Migos’ third album “Culture II” falls flat
By Zachary Donovan | For The Pitt News
February 1, 2018
Migos had every reason to go down as a footnote in the brief history of the trap genre. The collective — made up of Atlanta rappers Quavo, Offset and Takeoff — dropped its breakout single, “Versace,” almost five years ago but failed to recreate the track’s success because of a string of PR and l...
Battle for the band: students trade pop for performance at Hofbrauhaus College Night
By Siddhi Shockey | Staff Writer
February 1, 2018
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink, Music
In the great beer hall at Hofbrauhaus every Thursday night, college students dance under the warm light of chandeliers to authentic live music — partaking in a beloved College Night tradition. But when Pitt senior accounting and business information systems major Derek Arnold walked into College ...
Oakland Restaurant Week hosts 6 days of $6 lunches
By Shahum Ajmal and Elizabeth Donnelly | For The Pitt News
January 30, 2018
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink, Top Stories
Students on a budget can ditch Market Central for the week and try out a new restaurant on Forbes or Fifth Avenue for a discounted price instead. Oakland Restaurant Week — which takes place from Monday, Jan. 29, to Saturday, Feb. 3 — is hosted and funded by the Oakland Business Improvement Di...
Ashley Cecil displays ‘Birds and Botany’ at Phipps Conservatory
By Emma Maurice | Staff Writer
January 30, 2018
Just inside Phipps Conservatory, Ashley Cecil has created the illusion of Springtime in the midst of a harsh Pittsburgh winter — blooming flowers and songbirds rest on bright yellow backdrops along the walls of the Welcome Center, greeting visitors as they escape the cold. Cecil found inspirati...
Review: Walk the Moon delivers electrifying performance at Stage AE
By Darren Campuzano | Staff Writer
January 25, 2018
If there is a single guideline for bands performing in Pittsburgh, it is to never offend Steel City football. The audience at Stage AE witnessed this cardinal sin committed onstage Tuesday night by the unapologetic Cincinnati band, Walk the Moon. “When I think of Pittsburgh, I think of how badass ...
Q&A: Pitt alum opens Haus of Vain thrift store
By Charlie Garcia-Weger | For The Pitt News
January 25, 2018
Filed under Culture
Thrifting in Pittsburgh is an underappreciated subject. When I discuss my excitement with people about finding a really interesting or rare find while thrifting in Pittsburgh, they look at me funny — maybe because I’m from Brooklyn. I grew up in what some consider “hipster central,” where it...
Pitt playwrights compete in festival
By Caroline Bourque and Shahum Ajmal | Pitt News Staff
January 23, 2018
Onstage, two actors sparred, bickered and gestured toward an imaginary hole in the floor as a willing audience played along — bringing to life a story from the mind of a fellow Pitt student. At the third annual Playwriting Festival, hosted by the Pitt Performance Collaborative, three students had the c...
Review: Salud Juicery opens in Oakland
By Elizabeth Donnelly | For The Pitt News
January 23, 2018
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink
Just blocks away from Pitt’s campus, Oakland residents now have access to a tasty and healthy alternative to frozen treats and juices. Salud Juicery recently opened its fourth location in the Pittsburgh area — tucked away at 3400 Fifth Avenue. The unadvertised soft opening Friday, Jan. 5, allow...
The Naughties focus on the fans
By Caroline Bourque and Prachi Patel | Pitt News Staff
January 19, 2018
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, Music
The audience at a typical Naughties show can expect anything from bass player Jad Hilal’s usual joke segment to a patriotic onstage reading of the Constitution — backed by red, white and blue stage lights. Lead vocalist and guitar player Jesse Wehner, a Pitt senior and economics major, said th...
Best of Oakland food run
By Noah Manalo | For The Pitt News
January 19, 2018
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink
When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt a little stressed. Weighed down by schoolwork I had yet to complete, and with a long band practice ahead of me that evening, I knew I needed some good food to carry me through the day. I realized the only logical option was to eat at The Pitt News readers’ fav...
