Best people

Teacher | Student Government Board member | Student Government Board member to complain about… Teacher | Student Government Board member | Student Government Board member to complain about | WPTS DJ | Pitt sports star | Columnist | Local newscaster | Pitt administrator | Pitt police officer | Campus celebrity | Oakland regular

Teacher

Ray Jones

Best known for throwing books, Ray Jones is an easily recognizable name at Pitt. Jones teaches undergraduate courses in business ethics and organizational behavior, as well as advanced undergrad courses in gender and diversity in management and governance and management.

According to his students, with interests ranging from “Madden 3003,” to taking road trips to sandwiches at Uncle Sam’s, Ray Jones encourages the use of personal experience to show the practical side of what he teaches. He is on a level with the students that gets them excited to be in his class.

“He’s the most enthusiastic teacher I’ve ever had,” student Courtney Behrens said.

Former student Jeff Waite said, “He’s the kind of teacher that once he gets going, all of the other teachers have to go in the hallway and shut their doors.”

So when students around campus are heard talking about how their professor ripped off his jacket, jumped up on his desk, and got them thinking, others are sure to get that knowing smile and say, “Oh you’re taking Ray’s class.”

– Wendy Toth

Student Government Board member

Kevin Washo Jr.

Pitt students have spoken: Kevin Washo Jr. is, without a doubt, the best Student Government Board member. After all, he’s the board’s president for a reason.

Maybe his stance on the issues wins him the most-favored title. Or maybe it’s his willingness to try to oversee a board that so often misbehaves. Or maybe the same supporters who elected him president still stand behind their man.

Then again, maybe Pitt students can’t remember the other board members’ names, and picked Washo because they couldn’t think of anyone else.

Whatever the reason, Washo said he’s delighted by the news that he was voted best SGB member.

– Dave Hartman

Student Government Board member to complain about

Kevin Washo Jr.

Pitt students have spoken: Kevin Washo Jr. is, without a doubt, the best Student Government Board member to complain about. Who let this guy be board president?

Maybe his stance on the issues wins him the most-complained-about title. Or maybe it’s the fact that he is theoretically in charge of a board that so often misbehaves. Or maybe the same supporters who elected him president just want to poke fun at their man.

Then again, maybe Pitt students can’t remember the other board members’ names, and picked Washo because they couldn’t think of anyone else.

Whatever the reason, Washo said he’s devastated by the news that he was voted best SGB member to complain about.

– Dave Hartman

WPTS DJ

Allison Rowland

She’s tall. She’s blonde. She plays guitar.

She’s Allison Rowland, and it’s little wonder that she was voted as Pitt’s favorite WPTS DJ. Her show, “On Sleepless Roads,” airs between 1 and 3 a.m. on Wednesdays, but despite the early hour, she obviously has fans.

And some of those fans must come from within the radio station. Rowland is a well-respected WPTS program director, and hopes to bring new respect to the University’s radio station with a combination of ducks, goats and ingenuity.

The ducks arrived earlier this semester. Miniature plastic ducks in a variety of colors appeared in local fountains and ponds with WPTS scrawled on their undersides. The goats – real ones – may come in the spring. But that’s up to Rowland to pull off.

In the meantime, she’ll keep playing “51 percent emo, 49 percent other,” and she’ll keep loving New York City, Weezer and Hot Hot Heat. And playing guitar.

– Dave Hartman

Pitt sports star

Brandin Knight

Here are a few things people say about Brandin Knight, the senior star guard for the Panthers’ men’s basketball team:

Head men’s basketball coach Ben Howland says Knight plays “very unselfish basketball,” and that “he makes the play to win the game.”

His teammate, guard Julius Page, when asked how he felt about a big Knight play, says “Well, I didn’t see the play: I was getting bumped.”

Here’s what Knight has to say about himself when asked about his spectacular game-winning alley-oop at this year’s annual Blue-Gold scrimmage:

“I don’t know. You tell me … It was just fun to end the game that way.”

Here’s what he said when he found out he’d won best Pitt sports star:

“I’d just like to lay low. It’s a great honor, but my main focus is just us winning; to get us back to the [NCAA] tournament, and hopefully winning.”

