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Time will tell if there is a financial impact due to national scandals this year. Read more on Page 4.

VOL 97 // ISSUE 19 FEBRUARY 12, 2019 temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS, PAGE 3 The PA Promise bill, if passed, could provide tuition assistance to low-income students.

OPINION, PAGE 10 The Opinion Editor details how her mother inspires her every day.

FEATURES, PAGE 16 Students are using Marie Kondo’s tidying up method to organize their belongings.

SPORTS, PAGE 23 The Owls will open their season against Bucknell University on Aug. 31.

NEWS PAGE 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

THE TEMPLE NEWS A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Gillian McGoldrick Editor in Chief Kelly Brennan Managing Editor Julie Christie Digital Managing Editor Evan Easterling Chief Copy Editor Greta Anderson News Editor Grace Shallow Investigations Editor Alyssa Biederman Deputy Campus Editor Will Bleier Deputy City Editor Jayna Schaffer Opinion Editor Laura Smythe Features Editor Zari Tarazona Deputy Features Editor Michaela Althouse Deputy Features Editor Michael Zingrone Co-Sports Editor Sam Neumann Co-Sports Editor Claire Wolters Intersection Editor Maria Ribeiro Director of Engagement Siani Colon Asst. Director of Engagement Dylan Long Co-Photography Editor Luke Smith Co-Photography Editor Madison Seitchik Web Editor Ian Walker Visuals Editor Claire Halloran Design Editor

The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News. Visit us online at temple-news.com. Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com. The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122

Phuong Tran Advertising Manager Kelsey McGill Advertising Manager Daniel Magras Business Manager

ON THE COVER DYLAN LONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS

CORRECTIONS Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor in Chief Gillian McGoldrick at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6736.

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TSG

Applications open for 2019-20 candidates

TSG and Parliament will utilize and Parliament will advertise elections social media to spread the word through the same social media account about the upcoming elections. to avoid confusion, McCormack said. BY BLAKE NUTIS For The Temple News Temple Student Government will accept applications for 2019-20 Executive Branch and Parliament candidates until March 1 at midnight, candidates will be announced to the Temple community on March 18. IgniteTU, TSG’s current administration, and Parliament hope better social media outreach will encourage more people to run. Current TSG members will run an informational session about running for office on Feb. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room 220 of the Student Center, said Hailey McCormack, IgniteTU’s communications director. Last year, three executive teams ran for office, one of them withdrawing before elections. The 2018 election had a lower voter turnout than in 2017, with 4,505 votes cast. Students with questions about the campaign process can stop by TSG’s office in room 244 of the Student Center, said Marissa Martini, the administration’s chief of staff. “We want everyone to know that we’re a resource to be utilized if they want to talk about what it’s like to run in an election or have a position in TSG,” she said. Executive team candidates will attend debates on March 21 and April 1 and elections will soon follow on April 2 and 3. The new administration for the 2019-20 academic year will be announced the following day. TSG has not yet announced the locations of the debates. The executive team hopes Parliament representatives will also be open to talking about their positions, Martini said. The Executive Branch

Razin Karu, the speaker of Parliament, said he expects to see more people run in the upcoming elections. “The future is really bright,” he said. “I’ve seen people increasing participation in terms of voting and running. If more people vote and participate, we can work to enhance the experience of the students here.” During the 2018-19 elections, 19 students ran to fill the 32 available seats in Parliament. All but three candidates ran unopposed. Alex Rosenberg, Parliament’s junior class representative, said he passed a resolution, the Parliament Vacant Seat Act, which will have the body work with the elections commission to hold a second Parliament vote online during the summer if seats remain vacant after April’s general election. “It will eliminate time spent on filling the body, allowing us to fill the seats before the start of the new semester,” Rosenberg said. If there are still vacant seats, Parliament should add an additional round of parliamentary elections in Fall 2019, Karu said. During last year’s elections, the body only filled half of its seats during the general election and spent a majority of Fall 2018 trying to fill them. Seven seats still remain vacant as of Monday. Rosenberg said having a diverse candidate pool will make Parliament stronger. “Hearing fresh voices is always great,” Rosenberg said. “The more voices heard presents more ideas and discussion in the body. More discussion creates the best policy.” blake.nutis@temple.edu @blakenutis

temple-news.com

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EDUCATION

Bill proposed to aid low-income student tuition PA Promise would offer more than $7,000 per year to eligible students, but does not outline a funding source. BY COLIN EVANS Crime Beat Reporter

Low-income, in-state students could receive up to about $7,700 in tuition aid, plus room and board, per year, if legislation introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly passes. Both Senate Bill 111 and House Bill 244, titled the PA Promise Act, propose providing state tuition assistance for low-income Pennsylvania residents who attend state-owned and state-related community colleges and universities. The legislation would provide aid to students whose families make $110,000 or less per year, plus free room and board to students in families that make $48,000 or less per year. The legislation is estimated to cost around $1 billion per year, according to a January 2018 report written by The Keystone Research Center, a left-ofcenter think tank that argued the need for re-investment in Pennsylvania’s post-secondary education. The state’s current budget for 2019-20 only sets aside about $310 million for grants to students. The bills do not outline a way to pay for the program, though, which was a “strategic decision” so that the General Assembly and Governor could agree on revenue sources, a spokesperson for state Sen. Vincent Hughes wrote in an email. The Keystone Research Center’s report, co-authored by Mark Price, a labor economist for the center, suggested the state pay for the program with revenue from a natural gas tax or personal income tax increase across Pennsylvania. “You’re delivering a substantial amount of aid to a large group of students, especially at an institution like

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Temple, which tends to serve a lower and middle-income population of students,” Price said. “The rapid increase in student loan debt for different generations of students often is a burden on their spending later in life,” he added. Pennsylvania has the second-highest average student loan debt in the country, totaling an average of $36,854 per 2017 graduate, according to The Institute For College Access and Success. Temple’s average student debt for 2017 graduates was $38,108. The legislation would provide last-dollar assistance to eligible students, meaning whatever students still need after receiving federal, state or institutional financial aid would be covered by the fund, up to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education tuition rate, which is currently $7,716 per year. PA Promise would have a positive long-term effect on the state economy by reducing student debt and increasing college enrollment, Price said. The bill could benefit Temple students, said Cristopher Villicana, a sophomore music performance and Spanish major. Villicana didn’t receive enough financial aid to pay tuition past his freshman year without taking out private loans, he said. “I was able to put myself through my first year because I got a lot of scholarships from my high school,” Villicana said. “...When I got to my second semester [of freshman year], it really hit how much money I was going to spend for the remaining three or four years.” Villicana believes it’s the public’s responsibility to make higher education available to everyone by funding it through taxes, he said. “If everyone was paying for it, it would inspire more people to actually go and get a degree because it would be attainable,” he said. Alexia Dynda, a junior film and me-

Student debt at Temple

Average student debt for 2017 graduates of public and private Pennsylvania four-year institutions

$36,854

Average student debt at Temple

$38,108

67% 21% 2017 Temple graduates with private loan debt

2017 Temple graduates with any debt Source: The Institute for College Access and Success

dia arts major, would not mind paying higher taxes to subsidize college costs because she saw how her own high school in Reading, Pennsylvania benefits from high property taxes in the area, she said. “Higher education is much more important for the progression of our economy than worrying about taxes right now,” Dynda said. Two Philadelphia legislators, Hughes and state Rep. James Roebuck Jr., reintroduced the bill in their respective chambers earlier this month. They first proposed the bills in 2018, but they stalled in the General Assembly’s education committees.

IAN WALKER / THE TEMPLE NEWS

“The data on food and housing insecure students is simply shocking,” Hughes said in a statement to The Temple News. “No college student should be forced to live in a car or skip meals, not to mention be saddled with crippling student loan debt. I strongly believe college students need a new deal and the Pennsylvania Promise is a start for that new deal.” The two bills have again been referred to each chamber’s education committees. colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

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NEWS PAGE 4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

DYLAN LONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS

A flag flies outside Sullivan Hall, which is where the Board of Trustees meet every few months, as well as the Office of the President.

ON THE COVER

Some alumni are unhappy after controversial year Several high-level donors are rethinking their donations due to national scandals clogging the narrative about Temple. BY GRACE SHALLOW Investigations Editor This week, rooms and offices across Temple University made possible by donors are tagged with the names of their benefactors. It’s a symbol of Temple’s third annual Philanthropy Week, which highlights donor impact on student experience and catalyzes more giving. But internally, the university is still appraising the impact of public controversies suffered over the past year, and top officials brew over potential donation losses. The world turned its eye to Main Campus as multiple schools were tainted by controversies. In July, an independent report found that the Fox School of Business reported false data for years to News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

the U.S. News & World Report. Most recently, professor Marc Lamont Hill sparked national outcry with his United Nations speech about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Nov. 28, 2018. The controversies have left some donors feeling like their dollars are under a microscope. Some expressed they’re apprehensive to give again or confirmed they’re considering retracting promised gifts due to constant scandals plaguing Temple’s image. Others say that the incidents don’t weather Temple’s quality, and they’ll remain financially committed. A university spokesperson said the financial impact of both scandals will not be clear for “months and years to come.” “One more headline risk or legal risk with Temple, I’m withdrawing my promise gift,” said alumna Ronnyjane Goldsmith, who has agreed to donate $2 million to the university at the time of her death. “I can’t ignore the continuing headline and legal risk,” she added. “The way

it was handled, the fallout and bad press has had an enormous negative effect on current and future donors.”

RESPONSE TOP DOWN

FROM

THE

The university responded quickly to both controversies with public statements — though none were enough to appease some concerned alumni. Internal and external investigations into Fox led Temple to fire former Dean Moshe Porat, who led the school for 22 years. An internal Jones Day investigation released in July found that he facilitated Fox’s data falsification. Ongoing federal and state investigations into the scandal are likely to take years. “Failures are a chance to improve, to grow, to become something greater than before. Temple is doing just that,” read one statement signed by Provost JoAnne Epps, President Richard Englert and Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick O’Connor.

