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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

VOL. 92 ISS. 19

The Cost of a Snow Day

After sports cuts, a Title IX review Complaint by rowing alumna led to Office for Civil Rights investigation. AVERY MAEHRER Sports Editor

T

he U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating the university for possible failure in providing equal opportunities for its female student-athletes, according to an email President Theobald sent to coaches and Board of Trustees members on Feb. 11. The email said the inquiry into the university is regarding locker rooms, facilities, financial assistance, housing and dining. A spokesperson for the T7, an organization formed to fight

the athletic cuts, said the complaint was filed on Dec. 20 by a rowing alumna in an effort to begin a mediation with the university to reinstate the teams. The T7 denied any involvement in the filing of the complaint, but confirmed that the two parties have been in communication with each other. The investigation was first reported by the Inquirer. Failure to meet Title IX standards was one of the primary reasons the administration said it used in its decision to cut seven sports in December. The OCR discourages athletic cuts because it is “contrary to the spirit of Title IX,” according to a spokesperson. Federal funding has never been denied to Temple or any other non-compliant university since Title IX, the gender-equity law, was passed

CUTS PAGE 6

Theobald reaches 120-day benchmark Theobald said biggest regret was the communication of sports cuts. MARCUS MCCARTHY Assistant News Editor (Top) Antonio Lamb works overtime shoveling snow on the morning of Feb. 13. (Bottom Left) Snow coats a bench on Main Campus. Temple’s Facilities Management department stores salt and other supplies in preparation for bad weather, but a harsh winter this semester has exhausted supplies and added to maintenance costs.| ANDREW THAYER TTN

SNOW DAY BY THE NUMBERS

$120 M

56 INCHES

ALLOTTED INTO THE FACILITIES & OPERATIONS BUDGET, WHICH OVERSEES SNOW REMOVAL

$193,000

OF SNOW HAS FALLEN IN PHILADELPHIA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA

SPENT ON SNOW REMOVAL, NOT INCLUDING MACHINERY REPAIR, WORKER’S OVERTIME

After 120 days since his inauguration, President Theobald’s six commitments that he laid out in his inaugural address have begun to NEWS ANALYSIS face the test of rollout. Theobald’s administration has been established and his voiced plans are in the beginning stages of implementation, but not everything went along as he hoped. Although Theobald was

formally recognized as Temple’s president in his Oct. 18 inauguration, he began his tenure with the university nine months earlier on Jan. 1, 2013. During his inauguration speech, Theobald made six commitments to maintain Temple’s identity as a working-class university, serve the Philadelphia community and expand research. The administration in December eliminated seven nonrevenue sports to cut costs in the athletic department, a move that has caught the most flak of Theobald’s tenure thus far. Theobald said this is where his biggest regret lies. “I think that’s probably the

THEOBALD PAGE 6

Ousted professor re-ignites Figure drawing brings personality to class School of Art offers protests within department Tyler figure drawing classes, Anthony Monteiro, protesting his contract not being renewed, involves union, community. JOHN MORITZ ERIN EDINGER-TUROFF The Temple News The employment of one instructor is again the subject of controversy within the African American studies department after Anthony Monteiro, a non-tenured professor in the department, issued a letter of grievance against Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Teresa Soufas for choosing not to renew his contract. Monteiro delivered a statement to the press at the 1199C Hospital Worker’s Union on Feb. 12, calling on President Theobald to reverse Soufas’

decision and renew his annual contract. Monteiro alleged that the decision not to renew his contract was an act of revenge – a direct response from Soufas to his outspokenness during heated discussions last year between the dean and department faculty and students over the filling of the department chairmanship. Soufas said Monteiro’s allegations had “no truth whatsoever,” adding that the decision not to renew Monteiro’s contract was made by Department Chairman Molefi Asante based on the changing structure of the department. “The African American studies department right now is rethinking and making new plans for the curriculum,” Soufas said. Asante declined to comment, citing ongoing discussions between the groups.

NEWS - PAGES 2-3, 6

MONTEIRO PAGE 6

which model Jennifer Hermann said she enjoys. CLAIRE SAKSO The Temple News

Jennifer Hermann sits still for almost two hours. Her shoulders gently rise and fall and her eyelashes flutter every so often. She looks peaceful as she poses, completely naked, in the middle of 15 students. For budding artists in the Tyler School of Art, figure drawing means just another day of class and just another naked body. “[Figure drawing] is just something that’s really traditionally fine arts,” Andrew Ruffin, a senior painting major, said. “It’s really old practice. That’s the way I always thought about it anyway. It’s a classic thing.”

LIVING - PAGES 7-8, 16-18

Students draw nude models in figure drawing courses available at Tyler School of Art. | CLAIRE SASKO TTN As Ruffin said, figure drawing is ancient and simple – it’s the method of drawing a live nude model to better understand the physique of the human body. This practice has been implemented in art schools for centuries.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT - PAGES 9-15

Snow depleting resources

The fabric of branding

Cassette tapes make a comeback

Record snowfall in the Philadelphia area has led to increased costs associated with the materials and labor required to keep campus clear. PAGE 2

Susannah Cobb McMonagle has researched the branding seen in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. PAGE 7

Despite the digital medium’s popularity, music collectors are trending toward collecting tapes. PAGE 9

Trucks discuss local ingredients

Boylesque rises in nightlife scene

TSG calls for game attendance Temple’s student government announced a program to increase fan support for nonrevenue sports as part of package to help affected student-athletes of cut sports. PAGE 3 OPINION - PAGES 4-5

Is “Fly in 4” a positive step?

Some Main Campus food truck owners said they value the origin of their menu ingredients. PAGE 7

Boylesque, or burlesque for men, is making an appearance in a neo-burlesque revolution. PAGE 9

Tyler professor and artist Keith Morrison said thousands of students take figure drawing courses across the U.S. every year. Morrison specializes in drawing

DRAWING PAGE 18

SPORTS - PAGES 19-22

Gymnasts host final home meet

Baseball preps for final season After losing six players who transferred after the athletic cuts, coach Ryan Wheeler’s squad is aiming to stick together for one more run. PAGE 22

NEWS

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Staff Reports | Weather & Facilities

A front-end loader shovels snow in the courtyard between Peabody and Johnson halls the day after a snow storm. Such storms have dumped more than 50 inches of snow in the Philadelphia area this season, an amount that has forced crews to work overtime to keep campus pathways clear and safe for students and faculty. | ANDREW THAYER TTN

Record snow, accumulating costs More than 50 inches of snow causes facilities headache, multiple closures.

J

PATRICIA MADEJ The Temple News

im Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations, takes one look at the upcoming weather forecast, checks outside of his window and shoots a text to Virginia Arnsberger, director of support services. “Do we have a plan?” Creedon and Arnsberger, along with representatives from the provost’s office, human resources, campus security, communications, housing, food services, domestic campuses parking operations, the Health Sciences Center and Temple University Hospital decide whether the Temple campuses will shut down, have an early closure or late start. And so far this school year, with a little more than 50 inches of snowfall accumulated throughout the Philadelphia area, which is more than the region has seen in about 20 years, Main Campus has seen three closings, three late starts and three early closures. In comparison, during the 2012-13 school year, the university only shut down once – for two days – due to inclement weather conditions from Hurricane Sandy. “This will have a financial impact,” Creedon said. “In particular because we’ve been lucky the past two years.” In the facilities budget for Main, Ambler and partial areas of Center City campuses, which include campus plan-

ning and design, construction management, campus security, parking, service operations, real estate, environmental health and radiation safety, facilities management and operations cost an estimated total of $120 million with 824 employees and 130 student workers. And so far this academic year, the amount of snow the area has gotten has cost about $193,000 for Main Campus, not including machinery repairs. To put things into perspective, the snowstorm on Feb. 3 cost Main Campus $32,000 alone, Creedon said. However, snow removal costs are allotted in the budget, for the most part. “Those costs are inclusive,” Arnsberger said. “So anything that’s overtime or the additional costs would be the salt products [and] the actual individual machinery that we have to maintain.” Main Campus has used a total of 200,000 pounds – almost six tractor trailers full — of salt from December to now, costing a total of $48,000. Each year the university prepares with at least three tractor trailer loads, but last year, they didn’t even use one. Aside from salt and machinery repair, the main issue that accounts for additional costs outside of the budget is overtime hours for the snow removal crew. So far, there has been around 1,000 hours of overtime, or 125 mandays, just on Main Campus. The university doesn’t have an actual snow removal crew. Instead, it’s in the job description for housekeepers, truck drivers, bus drivers and the grounds crew to conduct the snow removal operation. “So in other words, if they’re planting flowers, they get eight hours of pay, if they’re removing snow, they get eight hours of pay,” Arnsberger said. “So that’s built in, it’s just not planting flowers at that time. So the housekeep-

ers aren’t in cleaning, they’re outside doing what they need to do to help with the snow removal.” What costs the university additional dollars is overnight snowfall, when cleanup bleeds into clock-out times. Glenn Eck, grounds superintendent, said the crew takes the extreme amount of snowfall this year with a grain of salt. “Generally, everyone in the department knows and accepts that it comes with the job,” Eck said. “We do long days and short breaks. We’re pretty straight with people when hiring about the expectations of snow.” During the snowstorm last Wednesday into Thursday night, the third shift crew shoveled off and on throughout the night and refrained from clocking out during their usual time of 6:30 a.m. to shovel snow until first shifters came in at 8 a.m., working overtime. “We haven’t gotten any [snow] the last two years, so this is our time,” said Antonio Lamb, who usually works as a housekeeper at Klein Hall, but this time was shoveling snow on the steps leading up to 7-Eleven on Liacouras Walk. The crew members wore their AlliedBarton and typical navy blue uniforms, some with additional hats, gloves and sweatshirts and even a trash bag, but Ken Chinn, who works as a custodian in Anderson Hall, seemed more prepared than the rest with army pants, a bright red vest and goggles. “I actually like it,” Chinn said while removing snow on the handicap ramp next to Maxi’s on Liacouras Walk. “If I can make a path for students to learn, it’s great.” All the while, students who usually attend classes on Main Campus slept in. The night before, they got a TU Alert announcing that the universi-

ty was closed due to the incoming foot or more of expected snow that would hit the area. It was Creedon and his team that decided to take those precautions. Together, they take part in a large conference call and are briefed by AccuWeather to make a decision. And for any snowstorm, Creedon said he looks at weather conditions, timing, SEPTA and what surrounding schools – the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, La Salle and Villanova – are doing. “We look at all this and decide, ‘OK, what’s the best thing to do?’ And what we’ve been trending toward is the concept of the late start or the early dismissal because it at least gives you a little time in the morning to potentially not be in a rush hour,” Creedon said. “It allows for things to warm up a little bit. Plus, it gives us the ability to assess things in the morning and say, ‘You know what, we just shouldn’t open at all.’” However, Creedon said he’s seen the reaction those decisions have gotten on Facebook, Twitter and even through

personal angry emails and phone calls he’s received. “The view is, ‘If you knew you were going to let us out early, why didn’t you just tell us to stay home?’” Creedon said. “The failure with that logic is that we didn’t know we were going to let you out early. The conditions we were looking at were ones that could have changed.” Whatever their decision is, it won’t impact the costs. Professors, researchers and other faculty are salaried and will get paid regardless. It’s the issues out of their control that are the ultimate problem costing additional dollars outside of the allotted facilities budget. “See, I like snowstorms that run overnight,” Creedon said. “Where everyone sleeps. They clean up, you come in in the morning, and everything’s cleaned up and operating. And those are the least expensive snowstorms.” Patricia Madej can be reached at patricia.madej@temple.edu or on Twitter @PatriciaMadej.

Kirk Oliver, a facilities worker, bundled up last week to stay warm while shoveling snow on campus. |ANDREW THAYER TTN

Delays in postal service not just due to poor weather, students say Students in campus residence halls say deliveries are stalled within residence halls. JOE BRANDT The Temple News Lost, out of stock or undelivered textbooks due at Main Campus residence halls and the Student Center bookstore have been the subject of complaints from multiple students, who said the mishaps have caused delays in classwork and created unnecessary extra costs. Multiple students in Peabody Hall said they were misled since the Pea-

NEWS DESK 215-204-7419

body address listed on Temple’s Facilities Management website is for the Johnson & Hardwick residence halls. Elizabeth DaCrema, a freshman art history major who lives in Peabody, said she ordered art supplies online but did not receive them from the front desk until a month later, even though they had arrived at Temple, according to her package tracking service. MaryJane Moyer-Fittipaldi, a sophomore journalism and media studies and production double major, said in an email that Amazon never delivered a required textbook for her U.S. Society general education course. Since she had a paper due on the book, Moyer had to buy a copy from the bookstore as a last resort.

“I normally try to get ahead in my classes, but this mess-up has set me back three weeks,” she said. The campus Barnes & Noble bookstore has caused problems for other students as well. “Two of my professors have said they ordered a set of books for the bookstore here to stock and then the books have never come in,” Jill Richards, an undeclared freshman, said in an email. Richards instead ordered books online to get them sooner, but encountered more problems. “[United States Postal Service] will deliver a package at 11:30 p.m. and say ‘business closed, notice left,’” Richards said. “Obviously when you try to deliver a package at midnight the

NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

business is going to be closed.” “Some books have still not arrived after ordering them at the very start of the semester,” Richards added. “In the past few weeks, we have noticed slowed mail and package delivery to the residence halls,” Michael Scales, associate vice president for student affairs who oversees the mailroom operations for residence halls, said in an email. “We believe the recent occurrences have been weather related.” “While we do not control the operation of the USPS, we do advocate for our students when service expectations are not met,” he said. Scales said he will work to get the incorrect address fixed on the Facilities Management site, though he noted that

the correct address appears on the Student Affairs website. According to Temple Student Affairs’ website, residence halls are served directly by USPS and not by the university post office, though the Facilities Management site notes that the UPO “work[s] closely with the U.S. Postal Service and contract carriers.” Students living in residence halls have mailboxes that are delivered to regularly, but must pick up received packages at the front desk in the lobby of the residence hall. Email notifications are sent to inform students that a package is waiting for them. Joe Brandt can be reached at joseph.brandt@temple.edu.

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

PAGE 3

Staff Reports | Student Government

TSG launches support for cut athletes Student government launches website to help athletes, calls on students to attend final games. JOE GILBRIDE The Temple News Temple Student Government unveiled its program to support studentathletes affected by the university’s planned cuts of seven intercollegiate sports at its general assembly meeting last week, the first formal action from student leadership since the cuts were approved by the Board of Trustees on Dec. 6. At the Feb. 10 general assembly meeting, TSG members presented their plan, which includes rallying days for students to attend matches of each affected sport and a website that TSG hopes will help student-athletes through the transition. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee organized the dates for the university-wide Owl Days from February through May. TSG and the committee said they expect large crowds for men’s gymnastics, men’s crew, women’s rowing, baseball, softball and men’s track & field events. Buses and special activities will be provided for students who want to go out and support the teams. Brooklin White, president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the softball team, said many student-athletes approached the committee and asked for more support from students. “We want to see tailgates at every event,” White said. Student Body President Darin Bartholomew said he also wished to see an environment more like Temple’s football or basketball games to support the seven sports, which suffered low attendance and student support before the announcement of the cuts. “We’ve never organized students to go to these games to this extent before,” Bartholomew said. “We’re prepared for as many students as want to go.” Bartholomew said he hoped alumni would support the teams as well. Since December, student-athletes and coaches have fought against the

Temple Student Government Director of Communications Ray Smeriglio speaks to a crowd of students at a meeting on Feb. 10 about TSG’s new programs aimed at showing support to the seven cut sports. | ALEX UDOWENKO TTN cuts, looking for ways to reinstate “A lot of them are so lost right the teams. Despite their efforts, Bar- now,” White said. “It’s important to tholomew said the goal advertise that we have of the TSG support proa support system out gram was not to try to there.” get Temple to reverse Ray Smeriglio, its decision on the cuts. TSG’s director of com“Our goal is to supmunications, led the port the students affectteam that made the ed,” Bartholomew said. website, and spoke “This is about showing about its features at the who we are as a Temple Feb. 10 general assemfamily.” bly meeting. Though Temple “We wanted to plans to slash the seven give [student-athletes] sports on July 1, Bar- Darin Bartholomew / student body something to make the president process easier,” Smeritholomew said he wants to continue the support glio said. “It’s an agprogram past that date. gregated database, all seven sections of “My hope is in the future this ef- the website were set up to answer any fort can be sustained,” Bartholomew questions student-athletes might have.” said. The website lists resources on TSG also set up a new section of transferring, scholarships, psychologiits website to support the affected stu- cal aid, career help and information dent-athletes directly. on continuing to play sports at Temple

“Our goal

is to support the students affeceted. This is about showing who we are as a Temple family.

”

through club and intramural programs. Smeriglio said that prior to launch, TSG showed the website to studentathletes and administrators at the Resnick Academic Support Center. They looked through the features and found them helpful, he said. “It’s not a fix-it-all,” Smeriglio said, stressing that the most important part of the website was to inform affected student-athletes about what is available for them and about the support they will receive from students and alumni. Those who don’t choose to transfer to pursue their sport at another university will still be accommodated by Temple, Smeriglio said. The website tells student-athletes that their scholarships will be honored, priority registration will continue and support services will remain open at the Resnick Academic Support Center after the cuts are made. However, special on-campus housing will not be provided to affect-

ed student-athletes as soon as the 201415 academic year ends. As many student-athletes have stated their intentions to transfer because of the cuts, TSG outlined a short guide to the process in the new website. “If student-athletes leave the university, they could come back and still receive the same financial aid,” Smeriglio said. Ultimately, TSG acknowledged that the program will not fully repair the gap soon to open up in the lives of many student-athletes, and it is not TSG’s goal to campaign to reinstate the seven affected sports. Bartholomew said he expects the program to bring the Temple community together around the student-athletes and help them through a rough time. Joe Gilbride can be reached at joe.gilbride@temple.edu.

Staff Reports | Research

Professor gets $500K to study uses of image analysis tech Haibin Ling received an award from the National Science Foundation. LOGAN BECK The Temple News Computer and information sciences professor Haibin Ling has been awarded the National Science Foundation Career Award of $479,691 for his work on bettering computer image analysis for a variety of uses in society. Ling’s five-year project, “High-order Tensor Analysis for Groupwise Correspondence: Theory, Algorithms and Applications,” looked at a range of topics like computer communications and applications, image analysis and the early detection of diseases like osteoporosis. According to the National Science Foundation’s website, Ling’s project “develops a unified framework for this problem – finding correspondence among a group of objects – and to apply the framework to different applications.” “Basically, we try to make the computer understand what it says,” Ling said. “My project is mainly about fundamental tools to support computer applications.” Ling said fundamental

tools to support communication included cameras having the ability to localize eyes in a snapshot and zoom in. “Our interest is to use this image analysis to understand medical images,” Ling said. With this technology, it is possible to predict diseases such as osteoporosis based on medical and dental images taken in a doctor or dentist’s office. Dentistry professor Jie Yang collaborated with Ling and managed the project. Ling’s project also deals with sending a warning message to Internet users before they upload questionable content online. In 2010, a Rutgers University student committed suicide after his roommate and a hall mate used his webcam to secretly tape him kissing his partner and later uploaded it to the Internet. Ling said he believes technology can prevent incidents like this. “In that time, I was thinking that when people publish such videos on websites, you can tell a difference between regular taped videos and secretly taped videos,” Ling said. In regular videos, the lighting is typically good and the posing is natural, while in secretly taped videos the content is often strange, the lighting is dark and the posing seems odd. Ling said it is still a work in

Department of computer sciences professor Haibin Ling studies various uses of computer image analysis, including predicting diseases like osteoporosis and moderating online content. Ling was awarded a $500,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to further his research and add assistants.| ALEX UDOWENKO TTN progress, but he hopes to be able to use image analysis to identify potentially harmful images and send out a warning message before uploading to prevent future

tragedies. The award money given to Ling will grant him one month’s summer salary per year, as well as funding the education of a

Ph.D. student throughout his five-year education. Additionally, the money will apply associated funding for potentially two to three undergraduate students

involved in research. Logan Beck can be reached at logan.beck@temple.edu.

