of respondents from minority and low-income populations is about “mistrust” and “transience,” Grunwald added.

“It’s often harder to track these groups over time and these communities often feel disenfranchised by these kinds of institutional efforts,” she said.

Grunwald explained that “people generally think surveys are an intrusion on their life and their time, when actually they’re performing a really important civic duty and are an important factor in deciding how the local landscape could potentially look.”

The Institute for Survey Research is using its BeHeard Philly program to complete the resident survey. BeHeard Philly is a panel of about 8,000 Philadelphians who take surveys for loyalty benefits. The program is open to anyone above the age of 18, living within city limits.

For the resident survey, BeHeard Philly will use ZIP codes and other information about its members to determine quality of city services in different neighborhoods, as well as to compare responses based on other factors like race and gender.

“We want to look at the results in different ways,” Ruffin said. “What are the top three issues that are important for the city to address,

MICHELLE GOLDSBOROUGH FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Heidi Grunwald, managing director of the Institute for Survey Research, helped organize the Philadelphia Resident Survey, a current data collection effort on Philadelphians’ perceptions of city services.

and then we want to look at that by age group, by race and ethnicity, by gender and see if there are any differences.”

Ruffin says the survey is open to Temple students as well.

“We’re looking to hear from all residents of the city,” Ruffin said, “When you go to a school here you’re considered a resident, you live here and you have interactions with some city services. You are a member of the community” But Grunwald said the Temple population is another hard-to-reach group.

“If you don’t have a permanent address in the city you probably wouldn’t hear about the survey,” Grunwald said. “College students are pretty hard to reach because they are transient, they don’t have home addresses here.”

The Institute for Survey Research will provide the results to the Mayor’s Office in March. noah.tanen@temple.edu

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

OPINION

PAGE 4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

TRANSPORTATION A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

Joe Brandt Editor-in-Chief Paige Gross Managing Editor Michaela Winberg Supervising Editor Julie Christie News Editor Jenny Roberts Opinion Editor

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

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

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

Visit us online at temple-news.com.

Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com.

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

Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News.

EDITORIALS

WOAR is essential resource The satellite office opened by Women Organized Against Rape will help survivors of sexual assault.

Women Organized Against Rape recently opened a satellite office on Main Campus. WOAR’s staff offers 24-hour support on campus for survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence. With this office, the university is taking a huge step forward in terms of offering support for survivors.

This office arrives almost two years after the university was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for possible Title IX violations regarding the handling of sexual violence and misconduct.

We’re relieved to see that the university is taking the concerns raised by this investigation seriously.

Students will no longer have to question if it’s best to go to places like Temple Police, the Wellness Resource Center or Tuttleman Counseling Services to receive help.

And as a third party service, WOAR will hopefully encourage more survivors to come forward for confidential help without any qualms about university involvement.

Kelly Dawson, Temple

Student Government’s vice president of Internal Services, said having the center separate from the university was important.

“There can be concerns about the politics of accusing someone,” Dawson said.

When students call the WOAR hotline at 215-9853333, they will have access to university resources, but won’t be obligated to submit personal information. Instead, WOAR will provide numerical data to Temple, but not names of those seeking help.

“They’ll let me know if [they] have any type of data that’s useful for patterns,” said Andrea Seiss, Temple’s Title IX coordinator.

This relationship is essential in offering student survivors the respect and privacy they deserve while allowing the university to access data important to combat sexual assault on campus.

Sexual assault is a serious problem many students face. We are glad that with WOAR, they won’t have to face it alone.

Don’t wait to call for help Reach out for assistance when friends show signs of alcohol poisoning.

Christian Ciammetti was once a junior landscape architecture major at Temple. He was bright and optimistic. He was inspired by Morgan Hall, towering 24 floors over Main Campus, and he hoped to design buildings even better one day. Like all other students, Christian had friends, he took classes and he aspired to some lofty career goals.

But two years ago, he died from alcohol poisoning.

“No one should have to die of this again,” Mary Ciammetti, his mother told us this week. “Everyone needs to understand the signs of alcohol poisoning.”

It inspired Ciammetti to start Don’t Stall, Just Call: an organization aiming to educate students about the symptoms of alcohol poisoning and encourage them to reach out for help when a friend is too drunk.

As students, we know many people who have encountered situations like this.

We all know what it looks like when our friends get too

drunk, but maybe we don’t know what it looks like when they need our help most.

The symptoms, Ciammetti said, look something like this: “mumbling, stumbling, passed out, cold to the touch.”

We admire Temple’s stance on alcohol — the message has never been about pretending students won’t drink, but instead encouraging them to do it responsibly.

We encourage Temple students to prioritize their safety over the fear of getting in trouble. If you’re at all concerned about the health and safety of someone around you, please reach out for help from the police or Temple at 215-204-1234.

Temple has a medical amnesty program in place, which forgives students for underage drinking if they have reached out for medical help.

Although getting in trouble might hurt, it won’t sting nearly as much as losing someone close to you.

CORRECTIONS An article and an accompanying headline that ran on Jan. 31 on Page 3, about the university’s dean searches, misidentified one of the schools interviewing deans. The two schools are the Tyler School of Art and the Beasley School of Law. Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor-in-Chief Joe Brandt at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6737.

letters@temple-news.com

SEPTA: educate riders about Key Riders need to know about the Key so they can begin reaping its benefits.

A

s I walked down the steps of Cecil B. Moore subway station, I noticed a long line of about 10 people waiting to pay for their ride. As I got closer, I realized why: these people all had tokens.

Since June 2016, SEPTA has been removing turnstiles that accept tokens and replacing them with machines that accept the SEPTA Key, a new tap-and-go fare payment method.

Riders can load funds onto their Key online or at kiosks in subway stations.

But until this ALISA ISLAM transition is fully complete, many riders seem confused.

Many face long wait times when using tokens because their only option is to deposit them in the SEPTA attendant’s box. This means all riders must pass through one line.

But these wait times can be avoided if riders purchase a SEPTA Key and pay their fare using the newly installed machines. Unfortunately, many riders don’t realize the SEPTA Key is already available, or that the transition occurred in the first place.

The programs SEPTA has released related to the Key during its trial period have been confusing, and many riders aren’t sure if they can purchase one or how they’d add money to it at this stage in the process. SEPTA needs to better educate the public so riders can take advantage of the perks of the SEPTA Key. Andrew Busch, SEPTA’s chief press officer, said making the switch from tokens to the SEPTA Key has taken longer than he expected.

“We’re in a transition phase right now,” he said. “Putting in the new kiosks and getting the technology up-to-

date, logistically it’s been a pretty heavy lift. It takes a lot of time and is expensive to do.”

Juwan Jordan, a sophomore computer science major, said he recently noticed the unusually long lines to board the subway.

“I know that the only way you can use the token with the SEPTA Broad Street Line is if you go to the actual person and give them a token,” Jordan said.

“And that causes a lot of lines and a lot of back up and people missing trains.”

“It certainly is slower,” said Adam Conte, a sophomore film and media arts major. “When there’s a line, I can’t just throw in my token and get on. I have to now wait.”

Cities like New York and Washington, D.C. have had card access for their public transportation systems since the 1990s. SEPTA followed suit only recently because of past financial restraints.

“We’re going from how things operated in the ‘80s to how things will be in the 21st century,” Busch said.

While it’s good that SEPTA is evolving its system to equip Philadelphia with more modern transportation payment, the lack of clarity and disorganization in this transition process has caused confusion for many riders.

The Key has become more accessible in the past few months, but many students are still unaware that it exists and continue to use tokens.

“I don’t know where to get the SEPTA Key,” Jordan said. “I do think it’s a good idea. I think they could’ve implemented it a little better.”

“The only way I found out about it was actively researching it,” Jordan added.

Those still using tokens should make the switch to carrying a SEPTA Key. I’ve been using the Key myself and it’s very convenient. I no longer have to wait in line to enter the train and the physical card is easier to carry around than tokens or exact change.

Riders can now order a personalized card online through a SEPTA account.

This card has the rider’s name imprinted on the front of it, and the more striking benefit is that it’s free, as opposed to the instant cards purchased at some kiosks and other sales locations for $4.95. All cards can now be reloaded with funds at kiosks.

This is the type of information SEPTA should make accessible to riders directly at subway stations in the city.

SEPTA also needs to educate riders on what the Key does and how to use it There are some SEPTA attendants at subway stations who can explain the Key, but not all locations have these attendants, Busch said.

Busch added that SEPTA wants to advertise to promote the Key before it employs more attendants in subway stations.

“We wanted to make sure everything was in place by the time people started using it,” Busch said. “Some agencies didn’t do a gradual rollout, they did it all at once and they had a lot of problems with confusion among customers and people not really knowing how to use it. There wasn’t enough time for education for riders.”

If anything, the slow rollout with a lack of communication has been the main source of confusion. It’s not fair for riders to be uninformed as they continue to experience rough commutes.

Currently, SEPTA has yet to set a date for discontinuing token sales, but Busch said it will determine this later in the year.

Until this transition is complete, SEPTA should devote more effort to informing riders of the transition. And students should take matters into their own hands by asking attendants about the Key and visiting SEPTA’s website for more information.

I think this new system will ultimately be an upgrade, since I’ve already experienced the benefits of the Key. But now other riders need to do the same. alisa.sarasarn@temple.edu

THE ESSAYIST

Coming out: ‘I am here,’ ‘I matter’

T

A woman accepts her bisexuality and comes out to family and friends.

he first time I said “I’m bisexual,” it didn’t feel like a relief.

After I said it, I burst into tears, and my best friend hugged me in the middle of our apartment — a sign of her unrelenting support. And in the kitchen of my childhood home, amongst hugs and affirmations of love, I cried again when I told my parents.

I had finally answered an overwhelming and confusing question that hung over my head since those shy and awkward days of high school — when I thought being gay only meant you could like people who were the same gender as you, not both.

In that moment, when I finally accepted myself, I opened myself up to generations of stigma and persecution.

My name instantly became interchangeable with slurs that spitball out of people’s mouths every day without a second thought. I became just another person to put in boxes, to stereotype.

And I really only felt one way about dealing with the perceptions others had about my sexual orientation: scared.

But suddenly a lot that happened in my life before I accepted myself made more sense. They became assertions of my own identity.

When a professor listed statistics about bisexual women being one of the least represented populations in the media last semester, my face burned red — my own way of screaming, “I am here.”

By GRACE SHALLOW When a teacher in high school complained to me about the effort it takes to be politically correct for gay students, I snapped back about the importance of all kids feeling comfortable at school —

Because I denied my identity for such a long time, I hadn’t fully felt the scope of offense warranted by comments like, “Bisexual people are just confused” and “They must be turned on all the time.”

Some may think a higher power needs to rescue me from my homosexuality. And, although they scream “hell for sinners” on the corner, I feel like I’m in some type of purgatory because I’ve realized so many positive things about accepting myself since I came out.

Now, when I see B in LGBTQ, I feel recognized.

When I see the acronym written in bold letters on cardboard signs and hear it chanted at marches, I feel supported. When I read about the advocacy efforts of people like Harvey Milk, I feel gratitude. When I look in the mirror, it’s recognition.

This game of tug of war has been confusing — a recent theme in my life.

One of the biggest realizations I’ve gathered from coming out is there’s no easy and carefree destination to reach. In the future, there will be questions asked of me that I won’t want to answer or ignorance I can’t swallow. But I am what I am, always.

