Computer Services announced today in an email that students will be seeing new Owl Cards this summer and fall.

The announcement said that Computer Services and the Diamond Dollars Office are in the process of redesigning the student identification card.

A notable update will be the addition of expiration dates on the Owl Card which will allow the identification cards to count as voter identification cards in accordance with new voter identification legislation in Pennsylvania.  The Temple College Democrats have been pushing to add expiration dates to the Owl Cards and Temple Student Government recently passed a resolution in support of the expiration dates.

In addition to the expiration dates, the card will have the ability to be used as a PNC ATM card.

The date of completion and distribution methods for the new cards has yet to be announced.

Gov. Tom Corbett proposed his 2012-2013 budget today that would decrease Temple’s state funding by 30 percent. The cut lowers Temple’s state appropriation to just under $98 million, from $139.9 million.

The cut comes nearly a year after he proposed to cut state-related univerisities’ appropriations by more than 50 percent. Ultimately, Temple, along with Penn State, Lincoln University and the University of Pittsburgh, received a 19 percent decrease in state funding for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Last year’s 19 percent cut amounted to $1,172 and $1,170 increases in tuition for in-state and out-of-state students, respectively.

On top of the 19 percent cut, state-related universities face another 5 percent cut for the current fiscal year, as a result of a revenue shortfall of $486.8 million.

Temple requested $144.1 million for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which would have been a 3 percent increase from the $139.9 million it was granted for the current fiscal year.

[UPDATE: Click here for the full story.]

JACOB COLON TTN file photo

In light of the tragic suicide on Main Campus, The Temple News would like to remind its readers about the startling facts associated with suicide and the avenues of help that are available to those in need.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college-aged students in the United States. An estimated 1,088 college students commit suicide each year.

On top of the tragic number of students that succumb to suicide each year, 9 percent of students admit to seriously thinking about suicide and 1.5 percent of students have attempted suicide.

Depression, along with other mental illnesses, are known to play a major role in suicide across the country.

Anyone in need of help should not hesitate to contact the vast array of resources at their disposal:

•Tuttleman Counseling Services is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The office accepts walk-in appointments and offers confidential meetings.

•Counselors can be reached at 215-204-7276.

•The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be contacted at 1-800-273-TALK.

Three men were arrested yesterday and charged with the deadly assault of 2010 alumnus Kevin Kless, who was beaten to death on Jan. 14.

Police said in a press release earlier today that the suspects–
Felix Carrillo, 23, Stephen Ferguson, 20, and Kenneth Santiago, 19–were taken into custody by police on Friday night.

Kless was brutally beaten last Saturday while attempting to hail a cab and was pronounced dead later that night.