Saltry fills Dempsey’s shoes

TSG Senate Pro Tempore Colin Saltry stepped up at the end of last semester to take over former Senate President Jeff Dempsey’s place after his abrupt resignation. But, the new leader is no stranger to controversy.

At the end of the Fall 2009 semester, senior political science major Jeff Dempsey stepped down as Senate president, leaving Senate Pro Tempore Colin Saltry with big shoes to fill for the legislative branch of Temple Student Government.

TSG President Kylie Patterson said she looks forward to working with Saltry in his new capacity as Senate president.

“His different experiences really give him insight into TSG on a constitutional level,” she said. “I think [the Student Life Committee] has given him a perspective on administration and student life issues.”

Saltry participated in community service, speech and debate teams and eventually became president of his graduating class while attending Scranton High School.

His extracurricular involvement carried over to his college career at Temple, where he began in Fall 2008. As senate clerk, he instituted an organized system to keep track of the dialogue at each meeting. While serving as chairman of the Student Life Committee, Saltry supported a variety of bills, including the Green Fee and the Condemnation of Parliamentarian Geert Wilder’s Main Campus visit, and he co-authored the agreement for the Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, Hillel and Temple Students for Israel to meet each semester.

Saltry was also active in the Temple Towers housing investigation after a March 2009 incident in which students were notified about the possibility of having as many as eight persons in a unit. The ongoing investigation is expected to be finished and reported next month.

“When anybody has a concern, I try to help out and do my best,” Saltry said.

Saltry’s high school friend and classmate Joey Daniels described him as “official.”

“He had everything organized and lined up,” Daniels said, adding that Saltry has a knack for charming people through his humor and singing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs.

This side of Saltry is further highlighted by an incident that landed both Saltry and Daniels, the class vice president, in a bit of trouble at their high school during the April 2008 presidential primaries: The pair skipped classes and left school grounds to attend an Obama campaign event the day before the Pennsylvania primary election. They spoke with Obama, then a senator for Illinois, who wrote them excuse notes.

“I was like, ‘Come on, it’s a presidential nominee. Let’s go.’” Daniels said. “You need to twist [Saltry’s] arm a little bit to break a rule, but he broke them.”

Despite the absence notes written by the future president, the two truants were reprimanded with a one-day suspension for sneaking off. Later, they became legends in their town after MSNBC and the Washington Post both publicized their story of skipping school to meet the presidential nominee.
But the suspension almost cost Saltry his class president title.

“I was put on ‘double secret probation,’ but I got to stay on as president,” Saltry said. “We actually got asked to be on The Tonight Show the day that article came out, [but] my dad convinced me it would have been a bad idea. I should have ignored him. It would have been awesome.”

When Saltry isn’t working hard for TSG, he said he enjoys having a few laughs with friends.

“I may look like I’m 20 years old,” Saltry said. “But I’m actually a 45-year-old man on the inside.”

Joshua Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.

TSG Senate president steps down

At yesterday’s Senate meeting, Senate President Jeff Dempsey announced his resignation.

Last night’s TSG Senate meeting was not only the final meeting of the semester, but also the final meeting for Jeff Dempsey as senate president.

“In June 2006 I moved to Philadelphia, leaving behind friends and family,” Dempsey began his resignation speech.

He then described his first semester at Temple as “one of depression and loneliness,” but said during the following semester, a peer asked him about starting a student organization for students with disabilities.

“Little did I know, that in that moment I began a journey that took me from a student organization to one of the most powerful positions within Temple Student Government, a position that allowed me to speak for the student body,” he said. “Ladies and Gentleman, that journey will come to an end on Dec. 19.”

For the duration of his speech, every individual in attendance at the meeting had their eyes and ears focused on Dempsey’s every word. A few students in the back, who were dozing during the Senate’s debate over a resolution to support Temple University Hospital’s nurses union, awoke and listened intently to Dempsey recount his experience with TSG and encourage the rest of the Senate to continue its hard work and “not be afraid to put yourself on the line, or to mess up or to be criticized.”

“I need not justify myself by giving you a list of accomplishments, or reiterating lessons you should have learned,” Dempsey said. “What I will say is that for better or worse, I led in the way that I wanted to, and that was true to myself.”

Dempsey gave advice to the executive board he said “treats the [Senate] with the sincerity that it deserves.”

