A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.
2014 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award Winner temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
VOL. 93 ISS. 24
BREAKING NEWS
Murphy fired after internal investigation
The contract of the suspended women’s gymnastics coach will not be renewed for next season.
F MARGO REED TTN
TAKING A BOW
Troyiyira Nicholls, a first-year student at the Philadelphia String Project, performs with her class at a rehearsal last Saturday. The String Project, which provides string training for student-musicians, is part of the Community Music Scholars Program and is administered by the Boyer College of Music and Dance. PAGE 7
Collection drive serves the underserved Lambda Pi Eta is holding a drive for Morris Home, a safe haven for transgender recovering addicts. JENNY ROBERTS The Temple News Last spring, Julie Seidman and two fellow members of Lambda Pi Eta parked their tiny silver sedan, which was filled to the brim with clothes and toiletries, in front of a brick corner house in Southwest Philadelphia. Seidman and her companions had been dropping off donated items from their honors society’s collection drive for Morris Home, a safe haven for transgender and gender variant individuals who are in the process of recovering from addiction. “We came with a carload of [donated items], and they were just astounded,” said Seidman, a senior communication studies and Russian double major. “It was just amazing that we actually surprised them with how much work we put into it.” This spring, Lambda Pi Eta, Temple’s
honors society for communication studies majors, will once again collect items for Morris Home. Seidman, now LPH’s copresident, is leading the drive. Seidman has taken a special interest in queer theory and has focused some of her research on the many issues facing transgender people. “Trans issues are where the gay and lesbian issues were 30 years ago,” Seidman said. “And now we’re getting to the point where people are starting to talk about [them] more.” Last year, when LPH began looking for an organization to serve locally, Morris
MORRIS PAGE 8
ONLINE - Multimedia coverage A video of members of Lambda Pi Eta and residents of Morris Home speaking inside the safe haven in West Philadelphia.
AARON WINDHORST TTN
Cashe Valley (left) and Isaac Zarubin, residents of Morris Home, participate in a group therapy session.
Within a society that so often “ neglects and abuses us, we need to know that there is at least one place where we are safe. ”
JACK TOMCZUK The Temple News Starting this summer, a building that served the Yorktown community for nearly 40 years will be leveled and repurposed as part of Temple’s
NEWS - PAGES 2-3, 6
LIFESTYLE - PAGES 7-8, 14-16
CRIME
William Penn would be finalized in 12-18 months, following the same timeline President Theobald and Mayor Michael Nutter set for the East Park Canoe Rowhouse when they announced plans for renovation of the site in February 2014. Temple bought the William Penn property from the School District of Philadelphia for $15 million last June. The building, which has been vacant since it closed in 2010, will be torn down, and the area will
Dion Dawkins, Haason Reddick, Matt Brown and Bernard Pierce were charged in separate incidents last week. ANDREW PARENT The Temple News
be converted into athletic fields and a job training center. The administration decided demolition was necessary to redevelop the site, and the proposal was approved by the Philadelphia Planning Commission in February. “It is of a design that I don’t think you would ever use for an educational operation before,” Creedon said. “It doesn’t lend itself to a fast
PENN PAGE 6
FOOTBALL PAGE 6
Shane Rubin | president, Temple’s Queer Student Union
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT - PAGES 9-13
Students placed for residency
A cross-cultural voice
Restaurant offers organic soups
On “Match Day,” students learned about their residency placements in a ceremony held Friday at Temple University Hospital. PAGE 3
Cambodian student Angkeakeo Hak was chosen to educate South-Asian Americans on Obamacare. PAGE 7
Good Spoon Soupery in Fishtown sells solely organic and homemade soups. PAGE 9
OPINION - PAGES 4-5 Keep ads out of editorials
GYMNASTICS PAGE 3
Four former or current Temple football players found themselves behind bars in a fourday span last week. Along with current members Dion Dawkins and Haason Reddick, who were arrested last Monday night on assault charges stemming from an off-campus incident in January, former running backs Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown were also arrested last Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, in unrelated incidents. Pierce – Temple’s second-highest all-time leading rusher who spent the last three NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens – was released by the team last Wednesday after his arrest on DUI charges earlier that morning. “Do you know what happened the last time a Ravens players got a DUI?” Pierce asked his arresting officer, according to The Baltimore Sun. “I’m getting cut tomorrow, not like you care.” He was referring to the release of former Ravens cornerback Victor Hampton after a DUI charge on Feb. 28, correctly predicting his fate the outcome that would soon follow.
William Penn High demolition moving forward master plan in construction and development during the next five years. Demolition of the William Penn High School building, at Broad and Master streets, is planned to start before Labor Day this year, said Jim Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations. In an exclusive interview with The Temple News last October, Athletic Director Kevin Clark said construction of the new facilities at
ollowing an internal investigation that began last month into what the university described as “violations of athletic department policy,” suspended ninth-year women’s gymnastics coach Aaron Murphy will not return to the program, Athletic Director Kevin Clark announced Monday ALLAN BARNES TTN afternoon. Women’s gymnastics Murphy’s dis- coach Aaron Murphy. missal was made public through a brief press release posted to the athletic department’s website that stated there will be a national search to fill the vacancy. Senior Associate Athletic Director for Com-
4 current and former football players arrested
FACiLiTies | FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Athletic and job-training facilities are slated to be built on the property.
AVERY MAEHRER EJ SMITH ANDREW PARENT The Temple News
SPORTS - PAGES 17-20
Owls move to NIT quarterfinals
NEWS
PAGE 2
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
STAFF REPORTS | ENROLLMENT
For graduate programs, a rise in enrollment Temple has seen a higher increase than other Philadelphia universities. MARYVIC PEREZ The Temple News Temple’s graduate enrollment has increased 73.45 percent since 2010, swelling much more in recent years than a sample of other local schools, according to recent data. “Students look for the places where they can be best advanced and Temple is … definitely one of those places,” said Zebulon Kendrick, vice provost of graduate education. Collectively, in the six Temple campuses and off-campus sites, statistics show graduate students in Fall 2010 totaling 5,408. There weren’t drastic changes in 2011 and 2012, but enrollment climbed in 2013 with a 71.18 percent increase to 9,377 matriculated and non-matriculated graduate students – 3,899 more than the previous year. In 2014, statistics showed a
steady increase of 0.03 percent with 9,380 enrolled students. Kendrick said new faculty hires and increased focus on research under the new administration led to the enrollment increases. “Their commitment to enhance the research of Temple University and the research presence with their hires of these outstanding faculty has resulted in very positive notice across the country and internationally about Temple’s programs,” he said. Faculty hires are a critical factor for getting the best graduate students, Kendrick added. “We attract students to Temple that also have fellowships and offers at schools like Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Yale, Princeton … they come to Temple because of the quality and the interest of the research the faculty members are doing,” Kendrick said. “And of course, if you can choose those level schools, you’re talking about the quality of the faculty member, so it’s our job to make sure when we go to recruitment fairs and when people contact Temple that we let them
know about the quality of our faculty,” Kendrick added. Phyllis Tutora, director of graduate enrollment management for the Fox School of Business, said she believed recent rankings from U.S. News & World Report had boosted the school’s reputation. The school’s Online MBA program was ranked No. 1 in January, and the Global MBA was recently ranked No. 41 in the nation. “We’ve consistently grown,” Tutora said. “For graduate numbers I would say anywhere from 20 to 30 percent each year across all of our graduate programs.” Other area schools have seen increases in enrollment as well, but none as much as Temple. Villanova University, which has an enrollment of 3,617 graduate students, has seen a 3.67 percent increase since Fall 2010, with some fluctuations along the way. Pennsylvania State University saw a 7.23 percent increase since Fall 2010 and enrolls 13,591 graduate students, with steady increases. St. Joseph’s University, which
DONNA FANELLE TTN
offers more than 30 areas of study for graduates and 11 online programs showed an overall 2.29 percent increase since Fall 2010, currently enrolling 3,580 students total. Though many students come back to Temple for a higher degree after completing an undergraduate program, many are recruited from other schools, Kendrick said. “[There are] faculty who have an active research agenda,” Kendrick
said. “We do recruitment fairs like everybody else. We also target specific recruitment fairs to try to attract domestic minority students to Temple. Because [our] reputation is improving ... with publications and grants – not just journal articles and getting grants, but also books and chapters of books – that attracts students.” * maryvic.perez@temple.edu
Grand theft auto reported on 17th Street A student was robbed in his vehicle around 4 a.m. Saturday. LIAN PARSONS The Temple News
HARRISON BRINK TTN
Muoi Thai, 68 (left), and Jiang Bogun, 65, practice English at the Coffee Cup Branch of the Philadelphia Senior Center on March 19. The two are students in the IGC’s Project SHINE program.
36-year-old Intergenerational Center assists in bringing generations together The IGC recently moved to the College of Education. JOE BRANDT News Editor
In 1979, fresh after receiving her Ph.D. in organizational development and group dynamics from Temple, Nancy Henkin wanted to use her newfound knowledge and apply it to aging. The Intergenerational Center was the result. “I saw lots of older people who weren’t honored for their achievements and kind of pushed aside,” said Henkin, who still serves as executive director of the center. “I realized that our communities are very age-segregated and that there are very few opportunities for generations to interact in meaningful ways.” Today, that includes several programs with student participants, like Project SHINE, through which students can help teach older immigrants the English language. There is also Time Out Respite Program, where students give regular caretakers a break via a helpful visit. And that vision of meaningful interaction between generations
has survived through the terms of five university presidents. It’s also survived a move to the College of Education, months after the College of Health Professions and Social Work underwent a reboot and became the College of Public Health, jettisoning two majors and adding three. To accommodate the college’s growth, the Visualize Temple plan includes a new building for it, to be located next to Weiss Hall. “We try to go where we feel there’s a good fit,” Henkin said of moving to COE. After the change to CPH, “the alignment [of the IGC’s needs and the school’s goals] wasn’t as clear,” Henkin said. For 21 years, the center held annual cross-generational retreats at Ambler Campus, which spurred many of the programs that are part of the center’s lineup today. “We learned the importance of creating a safe environment to help people of all ages and backgrounds find commonalities and celebrate differences,” Henkin said of the retreats. “We also learned that most people yearn for a sense of community and want to bridge the generational divide.” Henkin said taking care of the aging population will become more necessary with nearly 77 million
NEWS DESK 215-204-7419
HARRISON BRINK TTN
In the IGC’s Project SHINE program, students teach English to older immigrants.
baby boomers in the country. Every seven seconds, an American turns 50 years old, she said. Sikiya Horton, a senior criminal justice major who grew up in Fairmount, said that as part of the Time Out Respite Program, she makes frequent visits to assist a blind woman. And she learned something that surprised her – while she assumed that most blind people were given seeing eye-dogs, the process was more complicated than she initially thought. The woman she visits didn’t have one.
“There’s a lot of paperwork,” Horton said. She added that the process of acquiring a seeing-eye dog can cost as much as $700, and the woman is on track to have a dog soon. Horton said she’s learned some lessons from her experience. “I’ve learned how to be patient,” Horton said. “I’ve learned how to look at life differently.” * jbrandt@temple.edu ( 215.204.7419 T @JBrandt_TU
NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
Temple Police responded to an armed robbery and theft of a student’s car that was reported on the 1800 block of North 17th Street, between Montgomery and Berks streets, around 4 a.m. Saturday. The student reported that he was sitting in his car, a gray 2006 Saturn, when he was approached by three males, Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services said in an email. The three suspects told the student they were armed with a gun and told the student to get out of his vehicle, Leone said. No gun was shown. Two of the suspects fled west on Monument Street, and the third suspect fled south on 17th Street, driving the student’s car. A cell phone was also inside the vehicle when it was taken. The phone was last located in West Philadelphia through its tracker, and no injuries were reported. A TU Alert was issued around 4:30 a.m. Leone said Temple Police is looking at camera footage from the area, as well as following up with the Philadelphia Police Department’s Real Time Crime Unit and with Central Detectives. Temple Police have increased a presence in the area, particularly during the overnight hours, Leone said. Leone added that the incident is not believed to be premeditated. “A gun was never shown and with two males running away on foot while the other drove the car, seemed impromptu,” he said. “This really seemed to me as a crime of opportunity.” Leone also said there have been no similar incidents reported. Frank Lane, who has lived on 17th and Fontain streets for five years, said he did not witness the crime itself. He added that he thinks the crime rate in the area is partly due to drug use and inebriation. “I’m mad,” he said of the incident. “That’s our neighborhood. What were people doing out at 4 a.m. anyway? People should be home.” Vincene Morris, a police sergeant for the Philadelphia Police Department, said alcohol is often a factor in crimes. “On the weekends, a lot of students are inebriated so they lead themselves to become victims,” she said. Morris added that alcohol inhibits people’s ability to make safe choices for themselves. “I try to guide [the students] along – a lot of it is common sense,” she said. “A lot of them are overwhelmed with inner-city life. Eventually when they catch on, it’s time for them to graduate.” Morris said she used to report to the 22nd district, but has since changed where she reports to and thus doesn’t hear immediately about crime in the neighborhood anymore. “The police presence [in the area] is very high, but it can’t make up for common sense,” she said. * lian.parsons@temple.edu T @Lian_Parsons
NEWS
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 3
STAFF REPORTS | CITY POLITICS
Nutter budget to account for vacant properties Several vacant properties exist in lots around the city. STEVE BOHNEL Assistant News Editor On March 5, Mayor Michael Nutter announced his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, which included a $5.5 million increase toward the Department of Licenses and Inspections, $740,000 of which will be allocated to installing a new data system to document every parcel of land in the city. One of the main purposes of the proposed system would be to keep track of all the rundown, abandoned and vacant properties throughout the city. David Bartelt, a professor emeritus in Temple’s Geography and Urban Studies department, said documenting properties throughout Philadelphia has existed since the city’s founding. “The first property information system that existed in Philadelphia was one of the first creations during past city government under William Penn and his political colleagues,” Bartelt, who retired from Temple in 2012, said. “There was a record of every piece of property in the city of Philadelphia –
who owned it, what taxes were levied on it, when it was sold and to whom it was sold.” More than 300 years later, property vacancy has become a problem. According to PlanPhilly, a special project by WHYY’s Newsworks, there are more than 40,000 vacant properties in Philadelphia. Bartelt said some of the areas where “information gaps” currently exist include the southern part of Brewerytown and parts of Fairmount – neighborhoods that lie southwest of Main Campus – because of a quick change in residential layout that the city has not been able to completely document. Nutter’s proposed data system looks to combat that problem by using 360-degree views of properties that would show their condition. The light detection and ranging technology responsible for capturing those images was initially tested in Center City in 2008, reported GCN, a technology news outlet under Public Sector Media Group. But even with LIDAR technology being implemented throughout the entire city, Bartelt said one issue would still occur – illegal sales of property. “If someone had been a tenant for a long time, and the orig-
inal property owner had moved out of town, the next conversation would consist of the [tenant] saying, ‘If you give me $500 or $1,000, you can have the house,” Bartelt said. “That was fine, but it never transferred property in the eyes of the City of Philadelphia.” Temple does not own many properties around Main Campus, Bartelt added. He said that in the 1970s, the university signed an agreement with surrounding neighborhoods that stated that it would stay within its geographic footprint. “There was no way they could feasibly do that,” he said of the university’s decision. “Temple does not have the deepest endowment in town, so it did not have the [University of Pennsylvania] option of buying out all the neighborhoods around it.” If the data system were implemented, Bartelt added that various actions could be taken with the abandoned, rundown or vacant properties around Temple – depending on the overall condition of the property, it could be demolished, bought or ignored, he said. But no matter what the outcome of Nutter’s system would be, Bartelt said the future of housing prices near Temple is
ALEX FRIEND TTN
Trees reclaim an abandoned property on North Delhi Street, between Diamond Street and Susquehanna Avenue.
certain. “Residential property sale prices have been going up,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of directions that the prices could move except up. A lot of vacant slots in between rowhouses are being filled, and some of the corner vacancies are being built on, so that happens.” Ultimately, Bartelt said the new system should improve information about properties for
Temple and its local neighborhoods, but could create future problems between landowners and tenants. “I think many property owners don’t like this,” he said. “Because they see this as an opportunity for tenants or community organizers to get ahold of information about who’s owning property, and create a little mischief.” “Organizers may see that
those developers may have already developed in other parts of the city,” Bartelt added. “And they’d question whether they have enough resources to develop around Temple … and that’s not necessarily a question that developers would want to answer.” * steven.bohnel@temple.edu ( 215.204.7419 T @Steve_Bohnel
Gymnastics coach Murphy dismissed
Continued from page 1
MURPHY
ALLAN BARNES TTN
The School of Medicine’s Meg Tanjutco (left), Minette Manalo and Donna Johnson wait to hand out match letters to students.
Students learn residency assignments “Match Day” is when medical students learn about their residency. STEVE BOHNEL TRISTA GLOVER The Temple News More than 200 students were in attendance at “Match Day,” the School of Medicine’s annual event where students learn which hospitals they will conduct their residency, a stage- of medical training. Dr. Larry Kaiser, dean of the School of Medicine, started a countdown at Temple’s Medicine Education and Research Building at Broad and Tioga streets on March 20 around 11:45 a.m., and students received envelopes containing the institution they would attend. At noon, the soon-tobe graduates opened them, revealing where they would be studying for the next couple of years. Kaiser said the event is a culmination of a process between students and institutions that might be interested in admitting them for post-graduate studies. “The students submit a list of their preferred places to go, and each institution puts their list together as to who they want,” Kaiser said. “The place that the student ranks the highest on their rankings is where they go.” Kaiser added that colleges across the country participate in “Match Day,” and that the event signifies a key part in medical students’ lives.
