Vol. 97 Iss. 24

THE TEMPLE NEWS

IMAGINING

CLEAN STREETS

Read more on Page 4

VOL 97 // ISSUE 24 MARCH 26, 2019 temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS, PAGE 7 The Board of Trustees approved an additional $5.8 million for Charles Library construction.

OPINION, PAGE 9 A columnist argues the city shouldn’t allow Starbucks to be built in Dilworth Park.

FEATURES, PAGE 16 Group fitness classes at the IBC Student Recreation Center are gaining popularity.

SPORTS, PAGE 24 Temple Gymnastics won its first ECAC Championship in program history.

NEWS PAGE 2

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

THE TEMPLE NEWS A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

Gillian McGoldrick Editor in Chief Kelly Brennan Managing Editor Julie Christie Digital Managing Editor Evan Easterling Chief Copy Editor Greta Anderson News Editor Grace Shallow Investigations Editor Will Bleier Deputy City Editor Jayna Schaffer Opinion Editor Laura Smythe Features Editor Zari Tarazona Deputy Features Editor Michaela Althouse Deputy Features Editor Michael Zingrone Co-Sports Editor Sam Neumann Co-Sports Editor Claire Wolters Intersection Editor Maria Ribeiro Director of Engagement Siani Colon Asst. Director of Engagement Dylan Long Co-Photography Editor Luke Smith Co-Photography Editor Madison Seitchik Web Editor Co-Multimedia Editor Jared Giovan Co-Multimedia Editor Ian Walker Visuals Editor Claire Halloran Design Editor

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

Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News.

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

Visit us online at temple-news.com.

Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com.

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

Phuong Tran Advertising Manager Kelsey McGill Advertising Manager Daniel Magras Business Manager

ON THE COVER DESIGN BY CLAIRE HALLORAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS PHOTO BY DYLAN LONG /THE TEMPLE NEWS

CORRECTIONS The article “Candidates announced for 2019-20 TSG elections” that appeared in the March 19 edition of The Temple News gave the incorrect title for one of the vice presidential positions. Candidates are vying for the vice president of external affairs and vice president of services positions. An earlier version of this story also incorrectly stated that Diamante Ortiz spoke about the Diamond Accreditation program. Alexandra Gordon spoke about the STARS program.

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 Gillian McGoldrick at editor@temple-news.com or 215-2046736.

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

AMBLER

Business center opens for veterans at Ambler

“We’ve already been talking about The Fox School of Business’ Small Business Development expansions and future collaborations at Center will offer free business this campus that would bring some new services and programs to this campus services to veterans.

BY WILL AMARI For The Temple News The Fox School of Business opened a center to assist veterans interested in starting small businesses at the Ambler Campus Library on Wednesday.

The Small Business Development Center, which has had a Main Campus branch since 1983, opened a second branch, to focus on providing free business-related services to veterans of the United States military. The center will offer all the same opportunities as the Main Campus one, including office space for clients, investment opportunities and consulting.

Dennis Miller, a 13-year Marine Corps veteran who retired in 2009, helps run the veteran’s program. He’s the executive principal of Wheel Dog Industries, LLC, a consulting company on Market Street near 16th that focuses on helping businesses hire veterans.

“If I were to have a little more guidance in the beginning, I would have gotten off the ground more easily,” Miller said. “That’s why I want to try and help the folks that come here.”

“Having 15, 16 veterans in the room together, talking to each other…that fellowship is really going to help everybody here get to the next space they’re going to go to,” Miller added. “That’s the thing I’m most looking forward to.”

Vicki McGarvey, the vice provost of the Ambler Campus, said it was important for the Small Business Development Center to open a location in Ambler to better serve clients in Montgomery and Bucks counties. Pennsylvania ranked fifth in the nation for the number of veteran-owned businesses, according to a 2017 U.S. Census Bureau report.

that we can work on together,” McGarvey said.

Both McGarvey and Maura Shenker, the Small Business Development Center’s director, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Ambler Campus Library on Wednesday. The center will occupy half of the library, The Temple News reported. It celebrated its official opening in honor of National Small Business Development Centers Day. Hassan Moore, a supplier diversity manager for the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership, helps the university employ businesses run by diverse community members, including veterans.

“The [center] does so many amazing things,” Moore said. “…Working with veteran-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, all the diverse businesses is important for us, to reach back out and work with these businesses that actually are a part of the community.”

Moore set up a portal for veterans to submit business information to schedule one-on-one consulting meetings, he said.

Veterans do not have to be a Temple student to apply, he said, and just need a “viable” business and interest in expanding.

“This center, with this focus on veterans, started veteran-owned businesses will add to the county’s commitment to help our veterans,” said Valerie Arkoosh, who is chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and spoke at the center’s opening ceremony.

“This is just another tool in that toolbox to make sure our veterans have everything they need to be successful,” Arkoosh added. will.amari@temple.edu @wileewillie

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NEWS PAGE 4

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

DYLAN LONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS The city’s PhilaCan pilot program offers trackable garbage cans to North Philadelphia blocks, including 16th Street near Montgomery Avenue, one of the participating areas. Trash still lines the street on Sunday, the night before trash day.

ON THE COVER

Initiatives to reduce trash have yet to yield results North Philadelphia residents say stalled to catch and prosecute illegal litter is still a problem despite city dumping, the city is attempting to confront one of the root causes: a lack of reand university cleanup efforts.

BY SCOTT SAUER For The Temple News Both the city and Temple University are continuing to search for ways to curb litter and dumping in the area near Main Campus, where residents have long demanded solutions.

From a program that provides garbage cans to residents, to cameras in-

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

ceptacles to responsibly dispose of waste that leads residents resorting to leaving trash in the streets.

Temple officials went back to the drawing board last summer after residents had enough of “the move out,” when students move out of their off-campus apartments and leave pounds of trash and debris along the streets. This spurred the university’s investments in street cleaning programs and an attempt

to strengthen community relations.

“The litter problem won’t be solved overnight,” said Alivia Thayer, who lives on 17th Street near Edgley.

Despite efforts by the city and university, trash remains one of residents’ most common complaints. The Temple News explored what the city and university have done to reduce litter and dumping and went out on trash day to ask residents what’s working or what initiatives should be thrown out.

In November, the Streets Department began testing the PhilaCan pro-

gram, which provides North Philadelphia blocks with garbage bins that have tracking devices. The program’s boundaries are near Main Campus, between Broad and 18th streets, and Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Cumberland Street. The program is set to expire in two months, but the Streets Department plans to expand to other areas in the city based on the litter index.

Of the 17 blocks in the eligible area that have signed up to receive the cans so far, nine have received them. The area was selected based on the severity

temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 5

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

of its litter problem, said Mikel Woods, the assistant to the Philadelphia Streets Department Commissioner. The Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet Progress Report listed the “Temple Area” as one of the regions with the highest Litter Index Score in 2017.

PhilaCan costs $30,000 and is funded by the state’s litter and recycling initiative under Act 101, Woods said.

The program is designed to provide garbage receptacles to combat the lack of places for residents to store trash between trash days, which leads to litter, according to Streets Department documents.

“The trash cans are a great idea for trash in our houses, but for the litter [outside,] I don’t think they will work,” said Jack Kidd, whose block on Colorado Street near York received cans from the program.

“People just need to pick up their own trash by their houses,” he added. “If people were more concerned about what their property looked like, they wouldn’t have as much trash on sidewalks.”

For a block to receive the cans, a resident must sign up and obtain at least 75 percent approval from all the residents on their block. Then, the cans are delivered within two weeks. No blocks have voted against receiving the cans, Woods said, but there are many that have yet to submit applications.

The receptacles are 35-gallon trash bins, equipped with radio frequency identification tags. The tags are linked to specific household addresses. Address labels can be placed on the cans to help further identify them, according to Streets Department documents.

The department suggests residents keep cans secured to their property to prevent theft. Although, if the cans are misplaced, they can be located and returned to the assigned address by tracking the radio frequency identification tags, Woods said. The Streets Department will not replace lost or stolen cans.

The Streets Department considers

@TheTempleNews

the program a success so far, Woods added.

“The blocks are a lot cleaner, there’s little to no litter on the ground,” Woods said. “We’re also seeing residents take a lot more pride in where they live.”

Some North Philadelphia residents have mixed feelings about the pilot program.

Anthony Palmer, who lives on Gratz Street near Berks, works for Waste Management. His block doesn’t have the PhilaCan program and didn’t know of any plans on his block to receive them.

“I’m always picking up trash in front of my house, and I think the trash cans would help take care of some of that,” Palmer said.

Jacqueline Dowsett, who lives on 16th Street near Montgomery, said her block has the cans but she hasn’t seen any improvement in the amount of litter in the neighborhood.

“There’s still trash all over the place and nowhere to put it,” Dowsett said. “I don’t think adding more trash cans will solve the problem.”

The Streets Department also began installing 100 surveillance cameras, which will be implemented by the end of 2019, in areas with high rates of illegal dumping to curb the issue from a criminal justice standpoint.

Using video surveillance evidence, the city can charge dumping violators fines of up to $5,000 or sentence them to a maximum of six months in prison, The Temple News reported in January.

There are currently 15 cameras installed, but none are within a one-mile radius of Main Campus. Temple University Hospital has four cameras in its vicinity, with installations on 11th and 9th streets near Venango and Ontario.

In 2018, the university hired several cleanup crews, including the nonprofit One Day At A Time and JDog Junk Removal & Hauling, a veteran-staffed trash removal service, to increase cleanup efforts during “the move out,” when students living off-campus tend to dump

items onto the streets near Main Campus.

