Henien meets with WVU counterpart

With Pitt football’s 100th contest against West Virginia fast approaching, cooperation isn’t… With Pitt football’s 100th contest against West Virginia fast approaching, cooperation isn’t exactly the first word that comes to students’ minds when thinking about our neighbors to the west.

But the two schools’ student government officials view the Backyard Brawl in a different light than most of the rest of the student body.

In an effort to start a tradition where the two schools’ leaders would visit each other at least once per semester, WVU’s Student Government Association president David Kirkpatrick spent the weekend at Pitt, visiting with Student Government Board president Shady Henien.

“Hopefully we’re going to be creating this tradition where there will be a connection between both student bodies, and that’s needed to make our rivalry one of the best in America,” Henien said.

While the Pitt-West Virginia rivalry hasn’t always been a friendly one, the two presidents hope to channel that passion into something positive. “We want to foster that camaraderie between both student bodies, and the best way to start would be through the student government boards,” Henien said.

“That relationship is great,” Kirkpatrick added, “but what we’re going to benefit the most from is getting each other’s advice on things.”

In addition to promoting the penny war between the two schools – the winner of which will be announced at halftime of the Pitt-WVU game on Dec. 1 – the presidents have shared strategies on many topics, including talking to university administration and improving public relations.

Kirkpatrick was especially impressed with Market Central, Pitt’s new “all you care to eat” dining facility. “I wish we had a system like yours,” Kirkpatrick said. “We don’t have anything like that.”

Ever since Kirkpatrick called Henien over the summer to arrange a first meeting, the two presidents have been hitting it off.

“We can talk business, but I think we’re more on a friendship level,” Kirkpatrick said.?

Henien felt relieved once he met Kirkpatrick. “I was so excited that David was a cool guy,” he said. “I got him some fruit punch at Hemingway’s.”

While both Henien and Kirkpatrick attend national conventions for student government leaders, they agree that personal relationships like this are far more valuable.

“This is where I learn,” Henien said. “Actually speaking to another president from another university and visiting their campus to see how they operate was much more beneficial to our university.”

Henien said that the national conferences with leaders from other regions just aren’t the same. “We really can’t relate to them,” he said. “It’s pretty much trying to make your university look better than theirs,” Kirkpatrick said.

After getting acclimated with Pitt, Kirkpatrick concluded that the backyard rivals really aren’t all that different

“The thing that impacted me the most was how beautiful your campus is and how similar our boards are,” he said. “I’ve also realized that our cultures are very similar. The fans are very respectful, maybe during the game things are different, but before and after, it’s respectful.”

As far as a friendly wager on the game goes, it’s not going to happen this year.

“It depends on how good our football team is that year,” Kirkpatrick said. “I think we’re number five in the nation, so I’d be more than happy to bet now.”

While he said that he thought Pitt would win, Henien did not directly respond to Kirkpatrick’s comments.

“I don’t think there’s really a clear communication between our students here and West Virginia,” Henien said. “Hopefully by having this connection, if there’s something big that we want to start, and we want to include West Virginia, this is the best way to go through with it.”

“This is going to be a foundation in our relationship,” he said.

“When you ask someone on the street what the best rivalry is, no one’s going to say ‘Pitt-West Virginia,’ but that’s what we’re trying to become,” Henien said.