Volume 92, Issue 17

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

VOL. 92 ISS. 17

Hospital finances in poor health Officials say care for low-income patients led to debt, credit downgrade of health system.

ALI WATKINS The Temple News

W

hen Temple University’s Health System found itself smacked with a significant credit downgrade in summer of last year, the university’s Chief Financial Officer Ken Kaiser was concerned, but not surprised.

“It was expected,” Kaiser said of the downgrade to the systems’ credit rating. “It’s just really been building for some time. It’s the population they serve and the scale at which they operate. It’s just a difficult market… Almost like a perfect

After meetings, cuts in question Coaches hold out hope after meeting with top administrators on athletic cuts.

EVAN CROSS Assistant Sports Editor

(Top) President Theobald (left) and Athletic Director Kevin Clark. Coach Gavin White presented information on athletic cuts to the administration last week. | HUA ZONG TTN

With boathouse, rowing cuts could be reversed After meeting, a hint from Theobald that the boathouse fight isn’t over.

JOEY CRANNEY Editor-in-Chief Of the seven sports that the university will eliminate this summer, at least two – the men’s and women’s rowing teams – stand a chance of restoring their Division I status after a week of negotiations has reinvigorated the debate on upgrading their facilities.

After meeting with the

rowing teams at the Liacouras Center last week, President Theobald indicated in a news conference that the fate of the programs could change if the university completes a process to house the teams in a boathouse.

“If we had a boathouse, that makes for a very different situation for the rowing programs,” Theobald said. “As of right now, I don’t have one. But we’re going to follow up on this.”

The administration seemed compelled by arguments the rowing teams made on Jan. 28 at a meeting between all of the

BOATHOUSE PAGE 3

INSIDE – News Analysis Speaking at a news conference for the first time since the athletic cuts were announced, President Theobald seemed to attempt to distance himself from the decision. PAGE 3

A pile of purple bats sat on a couch in Joe DiPietro’s office.

There were about 20 of them, half of the amount that were donated to the softball team. Enough were donated that every player got two Louisville Sluggers, which retail for $350. Temple didn’t pay anything for them.

The bats aren’t the only pieces of equipment the softball team has had donated. DiPietro said the team has received $35,000 worth of free equipment in the past year. That number was one of the sixthyear coach’s main points in last Tuesday’s face-to-face meeting with administrators, along with the fact that the team has improved its win total every year since DiPietro took over. The biggest point DiPietro made, though, was regarding the administration’s position that traveling to Ambler to compete provides a bad student-athlete experience.

CUTS PAGE 17

Four-year graduation guarantee to be offered.

JOHN MORITZ MARCUS MCCARTHY The Temple News President Theobald pledged a multi-million dollar scholarship initiative that will pay qualifying low-and-middle-income students to reduce their off-campus working hours as part of a larger four-year graduation plan released Monday, Feb. 3.

The university will give $4,000 to 500 students in each incoming class beginning this fall, creating a program that will spend $8 million per year in to-

Temple’s chapter of Project Haiti will fundraise with an upcoming art raffle.

ALEXA BRICKER The Temple News Meredith McDevitt recalled meeting the orphaned children she spent a year raising money to support as the most memorable moment of her recent trip to Haiti. After she turned to the Tyler School of Art community to provide relief for people in need, they became the focus of her charitable efforts.

“I’ve never been to a community that cares so much about each other,” the senior painting major said. “They know that they are impoverished and they know that they have to work together for them to make it.”

Artists for Haiti will raffle artwork created by Tyler students to fundraise for a Haitian orphange. | KARA MILSTEIN TTN In 2011, McDevitt, senior Elaine Salanik and 2013 graduate Andrea Echeverri attended a discussion led by members of Penn State’s Project Haiti. The organization was focused on sending monetary aid to Haiti for natural disaster relief.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT - PAGES 9-13

After the talk, McDevitt said she and her peers were determined to bring the effort to Main Campus.

That same year, she became cofounder of Temple’s chapter of the Project Haiti organization. McDevitt and other stu-

Youth excel in STEM programs

Philly’s new shabu hotspot

A mural that has stood for 10 years on the corner of 16th Street and Montgomery Avenue will be lost due to development.

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As the home of Pennslyvania’s Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program, Temple hosts local students.

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A husband and wife duo opened their first culinary endeavor last month in Chinatown.

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Debunking snow day myths

tal funds by 2018.

The “Fly in 4” program’s scholarship component is the first of its kind among universities nationwide to focus student attention on academics rather than non-academic work to pay off the rising cost of tuition.

The program represents an outgrowth of the first of Theobald’s commitments in his inaugural address delivered on Oct. 18, in which he called “suffocating student debt” the foremost problem facing Temple’s role as Philadelphia’s public univer-

GRAD PAGE 6

Creatives unite for Haitian relief fund

LIVING - PAGES 7-8, 14-16

OPINION - PAGES 4-5

HOSPITAL PAGE 6

Theobald unveils four-year grad plan

NEWS - PAGES 2-3, 6

Mural to be lost to construction

storm for those guys and for us.”

That perfect storm has been brewing for the university’s health system for decades, from its humble beginnings run out of a converted row home to the massive Health Sciences Campus. A fixture in North Philadelphia since the late 19th century, Temple University Health Systems, including its hospital and educational facilities, have grown in to a community staple, serving some of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods.

But the health systems’ noble mission of serving its community, regardless of profit margin, has emerged as an anchor

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dents have focused their efforts on raising money for a specific orphanage, located in the city of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, Haiti.

Now in its third year, the organization is holding what it hopes will be its largest fundraiser to date, “Artists for Haiti,” in partnership with the Tyler community.

“Artists for Haiti was started in part because the only community I really knew was Tyler,” McDevitt said. “I really knew I could count on this community.”

The fundraiser, which will be taking place on Thursday, Feb. 6, in the Student Center atrium, is a raffle of artworks created by Tyler students.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., patrons will be able to purchase tickets and place them in front of the artwork of their choice to

SPORTS - PAGES 17-20

HAITI PAGE 8

Owls lose chance at Big 5 title

NEWS

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Staff Reports | Community

The mural titled “In Living Memory: Those of Us Alive,” will be covered by new houses being built on the corner of 16th Street and Montgomery Avenue. (Bottom) The houses will be home to more than 100 students when they open in August. | KATHRYN STELLATO TTN

New housing will obscure years-old off-campus mural Ten-year-old mural was painted to raise antitobacco awareness.

SARAI FLORES The Temple News A $25,000 mural on 16th Street and Montgomery Avenue will be obscured during the construction of a $9 million student housing project by Maze Group Development scheduled to be finished prior to the end of the spring semester.

“In Living Memory: Those of Us Alive,” was created in 2003 by Philadelphia artist John Lewis to show the negative side effects of second-hand smoke. It is one of four murals raising awareness about tobacco use in the city.

Lewis, a Philadelphia-based artist who has been painting murals for 11 years since he moved to Philadelphia, has more than 20 murals throughout Philadelphia, including the one on 16th and Montgomery.

Lewis said his work on the mural took three months and was designed using portraits from residents in the neighborhood.

“I would rather it not be covered but I understand,” Lewis said. “I am OK with that. I mean obviously I would rather that not be the case but it’s been about 10 years since I painted it so that’s OK.” “Those of Us Alive” will be obscured from view before March, the Maze group said.

“I remember the day we dedicated the mural,” Lewis said. “I hope, in the decade since, it’s done its work. Fortunately, “Those of Us Alive” was featured in our second coffee table book, “More Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell”, published by Temple University Press in 2006, so it will live on in print.”

The student housing will feature three buildings with eight unit apartments, capable of housing 122 residents.

“We think it’s a really attractive location being so close to the university

and it’s been vacant for many years and we really thought it was a waste and really an eyesore.” said Herb Reid III, vice president of Maze Group Development and one of the two owners.

“Those of Us Alive” is one of the city’s 3,600 murals that have been created by the Mural Arts Program, a program that began in 1984 as a component of the anti-graffiti network. In the last 12 years at least a dozen murals have been covered due to economic redevelopment like the one on 16th and Montgomery, according to the Mural Arts Program.

“We work hard at monitoring the status of our collection, and we appreciate assistance from property owners, neighbors and civic leaders. The truth is, there’s not always something we can do,” Amy Johnston, information and event specialist at the city of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, said.

Keith Jones, a truck driver who has lived on the 1700 block of Oxford Street for 25 years, said he has seen another mural in the neighborhood disappear due to economic redevelopment.

COURTESY MAZE GROUP

“There’s a mural that’s covered up now on the 1700 block of Cecil B. Moore. It was a mural of Cecil B. Moore and they covered that up. I feel some way about that because he was a civil rights leader,” Jones said. “If you’re covering it up can you at least put it somewhere else? At one time [the murals] served a purpose but the neighborhoods changed.”

“It’s a shame that such a positive influence is being destroyed, however this city is all about building new things, apartment buildings, etc., because they see the growth,” said Thelma Morgan, a social worker who has been a resident of North Philadelphia for 16 years.

Connor Sullivan, a junior architecture student at Temple who lives near 16th and Page streets, said he was sad to see the mural go.

“I’m not an advocate of covering up mural art because I’ve seen it as sort of a community organizational project and I think it’s something that even if it’s just beautification it adds a lot of value to city blocks,” Sullivan said.

“The fact that [the mural] is being covered for student housing sucks.”

Maze Group Development currently owns 50 other apartments in the neighborhood. Once Maze Group development finishes the project the rooms will begin being rented out for $630-650 per month starting in August.

The apartment building will feature a parking lot in the rear and keyless access.

Sarai Flores can be reached at sarai.flores@temple.edu.

Staff Reports | Research

Engineering deparment studies healthcare technology The Bionic Human is a class that takes an engineer’s approach to modern medical practices.

LOGAN BECK The Temple News A course within the mechanical engineering department is seeking to teach students about the developing world of technology and engineering in healthcare systems and the ethical dilemmas humans experience when treating people with machines.

Several years ago, senior faculty members in the College of Engineering were asked to develop courses that can be applied to everyday issues. Mechanical engineering department Chair Mohammad Kiani and Associate Dean George Baran developed the The Bionic Human, a class that allows students to take a closer look at healthcare and science.

In addition to the course, the College of Engineering introduced a new major into its curriculum, a bachelor of science in bioengineering, to target one of the fastest growing engineering fields in terms of employment.

“It is important for students to have a

NEWS DESK 215-204-7419

sense of what happens when you go to the doctor’s office, what they are sticking in our bodies and how you get treated for certain diseases,” Kiani said.

Kiani and Baran said students in the course gain a better understanding of how science and engineering work, as well as how new technologies are developed. Additionally, the course discusses ethical and legal implications such as cloning and lifeor-death scenarios, including whether or not to disconnect a loved one from a machine.

Although the course has been around for several years, it now features a new textbook written by Kiani and Baran.

One activity done in the course is a mock healthcare company lab to help students make decisions on what is best for them and their wallets..

“Part of finding a good job is finding good healthcare in the U.S. and understanding healthcare issues as well as insurance issues,” Kiani said.

Baran said one of the course objectives is to relate developments in technology to the lives of the students, for example, treat-

ments that their parents or grandparents have endured.

“We try to draw those stories so that students understand, and that it’s not some sort of ‘ivory tower’ discussion,” Baran said.

Lectures about cosmetic and intellectual enhancement are also included in the course. One topic being the ethical implications behind the use of Adderall in college students.

Kiani and Baran have the ultimate goal of students being more inquisitive about their healthcare in order to receive more quality time with their doctor, as well as question and analyze new scientific developments to be more educated consumers.

“Dr. Baran is the one that always says, ‘Your generation is probably going to end up voting on [how many rights] to give robots,’” Kiani said. “I know it sounds like science fiction, but maybe not. After taking a course like this, maybe you realize that it’s not that far-fetched.”

Logan Beck can be reached at logan.beck@temple.edu.

NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

Department Chair Mohammad Kiani developed a class to study healthcare technology. | ANDREW THAYER TTN

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

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Staff Reports | Emergency Response

Lag in snow alert raises questions on emergency notices First use of MIR3 system experienced 10-15 minute delay.

MARCUS MCCARTHY EDDIE BARRENECHEA The Temple News Temple’s MIR3 notification system, which is used to send mass email and text alerts to students and faculty in case of emergencies, experienced an unusual delay in operation when alerting members about the school’s closure during the Jan. 28 snowstorm.

Following a terminated first message and slower than normal second message, the notification of the cancellation was reached by all 51,047 email accounts and 23,670 phone numbers on the mailing list after almost 30 minutes.

Temple’s Financial Administration and Planning representative Moira Stoddart has worked with the MIR3 notification system since it was

first implemented at Temple in 2007.

Stoddart said that Temple issues and average of 20 notifications per semester and has had two such problems with the MIR3 system.

“Any time that you have that amount of traffic going through cellphone carriers, you are going to see a delay,” Stoddart said. “What that means for us is that a notification that usually takes seven minutes to get out, it will take roughly 13 minutes.”

The last time Temple had an issue with the MIR3 notification system was on August 23, 2011 when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake, centered in Virginia, affected the Philadelphia area. Jim Creedon, the senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations said he thinks this event similarly overwhelmed the system with an abnormally high volume of citywide data activity.

The MIR3 system has an estimated total delivery time of around seven to nine minutes by going down the list of email accounts and phone numbers on the mailing list.

“This means that some individuals begin re-

ceiving messages within two minutes,” Stoddart said, “and the last person may take seven minutes to receive the same message.”

The MIR3 uses a ‘round-robin’ system, which each recipient populates randomly, but the initiator of the notification is always the last to receive the message, Stoddart said. This is the notification of final delivery.

“This is how we are able to determine an accurate delivery time,” she said. “I am always the last to receive the message.”

Creedon said Temple officials had agreed to cancel class by around 11:30 a.m. with the first message being sent out at 12:06 p.m. After eight minutes, officials believed the message hadn’t worked so they terminated it.

“We saw that the messages weren’t moving,” Creedon said. “I remember I was looking at my phone waiting for it.”

They proceeded to resend the notification at 12:15 p.m. but officials didn’t receive the notification of final delivery until 12:31 p.m. The 15 minutes the second message took to finish was still “a

little higher than norm,” Creedon said.

The university pays around $75,000 a year to keep the program.

The process of selecting which emergency situation should be delivered by MIR3 is up to Temple’s officials.

“When an emergency situation is reported around campus, the Temple Police gets the key decision-makers on one conference call so they can determine the content of the notification,” Stoddart said.

These stakeholders include Temple University Communications, Computer Services, SFO Office and Student Affairs.

Creedon said an After Action Review will be performed by the necessary university departments to examine the university’s response to the snowstorm.

Marcus McCarthy and Eddie Barrenechea can be reached at news@temple-news.com.

Staff Reports | Athletic Cuts

New boathouse could reverse cuts for rowing teams BOATHOUSE PAGE 1

President Theobald met last week with representatives of the seven teams that were cut in December. At a press conference, Theobald separated himself from the Board of Trustees’ decision to cut the sports.| HUA ZONG TTN

With careful words, Theobald shifts burden of sports cuts After meeting with cut sports, Theobald said decison belonged to trustees, athletics.

JOEY CRANNEY Editor-in-Chief President Theobald last week seemed to attempt to distance himself from the university’s decision to eliminate seven sports, reiterating that the Board of Trustees’ vote on the matter was final but hinting that his own recommendation on the futures of the programs could change.

Twice during a 10-minute news conference on Jan. 28, Theobald separated himself from consultations made NEWS ANALYSIS by trustees and the athletic department, seemingly contradicting other instances when he attempted to communicate university ownership of the decision as a whole.

Facing questions about the futures of the cut teams, Theobald effectively left the issue up to the Board of Trustees, saying “the board made the decisions.” When asked why he didn’t consult with coaches of the affected sports before cutting, Theobald essentially faulted the athletic department.

“I consulted with the athletic department…to come up with a plan for how we could deal with these issues,” Theobald said.

“So it was through the athletic department from day one. They work through their own processes to come up with a recommendation that then came back to me.”

The decision to cut sports was ultimately up to the Board of Trustees based on a recommendation from Athletic Director

Kevin Clark. However, Theobald seemed to them.” be downplaying his own role in the cuts. He Theobald seemed to want to demonapproved Clark’s recommendation whole- strate a sense of humility, mentioning that sale. he’s only been here for 13 months and adTemple isn’t without precedent of hav- mitting that he learned much in the meetings ing a president step in on behalf of a sports about the history of the affected sports. program on the chopping block.

But Theobald said he took a pragmatic In 1986, Athletic Director Charlie Theo- approach to the information the eliminated kas wrote a recommendation to the Board teams presented. Theobald said his greatest of Trustees to eliminate 10 sports. However, concern with the eliminated programs was President Peter Liacouras modified the pro- issues with their facilities, which he outposal to save the men’s and women’s track lined specifically. & field programs. Ultimately, only eight “The boathouse was the determinant on sports were cut. the two rowing programs – Theobald’s comments the fact that we don’t have a came in his first news conferboathouse,” Theobald said. ence since the cuts were an“I am very concerned – and nounced in December. They this comes from me – about also came from a new presibaseball and softball traveldent who is likely attempting ing 34 miles round trip to to curry favor with a fraction Ambler. Track & field – the of the public that has voiced field events was the issue strong opposition to the deciNeil Theobald / president there and with gymnastics sion. we have two teams sharing Theobald spoke after one space. It’s large enough two hours worth of meetings at the Liacou- for one, but it’s not large enough for two.” ras Center with representatives of each of When asked if the cuts were final, the cut sports. Whether those meetings will Theobald said it was the board’s decision, prompt any changes to the cuts is unclear. but indicated his own recommendation Opponents of the cuts accused the meetings could change. of being a mere public relations move from “The next step is I’ll go back and rean administration that perhaps didn’t antici- view everything we have today, go through pate how bad the press would be during the all this information and if there are to be past two months. changes, I will make a recommendation to When asked the question, “Why have [the board],” Theobald said. “But at this the meeting?” Theobald said, “We planned point, we’re right where we were.” to have the meeting all along. The idea was Joey Cranney can be reached at to present the information before the holijoseph.cranney@temple.edu or on days so the kids could go home, talk to their Twitter @joey_cranney. parents, decide what they wanted to do, and then we would come back and meet with

“It was through

the athletic department from day one.

”

ministrators, including President Theobald, Athletic Director Kevin Clark, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Patrick O’Connor and Lewis Katz, chairman of the athletics committee of the board.

