Vol. 100 Iss. 5

THE TEMPLE NEWS

NOT GOOD

ENOUGH WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS, PAGE 3 University Village trash pickup improves after viral video of garbage pileup.

FEATURES, PAGE 22 Transfer students discuss their in-person experiences at Temple after learning virtually.

VOL 100 // ISSUE 5 OCT. 26, 2021

After suffering a 34-14 loss to the University of South Florida, Temple University football is now 3-4 and in danger of not qualifying for a bowl game.

Read more on Page 23. temple-news.com @thetemplenews

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The Temple News

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

Lawrence Ukenye Editor-in-Chief Jack Danz Managing Editor Amelia Winger Digital Managing Editor Natalie Kerr Chief Print Copy Editor Dante Collinelli Chief Digital Copy Editor Haajrah Gilani Assignments Editor Fallon Roth News Editor Micah Zimmerman Assistant News Editor Monica Constable Assistant News Editor Julia Merola Opinion Editor Kendra Franklin Essay Editor Samantha Sullivan Features Editor Mary Rose Leonard Assistant Features Editor Matthew Aquino Assistant Features Editor Isabella DiAmore Sports Editor Nick Gangewere Assistant Sports Editor Victoria Ayala Assistant Sports Editor Eden MacDougall Intersection Editor Emerson Marchese Longform Editor Maggie Fitzgerald Audience Engagement Editor Emily Lewis Asst. Engagement Editor Allison Ippolito Photography Editor Amber Ritson Assistant Photography Editor Erik Coombs Multimedia Editor Allison Silibovsky Assistant Multimedia Editor Sarah Walters Design Editor Ethan Carroll Assistant Design Editor Gracie Heim Web Editor Olivia Hall Podcast Editor Scarlett Catalfamo Advertising Manager Luke Smith 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.

The Editorial Board is made up of The Temple News’ Editor-inChief, Managing Editor, Digital Managing Editor, Chief Copy Editor, Assignments Editor, News Editor and Opinion Editor. The views expressed in editorials only reflect those of the Board, and not of the entire Temple News staff.

ON THE COVER Jerquavion Mahone, a sophomore defensive tackle, watches the game from the bench during the Owls’ game against Boston College at the Lincoln Financial Field on Sept.18 | AMBER RITSON / TEMPLE NEWS

Contacts Visit us online at temple-news.com News Desk 215.204.7419 Email section staff news@temple-news.com letters@temple-news.com features@temple-news.com intersection@temple-news.com sports@temple-news.com The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122

CORRECTIONS On Oct. 12, an article on page 5 titled “Parliament adds members, works on resolutions” inaccurately reported Kendall Stephens’ stance on tuition differentials between in-state and out-of-state students.

Stephens does not want to lower tuition differentials between in-state and out-of-state students.

On Oct. 12, an article on page 27 titled “Students host feminine care fundraiser” misattributed a quote to Taylor Sanders. The quote should have been attributed to Taylor Smith.

Follow us @TheTempleNews

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 Lawrence Ukenye at editor@temple-news.com.

The Temple News

NEWS

PAGE 3

HOUSING

University Village is improving trash collection A viral TikTok showed trash pileups in a hallway in the apartment complex located near campus.

BY MICAH ZIMMERMAN Assistant News Editor

T

emple University students living at University Village apartments, located on 10th Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue, are experiencing improved maintenance and trash removal after the off-campus residential building went viral on TikTok for trash pileups on all six of its floors in September.

In response to the overflows, American Campus Communities, an Austin, Texas-based company which owns University Village and 200 other student-housing communities across the United States, sent an email to all residents on Sept. 29 apologizing for the pileups. The email also detailed plans to add additional maintenance support, hire clean-up crews to clear the pileups, add pest control and hire cleaning and sanitation vendors to clean the floors near the trash rooms, according to the email obtained by The Temple News.

The extent to which each plan has been implemented remains unclear because American Campus Communities and University Village declined a full interview with The Temple News.

“We take responsibility and apologize to our residents for this temporary issue, which has been resolved,” wrote Kate Lowery, media relations representative for American Campus Communities, in an email to The Temple News.

Nevertheless, residents are now seeing some improvements in how University Village is handling their trash disposal.

Each trash room receives extra daily attention and is emptied more frequently, said resident Jack Hewitt, a sophomore mechanical engineering major.

“The trash rooms are a lot neater than they were before the problem, like the bins that you throw your trash in are

KAITLYN JEFFREY / THE TEMPLE NEWS American Campus Communities, the company that owns University Village, sent out an email to all residents on Sept. 29 detailing the steps they are taking to address trash pileups.

never overflowing,” Hewitt said.

The floors in each trash room were cleaned after the buildup and the rooms are now sanitized, said resident Kemarte Jefferson, a sophomore exercise and sport science major.

“The trash rooms are a lot neater than they were before the problem,” Hewitt said. ”Like the bins that you throw your trash in are never overflowing.”

Shortages in building staff, an abundance of packaging due to students moving in at the start of the fall semester and delays in waste pick up caused the pileups, Lowery wrote.

Students were forced to put their trash in the hallway because the trash rooms were filled with bags and overflowing the room’s capacity, said res-

ident Sierra Michael, a sophomore mathematics major.

“It was such a bad issue,” Michael said. “It was like a week of trash being thrown into the hallway.”

University Village residents were experiencing issues with trash disposal throughout the month of September, 6ABC reported.

A resident posted a video on TikTok documenting large piles of trash in a University Village hallway on Sept. 26, three days before the apartment complex’s apology email. The TikTok post received more than 189,000 likes, more than 2,500 comments and more than 4,500 shares.

“I don’t think it would have been cleaned as quick as it was if it wouldn’t

have went viral,” Jefferson said.

Temple contacted American Campus Communities in an effort to get the cleanup resolved as quickly as possible, said Stephen Orbanek, a spokesperson for the university. The university did not lend any maintenance staff to help in the cleanup because the building is not owned by the university, he said.

Residents of University Village dealt with trash pileups in the past, but only when students were leaving the building at the end of the semester, said two-year resident Darrell Walton, a junior sport and recreation management major.

“It was atrocious, to be honest,” Walton said. “It’s normally not like this.” micah.zimmerman@temple.edu @micahvzimmerman

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NEWS

The Temple News

ON CAMPUS

Temple adapts campus to severe weather events Extreme weather is intensifying due to climate change, posing risks to campus facilities.

BY NATALIE KERR Chief Print Copy Editor As severe weather becomes more frequent and intense due to climate change, Temple University is making adaptations to its standards for infrastructure, renovations and new construction to make buildings more resilient against worsening storms, flooding and temperature fluctuations.

The university’s adaptations include implementing stormwater management infrastructure to decrease floods and water pollution during major storms, improving building temperature and humidity regulation to account for frequent weather changes, fortifying power systems and investing in backup power sources in case of storm damage, said Rebecca Collins, director of sustainability.

Extreme weather, like storms and heat waves, is becoming more frequent and severe due to increased temperatures and precipitation caused by human-induced climate change, possibly resulting in illness and death, destroying food and water supplies, damaging property and disrupting essential services, like phone lines and transportation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Temple’s Ambler Campus was forced to stop in-person instruction for more than a week after a tornado touched down on Sept.

1 and damaged several buildings, including tearing off the roof of Ambler’s West Hall, The Temple News reported.

“There’s a real possibility that we will have issues supporting our students to learn.” Collins said. “We saw that example at Ambler, we had this really incredible force of nature that touched down on Ambler’s campus and caused an extreme amount of destruction.”

Increased fortifications against storms aren’t included in current repair projects for Ambler buildings, but Temple is requiring construction projects to include hardened areas, like stairwells and concrete structures, in many campus facilities to provide storm shelter areas, said Joe Monahan, the associate vice president of Facilities and Operations.

BETSY MANNING / COURTESY Temple University is adapting its standards in infrastructure, renovations and new construction to prevent future damage from extreme weather.

Architects in Philadelphia must take measures to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and adapt to extreme heat, sea level rise and flooding, said Fauzia Sadiq Garcia, an architecture professor. Measures can include adding porous materials, like water-permeable pavement and greenspace, into buildings, fortifying power systems and reducing energy use in buildings.

Temple’s buildings have some flood management infrastructure in place, like water basins beneath buildings to capture excess stormwater, water-permeable pavement on Liacouras and Polett Walks and green roofs, like the one on Charles Library, which absorb stormwater and help insulate buildings, Collins said.

These adaptations are in place due to city building codes that Temple must follow, which require areas around construction to be able to absorb 1.5 inches of rainfall, the United States Green Building Council codes that Temple chooses to follow and the university’s individual desire to improve its stormwater management, Collins added.

Landscaping, like trees and greenspaces, can also buffer buildings during storms and

prevent some damage, Sadiq Garcia said.

Temple has incorporated green building standards into university construction and renovation and aims to reach the silver tier — the second level — of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system in all of its new construction according to the 2019-20 Sustainability Annual Report.

Temple should also implement adaptations, like more shade and window tinting, to keep buildings cool on hotter days without increasing air conditioning use, which emits greenhouse gases and further exacerbates climate change, Sadiq Garcia said.

“If we don’t build efficiently, then we might not have a place to live in 50 years,” Sadiq Garcia said. “We really need to tackle that.”

Investing in underground power lines and increasing renewable energy use can prevent electricity failures during storms by protecting the energy system from falling trees and high winds, Sadiq Garcia added.

Main Campus currently has generators in each campus building in case of power failure and centralized power from steam,

natural gas and reserved oil, which they would burn should all other power options fail, Monahan said.

“The entire East Coast could lose power and Temple will continue to run and continue to heat,” Monahan said.

Ambler does not have the same centralized power system as Main Campus and relied on generators for power for several days after trees damaged power lines during the tornado on Sept. 1, Monahan said.

Temple must reduce emissions from buildings to reduce the university’s damage to the environment and achieve their sustainability goals, Sadiq Garcia said.

“If we want to meet the targets for what Temple’s signed on as an agreement, then that really means that we have to take a hard look at how our buildings are operating now,” Sadiq Garcia said. natalie.kerr@temple.edu @natliekerr

The Temple News

NEWS

PAGE 5

INTERSECTION

Temple, IBC partner to diversify nursing program The university received a grant to recruit more nursing students from minority communities.

BY EDEN MACDOUGALL Intersection Editor Temple University and the Independence Blue Cross Foundation announced a new collaboration to bring more students of color to Temple’s nursing program at a press conference at Charles Library on Oct. 12, according to a press release.

Temple received funding from IBC to promote nursing as a career path in local high schools, bring local high school students to Temple and award them fouryear scholarships, wrote IBC President Rev. Lorina Marshall-Blake, in an email to The Temple News.

“The Foundation understands the importance of a nursing workforce that reflects the population it serves,” Marshall-Blake wrote.

A diverse workforce is essential to ensure that healthcare workers can work with diverse communities and advocate for their patients, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

IBC provided the nursing department with about $500,000 for the scholarships and $754,000 for support costs, said Mary Terhaar, the chair of the College of Public Health. More funds may be awarded in the future if more students qualify for the program.

The scholarship was awarded to five students this year, Terhaar said. If the program is successful, more scholarships may be given out in the future.

Students must meet the admissions criteria for the nursing program before they are eligible for the scholarship, Terhaar added.

First-year applicants to the nursing program must have a 3.25 minimum high school GPA and own a laptop, according to Temple’s nursing admissions website.

Transfer students must have a 3.5 minimum GPA for college-level coursework.

Students who earn the scholarship will also receive support and tutoring from faculty to help them navigate college, because many students are coming from underserved communities and face additional fi-

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

nancial challenges, Terhaar added.

They will also be guaranteed a paid internship between their junior and senior years and a job offer from Temple University Hospital after they complete their internship, Terhaar said.

