Vol. 98 Iss. 7

THE TEMPLE NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019

PAGE 1

ANOTHER PHASE DOWN

Construction of 50 more units at Norris Apartments nears completion.

Read more on Page 3

WHAT’S INSIDE INTERSECTION, PAGE 19 Students and faculty explain Temple’s LGBT minor program.

SPORTS, PAGE 22 Kent State investigates field hockey game, finds no Title IX violation.

LUNCHIES 2019 Pages B1 - B8 VOL 98 // ISSUE 7 OCT. 8, 2019@TheTempleNews

temple-news.com @thetemplenews

NEWS PAGE 2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 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 Colin Evans News Editor Hal Conte Assistant News Editor Gabrielle Houck Assistant News Editor Tyler Perez Opinion Editor Madison Karas Features Editor Bibiana Correa Assistant Features Editor Ayooluwa Ariyo Assistant Features Editor Jay Neemeyer Sports Editor Dante Collinelli Assistant Sports Editor Alex McGinley Assistant Sports Editor Alesia Bani Intersection Co-Editor Gionna Kinchen Intersection Co-Editor Michael Moscarelli Dir. of Engagement Colleen Claggett Photography Editor Jeremy Elvas Asst. Photography Editor Madison Seitchik Co-Multimedia Editor Jared Giovan Co-Multimedia Editor Ingrid Slater Design Editor Nicole Hwang Designer Phuong Tran Advertising Manager Kelsey McGill Advertising Manager Lubin Park Business Manager

The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community.

Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News.

Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News.

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

ON THE COVER RYAN ENOCH / 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 Kelly Brennan at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6736.

On Page 1 of the Oct. 1, 2019 issue, “athletes” was misspelled.

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

RESEARCH

Some share fake news for chaos, study says A Temple professor won an award in the American Political Science Association.

BY HAL CONTE Assistant News Editor Disenfranchised people may share fake news — not because they believe it — but because they want to create disorder, according to a study, co-authored by a Temple professor, which examines why people deliberately share fake news on social media. “‘A Need for Chaos’ and the Sharing of Hostile Political Rumors in Advanced Democracies,” won the American Political Science Association’s top award in Political Psychology last month.

Fake news is “fabricated information that mimics news media content in form but not in organizational process or intend,” according to an article in Science. In recent years, perceptions of bias and fake news have caused Americans’ trust in media to fall from 53 percent in 1997 to 3 percent in 2017, according to Gallop.

Kevin Arceneaux, the director of Temple’s Behavioral Foundations lab, set out, along with his colleagues, to understand how fake news spreads across social media, he said. They concluded, based on national polls, that many people don’t share fake news out of ignorance or partisanship, but because they see spreading rumors as a strategy for furthering chaos.

“I remember it like yesterday, sitting around a table, saying ‘Some people want a need for chaos,’ kind of laughing, then I wondered if that wasn’t crazy,” Arceneaux said.

“When evidence came back supporting that supposition, I was surprised.

It just came to us in a flash of insight.”

“People who tend to see themselves as lower on the social hierarchy who see chaos as a way to gain power are more likely to spread rumors, not because they believe them but because they want to upset the apple cart,” he added.

Abbe Depretis, a professor of communication and social influence, said fake news is not a new phenomenon, but part of a long history of people using outrageous stunts to gain attention.

“You kind of get the answer in the word ‘chaos,’” Depretis said. “In a time of chaos people feel powerless, so sometimes people invert this to create power for themselves. If they’re a part of creating this chaos, it gives them some grounding in the chaos.”

Arceneaux’s data argues that people who spread fake news feel disadvantaged in society.

“They are often construed as bored people who have nothing to do, sometimes they can’t articulate their demands, but there’s politics behind it,” Depretis said. “People act like it’s greed or consumerism, but it’s not. People say they are burning down their own city. They’re not.”

“They’re burning down places that have treated residents poorly, they destroy or take from places that have taken from them,” she added.

“I don’t think you can say that their behavior is irrational,” Arceneaux said. “They think spreading rumors will cause the current established system to be ripped and burned to the ground. From their perspective, it’s sensible, even though the effects are horrific.” hal.conte@temple.edu @conte_hal

temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

COMMUNITY

Public housing revamp near campus progresses The new units in Phase III will open at the end of the year.

BY JACK DANZ For The Temple News The Philadelphia Housing Authority is finalizing construction on Phase III of the Norris Apartments project, which consists of 50 residential units near the intersection of 11th and Norris streets, said Donna Richardson, president of the Norris Community Resident Council.

The homes will open in November or December with residents moving in early 2020, Richardson said.

In addition, the agency is preparing to break ground on Phase IV of the project, which will add approximately 120 residential units, Richardson said. Construction on Phase IV is expected to be completed by 2020 or 2021.

The project is partially funded by a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

PHA began demolition of the existing Norris Homes in 2018. In total, the five phases of development will replace the original 147 houses with 297.

PHA could not immediately be reached for comment.

Richardson estimates that 80 percent of former residents will return to the apartments, she said.

“When they wanted to tear down the old Norris Homes and bring up the new ones, the concern was making sure that everybody had a right to return,” Richardson said. “That was done, but we still see the need for housing for so many people.”

The new apartments are considered mixed-income, with some set to be sub-

@TheTempleNews

RYAN ENOCH / THE TEMPLE NEWS Building rubble lies on the construction site of the Norris Apartments project at Berks and 10th streets on Sept. 25.

sidized and others set at a market rate, Richardson said.

“It takes away that model of project homes,” she added.

The $125-million project is funded through the HUD grant, private funds, tax credits and additional funds from the PHA. Norris Apartments offers childcare for those who work as well as stipends for job seekers, Richardson said. The PHA also installed more lights in the area around the homes.

Natasha Hinnant, who lives in Norris Apartments on Norris Street near 8th

Street, said her home is nice and spacious.

“I love it,” said Hinnant, who moved in December after five years on the city’s waiting list for public housing. “It’s comfortable.”

Algina Johnson, who lives on Norris Street near Darien Street, moved in her Norris Apartments home in December.

“I love the homes,” Johnson said. “I love the new location. I like the neighbors.”

In collaboration with the College of Education, Norris Apartments also operates community-led after-school and

summer programs, staffed by Norris residents, as well as professional development workshops.

The after-school program started with 15 children and now has 45, Richardson said. The summer program started with 50 children and now has 65.

Sarah Thomas, who lives on Franklin Street near Diamond Street, said she has way more space than in her previous home.

“I like it. I love my house. That’s it,” Thomas said. john.danz@temple.edu

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

ADVERTISEMENT

temple-news.com

NEWS

PAGE 5

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

COMMUNITY

School district weighs sites for Ben Franklin High Students and parents expressed anger at the district’s response to an asbestos issue on Monday.

BY COLIN EVANS News Editor The Philadelphia School District considered relocating students from Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy, whose building is temporarily closed due to asbestos concerns, to Temple University but ultimately decided not to, said Superintendent William Hite.

The district dismissed Temple as an option because the university did not have enough space to accommodate the approximately 1,000 students, who would need more than 50 classrooms, Hite said.

Hite spoke to The Temple News after a contentious town hall meeting on Monday morning with students, parents and staff from Benjamin Franklin and SLA, who voiced their outrage toward the school districts’ response to the discovery of damaged asbestos in the school’s boiler room.

Temple does not have any information at this time about the school district’s request, said Chris Vito, a spokesperson for the university.

On Friday, Hite promised that the district would find a place where students can go to school by Thursday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

But at Monday’s town hall, Hite said the district would consider delaying classes further until they found a more suitable location for students, adding that the two schools are not expected to return to their original building until January.

The two options that the district proposed — Strawberry Mansion High School and South Philadelphia High School — were both met with opposition from parents who voiced concerns regarding student safety at Strawberry Mansion and overcrowding at both

@TheTempleNews

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Benjamin Franklin High School on Broad Street between Green and Brandywine streets closed after damaged asbestos was discovered.

schools.

Hite told the crowd of hundreds that the other options the district explored, including its own headquarters, other area colleges and universities and local high schools, did not satisfy all the requirements for the two schools, which include providing sufficient space for students and proximity to public transportation.

The district performed construction on Benjamin Franklin’s building for 18 months to help SLA, which was previously housed on 22nd Street near Arch Street, to move into the building this year, though the asbestos was found after construction in the affected area was completed, said Brian Joseph, the district’s environmental director, at the

town hall.

Amid calls for further discussion, involving parents, staff and district administrators, Hite pledged to form a task force that will explore alternatives to Strawberry Mansion and South Philadelphia.

Brandy Smith, whose son is a freshman at Benjamin Franklin, said the district responded in a good way by taking the kids out of school but has been taking too long to relocate them.

“I wish they would find a school for these kids to go to,” said Smith, who lives between 20th and Dauphin streets.

“They’re losing out on their education.”

Jenell Johnson, whose son is also a freshman at the school, said she wants the district to find an alternate location,

maybe in the Temple area.

“More options than Strawberry Mansion,” said Johnson, who lives on Ridge near Diamond Street.

Morgan Caswell, a junior physics major who graduated from SLA in 2016 and has two siblings who currently attend, said it is frustrating to see people talking about the building’s hazards just now, even though they existed before, she said.

“All of a sudden we’re talking about asbestos, we’re talking about dangerous learning conditions, because a majority white, wealthy school moves in,” Caswell said. colin.evans@temple.edu @colinpaulevans

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

NEWS PAGE 6

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

TSG

New initiative connects directors, student clubs The executive branch is still working out kinks in the system, the student body president said.

BY LAKOTA MATSON TSG Beat Reporter This academic year, Temple Student Government is implementing “out-ofoffice hours,” which requires directors in the executive branch to attend at least one student organization meeting a week to boost outreach.

The current administration campaigned on the policy based on criticism from students that TSG was a “faceless organization,” said Student Body President Francesca Capozzi.

“We didn’t like that reputation that Temple Student Government had,” Capozzi said. “We act as the liaison between students and the administration, which means that students should definitely feel comfortable to come to us and talk to us about anything that they feel is a concern or an issue or even something good that’s going on on Temple’s campus.”

Every director has attended meetings of approximately 25 organizations in the past two weeks, according to a list from Jess Torres, TSG’s director of communications.

But three leaders of the listed organizations told The Temple News that they had no recollection of TSG members attending their meeting in an official capacity.

“That’s not true,” said Mckenzie Morrisey, the STARS director with the Black Student Union. “You would’ve noticed if someone from TSG was there.”

News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Student Body President Francesca Capozzi sits at her desk in her office in the Student Center on Oct. 7.

Sariyah Andrews, the president of BSU, said that Natalia Garay, TSG’s director of student affairs, did attend one of their meetings, but as a representative of Queen In You, the campus organization she is president of, and not TSG. Garay said that she attended the BSU meeting as a representative of both Queen In You and TSG and that she’s attended meetings of the Progressive NAACP and S.M.O.O.T.H. Inc., among others, in her TSG capacity.

