Crime Report for 4/29

 

April 21
1680 N. 10th St.
Window broken on a 2005 Chevy Cavalier with $10 in change, 50 CDs and gym bag taken between 4:30 p.m. on April 20 and 8:30 a.m. on April 21.

TECH Center
Student reported an unknown person removed her wallet from her book bag, containing credit card, Owl Card, keys and $60 when it was left unattended between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on April 18.

University Village, Sixth Floor
Student reported an unknown person removed her iPod Touch when it was left unattended between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on April 17.

Elmira Jeffries, First Floor
Student reported a male made threatening statements to him at 8 p.m..

1530 Fontain Street
Student reported receiving several harassing phone calls by an unknown person between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. April 21.

April 22
CEA, Third Floor
Student reported a male made threatening statements to him at 7 p.m. on April 21. Referred to UDC.

1511 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Employee reported an unknown person removed her bag containing cell phone, $40, credit cards and Owl Card left unattended between 12:45 p.m. and 12:55 p.m..

Student Center Food Court
Student took a milkshake and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

Student Center Food Court
Student took chicken fingers, valued at $7, and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

1115 Berks St.
Student reported an unknown person took his Bayberry mountain bike between 4 p.m. April 18 and 1 p.m. April 22.

Student Center Food Court
Student consumed french fries, valued at $1.49, and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

1340 Westmoreland St.
Window broken on a 1995 Dodge radio faceplate, iPod charger and CDs taken between 4 p.m. April 20 and 8 a.m. April 22.

Tyler Campus, Field Area
Student reported an unknown person took her Cannon digital camera when left unattended between 4:20 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. April 22.

April 23
Paley Library, First Floor
Student reported an unknown person removed an iPod that was left unattended between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. April 17.

Student Center Food Court
Student took food and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

1500 N. 15th St.
Window broken on a 2003 Mercury between 7 p.m. April 22 and 8 a.m. April 23. Nothing reported missing.

Student Center Food Court
Student took food and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

Student Center Food Court
Student took food and attempted to leave without making payment. Referred to UDC.

1400 Jefferson St.
Window broken on a 2003 Chevrolet between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. April 23. Nothing reported missing.

April 24
1702 Sydenham St.
Student reported an unknown person forced open the rear gate to her private residence and attempted to force open a rear window at 5:48 a.m. April 24. No entry gained, nothing reported missing.

TECH Center, Second Floor
Female student reported a male student put his arms around her and placed his head on her breast. Referred to UDC.

1400 Berks St.
Window broken on a 2004 Toyota with golf clubs taken by an unknown male at 9:28 a.m. April 24.

1415 W. Norris St.
Campus Police arrested a non-Temple affiliated male after he was found in possession of four baggies containing marijuana.

2040 N. Broad St.
Campus Police arrested a non-Temple affiliated male on an outstanding warrant.

April 25
1940 Residence Hall
Campus Police arrested a male student found to be in possession of a bag containing marijuana. Referred to UDC.

1300 Residence Hall
Campus Police transported an underage male student to Temple Hospital for treatment and observation of excessive consumption of alcohol. Referred to UDC.

Geasey Field
Student reported an unknown person removed an unattended wallet, containing Owl Card, credit card, guest card and $25 between 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. April 24.

Johnson Hall, Fourth Floor
Housekeeper reported being pushed by another housekeeper at 1:33 p.m. April 25.  PCC advised. Referred to Labor Relations and Housekeeping management.

Student Center
Campus Police arrested a non-Temple affiliated male on an outstanding warrant.

1501 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Campus Police arrested a non-Temple affiliated male for public intoxication.

Edberg-Olsen Field
Campus Police arrested two juvenile males after they were observed pushing a computer and monitor in a cart at 11:30 p.m. April 25.  Property identified as coming from Edberg-Olsen, where several rooms were found ransacked.

Rock Pavilion
Employee reported an unknown person removed a Dell laptop computer from Classroom A, located in the lower level, between 1 p.m. April 24 and 9 a.m. April 25. No force found, and the room was left unsecured.