But a university official had never blamed one individual for Temple’s public embarrassment — until the Hill controversy. Two days after Hill’s UN speech, O’Connor told the Inquirer the remarks were “lamentable” and “disgusting.” Many interpreted Hill’s speech as anti-Semitic because he called for Palestinian liberation “from the river to the sea,” a phrase sometimes used by Hamas, a militant Palestinian nationalist group. O’Connor told The Temple News the Hill controversy caused “immeasurable” harm to Temple’s donations, but noted it’s impossible to quantify the impact until the 2018 endowment is finalized. The Fox and Hill incidents both impacted the university’s reputation, university spokesperson Ray Betzner said in a statement to The Temple News. “In both cases, we have heard from individuals who have said they will not support the university in the future as a temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

result of these issues,” he added. “...While controversies arise that may impact contributions from time to time, in the long run the quality of the Temple experience is what makes the difference in terms of alumni support.”

ALUMNI

Two alumni donors interviewed by The Temple News promised the university roughly $3 million combined, and both are seriously considering retracting their funds. Another alumnus put a more than $1 million gift to the Fox School on hold once the data falsification scandal began to unfold. Others who have given significantly smaller sums over the course of decades are also considering ceasing financial support. Several alumni, however, remain committed to supporting the university while vocalizing their dismay over the Fox School and/or Hill controversies, among others, like the university’s dealings for a proposed on-campus stadium. Goldsmith, a three-time Temple alumna, promised to give a gift of about $2 million at the time of her death. Goldsmith has endowed other funds at the university, including the College of Liberal Art’s SIG Scholarship, an annual need- and merit-based award. Goldsmith was disappointed by the university’s plans to build an on-campus football stadium in North Philadelphia and the 2014 cuts to five Temple Athletics programs, she said. But Hill’s “reprehensible” remarks and him remaining a professor stand as the most problematic issues for Goldsmith. If there’s another highly publicized misstep by Temple, she’s withdrawing her millions in donations, Goldsmith said. Her colleagues and friends are amazed she has remained such a public supporter of the university, she added. “My generation is the one that should be making contributions to the university right now, and they don’t want to,” Goldsmith said. “Every time I get to the point where I turn their minds around because of something positive that happens, something that’s not positive happens.” Bart Blatstein is a 1976 College of @TheTempleNews

Liberal Arts alumnus and president and CEO of Tower Investments, a Philadelphia-based private company that has built properties near Main Campus and in Northern Liberties. Blatstein pledged to give a $1 million gift, half of which will be taken from his estate when he dies. But he may discontinue the agreement “sooner rather than later,” he said. Blatstein, who is Jewish, said action needs to be taken against Hill for him to change his mind about his donation. He said vested donors can “vote with their pocketbook.” “Between the Bill Cosby issue...Marc Lamont Hill, the revolving door of presidents and the business school scandal, it’s enough,” Blatstein said. The Fox scandal caused Raza Bokhari to postpone his decision of whether to make a $1 million pledge to the business school in 2018. The data falsification scandal was overdramatized, he said, but he was disappointed by how the university treated Porat, who is one of his close friends. “I think there was dramatic and drastic actions taken that were abrupt,” said Bokhari, a 2001 executive MBA alumnus. “Any time that actions are taken without taking stakeholders into confidence, it is an intuitive reaction to pause. I have paused.” As an alumnus, Bokhari has contributed administrative and financial support to Fox. In honor of a $1 million gift he made in 2007, the suite housing Fox’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute bears his name. He currently chairs the school’s Dean’s Council, which meets annually to advise Fox’s leadership. Bob Russell, a 1974 sociology alumnus, estimates he’s donated roughly $100 to the university about a dozen times over the past 40 years. Russell said Hill’s comments “painted a negative connotation about what [Temple] stood for” and could cause him to consider stopping his donations. Other alumni, like Roxanne Zhilo, a 2011 strategic and organizational communications alumna, believe it’s important for concerned Jewish alumni not to cut ties with the university and maintain their influence. Zhilo has donated to on-campus Jewish organizations, but not directly to Temple.

How Temple’s top gifts are distributed

In 2016, Temple received 800 donations valued at $5,000 or more. Of those donations, most of them were in values between $5,000 and $100,000. Most of the $90.6 million Temple raised came from just those 800 donors. In total, Temple received donations from 38,526 people.

600 Temple received 666 donations between $5,000 and $50,000 500

400

$43,030,102 came from about 2 percent of Temple’s donors

300

200

Temple’s biggest donation was $2,795,378

100

0 Donations between $5,000 and $50,000

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

JULIE CHRISTIE / THE TEMPLE NEWS Source: Temple University Form 990 for fiscal year ending June 2017.

“You should stand your ground, use your voice, present your side, speak intelligently and plan strategically,” said Zhilo, the co-president of Chabad at Temple’s Alumni Board. “Work to make things better for yourself in the community. Don’t just abandon ship.” Michael Adler, a 1998 Beasley School of Law alumnus, will also continue with his regular donation plans to annually give to the university and law school. Since graduating, he’s been involved with the Temple Alumni Association and the Temple Law Alumni Association, which he led from 2009-11.

Adler felt the university didn’t handle the Hill controversy quickly enough, allowing it to brew in the media. “When one of us does something bad...or if the university itself can’t get out from under an issue, that reflects poorly on all of us as a family,” he added. Teresa Lundy, a 2014 media studies and production alumna, said O’Connor’s statements claiming alumni are incensed by the Hill controversy do not reflect what she’s seen as a board member for Klein’s Alumni Association.

DONATIONS | PAGE 6 News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 6

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 DONATIONS To Lundy’s knowledge, the alumni association did not hear from any graduates concerned about the Hill controversy, and none expressed hesitation that they’d donate again. Lundy thinks the exact opposite of O’Connor’s suggestion. “We’ve been getting new individuals who want to be a part of the alumni chapter, so if anything, it’s been improving our attendance,” she said. “From where I’m sitting, the response was ideal,” she added. “…The feeling is, ‘Listen, Temple did the right thing. How do we respond and how do we continue to support?’” James Sanders, the president of the Fox School of Business Alumni Association, received emails, phone calls and social media messages from alumni reacting to reports about the school’s data falsification. Still, he expects most donors will maintain their commitments to the university, he said. “The university is not going down,” said Sanders, a 2012 executive MBA alumnus. “There have been issues in the past that have occurred, and Temple and Fox has gotten through those issues, so it will, it has and it is making us stronger.” Sam Hodge — a fellow in the Fox Conwell Club, meaning he’s donated between $10,000 and $24,999 to Temple — said neither the Hill nor Fox controversy impacted his willingness to contribute. In both situations, the university was decisive and immediately delivered a response, said Hodge, a legal studies professor. It’s not likely that many donors will be discouraged from supporting the university due to controversy, several alumni said.

TRUSTEE CLAIMS

In December, O’Connor told The Temple News he received up to 50 emails every day from donors from “alums, professors, students, friends of Israel, politicians, young, old, Black, white,” promising to withdraw financial support if Hill, an urban education and media studies and production professor, was not fired. Now, O’Connor receives about five News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

emails from alumni withdrawing money specifically due to Hill’s comments per day, O’Connor said in January. He doesn’t know if many emails came from the same sender or how much money donors have threatened to withhold. O’Connor erases the emails after reading them, he said, “because [his] little iPhone can’t hold all those things.” Still, he maintained that it would have noticeable effect on Temple’s financial resources. “We’re a vulnerable institution, we don’t have a huge endowment,” O’Connor said. “It affects what we can do for students.” In April 2016, the university shifted its focus from its annual state appropriation and tuition to donors to fund its endowment, The Temple News reported. Potential donors aren’t going to be as “all ears” as they were in the past when the university made its case for funding, O’Connor said. Historically, Temple receives a smaller appropriation than Pennsylvania’s other state-related schools. The endowment, however, has increased each year since 2013. In 2017, it reached $615.4 million, according to the U.S. News & World Report. The 36 voting members of the Board of Trustees released a unanimous statement of condemnation of Hill’s remarks at their Dec. 11, 2018 meeting. Fox is already able to put a price tag of more than $5.4 million on the data misreporting scandal. In December, the university settled a civil lawsuit from former Fox students, which included Temple’s creation of a $5,000 scholarship for students interested in ethics and enrolled in one of the programs represented in the suit. The settlement will be covered by existing insurance coverages and reserves, a university spokesperson told The Temple News in December. He could not specify if tuition dollars will contribute to paying off these costs. The U.S. Department of Education and the state Attorney General’s office continue to investigate the damage of the Fox’s self-misrepresentation, which could cost the university millions. As the investigations continue, O’Connor ascertained that all Board

members received emails similar to those in his inbox. Two trustees interviewed by The Temple News said they’ve never received such messages from alumni or past donors, while two others confirmed they have. Three of the 19 trustees The Temple News attempted to interview for this story declined to comment. Eleven others did not respond to multiple requests for comments. There are two types of costs the university will incur as a result of the Hill controversy and other public debacles, trustee Lewis Gould said: financial, and “reputational injury to the university.” “I’ve been a trustee at the university since 1985, a long time,” Gould said. “And I have many friends where I live, where I work, who are very familiar with my role as a university trustee. Let’s just say they have not been shy in sharing with me their great disappointment...at what has happened to the university.” Gould said he received emails about the Hill controversy, but he does not recall receiving any regarding Fox’s data misreporting scandal. Trustee Marina Kats maintains she received emails from “hundreds” of alumni about the Hill controversy, and they’re still “going strong.” Trustee Steve Charles has never condemned Hill. He said the donors making the most noise “haven’t given that much anyway.” “We want to reemphasize the universe’s commitment to free thought and free speech and the action that we took in our statement, we stand behind that,” Charles said. “...We feel we did exactly the right thing. Hill is the first Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities and Solutions. Charles donated $2 million to create the position in Klein, which is the first donor-endowed chair in the school’s history. Most of the trustees interviewed by The Temple News for this story said ideally, Hill should have been disciplined in some way by the university. But the Board does not have that power, O’Connor said in December. At the Board’s last meeting, Englert affirmed that Hill was not speaking as a university representative at the time of his comments. This absolved him of po-

tential reprimand because the university’s faculty contract states professors are free from discipline as private citizens. Most of all, the First Amendment protects Hill’s right to freedom of speech regardless of public backlash, said Sarah McLaughlin, a senior program officer in legal and public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that advocates for students and professors’ rights on college campuses. “The First Amendment is a non-negotiable duty for a university like Temple,” McLaughlin said. “There are going to be donors who want all kinds of professors fired or students expelled for what they believe and what they say. If Temple gave in to every donor demand, it would be a pretty quiet campus.” The university still has a responsibility to hold public conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Charles said. He said the university is planning a two-day conference about the political issue in April. “I’m trying to get to the root cause of what this issue is all about and encourage the university to be the container and facilitator of robust dialogue,” Charles said. “If the university did more of that, there would be more understanding across these great divides instead of debate about whether someone will put Temple in his will.” Regardless of university action, time is all that can tell the impact this year’s controversies will have on Temple’s donation pool. There’s still a lot at the university worth funding, O’Connor said. “So much has happened at Temple, and it’s such a great institution,” he said. O’Connor added that the university doesn’t get enough recognition. “But that may be for the next chairman to deal with,” finished O’Connor, who will step down from his role as chairman on July 31. grace.shallow@temple.edu @Grace_Shallow

