Comunity Visions: Students’ fates lie in Yorktown decision

As of Dec. 19, any Temple students living in Yorktown were supposed to be evicted. This is no longer the case. A Philadelphia court has stayed the evictions in order to hear the merits of both sides of the case.

The case will be heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. Some landlords have filed appeals to the evictions and are hoping to have the court allow them to continue renting out their houses in Yorktown.

“[The landlords] are asking them to roll back to the law they have already been breaking,” said Pam Pendleton-Smith, a community activist in Yorktown.

The law she referred to was the city-wide zoning ordinance, which prohibits no more than three unrelated people living in one residence. Some landlords had violated this law even before the special district laws, which made it impossible for students to live in Yorktown, existed.

Not all landlords are fighting the special district laws, Smith said.

“[There were] two cases in which the property owner moved into the property,” Smith said.

Other landlords have decided to appeal the decision. Some have said they need to rent a house to more than three people in order to make a profit.

“It has been said by certain individuals that they could not make money with only three tenants,” Smith said.

The meeting, which is being held in Center City at 1515 Arch St., will decide the fates of the students living in Yorktown, as well as the landlords who own the properties.

“I can’t say [the evictions] will be immediately because the students are kind of the innocent victims, so they will probably stay the evictions until May, which I would be in agreement with,” if the judge decides the evictions will continue, Smith said.

If the evictions are overturned, the special district laws could hang in the balance. A judge won’t be able to allow the student renters to continue living in Yorktown, but also uphold the special district laws which make it illegal for them to live there in the first place.

The ruling could have a lasting impact on Temple and its housing situation. If the evictions are upheld, then Temple would lose several sections of the surrounding community as a source of housing, not just Yorktown but Jefferson Manor and People’s Village as well.

On the other hand, if students are allowed to continue living in Yorktown and other areas under the special district laws, it could cause friction between the community and Temple. The fairly decent behavior of student living in those communities could deteriorate as public interest dies down, exacerbating the situation even further.

Temple may not have a hand in the decision being made on Jan. 28, but the result could affect it dramatically.

Stephen Zook can be reached at stephen.zook@temple.edu.

Productions not to miss this season

Theater, like all art forms, reflects its audience and the emotions stirring among us. In times of great tragedy, joy or fear, theater has always been a mirror, not to mention an escape. So as you settle back in for another draining semester and all the hard work it brings, take some time to enjoy all that Philadelphia’s theater community has to offer.

In Philadelphia, theater artists are working on an array of new works, and avant-garde interpretations of familiar stories. Like those in New York, Philadelphia’s theaters are all in close proximity. But here, many artists are encouraged to take risks and make bold choices, without having to worry as much about the bottom line or skyrocketing rents.

In the harsh winter months, theaters have trouble getting audiences, so they tend to spiff up their winter shows and offer discounts. At this time of year, there are endless options. Theater in Philadelphia offers much more than run-of-the-mill remakes, and prices can be as low as $5, so why not go out on the town and do it up right? Here’s a look at some of the highlights for the winter theater season in Philly:

If you’re in the mood for an acid trip down memory lane, check out Arden Theater Company’s production of James and the Giant Peach. Based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel of the same name, James tells the story of a young boy and his adventures in an enormous magical peach. James and the Giant Peach is directed by Whit MacLaughlin, who has helmed numerous Arden children’s productions.

“I am always striving to invent new and exciting worlds for families at the Arden,” MacLaughlin said. “I created a world of puppets, humans and gigantic scale shifts in The Big Friendly Giant, a world of time and adventure in Sleeping Beauty and a safe haven for friendship in A Year with Frog and Toad. Now, in James and the Giant Peach, we are building a whole imaginative universe out of live actors interacting with animations. It’s kind of like Pixar, but live.”

James and the Giant Peach plays at Arden Theater Company, 40 N. Second St., Old City Philadelphia, through Feb. 8.