The goal is to give students practical nursing experience while alleviating any financial burdens they may have, Terhaar added.

“What we need is diversity, diversity of thought, diversity of experience that produces a diversity of thought is likely to come up with richer, more responsive solutions that are better suited to the needs of the community,” Terhaar said.

Jennifer Brown, a nursing professor, meets with the scholarship recipients as a group and individually to discuss which courses they need to take and assist them with time management because all of the current scholarship recipients are balancing schoolwork with other jobs, Brown said.

“We’ve come to a place where I get to really identify what their individual needs are and trying to help them to be successful,” Brown added.

Temple’s scholarship outreach will involve bringing Temple alumni to local public schools to speak to high school students

about nursing during winter and summer breaks, Brown said. Students will also have the chance to visit Temple and shadow nurses on Temple’s campus.

Part of the summer break programming will involve training for students entering the nursing program, Terhaar said.

Akasha Thomas, a freshman nursing major, is usually the only Black person in her classes, she said.

Her white classmates don’t always understand how racism in the medical community affects Black people and their willingness to seek medical treatment, she added.

“It’s important for people of color to see other people of color in health fields because they get to connect more, we get to have a voice,” Thomas said.

More nursing students at Temple will also help with the nursing shortage in the United States, Brown said.

The current nursing shortage began in 2012 and is expected to last until 2030 due to an aging population that has an increased need for healthcare, Healthline reported. Baby Boomers are the largest generation in America and there are not enough nurses to provide care for them as they continue to age.

Nursing students from Temple have previously been awarded scholarships from the Nurses for Tomorrow program, which is also run by the IBC, Marshall-Blake wrote.

The Nurses for Tomorrow program has provided scholarships to more than 3,000 nursing undergraduate, graduate and doctoral nursing students in southeastern Pennsylvania, according to the IBC’s website.

Approximately 40 students from Temple’s nursing program have participated in the Nursing Internship Program, which prepares nursing students in the undergraduate program to give culturally sensitive care to medically underserved communities, Marshall-Blake wrote.

Terhaar hopes that the IBC collaboration will help make the workforce more diverse and that diversity will help build trust in the health care system, she said.

“We’ve got to be better about bringing diversity into the workforce,” Terhaar added. “It just makes it easier for people to trust health care providers.” eden.macdougall@temple.edu

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NEWS

The Temple News

ELECTIONS

How to vote in the Nov. 2 election in Philadelphia near 22nd Street and Shissler Recreation Center on Blair Street near Norris.

The county election board will only count the mail-in ballots they receive by 8 p.m. on Nov. 2, regardless of if they were mailed in or hand-delivered, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website.

The Temple News has compiled information on how, when and where to vote in Philadelphia.

BY MONICA CONSTABLE Assistant News Editor On Nov. 2, Philadelphians will head to the polls to cast ballots for the district attorney, city controller and a slate of judges in the 2021 general election, The Temple News reported.

To participate in the general election, Philadelphians must have registered to vote by Oct. 18. New voters will receive a voter registration card in the mail about 14 days after submitting their registration application, which will provide details about their assigned polling place, The Philadelphia Citizen reported.

Voters who cannot travel to their polling place for the general election can visit their county’s election website to request absentee ballots.

Here’s what you need to know about voting in the Nov. 2 general election.

VOTING IN PERSON Polls will be open for in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Philadelphia Votes. Any voter standing in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote, even if they enter the voting booth past the cutoff time, The Philadelphia Citizen reported.

Philadelphians can find their closest polling location using the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ atlas. Multiple polling places will be open near Temple University’s Main Campus, including Bright Hope Baptist Church on 12th Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Norris Homes on 11th Street near Berks and Beckett Life Center on 16th Street near Jefferson.

Voters are encouraged to wear masks and social distance while voting in person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The CDC recommends anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or

NADIYAH TIMMONS / THE TEMPLE NEWS

has come in close contact with someone with the virus to stay home.

VOTING BY MAIL Philadelphia voters can opt to vote by mail, instead of in person, if they submit an application requesting a mail-in ballot by 5 p.m. on Oct. 26.

When completing their mail-in ballots, voters must use a blue or black pen to completely fill in the bubble next to the candidate of their choice. Once the ballot is filled out, voters must seal it inside the secrecy envelope the ballot came with. The secrecy envelope can then be

placed and sealed in the pre-addressed outer return envelope, according to the PA Department of State’s website.

Voters must sign and date the declaration statement on the outer return envelope for their ballot to be counted, according to the PA Department of State’s website.

Besides mailing their ballots, voters can choose to hand-deliver their completed mail-in ballot to the county elections office in Room 142 of City Hall or a ballot dropbox. Ballot dropboxes are located throughout the city, like at Eastern State Penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES? The District Attorney is a prosecutor that represents the state in more than 75,000 criminal judicial proceedings per year, according to the Office of the District Attorney website.

Larry Krasner, the incumbent and Democratic nominee, is running for reelection against Charles Peruto, a Philadelphia attorney and Republican nominee, after winning more than two-thirds of the Democratic vote in the May primary, The Temple News reported.

The City Controller takes on the role of Chief Auditor of Philadelphia and audits the operations of the Mayor and the City Council, according to the Office of the Controller’s website.

Rebecca Rhynhart, the incumbent and Democratic nominee, is currently unopposed in her campaign for reelection, according to Ballotpedia.

The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is a trial court that hears civil and criminal cases and is split into three divisions, including the Trial Division, the Family Division and the Orphans’ Division, according to the Philadelphia Courts’ website.

Judges of the court oversee original civil actions brought by and against Pennsylvania, as well as appeals from state agencies and the Court of Common Pleas, The Temple News reported.

Voters can select up to 12 candidates.

The Democratic nominees include: Nick Kamau, Wendi Barish, Cateria R. McCabe (Incumbent), Betsy Wahl, Chris Hall, Michele Hangley, Craig Levin, Dan Sulman (Incumbent) , Monica N. Gibb, Leanne L. Litwin, Mark J. Moore and John P. Sabatina Jr.

NEWS

The Temple News

There are no Republican candidates for this election, according to Philadelphia Votes.

Judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court are responsible for trying a limited range of criminal and civil offenses, like sentences that include five years of incarceration or less, cases that involve a $12,000 amount or less in controversy or $15,000 in real estate and tax cases, according to the Philadelphia Courts website.

Voters can select up to five candidates.

The Democratic nominees include: Greg Yorgey-Girdy, Michael C. Lambert, George Twardy, Christian A. DiCicco and Fran McCloskey.

There are no Republican candidates for this election, according to Philadelphia Votes.

Justices on the state’s Supreme Court preside over the highest court in Pennsylvania’s judicial system and serve a 10-year term, according to the Pennsylvania Courts website. Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Voters must select one candidate.

The Democratic nominee is Maria McLaughlin and the Republican nominee is Kevin Brobson.

The Judges of the Superior Court are responsible for appeals in criminal and most civil cases from the Courts of Common Pleas and appeals on matters involving children and families, according to the PA Courts’ website.

Voters must select one candidate.

The Democratic nominee is Timika Lane and the Republican nominee is Megan Sullivan.

Judges of the Commonwealth Court preside over the state’s intermediate appellate court, which is responsible for hearing appeals in criminal and most civil cases that come from the Courts of Common Pleas, and cases involving children and families, according to the Pennsylvania Courts website.

Voters can select up to two candidates. The Democratic nominees are Lori A. Dumas and David Lee Spurgeon. The Republican nominees include Stacy Marie Wallace and Incumbent Andrew Crompton.

There are four judicial retention elections on the ballot, according to Philadelphia Votes. Judicial retention determines whether an incumbent judge should stay in office, according to Ballotpedia.

Voters will also elect a judge of elections and Majority and Minority Inspector of Elections, according to Philadelphia Votes.

BALLOT MEASURES Ballot measures are questions that appear on an election ballot for voters to give their input on a proposed law or a constitutional amendment.

The first ballot measure asks voters if they are in favor of decriminalizing marijuana for non-medical related purposes for adults 21 and older, according to Philadelphia Votes.

The second ballot measure asks voters if they are in favor of creating the Department of Fleet Management to manage city vehicles, vehicle-related equipment and fueling sites, according to Philadelphia Votes.

The third question asks voters if they are in favor of granting the City’s Personnel Director to have more control over the hiring process for each of the city’s departments, by considering job types and needs of the civil service system, according to Philadelphia Votes.

The fourth question asks voters if they are in favor of requiring the Philadelphia City Council to set aside money in the budget annually for housing programs like affordable housing, according to Philadelphia Votes. monica.constable@temple.edu @mconstable7

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PAGE 8

NEWS

The Temple News

ELECTIONS

Here are the ballot measures for the Nov. 2 election political beliefs who would further their agendas, Sances said.

In 1952, the city reformed the hiring process by incorporating civil service assessments that required department heads to choose between the top two applicants on the standardized look testing list. The city also only allows applicants to be interviewed by the same department twice, according to Philadelphia Votes.

Voting “yes” on this ballot question will allow the city to select from more than the top two candidates from the civil service assessment and will enable departments to interview applicants more than twice.

“This question is a way to reform that and make it easier to hire racial and ethnic minorities,” Sances said.

The Temple News has broken down the basics of each question that will be on your ballot.

BY MICAH ZIMMERMAN Assistant News Editor Philadelphia ballots for the Nov. 2 general election will include four questions asking voters to vote “yes” or “no” on issues like marijuana, transportation, city jobs and housing.

The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, a local constitution, gives the city the authority to create laws addressing municipal matters, as long as they do not interfere with existing state laws, said Michael Sances, a Temple University political science professor.

The ballot questions provide a way for Philadelphia voters to decide whether to amend the Home Rule Charter, giving them a voice in city affairs, like police reform and criminal justice, Sances said. Voters can opt not to answer the ballot questions.

Here are the questions that will appear on Philadelphians’ ballots on Nov. 2.

Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to call upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor to pass legislation that would decriminalize, regulate, and tax the use, and sale to adults aged 21 years or older, of cannabis for non-medical purposes?

This question asks voters to consider if and how Pennsylvania should begin decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults statewide, according to Philadelphia Votes.

Pennsylvania currently permits the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but not for recreational use. Possessing 30 grams, a little more than one ounce, of marijuana or less is considered a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, according to the The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. Voting “yes” on this question will amend the Home Rule Charter to include a statement urging the governor and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass laws allowing the use, sale and taxation of recreational marijuana to Pennsylvanians

KRISTINE CHIN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

above the age of 21.

The question is not binding, meaning voting “yes” will not change current state laws. However, the question allows voters to weigh in on the issue, said Councilmember At-Large Derek Green, who sponsored the measure.

Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to establish and define the functions of a Department of Fleet Services, headed by a Commissioner, to manage all City-owned motor vehicles and City programs concerning alternative vehicle fuel initiatives?

This question asks voters to consider if the city should create a government department for its fleet vehicles.

Voting “yes” to this question would amend the Home Rule Charter to create the “Department of Fleet Management,” which would monitor fueling stations and manage all city vehicles, including ambulances, fire trucks, lawnmowers and police vehicles, Sances said.

Historically, individual Philadelphia city departments have been responsible for

their own vehicles, leading to inconsistent maintenance and upgrades, Sances said.

Former Governor Edward Rendell signed an executive order in 1993 establishing the current Office of Fleet Management, but it primarily oversees vehicle maintenance and not new vehicle distribution and upkeep, Sances said.

Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to revise provisions related to the civil service system, to allow the Personnel Director to determine the number of people on an eligible list from which a hiring or promotion decision may be made, and to determine the number of times a person may be passed over and remain eligible on such a list, all based on the position and the needs of the civil service program?