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL/OP-ED

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Joey Cranney, Editor-in-Chief Jenelle Janci, Managing Editor Cheyenne Shaffer, Chief Copy Editor John Moritz, News Editor Jerry Iannelli, Opinion Editor Erin Edinger-Turoff, Living Editor Patricia Madej, Arts & Entertainment Editor Avery Maehrer, Sports Editor Marcus McCarthy, Asst. News Editor Evan Cross, Asst. Sports Editor Jessica Smith, Asst. Living Editor Sam Tighe, Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Dustin Wingate, Multimedia Editor Alexandra Snell, Multimedia Editor Chris Montgomery, Web Editor

Patrick McCarthy, Asst. Web Editor Abi Reimold, Photography Editor Andrew Thayer, Asst. Photography Editor Addy Peterson, Design Editor Katherine Kalupson, Designer E.J. Smith Designer Donna Fanelle, Designer Zachary Campbell, Advertising Manager Grayson Holladay, Business Manager Morgan Hutchinson, Marketing Manager

The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News. Visit us online at temple-news.com. Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com. The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122

EDITORIALS

Gymnastics cut: a shame This past weekend, Tem- 2012-13 athletic data from the ple’s greatest athletic program U.S. Department of Education. competed in what is likely the Explaining the university’s last home meet in its history. reason for the cut on Jan. 28, The men’s President Theobald Temple cut its most gymnastics said the gymnasteam finished successful program in the tics practice facillast out of men’s gymnastics team. ity space, which three teams at is shared by the McGonigle Hall on Saturday, men’s and women’s teams, is Feb. 15. Approximately 700 “large enough for one, but not attended, most of who were large enough for two.” there to voice their support for It’s true that McGonigle the program, which is set to be Hall, which received a $48 mileliminated on July 1 as part of lion renovation in 2012, doesn’t the university’s decision in De- stack up to some of the more cember to cut seven sports. lavish facilities boasted by maBeginning in 1926, the jor gymnastics programs, but 13 men’s gymnastics team has won of the 14 colleges in the country 26 conference championships, with Division I men’s and womthe most of any Temple sports en’s gymnastics programs have team. From 2010-12, the team their teams share space. finished in the Top 2 of men’s As Turoff has pointed out, gymnastics programs nation- the team is also able to fundwide in GPA. Coach Fred Turoff raise a significant portion of its was a star gymnast at Temple budget. Turoff told the Inquirer and graduated with a degree in in December that the team funphysics. He has coached here draises more than half of its opfor the past 44 years. erating budget, which was about In July, Turoff will lose his $54,000 in 2012-13. job without a severance packTheobald said the univerage. sity would run into an “equity Surely, any decision that problem” if it allowed sports eliminates opportunities for that can afford to support themstudent-athletes and coaches is selves remain. a shame, but the cut to men’s Still, that’s no justification gymnastics seems to make the for eliminating the athletic deleast sense out of all the sports partment’s most successful prothat the university eliminated. gram. Considering men’s gymThe main reasons for the nastics’ small budget, standard overall cuts, according to the facilities and location on Main administration, were budgetary Campus, we question its incluconstraints and issues with fa- sion in the sports cuts. cilities. However, out of TemConsidering the program’s ple’s 24 Division I sports, only history, we wonder if the adthe men’s and women’s tennis ministration knew what it was teams are cheaper to operate losing. than gymnastics, according to

JULIANA COPPA TTN

FROM THE ARCHIVES...

Theobald’s first 120 days President Theobald came aim from day one has been to to Temple a jovial, hamburger- promote programs that may grilling father often be passed President Theobald’s over by many of figure to former President Ann positive changes have the more selecWeaver Hart’s been overshadowed by the tive universities detached, often in the area. The athletic cuts. closed-off presathletic cuts are a ence. He made a habit out of stark contrast to that ideal. appearing at Temple sporting Theobald’s other initiaevents – even for nonrevenue tives – mainly the “Fly in 4” teams like field hockey – and campaign that aims to increase quickly made it known that he Temple’s four-year graduation was open to speaking to the me- rate – have, for the most part, dia and being a public face for been welcome additions to the the university. Temple experience. Though In his inaugural address on the implementation of “Fly Oct. 18, Theobald commited in 4” raises questions moving to the Temple community that forward, Theobald has shown he would continue to promote a commitment to making sure the principles upon which Rus- students pay a fair price for sell Conwell founded this uni- their education. versity, mainly in extending a When Theobald arrived helping hand to as many “dia- at Temple, four schools were monds” in Temple’s backyard functioning with interim deans. as possible. He should be commended for Through 120 days in of- filling each position by Nov. 19. fice, Theobald could be doing Though many of Theomore to live up to that claim. bald’s initiatives have been So far, the biggest move made with the best interests of during Theobald’s tenure was his student body at heart, we the university’s decision to cut recommend he makes more deseven sports on Dec. 6. As far as cisions with the Conwell legacy upholding the Conwell legacy in mind moving forward. goes, the athletic department’s

CORRECTIONS The Temple News strives to be a newspaper of record by printing factually correct and balanced articles. Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor-in-Chief Joey Cranney at editor@temple-news.com or 215.204.6737.

Feb. 16, 1994: Main Campus debilitated by snow. Massive storms blanketed Philadelphia, leading to traffic jams and a dearth of parking spaces for commuters. The fifth-snowiest winter in Philadelphia history has forced Temple to cancel three entire days of classes this semester, as well as delay opening and close early three times each as well.

Title IX investigation more bad karma The administration brought a federal Title IX investigation unto itself.

S

omeone must have filed a complaint.” That’s what President Theobald told the Inquirer on Feb. 13 after alerting Temple’s coaches and trustees that the school is facing a federal Title IX gender-equality investigation. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will soon study Temple’s facilities and review its athletic budgets to gauge whether the university provides Jerry Iannelli adequate opportunities to its female studentathletes. According to a representative from the T7 Council, the complaint came from someone close to the crew and rowing teams, but further details are scarce. What we do know is this: As far as gender issues go, Title IX is an under-enforced rule, and has been since the law was enacted in 1972. While Title IX mandates that athletic scholarships mirror the gender ratio of a university’s student body, last year Temple gave 58 percent of its athletic aid

to men, despite 51 percent of its student body being female. Very few folks – if anyone – have publicly batted an eyelash about compliance since the law was enacted. According to a study conducted by the Women’s Law Project, Temple ranked last in all of Pennsylvania in terms of Title IX compliance way back in 2006. Since the coming investigation comes in the wake of a formal complaint, the only obvious corollary we can draw here is that the school brought this investigation on itself, and may very well have avoided an inquiry altogether had it dealt with its athletic budget issues in December with a bit more tact. Though improbable, it’s within the realm of reason that the federal government may not find any lingering gender equality issues at all, in which case the investigation will act more as the symbolic icing on the proverbial public-relationsnightmare-cake that Temple’s brass has been chowing down on recently. However, Theobald himself has admitted that the school somehow managed to avoid falling into Title IX compliance after axing seven sports, so some sanctions may more than likely be coming Temple’s way. Either way, it’s fairly clear that Temple could have skated by without drawing the ire of the OCR had it not kicked the athletic hornet’s nest that very few people

knew sat hidden in its backyard. As for the fine folks in charge of enforcing Title IX? They have a knack for swooping into a situation far too late into the process, almost always long after any sort of controversy has broken out at a given university. In the past year alone, the OCR has investigated issues with Penn State’s, Florida State’s, and the University of Chicago’s sexual assault policies in the wake of large-scale rape scandals at each of the offending institutions. It isn’t clear whether the OCR has preemptively fixed any policy issues since Title IX has been enacted, though NCAA institutions do need to pass a recertification test every 10 years. About half of the universities in the American Athletic Conference are out of Title IX compliance in terms of scholarship aid, yet face no inquest. This is mostly due to the fact that the Office of Civil Rights typically finds out about issues when formal complaints are filed with the Department of Education, which – given the timing of the Temple complaint – means only one thing: The university brought these issues to public attention, infuriated someone in its community and now must pay the consequences. at

Jerry Iannelli can be reached jerryi@temple.edu or on Twitter at @jerryiannelli.

COMMENTARY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

PAGE 5

Will students soar with ‘Fly in 4?’ The “Fly in 4” initiative upholds the Conwell legacy by helping students spend less.

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n the beginning of class on one of the first days of the semester, I tried to acquaint myself with some fellow students. As a conversation with one student progressed, I asked what year she’s in. “Well, I’m actually a supersenior,” she said. F u m bling over how to respond to the odd assertion, I begin to think: “Supersenior? Why would she say “super”?” Instead of questionRomsin McQuade ing – which I should have – I blindly accepted, what I imagined, was a harmless, self-imposed compliment. I should have asked the question. Little did I know that “super” did not refer to a student’s quality, but instead, signaled a student who – typically due to class conflicts and scheduling – was unable to take the required credits to be considered a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. Yet for many Temple students, this was not only the case due to class conflicts, but also due to balancing school with full-time jobs to afford tuition. But mixing constant work and the learning process can be a dangerous cocktail, which eventually leads to students taking more than four years to graduate. Temple’s four-year graduation rate hovers around 43 percent. Fast-forward two years, and the six-year graduation rate grows, resulting in a 68 percent graduation rate. The national average 6-year graduation rate is 59 percent according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Still, for comparison, nearby colleges like Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania, La Salle and Villanova have four-year – or fiveyear, in the case of Drexel, due to its co-op program – graduation rates of 84 percent, 96 percent, 56 percent and 85 percent, respectively. And there is a solution to this problem: Cue President Theobald’s “Fly in 4” program, which will pave the way for reducing the stress of middle- and low-income students by allocating 500 $4,000 grants to incoming freshmen for the next few years in an effort to boost Temple’s four-year rates. While it may seem that this program would contradict the foundation and basis that Russell Conwell envisioned the university as a center where those who had to work could learn, take their time and discover the academic path that suited them, it doesn’t. Fly in 4 is an adjustment to the position that thousands of Americans find themselves in after graduation. As Theobald explained, this partnership does not contradict Conwell’s goals, but instead, “answers the Conwell mission.” “You cannot have working students that are spending an inordinate amount of time that is not related to instruction,” Theobald said when announcing the program. “Working students must have the same opportunity to focus on their studies. We’re trying to update the Conwell mission into the modern world.” The Fly in 4 program is an opportunity for Temple to reshape and reinforce its mission as a school preparing students for “the real world.” It is also an opportunity to raise the graduation rate, which may startle some pro-

spective students. The program is, as Theobald said, “designed around the issues I hear Temple students speak about. It is a Temple-unique approach.” According to various estimates, college graduates, on average, leave not only with a diploma in hand, but also $29,400 in debt. Additionally, according to the Project for Student Debt, Temple students graduate with an average of $33,500 in debt, above the national average, perhaps due to 64 percent of students not graduating on time. There seems no better time to implement change. Without it, Conwell’s mission of educating those who work – those who struggle – cannot be fulfilled.

“It’s also an

opportunity to raise the graduation rate, which may startle some prospective students.

”

Romsin McQuade can be reached at romsin.mcquade@temple.edu.

Though a positive step, ‘Fly in 4’ doesn’t do enough to help students financially.

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typical semester at Temple for an in-state resident costs an average of $15,000. As a freshman, additional costs for books, room and board and a “Standard 10” meal plan brings that cost up to $26,000. The “Fly in 4” program introduced by President Theobald two weeks ago promises a $4,000 scholarship and four-year graduation guarantee to 500 students in financial need, according to their FAFSA results. Ray Betzner, assistant vice president for University Communications, said the money is given to students of the lowest financial standing in order to prevent them from having to take additional hours away from their classwork to work an outside job. To assure this, the university will recommend students work only 10 hours a week. Though Betzner said there’s no way the university will keep track of the hours, he said it’ll “become obvious” if students are overworking themselves, risking their scholarships.

KATIE HENNESSY TTN

But it’s doubtful that a $4,000 cut in a $26,000 yearly rate would deter any student in lower economic standing from working. Those students will still need to work an outside job to pay off $22,000 – a looming number that would motivate any student, not just those in extreme financial need, to work. So students have to weigh the decision: to keep the $4,000 a year with a limited working schedule with a remaining $22,000 debt, or to work a part-time job while balancing classes to pay off all $26,000. A student who works a part-time job at 15 hours a week at $7.50 an hour would make slightly more than $4,000 if they just worked from September to May. To keep the scholarship, Betzner said the students must meet with academic advisers to keep on track and pass all of their classes. However, the admissions website listing Patricia Madej the requirements for the “Fly in 4” program says students must “advance annually in academic standing.” I have a slightly similar scholarship to what the “Fly in 4” program is offering. Each year, I must maintain a high GPA in order to receive $3,000 a year. I do have financial need, so even though the scholarship I have is generous, it has in no way impacted my decision to work. During my freshman year I found a work study, then worked two jobs during the summer and have continued that same ethos into my sophomore year because I know the amount I’ve been given shaves off only a small amount of my total student debt. During that time my GPA has dipped slightly, but it was hardly because of time taken away from the classroom to work. I would still spend the same amount of time on schoolwork, while seeking tutoring, as I would if I didn’t work at all. I just worked harder. The initiative means the university will pay $2 million for the incoming freshman class alone. To raise the money, Betzner said the university won’t accept more incoming freshmen or cut any other costs. Instead, he expects to raise the money from alumni support. Betzner also said there was no doubt they’d be able to raise the money, citing that last year was the university’s “best fundraising year ever.” “Alumni want to give to students,” Betzner said. “They were students themselves. They know that students sometimes struggle financially.” Though I don’t doubt the initiative is a positive step, I’m only being a skeptic. At the moment, it’s unclear whether relying on yearly donations will be a sustainable source of funding for the program for years to come. Even though Betzner is confident in this year’s fundraising efforts, the incoming classes will quickly accumulate costs by the millions. Or on some level, is the move just a way to pump up Temple’s retention rates to put on recruiting pamphlets? Having a job has taught me much more than just being kept inside an academic bubble would. It’s taught me social and time management skills, qualities that will come up in not only college, but throughout my adult life. Without putting everything I have into both school and work, I’m afraid I wouldn’t get hired with solely academic experience after flying through four years. Patricia Madej can be reached at patricia.madej@temple.edu.

Food stamp cuts will negatively affect North Philly The passing of the U.S. Farm Bill will especially affect local residents.

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ithout missing a beat, the cashier swiftly scanned a customer’s items at the counter: eggs, milk, apples, bananas, pasta and sauce. Then, instead of reaching for a $20 bill, the man purchasing these products gently pulls from his wallet a bright green card with the word “Access” scrawled across it. He is one of many in the Victoria Szafara Temple area who wields one of these cards, the Pennsylvania equivalent of food stamps. He is also one of the many in the area now threatened with

losing much of these benefits due to a bill repassed by the Senate two weeks ago. On Feb. 4, the U.S. Agricultural Act of 2014 was passed in a vote of 68-32. The legislation cuts $8.6 billion from the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next 10 years. The bill is particularly detrimental to Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents who will, on average, take a hit of $65 less in food assistance per month. But what does this mean for the residents in the immediate area? Moné H., a freshman in the Tyler School of Art and cashier at the Fresh Grocer, witnesses the way in which our community relies upon the Access card program.

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“I come from Lansdale, Pa., in the suburbs where I knew there were definitely some people who relied upon food stamps to buy the necessary items, but now that I work here in the city, I am shocked by the amount of people I see relying on federal assistance,” she said. “Apart from the student population here, it must be almost 90 percent of people I encounter who have Access cards.” Surprised at such a high estimate, I was compelled to ask what types of people utilize the assistance. “I see everything – families, the elderly, even people you wouldn’t expect,” she said. I understand that in the state of the economy, certain changes must be

“The bill is

particularly detrimental to Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents who will...take a hit of $65 less in food assistance per month.

”

made to achieve some level of fiscal responsibility, but I wondered about the responsibility the government also has to properly aiding struggling individuals, such as an apparently significant portion of North Philadelphia’s population. It seems that, as in any working society, there exist people who abuse the system. “There are some things I just don’t understand, like how people can walk in here with designer clothes and still need to use an Access card,” Moné said. “Or when people don’t even use the card to get food, but use the ‘cash back’ feature. But what really gets me is when people have crazy bills of a couple hundred dollars, and when using their Access card, the bill gets knocked down to them paying something like $1.” It seems as though this bill will succeed in its goal to cut some unnecessary funding. However, it would do so at the expense of those who need the

LETTERS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

assistance. Due to some holes in the federal program, our community is left with a catch-22. Ultimately, with the Farm Bill’s inevitable passing, there is only so much to be done. For those individuals and families who are affected by these spending cuts, agencies such as the food bank Philabundance are preparing for a growing demand. “Cuts which disproportionately affect our service area … will further strain our resources,” said George Matysik, director of government affairs and public policy for Philabundance. “We will need even more community support in order to respond to the newest barrage of SNAP cuts.” It seems as though participation in the occasional food drive will be more important than ever. Victoria Szafara can be reached at victoria.szafara@temple.edu.

NEWS

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In The Nation IRS RELEASES ADJUCT HOURS GUIDELINES The IRS released much anticipated numbers on how to count an adjunct professor’s hours, the results of which will cost universities across the country thousands of additional dollars. Due to the Affordable Care Act, an employer with more than 200 or more workers must provide health insurance to all of their full-time employees, or those that work 30 hours or more a week. Since adjuncts now make up the majority of the workforce in higher education, the number of hours they work will greatly affect universities’ budgets. The IRS determined that adjuncts are to be regarded as working an hour and 15 minutes prepping material for every hour in the classroom.

-Marcus McCarthy

MIT SENT WRONG EMAILS TO REJECTED STUDENTS Officials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admissions department were dumbfound when

denied applicants started posting move-in questions on the admissions website. The institute later found that in consolidating their email lists, a large block of email addresses had been dropped into the wrong category. That group of email addresses was sent acceptance emails when they were meant to be denied. MIT officials are unclear how many applicants received the false email. They were unaware of the issue until the applicants started posting to the website, according to the Boston Globe. -Marcus McCarthy

PENN STATE GETS NEW PRESIDENT Eric J. Barron, the president of Florida State University, was announced as Penn State’s new president at a news conference yesterday, Feb. 16. Approved by the university’s Board of Trustees in a special closed meeting, the announcement marks the end to an uncertain year-long search for Penn State’s highest administrative position. The search was sparked by administrators, including then-president Graham Spanier, criminally charged for obstruction of justice following the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Barron, who is scheduled to take office at Penn State in May, will reportedly receive salary and other compensation that could total $6 million in the five years of his contract.

