VOL. 96 ISSUE 3
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
Students fight on-campus sexual assault Temple Student Government kicked off its Sexual Assault Prevention Week with Pa. Lt. Gov. Michael Stack. BY AMANDA LIEN Copy Editor
T
emple Student Government began hosting on-campus events on Monday for its Sexual Assault Prevention Week, an initiative that was part of the administration’s platform last spring. TSG, along with the Wellness Resource Center and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, has coordinated a series of events on Main Campus, including selfdefense and bystander intervention workshops and a panel with
representatives from different Temple resource offices. Sexual Assault Prevention Week began on Monday when TSG hosted an event inviting students to sign an “It’s On Us” poster against sexual assault in the Founder’s Garden. TSG worked with Tom Johnson, the assistant director of the WRC, and George Kenney, the senior adviser to the president for government affairs, to bring Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Michael Stack to campus for the hour-long event. “One of the things about sexual assault is sometimes, for whatever reason, people just can’t speak up,” Stack told The Temple News. “Only when you have your peers involved are you going to be able to solve this problem. It’s crucial and important, and Temple kids are doing it right.” Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf spoke at an It’s On Us
Students who wish to report an act of sexual misconduct must go through the Title IX Office.
press conference in Harrisburg, announcing new legislation to help survivors of sexual assault report to universities. Student Body President Tyrell Mann-Barnes also gave a speech. Valerie Harrison, senior adviser to the president for compliance, and Andrea Seiss, Temple’s Title IX coordinator, said TSG approached their offices about assisting with the week of events. The EOC office will sponsor giveaways at Friday’s football game and throughout the week. Seiss will also sit on Wednesday’s resource panel. Women Organized Against Rape, Philadelphia’s only rape crisis center, operates a satellite office on Main Campus. WOAR will have a representative on the resource panel but was not involved in the planning
Temple Student Government is hosting a Sexual Assault Prevention Week. But if students are sexually assaulted, where do they go, and what protections do they have?
PRE VE N T ION PAG E 6
T I T L E I X PAG E 6
BY LAURA SMYTHE For The Temple News
WHAT IS TITLE IX? Title IX is a piece of legislation that aims to prevent gender discrimination in education. Passed in 1972 to ensure female university faculty were given the same opportunities and compensation as their male coworkers, it set the stage for gender equality in all aspects of education. Under Title IX, opportunities for scholarships, education and athletics must be equitable for male and female students.
Stonewall revisited through theater “Hit the Wall” premieres at Temple Theaters this week. BY NATASHA CLAUDIO For The Temple News Early morning on June 28, 1969, chaos broke out at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. When police raided the Greenwich Village nightclub, a popular spot for members of the LGBTQ community, protests ensued. The sequence of events would later be known as the Stonewall Riots — a landmark event in LGBTQ history. Ike Holter, a 29-year-old African-American playwright, recreated the Stonewall Riots in his 2012 play “Hit The Wall,”
a production set to premiere at Randall Theater from Wednesday to Sept. 24. Temple Theaters is one of the first universities to obtain the rights to the show, which was debuted by the Chicago theater collective “The Inconvenience.” For weeks, students have rehearsed daily to deliver a performance that can “tell stories to change the world, or to challenge it,” said Brandon McShaffrey, the director of the show and an assistant theater professor. The show follows the storylines of 10 characters in New York City. Once the Stonewall Riots unfold, the characters’ paths intertwine. While fueled by historical events, the characters themselves are fictitious, creating a sense of “imagined realism,” said sophomore
STONEWALL PAGE 12
SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore kicker Aaron Boumerhi kicks a field goal during the Owls’ home opener against Villanova on Saturday.
KICKER DUO IS ‘WEAPON’ IN FIRST WIN Sophomore Aaron Boumerhi hit a career-long field goal to win Saturday’s game against Villanova. BY TOM IGNUDO Assistant Sports Editor
JOCELYN BURNS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior musical theater major Max Ferguson (left) and junior theater major Paul Herald show off their acting skills in a rehearsal of “Hit the Wall” at Tomlinson Theater.
Ed Foley walked toward Austin Jones and Aaron Boumerhi after Villanova tied the score late in the fourth quarter. “[Foley] looked at Austin and was like, ‘No matter what the distance is, be ready. You guys are going to have to win this game for us,’” Boumerhi said. Boumerhi missed a 48-yard field goal attempt earlier in the game. The sophomore got the nod for a 49-yard field goal attempt with the game on the line. He was nervous, but encouragement from Jones and Foley helped Boumerhi boot the career-long kick through the uprights to give Temple a 16-13 victory. Temple used both Jones and Boumerhi in field-goal situations against Villanova. Jones, a senior, went 1-for-1, while Boumerhi went 2-for-3. The duo combined for 10 points in the contest. “There was no doubt that we
were going to kick the field goal if we were within the range, and it was well within the range,” coach Geoff Collins said. “[Boumerhi’s] got a strong leg. We’re confident with Austin, confident with [Boumerhi], but just the distance today [Boumerhi] had the leg for that kick.”
There was no doubt that we were going to kick the field goal if we were within the range. GEOFF COLLINS COACH
When Temple started its drive with three minutes and 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Jones and Boumerhi started to practice field goals on the sideline. Redshirt-junior wideout Ventell Bryant made a one-
handed catch for a 29-yard gain to set up Temple in Villanova territory. The Owls picked up one more first down because of a defensive holding penalty on Villanova. As Jones and Boumerhi noticed the field goal attempt was going to be from a longer distance, Boumerhi began to take more practice kicks than Jones, Boumerhi said. Though Jones and Boumerhi battle each other for field goal tries in games, Boumerhi said the two have a camaraderie. “[ Jones] helps downplay the situation a lot for me, because sometimes there’s a game-winning kick and their head goes all crazy,” Boumerhi said. “We both do a really good job of coaching each other in that sense. We do a really good job of watching each other’s technique and making sure it’s
K I C K ERS PAG E 13
NEWS | PAGES 2-3, 6
OPINION | PAGES 4-5
FEATURES | PAGES 7-12
SPORTS | PAGES 13-16
The new STAR Complex includes an educational apartment for physical and occupational therapy students. Read more on Page 2.
Two columnists argue their opposing views on affirmative action. Read more on Page 5.
An exhibit at the Barnes Foundation pays tribute to the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. Read more on Page 7.
The football team wants a more balanced offense led by an established run game in the coming weeks. Read more on Page 16.
NEWS PAGE 2
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
ACADEMICS
Professors add ‘Basic Needs Security’ to syllabi Students who do not have access to healthy food or living accommodations are encouraged to contact the Dean of Students. BY EMMA LILLIANTHAL For The Temple News
Beginning this semester, some professors have added a new section to their syllabi called “Basic Needs Security,” which is geared toward helping students who are struggling to afford basic needs like housing and food. Created by higher education professor Sara Goldrick-Rab, the policy encourages students to contact the Dean of Students Office if they are faced with difficulties due to food or housing insecurity. Students would then be directed toward the resources from their professor or Dean of Students. Goldrick-Rab said she was preparing for a graduate class she is teaching this semester when she created this addition to her syllabus. “It was in the course of writing that syllabus that I came up with this idea of adding this language to the section of the syllabus where you have all of those other policy statements,” Goldrick-Rab said. “I realized that a big part of what I research, what I study, is the challenges that
undergraduates are facing in paying for college,” she added. “In particular, I have been studying the growing number of students who are dealing with not having enough money for their food and their housing.” Students were invited by GoldrickRab to share their stories of challenges they face while attending Temple. The confidential survey, called #RealCollege, was sent via email to students on Monday. For completing the survey, students can win one of $100 Diamond Dollars. The “Basic Needs Security” section is currently not a university-wide requirement for professors, but some have decided to add the new section to their syllabi anyway. David Mindich, a journalism professor and the department chair, heard about this new policy from David Boardman, dean of Klein College of Media and Communication. Mindich had then suggested it to the journalism department. “The two reasons for including it in the syllabus is one, for the students who are in need and two, for the students who are not in need but who should be aware that other students are,” Mindich said. He added that it is a useful tool to spread awareness and hopes more professors will add the policy to their syllabi. “I am hoping that it is the beginning of a trend,” he said. Jillian Bauer-Reese, a journalism professor, said it is important that her
students feel supported by the university. “Above all else, on the first day of class I want my students to leave the classroom knowing that I care about them as people,” Bauer-Reese said. “I thought that this was one way for us to tell our students on the first day that we do care about them as human beings and want to make sure that their needs are met.” Goldrick-Rab said she posted a blog post on Medium.com about the new policy. After tweeting out a link to the post, Goldrick-Rab conducted a survey to track who would use her new statement. She reported that more than 200 faculty members at different colleges across the country said they would add this policy to their syllabi. Goldrick-Rab is the founder of Wisconsin HOPE Lab, an organization dedicated to assisting students with financial difficulties in college. The organization will hold a national #RealCollege conference at Temple in October in order to address food and housing insecurity among college students. “It’s a place for people to come and learn about the housing and food challenges that students are facing and what they can do about it,” she said. “To me, this is at the heart of what we do as teachers.”
GENEVA HEFFERNAN / THE TEMPLE NEWS Journalism professor Jillian Bauer-Reese reviews the newest addition to her class’ syllabus, a “Basic Needs Security” section. It encourages students who lack basic needs to reach out to their professors, who can help link them to appropriate resources.
emma.lillianthal@temple.edu
COMMUNITY
Resident distributes food to neighbors, students Freddie Boldea has been distributing free food to North Philadelphia residents for 12 years. BY MATTHEW McCANN For The Temple News
Every Tuesday around noon, Freddie Boldea pulls up to the curb outside her house on Norris Street near 15th to begin unloading her SUV packed full of food and set up for her weekly free food distribution. For the past 12 years, 60-year-old Boldea and her family have run a small nonprofit food distribution service in front of her home every Tuesday and every other Friday. Boldea gets the food through Philabundance and SHARE, two Philadelphiabased programs that help deliver food to communities in need. She distributes the food to homeless people, Temple students and community residents. “I love giving,” she said. “It’s just something I’ve always loved doing. When people come visit me, they never leave empty handed.” Although Boldea has
distributed free food since 2005, she said she has had trouble maintaining volunteers. Currently, the only help she receives consistently is from her two daughters. “I would love to have some nice, good people that want to do this, that want to help,” she added. “This has to be done from the heart, something you really enjoy doing. I do it because I know I’m serving some people that really need it, that really benefit from it and enjoy it.” Boldea used to give the food donations every Tuesday and Friday, but because of health problems, her family requested she limit herself to only Tuesdays and every other Friday. The work can be difficult and is not always rewarding, Boldea said. Some people just want to take advantage of her charity. “The hardest thing, really, is dealing with the people that come to get the food who are totally ungrateful,” she added. “It’s hard dealing with the people who are ungrateful.” But, Boldea said she has her “regulars” who get food from her every week and have come to depend on her. Leroy Roebuck, an 84-year-old North
JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Freddie Boldea, 60, helps Leroy Roebuck, 84, store groceries in reusable shopping bags last Friday. Boldea, who began a small food distribution service in 2005, said Roebuck has been a loyal visitor for years.
News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com
Philadelphia resident, who Boldea called “an icon in the neighborhood,” has been coming to Boldea for food since she started the program. “She’s a beautiful person.,” Roebuck said. “They don’t come any better than Freddie.” Nigel Phillips, who is homeless and had never gotten food from Boldea before, said he was surprised when she called him over to give him food last week. Phillips left with a drink and a grocery bag full of free food, including potatoes, cucumbers, peaches and raisins. “It’s important to have something like this in the community because, as a homeless person, food can be scarce, and the opportunity to get and have food that will last longer than a day is very useful,” Phillips said. “I’m giving away free food,” Boldea shouted to students walking by her table last week around 3 p.m. “I know you could use some.” Students tend to be reluctant to take food, she added. “[Boldea] just made my day,” said Bernadette Barone, a sophomore nursing major, who walked away from her stand with a bag of peaches. “That was so sweet.” Caroline Haeffner, a junior international business major, also walked away with some cucumbers. “It integrates Temple and the community,” Haeffner said. “They give food out to students passing by, but there’s also a huge line full of community members as well.” Boldea plans to continue the program. She encourages visitors to stop by for food and consider volunteering.
matthew.paul.mccann@ temple.edu
OLIVIA O’NEILL / THE TEMPLE NEWS The new Aramark STAR Complex at the corner of 15th Street and Montgomery Avenue includes a teaching apartment where students will learn how to assist the elderly and people living with physical disabilities.