1338 Rising Sun Ave.
Restaurant owner reported an unknown person took a Sony stereo and floor speakers between 8 p.m. April 20 and 7 a.m. April 21.

April 26
Hardwick Hall, Lobby
An underage student was transported to Temple Hospital for treatment and observation of excessive consumption of alcohol. Referred to UDC

1300 Residence Hall
An underage student was transported to Temple Hospital for treatment and observation of excessive consumption of alcohol. Referred to UDC

1300 Residence Hall
An underage student was transported to Temple Hospital by Fire Rescue for treatment and observation of excessive consumption of alcohol. Referred to UDC

Hardwick Hall, 11th Floor
An underage student was transported to Temple Hospital for treatment and observation of excessive consumption of alcohol. Referred to UDC

Tomlinson Theater
Student reported an unknown person removed her Nikon camera and two rechargeable batteries when left unattended in the rehearsal room between 11:15  p.m. April 25 and  8  a.m. April 26.

Gladfelter Hall, Lower Level
Student reported an unknown person removed her iPod and headphones when left unattended between 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. April 26. No forced entry found.

White Hall, Second Floor
Student was observed throwing bottles out his resident hall room window. Referred to UDC.

Rock Pavilion
Patient reported an unknown person removed $150 from a night gown in her room between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. April 26.

Ontario East Garage
Window broken on a 2002 Toyota with a GPS unit removed between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. April 26.

April 27
Peabody Hall, Lobby
Underage student attempted to enter the residence hall with a bottle of alcohol. Referred to UDC.

Sleep problems linked to migraines

In a study of approximately 90 children, Temple researchers found that children who suffer from migraines are more likely to suffer from a sleeping disorder than children who do not experience migraines.

“Clinically, children with migraines are more likely to take daily naps, disrupting their night time sleep,” said Dr. Martina Vandrame of Temple’s neurology department. “Sometimes they take a nap during the day to improve their headaches.”

All of the children within the study had sleep complaints, including snoring, trouble sleeping throughout the night and daytime sleepiness. Vandrame said these are the signs that parents should be aware of to see if their child suffers from a sleeping disorder.

According to U.S. News & World Report, 60 of the children studied experienced migraines, 11 suffered chronic daily headaches, six had tension headaches and 13 had non-specific headaches. Researchers used a polysomnogram to monitor the participants’ brain, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rhythm and breathing.

The study’s results showed that children with migraines are twice as likely to suffer from sleep apnea, a disorder that is caused by an obstruction of the upper airways, preventing a person from sleeping well. Upper airway resistance syndrome, a sleep disorder characterized by a resistance to breathing throughout sleep, was also found to be more common within children suffering from migraines.

The most important prevention from furthering a child’s suffering from migraines, researchers said, is for parents to be aware of their child’s sleep issues. Children are then typically sent to a neurologist, where multiple parameters are measured in order to study the child’s different sleep stages.

Dr. Vendrame said studying children over time would produce more effective results within the sleep study.

“Our next step will be to repeat the study in a sample of the general population,” Vendrame said. “It would be interesting to perform the study when the child has the headache.”

Children would need to be kept in the laboratory for five to six days, as researchers are unable to predict when the headaches will occur.

“This will also help to minimize the first night factor, meaning, children do not always sleep well in the first night of a new environment,” Vendrame said. “You can see how they sleep over multiple nights.”

Kylee Messner can be reached at kylee.messner@temple.edu.

Students to help build schools in India

This upcoming summer, from May 24 to June 27, a team of 16 architecture and design students from Temple will team up with students and professors from six other universities and travel to Mumbai, India, to design and build portable schools for children in some of the worst areas of the city.

“The whole thing is quite different because the methodology behind the project involves us working with the community and using resources and tools readily available to the people,” said professor Scott Shall, who will be heading the team of Temple students. “We try to add value to things that normally would be of no value.”