A coach and two studentathletes from each eliminated sport gave approximately 15-minute presentations arguing why their programs should be reinstated. The rowing teams argued that renovating the East Park Canoe House on Kelly Drive for their use could cost as little as $5 million, a far cry from the university’s $14 million estimate.

The city intends to contribute $2.5 million toward the restoration of EPCH, regardless of whether or not Temple will be a tenant, said Mark Focht, the deputy commissioner of parks & facilities for the Philadelphia Commission on Parks & Recreation.

Afterward last week’s meeting, Theobald said the fact that the rowing teams didn’t have a boathouse determined their fate in the cuts. He said the low estimate on the cost of renovating the EPCH was new information.

The Owls were housed in the EPCH from the 1920s until the building was condemned in 2008. Temple submitted a plan to the city in October 2012 to build the teams a new boathouse, but the plan was tabled in Spring 2013 after the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission asked the university to instead renovate the EPCH for its use.

The rowing teams have been competing out of tents for the past five years.

The university estimated last year that renovating the EPCH for its use would cost at least $14 million due to additions that seemed necessary considering space issues.

EPCH is a total of 9,000 square feet, according to building records. Temple wanted its new boathouse to be approximately 23,000 square feet, largely due to growth in participation on the women’s rowing team.

In the past, officials have said on multiple occasions that the EPCH is not suitable for renovation as a boathouse for Temple’s use, but now coaches are saying they’re willing to ac-

cept it as an alternative to having their sport cut.

The new proposal is to modernize the old building without expanding on the existing footprint, coaches said. “[Five million] is going to buy a lot, but I’m not sure it’s going to buy additions,” men’s crew coach Gavin White said.

“When the alternative is cutting, anything sounds good. Sure, we’d like our own new boathouse, but it’s just not a reality right now.”

The rowing teams still have to find a way to fundraise at least half of the $5 million needed to renovate EPCH and save their programs, which history has proven to be a difficult task.

It’s clear issues with fundraising were at least part of the reason that Temple withdrew its submission last year to build a new boathouse. Multiple officials said during the negotiations with the city that fundraising wouldn’t begin until the project was approved, which halted donations as a lengthy legal process played out over seven months.

The Schuylkill Navy has supported the restoring of Temple’s programs, but the organization hasn’t pledged any money, said Margaret Meigs, the commodore of the Schuylkill Navy.

Clark, the athletic director, denied an interview request for this article.

Last week’s meetings didn’t offer a clear vision for the future of the other eliminated sports – baseball, softball, men’s gymnastics and men’s track & field.

Though some of those sports, like the men’s gymnastics team, are able to fundraise a significant portion of their operating budget, issues with their facilities remain.

“I am very concerned – and this comes from me – about baseball and softball traveling 34 miles round trip to Ambler,” Theobald said. “Track & field – the field events was the issue there, and with gymnastics we have two teams sharing one space. It’s large enough for one, but it’s not large enough for two.”

Joey Cranney can be reached at joseph.cranney@temple.edu or on Twitter @joey_cranney.

Evan Cross contributed reporting.

EDITORIAL/OP-ED

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

Joey Cranney, Editor-in-Chief Jenelle Janci, Managing Editor Cheyenne Shaffer, Chief Copy Editor John Moritz, News Editor Jerry Iannelli, Opinion Editor Erin Edinger-Turoff, Living Editor Patricia Madej, Arts & Entertainment Editor Avery Maehrer, Sports Editor Marcus McCarthy, Asst. News Editor Evan Cross, Asst. Sports Editor Jessica Smith, Asst. Living Editor Sam Tighe, Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Dustin Wingate, Multimedia Editor Alexandra Snell, Multimedia Editor Chris Montgomery, Web Editor

Patrick McCarthy, Asst. Web Editor Abi Reimold, Photography Editor Andrew Thayer, Asst. Photography Editor Addy Peterson, Design Editor Katherine Kalupson, Designer E.J. Smith Designer Donna Fanelle, Designer Zachary Campbell, Advertising Manager Grayson Holladay, Business Manager Morgan Hutchinson, Marketing Manager

The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News.

Visit us online at temple-news.com.

Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com.

The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122

EDITORIALS

Reinstate the crew and rowing teams Perhaps the saddest story process. in Temple athletics today is the In October 2012, Temple plight of the men’s crew and submitted its formal proposal women’s rowing teams. to the city, which included The 27 men and 60 women a projected 23,000 squarerepresenting these programs foot, multi-level building. The as student-athletes have never coaches of the men’s crew and competed out women’s rowof proper facil- The crew and rowing teams ing team both ities at Temple. said at the time don’t deserve to suffer During early- because of the university’s that it would be morning practhe “nicest boatfailures. tices, rowers house in Ameriare resigned to using portable ca.” Executive Senior Associate restrooms without running wa- Athletic Director Mark Ingram ter. During competitions, they estimated the cost of the boatrow in boats housed out of tents house to be $8 million to $10 situated in a parking lot on Kel- million in September 2012. ly Drive, about 100 yards away However, fundraising for from St. Joseph’s University’s the project was almost immediboathouse. ately an issue.

The tents have no heat. The At a meeting of the athletOwls’ former home, the East ics committee of the Board of Park Canoe House, was con- Trustees on Sept. 19, 2012, Indemned in 2008 due to multiple gram expressed concerns about building code violations. Every fundraising strategies. other rowing college in the city “We can’t announce that competes out of a boathouse. the boathouse is happening and Athletic Director Kevin everyone get on board because Clark said he “sank his head” the 1,000 or so prospects that when he first saw the rowing we have will all give $100 and facilities last year. Clark and we’ll be sitting with [$100,000] President Theobald have said for a $10 million project,” Inthe fact that the teams don’t gram said. have a boathouse was the reaThe administration should son the university decided to have recognized Temple’s hiseliminate both Division I pro- tory of struggling to fundraise grams, effective July 1. and communicated a more Clark’s recommendation to modest proposal to the rowing eliminate the sports was made teams. Only because the univerafter a years-long process to sity insisted that the teams deacquire a plot of land to build sign a world-class facility were a new boathouse was halted, a they faced with such an expenmove that essentially ensured sive project.

When Theobald arrived at the rowing teams’ fate in the the university in January 2013, cuts.

Now, the administration there was functionally no monseems to be indicating that ey raised for one of the univerthe decision to cut the rowing sity’s most important projects. teams could be reversed if the In April 2013, Temple’s submisuniversity completes a process sion to acquire land for the boatto shelter them in a boathouse. house was tabled after several Coaches said last week that the months of back-and-forth with cost of renovating the EPCH for the city. Eight months later, the the teams’ use could be as little men’s crew and women’s rowas $5 million. Theobald said the ing programs were cut.

Now, the rowing teams are teams moving into the old boathouse would make for a “very forced to consider renovating different situation for the row- the EPCH just to avoid eliminaing programs” in terms of the tion.

Referring to the overall cuts.

However, it’s clear the uni- athletic cuts, Theobald said in a versity has failed the rowing news conference last week, “In programs, both in its decision to no way at all, is this the fault of give up on getting the teams a anyone but this university. We new boathouse and its fumbling got ourselves in this mess, we should not punish the students of the entire ordeal.

Envision the nicest boat- in any way to get out of it.”

We second that claim. The house in the country and we will build it for you, the university university should start by gettold the rowing teams in 2011, ting the rowing teams their long multiple coaches said. Men’s overdue boathouse and restorcrew coach Gavin White was ing their Division I status. heavily involved in the design

CORRECTIONS The Temple News strives to be a newspaper of record by printing factually correct and balanced articles. Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor-in-Chief Joey Cranney at editor@temple-news.com or 215.204.6737.

JULIANA COPPA TTN

FROM THE ARCHIVES...

Feb. 15, 1994: Men’s basketball coach John Chaney suspended after threatening to “kill” University of Massachusetts coach John Calipari. Last week, a statue of Chaney was unveiled at the Liacouras Center.

OP-ED...

Why did Temple stand with Israel?

Was Temple right in ignoring a boycott of Israeli universities?

By Burton Caine The American Studies Association has voted to boycott Israeli academic institutions because many American professors disapprove of how Israel treats Palestinian Arabs. And yet, there has not been a word of condemnation from the association for any other countries, including Israel’s neighbors, Syria, where more than 100,000 Arabs have been slaughtered – many with chemical weapons – and Egypt, where democracy has been overthrown by a military coup.

Prominent American universities have condemned the ASA boycott, and Temple joined the list in January.

Temple is absolutely right, and it should have supplemented its action with concrete illustrations of how its history of cooperation with Israeli academic institutions and others has furthered the goals that the ASA claims it supports. As director of the Temple Law School Israel Program for more than 25 years, I am in a position to describe that history.

In 1976, Temple Chancellor Peter Liacouras, then-dean of the law school, entered into an agreement with Professor

Aharon Barak, then-dean of Hebrew University Faculty of Law, to establish a summer program for American students to study in Israel.

When I joined the Temple Law School in 1978 and became director of the Israel program, I moved it to Tel Aviv University to improve access to the Middle East peace process.

Courses in the peace process were added with prominent Palestinians participating. These included Sari Nusseibeh, whose family in Jerusalem goes back hundreds of years and who later became president of Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem.

Students would later attend lectures there. Later, I lectured to Palestinian students under the auspices of the American embassy.

When peace came between Egypt and Israel, I arranged annual visits to Egypt to discuss how this American-Israeli program could include Arab countries to foster the peace process.

Butros Butros-Ghali, then Secretary General of the United Nations, praised the program.

When peace was established with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Marwan Muasher, the Jordanian ambassador, lectured in the program. Annual visits to Jordan by students and Israeli professors were instituted. In addition, I inaugurated symposia on the peace process in Israel and various cities in

the United States, including Philadelphia.

High-ranking diplomats from the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and the United States participated.

The symposium at Tel Aviv University on July 17, 1996 was published in the Temple Law Review. United States Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk represented this country and Professor Saeb Erekat represented the Palestinian Authority.

Both of these diplomat-scholars are presently representing their countries in the negotiations for peace in the Middle East arranged by Secretary of State John Kerry. Representatives from Jordan and Egypt, as well as Israel, participated.

Students in the Temple Israel Program from all over the United States together with Israeli professors participated in our academic efforts to advance the peace process and many have cited the visits as the high point in their academic studies. On one of the excursions to Egypt, the government arranged a party on feluccas, a type of sailboat, on the Nile where a banquet with music and belly dancers was topped off with the comment by an Egyptian official, “Isn’t this better than making war?”

Palestinian students not only participated in classes but also lived in Tel Aviv University dormitories with American, Israeli and Jordanian students in

the program. When we took an Egyptian student to dinner at a restaurant in Tel Aviv, he took a napkin with Hebrew writing to show his bride-to-be that peace with Israel was possible.

Israeli scholars have been prominent not only for their academic achievements and as Nobel Prize laureates, but also in their defense of Arab rights.

Barak, who recently retired as president of the Supreme Court of Israel, has been especially prominent. Barak was selected by the Harvard Law Review, the preeminent scholarly legal journal, to write an article on the duties of a judge in a democracy.

It has been required reading for democratic systems throughout the world.

This pioneering program

by Beasley School of Law to advance knowledge and further the peace process in the ArabIsrael conflict should be made known in explicit detail to all who may not realize the damage that will flow inevitably to American as well as Israeli academic institutions, and to the peace process itself, from the boycott that the ASA has voted to impose upon Israeli institutions of higher learning.

Burton Caine is the former director of Temple Law’s Israel program. He can be reached at bcaine@temple.edu.

COMMENTARY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

PAGE 5

THE ESSAYIST...

A sibling’s descent When a family member spirals into mental illness, is anyone to blame?

O

by Jerry Iannelli

JUSTIN SMITH TTN

Snow days, snow problem Some say Temple doesn’t cancel class often enough when snow strikes.

N

o, I don’t think it’s a myth.”

Lauren Johnson, a junior transfer student, like a significant amount of her peers, asserted her view on one of the most common and frustrating winter struggles for Temple’ s students: the university’s supposed lack of snow days.

At her old college in Maryland, Romsin McQuade “at the sight of snow, they’d cancel the day before, whereas [at Temple], I have to check my phone at six in the morning to see if there’s a TU Alert,” Johnson said.

“I guess most of it is that since we’re such a big commuter school that we need to have safety,” she added.

As a commuter, I understand this familiar situation. It starts the same way every day: I head to the train station relatively early in the morning, attempting to find some solace in the blistering weather, standing beside half-asleep commuters – including employees, employers and students alike. Then I step onto the train, slightly

panning my head to see if any vacant seats remain on the car behind me. If there aren’t any, I make a quick move toward the other car, struggling to find a place on the notoriously crowded Trenton line.

It’s certainly an odd situation to be involved in at 6:30 a.m., but, considering the thousands of other students who have to drive or take SEPTA buses, I shouldn’t be complaining.

T w o weeks ago during the university’s closing, cancellations might have beguiled some freshmen, but many students were quick to circulate the seemingly long-standing myth of Temple rarely canceling classes.

Soon enough, however, I was relieved. The TU Alert, describing the cancellation, arrived – albeit more than an hour after it was issued, due to problems connecting to the Internet, most likely because of the weather.

This relief would not have been the case 10 years ago when in order for Temple to close, there would have to be a “storm of the century,” Chief Financial Officer Ken Kaiser said.

When the university switched and began to adopt – as all colleges should – a more

accurate cancellation policy is not fully clear, but Kaiser said that up until five years ago, Temple really didn’t cancel classes that often. Temple’s “Inclement Weather and Unscheduled Campus Closings” policy was last amended in Sept. 2012, and is scheduled for a review in Sept. 2014.

Kaiser also said the university employs myriad guidelines for canceling classes, some of which consist of convening a board that decides whether to close the university, analyzing and observing whether the SEPTA train and bus schedules are running on time, checking whether the day is a regular schedule and listening to weather advisories.

So, what could have caused this myth to persist into 2014?

Perhaps it’s the fact that – from available data dating back through Sept. 2012 – there were only four days where snowfall caused the university to enact any sort of campus closing or class cancellation, and all four came in Jan. 2014. Save the past month, a university spokesman said he couldn’t remember campus being closed very often at all in the last few years.

“Two weeks ago...

many students were quick to circulate the seemingly longstating myth that Temple rarely cancels classes.

”

According to the National Climatic Data Center’s Regional Snowfall Index, two snowstorms, one in Feb. 2013 listed as “major” and one in March 2013 listed as “significant,” hit the Philadelphia area in that timeframe. It is unclear as to why classes were not canceled in the aftermath of both storms.

Regardless, Johnson repeated a common sentiment, saying that Temple is “a big commuter school, so we need to have safety.”

Kaiser estimated that only half of Temple’s population commutes, with around 15,000 commuters and another 15,000 residents on or near Main Campus.

While Temple may be more of a “half and half” school than a full-fledged commuter school nowadays, 15,000 commuting students is still a population larger than many small towns. This means that, in the event that a blizzard may strike the morning rush hour on the Schuylkill Expressway, many Owls are forced to skid across the highway to get to class when inclement weather hits.

While it would be silly to assume that Temple’s administration does not have the best interests of its commuter students at heart, perhaps some more preemptive cancellation practices are in order.

Romsin McQuade can be reached at romsin.mcquade@temple.edu.

ne can always pick out a dancer by the way he or she walks.

They walk with supernatural poise; their shoulders lifted and steady, each step bounding rhythmically into the next as if waiting for a band to strike up a waltz at any moment.

My sister still glides across our house with grace, her feet silently padding along the floor as she wanders from room to room without thought. Her gait is one of the few things left to remind me that she is still the same girl I grew up with; that if she can still command her tendons and ligaments and wrench them into a plié, she will soon again be able to do the same for her brain.

She was seated at our kitchen table – a slab of pine-green granite that our parents cemented onto the floor when they were still an item – gaping wideeyed across at me as daylight streamed in from the room’s bay window. A dehydrated Christmas tree cast a shadow over my side of the table.

“Are you at least going to eat something this morning?” my mother asked, her head buried away in a magazine near the coffee pot.

She did not respond, but instead began twisting a lock of hair into knots with both of her hands. She’d taken to keeping a calendar on the table near the centerpiece, and after a few moments of pregnant silence, began scribbling notes onto past days in blue ink, an obsession the doctors say is typical of those slipping into a psychotic episode.

“Why does Jan. 2 matter so much to you?” I asked, watching her fill a date on the calendar with notes.

“It’s no use,” my mother interjected from across the room, her head in a magazine. “She can’t hear you anyhow.”

“I can hear him fine.” My head snapped up to focus on her.

Instead of speaking, my sister exhaled deeply and turned her gaze. “If I could just go back then … back then and restart…”

My mother slammed her palm down onto the countertop.

“Restart? Restart what? What can you possibly restart from a day that already happened?” she exclaimed.

When pressured, my sister loses the ability to speak. She clutches herself and the muscles in her face tighten, the rational parts of her brain fighting to move the pistons in a flooded engine.

“Your father is adamant she’s on the wrong medication,” my mother chided as she walked over and rested her hands on a

kitchen chair. “He wants her on the same medicine he takes.”

“He takes medication?

What medication?”

“Oh, I don’t even know anymore,” she shrugged. “He’s been on and off a load of crap since he spent that week on the couch when you two were kids.”

“He always said he had the flu.”

My mother milled about, cleaning the kitchen, dabbing a rag under the sink and scrubbing a nonexistent spot on the counter.

“He couldn’t have warned us?” I asked after watching her for a few moments.

“He… he was embarrassed.”

Mental illness has plagued my family for generations. I essentially lived in our basement as a teenager, wallowing in a depression I couldn’t control. It was not sad-sack melancholy: It was the sort of chemical imbalance that makes music sound grey and meals taste beige and traps you in bed each afternoon as you struggle to find a valid reason to exist. When my sister moved away to pursue a degree in dance performance, she’d returned home sputtering and broken after a single semester.

Exasperated, my mother walked into the living room, hoisted a laundry basket up to her chest and began to carry it upstairs. I leapt out of my seat to follow her. She began pairing socks in the upstairs hallway.

“Does it matter anymore?” she asked, her words swallowed by the vaulted ceiling.

“This kind of thing runs in families, you know. Were you both just waiting around and hoping we’d all turn out alright?”

“You know that’s not fair to me,” she said. She folded a towel unevenly and chucked it into the pile that she’d created in the hallway.

