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Stories for Temple Now, the university's news center.

Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Boyer student lifts her father’s spirits with music

When Allie McCrea chose to study music therapy, she never imagined one of the people she would end up helping would be her own father—or that a video of the two of them singing together would go viral.
Last April, her father, Kevin McCrea, CLA ’88, an Army veteran and a Temple graduate, went into the hospital for spinal reconstructive surgery. Three days later, he suffered two cardiac arrests—the beginning of a months-long ordeal that also included stints on a respirator and several bouts of pne...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

An Owl soars with the Eagles and NASA

Mya Sims, FOX ’20, has a very unusual resume. Following her graduation from Temple last May with a BBA in marketing, Sims began an internship at NASA and auditioned for and joined the ranks of the Philadelphia Eagles’ cheerleading squad—all in the same summer.
Sims has been dancing since she was 4 years old. She grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey and studied ballet, tap and modern jazz. Her love of performing also led to her taking up cheerleading...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

David Ortiz keeps the Latin jazz flowing on WRTI

For over 43 years, David Ortiz has been leading listeners on a voyage through the sounds of Latin jazz, salsa, mambo and more with El Viaje, “the journey.” On Saturday nights on WRTI, he celebrates Latino culture and heritage, mixing an encyclopedic knowledge of artists and genres with musical selections that keep the listener’s feet moving.
We spoke with him about his show, Latino culture in Philadelphia and keeping Latin music alive.
Temple Now: What first drew you to music?David Ortiz: My mot...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Capturing the real

Michael Sharkey, KLN ’16, knows how to bring a story to life. An associate producer on documentary films and series, she’s the backbone of the crew, seeing projects through from pre-production planning to post-production finishing touches.
Her most recent project was her biggest yet: the Netflix documentary BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky, which tells the story of how four young women were brought together to form one of the world’s most popular bands, South Korean girl group BLACKPINK. “People give...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Philly Community Wireless offers internet for the community, by the community

If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has shown many of us, it’s how much we rely on the internet. It’s crucial to how we work, learn and communicate, yet for some communities in North Philadelphia, it’s become harder to access just when they need it most.
Philly Community Wireless (PCW)—a group of community organizers, technologists and researchers who are all volunteers—has stepped up to help, building community-owned infrastructure and working to provide free, net-neutral Wi-Fi to reside...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

For North Philadelphia students, the Cecil B. Moore Scholars Program bridges the gap between high school and college

For many students, the transition from high school to college isn’t easy. The application process can be daunting and once you’ve started as a first-year student, learning to handle the workload and navigate your way through a new environment can be equally tough. For students coming from underserved or under-resourced schools, the process can be even harder.
That’s where the Cecil B. Moore Scholars Program comes in. Developed by Temple and educational nonprofit Steppingstone Scholars—and named...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

For this emergency medicine specialist, life is all about multitasking

Maura Sammon, MED ’99, never stands still. An emergency medicine specialist at Temple Health, where she has been treating COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began, Sammon is an assistant professor at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine; the medical director of Global Response Management, a medical nonprofit group that functions independently of any government; and is the head of an emergency clinic on the U.S.-Mexico border, which she manages remotely. She is also a single mother.
Being an emerg...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Brand campaigns celebrate Temple’s alumni and faculty

This spring, as Temple responded to the coronavirus pandemic and national conversations on race, the university also launched two brand campaigns that celebrated the strength, ambition and resilience of Temple’s community: one focusing on parents of prospective students, the other on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 
The parent campaign was developed in response to audience research commissioned by the university. “Perception research shows that we’re known for a lot: being Philadelphia’s...

The New Yorker

Sponsored content featured in print and online.

