So you’ve just received your Pitt ID card, and you’re less than thrilled with the photo. You… So you’ve just received your Pitt ID card, and you’re less than thrilled with the photo. You think to yourself, “Great, another credit card-sized hunk of plastic I’ll probably lose, misplace or break within a week. And so what? I’ll just get by on my, er, wits.”

As it turns out, this hunk of plastic is worth guarding extra carefully. Besides its importance for dining, dorm access and bus rides, the Pitt ID card, in conjunction with an exciting program called Pitt Arts, is your ticket to enjoying the vibrant cultural scene that Pittsburgh has to offer.

Pitt Arts, created by the University in 1997, seeks to connect students to the city’s arts and cultural community. Each year, this program sponsors more than 100 free student outings, which include trips to experience Pittsburgh symphony, theater, opera, ballet and museums. Additionally, the program sponsors year-round events on campus that range from live concerts to improv comedy sessions.

The student outings sponsored by Pitt Arts are fun, risk-free opportunities to have your figurative cake and eat it, too. Students who sign up receive food, transportation and a ticket to an arts-related event at an always-affordable cost. The normal cost of such an evening would easily exceed the average college student’s budget.

So, why not postpone your would-be drunken date this weekend with a large, $4 pizza, and instead, impress that person you’ve been admiring from afar by inviting him or her to a night at the opera? If opera doesn’t interest you, opt instead for a Pittsburgh Symphony concert or a musical at the Benedum Center.

Say you’ve had one too many weekends of partying in dimly-lit basements, or the graffiti near Semple Street has simply lost its aesthetic charm. Don’t become bored or disillusioned — allow your Pitt ID (in conjunction with Pitt Arts) to treat you to free admission at any of four amazing museums, two of which are found right here in Oakland.

For the horticulturalist in you, check out newly-renovated Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, located a short walking distance from campus in Schenley Park.

The Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, located across from the Cathedral of Learning on Forbes Avenue, feature outstanding exhibits with enough art and artifacts to keep your mind engaged for hours.

If pop art, social commentary and giant silver balloons are more suited to your tastes, take a 500 bus to The Andy Warhol Museum, the largest museum in the world dedicated to one artist (and a native Pittsburgher, no less). Additionally, the 500 bus line will take you to The Mattress Factory, where you can savor highly celebrated, site-specific installation art.

Perhaps the best way to receive up-to-date information about Pitt Arts events is to visit its Web site: www.pitt.edu/~pittarts. Here, you can browse a list of tickets to city shows available through the Cheap Seats program, click on “Spotlight” to read about an event that truly demands your attention or peruse the “Hotlist,” which ranks noteworthy happenings in the ‘Burgh’s cultural scene.

Also, the “Art Links” feature will connect you to more than 40 organizations affiliated with Pitt Arts, including Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Wood Street Galleries.

With so many options at so affordable a cost, why not sign up for your first Pitt Arts event today? It will be nice to stretch your legs both within and outside the Oakland area.

And hey, you may even learn something in the process. Just remember to keep track of your ID!

Tickets for events can be purchased at the Pitt Arts office on the 9th floor of the William Pitt Union. For additional information, call (412) 624-4498 or e-mail [email protected].