The Temple News

10/16/2025

The Temple News is hiring an Opinion Editor! Students interested should email The Temple News’ editor-in-chief, Sidney Rochnik ([email protected]), with a current resume, a paragraph about why they’re applying and why they’re a good fit for the job.

EDITORIAL STAFF APPLICATION FALL 2025-2026 The award-winning, independent student-run newspaper of Temple University, The Temple News, is seeking motivated, idea-driven and innovative students for its newsroom staff. Working on staff is a great opportunity to develop skills in a collaborative ...

10/15/2025

Assistant Opinion Editor Wania Irfan shares how writing became her anchor as she learned how to navigate the world.

“English is not my first language. My first language is Urdu, which was what we primarily spoke in my household. When I began kindergarten, my school enrolled me in the "English as Second Language” program to help kids who were not fluent in English.

The more I learned, the more I realized I enjoyed writing the most. When teachers handed out writing activities, I was the kid who would always fill the entire page with whatever prompt we were assigned.

Language hindered my ability to make friends. Seeing kids my age hanging out made me feel lonely, but I found solace and friendship in my writing. Writing kept me busy; it helped fill the void I had been feeling from not being able to make friends as easily as the other kids.

Writing gave me the stability I needed as a child navigating two languages, two worlds, and often two versions of myself. It was a place where I didn’t have to translate, where I didn’t feel behind, where my voice could exist freely without hesitation or judgement from others.

Writing still grounds me, even now as I grow older. It has been with me through the uncertainty of learning a new language. The journals piled up in my room were more than stacks of paper; they were proof that no matter what else changed, I always had words to return to.”

A student reflects on where her love for writing stemmed from and why she continues to do it.

10/14/2025

The American Conference announced Temple’s 2026 conference opponents Tuesday morning. The Owls are set to play four conference home games and four conference away games next season.

Temple will host Army, Charlotte, Rice and UAB in 2026 while traveling to face Navy, South Florida, Memphis and East Carolina. South Florida, Memphis and Navy are currently the top three teams in the conference.

Official dates and times for the games will be announced at a later date.

Temple Football will play four conference home games and four conference away games in 2026.

10/14/2025

As a public relations specialist who works with music industry titans, Kymberlee Norsworthy is accustomed to going virtually unrecognized for her expertise.

But last month, Norsworthy heard her praises sung loud and clear during her induction to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame for her PR career.

“The ceremony was a lot of fun,” said Norsworthy, an advertising and public relations professor. “It was just really exciting and also humbling to be recognized in that way.”

Norsworthy was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame on Sept. 6 at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis. Norsworthy worked with artists like Marvin Sapp and Mary J. Blige in her more than two decades in the industry. One of her earliest clients of high notoriety was Method Man of the Wu Tang Clan, whom she assisted in media relations when he won his 1996 Grammy.

“I was almost in tears when he was on stage doing the press conference,” Norsworthy said. “It was perfection. He was still ‘Meth,’ but he was charismatic, he had people laughing, and he really leaned into the moment instead of shying away from it.”

Kymberlee Norsworthy was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame for her PR work on Sept. 6 in St. Louis.

10/14/2025

The 8 Seconds Rodeo brought some western flair to the Liacouras Center on Oct. 11. From bull riding to barrel racing, Philly got a taste of the rodeo life. Check out the highlights from that night.

10/13/2025

A lone rider emerged from darkness onto the dust-filled arena of The Liacouras Center, holding the red, black and green stripes of the Pan-African flag for the 8,000 on-lookers. The cowboy basked in the spotlight as the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church serenaded the crowd with “Life Every Voice and Sing,” famously known as the Black National Anthem.

“We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, out of the gloomy past, till now we stand at last, where the white gleam of our bright star is cast,” the choir sang.

The 8 Seconds Rodeo, a black rodeo hosted by CEO Ivan McClellan, was held at The Liacouras Center Saturday night. 8 Seconds was born out of McClellan’s close relationship with late bull rider Ouncie Mitchell, whom he first met to photograph. After Mitchell’s passing in 2023, McClellan devoted himself to creating an environment for Black cowboys to compete at the highest level.

McClellan chose Philadelphia as the next location in the company’s three-year history due to the city’s large Black community and his recent move to the area. It was the company’s debut appearance on the east coast.

“I wanted to take that energy to Philly and do something enormous,” McClellan said. “Bring those cowboys into a market where people are going to start paying attention to them.”

More than 8,000 attendees gathered at the Liacouras Center to watch bucking broncos, bull riding and barrel racing Saturday night.

10/13/2025

Temple coughed up a goal to Tulsa in the first half and never recovered as it fell 1-0 Sunday evening. The Owls have lost five consecutive games and remain without a win against an American Conference opponent.

The Golden Hurricane set the tone early in the first half, firing two shots within the first two minutes. Temple’s defense prevailed, but not for long as Tulsa defender Luke Adams powered the ball through the top left of the Owls’ goal to take a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.

The Owls attempted to counter with seven first-half shots, but the Golden Hurricane kept a one-goal advantage at intermission. Tulsa kept its finger on the pulse as it tallied 10 shots and five corners in the final 45 minutes. Temple prevented the Golden Hurricane from doubling their lead, but were unable to level the score.

“It’s now or never,” said defender Paolo Kampula. “We’re going to have to play like we have nothing to lose because we have nothing to lose.”
Temple will hit the road to face Memphis on Oct. 18.

Temple Men’s Soccer allowed a goal in the 20th minute in its 1-0 loss to Tulsa Sunday evening.

10/13/2025

Temple Women’s Soccer’s defense was focused the entire first half of its 2-0 loss to Charlotte Sunday afternoon. The Owls kept the score locked at zero heading into halftime, but their defense soon started to struggle.