And that certainty has been the most blissful thing yet.

SASHA LASAKOW | THE TEMPLE NEWS

my own way of saying “I matter.” When a peer argued that being gay was a choice, I debated him for hours — my own notso-quiet way of saying, “I am real.”

grace.shallow@temple.edu @Grace_Shallow

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

OPINION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 SPORTS

Women’s sports deserve support, game attendance

PAGE 5

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Female athletes deserve respect for the time they put into training and the athleticism they display in their sports.

I

t was a Saturday afternoon, and I was reporting on the men’s basketball game against the Penn in December. As I took my spot on the press bench, I couldn’t help but feel slightly in awe.

I was in the Liacouras Center with a full student section waving their cherry and white lights and cheering loudly throughout the game.

The experience felt different, but it shouldn’t have. I cover the women’s basketball team as well, and I had already been to several of their games, MAURA watching from the courtside RAZANAUSKAS press seating.

So what was the difference between the two events? The atmosphere. A large audience. A big, booming arena with a giant jumbotron hanging from center court.

In society, as well as at Temple, we need to pay more attention to women’s sports and give them the respect and support they deserve. This starts with attending and watching more women’s sporting events.

“I feel like we deserve more of a crowd,” said Feyonda Fitzgerald, a senior guard on the women’s basketball team. “People are bandwagoners. You can see that we’re doing good, you might as well jump on the bandwagon and come support us.”

Even when the women have a better record than the men’s team, they still have smaller attendance. In a recent women’s home game, they drew a crowd of 1,117 people in a conference weekend match against Memphis. Meanwhile, the men’s recent matchup against the Tigers drew 4,950 people on a weeknight.

To put the teams’ success this season in perspective, the women were going for their 11th straight win while the men were playing for their second win in eight games. And yet, more than 3,000 people would rather go to the men’s game than the women’s.

“I don’t know what it will take to get people to come out to the games,” Fitzgerald said. “I mean we’re winning, so I don’t know what it will take.

Hopefully we keep winning and hopefully it attracts more and more people.”

Obviously, this discrepancy in support isn’t limited to basketball. Paige Gross, a midfielder on the field hockey team, has also noticed attendance is smaller for women’s sports. Even when fellow athletes support each other, she said, it tends to be one-sided.

“We’re all kind of interconnected and we’re all friends,” Gross said. “But you do get a sense that the women’s sports support the women’s sports and the men’s teams will go to the men’s sports.”

The lack of attendance at women’s games also plays into discrimination from sports media.

“There’s sort of an interesting question in the

sociology of sports around the idea, ‘Are women’s sports less popular because people don’t go to them and they don’t get airtime on ESPN, or do they not get airtime and people don’t go to them because they’re less popular?’” said Andrew Young, a sixth-year Ph.D. student and sociology instructor.

This chicken-or-the-egg dichotomy poses an issue because it becomes difficult to determine the most effective way to increase popularity in women’s sports.

But regardless of the route we take, progress needs to be made quickly. According to a study updated in 2015 by professors from the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, men’s sports receive more than 90 percent of coverage in the news and sports highlight shows.

“That’s one potential reason that people don’t go to games, because they don’t know about them,” Young said. “They’re not seen as important. The cool games are seen as the men’s basketball games and that’s where all the TV cameras are. You could be on TV if you go, and if you go to the women’s game, then you’re just going to sit there with like three other people.”

Meanwhile, sports news outlets like ESPN don’t take the initiative to educate viewers about women’s teams, and they don’t encourage them to watch women’s games since the channels won’t show them. This makes it harder for viewers to develop an attachment to a team or admire a specific athlete.

People aren’t even being exposed to women’s sports in order to pay them the respect they deserve. Some say they prefer men’s games because they’re “faster-paced” or “more exciting,” but women also put on thrilling games filled with incredible acts of athleticism.

It’s just that people aren’t watching.

“I think we need respect in that we do put in as much work, as much effort, if not more sometimes, to be where we are and we have sacrificed to get to where we are,” Gross said. “I think that’s something we don’t get as much credit for as the guys do.”

Both men and women put in the hours at the gym, follow strict diets, manage busy schedules and, most importantly, they both warrant equal levels of support, facilities, funding and respect.

Despite lower ratings and attendance, Gross remains hopeful about the future of women’s sports.

I do, too. I hope that women will be heralded with the same awe that sports fans reserve for their favorite male athletes. And the next time I walk into the Liacouras Center and see a full arena, I hope I’ll have to stop and remember whether I am covering a women’s or men’s game. maura.razanauskas@temple.edu @CaptainAMAURAca

September 24, 1976: Temple University Hospital negotiated with city representatives to bring the services offered by Women Organized Against Rape, like medical treatment and counseling, to the hospital. WOAR’s contract with Philadelphia General Hospital at the time was set to expire, meaning survivors of rape could no longer be admitted to the hospital’s emergency room.

Last week, WOAR opened a satellite office on Main Campus to offer 24-hour support to survivors of sexual assault. The office’s location will remain undisclosed for the privacy of students. Those seeking WOAR’s services can call its hotline at 215-985-3333 and a WOAR representative will meet up with them on campus at any time of day.

TRAILPASS

DELANEY KEITH FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS

Temple Student Government and the Office of Sustainability are hoping to negotiate with SEPTA to offer students a discounted TrailPass.

HISTORY

Philadelphia’s historical sites have stories to share Students should learn about the three centuries worth of history within the city.

I

’ve lived in Center City my whole life, but the only time I’ve ever seen Independence Hall has been in movies and the media.

I’ve never made the visit in person.

It seems like a lack of motivation on my part. It would only take a five-minute drive from my house to reach the very place where our founders declared our independence from Great Britain in 1776 and cemented the values of our nation in the Constitution 11 years later.

Philadelphia, which has existed for more than 300 years, is filled with historical sites dating back to colonial times. These sites have stories SAMANTHA WONG to tell — if people are willing to listen. As students living in the city, we should make a habit of exploring Philadelphia’s past to better appreciate the present.

“There’s such a distinct history in Philadel-

phia that is represented in different ways and is told in so many ways,” history professor Bryant Simon said.

The second floor of Independence Hall was the original site of the Charles Willson Peale American Museum, a natural history museum founded in the early 1800s that exhibited biological and botanical specimens, said Seth Bruggeman, a history professor.

It’s “arguably the first museum in the United States,” Bruggeman added.

Alex Marothy, a sophomore film and media arts major, grew up in Germantown near the Cliveden, an estate that was vital to the Battle of Germantown in the Revolutionary War. It was the main site of bloodshed between Americans and the British within city limits.

British soldiers took refuge in the home and fought off American soldiers for hours until George Washington’s army finally retreated.

“Growing up in a very colonial neighborhood influenced me,” Marothy said. “I was always connected to some geographic ancestry in some way.”

Our past is intertwined with the modern day and our own identities. Entering these spaces should allow us all a greater awareness of our ourselves and our humanity.

These realizations should hopefully provoke discussion too — both while we visit a historic site and long after we leave it.

“We can talk on hard issues and we can witness one another react in powerful emotions,” Bruggeman said. “There’s something about the museum-going experience that humanizes us.”

Some students who grew up in the Philadelphia area relied on grade school field trips to see these historic places — I know I did. For some, this provided less reason to visit independently.

“I’ve grown up in Philly, but I only went to historical places and museums during school trips,” said Alaina Castelli, a sophomore early childhood education major. “I feel like people are less likely to go because they feel like they know all that they need to know.”

“Even though I only went to these places through school, I still found it educational and thought it taught me a lot about the historical figures in Philly,” Castelli added.

Even now though, some Temple students only make the trips to historic sites to fulfill class requirements. But our motivation to learn about the past can’t be limited to mandatory class visits. Curiosity should prompt us to actively seek information about our past.

“History is important but there’s so many different ways to experience it that it doesn’t have to be just the Liberty Bell,” Simon said.

“My favorite thing about some of the historical sites is when they try to think about history in new ways, very progressive ways, such as the Eastern State Penitentiary,” Bruggeman said.

Eastern State Penitentiary was the first penitentiary in the world, and it remained open until the 1970s.

“That structure is preserved as a stabilized ruin, so it’s very beautiful and spooky in some ways,” Bruggeman said. “And their staff has decided to go beyond the spookiness and talk about serious issues of social justice and talk about incarceration.”

Clearly, the past can serve as a springboard to discuss modern issues. While attempting to make a difference in the present, it is often helpful to look at the past.

But students need to be aware of their resources before they can use them.

We could all benefit from being more aware of the city we call home — even if it’s just for four years — and taking advantage of the history Philadelphia has to offer. samantha.wong@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

NEWS

PAGE 6

NEWS BRIEFS

DEVELOPMENT

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Student’s family, once denied entry to U.S., returns A junior biology major’s family returned to the United States on Monday morning after being denied entry to the country last week, the Inquirer reported.

Joey Assali’s two uncles, two aunts and two cousins who lived in Syria were en route to join the rest of the Assali family in Allentown on Jan. 27, the day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that banned immigration and visas from seven Muslim-majority countries. The Assalis began their immigration process filing for their visas in 2003.

Jonathan Grode, the family’s lawyer, told Philadelphia magazine the main issue with their return was that the family’s travel visas were revoked by Customs and Border Protection officials upon arrival at Philadelphia International Airport.

The Assali family intends to sue President Trump and his administration over the travel ban.

- Laura Smythe

Medical schools partner for brain tumor research On Friday, seven Philadelphia medical centers, including the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, announced a collaboration that will work to further brain tumor research, the Inquirer reported.

Joining the Katz School of Medicine in the Philadelphia Coalition for a Cure, or PC4C, are Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel University College of Medicine, the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, NJ and the Hyundai Cancer Institute at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

The institutions will use precision medical technology to analyze blood and tissue samples of brain cancer patients.

The collaboration hopes to develop new, individualized treatments and hold clinical trials for new therapies.

- Noah Tanen

CITY NEWS

North Philadelphia gets new Black business directory Beech Companies Inc. is making its first annual directory for Black business owners in North Philadelphia called the North Philly Black Biz Directory, according to the Philadelphia Sun. Beech Companies, an economic development company in North Philadelphia, will include African-Americanowned businesses located between Spring Garden Street and Allegheny Avenue, and Front and 33rd Streets in the directory.

“Promoting Black-owned businesses in North Philadelphia is an ongoing effort to harness the economic power of the Black residents and the directory is an important step,” Ken Scott, president of Beech Companies, told the Philadelphia Sun. The deadline to submit a business passed at the end of January and the finalized directory is upcoming.

- Kelly Brennan

Vote to confirm Trump’s education secretary delayed According to a Friday tweet from Sen. Bob Casey, only one more Republican Senate vote is needed to block Betsy DeVos from becoming the Secretary of Education. Many Pennsylvanians are hoping Sen. Pat Toomey will be that vote to break the tie, Philadelphia magazine reported.

Weekly gatherings, called “Tuesdays with Toomey,” were held outside Toomey’s Philadelphia office as protesters asked Toomey to vote against DeVos, the Altoona Mirror reported. As a response to an increase in phone calls to Toomey’s Philadelphia and Allentown offices the phone lines were shut off.

DeVos was criticized for her positions on public and charter schools and making large donations to the Republican National Committee. The Senate’s vote on DeVos was planned to take place on Monday, but after Democrats held the floor overnight, it will not be held until Tuesday.