CONSTRUCTION
Mock apartment added to new STAR Complex College of Public Health students will use the apartment to practice using equipment for people with physical disabilities. BY DYLAN CHIRMAN For The Temple News Temple’s new Aramark Student Training and Recreation Complex includes educational apartment accommodations for physical and occupational therapy students to learn about the equipment used in the dayto-day lives of people with physical disabilities. The STAR Complex, where construction began in May 2016, held a dedication ceremony on Sept. 7 to celebrate its completion. It was opened to students with the start of the 2017-18 academic year. The new multi-use facility at 15th Street and Montgomery Avenue marks a transition for physical and occupational therapy majors. Some College of Public Health majors, including those enrolled in the physical therapy program, have relocated to Main Campus this fall from the Health Sciences Campus because of the complex’s completion. The educational apartments include wheelchair-height kitchen counters and appliances and a fully accessible bathroom and bedroom, according to a university release. Students will use this equipment to apply what they learn in their classes to aid people with physical disabilities. “The transition into the new facilities has been really smooth,” senior kinesiology major Amrit Kaur said. “The STAR Complex is quieter and less
crowded, which makes it easier to get work done.” According to the 2016-17 Fact Book, there are about 4,400 CPH students. Many are already taking their first classes in the STAR Complex this semester. “We love the new facilities,” said Emily Opperman, a second-year physical therapy Ph.D. student. She added this facility is “more up to date” than the old Health Sciences Campus location. “It’s amazing,” Opperman said. “It’s a good resource for learning for people going into physical therapy.” Lauren Highsmith, a student services coordinator with Disability Resources and Services, said the new facilities are beneficial for all students, regardless of their majors and colleges. “It’s great...for students with disabilities in general to have the option of going over there and knowing that there’s adaptable equipment that’s there for them to use and that there are people over there who will know how to use it,” Highsmith added. Currently, Temple’s occupational therapy program is ranked No. 32 in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report, and the physical therapy program is ranked No. 53. “If you line us up with Drexel and Penn State and those kinds of schools, you need to have something that sticks out more than the others,” Highsmith added. “I think that having something like [the educational apartments] that they can use as a marketing tool can help us stand out against some of the other local schools.”
dylan.chirman@temple.edu
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
NEWS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 3
GREEK LIFE
Greek life has increase in GPA Since deferred recruitment was introduced in 2015, sororities and fraternities have increased their GPAs and membership. BY TESSA SAYERS For The Temple News Two years after the university implemented a deferred recruitment policy for fraternities and sororities, Student Activities reported the average GPA of students in Greek life increased from 2.97 to 3.07. The number of students who joined Greek life also increased. The deferred recruitment policy requires freshmen to have a 2.5 GPA and complete 12 college credits — the minimum number required in one semester as a full-time student — before they rush a fraternity or sorority. This means most freshmen must wait until the spring semester to be a part of Greek life. Rushing and recruitment often take place over a number of days and require students to devote a large portion of time to meeting with chapter leaders. The university determined it was taxing on first-semester freshmen’s grades. Before the policy was implemented in 2015, the university did not have any academic requirements for freshmen joining Greek life. Instead, the 30 fraternities and sororities were responsible for setting their own academic standards for new members. Sarah Hernandez, program coordinator for fraternity and sorority life, said the university knew GPAs increased at other universities that deferred recruitment, but this wasn’t the
main reason Temple implemented the policy. “Fraternity and sorority life is one of the only areas of Temple’s campus and culture where when you enter into, you’re a member for life,” Hernandez said. “We felt like the students needed a little bit more time than just two weeks to be able to make that decision. That’s the ultimate reason why we chose to switch to deferred recruitment.” Hernandez said the deferred recruitment policy allowed the university to “superimpose a college GPA.” Prior to deferring recruitment policy, students could use their high school GPA when applying to Greek life organizations. “It just isn’t equivalent. We wanted to see that you were a good student at Temple before you joined into this organization,” Hernandez added. With Greek life’s GPA and involvement rising, Temple continues to expand Greek Life on Main Campus. During Spring 2016, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and Zeta Phi Beta sorority presented in front of the expansion committee, which reviews applications from organizations and selects Greek organizations. Hernandez said the Expansion Committee is led by student representatives and advisers from Greek life chapters and councils on campus, people affiliated with the national chapters and Temple administrators, like herself. In the 2014-15 academic year, the expansion committee allowed a chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity to open at Temple.
SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior economics major Zach Heisey (left), senior finance major Jake Epstein (center) and senior mathematical economics major Andreas Kraus, discuss the future of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity during a executive board meeting on Sept. 4.
There are four councils that house Greek organizations at Temple. Hernandez said Student Activities began expanding the Interfraternity Council last spring and will conclude this October, meaning the university will be adding another fraternity to campus. This fall, the Panhellenic Council will begin its expansion. Abby DeVore, the president of the Temple University Greek Association, rushed Alpha Xi Delta in Fall 2014 before the policy was implemented. DeVore, a senior entrepreneurship and journalism major, experienced Greek Life before and after the policy started, and said she credits the increase in GPA averages and involvement to deferred recruitment. DeVore said she was upset with the new policy at first because she had to wait longer to get a “little” — a new member of a sorority who is paired up with an older member, also known as a “big,” as part of a Greek life tradition. “It was the next full new member class after mine, and I didn’t want to wait to get a little that long,” she added. “It really gives people time to get it together before they jump into such a large time commitment,” DeVore added. “It gives Greek life the ability to really find members who want to be there and want to be a part of something bigger than them.” Eric Mussoline, a junior human resources major and member of Phi Kappa Theta, rushed his freshman year in Spring 2016. He was a part of the first class affected by deferred recruitment. Mussoline said he was thankful he couldn’t get involved in Greek life right away. “I thought [deferred recruitment] was a smart idea,” Mussoline said. “It allows incoming students to get settled into college before jumping straight into Greek life.” Temple is not the only campus in Philadelphia to defer recruitment. St. Joseph’s University requires students to have at least 12 credits before they rush a fraternity or sorority. “Making a life-long decision the first two weeks of college is a big deal,” Hernandez said. “That’s kind of the basis as to why we chose that policy.”
NEWS BRIEFS CRIME
Jenna Burleigh’s memorial fund surpasses $10,000 goal A memorial fund for Jenna Burleigh, a junior film and media arts major who was murdered near Main Campus this month, was established to raise money for Burleigh’s family. The GoFundMe raised $11,225, which surpassed its goal of $10,000. The memorial was established by Lucia Vervoort, who is from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, where Burleigh’s family lives. “This fund is intended to be a platform for Jenna’s friends and anyone else who is feeling the void of her loss. All funds will go directly to Jenna’s parents to use as they deem most appropriate, in her loving memory,” according to the GoFundMe page. Last Wednesday, Temple Student Government and Temple Progressive NAACP held a vigil in the Founder’s Garden in Burleigh’s memory. At the vigil, President Richard Englert encouraged students to donate to a charity set up by Burleigh’s parents, “Univest Foundation — Jenna’s Blessings Bags.” - Mia Perlman
CRIME
Man shot off-campus, but in stable condition A 34-year-old man was shot in the back early Monday morning on 12th Street near Nevada Street. A TU Alert was initially sent out to students as an armed robbery, but there was no robbery, Charlie Leone, director of Campus Safety Services, wrote in an email. Temple Police immediately sent out an additional alert, which reported the shooting. Leone added that TUPD could not obtain any other information from the man because he refused to talk to TUPD. The man was taken to Temple University Hospital and is in stable condition, Leone wrote.
teresa.sayers@temple.edu @SayersTessa
- Kelly Brennan
CRIME
Campus Safety holds office grand opening The office on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near Sydenham Street has been operating since midApril. BY JULIA BOYD For The Temple News On Monday, Campus Safety Services hosted the grand opening of its new Cecil B. Moore Avenue office, which was created to strengthen the relationship between Temple and the North Philadelphia community. It is the first safety office to open on the west side of Broad Street. Temple Police’s other offices are located east of Broad Street. With more students each year moving west of Broad Street, TUPD wanted to expand its relationship with the businesses and residents at a pace that matched the growth of the university. “The neighbors have been here a long time,” said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services. “We try to make them feel as safe and respected as possible. We want the students and neighbors to have a common bond.” Leone said the grand opening was planned for September because it is National Campus Safety Awareness Month. The
space, however, has been operating since mid-April and was officially completed at the end of May. President Richard Englert attended the grand opening ceremony, along with other Temple administrators. “It’s fitting that the location is at Cecil B. Moore, the place is like the heart of North Philadelphia,” Englert said during the ribboncutting ceremony. The new office is “multifaceted” and houses a community relations team, Temple Emergency Medical Services and Allied Universal, said Eileen Bradley, the captain of special services at Campus Safety Services. One of Temple’s Project Delivery Group architects Sara Tice said in planning the new office, the location was important. “The accessibility of the location is important, especially since it’s around so many retail locations and businesses,” she said. Both Leone and Bradley said they want local businesses to collaborate with Campus Safety Services at the new location. Prior to the grand opening of the space, Leone said TUPD has focused on building partnerships with local businesses near the new location. He said he wants the businesses to feel respected and comfortable coming to the office
FARIDATOU ISSIAKO / THE TEMPLE NEWS University President Richard Englert (second from right) cuts the ribbon to officially open a new Cecil B. Moore Avenue office of Campus Safety Services.
if they have questions or concerns. Bradley invited members of the community revitalization organization Beech Interplex and North Central Victims Services to the grand opening, along with small business owners. “We want to continue our good relationship with our neighbors,” Bradley said. “It’s a cohesive community. We’re trying to provide safety
for everyone, students and the community,” Leone said. “I think people are happy to see it.” Bradley said she wants students living west of Broad Street to have access to a space where they can voice their concerns and issues. “We cater to the students, we meet most of their needs,” Bradley said. “It makes parents more comfortable knowing we can help. When you’re in a big city, you may
not get that extra attention, and we provide that.” “I think that members of the community will realize that Campus Police is not just for students,” junior public health major Ella Ardoin said.
julia.boyd@temple.edu @JuliaKBoyd
News Desk 215.204.7419 news@temple-news.com
OPINION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 4 LGBTQ
A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Michaela Winberg Editor-in-Chief Grace Shallow Managing Editor Jenny Roberts Supervising Editor Julie Christie Enterprise Editor Gillian McGoldrick News Editor Jayna Schaffer Opinion Editor Angela Gervasi Features Editor Evan Easterling Sports Editor Kelly Brennan Asst. News Editor Tom Ignudo Asst. Sports Editor Ian Walker Asst. Features Editor Amanda Lien Copy Editor Patrick Bilow Copy Editor Ian Schobel Co-Multimedia Editor Abbie Lee Co-Multimedia Editor Sydney Schaefer Photography Editor Jamie Cottrell Asst. Photography Editor Sasha Lasakow Design Editor Courtney Redmon Designer Mira Wise Advertising Manager Finnian Saylor Business & Marketing Manager Valentina Wrisley Asst. Bus.& Mktg 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
EDITORIALS
Addressing sexual assault
TSG and the Temple community are committed to combatting sexual violence.
Temple Student Government’s first Sexual Assault Prevention Week started yesterday, marking yet another effort from the university and students to fight sexual assault on campus. It is encouraging to know that the Temple community has taken another step toward preventing sexual assault. Last year, we applauded Temple’s partnership with Women Organized Against Rape. This addressed concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations into possible Title IX violations at Temple. The Temple News found in Spring 2016 that there were exceptionally long wait times for sexual assault survivors’ case proceedings. In June 2016, Andrea Seiss was appointed to be Temple’s Title IX coordinator — the first time it was a standalone position at the university. Seiss is responsible for addressing sexual misconduct cases and educating people about Title IX.
She told The Temple News this week that collaboration with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and the university’s efforts have helped shorten wait times. Her team also meets weekly to discuss ongoing cases. TSG’s Sexual Assault Prevention Week is just as important as Seiss and her team’s year-round efforts. Students need to pay attention to what they learn this week and educate others about how to prevent and report on sexual assault on campus. TSG and the university as a whole also need to continue this discussion outside of regularly scheduled events, like WalkTU and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. The momentum that this week will generate should be a yearlong initiative, because this isn’t an issue faced by students only during a certain week or month. There have been a lot of big steps made on campus, and we hope this is just the beginning.
