Monthly Archives: March 2014

Investments committee renames account

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The Investments Committee of Temple’s Board of Trustees will rename and re-purpose its Retirement of Indebtedness Fund, it announced at a public session meeting today in Sullivan Hall.

The new fund, now called the Operating and Auxiliary Reserves Fund, will still provide investment support to the auxiliary and operating budgets for debt-financed projects as the predecessor did.

The trustees present, among them committee chair Christopher McNichol in person and Nelson Diaz by phone, agreed that the name change would better reflect the fund’s purpose and eliminate the misconception that the fund’s function is to repay university debt.

The committee also moved to revise parts of the Investment Policies to include guidelines for the new fund. The fund will be allowed up to a 50 percent allocation in U.S. corporate bonds deemed “high-quality.”

This allocation would add about 55 basis points to the investment. One basis point is equivalent to a value rise of one hundredth of one percent.

“It would only slightly change the risk profile,” Ken Kaiser, Temple’s chief financial officer and treasurer said in his explanation to the trustees.

This change is part of an ongoing effort to structure the other investment pools and funds similarly to the pension and post-retirement funds, which have fixed income allocations.

The management of the pension and post-retirement funds was shifted in February from RS Investments to Van Eck Associates Corporation, a larger firm based in New York City.

The meeting met first in executive session at 10 a.m. before moving to public session from 10:25 a.m.-10:35 a.m. It moved back to executive session at that time.

The next Investments committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, at 10 a.m.

Joe Brandt can be reached at joseph.brandt@temple.edu or on Twitter @JBrandt_TU. 

Teens charged as adults for assaults

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Three of five teenagers arrested yesterday have been charged as adults in connection to three assaults that occurred near Main Campus last Friday, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

Najee Bilaal, 16,  Zaria Estes, 15, and Kanesha Gainey, 15, have been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, possession of an instrument of a crime, terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Gainey’s bail was set for $75,000 while both Bilaal and Estes had bail set at $100,000 each.

The DA’s office didn’t say who is believed to have used a brick to attack a 19-year-old student who broke her jaw and required emergency oral surgery.

According to court records, Bilaal has been arrested six times since December 2011, including on charges of retail theft and criminal trespassing. Three of the arrests were made by SEPTA police for theft of services.

Neither Estes nor Gainey have prior arrests listed in the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.

Bilaal’s zip code is listed in West Philadelphia near University City, according to court records. Gainey had a listed zip code from West Philadelphia and Estes had a Northwest Philadelphia zip code. Police yesterday said the teens left Temple after the attacks on a SEPTA bus heading south on 17th Street.

The next court date for the teens is set for April 10.

John Moritz can be reached at john.moritz@temple.edu or on Twitter @JCMoritzTU. 

Arrests made, no charges filed yet, in Friday’s assault cases

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Five juveniles believed to be connected with Friday’s assault on a 19-year-old student and her 20-year-old boyfriend have been arrested according to the Philadelphia police.

The minors have not yet been charged and are awaiting a court hearing as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said.

Three of the people arrested were 15 years old, one was 14 and another was 17, Stanford said.

The arrests came in the wake of surveillance footage released last night of four teenage females walking toward the 1700 block of Norris Street before the assault took place.

At 6 p.m., a female student and her boyfriend said they were attacked by a group of eight to 10 youths who appeared to between 13 to 14 years old. One of the attackers, a female, hit the 19-year-old victim in the face twice with a brick resulting in emergency oral surgery, a fractured jawbone and mild concussion.

Two other students reported similar attacks within a half-hour of the aforementioned assault by a group of juveniles ranging in the same size.

The couple assaulted with a brick called 911 en route to Hannehman University Hospital within 10 minutes of the attack while a second female attempted to report the attack to the 22nd Precinct police station on 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue but did not file an official report.

A third student waited until Sunday afternoon to speak to Temple police.

It is not clear whether all three attacks are related at this time.

Paley Library evacuated due to bomb scare

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The Paley Library and Tuttleman Learning Center were evacuated by police for close to a half hour Tuesday afternoon due to a suspicious package. The buildings, near the corner of 13th Street and Polett Walk, were evacuated around 2:20 p.m. and the all clear was issued at 2:45 p.m.