“Part of the problem is we have a lot of short-term people, like students, living here so they don’t have the same care for the neighborhood as the locals,” Thayer said.

The university’s exploration into more cleanup strategies came as a result of opposition to the proposed on-campus stadium, which residents said would exacerbate the issue of students and campus visitors littering and dumping in North Philadelphia.

Temple has also proposed establishing a special services district spanning Main Campus and the surrounding

neighborhood to mitigate trash issues.

A special services district provides additional resources to an area either through private funding or levying taxes.

If the university were to establish such a district, it would likely expand trash cleanup and street sweeping and handle concerns related to noise and partying.

“The way we solve the problem is students taking more care of the homes they are renting, respecting the neighborhood and us locals keeping their own trash from getting out of control,” Thayer said. scott.sauer@temple.edu

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NEWS PAGE 6

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

CRIME

Ethiopian community mobilizes after shooting An officer shot Kaleb Belay, an Ethiopian immigrant and former Temple student, on March 6.

BY COLIN EVANS Crime Beat Reporter

Temple University and Philadelphia’s Ethiopian communities are mobilizing around Kaleb Belay, an Ethiopian immigrant and former student who remains in the hospital after a police officer shot him on March 6, leaving him in critical condition.

“He is someone who was standing next to me in church Sunday, now I’m hearing that he was shot six times by a police officer,” said Hilena Gebru, a sophomore kinesiology major who has been active in Philadelphia’s Ethiopian community her whole life.

“You see...these things on the news, and you don’t think it’s going to be someone who you even have the smallest connection with,” she added.

Gebru and Belay both attended the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Debre Selam Kidish Selassie Church in Southwest Philadelphia, but did not know each other well, Gebru said.

Gebru is a member of Temple’s Horn of Africa student organization, which aims to promote and spread awareness on Main Campus about the different cultures in Northeast Africa.

She’s organizing a march to raise awareness for Belay’s case, contributing to a larger effort by the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia to raise funds for his recovery and legal expenses.

The march would take place in Center City on April 6, with help from Betty Mulugeta, a junior public health and psychology major at La Salle University who also participated and volunteered with the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia. Gebru and Mulugeta also contacted student organizations at multiple universities in the city to participate in the march.

The Horn of Africa organization’s News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

application to block off streets for the protest is pending, Gebru said.

“Talking to different Temple students myself, I haven’t met anyone who knew about Kaleb, which is something to me that is very shocking,” Gebru added. “That is another one of our priorities, to make sure that Temple students are engaged, that they know about [the march], that they show up and come out.”

Belay is out of the intensive care unit after sustaining gunshot wounds to his chest and torso and has been making slow and steady gains, but he is still recovering in Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after nearly three weeks since the shooting, said Simon Haileab, Belay’s defense attorney, on Friday.

Haileab declined to comment on Belay’s pending case.

Police charged Belay, 25, with aggravated assault, simple assault and possessing the instrument of crime, according to court documents. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident, said DA spokesperson Ben Waxman.

Leaders from the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia, including Addisu Habte, explained what they know about the shooting in both English and Amharic to attendees at a fundraiser for Belay on March 16 and 17. They detailed how the community plans to move forward, which includes sitting down with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr., DA Larry Krasner and witnesses to determine what happened the evening of March 6.

“We didn’t like how he was portrayed [by police] at the beginning, a knife-wielding man,” Habte said. “He’s never had any kind of record. A good kid.”

The GoFundMe page for Belay has raised nearly $13,000 since March 11 for his legal and hospital costs as of Monday.

There will be another fundraiser for Belay at the Ethiopian community organization on Chestnut Street near 44th on

Saturday and Sunday.

“It will be a long road of recovery for him,” Habte said. “...Is there a better way to not get shot six times, to not allow this to happen again?”

According to police accounts of the incident, two officers encountered Belay after responding to a police report of a stabbing on Hazel Avenue near 49th Street around 7 p.m. When police arrived, Belay allegedly emerged from a bush wielding a knife, approaching the two officers and advancing toward them after they asked that he drop the weapon, a police release stated.

Kevin Pfeifer, a four-year officer for

the 18th District, shot Belay. Pfeifer was assigned to desk duty pending the DA office’s investigation.

“This incident is something that I feel like we’re all too familiar with hearing in the news nationally, in different places like Baltimore and Oakland and so forth,” Mulugeta said. “Now, it really just hits home because it’s in our community...especially within the Ethiopian community, I feel like people were just blindsided.” colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

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NEWS PAGE 7

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

CAMPUS

Charles Library receives additional $5.8 million The Board of Trustees approved the funds to pay for a scholars center and increased construction costs.

BY HAL CONTE Political Beat Reporter The Board of Trustees approved an additional $5.8 million for Charles Library construction.

These additional funds are meant to support facilities, technology and increasing labor costs, bringing the project’s price tag to $175.8 million, according to the Board’s records.

At its public session on March 12, the Board announced that it would pull additional funding from across university reserves like the Tech Fee and Provost Fund. Over the course of its construction, the cost to build the library increased to as a result of rising labor costs, said Joe Lucia, the dean of university libraries.

“When we have funds we don’t spend, we hold onto them for the future,” Lucia said. “We have some funds set aside in place. If you look at the total project, it’s a very modest increase.”

Rohan Brebion, a junior biochemistry major, said the new price tag makes sense for the size and scope of the Charles Library.

“The new library is worth it because [Paley] is old, and new facilities are needed,” Brebion said. “...To me, I’m a rising senior, and they’re going to spend my money either way.”

The Board also approved donations for naming some of the library’s rooms, like the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Center, named for Duckworth, a former Board member who died in September 2018. The Special Collections Research Center Conservation Lab will be named for Mark Vogel, a 1976 mathematics alumnus, who will give a total $50,000 over five years to the library’s development funds.

The Board’s agenda states part of Duckworth’s $150,000 donation was @TheTempleNews

The Charles Library, which is under construction, is scheduled to open in Fall 2019.

redirected from a scholarship fund, but Lucia clarified money was not taken from Duckworth’s need-based scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts.

“The Duckworth family also gave money for a scholarship separately,” Lucia said. “That money is untouched.”

The Charles Library, which is expected to open in Fall 2019, is set to include several new facilities, similar to those in the TECH Center and the Science Education and Research Center, like virtual reality programming and “real-time” visualizations and video recording for presentations, Lucia said, which are currently offered in the Digital Scholarship Center in Paley Library.

The Charles Library will also house the Tuttleman Learning Center’s Student Success Center, a 24/7 study space and a place to purchase coffee.

“The new facilities will allow us to support our services and handle things

more efficiently,” Lucia said. “...Nothing there is unprecedented. Some of them are new, some of them are extensions of things in Paley.”

Some students said they favor the TECH Center over Paley Library because it has more advanced technology available for use.

“The library looks old, and the vibe is not modern,” said Anelys Cruz, a freshman psychology major. “There’s not a lot of seats. At the TECH Center, there are more computers and such.”

The Charles Library, however, will not have rows of computers like the TECH Center. Instead, it will have more group study and meeting rooms, Lucia said.

“We really thought about mobility,” Lucia said. “There will be a lot of laptops people can check out. We wanted to make a non-traditional floor space.”

Kayla Cassara, a junior criminal jus-

LUKE SMITH / THE TEMPLE NEWS

tice major, said the main issue with Paley Library is the absence of space for small groups to gather.

“They should have more breakout rooms where you don’t have to have three people [to reserve a room],” she said.

According to the Charles Library’s floor plan, the building’s second, third and fourth floors will have at least four group study rooms each.

The Paley Library will close for the summer on May 9 at 8 p.m., The Temple News reported, so library employees can move the university’s collections into the Charles Library. The CLA and College of Science and Technology’s advising offices will remain open throughout the summer, and after the Charles Library opens in the fall. hal.conte@temple.edu

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

OPINION TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

PAGE 8 EDITORIAL

TSG’s Unethical Board

Thursday night’s Temple Student Government debate between executive team candidates was nothing more than a self-indulgent argument between members of TSG and a complete disservice to the student body.

The debate’s participants and moderators failed to bring up important topics to students like sexual assault or mental health resources on campus, but still spent plenty of time talking about a proposed dog park and squabbling over TSG’s internal operations.

Furthermore, the debate and its proceedings lacked transparency to an astonishing level.

Did you know, for example, that The Temple News and Temple Update have been attempting to work with TSG for more than a month leading up to election season to coordinate student media moderation? This is standard for any democratic election to avoid pandering and bias.

But this year, TSG’s Ethics Board, which operates like the judicial branch for TSG, instead moderated the debate itself. The Temple News attempted to appeal the decision, going through arbitrary processes based on TSG’s constitution that are nowhere documented. Even more, it led us nowhere.

The Temple News and Temple Update were rightly concerned about the merits of a debate that the Ethics Board would host itself. Not only did the Ethics Board ask questions about its own body, but it did not truly challenge the candidates. It was incapable of pushing for real, substantial responses from the campaigns and did not challenge them on non-answers. Is this consistent behavior from the Ethics Board — that it will always treat people in TSG gently, instead of holding itself and them to a higher standard?

The most astonishing moment, however, was after the debate, when The Temple News received a preemptive “cease-and-desist” letter for this editorial.

