Supreme Court amends provision

TSG’s Justices reinstated the endorsement requirement for tickets, but with a new clause.

Representatives of Temple Student Government’s Supreme Court convened yesterday in the Student Center to hear an issue pertaining to the 2010 elections code.

Two weeks ago, the Court decided to strike a previous requirement for candidates running for TSG executive offices to have an endorsement from at least one student organization. Chief Justice Keith Davis said the rationale for having stricken this requirement was that it created a bias toward students who were originally members of large student organizations, and biasing toward large student organizations in general.

Elections Commissioner LaCole Foots testified on behalf of the Elections Committee, arguing that the endorsement requirement should be reinstated.

“The endorsement is the easiest way to pull in different types of students. Student [organizations] represent a plethora of interests, and at least they’re passionate enough to pursue those interests. So these are the kind of students [whose voices we want heard], because they can tell you what’s going on ‘on the streets’ at Temple,” Foots, a senior political science and communications major said.

“I think it’s very ethical because when you’re running for office, you’re going to have the [organizations] you look out for, whose interests you represent, at least have one additional [organization] that you care about, that you learn about, that you get to know. I think it’s that simple, just learning about Temple students,” Foots said.

Foots presented this testimony to Davis and the associate justices, sophomore accounting major Regina Guignard, junior political science major Nelson Diaz and junior political science major Adrian Stepanian.

After hearing the testimony and dedicating time to questions about potential revisions or clauses, the Court convened privately to make its decision.

“We are going to reinstate it with the provision that the endorsement come from one small organization, defined as less than 35 members in size, and that’s active membership,” Davis said in the ruling. “To ensure that this is in fact the case, we would like with the endorsement come a letter from their board, their president or whoever is in charge of monitoring their attendance rates, stating that they have less than 35 members.”

The associate justices explained the ruling to Foots.

“They can solicit larger organizations, but they are required to have one smaller one,” Guignard said.

“We feel that the one that if [the one that is required] is a small organization, it will get to that end more than if that candidate [is] going to some large established organization, and in doing that, it [provides] incentive to go to more organizations, so I think that will help in tying in organizations,” Stepanian said.

Foots agreed that the elections committee could support that ruling, and was on board.

“We met today to discuss a section of the election codes for 2010 that was stricken … by the court two weeks ago,” Davis said. “Having heard testimony to that end, we have decided to reinstate it with a new proviso.”

Valerie Rubinsky can be reached at valerie.rubinsky@temple.edu.

TSG debuts Senate elections

For the first time, Temple Student Government is holding senatorial elections.

While Temple Student Government members fixate on the April 5 election day for the TSG presidential tickets, the Elections Commission is making TSG senatorial elections a priority.

“There was not nearly the amount of interest we need to have a successful campaign,” LaCole Foots, TSG elections commissioner, said about applications for senatorial candidacy.

“The Elections Commission is working to remedy the situation and get the word out [about TSG senatorial elections],” the senior political science and communications major said.

Attendance for all nine of the elections interest meetings was minimal.

Foots said there was a two-part application for candidacy, the first part including basic information. The deadline for the second part of the application, a questionnaire, is being extended to Friday at 9 p.m. The first part of the application is still due Wednesday by 5 p.m. in the TSG office in the Student Center Room 244.

Senate President Colin Saltry, a sophomore economics major, said the fact of the matter might be that TSG is not working hard enough to make students aware of their opportunity to get involved.

He also acknowledged that the system of the senatorial meetings could be a possible factor.

“You walk into the meeting, and you want to slit your wrists,” Saltry said. “Forty people have 40 different things to say about a topic.

“You can see why the healthcare reform and political party bickering happens – 40 people in a room talking,” Saltry added.

Some students said TSG has not made itself enough of a presence or reached out to all of its constituents.

“I think with most senators, it comes off as if they’re only doing it to put on their résumé,” Homecoming Queen and senior sociology major Candace Moses said.
“They need to be excited, and they need to do a better job of relaying what they do to their school,” she added.

Earlier this semester, Saltry and TSG President Kylie Patterson expressed their desire for senators to have a greater presence in their colleges.

“A big part [of this goal] was defining their role,” Patterson said of the senators. “In general, senators are doing a much better job, but I think they could be more aware of the groups they represent.”

