Vol. 98 Iss. 14

THE TEMPLE NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019

TAKING A HIT

Temple faculty and students react to the growing concern of the safety of vaping and e-cigarette products.

Read more on Page 12

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS, PAGE 5-6 As the semester winds down, read about Temple Student Government’s progress since taking office.

SPORTS, PAGE 22 A Temple club ice hockey player enrolled at Temple joined the team and after serving in the U.S. Marines.

VOL 98 // ISSUE 14 DEC. 3, 2019

THE ESSAYIST 2019

Read more on Pages 8-11

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS PAGE 2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

THE TEMPLE NEWS A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

Kelly Brennan Editor in Chief Pavlína Černá Managing Editor Rjaa Ahmed Digital Managing Editor Francesca Furey Chief Copy Editor Colin Evans News Editor Hal Conte Assistant News Editor Gabrielle Houck Assistant News Editor Tyler Perez Opinion Editor Madison Karas Features Editor Bibiana Correa Assistant Features Editor Ayooluwa Ariyo Assistant Features Editor Jay Neemeyer Sports Editor Dante Collinelli Assistant Sports Editor Alex McGinley Assistant Sports Editor Alesia Bani Intersection Co-Editor Gionna Kinchen Intersection Co-Editor Michael Moscarelli Dir. of Engagement Alexis Ensley Gregg Asst. Dir. of Engagement MacKenzie Sendro Web Editor Colleen Claggett Photography Editor Jeremy Elvas Asst. Photography Editor Madison Seitchik Co-Multimedia Editor Jared Giovan Co-Multimedia Editor Ingrid Slater Design Editor Nicole Hwang Designer Phuong Tran Advertising Manager Kelsey McGill Advertising Manager Lubin Park Business 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

ON THE COVER RYAN ENOCH / THE TEMPLE NEWS

CORRECTIONS 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 Kelly Brennan at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6736.

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RESEARCH

Temple study: Olive oil may slow dementia The oil reduced the buildup of mer’s, Praticò said.

Dementia is a term for a group of tau, a protein associated with symptoms severely affecting memocognitive decline, in mice.

BY COLIN EVANS News Editor

R

esearchers at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine found that consuming olive oil reduces the risk of dementia.

According to the study, published in the medical journal Aging Cell last week, extra virgin olive oil improves brain activity and memory while decreasing the accumulation of tau, a protein whose buildup causes a decline in brain function, in mice.

The oil essentially helps to preserve the part of the brain that is responsible for memory and cognition, said Domenico Praticò, the Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research at Temple.

“The olive oil basically activates the system in the nerve cell, so therefore, the nerve cells can protect themselves from this accumulation,” Praticò said.

In 2017, researchers at the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple found that extra virgin olive oil reduced the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, two red flags for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a release from the medical school.

In the new study, Temple researchers and a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome set out to determine whether extra virgin olive oil’s positive effects held true for forms of dementia besides Alzhei-

ry, thinking and social abilities, according to Mayo Clinic. Alzheimer’s disease is a specific form of dementia that is most common in older adults.

“In other words, we add another piece of this puzzle and further support the idea that this could be, really, in the future, a medical intervention,” Praticò added.

The benefits of the oil on the brain will not manifest with shortterm usage, Praticò said, adding that patients would have to make a lifestyle change before seeing effects.

“It’s not a magic little potion you’re taking,” he said. “It’s a chronic effect.”

Richard Isaacson, the director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, has recommended extra virgin olive oil to his patients for years based on its positive effects on cholesterol health, he said.

“What I believe is that extra virgin olive oil has to be one of the important primary components of an anti-Alzheimer’s plan,” Isaacson said.

The next task of the Temple researchers is to examine whether extra virgin olive oil can help reduce the risk of other degenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s disease, Praticò said.

“This step, this study brings us one step closer to understanding the exact type of patients that we should really be advocating for the use of extra virgin olive oil,” Isaacson said. colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

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NEWS PAGE 4

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

CITY

Former faculty member creates shooting tracker More than 700 people have been shot in the 22nd police district since 2015.

BY HAL CONTE Assistant News Editor A former Temple University administrator has created an online tool to track gun violence in Philadelphia dating back to 2015.

The Philadelphia Shooting Victims Dashboard is a project of The Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting, a nonprofit whose mission is to “inform a new set of best practices for journalists reporting on gun violence.” The project was founded by Jim MacMillan, a fellow in residence at the Reynolds Journalism Institute, and The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.

“The goal here was to make data more accessible,” said MacMillan, the former assistant director of external affairs at the Klein College of Media and Communication. “The dashboard was meant to make it easier for journalists and the public at large to find the data.”

“The idea is that more information is more likely to reduce misperception,” he added. “I think visualizing data can punctuate a clear perception of information found in the data.”

Normally, fatal and nonfatal shootings combined are difficult to track, said Caterina Roman, an associate professor of criminal justice at Temple, adding that the dashboard breaks them down by geography and age group.

“If you asked 100 people, it always seems like people will say crime is worse than it is,” Roman added. “People will be empowered to understand what is really going on.”

“Students might be alarmed when

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

KRISTON JAE BETHEL / COURTESY Jim MacMillan, director of the Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting, introduces the organization’s Philadelphia Shooting Victims Dashboard during the Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit on Nov. 8 at WHYY in Race Street and 6th.

they see all these Temple alerts without knowing the broader context for violence,” Roman added. “It might make it appear that the area around Temple is more violent than it is.”

Since 2015, 712 people have been shot in Philadelphia’s 22nd police district, which encompasses Main Campus, Brewerytown and Strawberry Mansion, according to the dashboard, which was approximately 11 percent of shootings in the city.

In 2019, 136 have been shot in that

district, which was approximately 10 percent of shootings in the city.

One of the limitations of the dashboard is that it does not include threats of gun violence, MacMillan said.

Additionally, MacMillan is hoping to make data, like the times of day that people were shot and whether a person was shot indoors or outdoors, accessible in the dashboard, he said.

Jessica Beard, a trauma surgeon and researcher at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, said the dashboard is also lim-

ited in that it does not track suicides.

In 2017, approximately 60 percent of all gun-related deaths in the United States were suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“My one criticism of the dashboard is that it’s limited because it’s not a complete picture of gun violence,” Beard added. colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 5

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

TSG

Execs fulfill some campaign points, slow on others The Temple News examines BecomingTU, has done this semester in which campaign promises Be- relation to its major platform points. comingTU achieved this fall.

BY LAKOTA MATSON TSG Beat Reporter The current Temple Student Government administration campaigned on improving communication between TSG and student organizations, promoting inclusivity for marginalized students on campus and building a better relationship between Temple and the surrounding community.

Here is a summary of what the executive branch, which campaigned as @TheTempleNews

Student Life

To improve TSG’s outreach to student organizations, the administration created “out-of-office office hours,” a requirement for members of the executive branch to attend at least two hours of other organizations’ meetings each week.

It was not realistic for every director to find a meeting that fits in their schedule every week, so the administration reduced the requirement to one meeting a month, said Student Body President Francesca Capozzi in October.

Community Relations

During the campaign, BecomingTU advocated for building a stronger bond between students and community residents.

Platform points included giving residents access to TUAlerts, inviting community residents to town hall meetings and conducting a group fitness class for residents.

Allowing community residents to receive TUAlerts has received pushback from Campus Safety Services, said Kaya Jones, TSG’s vice president of external affairs.

“They say it’s kind of impossible

because if we add more people, the response to getting TUAlerts for students will be delayed,” Jones said.

“Currently there is no mechanism to add someone from outside Temple to the system,” wrote Charlie Leone, the director of Campus Safety Services, in an email to The Temple News.

Meanwhile, no community residents attended TSG’s community forum on Sept. 24, while three attended its Nov. 7 meeting, said Tajnia Hussain, TSG’s director of local and community affairs.

TSG will invite a community resTSG | PAGE 6 News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 6

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 TSG

Diversity and Inclusion

ident to speak at their Community Affairs town hall meeting in February, Jones said.

TSG held a community fitness day in Pearson and McGonigle halls on Nov. 16, which one community resident attended, Hussain said.

TSG plans to have more community events next semester, Jones added.

Administrative Relations

During the campaign, the executive branch pledged to advocate for the creation of a non-TSG student voting seat on the Board of Trustees and oppose the construction of any “multipurpose facility” on or near Main Campus.

So far nothing has been done in terms of having a non-voting seat on the Board, Capozzi said.

