THE TEMPLE NEWS
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
VOTER GUIDE 2020 Election Day is two weeks away. Find what you need to know about this year’s candidates, ballot measures and voting options inside. Read more on Pages 3-5.
WHAT’S INSIDE FEATURES, PAGE 17 Students create private server to play and meet each other in an online imposter game. SPORTS, PAGE 25 The Owls’ strength and conditioning program prepares athletes for professional play.
VOL 99.5 // ISSUE 5 OCT. 20, 2020
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The Temple News
PAGE 2
THE TEMPLE NEWS A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.
Madison Karas Editor-in-Chief Bibiana Correa Managing Editor Colin Evans Digital Managing Editor Tyler Perez Chief Copy Editor Valerie Dowret Assignments Editor Jack Danz News Editor Victoria Ayala Assistant News Editor Amelia Winger Assistant News Editor Christina Mitchell Opinion Editor Magdalena Becker Essay Editor Emma Padner Features Editor Natalie Kerr Assistant Features Editor Lawrence Ukenye Assistant Features Editor Dante Collinelli Sports Editor Isabella DiAmore Assistant Sports Editor Adam Aaronson Assistant Sports Editor Rayonna Hobbs Co-Intersection Editor Eden MacDougall Co-Intersection Editor Rjaa Ahmed Audience Engagement Editor Iris Wexler Asst. Engagement Editor Maggie Fitzgerald Asst. Engagement Editor Colleen Claggett Co-Photography Editor Jeremy Elvas Co-Photography Editor Erik Coombs Multimedia Editor Matthew Murray Assistant Multimedia Editor Ingrid Slater Design Editor Hanna Lipski Assistant Design Editor Tyra Brown Alternative Story Format Editor Maryam Siddiqui Web Editor Carly Civello Advertising Manager Kaila Morris Advertising Manager Luke Smith Business Manager
ON THE COVER The Liacouras Center is now being used as a satellite election office until Nov. 3 for students and community residents to register to vote, receive a mail-in ballot and drop off a completed mail-in ballot.
JEREMY ELVAS /THE TEMPLE NEWS The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News. The Editorial Board is made up of The Temple News’ Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Digital Managing Editor, Chief Copy Editor, Assignments Editor, News Editor and Opinion Editor. The views expressed in editorials only reflect those of the Board, and not of the entire Temple News staff.
CORRECTIONS A cutline that ran on 10.6 on page 16 incorrectly identified the individual pictured. Patti Sims is in the photo. A cutline that ran on 10.6 on page 26 incorrectly identified the individual pictured. Kamryn Stablein is in the photo. 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 Madison Karas at editor@temple-news.com.
COVID-19 CASES As of Oct. 19, Temple has 59 active cases of COVID-19 among students on campus. Temple recorded 33 new cases last week, and 38 cases the week prior with a 2.72 percent and 3.50 percent positivity rate, respectively, among more than 1000 tests given each week. Philadelphia averaged approximately 182 new cases a day from Oct. 2 to Oct. 16. For the latest information, visit our COVID-19 case dashboard at temple-news.com/trackingcovid19
Contacts Visit us online at temple-news.com News Desk 215.204.7419 Email section staff news@temple-news.com letters@temple-news.com features@temple-news.com intersection@temple-news.com sports@temple-news.com The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122
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NEWS
PAGE 3
How to cast a ballot in the 2020 general election Philadelphia voters can mail their ballots, hand-deliver mail-in ballots or vote in person Nov. 3. BY AMELIA WINGER Assistant News Editor
Who can vote
Most American citizens above the age of 18 on Election Day can cast a ballot for the 2020 general election in Philadelphia as long as they have resided in the county for at least 30 days. Voters must have registered to vote in Pennsylvania by Oct. 19 for their ballot to be counted. Temple students who have lived in Philadelphia for 30 days but are currently living elsewhere can still vote and submit a mail-in ballot to a Philadelphia election office as long as they intend to return to the county.
How to vote
Under Pennsylvania Act 77, voters can request, receive, mark and cast their mail-in ballots within one trip to their county election office. Registered Pennsylvanian voters can alternatively request a mail-in ballot for any reason, but their request forms must be received by their local county election board by 5 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the latest. Voters have three options for requesting a mail-in ballot. First, voters can apply for a mail-in ballot online as long as they have a valid driver’s license or photo ID from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Second, voters can complete a paper application for a mail-in or absentee ballot and mail it to their local county’s election office. The paper forms are available in English and Spanish, and voters with disabilities are encouraged to submit an
absentee ballot application. Third, voters can apply for a mailin ballot in person at their local county’s election office. Voters with disabilities that prevent them from visiting their local election office in person can fill out a form to allow someone else to handle their ballot materials. Voters can request an emergency absentee ballot if they miss the Oct. 27 deadline, and can submit this form at any point before 8 p.m. on Election Day. Once voters receive and fill out their mail-in ballots, they can place the completed form in the white secrecy envelope that comes with every mail-in ballot. Once sealed, the white secrecy envelope must be placed inside the pre-addressed outer return envelope. Voters must then sign the declaration statement on the outside of the declaration envelope for their vote to be counted. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 19 that all Pennsylvania ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by an election office by Nov. 6 will be counted, which could create a nationwide cliffhanger by delaying the final tally of the presidential race, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Alternatively, voters can hand-deliver their mail-in ballots to their county election office, ballot drop boxes and other designated sites before 8 p.m. on Election Day. The closest election offices to Temple’s campus are the Liacouras Center on Broad Street near Montgomery Avenue, and the outdoor dropbox at Eastern State Penitentiary, located on Fairmount Avenue near Corinthian. Voters can track the status of their mail-in or absentee ballots through an online tool created by the Pennsylvania
Department of State, but there may be delays in how frequently the status is updated.
Where to vote by mail
Temple’s Liacouras Center was one of seven satellite election offices that opened on Sept. 29, and helps voters receive, complete and return their mail-in ballots in person. The other offices that opened on Sept. 29 included City Hall Room 140, George Washington High School, Roxborough High School, Tilden Middle School, Julia de Burgos Elementary School and Overbrook Elementary School, The Temple News reported. Since then, the Philadelphia City Commissioners have opened two additional satellite election offices and five ballot dropboxes, including the one at Eastern State Penitentiary. Once the Philadelphia City Commissioners train more office staff members, they plan to open additional locations at the first floor of Riverview Place, J. Hampton Moore School, Julia Ward Howe School and Alain Locke School, according to the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ website. All satellite election offices are open seven days a week, from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday until Election Day on Nov. 3. Philadelphia voters can request mail-in ballots in person at all satellite election offices until one week before Election Day, at which point the offices will only accept completed ballots, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. In compliance with the city’s COVID-19 health and safety guide-
lines, the satellite election office at the Liacouras Center is requiring people to check in at a hand sanitizing station, state if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and are provided with a mask if they do not have one, The Temple News reported.
Where to vote in person
The Philadelphia City Commissioners intend to staff more than 700 polling places on Election Day, which is nearly four times more than they had for the primary election in June, Billy Penn reported. Pennsylvania voters can look up their nearest polling place using an online search tool created by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Polling places will open at 7 a.m. on Election Day, and any voter standing in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote. The four locations closest to Temple’s Main Campus will be at Bright Hope Baptist Church on 12th Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Penrose Recreation Center at 12th Street between Susquehanna Avenue and Colona Street, George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science on Norris Street near 16th and Winchester Recreation Center on 15th Street near York. The Pennsylvania Department of State recommends that people voting in person on Election Day wear masks, practice social distancing and sanitize their hands. Voters are also encouraged to bring their own black- or blue-ink pen to limit the number of shared surfaces they touch. amelia.winger@temple.edu AmeliaWinger
NEWS
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The Temple News
Here’s who North Central residents will vote on change and water contamination will afCandidates weigh in on issues fect the poorest communities, according Timothy Runkle (Green) like the COVID-19 pandemic, po- Auditor General The auditor general ensures the to her website. Runkle is a senior project manager lice reform and the economy.
BY JACK DANZ, LAWRENCE UKENYE AND AMELIA WINGER For The Temple News President and Vice President of the United States
After the town hall events last week, the final presidential debate is on Thursday, Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence (R-Incumbent)
President Donald Trump is focusing his reelection campaign on the stock market performance and promises he made during the 2016 election, like replacing Obamacare and securing borders, according to his website. Trump, who had COVID-19 earlier this month, originally declined negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a COVID-19 stimulus package, but he has since expressed desire to sign a different stimulus bill specifically for the airline industry, CBS News reported.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (D)
Biden is pushing his “Build Back Better” plan for a sustainable economy, which incorporates a $2 trillion investment in clean energy, sustainable jobs creation, transformation of infrastructure and expanding land grant universities’ agricultural research and historically Black colleges and universities, according to Biden’s website. Biden also wants to ensure available, free COVID-19 testing and emergency paid leave for those affected by the pandemic, according to his website.
state spends money legally and conducts financial audits, performance audits and attestation engagements, which is reliable financial and non-financial information, according to the auditor general’s website. The position is currently held by Eugene DePasquale.
Nina Ahmad (D)
Ahmad emigrated from Bangladesh and earned a PhD in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania before becoming a molecular biologist. She served as the president of the National Organization for Women in Philadelphia and on former President Barack Obama’s Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders, she said. If elected, Ahmad would increase funding for schools, increase access to broadband internet in rural areas and create a pandemic preparedness audit to search for fraud and abuse in education, health and finance, she said.
Timothy DeFoor (R)
DeFoor has been auditing in the public and private sector for more than 25 years beginning as a special investigator with the inspector general of Pennsylvania. He now serves as the Dauphin County Controller, he said. If elected, DeFoor would ensure businesses received the COVID-19 relief they applied for and expand the number of expert contractors the office uses when conducting audits, he said. Jennifer Moore (Libertarian) Moore is the vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania and an auditor for Upper Providence Township in Montgomery County, according to the Pennsylvania Project podcast.
Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy Co- Olivia Faison (Green) hen (Libertarian) Faison grew up in Philadelphia and Jorgenson wants to reverse the multi-trillion dollar deficit, foreign wars and the high number of incarcerated people, according to her website. Jorgenson’s COVID-19 plan would cut out the bureaucracy from the stimulus package, according to her website.
serves as the chair of the Health Center 4 Advisory Committee and the secretary on the Board of Directors for the City of Philadelphia Health Centers, according to her website. Faison is worried about how climate
State Treasurer
The state treasurer manages the state’s budget and oversees withdraws and deposits from the state, according to the state treasurer’s website.
