BAR GUIDE The Temple News highlights a portion of the city’s bar culture worth exploring in its annual insert.
temple-news.com VOL. 91 ISS. 24
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013
ARTIST WITHOUT BORDERS, p. 7 Gustavo Garcia has had his work influenced by Mexico, Rome and his home in the U.S.
RUN OR DIE, p. 9
The Zombie Run, a 5K in which runners are chased by zombies, is coming to Philly April 7.
WITHOUT WYATT, p. 20
The men’s basketball team will face new challenges without its top players next season.
Design contract close for library The Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta is expected to sign a deal to be the designer of the university’s new library on North Broad Street. JOHN MORITZ Assistant News Editor
W
hile no official contract has been signed, the university expects to formalize a deal
with the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta within days to design the next library. The firm, based in Oslo, Norway, has designed projects around the world, including the Oslo Opera House, the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Caro-
lina State University, the Bibliotheca Alexandria in Egypt and the museum pavilion at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. No design has been submitted for the building, which is expected to be located on North
Broad Street at the current site of the Pavilion, and is slated to be the university’s “signature building.” In March 2012, the Board of Trustees approved a $17.5 million budget for the project’s design, as part of a $190 mil-
lion project budget that will be funded in part by the state and in part by bond debt. Before the Board of Trustees approves construction of the new library, it must view the completed design and estimated costs.
Of the funds, $140 million of the funds has been guaranteed from the state, with $90 million coming from the university’s regular annual allocation and $50 million from a onetime special allocation from
LIBRARY PAGE 3
TSG tickets discuss initiatives, hopes
From left: Anthony Torres, Danube Johnson and Patricia Boateng. | ABI REIMOLD TTN
DIAMOND NATION LAURA DETTER The Temple News Diamond Nation, one of the tickets campaigning for for Temple Student Government executive office, looks to create a Be Our Guest program, continue Adopt-a-Block and improve non-traditional and transfer student experiences as it campaigns on a platform based on three pillars: community, opportunity and diversity. Diamond Nation’s ticket is comprised of candidate for student body president Anthony Torres, candidate for vice president of services Patricia Boateng and candidate for vice president of external affairs Danube Johnson. Torres is a junior human resources management major and currently serves as the TSG director of local and community affairs and works for the Campus Safety Services.
Torres said he will focus on the opportunity pillar – specifically non-traditional and transfer students – due to his experience transferring from Burlington County College after his freshman year. According to its platform, Diamond Nation plans to be present at each transfer orientation to “provide better opportunities for transfer students and commuters to become more involved in the Temple University community.” The community pillar of the platform focuses on connecting university students with the North Philadelphia neighborhood through the Be Our Guest program and the continuation of Adopt-a-Block. “The way I see it there are two different North Philadelphias,” Johnson said. “There is Temple and there are the local residents. I am trying to combine the two and make it one,
and that is my vision.” Johnson, a philosophy and religion double major, was the TSG liaison for the Queer Student Union last year and is currently training as a peer mentor in the Russell Conwell Center. The Be Our Guest program aims to generate 1,000 hours of community service by encouraging student organizations to volunteer at charitable organizations and soup kitchens around the North Philadelphia community. “This has been a problem Temple has had for a long time, cultivating relationships with the community and that is something we are really trying to do,” Johnson said. Diamond Nation plans to continue and expand the Adopta-Block program started by Torres this year. According to the platform, Diamond Nation
DIAMOND PAGE 3
From left: Cree Moore, Sonia Galiber and Darin Bartholomew. | ABI REIMOLD TTN
TEMPLE UNITED LAURA DETTER The Temple News Temple United’s main platform points are making Owl Cards a form of SEPTA payment, improving the stars and diamonds program, implementing a Food Recovery Network and helping students graduate in four years by improving academic services. Candidate for student body president Darin Bartholomew is joined by candidate for vice president of services Cree Moore and candidate for vice president of external affairs Sonia Galiber. Together, they make up the Temple United ticket. “Our ticket name is Temple United for a reason,” Galiber said. “We cover such a large and broad demographic. I am from out of state, Cree is from the city and Darin is from in-state, and we come from such varying organizations.”
“Despite all these differences we have, I continue to be blown away by how functional and how much we’ve been able to build this well-oiled machine,” she said. One of the main points on Temple United’s platform is working with SEPTA to accept the university identification cards as a proper form of payment. The current Owl Cards contain radio frequency identification technology and would be compatible with SEPTA’s new contact-less payment program, ticket members said. “We have a 20,000-plus population that uses SEPTA heavily, Temple is one of the largest employers in the region, and we have a very large base of people and students that have become life-long SEPTA users. We need to use that as leverage for SEPTA to come to the bargaining table and make that happen,” Bartholomew said.
Bartholomew, a junior management information systems major, is currently TSG director of government affairs, and said he plans to help the university students graduate in four years by advocating for more online and hybrid summer classes and less restrictions on transfer credits. “Say you are from out of state and you go home for the summer and want to take a summer class, it should be able to easily transfer back into Temple. We need to make sure it is not a difficult process,” Bartholomew said. Temple United has said it’s building a platform that would benefit both current and future students. “It would be selfish to think about the students that are here and not the future students to come. Even though we want to get votes from the students,
UNITED PAGE 3
TUCR hosts congressman, plans for spring’s end Rep. Pat Meehan gave advice to students pursuing law, political careers. JOE GILBRIDE The Temple News The Temple University College Republicans discussed its plans for the rest of the se-
mester at last week’s meeting, which includes a trip to a local gun range and a visit to Mike Huckabee’s talk show. Chairman Erik Jacobs said TUCR has been ramping up its events as the semester comes to a close. On March 27, TUCR and the Temple Law Republicans hosted Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan at a meeting at Beasley School of Law.
NEWS DESK 215-204-7419
Meehan, a law school alumnus, talked about his experience as a law student at Temple and offered advice to students wishing to pursue a career in law or politics. “It’s all about getting out the door and getting involved,” Meehan said. “Take your experience and get engaged in something you don’t normally do.” Meehan said his experience talking with classmates
from different backgrounds and with a variety of beliefs helped form his desire to go into public service. He recounted his journey from Temple Law to the U.S. House of Representatives, bouncing from one opportunity to the next until he made it. “When I got to Congress,” Meehan said, “because of my experience as a lawyer, I had an appreciation for the nuances of the law. There’s a lot of political
NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
play on both sides, but my job is to get [a bill] through and get it passed.” Ed Furman, a law student who previously worked on Meehan’s campaign, said the representative’s speech was encouraging. Other students applauded Meehan’s advice on using opportunities to go out and get the career they want. Jacobs said members appreciated the rare opportunity to
get up close and personal with a congressman. “It was a great opportunity to hear a Republican member of Congress,” Jacobs said. “It was interesting to hear him talk about his time at Temple, about law school and his career path.” Looking ahead, Jacobs said he was excited for TUCR’s plans for the semester. Later this
TUCR PAGE 2