“It’s the culmination of four years of college, four years of medical school, [and often] more than that,” he said. “This is the start of the rest of their life. This will determine what these people do for the rest of their lives.” One student, Ekene Ajufo, said she will be attending her top choice of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey to study pediatrics. “I’m super happy and surprised,” Ajufo said. “I’d had nightmares up to this point, scared that I’d match somewhere different than what’s on my list. For me to get what I wanted is amazing.” She added that she didn’t choose pediatrics until late in her medical school career.
[Residency] will “ determine what these
”
people do for the rest of their lives. Larry Kaiser | Dean, School of Medicine
“It was the last rotation of my third year [of studies],” Ajufo said. “I thought I was going into a different field, but I saw the kids and I loved them. I had a great rapport with parents … and I realized this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” Barbara Levis, mother of student Kelly Levis, said her daughter specialized in ER at Temple, and was placed at Staten Island University Hospital.
She added that Staten Island wasn’t her daughter’s top choice, but also that she was excited for her daughter’s future studies. “I’m absolutely excited,” Barbara Levis said. “She has so much potential to touch people’s lives in the ER, and apply everything she learned at this wonderful medical school at Staten Island.” “It was so nice to see all the support of the families here,” she added. “Even these wonderful people who had families through medical school, it was wonderful to see all of their support.” By continuing her medical career, Kelly Levis is following in the footsteps of her father Dr. Robert Levis, who is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and the chair of Temple’s Center for Advanced Photonics Research, which “focuses on understanding the photochemistry and photophysics of molecules interacting with ultra fast, ultra-intense laser pulses,” according to its website. Kaiser said that the magnitude of the day creates a powerful atmosphere, as hundreds of students find out whether they are qualified to study at their top choice. “It’s very emotional,” Kaiser said. “You’re banking to get to the place you want to go. Some people are disappointed, and some people are ecstatic … there’s a lot of passion that these students have put forward to get to this level, and may the passion continue as they seek out their chosen careers.” * news@temple-news.com
munications Larry Dougherty declined to provide any details regarding what the investigation into Murphy uncovered, citing the department’s policy to maintain privacy of personnel matters. Murphy did not return calls for comment Monday. Dougherty said the contract of assistant coach Deirdre Mattocks Bertotti, who took control of the program during Murphy’s suspension, will also not be renewed for the 2015-16 season. An upperclassman on the team, who wishes to remain anonymous, said Clark told the gymnasts a week after the suspension that Murphy was expected to return. Now, the studentathlete said, she and her teammates are looking for answers. “They’re not telling us, which is what’s so baffling,” she said. “They’re not giving us a reason as to why. They told us the university is moving in a new direction. I asked, other members asked. They’re not releasing it. They’re not even releasing the information to the community, which is a little strange.” The gymnast added that many members of the program were upset about Murphy’s departure. She said administrators informed the team of their decision on Monday in a scheduled end-of-the-season meeting in which team members expected Murphy’s reinstatement to become official. According to interviews with multiple people involved with the women’s gymnastics program, Murphy continued his recruiting efforts during his suspension and reassured prospective athletes that his job was not in jeopardy. “He was told by administration that he was allowed to contact recruits,” third-year team manager Lauren Smith said. “He was also allowed to announce to the team that he was coming back. I don’t know why they would tell us that. I don’t know why they would give us false hope. … I don’t know what it was, but we were told Murph was coming back, and that’s obviously not the truth.” “[Murphy] has so many wins under his belt,” Smith said. “He’s had winning teams, winning girls and championships … I didn’t see it coming at all.” Smith added that she will not return to the team next season. The team struggled throughout the 2014-15 season. The squad placed first in one of its 11 meets this season, three
less top finishes than it earned during the prior season. On Feb. 22, the squad settled for second place against Ursinus College – a Division III school. Last Saturday, it ended its season by placing fifth out of six teams in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. In 2014, the team finished third in the ECAC meet. Murphy was dismissed less than a year following the resignation of former track & field coach Eric Mobley, who is being sued alongside the university and Senior Associate Athletic Director Kristen Foley for $10 million by a former athlete due to her negative experience of competing at Temple. Last August, The Temple News published the findings of a sevenmonth investigation into the university’s athletic department that uncovered a seasons-long pattern of abuse and neglect in the men’s and women’s track & field program that the administration overlooked for years. Murphy’s departure will mark the university’s third head coaching change since Clark took over as athletic director in November 2013 – in addition to Mobley’s exit, former field hockey coach Amanda Janney left Temple last month for a new position with Indiana University. On Feb. 14, following a Templehosted meet four days after Murphy’s suspension began, fifth-year senior Jasmine Johnson indicated that the locker room culture had improved with the absence of the program’s head coach. “Morale was definitely higher than usual this week,” Johnson said at the time. “It was great. It’s been really refreshing. It’s almost like the stress has been lifted off of us. We don’t feel a heavy burden on us.” Murphy held strong ties to Temple’s gymnastics community, beginning with his time as an athlete on the men’s gymnastics team from 19962001. Murphy competed under legendary former coach Fred Turoff, and was a four-year letterwinner who served as the program’s captain during his senior year. Following a brief stint as an assistant coach for the men’s gymnastics team during the 2001-02 season, Murphy moved to the women’s program where he assisted longtime head coach Ken Anderson until his retirement in 2006. Murphy was appointed in November of that year. He earned coach-of-the-year honors from the Eastern College Athletic Conference in 2009 and 2013. * news@temple-news.com
EDITORIAL/OP-ED
PAGE 4 A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Avery Maehrer, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Madej, Managing Editor Erin Edinger-Turoff, Chief Copy Editor Joe Brandt, News Editor Paige Gross, Opinion Editor Claire Sasko, Lifestyle Editor Emily Rolen, Arts & Entertainment Editor EJ Smith, Sports Editor Steve Bohnel, Asst. News Editor Andrew Parent, Asst. Sports Editor Alexa Bricker, Asst. Lifestyle Editor Albert Hong, Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Patrick McCarthy, Multimedia Editor Kate Reilly, Asst. Multimedia Editor
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
FROM THE ARCHIVES...
Harsh Patel, Web Manager Tom Dougherty, Web Editor Kara Milstein, Photography Editor Jenny Kerrigan, Asst. Photography Editor Addy Peterson, Design Editor Donna Fanelle, Asst. Designer Justin Discigil, Advertising Manager Grayson Holladay, Business Manager Dustin Wingate, Marketing Manager
The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News. Visit us online at temple-news.com. Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com. The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122
EDITORIALS
Know your candidates Temple students should take the time to educate themselves before voting for Temple Student Government candidates. With this month’s announcement of candidates for TSG leadership teams, RepresenTU and Future TU, The Temple News is urging the student body to take the time to inform themselves before they vote. The teams’ first debate was held yesterday at the Student Center during TSG’s regularly scheduled meetings. In addition, The Temple News will moderate a debate on Thursday between RepresenTU and Future TU at 5 p.m. in Mitten Hall. Voting will take place on March 31 and April 1 online. Both teams said their main priorities lie in serving the student body and that their plans for the university are reasonable to accomplish. RepresenTU, headed by candidate for student body president Amber O’Brien, said that while the current Temple foundation is solid, its platform plans to improve upon many aspects of university affairs and represent every student equally. Joining O’Brien in RepresenTU is Aaliyah Ahmad for vice president of external affairs and Tyler Sewell vice president of services. All three candidates have experience in TSG. Presidential candidate Ryan Rinaldi heads Future
TU, with running mates Brittany Boston for vice president of services and candidate for vice president of external affairs Binh Nguyen. While none of the Future TU officers have held positions in TSG previously, they said they are confident that they will be able to work well with the administration. Future TU stumps with a “three pillars” plan with multiple points and plan to debate about issues of combating sexual assault, campus security, transportation, veteran relations and supporting the LGBTQIA community. Student Body President Ray Smeiriglio and his ticket last year focused on bettering dining and safety services as well as increasing LGBTQ safe-zone training programs. As a voice for the student body, these candidates will have a large part in deciding the future of Temple during their time in office. Therefore, Temple students should use this opportunity to educate themselves on each team’s platforms to get the most out of their university and representatives that suit them. We urge the Temple community to attend Thursday’s debate to hear the teams defend their platform – their last opportunity to do so before ballots are cast.
Owning up to an error The editorial which ran in print last Tuesday, March 17, misstated the manner in which former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley arrived on the Board of Trustees. We indicated that the board elected Cawley, when he was in fact appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf. Had he been elected, Cawley would have taken the seat of former trustee Bill Cosby, who resigned in December amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The editorial stated that the trustees should have
elected a woman or minority candidate to take the seat formerly occupied by a nonwhite candidate. But since the seat is now open, there is another opportunity. Chairman Patrick O’Connor told the Inquirer last week that the seat will go to a woman. We’re human, too. We’re not above making a mistake, and we want to own up to it while reminding the Temple community of the lack of diversity that needs to be – and apparently, finally will be – addressed.
CORRECTIONS A story titled “Board elects Cawley, raises housing costs” which appeared in print on March 17 misstated the average cost of room and board following the increase. A university spokesman said the average cost of room and board would be between $10,296 and $13,596. The average cost did not rise to $13,596. The Temple News regrets the error. This story also previously indicated that Cawley would now occupy the seat of former trustee Bill Cosby. This is incorrect. As a governor-appointed trustee, Cawley occupies a different seat. The board will elect a new trustee to take Cosby’s seat. That trustee will not be appointed by the state government. “The Process” infographic that appeared in print in the Bar Guide insert published on March 17, misstated, “One beer barrel is 21 gallons of beer, or 100 kegs of beer.” One beer barrel is actually 31 gallons of beer, equivalent to one keg. In one brewing cycle, Yards Brewing Company brews 100 kegs of beer. In a news article titled “Kim Jones case moving forward” that was published on March 10, local bishop and pastor Ernest Tookes’ first name was misspelled “Earnest.” A sports photo caption in the March 10 issue identified as a Temple women’s tennis player as freshman Yana Khon. The player pictured was actually junior Minami Okajima. The Temple News strives to be a newspaper of record by printing factually correct and balanced articles. 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-inChief Avery Maehrer at editor@temple-news.com or 215.204.6737.
March 24, 1965: The Temple News published its 83rd issue of the year. Top stories of the day included a new ROTC course, a rally against Soviet anti-Semitism and scholarships awarded to the family of alumnus Rev. Reeb, a Temple graduate who was killed in Selma, Alabama.
THE ESSAYIST...
Lock-outs, laundry and life lessons
M
After getting locked out of his apartment, a student reflects on lapses in memory.
y roommates, warm in their beds after a pink-Mike’sHard-Lemonade-induced bout of dancing to my father’s precious David Bowie record – “don’t let anyone touch that except you,” he said when I packed it in my bag last August – hadn’t answered the door, and I was locked out of my apartment. It was Saturday night, and I had put off doing laundry until then. I was coming back from loading a curious mix of Philadelphia Flyers T-shirts, sweaters and boxers (I just throw it all in on cold) when I found the door locked.
By Joe Brandt Usually, though, I did. In middle and high school, I had frequently gone back after hours, getting the attention of a janitor or late-staying teacher to open the door and let me in, so I could fetch a forgotten textbook or notebook out of my locker. “You’ve got to start remembering these things.” They’d say something to that effect every time. “Keeping track of your stuff is part of being a responsible adult,” they’d say. I’d reply with a shrug and walk the
the security guard asked. He could either see that I felt 12 years old inside, or didn’t want to be bothered with finding someone to open my door at 3 a.m. “How hard? Did you kick it at all?” Yes, I did. My roommates had a lot more fun than I did that night – I couldn’t wake them. And that’s when the price for all those close calls finally dropped on me: $50. I signed a waiver that said I understood my next bill would be even higher next month and my beckoning bed put me out of my misery for a few hours. I’ll admit I’m upset that $50 won’t be
feeling over the past few weeks that my recent lapses “I had a nagging ... were all snowballing toward something bigger. ” I could list all the presidents of the United States and probably more than half of every NHL team without much effort, but in my 19 years on Earth my ability to remember small, important details has been much more like that of an 80 year old. I had a nagging feeling over the past few weeks that my recent lapses – forgetting when my bus for work leaves the stop, arranging to see Hop Along on my mother’s birthday, leaving my reporter’s notebook in Philadelphia before a four-day trip to New York City – were all snowballing toward something bigger; the ultimate f---k-up, the one that really did me in, the one I would finally pay for. I couldn’t get away with all of those so easily.
mile back to my house. And once, when I missed that bus to work but headed it off along its route, the driver scolded me in front of all the other riders for having to make a special stop. Though I still got away with it, I’ve met the shuttle, decked out in “Take Charge” graphics, at Broad Street and Polett Walk ever since. I thought I had learned my lesson. But when I went down to the security desk only a few hours into Sunday morning to ask about unlocking my room, all I could see was a Pitman School District custodian in a maroon polo shirt opening the door for me. “Did you try banging really hard?”
redistributed equally among the Pitman High School janitors, the TASB shuttle driver and my mother, the people who suffered most from my lapses in memory. Instead, it is all going to The View for a process which took a total of 10 minutes to execute and 20 to plan. It took being taken advantage of for profit for me to finally declare war on my forgetfulness. My rent is due April 1, my roommate owes me a new Xbox controller and I have to call my mother on May 9. And I will always pat my pocket before leaving and make sure I have my keys. *
jbrandt@temple.edu
OPINION
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
THE ESSAYIST...
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PAGE 5
A bittersweet interaction
After missing a train home for her brother’s birthday, a girl seeks unrequited companionship in a stranger.
glanced at the train station in the distance and slung the backpack I’d had since the third grade over my shoulder. I put one foot in front of the other and walked the lines on the sidewalk like a tightrope. It was getting late, but I didn’t feel much like going to my apartment. I hummed under my breath and avoided eye contact with passersby. I walked in the opposite direction of my block. I walk when I’m upset. I missed a train home to visit my brother that night. It was Oct. 21, his birthday. I was supposed to make a surprise trip home to watch him blow out 16 candles on a birthday cake. Looking back, it seems childish to be upset. God willing, my brother Tucker will have many more birthdays, and I will once again return home for an afternoon. But that night I was craving familiarity and home and chocolate cake at the kitchen table. Tucker loves cake – especially chocolate. I picked a spot on a bench, a noticeable distance from my apartment. I wanted space. I focused my gaze on a man sitting on a bench across from me. I folded my hands in my lap and thought about my brother and how old he’s getting. “16,” I muttered under my breath. Tucker and I are opposites. He admits he will just never understand my tendency to sing in the morning. I will never understand his habitual OCD. I think I love him more for our differences. “You’re so weird, Em,” echoes in my head and I smile. Tuck is always saying that to me.
By Emily Rolen I thought about him blowing out the candles and about what I’m missing and what I will miss in the months to come. The man across from me lit a cigarette and opened a newspaper. He wore a tweed blazer and brown loafers and his hair was gelled to the side. He was handsome. He crossed and uncrossed his legs, just like my father. I missed home again. I looked down at the birthday gift wrapped in a blue blow and pulled out a Temple T-shirt. I knew he would like it, as he is hoping to come to
Temple in a few years. I smirked, thinking about us at the same school. The thought of sharing a home with Tuck again made me happy. An image of him, lanky and boyish, standing in our backyard, flashed across my mind. He’s getting so old. I refolded the T-shirt and reached into the bag. I pulled out a box of Hershey’s kisses. He loves chocolate. I picked them up on a whim because I wanted to give him something sweet. I wished I could share them with him. I sighed and opened the box. I unwrapped
paige gross
commentary |Ethics
Native ads strain relationship between outlets, consumers To hold on to their integrity, media outlets should keep editorial content and advertisements seperate.
