The Temple News

THE TEMPLE NEWS

WHAT’S INSIDE

SPORTS, PAGE 26

The Temple News’ review found discrepancies in promotions between Temple Men’s and Women’s Basketball.

OPINION, PAGE 10

A student describes her experience with leaving Catholicism.

THE MUSIC ISSUE

Philadelphia has always been a hot spot for music. From the DIY scene to the Uptown Theater, read about North Philly music culture on Pages 16-25

CAMPUS

General Education set to undergo changes

The Gen Ed program plans to spend next year applying reforms following an internal review.

BY KAYLA BRYAN Assistant News Editor

Temple will be reforming its General Education program by next academic year. The university established a 27-person task force to engage in a review of the program, including faculty from every college, students, advisors, deans and staf members.

The program is currently exploring how to strengthen the relationship between General Education courses and majors, allow General Education to become a pathway into a major, improve the role of General Education in the transfer experience and enhance its overall cohesiveness, wrote Dustin Kidd, director of General Education, in a message to The Temple News.

The General Education program conducted a self-study in Fall 2022 as part of the university’s strategic plan. They examined data regarding Temple’s General Education during the past several years through various surveys, centering student feedback in its evaluation.

The self-study was handed to external reviewers and General Education experts from University of Alabama-Birmingham and Virginia, Kidd wrote. The reviewers visited Temple in February 2023 and submitted their report on the program in March 2023.

“They met with a large number of students, faculty, staf, and administrators while they were here and produced a report with a set of recommendations,” Kidd wrote. “But their strongest recommendation was to gather more information before implementing any change.”

The review, which initially began in June 2023, will wrap up this year. The program will spend the next year developing proposals for a program revision.

The program is gathering information to review by conducting student focus groups in a classroom takeover

style, distributing student feedback forms and meeting with university professionals, staf and administrators.

Kidd expects to hold more classroom takeovers and further foster direct engagement with the Temple community this semester. He will also be in the Howard Gittis Student Center on March 18 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., giving out free pretzels and inviting students to talk about General Education or complete a survey.

“We are also hosting additional focus groups with adjunct faculty and with advisors,” Kidd wrote. “I have personally given presentations and held Q&As with the faculty of almost all colleges [with two left] and I have presented twice to the faculty senate. I have also met with every dean and many administrators.”

In addition to an internal analysis, the program is also traveling to national conferences and participating in online workshops to examine how other universities ofer General Education.

Daniel Berman, vice provost for undergraduate studies, hopes General Education can eventually become something incoming students look forward to taking at the university.

“Our ideal is that General Education can become something that draws students to Temple,” Berman wrote in an email to The Temple News. “It will be a strength of our curriculum and a reason to come here. It will engage, energize, and facilitate a lifetime of exploration, learning, and also success beyond Temple.”

Provost Gregory Mandel announced updates surrounding the university’s strategic plan, an efort launched during the Fall 2022 semester, in a Feb. 8 message to the Temple community.

The announcement included General Education Reform in a list of highlighted initiatives that are well underway and concluded with an instruction for the Temple community to report feedback to a specialized email.

Shohreh Amini, faculty senate president, spoke on General Education

Reform at the most recent Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 30. “[Kidd] was talking to us about using some 1000-level courses for Gen Ed courses,” Amini said at the Board meeting. “One of the things that came up was the speed of which we’re having a reform for Gen Ed. They expect a few years, up to four, but then I think, for existing students, that would not serve a purpose because they’re going to be graduating.”

Berman believes the current timeline and speed in which General Education Reform is taking place is necessary.

“We have mapped out a multiyear plan for evaluation, proposals for change, and ultimately implementation,” Berman wrote. “Once we settle on a new structure, we will need to spend time implementing it properly before we can roll out a new General Education program to an incoming class. We are looking at the program as a whole.”

Cianie Lee, a junior psychology major, believes an improvement in the curriculum of all General Education courses is necessary for the university

to make General Education perceived as less of a requirement and more enriching.

“All of the courses need to be less hard or just looked at because [Gen Ed courses are] required to graduate and God forbid a student can’t understand Plato by just being handed the books or by a math teacher just lecturing math,” Lee said.

kayla.bryan@temple.edu

FERNANDO GAXIOLA / THE TEMPLE NEWS Temple aims to transition its Gen Ed program to 1000-level courses.

Survey highlights course materials cost for students

RESEARCH Students at Temple are more concerned with extra costs of classes than others.

BY SIDNEY ROCHNIK News Editor

Temple Libraries surveyed 242 Temple students in the Spring and Fall 2023 semesters in collaboration with Afordable Learning PA to assess students’ feelings and experiences with purchasing course materials for classes.

The April and September 2023 surveys — funded by Afordable Learning PA, an organization of librarians and academics working toward textbook afordability for students — found that Temple students experience a higher level of concern about the cost of course materials compared to state and national levels.

The survey also concluded that almost all Temple students attempt to reduce the cost of materials and nearly

40 percent will go without the required materials to avoid expenses entirely.

“We want to create, across the state of Pennsylvania, more awareness about how the cost of course materials is going to have an impact on students beyond just paying for those materials,” said Steven Bell, associate university librarian. “It can have an impact on what major they decide, it can have an impact on what course they might take, on whether or not in the course if they decide not to buy a textbook.”

Bell hopes, in addition to contributing to the statewide data gathered for ALPA, the survey helps inform faculty of the problems students face and leads them toward resources outside of the commercial textbook.

As one of the 14 participating institutions, Temple sent the survey to a random set of 2,000 students in twoweek time frames in April and September 2023 to gather student responses through a combination of open-ended

and multiple choice questions.

Fifty percent of students expressed “moderate to extreme” concern about meeting their course materials cost for that semester, compared to 44 percent of all Pennsylvania students and 30 percent of students nationwide.

“I’m broke and have to pay for my own [stuf],” said Joseph Cooper, a sophomore fnance major. “This year I have to pay for my food and next year I have to pay my own rent. I can’t aford to drop 200 on multiple classes, which is what some of those classes require.”

Only seven percent of Temple students reported their fnancial aid covers some of the course materials costs, whereas 23 percent of Pennsylvania students and 54 percent of students nationwide reported their fnancial aid would.

Ninety-nine percent of Temple students have attempted to reduce the cost of course materials. The survey found that 82 percent of respondents looked for a free version online, making

it the most common strategy.

“Last semester I had to buy a $120 textbook and it was way too much.” said Massin Labri, a junior political science major and Chinese minor. “I only used it for a semester, it’s just not worth it. If it’s for a class that’s my minor, it doesn’t make sense. I’m already paying a lot for college tuition. The book should be accessible or it should be provided.”

Even with the diferent strategies a student might utilize to lower costs, 53 percent of Temple students said they occasionally or frequently do not purchase a required textbook to avoid the cost entirely. Forty-four percent of Pennsylvania students and 37 percent of students nationwide also said they occasionally or frequently chose to go without required materials.

Bell believes plenty of faculty care about the material cost of their courses, but aren’t aware of their options to reduce that cost.

Temple Libraries provides fnancial incentives for professors to lower the cost of their courses through Textbook Afordability Project awards, grants of $500-$1,500 to professors transitioning from textbooks to free resources. The North Broad Press, a publishing project, gives grants to professors to write their own publicly available textbooks.

Other Open Educational Resource options include Openstax and the Open Textbook Library, and free Etextbooks available through Temple Libraries.

Jingwei Wu, an epidemiology and biostatistics professor, has received a TAP award from the library three times within the past four years to completely remove the cost of textbooks, which are often $120, from his courses.

Wu conducted a similar survey for his own courses after receiving his frst grant in 2019 and found that while 60 percent of his students purchased the required textbook, 75 percent found the textbook useful, proving to him that the resources were worthwhile but weren’t accessible, he said.

Wu re-surveyed his students after his transition to an Openstax textbook and found that 85 percent used the

FERNANDO GAXIOLA / THE TEMLPE NEWS

Temple Libraries surveyed 242 Temple students in the Spring and Fall 2023 semesters to access students’ feelings and experienecs with purchasing course materials for classes.

free textbook.

“The students appreciated, not only [being] released from the worry about fnancial constraint, but it also increased their interest in the studies,” Wu said.

Matt Hall teaches “The World of Sign Languages,” a class he began using OERs in part because he was aware of the fnancial burden students may take on from course materials. Hall also believes, as a hearing person, he can’t position himself as an expert on the deaf and hard of hearing community – creating his own resources allowed him to center the community in the class.

Hall, a communication sciences and disorders professor, used the money from his TAP award to work with diferent interpreters and conduct interviews with deaf and hard of hearing people from around the world, who all use different sign languages.

There was no existing resource that would give the students the same experience, so he took the opportunity to create his own, he said.

“I’m pretty committed to [no cost classes,]” Hall added. “I’m not always in control of what I teach. Sometimes I get an assignment where I have to coordinate with another instructor, which was the case last year. But even when that’s the case, I try to push my fellow instructors to see, why are we insisting? What is the value? Are there alternatives?”

The library relies on faculty volunteering information about their courses to track how many classes use OERs. Out of 12,000 courses ofered this semester, there are 193 records of faculty

using OERs.

While faculty will always be in control of the resources they require in their classes, the state government may be able to provide more support to the fnancial issue.

Colorado’s state government provides support on textbook afordability, which Bell believes Pennsylvania should do as well. Colorado has provided grants to multiple institutions through the Colorado OER Grant Program to adopt OER into higher education.

These resources aren’t a perfect ft for every course. Alissa Smethers requires textbooks for her nutrition classes; she considered transitioning to OERs before and tried working with library staf to do so, but was unsuccessful.

“It’s hard to fnd open resources that are tailored specifcally to the science of nutrition,” said Smethers, a social and behavioral sciences professor. “A comprehensive textbook that we can use across sections, that we know students are getting that consistent, basic knowledge — we can all use the same source, we know it’s been reviewed.”

Smethers believes OERs can remove some fnancial burden for students, but textbooks remain necessary to meet specifc competencies of the courses.

“The commercial textbook industry has a big head start on us,” Bell

said “We need to look at where there are pockets within the institution where the results of this survey can have an impact in encouraging us to look at other options. It’s a spectrum of options from things that cost a lot of money to things that are free. Where can we fnd ourselves on that spectrum?”

sidney.rochnik@temple.edu

Students for Justice in Palestine holds “die-in” for Rafah

Members lay down in silence to protest on-going strikes in the city on Feb. 21.

BY DAIVIK BEWTRA For The Temple News

Students for Justice in Palestine organized a “die-in for Rafah” outside Charles Library Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The students gathered near the main entrance of the library and, after listening to a poem, a few dozen participants lay on the ground in silence for an hour. Large banners draped around them on the ground read, “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” and “Why are we afraid to talk about Gaza?”

“A die-in is a symbolic way of silent protest,” said Besan, an SJP member who chose not to share their last name for safety reasons. “We didn’t say any words, nothing, just laid on the foor to show what’s going on in a silent way.”

The demonstration shows support for Rafah, a Palestinian city under a series of Israeli strikes since Feb. 11. Israel planned to expand its ground offensive into Rafah, the last place of relative safety in Gaza, if Hamas did not free Israeli hostages by the start of Ramadan, which began Feb. 20, The Associated Press reported. More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

“I think we somewhat achieved what we were trying to do by putting it in people’s faces,” said an SJP organizer to the crowd. “[It was for] those who refuse to see the pictures, those who refuse to see the images and videos coming out.”

SJP has issued several demands to the Temple administration, including calls to recognize SJP, protect Temple students, call for a ceasefre and an end to the dehumanization of Palestinians.

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack

on Israel, the university wrote a statement condemning terrorism, stating, “There is never any excuse for the despicable acts of terroristic violence that we have witnessed.”

The university wrote in another statement to the Temple community that it “unequivocally [condemns] antisemitism, Islamophobia and other acts of hatred and discrimination.” Temple encouraged students to seek out any support they may need through university safety and counseling services.