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NEWS PAGE 7

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

DEVELOPMENT

Uptown Theater celebrates its 90th anniversary The theater’s renovation will be partially complete this year, after facing funding uncertainty. BY WILL AMARI For The Temple News The historic Uptown Theater on Broad Street near Dauphin that once hosted international stars like Michael Jackson and Patti LaBelle will partially open for community use this year, its 90th anniversary. The Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation, the Community Development Corporation for North Central Philadelphia, is running the $14 million project to preserve the last art-deco style movie theater in Philadelphia, but has hit setbacks for funding, said Linda Richardson, president and CEO of the CDC. The CDC started a 90-day donation challenge on Feb. 1, encouraging people to donate $90 to the renovation project until April 30 for the theater’s anniversary, and has been working with an undisclosed partner for funding, Richardson said. “As a community group that has worked on keeping a building of that age intact, it has been a challenge and a source of pride,” Richardson said. The theater, which opened in 1929 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, is in its second stage of a five-stage renovation process that is expected to be fully complete by 2020, Richardson said. In 2007, The Temple News reported that the CDC was starting redevelopment without having all the funds to complete it. The theater’s transformation has so far been funded by individual donors and public grants from the state. In February 2018, the CDC received a $500,000 award from the Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program, a state assistance program that matches funds for improvement projects with “regional impact.”

@TheTempleNews

ALEX PATERSON-JONES / THE TEMPLE NEWS The Uptown Theater on Broad Street near Dauphin will light its marquee on Saturday at 7 p.m. to kick off its 90th anniversary celebrations.

The updated building will have 2,100 seats, a redeveloped auditorium, balcony, additional parking and a direct entrance from the Susquehanna-Dauphin Broad Street Line station. The theater is historic and significant to the African-American community for its rhythm and blues and early rock ’n’ roll music scene. “We can contribute to the architectural value of the art-deco facade and be able to celebrate the history of what happened in the Uptown with it being the part of the rhythm and blues movement,” Richardson said. Lawrence Henson, who has lived on Park Avenue near Dauphin Street since 1952, said he played drums for an R&B band at the Uptown for three years in the 1950s. Henson remembers chitlin circuit nights when people would line up along several streets to see the nation’s up-and-coming African-American R&B, jazz and early rock ’n’ roll musicians. “I’ve been on the stage with Smokey [Robinson], The Temptations, you name it,” Henson said. “The Uptown and the Apollo are almost identical, except the Uptown is bigger. The Uptown would have four shows a day and a mid-

night show on Friday.” Loris Poppler, who worked as a bartender at the Uptown when it was a prominent club in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, is looking forward to the theater’s reopening. “That would be wonderful for the community,” said Poppler, who lives on Diamond Street near 17th. “It was great when I was young. That would be awesome for jobs.” Since the CDC purchased the theater in 2002, it has conducted surveys, progress updates, information and programs, to keep the community informed about the renovation, Richardson said. As the renovation progresses, Richardson will hire tour guides, parking instructors, youth program directors and theater equipment and lighting technicians, she said. The theater will hire people with various levels of experience, she said. “We’re looking to provide opportunities for young promoters, producers and performers who weren’t around to see the theater in its heyday,” Richardson said. “We want to create a new era of entertainment.” The CDC is working with commu-

nity development students in the Tyler School of Art to help spread the word about the theater’s progress by sharing information on Main Campus. In October, the Uptown plans to hold a masquerade ball in the theater’s lobby as its 90th-anniversary celebration and will welcome community and student performances. Dylan Brown, a sophomore community development major, began working at the Uptown Theater in September 2018. He’s a member of the Temple Community Development Club, which is encouraging students in the community development program to get involved with the Uptown’s reopening. “This theater is really important to the people that have worked with it and grown up with it,” Brown said. “It’s super historic. It has a lot of significance. It’s just something really good for the community.” The theater will kick off its 90th anniversary year on Saturday with the lighting of the Uptown’s marquee at 7 p.m. The event will be open to the public. will.amari@temple.edu @wileewillie

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OPINION PAGE 8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 EDITORIALS

Take a hard look in the mirror

It seems like Temple University is becoming synonymous with controversy after a barrage of incidents and scandals involving the university in the past few years. Last semester, Temple’s trustees took aim at Marc Lamont Hill, whose comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stirred national outcry. Chairman Patrick O’Connor said because of Hill the university could stand to lose significant funding from donors. But did he forget the $5.4 million-and-growing price tag on the Fox School of Business’ data reporting scandal? Or the two years of Bill Cosby’s trial, during which Temple — unlike dozens of other schools — refused to take any action until a jury returned a guilty verdict? What about the ongoing conflict between Temple and our North Philadelphia neighbors as the school pushes for an on-campus stadium? There was also that time former president Neil Theobald fired former provost Hai-Lung Dai, the Board voted no confidence in Theobald, and Dai then sued the president.

“One more headline risk or legal risk with Temple, I’m withdrawing my promise gift,” alumna Ronnyjane Goldsmith told The Temple News. Goldsmith agreed to donate $2 million to the university at the time of her death, a hefty individual donation that could be in jeopardy. She said liabilities before Hill’s speech, like Temple’s proposed stadium and cuts to Temple Athletics in 2014, had already put her donation on shaky ground. While Temple’s current controversies will have a lasting impact, it’s inaccurate for O’Connor and the Board to claim Hill’s comments are the main reason for donors losing confidence in the university. Internal missteps have been leading up to this moment for years, and several donors’ testimonials are evidence of this. Hill’s comments are simply one more challenge for the university added to an existing pile of reputational problems. Instead of pointing fingers and laying the blame on one man, the university should instead focus on improving and moving forward after each controversy.

Last month, state Sen. Vincent Hughes and state Rep. James Roebuck reintroduced the Pennsylvania Promise Act, a program to reduce the cost of college for in-state students. The Philadelphia lawmakers’ bills would cover the remaining tuition of high school graduates with maximum annual family incomes of $110,000 to attend community colleges, state-owned universities and state-related universities like Temple. Room and board assistance would also be available for students whose families make $48,000 or less per year. But when the bill was reintroduced, a way to pay for the projected $1 billion annual cost of the program was not. Students shouldn’t place faith in it until there is a clear way it can become reality. A spokesperson for one of the program sponsors told The Temple News its payment pathway was purposefully left out of the bill.

Students across the country are feeling the weight of rising college costs and loan debt, and Pennsylvania’s students carry more than most, with the second-highest average debt of any state, according to The Institute for College Access and Success. We need a real, concrete debt relief plan. We can’t keep waiting; we need a real solution with real funding now. And this is possible. The Tennessee Promise began in 2015 and covers two years of tuition at community and technical colleges through a statewide endowment. Both bills are in committee, the step before they reach the floor for a vote. It’s possible for legislators to come up with a way to fund this pricey initiative. But students shouldn’t hold their breath about this PA Promise until elected officials show a way they can keep it.

An empty promise

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DIVERSITY

Blackness isn’t in the way we carry ourselves

In many predominantly Black The Black community shouldn’t communities, Black people determine measure Blackness by how the culture — what is cool to wear, cool people act and speak.

