The Soundboard:The Takeover UK runs with diversity

For some bands, it’s not so easy to sound similar to another band.

On its highly anticipated debut LP, Running With The Wasters, Pittsburgh quartet the Takeover UK is nearly impossible to typify. The diverse smattering of influences that seem to shine through in its music ranges from early punk like the Clash to 21st century alternative rock like the Strokes.

Brass instruments on the colorful opening tracks “The Lonely Ones” and “Birthday Boy” evoke the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the Slackers. Up-tempo tracks “Ah La La” and “Running with the Wasters” contribute a Brit rock vibe similar to Blur and Hard-Fi.

The band’s diversity is apparent, especially by the fifth track, the country rock ballad “Denise” is complete with bouncing basslines, rhythmic acoustic guitar, soaring harmonies and steel lap guitar. Such an unexpected segue, both in tempo and genre, is an ear-catching transition.

Equally as impactful is the wistful “Evelyn,” a ‘60s-sounding ballad, that’s sweet melancholy reaches even further with the addition of strings. The driving piano on “Damn Tryin’,” begins in similar fashion to Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” and builds to smooth three-part harmonies.

Lead singers Nic Snyder and Mark Solomich lead a powerful vocal assault, trading places and backing each other up throughout the album. High-energy, riveting chorus lines categorize the band’s sound on Wasters, particularly on the upbeat rock track “Main Street Crush.” Another boisterous sing along is the finale, “Don’t Wait Up,” a fast-paced, Strokes-esque rocker that rounds off the album on a high note.

The lyrical content of the album is not nearly as varied as its instrumentation. Most every song seems to attempt to tackle the ongoing riddle of the elusive female. Some are as unambiguous as “Kill Me Dead,” on which Snyder sings, “I’ve been staying out all night / and I just thought that you should know / I’m a man of simple pleasures / Why don’t we have a go?”

Luckily for the Takeover UK, it outshines any overarching Strokes comparisons, displaying mastery of varied instrumentation, catchy guitar riffs, power vocals and toe-tapping rhythms. There may not be one band out there that works for a proper comparison to this group of guys – and that’s not a bad thing.

For the Western Pennsylvania four-piece, this is clearly an effort of eclectic musical stylings and an impressive debut. This is diverse, feel-good rock at its finest.

Kevin Brosky can be reached at kevinbrosky@temple.edu.

TAUP: Funding article gets it wrong

Dear Editor:

Your article, “Hart heads to capital for added state aid” [“Hart heads to capital for state aid,” Cait Berry, March 17, 2009], misstates crucial facts about the money coming to Temple from the economic stimulus bill passed in February by the U.S. Congress.

The article states that the “funding will last only one year,” that it “is a one-time stop-gap measure,” that the money “will not act to ease the $11.4 million that was withdrawn,” and that there are doubts about “how much … Temple will receive.”

These statements are not true. First, the federal stimulus package will restore funds for at least two fiscal years. Second, the money will indeed ease the funding gap. That is its entire purpose, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Third, there is no doubt about Temple’s share.

Temple and the three other state-related universities had $42 million cut from our appropriations last fall by Gov. Edward Rendell. Temple’s portion was $10.5 million. This month, the governor said he would restore the $42 million to the four state-related universities for next year. Temple’s share will restore what was cut.

Indeed, each of the universities should receive restoration of the funds at least for FY 2010 and FY 2011. We may even get money back this year before June, though the U.S. Department of Education has not yet ruled on this.

The Temple Association of University Professionals, the union representing 1,300 full-time librarians, academic professionals and faculty, has checked with state government officials. These sources confirm that Gov. Rendell will use the federal dollars from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to restore funding in both FY 2010 and FY 2011.

TAUP believes that correct information about the stimulus funds is crucial for understanding Temple’s true financial picture because the funding promises to stabilize Temple’s revenues. TAUP has been negotiating with Temple management since last June and has been working without a contract since Oct. 15. Achieving settlement requires a clear and factual understanding of Temple’s finances.