Joe Torsella (D-Incumbent)
Torsella, the incumbent, was the founding president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and from 2011 to 2014 he served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform, according to his website. Torsella wants to establish Keystone Savings Accounts, higher education and vocational training savings, for every child born in Pennsylvania, and retirement plans for private sector employees who do not have access to them, according to his website.
Stacy Garrity (R)
Garrity was deployed to Iraq three times and served as battalion commander for Camp Bucca in her most recent combat deployment in 2004. She was awarded two bronze stars for her service and went on to serve as the first female vice president for Global Tungsten and Powders Corporation. If elected, Garrity would work to improve transparency within the Pennsylvania Treasury Department by ensuring the department spends no more than the amount agreed upon by legislators. She would also work to make college more affordable by expanding the state’s 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan and Investment Plan, she said.
Joe Soloski (Libertarian)
Soloski managed his own accounting firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for 27 years and served as a comptroller, financial analyst and public accountant, according to his website. Soloski supports cutting the pay of part-time legislators in half, eliminating the state inheritance tax and expanding the state’s hemp industry, according to his website.
in the environmental consulting industry and treasurer of the Green Party of Pennsylvania, according to his website. Runkle believes in community-based economic development, a focus on sustainability and a respect for diversity, according to his website.
Representative in Congress District 3
The District 3 U.S. House of Representatives seat encompasses Philadelphia west of Broad Street in North Philadelphia.
Dwight Evans (D-Incumbent)
Evans began as the state representative for Pennsylvania’s 203rd congressional district in 1980, and is now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 3rd congressional district. If re-elected, the most important issue Evans plans to address is inequity in the health care system, he said.
Michael Harvey (R)
Michael Harvey, a Temple University alumnus, is a veteran who currently works as a paralegal and serves as the leader of Philadelphia’s 60th Ward as well as a block captain in West Philadelphia, according to his website. If elected, the most important issue Harvey plans to address is unemployment in the 3rd congressional district, he said in an interview with The Republican Zone. Miles Wall and Fallon Roth contributed reporting. john.danz@temple.edu JackLDanz lawrence.ukenye@temple.edu Lawrencee_u amelia.winger@temple.edu AmeliaWinger
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The Temple News
NEWS
PAGE 5
A breakdown of local ballot measures Philadelphia’s ballot measures 2010. At that time ACLU assisted eight include proposals about police Black men in filing lawsuits against the practices and borrowing money. city for illegally using stop and frisk on BY JACK DANZ AND AMELIA WINGER For The Temple News Ballots measures are legislation that the city council votes on and the mayor approves. Citizen voting is the final step in turning the measures into laws. All questions are answered with a yes or no. These questions are at the end of the Nov. 3 ballot. For mail-in voters, the questions are found on the back of the ballot. Question 1: Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to call on the Police Department to eliminate the practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk, consistent with judicial precedent, meaning an officer must have reasonable suspicion that a person is engaged in criminal activity in order to stop that person, and, therefore, an officer cannot stop someone unlawfully because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religious affiliation or expression, or other protected characteristic? Voting yes on this measure would call on the city to amend the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter and make it illegal for the Philadelphia Police Department to stop and frisk a person without reasonable suspicion that person is engaged in criminal activity, Billy Penn reported. While using stop and frisk is already unconstitutional and, therefore, illegal, police officers still stop people without reasonable suspicion and the measure is mostly symbolic, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Since Mayor Jim Kenny took office in 2016, baseless stops are down 92 percent, but 10,000 stops a year do not have documented reasonable suspicion, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. In 2019, the Philadelphia Police Department made 76,937 stops, the fewest since the American Civil Liberties Union started its class action suit in
thousands because of their race, WHYY reported. The ACLU randomly sampled 3,933 PPD stops from 2019 and found onethird of all frisks were legally unfounded, an increase from 21 percent in the first half of 2018, according to a 2019 ACLU report. Although 44 percent of Philadelphia’s population is Black, Black residents make up 71 percent of the city’s stops and 82 percent of frisks. In contrast, white Philadelphians make up 22 percent of stops and 12 percent of frisks, despite 35 percent of the city’s population being white, according to the report. Question 2: Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to create the Office of the Victim Advocate to advocate for crime victims and to work with victim-services providers to coordinate, plan, train, educate, and investigate issues relating to crime victims? Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, who represents City Council District 2 and heads the Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention, introduced legislation for the creation of the Office of the Victim Advocate to the city council, which allows victims of violence to participate in support services, advocacy, policy and legislation. “I believe this will provide the most vulnerable population in the City of Philadelphia, which are victims and co-victims of gun violence and other violent crimes, the opportunity to have a seat at the table, the opportunity to have a voice as it relates to the trauma support services that the population needs,” Johnson said. The Office of the Victim Advocate would serve as the central hub for victims and co-victims of gun violence and violent crimes, and would work with external organizations like Mothers in Charge, the National Homicide Justice Alliance and Every Murder is Real Healing Center, Johnson said. If the measure, which passed city
JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS A Philadelphia police officer patrols outside City Hall near Broad Street on Oct. 17.
council unanimously, passes on Election Day, the mayor will appoint a leader to the office, and city council will approve them, Johnson said. Question 3: Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of a Citizens Police Oversight Commission, and to authorize City Council to determine the composition, powers and duties of the Commission? If passed, this measure would replace the Police Advisory Commission with a Citizens Police Oversight Commission, Billy Penn reported. The Police Advisory Commission reviews police procedures, discusses issues about policing and recommends police improvements to the mayor, according to the city’s website. The new Citizens Police Oversight Commission would independently review complaints about police use of force, but the city will not plan the structure of the committee until after the vote passes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Sixteen of the 17 city council members voted for the new Citizens Police Oversight Commission and District Attorney Larry Krasner supports it, Billy
Penn reported. Question 4: Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS ($134,000,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development? This ballot question will ask voters if they approve the city taking on $134 million in debt in order to fund a variety of government projects. Nearly half will be spent on municipal buildings, about a third will be spent on streets and sanitation and around one-fifth will be spent on economic and community development as well as parks, recreation, museums and transit. Philadelphia has asked voters questions with this exact wording and format on ballots every year for the past two decades, Billy Penn reported. john.danz@temple.edu @JackLDanz amelia.winger@temple.edu @AmeliaWinger
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NEWS
The Temple News
PAGE 7
CAMPUS
Nearly 400,000 Philly voters request mail ballots BY COLIN EVANS Digital Managing Editor Brendan McAvoy stood in line outside Temple University’s Liacouras Center, which has been transformed into one of several satellite election offices in Philadelphia, on Monday morning, eager to request and return a mailin ballot for this year’s general election. McAvoy, a senior history major who also voted by absentee ballot in the 2016 primary election, likes mail-in voting because it gives him the chance to consider the candidates and issues without the pressure of voting quickly in person. “You’re getting to do research about it, you can sit down and read about the candidates running, read about what the [ballot questions] would mean for the city,” he said. “I would keep doing mail-in ballots in the future, personally.” McAvoy is one of nearly 14,200 residents in the 181st Legislative District, which encompasses Temple’s Main Campus, out of more than 388,000 residents in Philadelphia to have requested mail-in ballots for this year’s general election, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State. The data shows a sharp increase from the roughly absentee 20,000 ballots issued to Philadelphians in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. In Pennsylvania, the number of mail-in ballots requested has increased from fewer than 323,000 in 2016 to nearly 2.8 million this election, according to the USEAC and Department of
State data. The spike in mail-in voting is in part due to concerns regarding in-person voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the signing of Act 77, which allows Pennsylvania voters to vote by mail without a formal excuse, in October 2019. “The change in modes of voting this year is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the state, ever,” said Patrick Christmas, policy director at Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization in Philadelphia. “It’s an unprecedented change both in election law, in election systems, and on the voter side, the procedures they’ve got to follow.” Nationally, voters have requested or been sent 83.5 million absentee ballots for the general election following the loosening of absentee voting eligibility rules in many states, the New York Times reported. The final day to request a mailin ballot in Pennsylvania is Oct. 27 at 5 p.m., according to the Department of State. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. and received by the county election office on Nov. 6 by 5 p.m. to count. A potential concern for voters is the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to process mail-in ballots in time for them to be counted, which the agency warned in August it would not be able to guarantee, the Washington Post reported. The anticipated volume of election mail this year will be less than what the agency handles during the holiday season, and the USPS is “actively working” to handle the anticipated increase in mail in the coming weeks, wrote Ray Daiutolo, a spokesperson for the USPS’s South Jersey and Philadelphia districts, in an email to The Temple News CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
SOURCE : PA Department of State and U.S. Election Committee
Mail-in and Absentee Ballot Applications in Philadelphia County and Pennsylvania Philadelphia County
Pennsylvania
2,799,573
2,800,000
2,600,000
2,400,000
2,200,000
2,000,000 Mail-in Ballot Applications Approved
Nearly 14,200 ballots were requested in the 181st legislative district, which includes Temple.
1,800,000
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000 388,411
400,000
322,375
200,000 20,219 0 2016 General Election
2020 General Election
NEWS
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
“The Postal Service has allocated additional resources, including, but not limited to, expanded processing procedures, extra transportation, extra delivery and collection trips, and overtime, to ensure that election mail reaches its intended destination in a timely manner,” Daiutolo wrote. As of Oct. 19, nearly 50 percent of all requested mail-in ballots have been returned in Philadelphia, with 42.5 percent of those in the 181st Legislative District returned so far.