When a loved one is diagnosed with a genetic disease like cancer or cerebral palsy, you don’t run around pointing fingers, attempting to figure out exactly which of your family members is to blame for the affected party’s condition. Yet, this is precisely what happens when mental illness – simply a disease like any other – strikes someone you love. You stare at your mother and father – and yourself – irrationally wondering which of you “broke” your only sibling.

“You left and got along fine,” my mother said after a prolonged silence. “At what point were we supposed to just let you both go?”

A specter had drifted to the foot of the stairs on the balls of her feet. I don’t know how long she’d been there.

Jerry Iannelli can be reached at jerryi@temple.edu or on Twitter @jerryiannelli.

Should students trust Main Campus solicitors?

Think twice before giving your cash to “charity.”

L

awrence,” the solicitor who roamed Main Campus claiming to be from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, has now been confirmed to not have any affiliation with the group; a representative from BGCP said the organization does not solicit on Main Campus, and they Joe Brandt advised Temple students to “be wary” of him. This wariness toward possibly shady characters roaming campus

ought to be the rule, instead of the exception.

Temple offers some help as to verifying who is trustworthy through its agreements with businesses on campus. All of the businesses that accept Diamond Dollars, such as Subway, Mecca Unisex Salon and the Fresh Grocer, have been verified by Temple as legitimate, or at least not a scam.

Businesses on Main Campus can apply to be a vendor in the Student Center, where they must fill out a form that requires a name, business address and a vendor license number.

Vendors applying for space in the Student Center must use tables provided by Temple and must stay at their tables. None of the various sites for potential vendors list anything about soliciting on foot. Therefore, the chances

OPINION DESK 215-204-7416

are high that a solicitor on foot has not received university approval and thus is worthy of skepticism.

In addition to Temple’s contribution to verifying options for student consumers, the Better Business Bureau helps in promoting ethical businesses and denouncing scammers. “BBB helps people find and recommend businesses, brands and charities they can trust,” according to the website for the greater Mid-Atlantic regional chapter of the BBB. A helpful article on the website of the organization’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter describes what makes scammers tick. “Being a successful con man often depends on your ability to persuade people to ignore common sense and their own best interests,” it says. Further along in the article is a

crucial piece of advice: “There’s no excuse for moving ahead when the only person satisfied with the situation is the person who stands the most to gain from you writing a check.”

Besides “Lawrence,” there have been other unverified campus solicitors, such as an unidentified bearded white male in his late 20s who sells magazine subscriptions. He typically wears a large top hat.

Shelby Guercio, a freshman geology major, said the man approached her last semester, and after a brief introduction immediately asked for her credit card information to subscribe to Image Magazine, a fashion magazine based out of North Jersey. Though he did have a copy of the magazine, he would not take “no” for an answer when Guercio raised the possibility

LETTERS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

that she would just sign up online instead. A representative from Image said the magazine ceased production in 2011 and has not associated with solicitors.

If you are stopped on your way around Main Campus and asked for a donation to a charity that doesn’t exist or to subscribe to a magazine you’ve never heard of, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Always do your research first. Consider the fact that these people are out for your money, regardless of whether they provide you with a product or service. If you want to feel charitable, Philabundance and the Red Cross are viable, legitimate options, and Paley Library has plenty of magazines for your viewing pleasure.

Joe Brandt can be reached at joseph. brandt@temple.edu or on Twitter @jbrandt7.

NEWS

PAGE 6

TSG pushes Sodexo on long lines, health Student Government lobbies Business Services for reform in dining halls.

JOE GILBRIDE The Temple News Temple Student Government leaders met with officials from Sodexo last week to discuss the state of dining services on campus.

Members of TSG said students have stressed the need for healthier STUDENT GOVERNMENT options, shorter lines and better food quality at campus restaurants and dining halls.

The most recent Sodexo expansion, the Morgan Hall dining complex, has seen many complaints about long waits and slow customer service during peak hours, Student Body President Darin Bartholomew said.

Bartholomew said officials from Temple’s Business Services have approached Sodexo about keeping establishments open later, in order to prevent students from wandering into the neighborhoods surrounding campus late at night to get food.

“We are becoming more of a 24/7 campus,” Bartholomew said. “All of our services need to reflect that.”

Business Services, which controls the placement and operating hours of all outsideowned businesses on campus, responded well to the proposals brought by TSG and Sodexo, Bartholomew said.

“We were met with very open ears from all Temple administrators,” Bartholomew said.

Last semester, TSG successfully lobbied to extend the hours at Cosí in Pearson & Mc-

Gonigle halls and Bartholomew said TSG would try to change the hours at other locations on Main Campus as well.

At its meeting with TSG members, Sodexo vowed to increase healthy options on campus. Sodexo said it would extend the availability of salad bars and wraps to weekends for both Morgan Hall and the Student Center. The food provider will also add calorie-count menus to the establishments at Morgan Hall.

During the Jan. 30 TSG meeting, director of student affairs Ifeoma Ezeugwu announced she would form a committee to get more feedback from students about dining services. The committee will return with suggestions for Sodexo within the month, Ezeugwu said.

Ezeugwu said Sodexo didn’t make any indication of adding more restaurants that specialized in healthy food, but would instead try to increase healthy options in existing restaurants and dining halls.

Addressing complaints of long lines at dining halls, Sodexo officials stressed that most long waits, especially at Morgan Hall, come from the made-toorder process, which makes reducing wait times hard. Sodexo said it would train employees with new methods to speed up food preparation.

At the meeting, Sodexo did not address the prices of food at campus establishments compared with outside restaurants.

“Students in residence halls are required to have a meal plan,” Bartholomew said. “We need to make sure their dining experience is the best it can be. For others, it’s their choice whether they want to use the dining options on campus.”

In The Nation COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER IN WASHINGTON FIRST TO COME OUT Conner Mertens, a place kicker with Willamette University in Oregon became the first active college football player to come out publicly. He announced to his head coach, then his team, that he is bisexual on Jan. 20.

His head coach, Glen Fowles, said he was scared that the announcement would be that Mertens, a redshirt freshman who had enjoyed recent success at his position, was transferring. Fowles said Mertens’ sexual orientation will not affect his standing on the team.

-Marcus McCarthy

MAP SHOWS PHILLY REQUIRES AVERAGE 6’’ OF SNOW TO CLOSE SCHOOLS A national map published on the website Reddit shows the average snowfall needed to close schools by county. The City of Philadelphia had an average of 6 inches needed in snowfall to close down schools.

This average is in line with yesterday’s

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

school closings with snowfall estimates reaching up to 6 inches.

The data used was taken from NOAA’s average annual snowfall days map and “hundreds of various points from user responses.” The user that created and posted the map is named atrubetskoy.

-Marcus McCarthy

CONGRESS ISSUES REPORT ASKING FOR TRANSPARENCY IN COLLEGE SEX ASSAULTS REPORTING Congressional members sent the U.S. Department of Education a letter last week asking for more transparency in sexual assault cases on college campuses. The letter asked for records of colleges and universities under investigation for alleged failures to respond to sexual misconduct to be published for the public.

The letter was backed by a bipartisan group of legislators in the House of Representatives.

“It shouldn’t be a guessing game if the Department of Education has found a history of colleges and universities failing to respond to sexual violence,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), one of the supporters of the letter’s statements, said.

-Marcus McCarthy

Crime 16TH STREET STABBING LEAVES ONE IN HOSPITAL, ONE IN CUSTODY An argument between two men led to a stabbing outside an apartment on the 1700 block of 16th Street that left a 31-year-old in stable condition at Hahnemann University Hospital Monday night, Jan. 27.

Terry Bell, 45, of the 4500 block of North Gratz Street was arrested by Philadelphia Police and charged with aggravated assault and related offenses, a spokeswoman from the police department said.

The victim was first punched in the left side of his head – requiring three stitches – and then stabbed in the left shoulder, police said. Neither the victim nor the offender are affiliated with the university, according to Campus Safety Services.

A group of students who live in the house next to the incident described a bloody scene.

“What caught my attention was multiple cop cars showed up outside my apartment,” senior international business major Katie Crail said. “I immediately saw blood in the street along with articles of clothing. I also saw blood on a white car that was parked on Montgomery right outside my window.”

-John Moritz

Joe Gilbride can be reached at joe.gilbride@temple.edu.

Grad rates targeted in affordability pact GRAD PAGE 1

sity.

Theobald has consistently stated that four-year graduation rates are one of the leading factors in controlling student debt, and in an interview yesterday, said he would like to see Temple’s four-year graduation rate grow above 50 percent in five years. The current graduation rate is 43 percent.

Theobald said appropriate cuts would be made annually to the university’s budget to account for the scholarships.

A second aspect of the program, a four-year graduation guarantee, will apply to students who receive the scholarship as well as others who commit to a plan organized with academic advisors. If students are unable to graduate on time due to courses not being available when needed, the university will cover the tuition cost of the remaining credits. The guarantee and scholarship will also apply to five-year bachelorette programs.

Students who form agreements with the university will have to meet with an academic advisor at least once each semester, register for classes during early registration and move up in class standing every year.

The average student at Temple works more than 15 hours a week in off-campus jobs, according to the university. Theobald estimated that more than 10,000 students work part-time or full-time to support themselves.

“The goal is not only to lower debt, but also have kids have a better educational experience at Temple because they’re

not having to split their time between off-campus work and their studies,” Theobald said.

The “Fly in 4” program will go into effect with the Class of 2018 and the university will add 500 recipients to the scholarship every year until the total number reaches 2,000. Current students will not be eligible for the scholarship or four-year guarantee.

Internships, whether paid or unpaid, will not be included in a student’s working hours for the purposes of the scholarship. The scholarship applies to fall and spring semesters and will not cover summer classes.

Four-year guarantees have been instituted at several other universities in the United Sates.

In Fall 2012, the University of Buffalo instituted its “Finish in 4” program that, like Temple’s, offers freshmen the option of signing a pledge to follow an outlined four-year path, which if hampered due to a class not being offered, will pay for a student’s fifth year.

The University of Buffalo added 30,000 extra seats in high-demand courses to finish its promise. A Temple spokesperson stressed that much of the administrative aspects of Temple’s “Fly in 4” programs have yet to be decided.

While the “Fly in 4” program plan is to provide scholarship money to 2,000 students out of the university’s general fund, Theobald said that an increase in alumni giving and donation could expand the scope of the scholarship campaign.

Temple Health Systems’ high proportion of indigent healthcare led to financial drain and debt that caused a credit downgrade by three major agencies in 2013, according to officials familiar with Temple Health Systems. | HUA ZONG TTN FILE PHOTO

Turbulent finances threaten TUH

on the university’s greater financial landscape, culminating in last year’s credit rating threats and downgrades that could have serious repercussions on the Health System’s borrowing power.

A blurry line separates the university and its hospital namesake. Both are considered separate corporations and hence have separate credit ratings. But the university has been a consistent balloon of financial support to its sister campus up Broad Street and direct difficulties of the hospital become indirect to the university.

“Although we’re separate corporations, it all still reports up to the president,” Kaiser said. “[The Health System’s] ability to borrow money is greatly affected by the credit rating. So if they get downgraded, they have less and less access to capital.”

It’s one more installment in a torrid financial history for Temple University Hospital, which has found itself front and center since three high profile federal credit agencies – Moody’s, Fitch’s and Standard & Poor’s – threatened downgrades to the university’s credit rating this summer, citing its ties to the Health System.

“The review for downgrade reflects our concern that the link between Temple University John Moritz and Marcus (Temple) and Temple UniversiMcCarthy can be reached at ty Health System (TUHS) may news@temple-news.com. stress resources of the univer-

HOSPITAL PAGE 1 sity with TUHS’s downgrade to patients are covered by governBa2, negative,” according to a ment programs, so it’s what we July 2013 report from Moody’s would call a very weak payer Investor Service. mix. [There’s] not a lot of peoA consistently weak finan- ple with private insurance.” cial history, the report said, is At first glance, strides in further weighed down by the healthcare reform would appear challenges of the hospital’s ex- to be the health system’s saving tenuating factors: low-income grace. But Kaiser isn’t so sure. neighborhoods that New marfoster crime and ketplaces don’t attract private could take insurers. m o n e y “[The Health away from System] has been public asoperating under sistance, great stress for probleaving ably five plus years many who or so, kind of coinchose not ciding with the marto invest ket crash,” Kaiser in the Afsaid.

Ken Kaiser / chief financial officer f o r d a b l e The health sysCare Act tem, the report says, market“is challenged by a weak funda- place – and the health system mental credit profile, including that serves them – at a disadvanchallenging demographics, a tage.

“It’s too early to fully aphighly leveraged balance sheet, and increasing dependence on preciate the impact of the Afsupplemental Commonwealth fordable Care Act on the delivery and financing of healthcare,” funding.”

That’s not news to Kai- Jeremy Walter, a spokesman for ser, who said the system is in a the hospital said in an email. unique landscape, both literally “Clearly, though, the provisions and financially, which doesn’t of the ACA have not been senease its course through financial sitive enough in addressing the vital role of large, urban safetyhardship.

“Location and the popu- net hospitals like Temple Unilation that the hospital serves versity Hospital.”

The problem, Kaiser said, are one of the major issues that influences their financial per- is that the new system could formance,” Kaiser said. “Over drain money from public assis80 percent of the hospital’s in- tance funds, which many of the

“Over 80 percent

of the hospital’s inpatients are covered by government programs.

”

system’s patients rely on heavily. But the nascence of the new healthcare system makes predictions impossible, Kaiser said.

“In effect, Temple University Hospital is Philly’s public hospital,” Kaiser said. “So that’s a challenge.”

It’s not, however, a challenge that was unexpected.

Even with the credit downgrade, Kaiser said the health systems’ financial health was always of concern, and that university officials knew that the actual rating was only an outgrowth of the institution’s deeper problems.

“We knew the issues that were going on with the health system. We weren’t concerned with the rating per se, but concerned with the underlying reasons for the rating,” Kaiser said.

But, he added, he believes the hospital is on track to meet their budget this time around.

Although it’s early in the fiscal year, Kaiser said he expects the hospital to a make a modest step forward after the downgrade.

“At this point, things look like they could be on-budget,” he said. “They could be a little worse, they could be a little better.”

Ali Watkins can be reached at allison.watkins@ temple.edu or on Twitter @AliMarieWatkins.

LIVING

owlery.temple-news.com

NEW SORORITY

CALMING CLASS

Alpha Xi Delta works to establish itself on Main Campus this spring semester. After recruiting, E-board members will be selected.

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One professor’s efforts to establish a class on meditation within the religion department have been in consideration for two years .

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temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

CAT LOVERS UNITE

Theresa Martin organizes “Temple Cats,” a Facebook page where people gather to help save the stray population on Main Campus. ONLINE

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STEM fields seek local student interest Temple’s STEM program attempts to matriculate high school students.

ERIN EDINGER-TUROFF Living Editor

L

ast Saturday, Philadelphia high school students crowded around worktables at the College of Engineering, meticulously assembling contraptions of their design – one group launched a marble from a slingshot into a box, where it rolled through a system they’d created and knocked over a line of dominos.

After successful demolition, cheers erupted to celebrate the functioning design.

The students were participating

in the Robotics Skills Academy, one experience available with the Pennsylvania Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program, a part of Temple’s Science Technology Engineering and Math program. They each came from schools associated with the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

Temple’s MESA program, one of the oldest and largest STEM programs in the country, strives to matriculate students through the system into higher education. In 2013, Pennsylvania MESA became nationally recognized for its award-winning computer science/mobile app and engineering programs.

Jamie Bracey, director of STEM’s Education, Outreach and Research and founding director of Pennsylvania MESA, said MESA aims to extend the possibilities of a STEM career path to

minority and female students.

“My passion is around the potential of people to take information and change their lives,” Bracey said. “It’s simple – a little knowledge goes a long way.”

She said a number of Pennsylvania MESA graduates who went through the program in high school are now pursuing degrees at Philadelphia universities, including Temple, Villanova and Drexel. One of those students, freshman journalism major and computer science minor Zuliesuivie Ball, said without the program, she would never John Leigh, the program director at Pennsylvania MESA, organizes have been interested in technology.

“My main goal was to get into programs and events for the different programs held at Temple’s College of Temple,” Ball said. “I went [to Penn- Engineering, including Robotic Skills Academy. | TAYLOR SPICER TTN sylvania MESA] every Saturday, and I actually grew a passion – the program “[If] you don’t see girls, or someThat’s exactly what Temple’s sparked an interest in that field.” one of your own kind in [the field], it’s STEM program hopes to avoid with Ball said she’d like to see more intimidating,” Ball said. “Like, ‘I don’t STEM PAGE 16 girls get involved in the program. want to be part of this.’”

Cloud Coffee helps brew community art

Cloud Coffee will host an art competition among their truck clients and donate money to a local artist workshop. PAGE 14. | SKYLER BURKHART TTN

Keating comedically claims O’Brien relation Recycling is Greg Keating’s viral video claiming to be Conan O’Brien’s son has gotten attention.

JESSICA SMITH Asst. Living Editor Junior advertising major Greg Keating has already completed two New Year’s resolutions: reaching out to his biological father and catching the attention of comedy legend Conan O’Brien.

It was easy, since he alleges they’re the same person.

The Verona, N.J., native, who said he has had suspicions since the third grade about his relation to O’Brien, described in detail his similarities to the latenight talk show host in a video posted to YouTube on Jan. 8 called “Conan? Dad?”

“People start to tell me all the time that I look like Conan O’Brien,” Keating said. “You start to wonder, ‘Is there something more to it?’ You get a gut feeling.”

In the video, Keating said his mother worked as a producer on “NBC News at Sunrise” in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, three floors above the “Late Night” studio where O’Brien was starting his stint as host. Keating claimed she was fired in 1993 after becoming pregnant.

Keating, a WHIP Radio broadcaster, said he discovered this information through his own “detective work.” In an interview with Boston Magazine, Keating said he found his mother’s old NBC files and pay stubs in an upstairs cabinet.

“She doesn’t want to talk about it though,” Keating said.

“That’s kind of making it hard, at least for right now. She’s been quiet by choice. She doesn’t

LIVING DESK 215-204-7416

more than just bins

RecycleMania promotes awareness of separating trash and recyclables.

A

s the “RecycleMania Tournament” is in swing at Temple, the university looks to shrink its trash output and improve its environmental footprint. However, this may not be an easy task, Toby Forstater though it Green Living seems recyGreg Keating addressed talk show host O’Brien in a viral video. | DANIELLE NELSON TTN cling should want to get involved.” through comedy, something he the video with the help of high be second nature to people of Keating decided to per- said he is familiar with and has school friends Ryan Denora, our generation. sonally reach out to O’Brien an interest in. He wrote and shot

CONAN PAGE 15

LIVING@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

RECYCLE PAGE 15

LIVING

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Artwork helps fund Haitian orphanage HAITI PAGE 1

be raffled off at the end of the night.