Saltry attributes being stuck in meetings as one of the road blocks to furthering this goal.

“Nine times out of 10, we’re working on big bills. We’re stuck in the office or in meetings,” he said.

Saltry said if everyone in TSG could get on the same page, they would be able to bridge the gap to their constituents and encourage more people to run for office.
TSG Senate elections are new. Previously, student senators were selected through a process involving applications and review by faculty and administrators, with Senate leadership making the final decisions. Even current senators interested in maintaining their positions must go through the elections process in April.

“I’m really excited about this election process,” Patterson said. “Students will know who’s representing them on the micro and macro levels of TSG.”
TSG Senator and junior theater major Malcolm Kenyatta said elections “are going to increase dedication and what the senators bring to the table.”
Junior risk and insurance major Ben Mayer said elections will ensure commitment from candidates.

“Having people run for it, you know they’re going to be into it,” he said.

“I think with campus elections it isn’t always as effective, because most people don’t know about TSG unless they are in a student organization. Elections force senators to go out and meet students,” Moses said.

Patterson added that in the past, some people didn’t have the “power of the people” or seek the opinion of their constituents. Like Moses, Patterson said elections force candidates to do that.

Current senators and students advise potential candidates to be engaged in the wants and needs of the students and school they represent.

“They need to be outgoing and need to dive into issues pertaining to their colleges and bring these issues to the senate,” Senator and Allocations Chair Natalie Ramos-Castillo said.

Kenyatta said when people are looking for a senator, they should look for someone who emphasizes collaboration and is open to working with different types of people.
“You’re looking for someone who has vision,” he said. “When you look at someone’s platform, that makes the judgment call.”

“I would want to see someone who is truly accessible to their school … they should be really visible and be a part of [public relations] for their school,” Moses said.
Cory Sassano, a senior architecture major, said he’ll be looking for a candidate who “will take on the administration, and be a real voice for the students.”

“They should represent the student body,” Kelley Dougherty, a sophomore tourism major, said.

Jess Choi, a junior English major, said she is looking for senators who respect diversity at Temple and “who really represent” the school.

Patterson encouraged anyone interested in running for a Senate seat to do so. She said that any student who’s had a complaint should use that as motivation to join the TSG senate.

“In running for office, you’re better able to define and understand your vision for Temple University,” she said. “There’s no better place to be a self-starter.”

Saltry explained that one of the pros of Senate elections is that candidates will be held accountable by voters, and that elections in general promote democracy.
“If you see something wrong with the university, you could make change happen,” Saltry said.

“Anybody looking for a great opportunity to really make Temple more awesome in any way, whether that include making it more LGBTQ friendly, making it green or [creating] meal plan rollovers, this is the place to do it,” he added.

Foots tells students, “We have to give a hoot.”’

Angelo Fichera and Josh Fernandez can be reached at news@temple-news.com.

TSG gives State of Campus

Student Center leaders announced new on-campus event guidelines for organizations.

Students, faculty and administrators gathered in room 200C of the Student Center yesterday for Temple Student Government’s second State of Campus Address of the Spring 2010 semester.

The meeting was kicked off by Student Center Operations Director Jason Levy and Reservations Coordinator Alicia Ferguson, both of whom introduced themselves to the student assembly and reviewed existing and new policies.

The two emphasized that students or organizations looking to book complex events – meaning that extensive or outside assistance in event-planning is needed – are required to file event requests 20 business days prior to the event and meet with Ferguson.

Levy announced that starting in the Fall, any student who makes a reservation for a chairs-only setup will get it free.

“We’re going to try to work it out so that most student organizations that do want a different set-up other than lecture are in specific rooms,” Ferguson added. “The reason why we charge for that is that for us to freshen up a room that’s already lecture for an event that is lecture as well, there’s not a lot of time to do that. To go from circle, to square, to lecture involves a lot more time, therefore we’d have to build in extra set-up time.”

“We are the only truly student-first space on campus,” Levy said of the Student Center. “If not for you, we wouldn’t be here.”

