Green friendly should be ignored for Phila. Elections
November 6, 2007
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By Shannon McDonald | November 6, 2007 | The Temple News
The 2007 Philadelphia mayoral election is today, pinning the favored Democrat, Michael Nutter, against Republican Al Taubenberger. Both candidates have focused their campaigns primarily on green issues, often neglecting more pressing topics.
“That’s because they don’t know what the issues are,” said Albert Mills, an adjunct professor of political science and geography and urban studies.
He’s been active in politics for 40 years and considers himself “progressive.” Mills said the environment should be a national issue, not the city’s focus.
Nutter and Taubenberger have had a clean campaign; they haven’t attacked each other’s characters, and they’ve been in agreement on various issues, specifically environmental concerns.
Though the candidates have different ideas about how to make Philadelphia a greener city, they have both made the green issue a top priority in their campaigns.
Swingset homicides
October 16, 2007
By Shannon McDonald | Oct. 16, 2007| The Temple News
Seven shootings have occurred at Philadelphia recreation centers since January, leaving four dead and community members searching for answers.
“It’s senseless,” said Victor Richard. “It’s total disrespect for human life.” Richard is the commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, and like everyone else, he is outraged that crime has penetrated the city’s safest havens. The four dead victims of these shootings are predictably young; three were only teenagers.
One of the surviving victims is 18-month-old Mehkee Gatewood, who suffered two gunshot wounds while at E.R. Tustin Playground in West Philadelphia in late September.
Something needs to be done.
Campus violence finds a match on North Broad Street
October 9, 2007
By Shannon McDonald | Oct. 9, 2007 | The Temple News
There hasn’t been a murder on or around Main Campus since 2005. Considering the high crime rates in the surrounding neighborhood, one murder in the course of three years is something to be happy about.
“Direct patrol is the best way to control crime,” said Charles Leone, deputy director of Campus Police.
There is no doubt the heavy police presence around campus is what keeps the crime rate so low. Campus Police not only patrol the central campus, but off-campus locations as well, monitoring the places students visit the most, and keeping their eyes on places where crimes occur most frequently.
In 2005, a stray bullet struck someone unaffiliated with Temple at 15th and Susquehanna streets. The victim lived. That same year, a Temple student was shot in his off-campus apartment after he got involved in a troubled lifestyle. That victim was not as fortunate.
Though these incidents may have hit close to home for some Temple students, the sense of security around campus remained intact because neither shooting was directly related to the school, and neither took place in the central part of campus.
Respect the city and it will respect you back
September 25, 2007
By Shannon McDonald | Sept. 25, 2007 | The Temple News
Philadelphia goes by many nicknames, some more pleasant than others. City of Neighborhoods, City of Brotherly Love, Filth-adelphia. As a life-long Philly citizen, I’ve heard them all, and even used a few on occasion. Call it what you want, but keep in mind that a person’s attitude toward the city is directly related to what that person gets back from the city.
Philadelphia has been slowly but surely building itself up over the years. Though it may not be as well known as New York, and not quite as glamorous as L.A., Philly has plenty to offer, as long as residents, visitors and tourists keep an open mind.
Much like any other bond, a person’s relationship with a city needs to be treated with care. Simply being in the city is not enough to warrant a good experience. Tourists seem to realize this, but Philadelphians often fail to consider this point.
The third-year divide
September 4, 2007
By Shannon McDonald | Sept. 4, 2007 | The Temple News
Ah, college. Parties, procrastination and 2 a.m. bowls of Ramen noodles. A place where going to bed at 5 a.m. and waking for class three hours later makes perfect sense. Then there’s the second half of college.
Like most, I spent my first two years of college enduring the days of seemingly endless classes and making plans to do whatever unscholarly activities
I could find at night. After long days of crunching numbers, observing rocks and writing until my hand fell off, the best way to unwind usually involved pajamas and a TV. Throw in some friends and a smörgåsbord of cheap food and I was set.
After just a week into the first semester of my third year, the second half of college is proving to be very different than the first. The classes aren’t harder, but the workload has my schoolbag bursting at the seams. Literally.
The amount of money I spent on books is twice what I’ve spent in previous semesters. Most of this year will be spent looking for internships. Forget movie marathons in pajamas, the only downtime I get is the short break between my classes. Before the semester started I didn’t even consider the possibility of this year being any different from my past experience. If anything, I thought it could only get easier.
However, a sense of reality hit pretty quickly. In less than two years, current third year students like me will graduate and face the cold harsh realities of life. No more professors handing out study guides, no more apartments that come fully furnished. We’ll be on our own looking for employment and ways to defer payments on loans that seemed like no big deal when we signed off on them.
Seniors are probably laughing at my third year anxiety as they order class rings and get fitted for caps and gowns, while sophomores blissfully soak up their last year of carefree collegiate life. But some third year students are looking on the bright side.
“As an upperclassman you know the ropes better, you feel more comfortable on campus,” said Junior Secondary Education major Katie Hollenbach.
“You already have a group of friends.” Hollenbach’s upbeat attitude is refreshing, but the perks of being an incumbent student aren’t as easy to enjoy when you’re bogged down with work and life.
Most people go into college with the mindset that they have four years to party and goof off in between study time. Little do they realize the in-between time gradually becomes few and far between.
Classes become more intense and paper assignments get longer and require more research. Though it would be silly for upperclassmen to expect not to have to work as hard, I was unprepared to feel so much pressure so soon. The best way to handle it all is to enjoy the first two years of college to the fullest. Go out and have fun - within reason of, course - before assignments get too long and life gets too serious.
See this article on www.temple-news.com here. Photo courtesy of Holamun 2.
Hart’s hands-off housing stance is a tired Adamany rerun
August 28, 2007
By Shannon McDonald | Aug. 28, 2007 | The Temple News
A new year brings new issues, as well as some old ones with fresh angles.
Housing on campus is a hot topic, especially as we face another increase in university enrollment. It is up to President Ann Weaver Hart to decide the future of on-campus housing.
The logical solution to accommodate Temple’s burgeoning enrollment would be to build more on-campus housing facilities, more homes for the 4,300 members of the Class of 2011, a class six percent larger than last year’s group. However, President Hart is reluctant to lead the university in that direction.
“I believe that the best use of the university’s limited resources is to focus on teaching, research and student life, and to partner with the private sector to provide student housing,” President Hart said. President Hart also expressed the importance of private investors, such as those affiliated with Oxford Village, University Village, Kardon-Atlantic Terminal, and Elmira Jeffries.