“Normally, when I go to different organization meetings, I count it as an hour of out-of-office hours,” Garay said.

“But if I’m asked in the capacity of Queen

In You, it depends on the event.”

“Let’s say, for instance, the BSU event, because I knew that they were talking about things that had to do with student concerns, I kept both hats on,” she added.

Some directors may not have attended their chosen organization’s meetings in full or not have talked to every leader in an organization, which could explain why some organization leaders did not notice them, Capozzi said.

“This is still a really early initiative,” Capozzi said. “So working out the kinks, letting our directors know the reason that we really want to have these office

hours is so that they can connect with these students to make sure their voices are heard.”

Capozzi is considering requiring directors to fill out more detailed post-meeting reports, she said.

“It’s important that there’s some accountability factor that also allows us to then reach out again to these organizations and make sure their concerns or questions were heard or answered,” Capozzi said. lakota.matson@temple.edu Colin Evans contributed reporting.

temple-news.com

OPINION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

PAGE 7 EDITORIAL

Cherry Pantry is a vital tool This week, The Temple News produced its annual Lunchies issue, featuring family-run businesses on and around Main Campus. Our editors and writers are highlighting the diverse range of restaurants and food trucks in the Temple community.

We are also providing our readers with a number of affordable, low-priced options, like Vegan Tree and Ebi’s Halal Lunch Cart. We recognize that not all students have the financial capability to eat on-campus food every day.

The Editorial Board wants to shed light on the work of the Cherry Pantry, Temple University’s food pantry, which provides

food, toiletries, menstrual hygiene products and other everyday necessities. Individuals utilizing the Pantry resources are not questioned about their food security, which maintains a sense of privacy for every student.

The Editorial Board encourages students and faculty struggling with food insecurity and financial instability to take advantage of the Cherry Pantry and the resources it provides.

The Editorial Board also calls on students to donate to the pantry if they have the financial means to do so.

We thank the Cherry Pantry for supporting the nutritional well-being of our student body.

EDITORIAL

TSG: Work out the kinks Temple Student Government’s current administration campaigned on a policy of connecting directors with student organizations. Seven weeks into the semester, the policy is starting to take shape.

TSG’s “out-of-office hours” initiative requires executive branch members to attend student organization meetings once a week. The plan hopes to put a face to TSG. The Editorial Board commends TSG for implementing this initiative. It is important to provide student organizations with a means of contact for questions and concerns about the university.

But TSG must hold its direc-

@TheTempleNews

tors accountable. Leaders from three organizations told The Temple News that they were not aware that any TSG members were present at their meetings.

TSG should keep track of each director’s attendance by having them record the days they went to meetings, the topics they discussed and who they spoke to in the organization.

We understand this initiative is fairly new and that TSG is still working things out. We understand the instability of beginning stages, but we hope this improves over time, and every director will improve their outreach to campus organizations.

THE ESSAYIST

A recipe for food writing

Watching renowned chef Julia Child was spent experimenting with different inas a child gave one student a love gredients and cooking styles, often at the exand admiration for the culinary arts. pense of my kitchen’s well-being.

BY MICHAEL HOWARD For The Temple News

I

t was a hot summer night in 1992 when I found the first ingredient for my passion.

I was eight and awake much later than I should have been. I crept into the living room and turned the heavy plastic knob on the TV to Channel 12. As the screen flashed on, I was greeted by the image of six headless and obviously deceased chickens, sitting right-side-up in a row on a gigantic cutting board, while classical concertos played in the background.

The camera panned upright to a tall, curly-haired figure standing behind the spectacle. That’s when I saw her for the very first time.

“Hello, my name is Julia Child, and this is ‘The French Chef,’” she said in a deep, hoarse voice.

At first, my young mind couldn’t process what exactly I was seeing. Why was she happily bludgeoning that poor chicken with a large mallet? I was beyond frightened.

And yet, I couldn’t stop watching. I was entranced by the macabre spectacle that was in front of me. There was something beautiful in the way she created dishes, each component meticulously and carefully prepared until it came together like a beautiful symphony.

She was a culinary conductor, and I was along for the ride.

From that moment on, I was hooked. I routinely broke bedtime curfew to watch the queen of culinary debauchery.

I ransacked my local library for any cookbook I could get my hands on, and I’d mow lawns and walk dogs just to scrounge enough money to buy cooking supplies. My free time

The first meal I ever prepared was chicken marsala with scalloped potatoes and roasted vegetables, and I’ll be the first to admit it was slimy and vaguely recognizable. Each failure only made me grow hungrier, quite literally, as I attempted to perfect my craft through endless attempts and research.

What truly amazes me about cooking is it provides a glimpse inside a cook’s soul and personality. Recipes, cookbooks and Julia Child merely provide a strong foundation for cooks to interpret and improve upon. It’s innovation and creativity that separates a great chef from all of the rest, and it’s what drove me to pursue a career as a food writer.

For as long as I can remember, writing has always been a passion of mine. I always wanted to go to school for journalism but a family tragedy made me rethink my career goals and pursue culinary arts instead, as I was already cooking professionally at the time.

I chose to enter food writing because I feel that too many writers gloss over the ugly and disastrous side of cooking in favor of glamour and success. Everyone loves a success story, but unless you are some kind of prodigy, that success only came from the numerous failures and experimentation before it.

Julia Child was instrumental in my culinary passion because her show centered around her relationship with the food. In an age where cooking programs focus on the chef and their personality, Child placed the dish front and foremost.

It’s this emphasis on the food before all else, with the realization that cooking isn’t always pretty, that captivated me that night in 1992, and it’s what still amazes me every time I go to sit down and write.

Cooking isn’t always glamorous, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. michael.howard0003@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

OPINION PAGE 8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

THE ESSAYIST

Queer film and a community that empowered me

The founder of Queer Film Collective recalls attending the world’s largest LGBTQ film fest.

BY HANSEN BURSIC For The Temple News I was sitting at my office desk when I got the news.

An email arrived in my inbox and I couldn’t read past the word “congratulations.”

I found out that day a film I directed was accepted into Framline, the oldest and largest LGBTQ film festival, in the world, with an annual attendance of over 60,000 according to the festival’s website.

I hope my boss didn’t see me break down at my desk and leave in a hurry to call my mother and then my professor.

“The Toothmans” was the short documentary film I made my freshman year at Temple University — back when I didn’t know a single thing about film festivals. I wouldn’t have even submitted the film if it wasn’t for my mentor and professor, who told me to think bigger than the Pittsburgh Underground Film Festival where it premiered in 2017.

But Frameline was so much more.

Held yearly in the historic Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, California, Frameline was nothing I could have ever dreamed of, boasting an impressive lineup of queer and trans cinema and bringing together filmmakers from all around the world.

Of course, I had to go. I packed my bags and headed off to San Francisco.

It was my first time on the West Coast, my first time traveling alone and my first time attending a film festival of that size. While the trip was far, it was incredibly worth it.

The festival consisted of two weeks of independent LGBTQ cinema from around the world.

I arrived on opening night to the bustle and queer energy of the Castro, ready to experience the dozens of independent LGBTQ films. letters@temple-news.com

CALVIN ATHEY / THE TEMPLE NEWS

I was immersed in a crowd of hundreds of people through the various opening events, the chilly San Francisco night making way to a sunny weekend, where I attended parties, panels and more premieres.

My screening was filled to capacity with film lovers from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. I was fortunate enough to speak on a talkback panel about the film with the subject of my documentary who also flew down for the occasion.

The festival was truly a queer church for me. It was a community I didn’t know existed or how desperately I needed.

Growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I was a pretty unapologetically queer person. Still, I was constantly searching for a community that was never really there.

My search for the film community was a very similar struggle.

Back then, LGBTQ film was always a vital part of my life, and I had become

used to seeing independent queer and trans film festivals in hidden-away cinemas on the edge of the city or in friends’ basements.

To have a two-week-long celebration of filmmaking centered around diverse creators was inspirational. I made lifelong connections from around the world, all of whom understand the power of LGBTW filmmaking.

To have space where creators of similar experience can all come together and collectively share that experience was priceless.

Upon returning home, back to Temple and my peers, my experience could have easily turned into something I treasure and look back fondly on, but for me, that would have been such a monumental waste.

I wanted to share the sense of community I got and to bring it back to the people that helped me get there in the first place.

I started the Queer Film Collective

in the fall of 2017 to create a community of LGBTQ and allied filmmakers at Temple who felt passionately about queer stories. I kept saying to myself, “There is no reason we couldn’t create a space like that here.”

A year later, we hosted DiamondQ, Temple’s very first LGBTQ film festival with all-star jurors, a creators’ panel and seven truly fantastic films.

I can’t help but feel grounded and represented here, now more than ever. I feel honored to recreate the same energy and community that carried me during the film festival, a space that made me feel like I belonged somewhere.

There’s a power to cinema, not just the stories I can tell, but in the opportunities I have, the people I meet and, most importantly, the community I can be a part of, and that’s a feeling I won’t let go of. hansen.bursic@temple.edu @hansenbursic

temple-news.com

OPINION

PAGE 9

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

STUDENT LIFE

Temple, Aramark: Offer affordable food options On-campus food is expensive, with a lack of cheaper options for those not on a meal plan.

I came to Temple on a budget. I have to be wary of everything I spent money on, especially food. If I wanted to treat myself to a meal at Chick-fil-A, the only thing I could ALVIRA BONSU For The Temple News afford was the number one combo meal: a chicken sandwich, medium beverage and a side.

The price of that meal in the Student Center today is $6.99, and that same meal costs $5.95, a dollar less, at a Chick-Fil-A on 16th and Chestnut Streets in Center City, according to Chick-Fil-A’s website.

This isn’t the only case of overpriced restaurants on campus. Of all of the retail locations in the Student Center, the price for a traditional meal of an entree, side and drink can reach up to $9.94 at Which Wich and $14.13 at BurgerFi before tax.

Students deserve access to reasonably priced food on their campus, especially if they’re not on a meal plan.

“I probably would not go back on the meal plan,” said Italia Messina, a junior global studies major. “I feel like it is overpriced and limiting anyway. The meals I make from the grocery store don’t cost me more than $5.”

The rise in food prices is part of a national trend of meal plans increasing at colleges and universities, largely due to universities relying on third-party food distributors for culinary services, the New York Times reported in 2015.

Aramark, one of these distributors, began a 15-year contract with Temple in 2016, The Temple News reported. This means that Aramark — not Temple — controls our meal plans and meal equivalencies, pre-determined rates for meals

@TheTempleNews

CLAUDIA SALVATO / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore business major Justin Singmaker swipes his OwlCard at Chick-Fil-A at the Student Center on Oct. 2.

at retail locations on campus.

Madison Okkerse, a sophomore human resource management major and a peer-to-peer marketing student worker for Aramark, argues Aramark’s business practices make it impractical to offer cheaper alternatives on campus.

“It is not possible at all to open equivalencies to more options on campus because we work with the brands that Aramark contracts with at their corporate office, and we can’t just add and subtract places that accept them as the campus chooses,” Okkerse said.