Arthur Hochner
President, Temple Association of University Professionals

Fumo was corrupt, but city allowed it

Politicians are a favorite punching bag for citizens throughout the country. They are ridiculed for being greedy, incompetent and dishonest, and sometimes they deserve those accusations.

The politicians we love to hate are there for a reason. Specifically, we put them there, and we choose to keep them there, even when we know they may be greedy or dishonest.

Such is the case with Vince Fumo, the former state senator from South Philadelphia. Fumo was probably the most powerful man in the state Senate, and for good reason. His influence spread from people in the Board of Revision of Taxes to people in the Delaware River Port Authority to various nonprofits.

In what may be a sign of just how powerful Fumo was before he was convicted of 137 counts of conspiracy and fraud, local politicians were fairly measured in their reactions to Fumo’s conviction.
Mayor Michael Nutter called the outcome shocking even though the guilty verdicts were, if not virtually certain, at least a pretty good bet.

Philadelphia politicians were measured in their words perhaps because they realized that Fumo not only brought money into the city, but he was responsible for the success of quite a few political careers.

The average Philadelphian can afford to be more callous, and if the sometimes-caustic messages on comment walls of articles about the Fumo conviction are any indication, the average Philadelphian really does feel a little more callous about Fumo than the politicians do.

We probably shouldn’t, considering Philadelphians knew Fumo had a sketchy past, having avoided two previous corruption charges by chance and by a technicality. These charges were early in his career, the first before he was elected to the state Senate. At that point, he was still working on the campaign of Henry “Buddy” Cianfrani, who occupied the South Philadelphia Senate seat before Fumo.

Cianfrani was also convicted of fraud and spent time in federal prison.

The point is, Philadelphians knew Fumo had a shady past before we elected him. But, we chose to keep electing him. First, he was a truly charismatic person, and it wasn’t hard to like him. Also, he did bring a school, street cleaners and money to his district. And in return, a few corruption charges didn’t seem bad enough to take the effort to vote him out of office.

Therein lies the moral behind corrupt politicians.

Usually, it’s not their first brush with impropriety. Usually, their constituents have some kind of warning that there is something not completely upstanding about their duly elected representatives.

Until we are willing to demand more integrity from our politicians, there isn’t much point in complaining about them.

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

Architecture firm offers insight on modern building trends

With its numerous old farmhouses and barnyards, Central Pennsylvania is not necessarily the place one might think two young architects would want to be implementing their modern ideas about construction.

However, the founders of Austin+Mergold LLC, Jason Austin and Aleksandr Mergold, believe Central Pennsylvania offers much more than just cornfields and silos. In fact, they said they think the landscape and existing architectural structures provide the perfect setting and inspiration for their unique design approach, otherwise known as SURAL.

Austin and Mergold, both graduates of Cornell University, spoke to Temple architecture students and other faculty members in a lecture last Wednesday night to present their ideas about SURAL and discuss their new exhibit, which is currently located in Temple’s Engineering and Architecture building.

According to A+M, SURAL is “a confluence of rural, urban, sub- and semi-urban conditions that coexist, cross-pollinate and collide, often resulting in truly surreal design situations and opportunities.”

In other words, the convergence of these vastly different landscapes allows plenty of room for limitless creativity and originality in the planning process. Using this method, A+M is currently working on mixed-income housing in rural Pennsylvania.

Austin, who is an adjunct faculty member in Tyler’s department of architecture, and Mergold, who teaches at Cornell, also spoke during the lecture about their past projects in great detail.

By the time A+M was established in 2007, the pair set out to do residential, commercial, landscape and urban design. Projects have ranged from creating and/or renovating a farmhouse, golf clubhouse, restaurant, pump house, a mini golf course and various types of homes.

When asked about the issue of the present condition of suburbia at the lecture, Mergold said, “I personally hate it but it doesn’t matter, really. You kind of have to embrace it because it is an opportunity for something. You can’t just walk away from it.”

