TTN Video: The Lunchies Issue

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Threats to watch out for at PSU

Penn State’s defense could cause havoc for Owls’ offense.

After a 16-day layoff, Temple returns to the field following a heartbreaking last-second loss to Villanova. The Owls travel to Beaver Stadium to play Penn State in hopes of putting their season-opening loss and last season’s embarrassing loss to the Nittany Lions behind them. Here are three keys for each team to watch for on Saturday.

Temple:
Want Revenge: The Owls travel back to Penn State with a bad taste in their mouths after getting dominated, 45-3. After hanging with the Lions through the first quarter, Temple lost starting quarterback Adam DiMichele to a shoulder injury and trailed 31-0 at halftime.

Turnovers: For Temple to stay close with Penn State Saturday, the Owls need to hold onto the football, which was a major problem against Villanova. Redshirt junior starting quarterback Vaughn Charlton threw three interceptions, the final one deep in Owls territory that set up the game-winning field goal as time expired. Running backs Kee-ayre Griffin and Lamar McPherson also turned the ball over.

Who Gets the Call?: If the Owls score a touchdown or are in field-goal range, it will be interesting to see who coach Al Golden sends out to convert the point-after-touchdown or field-goal attempt. Golden pulled redshirt senior kicker Jake Brownell after he missed his first field-goal try and replaced him with true freshman Brandon McManus. McManus converted a 25-yard field goal and added three PATs.

Penn State:
A Good Start: After crushing Akron, 31-7, to open the season, the Nittany Lions beat Syracuse, 28-7. Penn State opened the season ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press pre-season Top 25 poll and returns 10 starters after last year’s Rose Bowl appearance.

He Can Do It All: Quarterback Daryll Clark returns for his senior year and looks to beat up on Temple’s defense like he did last season. Clark, who threw for three scores last weekend, threw for two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown last year.

Sack Masters: The Penn State defense is already off and running. The Nittany Lions have six sacks in their first two games, and they look to add to that number Saturday. Temple quarterbacks were sacked six times last year against Penn State.

Pete Dorchak can be reached at pdorchak@temple.edu.

New center sets out to research diversity and self-segregation

The center will explore the issues of diversity on a smaller level, using the Temple community as a microcosm.

Temple boasts a reputation as one of the most diverse campuses in the country. And with a student body representing a broad spectrum of races, nationalities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds, it has reason to do so.

Demographics alone, though, do not guarantee interaction among the many groups that make up the Temple population, and a lack of such interaction can fuel visible, self-imposed segregation along such lines. Temple recently announced the formation of its Academic Center on Research in Diversity, or ACCORD, a group that will seek to change this.

Developed by the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Faculty of Color and headed by Committee Chair Dr. Roland Williams, the center looks to assess and improve the state of race and class relations at the university.

With the U.S. Census Bureau predicting that non-Caucasians will constitute a majority of the population by 2042, Temple serves as a microcosm to what can be expected in the coming decades.

Realizing that diversity will continue to become more relevant in the coming decades, ACCORD plans not only to research the impacts of such drastic demographic changes but also to examine social barriers that lead to self-imposed segregation.

While there’s generally no apparent hostility between the parties, truly diverse social settings do not necessarily occur as often as Temple’s reputation would suggest.

“Temple will be an excellent place this kind of experiment because we’re already ‘the Diversity University,’” said Williams, an English
professor who teaches courses on racial imagery in American literature and film. “The kind of population that we have is the kind of population [we’ll] face in the future. Avoiding diversity isn’t an option anymore.”

The first ACCORD program offered to students will be an undergraduate forum in October, titled “Our Changing Complexion and the Future We Face.” The goal of the forum is to open a candid dialogue on the current and future state of race relations in America.

Open conversation, Williams said, is the first step in reconciling long-held past prejudices.

“We have our biases against people in the abstract, and the way we come to understand someone is as an individual,” Williams said.