Here’s what he said after a moment’s thought about the people who voted him, overwhelmingly, best Pitt sports star:

“We gotta work on getting them some tickets.”

– Clare Perretta

Columnist

Melissa Meinzer

There is only one place on campus to find hairy toes, earwax and rats, and it’s not in any of the dorms. Melissa Meinzer, with her spunky cavalier attitude, her razor wit and her naturally flowing prose, has all of those things and more.

Meinzer attributes a lot of her success to her experiences growing up as a self-described “hick,” which allowed her to embrace the oft-neglected world of the gross (and hilarious). She also attributes a lot of her success to Zelda, her pet free-range rat, whom she claims she trained to write so she could vote for her multiple times.

But readers have done more than vote for Meinzer. According to Meinzer, her gift for words has yielded more than a few social opportunities with admirers, although she could neither confirm nor deny ever dating a person named “Thor.” Living the rock star life as The Pitt News readers’ favorite columnist, Meinzer will no doubt continue to entertain us with stories of the heart, the stomach and the disgusting.

– Greg Heller-LaBelle

Local newscaster

Julie Bologna

She grabs you with that smile. Her melodic voice sets the hook. By the time she starts explaining the finer points of barometric pressure, there’s no escape.

If Julie Bologna predicted a snowstorm in July or a heat wave over winter break, there are many of us who would accept it without question, simply nodding with a blank stare and giddy smile. She’s smart, funny, beautiful and punctual – available every morning from 5 to 7 a.m. and again at noon. She makes waking up worth waking up for.

But it would be wrong to assert that Pittsburgh’s favorite meteorologist has little to offer besides her obvious outward charms. She’s done her homework, earning degrees from Penn State and Mississippi State, and she could boast about the Emmy she received for “Outstanding Weathercaster.” But she wouldn’t – she’s not like that.

The cold, harsh winter is approaching, but Julie is here. And we may rest easy, because there is no storm so callous that it will not obey those eyes.

– Eric Miller

Pitt administrator

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg

Pitt students continue to express their love for their esteemed chancellor, choosing him for the best Pitt administrator this year.

Whether he’s fighting underage drinking with the state or delivering speeches in front of President George W. Bush, “Marky Mark” is an emblem of Pitt in Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

An award-winning lawyer, professor and advocate, Nordenberg has received more accolades than misspellings of his name (no, there’s no “H” on the end).

In addition to being the perceived leader of the University, Nordenberg has to deal with the responsibility of being blamed for everything Pitt students do not like. Whether being burned in effigy or being the first to proclaim Pitt’s virtues, Nordenberg has repeatedly proven that he cares deeply about the school and that he’s along with all of us for any ride Pitt takes.

– Greg Heller LaBelle

Pitt police officer

Tim Delaney

If you hate your job, just imagine leading a force of police officers whose primary job is to make sure college kids don’t hurt themselves.

But Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney has never done it with anything other than a smile.

Open, caring and devoted to his job, Delaney has consistently made safety and security his first priority.

Anyone who has met with the chief will tell you about his easy-going demeanor and his genuine care both for his force and for the students they protect. This is even more remarkable when you consider that those who are protected are rarely grateful or appreciative for the help.

When all students see is the underage drinking citations in the police blotter, Delaney sees many more students that did not have health or safety problems that night, and he’s right to be proud about every one of them.

– Greg Heller-LaBelle

Campus celebrity

Oakland regular

Sombrero Man

“Got any change? Change?”

If you don’t know him, you don’t live in Oakland. In fact, you’ve probably never been to Oakland. Or met anyone who has.

From street corners to Homecoming posters, Sombrero Man is everywhere, embodying all of the beautiful character, humor and ghetto-dom of South Oakland. His mantra has risen to the level of being universally recognizable, and the sight of a sombrero anywhere will set off a tirade of jokes.

Success comes with originality. No one knows if the hat is a gimmick or if Sombrero Man really grew up in Mexico. His legacy is attached to his mystery, and he’s maybe the only Oakland regular that is met with smiles. Little known truth: Sombrero Man once switched to a Stetson for two weeks, but didn’t fair well.

– Greg Heller-LaBelle ‘ Eric Lidji