A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.
TEMPLE-NEWS.COM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015
VOL. 94 ISS. 14
Adjuncts vote to join TAUP Following a secret ballot, parttime professors will soon join the university’s full-time faculty union. By LIAN PARSONS Assistant News Editor
JENNY KERRIGAN TTN (TOP): Two officers patrol the Bell Tower Oct. 5 in response to an anonymous threat made to “a university near Philadelphia.” (BOTTOM): Students walk on Polett Walk Nov. 30.
WATCHING FOR ‘THE UNTHINKABLE’ With the prevalence of active-shooter situations on college campuses rising, The Temple News outlines the university’s contingency plans in such situations.
I
n Temple Police’s main headquarters, there’s a dark room with an open floor. The sound of shotguns, handguns and assault rifles can be heard through speakers, bellowing through the usual silence of the surrounding rooms. Inside, the only source of light comes from a dim computer screen and a projector hanging from the ceiling. Behind the light of the computer screen, Officer James Jones cues a simulation of an activeshooter situation. The police department practices these situations in alignment with the university’s exhaustive preparation for the possibility of a mass-shooting scenario on Main Campus. “Shots fired inside the Pearl Theatre,” Jones says to his partner, Officer Damon Mitchell. With his eyes on the projected image, Mitchell draws his assault rifle as five consecutive gunshots ring out. Two wounded computer-generations frantically run past him. Four more shots fire as he nears the theater on the left. Mitchell keeps his gun—loaded with carbon dioxide which produces a life-like recoil in order to reinforce proper weapon handling for the officers—
By EJ SMITH & STEVE BOHNEL The Temple News
ONLINE View the entire multimedia project at longform.temple-news. com/watching-for-the-unthinkable.
SURVEYING CAMPUS SAFETY 4 TU SIRENS AROUND MAIN CAMPUS MORE THAN 600 SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS ACROSS MAIN CAMPUS 3 MILLION PEOPLE ENTER THE STUDENT CENTER ANNUALLY 70 PERCENT OF THOSE PEOPLE ENTER THROUGH THE MAIN ENTRANCE ON 13TH STREET NEAR MONTGOMERY AVENUE
22 SHOOTINGS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES IN 2015
DONNA FANELLE TTN
MARGO REED TTN
TUPD Officer Damon Mitchell holds a simulation gun.
NEWS PAGES 2-3, 6
An update on court cases
Several cases previously reported by The Temple News have been rescheduled, according to court records. PAGE 6
OPINION PAGES 4-5
Both full-time faculty and adjuncts are now represented by the Temple Association of University Professionals after the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board counted the votes to include adjuncts in the union Nov. 25. The PLRB counted more than 900 ballots returned from a pool of about 1,400 adjunct voters. The final vote was 609 in favor of the accretion and 266 against, TAUP President Art Hochner said. The remaining 32 were disqualified due to incorrect ballots or questionable eligibility of the voter. TAUP will now represent full- and part-time faculty in each school except for law, dentistry, medicine and podiatric medicine, and set terms for factors like pay increases, benefits and rules for appointment within the union. In September 2014, TAUP started a campaign asking adjuncts to sign cards to unionize with TAUP, Hochner said. The cards were then presented along with a petition to the PLRB. The labor board held six hearings between March and August before Hearing Examiner John Pozniak decided adjuncts would vote on whether to join the union in early October, Hochner said. The ballots were mailed Nov. 9, and were due back by 4 p.m. Nov. 24. The PLRB must now officially certify the results, Hochner said. “Full-time faculty and adjuncts create a community of interest and there were a lot of similarities,” Hochner said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any
Demolition warrants collaboration
LIFESTYLE
PAGES 7-8, 14-16
drawn toward the screen. Silence ensues for 16 seconds, until the shooter emerges from one of the back aisles. Mitchell quickly opens fire and shoots at the screen multiple times. “Show me your hands, show me your hands,” he says, but the suspect appears to be dead, and the projector screen goes black. This is one active-shooting scenario of hundreds Temple Police can practice, with the hope they’ll never face the real thing. Before the simulation begins, the participating officer chooses which weapons to activate. He or she can select handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, police batons, tasers and even a flashlight. After the simulation ends, it displays the “hit zones,” of the officer, giving him or her an opportunity to analyze shooting accuracy with the pre-calibrated gun. “It’s another level of training,” Jones said. “You have to get used to covering and protecting yourself, and that’s the thing: We all want to come out of there alive.” This sort of training comes at a time when active-shooter situations on college campuses have become increasingly fre-
SHOOTER | PAGE 2
ADJUNCTS | PAGE 6
Students assist local teachers Temple’s new teacher residency program helps schools in the School District of Philadelphia. By GILLIAN McGOLDRICK The Temple News If someone was looking for Temple graduate student John Sender two years ago, they could find him in South Sudan, treating undrinkable water. Now, he’s in Philadelphia’s AMY Northwest middle school, playing with homemade “slime” in a classroom of young students. Sender is one of seven graduate students working to earn their certificates for teaching middle school STEM classes throughout three schools in Philadelphia. These students are a part of Temple’s new teacher residency program, hosted by the College of Education. The program was developed through a 2014 federal grant given to Temple, and follows a model of residency similar to that of medical residency programs. Retention of young teachers is a struggle for modern urban schools, Dr. Michelle Lee, director of the Temple Teacher Residency Program said.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGES 9-12, 14
After graduation, not the end
Gallery showcases alumnus’ work
Ray Smeriglio, former student body president, looks back at his four-and-ahalf years at Temple. PAGE 7
After graduation, Shawn Theodore started street photography, capturing local storefronts in North Philadelphia. PAGE 9
PROGRAM | PAGE 6
SPORTS PAGES 19-22