Using the forum as an outlet to establish such relationships, Williams said he anticipates “will help to transcend the tendency to self-segregate.”

But Williams was also quick to emphasize that the center will devote its energies to all forms of diversity, including economic background, the determining factor in de facto segregation. The effects of such segregation, as Williams points out, serve only to solidify class disparities.

“We use color to mask class conflicts,” he said, “and class has a tremendous impact on our relationships.”

Aside from race and class, Williams said the center would be concerned with immigration policy, the future of homosexuals in the armed forces and the disproportionately small number of women in the science fields.

Although no details on other undergraduate programs have been released, “theatrical workshops, student excursions, staff retreats and service to area youths” will likely be incorporated, according the university’s Office of News Communications.

The office also said the university plans to increase scholarship funding for “outstanding and diverse graduate students.” The amount and source of the increase, however, could not be determined.

Through working with students in the forum and its subsequent programs, the long-term goal of the center is to identify effective strategies for teaching students how to deal with the increasingly diverse population that has been brought about by globalization. Such skills will become even more critical in coming decades.

Williams, meanwhile, said he looks forward to the benefits that diversity will bring.

“Look at the Phillies,” he said. “[They are] in the middle of what’s probably their best run ever, and they’re one of the most diverse teams in the league.”

Don Hoegg can be reached at don.hoegg@temple.edu.

Artistic expression is an expense still worth bearing

Of all the challenges facing today’s young, aspiring artists, the financial burden that comes with buying supplies may be one of the toughest to overcome.

School started last week and by now, a swarm of new, emerging artists have found their way into Philadelphia. Whether at an institute that solely provides a fine arts education or a university that also offers general liberal arts courses, student artists all have one thing in common: They are expected to buy a ton of art supplies in a short amount of time, and art supplies don’t come cheap.

If you are one of these artistic newbies to Philadelphia, I’d like to congratulate you on finding yourself in a city that supports artists of all genres and mediums with great passion. I hate to break to you, however, that art supplies in this city can be very expensive.

Philadelphia, along with is its support for you emerging and returning artists, offers a number of art store options. You just have to know where to look.

The three biggest names for art supplies in Philadelphia are Utrecht Art Supply, Dick Blick Art Materials and Pearl Art and Craft Supplies. During my time here, I’ve come to find an artist will usually get the feel for one store and stick with it, but the great thing about all three stores is student artists get awesome discounts – with each store providing a student discount card that gets you 10 to 15 percent off each purchase.

Even with the discounts and the great sales each art venue offers, you’ll want to brace yourself for the money you’re going to spend for your artistic endeavors.

Don’t be surprised when you’re dropping more than $300 a trip at the art store. Don’t be surprised if your parents cry over your bill. Oh, and don’t be surprised if the bank even decides to put a hold on your debit card, citing a “suspicious transaction.” I’m not kidding.

A friend of mine experienced it this week as she was buying paints and was forced to call the bank, going through a lengthy process before she could purchase her supplies. Just to be on the safe side, it may be wise to have your bank’s customer service number as well as your bank account information on hand when you go out for supplies.

Unfortunately, there’s really no way around paying a crazy amount for supplies, but once you’ve found the store that’s right for you, it becomes easier to manage your art expenses.

Pearl Art and Craft Supplies is located at Fourth and South streets. Although it’s the farthest art supply store from Main Campus, when it comes to some supplies, you can find great deals there.

Utrecht and Blick are both located in Center City, providing a more convenient location for most Temple art students.

There are two Utrecht Art Supply stores, one on Chestnut Street and the other at Broad and Spruce streets. The store’s store-brand items, which are lower in price, are just as good – if not better – than some art supplies stores that advertise big brand names. Overall, Utrecht offers the artist a better deal on quality supplies.

Blick is the city’s newest art store and is larger in size than the other two “big names,” and provides a wider variety of prices and brands.

As you’re assigned individual projects, you’ll realize you may need to explore other venue options, but again, you’re in luck – at least in terms of selection.