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ave you ever been labeled as an “Oreo?” I’m not talking about “milk’s favorite cookie.” I’m referring to what you call a person who is Black on the outside but white on the inside. I’ve been called one. People will say to me, “You dance white,” “You act white,” and even, “You speak white.” For a long time, I just shrugged these ALVIRA BONSU off. DIVERSITY COLUMNIST comments But in the back of my mind, I was hurt by what felt like constant rejection from my Black peers. We have come a long way in America, to the point where some races share physical features and are accustomed to similar characteristics and cultures. But when people say I’m acting or speaking “white,” they’re saying I carry myself in a way that makes me seem like I think I’m better or smarter than my peers. So, they distance themselves from me. It has always been interesting to me that our society condemns measuring whiteness and the intangibles of being white, while neglecting how the Black community measures Blackness. There’s a reason for all of the Bhad Bhabies and Woah Vickys in the world. These are people, who are not Black, yet are accepted by the Black community for “acting Black.” Meanwhile, I’m left out of my own community for not being Black enough.

to say and cool to be. So even if you’re Black, if you don’t fit their mold, your Black peers will replace you with people who are willing to fit it and live up to its standards — even if they aren’t Black. Why else do you think there are white people, Hispanic people and Asian people out there saying racial slurs like they’re allowed to? Black people enabled them to do so, or at least that has been my experience. It isn’t entirely the Black community’s fault, but the way we measure Blackness is unfair. “We are continuously going to be developing and creating culture, and it’s probably going to be the case that people are continuously appropriating,” said Ibram Kendi, a Black author and 2010 African American Studies Ph.D. alumnus. We already know that colorism and racism are a major factor in deciding the benefactors of society. “Now clearly, when you have a Black person who performs culture and a white person performs that very same cultural act and they become very wealthy and the Black person does not, clearly that is a problem,” Kendi said. Instead of accepting Black people who may be “acting white,” we look to non-Black allies whom we have coached to defend our cause. And then we are shocked when they disappoint. You can avoid a lot of rage if you don’t dismiss Alvira because she “acts white” and replace her with Vicky because she “acts Black.” Being Black is my culture, and I understand the Black community more than the people who can’t truly understand our struggles. alvira.bonsu@temple.edu

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OPINION PAGE 9

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

LGBTQ

One hate crime against two communities We need to recognize that Jussie tionality in their coverage. A tweet from Smollett’s attack was motivated TMZ’s initial reporting on Smollett’s attack referred to it as exclusively “hoby racism and homophobia. My favorite TV show when I was in high school was “Empire,” and my absolute favorite character on the music-themed drama was Jamal Lyon. As a successful gay, Black R&B singer, Lyon was a powerful presence for me to relate to as I dealt with my own coming out. I instantly identified with the character. TYLER PEREZ Played by acLGBTQ COLUMNIST tor Jussie Smollett, Lyon endures a unique set of challenges and discrimination from people both inside and outside of his communities. Lyon is a visible gay Black man, which makes him a target for not just racism or homophobia separately, but simultaneously. This character signals the unique challenges queer people of color — especially queer Black people — endure. And this intersectionality has been frequently, and wrongly, ignored in public conversation about the recent hate crime against Smollett. Smollett, like the character he plays on “Empire,” is a gay Black man. He was attacked late last month — targeted for the intersection of these two identities. On Jan. 29, two white men allegedly assaulted Smollett in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, pouring what was likely bleach on him, shouting homophobic and racist slurs and even tying a noose around his neck. This attack came one week after Smollett received a letter with bigoted hate speech and an unknown chemical inside. Most mainstream media outlets have neglected to include this intersec-

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mophobic.” Similarly, a Jan. 29 police statement sent to reporters about the hate crime refers to it as a “possible racially-charged battery and assault.” We can’t ignore racist or homophobic motivations for the attack. That would ignore a part of Smollett’s identity. A 2018 survey by Stonewall, a charity for LGBTQ equality in the United Kingdom, found that 51 percent of LGBTQ people of color experience discrimination from white queer people because of their race. In the past, “Empire” touched on the homophobia that exists in communities of color. This is why failure to point out the intersection of identities in the Smollett conversation is dangerous. We can’t frame race and sexuality as being mutually exclusive. “A lot of times the queer community doesn’t acknowledge us, and for me, the Black community also has a hard time struggling with queer people and can be very homophobic at times,” said Layah Taylor, a freshman English major and a lesbian Black woman who participates in social justice student organizations, like Queer People of Color, the Black Student Union and the Feminist Alliance. “These two communities that I’m a part of…have a hard time communicating in a way that lets people who have this intersection of identities feel comfortable,” Taylor said. We need to make an effort to understand the unique challenges people with this complex intersection of identities have to experience. Simply existing as a queer person of color places a person at a greater risk to be targeted for hate crimes, discrimination and harassment. Of all the anti-LGBTQ homicides in 2017, 60 percent of victims were Black, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

CLAIRE HALLORAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Anne Balay, a gender, sexuality and women’s studies instructor, has studied and written books on the complex intersections of race, sexuality, class and employment. The hate crime against Smollett is demonstrative of a larger trend of violence against queer people of color, she said. “One of the unique challenges of being a queer person of color is being incredibly visible,” Balay said. “To be a racial minority is to be automatically visible. It’s unhidable, it’s unchangeable. And this is important when the main goal of a hate crime is to make that group scared, to get them to self-police and feel anxiety when they’re in public.” Taylor was shocked and upset to hear about the hate crime against Smollett. “I was kind of taken aback by the whole situation, and I felt at a loss for

words,” Taylor said. “It was a part of a larger trend of queer people, especially queer people of color, being attacked on the streets.” “In both communities, you see an isolation of it being perceived as an issue of either identity alone when really we have to talk about the intersectionality in why this is happening,” Taylor said. “He is gay, and he is Black. Those two things make somebody very targeted, no matter how famous or how rich you are.” Smollett’s attack was not motivated by exclusively homophobic or exclusively racist intentions, but rather it was a blend of the two. Let’s address this intersection when we talk about what happened. After all, both communities were hurt after this attack. tyler.perez@temple.edu @perezodent

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OPINION PAGE 10

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

THE ESSAYIST

Looking like my mom, learning from her too A student details how her bond with her mom is more than skin deep on her mother’s birthday. BY JAYNA SCHAFFER Opinion Editor “I thought you were your mother for a second.” “You two are twins. It’s uncanny.” It’s safe to say I look like my mom. From our similar smiles to our matching nose bumps with freckles scattered across, we can’t go many places together without someone asking if we’re sisters. And it doesn’t help that I started bleaching my hair like hers a few years back, so we both have her signature icy platinum color. One of the few truly obvious distinctions between us is our eye color; the magnificent brown irises are a gene I seemed to have missed. But when our closest friends and family members look past any dissimilarities and call me her clone, I feel lucky. And it’s not just because my mom is beautiful on the outside. It’s because I hope the people who know us are comparing us on the inside, too. Because as much as I look forward to growing up and hopefully turning into someone as stunning as my mom, I look forward even more to having a soul like hers someday. When my mom walks into a room, everyone wants to be her friend. She’s the most effortlessly popular person I know, and it’s because she radiates genuine character. She is honest, hilarious and real. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with that person? Imagine being raised by her. Life is good. Not a day goes by that I don’t talk to my mom on the phone, and I know that’s a huge part of what keeps me at ease and in high spirits even during the busiest of semesters. I feel like nothing can go wrong because my mom is always rooting for me. letters@temple-news.com

EMMA STEVENS / THE TEMPLE NEWS

She often brings up my first day of first grade. While wearing a pink backpack that was so big on me it hit the backs of my knees, I walked up the driveway into my new school without turning back to say goodbye. Mom said all of the kids around me were crying, but I was so excited and easygoing. She acts like she doesn’t know where I got that attitude. I’ll tell you where I got it. I was raised by an independent, brilliant woman who makes literally everything seem easy. Through all of the ups and downs of my brother’s battle with cystic fibrosis, I’ve seen her handle everything with grace and positivity. A liver transplant? “We got this.” Cancer? “Let’s beat it.” Emergency surgery? “I’ll get my overnight bag ready.” That’s her attitude toward everything in life. And it’s not because she doesn’t worry or get scared; it’s because she keeps it all together for her kids and

the rest of our family. Of course, she drops everything when my brother is sick; she doesn’t leave his bedside, even when it means being away from her full-time job. But she also drops everything for me when I have even the slightest crisis. One time, when I just absolutely couldn’t style my new shorter haircut, she drove all the way to Main Campus with hair products to help me fix it. She didn’t want me to start that semester without feeling my absolute best. She even drove to my dorm once freshman year with a coffee and a pumpkin muffin just because I seemed sad on the phone. She’ll do anything for the people she loves. It’s part of what makes her the kindest, most caring person I know. And that goes beyond family. As a nurse, she has more compassion in her little finger for the people she treats than most people do in their entire beings. As

a friend, she takes care of whoever needs her, whether it be with a borrowed outfit, a ride somewhere or something more. She’s got everyone’s back. Above all, my mom repeatedly teaches me to be myself regardless of what anyone thinks. But I’ll admit; there’s one person whose opinion matters a lot to me. Today, on her birthday, I hope this essay makes my mom feel as loved and important as she makes me feel every day. My personal stylist, cheerleader, diary, best friend and the most hardworking person I know, she’s needed way more than she realizes. And mom, as I get older and look more and more like you each day, I hope I also look like you on the inside: fiercely free-spirited and thoughtful. jayna@temple.edu @jaynaalexandra_

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OPINION PAGE 11

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

TECHNOLOGY

Be aware of lack of privacy in a technological age We should be concerned with on his internet browser when he doesn’t our privacy, or lack thereof, on want his information to be saved. There is no federal data privacy the internet. On Thursday, Apple had to release a software update after a teenager discovered a Group FaceTime bug that allowed callers to hear recipients’ audio when calls weren’t answered. At first, this seemed like a minor issue. No big deal. People using FaceTime are probably friends anyway, and the worst thing that could’ve happened PAVLINA CERNA INTERNATIONAL is someone hearCOLUMNIST ing something they weren’t supposed to hear. They’d get over it. It feels as though software companies are always listening. A few weeks ago, I met up with a friend from Canada, and we spoke about Alberta, a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Our phones were tucked away, and no one searched for any information online. But two days later, my Facebook and Instagram accounts started offering discounted trips to Alberta, promising me the time of my life. For some people, this is convenience. The world is customized to fit our needs. There’s no proof that devices are always listening to us. But I’m still convinced privacy is dead. Think about it. Between your smartphone, computer, television, Amazon Alexa and all the apps you use, someone could find out everything about you — where you are, what you watch, what you eat, what you like and who you know. “I protect my privacy by creating a phrase as my password to prevent being easily hacked,” said Trush Patel, a junior computer science major. Patel said he goes in incognito mode @TheTempleNews

legislation, according to the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. The closest the United States got to actually implementing any kind of privacy protection laws was in May 2018, with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which enforces laws for providing data breach notifications, requiring subjects’ consent for data processing and unifying privacy laws for all residents. Any company marketing goods and services to EU residents, regardless of its location, has to comply with the regulation, making GDPR global. In fact, Google was fined $5.1 billion by European authorities for favoring its sites in mobile search engines, according to the New York Times. But I don’t see the “I agree” button as a solution. Among people between 18 and 34 years old, as high as 97 percent agree to terms and conditions without reading it, according to a Deloitte study. Norway’s Consumer Council launched a campaign where people read the terms and conditions for 33 apps, which is the average number Norwegians have on their phones. It took them more than 31 hours. Reading iTunes’ terms and conditions alone took 193 minutes. We are guilty of the loss of our privacy. If you looked through my Facebook and Instagram, you can see where I traveled the past year, who I spent the most time with, what I read, where I work and more. But the real problem with technology is sometimes our information gets shared without our permission. “Cybercrime is a real issue, and students need to be careful about what they post and where they are using the internet,” said Daniel Bilenker, a technical support specialist at Temple. “Remember that when you share information on the internet or social media, it is ex-