For a more dramatic alternative, Walnut Street Theatre is producing Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire. Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Streetcar tells the tragic tale of a faded southern belle, Blanche DuBois. This journey of delicate indiscretion and lost dreams leads DuBois to madness, aided by her masculine and brutish brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. If you’ve never seen a production of Streetcar, this is the one to see.

A Streetcar Named Desire opens Jan. 21 and closes March 1 at the Walnut Street Theatre, located on the corner of Ninth and Walnut streets.

While national tours can be mass-produced and overpriced, they are a great way to see a blockbuster Broadway show if you can’t make it to Manhattan. The Kimmel Center is the go-to place for national tour tickets.

As a part of the Kimmel Center’s Broadway Series, Jonathan Larson’s Rent is coming to the Academy of Music Feb. 3-8. What makes this production especially exciting is that Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal will be reprising the roles of Mark Cohen and Roger Davis, respectively. Rapp and Pascal originated in the Broadway production 13 years ago. Tickets start at $25 – a small price to pay for this legendary show.

Of course, some of Philly’s best theater comes from our own campus. Temple Theaters, now in its 41st season, has seen a lot of excitement this year. In Conflict opened off-Broadway in September, a first for collegiate theater. Now, for the latter half of the season, Temple Theaters is offering a diverse package of shows. First is a brand new show titled The Seven by Will Power. The Seven is a take on the Greek tragedy Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus, but in this interpretation, we are transported to the world of hip-hop. Ancient Greece and hip-hop are hardly a natural match, so it will be interesting to see how it all shapes up on the Tomlinson stage.

For the final two shows, directing majors in the MFA program will present Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and John Kander’s and Fred Ebb’s musical Cabaret.

While all of Philadelphia’s theaters can seem overwhelming, there is certainly something for everyone. Whether you want to feel like a kid again or feel enthralled by haunting characters, simply go see a show.

Max McCormack can be reached at max.mccormack@temple.edu.

Guitar melodies guide local artist

The founding vibrations of the electric guitar guide artist Inga Kimberly Brown into a fantasy of art. Her visualizations through oil on canvas paintings become real and true to the magnetic world that surrounds her.

A Philadelphian at heart, she has traveled the world like a jigsaw puzzle and now she shares her experiences through her paintings. Her journeys have inspired her to see the Earth and have allowed her paintings to be positive vibrations of good energy for all.

She debuts at the ArtJaz Gallery’s Visual Pathways Group Exhibition through Jan. 31.

The Temple News: How would you describe your art?

Inga Kimberly Brown: I do a Verdaccio style of painting. I do underpainting, so under each painting is [another] painting. I concentrate on shadows, and then I use the color over it as a very light finish. My art is my vision, a passion. When I paint, I can be in front of canvas for 12 hours and not realize the time that’s passed by.

TTN: If your painting Red Bone could speak, what would she say?

Brown: She would say that she is from a mixture of roots of white American, Scottish, English, Lumbee and Cherokee Indian, and black African slave descent. She had breast cancer, was hip in rock ‘n’ roll, and she was proud of her roots and the color that they came in. Not coming from riches but coming from country people, southern people. That is what she is, a Redbone.

TTN: How does rock ‘n’ roll influence your art?

Brown: It influences it so much. I book rock bands as well. A lot of artists really get influenced by music. They go into a center, and they feel they see things. It almost becomes visionary, and it is almost like they help each other. To be able to pick what music may be channeling or what that vibration may be channeling and putting it out on canvas – you never know what’s going to come out of it.

TTN: How did the electric guitar open up the visualization to your work of art?

Brown: My mother bought me an electric guitar when I was about 12 or 13 along with lessons. It opened me up to art, it was my style. I have an eclectic style, and as an artist you are just attracted to musicians all around you. It’s a sound and vision thing.

TTN: If you couldn’t paint anymore, what would you be doing?