Fashion and fabrics supplies and even metal and jewelry materials have their own rows within Philadelphia that cater to the artist and his or her medium. These specialized areas of the city help provide some relief to the crazy amounts spent before on art necessities.

Fabric Row, along Fourth Street just a few blocks from South Street, includes a number of cheap fabric stores, many with trashcans full of old rolls of fabric that they’ll sell for $10 or less. You can get a yard of quality fabric at anywhere from $6 to $8 in most of the shops as well.

Jewelers’ Row, along Sansom Street, also offers some great deals on metal, gems and jewelry clasps.
As an artist, there are going to be points where you feel “starved,”  but little things like discount cards, specialized areas of the city and knowing more than one art store so you can at least compare prices can really help. It’s crucial to survive these expenses in order for you to create your masterpieces. And you will survive. Just take the time to seek out the bargains throughout the city.

Nicole Welk can be reached at nicole.welk@temple.edu.

New chocolate culture

The new location at 15th and Walnut streets has an enchanting atmosphere and is a sweet tooth’s paradise.

If you’re the kind of person who wants chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you have to check out Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man. The international chain, which recently opened its second U.S. location in Center City, at 15th and Walnut streets, calls itself the “new chocolate culture.”

Founded in 1996 in Israel by fledgling chocolatiers Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner, Max Brenner opened its first restaurant in the U.S. in New York City two years ago.

Serving more chocalatey dishes than your taste buds can imagine, from martinis to pizza, Max Brenner ships its chocolate in from Israel, Belgium and Venezuela.

The atmosphere sets the mood for exploring a new world of pure decadent gluttony. With the smell of gourmet chocolate in the air, jazz music fills the place by day, with R&B tunes playing by night.

The restaurant’s logo of the fictional Bald Man himself cover the walls, which are also lined with enriching, colorful paintings alongside towering chocolate shelves. And, with its closing time of 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, Max Brenner is the ideal spot for late-night dining with friends.

“The Martinis are like chocolate with a kick,” waitress Anne-Marie Gutierrez said. “And the Eighties Milkshake is definitely one of my favorites.”

The drinks menu boasts a wide selection of chocolate-infused beverages including Choctails, a thick milkshake made with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, topped with a floating scoop of vanilla and covered with crunchy chocolate. These delicious Choctail blends are served in an “Alice” glass, designed with Lewis Carroll’s classic star in mind.

“The straw of the cup represents the hole that Alice falls down,” Gutierrez said, “and the shape of the glass is actually the smile of the Cheshire Cat.”

The Alice glass may be unparalleled, but the Hug Mug comes in a close second in creativity. Designed in the shape of a teardrop to hold in the palm of your hands, the Hug Mug allows patrons to enjoy the drink’s every warm chocolaty taste without hesitation.

“Holding the mug close to your face and smelling the hot chocolate really makes the experience,” Gutierrez said.

But Brenner’s chocolate culture comes with more than Cheshire Cat smiles and snuggly mugs. The menu’s appetizers and entrées will surprise your taste buds after just one visit.

Brenner’s menu is jam-packed with meals of nearly every kind. There are potato skins with smoked bacon and melted cheddar, Tossed Around Southwestern Caesar salad, Max’s Sunday Mood pasta and Brenner Burgers, which are served with waffle fries.

“I love the chicken wings,” Manager Allan Beardslee said. “They taste amazing.”

The Smokey Dry Rub chicken wings are a little spicy but covered in a delicious sauce and served with an original recipe blue cheese.

Brenner’s has a delectable oven-roasted tomato pizza for dinner as well, or you can save pizza for dessert like Manager Megan Scott.

“The chocolate pizza is my favorite,” she said. “It’s quite an experience.”

The restaurant’s phocolate pizza is a thin pastry topped with double melted chocolate chunks, melted marshmallows and chunky hazelnut bits.

