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Hallway Fashion: Kai Burton

March 31, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Ella Donesky
Staff Writer

Where do you usually shop?
I like Target and J Crew. I like American Eagle a lot, that’s probably where I get most of my clothes. That’s it. Those are my main places.

Who inspires your outfits?
Probably my mother. She’s all fashionable and tiny, so yeah. My mom always gets really dressed up. Wherever she goes, she always has her makeup on, and she’ll put on really simple outfits, but they always look really cute. And when I was little, she dressed me and I was never into fashion, so she still always gives me suggestions. I take her advice more than anybody else. Everyone else in my family is a kind of a hot mess when it comes to clothes.

What’s your favorite article of clothing and why?
My favorite article of clothing would probably shoes, in general. I love shoes. They’re just so much fun. It’s harder when you have big feet, because some shoes make your feet look extra long, but shoes are so fun, you can have boots and Mary Jane’s and heels. They’re just really fun.

Editorial: Heroes or Traitors? The Whistleblower Debate

March 30, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

President John F. Kennedy once said: “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.” These days, is it too high? In post 9/11 America there has been an increase in secrecy, or more specifically secrets revealed by whistle blowers. It has led to the age old debate upon what the government is entitled to let us know and what should be kept secret in the interest in national security.

One of the key figures in this debate is Edward Snowden, who made headlines in 2013 for releasing surveillance information from the National Security Agency and publishing that they were spying on US citizens. Is he a traitor or a hero? Depends who you ask. Some believe his actions were treasonous for revealing classified secrets of the United States government while others felt he was a hero for highlighting an injustice done by the government. People that cite him being a hero do mention that he leaked information to the american public of the “unnecessary” and “unconstitutional” spying the government does on its own people. People that call him a traitor bring up the fact that he has released documents about spying on other countries, most specifically China. While countries spying on each other is no secret, the unspoken rule is simply “don’t get caught doing it” and thus Snowden has not only troubled the foreign front but has also given other countries agencies information which can be better used to spy on us.

Another figurehead is Julian Assange, founder of the website Wikileaks which has had an outpour of government documents and footage found. An example of one of these footages being a video showing us soldiers shooting at foreign, Iraqi civilians and even a van full of children. Some have said that this is threatening as it dangers potential US identities and compromises missions overseas. But it’s also worth nothing that whatever was published had more with past missions then ongoing or even future ones.

A third figure is Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, who leaked over 700,000 files to the website Wikileaks. These files have included detainees at Guantanamo Bay; of which has been criticized for wrongfully holding prisoners, war logs from Afghanistan and Iraq; which likely highlighted combat material like the videos mentioned above and state department cable. Like others Manning has faced both criticism and praise for her actions- which have sentenced her to 35 years in prison.

As SLA students, many of you might be asking ‘how does this relate to me?

Here’s the truth- as of now,you are an American citizen. Do you trust your government to have your best issues at heart? And what as a citizen do you believe we as the public should know and what it shouldn’t? Should we become aware or past government missions, current ones or just none at all?

These are ultimately the decisions that will soon be in our hands as voters and taxpayers who have a say in our government. And our government doesn’t always act in the most popular way- take the recent letter to Iran as an example; many people were outraged by on how our elected officials would take a move that could derail sensitive peace talks, and shows examples of what would happen if our government goes unchecked.

Whether or not we agree with the decisions of these whistleblowers or not- our government needs to be check in some ways, otherwise we allow ourselves to controlled rather than guided by our government. Instead of looking to JFK in this situation, we suggest looking to the words of Ben Franklin: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

Hallway Fashion: Mark Gucciardi-Kriegh

March 30, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Ella Donesky
Staff Writer

Where do you usually shop?
The discount bin. I shop there because I don’t have that much money. I like American Eagle cause it’s nice, but I also don’t have American Eagle money. I go to whatever has good stuff, except for nasty department stores like Kohl’s.

Who inspires your outfits?
Me, cause I’m perfect.

What’s your favorite article of clothing and why?
My scarf, because I look fabulous. It has a cool pattern and it’s neat and I look perfect.

