When it comes to celebrity memorabilia, nothing seems out of bounds: In March, a lock of Justin Bieber's hair fetched $40,668 on eBay. "Some people desire to have a personal link, however absurd, with power and fame and something glorious and glamorous," says Temple religion professor Lucy Bregman. "It's a form of magical thinking, something human beings are never likely to outgrow." Veneration of relics exists in all religions, says Bregman.
Two of Penn State's most powerful officials were charged with perjury and failure to report child abuse in early November, on the same day Jerry Sandusky was accused of sexual abuse of eight children. To support the perjury charges, prosecutors must show probable cause the two men lied and that the lies were intentional and material to the case. "Even though you've had some fairly celebrated folks convicted of perjury, it's a very tough charge to prove," said Edward Ohlbaum, a professor at Temple's Beasley School of Law.
All the current candidates for president — except former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (last published: 2006) have a new or fairly new book out this holiday season, with a few candidates doing book tours alongside campaigns.
Exploring the genetic causes of hypertension has fueled the research of Michael Brown, director of the Hypertension Molecular and Applied Physiology Laboratory at Temple, for the last 10 years. Brown is of mixed race; his father is African American, and the rate of hypertension among African Americans is higher than among Caucasians. His focus is on how lifestyle modification can intervene. "Your genes are not a death sentence. You have a great deal of control over whether you develop hypertension and other cardiovascular problems," said Brown.
Temple's football team dismantled the Wyoming Cowboys 37-15 at the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, earning the Owls their first bowl win since 1979. Temple's performance was "nearly perfect" wrote the Albuquerque Journal, "more than living up to the Owls' motto: 'Temple Tough, Philly Proud.'" Coach Steve Addazio hopes the victory will serve as a catapult. "We had a great year, and that's terrific," he said. "But this allowed us to put that exclamation point on it.
Penn State officials Gary Schultz and Tim Curley were charged with perjury and failure to report child abuse in early November. To support the perjury charges, prosecutors must show probable cause the two men lied and that the lies were intentional and material to the case. "Even though you've had some fairly celebrated folks convicted of perjury, it's a very tough charge to prove,'' said Edward Ohlbaum of Temple's Beasley School of Law. "You have to have a clear question, an unequivocal answer, and (prove) the defendant knew what he was saying was false.''
Almost two years after Comcast launched Xfinity to shed its image as a stodgy cable company, the brand will get a big boost in Philadelphia with the Xfinity Live! complex at the former Spectrum site. But experts are not convinced that the rebranding was necessary or explained well. "It appeared on the heels of FiOS and felt to me like Comcast decided they had to do something, too," said Craig Atwater, a marketing professor in Temple's Fox School of Business.
A proposal for a new 38-acre park in Cape May was unveiled on Wednesday. The plans, which include a wetlands garden, green roofs, aqueducts funneling reusable rainwater, a wind turbine and nature trails, were presented by Temple landscape architecture student Julia Dougherty, who helped design the park. The park was designed for use by students of Cape May Elementary School, which is part of the park property. “There’s a lot of walking and bicycle paths and dog walking areas. The design encourages environmental education,” she said.
