THE TEMPLE NEWS
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
PAGE 1
TEMPLE: STUDENT ATHLETES ‘DESERVED BETTER’ A decision to call off a field hockey match sparks outrage. Read more on Page 21.
VOL 98 // ISSUE 3 SEPT. 10, 2019 temple-news.com @thetemplenews
NEWS, PAGE 5 The amount of nontenure faculty mirrors a national trend.
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OPINION , PAGE 7 A student believes bulletproof backpacks are a temporary fix to a much larger issue.
FEATURES, PAGE 10 A women’s basketball coach is a descendent of the first Africans to enter the U.S.
SPORTS, PAGE 24 Two brothers, now teammates, joined the men’s soccer team in the same season.
NEWS PAGE 2
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
THE TEMPLE NEWS A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Kelly Brennan Editor in Chief Pavlína Černá Managing Editor Francesca Furey Chief Copy Editor
TSG
‘Redzone’ event kicks off prevention week
to placing accountability on those Temple Student Government perpetrators,” Freiman added. will host discussions and Along with facilitating a disColin Evans News Editor events about sexual violence cussion among the packed room Hal Conte Assistant News Editor all week. of attendees in the Student Center, Gabrielle Houck Assistant News Editor Zadnik talked to students about the BY COLIN EVANS Tyler Perez Opinion Editor various studies about sexual vioUnsigned editorial content Madison Karas Features Editor News Editor lence on college campuses. represents the Bibiana Correa Assistant Features Editor Some students offered their opinion of The Temple News. Ayooluwa Ariyo Assistant Features Editor opinions on how college campushe “redzone” is tradi- es can improve Jay Neemeyer Sports Editor culture around tionally thought of as the discussing sexualthe Dante Collinelli Assistant Sports Editor Adjacent commentary is reflective assault. first six weeks of the acaAlex McGinley Assistant Sports Editor Capasso, a senior straof their authors, not The Temple demic year during which freshman tegicAllison Alesia Bani Intersection Co-Editor communications major and News. college students are most likely to Temple Student Government’s Gionna Kinchen Intersection Co-Editor be victims of sexual violence, said publicist, said students need to Visit us online at Liz Zadnik, the assistant director of monitor the way their peers talk Michael Moscarelli Dir. of Engagement temple-news.com. Temple’s Wellness Resource Cen- about sex and consent and call out Colleen Claggett Photography Editor Send submissions to ter. Jeremy Elvas Asst. Photography Editor behavior. letters@temple-news.com. But that definition is mislead- bad “If Madison Seitchik Co-Multimedia Editor we don’t call it out, it will The Temple News is located at: ing, Zadnik said, because redzones continue Jared Giovan Co-Multimedia Editor Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. occur throughout the year and are so said. to be normalized,” CapasKathy Chan Assistant Multimedia Editor Philadelphia, PA 19122 influenced by the power dynamics Ingrid Slater Design Editor On Tuesday, TSG will host a between the victims of sexual vio- “Dynamics Nicole Hwang Designer of Consent” workshop lence and those who inflict harm. in the Wellness Resource Center “[The redzone] floats,” Zadnik from 5-6 p.m. Phuong Tran Advertising Manager said. “If it was as simple as SeptemKelsey McGill Advertising Manager “Write Off Sexual Violence,” ber and October, we would have an event Lubin Park Business Manager in which people can write solved it by now.” letters of encouragement addressed Dispelling myths about the to survivors ON THE COVER sexual assault, will redzone and sexual assault was the take place on of Wednesday at the inPHOTO: COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS focus of Temple Student Govern- tersection of 13th and MontgomDESIGN: INGRID SLATER / THE TEMPLE NEWS ment’s opening event of its third ery streets from 12-4 p.m. annual Sexual Assault Prevention TSG will host a Title IX workCORRECTIONS Week on Monday. shop at the Office of Institutional “The redzone is a highly pop- Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. ularized term to instill fear, partic- Leadership on Broad Street near ularly in new students at universiAnyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact Editor in Kelly Bren- ties,” said Shira Freiman, president Diamond on Thursday from 5-7 nan at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6736. of It’s On Us TU, Temple’s branch p.m.Sexual Assault Prevention of the national sexual assault pre- Week will conclude with a speaker vention program, who helped or- panel at the IDEAL office at 4 p.m. ganize the discussion. “It puts the emphasis and the on Friday. blame on the importance of being a colin.evans@temple.edu safe student or a productive fresh@colinpaulevans man or transfer student as opposed The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community.
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NEWS PAGE 3
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
TSG
Executive branch outlines 2019-20 initiatives TSG will continue several weeklong initiatives and community engagement events from past administrations. BY LAKOTA MATSON TSG Beat Reporter Temple Student Government’s 2019-20 executive branch continues past administrations’ week-long initiatives and community engagement strategies. The administration has scheduled different wellness weeks, including Wellness Week, Campus Hunger Awareness Week, and Sexual Assault Prevention Week, which began on Monday, said Student Body President Francesca Capozzi. TSG announced many of its planned events and guidelines for student organizations at their General Assembly meeting Monday night.
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WELLNESS WEEKS Previous administrations have held wellness weeks and campus awareness weeks, which often feature scheduled activities and discussions hosted in collaboration with other organizations. Sexual Assault Prevention Week, which began in Fall 2017, will feature events all week. They are working with the Wellness Resource Center and It’s On Us TU with a different event every night through Friday. Other events will take place later in the academic year. Campus Hunger Awareness Week is Nov. 11-15 and Wellness Week is March 30-April 3, Capozzi said. Last year’s TSG administration started both weeks. The administration has not finalized events for Campus Hunger Awareness Week or Wellness Week, Capozzi said. OTHER EVENTS TSG will host its first monthly com-
munity forum on Sept. 24, which will provide an opportunity for community residents to discuss issues with students, Capozzi said. TSG also will host a block clean-up on Sept. 28, though they have not decided which block to clean, she added. The administration will also host open discussions on issues facing minority students for leaders from multicultural organizations on campus every month, Capozzi said. A date has not been set for the first meeting. PROCEDURE TSG will host town hall meetings twice a month, at which students can ask questions to members of Temple’s administration. Each meeting will have a theme that corresponds with a department in TSG’s executive branch, like campus safety and student life, Capozzi said. Similar to last semester, student
organization representatives are required to attend one town hall meeting a month. The administration is also working on implementing “out of office” hours during which directors will attend campus organization meetings to improve TSG’s outreach, Capozzi said at the meeting on Monday. Organizations can invite members from TSG to their meetings or members of the executive team will choose organizations themselves to visit for one hour each week, Capozzi said. “A critique that students have always had about Temple Student Government over the past couple of years is that we are a faceless organization,” Capozzi said. “Considering we are serving you, we really want to make sure all of your voices are being heard.” lakota.matson@temple.edu
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NEWS PAGE 4
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
TUH
Temple Health celebrates lung surgery milestone gery, removes embolisms, which are will be more expansive and include paTemple University Hospital per- pital press release. Only 40 other hospitals in the nation life-threatening blockages in the pulmo- tients from other countries in the future, formed its 200th lung hypertenprovide similar types of care, according nary arteries associated with CTEPH, she said. sion surgery.