Max Brenner doesn’t simply offer a candy bar or fondue, and the experience is about more than just eating good chocolate – it’s tasting chocolate with every one of your senses and bringing chocolate fantasies to life.

Maria Cannon can be reached at maria.cannon@temple.edu.

City Council holds meeting at Temple

Concerned Philadelphians had a chance to voice their concerns about the city budget face-to-face with City Council this Wednesday evening at Main Campus’ Walk Auditorium.

In the first of what will be a series of public meetings to be held around the city in the coming months, City Council provided a forum for public discussion on the budget recently released by the Nutter administration, and in particular the $2.4 billion shortfall which the city government says will affect Philadelphia over the next five years and may lead to cuts in services and tax increases in the near future.

These meetings are a key part of the Nutter administration’s attempt to increase transparency and community involvement in the trying fiscal decisions the city faces and are in part a response to the public outcry following the original budget.

Council members Darrell Clarke and Maria Quinones Sanchez, who represent Main Campus’ district, hosted the event.

Citizens from across the city attended, as well as members of Nutter’s staff and most City Council members, including council President Anna Verna.

Several Temple students, most of whom were part of Temple College Democrats, attended as well.

“We’ve been following everything going on with the budget since last November [when Mayor Nutter originally announced the need for service cuts],” said College Democrats President Elizabeth Hanson. “Last semester we were heavily involved with the Presidential election, but now with the budget crisis and city elections coming up on May 19, we’re mostly focusing on local government.”

Hanson also is an intern for the Temple Youth VOICES Project, an outreach program that encourages local high school students to involve themselves in civic action.

“We try to educate young people and get them engaged in Philadelphia government, to organize themselves and to make sure that their voices are heard,” says Hanson.

Devin Young, a West Catholic High School student who is in the VOICES program, came to the meeting with sign to protest against potential service cuts in the budget and said he was concerned about the prospect of changes or cuts in basic city services and also about the prospect of increased property taxes.

“I really don’t approve of certain tax increases,” he said, “I hear they might start charging a dollar a bag or five dollars a week for trash collection – that’s outrageous.”

In a prepared statement, a representative for the mayor reported an estimated quarter billion dollar deficit in the next year for the city and a $2.4 billion deficit for the next five years. The pressing issue, the representative said, is what to do to “close the gap” in the budget between total expenses and estimated tax revenue and to decide which taxes to raise or which services to cut.

City Council left the floor open for citizen panels, which took turns addressing Council on the issues. Citizens including block captains, retirees, non-profit group representatives, health care specialists and advocates for the homeless all made statements, almost always relaying the same message – that cuts to services city residents depend upon and tax hikes, which will endanger the city’s poorest are unacceptable.

One citizen, who was concerned about real estate taxes and the decline in solid waste pickup, asked, “How are we expected to accept tax raises and cuts to services? And what about the money from Obama’s stimulus package? When is that supposed to come?”

Another suggested sending a task force of Philadelphia citizens to Washington, D.C. to lobby the federal government for aid and several others argued against cutting services related to housing, education and city maintenance.

Two rehabilitated drug abusers in attendance argued against cuts to the city’s Department of Human Services programs, providing accounts of how the drug and alcohol recovery programs there helped them to recover and reconnect with their families.

City Council already voted on the budget, but the audience seemed to appreciate the opportunity to address them.

People applauded Council several times and many who read statements personally thanked the members for their efforts to create transparency.

For more information about city council’s upcoming public meetings or for more information about the new city budget, go to www.phila.gov and click on the link for the City Council.

Peter Hayakawa can be reached at peter.hayakawa@temple.edu.

Studies become foreign

The college years are usually a time when students begin to question the faiths they grew up with. Talking about religion generally makes people uneasy, but seeing things from other perspectives can provide valuable lessons in the nuances and difficulties of being diverse.

At Temple, two Muslim women have had very different experiences.

On one side is S., who was born in Tehran, Iran, and wishes to remain anonymous.