To get the crowd active, Services Review Chair for TSG Sean O’Connell and Chief of Staff Jarae Hines initiated an ice breaker – “Head over Heels” – in which rows of students sitting next to each other had to maneuver a TSG sports bag under their legs and pass it to the individuals sitting next to them. Participants continued the pattern until the bag reached the end of the row and then reversed the game back to the first person in the row. The second and third rows in the middle aisle fought for the winning rows.

TSG left enough promotional items, including lanyards and pens, in the sports bags for each person in the row.

Big announcements made during the meeting included Student-Senator Kyle Goldstein raising awareness of an issue involving elevators in the Engineering and Architecture building and urging students to fill out the survey, regarding the issue on tucommunity.com.

Student Senator Natalie Ramos-Castillo spoke next about a tentative feature being addressed at the next TSG Senate meeting: wireless printing. Students would go to a Web site – Paley Library’s, for example – print their documents from a remote location and swipe their Owl Cards to print their documents when they get to Main Campus.

“It deletes the amount of people influxing at 12 o’clock trying to print in the library or TECH Center while everyone is on Facebook, looking at you like you’re crazy for trying to print something that’s due,” Ramos-Castillo said.

Jessica Reed, director of local affairs, reminded the room that the 3Cs Campaign is ongoing throughout at the semester and that students eager to get involved should contact her or Jamira Burley, director of community affairs. Main Campus Program Board then reminded everyone of the April 13 Spring Fling dance, which is eighties- and nineties-fashion themed.

One of the final announcements caught the interest of everyone in the room. Student-Senator from the College of Liberal Arts Eva Alkasov informed the assembly of the upcoming Sex Fest, Temple’s first-ever Sexual Awareness Week taking place April 5 to April 9.

“Let’s assume that everyone in this room is sexually active,” Alkasov said. “They say 70 percent of people who are sexually active will have [HPV] at some point in their life. This is why I’m planning Sex Fest.”

After describing entertaining and educational events planned during the week, Alkasov advised anyone who wanted to get involved to contact her.

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

TSG tries new format to engage audience

The second Temple Student Government Senate meeting of the semester demonstrated TSG’s commitment to setting new precedents, especially with its new meeting room style and format.

Walking into Room 200C of the Student Center, students saw the new arrangement of the senate desks and audience seats, with the table occupied by the president, senate president and chief justice in the center against the back wall facing the audience and two rows of senate tables on the left and right side positioned diagonally.

They’re more open for getting the audience involved and trying to keep the blood flowing throughout the debate,” Senate President Colin Saltry said of the new set-up.

“It’s a shift in how we want to operate. It’s not perfect, but damn it, I think we’re doing the right thing,” he added.

TSG President Kylie Patterson kicked off the meeting by leading the room in reciting the new Temple student pledge. After that, Chief Justice Keith Davis, senior political science and anthropology major, swore in five new senators, including Marlon Bryan from the College of Liberal Arts, Colin Beneski from the College of Engineering, Charnett Moffett from the Fox School of Business, Eve Eisemann from the School of Science and Technology and Sherene Padinjarekutt from the Tyler School of Art.

After questioning from the senate and Patterson, Megan Chialastri, a junior political science major, was appointed as sergeant of arms, a position that ensures that order and rules are followed during meetings. Mark Quien, a Fox School of Business senator, was confirmed as senate president pro tempore.

After each necessary student officer was confirmed for his or her position, the senate moved to legislation, first up being Senate bill S10-3, “A Resolution Encouraging the Pa. General Assembly to Act to Reduce Access to Illegal Guns.” A majority of the senate members favored the bill, citing violence, personal situations and the recent shootings near campus as reason for their fellow senators to vote yes.

“We need to stand as students to protect our fellow students and the surrounding community,” said Natalie Ramos-Castillo, a senator for the College of Education.

Patterson reminded the room that the issue would be one of many addressed at a caucus of student governments, including other schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and St. Joseph’s University. The bill passed with a significant senate majority.

Other bills that passed included S10-4, “A Resolution Recognizing Temple University’s Adjunct Faculty,” S10-5 which recognized National Engineers Week and a resolution that recognized Peter Reynolds, an adjunct professor in the theater department who has made a significant contribution to the Temple community, including his work in promoting LGBTQ presence. Senator Malcolm Kenyatta from the School of Communications and Theater cited Reynolds’ work with the Mockingbird Theater and his Spring 2010 class “Queer Theatre.”

