Editorial | The top five most memorable things that happened this year

Well folks, we’ve made it. Besides a little obstacle — finals week — we have made it through another school year. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried and done everything in between here at Pitt. To remember some of the events that stuck with us most, here are the top five most memorable things that happened this school year. 

1. Yung Gravy and Carly Rae Jepsen came to Pitt

Who could forget Mr. Gravytrain himself gracing us with his presence while also calling Cathy a MILF? His amazing stage presence while rapping along to all of his classic hits we won’t forget here. Similarly, Carly Rae Jepsen brought down the house with her rendition of “Call Me Maybe” among others. While Gravy looked for MILFs, Jepsen was mother. 

2. ENS struggled

After two traumatic incidents, one at the nearby Central Catholic and one at Hillman library, we would expect our emergency notification system to properly notify us on the details of emergencies on campus. This year, however, we learned that the system in place is flawed. We hope this issue is resolved before another emergency occurs.

3. Pitt sports did really well

This year, not only did Pitt win the Backyard Brawl in football, but many teams had amazing wins. Men’s basketball made it to March Madness. The women’s volleyball team played in the Final Four, and a Pitt wrestler even won a national title. It was incredible to see our Panthers do so well, and we hope they do even better next year.

4. Transphobia on campus

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles appeared on campus this week to debate whether “transgenderism” should be “regulated by law,” and Riley Gaines also discussed reasons why trans women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Trans folks on campus were understandably fearful because of these hateful events, and many students peacefully protested them. While we don’t support violent forms of protest that put people in danger, seeing more than 11,000 people in our community sign a petition denouncing transphobia was inspiring. 

5. We had our first mask-free year since the start of the pandemic

While COVID-19 is still around, this was our first year since the pandemic began that we had a relatively normal school year. We didn’t have hybrid classes, we were able to meet at full capacity and masks were optional. It was nice to finally have a year where we could have a normal college experience after three years of pandemic life at Pitt.