The New Yorker •

Cause and Effect

A summer in Montauk. A walk on the beach. A kiss in the dark. Our actions have consequences. When Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and Alison Lockhart (Ruth Wilson) embark on an affair, their relationship ricochets in unexpected directions, affecting their families and friends in ways neither of them could have imagined. Their desires expose undercurrents of guilt and longing, setting them and those around them on a complex path towards self-exploration and acceptance.
The New Yorker •

The Lost City of Z

In 1925, renowned explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon in search of a lost civilization and vanished. Over the intervening decades, hundreds of would-be rescuers, Fawcett obsessives, and glory-seekers set out to track him, many meeting a similar fate. But in 2005, a New York-based writer, David Grann, picked up his trail afresh and followed a series of clues to an incredible new discovery. Now, Fawcett’s story is a major motion picture, shot partly in the Amazon by intrepid...

The Columbia Journalism Review

Stories for Columbia University's media monitor magazine.

Columbia Journalism Review •

Nigerian journalists are struggling to cover #BringBackOurGirls

On Monday, Boko Haram, the terrorist group that abducted more than 200 girls from a school in northeastern Nigeria last month, released a video ostensibly showing the captives. It was the first time the media and the world at large had seen them since their kidnapping. Punch, Nigeria’s most-read newspaper, posted the video alongside a scant hundred words drawn from the BBC. Nigeria’s leading newspaper relied on...
Columbia Journalism Review •

Majority of top editors quit Le Monde

Seven of the 11 senior editors at Le Monde, one of France’s newspapers of record, resigned en masse on Tuesday over a conflict with management, according to reports. A center-left daily founded in 1944, Le Monde was one of the leading papers in the coverage of Edward Snowden’s revelations.
“A lack of confidence in and communication with editorial management prevents us from fulfilling our roles as chief edit...
Columbia Journalism Review •

The media’s struggle for survival in Bhutan

When Bhutan began its transition into a parliamentary democracy in 2006, its media scene exploded. People in the remote Himalayan country, which lies between India and China, had lived in relative seclusion for decades–television and the internet only arrived in 1999–and there was just one, state-owned newspaper. But the political changes led to a flowering of independent media, and suddenly there were nearly a...
Columbia Journalism Review •

The fixer, the flacks, and the dictator’s son

For over a decade, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue lived like a prince. He paid $30 million in cash for a lavish estate in Malibu, complete with a 15,000-square-foot mansion, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and grounds overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He bought his clothes from Gucci, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana, and owned at least three dozen luxury cars, including seven Ferraris and four Rolls-Royces. But Teodor...

Film

Writing on classic and contemporary film.

retromoviebuff •

Through the (Feminist) Looking-glass - retromoviebuff

“A woman’s intelligence was the equivalent of a man’s penis: something to be kept out of sight.” So writes Molly Haskell in From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies: a fusillade of feminist film criticism that’s as brilliant as it is bold.
It’s been almost 40 years since Haskell published her survey of women in cinema—not only the characters, but the actresses, screenwriters and dir...
The Movie Maven •

Dazed and confused: ‘Trance’ (2013)

In the closing credits of Danny Boyle’s  film, Trance, time winds back on itself to reveal the lifecycle of a painting in reverse: paint is stripped away, layer by layer, figures devolving into amorphous blotches of colour, until only a blank canvas remains. It’s a clever flourish for a film obsessed with perception and memory—and that’s part of the problem. In Trance there is no substance—only style.
Art auctioneer Simon Newton (James McAvoy) is a compulsive gambler on a very long losing streak...
The Movie Maven •

Not worth the price of ‘Admission’

For a film about decisions, Admission (2013) can’t seem to make up its mind. Is Paul Weitz’s comedy a farce about the Ivy League admissions process, a cringe comedy about one woman’s regimented life unravelling, or a meditation on missed opportunities and unconventional families? Like an over-eager student’s personal essay, the film tries to cram in too much and ends up a confused mess—a heap of good ideas without any structure.
Strait-laced Princeton University admissions officer Portia Nathan...

Freelance

Branded lifestyle, fashion and finance content.