Considering 35 percent of Temple’s undergraduate student body experiences food insecurity, according to a January 2018 university release, it’s clear that Aramark is not helping this situation by

raising meal equivalency prices. Temple also is making the situation worse by offering few inexpensive alternatives.

“The average meal price for a meal swipe is supposed to be $8 or something, but I just paid $13 for a sandwich, a mac and cheese and a drink,” said Sydney Kline, a junior criminal justice major, after eating at Potbelly Sandwich Shop on Montgomery Avenue near 12th Street, a restaurant that is not contracted by Aramark, therefore students cannot use meal swipes there.

“I definitely don’t think that for students working no more than 20 hours a week that it’s feasible to eat like this everyday,” Kline added.

There are other food options for students on and around campus, like the

countless food trucks in the area. Many of these businesses have more affordable options than the retail locations that Temple offers. And while those without meal plans — students and community members alike — should take advantage of these vendors, that doesn’t account for the fact that most food trucks don’t take Diamond Dollars, Temple’s on-campus currency, which is often the only form of payment some students have.

We need more options, less expensive meal plans or changes in the price of meal equivalencies.

We have to pay for laundry, textbooks, rent and transportation, and the last thing we should be concerned about affording is our own food. alvira.bonsu@temple.edu

letters@temple-news.com

OPINION PAGE 10

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

MENTAL HEALTH

Memes aren’t a platform to discuss mental illness Mental health memes portray serious issues, like depression and suicide, as lighhearted jokes.

As a person living with bipolar disorder, social anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, life can feel a bit chaotic. My fluctuate BRITTANY VALENTINE moods For The Temple News abnormally, my limited attention span makes everything seem like a bigger task than it is and anxious thoughts can hold me back from doing simple tasks, like ordering food over the phone.

Not too long ago, however, I came across a meme on social media that used these conditions as a punchline to a joke.

Placed above an image of a man making a contemplative facial expression, the text read “My brain when it doesn’t have enough serotonin” and “I have decided that I want to die.”

I laughed briefly, but looking at the bigger picture, I mainly felt sadness. I felt a sense of empathy for the person who created this meme and for all those who could relate to it, including myself.

While it’s healthy to talk about having suicidal thoughts, it feels insensitive to poke fun so nonchalantly.

Suicide rates among young people ages 15-24 rose to their highest rate on record in 2017, roughly doubling since 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Suicide is also the second-leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34, US News reported, and memes that use suicidal ideation as a punchline ignore the severity of this situation.

While it’s comforting to find another soul who shares similar struggles, mental health memes ignore the severity of mental illness.

“I think it helps,” said Tarek Yahya, a sophomore biology major. “I feel like from what I’ve seen before on Twitter is that these memes make it easier for letters@temple-news.com

NICOLE HWANG / THE TEMPLE NEWS

people to talk about mental health and depression. You can talk about it more easily when there’s jokes about it.”

Although a meme that perfectly explains my mental issues without being insensitive can make me laugh and feel less alone, my issue is when the conversation stops right there.

After we like or repost a mental health meme, the issues are still there.

This person is still suffering, and so are all the people who interacted with it.

“I can honestly say that in some of my darkest moments, the memes have provided comedic relief and comfort just letting me know that I’m not the only one who is going through these things,” said Jordan Campbell, a junior psychology major. “However, I feel as though those who aren’t necessarily struggling with depression or anxiety may have a bad day and choose to repost these even if they don’t fully connect to the meme or message.”

Through sheer exposure, mental health memes break the stigma surrounding mental health, a barrier that

prevents 60 percent of adults with mental illnesses from seeking treatment, according to the American Addiction Centers.

Beyond offering little to no serious conversation about mental illness, these memes pass through social media timelines in a matter of seconds, doing nothing to actually help individuals with their issues.

“Coping techniques are as unique as the person employing them,” said Liz Zadnik, assistant director for the Wellness Resource Center. “Humor is not inherently healthy or unhealthy. It is dependent on how the person feels in other dimensions of their life and wellness.”

“Is humor being used to build authentic bonds and support networks? Is it being used to make light of self-harm or suicide?” Zadnick added.

When it comes to addressing the seriousness of mental health, social media can be a mixed bag, but ultimately, it’s a tool we can use to start a conversation about mental illness.

Instagram accounts like Lisa Oli-

vera Therapy, Notes From Your Therapists and Alexandra Solomon are run by licensed therapists that inform their followers about trauma, healing and selfcare.

While it doesn’t compare to seeing a therapist, these posts provide more long-term self-help than memes do.

“Moving forward, it is my hope that we can form strong connections and support. I hope that more people begin to use social media compared to it using us. I believe it’s what we make it,” Moyers added.

Mental illness is a complex and multidimensional issue, and a meme that happens to reference those issues can’t even begin to unpack that.

While we do need to laugh and find communities of similar people, we also need to use social media as a tool to begin this conversation and to provide resources for those struggling. brittany.valentine@temple.edu @recoveryspirit

temple-news.com

FEATURES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

PAGE 11

COMMUNITY

College of Public Health opens nurse-run clinic Temple opened the Vaux Community Healthcare Clinic in Sharswood last month.

BY EMMA PADNER For The Temple News

W

hen Marti Kubik first visited Roberts Vaux High School’s former building in 2017, she noticed a closed clinic on 23rd and Master streets.

“As we were walking the dusty dark hallways I spotted this clinic in the corner here and asked what they were going to be doing here,” Kubik said.

She talked to the dean of the College of Public Health, Laura Siminoff, and asked about the possibility of starting a nurse-managed clinic in the space.

“And two years later here we are,” Kubik said.

Vaux Community Healthcare Clinic, a clinic in the Roberts Vaux High School building in the Sharswood neighborhood, opened its doors on Sept. 3. The clinic staff is made up of nurse practitioners who are all faculty at the College of Public Health.

“We’re starting at zero with a new clinic and in a space that hasn’t had a health center for seven years, so it really is that sort of reengaging with the community,” Kubik said. “We are here to provide ... not just disease but disease prevention, healthy lifestyle support and working with the community on what they identify as needs to address.”

In addition to the community clinic, the Roberts Vaux High School building houses Vaux Big Picture High School, a AmeriCorps collaborative that finds job training for young people, and Clarifi, a financial literacy organization.

Shawn Jackson, a nurse practitioner at the College of Public Health, said the most exciting part of opening the clinic was when her first patient came through the door who had not been seen any healthcare provider in almost 20 years.

“The fact that he’s coming back again @TheTempleNews

EMMA PADNER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Dr. Shawn Jackson prepares and assembles an otoscope in the Vaux Community Healthcare Center in Sharswood on Sept. 30.

within a six-week period and following up with the recommendations, that really was a win for me,” Jackson said.

Sofia Carreno, Vaux’s nurse manager, said that the clinic is important for Sharswood because transportation is an issue within the neighborhood.

The closest clinic is Meade Family Health Center between 18th and Oxford streets, a mile away.

Hugh David Taylor III, who’s lived in the North Philadelphia area for 55 years and works at Philadelphia Housing Authority, said that reaching medical care in the area was a problem.

“Because there is no St. Joe’s University Hospital no more, there’s no Hahnemann, people need something

close by to get to for medical purposes,” Taylor said. “Its great, great, especially for the elderly, people don’t have transportation to get to nearby hospitals and clinics.”

It has been exciting to engage with the community, and the conversations she’s been having with residents have been valuable in helping her learn more about the needs of the area, Carreno said.

“A lot of families have had roots in this neighborhood for many, many years and have seen it develop and change, and there’s a lot of pride in this neighborhood and a lot of excitement for what’s ahead,” she said. “Having a successful clinic really comes down to knowing your population and knowing we’ll provide what

kind of services outside of general primary care services.”

Jackson hopes the clinic will provide all of the services people may need, like social work and nutritional needs.

Kubik would like to see the clinic become a community clinic and be more than “healthcare as usual.”

“We’re the first step with the college with opening a nurse-managed clinic.

We’re excited to be the first,” Kubik said.

“It’s been a lot of work, some expected, some unexpected. But every day we’re meeting somebody new [and] it’s personally rewarding and very hopeful.” emma.padner@temple.edu @emmapadner

features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 12

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

ALUMNI

Business changes narrative on fitness, nutrition Two alumni recently started producing protein fuel bars as a part of their health-focused company.

BY AYOOLUWA ARIYO Assistant Features Editor Rian Watkins, a 2015 advertising alumnus, used to be a creative director for his friend’s health and fitness company.

Then, he tried Leroy Mapp’s prototype of a protein fuel bar.

“I knew it was a big opportunity because if it could appeal to me, then it could appeal to a much larger base of people than just fitness enthusiasts,” Watkins said.

Watkins then decided to join Mapp, a 2017 construction alumnus, in creating Gorilla Power, a health, fitness and nutrition company that aims to educate and help people live a healthy life.

This year, they officially got approved to package and sell their plantbased, protein bars by the Philadelphia Department of Agriculture.

When Mapp was a student at Temple, he constantly worked out in the IBC Student Recreation Center and a boxing studio, where he met people of color like himself who were vegan.

“That’s when I really got to understand things more,” Mapp said. “They would tell me the pros of being vegan and from those conversations, that sparked the interest in me wanting to change my diet.”

This idea was new to him and because of it, he wanted to create a business based in nutrition to educate people.

The dairy and GMO-free bar comes in two flavors, chocolate chunk and pea-

features@temple-news.com

ERIC COOMBS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Gorilla Power founders Rian Watkins (left) and Leroy Mapp (right) stand near the Schuylkill River on Sep. 2.

nut butter crisp. The prices are $3.33 for a bar, $20 for 6 or or $40 for 12.

The duo wanted to create awareness about fitness and nutrition to people who may be oblivious to it and hope to target their products to people of color.

“We just wanted to change the narrative of what it means to be plant-based, it doesn’t have to be all these expensive and unrealistic ingredients,” Watkins said. “We can incorporate being healthy and living a balanced lifestyle with who we are, being hip-hop enthusiasts and

being from the inner city, just kind of merging those worlds together.”

They spent their first year marketing the brand. Throughout 2018, focused on being a resource for fitness information by creating and posting workout videos and healthy meal recipes on their website. They also organized fitness events and boot camps, where they started marketing the bars.

As a certified personal trainer, Mapp stars in some of the workout videos on their website. He took the certification

course with his friend Jelani Knight, a 2017 kinesiology alumnus. Knight thinks that the vegan bar makes the business inclusive for a wide range of people and he eats one almost every day.

“I really loved the idea of it,” Knight said. “As a fitness professional, having a general resource center that you can go to, to access just about anything you need to start up your fitness journey.” ayooluwa.ariyo@temple.edu @fogo_ay

temple-news.com

Homemade

A Special Edition of The Temple News

S E I H C N U L 2019

Pages B1-B8

LUNCHIES

PAGE B2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FAMILY-OWNED

LETTER

Food runs in the family

C

oming from five generations of crop farmers, I know firsthand how a family comes together to produce food for others.

