Volume 91, Issue 5

Page 1

LUNCHIES The Temple News serves up its annual four-page portion of lunch truck culture.

temple-news.com VOL. 91 ISS. 5

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

HISTORIC LOSS, p. 20

Penn State defeats Temple for the 38th time in the series’ 81-year history by a score of 24-13.

SKY LIGHTS, p. 9

“Open Air,” an installation by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, lights up the Philly skyline.

Mother paying burden of son’s death The IRS is charging a mother taxes on a loan after her son died last summer. CINDY STANSBURY The Temple News The death of a child is a level of pain no parent ever wants to experience. But for the mother of a Temple alumnus who died in August 2011, financial stress has also surfaced as a

Coalition fights for fair labor A group delivered letter to president on behalf of fair labor rights. SEAN CARLIN News Editor Barnes & Noble and Temple are both affiliated with the Fair Labor Association, but one group on Main Campus is looking for the university to go further in its efforts to have Temple’s memorabilia made in laborfriendly factories. The Coalition of Students Against Sweatshops delivered a letter on Sept. 19 to Acting President Richard Englert’s office and to Temple bookstore manager Jim Hanley, requesting an opportunity from Englert and Hanely to meet with the student group to discuss ways to make sure any gear with the Temple logo is coming from factories with labor-friendly practices. “As students of Temple University, we want to know

LABOR PAGE 2

result her son’s passing. The late Roswell Friend, 22, passed away between Aug. 18 and Aug. 23 of last summer. A member of the men’s track & field team before graduating in 2011, he was last seen going on a run. Housemates found a note on a whiteboard from him that read: “I’m sorry guys.” Days later, his body was found in the Delaware River. His mother, Regina Friend, a year after the untimely passing of her son, was recently in-

formed that she owes $14,000 in taxes to the IRS on a $55,400 Parent-PLUS loan taken out to pay for her son’s education. Roswell Friend transferred to Temple from Morgan State University to major in broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media and to compete on the men’s track team. “I was excited,” said Regina Friend, recalling the day her son’s Temple acceptance letter arrived. “Then I went online, looked up the tuition, called him and said, ‘How do you plan to

pay for this?’” Regina Friend said that Temple was significantly more expensive than Morgan State and, in order to compensate financially, she applied for and received a parent-plus loan. Parent-PLUS loans are taken out by a parent, as opposed to the child, to help pay for college tuition among a slew of other expenses. Regina Friend borrowed $55,400 on behalf of her son, she said. “He was doing something positive. I’m not having to bor-

row money for something that’s negative. So I’d mortgage my soul,” she said. “All parents do it.” Roswell Friend had received a job offer from Comcast and with his starting salary, his mother said, the Parent-PLUS loan would have easily been paid off. After her son passed, the loan was forgiven by lender Sallie Mae. This appeared to be the end of her financial troubles until she was informed that the IRS had taxed her $14,000 on

Raising the Ranks TEMPLE’S RANKINGS 125 th TEMPLE’S

NATIONAL RANK

TEMPLE’ S GRAD PROGRAMS 58th

LAW SCHOOL

47th

MED SCHOOL *IN RESEARCH

52nd

FOX SCHOOL

53rd

EDUCATION

Source: U.S. News and World Report

ILLUSTRATION JOEY PASKO TTN

Many of Temple’s graduate programs rank in the Top 60 nationally. JOHN MORITZ Assistant News Editor