All of the money made from the raffle with go directly toward aiding the orphanage and its surrounding community. The group has high hopes of helping to move the orphanage to a safer location, which McDevitt said is their ultimate goal.

“Right now we are trying to make the best of the building the orphanage is in,” McDevitt said.

“But eventually we are hoping they can move off the land – it’s hard, it’s a lot of money.”

In addition to holding fundraisers, members of Temple’s Project Haiti travel to Haiti each year to help the community firsthand. Members said the trip is an unforgettable opportunity to see how their work is making an impact.

“There has been a group of about six students so far that have gone to Haiti, and every one of them has walked away with a moving and life-changing experience and this passion to help others,” McDevitt said.

“Through that, I think a lot of change is made and people are more passionate about these fundraisers and dedicated to raising money.”

Another senior member of Project Haiti, Joe McGovern, said his life changed drastically after he went on the charitable trip.

“Going to Haiti, spending time at the orphanage we sponsor and meeting the children we help support, reinforced all the reasons I joined and strengthened the connection I had with the orphanage,” the engineering major said. “It gave me a purpose aside from just going to school for the degree.”

New members of the group anticipate their chance to visit Haiti after this year’s fundraising efforts.

“I am most excited to see the kids and help out with whatever they need us to do,” junior education major Holly Miller said.

McGovern said that while raising money and helping rebuild and repair the orphanage are vital parts of what they do, giving the people of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite the tools and education to help themselves is also important.

“One of the best ways to help is through education from within,” McGovern said. “We work to teach [the Haitians] to be self-sufficient.”

McDevitt said giving the Haitians knowledge to build their own stable environment is

“Going to Haiti,

spending time at the orphanage we sponsor and meeting the children we help support reinforced all the reasons I joined...

”

Joe McGovern / senior

as important as lending a hand in the process. The community needs a strong framework in order to maintain basic societal needs, such as clean water, she said.

“The water that they use is the same water that they drink, bathe, use to make food – it’s just very unclean, so sanitation is a huge problem in the village,” McDevitt said.

Recognizing and understanding the danger in these conditions, Project Haiti members said improving the environment is a top priority.

“It’s all about teaching the Haitians how to build a community, how to get clean water

(Above) Meredith McDevitt and Joe McGovern sell baked goods to raise money for Project Haiti. Next week, Artists for Haiti will raffle off artwork by Tyler students to raise additional funds. | KARA MILSTEIN TTN when it rains, making sure the water is evenly dispersed so it doesn’t flood, things like that,” McDevitt said.

As difficult as the conditions are for the community that

Temple’s Project Haiti is helping, members said that in their efforts to help, the Haitians are educating them in return.

“The orphanage’s slogan right now is, ‘What I have been

given, I give back freely,’ and I just thought that was so beautiful,” McDevitt said. “They really appreciate everything, and it teaches you to appreciate things, too.”

Alexa Bricker can be reached at abricke1@temple.edu.

Potential course would promote serenity A religion professor wants to teach meditation in a new class.

CLAIRE SASKO The Temple News Shigenori Nagatomo said he knows college can be stressful, so he’s proposing a course he believes will help.

Nagatomo, who’s been a professor of religion for 26 INSIDE THE CLASSROOM years, said he plans to call the course “Total Awareness: Meditation and Well-Being.” The goal is for students to approach, as the title suggests, “total awareness,” otherwise described as balance of the mind, body and spirit, through meditation and the foundational texts of Yoga, Buddhism and Daoism.

“We have a lot of technology to manage things outside of ourselves, but school doesn’t teach us how to manage ourselves or our emotions,” Nagatomo said. “Meditation is the way of entering that domain.”

Nagatomo, who received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Hawaii and has written and translated more than 10 books, said he believes this course has the potential to benefit many students psychologically. He stressed that students don’t always need to rely on prescription medication to deal with psychological issues, of which many students at Temple suffer, he said.

“At the beginning of each semester I distrib-

ute a sheet of paper and ask students to jot down whatever issues or concerns bother them,” Nagatomo said. “Many students at Temple [say they] have a lot of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.”

Many of these students approach Nagatomo outside of class with concerns about their issues in hopes that proper breathing and meditation can alleviate the stress, he said.

“Most people who have this anxiety issue have their energy stored in their head,” Nagatomo said. “I teach them to bring their energy down. If you learn to do that, then you won’t become as anxious.”

Through “Total Awareness: Meditation and Well-Being,” Nagatomo said he would teach the importance of dispersing energy equally throughout the body. He emphasized that this can be achieved with a strong connection between the mind and the body.

“Stress is a very difficult thing to deal with because we have a body,” he said. “For example, when you’re really upset, you may not be able to eat because your stomach isn’t working right.

Mediation is related to how to regulate your body by way of breathing. Breathing is very, very important because it is connected to activity of internal organs and how you maintain your emotional state.”

Nagatomo said many students whom he’s taught in his religion courses have already benefited from various breathing exercises he informed them about, which are derived from meditation.

One of them is Jackson Lukas, who graduated

from Temple in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

“There was an experiential or kinesthetic part of philosophy that I longed for,” Lukas said.

“Nagatomo’s classes had that element in them, and so I became totally fascinated with the material we covered in his class.”

Lukas also met with Nagatomo outside of class, which he said many students have also done. The professor works to help students develop their awareness of meditation. “[Nagatomo] will use his understanding of meditation and psychology and prescribe to the student some breathing method to practice for 15 minutes a day for two weeks,” Lukas said. “At the end of those two weeks, students will come back to [Nagatomo] and say really amazing things about the breathing method or meditation and how it functioned to make them feel a world better.”

If “Total Awareness: Meditation and WellBeing” is approved to become a course, Nagatomo said he could more efficiently increase this knowledge among the student body. However, Nagatomo wrote the course proposal two years ago and it has taken more time than expected to move through the course proposal system to the General Education Executive Committee, the board that accepts or rejects new gen-ed classes.

At one point, Nagatomo said, he was told his proposal was lost in the process of review.

It is likely that more students would take the course if it was offered as a gen-ed, Nagatomo said, but the process would be much slower than if he chooses to propose it as a religion course.

Shigenori Nagatomo hopes to establish a new course about meditation. | COURTESY SHIGENORI NAGATOMO

“I would have to wait two years,” Nagatomo said. “I don’t know if I have the patience, because I’ve already waited for two years.”

Lukas said he believes the class would be of value to the student body.

“I think if students started properly meditating for 15 or 20 minutes a day, or five, however much they can, it would be great,” Lukas said.

“But they should have some intellectual understanding of the practice to serve as inspiration and guidance, which is why Nagatomo’s new course is so crucial.”

Claire Sasko can be reached at claire.sasko@temple.edu.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A SENSE OF PERMANENCY

PAINTING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Tattoo artists and advocates gathered at the annual Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention was held this past weekend at the Convention Center.

PAGE 14

On Wednesday, Elizabeth Garson will get the final decision as to whether or not she’ll be abel to complete her plans for a new arts market at the corner of Broad and Washington Streets. PAGE 10

temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

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Fantasy Menagerie

Artist Lynnette Shelley is running her exhibit “Menagerie” at the Painted Bride until Feb. 16.

CHELSEA FINN The Temple News When artist Lynnette Shelley’s mother told her Irish fables and fairytales as a child, she probably didn’t expect it’d permeate into her future career.

A story enthusiast and animal lover, Shelley is also a Philadelphia-based artist from Delaware who has an exhibit, called “Menagerie,”

at the Painted Bride Art Center on display until Feb. 16.

“I’ve always liked animals as I grew up,” Shelley said. “As I got older, I read about various mythologies. I would read anything in that realm.”

Shelley picked up art from an early age, but she said she never thought it would end up as her career.

“I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil,” Shelley said.

At the University of Delaware, Shelley majored in journalism and wrote for the university’s newspaper. At the same time, she took art classes on the side, but never thought much more about it.

“I had always done art, but it never occurred to me that I could make a living or career out of that,” Shelley said. “I had always been a good writer. Dad wanted me to be on air, on a newscast.”

After finding little satisfaction in journalism, Shelley realized she was sick of jumping from job to job, working long hours for little pay and being stressed over a job that didn’t make her happy.

That’s when she decided to become a freelancer, mostly offering graphic design services. The more

graphic and computer-based art work she did, the closer she became to being able to do her passion – fine arts. Shelley said it’s helpful for a young artist to be computer savvy, and that the Internet is a good tool to build on. Now, Shelley is in a position where she can mostly work with the fine arts.

Not only has the fine arts taken up time in Shelley’s life, but so has another form of art: music.

“You see, art is my profession, basically very solitary except in a show,” Shelley said. “Music is my outlet where I can work with other people. It’s differ-

SHELLEY PAGE 12

SKYLER BURKHART TTN

Local companies, stores accept the ‘crypto-currency,’ Bitcoin KERRI ANN RAIMO The Temple News

O

n Wednesday nights in 30th Street Station, a grab bag of young and old innovative minds meet, many in hopes of one day NIGHTLIFE revolutionizing the

payment industry.

Bitcoin, an electronic form of payment that has sparked national attention due to its connection to the website Silk Road, is gaining popularity in Philadelphia’s beer and nightlife scene. Places like Philadelphia Brewing Company and Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse recently announced that they will accept Bitcoin, a “crypto-currency,” as a form of payment.

Jason DiLuzio, an organizer of “BitcoinPHL,” is quick to vocalize on Bitcoin’s potential. The BitcoinPHL meet-ups

consist of individuals willing to learn about, educate on or trade Bitcoins.

“My personal slogan is ‘Bitcoin is just better,’” DiLuzio said. “It’s faster. It’s peerto-peer. If I were to send you money electronically, I could, right now, send you $20 with a text message, with an email or with a Bitcoin address, and there’s nobody in between me and you sending the money.”

Bitcoin is a decentralized payment method that is slowly but surely gaining more mainstream acceptance, and Phila-

delphia is no exception.

Local Bitcoin advocates can anticipate more and more establishments accepting their favorite form of payment.

“Philadelphia Brewing Company— they’re respected business people in Philadelphia,” DiLuzio said. “It’s legitimizing it. It’s no longer Internet funny money.”

Nancy Barton, co-owner of Philadelphia Brewing Company, said the ease of Bitcoin transactions is what influenced PBC’s decision to accept it for

PATRICIA MADEJ TTN

Decentralized payment method gains popularity in Philadelphia.

BITCOIN PAGE 13

There’s just something about DIY

Is it time to tap-out on wrestling?

Philly’s basement show scene stems from a sense of community.

A rough week makes fans question if they should keep watching.

few years ago I was in this pop-punk band from the suburbs.

One of our first shows was at the former IHOP House on Diamond Street. Doing what most bands do, we tried to get everyone we knew in our area to come out. So sure enough, we had a dozen or so of our friends catch a train and experiCustomers enjoy shabu, or hotpot, at Simply Shabu, a newly opened restaurant in Chinatown. MEAGHAN POGUE TTN Jared Whalen ence Philly.

Concrete Turns Colored out, most Basements of them had never been to a local show, much less a house show. Need- A husband and wife duo open Simply Shabu despite having no prior culinary experience. less to say, the reactions gave me chuckles. Whether they expectThis is the table setting for the restau- people waiting up to an hour and a half to ALBERT HONG ed an amphitheater or perhaps rant featuring Taiwanese shabu, also known eat at the restaurant.

The Temple News just a little more standing room, as hotpot, which recently had its grand Coming from a finance and banking I can’t say, but they certainly did opening.

Located on Cherry Street in Chibackground with no culinary education, At Simpy Shabu, customers have evnot expect what they got. natown, it serves dinner on weekdays and Dennis Tuan said he was taken aback by the House shows have tiny erything needed for dinner: a spoon, plate, both lunch and dinner on weekends. initial reaction during the business’ first two rooms, loud crowds, even loudFOOD bowl, napkin and a personal ladle Weekends, which have been busiest for weeks. and induction stovetop.

BASEMENT PAGE 10 owners Dennis and Kate Tuan, have had SHABU PAGE 11

originally wrote a different piece for this week, but the Royal Rumble and its aftermath left such an impact that my editor, a non-wrestling fan, asked me to comment.

But I didn’t want to.

Since this column debuted last summer, I’ve covered John Corrigan local success stories, Cheesesteaks u n e a r t h e d and Chairshots pearls of wisdom for students and shared sentimental moments from my fandom.

While many writers hone their craft by criticizing professional wrestling, complaining about my beloved pastime just isn’t my style.

However, I can’t escape the avalanche of disappointment swelling from last week.

A

FARMFESThedhedhedhedhedheSimply Shabu offers new Asian cuisine

A&E DESK 215-204-7416

ARTSandENTERTAINMENT@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

I

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Communal side of the DIY scene BASEMENT PAGE 9 er bands and enough energy to light up South Street.

Typically, house show culture is not bound by genre or style, but just a similar passion for the DIY environment. When a indie singer/songwriter is followed by a hardcore band that exclusively wears tank-tops, it doesn’t seem out of place. In fact, it makes sense. Both are there to enjoy the music and experience.

“Communal, totally interactive,” is how Jake Detwiler described house shows. Detwiler hosts shows out of his townhome in East Falls. The “Don’t Tread On Me House” is your typical Philly home with a basement turned mosh pit. Like most show hosts, Detwiler’s experience is both rewarding and taxing, but to him it makes sense.

"Bands walk away happy, crowd walks away happy and I walk away happy,” Detwiler said. “That's really what it comes down to.”

Even for those who have never been to a house show, it’s easy to imagine the situation.

Anxiety rises when strangers open their doors to anyone who can pay the cheap cover charge.

“House shows constantly walk the line between spontaneous and organized,” Detwiler said. “I try to keep things under wraps so that our neighbors don't complain and the bands have a good time, but I never really know what's going to happen or who's going to show up when I let 50-plus strangers into my house for the night.”

So why bother, then? In a city like Philly where venues and bars are everywhere, why take the risk? Like Detwiler said: community and interaction.

If you want to watch a band as a spectator and stay a spectator, then watching cover bands play at TGI Friday’s is fine. But for those who embrace music as a lifestyle, there is connection that cannot be made anywhere else.

“I can walk into an environment where there's a sense of community and of people having the same mission, unlike some bars and venues,” Detwiler said. “Nobody goes to a house show just to drink, but you know they're all looking for good music.”

It’s that environment that keeps musicians going. When a band is in its infancy, touring would be impossible without these local connections. Small acts from 500 miles away aren’t jumping on shows at the Electric Factory on their first tour through Philly. They have to start somewhere, and there is no better place than a house full of passionate listeners.

Perhaps the best thing, though, is the uniqueness of each of those listeners. Crowds only need one common denominator, and that’s a love for the music being played – but the variety does make for some interesting scenarios.

“There’s definitely nothing stranger than walking downstairs the next morning and finding your living room full of the touring band,” Detwiler said.

“Plus your friends from high school, plus the frat guys from the college up the street, plus the kid who slept in the bathtub.”

Needless to say, this world of house shows has its quirks.

But once you get past these oddities – the tiny rooms, deafening volumes and touring bands in need of a shower – it becomes a place that fosters both creativity and old-fashioned good times.

Besides, if you are going to have a great party, you might as well accompany it with an amazing soundtrack.

Garson will find out tomorrow if her plans to build an arts center at the corner of Broad and Washington Streets will be approved.| ANDREW THAYER TTN

Final decision for market scheduled Wednesday Advertiser Elizabeth Garson is making plans for a recreational center.

PAIGE GROSS The Temple News Advertising professional Elizabeth Garson is on a mission to turn the empty lot on the corner of Broad and Washington streets in South Philadelphia into the essence of these three words: fun, community and hub.

Having lived in South Philadelphia for the last 10 years, Garson said she had become accustomed to the vacant eyesore, along with the other residents in her neighborhood.

“I drove past it, and for the first time in probably six years, I actually saw it and I was like,

you know, that used to be where Cirque du Soleil happened,” Garson said. It was also the perfect space to house her big idea.

Starting in late August, Garson drew up ideas for what this space, which had been empty for about 15 years, could hold, and through the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy in City Hall, found the owners of the lot.

“I just thought it would be a yes or a no – I didn’t think that I would be meeting with everybody in City Hall, presenting a community,” Garson said.

With the owner’s support, Garson moved to the next step in planning, meeting with Bart Blatstein, the developer and founder of Tower Investments Inc. who worked on creating the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties.

The proposed space would

include a farmer’s market, local artists’ stands, flea market vendors, an outdoor stage for performances or announcements, a “kid’s corner” for crafts, business sponsors, food trucks, an outdoor bar and a space for recreational activities such as outdoor yoga and martial arts – all without a price of admission.

“It’s a Saturday morning, you’re a city parent with two restless kids that need to get outside,” Garson said of her vision for Philadelphia Arts Market. “You’re a teenager with $10 and looking for a space to hang out with your friends. You’re a businessman and you collect antiques. You’re the mayor, and you need an outdoor stage.

You’re a man, a woman, a senior citizen, a preteen, a hipster, a jock, a junk collector, an artist, a music lover. You are anyone and everyone that lives in Phila-

delphia.”

The idea of community and appreciation for local artists and vendors is not new, but Garson’s plans are unique.

“There will be flea marketers, but not like what we’re seeing right now in Philly, which are like these high-end antique places,” Garson said. “The structure here is that the prices are inexpensive and that there is something for people of every age.”

The Arts Market would not only spread the arts culture of Philadelphia, but also provide a place for the community to come together for a “bustling outdoor event” during warmer months.

While there are other spaces to consider, the lot on Broad and Washington streets is Garson’s favorite, and is supported by members of her neighbor-

hood and people all over Philadelphia, including city councilmen Mark Squilla and Kenyatta Johnson.

Multiple vendors have already expressed interest, as well as hundreds of people through social media.

On Wednesday Garson will meet with Blatstein, the developer, to receive a final “yes or no” from the buyer of the Philadelphia Arts Market parcel.

“This is the final frontier,” Garson said of the six-month stretch of scouting and planning.

“I own a house here, my kids go to school here,” Garson said in her proposal. “This project is a labor of love for me.”

Paige Gross can be reached at paige.gross1@temple.edu.