ASA breaks the bamboo ceiling
By Shahum Ajmal | For The Pitt News
January 18, 2018
Filed under Culture
Albert Tanjaya encouraged the discussion of Asian stereotypes Wednesday night, evoking a feeling of acceptance from the group gathered in room G8 of the Cathedral. “We are talking about the journey of self-identity, self-discovery and what it means to be an Asian-American,” Tanjaya said. Tanjaya...
Camila Cabello debuts self-titled solo album
By Zachary Donovan | For The Pitt News
January 18, 2018
If you didn’t know who Camila Cabello was six months ago, you almost certainly do now. The 20-year-old former member of Fifth Harmony has exploded onto the scene with the success of her solo smash hit “Havana.” Incorporating elements of her Cuban heritage with the dark aesthetics of trap, “Ha...
Review: Miguel makes waves with ‘War & Leisure’
By Taylor Robinson | For The Pitt News
January 16, 2018
Miguel’s most recent album is a practice in reflection — asking listeners to re-examine their integrity and take a second look at their treatment of each other. In the chorus of “Now,” Miguel sings, “Is that the look of freedom, now? / Is that the sound of freedom, now? / ‘Cause it's ...
Pitt alumni produce ‘Body Farm’ film
By Joanna Li | Staff Writer
January 16, 2018
Filed under Culture, Movies, Top Stories
When a friend offhandedly suggested that Brandon Keenan — a 2005 graduate of Pitt’s media communication program — research the strange topic of body farms, he quickly discovered a potential story unfolding before him. Keenan, 34, has now seen the production of his first feature film, a psycholog...
Rescue dog reaches Instagram fame
By Joanna Li | Staff Writer
January 11, 2018
Filed under Culture
Lu-Seal’s silver dog collar reads “Don’t feed me, I’m on a diet,” reminding her admirers of the long journey she has overcome to be healthy and happy — even if they have to say no to her puppy-dog eyes. As a 9-year-old abandoned chihuahua weighing a dangerously heavy 16 pounds, more than ...
Soda Club creates their own genre
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
January 9, 2018
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, Music
Jarrett Krause opened the doors to his classroom at Beth Shalom Early Learning Center in Squirrel Hill Friday morning. His prekindergarten students drew colorful, scribbly pictures and asked him about his long, curly hair. One day later, the 2015 Pitt alumnus was tossing that same curly hair onst...
Women who rocked 2017
By Amanda Reed | Contributing Editor
January 8, 2018
This past year challenged woman in the United States. A man who was recorded saying, “grab ‘em by the pussy” was sworn in as the president. Title IX, which helps and protects survivors of sexual assault across college campuses, is in jeopardy after Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a review ...
Jazz plays on in Pittsburgh
By Emma Maurice | Staff Writer
January 8, 2018
While the riverboats travelling up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers between 1916 and 1970 brought many people to Pittsburgh to work in the booming steel industry, it also brought a wave of musicians who created Pittsburgh’s lasting jazz scene. Jazz in Pittsburgh continues to flourish and sustain years of tr...
Hospitals for the holidays: Students and nurses help out over break
By Sarah Connor and Joanna Li
December 11, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
While some people are putting a honey-glazed Christmas ham into the oven and cozying up with loved ones to watch “A Christmas Story,” Pitt student Trisha Klan starts her work day. Instead of sipping hot cocoa and decorating a tree, the third-year student will celebrate Christmas while working ...
Not too late to skate
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
December 8, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Kristen Steffes was sprawled facedown on the surface of the choppy, snowy ice at the outdoor Schenley Park Skating Rink. The first-year biology and gender studies double major shrieked with laughter as her night of ice-skating started off with a bang — actually, it was more like a thud. She got...
Students design displays for Nationality Rooms
By Marissa Perino / Staff Writer
December 7, 2017
Filed under Culture
Within the brightly lit rotunda of the University Art Gallery, people politely shuffle around a wall map already crowded with pushpins indicating spots where visitors’ hometowns and family origins are. This map is just one part of “Narratives of the Nationality Rooms: Immigration & Identity ...
“Milk and Vine” mixes satire with substance
By Henry Glitz / Opinions Editor
December 5, 2017
Filed under Culture
There are certain places where inspirational quotes naturally end up — on a dorm room poster, above a desktop in an office cubicle or in an Instagram bio. A less obvious a location is atop Amazon’s best seller list — yet that’s exactly where “Milk and Vine,” a poetry anthology subtitl...