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few weeks ago, I found myself in a room of journalists in the midst of a heated debate. We were not discussing the controversy of the oxford comma nor “who” vs. “whom,” but instead, “the separation of church and state” – the practically holy idea that journalists and advertisers should exist and operate far, far away from one another. This idea divided not just my class, but PAIGE GROSS an entire generation of journalists who have questioned the place of advertisers when it comes to publishing editorials. Native advertising is created to blend in with its surroundings – in newspapers,
fessor Joseph Glennon, has been around as long as the mediums they are hosted in have. “The oldest, and one of the most unapologetic examples I’ve seen is an 80-page insert in a newspaper in Hawaii in 1927 for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel,” he said in an email. “When I started, we called most of them advertorials, paid content, created to blend in with the editorial content.” Glennon explained that the rise in native ads in recent times is simply because agencies have discovered that they work. He said that banner ads online receive about 0.2-0.3 percent click rates while the native ads receive at least 50 percent more views. Philadelphia is currently at a crossroads when it comes to what it will and will not allow in terms of advertisements. A city council committee has approved a few locations for new, 3-D electronic billboards in highly-trafficked spots around the city. According to CBS Philly, these billboards would display about 70 percent advertisements and 30 percent, “PSAs and
The successful native advertisements, the “ones that pass off completely as editorial
”
content, are the ones my classmates and I worried about.
magazine spreads, online articles, television broadcasts and radio shows. They often appear in the form of “sponsored content,” and an overwhelming amount of consumers can’t tell the difference between these native ads and actual editorial material. If you’ve been on the site of any major publication lately, you’ve seen examples of this. Buzzfeed is notorious for their native ads, it’s easy for advertisers to produce content that mirrors the site’s cartoonish looks and quick wit, especially when the viewers are in the prime age – 18-33, according to Adweek – to be perceived as acceptable forms of content. When you read an article that continually name-drops a product, watch the American Idol judges sip out of their Coke glasses, hear a radio DJ promote a venue or check out a magazine spread made up entirely with products from one brand, you are experiencing a native advertisementwhether you realize it, or not. While the term “native advertising” has been a buzzword over the last few years, the idea, according to assistant pro-
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other material” like promotions of local nonprofits and events taking place in the city. These billboards are essentially a giant form of native advertising, mixing city-related public information right in with the advertisements. While native ads are still required to be labeled, as are all ads, a large portion of people who view them will not recognize them as such. In 1963, David Ogilvy, sometimes referred to as “the father of advertising,” spoke to this as an advantage: “It has been found that the less an advertisement looks like an advertisement, and the more it looks like an editorial, the more readers stop, look and read,” he said. And this was the concept that riled up my class of journalism students – the idea that a lot of readers won’t know the difference. “It depends on the publisher and the audience,” said Alison Ebbecke, a visiting assistant professor to the advertising department. “If [the publication] is ex-
tremely credible, if it’s done well, if the brand trusts the publisher, then you get a successful native ad.” Ebbecke added that negative feelings toward ads happen when a brand pushes too much and when people feel that they’re being advertised to. “As a consumer, I don’t have a problem with it if the content isn’t skewed too heavily,” Ebbecke said. “Sometimes I’ll immediately stop reading if the advertising method has taken over.” The successful native advertisements, the ones that pass off completely as editorial content, though, are the ones my classmates and I are worried about. The idea of sponsored content immediately calls in to question a possible bias behind the story and the questionable ethics of the publication. Journalists have been known to lose their jobs, their credibility, over getting extravagant gifts or accepting money in exchange for a positive story. “If journalists don’t have their integrity, what do they have?” one of my classmates posed. John Oliver discussed the idea on his show, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” mentioning an advertisement that ran on the New York Times’ site about women in prisons. The longform piece discussed issues of family strain, abuse and facing the outside world after being released. Graphics, statistics, multimedia and interviews create an in-depth report on an important issue facing women, and yet, it was a paid post by Netflix, promoting season two of “Orange is the New Black.” “As far as native advertising goes, that’s about as good as it gets,” Oliver said. “the reporting was real and the sponsored content was minimal – but it is still an ad.” My class entertained the idea that if print publications don’t jump on board with the trend within the next few years, will we have print publications to work for? Perhaps it is naive to say that I’d like to succeed with perfect morals in an industry that is ever-changing, especially when they find solutions to keep it afloat during a time that many print publications are desperately drowning. But, if the people accepting money from advertisers are the same people writing stories – if we do actually abolish the line that separates “church and state” – would we be able to call ourselves ethical, unbiased reporters? I don’t think so. * paige.gross1@temple.edu T @By_paigegross
LETTERS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
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one and plopped it in my mouth. It melted on my tongue and gave me a bit of momentary relief. I had another. The man across from me stared at the space in front of his feet. He picked up his phone and stared at it. I wondered if he was waiting on someone. “How long have we been here?” I thought. I glanced at my phone. 9:27 p.m. I looked down at the Kisses and over at the tweed chain smoker. I grabbed the bag and walked over to him. “Want a Kiss?” He stared at me for a second too long and shook his head. “You don’t want some chocolate?” He shook his head again. “But who doesn’t like chocolate?” By this point, I sounded mildly desperate for this stranger to take a Hershey Kiss from me. “I’m just not hungry,” he said. I looked down at the bag. I pulled one out, examined it and set it on the bench next to him. “Well … I’m just gonna leave this here,” I said. “If you change your mind.” He just looked at the Kiss, then at me. He said nothing. I walked back to my bench, grabbed my bag, and sped-walked out of sight. Who doesn’t like chocolate? I miss my brother, I thought. He loves chocolate. * emily.rolen@temple.edu T @emily_rolen
LETTER TO THE EDITOR... A student believes Temple does not deserve to be known as an anti-Semitic campus. About a month ago, Temple was ranked as having the eighth Worst Anti-Semitic Campus Activity in America by jewhatredoncampus.org. This claim is based off of various events that the organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have hosted over the past few years. The article states, “Temple University is home to an SJP chapter that was responsible for a verbal and physical attack on a Jewish student who approached their table at a campus activities bazaar to attempt a dialogue. In addition, they are regular participants in Israel Apartheid Week and have brought well-known anti-Semites such as David Sheen to campus.” The ranking quickly spread across various news outlets, disappointing faculty, alumni, current and perspective students. The events described in the article did indeed happen, although didn’t necessarily have a large effect on the campus culture as the article claims they did. We do have an active Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on our campus, an organization which focuses on demonizing Israel, advocating for its eventual destruction, through public protests, learning sessions, and support of initiating Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) toward all corporations and individuals that do business in Israel. Students for Justice in Palestine is a radical student group by nature, and occasionally attempt to bully and intimidate both pro-Israel and Jewish students with vicious and often anti-Semitic rhetoric. The article does touch on an incident that occurred on Aug. 20, 2014. A Jewish student was allegedly physically assaulted and yelled slurs at the Students for Justice in Palestine table at TempleFest during Welcome Week. Fortunately, the university, Temple police department, and Temple Student Government responded immediately to the incident, reaffirming Temple’s commitment to student safety, inclusiveness and acceptance of all students, regardless of their background. Weeks following the incident, Temple published their TUnity Statement, saying, “As Temple Owls, we respect all members of our university and local community regardless of: race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, political affiliation or (dis)ability. By providing a wealth of life experience, this diversity is our greatest strength.” Everything the university has done in response to the incident accurately reflects on the culture of Temple’s campus as an open and accepting space for all students. As a Jewish student myself, I couldn’t disagree more with this article. Since coming to campus last fall, I have been able to openly express my Judaism, both in the classroom setting and across campus. Starting my first week on campus, I attended programs run by Hillel, an organization that prides itself for being a home, and safe space for Jewish students. Through Hillel, I was exposed to the large, diverse Jewish community we have on campus, which I was instantly welcomed into. At the beginning of every semester, Hillel hosts a “Jewish Life Fair” where over 20 Jewish organizations, ranging from a cappella groups like “Jewkebox” to community service groups such as “Challah for Hunger” come to showcase their organization, and offer Jewish students many ways to get involved on campus. Reflecting on the campus’ culture, along with my personal experience as a Jewish student at Temple, it is unreasonable to consider Temple as a “Top 10” on a list containing the most anti-Semitic campuses in the country. Ari Abramson is a sophomore management information systems major. He can be reached at ari@temple.edu.
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Visit temple-news.com/polls to take our online poll, or send your comments to letters@temple-news.com. Letters to the editor may regard any current issue but must include your full name, position and location. Students can give year and major. Submissions should be between 200-600 words.
NEWS
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
NEWS IN BRIEF ON CAMPUS DIAZ CAMPAIGN COURTS ACTOR AS SPONSOR
The Daily News and The Next Mayor 2015 reported Friday that mayoral candidate and Temple trustee Nelson Diaz is seeking a Hollywood presence to boost the publicity of his campaign, which is trailing most other candidates in fundraising. According to the report, workers for Diaz’s campaign were trying to connect with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, run by actor Jimmy Smits, known for playing Nero on the TV show “Sons of Anarchy” and Senator Bail Organa in the “Star Wars” prequel films. The campaign considered involving Hispanic celebrities like the half-Puerto Rican Smits, who grew up in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico, to bring in more Latino votes. But Carol Marshall, Smits’ publicist, told the outlets that she was unaware of any connection between Smits and the Diaz campaign. “I don’t know anything about it, and I’m pretty much up to speed on everything Jimmy does,” Marshall told the Daily News.
-Joe Brandt
UNION PROCESS CONTINUES AFTER HEARING WITH ADJUNCTS
A hearing in Harrisburg was held on March 19 to determine the next steps in the university’s adjunct professors’ potential merger with the Temple Association of University Professionals, the university’s full-time faculty union that represents about 1,400 employees, not including those in the health professional buildings. The hearing, which will eventually determine whether or not an election for a merger will be held, was only step one in the process. Another hearing will be held in the coming months, though a date is yet to be determined by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Michael Sitler, deputy provost, sent out a statement to the faculty after the hearing that said adjuncts joining TAUP “is not in the best interest of our students.” “By attempting to merge the adjunct faculty into the full-time faculty union, TAUP places its interests over those of both the adjunct faculty and full-time faculty and does not give
careful consideration to the best interests of either,” the statement said. Art Hochner, president of TAUP, said six adjuncts testified at the hearing and discussed their workload. “The Temple lawyers didn’t seem particularly interested in that stuff,” Hochner said. “They wanted to know technical things.” The process started in mid-December when adjunct professors filed authorization cards with the PLRB to merge with TAUP, which they hope could better job and wage security. Hochner said he looks forward to the next step in the process. -Patricia Madej
IN THE NATION HOUSE OF REPS’ BUDGET CUTS STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
The U.S. House of Representatives revealed last week that spending toward student aid would be cut more than was initially expected in a spending blueprint on March 17, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. In the House’s initial spending plan, the
maximum Pell Grant would freeze for the next 10 years. On Wednesday, Republican leaders added that the blueprint would also terminate public-sector loan forgiveness, reverse a recent expansion of income-based repayment and end the in-school interest subsidy on Stafford loans, the Chronicle reported. The cuts would save taxpayers about $61 billion during the next 10 years, according to budget estimates. The Chronicle reported last April that House Republicans proposed freezing the Pell Grant and failed – but that was before Republicans controlled both chambers in Congress. At a Senate Budget Committee hearing last Wednesday, student protesters interrupted the meeting holding signs reading “Dreams not Debt” and “Student Aid Crisis,” while chanting “No cuts, no fees, education should be free.” The Senate’s budget blueprint, which was released last Wednesday, proposed not to freeze Pell Grants – but like the House bill, it would end mandatory money for the program, which makes some of its supporters worried that it would face further budget cuts, according to the Chronicle’s report. -Steve Bohnel
Athletic facilities to be built at closed school
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PENN
renovation. It would need a lot of work.” The building, which opened in 1973, has design problems and decay, and “looked like it closed in 1970,” Creedon added. Temple administration has already begun work on the next step of the process. “In order to do the demolition, you have to prepare permitting and actually a specification to the contractor,” Creedon said. “But then we’ll also begin the design for the next phase.” Creedon said the next phase, and the main athletic department priority, is the soccer complex. The soccer teams currently play games at Temple’s Ambler Sports Complex. The new comADVERTISEMENTS
plex at William Penn is set to be completed by Fall 2016, Creedon said. “[President] Theobald said, as part of the master-planning process, we wanted to have soccer back on campus,” Creedon said. Other fields built on the William Penn property may be used by the women’s lacrosse and women’s track & field teams, as well as for intramural and club sports. The job training center will be a collaborative effort between Temple and the Laborers’ District Council’s Education and Training/Apprenticeship Fund. The LDC is composed of several different labor unions in Philadelphia, Norristown and Chester. “They will provide literally hands-on training, like scaffold building, equipment operation and safety training,” Creedon said. “Temple will
be there as a collaborative partner on things like GED preparation, college prep preparation, English as a second language and specialized math and writing courses.” These services will be made available to members of the unions that make up the Laborers’ District Council. Last July, The Temple News reported that the sale of William Penn was opposed by the William Penn Development Coalition. The coalition argued that the School Reform Commission had blocked its efforts to purchase the school since 2009, and tried to delay the decision by way of an injunction. In 2013, the city assessed the high school for $32.5 million – but since the school district borrowed $57 million last year to offset a budget gap, the price was set at $15 million.
State Rep. Curtis Thomas, a Democrat whose 181st district encompasses both Temple and William Penn, told The Temple News that the school district made a mistake. “If the school district of Philadelphia needed money and they needed it right away, why would you take $15 million when you can get $32 million?” Thomas said. The coalition’s injunction was taken to the state’s Supreme Court in August of last year, where it was denied, allowing Temple to continue planning for the building’s demolition. Creedon said Temple’s goal is to start demolition and redevelopment of the school in August. * jack.tomczuk@temple.edu
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FOOTBALL
Pierce rushed for 532 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry en route to earning a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in 2012, but his numbers gradually dipped through his next two seasons as Baltimore’s backup running back. After his release, he was picked up off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday. Brown was one of two men arrested on numerous human trafficking and prostitution charges last Thursday. According to The Sun’s report, Brown and 30-year-old Anthony Leon Eley Jr. brought three girls – ages 14, 16 and 17 – to a Baltimore hotel room. Vice detectives responded to an advertisement posted in the escorts section of Baltimore.backpage.com, the report said, and arranged a meeting at the hotel, leading to the arrests. According to the report, both men told police they knew the girls were underage and taking part in prostitution. Brown, a 25-year-old Baltimore resident, was a special-teams standout for the football team from 2009-12, and is the school’s fourth-best all-time COURTESY PHILADELPHIA POLICE leading rusher. He signed for the NFL’s TOP: Haason Reddick. Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May 2013, BOTTOM: Dion Dawkins. but was released prior to the start of the season. He also had a brief stint with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 2013-14, but failed to appear in a game before his release in June 2014. Brown was released on bail Thursday night and will await a May 19 trial in Baltimore. His father, Warren Brown, a Baltimore attorney, could not be reached for comment. In terms of Dawkins and Reddick, Officer Leeloni Palmiero, a Philadelphia Police spokeswoman, told The Temple News last Tuesday that both student-athletes were ordered to turn themselves into the police department’s East Detectives division and were charged following a Jan. 18 altercation at an off-campus party at Club 1800 on North 5th Street in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood. An email from Philadelphia Police said the victim, a 21-year-old Temple senior, visited the club and witnessed Reddick and Dawkins assaulting his friend, also a 21-year-old male. Per the email, the victim said he attempted to pull his friend away, but was kicked in the right eye and held back by people at the party, including Dawkins. The victim said he and Dawkins began to fight when several other people intervened and began hitting him. Following the incident, the victim suffered a broken orbital bone and – according to the 6ABC report that first broke the arrests on March 16 – a concussion. He initially went to Wills Eye Hospital for treatment, and was later transferred to Jefferson Hospital for his injuries. Palmiero said the victim first reported the incident to police on Jan. 19, and that a warrant seeking the arrest of both Dawkins and Reddick was issued March 10. She also said that the victim and the accused knew each other prior to the altercation. Both 20-year-old student-athletes will await a preliminary hearing on March 31 and, according to court documents released last Tuesday morning, have been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and related charges. They were both released after posting bail set at $10,000 and were suspended from the team, per a Temple statement. Dawkins and Reddick are no longer listed on the team’s roster. * andrew.parent@temple.edu T @Andrew_Parent23
lifestyle INNOVATIVE NETWORKING
GAINING NATIONAL ATTENTION
The Temple Women’s Network, formed in June 2014, connects female Temple graduates of all ages. PAGE 16
Jewkebox, a Jewish a cappella group formed in 2012, recently placed third in a national competition held in Washington, D.C. PAGE 15
temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
owlery.temple-news.com ‘THE MATCHMAKER’
Temple Theater is hosting Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker,” an American play about the relationship between love and money. PAGE 16 PAGE 7
faculty focus
Professor gives student actors voice, discipline Donna Snow pioneered a vocal technique for actors and actresses and advocates against students’ excessive use of social media. VINCE BELLINO The Temple News
attendance at the capitol performance. The String Project, which is part of the Community Music Scholars Program administered by the Boyer College of Music and Dance, provides continuous string training for student-musicians in the Philadelphia area at minimal cost. Students study instruments like the violin, the cello and the bass. Under the direction of Jeffrey Solow, the master teacher and Boyer professor, and Tracy Parente, the lead teacher, roughly 80 instrumentalists of the String Project meet every Wednesday and Saturday in Presser Hall, the home of the Boyer College of Music and Dance, to prepare an array of repertoire – some of which was performed at the capitol. The String Project, organized by the National String Project Consortium, is a national project initiated by the American String Teachers Association to encourage the development and dedication to traditional string and orchestral music, especially in schools that lacks substantial string mu-
When Donna Snow studied voice techniques under Catherine Fitzmaurice at American Conservatory Theater, the Fitzmaurice technique was brand new and looked upon skeptically. Now, the technique is recognized around the world and Snow is a master teacher. The Fitzmaurice vocal technique is meant to teach actors the most effective vocal technique. Snow, a professor at Temple for 26 years and head of the undergraduate acting program, uses the technique in her Voice for the Actor class, which prepares students both physically and mentally to perform on stage. Because the Fitzmaurice technique utilizes techniques like yoga and causes body tremors, it prepares her students for nervousness and shaking on stage. She compares it to the fight or flight instinct that people associate with tremors and shaking. While an actor is on stage, she said there is a fear that makes their brain consider leaving. The technique allows actors to familiarize themselves with those emotions beforehand. “When you finish doing those exercises, you’re all calm,” Snow said. “As much work as you’ve put out to get on that stage, you’re not going to leave.” Brock Meadath, a 2014 theater and Brock Meadath | 2014 graduate speech-languagehearing science graduate, said he still uses the Fitzmaurice technique as a speech-language pathology graduate student at the University of Iowa. “The Fitzmaurice Voicework that Donna teaches ... is a wonderful way to get grounded and relax after a stressful day,” Meadath wrote in an email. Another idea Snow explores in her Voice for the Actor class is the effect of decreased social media usage on one’s life and performance. Snow encourages her students to think of how often they are using social media and cut that time in half. Part of her reasoning is that it encourages more discipline in the actor.
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SNOW PAGE 14
MARGO REED TTN
Elementary school student-musicians involved in The String Project performed at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg on March 10.