“I’m still researching and seeing what other schools have done in regard to this,” she added.

To promote diversity and inclusion, TSG has been working toward creating an online “multicultural caucus” that allows leaders of cultural and international organizations on campus to communicate with TSG via a Google Form about the issues they see on campus.

TSG originally planned to host the forums in person but decided not to due to the large number of multicultural organizations on campus, The Temple News reported.

The form will be sent out by the end of the semester, said Ammani Khan, TSG’s director of campus life and diversity.

Sexual Violence Awareness

In collaboration with the Wellness Resource Center and other student organizations, TSG held various workshops and events to raise awareness of sexual violence on Temple’s campus as part of its third annual Sexual Assault Prevention Week from Sept. 9-13.

During the campaign, the team pledged to introduce mandatory training on Title IX procedures for all student organizations into STARS workshops.

Directors in the executive branch are still researching how this can be done, Capozzi said.

Sustainability and Environment

During the campaign, BecomingTU pledged to support the Office of Sustainability, advocate for zero-waste efforts on campus and endorse the university’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2050, according to its platform.

Kathryn Lyons, TSG’s director of grounds and sustainability, is promoting the use of zero-waste kits for campus organizations, advocating for lower SEPTA fares for students and partnering with the Office of Sustainability and Temple Community Garden on a pilot compost collection service, Capozzi said.

Food and Housing Insecurity

To bring awareness to food and housing insecurity on Temple’s campus, the campaign pledged to create a director of student basic needs position in the executive branch, which is currently occupied by AaronRey Ebreo, a senior biology major.

TSG held its second annual Campus Hunger Awareness Week, aimed at raising awareness of food insecurity, from Nov. 11-16.

Events during the week included a video game tournament, a dodgeball tournament, a panel on homelessness, a food and clothing drive and a food distribution event in Center City, hosted in conjunction with Swipes for Philadelphia, a local food distribution organization found by Ebreo.

More than 400 nonperishable items were collected throughout the week and donated to the Cherry Pantry, Temple’s on-campus basic needs pantry, Ebreo said. lakota.matson@temple.edu @lakotamatson

PARLIAMENT During the campaign, BecomingTU advocated for making Parliament, the legislative branch of TSG, inactive during the fall semester to examine how the 30-seat body could be more effective. Parliament, created in 2016, has historically struggled with filling seats and passing resolutions.

The executive branch walked back its proposal after Parliament filled two-thirds of its seats before the beginning of this academic year. Five seats are still open.

Parliament’s top stated priorities this year were to improve access on campus for students with disabilities, increase Parliament members’ participation in on-campus events and maintain a better record of the legislative body’s activities.

On Nov. 11, Parliament approved the creation of a task force to assess whether buildings on campus are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Capozzi approved the resolution on Nov. 15.

Parliament has passed four other resolutions this semester, including one to hold the university accountable to install sanitary bins in all female bathrooms, which Capozzi approved. Capozzi vetoed but later approved a Parliament resolution that expressed support for Temple University Graduate Students’ Association.

Parliament’s next meeting of the semester is on Dec. 9.

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

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NEWS PAGE 7

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

ADMINISTRATION

Independent unit handles increased data review Some schools and colleges discuss the effect of the new required review procedures.

BY COLIN EVANS News Editor Temple’s data verification unit, created in the wake of last year’s Fox School of Business’ rankings scandal, will eventually need to scale back the amount of data it reviews as the current amount is time-consuming and financially taxing, said Alex Diaz, Temple’s chief compliance officer.

“We’re going to have to innovate because this amount of review is not longterm sustainable,” Diaz said. “It’s a tax, not in terms of just money, but in terms of money, time, resources, people.”

The scope of the unit’s review currently includes any document with statistics, demographics or other data types, as well as any data submitted to accreditation bodies, the government and rankings organizations, according to a university memo.

The unit, which launched on July 1, acts as a “safety net” when it comes to ensuring the accuracy of Temple’s external data, Diaz said. Within the unit, Diaz oversees three full-time employees in addition to temporary staff contracted through Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, a tax firm, who are brought on during busy periods, he said.

The business school’s ranking scandal unraveled after U.S. News and World Report announced it had “significantly overstated” data for its Online MBA program in January 2018. An independent review by the law firm Jones Day later found the school had grown rankings-focused in the years leading up to the scandal and data from several programs at the business school had been falsified.

To reduce the possibility of a similar situation happening, the DVU required each school, college and office at Temple to create internal review processes before sending data to the unit, Diaz said. @TheTempleNews

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Alex Diaz, Temple’s chief compliance officer, speaks about the duties of Temple’s data verification unit in Cornell Hall on Nov. 20.

Don Heller, the senior vice dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication, said he supports having “another set of eyes” look at data but wants the unit to allow individual colleges to review and publish some materials, like marketing brochures, on their own.

“It’s getting the balance between what really ought to be verified at the school or be verified [by the unit],” Heller said.

“It’s still too much [risk],” Diaz said.

“Soon, at some point, we’re going to have to say, ‘You know what, we’re willing to live with a little bit different amount of risk.’”

“When we can start throttle back will depend on when we start producing data that we are more comfortable with, are accurate, and don’t require this level of supervision,” he added.

The DVU could reduce the amount of data it reviews by creating standard templates for marketing materials, Diaz said.

Jennifer Ibrahim, the associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Public Health, said the DVU requires more documentation than the university previously did to review data, which has slowed down the College of Public Health’s timeline for submitting accreditation reports.

“If I send a report forward that says ‘We have 100 students,’ I need to also send a spreadsheet that lists 100 active students … I have to submit documentation on how many students, and then broken out by gender, race, ethnicity, and full time, part time, in state, out of state,” Ibrahim said.

“I think some of the issues are, the

problem occurred in one school, and then these rules are being applied blanket across all the schools,” she added.

“Our college has never had a problem, and we have the most accreditations in the university.”

The DVU aims to complete reviews within three weeks, Diaz said, though more urgent requests are prioritized and completed in a shorter time.

“I can’t imagine anybody being thrilled at the idea of, ‘Hey, I’m going to make it slower and probably more expensive,’” Diaz said. “But I will say, that at least since I’ve been involved with DVU ... I have very much felt that [Temple] is very supportive of what we’re trying to do.” colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

OPINION TUESDAY, PAGE 8 DECEMBER 3, 2019

THE ESSAYIST

PAGE 8 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

PROUD and POWERFUL

For The Essayist issue, we chose to publish an essay every day during the first week of December, all fo-

EDITORIALS

cusing on pride and accomplishment.

In print, four writers discuss their struggles with mental and physical health, and what they’re proud of despite these challenges. Their stories highlight the power of perseverance in an effort to destigmatize mental illness and inspire others struggling with similar problems.

Read and listen to these essays and more at temple-news.com.

TSG: PRIORITIZE ENGAGEMENT DATA REVIEW UNIT NEEDS MORE RESOURCES

Content warning: stories include mentions of mental illness and self-harm that may upset some readers.

Read this week’s editorials online at temple-news.com

On anxiety, therapy and all the pride in between A student with anxiety reflects on and an aura of positivity so nobody ever seeking help and why he chose worries about me.

And that’s not healthy. this year’s Essayist theme.

BY TYLER PEREZ Opinion Editor

W

hen I least expect it, my anxiety hits me with full force.

My fingers frantically twitch, my skin freezes and my heart beats faster than it normally does. I try my best to contain myself, taking prolonged, persistent breaths, but I can’t help but feel like I’m drowning.

Every thought I’ve ever had comes back, the scariest ones racing through my mind like a beehive — from insecurities about my abilities and academic future to feelings of nobody else caring about me, even if I know that’s not true.

And because I have these irrational fears about those who love me most, I rarely tell them about my anxiety in the first place. So, for the past few years, I’ve kept mostly silent about my mental health issues, painting myself in a smile letters@temple-news.com

I’d spend some Saturday nights alone, aimlessly walking around Rittenhouse Square rather than making plans.

I had little desire to make new friends or to strengthen bonds with the ones I already had, and I found myself ignoring my best friends.

But on a Friday morning halfway through this semester, I broke that cycle.

I walked into Tuttleman Counseling Services, sat down with someone there and told them everything: how I’ve been feeling, the way I’ve drifted away from others, even disclosing anxieties that date back a decade.

A week later, I was assigned to a therapist, and we connected immediately. Although I was still afraid to be entirely vulnerable, I felt like I could talk freely with him.