Brown: I would be singing and dancing, or I would want to raise children. I believe that is another art form we overlook. I think it takes a wise person to be able to guide another soul, another person that may have been here before. Being a parent would be interesting. It would be something to conquer.

TTN: As a woman with such power creatively and spiritually, who inspires you?

Brown: The old masters do inspire me. I remember reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. He was really powerful. [The book’s message was to] accept the gift that you are here to do and just do it. Inspiration, I don’t really follow any one person, but I admire many artist and musicians. My mother is a great inspiration.

TTN: Why do you regard yourself as psychic?

Brown: I have visions, and they come true. Sometimes, they may even come true five minutes before it happens or two weeks before it happens. They often come through dreams or just like a premonition, something that you already knew. [I] act on that first instinct, first gut feeling or first thought that comes in.

TTN: What is your current state of mind?

Brown: My current state of mind is all about understanding my karma. I chant the Lotus Sutra, and I used to chant the Nirvana Sutra. I am chanting now, trying to control my own universe and at least be in tune and in harmony. I am in a state of mind into painting more, including more people even with myself in my own paintings. My state of mind is very into family, success in my universe and trying to make success out of the things that I was given.

TTN: How do you want to be remembered in this life?

Brown: I want to be remembered as an independent woman and a beautiful woman of color – a courageous, strong, healthy, quiet, wise woman. I want to be remembered as a dancer, a writer, a poet, a spiritual woman, a soulful woman. I would like to be remembered as a good loving person that reached out and touched with good vibrations ­– a vibrating person, somebody who vibrates good energy.

Sandra Rollins can be reached at sandra.rollins@temple.edu.

Professors’ union threatens strike, demands contract

Two of Temple’s large unions may have means to strike this semester.

The university’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Temple Association of University Professionals have attempted to come to a new contract agreement with the university to no avail for the last few months.

TAUP, which consists of 1,250 faculty members, had a contract which expired Oct. 15, 2008. AFSCME’s contract expired Oct. 31, 2007.

AFSCME met with members of the university once prior to winter break.

“They have not changed any of their positions,” said Paul Dannenfelser, president of AFSCME. “There is no progress. We’re disappointed that Temple didn’t have anything to offer us, and they didn’t seem interested at all in coming to a resolution. Now, there is also new information about the financial crisis, and we’re not sure what that means for us in terms of negotiations.”

The university placed a final offer on the table for AFSCME in May 2008. The offer included an increase that would take effect in November 2008.

“Since [November] came and went, we met again Dec. 18 to touch base,” said Sharon Boyle, a university negotiating team member. “There is still no movement, but we’ve said that we’re open to listening.”

“I’ve had a number of phone calls from my members who have been getting solicitation letters from Temple requesting a donation, and they are very upset that Temple’s asking them for money at a time when they haven’t had a raise in two years,” Dannenfelser said. “A lot of our members really feel Temple is exploiting the financial crisis.”

Dannenfelser said AFSCME’s action committee has been discussing future actions they might take.

“The people on the committee would like to act in a more organized way,” Dannenfelser said. “There’s a lot of anger building among people. They’re running out of patience. There’s going to be a lot more activity on campus this year. You’re going to see more action taken. A strike may be a possibility this year.”

On Dec. 5, 2008, TAUP gave management a revised offer and then met with officials in a meeting that didn’t make any progress, said Arthur Hochner, president of TAUP.

The negotiating teams met again on Jan. 7.

“They gave us a little speech about the economy and withdrew their economic proposal and said they would be willing to discuss other options with us,” Hochner said. “We were surprised. We asked them what options they wanted to discuss and they said, ‘We don’t know yet.’ We asked them what they did know and they said, ‘We don’t know that either.’ From our perspective, it was a strange way of negotiating because we were left in limbo.”

“We told them that the contract was subject to continuing economic circumstances,” said George Moore, another member of the university negotiating team. “We told them all along that we couldn’t guarantee keeping it on the table. When we got to January with all the news that had been transpiring over the past month, we determined that we could no longer in good faith keep that offer out on the table because of the strains it would put on the university.”