This question asks voters to consider how the city can modify hiring practices for their departments, according to Philadelphia Votes.

Historically, the city government’s hiring process enabled officials to hire family members, friends or people with similar

Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for a mandatory annual appropriation for the Housing Trust Fund?

This measure, also sponsored by Green, was created to allocate a set rate of 0.5 percent of the city’s general fund, about $25 million per year, to the Housing Trust Fund, which uses real-estate fees collected by the city for affordable housing and community development, Green said.

In the past, this rate fluctuated based on those in city leadership and was not guaranteed to the fund, Green said. This measure is an effort to combat homelessness and rising housing prices, he added.

About 5,700 people in the city of Philadelphia are experiencing homelessness, according to the Philadelphia Office of Homeless services website.

Voting “yes” will allow the city to allocate an annual appropriation for the Housing Trust Fund. This money would not be allowed to be used elsewhere, even in the case of an emergency, like the COVID-19 pandemic, Green said.

“We have had some serious housing issues, this provides an opportunity for additional funds to go into the trust fund that can be used for housing production and preservation of existing homes,” Green said. micah.zimmerman@temple.edu @micahvzimmerman

OPINION

The Temple News EDITORIAL

Apply for a mail-in ballots On Nov. 2, Philadelphians can vote for the district attorney, city controller and a slate of judges in the 2021 general election, The Temple News reported.

The Editorial Board urges all eligible voters to take the actions necessary to ensure their participation in the election, like applying to vote via mail-in ballot. Voters can register for a mail-in ballot through the PA Voter Services website until Oct. 26 at 5 p.m.

The mail-in-ballot option is not just for those that feel unsafe voting in person, currently do not live in Philadelphia or for individuals that are unable to receive time off from work to vote in-person at the polls. The Editorial Board believes everyone should apply for this option as a preventative measure against circumstances that would prevent them from casting their vote.

For example, if an individual feels sick the day of the election but can vote via mail, they’re able to avoid going to the polls and potentially spreading an illness while still being able to vote.

Once voters receive their ballot in the mail, they have two options. Voters can fill in the bubble next to their preferred candidate with blue or black pen immediately upon receiving the ballot, place it in the security envelope and seal it in a pre-addressed envelope, and mail the ballot in a timely fashion so that it reaches the county election board by the 8 p.m. deadline on Nov. 2, The Temple News re-

ported.

The second method for voting with a mail-in ballot is to hand deliver it to the county elections office in Room 142 at City Hall or at one of the ballot drop boxes located in the other designated sites throughout the city by Nov. 2 at 8 p.m., like Eastern State Penitentiary on Fairmount Ave, The Temple News reported.

In the past, the mail-in ballot has been falsely labeled as, “unconstitutional,” and “a fraud,” but the fears that votes can be cast on behalf of dead people, that mailedin votes result in a rigged election and other claims against the method have been disproved, The New York Times reported.

In the primary elections held in May 2021, only 21.1 percent of registered voters participated, according to the Office of the City Commissioners. Among those voters, the majority are registered in the Democratic Party, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The Editorial Board believes that the local elections are the most important form of elections because their results will affect constituents in their day-to-day lives more so than federal and state elections. While the Democratic majority in the city prevents Philadelphia elections from being overly competitive, this does not negate their importance.

PAGE 9

POLITICS

District attorneys’ impact

A student argues that Philadelphians should vote for district attorneys as they have a direct impact on the city.

O

n Nov. 2, Philadelphians will vote for who they want to be their district attorney for the next four years, The Temple News reported. District attorneys impact issues like inequalities in crime STELLA sentencing, police brutaliRODRIGUEZ For The Temple ty and changes to cash bail standards.

They control important decisions that affect all Philadelphians. For example, when police reports are filed, they’re given to the district attorney. While police can recommend charges, the district attorney can decide whether to file for criminal charges.

Because the district attorney has a direct effect on residents, all students who are able to vote must do so on Nov. 2. If the district attorney has this significant of an impact, then students should be voting on who they believe will fight for outcomes they want to see made to the criminal justice system.

The candidates for district attorney in the 2021 general election on Nov. 2 are Charles Peruto Jr., the Republican candidate, and Larry Krasner, the Democratic incumbent candidate. Krasner has held the Philadelphia District Attorney title since 2018.

In Krasner’s time as district attorney, he has decreased the jail population, exonerated innocent people, held police accountable for their actions, like corruption and physical abuse, and protected undocumented people living in Philadelphia, according to his campaign website.

Peruto is in favor of incarcerating defendants carrying loaded firearms without a permit on their first offense and destroying confiscated unregistered guns, The Temple News reported.

Peruto is against prosecuting people who suffer from substance abuse, The Temple News reported. Instead, Peruto would like to convert abandoned prisons into drug rehabilitation centers.

While Krasner has been in office, gun vio-

lence has increased. This year there have been 1,884 gunshot victims, while in 2018, when Krasner first took office, there were 1,441 gunshot victims.

In recent years, turnout has been abysmal in local elections in Philadelphia. When Mayor Jim Kenney was reelected in 2019, only 27 percent of registered voters participated in the election, according to the Manhattan Institute.

Voter turnout for elections is often determined by electoral competitiveness, election type, voting laws and demographics, according to FairVote, a nonpartisan organization whose goal is to research and advance voting reforms.

In previous years, North Philadelphia has voted disproportionately less for district attorney races than they have for mayoral races, according to Econsult Solutions Inc., a Philadelphia consulting firm.

There are nearly seven times as many Democrats registered to vote as there are Republicans in Philadelphia County, The Temple News reported.

Sydney Parsons, a senior sport and recreation management and geology major, will vote on Nov. 2, she said.

“Philly doesn’t have all that much voter turnout in these elections because it’s such a blue city, and everyone just assumes democrats will be winning them,” Parsons said.

Because voter turn-out for local elections is so low, it’s important that more people participate so that the people elected and their political values will reflect those they serve.

Local officials decide how to allocate resources among the many services that municipalities provide and set budgets for social services and public amenities, said Michael Hagen, a political science professor.

The district attorney outcome affects everyone, said Michael Iwan, a freshman political science major “It may not affect you right away,” Iwan said. “There may come a point where there’s some massive crime that happened in your county or in your area, and you don’t want them not knowing what they’re going to do and the criminal walking free.”

If you want to see a notable difference in the city, the easiest way to achieve that is through voting. stella.rodriguez@temple.edu

PAGE 10

OPINION

The Temple News

THE ESSAYIST

Teaching myself to stop laughing off harassment A student describes their experience dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace.

BY SAMANTHA BRENNAN For The Temple News While I was working as a cashier last March, a co-worker approached me and said, “You know, you’re the kind of person who if you told me you were 23 I’d believe you, and if you told me you were 27 I’d believe you, and if you told me you were 30 I think I’d still believe you. You just have a maturity about you.”

He was 27. I was 19. I told him I was 19.

After hearing this, he squinted his eyes, tilted his head and stared at me.

He looked surprised, as if my straightacross bangs, knee-high rain boots, purple leggings and Led Zeppelin t-shirt screamed middle-aged single woman ready to mingle.

To escape what I feared would become a never-ending staring match, I informed him I had just turned 19. He walked away after that. I smiled, nodded and carried on with my shift.

Seventy-seven percent of women have experienced verbal sexual harassment and 38 percent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, NPR reported.

I hate to include myself in these statistics because I know my experiences are nowhere near as severe as other women’s — I have never been forced to give my superiors sexual favors in order to keep my job nor have I been threatened with physical assault. However, I know the sexist and inappropriate behavior I’ve received from men is intolerable and far too common in our society to go unnoticed.

About 83 percent of sexual harassment allegations in 2020 were filed by women, according to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a government agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the workplace.

These things happened to me so often I thought they were just part of the job. Unfortunately, I was right.

While I was waitressing this past summer, a man at the bar asked me how

old I was. When I told him I was 19, one of the men sitting beside him yelled, “Close enough.” I wondered what “close enough” meant.

Was I close enough to his age, close enough to have sex with him or close enough to sit down and have a beer with him?

I never asked him what he meant by this. Instead, I laughed it off, got him another beer and walked away.

Men have called me honey, baby, sweetie, sweetheart, little lady and baby doll. They winked at me, rubbed my back and grabbed my hands. Many have offered to become my boyfriend or husband.

I would go into a panic every time one of these things happened, because I knew that I was trapped at work. I was expected to be respectful and enthusiastic to the customers and I couldn’t make a scene.

My heart raced every time it happened. I felt uncomfortable, hot, confused, angry, but I never showed any of it. I just smiled, laughed and waited for

CARLY CIVELLO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

them to walk away. Only then, would I pace around in a frantic circle and yell about how disgusting and despicable men are.

I am not proud of how I handled these situations. I wish I would have said something or challenged these men in some way, but at the time, I didn’t think I had a choice.

Growing up, I was taught by the media and adults in my life that “boys will be boys.” This phrase normalizes boys’ sexist, aggressive behaviors, passing it off as natural and normal, and instills ideas of gender stereotypes, according to Psychology Today.

Because of this, I learned men are supposed to demean, harass and sexualize women for their own egotistical satisfaction, and women are supposed to take it.

Women are expected to smile, laugh and shake it off. So, that is what I have always done, but that doesn’t make it right. It should not be my job, nor any

woman’s job, to put up with harassment and toxic-masculinity just because that is what society expects of us.

Men need to be held accountable for their actions. Women need to stand up for themselves when they feel uncomfortable or violated, instead of silently smiling through their discomfort and giving men a free pass to continue their sexist and inappropriate behavior. We must speak up and tell men when they’ve crossed the line.

Women should not have to remain quiet to protect men’s fragile egos. Derogatory pet names, waist grabs, hand rubs and sexual innuendos should not be just another “part of the job.” samantha.brennan@temple.edu

The Temple News

OPINION

PAGE 11

STUDENT LIFE

All students should receive training to use Narcan Students argue that training in administering Narcan should be available for all students.

BY WENDY GARCIA AND JULIA MEROLA For The Temple News In September, The Drug Enforcement Administration warned against a sharp increase in fake prescription pills containing Fentanyl.

In Philadelphia, unintentional drug overdoses contribute significantly to premature mortality, and Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that can be made and used illegally, is becoming increasingly involved in drug-related deaths, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

While the College of Public Health and certain clubs at Temple University, like Queer People of Color and the American Medical Student Association, offer Narcan training for students, Narcan training must frequently be available university-wide to prepare all students in case of emergencies.

Temple students live in an area experiencing high rates of substance abuse and may encounter peers overdosing on drugs, so it is important for students to know how and when to administer Narcan to potentially save lives.

Temple can make Narcan training more accessible to students by frequently offering in-person and online training sessions to accomodate students’ schedules.

Other local universities have offered Narcan training to all students. Temple offered training to all students in 2019 through the College of Public Health and Prevention Point Philadelphia, a nonprofit public health organization, but this must be a monthly event.

Student nurses at the University of Pennsylvania hosted free Narcan training for nearly 100 members of the Penn community.

Penn’s Medical Emergency Response Team is also offering virtual Narcan training sessions every month from September to December.

Narcan is a medication used to temporarily counteract effects of a known or suspected opioid overdose, according to the Narcan website.

Students can access Narcan in Philadelphia through prescriptions from a doctor or

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

using a standard order prescription, which​​ allows pharmacists in Pennsylvania to dispense naloxone, which is the proper generic name for Narcan, without requiring an individual prescription, according to the City of Philadelphia’s website.

Though it is not intended to take the place of emergency medical care, opioid overdose deaths decreased by 14 percent in states that passed naloxone access laws, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

After calling 911 and providing rescue breathing, roll the victim on their side into a recovery position according to the National Harm Reduction Coalition.