BY ISSALINA SAGAD For The Temple News Temple University Hospital recently completed its 200th pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, a complex medical procedure that deals with hypertension in the lung that is only offered at a small number of U.S. hospitals. The Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure & Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension program also recently earned Temple the designation of a Comprehensive Care Center by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, according to a hos-
to the association’s website. The Katz School of Medicine’s Education and Research Building held an event celebrating the program’s two accomplishments on Monday evening. Former patients of the program, residents and several nurses and technicians attended the event. Temple treats patients with all forms of pulmonary hypertension but specializes in CTEPH, a condition in which a person has survived a blockage of an artery that can develop permanent clots in the lungs, said Paul Forfia, co-director of the program. PTE, a form of open-chest sur-
Forfia said. It is hard for other hospitals to perform the procedure due to the expert staff needed to properly diagnose CTEPH and the complex surgery needed to treat it, said Daniel Edmundowicz, the chief of the section of cardiology. The Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure & CTEPH program at Temple boasts a 97 percent success rate in PTEs, according to its website. TUH’s CTEPH Program is the leading medical center on the East Coast with a focus on the disease, said Anjali Vaidya, the co-director of the program. Vaidya predicts that the program
“Our goal for the next generation is to continue to build and grow in our efforts and to train and educate so that there are many, many more centers just like this in the future, to contribute to this global mission,” Vaidya said. William Auger, a clinical professor of medicine, said Temple’s CTEPH program is of the highest quality. “Yes, there are a couple of places that do these procedures here and there,” Auger said. “But this is really the central center, which is the reason for the celebration. And the recognition? It’s well-deserved.” issalina.sagad@temple.edu
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NEWS PAGE 5
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
FACULTY
Following trends, non-tenure faculty hires surge Non-tenure faculty hires increased nearly 20 percent, while tenure-track faculty increased one percent from 2013-17. BY VALERIE DOWRET For The Temple News For the past two and a half years, Mary Stricker has juggled teaching three to four courses while completing autoethnography research. “I don’t get much done during the regular semester,” said Stricker, an associate professor of sociology. As a full-time, non-tenure track faculty who has worked at Temple University for 15 years, Stricker has less time than her tenured or tenure-track colleagues to focus on doing research because she has a larger course load. The number of non-tenure track faculty at Temple has increased while the number of tenure-track or tenured professors barely budged in recent years, mirroring a shift in the composition of college educators across the country. Temple added 206 non-tenure track faculty between 2013 and 2017, an increase of 19 percent, while tenured or tenure track faculty only increased by 13 members, or one percent, during the same period, according to the university’s annual fact books. The proportion of non-tenure track faculty at universities surveyed by the American Association of University Professors increased from 10 percent in 2008 to 27 percent in 2018 nationwide, according to The Chronicle for Higher
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Education. “What you have now are all these extremely talented full-time non-tenure track faculty who are doing a lot of the teaching,” said Steve Newman, president of Temple Association of University Professionals, which represents all faculty, librarians and academic professionals at the university. “They do a lot of service, some of them are even chairs of the department, but they lack the job security that comes with tenure,” Newman added. New Jersey was the first state to give professors tenure in 1910, Time Magazine reported. It granted fair dismissal rights to college professors. Today, tenure is still used to protect faculty members’ academic freedom by allowing them to permanently hold their positions. “Tenure allows you to have greater academic freedom, pursue research that you want to pursue regardless of whether it makes the university look bad or not,” said Will Jordan, an associate professor of policy, organizational and leadership studies. “It allows us to teach what we believe as scholars,” Jordan added. Kevin Delaney, vice provost of faculty affairs, said that over the last five to 10 years, Temple has added more non-tenure track faculty than tenure track or tenured faculty because of high costs of research. Expenses for a single faculty member’s research project can range between $300,000 and $1,000,000, he said. “A tenure track faculty member is expected to have a major research agen-
NICOLE HWANG / THE TEMPLE NEWS SOURCE: Temple University Factbook 2013-14, 2017-18
da, a major set of research accomplishments they are trying to achieve, as well as being very good teachers,” Delaney added. “A non-tenure track faculty may be hired often just to mainly to do teaching and instruction, so then they don’t have a big research agenda that’s expected of them.” However, in order to secure tenure track positions, academics must build up their resumes, Newman said. “Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get a full-time but non-tenure track gig, you’re teaching generally four classes a term,” Newman said. “So you’re grading a huge number of papers. How are you gonna make the time to do the publishing you need to do to make you viable for a tenure-track job?” “I don’t think anyone doesn’t want to pursue tenure,” said Ben Curttright, an adjunct professor in the Department
of English and chair of the Adjunct Constituency Council of TAUP. “Without genuine job security, you don’t have academic freedom, and the way that genuine job security is provided in academia is through tenure.” To prevent another decline in hiring, TAUP proposed increasing the number of tenure track faculty by one percent each year in their August negotiations with the university. Temple has not agreed to this demand, Newman said. “If we were arbitrarily gonna say that we were going to increase by one percent, we would then have to mandate each individual school and college to do certain numbers and quotas for that,” Delaney said. “To me, it’s just not a great way to manage things.” valerie.dowret@temple.edu
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OPINION PAGE 6
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 EDITORIAL
Apologize, Kent State Kent State called off a field hockey match between Temple University and the University of Maine to prepare for a fireworks display for Kent State’s football team on Saturday. The game, played at Kent State as a neutral site, was just heading into a second overtime. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association said Kent State informed the teams that they would have to stop playing and could resume later in the day, but Temple field hockey coach Susan Ciufo said the team was not made aware of this prior to playing. Kent State’s decision is extremely problematic, as it prioritizes needless entertainment display for a men’s sport over a Division-I match of female athletes. Kent State didn’t immediately apologize to the coaches, play-
ers and their families for placing greater importance on a gratuitous show over an overtime game with a nationally ranked team as it should have. Every athlete, no matter the sport, has a right to the proper amount of time to finish their matches. The decision was unfair to the players who put in hard work to prepare for the match and for their families who have traveled across states to see it. The Editorial Board condemns the decision of Kent State to stop an athletic competition for something as arbitrary as a fireworks display at any point, especially after the game has already begun. We stand by Temple field hockey and wish them luck as they move on from the unacceptable events of this past weekend.
EDITORIAL
TSG: Promote participation This week marks Sexual Assault Awareness Week, a third-annual Temple Student Government-led effort to support survivors of sexual assault. Alongside the Wellness Resource Center and It’s On Us TU, TSG will be hosting events every day, including Write Off Sexual Assault, where the public can write letters addressed to sexual assault survivors from 12-4 p.m. on Wednesday. The Editorial Board commends TSG for continuing this initiative, as well as the Campus Hunger Awareness Week in November and Wellness Week in late-March. It is imperative to letters@temple-news.com
provide resources to those affected and encourage involvement among students. But we are concerned that the student body is not aware of these events. Planning initiatives takes time and passion, and should be utilized by members of the Temple community. We hope that TSG does necessary promotion for these events and that students take the time to participate. After all, TSG will continue to host events no matter the numeric outcome. It’s only fair that students who can largely benefit from these resources are in the know, too.
ENVIRONMENT
Take on a plant-based diet
Additionally, more evidence is being Cutting animal products out of your diet can eliminate water waste and presented to show that consuming meat on a daily basis is detrimental to our planet’s rereduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last month, I watched the Amazon rainforest, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, erupt into flames, and I couldn’t help but think about its causes. Since the 1960s, the AMANDA HOPKINS Amazon has been the vicFOR THE TEMPLE NEWS tim of man-made deforestation and land-clearing for the sake of livestock production. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of beef, and more than 50 percent of the country’s livestock live on fields that used to be rainforests, according to Business Insider. That means that every cheeseburger contributes to deforestation and ecosystem destruction in places like the Amazon. There is something that we can do to prevent this from happening in the future: stop eating animal products. Going vegan, or even reducing your meat and dairy intake, can have massive positive effects on our environment, and on the security of ecosystems like the Amazon. There is a huge misconception of what veganism is. But at its core, veganism simply means abstaining from all meat, dairy and other animal products for ethical and health reasons. “You’re saving a lot more resources, whether it’s fossil fuels or water,” said Jessica Harrington, a senior media studies and production major with a minor in sustainable food systems, and the founder and president of the TU Ecological Eating Club, which raises awareness of food issues and environmental justice. “Give or take the amount of almond milk you drink, you’re still going to be using less water because your food doesn’t need to be raised [or transported],” she added.
source supply. Tossing out a single hamburger uses the same amount of water as a 90-minute shower, due to the water being used for irrigation and cleaning for livestock, The National Resources Defense Council reported in 2017. Additionally, the top five meat and dairy companies combined (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America) emit more greenhouse gases annually than ExxonMobil, Shell or BP, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Going vegan has the power to shift meat production and its emissions through boycotting animal agriculture and influencing supply and demand patterns with purchasing power. “It does fall on the shoulders of consumers to speak up, and to use their money to say that the current practices aren’t right,” said Erin Mecchi, a hub coordinator for the Sunrise Movement and a vegan of almost four years. This means that it falls on us, as consumers, to use our dollars to buy products that won’t waste an exorbitant amount of water or other resources. “It’s important to look at consumers, what they are buying and what is going to waste,” said Amelia Duffy-Tumasz, a professor of geography and urban studies with a focus on human-environment interactions and political ecology. Our food consumption patterns are impacting the earth, and the notable implications of meat consumption and food waste on our resources are going to continue rising if we do not recover from this damaging cycle. Our dietary habits have a bigger impact on the environment than we may think, and it’s time to use our purchasing power for good. amanda.hopkins0001@temple.edu
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OPINION PAGE 7
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
POLITICS
Bulletproof backpacks won’t solve gun violence In light of last month’s threat of gun Rises in bulletproof backpack violence against Temple University, and sales show an adaptation to an the growing number of mass shootings issue demanding real solutions. Like every Saturday night, I took the Girard Avenue exit from I-76 on my way home after work, stopping at the red light underneath the bridge PAVLÍNA ČERNÁ right in front of the MANAGING Philadelphia Zoo. EDITOR But this time, I heard a woman scream, followed by four gunshots; one of them sending a wave of vibrations through my car, piercing a hole in my trunk and ripping the fabric of the interior. My heart started racing. For a moment, all traffic stopped, and only the scream continued. I tried to spot where the shots came from, seeing nothing but other cars’ headlights cutting through the dark. And within seconds, life returned to normal. Shootings have become the new normal in the United States — and we’ve adapted to that. There have been 22 school shootings so far this year, according to CNN, and we haven’t done much to solve the issue or prevent it from happening again. Instead, CNN reported that the sale of bulletproof backpacks soared 200-300 percent in August back-to-school shopping, in response to recent mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. “This is just a way to make money off a tragedy. I wouldn’t buy it,” said Grant Gwiaszdowski, a sophomore mathematics and computer science major. As a student, constantly on foot and not always shielded by four tons of metal, I see a huge need to protect myself on the go. Bulletproof backpacks are a useless bandage for a much larger and very persistent wound.