“You should say what needs to be said, even if it’s not what wants to be heard,” Dempsey said. “You should lead this student government to bring change, to hold people accountable, to create standards and to achieve greatness.”

After the Senate meeting, Dempsey said successful people get to look back on things they built and see they’ve done a nice job. He considers himself to be fortunate enough to be able to do this with the Senate.

The part of the meeting where senators debated over whether or not to pass S09-5 — the resolution supporting Temple University Hospital Nurses and Allied Professionals and their potential strike against the hospital officials for not fixing the 6 to 8 patients per nurse ratio, and the disparagement clause they say is a gag clause — is one example of work on which Dempsey reflected.

Senators debated passionately about whether or not to support the bill, some saying that the nurses’ treatment is unfair and warrants support, while others requested more information and time to research the issue before voting. Ultimately, the senate voted with a majority of 16 to table the bill and give senators time to research the issue.

Seeing the Senate debate with fervor, Dempsey said, makes him proud to have been a part of TSG and the Senate.

“I hope they actually research [this issue],” he said. “I’m glad they’re strong, and that everyone has a mind of their own.”

Senators expressed appreciation for having Dempsey as a friend and colleague, and said they will miss working with him.

“I’m sad to see him go, he’s done a lot of hard work, and I want to see what Sen. [Colin] Saltry has to say and [where he’ll take the Senate],” said Monica Rindfleisch, a senator and junior math education major.

Saltry, a sophomore economics major and Senate chair for the Student Life Committee, as Senate pro tempore, will be filling in Dempsey’s shoes as Senate president next semester.

“I’m sad to see him go. Hopefully I can do as good of a job as he did,” Saltry said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Dempsey said he wanted to make sure everyone respected and recognized Saltry and his abilities as a leader.

“Colin Saltry is not just a friend, or a colleague, but someone that I, in many ways, look up to,” he said. “Your only concern should be that you will not have enough time to learn from him the way that I have and continue to.”

Joshua Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.

Student leaders meet for accord

In a summit organized by TSG, leaders of clashing groups came together for peace.

The student leaders who attended Temple Student Government’s dinner Nov. 19 recently reflected on the dinner experience and the new resolution drafted by Student-Senator and Chairman of the Student Life Committee Colin Saltry and Senate President Jeff Dempsey.

The dinner, hosted in the Diamond Club’s Rhoades Room in the lower level of Mitten Hall, was proposed by TSG to open dialogue about what they call a trend of hate speakers being brought to Main Campus. The leaders in attendance came from student organizations All Sides, Hillel at Temple, Muslim Student Association, Temple Students for Israel and Students for Justice in Palestine.

“Prior to the event, I was a little nervous as I was not sure what exactly the dinner was going to be about,” said Gabe Toran, president of TSI. “I had an idea from my prior meeting with Jeff [Dempsey] that it would be about the speakers some of the groups have been bringing in, but I was not exactly positive it would be only focused on that.”

Gamal-Eldin, president of MSA, said she was happy the meeting happened.

“I thought the meeting itself was overdue and that it was interesting that we needed someone like TSG to step in,” she said. “But sometimes you need someone in between to mediate and be the neutral organization.”

Husam Qasem, president of SJP, said he thought the dinner would go one of two ways.

“Either everyone is going to be throwing bread at each other, or it was going to be civil like it was,” Qasem said.

At the dinner, the student leaders struck a lively conversation about recent Main Campus speakers who varied in their controversial beliefs about Islamic and Jewish culture. The conversation was even-toned, and although leaders on both sides of the fence weren’t ready to sign the original agreement, everyone worked together to come up with alternative resolutions.

“I think the end result of having everyone come together at least once a semester is a valid [balance] we’re looking for,” Matan Silberstein, president of Temple Hillel, said.

Everyone being able to sit down at a dinner table together and work toward keeping the campus atmosphere peaceful was important to Dempsey and Saltry, they said.

“I think it was a new day for TSG and showed that student government, and especially the Senate, is able to take concerns of students and try to initiate change,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey recalled a moment as he was exiting the Diamond Club: The student organization leaders from both sides were standing in a circle, laughing and talking. Dempsey said he flashed back to the end of last semester, when the Gaza Strip was under attack.

“There were protests, picket signs and people yelling at each other,” Dempsey said. “Looking back on it now, I think [the dinner] was a step in the right direction.”