On Thursday night, Morrease Leftwich, the chief judge of TSG’s Ethics Board, sent The Temple News the letter, letters@temple-news.com

which threatened legal action, in what we saw as an attempt to intimidate our Editorial Board into silence. He also claimed that other members of the Ethics Board would consider legal action against The Temple News.

The concept of receiving such a letter — before we’d written a single word — is incredulous, and it shows the Ethics Board’s true colors when it comes to accountability. The first second the Ethics Board is about to receive some criticism, members spew baseless, pointless legal documents at us.

Further correspondence with Leftwich revealed he was attempting to “inform” The Temple News on what defamation is (because apparently, people who study or practice journalism don’t know about the industry’s most important legal consequence).

No matter what retroactive excuses we get, we can only see the letter as a threat: that if anyone were to hold the Ethics Board accountable or even float the concept of criticism, that it’s unacceptable. That’s a pretty interesting attitude, coming from someone who in the past pushed for transparency and honesty from TSG — a goal The Temple News’ Editorial Board shares and admires in our student leaders.

But this is a far departure from the Ethics Board’s mission. Whether Leftwich acted on his own or with the knowledge of others in the Ethics Board, it’s clear he isn’t fit to be a part of the Ethics Board any longer.

This was a gross abuse of nonexistent power and a childish attempt to intimidate Temple’s independent student newspaper into silence. If the Ethics Board can’t understand that accountability is universally applicable, then we have no confidence that it can fairly apply other ethical standards within TSG. No matter what, Leftwich should resign.

The Editorial Board is unafraid of criticism, whether we give it or receive it.

But if someone has concerns, we ask they try resolving it with a conversation, not an unfounded attempt at litigation.

ACADEMICS

Don’t play it safe for GPA Don’t let your GPA keep you from taking challenging classes.

H

ave you been at a point during your studies where you felt like you just wanted to call it quits?

You are not alone: Three out of four college students reported having at least one stressful event going on in their lives during 2018, according to a study published in the medical journal Depression and Anxiety.

Our competitive, result-driven society takes most of the fun out of college and inPAVLINA CERNA duces frustration and INT’L COLUMNIST insomnia. And one of the biggest stressors on me and other students is GPA. Ever since elementary school, I have strived for excellence. I hold myself to a high standard while trying to juggle it all — various part-time jobs, a full-time class schedule, extracurricular activities, internships and a social life. I work hard to keep my GPA as perfect as I can, which has caused me to experience anxious days and sleepless nights, especially during finals.

On the brink of total exhaustion during one of these days, I realized perfection isn’t worth a mental breakdown.

College should be a time for students to figure out what they want to do by trying different classes and learning from their mistakes. But it’s impossible to expand our academic boundaries without considering how difficult they might be because we’re all so GPA-obsessed.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why GPA matters and why students who work hard should be rewarded.

But it shouldn’t be the deciding factor that makes us overwhelmed and too scared to choose classes that are out of our comfort zones. We should challenge ourselves.

The little number matters so much when applying for scholarships, internships or graduate school. So, students opt

for “easy” classes to keep their GPA high.

LaDell Murray, a sophomore computer science major, said he’s taking Exploring Music as an uncomplicated, GPA-boosting elective.

“It’s an easy class, but sometimes that grade isn’t worth the mind-numbing boredom,” he said.

Murray would’ve taken more challenging classes if he hadn’t been taking his GPA into consideration, he said.

“Even though a lot of people say GPA doesn’t matter, only the degree does, it’s not entirely true,” Murray said. “Next year, I will be applying for internships, and a lot of the ones that interest me have a strict 3.0 minimum.”

But even a perfect GPA on its own won’t cut it.

Gavin Farber, an academic adviser in the Fox School of Business, said contrary to popular belief, a 4.0 GPA won’t guarantee success on its own.

“If a student does not have any engagement activities on their resumes, it is not going to provide the soft skills necessary for those future adventures for students,” Farber said.

It’s so easy to feel out of control when you’re worried about grades.

David Tran, a senior recreational therapy major, said he’s frustrated with his microbiology class because he’s not earning the grade he wants, no matter how much he studies. He’s worried this will affect his applications to medical school.

I’m not sure how we can resolve our GPA-obsessed culture so students can get more out of their college education.

In an ideal world, we could take any classes that make us feel curious. We’d try new things and make sure where we see ourselves in the future is right for us.

But because we need to make the grade, we’ll keep looking up classes and professors for difficulty in advance, jeopardizing a well-rounded psyche and confidence in our future endeavors. pavlina.cerna@temple.edu

temple-news.com

OPINION PAGE 9

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

CITY

Starbucks is the last thing Dilworth Park needs Support Conrad Benner’s petition for the children that come to play in against building a Starbucks in the splash park. But if it goes through with the current plan, it’ll waste the Dilworth Park.

The Center City District is planning to build a new Starbucks coffee kiosk in Dilworth Park, what the city calls its “lively centerpiece.”

When new developments take place on public property, people usually expect a playground or improvements to a park — not a coffee chain’s kiosk. It seems like the kiosk would DIANA cater more to tourCRISTANCHO ists, and I just think a new Starbucks in the area is unnecessary.

So far, nearly 7,500 people signed a petition against these construction plans that were announced last month, which are already underway. The petition was started by Conrad Benner, the founder of the Streets Dept blog, which covers street art in Philadelphia.

Benner posted the petition after publishing a blog post about his concerns to his public space art blog. It didn’t take long for many other people to join in the backlash. Benner argues the park is a public space and should not be “sold to Starbucks for their private profit.”

I completely agree with Benner. It’s right at the foot of City Hall and is a Philadelphia icon on its own.

Because the Center City District is a private nonprofit that manages a public park, it should have a certain responsibility to the public, Benner said.

“I don’t think building a Starbucks on public land is good,” Benner said.

“We shouldn’t be leasing off public space to a multinational coffee chain to sell to make a profit off of our public lands.”

The Center City District could have even chosen to open a coffee kiosk that sold locally roasted coffee. I personally think the park should better accommodate families and add a playground @TheTempleNews

much-needed public space and instead lease it to a private company. It’s worse that these tenants would be a multinational corporation.

On top of that, there’s already a Starbucks that’s a five-minute walk from Dilworth Park. And there are many other Starbucks locations in Center City.

Instead, we should use the space to build a small public library or dedicate it as mural space for local artists to take turns displaying their work on, as Benner suggested in his petition. These proposals would give something back to the community, fostering creativity and thought.

The current plan ignores all potential for improvement and only brings revenue to an already rich coffee chain.

As a college student who often relies on coffee, I love Starbucks. However, I think the district should seriously consider a better use of the public space. I may be a frequent customer but that doesn’t change how I feel about the petition — and many other Philadelphia residents agree.

Dilworth Park is a beautiful, accessible spot with a La Colombe across the street. Starbucks, a chain that had a racial profiling incident in Philadelphia last April, is not something we need there.

The Center City District argues the kiosk will raise money to maintain the park. Last year, there was a $1.6 million budget shortfall for operational expenses, and the new kiosk will help to cover the costs of that shortfall in the future, according to the Center City District.

“People could think that maybe we can build a Starbucks and in exchange, it covers that shortfall and maybe it’s a deal that it’s better for the city,” Benner said. “But what’s also been reported is this Starbucks will only bring in $60,000 to $80,000 a year so it won’t even barely make a dent in this huge budget shortfall.”

KAITLYN GROSS / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Lyric Smith, a sophomore English literature major, said although Philadelphia is constantly expanding and improving, having a Starbucks in a public space could set a trend where private interests could take over the city.

“A playground space would be better for the younger kids or even selling local goods or an arts center instead,” Smith said. “I think they should [set] space to encourage the community before thinking of building another Starbucks.”

William Clark, a 2018 finance alumnus, said he is worried about how Philadelphia has already allowed enough public spaces to be used privately.

“We already have the Chinese Lantern Festival at Franklin Square and a lot of billboard ads in Center City,” he said.

“I really don’t think we should be giving up public space to a private corporation, especially in a park that has been intended to be fully enjoyed by all Philadelphians.”

“If the Center City District is building the Starbucks with tax revenue in mind, then it should consider how to support current revenues instead,” Clark added.

At the end of the day, public space should be representative of its population. And a well-known area in Philadelphia should emphasize the city’s unity.

Starbucks doesn’t embrace our mission, and it isn’t worth our park space. diana.cristancho@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

OPINION PAGE 10

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

THE ESSAYIST

Getting lost in Philadelphia, on purpose

I walked in the direction of my train A student let go of his rigid schedule and decided to explore station, prepared to take the 20-minute ride home to get started on the seemingthe city impromptu.

BY TYLER PEREZ LGBTQ Columnist Admittedly, I overplan.

Being a full-time student with a fulltime job requires strict scheduling weeks ahead of time, and my days are often defined by stringent itineraries and worries about getting everything done on time.

As a result, I’ve found my poetry to be reflective of my anxious mental state: incredibly formulaic and structured. Last semester, for example, I wrote a longform poem in which every single word was carefully chosen to match a pattern I created for myself.

I loved the poem, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was restricting myself by excessively planning each word.

This is a concern I’ve often had with my writing. I think far too much about the minute details, like whether I should include or change an individual word or phrase. Even while writing this essay, I’m obsessing over the smallest details, setting up each line so it adequately explains my narrative.

This past Sunday was the first day with drastic change.

I spent the morning getting brunch with a new friend, plans I made nearly one week ahead of time. She’s a writer too, so we spoke about our different artistic processes over vegan pancakes.

She told me sometimes her best poetry comes when she writes in a stream of consciousness, transcribing her thoughts as they come to her.

