Vol. 96, Iss. 16

Page 1

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

VOL. 96 ISSUE 16

STADIUM

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018

STADIUM GAINS MOMENTUM

North Philadelphia residents said they were not alerted before the university’s stadium announcement last week.

READ OUR ANNOTATED STADIUM PROJECT OVERVIEW AT TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

BY KELLY BRENNAN, MATTHEW McCANN & WILL BLEIER For The Temple News

O

nly one community leader said she was notified by university officials before they announced their proposal for an on-campus football stadium to the City Planning Commission last Thursday. The proposed 35,000-seat stadium has been a source of controversy since the university began exploring the idea in 2015. University officials said they talked with nearby residents about the stadium for two years. But residents, community leaders and members of the Stadium Stompers disputed that, saying the university has not been transparent about the project. Judith Robinson, the Democratic chairperson of the 32nd Ward, said she was notified about 30 minutes before the university’s announcement by Beverly Coleman, the assistant vice president for community relations and economic development. The Office of Community Relations could not be reached for comment. A university official told The Temple News in May that it had formed Community Campus Councils, which meet two to three times a semester. This is one part of the university’s outreach for the stadium, but discussions are only about long-standing issues, like trash and noise. Freddie Bolden has lived on Norris Street near 15th for almost a decade. If the City Planning Commission approves the university’s proposal, she will live directly

COMMUNITY | PAGE 3

PHOTO BY SYDNEY SCHAEFER, ILLUSTRATION BY COURTNEY REDMON / THE TEMPLE NEWS STADIUM RENDERING VIA / TEMPLE’S PROJECT OVERVIEW The university will “soon file” a proposal to the City Planning Commission for an on-campus football stadium, which would be built on 16th Street near Norris.

The university will need approval from several city departments to build an oncampus football stadium. BY GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK News Editor

President Richard Englert wrote in an email to the Temple community last week that the university will “soon file” a project submission to the Philadelphia City

Planning Commission. This announcement comes nearly three years after the university first started considering a potential on-campus facility in 2015. The university has exercised the option to continue to play at Lincoln Financial Field through 2019. The clock is ticking for the university to build a new location for its football team for the 2020 season. There have been no reports of other deals for them to play

elsewhere. But before the university makes its final decision about the potential stadium, Temple’s plan must be approved by several city departments and City Council. THE CITY Before university officials can break ground for an on-campus facility, it must

NEXT STEPS | PAGE 6

TSG

11 seats vacant in Parliament Nearly a third of Parliament’s representative seats are left unfilled for Spring 2018. BY ALYSSA BIEDERMAN On-Campus Beat Reporter

SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS An Eagles fan celebrates on the median of Broad Street, flapping his arms like wings, after the Eagles won the NFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Fans ‘erupt’ after Eagles win Hundreds of students celebrated the historic game on Broad Street.

BY EMILY SCOTT & IAN WALKER For The Temple News

If the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl, Sawyer Long said he wants to see the Liberty Bell melted down into a statue of the team’s quarterback, Nick Foles.

“I want to see this place erupt,” said Long, a senior film and media arts major. “I just want to see people go absolutely nuts, and love each other and hug each other, and nothing else matters but the Eagles and the city.” Long became a die-hard Eagles fan after watching the 39th Super Bowl in February 2005, when the Philadelphia team lost to the New England Patriots. He watched the Eagles defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday 38-7 from the Draught Horse Pub & Grill on Cecil

B. Moore Avenue near 15th Street. The Eagles clinched the NFC Championship title and will play the New England Patriots in the 52nd Super Bowl on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis. Students joined in the citywide post-game celebrations of the win on Sunday. After the game ended, Long was in disbelief. “I’ve been shaking all day,” Long said on Monday. “I feel like I’ve been waiting

EAGLES | PAGE 11

After three representatives resigned from Parliament at the end of Fall 2017, 11 seats remain unfilled. Some positions have been empty since the start of the 2017-18 academic year, and some former members told The Temple News they think Parliament is ineffective. Vacant seats include seats for Greek life, athletics, LGBTQ and honors. There are also vacancies in seats representing the College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Technology and graduate students. Parliament also has openings for one freshman, one senior and one at-large representative. Adam Frick, former senior class representative and member of the academic affairs committee, said he resigned because of a scheduling conflict, but he thinks Parliament is a “waste of time.” “It didn’t seem like we accomplished anything, and it didn’t seem like people wanted to accomplish things,” Frick said. “It seemed like anything we did accomplish could have been done without Parliament.” Pearl Joslyn, a former at-large representative and member of the local affairs and community committee, resigned because she couldn’t put enough time into Parliament. “It took a long time to get stuff through, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the system,” Joslyn said. “I

VACANCIES | PAGE 3

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-12

SPORTS | PAGES 13-16

Temple will begin construction on a computer retail store in the lobby of Pearson Hall this summer. Read more on Page 2.

Lead Columnist Monica Mellon thinks the university should stop using animals for research. Read more on Page 4.

Some student organizations did not attend the Women’s March on Philadelphia due to concerns over inclusivity. Read more on Page 7.

The women’s basketball team, which is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, seeks a more aggressive mindset on offense. Read more on Page 16.


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