“Now our biggest demand from the university is to divest,” the organizer said. “That includes weapon corporations, places that are on the [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement’s] list, like Starbucks and HP, that we all use in the computer labs, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Our main demands

are to cut all ties between all contracts and not renew contracts to stop actively investing money from our tuition money.”

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement calls for boycotts of companies deemed supportive of Israel’s actions in Palestine, according to The Washington Post.

“I personally feel like I can’t stand by while innocent Palestinians are being killed and murdered,” said Alejandro, a dance major who attended the protest and also chose not to share their last name for safety reasons. “I think it’s important to get numbers and it’s power in people that’s worth it.”

SJP planned the die-in in a central location on campus so many students would have to walk around the protestors on their way to classes, increasing

the demonstration’s visibility.

“I think [a passerby should get] awareness on campus,” Besan said. “I think it’s critical to even mention the word Palestine because [Temple hasn’t]. They’ve never acknowledged the Palestinian student body on their campus.”

SJP has organized various other protests, including a sit-in at the Howard Gittis Student Center and marches down Broad Street.

“I think it’s symbolic of the actual scenes that are going on,” Besan said. “If you go to [Palestine], you’ll fnd that the foor is flled with dead bodies because there is nowhere to bury them.”

daivik.bewtra@temple.edu

PABLO ROUCO / THE TEMPLE NEWS Students for Justice in Palestine organized a “die-in for Rafah” outside Charles Library Wednesday.

PABLO ROUCO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

CAMPUS

Explaining TSG’s infuence on university decisions

Some students are not aware of the student government’s authority within student affairs.

BY KAYLA BRYAN Assistant News Editor

Temple Student Government, led by the Empower Owls campaign who were recognized for their increased voter turnout in the March 2023 TSG election, is working to prioritize student feedback in their endeavors despite some students being unaware of TSG’s existence and their role in campus life.

Since their election in March 2023, TSG introduced two student-led committees focused on helping and attaining more feedback from students and are continuing to try to address students’ needs with the help of the university.

“Our continued mission is to put students frst in decisions made by Temple, the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of PA,” wrote TSG President Rohan Khadka in a message to The Temple News. “TSG actively listens, engages and works with the Temple community to create programs, resources and services as the bridge between university stakeholders and students.”

However, some students, like Rylan Listman, are not aware of TSG’s authority within student afairs, let alone that the university has a student-led governing body. A lack of visibility directly impacts whether TSG can do its job correctly and to its full potential.

“I really didn’t know we had a student government,” said Listman, a junior journalism major. “I hope they’re doing the right things. I don’t know what they do, I don’t know how much power they have to make changes or enact anything. If you came up to me and told me the letters TSG, I wouldn’t know what that is or what that means.”

TSG’s engagement with the student body is essential to having students’ needs addressed because the student

body advises TSG’s agenda and mandates, Khadka said.

“The feedback we get guides and dictates the people we meet with and the type of conversations we have in our meetings and committees,” Khadka wrote. “We are often asked ‘How are students feeling about Policy X?’ and, in our responses, we use knowledge and feedback from students to answer these questions on their behalf.”

TSG receives student feedback through their email and drop-in appointments at their ofce located in Room 244 of the Howard Gittis Student Center. They also maintain a line of communication with student organizations through a mid-year report that contains a student feedback form.

The governing body also regularly invites students to share feedback on their social media accounts like their Instagram, which helps outline the work they will be carrying out that year, Khadka wrote.

“For example, we got feedback that students wanted more representation for people with disabilities,” Khadka wrote. “This year we created a Disability Resources and Services committee. Another example is working on campus safety to promote Temple’s Public Safety Department more, helping recommend positive ways to connect with the student body.”

While there are times the university solicits input from TSG to inform decisions, there are other instances where TSG volunteers input, all of which is considered in major decisions, said Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating ofcer.

“There are some decisions that TSG provides information on but they have little infuence,” Kaiser said. “There are

other decisions, or information they provide that have a big impact on what we do.”

TSG’s successes and activities during their term are detailed in their mid-year report sent to all student organizations. TSG’s most recent report, released on Feb. 2, expanded on eforts like the introduction of two student-led committees that further collect feedback from students, the Temple Student Athlete Committee and DRS.

“While our work is not done, TSG has participated in numerous conversations and interactions with senior-level admin including President Englert, Provost Mandel, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mitchell Morgan,” Khadka wrote. “As we continue our tenure in ofce, we hope to strengthen our relationships with all TSG partners and create new ones with any who want to

get involved and promote a positive student experience here at Temple.”

TSG is currently working toward providing more food options at dining halls, establishing new forms of digital media to better tell the stories of community members, creating more collaboration avenues for registered student organizations and advocating for sustainable resources like SEPTA usage and funding.

Kaiser assures TSG and the student feedback they collect is vital in certain university decisions.

“With respect to university-wide decisions that impact students, they defnitely have a voice at the table,” Kaiser said. “Their input is often sought out and is valuable in shaping university policy.”

kayla.bryan@temple.edu

ERIKA MONN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

The Student Government has focused on increasing student feedback while many students remain unaware of its role.

EDITORIAL

Temple, let students donate meal swipes

On Feb. 2, a sign was placed at the Esposito Dining Center in Johnson and Hardwick Halls reinforcing meal swipe policies and informing students they were no longer allowed to use their swipes for anyone else.

The sign was posted because Aramark, Temple’s culinary services provider, saw a recent increase in students with unlimited meal plans swiping multiple people into the dining hall.

Enforcing this policy will prevent Temple students with excess swipes from swiping in their friends for a meal at the dining hall, something many students do to help friends or spend more time with peers who may not have a meal plan.

Preventing students from sharing their unused meal swipes restricts their ability to use the meal plan they paid for at their discretion.

In light of this desicion, The Editorial Board urges Temple to implement a student meal swipe donation program so students can take full advantage of the meal plans they pay for and assist others who may be facing food insecurity or fnancial hardship.

Twenty-nine percent of students at a four-year school don’t have consistent access to food, according to a March 2021 study conducted by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice.

Two schools in the Philadelphia area, Saint Joseph’s University, and Drexel University, have meal swipe donation programs through partnerships with their university dining program and Aramark. These programs, HawkHUB and Feed a Dragon, allow students to easily donate their unused meal swipes to guests and fellow students by logging into their student portal and completing simple steps.

A similar meal swipe donation program could be implemented by Temple, as Aramark is responsible for culinary services at all three colleges.

Temple has a meal swipes vouchers program for students facing

food insecurity with 300 meal swipes available to students, however, its popularity among students has been low, wrote Michael Scales in a statement to the Temple News.

“Realizing that low utilization could be attributed to the stigma students may feel when using a meal swipe voucher, as opposed to a normal meal swipe in the dining hall, we’ve initiated conversations with the relevant university ofces to explore ways to transfer meal swipes donated by Aramark to students’ OWLcards to allow for more discreet usage,” wrote Scales, the associate vice president for business services.

Implementing a meal swipe donation program would beneft students who have limited access to food. It would also relieve the stress of wondering where their next meal will come from, so they can instead focus on succeeding in school.

Temple students have to pay for their meal plans at the beginning of the semester, so they should have the authority to decide how the swipes they have purchased are used, whether it be for themselves or others.

New students living on Temple’s campus are required to have a meal plan with a minimum of 10 meals per week, however, not all students use each of their allotted meals due to food preferences or a busy schedule.

Meal swipes at Temple don’t roll over to the following week, so even if students don’t use all of their meal swipes for the week, they will not be able to collect them for future use. Having the option to donate swipes prevents the waste of meal plans and makes it easier for students to share with their peers, and guests who may not eat otherwise.

By allowing students to donate their unused meal swipes, Temple can create a more supportive campus environment that encourages a social community and addresses food insecurity among college students.

ACTIVISM

Let’s talk about teen dating violence

A student urges their peers to learn, recognize and educate others on the signs of dating violence.

BY VALERIA URIBE Assitant Opinion Editor

Content Warning: This column contains mention of sexual assault and domestic violence. If you fnd the content disturbing, please seek help at Tuttleman Counseling Services or contact Rape Abuse & Incest National Network to fnd resources regarding sexual violence.

Ray Epstein experienced dating violence at 13. She thinks it’s crucial to raise awareness about abuse in relationships so people can speak up and recognize when something is wrong.

“I feel like when I was in high school [teen domestic violence] was defnitely something that was not talked about, and when I tried to talk about it when I was in high school, it was very much dismissed by my peers as something that would just happen to me and not anyone else,” said Epstein, a junior English and communications and social infuence major and the founder and president of Students Activists Against Sexual Assault.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and students should learn about dating violence as college is where many explore relationships.

Almost 60 percent of college students admitted they can’t recognize dating abuse, Domestics Shelters reported. Everyone should know the signs of abuse and the resources are available to empower people to report or leave an abusive relationship.

More than 50 percent of women and 43 percent of men between the ages of 14 to 21 are victims of dating violence, according to the American Psychological Association. Anyone can be impacted by it regardless of their gender or age.

Dating violence signs include isolation, explosive temper, and sexual coercion. It’s hard for people to accept that someone who is supposed to love them is hurting them, but they must learn to recognize the signs to keep themselves safe.

More than 50 percent of college students know someone who has experienced dating violence and 58 percent say they don’t know how to help. The lack of infor-

mation about dating violence only makes it harder for people who are experiencing abuse to leave.

Ariana Romero believes people aren’t aware of dating violence before college.

“A lot of college students are aware of violence inside the dating world since we are really surrounded by fraternities and sororities, and a lot of people [know about dating violence], but talking about freshmen and even sophomores, lots of them just came out of high school, lots of them are just entering this new world,” said Romero, a sophomore political science major and the communications chair for SAASA.

Young people don’t learn about dating violence because there are still stigmas surrounding it.

Liz Zadnik believes it’s hard for parents to teach children about dating violence because they don’t want to imagine them facing it.

“It’s horrifying to think of your loved one, your child, your student, experiencing something so scary and disempowering,” said Zadnik, the director of the Wellness Resource Center.

The WRC ofers materials, like educational programs and free consultations, for people to learn more about dating violence. U.S. residents can access a National Hotline for teen dating abuse.

Talking about dating violence helps people understand that it also impacts young relationships and gives them tools to realize they are in a dangerous situation.

The lack of information people have about dating violence puts them in danger; if they can’t recognize abuse then it’s harder for them to speak up.

Romero was in an abusive relationship when she was 13 years old, and she wishes people would talk more about this topic so everyone can be informed.

“I would say try to talk about this in the most blunt way with children and anyone who doesn’t know how to react to this stuf,” Romero said.

Knowing about dating violence is useful to help people navigate these situations. Dating violence can impact young people and awareness is key to keeping people safe.

valeria.uribe@temple.edu @valeriauribea

Finding my true self through losing my religion

A student refects on being raised religiously and embracing her true self after leaving the church.

BY CLAIRE ZEFFER Opinion Editor

As a young child, weekends were my sanctuary — a cherished time to escape the treacherous confnes of elementary school and embrace the simple joys of cartoons and sleeping past 7 a.m. However, my bliss was shattered every Sunday morning like clockwork when my mom would barge into my bedroom and force me to get ready for church.

Even from my earliest memories, going to church was associated with misery. It was long, boring and confusing, and I never made it easy on my Catholic mother who was simply trying to get her three children through the doors of the steeple.

I laid in bed until the last possible minute, fought with her about the Sunday best attire she had picked out for me and complained about having to sit through mass the entire car ride there. Once we made it inside, I went through the motions with disdain, reading proverbs, exchanging peace-bewith-yous and singing along to hymns, while simultaneously wishing I could be anywhere else on Earth.

As much as I disliked church, sometimes I was consumed with guilt for not eagerly wanting to sacrifce my Sunday mornings to God. Even as an elementary school student, I knew that a “good” Catholic would never fght with their mom about attending a service. A good Catholic would willingly bound down the aisle with a big smile, zealous for spiritual fulfllment — a desire I never felt.