Meeting students’ needs In an effort to comfort students who are struggling financially, professors are editing their syllabi. This semester, some professors have added a section to their syllabi called “Basic Needs Security.” This is a thoughtful addition, considering Temple’s socioeconomic makeup. The section tells students who are facing food or housing insecurity that they should immediately contact the Dean of Students Office and tell their professors about their situation. Many students at Temple receive Pell Grants — federal allotments of money given to students who live in households with incomes under $40,000. About 28 percent of the student body received an average of $4,520 from the federal program in 2015-16. If students are receiving Pell Grants, it is very likely they also struggle to meet their basic needs, like having somewhere to sleep or accessing nutritious food. And these students should know
their professors and the Dean of Students Office are there to help them succeed despite their financial hardships. College is expensive enough on its own: Pennsylvania had the third-highest in-state tuition behind Vermont and New Hampshire in 2016-17. When you add in the cost of books and living, students who are independent or whose families earn below the poverty line can easily be struggling to make ends meet. If adding a small section to the syllabi can make students feel a little less alone in their struggles, then there’s no reason professors shouldn’t adopt this practice. A couple hundred professors across the country have already committed to adding a “Basic Needs Security” section, and all of Temple’s professors should do the same.
LGBTQ allies: earn the title Supporting people who are queer requires more than just tolerance.
W
hen I came out as bisexual last year, I knew I had just answered a big question about myself. What I didn’t realize is that I didn’t have all the answers yet. During the months that followed, I questioned how homosexuality is discussed in social settings in ways that I didn’t really consider before I came out. And I also began to question the true weight of certain terms and phrases associated with the LGBTQ community — like GRACE SHALLOW MANAGING EDITOR the word “ally.” Allies are people who don’t identify as a part of the LGBTQ community but are supportive of it, and I am thankful for them and their voices. But if you are calling yourself an ally, you need to earn it. Brad Windhauser, a LGBTQ studies professor, said people began using ally to identify as a supporter of the LGBTQ community in the 1970s when Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — an organization for families and friends of LGBTQ people that is also known as PFLAG — started in New York. “If you identified yourself as an ally, that told someone who was gay that…‘I’m on your side,’” Windhauser said. “There were a lot of positive reasons that [the term] needed to exist for a long time, and I would argue, it probably still, in a lot
letters@temple-news.com
— recorded 36 anti-LGBTQ homicides in 2017 as of Aug. 23. About 75 percent of the victims of these murders were people of color, and 56 percent of them were Black. Within the LGBTQ community, Black transgender women are the most likely to be victims of fatal violence, according to the Human Rights Campaign — the largest national LGBTQ civil rights organization. In Philadelphia, the owner of ICandy, a Gayborhood bar, was videotaped repeatedly saying racial slurs just last year. “To consider yourself an ally of the LGBTQIA community, you need to be there for people of color as well,” said Yaya Grajales, QPOC’s graphic designer and a sophomore geography and urban studies major. “You cannot just be accepting of your white queer friends. You need to go further than that.” I agree with Grajales, and I think people using the term ally need to put more thought into the full scope of the word. Offer support to your queer friends and family members, but also educate yourself about the discrimination still faced by LGBTQ people. Donate to the HRC. Lobby against harmful political actions. Don’t ignore it when someone casually makes a homophobic joke. The list of actions you can take goes on. Aligning yourself with the LGBTQ community means you must be prepared to stand by a community of millions. And while we are a community of individuals who each have a different background and identity, we all want the same thing from you: support. grace.shallow@temple.edu @Grace_Shallow
In London, finally grieving
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A student shares what it was like to solve an internal conflict more than 3,000 miles from home.
icture this: I’m in London, and all of Europe is at my fingertips. I take the Tube to my journalism internship every day and often go to the pub with friends. Sounds amazing, right? But on this July night, I’m sitting on my bed in my flat, wiping my snot with a gray nightgown because it can help drown out the sounds of my crying. I’m sobbing in London. “How silly is this?” I ask myself. “You came all the way to London to cry?” This past semester, I had been riddled with internal conflicts and anxiety that sent me on a spiral, ruining relationships and hurting myself. I thought by going to London I would hide from the pain I’d been feeling and it would all go away. Going to London didn’t help me hide the pain — it made it greater. But it did help me finally figure out what had been going on. I’ve always been a highachieving person and a problem solver, so I couldn’t live with the constant anxiety anymore, and I needed to find the cause. It wasn’t until I found a column by Los Angeles Times columnist
CORRECTIONS A story that ran on page 3 titled “Student plans to present recovery housing to BOT” stated that the Board of Trustees would vote in December on recovery housing. This is inaccurate. Instead, Director of University Housing and Residential Life Kevin Williams is planning to meet with George Basile, who proposed recovery housing to TSG Parliament last year. 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 Michaela Winberg at editor@temple-news.com or 215-204-6737.
of ways, does need to exist.” Within the first few weeks of school, there have been multiple occasions when religious groups denounced homosexuality as a sin throuh on-campus demonstrations. On a national level, President Donald Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military, which will go into effect within the next six months. It is essential that LGBTQ people know where they can find support in situations like these — and that is why we still need allies. Sabra Anderson, the secretary of Queer People of Color, said to consider yourself an ally, you need to elevate the voices of queer people instead of talking over them. She added that you also need to “prove yourself” as an ally, which means not being indifferent to homophobic, biphobic or transphobic rhetoric. “It’s easy to just throw a pin on your backpack that says ‘I’m an ally,’ and you get cookies for it,” Anderson, a junior Chinese major, said. “I don’t think that’s how it should be. There are varying degrees to it. … It doesn’t have to be marching in the streets.” As an ally, you also need to understand what that means for the people represented by each letter in the acronym LGBTQ, not just one or two groups. You cannot just support people who are lesbian and gay. You also need to stand up for those who are bisexual, transgender, asexual and for all people who identify as something other than cisgender and straight — even if nobody close to you identifies as so. To do that, understand that people of different sexualities, genders and races face different levels of oppression. The National Coalition of AntiViolence Programs — an advocacy group for the LGBTQ community
BY GILLIAN McGOLDRICK Sandy Banks that basically described every single one of my feelings. The column, “Losing a mother early shapes a woman’s emotional terrain for life,” finally gave me the beginnings to answer all the questions I’d had for myself. Banks wrote about finding a book by Hope Edelman called “Motherless Daughters.” I immediately purchased the book and started reading on my lunch breaks at my internship. Edelman wrote it after pinpointing her extreme emotional pain during her 20s, according to the book. She researched the effects of losing a mother at a young age. She found there was only one time this pain had been discussed: in a column in the 1980s. “Meet you in the lobby in ten minutes — I have long brown hair, am on the short side, have on a red coat, and my mother died when I was nineteen,” Edelman wrote. The only difference in my story from this statement is that my mom, Eileen, died when I was 15 years old, after a long battle with colon cancer. She beat it once and had my miracle of a sister named Anna, against all possibilities. But she was later re-diagnosed and took her last breaths in a hospital room in July 2012. My dad is amazing — he’s raised me and my three siblings, trying his best to fill both parental roles. I’m so thankful for everything he’s done, but I’ll always miss my mom. It’s hard to summarize the incredible woman she was and the profound ways she touched others’ lives. She was witty, thoughtful, prayerful and wore a “Genius” tag on her keys — to describe my beautiful mom in just a few ways. I thought the trauma and pain of constantly waking up at night
to creep into her room to check if she was breathing had made me stronger. I thought I hit all of the five stages of grief, doubling up with my regular teen angst. It took traveling more than 3,000 miles away to finally realize why I’d been hurting. I always knew losing my mom would leave me a bit disadvantaged, but never did I know that I had been facing developmental issues. The developmental tasks of learning to live with ambiguity, developing a personal value system and managing emotions are just a few of the places that can be “disrupted or halted by mother loss” during adolescence, Edelman wrote. These were all things I’d been struggling with. I had been looking for women role models who could fill my mom’s shoes but was too scared to ask for help. And who would ever be worthy, anyway? The biggest thing I learned was that sticking grief into five stages is damaging. “I’ve found there are really only two stages of grief that matter to most mourners: the one in which you feel really, really bad, followed by the one in which you feel better,” Edelman writes. “Expecting grief to run a quick, predictable course leads us to…making us think of grief as something that, with proper treatment, can and should be ‘fixed.’” I thought I had fully grieved her loss. I stopped thinking about her almost entirely for the past few years. I told myself I’d done all the crying I needed to do. But in London, I finally let myself feel the pain of losing my mother five years later. Now, I will let myself feel it whenever I need to, and I’ll be taking applications for who can try on her shoes. And I will continue to work every day to make my mom proud. gillian.mcgoldrick@temple.edu @gill_mcgoldrick
COURTNEY REDMON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
OPINION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 5
DIVERSITY
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Affirmative action prevents true equality Students and employees should not be chosen on the basis of race.
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hen affirmative action first entered the political and social hemisphere, it was a prescient concept used to promote desegregation and equal opportunity among the various races that composed the increasingly diverse United States. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy called for employers to select workers without regard to their racial backgrounds, using only their merits to determine employment. In this respect, VARUN SIVAKUMAR the original meaning of affirmative action is rooted in the pursuit of equality for all. But, in modern society, the term’s definition has been distorted to promote preferential treatment for racial minorities based not on merit, but on the color of their skin. This is the definition of racism and removal of the mandate for individual justice. “Programs like affirmative action aren’t set up for justice, individually or socially, unless you define justice as opportunity rather than equality,” said Jeremy Goodman, a junior political science major and Temple College Republicans member. When completing college applications, applicants are required to define their racial backgrounds, along with a plethora of other personal information. But race should not be used to determine whether an applicant is qualified for school admission because this removes the meritocracy process that should guide college acceptances. “You can’t eliminate bias,” Goodman said. “Take away race, religion, ethnicity and sex, and just put grades, scores on your application.” “There is no reason why someone should be rewarded or not rewarded based on what the race that he [or] she belongs to has experienced as a whole,” said Jordan Laslett, a junior political science major and eastern vice president of Pennsylvania College Democrats. From the moment that children enter the school system, they are taught that if they work hard and achieve good grades, they will be able
to attend college. But, when applying to college, if a white student and a Black student have similar grades, test scores and resumes overall, the Black student may be selected because of affirmative action. This is a form of discrimination, and it is racist. Choosing one individual over the other, purely based on racial identity, is the definition of racism. Colleges, employers and other selecting processes should never be in the business of correcting previous social wrongs. They should look to choose the individual most fit for the task — regardless of race. “It’s good for a university to diversify itself to be more representative of the population,” Laslett said. “But when you add numbers and standards, that’s when universities get into hot water.” If affirmative action is put into play, it should be based on class rather than race. This furthers the idea of helping an individual due to circumstance, and not a group of people blindly as a whole. If two students applying to college have similar resumes, but one grew up in poverty while the other was raised in luxury, special consideration should be given to the poorer candidate because it is more difficult to succeed while poor, regardless of race. In a study conducted by the Federal Reserve in 2014, adults were asked if they grew up worrying about having enough food or a stable caregiver. Of the ones who said yes, more than 50 percent reported financial difficulties at the time. Clearly, these kinds of hardships can impact academic success. It is critical for society to provide equality for all those applying to college or joining the workforce. But special consideration should not be given to people who are in a racial minority, and employers and universities should not focus on correcting history’s wrongdoings.
February 15, 1972: Philip Winkfield, director of Affirmative Action, submitted a list of goals to the university, hoping to employ more women and minorities in administrative, executive and faculty positions. Winkfield described his office as an “arm of the President with a minimal staff, trying to get working.” This week, two columnists debate whether affirmative action is still necessary for college admissions. CARTOON
varun.sivakumar@temple.edu @varunsivakumar
RITAPA NEOGI / THE TEMPLE NEWS
Affirmative action is essential for equality From admissions to incollege support, affirmative action makes a difference.
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n an ideal world, we wouldn’t need affirmative action. But equal access to quality higher education doesn’t naturally happen. I believe that affirmative action is necessary at the college level because of the inequalities in society that affect disadvantaged students in their pursuit of a degree, and affirmative action has helped more ZARI TARAZONA students of color get into college. Disadvantaged students aren’t on equal footing with their peers when they apply to college, especially if they’re coming from a poorly funded school district. It isn’t an even playing field when schools in low-income areas don’t have enough sufficiently trained teachers or resources to be at the same educational level as other students. White people did not go through the societal, economic and
political oppression that racial minorities have faced in America. Remediations for the oppression faced by people of color in the past would be a fair standard to set because many students of color have had to deal with circumstances that have made it harder to get into college. Affirmative action is like a lifeline for those students. Many Black and Latino students are still underrepresented at elite colleges and universities around the country, according to a New York Times analysis. In the 1960s, both presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson signed executive orders to prevent employment discrimination against women and minorities. At the time, leaders of the civil rights movement knew it was impossible for people to be “color blind” to race — and having no affirmative action would be based on similar illogical expectations. Since the executive orders, affirmative action has grown to include education. Affirmative action also extends beyond admissions to provide financial help for students. At Temple, the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance implements the university’s affirmative action policy, handles discrimination complaints and provides resources on the university’s discrimination
policies. In 1978, the Supreme Court case Regents of University of California v. Bakke ruled that racial quotas in the admission process were unconstitutional, but many critics of affirmative action still inaccurately argue its presence. Affirmative action admission policies are legal as long as race is one of many factors, and diversity among the student body that benefits students’ educational experience is the ultimate goal. Heath Fogg Davis, a political science professor, said the standards the Supreme Court has set, like “race as one of many factors,” has been problematic because colleges aren’t getting a lot of guidance. “I think that affirmative action policies, especially in higher education, should be based on some kind of historical remediations,” Davis said. The debate over the necessity of affirmative action has often led to the courts or a public vote — eight states in the country have banned it. But some colleges in those states, like University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan, experienced a decrease in admission and enrollment, respectively, for Black students after affirmative action was banned.
