Vol. 96, Iss. 19

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A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921.

VOL. 96 ISSUE 19

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Our annual Movers & Shakers special issue features individuals making a difference in the Temple community.

Teaching life skills after incarceration A former attorney who was incarcerated teaches a class for returning citizens at PASCEP. BY AYOOLUWA ARIYO For The Temple News

JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS The Rev. Renee McKenzie of the Church of the Advocate on Diamond Street near 18th, serves lunch in the church’s dining area on Wednesday.

Rev. takes risks for social justice The Rev. Renee McKenzie of the Church of the Advocate allowed an immigrant family to take sanctuary in her church. BY MATTHEW McCANN

I

Community Beat Reporter

n October 2017, the Rev. Renee McKenzie got a call from the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia asking if she would provide sanctuary for an undocumented immigrant family whose deportation was ordered. Instinctually, she agreed. “I have to be honest, I hadn’t really

thought it through carefully before I said yes,” she said. “My instinct was to say yes because there’s no way I could not support this family. There’s no way we could not provide sanctuary if we had the ability to do so, and we did. So I said yes.” McKenzie has been a clergy member at the Church of the Advocate on Diamond Street near 18th for six years and has consistently fought for social justice issues. She believes she has a responsibility to be an advocate for change — even when faced with significant risks. Carmela Apolonio Hernandez, who is taking sanctuary in the Church of the Ad-

ON CAMPUS

vocate with her four children, was ordered to leave the country by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency by Dec. 15, 2017. Hernandez said she fled an unsafe environment in Mexico in 2015 after her brother and two nephews were killed by organized drug traffickers. On Jan. 29, the children — Fidel, Keyri, Yoselin and Edwin — left the church for the first time in six weeks to attend school, which put them at risk of deportation. McKenzie and city officials held an

While serving a five-year prison sentence, Jeffrey Abramowitz resolved to make the most of his time. He read nearly 1,000 books, including George Orwell’s “1984,” and taught about 50 classes in subjects like political science, business and math. Abramowitz was at the United States Penitentiary, Canaan — a high-security federal prison in Waymart, Pennsylvania — for embezzlement in March 2012. He spent the first two years of his sentence at the Federal Detention

I found that teaching was what I needed to do, and helping people find work...became my passion. JEFFREY ABRAMOWITZ PASCEP INSTRUCTOR

Center on Arch Street near 7th. “For so long, I took so much for granted,” Abramowitz said. “As a trial lawyer, I had everything. I had the house, the cars, the family.” “I took the time to really figure out what I wanted to do in life, what was important to me and tried to think about the lessons that I was being handed, and I made the best of my time

ADVOCATE | PAGE 2

RE-ENTRY | PAGE 11

ON CAMPUS

Food-insecure student pantry opens next week The food pantry is accepting donations this week to prepare for its opening. BY MADISON SEITCHIK For The Temple News

An on-campus food pantry will open next week to address food insecurity. On Feb. 19, Cherry Pantry will have its grand opening, where students can get free, non-perishable food items. The pantry will be in Student Center North. It will operate Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. Donations can be dropped off at the pantry on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon and Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. Then, donations will be accepted during its regular hours. Food insecurity is when a person lacks access to nutritious, affordable food. A report by higher education professor Sara GoldrickRab found that about one-third of Temple students experience food insecurity.

In response to Goldrick-Rab’s study, university officials, including President Richard Englert and Provost JoAnne Epps, created the food pantry. Students can visit the pantry once per week by showing their OWLcards. The food will be handed out using a point system, and students can take up to 16 points per visit, Vice President of Student Affairs Theresa Powell said. One side, which includes items like canned corn or green beans, equals one point. Single-meal items equal two points, which would be items like cans of Chef Boyardee or SpaghettiOs. Multi-meal items, which are items that can be used multiple times like rice and cereal, equal three points. Students will not be questioned about their food security when they enter the food pantry. The pantry will start by giving out canned and non-perishable food items like cereal, juice, pasta

PANTRY | PAGE 3

BRIANNA SPAUSE / FILE PHOTO Kallie Cooper, then a senior advertising major, recites a passage at an on-campus performance of “The Vagina Monologues” in February 2016. The Wellness Resource Center’s annual production of the play was canceled this year.

‘Vagina Monologues’ canceled Students said the play lacked inclusivity after a feedback performance in the fall. BY VALERIE DOWRET For The Temple News

The Wellness Resource Center will not host its annual performance of “The Vagina Monologues” this month after

some students said it is not inclusive. Alison McKee, the director of the WRC, said some students gave feedback about the play, which has been performed at the university since 2003. Students were concerned that the play was not inclusive to all races, sexualities and genders. In 1994, Eve Ensler wrote “The Vagina Monologues,”

which documents more than 200 women’s experiences, thoughts and observations on sexual abuse, sexuality, violence against women and other topics. The play generally features the stories about heterosexual, cisgender women. In 2002, Temple was selected as one of 500 schools to

INCLUSIVITY | PAGE 3

NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6

OPINION | PAGES 4-5

FEATURES | PAGES 7-13

SPORTS | PAGES 14-18

The university donated computers to a local church last month, but similar donations to other nonprofits go unused. Read more on Page 2.

A columnist argued that the university should consider the surrounding community in future construction projects. Read more on Page 5.

Jessica Sandberg, the director of international admissions, was named to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s 2017 Influence List. Read more on Page 7.

The men’s basketball team has a higher chance of earning an atlarge NCAA Tournament bid after a five-game winning streak. Read more on Page 18.


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