When it was time to complete my frst Sacrament of Penance, or

confession to the priest, at 7 years old, I knew exactly what to tell him. I approached him with shaking hands as he sat alone in a pew, seemingly waiting to unleash his ancient wisdom and unbridled judgment upon me.

“Bless me Father for I have sinned, this is my frst Confession,” I mumbled.

I picked at my cuticles and avoided eye contact while confessing the venial atrocities I had committed.

“Sometimes I argue with my mom about going to church. Sometimes I’m mean to my older brothers. Sometimes I lie about doing my homework.”

The priest agreed I had made mistakes, but catered to my fearful energy with gentle guidance. He reminded me that going to church was a good thing and God wouldn’t appreciate seeing me fght with my mom or siblings.

I was told to recite several prayers once I was alone, like Hail Marys and

Our Fathers, to make up for what I had done. I stood up to leave, my cheeks fushed red and my mind overwhelmed with shame, somehow feeling worse than I had when I frst sat down.

“I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Father said as we both made the sign of the cross in front of our upper bodies.

That moment set a precedent that even as an innocent child, I needed the church to relieve me of my wrongdoings, regardless of what they were. If I didn’t seek forgiveness from God, I was doomed to divine retribution for straying from the path of righteousness.

“Amen,” I croaked back.

By second grade, my weekly religion classes taught me that people were born selfsh sinners who could only be absolved by being born again through the spirit of God. My religion, something that was supposed to bring me comfort and purpose, was synonymous with guilt.

The fear of sin quickly controlled me, causing overwhelming anxiety about an almighty God banishing me to the depths of hell for small and juvenile mistakes. This feeling manifested itself as crippling stress in my daily life, where I would incessantly panic over disappointing a higher power I wasn’t sure I even believed in.

The guilt and confusion I felt prevented me from seeing my religion as a beacon of love and enlightenment because I was so focused on perceiving it as a sinister being that existed only to keep me in line.

I spent almost an hour every night for most of my adolescence reciting prayers into the void, begging for forgiveness. I rattled them of like a task to be completed rather than a sacred practice that would strengthen my relationship with God.

I grew increasingly resentful of my time spent in church and theology class with each passing Sunday. The rituals and traditions were burdensome, and while I tried my hardest to connect

with my religion, my rational thinking always got in the way of the spiritual nature I needed to truly accept and follow Catholic scripture.

During theology lessons, I wondered why it was silly to believe in ghosts or aliens, but it was expected to believe that Jesus could multiply fsh and bread or even exist as the product of a virgin mother. I couldn’t comprehend why we were taught that God loved everyone equally while the Catholic church simultaneously pushed away those who were gay or used birth control.

I questioned how one God could hear so many prayers at once during mass. When I saw war or mass shootings on the television at home, I struggled to accept that a wellintentioned deity would impose so much sufering on his children.

Above all, when I was alone at night, I wondered why God’s presence in my life only served to make me feel bad if he truly loved me as much as I was told he did.

Despite my growing disillusionment with Catholicism, I couldn’t shake the deep-seated belief that I was somehow failing as a person by questioning the religion in which I was raised. I felt even more shame when I secretly yearned for an escape from the oppressive shackles of my faith.

One day when I was 14, I was standing in my church’s lobby before mass when a fyer on the bulletin board next to me caught my eye. The colorful, well-designed leafet was inviting patrons to join in a picket at a local Planned Parenthood to spread the

OPINION

message of respecting the unborn.

I felt that all too familiar religious guilt once again, but this time it was for the women who would walk into that clinic and be harassed by members of my church, who were supposed to be the epitome of morality and kindness.

The 2016 presidential election was just months away, galvanizing political division and impassioning social movements at an unprecedented level. Issues like LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights and misogyny were deeply intertwined with the teachings of Catholicism, and I could no longer ignore the harm my religion was causing people under the guise of Jesus’ word.

I had no desire to associate with an institution that would exclude certain people from God’s supposed unconditional and all-encompassing love, or condone acts of hatred and intimidation based on ancient doctrine.

While my relationship with religion had been on shaky ground for a while before that moment, it freed me to accept my detachment from Catholicism and for the frst time in years, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Religion was once the foundation of who I was, and I was initially scared of losing myself as it fell by the wayside. I uncovered great pain in the thought that I was going to burn in hell once I stepped away from God, but I found myself in just as much pain sitting in a Catholic church and praying to a being that didn’t speak to who I was. Not praying or going to church anymore doesn’t make me a bad person,

but being religious and believing in God was never what made me a good person. I came to realize that my selfworth didn’t need to be contingent upon my adherence to Catholicism or the approval of some higher being, regardless of how I was raised.

Escaping the guilt and restriction of my faith allowed me to embrace a more legitimate understanding of my own spirituality, one that celebrates the inclusion and acceptance of all individuals regardless of their beliefs or identities.

For some, religion can serve as a source of solace and guidance, and for others like me, it was a lifelong burden that catalyzed anguish. I will never question or judge the positive religious experiences of other individuals, just as I hope they can respect mine.

Faith is complex and inherently personal, and while I may come back to it one day, I’m at peace with the path I’ve chosen and am working to navigate how the experiences I had afect me today.

Navigating life post-Catholicism has not been without its challenges, but it has also been a great source of growth, self-discovery and liberation. Embracing this departure from my religion allowed me to be the most empowered, authentic version of myself, guided only by my values and morals and free to cherish life’s journey with an open heart and an open mind.

claire.zeffer@temple.edu @clairezeffer

FACULTY

Temple, extend paid parental leave for faculty

A student argues that Temple should change the current paid parental leave policies.

BY VALERIA URIBE Assistant Opinion Editor

Joyce A. Joyce saw a lot of new mothers struggling to return to work so soon after the birth of their child during her time as the director of the Women’s Studies department.

“I think the [current parental leave policies] are refective of the treatment and attitude towards women on this planet, on this college, the university and America,” said Joyce, an English professor.

Bringing a newborn child home can be one of the most exciting and important times for any parent, but it’s wrong to assume this transition comes without problems. New parents have to worry about multiple challenges, like sleep deprivation, adjusting to their new life and all the anxiety that comes with taking care of a newborn.

On top of that, new parents also have to worry about their jobs and whether or not their paid parental leave will allow them enough time to take care of their child.

New paid parental leave policies have been in efect for eligible non-bargaining Temple employees since July 2022, allowing those who ft the requirements to take up to four weeks of paid parental leave.

However, this isn’t nearly enough time for parents to adjust to new responsibilities. Temple should instead expand paid parental leave to at least eight weeks because all employees deserve paid time of regardless of what union they belong to.

Each bargaining union has an agreement that establishes their paid parental leave policies, said Sharon Boyle, vice president of Human Resources. There are 11 unions at Temple, including the 1199C, which represents clerical employees who have negotiated their benefts to have up to four weeks of paid parental leave.

Temple also allows a maximum of four weeks of paid parental leave to non-bargaining employees, staf members who are currently working but whose terms are not negotiated by a bargaining agreement.

To qualify, eligible staf and faculty members must have been working at Temple for at least one consecutive year and have worked for 1,250 hours. They also need to be full-time employees, and if both parents are employed by Temple they need to take separate leaves.

Federal law only requires a maximum 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Temple has the fexibility to set their own parental leave policies and their number one priority should be to make sure employees have enough paid time of when they welcome a child.

If the Temple Association of University Professionals, which is currently

negotiating benefts with the university, were to change any terms and conditions then members would have access to four weeks of paid parental leave, the same as 1199C. If the union does not negotiate parental leave benefts, new mothers can use available sick, vacation or personal time to have paid leave of absence, while fathers can only use their vacation or personal time.

The four week time frame for recovery is only feasible for women who didn’t experience any complications during delivery or postpartum. Almost 8 percent of parents face some severe birth complications, like uterus rupture and excessive bleeding, and more than 16 percent are diagnosed with a less severe complication, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Temple changed its policies in 2022 to four weeks of paid parental leave because they wanted to do

what was best for the university, but also for faculty and staf members, Boyle said. The decision was also infuenced by policies implemented at other universities.

“Temple often looks to universities such as Penn State, so their policies are pretty much the same as ours,” Boyle said. “We also want to establish something that is workable for the university as well as the parents.”

Temple should increase paid parental leave regardless of what other institutions do. There’s no federal law controlling paid parental leave across the country and the only regulation allows up to 12 weeks for unpaid time of, so it’s up to the university to make changes and ensure each worker spends vital time with their newborn children.

Temple should be a pioneer and increase their parental leave policies because they have a responsibility to do what’s best for employees, Joyce said.

ALLYSON THARP / THE TEMPLE NEWS

“I think of it as somebody has to be the frst, so why are we always following?” Joyce said. “We could be frst, and could make that diference.”

People who give birth deserve to have time to fully heal from a physically draining process without having to worry about going back to work too soon or rushing their recovery for economic reasons.

Welcoming a child is a life-altering event that completely changes parents’ life structure and therefore they need proper time to recover and adjust to it, said Judith Levine, the director of Temple’s public policy lab and a sociology professor.

“These are major events in people’s lives, and they take a great deal of time, efort, recuperation and attention, and children sort of starting their lives of well with parents who can sleep and pay attention to them is incredibly important for child development,” Levine said.

Temple ofers paid vacation time depending on how much time employees have been working for the university, and it varies between 15 to 20 days each fscal year. Faculty and staf can also take up to 26 weeks of unpaid family sick leave if the family member was part of the military.

Not everyone can aford to take extra unpaid time of or use other benefts, like family sick time and vacation weeks, after their four weeks of paid leave.

The minimum recovery time varies between six to eight weeks depending on each person’s experience with labor, and Temple’s paid parental leave should at least refect that time period. Physical and mental health problems are common among parents who return to work too quickly after having a child, it’s not fair to endanger children and their parents instead of ofering more parental leave.

It’s equally important for adoptive parents to have paid parental leave because the frst few weeks are crucial to creating a bond with their child and getting used to their new life, CBC News reported.

The frst few weeks of a child’s life determine their development and parents should be able to take care of them without distractions.

Paid leave is essential for the health and well-being of both mothers and ba-

OPINION

bies as it decreases the rates of infant mortality and lowers the chances of trauma because parents are less stressed, according to a May 2021 study by the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Less than eight weeks of paid leave also correlates to a decline in mental health and increases the chances of depression which makes it harder for parents to adjust to their new life.

“I think our biggest problem is that we have no national paid parental leave, the U.S. is a complete outlier and many other countries in the world, the majority of countries, have a paid leave policy and the U.S. doesn’t,” Levine said.

Temple is responsible for providing enough time for employees to recover physically and mentally after they welcome a child. Giving staf and faculty members a chance to enjoy what is supposed to be a wonderful period is the bare minimum, and Temple administration needs to make an efort to change the current parental leave policies.

Until there is a national law en-

forcing a minimum of eight weeks for parental leave, employers, like the university, should provide enough paid time for partners to recover before coming back to work.

“This [lack of federal law] leaves a problem to private employers and it means that there’s a great deal of inequality across the workforce depending on who they work for,” Levine said.

An increase of four weeks would give parents extra time to heal, recover and bond with their children. Temple needs to reevaluate their current policies and be one of the few colleges in the state to ofer more than four weeks of paid parental leave.

“I think anything is a possibility,” Boyle said.“I wouldn’t say that we are looking at [expanding the time period for paid parental leave] right now and considering whether or not we should do it. “[Expanding to four weeks] was a big beneft increase for employees, and for now, people are really enjoying it and making good use of it.”

Temple should also take the opin-

ions of other parents into consideration and ask the diferent worker associations what they want and need to make their transition easier as parents.

“What about a forum or a discussion with women who had these babies, who have children and they are faculty, administrations, coordinators and cleaning staf?” Joyce said. “What about at least a combination of those women with just a discussion frst?”

