MOVERS & SHAKERS TTN introduces students, professors and alumni making strides in their respective areas.
temple-news.com VOL. 91 ISS. 20
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013
FLEEING FACEBOOK, p. 5
Zack Scott details why he deleted his Facebook account and why others should as well.
RAINBOW ROCKERS, p. 11
Philly band Bleeding Rainbow released its album “Yeah Right” with a show at Johnny Brenda’s.
POSTSEASON PUSH, p. 20
Both men’s and women’s basketball teams prepare for the NCAA Tournament.
ATF on the hunt for arsonist The ATF and L.F. Driscoll Company are offering a $15,000 reward. SEAN CARLIN News Editor
A
week after multiple fires set in Morgan Hall caused evacuations of the site
and attracted a scene on Broad Street, authorities are still looking for the person or persons who deliberately set five fires in the high-rise. The fires were set on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to the building, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Steven Bartholomew. No fires have been reported since last week.
Though earlier reports indicated that three construction workers were treated for smoke inhalation, James Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations, said one worker suffered very minor injuries and nobody was transported to the hospital. “My understanding was that during one of the fires in the afternoon [Tuesday], there was a guy who had a little bit of
smoke inhalation, but he just basically headed home,” Creedon said. The fires all involved construction debris and appeared to be started with a lighter, Deputy Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said. Temple police officers have been detailed to the site to know “100 percent who’s in the building,” Leone said. While the incidents im-
Bell Tower Dance: Students swarm the Bell Tower to record a ‘Harlem Shake’ video.
pacted five floors of the 27-story building, Creedon said work hasn’t been delayed at the construction site. “Other than the inconvenience that occurred as the workers had to vacate the building, there’s been no significant change in schedule or production, or our time frame at all,” Creedon said. “Nothing’s going to impact the schedule.” The ATF is offering a re-
LAURA DETTER The Temple News
Graduation a conflict for Jewish students’ holiday University plans to keep date the same despite an online petition against it. JOHN MORITZ Assistant News Editor Temple is moving forward with the scheduled commencement ceremony on May 16 despite the effort of one student who started an online petition to have the date changed to not conflict with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Sharon Litwinoff, a senior theater major who is scheduled to graduate this spring, started the petition during winter break after she said she felt administrators did not offer a proper accommodation for the conflicting dates. The petition held 378 signers as of press time. Hillel Hoffmann, assistant director of University Communications, said that the university calendar is published two years ahead of time, and is “blind” to all religious holidays. Litwinoff first found out about the discrepancy last August 2012, when her sister told her while planning for commencement that it fell on the
Jewish holiday. Litwinoff said she then contacted administrators at Hillel at Temple, Temple Chabad and Kimberly Guyer, who was then assistant dean of the former School of Communication and Theater – now the School of Media and Communication – who then connected her with the offices of the president and the provost. In October 2012, Litwinoff met with Betsy Leebron Tutelman, senior vice provost for strategic initiatives and communications to discuss the conflict and alternative options. “They sent a representative from the provost’s office to meet with me to get students opinions on the conflict, but that wasn’t actually what they were doing, they were just sending someone to meet me face to face so that I wouldn’t feel like it was a big faceless institution,” Litwinoff said. Leebron Tutelman said that the provost’s office offered Litwinoff, as well as any other student who wishes to celebrate the holiday, three alternative options: attend the SMC graduation on Feb. 1, the 2014 commencement or attend the School of Pharmacy graduation with
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NEWS DESK 215-204-7419
Despite plans to hold a spring conference in early February, the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Schools is currently at a standstill due to lack of communication among the representatives from Temple, Lincoln University, University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. “It has been very challenging to stay in contact with Penn State. They have not been in touch with us regarding conference dates and Darin [Bartholomew] has consistently tried to speak to them about this,” Temple Student Govern-
Campus split on guns As talk of gun control picks up steam, the issue divides students. CINDY STANSBURY The Temple News Last week, President Barack Obama delivered the first State of the Union Address of his second term, and toward
the end of his speech, he discussed something that’s been a talking point for his administration since 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012. The president urged Congress to take up measures to control assault weapons across the country. At Temple, this political topic sparks debate among students and became prevalent following a 2011 in-
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State-related unity in doubt Leaders of PASS have had trouble communicating with Penn State.
Students dance near the Bell Tower on Feb. 15, during the taping of a “Harlem Shake” video. The dance has spurred many across the nation to make videos. Check out temple-news.com for additional text and multimedia coverage. | DAN PELLIGRINE TTN
ward of up to $5,000 in conjunction with L.F. Driscoll Company – the building’s construction manager – which is offering up to $10,000 for the arrest of those responsible for the arsons. The combined $15,000 in rewards was announced Feb. 14. While issues between unions have been reported in the past at major construction sites
cident involving then-student Robert Eells who returned fire during an attempted burglary with his own weapon. Some students, like senior history major Mark Edwards, own weapons for the purpose of protection. “I have an AR-15 rifle and a Glock-26 pistol,” he said. Edwards also said he possesses a concealed carry license
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ment Student Body President David Lopez said. Bartholomew, TSG director of government affairs and interim executive director of PASS, has been unable to reach Penn State representatives since before the New Year. “I have sent numerous emails to several people at Penn State, phone calls, and text messages and haven’t received a reply,” Bartholomew said. Neither Penn State University Park Undergraduate Association President Courtney Lennartz nor Government Affairs Chair Rachel Franceschino responded to requests for an interview. As a result of the conference rotation schedule, the representatives from Penn State are charged with hosting the spring conference. Lopez describes
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Candidates for library dean come to Temple The process will be repeated as Temple looks to fill three other positions. SEAN CARLIN JOHN MORITZ The Temple News Last week, Joseph Lucia visited Main Campus and rounded out the last visit of the three candidates for dean of University Libraries. Lucia, the director of Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University, gave a presentation titled “Not Fade Away,” on Feb. 13, and spoke on the importance of a physical space to serve as a public “commons,” and the need for more open access to information as an increasing amount of documents and scholarly works enter a digital format. Lucia’s presentation contained slides of a few of the world’s most famous libraries,
Senior Mark Edwards displays a firearm in his off-campus apartment.| ELLEN PARKINS TTN
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