Easter Fullwood, who lives on Rowan Street near Germantown Avenue, went to return a mail-in ballot at the Liacouras Center on Monday so she wouldn’t have to worry about it later, she said. “I’m gonna get it done and get it over with,” said Fullwood, who works in customer service. Mail-in ballot requests in Philadelphia lean slightly Democratic, with nearly 84 percent of all mail-in ballots being requested by Democrats in a city where they comprise 76 percent of all registered voters, according to the De-
The Temple News
partment of State. In the 181st district, mail-in ballots lean Democratic relative to the rest of the city, with 86 percent of requests coming from Democratic voters. Christmas attributes the Democratic lean of mail-in ballots, which reflects a national trend, in part due to United States President Donald Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting. Trump has claimed without evidence that expansion of mail-in voting would cause widespread fraud, NPR reported. “It’s one of our biggest concerns
this fall, actually, that there’s going to be some significant amount of distrust in the election results because of the misand the disinformation that’s being disseminated by the president,” Christmas said. Election Day is Nov. 3. Turn to page 3 to read more about how to vote and which candidates are on the ballot. Amelia Winger contributed reporting. colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans
Mail-in and Absentee Ballots Returned by Date in Philadelphia (cumulative %) 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Sept. 25
Sept. 27
Sept. 29
Oct. 1
Oct. 3
Oct. 5
Oct. 7 Date
SOURCE : Pennsylvania Department of State
Oct. 9
Oct. 11
Oct. 13
Oct. 15
Oct. 17
Oct. 19
OPINION
The Temple News
EDITORIAL
Community deserves voice in police evaluation Temple University announced in September it would be conducting a review of its police force’s policies and procedures against the standards outlined in former President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Task Force on Policing final report, The Temple News reported. For three months, members of Campus Safety Services’ leadership have been meeting weekly to compare their policies against the report and determine which of the report’s recommendations the university can implement, The Temple News reported. Temple has already committed to buying 110 body cameras to be worn by its officers. The Editorial Board commends Campus Safety Services for looking inward at its operations and policies amid the nationwide push toward police reform amid the Black Lives Matter movement. However, we are concerned a self-evaluation of practices is not sufficient toward assuring the Temple and North Central community that Campus Safety Service’s policies are equitable and community-oriented. Temple’s self-evaluation does not currently include input from local residents, The Temple News reported. We believe not incorporating community input on Temple’s evaluation of its policing practices is a grave oversight. Temple’s
armed police patrols the surrounding community. Therefore, the people they are patrolling should have a voice in how they think the department can best serve their needs. The Editorial Board calls on Temple to solicit input from the community on its evaluation of Campus Safety Services in the following ways: first, by holding socially-distanced and virtually-accessible town halls with community residents; second, by meeting with local activists who represent the community’s concerns; and finally, by ensuring that the final report on the evaluation is made accessible to the general public. Throughout this process, the Editorial Board encourages the university to regularly update the Temple community on the status of the evaluation. Additionally, once the evaluation’s final report has been completed, the Editorial Board urges Campus Safety Services to further include community voices when developing and implementing changes in Temple Police’s future policing practices. Throughout this evaluation process, Temple should focus on listening to the concerns and needs of the community rather than proceeding without their input. If Temple Police is truly supposed to be a community-oriented police department, then let the community have a voice.
PAGE 9
THE ESSAYIST
You let COVID-19 dominate her life, Mr. President A student discusses losing her great-grandmother to COVID-19 and the president’s pandemic response. BY ALLISON NIKLES For The Temple News It was April 18. I woke up from a nap to my mom standing alongside my bed. I groggily opened my eyes and turned toward her as a single tear rolled down her cheek. I immediately sat up. Then she broke the news: My great grandmother had died from COVID-19. Every inch of my body seethed with emotions out of empathy for my mom. She had a special bond with my great grandma, Grey. I was already struggling with my mental health after my anxiety disorder had relapsed in November 2019, and when I heard Grey had passed, my depression worsened. A few days later, my family announced there would be a small funeral for her. It was crucial to limit the number of attendees because of the pandemic. Even so, I was terrified to sit in a crowded car, fearful I would get sick with the same virus that killed my great-grandmother. My hypochondria was so debilitating that I did not attend the funeral. I couldn’t overcome my anxiety and say my goodbyes. I knew I’d regret that decision. I stared out my bedroom window while the rest of my family was at her funeral and couldn’t help but remember our time together. I looked back on sunny afternoons when she would take me to get an ice cream sundae at Friendly’s. She would always crack jokes and make people laugh. Her vibrant smile brought joy to everyone around her, especially me. What frustrated me was her death may have been avoided if the United States responded more proactively to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, Bucks County, where I live, reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19.
I had no idea that I would be spending the next three months locked in my house or that it would be the reason I would lose my great-grandmother one month later. Although U.S. President Donald Trump had been informed in almost a dozen briefings in January that the virus would become a global threat, he waited until March to announce a state of emergency, the Guardian reported. If Trump had followed the advice of public health experts and closed down the country earlier, maybe Grey would still be here. I blamed Trump for downplaying the virus, and he soon faced the consequences of not wearing a mask when he tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 1. I thought he would finally be a proponent of mask-wearing now that he had it, but his response was the opposite of what I expected. As I was scrolling through social media, I saw a trending video of him and watched it. “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it,” he said. “Two days ago, I felt great, like better than I have in a long time.” My heart dropped into my stomach. The words that formulated from Trump’s mouth made me want to scream in exasperation. I couldn’t listen any longer. When Grey had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in her nursing home facility, she wasn’t taken to the hospital. She wasn’t given a chance to recover. Meanwhile, Trump received the best medical care in the country. Part of the reason Grey may have been left to die was because she was 99 years old, but it was unfair that the doctors did not try to save her life. Grey’s life was just as valuable as Trump’s. She was worth the world to me and countless others in my family. COVID-19 has dominated my life. I wonder how many more people will have to lose a loved one from COVID-19 before Trump takes the virus seriously. allison.nikles@temple.edu
PAGE 10
OPINION
The Temple News
COMMUNITY
Halloween isn’t canceled this season, parties are A student encourages others to get in the spooky spirit of Halloween, even if they can’t go out. Halloween is my favorite holiday. As a little kid, it was the one night of the year when I could dress up and stockpile a ridiculous amount of chocolate and candy. As a teenager, it was CAMILLIA BENJAMIN fun to make a costume For The Temple and go to Halloween News parties. But the holiday will be looking a lot different this year for everyone. As of Oct. 4, 37 states have already canceled Halloween parades and other events, USA Today reported. It’s official: COVID-19 has canceled Halloween. Or has it? Although social gatherings are off-limits this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released holiday guidelines outlining how to celebrate safely. Public health experts recommend avoiding high-risk activities, like hayrides, trick-or-treating or indoor costume parties and instead opting for lowrisk activities, like decorating the house with ghoulish decor, having a virtual Halloween costume contest and decorating pumpkins, according to the CDC. Skyy Morrison, a freshman film and media studies major, will be crossing things off this list, as COVID-19 ruined her plans to go out for Halloween and every other holiday, she said. “I’m planning on decorating my house, now dorm, especially the front door in hopes to entertain those who walk by,” Morrison said. “I’m also going to rewatch classic spooky movies like ‘Halloweentown’ to get into the spooky mood.” On Oct. 13, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said there has been a continued spread of COVID-19 on college campuses, including Temple University, Philly Voice re-
LAILA SAMPHILIPO / THE TEMPLE NEWS
ported. The city averaged 167 new cases on Oct. 16, down from 212 on Oct. 9. As of Oct. 19, Temple has 59 active cases, The Temple News reported. It is critical that Philadelphians do not cause another spike by behaving recklessly on Halloween. Temple students in particular must be conscientious of the North Philadelphia community by practicing social distancing and not attending Halloween parties. I am disheartened that Halloween events have been canceled this year, but Halloween doesn’t have to be boring. It will just take more creativity than in the past. Morrison suggests having small get-togethers with people in the same household. “Doing small activities like baking
and watching movies sounds much more fun compared to going to a big party in this climate,” Morrison added. I’ve been having Halloween-themed movie nights with my friends over Zoom and Disney+. We watch traditional horror films or childhood classics, including the “Halloween” franchise, “Scary Movie 2,” “Twitches” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Justice Dyer, a freshman communications major, will be baking pumpkin muffins and carving pumpkins, she said. “Spooky season is one of my favorite times of year,” Dyer added. “I was excited to celebrate Halloween for the first time in Philly at Temple, but instead I’ll be celebrating at home with my family.” Philadelphia has a variety of modified events for people who are having “cabin fever” from staying indoors, like
a haunted half-mile walk on the Bates Psycho Path, Pumpkinland at Linvilla Orchards and Halloween movies at the drive-in outside of the Mann Center, according to Visit Philadelphia, the city’s official tourism and visit information guide. Students should be enthusiastic about the spirit of the holiday, whether it be the ghostly spirits or the popular Halloween costume store, Sarah McDuff, a junior advertising major, said. “Focus more on decorations than the partying aspect,” McDuff said. For now, I recommend hanging out with your roommates, watching a movie or baking Pillsbury ghost cookies, if you can resist eating the cookie dough. camillia.benjamin@temple.edu
OPINION
The Temple News
PAGE 11
ENVIRONMENT
Climate change will be here long after COVID-19 A student argues not to forget our buildings,” Collins added. Earth’s perpetual predicament “The other big source is after the pandemic is over. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the United States, and we remain optimistic for the pandemic to end, we are ignoring another global crisis that will MADISON SEITCHIK not stop with the disFor The Temple tribution of a vaccine: News climate change. Climate change refers to the long-term regional or global average of temperature, humidity and rainfall patterns, primarily driven by human activity, NASA reported. Carbon emissions were down 17 percent in April compared to last year, as less people were driving cars or utilizing other forms of pollutant transportation, but they increased over the following months, National Geographic reported. Former Vice President Joe Biden announced a plan for a clean energy revolution and environmental justice, which aims for the U.S. to have a 100 percent clean energy economy and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050. Locally, Temple University also has a Climate Action Plan with the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Rebecca Collins, director of sustainability at the Office of Sustainability, said the office has been measuring emissions since 2006, and they are currently considering what the most financially and operationally feasible solution is amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The majority of emissions are from
transportation, and a lot of that is
generated from commuting to and from campus. Students, faculty and staff have a lot of control over that when we think of Temple’s total impact.” Experts predicted carbon emissions would rebound once lockdowns were eased, and they fear the pandemic will exacerbate them, surpassing pre-pandemic rates, National Geographic reported. Not driving a car is one of the best ways the Temple community can reduce emissions, Atsuhiro Muto, an environmental science assistant professor, said. “When people drive and fly less, the
emissions can be cut to some extent,” Muto said. “I don’t drive. I take public transit. I’m honestly bothered b y
how many people d r i v e , when most do not need to drive.” Climate change will be an ongoing threat to humanity for decades after COVID-19 is under control. But we must understand the relationship between the environment and pandemics in order to prevent the next one. Climate change throws the environment out of balance and consequently creates a breeding ground for disease to spread, UN Environment reported. Although the pandemic has caused a decline in carbon emissions, climate change will only worsen if people do not
commit to making larger changes, Muto said. “We can’t just keep emitting greenhouse gases like we are,” Muto added. “We can’t see it as if ‘we have this much time until we can do something.’ We need to act now.” By the end of July, most economies were emitting their usual levels of carbon dioxide, and even if we had historically low carbon dioxide levels from July through October, it would hardly affect the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, Science Daily reported. The more we procrastinate environmental policy changes, the less hope we have of saving our planet from a global catastrophe, said Sujith Ravi, an environmental science professor. “We are not on the right track to easing the emissions, and it’s harder to beat the more we delay it,” Ravi said. Globally, the only viable solution to climate change is a complete overhaul of the commerce sector. Temple faculty and students can take small steps, like driving less, measuring carbon emissions and having more eco-friendly on-campus buildings, but knowledge and execution are two different things. “It’s not like one action, we have to take multiple actions on multiple levels,” Ravi said. “It is better to do something than nothing at all. The debate isn’t about what actions we need to take, the debate should move to when will we start doing it, which is now.” madison.seitchik@temple.edu ILLUSTRATION BY LAILA SAMPHILIPO FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS
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LONGFORM
The Temple News
COLLEEN CLAGGETT/ THE TEMPLE NEWS A drawing of the initial meeting between William Penn and Chief Tamanend hangs on a display created by the Penn Treaty Museum at Penn Treaty Park.