The experience was exhilarating, and it grew to be much more important when, three hours after leaving that appointment, I received a text telling

me one of my close friends from home, Marcus, passed away.

The anxiety came back instantly. My whole body started shaking, my thought process felt clouded, and my voice began trembling so much I could barely stay at work anymore. I asked to go home and cried more than I ever have before. I felt broken, lost and petrified. I skipped most of my classes to stay home, away from others.

There was no conquering my anxiety in that moment, and my unhealthy coping mechanisms took the wheel.

Over the past month, small tasks like getting out of bed and completing homework have felt like insurmountable feats.

To have grief and anxiety holding me down, every accomplishment feels like the rush of winning a marathon.

Now, I celebrate my smallest victories — going to work, finishing a paper or making plans with friends — because those can sometimes be the most difficult.

And my biggest triumphs — reaching out for therapy, keeping my close friends in the loop about my anxiety,

even being vulnerable enough to write this essay — are moments that make me smile.

I know they’re making Marcus smile, too, and I know he’s so proud of me and all my smallest victories.

Reflecting on my own struggles with anxiety, grief and other mental health issues, I chose this year’s Essayist theme to be “proud and powerful” because I want to celebrate the accomplishments of our writers and staff members.

Whether they’re reflecting on how they’ve overcome restrictions others place on them, their own physical limitations or their personal struggles with mental health, I want to highlight these moments of empowerment and pride that might’ve otherwise gone untold.

Because if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to not stay silent about what you’re going through, and by the same token, to be proud of every accomplishment: big or small. tyler.perez@temple.edu @tyler7perez

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OPINION TUESDAY, PAGE 9 DECEMBER 3, 2019

TUESDAY, DECEMBER PAGE 3, 2019 9

THE ESSAYIST

Seeking solace through psychology and struggle A student details their struggle with mental health and how they chose their major.

BY MARLEY McMAHON For The Temple News Coming to Temple, I felt lost.

I was an undeclared major because I was unsure of what else to do. I felt like I needed to rush into college because there was no alternative route given. There was consistent pressure from my school, family and friends and I went along with the process even though it wasn’t the best choice for me mentally.

In the seventh grade, I began struggling with feelings of depression and anxiety, and it started to affect how I was performing in school. I had no drive for what I was learning, and my depression stifled any passion to begin with. I had difficulty paying attention in class, and would often get in trouble for speaking to my classmates because I wasn’t engaged — it made me feel worthless.

I felt like everyone else was amounting to something while I was the only one in my friend group who didn’t get into the high school they wanted.

My depression only worsened as I became an adult. Whenever I met new people, they always asked what I was going to study in school and do with my future, but I couldn’t even imagine a life where I was genuinely happy with what I was doing.

During my freshman year of high school, I told my mom about the suicidal thoughts I’d been having, and I started going to therapy regularly. In my senior year, I started self-harming, and shortly after, I became medicated.

I wasn’t able to express my feelings of unhappiness because I didn’t know how to, and it got worse when I came to Temple, still unsure of what major I wanted to pursue or why I even wanted to go to college in the first place.

When I was placed to live with three juniors my freshman year of college, I’d compare myself to them and always feel @TheTempleNews

LESLIE GROSSMAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

inferior. As science majors, their class work and job experiences seemed so prestigious to me and it was hard to relate to their lifestyles. They were in longterm relationships and had a well-established group of friends — all I could do was watch. I could sometimes hear my roommates make comments about how I slept too much or didn’t go out as much as they did when they were freshman.

I had nothing in comparison to them.

I failed a Japanese language class my first semester and was humiliated.

I didn’t want to talk to them about my issues because I didn’t think they could relate, but I also didn’t want to stand out as the slacker student.

I didn’t know how to express myself, nowhere to cry in my own home because I didn’t feel comfortable around

my roommates.

I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life. I felt stranded.

I remember my family telling me to simply take my time when it came to choosing a major, and that piece of advice stuck with me.

My life as an undeclared student changed when I took a human sexuality psychology course. The text was giving me an explanation of what I was feeling and also detailed experiences I’ve been through. It was a way to help me analyze my own background and understand myself, which I wasn’t able to do before.

I was intrigued by the topics deemed taboo and it was important to me that it was being addressed in this class.

I realized my change in behavior. I used to never willingly put effort into educational tasks until this class, but

now I was trying my hardest to get good grades. I’d go to the library weeks ahead of time to study our required textbook and I would read the chapters page by page.

Around that time that I got out of a toxic relationship — I was newly single, learning how to spend time alone, making natural friendships and joining clubs that excited me. I finally started feeling less lonely and insecure because I was finding new ways to be myself.

At the end of my freshman year, I went into my advising office to declare my psychology major. I felt happy, and that was enough for me to decide it was worth it.

To this day I still struggle with my mental health, but I know to take it one step at a time. marley.mcmahon@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

OPINION

TUESDAY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER DECEMBER 3, 3, 2019 2019

PAGE 10

THE ESSAYIST

Finding self-love after feeling unworthy of it

A student recounts their struggle with self-harm but loving themselves more despite it all.

BY BRITTANY VALENTINE For The Temple News To love yourself is to be your own best friend.

Of course, we have loved ones who are willing to support us when we need a hand, but sometimes when we’re alone, we have to be there for ourselves in times of need. We need to be gentle with ourselves.

That is what I’ve learned to do in the process of recovering from self-harm.

The concept of deliberately harming oneself is confusing for many people. It seems counter-intuitive, but 17 percent of adolescents have engaged in self harm at least once, and 15 percent of them are college students, according to the American Psychological Association.

For me, this misguided coping mechanism first appeared at the tender age of 16, while I was dealing with social isolation, not performing well in school and the symptoms of undiagnosed bipolar disorder. I had an unshakeable urge to “punish” myself for my mistakes, failures and lack of worthiness.

I told no one.

I didn’t engage in self-harm again until my sophomore year of college, which led me to leave the university to seek medical help.

When I turned 21, I finally decided I’d had enough and it was time to start picking up all my broken pieces and find wholeness again. I undertook a sixmonth yoga teacher training program and delved deep into spirituality.

I learned about the power of words and started using positive affirmations and mantras religiously.

I immersed myself in meditation, exercise, nutrition, self talk and journal-

letters@temple-news.com

HANNAH LIPSKI / THE TEMPLE NEWS

ing. I started seeing a therapist regularly and finally talked about my intrusive thoughts and urges to self-destruct. I learned how to breathe mindfully, understand my distorted thought patterns, meditate through my emotional meltdowns and most importantly, treat myself with less judgment and more com-

passion.

Yoga taught me to love my body for what it is capable of doing, and not just what it looks like. meditation taught me to quiet my mind enough to see the light that was buried beneath my self-loathing.

I used statements like “I am beauti-

ful,” “I am enough” and “I am resilient” until they played on repeat in my head like a song. And eventually, they became the truth.

I’ve documented a lot of this journey on social media, so people have often asked me what it means to love myself.

There is no universal answer, but for me, self-love is looking in the mirror deeper than you ever have before. It’s looking past your imperfections and seeing the things that matter — your inner child, your dreams, your kindness and sense of humor, your bravery and strength and all your creativity and talents.

Self-love is pausing to take deep breaths to pull myself into the stillness and peace of the present moment. It’s the practice of checking in on my needs and fulfilling them. It’s mastering the art of seeking help while also cultivating resilience. The balance between having a lazy Netflix day but also getting proper exercise.

It’s learning how to feel my emotions fully while also understanding they will pass.

Words alone cannot describe the wholeness that resides within us all, but self-love feels like both euphoria and heartbreak. When I hold my palms to my chest, listening to my heartbeat for five minutes straight, meditating on the sound, I’m humbled and honored to be alive in this world and to have survived.

Self-love feels like waking up from a nightmare and feeling like I can breathe again.

It’s loving every cell in my body, but it also means accepting the parts of me that are still drenched in self-loathing.

It’s a never-ending conversation with myself about affirmations, forgiveness, encouragement and acceptance.

If you ask me what self-love means, I’ll say it feels like coming home. brittany.valentine@temple.edu @magicinprint

temple-news.com

OPINION

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

PAGE 11

THE ESSAYIST

Coming to terms with my new reality after surgery A student recalls finding a tumor a glass of water. I had to sit down when I in her foot and being home for showered and cut my clothes to fit them around my cast. I canceled on family and nearly a year of high school.