Narcan training for students is essential, because it can teach them to look for signs of an opioid overdose, which allows students to determine if Narcan should be used. It’s crucial for students to understand Narcan can only work if the victim has opioids in their system and will not be effective in overdoses on other kinds of drugs.

“I learned a lot about Narcan that I had no idea about,” said Anya Masindet-Shuler, a senior biology major. “There’s a lot of steps you have to take before you actually administer Narcan, so there’s things you should be looking for, which I didn’t know.”

Signs of an overdose often include unconsciousness, shallow breathing and limp body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jillian Bauer-Reese, a journalism professor, previously taught a class about substance abuse disorder where students had to be trained in administering Narcan, she said.

While students shouldn’t be forced to receive Narcan training, everybody should have the option to receive training, Bauer-Reese said.

At Temple’s American Medical Student Association, club members received a 40-minute in-depth presentation about how to administer Narcan, said Tori Ploesch, a senior chemistry with teaching major.

“We live in such a big city, and clearly the opioid crisis is very big in Philadelphia, and so you just don’t know about our local community, as well as local Temple students, what they could be going through,” Ploesch said.

The Queer People of Color student organization also held a Narcan training seminar in October, where they learned more than just how to administer Narcan, like what signs to look for before administering

and the after-effects of administering Narcan, Masindet-Shuler said.

Effects of Narcan can include body aches, fever, sweating and trembling, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“We have had several students, and I would say many students that we don’t know about, die of opioid overdoses and there’s Fentanyl in so many kinds of drugs now,” Bauer-Reese said.

In December 2017, two Temple students died of drug overdoses, The Temple News reported.

In 2019, there were 218 deaths by opioid overdose in the 0-24 age group in Pennsylvania, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

As Temple students, we live in an area experiencing high rates of substance abuse, and may witness peers overdosing on drugs.

By having Narcan training available to all students, those who choose to get trained can help save lives.

“It is not the College of Public Health’s responsibility to train students at the university,” Bauer-Reese said. “I think that is a university-level responsibility.” wendy.garcia@temple.edu julia.merola@temple.edu

PAGE 12

OPINION

The Temple News

STUDENT LIFE

All students need to know how to defend themselves A student argues that Temple for eight years.

The empowerment of the class should be informing students strengthens their ability to understand about self-defense programs.

Temple University Campus Safety Services received three reports of a man inappropriately touching a woman near Temple’s Main Campus in the last month, The Temple JULIA MEROLA News reported.

Opinion Editor Natalie Collins, a freshman undeclared major, feels unsafe in the areas surrounding Temple’s campus after hearing about the incidents, she said.

“You don’t always feel safe on that walk to get to campus every day,” Collins said.

Given these incidents, students need to know how to defend themselves in case of an attack.

Temple must inform their students about opportunities for learning about self-defense that Temple currently offers. While Temple’s programs are not the only solution to preventing sexual harassment, it is a step in the right directon. The university should frequently provide students with information about their programs online and host more self-defense workshops to educate students.

The Personal Defense-Women course, a self-defense course offered to female students through the College of Public Health, has certified Rape Aggression Defense instructors who teach students to utilize defensive tactics and risk awareness to reduce the potential for victimization, according to the Campus Safety Services website.

The other option is introductory self-defense workshops, which can be conducted upon request with a certified RAD instructor.

The Personal Defense-Women course teaches empowerment, awareness and overall education about sexual assault, said Leroy Wimberly, a Temple police officer who has taught the course

and realize they’re survivors regardless,” Wimberly said.

If more students knew about the course and workshop, they would be able to take advantage of them, which could help them learn about self-defense and prepare for potential assault situations.

Temple offers the Personal Defense-Women course through the Department of Kinesiology, said Donna Gray, manager of risk reduction and advocacy services.

The course is for women only because women are most frequently the victims of attacks, Gray added. Aside from the course, Temple also offers self-defense workshops that are open to all students regardless of gender.

Among undergraduate students, 26.4 percent of women experience sexual assault, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an anti-sexual violence organization.

Temple promotes the course and the workshop on its website. The university should be actively posting detailed information about what the course and workshop consist of, provide general information about self-defense on the Campus Safety Service website and encourage professors to speak about the programs with their students who may be fearful.

“For the actual course, that’s part of registration, so individuals would just sign up through Kinesiology,” Gray said. “In terms of workshops, those are by request, oftentimes, students will just reach out because they’re interested.”

However, it is hard for students to reach out for these workshops if they do not know they exist or do not have enough information, like Collins.

Collins heard about Temple’s self-defense courses, but still does not know enough about them to enroll in the class, she said.

If Collins had more information about the class and the specifics of what is taught in it, she would enroll, she said. “[Self-defense is] something I think

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

is very important, especially for women, and self-defense is something that I’ve personally been learning for the past couple of years,” Collins said.

While Temple should be promoting more details about the course and workshop, they should also be providing more general information about self-defense, like safety strategies during a confrontation, for students who do not enroll in the class.

Many professors and teacher’s assistants have learned how scared their students are after hearing students discuss assault incidents, said Garamh Kim, a third year dance PhD candidate who also teaches undergraduate dance students.

“I was kind of worried,” Kim said.

“What if something happens to my students?”

Women aged 18-24 in college are three times more likely to experience sexual violence than the average woman, and 13 percent of all students expe-

rience rape or sexual assault, according to RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organization.

Temple must be promoting these self-defense classes and workshops, but more importantly, the university must be providing students with information regarding self-defense, like physical strategies, verbal strategies and how to be assertive.

“It would just help me feel safer in terms of, if I were in a situation where I needed to protect myself, I would have more knowledge on how to do that, which would make me feel safer walking distances by myself, even during the daytime,” Collins said. julia.merola@temple.edu @juliaamerola

The Temple News

OPINION

PAGE 13

INTERSECTION

What it means to be a first-generation American A student shares how she reconnected with her heritage after assimilating during middle school.

BY AMNA FAHEEM For The Temple News Moving from Madison, Wisconsin, to Berwyn, Pennsylvania when I was 12 years old was hard enough, because I had to leave all my friends and extended family behind.

To make matters worse, I didn’t see anyone that looked like me in Berwyn, which made me feel out of place and alone.

In Madison, I saw other people of color everywhere. I am Egyptian, something I didn’t appreciate as much as I should have.

In Berwyn, I was surrounded by white people who didn’t understand my culture and were often racist towards me. I was called a terrorist, told to ‘go back to ISIS’ and asked if Osama Bin Laden was my uncle.

Students at school avoided me. None of the other students made an effort to get to know me but they still felt comfortable asking me intrusive questions about my religion, my food, my family or stereotypes about Egypt.

During lunch, the other kids would scrunch their noses when they saw or smelled my lunch from home. Dishes like fiteer and stuffed grape leaves brought on incessant questioning and judgment. Eventually, I stopped bringing lunch from home.

On Halloween, a week before the 2016 presidential election, politics came up in conversation and one of the boys sitting at the lunch table next to me said, “all Muslims are ISIS, it’s a known fact.” The tears came flooding. I spent my favorite holiday in the bathroom at school.

I became easily frustrated with myself and, at some points, my family for bringing me to Berwyn. I was isolated and unseen by my peers. It was hard for me to make friends when I didn’t quite relate to anything they would talk about or did for fun.

It wasn’t until eighth grade in 2016, when my parents put my younger sister and me into Sunday school at the local mosque, that we were exposed to the local Arab

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

community.

But even the transition into Sunday school was difficult. It seemed like just another thing I did that set me apart from my peers at school. I refused to make friends with the other kids in Sunday school.

My parents didn’t seem to understand that Sunday school wasn’t helping. I felt torn between the typical all-American image I projected at school and the person who knew the rules of prayer, knew a second language, and dressed modestly.

I felt like an outsider to both groups, not quite recognized or wanted by anyone.

I kept trying desperately to fit in, changing everything about myself, wiping away as many signs and indications that I wasn’t like everyone else until I reached high school.

My high school had more people of color than middle school. Suddenly, I was

meeting people who understood what it’s like to go through ignorance and racism, the overwhelming feeling of needing to change everything about us to be accepted, the shame and anger we felt towards our home country and cultures.

My best friends were the people who allowed me to be myself unapologetically. It was difficult at first because I’d become used to downplaying my heritage and culture.

Before, I would avoid explaining Ramadan for fear of losing friends, but my new friends were intrigued. They even joined me in fasting once or twice.

I no longer wanted to hide who I was. I would get excited to share my customs, excited to bring them to my house and show them the decorations brought from Egypt.

I was so eager to be like everyone else and throw away my culture and heritage that I lost myself. Throughout the years, I

have become more sure of myself, more confident and appreciative of my identity and my culture and proud of my Egyptian heritage.

I look back and wonder why I was so convinced that being different was a bad thing, and why I thought that fitting in and being like the white girls in my school would make everything easier when it’s not who I was.

I owe a lot to my mother, who was so adamant about keeping my younger sisters and I in touch with our culture, exposing us to the beauty of Egypt and everything it has to offer. I know I am very lucky to have been given a chance to find myself.

I am very proud and comfortable, now, in my identity. My Egyptian heritage and identity isn’t something I shy away from, but rather something that I treasure. amna.faheem@temple.edu

PAGE 14

LONGFORM

The Temple News

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

STUDENT LIFE

Marxism gives students alternative political options The Temple Marxists have grown in popularity this year, calling for action against capitalism.

BY EMERSON MARCHESE AND EDEN MACDOUGALL

W

hen Kiara Marable arrived at Temple University in 2018, she was a self-proclaimed Democratic-Socialist but her views took a drastic turn after she realized the politicians she used to support weren’t standing up for workers’ rights or racial equality.

She ultimately turned to Marxism after coming to college and expanding her viewpoint, realizing many of the Democratic officials she once aligned herself with did not accomplish what they promised. It was time to take a different approach to politics, she said.

“At the core there’s a sense of revolutionary optimism and that’s what’s important, knowing that revolutions will happen, that there is potential for them to be successful and actually

changing things for the better,” said Marable, a senior political science and philosophy major and president of Temple Marxists.

Temple students are rethinking their political beliefs after reflecting on major current events, like social justice protests and political debates involving climate change. They seek answers in the writings of communist theorists like Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.

“We as a generation, specifically, are probably the most radical that a generation has come, but we can’t not give credit to the groups that came before us,” said Mason Erdmann, a junior journalism major.

DENOUNCING CAPITALISM Erdmann shifted his political views from Democratic-Socialism to Marxism after coming to college and learning about political theory and educating himself on the negatives of capitalism, like how it does not benefit the working class, Erdmann said.

Erdmann came to Temple in 2019

and after moving to Philadelphia realized how certain government policies, like universal health care and housing initiatives, impact different groups of people in different ways, and he felt Marxism gave him a more effective way to think about those issues, he said.

“It’s essential to denounce capitalism in order to benefit society,” Erdmann said. “It’s important to use these theories to explain to every worker and every student why this system is not beneficial to us.”

Capitalism is a free market economic system in which most means of production and labor forces are privately owned and where the income from those labor forces is largely distributed through the operation of markets, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

In the United States, a free market economy, millionaires and billionaires own about 79 percent of all household wealth, according to a 2019 Federal Reserve survey.

The poorest people in the U.S. have not seen a growth in income since

1980-2014, while billionaires and the ultra-rich have had their income grow by about 6 percent annually, according to Our World In Data.

“The youth have been robbed of a future by capitalism,” said Stanton Young, a second year graduate student at the School of Film and Media Arts. “There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for capitalism. It is the root of the problem.”

People are quick to make assumptions about Marxism and its principles, yet do not criticize capitalism, said Scott Ritner, a former professor of political theory who now teaches at SUNY Potsdam.

“Capitalism is an irrational and anarchic system that makes us all compete with each other all the time, regardless of what we think about each other on an individual or collective basis,” Ritner said.