An asylum for artists: students intern at a sanctuary for exiled writers
By Salina Pressimone / Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Filed under Culture
Rebecca Martin stares in awe from behind the “Banned Books” shelf in her volunteer T-shirt inscribed with the words “City of Asylum” written out in four different languages. She yields to occasional orders from Leslie, the supervisor for the night, greeting and registering guests as she t...
On the flat track: new class of derby skaters trains
By Ellen Kruczek / Staff Writer
November 28, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
While some people spend their free time reading, painting or curled up on the couch binge-watching Netflix, the ladies of Steel City Roller Derby spend their free time lacing up roller skates and slamming their bodies into each other. Over the rubbery bark and chatter of skates, a new class of skater...
Beach Boys bring SoCal sounds to Heinz Hall
By Darren Campuzano / Staff Writer
November 20, 2017
It was less than 60 degrees in Downtown Pittsburgh Saturday but Mike Love — front man of the Beach Boys — was singing about breaking out the sandals and cruising past palm trees. “First order of business: Thanks for showing up,” Love said jokingly. “I’m a little wacky tonight.” The 7...
Column: Feeding you the truth about Thanksgiving
By Jaime Viens / Contributing Editor
November 20, 2017
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink, Top Stories
Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November — we eat turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes to commemorate the 1621 feast at which Pilgrims and Wampanoags peacefully gathered in Plymouth, Massachusetts. And every year since, Americans have put aside their own family...
When you give a tenant a bad experience
By Rachel Glasser | Contributing Editor
November 17, 2017
Filed under Culture
When you rent a house from a landlord... He’s going to want you to sign a lease. When he wants you to sign a lease... You should say, ‘lemme read that first, please.’ When you’ve read it front to back... Some things may alarm you, such as the fact that your lease calls for you to deep clean the...
Students scatter to study in green spaces
By Joanna Li / Staff Writer
November 17, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Although Pitt’s campus has a lot of the amenities a traditional campus would, it doesn’t have a central green space that all the buildings on campus surround. Instead, Pitt has scattered spaces — and while there aren’t many, they still allow for a good balance between urban life and a col...
Treasures and toys: students find strange objects upon moving into Oakland homes
By Jaime Weinreb / Staff Writer
November 17, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
When Sawyer Bressler signed the lease to his new home, he was unaware the house came with a dildo mounted to a plaque. Like Bressler, many Pitt students come across strange artifacts left by previous residents when they move into new apartments and houses. And after some initial confusion by these f...
Dark, dank and diverse: students find many uses for Oakland basements
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
November 17, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Mac Clark heard knocking and high-pitched talking coming from his basement about two weekends ago. Following a Halloween party he hosted at his South Oakland residence, the senior mechanical engineering major unlocked the door leading to the basement and cautiously made his way down the creaking ...
Face-to-face with fake Facebook events
By Amanda Reed / Senior Staff Writer
November 16, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
I showed up to the Facebook event, “Offer a Slurpee Up to the Old 7-Eleven Site,” Nov. 11 in the hope of finding the 360 people who said they were interested in attending — but I was the only one there. No one offered Slurpees in an attempt to magically bring back the storefront. What once was...
Cats come into the spotlight at Pittsburgh’s first cat film festival
By Prachi Patel / Staff Writer
November 14, 2017
Filed under Culture
Laura Greenawalt tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth and eagerly glanced up at the blank movie theater screen, waiting for the lights to dim, the film to begin and for her cat, Schuster, to become momentarily famous. Greenawalt and Emily Starr, both residents of Lawrenceville, came out to a Friday...
Review: Bob Dylan’s never-ending tour stops in Pittsburgh
By Darren Campuzano | Staff Writer
November 9, 2017
What can be said about Bob Dylan that has not been said before? To start, the man cannot sit still. Rock’s modern troubadour and nonpareil songsmith returned to Heinz Hall after three years Nov. 6. It’s a reminder to Pittsburgh that after a 55-year career, he won’t be writing songs about retirem...