BY LOREN SIMON For The Temple News Almost two years ago, when the acute pain in my right foot first appeared, I was told it could be a sprain that never healed properly.

A few months later during my second appointment, I got an X-ray and an extra bone was found. I was instructed to ice it, stretch and pretty much wait for the discomfort to subside. But the pain persisted.

At the time, I was hesitant to tell my family, but I’m so glad I did. At the third appointment my doctor found something different.

A chondroblastoma is a rare and non-cancerous type of bone tumor that begins to form in the cartilage. An MRI found that tumor in my right foot last September, after it ate away at my bone for over a year.

The word “tumor” can seem scary to many, but it never registered I could possibly have cancer until tests were taken to make sure it was benign. It was so sudden, and I was immediately told that if I were to walk on my foot again before the procedure, my bone would’ve broken.

The surgery left me with a full, itchy cast on my right leg, a scar on my pelvis that ached when I sneezed and a hospital-issued wheelchair, walker and crutches. I was out of school for seven months during my senior year of high school.

Physical therapy was a constant for me during this time — I had to learn how to walk properly again, and even after all of this, pain relief wasn’t guaranteed.

I wasn’t prepared for the mental strain. I couldn’t get up on my own to get

@TheTempleNews

friends because I didn’t want to burden their plans with my wheelchair.

I felt as if my surgery had rendered me useless, and there was virtually nothing I could do but feel bad for myself and allow others to do the same.

I felt stuck in my own body. I lived on my couch for weeks because I wasn’t cleared to sleep in my own bed. I was surrounded by people, yet I couldn’t help but feel lonely. For a month straight, I couldn’t go a day without crying because these harsh realities began to settle in. I was allowing the tumor to gnaw on my mental health instead of just my bones.

I was assigned home instruction teachers about two weeks after my procedure. I was still on bed rest, and there were times when I needed their help rearranging the pillows for my foot or had to ask them to help lift me up so I could position myself on my walker.

I knew I needed to stop pushing myself and overdoing it or I’d fall flat on my face, literally. I slowly learned I can’t control everything that happens to me, as much as I’d like to.

I was forced to accept them and figure out how to adapt.

I decided to accept help from others and stop worrying if I’m bothering anyone with simple requests.

For the longest time, I was wondering where I could find a silver lining in something continually getting worse.

The first few months I could only think, “Why me? How did I manage to get a rare tumor in the first place?”

And I’m still not sure of the right answer, but I do know life is surgery — you can cut parts of yourself and add new ones, but you still have to deal with what’s left and grow from there.

This surgery was one of the hardest things I’ve had to endure. And I’m proud

NICOLE HWANG / THE TEMPLE NEWS

of myself for allowing my body to have time to heal and for pushing through physical therapy two days after my surgery. I’m so proud of myself for having healed enough to tell my story.

It took me approximately a year to physically heal, and I’d like to say I’ve completely overcome these adversities, but it’s the opposite because the healing

is never really over. But going through this process has shown me just how resilient I am.

I’m no longer considering it a hindrance, just something that makes me different from everyone else. loren.simon@temple.edu @lorensimon_

letters@temple-news.com

FEATURES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

PAGE 12

ON THE COVER

Health concerns of vaping use spark controversy

E-cigarette use is increasing in popularity, while new legislation is being passed to combat it.

BY ASA CADWALLADER For The Temple News

A

fter starting vaping nicotine his sophomore year of high school, Andrew Zaayenga graduated a part of a senior class where “nearly everyone” was vaping, he said.

Now, the freshman undeclared major has carried the habit to Temple University.

“I’m currently alternating between vaping and smoking cigarettes, but ideally I would like to completely end this addiction,” Zaayenga said.

Among the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes, vaping is in the midst of public controversy as hundreds of people have been hospitalized for severe lung injuries linked to vaping and e-cigarette use.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,290 cases of lung injury including 47 fatalities nationwide on Nov. 20.

Prior to the reports of death and injuries, Temple implemented a new tobacco-free campus policy on July 1 that bans the consumption of combustible tobacco on campus, including e-cigarettes.

Zaayenga’s experience with vaping highlights adolescents as the key demographic in combating vaping, said Laura Siminoff, dean of the College of Public Health.

“The fact is, more people start smoking in their adolescence than they do in their early 20s, so if you’re going to prevent vaping, the time to do it is in adolescence,” Siminoff added.

Siminoff and Bradley Collins, a pro-

features@temple-news.com

RYAN ENOCH / THE TEMPLE NEWS A student uses a JUUL on the corner of Broad and Norris streets on Nov. 7.

fessor and director of the Health Behavior Research Clinic, served on Temple’s smoke-free campus committee. On Oct. 29, they co-authored an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, urging legislation to enact a total ban on vaping products.

“The industry’s successful efforts marketing vape products to teens, coupled with the federal government’s inaction over the past decade, have played a role in this epidemic. In light of the current evidence, FDA approval of these products was a mistake,” they wrote.

A study conducted in March found 21 percent of the undergraduates surveyed at an unnamed university in the

southeastern United States had vaped in the last 30 days, according to the Journal of American College Health.

Siminoff and Collins wrote the piece to alert the public about “a looming public health disaster,” Siminoff said.

“To think in August, we were in the single digits, to now being here 24 deaths and counting,” she added. “And unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve seen the least of it.”

From 2017-18, vaping nicotine increased from 6.1 percent to 15.5 percent of college students, according to the National Survey Results on Drug Use. The scientific community is still trying to understand the short- and long-

term effects of vaping on users, which should have been studied before the Federal Drug Administration’s approval of vaping products, Siminoff said.

Siminoff and Collins also advocated for raising the minimum age to purchase to 21 in their op-ed. On Nov. 27, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf passed legislation to raise the minimum tobacco purchasing age to 21, effective July 1, 2020, WGAL News 8 reported.

JUUL, a flavored vaping device marketed as a tool to stop smoking, has been at the forefront of the vaping conversations in recent months, Siminoff said.

VAPING | PAGE 15

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FEATURES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

PAGE 13

STUDENT LIFE

Candle company continues expanding business

Brandon Bechtel started his company when he was 13 and has made more than $1 million in sales.

BY BIBIANA CORREA Assistant Features Editor Brandon Bechtel started his Thursday morning writing emails, ordering inventory and preparing paperwork.

In the evening, he delivered candle-making supplies to an Amazon warehouse and got home around 2 a.m. the next day. At 8 a.m. he caught up on emails again before going to class at 10 a.m.

Bechtel, a freshman finance major, owns and operates Brandon’s Candles, a candle company where he sells homemade candles, soaps and lotions online, at gift shops and in stores.

Alongside his business, he opened two The Candle Studio locations where customers are able to make their own candles.

Bechtel’s interest in making candles came from googling hobbies out of boredom when he was 13 years old. Now, his company has made more than $1 million in sales, and he’s overseeing 13 employees.

He’s opened two candle studio locations in Skippack, Pennsylvania, and Old City in Philadelphia this year, and is expecting to open a location in Baltimore, Maryland this month.

“I wasn’t really looking to make it into something big or something wildly successful or anything, you know, I was just looking for something to do,” Bechtel said.

Bechtel then started pouring candles in his basement and selling them on Etsy and craft shows at schools.

Two years later, he began selling his candles on Amazon Handmade, a marketplace for artisans to showcase their work worldwide, and hired his neighbor as a part-time employee due to its in-

@TheTempleNews

creasing success.

“I got a lot more customers through that and a lot more feedback, lot more positive reviews, and then really just being on Amazon I would say propelled me to kind of the next level in candles,” Bechtel said.

At 17, he started selling at-home candle-making supplies and moved out of his basement to a warehouse in Telford, Pennsylvania, where he now makes and sells his candles for $9.95 to $19.95.

“Brandon Bechtel’s incredible entrepreneurial story serves as a reminder that anyone with the courage to dream and the will to pursue that dream can thrive in the business world, regardless of their means or their experience,” wrote Ronald Anderson, dean of Fox School of Business, in an email to The Temple News.

This year, Bechtel pushed to get his candles to retailers in the Philadelphia area, like S.A. Oliver & Co, a gift shop offering customers the candle-making experience.

At The Candle Studio, customers are able to choose from over 100 different scents, pour their own candles and label their creation for about $20 per person.

“It’s a really neat concept beyond just buying a candle on Amazon and burning it in your home,” Bechtel said.

Jason Breslin, Bechtel’s roommate helped build The Candle Studio new Old City location he now works at.