For her, spontaneity is more truthful than when she carefully plans what she wants to write. It’s a method I hadn’t thought much of, but as we went our separate ways, I thought about it more.

letters@temple-news.com

ly insurmountable tower of homework that awaited me.

And then, with only a block between me and my train, I turned in a random direction. Encouraged by her embrace of spontaneity, I decided to be impromptu in my own way. I purposefully got lost in Philadelphia.

I walked on streets I never knew existed and took note of murals, architecture and cultures of the areas I was adventuring through. At some points, I stopped to take photos of things that intrigued me. And I had this uncontrollable urge to start writing.

As soon as I spotted a Target, I bought a notebook and pen. Next thing I knew, I was in Rittenhouse Square. The 40-degree weather didn’t stop me from sitting down and writing what I saw around me through my own perception.

Unlike most of my other poems, I didn’t structure my writing into stanzas. I simply wrote paragraphs about the world around me — my thoughts on everything from the way the sky looked to the way the people around me danced to a jazz band playing in the center of the park.

After I felt like I had written enough, I got up and once again started walking in a random direction. I strolled through West Philadelphia, typing short poems into my phone: “heavenly bodies waltz to nondescript jazz pieces, children with the crown of halos climb copper castles, and sunlight dashes along the brass frame of a portrait of mid-twentieth century beauty. jean jacket, ripped jeans, and a camouflage du-rag: a heart of gold, if i ever knew him.”

Everything I did that day, from turning down streets and stopping wherever

CLAIRE HALLORAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

I could to jot down words I felt inspired to write, was entirely spontaneous. As someone who rarely experiments with spontaneity, I felt truly exhilarated.

I eventually returned to my starting point, South Street, and ventured into a random coffee shop to escape the steadily declining temperature outside. There, I wrote down some final words, releasing some thoughts on a past friendship that had been on my mind over the past few days.

Emotionally and physically drained, I read all of the words I had written during that afternoon and was astounded. By breaking free of the constraints of structure and my own expectations, I wrote some genuinely great poems about subjects I rarely observed during a typical writing session.

By writing whatever came to my head, I could perfectly express my inner-

most thoughts and ideas in ways I hadn’t before. My writing became abstract and introspective.

When I returned home, my feeling of spontaneity was still so strong I dyed my hair purple. The next day, as I walked back from class, the same feeling approached me, and I stopped immediately to write another poem, this time about what purple hair meant for me.

Spontaneity allows every poem I write to be uniquely exciting, and in a matter of one week, my writing style has changed dramatically for the better.

Planning and overplanning are rational and important, but purposefully getting lost in Philadelphia is far more fun. tyler.perez@temple.edu @perezodent

temple-news.com

OPINION PAGE 11

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

THE ESSAYIST

The Lizard Lounge: Landmark of my adolescence A student reminisces on the enue are over now, but that only makes house where she spent summers the memories we made there more valuwith her boyfriend and his family. able. It was more than a weekend getBY JAYNA SCHAFFER Opinion Editor Since the start of our relationship, my boyfriend Danny and his family have owned a shore house in Ocean City, New Jersey. And each summer I’d spend every weekend there with Danny, his parents and his siblings.

Danny and I have been together since high school, and he and his family have always been extremely generous and welcoming to me. That’s why my family never kept me from spending nearly all of my summer weekends with them, even if they’d have to miss me for a few days at a time. I was in good hands.

Like clockwork, Danny would pick me up each Friday afternoon, and we’d ride down the Atlantic City Expressway with the windows down and our favorite songs playing. He’d fill me in on the details of his work week at his family’s bus company, and then we’d talk about where we’d eat first: Manco & Manco Pizza or Aunt Betty’s Ice Cream Shack.

We’d spend some time planning out the song we’d play when we reached the Ocean City bridge ahead of time. I think that was our special way of setting the tone for our weekend.

I couldn’t help but smile each time we’d come around the bend and see the house waiting for us exactly how we left it the weekend before. The pastel yellow siding shone brightly under the perfect summer sun. And classic rock echoed from the speakers in the area of the house that was transformed by Danny’s dad into the ultimate hangout — dubbed the Lizard Lounge.

Danny’s parents sold the house, so our summers on 16th Street and Bay Av-

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away for all of us; it was a home away from home.

Aside from the rides on Danny’s family’s boat and Mallon’s Sticky Buns, I think the most special part about the house is that during the past four summers, it was the symbol of something unique for each of us who spent our weekends there.

For Danny’s brother Eddie and his wife Sonia, it was the house where we all toasted to their engagement in Paris and planned what would end up being the wedding of the century.

I know it wasn’t even my house, but it’s a huge chunk of what I’ll remember of my adolescence.

For Danny’s mom, it was full of nostalgia; she could sit on the deck and look out at the house formerly owned by her late parents right across the street. And it was where she’d sit with me at the dining room table long after we finished our breakfast, so we could catch up on whatever happened during the last five days.

For Danny’s dad, the house was a project he could work on and a place where he could unwind and play his music loudly after each stress-filled week of running the business.

For Danny’s sister Melanie, it’s where she and I sipped lattes together and borrowed each others’ clothes, igniting the sisterly bond neither of us biologically had on our own.

For Danny and me, it’s where we did a lot of growing up and growing together.

It’s where our music taste evolved — for the better — and where we stayed up

late on rainy summer nights watching classic movies we weren’t born in time to see in theaters.

It’s where we spent so much time in the Surf Mall on the boardwalk, we began noticing when they added new posters to the cluttered, collaged walls and new vinyl records to the bins of overpriced, reissued albums.

It’s where we compared tans after spending entire days on the beach.

It’s where we’d hang out in the Lizard Lounge, dancing, singing and laughing with his older siblings until they called their Ubers to the Sea Isle City bars, which for us, meant hopping on our bikes and pedaling to our next adventure.

Our expeditions rotated between late-night beach trips, ice cream runs, chilly boardwalk strolls and when we were feeling extra curious, quests into unknown corners of the island that were usually vacant and made us feel like the only people on the planet.

And when we didn’t feel like riding bikes, we’d buckle up in Danny’s Jeep — doorless and almost too high for me to step into without assistance — and cruise from one end of Ocean City to the other.

Our voices intertwined with the hum of the engine and the notes of our alternative music playlist, as we commented on our favorites out of the houses we passed. We’d imagine life in the mansions that stretched over the beach the same way we talked about living in cities we haven’t visited yet.

Then we’d drive back to our actual favorite house and creep through the back door, trying our hardest not to wake anyone up with our giddiness.

I’m grateful that’s how I spent my youth: sharing secrets and sweet nothings with my best friend under seagulls and starry nights.

I know it wasn’t even my house, but

it’s a huge chunk of what I’ll remember of my adolescence. And so far, it’s what I’ve known as summers spent with Danny.

Anyone who knows the Jersey Shore knows not every day is a beach day. But with our clan, inclement weather didn’t mean sitting inside, staring at screens and sulking. For us, it meant cranking the music up louder and twirling around under the Lizard Lounge bar lighting and sometimes even out in the rain.

It meant taking turns chanting each others’ names while we performed like we were on stage. If that sounds silly or embarrassing to you, I don’t think you’ve quite found your people yet.

ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” was our anthem. But several songs by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival take me back to damp August air and bare feet on the cold stone tiles we called a dance floor.

Melanie’s arms flailing in the air and Danny’s mouth wide open chanting AC/ DC’s “Shook Me All Night Long” are like Polaroid photos in my brain.

Danny’s family has some amazing summer plans in store that I’m so excited and grateful to be included in. But until we start wreaking havoc in a new shore town, the thought of summer will involve a trip down memory lane for me.

I hope the new owners know they’re living in a landmark.

Each room comes with an inside joke we left there, and each floorboard has been stepped on by someone special and fiercely loved. I hope they enjoy their time in that pretty yellow house as much as we did, and I hope it’s more than just a house to them someday, too.

And I hope they like rock and roll. jayna@temple.edu @jaynaalexandra_

letters@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 12

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

STUDENT LIFE

Students use art to show beauty in Philly streets

MADISON KARAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Lucienne Nowak, a sophomore engineering technology major, won first place for her photo “City Seating” in the General Education Program’s annual Grit and Beauty contest.

The 10th annual Grit and Beauty contest asked students to capture Philadelphia in a uniquely artistic way.

BY MADISON KARAS Campus Beat Reporter

E

very time Lucienne Nowak drives past 6th Street and Girard Avenue, she sees the same message on the side of a building: “SELL YOUR TV ... BUY ART!!”

Brightly colored paintings sprawl across a chipping brick wall beneath the message. A nearby abandoned, retro-style couch catches Nowak’s eye. The sophomore engineering technology major snapped a photo of the scene when she and a friend were at a stoplight two years ago.

“It was just kind of a spur-of-themoment thing,” Nowak said. “It’s very beautiful, but yet, it’s falling apart.”

Nowak won first place for the phofeatures@temple-news.com

to in the Temple University General Education Program’s annual Grit and Beauty contest, which called for artwork that captured Philadelphia’s uniqueness.

The program, which oversees liberal arts education requirements, is displaying eight winning submissions and two high-ranking ones for the first time in the contest’s 10-year run near Paley Library’s breezeway until the end of the semester.

Nowak and fellow first-place winner Monica Pagán, a senior psychology major, each won $500. The Paley Library display includes work from Nowak, Pagán, six runner-ups and two honorable mentions.