The 2014 Philadelphia Auto Show runs from Feb. 8-16 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on 11th and Arch streets. Find – and potentially drive – your dream car out of the selection of more than 700 vehicles on display. The show will run Monday through Friday starting at 12 p.m. until 10 p.m, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Adult tickets are $12 and can be purchased online or at the show.

–Kerri Ann Raimo

Japanese play tackles psychosis, personal relationships “The Room Nobody Knows” was shown at FringeArts from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.

T

he “SEPTA: Plan My Trip” application fails to mention that 2nd Street Station is a long walk down a sidewalk-less exit ramp to get to FringeArts. Columbus Boulevard proved to be a trek of epic proportions that came to a close when the theater materialized in view.

Just through the double doors sat a man in a bare concrete reception area welcoming guests in from the frigid Jan. 30 evening air, gesturing to the theater entrance for the opening night festivities to begin.

The clock ticked down to 8 Brianna Spause p.m. for a prompt Caught in the Act beginning to the Niwa Gekidan Penino production “The Room Nobody Knows.” The semi-autobiographical one-act play as written and directed by Kurio Tanino debuted in Philadelphia after a large transformation.

Originally staged in Tanino’s apartment in Japan, this production traveled around the world and gained significantly more seating as it reached FringeArts.

Tanino, a former psychiatrist turned playwright, recreated the strong themes of desire and sibling rivalry he experiJared Whalen can be reached at enced in his younger years in this projared.whalen@temple.edu. duction. He had little help from his history of schizophrenic patients, however.

Tanino created a bizarre yet tasteful intriguing experience for all. And every seat came with Japanese hard candies, so that’s always a plus.

“In my approach, I would amplify my patient’s illusions,” Tanino said.

“The patients have their own world that only they can see. When I would see these patients I would not only try to understand those illusions, but try to make artwork out of them.”

These less than traditional methods later led to his termination and transition to the arts where this story unfolds. Main character Kenji takes a break from studying for his college entrance exams to begin planning a bizarre birthday bash for his beloved older brother.

And did I mention the play was performed completely in Japanese? An English translation scrolled across a screen atop the stage as mood lighting materialized and two humanoid characters took the stage.

Memories of drooling all over fake vampire fangs around Halloween time extended my empathy to the actress behind monstrously large fake teeth and horns, the sheep. Along with her companion, the hog, these creatures embodied the dreamlike state that the play took on, and inhabited the top half of the splitlevel stage that was adorned with eyecatching blue mosaic tile and a plethora of phallic symbols.

I warned you, things quickly became strange – arguably one of the most uncomfortable live performances I’ve had the pleasure of attending. The doorknobs, chess pawns, flutes, a matching set of table and chairs, you name it – all shaped like anatomically correct male genitals. The bottom half of the stage that

contained barely enough room for kneeling was a laboratory scene where Kenji toiled over busts of his brother that were also, you guessed it, phallic in nature.

“I felt as though I needed a lot of guts to bring this production to America,” artistic director of The Japan Society Yoko Shioya said – and rightfully so. Japan has a history of being more casually accepting of sexual behaviors than their American counterparts.

Throughout the production, nervous laughter rang out from the audience, especially in situations such as the one where Kenji and his brother began to kiss – and for a lack of any adequate word to describe the drawn out and incredibly awkward rolling around they were doing – wrestling.

In order to add some clarity to the show, a talkback was arranged afterward. Via an English translator, Tanino answered audience questions after the curtain closed.

“Was there a large difference in the audience reaction when this production as shown in Japan versus the United States?” asked a middle-aged woman in a purple sweater.

“In Japan, the audience was very quiet,” Tanino said. “I think people are more reserved when they are in an intimate space since the production was held in my home. In America, you were not very quiet at all.”

That distinction gave off the impression that although the play was amusing and there were chuckles to be had, the production was not indented to be a comedy.

In crossing the ocean and taking this piece of artwork to the “Splendid States,” as Tanino referred to them, it can be said

that things were both lost and gained in the translation – literally.

Lost seemed to be the power of imagery intended by the repetitive use of phallic symbols. Their usage was intended in no way to be homoerotic, but rather a twisted psychological rendition of a room that no one truly knows in a conscious state. Kenji was creating a splendid present for his older brother in admiration of his strength and power.

That part may have been simply put as slightly awkward.

The exchange was a look into other cultures, however. It is intriguing to feel like a participant in a completely different world of art that deviates from the type of play I might be accustomed to.

There were Temple students in attendance, sent from David O’Connor’s Creative Spirit class that seemed to have a similar experience.

“Kenji was in a dream state – we learned in class about how the unconscious mind comes up with things you wouldn’t normally think of,” freshman history major Jane Velahos said. “So it was definitely a shock factor to see all of the penises everywhere. It was quirky.”

Quirky, indeed. The experience was valuable, and representative of the type of theater that comes through FringeArts, which seemed to be put best by Carolyn Huckabay, public relations associate for Fringe Arts.

“What I would describe tonight as is very ‘fringey’ - things that you wouldn’t normally see every day,” Huckabay said.

Brianna Spause can be reached at brianna.spause@temple.edu.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

PAGE 11

Actress Krista Apple faces her largest audience yet Temple alumna takes the stage at “Other Desert Cities.”

EMILY ROLEN The Temple News Krista Apple’s husband pointed out that in her role as Brooke Wyeth in “Other Desert Cities” at the Walnut Street Theatre, she would be performing for more people THEATER in one night than the combined number of people watching her in her next role as Queen Elizabeth with the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective throughout the show’s 17-day run.

With more than 1,000 people watching her perform the latest play in Walnut Street Theatre’s 2014 season at every performance, Apple realized how vast 1,000 people are in one theater, and how different that is for her.

“I love that side of human nature,” Apple said. “The side that loves to be told a story and be in the room that it was told.

It’s what we’ve been doing for thousands of years, and it’s pretty important. When there are 1,000 people in the room, it really feels pretty important.”

In 2009 Apple graduated with an master’s of fine arts in acting, unsure of what kind of jobs she would have in theater.

“I started at Temple’s program assuming I would go right into a university teaching job, but the acting work started coming, and I obviously got into theater because of both my love of teaching and the art itself, so I wasn’t going to turn down that work,” Apple said.

Apple teaches at Drexel and the University of the Arts, and she has advised at Temple in the past, where she teaches acting to theater and non-theater majors.

“When you’re onstage, it’s very easy to feel really removed from the end result; it’s rare that you get to interact with the audience,” Apple said. “We don’t get to have conversations or actively know what effect we have on an audience. With teaching, you know immediately what effect you have on your students, semester to semester, class to class.”

Without ever being in Philadelphia before she studied at Temple, Apple said she chose this city because of the theater community.

“I like to call it the best kept theater secret in the country,” Apple said. “I know that what I do here, I couldn’t do anywhere else in the country. There is not a place in the country where there is this amount of available work and where I feel like I could be part of a community.

I actually know the people I am making my art with.”

Apple described the Philly theater scene as a unique community, where it was easy to develop deep and meaningful artistic relationships over time.

In her latest show, “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robin Baitz, Apple said she was comfortable with her co-stars Greg Wood and Matteo Scammell, who play her father and brother in the show, because they have worked with her in the past.

“They are two of the people in the show that my character feels very close to,” Apple said.

“It sure helps that I already feel close to them.”

The show is about Apple’s character Brooke, a liberal writer, when she returns home for Christmas to visit her conservative parents in Palm Springs, Calif., with the news that she had written a book about them.

The news does not go over well, and all of the characters confront their differences, not only politically, but also with their ways of dealing with personal tragedy.

“It certainly is one of the largest roles I’ve played in a long time – it’s probably my biggest since leaving Temple,” Apple said. “It was a game changer for me, because it was one of the largest roles I’ve been given in Philly, and the largest theater.”

For Apple, the show seems to encourage the audience to take sides, and force them to no-

Krista Apple takes the largest stage in her career thus far at the Walnut Street Theatre in Jon Robin Baitz’s “Other Desert Cities.” | COURTESY WALNUT STREET THEATRE tice more than just the lighting or costume design. It compels the audience to have conversations about the themes, issues and betrayals in the story.

“It’s a really powerful thing to be standing on stage not just for my character, but for the audience’s point of view as well,” Apple said. “I’m up there taking a side for people who know what it’s like to deal with a grief in a way that other people can’t acknowledge. You can hear the

sides being taken in the room.”

As a producer of classical theater with her husband in the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, a small theater company that celebrates classical theater, Apple has not worked on a play that was written after 1920 in almost two years. Her next role as Queen Elizabeth in “Mary Stuart” with PAC, running April 2-19 at Broad Street Ministry, reflects the kind of work she typically does on stage.

“Whenever you are working on anything, but especially a classical piece, you have to keep your audience in mind,” Apple said. “Today we need things to happen faster and are interested in things that are only happening quickly. It’s all about the audience experience.”

“Other Desert Cities” at the Walnut Street Theatre runs until March 2.

Emily Rolen can be reached at emily.rolen@temple.edu.

Is it time to stop watching the pros?

RUMBLE PAGE 9

Simply Shabu opened in Chinatown about a month ago, offering its customers a new form of Asian cuisine. The owners, Kate and Dennis Tuan, have no prior experience in the food industry. | MEAGHAN POGUE TTN

Husband and wife duo open a shabu restaurant in Chinatown last month SHABU PAGE 9 “It was definitely surprising and enlightening to see just the pent-up demand for hotpot in Philadelphia,” Dennis Tuan said.

Since many Philadelphians may not be familiar with shabu, Dennis Tuan described the food as “Asian-style fondue.” Customers are given a small pot of hot broth with a variety of raw vegetables, meats and seafood.

Customers then use their utensils to put the food into the hot broth so it cooks and gains flavor. Once fully cooked, they can take their food out and experiment it with a variety of dipping sauces.

Dennis Tuan said he and his wife enjoyed shabu while they were in Boston and New York, and even more so when he stayed in Taiwan for six months to work with his brother on a startup restaurant there. He said they were surprised they

couldn’t find the dish anywhere upon moving to Philly three years ago.

Dennis Tuan enjoyed the food so much that he felt he had to change that. In April 2013, he decided to open a shabu restaurant.

“We came here and there was no place during the wintertime [to eat it] when it was cold, and we [wanted] to grab a bite to eat, so we’d have to make it at home,” Dennis Tuan said.

“When we were [in Taiwan], I found myself eating shabu all the time, and so it was kind of the inspiration for why I wanted to bring it to Philly.”

Simply Shabu provides a distinctive restaurant experience because of its ingredients, broths or sauce bar. Waiters and waitresses are there to help those who are unfamiliar with hotpot.

The restaurant features

vegetable, chicken and spicy broth. For the indecisive, Jessica Yoon, a waitress, said customers can try up to two kinds with a divided pot. After the broth is selected, customers can choose from a slew of raw meats, vegetables and seafood, all prepared made-to-order by the staff. Choices vary from lamb or taro root, to a new addition to the menu – Dungeness crab.

Tiffany Do said she believes the different sauces, such as chili oil or barbecue sauce, are what really add to the taste.

“You can usually get all the ingredients anywhere, but the sauces make it different,” Do said.

The restaurant aims to keep ingredients local and healthy by getting all-natural beef, pork and lamb from Lancaster, Pa., and by including gluten-free items on the menu.

The induction-style cooktops may seem a bit dangerous and intimidating to first-timers.

However, Dennis Tuan said he chose electric tops that are easy to use and can only be turned on when stainless steel touches the surface, which prevents accidents.

Although the restaurant is only a few weeks old, Dennis Tuan said he plans to adjust the menu to the customers’ suggestions by adding desserts and appetizers in the near future.

“We’re trying to basically make it more engaging to the customers who say, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind seeing his on the menu,’ so we’ve been adding things slowly,” Dennis Tuan said.

Albert Hong can be reached at albert.hong@temple.edu.

Daniel Bryan, the most popular wrestler on the planet, not only didn’t win the Royal Rumble – he didn’t even enter the 30-man match.

Batista, the cocky grandpa who emerged victorious and will now headline WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton, hasn’t competed since 2010.

And for the proverbial third drop of the arm, various online reports indicate the “Best in the World,” CM Punk, has ditched the company to sit out the last few months of his contract at home.

With my favorite WWE Superstars either ignored or MIA, and a main event I’ll be driving 20 hours to sigh through, I’ve contemplated abandoning my passion for the first time in my life.

It might seem like an overreaction to quit watching wrestling because I disliked one result, but at least I’m not alone.

As each ring-filler dashed down the ramp, the Pittsburgh crowd drowned the Rumble with chants for Daniel Bryan despite their hero never arriving. When supposed fan-favorite Batista eliminated Roman Reigns to finally end the match, more than 15,000 people erupted with jeers, prompting “The Animal” to embrace his previous nastiness and flip the middle finger to several spectators off-air.

The outrage wasn’t limited to attendees. Social media exploded with frustration over Bryan’s absence and Batista’s prodigal son homecoming.

Even WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley tweeted, “Does WWE actually hate their own audience?”

Several days later, Foley smashed his daughter’s TV with a baseball bat in an act of protest, and probably in anticipation for spring training.

I don’t blame him – following baseball sure looks more promising right now. Although it’s a real sport with unpredictable outcomes, you can guarantee that the athletes who perform best will be rewarded

rather than slotted to the bench.

Wrestling fans are often labeled as numbskulls without girlfriends. Well, perhaps we are fools for believing into the obvious charade, but maybe our commitment issues stem from our first love constantly breaking our heart.

We trusted Vince McMahon with our $45 last Sunday, and he stuffed it into Batista’s skinny jean pocket.

So I’m not sure I want to ride on the road to WrestleMania anymore. Sure, there is still time for change, and Bryan could possibly become champion at Elimination Chamber. And yes, CM Punk could potentially be tricking the public regarding his exit, as the pipe bomb master has done in the past.

Of course, this entire #YESMovement could end up as the latest blurring of reality

by WWE’s brain trust, manipulating the fans’ preconceived notions of what lies behind the curtain through viral storylines and feigned aloofness.

We accept and enjoy sportsentertainment, but we’re always drawn to the real-life drama lurking behind the characters.

It’s too early to tell if McMahon and his associates actually hate their own audience, or if the maniacal owner is simply tugging the strings of Foley, Punk and Bryan as part of the show.

As a wrasslin’ diehard for 14 years, I know better than to believe this turmoil is an intricate production orchestrated by the same genius visionary responsible for neutering the WCW Invasion, Nexus, Summer of Punk and other botched revolutions of the millennium.

But I’ll inevitably stay tuned to the heartache, yearning for another hero to replace Punk, rallying behind Bryan’s perpetual pursuit of the gold, fueling the corporate machine whose stranglehold is the only submission we diehards can’t escape.

John Corrigan can be reached at john.corrigan@temple.edu.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Artist finds inspiration from fables SHELLEY PAGE 9 ent because it’s an outward performance, art is very solitary. Music, you get direct feedback as it is being done, art on the other hand, you don’t get any feedback till it’s out there.”

Shelley is the lead vocalist of a group called The Green Cathedral. She was also the cofounder of The Red Masque, a rock band signed to Beta-lactam Ring Records in Portland, Ore. The band has released a number of recordings and played at festivals.

Bringing together her love for tribal arts, folktales, wild animals and mythology, Shelley described her work as “very distinctive.”

This self-proclaimed distinction is what she attributes to her success. In the past, Shelley has had work displayed at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and the Sacramento Fine Arts Center, among other places.

With connections in Canada, a friend of Shelley’s submitted her artwork to appear in the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival in an animated short called “The Spider is the Web.” A few of her “creature drawings” can be seen during the film.

Now, Shelley works as the marketing director and co-curator at JAM Gallery in Malvern, Pa. She is represented in JAM, as well as in Blank Canvas Gallery in New Hope, Pa., and Mala Galleria in Kennett Square, Pa. Shelley said she loves the feeling that art can bring to people, whether they are an artist or not.

“Every artwork is your baby,” Shelley said. “Everybody wants some kind of success. I’m coming from a technical perspective, but what some people will like is something that I didn’t see, which I like.

People may or may not have worked in art, but they will find something that they connect to. I think you can look at art in many different layers, people can get different things from anything visual.”

The Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention was held this past weekend from Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at the Convention Center.| MAGGIE ANDRESEN TTN

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Chelsea Finn can be reached at chelsea.finn@temple.edu.

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OUT & ABOUT TOURING CHINATOWN Tours of one of Philly’s most culturally rich neighborhoods, Chinatown, are going on until Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. every other Sunday. Reservations are required. The tours begin outside of AIA Bookstore, located at 1218 Arch St., and last approximately two and a half hours. The tour is free, however the recommended amount of money to bring is $7 to $10 in cash, for food. Sample foods on the tour include moon cakes, ginger tea, soup dumplings, Hong Kong, egg waffles and much more.

-Emily Rolen

DUMPLINGS AND THE NEW YEAR

The Philadelphia Singers practice a piece by Mozart. The group also just recently funded their first recording of Randall Thompson’s “Requiem” with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. | COURTESY THE PHILADELPHIA SINGERS

Choral group livens up classical music The Philadelphia Singers record Randall Thompson’s “Requiem.”

SIOBHAN REDDING The Temple News They’ve learned the notes and the lyrics, now the next step for the Philadelphia Singers is recording.

With the help of donors, the local choral group is sharing its love of classical music, performances and interactive events.

In January, the Philadelphia Singers raised $4,560 through Kickstarter for the opportunity to perform and record Randall Thompson’s “Requiem.”

The Philadelphia Singers quickly surpassed its goal of $1,500 thanks to backers who donated thousands more than expected.

Maren Montalbano, a mezzosoprano featured on the recording of “Requiem,” said she believes it will not only have an impact on the Philadelphia Singers, but on its audience as well.

“It feels like I am a part of history,” Montalbano said. “This is a

really important piece of work that hasn’t been recorded that often because of its difficulty. It was done top-of-the-line, though, and I think it will stand the test of time.”

Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website that helps creative projects gain funding through pledges, involves a lot of participation from those fundraising to get the word out there and gain support. “[The Philadelphia Singers] used social media, mostly Facebook, to get the word out about our Kickstarter,” Montalbano said. “We have tried to do a Kickstarter before, which wasn’t as successful. This time, it was well thought out and became a success.”

Executive Director Megan M. Machnik also credits some of the success of the project to social media.

“People across the country, from New York to California, donated money, which shows the power of social media,” Machnik said.

“Some of the singers pitched in too, which was unbelievable. Personally, I couldn’t believe how humbled and excited I was about the support that our Kickstarter received.”

