Op/Ed

Saamir Baker

Staff Writer

Starting over the summer, I began to plan the long grueling job that would be ordering newly designed jerseys for the SLA ultimate uniforms. A feat that has not been accomplished since the first uniform designed when the first team was established.

It all began with meeting with the lady that would order the uniforms for our team, Candi Crispin. She would connect us to her company’s uniform makers and give us discounted prices. The first step towards success in this terrible process.

After discussing the pricing, the next thing I absolutely had to do was get Chris Lehmann on board, the ultimate frisbee coach. Set in his ways, he wasn’t super keen to the idea of getting new jerseys at first because he still liked the simple design. But I was gung-ho on having this process go through all the way. So after a short sales pitch on why we should have new jerseys ranging from “They’re only $32! That’s way cheaper than what  they run for ($70),” all the way to “This is a new era of SLA ultimate! We need these.” He finally tentatively agreed and I set out to show him that this wasn’t just another student proposal that wouldn’t follow through. I had to show him that I meant business.

After many weeks of planning these jerseys, I made a google questionaire for players to give me all of their information for sizes.Sadly after a week of constant form replies, they died down. With these results I had to turn into a monster, hellbent on one mission:get everyone to sign my form! Countless passive-aggressive facebook posts on the ultimate frisbee group went out, emails, and up-close encounters.I did whatever it took to get everyone to fill out the form to make sure I had everyone down with each information column filled.  

I set up two ambassadors who could help me with collecting money from the other players. Jorin Gervani would remind everyone and give me money, Eli Block would help check names off of our spreadsheet, and bring the money he collects to Ms.Diane

The main selling point was us joining the exclusive group of teams who have names on the back of their jerseys. Candi would order the jerseys for us before we paid so we would have them in time for our first tournament. She agreed to this as long as we paid her back within a month which added more pressure onto my already stressful job. So I put on my new persona as the passive-aggressive bill collector that wanted his money as soon as possible, giving a deadline that was way before the money was even due, giving a sense of urgency to the players. Once again facebook was my outlet to inform everyone of when money would be due and how much it cost.

The first day of collecting money? Only two people out of the 36 gave us money. Jorin sent out a new facebook post and the new rule was: anyone who did not pay wouldn’t get their uniform until they did. With another round of passive-aggressive emails, yelling at every ultimate player I saw, and even interrogating another player I finally had all of the money in and ready to go. With help from our CFO Ms.Diane.

We ran into a few problems on the logistics part, we didn’t have an official a design ready. Okay to be clear… we HAD designs but none of them were good enough to really pay for, nor did Lehmann particularly like any of them. Finally after stressing about how we didn’t have a design Mr.Lehmann pointed me in the direction of Ms. Giknis, who I wished he had told me about a long time ago. Seriously Mr.Lehmann, a lot of stress would have been saved! After 10 minutes of sketching and designing she had an official logo ready for us by that night. I can recall the almost tears of joy I had.

After the planning process started in August, official spreadsheet collecting started in January, the home stretch began in March. We had collected all the money by the 10th and our first tournament was March 31st. We were almost there, almost done. Our jerseys finally here the day before our first tournament. We marvel at the jerseys and I think of the big accomplishment I had just made. My fight to get the team new jerseys had come to an end. I was able to make it happen, and the first to do so as well.

Mekhi Granby

Staff Writer

For as long as I can remember, paying for Septa meant using a transpass, token, transfer, or cash of some sort. With the exclusion of the senior citizens pass, you’ve got to swipe, drop, or feed your payment into some kind of a machine before you can get a ride.

 

But now that’s no more. The future is here. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just been introduced to a new option which is the “Septa key.”

 

According to SEPTA’s website,the SEPTA key is one reloadable contactless chip card that will offer a host of options. When I heard this I was like “oh okay, that sounds really cool,” because everything would be made more simple.

 

Then I started to think about the negatives…what if you lose it?

 

The website addresses this problem in its FAQ section. “It’s very important that you register your Card if you put money on the Travel Wallet. This way, if your Card is ever lost or stolen, as soon as you report this to the Key Call Center or online, the funds on your Travel Wallet will be protected and can be transferred to a replacement Key Card…”

 

My biggest issue with this is that it’ll discontinue/replace the other forms of payment. For those who actually like making payments with the other forms will be out of luck. I think there are some very irresponsible people who use SEPTA that often lose transpasses and that whole lost key card thing will just be a big inconvenience, but it would be less of an inconvenience than losing a transpass, which can’t be canceled or replaced.  