Police and bomb squad units responded to the scene where they closed 13th street from automobile traffic and had K-9 units as well as a bomb disposal robot on the scene.

The suspicious package was found on top of a urinal in the first floor men’s bathroom of Paley. The package was found to be a student’s electronics project that consisted of a tissue box with wires found on top, said Charlie Leone, acting executive director of campus safety services.

On Sunday at 5:38 p.m. the Conwell Inn on Main Campus was evacuated due to a prop grenade. The all-clear was issued 25 minutes later.

Roman Catholic Wins Mock Trial of Philadelphia

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Roman Catholic High School won the annual John S. Bradway City-wide High School Mock Trial Championship Saturday, March 15 over Girard College that was held in the Beasley School of Law. The championship showcased both sides exhibiting their knowledge of law and the U.S. justice system.

“We worked pretty hard these last two weeks to get ready for this trial and I think we executed pretty well,” said Andrew DiCicco of Roman Catholic, who was voted as the best advocate for his team. “I went a little bit off topic on my cross [examination] of the witnesses because of the time constraints, so I was only able to hit one of the points I wanted to make.”

On the other side Brandon Dixon of Girard College was disappointed, but not distraught.

“Our causes were a little bit weak, and we did not adapt to what the witnesses were saying like we usually do,” said Dixon who was named the best advocate of his team. “I really thought we were going to win, but I am glad since we are all rookies, we made it this far.”

The fictitious case presented described a 2013 civil-suit of a man called Jordan Simon. Simon was a track star that had a promising future with the imagined Ruffed Grouse High School. Simon was found dead in May with high levels of erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is a drug that can be used to help improve endurance in races. The blame for Simon’s death was then up for debate between the school or Simon’s dad, Kelly Simon, who was also a former track star. The school could be blamed for their negligence of Simon’s drug symptoms or Kelly for doing the same and pushing Simon too hard.

The Roman Catholic team played the part of the prosecution, Kelly Simon, and the Girard College team served as the defense.

The scoring of the case was by 12 judges who graded the students on nine categories on a one to five scale. Some of the categories were the opening statements, direct examinations and cross examinations. These categories are based on clear and persuasive arguments and the time constraints given.

At the opening of the case, the prosecution came out with an argument that threw the defense off guard.

“We change our opening for every case, but the prosecution revealed some things I never heard before,” Dixon said.

Things continued to get away from the defense when the prosecution called their first witness. During the questioning of the witness, the defense objected two times out of apparent desperation and got overruled.

The defense got back on track when Girard College’s Anya Johnson cross examined the prosecution’s second witness. The questions that Johnson asked the witness were ones that made the witness seem to get on they’re heels.

By calling the witness playing the imaginary track coach to the stand, the defense continued to be aggressive. The prosecution countered with a good cross examination of the coach.

The closing statements of the two sides were both convincing, but the one delivered by the prosecution seemed better spoken.

The competition began back in January with 36 teams. After five rounds of competition the final two competed Saturday.

The case studies were written by Paul Kaufman, Jonathan D. Koltash and Jonathan Grode, the latter being a former valedictorian of Temple. Grode has been writing the case studies since 2007 and was presiding as the judge for the trial.

“I was thoroughly impressed,” Grode said. “Frankly I found today’s proceedings almost too difficult to call a winner. Regardless, both teams succeeded.”

Stephen Godwin Jr. can be reached at stephen.godwin@temple.edu.

Grenade-like device found in Conwell Inn

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Police responded to the Conwell Inn on Main Campus after a guest reported they found a grenade-like device in their room on Sunday afternoon.

Deputy Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said police arrived on the scene at 5:38 p.m. Philadelphia bomb squad units took the device to their lab to examine if it was real, a replica or another device.

Campus police closed down Liacouras Walk from Montgomery Street to 1940 Residence Hall, in addition to the portion of Polett Walk between the Conwell Inn and Sullivan Hall.

Temple issued a TU alert warning students of the investigation of a suspicious device at 5:54 p.m., at which time police on the scene were already beginning to take down caution tape and barriers.