Young wants to see real change in issues like universal health care and feels as though the current government and Democratic presidents, like Barack Obama, who initially promised to make

The Temple News

change have failed to accomplish anything monumental, which was a main factor in his turn to Marxism, Young said.

“There is a nice rhetoric Democrats use when talking about their party, but they do absolutely nothing to actually better human livelihoods,” Young said.

“I think I began to question the system around us, and if at root, if it’s really changeable from within.”

People want more from the government in terms of social safety nets to help meet their basic needs, Ritner said. A government in a capitalist system is not fit to help people acquire that safety net, he added.

“It’s very difficult to both be in favor of capitalism and also be on the side of the working class, because capitalism is predicated on the exploitation of working classes,” Ritner said.

TURNING TO MARXISM There is a desire that college aged people have to live in a world in which a person’s worth is not based on how much money they make, Ritner said.

“What is being left for younger generations?” Ritner said. “Young people are starting to seek radical alternatives, especially ones that you know, at least aim towards the idea of the collective and individual good.”

Marxism teaches that society is defined by the class struggle between the working class and capitalists, who exploit and oppress workers, Ritner said.

Socialism is a form of government where the means of production and natural resources are managed by the state and the state’s duty is to respond to the needs of the people. Communist theories teach that people should be in direct control of resources and the means of production and that government should be abolished to create a classless society, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Fifty-four percent of adults aged 18 to 24 have a negative view of capitalism, according to a 2021 Axios Momentive Poll. Fifty-one percent of young adults view socialism favorably.

Young started to question capitalism when he was in college and found

LONGFORM himself wanting more concrete solutions to complex problems, like climate change and better representation for the working class.

Young wanted to go to college to find new ideas and to learn more about capitalism and the problems within it, he said. Yet, he felt that he was met with a lot of pessimism in his classes and that many people did not think that a socialist viewpoint could be a long-term solution.

“There is a way out of this, but it’s not through college and it’s not through the Democratic Party,” Young said. “It’s through building an organized apparatus that can organize the working class and fight for a way forward.”

Young turned to Marxism because he felt that elected officials were not acting on climate change or wars in the Middle East that never seem to end, Young said.

When Young came to Temple he wanted to make a genuine effort towards bringing about a socialist revolution and overthrowing capitalism, he added.

When Marable arrived at Temple, she wanted a place where she could express her opinions with like-minded people and find new answers to ongoing problems she felt the current political system does not address efficiently, like racial injustice and poor treatment of workers, she said.

Marable used social media to look up radical student groups and found the Temple Marxists on Instagram in 2020, she said.

TAKING ACTION Temple Marxists held their first meeting of the fall semester at the end of August called, “Revolutionary Marxism: Why are we Communists?” and had one of the largest turnouts they’ve ever had, with about 100 people in attendance.

Looking at the world around them and seeing the problems in society is making people question the system and look for new ways of doing things, Young said.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter

PAGE 15

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY MARXISTS / COURTESY Stanton Young, left, a graduate film major, and Miranda Salvi, right, a sophomore philosophy and sociology major, pose for a photo behind the Temple University Marxists table in September.

protests in 2020, college students want to see more socialist policies, like universal basic income, put in place, Young said.

“A lot of people might not have necessarily met us by accident, they were already looking for some group that calls themselves ‘Marxists’ and that’s actually willing to offer an analysis of what’s going on in the world,” Young said.

Temple Marxists are currently preparing to support SEPTA workers should they go on strike to demand higher wages, paid parental leave and increased police presence once their contracts expire at the end of October, Marable said. Temple Marxists is also planning on having club members join the picket line if a strike happens.

The union voted to authorize a strike on Sunday, 6ABC reported. The vote does not mean a strike will hap-

pen but it is an option if an agreement is not reached between the union and SEPTA by midnight on Oct. 31.

Socialism is not a set of principles for people to live by and the world is not going to be changed by just one person, Young said. Collective action from the working class and young people is needed to bring about a revolution and change political and economic structures in America, he added.

“I am merely but one person who has been radicalized over the course of living under capitalism,” Young said.

“I know that millions of other people may feel like that too. I would totally encourage anyone and everyone to come to our meetings with questions and comments.” emerson.marchese@temple.edu eden.macdougall@temple.edu

LIVE Philly in

Event-goers gather around while Sinta Storms, a local poet and Indonesian dancer, encourages younger crowd members to express themselves at the Pearl Street Block Party on Oct. 24. | AMBER RITSON / TEMPLE NEWS

The party returns to Pearl Street The Asian Art Initiative held the hale from shutdown, and we wanted to Pearl Street Block Party for the do this last summer initially, but then first time since 2016. because of the quarantine, we couldn’t

BY AMBER RITSON do it,” Ishii said. “We knew we had to do Assistant Photo Editor it this year just because everybody was feeling pent-up energy.” he Asian Art Initiative hasn’t Live music from local DJs was hosted the Pearl Street Block paired with performances from local Party since 2016 due to ongo- poets, and New York-based artist Josh ing construction on the buildings on Pearl Cochran unveiled a 178 foot high mural, Street between Vine and Wood streets, filling Pearl Street to celebrate a vibrant where the event is typically hosted. community.

This year, on Oct. 23, was the perfect Event-goers could make buttons time to bring the event back for com- with the Asian Art Initiative logo on munity members to freely express the them, browse the pop-up shop that feacreative energy they built up during the tured artwork and literature created by COVID-19 pandemic while reconnect- Asian Americans and help complete the ing with each other, said Anne Ishii, the new mural by Cochran, which depicts program director at Asian Art Initiative. partially clothed figures in an abstract “All of us were feeling this huge ex-

T

composition as a part of a study that Cochran worked on during quarantine.

While the Asian Art Initiative commissioned the mural, Cochran began the project with the goal of making an image that community members could feel honored by and take pride in.

“The Asian community had a really difficult last couple of years, so I wanted to do something in response to that and celebrate all Asian Americans here in Philadelphia and everywhere,” Cochran said.

Although the event was free, organizers encouraged attendees to bring food and other pantry items to donate to the community fridge that the Asian Art Initiatives is operating as part of the initiative’s latest exhibition, Care, which

explores themes of caregiving, community, and the future of care.

For Minnie Win, an artist from West Philadelphia, the event helped them feel connected to the local Asian community. When reading “Crying in H Mart”, a book by Michelle Zauner, at the Block Party pop-up shop, Win teared up because she finally felt that her Asian heritage was being recognized in a communal space, said Win. “As an Asian American, I never really felt like I had a place no matter where I lived,” Win said. “Today, just to see the community come out made me feel like we’re doing something for ourselves, and it’s not just that it’s just like building community, but having solidarity.” amber.ritson@temple.edu

MOVING CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP LEFT AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS A volunteer at the Pearl Street Block Party helps an event goer make a button during the event, which was hosted by the Asian Art Initiative on Oct. 24.

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Michelle Myers, a Philadelphia poet and activist, performs a poem about Vincent Chin, a Chinese American murdered by two white men in 1982, at the Pearl Street Block Party hosted by the Asian Art Initiative on Oct. 24.

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sinta Storms, a local poet and Indonesian dancer, performs a dance that blends traditional Indonesian dancing and hip hop at the Pearl Street Block Party hosted by the Asian Art Initiative on Oct. 24.

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Dani Fitzgerald, a local DJ and artist, performs a set that accompanies the poetry and dance showcase of Sinta Storms at the Pearl Street Block Party on Oct. 24.

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sinta Storms, a local poet and Indonesian dancer, debuts a new poem that’s accompanied by music created by her husband and son at the Pearl Street Block Party on Oct. 24.

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Event-goers huddle by the DJ booth in an attempt to escape the rain during the Pearl Street Block Party hosted by the Asian Art Initiative on Oct. 24.

PAGE 18

FEATURES

The Temple News

ALUMNI

Temple alumna runs for house representative If Alexandra Hunt wins, she will be the first openly former sex worker to hold federal office.

BY RYAN TIAN For The Temple News

A

fter graduating from Temple last year and witnessing the hardships many people faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexandra Hunt decided to run for Congress.

“When the pandemic struck, I mean, we could have had preventative measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, we still can. But even with the lack of intervention, that was the final straw,” said Hunt, a clinical data manager at Adaptimmune.

In February 2020, Hunt, a 2020 master of public health alumna, launched her campaign for the 2022 United States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 3rd congressional district, running against the current incumbent, Dwight Evans. She plans to use her platform to advocate and provide more opportunities for marginalized people and, if she wins, will become the first openly former sex worker to hold a federal public office in the U.S, The Washington Post reported.

While working toward her master’s degree in 2019, Hunt grew interested in politics and began researching ways to combat systemic societal problems, like sexual and domestic violence, mass incarceration and gun violence.

Hunt grew frustrated watching politicians’ poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and used their lack-of-initiative to drive her campaign, she said.

“As I tried to look deeper and deeper into these societal systemic problems in a preventative manner, it kept coming back to legislation, and to activism and political activism,” Hunt said.

Jay Segal, a social and behavioral sciences professor and the faculty of record for Hunt’s master’s project, witnessed Hunt’s dedication to social justice both in and out of the classroom and encouraged her to run for office, he said.

ERIC MILLER / COURTESY Alexandra Hunt, a 2020 Temple alumna and House of Representatives candidate, speaks to volunteers and supporters at the launch of her Bike Every Block canvassing campaign held at the bottom of the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art on Sept. 25

“The issues for her were bigger than any obstacles she might face,” Segal said.

“She won’t get blown over, nothing will throw her off her stride and she believes in her truth.”

Hunt announced her candidacy a few months after she graduated from Temple. While determined to run for office, she was faced with the difficult decision to embrace her past as a former sex worker or hide it, she said.

The strong relationships formed with those she worked with as a sex worker encouraged her to embrace her past when announcing her candidacy, Hunt said.

“If I did allow shame to rule, then it does take harm into this community,” Hunt said. “So if you’re not speaking up about the realities of different communities who are impacted by stigma and marginalization, then you’re part of the problem.”

Hunt’s campaign aims to advocate and create a platform for sex workers to

confidently pursue different careers and be forthcoming about their experiences, end mass incarceration, implement a wealth tax and support a single-payer national healthcare program, according to her campaign website.

After learning about Hunt’s values and advocacy, Kayci Moodie, who previously worked for the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2020 in Mississippi, New Hampshire and Tennessee, was determined to support her campaign and serve as its field director.

Moodie believes the City of Philadelphia and the U.S. need to be more progressive, which is why she is supporting someone who cares not only about Philadelphia, but will bring important values to Congress, like supporting those with non-traditional backgrounds, she said.

“Women’s sexuality in general, but especially for sex workers, is often used as a tool to lessen them and say that their intelligence or abilities are somehow less if they are sexual or have worked as a

sex worker,” Moodie said. “The fact that she’s open about it, it makes it that nobody can use it against her.”

Both men and women perceive sexualized women as lacking in mental capacity and moral status and as less competent, according to The National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Hunt hopes her openness about her background in sex work can challenge the stigma in society by starting a momevement to end sexual violence and provide a platform for current and former sex workers to be heard and understood instead of ignored or degraded, she said.

“If we can unburden ourselves as a younger generation as a body of women who are unashamed and therefore not held down by those societal norms, I really think the sky is the limit.,” Hunt said. ryan.tian@temple.edu

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ON CAMPUS

GRACIE HEIM / THE TEMPLE NEWS Terrill Haigler, a sanitation industry advocate and former sanitation worker, speaks to Temple University students about the importance of stewardship in urban environments at the Temple Community Garden on Oct. 15.