Some complaints about affirmative action admission policies have gone all the way to the Supreme Court. And now a federal investigation is being conducted by the Justice Department’s civil rights division, according to the New York Times. The investigation will look into possibly suing colleges and universities over “intentional racebased discrimination in college and university admissions,” according to the New York Times. Many people are speculating that the actual purpose is to see if minority groups are getting an unfair advantage over other students. But that unfair advantage isn’t likely. In March, the Education Law Center released a report stating that Pennsylvania was short $3 to $4.5 billion in sufficient public school funds and was “shortchanging” schools that really need funding. When a state makes mistakes like this, it further proves that affirmative action needs to be in place at the college level because of years of institutional shortcomings. Davis said meritocracy — the political philosophy that moving ahead in life relies on an individual’s ability and talent — is the biggest argument against affirmative action. But there are other factors that come into play that shouldn’t
be ignored, like socioeconomic status. Conor Freeley, a junior political science major and president of Temple College Democrats, said affirmative action should be extended during high school years to provide for opportunities, like free SAT tutoring. But programs like this don’t exist, which is why affirmative action is needed in college. “You should provide enough opportunities, so that I have the same resume and test scores as somebody else who doesn’t look like me,” said Freeley, who is white. Not having to include race as a factor in admissions would be ideal, but socioeconomic factors and the current state of our education system make that impossible to do. It’s a divisive issue, but affirmative action must be in place to remedy racial gaps in higher education. The program may need some improvements, but getting rid of it or attacking its value is a mistake. zari.tarazona@temple.edu @sorryzari
letters@temple-news.com
NEWS PAGE 6
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
TITLE IX Title IX protects the rights of the LGBTQ community when it comes to participating in sports, accessing housing opportunities and utilizing public restrooms. It also protects the rights of students who have children or who are pregnant and addresses instances of sexual assault, including dating violence and stalking. WHO OVERSEES TITLE IX AT TEMPLE?
SASHA LASAKOW / THE TEMPLE NEWS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
PREVENTION process, Seiss said. “I am very excited about [Sexual Assault Prevention Week] because it is entirely student-conceived and studentplanned,” Harrison said. “We are here to offer support, but this is a student event.” TSG also reached out to student organizations to attend, Mann-Barnes said. The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Queer People of Color, Queer Student Union and Student Activists Against Sexual Assault were invited. “We want organizations both on and off campus to be present this week to remind students of the necessary resources they may need,” Mann-Barnes said. “We encouraged organizations to come out, be involved and set an example.” He added that TSG’s marketing team are using social media and print materials to get the word out about the week. TSG is targeting freshmen by reaching out to resident assistants who have freshmen in their buildings and collaborating with Laura Randolph, an associate director in University
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Housing and Residential Life. TSG also had a table during RA training to promote Sexual Assault Prevention Week. TSG will encourage students to continue their advocacy by signing up to participate in the March to End Rape Culture, an annual rally in Center City, on Sept. 30. Next semester, TSG will participate in WalkTU, the WRC’s annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month kickoff event. Last year, Mann-Barnes, who is the current vice president of SAASA, worked with Johnson to “revamp” the program and make it more inclusive to all genders, Mann-Barnes said. The program used to be titled “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” and had men wear high heels and walk around campus to stand up to sexual assault. “We hope, through this week, students will realize that they can do something,” he added. “Whether it’s by being a good bystander through intervention or seeking the help they need, there are resources available to them and we want them to be aware of them.”
amanda.lien@temple.edu @AmandaJLien
Andrea Seiss became Temple’s Title IX coordinator in June 2016, the first time the university made the job a stand-alone position. Before, Title IX coordination responsibilities were allotted to one of two people working in the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance at Temple. The creation of the Title IX coordinator position was part of Temple’s efforts to better address sexual violence on campus. Seiss works in Student Center room 314. “We always had a Title IX coordinator, but the Title IX coordinator shared their duties with other areas of equal opportunity compliance,” said Valerie Harrison, senior adviser to the president for compliance. “So what we did is we strengthened our focus on sexual assault by pulling that position out and assigning a dedicated Title IX Coordinator to it.” Seiss said this shift has increased focus on Title IX issues, as equal opportunity compliance encompasses a large scope of other issues, like religious, racial and age discrimination. WHAT IS THE JOB OF THE TITLE IX COORDINATOR? Seiss said the bulk of her job is addressing cases of sexual misconduct, and another large piece is educating people about Title IX legislation and its resources. When Seiss receives a sexual misconduct complaint, she works with students to help them determine if they want to report their assault to police. She then helps students seek support services,
including counseling or academic accommodations, which could allow for leaves of absence or class changes in order to be separated from their abusers. When a formal resolution to a case has been reached, Seiss oversees the implementation of the resolution and will often check in with students throughout their time at Temple to make sure they graduate. “The bulk of my job is working one-on-one with people who have concerns,” Seiss said. “By having the stand-alone position, it’s given me the time to be able to go out and participate in education and collaboration and partner up on education initiatives.” HOW DOES THE UNIVERSITY HANDLE CASES OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT? In Spring 2016, The Temple News found sexual assault survivors were experiencing exceptionally long wait times in the handling of their cases. Seiss said that although nothing has changed about the process of handling students’ sexual assault cases, her collaboration with investigators in the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and Temple’s intentional effort to follow through with cases has helped alleviate wait times. Seiss and the investigators meet weekly to go over active cases and strategize on next steps. Recently, Temple also created a partnership with Women Organized Against Rape, which opened a 24/7 satellite office on campus in Spring 2017. HOW DOES THE TITLE IX OFFICE MAKE ITSELF A RESOURCE TO STUDENTS? As a result of receiving an It’s on Us grant, Seiss said Temple completed focus groups to gauge student reactions to the university’s efforts to address sexual violence. The $25,853 state grant is meant to aid Temple in its goals for combatting sexual violence. Thirty-five other post-secondary institutions also received grants up to $30,000. The Title IX office also
collaborated with WOAR to revamp educational and marketing materials. “I’m actually really excited about what was created with the marketing campaign,” Seiss said. “It’s not only highlighting where you can go to report or to talk confidentially, but it also highlights where you can go just to get resources if you have safety issues and need safety help.” Temple’s mandatory, online sexual assault education programs have been updated to provide international students and graduate students with more relevant information. Seiss said the previous online training programs didn’t resonate with international students who come from cultures in which sexual violence issues are not openly discussed. The training also lacked Title IX information post-graduate students may be more concerned about, like gender inequality within the sciences. “I feel like we are making a really intentional effort to not just put general training out there and say, ‘OK this is good for everyone,’” she said. “We’re trying to find what really speaks to and works with people.” Seiss said one of the main problems of her job is the volume of Title IX cases with which she has to deal. She tracks this data to help the university determine if they need to increase the size of their response team. She added it’s also difficult to uphold Temple’s institutional values, while simultaneously keeping up with changing legislation, like the announcement Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made last Thursday that she’ll be rolling back elements of Title IX. Seiss said she hopes DeVos will diligently listen to a variety of people and organizations across the country throughout her review of Title IX and take differing points of view into account. “Right now we are moving along with what we’re told to move along with, but we need to be prepared for what we might be asked to do in the future,” Seiss added.
laura.smythe@temple.edu @lcs_smythe
TECHNOLOGY
Students stuck between Canvas, Blackboard Although some students are confused by the switch, Canvas has received an “overwhelmingly positive” response on campus. BY KENNETH COOPER For The Temple News At the beginning of Fall 2017, some students voiced their frustration about the transition from Blackboard to Canvas on social media and among each other. With about 60 percent of the courses still being taught using Blackboard and the other 40 percent now being taught using Canvas, many students are currently using both learning management systems to navigate their courses this semester. Juggling between the two systems is leaving many students confused. “I generally think it’s kind of confusing in a sense that I have to go on both to do both homework assignments,” said Ian Vela, a sophomore business major. “I could see myself running into a few problems here and there trying to access both sites.” This echoes the sentiment from many students surrounding the change. “With any migration with two or more applications, there is going to be some confusion,” said Mark Haubrich, the director of information technology. Cindy Leavitt, the vice president for Computer Services and Temple’s chief information officer, said her office did “anticipate there would be some confusion with students.” Students were alerted that both learning management systems would be used in an email from Provost JoAnne Epps before Fall 2017. “We are really relying on the professors letting the students know where they are going,” Leavitt added. “We tried to communicate with the students. [I] don’t know how well we did
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that.” Although the transition has caused students to complain, the user experience of Canvas seems to have been received well, Leavitt said. “We have been amazed at the overwhelmingly positive response that we’ve gotten from across campus,” she added. While most of the general concern is centered around students getting used to the transition, many professors are teaching for the first time on Canvas. Keith Gumery, an English professor, has more experience teaching with Canvas than the average professor. He teaches online courses for Temple in addition to living and teaching at an educational institution in Copenhagen, Denmark. “We switched from Blackboard to Canvas last year,” he said. “It was good timing because I actually liked using Canvas.” Gumery was also a part of the Canvas pilot program at Temple during Spring 2017 and taught two courses online using the learning management system. He said his students found Canvas “easier to navigate” than Blackboard. Gumery said Canvas relies more on “intuitive” use because there are fewer layers to dig through to access different elements than there are on Blackboard. “As an instructor, you can make the site actually more visibly appealing,” he said. “You can embed images and video and audio much more easily than I could in Blackboard.” “I think once the first couple of weeks of the semester are over and everyone is used to the system and where their classes are online, I don’t think it will be a problem,” he added. Temple expects to completely transition from Blackboard to Canvas during Summer 2018.
kenneth.cooper@temple.edu
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
FEATURES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 7
EXHIBIT
Barnes showcases North Philly cowboys The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has taught Black boys about horses for the past century. BY KHANYA BRANN For The Temple News
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onzell Davis grew up seeing cowboys in her neighborhood. “My earliest memory of them is from when I was like 3 or 4,” said Davis, now 50. “I was amazed.” The cowboys, known as the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, have been a part of the North Philadelphia community for more than 100 years. “From then on, I always looked forward to seeing them out on their horses, riding up and down the streets, saying ‘hi’ to people,” she added. Davis works as a security guard at the Barnes Foundation, where accounts of the cowboys she witnessed are now on display. The museum opened “Mohamed Bourouissa: Urban Riders,” an exhibit that celebrates the North Philadelphia cowboys and will run through Oct. 2. The nonprofit organization offers Black boys in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood an oppor-
tunity to learn about horse-rearing while receiving mentorship and guidance from older members. “We let the boys start with ponies,” said Erik Tarik, who owns four horses at the stables. “We teach them how to ride and how to take good care of them.” Thousands of miles away in Paris, French-Algerian artist Mohamed Bourouissa’s only exposure to cowboys when he was younger was through American film characters like John Wayne, the white hero in the 1972 western film “The Cowboys.” When he first flipped through a photo book about the riders from Fletcher Street, he was amazed. Bourouissa flew to Philadelphia in 2014 to document the riders at the Barnes Foundation. He stayed in Philadelphia for eight months, creating artistic projects that reflected his experiences with the Fletcher Street riders. Through photographs, paintings, films and drawings, Bourouissa creates images of tension, identity and cultural juxtaposition, like Black horsemen trotting down inner-city streets. In the summer of 2014, Bourouissa organized “Horse Day,” a neighborhood block party with an equestrian twist. He promoted the event throughout North Phila-
KHANYA BRANN / THE TEMPLE NEWS A Barnes Foundation exhibit titled “Mohamed Bourouissa: Urban Riders” celebrates The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club in Strawberry Mansion.
delphia, and scores of spectators came out for music, barbecue, horse games — and highly-anticipated performances from the riders. He paired riders with local designers to collaborate on costumes for the men and their horses. The resulting boldly colored costumes,
some with draping fringes, feathers, paint or eye-catching metallic accents, are on display at Bourouissa’s exhibit. The multimedia exhibit also features the artist’s sketches, photographs, watercolor paintings and sculptures, all related to his time spent documenting the riders and
their horses. Bourouissa created three sculptures for the exhibit, made of auto parts with photographs of people from Fletcher Street printed on them. Titled “The Ride,” the pieces aimed to “suggest the link between social and geographic
COWBOYS PAGE 9
HEALTH
Physician at TUH adds faith to healing Sister Jocelyn Edathil works full-time as a physician and a nun. BY LIAN PARSONS For The Temple News
JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sister Jocelyn Edathil alternates her two jobs: she works seven days in a row at Temple University Hospital and seven days as a nun.