Budding musicians take to state capitol The String Project provides musical training and social opportunity. FINNIAN SAYLOR | The Temple News
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very Saturday morning, the otherwise quiet halls of Presser Hall are awakened by the sounds of stringed instruments and the laughter of young musicians. Third through fifth grade student-musicians from the Philadelphia area who are standing members of the Temple-run Philadelphia String Project were invited by State Senator Shirley Kitchen to perform at the Pennsylvania State Capitol on March 10. The students performed in the rotunda of the state legislature, filling the commodious space with tunes like “Let it Go” from Disney’s “Frozen” and other more traditional orchestral arrangements. The group performed in the late afternoon on a Tuesday morning, allowing building employees and government officials to step into the space where the strings’ vibrations filled the air. “The students, while performing in a new and vast space, rose to the occasion with their enthusiasm and energy,” said Mark Huxsoll, the director of Temple Music Prep, who was in
The “ Fitzmaurice
Voicework that Donna teaches ... is a wonderful way to get grounded and relax...
”
Student from Cambodia breaks language barriers Angkeakeo Hak was chosen to be an Obamacare representative. EMILY SCOTT The Temple News In the small Cambodian village of Saang, Angkeakeo Hak’s neighbors taught her English. They would meet her in the evenings and charge her 5 cents per hour, she said. In 2009, Hak moved from Saang to Philadelphia. She began taking courses, like English as a second language, at the Community College of Philadelphia. She planned to return to Cambodia after she received her associate’s degree in international relations. But after consulting with advisors and professors, Hak transferred to Temple her junior year. In November 2014, the 27-year-old student brought her passion for the English language and her Cambodian culture together when she was chosen to be a part of the White House Initiative for Obamacare. But at first, Hak’s move to the U.S. was
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shocking, mostly because she wasn’t expecting as much diversity. “I thought I would only meet American people, but when I got here, people are from everywhere around the globe,” Hak said. When Hak first started classes at Temple in Fall 2014, she said the idea of being an English major didn’t come to mind. Hak decided her best path was to major in English after becoming interested in teaching the language in Cambodia. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t really talk much, but I want to communicate with people through my writing,” Hak said. Hak was initially interested in working with immigrants in the Philadelphia area. In her early weeks at Temple, she received a teaching position at a nonprofit organization called Boat People SOS, a national Vietnamese American group that assists refugees who are resettling their lives in the U.S. Hak taught ESL to a group of about 20 elderly South Asian refugees. “She has an intuitive gift to assess the rules for the syntax of language,” said Joyce Joyce,
HAK PAGE 15
JENNY KERRIGAN TTN
Angkeakeo Hak, a senior English major, looks for a book in Paley Library on March 19.
LIFESTYLE@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
LIFESTYLE
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
study abroad
A personal and cultural celebration Halfway through her study abroad experience in Spain, a student celebrated Carnaval in three cities.
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ow at the halfway point of my study abroad experience, it is hard to clearly articulate any of my feelings. There is definitely an overwhelming part of me that never wants to leave Spain, although I must say that there are brief moments when I miss my family and friends. There is, however, one thing that I am sure of – the time has completely flown by. After I visited Brussels, Belgium in late January, my life in Oviedo began to feel normal. Plus, since I lost my wallet and credit cards there, I was forced to live even more like a local when SIENNA VANCE I returned to Spain. February felt like it passed in the blink of an eye, mostly because of festivities surrounding Carnaval – a celebration preceding La Cuaresma that is known to most Americans as Lent. It’s basically a big Halloween party. Spaniards dress up in their most creative costumes and liven the streets of the city. Of course, I couldn’t help but join in on the fun. In Asturias, Spain, there are three cities that celebrate Carnaval – Aviles, Gijon and Oviedo, the capital. Although each city celebrates the same holiday, all of them celebrate it differently. In Aviles, for example, the atmosphere was very family-friendly. Children got sprayed with foam and water while they pranced around in their costumes. In Gijon, on the other hand, Carnaval was basically just a botellón – where people are allowed to drink freely in the street without any problems. It basically felt like I was partying for a week straight. S c h o o l didn’t cut us a break either – while my host m o t h e r ’s four-yearold granddaughter had three days off, I was still expected to report to my classes at 9 a.m. as usual. During the first week I arrived here, my host mother would repeatedly tell me that “los españoles viven en la calle,” which translates to “Spaniards live in the street.” By this point of my study abroad experience, I can say this is true – many people go out to bars at midnight and stay out until six in the morning. Even after Carnaval, my new life in Spain isn’t stopping anytime soon. A week after Oviedo’s festivities, I headed to Barcelona, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Although the 12-hour bus ride took a lot of energy out of us, my fellow Templein-Spain girls and I managed to see most of Barcelona in a little more than 48 hours. Out of all of the places I have visited so far, this was definitely the gem. From the amazing seafood paella, to the breathtaking Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, I can’t help but want to return again. Once the trip was over, I began to realize that my time in Spain was about halfway over. I may not have time to see everything that I originally planned on doing. At the beginning of my trip, I wanted to do so much. Though it is somewhat easy and sometimes cheap to travel through Europe, I would be lying if I said it doesn’t take a lot out of you. After my trips to Brussels and Barcelona, I was extremely tired and somewhat relieved to be back in Oviedo, my homebase. Now, I have been exploring as much of Asturias as I can until my spring break trip, when I will be traveling through Rome, Greece and back to Barcelona for two weeks. I am going to appreciate the time I have left in Europe and treasure every experience until the very end of the semester. Time may be moving fast in my eyes, but May isn’t here yet. I still have more of my journey to finish.
The month of “ February felt like
it passed in the blink of an eye, mostly because of festivities surrounding Carnaval...
”
AARON WINDHORST TTN
Andrew Spiers, a therapist at Morris Home, discusses triggers that can lead to relapse during a group therapy session.
LPH collects donations for homeless shelter Continued from page 1
MORRIS
Home first caught Seidman’s attention. “Morris Home creates a space for [trans people] that’s safe, where they can go to recover from abuse [and] drug addictions [or] if they’re transitioning between genders or between sexes,” Seidman said. “I don’t know of any other organization like it in Philadelphia.” While Morris Home assists residents in a number of ways, like guiding individuals through transitions and helping them find jobs, it mainly serves as an addiction recovery house, Morris Home Director Laura Sorensen said. “We know from research that trans people and gender non-conforming people are likely to avoid treatment or delay going into treatment because of fears about potential discrimination or harassment,” Sorensen said. “Morris Home is able to offer a safe and affirming place where folks can work on their recovery in an environment that is looking at them holistically.” Shane Rubin, the president of Temple’s Queer Student Union, said Morris Home is beneficial to many people. As a non-binary trans man, Rubin personally knows of the struggles that face the transgender community, Rubin said. “Within a society that so often neglects and abuses us, we need to know that there is at least one place where we are safe,” the junior anthropology major said. The QSU has praised LPH for its collection drive and for showing support for the transgender community. “The fact that a non-queer group
even knows about the Morris Home, not to mention cares enough to help those of us in the transgender [and] gender non-conforming community … means a lot to me,” Rubin said. Many QSU members have shared the drive’s Facebook page online, and some have even made donations. “I am donating all of my old feminine clothes from before I came out to Morris Home through [LPH’s] drive,” Rubin said. “It makes me so happy to think that the clothes that used to make me feel so trapped are going to give a trans woman the chance to finally express who she is.” LPH will be collecting clothing, toiletries, make-up, used books and art supplies for Morris Home until mid-April. A giant, colorful box in the Annenberg Hall atrium was nearly overflowing with donations last week. Alexandra Fleming, the copresident of LPH, has gotten her fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, to join in assisting Morris Home too, and the students have been making donations every semester. “We had one night of collection where we asked everyone to bring in clothes,” said Fleming, a senior communication studies and Italian double major. “And we collected over 200 items in just one sitting.” Sorensen said Morris Home is pleased with not only the donations provided by Temple’s organizations, but also their support of the trans community. “We know that trans people … experience greater rates of violence, discrimination [and] poverty,” Sorensen said. “This community has been underserved for a really long time and it’s really great to see the Temple community taking an inter-
est in providing extra support that will help our members succeed.” LPH hopes that through this drive, LGBTQIA issues become more prominently discussed on Main Campus. “Not everyone easily can identify as male or female,” Fleming said. “And it’s important that we take that into account for many reasons.” LPH’s co-presidents already
have high hopes for this year’s collection drive for Morris Home. Seidman said she can barely contain her excitement as she shares her goal of surpassing last year’s sedan-full of donations. “One of our members has an SUV,” Seidman said. “And she already agreed to drive.” * jennifer.roberts@temple.edu
AARON WINDHORST TTN
Lambda Pi Eta honor society co-president Julie Seidman (left) is one of the lead coordinators for the Morris Home supply drive.
* sienna.vance@temple.edu AARON WINDHORST TTN
Alexandra Fleming, co-president of the Lambda Pi Eta honor society, pages through a notebook during an LPE meeting in Room 9C of Annenberg Hall.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A
ALUMNUS PRODUCE FIRST FULL-LENGTH
TYLER STUDENTS PUT SPIN ON T-SHIRT DESIGN
Graduate Doug Williams premiered his first professional play, “Moon Cave,” at the Azuka Theatre in Rittenhouse Square. PAGE 11
At FLOODZONE, four Tyler alumni are creating innovative T-shirt designs that are inspired by their own studio space. PAGE 10
temple-news.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
n underwater perspective
PAGE 9
Scubadelphia in Northeast Philly fosters a diving community in the city.
ALLAN BARNES TTN
Scubadelphia owner David Barnes regularly hosts diving instruction and professional divers to speak to the Seahorses Dive Club.
I ALLAN BARNES TTN
JACK TOMCZUK The Temple News
n the waters off the coast of New Jersey, David Barnes and his wife Melissa Barnes came across the oddest of creatures—a mola. “It’s an ugly, weird fish,” David Barnes said. “It’s like the T-Rex of fish,” Melissa Barnes added. The mola, or the ocean sunfish, is a large, bony creature that can weigh up to 5,000 pounds and looks something like a prehistoric dinosaur. Observing rare sights, like the mola, is what the couple says drives them to scuba dive. “That’s fun, when you see something underwater that I don’t think anybody’s ever seen before,” said David Barnes, who started diving in 1995.
SCUBA PAGE 13
Members Bernadette Gillen (left) Rand McGee, and owners Melissa Barnes and David Barnes meet at Scubadelphia on Castor Avenue.
EXHIBIT
Interwoven art confronts gender norms Professionals and students come together to celebrate Women’s History Month through the Gender Weave Project. ANGELA GERVASI The Temple News As soon as the Mt. Airy Art Garage had a sturdy building and functioning bathrooms, cofounder Arleen Olshan decided it was necessary to celebrate two things: Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. The Mt. Airy Art Garage spent the month recognizing the accomplishments of women for a third consecutive year. The Gender Weave Project features professionals as well as students from the Moore College of Art and Design – the only all-women’s college for visual arts in the nation. The exhibit runs until March 29 at the combined gallery, studio, performance space, teaching center and marketplace at 11 W.
Mt. Airy Ave. The Gender Weave Projects pieces vary widely both in subject matter and medium. On
physical “By allpurposes, I
should not be alive right now, doing what I’m doing... being able to be out with myself.
”
Van Nguyen | artist and activist
one side of the MAAG’s Solomon Levy Gallery hangs an abstract painting splashed with
GARAGE PAGE 10
A&E DESK 215-204-7416
EAMON DREISBACH TTN
Employee Tara Scott offers a customer a sample of one of Good Spoon’s signature soups.
EAMON DREISBACH TTN
A sweet winter parsnip soup is one of many seasonal soups at Good Spoon.
FOOD
Stirring up Fishtown foods New to the neighborhood, Good Spoon Soupery offers seasonal soups made with fresh, homegrown ingredients. EAMON DREISBACH The Temple News Standing as nothing but an abandoned parking garage just months ago, the faint smell of broth now wafts through the air surrounding 1400 N. Front St. After celebrating its grand opening Dec. 3, the site is now home to Good Spoon Soupery, an eatery that specializes in soups with organic, locally sourced ingredients. The original plan for the space was to house a commercial kitchen and food-storage area for Good Spoon, which has been selling homegrown soups to farmer’s markets since 2010. After noticing the amount of space the garage had to offer however, owner Kate Hartman decided to give a face to the Good Spoon brand. An avid supporter of fresh, preservative-free food, Hartman
ARTSandENTERTAINMENT@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
said she stresses the use of seasonal vegetables in all of her culinary creations. “We try to focus every soup that we make to really highlight the star ingredients of the soup,” Hartman said. “So when we make a sweet potato soup, it’s highlighting how amazing an inseason local sweet potato tastes.” Due to the restaurant’s focus on seasonal ingredients, Good Spoon’s menu fluctuates with the time of year. Constants include various lentil soups, a chicken and peanut stew and a traditional chicken soup recipe. Aside from broth-based delicacies, Good Spoon also offers a selection of baked goods and side salads. Homegrown goods from nearby farmers and farmer’s markets also vary in availability, like maple syrup from Emerick’s Pure Maple Products in Hyndman, Pennsylvania, and honey from Tassot Apiaries in Milford, New Jersey. All soups are made from scratch in the eatery’s commercial kitchen. Stocks and broths are created from the ground up and, true to the space’s neighborhood focus, even the chicken bones
SOUP PAGE 13
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 10
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
COURTESY CORY POPP
2013 alumnus Cory Popp studied journalism as an undergraduate.
COURTESY CORY POPP
“Frozen Philadelphia” highlighted different spots around the city covered in snow. The video has been watched more than 82,000 times.
Viral video turns spotlight on filmmaker
Alumnus Cory Popp created “Frozen Philadelphia,” which captured a snow-covered city over the course of two months. COLTON SHAW The Temple News
Filmmaker Cory Popp recently made a film of Philadelphia in the midst of snowstorms that shows the city in a new light. The video, “Frozen Philadelphia,” has been viewed more than 82,000 times on YouTube in the last month. In the video, Popp shows eclectic scenes of his neighborhood and various local points of interest, as snow covers rooftops, streets and people, in Philadelphia. “Most of my work is local,” Popp said. “When you look on YouTube and you see a video with millions of views, it doesn’t really seem like that big of a deal but when they’re specifically local, I think it’s a lot more valuable.” Popp, a 2013 Temple graduate, studied jour-
nalism during his time as an undergraduate. Popp said he carries a keen sense of location and storytelling from the world in which he finds himself. He ventured into the snowstorms eight times for his footage. He said he knew he should release the video in February at the latest – before spring set in and the warm weather took a hold of the city’s focus. “Snow days are kind of weird,” Popp said. “People are in a different mood, at least in the beginning when it’s still falling and they might have off from work, and so people can be a lot more talkative when it snows and it makes it much more fun to be around the city.” Filmed over the course of two months, Popp took advantage of every snowfall at his disposal. He shot footage in South Philly, the Race Street Pier, Center City, the South Street Bridge and West Philly, synthesizing it all into just slightly more than two minutes. Popp said he likes to showcase spots and individuals across town that resonate with his neighbors and those who used to live in the city. There’s something in the Philly mindset that makes com-
munity pride and location a selling point, he said. Popp has also produced a series of videos titled “Philly Makers” that focuses on those around him who are shaping Philly both entrepreneurially and creatively. Anna Hitchens’ business was showcased in a short video by Popp last year, the first in his serious of “Philly Makers” spotlights. Hitchens is the owner of Koliyan, a vegan plant-based Cambodian kitchen in South Philadelphia. Hitchens was approached by Popp and shown one of his early videos, “A Very Philly Christmas,” before getting on board with the shoot. She said she was moved at the quality and his ability to bring out the emotion and deeper meaning in his subject. “I think he does a really great job of finding stories that people don’t really know about, and the way he documents them is really touching,” Hitchens said. Hitchens said after living everywhere from New England to California to South Carolina, she has felt the entrepreneurial spirit of collaboration and generosity much stronger here.
“Everyone seems to be really generous with sharing connections, sharing advice,” she said. “I’ve had a few entrepreneurs contact me because they saw the video Cory did.” Popp’s comprehensive approach to capturing the city’s life, both people and sites, along with the inevitable viral traction from striking videos like “Frozen Philadelphia,” has given him plenty of attention. As a Montgomery County native, Popp said he has made South Philadelphia his adoptive home. He produces hyperlocal films of his favorite spots and people doing interesting things that may go unnoticed. “People are really proud of Philadelphia,” Popp said. “These are the places they walk by; these are the places they run by. And they’re really proud when it gets shown in a really positive, beautiful light.” * colton.shaw@temple.edu Editor’s note: Cory Popp is a former reporter for The Temple News. He played no role in the writing or editing of this story.
