Vol. 96 Iss. 22

Page 1

A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

VOL. 96 ISSUE 22

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018

CRIME

Family sues TUPD for alleged assault

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The alleged assault of a 17-yearold occurred in April 2016 outside the former Pearl Theater. BY KELLY BRENNAN Assistant News Editor

A

17-year-old alleges four current and former Temple Police officers assaulted and wrongfully arrested him in April 2016, according to court docu-

ments. The 17-year-old and his mother Melinda Clark, who is listed in the documents, are suing the four officers and the university for assault, battery and wrongful arrest, according to the civil complaint that was filed on Feb. 14, 2018. The family, represented by Michael Gallagher of MyPhillyLawyer, is seeking a payment of $50,000 in addition to compensation legal fees, interest, costs and punitive damages. The four officers’ names are Andrew Lanetti, Anthony Sherman, Natalie Decoatsworth and Omair Chutgai, according to the complaint. “Temple is aware of the complaint and intends to defend the matter vigorously,” wrote university spokesperson Brandon Lausch in a statement to The Temple News. Gallagher said the family’s chances of winning the lawsuit are good. Despite several attempts, the family could not be reached for comment. “We have a meritorious case,” Gallagher added. “Discovery will hash things out.” On April 15, 2016, the 17-year-old, who was 15 at the time, was arrested by the four Temple Police officers for disorderly conduct. He claims he was inside the former Pearl

LAWSUIT | PAGE 3

The Owls cheer from the sideline during their 85-57 win against UConn on Jan. 28 at the Liacouras Center.

SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Owls set for NIT first round No. 5 Temple will play No. 4 Penn State on Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania. BY EVAN EASTERLING Sports Editor

Temple will be a No. 5 seed in the 32team National Invitation Tournament. The Owls (17-15, 8-10 American Athletic Conference), who entered Selection Sunday on the NIT bubble, will face No. 4 Penn State (21-13, 9-9 Big 10 Conference) in the first round on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in University

Park, Pennsylvania. The game will air on ESPNU. The winner will advance to face the victor of the game between No. 1 University of Notre Dame and No. 8 Hampton University on Tuesday at 9 p.m. The first three rounds of the tournament are hosted by the higher-seeded school. The NIT culminates with the semifinals on March 27 and the finals on March 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Coach Fran Dunphy said a chance to play in the NIT would benefit the sopho-

mores and freshmen. That group of players was not yet on the team when Temple made its most recent postseason appearance, a first-round exit in the 2016 NCAA Tournament against the University of Iowa at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. “It’s another opportunity to play,” Dunphy said. “We’ll have more practices. Any time you get these kids together again, it’s terrific.” The NCAA has changed a few rules

NIT | PAGE 14

ON CAMPUS

CRIME

Amplifying women in filmmaking

City Council president against stadium

The Women’s Fest will showcase 12 films that feature a woman writer, director or cinematographer. BY EMMA PADNER

For The Temple News

In 2014, Sonali Udaybabu grabbed her video camera and headed into the streets of Delhi, India, to participate in a youth-led protest. The non-violent campaign, named “Kiss of Love,” protested right-wing groups that police public displays of affection in India. Udaybabu, a first-year master’s of film and media arts student, turned her footage of the protest into a short documentary film, “The Kiss of Love.” “I hope that after the film people [will want] to talk to me about what was happening,” said Udaybabu, who is an Indian citizen and a queer feminist activist. “I think that is the most crucial thing about this film. It will bring attention to the issues in the world.” The film will be shown at Temple’s second annual Women’s Fest on Wednesday. The festival, which starts at 5 p.m. at the Temple Performing Arts Center, consists of 12 student-produced short films that feature a woman writer, director or cinematographer. The festival is a collaborative work between Diamond Screen Film Series, and Mise-en-Femme Productions, a student film organization. Film and media arts graduate stu-

Darrell Clarke said he would not support the university’s proposal for an on-campus football stadium. BY GILLIAN McGOLDRICK News Editor

group also plans to have the audience vote for the best film. The winning film will screen again during the Diamond Screen Film Festival in May, which highlights that year’s most outstanding student films. This year’s festival will also introduce a discussion panel featuring film and media arts professors LeAnn Erickson and Rea Tajiri. The panel, which will follow the screening, will examine the films in greater detail, looking at motifs and discussing additional context.

A spokesperson for City Council President Darrell Clarke said on Monday that Clarke will not currently support “any City approvals for the stadium.” Jane Roh, Clarke’s communications director, said in a statement to The Temple News that Clarke feels Temple “missed a great opportunity to repair its relationship with residents” while forming its stadium proposal. She added that Clarke will reconsider his position if the university and residents can come to an agreement about the stadium, but it “really seems unlikely that they will, at this point.” As early as 2015, Clarke stated he would not allow the stadium unless the North Philadelphia community’s concerns were appropriately considered by the university. Clarke represents the City Council’s 5th District, which is home to several neighborhoods in North Philadelphia and the area surrounding Main Campus. The proposed on-campus stadium would also be built in the 5th District. “This was always about the university’s relationship with students and near residents and

FILM | PAGE 12

CITY COUNCIL | PAGE 3

HANNAH BURNS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Gabriella Bajaña (left), a senior film and media arts major, and Qiyue Sun, a second-year master’s of film and media arts student, co-organized the Women’s Fest, which features 12 student-produced short films by women.

dents Qiyue Sun and Jon Appel collaborated with senior film and media arts majors Mohammad Ibrahim and Gabriella Bajaña to organize the Women’s Film Fest. Sun, Appel and Ibrahim represent Diamond Screens, while Bajaña represents Mise-en-Femme. “Filmmaking is for some reason kind of a man’s sport, especially in America,” Sun said. “So it’s important to support and encourage female filmmakers.” Together, the group reviewed all of the festival submissions and selected the featured films. During the festival, the

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-12

SPORTS | PAGES 13-16

Temple Student Government members filed to impeach the elections commissioner days before the 2018 elections. Read more on Page 2.

A columnist commended the Pan-African Studies Community Education Program for helping formerly incarcerated people return to society. Read more on Page 4.

A Tyler School of Art alumna is the founding director of the Philadelphia International Airport’s exhibition program. Read more on Page 7.

The lacrosse team will join the American Athletic Conference in 2019. First, it will try to reach its third-straight Big East Conference tournament. Read more on Page 16.


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