For many patients at Temple University Hospital, Sister Jocelyn Edathil is not just a physician, but also a source of spiritual comfort. She works demanding, seven-day weeks at the hospital, but the work hours don’t stop there. Edathil, a member of the Sisters of the Imitation of Christ congregation, also works at the St. Jude Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Oak Lane. Though the work-life balance can be challenging, she said her colleagues at TUH are understanding. “Everyone is pretty supportive [and] accommodating,” she said. “I can do the ministry that I want to do. … It’s a struggle, but definitely manageable.” Edathil’s roots with TUH run deep: both she and her sister were born at the hospital, and her mother worked there in 1991 as a nurse. But Edathil hadn’t planned to work at TUH — she applied to several other hospitals so her residency would be closer to her church. “When I visited Temple for the first time, it was kind of off my radar,” she said. She applied to TUH’s residency program because of its reputation for
proficiency in clinical skills. The program fulfilled her expectations, but she said it was still a difficult decision. Her dedication to the sisterhood was her top priority. Edathil considered moving to Chicago or New York to work in a convent, but encouragement from her family, church and mentors pushed her to pursue medicine. “I was encouraged by quite a few hospitalists to continue on a hospitalists’ track,” she said. “I wanted to give back to the community that helped me.” Edathil alternates her two jobs: she works seven days in a row at the hospital, and then seven days as a nun. She travels to New Jersey, where she focuses on women’s and youth ministries. She gives talks and guides the mother’s forum at her mission church and assists in guiding the activities of the Malankara Catholic Youth Movement. She also attends public speaking engagements and contributes to fundraising efforts for the church’s ministry in Ethiopia, where there is a clinic and a school. Edathil’s extensive traveling enriched her perspective and medical knowledge, she said. Through her own private pilgrimages, she has traveled to 16 European countries, visited Rome three times and plans to visit Panama. She began her religious formation — one of the steps in pursuing her vocation as a nun — in India. There, she worked at a leprosy clinic for a year and
H EA L I N G PAG E 11
COMEDY | PAGE 8
FOOD TRUCK | PAGE 9
LIVE IN PHILLY | PAGE 10
SCIENCE | PAGE 12
Alumna Molly Scullion wrote and performed in a onewoman play about trauma, humor and healing.
Alumna Ashanti Dixon is competing on a Food Network show for a $50,000 prize.
Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia hosted Philly’s longest-running adoption festival last Saturday.
Senior theater major Lyell Hintz wrote a sciencefiction play about genetic modification.
F E AT U R E S PAGE 8
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
COMEDY
One-woman play finds humor in healing Molly Scullion’s play, “I’m OK, Are You OK?” explores emotional trauma through comedy. BY AMANDA LIEN Copy Editor The first thing Molly Scullion says to the audience at the start of her show is “please laugh.” In her one-woman comedy show, “I’m OK, Are You OK?”, Scullion, a 2017 media studies and production and classics alumna, tells the story of her journey of healing and coping with long-repressed trauma from a childhood sexual assault, which resurfaced right before Scullion came to Temple at 18 years old. The five-day run of the show at the Adrienne Theater for the Fringe Festival ended on Sunday. “I think when people read the description of the show they get a little nervous and a little scared of it,” she said. “It’s a thing people are afraid to laugh at…but I feel so confident that the show is good for people who have or have not experienced trauma.” The show’s focus on trauma “makes it sound like it’s a really sad show,” Scullion said, but she thinks it’s actually very funny. “Even when it was such a dark period, there was so much silly stuff that happened that, looking back on it now, is a lot of fun to bring forth in a show,” she said. Scullion decided to write the show’s script the day after the 2016 presidential election. “I saw the state of the nation and I was afraid, so I thought, ‘You know what, it’s time to do something that I’m scared of, that’s just for me,’” Scullion said. “I didn’t want to wait anymore.” She spent three months working on the concept and a month working “nonstop” on the draft. After two shows in February and two in March, her performances last week delivered a “more refined” version of the show, she said. Scullion has studied improvisation since she was 16, when she researched comedians she loved and found they all got their start in improv. She began watching different improv routines on YouTube before enrolling in classes at Philly Improv Theater, or PHIT Comedy. “I got more and more involved, and began writing more in college and loved that
too,” she said. “After that first improv class at 16, I just kept diving in more and more and more.” Scullion warned her mother and close family members in advance of the show’s subject matter, but everyone else she knew had no idea of the show’s content. “Everyone from the community who came didn’t know this about me,” she said. “Some of my friends who came had no idea. The weirdest part is walking out after the show and into the lobby and seeing everyone there and being like, ‘OK, yeah, it’s me!’” Carolyn Beatty, lead house manager at PHIT Comedy and a close friend of Scullion, said she is the same person both on and off the stage. “In the show, you get a strong sense of what a warm, funny and strong person she is, and that’s exactly how she is in real life,” Beatty said. “The only thing is she is even more of a goofball in real life than in the show.” Scullion believes her performance conveyed that she is “happy with how things turned out” in the aftermath of her recovery. “It’s so nice to have this thing out in the open,” she added. “But I also like that people feel like they can talk to me about it now.” Writing and producing “I’m OK, Are You OK?” helped her process her past and remember her inner strength, she said. “It’s such a weird thing diving into this dark part of my life, but once I finally figured out the structure of the show, that was really helpful in me continuing to heal,” she said. “I’d go back to those darker places and realize, ‘Hey, I’m OK that it happened now.’” For Scullion, the hardest part of performing the show is retelling the moment when she told her mother about her past trauma, because she is often in the audience. Scullion showed her mother the script’s draft; she said her mother’s reaction was “both sad and proud.” “I think it’s so comforting for her to know that I’m doing a show about it, and that I’m OK,” Scullion said. MaryAnn Thackrah, one of Scullion’s friends from high school and a senior psychology major, attended a performance of “I’m OK, Are You OK?” last March when Scullion performed at PHIT Comedy. She had seen Scullion’s comedy performances before, and she said the show was a “surprising” departure from her usual work. “I’m definitely happy I went,” she said. “It’s such a different performance than I’m used to seeing, especially since it was in a
ALICIA KAY / THE TEMPLE NEWS Molly Scullion, a 2017 media studies and production and classics alumna, wrote, produced and starred in “I’m OK, Are You OK?”, a one-woman show.
comedy club. But I loved how open and comfortable she was about talking about it.” Scullion said she hoped that people would feel comfortable laughing at the content of her show. “There were people who came up to me who had experienced similar things in childhood,” she said. “I remember a woman coming up to me and saying, ‘This was the
first time I could laugh at this. Thank you for that.’” “That was like, ‘OK, I think I did something good here,” she added. “And that was awesome.” amanda.lien@temple.edu @AmandaJLien
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F E AT U R E S TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 9
FOOD
Alumna competes on crosscountry Food Network show Ashanti Dixon and her food truck team “The Breakfast Club” are competing for $50,000.
BY ALAINA DELEONE For The Temple News
Two days after graduation, Ashanti Dixon was already miles away from Main Campus on a flight to New Orleans. Dixon, a 2017 advertising alumna, made the journey to compete in the eighth season of “The Great Food Truck Race,” a cooking competition on the Food Network. The show, which airs Sunday nights until the season finale on Sept. 24, follows seven food truck teams competing at locations in the southern United States for a prize of $50,000. Each episode, the teams travel to a new city to sell their food over the course of the week. At the end of each week, the team with the lowest profits is eliminated from the show. Before the food trucks hit the streets in each city, they compete in a special cooking challenge, like preparing meals for 50 service members at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. The winning team is awarded additional cash to-
ward its weekly profits. Dixon joined her friend Mikey Robins, a professional caterer and graduate of Temple’s event leadership executive certificate program, in the competition. Together with Taylor Randolph, a Penn State sophomore, the three form a team called The Breakfast Club. Despite having never operated a food truck, Dixon and The Breakfast Club won the first challenge of the competition after earning the greatest sales profit from their menu items, including their take on a “hurricane,” a popular alcoholic drink in New Orleans. “I was definitely shocked when we won the first challenge,” Robins said. “You have no idea how the other trucks are doing the whole time so you really have to focus on yourself and what you’re doing in order to succeed.” Dixon said food has also played an integral role throughout her life. Growing up in a Jamaican household, she said her family “always came together over the holidays to cook.” “Food has just been a big part of who I am, and I love to eat,” Dixon said. Prior to entering “The Great Food Truck Race,” Robins had been a familiar face on the Food Network. In 2013, Robins became the
COURTESY / THE FOOD NETWORK Ashanti Dixon (right), a 2017 advertising alumna, is competing for $50,000 on the Food Network series “The Great Food Truck Race.”
youngest winner of the Food Network series “Chopped” at 14 years old, and was later featured on the show “Kitchen Inferno.” “I come from a large cooking family where we’re constantly entertaining,” Robins said. “Cooking has just been a huge part of my life.” Now 19, Robins said he created menu items that could be eaten on the go, hassle-free. “It was important for me to utilize a menu so customers would be able to walk and eat without it being messy,” Robins said. As part of their travel-friendly menu, Robins creates mocha donuts topped with chocolate syrup and cinnamon sugar. Other menu items include iced mochas and breakfast nachos topped with cheese, bacon and a fried egg. “I decided we should do brunch because it’s a meal you can really get away with selling at any time of day,” Robins said. Combining her passion for food with advertising, Dixon’s role on the food truck has involved “market[ing] the concept of selling brunch all day to the masses,” Robins said. “I believe that advertising can be applied to any aspect of life,” Dixon said. “When it applies to something I’m passionate about, it just makes it fun and I find that is when I am able to come up with my best ideas.” Amid the chaos of the show, Dixon acted as “the mom of the group,” she said. “Sometimes you have one person who is like, ‘Alright, deep breath in and out, you can do this,’” she said. “I knew someone had to pick up that role, and it was me.” While acknowledging his occasional hectic moments as a chef, Robins said he and his team ultimately make cooking a fun experience. “Cooking obviously is about skill, talent and passion,” Robins said. “But at the end of the day, you should have fun while cooking.”
VOICES “Do you think football plays a big role in Temple University culture?”
DARIUS GONZALEZ Freshman Biochemistry
Being as though I’m more into science and dance, I’ve not really paid attention to it. But I do see that like the school’s very big on the sports.
ZACHARY BORINE Junior Architecture
I think it is, just because it brings that camaraderie and morale to have a bunch of people come together to support other students who are on the Temple football team.
alaina.deleone@temple.edu
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
COWBOYS marginalization,” Bourouissa wrote in his artist statement. Davis can pinpoint where each photograph was captured. “I like that he used car pieces, because if you’ve ever been to the neighborhood, there’s always that one car just sitting there forever and it’s not serving any purpose,” Davis said. “But he turned it into art.” “This experience, working in this specific exhibit, is so nostalgic for me. When they first put it up, I cried,” Davis added. “I can look at the photos and recognize each street. I’ve walked down each intersection, through all the seasons, in snow and rain.” The Fletcher Street riders can be heard laughing and telling each other stories in Bourouissa’s film, also named “Horse Day,” which plays on loop in the background of the exhibit. Two adjacent rows of minivan car seats greet visitors when they enter the side room. Jesse Beam, 32, visited the gallery to watch the film with a friend. In person, he has only ever seen the riders for seconds. “I caught a glimpse of them as I was driving by their stables,” said Beam, a freelance television producer. “The film was really well done. It sheds a new light on a local staple.” A painted papier-mache, lifesized figure of a horse crafted by Philly artist Jesse Engaard stands in
JENNA MATTEO Freshman Pharmacy
Seeing everyone at the tailgate, and like, in the student section, I think so. KHANYA BRANN / THE TEMPLE NEWS A painted papier-mache horse stands in front of the Barnes Foundation. The sculpture, created by Jesse Engaard, is part of the “Mohamed Bourouissa: Urban Riders” exhibit.
front of the entrance to the Barnes Foundation: a symbol of more than 100 years of culture and history in the heart of North Philadelphia. Its smooth and stable reflection in the small decorative pool behind it contrasts the blemishes that checker the club’s recent past. The city has removed horses from Fletcher Street Stables in the past due to allegations of horse abuse and neglect. In March 2008, the City Redevelopment Authority bulldozed the land where the Fletcher Street riders had their stables. Members of the club were left to find new stables and figure out what to do with about 40 horses. The club has since had to move to different stables in search of a new permanent location, and this
unpredictability has slowed the activity of riders. Looking over at the field across from the stables, Tarik shook his head. Two horses, one white with large black spots near its tail, and another, a deep chestnut, grazed next to each other. A golden brown pony rolled around nearby. “People don’t see this,” he said. “They don’t see the beauty of the horses running around on a sunny day. They read one story, and they form an opinion of who we are and what we do here.” khanya.brann@temple.edu @_AfroKhan
LUCAS MIKAN Junior Dance
I get more annoyed with it than like it. … There’s like a lot of problems…like just between the students, and building stadiums and not building stadiums, it’s like so extra.
features@temple-news.com
F E AT U R E S PAGE 10
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
KATIE HULLIHEN / THE TEMPLE NEWS
Philly pet adoption festival gets tails wagging
On Saturday, people and animals from all over the city gathered at the Piazza in Northern Liberties for the eighth annual “With Love: Super Adoption Day,” an event hosted by the nonprofit animal welfare group Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia. The event included a variety of different vendors and animal rescue centers from different parts of Philly. Dogs, cats and even pigs walked around the Piazza for attendees to adopt. Super Adoption Day is Philly’s longest-running pet adoption festival, according to the event’s Facebook page.