Temple’s administration needs to consider expanding paid parental leave regardless of how recently the policies surrounding parental leave changed. This is an issue that needs to be addressed expeditiously and instead of copying the policies other institutions have, Temple should be setting an example by expanding their paid parental leave time.

valeria.uribe@temple.edu @valeriauribea

Stand up against non-consensual AI deepfakes

A student urges hesr peers to advocate against AI-generated images that exploit women.

BY CLAIRE ZEFFER Opinion Editor

Recently, AI-generated images of Taylor Swift spread rapidly on social media, nonconsensually depicting the singer-songwriter in fake, sexually explicit content that was viewed millions of times before being removed.

Swift’s team is reportedly considering legal action, and prominent voices, like the CEO of Microsoft and the White House press secretary, are calling for legislation that will further prevent these images from circulating. However, on Feb. 15, OpenAI introduced Sora, their new hyper-realistic AI video generator, allowing people to create AI videos simply through text, which may further complicate the issue of spreading nonconsensual AI imagery.

As part of a social media-savvy generation, young people may still come across these images even as media platforms and AI programmers attempt to mitigate their existence. Students should speak out, report and ensure they are not purposefully consuming any nonconsensual sexual AI imagery to protect women and create a safer online environment.

The AI-generated images of Swift are often called deepfakes, which are videos, photos or audio that seem real but have been manipulated with AI. Technology can replace faces and synthesize speech, depicting someone saying or doing something they never did, according to the United States Government Accountability Ofce.

While this content can sometimes be harmless or entertaining, it is often used for malicious purposes, like infuencing politics or producing pornographic material that disproportionately victimizes women.

Ninety-eight percent of deepfake content online is pornographic and non-consensual, and 99 percent of content is of women, according to an August 2023 study on deepfakes by Home

Security Heroes, an online security company.

Shael Norris, founding executive director of SafeBAE, a student-led national organization working to prevent sexual violence among teens, believes explicit AI content is a serious form of sexual violence that exists to intimidate and silence women.

“I think, when we’re looking at the proliferation of this happening, predominantly against female-identifed people, it’s silencing and shaming of women so that they stay in their place and they stay down,” Norris said.

Real or fake sexually explicit images of someone shared without their consent can lead to social anxiety and isolation, and harm their relationships with partners, friends and family, according to the Boston University School of Public Health.

Although many people are now pushing for stronger regulations on AI technology, there is currently no federal law restricting pornographic AI content in the United States.

AI-generated porn is complex because victims are violated each time an image is posted, shared or viewed. With billions of users across various platforms, images can spread rapidly and be difcult to take down.

Vincent Kamani believes AI needs to be regulated, but people in general also need to be better about the circulation of both real and fake inappropriate imagery.

“I don’t think people feel the need to respect privacy as much as we should, and so I think that’s the political side of it,” said Kamani, a sophomore anthropology major. “Also, I think there’s the social side of it, which is respecting people’s bodily autonomy and privacy.”

Regardless of the lack of restrictions,

students should be mindful of the negative efects AI content has on the image’s subjects. By engaging with this material, individuals are violating the privacy of nonconsenting parties, and students should ensure they are avoiding or reporting these images instead.

Legislators and social media platforms have the responsibility to implement stricter content moderation, but students also have to advocate against online harassment and nonconsensual pornographic imagery.

Isa Walker, a junior public relations major, believes Taylor Swift being the latest target of this content will hopefully draw more people to the conversation surrounding AI pornography.

“I do feel like it will impact other AI-generated content because I think before everybody was going crazy over Taylor Swift, it seemed like AI was still evolving and still something new,” Walker said. “I just think we’re taking it to a new level, and it’s not going to stop.”

Deepfakes have emerged as a serious danger to women, but refusing to en-

gage with or reshare harmful content is a simple step students can take to cultivate a safer online environment and prevent the normalization of non-consensual content.

Even if legislation lags, an individual’s commitment to not perpetuate sexual AI images can send a much-needed message to those involved that this harmful content will not be absorbed or tolerated.

“At the very least, we need to speak out about how we feel about them,” Norris said. “Don’t resend them, don’t reshare, don’t talk about it and give it any more bandwidth other than telling people what you think, which is, ‘This is disgusting.’”

claire.zeffer@temple.edu @clairezeffer

ALLYSON THARP / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Lunar New Year Word Search

ALL IN GOOD FUN Valentine’s Day Crossword

DOWN

1. Will you be my ___?

2. Last name of male actor who plays main character in ‘Valentine’s Day’ (2010)

3. St. Valentine is the patron saint of ___

6. People will write these and give them to someone they love

9. ‘Galentine’s Day’ was frst coined by this television show

THE TEMPLE NEWS THE ISSUE MUSIC

WHAT ARE WE LISTENING TO?

MOLLY FISKE FEATURES EDITOR What Once Was by Her’s

ANNA AUGUSTINE ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

FALLON ROTH EDITOR IN CHIEF willow by Taylor Swift

JULIA MEROLA MANAGING EDITOR What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stafani

SARAH FRASCA MANAGING EDITOR

Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine

SAMUEL O’NEAL CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Burn, Burn, Burn by Zach Bryan

BRIANNA HILL DEPUTY COPY EDITOR

California Breeze by Lil Baby

SIDNEY ROCHNIK NEWS EDITOR party at club bug! by spellcasting

OLIVER SABO ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Fearless by Pink Floyd

KAYLA BRYAN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

my mine by Jhene Aiko

CLAIRE ZEFFER

EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

My Tears Ricochet by Taylor Swift

DECLAN LANDIS SPORTS EDITOR

Love by Keyshia Cole

RYAN MACK

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

TOO DEEP TO TURN BACK by Daniel Caesar

JOHNNY ZAWISLAK

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

MAGGIE FITZGERALD DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT Houdini by Dua Lipa

EMILY LEWIS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Music for a Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles

JULIA ANDERSON AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Is It True by

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Philadelphia has always been a hotspot for up-and-coming musicians, artists and creatives alike.

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Philadelphia thrived as a music hub, boasting a diverse scene blending soul, R&B, rock and pop. It birthed the infuential “Philadelphia Soul” sound, characterized by lush orchestration and smooth vocals, spearheaded by fgures like Gamble and Huf.

As evident by this special edition, music is a major lifeblood of Temple’s campus. Regardless if it’s playing out of an of-campus basement or the Performing Arts Center, Temple and surrounding community bonds through its devoted love and passion for music.

Hall & Oates, who started as The Temptones while at Temple, emerged from this vibrant era, though they didn’t achieve immediate fame, laying the groundwork for their iconic partnership. Both up and down Broad Street, venues like The Uptown Theatre and The Met were mainstages to stars like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Micheal Jackson.

In addition to these grand stages, one doesn’t have to look very far to fnd talent around Temple’s Main Campus. The area’s basements house a vibrant DIY scene where musicians fnd a stage and community.

Temple is also home to Bell Tower Music, the university’s entirely student-run record label that coaches artists through the early stages of their career and prepares students for work in

the music industry.

For jazz lovers, the Rite of Swing Jazz Café serves as a gathering place for performances and for students, faculty and jazz enthusiasts to hold court and tune into local artists.

Through the university’s programming, like the Music Technology program at the Boyer College of Music and Dance, students are further equipped with tools to create and elevate personal portfolios for postgraduate work.

We are proud to bring this special edition of The Temple News back after seven years. Temple talent is everywhere, and with this issue we hope to highlight some of the incredible artists and organizers who call North Philly home.

From,

Molly Fiske & Anna Augustine Features Editors

North Philly’s DIY Scene

The area is a hub for independent music and houses two vibrant DIY music scenes.

BY ANNA AUGUSTINE Assistant Features Editor

The Do-It-Yourself method is a mindset founded on the idea that, through self-reliance and hard work, one can achieve anything.

It’s only natural that the DIY music scene at Temple, a university that started as a night school and steeped in that same ferce independence, fourishes as it does. Countless Temple students pack into crowded rowhome basements near Main Campus each weekend, hungry for the hearing loss-inducing sounds of their peers’ music.

“Most Temple students are used to having to work for everything they have,” said Jack Klotz, director of Bell Tower Music, Temple’s student-run record label. “And so to me, just that basic ethos, it’s kind of a Temple thing really kind of lends itself to DIY as an art.”

Temple’s house show culture is a refection not only of the attitude of the school, but the culture of Philadelphia. The city is a hub for the underdogs of music; its ever-present class of independent musicians has churned out stars of every musical genre. At the heart of Philadelphia music stands North Philly, where two DIY scenes have emerged: hip-hop and indie rock.

TEMPLE’S BASEMENT SCENE

In the 2010s, Philadelphia became the epicenter of the college rock movement. As bands like Modern Baseball and Marietta began to grow in popularity, so did Temple’s basement scene.

“I would say probably [the Temple DIY scene] has become a thing I’ve been aware of within the last, like less than 10 years,” Klotz said. “There’s always been frat houses and parties and things but the idea of a DIY music scene I’d say within 10 years.”

The budding culture didn’t lose momentum even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Temple musicians

continue to trend toward creating the gritty rock music best heard in the basements of North Philly rowhomes, where an eager audience is constantly ready for more.

“After quarantine ended and people were starting to host events more, we noticed this huge surge in house show venues,” said Reece Herberg, a 2023 political science alumna and co-founder of RatPie Friends, a DIY music publication. “My freshman year there was only one or two venues, but after COVID I think that people were just craving the intimacy of being in a basement with a bunch of sweaty people and listening to live music.”

The scene is kept alive by the hundreds of Temple students who have found a home there. Whether they’re looking for a place to showcase their musical talent or a deviation from the typical party culture, Temple’s house show scene ofers a change of pace for many.

Herberg was attracted to the scene after feeling unwelcome at frat parties near campus.

“I just always felt out of place at frat parties, I just always felt like the odd one out,” Herberg said. “I frst went to [a house show] freshman year, this was before COVID in 2019, and I instantly felt a sense of belonging. Everyone there, they were just there to drink a beer and enjoy the music, and to me that was signifcantly better than being in a sweaty frat basement listening to ‘Mo Bamba’ for the eightieth time that night.”

Much of the basement scene is defned by giving back to the community. Venues often host charity events, donating the night’s proceeds to causes near to their hearts or ofering harm reduction supplies to attendees.

The scene is also a catalyst for musical careers. In dank North Philly basements, musicians fnd a platform for their art and a workshop for their sound.

“Each little house show is like, in so many ways I’m sure, like a little petri dish,” Klotz said. “God knows what bac-

teria is growing in those basements, but musically too, because the other thing that’s cool, like any scene, is that people know each other. So the folks who are in this band know the folks in that band and this singer knows that guitar player and I would be surprised, I haven’t seen results of this yet myself, but I would be surprised if there isn’t cross pollination going on.”

NORTH PHILLY’S HIP-HOP SCENE

Indie rock is far from the only genre in North Philadelphia with a prominent DIY scene. The neighborhood has produced hip-hop icons like Meek Mill and Questlove, alongside countless independent artists.

Queue Rainey, owner and operator of Everquest Recordings, an independent, community-based record label, has hosted Freestyle Fridays out of his home studio for the past 20 years. He invites rappers to have conversations and make music with hopes of building a community each week.

Rainey believes his work at Everquest Recordings is a form of community outreach. He hopes to bridge the ever-growing gap between generations he’s noticed in the neighborhood and highlight North Philly talent through his work.

“So many gifted people just walk around doing nothing, and you don’t realize it because you’re not getting a chance to talk to them,” Rainey said. “But when you do see it you think ‘Wow, this is crazy,’ and like I said, we have a lot of stars in our neighborhood that aren’t shining.”

In 2017, Rainey and his family were featured in “Quest: A Portrait of an American Family,” a documentary showcasing Rainey’s work in the North Philly hip-hop scene. The documentary led to the inception of Freestyle Fridays at Temple and helped Rainey expand the community.

