EDITORIAL- The Pitt News’ Top Ten for Fall 2004

It’s the end of the semester and nearing the end of the year, so this could only mean on thing… It’s the end of the semester and nearing the end of the year, so this could only mean on thing — a top 10 list! Without further delay, here’s The Pitt News’ recap for Fall 2004:

Alcohol Ads — A lawsuit, brought by The Pitt News, got Pennsylvania Act 199 — which prohibited campus publications from printing alcohol advertisements — struck down. Local bars and fans of free press rejoice!

Football player-fraternity fiasco — If four football players allegedly beat up several fraternity members during the summer, and there’s no trial date set yet despite the hearing being in October, did it ever really happen? Uh, maybe.

Same-Sex Benefits — After a nine-year struggle and a lawsuit to overturn the City of Pittsburgh’s civil rights ordinance, the University grants full benefits to its unmarried employees, gay or straight, in domestic relationships. University scandal — Nino Maurice Freeman, a former Pitt Computing Services and Systems Development technician, alleged harassment and discrimination. Pitt stalls the investigation with the promise to look into it.

Student Life — Personnel at Student Life got reshuffled completely, as the Semester of the Resigned saw Director of Student Life Birney Harrigan, Assistant to the Dean Michelle Scott Taylor and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies and Dean of Students Jack Daniel announce their departures from the Division of Student Affairs.

Welcome, Kenyon Bonner!

National elections — We met the new boss. He was the same as the old boss. The Republican Party was the clear winner of the November elections, taking the presidency and both houses of Congress, as the Democratic Party scrambled to regroup. Political pundits who’d predicted that the economy and the Iraq occupation would be the election’s leading issues were left confused — but, unfortunately, not silent — when moral values was a key issue. Uh, oops?

SGB Elections — Paper-cutter-Gate, a kerfuffle involving office supplies, Student Government Board and a potential recount, delays election results for four hours. Brian Kelly opens SGB’s new term in the spirit of hope and unity by calling the person who brought the complaint a “little kid.”

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg got a 3 percent raise — Yeah, who didn’t see that coming?

Walt Harris leaves — After getting Pitt football to the Fiesta Bowl for the first time in 20 years (and aren’t Tostitos so much tastier than Continental tires?), Harris left Pitt for Stanford. We encourage the athletics department to look at all possible candidates — like Mike Ditka — to replace Harris, and to take into account who would win if that candidate were pitted against a hurricane, the Chicago Bears or an army of little Ditkas.

OK, Dave Wannstedt’s good, too.

Other happenings: the Carnegie International, with its giant pictures of strippers; the hockey lockout stalling what could have been a great Penguins season; flooding that damaged or destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, but got us a Bruce Springsteen concert; and, as always, the crosswalks are still dangerous and Port Authority is still bankrupt — look for new cuts for the new year! Oh, and we hear the Steelers are winning or something.