The new resolution states the student organization leaders, upon signing it, agree to meet every semester to work toward promoting an open atmosphere on Temple’s campus. It’s non-binding and not limited to just the groups that attended the meeting.

“Coming out of [the dinner] with an agreement that says we’ll meet again was a really great thing,” Bryan Mann, president of All Sides, said.

Qasem said he was generally pleased with the new resolution.

The new resolution “humanizes each side,” he said.

“There’s really nothing you can lose from going to it, but I don’t know how much you’re going to gain from it as well,” Qasem added, stressing that friends can disagree and still be friends.

As of now, all organizations leaders in attendance at the dinner plan on signing the agreement.

Joshua Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.

TSG discusses big plans for the semester

Temple Student Government held its first State of the Campus address for this semester Monday, Jan. 26.

Despite the brevity of the meeting, TSG President Nadine Mompremier announced many upcoming events student government plans to hold.

The main event is “Just Cause” month, which is dedicated to philanthropy and service.

“It’s a time to show what students care about,” Mompremier said.

Mompremier and Vice President of External Affairs Nexus Cook asked the audience what people they would like to see speak at Temple. The audience suggested former president Bill Clinton, Oprah, various U.S. representatives and several music and film stars. They also expressed interest in hearing from representatives of Project H.O.M.E., an organization that blahblahblah and Back on my Feet, an organization which blah blah blah.

Mompremier also announced Vice President of Services Farzad Firoz’s plan to have a shuttle service to South Philadelphia to help students with their grocery shopping. The shuttle service would run twice-a-month on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings and take students to grocery stores or department stores near Columbus Boulevard, like Walmart and Target.

Cook announced her progress regarding town meetings with students and community members. She told the assembly that the meetings would “open dialogue between groups” and help figure out ways to live together. Cook started this initiative after the issues with Yorktown arose.

Town hall meetings will have representatives from the community as well as students to help address all the issues the two groups face. Cook wants to bring community leaders and council members to the meetings so both sides can ask questions and come up with strategies. Cook said the first of three she plans to hold this semester should be sometime in February.

TSG Senate President Jeff Dempsey ended the meeting with encouragements for all students to attend the Senate meeting on the first and third Mondays of each month.

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

TSG vetoes bill supporting TAUP

Temple Student Government Senate failed to override the veto against the resolution declaring TSG’s support of the Temple Association of University Professionals and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at its final Senate meeting for the semester.

The Senate needed two-thirds of the senators’ votes to override the veto. The final vote in favor of overriding the veto was 14 in favor, two against and seven abstentions.

The Senate needed one more vote to achieve an override. Therefore, the bill was declared null and void.

“We keep talking about how this is like a government,” said Senate President Jeff Dempsey. “Sometimes you lose. Sometimes your vote doesn’t stretch far enough.”

The resolution was originally passed Nov. 17 with only one vote for abstention and no votes against. It declared the student government’s support for TAUP and AFSCME in the current contract negotiations.
The resolution stated TSG was not only an ally, but a subscriber to the groups’ principles.

Dempsey presented the bill as a sponsor of the Student Labor Action Project, which wrote the resolution.

Nadine Mompremier, student body president, vetoed the legislation later in the week. She cited procedural issues in the passage of the bill. She also noted senators did not discuss the resolution with their constituents.

“Your job is to represent the people in your school,” Mompremier said.

Mompremier said she did not think the senators had adequate time to discuss the bill, which was sent out two hours before the meeting, with their constituents. The senators heard the union positions at the meeting, but there were not representatives from Temple to rebut the union’s assertions.

Representatives from both unions and Sharon Boyle from Temple’s human resources department attended the latest meeting. Both gave their sides of the arguments during the call to audience portion of the meeting.

“Today you had a fair chance to hear from both sides,” Mompremier said. “I will respect any decision the Senate makes as long as they do the research.”

The senators posed questions to the union representatives and Boyle. They paid special attention to the union’s request to mandate that all Temple professionals pay a fee to the union.

Only members of the union pay a fee, although all faculty members are represented and receive benefits from the union representation.

The senators also asked about the differences between merit pay and pay for performance. Pay for performance is the new system Temple proposed to replace merit pay. Boyle said the criteria are promotion and tenure. The new system will also use peer review when discussing raises.

TAUP representatives said the system of pay for performance has not been adequately explained.

“They are asking us to agree to something that isn’t on the table and will be made afterwards,” said TAUP President Art Hochner.