Every year from late summer through fall, my younger brother, my dad and I planted tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, cabbage, peppers and corn at our farm in Chisago County, Minnesota.

Through October, we would harvest the vegetables and give the food to our neighbors.

My job would be to go door-to-door and offer my neighbors first grab at our yearly picks. Then, my mom would help all of us set up a “free veggies” stand in our front yard for anyone who passed by our house to pick up. We’d set out a donation jar, and once all the produce was gone, give its proceeds to cancer research charities to honor my grandmother.

For this year’s Lunchies, I chose to highlight family-owned businesses — families who come together every day to make up Temple’s campus platter. From a restaurant run by a family of eight to an engaged couple managing a chain of food trucks, each story in this issue features a different type of relationship and how these families work to produce and serve meals that have a special meaning to them.

In addition, we compiled a list of go-to food items on Main Campus that are under $5. We also created a video showing different ways to use students’ weekly points to make meals at the Cherry Pantry, Temple’s on-campus food pantry. College isn’t affordable for a large majority of students, and food insecurity continues to affect many students, so it’s important to know where to find and access affordable food options on campus.

As a Midwestern transplant in a large city, and as a fellow college student, I encourage readers to recognize the importance of supporting family-owned businesses. These are not only stimulants of a diverse local economy but they are also symbols of hard-working community relationships, and most importantly, neighbors helping feed neighbors.

Sincerely, Madison Karas Features Editor

features@temple-news.com

Wok cooks up fresh food

“Where he has a very good longBrennan Foxman and his fianceé term perspective, I feel like I can see the Samantha Young manage seven little steps sometimes that we need to food trucks in Philadelphia.

BY ELIZABETH WARD For The Temple News While studying abroad in 2011, Brennan Foxman found a new world of Southeast Asian food culture.

He realized most of the food was made in a special type of frying pan: the wok.

He recalled the flames coming off the pan, the smell of fresh ingredients from the street and the quick pace in which the food was served, Foxman said.

“I just fell totally in love with the idea because they were making food that was like really fast,” Foxman said. “But the quality was way higher because everything has to do with the wok.”

Foxman and his fianceé, Samantha Young, run seven Wokworks food trucks around Philadelphia, which sell Asian street food. The duo said their most popular location is between Tioga and Broad streets on Temple’s Health Sciences Campus.

They bring a healthier approach to fast food with a “build-your-own” style, and their secret weapon: the wok.

The wok’s thick metal fries up vegetables quickly and doesn’t require a lot of oil, according to Epicurious, a website for food consumers.

Young manages Wokworks’ social media and marketing, while Foxman handles the financial and strategic business plans.

“We have complementary skills,” Foxman said. “She brings to the table a whole element of marketing expertise and digital expertise that I really don’t have.”

Foxman and Young met in their middle school band, where he played drums and she played the trumpet.

Young had a crush on him, but the two didn’t reconnect until her sophomore year at Villanova University when Foxman was a senior at Tulane University.

The two have been together ever since.

take to get somewhere,” Young said. “It’s about tying it into the greater mission of what he’s trying to do and what we’re trying to do.”

The business started as a restaurant in Rittenhouse off of 20th and Market streets in November 2013, where Foxman noticed the most popular food cart displayed bouquets of flowers.

“I asked [the owner] one time, ‘What’s the secret sauce that is driving all these people back?’ And he said ‘Flowers,’” Foxman said.

Foxman then decided to test it out l and put bouquets of flowers, like chrysanthemums and lilies, in soy sauce containers outside the trucks. Within a few weeks, his trucks made more money than the restaurant, he said.

Stacey Steinmetz, who has worked at the Health Sciences Campus Wokworks location for four years, said that the flowers attract business for the truck.

“They walk by and realize that [we] don’t sell flowers, [we] sell food. But because it looks really nice, they want to get something,” she said.

William Clooney, a 2017 nursing alumnus, has eaten at Wokworks since its beginning. His favorite is the “drunken noodles,” a spicy chili garlic shrimp and chicken noodle dish.

“Wokworks reminds me of my home at Temple. I come back because of the fast service,” Clooney said.

Sebrina Allen, a respiratory therapist, found out about Wokworks from her coworkers at Temple University Hospital.

“I can’t wait to get to work so I can get it,” Allen said. “I like it because everything’s fresh. The vegetables are fresh, the protein is fresh,and the sauces, too.”

Foxman is working to grow his seven Wokworks trucks to ten trucks.

“We are building the vision together, but I make sure that I’m always in line with his long-term vision,” Young said. elizabeth.ward@temple.edu

temple-news.com

LUNCHIES

PAGE B3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FAMILY-OWNED

Food truck gives Mexican restaurant a fresh start The Jimenez family opened their food truck on Main Campus three months ago.

BY MARIA MILLER For The Temple News After having to close down his family’s restaurant in South Philadelphia three years ago, Justino Jimenez took up a job as head chef at Kanella Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant in Washington Square West.

He then heard about a food truck for sale from a family friend but was nervous to leave his well-paying job.

“As a head chef you’re making good money,” Justino Jimenez said. “Whether you sell or not you’re going to have your money. When you have your own business if you don’t sell you have to think about paying your bills, but I took the risk and now we’re here.”

Now, Justino Jimenez and his wife Susana Jimenez are giving running a business a second try, and opened Los Jimenez, a family-run Mexican food truck on 12th Street near Polett Walk, three months ago.

Although they have only been on campus for a short period of time, the Jimenez family has already seen a few regular customers, some who visit five days a week.

“What makes me happy is that last week a girl came in and she says ‘How long you guys been here?’ I say, ‘Three months.’ She says, ‘Wow, everyone’s talking about you guys,’” Justino Jimenez said.

Lesly Jimenez, Justino Jimenez’s 22-year-old daughter, helps out at the truck.

Their previous location wasn’t good for business, she said, but being on a college campus has garnered more attention for their food.

“It’s going well so far,” she added.

“We just started and got a couple of decent amount of people coming in, and everyone seems to enjoy it.” @TheTempleNews

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Justino and Susana Jimenez stand in front of their Mexican food truck, Los Jimenez, on 12th Street near Polett walk on Sept. 24.

Susana Jimenez usually takes care of the truck’s finances and takes customers’ orders, and Justino Jimenez usually focuses on the cooking.

“We know that whatever we’re making here, it’s what we need to pay the bills, it’s what we need to pay the house,” Justino Jimenez said.

Irene John, a freshman biology major, said she first ate at Los Jimenez with a friend in the summer and likes the truck’s chorizo tacos.

“It’s really cheap and worth the price because it’s filling,” John said. “They’re really nice and sweet people.”

Felix Flores, coordinator of Graduate Student Services at the College of Engineering said the price of the food at Los Jimenez doesn’t matter to him be-

cause he enjoys it so much.

“I always order the breakfast burrito. I actually don’t know the price, but I don’t care,” he said.

We’re the type of family that knows how to work well together Lesly Jimenez

Employee, Los Jimenez

Knowing when to shift roles from family to coworkers can affect the family’s dynamic, but the key to working

together is communication, Justino Jimenez said.

“Sometimes there are families that know how to get along and work well together, sometimes there isn’t,” Lesly Jimenez said. “We’re the type of family that knows how to work well together.”

While their family took a risk deciding to leave a well-paying job to start a business that could have failed, Jimenez said it’s not difficult because he knows it’s what he has to do to pay the bills.

“Maybe another year, it’s going to be a different story,” he added. “But…it’s worth the risk.” maria.miller.brown@temple.edu

features@temple-news.com

LUNCHIES

PAGE B4

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

STAFF PICKS: ,C and Ch ese Bagel e

hi

Ed

hB nc

Grill tic ria

Sh op ag l, B uenster on a Bage

el

Ingrid Slater, Design Editor Berry Gorgeous Smoothie, Saige Cafe

ox

lH ut

k Por

ol

l, E gg

R

ant sist , As inley itor McG Ed her’s Alex Sports oll, Brot R teak c. eses izza In Che P

Dante Collinelli, Assistant Sports Editor Garlic Knots, Maxi’s Pizza, Subs & Bar

Ja Ca y Ne rni tas emey Bu er, rrit Sp o, E ort l G s Ed ua co itor Lo co

ssistant Dire cto r

ge

a

g, A eg Gr

Alexis Ens ley -

A

ng P h uo

Ch

hees

m gage ent En

n, Cha

an dC

of

M yu

g

d ,A ant s s i e on a Cro

l, B and Cheese Bage

a

Pavlína Černá, Managing Editor Strawberry Blueberry Kiwi Smoothie, Fruit Salad & Smoothie Truck

ager an

Hal Conte, Assistant News Editor Cheesesteak Pretzel, Philly Pretzel Factory Ra

ggett, Photo E dito r

Jared Giovan, Co-Multimedia Editor Pork and Pineapple Burrito, Mexican Grill Stand

g

M

Tr

u

gg an dM

r

Advertis Coin

S a nd wic h,

L ie’s Ric h

n C la llee o C

r ito k Ed Truc to ho ch t P Lun tan y’s sis m As Tom , s, lva eak y E sest rem hee C za

ri

g el

e

ge

Je

eta

, an

Ba

us

Business M a na

Piz

Ve g

an

Colin Evans, News Editor Falafel over Rice, Philly Halal Truck

k k i, K o r e a H o

Eg

on Ed ito

kbo

,E Ham

-Intersecti

r

i, C o Ban a i s le

eo

k, Par in ub

Ham,

Tt

L

r ito

r ly l ito Ed k Phi ia ed Truc im ult repe o-M C , C The hik epe, itc Se lla Cr on e dis Nut Ma erry b aw Str

Fra n

urey, Chief Cop aF y

Eg g

Madison Karas, Features Editor Basil Pesto Grilled Cheese, Burger Tank

Gionna Kinchen, Co-Intersection Editor Stew Beef with Mac and Cheese and Plantains, Jamaican D’s

features@temple-news.com

sc ce

eaven

ac Turkey B

Tyler Perez, Opinion Editor Chicken and Lamb over Rice, New York Gyro Truck

Kelly Brennan, Editor in Chief Buffalo Chicken Panini, Sexy Green Truck

on ,

Mike Moscarelli, Director of Engagement Honey Mustard Chicken Wrap, Fame’s Pizza

endro, Web n z ie S Edi tor

ck en H

M

ke ac

Kelsey McGill, Co-Advertising Manager The Leaf Blower, Cloud Coffee

Nicole Hwang, Designer Pearl Milk Tea, Mr. Wish

WHAT WE’RE EATING

Bibi Correa, Assistant Features Editor Coconut Tofu, Tai’s Vietnamese

Gabby Houck, Assistant News Editor Shrimp Burger, Honey Truck

Ayooluwa Ariyo, Assistant Features Editor Tuna Kimbap, Temple Teppanyaki

temple-news.com

LUNCHIES

PAGE B5

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FIVE UNDER $5 Here’s what you can grab around Main Campus without breaking the bank.