The university later sent TAUP an offer, but the two teams have not yet met to discuss it. They are scheduled to meet Jan. 21.

The previous economic offer made by the university guaranteed a roughly 3.75 percent per year increase for four years. The most recent offer is a five-year contract, guaranteeing 3 percent for the first fiscal year, retroactive to July 1, 2008 through the end of June 2009. There will be no increase the second year and a 2 percent increase each of the following three years.

This is consistent with the announcement made by President Ann Weaver Hart Jan. 15. There’s still the ability to give a salary increase to outstanding individual faculty members.

No other details on the most recent economic proposal are available until after the teams meet Wednesday.

“It doesn’t make sense that Temple can’t afford a halfway decent pay increase for faculty,” Hochner said. “We don’t think that’s true.”

Hochner said they have been talking to TAUP members about “what it will take to get a fair contract.” He said a strike is becoming a greater possibility, if the members agree to it.

TAUP is also planning more picketing and other similar activities in the coming weeks.

“They’re continuing all of their construction projects,” Hochner said. “It seems to me that Temple would much rather keep all of its projects going than give their faculty a fair pay increase. Reaching an agreement with us is not their priority. We want to have something that’s mutually agreeable and not just take whatever they’re offering.”

“We’re doing what other schools and colleges around the country are doing,” Moore said. “We have from the very beginning tried to be fair and reasonable and as generous as we could while being fair to our students. In our economy, we can’t make promises to just one part of the university.”

Several other colleges and universities have recently taken actions similar to that of Temple.

“We want to have a contract,” said Ray Betzner, assistant vice president of university communications. “We’ve wanted [a contract] since the spring. We’re ready.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

Offbeat Academia: Catching up with friends after break

Temple is certainly gracious in giving us an entire month to fall out of all the good work habits we perfected during the fall semester. But most of us were completely separated from our second home, including the people we saw every day: the professor with the drone, the roommate with the girlfriend, the kid who throws up every weekend and even the lady you deny change each morning on the subway. That said, we have a lot to catch up on. So, I’m going to pull another Rob Gordon.

1.) Who got Wall-E for Christmas? Who got Step Brothers or The Dark Knight? Who used the Best Buy gift card they got from their grandma to buy Pineapple Express? I’m sure you did. And I know your friends would be delighted to hear about it, as well as watch each DVD once more before you never touch it again.

2.) Don’t forget to bring up New Year’s Eve. Even though you’ve probably already heard of everyone’s escapades (your at-school-BFF made out with that boy he’s been texting, your roommate doesn’t remember throwing up in a bathtub and your ex-girlfriend had no one to kiss at the stroke of midnight), it’s still surprisingly titillating to hear them all over again – especially with hand gestures.

3.) Also, make sure to complain to your Temple friends. They haven’t heard that since December, you know. They may have forgotten how much you work, how tired you are, how Wendy’s isn’t open late enough or how much your parents procrastinate in depositing Diamond Dollars. Now, maybe you’re saying to yourself: “Oh no, Sarah. I’m afraid I don’t have too much to complain about. How will I keep up with my friends’ conversations?”

Not to worry; the semester has just begun, and everything will hit the fan soon enough.

4.) Something very important to investigate at the start of the new semester is which one of your friends had the least productive winter break.

Ladies and gentlemen, this contest is unlike any other. The riveting tales of worldwide travel, adventure or new experiences do not win. Show me the boy or girl who woke up every afternoon around two, watched every marathon of House on TV and only ventured outside for beer or food – and I’ll show you the talk of the town.

“Oh you went to Europe? Man, I didn’t do anything during break. No, let me tell you: I never got up before noon, and I was so gone, like, every night. Shame it’s over.” I mean, isn’t that who you would be most interested in talking to?

