UNDERAGE DRINKING SPIKES DURING HOMECOMING WEEKEND

Twenty reports of underage consumption occurred from Friday night to Sunday night during Homecoming Weekend. Six incidents were reported Friday, nine Saturday and three Sunday. Seven resulted in an arrest, 12 were referred for a university hearing with the Student Conduct Committee and one incident was exceptionally cleared. Nine incidents occurred in residence halls; the remaining 11 were reported in off-campus residencies, concentrated around Cecil B. Moore Avenue to N. 15th Street.

–Lian Parsons

COSBY QUESTIONED IN BOSTON ABOUT 1974 CASE

Former Temple trustee, Bill Cosby, was questioned under oath in Boston last Friday, philly.com reported. The seven-hour deposition addressed the 1974 alleged molestation of a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

Judy Huth, the complainant, is one of 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexually abusing, harassing or raping them throughout his career. The deposition will remain under seal until December.

U.S. Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan will review the testimony and will hear the attorneys’ arguments over what parts of the deposition will become public. Huth’s lawsuit was filed in December 2014 and is the first significant court case since Andrea Constand, a Temple employee, sued Cosby in 2005.

Cosby could still be deposed at Montgomery County, as the statute of limitations for Constand runs out Jan. 1, 2016.

-Lian Parsons

TEMPLE HIRES NEW FACULTY

Keeping with past trends, Temple has hired 53 new faculty members to the major colleges around campus. For the past 12 years, an average of 57 faculty have joined Temple each year. The professors are all tenured or tenure-track with the university.

Most notable include maestro Andreas Delfs to the Boyer College of Music and Dance as conductor of the Temple University Symphony Orchestra, Ralph Horwitz to the School of Medicine as a professor and director of the new Institute for Transformative Medicine and Kose John and Masatoshi Nei, both distinguished as Laura H. Carnell Professors. Coming to the School of Media and Communication is Edward L. Fink, who will be a professor of Strategic Communication.

The College of Public Health, the School of Media and Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science and Technology, the School of Medicine and the Fox School of Business each saw five to eight new hires.

-Julie Christie

JUDICIAL CONDUCT BOARD REOPENS INVESTIGATION INVOLVING KATHLEEN KANE

The Judicial Conduct Board has reopened its investigation into inappropriate emails sent by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin. The board investigated Justice Eakin last year and dismissed the complaints against him.

According to philly.com, Eakin had been receiving and spreading offensive emails from a private account. The emails included jokes about abuse and rape victims, as well as racism toward Muslims and African-Americans.

In a press release Friday, the Judicial Conduct Board said Attorney General Kathleen Kane provided them with emails sent by Justice Eakin that were not disclosed in the original investigation. The investigation had been concluded with the board believing it had been provided with all email records.

Kane, a graduate of Temple’s Beasley School of Law, has been under fire for providing the press with confidential information about a grand jury and then attempting to cover it up later,  the New York Times reported.

-Julie Christie

LEGISLATION PASSED FOR AFFORDABLE TEXTBOOKS

Legislation was introduced to the Senate last Wednesday to make college textbooks more affordable for students.

The Affordable College Textbook Act would create a grant program to support the creation of open college textbooks, which would be accessible under an open license to professors, students and researchers. The bill also would also require the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress by 2017 with price trends updated on college textbooks, as well as aims to improve existing requirements for publishers to make all textbooks available for individual sale, instead of as a bundle.

-Lian Parsons

TEMPLE POLICE, OTHERS ADD SECURITY ENFORCEMENTS AT CITY UNIVERSITIES MONDAY

Temple Police issued a pair of emails to the university community after the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives discovered a vague threat in a post on 4chan, a popular imageboard website.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the university exercised caution about the threat, which stated a “fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia.” The time for the threat to be executed was 2 p.m. Monday EST, the threat read.

Leone added Temple is one of many universities that prepared for the threat. Drexel University’s Public Safety issued a statement to students, faculty and staff, reminding the community about the shooting that occurred at Umpqua Community College in Roseberg, Oregon.

“You’re talking a lot of territories and other universities,” Leone said.

He added Temple Police increased its presence in high traffic areas around Main Campus and encouraged students, faculty and staff to report any suspicious activity.

AlliedBarton was also instructed to help look for “anything suspicious,” Leone added.

The FBI, Philadelphia Police and other law enforcement agencies took notice of the threat and aided in the increase in security in the city Monday, he said.

“Unfortunately, this is the world we’re living in, so we have to be cautious,” Leone said.

-Steve Bohnel

ARMED ROBBERY SOUTHWEST OF MAIN CAMPUS

A 20-year-old man was robbed by four other men early Sunday morning at the intersection of 17th and Jefferson streets.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the complainant, who is not a student, was at the aforementioned location when four men approached him.