Many submissions, like Nowak’s “City Seating” photo and Pagán’s “Decaying Sunset” photo, which depicted a sunset shining through an abandoned office building, featured Philadelphia’s architecture and scenery. The contest was open to all students and received more

than 100 photographs, essays and mixed media submissions, said Dana Dawson, the Gen-Ed Program’s associate director.

“A lot of the winning entries, when you look through them, really reflect students’ engagement with the city and finding these instances of things that might be perceived as cast off,” Dawson said. “But because of the lighting or just something about it, [it] makes it beautiful.”

Pagán took her sunset photo while on an urban exploration trip in Allegheny West with friends in November 2017.

“There is a type of beauty about it, going into a place where there was once a lot of memories of a lot of people bustling, and suddenly there’s no one,” Pagán said. “There’s nothing there anymore, and it’s decaying and people are now making new memories in there.”

Deborah Block, the coordinator for Philadelphia Experience Passport, a program that offers students free or

reduced-price tickets to local arts and culture locations, judged the contest.

Katie Weaver, a junior political science and global studies major on the GenEd Executive Committee as the Honors representative, and Annabelle Jellinek, a retired Gen-Ed finance coordinator, also judged.

Using a point scale from one to 15, the judges used a point scale to evaluate various criteria to give top submissions an overall score. They considered the combination of grit and beauty in a submission, and whether the piece was artistically compelling, Block said.

“The fact that our rough-and-tumble Temple students are...not only being in the city, but artistically reflecting on it [is] a great value,” she added.

Nowak and Pagán both felt the graffiti in their photos illustrated the city’s grit and beauty coming together.

While abandoned buildings often have a gritty feel, Pagán is always able to find the beauty in them, she said.

“In those moments, when you’re in the quietness and you get to see those sunsets and those spaces, there is so much beauty in it,” Pagán added. “And I feel like between the grit and that beauty, you’re in that space.”

Terry Halbert started the Grit and Beauty contest in 2009 as a way to get students off campus. Halbert, a legal studies professor and former director of the Gen-Ed Program, said while students were hesitant to come to Temple in the 1980s because “there was a real fear of the city,” that mindset has since changed.

“I’ve always felt that Temple is a good school for really being embedded in the city,” Halbert said. “We wanted to encourage students to have that experience even without a faculty member assigning something, just because they were going to explore on their own.” madison.karas@temple.edu @madraekaras

temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 13

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

FACULTY

Professor’s work takes stage at Annenberg Center Five pieces from Kun-Yang Lin’s career will be performed at the venue in April, including the premiere of “Spring 101.”

BY EMMA PADNER City Life Beat Reporter When he immigrated to the United States in 1993 from Taiwan, Kun-Yang Lin came alone. He knew no one.

Around this time, he wrote “Moon,” a dance piece expressing longing for familiarity and missing home.

“Creating dance is like eating,” said Lin, a Temple University dance professor. “You have to eat, you have to produce. When I moved to Philadelphia, I would say, ‘Dance is life, life is dance.

Dance is my religion.’ So dance is everything. It’s your being.”

On April 12 and 13, “Moon,” along with four other pieces — “CHI,” “The Land,” “Dreamscape” and “Spring 101,” — will be performed at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in University City. The theater is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.

All but “Spring 101” are repertoire pieces for Lin’s South Philly dance studio, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, on 9th Street near Sears. The event will mark the premiere of “Spring 101.”

Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance, a dance outreach, education and performance company, are presenting the performance. Seeing dancers perform his work on Annenberg’s stage is a life-long dream, Lin said.

“In order to get to the Annenberg Center stage, you have to be worldclass,” Lin said. “We are on that stage... and a lot of [dancers] are Temple alumni and so I’m very proud of them.”

The program at the Annenberg Center will showcase Lin’s work from 1993-2019. The audience will witness how his work has changed and evolved, including how it has become westernized over the years, Lin said.

Francis Markocki, a 2016 dance @TheTempleNews

EMMA PADNER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Performers at Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers rehearse for the April premiere of “Spring 101” on Thursday at the South Philly studio on 9th Street near Sears.

alumnus, will perform at the Annenberg Center with Lin’s dance studio. He became a company member at Lin’s studio in 2017 and works as a dance artist and the studio’s technical director.

The dance group has been working on pieces for the Annenberg Center since May 2018, Markocki said, and he hopes to successfully perform the challenging pieces Lin chose.

“Annenberg Center is one of the biggest stages that Philadelphia has to offer and being represented under NextMove Dance is a huge honor,” he added. “It’s always one of those stages where...I’ve always aspired to perform on...and it’s nice to be able to do that.”

Gracianna Coscia-Collins, the education manager at Lin’s dance studio, hopes to have as many young people as possible attend the performance, which she said teaches viewers about the self

and movement. Lin’s work taps into self-reflection, mindfulness and spirituality, Coscia-Collins said, which can be a learning opportunity.

Before moving to the U.S., Lin toured internationally with London-based Transitions Dance Company.

He has since performed with esteemed U.S. dance organizations like the Martha Graham Company, and has collaborated with famed post-modernist choreographers like Trisha Brown and Lynn Shapiro.

The premiere of “Spring 101” commemorates Lin reaching his dream of having his dances performed at Annenberg, he said. It’s the 101st piece he has choreographed.

While writing it, he put himself in a “beginner’s mind,” going back to the basics to keep fresh ideas while still sharing his past knowledge, Lin said. The end

of the dance features dancers running toward the back of the stage to shift the view of the audience and give the effect of a new beginning, like spring, he said.

“You have that expectation when the first time spring finally comes, the warmth of the sunlight feels different,” Lin said. “Everything feels different. So you see a shifted view, one is almost longing to the dancers to that infinity, so everyone has that new beginning.”

The KYL/D team has been rehearsing for the Annenberg performance four times a week for almost a year.

“Maybe [with] the work, the world premiere of ‘Spring 101,’ everybody will embrace the beginner’s mind,” he added.

“The future is wide open.” emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner

features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 14

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

RESEARCH

Study explores impact of public space on cities The findings will examine the vember and will finalize its findings this dergraduate and graduate students from their costs and is consistent with social each of the three universities are also equality, equity goals that we have,” he effects on economics, social summer.

The professors will also look at helping. said. interactions and health.

BY EMMA PADNER City Life Beat Reporter A woman walks her dog down a windy pathway. A couple sits on the grass while their children play tag a few feet away. A college student studies on a bench.

This is a typical scene in one of Philadelphia’s more than 50 public parks.

Hamil Pearsall, a geography and urban studies professor, teamed up with three professors from Drexel and Georgetown University to study urban public spaces in cities across the United States. The interdisciplinary group is looking at how access to public space in city neighborhood impacts people’s social interaction, economics and physical and mental health. It will also focus on searching for indicators of gentrification in public spaces.

Local nonprofit The William Penn Foundation awarded the team nearly $269,000 in Fall 2018 to fund the “Synthesis of the Benefits and Costs of Urban Public Spaces” literature research study.

The group began researching in No-

VOICES

How do you help eliminate trash off campus?

features@temple-news.com

how urban public spaces are distributed throughout cities, Pearsall said.

“Do we find that more and more quality public spaces tend to be located in wealthier neighborhoods, while there might be fewer public spaces, and more poorly maintained public spaces in lower-income neighborhoods?” she added.

The researchers created topics based on their areas of expertise, like public health, social issues and economics, said Anneclaire De Roos, an environmental and occupational health professor at Drexel.

De Roos is focusing on how urban spaces affect public health and how people’s proximity to public spaces could increase physical activity in urban areas.

“Another whole area with a lot of information is looking at mental health in relation to the public spaces,” De Roos added. “Are people less likely to have poor mental health if they have access to public spaces and be able to live close to public spaces?”

The professors are co-leading the study alongside a representative from the United States Forest Service. Un-

“I’m very excited that this is a very comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach in understanding public space,” said Yuki Kato, a Georgetown sociology professor who is working on the project.

Pearsall and Kato are researching the social aspect of public spaces and examining who benefits from public spaces and who might be excluded — like people experiencing homelessness, Pearsall said.

“I found it to be very exciting to work with engineers, people from health sciences, sociology to get a very broad picture of what’s going on with urban public spaces in Philadelphia,” Pearsall said.

The team aims to discover gaps in existing research, find what areas need more research and see what specific research should be done, Pearsall said.

Patrick Gurian, a civil, architectural and environmental engineering professor at Drexel, said this project is not a simple “yes or no” to public spaces.

“We want to implement public spaces and maintain public spaces in a way that maximizes their benefits, minimizes

Kato hopes the William Penn Foundation will use the group’s research as a guideline to determine which projects to support in the future and communities can use its research to advocate for public spaces, she said.

“They might pause and think about, ‘What are some things that we need to do so that we can ensure that this park can become not just a better park for some people, but as many as possible?’”

Kato said. “There is definitely that public outreach that could happen out of this report.”

Though the study isn’t exclusive to Philadelphia, Pearsall and her colleagues hope their findings will result in funding for new or renovated parks and more public spaces in the city.

“My hope is that our report is widely read by policymakers and practitioners and it will inform the way that we think about public spaces moving forward, certainly in Philadelphia, and beyond,” Pearsall said. emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner

EVAN STECCO Freshman electrical engineering major

RANI PATEL Sophomore marketing major

I always have a reusable bottle, and I usually always try to find a garbage can. And if something can be recycled, I always try to recycle it.

My sorority does cleaning stuff at Newman Center. [We] help clean up around the area.