CULTURE
Lenape leaders discuss history, representation Adam DePaul and Curtis Zunigha share heritage and commitment to preserving Lenape culture. BY ASA CADWALLADER LONGFORM EDITOR
E
very four years, Adam DePaul canoes down the Delaware River, surrounded by the lush deciduous forests that have existed along the banks of the river for millennia. DePaul is an English professor at Temple University and tribal council member of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania who’s coordinated the Rising Nation River Journey since 2002. The two-week canoe trip down the Delaware River begins in Hancock, New York and ends in Cape May, New Jersey, including 12 stops along the river to sign a Treaty of Renewed Brotherhood with groups ranging from historical societies to educational institutions. In 2018, one of the stops was at Temple University’s Bell Tower on Aug.
16, which included the signing of a treaty which reaffirmed the Lenape to be the original inhabitants of Pennsylvania, The Temple News reported. The Rising Nation River Journey is part of a larger effort by DePaul and other activists to raise awareness about the ongoing presence of the Lenape people in Pennsylvania, as well as their continued practice of ancestral tradition, culture and spiritual beliefs. “Awareness is one of the very difficult issues that the Lenape nations face today,” DePaul said. “There are very few people in the area that have even heard of the Lenape, and many of those who have heard the Lenape as people who lived here a long time ago but no longer exist in the region.” The current lack of public knowledge and recognition of the Lenape is no accident, but the result of forced removal and centuries of systematic erasure of the tribe’s history, traditions and culture by European colonists, said Curtis Zunigha, an advocate for Lenape in Phila-
delphia and cultural resources director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, a subset of the Lenape now located in Oklahoma. Today, both DePaul and Zunigha remain driven in attaining better representation for their people and correcting false narratives regarding their Lenape history and their continued presence in 2020.
A FORCED MIGRATION
Zunigha’s family was part of the main band of the Lenape, later known as the Delaware, who were forcibly removed and pushed across the United States to what is today Oklahoma. “I am a testament to the Lenape diaspora, in that my descendancy is only a part of my blood,” Zunigha said. “When the Lenape were forcibly pushed westward, they often mixed with other groups of indigenous people.” Before Europeans arrived, the Lenape inhabited several different regions along the East Coast, and consisted of three major clans, including the Mun-
see, the Unalachtigo, and the Unami, who resided in what is today the Philadelphia region, DePaul said. “The Lenape were referred to as the ‘grandfather’ tribe and often served as arbitrators when there was tribal conflict in the region,” he added. “Within the three major clans, there were hundreds of smaller family clans.” DePaul’s primary research area is in Cultural and Mythological studies, with a specific focus on Lenape mythology. Archeological evidence unearthed in West Philadelphia in 2001 points to the Lenape being a stable and sizable civilization, who relied on both hunting and subsistence farming to sustain themselves and used the natural resources at their disposal to construct homes known as wigwams, according to the West Philadelphia Community History Center. Following the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, early treaties between the Lenape and colonists were routinely broken or illegally amended by the Europeans and Lenape territory
The Temple News
continued to shrink in the decades that followed as a result, DePaul said. Perhaps the most egregious of these land thefts occurred in 1737, when Thomas Penn, who was then proprietor of the Pennsylvania colony, lied to the Lenape in order to steal large amounts of their land in the infamous “Walking Purchase,” said Anna Marley, curator of historical American art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In the 1730s, Pennsylvania officials and Lenape tribal leaders met in North Philadelphia, claiming to have ‘found’ a 1686 treaty which granted the Commonwealth as much tribal land as could be walked in one and a half days in an area between the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, Marley said. “Pouncing on this opportunity, Thomas Penn hired the three fastest walkers in the colony to complete a 60mile run, allowing them to steal over a million square miles of Lenape land under the conditions of the sham-treaty,” she added. In the century that followed, most of the Lenape were forcibly pushed westward, resulting in a massive diaspora of Lenape people across the United States. Today groups of the Lenape can be found in Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada, Zunigha said. The culmination of hundreds of years of forced migration and institutionalized racism have made it difficult to properly preserve Lenape culture and traditions, Zunigha said. Zunigha’s father was in the U.S. Air Force, and as a result, he spent most of his childhood living on various military bases across the country. “My father had largely ignored his Delaware identity, so it was only through visits to my grandparents that I began to learn about my cultural history and identity,” Zunigha said. Despite living in Oklahoma, Zunigha still feels a strong sense of connection to his ancestral homeland, maintained through a more powerful spiritual connection he feels to his people. “There is no changing the events that erased so much of our culture, but acknowledging the original homeland of our people is an important aspect of affirming our unique history and identity as Lenape,” he said.
LONGFORM
PAGE 13
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS A statue of William Penn stands on the site where a treaty was signed between Penn and the Lenape Chief Tamanend at Penn Treaty Park.
SEEKING REPRESENTATION
This summer saw a growing protest movement in cities across the U.S., including Philadelphia, surrounding the removal of statues and monuments which revere figures associated with racism and oppression, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “The real reason people are out here now raising hell and calling for these statues to be torn down is a direct result of the institutional racism that has existed in this country since the beginning, which has hurt Indigenous people and other minorities both,” Zunigha said. With a spotlight on Indigenous people and their history, Zunigha has been engaging with academic institutions that want to expand awareness and express solidarity with the Lenape and other Native peoples regarding the land their institutions occupy, like the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical Society, he said. In addition to the removal of monuments, in the last several decades many
states have opted to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day, which recognizes Indigenous people as the original inhabitants of the U.S., something Zunigha sees as positive only if done in a non-performative, comprehensive manner, he dded. “A real recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day goes beyond a superficial land acknowledgment or throwing up a generic Indian statue so people can feel good about themselves,” Zunigha said. “It’s about understanding the real history of the Lenape and who we are today, which is not simply one, singular, homogenous group of presumably darkskinned people with roots to the Delaware River Valley, but something more dynamic.” A critical aspect of changing outdated narratives associated with the Lenape people is to remember they are still alive and thriving, DePaul said. “The standard teaching of Lenape history has largely framed them as no longer existing, or if they do exist, they are no longer in their homeland,” DePaul
added. “This narrative is also perpetuated by outdated portrayals of Native people prevalent in everyday culture.” These portrayals, images and symbols associated with Native American culture are usually historically inaccurate and reinforce detrimental stereotypes of Indigenous people and disproportionately affect Lenape youth, DePaul said. While there may be a lack of physical evidence of the Lenape in North Philadelphia, the spirit of the people is still very much alive, Zunigha said. “Even after our forced removal from our homeland, we have survived and we are thriving,” Zunigha said. “This is because of an indomitable will to honor our ancestors and make a way for the next generation. The tie that binds us is a tie that’s been attacked since the first colonizer hit the shore and that is our language, our customs, our traditions and religious beliefs.” asacadwallader@temple.edu @asacadwallader
LIVE Philly in
BY JEREMY ELVAS For The Temple News
PRIDE
at the
POLLS
A grassroots, community-led voting initiative tabled outside City Hall on Saturday encouraging LGBTQ people to vote.
JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Marquise Lee, an organizer, raises a “Vote PA” sign as cars drive on Broad Street near John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
O
n Saturday, Pride at the Polls, a grassroots, community-led initiative encouraging LGBTQ people and their allies to vote, hosted a tabling event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside City Hall near South Broad Street. About a dozen volunteers came out dressed in rainbow-colored clothing and accessories as they helped people register to vote and showed support for the LGBTQ community. Paul Blore, 38, a meeting services specialist who lives on Broad Street near Tasker, helped organize the event for the
first time in Philadelphia in conjunction with a Pride at the Polls event in Austin, Texas. “It’s part Pride and part get out the vote campaign,” Blore said. “The first Pride was a celebration of our community, but also a demonstration of our rights and our voices.” During the tabling event, Blore and other volunteers gave out “Vote PA” posters and voting registration stickers to passersby and voters waiting in line for the City Hall election satellite office and waved Pride flags to cars driving around City Hall. Drag performers Marsha Pisces and Icon Ebony Fierce also came out to the
event, rallying the crowd and leading them in chants. Jonathan Lovitz, 36, a small business and public policy advocate who lives near 12th and Walnut streets, co-founded PhillyVoting.org, a nonpartisan voter registration project, and teamed up with Pride at the Polls to encourage more LGBTQ Philadelphians to vote. “I believe everyone should vote for those who have said their voice doesn’t matter, doesn’t count,” Lovitz said. “Philadelphia is filled with so many communities who have been historically told they’re less than worthy of full participation in America, so it’s our obligation to show up for them.”
