In 2024, Temple hosted both major political party’s candidates for president, experienced a number of on-campus protests related to labor disputes and Israel-Palestine conflict and welcomed a new president to campus.
Despite political turmoil deeply affecting the Temple community, students made headlines by winning prestigious scholarships, helping push Temple students to vote in the 2024 election and found joy through on-campus clubs and initiatives.
Here are the top 10 Features stories of 2024.
1. “A living hell”: Temple students endure off-campus landlord violations
By Julia Merola and Samuel O’Neal
A third-place winner of best investigative story at the College Media Association Pinnacle Awards, The Temple News took a deep dive into the relationship between local landlords and students who rent their units.
The Temple News identified 650 properties within a mile of Temple’s Main Campus with registered landlord violations on the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections. The Temple News then compiled and analyzed the data by filtering it to include only violations within the 19121 and 19122 zip codes — which are closest to Main Campus — and creating a one-mile radius using the university’s address to determine which violations occurred closest.
2. “We want our freedom”: Palestine protesters march at Hillel Center, Charles Library
By Navya Nair and Bayleh Alexander
On Aug. 29, Temple’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine led an on-campus protest that began at the Charles Library before protesters marched to Alter Hall and eventually the Hillel Center for Jewish Life.
The protest was the first of a series of demonstrations on Temple’s campus during the Fall 2024 semester. After a career fair protest for the College of Engineering just more than a month later, Temple SJP was placed on interim suspension.
3. Trump’s political hurricane makes landfall on Temple’s campus
By Jadon George
On June 22, President-elect Donald Trump came to The Liacouras Center on Temple’s campus to rally for his 2024 presidential campaign, which he eventually won against Vice President Kamala Harris.
The rally marked Trump’s first inside city limits — and the first for any Republican presidential candidate on Temple’s North Philadelphia campus. Two months later, Harris also rallied on campus and former President Barack Obama also spoke to supporters at the venue ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
4. “They have lost something”: Students, faculty and staff prepare for life without UArts
By Jadon George
After the University of the Arts officially closed its doors this summer, Temple immediately began brainstorming ways to preserve the defunct school. A plan to merge failed, but Temple accepted hundreds of transfer students and housed them in Johnson and Hardwick Residence Halls.
Despite Temple’s efforts to save the university, its students and faculty had mixed opinions on Temple. Hundreds had instantly lost income and years of study when their school shuttered amid a foggy “financial crisis.”
5. Locals note safety, communication as areas of focus for Fry
By Bayleh Alexander
The relationship between Temple and members of the North Central neighborhood has remained complicated in the 65 years since. Residents hope new university president John Fry will encourage Temple to respect and acknowledge them in the same way it does its students.
Fry officially began his tenure as Temple’s 15th president on Nov. 1 following a rocky search for a leader to fill the role. Residents hope Fry will bring stability and increased communication after years of uncertainty surrounding the position.
6. Thrice as nice: Englert bids farewell for a final time
By Samuel O’Neal
As former Temple President Richard Englert prepared to hand the keys over to the newly-hired John Fry, The Temple News spoke with Englert for his final interview as president.
Englert remembers the hardships, the joy and all the change he witnessed during his tenure as the university’s president and two stints as an interim president. Englert went on to lead Temple through some of its most transformative years. And during his almost 50 years, he’s watched the campus go from what he called a “commuter campus” to a university that offers the full-fledged “college experience.”
7. “Out of Touch”: Hall & Oates lawsuit, explained
By Molly Fiske
Daryl Hall and John Oates met while enrolled at Temple in the late 1960s and went on to form “The Temptones.” While The Temptones didn’t achieve widespread success, it marked the beginning of the collaboration between Hall and Oates.
But in December 2023, Hall took legal action against Oates after more than 50 years of friendship and collaboration, claiming Oates couldn’t sell his share of their business partnership without Hall’s consent. The lawsuit came after Hall filed for arbitration, an alternative form of dispute resolution that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts, on Nov. 9.
8. The Underworld: Building community below ground
By Anna Augustine
As part of The Temple News’ special Music Issue, our Features staff highlighted the best Temple’s campus has to offer in the music space.
Regina Hennessey and Matt Guardiola started The Underworld, a house show venue on Carlisle Street, during their sophomore year. They host shows about once a month and strive to run a safe, community-oriented venue where artists and audiences can connect through music.
9. The activists moving potential voters to the polls
By Jadon George
In the weeks leading up to the 2024 presidential election, numerous student-run organizations mobilized to move Temple students to the polls on Nov. 5.
Pennsylvania’s place as president-maker put Philadelphia, and Temple, in the eye of the storm. Clubs like Temple Student Government, Temple Democrats, Feminist Majority and Temple Republicans all took to campus to do its part in swaying election results among the college-age demographic.
10. Brown Suga Burlesque empowers Black women to embrace their sexuality
By Bayleh Alexander
In The Temple News’ first-ever Community Issue, our Features staff highlighted the intricacies that make North Central, the neighborhood Temple exists in, so special.
Brandi Rei, North Philadelphia native and former Temple student, found refuge in her body through Dare2Dance, the university’s dance team. The diverse and supportive environment unlocked a confidence previously unbeknownst to her. She dropped out of college to move to Los Angeles, where she fell in love with dancing and ultimately returned to Philly, ready to establish BSB.
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