With the money pledged from backers, as well as $55,000 they received in foundation grants, the Philadelphia Singers set out on a two-day session to create the firstever “Requiem” recording.

“The recording was finished the night of Jan. 26,” Montalbano said.

“It was really well done and we finished earlier than expected, which rarely ever happens. It was recorded inside the Curtis Institute of Music, which is a really nice facility. Overall, it was a positive experience.”

Along with the groundbreaking recording, the Philadelphia Singers use music outreach programs to involve the city in the art of classical music.

“The biggest goal of our programs it to expose the beauty and accessibility of classical music, especially at a young and impressionable age,” Machnik said. “We want to show that it doesn’t have to be about a stuffy concert hall, it’s about fun.”

Programs such as Chorus Connect, where the Philadelphia Singers join with school choirs in Philadelphia, aim to teach young students classical music in a new light. Conductors from the Philadelphia Sing-

ers visit these schools and help prepare them for a winter concert.

“When we have these programs, we are making a direct impact by encouraging people to participate in this type of music,” Montalbano said. “We are passing along good information to future generations.”

The Philadelphia Singers also holds events for all ages in hopes of bringing the community together through classical music. “Bring Your Sing” was an event the choral group hosted this past summer. Approximately 150 people with no professional experience joined professional singers to sing a piece by Mozart.

“With this recording and the events we have, I see an opportunity to bring classical music into the lives of even more people around the city,” Machnik said. “Although we are just a cog in the arts of Philadelphia, it is really important for us to go out and connect with the people. Classical music is an amazing and important tradition, and no one should miss out on it.”

Siobhan Redding can be reached at siobhan.redding@temple.edu.

Philly finds a use for Bitcoin, a ‘crypto-currency’

The Lunar New Year, more popularly known as the Chinese New Year, was this past Friday. The city was abuzz with plenty of events to celebrate the holiday. Those who missed the opportunity to enjoy the festivities still have the chance to celebrate. The holiday is continuing on in a Chinese New Year special at Buddakan, located at 325 Chestnut St. The $14 special allows customers to pick three of their varied dumpling courses. They’re able to pick from selections like general tso’s dumplings, shrimp dumplings, edamame dumplings, crab and lobster dumplings and more. The special will run through this Sunday.

-Albert Hong

FASHIONABLE COLLABORATIONS CoLabination is a collaborative marketplace for independent brands and designers that work to help solve the issues every emerging brand faces. The organization is working to help those with entrepreneurial dreams get their feet off the ground. They work to help designers and brands get their start and get their business moving in the right direction. To learn more about CoLabination and the work they do, pick up an issue of The Temple News on Feb. 11 for a full feature of this emerging company.

-Caitlin O’Connell

CELEBRATING GERSHWIN In honor of black history month, the broadway show “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which won a 2012 Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical,” will arrive at the Kimmel Center from Feb. 18-23. Tickets starting at $20 can be purchased online. Awardwinning, original members of the Broadway cast perform songs including classics like “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

BITCOIN PAGE 9

payment after becoming educated on the concept

by DiLuzio.

PBC hosted a Bitcoin meet-up and brewery tour on Feb. 1.

“It’s kind of a weird thing to wrap your head around,” Barton said. “You’re not really exchanging anything or touching anything, but once you do a couple of transactions, it’s super easy.”

Jose Giménez, a calculus professor at Temple, said Bitcoin’s lack of physical exchange is what keeps older generations from embracing the concept.

Giménez, a Bitcoin advocate and occasional attendee at BitcoinPHL meet-ups, said it’s the best candidate for international currency exchange.

Giménez began to learn about the concept after reading a blog about Bitcoin last March, and even offered an extra credit opportunity to his students in a Mathematical Patterns course to explore and present theories behind Bitcoin.

Now, college students have even more of an incentive to explore the exchange of Bitcoin firsthand: beer.

“When you involve beer or alcohol with something, people’s ears kind of perk up,” Di-

Luzio said about PBC’s announcement to accept Bitcoin. “Whereas if it was just some coffee shop on the corner, they don’t really care as much.”

Another incentive? Wings.

Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse’s usual Thursday night special of chicken wings with a 45-cent price tag translates in an exchange rate to .0006 Bitcoins.

“People that understand them, that have mined them or earned them or bought them, are looking to spend them,” said Cavaugh’s Rittenhouse owner Kenneth Hutchings.

Bitcoin “newbs” may have trouble making sense of the process, but DiLuzio said that, as of now, Bitcoin is nowhere close to full development. “[Bitcoin] is essentially the email of money,” DiLuzio said. “Bitcoin does to money what email did to sending letters. This is like 1993 email. It’s like AOL. We’re in our very beginning stage.”

In terms of using Bitcoin for the bar scene, DiLuzio envisions a day when bartenders can be tipped with Bitcoin, making the process more publicized by enticing friendly competition.

“I’m looking forward to the day when instead of when tipping a bartender, instead of putting $2

down on the counter, the bartender’s got a QRcode up on the television, and you just point your phone at the TV and you tip them with Bitcoin,” DiLuzio said. “Maybe there could be an award that they could publicize the best tipper at the bar.

It could be like, ‘This Bitcoin address just tipped the bartender $10.’ Then a bell goes off.”

Bartenders may not be too happy unless they’ll have more places to spend these Bitcoinbased tips, however.

As for Bitcoin’s impact on Philadelphia, eager Bitcoin-enthusiast meet-ups at 30th Street Station are just scratching the surface of what DiLuzio has in mind for Bitcoin in Philadelphia.

“My personal mission is to turn Philadelphia into the Silicon Valley of Bitcoin,” DiLuzio said.

“I want Philadelphia because I love Philly, I’m from here – to be the ones that attract all the talent. You do that by having people know that they can come to Philly and live exclusively off Bitcoin, because some people have gotten very, very wealthy and have a lot of Bitcoin dollars and just need somewhere to spend it.”

TRENDING IN PHILLY What people are talking about in Philly – from news and store openings, to music events and restaurant openings. For breaking news and daily updates, follow The Temple News on Twitter @TheTempleNews.

NEW SEPTA PROJECT

@NewsWorksWHYY tweeted new plans for SEPTA’s rail project on Feb. 1. The roughly $650 million project plans to add stops to the Norristown high-speed line.

Plans were announced by Byron Comati, director of strategic planning for SEPTA, at the Radisson Hotel on Jan. 31.

LOTTERY FOR RUNNERS

@Phillydotcom tweeted on Feb. 1 that, for the second year in a row, running places in the Broad Street Run will be doled out via an online lottery. From now until Thursday, aspiring participants must head to the official website and enter. Lottery winners will be posted Feb. 18.

-Emily Rolen

TWO-DOLLAR TACO TUESDAY Distrito, a modern Mexican restaurant is serving up $2 tacos every Tuesday from 5-7 p.m. The selection includes tacos with chicken ropa vieja with queso fresco, crema and radish, tacos with wild mushrooms, truffled potato puree and Yukon potato and tacos with carnitas, smoky black beans and pineapple-habanero salsa.

The day of specials also includes a number of drink specials and $5 guacamole and salsa served with house-made tortilla chips.

Distrito, located on 3945 Chestnut St., is one of the many restaurants from acclaimed Iron Chef Jose Garces and is open for dinner from 5-10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Kerri Ann Raimo can be reached at kerriann.raimo@temple.edu.

-Albert Hong

NORTHERN LIBERTIES THROUGH THE AGES @uwishunu tweeted on Feb. 1 that the Philadelphia History Museum is opening a new exhibit called “Northern Liberties: From World’s Workshop to Hipster Mecca and the People in Between” on Feb. 20. The exhibit aims to present the transformation of the neighborhood through artifacts, art and more.

WINGS OF SEITAN

@KYWNewsRadio tweeted on Jan. 31 that Blackbird Pizzeria, a vegan pizzeria in Society Hill, was chosen

by PETA as having some of the best vegan wings in the country. Made from seitan, a wheat protein, it is shaped, breaded and fried in order to resemble chicken wings.

LIVING

PAGE 14

FOOD TRUCK

Cloud Coffee parks outside of the Tyler School of Art. Its owners graduted from Tyler prior to opening the business and try to promote art in the community. | SKYLER BURKHART TTN

Operating business a part of artist identity she strives to encourage the accessibility of art in Philadelphia through teaching. As an adjunct professor at Tyler, she teaches a graduate seminar called “Professional Practices,” which helps graduate students look into what they want to do ARIANE PEPSIN after graduation and beyond – what Mills called The Temple News “life application.”

“Being an artist connects with being a probCloud Coffee, located on Norris Street across from the Tyler School of Art, was recently ranked lem-solver and an innovator and I think that’s sixth in the “Top Seven Greenest Philly Food what we do with Cloud,” Mills said. “The idea Trucks” by Green Philly Blog. Owners attribute of what’s happening every day and how we conthis to their pledge to get as many of their prod- struct meaning from it, or make meaning from it, ucts from local vendors as possible. Their roaster, I think about that and apply it to both my art and ReAnimator Coffee, is located in Fishtown, and business.”

Operating the business feels more authentic the pastries they sell are made in local bakeries.

What sets this traveling coffee truck apart, the to her artist identity, Mills said.

“When I graduated from Tyler, I was quesowners said, is their desire to give back to their local artistic community. This spring, they plan on tioning if I could do my work but also connect holding their second “Artist’s Prize,” which will with the community,” she said. “Then [Craig] and allow them to raise money through an art compe- I brainstormed this and I think this is more true to who I am. I still adjunct here and in Boston, tition among their customers.

“We’ll do a call for submissions and bring so I think this way of living my life as [both a in a juror to select three artists, and the money person and artist] by doing projects like this – I see [Cloud Coffee] as a project that I’ve set up we get for submissions is turned for myself – is more true to me. I around and given back to the artguess I wanted to be an artist eduists to have for their studio praccator, but I also want to be a projtices,” co-owner Kristen Mills ect-based artist, and I think [Cloud said. “It’s just another way of Coffee] plays into that.” thinking about how to be active While in graduate school, and stay connected – I like being Craig and Mills met during their able to use Cloud [Coffee] to do first day of classes and became that because it’s us, but it’s us in a friends. The two call themselves different way.” “coffee nerds,” meaning they have Cloud Coffee is the brainhigh expectations for coffee qualchild of Mills and Matthew ity – a trait they acquired from their Craig, who both graduated with upbringing. master’s degrees in painting from “I’m from Portland, Ore. and Tyler in 2012. While the idea [Mills] is from Boston, so I nearly of former art students-turnedKristen Mills / co-owner cried when I came out here,” Craig business owners seems far off to said. “It was weird to come to some, Cloud’s owners see connecting with people through art similarly to con- Philly and not really see any coffee culture like we had at home.” necting with people in the form of coffee.

Things aren’t always easy for Craig and “If you’ve ever lived as an artist, you’re kind of your own manager,” Craig said of taking the Mills – the usual challenges of owning a business initiative to start the business. “It requires deci- such as money and time management still worry sion-making, making do with what you have and them from time to time, but their overall transition a set amount of tools to work with to complete from artists to proprietors has been fairly seamtasks. The tools to making a business function are less, they said.

“We saw an opportunity and we filled it,” similar to what you need to make an art practice Mills said. “It can be exhausting, but I really love function.”

For Mills, art and business are all about com- it.” munication and connecting with people in the Ariane Pepsin can be reached at surrounding communities. Along with the Artariane.pepsin@temple.edu. ist’s Prize that she and Craig facilitate, she said

Cloud Coffee will host an art competition as a fundraiser.

“Being an artist

connects with being a problemsolver and an innovator and I think that’s what we do with Cloud.

”

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

LIVING

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

PAGE 15

Recycle bins a green need RECYCLE PAGE 7

Greg Keating’s video was picked up by sites like Gawker, People and Perez Hilton. | DANIELLE NELSON TTN

Student claims to have celebrity relation Dan Moczula and Chris Nolan.

“We’ve always been a creative team ever since we were little kids,” Keating said. “Since we’ve gone off to school, we’ve been writing more. We’ve been trying to get something big and then build off it.”

Keating said he didn’t expect just how popular that video appeal to O’Brien would become. Within a few days, several news and gossip sites like People and Perez Hilton picked up the video.

“It was on Gawker.com and then three to five minutes after that it was on BroBible.com.

After that, I couldn’t keep up,” Keating said. “I was getting interview requests within that half hour. I couldn’t leave my computer. I had to pee a lot. It was crazy.”

Keating said he also didn’t anticipate the reaction he received from viewers.

“I thought people were go-

CONAN PAGE 7

ing to hate it,” Keating said. “I thought they were going to say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t really look like him.’ But it got a lot of positive feedback, and I’m happy about that.”

Keating was even given the chance to write and perform his own monologue Conanstyle on Fox 29. The tonguein-cheek performance took jabs at O’Brien with the consistent punch line of a broken home and absence of a father’s love.

As grateful as Keating was for the opportunity, 15 seconds of fame were not part of the original goal he had while filming.

“I was trying to streamline right to [O’Brien],” Keating said. “I was trying to get [the video] right to him. But other people saw it – and then they shared it.”

The attention drew a tweet from O’Brien himself on Jan. 14 that read, “A kid from New Jer-

sey is falsely claiming to be my illegitimate son. For the record, I have three children: Neve, Beckett and @RonanFarrow.”

“I thought it was funny,” Keating said. “He always makes New Jersey jokes. Actually, to be honest, I was expecting more. But the tweet was really cool.”

Despite other news publications scrambling to find the truth, MyVeronaNJ.com credits itself for breaking the “delightfully silly story” about its hometown hero and wrote “many news outlets and news viewers didn’t understand that the whole thing was a glorious spoof and not a genuine claim.”

While no one from O’Brien’s show has contacted Keating so far, and the comedian has yet to mention anything on the show, Keating said he isn’t giving up.

“I’ve lived without my dad this long. I think I can go lon-

ger,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of people think I want money, a lot of people think I’m crazy.

But I’m not crazy. I don’t need money – I mean, yeah, I need money, but not from him. I’m not trying to take anything from him. I’m just trying to reach out.

I’d love to meet him. That’s the whole idea.”

Whether regarded as satire, scandal or some combination of the two, Keating’s resemblance to O’Brien has only shed light on his natural abilities as an entertainer and fueled his desire to succeed on his own terms.

“I think it just makes me hungry for more,” Keating said.

“I want to produce more stuff and get more stuff out there and really see where it could take me. My goal started out with just getting to [O’Brien], but it could go beyond that.”

Jessica Smith can be reached at jessicasmith@temple.edu.

There is a notable lack of recycling compared to trashcans on Main Campus. In the TECH Center, the 10 or so recycling cans go greatly overlooked because of the more than 40 trash bins. The library is chock-full of trash deposits, too.

Many people won’t recycle if trashcans are closer by. This is obvious around Main Campus, apparent to the environmentally-conscious observer due to the easily recyclable plastics and paper pileup in the wrong receptacle.

Americans threw away 250 million tons of trash in 2011, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Studies show anywhere from 60-80 percent of trash in landfills can be recycled or composted. Either there is a lack of participation or a lack of proper receptacles.

Temple might have both problems.

However, both the Office of Sustainability and Students for Environmental Action helped station tons of blue and white recycling containers in various campus buildings.

Also, the organizations drove Temple to use “singlestream recycling,” where plastics labeled 1-7, paper and cardboard all go to the same facility.

No longer do we need to separate paper and plastic into different cans.

Similarly, the Office of Sustainability and Students for Environmental Action have implemented composting in the Johnson & Hardwick dining hall and the Liacouras Center.

Soon, both the Student Center and Morgan Hall will have composting too, despite upsetting pushbacks from Sodexo and the administration.

“Composting and recycling [are] extremely important,” senior School of Media and Communication student Breland Moore said via email.

“You don’t need to be a huge sustainability buff to throw your cans and bottles into the proper receptacle, and it’s one of the first steps people typically take to live greener lives. It’s just about making smart purchasing choices and opting for greener products than the ones that they might currently be using.”

Moore is part of the green team at the Office of Sustainability, helping to spur on a little extra recycling through friendly competition.

“Now that [Temple] takes plastics 1-7, there’s no better time to compete [in RecycleMania],” she added.

Every year, colleges across the nation and Canada compete to recycle and reduce waste in the RecycleMania Tournament.

Temple is up against some stiff competition this year, such as recent winner Rutgers and the University of Pennsylvania, which has edged Temple out in previous years. However, Moore said the Office of Sustainability primarily looks to surpass Temple’s own past records.

Each week, weights of recycling, trash and compost are tallied and reported. Schools see who can cut trash and recycle the most. To assess reductions, the team at the nonprofit RecycleMania Inc. compares school averages before and during the tournament. RecycleMania even started estimating greenhouse gas reductions, since trash has a huge carbon footprint.

More than half a billion pounds of trash were recycled and composted, reducing almost a million metric tons of carbon dioxide emission since the start of the competition in 2011.

Just one metric ton of carbon dioxide is equivalent to burning 103 gallons of gasoline, according to Southwest Climate Change. Imagine, comparatively, more than 7 million cars taken off the road for a week or two.

The tournament should encourage students and faculty to reduce, reuse and recycle, which is greatly needed.

This year, Temple kicked off RecycleMania at the men’s basketball game against Rutgers on Jan. 29. This was the first “zero-waste” event at the Liacouras Center. There were compostable paper plates and compostable plastic cups.

Additionally, there were only two receptacles, recycling and compost, no trash.

It was a promising start – now it’s up to the Temple community to continue the energy.

“I thought it was really cool that we held a zero-waste game,” senior environmental science major Jesse Delaney said, after volunteering to help promote recycling at the event.

“I thought it was really cool that they made a lot of the materials compostable rather than just trash. Recycling is essential to sustainability. I think all games should be zero-waste.”

“Either there

is a lack of participation or a lack of proper receptacles.

”

Toby Forstater can be reached at toby.forstater@temple.edu.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

CLIPPINGS

AROUND CAMPUS STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP WRITING WORKSHOP

The Writing Center will present a writing workshop for study abroad scholarship applicants on Thursday. Sponsored by Education Abroad, the session will focus on creating successful study abroad scholarship essays.

The workshop will take place in Room 201 of the Tuttleman Learning Center and will run from 12:30 2 p.m. The event is open to all students, but registration is required.

-Jessica Smith

THE ‘OTHER’ SIDE OF CONFLICT: ITALIAN WOMEN WRITERS AND WORLD WAR I

Students created structures of their own design in a Robotic Skills Academy session on Main Campus this past Saturday.| TAYLOR SPICER TTN

Building a bright future in STEM fields the Pennsylvania MESA programs, which include a Mobile App program and a summer internship experience.