ETHAN CARROLL Freshman undeclared major

SAM AFZAL Sophomore undeclared major

I use reusable bags at grocery stores, and I tend to throw things out in recyclable trash cans.

I just pick up trash occasionally. Just random trash that I see anywhere.

temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 15

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

LIVE IN PHILLY

Pop-up transit performances honor late composer

Musicians around the globe took their performances underground last weekend as part of Bach in the Subways, an event that celebrated the late composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s 334th birthday on Thursday.

Chloe Cooper, a senior at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts in Hawthorne, played the flute on Thursday at 30th Street Station, and helped organize the performances.

“I love classical music, and I love the idea of being able to bring classical music to people who might not be able to go to an orchestra and see it themselves,” she said.

Other young musicians, like Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School senior and cellist Daniel Kim, who performed at Jefferson Station, took the weekend as an opportunity to celebrate Bach.

“Bach was probably the main reason I started playing the cello,” Kim said. “The thing about Bach is that he basically puts out notes on a piece of paper and tells you to interpret it any way you want.”

DYLAN LONG & LUKE SMITH / THE TEMPLE NEWS

@TheTempleNews

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FEATURES PAGE 16

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

STUDENT LIFE

IBC group fitness courses increase in popularity

Students work out in a group cycling class at the IBC Student Recreation Center on March 18.

Participation in the university’s group fitness program has increased by 20 percent in the last two years.

BY BIBIANA CORREA Trend Beat Reporter Julie Kim has always tried to stay active, but didn’t like that she felt like she was being judged when wandering the gym alone. When she found out about the free group fitness classes at Temple, she was all in.

Kim, a freshman communication studies major, started attending various classes from morning Cycling sessions to evening Full Body Toning workouts.

Campus Recreation offers more than 20 recreational group fitness classes each week. The American College of Sports Medicine, a sports medicine and exercise science organization, ranked features@temple-news.com

group training as the second-highest worldwide fitness trend for 2019 in its annual survey.

John Doman, the director of Campus Recreation, said the group fitness program’s popularity among students and more weekly sessions increased participation by 20 percent in the last two years.

The group fitness classes are hosted in the IBC Student Recreation Center.

After discovering the classes, several students said they noticed improvements in their mental and physical health.

Alyssa Rife, a sophomore psychology major, started taking yoga classes at the IBC this semester. The classes help her mental and physical health, she said.

“It definitely relieves stress and gives me an hour of time where I can get rid of that stress and relax and focus on myself,” Rife said.

For Kyra Heyl, a freshman public health major, the judgment-free envi-

DYLAN LONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS

ronment in group cycling classes and the instructor’s encouragement eased her nerves during the first class.

“There was no pressure or anything, like you were able to cycle at your own comfort basically,” said Heyl, who attends the weekly Tuesday night class.

“But you can also allow yourself to push yourself more if you really want to.”

Katie Weaver, a junior political science and global studies major, is one of the cycling instructors at the IBC. As the class follows her workout, she advises participants to be careful not to overexert themselves, she said.

“Don’t push yourself to follow my lead if it’s going to hurt you or if you’re going to be too tired because that’s not even the point of the class,” she said.

The IBC will undergo a $202,000 renovation this summer. It will open in Fall 2019 with additional cardio equipment and an appearance that closer resembles the Student Training and

Recreation Complex at 15th Street and Montgomery Avenue.

Mervin Lumba, a junior exercise and sport science major, agreed that personal safety is the main priority, he said.

Lumba, who has taught yoga at the IBC for three years, first demonstrates a pose in class before helping participants.

More group fitness instructors are coaching their participants instead of just expecting the class to follow along, according to the American Council on Exercise, an exercise professional and health coach certification nonprofit.

The coaching in group classes may encourage exercising students to keep going when they feel like giving up.

Group classes can also provide a sense of accountability, and participants can learn how to correct their form while having fun with other people, Sue Parke, a group exercise instructor, wrote for the online fitness community Active.com.

“I try to give feedback to students if I see something potentially problematic,” Lumba said. “It is very important that students feel good within a posture, so I encourage my attendees to listen to the feedback that their body is giving back to them while they are moving.”

Both instructors and participants notice the personal gains from group fitness classes.

“There’s a lot of things you could be doing with your time,” Weaver said.

“The fact that you’re coming to work out, more specifically among others in that setting, that just shows that you want to make that commitment to yourself.”

Kim sometimes finds that in a group fitness setting, her mindset shifts away from fears that she’s being watched or critiqued.

“When I’m in that setting with everybody, I like how everyone’s doing the same thing,” Kim added. “Everyone’s focused on their own thing, so I never feel like I’m being judged.” bibiana.correa@temple.edu

temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 17

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

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DOWN 1. Play-by-play broadcaster from 1971 until his death in 2009 2. Team defeated by the Phillies in 2008 World Series 4. Phillies manager from 2005-13 5. Former second baseman set to be honored by the Phillies this summer 9. Name of stadium demolished in 2004 ACROSS 3. Twelve-time All-Star third baseman and Hall of Famer 6. Former Nationals outfielder who

recently signed with the Phillies 7. Original team name from 1883-89 8. Phillies stadium from 1938-70 in North Philadelphia 10. Record-holder for most career hits who received a lifetime suspension for gambling on the sport 11. Closer who recorded 48-for-48 saves in the 2008 regular and post season 12. Former center fielder and Phillies broadcaster for 35 years 13. Phillies shortstop from 2000-14

Answers from Tuesday, March 19: 1. Cherry blossom, 2. Longwood Gardens, 3. Equinox, 4. Nowruz, 5. Passover, 6. Migration, 7.

Tornado, 8. Easter, 9. Ramadan, 10. Shower.

@TheTempleNews

features@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 18

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

AUTISM

Programs help students with autism succeed Students with autism spectrum disorder can take advantage of on-campus resources.

BY MIKYHIAL CLARKE & CLAIRE WOLTERS For The Temple News

S

tudents with autism may face challenges at college, but that doesn’t mean they all struggle in the same ways.

“The saying is, ‘If you met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” said David Thomas, the associate director of student services at Temple University’s Disability Resources and Services. “What would be appropriate for one person with autism might be vastly different for another.”

DRS connects students to clubs and programs, like SHOUT Peer Mentors, Social Xchanges and Eye to Eye to break down environmental barriers students with autism spectrum disorder may face so they can succeed in college.

These barriers can be social, like anxiety when choosing groups in class or asking for help, or academic, like being prone to distraction and needing extra time on assignments or exams.

SHOUT Peer Mentors is a student-led mentoring program open for, but not exclusive to students with autism. Social Xchanges is a support group for students on the spectrum that fosters conversations and hosts events like pizza nights and bowling trips. Eye to Eye is a peer mentoring group that pairs college students with learning differences and learning disabilities with children.

Students with ASD who also have other learning differences or disabilities may choose to join Eye to Eye. Ian Fay, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts with Asperger’s syndrome, uses DRS accommodations for extra time on assignments and exams. Asperger’s syndrome is a

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milder form of ASD often characterized by high intelligence and lacking social skills, according to the Associated Press.

“They are pretty much ride or die with anyone who has disabilities,” Fay said. “If I feel it’s hindering at times, it’s good to have DRS to lean back on to perform as well as I can.”

Fay uses slam poetry to educate others about autism. As a poet for Babel Poetry Collective, an award-winning slam poetry club, he feels comfortable with members of the group despite other social challenges in college, he said.

“I do struggle in situations, but…it doesn’t hurt me,” Fay added. “It’s just the way that I am.”

The DRS’ comprehensive approach to classroom accessibility, which focuses on a universal design, sets it apart from services at other universities, Thomas said. Universal design is a concept that works for people of all abilities without needing to make modifications for certain individuals, according to the Universal Design Project, a Virginia-based nonprofit aiming to make communities more welcome to people with disabilities.

“Universal design for learning is one of the things we work with,” Thomas said. “If you design your class this way, then you don’t need to worry about this accommodation, because it’s already there and everyone can access it.”

One helpful strategy a professor can use is to assign groups in group projects, rather than give students the freedom to do so themselves, he added.

“For someone who has a social impairment, finding groups may be scary,” Thomas said. “Assigning groups can take out that question and facilitate that.”

Students with autism can apply to the Leadership and Career Studies program, a four-year certificate program in the Institute on Disabilities.

Students are given a coach, an undergraduate student who offers them

academic support and social assistance in student organizations and activities, to supervise them through the program.

The program is non-degree, but it offers career training and employment at the end of the four years, said Kathy Miller, the director of community services at the Institute on Disabilities.

“The need [for more support] was seen for students who are non-traditional students, who have intellectual disabilities or are on the spectrum,” Miller added. “It’s pretty much the same outcomes for those students to mature and become self-determined young adults and citizens, prepared to enter the world

of work.”

Some students with ASD may need extra time to transition to college, and the Leadership and Career Studies coaches can help them through this, Miller said.

“Like every other student who comes to college, the hope is that you’ll be able to find a job when you graduate and live on your own and contribute to society,” Miller added. intersection@temple.edu @TheTempleNews Tara Doll contributed reporting.

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INTERSECTION PAGE 19

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

AUTISM

Students fight struggles and stigmas of autism A student discusses how autism Caswell said.

He redesigned his class to incorhas affected her as a person in a porate modern teaching methods after STEM major.

BY ALESIA BANI For The Temple News Like many students with autism spectrum disorder, Morgan Caswell faces her fair share of difficulties at Temple University.