One of the men displayed a silver-colored handgun, demanding the man’s belongings, Leone said. The 20-year-old gave the men his cell phone and $26.

Leone added the armed individual was about 5-feet-9 inches tall, and was last seen wearing a light-colored hoodie. The other three suspects were all last seen wearing dark hoodies. All four men appeared to be in their late teens to early 20s, Leone said.

Tipsters should contact Temple Police at 215-204-1234.

–Steve Bohnel

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL PILOTS NEW ‘MIRROR THERAPY’

Dr. Eric Altschuler, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the School of Medicine, is conducting a pilot research study that utilizes mirrors to lessen pain in injured veterans, according to a university press release.

“Mirror therapy” uses a mirror to display a reflection of the patient’s healthy limb where the injured limb would be. When the patient moves the healthy limb, the mirror gives the optical illusion of the injured limb moving in tandem. This illusion prompts the brain into believing the injured limb is functioning normally. The therapy can reduce pain and spasms in the injured limb.

The study will focus on combat veterans with complex orthopedic and peripheral nerve injuries, as well as continuous pain and discomfort that inhibits their lives. The study will be held at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland over a span of eight weeks.

Altschuler suspects people with severe injuries may be able to regain mobility and reduce pain and discomfort through therapy, and hopes to apply the results to the civilian population.

-Lian Parsons

HOSPITAL RECEIVES AWARD FOR INCREASED QUALITY

Temple University Hospital was presented with the 2015 Rising Star Award award at the University HealthSystem Consortium Annual Conference 2015 in Orlando, Florida. TUH is one of only three hospitals in the country to earn the award, which honors academic medical centers that have made significant improvements in their annual rankings in UHC’s annual Quality and Accountability Study.

TUH scored in the top 10th percentile in three out of the six performance categories on UHC’s 2015 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard, including clinical effectiveness, efficiency and equity of care. TUH was also in the top 25th percentile in the mortality and safety categories.  TUH earned a four-star rating out of a maximum of five stars.

“Honors such as the UHC’s 2015 Rising Star Award can only be achieved by physicians and staff who have made a commitment to high-performance healthcare that improves positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes,” said TUH President and CEO John Kastanis, said in a press release.  “This is the kind of commitment that earns distinction at the national level and will solidify Temple University Hospital’s continued success.

-Lian Parsons

TUTV PROVIDES COVERAGE OF WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES

Along with Neumann University in Aston, TUTV was the only other collegiate station credentialed to provide live coverage of Pope Francis’ appearances in Philadelphia last week.

TUTV reporters prepared stories in advance and broadcasted live from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway along with professional media outlets.

Associate Professor Paul Gluck, TUTV’s general manager, told the Inquirer as many as 17 student journalists were involved in the coverage.

“We can’t think of a better opportunity to show them how to cover a world-class story than when it comes to your backyard,” he said.

Lu Ann Cahn, director of career services for the School of Media and Communication and a former NBC10 reporter, anchored TUTV’s coverage.

“This might be one of the biggest stories we’re ever going to cover,” senior and broadcast journalism major Melissa Steininger told the Inquirer. “Something we’re going to remember forever.”

TUTV is broadcast in Philadelphia on Comcast Channel 50 and Verizon Channel 45 as well as streamed online at templetv.net.

-Lian Parsons

NEW DEFIBRILLATOR USED AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Temple University Hospital is the first in the region to implement a new FDA approved implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) system. Patients with an ICD implanted generally have been unable to receive MRI scans because the MRI could cause a malfunction in the defibrillator.

ICDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a condition where the heart unexpectedly begins beating in a very rapid pattern. SCA can be fatal if not treated immediately.

An ICD is placed under the skin to track the heart rate of patients who have already had, or are at risk for SCA. If the ICD detects an abnormal rapid heart rhythm it will automatically deliver an electric shock to restore the heartbeat to normal.

The hospital will use the Medtronic Evera MRI SureScan ICD System. It has been FDA approved to allow for MRI scans on any part of the body. The approval was based on data from the Evera MRI Clinical Trial, which demonstrated the device is safe and effective, because of a very low risk of interactions between the MRI and the ICD.

“We are pleased to offer this innovative technology at Temple,” Joshua Cooper, MD, FACC, FHRS, Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Temple University Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine said in a press release. “This new device could be a big deal for patients who may benefit from an ICD implantation to deliver life-saving therapy. Many of these same patients may need an MRI at some point in their lifetime and this piece of technology will help break down the barrier between ICDs and MRIs.”

The new product will not replace all defibrillators, Cooper said. However, the MRI-safe ICD is an improved option.

