Temple University - Templar Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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The Philadelphia Experience, or PEX Passport, which is filled with free and discounted passes and coupons for students, has been implemented into the GenEd program at Temple to help get students off campus and into the city. Philadelphia is a city full of rich culture and history, which all Temple students should take advantage of. Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, the Philadelphia Film Society and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology are just a few of the partners who are trying to get Temple students into the vibrant city. The PEX Passport provides a way that allows students to take advantage of Philadelphia and all it has to offer before their time at Temple ends. “It was designed to get Temple students out into the city, and have Philadelphia experiences, said associate professor Matt Wray, a teacher of Cultural Sociology, the Health of Cities and History and Significance of Race in America. PEX Passports give student discounts or free entry to a large number of Philadelphia's museums, theaters and more. Wray promotes the use of the PEX Passport in his History and Significance of Race class, when he instructs students to use the free coupon to attend the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Students must then complete an assignment page and written report of their experience for a grade. “One of the barriers that students feel exists to taking advantage of these cultural institutions is that it can be expensive, Wray said. “Not everybody has the money. Wray’s History and Significant of Race class is not the only GenEd class at Temple that recommends the use of the PEX Passport. Art, Human Behavior and Quantitative Literacy are a few of the GenEd programs that use PEX Passports also for assignments in class, but it often depends on the teacher. Although the PEX Passport has been part of Temple's GenEd program for several years, it often goes unnoticed by many students. “I often ask for a show of hands, ‘who knows what PEX is,’ and ‘who knows what the Philadelphia Experience is,' some of the students raise their hands, Wray said. “It’s almost always less than half.” Any student can get a free PEX Passport; all they need to do is go to the Help Desk in the Howard Gittis Student Center. However, there is an expiration date. Each PEX Passport is only good for one school calendar year. Each coupon in the passport can only be used once, and a valid student ID must be shown at the time of purchase. Some coupons offer differing conditions for use. For example, the coupon for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, on Fairmount Avenue, can only be used for adult admissions, restricted to normal hours of operation, and is not able to be used for promotional events such as Terror Behind the Walls. It is important to find use in the PEX Passport even outside of class. Turn your ‘boring’ Tuesday evenings into something spectacular, at a discounted price.

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SARAH MARIANO Passport to Philadelphia 4

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Working for the weekend DANIELLE MIESS “Where are you going to work? It’s a question most students stress about, as the countdown to graduation in an uncertain economy nears. However, many are working to make ends meet now • in addition to balancing classes, clubs, and a social life. Being a student worker isn't easy, but with work study jobs and other on-campus jobs, students can make the best of their situation • without the half-hour commute into other parts of the city. As allotted in some student's financial aid, students are able to work part-time jobs at school, in order to help with tuition and college expenses. Jobs vary from office work to retail, and are found throughout campus. To get the maximum amount of hours for work study, senior human resources major TJ Cusack was employed by three work-study jobs on Main Campus. Cusack was a staff member at the Temple Performing Arts Center, an office worker in the Computer and Information Sciences department and a Fox Ambassador for the Fox School of Business, where he gave tours to prospective business students. At most. Cusack worked 18 hours a week and said that if his jobs were off-campus, he would have had minimal time to balance everything. With working one job, I was barely breaking even with my expenses, Cusack said. Without it, my bank account was pretty much gone.” Sophomore film major Ben Roth also takes advantage of his work study grant. Roth works at the Howard Gittis Student Center as Building Manager. His duties include setting up furniture and technology for meetings, and monitoring the technology at events to make ensure it is working properly. I really enjoy my job as a building manager, Roth said. “It’s allows me to work on my communication skills when interacting with clients. Roth, as well as Cusack, was able to balance Main Campus jobs with school work, because more often than not, they were allowed to do homework during down time. Supervisors of on-campus jobs tend to be more lenient and understanding of the college schedule, unlike off-campus jobs, Roth said. Sometimes a work study job just isn’t enough to pay rent. Although she had work study jobs in the past, working elsewhere on campus provided senior Caitlin Ryan with more op- portunities for hours. Ryan worked full time at Jimmy Johns, but didn’t mind it because she loved her job. She originally worked at another location in Center City. However. Ryan began to work at the Jimmy John’s near Main Campus due to convenience. Due to a busy work and school week, students find that opportunities to participate in clubs and extra curricular activities significantly decline. Ryan acknowledged dropping out of a co-ed fraternity to work enough hours to pay rent. However, balancing the hectic schedule of a busy school and work week can still be worth it. I love the kids I work with and 90 percent of my friends work at Jimmy Johns, Ryan said. We’re together all the time. So [my job] is a good thing.”