“I learn different things about like jar styles and jar sizes, things I’ve never in a million years thought I would learn,” Breslin added.

Racheal Bechtel, Brandon Bechtel’s mom, said she sometimes wonders how her son manages to be a founder of his own company, while also being a fulltime college student, but is not surprised by her son’s ambition.

“He’s always had, you know, a vision of working and being busy and getting things accomplished so he would come

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Brandon Bechtel, freshman business finance major, shows the process of making a candle in the Old City location of his business, The Candle Studio, on Nov. 12.

up with an idea, and sometimes he didn’t even run it by anybody and he would just start doing something” Racheal Bechtel added.

Brandon Bechtel’s biggest challenge has been time management and enjoying being a student, he said.

“I do try to combat that with just still

making the time to study with friends, or stuff like that, to show my friends I am still a student at Temple and not only worried about my business and that’s why I’m here,” he added. bibiana.correa@temple.edu @_bibi_correaa

features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 14

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

HOLIDAY SEASON WORD SEARCH CHRISTMAS KWANZAA HANUKKAH NEW YEAR’S DAY VALENTINE’S DAY BOXING DAY THREE KINGS’ DAY WINTER SOLSTICE

DIWALI MARDI GRAS GROUNDHOG DAY LAS POSADAS SANTA LUCIA DAY CHINESE NEW YEAR SATURNALIA

WINTER CROSSWORD DOWN

ACROSS

1. Object used to ride down hills of snow

1. Sport that involves sliding down a hill on two long narrow pieces attached on a person’s feet

3. Sport that involves gliding across an ice rink 4. An article of clothing that keeps a person’s hands warm 5. Tiny crystals of snow

2. A structure made at the base of a chimney for holding a domestic fire 6. Sport that involves sliding down a hill on a board 7. A representation of a person made up of balls of snow 8. An overabundance of snow with high winds 9. Frozen dripping water

features@temple-news.com

temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 15

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

ON CAMPUS

Medical professionals connect over career stories three-way tie for first place. Jen Eurich, find more satisfaction in their work and The Narrative Medicine program dents.

The term narrative medicine was a second-year medical student, spoke do that by trying to build this culture of hosts biannual competitive story coined at the University of Columbia about her first time seeing a patient die stories to try to celebrate the humanities slams for nurses and doctors.

BY RENATA BUSCHER KAMINSKI For The Temple News After working as a staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 30 years, Michael Vitez knew there were more stories to be told.

“I just came up here, what I like to say, to help build a culture of stories,” said Vitez, director of Narrative Medicine at Temple University. “I believe that stories are so powerful and so important, and such a fundamental part of medicine and then if I can promote a culture of stories I will help create better doctors.”

Vitez established the Narrative Medicine Program as a part of the Medical Humanities and Narrative Medicine Program at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. It started three years ago and now runs workshops with residency programs and students to reflect on their experiences, develop attention and teach electives in humanities for medical stu-

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 VAPING “The company has stated their product was only meant as a smoking cessation tool, yet there was never any data to support it was effective,” she added.

JUUL has been criticized for its marketing tactics, which targeted teens through flavored nicotine as well as misleading information about potential health effects, Collins said.

“The vaping industry adopted that

in 2000. It means to strengthen a clinical practice by recognizing, absorbing and interpreting stories of illness, which in turn improves health care, according to Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Narrative medicine develops a doctor’s ability to pay attention to the stories of their patients and to teach them narrative skills, like how to listen and tell stories, Vitez said.

As part of the program, Vitez organizes “story slams” twice a year where students and health professionals share stories about their medical work in competition for the best story. The program held its sixth slam on Oct. 16, and the next one will be in February 2020.

“We have read all kinds of stories, some are very sweet and funny, some are very personal about their own families,” Vitez said. “Sometimes, we get faculties who remember things that they did when they were young that have stayed with them, good or bad, all these years.”

At the latest slam titled “Experiencing the Unexpected,” there was a

in the trauma bay, Rachael Smith, a second-year medical student, talked about the death of her father and how it will make her a better doctor, and Christopher Goodwin, a physician at Temple University Hospital, spoke about his encounter with a man who experienced homelessness and his dog.

Goodwin said the slam is special because of the way Vitez shows people they can be a storyteller.

“The way [Vitez] has initiated it and encouraged participation, there is a great sense of openness and collectiveness to drown as many different voices, as many different perspectives for diversity,” Goodwin added.

For Vitez, the story slam event is a safe space around peers to share human stories.

“It is a competition in name only,” Vitez said. “It is a celebration. Everyone is a winner.”

He said he thinks medicine focuses too much on data and scans, driving doctors away from patient relationships.

“I am just trying to help doctors to

in all their forms,” Vitez added.

Katya Ahr, a third-year medical student and a participant in the slams, chose to come to Temple because of this program.

“There is so much that medical professionals are provided to that a lot of people aren’t,” Ahr said. “I think there is a lot of emotion and processing involved in these situations that it is an important thing to have an outlet for those sort of things.”

Vitez hopes the slams will continue to grow, and eventually become a popular and meaningful tradition at Temple.

He wants to have even greater variety of participants, like dentists and pharmacists, he said.

“Stories are how we communicate with each other, with our patients, with the world,” he added. “I believe stories heal, I believe stories inspire, I believe stories build community, I believe stories can change the world.”

messaging and spun it in clever ways to make it seem quote-unquote ‘safe,’ which led to heavy use among adolescents,” he added.

New York City Council approved a ban against all flavored e-cigarettes on Nov. 26, CBS New York reported.

Emma Deckop, a junior psychology major, believes that any progress made against underage cigarette smoking has been hurt by the emergence of JUUL. “It’s funny, when vaping first got popular people who had never smoked a

cigarette before started vaping,” Deckop said.

Cigarette smoking rates among adolescents declined 25 percent from 201117, according to a survey conducted by the CDC. The vaping “crisis” comes on the heels of very successful anti-smoking campaigns, which saw unprecedented declines in youth cigarette consumption in the last decade, Siminoff said.

Deckop saw a reduction in vaping within her social circle in the last several

weeks following health warnings from the CDC, she said.

“It definitely scared a lot of my friends into cutting back,” she added.

Deckop said most people she knows who stopped vaping simply picked up cigarettes instead, a trend she thinks will become increasingly common.

“When you’re addicted to nicotine, it doesn’t really matter what form you consume it in,” Deckop added.

renata.kaminski@temple.edu

asa.cadwallader@temple.edu

This article is the first of many collaborations between The Temple News and Temple Update. This collaboration will be presented along with a live broadcast, featuring The Temple News’ reporter Asa Cadwallader and a story by Temple Update reporter Conall Smith. The collaboration will be live on Temple Update on Thursday on templetv.net or Comcast channel 50 and Verizon Fios 45. @TheTempleNews

features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 16

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

ART

Tyler creates space for faculty to share collections Professors bring in works from their personal art collections for student and faculty viewing.

BY EMMA LORO For The Temple News When she was young, Dona Nelson worked for an artist and became impressed by their personal collection of artwork. At 22, she began creating her own collection.

“I’m interested in art in general,” said Nelson, a painting professor. “And I find very wonderful, unique and moving on all levels.”

On Nov. 12 and 13, Nelson took her collecting experience to help Tyler School of Art and Architecture’s painting program pilot the first painting study center. The center displayed paintings, drawings, prints and books from six art collections gathered by faculty and artists in Tyler’s painting department, said

VOICES

What do you think about vaping in light of recent lung injury deaths?

features@temple-news.com

Matthew Sepielli, the head of the painting program.

“The whole purpose of this was really for study and for those who are curious to learn more about these artists and see some paintings, drawings and works in person,” Sepielli added.

The painting department made the center out of the department’s conference room. Sepielli showcased his collection at the center, which included a piece

by Nelson.

Faculty chose a range of art types, like oil painting, watercolor and collages, in order to represent a variety of paintings, Sepielli said.

“It really represents a kind of international range of different kinds of artists, and it was important for us to make sure students really got to see a lot of different ways of approaching making artwork,” he added.

The idea came about after Louise Fishman, a 1963 painting and printmak-

ing alumna, lectured at Tyler and spoke to Nelson about the school’s art collections and the importance of studying and collecting works of art.

The study center is modeled after museums, like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where students are encouraged to examine artwork and discuss the style and technique the artist used, Sepielli said.

At these study centers, people have a maximum of half an hour to an hour with the art, whereas students and faculty were able to view the works for longer periods of time at Tyler.