The programs are also designed to be of value to enrolled undergraduate students pursuing STEM degrees, Bracey said. When Pennsylvania MESA grew to serve 1,200 Philadelphia students in 2012, 15 Temple students in TUTeach were hired as instructors. In addition, those students eligible for work study can be hired as teaching assistants.

Louvina Jackman, a senior mechanical engineering major, has been a part of STEM since coming to Temple, acting as one such studentinstructors.

“I think ‘mentor’ is a good name for what our title is, because although we help [the students] out with the engineering aspect of it, we also help them out on a personal level, asking what they’re doing outside of this program and where they think they’ll end up going to college,” Jackman said. “We want to encourage them to stay within the math, science and

STEM PAGE 7

engineering field.”

Kevin Layos, a fifth-year electrical engineering major, and Soukaina Barakat, a mechanical engineering alumna, agreed with Jackman. They said they help prepare students currently in the Robotic Skills Academy to take part in an eventual competition this spring, for which they will design a robotic arm.

Freshman computer science major Iyasu Watts went through Pennsylvania MESA with Ball. He was employed in the technological field as a software developer at Enertia and is an intern at Lead iD. He said working in a STEM field has “always been a goal.” Ball, who was introduced to Pennsylvania MESA through Watts, called him “very tech-savvy.”

“You don’t hear about a lot of these programs, and if you do, they’re very exclusive,” Watts said.

“The reality is, so many more students should be doing this on this level. It teaches them skills and puts them on a path so that they do it on

their own, so they feel they actually want to do it.”

Watts said he believes technology is essential to success in today’s job market, since it plays a role in nearly every industry.

“Sometimes you need different people with different perspectives to tackle new problems,” he said. “The [field] needs to be culturally diversified, because people will have different ways of looking at a problem.”

His opinion was reemphasized

by John Leigh, the program coordinator for Pennsylvania MESA. Leigh, who’s been with the program for five months, said his goal is for the participating students to “really see themselves as innovators.”

He said an aptitude for STEM fields could only strengthen a student’s skillset, particularly once they begin job searching.

“Once [the students] come on to the campus, [they know] what they want to do,” Leigh said. “They have that confidence that they can make it and succeed.”

Alumnus Robert Figlin, Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine and biomechanical sciences in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, recently pledged $50,000 to help establish two new scholarships for Temple students in STEM majors.

Members, instructors and directors alike agreed that through educational opportunities and scholarships such as Figlin’s, the ultimate goal is to promote higher learning. Ball said that although she still wants to pursue writing as a main career focus, she thinks her time in the program will give her an advantage.

“I like the idea that your idea amongst other person’s ideas can turn into a bigger idea,” Ball said, expressing the value of technology.

“If you have knowledge in that arena, you can mix the two together.”

Erin Edinger-Turoff can be reached at erin.edinger-turoff@temple.edu and on Twitter @erinJustineET.

GREEK LIFE

Alpha Xi Delta prepares to recruit The new sorority on Main Campus will initiate next week.

LORA STRUM The Temple News Fashion designer Betsey Johnson, astronaut Jan Davis and “West Wing” actress Kim Webster are a few of the notable alumni of the sorority Alpha Xi Delta, which is preparing for its debut on Main Campus on Monday, Feb. 10. In addition to the sisters of distinction listed above, AXiD has 150,000 initiated members across 121 college campuses.

Temple will become Chapter 122 of AXiD. AXiD will begin hosting information sessions about its core values and philanthropy goals with meetings throughout February in Room 200AB of the Student Center.

“As an organization, Alpha Xi Delta inspires women to realize their

potential by providing opportunities for sisterhood, leadership, knowledge and service,” said AXiD colonization specialist Jaclyn Dziepak.

Joining the National Panhellenic Conference umbrella of women’s sororities, AXiD will align its core values with that of many NPC sororities on Main Campus. These values include fostering intellectual, professional and personal growth, exemplifying the highest ethical conduct, instilling community responsibility and perpetuating fraternal growth, according to the NPC. Among its other goals are to establish academic standing for the new AXiD chapter and help sisters to become leaders on campus, within and outside of the sorority.

“Temple and Alpha Xi Delta both have a rich tradition of inspiring young women to develop into knowledgeable and contributing citizens,” Dziepak said.

As part of its goal to give back to the community, AXiD will support Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is a

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

“What do you think

Temple should do to combat sexual assault on campus?

”

KELSEY DUBINSKY TTN

national organization that provides funds for research into the cure and management of autism. Temple’s AXiD chapter will support the organization through various fundraising and volunteer efforts, including hosting the “AmaXIng Challenge” event on Main Campus to help raise awareness of autism among students.

AXiD members will also participate in Autism Awareness Month activities throughout April and attend the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event in Philadelphia every November.

Though on-campus housing information has not been announced for AXiD, the sorority will hold all recruitment, sisterhood and volunteer activities on Main Campus.

AXiD aims to recruit students of all ages, majors and backgrounds. The recruitment effort began the week of Jan. 27 with an information table in the Student Center. It will continue with Monday’s kickoff in Room 200AB in the Student Center. Supplementary informational meetings will also be held Feb. 11 and 19, with

“ Temple should educate how to drink responsibly and give students information on what they should do after a sexual assult.”

KELLY STECKLER

JUNIOR | ANTHROPOLOGY

special information sessions on Feb. 20 and 21. A special philanthropy information event will be held Feb. 13.

All events will begin at 7 p.m., with the exception of special information sessions, which are by appointment only. After the information sessions, interested undergraduate students will begin the bid process with preference and selection gatherings on Feb. 22 and 23, respectively.

At the end of the process, new AXiD members will begin the new member period, during which the 23 chapter officer positions are filled.

These include the eight executive committee members who will make up the executive board. Those members who are elected to leadership positions will be responsible for managing AXiD affairs in the Temple University Greek Association.

- Jessica Smith

SIXTY VOCAB VISITS MAIN CAMPUS On Jan. 31, cofounder of Philadelphia-based company Sixty Vocab Kim Ramirez met with Temple’s head of the foreign language department, Louis Mangione. Kara Gualrapp of Sixty Vocab joined in the meeting.

Sixty Vocab provides online foreign language learning for those learning English as a second language. Its name is derived from the notion that after learning 2,000 words, a speaker will know 60 percent of a language. The company uses computer gamelike activities to help English learners grasp conversational vocab.

Those who use Sixty Vocab must guess what a word is in seven seconds after seeing, hearing and typing the word. After they guess correctly, they will see the word less. This memorization principle is the basis of Sixty Vocab’s instruction.

Ramirez and Mangione discussed Sixty Vocab’s Instructor Dashboard program. The program is intended to help professors be aware of student progress and knowledge in and outside of the classroom.

-Erin Edinger-Turoff

FULL SCHEDULES, FULL VOICES Adrienne Dafcik will lead a class through March 24, available for those with full schedules who want to learn how to sing. The classes, though informal, will focus on important singing skills such as posture, breath control, tone production and diction. Basic music skills will also be touched upon.

The classes will take place on Mondays from 6-7 p.m. in Temple Music Prep at Temple’s Center City campus, located on the fifth floor of 1515 Market St. The class is open to anyone for the price of $185.

After an introductory class, participators were sorted into class groups based on their skill level.

The course is sponsored by the Temple University Music Preparatory Division.

-Erin Edinger-Turoff

Lora Strum can be reached at lora.strum@temple.edu.

“Temple should have an information session during freshman orientation for all students to learn about sexual assault.”

BRIANNA PRIME

On Thursday, there will be a discussion with Temple Assistant Professor of Italian, Cristina Gragnani, about the subject of her new book that focuses on the role of Italian women writers during World War I. Gragnani received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2002 and is working on a collaborative project with Ombretta Frau about the material culture of late-19th century Italian women writers.

The discussion will take place in the CHAT lounge on the 10th floor of Gladfelter Hall from 12:30 - 1:50 p.m. The event is open to all.

JUNIOR | STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

“One way is to educate every incoming freshman class and to discuss that there is more than one type of sexual assault - [it] can be verbal, [too].”

ANDREW SANDEFUR

SENIOR | MEDIA STUDIES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

SPORTS

PAGE 17

SPORTS BRIEFS

Chaney, Litwack statues unveiled in Liacouras lobby SOFTBALL

CEREMONY HONORS UNIVERSITY’S TWO HALL-OF-FAME COACHES

PASQUALE NAMED TO 2014 TOP 50 WATCH LIST

On Feb. 1, Temple held a ceremony for its two legendary former coaches – Harry Litwack and John Chaney – as both have now been honored in the Liacouras Center’s lobby in the form of 8-foot tall statues.

In their 46 combined seasons with the Owls, Litwack and Chaney collected 889 wins, 23 NCAA tournament appearences and a 66.6 winning percentage.

Chaney was twice named National Coach of the Year and coached the only team in program history to end the season No. 1 in the AP poll. Litwack was at the helm during the program’s only two Final Four appearences.

Chaney was in attendance along with his family, and Litwack’s daughters were present to speak for Litwack, who died in 1999.

Several former student-athletes from both eras of coaches were in attendance, including Aaron McKie and Rick Brunson. The statues were funded entirely by private donations and were created by Brian Hanlon – the official sculpter of the Naismith Hall of Fame.

“After today, when you walk through this building, you’re going to always feel the presence of these great coaches,” Athletic Director Kevin Clark said. “You’re going to feel their spirit.”

The Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball announced last week that senior catcher Stephanie Pasquale has been named to the watch list for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Pasquale, who last year became the first player in program history to earn All-American honors, was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year last season for setting a conference single-season record with 80 RBIs. Pasquale led the nation with 1.38 RBIs per game in 2013, and struck out just three times in 187 at bats.

-Avery Maehrer

ICE HOCKEY

TEAM MISSES OUT ON REGIONALS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR For the third year in a row, the Owls will not make it to the American Collegiate Hockey Association regional playoffs.

“It sucks to go out like this,” senior goaltender Chris Mullen said after the team’s 6-3 loss to Virginia Tech.

Temple will instead compete in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey playoffs.

-Samuel Matthews

-Avery Maehrer

PEPPER NEARS GRADUATION, WALKS IN COMMENCEMENT Dalton Pepper – the only senior on this year’s men’s basketball roster – walked in the university’s commencement exercises on Jan. 31.

Pepper, who is earning his bachelor of arts in strategic communication, is currently taking the three credits needed to fulfull his requirements for the major. Pepper transferred to Temple after playing two seasons at West Virginia. The guard has had a breakout season this year, starting in every game and averaging a team-high 37.1 minutes per game. Pepper also leads the team in points scored, with 353.

-Avery Maehrer The 8-foot tall statue of coach John Chaney stands on the right side of the Liacouras Center lobby. To the left stands the statue of Harry Litwack. | HUA ZONG TTN

MEN’S GYMNASTICS EIGNER HONORED BY ECAC AFTER NAVY OPEN PERFORMANCE Sophomore Evan Eigner received the ECAC Specialist of the Week honor, after scoring a career high 15.05 third-place finish on rings at the Navy Open. Eigner’s score is the second highest in Temple history since the open scoring system began.

Eigner, who was a four-time national qualifier in the Junior Olympics, is the son of men’s gymnastics coach Fred Turoff.

-Avery Maehrer

Cut teams plead their case to administration CUTS PAGE 1 “My argument was ‘Well, how come no one asked me about their student-athlete experience?’ DiPietro said. “Better yet, how come no one asked the players what their student-athlete experience or dignity was?”

DiPietro said he suggested the use of SEPTA’s Regional Rail service as a way to quicken the commute to Ambler.

“Ambler seems to be a big stumbling block with the administration,” DiPietro said.

“It’s not a stumbling block for the teams that have to go there, at least for us... It’s not a big deal for us.”

Baseball coach Ryan Wheeler said he has been looking into other potential playing venues. He said he would like to consider more games at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J., where the team will play all but one conference game this season. He said he also suggested finding a field in Fairmount Park or partnering with MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, among other ideas.

“There are solutions,” Wheeler said. “They would take time to solve and some money, but they’re very practical and I think they’re solutions that would benefit our programs.”

Crew coach Gavin White said he stressed that his sport has more value to the university than the amount of money it brings in.

“We talked about how crew is not a bottom line sport,” White said. “Of course, we don’t raise that money, we don’t get any income from attendance... this can’t be about bottom line. We travel all over the world, racing Russians, Germans. I think we bring ambassadorship to Tem-

ple. I have kids from Ireland.

[Senior] Fergal [Barry] was in there talking about Ireland. Kids from all over the world come here.”

White also said the Schuylkill Navy – an association of Philadelphia rowing clubs – has pledged to pay half of an estimated $5 million renovation cost of the East Park Canoe House. However, the Schuylkill Navy and the City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation department both say the money is coming from Parks and Rec. Mark Focht, the First Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Facilities, said the city plans on renovating EPCH regardless of whether or not Temple is a tenant.

“We will work to support people in the community and we are sure that donors and funders will step up when they see that there’s a good, viable plan for the East Park Canoe House to be restored and for Temple to be a lead tenant in that building,” Margaret Meigs, a commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, said.

“We’ve been told all along that it’s a facilities issue, particularly with rowing, and we’ve got a number of people who are on our side in terms of trying to work something out from a facilities perspective,” women’s rowing coach Rebecca Grzybowski said. “We have a couple of different options, so we’re hoping that if we can eliminate the facilities issue, then that can be the path to reinstatement.”

Men’s gymnastics coach Fred Turoff said his presentation was mainly based around the academic and athletic success of the team. He also said Bill Cosby has offered to do a

benefit concert to raise money.

“Certainly the fact that we have represented Temple honorably and quite well in both the academic and the athletic areas speaks favorably to our program,” Turoff said. “I’d certainly like to continue being here.

I’ve been here for 49 years.”

Gabe Pickett, a senior jumper and team captain for the track & field team, said his program’s presentation took a different approach than the other teams. He and his coach, Eric Mobley, talked about how eliminating the team will result in lost opportunities for AfricanAmerican males.

“Men’s track & field is very popular with African-American males,” Pickett said. “If you get rid of that, especially in a prominent African-American area such as North Philadelphia... you’re eliminating that group.”

Pickett said he wanted to help the administrators understand what the coaches and players were going through, rather than listing numbers and statistics.

“I talked about the opportunities that track & field have provided me,” Pickett said.

“Not just competing, but education, camaraderie with my teammates. It’s opened up a lot of doors, like being vice president of [Student-Athlete Advisory Committee]. I’ve been able to give back to the community with a lot of volunteer efforts to be an influence to those around us. It’s done more than just allow us to compete.”

Evan Cross can be reached at evan.cross@temple.edu or on Twitter @EvanCross.

SPORTS

PAGE 18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

After year-long recovery injured knee, Pensyl returns for final season as Owl of my training,” Pensyl said. “It was enough that I couldn’t run or jump, so it was really frustrating.”

Pensyl said that later in the fall semester, doctors told him DANIELLE NELSON he had a piece of bone that was The Temple News chipped off next to his knee – the cause of the discomfort.

These days, when Dylan Doctors then attempted a needle Pensyl competes in track & field procedure to alleviate the pain. events, he doesn’t just want to “They numbed the area, win. jabbed it with the needle and “A lot of people have goals, try to break up the piece of bone like ‘I want to hit this time, I as much as they could,” Pensyl want to jump this jump,’” the said. “It wasn’t huge, it was f i f t h - y e a r literally a millimeter. So they TRACK & FIELD senior said. had to break that up and stimu“But my main late blood flow as much as they goal is to just stay healthy and could.” compete at every meet and just After two have fun.” of those proceFor Pensyl, dures, Pensyl who returned was still painto the track this stricken. month with a January team-high sixth 2013 greeted place finish in Pensyl with a the long jump, crucial decithose goals were sion. It was a impossible to acchoice that the complish a year walk-on senior Dylan Pensyl returned to competition this month after a year ago. was facing for of recovery. | COURTESY TEMPLE ATHLETICS An undithe first time in a lot of the stuff that I like do- what it’s all about.” agnosed knee Dylan Pensyl / fifth-year senior his athletic ca“I did go to a lot of practicinjury slowly reer: surgery or ing. I, in a way, shut down. My prevented Pensyl no surgery. Pen- friends and teammates would go es, but it’s just hard to sit there from excelling athletically and syl opted for the surgery, but the away for meets on the weekend and watch your team practice and I would see how well they and you have to just stand on the the pain eventually forced him decision was not easy. to the sidelines in Fall 2012.

“The one thing that I regret did and how much fun they had, sideline,” Pensyl added.

Although Pensyl was un“I ended up fighting the most about my injury was just knowing how much fun it is through a lot of pain to the point that I didn’t take it very well,” to go away and compete in these able to participate during pracwhere it was getting in the way Pensyl said. “I was unable to do meets and knowing that that’s tices, he still supported his

Fifth-year senior is back after spending a year of recovery.

“I didn’t take it

very well. I was unable to do a lot of the stuff that I like doing.

I, in a way, shut down.

”

Pensyl out on the track, guiding teammates.

“He was still encouraging the rest of the team.

“For me, seeing him out to everyone else,” senior captain Gabe Pickett said. “He was there competing again, it’s good there emotionally and there for to know after such a long road support, which was really good he still has that type of drive, because we needed that upper- that type of fire, that after such a long road, he persevered,” Pickclass type leadership.”

In March 2013, Pensyl ett said.

“He has definitely grown,” underwent a tibial biopsy – a minor incision to take out the coach Eric Mobley said. “He knows to take advantage of evsmall piece of bone.

“The surgery went pretty ery opportunity, because you never know.” quick, my body reUP NEXT Now that this acted well,” Pensyl Owls vs. UConn is the final season said. “We were just Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. of his collegiate careally relieved that reer, Pensyl said he’s it worked and it was more appreciate than ever. a quicker process.”

“The time off that I had and For the rest of the spring semester and throughout the the time away from the sport summer, Pensyl said he went humbled me and made me rethrough rehab at home, trying to alize that I can’t take stuff for get his strength back while wait- granted,” Pensyl said. ing to be cleared by his doctor.

“I know I did,” Pensyl addAfter a long and challeng- ed. “I know those meets during ing year, Pensyl returned to the my sophomore and junior year, track in Fall 2013.