Shall, who joined the Temple faculty in August, said the main focus of the trip is not only to develop “a language” that will enable the students to design more than just a school, but also to leave the local people with a plan and techniques to continue building other centers.

“Although we come from all different backgrounds, we all came to the conclusion that day that this was going to be a life changing experience,” said Sarah Salem, a junior architecture major.

The students will be using local resources, such as stones and dirt, to build a school center with items.

“I’m most excited about seeing how exactly we are going to be working with students from other schools and also organizations and people over in India,” senior architecture major Nick Musser said. “We were all taught how to approach our field differently, and no one can really expect what is going to happen while we’re overseas.”

Musser, like many other students going to India, will be traveling in the country after June 27 to learn more about the culture.
In order to get experience working with each other, the students from Shall’s class volunteered at Treehouse Books on 15th Street and Susquehanna Avenue on April 19, renovating the back of the lot.

“The goal is to create garden space that can potentially collect its own rainwater and to also create a sitting area to activate what once was just a pile of dirt and rocks,” senior architecture major Alex Miller said. “It is good practice in working together because we had to all design the garden collaboratively.”

The group will also be joined by Mobile Creches, an organization in India that is responsible for the development of 76 centers in India similar to the one being constructed by the group.

Students from D.Y. Patel School of Architecture in New Mumbai will also be joining the group to provide an insider prospective to the community and to make sure that the work completed over the summer carries on with Mobile Creches, Shall said.

All of the students from Temple traveling to India are taking two three-credit architecture courses: Creating Humanitarian Art and Architecture and Experimental Construction.  Although both courses are listed under architecture, they are open to all majors.

“Six different majors are traveling with the team and that’s great,” Shall said. “Every person from every major will help to give us a variety of perspectives.”

“Being willing to change and being open-minded to other ideas and people is what is going to propel this group,” Salem said. “We are all excited to go to India and we’re all ready to do something productive through the university. This project is going to grow roots of its own and spread.”

Abigail Shepherd can be reached at abigail.shepherd@temple.edu.

Office of International Affairs created

Adelaide Ferguson will become associate vice president of the new Office of International Affairs on July 1, 2008.

The new office will bring together the Office of International Programs, which supervises study-abroad programs and international campuses, and the Office of International Services, which provides services for international students. It will be responsible for all international activities except for international admission.

The new office is designed to expand Temple’s global engagement and to oversee the university’s extensive and burgeoning international programs.

Currently, Temple provides programs that allow students to study in more than 10 countries around the globe. Last year, the university spent close to $4 million for the operation of its campuses in Rome and Japan.

“Temple offers a wide array of study-abroad programs, but students and faculty do not always know about them,” said Fabienne Darling-Wolf, an assistant professor in the journalism department who also teaches at Temple University Japan. “For instance, in the summer program I teach, I often have as many students from other universities as Temple students. That’s a shame.”

Students also said they do not know much about the university’s international programs.

“[Temple should] have more information available and present more so people have more knowledge about the programs,” said Miesha Cooper, a freshman legal studies major.

Students face other problems, including curricula and financial constraints.

“If I want to study abroad, the courses I want to take would not be available there,” junior economics major Ian Pastura said. “Having to save up for the trip is another problem.”

Indeed, not only Temple students here in Philadelphia think money can be a problem.

“One of the main obstacles to Japanese students studying at Main Campus is money,” said Matt Wilson, senior associate dean and general counsel of TUJ. “While in Tokyo, students can save money by working and commuting from home. In Philadelphia, this is not possible.”

Ferguson’s first priority will be to develop plans for new initiatives by working closely with deans, faculty, administrators and international partners. She said that Temple has a strong base on which to build to improve the university’s internationalization and expanding its global reach, according to the release.

Yet, while the lack of student participation hinders Temple’s global expansion, faculty’s sporadic and scarce involvement also becomes a barrier.