Mergold gave the example of vinyl siding, a traditional staple of suburbia. Although it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing material, it’s cheap, durable and easily recyclable.

“[Vinyl siding] is cheap, so cheap. It is both a blessing and a curse,” he said. “If you take down a building, it usually goes straight to the landfill, but at the same time, it is also very durable — it can actually be recycled forever. Apparently, there are now companies that make 100 percent post-consumer recycled siding.”

But to avoid disasters such as suburban sprawl, A+M has another major design philosophy, which is the idea of “slow architecture.”

“Slow movement is founded on the appreciation of local, sustainable, straightforward yet powerful ideas – be it food, design, social interaction – the simple ways that, in our busy and hyper-active world, have fallen to the background,” Austin explained in an e-mail interview.

Essentially, it is the principle that it’s a lot more practical and beneficial to rethink an area’s existing resources and to reconstruct it in a way that betters the region’s aesthetic value. In other words, why waste new land when you can renovate old land to better serve a neighborhood or community?

“Before reinventing the bicycle, we try to see if one was already invented locally and only needs a tune-up,” Austin said.

To fix both the financial and environmental crises America faces today, the architecture duo believes it is best to take time intelligently mapping out how an area should be built up, using the latest technology and available resources, as to not misuse land or money. A+M tries to understand local methods of building but still wants to use modern technology to construct a site.

According to Austin and Mergold’s Web site, their “goal is to inject diversity and variety into the homogeneity (and mediocrity) of our contemporary environment – be it a building, landscape or an object.”

Although this kind of work is difficult, A+M is not afraid of a challenge. Its projects often face many obstacles, including constraints on time, budget and materials. Zoning laws, geological boundaries, local infrastructures and development and water rights also have to be taken into account to determine how much freedom A+M will have when working on a new project.

“When the economy is the primary driving force behind clients’ intent and our own aspirations reach far beyond the cookie cutter solutions, each design problem is equally challenging, regardless of scale,” Austin said. “But the results can be rewarding as well.”

As far as future plans go, A+M was selected to go to the Baer Art Center fellowship in Iceland in the summer of 2010. While there, Austin and Mergold will survey a part of the harsh Nordic landscape and create a land-scaled earth drawing depicting the area’s natural topography.

But in the meantime, Austin said, “[A+M will] continue working on affordable housing projects in Pennsylvania and pursuing built and speculative work elsewhere in the U.S. and beyond.”

To view the SURAL Exhibit, stop by Rm. 124 in the Engineering and Architecture building before March 26.

Laura Fanciullacci can be reached at laura.fanciullacci@temple.edu.

Tyler sends Trojan horse to open citywide dialogue

After sneaking into the night and risking arrest, sculpture students from Tyler unleashed an attack on four area art schools and declared war.

The delivery method for their declaration: four Trojan horses strategically placed in public areas at the University of the Arts, the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Moore College of Art and Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

The attack stemmed from Karyn Olivier’s advanced sculpture class. Olivier told the class they were to plan a 12-hour group art project, leaving the topic and execution completely up to the students.
What came from Olivier’s assignment was much more than she had expected.

“I just wanted to give the students an assignment that would force them to collaborate and form a sense of trust and respect for one another,” she said.

Alyssa Brubaker, a student in Olivier’s class, said the class met several times to figure out what they wanted to do for the project and then, one student set the wheels in motion.

“Someone said ‘art war’ and everyone got stuck on it,” the senior sculpture major said.

From there, the students developed the idea of delivering large-scale Trojan horses to area schools for an art war.

Initially, the group thought the project could be completed in 12 hours, but once they started, they realized they were in it for the long haul.

“It was close to 30 hours, pretty much 30 consecutive hours,” Brubaker said. “Friday night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the horses were coming along, and the declaration was pretty much done, but we were in no shape to deliver the horses. So we took a nap for a few hours, and then worked all Saturday night to finish.”

The horses are made out of a basic wooden frame and are on wheels for easier maneuvering. The wooden frames are covered in cardboard boxes used to bring the art school to Main Campus.