Eric Sanford, 30, a sixth-year medical student at University of Pennsylvania who lives on 21st Street near Fitzwater, found out about the event through his friends and saw it advertised on Facebook. Sanford came to drop off his mailin ballot at City Hall. “It’s important to see each other voting, especially right now, when everyone’s been isolated for so long and to remember that we have a community, and that community is strong,” Sanford said. jeremy.elvas@temple.edu @jeremyelvas
MOVING CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP RIGHT Attendees raise signs and wave Pride flags outside City Hall. A sheet of voting stickers is on display on the Pride at the Polls table. A Pride at the Polls poster hangs on a chain outside City Hall. Jonathan Lovitz, a co-founder of PhillyVoting.org, waves a Pride flag. Paul Blore, an organizer, tapes flyers on a speaker outside City Hall. Drag performer Icon Ebony Fierce speaks to the crowd.
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FEATURES
The Temple News
ON CAMPUS
International students weigh in on Nov. 3 voting Sarah Park, a sophomore manageFeeling that voting is vital, stument information systems major from dents hope their peers feel comSouth Korea, feels that voting is crucial. pelled to cast their ballots.
BY CHELSEA BADRI For The Temple News
I
n her home country, Taiwan, I-Yun Lee sees people vote without having to be pushed to, a stark difference from the constant digital campaigns urging United States citizens to vote on her social media. “It’s weird to see that since back home, everyone just does it,” said Lee, a senior sport and recreation management major. “I thought voting is something that you naturally do.” As an international student, Lee is on the outside looking in during this election season while studying and living in the United States. International students, who make up 7.6 percent of Temple students, can be impacted by issues candidates run on, like immigration and education policies, but do not vote in U.S. elections without citizenship. Some policies made by the U.S. government directly affect international students, like an ICE education policy that was reversed on July 14, which would’ve revoked visas for international students not taking in-person classes, the New York Times reported. This policy would’ve impacted students like Lee immensely if enacted, she said. “Although it’s no longer an issue now, it was a very huge concern for international students studying within the United States,” Lee added. “It feels like we are exposed, especially through the pandemic when it’s not our choice.”
“It’s essential to vote because it’s an opportunity for change,” Park said. “It’s our duty to speak up and voting means having the right to choose.” The last South Korean election, held on April 15, had a 66.2 percent voter turnout rate, the highest since 1992, despite being held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington Post reported. “It’s a national holiday, so everyone has off and is able to vote,” Park said. “It’s kind of surprising that there isn’t a similar process here or why people don’t take the advantage to do so.” Lasse Grimmer, a senior adult and organizational development major from Germany, has voted in every election in Germany since he turned 18, even requesting and completing mail-in ballots while studying within the U.S. German elections are based on a personalized proportional representation system, meaning that citizens vote to decide how many seats in the Bundestag, or German Parliament will be taken by each political party, CNBC reported. In Germany’s 2017 parliamentary election, 69 percent of voting age citizens cast ballots compared to 55 percent in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. He believes that as citizens of democracy, people not only have a right but a responsibility to vote to have their voice and political opinion be heard, he said. “Voting is the only thing that empowers the people to be able to elect somebody to represent them and create change within their communities,” he said.
MILES WALL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Lasse Grimmer, a senior adult and organizational development major from Erlangen, Germany, stands on Main Campus on Oct. 15.
Grimmer leads the education subgroup of Owls for Justice, a student-athlete group dedicated to combating racism and social injustice. He got involved because education is the most important part of ensuring human rights, Grimmer said. “For me, it’s important that every human has the same chances and gets treated the same way regardless of their race, sex, religion, or ethnicity,” he added. “I wanted to be a part of that change to fight against and eradicate systemic racism in this country and worldwide. ”
While Park cannot vote because she is not a U.S. citizen, she hopes people exercise their right to vote in person or by mail. “I think it’s important for everyone to get out, vote and to let your voice be heard regardless of your age,” Park said. “As long as you’re informed enough and are able to, you should be able to vote. This affects everyone, even the next generations to come. Voting is more than yourself.” badric@temple.edu
The Temple News
FEATURES
PAGE 17
STUDENT LIFE
Online game ‘Among Us’ brings students together
Students play the deceptive game on Discord to meet others and discuss current events. BY NICK EISER For The Temple News On a screen, a waiting queue illuminates the player’s face. There are 10 members per lobby, prepared to face off in a fast paced crime-based game, trying to discover the imposter among them. In an online world where players trust, deceive, second guess and form alliances to survive, Temple University students on and off campus host their own server on Discord to play “Among Us” together and start competitions and friendships amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The game, which can be played online or on a mobile device, launched in June 2018, but has gained 85 million players in the last six months, the Guardian reported. The Temple server, which started in late September, now has around 100 players in total, said James Riker, a senior psychology major and one of the server’s original members. Players plan games through a chat channel and then send the code for the game, he added. Players are crew members stuck together on a spaceship completing tasks like cleaning the O2 filter in the greenhouse, clearing out asteroids or rebooting the Wi-Fi. However, among 10 crew members lies one or two impostors who have the ability to kill other players. “I’m a big fan of social deception games,” said Aidan Moulton, a freshmen music education major. “‘Among Us’ is much easier for beginners to pick up.” To win the game, players need to figure out who the imposter is that committed the murder on the space ship. Crew members are able to call an emergency meeting if they suspect an imposter or find a dead body. Deliberation begins and players must decide who will be voted off.
JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Michael Brown, a sophomore psychology major, plays “Among Us” on his phone in Founder’s Garden on Oct. 19.
“I lie quite easily in the imposter phase, but then sometimes I’ll say the worst thing and then immediately get voted off for it,” Moulton said. Moulton attempts to be civil while playing, but the game often calls for some lying, and that’s where tension arises, he said. Michael Brown, a sophomore psychology major and one of the first Discord members, is impressed by how many people are on the server, he said. The night it was created, the server had games with three different groups of Temple student players, he added. Temple students typically run the audio feature on Discord to talk in the background while playing the game, rather than typing in the chat box, Riker added. “It can be exhilarating, but at the same time, it can be frustrating,” Brown said. “One person could be trying to
prove their point while another person is yelling at the top of their lungs.” It’s easier for Brown to play with the chat box because he can hide emotions more easily if he is trying to conceal his imposter identity, he said. “When you’re in a voice chat and you just killed two people, keeping a straight face and saying, ‘It wasn’t me,’ is kind of harder,” Brown added. Voice chatting not only leads to a more enriching and collaborative experience, but fosters other dialogues around school, politics and the COVID-19 pandemic, Riker said. “The name on the server is “Among Us Comrades,” so it’s also a space for political discussions,” Riker said. “We have members live tweet the debates, generate memes or debate what state has the best flag.” Riker sees “Among Us” as an outlet
to find community and commonality in the student body, he said. Between games, the players discuss how the pandemic has impacted them and their studies, he added. “It’s nice to be able to make friends and just talk to people, especially in this election,” Riker said. “We have a group of like-minded individuals to talk about politics together.” Moulton has been able to meet a lot of people outside of his major, like students studying biology or business, through the “Among Us” server. “I’m not the most outgoing person out in the real world, but now there’s a good chance for me to start meeting new people at Temple,” he added. nicholas.eiser@temple.edu
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FEATURES
The Temple News
RESEARCH
Screening tool diagnoses heart disease virtually Anjali Vaidya developed VEST to assess patients without needing in-person appointments. BY NATALIE KERR Assistant Features Editor Delivering health care remotely sounds undesirable, unless patients are hesitant to attend in person appointments from fear of contracting COVID-19. Anjali Vaidya and her colleagues released the virtual echocardiography screening tool, a method of reading heart ultrasounds to identify pulmonary hypertension symptoms, on Sept. 17. VEST reduces the time needed to identify cases of PH by widening the range of doctors who can interpret signs of PH. It is one of the virtual medicine technologies being used by Temple University Hospital to reduce COVID-19 exposure during the pandemic. VEST uses previous ultrasound reports instead of in-person assessments, said Vaidya, co-director of the pulmonary hypertension program at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. PH is a heart disease caused by high blood pressure in vessels connecting the lungs to the heart, which can lead to heart failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accurate diagnosis can take two or three years and requires a cardiology specialist, Vaidya said. VEST is a system of reading echocardiograms, or heart ultrasound, reports and giving “scores” to certain indicators of PH, said Paul Forfia, co-director of Temple’s program. Based on the score, doctors who don’t specialize in PH can figure out the likelihood a patient has it. “What we’re trying to do is basically provide a tool so that they can extract the relevant information from an echo report,” Forfia said. “You don’t have to know how to read an echo, all you have to know is how to read.’” Before VEST, patients would have to be referred to a PH specialist and often undergo a surgery called right heart catheterization in order to be diagnosed, a multiple year long process Vaidya said. With more doctors able to identify risk factors, the time needed to identify and diagnose PH is reduced. “By the time they are referred or I meet them, often they’ve been suffering for
TEMPLE HEALTH / COURTESY Dr. Anjali Vaidya, co-director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, performs cardiac catheterization at Temple University Hospital in Oct. 2019.