“With the tenure requirements becoming increasingly challenging and more and more faculty members being in two-career households, leaving Main Campus for a couple years has become more difficult for a larger portion of the faculty population,” Darling-Wolf said. “People are worried about getting their research done, and their spouse may not be able to leave their job.”

Although both Darling-Wolf and Wilson agreed the administration provides enough support for them, they said they think the university lacks exchanges between Main Campus and Temple’s international campuses.

“Going forward, I hope that there will be even more opportunities for faculty exchanges,” Wilson said.

Esther Hiotang Castillo can be reached at hiotong.castillo@temple.edu.

Professor challenges new IH requirements

The General Education Executive Committee announced last spring that the intellectual heritage program would be revamped for the first time in more than 25 years.

The instructions from the GEEC mandated that the new curriculum be constructed around themes, as opposed to chronology, consist of fewer required texts and be more diverse.

IH will complete the transition this fall semester to the new program, now called Mosaic.

At the end of last spring, IH director Istvan Varkonyi appointed eight faculty members and one undergraduate student to formulate a proposal within a teaching circle throughout the summer. The members devoted their summer months to reading, writing, researching and meeting with each other in order to formulate a comprehensive curriculum for Mosaic.

Various suggestions were made regarding the texts, pedagogy and overall structure of the program. At the end of the summer, the members submitted a proposal of all their suggestions to Varkonyi. He then conducted five departmental meetings during the fall semester to get feedback from other faculty members. Over winter break, Varkonyi formatted a proposal to GEEC, which was approved in February.

Dan Touey, an adjunct IH professor, called the transition to the new program a sham. He said that the final proposal drew upon the ideas of only a few faculty members, as opposed to the collective.

Touey did not participate in the department meetings, but said he never thought GEEC would approve the course. After it was approved, however, Touey began a discussion via the IH faculty listserv in which he expressed his concerns about Mosaic.
“I was shocked when the course was approved,” Touey said. “I thought the course needed a lot more work, and I thought the department would be told so. I don’t think it’s worthy of the students.”

“It’s a really long process which has only begun,” said Grant Ward, associate director of the IH department. “We recognize that this is only a starting point.”

Mosaic will cover eight units throughout the two-semester program. Each unit requires one text and a supplemental text to be chosen by the professor from a set list.

Touey said he thinks the course is not teachable because of the lack of unity and relation between the texts, as well as the overall difficulty level of the texts. Most of the texts are too advanced for a lower level undergraduate course, Touey said.

“Some of them would only be proper for an advanced undergraduate course,” Touey said. “I think they’re out of place in a general education course.”

“It’s very exciting, but it’s also very scary,” said Gary Pratt, associate director of the IH department. “Some of these books I haven’t read. You can look at it as overwhelming or you can look at it as an opportunity.”

“It seems like they have completely gotten rid of the units which were important to the education of the students,” junior architecture major Samantha Perdick said. “What happened to the aesthetics unit? Why aren’t students required to read the Koran any more? I don’t really understand the importance of some of these texts in relation to the overall goal of Mosaic.”

Touey continued to post his concerns on the listserv along with a number of other faculty members. Varkonyi did not respond to the e-mails on the listserv or those sent to him personally. He then sent an e-mail instructing faculty to “not clog the list with messages” to which Touey issued a rebuttal.

“I regard this as a blatant attempt to silence criticism of the new Mosaic course. It is also a violation of the commitment that we have to free speech at this university,” Touey said. “Whenever any member of the university community is silenced, be it student or teacher, that is a threat to the integrity of the university itself.”

“The university has approved this curriculum,” Varkonyi said. “We have to go forward.”

“I’m really disheartened to hear that faculty members are being silenced,” sophomore psychology major Cana Sarnes said. “After all, they know the students best. The course has been approved, but not by the people teaching it.”

Touey said he did not think it was right that faculty members with serious concerns were being treated with disdain.

“It’s utterly ridiculous in an academic setting,” Touey said. “To shut down a serious conversation is absurd. It’s unprecedented that one colleague would try to silence another.”