5.) Finally, let your friends know how you’ve changed. Make sure they’re able to handle the new version of you. Because if they’re not, they’re out. Let them know that you’ve got standards, now. You’ve got a vision. It’s not just the haircut or the new clothes. While you were watching your dog pee on the carpet underneath the beer pong table on New Year’s Eve, you had an epiphany. (Just please be modest in a couple weeks when you relapse into your old self – there’s nothing worse than a haughty loser.)

I don’t want to be cynical. I don’t want to say that one month can’t account for any drastic personal changes or fascinating life transitions.

Don’t people save their transformations for the summer, anyway? Remember Suzy had breasts all of a sudden come September?

But some people might even say that the winter break was too long – that they missed out on too much. So, whether you really did discover your free spirit, or you remained relatively stagnant going into the new year, Temple missed you, if not for anything but your tuition payment.

Sarah Sanders can be reached at sarah.sanders@temple.edu.

Travelers trade beds for couches

International backpacking during winter break may sound pricey when compared to sleeping until noon at mom’s and dad’s, but thanks to the social networking Web site CouchSurfing.com, some Temple students are traveling worldwide and still have Diamond Dollars to spare.

“I got to experience a real Kiwi Christmas and New Year’s with people I met on CouchSurfing,” said Danni Shtraus, a junior Asian studies major who traveled throughout New Zealand during the break. “It was great because I could meet locals, as opposed to just staying in hostels like other travelers.”

Users create MySpace-like profiles that allow fellow CouchSurfers to get to know each other and create ties with like-minded travelers. Unlike a hotel, CouchSurfing.com prohibits hosts from charging their guests according to the site’s terms of use.

So, where can you travel?

With 53,117 different cities represented on the site, the possibilities are endless.

Shtraus stumbled upon the site when searching for inexpensive lodging while studying at Temple’s Japan campus.

“I ended up really liking the site for a lot more than the cheap accommodations,” Shtraus said.

Howard MacNapier, a Temple alumnus and CouchSurfing Ambassador for the United States, agrees the site offers benefits for students beyond the free couch to sleep on.

“Seeing a city, a town, a place and meeting families and friends – it’s all valuable,” MacNapier said. “The university experience is more than what you learn in the classroom. CouchSurfing allows you to see these personal things through the eyes of another culture.”

The site is also useful for making international contacts.

“I did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing while in New Zealand,” Shtraus said. “It’s a seven-hour hike up and down an active volcano, and it was something I did not want to experience by myself. I met up with a bunch of other CouchSurfers, and we did it together. That made it an amazing experience.”

For those who can’t afford to spend $3,000 on a plane ticket to New Zealand, CouchSurfing gives users the opportunity to host surfers from the United States and abroad on a pick-and-choose basis.

“At Temple, you live on a funky campus where you can see your shadow at one in the morning,” said MacNapier, who is a seasoned surfer and host. “It’s definitely unique. Philadelphia is a big city with a small-town attitude. By hosting, you get to show it off and learn to navigate yourself around.”

Whether you’re about to offer up your futon or hop on the next piece of free furniture that comes your way (yes, some hosts actually offer beds), users make secure connections using the safety tools CouchSurfing provides.

In addition to self-written personal descriptions, profiles contain three levels of security. There are personal testimonials from other CouchSurfers, proof that users have valid mailing addresses, which ensures travelers physically meet their hosts and are vouched for at least three times.

Another way to build a good rapport with fellow users is to join a CouchSurfing group. The Philadelphia group is home to 780 members with 25 of those belonging to Temple’s subgroup.

“I just use the forums for the places that I’m going, and I can find people who are doing the same thing at the same time as me,” Shtraus said. “There are tons of groups and CouchSurfers all over the world, and I got to find out about local events wherever I was visiting.”

MacNapier has also established CouchSurfing Zone Philadelphia, a group for local users to meet up, learn more about the site and share stories. The group meets at Bean Exchange located at Seventh and Bainbridge streets. Meeting times are listed on the Philadelphia group site.