Tyler grads create innovative T-shirt designs At FLOODZONE, a local design company, Tyler grads are bringing new styles to T-shirt designs. ALEXA ZIZZI The Temple News Tin robots from the 1950s and various vintage novelties aligning the studio of FZ Media are a daily source of inspiration for the FLOODZONE apparel creative design team. Charles Barrett, founder of branding, digital marketing and design studio FZ Media, launched the FLOODZONE apparel line in 2014, allowing the team, including four Tyler School of Art alumni, to bring their own style to designing T-shirts. Recent Tyler graduates Adam Trageser, Lou Stuber, and Doug Wadas, said their team is an aesthetically-focused collective with artistic design ideas balanced by one another. “The creative process doesn’t just begin and end with whatever project you’re working on – there’s always some kind of influence comContinued from page 9
GARAGE crimson and ochre – a piece that Olshan says was created by the artist to represent a stressful end to a relationship. Nearby, three swatches of deep indigo hang unwaveringly from the ceiling, suspending stones in a conceptual self-portrait that artist Emilie Didyoung titled “Weighted.” Olshan, a graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Philadelphia College of Art – now University of the Arts – possesses a career that fuses activism and art seamlessly. In 1974, Olshan participated in the “Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts” festival. Between 1976 and 1986, she worked as a co-owner for Giovanni’s Room bookstore, the oldest collection of gay literature in the country. Olshan said she remembers these decades as a time when International Women’s Day was recognized in a more active and enthusiastic manner. “Many organizations would come together – we took over the whole Bourse building years ago, and something like 75 organizations would have displays there,” Olshan said. “There’d be a lot of music, and a whole day of celebrating.” Olshan said she recalls listening to 88.5 WXPN exclusively play women’s music over the
ing from what kind of music you’re listening to, whatever art you appreciate, what shows you like on TV, etc.,” Stuber said. “That’s part of it too, bringing in and acknowledging these other elements of our creativity by harnessing them into something that’s productive and fruitful for us, but at the same time still encourages us to do what we do best,” he added. Wadas said the inspiration of FLOODZONE was built from ideas and projects the designers devised since their time in the graphic design program at Tyler. “We decided T-shirts were the most accessible form of art that people could use, especially in the design realm, where it’s wearable,” Wadas said. The walls of the team’s design studio are aligned with surfboards, skateboards and other seemingly random objects that give inspiration for T-shirt themes. The space furnishes a laidback, West Coast style. “That’s a big part of the T-shirt concept,” Trageser said. “It just fits very naturally in the en-
vironment we work in every day.” FLOODZONE’s T-shirts are all limited edition, making them more personalized. With only 50 T-shirts of each design distributed, each shirt is signed and numbered by its individual artist. The main logo by Trageser, a water drop inside of a hazard symbol, reappears, whereas others like “Ampers Aweigh,” an anchor design by Stuber, is more scarce. The design team describes the FZ Media studio, which resides on the top floor of a historic grist mill in Yardley, Pennsylvania, as an inspiration for their “built to last” theme. “The aesthetics behind it really came together with this whole high-quality, custom made, built to last idea we put into our clothes, website and everything we do at FZ,” Wadas said. Wadas said the style of FLOODZONE apparel has a “home-grown, down-to-earth feel.” “Everything we do from top to bottom is personal,” Wadas said. “From selecting the way we want it printed, to the way we deliver the shirts, even writing a personal card to the person – it makes it from the heart.”
Trageser said the workload of Tyler’s design program was a huge influence in FLOODZONE’s success because it pushed for large accomplishments in small timeframes. “A lot of people think about only the technical side like learning Photoshop, but that’s just part of it,” Trageser said. “Tyler definitely prepared us for a lot more, like thinking conceptually and about good quality while putting a lot of fun into it too,” Wadas added. FZ Media’s full-scale design company plans to launch more items in the future as FLOODZONE is described as a continuous work in progress for the artists. They plan to add similar items to complement the T-shirt aesthetic. “The pictures on our websites and in our designs encapsulate the feel of our studio,” Trageser said. “We photographed a whole bunch of accumulated stuff and titled it with ‘the art of inspiration’ which represents where we get our inspiration from – learning new things all the time.”
radio for the entirety of March 8, International Women’s Day. Many of these lively traditions, Olshan said, are now nonexistent. “It just fell off the face of the earth,” she said. “It was popular, and then they stopped it. But we do it. Every year.” Ava Mallett, a featured Moore student in the show, experiments with mixed media to confront social norms and stigmas as effectively as possible. A fine arts major with a minor in business and curatorial studies, Mallet said she is not a thoroughly trained photographer. This did not stop her from printing a digital photograph onto a 40 inch by 60 inch piece of Georgette silk and displaying it in the Gender Weave Project. The transparent image, which portrays an unclothed woman resting in bed, is Mallet’s method of questioning the sexuality in nudity. “It’s not like she’s posing, or in some pornographic image, it’s just her being comfortable in her own space,” Mallet said. “And because of that, there’s this sexual charge to it that is in a way really appealing and confronting and challenging.” This piece is the first in Mallet’s upcoming series, “Skin and Sheets,” a discussion regarding security – and lack of security – for an individual in the bedroom setting. Mallet’s ideas for the future include a series discussing the stigmatization of mentally impaired children. Additionally, she said she wishes to create a set of portraits raising awareness for foster children in the area.
Olshan’s piece in the project also explores the idea of comfort and sexualization in relation to nudity. The painting, “Amazon Reality,” depicts several nude women in a forest. While working in various women’s and lesbian organizations, Olshan attended a trip to a camp with several friends; the setting and nature of the camp gave her the idea for the painting. “I took photos, and we were able to be nude and feel safe, and so it was really wonderful to have that,” Olshan said. Other featured artists in the Gender Weave Project have taken more anatomically experimental routes with their work. “I have always been fond of the idea to pee standing up,” Sabrina Salgado, an art education major at Moore, said. As a result, Salgado crafted two ceramic pieces based on the Shewee, a female urination device designed to make it possible for one with female anatomy to urinate in a standing position. Salgado was invested in the concept of granting a new sense of empowerment to the female body. “My ceramic Shewees are phallic, but are juxtaposed by the cultural representation of the flower as representative of fertility and the female genetalia,” Salgado said. On March 8, a group of panelists comprised of writers, performance artists, weavers and painters partook in an informal discussion. One of the panelists, Van Nguyen, is a preschool assistant teacher, middle school basketball
coach, performance artist and activist. Nguyen is a performer and board member for the Liberty City Kings, a queer drag and burlesque troupe. Nguyen, a genderqueer person who was assigned male at birth, discussed the experience of transitioning. Nguyen also works with hotpot!, a queer Asian women and transfolk group, and has participated in the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference Kids Camp. One of Nguyen’s goals is to help trans women of color possess the opportunity to identify as a person, not a statistic. “By all physical purposes, I should not be alive right now, doing what I’m doing, working in childcare and being able to be out with myself,” Nguyen said, referring to the low life expectancy for transgender people, who experience murder and other violent acts at higher rates that cisgender people, according to the 2012 National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. As far as recognizing International Women’s Day, Nguyen said they think intersectionality is extremely important. “For International Women’s Day I felt like women can come in all kinds of shapes,” Nguyen said. “Whether it is by some kind of gender identity or body shape or appearance. I think it is very important to show that not all women may appear in a typical fashion.”
* alexa.zizzi@temple.edu
* angela.gervasi@temple.edu
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 11
THEATER
Alumnus produces first full-length play Local playwright Doug Williams produced his first professional show at Azuka Theatre. CHELSEY HAMILTON The Temple News When Doug Williams took an American Playwrights class at Temple during his junior year in 2009, he discovered his passion for playwriting and decided to completely change his career path. Williams, who graduated from Temple in 2012 with a major in film, now works as the resident playwright at Azuka Theatre in Rittenhouse Square. Williams’ first professional play, “Moon Cave,”
In Philly, it’s a very tight-knit and “ supportive group, most people know
”
each other personally and go to each other’s shows. Doug Williams | playwright and alumnus
premiered at Azuka Theatre on March 4, and ran until March 22. “Moon Cave” is about the start of relationships and things kept secret before entering into a relationship. “I learned a lot about film at Temple, but when I started taking playwriting class through the theater program it made me decide to change courses,” Williams said. “I didn’t have a degree in theater at all but from taking those classes, I got an internship right out of college at Eugene O’Neill Theatre and then got asked to work at a theater in Manhattan.” After living in New York City for two years, Williams moved back to Philadelphia to be closer to friends and immediately started getting familiar with the theater scene in Philly. He started writing plays and producing them on his own through Philly’s annual Fringe Festival. “As I started getting to know the scene in Philly, I met Kevin Glaccum, the [producing] artistic director at Azuka,” Williams said. “I asked him to read my plays and he really liked them. I continued to send him my work and he became even more interested in my writing, and he asked if I wanted to be his resident playwright.” “I met Doug through an actor we both know at a launch party and I asked him to send me some of his work to read,” Glaccum, a Temple alumnus, said. “I immediately found what I was looking for.”
ANA PADILLA TTN
Kevin Glaccum is the director of “Moon Cave,” alumnus Doug Williams’ first full-length production at the Azuka Theatre.
Glaccum, who graduated with a degree in communications in 1983, became interested in theater while studying abroad at Temple London. “I took a course in English theater with renowned critic Benedict Nightingale and saw 18 productions during that semester,” said Glaccum, who has been the producing artistic director at Azuka since 2004. “I had always liked theater, but it was that experience that sparked my desire to actually work in theater.” Williams also credits Temple in influencing him to change his professional goals. “While living in New York, I expected the theater scene to be better, but it was a different beast,” he said. “In Philly, it’s a very tight-knit and supportive group, most people know each other personally and go to each other’s shows. I wouldn’t be writing plays right now if it wasn’t for Temple.” In “Moon Cave,” two characters named Richard and Rachel
MUSIC
Graduate archives punk memorabilia in the city Temple alumnus Jim Locascio started the Philly Punk archives. TIM MULHERN The Temple News As a Temple student, Jim Locascio used to drink Jolt Cola with his friends and throw the empty cans into the trees. Their target became known as the “Jolt Tree.” “A lot of the original Philadelphia punks came from Temple,” Locascio, founder of the Philly Punk Archive, said. As an active member of the Philadelphia punk scene, Locascio was looking for a way to gather old photographs, fliers, show reviews and other media. He saw that other scenes were archiving memorabilia online and decided to start his own website, the Philly Punk Archive, five years ago. Locascio focused on the early Philly punk scene, but is currently working to put together a more complete collection. When Locascio started the website, Facebook was gaining popularity. The high cost of maintaining the website, coupled with low traffic, forced Locascio to move the archive to the social networking site. Facebook’s interactive features allow users to gather fliers, photographs and reviews to contribute to the archive. The content on Philly Punk Archive’s page is divided by the venues where the shows were held. Locascio devoted a section of the page to venues off campus in the Temple area. The archive allows Locascio and others to keep the memories of the punk scene alive. “A lot of people had those fliers up on their walls and they are probably in the trash bin somewhere at this point,” said Peter Santa Maria, guitarist and vocalist of group, Jukebox Ze-
ros.
Santa Maria started attending all-ages shows in the early ‘90s before eventually joining local bands and is still active today in Jukebox Zeros, Sonic Screemers and The Thirteen. “We should be proud of the bands that have come through here, that have played here, that have formed here, that call this city their home and that aren’t necessarily transplants,” Santa Maria said. Rachel Starlett, bassist of The Droogettes, is a New Jersey native and joined the Philly punk scene after moving from her home state in 2006. StarADVERTISEMENT
lett stopped playing in bands to pursue a degree, but reconnected with an old friend and was inspired again to play music. Starlett connected with Locascio through show listings on Facebook. Facebook has continued to allow the Philly Punk Archive to grow and retain the history of the Philly punk scene. “It’s definitely important to have a sense of history, especially because everything is disposable nowadays,” Santa Maria said. * tim.mulhern@temple.edu
start to form a relationship after a one night stand. As the play goes on, the audience learns that Richard is hiding a secret from his past. “The play is a metaphor for hiding certain parts about yourself when you first enter a relationship in fear of scaring off the other person,” Williams added. Glaccum said all of Williams’ plays are about people on the fringes of society, who march to the beat of their own drum. “Everything I’ve read of Doug’s has been something I could see us one day producing,” Glaccum said. “He’s an incredibly collaborative playwright.” Williams said he encourages more students at Temple to go out and see shows in Philly. “We’re lucky to live in a city with such incredible theater,” Williams said. * chelsey.nicole.hamilton@temple.edu
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HARRY BRINK TTN
Alla Spina, an Italian gastropub located in the Fairmount neighborhood, hosted Big Gay Night on March 22 at 6 p.m. The event was named in recognition of Big Gay Ice Cream, a New York-based ice cream company that served dessert at the restaurant that night. At 9 p.m., drag star Bambi Galore hosted a burlesque and drag show.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 13
OUT & ABOUT FLOWER SHOW NOW OPEN IN CENTER CITY’S GRAND COURT
The annual Macy’s Flower Show is now open in the Center City store’s Grand Court. The show features displays of a variety of flowers, trees and other greens. Special events are happening throughout the week, including an art class in Greek Hall on the third floor of Macy’s on March 26. Guided tours are available for $10 per person. The show runs through April 4. -Tim Mulhern
PHILADELPHIA LOVE RUN RETURNS
ALLAN BARNES TTN
Scubadelphia is a full service and supply store for scuba diving equipment.
Once you dive with a shark, you see how nice “ they are. They’re not going to bite you. This isn’t ‘Jaws.’ ” David Barnes | Scubadelphia co-owner
ALLAN BARNES TTN
Avid diver Rand McGee checks the levels of oxygen tanks in the work area of Scubadelphia.
Scuba diving in an urban setting Continued from page 9
SCUBA
The couple co-own Scubadelphia, which sells scuba gear, hosts scuba club meetings, provides lessons for new divers and organizes trips. In addition to running the store, David Barnes is taking classes in career and technical education at Temple’s Center City campus and teaches welding full time at Jules E. Mastbaum High School. The storefront, located on Castor Avenue near Van Kirk Street in Northeast Philadelphia, is a plain-looking building. Inside, though, is a scuba diver’s paradise: tables are littered with brochures, suits and fins hang along the wall and scuba tanks are lined up along the perimeter. David Barnes said the interactive experience of his modest shop differentiates Scubadelphia, which opened in 2011, from the many online retailers that sell scuba equipment. “It’s all personal touch,” David Barnes said. “Most retailers online are not divers. They’re just a big warehouse, and you have a couple of college kids sitting there doing an internship and reading from a book.” Establishing Scubadelphia was a challenge, like setting up any small business, David Barnes said. What made it even more difficult was the fact that there are not many places to dive in Philadelphia. “It takes a while for your name to get out there, but now we’re big on Facebook and so-
cial media, ” he said. “Within an hour’s distance, there’s lakes, there’s quarries, there’s the ocean.” Most of Scubadelphia’s customers come from Center City, and Melissa Barnes said some customers have commented on difficulties in transportation. “Some of them complain because they don’t have a car and it’s hard to get up here,” Melissa Barnes said. David Barnes explained the location of the store had to do with the cost of renting the property and convenience of traveling from their home in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia. The couple said it is contemplating moving Scubadelphia downtown and building an indoor pool in the future. “We’re weighing where we want to move eventually and what we might want to become,” David Barnes said. Despite the relatively remote site from its Center City patrons, the Barnes’ said Scubadelphia has been able to foster a scuba diving community. The pair holds dive club meetings once a month that draw about 25 divers. Bernadette Gillen, a frequent customer who started diving about two years ago, is attracted to what David Barnes calls the “social aspect” of scuba diving. “Everyone that I’ve met through the shop is so excited for you to learn how to dive,” Gillen said. “I’ve met really amazing people through [it].” Rand McGee, a friend of the Barnes family
who helps at the store, said he was also drawn to the togetherness of diving. “The camaraderie of diving is incredible,” McGee said. “When you’re all out there, everybody’s there to support you.” Gillen will be traveling to the Galapagos Islands with a group of 12 from the Scubadelphia community, including the Barnes. The Galapagos Islands are known for an abundance of sharks, but David Barnes advises beginners not to fear them. “Once you dive with a shark, you see how nice they are,” David Barnes said. “They’re not going to bite you. This isn’t ‘Jaws.’” “They couldn’t care less that you’re there,” Gillen added. “You’re like one among them.” Though the divers have been all over the world, from Ireland to Croatia and all over the Caribbean, David and Melissa Barnes agree that North Carolina is their favorite place to dive. “North Carolina is one of my favorites because we can drive eight hours there,” David Barnes said. “There’s a lot of wrecks down there that were sunk during World War II.” The locale is only one element of diving. For McGee, who started diving last July, the real joy isn’t just the social aspect, but really being in his own world underwater. “It was really stressful at first,” McGee said. “But once you get down there, there’s a real sense of peace and tranquility.” * jack.tomczuk@temple.edu
Menu focuses on soups and organics Continued from page 9
SOUP
used to make certain broths are brought in from local farms. Manager Lanie Belmont, a past employee of the Vegan Commissary and former owner of the Yumtown food truck on Main Campus, said she believes cooperation with nearby farms plays a key role in Good Spoon’s mission. “I think it’s really important to support our local farming community, which it feels like Phila-
delphia has really embraced in the last five or so years,” Belmont said. “There seems to be this really excellent growing community of people who actually give a whatever about where your food comes from.” Employee and cook Colwin Bocasan shares Belmont’s sentiment. “It’s always better when it’s locally sourced,” Bocasan said. “Everything grows during a certain time of the year for a reason, and using fresh products like that really just adds to the integrity of what you’re making.” True to its localized standards,
grass-fed beef is brought in from Kensington Quarters. All of the eatery’s dairy products are shipped in from Trickling Springs Creamery, while Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and Hartman’s connections from past farmer’s markets provide various other ingredients to the soupery. Similar to its organic mission, Good Spoon takes an environmentally conscious approach to its practices. All service materials are compostable, and the eatery has recently employed methods to minimize waste production.