BY BIBI CORREA Assistant Features Editor Temple is lined with food trucks all around campus, and they bring different things to the table. These trucks offer everything from a savory vegan burger to a sweet mango and kale smoothie. Still, eating out can be expensive, and not every student is able to afford an $11 salad, so The Temple News compiled a list of five different hearty foods, all for $5 or less.

BREAKFAST SANDWICH

Bagel Hut Location: Montgomery Avenue near Liacouras Walk Price: $4.75 You can this egg and cheese sandwich on a plain, everything or wheat bagel along with the choice of bacon or sausage. For a vegetarian alternative, you can opt out of a meat option, which will run $3.50.

bibi.correa@temple.edu _bibi_correaa Photos by Ayooluwa Ariyo, Assistant Features Editor

VEGAN BURGER

Vegan Tree Location: Norris Street near 13th Price: $5 The burger has cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes, along with vegan mayonnaise all on top of a soy-based veggie burger and a crispy whole wheat bun.

KEBAB SANDWICH

Ebi’s Halal Lunch Cart Location: 13th Street near Polett Walk Price: $5 All of Ebi’s sandwiches, including chicken, lamb or falafel, are under $5. The chicken sandwich is topped with lettuce, tomatoes and white, red or chili sauces.

@TheTempleNews

SPAGHETTI

Eppy’s Location: Montgomery Avenue near 13th Street Price: $5 (Cash only) The noodles are topped with a marinara sauce and parmesan cheese, which can be taken off for a vegan alternative.

GREEN SMOOTHIE

Fruit Salad & Smoothie Truck Location: Montgomery Avenue near 13th Street Price: $4.50 (Cash only) The truck offers 11 fruit and vegetable combinations, and you can customize your drink.

Students can add whey protein or peanut butter for $1.

features@temple-news.com

LUNCHIES PAGE B6

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FAMILY-OWNED

Mother-daughter crepe tradition adapts to truck Virginia Apostolopoulos and Pe- when she first moved to South Jersey nelope Kyriazis make sweet and from Greece but wanted to do more to savory crepes at their food truck. support her daughters.

BY EMMA LORO For The Temple News As The Crepe Truck Philly’s lunch rush winds down, Penelope Kyriazis sits outside behind the truck to take her break.

While she rests, her mother, Virginia Apostolopoulos greets the remaining incoming customers left from the rush.

Apostolopoulos and her daughter, Kyriazis, 26, run The Crepe Truck Philly on Norris Street near 13th, specializes in selling both sweet and savory crepes — a traditional European pancake food — for $6-7 each.

Apostolopoulos has been working in restaurants since she was 12 years old, where she would help her uncle out in the kitchen on holidays.

She worked in a pizza restaurant

“The truth is, I really wanted to help out the girls, they wanted to go to college,” Apostolopoulos said. “I also needed something to do on my own.”

Apostolopoulos first bought the truck from a family friend in 2013. Although she had experience in the restaurant industry, running a food truck was very new to her.

“It was the scariest thing I ever did and at the end I love it so much,” Apostolopoulos said.

On weekdays, they commute 45 minutes from South Jersey to work the truck from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and keep the truck open on campus year-round. They cater events, like weddings, birthday parties and graduations.

Since taking over the truck, Kyriazis and Apostolopoulos both have the same CREPE TRUCK | PAGE B8

MAGGIE LUONG / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sara Vahdatshoar, a freshman biology major, orders a nutella banana crepe from Penelope Kyriazis, who helps run The Crepe Truck Philly on Norris Street near 13th.

FAMILY-OWNED

Mother finds independence at Richie’s food truck Lilly Dzemaili, Richie Jr.’s mom, runs Richie’s Lunch Box, a food truck on Norris Street near 12th.

BY TYRA BROWN For The Temple News

Carrying a family legacy of serving food for 50 years takes a lot of work.

While her son runs a popular food stand at The Wall, Lilly Dzemaili keeps the family tradition going with her own food truck.

Dzemaili, Richie Jr.’s mom, runs and owns Richie’s Lunch Box, a food truck that is a part of Main Campus’ chain of Richie’s breakfast and lunch spot locations. The truck offers breakfast, lunch

features@temple-news.com

and dinner options and is parked on Norris Street near 12th.

The Richie’s sandwich shop brand has a total of three locations on campus, a food stand at The Wall, a cafe inside Kardon Atlantic Apartments and the food truck. The brand started 50 years ago on campus, where Richie Jr.’s grandfather started a “food pad” near Tuttleman Learning Center.

Dzemaili and her son opened Lunch Box in 2013 because they wanted to provide the Temple community with more Richie’s food.

“I thought another location would give more back to the students,” she said.

“We really want to try and take care of as many people as we can.”

For Dzemaili, one of the greatest aspects about the truck is that she gets to be an “independent businesswoman,” she said.

“I have done other businesses in the past, but Temple is my favorite because I have students, faculty members, workers, and I just love it,” she said.

While she’s had various jobs around the Philadelphia area, she began working at the original Richie’s food stand when her husband died and Richie Jr. took over 20 years ago.

Although she loves working her own truck, Dzemaili said she still loves working side-by-side with her son.

“He always wants to improve,” she said. “I told him, you know, ‘You already

took it up 10 notches.’ But how many more notches can we improve? And his answer is, ‘As many as we can.’ He is always fresh with ideas.”

Richie Jr. said he enjoys working alongside his mom. For him, family is important and their love shows in the businesses they run together.

The options at the truck and Richie’s at The Wall are similar, however, Dzemaili said that the vegetarian options at the truck are their biggest hit.

The truck’s vegetarian menu includes six options, like a veggie burger, an “on pita bread meal,” which consists of pita topped with cucumber yogurt LUNCH BOX | PAGE B8

temple-news.com

LUNCHIES

PAGE B7

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FAMILY-OWNED

Vietnamese restaurant gives authentic experience Wa Quach opened Yummy Pho two years ago and gets help from eight family members.

BY LAWERENCE UKENYE For The Temple News Wa Quach, 48, immigrated from Vietnam in 1986 and long dreamed of introducing authentic Vietnamese cuisine to more people.

“I could never Americanize my food,” he said. “I want to introduce my food to all American kids.”

He wanted to start his own business, so when he saw the chance to rent a space near Main Campus, he immediately seized it.

He opened his restaurant, Yummy Pho, on Broad Street near Norris in 2017.

The restaurant offers options like pho tai, pad tai ga and pho gau, all traditional noodle-based Vietnamese dishes.

At the restaurant, Quach works with his brothers and nieces, who are all from New Jersey. During the week there are usually four members of his family working, but on busy weekend shifts, as many as eight of them are come in to help, he said.

Working as a family allows them to get things done and fosters teamwork at the restaurant, Quach said.

“The whole family comes out on the weekend,” he added. “We’re family so we are always helping each other out. It’s easier that way.”

Michelle Quach, 22, is one of Wa Quach’s nieces. She enjoys their family spirit. She’s worked at the restaurant since it opened and likes the energy that Temple students bring it, she said.

“I really enjoy the vibe,” she added.

“It’s really fun coming into work here every day.”

Wa Quach has also grown fond of the Temple students.

“They’re so kind,” he said. “I almost treat them like my own kids.”

@TheTempleNews

One day, he wants to expand so more students can eat inside. Now, it seats 12 people.

“I want students to come in and relax, but we have such a small space,” he said.

“When students come in and don’t have a space to sit, I feel bad.”

Thérèse Toczek, a sophomore industrial and systems engineering major, routinely dines at Yummy Pho. “I love the environment, especially the lights and plants,” she said. “It’s just a very relaxing place to come and eat.”

Toczek enjoys the plant-based options the restaurant provides, like the vegetarian pho and fried tofu. She encourages students to come out and experience something they might’ve otherwise not tasted before.

“I encourage everyone to try the vegetarian spring rolls, they’re really fresh and delicious,” she said.

The restaurant has recently expanded to offer delivery on Grubhub, DoorDash, and Postmates, food-delivery services, to introduce the food to as many people as possible, Wa Quach said.

Kurt Nolasco, a freshman marketing major, said Yummy Pho offers an atmosphere that even correlates with his own experiences in Singapore and Japan.

“The restaurant gave me a little bit of nostalgia to the times I’ve been to Asia,” he said. “The cozy, bar styled noodle restaurants were super common in many places I’ve been to in Asia,” Wa Quach takes pride in the authenticity of the food. He wants as many people as possible to come in and experience the beauty behind Vietnamese cuisine.

“I want all Temple students to experience how unique and great our food is,” he added. “People come in and pay money, so I want to give them the best experience possible.”

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Wa Quach prepares food in his restaurant Yummy Pho on Broad Street near Norris on Oct. 7

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS A customer eats at Yummy Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant on Broad Street near Norris on Oct. 7

lawerence.ukenye@temple.edu @lawerencee_u

features@temple-news.com

LUNCHIES

PAGE B8

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B6 CREPE

responsibilities in working the truck, like answering phone calls, cooking crepes and serving customers.

They both consider this a partnership, they said.

“We have our days because it’s a stressful job, like any job,” Apostolopoulos said. “We have our bad days, but we forget about it after it happens. [Kyriazis] picks on me and they all pick on me in the truck, which is great. We have a fun environment here. Everyone knows what they have to do, and they do it. We have fun.”

Kyriazis said there are good and bad days at the truck.

“It’s us, and we don’t have like, blood family here,” she added. “We were always together and so close. Not everyone can work with their parents.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B6 LUNCH BOX

sauce, lettuce and tomato, a veggie bagel sandwich and a grilled veggie hoagie, among others.

Katie Harkins, a sophomore film and media arts major, said she goes to the truck for the grilled cheese while on her way to class.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t get the lunch stuff because they usually get breakfast, but the grilled cheese is good,” she added. “It is a great option.”

Steven Aronow, a senior marketing and media studies and production major, said he stops by because the food is healthy, the options are cheap and the truck is in a convenient spot.

“I like to get something different every time,” he added. “Today, I got a chicken caesar wrap just to change it up, but last time I got a buffalo chicken

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

Apostolopoulos appreciates the hands-on work her daughter does. “[Penelope’s] stuck with me, thank goodness,” she said. “She’s my right hand and she helps me with a lot.”

Apostolopoulos was born and raised in Australia and then moved to Greece, where she married her husband. Kyriazis and her sister were born in Greece before the family moved to the United States.

“We have a very close relationship, and it’s from growing up because we don’t have any family here [the U.S.]” Apostolopoulos said.

Apostolopoulos often made crepes for her two daughters while they were growing up, she added.

“My mom would make crepes at home, but they’re not the same recipe because we had to adapt to the hot grills on the truck,” Kyriazis said.

The truck features new crepes depending on what customers favor, like Eddie’s chipotle crepe and a banana and Nutella crepe. They also sell seasonal crepes that are sold for a limited time, like the Halloween crepe and Valentine’s crepe.

Sophia Romano, freshman undeclared major, said she frequently visits the truck for their sweet crepes.