Many senators said although they supported the unions and teachers, they did not support all their proposals.

The resolution stated TSG unequivocally supported all of the unions’ ideals and proposals. Since the bill was passed previously, it could not be amended. Any amendments would undermine the override.

“Doubt is a necessary evil. We can never rid ourselves of doubt,” Dempsey said. “We will always look back and try to see the outcomes had we acted differently.”

Other senators said their peers should vote based on the current facts and not be focused on the problems that may occur afterwards.

“I support the workers who keep this university going. My support is not any disrespect for the university,” said Dusha Holmes, senator for the School of Communications and Theater. “This is my way to make sure the right thing gets done.”

The Senate needed 14.6 votes for the resolution to pass. Only 14 senators cast votes in favor of override.

Mompremier said she was satisfied the Senate did the research and thought about the students they represented.

Dempsey said he is not sure if he will write another resolution because he does not want to create any rifts between the Senate.

“Division isn’t the way to be representative. I don’t want any schisms to make people uncomfortable,” Dempsey said.

He said although he lost, the Senate showed growth and legitimacy through this process.

“We can look at this as a glimmer of hope. Power is held within the Senate,” Dempsey said. “The power of change.”

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

TSG declares support of TAUP, AFSCME in resolution

Temple Student Government asserted its support for contract negotiations for the Temple Association of University Professionals and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. TSG passed a resolution declaring its alliance with members of both organizations.

“I think this is the most important piece of legislation that we will hear,” said Jeff Dempsey, TSG Senate president.

The Student Labor Action Project introduced the resolution, which names TSG as a representative of the student body. The resolution formally and unequivocally supports and endorses the platforms, ideals, and motives of these organizations.

TSG does not consider itself just an ally but a follower of union principles.

Alex Barnett, a senator for the Fox School of Business, proposed one amendment to the resolution, requesting that lines 28 and 29 be stricken from the bill.

The two lines state that “merit pay is offered and introduced with no formal guidelines, regulations or ideal of how set system would operate.”

Barnett said since the Senate did not have evidence of this validity, the lines should be stricken to avoid possible contention in the future.

The amendment was passed unanimously.

The resolution was passed with overwhelming support. No votes were cast against it and only one senator abstained.

“It’s important that you support the people who keep this university going,” said Dusha Holmes, a senator from the School of Communications and Theater.

TAUP and AFSCME are two unions that represent the faculty at Temple. Faculty members represented by AFSCME have been working without contracts for two years, while TAUP has been working under a temporary extension of a contract that was supposed to expire on Oct. 15.

TAUP has been working on negotiations with the administration since June.

“We’ve been held hostage by the administration,” said Paul Dannenfelser, president of AFSCME at the university.

TAUP and AFSCME are requesting a cost of living raise for all faculty members. They want further explanation of the new pay for a performance system, which may differ from its traditional merit pay system.

TAUP wants to be able to collect dues from its members in order to finance its campaign. It also wants non-tenured professors to receive higher pension contributions from Temple.

Arthur Hochner, president of TAUP and a human resource management professor, said non-tenured professors receive no pension contributions their first year and only earn a 1 percent contribution for three subsequent years.

“They are cheap labor, so they are more exploited,” Hochner said.

Hochner and Dannenfelser expressed their gratitude for TSG proposing and passing this resolution.

“[The resolution] shows that students and student government have a social conscience, and they are not afraid to vocalize what they think to be right,” Dempsey said

Kevin Paris, vice president of SLAP, confirmed Dempsey’s thoughts about how the resolution will affect TAUP and AFSCME’s contract negotiations.

“The university will see that students care about this issue and are acting on it,” Paris said.

Paris added with the student support of these two unions, President Ann Weaver Hart and her administration are pushed even harder to do something to resolve this issue.

“I believe that it is a wonderful thing that the students have come together for the faculty,” said Kevin Gerard, a senator from the College of Liberal Arts. “We need to be behind them, as they have been behind us in our education.”

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

Senate president leading change

TSG Senate President Jeff Dempsey is leading dedicated senators on a quest to represent and assist Temple students.

The Senate was formed last year at TSG’s first Constitutional Convention in March. Its purpose is to directly represent students and act as a liaison between students and administration.

“I think that this Senate is a perfect representation of Temple students. All of them want to be a part of it. It is such a huge gamut of people and they are all fantastic,” Dempsey said.