“The more people are able to access in terms of their resources and their own collections, the more that we’re able to show our students,” Sepielli said.

After the first day of the event, Sepielli decided to continue expanding the center to more departments at Tyler next semester and for more than two

days, he said. “[Sepielli] is really interested in people’s work and kind of gives you the tools to step up your practice,” said Jacob Stevens, a senior painting major, Sepielli’s former student.

Stevens attended the study center after looking forward to it for a few weeks, he said.

“It’s an interesting idea, for one to see not necessarily the work that the professor’s making but the work that they collect and they’re interested in,” he added.

Nelson believes the center helps artists recognize how a work was painted or how paint was mixed.

“It’s very important for young people to see they are makers also and to see the kind of specific decisions that art-making is all about,” she added. emma.loro@temple.edu @EmmaLoro1

KIMBERLY BOK First-year sports business graduate student

MARGO MARTIN Sophomore marketing major

With all the new research, I think it’s just as bad as normal smoking. With the research that’s come out, I’m not sure if this is true, but I heard that they explode quite a lot and it’s changing the policies as well..

I know a lot of people that are trying to quit, including me.

So people, with the research that’s going on, are like scared about it, but a lot of people aren’t going to do anything about it and are going to keep on doing it.

MATT KERR Junior chemistry major

ZELLA FERIN-NILES Junior film and media arts major

It’s scary, first of all. It’s something that I do quite regrettably and probably more regrettably all the time, it’s something I’m trying to stop doing, but also, it’s hard. I’m a science guy. I believe in facts, and I’m seeing facts going across the news and it’s definitely discouraging of vaping use.

I have vaped before, and I definitely have stopped because I’ve read new studies that came out. I feel like it’s harder for teenagers that start vaping now because most people that start vaping now have never smoked cigarettes before.

temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 17

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

LIVE IN PHILLY

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Run raises money for homelessness assistance

On Saturday, Pennies from Kevan Foundation, a local organization that raises funds for homeless assistance programs, hosted its sixth annual “Homeless For The Holidays 5K Run/2.5K Walk” on Kelly Drive Bike Path along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. All proceeds from the race were donated to the St. Francis Inn in Kensington and Pheed Philly, two local organizations that feed and provide clothing and shelter to people experiencing homelessness.

President Gary Isaacs, 59 created the foundation in memory of his son Kevan, who died in December 2013.

Kevan would frequently help out local organizations fight against homelessness, Isaacs said.

“He was a very selfless young adult,” he added. “We wanted to do something to keep his legacy alive.”

Sixty-eight runners participated in the race, which began outside Lloyd Hall at Boathouse Row. Zachary Brooks, 28, of Williamstown, New Jersey, won the 5K run after finishing in 17 minutes and 49 seconds.

“It feels good,” Brooks said. “I usually train on Kelly Drive, so I wanted to come do this race.” @TheTempleNews

features@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

PAGE 18

HOLIDAYS

Navigating Christmas as a non-Christian person Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez, an associStudents and faculty discuss Christmas becoming an increas- ate religion professor, said the ideas we associate with Christmas are a product ingly secular holiday.

BY ALESIA BANI Intersection Co-Editor

N

ick Cipolla didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up. He describes himself as a “nontheist” because of negative connotations surrounding atheism, the disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God. While 90 percent of Americans and 95 percent of Christians celebrate Christmas, only 46 percent say they celebrate Christmas primarily as a religious holiday rather than a cultural holiday, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey.

Cipolla, a senior English major, who grew up with a mother who is Jewish and a father who is atheist spends the holiday with his girlfriend and her family in college.

“We mostly just go because I like her family and we like to hang out,” he added. “My dad doesn’t feel like I’m abandoning him if I go to somebody else’s holiday because he doesn’t care one way or another.”

Celebrating Christmas in a more secular manner allows more people to participate in activities, instead of feeling excluded, Cipolla said.

“At its core, every holiday is just being with people that you like,” he added.

“Either exchanging gifts [or] eating, I think that’s a very common human experience.”

Gayle O’Rourke, a senior English major, is agnostic, the view that the existence of God divine is unknown or unknowable, according to Merriam-Webster. She said she still celebrates Christmas in a secular manner.

“It’s gotten to the point that you don’t necessarily have to be a strong believer in the religion to celebrate the holiday because of the other humanitarian and familial aspects of it,” she said. intersection@temple-news.com

of market culture, a type of corporate culture that emphasizes competitiveness not only between organizations and its market competitors, but also between employees.

“The holidays have religious significance for religious communities, of course, but I think as we understand them, they’ve never been particularly religious to begin with,” Alvarez said.

The origins of Christmas come from indigenous and pagan religious traditions marking winter time, predating Christianity, Alvarez said.

“Those celebrations were Christianized in order for them to continue to be significant cultural events for those communities but be incorporated into the dominant religion,” she added.

“Christmas doesn’t really come out of Christianity so much as it comes out of the process of Christianizing other religious rituals.”

Of the 10 United States federal holidays, Christmas is the only one associated with a specific religion’s holy day — the birth of Christ, the Independent reported.

“Christianity is the majority religion in the U.S. and remains so,” Alvarez said.

“I think it’s privileging European cultural traditions above other cultural traditions as well.”

Rebecca Alpert, a religion professor and the senior associate dean of academic affairs of the College of Liberal Arts, said in addition to atheists, people of other religious backgrounds might feel “overwhelmed” during the holiday season.

“It’s a fairly common feeling that they don’t quite belong because of the Christian origins, but when you really think about the way Christmas is celebrated, it’s celebrated much more like a holiday for capitalism,” Alpert said.

It can also be alienating for people who haven’t found their own traditions during the holiday season, Alpert said.

LEEANNAH McNEW / THE TEMPLE NEWS

“I’m Jewish, and sometimes I find it a little alienating that everybody’s wishing me a ‘Merry Christmas’ and sometimes I really enjoy all the lights and festivities,” Alpert said. “It just kind of depends.”

Every year during the holiday season, Cipolla and his father order Chinese food, a tradition he said some atheist and Jewish people partake in.

“We don’t do it on Christmas because all the Chinese places are packed, so sometime that week, we have Chinese and we watch ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian,’” Cipolla said.

One year, Cipolla and his father participated in the secular tradition, Festivus.

Celebrated on Dec. 23, Festivus, or the “Festival For the Rest of Us” was created in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld,” in which George Costanza’s father decided he was staging a one-man war

on Christmas, Time Magazine reported. The celebration is as an alternative to the pressures and commercialization surrounding Christmas.

Alpert said Festivus is her “favorite antidote to Christmas.”

“When ‘Seinfeld’ was popular, there were a lot of secular people and atheists sort of gravitating to the idea that they could name their own version of the holiday,” she added.

O’Rourke said she has many friends who are of different religious backgrounds that she spends the season with.

“We don’t all celebrate the same holidays, but around this time the same values are celebrated no matter whether you celebrate Christmas or not,” she said. alesia.bani@temple.edu @alesia_bani

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INTERSECTION PAGE 19

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

HOLIDAYS

Not all students return home for holiday breaks

Some students stay on campus during fall and winter breaks because of distance and work.

BY KAYLA MAGUIRE For The Temple News Fall and winter breaks do not necessarily mean going home to family and friends for every Temple University student.

During Fall Break, held from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, some students celebrated Thanksgiving. Some students will also celebrate various holidays and New Year’s over Winter Break, which begins Dec. 18 and runs to Jan. 12, 2020.

Many look forward to spending this time at home, but not everyone has the ability or chooses to do so.

Laurence Christopher, a sophomore theater production and management major, lived in Morgan Hall South during Fall Break due to his position as a resident assistant.

“As long as there is one resident staying, we must have a staff member in the building,” he said.

From Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Christopher said he knows what to expect when it comes to being away from home during the holidays. He works as an RA as well as a stage manager at Temple, which keeps his mind off of missing home.

When students stay in the residence halls during breaks, they have access to some residential facilities, usually on limited hours, but not all of them remain open, like the Temple University Fitness, according to Campus Recreation’s website.

Robert Bryant, a freshman communication studies major from Quakertown, Pennsylvania, said he stayed on campus for Fall Break to search for a job he will continue working after the break.

“I’m trying to get a job in Philly because typically, jobs pay better here than in my hometown,” he said.