“It smells so good,” she added. “My favorite is the fluffernutter one with marshmallow fluff, and peanut butter. It goes hard.”

Sam Tereshko, a sophomore acting major, has tried the truck’s savory crepes in the past, and while they weren’t her favorite, she hears students give positive reviews of the food.

“I hear people talk about [The Crepe Truck Philly] all the time and everyone loves it,” she added.

The truck was ranked the 11th Best Food Truck in America last year by the Daily Meal, a website that covers food and drinks.

“I feel like anyone who wants to start their own business, should just try because you won’t feel rewarded unless you do it. It’s so rewarding coming to work and seeing all the changes that you’ve made that work,” Kyriazis said.

Apostolopoulos’ favorite part of running the truck on Main Campus is getting to know the students.

“You see them go through the college years, which just saying it right now, look I get goosebumps,” she said. “I’m so happy for them, and then they graduate and they come back to eat at the truck.” emma.loro@temple.edu

wrap, and that was pretty good.”

Cameryn Downey, a sophomore film and media arts major, said she stops by regularly for a “classic” egg and cheese bagel sandwich.

“I really like the people that work here because they are just super sweet,” Downey said. “The food is great and it is also really affordable. It is just a really overall good atmosphere.”

Seeing the success of her family’s business always brings a smile to Dzemaili’s face.

“We do our own thing, but we help each other out when we need to,” she added. “I just love the way we run our businesses here, and I am just so grateful.” tyra.brown@temple.edu @tyrabrown_

ALEX ARMSTEAD / THE TEMPLE NEWS Lilly Dzemaili, Richie Jr.’s mom, stands inside Richie’s Lunch Box, a food truck on Norris Street near 13th, on Sept. 30.

LUNCHIES doesn’t end here.

Don’t miss our multimedia content at temple-news.com features@temple-news.com

temple-news.com

FEATURES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

PAGE 13

ON CAMPUS

Student mentors help navigate ‘no man’s land’ The program pairs students who previously transferred to Temple with new tranfers.

BY LANISA MAGEE For The Temple News Transfer students have made up about one-third of incoming students each fall semester at Temple for the past five years.

This semester, Temple’s Office of Orientation, New Students and Family Programs launched a new Transfer Mentor Program to help incoming transfer students transition to the university.

The office plans to offer this program along with other resources designated for transfer students, like the transfer-exclusive events, seminars and official transfer students’ Facebook group.

The mentor program pairs new transfer students with a volunteer transfer ambassador, a student who transferred to Temple in a previous semester.

Volunteers usually oversee a small group of transfers. They attend social and educational meetings with other members of the program, allowing the transfer students to form connections as well as learn about the school, said Deanne DeCrescenzo, director of the office.

“Most transfer students come in and have an advising session and then they jump right into the semester,” DeCrescenzo said. “There’s not a ton of support in their transition, and they don’t always make the peer connections the same way that an incoming, first-year student would be able to.”

Lesa Shirley, a sophomore media studies and production major, transferred from Bucks County Community College this semester and said the program is extremely effective.

“Transfers are a little different from the regular freshmen,” she said. “It’s kind of a no man’s land, but the programs

@TheTempleNews

COLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS (Left to right) Journalism major Alexander Alford Jr., media studies and production major Lesa Shirley, and junior media studies and production major John Pierret talk before the start of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity Minority Showcase at the Howard Gittis Student Center on Sept. 19.

they have here for transfer students are phenomenal.”

New transfer students could have requested a mentor by Sept. 2, by filling out a questionnaire that asked about their interests and what they were looking for in a transfer ambassador.

Jaclyn Ricafort, a sophomore international business major, transferred from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. this semester and enrolled in the program as a mentee.

She said her transfer ambassador and other mentees are all Fox School of Business students and are in a group chat where they talk about what classes to sign up for and upcoming transfer events.

“It’s definitely made my transition a bit easier,” Ricafort said. “He’s always

open to questions and everything to help us out, and he’s been super nice so far.”

Gina Rubinic, a senior real estate major, is a transfer ambassador in the program. She has eight mentees and tries to do one social and one educational event with them every two weeks, along with meeting with them one-on-one.

Rubinic transferred from Harrisburg Area Community College in fall 2017, and while her transfer experience was difficult, being around other transfers was a crucial part of her transition, she said.

“There was a lot of things I didn’t know that I needed to, and I wish I kind of had somebody older, wiser, kind of telling me ‘Hey, this is kind of how you should study for this class, should really go to these meetings, you should do this, that,’” Rubin said.

She added she would’ve enrolled in the program as a mentee if it existed when she transferred.

Shirley said transfers should not be afraid to get involved.

“Being involved is the life force of this experience and if you’re not involved, it’s fruitless,” she added.

Ricafort said signing up for the mentor program was part of seeing what opportunities Temple had to offer and meeting new people.

“To get the most out of the experience, you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone and get involved, because it starts with you,” she added. “You can’t just wait for something to come to you, you have to do it first.” lanisa.magee@temple.edu

features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 14

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

LUNCHIES WORD SEARCH BAGELS BURRITO BURGERS FALAFEL CREPE PANINI SUSHI CHEESESTEAK

RISOTTO SANDWICH PIZZA SALAD PASTA STIRFRY PHO

NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY CROSSWORD DOWN

ACROSS

1. Attraction to people who have a strong emotional connection

2. Pride month

3. Another word for sexual preference 4. General term for people who identify as queer 5. The first color on the pride flag 8. Intense feeling of affection between two people features@temple-news.com

6. Designer of the pride flag 7. The first color on the pride flag 9. Openly expressing one’s LGBTQ identity for the first time 10. Someone whose gender identity does not match their birth sex temple-news.com

FEATURES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

PAGE 15

ALUMNI

Conferences empower women to define success ment, first met Siriano at the Center for An alumna started Rebelle Con, to give them a space to learn from one nity theme. another.

Each conference discusses four Siriano wants women to create their Student Professional Development. She which brings together profesthemes: wellness, money, creativity and own version of success, she said. she said Siriano would be good in her sional women twice a year.

BY MARIA MILLER For The Temple News When Shannon Siriano was a student at Temple, she was the president of a student organization, a student worker and a dance team member.

Yet, she still didn’t have a clear plan after graduation, she said.

“I don’t think I had a dream or a vision, I just thought you go to college and then you get a job,” said Siriano, a 2004 marketing alumna. “It’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Her post-graduation job managing a chain of salons in Washington D.C. left her feeling burnt out, and she decided to start fresh.

Sirano started Rebelle Con, a threeday biannual boutique conference that brings like-minded women together

VOICES

Why do you support independent businesses on campus?

community, and brings female professionals from across the country to present.

Rebelle Con’s fifth conference is on October 17-19 in Richmond, Virginia, and will feature a new “Mentor Breakout Section” where female mentors of various industries, like beauty and television, will come speak.

Siriano started the conferences in 2017 because she wanted a space that was about personal than professional development. It costs $275 annually to be a member of Rebelle Con, and non-members can attend for $325 to $399.

To make it more accessible, Siriano hopes to offer volunteer opportunities and internships to those who cannot afford the fee.

She believes that it is the support and validation Rebelle members provide each other is important to the commu-

“That’s sometimes an act of rebellion so we wanted to capture rebel in the spirit of ‘I can do things my own way,’ but also ‘I can challenge others to change the way things are done,’” she said.

Her team tries to ensure speakers have diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

Keisha Adrinka, a blogger and certified yoga and meditation teacher, will speak about wellness at this month’s conference. “[Adrinka] was a yoga teacher, but she has a YouTube channel where she talks all about plants. She’s like a plant whisperer,” Siriano said. “She has all these plants and she lives outside of Richmond, in a place that’s not as open to yoga as I would think, and she was just so interesting.”

Janis Campbell, senior director of graduate student professional develop-

HALEY TAVARES Sophomore architecture major The money is more direct because, in bigger businesses, the money has to go through a lot of businesses, but for smaller businesses, it directly impacts that one person better.

DAVE O’KANE Senior international business major I don’t personally have a bunch of independent businesses that I consistently go to, but it’s important to support them when you have them in your town or community.

@TheTempleNews

role because “she was intense, but chill, which is not easy.”

“Shannon taught me a different way to respond to people,” she added. “She was very good at responding to people who are anxious and nervous.”

Siriano has also inspired women who have attended her conferences.

“Shannon is the type of person who radiates authenticity and for me, that’s the biggest way she’s inspired me, by bringing her whole-self with her. She’s not afraid to be real,” said Mel Stubbins, a Rebelle Con member.

“I always knew I wanted to be the boss, but I didn’t really know what that meant,” Siriano said. “I’ve always known I’m a leader and I’m most comfortable in leadership, but how that would translate into my actual career, I had no idea.” maria.miller.brown@temple.edu

ESAI MALIA-THARPS Freshman fine arts major I do support small businesses on campus because I feel like small businesses should be able to be where they want to be and I think on a college campus that’s really good because you have a lot of other small artists and students.

MARIA MORALES Junior biology major It’s important because the livelihood of a lot of people and their families depend on what they sell, so I think it’s important for us to buy from local and smaller businesses rather than big corporations because their families depend on it. features@temple-news.com

FEATURES PAGE 16

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

LIVE IN PHILLY

Runners race through cemetery with spooky spirit

CLAUDIA SALVATO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

On Saturday, Laurel Hill Cemetery held its annual Rest In Peace 5K Run, a family-friendly race where attendees dressed up in costumes to run through the cemetery.

Hosted by the Friends of Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries, the event raised money for the landmark’s historic preservation and educational programs.

Jessica Rast, 30, a Philadelphia resident and an autism researcher at Drexel University, participated in the race with Derek Mayhugh, 30, a lawyer. They both dressed as vampires.

“We’ve done a couple events in the past with the Laurel Hill cemetery group,” Mayhugh said. “The way that they share funds with the park servicing is one of the things we like about it,” Runners participated in the race alone or as a part of a team. At the end of the event, participants celebrated at an after-party with free beer and music.

Jessie Dean, 27 of Wissahickon and a partner at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, won first place for the women’s category in the race, dressed up as Captain America.

“You can run a race just about any weekend you want, but you can’t always run a costume race,” Dean said. features@temple-news.com

temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 17

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

LGBTQ

Students ‘Remember, resist, react’ during NCOW Students reflected on the Stonewall Inn riots during this year’s National Coming Out Week.

BY MYKEL GREENE For The Temple News This year’s theme for National Coming Out Week is ‘Remember, Resist, React!’ to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City.

NCOW is a week of on-campus events that bring awareness to social issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community, as well as bringing visibility to National Coming Out Day, an annual LGBT awareness day observed on Oct. 11.

The theme for NCOW changes yearly so that it can programmatically address current issues that are the most relevant to the community at the time, said Alison McKee, the director of the Wellness Resource Center. Last year it was “Love is Intersectional.”

The “Remember” in this year’s theme is directly linked to the queer youth from the Stonewall riots, a series of demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community against a police raid that began on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The “Resist” is in remembrance of the transgender women of color who sparked the movement.