The Hill, a Washington magazine, projected a 50-50 tie on DeVos’ confirmation, after two Republican senators have promised to vote against her. If there is a tie, Vice President Mike Pence will be the tiebreaker, and assumably vote along party lines to confirm her.

Toomey issued a statement to his constituents who reached out to oppose last week saying that he would still vote to confirm DeVos. - Amanda Lien

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Schools plan for, need construction On Main and Health Sciences campuses, several schools have ongoing or planned projects.

By GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK Assistant News Editor Coming on the heels of recent plans for construction, enacted as part of Visualize Temple, several schools and colleges have plans to update their facilities in the next several years.

Of Temple’s 17 schools and colleges, The Temple News found eight sponsoring ongoing and future construction projects.

The Fox School of Business is in the process of taking over 1810 Liacouras Walk. The building once held the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science and Technology advising offices, which have since moved to the first floor of Paley Library. How the school will use the new space is not yet determined, Dean Moshe Porat said in a statement.

“The Fox School’s plans for 1810 Liacouras Walk are evolving constantly,” he said. “We anticipate our vision for this space will be formalized over the coming months, and upon subsequent university approval.”

In a July interview with The Temple News, Diana Knudsen, a senior vice dean in the Fox School of Business, said 1810 Liacouras Walk would be renovated in time for Fox’s Centennial Celebration in Fall 2018.

The School of Pharmacy on the Health Sciences Campus invested $1.5 million in “infrastructure improvements and renovations” over the past year, said Dr. Michael Borenstein, the senior associate dean for operations at the School of Pharmacy.

This money helped create the Kendig Museum in the School of Pharmacy. The museum houses more than 100 years of pharmaceutical artifacts including relics like drug jars, wooden scales and weights, gold needles and a first aid kit from World War I, according to the school’s website.

The school also converted 1,500 square feet of a computer lab into residency spaces for students on fellowships.

These students can use these spaces to meet with patients privately, Borenstein said. The school added seven new research and pharmacy-dispensing laboratories for students and Temple University Hospital to use.

After undergoing a name change, the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication is raising funds to open a new

Continued from Page 1

TOWING Towing companies in the city are concerned about the efficiency of the law and its impact.

Lewis Blum, owner of Lew Blum Towing, said the law will have more of an impact on property owners and management companies that hire towing companies for their private driveways and parking lots.

Ticketing vehicles is going to increase the wait time for these private property owners after they report a car parked illegally to their towing company, he added. “[Property owners] don’t want to be waiting around 45 minutes to an hour for a police officer to put a ticket on the vehicle,” Blum said. “You could call your towing company to be there in 20 minutes to tow the vehicle out of the way.”

Councilman David Oh, a Republican who voted against the law in council, told The Temple News that the law is “overly broad” and not effective.

“We have a large city,” Oh said.

“Things like calling for a police officer to come out and write a ticket, so a car can be towed is probably on the bottom of the list.”

Oh added he believes that since it will take the police a long time to ticket a car, people who are aware of the new law will be encouraged to park illegally.

“If they thought that it would take three or four hours for a police officer to

MARGO REED FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Construction is being completed across Montgomery Street from Liacouras Garage on Friday. The construction is part of an addition to the College of Public Health.

facility for a converged media center. The converged media center would be a place for student media outlets to work together, The Temple News reported last month.

The new Student Health and Wellness Center on 15th Street near Montgomery Avenue will hold the College of Public Health’s clinical program and new “smart” classrooms. The facility will double as a recreation center as well, with a 70-yard indoor turf field, a climbing wall and free weights for student use. The SHWC is set to open in Fall 2017.

There are no immediate construction updates for the Boyer College of Music and Dance or the School of Theater, Media and Film Arts, said David Brown, Boyer’s assistant dean.

“I wish we had some construction,” Brown said. “We’re running out of space.”

The only construction planned for the two schools is an addition to the top of Tomlinson Theater and possible new buildings across from the College of Engineering on 12th Street near Norris, according to plans from Visualize Temple.

But this construction could be five to 10 years away, Brown said.

come out and write a ticket, they might be encouraged to park illegally for a little bit,” he said.

“We’re all getting used to the law,” said a George Smith Towing Inc. truck driver. He could not give his name due to the company’s policy prohibiting employees from speaking to reporters. “Hopefully, down the road, or in a week or two, it will get better.”

In November, PhillyVoice reported that City Council had received an influx of complaints of illegal towing, which

sparked the push for legislative reform.

Oh said the reform should punish the specific towing companies that break the laws, rather than hurt the entire industry.

“We’re putting private people out of business, people who have invested in tow trucks,” he said. “This city really needs as many opportunities for people to earn a living and start a business as possible.”

gillian.mcgoldrick@temple.edu @gill_mcgoldrick

kelly.brennan@temple.edu @_kellybrennan

JOE BRANDT FILE PHOTO A new law requires that illegally parked vehicles must be ticketed before they are towed.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

features

F E AT U R E S

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

PAGE 7

Students uncertain of future after travel ban A master’s student was in the process of applying for a green card when the executive order was announced.

GENEVA HEFFERNAN /THE TEMPLE NEWS Sibia Ranjbar has a bowl of pistachios from her home country of Iran, which a friend brought back from a recent trip.

I

By EMILY SCOTT Features Editor

n her Manayunk apartment, Sibia Ranjbar keeps a book that her secondgrade teacher in Iran gave her as a gift. “Paulina: The World and the Stars,”

by Ana María Matute, tells the story about a 10-year-old orphaned girl who is sent to live with her grandparents in the mountains.

Ranjbar, a master’s of biotechnology student, said she cherishes the character of the strong, young girl in times of strife. She thought of the character when President Donald Trump implemented a travel ban last week on seven countries, including her home country.

Before the federal judge in Seattle temporarily halted the ban, Ranjbar said she had “90 percent” forgotten about herself and its impact on her.

“Things weren’t too bad for me,” said Ranjbar, an Iranian citizen who is studying at Temple on a single-entry F1, or non-immigrant student visa. “I was just concerned about the bigger impact. The possibility of a new war, lots of people losing their lives because they were not able to come here, all of those refugees that are in war zones.”

On Jan. 27, Trump signed an executive order that banned entry into the

ORDER | PAGE 11

GENEVA HEFFERNAN /THE TEMPLE NEWS Sibia Ranjbar received her favorite book from her second-grade teacher. Ranjbar is inspired by the book’s story of a strong, brave girl.

Preventing binge drinking through lectures, programs Mary Ciammetti started Don’t Stall, Just Call after her son passed away in 2015.

By PATRICK BILOW For The Temple News

CAITLIN COLLIS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Professor Guillermo Caliendo held open discussion about President Donald Trump’s policies and language in his strategic communications course, Rhetoric of Social Movements, in Tuttleman Hall on Wednesday.

Teaching the ‘mechanics of language’ Communication students and professors have been studying the president’s word choice.

By ERIN MORAN Deputy Features Editor When every other member of the Rhetoric and Public Advocacy Club graduated last year, junior strategic communications major Sierra Holland thought she would struggle to find new members.

The club grew, however, to 15 regular members who

were interested in discussing the tumultuous presidential election season, she said.

Within the rhetoric and public advocacy track, President Donald Trump and his language throughout the campaign have been used as tools for teaching rhetoric.

“Our goal is to spread social awareness and help people understand the issues faced by many Americans,” Holland, the president of the club, said.

“Especially issues surrounding the Philadelphia community, such as homelessness, issues faced by the LGBTQ community, issues faced by women, the

RHETORIC | PAGE 9

One day in 2013, Mary Ciammetti’s son, Christian, brought her to Morgan Hall on Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Broad Street while it was being built to show her the landscape and architecture of the building.

Ciammetti said her son, then a sophomore landscape architecture major, beamed with pride and she asked him, “Is this what you are going to do?”

“Nope,” Christian said. “Even better.”

Ciammetti lost Christian, her youngest son, just a year and a half later to alcohol poisoning when he was 20 years old, a junior. After his death, Ciammetti started Don’t Stall, Just Call, a program dedicated to preventing alcohol-related deaths on college campuses.

As Ciammetti stood in a hospital room surrounded by mourning family members and friends, she said she struggled to understand the purpose of her son’s death. She asked herself, “How can we make a real change?”

Through lectures, Don’t Stall, Just Call has educated students about the dangers of binge drinking at schools like Temple, University of Delaware, Drexel University and St. Joseph’s University. Ciammetti has also spoken at high schools and churches.

Don’t Stall, Just Call’s team has spoken in front of crowds as small as 10 people and as large as 2,000.

“Christian was such a bright kid,” Ciammetti said. “He saw the beauty and potential in everything.”

In 2016, Ciammetti began working with Chris Carey, the director of Student Activities, to put up posters and magnets of the organization’s logo in buildings around Main Campus. She said students need to be constantly reminded of the signs of alcohol poisoning and should be familiar with medical amnesty.

Students are also required to take an online assessment called “Think About It,” a university initiative that educates students about sexual assault and alcohol poisoning.

“It is not enough though,” Ciammetti said. “Mumbling, stumbling, passed out, cold to the touch, these are the signs that Christian’s friends didn’t know. We didn’t even know them.”

Carey said Ciammetti’s organization is supplemental to Temple’s online assessment program.

ALCOHOL | PAGE 10

DANCE | PAGE 8

PARKS | PAGE 8

PLAYWRIGHT | PAGE 9

MOTHERS | PAGE 11

The chair of the dance department “breaks” with the Temple Breakers in a new film that documents the art form.

A new course encourages students to advocate for the National Park Service through the university’s ProRanger Program.

The playwright-residency program premieres a play written for the theater program at Randall Theater.

After noticing a lack of resources for mothers on campus, a student helped open a new breastfeeding lounge in Ritter Annex.

F E AT U R E S

PAGE 8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Dance professor preserves breakdancing history in film The Temple Breakers star in a new documentary about the history of the art form.

By ADRIANA IMHOF For The Temple News Sherril Dodds doesn’t look like a typical breakdancer, but the self-proclaimed “middle-aged British woman” is often at dance battles and practices at Temple and around the city.

Dodds, the chair of the dance department, dances with B-boys, or break-boys, in the short documentary “Life Lessons in Hip Hop,” which was released last month. She directed the documentary with 2005 psychology alumnus Steve “Steve Believe” Lunger, Mark “Metal” Wong and the on-campus dance group Temple Breakers. The documentary aims to preserve breakdancing at Temple and in Philadelphia and emphasize the benefits of breakdancing beyond the studio.

“This is an art form that I’ve seen hundreds of people come into and have their lives, quite literally, saved by taking them off the street, by giving them something positive,” Lunger said. “It gives them something to be connected to, and it gives them a reason to care.”

Lunger and Wong cofounded Hip Hop Fundamentals, an organization that uses breaking to teach young people in the Philadelphia area about civil rights and the importance of education. He and Wong served as researchers for “Life Lessons in Hip Hop.” They are also friends and mentors to the Temple Breakers.

Lunger believes documenting and preserving breaking at Temple and around Philadelphia is crucial.

“That is really important to me because one, [Temple] is the school I came from and it gave a lot to me,” he said. “But two, because the people of the city, the Philadelphians that live here, don’t always have opportunities or access to the arts.”

In an effort to research hip hop dancers’ facial expressions for a larger

project, Dodds connected with the underground breakdancing community by attending dance battles and practices. After discovering the community and feeling welcomed, she wanted to find a way to show her support. “Life Lessons in Hip Hop” was a way Dodds felt she could contribute.