-Marcus McCarthy

WBC PROTEST AGAINST MICHAEL SAM CANCELLED The Westboro Baptist Church planned protest of Michael Sam’s return to the University of Missouri on Saturday but was blocked by a wall of hundreds of people supporting Sam. Sam, a Missouri defensive end, first-team AllAmerican and the 2013 Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, announced that he is gay on Feb. 9. After being projected to be a high pick in the NFL Draft, several analysts, coaches and executives have told media that they believe Sam’s announcement could affect his draft stock and that the NFL is not ready for a gay player. Sam and his team accepted the Cotton Bowl trophy after their 41-31 win over Oklahoma State in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 3. -Marcus McCarthy

Govt. investigating Title IX after cuts

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After year of dispute, ousted prof re-ignites protests MONTEIRO PAGE 1

CUTS PAGE 1 in 1972. While Theobald said in a phone interview that the ideal solution to the university’s Title IX problem would have been to simply add more female sports, to do so in Temple’s situation would not have been feasible due to the university “overreaching by trying to operate 24 sports with a modest budget.” Theobald said the administration is taking the investigation “extremely seriously,” as he maintains that the athletic cuts are “the right decision.” “We’re not in the least bit surprised that this occurred,” Theobald said. In his email to the board, Theobald also provided an update on the administrative review that has occurred since he met with representatives of the cut teams on Jan. 28. No new information was provided in the email on a suggested renovation of the East Park Canoe House that could spare the men’s crew and women’s rowing programs from elimination. However, representatives of the teams were told they would receive an answer on the administration’s reconsideration of the renovation. “We are leaving no stone unturned,” Theobald said. “There are five sports that clearly were tied to our overreach. The only issue to rowing and crew was that they were using tents in a parking lot and Porta-Potties as their locker room. That’s not acceptable. We are looking at every possibility there.” When addressing the board in the email, Theobald said a recommendation was approved at the time of the cuts to convert softball, men’s crew and women’s rowing to club sports. Theobald said on Jan. 28 that the university would bridgefund the cut programs to allow them to compete as club sports. Among the most prominent suggestions made by members of the baseball team is the continued use of Campbell’s Field, a Rutgers-owned facility located in Camden, N.J. Last fall, Temple secured a one-year deal to play 11 of its 20 home games at the stadium. Theobald said in the email that the university is paying $2,000 per game to use the facility and cited potential scheduling issues due to space being shared with other teams. St. Joseph’s played all of its home games from 2010-11 at Campbell’s Field. Temple, which has a contract for its football program with Lincoln Financial Field, has also considered a partnership with the Philadelphia Phillies, Theobald said. In return for using Citizens Bank Park, student-athletes would be required

Molefi Asante. |TTN FILE

to run clinics and manage an urban youth outreach program. Theobald said additional staff would be necessary for such a venture, and that the university “does not have the resources to hire the additional staff required to make this option viable.” There have been other suggestions for potential baseball and softball locations, as Theobald said the university has consulted the Smith Group – Temple’s master planners – to assess such options. The group President Theobald said he would have communicated the athletic cuts differently whe reflectconcluded that in order to bring ing on the 120 days since he delivered his inaugural address. |HUA ZONG TTN FILE PHOTO the locations to Division I standards, the venture would be a “substantial” financial investment. One of the proposed fields is Richie Ashburn Field at FDR Park, which Villanova used for THEOBALD PAGE 1 four years until 2002. The men’s gymnastics team Two years prior to Theocurrently shares space with the one thing that if I had to do again, scholarships, starting with the we’d have done the same thing, bald’s arrival at Temple, athclass of 2018. women’s gymnastics team. Alwe just might have explained it letics revenue increased by 43 “This comes out of my inthough coach Fred Turoff and a little bit better,” Theobald said percent and expenditures by 13 augural address,” Theobald said student-athletes say facilities are in a phone interview last week. percent. when he announced the pronot a significant enough reason In the first fiscal year of to warrant the cuts, Theobald re- “We could have done a better gram. job of communicating it.” Theobald’s tenure, the athletics “I think it’s going to make mains skeptical. On Dec. 6, Athletic Direcbudget grew again by 39 percent a real difference for those stu“Gymnastics requires sigtor Kevin Clark announced the and expenditures by 18 percent. dents who are working a lot of nificant equipment for practice elimination of seven Division I In the current year, Temple’s hours off-campus. So that I have and meets, and it will be costly, sports: baseball, softball, men’s athletics were slated for a zero a lot of hope for,” he later added time-consuming and impractical crew, women’s rowing, men’s percent increase across the by phone. to set up and break down equipgymnastics and men’s indoor/ board. This money is intended to ment to accommodate sharing Despite the increases in the space with another sport,” outdoor track & field. The replace the income from workmove, which attracted strong revenue, the athletics departing 10 or more hours a week at Theobald said in the email to backlash, was approved by the ment was still losing $8.3 milan off-campus job, something coaches. university’s Board of Trustees lion annually as of the 2013-14 university officials said comOne idea proposed by opand Theobald. Fiscal Year. In an Inquirer artimonly impedes working-class ponents of the cuts is to give Following the pushback cle published Aug. 26, Theobald students’ ability to graduate on each eliminated team five years from the cut programs and downplayed this budget gap as a time. The university will addito reach self-sustainability. members of the general public, typical number for most NCAA tionally guarantee students in Theobald said that the fundTheobald’s administration said programs. the program graduate in four raising campaign necessary to In a speech to alumni folyears – asreach such a goal would need earlier this semester that they lowing his inauguration, Theosuming they to bring in the highest amount will take another bald said Temple was in “serifollow and of donations in Temple’s hislook at the necesous discussion” about a football pass a planned tory – estimating that more than sity of the cuts, stadium on Main Campus, a schedule – or $60 million is necessary to meet including more subject the president has talked else Temple annual operating costs of the research into about openly to the press on will pay for teams. Temple has one of the the feasibility of several occasions. any additional lowest fundraising campaigns Since taking office, Theocourses. in the American Athletic Con- renovating the East Park Canoe bald made seven high-level apTheobald ference, although its donation House for use by pointments in the university’s said appropritotal increased 36 percent and rowing and crew. administration, some of whom ate cuts will reached an all-time high during Since taking came to Temple with him from be made to the the 2012–13 year. office, Theobald Indiana University. This inbudget to acTheobald said the adminishas continually cluded Clark, the former senior count for the tration will continue its review targeted the uniassociate director of internal scholarships, of suggestions raised by the cut versity’s fourwhich will rise operations at Indiana, who was teams. Neil Theobald / president to a total of year graduation appointed Temple’s new athletic “At this point, I remain rate as a way to director months before the cuts $8 million per convinced that the difficult dekeep Temple affordable. Acwere announced. year by 2018. cision to right-size our program cording to statistics provided It was reported this week Along with the four-year and create a sustainable model by University Communications, that Temple is under investigagraduation rate, Theobald has for Temple athletics moving forTemple’s four year graduation by the U.S. Department harped on keeping tuition low ward remains in the best intertion rate is around 43 percent, of Education Office for Civil in interest of affordability. In est of all of our 39,000 students a number that is dwarfed by Rights for possibly violating his first year in office, Temple’s and for Temple University as cross-town University of PennTItle IX standards of gender base tuition was raised by $400 a whole,” Theobald said in the sylvania’s 87 percent and fellow equality in athletics. for in-state students and $600 email. “We will never have met A meeting of the athlet- state-related Penn State’s 65 for out of state students, a raise percent. any of [the goals],” Theobald just under 1.5 percent. Last year, ics committee of the Board of Theobald pledged to raise said. “That’s the thing about Temple’s base tuition was froTrustees is scheduled for Feb. the graduation rate at or above goals; we rarely reach perfeczen. 26. 50 percent in five years. In an “That’s got to be our fo- tion.” Avery Maehrer can be reached effort to counter this statistic, cus – quality instruction, good Marcus McCarthy can be at avery.maehrer@temple.edu or on Theobald announced the “Fly in outcomes for students and then reached at marcus.mccarthy@ Twitter @AveryMaehrer. 4” program on Feb. 3. The pro- students not having to take on temple.edu or on Twitter @ gram would give 500 students a great deal of debt in order to MarcusMcCarthy6. in each incoming class a $4,000 graduate,” Theobald said.

Theobald regrets cuts handling

“I think that’s

probably the one thing that if I had to do again, we’d have done the same thing, we just might have explained it better.

”

Monteiro was a supporter of Kariamu Welsh, a tenured member of the dance department at the Boyer College of Music and Dance. Welsh’s nomination for chair of the African American studies department by the department’s faculty was rejected by Soufas in Spring 2012 on the grounds that she was not a member of the department. More than a year of controversy followed when, instead of appointing Welsh, Soufas appointed then-Vice Dean Jayne Drake, a white woman, to a one-year interim term. Students of the department, community activists and faculty members then rallied behind Asante, who chaired the department from 1984 to 1997, advocating that he should return to head the program. After several public protests and a formal nomination by the department faculty in April 2013, Soufas confirmed Asante as department chair. Monteiro said he and other members of the department have been continually harassed in a racist manner by Soufas. “It is her getting back at me for my standing up to her bullying, pointing fingers at black men,” Monteiro said in a statement. Soufas said Monteiro has not approached her to discuss the matter, but “would be happy to talk with him.” Non-tenured and non-tenured-track faculty members are hired by the university and their respective departments on a contract basis that must be renewed every year. Senior political science major and African American studies minor Sabrina Sample, a former student of Monteiro’s who took his Black Intellectual History in the 20th Century course, said she thinks it would be “a really big mistake” for the university to let go of Monteiro. “For the African American studies department [especially], I know a lot of students come to Temple in particular to hear Monteiro lecture,” Sample said. Senior media studies and production major Ryan Hallas, another former student of Monteiro’s, said that while he generally found Monteiro’s Race in America class enjoyable, he found the lectures unorganized and didn’t leave the class with “any new knowledge.” “I also [believe] that he was trying to come off as a pretentious person by the way he would pronounce his words,” Hallas said. “I believe he even made some words up.” Monteiro has made several demands along with his reinstatement, including the end of the alleged harassment and a formal apology from Dean Soufas. John Moritz and Erin EdingerTuroff can be reached at news@ temple-news.com.

LIVING FOOD DESERT AT AMBLER

MEETING FOR CHANGE

Columnist Toby Forstater argues that the lack of dining options at Temple’s Ambler campus is inexcusable and questions ‘local’ ingredients. PAGE 16

Temple Democratic Socialists is a student-run, grassroots organization that advocates for social programs and better treatment of employees. PAGE 17

owlery.temple-news.com SENIORS IN CLASS

A program at Temple offers courses to alumni who want to come back to school. PAGE 18

temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

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Student puts her mark on Olympic branding Ph.D. student Susannah Cobb McMonagle has researched the branding seen in athletic wear.

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JESSICA SMITH Asst. Living Editor

t took more than 40 vendors from across the nation to create Ralph Lauren’s sweaters for Team USA in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The yarn was bought from a farm in Shaniko, Ore., the wool spun in Nazareth, Pa., material dyed in Hickory, N.C., and eventually put together in Commerce, Calif. The starred and striped ensemble is not only a nod to the American flag, but is key in establishing American corporate branding. “Polo” was stitched near the chest – the 230 athletes literally kept the brand name close to heart.

“Ralph Lauren has pretty free range with the designs they did, and apparently took advantage of the opportunity to tattoo their logo on Olympians’ chests,” said Susannah Cobb McMonagle, a current Ph.D. candidate in an interview with Jeff Cronin, assistant director of communications at the School of Media and Communication. McMonagle earned recognition when her research paper on global advertising titled “The Sportiest Catwalk on Earth: How Sport & Fashion Collide on the Olympic Stage” was awarded at the 2013 National Communication Association Conference. McMonagle said watching the 2012 Summer Olympics in London inspired her to question the extent of company branding. “I’m a sports junkie,” McMonagle said. “I’m working on my dissertation right now and looking at global advertising. The Olympics make a perfect case study because it’s one of our only real

global mega-events.” While corporate branding of the Olympics has been around for years, McMonagle said it only recently found an audience in the merging cultures of sports and the fashion world. In 2011, high-end British designer Stella McCartney teamed with Adidas to design every uniform for the UK team in the 2012 Summer Olympics. “That was kind of unheard of at the time,” McMonagle said. “It [was a] unique moment in promotional culture about how two different industries [used] each other as a jumping off point.” Part of McMonagle’s research involved a study of how frequently fashion was mentioned at different Summer Olympic Games and found that the focus continually grew every four years since 2000. “Fashion is slowly creeping in,” McMonagle

BRANDING PAGE 8

Susannah McMonagle researched branding. | COURTESY SUSANNAH MCMONAGLE

Sushi Busz is among several trucks on Main Campus to use locally sourced ingredients for its menu options, namely meat and vegetables. | ERIC DAO TTN

For trucks, local ingredients hit close to home Some trucks feel the origin of their food is an invaluable trait. ARIANE PEPSIN The Temple News A recent poll by Mobile Cuisine reported about 66 percent of food truck

owners purchase their ingredients at big-box membership stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, while 34 percent purchase from local farmers. A few food trucks on Main Campus are among that 34 percent. Their owners said they feel local ingredients allow for greater menu diversity and fresher, better-tasting dishes. One such business, Sexy Green Truck on Montgomery Avenue, pur-

chases its ingredients from locations around Bensalem Township in Bucks County, Pa. Owners said all of the vegetables found in the truck’s sandwiches and wraps are local and organic, and the eggs used are cage-free. Sexy Green Truck owner Selim Zeka said he believes local ingredients are an important aspect of his business. “Since I own a food truck that is local to the Philadelphia area, I want

to use local ingredients,” Zeka said. “I want to support other businesses the same way that mine is supported.” While using ingredients from farms just outside of the metropolitan area is popular with some truck owners, there are a few trucks whose owners prefer to keep their purchases within city limits. Owners of Eddie’s Pizza at the 12th Street Food Pad said they acquire all of the meat and vegetables

used on its menu from providers within the Philadelphia area. Sarah Haiuni, co-owner of the business she runs with her husband, said investing in ingredients from nearby sources is partly what makes their business successful. They do their best to keep to that standard, Haiuni said, though sometimes they can’t maintain it when the need for ingredients is pressing.

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Despite weather, show must go on for ‘Macbeth’ production The student cast of Macbeth showcases the talents of one scholarship winner. PAIGE GROSS The Temple News Many in the theater world know it’s bad luck to utter the name “Macbeth” inside a theater. Daniel Kern, theater professor at Temple, said he is prepared to see the showcase of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” through its finale on Saturday despite battling snow, absences

and what he called a long-standing bad luck tradition surrounding the play within Temple Theaters, specifically. “The show is intense,” said Kern, who is directing the play. “It was written with a commercial point of view, to sell tickets, so it should be an exciting piece.” Kern has not directed this production before, but said he’s confident in the student-actors he chose to fill the famous roles. Auditions were held before Thanksgiving and rehearsal began on Jan. 13, a week before spring semester classes started. The show, which has 26 actors and about 30 techni-

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cal or managing assistants, has been pulled together in about a month. The first show took place on Feb. 14. It runs two hours with a 15-minute intermission. Admission for students with an ID is $5 or $20 for general admission. While the cast is made up of mostly theater students, Kern said students from any college within Temple are encouraged to audition for Temple productions if they have interest in acting. “We put on musicals as well,” Kern said, “Often we get a lot of really great music stu-

MACBETH PAGE 8

The Temple production of “Macbeth” will run through Saturday. The cast said they encountered some bad luck with weather, but persevered. | LUIS FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ TTN

LIVING@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

LIVING

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Susannah McMonagle on Sochi branding BRANDING PAGE 7 said. “I got really intrigued about the press that goes into uniforms.” Some criticized Ralph Lauren after the Team USA sweaters were unveiled on Jan. 23. The country took to social media to complain about “Grandpa’s rejects” and the obnoxious patriotic design. Ralph Lauren’s creation was an answer to the controversy they caused two years ago by outsourcing their uniforms to China for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The company agreed to make a 100 percent American product for the Winter Games. Relying on the assembly line at the Ball of Cotton knitwear company in California, it took more than 12 hours to manufacture a single jacket.

“There is so much thought and planning that goes into these uniforms that unless somebody reads something or really pays attention, they might not have a full understanding,” McMonagle said. McMonagle said North Face, the company responsible for the performance jackets of the U.S. freeskiing team, had a star sewn into the inside of its design. “The fabric of the star has been to the top of Mount Everest,” she said. “It’s supposed to symbolize that you can rise above, you can jump high and have this go-getter attitude.” Winter athletes’ uniforms had a strong connection to the national anthem this year.

“[Snowboarder Shaun White’s uniform] is supposed to tie back to Francis Scott Key and the writing of our Star-Spangled Banner,” McMonagle said. “The alpine skiers’ uniforms fading from black to light blue symbolizes the ‘dawn’s early light’ over Baltimore Harbor in the War of 1812.” The emphasis on American success was prevalent in the teaming of sports performance gear company Under Armour and aerospace and advanced technology company Lockheed Martin to create the uniforms for U.S. speedskaters. “They’re supposedly super aerodynamic,” McMonagle said. “Lockheed Martin does not make clothes. They have more important fish to fry.

It’s really cool that these big companies are coming together for such a huge project.” McMonagle said she thinks it’s a positive thing that global branding has dominated so much of the Olympic Games because it’s necessary for athletes and audience to indulge in it. “Look at NBC’s Instagram,” she said. “They have this big network with all the athletes, but they also have a network with you and me. The research I do looks into how brands are negotiating this very global phenomenon and the fact that we’re all connected, but also this very localized phenomenon that when I hop online I want it to feel like home to me.” The “global flow” involves every

aspect of the Olympic Games, including clothing. In order for that to be understood, McMonagle said it has to be looked at from a cultural perspective. “From the outside, it might be this ugly sweater thing they wore for the opening ceremonies that’s getting a lot of heat,” McMonagle said. “But there have been all these different minds working on this to showcase what America is all about, how we will be perceived and what our values are.” Jessica Smith can be reached at jessicasmith@temple.edu.