“For a lot of college kids who don’t have much money, it’s is a good way to get a rich cultural experience and just enjoy people and places,” MacNapier said. “To share food, to hear different languages, to soak up diversity. That’s what the world is about, and CouchSurfing shares that.”

Maria Zankey can be reached at maria.zankey@temple.edu.

A barcode sits on the cutting edge of technology

On a window of Café Claude restaurant in San Francisco clings a sticker with a strange looking pixelated image.

Underneath the logo for an online lifestyle guide named Citysearch, the mismatch of black and white pixels would be better suited on a box of restaurant supplies that have just been scanned by a UPS employee never to be seen by the average customer.

However, it is the average customer the image targets. The pixilated image is a two-dimensional barcode, intended to be scanned by camera phones, smartphones and other Web-enabled mobile devices to provide the viewer with information.

The sticker has three simple instructions: 1) Text “SCAN” to 70734. 2) Download ScanLife and launch. 3) Scan code with camera.

ScanLife has the trend picking up on the West Coast. In a press release from March 2008, the company announced that more than 500 restaurants and businesses would be displaying these codes in the San Francisco area.

WHAT IS A QR CODE AND HOW DO I USE IT?
Like any new technology, 2D barcodes are still searching for a standard. The front-runner appears to be QR codes, which originated in Japan in 1994. Others include DataMatrix, Semacode, mCode and ShotCode. Regardless of shape, all the 2D barcodes are fundamentally the same.

“2D barcodes are a way to easily embed just about any kind of digital information within reason,” said Amy Webb, founder of Webbmedia Group, a company that consults online media companies and other organizations on how to use new technology.

Webb is trying to help make these barcodes more prevalent within the United States.

“It’s being used everywhere in Japan and in Europe quite a bit. Not as much in the U.S., but we tend to be pretty far behind in terms of the mobile market,” she said.

Like the barcodes themselves, code readers are still trying to find a standard. Many have Web sites with a list of compatible phones like NeoReader.com, i-nigma.com and kaywa.com. The iPhone has multiple applications for code readers, many of them offered for free.

Once a code reader is downloaded to a mobile device, scanning is very simple. The camera on the device reads the code, and some kind of action is performed. The code could redirect to a Web site or prompt a phone call.

“If you’ve got an iPhone or one of the newer Nokias, most of them have some kind of GPS in there. If I scan a code, I can get a coupon,” Webb said. “Once I scan that code, it’s possible for the merchant to add a couple extra lines of code to not only get a coupon but send directions to the store from where I am right now.”

Big media outlets in the United States haven’t picked up this technology – yet.

Webb likens QR codes’ place in technology to what Facebook was when it first emerged in February 2004. Now, news organizations like CNN and MSNBC have Facebook accounts, Twitter pages and multiple blogs.

“Nobody wants to hear about a new zippy technology until that thing becomes a competitor,” Webb said.

QR CODES ENTER THE TEMPLE NEWS SCENE
The Temple News will begin implementing QR codes in its print edition, teasing online. For instance, the QR code above will take you to temple-news.com/QR when scanned.

Also, businesses around campus will begin displaying QR codes in their storefront windows. Those codes can be scanned, and the user will be taken to each store’s unique Web site on The Temple News Web site.

Dave Isaac can be reached at isaac@temple.edu.

Letter: Finals a poor method for evaluating course

Dear Editor,

Amid the non-stop complaining, bickering and pleading with the professors that I’ve heard from my peers, I have come to the realization that we as students do not truly appreciate the opportunity we have here. Not to point the finger of blame because I know I can be a lazy student as well. Last weekend (and numerous similar weekends), I lollygagged from 1:30 Friday afternoon until 12:15 a.m.