In addition to challenges like time management and difficulty focusing, fitting in and navigating relationships when she is considered “weird” is the hardest part, she said.

Caswell is a sophomore physics major who transferred to Temple in Fall 2018 from the Community College of Philadelphia. She grew up in Philadelphia and her diagnosis influenced her and her family’s decision to attend college close to home.

“They knew I’d struggle with adjusting to a new situation and with all the social stuff that goes with college,” Caswell said.

People with ASD may struggle with social skills like making eye contact or facial expressions and tempo or tone of speech, according to a 2018 article by Spectrum, a news source on autism research.

Caswell hasn’t let her social struggles stop her from studying toward her degree. She found comfort in Temple’s physics department, she said.

“The nice thing about coming to Temple and to the physics department is I find a lot of people are weird in the same way,” she added.

“The professor I work for never makes eye contact,” said Caswell, who works as an undergraduate researcher in the physics department. “I hate [making eye contact], so there’s no pressure there.”

Michael Opferman, a physics professor, has been significantly helpful,

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attending a Student-Oriented Active Redesign program from the Center for Advancement of Teaching. SOAR implements active learning methods to help retain students’ attention, success and motivation.

“I usually don’t do anything specific to accommodate people with disabilities, I just try to structure everything in a way that’s helpful for everybody,” Opferman said.

In the 1980s, it was rare for a student with ASD to enter college, according to a January 2018 issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

But in a 2011 report by the National Center for Special Education Research, researchers predicted 45 percent of young adults with ASD would enroll in a university, college, technical or vocational school in the coming years. The study, however, also found students with ASD less likely to complete a college degree than the general population and people with other disabilities.

Caswell’s diagnosis causes her to procrastinate, struggle to focus on a single assignment or subtlety fidget by playing with a pen or her jewelry, she said.

Her appearance doesn’t always align with stereotypes of ASD, so past professors have questioned whether or not she had a disability, she added.

“There’s one image of what autistic kids look like, and it’s always the nonverbal,” Caswell said. “The diagnostics criteria are based off of young white boys but it presents differently and when you don’t fit that image, it becomes harmful.”

Criteria for diagnosing ASD is based on data derived almost entirely from studies of boys, so many girls with ASD may go undiagnosed, according to a 2016 Scientific American article.

As a STEM major, Caswell battles the additional stigma that she may be an

DYLAN LONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore physics major Morgan Caswell poses outside of the Science and Education Research Center on Monday.

“autistic savant,” a person with ASD who is also genius-like in their field of study, she said.

“When you don’t live up to that, it’s hard,” Caswell added.

“Misconceptions can become dangerous,” said Ian Fay, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

People with Asperger’s syndrome, which is a form of ASD, typically have stronger verbal language skills and intellectual abilities than others on the spectrum, according to Autism Speaks.

While some people say Fay is “higher functioning” because of his diagnosis, he does not like that terminology, he said. Rather, it is important people do not treat him or others with ASD lesser because of their diagnoses.

“Just because I have a disability doesn’t mean you should take pity on me,” Fay added.

While these misconceptions more often come from ignorance, not malice, they are common, said, David Thomas, the associate director for student services at the Disability Resources and Services office.

“You get the, ‘You don’t look disabled enough,’ or, ‘You didn’t need accommodations last semester and you did fine,’” Thomas said.

“The biggest thing is to normalize disability,” Thomas added. “Give disability the same attention that we give to other aspects of our identities.” alesiabani1@temple.edu

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SPORTS PAGE 20

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

MEN’S BASKETBALL

It’s the start of a new era on North Broad Street

JUSTIN OAKES / THE TEMPLE NEWS Then-associate head coach Aaron McKie (right) yells instructions from the sideline near coach Fran Dunphy during Temple’s 81-70 loss to Belmont University in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on March 19 in Dayton, Ohio.

Aaron McKie has a lot of work now failed to advance past the NCAA pect signed. Dunn’s commitment ranks to do if he wants to bring the Tournament’s Round of 32 in its last Temple’s 2019 recruiting class as the eight tries and has gone 18 years without 143rd-best in the nation. spotlight back to the program.

Yet again, the ball didn’t bounce Temple University’s way in the NCAA Tournament.

The Owls dropped their third consecutive NCAA MICHAEL ZINGRONE Tournament game CO-SPORTS EDITOR in an 81-70 loss to Belmont University in Dayton, Ohio, on March 19 in the First Four.

In Fran Dunphy’s final game as Temple’s coach, the Owls displayed another tournament let-down because they could not keep pace with Belmont. Dunphy’s career NCAA Tournament record now stands at 3-17, which includes a 2-8 record at Temple.

Some would argue lack of tournament success will be the ultimate stain on Dunphy’s polished career. Temple had five runs to the Elite Eight and two Final Four appearances to its name prior to Dunphy’s tenure. But Temple has sports@temple-news.com

a Sweet 16 appearance.

To restore Temple’s allure as a historic program, incoming head coach Aaron McKie must elevate the Owls’ success beyond the regular season and win NCAA Tournament games.

McKie must recruit talents players to Temple and avoid bad losses in the NCAA Tournament.

In Dunphy’s tenure, the Owls signed just three four-star recruits – Shizz Alston Jr., Lavoy Allen, and Daniel Dingle – Owls Daily reported. Dunphy’s final recruiting class included freshman forward Arashma Parks and junior transfer guard Quentin Jackson. That 2017 incoming class was ranked 135th nationally and 10th out of 12 American Athletic Conference teams.

Also, just two players from Dunphy’s 13 years at Temple made the NBA, and one of them, Donte Christmas, wasn’t his recruit.

McKie still has to sign more recruits to his first class. Currently, three-star point guard Damian Dunn from Kinston, North Carolina, is the only pros-

In the tournament, Temple suffered a number of tough losses. Under Dunphy, the Owls were upset in 2010 and 2012, years in the which the Owls were nationally ranked, by a No. 12 seed, compiled a 1-5 against higher seeds, and lost their only play-in game.

In 2001, when the Owls made their last Sweet 16 appearance, John Chaney was Temple’s coach and McKie was in his seventh season as a guard in the NBA. Since then, other Big 5 schools and the Owls’ rejuvenated football program have stolen the spotlight from Temple men’s basketball. Villanova has made the tournament every year but one since 2004 and won two national titles. La Salle made an improbable run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 13 seed in 2013.

Meanwhile, the Owls have hit a lull in recent years. Temple recorded double-digit losses in each of the past seven seasons and only made three tournament appearances during that span. Temple hasn’t been ranked since the March 5, 2012, Associated Press Top 25 poll.

McKie is in charge to regather the

buzz that once surrounded and filled the Liacouras Center.

Dunphy believes he is leaving McKie in good hands with four “terrific” rising juniors — guard Nate Pierre-Louis and forwards Justyn Hamilton, J.P. Moorman II and De’Vondre Perry.

Pierre-Louis was the Owls’ third-leading scorer and often guarded the opposing team’s best player. Moorman worked his way into the starting lineup late in the year, earning 10 starts.

Plus the Owls have three rising seniors who will be key to their success, Dunphy said. That group includes guard Quinton Rose, who finished the 2018-19 season as the team’s second-leading scorer. He is returning for his senior season, he told OwlScoop.com.

However, it’s going to be a work in progress for the Owls.

Point guard Shizz Alston Jr., who tied for first in the American Athletic Conference in scoring, will graduate and pursue a career in the NBA. Former center Ernest Aflakpui is also graduating, and it is presumed Hamilton will fill his role in the starting lineup.

Senior guard Monty Scott will be key in the effort to replace Alston’s production. Scott, who transferred from Kennesaw State University in Fall 2018, didn’t play last season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules.

Despite winning six regular season and postseason conference championships with the Owls, Dunphy’s tenure will be remembered for the failure to succeed in the Big Dance.

Temple took a positive step by returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Now, McKie has to lead a run the next time the Owls qualify.

“It’s good that we got here, but at the same time, it’s not that good being that we lost in the first round,” Hamilton said. “I just use it as an inspiration to be here the next coming up years.” michael.zingrone@temple.edu @mjzingrone

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SPORTS PAGE 21

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

FOOTBALL

Tight ends prep for increased role in new offense The Owls expect their tight ends to be more productive in the team’s passing attack.

BY SAM NEUMANN Co-Sports Editor Mike Uremovich walked into his first position meeting and told his tight ends they need to be stronger.

Temple University’s tight ends haven’t been a focal point in the offensive game plan in years past, but the Owls’ tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator wants to change that. To do so, Uremovich told the position group to hit the weight room and increase their food intake, he said.

“When he told us that, I’m not gonna lie, some of us in the room got a little offended,” redshirt-freshman tight end David Martin-Robinson said. “He was basically saying, ‘Y’all kinda small.’”

“We kind of took ownership, and everyone’s been making gains,” he added. “We’ve responded well and started eating a lot to get bigger and stronger.”

Coming over with new head coach Rod Carey from Northern Illinois University, Uremovich visualizes the tight ends catching passes in the red zone and play-action passing attack.

Last season, Temple’s tight ends recorded only 315 receiving yards, because they were used primarily in the running game as blockers. This led the offense to become predictable, redshirt-junior quarterback Anthony Russo said.

Redshirt-junior tight end Kenny Yeboah hopes to change this and spark production from the tight end group.

Yeboah has played 26 games in the past three seasons and averaged about one catch per game in the past two seasons. He will replace Chris Myarick, who graduated after starting in 11 of the Owls’ 12 regular-season games in 2018.