Drama on and off stage

(RIGHT) Theater student Angela Fennell plays Ross alongside professional actor Tim Dugan, who played Lord Macduff. | LUIS FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ TTN

MACBETH PAGE 7 dents from Boyer [College of Music and Dance] to help out.” Senior theater major Isabella Fehlandt, who is playing Lady Macduff, is a recent winner of the Kunal & Neha Nayyar Scholarship. Temple alumnus Kunal Nayyar, a professional actor who can be seen playing Raj Koothrappali on “The Big Bang Theory,” established the scholarship to support student-actors with financial need pursue their undergraduate degree in theater. Fehlandt received $10,000 of the $125,000 that was donated to the university, which she said has allowed her to continue her undergraduate degree after her father passed away just three weeks before her first semester at Temple. The death created financial instability along with a tragic loss, but she said she no longer worries about being able to afford education. Fehlandt said she has been involved with productions at Temple since transferring from Delaware County Community College two years ago, where she received an associate’s degree. There, she had her first experience with Shakespeare in “Much Ado About Nothing,” under the direction of Stephen Patrick Smith. Fehlandt danced in last fall’s production of “Oklahoma!” and she said she is excited to be working with Kern in “Macbeth.” “[Kern] has been very adamant about the text in the show,” Fehlandt said. “Not just performing it, but figuring out what it

really means, the connotation behind the words.” Shakespeare, as Fehlandt said, may bring up memories of high school English classes for some, but Fehlandt said that isn’t the best way to become acquainted with his work. “[Shakespeare] wasn’t meant to be read, he was meant to be seen onstage,” Fehlandt said. “I like to change the audiences’ minds about what they thought they knew about Shakespeare.” In the university’s history of performing “Macbeth,” Kern said Temple has an “unfortunate tradition” of bad luck. Many rehearsals have been rescheduled or canceled due to dangerous weather. “It’s been less than ideal,” Kern said, “But [the show] will be ready.” Also recalling the show’s bad luck, Isabella Fehlandt / senior Fehlandt said that one day when the cast came for a rehearsal, all of the tape used for blocking had disappeared overnight. “Some people are very [concerned] about the curse,” Fehlandt said. She also said two members of the technical crew were injured while making the set. Fehlandt said she plans to continue act-

“[Shakespeare]

wasn’t meant to be read, he was meant to be seen onstage. I like to change the audiences’ minds about what they think they know about Shakespeare.

ing in Philadelphia for a short time after graduation to continue building her résumé, but eventually she will go to New York City for auditions. While she also plans to audition for graduate schools, Fehlandt said it’s not something she wants to pursue directly after her upcoming graduation. She said she’s been considering moving to Los Angeles to work on her television and commercial skills, too. “I would love to do the Los Angeles study abroad session to get the experience of living there, with the safety net of Temple behind me,” Fehlandt said. Paige Gross can be reached at paige.gross1@temple.edu.

”

Dan Kern said that “Macbeth” productions often have bad luck. | LUIS FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ TTN

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ARCHIVING A TRANSFORMATION

MOVING AHEAD

Northern Liberties has been undergoing an artistic transformation for roughly10 years, and an exhibit at the Philadelphia History Museum is documenting it. PAGE 10

A group of mechanical engineers from Temple were approached in December to build a car. Last week, it was on display at the Philadelphia Auto Show. PAGE 11

temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

PAGE 9

The rebirth of the cassette

SKYLER BURKHART TTN

A Modern Rewind DAVID ZISSER The Temple News

M

acaulay Culkin, in a state of post-fame psychosis, has started a band. In December 2013, from the depths of who-knows-where, emerged the Pizza Underground, a pizza-themed Velvet Underground parody band, in which Culkin plays both percussion and the kazoo. The band’s demo, which included reappropriations of Velvet Underground songs “Beginning to See the Light,” renamed “Beginning to Eat the Slice,” and “I’m Waiting for the Man,” pizza-ized into “I’m Waiting for Delivery Man,” among others, first appeared

In an increasingly digital world, many music collectors are trending toward cassettes as a renewed medium. for download on Bandcamp. However, in early 2014, North Carolina’s Bitter Melody Records decided to give the project a physical release. That’s not even the strange part – the demo was released via cassette. Remember the flimsy, temperamental bit of plastic that some may recall popping into the tapedeck of their mom’s old minivan, waiting patiently for their favorite 3 Doors Down song to play on the radio and timing it just right so they could record just the song instead of the gibber-gabber of the radio host? Those old things? They still exist. And to some degree, they’re making a comeback.

In 2012, the sale of cassette singles in the U.K. rose 300 percent – a notable caveat is the fact that 604 were sold in 2012 compared to 218 in 2011, but still. The following year saw several record stores across the country participate in the inaugural Cassette Store Day. In January 2013, California-based Burger Records engaged in a program called “A Tape A Day, OK!?,” in which it pressed a new tape every day, including reissues for groups such as the Adolescents and Nirvana. And while this is all indicitave that tapes are becoming en vogue, it wasn’t long ago when they were thought of as inconvenient rel-

ics.

“There was a time back in the late ‘90s where you wouldn’t release a cassette, you’d be so behind the times,” said 29-year-old Temple sophomore business major Chris Cotteta, a tape and record collector whose first cassette purchase was 1992’s “Totally Crossed Out” by one-hit-wonder rap duo Kriss Kross. According to the Nielson SoundScan, in 2013 the music industry saw its first decrease in digital sales since the iTunes store opened its virtual doors in 2003. Additionally struggling, although they’ve been on the decline for years, have been physical album sales. But it’s not entirely clear that the demand for physical music is going anywhere. It may just be shifting.

CASSETTE PAGE 12

Local company hosts biannual Flamenco Festival this March Dance company Pasión y Arte to host festival, deliver performances and lectures. SUZANNAH CAVANAUGH The Temple News Boylesque dancer Mr. Fahrenheit performs at Tabu. |ABI REIMOLD TTN

Boys, boxers and burlesque Boylesque, men’s burlesque, is trending in Philly nightlife. KERRI ANN RAIMO The Temple News In a sliver of Philadelphia where pasties, tassels and glitter are the main ornaments of an art form, male and female performers work together to push the boundaries.

One of the city’s seasoned burlesque performers, Miss Liberty Rose, said she believes burlesque is an art “made by women,” but men are welcome and are spicing up the scene. Enter boylesque. “I think boylesque is an awesome thing, and especially from someone who

A&E DESK 215-204-7416

produces themed shows, it’s really good to have a pool of male talent to pull from when casting,” said Miss Liberty Rose, who preferred to go by her stage name. Boylesque is a way for men to take on the role of performing a burlesque

BOYLESQUE PAGE 10

From a street-side glance, the three-story stone Tudor that stands at 6411 Overbrook Ave. fits in seamlessly with its neighbors. Tucked away on the western edge of city limits, its hedged walkways and wrap-around porch present the familiarities of suburbia. Out back, however, it’s a different story. That’s where flamenco is practiced. In the white garage bordering her backyard’s property line, homeowner Elba Hevia y Vaca’s dance company, Pasión y Arte, has been holding flamenco classes since 2000. This month, however, Hevia y Vaca’s studio will also play host to the creative development of Philadelphia’s second biannual Flamenco Festival, a series of performances, lectures and classes presented by Pasión y Arte from March 1-16. Funded by grants from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage and the Knight Foundation,

ARTSandENTERTAINMENT@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

Rosario Toledo dances flamenco.| COURTESY ANTONIO DOMINGUEZ

this festival provided Hevia y Vaca with the means to introduce her audience to the traditions that define flamenco, as well as her contemporary take on the art form.

FLAMENCO PAGE 14

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Northern Liberties’ transformation through the ages An exhibit at the Philadelphia History Museum documents the neighborhood’s change. CHELSEA FINN The Temple News In the ‘80s, hundreds of people clocked in and out of factories like the Jack Frost sugar refinery, Schmidt’s and Burk Bros. These employees walked around the streets of what’s now known as Northern Liberties, passing other blue-collar workers with metal lunch boxes in hand. ART Then those factories began to shut down. Today, many young people in thick-rimmed glasses and flannel flock to the same neighborhood that once was comprised of factory workers. They attend the seasonal 104.5 Summer Block Parties, dine at quirky burger joints like PYT and peruse records at a handful of shops. On Thursday, the Philadelphia History Museum will begin showing an exhibit on the transformation of Northern Liberties called “Northern Liberties: From World’s Workshop to Hipster Mecca and the People in Between.” A resident of the neighborhood since the 1970s, Northern Liberties-based artist Jennifer Baker decided to curate the exhibit after decades of observations. “When I moved in the neighborhood, it was bleak,” Baker said. “I’ve always just observed the changes and wondered about why these changes are taking place, like the demolishings and fires, and then at some point people started building. Good things like nice coffee shops came, but artists have been moved out because of high prices. They were pushed to Fishtown and Kensington. I

was curious about the economic changes and very dramatic change.” Baker said she wants Philadelphians to see what Northern Liberties once was and compare it to what it is now. Asking residents for old photographs, videos, artifacts and more, Baker helped create an exhibit that was put together from old and new residents and their belongings. Charles Croce, the executive director at the museum, said the exhibit is mostly made up of material culture, or three-dimensional artifacts that people have actually used. “You are seeing first-person accounts and objects that come from people’s homes,” Croce said. “Philadelphia is very much a workshop of the world, and this city made everything from beer to chocolates to boats [and] locomotives – it was a very industrial city, and Northern Liberties showcases that. A unique thing is that the things aren’t from our collection but from residents.” Baker gathered video interviews from older residents of the neighborhood, which ended up being so long that she had to cut the length of some responses dramatically. However, Baker said it was at this point when she realized she couldn’t do all the editing and work herself. That’s when she reached out to Temple. Baker sent an email to a Temple listserv, to which Temple alumnus Gerry Senker and student Michael Kitay responded. Recent Temple graduate Tina Lam joined as well. “I've just enjoyed watching the interviews and getting to hear all these great stories,” Kitay said. “I would say the worst part has been when we initially learned that we had to transfer all the beta tapes to digital. [Baker] put in most of the legwork there, it took a while because we had around 15 hours of footage.” Despite Northern Liberties being described as a “hipster mecca” in the exhibition, not everybody involved in the project, and neighborhood,

The Piazza at Schmidts is one section of Northern Liberties that’s been transformed after an economic turning point in the early 2000s.| SKYLER BURKHART TTN

Sculptures are attached to a roof near the Piazza at Schmidts in Northern Liberties. The neighborhood has transformed into a artistic haven in the past 10 years.| SKYLER BURKHART TTN agreed. “Hipster, no,” Lam said. “But changing its neighborhood's way which the elderly might not enjoy? Yes. The high demand to be here is probably overwhelming for past residents. NoLibs is my go-to place if I want a fun night out. El Camino and PYT are my favorite. The vibe there is relaxing, so many types of eclectic people. I'm glad this neighborhood is up-and-coming because Philly could always use more thrill.” Rob Knelly, manager of PYT located in The Piazza at Schmidts in Northern Liberties, shared the same sentiment as Lam. “For a while, a few years ago there was a huge lie where people referred to it as a hipster kind of place,” Kmelly said. “It’s pretty far from the truth. I wouldn’t describe it as hipster myself.” Baker said she remembers the time when artists and longtime residents were being pushed out of the area. Artists had difficulty finding jobs there, so they moved to places like Fishtown and Kensington. Senker, who attended Temple in the 1970s, said he’s seen both sides of Northern Liberties. “My family had a print shop in Kensington [at A and Clearfield streets] from 1958 to 1978,” Senker said. “We were going back and forth from Kensington to Center City all the time. I never thought of it as ‘Northern Liberties.’ To me, it was just another part of North Philly. The neighborhood was pretty bleak in the ‘70s. If you would have told me then how the neighborhood was going to change, I would have said, ‘Dream on.’” Once the older, artist-filled generation was pushed out, a younger crowd with more money started to come in. Despite how new he is to Philadelphia and his lack of experience in Northern Liberties, Kitay said he sees that the cost of living has driven the older generation. “I would describe it as new age growing out

of old,” Kitay said. David Rodan, a mechanic at Via Bicycle at 9th and South streets, said he’s seen the hipster movement move from South Street to Northern Liberties. “I think the whole South Street being pushed from hipster is an accurate assessment,” Rodan said. “Hipsters anchored themselves in the north, now that demographic likes to hang out here. South Street has become much more Main Street.” Regardless of the demographics, Croce said he’s excited to start showcasing Northern Liberties as one of Philadelphia’s prominent neighborhoods. “I think the thing that stands out the most is that it is one of Philadelphia’s 74 neighborhoods,” Croce said. “It’s a city that is made of neighborhoods, and this is a very particular historical neighborhood, and it continues to be. This is the first neighborhood we have really showcased.” “Northern Liberties: From World’s Workshop to Hipster Mecca and the People in Between” will be on view until Aug. 31. Baker said she’s expecting it to draw in a large number of Northern Liberties residents, old and new, because of the contributions from their neighbors. Baker also said she’s hoping for other Philadelphians to take interest in the past and present of the neighborhood. Chelsea Finn can be reached at chelsea.finn@temple.edu.

Boylesque, burlesque for men, trends in the city’s nightlife scene BOYLESQUE PAGE 9 number, and although it has grown Schonewolf, although not a persignificant roots over time throughout former himself, has produced a handPhiladelphia, the concept is still gain- ful of boylesque shows throughout ing momentum. the city, including Bearlesque and The “It’s the art of the tease, but com- Weird Beard Revue. ing from a man,” said Brett J. Hopkins, The 2005 Temple grad majored or “Brettzo,” one of Philadelphia’s vet- in communications, but gained expeeran boylesque performers. “While it’s rience in event planning a couple of not drag itself, it does take some ele- years ago after hosting a dinner party ments from that.” at Tabu with benefits going to LGBTQ Hopkins is a participant in the Bur- youth. lesque Battle Royale And just like genat Center City’s Tabu der isn’t a factor in the Lounge and Sports Bar, neo-burlesque world, a competition with both neither is sexual orienmale and female acts. tation. Every Tuesday “When a bachelornight until the beginette party of all women, ning of March, this for a woman who’s getcompetition – complete ting married to a womwith judges, handan, loves your nummade costumes and of ber, you’re just like, course, the thrill of the ‘Yeah, right, you get striptease – shows that this!’” Hopkins, who both male and female also performs in New performers are bringYork City, said. “Even ing unique talent to Brett J. Hopkins / performer though you’re not atPhiladelphia’s nightlife tracted to my body scene. type, you understand I’m trying to do “I love a person whose baseball something funny/sexy.” bat matches their tassels,” said Josh It’s not necessarily about connectSchonewolf, one of the judges at Bur- ing to an audience member or even a lesque Battle Royale’s fifth out of 10th specific gender, but connecting to the round at Tabu after Sinnamon, a female audience as a whole via performance performer, took the stage with a bedaz- – which is exactly what the judges at zled baseball bat in tow. the Burlesque Battle Royale are look-

“It’s the art of

the tease, but coming from a man. While it’s not drag itself, it does take some elements from that.

”

Mr. Fahrenheit “strips” during a boylesque performance at Tabu Lounge on Feb. 11.| ABI REIMOLD TTN ing for. Judges include Schonewolf, Lascivious Jane, the director of Philadelphia’s Liberty City Kings, and Joey Martini, the emcee for the city’s PeekA-Boo Revue. “You are the king of boylesque in Philly,” judge Lascivious Jane said to performer Mr. Fahrenheit after his performance to The Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” where the theme for the evening’s competition was “love versus hate.” Ryan Henaghan, or Mistor Fahrenheit, is taking the boylesque scene by storm, but he said he remains levelheaded about the competition. “It’s not a catty contest or anything like that,” Henaghan said of the Bur-

lesque Battle Royale. “We’re all really close and really excited for each other.” That speaks volumes for the tightknit community forming, with common threads in neo-burlesque. Performers occasionally lend each other a hand in making costumes, song selection and coming up with ideas for material for upcoming acts so everyone can perform to the best of their ability. “The more performers there are, the better, because it pushes the performers to work harder,” Miss Liberty Rose said. “In order to be important and to get booked, you really have to practice and put work, time, money and effort into it.” Each performer channels their

own expertise, which can be themebased on topics such as films or television, into his or her act and sometimes, separate productions. “Nerdlesque,” Hopkins’ style, and “filmlesque,” Miss Liberty Rose’s classification of her productions, are just a few genres in the realm of neoburlesque. “The fruit that it’s going to bear is going to be great,” Hopkins said. “It’s pulling from all of these other elements, and each performer brings something different.” Kerri Ann Raimo can be reached at kerriann.raimo@temple.edu.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Student racecar in Auto Show

The joys and the casualties of WWE Network The over-the-top service wil have every WWE pay-per-view in history on demand and will result in more original wrestling programming.

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Engineers started building in December to display their work at last week’s show. KARLINA JONES The Temple News Since December, the College of Engineering has been a little louder than usual. Screwdrivers, hammers and discussion could be heard from around the school as a team of mechanical engineers came together to build a car to be featured in the Philadelphia Auto Show, which ran from Feb. 8-16 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Last year, Philadelphia Auto Show representatives approached the group’s senior leader, mechanical engineering major Michael Samuels, and his team to make a model car. That day, the challenge and sleepless nights began. Samuels said he pulled allnighters at least twice a week to progress on the project, but that’s nothing new. “We make cars every year,” Samuels said. “It is the same cramming for any other year making cars for competitions.” However, this is the first time a team from Temple’s mechanical engineering program has had a car featured in the annual Auto Show. “This year we got really lucky to have this opportunity to be featured in a big event like the Auto Show,” Samuels said. For the last two years, the team has traveled to the Michigan International Speedway and to competitions in Ontario, Canada to present their car projects. All of the competitions they attend are budgeted each year by the university. Regardless, travel expenses still add to the team’s stress and time, especially if they occur during finals week, as mechanical engineer major Aderoju Muftau-Ledijju experienced. “The thought of joining was

A group of mechanical engineers were approached in December by representatives from the Philadelphia Auto Show to build a car to display. | KARLINA JONES TTN stressful, thinking of how school would be with catching up on work and finals,” Muftau-Lediju said. “Also stressing about the perfection of the car around the time of finals is nerve-racking, too.” Each year, the team’s car has to go through a strict inspection, and if one thing is wrong, competition representatives will not allow the car to be displayed. Therefore, the team has to extremely careful with their allotted budget. One irreversible mistake could cost them. “The school sees us as a money pit,” Samuels said. “This program just started back up two years ago and I have seen it almost fail because running the full budget can be risky.” With Samuels as the leader of the team, it’s his responsibility to handle the budget. The team also fundraises some of their own money by selling Tshirts. Luckily, the team said they’ve learned from the stress.

The long hours spent together, they said, has caused them to bond much more than before. “After being in this program for five years, the team has become stronger than ever,” Samuels said. “It is more organized, and we had a good amount of people helping compared to the six people last year.” John Maruskanic, a 2013 graduate of the College of Engineering, said the outcome of the car show has been better than expected. He spent most of the days there and said he was delighted with the positive feedback. “The most asked question was, ‘What is this?’” Maruskanic said. “After a brief explanation of what Temple Formula Racing was, most people were surprised to hear that Temple offered something like this. A lot of people couldn't believe that the car they were looking at was made only by undergraduate students.” The team said they hope to

gain more recognition for their work and the program after their appearance in the Auto Show. “People don’t always see the work we put in.” MuftauLediju said. “But we have each other like brothers and sisters. I hope the show will bring more attention to our program and people know about us. I always loved cars, and I didn’t even know about this opportunity until my sophomore year.” After recycling their two previous cars, putting a new one together, tuning the engine and hoping for perfection, this year’s mechanical engineering team can say they’re the first from the College of Engineering to be featured in the Auto Show. They were the only team from a college or university in the show as well. “It’s the car itself that brings us together,” MuftauLediju said. Karlina Jones can be reached at karlina.jones@temple.edu

DIY scene famous for its strong support Philly’s music scene has garnered national attention as of late.