An all clear was sent out through a TU Alert at approximately 6:06 p.m.

Justice for Monteiro holds meeting at Church of the Advocate

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Students and local residents held a meeting to discuss their support for ousted African American studies professor Anthony Monteiro, as well as issues surrounding Temple’s relationship with the nearby community at the Church of the Advocate Tuesday night, March 19.

The meeting, which was conducted by members of the group Justice for Monteiro, lasted more than two hours and focused around a group of demands the students have made to the university during ongoing discussions.

Among the strongest of the demands are the reinstatement of Monteiro to the African American studies department with full tenure – a position he did not hold when his contract was not renewed this January – and the firing of Dean Teresa Soufas, who signed off on Monteiro’s removal.

Unlike previous meetings held by the group, Monteiro was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. Kashara White, a senior African American studies major led the discussion, which ranged from Temple’s impact on local housing developments to the ability of students to vote upon university matters.

In order to pressure the university into complying with the demands, the protesters discussed a number of demonstrations, including public protests during Experience Temple Days, when prospective students visit Main Campus, as well as sit-down demonstrations on Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

No agreement was reached for a specific type or date of demonstration, though a vote was held to create an “agitation committee” and discuss ideas at a later meeting.

During the meeting, Anthony Pressley, an African American studies student, further called for the group to demand the firing of African American studies Chairman Molefi Asante for his role in Monteiro’s dismissal.

Monteiro had been a public advocate for the promotion of Asante to department chair last spring, as well as a outspoken critic of Dean Soufas, who had placed Jayne Drake, a white woman, as interim chair of the department in 2012.

Many of Monteiro’s supporters also held public demonstrations in support of Asante last spring, but at Tuesday’s meeting the favor seemed to have swayed, with several voicing agreement with Pressley in their condemnation of Asante.

Ultimately, no vote was taken by the students whether or not to add Asante’s removal to their list of demands.

After concluding their meeting, the students agreed to a tentative plan to meet at the same time on March 25, though no location was set.

TSG meeting addresses issues with career center

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Students attending the Temple Student Government General Assembly meeting Monday discussed their experiences with Temple’s Career Center.

Some had problems with the center not being specialized enough for their field of study. Others had issues with events like job fairs being too specialized, as employers were only looking for a handful of majors.

The Career Center is preparing to revamp itself in an effort to become a nationally recognized program, Student Body President Darin Bartholomew said.

Also at the meeting, Marylouise Esten, associate dean of the Beasley School of Law, announced that the school will introduce undergraduate law courses in the fall semester. Esten said Beasley will host a mixer at Klein Hall on March 26, where VIP tickets to former-President Bill Clinton’s April 10 speaking event will be raffled off. Former-Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell will host a question and answer session after Clinton’s event, Esten said.

Andrew McGinley from the Office of Government Affairs encouraged students to devote time to lobby for Temple’s funding in Harrisburg on April 29. McGinley spoke about Owl Academy, a six-week crash course on Temple, government and lobbying the legislature, he said.

“We want you to get comfortable with talking with legislators,” McGinley said. “This is their chance to get to know the university and the students.”

The first Owl Academy session will be held Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in 1810 Liacouras Walk. McGinley said there is no hard rule on how many meetings students have to attend before going to Harrisburg to advocate.

New technology to affect security personnel

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The project to add new security measures in Anderson and Gladfelter halls will force a redistribution of campus security personnel when delayed egress doors are implemented in the entrances to both buildings, according to Campus Safety Services.

Acting Director of CSS Charlie Leone said any officers who are not assigned to any of the two buildings will be reassigned to other parts of the campus. Once the doors are updated, it will be monitored electronically with the alarm system.

“It will include redeployment of the security personnel,” he said, “particularly using extra help during class changes with heavy pedestrian volume, as well as roving patrols.”

The idea to carry out the project came when a teacher from Anderson Hall was attacked last year in his office.

In late October, an 81-year-old professor was robbed and assaulted at knifepoint. Darryl Moon, 45, was later arrested by the Philadelphia Police about 12 hours after police officials identified the suspect via video surveillance.