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in public places, I feel furious, frustrated and hopeless, and so do several other students. Rachel Steinig, a junior political science at the University of Pennsylvania and the president of its March For Our Lives chapter, said that if she were younger and her parents bought her a bulletproof backpack, she would be terrified. “The fact that so many parents feel the need to buy them is tragic,” she said. “This is not a solution for the problem.” Indeed, it is not a solution. Bulletproof backpacks would not have provided protection during recent shootings. While the backpack’s back panel stops a shot from a regular 9mm pistol, bullets from rifles used in recent mass shootings can pierce through, NBC News reported. We need stricter laws, not equipment, to protect us. “We need to address the problem, not the symptoms,” said Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence in Pennsylvania. Goodman said she would rather put her effort into advocating for a change than buying things like bulletproof backpacks. “If we have the technology and the resources to create things such as bulletproof backpacks, we have the technology and resources to solve the problem,” Goodman added. Small steps toward change have already been taken. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf passed an executive order in August, allowing for data collection, creating new state offices focused on violence prevention and tackling community violence. Yet while many Pennsylvania officials are trying to act on gun violence,
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their hands are tied. Thanks to preemption laws, regulations on municipalities that prevent them from enacting stronger gun legislation than their state, more than 40 states have restrictions on how severe local gun control policy can be, according to USA Today. Therefore, change needs to happen on the federal level. While people themselves cannot change the laws, they have the power to elect officials who can. For the students too young to vote and for all of us who are not citizens and cannot vote our-
selves — be our voice. If change isn’t enacted, what’s next? Bulletproof vests? Full-body armor being added to school uniforms? “Talk to your legislators, write them why it is important to you,” Goodman said. “It is critical for elected officials to know they need to deal with this issue.” Don’t let bulletproof backpacks be the answer to the problem and take the one action granted to you. Go out and vote. pavlina@temple.edu @CernaPavlina
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OPINION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
PAGE 8
THE ESSAYIST
The Naked Bike Ride: A rush of body positivity
Watching the Naked Bike Ride gave one student a wave of confidence she had not felt before. BY KATIE LINDLEY For The Temple News “Do you wanna go to the Naked Bike Ride?” That question caught me by surprise initially. It was only my third day at Temple so far and the Naked Bike Ride was as unfamiliar as it was surprising. I answered yes impulsively, hoping to get a better idea of what it was before my friends and I got there. Scavenging through boxes of clothes, I suddenly felt uneasy about the one dress I had left behind. Fitted and with the tags still on, I never wore it before, and for good reason. Every time I tried it on, I saw each crevice of my body: instead of feeling beautiful, I felt insecure. In a dress meant to make me feel good, I felt awful. And if I hadn’t worn it once before, then I certainly wasn’t going to bring it to Temple with me. The dress had entirely escaped my mind until that moment that I was getting ready, and even then I hid it in the back of my head as we left for the race. The Naked Bike Ride is a 10-mile ride throughout the city where the bicyclists wear little-to-no clothing while riding in public, save for some glitter or body paint. The display of nudity aims to challenge beauty standards and demonstrate that all bodies are beautiful, as well as promoting the use of environmentally clean transportation. The activity felt honest, exciting and above all else, important: to our planet, our community and even me—someone who still had that dress looming in the back of her head. In a matter of moments, my confu-
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KAITLYN GROSS / THE TEMPLE NEWS
sion about the Naked Bike Ride turned into excitement. As we came closer to the location of the race, my friends and I were startled by a blurry, flesh-colored figure rode quickly toward us. Originally expecting a few crazy bicyclists, we were bombarded by hundreds of naked people riding bikes and rollerblading through the streets of Philadelphia. One thing I’ve noticed, and can’t let go of, is that this group was clearly a community. They uplifted each other and watched out for everyone’s safety. The first three participants halted the group at the intersection we were waiting at and blocked traffic to make sure the coast was clear. Car horns honked in support of the riders, and they were noticeably uplifted.
With messages such as “I am enough” and “More ass, less gas” painted across the chest of these activists, my friends and I were paralyzed with applause and cheers for the people with enough confidence to show their body to an entire city. That energy was so powerful and infectious. I felt inspired all the way from the sidewalk, and all of my anxieties melted away in the warm August air. I understood the point of the Naked Bike Ride: to not be ashamed of the body you came in, to embrace it and be comfortable with yourself. That’s something that I desperately needed to learn. Thinking about that dress I chose not to bring, I wish I could go back with the insight I have now. At the time it made me feel uncomfortable, even constricted, but this expe-
rience at the Naked Bike Ride has shown me that there’s power in the perception of my own body. Maybe I need someone to support me and be there for me next time I try on that dress, just like the encouragement the bikers gave each other. But in the meantime, I might buy another dress until I get to try that other one on again. Thanks to an impromptu trip to a naked bike race, I haven’t been able to shake this wave of body positivity that crashed over me. Everytime my mind goes back to that day, I think about this new rush of confidence within me, and I smile. katherine.lindley@temple.edu @k80lindley
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OPINION PAGE 9
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
COMMUNITY
Temple: Fight to alleviate homelessness in Philly Temple’ approach to homeless- is funded mainly through students’ unness should include food distri- used meal swipes and through contributions from students and donors. bution and work opportunities. Homelessness is an epidemic, and it’s one we see every day. In Philadelphia, there are approximately 5,700 people experiencing homelessness, including BRITTANY VALENTINE about 950 who FOR THE TEMPLE are unsheltered, NEWS according to the city’s Office of Homeless Services. While that number isn’t the highest in the country, it’s a lot of people, and we should be using the rich resources we’ve been given to help the thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. As the largest university in the city and with a mission statement about promoting service and engagement throughout Philadelphia, Temple should become more involved in the city’s homelessness issue, and has the resources to do so. Students can encourage the university to do more, whether it be through developing lasting solutions or through facilitating shared public spaces on campus to provide food to those in need. The university has already done a considerable amount to help students and residents experiencing homelessness, but these programs should be expanded to a larger scale. Swipes for Philadelphia, for example, is a Temple organization that redistributes unused meal swipes to provide nutritious meals to students experiencing food insecurity and people experiencing homelessness. The organization
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“Educating fellow students about homelessness, food insecurity and hunger problems in Philadelphia, empowering students to develop leadership skills and hosting food drives and other events” is what Swipes for Philadelphia stands for, said the founder, AaronRey Ebreo, senior biology major. “Food, water and shelter are basic human needs, and it’s a privilege to not have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from, or where you’re going to sleep,” said Taylor Zahairagunn, a senior psychology major and a member of Swipes for Philadelphia. What Temple has already done is amazing, but with our university’s resources, drive and student body, there is so much more we can do. We can invest in finding long-term solutions to homelessness as well as offering food to those in need. Temple could participate in the Shared Public Spaces Program, a coalition of businesses that work to find lasting solutions to homelessness in Philadelphia, while providing quality food for individuals experiencing homelessness at places throughout the city. There are 21 businesses involved in this program, including Wawa, SEPTA, Reading Terminal Market and the Mural Arts Program, but not a single university, college or school. Temple could be the first educational institution in Philadelphia to participate in this program, and campus locations like Columbia Plaza—the skate park at Broad Street and Cecil B Moore Ave—could easily double as a shared public space to distribute food to those
NICOLE HWANG / THE TEMPLE NEWS
in need. Temple could absolutely make larger strides towards housing security that helps individuals experiencing homelessness, and the administration could learn from existing organizations and their success. Javier Rivera is the director of Community Improvement Projects and operations at Ready, Willing & Able (RWA), an organization that offers same-day pay programs to individuals in need. He knows how much a program like this could benefit individuals in the community because of how his own life was changed. Rivera experienced homelessness in 1997, but as a result of RWA’s program of offering paid opportunities to participants, that’s no longer the case.