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oisey recently named Philadelphia with having America’s best hardcore community in a recent article. “The Philly scene is on fire right now, producing band after band putting out good music and building a close-knit community,” Dan Ozzi wrote on Feb. 4. Well, thanks Noisey. I appreciate the shoutout. But what is it about Philly’s DIY scene that brings on such praise? In my last column, I quoted Jake Detwiler of the Don’t Tread on Me House describing the Jared Whalen Philadelphia music scene Concrete as “communal” and “toColored tally interactive.” Philly Basements not only has a great catalogue of bands to choose from, but it has a strong and developing infrastructure of support behind those bands. Numerous groups and individuals have worked together to create systems of keeping the 215 scene going strong.

DIY PHL

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The nature of DIY events makes it sometimes hard to track them down. Typically, you won’t find advertisements for basement shows in the classifieds of the Inquirer. So unless you are a part of the Facebook niche that receives the stream of event invites on a daily basis, how are you going

to know what’s going on in your community? DIY PHL took on this challenge by creating a show and event listing for DIY events in Philadelphia area. According to its website, its mission is to “promote and support a music and arts community that creates a positive, inclusive and accessible environment for all to create, participate and enjoy in.” The online calendar is interactive, allowing for guests to submit shows. Submissions are reviewed for appropriateness and accuracy and then are listed in an easy to navigate display. This creates a constantly updated database of everything DIY – shows, charity events and even foodie gettogethers. In addition to the online calendar, DIY PHL puts out a monthly print calendar that is distributed around the city and at shows. A different artist is asked to design the calendar each month.

THE GUILD

In a city as large as Philly, spreading the word to the right people is key. That is where groups like The Guild come in. The Guild refers to itself on its website as “a collective of likeminded show promoters in the great city of Philadelphia.” Simply put, they get the word out. Utilizing Twitter and Facebook, The Guild promotes shows of all varieties across the city. This is important because not everyone has a few thousand Facebook friends and can fill up a venue with fans. Groups like The Guild get the details out to the masses, thus creating that close-knit community Noisey raved about.

R5 PRODUCTIONS

Sean Agnew owns and operates R5 Productions as a DIY show promotion agency. R5’s website states that its main goal is to “provide the Philadelphia area with cheap, friendly shows in an honest intimate setting.” R5 Productions works with a series of venues around the city, including Johnny Brenda’s and the First Unitarian Church. These shows differ from many other Philadelphia shows in that they often fall somewhere in the middle between basement and big league. While it is common to see a list of locals on a bill, these shows are also made to accommodate larger names that are on tour and want to make a stop in Philadelphia. With door prices typically ranging from $8 to $12, these shows are still cheap but allow for bands to get paid their guarantee. While donation-based house shows are great, $20 thrown in with a case of light beer won’t fill a van’s gas tank. These midlevel shows make it possible for small label touring bands to play in the area without sacrificing its budget. Additionally, these shows allow for local bands to get their names out in front of larger crowds. So, while it easy to focus on the bands coming out of a music community, Philadelphia is a prime example of what a quality scene looks like. In the modern world of YouTube, any band can grow an online presence on its own. But nothing says DIY like a solid do-it-together mentality. And in that, Philadelphia is first. Jared Whalen can be reached at jared.whalen@temple.edu.

acking up brown chunks resembling Debra’s cookies, I spent last weekend wishing the World Wrestling Entertainment Network could cure my self-diagnosed bronchitis. When you’re in bed popping cough drops in between swigs of ginger ale, a few hours of vintage wrasslin’ matches always serves as an entertaining John Corrigan d i s t r a c Cheesesteaks t i o n . and Chairshots But with W W E Classics On Demand discontinued, and the DVD player being farther than walking Camino de Santiago, I relied upon my trusty and crusty laptop to scour YouTube for a chokeslam remedy. Just a couple clicks and bam – an immediate fix for the wrestling junkie. It’s tough to fathom not being able to watch my favorite hobby whenever I want, even though I grew up in a time when that luxury didn’t exist. Until Pop-Pop read me the newspaper ad for “Smackdown’s” debut on then-UPN 57, Extreme Championship Wrestling’s weekly one-hour show was my only source for grappling. “Smackdown” was cool because it not only lasted two hours, but aired on a Thursday night. So you would scribble down The Rock’s latest catchphrases and then go to school the next day all pumped to recite them with your friends. Of course, this was before “Smackdown” became WWE’s Ashlee Simpson – the younger, less popular and prerecorded sibling to “Monday Night Raw.” Since my family didn’t get cable until Feb. 18, 2000 – don’t judge me – it was the first time I heard of this dark, profane alternative to “Monday Night Football.” And aside from Scott Steiner Valentine’s cards in the dollar store, I had zero knowledge of WWE’s existence. The options expanded over the years as I stayed up late for “Metal,” “Excess,” “Velocity” and “Confidential,” woke up to “Livewire” and “Superstars” and begrudgingly packed my schoolbag during “Sunday Night Heat.” These shows consisted of my sports-entertainment diet, and I balanced my life around their airings. With the advent of WWE On Demand and the advancement of the Internet, my appetite for wrestling grew in order to devour this viewing buffet. However, years of instant ladder matches and on-thespot Stone Cold promos have subdued my desire to watch wrestling as it airs. As a college senior, I’ll admit the only reason I catch “Raw” every week is because there’s a TV at my job. If I wasn’t working, I would probably play beer pong at Maxi’s and skim through The Authority’s segments on Hulu during my hangover. As for “Smackdown,” forget it. Sorry JBL, you may fight on Friday nights, but I’d rather

fail as a lover. If sports entertainment’s constant availability has impacted a diehard’s devotion, you have to wonder how future generations will be affected by the arrival of WWE Network. Starting Feb. 24, the wrasslin’ Netflix will stream content 24/7 in addition to featuring an on-demand library that contains every WWE, World Championship Wrestling and ECW pay-perview. The new programs for streaming include “WWE Countdown” – an interactive poll of various topics conducted by fans, “WrestleMania Rewind” – a behindthe-scenes retrospective of “Mania’s” memorable matches and moments, “WWE Legends’ House” – a wrestling spinoff of “The Surreal Life” and weekly airings of “NXT,” “Superstars” and pre-andpost shows for “Raw” and “Smackdown.” I neglected to mention “The Monday Night War” because I’m tired of revisiting the late ‘90s battle between Raw and Nitro. We fans know Eric Bischoff dyed his hair, we’re glad Mike Tyson needed money and we can name all 43 members of the NWO on Sporcle. I’m more interested in learning about the war between WWE and every other promotion during the ‘80s. Let’s hear from Greg Gagne or Kevin Von Erich about how their fathers struggled to compete against Vince McMahon. Perhaps a late-night, uncensored sit-down interview with Ole Anderson on the death of the territories. A cost of $9.99 per month with a six-month commitment … I’ll commit to six years for that show. The best part of the subscription is that viewers get every WWE PPV, each costing $45 on average, for only $10. The potential downside of that deal for fans like me who go to the Fox and Hound with their friends to watch the PPVs is that no decision has been made on whether the restaurant chain will continue showing the events for the $5 cover charge. I guess if something appears too good to be true, I remain suspect until the flaws are revealed. Luckily, WWE will offer a free one-week trial of the network on WWE.com so any fears may be assuaged when it comes time to fill out the credit card information. I will always worry about the next generation of fans, though. They’ll grow up in an era of instant access, an immediate scratch to that piledriver itch. Rather than remember “the jabroni-beating, pie-eating, trail-blazing, eye-brow raising” of The Rock from last night, they can simply whip out their iPhones and watch it during class. Or maybe I’m just jealous WWE Network arrives three months before I graduate. All those lectures I wasted daydreaming instead of reliving Taz choke out Sabu… It’s enough to make me sick. John Corrigan can be reached at john.corrigan@temple. edu.

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Cassettes PAGE 9

“I think a lot of people want something tangible,” said Colin McMahon, co-owner of South Philadelphia’s Sit & Spin records. “It’s great that you can go and hear new bands streaming on the Internet, but a lot of people still want to see the artwork and whatever other forms of expression that come with it.” Zachery Kern, founder of Eyetooth Collective, a small tape label based out of Ohio that also dabbles in mix tapes, shared a similar sentiment. “I think people will always have a thing for physical mediums instead of MP3s because you can't hold an MP3,” Kern said. “You can't spin an MP3. They sound like crap half the time, and you don't get the satisfaction that you get from pressing the giant play button on your tapedeck or dropping the needle on your turntable.” Records, with their vast design potential and superior fidelity, have been steadily on the up for roughly a decade. According to Billboard, in 2013, vinyl saw a 36 percent increase in sales. This is a trend that can be easily dissected. A large amount of the appeal comes from the quality of sound they omit. With the right equipment, a spun 12-inch will objectively sound better than an MP3, but tapes, on the other hand, lack this appeal. However, for tape lovers, the lack of fidelity doesn’t seem to

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sue. “ T h e y sound different,” Cotteta said. “For a while, I’ll admit, I was like, ‘Yeah, they just sound better.’ But they don’t. They sound like cassettes, which is fine.” An incubator of the tape revival has long been the DIY punk scene. Leaning on the affordability of the medium, as well as the fact that they can be recreated at home with a thrift store tape duplicator, bands generally use cassettes as their medium of choice for demos. The Hundred Acre Woods, a Philadelphia-based punk band with folk influences, is one of many bands in the underground scene to utilize the medium, as it released its 2011 EP on both cassette and CD. ADVERTISEMENT

Zack Reinhardt (left) and Chris Cotteta (right) are avid collectors of all forms of music, but are especially interested in tapes. | SKYLER BURKHART “It has to do with the cheapness of it,” said film major Zack Reinhardt, one of the band’s guitarists. “I shouldn’t say cheapness because that makes it sound like it’s s----y, but they’re really affordable and easy to make, and the thing is, we got 300 pressed, and I hand-stamped every single one of them. It comes down to something that’s malleable and something that’s a little bit different. [Fans] come up to the merch table at a show, and they’ll be like, ‘Is that a tape!?’ And I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, dude.’ And they’ll be like, ‘Sweet. I’m go- ing to

buy three of them.’ We can get them pressed for dirt cheap, then sell them for $3.” The element of cheapness is also what allowed Kern’s small tape label to form. “We started the label side of Eyetooth Collective because we were bored in my room one day and we were all, ‘Let's start a tape label,’” Kern said. “So we got on eBay a few days later and bought 500 blank cassette tapes. It's funny because Brian, the other guy I do this with, broke into this abandoned house to get 50 cases and 30 blank tapes with some church recordings. So we were pretty broke in the beginning.” However, CDs are nearly as cheap as tapes. At Office Max, customers can buy 100 blank CDs for a crisp $20 bill. But for whatever reason, in 2014, CDs, at least among a number of collectors, are seen as passé, outdated relics, doomed to sit idly in a box marked “two for $5” at F.Y.E’s across the country. “With a CD at the core of it, it’s really just a piece of plastic with data on

it,” Reinhardt said. “There’s nothing really physical about it. If you break open a cassette – you smash it to bits, you can still see the lines on it. Just like you can look at a record and you can still see the grooves. One of the things that still blows my mind more than any scientific breakthrough [is that] you can have today is that you can put a needle on a record and turn your stereo off, and if it’s spinning, you can still hear it. And that just blows my mind more than microchips do.” For many a music nerd like Reinhardt, the sound of an MP3 played through a set of earbuds doesn’t cut it. And the element that’s missing is a tangible physicality. This is an element that tapes, a medium

difference between them and their cassette-based counterparts. “The cool thing about making someone a mixtape is that you can make a mix CD, and you can put the same songs on it, but when you make a mixtape, you have the feeling that the person sat there and pushed a button to make each one of these,” McMahon said. “And that they actually put thought into what they were putting on there next. And they sat there and listened to it and were like, ‘Oh, I think this person would like this.’” There’s a real possibility that the recent resurgence of the cassette has something to do with the time and place we’re in. Millennials, who are now coming of age to become modernday collectors, grew up in an era where cassettes were still a viable format to own music on. Many have hazy, childhood memories of cassette tapes. “Cassettes were the first music medium that I had when I was really young,” Reinhardt said. “I even have some of them still here. I have my Beach Boys tape and my Raffi that I would always listen to when I was going to bed.” But to touch up on the element of place, music exists in 2014 in a landscape that is nearly entirely lawless. Almost any noteworthy piece of music ever constructed is buried in some distant corner of the Internet, whether it be a Mediafire link or a Russian Blogspot site, just waiting to be unearthed. With that considered, many modern music fans are having a hard time seeing the point in paying for a piece of music

that’s free online. “I don’t necessarily like paying for music that’s digital because I know I can find it for free somewhere,” Reinhardt said. “And if I am spending money, I’d rather wait for the band to come to town, go and speak to the person who’s on the tape or who’s on the CD, and give them money and have them actually hand me something back in return. I’d rather wait and do that than have the MP3 faster.” For all of their nostalgic value, on a macro level, tapes are still mostly a niche thing. In 2013, according to The Nielson SoundScan, they accounted for just .02 percent of the year’s total music sales. Music lovers would be hard pressed to find a record store that values tapes to nearly the same extent as they do vinyl. And many music collectors, including Reinhardt, McMahon and Cotteta have record collections that dwarf the number of tapes they’ve amassed. But the fact that they exist at all in 2014 has to be indicative of something. “It’s really protesting digital culture,” Cotteta said. “When you release an album on cassette you’re saying, ‘You can only listen to this if you have a tape player.’ And people who just listen to their iPod, they don’t have a tape player, so they literally can’t listen to it. So it’s like a club thing. But in a way it’s a very human thing to do because it’s futile, but you feel like it’ll be successful anyway.”

that f o r t h e m o s t p a r t doesn’t allow its user t o even select a track, has in spades. “They change with you,” Reinhardt said. “My Beach Boys tape, when I was little, I probably dropped it or sneezed on the tape, so in this one spot it dips out or gets muffled. And every time I listen to it now, it dips or David Zisser can be reached at gets muffled in that one spot. And I’m zisserd@temple.edu. like, ‘That’s from when I dropped it or almost broke it.’ And even in [bad weather], I put a tape in my car, and if it’s 15 degrees, it can’t spin as fast. So I’ll put a tape in the tapedeck in my car and it’ll be like, ‘Buurreeeuree,’ and I’ll have to smack it or wait until it warms up. You feel more of a connection to it rather than just hitting a button on your MP3 player.” For teens in the early ‘90s, the mixtape – if movies and television are to be trusted – was a perennial part of adolescence. With the right combination of tracks, they just might’ve been able to make their crush swoon. The following generation was not deprived of this entirely, as mix CDs have had a fair amount of popularity, but McMahon claimed there’s a substantial Zack Reinhardt always travels with cassettes. | SKYLER BURKHART TTN

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Circus brings ‘Legends’ to Philly Beasts and daring cyclists performs under the big top.

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he Wells Fargo Center emanated an air of childish wonder on Feb. 12. Mixed in with the smell of popcorn and peanuts, the awe oozed out the front doors – along with all of the little ones. What’s all the fuss about, you may ask? The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus was in town presenting the opening night of “Legends.” Brianna Spause The age of Caught in the big top is one the Act the famed menagerie leaders left behind them long ago, but not an ounce of magic seemed to be sacrificed in the arena atmosphere. As the lights went down over the packed venue for a prompt 7:30 p.m. start, hundreds of young faces

appeared aglow from their LED spinning souvenirs in preparation for the “Greatest Show on Earth.” “You know a legend is something magical, something larger than life. And once you see a legend, you’ll never forget it,” Ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson said as he emerged from the shadows. Settling spotlights revealed his glittering purple petty coat with pants and top hat to match. Glitz and glamour seemed to be a common characteristic that ran through the outfits of the circus performers. Each intricate costume added to the essence of each act. A personal favorite, however, was the simplicity of the Clown Army. Each performer had a variation of slacks with ripped knees and big, goofy bowties. Then in rode the “legendary” Torres family on their motorbikes for a daredevil start to the two-hour performance. At first, four of the brothers entered the spherical death trap Iversen warmly referred to as the “Globe of Steel,” and around they went. But I said daredevil, and

BRIANNA SPAUSE TTN

despite my own stomach churning fear that an ill fate might meet them, one by one they piled into the globe until eight motorbikes were circling the massive structure. And although I’m sure there is a science to their stunt, nothing could quell my teeth-clenching unease. But the kids loved it, and the audience erupted with each turn in the show. As far as fan favorites go, the big cats took the gold. Lions, tigers and leopards surrounded British ringleader Alexander Lacey, who had no issue cozying up to the ferocious beasts. And those ferocious beasts had no issue taking a swat or two at Lacey, either. To calm a particularly feisty animal, Lacey leaned in for a kiss on the mouth from the female lion, to which she playfully obliged. Plenty of animals made an appearance as the “Greatest Show on Earth” went on. Towering Indian elephants marched tail-in-trunk in a line while llamas, horses and even kangaroos joined the show. “I loved the elephants, because you don’t get to see them every day,” marketing major Megan Cunningham said. “I liked when they lined up to form a conga line at the very end.” And, of course, it wouldn’t be a circus without acrobats. “We summoned the mystical and the magical from where the legends live – welcome fire, welcome water, welcome wind,” Iversen said. And with that introduction, flames erupted in the corner. The China National Acrobatic Troupe swooped in and stole the spotlight. Dressed in fiery orange jumpsuits, the men climbed and leaped from pole to pole with grace. In washed the Hair Hang Heroines, or the women of the lotus flower.

OUT & ABOUT

As a representation of water, these women hung and spun with fluid grace. The catch? They were suspended from the air by none other than their own ponytails. Even my hair follicles hurt as I watched their awe-inspiring performance. Wind, the last of the elements, was brought into view by the sound of a stampede. The Riders of the Wind, as they called themselves, dressed in gladiator getup and spun and flipped over the backs of galloping horses. Perhaps the most admirable fact about acrobats is their fearless stunts. As for someone who can barely balance on one foot, I hold a strong reverence for these athletes. It became obvious from her excitement that the little girl in front of me did as well. “I thought the show was amazing, and I really like the acrobats because they were in the air and hanging upside down, and they’re all really pretty,” 9-year-old Alyson told me. “The Greatest Show On Earth” brought the elements of the earth, ferocious lions and daredevil cyclists to the table – but perhaps the real legend is the history of entertainment the show carries. The circus dates back to 1884. Nowhere else will patrons experience the bizarre wonders that occur “under the big top.” Or will they see my pals in the Clown Army dancing to an unmistakable symphonic rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball?” All in all, it was a well-rounded night fulfilling all of my exotic circus expectations.

KATZ SHOWCASE Inspired by Black History Month, the Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design will take a look back at the Civil Rights Movement by opening the exhibit ”Joel Katz: And I Said No Lord” on March 15. Katz is known for his work with black and white photography, capturing the violence in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. Katz was not only a photographer, but an author, information designer and a teacher at the University of the Arts. On Feb. 25, Katz will hold a lecture about his art as well as the project starting at 11:30 a.m. Katz will also hold a book signing on March 7 at 5:30 p.m. –Chelsea Finn

PIZZA, BEER, MOVIES Newly opened Nomad Pizza in Center City has added a “Beer Theater,” where it will be playing movies every Sunday starting at 8 p.m. The restaurant has already played classics like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “The Blues Brothers,” as well as the modern, popular comedy “Anchorman.” This month’s movie selection has a focus on concert movies, and this Sunday, Nomad will play “Monterey Pop,” which documents the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. –Albert Hong

DUMPSTER DIVING This past fall, the National Archives at Philadelphia renovated its building on Market Street, turning thousands of pieces of microfilm into trash. During the renovations, the Dumpster Divers of Philadelphia, a group of 40 local artists who try to cut down on trash impact by utilizing waste in their art, stepped in. Using the old pieces of microfilm, the Dumpster Divers came up with new creations seen through the exhibit, “Alchemy: The Art of the Dumpster Divers,” which will run at the National Archives at Philadelphia from now until April 24. –Chelsea Finn

Brianna Spause can be reached at brianna.spause@temple.edu.

