COMMENTARY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
PAGE 5
In football opener, Who can afford to save North Philly? Diamond Gems shine Can Temple fight The Diamond Gems deserve the same respect that any other athletes receive.
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emple’s football home opener was Sept. 7, but many spectators were watching more than just the game. Despite the hoopla on the field, viewers probably found their eyes drawn to the dancers on the sidelines. The Diamond Gems, the dancebased wing of Temple’s Spirit Squad, are hard to miss with their glittery Grace Holleran getups and eye-catching hair flips. The 20-member team is renowned throughout the region for the talent and the energy they bring to the field and court. Each year, they compete in the Universal Dance Association’s National Competition, having placed in the Top 5 in 2010 and 2011. And bringing those dance routines to audiences takes more hard work than it seems. “A day in the life of a Gem is super busy,” said former Gem and current senior Megan Fry. The sports and recreation management major said that during a typical week, Gems rehearse four times, sometimes in the early mornings, and have three workout sessions, in addition to making several appearances with Temple Athletics each week. “Mix that in with classes and social life, and there’s no time for sleeping,” Fry said. “We don’t get priority registration or anything like that,” said former member Sarah Stoner, a Temple alumna with a degree in insurance and risk management. “So we had to arrange around our schedule.” As if this wasn’t enough, the Gems are also responsible for raising almost all of their funds. “I don’t believe we get enough credit,” Fry said.
It comes down to something much simpler. With outfits that feature crop tops and short skirts, it’s hard for most people to ignore the sexual appeal of the Gems. “I think they are extremely talented,” said former Temple student Cory Gilvary. “However, [because of] their outfits, hair and makeup, I think make people take them less seriously. They should be considered athletes and I don’t think they are right now.” Not every student approaches this subject as respectfully as Gilvary did. “We hear negative things about us almost daily,” Fry said. “People have a preconceived notion that we ‘sleep around’ and are ‘sluts,’ for lack of a better word.” After each game, Twitter explodes with comments about the Gems, some kinder than others. It didn’t take long to find some examples, such as when user @MACK_aroni tweeted that “only 10 percent of the Diamond Gems look good in person” on July 7. It seems counterproductive for Temple to bash the very people who help to keep our spirits up during tough games and winning streaks alike. Some students are fine with the Gems’ clothing, though. In fact, some think it’s necessary to draw attention. “I think it’s important that they look good because it holds the attention of the fickle audience for longer,” Doug Friese, senior marketing major, said. “This is an unfair fact of life and something that you can definitely channel to help represent your university in a more positive light.” For whatever reason, how women present themselves seems to be a pressing concern in today’s society. And multiple arguments can be made. While it understandably frustrates some people that the Gems “need” to show skin in order to capture the audience’s focus, it’s also important to remember that how a woman dresses has nothing to do with her intelligence or sense
“If you enjoy
the way the Gems dress now, let them know. If not, stop lashing out on Twitter.
”
crime in North Philadelphia alone?
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ampus safety is a main concern amongst Temple students. We should thank our lucky stars that Temple Police and local government feel the same way. A c cording to an Aug. 27 Philadelphia Inquirer article, Barack Obama has Thomas Mickens warned 15 Jr. big city mayors, including Philadelphia’s own Michael Nutter, that there isn’t enough federal money to fund more crime fighting. As such, Mayor Nutter is instead calling for “corporate and philanthropic communities” to help end Philadelphia’s crime problem. In terms of private crime fighting entities within Philadelphia, Temple certainly sits atop this list, as the university commands a comparatively massive police force that was the fourth-largest in Pennsylvania back in 1989. According to the Department of Justice, the TUPD controlled the second-largest force of sworn university officers in the country during the 2004-2005 school year, commanding 119 full-fledged cops, second only to Howard University’s 166. The number has since grown to more than 130. As a sophomore, I’ve grown accustomed to the TU Alert emails, but it really hit me when I got one on Aug. 19, just of self-worth. Also, the Gems don’t pick out their own costumes. “The university approves the outfits, not us,” said a former Gem, who wished to remain anonymous. “I don’t always want to wear a tank top after eating a slice of pizza, but that’s not up to me.” Why would the university
a day after I arrived on campus. What a nice, warm North Philadelphia welcome. Seriously, you shouldn’t have. Perhaps it’s these same email alerts that remind me of shootings, robberies, muggings and other acts of crime over the last year or so that have numbed my feelings on the matter, but it still worries me nonetheless. Crime isn’t stopping anytime soon, so safety must still be taken seriously in North Philadelphia. Here’s the good news: Mayor Nutter, the TUPD and campus safety are on it.