“Universities are often known for the work they do in the curriculum or the work that the faculty do, but there are often these very rich culture practices going on that don’t get officially recognized by universities,” she said.

“We wanted to really draw attention to these activities that happen late in evening, but not only do Temple students go, but lots of dancers from the local community come to Temple.”

“Temple is not only servicing its students, but other local community members from North Philadelphia and beyond,” she added.

Moosaa Khan, a junior education major and a background B-boy in the documentary, said it’s impor-

tant to document this specific style of street dance to preserve its culture and history.

“Breaking, like any art form, changes,” Khan said. “So when the changes occur you wanna make sure that yes, [within] breaking there is

a lot of freedom, but there is also a structure that needs to be adhered to.”

“Hip hop started as a way for troubled youth to let go of their anger in a non-criminal way, so it’s important that people understand that even if you weren’t born into that violent

atmosphere, that you still understand that’s where it came from and you don’t try to change it into something it’s not,” Khan added. adriana.imhof@temple.edu

JAMIE COTTRELL FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Top: Junior education major Moosaa Khan was recently appointed to the executive board of the dance group Temple Breakers. Khan said it’s important to preserve the history and culture of the dance style. Bottom: North Philadelphia resident Christian “Mach Phive” Walker practices with the Temple Breakers in Pearson Hall. Performances from the club were recently featured in “Life Lessons in Hip-Hop,” a documentary produced by Sherril Dodds, the chair of the dance department.

New history course focuses on ‘heritage interpretation’ A professor is teaching students to be advocates for the National Park Service.

By CARR HENRY For The Temple News Although Seth Bruggeman is officially employed as a history professor, he thinks of his job as “training culture warriors.”

The “culture warriors” Bruggeman refers to are the 27 students enrolled in his new course, Imperiled Promise: An Introduction to Heritage Interpretation in the National Park Service.

Every Wednesday night, the class meets in Anderson Hall to learn how the National Park Service and historians educate millions of visitors about the significance of landmarks like the National Mall. This practice, known as heritage interpretation, can take the form of educational tours, reenactments, literature and signs.

“We need interpretation,” Bruggeman said. “By explaining the significance of the things that the National Park Service protects, not only do we educate the public, but we make clear to them why those assets need to remain safe and protected.”

The class is designed to serve Temple’s ProRanger Program, a 15-credit certificate program that prepares undergraduate students for features@temple-news.com

careers in the park service through courses related to the National Parks and two summer internships in U.S. parks.

Bruggeman said the course is not exclusively for students in the ProRanger Program, and its lessons about presentation and public engagement can be applied to a variety of professional settings.

As of this semester, Temple is now the second college in the United States to offer this program, along

with Texas A&M University.

“I think this course does a good job of kind of getting down to the crux of what it means to be a citizen of this country, and how the parks connect us to that,” said Blake McGready, a student in the class.

McGready, a second-year master’s of public history student at Villanova University, said he applied to take the new course at Temple because it combines his two passions: U.S. history and national parks, which he be-

lieves can bring Americans together even in the most divisive times.

Recent actions by President Donald Trump have concerned Bruggeman, like his harvest of fossil fuels on federal lands, his censorship of the National Park Service’s social media accounts and his decision to halt the hiring of federal employees, including non-seasonal national park rangers.

“It couldn’t be a better moment to run this course,” Bruggeman said.

“The politics of our moment are cre-

COURTNEY SUMMERS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Every Wednesday night, history professor Seth Bruggeman’s class meets in Anderson Hall to discuss heritage interpretation of the National Parks and historical sites, like the National Mall. Although the course is a part of Temple’s ProRanger program, it is open to all students.

ating a real challenge for the National Parks. How we respond to it and how we seek to protect our parks reveals a great deal about how we value our freedoms.”

Jay Lockenour, chair of the history department, supported the creation of the course because he believes the National Parks can help provide an understanding of controversial issues like environmental policy.

“People build up myths about the past that can support ways of looking at the world or even support particular policies,” Lockenour said. “It makes for a more informed citizenry if you understand the past.”

Stephanie Hudson is a junior criminal justice major enrolled in Bruggeman’s new course as a student in Temple’s ProRanger Program. She hopes to work as a park ranger after she graduates. “[For National Park Employees], it’s important to know how to connect and how to best get the purpose of not only the National Park Service itself, but your park over to a visitor,” Hudson said.

“Hopefully this class leads to the next step, which is encouraging the people there to take their friends, their family members out to Independence Hall, out to Valley Forge,” McGready said. “At the end of the day, it takes all of us to stand up and get outside and get into the parks to make connections.” carr.henry@temple.edu

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

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Playwright-residency program introduces first play “Reggie Hoops” was written for Temple Theaters and features student-actors.

By QUANG DO For The Temple News As a play director, Edward Sobel can see a common problem: new works usually take too long to be produced, if they are produced at all.

The lengthy process of production could make the author lose the impulse to write, Sobel said.

“Imagine trying to go back and write a story that you had written a year and a half ago,” Sobel said. “Now you try to reconstruct why you wrote that story that you did before.”

Sobel developed Temple’s first playwrightresidency program in December 2015. In this program, playwrights are guaranteed to have their work produced in a short development process, including staged readings, feedback and suggestions for revisions.

The program’s first product is the original play “Reggie Hoops,” written by Kristoffer Diaz.

The play opened on Jan. 31 and will be shown at Randall Theater until Sunday.

In college, theater students mostly learn from classic plays, Sobel said. But new plays “are often the way people get to build up resumes.”

The playwright-residency program was created to give the best opportunities and experiences for both playwrights and actors, who are mostly graduate students, Sobel added.

As a friend of Sobel’s, Diaz was asked to

write a play for the program about a year and a half ago. During the production process, Diaz met six theater students who were later cast in his play.

Diaz then wrote “Reggie Hoops,” not only for himself, but also for the student actors and actresses he met at Temple.

“It’s a really rare and great opportunity to write something specifically for a group of actors,” Diaz said. “Also, it’s rare to write something and know that it will be produced pretty quickly.”

The play tells the story of Reggie, a former NBA assistant general manager who has to choose between basketball and her family. Over the course of the play, Reggie faces societal pressure and difficult choices between her family and her dream, Diaz said.

Savannah Jackson, a second-year master’s of acting student and an actress in “Reggie Hoops,” said the program encouraged the student actors to independently research topics covered by the play. With classic plays, the students are already familiar or have done the research, but with new works, it involves more of an independent study.

Jackson was cast as Reggie, and she studied the roles of women in professional sports.

“It’s all those things you are able to re-

search,” Jackson said. “You do that with other scripts, but sometimes you read a book that has it all. Someone has already done it.”

Set design was a challenge for a play produced in such a short amount of time, Sobel said. But collaboration between faculty members, theater alumni and graduate design students helped bring the play to fruition.

“Reggie Hoops” was rewritten several times to raise questions about “being great,” referring to President Donald Trump’s “Make America

Great Again” slogan. Identifying himself and his students as “citizen artists,” Sobel said he hopes Temple students will acknowledge their social responsibilities through the program.

“It’s important to be able to speak about something immediately,” Sobel said. “The play is about exploring the question of what it means to make something great and great for whom.” quang.duc.do@temple.edu

JENNY CHOI FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Left: Edward Sobel, head of the playwriting and directing program and developer of the school’s first playwright-residency program, talked to student-actors during rehearsal for “Reggie Hoops.” Bottom: Savannah Jackson, a second-year master’s of acting student and an actress in the play, said the program encouraged student actors to research by themselves on the language, characters and details essential to the play. “Reggie Hoops” will run until Sunday at the Randall Theater.

Continued from Page 7

RHETORIC environment and things of that nature.”

“We just try to stay aware and keep each other aware about what’s going on and how we can best stay active and well-informed in this current climate,” Holland added.

Holland said she and the other RPA club members often talk about Trump and his language during club meetings and rhetoric classes “because he is so different than political candidates that we’ve seen in the past.”

Holland said some of her professors have used Trump’s rhetoric as examples for classical rhetoric terms like the “Strawman fallacy” — when someone willfully misrepresents an opponent’s argument in a debate — and “demagogue” — a political leader who uses the public’s prejudices instead of reason to gain support.

However, her professors still encourage open discussion among students regardless of political views, she added.

“My professors don’t want to alienate the students who might feel empowered and feel heard for the first time with this presidency, but it’s safe to say that most of us are scared and

worried about it,” she added. “At the end of the day our professors are just trying to teach us, point blank. We’ve been talking a lot about classical rhetoric and how the words that you use really matter.”

Guillermo Caliendo, Holland’s rhetorical theory professor, teaches his students classical persuasion techniques and stresses the importance of language, also using the immigration orders as an example.

“He works with us to point out just how important the words we use are,” Holland said.

“Going down to very basic things, such as when someone will say ‘I believe’ or ‘I feel’ or ‘I think.’

CAITLIN COLLIS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior communication studies major Sierra Guenst presents a slideshow, “Trump must level with public about ISIS fight,” to her Rhetoric of Social Movements class on Wednesday.

He’ll say, ‘Do you believe, do you feel or do you know?’”

Caliendo said although he does not support Trump, he tries not to let his personal political leanings impact the conversation in his classroom. He said Trump’s campaign and now presidency have been an interesting “case study” about the use of rhetoric and persuasion in politics.

A recent example of Trump’s rhetoric, Holland said, is his choice to use the words “removable alien” instead of “undocumented immigrant” in his executive orders that were issued on Jan. 25.

“The words they use for immigration are working to dehumanize the group so people stop protesting and get on board with [Trump’s] agenda,” she said.

Caliendo said Trump’s choice to use the words “national security” when talking about immigrants and refugees plays into American’s emotions and underlying fear because “national security in itself has the connotation and understanding that we are safe.” The idea of national security is easier to sell than exclusion, he said.

“What I try to do is concentrate on the use of language and the ways in which he has persuaded people one way or the other,” he said.

“One of the things I keep repeating is that if Trump sold a box of cereal to people, however you slice it, 60 million plus bought it. Tongue in cheek, I would say that is a very successful political campaign.”

“That’s what’s interesting to me as a professor of rhetoric,” he said. “We see the mechanics of language at work. Now, whether we agree with the person and the issues, that’s a different story. But … it’s interesting at the linguistic aspect. Even if I disagree with him, this is the most incredible exercise of persuasion I’ve ever seen in my life.” erin.moran@temple.edu @ernmrntweets

features@temple-news.com

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

KIERAN LYONS FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS

Vegan chili competition spices up The Rotunda in University City On Saturday, V Marks the Shop, a vegan food store, hosted the “Super Philly Chili Bowl” at The Rotunda in University City where local competitors put their best vegan chili recipes to the test. The competition of 20 different chili variations consisted of local restaurateurs, Youtubers and vegans. Competitors Ricki Jordan and Joe Rakowski brought their Nourishing Bean Chili to the chili bowl to promote their new tea lounge and wellness center, Noble Earth, opening in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Brittany and Terrence Roche, wearing their “Hail Seitan” T-shirts, which references the meat substitute, presented their Three Bean Chili. They operate a live cooking show on Facebook called Plant Power Couple and won the award for most original recipe.

Brianna Krejci, president of University of Pennsylvania’s Vegan Society, came to represent her organization as well as the close relationship they have with V Marks the Shop.