While some students stay at Temple to work, some cannot go home due to long distances. This is the case for some @TheTempleNews

JEREMY ELVAS/ THE TEMPLE NEWS Tannishtha Nandi, a freshman physics major, studies in her room in Morgan Hall North on Dec. 2.

international students.

Aung Kyaw Sett, a freshman exercise and sports medicine major, is an international student from Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia. He will stay in Morgan Hall South for every break this academic year.

“I am going to be staying here until the summer and will be saving money for an airplane ticket to go home then,” Sett said. “It is very expensive to fly back home to Myanmar.”

Although being away from family is difficult, Sett said he has adjusted to the distance.

“At first, it wasn’t easy being so far, but I’m used to it now,” Sett added. “I’m just happy that I’m getting a break from everything.”

Tannishtha Nandi, a freshman physics major and international student from India, also stayed on campus during Fall Break this year.

“A week’s holiday is too little to travel 22 hours one way and 22 hours back,” Nandi said. “This includes two days being wasted trying to get out of jetlag.

Plus, it’s expensive to travel.”

Students who stay on campus during the breaks decide if they will celebrate the holidays without their family and peers.

While Bryant is in the process of starting a job, he feels as though it would be difficult to celebrate the holidays alone without a community on campus.

“I feel like celebrating holidays is easier when you have family and friends with you,” Bryant added. “Most of my friends are going home over break.”

Sett said he will experience holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, in America for the first time in his life while on campus. He plans to find events around the area to celebrate the holidays by himself.

“We actually don’t celebrate these holidays back in my home, so I will have to check out what’s going on around the city,” Sett said.

For Nandi, she celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time with other international students at an event hosted

by Temple called the Thanksgiving Host Program.

She used Fall Break to study for her final exams before returning to India for Winter Break. Nandi has a busy schedule which keeps her from thinking about home, but when she has idle time like during Fall Break she feels homesick, she added.

“I usually am caught up with college so I don’t miss home much, but occasionally I do miss the warmth of my parents,” Nandi said. “Especially when I need to do a lot of household work by myself.” kayla.maguire@temple.edu

intersection@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 20

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

DISABILITY

Students discuss mobile accessibility on campus

Students with disabilities face issues with construction when traveling around Main Campus.

BY NICO CISNEROS For The Temple News

Olivia Chaves recalls traveling from her room at Morgan Hall North to her class at Presser Hall, and facing an unexpected challenge along the way: the pavement on Montgomery Avenue.

The road had been pulled up so the asphalt could be repaved, and while many people could continue walking across the road, Chaves, a sophomore music education major — who uses different mobility devices like crutches, a walker and a wheelchair — could not.

Any alteration or construction that can to limit the accessibility of a path must be designed and executed so as to make the path as accessible as possible.

Such “paths of travel” include sidewalks, streets, parking areas and more, according to the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.

Chaves, like other Temple students who use devices for independent mobility, faces challenges while traveling around campus because of construction.

Chaves has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition characterized by overly flexible joints and stretchy, fragile skin, according to the Mayo Clinic. Although Chaves thinks Temple is an accessible campus overall, she said she has had issues traveling on sidewalks around campus.

Chaves has faced issues with elevators, handicap door push buttons not working, and restrooms and classrooms not being fully accessible.

“It’s really frustrating that it’s such little things that make a huge difference for me,” she said. “That it wouldn’t be that much of an adjustment for other people to make, that really makes me frustrated.”

David Thomas, the associate director of student services of DRS, said that sidewalks are an issue, but it is not one the university can address.

“One barrier that we run into is that intersection@temple-news.com

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Olivia Chaves, a sophomore music education major, prepares to cross Montgomery Avenue on Polett Walk on Monday.

because the streets belong to the City of Philadelphia, that’s not anything we really have control over,” he said.

Temple is responsible for repairing elevators and handicap door buttons, reassigning classrooms to accommodate accessibility issues and maintaining accessible restrooms, Thomas added.

Temple Student Government created an ADA Task Force, which addresses environmental barriers like inaccessible bathrooms and classrooms on campus, in 2016. Last month, Parliament passed a resolution to start the task force again, The Temple News reported.

Jonathan Atiencia, a continuing studies film and media arts major and the Parliament’s disability resources and services representative, said his goal for the task force is to establish yearly check ups of Temple’s buildings next semester.

“Our campus was not designed for students with disabilities,” Atiencia said.

“We want to know if Temple University is following the ADA laws to provide a

safe, healthy and secure environment for students with accessibility needs.”

Lauren Mayer, a junior speech, language and hearing science major also has Ehlers-Danlos, and she is mostly impacted by postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The condition makes it difficult for a person to stand for a long time. If someone with POTS does, they could experience nausea, fatigue or faint, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

Mayer said she fainted frequently in the past, so when she came to Temple, she was very excited to hear about the free campus shuttle services, only to be disappointed when she found out the service operates in the evening. Flight operates from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. all week, according to the university’s Campus Operations page.

Because of this, Mayer has to spend out of pocket money on ride-sharing services to get to campus from her off-campus apartment on Jefferson Street near Willington Street. If she walks to campus, she has to leave much earlier.

“I typically will leave like about 30 minutes before class instead of the 10 minutes it should take to walk to Temple from my apartment,” she said.

Mark Gottlieb, the associate director of operations and logistics of Campus Operations, said all shuttle services are accessible to students with ADA approved equipment and the office is always looking to improve shuttle services, in an email to the Temple News.

Chaves feels that there is a growing awareness among her peers. From opening doors for her to moving out of her way when she’s using her wheelchair, she said she appreciates the consideration she’s been shown.

“I think that people would want to change things that they knew about,” Chaves added. “I think it just doesn’t occur to so many people all the little tiny things that are inaccessible.” nicole.cisneros@temple.edu @nicomcisneros

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SPORTS PAGE 21

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

FOOTBALL

Yeboah transfers, Wright accepts all-star invite Tight end Kenny Yeboah will not return for his senior season and receiver Isaiah Wright is the first to be invited to an all-star game.

BY DANTE COLLINELLI Assistant Sports Editor Temple University football redshirt-junior tight end Kenny Yeboah announced on Monday afternoon via Twitter he will be transferring and will not return to Temple for his senior season.

Also on Monday, senior receiver Isaiah Wright accepted an invite to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 18, 2020, at 3 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Kenny Yeboah

Yeboah won’t be participating in the Owls’ upcoming bowl game, he wrote.

“To my teammates, there is no other team I would have wanted to be a part of for the last three and a half years,” Yeboah said in his statement on Twitter. “I love each and every one of you guys. We have had many changes and have built this Temple football culture.”

Yeboah played in 11 games this season and recorded 19 catches, 233 yards and five touchdowns. In the last four games of the season, Yeboah recorded eight catches, 133 yards and four touchdowns, including two against Tulane on Nov. 16.

Yeboah finishes his Temple career with 47 receptions, 538 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 11.4 yards per reception.

The redshirt-junior tight end was rated a two-star recruit by 247 Sports coming out of Parkland High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Yeboah said he has yet to decide which school he will transfer to and had considered entering the NFL draft but decided transferring was the better option.

Isaiah Wright

The East-West Shrine game is an all-star game designed for college players to showcase their skills in front of NFL scouts and general managers, according to the Shrine Game’s website.

The Owls had two players compete in the Shrine Game last year: defensive tackle Michael Dogbe and safety Delvon Randall. Dogbe was selected with the 249th pick in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals while Randall went undrafted.

In 12 games this season, Wright has compiled 47 catches, 442 yards and five touchdowns. Wright served as Temple’s primary punt and kick returner this season. He recorded 554 kickoff return yards and 69 punt return yards.

Wright was named The American Athletic Conference’s special teams player of the year in 2018 and was awarded one of Temple’s single-digits in the preseason.

The senior receiver was named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list over the summer. The Senior Bowl is considered to be the best postseason all-star game, according to Bleacher Report.

Former Owls cornerback Rock YaSin competed at the Senior Bowl last season and was selected 34th overall in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

J.P. OAKES / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior wide receiver Isaiah Wright jumps during Temple football’s game against Memphis at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 12.

dante.collinelli@temple.edu @DanteCollinelli

J.P. OAKES / THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-junior tight end Kenny Yeboah carries out a play during Temple football’s game against the University of Buffalo on Sept. 21.

@TheTempleNews @TheTempleNews

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SPORTS PAGE 22

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

CLUB SPORTS

Former Marine brings physicality to club hockey After serving in the Marines for four years, Brandon LaBumbard returned home with the goal to play hockey again.