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HEALING a half. The clinic focused on diagnoses and treatment, which was “much more cost-conscious.” She added that she learned about the practice of medicine in underprivileged areas and the importance of physical examination in the process of diagnosis. “[The experience was] nice exposure in terms of how medicine is practiced in different countries,” she said. “I’m open to practicing wherever God wants me to do, but it was nice to have this exposure.” For Edathil, science and religion are directly correlated. A self-
PAGE 11 described “big nerd who carries around a periodic table,” Edathil said science was how she “fell in love with the Lord” in high school. In college, she managed to pursue both her faith and scientific interests. From 1996 to 2000, she pursued her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Villanova University, thinking she would become a professor. But instead, she chose to pursue medicine, later receiving a medical degree from Pennsylvania State University. She now also uses her ministry work to spread health literacy. “My job is to heal and educate,” she said. “I usually try to make sure
at the time of discharge to carefully explain in lay language the next steps and to help overcome barriers to care.” She prays with patients who need it and does her best to listen to them fully, often under tight time constraints. Edathil calls the process therapeutic listening. “It’s a big sacrifice to just be patient and allow that patient just to vent,” she said. “Then, they trust you. Once that trust is broken, once that distrust is up, you’ve just affected how the patient can be healed.” Edathil wears her habit — a set of head garments worn by nuns —
while at work and said she’s faced little conflict in displaying her faith. “Surprisingly it’s been very reasonably easy, most people don’t bat an eye when they see a sister,” she said. “I think that has a lot to do with the Temple population being very multicultural and tolerant.” Early in her residency at TUH, she gave too much insulin to a patient and his blood sugar dropped. She was distraught and expected her superiors to reprimand her. Instead, the Residency Program Director Dr. Darilyn Moyer took her aside and gave her a hug. “Every physician makes mistakes,” Edathil said the director told
Sister Jocelyn Edathil speaks with a patient at Temple University Hospital on Friday. She wears her habit and veil, along with her lab coat, while she works.
her. “This mistake will make you a better physician, and I know you’ll never make this mistake again.” Not only did she never make that error again, Edathil said she learned about forgiveness toward others and herself. Now, she passes the same advice to residents and interns. “We all make mistakes, and we just have to go forward,” Edathil said. lian.parsons@temple.edu @Lian_Parsons
JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS
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F E AT U R E S PAGE 12
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
EVENTS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Rad Dish Co-op Cafe to open for fall semester The Rad Dish Co-op Cafe will reopen today for the fall semester. On Saturday, the cafe will host a Garden Tea Party from 5 to 7 p.m. at its location in the Ritter Annex. Guests are encouraged to bring their favorite teas and desserts. Since Spring 2014, the Rad Dish has operated as a student-run cafe on campus, serving vegetarian and vegan options like hummus grilled cheese and tomato bean soup. The Rad Dish partners with food suppliers within 150 miles of the city and is a place for “ethical, local, organic and sustainable food options,” according to its website. -Angela Gervasi
Comics artist to teach students and faculty Nick Sousanis, a comics artist and humanities and liberal studies professor at San Francisco State University, will teach people how to make comics at Temple Contemporary on Thursday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Participants can register for the workshop on the event page on Temple’s website. The following day, Sousanis will lead another workshop for faculty members, teaching them how to incorporate graphic illustration and visual thinking into the classroom. In 2014, Sousanis wrote his doctoral dissertation, “Unflattening,” entirely in comic book form. Since then, Sousanis has spoken about comics and education at places like the National Gallery of Art and Stanford University. -Ian Walker
Photographer discusses her work in Puerto Rican communities Photojournalist Wanda Benvenutti will discuss her photography book “American Boricua: Puerto Rican Life in the United States” in the atrium of Annenberg Hall on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. To create the book, Benvenutti spent 18 years photographing Puerto Rican communities in all 50 states. “Boricua” is the Taino word for Puerto Rico, and is also a term of endearment for Puerto Ricans, according to the book’s website. Benvenutti is a writer, photographer and a firstgeneration Puerto Rican. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association and the National Hispanic Journalists Association. -Ian Walker
Discussing dissent in Charlottesville at CLA The College of Liberal Arts will host the second installment of its annual Dissent in America series. This week’s event, titled “After Charlottesville: Neo-Nazism, White Supremacy, Antisemitism and Racism,”is on Friday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Gladfelter Hall room 914. History professor Lila Corwin Berman and religion, Jewish studies and gender professor Laura Levitt will lead a discussion on the ramifications of the racist protests and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month. The teach-in program is a weekly series of discussions examining the historical background of contemporary political issues. -Ian Walker
Tyler will host bus trip to D.C. museum The Tyler School of Art will host a free bus trip to the Hirshhorn Museum on Saturday. The bus will leave from 13th and Diamond streets at 9 a.m. and depart from Washington, D.C., that evening at 5 p.m. The trip is reserved for the first 55 people who sign up. Students can register at attend the event at Temple’s event page. According to the Smithsonian website, The Hirshhorn features international modern and contemporary art. The museum also includes a sunken sculpture garden.
STONEWALL theater, film and media arts major Jonathan Hirsch. Hirsch, who plays a police officer in the production, said the tone of the show changes swiftly. “It goes from like cute and like sweet, to dark and sour and scary like that,” said Hirsch, as he snapped his fingers to demonstrate the shift in plot. The scenes are underscored by rock music reminiscent of the 1960s. As director, McShaffrey decided to set several moments in slow motion throughout the play. “It makes those moments feel more important and magical,” he said. “And that’s why we do theater.” The show brings to light events that were pushed into the dark in 1969. During the riots, some media outlets reported on only one side of the story. A 1969 article by the New York Daily News mentioned the three police officers who were injured and 13 people who were arrested — neglecting to mention the injuries of the club’s attendees. For McShaffrey, the production is particularly important due to the current political climate. “To think that happened in 1969, and we just got the right to get married,” McShaffrey said. The play tells the younger LGBTQ generation what people before them endured to gain their civil rights, McShaffrey said. “They need to know that it didn’t come without blood, sweat, tears, and high heels and glitter,” he added. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” Kalen Allen said of the production. Allen, a senior theater and film major, plays Carson, an AfricanAmerican drag queen. To Allen, the show is a reminder of the privilege he has in comparison with his character, Carson. While Allen said he feels free to go to a nightclub, Carson dealt with the threat of arrest in 1969. Allen said “Hit the Wall” allows people to learn the history of gay pride parades, which Allen does not partake in because he feels people are unaware of the history. “Personally, I don’t go to gay pride, just because I feel like it used to be so political, and it’s not as political anymore,” Allen said. “We don’t really get to learn about that history. That is why I feel like it’s my duty to do this show,” Allen added.
JOCELYN BURNS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior musical theater major Christiana Buono’s character (right) interrupts a conversation between senior theater major Marcus Barainyak (left) and senior theatre and film and media arts major Kalen Allen (center) during a rehearsal of “Hit the Wall” at Tomlinson Theater last month.
JOCELYN BURNS / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior musical theater major George Carver-McGriff III (left) watches senior musical theater major Angel Sigala (center) pick a fight with senior theater and film and media arts major Kalen Allen (right) during a rehearsal of “Hit The Wall” at Tomlinson Theater.
“Now I’m able to give history to some of the people.” For Hirsch, the show has opened his eyes to the suffering of the LGBTQ community, which he only knew of on a “surface level,” he said. As a police officer in the production, Hirsch said he wrestled with what it means to cause destruction in the lives of innocent people, but he knows his role is vital and hopes it will teach others to be respectful of all people. He said he hopes the audience
will be impacted and even made uncomfortable. Hirsch said “Hit The Wall” is meant to challenge people’s perspectives. “The show can be too much, too real, too violent, but theater is the one place where you can see the truth... people being people,” Hirsch said. natasha.claudio@temple.edu
THEATER
Student’s play inspired by scientific breakthrough Senior theater major Lyell Hintz wrote a play that explores genetic modification. BY HADIYAH WEAVER For The Temple News When Lyell Hintz first tested out his play, “Simone R.P.T. 8,” there were no costumes, props or set designs. His actors read from scripts placed on music stands. Months later, the science-fiction production came to life on stage: last weekend, “Simone R.P.T. 8” resurfaced as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The play explores personality modification in a futuristic world. “As a society, we’ve been transforming and deconstructing the natural environment to suit ourselves,” Hintz said. Hintz, a senior theater major, originally wrote “Simone R.P.T. 8” for a class assignment in spring of 2016. The screenplay was performed as a simple read through with Temple Theater Sidestage, a student organization that helps actors and playwrights hone their skills.
“It was really interesting seeing that show grow from its infancy to, like, an actual thing that people paid money to get into,” said Michael Stahler, a junior theater major who starred in the play. For Stahler, the read through process was frustrating and grueling — but when he found out he’d be performing in the Fringe Festival, he felt honored, he said. “It kind of just reminded me that any kind of small role or any small production that I regret doing initially, you never know where it’s going to go,” Stahler said. The idea for Hintz’s play came accidentally. While writing, he heard his roommates — neuroscience majors — listening to a podcast about ‘CRISPR,’ a groundbreaking form of gene-editing technology. After some research, Hintz began crafting the 90-minute production. “Simone R.P.T 8” centers on the titular character Simone, a woman subjugated within a dystopian world. In the story, a group of scientists attempt to extract her ability to experience happiness and sell it to members of a depressed society. The play suggests that Simone lives only to offer genetic im-
provements to others. “The whole show is about people that are made as, almost like cattle, producing emotions for other people to use for themselves,” Stahler said. Hintz said he tried to imagine how gene-editing technology may shape society. Stahler played the role of Ranto, a lab assistant who saw personality modification as heartless and immoral. “My character’s the one that says, ‘This isn’t right,’” Stahler said. The small five-person cast for “Simone R.P.T. 8” began rehearsing in mid-August. The performance featured Carleigh Spence, David Thomas and Mackenzie Kyle. Sarah Kiernan, a senior theater major, also starred in the production. Hintz, who said he hopes for positive feedback in Philadelphia, plans to premiere the play in different locations in the future. Angela Gervasi contributed reporting. hadiyah@temple.edu @HadiyahAW
-Ian Walker features@temple-news.com
temple-news.com @thetemplenews
S P O RT S TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
PAGE 13
SPORTS BRIEFS
VOLLEYBALL
Hawaii natives share bond through food and culture Liberos Mia Heirakuji and Averi Salvador are from the same island. BY AUSTIN AMPELOQUIO Volleyball Beat Reporter Mia Heirakuji and Averi Salvador are Hawaii natives, and it is apparent wherever they go together. The two often talk about the laid-back lifestyle of the islands and reminisce about living by the ocean. From time to time, they even speak Pidgin English — a native Hawaiian slang — with each other. But if there is anything the two bond over most, it’s their love of Hawaiian food. Heirakuji, a junior libero, visits her hometown of Kailua in the winter. When she is stuck in Philadelphia, her cravings for Hawaiian food start to creep up on her. Heirakuji misses eating the spicy ahi bowl, a dish that consists of rice, raw fish and seaweed. The same goes for Salvador, a freshman libero. She couldn’t resist interjecting a “yum” as Heirakuji described her favorite dish. Although Heirakuji and Salvador bond over food and Hawaiian culture as fellow teammates, the two were not
always on the same side of the net. In 2013, their high schools played each other for the state championship. It was Heirakuji’s senior season at Kamehameha High School and Salvador’s first year at Punahou School. The two high schools are known rivals on the island Oahu, Heirakuji said. “They won,” Heirakuji said laughing. “The win felt good,” Salvador said. “But it meant much more to the seniors who played.” Any tension that existed from this rivalry no longer lingers. In fact, Heirakuji’s presence at Temple was a comfort for Salvador during her recruiting process. Salvador never visited Temple as a prospect. Knowing somebody from the same region gave Salvador confidence she could make the move to Philadelphia. Now that the season has started and Salvador has played in 16 sets, she is beginning to miss the food from her home in Aiea. Heirakuji and Salvador’s coaches know exactly how they feel. “I miss native Hawaiian food, like lau lau, kalua pig and poi,” said assistant coach Ren Cefra, who is from Honolulu.