“I think it’s a great idea and I love chili,” Krejci said.

Continued from Page 7

ALCOHOL “It humanizes the medical amnesty program by making it real,” Carey said. “It’s a great initiative by Mary, and I am in awe of the work she has done. I know it’s not easy.”

Ciammetti said she has worked to discover why students binge drink in the first place so that the problem can be solved.

She added that the organization has future plans to help students relieve anxiety by offering stress-reducing activities, like yoga classes.

“Student face stress, therefore, the culture becomes: drink to get drunk,” Ciammetti said. “And we want to change that culture.”

Julia Miller, a 2016 neuroscience alumna and a member of Don’t Stall, Just Call’s team, is Christian’s former girlfriend. She said she believes the organization’s message is successfully reaching students.

In 2015, 90 students called for medical assistance and took advantage of Temple’s medical amnesty policy.

That number increased from 47 students in 2014 and 58 students called features@temple-news.com

last semester alone, said university spokesman Brandon Lausch.

Miller said students have told her that because of outreach from Don’t Stall, Just Call they knew how to help a friend in need.

“It makes me feel so much better knowing that I am able to help,” Miller said. “It makes it real and relatable when students and peers can tell a story like this.”

Ciammetti said she is pushing for legislation to make it mandatory for universities to integrate alcohol education into their curricula.

“This is a serious issue,” Ciammetti said. “One that needs to be stopped.”

On Jan. 24, each year — the anniversary of Christian’s death — Ciammetti said she can hardly function.

Last month, she stood in a classroom on Main Campus where her son once sat. She struggled not to cry. It reminded her that no mother should have to lose a child the way she did, she said.

“No one should have to die of this again,” Ciammetti said. “Everyone needs to understand the signs of alcohol poisoning.” patrick.bilow@temple.edu

PATRICK BILOW FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Mary Ciammetti spoke to students at Ambler Campus on Jan. 30 about her program Don’t Stall, Just Call, which aims to raise awareness about the effects of binge drinking on college campuses.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

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Breastfeeding-friendly space opens on campus A student helped change the social work lounge into a breastfeeding lounge.

By KAIT MOORE For The Temple News Ashley Torres, a master’s of social work student, is often late to class because she is trying to find a place to breastfeed on Main Campus.

In 2014, Philadelphia passed a law that allows all women to breastfeed in public and at work — but the law doesn’t say anything specifically about students.

Torres often resorts to the bathroom in the Commuter Lounge.

In October 2016, senior social work major Lydia Smith noticed the lack of breastfeeding resources for student mothers. She contacted Bernie Newman, the social work department chair, to discuss turning the social work lounge on the ninth floor of Ritter Annex into a breastfeeding safe space.

Smith and Newman contacted the

Maternity Care Coalition, an organization that provides resources to mothers in Philadelphia, to get certified by its decal program.

To qualify for the decal program, businesses must fill out a pledge to support mothers by allowing breastfeeding, said Katja Pigur, the director of breastfeeding services for MCC. Businesses must also train their employees to welcome nursing mothers and be aware of negative reactions from other customers.

The social work lounge opened in October and has a Maternity Care Coalition decal to represent the space as breastfeeding-friendly. Mothers can also place a sign on the door to notify others that they are breastfeeding.

Smith got the idea when she started to work at the Food and Wellness Network in Frankford as part of a year-long internship during her senior year. The organization provides food and formula to low-income families. Smith noticed a trend in women using formula instead of breastmilk.

“There’s a lot of stigma around breastfeeding, and I think families are often dis-

ASH LAVACCA FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior social work major Lydia Smith (left), and Bernie Newman, the interim Social Work department chair, transformed a lounge on the ninth floor of Ritter Annex into a safe space for breastfeeding mothers in October.

Continued from Page 7

ORDER United States for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. This past Friday, a federal judge in Seattle lifted the ban. On Monday evening, the Justice Department urged the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the travel ban, saying the attempt to block it was, “endangering national security and violating the separation of powers,” the New York Times reported.

At Temple, there are 55 students and 10 professors who are here on non-immigrant visas, which are affected by the executive order, said university spokesman Brandon Lausch. For students like Ranjbar, future travel plans and employment are uncertain.

Ranjbar came to Philadelphia from Tehran, Iran in 2011 to study for her Ph.D. in environmental engineering. She finished in December 2015 and decided to pursue a second master’s degree, which she will complete in May. Since her visa status doesn’t allow her to leave the U.S., Ranjbar decided to file a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to receive a green card or permanent residency citing her Ph.D. and research expertise.

USCIS approved her and she was in the process of receiving work authorization. But when the executive order was put into effect, her permanent residency application was put on hold.

“I was a legal resident of the United States, but I was not able to work,” Ranjbar said.

Ranjbar received an offer to start working after graduation, but without the proper paperwork, she cannot accept the job.

Ranjbar was also hoping to receive the proper travel documents so she could see her family after being apart for nearly six years.

“Since I came here, two of my grandparents passed away and I just have my one grandma left,” she said. “I just want to be able to see her before anything happens. It was so hard for me when the others passed and I couldn’t be with my family.”

The master’s student has a lawyer, but

said because of the executive order’s vague language, her legal counsel doesn’t have a set direction yet.

Kimya Forouzan, a second-year law and master’s of public health student, is offering services as a foreign language interpreter to lawyers who are working with people stuck in airports. She said there is a Google document being shared nationally for lawyers and law students to share their contact information and nearby airports where they can provide assistance.

“I really would have a hard time believing that this could be seen as constitutional,” said Forouzan, who has dual citizenship with the U.S. and Iran. “It really does concern me that there seems to be this blatant disregard for the checks and

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Sibia Ranjbar has a tile from Iran that she now keeps in her Manayunk apartment as a decorative representation of her home country.

balances in our government.”

Ranjbar and Martyn Miller, the interim assistant vice president of the Office of International Affairs, both said the current political climate has the potential to create new rumors, which can be problematic.

“There are rumors flying right now that countries have been added, so we just always have to tell them, ‘No, those are just rumors,’” Miller said. “Nothing is real until it’s actually published. We are

couraged by that and I wanted to normalize it,” Smith said. “People freak out, ‘Oh my god, it’s a breast.’ But [women] are just feeding their child.”

Torres wasn’t aware of the lounge until recently, but as soon as she discovered it, she started to use it. The only other breastfeeding location on Main Campus is a Mamava suite, a private space for women to pump on the second floor of the Student Center that opened last June. “[The Student Center] is too far from my class,” Torres said. “I can’t go all the way to that building in the middle of class.

It takes about 30 minutes to pump milk.”

Torres wants to see the university create lactation rooms in every building.

According to Philadelphia law, faculty members, unlike students, have the legal right to be accommodated with a break to nurse in a clean and private space.

Newman said she has not found this to be case at Temple.

“I had an adjunct at Ambler and the only place she could go was the bathroom to get privacy because she didn’t have an her own office,” she said.

Pigur said there is often a discrepancy between the law and the actual implementation of breastfeeding support, which often leaves women unaware of their rights.

She said corporations should make their employers aware of the law by creating an official breastfeeding accommodation policy.

“When things happen in an informal way … some women get lucky with a supportive supervisor … but there are certain employees who would never ask their supervisor because they would assume they wouldn’t understand,” Pigur said.

Smith said she hopes to start normalizing breastfeeding at Temple.

“Of course it’s everyone’s personal choice,” she said. “But maybe if we made it more normalized it would help. I said to myself, ‘Where can we start?’ and I thought, ‘Temple.’’’ kaitlyn.moore@temple.edu

also trying to help students distinguish between rumor and fact.”

Miller added that at this time, the International Affairs office is still advising students and professors not to travel.

Ranjbar said after reading the executive order for the first time, she was left with multiple questions: What is going to happen to her and her pending applications? How is the executive order going to impact people in Syria and Iraq who are dealing with a war?

She added that Trump tweeted several times about Iran this past week, which made her fearful of issues between the United States and her home country in the future.

“War is my red line,” she said. “[Iran] had an eight-year war 20 years ago, and people are still dealing with the consequences of that.”

Ranjbar said Temple’s response to the executive order made her feel supported. She received a couple emails from International Affairs, and she had a oneon-one meeting with Miller on Monday.

There were also legal consulting sessions held on Main Campus and the Health Sciences Campus last week.

But she added that she could have used some emotional support, like a group counseling session, which would be helpful for students from the seven countries who are dealing with fear and uncertainty.

“My friends said they couldn’t study for the whole week, so … for them, just to give them space to talk about their fears, their concerns, just to be able to get over it and go back to their school stuff,” Ranjbar said.

Ranjbar has no plans to leave the country since her current visa does not allow her to do so, but she is hopeful that with the current halt on the executive order, her permanent residency application will get a fair chance.

“Even though I like the life I made here or built for myself, my boyfriend is American, lots of my friends are American, I consider this place my home, but it’s OK,” Ranjbar said. “I can go live somewhere else, but that’s my right to be able to plan for my life, and that was the first thing that was completely off the table.” emily.ivy.scott@temple.edu @emilyivyscott

PAGE 11

EVENTS

Alpha Xi Delta’s Bachelor Date Auction Tuesday Sorority Alpha Xi Delta will hold its second annual Bachelor Date Auction on Tuesday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Room 217 of the Student Center.

Last year, the event raised more than $3,000 for Autism Speaks, and this year all proceeds will be donated to the same organization. Autism Speaks is a national organization that works to advance research and meet the needs of people with autism.

This year’s attendees will have the chance to bid on 20 bachelors, and the highest bidders are guaranteed dates with the men they bid on. This year’s bachelors are featured on the sorority’s Instagram @tualphaxidelta. The entry fee is $5 and bidding starts at $5.

-Alexis Anderson

Professors to discuss book about being Indian in U.S. Geography and urban studies professor Sanjoy Chakravorty and University of Pennsylvania political science professor Devesh Kapur will discuss their new book “The Other One Percent: Indians in America” on Wednesday from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Lounge in Anderson Hall Room 821. English professor Priya Joshi will moderate the discussion.

“The Other One Percent” examines the acceleration of Indian immigration to the United States. The book illustrates how India’s highly selective education system coupled with quick assimilation and entrepreneurship has led to Indian-Americans immigrants becoming the mosteducated and highest-income group in the United States.

The book also explores the effect of Indian immigration on the revolution in information technology and its impact on economic globalization, American immigration policy, Indian higher education and the foreign policies of both nations.

-Ian Walker

Temple Contemporary to host letter-writing event From 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Temple Contemporary will host an event for students to write letters to local, state and federal politicians. According to the event’s Facebook page, the gallery is encouraging “concrete action” after protests like the Women’s March last month.

Paper, writing utensils, stamps and addresses will be provided.

-Grace Shallow

Rad Dish Co-op celebrates second anniversary The Rad Dish Co-Op Cafe in Ritter Hall will celebrate its second “birthday” on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. The anniversary party will include music, coffee and tea, games and dancing. There will also be a dessert potluck, so guests can bring their favorite desserts. Vegan and gluten-free desserts are encouraged.

The Rad Dish opened on Feb. 5, 2015 after students expressed demand for ethical, local, organic and sustainable food options. The student-run co-op serves seasonal food when classes are in session.

-Erin Moran

Babel Poetry Collective to host open mic night On Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Babel Poetry Collective will host an open mic night and showcase at the Underground in the Student Center. The event is called “Reclamation” and students from all majors are encouraged to participate.