“Fast forward 22 years later, here in Philly, I’m a homeowner in a new development in the Temple University area,” Rivera said. Shared Public Spaces, as well, similarly offers a paid day of work with the Mural Arts organization, and it’s something that Temple could easily invest in. Our university has made improvements in how we respond to and tackle homelessness, but with our vast institutional resources, it’s clear we could do so much more. When homelessness is reduced, our community becomes more whole, but more importantly, we are giving people a second chance. brittany.leigh.valentine@temple.edu @recoveryspirit
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FEATURES
PAGE 10
HISTORY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
‘It’s not just our story, it’s everyone’s story’
Way Veney is related to the first Beasley School of Law. On Aug. 24, the Commonwealth of documented African American Virginia designated the cemetery as a born in the United States. BY CLAIRE WOLTERS For The Temple News Way Veney’s family tree has deep roots. She traced her lineage back 400 years to when her enslaved ancestors first arrived in what is now Hampton, Virginia. Veney, associate head coach for Temple University’s women’s basketball, is believed to be a descendant of Isabella and Anthony Tucker, two of the first Africans to enter the United States in 1619 on a ship named the White Lion. William Tucker, their son, is recorded in the 1624-25 Muster, a former Virginia census as the first named and documented African American born in the U.S. Veney said the trials her ancestors endured inspire her to work harder and influence her coaching style. “It’s surreal. You don’t take it for granted,” Veney added. “I translate that a lot to my players and try to get them to understand that the people that fought … they were forced here. It wasn’t like they came here because they wanted to.” Veney learned of her connection to William Tucker in July 2017, after relatives organized a clean-up of the cemetery, the Tucker Family Cemetery. During the cleanup, Veney’s uncle, Walter Tucker, discovered the skull of an unidentified African American woman. The discovery prompted family conversations about heritage and email chains among relatives. The cemetery is a few miles from Veney’s childhood home in Hampton, but she did not visit it as a child, she said. Many generations of Tuckers have operated the cemetery and are buried in its grounds, said Carolita Jones Cope, Veney’s aunt and a 1984 graduate of the
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perpetual open-space land, which protects it for historical preservation. The day before, the Tucker family joined local officials in a ceremony at the cemetery to recognize the family’s history and the 400th commemoration of Africans being sold into enslavement. “This commemoration of 400 years has made me very reflective and appreciative of what the first Africans and all of those who were brought to this country endured,” said Cope. “It makes me want to do better, to work harder, to achieve more because of what they went through just to survive.” Cope currently lives in Hampton and is working to compile a “living tree,” recording relatives and branches of the family who are alive today. “It just takes one person to want to do it, to go and try to uncover as much as you can,” Cope said. Thelma Williams, Cope’s aunt and Veney’s great aunt spearheaded the Tucker’s genealogical search before she died in 2006. Prior to the cemetery discovery, Williams used compilations of old photographs, birth records, genealogical searches and discussions with elders to trace the family’s lineage. Williams also wrote a book about the family’s heritage that has yet to be published, Cope added. For many African Americans today, even beginning to compile a comprehensive family tree is challenging, said Molefi Kete Asante, chair of Temple’s Africology and African American studies department. Asante cannot trace his lineage beyond his great-grandparents. It’s not because Asante hasn’t tried, but because his family’s documents very probably destroyed, or never printed at all. Asante’s ancestors labored in Dooly County, Georgia. In 1847, a fire de-
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stroyed the Dooly County Courthouse. Any ancestral records pertaining to Astante’s family were likely lost in the rubble. Additionally, state and federal laws in the 1700s labeled enslaved African Americans as property. “If you don’t consider them to be human beings, you wouldn’t necessarily keep any records of them,” Asante said. Practices like renaming Africans and African Americans in enslavement, marrying across ethnicities, and prohibiting enslaved people from learning to read or write, also limited the number of original documents. Africans and African Americans who kept personal, written records of their ancestry risked beatings, fines or imprisonment, Asante said. “By about 100 years into the enslavement, it’s almost totally impossible to get any exact records,” he added. “That’s why it’s always amazing when someone says
that they can go back to William Tucker, or they can go back to 1621 or 1619.” Cope said that she hopes to inspire others to look into their genealogy and ask their elders about their family history. “If anything, symbolically, we’re representing a family that has been connected. We want others to find that family. We know that there’s more. We’re still looking. It’s not just our story, it’s everyone’s story,” she said. Cope added that despite many documents of African American history being lost, there is still important information out there to be uncovered. “Even if you aren’t a direct descendant of William Tucker, you’re a direct descendant of someone,” Veney said. “People sacrificed for me to get where I am.” claire.wolters@temple.edu @ClaireWolters
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
FACULTY
Director’s book focuses on student engagement
David Gooblar released a new book to promote student-centered classrooms and teaching. BY EMMA LORO For The Temple News Before teaching his first class of undergraduate students in 2004, the only instruction David Gooblar got was “no matter how little you know, [your students] know less.” The teaching advice did not sit well with Gooblar, who at the time, was an english graduate student at University College London. Ever since, he’s been determined to create student-centered classrooms where professors focus on students’ learning rather than spouting information at them. Gooblar, associate director of Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT), published his book, “The Missing Course: Everything They Didn’t Teach You About Pedagogy in Graduate School,” on Aug. 20. His book is a message to professors, offering a variety of teaching methods that focus on actively engaging students as the center of the classroom. “Good teaching is much more than a collection of effective tips, it’s changing your mindset,” Gooblar said. When starting out teaching, Gooblar said he noticed professors were ill-prepared to teach and forgot that teaching is about helping students develop. He added that it’s not how the professor’s lecture but how the students learn. “Teaching has to start with the students,” he said. “Students learn best when they learn for themselves.” One tip Gooblar suggests is to call on students to answer questions, even when they don’t volunteer. Getting the students talking is just one way to get them engaged, he added. “The Missing Course” also encourages professors to set plans on what they hope to achieve in the classroom, while
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JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS David Gooblar, associate director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, sits in his office at the TECH Center on Sept. 4.
also catering it toward their students’ needs. Gooblar worked as a professor in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Iowa since 2015. In May, he joined CAT to work on improving teaching at and increasing classroom student success at Temple. At CAT, he meets with professors one-on-one to discuss their teaching and also facilitates workshops with professors and faculty. “Faculty are experts in their field, but they don’t really often receive training on how to teach in graduate school,” said Stephanie Laggini Fiore, the assistant vice provost of CAT. Fiore said that Gooblar’s book accurately addresses the student-centered teaching Temple hopes to promote. The Center helps faculty improve their teaching through evidence-based teaching tactics, educational technology, seminars and workshops as well as indi-
vidual faculty consultations, Fiore said. She said that the center hopes to use the research they conduct to inform teaching on campus, she added. Sarah Bridgeport, a senior English and creative writing major at the University of Iowa, took Gooblar’s rhetoric course her freshman year and said she noticed his dedication toward active student engagement. “That love for English that I have was encouraged and fostered in such an environment that let me sharpen that enthusiasm,” she said. The way Gooblar structured his class encouraged every student to participate, she added. While in his class, Gooblar had Bridgeport read a children’s book in front of the class for an assignment. The first time she read, Gooblar noticed she had a tendency to look at the ceiling while reading aloud. He had her read
it to the class again, purposely looking at the ceiling while reading it a second time, she added. The exercise was meant to demonstrate that in order to become a better speaker, she had to face her weakness head on, Bridgeport said. “It gave us the understanding to improve upon ourselves and that it wasn’t a bad thing that we had to. I really admire that,” she added. Gooblar believes teaching is helping another human being develop, an idea he hopes to foster in teaching, he said. Professors need to better help and support students while passing on any expertise, he added. “Teaching is this incredible human experience. I am going to start where the students are and help them achieve what they hope to achieve,” Gooblar said. emma.loro@temple.edu
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AMBLER
Alumnus’ giant, exotic plant attracts crowds Brandon Huber has a collection of more than 200 exotic plants he has grown in his home. BY ELIZABETH WARD For The Temple News When Brandon Huber was 8 years old, his parents took him to the Philadelphia Flower Show and he was introduced to plants he’d never before. His interest in growing exotic plants has bloomed ever since. “It was kind of one of those things that you say, ‘OK, I am going to try to grow this thing but it’s probably not going to work out, but I’m going to give it a shot,’” Huber said. Huber, a 2013 horticulture alumnus, now has a collection of more than 200 plants he’s grown at his Northeast Philadelphia home. Huber’s collection houses a Titan arum, or “corpse flower,” named Lupin, that bloomed for the second time while on show at North Carolina State University last month. The endangered 6-foot 4-inch tall, foul-smelling flower has drawn more than 7,000 visitors since being added to the greenhouse. Huber said that Lupin is also one of the biggest species of plants he knows how to grow. “It’s kind of like a challenge,” he said. The exhibit was Huber’s second time showcasing the plant. He currently works as a plant physiology researcher at NCSU, where he earned his master’s in plant breeding in 2017. “It’s such a cool plant, like when we bring tourists in the greenhouse, even though [Titan arums] aren’t flowers, they are the plants that people gravitate toward. They look like nothing else in there,” said Ben Snyder, manager of the Greenhouse Complex at Temple Ambler campus. The “corpse flower” has a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit while blooming, which creates its corpse-like
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MEAGAN CHABOT / COURTESY Brandon Huber discusses with visitors the anatomy of his plant Lupin in the Plant Conservatory at North Carolina State University on Aug. 1.