When he sees a Hawaiian restaurant, he always tries to stop in, but for Cefra, it is just not the same as eating on the island. Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said he also enjoys Hawaiian food when he travels to the islands for recruiting. Shrimp trucks are his go-to. “One of the things that really allowed me to connect with the people [in Hawaii] is because my parents are originally from Sri Lanka, which is an island,” Ganesharatnam said. “Food is very flavorful in Sri Lanka, but in Hawaii as well, and the meals are not just meals. They’re family events.” Family, friends and food are what come to mind when Heirakuji and Salvador think about Hawaii, and the team has made it clear that it wants to build a culture that resembles that family lifestyle. “We love the fact that we can create an atmosphere here where the players feel comfortable and safe,” Ganesharatnam said. “I know family is very important to them, and I’m happy that we are able to create that family atmosphere for them.”
FOOTBALL
Bryant reaches milestone in win against Villanova Redshirt-junior wideout Ventell Bryant achieved a milestone in Temple’s 16-13 win against Villanova on Saturday. Bryant, who made his season debut, hit the 100-career-reception mark. He currently sits at No. 11 on Temple’s all-time list. Coach Geoff Collins said Temple missed Bryant in its 49-16 loss to the University of Notre Dame. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Logan Marchi targeted 10 different receivers in the loss. Bryant led the Owls in receiving with seven catches for 79 yards in the victory against Villanova. He also made a one-handed catch on Temple’s drive that set up sophomore kicker Aaron Boumerhi’s game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. “It was huge,” Marchi said. “Ventell’s a great player. As you can see, he did a great job out there [on Saturday]. He made a great one-handed catch there on the sideline at the end. It’s just good to have him back.” -Tom Ignudo
austin.ampeloquio@temple.edu @AustinPaulAmp
HOJUN YU / FILE PHOTO Redshirt-junior wideout Ventell Bryant, shown in 2016’s game against South Florida, recorded his 100th career catch on Saturday against Villanova.
Matakevich blocks punt in Pittsburgh Steelers’ win
JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Junior libero Mia Heirakuji (left) and freshman libero Averi Salvador played against each other in high school in Hawaii.
Former starting linebacker and 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award winner Tyler Matakevich made a play on Sunday on special teams for the Pittsburgh Steeler against the Cleveland Browns. Early in the first quarter, the Browns’ punter lined up in front of the end zone on fourth down. Matakevich bull-rushed past the offensive line and blocked the punt, which was recovered by linebacker Anthony Chickillo for a touchdown. Matakevich is the all-time leading tackler in Temple’s program history with 493. He was also the first player in Temple history to earn All-American honors at any position since former starting running back Paul Palmer did in 1986. The Steelers won 21-18 in Cleveland. -Tom Ignudo
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
KICKERS fundamentally sound.” The coaching staff decides to send Jones or Boumerhi out for field goals depending on the distance, Boumerhi said. The coaches’ plan was that Jones would attempt any kicks shorter than 43 yards. Boumerhi’s attempts this season are from 44, 48 and 49 yards. Jones’ lone attempt on Saturday was from 22 yards. In last week’s game against the University of Notre Dame, Jones went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts. The kicks were both from 36 yards. “We got two guys that can really help us no matter who we plug in,” redshirt-senior defensive lineman Sharif Finch said. “It’s great having that as a weapon.” In 2016, Boumerhi replaced Jones after he tore his ACL against Memphis. Boumerhi finished the season 15-for-17 on field goals after he made his first eight attempts.
Two players earn weekly conference honors
SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore kicker Aaron Boumerhi made two of his three field goal attempts, including a careerlong 49-yarder, on Saturday against Villanova at Lincoln Financial Field.
Redshirt-senior fullback Nick Sharga said that experience helped Boumerhi step into the moment and make the game-winning field goal. “Last year was the first time I actually won a football game,” Boumerhi said. “Because in high
school, the games that I played in we never won. It was the first time I ever had to make a crucial kick like that in a game.” thomas.ignudo@temple.edu @Ignudo5
Sophomore kicker Aaron Boumerhi earned the American Athletic Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week award, and redshirt-junior wideout Ventell Bryant earned selection to the weekly honor roll, the league announced on Monday. Boumerhi claimed the distinction for the third time in his two-year career. He made a career-long 49yard field goal to win the game in the fourth quarter of Temple’s 16-13 victory on Saturday against Villanova. Bryant had seven catches for 79 yards in his season debut at Lincoln Financial Field against Villanova. He is now 11th all-time in program history in receptions and yardage. -Evan Easterling
sports@temple-news.com @TTN_Sports
S P O RT S PAGE 14
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
FIELD HOCKEY
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FERNANDEZ
JAMIE COTTRELL / THE TEMPLE NEWS Sophomore backer Becky Gerhart sends the ball upfield during practice on Sept. 2 at Howarth Field.
Backer part of defense handling early pressure Sophomore Becky Gerhart helped Temple earn its first win in a shutout on Saturday. BY KEVIN SCHAEFFER Field Hockey Beat Reporter Becky Gerhart never stepped foot inside of a high school classroom as a student, but it didn’t affect her chance to play college field hockey. Home-schooled since fourth grade, the sophomore backer played for her local high school in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Gerhart caught coach Marybeth Freeman’s attention while playing for her club team, and she went from learning without classmates to attending a university with more than 29,000 undergraduates during her first semester in Fall 2016. “I thought it was a normal process coming to Temple, everyone else was coming to college for the first time,” Gerhart said. Gerhart played for Field Hockey Sports Club and had 100 career points for Quakertown High School. Freeman recruited Gerhart directly through the club team, so there was no difference in the recruiting process, she said. Gerhart made a significant impact during her freshman campaign. She played 19 games, starting 15 of them, and ranked third in Division I with nine defensive saves. “It was great watching her play last year, and it goes directly to her character,” Freeman said. “She asked a lot of questions, she retained a lot of information, her learning curve was small and her competition was high. For us, it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman. If you put in the work and put in the time, you’re going to play.” In 2017, Gerhart hopes to anchor a back line seeking to improve from last season’s performance. She has started all five games so far and is tied for the team lead in minutes. The Owls finished 69th out of 79 teams in
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RUNNING entered Saturday’s game “banged up” after last week’s contest against the University of Notre Dame, coach Geoff Collins said. Armstead didn’t play until the Owls’ second offensive series. On second-andgoal from the 5-yard line in the first quarter, Armstead carried the ball on back-to-back plays but didn’t gain any net yardage. Temple turned to Armstead again as it drove downfield in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 13. The Owls gave him the ball on second-and-8 from Villanova’s 37yard line and on the next play, needing four yards for a first down. Armstead gained one yard on third down before sophomore kicker Aaron Boumerhi stepped onto the field to hit the game-winning 49-yard field goal.
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Division I with a 3.5 goals against average in 2016. In Temple’s 12 losses, the team allowed nearly five goals per game. The Owls conceded eight goals in three different games and 14 goals in their two losses to Connecticut. Currently, Temple sits at 72nd in Division I with a goals against average of 4.2. The team allowed nine goals to Northwestern University, then ranked No. 14 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll, on Friday and shutout Kent State University in its win on Saturday. Gerhart made a defensive save against Northwestern. The weekend’s two games ended a stretch of five straight games against teams that finished the 2016 season in the Top 30 of the Ratings Percentage Index. Temple will play its first Big East Conference opponent, Providence College, on the road Friday. The Friars made the league’s postseason tournament in 2016 and will host this year’s competition. The Owls have played in either the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament or the Big East tournament in every year since 2003, and the Owls have made the Big East tournament every year since joining the conference after the 2012 season. Gerhart made at least one defensive save in each of Temple’s four wins in October 2016 during its run to the Big East semifinals against Connecticut. She also made a defensive save in Temple’s loss to the Huskies. Temple’s goals against average don’t discourage the team because Freeman thinks her squad is making the right adjustments after games. “I think they’re doing a great job with the pressure,” Freeman said. “Our defensive unit right now collectively is strong. Going up against [ranked] teams like Penn State and Northwestern, playing like we’re playing defensively gives us a good feeling.” kevinschaeffer@temple.edu @_kevinschaeffer
Nursing an injury that Collins declined to disclose, Armstead carried the ball seven fewer times on Saturday than he did against Notre Dame. He finished with 12 carries for 19 yards. Redshirt-junior tailback David Hood started the game and had all four of his carries on the first drive. He led the team with 21 yards. Sharga and junior running back Jager Gardner each averaged more than four yards per carry on four attempts. When Temple needed a third-down conversion on its first drive of the third quarter, redshirt-sophomore quarterback Logan Marchi didn’t hand the ball to one of his running backs. Instead, sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Wright took the ball on a sweep for a 9-yard gain. At times, the team used short passes as a substitute for the running attack because Villanova’s defense often rushed three men
She set new personal-best times in the 800-meter, 1,500, 3,000 and the mile. Coaching by pacing runners and communicating with them to help them improve also helps Fernandez’s Olympic training because she learns from the runners and coaches, she said. Three of her women’s cross country teammates from 2015 are still on the team. During her Temple career, Fernandez set seven school records and won five American Athletic Conference championships with the cross country and track and field teams. Unlike then, Fernandez can practice on her own terms. “It is fun because I can run with [the team],” Fernandez said. “But if I don’t feel like it, I can stay back with the coaches. The freedom is really nice. It’s been an enriching experience since coming back.” Fernandez uses training with her former teammates as a way to prepare for the Olympics. If Temple’s runners do one or two sessions during a practice, Fernandez will do two or three. “For Olympic training, it is about the intensity,” Fernandez said. “Since I am older, I keep working to push my pace to get to the level I want to be at.” Coach James Snyder credits Fernandez for opening up doors for international runners. Fernandez was the first international athlete to join the cross country program. Now Temple has six runners from Europe on its men’s and
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HOUSTON -dous,” Micek said. “I had a 15-minute drive to pick up my little brother, and it ended up taking me over an hour and a half because everyone was evacuating.” University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson tweeted on Aug. 28, asking high school and college coaches if they could each send 20 of their school’s T-shirts and 10 pairs of shoes to help people affected by Harvey. Coach Fran Dunphy responded and
women’s teams. “I told her before she originally got here that she has the chance to start something,” Snyder said. “We haven’t had an international runner here, and it was 30 years since we had an All-American. She changed that over the course of two semesters.” Snyder uses Fernandez’s presence as a boost for his team. Because of her international experience and talent level as a potential Olympian, Fernandez brings a different dynamic to practice for the Owls. “I have taken a lot of knowledge from her,” said junior Katie Leisher, who is Fernandez’s roommate. “She is always looking out for everyone else. It is great to have her come back. She is a really good influence to all of us.” “We get to see that Blanca is not a superwoman,” Snyder said. “She is just like everyone else. But when the gun goes off in a race, she is vicious. I think learning characteristics like that is something our girls can definitely benefit from.” Fernandez will spend the rest of the semester with the team before graduating. Then she’ll worry more about trying to earn a trip to Tokyo in 2020 to represent Spain. “My plans are to train for these next three years to make it to Tokyo, then after that we will see what happens,” Fernandez said. michael.zingrone@temple.edu @mjzingrone
sent clothes and shoes to Sampson. Simmons and Micek said it’s great to see people who aren’t connected to Houston willing to help. “It’s devastating, but it’s also empowering to see everyone come together and become stronger from it,” Simmons said. “I think Houston was already such a dominant city. ... I think after this, yeah there will be a little setback, but everyone will come out stronger.” thomas.ignudo@temple.edu @Ignudo5
COURTESY / CAMILLE SIMMONS Sophomore epee Camille Simmons’ home in Houston was surrounded by floodwater after Hurricane Harvey.
at Marchi and dropped eight into coverage. Temple passed on four of its five first-down plays in the third quarter and four of its seven first-down plays in the fourth quarter excluding the kneel. The Wildcats’ zone coverage had holes where Temple could complete passes, Patenaude said. “Any time you have that, they’re going to play the routes very well,” Marchi said. “So you’ve got to go through your read progression, and things weren’t there so I did have to get through two or three reads and either take off or complete that ball if the open pass was there.” “I thought Logan had some really good patience, just taking what they were giving us, and then when we were able to take our shots, based on the coverage, he was making some good throws,” Collins said.