The event will showcase art, spoken word poetry and live music.

Babel Poetry Collective is Temple’s only performance poetry group. According to OwlConnect, they formed in 2008 as a group of poets who wanted to add their own spin to spoken word poetry. Since then, they have grown into a group of 18 lyricists and artists.

-Taylor Horn features@temple-news.com

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

In health care, from hospital to Harrisburg A Fox doctorate alumna is now the Secretary of Health for Pennsylvania.

By IAN WALKER Arts Beat Reporter

Would you rather watch men’s or women’s sports?

ALEX KIEHL Junior Architecture

I’d like to say women’s, but I’d probably watch men’s just because that’s what other people would be watching.

The only reason I would really watch sports is like a community thing and bringing people together. … I wish we watched more women’s sports. It’s not on TV as much. It’s not something people gather for really.

Although her current job has taken her away from the bedside and out of the hospital, Karen Murphy remains engaged with contemporary health care issues.

Murphy, a 2007 doctoral of business administration alumna, oversees health care across the state as the secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health.

Gov. Tom Wolf appointed Murphy to the position in May 2015. Under her leadership, the Department of Health has implemented several new initiatives like Pennsylvania’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which was created to address the national opioid crisis, and the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model.

Murphy said health care in rural communities has suffered because of a decline in inpatient admissions and the fee-for-service model, which charges patients based on each individual service they receive.

“Across the country, not only in Pennsylvania, residents in rural communities have poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts,” Murphy said. “This new initiative actually provides hospitals with a … fixed, sustainable, regular income that allows them to develop a more stable business model.”

Before she became secretary of health, Murphy worked for two years at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, an organization created in 2010 through the Affordable Care Act that develops and tests health care payment and service delivery models, according to its website. For

Continued from Page 1

WOAR JOE WEISE Community resident, former business student

I’m fair. I like both. I really have no set opinion. … I like to see all of them playing, especially if they’re winning or if it’s a good game. I heard Temple’s women’s basketball team is doing pretty good, too, right now. … I’ve never followed up on sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and lacrosse because it’s not played on TV a lot. Should they play it? Yeah, for the competitiveness. It shouldn’t be all guys all the time. I think a lot of people would like to see that more often.

RAY JOHNSON Community resident

NFL and football to me is one of the best sports in the world. … I like NBA too. Men’s sports are more competitive, I think, but I like to watch track & field, women’s basketball and swimming. I don’t think I see it as much on a nationwide scale.

features@temple-news.com

halls.

“I didn’t want to leave my floor,” said Kota, now a junior Spanish major.

“I liked everyone on my floor. I had my friends on my floor. I was established.

I had my roommates. I would have to be taken out of that whole situation, move, explain to my parents. So having not been made comfortable I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll just stay.’”

“And I had to see [my floormate] every day,” she added. “I didn’t know if the kid felt like his friend was justified, like it was a good thing. I want to assume that people think that these things are wrong and they should just cut that friend off, but I don’t know.”

Kota finished her freshman year in Johnson Hall. But since she didn’t feel supported by Temple, she felt discouraged from coming forward when she was raped by another student the next year.

“I never felt inclined ever again to go back to Temple to talk to them, because why?” she said. “Why would I put myself through that uncomfortable, terrible experience?”

WOAR’s office will act as a third party, unaffiliated with the university.

Its location will not be disclosed to protect students’ privacy and safety.

Students can call the office’s hotline to request an in-person meeting with a trained WOAR representative on Main Campus at any time.

“I think it’s great that WOAR is handling these things, because Temple shouldn’t,” Kota said. “WOAR is a great organization and I’m all for them handling something within Temple, but that doesn’t have any of Temple’s hands on it.”

Laura Siminoff, the dean of the College of Public Health and the chair of a 2014 sexual misconduct committee, said the satellite office idea began

the 35 years prior, Murphy worked through the ranks of Moses Taylor Hospital and Healthcare System in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Murphy started working as a nurse in the 1970s, and she became the president of Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton in 2009. Murphy said her nursing career was a formative experience, essential to her subsequent decades of work in healthcare administration.

“I was an intensive care unit nurse, which was really an important part of my career and a wonderful learning experience,” Murphy said. “I think the nursing profession is certainly one of the most important in the healthcare field.”

Murphy added that her doctoral studies at Temple helped her further develop her research skills, necessarily to her current work in healthcare administration.

But more importantly for Murphy, she said completing her Ph.D. was a longtime goal and personal milestone.

“I really went for my Ph.D. be-

COURTESY MICHAEL GERBER Karen Murphy, a 2007 doctoral of business administration alumna, was appointed as secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health in May 2015.

when survey results showed a need for accessible, 24-hour sexual assault resources and support from professionals other than Temple police officers.

To analyze Temple’s sexual assault resources, she tried to put herself in the place of a student who survived sexual assault on or around Main Campus.

“I went onto our website to find where [the resources were listed] on the site,” Siminoff said. “So here I was, a woman who just had something horrible happen [to her], I am upset, maybe it’s 2 a.m. I remember I started counting number of clicks to find the site and clearly that wasn’t working.”

Dinsio Walo-Wright, a sophomore communication studies major

I think it’s great that WOAR is handling these things, because Temple shouldn’t.

Richelle Kota Junior Spanish major

and the campus liaison for Student Activists Against Sexual Assault said the new office and hotline are steps in the right direction, but not enough.

She added that she would like to see a more “visible center,” so that the university community can start a more comprehensive conversation about sexual assault.

“You have these people coming from high school and this is their first experience as an adult and they are subject to interpersonal violence,” Walo-Wright said. “That can completely change your psyche and change how you go on with your life … so I think that’s very important to think about.”

Kota said she is unsure if she would have used the new office if it had been available to her at the time

cause it was something I always wanted to do,” Murphy said. “It was much more of a personal fulfillment than a professional one.”

Jacqueline Zinn, a risk management and insurance and healthcare management professor, said Murphy’s career has “covered all the bases” in health care.

“She was a direct provider as a nurse, she was an academic, she was in government work and she managed a healthcare system,” said Zinn, who was also Murphy’s dissertation adviser.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Zinn said she appreciates Murphy for her humility and selflessness.

“She’s just a genuinely humble, self-effacing person,” Zinn said. “She calls herself ‘Karen from Scranton.’”

William Aaronson was Fox’s assistant dean for research and doctoral programs during the time Murphy studied there.

“I can’t put into words the pride that I felt when [Murphy] was appointed as secretary of health,” said Aaronson, now the department chair of Health Services Administration and Policy in the College of Public Health.

In her many roles as a nurse, healthcare administrator and now secretary of health, Murphy said her passion for healthcare has always been driven by a desire to help people.

“I always found it very personally and professionally rewarding to know you’re trying to make a difference for patients and families … whether you’re at the bedside, or whether you’re in administration, or you’re trying to make broad, effective health care policy,” Murphy said. “I think when you feel passion you know what that is, and mine has always been health care.” ian.walker@temple.edu @ian_walker12

of her assault. Hotlines are “scary,” she said, and survivors of sexual assault are not always ready to seek services.

“It took me a long time to realize that some of these things that happened in my life were assault,” she said. “I don’t think having a phone call helped. I think it’s a tricky balance, but it definitely … does more good than harm.”

At the new office, WOAR will not give students’ information to the university when they report incidents.

Still, students will still have access to all of the university’s resources if they choose to use them.

“We could create or replicate something like [WOAR] here at Temple, just ourselves, but honestly they have an enormous amount of experience and expertise, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with reaching out and bringing that kind of community service into us,” Siminoff said.

Although Kota believes the university should invest even more in sexual assault and violence resources for students, she said the presence of WOAR on Main Campus is empowering.

“I know it’s spelled W-O-A-R, but it sounds like ‘war,’” she said. “And I want more women to wage war against the things that are war against us. Sexual assault has always been a war that women are fighting and I want us to fight more. I want us to fight back and I want men to stop fighting us.”

“To finally have a voice through WOAR, to finally not have so much silence on Temple’s campus with sexual assault, I think that’s important,” she added. “Because to me, silence is complacency. And when you’re complacent, you’re just as bad as the abusers.” erin.moran@temple.edu @ernmrntweets Emily Scott contributed reporting.

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

S P O RT S

TENNIS

Mauro looking to stay long-term

PAGE 13

SPORTS BRIEFS WOMEN’S TENNIS

Abdurakhimova earns top conference honor Junior Alina Abdurakhimova won the American Athletic Conference’s Women’s Tennis Player of the Week Award for the week ending Jan. 29.

Abdurakhimova, the Owls’ top-positioned singles competitor, went 4-0 in last weekend’s matches including a victory over Iowa State University senior Samantha Budai, ranked 125th in the nation.

She went 1-1 in singles matches against Villanova on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday and won both of her doubles matches with her partner, senior Dina Karina.

-Graham Foley

GENEVA HEFFERNAN/THE TEMPLE NEWS Coach Steve Mauro observes from the sidelines during the women’s tennis team’s win against Iowa State University on Jan. 27.

Steve Mauro has coached the men’s and women’s tennis teams since 2008.

By DAN WILSON & GRAHAM FOLEY Tennis Beat Reporters When Steve Mauro was growing up, tennis was his secret.

The sport wasn’t exactly considered popular back then, he said, partially because of the “dorky” clothes tennis players wore. So, Mauro, a former ice hockey player, had to find ways to play the game he loved without anyone knowing.

“I would sneak out with my mom and play with her,” Mauro said. “I didn’t want my friends to find out.”

After 14 years of coaching tennis, it is safe to say that Mauro now openly loves the game.

Mauro took over as the men’s coach at Temple in the 2005-06 season. Three years later, he took over the women’s team as well. One aspect of the job he has always appreciated is the fact that there is not a set schedule, just a rough routine.

Mauro starts practice every morning between 7 and 7:30 a.m. Afterward, he usually goes back to his office where he fills out paperwork to recruit players from countries around the world and across the United States. He also teaches tennis classes at Temple.

All of this happens when he is not traveling with either of his teams to away matches, which can take him as far as Florida and Oklahoma.

Though managing two teams at once can be challenging, it is actually a common practice for some college tennis programs. Mauro said he works hard to not spread himself too thin and also has a lot of help from assistant coach Frederika Girsang and graduate assistants Monica

BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior Yana Khon reaches for the ball during a Jan. 11 practice. The women’s tennis team has started the season with a 4-3 record.

Continued from Page 16

TODD program record with a 193.95 to win Saturday’s Ken Anderson Memorial Invitational at McGonigle Hall. Todd set season highs on the floor and vault and tied with West Chester University senior all-around Majesta Valentine for the lead on bars.

“She’s been a very strong competitor,” coach Umme Salim-Beasley said. “She’s very even-keeled [and] always steady. She has an amazing work ethic that the rest of the team can see and model.”

Todd competed under USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame coach Kelli Hill in high school at her gymnastics club: Hill’s Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Hill has coached gymnasts who attained international success, like threetime Olympian Dominique Dawes and 2000 bronze medalist Elise Ray. Salim-Beasley was a two-time national qualifier under Hill before her career at West Virginia University from 1995-98. Salim-Beasley said she has known Todd since she was a freshman in high school and Todd said the two share a bond through their former coach. “[Hill] and my other coaches really

Gorny and Maros Januvka. He believes leading both squads has made him a better coach and turned two teams into a singular, cohesive unit.