Monday, thereby forcing myself to pull a completely unnecessary all-nighter in order to write a paper. We’ve all made bad decisions, and we’ve all slacked. We’ve all groaned at some point in our collegiate career when a professor has said or done something we do not like. It seems like we all hate “hard” professors and avoid them at all costs. Similarly we all seem to dislike the “smart” kid in the class; the one that breaks the curve or answers all of the questions correctly. We don’t read, and we hate when the professors call us out on it. We try to see how much we can avoid doing to still end up with a desirable grade. But honestly, I think we do not value our education because we care too much about meaningless points as made most evident by our understanding of the role of finals.

Currently, our culture and treatment of final exams just perpetuate the devaluing of our educational experience because we focus too much on the test and not enough on actually learning the material. Anyone can cram for an exam, do really well and forget the material by the next morning. I’ve done that plenty of times and have come to have a decent GPA, but now that I’m looking back, I can realize how unrewarding it is to not be able to remember much of what you’ve “learned” throughout the years.

Also, final exams are meaningless points. Tests are only worth the steps you take afterward, they in themselves do not teach us anything. They point out our strengths and weaknesses and give us an opportunity to re-examine the material in order to learn more and better ourselves. Therefore finals are pointless because there is no recourse, and we rarely even get the direct results. We don’t get to see what questions we got wrong and don’t get to learn from our mistakes. Really, finals prove nothing about the caliber of student. They just show how much students can memorize in two study days.

That’s why instead of basing our academic aptitude on one test, we should have the option of self evaluations. Self evaluations would give us a chance to take an earnest look at our education and empower us as students. We should be able to sit down with professors and have a serious discussion about what we have learned and how we can apply any of it to our lives. Then we should be able to determine our own grade for that course. I know that may seem like a no-brainer. Everyone would give themselves A’s, and we’d be back where we started. Yes, it will take some maturity on the part of the student, but hopefully people would be able to realize it is for their own good. After all, when we graduate it doesn’t matter how well a professor thinks we did if we are unable to be confident in our own abilities. Ask yourself, for whom are you learning?

LaCole Foots
Class of 2010

Letter: Public servants needed

Dear Editor,

John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Those words resonate today as surely as they did almost half a century ago. In an age of cynicism, government and corporate scandal, terrorism and economic uncertainty, the call to public service rings louder than ever. In a career spent largely in public service, I can speak to the rewards – as well as the challenges – of serving the people. As students with all the idealism and energy of youth, I urge you to consider a career in politics or government.

We live in challenging times. By the middle of this century, our country will have no racial or ethnic majority. Industrial production will be redefined with advances in robotics and nanotechnology. Health care will enter a new era of organ replacement and stem cell cures. Information will be instantaneous and everywhere. Our stewardship of the environment will be tested as never before. Terrorism will remain an ever-present threat.

It will be up to government to address the challenges that lie ahead. My experience of serving in the Senate for the past 28 years shows how the legislative process can help change the world in which we live. In your hands will be the task of carrying on this nation’s great experiment in democratic government, now more than 200 years old and still an inspiration to millions of people around the globe.
What are a few of the defining challenges of the 21st century that a career in government will encounter?

Climate change: Government industry and individual citizens must work together to reduce greenhouse gases and protect the environment.

Energy: We must wean ourselves from an overdependence on oil and the mercies of OPEC. Alternative energies, tax credits, offshore drilling, fuel economy standards and “green” buildings are just a few of the matters subject to legislative action and oversight.

Health care: Congress must find ways to deal with the growing cost of health care and the ethical dilemmas that new medical technologies pose. At the same time, it must continue to underwrite the nation’s leadership in health-related research.

AIDS: The United States must continue to lead the battle against AIDS. Already, millions of HIV patients in Africa and Caribbean states have gained access to retroviral drugs and medical assistance, thanks to more than $25 billion that Congress has appropriated in the past eight years.

Tyranny and Genocide: America must continue to stand against tyranny and oppression as Congress has shown in its willingness to approve nearly $3 billion to support U.N. peacekeepers and provide emergency food relief to refugees in Darfur and Chad.