 

I don’t have any other reason for the Septa Key not to be a thing but I don’t like how our options in payment will vanish. In terms of preference it may not satisfy everyone. It’s like Apple getting rid of the headphone jack on its phones. There’s still ways to plug in headphones to your iPhone 7, but not everyone likes it or is happy with the headphone jack being gone. Same goes for Septa, I feel like it’ll be the same scenario which kinda sucks.

 

I like how convenient the septa key can be, but I am also very concerned with how this septa key will work for the future of students. My original thoughts were “the septa key thing will be super cool, nobody has to wait in line for transpasses anymore,” but then I heard that it has actual fees connected to an account. Will there be a student septa key? Will it have the same restrictions and privileges of a student transpass?
Other than preference, the SEPTA key doesn’t have many downfalls; it’s clear to me that it has been extremely thought out and well planned. The SEPTA key will be more convenient for everyone who owns one and the only problem lies within moving into the future and giving up the past. Later down the line when the SEPTA key replaces all other forms of payment, some nostalgia will be created. I’ll miss the old transpasses and tokens but things will be much more simplified with the SEPTA key.

Chiara Nemati

Opinion Editor

Here’s something you might not know: I am a dual national, and Trump’s travel ban changes my life.

 

I am a citizen three countries: Iran, Italy, and the United States. Under the travel ban imposed on January 27, 2017 it was unclear whether the ban applied to dual nationals. I would have gone through additional screening upon re-entering the United States due to my Iranian citizenship. This vagueness and unjust executive order lead the 9th circuit court to vote against reinstating the ban.

 

However, on March 6th, Trump and his administration imposed an “updated” travel ban. That ban affirms my right, as a dual national, to gain re-entry to the United States. However, it still bars incoming university students who have not yet received visas.

 

Here are a few key differences: Iraq has been taken off the list of barred nations. Syrian refugees are not banned indefinitely, instead they also have a 120 day freeze on the refugee resettlement program. Valid visa holders, and approved by State Department refugees are not barred from entering. Still barred are employees of state universities or businesses who have not yet received visas. This also affects those who need to renew their visas.  Only 50,000 refugees will be admitted to the United States annually as opposed to Obama’s 110,000. The ban will not take effect until March 16th.

 

For now,  I am able to travel to and from the United States as long as I present my U.S. or Italian passport upon my return.

I am relieved. But the problem is not solved for my family.

 

My father is a sibling of nine. He and one of his sister are the only ones in his family who immigrated to the United States during the revolutionary war in Iran. Throughout my life, I have heard many stories about the atmosphere in Iran during that time and the reason for my father’s immigration.  Due to the change in power and intense religious integration to government, his parents decided to send their sons abroad.  Each brother took a test, much like the SAT, for them to be admitted into a university in the country of their choice. My father decided to take the English equivalent of this test. He passed, and was soon headed to America.

 

He left at a  pivotal moment in the relationship between Iran and the United States. The largest amount of student visas from Iran to the U.S. were seen in 1980. After Iran was declared an Islamic Republic, there was a drastic decrease in the number of students immigrating. Relations between the two nations have been tense ever since.

 

Today, the only family left in Iran is my aunt. She was the youngest of the nine and was not affected by the war due to her age and gender. Because it is so difficult for us to travel to Iran, she and her husband apply for travel visas every year. However, under this travel ban, they will not be able to obtain visas for 90 days. After those 90 days, we are unsure of what the restrictions will be.

 

Here is how we plan to continue to visit my aunt: In April, my father will be traveling to Italy to attend my uncle’s wedding. My aunt who still lives in Iran will be there as well. Our family is lucky enough to have relatives who have settled all across Europe. Through them we will be able to continue visiting each other. Other families in the same situation are not as fortunate.

The goal of this travel ban is to tighten the vetting process which is already a strong and long process. We have neglected to ask what happens if a country does not comply or if the vetting process is not strengthened in those 90 days. What Trump plans to do after these 90 days is not public knowledge.

 

The United States has been a sanctuary for my family, and for many others. The travel ban sends the opposite message about what we stand for.  

 

While the U.S. has never been the perfect nation and has not welcomed all immigrants with open arms, it has always worked towards understanding others and helping integrate immigrants into this country.

 

Under this new administration my mother worried about going on a radio show to promote their flower shop and explain their exhibit in the flower show. She worried people would not understand what she was saying and that they would get frustrated and stop listening. My parents have accents and it has never been something that bothered them or their customers. My mother has lived in this country for 20 years. Yet she still has to worry about what people will think when they hear her voice.

 

This is the battle we now fight. Immigrants now have to speak up and worry about things we previously paid no mind to.  People are emboldened by Trump and feel that it is okay to oppress people who may have lived in this country for longer than they have.