Best building: Cathedral of Learning

Its “collegiate gothic” architecture is… Best building: Cathedral of Learning

Its “collegiate gothic” architecture is world-famous. It is a schoolhouse second in height only to the main building at Moscow State University. It has over 2,500 windows. When it comes to best building on campus, none other compares to the Cathedral of Learning.

It took 11 years to build the 42-story Cathedral, mostly during the Great Depression. The architect, Charles Z. Klauder, who also designed Heinz Chapel and the Stephen Foster Memorial, lived just long enough to see its completion in 1937. The nationality classrooms offer an unusual college environment for the lucky students who get the ones with comfy seats. Although sometimes impractical for the volume of students who occupy it, the Cathedral’s unique design draws people to Oakland from all over the world. And if you think it’s cramped now, wait until next semester, when half of it will be closed. The reason: central air! It almost seems worth it.

– Michael Mastroianni, staff photographer

Best place to escape to: Schenley Park

Your roommate smells, your textbook pile looks threatening, and your mom won’t stop calling to ask if you’re getting enough to eat. You’ve tried hiding in the corner of your dorm room, but you can’t get away in a room that’s smaller than your current morale level.

When you need to escape, you pick Schenley Park as the ultimate get-away destination. True, it’s no spring break. Pittsburgh winters are not conducive to bikini wearing – or viewing – and if anyone in Schenley Park offers to sell you a daiquiri, you’re probably better off running away.

But when mid-semester stress, a relationship problem or plain old monotony gets to be too much, Schenley Park can make you temporarily forget that you live in a crowded, noisy, occasionally smelly city. So stop trying to burrow into that rounded corner wall in Towers – take a stroll to Schenley Park and leave your troubles at home.

– J. Elizabeth Strohm, News Editor

Best place to study: Hillman Library

You raved at Matrix on Saturday night and had the time of your life. How can you ever top that? There’s a well-known place on Pitt campus that provides volumes of entertainment. That magical place, as you’re probably wondering, is “Club Hillman” – otherwise known as Hillman Library.

Okay, so there aren’t any disco balls, and Daft Punk music isn’t playing, but who cares? You can still get your groove on by looking up a book on PITTCat, the library’s online book catalog, or by satisfying your thirst at the Cup and Chaucer, Hillman’s very own mini-Starbucks Coffee Shop.

Oh yeah, Hillman also has 200-some computers and about a million books, whatever they are.

– Ben Greiner, staff writer

Best place to hook up: your room

You might have thought the Cathedral Lawn was the best. To others, the ground beneath the Panther couldn’t be more tempting. The most ambitious of you might have even dreamed of using the Darlington Memorial Library on the sixth floor of the Cathedral.

But the Pitt police officers set you straight, so you decided that your room is the best place to hook up. Although it’s not as exciting as any public facility, you’re less likely to be disturbed. You won’t have as much luck meeting someone new in your room, but once you’ve nabbed the chosen one, you’re ready to take the lucky person back to your lair for some private time. The Pitt police will thank you for your responsible decision.

Just make sure to clear out the roommates first.

– J. Elizabeth Strohm, news editor

Best place to break up: Towers Lobby

Ah, me, Towers Lobby, how fitting thou art for that which is such sweet sorrow. Where else could heartbreak among the kiosks be so poetic?

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“So, uh, you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, I, uh, I’m actually on my way to C-Side, but, uh -“

“What is it?”

“I don’t think we, uh, I mean, I just don’t know what, see, it’s not you, it’s me, but there’s, uh, I just -“

“You think we should stop seeing each other?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Me, too.”

“Really? That’s, uh, that’s great.”

“Yeah. I’m glad we got this worked out.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

And all with the sweet background music of espresso machines and laundromats, and all with the chorus nearby of five shady men wearing hoodies. But, Towers Lobby, even your bittersweet ambience is not what makes you the greatest of places to celebrate the adage of the sharpest knife, which, sadly, cuts the cleanest.

No, there is something that makes thee an even greater breakup spot.

Three days later, you provide one with the glorious sign-in sheet, with which one can end the painful separation. What better remedy for a lonely soul than inebriated, familiar fornication?

– Greg Heller-LaBelle, Editor in Chief

Best place to take a walk: Schenley Park

A scenic stroll along Fifth Avenue can be pleasant – until a bus passes by, splashes you and spews exhaust in your face.

When you tire of taking nature hikes on cement sidewalks, Schenley Park is there for you. With winding trails through the woods, it’s easy to escape from your troubles, as well as from the less pleasant aspects of city life.