ALI GRAULTY / THE TEMPLE NEWS

tremely difficult to remove.” Bilenker said that students should not use credit cards and enter personal information on unknown and untrusted public networks and sites. “We have resources available to notify students of potential threats, and how to deal with them,” Bilenker added. Anthony Zayas, a junior computer science major, said there is nothing regarding online privacy mentioned in his courses. “It is not possible to really protect your online privacy besides never using the internet,” Zayas said. Business Insider listed 2018’s biggest data breaches, including Marriott Starwood Hotels, exposing data of 500 mil-

lion customers, Exactis of 340 million, MyFitnessPal of 150 million, Quora of 100 million and MyHeritage exposing data of 92 million. I’m worried about the extent of which my data is available to advertisers or worse. What can we do besides ditching our smartphones for the old Nokia 3310? Should we turn away from social media and throw Alexa out? We can take less radical approaches, but I hope more and more people become skeptical about their devices, so we can see this conversation turn into protective action. pavlina.cerna@temple.edu

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FEATURES

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

MEDIA

Film highlights women, people with disabilities “Malarkey” is meant to promote inclusivity in the filmmaking field. BY LILLIAN GERCZYK For The Temple News

L

indsay Allen’s inspiration for the main character in her film comes from her brother, 27, who has Down syndrome. He became the muse for “Malarkey,” a film Allen wrote and is directing about a young girl with Down syndrome. The movie is part of Allen’s mission to tell inclusive stories and promote women’s representation in filmmaking. “It’s important that you cater not necessarily toward a specific audience, but you make the film relatable,” said Allen, a junior film and media arts major. “You want people to be able to see themselves.” “Malarkey,” which begins filming this month, follows teenage sisters Mallory, who is applying to colleges, and Mauve, who has Down syndrome and is asked to her first dance. Between Mauve’s pursuit for independence and Mallory’s overprotective nature, the two grow apart and don’t speak to each other. In writing Mallory’s character, Allen drew from her own feelings toward her older brother, she said. “I wanted to pull from my own experiences of having a brother with Down syndrome and how protective I am of him,” Lindsay Allen said. Her brother, Richard Allen, will make a guest appearance in the film. In addition to “Malarkey” representing women-directed work, Lindsay Allen wants the film to represent actors with Down syndrome by featuring an actor with the disability. “I wanted to show that people with disabilities can act and can be in film in a real manner by playing these authentic characters, but at the same time play individuals who can do things on their features@temple-news.com

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior film and media arts major Lindsay Allen is directing “Malarkey,” a film starring a person with Down syndrome.

own,” Allen said. To play Mauve, Allen cast local actress Alana Hibbs, who has appeared in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Despite being 21, Hibbs is considered a minor because of her disability, so the film crew can’t have typical 12-hour shoots and instead films in shorter increments. Jillian Hartman, a junior film and media arts major and the film’s producer, said “Malarkey” is worth the hectic schedule and Allen adds a personal touch to the film. “As a woman, it’s not relatable to have a male director tell the story of being an older sister,” Hartman said. “Lindsay’s personal experience really helps in constructing that narrative. She knows the story she wants to tell.” According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, female di-

rectors worked on only 4 percent of the top 100 grossing films of 2018. In addition to filmmaking, Allen is president of Mise-en-Femme, Temple’s first female filmmaking group. This semester, the student organization will mentor local aspiring filmmakers, an experienced faculty advisor LeAnn Erickson believes is a crucial part of Allen’s achievements. “If you look at the success [Allen] has, it is because she seeks out mentors,” said Erickson, a film and video production professor and independent filmmaker. “She doesn’t sit back and wait for somebody to offer help. She goes and finds the people who can help her make this thing happen.” For Allen, filmmaking comes naturally. Growing up, her family took trips to Washington, D.C., where her father took lots of pictures and let her play with the camera. When Allen entered

high school, she made videos for student government, then moved on to wedding videos and nonprofit events. “I made all the rinky-dink videos for my school, and I decided that this is something I could do,” Allen said. Allen hopes to continue to promote women directors in the film industry, especially after seeing the 2019 Oscar nominees for Directing and Best Picture — neither of which include films directed by women. The lack of representation drives her to create her own projects, Allen said. “Malarkey” will be her first stepping stone in a career of writing and directing films starring actors and actresses living with disabilities. “This is what I want to do,” Allen said. “I want to defy the odds and pave the way for female filmmakers.” lillian.rose.gerczyk@temple.edu

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FEATURES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

PAGE 13

LIVE IN PHILLY

Open Studio Night supports, connects local artists

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts opened 200 private studios to visitors for its annual Open Studio Night on Friday. The event showcased works by the academy’s undergraduate and graduate students. Artists remained in their studios to answer visitor questions about their art and creative processes. Others networked and handed out creative business cards. Some visited other artists’ studios to support their peers. “All my friends and classmates get the opportunity to show off their work, too, so it’s a good chance to figure out what they’re working on and get inspired by what they make,” said Alexis Rodriguez, an illustration certificate student from Pemberton, New Jersey. Laura Hassan, a 2016 master’s of education alumna, visited to support local artists. “Seeing things students are working on is pretty cool,” she said. “Philadelphia has a lot of great exhibits, and a lot of people who are talented come here to show their work.” @TheTempleNews

LUKE SMITH / THE TEMPLE NEWS features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 14

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

POLITICS

Student team wins civic engagement competition Two students re-drew Pennsylvania’s congressional districts in Draw the Lines PA to thwart gerrymandering. BY EMMA PADNER City Life Beat Reporter It’s been a big year for combating gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. With the 2020 presidential election fast approaching, Temple University graduate public policy students Jessica Maneely and Kathy Matheson decided to get involved. The team entered the Draw the Lines PA competition, a civic engagement and education effort asking Pennsylvanians to redraw the state’s 18 congressional districts. They entered the competition for a class project for the Fall 2018 competition and were dubbed the regional winner in the Higher Education-East Division out of 318 maps statewide and were awarded a $500 prize. The competition aims to get Pennsylvanians informed and active to prevent partisan gerrymandering, the practice of manipulating congressional district boundaries in favor of a political party. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the 2011 district map drawn by the Republican majority after it was found to be an un-

VOICES

Which object of yours sparks the most joy? Why?

constitutional partisan gerrymander. Because of this ruling, the districts near Main Campus were redrawn. “The gerrymandering issue was top of mind for everyone, given the new districts that just came out last year, so it was just a cool experiment,” Maneely said. “In the [Master of Public Policy] program, we’re all pretty civically engaged, and we care about fair voting districts, especially in Pennsylvania.” Maneely and Matheson worked together on the project in instructor David Thornburgh’s Politics, Policy and Public Leadership class in Fall 2018. Though Thornburgh required students to attempt to change the districts, they weren’t required to enter the competition. Thornburgh has been the president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy since November 2014. The Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan organization that promotes civic engagement in public policy. Thornburgh created the initiative with Chris Satullo, the project manager for Draw the Lines PA, in 2016 to create a hands-on way to engage Pennsylvanians in improving the mapping process, inspiring the Draw the Lines competition. Thornburgh made redrawing the map an assignment to emphasize leader-

ship, he said. “Sometimes, as a leader, you have to question the rules of the game, even though you may have benefitted from those rules yourself,” he added. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Is this fair? Is this right?’” Maneely and Matheson looked at the old Pennsylvania map and the redrawn 2018 map to decide how to redraw the lines. Ultimately, they decided to team up and combine their individual projects and keep equal population top of mind while drawing. It’s important to address gerrymandering so people will continue to vote, Maneely said. “We want to believe that our vote matters and we’re performing our civic duty and going out and voting in elections, local and national elections,” Maneely said. “But if a state is gerrymandered, our vote matters less.” The judging is based on how logical the map was, whether competitors met their goals and how well they used the online tool DistrictBuilder, which uses metrics to analyze districts’ demographics, Satullo said. The judging, split into three divisions of youth and secondary, higher education, and adult, went through three rounds. It started with 318 entries for the contest, Satullo added.

emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner

LANISA MAGEE Sophomore journalism major

KELLEY SIMON Freshman geography and urban studies major

My laptop. It was my first major purchase I’ve ever made and...it’s the newest edition, so I was very proud when I was able to buy it.

My skateboard. Whenever it’s time to relax or have the rest of the day off, I’ll just hop on the skateboard.

ZUAR BILALOV Junior political science and philosophy major The guitar for sure. Any time I see, especially old vintage guitars, it just gives me a weird cozy feeling inside because I’m a collector, too.

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After the first elimination, 90 semi-finalists remained, which were then turned over to steering committees for the East, West and Central Pennsylvania regions. State finalists were announced last Wednesday, and Maneely and Matheson’s drawing was not selected. Pennsylvania district lines will change with the 2020 census, and the state is projected to lose a district. The Draw the Lines competition will then occur every semester until 2021, when new election maps will be drawn for state House and Senate, Satullo said. The next competition deadline is May 20 and will challenge participants to eliminate a district. “With less competitive districts, it’s easy to get jaded and you don’t want a generation [to]...lose faith in the entire process and become totally uninvolved civically because that just has a spiraling outcome,” Maneely said. But creating a logical, fair map was harder than she thought, Maneely said. “It definitely illuminated the fact that this is not an easy task,” she said. “We give legislators a lot of grief over their choices, but it’s actually pretty hard to do.”