smell, its adaptive technique to attract pollinators, according to Huber. The flower blooms for about two days and the smell only lingers for 24 hours or less. Huber had tried growing the plant once before but failed because he did not have an adequate environment for it. “The key is to just really keep the environment consistent,” he added. Huber said he wanted to grow the flower since he was 15, and first saw it in an exotic plant catalog. He had started growing succulents, cacti and carnivorous plants after his first visit to the flower show, and as he grew older, his love expanded to more complex tropical plants. Huber said the inspiration for Lupin’s name came from the “Harry Potter”
character, Remus Lupin, who was also a werewolf. Huber also wanted to name it in honor of “the wolfpack,” NCSU students’ nickname. Lupin is now 16 years old. The plant takes five to 10 years to grow and three to five years for the flower to develop, according to Huber. “[Huber] didn’t pollinate his first one, so he has gotten the second flower off relatively quickly,” Snyder said. Huber and his team at NCSU were able to capture the growth of Lupin with a time-lapse this time. “Lupin has put [NCSU] on the map,” wrote Diane Mays, a research specialist at NCSU’s Department of Horticultural Science, in an email to The Temple News, that
Huber is currently studying plant physiology for his doctorate, which involves researching efficient ways to optimize plant growth in container environments. This research will help address “futuristic but costly production systems,” he said. He continues to challenge his growing expertise by growing giant fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, watermelons and gourds. He hopes to become a professor of horticulture, specifically plant breeding. “When I was in undergrad, I had no idea that I would be where I am at now, at all,” Huber said. “Horticulture doesn’t feel like a job, it’s just part of my passion.” elizabeth.ward@temple.edu
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
TRENDS
Instagram ‘influencers’ recommend local foods
Students and alumni share their experiences running popular food-centered accounts. BY ANNALIESE GRUNDER For The Temple News After working at a Japanese restaurant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for three years, Bihn Nguyen became her friends’ go-to person for sushi recommendations before she came to Temple in 2013. “I figured, why not create an Instagram account that could help other people…whether they’re first-time sushi eaters or whether they’re sushi lovers like me and want to check out some new spots,” said Nguyen, a 2017 strategic communications alumna. “I didn’t expect it to blow up the way it did.” She started @philly_sushi, an Instagram account showcasing sushi spots in the city, during her junior year as an advertising student. Now, three years later, Nguyen has accumulated more than 48,000 followers on the platform. She’s a part of a growing industry of influencers who generate income by promoting brands and interests through social media posts. Nguyen calls herself a “micro-influencer,” meaning she has between 1,000 and 100,000 followers, according to CMSwire. Leah Hillegas, a 2019 advertising alumna, has more than 7,500 followers on her food-focused Instagram account called @templefoodies. She created the account her freshman year at Temple when she started eating out more and sampling different cuisines in Philadelphia for the first time. “I used to have a pretty bad relationship with food. I never wanted to try anything new,” Hillegas said. “Then, when I met my boyfriend freshman year at Temple, he would always want to go to all these [restaurants], and I realized
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that I really started to like food.” Both Nguyen and Hillegas have jobs in public relations and digital marketing and use their accounts as side income. Micro-influencers can make over $30,000 per year, Vox reported in November 2018. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are the most profitable for influencers. In July, Business Insider predicted that the influencer marketing industry will be worth $15 billion by 2020. Devon Powers, associate professor of advertising at Klein College of Media and Communication, said a social media influencer is “someone who has built a community around a particular interest, area or topic, and through that community, they’re able to promote brands and events.” “It’s part brand-building and part community-building,” Powers said. “The idea of working for yourself and being very self-directed and finding something that you love or are interested in is very appealing.” Nguyen and Hillegas both work to build online communities around their passions by keeping their followers engaged. Nguyen said she tries to respond to as many messages and comments as possible. “I try to think of creative ways to engage my followers aside from posting quality content and engaging with them in the comments and when they direct-message me,” she added. Sometimes Nguyen partners with sushi restaurants to do giveaways for her followers, she said. Hillegas said she takes pride in the fact that college students tag their friends in the comments of her posts. Nguyen and Hillegas view their Instagram accounts as creative outlets for sharing their passions with other people. “Just doing something that you’re
ALEX ARMSTEAD / THE TEMPLE NEWS Binh Nguyen, a 2017 strategic communications alumna, stands outside Crazy Sushi on Chestnut and 19th streets on Sept. 5.
ALEX ARMSTEAD / THE TEMPLE NEWS Binh Nguyen, a 2017 strategic communications alumna, eats a California roll at Crazy Sushi on the Chestnut and 19th streets on Sept. 5.
passionate about goes a long way,” Hillegas said. “I know a lot of people in my undergrad thought that @templefoodies was stupid, but I think other people want to see when you are passionate about
something.” annaliese.grunder@temple.edu @annaliesegrund1
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
INTERNATIONAL WORD SEARCH CHINA SOUTHKOREA BRAZIL KUWAIT PERU TURKMINISTAN VIETNAM UKRAINE
RUSSIA GERMANY FRANCE COLOMBIA EGYPT ISRAEL RUSSIA
EAGLES CROSSWORD DOWN
ACROSS
1. Losing team of the Super Bowl of 2018
1. Philadelphia Eagles’ Coach
2. Fly Eagles Fly! On the road to ____
4. One of the Philadelphia Eagles’ team colors
3. Quarterback #11
6. The name of the Philadelphia Eagles’ mascot
5. Philadelphia’s football team
9. NFL championship won in 2018
7.First head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles 8. Quarterback #9
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FEATURES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
PAGE 15
LIVE IN PHILLY
Street festival brings together Latino community
JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS
On Sunday, hundreds crowded at Lehigh Avenue and 5th Street for the 35th Annual Feria del Barrio, a celebration of Latino culture and community in North Philadelphia’s Centro de Oro neighborhood. The street festival featured live music, dancing, street vendors, and health and community organizations. “[Feria del Barrio] brings everyone together. It’s all about the Latino community,” said Lisa Auerbach, 54, a 2000 MBA alumna and chief financial officer for Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a nonprofit organization for domestic violence. Newscasters from Spanish television station Telemundo62 emceed the event, introducing acts, like Taller’s Children and Youth Dance Ensemble, and Los Tecuanes, a Mexican dance group from Washington D.C. Organizations, like Einstein Healthcare Network, Xfinity and Galaei, a queer Latin@ social justice organization, handed out information about local resources to attendees. “It’s what this community needs,” said Kendra Cabrera, 28, a social work and sexuality intern for Galaei from the Bronx. “All the resources are right in front of their faces. We’re coming to the people, as opposed to people coming to us.” @TheTempleNews
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FEATURES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
PAGE 16
ON CAMPUS
New scholarship brings int’l students to campus Scholarship recipients look forward to sharing their native culture with others at Main Campus. BY EMMA PADNER For The Temple News As a junior in high school, Ayna Mammedova volunteered at Mary American Corner in her hometown of Mary, Turkmenistan, teaching people in her community English. Mammedova created a video based on her experiences at the American Center to apply for Temple’s first #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship. “I have experience organizing and leading different projects so I had an idea of how I would do that [at Temple],” Mammedova said. She added she focused on showcasing things with cultural significance in country, like clothing and souvenirs, in her video. Two freshman international students received Temple’s first #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship, awarding them $20,000 annually to come study at Temple. Mammedova and Monodragon both said without the scholarship, Temple’s
tuition would have been too expensive for them attend. Fifty other schools also awarded the scholarship this year. “I’m excited to represent my country because not a lot of people know about my country,” Mammedova added. “I’m really excited to have international projects and activities…[and] to learn about other cultures.” Temple started the national campaign in 2016. Martyn Miller, the vice president of International Affairs, said the idea began when international relations in the U.S. started to get politically ‘tense’, and the office wanted to remind the Temple community that international students are welcome on campus. Andres Mondragon, a freshman actuarial science major from Lima, Peru, also received the scholarship. Mondragon wrote about the inequality he witnessed in Peru, specifically focusing on the gender gaps in employment. He added that although this inequality is seen in many societies, he wanted to focus on his own community. “I know that I have a certain privileged because I belong to Lima, the capital of Peru, to be able to know so many
successful women,” he said. “But I know that other provinces in my country don’t really have those opportunities because they are just not as developed. Women there don’t really have the access to as many resources.” Mondragon also said he is glad he chose to come to Philadelphia as it is much more diverse and historical than he thought. “[Philadelphia’s] a place with extreme culture and diversity, a bunch of landmarks I didn’t know about,” he added. Mondragon’s goal is to create a microloan business to help women start their own businesses in Peru, he said. Miller said that Mammedova and Mondragon’s applications stood out because they both highlighted different aspects of the campaign. “In the case of Ayna, she took the concept of ‘#YouAreWelcomeHere’ and focused on the cultural exchange that she can bring to Temple—the cultural knowledge about Turkmenistan, a country with which most of us are very unfamiliar,” Miller said. “Andres, on the other hand, from Peru, wrote an essay focused on his desire to help underpriv-
KRISTOPHER FISHER Sophomore actuarial science major
VOICES
What do you want to see The Student Government accomplish on campus this year?
