TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017 VOL. 95 ISS. 16
Dai takes new role in administration
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Red-hot Owls continue to pile up wins
The former provost says his suit against a former president was resolved.
The women’s basketball team is on its longest win streak since the 2011-12 season.
By JULIE CHRISITE News Editor
O
By MAURA RAZANAUSKAS Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter There is a saying written in cherry letters on a wall in the team’s practice facility that reads: “Play Hard, Practice Harder.” The Owls (15-3, 6-0 The American) are on an 11-game winning streak and haven’t lost a game since Dec. 7. Their gameplay has influenced their practices and vice versa. “In the gym, in practice now, we’re going harder because we know where we can go with this,” junior guard Donnaizha Fountain said. “I feel like everyone’s confidence is now where it should be, where it deserves to be. We’re a team that works hard, so for our record to show that, it actually motivates us to get better.” Temple began its season with a 4-3 record in its first seven games. For a team returning four starters who all averaged more than 10 points per game, it was not the start they had anticipated. Senior center Safiya Martin said the
STREAK | PAGE 16
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CONOR ROTTMUND FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior guard Donnaizha Fountain attempts to block a shot against Memphis senior guard Taylor Williams during Temple’s 66-51 home win on Saturday.
n Monday, HaiLung Dai sat at the head of a large conference table on the sixth floor of the Science Education and Research Center, a building he helped envision when he was dean of the College of Science and Technology. He looked comfortable. Four days earlier, the university announced that Dai, who had been removed from his role as provost in June 2016, would be reinstated among administrators in a newly created position as the vice president for international affairs. He will take up the position later this year, according to a statement from Board of Trustees spokesman Kevin Feeley. Dai said the role will
follow the tradition of other international affairs offices, but that he is still waiting to meet with President Richard Englert, who he will report to directly. Englert will define the responsibilities of Dai’s new role. The office will operate the Study Abroad and Intensive English Language programs, as well as support the operation of Temple’s two international campuses and multiple international programs. It will also manage the admissions process for international students and work with Temple’s “partner universities,” which provide academic and degree programs through exchange programs. “In a word, this office is responsible for the globalization of Temple,” he said. Dai’s return is part of an agreement between the former provost and the university after his unexpected removal in June. Dai said he could “neither confirm nor deny” that he received money as part of the deal to come back to the administration.
LAWSUIT | PAGE 3
Students react to Inauguration Day on, off campus Students and professors watched and reacted to the inauguration.
Students protested on Main Campus before marching to Center City.
By GRACE SHALLOW Deputy Features Editor In Tomlinson Theater, after the final scene, the lights are cut. Except for the ghostlight: a lone source of light that’s always on as part of a longtime theater superstition. As part of the Ghostlight Project, performers gathered in front of more than 800 theaters across the country and shined lights into the sky to form their own “ghostlight” on the eve of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. “The premise of the Ghostlight Project is we ourselves can be a light in dark times,” said Heather Birmingham, a sophomore musical theater major and the organizer of Temple’s Ghostlight Project. On Thursday at 5:30 p.m., about 30 theater students shined their phones’ flashlights into the sky on the steps of Tomlinson Theater. Birmingham played guitar and led the group in singing “This Little Light of Mine,” as a manila folder with the message, “Respect, compassion and humanity for all. I stand for peace, justice and love!” rested against a guitar case behind her. The theater students’ response to the inauguration was one of several ways students reacted on and off Main Campus. Matthew Janis, a sophomore musical theater major, said he wanted to air his concerns about the future of LGBTQ rights as a gay man. He helped Birmingham organize the event and spoke to the crowd.
By JULIE CHRISTIE News Editor
As Trump gave his inaugural address, Melissa Sherman knitted a pink pussyhat to wear to the Women’s March on Philadelphia the following day. Occasionally, she’d put her needles down and cover her face with her hands, expressing her frustration. Sherman said she’ll carry the feeling of apprehension with her for the next four years. “Those are just words,” she said of the inaugural address. “What’s going to be important is the actions that are taken, the policies that are
About 100 students gathered at the Bell Tower Friday afternoon for a student walkout and protest in response to President Donald Trump’s inauguration. They huddled under the tower to keep themselves and their posters dry from the rain. The posters were adorned with slogans like, “Trump Loves Hate,” and “Respect Existence or Expect Resistance.” They also chanted, “The people, united, will never be divided.” Philadelphia Socialist Alternative organized the protest at Temple as well as the larger protest in Center City, which students later joined. They marched from Temple’s Main Campus down Broad Street to Thomas Paine Plaza — next to City Hall. They then marched to Independence Mall, escorted by police. Philip Gregory, a junior English major, is a part of Philadelphia Socialist Alternative and Temple’s chapter of 15 Now, which fights for a $15 minimum wage for all Temple employees. He began organizing both protests immediately after the election, he said. “We assumed, ‘Alright, it’s time to start working, it’s time to start building, it’s time to start networking, it’s time to start putting this together,’ because we knew this day was going to come,” he said. Gregory said one of the objectives of the march was to get people involved in different organizations.
REACTIONS | PAGES 8-9
PROTEST | PAGE 3
GRACE SHALLOW/THE TEMPLE NEWS Students watch President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
JACOB MCGLEW FOR THE TEMPLE NEWS Lucy Crawford, a sophomore media studies and production major, raises a handmade sign she crafted earlier in the week at a sign-making workshop at Temple Contemporary.
Despite acting often and being comfortable with talking in front of people, Janis said speaking at the event made him “shaky” with emotion. “Together, we create a beautiful mosaic of colors, creeds and characters,” he said to the crowd. “We vow to protect each other, protect each other’s rights, each other’s lives and each other’s happiness.” Every theater that participated in the project was asked to take action on a specific issue, and Temple’s theater community chose to uphold diversity and equality. Peter Reynolds, the head of mu-
GRACE SHALLOW/THE TEMPLE NEWS An estimated 50,000 people attended the Women’s March on Philadelphia on Saturday.
sical theater in the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, said he wasn’t surprised that students were using the Ghostlight Project to voice their political concerns. “Seeing the students’ reactions to the election and the amount of grief and concern and real distress I saw many of them express, I was absolutely supportive of them participating in such a healing event,” he said. “Saying out loud that we honor diversity and inclusion … is a way to move positively in the future.” DURING
NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6
OPINION | PAGES 4-5
FEATURES | PAGES 7-14
SPORTS | PAGES 15-18
Understaffed and overcrowded, Tuttleman Counseling Services is trying to combat long wait times for students. Read more on Page 2.
Our columnist urges students to follow up protests with action to create concrete change. Read more on Page 5.
A junior social work major had the opportunity to go back to college through a program at CCP. Read more on Page 7.
The fencing team features athletes from 10 different states, but none from Pennsylvania. Read more on Page 18.