ANDREA SARMIENTO Junior global studies major A nice fuzzy blanket that I have on my bed because it’s cozy and soft and comforting.

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FEATURES PAGE 15

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

TECHNOLOGY

Book encourages parents to use more technology A professor’s book claims modern parenting calls for helping kids better navigate technology. BY CARLEE CUNNINGHAM For The Temple News Parents today face tough questions about technology. How much screen time is too much for my child? When should I let my child start using a phone or tablet? Will screens affect my child’s brain? So how do parents raise children to properly navigate society in a world of screens? To answer these questions, Jordan Shapiro, an Intellectual Heritage professor, released “The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a Connected World,” a book available on Amazon that argues restricting screen time isn’t the answer. In the book, which was published Dec. 31, 2018 by Little, Brown Spark, Shapiro argues parents should wade into the technology world with their children and spend time with kids and their screens, together. “I probably have all the same concerns about smartphones as everyone else,” Shapiro said. “I see both the awesome benefits and the negatives. That’s just life.” Only 31 percent of teenagers think social media has mostly positive effects, according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center. Additionally, the center found more than half of teens think they have too much screen time on their phones and more than 65 percent of parents express concerns about their kids’ technology use. When his two sons, now 11 and 13, were younger, Shapiro wanted to make sure he was spending time with them doing things they enjoyed. In the Shapiro household, that meant playing video games.

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ALEXIS ROGERS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Jordan Shapiro, an Intellectual Heritage professor, wrote a book advocating for parents to introduce more technology to their children at younger ages.

“You can’t walk up to a kid and be like, ‘I want to spend time with you, so stop playing video games and let’s take a hike,’” Shapiro said. “That would be like a punishment. So I was like, ‘I guess I have to go play video games with them.’” Carol Brandt, an early childhood education professor, said the current generation — nicknamed the “iGeneration” — is raised differently than how she was brought up. Brandt spent her youth in the 1960s and 70s reading stacks of books, and enjoyed the conversations with her parents about the plots and characters. “I was a bookworm … but what I found really helpful was for the adults in my life, to draw me out and to have conversations about and to talk about them,” Brandt said. Shapiro argues phones and tablets aren’t going anywhere soon, so parents should learn to raise their children alongside technology. They can do this by letting children join social media at

younger ages while guiding them on safe practices, social media etiquette and knowing when they’ve had enough technology for one day. Shapiro writes that parents should play video games with kids and help them learn to use technology to navigate in a connected world. The issue doesn’t lie in screen use, but how parents interact with kids and technology, he said. Many parents don’t guide children through technology usage, but they get upset when their kids don’t know when to put devices down, Shapiro said. “You learn so much about how to interact with people by just watching your parents,” Shapiro said. “And with technology we’re like, ‘That’s something you should do alone without your parents.’ And then we’re upset that [children] don’t know how to manage it.” Jean Boyer, an early childhood education professor, said limiting screen time has its benefits but agreed parents should guide children through using

smartphones and tablets like they would other technology, like kitchen appliances and cars. “I still endorse limiting that time because you will never get it back,” Boyer said. “However, I’m also in full agreement that this is a role that caregivers and families need to play, which is induction into this part of the culture.” Shapiro said overall feedback on his book has been positive, but has come with critiques, like that technology is harmful to child development. For Shapiro, the focus was on good parenting in today’s technological world. “If I were to speculate about why it’s not selling as well as I want to, my speculation is that it’s not picking a side,” he said. “Screens can be really dangerous if we don’t parent right. Otherwise, if we parent right, then they’re actually probably really good for your kids.” carlee.cunningham@temple.edu @carleeinthelab

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FEATURES PAGE 16

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

TRENDS

Marie Kondo tidying method sparks student joy Many students are using the KonMari Method after her show premiered on Netflix last month. BY BIBIANA CORREA Trends Beat Reporter Fiona Sanderson didn’t understand why she was so attached to the clothes she no longer wore. “My biggest fear was that if I gave something away, of course, the next day I’d want to wear it or I’ll run into an occasion where I would need to wear it,” said Sanderson, a freshman nursing major. Sanderson’s mom and therapist recommended Sanderson try the KonMari Method to reflect on whether she needed the items she owned. Coined by Japanese tidying expert and author Marie Kondo, the KonMari Method helps people organize their possessions in five areas: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items — or “komono” in Japanese — and sentimental items. Temple University students who struggle with tidying up or want to live a more minimalist lifestyle are using Kondo’s method to organize their clothes and possessions. “I had so many things, and I didn’t know what was important to me,” Sanderson said. “Once I started, I realized the clothes I was giving away didn’t give me much purpose and they could give someone else purpose.” The KonMari Method helped Sanderson refine her style and keep a more minimalist closet, she said. Now she’s happy with the clothes she has and doesn’t feel the need to buy more. Kondo’s New York Times best-selling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” released in the United States in 2014, inspired her Netflix original show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” The show, which aired in January, features Kondo teaching individuals, couples and families the KonMari Method and six basic rules of tidying. features@temple-news.com

LUKE SMITH / THE TEMPLE NEWS Fiona Sanderson, a freshman nursing major, folds clothes using Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method at her room in Hardwick Hall on Monday.

Kondo’s final rule is holding each item and asking, “Does it spark joy?” If it doesn’t, people are encouraged to thank the clothing and let it go. The items people keep should be thanked as well. “Marie’s method helped me understand what my clothes do for me and how I enjoy them and the purpose they serve me and what I get out of them,” Sanderson said. Kondo promotes tidying up by category instead of room-by-room, which can result in picking away at piles of stuff forever, and once you do it correctly once, you’ll never have to do it again, according to Kondo’s website. Sophomore business management major Christina Sayoc struggled with staying organized because she loved collecting items and keeping them for years, she said. Once she found out about the KonMari Method, her perspective on her belongings changed. “To go through things one by one and actually look at the article of clothing that I know doesn’t spark joy for me and to actually give it away and give it a new home was really rewarding,” Sayoc said.

Since the show’s debut, second-hand stores like Circle Thrift on Frankford Avenue near Dauphin Street in Kensington have received more donations from people who’ve used the KonMari Method. While the spike in donations is sometimes overwhelming, Jess Shoffner, the manager at Circle Thrift, said it allows people from different socioeconomic backgrounds to buy affordable items. “Spreading the wealth is always a good thing to do if you have too many things,” Shoffner added. “It’s awesome to pass them along because there are folks who don’t have too many things or who legitimately need specific items.” The KonMari Method is great for those who want to declutter and get a new hold on life, and the donations give other shoppers more options, said Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, the co-founder and manager of Philly AIDS Thrift, a nonprofit business that donates its proceeds to organizations fighting HIV and AIDS. “We wouldn’t exist without donations and so the fact that we are increas-

ingly getting more, that’s fantastic for us,” Kallas-Saritsoglou said. Henry Chen, a freshman film and media arts major, said Kondo’s method is helpful because it addresses beyond the physical aspect of decluttering. “She tackles the psychological relevance that is undermined with clutter that others fail to bring up,” Chen said. “I have never thought of how to clean properly, and learning from her methods makes it easy to follow rather than other types of cleaning methods.” Kondo’s folding method calls for every article of clothing to be laid upright to fit better in drawers, so people can see their whole wardrobes. Sanderson believes the method was more helpful than just asking herself if she wore an item of clothing often or liked it, she said. “Once I gave the clothes away, I realized I was so much happier,” she said. “It feels like a weight has been lifted and it has given me opportunities to further analyze what my clothes mean to me.” bibiana.correa@temple.edu

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INTERSECTION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

PAGE 17

How it feels to be loved For Valentine’s Day, students and The Temple News staff share how love feels to them.

Dear Steven Ritchie,

Dear Hai,

Falling in love with you was the only unethical thing I’ve ever done as a journalist. I remember the first time I saw you in Founder’s Garden for our interview. It was my first story for The Temple News, but when you walked down the steps looking for me I got even more nervous. I had no intention to start anything with anyone, especially someone I had interviewed. But it’s always been so easy to talk to you and from your amazing, caring personality to your contagious laugh, I couldn’t help myself. And it was worth it. I love you very much. My time at Temple University has been filled with ups and downs but you were always there, either in person or over the phone, to make me laugh and help me get through anything. We’ve made so many memories these past three years even when you were hundreds of miles away traveling for work. Since that day at Founder’s Garden, you’ve become my best friend. I’m so thankful that I met you. Thank you for everything, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of our story unfolds.

This is my third letter to you; the first one was a poem and the second was a birthday note. I can’t believe we are actually making this classic habit of exchanging love letters happen! I remember the first time you put one outside my door — your childish handwriting and funny emojis still make me laugh. Although five months is not that long compared to some relationships, the feeling of love can never be measured with time. I met Hai when I moved to a new neighborhood last year. He was holding a back-to-school party and wrote me an invitation letter, asking me to bring my roommates to the party. We all knew that the invitation letter was for me, which made it really cute. It was also the first time I received a party invitation in writing, not texting! I knew it was special. He drew smiling emojis on the note which made me laugh and made me want to get to know him. After we started dating, I asked him if we could write love letters to each other on special occasions. He said, ‘No that’s too cheesy,’ but ended up writing me another one on my birthday, anyway. Letters have magic. They’re definitely more romantic than text messages. I always enjoy opening an envelope and reading his letters line by line, time after time. It’s a precious experience in the 21st century, especially when everything else has become so digital and fast. I wish love could be more like those love letters — slowly read and safely kept in little boxes until you want to read it again. This is what love feels like. Hai, thank you for showing up in my world and making me feel loved and cared in this foreign country. Thank you for lighting up my world with your cute, silly smiles. Thank you for sweet meals, stupid jokes, warm cuddles and soft kisses.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Zari Tarzaona

My best friends have taught me how to love everything I do. They open me up to new experiences, talk through situations that are out of my comfort zone, and push me to be the most genuine version of myself. - Alyssa Biederman Deputy City Editor

Happy first Valentine’s Day! More letters to come. Siyun Ai

My boyfriend Elee believes in me more than I believe in myself, and always encourages me to have a positive outlook on life. He is my source of motivation and supports everything I want to do and become. - Greta Anderson News Editor

My siste rH out for m annah always looks e and h terests at heart as my best in, even w thousan hen we’r ds of m e il es apar seen ea t, haven c h o t ’t h er have a s ister fig in months or ht. Ther I’d be w e’s no w here I a ay m in my out her life with and I kn ow she be there when I n ’ll always eed h - Laura Smythe er. Featu res Edit o

r

@TheTempleNews

intersection@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

LOVE

Annual LoveTU promotes inclusivity, self-love

“We can love everybody,” Cubero Performers will celebrate self- last year. Temple students previously inclusivity, love and resilience, Robinsaid. “Our goal is to spread the love of love during Tuesday’s event in performed the play, but the WRC can- son said. celed it after feedback from students said Pitch, Please, an a capella group that faith to everyone on the campus and the Student Center.