Quien debated the bill, worrying that it was unfair to all the other hard-working faculty members to praise one professor and not the others.

“There are people on campus who do great things all the time,” he said, adding that it would be like giving a “gold star” to one of many deserving professors.

“I love gold stars,” Kenyatta said. “We should say [to professors], ‘Hey, you’re doing a great job,’ because it encourages a higher level of teaching.”

Ramos-Castillo agreed that it encourages professors to continue working hard and that recognition was needed. Kyle Goldstein, senator from the College of Engineering, agreed. However – as a result of Goldstein’s safe-zone training, a program that teaches participants how to be allies to the LGBTQ community – he asked to strike a line in the bill that contained the word “gay,” rather than the all-inclusive LGBTQ acronym.

The bill was eventually passed.

“I’m happy we’re setting new precedents,” Patterson said of the new format of the senate meetings. “Talking about our stance on guns, celebrating our [professor’s] accomplishments, these are all steps in a good direction.”

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

TSG unveils new pledge

At TSG’s first State of the Campus address, leaders debuted a pledge and played games with attendees.

Yesterday’s first Temple Student Government State of the Campus meeting of the semester demonstrated TSG’s commitment not only to making meetings livelier, but also to encouraging students to serve their community.

The meeting, which convened in room 200C of the Howard Gittis Student Center, kicked off with an introduction of the new student pledge by TSG President Kylie Patterson and TSG Director of Public Affairs Renee Gordon.

“What is the one thing we can all stand behind?” Patterson said. “I think it’s important to take pride as a university and have school spirit.”

Gordon, Patterson and the room of students, faculty and staff then read the pledge together.

“As a Temple Owl, I pledge to uphold the highest principles of honesty and integrity in and outside of the classroom as founder Russell Conwell intended. I embrace Temple’s commitment to excellence, diversity and respect for the community; these values define my path. I take pride in saying, ‘I am a Temple Owl,’” they said in unison.

Gordon said the pledge would be implemented at sports games, including the upcoming men’s basketball game against LaSalle University.

After reading the pledge, a collaboration Patterson worked on with five other students and Senior Vice Provost Elizabeth Leebron Tutelman, Vice President of External Affairs Anthony Leyro, Director of Marketing Damon Deshields and Director of Information Technology Steuart Wright initiated a game called “Hoot Down the Walk,” a whisper-down-the-lane-like game to introduce TSG’s community initiative.

TSG members whispered the three Cs of community service — commitment, consistency and consciousness — to attendees in each row, until the first row in the room won. Prizes were TSG umbrellas, bags and T-shirts.

Jamira Burley, TSG director of community affairs, and Jessica Reed, TSG director of local affairs explained the purpose of TSG’s 3Cs Campaign.

“We want to bridge the gap between the Temple community and the outside community,” Reed said.

“[3Cs] is not just a one-day event, but a community service project that has the three Cs,” Burley said. “It’s to get students to give back not just to give back, but because you really care about the lives of the people in the community.”

College of Liberal Arts Senator Max Cuddy discussed community service projects in the works, from Philly Eco Kids, a program for students to teach youth about environmental issues, to volunteering at Tree House Books, which cultivates creative youth in reading, writing and thinking.

“A common theme you’ll see is Temple University students working with the youth of Philadelphia,” Cuddy said.

The rest of the meeting included time for students to air any complaints or suggestions to TSG, and any student who spoke received TSG umbrellas.

Before this segment of the address, Alvaro Watson, president of the student organization Temple University Purpose, reminded everyone in the room why they should participate in community service.
“Everyone here wants a healthy résumé,” he said. “But we also want to think about how others are benefitting as well.”

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

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 kicks off year with new faces and plans

President Kylie Patterson plans a public service campaign, among others, for this year.

After a whirlwind semester — including a string of controversial speakers coming to Main Campus, a waiting game for state appropriations and a Senate president’s resignation — Temple Student Government and the student body are looking ahead to what the new year and new semester have to offer.

Looking back on last semester’s events, TSG President Kylie Patterson, a senior political science major, said she feels prepared for whatever happens this semester.

