Volume 91, Issue 17

Page 1

LIVING Temple’s first lady discusses her plans to integrate herself into campus and the community.

temple-news.com VOL. 91 ISS. 17

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013

POSTER PROTEST, p. 5

Jessica Smith explains why Student Health Services was right to remove one of its signs.

HUGS AND MO’, p. 13

Columnist Kevin Stairiker recounts his bizarre experience at a Morrissey concert in Reading, Pa.

LIMITED OFFENSE, p. 20

The men’s basketball team relies heavily on its leading scorer, senior guard Khalif Wyatt.

Counseling and help, weeks away Students report waiting weeks for counseling appointments. CINDY STANSBURY The Temple News

W

ith the popularity of student counseling services at Tuttleman Counseling Services on the rise, the center is struggling to hold appointments in a timely fashion. Multiple students con-

firmed with The Temple News that they had to endure weekslong waits, some stretching longer than a month. “The wait may start out as just a week or two, but it increases throughout [the semester], it’s gotten as high as five or six weeks at times,” said Director of Tuttleman Counseling Services John DiMino. Junior psychology major Patricia Boateng was among those whose appointments were delayed. “When they initially told me [about the wait time] I was kind of stressed out,” Boateng said.

The issue caught the eye of Temple Student Government Student Body President David Lopez who said he plans on combating the issue. “I think it’s a really big concern that needs to be dealt with,” Lopez said. Lopez said mental health concerns have taken a front seat in the minds of Temple students in recent years, and according to the New Student Questionnaire, mental health care facilities are increasingly rising to levels of importance. He added that if this area is of such importance to students, its rate of service needs to be

improved upon. “If we want to step up as a university, I think this is a prime area that we should be focusing on,” Lopez said. Lopez cites poor funding and lack of staff as possibly reasons for the longer wait periods. DiMino agreed that the two reasons could be accurate. He also cites the larger influx of students as part of the issue. “It’s increased a lot over the years, when I first got here in 1996, I think the number was 761 students used the center and last year we had over 2,500 use the center,” he said. In that period of time, the

number of students living on and near Main Campus has dramtically increased. DiMino said increased foot traffic in university counseling centers is a nationwide trend, and so are the struggles to accommodate the large numbers. He pinned the increased usage of university counseling services on a shift in culture and social prejudices regarding mental health issues. “This generation has much less stigma about using mental health services, that social networking, people having very public lives, it has made it easier for people to seek out psycho-

therapy,” DiMino said. DiMino said the counseling center has tried to combat the overabundance of traffic with psychology interns, fellows and additional staff members. However, the center still has not been able to keep up with the demand. He said he believes the bigger issue facing the center is how many more resources Temple can afford to give it. “I don’t fault the university. It’s partly my job to let people know and so I’ve had these conversations and now we have to struggle with, well what can we

TUTTLEMAN PAGE 3

Gov. changes face, proposes level funding Gov. Tom Corbett announced a proposal to flat-fund state universities next SEAN CARLIN News Editor

Temple Made advertisements have become a mainstay on the Broad Street Line this year. | TIMOTHY VALSHTEIN TTN

Despite cuts, funds flow for ads Temple Made is part of $5 million in marketing projects this fiscal year. LAURA ORDONEZ The Temple News In the face of decreasing state appropriations and an economy in recovery mode, Temple has made no shortage of cuts to its operating budgets to curb costs. In the midst of

reductions throughout the university, Temple ramped up an advertising campaign that put the slogan “Temple Made” all over television, newspapers and billboards across the city. During the current fiscal year, the university has invested close to $5 million in marketing projects, including Temple Made, said Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Anthony Wagner. The university will set aside another $5 million for these initiatives during the 2013-14 fiscal

year with approval of the Board of Trustees in July. Temple operates on a $2.5 billion budget in its entirety. As for the central university budget – which comprises undergraduate and graduate programs, professional schools and advertising – the operating budget is about $1.3 billion. Advertising represents less than 2 percent of the operating budget. However, $5 million is a rough estimate for the marketing budget. It will increase after schools and colleges, along with

athletics, lodge their own advertising campaigns. Nicole Naumoff of Institutional Advancement declined to reveal how much of the $5 million is made up by the Temple Made campaign because she said she’s concerned about peer institutions knowing the number. “It is not something I want my competition to know much about,” Naumoff said. “I’ve already receive calls from Rut-

ADVERTISING PAGE 3

After he called for deep cuts in funding for higher education in his first two years in office, Gov. Tom Corbett reversed course and proposed to flat-fund Temple, and the other three state-related and 14 state universities last week. The proposal, which he will formally announce as part of his annual budget address today, Feb. 5, was done as a part of what Corbett called a commitment to lawmakers that the universities would contain tuition. “This is an investment of $1.58 billion that’s going to help Pennsylvania students achieve their dreams of higher education,” Corbett said. “At the same time, the leaders of these universities have made a commitment to me, Sen. [Jake] Corman and Rep. [Kerry] Benninghoff, that they will keep tuition as low as they possibly can.” President Neil Theobald stood with a stage full of legislators and university officials dur-

ing Corbett’s announcement and lauded the partnership between the state and its universities when he took the podium. “Today’s announcement of an affordability partnership between the commonwealth and its universities is welcomed news for students and their families who are struggling to balance the burden of student loan debt with the need to earn the college degree that is so essential for better career opportunities in the 21st century,” Theobald said. The governor’s decision was made in part by recommendations made by the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Postsecondary Education, which former Acting President Richard Englert was part of. Among the recommendations cited by Corbett was to link future funding increases to performance. Under the governor’s proposal, Temple would receive $139.9 million for the third straight fiscal year. Last year, Corbett called for 30 percent cut to Temple’s funding, but the school’s funding was leveled from the previous year. In his first budget address as governor, Corbett proposed to cut more than half of Temple’s commonwealth funding. Ultimately, the

FUNDING PAGE 2

President speaks to TSG at second meeting Theobald outlines key issues at General Assembly meeting. LAURA DETTER The Temple News President Neil Theobald answered student questions and shared portions of his plan for the university at the Temple Student Government General Assembly meeting yesterday, Feb. 4. Theobald started his address by singling out growing student debt as the most impor-

tant issue students at the university face. “Student debt is the biggest problem facing higher education, no doubt about it,” Theobald said. “We’ve got to find a way to keep our costs low and to make sure people are making the right decisions, [such as] taking the right courses in the right order and going to summer school as needed, whatever to get them out in four years.” In response to a question asked by senior accounting and finance major Luv Sodha about the university’s ability to allocate more resources to student aid, Theobald highlighted

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greater fundraising and more productive technology transfer in research as keys to lower tuition costs. Theobald explained that revenue from technology transfer is when research in the university is sold or ideas are patented and the university is able to put that profit back into the system. In addition to growing student debt and creating a very productive research university, Theobald’s other top issues include encouraging students to graduate on time or as soon

TSG PAGE 2

President Neil Theobald spoke at the TSG meeting yesterday, Feb. 4. | ABI REIMOLD TTN

NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM


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