Temple celebrates Campus Sustainability Month

The Office of Sustainability the corner of Diamond and Carlisle streets, and supports community orchards in Phila- learn about sustainable fashion and shopping. hosted events to educate where they taught stewardship in urban en- delphia. They also provide free access to fresh All proceeds raised went to the Cherry Pantry vironments, like Philadelphia, to students and and healthy food that may otherwise be inac- to help students who are food insecure or can’t students on green practices.

BY MATTHEW CHARLES For The Temple News From biking and walking places instead of driving, to recycling used goods or buying second-hand clothing, there are many ways to get involved in Campus Sustainability Month at Temple University.

“Decarbonize your ride, decarbonize your closet, decarbonize your organization,” said Caroline Burkholder, the Office of Sustainability manager.

During October, Temple’s Office of Sustainability is hosting various events, like eco-workshops, pop-up thrift shops and information sessions about stewardship in urban environments. These events intend to educate students and faculty on climate change, eco-friendly alternatives to driving and buying new clothes and issues affecting the environment.

Temple’s Office of Sustainability hosted an outdoor, experiential learning session on Oct. 8 at the Temple Community Garden, on

community members. Office of Sustainability leaders collaborated with environmental advocates, like Terrill Haigler, former sanitation worker for the city of Philadelphia and CEO of Trash 2 Treasure, a non-profit that hosts community clean up events, and The Rounds, an eco-friendly delivery group.

The event aimed to teach people how to preserve the environment in Philadelphia through volunteer work or advocacy while broadening the sense of community at the university, said Shay Strawser, senior marketing major and sustainability events program assistant for the Office of Sustainability.

“Our goal right now is to make the Temple Community Garden our hub spot where students can come gather, get in touch with the local environment and also just connect with other students and community members,” Strawser said.

Community Gardens connect individuals as they work together to create and maintain common green spaces in urban neighborhoods, according to the Philadelphia Orchard Project, a nonprofit organization that plants

cessible.

Aiden Curry, a transportation eco-lead for the Office of Sustainability and junior chemistry major, values promoting sustainable practices at a university level, as he feels it brings awareness to current environmental issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, he said.

“It’s really important – getting people thinking about the space that they occupy, how they can better use that space and create that culture of sustainability again, with all the students and the community that we inhabit, and try and promote those kinds of topics during this month,” Curry said.

Strawser hopes that these events and educational opportunities will encourage students to incorporate them into their lives because individual actions matter in solving environmental issues, Strawser said.

The Office of Sustainability also hosted two pop-up thrift shop events on Oct. 6 and 13 at the Bell Tower, where students could buy clothes donated to the office last year for less than five dollars per article of clothing and

regularly get the food they need, Burkholder said.

They are also hosting a bike repair event on Oct. 26 to promote sustainable transportation and connect students with other Philadelphians, Curry said.

“Getting people connected to sustainability through their mode of transportation in the city, and also, through that, getting them connected to their neighborhood and the community that we have here at Temple,” Curry said.

While Campus Sustainability month ends in October, the office still plans to provide opportunities for students to learn and advocate for sustainability throughout the year by hosting more workshops and information sessions.

“There are plenty of ways to live more energy efficiently, and I don’t think everybody knows this,” Burkholder said. “Our goal is to build a community of people who want to better themselves and the planet.” matthew.charles-larivaud@temple.edu

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The Temple News

ALUMNI

Alumna’s cosmetic company wins beauty award Rawji went to school with Bell and Pound Cake Cosmetics launched learned about her products through solast month and was featured in cial media.

Allure’s October 2021 issue.

BY GRACE FRANKLIN For The Temple News Camille Bell always dreamt of winning an award for her cosmetics, but never imagined receiving one before officially launching her products.

When Allure told Bell that her company had won Allure’s Best of Beauty award 15 days before their launch and would be featured in their October issue, she was ecstatic.

“We were crying and so thrilled, and so grateful and just very humbled,” said Camile Bell, founder and CEO of Pound Cake Cosmetics.

Bell, a 2015 public relations, applied communication and advertising alumna, launched Pound Cake Cosmetics, a fully virtual pro-black, pro-fat, pro-queer cosmetics company that rejects universal shades by attempting to set a new standard for beauty in the makeup industry through their cosmetics, on Sept. 30.

The company sells liquid lipsticks formulated to fit various skin and lip tones.

Pound Cake was selected out of 10,000 entries as one of Allure’s Best of Beauty award winners and debuted in their October issue.

Bell planned to launch Pound Cake in October 2020, but ran into a manufacturing issue and had to find a new lab to mass produce their products, she said.

On Sept. 30, they officially released their products to the public for purchase and sold out within 48 hours.

In summer 2020, Pound Cake received a $10,000 beauty grant from Glossier, a black-owned cosmetics company, to help fund their business. After learning about Pound Cake, people at Gossier encouraged Bell to apply for Allure’s Best of Beauty Award, despite their products not yet being officially launched, Bell said.

Customers, like Nafisa Rawji, are impressed with the amount of effort and dedication Bell put into Pound Cake’s products.

“It was clear that [Bell] is actually working on the formula and is very specific on making sure it’s good quality and that it works for women of all different colors,” said Rawji, a 2015 marketing alumna.

Bell’s parents and high school did not allow her to wear makeup, but she was always fascinated by it. So the moment her father dropped her off at White Hall to start her freshman year of college in 2011, Bell ran to the nearest Rite Aid and bought as much makeup as she could carry back to her dorm room, she said.

She spent her time at Temple learning and perfecting new makeup looks and expanded her skills after enrolling in the Theatrical Makeup course her senior year.

“I learned how to do stage makeup, how to make yourself look older with wrinkles, how to do a lot of things, like make bruises on your face, and it made me fall so in love with makeup, even more,” Bell said.

After graduating in 2015, Bell began purchasing more expensive makeup products and noticed many foundations and makeup shades did not blend well with darker skin complexions, like hers, she said.

“I remember going to Sephora and trying on a blush,” Bell said. “When I went to swatch it on my hand, the color just completely dissipated into my skin.”

Bell reached out to her friends and makeup users of similar complexions to hers and learned they too had trouble finding makeup that blended with their skin tones, she said.

This inspired her to return to Temple and create a makeup brand suitable for individuals of all complexions through Blackstone LaunchPad, a free resource at Temple that provides support, coaching and events for students, alumni, faculty and staff seeking to launch a business or product.

While Bell was determined to start a business, she did not know how, so

POUND CAKE COSMETICS / COURTESY Camille Bell, a 2015 public relations, applied communication and advertising alumna, poses for a company headshot on the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art on Sept. 25. Bell launched Pound Cake Cosmetics, a pro-black, pro-fat, pro-queer cosmetics company, on Sept. 30.

Julie Stapleton Carroll, Blackstone’s program director, encouraged Bell to attend beauty events and start market research to learn more about what specifically she needed to focus her brand and formula on, Bell said.

“She was determined to find the right formula and wasn’t willing to settle for whatever somebody gave her,” Carroll said.

While attending beauty events, Bell spoke with many Black and Brown women, asking if they were also struggling to find makeup shades that matched their skin tones, and almost all said “yes,” Bell said.

Although Bell had a good understanding of how she wanted to create beauty products for those with darker complexions, she struggled to find the right formula and prototype for nearly six years, she said.

Bell competed in many product-based competitions over the years that helped her figure out how to create products and jump start her business, she said.

In 2017, Bell joined an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, a company that supports entrepreneurs and new technology in the earliest stages of development. They raised more than $20,000 and used it to open a cosmetic lab in 2018 to start formulating liquid lipsticks, Bell said.

Carroll admires all of Bell’s hard work during the last six years and feels this award is well deserved, she said.

“I really admire Camille’s persistence through a lot of ups and downs and pivots,” Carroll said.

Winning the award was a dream come true for Bell and she is grateful for all of the support she received in launching this business.

“To me, it’s like winning a Grammy Award in the makeup industry,” Bell said. grace.franklin0001@temple.edu

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STUDENT LIFE

Amid pandemic, transfers find new opportunities Temple students share experiences transferring to Temple during the pandemic.

BY MATTHEW AQUINO Assistant Features Editor When Rosalee Banks walked onto Temple University’s campus this August to attend her in-person class after virtually attending Montgomery Community College for two years, it validated her decision to transfer to Temple during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Coming down to campus and getting to experience the campus community for the first time, I definitely understand why so many people were pushing so hard to come back, because it is truly an experience being here, so I can appreciate that,” said Banks, a first-year transfer and junior criminal justice major.

After transferring to Temple during the COVID-19 pandemic, some students have become more involved on campus by joining clubs and organizations, while others have felt it is harder to connect with others after switching schools.

Banks chose Temple because of the flexible schedules it offers for commuters and hoped to register for a fully virtual semester, because she wanted to work while attending school, she said.

However, after the semester began, her Criminal Justice Research Methods class was moved in person.

Banks now looks forward to coming to campus to participate in student organization meetings and events she’s involved in, like Temple Student Government and Community Cats Club, she said.

This semester, 1,551 transfer students enrolled at Temple, wrote Shawn Abbott, vice provost for Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Management in an email to The Temple News.

Temple saw a decrease in transfer students from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020, with 2,210 transfer students enrolled in 2019 and 1,793 enrolled in 2020, according to the Temple University Fact Book.

Yashitha Bujala, a first-year transfer and sophomore health professions ma-

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Zoe Litchman, a sophomore business management major, stands on Polett Walk near Liacouras on Oct. 24.

jor, is able to get more involved in clubs, like Temple Thaalam, a classical Indian dance team at Temple, since transferring to Temple this fall from Rutgers University.

“I’m very close to campus—five minutes away—and there’s a lot of places you can meet people, not just dorming, like the commuters lounge,” Bujala said.

Bujala planned to transfer in Spring 2021 after getting a spot in the Pre-Physician Assistant program, a program which gives students the opportunity to shadow physician assistants at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. But because of limited in-person classes, she decided to wait until this semester.

Zoe Litchman, a first-year transfer and sophomore business management major, has found it difficult to make friends since transferring to Temple from the University of Pittsburgh for the Fall 2021 semester, she said.

“It’s a little bit harder to meet people in classes just because not all of my classes are in person,” said Litchman, a first-year transfer and sophomore business management major. “I think that it’s a little bit harder to meet people when everyone’s still wearing a mask.”

Litchman felt comfortable transferring during the COVID-19 pandemic because she got vaccinated and knew Temple would be requiring students and faculty in in-person classes to be vaccinated, she said.

On Aug. 13, Temple mandated that all students, faculty and staff must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15, except in cases of religious or medical exemption, The Temple News reported. Temple later extended the deadline to Nov. 15.

Currently 95 percent of students and employees are fully vaccinated at Temple, according to Temple’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Litchman was glad she was able to tour the university and her apartment in person before starting this semester because she wanted to get a feel for campus life before moving in, she said.

Litchman encourages students to transfer instead of waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to end because there’s still plenty of opportunities for students to get involved and meet other students, she said.

“Transferring in a pandemic isn’t as scary as it seems to be,” Litchman added. “There’s still a lot of unknowns with the pandemic, but, you know, I have a lot of faith that things are gonna get better soon.” matthew.aquino@temple.edu

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The Temple News

INTERSECTION

Ahmadiyya Muslim women promote love for all The organization does outreach to build community and counter stereotypes about Islam.

BY EDEN MACDOUGALL Intersection Editor Growing up, Kurat Abaidullah’s parents made sure they taught her the importance of community service. She created the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association for Women in her sophomore year to help her and other Muslim women do that.

“I wanted other Muslim girls to also understand and be part of something that’s giving you such independence that’s giving you an opportunity to kind of serve a greater cause,” said Abaidullah, a first year biology graduate student and president and founder of AMSAW. AMSAW participates in outreach through tabling, giving away buttons with positive messages, hosting blood drives, distributing food to the homeless and donating to food pantries, said Abaidullah, a graduate biology student and founder and president of AMSAW. AMSAW’s goal is to help people through community service and educate others about Islam, Abaidullah said.