“I’m not going to say bring it, but I’ve learned that things are bound to happen, so you might as well prepare yourself now,” Patterson said. “It’s my last semester here, and I think we can really focus and do a lot.”

Patterson said she and TSG’s executive board are preparing to kick off their “Three Cs Campaign,” an initiative to raise students’ community service awareness through commitment, consistency and consciousness.

In addition, Patterson said, there are several changes she would like to make during the semester.
Among those changes are all three branches of student government working together to focus and reflect on what they need to do for the student body. Patterson also said she hopes to see student-senators be more involved in their colleges and with their peers.

Colin Saltry, who will replace Jeff Dempsey as TSG Senate president this semester, said he agrees that TSG needs to be more involved in student issues.

“Instead of just catering to one particular organization and one demographic of students, we need to go out there and see what other students are going through and be responsive,” Saltry said. “The reason we do that now is that there aren’t many people involved, and that’s one of the things we have to change.”

Saltry, a sophomore economics major, said he hopes to liven TSG’s meetings.

“We have to make our meetings, particularly Senate meetings, more interesting for everyone, especially those not involved,” he said. “People that aren’t involved get completely turned off by the process, and it’s even a few people in the Senate that are bored. I’m one of those weird guys that like [the] process, and I’m getting bored.”

Saltry said one obstacle to involving the student body with TSG is that the organization cannot throw parties.

“We can’t have any type of social events, whereas [Main Campus Program Board] can,” he said.
To overcome this, Saltry said he hopes to work with student organizations and provide funding for them to co-host events with TSG.

Sophomore political science and Jewish studies major Bryan Mann, who also serves as president of All Sides, said he would like to see the way funding for student organizations is handled changed.

“I would like organizations to get start-up funds through allocations for fundraisers, which they cannot currently,” Mann said. “I would also like to see the logistics of allocations work better. There have been many instances when organizations expected to get money and either had to come up with the money themselves, and then wait to be reimbursed, or couldn’t have the event due to lack of funds.”

Students for Environmental Action President Korin Tangtrakul said she had no big complaints about TSG.
“All we need [from TSG] is for them to continue to support the Green Fee and be there when it goes to the Board of Trustees,” said Tangtrakul a senior environmental studies and geography and urban studies major.

The one thing she said she would like to see is a change in the process.

“TSG works very bureaucratically,” she said. “Things always seem to go through a chain of command, and little happens.”

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.

Fate of state funds still unclear

TSG representatives and administrators continue to push state legislature to pass Temple’s funding.

Temple, along with three other state-related institutions — Lincoln University, the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University, is still without approved commonwealth appropriations, weeks after most state agencies received necessary funds.

Last spring, Temple administrators passed a budget that gave the university its lowest tuition increase in 13 years, 2.9 percent. Trustees said if appropriations are not approved in time, they might need to raise tuition for the upcoming spring semester. In addition to a tuition increase, more across-the-board cuts are possible.

Temple Student Government Vice President of External Affairs Anthony Leyro said students should remember it’s not a conflict with passage of the state budget.

“We want to remind everyone that just because our state budget got passed, didn’t mean our appropriations got passed,” said Leyro. “It’s still up in the air, so [administrators] just want us to put a little pressure on the representatives to vote on it and get it passed because they are trying to tie it to [casino] table games.

“And we believe there’s enough money in the pool for our appropriations to get passed,” he added.

Leyro and TSG Vice President of Services Jon DeSantis worked on the One-Thousand Voices Campaign, an initiative to get 1,000 signatures and letters to sent to senators, state representatives and the governor, this summer when this issue first came up. The pair eventually went online with the campaign, posting links on Facebook and Twitter.

The two TSG executive board members eventually went to Harrisburg to conduct a press conference with Penn State and handed out 3,000 letters to senators, representatives and the governor.

Leyro is not the only one urging communication with state-elected officials. TSG Senate President Jeff Dempsey said TSG will pull its resources to lead students and show them what their powers are through the voting process.

“Temple is already appealing [to state-elected officials], so students might have to look ahead to the upcoming primary election to influence action,” Dempsey said. “There is an election season coming up in May. Maybe student government can step up and inform students about how they can affect the political system.

