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TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016
VOL. 94 ISS. 22
TUPD to add 18 new officers
Closure could affect TUH traffic
The new cops, nine of which are trained, will cost the university between $1.1 and $1.3 million.
Area hospitals could “absorb” patients from St. Joseph’s Hospital following its closure this month.
By STEVE BOHNEL News Editor Temple Police expects to add 18 new officers to its force, nine of whom are already trained and could be hired in the next couple of months. President Theobald first announced the news at a state budget hearing March 2 at the Capitol building in Harrisburg. Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the 18 new officers would cost the university between $1.1 and $1.3 million from “existing resources and dollars” that are held for decisions like this. Nine of the officers are already trained, Leone added. Nine more would be sent to the Philadelphia Police Academy for training. The Temple News previously reported in “Crime and Campus” on May 5, 2015, that Temple Police deploys more than 130 officers and is the largest university police force in the country. Leone said because some officers will choose to retire and resign during the current hiring process, the total number of officers should remain about the same. It’s unclear, however, whether Temple will still have the largest university police force, Leone said. “It’s hard to predict what others are doing out there,” he said. “Usually, you have Howard and Penn, and a few others that are right there neck and neck with us … if all stays the same, then we’d probably stay around the same. If not one, at least in the top two or three when it comes to having the officers on hand.” He added collaboration between Theobald and COO Kevin Clark has made the process easy. Leone said the department also recruits from nearby police departments and hosts career fairs for candidates, including one scheduled for next month at Bright Hope Baptist Church at 1601 N. 12th St. Leone said he and other officials want to see candidates who are innovative. “We want to ensure that people have a good balance among themselves,” he said. “What I mean by
POLICE | PAGE 6
By LIAN PARSONS PATRICIA MADEJ The Temple News
PATRICK CLARK TTN
President Theobald talks at a press conference in Harrisburg March 2.
BUDGET STALEMATE A UNIVERSITY CONCERN
The university has taken out a line of credit worth $100 million from PNC with a fluctuating interest rate in order to make sure it has the cash on hand to be able to run the university, Kaiser said. “For the university it would mean liquidating other assets—funds that had been set aside for other initiatives and new programs would have to fill that hole—it would be forgoing things that have been planned for,” Kaiser said. The already indebted Temple University Hospital will also suffer if the budget is not passed, Kaiser said. “There are ways that we leverage some of our money to help them get additional federal dollars—they would
BUDGET | PAGE 3
HOSPITAL | PAGE 6
It causes us to “ pause ... It’s really
The state’s longest budget impasse has Temple $175 million in the hole. By STEVE BOHNEL JONATHAN GILBERT The Temple News
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St. Joseph’s Hospital, at 16th Street and Girard Avenue, is consolidating its operations and will close this month. Kevin Feeley, spokesman for North Philadelphia Health System, said the closure comes from a lack of state funding. St. Joe’s saw about $16 million in 2015 and will be consolidated with Girard Medical Center at 8th Street and Girard Avenue upon its closing at the end of March. The closure will also cost 675 people their jobs and push an estimated 20,000 patients who visit the hospital’s emergency room annually to go elsewhere, Feeley said. “We certainly understand that people are concerned about it and upset about it and this is not our first choice to take, it’s necessary action,” he said. “We tried to talk to employees, tried to help them find transitions to other employment but our first priority is the care and safety of our patients.” Though Temple University Hospital will see much of this traffic, Feeley also said that NPHS has been communicating with other neighboring hospitals like Einstein Medical Center and Hahnemann University Hospital. “St. Joe’s has been a financially troubled institution for a long time,” said Jerry Silberman, senior staff representative at the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. “St. Joe’s was dependent on other sources of income and it served poor people.” Silberman said the majority of St. Joe’s business will go to TUH as it has “been growing quite rapidly”—300 nurses have been hired during the past three years and the Emergency Room has also expanded. “Temple Hospital has been an essential hospital for poor people in the city and it’s equipped to take on [the patients],” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw the ER get a lot more hectic.” Patients are likely to choose between Hahn-
s Pennsylvania’s budget crisis continues, state-related universities like Temple are feeling repercussions. The state still has not doled out yearly appropriations to universities, and if a budget is not passed by June 30, appropriations would likely not be given at all. Administrators said that if Temple does not receive its annual $175 million from the state, it will have to stop working on certain programs and reshuffle the money it does have. “It causes us to pause, and instead of pushing forward on certain projects or innovations, we’re really hesitant to do that at this point,” said Ken Kaiser, Temple’s CFO and treasurer. “It’s really unprecedented and we’re holding back on a lot of things because if that money doesn’t come through then it’s going to be somewhat of a nuclear situation.”
unprecedented and we’re holding back on a lot of things.
”
Ken Kaiser | university CFO and treasurer
Renouncing faith, finding his truth
A.R.M. Imtiyaz teaches at Temple after surviving the Sri Lankan civil war. By LIAN PARSONS The Temple News More than 30 years later, Abdul-Razak Mohamed-Imtiyaz can still see the scar on his forehead. A native of Sri Lanka, A.R.M. Imtiyaz was in high school when he witnessed the 1983 riots as part of the country’s civil war. Tamils, the country’s ethnic minority, were subjected to violence, and their stores and properties were destroyed. The effects of his trauma are lasting. Imtiyaz developed a stutter, and he permanently renounced his Islamic faith to become an atheist. Bar Guide
PATRICK CLARK TTN
“The people I knew became refugees overnight,” Imtiyaz said. “Until then, I was a very firm believer in god. … I hated god because one of my friends was hurt.” “Because I challenge my god, [other] Muslims beat me,” Imtiyaz added, pointing to his forehead. “You can see the mark.” Since he rejected religion, his high school expelled him. Imtiyaz was inspired to pursue political science after witnessing these events. He now teaches as an adjunct professor in the political science departement and as an adjunct assistant professor in the Asian studies department. Imityaz teaches about experiences just like his own, and he said there should be more study of these issues “beyond Western-centric views.” “I wanted to know why people kill each other,” Imtiyaz said. One of the courses he teaches, Foreign
Abdul-Razak Mohamed-Imtiyaz is an adjunct professor in Asian studies and political science.
IMTIYAZ | PAGE 17
OUR ANNUAL BAR GUIDE INSERT B1-B4
NEWS PAGES 2-3, 6
Community meeting tonight
Community members will discuss updates on the stadium at Amos Recreation Center. PAGE 2
OPINION PAGES 4-5
Temple belongs in The American
LIFESTYLE PAGES 7-8, 16-18
Remembering Justice Scalia
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGES 9-15
Justice Antonin Scalia participated in Temple’s Rule of Law Program for 16 years before he died last month. PAGE 7
Tuan Phung plans to open Banh Mi and Bottles, a Vietnamese street food eatery, in mid-spring to honor his family’s heritage and culture. PAGE 9
Former student opens restaurant
SPORTS PAGES 19-22