Flamenco masterclass to be held on campus Feb. 27 Flamenco was born out of the oppression faced by the Gypsies, Moors and Jews of Spain during their 1492 expulsion by a Catholic monarchy. Today, flamenco still carries these emotional roots. Flamenco combines four components to produce this effect: singing, clapping, guitar and dance. The intensity of flamenco is what Hevia y Vaca said drew her to the art when she was 13 and pressed her to leave her home in Bolivia to study flamenco in Spain two years later. “It was an opportunity – 12 or 13 is usually when you go inside yourself as a young girl,” Hevia y Vaca said. “Being able to flamenco is about owning your sexuality instead of being afraid of it. Flamenco helped me to realize from a very young age how powerful it is to be a woman.” After years of study and performance, Hevia y Vaca created Pasión y Arte with the intent of exploring the feminist side of flamenco, a dance traditionally dominated by conventional ideas of sexuality. “It just made sense to look at flamenco in this particular way for me,” Hevia y Vaca said. “It’s something I wanted to do for a while. I needed to do it. It makes me feel better.” This contemporary interpretation of a traditional art is a recurrent theme in the Flamenco Festival. The festival features performances by three dancers with different styles, all of which comprise the

FLAMENCO PAGE 9

genre of “nuevo flamenco.” Among them is Rosario Toledo, an international flamenco dancer and choreographer who is completing a residency at Pasión y Arte. Toledo has just begun working with three Philadelphia- artists, each from a different genre, on a piece called “Tapas,” to be performed for the March 6-8 portion of the Flamenco Festival’s program. “Yesterday was the first day with this residency,” Toledo said. “I don’t have anything preconceived about what I’m going to make. With these three artists, I would like to get close to flamenco, but not impose on it.” Even as a professional, Toledo said she’s unsure about what the finished project will look like. “It’s very difficult to say with one day,” Toledo said. “It’s an experimental laboratory.” In addition to Toledo, brother and sister dancers Israel and Pastora Galván will headline the festival. Israel Galván, who choreographed two performances in the festival, “Pastora” and “La Curva,” won Spain’s National Dance Award in 2005 for his innovative style of flamenco. “All [Israel Galván] does is so different, his way of creating a unique aesthetic,” Toledo said. “All his performances are so particular. He’s an intellectual. He’s avantgarde.” To kick off the festival, Hevia y Vaca is offering a master class to be held Feb. 27. in Room 221 of Pear-

TRENDING IN PHILLY

PASSYUNK RESTAURANT WEEK Foodies who missed out on deals during this winter’s Center City Restaurant Weeks can still take part in similar specials at East Passyunk Restaurant Week which will run from Feb. 23 to March 1. Just like Center City’s week-long event, East Passyunk Restaurant Week will have three-course lunch and dinner options for $15, $25 or $35 all along East Passyunk Avenue. –Albert Hong

Rosario Toledo, dancer.| COURTESY ANTONIO DOMINGUEZ son Hall at Temple. The flamenco class, which will take place from 9:40–11:10 a.m., is open to all students – beginners included. “It’s for everyone,” Toledo said, “It’s for dancers, and we’re all dancers. It’s an experience.”

Above all, Hevia y Vaca said she is excited for the opportunity to expose Philadelphian audiences to this brave new style of flamenco.

What people FISCHER HONORED FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT @PhillydotcomENT tweeted on Feb. 15 that the government of Japan has are talking honored Felice Fischer with the Order of the Rising Sun, the Gold and Silver Rays about in for her lifetime achievement of the study of Japanese art. Fischer, the Japanese Philly – and East Asian curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will be given her from news award during a ceremony at the museum Tuesday. and store openings, to music events and restaurant open- CARLO’S BAKERY GETS PHILLY LOCATION ing. For breaking news and daily @phillymag tweeted on Feb. 12 that Carlo’s Bakery, owned by Buddy Valastro, updates, follow The Temple News which is also the subject of TLC’s show, “Cake Boss.” The shop will open a on Twitter @TheTempleNews. Philadelphia location in Rittenhouse. The store is expected to open in late spring or early summer.

Suzannah Cavanaugh can be reached at suzannah.cavanaugh@temple.edu.

The Philadelphia Flower Show will run from March 1-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on 12th and Arch streets. Tickets are $20 online with a valid student ID. This year marks the 185th year of the Philadelphia Flower Show, which is the world’s largest indoor flower show with 10 acres of arrangements. –Kerri Ann Raimo

REVOLUTIONARY WAR MUSEUM GETS REDESIGNED @PhillyInquirer tweeted on Feb. 16 that the Philadelphia Art Commission has asked architect Robert A.M. Stern to redesign his idea for the Revolutionary War museum. Stern presented a $150 million remodel to the commission and, although it was not officially rejected, the Philadelphia Art Commission raised issues with some of the design aspects, asking they fit more in with the surrounding colonial area buildings.

PENNSYLVANIA RECONSIDERS 180-DAY SCHOOL RULE @metrophilly tweeted on Feb. 14 that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is considering removing its 180-day rule for public schools due to the amount of snow and instead instilling hour requirements. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai said he thinks the hours could be added onto days students are already in school, instead of making them come in during scheduled summer vacation days.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

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FOOD TRUCK

Ambler food desert a tasteless situation With minimal dining options, students struggle to bring a food truck to Ambler Campus as a new option.

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venture onto Ambler Campus is to resign to an empty stomach. On Main Campus, there is food offered at Fresh Bytes, the Student Center, Johnson & Hardwick cafeteria and Morgan Hall, not to mention the numerous food trucks and stores on and off campus. Some students who care about nutritional and environmentally-friendly sustenance are trying to change the Ambler predicament. “In 1911, Temple Ambler was previously the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women,” said co-chair of Ambler Campus Office of Sustainability Robert Kuper. “Now, it’s a food desert. Coincidence or irony? This is why a co-op would not only allow students to eat right on campus again, but it would also tie back to the history.” Toby Forstater Previously, Ambler Green Living housed students who had meal plans. However, in Fall 2010, the dorms closed – along with the dining center. The only eatery left was a Fresh Bytes in Bright Hall, which offered sandwiches and snacks, but even that has been shut down for an IT expansion project. Now, a café in the Learning Center is open for part of the day, offering à la carte items. There is a rotating menu offering one gluten-free special every day. Because of this, many students said they either pack their lunch or don’t eat. They can drive off campus and buy food at local businesses, but a seven-minute drive each way and the time it takes to make the food is too much for those with busy schedules or no car. In lieu of this, concerns for more options were mentioned to Kuper and fellow co-chair Anne Brennan. “Overall, the students seem to be very upset,” Kuper said. “This is a sensitive issue and an issue that has been brought to the attention of the Ambler Campus Office of Sustainability so we can get more food on [Ambler’s] campus, but also improve its quality on campus.” There is talk of reopening a section of the now-vacant dining hall, but Temple is under a contract with Sodexo and cannot open other food services on its campuses. Students contacted an independent food

truck, hoping to encourage it to come to a local park near Ambler Campus. Unfortunately, students would still have to walk down a major road without a sidewalk just to reach it. Students said they are even resorting to asking Sodexo to provide a food truck, in hopes of avoiding the limits of the legal constraints. “This is a very real concern and feedback is very important,” Sodexo Marketing Manager Nate Quinn said. “We really want to accommodate students in any way possible. Our job is to serve students so they can do better in school.” Quinn said Sodexo aims to improve the quality of its food options overall. “We are trying to work on organic and local options,” Quinn said. “This has suddenly come into high popularity, and we are very proud to do that before Fresh Grocer and others while making sure the organic options are satisfying but affordable.” However, even on Main Campus it is tough to find sustainable food options. There is one organic shop in Morgan Hall, but options in dining halls leave a lot to be desired. Students should even use caution in judging the legitimacy of “local and organic” trucks – some could be using a faulty advertising scheme called “greenwashing” to lure customers. For example, besides the sign for local coffee, many customers are left to wonder what green options there actually are at trucks like Sexy Green Truck, which bases part of its appeal on being organic. 7-Eleven offers a local, organic and vegan sandwich. If a Philadelphia convenience store can manage that, why can’t Temple provide similar dining options at all its campuses? “I would hazard to guess our school attracts people who love environmental sustainability,” Brennan said of the Ambler Campus. “We have a significant number of students and staff that place a priority on a vegan and organic diet. The irony is that you would think the campus would be the hub of that, but it’s actually the opposite because of these various factors.” Many students don’t feel their issues are being dealt with quickly enough, nor their desires being addressed. Kuper and Brennan agreed Sodexo should be required to provide what people want or give up its monopoly, something that seems only fair to students who continue to use the Ambler Campus. While it is still open, the dietary needs of those attending should be met.

Eddie’s Pizza uses meat and vegetables purchased from Philadelphia vendors, keeping its business transactions within the city limits. | ERIC DAO TTN

Owners on value of local food “It’s important to buy local because we invest in our business with time and money, so we want to do the same for other businesses,” Haiuni said. The Burger and Cheese Busz, now owned by Peter Shin, also purchases from locations that are close by. The fresh, unfrozen beef used for burgers is delivered from Esposito’s Meats in the Italian Market every morning, Shin said. “Fresh ingredients are the key,” Shin said. “If I can’t keep it fresh, and if there isn’t enough demand for something to keep it fresh, we do not sell it.” For the food businesses on Main Campus that have simpler ingredient requirements for

LOCAL PAGE 7

their menu, local and organic ingredients are not always a priority. Michael Sigal, owner of the Bagel Shop at 13th Street and Polett Walk, said he doesn’t think it’s necessary for the product he offers. “The places that I shop at have good stuff, but it’s not organic or anything like that,” Sigal said. “Plus, you can’t really go to farms around this time [of year] anyway since most are closed.” Along with meat and vegetables, some trucks offer local and organic beverages. There are more than 11 coffee roasters within Philadelphia, two of which are used by truck owners on Main Campus. Philly

Fair Trade Roasters is served by Sexy Green Truck and Re-Animator Coffee is served by Cloud Coffee. Both roasters’ blends are served at various local cafés and are available for purchase at farmers’ markets as well. Cloud Coffee owners Kristen Mills and Matthew Craig said they aim to serve everything local, from lattes to bagels. “Everything that’s in here is from within a couple miles,” Craig said. “Besides things like coffee filters and napkins and all that, we’re as local as possible.” Ariane Pepsin can be reached at ariane.pepsin@temple.edu.

Toby Forstater can be reached at toby.forstater@temple.edu.

The Sexy Green Truck offers locally roasted coffee. Owners said the menu is comprised of local ingredients.| ERIC DAO TTN

Cloud Coffee offers Re-Animator Coffee, which is a local roaster and a member of Philly Fare Trade Roasters. Owners said everything they use is local, if possible.| ERIC DAO TTN

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

LIVING

PAGE 17

The important points from the SOTU speech The president’s speech should not be overlooked by college-aged voters.

T

he State of the Union Address – Obama’s last chance to consult America while America consults Buzzfeed to see which Joe Biden meme is trending after the event. While this year’s Biden-Looks-Likethe Batman-Joker is hilarious, college-aged voters need to pay close attention to a few critical quotes from the SOTU. The Young Democratic Socialists chapter at Temple advocates for the rights of graduate students, who they say are expected to balance a significantly heavy workload of courses and work. | MAGGIE ANDRESEN TTN

“Kids, call your mom” I couldn’t agree more with Obama on this. Everyone who hasn’t already should call home to see if the Affordable got into socialism I would go Care Act around and ask, ‘Hey, why is right for don’t you think this works?’ them. The and things like that, and people 2010 ACA would immediately bring up immandate ages of Stalin.” decreed Reforming this image and Lora Strum that stuopening the eyes of the pubPolarized dents can lic is another important aspect Campus remain on of what the organization does. their parents’ health insurance Cozzolino said the Democratic until age 26. The new ACA ofSocialists organization gives fers two additional options. people who feel isolated in their Employed students who make political opinions a camaraderie $10,000-46,000 are eligible for they may not have felt before. tax deductions that reduce pre“Connecting to a network miums when buying governis a really big part of what we ment insurance. do, but it’s also just fun,” CozStudents who make less zolino said. “[The organization] than $10,000 can buy “catais full of amazing people who strophic” insurance that proare really hardworking, and we vides coverage, do a lot of important work that’s but requires stusatisfying.” dents to pay up The group has had success to thousands of so far in getting its message dollars for most across, Cozzolino said. healthcare pro“Anyone who is interested cedures. Womin social justice and economic en, luckily, reequality – if you are [within] ceive extensive 99.9 percent of this world who coverage of gywants their voice to be heard necological and and wants a more egalitarfamily-planning ian, just society, we’re a group services. where that is our message,” Those lookMiller said. ing to keep it to Main Campus can choose a plan offered Alexa Bricker can be reached at alexa.bricker@temple.edu. through Temple with monthly premiums from $235-400. These plans offer a $15-50 copay, depending on which deductible is selected. The deductible, however, does not apply to gynecology visits and only 50 percent to doctor’s visits. Calling your mom is free – hopefully, so is staying on her plan. If you can, save worrying about health insurance when you get a serious job and first hear the word “benefits.”

Group unites politically likeminded students Temple’s chapter of the group tackles issues like student debt and tuition. ALEXA BRICKER The Temple News

When Steve Cozzolino was in high school and still trying to figure out where he stood politically, his sister was participating in Temple’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists. Today, he’s president of the organization. Cozzolino said it is his goal to make the university a better place for both students and faculty. He said the group has been successful in years past in addressing issues like student debt and, in 2012, collecting signatures to help push the administration to adopt a tuition freeze. “As an organization, we believe that education is our right, we don’t believe that you should go into debt just because you want to get a good education,” the sophomore music therapy major said. At its meetings, held every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Student Center, group members discuss what they believe are pressing political and social issues around campus. The group identifies as a grassroots organization and cites Martin Luther King Jr.’s stance on the promotion of a “person-oriented soci-

ety” as inspiration. This year, Cozzolino and other members have targeted their agenda to focus on what they call the unfair treatment of graduate students and adjunct faculty. “Graduate students have a lot of work that they have to get done themselves, and then they’re thrown into the world of academia and they’re between a rock and a hard place in terms of getting their lives together,” treasurer of the organization and sophomore political science major Chris Miller said. Miller and Cozzolino said that by improving the working conditions of graduate students and faculty members, their group will ultimately benefit the students, as professors can focus on giving them the best education possible. Issues like these are at the core of this organization, members said. They hope to inspire others at the university to broaden their perception of social needs, members said. “There are a lot of people, especially more conservatives, who view human rights as a narrow thing,” Miller said. “We want rights to start encompassing education, healthcare – in America, those aren’t thought of as guaranteed rights. We need to have more of the ‘privileges’ moved to the rights category in this country.” As a branch of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, the group aims to represent

the basic principles of socialism and equality, something they said can be misconstrued in the public eye. “When you’re talking to someone about socialism, the first half of your conversation is explaining to them what you don’t believe,” Cozzolino said. “We don’t want Soviet Russia, we don’t support Mao. At its core, socialism is really economic democracy.” Issues like LGBTQ rights, healthcare, sustainability and racial and gender equality are all encompassed under the umbrella of things the organization fights to improve through its work. “Being a part of TDS has really allowed me to use my voice to speak for those who do not have the means or platform to speak for themselves,” Alexis Wright-Whitley, a senior member of the organization, said. “I’m glad to be a part of an organization that deeply cares about and loves others. I’m glad to serve with those who are as humble as I am, fighting the good fight because we should, not because we seek some reward.” Like Wright-Whitley, Miller said the negativity associated with socialism sometimes blinds people from seeing what good it can do. “[Socialism] is put down by the very people who need it,” Miller said. “I grew up in a small town, all blue-collar, working poor, and when I first

“Obama has just

grazed the issue that’s hitting his largest voter demographic the hardest: student debt.

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“Taken together, our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet….” Obama’s climate change plan includes shuttering coal plants and increasing the use of clean energy. He’s gained support for solar panel installations in major businesses and public attractions, eagerly citing the increase in jobs and the reduction of our carbon footprint. He has not, however, devised a plan to decrease emission from cars. Temple itself may be more environmentally savvy than the country as a whole. The Certificate in Sustainability educates students on the benefits of prioritizing the environment. All Temple buildings recycle, while Johnson and Hardwick cafeteria and the Student Center food court both compost food waste. Farmers’ markets and university-sponsored gardens also help students engage in the slow food movement to develop a better relationship with the environment. Like Temple College Democrats president and senior political science major Jessica Cooper said, “Fossil fuels are not going to last forever. By encouraging green energies, the president is investing in our future. Our generation, and our children, are going to have to deal with the stark realities of climate change.” As Temple students, we should be proud of the efforts the university has taken to be green, but in order to keep it that way, we all have to pitch in.

“Give America a raise.” Better yet—give America a wage. Obama’s trying to help us out by raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. This $2.85 increase, for you econ majors, will increase on the margin – but is not guaranteed. Obama is still working with Congress to pass the Fair Minimum Wage act. So maybe that extra $2.85 will show up in our paychecks, but it won’t affect work-study students, who earn the amount in their aid award regardless of what increments it is paid out in. Not all students are thrilled about the possible implications of all this. “By raising the minimum wage, companies will want to hire less employees,” junior economics major Dayna Jodzio said. Don’t forget, if minimum wage increases, so will the costs of everyday purchases. It’s just how the economy works – bigger paychecks may cause latte prices to rise marginally as well.

“We’re offering millions the opportunity to cap their monthly student loan payments to 10 percent of their income, and I want to work with Congress to see how we can help even more Americans who feel trapped by student loan debt.” Obama and secondary education – the two do not share any symbiosis, but are strangers who keep meeting at the right times. Obama has just grazed the issue that’s hitting his largest voter demographic the hardest: student debt. While we applaud him for promoting education so our little sister can learn her letters, we’re still struggling to afford the place where they teach us to turn those letters into a résumé and get a job. Senate Democrats discussed restoration of student bankruptcy forgiveness and raising federal loan limits, but these talking points expired. The only expected change is the new loan repayment plan that requires students to give just 10 percent of their income in loans. Regardless of political affiliation, students can all agree we need some help. “There is always more we can do to help students and I am sure President Obama understands that, but this is a great first step of hopefully many more to come,” Cooper said. Temple offers another solution with the “Fly in 4” plan: $4,000 grants to students who promise to graduate in four years. Maybe President Obama and President Theobald should do lunch.

”

Lora Strum can be reached at lora.strum@temple.edu.