Shortly thereafter, Touey and one other unnamed faculty were removed from the listserv without notification. Varkonyi then informed Touey that he had violated Temple’s Rule of Conduct C.3 Disruptive and/or Disorderly Conduct section A, which includes, “Engaging in any unruly, erratic or undisciplined behavior that does/may disrupt the workplace.” Varkonyi refused to comment on the violation of the Rule of Conduct.

The IH department consists of non-tenure track faculty who hold one-year contracts, which are renewed on an annual basis, as well as adjuncts. Many of these faculty members have remained silent on these issues due to job security precautions.

“This creates a situation in which if there is reason to criticize what’s going on, there is more of a motivation to stay silent because you don’t have tenure and the director has hiring power,” Touey said.

“I can’t teach the course the way it’s set up,” Touey said. “I wish I could. I love teaching at Temple. I’ve never enjoyed teaching anywhere more. Ideally, I’d like to teach Mosaic, but I don’t have faith in the course.”

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

E-mail scam hits TUmail

An e-mail scam hit Temple April 23, when a hacker gained access to a TUmail account and sent mass e-mails requesting that users reply with their username, password and date of birth.

“You should never give out your personal information in an e-mail,” said chief information security officer Ken Ihrer. “Temple University will never ask anyone for their password. Your password is private. I don’t need to know it, nobody needs to know it. That’s a big red flag.”

The hacker gained access to a TUmail account when a user somehow contracted malicious software. Ihrer said the hacker installed a “back door” into the computer, which allowed user credentials to be obtained.

With the TUmail account, the hacker set up an e-mail address that appeared to be legitimate and sent e-mails across the network warning users that if they did not verify accounts by sending the information, their e-mail addresses would be permanently shut down.

Ihrer and Sheri Stahler, the associate vice president of Computer Services, estimated that hundreds of e-mails were sent and that more than 75 users responded with their user names, passwords and dates of birth.

“We have gone through the process of locking all of those accounts because now the perpetrator has their credentials, and we are requiring them to reset their passwords,” Ihrer said.

According to an April 18 post from The Chronicle of Higher Education, at least 86 college campuses were recemt;y hit by a similar phishing scam.

When this scam hit, Ihrer said Temple was in the process of setting up a new technology security initiative called TUsecure.
TUsecure will require passwords to be eight to 15 characters in length and include at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number. Special characters will also be an option.

“In addition, there are also security questions that you are going to be mandated,” Stahler said. “So that if you do forget your password you will be asked to authenticate with those security questions, so that’s an additional measure.”

TUsecure will also ask for a user name and password for most applications.

Ihrer said they planned to unveil the new security system on June 2, but in light of the recent scam, they want to put it into effect as soon as possible.

When it goes into effect, an e-mail will be sent out requesting that everyone change their passwords. In order to continue to have access to many programs on the Temple network, users’ passwords must be changed to comply with TUsecure.

Ihrer said that attempts to hack into the Temple network occur daily, but they are seldom successful.

“In the three to four years I’ve been with Temple, I’ve only had a couple,” he said.

The e-mail scam is a federal criminal offense, Ihrer said, and the university has filed a police report.

“The problem is it did come from a West African island, and reality is probably nothing will happen. It’s very hard when you have international issues involved,” Ihrer said. “Our ultimate goal is to shut it down and keep it from happening again.”

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

Local nonprofit gets grant for housing construction and rehabilitation projects

The signs of economic downturn are difficult to ignore in Allegheny West, a North Philadelphia neighborhood plagued by abandoned properties and blight. The aging infrastructure of the residential area limits the opportunities for residents to live in reliable and affordable housing.

The Allegheny West Foundation, a nonprofit community development corporation, is one of 13 local sponsors that will receive funding from the $5.3 million in affordable housing grants for the construction or rehabilitation of 645 units of affordable housing across the city.

The grants come from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, a congressionally chartered wholesale bank, which partners private capital with public sponsorship to provide community-building funds for neighborhood banks.