Rainey partnered with WRTI, a jazz station founded on Temple’s Main Campus, for three years to host Freestyle Fridays on Temple’s campus once a month. Access to Temple’s recording studios allowed the events to grow in size and impact.

“Without a doubt, [Freestyle Fridays were] like the greatest thing ever,” Rainey said. “I can tell you that for sure. A lot of kids felt important because they were invited to a facility where you would normally have to pay to get in.”

Freestyle Fridays were discontinued at Temple when Main Campus shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rainey still hosts the events out of his

house, but the space limits the amount of people able to attend each week.

Rainey hopes to bring the scene back to its pre-pandemic status and Freestyle Fridays back to Temple’s campus.

“It only takes one person to care,” Rainey said. “Someone with a little bit of power, let’s put it that way. Someone with a little bit of caring about the community and a little bit of power and wants to see to change just as much as I do.”

annaaugustine@temple.edu

NOEL CHACKO/ THE TEMPLE NEWS North Philly is home to a vast DIY music scene.

Alumni operate Philly DIY music publication

Brittany Deitch, Reece Herberg and Logan Bennett founded and operate RatPie Friends

BY ANNA AUGUSTINE Assistant Features Editor

When Temple’s Main Campus reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic, Brittany Deitch, Reece Herberg and Logan Bennett noticed a shift in the DIY scene: shows were suddenly packed and venues were appearing left and right. The trio, none of them musicians themselves, decided to use their talents as visual artists to showcase this budding culture.

“There were all these really cool things happening and no one was documenting this,” said Herberg, a 2023 political science alumna. “So at frst we started as a means to just do exactly that, just document the rise of the DIY scene.”

In December 2021, the three founded RatPie Friends, an independent music publication dedicated to covering Phil-

adelphia’s DIY music scene. The group photographs and interviews scene participants, looking to showcase the abundance of talent in the scene.

RatPie was founded with the goal of simple documentation, as the three wanted to be involved in the scene without making music but didn’t have a space to host their own events. As the group expanded, they began to host shows in collaboration with venues near campus.

Before RatPie’s founders graduated from Temple, they frequently hosted shows in collaboration with The Mansion, a venue on Carlisle Street, who they met through the scene.

In August 2022, RatPie and The Mansion hosted a show in support of the SOL Collective, a Philadelphia harm reduction organization aiming to end the drug overdose crisis. The show raised more than $800.

RatPie’s support for these groups extends to the programming they plan. They strive to include queer people of color when organizing setlists or artist

spotlights to elevate the voices they feel need to be heard.

“When we say we want to support queer artists, actually putting our money where our mouth is and supporting the artists is really important,” Herberg said. “And past that point, on our artists showcases, the people that we include in playlists and so on and so forth, that is something that goes into mind is ‘What voices are we elevating and what stories are they telling?’”

They also hope to cultivate a safe space for artists and onlookers, even if that means removing people from the events.

“It can be awkward kicking someone out of a show, it can be really weird and uncomfortable and it’s really easy to just pretend like nothing’s happening, but you really can’t do that,” said Bennett, a 2023 computer science alumnus. “You gotta make it awkward, you gotta make it weird and kick the weirdos out.”

The Mansion stopped hosting shows at the beginning of the Fall 2023

semester after the venue’s organizers graduated. RatPie, no longer having a space to host large events, shifted to primarily covering artists. They delved deeper into profling artists and covering shows from high-profle artists like The Front Bottoms.

“Once RatPie got going it was kind of harnessing a community where you’d go somewhere and everyone was like your friend,” said Deitch, a 2023 information science and technology alumna. “We were like, ‘Well, what else can we do with this?’ And I started realizing I could reach out to bigger bands now and cover their shows at Union Transfer and the Fillmore in places like that.”

Their programming has shifted to more casual events since Herberg, Deitch and Logan graduated, like acoustic and open mic nights hosted out of Deitch’s house in Fairmount.

The group opened submissions for local artists to be showcased on their website in December 2023 in an efort to give a platform to those who may be struggling to get eyes on their work.

They hope to continue using their platform to give voices to up and coming artists through open mic community events.

“I think that there’s going to be more incorporation of open mics and poetry reading and involving the community more instead of having like a certain setlist,” Herberg said. “I would love to have people like fucking bring a guitar or bring, like, a tambourine or whatever the fuck they’re talented at and just show us what they’ve got.”

annaaugustine@temple.edu

THE MUSIC ISSUE

The Underworld: A community below ground

Matt Guardiola and Regina Hennessey host shows out of their house on Carlisle Street.

BY ANNA AUGUSTINE Assistant Features Editor

Regina Hennessey and Matt Guardiola went to their frst house show together when they were freshmen. The experience was unforgettable: the show was located on the Schuylkill River Trail, and by the end of the night the pair were mud-soaked and smitten with the scene.

“Ever since that show, I was just like ‘Wow, this is like something that I want to keep doing, keep being a part of,’” said Hennessey, a junior business management major.

The pair started The Underworld, a house show venue on Carlisle Street, during their sophomore year. They host shows about once a month and strive to run a safe, community-oriented venue where artists and audiences can connect through music.

The duo doesn’t proft from venue operations. They keep 10 percent of cover revenue to purchase free water and ear plugs for their shows; the other 90 percent is divided between a diferent charity for each set and the bands who perform. Proft from the bar goes to ofsetting the electricity cost of operating sound and lighting equipment.

“We try to give back to the community as much as possible and realize that Temple defnitely played a big role in displacing a lot of people and a lot of families,” said Guardiola, a junior music major. “So as Temple students, we want to recognize that and try and do our best to give back while also getting to do this thing that we love.”

Bands can submit booking requests through The Underworld’s Instagram account the semester before each show. Guardiola and Hennessey then sift through requests, looking for scheduling and genre compatibility, and create a bill for their shows.

They also try to incorporate unique

themes into each show. On Feb. 16, they hosted a Valentine’s Day set featuring four shoegaze bands with screen printed valentines from a local Philly artist for sale at the bar. Profts from the show’s cover fee went to The Attic Youth Center, a Philadelphia LGBTQ+ youth center. The show was one of their most popular this year.

Hennessey and Regina plaster signage throughout their house before every show with safety reminders and their personal phone numbers in case anyone in an uncomfortable situation needs to reach them discreetly.

“Basically we just try and make people aware of the space they’re in and each other as much as possible and keep each other safe,” Guardiola said.

They also keep free water and Narcan available at the bar during shows and have a team of volunteers to help operate procedures, like admission and security.

The duo hopes their work at The Underworld creates a platform for small artists. They record audio and video for each set in hopes of helping the bands they host to reach broader audiences.

Colo, a Northern Virginia-based band who performed at the venue last semester, released “Live at the Underworld” on Spotify on Feb. 1. The recording of their Dec. 6 set was mixed by

Guardiola.

“How I got into DIY music was seeing some shitty video of a band in a shitty basement playing some crazy song and I just remember watching old videos of Modern Baseball in some Philly basement and being like, ‘Wow, this is awesome, I wish I could do that,’” Guardiola said.

Guardiola hopes to give that experience to someone else through his recording work at The Underworld, he said.

Casey Kohler and his band, Cadalay, performed at The Underworld in November at their masquerade show. The theme stuck out to Kohler as particularly fun, as most venues don’t theme their shows.

Kohler also remembers the high quality of the sound, which is especially rare for a tiny North Philly basement.

“It sounded really good in that basement, because a basement’s hard to get good sound in,” said Kohler, a junior media studies and production major. “It was electric down there. It was sick. It was super energetic and that’s all you can really ask for like a basement show.”

The Underworld’s next show, scheduled for March 9, will be prom themed. Guardiola and Hennessey hope to continue bringing the community together through their venue and look forward to developing more themes for their shows.

“We love doing the shows,” Guardiola said. “I’m really happy with how it’s running right now and what we’re doing, so our plans are just to keep on keeping on.”

annaaugustine@temple.edu

NOEL CHACKO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

The Underworld, a DIY venue focused on amplifying the community, was started by two Temple students

THE MUSIC ISSUE

The Uptown: Historic venue to community revival

The Uptown hosted artists like Aretha Franklin, The Supremes and John Oates of Hall & Oates.

BY MOLLY FISKE Features Editor

Since it was built in 1927, the Uptown Theater has woven its way into Philadelphia’s culturally rich history. Designed by renowned architect Louis Magaziner in the Art Deco style, the theater was initially part of the “Uptown Entertainment and Dance Hall,” a complex that included a ballroom, restaurants and other amenities.

“Diferent generations hanging together, big sisters dragging little sisters to performances, people from all walks of life, sharing similar memories,” said Mariama Wood, a board member of Uptown Development and Entertainment Corporation. “We want that back because there aren’t many venues where every generation can come and have a good time.”

The music-mecca closed in 1978, partially due to alleged violence in the community and the rise of other local,

modern venues. The National Register of Historic Places added The Uptown to its list in 1982.

Linda Richardson, former president of UEDC and Wood’s mother, purchased the building in 2001. UEDC managed the $14 million renovation project in the years following, funded by individual donors and state grants, to preserve The Uptown Theater.

UEDC planned on a partial reopening for community use in 2019, coinciding with the theater’s 90th anniversary, but stalls in the renovation process prevented the reopening. However, Richardson passed away in November 2020, and Wood has since continued to pursue her mother’s goal of reopening the historic doors of The Uptown Theater.

Restoring the theater to its once-revolutionary glory has always been UEDC’s driving goal. The restoration plan evolved to include creating commercial ofce space, a restaurant or cafe and a permanent space for Uptown Radio Philly, which frst went on air in 2017, among other amenities, Wood said.

“We’ve always wanted to have a

community garden and that idea comes from the community, we do listen to feedback from the community,” Wood said. “So having a community garden or park space is important as well.”

In 2020, UEDC extended renovation operations until 2022 because of funding challenges. The project was entering its fnal phase, which included the demolition of the frst six foors, renovation of the roof, lobby, security system and upgrades to doors, windows, lights and the subway entrance.

“There’s a need for theater for some of the known performers, but we also want to open it up to students, for after school programs and for homeschoolers or just anybody who needs community space to be able to perform their art,” Wood said.

THE HISTORY

During its prime in the mid-20th century, the Uptown Theater was one of the premier venues for Black performers, especially during the era of racial segregation, said Bryant Simon, a history professor.

“The Uptown became this important venue for Black music in Philadelphia, particularly in North Philadelphia,” Simon said. “And so the next really 15 years through the late 50s, early 70s, anybody who’s anyone played Uptown.” The theater typically showed about fve acts a day during the week, six on the weekends and a midnight performance to round out the showings. The Uptown hosted legendary artists

like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes and 1970 Temple alumnus, John Oates alongside Daryl Hall, from Hall and Oates.

“Many entertainers got their start performing at The Uptown Theater, the audiences let you know when you were good or when you weren’t so good,” wrote Diane Turner, a curator for the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, in an email to The Temple News. “The Uptown became a testing ground for groups like the Jackson Five.”

The theater served as a hub for the Black community in Philadelphia, providing a platform for cultural expression and community gatherings.

It also featured comedians like Slappy White, Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley. Georgie Woods, a legendary Philadelphia-based DJ and promoter, also hosted events and concerts at Uptown and was largely infuential in tapping performers for the venue. Woods hosted “Freedom Shows” at the Uptown, raising money from events to fund various civil rights organizations.

“The older generation now tells stories about how they begged their parents to let them go,” Simon said. “They got together the [$1.50] to go and then they would hide in the bathroom between shows, so they could see the show again.”

THE DOCUMENTARY

On Feb. 13, the documentary, “The Uptown Theater: Movies, Music, and Memories,” produced and directed by Karen Smyles for WHYY-TV, debuted in a showing at Temple’s Center for Anti-Racism.

“The Uptown Theater was a vital institution in North Philadelphia, particularly for documenting, celebrating and preserving black art and in many ways was a fxture in the community,” said Timothy Welbeck, director of the Center for Anti-Racism. “It was important to celebrate that history and to also show the interconnections between generations and art forms across eras.”