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ileged women in Peru gain a foothold in business.” Mammedova said that the scholarship is giving her an opportunity to learn about other cultures and views of the world. “I think it lacks generally because there is not so much opportunity to learn about other cultures from native people and people that were born there so it’s a great opportunity for intercultural exchange,” she said. She added that the scholarship was an opportunity for her to broaden her view of the world as a student. “Coming here, I can bring my own ideas ... to the table and be able to share that with everyone,” Mondragon said. “I can bring external perspective on issues to American students with this opportunity.” emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner
Managing Editor Pavlína Černá, an intern for the Office of International Affairs, played no part in the editing or reporting of this article.
RACHEL SWARTZ Junior recreational therapy major
I feel like I haven’t had any interaction with the student government, so as a student, having an interaction with the student body would be a productive part of the university.
I don’t really know student government, so make yourself known because I’ve been here for three years and don’t know what they do.
ALEX SCHONBERGER Freshman mechanical enigineering major
KIARA BELL Sophomore health professions major
If they could get the library open 24/7 on weekends.
More activities, more outdoor activities and just more things to bring everyone together.
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Students tutor inmates for life after incarceration
Temple’s Petey Greene chapter gives students opportunities to tutor people who are incarcerated. BY ALESIA BANI For The Temple News
L
ydia Brewer remembers the first week she tutored someone who was incarcerated and couldn’t read a kindergarten-level book in English. By the end of the spring semester, Brewer said he was able to paragraphs in English very well. Brewer, a senior Africology and African American studies major, is the diversity, inclusion and engagement cochair at Petey Greene Temple, an organization that connects college students with tutoring opportunities at correctional facilities. Brewer is an “English as a Second Language” volunteer at State Correctional Institution in Chester, and she among 15 Temple students who, through Petey Green, will support the academic achievement of incarcerated people through volunteer tutoring programs this fall. In 2016, Temple University started a Petey Greene chapter for students to volunteer for two to three hours a week at one of four partner correctional facilities in the Philadelphia area. The program is named after Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene, a TV and radio personality in the 1960s who was incarcerated and later become an advocate for prisoners’ rights. The program seeks to improve educational conditions in prisons, something that has diminished in the past decades. In 1994, Congress prohibited prisoners from receiving federal Pell Grants, significantly reducing education programs in correctional facilities. In 2014,
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70 percent of people in prison expressed a desire to enroll in an academic program, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. Aurora Trainor, a senior public health major and president of the Petey Greene chapter at Temple, said incarcerated people gain a lot of confidence from the tutoring program, especially because some of them consistently struggled in school. “Education is the great solution to so many societal ills like poverty, homelessness and reincarceration,” Trainor added. Only about half of incarcerated adults have a high school degree or its equivalent, and employment rates are often low before incarceration as a result of limited education, low job skill levels, and the prevalence of physical and mental health problems, the National Reentry Resource Center reported. Trainor said there is not a lot of government support in educational resources at these facilities because the results of the program aren’t instantly visible. “You see the benefits down the line in lower reincarnation rates, higher job attainment and higher education attainment, but because you don’t see it for sometimes years, I think it’s really hard for the government and these facilities to put the money upfront,” Trainor said. Ninety percent of incarcerated people will be released, but 40 percent will return to prison within three years, according to the Petey Greene Program, but a 2013 study found incarcerated people who participated in education programs were 43 percent less likely to return to prison, according to the RAND Corporation. Brewer said people need to be more compassionate toward incarcerated people, especially when it comes to providing educational resources.
VE LY/ THE TEMPLE NEWS
“The system works against people, and the second they have that number written on their chest, they are written off as an object,” she added. Trainor said she often thinks about a young man she tutored at Glen Mills School, a youth detention center in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, who was excited to go to Temple University Hospital for jaw surgery. “Just imagining the excitement of getting surgery was heartbreaking,” Trainor said. “It made me realize how important programs like Petey Greene are in making the day-to-day lives of children and adults who are incarcerated a little bit more manageable hopefully.” Catresa Meyers, an assistant criminal justice professor and advisor for Temple’s Petey Greene chapter, said students benefit from viewing incarcerated
people with a different perspective. “It’s not just about volunteering and tutoring but about community awareness and connecting with a community which students may not be aware of,” Meyers said. There’s a stigma toward people going into prisons and working with incarcerated people, Brewer added. She said prisoners look forward to participating in the program just as much as students, so they would not jeopardize that privilege in anyway. “I’ve always felt really safe going in there and talking to the men I work with,” Brewer said. “I feel more objectified walking on campus than I do walking in the prison.” alesia.bani@temple.edu @alesia_bani
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THE ESSAYIST
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
Emulating her compassion
A student shares how his mother’s career in law and his African American identity inspired him. BY JEREMIAH BALTIMORE For The Temple News I want to be the change. During my childhood, my mother was a paralegal for a prominent criminal defense attorney in Prince George’s County, Maryland. I grew familiar with the criminal justice system through her. Hearing the stories about her clients’ cases sparked an interest in having a career in the legal field. There were times when I would visit my mother at the office, and I would see how she interacted with clients and their families. She would help them through very difficult times as their loved ones faced a challenging judicial system. Although I saw and admired my mother’s career in law throughout my childhood and adolescence, I did not get the idea to pursue a law career until halfway through my freshman year of college. I wanted to be just like my mom from witnessing her compassion. Her drive for public service and desire to help those in need are qualities that she has forever instilled in me. Specifically, I want to promote and increase the amount of African American attorneys and to influence my community in a positive way. I joined the Black Law Student Association at Temple University to surround myself with like-minded people who aspire to help uplift our people because the need for the people is evident. Today, the underserved African American community is struggling un-
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NICOLE HWANG/ THE TEMPLE NEWS
der an extremely flawed criminal justice system that is disproportionately against them, and not enough people care or to want to make a change. But I do. I want to stand up and fight for what is right, and I want to create a better world for generations to come. African American men are extremely underrepresented. There are not enough Black lawyers and judges in our courtrooms. With the knowledge that minorities make up so much of those incarcerated, on parole or probation, why
aren’t there more minorities representing the people that they can relate with the most? Millions of African Americans and other minority groups are marginalized through incarceration, and that is the culture in our criminal justice system. We need more advocates who have similar backgrounds and have faced similar racial injustices and disparities. I was fortunate to obtain an internship with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Being involved in the work
that I did on a daily business inspired me even more. I knew that my decision to pursue a career in law was the right choice. I strive to one day have my own law firm and hire law partners that are people of color. I want to give people hope, to lead by example and to show the world that you can become anything you want to be. jeremiah.baltimore@temple.edu
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
THE ESSAYIST
Using my faith to fight for a common goal
A law student shares how Christianity inspired her to help victims of human rights violations. BY TAYLOR MAURER For The Temple News At one point in my undergraduate career at the University of Delaware, I was nearly kicked out of a sexual assault prevention education program for being Christian. Due to the radical views of other outspoken religious people, there comes a stigma with the religion. This carried over into the SAPE group, and other members didn’t want me involved. Working in the area of human rights law and public policy has not always been easy. That is why I am so grateful to be a part of the Christian Legal Society at Temple. It makes the school feel more welcoming. Because of CLS, I have connected with a church in Center City with an even larger population of young professionals striving to follow Jesus in Philadelphia. I used to picture lawyers as men in stuffy, corporate suits who only cared about money. I had been a devout Christian all my life, and I didn’t know how my faith would fit this career. Many people hold assumptions about your feelings toward different people, groups or political issues. Especially in the legal sphere, where young professionals are quite vocal, strong in their convictions and talented at arguing. I expect to have some tough conversations, but ultimately, the God I serve loves all people and wishes suffering for no one. My good friend and spiritual men-