so long,” Vaidya added. Before, doctors who are not experts in PH would often miss a case because they don’t know what abnormalities indicate the disease, Forfia said. Now, the VEST method makes abnormalities “jump off the page,” he added. Patients being assessed for PH have often already undergone heart ultrasounds, and VEST uses these reports instead of requiring them to come to the hospital for further assessments. In April, more than 43 percent of all Medicare primary care visits were being conducted through telehealth, an increase from 0.1 percent in February 2020, according to the American Hospital Association. Telehealth is defined by the Department of Health and Human Services as using electronic information and communication to provide healthcare. The VEST report was completed 5
years ago, said Forfia, but did not get published because reviewers didn’t understand its relevance to PH. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Vaidya and Forfia resubmitted the report, and it got accepted because of its contactless diagnoses. “I had clinic patients today that said they’re terrified of doing anything in person,” Vaidya said. “It doesn’t mean that they won’t have to be seen ever, but it will just help recognize the presence of this disease sooner.” Patients with PH often have underlying heart or lung disease and many are older and immunocompromised, making them at a higher risk for COVID-19, Vaidya said. “It’s a safer kind of telemedicine, but still accurate way to do it than previously,” Vaidya said. “I think the patients certainly have the potential to benefit from this for many perspectives.” Tony Reed, chief medical officer of
Temple University Health Systems, said telemedicine has increased accessibility and convenience for many patients and helps providers stay on schedule. In February, Temple University Hospital had almost zero telemedicine visits, but since March, almost 90,000 patients were treated using telemedicine, David Fleece, chief medical information officer, wrote in an email to The Temple News. Though hospitals will likely never stop conducting in-person visits, Reed does expect to see continued advancements to telemedicine in the future. “I think we will see the technology continue to evolve and to flourish,” Reed said. “I don’t know where it will land, but I know that the landscape will look completely different than it did a year ago.” natalie.kerr@temple.edu @nataliekerr
The Temple News
FEATURES
ON CAMPUS
Students plan Halloween ‘quarantine style’ Still wanting to dress in cos- top wrapped with leaves, flowers and a tumes, students plan small gath- leaf headband. Georgia Miller is also planning to erings with close friends. BY EMMA PADNER Features Editor This year, going out for Halloween could be scarier than running into ghosts and sharing horror stories. Students are planning for Halloween around social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Worried about the health of themselves and roommates or family, some students plan to dress up in costumes and host parties at their apartments with students in their social bubble. Attending parties increases the risk of getting infected with COVID-19 because it’s more difficult to distance from others indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Just stay home, dress up, take pictures, do everything that you would on Halloween but just quarantine style,” said Madisan Diaz, a sophomore secondary education and world language major. “Keep it to a minimum.” People create social bubbles by agreeing to have contact with a small group of people, but still social distance, ABC News reported. Philadelphia recommends against indoor gathering over 25 people, according to the city website. Diaz still plans to celebrate, but is “definitely staying home,” she said. “The best thing to do to take care of our own personal health and the health of the community of North Philly is just staying home, being safe,” she added. Allie Davis, a junior applied behavior analysis major, plans to invite a few close friends to hang out on her roof so they will be outside. “We’ve been hanging out with all the same people,” Davis said. “A bunch of our friends had COVID in the beginning, so we all quarantined for like two weeks and then we’ve just been with the same people.” Davis plans to dress up as Mother Nature, wearing a green skirt and tube
host a small group of close friends at her apartment because she is concerned about large gatherings. “Just a group of five to 10 and we’re just going to hang out and relax and watch some Halloween movies and eat a lot of candy,” said Miller, a junior social work major. Miller’s worried about other students going out to parties, especially younger students who might want to experience Halloween parties and haven’t had the chance to in previous years, because COVID-19 cases could rise, she said. On Oct. 19, there were 59 active cases of COVID-19 on Temple’s University’s campus, The Temple News reported. Jake Dunlap and his roommates have a social bubble including another house of their friends. Dunlap, a senior architectural design major, said while he isn’t planning to attend a large party, his roommates will still do something for the holiday. Dunlap usually wears the same basketball jersey, but wants to switch it up this year, he said. “I always kind of take the easy way out,” he added. “It’s my senior year, I got to do something funny.” If he can’t think of a better costume, Aaron Moyer will go to a small social gathering dressed as what he was every year for Halloween at Temple: a sailor. “I’ve gone as like a sailor with a cutoff polo for like the last how many years?” said Moyer, a senior risk management and insurance major. “So maybe I’ll do that again, but maybe I’ll switch it up.” Moyer is worried cases of COVID-19 will increase around campus following Halloween weekend because some students will party, he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still huge Halloween parties going on,” he added. “It’s just inevitable, we’re on a college campus. Not everyone’s going to follow the guidelines and the rules.” emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner
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VOICES
How are you voting in the general election? LAUREN WILCOX Junior sociology major I will be doing the mail-in ballot, but I think I am going to do the in-person drop-off. It is just easy honestly because the Liacouras Center is doing the in-person, so I think that is the best option for me.
WILL SHIRES Junior media studies and production major I will be voting. I am currently still waiting for my mail-in ballot, hopefully it gets here in time. If not, I don’t know what I am going to do because I don’t have time to take off for Election Day.
JENNA WEITMAN
Senior voice performance major I have already voted. I am a resident of New York state, so I sent in my absentee ballot early in October. I think voting is important because as Americans it’s our civil duty to cast our vote and participate in a government that demands democracy and participation. So, any part I can do to help spread my voice and others is important.
TIANA SQUIRES Sophomore chemistry major I plan on voting, I just don’t know how. I haven’t started to look up how, but I did pass by some people signing up over on Lehigh [Street], so I will probably do that, but I’m not 100 percent sure.
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INTERSECTION
The Temple News
THE NEW DICTIONARY
Students, faculty discuss diversity in the Census Despite the constant fluctuating tifies as Hispanic because her parents are have people who consider themselves The United States’ Census only had two options for ethnicity this levels of diversity within the U.S., the from the Dominican Republic, and em- white or Black or mixed race or other or census, which had more than a doz- phasizes the importance of community Indigenous,” Tesfai said. year, Latino and Spanish.
BY SAMANTHA ROEHL For The Temple News
A
s her mom filled out the 2020 United States Census, Micaela Canelo-Martinez noticed she was faced with a difficult question. Canelo-Martinez, a senior marketing major and co-director for event programming for Temple’s Asociación de Estudiantes Latinos, found that none of the racial options fit her perception of herself and her family. Her ethnicity, however, was its own question. “I always put ‘refuse to answer’ or ‘not specified’ or ‘other’ [for race] because being Latino is a separate question,” Canelo-Martinez said. “Because I don’t want to put white and I can’t put anything else. It just feels weird having to have a separate section for that.” Oct. 15 marked the end of data collection for the 2020 Census, which measures population sizes in all U.S. states and five territories to determine distribution of federal funding, congressional representation and more, The Temple News reported.
en options for racial identification, had only the two ethnicities of Latino and Spanish. Sociology professor Rebbeca Tesfai explained that the reason for this census question is that Hispanic origin is more accurately considered an “ethnicity.” “While the ideas of race can vary from place to place, ethnicity is usually much more static because it’s based on something that’s actually a lived experience,” said Tesfai, who teaches Ethnicity and the Immigrant Experience in the United States. In sociology, race is considered a social construct that depends on where a person is born and raised and ethnicity is based on culture, Tesfai said. While some find the categories constraining, others find it allows them to connect with multiple parts of their identity. “Being Latina to me means that the most important thing in my life is my family,” Canelo-Martinez said. “And that’s a very big value in the Latino community.” Gaby Duran, a junior global studies major and vice president of AdEL, iden-
in Hispanic culture. “I think [being Hispanic] is just understanding that your community is a big part of your life,” Duran said. Throughout time, however, the census’ definitions have changed drastically. In 1980, a question asking if someone was of Spanish or Hispanic “origin or descent” was added, and some variation of that question has been on every census since. In 2020, the only ethnicity option is Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin. This may be more political than logical, said Pablo Vila, a sociology professor who teaches Race and Ethnicity. “There’s no science behind the categories,” Vila said. “You don’t accept differences within the white category, for instance. How many ethnicities do you have within the white category? Hundreds. But you have only one racial category without ethnicity differences [on the census].” Tesfai said a reason Latino is kept separately on the census is that the population is less homogenous than most ethnic groups. “Among the Latinx population, you
For Duran, not having an ethnicity option would erase part of her identity. While she is white, being Hispanic is an integral part of her heritage and selfhood, she said. “I am white but I’m also Hispanic, so having that distinction is nice,” Duran said. “And it feels good to be like I’m seen here and this is who I identify as.” The current definitions of Hispanic and Latino are not perfect, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines Hispanic or Latino as “a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.” This definition equates Spaniards and groups that Spain colonized, Vila said. For this reason, he said many people of Latin American descent would mark “yes” for Hispanic and then fill in the “any other race” category with their nationality. “My way to answer the census and to resist it?” Vila said. “Put ‘Hispanic, yes’ and ‘other,’ and I put ‘human being.’” samantha.roehl@temple.edu @SamanthaRoehl
The Temple News
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THE ESSAYIST
A toast to the culinary diversity of my two homes
A student discusses the differences she’s seen in food culture between the U.S. and Brazil. BY RENATA KAMINSKI For The Temple News If someone had told six-year-old me that she would one day live in the United States, I would have been the happiest child on earth because I would’ve thought I was going to eat McDonald’s every day. Before moving to the U.S. in 2018, whenever I thought about American food, three things instantly came to my mind: burgers, french fries and hot dogs. When I arrived in Philadelphia, I noticed different restaurants always had these three items on their menu. But the number of food options from around the world took me by surprise. From Arabic to Chinese to Jamaican food, there are numerous local places serving food from all over the world. In Brazil, the variety of foods from other countries is much smaller. Sushi is probably the most common foreign food in Brazil, but it is usually very expensive. Reflecting on the differences between these two culinary cultures is surprising because I can see how the simple things I used to do back home are different in the U.S. From dinner time, which in Brazil is around 9 p.m. and in the U.S. around 7 p.m. or earlier, to the size of portions served in restaurants, which are much larger in the U.S., I had to change and adjust my mentality to my new environment. On campus, I see people walking around with their iced coffees all the time. I feel like Americans are always drinking it, regardless of the time or weather. In Brazil, it is practically impossible to drink iced coffee. In both freezing cold or boiling hot weather, coffee is hot and that is the end of discussion. Free water in restaurants? Forget it. It will never happen. You will pay for each glass or bottle of water you drink. If we talk about hot dogs, the name may have the same meaning in both Portuguese and English, but the Brazilian version has way more garnishes than the American one. Anything you can think of is inside: mashed potatoes, corn, peas
OLIVIA SCHROEDER / THE TEMPLE NEWS
or tomatoes, you name it. If you’re going to serve a hot dog with only bread, sausage and some sauce to a Brazilian, it’s better not to serve it. As someone who comes from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the traditional food is barbecue, American meat is almost funny to me. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, it’s just completely different. Grilling burgers, for example, would never be considered barbecue back at home. In addition to the variety of preparation and meat options in Brazil, I think barbecue in Rio Grande do Sul is almost institutional. Whether you’re watching the soccer game or gathering with family, any celebration comes with a barbecue. I feel that the preparation and quality of barbecue in Brazil is more valued than in the U.S. On Sundays, if I walk around my hometown, I always smell the roasting meat. The smell of the spices and smoke from the barbecue grills mix together with the sound of classic barbecue music — like pagode, samba or traditional southern music — creating the perfect atmosphere for a classic Sunday barbecue. No matter where I am, if I listen to