You don’t have to go to Schenley Park by yourself to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere. A large stone bridge on one of the trails is excellent for playing “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” with three of your friends – depending on your mood, it might relieve you to play the troll.

Schenley Park is also equipped with tennis courts, a track, an ice skating rink and several playgrounds dispersed throughout the park to distract you from your walk.

So next time you want to stretch your legs, you can stay dry, breathe easily, and take a walk in Schenley Park.

– J. Elizabeth Strohm, News Editor

Best place to nap: your bed

Though Forbes Avenue is significantly more spacious, your bed is a much better place to nap because: 1. It is softer, and 2. There are generally fewer cars in your bed.

Likely, you have been going to class only to try to get a date with the person three desks up the row, and would rather take a nap in his or her bed. But she will probably not let you, and if she did, you would be a fool to nap.

According to Pitt legend, those who decide to nap in the Grand Lounge Room in the William Pitt Union will always wake up on time for classes. But when you have an exam or a paper to turn in, your alarm clock is more trustworthy than providence. Also, while the room is undergoing changes, the soft, velvety, red couches and chairs have been removed, along with the carpet, to reveal bare tile flooring.

Also, napping in public puts you in danger of drooling on yourself in front of friends or having your stuff stolen. Not to mention that your snuggle bear may earn you ridicule.

So your best bet for a nap, whether you live in a dorm, a house or an apartment, is your own bed, with your own stuffed animals.

– Marty Flaherty, Copy Chief

Best place to smoke: the Ashtray

Whether you prefer the menthol fiberglass-infused taste of Newports or the cowboy-killer flavor of Marlboro Reds, the Ashtray is known as the best place on campus to get that calm, soothing rush of cancer.

The Ashtray, with its plush, comfortable, cement benches and assortment of drunken freshmen, is available for smoking pleasure day or night, spring or fall, rain or shine. Situated between Litchfield Towers and Holland Hall, the convenient location allows residents of these buildings and passers-by to gather in the area for a quick smoke break.

Friday and Saturday nights aren’t complete without a brief visit to the Ashtray, whether to discuss if the Green Mansion is throwing a party, to bum a cigarette from one of your 20 friends sitting there or pick up that hot freshman dangling a Marlboro Menthol Light out of her mouth.

– Nikki Schwab, staff writer

Best residence hall: McCormick Hall

With some of the largest suites, endowed with cathedral ceilings and fireplace mantles, McCormick Hall is about as Town and Country as a Pitt Dormitory can get.

This elegant dorm is home to 167 men and women living in five- to eight-person suites. Some of the suites even have a place to cook your ramen noodles besides the microwave or the coffee maker.

So if you can’t get into Sutherland next year because your number isn’t between one and, say, 10, don’t worry about it – you can still live the high life under the cathedral ceilings of the understated yet elegant McCormick Hall.

– Christian Schoening, Managing Editor

Best place to get arrested: Towers Lobby

Oh, freshmen … when will you learn?

When will you learn not to pee in the elevator lobby? When will you stop passing out while your card is being swiped? When will you cease to vomit on the police officer who is asking you if you are drunk?

Until these college newcomers learn their lessons, though, the lobby of the Litchfield Towers, with its bright fluorescent lights and spacious windows, remains the best place to be part of – or watch – an arrest.

In a regular weekend ritual bordering on spectacle, throngs of inebriated freshmen will stumble into the lobby of their rounded dormitory, perform a profoundly stupid act indicative of their intoxicated state, and be promptly escorted out by a University cop.

For the arrested, the incident is a swift and important reality check that will encourage moderation and better judgment for the rest of their college career.

But for everyone watching, it remains one of the most entertaining events to witness in a weekend at Pitt.

– Jonathan Check, senior staff writer

Best street for off-campus living: Atwood Street

There’s never any parking. Trash bags line the streets seven days a week. There’s a collective howling every single night at 2 a.m., when the bars close. Often as not, there’s puke in the street.

It’s no wonder Atwood Street consistently gets voted best street for off-campus living. It’s a fantasyland of debauchery! It’s disgusting! It’s foul! It’s awfully close to campus!

Atwood Street, with its numerous taverns and dining establishments, is the poor man’s South Side. There’s a liquor store, and, with the recent welcome addition of the oh-so-punk-rock White Hen, three local convenience stores, not to mention a 24-hour franchise convenience store. In terms of rocking the South Oakland lifestyle, Atwood Street is about as prestigious an address as any beer-fueled undergrad could hope for. For years to come, the ‘Wood will remain untouchable as the reigning king of streets. Sorry, Chesterfield Road.

– Melissa Meinzer, Opinions Editor

Best hotel for your parents: Holiday Inn

You know they’re coming sometime.