“Art schools just in general have a sense of competitiveness,” Olivier said. “It’s always been this distant challenge, and now, it’s like, ‘we’re here.’”

Constructing the horses took up the bulk of their time, but sneaking into the schools was the most exciting part.

The class rented a U-Haul and sent scouts to the schools to survey the scene prior to the attack. After the horses were completed, and before they were delivered, they were hidden in students’ studio spaces to keep the project a surprise.

“Everyone was so pumped,” Brubaker said. “We didn’t quite know what to expect.”

“It was amazing we got in,” Olivier said. “I brought chain link and locks in case we couldn’t get in and we’d have to chain it as close as we could.”

But students were able to get in, and it was easier than expected.

Brubaker said security guards didn’t question them when they arrived with the giant structure. Most guards assumed they were art students from the schools they were invading. At PAFA, the guards were expecting them.

“We had an in at PAFA, one of the deans, and they told us where to go in and cleared out a spot for us,” Brubaker said.

At UArts, a student saw the Tyler class reassembling one of the horses and loved the idea of an art war.
The class is expecting a response and has already heard back from one school. Moore responded via YouTube critiquing the horse and promising an equally creative response. Olivier said she heard UArts students plan on disassembling the horse that was delivered to their school and using the parts to craft their responses.

The attack isn’t meant to be menacing, and the students are excited to see the responses the other schools have planned.

“It’s all positive,” Brubaker said. “We’re not trying to bash anyone and say ‘Tyler is the best.’ We’re trying to open up a dialogue with the other schools.”

LeAnne Matlach can be reached at leannematlach@temple.edu.

Pillow Talk: No relationship is ‘normal’

If you’re too dense to have figured this out about me yet, I’m just going to go ahead and tell you: I’m not normal.

I don’t have a psychological disease (that I know of), and I’m not the type that will memorize someone’s class schedule and follow him or her around campus accordingly. I don’t own a collection of skulls, and I’m not really a fan of spouting obscure knowledge to no one in particular. But, I’m still kind of odd.

I’m not normal because I didn’t start making my bed until I came to college and seem to have a mild, self-diagnosed case of obsessive compulsive disorder that must drive my lovely roommates insane.
Then again, half the time we’re around each other, my roommates and I communicate in noises rather than language. My voicemail greeting plays a recording of my voice but in a deep drawl, a great imitation I picked up through eight years of living in the South. That’s far from everything, and this column isn’t about me — it’s about all of us. Whether you like it or not, you’re not normal either.

To be honest, I really don’t think I could classify anyone I know as normal. My parents are insane. I guess I learned a thing or two from them. One of my friends is a classically trained opera singer. I wouldn’t call that normal, but I would definitely call it intriguing. Another friend has an obsession with giraffes, and yet another has an obsession with knitting.

I know a group of guys who take the term “bromance” to an entirely new level, and a group of girls who respond with a self-proclaimed “homance.” But are any of these things even weird or just uncommon?
Humans are much more difficult to define as normal than, say, inanimate objects. Carpet on a floor is normal. A lamp sitting on a desk is normal. Tires on a car are normal and definitely necessary.

However, if you put carpet on a bed, a lamp in a bathtub and tires on a television set, it would be classified as weird. There are some pretty concrete rules for these quantifiable things, but as soon as those silly abstracts of emotions and personality come into play, things get complicated.

How do we measure how much we like someone? How much we love someone? It’s a lot more difficult than spreading our arms and legs wide and saying “THIS much!”

Should we attempt to tell our significant others that we’re annoyed with them when they really haven’t done anything to piss us off aside from being themselves? And is love an excuse for the inexcusable, like staying with an abusive or unfaithful partner? (Yes, Rihanna, I’m talking to you.)

Since we have no way of defining what’s normal for an individual, how can we even begin to define how normal a relationship is? Is there a required number of times you have to text someone in a day, and are you obligated to respond to each?