any of these styles of music, I swear I can smell a barbecue being made. While I do really like being able to choose from many options, nothing is better than the food from my home. It is not that I don’t like American food, but my comfort food will always be the one that reminds me of my origins. My mom makes the best rice and beans. No Sunday barbecue can compete with Dad’s. And no party candy is better than the Brazilian ones: extra condensed milk and powdered chocolate. These foods are special to me not only because they represent my home, but also because they represent happy moments. Barbecues are always celebratory moments with friends or families, watching soccer and partying. Eating an açaí bowl reminds me of the beach in Brazil and relaxing moments. Pão de queijo reminds me of middle and high school, when I used to eat it every day during breaks while I was having fun with my best friends. The important thing is not where these foods are from, but the sweet moments and feelings they have given me. Despite the fact the food doesn’t
taste exactly like what’s served in Brazil, Philadelphia offers many options of Brazilian restaurants, like Picanha Brazilian Steakhouse and Chima Steakhouse, that help solve any moments of homesickness. It is nice to go there with my other Brazilian friends and eat a pão de queijo while drinking guaraná. For at least a few hours, I am back in Brazil again. Precisely because of their differences, I think that these two cuisines complement each other in my life. I am very grateful to the U.S. for making me taste food from all over the world, but I am also extremely happy to have been born Brazilian and to have eaten the world’s best Sunday barbecue. For me, the representation of American cuisine is the union of different culinary cultures, like the variety of food trucks with international food that we have on campus. Meanwhile, Brazilian cuisine gives me special moments and memories, regardless if I am there or in Philadelphia. renata.kaminski@temple.edu @renatabkaminski
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The Temple News
THE ESSAYIST
Reflecting on the lost language of my childhood
A student shares how her relationship with her native language grew from dread to appreciation. BY DANIELA DUKLESKI For The Temple News When people ask me how many languages I speak, I hesitate. My family hails from Macedonia, a tiny country above Greece, and for centuries, my ancestors have used the Macedonian language to communicate with one another. My mother was the first in our family to be born in America, but she didn’t learn English until elementary school. When I was born, my mother wanted me to follow the same path she did growing up. As a baby, I was learning how to define the world around me in Macedonian, the same way my family had for centuries before. But as a child, I was ignorant to how interesting and valuable being bilingual is. Later in life I learned to appreciate it, but by then, it was too late. My first language, Macedonian, is just a phantom limb to me now. When I think about how I let such a significant part of my identity slip away, I feel a wave of regret. My mother’s environment forced her to use Macedonian every day. As an only child with immigrant parents, it was her responsibility to help translate between English and Macedonian during everything from doctors’ visits to parent-teacher conferences. My Macedonian began to fade away as soon as I started picking up English from “Barney and Friends” on television. When I was old enough to go to school, my teachers and peers were saying “hello” and “good morning,” not “zdravo” or “dobro utro.” I remember feeling at odds with my mom’s expectation that I speak Macedonian at home. It felt extraneous for me to keep using this language that I thought had no use in my life since all
HANNA LIPSKI / THE TEMPLE NEWS
my friends spoke English. It’s not that I hated speaking Macedonian, but living in a separate culture at home as a kid made me feel different from my friends. I associated speaking Macedonian with some of the other things my family did differently, like how we never celebrated Easter around spring break like my peers did, or how we held hands and danced in circles at weddings. It all made me feel out of place. To try and fit in with my friends, I distanced myself from my language and my culture. When I came home from school, I insisted on speaking English. I even begged my mom to pack me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of my grandma’s leftover mandza, a Macedonian stew. My turning point came in eighth grade when I visited my extended family in Macedonia. The country was so dif-
ferent from home, but it was so beautiful. For the first time, I was in a community that reflected my family’s culture. I relished the delicious food, fun dancing and lively music of my heritage. I was excited and proud to be related to such unique people in my extended family. I soon realized what I had missed out on by neglecting my cultural language. When I met my cousins for the first time, I struggled to communicate with them. Searching for the right words to say felt like I was scrambling through a box of puzzle pieces. One of my uncles made me feel guilty whenever I had to stall mid-conversation and search for the right word. I realized then that the language I had neglected was what connected me to my family’s culture. My slow, choppy ability to converse in my heritage language made me
feel like a phony. If I couldn’t speak the tongue, could I still call myself Macedonian? Recognizing the error in my ways was the first step in a long journey of reconnecting with my heritage. I now see the value of being bilingual and try to improve my fluency by practicing with my grandparents. The longer I wait between our calls, the more anxious I feel in my use of the language. I still choke on words, and often find myself stalling, racking my brain for the right phrases. If only I could go back in time and tell my younger self not to worry about wanting to assimilate and behave like every other kid in the United States. Seeing diverse representation in cartoons, comics and other children’s media today excites me. I want kids who feel like they don’t fit in with their friends because of their culture to see themselves represented in the media. It is important for them to know that their culture is valuable. I still feel a sense of guilt when my friends overhear me on the phone with my grandparents. As soon as I’m done speaking to them, they turn to me wideeyed and full of questions. I can’t help but feel like I’m deceiving them into believing I’m more competent than I am. In actuality, I have such a fuzzy grasp on speaking Macedonian. Part of me feels ashamed, like I should shield my identity from others to avoid their attention. But I have learned my lesson. I won’t let myself hide or neglect my culture again. My mother gave me an amazing lifelong gift by teaching me my heritage language. Even though I didn’t recognize the value of it as a child and only retained some of the language, she’s given me the foundation to keep learning it and appreciate my culture. Hopefully, I can pass the same onto my children someday. daniela.dukleski@temple.edu
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The Temple News
HEALTH
Students navigate mental health between cultures Students in Middle Eastern communities discuss varying perceptions of mental health. BY JENNIFER PENNISE For The Temple News When Tarek Yahya moved to Philadelphia from Lebanon two years ago, he noted many cultural differences between Eastern and Western countries, specifically when it came to mental health. “Here within the U.S., mental health appears to be regarded as essential,” said Yahya, a junior biology major. “When in comparison to back home, it is not even considered as an aspect of you.” The transition to college life can hold a heavy weight on students’ mental health as they are exposed to new topics, attempt to balance a demanding schedule and integrate themselves in a new culture with drastically different social settings. Sixty-six percent of people suffering from a mental disorder in a 2019 survey of youth living in the Middle East never sought professional help due to stigma, Arab News reported. For Yahya, the open dialogue about mental health in the U.S. has helped him become more aware of his emotions, he said. Searching for acceptance of mental illness has not always been easy, Yahya said. The topic is often disregarded in health discussions and viewed as a non-influential factor in a person’s everyday experiences, he added. For people of Middle Eastern background, mental health can be seen as a weakness of faith which may prevent them from seeking help, according to a 2019 study published in the research journal Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. Kareem Johnson, a psychology professor, feels the stigma around mental health is harmful to people. “If you have never seen [mental illness], it is invisible to you because
HANNA LIPSKI / THE TEMPLE NEWS
struggling with emotions isn’t ‘medical enough’ for some,” Johnson said. In his classroom, Johnson tries to ease tensions felt among most college students by being understanding when one may ask for extensions on assignments because of their mental health. It’s difficult maintaining mental health through 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the crisis in Yemen, the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, and other global issues, he said. “Life has always been stressful, but we used to have these ways of recovering, things we would do to heal our wounds,” Johnson added. “With social distancing now, there is so much that
we’re losing access to.” Zakaria Alyan, a junior biology major who was raised in Jerusalem, Palestine, has been dealing with the stresses of working on a pre-med track. Alyan says his academic workload, extracurricular activities and career planning are his main sources of stress, and they tend to stand in the way of his mental well-being. “It’s often difficult to discover what I truly want, instead of what others want me to do,” he said. “Among peers, mental illness was a struggle that was hidden at times back home.” Yahya found that friends and relationships helped him realize the necessity of addressing stress concerns. Through
this support, last semester Yahya contacted Tuttleman Counseling Services and he’s grateful to receive mental health care while living in the U.S, he said. “Mental health should be the number one priority because everything else is a testimony that stems from your mental performance,” Alyan said. “It is easy to get caught up in superficial activities, but if you avoid putting time into work on what is bothering you in your head, it will keep building up to a point where you feel as if all control has been lost completely.” jennifer.pennise@temple.edu @jenpennise8
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FOOTBALL
Owls’ training staff emphasizes NFL preparation Temple’s strength program is the same for each player, no matter what position they start at. BY ISABELLA DIAMORE Assistant Sports Editor Temple University football players went from lifting three times a week to just twice a week, said Temple football head strength and conditioning coach Brad Ohrt. But, Ohrt doesn’t feel the team is behind, as they had an extra month of training before their first game on Oct. 10. “There’s been schools and places I’ve been in the past where all we had to work with was two lifts a week, but in our situation, you can make it work in a seven week window,” Ohrt said. “Normally you’re talking about 12 to 14 weeks a season and two lifts per week, that’s not gonna cut it.” The team will have a shortened season this fall and accordingly less time for training. Even during the pandemic, Temple’s strength and conditioning program is focused on preparing players for the professional level and helping them perform at their peak during the season. With the strength and conditioning program Ohrt has designed for each player, he thinks they should be able to clean, press and squat on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of season. “If we can get a stronger squat, a stronger more forceful push in the ground to create power on the clean,” Ohrt added. “All of those things are going to carry in each position onto the field.” Ohrt is a firm believer in creating a single work program for all positions, he said. At the beginning of the season, Ohrt determines a five-pound weight range for the players to stay within while playing based on how they perform in the beginning of preseason, he said. Ohrt’s program is meant to prepare players for the NFL, he said, but his strength and conditioning program dif-
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Brad Ohrt, head strength and conditioning coach for Temple University football, conducts warm ups during the team’s practice at Geasey Field on Aug. 12, 2019.
fers from the program the Philadelphia Eagles uses for their players. The Eagles lift heavy during the offseason, but in-season training is focused on preparing players for their specific positions, said Mike Minnis, Eagles coordinator of performance nutrition and assistant strength and conditioning coach. Minnis and the Eagles set body weight goals six times a year, taking into consideration the players’ frame, how tall they are, their wingspan, their body composition and body fat, he added. Ohrt and Minnis are both involved in planning their teams’ diet plans and meals which is an important factor in how a player performs on the field, Ohrt said. When Minnis plans the Eagles play-
ers’ diets, he wants players to have options to build a healthy plate or splurge and intake high calories, he said. “It’s up to us to educate the guys what they eat will determine the kind of body they want to have,” Minnis added. Lori Lorditch, Temple’s dietitian, has worked with Ohrt and the team to educate them on a “sustainable diet,” Lorditch said. “Getting good amounts of dietary fat from nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocados, these healthy fats can decrease muscle sources and inflammation in the body,” she added. Temple Athletics provides catering through Aramark and Ohrt works closely with the company on instilling healthier options for the team, he said. “They usually come up with three
to four protein options,” Ohrt said. “We do have some comfort foods on there because we do need some of the calories for these guys.” Although it can be difficult to keep players motivated at times, they understand following Ohrt’s plan will benefit them in the long run, Ohrt said. “The team knows we have the best interest in heart, some days they don’t want to do the workout,” Ohrt added. “But we can’t afford to miss those workouts because this is how they become a better player and protect themselves from injury.” isabella.diamore@temple.edu @belladiamore
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The Temple News
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Graduate student quarterback Anthony Russo looks downfield to throw a pass during the Owls’ game against the University of Southern Florida at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 17.