BY DONOVAN HUGEL For The Temple News Hockey has followed Brandon LaBumbard everywhere he’s gone.

Just three days after he was born in Wisconsin, LaBumbard and his family moved to Minnesota. He lived there until he was 7 years old, and moved once more to Ontario, Canada.

He started skating when he was 3 years old and began playing organized hockey when he was about 7 years old, said LaBumbard, a freshman criminal justice major.

He played AAA hockey for the Toronto East Enders from 2012-15.

After graduating from Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in 2012, LaBumbard enlisted in the U.S. Marines.

He served from 2015-19.

“Growing up you’re kinda always pushed to go to high school, then college, then get a job,” LaBumbard said.

“I learned fairly quickly that wasn’t really me.”

LaBumbard was a sergeant and was stationed in South America. He never fought in active combat, and his daily job was to oversee maintenance of all weapons, he said.

LaBumbard and his section would

wake up and start physical training around 5 a.m. On Fridays, they would divert away from their usual training and play football, basketball or soccer, but never hockey.

“We never actually got a chance to play hockey, which is funny,” said Tyler Craig, a former sergeant in the same section as LaBumbard. “It brought us all together in a fun way and got us away from work for a little bit. It was just a fun way for us to get to know each other. It was pretty therapeutic.”

The Marine Corps has a hockey team LaBumbard could have played on, but he didn’t have enough time, he said Temple’s club hockey team influenced LaBumbard’s decision to enroll at Temple after he left the Marines, he said.

LaBumbard hadn’t skated in four years before his tryout for the team in August.

“Going into the first tryout I was super nervous,” LaBumbard said. “So going out there the very first night was a little, little rough. I had to get my feet back under me, but I kinda just picked it up where I left off, whenever the last time I played before that was.”

Club President and Captain Charles Ghiazza said LaBumbard was rusty in his first tryout but started to impress once he got his feet under him.

“He’s a physical player,” said Ghiazza, a senior risk management and insurance major. “He’s not even the biggest guy.

J.P. OAKES / COURTESY Brandon LaBumbard follows the puck in Temple’s 4-2 victory over Towson University on Oct. 18.

He’s maybe 5-foot, 11-inches, but he plays super physical. He’s not scared to use his body and go into the corner and battle for pucks.”

In 17 games this season, LaBumbard, who plays right and left-wing, is seventh on the team in points with eight. He has three goals and five assists.

The Owls are sixth in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association with a 4-5 record.

After sitting out the first game of the season with an injury, LaBumbard scored his first collegiate goal against

Cornell University in the Owl’s second game of the season.

“He’s really easy to get along with, he’s just always super friendly all the time,” Ghiazza said. “He always has great stories...about when he was in the Marines.” donovan.hugel@temple.edu @donohugel Editor’s Note: Sports Editor Jay Neemeyer is a team reporter for Temple’s club ice hockey team. He played no part in the reporting and editing of this story.

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SPORTS PAGE 23

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

FOOTBALL

Seniors take final shot to improve bowl record

At Northern Illinois University, After defeating Connecticut by The AAC) and is looking ahead to the are choosing to play in the upcoming bowl game, Carey said.

Carey compiled a 0-5 record in bowl 32 points in its last game, Tem- postseason.

“You don’t wanna have that “Coming in as a freshman, I know games. ple is focused on sending its sesour taste of a loss,” redshirt-junior I came up into a winning class,” senior Last season, the Huskies lost to the niors out with a bowl victory.

BY DANTE COLLINELLI Assistant Sports Editor Temple University football has compiled a 1-3 record in its last four bowl games.

The Owls’ (8-4, 5-3 The American Athletic Conference) last bowl win came in 2017 when they defeated Florida International University in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.

Temple’s bowl game destination and opponent for this year will be announced on Sunday.

Temple, which is bowl eligible for a fifth straight season, finished its regular season with a 49-17 victory at home on Nov. 30 against Connecticut (2-10, 0-8

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 JONES Jones is playing 35 minutes per game as the Owls’ starting guard, where she is averaging 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.25 assists per game.

Jones was homesick at West Virginia and playing closer to home was important for her, she said.

Being able to play in front of her family was a key factor in transferring to Temple, said Jones’s parents, Quinton Jones and Kimberly Wynder.

“She made the decision that she wanted to come closer to home,” Wynder said. “She wanted to come to Temple.”

Her parents were able to attend some

@TheTempleNews

quarterback Anthony Russo said. “So, I think getting this win and being able to have some confidence and mojo going into bowl prep is big time.”

Last year, the Owls lost to Duke University, 56-27, in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl after finishing the regular season 8-4 and 7-1 in conference play.

In the game against Duke, Temple was missing two key senior players: running back Ryquell Armstead and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. Without Armstead, the Owls were only able to muster 53 rushing yards and without Ya-Sin on defense, they gave up 440 passing yards.

Senior linebacker Shaun Bradley ensured coach Rod Carey that all seniors

linebacker Sam Franklin said. “Those guys dedicated every day. You never saw them take a rep off or a day off. They embodied Temple TUFF.” This season, Bradley leads the team in tackles with 79 and is tied for fourth in tackles for loss with graduate linebacker Chapelle Russell.

On offense, senior receiver Isaiah Wright is third on the team in receptions with 47. He’s also recorded 442 receiving yards and five touchdowns this season.

“We wanna send these seniors off with a win,” Russo said. “Last year, the way we sent those seniors off after they did so much for this program really hurt us. That loss kinda stung all offseason.”

The team wants Carey to get his first win in a bowl game, Russo added.

University of Alabama at Birmingham, 37-13, in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 18.

Although he wasn’t involved in their recruitment, Carey believes he’s formed a strong bond with the seniors in his first season. He has “the same feelings” for them he’s had with players he’s coached longer, Carey said.

“My biggest regret is that I just don’t have more time with these seniors,” Carey added. “Not because of any other reason. I just like being around them.

They are unbelievable guys first and foremost before football players.”

home games in Morgantown, West Virginia, but the four-hour distance made it difficult.

“It was tough because the home games were really away games for us,” Quinton Jones said.

Her parents feel that she has been more comfortable playing at Temple.

“The transition was fine, there was no anger or anything,” Wynder said.

“Temple was more of her style of play.”

Ashley Jones is still getting back into the swing of playing three games a week after sitting out an entire season, but she is getting more comfortable each game, she said.

“I’m a tough critic when it comes to the guy with the ball in their hands, and I think that [Jones] has another level she can get to,” said coach Tonya Cardoza

after the Owls’ Nov. 14 win against Xavier University (1-5).

Ashley Jones leads the team with 39 turnovers this season while only having 34 assists. She averages 4.3 assists per game, which ranks fourth in The American.

“I think [Cardoza] sees that I still have more to go for, and she’s trying to help me get to that point,” Jones said.

“She’s been very supportive to help me out with that, leadership, defense, everything, to make sure I have an overall game, and I appreciate that.”

Her ability to score off the dribble helps junior forward Mia Davis, the Owls’ leading scorer, carry the burden offensively, Cardoza said.

Ashley Jones is first on the team with 119 field goals attempted. The

only player near her is Davis who has attempted 117 field goals this season.

“I look for other people to score, like when I penetrate and kick out that comes from my assists,” Ashley Jones said, “I actually like when we have other people that can score and it benefits us on the court.”

She has high aspirations for the Owls this season, despite the team going 23-38 over the last two seasons.

“I definitely think we have a chance to make it to the Final Four or the championship for our conference,” she said. “I think that we have a chance to make it to the tournament as well.”

dante.collinelli@temple.edu @DanteCollinelli

joshua.grieb@temple.edu @JGrieb10

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SPORTS

PAGE 24

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

‘MORE HER STYLE’ After sitting out for the 2018-19 season, Ashley Jones has improved in every major statistical category this season.

BY JOSH GRIEB Women’s Basketball Co-Beat Reporter

R

edshirt-sophomore guard Ashley Jones has raised her scoring average by 14.1 points per game after transferring to Temple.

Jones, who grew up in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, made her

debut for the Owls this season after transferring from West Virginia University last year and sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules.

At West Virginia, Jones averaged only 2.8 points per game, 2.6 assists per game and 1.8 rebounds per game in about 17 minutes of action per game.

JONES | PAGE 23

NICK DAVIS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-sophomore guard Ashley Jones dribbles the ball down the court during the Owls’ game against Xavier University at the Liacouras Center on Nov. 14.

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