Through outreach and charity work, they’re able to build a community at Temple while dispelling negative stereotypes about Islam.

“The objective of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association for Women is to erase any misinterpretation that Islam is a violent or a religion that condones injustice,” said Abaidullah.

The club is an extension of Lajna Ima’illah USA, the women’s auxiliary organization of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which has a chapter at the Bait-ul-Aafiyat Mosque on Glennwood Avenue near 13th Street that Abaidullah attends, she added.

The mosque hosted a blood drive as part of the Muslims for Life campaign with the American Red Cross on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The goal of the blood drive was to save lives and to create unity, because it’s harder to hate someone when they are doing life-saving work, Abaidullah added.

On Oct. 11 and 13, Abaidullah and other club members stood outside the Howard Gittis Student Center handing out buttons with “Love For All Hatred For None” writ-

SARA FALCO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

ten on them to anyone who could answer a trivia question about Islam, Abaidullah said.

They will be handing out buttons outside the Student Center again on Nov. 15.

Club members and women from the mosque made the buttons, said Nauma Mahmood, a junior public health major and AMSAW’s vice president. AMSAW members handed out about 1,300 pins.

Mahmood joined the organization when she transferred to Temple from the Community College of Philadelphia two years ago because she wanted to be involved with the local community while having opportunities to help others, she said.

Being part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community helps Mahmood stay focused on her goal of getting her degree and, when she needs help, she has people to turn to, she said.

Before she was born, Mahmood’s parents enrolled her in the Waqf-e-Nau, a religious program which encourages devotees to use their professional skills to help others, Mahmood said. She reaffirmed that com-

mitment when she graduated high school and plans to continue in her religious duties when she graduates from Temple.

The Waqf-e-Nau pledge is taken three times and the person fills out a form and writes a personal letter stating that they are choosing to recommit of their own free will, Mahmood said.

“It’s not that you just see a community and just follow them,” Mahmood added.

“You do your own research. When I became 17 when I started thinking about it, why do I follow this community? It’s not just because I’m born into it. I need to follow it.”

Mahwish Irfan joined AMSAW two years ago when Abaidullah created the club and has participated in events, like one where students could stop by AMSAW’s booth and try on headscarves and ask questions about Islam, she said.

There haven’t been as many in-person events because of the COVID-19 pandemic but Irfan is looking forward to doing outreach again, said Irfan, a senior biology major.

“We’re able to reach and tell people

how different Islam is and all the misconceptions that people have regarding our religion,” Irfan said. “It’s really great to clear that out for people.”

Learning about different religions is a passion of Irfan’s, so the headscarf event gave her the opportunity to meet new people and learn about their faith while they learned about hers, said Irfan, a senior biology major.

The interfaith community building is another important part of love for all, hatred for none, Abaidullah said. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Abaidullah’s mosque brought women of different faiths together to discuss their beliefs and bond.

“In a time and in a world where there’s so much trouble and so much hate, this is a sanctuary,” Abaidullah said. eden.macdougall@temple.edu

SPORTS

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PAGE 23

FOOTBALL

Temple’s run defense will decide bowl game fate Owls’ football, sitting at 3-4, needs six total wins to become eligible for a bowl game.

I

f Temple University football wants to make a bowl-game appearance this season, they must end the season with a winning record in NICK GANGEWERE their final five games.

Assistant Sports Six wins has Editor always been the threshold for NCAA bowl-eligibility, although that rule was waived for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That means Temple would need three more wins to finish out the year in order to become eligible to make a bowl game.

The Owls sit at a record of 3-4 after back-to-back losses to the University of Cincinnati (7-0, 3-0 The American Athletic Conference) on Oct. 8 and the University of South Florida (2-5, 1-2 The American) on Oct. 23.

Temple only had 96 offensive snaps across these two games, scoring a combined 17 points. Cincinnati is giving up 15 points per game this year, while USF is giving up 32 points per game, both numbers Temple failed to reach each game.

“We need to help them more as coaches,” said head coach Rod Carey.

“And we need to play better as players.”

The consistent trend of a shaky run defense and costly turnovers is holding Temple back from making games close this season, though some of the blame can be placed on numerous injuries to Owls’ starters.

Temple needs to implement more blitz packages and trust its defensive backs in coverage, letting cornerbacks junior Keyshawn Paul and redshirt-junior Cameron Ruiz remain on islands on the outside, and moving their safeties into the box.

Temple can also switch from dime

AMBER RITSON / TEMPLE NEWS Members of the Temple Football defensive team huddle during the Owls’ game against Boston College at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 18.

and nickel packages with several defensive backs into packages featuring more linebackers and down-linemen, which would help counter opposing rushing attacks with more tacklers available each play.

The Owls entered the game against the Bearcats with a record of 3-2, Carey’s second-best record through five games during his Temple tenure.

Against the Bearcats, Temple’s lack of a run defense was exposed as they gave up 286 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Even with Heisman-candidate senior quarterback Desmond Ridder under center for Cincinnati, they only had to throw the ball 30 times.

Temple scored only three points that game, their second time doing so this season.

Yet, Temple managed to look even worse against USF, losing 34-14 even after holding the Bulls to zero points in the first quarter, which was the first time the Owls forced a team to remain scoreless in the first quarter this season.

Before kickoff against the Bulls, Temple’s defense had a variety of injuries to overcome.

The Owls were without graduate student safety Amir Tyler, junior safety DaeSean Winston, and early in the game, redshirt-freshman safety M.J. Griffin suffered an injury as well.

Tyler and Griffin are the team’s leading tacklers this season, so without their defensive presence, Bulls’ junior running back Jared Mangham rushed for 152 yards during the contest.

“It was simply just tackling,” said graduate student linebacker Will Kwenkeu. “Tackling, tackling, tackling.”

Owls’ redshirt-freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis threw two interceptions in the game also, bringing his total to four interceptions through five games on the year.

Temple has turned the ball over 11 times this season.

The Owls have a 1-2 record in The American, but they need to bring their record to 4-4 or better, if they want to

qualify for a bowl game.

Temple’s remaining schedule features home games against the University of Central Florida (4-3, 2-2 The American), the University of Houston (6-1, 4-0 The American) and Navy (1-6, 1-4 The American).

The Owls will travel to face East Carolina University (3-4, 1-2 The American) in North Carolina, and the University of Tulsa (3-4, 2-1 The American) in Oklahoma.

The Owls’ hopes of a bowl game berth gets slimmer with each loss this season, and if they continue to make the same mistakes, they will need to look towards next year for any sort of postseason opportunity.

“This is where the world and social media and everybody else starts to try to divide us,” Mathis said. “This is where we got to have each other’s back and come together.” nick.gangewere@temple.edu @nick_gang16

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The Temple News

MEN’S SOCCER

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Armante’ Marshall, the assistant coach of the Temple University’s men’s soccer team, stands on the field before the Owls’ game against the University of Central Florida on Oct. 22.

Marshall’s recruiting strategy is player mentality Temple men’s soccer recruiting coordinator scouts players from all over to fit Owl’s team culture.

BY SEAN McMENAMIN Co-Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter Temple University men’s soccer Recruiting Coordinator Armante’ Marshall’s goal is to focus on the long-term strategy of creating a championship team, he said.

Marshall doesn’t use talent as a main factor when scouting for recruits. His philosophy is to find like-minded players, who challenge themselves during competition, from all over the world.

“You look at the intangibles: how they work off the ball, are they lazy players off the ball, what’s their mentality when the game is difficult,” Marshall said. “You more so, look at players who are really showing their personality in tough games opposed to games in which they’re winning five to zero.”

Marshall has recruited all kinds of players, from those turning down professional contracts to play in college, to those whose only offer is from Temple.

In 2018, Marshall became the recruiting coordinator for Temple under the guidance of head coach Brian Rowland. Marshall’s best recruiting year came in the 2020-21 season, when Temple had six players earn AAC All-Conference honors.

Some of the notable players Marshall has recruited include defender Pierre Cayet, who now plays for the New England Revolution, sophomore forward Sean Karani and redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski.

Karani was labeled as a five star recruit and Gawronski was named American Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year heading into this season.

Marshall recruited Gawronski, who was under recruited in high school, asTemple was the only college to extend an offer to the goalkeeper.

“I came on a visit, late in my senior year, I met the whole coaching staff and ultimately decided I was gonna come here,” Gawronski said. “I think [Marshall] definitely did a lot of convincing so he was important in my commitment.”

Prior to his season-ending Jones fracture in his left foot this year, Gaw-

ronski was named to the 2020-21 Second-Team All-AAC and 2020-21 All-Rookie team. He also made 17 saves in four matches this year, including two shutouts.

Temple brought in eight freshmen this season, two of which have received notable minutes including freshmen defenders Alex O’Leary and Luka Kozomara. Six transfers joined the Owls and four of those players came from MLS youth academies.

Marshall planned to bring in guys at all levels and is satisfied with the group that he brought in this season. Depth is key for Temple and Marshall recruited players ready to step in when called upon, he said.

Marshall has become accustomed to the year-long recruiting process and scouts players from across the world, he added.

“There’s a phrase that recruiting never stops because it doesn’t ever,” Marshall said. “Naturally you’re ecstatic when you get a big fish, quote-unquote, but in saying that, you know, there’s not one player on our team who we don’t feel extremely excited about once we get

a commitment from them.”

Before landing with the Owls, Marshall served on the coaching staff as recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville University from 2014 to 2018. He helped lead the University of South Florida Bulls to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two conference titles in 2011 and 2013.

Marshall has been on Rowland’s coaching staff for four years now and the two have won big games for the program, including the team’s highest-ranked victory against No. 2 Southern Methodist University last season.

Building a team’s culture does not take place over the course of a single season, but the subtle roster improvements Marshall makes will eventually help Temple reach their goals of winning the conference and beyond, Rowland said.

“Whether we recruit staff or people, it always starts with good qualities as a human being,” Rowland added. “[Marshall] checks every box possible with that.” sean.mcmenamin@temple.edu @sean102400

SPORTS

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PAGE 25

FOOTBALL

AMBER RITSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS Amad Anderson, a sophomore wide receiver, looks towards the crowd during the Owls’ game against Boston College at the Lincoln Financial Field on Sept.18.

Amad Anderson plays for his city in every game Since his move to Temple, the red- the depth charts because Purdue receivAnderson redshirted his freshman Temple football wide receiver shirt-sophomore has connected with his ers David Bell and Milton Wright saw year at Purdue and then saw game action wants to represent Staten Island teammates and utilized skills he learned more targets on the field, Anderson said.

12 times the following year. in his first season as an Owl.

BY VICTORIA AYALA Assistant Sports Editor Hailing from Staten Island, New York, every time redshirt-sophomore receiver Amad Anderson Jr. hits the football field, he wants to represent where he came from, he said.

“I’m just doing it for the city man,” Anderson said. “I love Staten Island and I’m gonna put on for my city as best I could.”

After three seasons with Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, Anderson joined Temple University football, where he plans to take advantage of every opportunity he has on the field, after having minimal playing time in Purdue’s program.

Though living closer to his hometown is a bonus, his relationship with wide receivers coach Thad Ward solidified his decision to move to Temple, he said.

“He was super supportive and that was big with me,” Anderson said. “He didn’t even want to talk about football.”

at Purdue to strengthen the Owls’ offense, he said.

“I wasn’t the only new face, so it was kind of easier for us to bond and get to know each other and it’s been great,” Anderson said.

The wide receiver joined the team in addition to nine other transfers from Power Five Conferences this past offseason, which included redshirt-freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis who transferred from the University of Georgia.