FOOTBALL
Owls’ offense secure first win despite turnovers Quarterback Anthony Russo threw for four touchdowns and two interceptions on Saturday. BY ISABELLA DIAMORE Assistant Sports Editor Despite sloppy play on special teams, on Saturday, Temple University Football (1-1, 1-1 The American Athletic Conference) beat South Florida (1-4, 0-3 The American) 39-37 on the back of an offense that scored four touchdowns and recorded 416 total yards at Lincoln Financial Field for the Owls’ first home opener. Temple’s offense is off to a good start, averaging 34 points per game this season, and should continue their success against their next opponent Memphis (2-1, 1-1 The American), who are allowing 34.33 points per game this season. Graduate student quarterback Anthony Russo entered the game after a poor showing against Navy in which he
threw for just 206 yards and one touchdown. Russo threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns against the Bulls but also threw two interceptions. “I thought our pass game was good,” Russo said. “The two [interceptions] were the right reads, it’s a matter of getting the ball into the right spot. But that’s better than me forcing, like last week against Navy.” Russo’s first interception came with three minutes and 55 seconds left in the first half at the 38 yard line by South Florida defensive back Mekhi LaPointe. The pass was intended for graduate student wide receiver Branden Mack, who failed to corral the ball with both hands, instead only using one hand and deflecting the ball right to LaPointe. “Mack reached back and tipped it,” said head football coach Rod Carey. “That’s a rough one because it’s not the best throw, and Mack needs to go up with two hands.” In the second half, Russo threw a
second interception intended for redshirt-junior wide receiver Jadan Blue that was picked off by South Florida sophomore defensive back Daquan Evans, who after the interception returned the ball 56 yards. Evans was extremely physical with Blue, which upset Carey, who believed the contact should have constituted a penalty. “The other interception should have never happened,” Carey said. “They tackled Blue and they did not call it. That’s amazing they missed that call.” Russo and the Owls found a new gear and were able to mount an 11-point comeback during the last quarter and a half of action. The comeback began near the end of the third quarter when Russo drove the Owls down the field and into the end zone in a seven-play, 57-yard drive that lasted just more than two minutes. The drive ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Russo to Mack. After a defensive touchdown gave
the Owls the lead in the fourth quarter, Russo and the offense gained possession with about eight minutes left and a onepoint lead. They led an 11-play, 81-yard drive, capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Russo to graduate student wide receiver Randle Jones, giving the Owls an eight-point lead the Bulls never recovered from. “[Jones] is a stud,” Carey said. “He’s a flat-out stud. The way he practices, the way he plays and the way he attacks his life in general on and off the field, he is a stud.” Jones finished the game with eight catches, 81 yards and one touchdown. Carey was happy with the way the Owls’ offensive responded to adversity on Saturday, he said. “This team hangs in there and they don’t flinch,” Carey added. “They hung in there and found a way.” isabella.diamore@temple.edu @belladiamore
The Temple News
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FOOTBALL
Owls must improve in red zone against Memphis Temple scored eight red zone overthrow of a covered receiver. This touchdowns this season but still led to a converted field goal attempt. Although graduate student quarterneeds to be more efficient. After losing its first game on a two-point conversion, Temple University football won their second game of the season 39-37 after stopping South Florida on a two-point DANTE COLLINELLI conversion attempt to Sports Editor tie the game late in the fourth quarter. It shouldn’t have been that close. “Games come down to four or five plays,” said head coach Rod Carey. “We were on the wrong end of that last weekend. This week we were certainly on the right end of that.” If Temple (1-1, 1-1 The American Athletic Conference) wants to defeat Memphis (2-1, 1-1 The American) on Oct. 24, they will need to improve red zone scoring. The Owls scored on 11-of-13 red zone attempts this season, which seems good, but they have only scored eight touchdowns in the red zone and are consistently missing key chances to score more touchdowns. On their opening drive of the second half on Saturday, Temple’s offense drove 66 yards down the field and found themselves in the red zone. Their next three plays were an overthrow of a wide open receiver, a dropped snap and an
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 FIELD HOCKEY Novakova competed in 12 games and scored two goals for the Czech Republic national team. “I started crying, I felt really honored and every athlete dreams to wear a jersey of their national flag,” Novakova said. After playing for the Czech national team, Novakova was uniquely recruited to Temple when the Czech Republic Field Hockey Federation posted an article on Facebook that included information about playing collegiately in the U.S. Novakova then posted her highlight
back Anthony Russo is responsible for the sequence against the Bulls, the Owls’ red zone play-calling needs to improve. “This year, Anthony is way more composed,” said redshirt-junior wide receiver Jadan Blue. Calling more slant routes or rub routes near the goal line should be a point of emphasis during practice this week for the coaching staff. The offensive coaching staff will frequently call a goal line fade to graduate student wide receiver Branden Mack, which hasn’t yielded good results this season. In fact, the route only had a 13.5 percent success rate during the 2019 NFL season, ESPN reported. If NFL players are having trouble executing the goal line fade, then Temple shouldn’t do it either. Temple would also benefit from running the football more efficiently in the red zone. Starting sophomore running back Re’Mahn Davis is only averaging 3.8 yards per carry this season and has just one touchdown. The Owls’ offensive line isn’t creating enough holes for Davis to run through. He’s getting contacted too early during plays, forcing him to do a lot of running for minimal gain. Temple should consider giving more carries to redshirt-senior running back Tayvon Ruley, who’s averaging 7.7
yards per carry this season, despite only receiving 11 carries. Ruley recorded the longest run on the team this season, and he looks like the most dynamic runner on the team through two weeks. Carey was unhappy with the way Davis tried to create big plays on his own instead of taking the “tough yards,” he said. “Ruley did a nice job of getting those tough yards and being explosive, so we will look to get him in there too,” he added. The Owls squeaked out a two-point
win against the Bulls, who averaged 14.5 points per game before playing Temple. But Memphis, who averages 38 points per game, poses a much bigger challenge. Kicking field goals, inefficient play-calling and poor execution from Russo in the red zone will lose them the game. “I think there have been key moments where we would like to be better,” Carey said. “But certainly in that game it was better than it was in the first game.”
videos for U.S. coaches to see. Shortly after, multiple schools attempted to recruit her, she said. Temple reached out to Novakova via Instagram direct message and invited her to play for Temple. “I felt so comfortable talking to them and they were so excited,” Novakova said. “When I finished the call, I went to the living room to talk with my parents and I was smiling, I was so excited.” Head coach Susan Ciufo believes Novakova will add more energy to the team because of how quickly she moves on the field, she said. “I was super impressed with her speed, tenacity and I think she’s a phe-
nomenal player,” Ciufo added. “When we saw her film, we knew that she would be a really good addition to our program. She’s extremely gritty, quite talented and reads the game really well.” Conditioning is one of the largest differences between playing field hockey in America and Europe. European field hockey training focuses more on the fundamental skills while American field hockey training focuses on being fit, Novakova said. Her teammates notice she’s working hard on the adjustment because she gives high effort when the team is running during practice. “She’s been really into her running,
and she’s improved a lot in her conditioning,” said redshirt-sophomore midfielder Kerrie Lorenz. The team has also been impressed with Novakova’s play on the back end of the defense, said junior back Nienke Oerlemans. “I can predict the movements of the opponents, that’s my biggest strength,” Novakova said. “I have a lot of experience, thanks to my age, and I played a lot of games with my club and the national team. I hope I can lead.”
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore running back Re’Mahn Davis is tackled during the Owls’ game against the University of Southern Florida at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 17.
dante.collinelli@temple.edu @DanteCollinelli
cayden.steele@temple.edu @cayden_steele19
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The Temple News
BRINGING ‘TENACITY’ FIELD HOCKEY
Veronika Novakova is the first player from the Czech Republic to play for Temple field hockey.
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Graduate student midfielder Veronika Novakova takes a shot on goal during practice at the Temple Sports Complex on Aug. 17.
BY CAYDEN STEELE Field Hockey Beat Reporter
F
ield hockey runs in graduate student Veronika Novakova’s blood. Her father played field hockey professionally in Germany and her younger sister plays field hockey for SK Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic.
Born in Prague, Czech Republic, Novakova is the first field hockey player from the country to play for Temple University. Having joined the team this summer, this spring will be her first season with the Owls. Before picking up a stick, Novakova was a dancer. Her younger sister started playing field hockey, but there weren’t
many opportunities for her to join a team until she found one for young girls when she was 10 years old, she said. “My younger sister started playing first and I became jealous that she can practice sometimes and have games every weekend,” she said. “I was running between dancing and field hockey, so I quit dancing and started fully focusing
on hockey.” Prior to coming to Temple, Novakova played for SK Slavia Prague, a club field hockey team. She earned five topfive finishes with the club, including a first-place finish in the 2017 EuroHockey Club Challenge. FIELD HOCKEY | 27