The documentary revisits the theater’s pinnacle historical role in R&B,

COURTESY/ CHARLES L. BLACKSON AFRO-AMERICAN COLLECTION

The Jackson 5 performing at Uptown Theater.

soul, gospel and jazz.

“[The Uptown] was also a pretty robust jazz scene, Miles Davis played, Jimmy Heath, just an entire, amazing generation of Black musicians,” said Simon, who was also featured in the documentary.

Various guest speakers accompanied the showing, including Alfe Pollitt, a pianist, composer and entertainer from Philadelphia. Fred Joiner, who played with The Uptown’s resident houseband, also spoke and was joined by Aissia Richardson, another one of Richardson’s daughters.

The event was held in honor of February’s Black History Month, especially as The Uptown was a fxture in the Black community for decades. The theater was a catalyst for innovation of the arts and it was important for the Center for Anti-Racism to portray the theater’s history in that way, Welback said.

“Black art is one of the sustainers of Black life and the ways in which Black people have communicated their experiences and triumphs, joys, highs and lows, all have been found in the way in

which Black people have communicated through the art, and transmitted various cultural expressions,” Welbeck said. “It was appropriate and ftting to host an event like this during Black History Month, particularly considering what the Uptown Theater has meant for Philadelphia.”

THE FUTURE OF THE UPTOWN

The organization is currently calling upon local community members to volunteer their time by ofering their own expertise and knowledge. The UEDC is also accepting donations to support restoration eforts.

“I want to change the narrative to instead of, ‘What’s being done?’, to instead, ‘How can I help?’ because if people really ask the question, ‘How can I help?’ we have the answer,” Wood said.

The UEDC is currently in discussions with a new developer, both parties are planning a joint announcement of collaboration and an estimated reopening time frame for a later date.

As part of phase one, the UEDC is utilizing existing grants and funding

from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to help stabilize the building.

Those funds were also used for securing the theater’s entrance doors, windows, fencing and security cameras. The building still houses the Uptown Radio Philly station antenna, so securing the building remains a priority to prevent costly damages from trespassers.

UEDC also runs youth-focused programming in the buildings across from The Uptown. The programs available include job readiness training, leadership development, internships and a youth got talent program. Inspiring and empowering young people in North Philadelphia is another major goal for the group.

“We will expand [the programs] when the theater development is fnished because we’ll have a whole technology center and even some of the studio space we plan to rent out will be for local artists and students to do their performances,” Wood said.

UEDC receives both public and private grants and funding, but the amount

feels smaller in comparison to other similar projects in diferent areas and demographics, Wood said. However, that doesn’t defer UEDC from continuing to apply.

“The staf has been tirelessly working to get the resources needed to restore the Uptown Theater, the staf have developed and maintained wonderful programs and activities and youth mentoring,” Turner wrote. “Once the Uptown Theater is restored the programs and activities will continue, the preservation and promotion of history of the Uptown Theater will carry on and mentoring of our youth will proceed.”

The ultimate goal for UEDC is to have The Uptown transcend the memories of generations across North Philadelphia.

“There aren’t many venues where every generation can come and have a good time,” Wood said. “That’s what I can see, parents and kids coming in and everybody being able to participate in this neighborhood community project.”

molly.fske@temple.edu

FERNANDO GAXIOLA/ THE TEMPLE NEWS

While the theater is currently undergoing chance, it has long been a part of Philadelphia’s culture.

Music tech program thrives amid enrollment decline

This past Fall semester, the program expanded by 50 percent due to new facility in Presser hall.

BY MOLLY FISKE Features Editor

David Pasbrig has been teaching music technology classes since 1997, before technology’s role in the music industry became evident through professions like video game and movie scoring.

“The classes were always super popular, they were always full, and people wanted more classes,” said Pasbrig, a music technology professor at Temple. “So I just kept adding courses to the sequence and at some point, I said, ‘We really should have a new technology major.’”

The Boyer College of Music and Dance frst debuted the ofcial music technology program for undergraduates in 2017, then graduate students in 2020. The program encompasses a broad spectrum of music technology education, ranging from recording commercial music to learning innovative approaches and adapting to new trends in virtual reality and AI. It also incorporates felds like computer science, flm and music education.

The music technology program has maintained a leveled enrollment total in recent years, even as overall university enrollment has declined. Nearly 850 students were enrolled at Boyer during the 2016-17 academic year, while 719 were enrolled for the 2022-23 year. Enrollment has dropped by almost 22 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic with 30,530 students in Fall 2023, down from 39,088 in 2019.

The undergraduate application requires standard materials like an academic transcript, letter of recommendation and standardized test scores. Prospective music technology students are also required to submit a portfolio of work, a professional résumé and a written statement of goals.

The program typically has 100-200 applicants each fall and spring, and as

little as 20 students have been accepted in the past. The program expanded by 50 percent this past Fall semester after a new facility was established in Presser Hall. The new area dedicated to the music technology program features recording studios, practice areas and classrooms.

There are two potential tracks for students, one focusing on computer-science, while the other is more interdisciplinary. Both tracks begin with the same core classes like music theory and music in history, among others.

Tayler Butenschoen initially became interested in the major when she was applying to colleges her senior year of high school. She had been in a band in high school and always knew she wanted to be involved in music.

Butenschoen didn’t have a portfolio to submit for the music tech program, so she became a music education major instead. However, her time in music education helped her prepare enough material to submit a portfolio to transfer into the music technology program.

This spring is her frst semester in the program.

“A bunch of people have their own music or are doing their own music actively, mixing other people’s music or working for studios,” said Butenschoen, a sophomore music technology major. “All this crazy stuf and it’s so inspiring to just be surrounded by that and to see all of the cool things that people are doing, it just makes me want to do it even more.”

The program prepares students for diverse career paths, including audio engineering for recording studios and flm post-production, composing for various media, creating sound art for museums and performing using new technologies. Some students work on sound for existing media alongside creating their own original work.

“I scored a 10-minute clip of Saving Private Ryan, which is a movie that has [no music], but I got the opportunity to give it my own shot and had a professor help me through that whole process and now it’s like a solid portfolio piece that

I can have out there for the job feld,” Smith said. “So every class basically tries to build up your portfolio and your abilities all around the feld.”

Students are also required to submit a fnal project as a culmination of what they’ve learned throughout the program during their fnal semester.

“Students get a lot of experience recording working in the studios here or recording classical, jazz, pop all kinds of stuf,” Vidikis said. “We encourage them to for their fnal projects, make use of the recording studio and really just involve themselves in all the things that we have to ofer because it is so much fun and they have a great time.”

molly.fske@temple.edu

FERNANDO GAXIOLA / THE TEMPLE NEWS

The music technology program has seen surges in enrollment and transfers even as university enrollment declines.

THE MUSIC ISSUE

Rite of Swing Café hosts weekly jazz concerts

The shows have captivated audiences for years and routinely star students and faculty.

BY MOLLY FISKE Features Editor

Nestled in the lobby of Temple University Performing Arts Center is The Rite of Swing Jazz Café.

Students performed Rockwell Valentine’s Day: Rockwell Valentine with Strings, a special Valentine’s Day set in the café on Feb. 15. The show featured Rockwell Valentine on trumpet, Josh Klamka on piano, Eli Pace on bass, Greg Masters on drums, Abigail Dickson and Alex Covelli on violin, Jasmine Harris on viola and Marcela Reina on cello.

The nearly decade-old weekly Rite of Swing Jazz Café serves as a gathering place for on-campus jazz performances in an intimate setting. Boyer College of Music and Dance students, faculty, community members and special guests showcase their talents from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays during the Fall and Spring semesters.

“For the students, it’s a really great opportunity for them to host a show and it’s typically their frst time doing so,” said Madeline Bell, Boyer’s assistant director of marketing and communications.

The lobby is transformed into an intimate Jazz café for their events, featuring a food and drink bar and a stage at the opposite side of the room. Those looking to sit and immerse themselves in the music can sit closer to the musicians, while casual event goers hang back toward the bar.

Greg Masters, a junior jazz studies performance major, played the drums for Valentine’s band, but had already performed at the Jazz Café before and has other café performances scheduled for the remainder of the semester.

Masters’ favorite song from the Feb. 15 set was the “Andromeda,” originally composed by Joe Block, a New York City-based composer.

“Sometimes the music is moving in a bad way and other times it’s moving in

a good way, but [Andromeda] was defnitely a moment that I felt super moved by,” Masters said.

The Rockwell Valentine’s Day group met a couple times to rehearse before performing the Feb. 15 set. Alexander Covelli, a violinist and music performance graduate student, had worked with some of the other string players before the performance.

In 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer named the Rite of Swing Jazz Café as one of the city’s top 12 spots for live jazz.

Alex Hughes, the sound engineer for The Rite of Swing Jazz Café, recommends the event to everyone, regardless of if they’re a jazz fan or not, because of the quality of the music that’s being played each week.

“Whenever we get people from outside of the Temple or Boyer atmosphere, a lot of people come up and they’re like, ‘This is the most incredible music I’ve heard in a while and stereotypically, I don’t even like jazz, but this is awesome,’” said Hughes, a senior music technology major.

Nearly 120 people attended the Feb.

15 performance; a large crowd turnout has become routine for The Rite of Swing Jazz Café, said David P. Brown, assistant dean for the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts. The café’s weekly events attract a community of regular attendees and new faces alike.

The 30 performances every year are planned a year in advance and are determined by Terell Staford, director of jazz studies and artistic director for The Rite of Swing Jazz Café. Brown then contacts the headliners to work out the logistics for their performances.

Although many of the performances are well attended, there are no future plans to change the location of The Rite of Swing Jazz Café, even when it’s packed to the brim. Hosting in the lobby allows the event to be accessible to anyone as they’re able to walk right in, Brown said.

“The performers and the headliners are usually a combination of students here at the college, some alumni, local pros and we have groups that come down from New York,” Brown said.

Students performing in the event don’t typically get academic credit, but

some receive class points or credit for attending the event as a spectator, said Erika Hollister, Boyer’s administration and recital operations coordinator.

Award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Danny Jonokuchi visited The Rite of Swing Jazz Café last October to promote his new album “Voices.” Which more than 100 people; the event always remains free for everyone regardless of the high-profle nature of some guest artists.

“Overall, it was a really cool and fun experience at the end of the day to do this because as classical musicians, we don’t really get to perform jazz a lot, but every once in a while there is like a crossover thing that we can do like this,” Covelli said.

molly.fske@temple.edu

FERNANDO GAXIOLA / THE TEMPLE NEWS

The Rite of Swing Jazz Cafes, which features emerging musicians, are held at the Temple Performing Arts Center.

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

The “status quo:” Promote Women’s Basketball

Recent Temple Athletics’ social media posts show differences in team promotions.

BY FALLON ROTH AND DECLAN LANDIS For The Temple News

For Temple Basketball, it’s a tale of two teams on North Broad Street.

Women’s Basketball has been on a major upswing since conference play started at the end of December. Sitting at 17-10 as the regular season fnale nears, the Owls are frst in the American Athletic Conference, a deep contrast to last year’s team that fnished 11-18 and barely had enough players to feld a rotation.

As the women’s team improves, the men’s team is looking bleak. The men won their frst game in more than a month on Feb. 18 after losing 10 in a row, their worst streak since the 197576 season. Their losses have been close, providing some hope for next year, but the men’s team is 10-17 and 3-11 in conference play, sitting near the bottom of the AAC.

Despite obvious diferences in team performance, promotional events and other activities favor Men’s Basketball in contrast to Women’s Basketball, both in quality and number, according to The Temple News’ review of the teams’ and Temple Athletics’ ofcial social media pages.

Temple’s marketing team is giving Women’s Basketball its largest promotional event of the season for their penultimate home game on Feb. 28, featuring multiple high-dollar giveaways and dollar hotdogs. However, these eforts should have started earlier in the season and serve as an example for years of women’s sports promotions to come.