FHLB allotted $5.26 million in grants to its Affordable Housing Program, along with one $75,000 Homeownership Rehabilitation Program grant.

The foundation was awarded $500,000 in total AHP grants to fund its Stable Homes for Stable Families project. Ten new homes will be built on 22 vacant and blighted lots as part of the foundation’s Forgotten Blocks redevelopment plan designated to a six-block neighborhood.

The six blocks targeted are in close proximity to the Deliverance Evangelistic Church, located at 2001 W. Lehigh Ave.

“The reason we call the plan ‘forgotten blocks’ is because in this area, there were some promises made when the church was developed that were not kept, like rehabbing houses,” said Matthew Walker, director of development for the foundation. “But after the church was done, people forgot about doing the work. So we’ve gone in there and acquired all the vacant properties and rehabbed them and made them available to sell for first-time homebuyers.”

Once completed, the overall plan will transform 53 vacant sites into housing units available for home ownership to low and moderate income families.

Forgotten blocks include the 2700 and 2800 blocks of North Garnet, Opal, 19th, 20th and Gratz streets, and the 1900 block of both West Somerset Street and Lehigh Avenue.

The AHP grant will fund the fifth phase of the Stable Homes for Stable Families project that is scheduled to be built early next year.
Increasing the supply of affordable housing in Allegheny West through the acquisition and redevelopment of properties is feasible with subsidy support from various community investment assistance agencies.

The foundation requests subsidies to finance the difference in rehabilitation costs and the value of a renovated home. Subsidies average at $125,000 for constructing new units, while rehabbed properties are priced at $65,000 to $75,000.

Walker said the market value and availability of funding hinder the constant development of new homes.

“There’s always a supply of vacant homes and people looking to buy their own house. The issue is the value of our homes in the area doesn’t support us to do this without subsidy, so we have to look at the timing of when the subsidies are available,” he said.

In response to the deindustrialization, many homes and businesses continue to decline since the loss of the neighborhood’s manufacturing base in the late 1960s.

“The lack of jobs in communities leads to all the other ills in the community. If you don’t have any money you can’t keep your house up, if you can’t keep your house up, you lose it. If there’s a vacant house on the block then that blight can spread and then it attracts crime and crime means more disinvestment,” Walker said.

The project will assist the elderly and low-income individuals seeking to purchase their first home.

“When we develop housing, whoever gives us a subsidy generally has income guidelines for individuals,” Walker said.

AHP funds support projects that offer affordable housing to individuals and families whose incomes are defined as low, 51 to 80 percent of area median or very low, 50 percent and below of area median.

Walker said potential homebuyers have to qualify for a mortgage.

“They have to have good credit and some assets in the bank. It’s really an opportunity for a first-time homebuyer with good credit and a job history,” he said.

As part of its effort to encourage neighborhood maintenance, the foundation provides housing and budget counseling to ensure families are ready to purchase a home. Potential buyers are educated about the responsibilities of being a homeowner.

To deter further abandonment of communities surrounding Allegheny West, the foundation seeks to develop more residential and commercial properties to attract Temple students and employees.

“There are a whole lot of quality of life issues that we’re working to address. It’s hard because sometimes we believe that once a young student graduates, they have so many choices, why would they choose North Philly?” Walker said.

The organization is also expanding economic development along the commercial corridor on 22nd Street, home to a variety of active businesses.

“We are looking at ways to meet demand right in the neighborhood to attract different services and products that really aren’t offered here,” he said.

Walker said a mixed income community will foster greater revitalization than one populated by low income individuals.

“Our demographics don’t show that a lot of people have a college education, but we think that we have a great neighborhood with good amenities,” he said.

Brittany Diggs can be reached at bdiggs@temple.edu.

Photo courtesy of Ron Davis.

Housing removes listings

The Office of University Housing and Residential Life has changed their policy and removed all but five listings from their off-campus living directory, and apartment complexes that didn’t make the cut are left to wonder why.