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tor Christina suggested that I check out International Justice Mission, a faithbased, non-governmental organization focused on using lawyers and law enforcement to combat social injustices. I felt like God called me to this purpose. IJM primarily helps people who are or have been sex-trafficked. I got involved with the University of Delaware chapter to advocate for victims’ rights, and subsequent to graduation, I also volunteered at a local anti-trafficking coalition. Even though these groups were not always filled with other fans of Jesus, we all worked toward the same unified goal of becoming a voice for the voiceless. After joining this organization, I realized there are many lawyers who take advantage of their passion and skill set in order to advocate for those facing poverty and human rights violations. That is why I feel so strong in my calling as a follower of God to relieve as many people from oppression as I can, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, immigration status, income level or religion. I accepted the fact that I won’t always agree with my classmates or colleagues on controversial issues. I hope that the professional relationships I build will hinge on the fact that there are worldly atrocities, and we are all determined to eradicate them, working together despite our differences. When law school wears me down, or when I see the most devastating side of humanity in the criminal justice system, I know that God will help me find the strength to soldier on. NICOLE HWANG/ THE TEMPLE NEWS
taylor.maurer@temple.edu
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INTERSECTION
PA Innocence Project marks 10 years at Temple The PA Innocence Project helps free wrongfully convicted Pennsylvanians from prison. BY GIONNA KINCHEN & JULIA STOLTZFUS For The Temple News Since its founding ten years ago, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project has helped free 15 Pennsylvanians from prison. The program is a non-profit organization dedicated to freeing those who have been wrongfully convicted. Founded by a group of lawyers, the organization aspires to improve the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania through education, advocacy and policy reform. Joanne Epps, the executive vice president and provost of Temple, was the Dean of the Beasley School of Law at the time of the PA Innocence Project’s founding in 2009. Ten years later, she recalls being immediately interested in housing the PA Innocence Project at Temple, which is located at the Center City Campus. “It was one of the things that I felt, as a former prosecutor, was important to exist in this country. The worst thing you can have is somebody that’s serving time for a crime they didn’t commit. So I was intrigued,” Epps said. “I think it’s
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consistent with the values of Temple University and Temple Law School that we try to do good. So, I felt that a project like the Innocence Project fits.” Epps explained that the project has to be very particular about the cases they take, due to the way the United States judicial system investigates cases. “[Cases taken by the PA Innocence Project] tend to be cases where you can actually prove factual innocence,” she said. “So DNA is a good example of that. If you have somebody that is wrongly convicted of distributing drugs, that person may never get her or his case taken by an Innocence Project because it’s really difficult to scientifically or empirically prove that was a wrong conviction.” There are several fairly common circumstances that can lead to a person being wrongfully incarcerated, said Nan Feyler, the project’s executive director. One of the most common is a false confession. “There’s no law that says the investigator can’t lie or make up evidence to get somebody in the interrogation,” Feyler said. “So they can say we found your blood. We found your DNA. We found other people who have said you did it. And it’s all just stuff that’s not factually true.” “[People] admit to things thinking that it will get them home, when in fact it ends up putting them away for the rest
of their lives,” said David Sonenshein, an executive board member of the project and a former professor at the Beasley School of Law. False identification is another common problem, Sonenshein said. “All psychologists will tell you, the ability to see somebody you’ve never seen before, and then later identify them, and then a year or two later identify that person again, is completely flawed, not because people are dishonest, but because your mind doesn’t simply take photographs,” Sonenshein said. “It’s not the way the brain works.” The journey to getting a person who has been wrongly convicted of a crime freed from prison can be long and arduous, Feyler said. It takes an average of about eight to nine years for the project to go through the full process of representing and exonerating someone, even when there is clear evidence of innocence, like DNA. The organization also provides training to students at law schools across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Law students have the opportunity to be assigned individual cases, for which they conduct legal research and investigate facts to discover how to support a claim of innocence, Feyler said. “We have many Temple students who volunteer at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project who have been very
helpful in getting innocent people back home,” Sonenshein said. “Both in terms of giving us the office space in Philadelphia, and also in providing many many students to do a lot of the investigation and volunteer work. Temple has been an absolute leader in this whole process.” Epps said that the work Temple students do at the project is important not only to the people they help free, but also to their education as well. “I believe it is really important when you are educating students of all manners, but particularly law students, that they have an opportunity to see while they’re students how the legal system works,” she said. “And if you can teach them that while you’re also helping [achieve] justice, then that’s like a dual win.” Sonenshein said that for lawyers at the PA Innocence Project, the most rewarding part of the whole process is watching individuals leave prison. “The moment when the person leaves jail and is embraced by his or her family, obviously there are tears,” he said. “Somebody’s been given a second life, and if you’re a lawyer, it’s hard to ask for any more.” intersection@temple-news.com @TheTempleNews
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SPORTS PAGE 21
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
FIELD HOCKEY
Temple calls Kent State decision ‘unacceptable’
The Owls and the Black Bears were tied at 0 going into the second overtime period. BY JAY NEEMEYER Sports Editor Kent State University’s Athletics Department abruptly called off a field hockey game in progress between Temple University and the University of Maine on Saturday to prepare a fireworks display for Kent State’s football game. Temple (2-1, 0-0 Big East Conference) was preparing to play its second overtime period against the University of Maine (0-3, 0-0 America East Conference) when both teams were informed the game would be called off. Temple field hockey first wrote on Twitter that there was a “field issue” and the game could not be completed. The Maine field hockey Twitter account announced that the game was called off to allow a fireworks display to take place at the Golden Flashes’ football field, adjacent to the field hockey pitch. “The circumstances that prevented the completion of our field hockey contest against Maine on Saturday are simply unacceptable and our studentathletes and coaches deserved better,” wrote Temple Athletics Director Patrick Kraft in a statement on Monday, adding that “fairness and equality are essential in the mission of college sports.” The teams weren’t informed prior to the 9 a.m. game that there was a deadline of 10:30 a.m. to finish the contest, and Kent State offered to resume the game at 5:30 p.m., which was impossible for Temple because of transportation arrangements back to Philadelphia, according to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. The NFHCA could find neither the reference to a “hard stop” in the game contract, nor an outline of what Kent State officials should do if the game ran too long. Kent State Field Hockey released a statement on Saturday, stating that the athletes and visitors’ safety ahead of the fireworks display was their “first @TheTempleNews
COLLEEN CLAGGETT/ FILE PHOTO Junior midfielder and team captain Dani Batze surveys the field in the Owls’ game against Merrimack University at Howarth Field on Aug. 30, 2019.
consideration.” “We regret today’s game had to be stopped during overtime play per field guidelines as previously discussed. We recognize the hard work and dedication of all student-athletes. The safety of our community, including studentathletes and visitors is always our first consideration,” the statement reads. Kent State could not be reached for additional comment, and the game currently appears on Temple’s schedule as a scrimmage with no score. “We see this as a terrible message being communicated to female studentathletes in this year of 2019. This decision was extremely damaging not only for the participating athletes, their coaches, and their families but for all female studentathletes,” the NFHCA said in a statement on Monday. The NFHCA also called on Kent State to compensate both teams.