“He has a pretty good schedule for himself and he deals with it pretty well,” senior Vineet Naran said. “It never feels like he’s taking away time from either team.”

Mauro said taking over the reins of both teams has made them both become one “big family” with both squads working together.

“We’re here alone without our parents so he’s kind of like our dad at Temple, and we can go to him for anything,” senior Anais Nussaume said. “He’s just always there for us and we can always count on him.

Nussaume said she was sold on Mauro the first time she met him. While other coaches were more focused on players’ abilities and their time on the court, Mauro said he was insistent on having “nice” girls on his team who were truly good people and could create a familylike atmosphere.

Mauro, a father of two sons in their 20s, goes above and beyond to make sure his players feel like family.

“Every time it’s someone’s birthday we have no idea, but he always makes sure there’s a cake,” Nussaume said.

Mauro has a history of achieving important results on the court as well. He came into this season with a 100-94 overall record with the men’s team and a 6940 record with the women’s team. Men’s players have qualified for all-conference honors 12 times while his women’s team members have qualified 13 times.

In his first year with the men’s team, he helped spark a 14-win turnaround from the previous season as the Owls finished 17-8 and placed third in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

During his first year coaching both teams, he guided the women’s team to a 17-6 record and a second overall finish in the Atlantic 10. He also saw four of his players achieve academic all-conference awards.

As for the future, Mauro says he loves the administration and the students at Temple. He plans to stay in his current position for as far as he can see into the future.

“I think my wife might like it if I took a job in somewhere warm, like Florida,” Mauro said. “But I’d really like to stay at Temple as long as possible.”

BRIANNA SPAUSE/THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior Alina Abdurakhimova had a 4-0 weekend from Jan. 27-29.

GYMNASTICS

Salim-Beasley inks fifth recruit from Class of 2017 Kaci Martir is the gymnastics team’s newest recruit, coach Umme Salim-Beasley announced on Thursday.

Martir, a Fairfield, Ohio native, was the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy’s Most Valuable Athlete in 2015 after she won her third-straight level 9 state vault title. Martir was a vault silver medalist in 2016 at the Region 5 Level 10 Championships and won regional vault championships in 2014 and 2015.

Martir is the fifth recruit who has signed for the 201718 season. Jordyn Oster, who was the 2016 Maryland State Gymnast of the Year, and Virginia all-around champion Delaney Garin are committed. Pennsylvania floor silver medalist Erica Fuchs and New Jersey uneven bars champion Monica Servidio will also come to North Broad in Fall 2017.

-Demetrius Mason

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Owls get 4 commitments on National Signing Day Coach Seamus O’Connor had four recruits sign their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.

The Owls have added a goalkeeper, a defender, a forward and a midfielder to their 2017 recruiting class.

Morgan Rollins, a goalkeeper from Wilmington, Delaware‘s Tower Hill High School, had five shutouts as a junior to lead the Hillers to an 12-4 record.

Natalie Druehl, a defender from Stamford, Connecticut’s Westhill High School, will come to Temple after earning first-team Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference honors as a senior.

The Owls also landed two players from Absegami High School in Galloway Township, New Jersey.

Forward Emma Wilkins and midfielder Julia Dolan will remain teammates on North Broad and join Julia’s sister and fellow Absegami product sophomore defender Kelcie Dolan.

Wilkins knocked in 20 goals in her career at Absegami, while Dolan scored 14. The duo combined for a total of 13 goals last season and led Absegami to a 10-8 record.

Dolan made the All-National Division first team in the All-Cape Atlantic League last season.

-Tom Ignudo

sports@temple-news.com @TTN_Sports

pushed me to succeed for myself,” Todd said. “They saw that I could push myself on my own, and they just supported me all through competition and recruiting.”

Even as Todd continues adding accolades to her resume, her coach said her drive to improve is still strong. Todd’s next goal is scoring higher than 39 points.

“It’s very easy when you’re getting recognition to lose sight and focus on what got you there,” Salim-Beasley said.

“We as coaches just try to keep her levelheaded and keep her in a mindset of continuing on her current pace.”

FIELD HOCKEY

Owls will face regional competition in spring Temple announced its spring field hockey schedule on Thursday. The Owls will start the season on March 26 at Lafayette College and play Lafayette, Lehigh University and Cornell University. They will also play Quinnipiac University at home on April 2.

On April 9, the team will travel to the University of Maryland to take on the Terrapins, American University and James Madison University. They will host the Philly City 6 tournament on April 23.

-Varun Sivakumar

varun.sivakumar@temple.edu

sports@temple-news.com

S P O RT S

PAGE 14

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

LACROSSE

Seniors hope to carry team to Big East title game The Owls lost 12 seniors from last year’s team, which lost in the conference title game.

“When you lose a large group of people who have grown and have really become nice players over four years, it’s a big loss initially,” Rosen said. “But I would say what it was initially was a lot of experience lost and a lot of enthusiasm gained, and now it really feels like we are one team who has been this way all year.”

Rosen is looking to her veteran players, especially McDermott and Glassford, to help the team’s 10 freshmen get settled and start contributing to the team.

The Owls lost three of their top scorers last year: Rachel Schwaab, Megan Tiernan and Kirstie Connor, who each finished with more than 20 goals. Schwaab led the team with 31 goals and 52 points.

Temple also lost goalie Jaqi Kakalecik, who played in all 19 games and recorded 1,144 minutes, 36 seconds in goal last year. She finished with 121 saves and ranked eighth in goals against average in Division I. Freshman goalkeeper Maryn Lowell will replace Kakalecik.

“Maryn has been doing really well in net,” Glassford said. “She stops so many shots.”

As a team captain, Glassford said it’s been a challenge to make sure the underclassmen know the plays.

“Ultimately come game day, our skills are going to be what allows us to play the game, stay in the game and win the game,” Rosen said. “But there is a lot of learning that goes into our offensive schemes, and our defensive schemes and then pressure situa-

By TESSA SAYERS Lacrosse Beat Reporter After their practice last Thursday, the Owls sat around talking and stretching. After a couple of moments, coach Bonnie Rosen had her players quietly take a moment to reflect on their days. She wanted them to think of what went well, what didn’t go well and a goal they wanted to accomplish.

For graduate attacker Brenda McDermott, that goal was easy: she wants to get back to the Big East tournament.

“Last year we made it to the championship and we lost to Florida,” McDermott said. “It’s been a motivation to get back there and definitely come out on top this time.”

Temple is coming off its first 13-win season since 2008, when the Owls won the Atlantic 10 Conference and made their most recent NCAA tournament. The Owls were one of four teams last season to reach the Big East tournament, where they eventually lost against a top-five nationally ranked University of Florida team.

They also lost 12 seniors to graduation and are only returning two starters, McDermott and senior midfielder Morgan Glassford.

ZACH FISCHER FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS The Owls’ top returning scorer, graduate attacker Brenda McDermott (right), will spearhead the offense in 2017. McDermott was named to the Preseason All-Big East team.

tions.”

“Our seniors in general are going to help anchor us,” she added. “They have been through a lot, they have seen a significant amount of playing time, they have the sense of urgency that comes with being seniors. So we are looking to them to kind of set the tone and allow everyone else to come along right now.”

The University of Denver and

Butler University joined the Big East this season to make it a 10-team league. Even with the expansion, the conference championship will remain a four-team tournament.

The Owls’ hope their trip in the 2016 season gives them the confidence they need to get back in 2017.

“I think the student-athletes that are in our program right now know that anything is possible,” Rosen said.

“We should be able to dream pretty big, and at the same time I think everyone is pretty grounded and understanding that it took a lot of hard work to get to where we got last year, and we don’t define ourselves by that team, but by what this team will be this year.” teresa.sayers@temple.edu

FOOTBALL

Collins pens 16 recruits in 1st class as coach Name

Pos.

Hometown

High School

Griffin Sestili

OL

Sewickley, PA

North Allegheny

Todd Centeio

QB

West Palm Beach, FL

William T. Dwyer

Malik Burns

DL

Marbury, MD

Henry E. Lackey

Audley Isaacs

LB

Philadelphia, PA

Valley Forge Military Academy

Jeremy Jennings

WR

Downingtown, PA

Downingtown East

George Reid

DB

Glenside, PA

Abington

Ty Mason

DB

Silver Spring, MD

James Hubert Blake

Collin Washington

DB

Philadelphia, PA

Central

L’Jeron Holder

WR

Manalapan, NJ

Manalapan

James Makszin

OL

Norwalk, CT

Norwalk

Emil Moody

TE

Philadelphia, PA

Neumann-Goretti

Jadan Blue

WR

Baltimore, MD

The Peddie School

Arnold Ebiketie

DL

Kensington, MD

Albert Einstein

Christian Braswell

DB

Washington, DC

Friendship Academy

Ifeanyi Maijeh

DL

Rockaway, NY

Poly Prep

Casey Williams

LB

Philadelphia, PA

South Philadelphia

COURTNEY REDMON | THE TEMPLE NEWS

Continued from Page 1

COLLINS secure commitments from recruits before National Signing Day on Wednesday.

So how did he try to fit a year’s worth of recruiting into that short time frame?

“The use of social media, the use of text messaging, phone calls, being relentless,” Collins said.

Collins signed 16 recruits for his first class at Temple. The Owls’ recruiting class was ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision by recruiting sites like Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247sports.com — not quite expected for a team coming off back-to-back 10win seasons.

Maryland defensive lineman Malik Burns, who was ranked a three-star recruit by Rivals. com, was one of Collins’ top signings.

“The way he treats his players and the way he wants people to contribute to the program,” Burns said were his first impressions of Temsports@temple-news.com

ple’s new head coach.

Though he didn’t sign any five-star recruits or flip any prospects from rival schools, Collins made sure his first recruiting period at Temple was entertaining. What else would you expect from a guy nicknamed the Minister of Mayhem?

Unorthodox recruiting tactics are the usual for Collins. When he was defensive coordinator at Mississippi State University, Collins became a sort of recruiting legend when recruits tweeted out pictures of handwritten notes and drawings Collins had sent them. They included a note that said, “You’re a baller,” and the drawing of a soda can labeled “SWAG.” Collins and the football staff started the recruiting period on Jan. 12 by flying a helicopter offered by a university donor around the area to visit recruits. It was an idea he got from his time in the SEC. It was a successful recruiting tool; Collins said all six recruits he visited in the chopper committed to Temple. It also got the Temple football program notoriety in a pro-sports

town.

“For us to get our name, to get mentioned with some of these great sports teams, you gotta do those kinds of things,” Collins said.

With only a short-window to look at, it’s unclear how Collins’ recruiting methods will translate at Temple and the impression they will have on recruits.

Although he didn’t ride in it, Maryland defensive lineman Arnold Ebiketie was impressed

by Collins’ helicopter.

“That was the first time I’d seen something like that,” Ebiketie said.

“That’s fun,” he added. “That actually was awesome.”

To get mentioned with some of these great sports teams, you gotta do those kinds of things.

Geoff Collins Football Coach

owen.mccue@temple.edu @Owen_McCue

temple-news.com @TTN_sports

S P O RT S

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Fountain, Atkinson help Owls stop 2-game skid The Owls beat Tulane by 26 points on Sunday to end their two-game losing streak.