With three months of business within the new space under her belt, Hartman said she sees a bright future for Good Spoon. “Before we opened the shop, [Good Spoon] didn’t have a customer base in this direct area, so it’s been nice to be introduced to a whole new group of people,” Hartman said. “I think just continuing to nurture that, and continuing to work with the other businesses in the area and to help this community continue to develop is really exciting.” * eamon.dreisbach @temple.edu
The American Association for Cancer Research Foundation partnered with CGI Racing last year to host the Philadelphia Love Run half-marathon selling out to more than 10,000 runners. This year, the half-marathon will return on March 29, starting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and ending at Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It will feature a post-race after party. The Love Run race weekend will begin with an athletic expo held at Citizens Bank Park on March 27 and 28. -Alexa Zizzi
‘TO IMPRESS UPON’ ART EXHIBITION WRAPS UP AT CERULEAN ARTS
March 27 and 28 marks the last weekend for the group exhibition, “To Impress Upon,” presented by the art gallery and studio Cerulean Arts in Fairmount. Artists including Millicent Krouse, Dan Miller and Ron Rumford employ different printmaking processes to manifest each individual vision. Landscapes, abstract maps and figurative compositions make up this free exhibit. -Alexa Zizzi
FIVE DOLLAR COMEDY WEEK RETURNS WITH 30 NEW SHOWS
The week of affordable Philly comedy returns with Five Dollar Comedy Week, running from now through March 29 at its new home, the Plays & Players Theatre. This year, 30 new original comedy shows and workshops will premiere, including Hillary Rea’s “Rashomon,” where four storytellers will recount the same story from differing points of view, and Aaron Nevins’ “Donut Tasting” workshop, where attendees will get to learn “the only way to truly enjoy a donut,” with pastries provided by Dottie’s Donuts. Tickets to shows are $5, or a $25 wristband can be purchased that gives access to every show for the week. -Albert Hong
‘WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE’ PODCAST PREMIERES AT KESWICK THEATRE
“Welcome To Night Vale,” the popular bi-monthly podcast in the form of a radio show set in the fictional desert town of Night Vale, is making its first Spring 2015 tour stop at Glenside’s Keswick Theatre on March 26. Featuring Cecil Baldwin as the narrator, Cecil Palmer, the show will also premiere a brand new script from writers Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, as well as live music by Disparition and a live weather broadcast from musical guest, Dessa. The show is at 8 p.m. and tickets are $30. -Albert Hong
SQUAREBURGER REOPENS FOR 2015 SEASON IN FRANKLIN SQUARE
The Stephen Starr-owned burger stand, SquareBurger, made its return to Franklin Square on March 21 in preparation for its 2015 season. Known for its signature Cake Shake, made with Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet, vanilla ice cream and a swirl of butterscotch, SquareBurger also features a classic lineup of burgers, hot dogs and fries. The restaurant hours for the rest of March are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and from April to October, opening and closing times vary, which are listed on the official website. -Albert Hong
TRENDING IN PHILLY What’s happening this week in Philly – from news and event coverage to shows and restaurant openings. Based on Philly area: food, music, stores, etc. For breaking news and daily updates, follow The Temple News on Twitter @TheTempleNews.
FIRST LGBTQ-OWNED TATTOO SHOP OPENS
PHILLY SCIENCE FESTIVAL TICKETS ON SALE
PHILLY LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER TO GET DISNEY CHANNEL MOVIE
NMAJH NABS EXCLUSIVE STOP FOR RICHARD AVEDON
@citypaper tweeted on March 19 that the first LGBTQowned tattoo shop opened in West Philly this month. Spirited Tattooing Coalition is owned by genderqueer artist Jasmine Morrell and was opened as a space where anyone would feel welcome and comfortable to get a tattoo.
@Variety tweeted on March 22 that Disney Channel is developing a movie about Mo’ne Davis, titled “Throw Like Mo.” The Philadelphia Little League player made headlines for being the first girl to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series, as well as being the first Little League player to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
@TheFranklin tweeted on March 19 that tickets for the fifth annual Philadelphia Science Festival are on sale now through the festival’s official website. The Franklin Institute kicked off the nine-day celebration of science with a demonstration of exploding soap duds, the “Soap Bubble Monster,” on the museum steps.
@uwishunu tweeted on March 20 that the National Museum of American Jewish History will be the only U.S. stop for an exhibition featuring the work of late photographer Richard Avedon. “Richard Avedon: Family Affairs” celebrates the artist’s work with more than 70 of Avedon’s portraits and iconic fashion photography that helped shape American culture on beauty, politics and power.
LIFESTYLE
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
Elementary students play the strings
Continued from page 7
MUSICIANS
sic programs. The String Project draws students with many different goals. Sean Birch, a cellist in the entrylevel group of the String Project, said with a smile that his favorite aspect of playing the cello is that “you get to sit down.” Melissa Douglas, the coordinator of the Community Music Scholars Program and the String Project, said early instrumental education is important for students who hope to pursue professional music performance. “You need to start when you’re young,” Douglas said. Douglas emphasized the importance of musical training for all students, regardless of their musical pursuits. She said she believes musical training can ultimately lead to improved academic aptitude and can contribute to better personal discipline. For many children and families, the String Project has provided a stable and productive activity that enhances both the instrumental abilities of its students and the quality of life for its families. For some, the program also provides an opportunity for social and personal development. “Being that my daughter has special needs … this project has helped her with her confidence,” said Patrice Michael, mother of violinist Morgan Michael. “People don’t have patience with special needs.” The instructors at the String Project, who Michael described as “warm and friendly,” have provided a forum in which her daughter can explore music and benefit socially. “It’s unbelievable how it’s become such a big part of our lives,” said Sharon Walker, a mother of two girls involved with the String Project. “It’s been so worth it.”
MARGO REED TTN
(TOP): Caleb Funches, a first-year student at the Philadelphia String Project, shares the bass with student observer William Wahlen during rehearsal on March 21. (BOTTOM): A first-year student practices the bow hold for the violin . Sessions are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Presser Hall.
Huxsoll said he applauds the efforts of his department. “The kids from the community are getting the cutting edge of what’s going on at the college,” Huxsoll said. “They are studying in the same environment as the college student, [and] the college student is giving them instruction.” * finnian.saylor@temple.edu
Professor a ‘master teacher’ of Fitzmaurice vocal technique Continued from page 7
SNOW
“A singer warms up before a performance,” Snow said. “A dancer warms up. A musician warms up. Very often an actor doesn’t warm up. It’s very important to me – the discipline of warming up for an actor.” Decreased social media use also allows for better acting, Snow said. “If you cannot do this work for 45 minutes to an hour ... if you have to have this iPad or this cell phone around you all the time because you’re bored with your own inner voice because you constantly need this distraction, how can you go out on stage and expect 500 other people to listen to you?” Snow said. Snow said that often her students report less depression and more productivity when they follow her request. “I have great concerns that this constant looking at a screen and this sort of static … prevents introspection, prevents reflection,” she said. “As an artist, if you don’t reflect, you don’t have anything to give.” Snow’s students read “Fahrenheit 451” and the short story, “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster. Snow said these pieces of literature are centered around dystopian societies that depend on too much technology.
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“You’ve got to have an investment in other people, in what’s going on in the world, you’ve got to – because otherwise what do you have to say?” Snow said. Other than Voice for the Actor, Snow teaches Acting V, a class that prepares undergraduate students to audition for graduate programs. Snow said that over the past 10 years, dozens of students have gone on to the Top 15 theater programs in the country. She describes the class as a “rite of passage” for students, through which they are able to show-
As an artist, if you don’t “reflect, you don’t have anything to give. ” Donna Snow | professor
case themselves to agents in New York at the end of the semester. Many graduates of Snow’s class have gone on to do respected work in acting and theater. Her former student, Maggie Bofill, recently had her play “Winners” adapted off-Broadway. Others she has helped coach have starred in television shows like “Downton Abbey,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” * vince.bellino@temple.edu
MARCH 25 - APRIL 4
Tomlinson Theater Tickets & Information $10 TU Student Tickets, $20 TU Employees temple.edu/theater • 215.204.1122
RICHARD SMITH TTN
Professor Donna Snow teaches Theater as a Profession, an advanced acting class, in Barton Hall.
LIFESTYLE
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 15
Jewkebox takes third in national competition A Jewish a cappella group prides itself on inclusivity. ALEXA BRICKER Assistant Lifestyle Editor Jessica Baar, member of Temple’s a cappella group Jewkebox, says she likes to think of the group as “Jewish affiliated, everybody appreciated.” Though the group performs traditional Jewish songs and songs by Jewish artists, they are far from exclusive, Baar said. “A lot of the other a cappella groups are very competitive in their audition process and some of them seem to unofficially require music majors,” said Sara Weinstein, a senior music therapy major and the group’s treasurer. “But Jewkebox has, from the start, probably been the most diverse group in terms of majors and music abilities.” Recently, the group had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to perform at Kol HaOlam, a national collegiate Jewish a cappella competition, which took place on March 7. The students were awarded third place for their performances of “When You Believe,” from the film “The Prince of Egypt,” which they translated to Hebrew, as well as “Oy Vey”, a parody of the song “Bang, Bang.” The performance was the groups
bow-ties and even borrowed a beatboxer from another a cappella group on main campus, Weinstein said. Members said that in an a cappella performance, choreography is key, as opposed to a choral performance of 40 to 100 people. “A cappella is a very exposed form of performance,” said sophomore music major and Jewkebox music director, Hannah Stevens. “Your voice is more out there, you’re a lot more vulnerable, you’re allowing people into this little world that you created and you have to create so much with it.” The competition required groups to perform at least one song in Hebrew, which posed a challenge for some of Jewkebox’s non-Jewish members. President Holleigh Christie said the group added American sign-language to the Hebrew translation of “When You Believe.” “To teach a group of non-Jewish people Hebrew – that was fun,” Baar said. Because the competition took place at the end spring break, the group was able to travel to Washington a day early to explore the city and squeeze in some much needed bonding time, Jewkebox’s longest standing member, Nick Gomberg said. “Bonding time is always good because we get to know each other more, really see what we’re like outside of a rehearsal setting,” the senior journal-
is a very exposed form of “A cappellaperformance. ” Hannah Stevens | sophomore
second appearance at Kol HaOlam, but its first win, something members are particularly proud of after the departure of multiple senior members last year and after the Fall 2014 semester. “We really stepped up our game,” Baar, vice president and public relations specialist of the group, said. “We brought signs with us, we upped our choreography, we really pushed ourselves with the arrangements – with the songs that we chose and performed.” To help prepare, the group added extra practices to its schedule in the weeks before the competition and came together to trade clothes, make
ism major said. “To go up there and sound as good we did and realize how much we accomplished in a short time – to be able to do that on a national stage and get recognized for it was a really good experience.” Part of Jewkebox’s mission is outreach in the Jewish community and celebrating the Jewish religion, having performed at Jewish community centers across the Philadelphia area. “Right now, we’re trying to gear [our work] toward doing more Jewish work, as in community service and good things for the community,”
HARRISON BRINK TTN
Sophomore Holleigh Christie (left) and freshman Kristin Stidham rehearse Billy Joel’s “I’ve Loved These Days” in Presser Hall on March 17.
Christie said. The group plans to hold a “Jewkebox Jammie-Jam, Fest Jamboree,” named for the events pajama-friendly dress-code, on March 25 at 9 p.m. in the atrium of Presser Hall. Those who sport pajamas at the event will receive a free hot chocolate, and group members will be collecting donations of food, clothes and toiletries to give to homeless shelters in the city. Since the group’s founding in the Fall 2012, members said the group has grown closer and closer, resembling a family, partly because of the influx of performances and events Jewkebox has on its calendar. “People in the community are just so excited to see young people do something Jewish related and have fun doing it,” Weinstein said. “Singing in rehearsal is really fun, but getting out there and doing concerts and doing gigs is even more fun because we can show what we can do, and Jewkebox really gets out there.” * abricke1@temple.edu HARRISON BRINK TTN
Junior Kyle Johnson rehearses in Presser Hall on March 17.
English major a voice for South-Asian Americans Continued from page 7
HOK
chairperson of the English department. In early 2014, Hak met Amy Jones, the health and social services director of the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, a refugee organization that seeks to inform Southeast Asian immigrants of their eligibilities for health care and social services. Jones reached out to Hak because she was
in need of a translator who could inform the Asian-American community about the benefits of Obamacare. Hak said that although the work would be unpaid, she had no qualms. “I just wanted to help my community,” Hak said. The translation was published and distributed around the Cambodian community near 7th Street and Snyder Avenue, Hak said. A few months after her short translation project, Jones sent Hak an email offering her a job as a Cambodian counselor to personally inform im-
migrant clients about Obamacare. Hak said she learned a vast amount of information through online training about the concerns of immigrants and resolutions of applying for Obamacare. Her work for SEAMAAC continued to grow,and in late December 2014, Hak was invited to be a part of a video segment for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which was recorded at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C.
JENNY KERRIGAN TTN
Senior English major Angkeakeo Hak browses through books about her home country of Cambodia in Paley Library.
Hak said the White House has been persistently working to get the Cambodian, Burmese, Hmong and Laos populations familiar with Obamacare, because all four populations are currently underserved. Hak was involved in a question-and-answer video session titled “Learning about the Affordable Care Act in Khmer,” the native language in Cambodia. In the video, Hak is interviewed by Narin Jameson, a Cambodian woman who serves as an activist for Southeast Asian refugees. “I felt like I could spread the word to every Cambodian person in America,” Hak said. Hak received widespread praise from friends and family back home. Her Chinese Contents professor, Yun Zhu, posted the video on the Chinese language website at Temple to spread knowledge of Obamacare. Hak also has a creative writing concentration within her major. For her Advanced Fiction Writing course, she wrote two stories – both about a 14-year-old girl who was forced to get married. The stories were based off her experiences in her home country of Cambodia – where, she said, arranged marriages are more expected than in America. “I wanted people here to get a taste of what our life was like [in Cambodia],” Hak said. Hak, who expects to graduate in May, said she is torn between going home to teach English, as she first planned, or staying in the U.S. and working as a journalist for SEAMAAC. “Like a professor-momma bear, I see Ang working at the Cambodian Embassy as a translator,” Joyce said. As someone who struggled with adapting to American culture, Hak said she would enjoy continuing to help Southeast Asians understand their eligibilities. “It’s not only the ESL classes, but sometimes you have to sit down and encourage them to move on because they are refugees and immigrants,” Hak said. “I feel like I have the need to stay and give them a hand.” * emily.ivy.scott@temple.edu
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
AROUND CAMPUS DR. DONNALYN POMPER HOLDS COMMUNICATIONS DISCUSSION The discussion “It’s Always Time to Talk About Social Identity Intersectionalities” will start at 12:30 p.m. today in Annenberg Hall Room 3. Dr. Donnalyn Pompper of the School of Media and Communication will talk about the importance of the intersectionalities approach to understand how people fit into different dimensions of age, class, culture, ethnicity, faith, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation and more. Organization managers try to create unity in the workplace by understanding these dimensions, but rarely discuss the challenges that arise from the differences. Pompper’s one-hour discussion is free and open to all. -Jessica Smith
CENTER FOR HUMANITIES SPONSORS ACTIVIST DISCUSSION
COURTESY NATALIE FRANKE
Kate Carrara leans out of the window of her cupcake truck. Carrara also owns a store in South Philly for her business, Buttercream.
A truck for the sweet tooth
Baker Kate Carrara is bringing her well-known cupcake business, Buttercream, to Main Campus. NINA DEPAZ The Temple News
Lawyer-turned-baker and business owner Kate Carrara grew up baking with her Irish grandmother. After 10 years working in law, Carrara quit her job to follow other dreams. Now, Carrara owns a store in South Philly and a bright blue 1988 U.S. mail truck – in both of which, she bakes and sells cupcakes. “Baking came very naturally to me,” Carrara said. “My grandmother would teach me how to make brownies or cookies and yell at me to keep my hair away from the beaters.” Since opening her cupcake truck, Buttercream, in the Summer 2009, Carrara has traveled around Philadelphia to share her desserts. Carrara, a Scranton native, is coming to Main Campus because she said she has ties to Temple. “Temple was the cool place in Philly,” she said. “I come back because the kids are all my favorite and they all are down to earth.” Carrara frequently modifies recipes she finds online to make them “taste better” and said many of her best creations have been accidents.