Should there be a point when you get bored and move along, or are you supposed to try hard to keep things interesting? Whom should we look to in order to emulate the mythical normal relationship, and how would we know whether that public façade is the only thing normal about the person?

I apologize for bombarding you with rhetorical questions, but really, think about it — if you’ve had the pleasure of having a normal relationship, what was it that made it so normal?

The other night, I was having a conversation with a guy who I’ve been interested in since December. Exasperated with him as usual, I said “I just don’t know” in regards to, well, just about everything he’s said to me. He replied, “Who does?”

Despite how annoyed I was with him for that cop-out of a response, I had an epiphany: he was right. Sometimes the only way we can explain things is by deeming them unexplainable and leaving them at that, letting the weird be weird and accepting things for what they are until things finally fall into place.

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

Double Downer

STORRS, Conn. – Senior forwards Shenita Landry and Shanea Cotton watched from the bench as everything they put into this season and their careers – the 6 a.m. practices, the extra study sessions, the bumpy bus rides – came crashing down Sunday afternoon.

No. 8-seeded Florida defeated the women’s basketball team, 70-57, at Gampel Pavilion, once again sending the No. 9-seeded Owls home after only one round in the NCAA Tournament.

Landry’s final moment as an Owl came with 1:01 left in the game. With her team down 68-55, she fouled Florida’s senior guard Sha Brooks. A mixture of frustration and disappointment etched across her face as Landry walked off the court, head lowered, shoulders slumped, fouling out after a team-high 13 points and four rebounds.

But as she prepared to take her seat on the bench, coach Tonya Cardoza motioned toward the co-captain and Atlantic Ten Conference’s Most Improved Player, embracing her and whispering a few words in her ear.

“Coach just said she wished she could coach me for three more years, and I wish I could learn three more years of stuff from her like I did this past year,” Landry said, her voice quivering as she held back tears at the press conference podium. “This year was a big year for me. I’ve done a lot of things I’d never done before, and I learned a lot of things I never did before.”

In Landry’s first three seasons on campus, she averaged 4.6 points per season and 4.8 rebounds.

But this year, the soft-spoken senior stepped out of the shadows of former Temple forwards Candice Dupree, Kamesha Hairston and Lady Comfort, leading all Owls players with 12.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game, including 11 double-doubles. The A-10 coaches voted her Second Team All-A-10 and All-Defensive Team, as well.

“Coach Cardoza taught me to be confident in what you do, and good things will happen. In past years, I didn’t have that,” Landry said. “I’ve been here the past three years, and we won each year, but I’ll just take away from her those little things.”

And perhaps, in the right situation, after she’s done fielding any professional basketball offers from here or overseas, the accounting major will pass on her own little nuggets of knowledge as a coach someday.
Former Owls coach Dawn Staley predicted as much before she left for South Carolina this season, emphasizing Landry’s ability to “understand the game” and “pick and choose her spots.”

And so, it was Landry who primarily spoke to the team after the loss.

“Everybody was down, but we just all had to come together,” she said. “A lot of people still have more basketball to play. They’ve just got to learn from the game.”

Fellow frontcourt mate Cotton certainly did. The senior forward’s relationship with Cardoza could only be described as a work in progress early on in the season, but the coach pulled her out of the game with 49 seconds remaining in the game and 12 points beside her name on the scoreboard so the crowd, her coaches and her teammates could acknowledge her contributions.

“We went through our ups and downs and our complications because I’m hardheaded. I don’t take too well to authority,” Cotton said. “But we got through it, and I really loved her as my coach this year.”

Next year, Cardoza and the Owls return three starters – junior guards LaKeisha Eaddy and Kristie Watkins-Day and freshman forward Kristen McCarthy. Sophomore guards Lindsay Kimmel and Shaqwedia Wallace, as well as junior forward Jasmine Stone, all key contributors off the bench, will be back as well.

All will have one year of new coaching and a new offensive system under their belts.