The Senate is comprised of students from their respective schools. Senators were chosen by selection committees from their college administrations, TSG executive branch, and different recruitments for students. The amount of senators for each college is based on the student population for each school.

Dempsey, a junior political science major, was chosen as the Senate president at the final General Assembly meeting last year. He was involved with the TSG Constitutional Convention and also ran for TSG president. Although not victorious in his campaign, he chose to remain a part of TSG. Juan Galeano, last year’s TSG president, appointed him Senate President.

“I recognized that the system was changing and wanted to be responsible for taking it to the next level,” Dempsey said.

Many of the senators have already been talking to students and have ideas for bills they would like to see passed.

“I have a vision of the culture that I would like to instill. I would really like to help bring a sense of empowerment and a sense of community to my school,” said Dusha Holmes, a senior senator from the School of Communications and Theater.

Holmes ran for student body president last year. Although he did not win, he wanted to keep his promise to the student body that he would stay involved with student government. Along with helping to bring a sense of community to his school, he wants TSG to become an agent for students looking for places to live off campus.

Most senators said they felt housing was a major issue at Temple. Kylie Patterson, a junior College of Liberal Arts senator, would like to see the off-campus housing office re-opened. This goes along with her ideas for helping students learn about the resources that are available for them, whether it is housing, advising or career services.

“Knowledge is empowering. People want to be in the know. I’m willing to be that connector between students, faculty, and administration,” Patterson said.

As Senate president, Dempsey is responsible for leading all the Senate meetings and acting as a mediator. He said he took part in writing the Senate Rules and By-laws. He and the executive board held a retreat for the senators this summer to help them get to know each other and verse them in political terms.

“The main part of the retreat was really establishing a community vibe and having people get to know each other,” said Laura Hink, a sophomore senator for University Studies.

Senators are responsible for representing the students from their schools. They are instructed to find out what their students want and how it can be achieved. Dempsey is responsible for making sure his senators comply with these guidelines.

“We are all learning this together. I equate it to a classroom and infants. Everyone is new. Everyone is on the same page,” Dempsey said. “Hopefully while we’re learning, we’re making it better.”

Last year, TSG eliminated its weekly General Assembly meetings and replaced them with bi-weekly Senate meetings. The Senate meets every first and third Monday of the month.

The meetings are open for students to attend. Students can come and make suggestions for what they want to see accomplished within their school or for the university.

Students may make bills as well, but they need a senator to sponsor and present them. The bills can be proposals for a housing committee, ideas to create more school spirit, or simple recognitions of valuable instructors.

The senators said the purpose of the Senate is to be that connector for students and to become a place where people can express their ideas and concerns.

“Temple is a very big school. Not just in size or population, but also in ideas. The students want to express their ideas,” said Kevin Gerard, a junior CLA senator.“We have that outlet now in the Senate, but I want it to go farther.”

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

TSG breaks in new Senate at first meeting

Temple Student Government left behind their old structure with their first Senate meeting on Monday.

The Senate contains representatives from each school and plans to meet the first and third Monday of the month. Its purpose is to fairly represent each school and serve the student body. It was established last year at the TSG Constitutional Convention.

“Greatness isn’t something found on a resume,” TSG Senate President Jeff Dempsey said in his opening words to the new Senate.

Dempsey emphasized the fragility of TSG, but also said the convention last year “set the goals that will lead to greatness.”

TSG Chief Justice Alex Herrera swore in the attending senators, asking them to affirm that they will do their “best to maintain the welfare of the student government and the student body.”

The Senate is broken up into four different committees: allocations, internal conflicts, government operations and university affairs.

Each committee discussed their purpose and gave their report.

The allocations committee deals with giving out the appropriate funds for each organization. The first deadline for allocations is Sept. 26.

The internal conflicts committee deals with the identity and morale of Temple students.
The government operations committee handles all the legislation of TSG, specifically the by laws and the Senate rules.

The university affairs committee helps with more concrete issues such as advising, faculty apathy, and environment issues.

“The senators are to act as the power broker between the students, schools, and administration,” Dempsey said.

Kylie Patterson, a junior political science major and university affairs committee member, presented the first recommendation for an ad hoc advising committee. This committee will be responsible for investigating the issues students face with advising and how best to address these issues.

The TSG Senate passed the recommendation unanimously after some consideration to ensure that all schools were represented in this investigation.

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