Carrara is a “scratch” baker, meaning she only uses real ingredients and bakes in her shops every day. “No short cuts, all real butter and milk – everything my grandmother taught me to do,” Carrara said. “If you’re going to have a treat, it should be made with real ingredients and it should be satisfying.” Buttercream currently offers cupcakes, cookies and other treats – called “fancies” – at varying prices. “Red velvet with cream cheese is a best seller, and the cookie dough fancy also does really well,” she said. “We are hoping to make ice cream sandwiches with the homemade cookies for the summer.” First-time Buttercream customer Ann-Marie Phillips said she would come again. “I got the vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream and it was delicious,” Phillips, a junior biology major said. “It was definitely better than any cupcake I’ve ever made.” Carrara said her business is doing well. The truck’s Twitter handle, @ ButtercreamPhl, has more than 11,000 followers. Carrara said baking makes her happy in a way law was never able to. “It’s still stressful, but making people feel good makes me feel good,” Carrara said, “It really makes people happy in a way that nothing I’ve ever done has.” “I always think the truck itself is happiness personified,” she added. * depazc@temple.edu
The Temple Women’s Network takes off A new alumnae organization holds frequent networking events for women. CLAIRE SASKO Lifestyle Editor A new alumnae organization is mixing networking with yoga and wine. The Temple Women’s Network, formed in June 2014, holds both traditional and innovative networking events for female Temple graduates. On March 24, the organization will host Wine, Body and Soul – a night of yoga, wine-tasting and networking, beginning at 6 p.m. “One of the goals of [TWN] is to not only be a straight outlet for networking, but also for fun and personal development,” TWN president Jessica Lawlor said. “When you put a bunch of Type-A amazing women in one room, so much can get done.” The event – which costs $10 and will run from 6-8:30 p.m. in the Temple Performing Arts Center – is open to both alumnae and current Temple students. The TWN hopes to strengthen Temple’s “diverse alumnae network by giving women an inclusive outlet for networking, education, mentorship and leadership,” according to
the organization’s website. Lawlor, who graduated from Temple in 2010 as a strategic communications major with a focus on public relations, said Temple alumnae of all ages and majors attend TWN’s frequent networking events. On March 7, the organization held its first-ever Leadership Panel and welcomed almost 100 people to Alter Hall for a sold-out discussion on women and leadership. Among alumnae in attendance were Jamira Burley, Amnesty International’s senior campaigner, Elizabeth Morrison, a global director of Campbell Soup Company and Maria Vickers, a former Chief Deputy Pennsylvania Attorney General. Lawlor said women who graduated from Temple in the 1960s attended the event. “It was a really diverse panel,” Lawlor said. “We wanted to be able to hit a wide variety of people. It was exciting to have so much diversity in the room.” Lawlor said she considers every female Temple alumna a member of TWN, whether or not they attend the organization’s events. The TWN’s board consists of 15 women, and about 600 women are currently on the organization’s email listserv. Lawlor aims to have 1,000 women on the listserv by Temple’s Alumni Weekend, which will run from April 22-26. “Temple has such a huge alumnae network,” Lawlor said. “This
The Center for the Humanities is sponsoring a discussion today from 2-6 p.m. “The Scholar as Activist, The Activist as Scholar” will explore the relationship between academic scholarship and social justice activism. Speakers will include Robin Andersen from Fordham University, Gabriel Rockhill from Villanova, Liz Sevcenko from The New School Humanities Action Lab and Temple Law School’s Jennifer Lee. They will share their experiences with CHAT Fellows facilitators. A reception with refreshments will follow the event in the CHAT Lounge on the 10th floor of Gladfelter Hall. The discussion is free and open to all. -Jessica Smith
H. WAYNE SNIDER GUEST LECTURE SERIES CONTINUES
The H. Wayne Snider Distinguished Guest Lecturer series will continue Wednesday from noon to 12:50 p.m. in the Alter Hall Auditorium Room A031. In this installment, Janice Abraham will be presenting. Abraham is the President and CEO of United Educators. In her roles, Abraham is responsible for developing and executing business strategy and operational plans for the risk management and insurance company. Previously, Abraham served as the chief financial officer and treasurer at Whitman College and an international banker for J. P. Morgan. She was also appointed as the first woman chair of the board of governors of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America in 2009. Abraham earned her bachelor’s degree from American University and her MBA from the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania. Abraham’s discussion is free and open to all. -Jessica Smith
TOMLINSON HOSTS THORNTON WILDER’S “THE MATCHMAKER”
COURTESY RYAN BRANDENBERG
Roughly 100 women gathered for a leadership panel on March 7.
is a great way to meet new people. The events we hold are both personally and professionally satisfying.” Jade Barnes, a TWN director at large and a member of the events committee, said all of the organization’s events have had successful turnouts. “We are really thriving,” Barnes said. “Everyone is a real go getter. Our members are still driven to go to our events, even when they aren’t on [Main Campus].” On April 11, TWN will be travelling to Washington, D.C. for a chance to network with other alumnae from the nation’s capital. This is the organization’s second regional event – TWN travelled to New York City in February.
“We’re starting small – we’re starting here in Philadelphia, but we want to be able to benefit people who aren’t just living in the Philadelphia area,” Lawlor said. Lawlor said TWN owes its much of its success to its many board and committee members. The organization currently has five committees – events, community service, regional involvement, professional development and communications and marketing. “As a Temple female alumna, [TWN has] been incredible,” Lawlor said. “I feel honored and inspired to work with so many amazing women.”
Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” is an American play about the relationship between love and money. The play centers on the charming and charismatic character Dolly Levi. Dolly gets hired by the rich widower Horace Vandergelder to help broker fortunate marriages for himself and his niece Ermengarde, but Dolly has other plans. Filled with “mistaken identities, near-misses and a wild romp through 19th century New York,” The Matchmakers proves false the old saying that money can’t buy happiness. The first showing is Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. It will run until April 4 with alternating showings at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. “The Matchmaker” will show in Tomlinson Theater. Tickets are $10 with TUid and can be purchased in the Temple Theaters box office. -Jessica Smith
PHILADELPHIA SINGERS TO PERFORM SATURDAY
The Philadelphia Singers will perform on Saturday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Lew Klein Hall at Temple Performing Arts Center. The event will feature the paired works of Menotti’s “The Unicorn, The Gorgon and The Manticore” and the East Cost premiere of Jake Heggie’s “The Radio Hour.” Both works were chosen to explore the concept of the choir as both the storyteller and the character in the fantastical and imaginative tales and music. “The Radio Hour” is a blended form that includes a choir, one silent actor and dancer and a small instrumental ensemble. With David Hayes as the artistic director and Sean Curran as the choreographer, tickets are available through The Philadelphia Singers’ website. -Jessica Smith
* claire.sasko@temple.edu
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
“In honor of Women’s History Month, what woman in your life inspires you?
”
CLAIRE SASKO & ALEXA BRICKER TTN
“My aunt inspires me because she used to be a drug addict and she’s gotten her life back again and goes to school.”
VICTORIA ZIENKIEWICZ
SOPHOMORE | KINESIOLOGY
“All the women in my life that are my elders, whether it’s my family or educators. Obviously my mom and my grandma.”
“My mother. She holds down the house and does what she has to do, and that inspires me.”
ANDREW RODRIGUEZ
SAMANTHA PARDO
SOPHOMORE | MSP
SENIOR | PUBLIC HEALTH
SPORTS
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 17
SPORTS BRIEFS
Owls open spring season in Virginia With just two athletes competing for the Owls, the team finished tied for 18th place among women’s teams on the strip. Franke said it was unfortunate that more fencers didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championship as each squad is allowed to send two athletes to the tournament, but “it doesn’t negate the very good year that we had.” “We had some great wins this year and everyone contributed so that was very nice to see,” Franke said. The team finished the season No. 10 in the country and now the Owls look to rest before beginning preseason conditioning in a few months. -Danielle Nelson
GOLF
MATTHEWS, OWLS OPEN SPRING SEASON
ANDREW THAYER TTN FILE PHOTO
Senior receiver Jaylen Fitzpatrick advances the ball during the Owls’ 36-10 road win against Connecticut Sept. 27. Fitzpatrick, who led the team in receiving yards, participated in the Owls’ Pro Day with hopes of making an NFL team’s roster this coming summer.
CURRENT AND FORMER TEMPLE ATHLETES PARTICIPATE IN TEMPLE PRO DAY
Temple held its 2015 pro day last Wednesday, hosting a number of former and current Owls. The pro day, which took place at Edberg-Olson Hall and the Student Pavilion, hosted 19 participants and was attended by numerous NFL scouts. Seniors Jalen Fitzpatrick, Kenneth Harper, Anthony Robey and Marc Tyson were five of the 10 current and former Owls to participate in the event. The day began with measurements and physical testing (height, weight, arm span, hand size, vertical jump and bench press) in the morning, and ended with player workouts (40-yard dash, shuttle run, 60-yard shuttle, 3-cone drill, broad jump, position drills) in the afternoon. Three weeks after the Owls’ final game, Fitzpatrick underwent surgery to repair his injured groin. Despite a rehab process that he called “frustrating at times,” Fitzpatrick was just happy to get through the day. “It went OK for myself,” Fitzpatrick said. “I felt that I did well, considering the circumstances with the amount of time I had.” Now, Fitzpatrick, who registered a 32-inch vertical jump and nine reptitions on the bench press, plans on getting his health back on track. The Harrisburg native said he wasn’t able to do anything after the surgery for a month and a half. “I can get in shape ... really get stronger and hopefully if there’s another opportunity to improve my times, I’ll do that,” Fitzpatrick said In preparation for his day in front on the NFL scouts, Harper said he did not do “anything out of the ordinary.” “I just trained, tried to get my body prepared, get my body right,” Harper said. “It’s kind of a long day … I just had faith in
myself to perform.” For the Gainesville, Florida native, who registered a 32-inch vertical jump and 24 reps on the bench press, it was more about relaxing and not losing focus. “I took an approach a lot different than a lot of guys,” Harper said. “A lot of guys put a lot of pressure on themselves. But I didn’t put any pressure on myself.” -Michael Guise
FENCING TWO OWLS COMPETE IN NATIONALS
After 36 holes of play at the Middleburg Bank Intercollegiate at the Kingsmill Resort ‘s River Course in Williamsburg, Virginia, Temple ranks 27th out of the 30-team field. Junior Brandon Matthews led the Owls Sunday with a 3-over-par 73, and then followed up with a 1-under 69 Monday to move up to fifth place among all golfers in the competition. Outside of Matthews, the Owls have struggled. On Sunday, seniors Patrick Ross and Matt Teesdale finished the first round with scores of 9-over 79, and 10-over 80, respectively. Ross stroked an 13-over 83 on Monday, while Teesdale shot 79. After the first two days of competition, Teesdale is in a tie for 136th overall, while Ross is one stroke behind him in a tie for 139th. Freshmen Evan Thornton and Mark Farley each carded 10over 80s for the Owls on Sunday, and both stroked 85 and 86, respectively, on Monday. Maryland and the University of Loyola-Maryland are tied for the lead in the team competition with 573 strokes each, while Old Dominion’s Jamison Randall leads all individuals with a 1-under 131 through Monday. Play continues Tuesday at the par-70 course, which served as the longtime home of the Michelob Open on the PGA Tour and currently hosts the LPGA Kingsmill Championship. -Dalton Balthaser
FIELD HOCKEY
The women’s fencing team ended its season last weekend at the NCAA Fencing Championships as Safa Ibrahim and Fatima Largaespada were the lone Owls selected for the two-day national event. Making her first appearance in the national championship, Ibrahim finished 16th out of 23 competitors. On the first day of the tournament, Largaespada battled food poisoning, and struggled through her competitions. The junior was unable to rebound on the second day of the tournament placing 23rd in a 24-member foil class. “She was really ill on Saturday and had a hard time getting through the day,” coach Nikki Franke said. “So that definitely affected her performance that day.” At the end of the day on Saturday, the Mexico native recorded only four victories in 15 bouts in the round-robin format. The next day, Largaespada won one bout in her final two rounds. Throughout the two days, the foilist scored 60 touches but received 102 touches. Ibrahim, however, wrapped up the tournament with 10 victories, scoring 83 hits while receiving 96 of her own.
OWLS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
For the second year in a row, sophomore Elle Hempt has been named Gladiator by SGI/National Field Hockey College Association Division I Scholar of Distinction. Hempt – a speech, language and hearing science major – is one of 79 Division I field hockey student-athletes to earn Scholar Distinction honors for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher through the first semester of 2014-15. Hempt, a midfielder and a defender, has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her time at Temple. As a team, the Owls were honored as a National Academic Team for having a team GPA of above 3.0. In the fall semester, 16 members of the team earned a GPA of 3.3 or higher and all 16 were named to the Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA National Academic Squad – including senior Nicole Kroener, who was named to the National Academic Squad all four years of her career. -Michael Guise
Augustyn, Baldo make the switch from track
Continued from page 20
TRANSITION
a sport that doesn’t really require any coordination but more power, and thats what I went for.” Baldo, a freshman, has done just that. As the roster nearly doubled in size for 2014-15, the men’s novice coach, Dan Goettner, said Baldo has
feel as though “II had a slight
advantage over my other fellow novice teammates. Tyler Baldo | rower
”
emerged as one of his top rookie rowers. “He started showing up in the winter training workouts and started getting scores that were comparable to a lot of our varsity guys,” Goettner said. “That was when he started getting noticed.” In a recent 2,000-meter ergometer test – which measures rowers’ endurance levels and mental strength – Baldo recorded a personal-best mark of 6 minutes, 27.2 seconds. Goettner said Baldo’s time, which checks in at 15 seconds off the varsity team’s average, is above average for a rower with his
experience. Baldo attributed his early success to his running background. “With long distance running I always had to strike a perfect balance between power and endurance,” Baldo said. “When I made the switch over to crew, I found to my surprise that most of the power within the stroke comes from the push off the legs, using the same muscles as running.” “I feel as though I had a slight advantage over my other fellow novice teammates,” Baldo added. “While most of them had to build up strength and endurance in the legs, I really only had to focus on the strength because the endurance carried straight over.” “It’s a lot of the same motions and muscle movements,” Baldo said. The similarities between the two sports also led Augustyn to the rowing team. The junior ran for Temple’s cross country program through her first two years at the university. After making the switch, the West Chester, Pennsylvania, native sits atop this season’s novice class. The rowing team opened up the season last Saturday with a young squad. Almost half of the 49-member roster are novices. Women’s coach Rebecca Grzybowski said her team’s 21 freshmen are true novices, in addition to about six novice sophomores, not including Augustyn, the lone novice upperclassmen. Grzybowski said the uncertainty of the program’s future a season ago limited her ability to recruit.
DONALD OTTO TTN
Members of the rowing team race Saturday on the Schuylkill in their first competition of the spring season.
“This year we had a pretty heavy novice population just because we didn’t do a ton of recruiting last year with everything that we had going on,” Grzybowski said. Nevertheless, Grzybowski is confident in the way her team will perform this season. “We have a pretty healthy mix [with] enough leadership in each boat,” Grzybowski said, “from people who have been there, done that, but also a new drive and fresh perspective from people who haven’t.” Despite a young team, Grzybowski said the team’s vision remains the
same. “The goal is medaling at [the Schukuyl’s annual Dad Vail Regatta] in as many boats as we possibly can, which would be a big step in the right direction,” Grzybowski said. “We haven’t done that in multiple events since the mid-90s.” With only the men’s junior varsity 8 boat to win a medal last season, both teams started training in the fall in order to help their novice classes learn and hone rowing fundamentals and techniques. With the arrival of the spring, though, both teams have returned to
the Schuylkill on weekdays to work on racing speed, which requires more teamwork on the boat as opposed to individual skill alone. Working as part of a unit on the river, Augustyn said, will be her greatest challenge entering the season. “I am used to playing a sport where it may be a team sport, but you are still on your own,” Augustyn said. “What you do only affects yourself, where in this sport what you do affects everybody.” * danielle.nelson@temple.edu
SPORTS
PAGE 18
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
CHIP FRENETTE TTN
Junior forward Jaylen Bond fights for a rebound against George Washington senior forward John Kopriva last Sunday during the Owls’ 90-77 win. Bond recorded 15 rebounds, and is averaging 8.2 boards per game.
Bond, Owls battle through first two rounds of NIT Continued from page 20
BOND
For Bond, the improvement came largely in part to some extra rest for his ailing ankles. “[My ankles] definitely felt better going in today,” Bond said. “I felt like I could push off both my ankles a little bit better so I could get some easy rebounds. … [Extra rest] was big, just to give my ankles a couple days of rest was good for me. I feel like I’m getting back to where I need to be at to play 100 percent.” Bond fell four rebounds shy of outrebound-
ing the entire George Washington team at the half, and pitched in for nearly 40 percent of the team’s total rebounds in the game. “He’s so terrific rebounding the ball,” Owls coach Fran Dunphy said. “He’s so quick to the ball, he’s got great hands. It’s nice to see that number posted on the boards for sure.” Bond averages 8.2 rebounds per game for the Owls, in addition to 1.5 steals per game in his first season of eligibility after transferring from Texas, where he saw limited minutes. The Owls, who went 9-22 last season, allowed 78.1 points per game while allowing opponents to 47 percent from the field. In the turnaround 25-10 season for the squad, the defensive
effort has led to teams averaging 17 less points allowed through the year. Dunphy, who said he needed Bond to be “a spectacular defensive player in order to be a good team” days before the beginning of the season, pointed to Bond’s defensive efforts as the major difference in the 17-point swing in statistics. “Somebody asked me that again today, ‘What’s the change in our defense?’” Dunphy said Sunday afternoon. “He’s the reason why we are where we are numbers-wise I think from last year to this year.” The Owls will now shift their focus toward Louisiana Tech, who beat No. 2-seed Texas A&M in an 84-72 second-round contest Monday at
Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The Owls topped the Bulldogs 82-75 at the Liacouras Center on Nov. 17. Since the win, the squad gained the services of senior transfer guard Jesse Morgan and junior transfer guard Devin Coleman, who combine for nearly 16 points per game for the squad. “They have great scorers on the wing and some versatile bigs,” Bond said. “Against them we have to be smart and listen to our team concepts from our coach.” * esmith@temple.edu ( 215.204. 9537 T @ejsmitty17
Continued from page 20
PARENT
In six of the last nine seasons, Temple qualified for the NCAA tournament. Yet, through all of it, attendance numbers have fallen short. That Temple has drawn an average of less than 6,000 fans 10 times in the last 13 seasons is a glaring reality amid an era in which its athletic department has repeatedly expressed a desire to join the nation’s elite. In an October 2014 interview with three senior department administrators, Deputy Director of Athletics Pat Kraft told The Temple News that in order to draw attendance numbers that compete with traditionally-competitive programs in both football and basketball, it starts with the student body. “The students are what drives [the] energy,” Kraft said. “That’s a big push for us, is to get our students to really buy in. … At any department, that’s what brings the energy in the building.” And yet, large chunks of cherrycolored seats remain unfilled for a typical game at the Liacouras Center, and it’s not for lack of effort from the student section, which has consistently filled the bulk of its end of the building for much of the season. It’s the other side of the building that reflects the problem. Including NIT games last week against Bucknell and George Washington University, in which respective crowds of 3,862 and 3,404 turned up, the program’s average attendance of 5,873, which is 58 percent of the arena’s capacity, hasn’t been lower since Dunphy’s first season at the helm. Without those NIT contests, Temple averaged 7,246 fans per game in 16 regular-season games, the program’s best since the 2011-12 season. Granted, a sellout when defending national champion Connecticut paid a visit
I thought we had a really good crowd “ [against Bucknell]. It’s not going to knock
”
them dead numbers-wise, but I thought everybody was into it. Fran Dunphy | coach
HUA ZONG TTN FILE PHOTO
Owls coach Fran Dunphy shouts to his team during the Owls’ 40-37 season-opening win against American University on Nov. 14 at the Liacouras Center.