LIVING

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

AROUND CAMPUS GREEK BLACK HISTORY MONTH This February, the National Panhellenic Council of historically African-American Greek fraternities and sororities will offer programming for members and non-members alike. The Alpha Phi Alpha, Pi Rho chapter will be holding the “I Am African” talk-back discussion in the Student Center, Room 217 AB on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The discussion will address what it means to claim African heritage. The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity with the Mighty Psi organization also held its first annual Valentine’s Day date auction in the Student Center Underground. Participants donated canned goods to earn “money” to bid for the eligible bachelors. -Lora Strum

GREEKS HOST MUSICIANS Jennifer Hermann (right) poses nude for figure drawing classes at Tyler School of Art. | CLAIRE SASKO TTN

Figure drawing offers personality to art students and painting and teaches a figure drawing class on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Main Campus. Though he said some students new to the concept may show discomfort at the thought of studying a naked body professionally, Morrison said he believes it’s necessary for any artist who wants to depict the body in their work. “The nude model allows you to understand better the figure upon which clothes hang,” Morrison said. Hermann, who recently modeled for Morrison’s figure drawing class, recalled being nervous the first time she modeled nude – but not for the reasons one might think. “I just wanted to do what they wanted me to do correctly,” Hermann said. “It’s more about, ‘Am I doing a good pose? Will this be a good drawing for everyone in the room?’” Hermann said she first encountered the job opportunity through a painter’s advertisement on Craigslist. She drove to his house in Wilmington, Del., and modeled in his home studio. “He passed my name on to different painters, and that’s how I kept getting more jobs,” she said. “It’s by

DRAWING PAGE 1

word of mouth.” Hermann attended Millersville University 15 years ago, where she earned a master of fine arts degree. “I was drawing myself and we had models there, and that’s when I realized it’s something people do,” she said. A metal smith by trade, Hermann specializes in fine jewelry like engagement rings and wedding bands and works at Bario-Neal, a store that sells handcrafted jewelry in the city. She said she models on her days off from work to bolster her income. Hermann said one of the most difficult aspects of modeling is posing for extended periods of time, which is something she’s learned to do well. “It’s almost like meditation, you kind of just zone out,” she said. Hermann said she isn’t selfconscious when it comes to modeling. She said she believes security is an important requirement of the job. “You have 20 eyes at a time looking at you,” Hermann said. “If you’re worried about every hair or cellulite, those aren’t the things to be worried about.” Some students said they don’t

see flaws during figure drawing, just different qualities to draw. “Every person is incredibly different,” senior sculpture major Casey Poehlein said. “[Instructors] teach you specific proportions, like there’s seven and a half heads per each body, but that’s not always true.” Morrison said figure drawing teaches artists how to differentiate between these perceived qualities and actual qualities. “In drawing the figure, [students] aren’t so much learning how to draw – they’re learning how to see,” Morrison said. “Most of us walk around with a stock of images in our subconscious. There is a discipline between learning what you actually see and what is in your memory.” Poehlein said he believes this is why a nude model is optimal for figure drawing. “I think if anyone were to be in this room, they’d understand it’s not really anything scandalous,” Poehlein said. “You just go in with a business mindset,” Ruffin said. “Drawing is about form and space and composition. I think [figure drawing] really

sharpens your skills. You’re training your eye in a sense to see things and be able to interpret relationships aesthetically.” Figure drawing can benefit the model as well, Hermann said. It’s been a positive experience for her. “It’s fun,” Hermann said. “I meet a lot of different people, and I can see myself drawn and how people view me.” Hermann said she believes people should be more comfortable with the human body. “In Europe it’s no big deal,” Hermann said. “They’ve been doing classical drawing and painting for a lot longer than people in the U.S. have.” While models like Hermann pose for students, Morrison circles the classroom pointing out various ways students can improve their work. “People learn to draw the figure like people learn to play the piano,” Morrison said. “You begin with imagination, then you go and refine it.” Claire Sasko can be reached at claire.sasko@temple.edu.

TYLER SCHOOL OF ART

Class diversity is aided by the Senior Scholars program Alumni can sign up for courses through the Senior Scholars program. ALEXA BRICKER The Temple News In professor Ashley West’s Northern Renaissance art history course, a few students congregated in the back row instantly stand out. What is different about these students is that they graduated many years ago – they’re even retired from their respective careers. Joan Markoe, Arlene Holtz and Rich DiLullo are Temple alumni who are taking advantage of the “Senior Scholars” program offered by the university. There is an array of classes available in the program, such as Art of the 20th Century and The Art of Sacred Space, as well as courses in departments like economics and philosophy. “When I found out about this program, taking part was a no-brainer,” DiLullo said. “You’ve spent 20 or 30 years of constant work, so it’s a nice step away from that.”

All three scholars are retired from their respective professions and have decided to spend their free time continuing their educational journey. The art history course is something they each said has always been of particular interest in their lives, but they have never had the opportunity to pursue it academically until now. “[Art history] was the kind of course I couldn’t take in school, but it has turned out to be really fun,” Markoe said. Now that they have enough time on their hands, they said they’re jumping at the opportunity to go back and learn about subjects they’re interested in. “This is the most nourishing learning I have ever done,” Holtz said. “Without the pressure of exams and making the grade, you can really take in all the information.” West said she enjoys having elderly students enrolled in her classes, because while she said all of her students bring something unique to the table, the maturity and experience of those with perspective of post-career lives can significantly expand class discussions.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

“Do you think Temple

has done a good job giving weather alerts this semester?

”

SASH SCHAEFFER TTN

“Everybody is able to bring fuller experiences, which adds so much diversity,” West said. “It makes the class even more challenging and rewarding.” As it stands, the only requirements for interested seniors is that they must be at least 50 years of age and they, or their spouse, must be a graduate of Temple. The cost of enrollment is $100 per course, intending to provide affordability for the nontraditional students. The cost allows some participants, like Markoe, to take more than one class per semester and return year after year. The options in the Senior Scholars program include courses offered at the Ambler and Center City campuses as well. “Every semester we’re sent a brochure with all of the courses offered,” Markoe said. “This is my fifth year, and I have taken a course in American art, Roman art, architecture – all kinds of classes.” Having the opportunity to be a part of a class comprised of both alumni in the Senior Scholars program and traditional-age undergraduate students is particularly impor-

“Temple has done a good job with university closings and delays due to weather this semester, compared to what we usually have.”

ABBY SEVERINO

FRESHMAN | FINE ARTS

tant for the older students. DiLullo said he took a class in the past with all seniors, and the experience was not quite the same. “I feel like they kind of dumbed down the material [in that class],” DiLullo said. “There is really nothing like a lecture to fully understand the material better.” Holtz said she is impressed with her own experience so far. “I was an educator myself and I am so pleased with the quality of education I have received here,” Holtz said. The three alumni said they have fond memories of their own undergraduate educations at Temple, and they are happy to be back at the place that prepared them for adulthood. “As an [undergraduate student], I was part of a research study and I aced the art history part,” Holtz said. “I knew I had to make a living though, so I never took it any further. Now I have the chance to study something I really enjoy. I feel like this is who I should have been.”

Alpha Epsilon Pi will host Broad Street Music Group artists Mazon, Christian Express and Rob Dhoia Saturday at 8 p.m. at the AEPi house at 2000 N. Broad St. The fraternity is hosting the event to raise money for Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli-based international humanitarian organization dedicated to providing heart transplants and follow-up care indiscriminately to children from developing countries. -Lora Strum

SAVVY DISCUSSION Founder and director of SAAVY Contemporary, Bonaventure Ndikung, and its manager, Saskia Köbschall, will be holding an open discussion at Tyler on Wednesday. The talk, held in Auditorium B004 from 6-9 p.m., will be about the work SAAVY Contemporary has been involved in, specifically its role as an exhibit for “intellectual and artistic production exchange.” Ndikung and Köbschall will also discuss their personal achievements, as they have both worked in numerous positions in the realm of art. The SAAVY gallery, located in Berlin, Germany, is well known for holding exhibitions of world renowned artists of all ages and styles, as well as film screenings and performance art pieces. Just last year, SAAVY won a Berlin Senate Prize for best art space, for its various presentations from artists from all corners of the world and its exploration into both western and nonwestern art styles. This lecture is free and open to all students and faculty members. -Alexa Bricker

IMMIGRANT DIARIES The Student Organization of Caribbean Awareness is sponsoring “Immigrant Diaries” on Friday from 7-9:30 p.m. The themed talent showcase accompanies every performance with a short story about immigration. Most students will share the stories of their ancestors coming to America, depicting their struggles and triumphs and their determination to share their culture. SOCA’s event description states, “many of us are first generation American or are the descendants of immigrants that were brave enough to come to this country and make it the diverse, colorful nation it is today.” In place of tickets or registration, guests are asked to bring a new notebook or journal to donate to the Cyril Ross Nursery in Trinidad for students living with HIV/AIDS. The event will take place in the Student Center Underground and is open to all.

Alexa Bricker can be reached at alexa.bricker@temple.edu.

“Absolutely not, [the alerts] are always too late.”

CLIFFORD AUGUSTIN SENIOR | JOURNALISM

-Jessica Smith

“I feel the university has to consider all probabilities that the weather brings into play, in terms of holding classes. They have done OK.”

RAHUL NAIK

JUNIOR | FINANCE

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

PAGE 19

SPORTS BRIEFS

Litzinger wins gold in foil at Junior Olympics in Oregon LITZINGER, KEFT, KHAN COMPETE AT ANNUAL EVENT

was postponed due to icy conditions at Geasey Field. It’s the second time the game was delayed. Originally scheduled for Feb. 15 at 1 p.m., the season opener was pushed to Feb. 16 at the same time due to weather-related concerns. Then it was announced that the game would be postponed again. The game was rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. at Geasey Field. -Nick Tricome

Freshman Miranda Litzinger won the gold medal in junior women’s foil at the 2014 Junior Olympics this past weekend in Portland, Ore. Freshman Alexandra Keft placed 15th out of 152 fencers in junior women’s epee and sophomore Petra Khan placed 46th out of 105 fencers in junior women’s sabre. The fencers and coach Nikki Franke were delayed on Thursday because their flight to the competition was canceled. They were forced to take a later flight that arrived in Portland, Ore., late Thursday night. Litzinger competed on Friday and came out on top of 126 competitors. Keft and Khan competed Saturday and Sunday, respectively. -Michael Guise

ICE HOCKEY OWLS ELIMINATED BY PENN STATE FROM MACHA PLAYOFFS

MEN’S BASKETBALL TOP 50 PROSPECT VISITS DURING OWLS’ WIN AGAINST SMU

Center Georgios Papagiannis, a Greek native, visited the university and attended the Owls’ 71-64 win against Southern Methodist on Feb. 16. | HUA ZONG TTN

Georgios Papagiannis, a Class of 2015 center, attended Temple’s 71-64 win against Southern Methodist on Feb. 16. He is ranked 26th in his class by ESPN. Papagiannis was born in Greece and became the youngest player in the modern history of the Greek Basket League when he debuted with Peristeri on 2012. He is now in his first season at Westtown School, a college preparatory school located in Chester County. -Evan Cross

After being out of the starting lineup for seven consecutive games, Shipp started in Temple’s games against Houston and Memphis. Both games resulted in comfortable wins for Temple, and ended a seasonlong four game losing streak. Against Houston and Memphis, Shipp has averaged a double-double, 11.5 points and 12.5 rebounds, while shooting 11 of 20 from the floor. In both games, Shipp registered game-highs in rebounds, grabbing 12 boards against Houston and 13 boards against Memphis. Shipp’s 15 points against Houston were the most she had scored since a Dec. 19 victory against Howard, SHIPP HONORED BY CONFERENCE when she scored 22. AND BIG 5 The transfer from George Washington has continued to be one of the Owls’ top producers, averaging For the third time this season, fifth-year guard Shi-Heria Shipp has been honored in both the Ameri- 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and nearly two steals and ascan Athletic Conference and Philadelphia Big 5 weekly sists per game. -Brien Edwards honor rolls.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL 2014 OPPONENTS ANNOUNCED Temple announced its home and away schedule for the 2014 season last week. The Owls will face Cincinnati, East Carolina, Memphis and Tulsa at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple will travel to Central Florida, Connecticut, Houston and Tulane. -Avery Maehrer

LACROSSE SEASON OPENER AGAINST ST. JOE’S DELAYED DUE TO WEATHER The start to the Owls’ season was delayed again, as their season opener against St. Joseph’s University

In an 8-2 blowout, the ice hockey club was eliminated in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs by Penn State. “Obviously this is not the way we wanted to go out,” coach Ryan Frain said. The loss marked the end of the line for the collegiate careers of four seniors: forwards Joe Pisko, Nick McMahon and Steven Luongo and goaltender Chris Mullen. “It was great,” Mullen said. “Everyone on the team is like my best friends, they’re my family, and I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for everything I’ve gone through with these guys. It was an important part of my life and I think anyone who plays Temple ice hockey will understand that.” The seniors were part of the team that went to the American Collegiate Hockey Association national playoffs four years ago when Frain was a senior. “They are kind of like my little pups if you would want to put it that way,” Frain said. “It was hard for me to stand up there when the third period ended because that’s not the way it should have ended, especially how they sent myself and the rest of my senior class out on top.” “To be honest I wish next season would start tomorrow,” Frain added. -Samuel Matthews

In losing season, Owls look to pick up pieces BASKETBALL PAGE 22 said. “Yes it is. I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t. But we’ve got to keep plugging away. We’ve got a hell of a game on Sunday against a really good basketball team so we have to be ready.” On Sunday, less than 48 hours after the Louisville loss – for at least one game – Temple found its answers, beating No. 23 Southern Methodist 71-64. During a year where the Owls’ inexperience and youth has plagued its inaugural season in The American, the win against a ranked opponent came after two months of failure to close out games. “I’m a big believer in ‘our turn,’” Dunphy said following the win. “I think [Sunday] was our turn to come together. More than anything else, it’s just keep pounding into their heads that everything is going to be OK. It may not come when you want it to come, but in the end, everything will be OK.” “It’s not going to be easy as we go through the process, but that’s what this is,” Dunphy added. “It’s a process. Just keep plugging away and something good will happen.” As the Owls enter their final six regular season games before the conference tournament, Pepper said the team wants to be prepared. “This is when teams get better,” Pepper said. “They fall down. This is probably the best times when teams step up and play their best basketball.” “This is a great league and anybody can beat anybody,” Pepper added. “I think if a few balls go our way, a few bounce our way then I think we can beat anyone as well.” Sophomore forward/center Devontae Watson finished

the game with eight points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Watson said Dunphy’s confidence, despite a handful of losing streaks, has been noticeable this season. “He’s telling us that we can win the game and that it’s on us as much as it’s on the coaching staff for us to come together and play like we know how to play,” Watson said. “The other losses that we had aren’t really the way that we play,” Watson added. “This

game [Sunday] was the game that we play.” On Feb. 6, Temple fell to SMU. Senior guard Dalton Pepper said Dunphy told the Owls he knew they would win the second time around against the Mustangs. Dunphy called it a “lucky call.” “I think Dalton tells stories out of school too much,” Dunphy said. Avery Maehrer can be reached at avery.maehrer@temple.edu or on Twitter @AveryMaehrer.

Members of the men’s gymnastics team prepare for their final home meet. | HUA ZONG TTN

Gymnasts host final home meet, perhaps the last ever GYMNASTICS PAGE 22 the end of the line for many of the meet, he was handing out his teammates. scoring sheets to referees. “I don’t think I could ask But above all else, Turoff for a better final was coaching as home meet,” he has for the past co-captain four decades. At Haddaway one point dursaid. “The stuff ing the competiabout the cuts tion, sophomore and whether or Grady Cooper atnot we’re gotempted his usual dismount on the ing to get past Scott Haddaway / senior rings. However, it it is always was not his night on our minds, as he face-plantbut it was a ed into the mat great turnout. I below. Turoff said he couldn’t haven’t seen any bigger.” As the evening progressed, care less about the 12.100 score Turoff was helping run the Cooper received, as the coach’s event in every way possible. first instinct was to make sure Before the meet, he checked his athlete was OK. Whether it’s a broken vacthe computer at the announcers’ table to ensure that the scoring uum cleaner or new equipment and technology were working needed on a still-ring apparaproperly. Next, he made a round tus, Turoff has a large amount by the scoring displays making of direct involvement with his sure they were in check. During squad. After all of these years,

“I don’t think I

could ask for a better final home meet.

”

Senior guard Dalton Pepper attempts a layup during Temple’s 71-64 victory against No. 23 Southern Methodist on Sunday – the team’s second win in conference play. | HUA ZONG TTN

he said he understands a good “gymnastics crowd” when he sees one. “I thought we had a terrific crowd,” Turoff said. “They were supportive of everybody, they appreciated good gymnastics, and of course they were really supportive of my guys, which is appreciated.” Turoff’s only son, Evan Eigner – a sophomore on the team – said he doesn’t want to see that support end. “Hopefully this isn’t our last time competing,” Eigner said. “Having this crowd is special, it means a lot to see everybody come and support us.” Steve Bohnel can be reached at steven.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @SteveSportsGuy1.

SPORTS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Despite national ranking, fencers unknown Temple’s most successful [pro- Ferdman stressed focusing on grams],” senior sabre Tasia Ford the process, not the result. “Whether we have success said. “But I also feel like we are one of the most under-acknowl- or failure, we are going to take edged teams. Nobody hears one day at a time and try to work about how successful we are. the best we can…the reason we No one sees Temple fencing on got to the point we are is beMICHAEL GUISE the big screen.” cause of our The Temple News With their strong work leadership and ethic,” Ferdman said. Andrea Haley’s friends e x p e r i e n c e , But inwere surprised to learn that 44th-year coach Nikki Franke tensity isn’t Temple had a fencing team. the only The Owls, who have been and her staff thing emranked in the Top 10 for the past are the team’s phasized at seven years, said they under- guiding force to practice. stand the difficulty that comes its national suc“They with their sport’s cess. FENCING expect us to “Coach popularity. There are Tasia Ford / senior sabre give our all,” 24 Division I fencing teams and Franke is a very Ford said. Temple hosts one to two meets proud person,” “But they Ford said. “She per season. expect us to “We always get to champi- is proud of our onship,” Haley, a senior sabre, team and she likes to share that enjoy being there because if you don’t enjoy being there, there is said. “We’ve won [The Na- with everybody else.” “[The coaches] always no point.” tional Intercollegiate Women’s Student-athletes said this Fencing Association] for [17] expect us to come in and work our hardest … we balance is why this year’s team years in a row. We UP NEXT are supposed to fo- has been able to defeat top proare a very strong Temple Invitational cus on fencing and grams like No. 7 Northwestern, program and it’s a Feb. 22 nothing else should then-No. 8 University of Pennshame that more be disturbing us,” sylvania and then-No. 3 Notre people do not know about that Dame. Haley said. at Temple.” With a national ranking Assistant coach Anastasia “I feel that we are one of

Fencers say team is underacknowledged despite national recognition.

“Nobody hears

about how successful we are. No one sees Temple fencing on the big screen.

”

being achieved every year, the fencers said they are not bothered by the expectations. “I wouldn’t say we feel pressure – we are really strong and experienced,” Ford said. “I think we always want to improve every year and we want to be more successful.” “We want to be proud of what we’re doing right now because it has been left to us, and we need to go out there and do the best we can because everyone will remember what we do,” Haley said. But with such a high ranking, the Owls now have a target on their backs. “The teams below us are definitely gunning for us and we know that … we go out there and fight for every touch,” Haley said. “We’ve beat schools ahead of us, but I think we can keep improving and they will give us the respect we deserve if we keep doing how we are now,” Haley added. Michel Guise can be reached at michaelguise@temple.edu or on Twitter @MikeG2511.