“React” pertains to the activism opportunities offered throughout the week’s events, said Nu’Rodney Prad, the director of student engagement at the Office of Institutional, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership.

“We want to always remember those that came before us and to remember the correct history, too,” he added.

This year, nine events were held throughout the week to represent these principles.

“Each event has one of the words in it, or all of them,” Prad said. “Whether it’s the remembrance of the pioneers, @TheTempleNews

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Director of International Student Affairs Leah Hetzell (left) and Nu’Rodney Prad, the director of student engagement at the Office of Institutional, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership speak during the National Coming Out Week coffee hour in the Student Center on Oct. 1.

whether it’s the moments of resisting in the community forum as well as in some advocacy letter writing.”

Attendees at a community forum in the Student Center on Oct. 1 learned about the intersection of power, privilege and racism in the LGBTQ community, as well as analyzing the world after the Stonewall demonstrations.

The Office of International Student Affairs held a coffee hour on Oct. 1 in the Student Center to discuss gender and sexuality inclusion with a global and cultural perspective.

The event ‘Come Out, Speak Out’ held on Oct. 3 in the Underground gave members of the LGBTQ community a platform to share their coming out experiences.

The drag show, also held on Oct. 4 at the Temple Performing Arts Center,

provided a fun and safe space for people to express and explore their gender fluidity.

“For me NCOW is visibility,” said Sarah DiTomas, a junior art therapy major. “Visibility for the people who want to be visible and visibility for the people who are invisible at this point.”

Gwen Weiskopf, a senior classics major, said NCOW is particularly special to her because she came out during NCOW in 2014.

“It’s just important to me that I remember how hard it was and that I try to make it less hard for everyone else and that other people just have a better time [coming out],” she added.

NCOW gives the WRC and IDEAL the opportunity to say, “We’re here, we’re affirming, and we want you to be well and to support you,” McKee said.

Tommy Licato, a junior music therapy major, said coming out is a lifelong process. He came out to his friends during NCOW in 2017 when he was a freshman.

“It was really freeing and liberating to have that support system,” Licato said.

NCOW is a space for allies too, and students of all identities are encouraged to attend the week of programming, Prad said.

“You don’t have to have a certain level of knowledge,” Prad said. “That’s why we’re here. We’re a tribe, we are a community and we want to spread the word so it doesn’t matter how you identify.” mykel@temple.edu

intersection@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

LGBTQ

Courses highlight LGBTQ representation in media Students and faculty reflect on needing proper queer representation in film and television.

BY MILLY McKINNISH For The Temple News Adrienne Shaw, a media studies and production professor, created Temple’s first course about LGBTQ representation in the media in Spring 2014.

“LGBT Representations in Popular Media” focuses on how the LGBTQ community has been portrayed in film, television, marketing and other forms of media from the 1960s to today.

Throughout the semester, students discuss the connections between gender, race, class and LGBTQ representation.

Shaw developed the course during her time as a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania before she came to Temple in 2012.

“It was a class that wasn’t currently on the books [at Temple], and it felt like an absence in our curriculum,” Shaw said.

Shaw estimated that approximately half of her students are in the LGBTQ community, with the remainder having friends and family who identify as queer.

A majority of LGBTQ-centered courses are offered in the LGBT minor program, but Shaw’s course is a part of the Media Studies and Production program.

From 2017-2018, 6.4 percent of primetime characters were in the LGBTQ community, making it an alltime high, according to an annual report on LGBTQ inclusion by GLAAD, an LGBTQ media monitoring organization.

Gabbi Tapper, a sophomore psychology major who identifies as bisexual, said seeing queer representation in the media from a young age was “crucial because there are so many people who aren’t accepting of it.”

Layah Taylor, a sophomore English major, said the majority of people in her LGBT minor classes are queer.

“It’s really beautiful to witness so intersection@temple-news.com

CAMRYN SHEASLEY / THE TEMPLE NEWS

many LGBTQ people in a room who are actively searching to reclaim their identities through academia,” she said.

Taylor believes her lack of straight classmates represents a disinterest in LGBT culture and history.

“That says a lot about straight people or really privileged people in general not wanting to learn about systems that don’t directly affect them or even history that they perceive to not directly affect them,” Taylor said.

Taylor said she has noticed a trend in movies where LGBTQ characters are only written around their suffering.

“There are struggles that come along with being queer and there are struggles that come along with having different intersections of your identity, but I also think we can’t focus on that,” Taylor said.

Showing only one side of the queer

experience can be detrimental and emphasized the need to show a wide portrayal of LGBTQ characters in film and television, Taylor said.

“Yes, on one hand, we do have queer people who are very oppressed, but then you also have to look at the other side of the spectrum where we have queer people who just live their lives and go about their normal days,” Taylor added.

Media can also reinforce homophobic or transphobic stereotypes, Tapper said.

Stereotypes, like gay men presented as feminine and flamboyant, are one-dimensional and do not reflect the whole community, but problematic queer representation is better than complete queer erasure in media, Shaw added.

A common criticism of mainstream queer cinema is that it has a tendency

to focus on specifically white gay men, Shaw said.

“Historically, gay white cisgender men tend to be represented because those are who media industries assume have the most money,” Shaw said.

In 2017, 64 percent of queer films were about gay men and 57 percent of LGBTQ characters were people of color, a sharp increase from previous years, GLAAD reported.

When making LGBTQ media, Taylor hopes people make an effort to portray the community accurately. “[They should] take their time to do their research about history, queer people, and learn about the stereotypes and how they affect our community,” Taylor said. milly@temple.edu

temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 19

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

LGBTQ

LGBT minor brings queer experience to academia Temple has offered a minor that studies the LGBTQ community for a decade.

BY NICO CISNEROS For The Temple News Rayonna Hobbs, a sophomore journalism major, often thinks about how to combine their love for writing and their passion for LGBTQ rights.

“I don’t want to feel like I have to choose between either or, I want to see if I can fuse the two,” Hobbs said. “And if I can’t, I’ll make my own space and do it.”

In order to do this, they enrolled in the LGBT studies minor offered in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program.

The minor analyzes gender, sexuality and sexual orientation so students become familiar with concepts, theories, history, literature and socio-political issues concerning the LGBTQ community.

Temple is one of 26 universities nationwide acknowledged for offering this minor, according to the College Equality Index, which focuses on LGBTQ issues in higher education.

Brad Windhauser, an associate professor in the GSWS program, was recruited three years ago to help build the LGBT minor program. Although the program is more than 10 years old, there are still a lot of people who aren’t aware it’s offered at Temple, he said.

To expose the program to more students, Windhauser attends events like National Coming Out Week, and meets with student organizations.

The most challenging part was creating classes for the LGBT minor, Windhauser said.

“It was about making the courses ac-

@TheTempleNews

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore journalism major and LGBT studies minor Rayonna Hobbs helps conduct a Queer People of Color meeting in Mitten Hall on Oct. 7.

cessible but also academically rigorous,” he said. “For example, in our [LGBTQ Novels of the 21st Century] course, we wanted to include different approaches but also different protagonists, because we have our eye on intersectionality.”

Students who are not queer-identifying can still benefit from taking classes offered in the program, Hobbs said.

“Even though I am queer-identifying, I am still learning about my own

community’s history,” they added. “Minors like this and classes like this give people the opportunity to learn about not only themselves but people who are different from them.”

Hobbs’ favorite part about the minor is meeting both students and professors in the LGBTQ community.

“My [Sexuality and Gender] professor uses they/them pronouns, and it was on the syllabus and everyone uses their

pronouns correctly,” Hobbs said. “For me, that was like, ‘Wow.’” It’s these connections that Windhauser finds to be one of the most rewarding aspects of the program.

“Many students in class will say, I like the use of the ‘we,’ like this is how we feel, and I’m part of this community,” he said. nicole.cisneros@temple.edu

intersection@temple-news.com

INTERSECTION PAGE 20

THE ESSAYIST

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

A weight lifted off my shoulders

For National Coming Out Day, a student shares how he came out to his parents.

BY JEREMY ELVAS Assistant Photo Editor I stared at my phone screen, looking over the text I had typed out to my parents: I’m gay.

I hesitated, unsure of what would happen if I pressed send. I played this risky game too many times before, never sending it in fear of my parents’ reactions.

I took a deep breath and sent the text, finally coming out to my parents. I told them that I didn’t want to hide my identity from my family anymore. It was too painful.

I just started my freshman year at Temple and was living in Johnson Hall — away from my home in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania and my family.

There was never going to be a right time for me to come out to my parents. I just had to do it. I could no longer live a lie, a false version of myself.

That night, I stayed awake, anxious to hear back and to see how my parents would react. The following morning, my mom sent me a message: “We still accept you.”

I began crying and felt as if a weight lifted off my shoulders and I could finally breathe again. She told me that she had always suspected, and that it would take a while for her and my dad to come to terms with my sexuality.

Growing up, the word “gay” was taboo. Whenever I heard someone say something about gay people or that something was gay, it was associated with being different and strange.

I remember feeling upset when someone called me gay because I didn’t

intersection@temple-news.com

OLIVIA MUSSELMAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS

like sports and because I was friends with girls. This enforced toxic masculinity along with the self-denial of my sexuality, and I felt pressured to act more “straight.”

In Filipino culture and religion, homosexuality is considered a sin against Catholicism, and I was afraid that my family and my culture wouldn’t accept me — they would disown me for my

identity. Even to this day, I remain silent about my sexuality to my extended family in the Philippines, not wanting to be shamed or discriminated against.

I always struggled with accepting that I was gay, that I was attracted to men. I told myself it was just a phase, and that I would end up marrying a woman anyways. I felt like the odd one out with all my straight male friends because I

could never relate to them when it came to talking about women they found cute.

I kept making excuses as to why I thought I wasn’t really gay: I wasn’t as flamboyant as gay people were supposed to be, nor did I listen to Lady Gaga or Lana del Rey — two musical artists that I thought gay people loved.

These negative stereotypes I held proved to be incredibly toxic to my mental health because I kept lying to myself.

I began feeling invisible and unhappy.

Over time, I learned that these stereotypes weren’t all true and that I didn’t need to fit into them to know I was gay.

After experiencing my first relationship and subsequent heartbreak with a man last year, I learned to fully accept this part of myself.

I chose to come out to my parents right after my relationship ended because in retrospect, it had changed me, and moving forward, I didn’t want to hide who I was anymore.

My first gay relationship allowed me to grow, and I learned how to be more comfortable with my identity. I learned that I could love, and be loved by another man. I was no longer ashamed to be open about who I was attracted to.

I began to embrace who I was by practicing self-love and affirming myself, and I became more and more confident in my own skin and identity. I put all my energy into focusing on my passion for photography and music, allowing me to take control of my life more than ever before.

Coming out to my parents took a long time for me. Before I ever felt ready to be open about who I was, I needed to accept and love myself and learn how to be comfortable with my sexuality. I finally feel proud to say, “I’m gay.” jeremy.elvas@temple.edu @jeremyelvas

temple-news.com

SPORTS PAGE 21

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Owls implement new scheme, yet don’t see results The Owls have a 1-3 record after changing to a scheme with more players in a midfield position.