“Look at your classes,” he continued. “Most of your fellow peers aren’t from Philadelphia.They’re from a different part of Pennsylvania or a different part of the world, and some aren’t ready to register to vote yet.

“We need to localize our efforts a little bit more and hit up these politicians that should be working for us,” Dempsey added.

TSG isn’t the only entity appealing to state-elected officials. On Oct. 21, President Ann Weaver-Hart – along with President Ivory Nelson of Lincoln University, the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and Penn State Chancellor Graham Spanier – wrote and signed a letter urging state officials to pass the commonwealth appropriations.

They write that the four state-related universities “have become a destination of choice for many of Pennsylvania’s most committed and talented high school students. These 158,000-plus Pennsylvania students (including more than 130,000 undergraduates) and their families continue to be directly impacted by the delay and uncertainty created by the lack of a final appropriation for each university.”

Before concluding the letter, the four university leaders wrote: “We respectfully request that all reasonable and appropriate measures be taken to finalize the budget and the appropriations of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities in order to minimize the financial harm and uncertainty impacting our students and their families.”

The State General Assembly meeting Nov. 9 was the next opportunity for action, however, there is not yet an update on the situation.

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

TSG crime victims speak at address

Three TSG senators who recently suffered crimes made safety an issue at the second State of the Campus Address of the year.

At the second State of Campus Address, Temple Student Government senators Eva Alkasov, Natalie Ramos-Castillo and Kyle Goldstein spoke about campus safety by telling the audience of their recent experiences as victims of crime.

Goldstein, a junior civil engineering major, said he was standing at the SEPTA train platform at Fern Rock station around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 8 when an unidentified man held him at gunpoint and stole his belongings — his backpack, which included his laptop and textbooks, and his cell phone — before hitting him in the face with the barrel of his gun.

Ramos-Castillo and Alkasov are roommates who leave in a nearby off-campus apartment. The two said they arrived home the night of Oct. 23 to find their apartment had been broken into, and their television set and three laptops stolen.

Now, the three TSG senators say they want the rest of the student body to learn from their mistakes and take every measure to stay safe.

“I know it sounds cliché, but be aware of your surroundings, realize that anyone can be a victim,” Goldstein said.

Sol Frias, a sophomore accounting major, was especially concerned with Goldstein’s situation. Frias takes the Regional Rail to campus for class.

“Fern Rock is very deserted, even throughout the day,” she said. “I wouldn’t trust waiting on [Fern Rock’s] platform.”

Angie Ruizo will be starting at Temple as a junior BTMM major, and taking the train to campus every day.
“Hearing something like [Goldstein’s story] is scary,” she said.

“I take the subway at night, 9:30 at the latest,” Ruizo added. “I tell my friends that if we’re not done what we’re doing by then, I’m sleeping at someone’s house.”

Both Ruizo and Frias agreed that walking around anywhere alone, on or off campus, is not safe but said the lighting on campus at least makes the walk somewhat safe.

Alkasov, a junior political science major, and early education major Ramos-Castillo echoed this sentiment. The two also emphasized the importance of selecting housing carefully, since their landlord advised them against putting bars on their windows, citing fire safety. Police told the two roommates the intruder got into their apartment through Ramos-Castillo’s window.

“Don’t let your landlord, just because you’re students, convince you not to do something that you think is important,” Alkasov said.

“Cheapest [for the landlord] isn’t cheap for us,” Ramos-Castillo added.

Both Ramos-Castillo and Alkasov said there are removable bars available for purchase and encouraged students to invest in them. They also said that if students are robbed, they should call 911 and Temple Police.

The idea of bars on windows, however, didn’t sit as well with Ruizo and Frias. Ruizo said when a fire starts, inhabitants might not think of finding the key to unlock or remove the bars.

Danny Gutierrez, a sophomore psychology major, said bars on windows don’t bother him.

“I’m accustomed to bars on windows because I’ve lived in apartments all my life,” he said. “There are plenty of ways to get out of a fire, so if [bars] prevent theft, then I’m a big fan of them.”

Overall, the TSG senators say they want to make sure students are acting safely and maintaining cautiousness throughout their stays at Temple.

“[Students] lose the fear of danger happening the longer they’re here,” Ramos-Castillo said. “Keep this in mind.”

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

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