Off-campus living is mandatory for juniors and seniors and optional for freshman and sophomores. Prior to February, the Office of Off-Campus Living made it their job to inspect properties throughout the city. If residences met university criteria, they were posted on the housing Web site to assist students in their search for a space. Michael Scales, director of university housing and residential life, said the focus for the Web site has changed.

“The new policy went into effect Feb. 8, 2008, and is now focused on education for those students preparing to make alternative living arrangements,” he said.

The Web site now lists five apartment complexes – Kardon-Atlantic Terminal, University Village, Oxford Village, Sydenham Commons and The Edge – and a range of educational information, from safety tips to the Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Act.

Dennis Ruffing, director of community operations for York North Apartments, is one leasing operator affected by the new policy. Located at 1320 Somerville Ave., York North apartments sit near La Salle University, but Temple students take advantage of their housing, as well.

“I noticed the phones weren’t ringing as much as they were this time last year,” Ruffing said. “I really think our decline in business has to do with being removed from the Temple University off-campus housing list.

“[York North] put a significant amount of funds into accommodating Temple students, he said. “We have a shuttle that runs four times a day, and our target marketing demographic is college students, primarily Temple and La Salle students.”

When Scales was told how apartments like York North were upset with the new policy, he said, “The listing was a service, not a right. And if you are a good property manager, you should be able to get business through a different means.”

Beyond the decline in business, Ruffing said he was concerned about how the change would affect students.
“This is not about us,” he said. “I am concerned as to whether this was the best decision for the students, since they deserve to know their options.”

“I had no idea there was an Off-Campus Housing Office,” freshman environmental engineering major Leigh Cignavitch said. “[I] found a house for next year on Carlisle Street through Craigslist.”

Junior business major Sean Hushon said he knew about the office but was unaware of the recent policy shift.

“That’s ridiculous,” Hushon said. “Some of these apartments around here are pretty overpriced, and they used to offer student discounts for houses all over through the Temple office.”

Scales said he thought the decision to change the policy made was in part by the Campus Safety Services
“The buildings still listed all have similar arrangements to on-campus residence halls in terms of security [and] maintenance and are within walking distance of campus,” Scales said.

“I understand how the listings being close to campus make sense, and it should be a legit place if the university lists it,” sophomore biology major Tom Seckinger said. “But at the same time, I think students should have more options and decide themselves.”
Ruffing said he has tried to get back on the ff-campus housing list, but has not seen any changes yet.

“It’s just a matter of finding the right person to talk to,” he said.

Mary Hagenbach can be reached at mary.hagenbach@temple.edu. 

TSG election results lead to run-off

Results from last week’s election have forced Temple Student Government to hold run-off elections on April 30 and May 1.
Although Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. won with 897 votes, they did not have enough of a majority for an outright victory.

The new elections code states that the wining slate must receive 50 percent of the votes plus one additional vote to win. Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. received almost 43 percent of the votes. If the slate does not receive this majority, the slate with the second most votes has the right to have a run-off election.

“We’re very excited about the run-off elections. According to the Elections Code, Temple Reloaded had every right to ask for a run-off election,” said Nadine Mompremier, presidential candidate for Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. “We look forward to campaigning again and getting the majority vote.”

Temple Reloaded received the second-highest amount of votes. Their total vote count was 588, and they have decided to have a run-off election. Owl Opportunity was a close third with 558 votes. Although Owl Opportunity cannot compete in the run off election, they have announced their endorsement of Temple Reloaded.

“[Temple Reloaded has] run a campaign with integrity, within the guidelines of the election rules, and we feel that they will be excellent advocates for the ambitions of the student body,” said Shiv Sethi, former vice presidential candidate of external affairs for Owl Opportunity.

Temple Reloaded members said they were grateful to Owl Opportunity for their plans to help Temple Reloaded with the campaign for the run-off election.

“Our alliance embodies our ability to work with others,” said Jeff Dempsey, presidential candidate from Temple Reloaded.

Temple Reloaded and Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. have one more week to campaign before the election on April 30 and May 1. Both groups plan on keeping similar strategies in their campaign.