BY DONOVAN HUGEL Women’s Soccer Beat Reporter Temple women’s soccer has struggled to win close games this season and is leading the American Athletic Conference in ties.

The Owls (3-7-3, 1-3 The AAC) are trying to implement a new “3-52” alignment in the hopes of winning more close games instead of tying, coach Sheamus O’Connor said.

The new formation puts five midfielders, three defenders and two forwards on the field at the same time.

Having more players in the middle of the field will give Temple more opportunities to put extra pressure on other teams, O’Connor added.

“We’re better than that, but no one’s going to give it to us,” O’Connor said. “So it just gives us a little bit more confidence, a little bit more energy because now this time of year, everyone’s tired, everyone’s sore and tired.”

The Owls first switched schemes before their game at home against Cincinnati (4-5-2, 2-0 The AAC) on Sept. 26, O’Connor said. Since making the switch, Temple has a 1-3 record.

Despite bad results with the new scheme, O’Connor is confident more practice with the new formation will yield better results.

“I think getting them video will be great to see the stuff that they could have done faster, ‘Oh, that player was open’ or ‘Next time, I gotta make that run there,’” O’Connor said.

The only win with the new scheme came at home against East Carolina (46-1, 1-1 The AAC), 1-0, on Sept. 29.

@TheTempleNews

NICK DAVIS / FILE PHOTO Junior midfielder Julia Dolan kicks the ball during the Owls’ game against Villanova at the Temple Sports Complex on Sept. 8.

Against the Pirates, the scheme worked well for the Owls, allowing them to score a game-winning goal in overtime.

Junior defender Marissa DiGenova dribbled around a few defenders on the right side of the field and passed the ball off to junior midfielder Julia Dolan in the box, who then passed it to sophomore forward Gabriela Johnson for the gamewinning goal.

While the team has been focused on a scheme change, the Owls believe they

can exploit opposing teams with the speed of their forwards, O’Connor said.

Johnson and senior forward Morgan Morocco have had several scoring chances due to their speed, he added.

Johnson recorded the Owls’ only shot on goal in their 2-0 loss on the road against Memphis (12-1, 4-0 The AAC) on Oct. 6. Morocco recorded two shots in the team’s 1-0 loss on the road against Tulsa (8-6, 2-2 The AAC) on Oct. 3.

The team is trying to keep a positive spin by remembering not every game is

“all bad.”

“We are very frustrated,” O’Connor said. “Yeah, I think it’s kind of split between the positives and how mentally tough we are, how fit we are and all that, all that side of it. But we’re all competitors. So, we wanna win.”

The Owls’ next game is at home against Southern Methodist University (7-3-1, 0-2 The AAC) on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. donovan.hugel@temple.edu @donohugel

sports@temple-news.com

SPORTS PAGE 22

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FIELD HOCKEY

Kent State investigation finds no Title IX violation Kent State investigated the cancelation of a Temple field hockey game in September.

BY JAY NEEMEYER Sports Editor An investigation into the controversial cancellation of a Temple University field hockey game against the University of Maine last month found no evidence of gender-based discrimination, according to an announcement from Kent State University President Todd Diacon on Oct 4.

The match between Temple and Maine at Kent State was canceled before the second overtime to set up a fireworks display for Kent State’s football game later that day on Sept. 7.

Kent State’s office of compliance, equal opportunity and affirmative action began its investigation on Sept. 13, and the summary was released on Sept. 20.

During the investigation, Interim Title IX Coordinator Pamela Fitzgerald and Trent Stratton, the deputy Title IX coordinator for athletics, completed interviews beginning on Sept. 17.

Temple field hockey coach Susan Ciufo spoke to Stratton on Sept. 17 over phone, according to the report. Ciufo told Stratton initially both Temple and Maine agreed to play at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, which would not have conflicted with the scheduled fireworks event later that day at noon.

Kent State field hockey coach Kyle DeSandes-Moyer later informed both teams via email that Murphy-Mellis Field did not have lights, which required the game to be played at 9 a.m. In the report, Ciufo told Stratton that the teams and Kent State did not discuss what would happen if the game passed 10:30 a.m. when the fireworks were supposed to be set up.

Stratton also spoke with Maine field hockey coach Josette Babineau over the phone on Sept. 18. Babineau indicated the requirement to end the game by sports@temple-news.com

COLLEEN CLAGGETT / FILE PHOTO Temple field hockey players discuss strategy during their game against Merrimack College at Howarth Field on Aug. 30.

10:30 a.m. was never fully discussed ahead of time.

Fitzgerald and Stratton spoke to Kent State Athletic Director Joel Nielsen in person on Sept. 18. The report states, “Nielsen assumed [the stop time] was discussed with the teams involved and everyone was aware.”

Fitzgerald and Stratton concluded there was “no evidence to suggest that gender was the basis or even a consideration in the decisions made regarding the September 7th game.”

According to the report, there was enough evidence to conclude the game was canceled “due to the safety concerns and preparation involved in the launch of the football game fireworks.”

Temple Athletics declined to comment on the report.

In a statement to The Temple News, Tyson McHaten, Maine’s senior associate director of athletics, acknowledged the investigation’s findings.

“We...are disappointed that, according to the summary report, the investigation did not include interviews with the student-athletes who were affected and disrespected by the decisions made on Sept. 7.”

“We appreciate, welcome and encourage the broader discussion of Title IX issues sparked by this incident and the investigation,” the statement reads.

The NCAA ruled that the game is

incomplete unless Temple and Maine schedule a meeting to play the ten minutes of overtime and a shootout if needed. No statistics from the game will count.

Nielson told Fitzgerald and Stratton that Kent State’s Athletics department is working on a plan to ensure such a situation will not occur again.

In an email, Diacon stated he has offered to pay Temple and Maine the potential cost of travel if the teams make-up the game. jay.neemeyer@temple.edu @neemeyer_j

temple-news.com

SPORTS PAGE 23

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

FENCING

Former Temple fencer has Olympic aspirations Kamali Thompson fenced for Temple from 2008-12 and holds the school record for sabre wins.

BY ALEX McGINLEY Assistant Sports Editor Kamali Thompson has been all over the world.

Thompson, a former Temple sabre and 2012 biology alumna, has been to Europe, Africa and Asia for fencing World Cups.

Thompson is striving for a spot in the ultimate competition — the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“Going to the Olympics is pretty much every athlete’s dream,” Thompson said. “It would mean the world to me if I made the team.”

Thompson decided she wanted to compete in the Olympics during her senior year at Temple, she said.

She has been training to earn a spot on the United States national team since she graduated in 2012, she said.

Thompson typically trains twice a day, five days a week at the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City.

Since 2012, Thompson has competed on the U.S. travel team, in which the top-12 fencers in each of the three weapons compete in the World Cup. At the end of the season, the top four fencers qualify for the national team. Thompson is currently ranked seventh.

Thompson knew she wanted to keep fencing after college, so she decided to compete internationally.

“If I was gonna keep fencing, I had to shoot for a big goal,” Thompson said.

“Or else, it didn’t really make sense to keep fencing.”

In 2012, Thompson enrolled in Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and is still in the program today. While in medical school,

@TheTempleNews

DEVIN MANKY / COURTESY Kamali Thompson, a 2012 biology alumna, competes at the 2017 New York Women’s Sabre World Cup. Thompson fenced for Temple from 2008-12.

Thompson enrolled in the Rutgers Business School to earn her masters in business administration. Thompson hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon.

Balancing school and fencing can be “difficult,” Thompson said, so she took a year off from medical school to focus her all of her time on training for the Olympics.

“There’s a lot of scheduling involved,” Thompson said. “I think a really important part is to know when everything is due. It’s not something you can just flunk through the day and do

whatever you feel like doing. You have to be really structured about making sure you complete all of your tasks.”

During her career at Temple, Thompson compiled a record of 175-48.

She holds the program record for most career victories by a sabre. Thompson finished with a record of 50-14 and earned Second Team All-American honors during her senior season in 2011-12. “[Thompson] had a very strong ethic, “ said Coach Nikki Franke. “She was very aggressive. She was good at

analyzing what was going on on the strip.”

Franke inspired her to train for the Olympics, Thompson said. Franke is a former Olympian who qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics.

“It’s very exciting for us as a program,” Franke added. “I’m very proud of [Thompson]. She’s an amazing young woman and has accomplished so many things already in her life. This is just one more thing she’s pursuing.” alex.mcginley@temple.edu @mcginley_alex

sports@temple-news.com

SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

PAGE 24

MEN’S CREW

‘CHASING THAT PERFECT IMAGE’

JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Jacob Bucko, a junior communication studies major and a men’s crew team member, holds his camera on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near Broad Street on Oct. 7.

Jacob Bucko’s Instagram account is filled with photos from his travels.

BY JAY NEEMEYER Sports Editor When Jacob Bucko was 15, he borrowed his grandfather’s DSLR camera. From that point, he knew he wanted to take photography seriously.

Now, the junior rower’s Instagram is dedicated to his photography, and his grandfather follows the account, too.

“I just started taking pictures on vacations and with friends,” Bucko, a communication studies major, said. “I realized that I enjoyed it, and people told me that my photos were good.”

His account is called “Chasing sports@temple-news.com

Apollo,” after the Greek god of the sun and truth.

“Photography is a lot about capturing light and chasing a story, and chasing that perfect image,” Bucko said. “So Apollo, being the Greek god of beauty, light, truth and everything supposedly good, kind of captured what I wanted to be chasing.”

Bucko began to explore videography while in high school and has a YouTube channel where he’s posted two videos of the men’s crew team.

He created a video of the team’s spring break training trip in South Carolina earlier this year. He took aerial footage with a drone belonging to sophomore rower Cayden Musso.

Bucko also takes footage of the team’s practices.

“We have a symbiotic relationship,” Coach Brian Perkins said. “He sends me all the footage he takes, which we use for coaching purposes, and when I take video, I give him all my roll of film to work with and sort of create something with.”

Scott Gratson, the director of the communication studies program, is a mentor to Bucko.

“I don’t think he gets how conceptual he can be,” Gratson said. “I don’t think he gives himself enough credit for being able to explore some very, very complex issues. And I’m glad that he’s becoming more open with his thoughts on those.

I think he’s growing into concepts.

And that’s wonderful for me to see as a teacher.”

Though Bucko can make money

from his craft, he won’t consider it a career.

“I definitely don’t want to sell my life to a career of always finding the next job,” Bucko said.

He has been taking advertising classes and had an internship with Global Hospitality Services in London last summer.

Bucko pursues beauty in more than just a still image or digital production. As an aesthete, he wants to have a “beautiful life.”

“A beautiful life means having people you love around you and actively trying to do what you love, and actively trying to serve others,” Bucko said. jay.neemeyer@temple.edu @neemeyer_j

temple-news.com