-Lian Parsons

LACK OF STATE BUDGET IS HURTING CHARTER SCHOOLS

Charter schools are suffering from lack of funding, the Keystone Alliance for Public Charter Schools announced in a press release last week.

There has been a three-month-long state budget impasse, which has led to school districts across the state reducing or suspending tuition payments to brick-and-mortar charter schools.

“The Charter School Law does not permit school districts to withhold funding from charter schools in the absence of a state budget,” said Tim Eller, executive director of the Keystone Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  “The bulk of funding for charter schools is funneled through school districts, and with many of them refusing to pay, charter schools are being financially strangled.  This is affecting thousands of students who attend charter schools across the state.”

Eller added many brick-and-mortar charter schools are struggling to remain open during the budget impasse.

There are 86 brick-and-mortar charter schools in Philadelphia alone. According to publiccharters.org, as of 2012, there are around 47,000 charter school students in Philadelphia.

Charter schools do not have the authority to levy local taxes and generally rely on school districts for funding. They have few options for revenue sources and access to funding is quickly dwindling, including reserve funds.

Section 1725-A of the Public School Code requires school districts to pay charter schools “in 12 equal monthly payments, by the fifth day of each month, within the operating school year.”

-Lian Parsons

TWO FORMER STUDENTS INVOLVED IN DEADLY SEATTLE BUS COLLISION

Temple alumni Brad Volm and Bradley Sawhill were involved in a collision between a Ride the Ducks tour vehicle and a bus in Seattle last Thursday afternoon, The Seattle Times reported. Four people were killed, eight others were critically injured in the collision and 20 people suffered minor injuries.

A witness described the Ride the Ducks tour vehicle, which was headed north, swerving and hitting an SUV before colliding with and ripping out the side of the southbound bus, The Seattle Times reported.

Volm and Sawhill were six weeks into a two-month cross-country roadtrip. They were both rugby players at Temple and graduated in 2014. Neither sustained injuries beyond minor bruising, Gerry Volm, Volm’s father said.

“Since graduation, [Brad] has always wanted to do this [trip],” Volm’s father said.

Neither of the two went to the ER after the collision.

“He’s a pretty humble kid,” Volm’s father added. “As parents we tried to convince him to go to the ER, but he said, ‘No Dad, there are other people who need it more.”

Since the crash, a fifth person died from sustaining accident injuries. 13 people are still recovering at the Harborview Medical Center, with four listed in serious condition.

-Lian Parsons

TEMPLE STUDENT SHINES LASER AT HELICOPTER

An unidentified Temple student was seen flashing a laser pointer at a Philadelphia Police helicopter last Monday night, the Inquirer reported.

The action caused Aviation Lt. David Bonk to tweet out a picture of Morgan Hall North, where the incident occurred.

“Attention @TempleUniv student on top floor: pointing lasers at #TacAir is illegal,” Bonk tweeted Monday night.

The Inquirer reported that Lt. John Stanford, a Philadelphia Police spokesman, said police officials were in contact with Temple to ensure the university would warn that shining a laser at aircrafts can lead to the perpetrator being arrested.

Temple issued an email about the incident Tuesday afternoon, when Michael Scales, associate vice president for student affairs, addressed students who live in residential halls about the incident.

“Philadelphia Police reported overnight that someone in Morgan Hall North at Temple University shined a laser pointer at a police helicopter in the area,” Scales wrote.

“The use of laser pointers on aircraft can be dangerous for those in the air and on the ground. Anyone found responsible could face both criminal and university penalties.”

Tipsters should contact Temple Police at 215-204-1234.

-Steve Bohnel

STUDENTS, FACULTY CREATE POP-UP PARK IN SUBURBS

In honor of Park(ing) Day—an annual event created to temporarily turn metered parking spaces into public parks—Temple University Ambler students and faculty created “Park(ing) for People,” a temporary pop-up park located in front of the County Theater in Doylestown this past Friday and Saturday.

The effort to create the park, which was 120-feet long and 12-feet wide, was led by associate professor Baldev Lamba, chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, according to a university press release.

“Imagine a greener, more people-friendly space in place of parking spots,” Lamba said. “This pop-up park is a true partnership between our students and faculty and volunteer architects, horticulturists, landscape architects, artists and organizations in the region.”

In 2011, Lamba helped to create a award-winning 32,000 square-foot pop-up garden—the first of its kind for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Even though the one in Doylestown was roughly 22 times smaller than this design, the purpose of both parks is the same, Lamba said.

“It’s about changing mindsets,” he said. “It’s showing people that urban centers can have areas that are green, innovative and inviting.”

-Steve Bohnel