Pastels and paints: ARTificial club provides students with creative outlet
By Siddhi Shockey / For The Pitt News
November 9, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Art, Culture
The silence of creative focus cuts short sounds of laughter and chatter as students begin to paint abstract designs with vibrant yellow and pink acrylics on large, white canvases. ARTificial — the first club on Pitt’s campus dedicated solely to visual arts — is a space for both artists and appreci...
Historic Pittsburgh hosts fair at Carnegie Library
By Siddhi Shockey / For The Pitt News
November 7, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Rick Sebak, a native Pittsburgh filmmaker and producer, held a “Pittsburgh Changes the World” sign above his head, eliciting nods from the audience at the Historic Pittsburgh Fair. Sebak and many of the audience members reminisced over Pittsburgh’s greatest historical contributions, ranging from wo...
Sam Smith sings with sincerity in sophomore album
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
November 6, 2017
Sam Smith is not heartbroken anymore — sad and emotional, sure, but that seems to be a part of who he will always be. The heartbreak that propelled most of Smith’s 2014 debut, “In The Lonely Hour,” is a thing of the past. And while his new record, “The Thrill of It All,” holds onto the e...
‘Stranger Things’ season two returns twists, turns and the 80s
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
November 1, 2017
Filed under Culture, Television
Putting the number two after a title is dangerous — sequels are hard to make and rarely live up to the originals. And while the second season of “Stranger Things,” released last Friday, falls victim in some ways to the sequel slump, it was a solid nine episodes that indulged in the things people...
Hunting Pittsburgh’s haunted history
By Lexi Kennell and Rachel Glasser / Contributing Editors
October 31, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish if a person is drunk or possessed by a demon. At least that’s what TJ Porfeli, the co-owner and president of operations of Ghosts N’at Paranormal Adventures, said Saturday while speaking at the orientation for one of the company’s ghost hunts. “If anyo...
Eerie ensembles: College students craft costumes at home
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
October 31, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Students dressed up in outfits ranging from cartoon characters to sexy nuns walked to and from Sorrento’s and mingled in Oakland basements this weekend — but one student in particular stuck out from the group. Attracting attention with massive, floppy ears and a large trunk, Joey Valentino, a sophomo...
TPN’s spooky tunes
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
October 31, 2017
Halloweekend parties might be over, but there’s still time to listen to a killer playlist of spooky tunes before all the Christmas music sets in. While “Thriller” and “Monster Mash” may be Halloween music staples, there’s more to be listened to before October comes to a close. Whether you...
Rooted in the community: gardens bring neighborhoods together
By Prachi Patel / Staff Writer
October 26, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
Whether it’s planted on a worn-down baseball field, hidden in a church’s vacant parking lot or sandwiched between two houses, Pittsburghers have repurposed sections of their neighborhoods into community gardens — green spaces where neighbors can meet, mingle and grow crops together. Pittsbu...
Column: Bourdain challenges Pittsburgh narratives in flawed ‘Parts Unknown’ episode
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
October 23, 2017
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink, Television
When Anthony Bourdain goes to any city, locals are bound to complain that he missed one of the best restaurants or didn’t talk to an important person. But when Bourdain’s Pittsburgh episode of “Parts Unknown” aired on CNN Sunday night, many Pittsburghers were furious, claiming the show didn...
Taking a shot: trying alcohol for the first time at 21
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
October 23, 2017
Filed under Culture
“No, thank you,” quickly became my most commonly uttered phrase on weekends once I moved away to college — I would continuously be offered drinks at parties and would continuously turn them down. I’m not sure exactly when I decided I wouldn’t drink alcohol before I turned 21 — I guess fo...
Staff picks: Halloween movies
By TPN Staff
October 23, 2017
Filed under Culture
With hundreds of thousands of Halloween titles to rifle through online, the thought of missing out on the spookiest movies can be frightening. And with Halloween in about a week, there isn’t a better time to sit back with friends, snack on overpriced candy from Rite Aid and nervously laugh at scary m...
Teaching Aiden to aid: student trains service dog
By Connor Wurst / For The Pitt News
October 19, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Four legs, floppy ears and a wet nose don’t seem to be the usual description of someone who is equipped to help with disabilities, but in the case of Aiden the puppy, this description is just enough when paired with two years of training. Aiden, an almost 4-month-old black lab, is training with Emma Oa...