“I was out here with [Anderson] in early January, we were out there running routes in the freezing cold,” Mathis said.

“This isn’t nothing new, we’ve always connected and he’s just been waiting for this opportunity and he’s excelled.”

The skills Anderson developed at Purdue, like getting around defenders and executing routes properly, have become part of his everyday routine as an Owl, he said.

The wide receiver entered the transfer portal in late 2020 after deciding he was ready to have a bigger presence in

Anderson made his first appearance as an Owl during the matchup against the University of Akron on Sept. 11 where he returned one punt for 35 yards.

He saw his second appearance against Boston College on Sept.18 and caught one pass for 18 yards.

Due to the receiver group dealing with injuries, like redshirt-junior wide receiver Jadan Blue and graduate student wide receiver Randle Jones dealing with lower body injuries, Anderson started to see more targets.

He totaled five catches for 47 yards against Wagner College on Sept. 25 and recorded a career-high 108 receiving yards against the University of Memphis on Oct. 2.

His 53-yard touchdown against Memphis late in the fourth quarter solidified a win for the Owls and became a season highlight, earning him Temple offensive player of the week. “[Anderson] did a great job of staying in bounds and then scoring,” said head coach Rod Carey.

During his time as a Boilermaker, Anderson totaled 36 catches for 362 yards in 17 games.

Before his collegiate career, Anderson played four years of varsity football at Curtis High School in Staten Island, New York, where they won back-toback New York City titles in his final two years.

As the season continues, Anderson’s focus is taking the season one game at a time, working hard every day with his teammates, winning games and having fun, Anderson said.

“You only get this opportunity one time so I’m not really worried about what’s in it for me, I’m worried about how far the team can go,” Anderson added. “We’re just gonna come here and do what we have to do every day, every week and see where it gets us.” victoria.ayala@temple.edu @ayalavictoria_

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INTERSECTION

First-time wrestler has her eyes set on nationals Katelyn Rogers didn’t let being the only girl in club wrestling stop her from becoming president.

BY EDEN MACDOUGALL Intersection Editor During her freshman year, Katelyn Rogers was the manager for Temple University’s wrestling club, managing books and scorekeeping. However, watching the guys in the club work hard inspired her to join them on the wrestling mat and become club president, even though she would be the only girl on the team.

“I just saw the aspect of the guys working hard and it made me honestly want to join them in doing what they do, like always constantly working out and working towards a goal,” said Rogers, a senior double major in criminal justice and political science and the wrestling club president.

Rogers knew that being a beginner in a male-dominated sport wouldn’t be easy and she would have to challenge herself because many of the guys have prior experience from wrestling in high school, she added. This is her first year ever wrestling after club sports were canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the manager, Rogers had a strong work ethic and earned respect from the men in the club because of her dedication, said head coach Kurt Paroly.

“She leads by example,” Paroly said.

“As I said, she’s respected. She’s not one of those super vocal people, you know, she’s not going to sit there and scream and yell. But everybody listens to her.”

Aside from managing scheduling and paperwork for the team as president, Rogers is responsible for communication between the wrestlers, Paroly and Campus Recreation, Paroly said.

“She gets it all done without question, without a problem,” Paroly said.

“I know if something needs to get done, she gets it done.”

While Rogers has never wrestled before, she already knows some of the athletes from her time managing and the

ETHAN CARROLL / THE TEMPLE NEWS

team has started bonding through club practices, Rogers said.

The club has two-hour practices three days per week and many members choose to work out by lifting weights in addition to practice, Rogers said.

That end goal is to make it to the National Collegiate Wrestling Championships’ national championship competition, which is hosted in Allen, Texas, and is scheduled for March 10-12, 2022, Rogers said.

“We are a competitive club and if we all work together we can definitely reach an end goal,” Rogers said.

The wrestling club previously qualified for nationals in 2016, The Temple

News reported.

Olutobi Jayson King-Aromire, the wrestling club secretary, works with Rogers and other club officers to make sure that everything is running smoothly and the club is on track to meet their goals, he said. He and Rogers are both hoping to take the team to nationals.

“We’re getting our lift on and we’re getting stronger and we’re working on really bringing what can really bring us to that national title,” said King-Aromire, a freshman biochemistry major.

Having a girl on the team hasn’t been awkward at all and the team has been inclusive, King-Aromire added.

Both Rogers and Paroly have tried

to get more female students to join the club with the goal of creating a women’s wrestling club, she said. A few girls have temporarily joined the team but none have stayed.

College wrestling is a big commitment that not everyone can make, but Rogers always makes her best effort at practices and challenges herself to be a better wrestler and leader, she said. Her personal goal is to wrestle as much as she can, learn from those experiences and make it to nationals.

“It’s not necessarily about the wins for me but I know, eventually, I will get there,” Rogers said. eden.macdougall@temple.edu

The Temple News

SPORTS

PAGE 27

FOOTBALL

Former Owls push for student-athletes’ success Past football players help Temple student-athletes reach academic and career goals.

BY RAY DUNNE For The Temple News There was a loud ‘hello’ and dap up near the entrance of the Resnick Academic Support Center that grabbed the attention of student-athletes studying.

Former Temple University football offensive linemen Jovahn Fair and Shahbaz Ahmed were reunited in May 2021 after not seeing each other for two years.

Ahmed and Fair were teammates on the Temple football team in 2015 and are the first former Temple football players to serve as advisors together for student-athletes, said Justin Miller, the director of the Resnick Center.

Ahmed joined Temple’s student-athlete academic advising program in 2019, and Fair joined in 2021. Their role as advisors is to help student-athletes stay organized in their academics and career development anytime they need their guidance, Miller added.

Their partnership is a chance to be teammates again, while setting an example for student-athletes that they can find success beyond their sport, Ahmed added.

As teammates in 2015, Ahmed was a senior and Fair was a true freshman, who redshirted after his first year on Tem-

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 VOLLEYBALL

“As captains, we have to follow those things and we have to keep ourselves and our teammates accountable,” Papazoglou added. “I think it’s important, especially when it comes to the games and to the practice, and we need to trust each other and be honest with each other.”

Grimshaw, Salanoa and Papazoglou are held to a higher standard than other players because they are leaders for the team, but after meeting with a team psychologist, the development of those five principles only helped improve their leadership skills, Papazoglou said.

Although the Owls may not spend as much time together away from

ple’s offensive line. During their season together, the Owls won 10 games.

The two former offensive linemen see their roles in different ways. For Fair, it’s the start of the next chapter of his life after spending the 2020 offseason pursuing a professional football career.

While Ahmed found a passion in education after taking on a variety of jobs post-college football.

“They’ve become, in some ways, the cornerstone of the department,” Miller said. “Exactly what the offensive line role is, they are not often the most celebrated, but they are key to everything.”

Ahmed, who played at Temple from 2012 to 2015, had a short post-playing career with the Atlanta Falcons and ended up taking a variety of jobs to find stability, like a security officer, intern with Congressman Donald Norcross of New Jersey’s 1st District and mental health technician at The Horsham Clinic in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

Miller was looking to find a former Temple football player to work as advisor in the Resnick office in early 2019, and he reached out to a number of former Temple players to gauge interest, Miller said.

Upon receiving an email from Miller, Ahmed sent back a couple of names of former teammates who could be interested in the position. He had a good relationship with Miller from his time as a student-athlete and working as an

academic mentor during his senior year, Ahmed said.

“My mom has played such a vital role in my success just as a person and I told her that [Miller] had hit me up,” Ahmed said. “And she said to me, ‘Baz, I think that he’s hitting you up to gauge your interest and just doing it indirectly.’”

Within an hour after initially sending back other names, Ahmed messaged Miller saying he was interested in the position. His mom, who always encouraged Ahmed to pursue a career in education, proved to be right, and soon Ahmed was back at Temple working with student-athletes, he added.

One of the first students Ahmed tutored was Fair, Ahmed said.

“I was able to see him doing his graduate work and that motivated me to pursue my graduate degree as well,” Ahmed said. “He’s the embodiment of what Temple football represents, he’s definitely an inspiration.”

After bouncing around in the 2020 offseason with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns in the NFL, Fair decided he was done with football. Despite receiving calls from NFL teams and the Canadian Football League, he chose to stop playing football and instead pursue a master’s degree in higher education, Fair said.

Miller was waiting and prepared for Fair to reach out to him, which Fair did ask about a potential opportunity of

working in the Resnick Center in 2021, Miller said.

“I never saw football as the longterm goal,” Fair said. “I just wanted to see how far I could get. Once that time was over, I knew it was the right decision for me to take this role as an academic advisor and help continue to push this culture forward.”

Fair hopes to eventually end up in a role similar to Miller’s, leading an academic center for student-athletes.

Miller sees Ahmed and Fair as key pieces to building the future for Temple football, he said.

When prospective football players visit Temple, Miller is quick to point out Ahmed and Fair as athletes who accomplished more beyond their sport, he said. Both of them could be a big recruiting chip to student-athletes and their families.

“They are the culture,” Miller said.

“They care about this place, the fact they want to come back and be a part of our staff is a gold star for us.”

practice or games, they still designate time to work on team culture, even if it’s just studying with one another, Grimshaw said.

“All three of them are very different,” Ganesharatnam said. “Have very different personalities and qualities when it comes to leadership.”

Salanoa is on the shy side, but leads with her playing skills. While Papazoglou, who’s been in the program for five years, uses her experience and knowledge of the game to connect the team, Ganesharatnam added.

Grimshaw and Salanoa tend to be more reserved and quiet, but in practice

they’ll challenge the team’s energy and momentum, especially when the team starts to get sloppy on their serves, Ganesharatnam said.

During games, Papazoglou is usually cheering on her teammates after an explosive play or will shout for the Owls to pick up the momentum, Ganesharatnam added.

The trio believes prioritizing mental health is a way to change the team dynamic to create a cohesive bond, so any player can freely speak about their feelings to their teammates, Salanoa said.

“It’s really kind of cool for us to see how they have developed in the last four

or five years and have grown into this position,” Ganesharatnam said. “I could not ask for better captains on a team.”

raydunne@temple.edu @RayDunneBTB

valerie.pendrak@temple.edu @ValeriePendrak

PAGE 28

SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

Co-captains prioritize team wellness Temple University volleyball co-captains build their team culture around five standards: discipline, integrity, trust, honesty and resilience.

The Temple News

BY VALERIE PENDRAK Volleyball Beat Reporter

B

eing a captain doesn’t just mean looking out for the team on the court during a game or practice, but also building a team culture that supports the athletes.

Co-captains junior outside hitters Gem Grimshaw, Xeryah Salanoa and graduate student outside hitter Katerina Papazoglou are pushing Temple University volleyball to win games, but also creating a safe environment to talk about mental and physical health.

The Owls are working to combat the negative energy from a not-so-great performance this season with a record of 1-8 in conference play and 5-15 overall.

The team meets with Temple Athletics sports psychologists to check on players’ mental health, which has helped Temple push

through the mental blocks that they are struggling with, like getting out of their heads and not getting down when they don’t win, said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam.

The captains also meet with Mental Performance Consultant Emily Galvin to discuss how they can support their team to stay focused with a clear mind and work as hard as possible for themselves and the team overall, Grimshaw said.

The three assessed how they could best support the team as captains and decided to create “DITHR”, which stands for discipline, integrity, trust, honesty and resilience — a code the captains have emphasized for the team to follow, Papazoglou said.

VOLLEYBALL | 27 (From left to right) Xeryah Salanoa, a junior outside hitter, Gem Grimshaw, a junior outside hitter, and Katerina Papazoglou, a graduate student outside hitter, laugh while waiting to get their portrait taken inside McGonigle Hall on Oct. 22. | KAITLYN JEFFREY / THE TEMPLE NEWS