By MAURA RAZANAUSKAS Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter By halftime of Sunday’s game against Tulane, junior guard Donnaizha Fountain had already scored 24 points. The next highest by anyone on the team was junior guard Tanaya Atkinson’s 11.

Fountain and Atkinson are the third and fourth leading scorers on the team. But they’re both capable of high-scoring nights, especially when the team’s top scorers aren’t hitting their shots.

Junior guard Alliya Butts averages 15.3 points, second to senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald’s 16.6 points. In the past three games against South Florida, Connecticut and Tulane, Fitzgerald has averaged seven points. She went scoreless in 21 minutes of play on Sunday.

When the two guards are on, scoring isn’t too big of an issue for the Owls (17-5, 7-2 American Athletic Conference). However, in the past couple games, Temple has found its highest scorers elsewhere.

Fountain, Atkinson and junior guard Khadijah Berger have all provided a spark for Temple’s offense

when needed.

“Team chemistry helps a lot and trusting each other is really big,” Fountain said. “I feel like that’s what is helping us right now. You know, if someone has a hot hand, we trust them enough to feed them the ball.”

This was clear in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against Tulane, as Fountain and Atkinson combined for all of Temple’s 25 points. In the second half, Butts scored 15 to help lead the Owls to a 76-50 victory.

“Those guys were hot and there was really no reason to force something,” coach Tonya Cardoza said. “Just going with the hot hands.

Donnaizha had the hot hand in the first quarter, so we feed her, then Tanaya got the hot hand and in the third quarter, Alliya caught it.”

With Sunday’s win, the Owls maintain third place in The American behind Connecticut and South Florida, which are both nationally ranked. Tulane, the fourth-place team in the conference, would have been a half-game ahead of Temple with a win.

“It’s a very good road win against a really good team and after those two losses against South Florida and UConn, we needed a bounce-back game,” Cardoza said.

“This was a great one against a really good team.”

Temple faced South Florida on Jan. 29 and Connecticut on Wednesday and lost to both teams, snapping its 12-game winning streak.

In those two games, Temple also

PAGE 15 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

looked for scoring help from players other than Fitzgerald and Butts. In the 55-51 loss against South Florida, Fitzgerald and Butts led the team in scoring, but Berger finished the night with 11 and provided a boost when the Owls needed it most.

Temple was down 14 in the fourth quarter when Berger subbed in and made a layup and two consecutive 3-pointers to bring the game within eight points.

Atkinson led the Owls with 20 points and 10 rebounds in their 9769 loss to UConn, the top-ranked team in Division I. “She’s one of those people that keeps balls alive and gets offensive rebounds to get us second and third chance opportunities,” Cardoza said. “When she’s playing at the four and now you have a post player that has to try to guard her, that’s really difficult.”

The variety of shooters on the court for Temple at any given time can prove difficult for opponents to defend. If they focus too much on one player, like Fitzgerald or Butts, they risk leaving another shooter open, like Fountain or Atkinson.

“It’s really good when you have a bunch of guys that can shoot and someone like Fey who can distribute the basketball and find guys who are knocking down shots,” Cardoza said. maura.razanauskas@temple.edu @CaptainAMAURAca

KAIT MOORE FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Connecticut junior guard Kia Nurse (center), attempts a layup as junior guard Donnaizha Fountain (right), and freshman forward Shantay Taylor defend in the Huskies’ 97-69 win on Wednesday at the Liacouras Center.

Continued from Page 16

AMERICAN Temple allowed South Florida, which entered play averaging 61.2 points in conference games, to shoot 52.4 percent from the field.

“They made some tough shots, but they also made some shots that were relatively clean as well and we have to tighten that up,” coach Fran Dunphy said. “I thought our defensive first half was very good. I thought our defensive second half wasn’t, and we need to clean that up.”

Temple is now in eighth place in The American after Sunday’s game and Tuesday’s win against Tulane. The Owls’ four conference wins are against teams with a combined 11-33 league record. South Florida has lost 11 straight to begin league play and Tulane’s only win in The American is against the Bulls. Temple has beaten one team with a winning record since its win against Yale University on Dec. 22.

The Owls’ next two conference games are against Southern Methodist (20-4, 10-1 The American) and Memphis (17-7, 7-4 The American). The Mustangs received 69 votes in the Jan. 30 Associated Press Top 25 poll and beat the Owls 79-65 on Jan. 4 in Dallas. The Owls shot 39.3 percent from the field and trailed by 21 points late in the first half.

Temple beat Memphis on Jan. 25 behind a 22-point performance from sophomore guard Shizz Alston Jr., 16

Sharpshooter Berger brings energy to Owls

DONALD OTTO FILE PHOTO Junior guard Khadijah Berger has become the Owls’ sharpshooter off the bench.

The junior is making more than 35 percent of her 3-point attempts.

By KEVIN SCHAEFFER Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter Even on the off day after Temple’s loss to Connecticut on Wednesday, Khadijah Berger was at the practice facility with two of her teammates on the third floor of McGonigle Hall.

Berger, senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald and junior guard Alliya Butts were in the facility stretching and talking about what happened in the game against Connecticut while the men’s team practiced in the other room.

Berger, a junior guard, has become the Owls’ sharpshooter off the bench. She trails only fellow junior guards Donnaizha Fountain and Butts in three pointers made on the season and is the team’s second most efficient 3-point shooter at 35.5 percent.

“It’s always good to just come in and score,” Berger said. “But my shooting is definitely something I take pride in. It is something I work on whenever I’m in the gym.”

Berger was a starter for six of the first seven games. After the Owls’ loss to Hampton University on Dec. 7, coach Tonya Cardoza switched the lineup around and Temple went on a 12-game winning streak.

Berger was one of four Owls averaging more than 28 minutes per game at the start of the season.

Now that she comes off the bench, her average has dipped to 21 minutes. She averages 4.5 points and 3.3 attempts from 3-point range per game.

There was an adjustment pe-

riod for Berger, but much like junior guard Tanaya Atkinson, she has seen how coming off the bench helps her game.

“I mean starting is obviously important,” Berger said. “But coming off the bench lets me see how the game is going, and I can see how they’re defending us and I can react.”

The Owls’ streak ended on Jan. 29 against South Florida, but not without Berger trying to change the outcome. She scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, to bring the Owls within two points after they trailed by as many as 16.

“Khadijah came in and basically changed the game for us, making some shots,” Cardoza said after the loss. “She gave us some life when we needed it.”

When Berger is hitting her shots, she feeds off the energy of the crowd and her teammates, putting three fingers at her side after she makes a shot.

Berger knows Cardoza wants her team to make hustle plays and run the floor.

Berger continued to have the hot hand against Connecticut. She shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range against the top team in the country and helped the Owls outscore the Huskies in the second half. Temple scored more points than any other team in the American Athletic Conference against Connecticut.

“It means we’re more than capable of beating them, they’re just Division I athletes like us,” Berger said. “I think if we came out in the first half with the same intensity in the second half, the outcome of the game would have been completely different.” kevinschaeffer@temple.edu @_kevinschaeffer

points from Dingle and 15 points from senior forward Mark Williams. Temple held Memphis sophomore guard Dedric Lawson, who has 15 double-doubles this season, to 13 points and five rebounds. The Owls shot 53.9 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3-point range in the second half.

“This is a huge week for us, really a challenging, challenging week,” Dunphy said. “SMU is just as efficient a basketball team as we have in our league. … We need to play our best basketball this week, no question.”

The Owls will have five games left after their matchup with Memphis on Sunday. Three of the games are at home and three of the games are against East Carolina, Tulane and South Florida, all of which they’ve beaten.

The Owls are currently No. 85 in the Ratings Percentage Index with a 2-4 record against Top 50 teams. Temple’s NCAA tournament hopes might rest on getting an automatic bid from winning the conference tournament, which will take place from March 9-12 in Hartford, Connecticut.

“We want to win all seven games,” said sophomore center Ernest Aflakpui, who scored a career-high 14 points on Sunday. “We all believe in that. We believe we can beat anybody. It’s just up to us to work on it and prove everybody we can beat anybody.” evan.easterling@temple.edu @Evan_Easterling

HOJUN YU FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Freshman guard Alani Moore II rushes through the defense in the second half of Temple’s 83-74 win on Sunday.

sports@temple-news.com

SPORTS

S P O RT S

PAGE 16

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tough tests await Owls after back-to-back wins Temple is 4-7 in the American Athletic Conference after two wins this week.

F

By EVAN EASTERLING Assistant Sports Editor

reshmen center Damion Moore and guard Alani Moore II had some fun during their one-on-one drill before Sunday’s game against South Florida.

Damion, a 6-foot-11-inch center, jokingly held the ball high above 5-foot-10-inch Alani’s head before hitting a post-hook shot. Alani came back with a dribble through Damion’s legs on a drive to the hoop.

Redshirt-senior swingman Daniel Dingle ends every pregame warmup by taking a few half court shots. He sunk his final attempt on Sunday before scoring 22 points to tie his career-high in the Owls’ 83-74 win.

Temple (13-11, 4-7 American Athletic Conference) led by as many as 27 points in the second half before a South Florida 9-0 run cut the Owls’ lead to 11 points.

A 3-pointer by Bulls’ sophomore guard Troy Holston with one minute, 50 seconds left made it a single-digit game, but the Bulls never got closer than nine points. The Owls held on to improve to 12-1 when they score 70 or more points and win their third game in their last four contests.

AMERICAN | PAGE 15

HOJUN YU FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-senior swingman Daniel Dingle attempts a 3-point shot in the second half of Sunday’s 83-74 win against South Florida at the Liacouras Center.

GYMNASTICS

Todd not satisfied despite strong start to her career The freshman’s average all-around score of 38.975 ranks second in the conference.

By VARUN SIVAKUMAR Gymnastics Beat Reporter When Daisy Todd was 2 years old, she used to do cartwheels around her kitchen. That’s when her parents decided to put her in gymnastics.

“I tried other sports like soccer, but ultimately, I loved gymnastics from the start,” Todd said.

Before she competed in a college meet, Todd had already earned several accolades. She was Maryland’s Most Outstanding Gymnast in her junior year of high school and won state championships in her first three years of high school.

“I don’t think I have the natural talent that a lot of people do,” Todd said.

“I’ve had to work hard since I was super little.”

The freshman all-around has immediately continued her success at Temple.

Todd earned back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honors on Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, and her team-high point total of 38.975 at the Owls’ quad meet at West Virginia University on Jan. 29 helped the Owls break their program record by scoring a 193.625.

Todd’s score helped her earn a thirdplace finish and set the fourth-highest individual all-around score in program history. Her average all-around score of 38.735 is second in the conference.

The Owls beat last week’s new

DANELL WORRELL FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Freshman all-around Daisy Todd performs her routine on the bars at a recent practice at McGonigle Hall. She set season highs on the floor and vault during the Owls’ win at the Ken Anderson Memorial Invite on Saturday at McGonigle Hall.

TODD | PAGE 13

TENNIS | PAGE 13

LACROSSE | PAGE 14

WOMEN’S BBALL | PAGE 15

BRIEFS | PAGE 13

Once hesitant about his affection for the sport, coach Steve Mauro has spent the last decade coaching tennis at Temple.

The Owls will have to replace 12 seniors from last year’s team that went to the Big East Conference title game.

After back-to-back losses for the first time this season, the Owls bounced back with a win against Tulane on Sunday.

Fall sports teams added recruits, two cross country runners competed in a national tournament, other news and notes.