The religion major had a difficult transition to Temple despite its reputation for being the “diversity university.”

On the other end of the spectrum, risk management major Monira Gamal-Eldin grew up in Philadelphia and is a chair member of the Temple University Muslim Students Association.

Both women choose to wear the hijab, a headscarf, which is an outward sign to the world that they practice Islam.

“Your hair is your beauty, why would you want to share that with just anyone?” S. said.

She does take her hijab off when inside, but not in mixed company. To her, it is a sign to men to respect her choice and keep their distance.

The transition to English was hard, even for an honors student like S.

The current Writing Center policy only allows students to utilize its services twice a week. This policy was crippling for a transfer student who had to write theses in her junior level courses. Despite requests, the Writing Center has not decided to alter its policies for special cases.

Later in the year, some professors gave her extra time for papers or time after class to listen because S. rarely speaks in class.

“I don’t even feel comfortable talking in class,” she said. “I come from a very social culture where I am respected, but here, it’s like I’m invisible.

“I feel that one of the main reasons I am facing these troubles is that either I cannot communicate well, or [other students] do not want to communicate because they know I am Muslim,” she said. “I am just like everyone else, I am no different.”

Gamal-Eldin said she has not experienced any problems with miscommunication. To her, wearing the hijab is a right that Muslim women are able to exercise, considering it very freeing to wear every day.

“After people get over the initial reaction, they see me, and the hijab helps them not get distracted focusing on my body and image,” she said. “It protects women from being reduced to objects.”

Fear, indifference and perpetuated assumptions about people of religions degrade quality of life for everyone. We are a global society and can’t afford to hold unwarranted prejudices. There are plenty of international students at Temple who would love to fill you in on their cultures. So step out of your comfort zone and just ask.

Kristen Mosbrucker can be reached at kristen.mosbrucker@temple.edu .

Once Again

Yeah, we’ve been there before.

Starting new classes. Meeting new people. Beginning a new chapter of your life.

Whether you’re a freshman, transfer, commuter or resident, the message is the same for all – Welcome.
Everyone is new at some point. Take a look at Temple’s administration. Most of the administrators at the highest levels have only been in their respective positions for no more than a few years. Like President Ann Weaver Hart and her No. 2, Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico – consider them a junior and a sophomore, respectively.

You may feel as if you’re being thrown into a different culture, and your ethnocentrism derived from Anywhere, USA may make you feel claustrophobic among the 24,000 students on campus. To ease the pain, here are a few things to know before beginning your college career at Temple.

Philadelphia has been called a “city of neighborhoods,” and you don’t have to take too many steps off campus to find yourself in one. Many students are ignorant of the roots and traditions of these communities. Rather than challenge them, embrace them.

You may have heard that Temple is diverse. It’s been said so tirelessly that it sounds cliché. But Temple has the credentials to back it up.

The Princeton Review recently ranked Temple No. 5 on its list of the most diverse student populations in the country in 2008’s The Best 368 Colleges. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, because surely, you’re not alone.

Get to know your neighbors. Get to know your classmates. Get to know your professors. In high school, it was known as “kissing up.” Now, it’s known as “networking.”

There are no laxatives in the food prepared by Temple Dining Services and its contracted company, Sodexo, as reported by The Temple News. So pack on that freshman 15 (or 30). Then work it off at the IBC Student Recreation Center.

OWLnet is a horrible and outdated system. It will cause you many frustrations when you are registering for classes or checking your grades. We’ve lived with it throughout our entire careers at Temple, and we expect you will, too.

We at The Temple News often take a hard look at the policies and actions of Temple faculty and administrators. We care about the university and its paying customers, the students. We’re not afraid to be critical because we want the best educational and social experience we can get.

By no means are we experts on educational planning or policy formation. But we know what matters to students because we are students ourselves.

Remember, we were in your shoes once. And by now, we think we’ve finally got a handle on this whole college thing.