No matter how much you enjoy your college-induced independence, the day will come when your parents throw it all out the window and come to visit their little darling.

Denying the inevitable will not keep them at bay, so you might as well make sure your parents are comfortable during their stay. If you put your parents up in the Holiday Inn, they’ll remain happy – read: generous – throughout their time on campus.

Located near the Cathedral, the Holiday Inn is close enough that your parents can get to any dorm or apartment in the area quickly and conveniently. Keep this in mind if you plan to be up to no good while your parents are in town.

But they’ll enjoy the nice accommodations and the pleasant view of the Cathedral.

Look at it this way – it’s better than if they stay at your place.

– J. Elizabeth Strohm, News Editor

Best Nationality Rooms: Japanese and Irish

The Irish Room, just to the right of the Cathedral’s main entrance, has a serene feel with its chapel-like structure and intricate stained-glass window designs. Based on Irish Romanesque architecture dating from the last turn of the millennium, it has actual and implied isolation from the bustle of Pitt life, ideal for a small class (although I’ve seen a dozen people try to cram themselves around the table) or just some study time when your roommate is snoring too loudly.

The Japanese classroom on the third floor of the Cathedral, with its classic paper-and-wood decor, offers a meditative quality that allows you to sleep through even the most interesting class. It has room for a large seminar class, although its comfort is not legendary, with its sharp right angles and rigid chairs. However, its geometric simplicity and collection of artifacts draws any passer-by’s eye.

– Michael Mastroianni, staff photographer

Best museum: Carnegie museums

When you think of the cities with the best museums in the country, the first names that come to mind are New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Wait, what? Pittsburgh?

The Carnegie system of museums, which includes the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Science Center and The Andy Warhol Museum, boasts some of the best collections in the nation. The Museum of Natural History, for example, has one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the country. The Warhol is renowned far and wide for being one of the few museums in the United States dedicated to a single artist. And the Science Center, when it was built in the early ’90s, was one of the largest in the nation.

But the best thing about the Carnegie is that, with the exception of the Science Center, admission is free with your Pitt ID.

– Dante A. Ciampaglia, Assistant A’E Editor

Best music venue: Club Laga

Club Laga brings high-profile music to Pittsburgh – and it’s right on Forbes Avenue, mere blocks away from your South Oakland chateau. The result is a venue that is a hit among Pitt music fans for its prestige and convenience.

Additionally, the room itself is refreshingly small, with a low stage and bleacher-style seating upstairs. The intimacy of Laga beats the hell out of a show at the Chevrolet Amphitheatre at Station Square or the Post-Gazette Pavilion.

This fall alone, Laga has hosted acts such as Nickel Creek, Pete Yorn, Keller Williams and Insane Clown Posse. And, while many of the city’s venues host 21-and-over shows only, Laga often hosts all-ages shows.

Here’s a hint for the die-hards: Laga lacks a parking lot, so the band’s buses are normally right outside the venue on Forbes. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you may be able to catch a glimpse of one of your favorite artists as he exits or enters his tour bus.

– Jonathan Check, senior staff writer

Best spring break destination: Cancun, Mexico

Daytona Beach used to be the hot spot to go to for spring break. MTV televised their spring break festivities there each year. And then the kids got a bit too rowdy, and MTV relocated to Cancun, Mexico.

It’s the place where girls and guys alike go wild. Humid, sunny weather is the norm, and it is absolute paradise. From the enormous clubs that play hit music to the drunk bus that runs along the main drag, one could say that Cancun is the city that never sleeps. Lounging by the pool with a frozen margarita or enjoying an ice-cold Dos Equis on the white, sandy beach, Cancun is, by far, the best place to be during spring break. Trust me, you haven’t been on vacation until you’ve been to sunny Cancun.

As for the best of Cancun – make sure to hit up the Oasis Hotel, where MTV films. Talk about a nonstop party!

– Katie Mavrich, A’E Editor

Best place to study abroad: Australia

It’s about that time in some students’ college careers when they just need a break from daily life. It’s time to get out of the ‘Burgh and explore new things. Better yet, forget getting out of the city; take a trip out of the country – a semester abroad. Explore new lands, check out a different culture, meet new people and maybe even learn something. Australia is the perfect getaway for those into the outdoors, from touring the Outback to exploring the Great Barrier Reef, not to mention bungee jumping, sky diving, sightseeing in Sydney. While in Australia, many students attend Bond University, since they offer the same semester times and scheduling as Pitt. No matter what students desire, from a quiet escape to an adventurous experience, Australia is it.

– Christine Claus, staff writer