I was just like, ‘Oh it’s another “To be able to jump again, meet,’ and we had fun doing pain-free, to be able to go to it, and it was always fun, but these meets again and watch that’s the type of thing that gets my teammates compete and away from you. Once you miss compete alongside them, there it, then you start to realize how is nothing better,” Pensyl said. much it matters – not only the “That is why I chose to come meets, but the practices. I fell in back. It’s all coming through love with practice again.” now. A year ago was when I was Danielle Nelson can be reached making the decision to redshirt, I remember it was just January, at danielle.nelson@temple.edu or on Twitter @Dan_Nels. the beginning of the semester, and to look at it a year later and see I am now competing.”

Pickett said he’s glad to see

Owls to rely upon underclassmen after losing six seniors before debut season in Big East der to be successful in 2014. can do that, plus know more “The younger players have and be better in their play. I exto be willing to assume the po- pect our senior class to be really sition of making that scoring strong. Certainly we expect impact,” Rosen said. “I think early in the season for them to we relied on a few key players be key leadership on the field.” last year because “They all have UP NEXT they were just more a lot of experience Owls at Penn mature and ready to and have seen a lot Feb. 8 at 9:30 a.m. do it. We’ll proband are the most (Scrimmage) ably be a much comfortable on the more well-rounded field right now,” offense this year. We have a lot Rosen added. “We have returnof scoring threats in the infield ing players from every class and attack.” except for freshmen in terms of This year’s seniors include playing, so right now from a poattacker Jaymie Tabor, who sition standpoint, I expect there scored 27 goals in 2013, mid- is a lot of fighting right now for fielders Kelly Syphard and Lea who’s going to be the starting Britton and graduate defender people, but we expect to play Nina Falcone. They’ll be there quite a big group of players.” to provide leadership, but the Temple will have a series of contributions are expected to preseason scrimmages Saturday come from every class. at the University of Pennsyl“We are wide open right vania’s Franklin Field against now,” Rosen said. “Our seniors Penn, Georgetown and Towson. last year did a really fantastic The Owls will open up the job for us. They were just an- 2014 campaign the following chors to the program, and all the Saturday against St. Joe’s. underclassmen were athletes Nick Tricome can be reached that really helped make a big at nick.tricome@temple.edu or on difference. This year it’s who Twitter @itssnick215.

LACROSSE PAGE 20

Kara Stroup, who started every game last season on defense for the Owls, runs onto the field during a 2013 game against St. Bonaventure. Stroup is among 12 sophomores returning to this year’s roster.| DANIEL PELLIGRINE TTN FILE PHOTO

Jackson: ‘I wasn’t really happy with the program’ JACKSON PAGE 20 couldn’t explain that part. It wouldn’t make any sense to you because it didn’t make any sense to me.”

“Jacquilyn Jackson was dismissed from the Temple University women’s basketball team on Dec. 30, 2013, for violations of team rules,” the team said in a statement. The team said there would be no further comment.

The decision ended a tumultuous two-month stretch for Jackson that began when she and Owls junior guard Rateska Brown were suspended on Nov. 5 for violating team rules. Jackson declined to comment on the

reason for the suspension.

Both players returned to active duty prior to the Owls’ Big 5 clash with St. Joseph’s University on Dec. 4, and it was Jackson who saw playing time at forward with five rebounds in 10 minutes.

While Brown has settled in with quality minutes as the Owls’ sixth man since returning to action, posting 7.8 points per game, Jackson sat for the Owls’ next five games before her eventual dismissal.

Despite the initial suspension, Jackson felt she could have been played more than the 10 minutes of action she saw

against the Hawks.

“I wasn’t really happy, and there were a lot of decisions Cardoza made that I didn’t agree with,” Jackson said. “I felt that I should have played in times that I didn’t. It doesn’t make sense for me not to play and you’re still losing. That’s still hard for me to grasp.”

“Last year was a little different,” Jackson added. “If I didn’t play last year I would’ve understood. We had [Victoria Macaulay] and we had [now-senior forward Natasha Thames].

If I didn’t play last year I could understand why. But I feel like the playing time could have

been shared more this year than last, especially in my position.”

Even with the standout Macaulay and a consistent starter in Thames, Jackson still saw 11.1 minutes per game last season with 1.4 points per game and two rebounds per game.

“I feel like it’s a lot of coaching toward how you feel about people instead of coaching toward talent,” Jackson said.

“It’s like being a part of a team where there’s an ulterior goal and I don’t know what it is. It’s too much for me to think about instead of just playing D-I basketball.”

The events surrounding the

suspension and the subsequent benching game in and game out created a situation that, had she not been let go from the team, she would not have returned to next year, Jackson said.

“As far as everything goes, I’m relieved,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t really happy with the program. If I wasn’t released, I probably wouldn’t have stayed anyway.”

While Jackson said she will play out the remainder of the academic year at Temple, the Gaithersburg, Md., native said she is looking to transfer after this year and play at a school within a manageable distance

from home, but preferably still in the Philadelphia area.

As for her time at Temple, she said she’s simply moved on.

“Eventually I accepted it,” Jackson said. “I’m at peace with it. If they were to ask me if I wanted to come back, I would’ve said no. I just can’t be a part of it anymore. Mentally and emotionally, it’s just too much to deal with.”

Andrew Parent can be reached at andrew.parent@temple.edu or on Twitter @daParent93.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

PAGE 19

Junior forward Anthony Lee (second from left) falls to the ground during Temple’s loss to Villanova. Lee recorded his ninth double-double of the season. | HUA ZONG TTN

Owls struggling to gain consistency

cess blew a 20-point lead to the Scarlet Knights.

Similarly, the Owls played well defensively during the first half against the Wildcats, but struggled in the second.

“We weren’t very good offensively in the second half,” Dunphy said. “I think a lot of that was because our defense was so bad.”

“They made switches on

defense,” junior guard Will Cummings said of the team’s second half struggles against Villanova. “They took us out of a lot of our sets and played more aggressive on the defensive end.”

While the Owls trailed by five points at halftime, Villanova outscored them 29-9 off the bench as Temple’s short-stacked roster continues to force Dun-

BASKETBALL PAGE 20

phy’s hand on who he can play The Owls rank fourth in scor– Cummings and redshirt-senior ing offense, but rank the lowest guard Dalton Pepper played a in scoring defense, rebounding and steals. full 40 minutes UP NEXT The Owls will against Rutgers.

Owls at SMU travel to Texas later Pepper went withFeb. 6 at 8 p.m. this week, where they out a break against will face Southern Methodist on the Wildcats as well.

Temple sits at last place in Thursday and Houston on Sunthe American Athletic Confer- day. ence standings – mostly due to “We have to put this one the team’s poor defensive play. behind us and move forward to

the next two games,” redshirtjunior forward Anthony Lee said.

Winners of one game during conference play, Temple will play 10 more games this season – all against opponents in The American.

The Owls will need to win nine of their final 10 games in order to avoid finishing the season with a losing record. While

making such a run is unlikely given the competition the Owls face, at least one man is not ready to bail.

“Just know that we’re with you,” Chaney said to Dunphy at his ceremony prior to the Villanova game. “And we’ll stay with you.”

Avery Maehrer can be reached at avery.maehrer@temple.edu or on Twitter @AveryMaehrer.

Facing a stark transition, Clark yields success as freshman Freshman épée fenced mostly boys during high school.

MICHAEL GUISE The Temple News Going into high school, Rachael Clark didn’t like sports.

When the freshman épée, who was recently named to College Fencing 360’s weekly honor roll, was first introduced to fencing when joining her friend at a lesson, she didn’t even own a pair of sneakers.

FENCING From that first lesson, however, Clark was hooked.

“I actually loved it on the spot,” she said. “I was ready to commit.”

Clark’s family and friends thought her new interest in fencing was a joke.

“Everyone thought it was really weird,” Clark said. “It was different than what all my friends were doing in high school.”

Within months of that first lesson, Clark was traveling to compete against other fencers.

She joined the Vivo Fencing Club, where there was only one other girl that was her age. The rest were boys.

“Girls fence a little differ- other interests … not just fencently,” Clark said. “Guys are ing. And I really liked that.”

Living in a big city has been more physical about their fencing and girls are much more of a transition for the Boxford, the mental game, so I think that Mass., native.

“I definitely lived in a little was a big adjustment and somebubble before, so it is really thing that was harder.”

Being one of two girls in nice,” Clark said. “I love meether age group, Clark was forced ing the different people. It’s toto fence the boys on a regular tally a different experience.”

At Tembasis. She said it ple, Clark has made her stronger.

UP NEXT Duke Invitational realized the “[Boys] are so Feb. 9 obstacles that much more aggrescome with besive and do not get afraid of that,” ing a studentClark said. “Physathlete. ically they’d hit “It is defiso much harder. nitely about time manageThere is zero fear ment and orfactor.” ganizing, and When it came I learned that to selecting a colvery quickly ... lege, Clark’s parI have to plan ents wanted her Rachael Clark / freshman épée a week before to choose Temple. so I know I can When visiting, Clark was sold on the team at- get everything done,” Clark said.

The competition in her sport mosphere, coaching staff – led

by Nikki Franke – and the fact has also been a step up.

“It is so much harder here,” there were other women to comClark said. “It is so much more pete with.

“They were girls, so that work, and I think there is a lot was so exciting to me,” Clark more pressure to do well and alsaid. “I visited other schools and ways perform your best … it is I felt that the fencers were just my job. That is how I look at it.”

“We will have days off and I fencers, whereas here they have

“I’m never

completely satisfied. There is always work you can do.

”

will get so bored,” Clark added.

“I just really love it. I find it fulfilling. I find it worth the time to invest in it. Then on those days off, I get so bored that I want to get back to practice.”

That hard work has not gone unnoticed by her coaches.

Assistant coach Anastasia Ferdman said Clark has been steadily improving.

“It is a big change to switch to college fencing,” Ferdman said. “She is listening all the time. She does what I expect her to do, she tries new things. That shows that she is growing as a fencer.”

Clark won all 12 of her bouts to lead the No. 9 Owls to an undefeated record at the Philadelphia Invitational last month.

She also contributed to Temple’s recent victories against No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Penn and Cornell. Clark also topped twotime NCAA entrant Gabby Floor 3-2.

“I’m never completely satisfied, there is always work you can do,” Clark said.

Michael Guise can be reached at michaelguise@temple.edu or on Twitter @Mikeg2511.

Freshman épée Rachel Clark was recently named to College Fencing 360’s weekly honor roll. | ALISA MILLER TTN

Kabengano: ‘College life didn’t suit me too much’ Kabengano was also coping with cultural differences between Sweden and the United States. In her personal blog “Sally in Philly,” Kabengano recorded her day-to-day activities, including observations of what she perceived as strange practices in America.

“You know how it is,” Kabengano said. “You get home.

You’re tired. I exaggerated things. [There are] some things good, some things bad, [but] I love U.S.A.”

“Like, I’m not religious at all,” Kabengano added. “I know in the U.S., it’s a big thing.

Praying before games, before meals. That was a new thing for me, and I’m very, very atheist.

So, you kind of meet people halfway. It was a team ritual. I didn’t mind doing it.”

Despite the cultural shift, Kabengano was fully expected to evolve as a player and become a major presence for the Owls moving forward. However, Kabengano did not return to

KABENGANO PAGE 20

Temple for the 2013-14 season.

“Basically, it was just that the college life didn’t suit me too much,” Kabengano said.

“Combining everything with school, I felt like I couldn’t give one thing 100 percent. [Coach Tonya Cardoza] doesn’t like to have a player there who isn’t 100 percent committed to their play or the program. I don’t want to be there not giving [it my all].”

Kabengano returned to Sweden and she is now playing

for Telge basketball as a sixthman power forward.

Though commitment was a problem for the former Owl, Kabengano also noted that a nagging knee injury plagued her freshman season and would likely have hindered her sophomore season.

“I needed painkillers to get through this season,” Kabengano said. “When I [returned to Sweden], I couldn’t play basketball until this year. I had to rehab, and I had the surgery. So

I would not have been able to play. When I got home, I could barely walk. I was limping a lot with my injury.”

Even though her American career did not grow beyond the first season, Kabengano said that because of the relationships she made with her Owls teammates and the experience she had in America, there is no regret spending last season in Philadelphia.

“I follow all of [Temple’s] games because the girls are

my friends,” Kabengano said.

“When I decided I wanted to go home, I feel like me and the girls came even closer. They were all very supportive. [Now] we Snapchat each other all the time.”

“I needed that experience,” Kabengano added. “I grew so much that year. It was a really fun year.”

Brien Edwards can be reached at brien.erick.edwards@temple.edu or on Twitter @BErick1123.

SPORTS FIGHTING BACK

Fifth-year senior Dylan Pensyl has completed his recovery from injury and recently competed with the Owls for the first time since 2012. PAGE 18

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GYMNASTS UNITE

CHANEY HONORED WITH STATUE

In what is slated to be the final season for the men’s squad, alumni flock to McGonigle Hall for both team’s first home meets of the season. ONLINE

Legendary coach receives statue, Stephanie Pasquale named to watch list, other news and notes.

PAGE 17

temple-news.com

PAGE 20

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

SHRUNKEN ROSTER Two of last year’s freshmen have left the Owls for very different reasons.

Sally Kabengano headed home after her rookie campaign brought frustration.

Jacquilyn Jackson was dismissed this season due to violating team rules.

BRIEN EDWARDS The Temple News

ANDREW PARENT The Temple News

S

earching “Sally Kabengano” on search engines did not garner many results, but a search of “Salome Kabengano” revealed the former Owl’s personal blog about her time in Philadelphia – to her surprise.

“Can you see my blog?”

Kabengano said in a phone interview, laughing at the mention of her website. “I didn’t know that.”

After a promising rookie season, Salome “Sally” Kabengano decided to leave Temple and travel back to her hometown overseas due to the pressure of balanacing life as a student-athlete.

Kabengano was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but spent most of her childhood in Södermanland, Sweden, where she flourished as a member of the Swedish Junior National team.

Weighing the options of playing professionally in Sweden or coming to the United States to play for a collegiate program, Kabengano eventually decided to come to Temple in 2012.

As a freshman, Kabengano started 29 of 31 games as one of Temple’s forwards, averaging 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and more than 30 minutes per game.

Though there was an adjustment period for the left-handed Swede to the American game, Salome “Sally” Kabengano dribbles during a game last season against Saint Louis. During her first and only season with the Owls, Kabengano started almost every game at forward, averaging 5.8 points and more than 30 minutes per game. Kabengano SALOME PAGE 19 dropped out of Temple and returned to Sweden, where she is now playing professionally. | MAGGIE TRAPANI TTN

W

hen Jacquilyn Jackson showed up for practice on Dec. 30 and got word that coach Tonya Cardoza wanted to see her, she had a funny feeling that it would be her last meeting with the coach.

“I was at practice in the gym and one of the assistants came and told me [Cardoza] wanted me,” Jackson said. “I kind of had a feeling.”

Jackson’s meeting with the sixth-year coach confirmed her suspicions, as Cardoza informed the sophomore forward that she was dismissed from the team for reasons that Jackson said she still does not understand.

“The reason was really unclear to me,” Jackson said. “I

JACKSON PAGE 18

Jacquilyn Jackson. |COURTESY TEMPLE ATHLETICS

Midway through season, Owls still looking to gain consistency The losing streak was snapped, but the damage is done.

AVERY MAEHRER Sports Editor

Guard Will Cummings drives to the basket against Villanova defenders. Cummings tallied a game-high 24 points in the Owl’s 90-74 loss to the Wildcats last Saturday. | HUA ZONG TTN

John Chaney may have needed some assistance climbing up the stairs to the temporary stage set up MEN’S BASKETBALL in the Liacouras Center lobby, but once he reached the podium, the legendary coach was ready to talk.

“You guys should find a place to sit, I might be a little lengthy,” the 82-year-old joked as he stood beside the tarpcovered statue of his liking that would be unveiled a few moments later.

Just before wrapping up his 25-minute speech, Chaney took a moment to comment on the current state of coach Fran Dunphy’s squad – which at that point had lost eight of its past nine games. Chaney, who met and spoke with members of the team last week, has a clear message he’s trying to send.

“There’s a difference between being a loser and losing,” Chaney said. “There’s a difference between being a failure and failing.”

“They needed to know that,” he added.

The Owls ended up losing that afternoon to No. 9 Villanova 90-74 – failing to pull off an upset in their third Big 5 matchup of the season. Earlier in the week, the team snapped its eight game losing streak with a win against Rutgers, but in the pro-

BASKETBALL PAGE 19

Picked to finish fifth, Rosen’s squad to enter Big East as unknown Lacrosse will open its season next weekend at rival St. Joseph’s.

NICK TRICOME The Temple News The Owls are projected to finish closer to the bottom than the top of the Big LACROSSE East Conference standings, but Bonnie Rosen said to expect the unexpected.

“I think this team has the

ability to surprise a lot of teams this year,” the eighth-year coach said.

Temple concluded its final year in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 9-8 record (4-3 A-10) and a first-round loss to Duquesne in the A-10 tournament.

The Big East Preseason Poll – released on Jan. 23 – has the Owls finishing fifth in the conference. But heading into this season, much like the other Owl teams that went into their

SPORTS DESK 215-204-9537

first year in a new conference, the lacrosse team is going in as a bit of an unknown.

“It’s an exciting position to be in, with everyone knowing not much about us,” sophomore attacker Rachel Schwaab said.

“It will be fun to go out and show them what we have.”

“We worked really hard all fall,” sophomore midfielder Summer Jaros said. “Condition mentally, physically, came back early. We’re ready to take these teams on, and we want to be that

underdog.”

Both Schwaab and Jaros are coming off standout freshman campaigns. Schwaab finished third on the team in offense with 23 goals and 10 assists for 33 points, while Jaros added five goals of her own.

Both said they, along with the rest of the team, are working to build off of last season.

“Just keep pushing,” Schwaab said. “I think we’re all, as a team, doing that really well. We’ve worked really hard,

SPORTS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM

and I think it’s shown. Everyone’s gotten better, and I’m just excited for the season.”

Jaros, however, said she will have to make an adjustment this year, switching more to the defensive end.

“They told me last year they were going to switch things around,” Jaros said. “It’s all about what the team needs.

I was open-minded and really wanted to hit the ground running when I came back this year. I’m really excited, it’s go-

ing to be different on the field, but I’m ready to get out on the field and play.”

Temple lost six seniors and one fifth-year player to graduation. Two of those seniors were the team’s leading scorers in 2013: attacker Stephany Parcell – 40 goals – and midfielder Charlotte Swavola – 38 goals.

Rosen said the team had a tendency to rely more on its veterans last season, but will have to make a full team effort in or-

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