BY TARA DOLL For The Temple News LoveTU will celebrate self-love through art, song, dance and spoken word by Temple University students in the Student Center Underground on Tuesday at 8 p.m. At the event, students can relate the performances to self-love in their own lives, said Brittany Robinson, the lead coordinator of this year’s LoveTU. “Performance actually can help people overcome challenges and things,” said Robinson, who is also the wellness education program coordinator at the Wellness Resource Center. The event brings about a sense of community among students and performers, Robinson added. LoveTU was created to replace “The Vagina Monologues,” a play written by Eve Ensler in 1994 that tells the stories of women’s encounters with experiences like sexual assault and domestic abuse,

My little sister Anna, who makes me feel like I’m the most important person in the world, even when I’m feeling small. - Gillian McGoldrick Editor In Chief

it lacked inclusivity for all genders, race and sexualities. “Folks told us that certain intersectionalities might have been felt excluded from that event,” Robinson said. “We really took it seriously.” Robinson said that people of all gender and intersectional identities are free to participate and share their stories at LoveTU. Performers are also welcome to choose types of performances that are most comfortable for them. This is the second annual LoveTU event and, based on a survey conducted after the first event, 100 percent of attendees are expected to return, Robinson said. “It was kind of a natural progression for us to be able to create a new event and be able to highlight voices that might not have previously been heard,” Robinson added. The WRC has taken steps to make LoveTU as inclusive as possible by reaching out to student organizations with missions and visions of promoting

advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community, and Hosting Our Own Talks, a social justice discussion group, and Temple Gospel Ministries are among the organizations that will perform at this year’s LoveTU. Pitch, Please will be performing three songs, titled, “Past Lives,” “Blind Faith” and “My My My / Feelings!” Temple Gospel Ministries will perform a song titled, “Love.” Cierra Cubero, a senior media studies and production major and the president of Temple Gospel Ministries, said that the group tries to break bad stereotypes of religion — like being judgemental or negative — by prioritizing personal connections with God and showcasing love. “We just want everyone to feel connected,” Cubero added. “Everyone is welcome to sing along with us. We’re excited, and we’re ready to just sing.” Temple Gospel Ministries uses worship in the form of song, dance and mime to help people overcome challenges.

There is no person I’d rather play video games or binge anime with than my brother Jason. I’ll always appreciate the inside jokes we share and our handshake, which makes me truly feel at home when I go back for breaks. Happy 18th birthday tomorrow! You’re technically a man now, but I’m still taller. - Evan Easterling Chief Copy Editor

intersection@temple-news.com

just to be that support that every student needs especially with everything going on, whether it’s just being stressed or classes, family.” In addition to these performances, Tyler School of Art students will draw live during the event. Their artwork will be raffled off to audience members for free. Sarah Woods, a sophomore painting major, is a returning artist to this year’s event. “I’m just creating art with whatever moves me in the situation,” she said. “When I’ve been part of something, I’ve felt love in that situation,” Woods added. “In that moment, you’re open to different ideas and different perspectives that you may not know, and that can really just open your mind to the beauty of culture and the beauty [that] everybody’s different and being different is OK.” tara.doll@temple.edu

My parents and sister have given me unconditional love throughout my entire life. They encourage me to be my authentic self, support me with patience and kindness, and have taught me the importance of living with compassion and selflessness at heart. - Dylan Long Co-Photo Editor

temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 19

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

LGBTQ

Transgender students oppose president’s military ban policy A Supreme Court ruling last month cleared a path for President Donald Trump’s policy, but legislators are still fighting back. BY LAUREN REMY For The Temple News When the Supreme Court revived a military ban on transgender people in January, Max Tindall’s heart broke. “At first, I was angry,” said Tindall, a junior journalism major who identifies as nonbinary. “It feels like your country hates you. But I wasn’t even that surprised.” The ban, which was first tweeted out by President Donald Trump in July 2017, was intended to reduce what he called the “tremendous medical costs” the military pays for gender-affirming surgeries and other procedures. However, an analysis of the 2017 Department of Defense budget conducted by the University of Pennsylvania concluded that these claims are unjustified. On Thursday, bipartisan senators Susan Collins, R-Maine; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Jack Reed, D-R.I., introduced legislation that would contradict and reverse this ban, citing it as discriminatory. There is also companion bipartisan legislation in the House. “It is an insult to the brave and patriotic transgender Americans who choose to serve in our military,” Gillibrand told NBC News. Rose McLaughlin, a sophomore anthropology major and former member of her high school ROTC program at Owen J. Roberts High School in Chester County, identifies as a transgender woman. In her experience with ROTC, coordinators welcomed students from the LGBTQIA+ community into the group and described ROTC as a place where LGBTQIA+ students were equal to everyone else, McLaughlin said. Looking back, she believes transphobia and discrimination existed in the military even before the ban, she added. She is no longer considering a career in the military. “It’s hard to have hope, [but] things usually get a lot worse before they get better, so I generally try @TheTempleNews

to be a hopeful person,” Mclaughlin said. The New York Times now calls the ban “complicated,” writing that it could put soldiers who have yet to transition or come out as transgender at risk for discharge, but those already openly transgender may continue to serve. “America hates trans people,” Tindall said. “[That] is straight up what this [ban] reflects.” Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a combat veteran of Iraq who lost both her legs in battle, has also spoken out against the ban. “When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter on that dusty field in Iraq, I didn’t care if the American troops risking their lives to save me were gay, straight, transgender, Black, white, male or female,” Duckworth said in an Instagram video on Jan. 28. “All that mattered was that they didn’t leave me behind.” Duckworth added that the ban was “careless” and “dangerous.” “Trump is discriminating against some of the bravest people among us,” Duckworth said. “I hope the court takes up this case and makes clear to the president that this kind of bigotry has no place in our armed forces,” she added. Tony Clark, a senior history major and former board member of Queer People of Color who identifies as a transgender man, believes there is still potential for progress despite the ban. “One of the greatest things we can do in the era of social media is to raise awareness about these issues,” Clark said. Calling Congress members to advocate for the trans community is another step people can take to help trans people, Clark added. “The call to action is to not remain silent,” Clark said. “It doesn’t mean going to the nearest protest of Trump and talking all day and all night on Facebook or Twitter about these issues. But it could mean talking to your grandfather who might not be very open-minded.” For Tindall, a supportive community could be what it takes for them to feel hope again, they said. “These are my people,” Tindall added. “Surround yourself with the people that love you.”

My dad is one o friends. f He is so my best confide meone Ic in can laug and he is som an eone I hw TV is Os ith. Somehow, trash car-wor watch it t togethe hy when we r. He’s lo through ved me my ups a nd down love bein s and I g his - Claire daughter. Wolters Insterse ction Ed

itor

My boyfriend Danny has been making me feel loved since we were basically kids. And he still somehow knows how to surprise me! He’s so thoughtful, and he’s always making me laugh. We’re best friends who bring out the best in each other and would do anything for each other. - Jayna Shaffer Opinion Editor

Even with six kids and 15 other grandkids, my grandma always finds a way to remind me I am loved and show me, time and time again, the importance of family. Also, she learned how to use Bitmoji so it’s easier for us to check in on each other while she’s getting a tan in sunny Florida. - Grace Shallow Investigations Editor

laremy@temple.edu

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INTERSECTION PAGE 21

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

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VALENTINE’S DAY WORD SEARCH CHOCOLATE FLOWERS CUPID EROS CARNATIONS

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Answers from Tuesday, February 5: 1. Langston Hughes, 2. Black Reconstruction, 3. Carter G. Woodson, 4. Frederick Douglass, 5. Toni Morrison, 6. Great Migration, 7. Marcus Garvey, 8. Serena Williams, 9. Billie Holiday, 10. United Kingdom, 11. Kent State, 12. Roots.

@TheTempleNews

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SPORTS PAGE 22

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Alston fights offensive struggles with passing

sports@temple-news.com

Points

Assists

Shooting percentage

6 37.8

18.1 5

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22.2

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Source: Temple Athletics

“When teams are doubling me, it’s easier for [Pierre-Louis and Rose] to score because they have one-on-one matchups,” Alston said on Wednesday after Temple’s 81-63 win against UConn. Coach Fran Dunphy wanted Alston to attempt more free throws to get him out of his slump, Dunphy said. The adjustment has helped Alston average 20 points in Temple’s past three games. He made 40.5 percent of his shots during that span. The Owls went 2-1 in those three games, compared to 1-3 in Alston’s four-game slump. “[Alston] made a few adjustments

on his own,” Dunphy said. “He’s a pretty smart guy. He knows what’s going on out there. He got himself to the foul line much better in a couple of instances in Tulane. I thought he did a great job of getting there [against UConn].” The Owls’ forwards and centers’ ability to hit shots after Alston fights off screens softens opposing defenses, Alston said. UConn attempted to double-team Alston early in Wednesday’s game, but sophomore forward Justyn Hamilton’s career-high, 13-point performance forced the Huskies to adjust their defense, Alston said. UConn’s adjustment

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Shizz Alston Jr. knows he won’t be on his game every single night. The senior guard and Owls’ leading scorer hit a rough patch, which began when he missed 13 shots during his 14-point performance against Penn on Jan. 19. In a four-game stretch following the Owls’ 77-70 loss to Penn, Alston shot 26.9 percent from the field, down from 39.6 percent in the previous 17 games. In the fourth game, he matched his season-low six points in the Owls’ road loss to nationally ranked Houston on Jan. 31. Penn denied Alston opportunities to shoot from mid-range by double-teaming him off pick-and-rolls. This was the best way to guard, based off his film, Penn junior forward A.J. Brodeur said after the Quakers’ victory over Temple. Other teams have copied Penn’s defensive formula ever since, causing Alston’s offensive struggles. Opposing defenses made it difficult for Alston to consistently score. He also struggled to hit open shots. “[Alston] excels at shooting those long mid-range jumpers, and we wanted to take that away from him while also still trying to make it tougher for when he inevitably does get those shots,” Brodeur said on Jan. 19. Alston combats getting double-teamed by getting to the foul line and finding open teammates like junior guard Quinton Rose and sophomore guard Nate Pierre-Louis. In the three games following Jan. 31, Alston has 15 assists and is 20-for-21 from the freethrow line.