T

he disparity between Temple’s overall ranking and the rankings of individual programs reflect the university’s commitment toward quality faculty and providing affordable education to motivated students, administrators said. In the latest U.S. News and World Report college rankings, Temple ranked No. 125 among national universities, out of 1,600 ranked schools, and No. 60 among public universities, out of 115. Several graduate schools within the university also placed within the Top 60 in their respective categories, including Fox School of Business, which ranked No. 52, Beasley School of Law at No. 58, the School of Medicine, which ranked No. 47 in research, the College of Education, which was ranked No. 53 and Tyler School of Art, which was ranked No. 13 among fine arts programs. Twelve fields of study were

ranked within the Top 20 nationally. In Beasley, legal writing ranked ninth, part-time law ranked seventh, and trial advocacy ranked second. At Fox, insurance was ranked sixth and international business ranked ninth. Criminology in the College of Liberal Arts ranked No. 11. In Tyler, ceramics ranked No. 13, painting and drawing ranked No. 10, photography No. 20, printmaking No. 10 and sculpture No. 9. The data that goes into ranking includes “assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and...high school counselor ratings of colleges and graduation rate performance,” according to U.S. News and World Report. “[U.S. News and World Report] is conducted in a way that they base almost 50 percent of the indicators [on] student characteristics, so in a way it reflects [on our] students...but also partly our admissions process and our admissions goals,” Interim Provost Hai-Lung Dai said. While the rankings of the institution as a whole include aspects such as alumni giving, an area which Temple ranks

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this gain. In an email, financial professor Ronald Anderson explained the government’s motivation. “This situation is like the exact opposite of winning a lottery,” Anderson said. “IRS rules dictate that when an individual has a windfall gain, that taxes must be paid on the gain.” He also said that the government only forgives this tax in cases of mass federal crisis.

IRS PAGE 2

Wyatt fined by A.C. court for soliciting Men’s basketball player expresses remorse for soliciting undercover prostitute. SEAN CARLIN News Editor Men’s basketball senior guard Khalif Wyatt was reportedly fined and ordered to perform community ser- Khalif Wyatt vice after appearing in court Friday, Sept. 21, for charges stemming from his June arrest. Wyatt appeared in Atlantic City Municipal Court Friday. He was fined $1,000 and ordered to perform community service after being arrested for soliciting a prostitute and resisting arrest more than three months ago,

WYATT PAGE 2

Student Pavilion closes in preparation for library The Pavilion closes for general use, but remains open for some activities. MICHAEL CHAU The Temple News With talked-about, but not official, plans for a new library on North Broad Street, the Student Pavilion has been closed for general use and scheduled for demolition. The Pavilion, located at 1901 N. 15th St., is scheduled to be demolished in May 2013 to make way for the possible new library, said Director of Campus Recreation Steve Young. The Board of Trustees approved a $17.5 million budget in March for the design of the new, 21st century library. Funding for the construction of the project will consist of $140 million

from the state, including $90 million in annual capital grants and $50 million from bond debt, officials said in the spring. No formal approval for the project to move forward has been made. The Pavilion is now used as extra space for intramurals or athletic clubs until its demolition, but student organizations and non-Temple groups can also rent the court space for special events and activities. While the 32,000-squarefoot facility was closed for general use, the newly renovated Pearson and McGonigle halls have added recreational space to Main Campus. Young said it has piled on to an increasing amount of fitness space for students that he’s seen grow during his 27 years at Temple. “I don’t know what the number would be. I can’t say it’s 100 times better because it would be like 2,000 times better,” Young said.

NEWS DESK 215-204-7419

“When I started here, keep in mind there was [almost] no fitness, there was a weight room that was shared by classes, students, and athletics,” Young said. “And there was one weight room, maybe 3,000 square feet. We now have over 40,000 square feet of fitness space just for students.” The newly renovated Pearson-McGonigle not only improves and adds upon existing facilities, but also new recreational amenities that weren’t available at Temple before. One of those new recreational facilities is the 26-foot rock climbing wall that sits in front of Pearson and McGonigle’s capacious atrium. Though the 1,135-squarefoot rock climbing area is modest in size, the climbing wall is free for students living on Main Campus.

The Student Pavilion closes to make way for a new library. The space lost by closing the Pavilion has been supplemented by Pearson and McGonigle halls. | HUA ZONG TTN

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NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM


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