Temple is Bound for NIT Crown

March 30, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

Two weeks ago, Temple sat impatiently waiting to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Instead, they found themselves as a NIT (National Invitation Tournament) number 1 seed. They entered the tournament with a shaky and unconvincing win against the 8th seeded Bucknell, but bounced back with strong victories against George Washington and Louisiana Tech. Temple now is the NIT semifinals at the historic Madison Square Garden. They next play Miami (FL) and, if they win, will face the winner of Old Dominion and Stanford for the NIT championship. And quite frankly, I see Temple winning their 3rd NIT trophy this Thursday.

Why? Temple has played fantastic these last two games. They have competed with urgency and have shot the ball well throughout the NIT tournament. Against GW, they shot 50% from the field, significantly above their season average of 39%. Against LT, they shot 49%. If Temple keeps stroking the ball well, there is no way they will be defeated.

But they can even win without shooting well. Temple plays lockdown defense. They keep opponents to 61 points per game and play with heart. They bang on the boards (38 per game) and play smart on the offensive end (only 346 turnovers on the year, which is the 23rd lowest in the nation). On the other hand, the two most important reasons why I see Temple crowned the champion Thursday night are the abundance of scoring options they have and their deep lineup.

Opposite of years past, the Owls can rely on multiple people to step up and score when others cannot. Although only three players average in double figures, they have many guys who can get hot in stretches. Guard Josh Brown is the perfect example. Although Brown only averages 6 points per game, he has scored in double figures 9 times this year. He has put up 7 or more points in 15 of his outings. Brown scores in spurts, giving the team a safety net when other players are not hitting shots. You could also throw Clemson transfer Devin Coleman in the mix (a streaky and slick scorer) or even freshman Obi Enechionyia (an athletic big man who is multidimensional).

They also have 10 players who average 10 or more minutes a game this year. They have have 7 that average above 15. For instance, throughout much of the latter part of the season, sophomore forward Mark Williams has seen his minutes cut by the strong play of Daniel Dingle and Enechionyia. However, Williams has been brought in multiple times to fill minutes when players have been in foul trouble or have struggled. I feel quite confident in a team that has Williams, who has started many games for the Owls over the past two years, as their 10th man.

And Temple has first team all-AAC point guard, Will Cummings. The Florida native has been on fire throughout the NIT tournament averaging 22 points per game and shooting 54% from the field. Who’s going to check him? Watch out Miami (FL), this team’s ready to play.

Tuesday: Temple vs. Miami (FL), 7PM, ESPN, Madison Square Garden

Thursday: NIT Championship, 9PM, ESPN, Madison Square Garden

First picture courtesy of www.philly.com

Second picture courtesy of www.csnphilly.com

Villanova Sent Pack-ing

March 26, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

471NCAA NC State Villanova Basketball — Courtesy of www.miamiherald.com

Who saw the 21 and 13 North Carolina State Wolfpack upsetting the 2 loss Villanova Wildcats? Absolutely no one. Outside of Kentucky (who went 31-0 during the regular season), Nova was the most consistent college basketball team in the nation. The squad had won 16 straight games and looked unstoppable. They had averaged over 76 points and shot a remarkable 46% from the field in conference play. After overwhelming Lafayette and showing little weakness, the Wildcats continued to look poised to win the NCAA championship. But two days later they were sent home. How? How could such a successful and laspeless team lose?

Like stated before, Villanova shot 46% from the field in conference play this year. They also shot just a tad below 40% from three on the season. They relied on their precision shooting and team play to propel them to 32 wins before March Madness. Saturday the team shot 31% from the field and 32% from 3-point range. Outside of Darrun Hilliard (who was 6-10 from three), the team was 3-18 from outside. It was not as though they weren’t getting open looks- they had plenty. The team was unable to knock them down and it cost them. Furthermore, Villanova only made 19 shots altogether. In their other two loses, the Wildcats made less than 20 shots as well. This was a recipe for disaster.

I also noticed as the game began to close, the team took ill advised and quick field goal attempts early in the shot clock. This could be reflected by their mere 7 assists, which was a season low. This showed their panic as the game began to slip through their fingers. Nova had not been down much throughout the year and I felt as though they were very unprepared for the situation. This might have been one of the prominent reasons why Villanova took such a terrible approach towards the latter part of the game.

One could point to many flaws throughout the meeting. Nova was significantly outrebounded (45-32) or the fact that Josh Hart and JayVaughn Pinkston were in foul trouble. But I think their struggle to play disciplined, as a team, and shoot the ball with proficiency were the underlying reasons why Villanova is pack-ing up.