Senior guard Shizz Alston Jr. scored fewer points and shot less efficiently than his season averages.

n.

BY SAM NEUMANN Co-Sports Editor

In Penn and Houston losses, Alston struggled due to double-teaming

Ja

Shizz Alston Jr., Temple’s leading scorer, is adjusting his play when double-teamed.

IAN WALKER / THE TEMPLE NEWS

allowed Alston to lead the team with 18 points. Alston has assisted a teammate on a layup or dunk seven times in the past three games. “Basketball has it ups-and-downs you just gotta take the good with the bad,” Alston said. “You’re gonna have some bad shooting days. When those games come, you gotta know that some good games are coming soon.” sam.neumann@temple.edu @SamNeu_

temple-news.com

SPORTS PAGE 23

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

FOOTBALL

The American releases 2019 football schedule Temple will host former coach Geoff Collins’ team Georgia Tech on Sept. 28. BY DONOVAN HUGEL For The Temple News The American Athletic Conference released Temple University’s official 2019 football schedule, which includes matchups with the University of Maryland and Georgia Tech. Temple will play four nonconference and eight conference opponents during its 12-game schedule, The American announced Thursday morning. Rod Carey will coach his first game on Aug. 31 when the Owls host Bucknell University, a Football Championship Subdivision school. Four of the Owls’ first six games

will be at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple has seven home games next season, with visits from reigning East and West division champions Central Florida and Memphis. Maryland, the University at Buffalo and Georgia Tech are Temple’s three other nonconference opponents. The Owls will play Maryland and Buffalo for the second consecutive year. Last season, Temple lost at home to Buffalo, 36-29, on Sept. 8, 2018, before it beat Maryland on the road, 35-14, the next week. The Owls will host Maryland on Sept.14 and travel to Buffalo on Sept. 21. After the first two games of the season, the Owls won’t play back-to-back home or road games. Former Temple coach Geoff Collins will come to Philadelphia on Sept. 28 for Temple’s game against Georgia Tech.

Collins led the Owls to an 8-4 record in the 2018 season before he became Georgia Tech’s coach on Dec. 7, 2018. Temple players are looking forward to the matchup against their previous coach, redshirt-junior quarterback Anthony Russo told The Temple News in January. “I am not too focused on that part of the schedule yet,” senior linebacker Sam Franklin said in January. “But [Collins has] to come to Philly, that’s all I am going to say.” Cherry Crusade President Josh Forman believes the fan atmosphere against Georgia Tech could resemble the atmosphere for the Penn State and University of Notre Dame games in 2015. The Cherry Crusade will plan special promotions for Collins’ return to Philadelphia, the senior added.

The Owls will travel to Greenville, North Carolina on Oct. 3 to open conference play against East Carolina. This will be one of their two Thursday road games televised on ESPN, including a game against USF on Nov. 7. Forman presumes fan attendance will be higher next season with no Thursday night home games. Thursday games typically draw a smaller crowd, particularly in the student section. Temple played of its upcoming seven opponents — Maryland, Buffalo, East Carolina, UCF, USF, Cincinnati and Connecticut — during the 2018 season. The Owls went 5-2 against those teams, with their losses in games against Buffalo and UCF. donovan.hugel@temple.edu @donohugel

MEN’S TENNIS

Chemistry lifts doubles duo to national ranking Mark Wallner and Alberto Caceres Casas are 5-0 and No. 20 in Division I. BY DANTE COLLINELLI For The Temple News

Last season, Mark Wallner and Alberto Caceres Casas played only one doubles match together. Now, the Temple University pair is undefeated and nationally ranked. Building chemistry early in the fall and having complimentary play styles have helped Wallner and Caceres Casas in the spring season 5-0 and earn the No. 20 ranking on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s list of the top-60 doubles pairings. The sophomore and senior’s success will play an important role in Temple’s pursuit of the American Athletic Conference championship, coach Steve Mauro said. But the pair of right-handers may have not been together if it weren’t for

@TTN_Sports @TheTempleNews

players graduating and sustaining injuries last season. Wallner and Caceres Casas were doubles partners in a match last March against Drexel because the Owls were without three starters, and they showed chemistry when they won that match last season, Mauro said. After Caceres Casas’ usual doubles partner, Thomas Sevel, graduated in Spring 2018. Sevel and Caceres Casas’ totaled a 16-8 record together last season. Mauro believed Caceres Casas and Wallner would be successful together this season. “[Caceres Casas] possesses a very strong serve and [Wallner] has been real good up at the net,” Mauro said. “[Wallner] is tall and covers a lot of ground up at the net.” Wallner feels comfortable playing alongside an offensive-minded partner like Caceres Casas. Each player complements the other well during matches

because Caceres Casas likes to play on the backhand while Wallner prefers the forehand, Caceres Casas said. Last season, both players had success in doubles. Caceres Casas finished with a 19-9 doubles record while Wallner was 15-11 overall in doubles. “On the court, it is really important to understand each other,” Wallner said. “You know where the other person goes and how he hits the next shot. We move and how we change positions during the point and chemistry is really good between us because we are really good friends.” Wallner and Caceres Casas find time to hang out between school and tennis, which helps their chemistry on the court. Having success in doubles is necessary for the Owls to compete with good teams this season, Mauro said. Temple (3-3) has secured the doubles point in each match this season during Wallner and Caceres Casas’ successful start.

“Compared with last year. I think [winning the doubles point] is the biggest change,” Caceres Casas said. “If we keep doing that this year it is going to help for sure in the future. The doubles point is really, really important to us.” Temple went 1-2 during conference play last season. The Owls have made The American’s postseason tournament every year, but have never ranked higher than No. 6. Two matches remain before Temple begins conference play against Memphis on March 5. “We are winning all the doubles matches and if we are winning all the doubles matches we have a higher chance of winning as a team,” Wallner said. “One thing leads to another basically, but overall team success is the most important thing.” dante.collinelli@temple.edu @dantecollinelli

sports@temple-news.com

SPORTS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

PAGE 24

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

‘Yeah. She’s back’

sports@temple-news.com

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raduate student guard Alliya Butts felt like NBA player Derrick Rose, and for good reason. Like Rose, Butts was effective since the start of her career but tore an ACL. She struggled upon return from the injury before setting a career-high in points this season, as did Rose. For Butts, her “Derrick Rose game” occurred against Tulsa on Jan. 29, more than 450 days after she tore her ACL. Butts scored 34 points in Temple’s 75-61 win and reminded the Owls and coach Tonya Cardoza of what she was capable of prior to her injury. She set a new career-high in points and shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range. She finally was herself again, she said. “It felt good finally to get back to myself, the old me,” Butts said. “I just keep working hard every day to get back to where I was before.” Butts and Rose’s careers have followed similar paths. Butts immediately contributed in her first years. She started in 25 of 37 games and led the team in scoring during her freshman season.

forced to redshirt her senior season. After rehabbing her knee Butts came back to Temple as a graduate student and had high expectations for her final season. But Temple’s third all-time leading scorer had a “bumpy” start to her season. This season, Butts has recorded six single-digit scoring games and scored zero points in a game which she played 27 minutes. “I didn’t really look in the mirror, see if I was 100 percent,” she added. “Throughout her three years, she’s been an explosive scorer for us,” Cardoza said. “But I thought to start the season, she wasn’t the Alliya that we know and are accustomed to seeing.” When Butts struggled, the Owls struggled. Butts averaged 13.6 points per game, down more than a point from her sophomore and junior seasons, in Temple’s first 18 games. The Owls were 4-14 and riding a seven-game losing streak before Butts took her knee brace off. Butts’ first game without the brace was on Jan. 26 against East Carolina. She scored what was then a season-high 28 points and propelled the Owls to their first win in eight games. “When I had the brace on, I was still hesitant,” Butts said. “Then one day I just took it off for the [ECU] game and I just

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BY MAURA RAZANAUSKAS Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter

After early-season struggles, Butts shooting like ‘old self’

Points

As Butts averaged more than 15 Alliya Butts, who missed last season, set a career-high in points per game in her sophomore and junior years, she tore her ACL and was points on Jan. 29.

2018-19 games Source: Temple Athletics

felt good and I continued to play like that since.” “When you have an injury like that, it’s demoralizing, and then coming back is a lot of pressure,” freshman guard Marissa Mackins said. “You have to come back to be who you used to be or even better, so it’s a lot of pressure on you.” The Owls went on a four-game win streak from Jan. 26 to Feb. 9. In those four games, Butts averaged 23.8 points per game and hit 14 3-pointers.

IAN WALKER / THE TEMPLE NEWS

With six regular-season games remaining, Butts made her return to her old self in time to finish the season strong. “Yeah, she’s back,” Cardoza said. “Her confidence, her swag, her explosiveness. She’s being the player that we all know she’s capable of.” maura.razanauskas@temple.edu @captainAMAURAca

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