The 49ers capitalized off setting up their offensive on a corner kick. Defender Rory Brown scored in the 49th minute for the 1-0 lead. They didn’t allow Temple to have a chance at the attack and Charlotte forward Megan Bradley added another goal 20 minutes later.

The Owls never found the equalizer as they sent off a season-low two shots during the game. Temple goalkeeper Tamsin Bynoe kept the game from turning into a blowout with a season-high 12 saves.

“I felt like we just came out a little bit flat in that second half,” said head coach Chris Shaw. “And we've got to do a better job of defending set pieces, corners especially, we got exposed on one. So, frustrated with the result, especially at home. We usually, I think, give a better account of ourselves when we're at home and we just didn't do that today.”

Temple will get on the road to take on UAB on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.

Temple Women’s Soccer recorded just two shots in its 2-0 loss to Charlotte.

10/13/2025

Temple was unable to force a fourth set against Charlotte in its 3-0 loss Sunday afternoon, which marked the fifth time that an opponent has swept the Owls this season. Temple had only two players finish above 10 kills as it dropped the fifth of its first six American Conference matches.

The 49ers kickstarted the first set with a 10-4 lead that Temple slowly began to chip away at. The Owls knotted the affair at 19 points before they reached set point 24-21, backed by three kills from outside hitter Olivia Hummel. However, Charlotte promptly responded with a 5-0 run to take the first set 26-24.

The second set began competitive until Charlotte rattled off 10 unanswered points to take a devastating 22-9 lead. Despite a brief 4-0 Temple run, the 49ers coasted to a 25-16 set win. Temple was intent on preventing a sweep as both sides traded blows and were tied at 23. Charlotte outside hitter Jessica Ricks executed two kills to win the set and match.

Temple will continue its road trip against Florida Atlantic Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.

Temple Volleyball has dropped five of its six American Conference matches following its 3-0 loss to Charlotte Sunday afternoon.

10/13/2025

Temple Field Hockey scored four second-half goals to pull away from Lock Haven and win 6-0 Sunday afternoon. The Owls’ offense started on the attack early and often as they created plenty of solid chances.

Defender Rozlyn Maciejewski scored with seven minutes left in the first quarter to get Temple on the board. Midfielder Isabella Pisano followed with a goal just before the end of the quarter to make it 2-0 Temple.

The Owls’ offense cooled in the second quarter, not recording a single shot, but also kept Lock Haven off the board. Temple looked to re-establish its offense in the second half and midfielder Peyton Rieger needed just 24 seconds to find the back of the net to make it a 3-0 lead.

Rieger’s goal opened the floodgates as Temple recorded two more goals in the third quarter and tacked on one more in the fourth. The Owls held the Bald Eagles to just six shots while their offense racked up 22 shots and 12 penalty corners.

“We have goals of winning a Big East Championship,” Rieger said. “So you have to play every minute like that. I think that dipped off a little in the second quarter, then we came out pumped and wanted to play together, do the simple things and score some goals in the second half.”

Temple Field Hockey scored four second-half goals to take down Lock Haven 6-0 Sunday afternoon.

10/12/2025

Jenny Stafford already wanted to write a comedy for her 2014 artist residency when an ad in a newspaper for a pet funeral home caught her eye. She immediately became obsessed with the concept, contemplating whether the ad was even real, and called the owner for a tour.

There she saw the dark, yet comedic responsibility of mending the broken hearts and ordering frog-sized coffins. The experience became the main inspiration for her to write “Beating a Dead Horse,” which opened at Tomlinson Theater yesterday.

“There was a dog that was half cremated,” said Stafford, a theater, film and media arts professor. “[The funeral home owner] was like, ‘Let’s check on him, let's see if he needs more time.’”

The play has been produced across the country since publication and is currently playing at Tomlinson Theater from Oct. 9 to 13.

The work was Stafford’s first play after writing numerous musicals and is now her second script to be produced at Tomlinson Theater since she joined the university in 2022. The play won the Reva Shiner Comedy Award in 2017 and was produced at the Bloomington Playwrights Project in 2017.

“Beating a Dead Horse” is Jenny Stafford’s second show produced at Tomlinson Theater and runs until Oct. 13.

10/12/2025

Temple was positioned to win its fourth game of season, but Navy quarterback Blake Horvath had other plans. He rushed into the endzone for 51 yards with less than 40 seconds to play, which led to a two-point conversion that secured Navy a 32-31 victory Saturday evening.

Navy struck first as Horvath dotted a 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cody Howard to take a 7-0 lead. However, it was all Temple for the rest of the first half. The Owls notched a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter to take a 17-7 advantage heading into halftime.

Navy trimmed the deficit to three points after Horvath found Temple’s endzone off a two-yard rush. The Owls kept the Midshipmen at arm’s distance as quarterback Evan Simon connected with wide receiver JoJo Bermudez for a 26-yard touchdown. This was Simon’s lone passing touchdown, despite throwing for 345 yards.

Navy countered with a touchdown and a field goal to knot the game at 24 points in the fourth quarter before running back Jay Ducker regained the Owls a 31-24 edge with a one-yard rushing touchdown. That’s when Horvath recorded his second running score that sank Temple.

“We battled,” said head coach K.C. Keeler. “They're a good football team and we made one too many mistakes and we just kept on battling back. But they went to the plus one run game with the quarterback a bunch in the second half which was really effective for them and they just made enough plays in the air.”

Temple will get on the road to face Charlotte on Oct. 18 at 3:30 p.m.

Temple Football was outscored by Navy 25-14 in the second half of its 32-31 homecoming loss.