President Theobald's op-ed outlines broad vision for controlling student debt
In an op-ed that echoed his testimony to the state Senate and House appropriations committees, Temple President Neil D. Theobald addressed one of the biggest concerns facing Pennsylvania's citizens: "How do we hold down students' college costs and ensure our young people have realistic expectations for their role in the workplace?" The op-ed outlined Temple's broad-based approach, from the university's recently announced Fly in 4 initiative to financial literacy and postgraduate planning efforts. "The solutions are complex, but by no means insurmountable," he wrote. "We must help our student population take control of their financial future."
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 11, 2014

Senior journalism major breaks national story involving CIA
A senior in Temple's journalism program helped break a national story that has members of the U.S. Senate pointing fingers at the CIA. Ali Watkins, currently a freelancer for McClatchy in Washington, D.C., received a tip from sources who came to trust her while making herself a presence on Capitol Hill. The story she developed chronicled how the CIA Inspector General's Office asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations stemming from an as-yet-unreleased Senate Intelligence Committee report. "To me, this story stands as a testament to watchdog journalism," said Watkins, previously a Philadelphia Daily News intern.
Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, more | March 11-12, 2014

Temple psychologist's CNN op-ed: "Justice system is failing young black men"
President Obama's "important" new My Brother's Keeper initiative is "designed to help one of American society's most vulnerable populations," wrote Temple psychologist Laurence Steinberg in a CNN op-ed. "Young black men are disproportionately likely to drop out of school, experience unemployment and come into contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Experts disagree about the root causes of these problems, but few doubt that something needs to be done." However, if the initiative is going to succeed, "we can't just focus on 'fixing' young black men," he argued. "We need to fix the justice system, too."
CNN | March 11, 2014

Temple research: Children's weight affected by active video games
Do active video games affect childhood obesity? Researchers in Temple's Center for Obesity Research and Education were part of a team that conducted a clinical trial of children in Texas, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The children were split into two groups: One was provided with active sports games, while the other group was given less active games. At the end of the study, researchers discovered the group that did not get the active games "exhibited little or no change in physical activity" and had lost little weight. The active gaming group was found to have a 50 percent greater reduction in relative weight and body mass index, and was more active overall.
CBC (Canada), Yahoo! News, Huffington Post, more | March 3, 2014

African-American salons adjusting to social and economic changes
Black hair salons and barbershops were once viewed as central meeting places in the African-American community—safe spaces for socializing, organizing politically and grapevine information-sharing, said Temple's Lori Tharps, co-author of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America. Now, patrons face a choice between nostalgia and fiscal conscientiousness. "Many salon customers just aren't there anymore," Tharps said. "What responsibility does the younger generation have to support something that is more expensive, takes more time and isn't growing with the community it serves?"
Washington Times, San Francisco Chronicle, South Florida Times, Bergen Record, nj.com, more | Feb. 23-March 6, 2014

Stir in Japan over vandalized copies of Anne Frank's diary
Damage to hundreds of books in a Tokyo public library featuring one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust has shocked many Japanese. "It could be just one unhappy person and this could have happened anywhere in the world, but it does not come at a good time for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his conservative government," said Robert Dujarric of Temple University, Japan Campus. "This can be used to make Japan look bad in its attitudes towards foreigners when there are plenty of people saying Japan looks bad enough already. This government does not need this."
Deutsche Welle (Germany) | March 6, 2014

STHM's Sport Industry Research Center launches joint venture for Broad Street Run
The buildup to the Broad Street Run continued in February with the kickoff of a partnership between Team Philly Race Training and the Temple School of Tourism and Hospitality's Sport Industry Research Center. The joint venture will conduct a study to evaluate a 10-week training program for Broad Street. The plan was unveiled at the Philadelphia Runner location in University City. "We've been studying attitude and behaviors of runners for the past few years," said Jeremy Jordan, director of the Sport Industry Research Center. "It was a natural fit to get involved with Team Philly, especially for an event like the Broad Street Run."
philly.com | Feb. 28, 2014

Temple instructor invents crisis-mitigation game based on "Scandal"
Damian Pitts was not offended when a student in his leadership class at Temple asked for an early dismissal. Pitts was just confused by the excuse: The student wanted to get home in time to watch Scandal, a show he had never heard of. One year later, Pitts aims to leverage the program's appeal with a crisis-leadership game called Scandalytes. "Even when the show goes into syndication, the game will still have legs because chaos will never stop," Pitts said. "It teaches how to overcome crises." His game-to-be pits two teams of players, or firms, against each other as they tackle crisis-mitigation scenarios.
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 4, 2014

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