TUPD’s assigned primary jurisdiction areas, such as the intersection of 16th and Diamond streets. The TUPD envelopes the second layer, which is used as a barrier to protect the people inside Main Campus. Formerly unbeknownst to me, the TUPD has its own Police Academy at the Ambler Campus. The Temple University Police Academy’s Acting Director Robert Deegan characterizes the training as rigorous and physically demanding. Temple’s finest must be equipped with a
but as long as students are getting TU Alerts in my email, there’s still work to be done. So where does the mayor’s new plan fit into on campus safety’s blueprint? Leone doesn’t know yet. “There’s already some initiative involved, it’s not really formalized with the mayor’s initiative, but it will probably one day go hand in hand,” Leone said. If the two parties are to continue to coordinate efforts, what is in store for the future for safety on Temple’s campus? Is expansion out of the question? More bikes on the ground, more guards in the buildings, more Philly cops patrolling North Philadelphia neighborhoods on those congested Friday nights. Is this what mayoral pressure will do for Temple? More boots on the ground doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, but it could put a damper on the party culture at Temple. Students are already getting cited for underage drink-
LAUREN WEST TTN According to Charlie Leone, deputy director of Campus Safety Services, there has been a drastic improvement in campus safety in the past three years. “Year to date, we’re at a 22 percent decrease in crime compared to last year,” Leone said. Much of the recent success has to do with Temple Campus Safety Services’ Safety Action Plan, a layered system of protection that’s designed to decrease violence around Temple’s campus. Philadelphia police patrol the outside layer in certain areas that may be out of the reach of
high school diploma or a GED equivalent, read at a ninth grade level and possess a clean criminal record. Allied Barton, the men and women dressed in yellow and usually patrolling on bikes, are used to further fortify Temple’s campus. The last layer of the Safety Action Plan is comprised of those who run ID checks and guard the academic buildings, typically also employees of Allied Barton. The plan is sensible and very functional. Campus Safety Services clearly has the blueprint for security in North Philly,
ing. If Nutter wants things to run a bit tighter, will drunk students be told to “just get home,” or will there be tougher consequences? Only time will tell what Mayor Nutter’s plans are for the future. With a ton of work to be done to improve campus safety, it will be interesting to see how these changes will affect the Temple community. Hopefully there are less TU Alert emails in everyone’s future.
want these outfits to begin with? My guess would be popular demand. “I would get frustrated and angry sometimes,” said Stoner. “I try to pay more attention to all the awesome feedback we get from people who actually appreciate what we do.” “If others want to criticize us, I’d like to see them try and
walk a day in our shoes,” Fry added. Temple students, with all due respect, it’s about time you made up your mind. If you enjoy the way the Gems dress now, let them know. If not, stop lashing out on Twitter. These women are being held to an unfair double standard, one that has nothing to do with their tal-
ent as dancers. Take your issues up with the university, and then maybe you’ll be respected as much as the Diamond Gems.
Thomas Mickens Jr. can be reached at tmickensjr@temple.edu.
Grace Holleran can be reached at grace.elizabeth.holleran@temple. edu or on Twitter @coupsdegrace.
Spring Fling is gone, if students like it or not Canceling Spring Fling isn’t actually going to curb binge drinking.