The fencing team has been ranked in the Top 10 nationally for the past seven years. | CAMERON RESNICK TTN

A member of the baseball team walks past a window in the Student Pavilion during a spring practice. The program is slated to be cut with six other sports in July. | ANDREW THAYER TTN

Owls aim to stay united after six transfer BASEBALL PAGE 22 enberry said. “When somebody tells you that you can’t be a family anymore and everyone has to leave at the end of the year, we really pull together.” When pulling together, though, they’ll do so with some new faces and new roles. After graduating seven seniors from last year’s team that went 18-28 (6-17 Atlantic 10 Conference), the Owls lost six players as result of the cuts – many who were considered instrumental to this year’s roster. Two top-of-the-rotation starters, junior twins Eric and Patrick Peterson, bolted for North Carolina State University. Also gone from the pitching staff is junior reliever Adam Dian, who posted a team second-best 2.33 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen last year. Junior infielder Nick Lustrino, one of two Owls to start all 46 games last year, also left the program. Given the timing of the cuts

– just weeks before practice began – there wasn’t much time to fill those voids. “We didn’t have many options with regard to bringing more players on board,” Wheeler said. “It’s not professional baseball where you can call the minor leagues and bring them up. We really had to look internally.” That’s generally what’s been going on since practice began; an internal search for players to see who is capable of doing what. The only problem has been the weather. With the harsh winter conditions that have characterized the beginning of the semester, the Owls have been forced indoors to the Student Pavilion for practice. “In previous years we’ve had better weather,” Hockenberry said. “We’d be able to get up to Ambler, actually practice on the field, get legitimate ground ball reads, throw off of dirt mounds. We’re limited in

here.” As if they needed more adversity this year, the baseball team is entering its inaugural, and now last, season in the new American Athletic Conference. No longer will the Owls be playing Atlantic 10 Conference foes like Massachusetts, St. Joesph’s, Rhode Island and George Washington. They’ve been replaced with teams like Louisville – ranked No. 13 by the USA Today Coaches’ Poll – Memphis and South Florida. Temple was picked to finish last in the conference by coaches in The American. The team will travel to Wilson, N.C. this weekend to take on Rider University in a threegame series beginning on Friday. “I think the biggest challenge is the step up in level of competition,” Wheeler said. “It was something that I was concerned about initially. Now with losing players, I’m not so much

worried about the talent that’s left – it’s the depth.” Despite losing a combined 13 players to graduation and transfers, there is still plenty of talent on the 2014 squad. Hockenberry, a 6-foot-3inch right-handed pitcher, has started in the past and will now be relied on again as a top-ofthe-rotation starter. He posted a 5.04 ERA and a 1-2 record in 50 innings last year, starting in six games. Senior Derek Peterson is arguably the Owls’ top returning player. The 6-foot-3-inch infielder was second on the team in hitting with a .314 batting average and notched a team-high 82 total bases. Peterson was named to the All-Philadelphia Big 5 team last season and was recently named to the Second Team of the 2014 American Preseason All-Conference Team by College Sports Madness. “It’s great,” Peterson said of the recognition. “It’s always

nice to be noticed for putting a lot into the process of working hard and getting better.” With all the negativity that has surrounded the Owls, there’s one new feature to this season that has most everyone excited. It was announced on Nov. 7 that Temple would be playing its American Conference matchups at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J., a 6,425-capacity stadium that is home to the Camden Riversharks – a minor league team. “I think the atmosphere is a huge aspect to winning ballgames,” Hockenberry said. “Playing at Ambler when you have your parents sitting up in lawn chairs behind home plate, you don’t get that sense of urgency, you don’t get that rush from the crowd. When you feel like you’re a top-competitor team, you tend to play like it.” For seniors like Hockenberry and Peterson, being able

to play on what looks to be the final season at Temple is a reality they’re not focusing on. “It’s kind of surreal,” Peterson said. “It’s almost like that senior experience, but I don’t think it’s really set in for me yet. I think we’re just having so much fun playing baseball and our passion for the game every day, we don’t really think about that gloomy forecast.” Anxious to get underway, the Owls have to wait one extra weekend for the season to kick off. Temple was scheduled to play a three-game series in Raleigh, N.C. last weekend, but the series got canceled due to the Nor’easter that rocked the East Coast. Jeff Neiburg can be reached at jeffrey.neiburg@temple.edu or on Twitter @jeff_neiburg.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

SPORTS

PAGE 21

New season, seven straight losses

direction. “In order for us to win as a team and for us to gain confidence the guys have to win the matches on their own and that will help everyone else,” Marquart said. GREG FRANK The team opened its season The Temple News with two losses in the VCU 4+1 The men’s tennis team has invitational, then proceeded to lost its first seven matches of lose in lopsided decisions 7-0, the season, but Hicham Belkssir 6-1, and 6-1 to UMBC, William said he doesn’t think it’s for lack & Mary, and Old Dominion respectively. The team had a betof skill. “We really don’t believe in ter showing in a match last week ourselves at times,” the sopho- against Drexel, but still came up more said. “The lack of confi- empty-handed losing 4-3. “To be honest, we kind of dence is playing a big TENNIS role in our record but feel the pressure,” Marquart we’re trying to be real- said. “We do. But it makes us ly pumped up for our matches.” work even harder, because we know it can’t be “Luckily UP NEXT we have a good Owls at Stony Brook like this forever.” One of the group of guys Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. players whom and no one’s reMauro was particularly pleased ally slacking in practice,” coach Steve Mauro said. “I think they with after Wednesday’s 4-3 loss know that we’re so close to win- to Drexel was Belkssir, who won 6-0, 6-2 against the Dragning some of these matches.” Mauro said he has resorted ons recording one of Temple’s to a variety of different ways to points in the match in singles. While Temple has been get through to his team. close to victory at times, most Temple began its spring season with seven straight losses, “I’ve had different strateincluding ones against Drexel and Xavier. | ABI REIMOLD TTN gies talking with the guys, but I notably in the Drexel match, think they’re all up to the chal- coming up empty-handed is the points in the Drexel match last confident.” constant so far this season and lenge,” Mauro said. week, but have yet to piece toJunior co-captain Kris- has the team failing to believe. gether a full team effort to break Greg Frank can be reached tian Marquart said he believes The Owls have seen improve- through. at greg.frank@temple.edu and on the team’s struggles can turn ments from Belkssir, Marquart, Twitter @g_frank6 “It’s definitely a mental around with individual efforts, and sophomore Nicolas Paulus, thing,” Belkssir said. “Our best which can be pieced together to three players who played well moments are when you’re really get the team going in the right by recording Temple’s three

Hicham Belkssir said the team is having mental problems.

Junior Margo Britton. | EDWARD BARRENECHEA TTN

From tap to track, Britton makes mark

championship, Britton took home the title with a mark of 49 feet, 2.25 inches. Britton was crowned Rookie of the Year at the A-10 outDANIELLE NELSON door championships. A freshman at the time, Britton took a The Temple News significant step forward when Margo Britton learned her she broke Moore’s discus record basic spinning techniques for with a mark of 162 feet, 3 inchshot put and discus in a dance es. Britton broke her own shot put outdoor school record with studio. “I have been dancing since a throw of 51 feet, 6.5 inches at I was a little girl – ballet, tap, the Penn Relays in 2012. “After I hit 45 feet, it was jazz, modern TRACK & FIELD – which you from there I realized the powouldn’t be- tential I had,” Britton said. “In lieve, because look at the size of high school, I would watch girls me, right?” Britton said. “I am or hear about girls who threw 50 feet and I would joke and not your typical dancer.” The dance floor, Britton say those girls are she-males. said, was supposed to be haven [I thought], ‘50 feet that is so far,’ and now I guess I am a for her weight loss. “My mom thought that it she-male, according to my high would make me slim down,” school self, because I look at 50 Britton said. “It didn’t happen.” feet like nothing now.” During her sophomore “It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized the reason for year, Britton was a few inches away from her my size,” Britton UP NEXT added. “The purAAC Championship own shot put record with a pose for my size Feb. 28 mark of 51 feet, is for throwing. I 3 inches. Nevertheless, Britton was built like a thrower.” Since arriving at Temple, repeated as A-10 indoor chamthe 6-foot-1-inch junior has bro- pion with a shot put mark of ken the school record in discus about 49 feet. The 2013 outdoor season and shot put on numerous occasions, securing her position as proved to be Britton’s roughest one of the top student-athletes stretch yet. As a sophomore, she suffered two ankle sprains in a in program history. “I came in knowing what matter of minutes ahead of the the other girls had thrown who Texas Relay Invitational. Depreceded me,” Britton said. “I spite having to wear a boot for knew I had the potential to catch most of the season and going up with them. That was pretty through rehab, Britton said she much my goal coming in. I was was determined not to miss any going to keep my head down, outdoor meets. “I know in the weight room stay humble, but my goal was to be throwing farther than them.” she would do a lot more stretchThe York, Pa., native’s lon- es and in practice she was a lot gest throw coming into colle- more focused,” hammer thrower giate track & field was 44 feet, Justin Berg said. Britton had a specific strat4-inches, which won her a state championship in high school. egy that served her throughout Temple’s shot put record holder the rest of the season. “[I would] warm up before at the time was Alanna Owens’ 46-feet-8-inch throw during the my event, take pain medica2011-12 indoor season. Former tion, put on my throwing shoes, discus thrower Ebony Moore’s threw, and then got back in my 151-foot throw record also re- boot,” Britton said. Britton went on to have a mained. Subsequently, Britton had successful season. She placed to adjust to collegiate track & second in both the Eastern Colfield, where the level of compe- lege Athletic Conference chamtition and talent increased dra- pionship and the A-10 chammatically. The Dallastown High pionship in the shot put, and School graduate credited former second in the discus at the A-10 Temple throwing coach Jeff championship. The junior has remained inPflaumbaum for her improvejury-free and finished within the ments. “He completely decon- Top 5 in each of the six meets of structed my throw,” Britton the 2012-13 indoor season. Britsaid. “He kept the good things ton has since qualified for the that I did well, which is be- ECAC in March. “We have been making ing explosive out the back and just my general strength, and strides, especially in the weight fixed the things I needed help throwing,” coach Tamara Burns on, which was getting my hips said. “She has been going up through, my blocking arm, stuff each week, in terms of getting a better mark each week. In the like that.” Britton opened up her first shot put, she is struggling a little indoor season with a 44-foot bit, a slight disconnect with methrow in shot put, a vast im- chanics, but we are still making provement in an event where progress in that sense, too.” every inch counts. Britton conDanielle Nelson can be reached tinued to throw farther as the at danielle.nelson@temple.edu or on season progressed. At the AtTwitter @Dan_Nels. lantic 10 Conference indoor

Junior learned her track techniques from a former hobby.

Rateska Brown watches her shot sail towards the hoop during the team’s loss to Cincinnati. | ANDREW THAYER TTN

After suspension, Brown earns new role Junior guard has made an impact off the bench. BRIEN EDWARDS The Temple News Rateska Brown thinks she should start. Her coach thinks otherwise. “I know it’s a role that she doesn’t like and she doesn’t want, but it’s the role that coach is putWOMEN’S BASKETBALL ting out there for her,” coach Tonya Cardoza said. “That’s the role I like for her to have.” Even though she sees herself as a player with starting ability, in recent weeks, Brown has established herself as a reliable outside shooting option in her role as the Owls’ sixth man. “I don’t think that it’s a big deal,” the junior guard said. “I just feel like I can help my team a lot more by starting because the way we start games sometimes, we don’t have enough energy. But I guess I’m like a secret weapon coming off the bench, because I come off and I give this spark.” Brown’s emergence as Temple’s sixth man did not happen immediately. Coming into

this season, Brown was Tem- last 10 matchups, the reserve ple’s leading returning scorer, guard has averaged 12.7 points but she began the year serving a and shot 45 percent from the six-game suspension for a viola- floor. tion of team rules. “Being able to get points Once returned from her off your bench is very imporsuspension, Brown was placed tant, and for her to be able to in a reserve role, playing as a come in and knock down shots backup and averaging just less for us and give us new life is than 19 minutes played for each very important for our team,” of the next nine games. Though Cardoza said. she received P a r t i c u l a r l y, UP NEXT significant minBrown has been the Owls vs. USF utes following Owls’ most reliable Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. her suspension, long-range shooter prior to her return, Brown had in the last few weeks. She has low expectations for playing shot 29 of 68 from behind the time. arc in the last 10 games, includ“I just couldn’t expect ing a couple of occasions when much because I [had done] Brown made five three-point wrong,” Brown said. “When baskets. I got in trouble, it was on me. “My mindset is to come in So, I couldn’t expect much. I and make every second count,” couldn’t just want them to give Brown said. “As soon as I hit me everything. I had to work for the floor, I want to do something it.” good, whether it’s a defensive Brown’s return showed that stop, or it’s a steal, or even a the junior guard had some rust, block, or just hit a quick three. I as she averaged seven points on just want to make a difference.” 33 percent shooting in her first Brown’s recent play has nine-game stretch, but those given Temple an offensive games would serve as some- boost, and to Cardoza’s surwhat of a warm-up to her next prise, teams have yet to account 10-game span. for the hot shooter. In the Owls’ last 10 games, “It’s crazy because people Brown has made the most of still don’t guard her,” Cardoza her minutes as a backup guard, said. “I think our guys are doscoring double figures in eight ing a really good job of finding games, and leading the Owls in her. When you look at our team, scoring four times. In Temple’s she’s going to get shots. Be-

cause of the guys we have out on the floor, she’s going to get wide open shots, because those other guys sometimes demand help. It’s going to be key for her to knock down shots [moving forward].” To Brown’s displeasure, regardless of how well the junior shooter may play, Cardoza has made it clear that she is comfortable with Brown’s role on the team. “I just feel like you want someone who can come off the bench and score for you in bunches,” Cardoza said. “With the other guys that do start, I like the combination that we have.” Regardless of where her playing time comes from, Brown said she hopes that her offensive efficiency will continue and her play can help her team finish the season with victories. “I just want to help my team, at the end of the day,” Brown said. “If [Cardoza is] going to make me play the role, I’m going to play the role she makes me. As long as we win, that’s all that matters. I just want to win.” Brien Edwards can be reached at brien.erick.edwards@temple.edu or on Twitter @BErick1123.

SPORTS

Our sports sports blog blog Our

thecherry.temple-news.com

UNKOWN SUCCESS

A DANCER, A THROWER

The fencing team, led by 44th-year coach Nikki Franke, is ranked No. 8 in the country. PAGE 20

Margo Britton, already the holder of two Temple school records, looks to improve in her junior season. PAGE 21

FENCER WINS GOLD AT JUNIOR OLYMPICS Team sends three fencers to Junior Olympics, a Top 50 recruit visits men’s basketball, other news and notes. PAGE 19

temple-news.com

PAGE 22

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014

THE HOME STRETCH

Assistant coach Patrick McLaughlin (center) gave a speech prior to the team’s meet against the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Air Force Academy. | HUA ZONG TTN

After 80 years, the program hosted its final home meet. STEVE BOHNEL The Temple News

J

akob Welsh was seconds away from finishing his floor routine. By the time he was done, McGonigle

Hall had erupted in support of the freshman gymnast. “It was amazing,” Welsh said. “I was the first guy on floor, and when I saluted, everyone just yelled and the adrenaline rushed through my body.” Welsh was the first Owl to compete in the men’s gymnastics team’s last home meet in 2014 on Saturday night – and if the athletic cuts announced in

December stand, the final Temple-hosted event in program history. For more than 80 years, Temple has fielded a men’s gymnastics team at the Division I level. After this season, the Owls will join a national trend in the decreasing of men’s gymnastics teams – only 16 colleges in the United States will field a team in the sport after Temple’s

departure. “I’ve had tremendous success with many guys,” 44thyear coach Fred Turoff said. “Looking at all the alumni that came back and seeing so many of my former team members and champions that came back, they have a good feeling about Temple gymnastics, and it’s going to be a sour feeling on Temple if we’re dropped.”

McGonigle Hall filled its gym one more time for the team, as around 700 spectators witnessed the Owls compete against the University of Illinois at Chicago and Air Force Academy. Several fans waved “Save Men’s Gymnastics” signs and sported “Keep Calm and Save Men’s Gymnastics” T-shirts. “Competing here is a wonderful feeling,” freshman Casey

Polizzotto said. “We had such big support this year, especially at this competition, and it was just an exciting moment and sad moment altogether. But overall, I was very happy with [the atmosphere].” Even for seniors like Scott Haddaway, it was bittersweet recognizing that this could be

GYMNASTICS PAGE 19

After cuts, baseball team prepares for final journey After six transfer, Owls picked to finish last in The American. JEFF NEIBURG The Temple News

Freshman guard Josh Brown dribbles while facing Louisville’s Chris Jones. The Owls lost to the Cardinals 82-58, but defeated Southern Methodist a few days later. | HUA ZONG TTN

Owls reverse misfortune Team beat No. 23 SMU after a blowout loss to Louisville. AVERY MAEHRER Sports Editor As the minutes winded down during the first half, Fran Dunphy couldn’t stand still. The sixth-year Temple coach paced along the sidelines, as he ofMEN’S BASKETBALL ten does, while a nationally-ranked Louisville

squad began running away with its ninth conference victory. After the Cardinals took a 19 point lead with a Luke Hancock three, Dunphy called a timeout. But instead of the Owls regrouping, Jimmy McDonnell turned the ball over. Hancock threw the ball up to Montrezl Harrell, who converted a reverse alley-oop. The dunk, part of a 10-2 run, silenced the Temple crowd – already quiet due to low attendance – as No. 13 Louisville went on to beat the Owls 82-58. Temple’s defense, which ranks last in the American Ath-

SPORTS DESK 215-204-9537

letic Conference in points allowed per game, was one of the deciding factors against the Cardinals. For the Owls, the loss began a five game stretch against nationally ranked opponents – all of which play in The American. As to why the defensive mistakes have occurred in such high amounts this season, the team was still searching for answers. “I wish I knew,” junior guard Will Cummings said after the loss. “I don’t know.” “Is it frustrating?” Dunphy

BASKETBALL PAGE 19

There’s a dark, gloomy cloud hanging over the baseball team, Ryan Wheeler said. The fourth-year coach called it the most challenging season, by far, during his tenure at Temple. But BASEBALL the players are doing their best to avoid thinking about that cloud. One of seven programs cut by the university on Dec. 6, the baseball team is embarking on what is slated to be its final journey. “We’ve all really bonded because of this,” senior pitcher Matt Hockenberry said. “Our team slogan this year is: ‘Band of Brothers.’” The “Band of Brothers” reference alludes to the 1992 book written by Stephen E. Ambrose, and later portrayed in an HBO miniseries. The series dramatized and followed closely, “Easy” Company, through its journey in World War II. “You’re a family,” Hock-

BASEBALL PAGE 20

SPORTS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

The baseball team has been forced to conduct its practices indoors recently due to harsh weather. The Owls kick off their season later this week. | ANDREW THAYER TTN