Coach Susan Ciufo said that both teams tried to find a solution that would allow the game to be completed. Kent State denied the teams’ suggestion to go directly to a shootout to determine a winner, she added. “I feel like our girls are feeling thankful that Temple is where we are and that we do have support from our department,” Ciufo told The Temple News on Monday. “We know that something like this would never happen here. I think that as much as it is something that is unfortunate that happened to them, they’re ready to move on to the next game.” While Temple field hockey players were not made available for comment. “To finish a game is 110 percent a right, not an opportunity,” said Black Bears coach Josette Babineau in a press conference on Monday afternoon. “Title IX is great, but Title IX exists. And that
in itself shows that Title IX has to exist for us to receive rights, to be equal, is just self-explanatory.” Title IX, a federal law, states that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Ciufo is unsure if the game will be completed due to the distance between Philadelphia and Orono, Maine, and because the rest of the season’s schedule is already set. “We would love for there to be a direct solution in terms of reimbursement,” Ciufo said. “But I think looking at the bigger picture, a positive would be that nothing like this ever happens again.” jay.neemeyer@temple.edu @neemeyer_j
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SPORTS PAGE 22
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
FOOTBALL
Owls will use bye week to give players rest, reps Coach Rod Carey hopes the extra week of practice will pay off this weekend against Maryland. BY DANTE COLLINELLI Assistant Sports Editor Having a week-two bye is not ideal, said Temple University football coach Rod Carey. “You do not want the bye after your first game,” Carey said after the 56-12 win over Bucknell on Aug. 31. “Most of the time your improvement is from your first to your second game.” Still, Carey is optimistic that the week off will allow Owls who missed practice in the summer and the game against Bucknell University to clean up their mistakes before their game against the University of Maryland (2-0, 0-0 The Big Ten Conference) at home on Sept. 14. The Terrapins are ranked 21st in the newest AP poll. Carey hopes redshirt-junior quarterback Anthony Russo will benefit from the extra practice this week, he said. Russo started against Bucknell completing 32-of-41 passes for 409 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Despite a good statistical performance, Carey thinks Russo can improve during the bye week. “Other than that decision [Russo’s one interception] I liked all of his other decisions,” Carey said. “He wasn’t perfect as far as his delivery and accuracy but he certainly threw the ball well for missing two weeks of camp.” Russo suffered a soft tissue injury on his lower leg during practice on Aug. 12. Russo agrees with Carey that the extra week of practice will help him be more accurate as a passer. “I missed two open touchdowns on
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JUSTIN OAKES / FILE PHOTO Redshirt-junior quarterback Todd Centeio hands off the ball during the Owl’s season opener against Bucknell at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 31.
the first drive. One to [Isaiah Wright] and one to [Jadan Blue],” Russo said. “I’m gonna have another week of practice just throwing with those guys to get that timing down.” Last season, Russo started his first career game on the road against Maryland. The redshirt-junior quarterback completed 15-of-25 passes for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception leading the Owls to a 35-14 victory. Carey hopes redshirt-junior tightend Kenny Yeboah is ready to play in Saturday’s game after he sustained an
undisclosed injury a week before their season opener. “They are going to stress him pretty good in rehab and then hopefully we can get him out there to practice on Wednesday,” Carey said. “He’s definitely made some improvements, so I’m hopeful on that one.” Yeboah expects to have a bigger role as a receiver this season after posting 13 catches, 154 yards and one touchdown last season, he said. “I would definitely say [I’m] doing a little more receiving, maybe going outside doing some ‘X’ things, which
is very different from the old offense,” Yeboah said on Aug. 1. “I’m just really excited I get to do some things that I did in high school.” Yeboah’s only career touchdown was scored against the Terrapins on a fake punt thrown by redshirt-sophomore quarterback Todd Centeio in 2018. “We got a lot of things we have to clean up and get better at,” Carey said. “This bye week will certainly allow us to do that.” dante.collinelli@temple.edu @DanteCollinelli
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SPORTS PAGE 23
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
FIELD HOCKEY
Big East Conference honors redshirt freshman
COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-freshman midfielder Kerrie Lorenz carries the ball through two La Salle defenders at Howarth Field on Sept. 1. Lorenz recorded a goal and an assist in the Owls’ 3-0 win.
Lorenz took a redshirt year in 2018 due to a hand injury sustained in the summer. BY JAY NEEMEYER Sports Editor For the first time since 2014, a Temple athlete has received Offensive Player of the Week honors from the Big East Conference. Redshirt-freshman midfielder Kerrie Lorenz recorded five points in three games as the Owls went 2-1 to start the 2019 season. Lorenz scored a goal in each of the first two games and added an assist on junior midfielder Dani Batze’s game-winner against La Salle University @TheTempleNews
on Sept 1. “I worked really hard throughout the summer, and I think it’s paying off,” Lorenz said after practice on Sept. 4. Lorenz did not play in 2018 season after she broke her hand the summer before her freshman year started, she said. Coach Susan Ciufo said that between spring practice and fall preseason, Lorenz’s fitness increased dramatically. “When she just kept bringing it every day to practice and her fitness made a tremendous change, she earned the spot,” Cuifo said. Lorenz tied for sixth place in total points in the Big East conference. She leads the Owls in points.
Ciufo is excited to have Lorenz’s “unique skill set” contribute to the team for the next three seasons, and for Lorenz to continue growing as a player. “She’s pretty special with her ability to eliminate defenders,” Ciufo said. “She has a phenomenal shot on goal as soon as she reaches the circle line. It’s really hard to read for goalkeepers. So she’s definitely somebody that’s really unique in the ability to score, in the ability to eliminate, and the ability to make things happen in our attacking 25 [yards.]” Ciufo said she considered moving Lorenz to a forward position, but believes Lorenz is very valuable as a midfielder because she makes Temple’s attack “threatening.”
Lorenz started playing field hockey at the age of 8 for Take Care of Your Own (TCOYO) Hockey, where she was a member throughout her field hockey career. “She was just a natural when she was young,” said Sandy Szilassy, the cofounder and director of TCOYO. “I think she played U16 when she was nine.” Szilassy said Lorenz was very coachable and “got better each time she touched the ball.” “I think that helped my foundation of being a field hockey player to moving on to other teams and a higher level,” Lorenz said. jay.neemeyer@temple.edu @neemeyer_j
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SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
PAGE 24
MEN’S SOCCER
BROTHERS PLAY AS TEAMMATES FOR FIRST TIME
JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior defender Corey Burkhardt practices with his younger brother, freshman midfielder Andrew, at the Temple Sports Complex on Sept. 9.
Andrew and Corey Burkhardt from Seton Hall in December 2018. He noticed a difference between the two a game called “World Cup,” where they both enter their first season with was looking to complete a master of on the field. Andrew is an “attacking would all take turns shooting into the science in sport business and thought midfielder,” while Corey is more net. The last player to score in the round Temple men’s soccer. BY ALEX McGINLEY Assistant Sports Editor Brothers freshman midfielder Andrew Burkhardt and graduate transfer defender Corey Burkhardt have never played together on a team until now. Both Burkhardts are new to the Temple men’s soccer team this season. Corey, a graduate transfer from Seton Hall University, received another year of eligibility because he did not play during his first year in 2015. Corey played alongside his twin brother Spencer during his time as a Pirate. All four Burkhardt brothers play soccer, including the youngest Randy, who is a goalkeeper at Lower Dauphin high school. Andrew committed to Temple during his junior year of high school. Corey then followed him after graduating sports@temple-news.com
Temple was a “perfect” fit. Corey has noticed that there’s a different “dynamic” playing with Spencer versus playing with Andrew, he said. “Just being a twin, there’s probably a bit more of an understanding because I’ve played with [Spencer] longer,” Corey said. “Playing competitively with Andrew, you still develop a connection just like any new teammate. Because we’ve played in the backyard before, I understand him probably even a little better than some of the other guys on the team.” Even though they have a connection on the soccer field, Andrew and Corey like to go on separate paths off the field. They only see each other during practice and games due to living at different places and varying schedules, Andrew said. Coach Brian Rowland has also
“versatile” and can adapt to multiple positions, Rowland said. “They don’t have a ton of similarities in terms of just when you see them play and interact with them everyday,” Rowland said. “They don’t sit next to each other in the locker room or anything like that. They kind of have their own personalities and spaces.” The Burkhardt’s have received opportunities to contribute this season. Corey has played 100 minutes in starts in the first two games of the season. Andrew appeared off the bench in the first two games and has logged 25 minutes. He recorded a shot on goal against Georgetown on Sept. 2. Practicing with his brothers while growing up pushed him to become a better player, Andrew said. He would often practice with Corey, Spencer and Randy. They used to play
would be eliminated until there was a winner. “I would be going up against them at the same time,” Andrew said. “Since they were at a higher level than me at the time, that would make me work harder and improve my skills to be able to beat them.” Because Corey will only get to play with Andrew this season, he wants to take advantage of the time he gets to spend with his brother, he said. “It’s an experience anybody would probably want to have,” Corey said. “Being able to say in 20 years that they’ve played with one brother and then three years later played with another. There’s not a lot of student-athletes that can say that. I think that’s something I’ll always cherish and I’m really glad that I did.” alex.mcginley@temple.edu @mcginley_alex
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