“Like Shenita said, Coach has instilled a lot of confidence in all of us. Everybody on the team is going to take that confidence and grow as players,” Eaddy said. “Unlike Shenita, I do have another year with her, and I’m in a new position, so I’m going to take whatever she tells me and try to be a leader.”

While Cardoza’s first NCAA Tournament game at the coaching helm didn’t end quite the way she wanted it to, a 21-10 record, second-place finish in the A-10 Conference and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament are nothing to complain about. Most experienced coaches would take that.

“I never thought that I’d have the type of season that I had,” Cardoza said. “You know, it’s difficult when you take over a program, especially at Temple, when you have Dawn Staley, a legend, and all these kids came to play for her. For them to open up and let down their walls, and let me in and give me a chance, I definitely credit them for that.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Shop Class: Brits invade this year’s spring collections

Take a few fashion tips from America’s mum. This spring, stores are packed with Sgt. Pepper jackets and English garden party florals. Sure their choices of food may be questionable — bacon buttie or spotted dick — but those Brits sure have style.

Since I have started my spring shopping, I have noticed a theme in a lot of shops and fashion publications. Iconic pieces like Sgt. Pepper military jackets and classic English countryside fashions are everywhere. Also, let’s not forget those colorful trench coats and galoshes to get through the rainy season. These England-inspired fashion pieces are April must-haves.

Sure, floral patterns are a common trend each spring, but this time around, they are echoing a more soft and classy feel, reminiscent of weddings and afternoon garden parties.

Charlotte Ronson’s Spring 2009 line was dominated by pastel, floral chiffon dresses. For a more student-friendly buy, Forever 21 has a few spring party dresses that are just as worthy of an elegant country wedding. Popular Macy’s brands such as Guess and Rampage are focusing heavily on soft floral prints, too.

They may make you feel like you are wearing a space ship rather than a hat, but floppy hats are fun and springy. If you are daring enough to sport a fun floppy-brimmed hat, channel Andie MacDowell a la Four Weddings and a Funeral, and pair it with a fabulous new dress and ivory peep-toe pumps.

It is still a bit too chilly to traipse around the city in only a few yards of chiffon, but that is what the World War II- and Sgt. Pepper-inspired military jackets are for. H&M carries a nice double-breasted style in lightweight black wool with large antique brass buttons. Along with providing extra warmth for the dreary April weather, they can toughen up even the girliest frocks.

Try a bright colored trench coat. Check out Old Navy for a basic twill style in khaki and black. For something more innovative and colorful, look for BCBG Max Azria’s Clementine orange ruffle trench.

Equestrian-inspired boots and Victorian lace up riding boots were fall must-haves last year, but do not chuck them into the back of your closet just yet. These English countryside-inspired trends make it easy to get extra mileage out of those scuffed leather beauties. Now that they are beat up and worn, passers-by will believe you are an avid foxhunter. Plus, fall and winter boots are on sale everywhere, and many styles are still in season. Aldo has various equestrian styles on sale for up to 70 percent off. Dolce Vita Equestrian boots in green and light brown are also still available at Urban Outfitters.

If riding boots are not your thing, I have good news. Rainy April is Wellington boot season. Get inspired by the muddy green English countryside, and keep your feet dry, too. Urban Outfitters’ online store has a great pair of chocolate Wellingtons for only $28.

I wear my rubber rain boots over tights with a light floral dress along with a chunky knit sweater to brighten up those dreary April days. Wearing floral and lace blouses under a military jacket with skinny jeans is another quick and casual way to try out these trends. I like to tuck dark-washed jeans into my riding boots and accessorize the look with an antique locket or painted porcelain jewelry.

Nicole Saylor can be reached at nicole.saylor@temple.edu.

Med school isn’t shrinking

When the sun rises over Philadelphia, a small section is blocked from its light by Temple’s new, 13-story medical school building, which faces North Broad Street near Ontario Street.

Some residents of the community, regardless of whether they live in the looming shadow of the new building, are up in arms over it.

Cynthia Fullenwellen, a member of the Zion Baptist Church on Broad Street north of the medical school, said she has friends who live near the hospital. Her organization, along with others in the community, has been in talks with Temple about the school for years.