“I’m hoping to get better at catching the ball and even blocking,” Yeboah add-

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EVAN EASTERLING / FILE PHOTO Then-redshirt-sophomore tight end Kenny Yeboah (left) tries to catch a pass while covered by then-redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman Quincy Roche during practice on April 10, 2018 at Chodoff Field.

ed. “I’m overall just looking to get better at route running too. I’m not trying to get complacent, so I want to keep getting better and keep perfecting my craft.”

Yeboah’s versatility will make him stand out in the passing game, Uremovich said. The Owls feel they can use him as both a wide receiver and tight end.

In the Owls’ 35-14 win against the University of Maryland on Sept. 15, 2018, Yeboah motioned to the slot as a wide receiver and caught his first career touchdown pass.

Outside of producing on the field, Yeboah has mentored the young tight ends, just like Myarick did for him.

“I’m just trying to bring along all the young tight ends as all the older tight ends did for me,” Yeboah said. “I’m just trying to bring everyone along, learn the playbook and try to teach them everything I can.”

Though Myarick is leaving Temple to pursue a career in the NFL, he is confident the position group he once led is in good hands.

“They’re great athletes, they’re really good blockers,” Myarick said after Temple’s Pro Day workouts on March 18. “They are going to be a huge threat in the passing game. I haven’t gotten to know the new offense too much, but with weapons like that, they are going to use them.”

Martin-Robinson expects to make and impact after appearing in four games and catching just one pass last season.

Redshirting his freshman season was difficult for Martin-Robinson to buy into at first, he said, but as the year progressed, he prioritized his development.

“In the beginning, it was an adjustment because it seemed like I was on my way,” Martin-Robinson said. “I was

doing really well in practice, maybe on my way to getting some time, but then I was OK with it because I needed time to develop.”

Now, Martin-Robinson is bigger and stronger and expects to make an impact alongside Yeboah, he said.

While the Owls still have to get through spring and summer practices, the tight ends hope hitting the weight room will result in an uptick in offense production.

“They’re gonna catch a lot of balls,” Uremovich said. “Because of the way we run the ball, we’ll put up some play-actions for them. ...The skill sets that they have, being able to split them out and throw them balls, they’ll catch a lot of them.” sam.neumann@temple.edu @SamNeu_

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SPORTS PAGE 22

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

FENCING

Two fencers earn All-American honors

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The Owls finished 11th out mance at this year’s championships was of 21 teams at the NCAA her best in her three years competing at the NCAA Championships. Last season, championships in Cleveland.

BY ALEX McGINLEY Fencing Beat Reporter

For the second consecutive year, Temple University fencing sent three athletes to the NCAA Championship meet.

And yet again, a Temple fencer received All-American honors.

Senior sabre Blessing Olaode and junior sabre Kerry Plunkett were honored as All-American honorable mentions for finishing in the top 12 of the sabre competition at the NCAA Championships on Saturday and Sunday in Cleveland.

This comes one year after junior foil Kennedy Lovelace, who also competed over the weekend, finished seventh in the foil competition and took home Second Team All-American honors.

Plunkett and Olaode, who placed ninth and 12th respectively, became the Owls’ first sabre All-Americans since Tiki Kastor placed seventh and made the second team in 2014. Lovelace earned an 18th-place finish in the foil competition.

Olaode, who made her first appearance at the NCAA Championships, won 12 of her 23 bouts in the round-robin competition.

Olaode nearly competed at last year’s meet, serving as an alternate. This season, she led the sabre squad to a second-place finish at the January North American Cup and finished her career with a dual meet record of 147-93.

“It was definitely a new experience,” Olaode said. “It was very challenging, in terms of being in a new environment.

I think I did relatively well. I’m happy with my result. Obviously, I wish I did better.”

Plunkett, who made her third consecutive championship appearance, won her first seven bouts and finished the event with 13 wins. Plunkett’s perforsports@temple-news.com

Plunkett finished 22nd after placing 19th during her freshman campaign in 2017.

Lovelace couldn’t improve on her seventh-place performance at last season’s NCAA Championship, placing 18th in the foil competition. Lovelace earned Second Team All-American honors at last year’s competition but won just eight bouts at the event this season.

As a team, the Owls finished 11th among 21 women’s teams. Columbia University, Penn State and the University of Notre Dame took the top three spots. Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the March 10 CollegeFencing360.com poll, while Columbia and Penn State rounded out the top three.

Temple went 0-5 against those three teams but grabbed seven wins against its other ranked opponents.

Facing tough competition all season prepared the fencers for the championships, coach Nikki Franke said.

“It’s something that’s really important to be able to do,” Franke said. “The ultimate goal for a collegiate fencer is to make the NCAA Championship.

That really speaks volumes to how hard they’ve worked. It’s nice to see it pay off.”

Even though her collegiate career is over, Olaode will still fence in international tournaments for the Nigerian national team. Olaode’s next competition will be in Seoul, South Korea in April.

Olaode can finally reflect on her time at Temple because her collegiate career is over.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to go to another program,” Olaode said. “I really enjoyed my time here. It’s such an experience because I’ve felt like I was always part of a family. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.” alex.mcginley@temple.edu @mcginley_alex

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SPORTS PAGE 23

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 CHAMPIONS

in each of the past three seasons, Temple finally took it home after finishing fifth in 2017 and last in 2018.

“The team has had that cloud of the last three years hanging over their head,” first-year coach Josh Nilson said.

“Getting this done, I think it means a lot to the administration, the team and the alums.”

“For my staff and I, the team that’s currently here, it’s humbling,” he added. “It’s an honor really to have the opportunity to bring back our first one.

The team earned it. They worked hard.”

Saturday was the culmination of a season of improvement. The Owls went 6-1 in their three meets before the conference championships, and they jumped from 18-17 in 2017-18 to 19-14.

At the end of the event, Nilson was named ECAC Coach of the Year, marking the second consecutive season a Temple coach won the award. Last season, former coach Umme SalimBeasley won the award before becoming Rutgers University’s coach in May 2018.

Temple set a program record on the beam with a score of 49.225, beating its previous record of 49.050. Firstyear assistant coach Rachel Inniss, who specialized in the beam all season, was named ECAC Assistant Coach of the Year after the meet.

Freshman Ariana Castrence and sophomore Delaney Garin both scored 9.85 on the beam. Castrence set a new career-high, while Garin tied hers from March 10. Sophomore Monica Servidio sealed the deal, as she took the event title with a 9.900 score.

Temple did well on the beam throughout the year, but sometimes got “shaky” during competitions, Nilson said. He told his gymnasts they could overcome mistakes and still win on Saturday.

“It’s just a reflection of their mentality, knowing they were still in it,” he said. “It was huge. Being able to do

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JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Freshman all-around Ariana Castrence leaps during the Owls’ 2019 home-opening win against Penn, Ithaca College and Ursinus College at McGonigle Hall on Jan. 27.

that, with all the pressure that applies to that, it was absolutely phenomenal.”

Servidio’s beam score tied her personal best and clinched her the ECAC beam title. In her second season, Servidio led the Owls by regularly competing in all four events to score in the all-around competition.

Servidio was named ECAC CoGymnast of the year with Yale junior Jade Buford. She is the first gymnast in Temple history to take home that award.

“Monica is the least selfish athlete I’ve ever coached,” Nilson said. “She was really surprised. I don’t even know if she realized that she was No. 1 in the conference. She just keeps her head down and works hard. I’m humbled to be able to work with her.”

Castrence competed in the allaround for Temple with Servidio and clinched the ECAC title in the event with

a career-best score of 39.175. Castrence was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year for her stellar freshman season.

Temple clinched the team ECAC title with a standout performance in the floor routine. Castrence tied senior captain India Anderson for a teamleading 9.825 score in the event. After the meet, Anderson was awarded ECAC Specialist of the Year in her final season at Temple.

Anderson, Castrence and Servidio will represent Temple at the NCAA Regionals on April 5 in Athens, Georgia.

Anderson is the Owls’ first individual qualifier in the floor routine, while Servidio is the first Owl to qualify for the beam event.

An NCAA rule prevented gymnasts from being made available to the media until after the regional qualifiers were announced Monday evening.

The top event specialist from each regional who isn’t competing in the all-around or team competition will advance to the Division I championships in Texas on April 19 and 20. A strong performance from any of the three could give the Owls their first individual qualifier at the NCAA Championships.

Nilson sees this season as the start of something special.

“We can go out on a national scale and do much bigger things than we did this year,” Nilson said. “Everything is a process. But building on this, I think the foundation is more solid now, I think they understand what they’re capable of a little more and I think this going to be easy to build upon next year.” graham.foley@temple.edu @graham_foley03

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SPORTS TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

PAGE 24

SEEING IT THROUGH

Saturday was a historic afternoon The Owls won the Eastern for the Owls, who won their first College Athletic Conference ECAC title in team history, as they set Championship for the first time a program record on the beam and took in program history.

BY GRAHAM FOLEY For The Temple News

W

ithin one year, Temple University gymnastics went from worst to first in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

home five individual conference awards.

With a score of 194.750, Temple defeated Yale University, Penn, Cornell University, Brown University and the College of William & Mary at the ECAC championships in Ithaca, New York.

After being predicted to win the title CHAMPIONS | PAGE 23

MATT ALTEA / THE TEMPLE NEWS The women’s gymnastics team celebrates behind senior all-around India Anderson on Feb. 10 at The Palestra, where they placed fourth at Penn’s Pink Meet.

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