“We are going to continue reaching out and speaking with the student body. Also, we are going to continue speaking to student organizations. Yet, this time, probably more than before we have to stress the importance of voting,” Dempsey said.

Only 2,098 votes were cast for the general election on April 22 and 23. There were 32 write-in votes and 23 blank votes.

Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. intends on talking to more people and explaining its slate to the student body. During the last campaign, it also contacted members of student organizations, encouraging them to vote for Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. It plans to keep the same strategies but are a little concerned about how involved students will be in the last week of classes.

“The decision for Temple Reloaded to want to have a run off is completely fair according to the elections code, but the timing in regards to the student body and taking finals is something that may have needed to be taken into consideration,” said Nexus Cook, vice presidential candidate of external affairs from Owl V.O.I.C.E.S.

The candidates for Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. are Mompremier, Cook and Farzad Firoz, vice president of services.

If elected, their platform calls for focusing on communication and strengthening TSG, athletics and student organizations. They claim to be the most experienced slate, with their slogan “Change through experience.”

Dempsey leads Temple Reloaded with his fellow slate members Steve Brooks, candidate for vice president of external affairs, and Michael Thom, candidate for vice president of services. Temple Reloaded said they plan on building a community with diversity, establishing a stronger Temple identity, enhancing communication with the student body, advancing services and establishing their Gaining Involvement for Temple Students initiative.

Rebecca Hale can be reached at rebecca.hale@temple.edu

Sports Rewind for 4/29

Women’s Basketball
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday that Temple coach Dawn Staley is “high on the search list” for the vacancy at South Carolina after Susan Walvius resigned earlier this month.

Staley signed a six-year contract extension with Temple last year.

Temple Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw told the Inquirer, “Dawn and I have an agreement not to talk about those situations when they come up.”

Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team inked their first two recruits for next season as T.J. DiLeo of Cinnaminson High in New Jersey and Andrew “Scootie” Randall of Communications Tech signed National Letters of Intent Friday.

DiLeo, a 6-2 senior guard averaged 23.9 points and six rebounds per game, set the school record for points in a game, season (692), three-pointers in a game and three-pointers in a season. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Courier Post South Jersey Player of the Year is the son of Philadelphia 76ers Senior Vice President Tony DiLeo.

Randall, a 6-6 forward, averaged 21.2 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks as a senior. He earned 2008 PIAA State Player of the Year honors and the Markward Award, while being one of only 12 players named to the all-Public league in three seasons. He helped lead Communications Tech to a Public League title with a 77-73 double overtime win over Frankford at the Liacouras Center on Feb. 24.

Breakfast of Champions
The sixth annual Breakfast of Champions was held last Wednesday to honor Temple’s best athletes both on-and-off the field.

More than 200 student-athletes were recognized for academic and athletic accomplishments, while junior Paul Amess of the men’s golf team and sophomore Kristin Howell of the women’s fencing team earned the top male and female Student-Athletes of the Year awards.

Amess, the team’s captain, owns the team’s lowest stroke average (73.9 strokes per game) and shot the sixth-lowest individual score (67) in program history. He is currently ranked in the top 10 in the conference.

Howell, the first epee all-American in Temple history, finished second in the Junior Olympics while compiling a 27-10 overall record and helping the fencing team finish No. 8 in the nation at 24-6.

Besides Amess and Howell, 101 student athletes were named to Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw’s Honor Roll while 40 were named to the President’s Honor Roll.

Temple announced that Amess, Candice Borrows (women’s basketball), Matthew Chevrollier (men’s soccer), Noelle McKenzie (women’s cross country/track), Krystle Metzler (women’s softball), Anne Marie Mikolajewski (women’s crew), Jackie Morrison (volleyball), J.T. Noone (men’s soccer), Anastasiia Rukayyshnykoya (women’s tennis) and Charise Young (field hockey) would make up its Trustee Ten in terms of grade-point average.

- Joe Polinsky

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