Fullenwellen said she got involved in July 2002, but she hasn’t been impressed with how Temple handled community involvement in the project.

“Temple did not engage the community,” she said, citing that architects she knows through her involvement in the Partners for Sacred Places organization said the design of the building appeared to be deliberately closing out the surrounding community.

Assistant Vice President of University Communications Ray Betzner said Temple was in contact with the community from the project’s inception and that meetings were held regularly to keep interested citizens updated on the process.

But Fullenwellen said at one point, Temple’s meetings stopped.

Regardless of the he-said, she-said game the community and Temple are now playing, it must be difficult for a neighborhood to deal with a change as large as a 13-story building. But what’s being overlooked is that North Broad Street is already littered with university properties that look like skyscrapers compared to row homes. It’s the nature of Temple that has become the nature of North Philadelphia.

So why argue now? Why not fight down the medical school proposal back in its early stages? It isn’t like Temple is going to knock the building down, regardless of whether it darkens neighborhoods.

As community involvement and Temple lending a listening ear goes, let’s face it. More likely than not, none of us will ever know who essentially dropped the ball or where the lines of communications closed.
What we do know, however, is what some members of the community want.

“I think Temple needs to reach out more to the community,” Fullenwellen said. “[Temple should establish] a community panel and bring the community together for one meeting, but they don’t want to do that.”

An inquiry about the community involvement policy of the Department of Licenses and Inspections Zoning Board, which approves sites for new building for the city, went unanswered.

Regardless of community involvement or lack thereof involving the new medical school, one thing is clear: relations between Temple and its surrounding community aren’t going as smoothly as they could be.

If Temple intends to remain a staple in North Philadelphia and tout its culture involving urban life, as a city university, it should strive to involve the community surrounding it. Fullenwellen’s idea for a united panel among all members affected by Temple isn’t a bad one.

Morgan Zalot can be reached at morgan.zalot@temple.edu.

Eighth-place finish at NCAAs wraps up solid campaign

Once again, the fencing team ended its season on a high note.

The Owls placed eighth in the NCAA Championships last weekend in State College, Pa., as both junior epee Kristin Howell and junior foil Melissa Parker received All-American honorable mentions.

Because Temple doesn’t have a men’s fencing team, it finished 13th overall, as the scores for the men’s and women’s teams are combined.

Still, coach Nikki Franke was satisfied.

“Coach Baker and I are very pleased with how the team performed this year and how we did in these postseason tournaments,” Franke said. “First, we had a 22-7 season record. Next, we won the NIFWAs. Then, we had the maximum number of fencers qualify for the Regional Championships with nine making the finals.”

But it was juniors who the led the charge.

Both Howell and Parker placed 10th in the NCAAs in their respective competitions. Sophomore epee Grace Woo placed 15th, while freshman sabre Kamali Thompson finished 16th and sophomore sabre Audrey Barroso placed 18th.

The Owls, who entered the competition ranked No. 9 in the latest USFCA Coaches Poll, sent five fencers to the NCAAs, which is something Franke is quite proud of.

“We are very excited to have five out of a possible six fencers competing,” she said. “This ties a Temple record for the most NCAA qualifiers.”

That involved Parker and the other competitors going up against the best 23 fencers in each individual competition over a two-day span. The host Nittany Lions took home the crown, while Notre Dame finished second.

“It’s a tremendously strong tournament and two long days of competition against some of the strongest fencers in the country,” Franke said.

Howell, who became the first epee All-American in Temple history, finished 13-10. Parker, who is a two-time All-American, went 12-12. Woo went 9-14, Thompson 8-15, and Barroso 7-16, to round out the lineup.

The Owls’ roster features just three seniors in sabre Kristine Jones, foil Sabrina Shapiro, and epee Kaitlyn Uckert.

The young will team will return most of its players next year.

Joe Polinsky can be reached at joe.polinsky@temple.edu.

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