Some promotions are decided before the season starts, but others are decided throughout the year. Temple Athletics should have added more promotions early on to encourage fans’ excitement

and engagement for the women’s team, just as they do for the men’s.

The men’s team has had roughly 19 total promotional activities, posts, giveaways, sponsorships or special visitors from the start of the season to Feb. 18, while the women’s team has had approximately nine, according to their social media posts.

The attention given to the Feb. 28 game should have been applied all season. Even so, Temple Athletics hasn’t taken the victory lap they would if the men’s team was at the top of their conference. The women’s team hasn’t reached the top spot in the AAC this late in the season since the 2011-12 season, when they were in the Atlantic-10.

“That would be the kind of thing that if the men’s team was number one in the conference, they would be on bullhorns or something making that announcement,” said Karen Turner, a journalism professor emerita who is a member of the Temple Owl Club, the university’s primary avenue for fundraising.

Both Men’s and Women’s Basketball have made a point to promote their teams together despite having separate promotions budgets. They’ve collaborated on various occasions including holiday discount promotions, ticket deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday and handing out fyers around campus to advertise the start of the season.

“No matter what team, they’re important to us, and they deserve the fan support from general fans, students, alumni, whoever it may be,” said Scott Walcof, who handles Temple Athletics’ external operations. “We’re not going to treat a Women’s Basketball game any diferent than a Men’s Basketball game. We run the games the exact same way. We try to sell the games the exact same way. We do giveaways for both of those teams, so we treat it as equally as we possibly can.”

Promotions for the men’s team have included two Dollar Dog Nights, a White-Out event and giveaways for

a ticket to an Eagles game and a courtside seat at the Big 5 Classic. The Army ROTC and Raising Cane’s have presented men’s games and $10,000 half court shots, respectively.

“From a ‘white out’ perspective, we try to pick what we think will be the ‘biggest’ game of the season,” Walcof said. “For Men’s Basketball, Memphis was obviously coming into the season highly regarded. We use ‘Dollar Dog Night’ when we might need a little bit of an attendance push, whether from a student or general fan perspective.”

They also had a “Welcome to Fishtown” event — a play on head coach Adam Fisher’s last name — during a Jan. 24 home game amid the start of the team’s recent losing streak. The event featured “fsh-themed promotions,” and the frst 1,000 students received a Temple Basketball bucket hat. Members of the Fishtown District also visited the team at practice.

The event was not conceived during Athletics’ annual marketing plan, which typically lays out the marketing and promotions strategy for the following year. Walcof and his team brainstormed the idea after Temple’s Diamond Band continued to chant, “Fish!” at the frst-year head coach.

“We just put our heads together and said, ‘We should do some sort of a fshtheme game,’” Walcof said. “We looked at the schedule and thought the USF game after break made the most sense to give us enough time to plan for it. We came up with the whole ‘Welcome to Fishtown’ theme, ran it by coach Fisher, and he was like, ‘Sure, let’s try it.’”

During the frst game of the Women’s Basketball season, students had a chance to win Nike Panda Dunks. The rest of their giveaways are largely defned by t-shirts. The team gave away Philly-themed merchandise to the frst 250 fans during their Nov. 22 game and free shirts to the frst 500 fans at their Jan. 21 Autism Awareness game.

Women’s Basketball also promot-

ed opportunities for post-game parent-child layups and autograph sessions in addition to the team’s visit to the local Tanner Duckrey School to promote their Dec. 21 School Day game.

If Temple Athletics prepared more high-quality promotional events ahead of and throughout the season, the activities could help bolster attendance numbers for Women’s Basketball games.

Underwhelming attendance at Temple sporting events has been a long-standing issue for Temple Athletics as a whole, but the number of spectators at this season’s women’s games simply doesn’t match a team that has its best chance at an AAC title since joining the conference in 2014.

As of Feb. 22, Women’s Basketball averages just less than 1,500 home fans per home game according to Temple Athletics’ statistics. Men’s Basketball averages more than double that fgure, bringing in almost 3,500 fans per home game.

Athletic Director Arthur Johnson believes the market for things like ticket sales dictates the value of the events. Even if the women’s team is competing at a high level, the market for women’s basketball would still be smaller than the men’s market.

“It’s what the market says,” Johnson told The Temple News in October 2023. “Until you are having the same kind of success that they’re having in a South Carolina or a UConn, but even then, those tickets probably won’t be the same.”

Promotional disparities between Men’s and Women’s Basketball isn’t just a Temple issue. Women’s sports have long been placed on the backburner, and it’s a multilayered, intersectional problem that dates as far back as ancient times, where women weren’t even allowed to attend the Olympic games, said Ashley Gardner, a sports and recreation management professor.

Circumstances have improved over time, but even after Title IX was established in 1972, women in sports have still felt marginalized and subjected to stereotypes, misogyny and misogynoir, said Gardner, whose research class routinely examines the diferences in promotions of Temple’s men’s and women’s sports.

“Sexism by and large is the institutional issue because let’s say for example, you go on Instagram right now look at ESPN, when they post anything about women’s sports, they’re getting bashed in the comments, right?” Gardner said. “And that’s because of the institutional nature of sexism in sports. Sexism in sports did not start today, it did not start 10 years ago, it started in the ancient sport days, 7 something B.C.”

Gardner believes Temple is continuing to perpetuate the “status quo” in women’s sports through the discrepancies in promotions.

“It kind of just made sense,” Gardner said of the discrepancies in promotions between Temple Men’s and Women’s Basketball. “That’s what we see not just at Temple, not just in college sports, but

in women’s sports all across the board. We see that large discrepancy and so wasn’t necessarily shocking. Saddening, of course, but not necessarily shocking.”

Improvements can be made if Temple is more intentional about who and what they’re promoting and if they acknowledge and are accountable for their actions moving forward, Gardner said.

Temple Athletics hosted “Diamond Dreams: Investing in Women’s Sports at Temple” on Feb. 10, preceding Women’s Basketball’s game against USF. The event was aimed at fundraising and increasing awareness of women’s sports at Temple. The athletic department should continue to host these types of events that emphasize women’s athletics, while also giving the necessary recognition to high-performing women’s teams.

“I think the issue with not just Temple Athletics, but athletics across the board, is that we aren’t intentional enough,” Gardner said. “When we are trying to redress something, when we are trying to move toward equity — it’s not even about equality anymore — when we’re trying to move toward eq-

uity, we have to be intentional. And if you’re not intentional, there’s going to be some discrepancies there.”

Temple Athletics is already very intentional with which games get declared “white outs” or which games feature $1 hotdogs by looking closely at future opponents and ticket sales. Adding more women’s games to that slate in future seasons should not be challenging.

Temple Women’s Basketball is on the verge of making history. Head coach Diane Richardson made a statement by moving her team to The Liacouras Center, and her gamble was a testament to the confdence she instills in her players. However, they haven’t received the support they deserve from the Temple community, especially compared to the men’s team.

“I’m really pleased that marketing decided to put out a lot of promotions [for the Feb. 28 game],” Richardson said. “We’ve been doing a good job this year. We need people in the stands, and we want to share that with our fans because we like the platform. And hopefully we can get some people in the stands.”

As the women’s season comes to an end, the athletic department seems to fnally be doing what they can to bring people to support the Owls. Though it should have started earlier, their actions should be a blueprint for the future, hopefully providing a chance to contribute to changing the “status quo” in college athletics.

Editor’s Note: Karen Turner was a professor for the authors of this story. Turner did not play a role in the writing or reporting of this story.

fallon.roth@temple.edu @fallonroth_

declan.landis@temple.edu @declanlandis

LILLIAN PRIETO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Guard Tiarra East hits a layup against South Florida as Temple Women’s Basketball beat the Bulls to spark a fve-game winning streak.

ROWING

Gemma Wollenschlaeger takes the world stage

Wollenschlaeger has only rowed for fve years, and now she’s competing in the Paralympics.

BY COLIN SCHOFIELD

For The Temple News

By the time Gemma Wollenschlaeger reached her freshman year of high school, she had all but given up on her love for sports. She tried every sport, but after being cut from her travel basketball team and losing interest in swimming, she decided to quit trying entirely.

She spent the next year lying around her house, watching Netfix and feeling sorry for herself. However, her itch for playing sports and being outside never faded.

Around then, Wollenschlaeger discovered a local rowing club, decided to give it a try and quickly fell in love. Five years later, she’s preparing to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

“I realized that all these people were giving it their all and were my kind of people,” Wollenschlaeger said. “I went back and got in the boat, and the feeling of using my body to move the boat in synchronization with people in the boat was an amazing experience.”

Before she was born, Wollenschlaeger was diagnosed with a left clubfoot, a disability where the foot is twisted out of place. She underwent surgeries growing up while completing countless hours of physical therapy just to be able to walk.

Wollenschlaeger is unable to walk for more than 15 minutes, which impacts her abilities with some sports. However, rowing doesn’t require her to stand, and she proved to be a natural, earning recruiting recognition for rowing.

Temple Rowing head coach Rebecca Grzybowski was more intrigued by her attitude than her skills.

“She was defnitely not the fastest recruit in the class and she did not have a ton of race experience,” Grzybowski said. “Her attitude stuck out to me. She was so invested in the idea of high performance and wanting to get better.”

Grzybowski was unaware of Wollenschlaeger’s clubfoot when she frst recruited her, but Wollenschlaeger was upfront about it. She ofered alternatives to keep up with her team, like riding her bike while they ran.

Wollenschlaeger’s solutions-oriented approach convinced Grzybowski she was a ft, and Wollenschlaeger committed to Temple in 2020.

Wollenschlaeger took of once she arrived at Temple. She was named to the American Athletic Conference frstteam all-conference in 2023 and helped lead the varsity eight to a third-place fnish in the AAC Championships.

“She just keeps improving, there is never any doubt of how well she is going to perform,” said teammate Amarna Milne. “She shows up, gives 100 percent and that is what has led to her success.”

Wollenschlaeger’s success at Temple earned her a spot on the US Para Rowing roster, which competed in the World

Championships during the summer and gave Wollenschlaeger a taste of international competition. She won a silver medal and gained experience that led to a spot on the Paralympic roster.

Earning a spot on the Paralympic Rowing roster was once unfathomable to Wollenschlaeger, but after entering the selection camp on Jan. 4, she knew she had a strong shot of being selected. Her dream became a reality when she was selected at the end of camp.

“As a kid, I would always watch the Olympics and be like, ‘I wish I could be like them and I wish I was good at sports,’” Wollenschlaeger said. “After going through every single sport under the sun to then fnd rowing and get to that level is an awesome achievement. It means the world to me and it’s something I will never forget and something everyone around me will never forget.”

Wollenschlaeger will be competing in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain

and has her eyes set on a gold medal.

The games don’t start for another seven months, but Wollenschlaeger will spend almost every day until then preparing to face the best competition in the world. On top of getting ready for the competition in the water, Wollenschlaeger wants to use the Paralympics to bring awareness to disabilities.

Wollenschlaeger hid her clubfoot from others growing up but began seeing it as a gift after rowing. She hopes to be a role model to other people dealing with disabilities and help them develop that same confdence.

“Embrace it,” Wollenschlaeger said. “You were given this awesome challenge and you should make that challenge into this amazing opportunity to run to the stars with.”

colin.schofeld@temple.edu

@colinschofeld9

TEMPLE ATHLETICS / COURTESY

Gemma Wollenschlaeger (fourth from the left) has been a pivotal part of Temple Rowing, and she’s earned a spot on the US Paralympic team.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Temple Women’s Tennis shrugs of slow start

The Owls won four straight matches and hope to compete for a conference championship.

BY ROB HSU

For The Temple News

As the weather turns from winter to spring, many of the often overlooked non-revenue sports start to gear up for their seasons. For the past several years, Temple Women’s Tennis has been one of those teams quietly writing its own success story.