ticked that number upward. Contests against Tulane and Houston during the final six weeks of the season, games in which attendance eclipsed the 7,000 mark against two bottom-half teams in The American, were examples of a rejuvenated energy that surrounded the program amid its push for an NCAA tournament bid. And while the NIT offers itself as
a consolation prize to NCAA bubble teams such as this season’s Temple squad, a large chunk of the fans that rocked the Liacouras Center no more than a few weeks ago no longer showed up once the Owls fell on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. “I thought the atmosphere was great [against Bucknell Wednesday],” Dunphy said after Temple’s six-point
defeat of the Bison in a first-round NIT game. “I thought we had a really good crowd. It’s not going to knock them dead numbers-wise, but I thought everybody was into it.” The student ensemble contributed to a respectable volume around the building that day, while the alumni numbers dropped significantly. Through a season in which the
Owls have won 25 games in a turnaround campaign, they’ve done so in front of an inconsistent and, at times, puzzling fanbase. * andrew.parent@temple.edu ( 215.204. 9537 T @Andrew_Parent23
SPORTS
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
PAGE 19
tennis
Tennis squads moving back to Student Pavilion The squad will make the switch from the indoors to outdoor matches. DALTON BALTHASER The Temple News The trees behind the Student Pavilion’s tennis courts have been taken down as the men’s and women’s tennis teams prepare to switch back to an outdoor practice schedule. After playing out the winter months at the Legacy Center in the city’s East Falls section, the teams will begin transitioning to a different type of court with different conditions. With the change in courts also comes a change in weather conditions, affecting how the game is played on the outdoor surface compared to an indoor capacity. “Wind is a huge part of outdoor tennis,” sophomore Filip Stipcic said. “The ball is so small and [the wind] can make the game interesting because the ball can go anywhere. The sun plays a huge part, as well, because sometimes you can’t see to serve a ball and sometimes you are blind trying to return the ball.” After spending almost two months at Legacy, which features slippery court surfaces that increase serve and return speeds, the teams have to adapt to the different surface at the Pavilion. The courts at the Pavilion feature a rougher playing surface that lowers the average ball speed compared to Legacy. These conditions call for players to work hard for each point, sophomore Vineet Naran said, unlike the easier points they can earn indoors. “Indoors, there are a lot of free points and not as many long rallies,”
ALEX BEAUFORT TTN FILE PHOTO
Junior Maros Januvka practices at the Legacy Center in East Falls. Januvka and the squad are set to move back to the Student Pavilion as the weather warms and the outdoor season begins.
there are a lot free points and not as many long rallies, “withIndoors, the slower court conditions [rallies] are much longer without many free points at all. ” Vineet Naran | sophomore athlete
Naran said. “With the slower court conditions, [rallies] are much longer without many free points at all. [Slower court conditions] definitely lengthen the point … the points outdoors are earned much more than indoors.” The men and women’s teams also have a combined total of 13 international athletes, most of whom grew up playing
on slower court surfaces. Some of them see the transition as a competitive advantage. “Most of us are from countries that play on clay courts, which are a slower surface,” Stipcic said. “For the majority of us, playing outside is so much better in all aspects of our games, because [the softer court conditions] are what we are
used to playing.” Indoors, strong players are more likely to succeed because of the speed of their returns and serves, junior Maros Januvka said. Outside, the player with the most finesse and placement of the ball on rallies has the advantage. “A player that hits and returns big indoors will not be able to do that out-
doors,” Januvka said. “The outdoor conditions will slow that person down in the strength of their balls. Outdoors, the ball is slower and it goes more vertical making it easier to put spin on the ball, which allows a more consistent shot.” “I think that the strength of serves and returns goes down about 25 percent,” he added. “The reaction time changes, as well. Indoors, you get less time to react. That reaction time almost doubles when you play outside.” Because the ball skips on indoor courts, players are more likely to rear back and serve as well as return with power. The strategy often makes them able to get easy points, as it gives the stronger hitters an advantage. Outdoor court play consists more of long rallies and playing deep balls from the baseline. Naran said placement becomes an important part in serving, as well as trying to earn each point. Without the ability to serve or return big, pinpointing locations to serve and return become vital. Consistency, Naran said, is the most important part of outdoor success. Throughout the year, coach Steve Mauro has emphasized his players be in top shape. Mauro said strong conditioning can give a player the edge outdoors by being able to move laterally amid long rallies. “I think that my teams are better outdoors,” Mauro said. “Many of the players being international students are used to the slower surfaces. As a team, our style of play is to work the point more and indoors the point goes quickly. Playing outdoors gives us an advantage that we wouldn’t have indoors.” * dalton.balthaser@temple.edu T @DaltonBalthaser
women’s basketball
Robinson flourishes in comeback performance The sophomore center tallied nine points in her 10-minute performance following a foot injury. OWEN MCCUE The Temple News Taylor Robinson sat on the bench at the Palestra, eagerly awaiting a chance to make an impact. The sophomore forward spent the previous 42 days without seeing court action due to a lingering foot injury but was cleared last week to return to practice. Given the opportunity to return, Robinson worked diligently to earn the minutes that had eluded her during the final stretch of the season. In her first opportunity to see game action since Feb. 7, Robinson capitalized, playing a significant role in the Owls’ 61-56 win against Big 5 rival University of Pennsylvania in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. “I was just really excited to get in the game,” Robinson said following the contest. “I really wanted to help my team out, that was really what pushed me to get in there.” Robinson, who tallied nine points on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with two rebounds and a block in 10 minutes of play, celebrated the team’s vengeance of its rival in the postseason. “It’s just the best feeling to come back and beat [Penn],” Robinson said. “They beat us the first time by two points, to come back and beat them [at the Palestra], it just feels great.” Owls coach Tonya Cardoza said Robinson’s minutes were contingent on her own game-by-game performance early in the season and was pleased with the forward’s performance. “It’s just her effort,” Cardoza said on Robinson’s return to action on Sunday. “She’s been committed the past week or so. I told you when she had a great night [against Cincinnati on Jan. 20], ‘Taylor determines her playing time.’ When she comes to practice and she busts her butt in practice, she’s rewarded with playing time.” Robinson, who was a McDonald’s
All-American nominee in high school, had high expectations headed into her collegiate career. Last season, Robinson played in 24 games and started 11 of them. The St. Louis, Missouri native ended the season averaging 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, which earned her a spot on the American Athletic Conference’s Allfreshman team. However, Robinson has shown flashes of strong play. She netted 15 points and four rebounds against Howard in 29 minutes of action. In Temple’s second meeting with Cincinnati in January, Robinson sank 14 points while logging 16 minutes. However, the bulk of her season featured a hiccup in Robinson’s development. Her numbers are down to 4.5 points per game and 2.6 rebounds so far this season. Even before her recent injuries, Robinson found it difficult to keep herself on the court. She has played in 22 of the team’s 34 games this year and averages 13.3 minutes per game. Despite the Owls’ obvious need for an inside scorer, the sophomore found her minutes varying from game to game. For example, in the following game after her solid performance against Howard, she logged only three minutes of action. Robinson said her inability to become a steady presence inside hurt the squad early in the season. “[It was] very frustrating for everyone,” Robinson said. “Not just me, but the coaches [and] my teammates. I wasn’t consistent and that hurt the team. So I’m trying to make [Sunday’s win] carry into the next season [by] taking care of my body … getting in the best shape I can and just working hard.” Another reason for this is conditioning. While her 6-foot-4-inch frame provides an obvious advantage over smaller defenders on the offensive side of the ball, her ability to defend smaller players, especially those who can shoot outside, has been a work in progress. Cardoza subbed Robinson in and out on offense and defense late in Sunday’s game because of this. Robinson is aware she needs to find a way to address this issue in the offsea-
son so she can stay on the court more often next season. “Basically, just taking care of my body because that has been an issue,” Robinson said of how she can continue to improve and stay on the floor. “I’ve had a lot of injuries this year. So taking care of my body, getting in the best shape I can and just working hard.” Robinson and her teammates both know that it is important for the team she finds a way on to the court. Even when she is not scoring, her presence can open up space for her teammates and help relieve pressure. Her teammate in the post, sophomore Safiya Martin, said her and Robinson’s complementary playing styles are essential for the team’s success. “We’re two different types of post players,” Martin said. “She’s more of a scorer. I’m more of a defensive player. When both of us are playing at our top game, doing what we’re supposed to be doing, it’s a different game out there.” Sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald said she sees her teammate as a mismatch problem for other teams. “Nobody can check her,” Fitzgerald said. “Taylor’s a great player. I’m so happy she’s back now. Hopefully, she continues doing what she’s doing, working hard and help us win more games.” Whether Robinson can be a consistent post presence for the Owls next season will not be decided in the WNIT. While she put up solid numbers in Sunday’s contest, Robinson was on the floor for one-fourth of the game. It appeared like she was reaching her full potential after her performance in the Howard and Cincinnati games, but she failed to maintain that level of play. Cardoza said she is aware of this, but hopes Robinson’s performance in the game against Penn can be a building block moving forward. “Until she really realizes her worth, it’s going to be difficult for her,” Cardoza said. “Hopefully [Sunday] was one of those days where it finally clicks that she can change the game for us on the offensive end.” * owen.mccue@temple.edu T @Owen_McCue
DONALD OTTO TTN
Coach Tonya Cardoza watches the women’s basketball team’s 69-58 win against Tulane Feb 17.
Despite lower seeding, Cardoza’s squad makes Sweet 16 tourney run Continued from page 20
TOURNEY
fingers and hoping we made the NIT … we know what it is to feel like our season is over and so we are going to fight.” The postseason has given the Owls another chance to play, which Martin said has helped everyone focus. “It’s one or done,” Martin said. “So it’s not like, ‘Oh we have tomorrow to get it right.’ So now it’s like, ‘Get everything right and pay attention,’ and everybody is doing that.” After a 3-7 start to the season – including two losses more than 20 points to Georgetown and Rutgers universities, Martin said no one on the Owls would have envisioned this success. “Earlier in the season, it was a little rough,” Martin said. “Nobody would have ever thought we would have made it this far. So to actually be here, in the Sweet 16 of NIT tournament – playing together, doing the little things, paying attention, communicating – it’s thrilling. I can’t even explain it.” Despite all the early-season struggles, Cardoza knew that her young team of eight underclassmen needed to gain experience to “understand what we are doing.” “Early on, we were losing games because we didn’t know how to play,” Cardoza said. “It was just foreign and new and even during that time, we
were confident. All we needed was some more time.” Cardoza also lauded her team’s resilience, as the early-season troubles didn’t deter them from a strong finish. “It’s a credit to those guys for not giving up on the situation and believing in each other and keeping the faith
Nobody would “ have ever thought
we would have made it this far. ... it’s thrilling.
”
Safiya Martin | sophomore center
and working really hard,” Cardoza said. “From the start, I tell them we are going to fight until the end and that’s why we are still here.” Headed into the Sweet 16, sophomore guard Feyonda Fitzgerald said the team is playing its best basketball. “I think we could do better, but as of now, I think we are doing very well because we are sticking together as a team and keeping each other up,” Fitzgerald said. “We are doing what we have to do. Everyone is doing their part.” * michael.guise@temple.edu T @Michael_Guise
SPORTS MAKING THE SWITCH
The men’s and women’s tennis teams are set to begin outdoor competition after a winter spent at the Legacy Center. PAGE 19
Our sports blog
thecherry.temple-news.com
EMERGING LATE
OWLS SHOWCASE NFL HOPEFULS
Sophomore forward Taylor Robinson has gotten back on the court during the women’s basketball team’s NIT run. PAGE 19
The football team hosted its annual pro day, the tennis teams give back to the community, other news and notes. PAGE 17
temple-news.com
PAGE 20
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
Bond propels Owls on defense in NIT
Jaylen Bond has boosted the team’s defensive effort in a turnaround season.
The Liacouras Center attendance is far too low for a 25-win team.
P
eter Liacouras’ namesake once drew 8,481 fans on an ordinary night. In the Liacouras Center’s first season bearing the name of Temple’s former president, two years after its opening, Temple basketball fans filled the bulk of the arena each night to support a team that finished the 1999-2000 season as the country’s No. 5-ranked team under former coach John Chaney. When the team went 24-13 en route to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2000-01? An average of 7,138 showed up. In a 1915 campaign that featured an National Invitation Tournament invite ANDREW PARENT in 2001-02? 7,123. That following season, attendance dropped to an average of 5,202, kicking off a trend that has haunted the sixth-winningest men’s basketball program in Division I for the better part of 15 seasons. While Chaney’s teams began to fall from the national ranks as a new decade arrived, their fans slowly disappeared, often leaving the university’s 10,200-seat spectacle barren on the inside by game time. Temple boasts a program that has flirted with a Sweet 16 bid twice in the last five years, losing narrowly in the NCAA tournament’s Round of 32 in 2011 and 2013. The Owls swiped Atlantic 10 Conference titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and have knocked off Top 10 opponents in six of the last seven seasons.
PARENT PAGE 18
EJ SMITH Sports Editor
A
CHIP FRENETTE TTN
(TOP): Junior forward Jaylen Bond high-fives teammates during the Owls’ 90-77 win against George Washington in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Bond recorded 15 rebounds and eight points. (LEFT): Owls coach Fran Dunphy talks to the team during a timeout. (RIGHT): Senior guard Jesse Morgan attempts a layup during his 20-point performance against George Washington.
Unexpected bid seized by underdog Owls
crew & rowing
The squad didn’t have expectations for a postseason berth, but has capitalized through two playoff games.
Two former track athletes have switched to the crew and rowing teams.
SPORTS DESK 215-204-9537
BOND PAGE 18
Swapping spikes for the Schuylkill DANIELLE NELSON The Temple News
MICHAEL GUISE The Temple News Tonya Cardoza had put the season in the books. Despite watching her squad fight back to postseason eligibility by reaching the .500 mark, Temple’s seventh-year women’s basketball coach said she didn’t expect to receive a postseason bid, and wasn’t going to lead her team to believe the season would continue. Nearly two weeks later, the Owls are headed to the Sweet 16 of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament after a 61-56 win against Big 5 rival University of Pennsylvania at the Palestra. Despite the squad’s improved play against the Quakers, who beat the Owls 5250 on Jan. 5, Cardoza said the message in
fter most games, Jaylen Bond sinks both of his legs into a gatorade cooler filled with ice water while catching his breath in the locker room. Suffering his first ankle sprain days before the season opener, the junior forward isn’t sure he’s felt 100 percent during the majority of games in his first eligible season with the Owls after transferring from Texas. After finishing up a 15-rebound effort en route to the Owls’ 90-77 win against National Invitation Tournament foe George Washington University, the 6-foot-7 forward remembered the sadness he felt for the team’s seniors last Selection Sunday, and took homage in the fact that the group now has one more game at the Liacouras Center. “I felt bad for my seniors since it was their last chance to make the tournament,” Bond said following the game. “I wasn’t really thinking personally about myself when we didn’t get in. I was just thinking about my teammates and how hard they’ve worked during the offseason.” Bond added to his 15 rebounds with a total of eight points, three assists and a steal in 30-minutes of play. The day proved a marked improvement from his previous two games against Southern Methodist and Bucknell, respectively, when he averaged 17.5 minutes and five rebounds. Bond’s minutes were also his highest total in nearly a month, when he tallied 33 minutes against Houston Feb. 26.
ALEX BEAUFORT TTN
Senior guard Tyonna Williams handles the ball during the Owls’ 79-69 win against East Carolina on Feb. 28. Williams netted 13 points in the squad’s first game against the Pirates.
practice before the tournament was to “start over” for next year, instead of preparing for any opponents. “It wasn’t about postseason, it was about next year,” Cardoza said. “So everything we did in practice for those four days was about next year because I didn’t want them to get their hopes up.” After nine days of waiting, the Owls were selected as an at-large team to participate in the WNIT for the first time since
2011-12. With a matchup against North Carolina State on Thursday in the Sweet 16, sophomore Safiya Martin said the Owls will continue to use the same motivation that has driven the team all postseason – the fear of not playing basketball anymore. “That feeling is giving us a burning fire inside of us,” Martin said. “After we lost to the East Carolina game, it was crossing our
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SPORTS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
Both Janie Augustyn and Tyler Baldo lost their passion, and desperately searched for a change. After spending the better part of their lives as track & field athletes, the two reached the college level, and gained interest in Temple’s storied crew and rowing programs. Augustyn, a junior, and Baldo, a freshman, have traded in their spikes for oars ahead of the spring season to join the rowing team and crew team, respectively. Both have been middle and long distance runners for most of their lives, but
agreed it was time for a change. “It just started to feel like a job to me and I feel like I wasn’t giving 100 percent anymore,” Augustyn said. “It wasn’t fair to my teammates, coaches or myself so I was ready for a change.” “I couldn’t get my time
I feel like I “ wasn’t giving
100 percent anymore. It wasn’t fair to my teammates.
”
Janie Augustyn | novice rower
down any faster,” Baldo added. “So I figured I better join
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