Civil Liberties: In the midst of the continuing war on terror, Congress must be vigilant in guarding our rights and liberties as Americans, along with our system of checks and balances designed to protect against arbitrary government.

Jobs and the Economy: The country must adopt new strategies and business models to compete in a global market, taking care to preserve the jobs and welfare of American workers.

Engagement and Diplomacy: The United States must remain a major player in trouble spots around the world, nowhere with greater urgency than the Middle East. We must be willing to negotiate with our enemies as well as our friends.

These are exciting times. Science and technology have given us more tools for hope and progress than ever before. It will be up to your generation to apply these tools. What better place to do so than through a career in politics or government. I urge you to take a good look at the opportunities in public service. I am sure you will discover, as I have, that there is no more rewarding experience.

For more information and for a list of regional and district offices, I invite you to visit my Web site at specter.senate.gov or call Jake Digel on my staff at 202-224-8823.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

Pillow Talk: A new year for self improvement

For millions of people, a new year—or even a new semester—is the perfect time to turn over a new leaf. It’s like there’s a tiny switch in the brain that flips once the giant crystal ball drops in Times Square, telling people they need to improve on something to make the future year better than the one before.

Gyms swell with sweating new members who gradually drop off the face of the earth, fashion magazines fill their pages with ideas on how readers can change their styles or hair, and even Oprah urges viewers to get the best out of their lives by finally having an orgasm. When a new year arrives, nothing is safe from scrutiny.

Change, though familiar, often comes unexpectedly. Most changes happen out of our control. The real world shifts daily, and the illusion of New Year’s promises rolls around every 365 days or so.

It was a March evening when I was asked out for the first time, an October afternoon when I learned my dad was taking a job nine hours from my old Kentucky home and a December day when I reconnected with someone I thought I’d never hear from again. Change doesn’t keep within the boundaries of the first week of January.

Change also goes hand-in-hand with time. As we grow and mature, certain aspects of our personalities fade into the past, while others become more prominent than Jay Leno’s chin. The subtle shifts seem to most damage our projection of life for the year; as people change, so do relationships. Mortal enemies can become roommates (it happened to two girls I went to middle school with), lovers can become strangers, and black and white can become yin and yang.

My best friend—who I’ll call Belle—has changed a lot in the five years I’ve known her. When we first met, her blonde hair was chopped right above the shoulder, and she reluctantly played for our high school’s softball team. She was quiet, hated to be touched and hadn’t yet experienced her first kiss.

Now, in the prime of our lives, she’s grown her hair down to her waist, hasn’t picked up a softball in years and fears becoming a nymphomaniac after breaking up with her last beau.

Belle’s first boyfriend changed his sexual orientation while they were dating and broke up with her for a closeted boy at his rival high school. Her second boyfriend cheated on her with his ex-girlfriend.
Needless to say, Belle isn’t too optimistic about relationships, but now, she’s finally evolved enough to have one.

For a long time, I was convinced the opposite sex was finally paying attention to me because I made an artificial change: I dyed my naturally blonde hair red. As an extremely self-conscious adolescent, I wasn’t used to the cat-calling and stares that followed my fiery head around town, but I was elated.

I shed my mostly black wardrobe for brighter, better-fitting clothes. I looked people in the eye when I walked by them instead of automatically looking down. Now that I’m older, I realize it wasn’t the hair that made other people’s reactions change – it was my reaction to myself. Confidence, so they say, is sexiness.

If your resolution is to change something about yourself for someone else, it’s a bad idea. In order for others to love you, you need to love yourself first. To quote the band Copeland, “Change if you want, but don’t you go and change for me.”

If that girl from the bar won’t date you unless you trade your beloved keg in for a six-pack, it’s not worth it. Find someone who would tap it. As for me, I’m keeping the red hair and breathing some fire into Pillow Talk in the coming months—a change you can believe in.

Libby Peck can be reached at elizabeth.peck@temple.edu.

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