The Owls won 17 matches under head coach Steve Mauro last spring, and Maiko Uchijima and Jamie Wei qualifed for the NCAA Championships Round of 32 as a pair. Wei graduated in the summer, but the Owls didn’t skip a beat in the fall season. Uchijima and her new doubles partner, Samantha Nanere, qualifed for nationals and advanced to the quarterfnals.

Temple had momentum on its side but struggled to start the spring season, getting swept by VCU 7-0 and Princeton 8-0 in its frst two matches. However, the Owls have gone on a four match winning streak since, sweeping Siena College on Feb. 10 and Villanova on Feb. 11 before overpowering Norfolk State 4-1 on Feb. 23 and squeaking by Howard 4-3 on Feb. 24.

“I think we’re getting better, and if we can win at least one more match we can get better seeding,” said senior Sena Takebe. “There are four new players this semester, so I am very excited for them to play well so hopefully we can do better than last semester.”

The Owls boasted two nationally ranked doubles tandems last season with Wei and Uchjima and Evie Wei and Veronika Kulhava. Evie Wei and Kulhava fnished last season with a 16-2 record, the highest win total in a single season in Temple history.

Only one player from each tandem remains at Temple this season after Jamie Wei graduated and Kulhava transferred to Kansas State in the ofseason.

The Owls still returned most of their roster from the previous season outside their two top pairs.

Takeba and Thamara Frasser Kawaratani joined Uchijima and Wei in coming back to North Broad Street for another season. Frasser Kawaratani won 11 matches as a freshman in 2023 and hopes to continue improving in her second season in the Cherry and White.

Freshmen Marianthi Christoforidou and Veda Prapurna joined the ranks this year and are looking to make an immediate impact. Nanere, who made her frst trip to nationals in November, could be key to the team’s future success, but she and Christoforidou have both struggled to start the year.

Despite the fresh faces, Temple’s biggest boost is Vineetha Mummadi, who was on the roster last season but played just two singles matches before tearing her ACL.

Mummadi worked tirelessly during

the ofseason to get back with the team. Her drive was motivated by the desire to not only return, but be a main contributor for the Owls.

“It’s almost been a year and four months, and the process was complicated,” Mummadi said. “There were so many ups and downs. Physically, my quad does not react as it used to, but all the [physical therapy] time came through. I was spending at least two hours every day in [physical therapy]. I feel I am in good shape after coming back from the injury.”

The team had the talent to beat anyone, but couldn’t put it all together needing to brush of its slow start to compete for their frst American Athletic Conference title in program history.

Assistant coach Frederika Girsang believed the team’s talent would ultimately outweigh their early struggles, and they are already showing signs of that on its four game winning streak

stringing together dominant performances.

“This is the beginning of the season,” Girsang said. “This is a good group and we have talented players. If we have a full team of healthy players we will have a good season.”

Temple has maintained one central goal since the season started: fnally bring the AAC title to North Philadelphia. Each step taken by the Owls counts toward that end goal, and they haven’t taken any step lightly.

“Every match will help us prepare for the championship,” Girsang said. “One match at a time. It should come from the players themselves. The motivation comes from how much they want it. Work hard every day, and you will win.”

robert.hsu@temple.edu

@robert_hsu_

RJ FRANCESCHINI / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Evie Wei returns the ball in a match in 2023. She has anchored the 2024 squad, who have bounced back from a slow start.

NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS

Thomas partners with Temple for NIL protection

Isaiah Thomas and the Beasley School of Law will serve high schoolers navigating NIL.

BY RYAN MACK Assistant Sports Editor

Isaiah Thomas has loved basketball nearly his entire life. The Philadelphia City Councilman grew up playing the game in Philadelphia and joined Frankford High School’s team with one of his childhood friends, Marvin Kilgore. Although Thomas’ career ended in high school, Kilgore played Division-I ball at East Carolina and UTEP, and the pair kept in touch.

Kilgore came back to the City of Brotherly Love and started the Marvin Kilgore Basketball Camp, and asked Thomas to become a counselor in the summer of 2010. Thomas wasn’t sure what to expect but took the opportunity anyway, hoping to pass his love of basketball to younger generations.

Thomas was hooked on coaching after that summer, and working with Kilgore sparked his passion to help kids through basketball.

“I wanted to go watch [Kilgore’s] camp and volunteer,” Thomas said. “His camp inspired me to do the same thing. It showed me how many young people need quality mentoring and free programming.”

Thomas did just that; he partnered with his longtime friend Chris Woods to create the Thomas and Woods Foundation basketball camp in 2012 while also working his way to a Philadelphia City Council at-large seat. Thomas won a seat in 2019 after losing four years earlier, and used his platform to help high school student-athletes throughout the city.

Thomas has now found an even bigger initiative to help student-athletes. Thomas and Temple’s Beasley School of Law announced on Jan. 24 the frst public-private partnership of its kind: a hotline for student-athletes to get legal

advice about Name, Image and Likeness transactions. Thomas also introduced an “NIL Youth Protection Bill,” which was originally pocket vetoed by former mayor Jim Kenney and is expected to be unanimously approved by City Council on March 7.

“I am grateful to my colleagues in the Education committee, who unanimously passed my Youth NIL Protection Bill out of Committee for a second time,” Thomas wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “I am proud to have the support of my Council colleagues and the new administration, who share my gratitude of Temple Law for providing the infrastructure to educate our city’s young people about this ambiguous and confusing aspect of their athletic careers.”

The people behind the hotline want serve the student-athletes of Philly by assisting with any questions or concerns. While the process wasn’t always clear, Thomas’ passion was, and his partnership with Beasley has provided much-needed protection for the city’s youth.

BASKETBALL AND MENTORSHIP

When Thomas’ playing career ended, he decided to transition from the court to the sidelines. The North Philadelphia native found a job as a coach at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School in East Kensington and later became the associate dean of students.

Aside from coaching, Thomas sits on the District XII board of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, which governs high school sports for the state. Thomas uses his passion for being a role model to reach his players through sport, which also impacts his city council position.

“I love using basketball as an example,” Thomas said. “It teaches you life lessons, skills and a certain level of discipline that young people can carry with them as they transition into adulthood.”

The Supreme Court legalized college athletes profting of their name,

image and likeness in June 2021, forcing the NCAA to adopt an interim policy later that month. PIAA regulations later allowed students to sign deals, but coaches and schools could not aid or guide these students as they received offers, according to the PIAA Constitution and Bylaws.

The restrictions force coaches and mentors, like Thomas, out of the equation. Many high school student-athletes don’t have the means for proper NIL law education and are forced to fend for themselves, being left vulnerable to predatory contracts.

“At the end of the day, when you’re looking at what an NIL opportunity presents, there’s plenty of them,” Thomas said. “But when you think about the possibility of predatory behavior, where young people can be taken advantage of because they might not have support, who does the student go to if they are living in poverty to get some type of support when a contract is put in front of them?”

Thomas came up with a plan: create a bill that helps these student-athletes stay protected from harmful deals and stay educated about new developments in the law. He introduced his “Youth Protection Bill” during a November 2022 City Council session, and his plans caught the attention of students and faculty members at Temple.

THE HOTLINE

Temple law professor Ken Jacobsen was frst introduced to Thomas’ plan at the beginning of 2023. Jacobsen teaches two sports law classes while also running a law frm and marketing agency, and Beasley Dean Rachel Rebouché thought he’d be perfect for Thomas’ idea. Jacobsen recognized NIL opened up avenues for students to make money without losing eligibility, but he also saw there were plenty of risks without guidance. He viewed the landscape as “the Wild West” due to its novelty and how people were willing to take advantage of athletes looking for an opportunity.

“The problem is where there’s money, there’s abuse, and there are people that are willing to take advantage of athletes,” Jacobsen said. “You have people who want to sign athletes to deals, but if you don’t read the fne print, they’re signing away their rights for their lifetime.”

Thomas and Jacobsen instantly hit it of, and their partnership blossomed. Temple fully funded Thomas’ Youth Protection bill from the start, saving taxpayers from spending extra money in the process. Thomas jumped at the chance to keep his idea alive without charging taxpayers.

The hotline was introduced in a press conference on Jan. 25 and provides Philadelphia’s high school student-athletes assistance with NIL deals and information. A Beasley student will answer calls on the hotline at any time of day and ofer insight on the issue. Jacobsen or another board-certifed lawyer also provides assistance if more expertise is needed.

Khaaliq Van-Otoo is one of the Temple law students handpicked by Jacobsen to help run the hotline. The pair connected through a class Jacobsen taught last year and Jacobson let VanOtoo know there was a possible job opportunity.

“I met with him probably twice this year before the application process opened up,” said Van-Otoo, a second-year law student. “I was really interested personally, in starting an NIL clinic here at Temple and just talking to him about what that would look. [Jacobsen] told me there would be some opportunities coming up, this was one of them.”

City Council unanimously approved Thomas’ proposal on Dec. 14 and seemingly solidifed Temple’s involvement in the process. The bill provided protections for high school student-athletes from harmful deals while also creating scholarship opportunities and education programs.

“How do we warn athletes about the bad deals, but also how do we educate them on how to go out and get them?”

Jacobsen said. “You read about the big deals, but there are smaller deals to be had. You’re not going to buy a new Lamb rghini, but if you can get a couple-hundred dollars from promoting a pizza shop or an auto dealership or something like that, then how do you go about doing that?”

The bill seemed all but ofcial as the year came to a close, but Kenney failed to sign the bill into law before leaving offce on Dec. 31, 2023, because he “misunderstood” who would cover the costs in the bill, Thomas said. The ruling came abruptly without warning or indication from the former mayor himself, but the pocket veto proved to be just another obstacle to overcome.

The NIL Youth Protection bill will be ofcially signed into law once approved by Mayor Cherelle Parker.

ONE MONTH LATER

The rollout of the hotline has been purposefully slow, as Jacobsen wants to be patient with the project since legislation has yet to be signed into law. VanOtoo checks the hotline every morning, and Jacobsen expects to be much busier if Parker signs the bill.

The partnership has still gained traction in person despite the lack of hotline calls. Jacobsen was invited by the Philadelphia School District’s athletic director Jimmy Lynch to speak about NIL to the athletic directors of the public and charter schools in the district on Jan. 20.

Those meetings opened Jacobsen’s eyes to the needs of student-athletes outside of what the hotline initially offered. Beasley students will now not only provide access online and through the hotline, but will go to schools so the student-athletes can talk to them in person.

“I’m excited that the hotline opens up those relationships,” Van-Otoo said. “I’m most excited about going into the

schools because a lot of times with this work, people don’t know what they don’t know. The school sessions will be fun to break down those barriers.”

Athletic directors mentioned how important the hotline’s perspective on NIL was, but they also had questions about the National Letter of Intent after Jacobsen’s presentation on the subject. Some view the NLI as just a piece of paper, but their conversations have shown both Temple Law and Thomas they need to provide more information about recruitment and commitment letters.

Jacobsen has since incorporated the NLI piece into his work, and believes it’s just as important as the NIL information when trying to stay within the NCAA regulations.

“I think that NIL and NLI can work in parallel,” Jacobsen said. “I would go into a school and we would have a group and we would have a session. In the frst part of the session, we’re going to talk about NIL and talk about the risks,

the rewards and what to watch out for. Then immediately morph into the NLI piece and do something very similar.”

Philadelphia is the frst city to have its public city law school and government partner up for these kinds of conversations. The hope is this is the frst domino to fall and other cities will see what is happening and try to replicate it.

“We’re hoping that we have a model that other areas can essentially replicate, to make sure that the most vulnerable student-athletes are essentially protected.” Thomas said. “We just appreciate Temple for stepping up to the plate and saying this is something that they want to be a part of.”

ryan.mack0001@temple.edu @ryan_mack18

FERNANDO GAXIOLA / THE TEMPLE NEWS Philadelphia City Councilman Isaiah Thomas introduced the NIL Youth Protection Bill and has been one of its biggest advocates.