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er death was extremely tragic and just a shock. But she is not the reason for
this move.” What happened to Ali Fausnaught was horrible. I can’t imagine losing a friend or daughter like that. But it’s also hard to imagine that Vice President Theresa Powell was being completely honest when she spoke about the cancellation in an inDan Craig terview with The Temple News in the quote above. Spring Fling has been a drinking holiday since I started at Temple in 2010. Deciding to end it after such a tragic accident is hard to portray as a coincidence. This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with using a tragedy as a reason to end Spring Fling. But I’ve been to plenty of parties where people went onto the house’s roof, just as I’ve been to plenty of Temple
events that involved underage, and at times heavy, drinking. This is why the cancellation of Spring Fling is a predictable, possibly inevitable, but ineffective decision. Getting rid of something as ingrained in school culture as Spring Fling does not curb underage drinking or binge drinking, nor does it prevent students from doing potentially hazardous things such as partying on a roof. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s poking the hornet’s nest. If anything, it should incite a campus to party even harder. If you don’t believe me, ask Laura Gabel, a senior advertising major. “I don’t think that canceling Spring Fling is going to stop anyone from partying,” Gabel said. “Students want to let loose and have a reward for all the work they put in during the year.” Remember, this is the student body that put together a massive block party on Fontain Street on Aug. 24 and organizes in an impressive fashion for parties on St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween and other holidays. It’s not hard to imagine the first Facebook event that’ll be created around April entitled “RIP Spring Fling 2014!” “A few of the guys who
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planned the block party on Aug. 24 plan to organize something off-campus, basically the same time [Spring Fling] would have been,” said Matthew Haas, a senior biology and philosophy major. If Temple was serious about dealing with the dangers of binge drinking and the perils of partying, it would come up with something more serious than “Think About It,” a mere online quiz designed to curb binge drinking in incoming freshmen, and the occasional foreboding poster in Student Health Services. The issue is not that Temple got rid of Spring Fling due to alcohol consumption. It’s that they’re likely saying that and doing nothing else. You don’t ban driving because of accidents. You enforce speed limits, mandate driver’s education courses and take other precautionary steps. “It’s kind of been hijacked by a group of people that make this into a bacchanal, a drinking fest,” President Neil Theobald said in a Temple News interview. “We’re not involved in that.” That’s fine. But if that’s your stance, you have a lot more work to do.
Spring Fling needed to go, and Temple is better off without it.
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any changes have been made at Temple as of late. In 2013 alone, there have been renovations, steps forward in environmental sustainability and the opening of a new dorm and parking garages. One of the most talked about changes has been the administration’s decision to cancel Spring Fling. T h e university Hend Salah claims that excessive drinking and the skipping of classes triggered Spring Fling’s cancellation. The rumor that the termination was also related to the death of West Chester student Ali Fausnaught last year was denied. Among students, there have been many theories floating around about the true reason for Spring Fling’s shutdown. Most of them are not in support of Temple’s decision and are actually deliberate attacks on Dan Craig can be reached at the administration’s handling of daniel.craig@temple.edu.
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Fausnaught’s death. If Temple wants to promote itself as a school that is cracking down on alcohol consumption, the fact that there are two bars on campus makes this idea seem more than a little ridiculous. If the university is trying to look good by showing that it’s determined to keep kids from getting drunk, why is alcohol so easily accessible? With the many theories about the university’s motives behind the cancellation floating around, we may forget to ask ourselves one question: Does an event like Spring Fling really have a place at a university? Not really. Regardless of the true reason it was cancelled, breaking the tradition wasn’t a bad idea. The reasons the university cited are good motives to end the event. There was excessive drinking going on during the festivities. Many people would openly walk around campus drunk, and very few authority figures would say a word against it. It doesn’t matter that Temple
had no hand in the alcohol being distributed and consumed. The fact of the matter is that it’s unethical to continue hosting an event that leads to this kind of behavior. It’s also widely known that students skip class and professors cancel classes just to attend the festival. This is also unacceptable. Giving students the best education possible can’t be achieved if they’re passing up a time meant for learning in favor of relaxing outside. Saying that Temple’s motives are completely pure in this cancellation is farfetched, but I don’t think the move was based on a devilish agenda. Regardless, Spring Fling had to go sometime. It didn’t create the kind of atmosphere that should exist at a university. Sometimes things have to go, even if it’s many students’ favorite event of the year.
“Many people
would openly walk around campus drunk, and very few authority figures would say a word against it.
”
Hend Salah can be reached at hsalah@temple.edu.