Temple rushed for 260 yards in its first two games last season without Jahad Thomas, 2015’s leading rusher and a 2016 American Athletic Conference second-team selection. This season, the Owls have 164 rushing yards and are averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Marchi has negative 24 yards rushing so far, but only one yard of that wasn’t on a sack. The team will consider getting him more involved in the running attack, Patenaude said. “When you look across college football, teams that can only throw the ball are only so successful,” Patenaude said. “So we have to be able to establish the run game. We’ve got to be able to find different ways to run it, different formations.” evan.easterling@temple.edu @Evan_Easterling
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S P O RT S TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
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MEN’S SOCCER
Senior brings ‘level-headed’ style as captain Brendon Creed is one of Temple’s four captains and has started four of the team’s five games. BY MAURA RAZANAUSKAS Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter When Brendon Creed thinks about soccer, it tends to be about the big picture. The senior defensive midfielder enjoys the physical aspects of the sport — he wants to score and win. But Creed also sees soccer as a way for people to connect. Creed said he has had many interactions through soccer that he likely would not have experienced otherwise. He lived in Petit Valley, Trinidad until he moved to the United States to play for Temple. Since joining the Owls, Creed has established himself as a leader on the team. Creed is one of the team’s four captains and plays closely with fellow captains redshirt-senior defender Mark Grasela, redshirt-senior goalkeeper Alex Cagle and junior midfielder Hermann Doerner. “He’s pretty level-headed, he’s pretty composed, so I think he’s got some good qualities for leadership,” coach David MacWilliams said. “He definitely leads by example. He’s quiet in a sense, but when he’s not, the boys listen.” As a team captain, Creed said he acts as a go-between for the
coaches and players. If the team wants to work on a particular skill in practice, he’ll talk to the coaches about spending some time on it. He also gives “tough love” when necessary but will encourage his teammates to play the best they can, he said. Creed has his finger on the pulse of the game at all times, and has to be because of his high volume of minutes. Entering Saturday, Creed had played 340 minutes, which ranked only behind four players. Creed started Saturday’s game but left at the four-minute mark against St. John’s University. He reads plays, understands the flow of the game and is aware of his teammates’ morale throughout matches, MacWilliams said. “I’m aggressive, so when I see the team’s energy is dropping, I think all I really need to do is put in a pretty hard tackle to get the team energy back up again,” Creed said. Of the 14 players who have started a game this season, four are six feet or taller. Creed is just a shade below them at 5 feet 11 inches tall. His size and aggression help Temple in front of the net during set pieces and in the backfield, MacWilliams said. “I’ve always been a defensiveminded type player, and I really don’t like getting passed,” Creed said. “I don’t like getting beat by attackers, so I really take pride in my tackling and defending.”
JAY NEEMEYER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Senior midfielder Brendon Creed (right) races for the ball during the Owls’ home opener against Rider University on Sept. 3.
Some of Creed’s success comes from his experience as a team captain on Trinidad’s Under-17 team. While playing for Trinidad in 2013, he started in all six games and scored three goals. Creed helped lead his national team to a 4-2 record. “You go up against some tough opposition,” Creed said. “Being a
captain as well, especially going on tours and stuff, it’s tough, but you have to be focused and see if you can keep the players focused.” In his Temple career, Creed has recorded two assists but has not yet scored. He hopes he can change that in his final season. “I’d like to get some goals under my name,” Creed said. “Get
some goals from corners, maybe some assists as well. Anything I can do to help the team get some victories.” maura.razanauskas@temple.edu @CaptainAMAURAca
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Players share experience of Uganda service trip In June, Jordan Nash and Emily Keitel took a service trip to the Lukome Center in northern Uganda. BY DAN WILSON Women’s Soccer Beat Reporter When Jordan Nash and Emily Keitel decided to attend an on-campus Athletes InterVarsity meeting in January, neither knew the other would be there. Athletes InterVarsity is a national Christian organization with a Temple chapter. At the meeting, Nash, a junior goalkeeper, and Keitel, a sophomore defender, learned about ChildVoice, an organization founded in 2006 that runs service trips to aid children in war-affected areas of Uganda. When Nash and Keitel looked at each other from across the room after hearing about the chance to travel to Uganda, both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
“We turned to each other and immediately knew we had to go,” Nash said. “We both knew that a trip like this is something we’ve wanted to do our whole lives.” “I grew up in a Christian home,” Keitel said. “It was cool to practice and share our faith with people from such a different cultural background.” At the end of May, the duo set to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and begin its life-changing journey. Nash and Keitel stayed in Uganda until mid-June, interacting and living with women and children for more than two weeks. They spent the first two days of the trip in the capital city of Kampala before heading on a nine-hour bus trip to the Lukome Center in northern Uganda. The center provides educational programs, vocational training and spiritual and emotional counseling to former child soldiers and others affected by the Sudan War, according to a ChildVoice fundraising page on
COURTESY / EMILY KEITEL Sophomore defender Emily Keitel and junior goalkeeper Jordan Nash traveled with ChildVoice, an organization that runs service trips to Uganda.
purecharity.com. The center housed about 30 women in their late teens and early 20s, many of whom were mothers to more than one child, Nash and Keitel said. Because the people living at the Lukome Center had rarely encountered people foreign to Uganda, Nash and Keitel had to gain the women and children’s trust. Despite an original communication obstacle, Nash, Keitel and the people at the Lukome Center still through events like morning chapel and songs sung in Arabic and Acholi, a northern Ugandan language. “For the first couple of days, they definitely didn’t seem comfortable,” Nash said. “It helped that a lot of the mothers started to interact with us quicker, and then their children would follow once they saw their moms trusted us.” Leading up to the trip, Nash and Keitel made sure they were prepared by researching the culture and history of the country. Before their flight, Nash and Keitel each read “Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children.” The book is about a Ugandan child who was kidnapped and made a soldier by the country’s rebels. Upon their arrival in Kampala, Nash and Keitel were debriefed on local customs, dress and communication styles. “If you ask to go to the bathroom, they think you want to take a bath,” Nash said. “It took me some time to get used to that.” “Even stuff like having to use water bottles to brush our teeth,” Keitel said. “It seems kind of funny at first, but it gives you a different perspective.” Coach Seamus O’Connor said he has somewhat of an understanding of the culture shock Nash
COURTESY / EMILY KEITEL Sophomore defender Emily Keitel (left) and junior goalkeeper Jordan Nash spent three weeks on a service trip in Uganda this summer.
and Keitel experienced. He grew up in Ireland and had never been to the United States until he moved here when he was 23 years old. Learning about different cultures is important and is something he would encourage all of his players to do, he said. “Going away from home for awhile will not only be a great experience, but it will force you to mature as a person,” O’Connor said. The transition back to life in the U.S. took a little bit of time, Nash said. She arrived in Boston to
meet her parents, who were in the city for her sister’s hockey tournament. “When I went to brush my teeth that night, I used a water bottle,” Nash said. “My parents were sitting there wondering why I’m not using the faucet in the hotel room. Living in a place with such drastic cultural differences can definitely change your perspective on things.” danielwilson20@temple.edu @Dan_Wilson4
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SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
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FOOTBALL
‘We have to be able to establish the run game’ The Owls are averaging fewer than three yards per carry through their first two games. BY EVAN EASTERLING Sports Editor
H
e only had one second to spare. Redshirt-senior fullback Nick Sharga plowed ahead for a 1-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half to give Temple a 10-point lead after the subsequent extra point. Sharga’s run was Temple’s only touchdown in Saturday’s 16-13 win against Villanova. But the running attack didn’t provide much consistency. Temple carried the ball 25 times for 84 yards, excluding a 3-yard loss on a sack and a kneel to run down time at the end of the game. The team had six negative rushing plays, excluding the kneel, and converted two of its six rushing attempts on third down. Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said the team didn’t get much of a rhythm, and the offensive line didn’t move Villanova’s defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage as well as he anticipated. “They really ganged up against the run, and I’m really disappointed in how we ran the ball, but the short passing had to kind of replace some of that stuff,” Patenaude said. “They were all packed in the box and tried to overload us in the run, and when they do that, you have to have some answers.” Junior running back Ryquell Armstead
RUNNING PAGE 14
SYDNEY SCHAEFER / THE TEMPLE NEWS Redshirt-junior running back David Hood sprints upfield during the Owls’ 16-13 victory against Villanova at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.
CROSS COUNTRY
FENCING
Fernandez coaching, pursuing Olympics
Texas fencers coordinate Hurricane Harvey relief Donations will be accepted on the STAR Complex’s third floor through Sept. 30. BY TOM IGNUDO Assistant Sports Editor
MIKE NGUYEN / THE TEMPLE NEWS Student assistant coach Blanca Fernandez encourages runners during the Temple Invitational on Sept. 1.
The former All-American returned to Main Campus to earn her master’s this fall. BY MICHAEL ZINGRONE Cross Country Beat Reporter Blanca Fernandez couldn’t return to Main Campus without being involved with the cross country team. “I wanted to be with my teammates and my coach, and luckily the team gave me the opportunity to do so,” Fernandez said. Fernandez, a former All-American who ran for the Owls in the 2015-16 season, returned to Temple this fall. She will work as a student assistant coach as she
pursues her master’s in sport business after taking a year off from school to focus on qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. After missing qualification for the 2016 Games, Fernandez is now focused on qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Once she graduates in December, Fernandez wants to focus on her Olympic dream. “I missed it by one second, but it’s OK,” Fernandez said. “Tokyo 2020 will definitely be my chance.” In her native Spain, Fernandez is a professional track and field runner for the club FC Barcelona. This year, Fernandez has run in multiple European countries.
FERNANDEZ PAGE 14
When Ally Micek and Camille Simmons boarded their plane in Houston the week before Fall 2017 classes started, rainfall was in the forecast. But that rainfall eventually grew into Hurricane Harvey, one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history. It displaced more than 30,000 people and caused more than 20 casualties. Starting classes was difficult for Micek as she watched Harvey’s eye on the weather radar while it moved through Houston. “It’s like every other hurricane times 10 put together,” the junior epee said. “[Hurricane Ike] was definitely a devastating one. ... My mom said it’s nothing like Houston has seen before. The floods of 2016 weren’t even as bad as this year.” Simmons, a sophomore epee, and Micek are both from the Houston area. The storm caused 51.88 inches of rain — a record total from one storm in the continental U.S. — to flood the city. The two worked with Compliance and Student-Athlete Affairs Coordinator Jessica Gray to set up a donation drive for non-perishable items like water, clothing, household items and cleaning supplies. The drop-off point is in the Office of Compliance and Student-Athlete Affairs on the third floor of the Aramark Student Training and Recreation Center Complex at 15th Street and Montgomery Avenue. Do-
nations will be accepted until Sept. 30 and will be sent to the University of Houston’s athletic department as necessary, Gray wrote in an email. While many in the Houston area had to relocate, Micek and Simmons’ families are safe and their houses didn’t lose power or suffer extreme damages. The only property damage that occurred at Micek’s house is that her heater, air conditioner and pool filter need to be replaced. Simmons and Micek’s houses are each built a few feet above ground, as required by Houston law, to withstand possible floods. During floods on Memorial Day in 2015, 11 inches of rain fell on Houston. After the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency — which coordinates disaster recovery efforts — approved more than 13,000 residents for federal assistance. That, however, only accounted for a small fraction of Houston’s more than two million residents. Micek was shocked by pictures her mother sent of the flooded street outside her house. “It was really heartbreaking just to hear how bad it was and knowing I could’ve still been there,” Micek said. Before Harvey made landfall in Houston, Simmons and Micek’s parents each sent them on errands. Simmons went to the supermarket the day before her flight, and all of the shelves were empty except for some non-perishable items. Her parents asked her to buy water, but the store was out. She bought Gatorade and juices instead, she said. “The traffic on [Aug. 24] was horren-
HOUSTON PAGE 14
W SOCCER | PAGE 15
M SOCCER | PAGE 15
FIELD HOCKEY | PAGE 14
BRIEFS | PAGE 13
Junior Jordan Nash and sophomore Emily Keitel went to Uganda after attending an Athletes’ Intervarsity meeting in Spring 2017.
Senior midfielder Brendon Creed is a defensive-minded player, but he wants to score some goals before he graduates.
Sophomore backer Becky Gerhart ranked in the Top 10 of Division I in defensive saves last season and has started all five of the Owls’ games.
Ventell Bryant makes 100th career catch, Tyler Matakevich makes special teams play for Pittsburgh Steelers, other news and notes.