People •

What’s in a Bank? Choosing a Financial Partner You Can Trust

Opening a bank account is easy: often all you need is a valid government photo I.D. and an initial deposit to get going. But choosing the right bank? That’s a little harder. From rates and fees, to accessibility, to the quality of the bank’s mobile app—there’s a lot to consider. Most of all, you need a bank that suits your needs and helps you feel at ease with your finance. Here are a few key things to keep in mind.
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Championing racial equity at Temple and beyond

When Adjoa B. Asamoah, CLA ’98, EDU ’01, was 9 years old, her father Kwame, CLA ’99, took her on a trip to Ghana, where he was born. In Elmina, on the south coast, they visited the “door of no return,” through which millions of enslaved Africans had passed as they were shipped to the Caribbean, Brazil and the U.S. She walked through the dungeons they had been held in and touched the shackles that remain a testament to their suffering. 
“There is something that happens when you are in that space,...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

An Owl spreads his wings on Netflix

Every actor dreams of landing their first major role. For Benjamin Norris, TFM ’12, that dream just came true: He’s co-starring in the new Netflix series Never Have I Ever. 
It’s an exciting step for the young actor, made all the more remarkable by the fact that he’d never considered a career in acting before coming to Temple.                                        
Norris grew up in White Plains, New York and always enjoyed keeping the people around him entertained. “I loved performing for my f...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

A WWII veteran’s fight to receive an honorable discharge

When World War II veteran Nelson Henry Jr., CLA ’69, was released from the Army in 1945, he was given a “blue discharge,” one of thousands of soldiers targeted because of their sexual orientation or the color of their skin. It would take nearly 75 years to right that wrong.
Henry was a sophomore at Lincoln University when he enlisted in 1942 and was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program: a course created to meet the wartime demand for soldiers with technical skills, including engine...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

On Charles Library’s green roof, sustainability starts from the top down

When Charles Library opened in September 2019, so did its green roof, one of the largest in Pennsylvania. A crucial part of the library’s stormwater management system and one of its most visible sustainable features, the roof is now celebrating its first spring.
Transforming a standard roof into a green one begins with a waterproof membrane and a layer of soil, or rather, media. “We call it media because it doesn’t actually contain any natural soil,” said Glenn Eck, associate director of grounds...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Inside REFINE, a magazine written for and by Temple women

“Pressure Creates Diamonds.” That’s the tagline of REFINE magazine, Temple’s first lifestyle magazine written by and for women. Fully independent and student-run, it recently won the nationwide prize for best student magazine at the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Awards—a remarkable achievement for a magazine with only four issues under its belt.
Founded two years ago by Sarah Madaus, KLN ’19, REFINE aims to challenge its readers by looking at campus life from new...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Exploring the history of Juneteenth, a day of celebration and reflection

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger, an officer in the Union Army, issued an order in Galveston, Texas: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”Granger’s order laid the foundations for Juneteenth, the oldest nationally-observed celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.A portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth,” Juneteenth commemorates the day when enslaved Africans in Texas wer...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

College of Public Health student volunteers as first-time poll worker

For Georgia Hight-Schickel, Class of 2022, 2020 was always going to be a landmark year: the first time she would be old enough to vote in a U.S. presidential election. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. 
Suddenly, simply casting her ballot didn’t seem like enough. “I really just wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could. I didn’t want to look back and think, ‘Well, I could have done more,’” she said. So, she volunteered as a first-time poll worker and encouraged more people to vote.
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

Attacks on the Asian American community are tied to a history of racism and prejudice

Over the past year, the Asian American community has been inundated by a wave of racially motivated attacks, including verbal abuse, vandalism, beatings and the shootings that claimed the lives of six women of Asian descent in Atlanta in March.
For Nguyễn Thị Điểu, an associate professor of history at the College of Liberal Arts, the violence is part of a chain stretching back as far as the 19th century.
We spoke with her about the history of several Asian communities in the U.S., the racism and...
Temple Now | news.temple.edu •

The national conversation on race is an opportunity to push for greater inclusion

For David Brown, the protests following George Floyd’s death have underlined the importance of inclusion. 
A public relations veteran, ordained minister and assistant professor of instruction at Klein College of Media and Communication, Brown is also diversity advisor to the office of the dean, a role he helped create.
”I think that for the first time in a long time, people are really listening and hopefully acting on what they hear,” Brown said, “And those of us who have dedicated our lives to...