Frightening Functions
By TPN Staff
October 18, 2017
Filed under Culture
The entire month of October is often laden with trips to pumpkin patches, nights spent watching scary movies under piles of blankets and parties where everyone shows off their handmade Halloween costumes. And whether it’s a Halloween bar crawl, a haunted amusement park or a live rendition of a spooky...
Preparation pays off: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra plays Shostakovich
By Joanna Li / For The Pitt News
October 16, 2017
Filed under Art, Culture, Top Stories
World-renowned musicians clad in dark colors quickly filled 101 empty black chairs organized in a crescent shape on the stage. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra played their program “Shostakovich Triumphant” Sunday at Heinz Hall Downtown as part of their BNY Mellon Grand Classics series. Polish gue...
Women’s Choral Ensemble invites alumni back for fall concert
By Salina Pressimone / Staff Writer
October 16, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, Music
More than 40 years after her graduation, Phyllis Dato-Timbario added her voice back into the range of voices in Pitt’s Women’s Choral Ensemble. Pitt’s past and present WCE members serenaded an audience of more than 100 people inside Heinz Chapel for its 90th Anniversary Fall Concert Sunday. To c...
Exploring hidden art on campus
By Marissa Perino / Staff Writer
October 13, 2017
Filed under Art, Culture, Uncategorized
Because of displaced, absent or otherwise out-of-sight placards, many works of art often go unattributed or unnoticed on campus. There could be art installations hanging from a ceiling or beautiful oil paintings of the Cathedral in plain sight, and students and faculty often walk right by them. Art...
Retro Oakland: Panther Statues
By Marissa Perino and Lexi Kennell
October 13, 2017
Filed under Culture
Just because the panther is a statue, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t changed. The panther was chosen as our mascot because of its intimidating nature, its nativity to the Pittsburgh region and its ancient standing as a noble animal, but most importantly it was chosen because no other university used it...
Altered: Repurposed Pittsburgh Churches
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
October 11, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, Top Stories
In most cities, a building with multi-colored, kaleidoscope glass and a rusting bell tower is unquestionably a church, but in Pittsburgh, it could be something much different — it could be a music venue, brewery, hookah bar or even a night club. Repurposed churches are all over Pittsburgh — from the Braddoc...
Swaying in solidarity: Point Park students dance for Las Vegas in wake of shooting
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
October 10, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
As the clock in Market Square reached 12:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, about 115 young adults dressed in jeans and white T-shirts began flowing in around the perimeter of the square, moving their arms and hands in a series of intricate and repeated gestures. “It’s a flash mob,” a man on a corner ...
The National plays concert to pensive crowd
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
October 10, 2017
As The National lead singer Matt Berninger held up his drink between songs, he said being in Pittsburgh makes him feel like he’s “almost home.” The Cincinnati-based band played the outdoor venue at Stage AE Saturday to a full crowd of fans — mostly young adults in their twenties and thirt...
Tom Petty breaks hearts one last time
By Darren Campuzano / For Th Pitt News
October 5, 2017
"I'm just trying to make good quality music, 'cause I do realize this music is going to be around much longer than me. I do know that now,” Tom Petty said. The ample songwriter and classic rock trailblazer Petty died of cardiac arrest at age 66 Monday, Oct. 2. What hurts the most when true music i...
Send nudes: student artist draws on body positivity
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
October 5, 2017
Filed under Art, Culture, Top Stories
Every couple of weeks, more than 100 people scroll through their Instagram feeds and see a penciled sketch of a woman’s body accompanied by a short description about body positivity by user takeback_thenude. Sarah Krause, a junior studying studio arts and social work, started something last May called The Nudity Project. The project involves Krause drawing nudes of women...
Bob Seger rocks through PGH on ‘Runaway Train’ tour
By Darren Campuzano / For The Pitt News
October 3, 2017
“Usually it’s dedication time here,” Michigan-bred rocker Bob Seger said. “I’d like to dedicate this to everyone in the building.” Wearing true blue jeans, a Triumph Motorcycles T-shirt and a wide grin, Seger burst into a kicking rendition of “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll.” He grasped ...
Fast Films: UPTV hosts 24-hour film festival
By Siddhi Shockey / For The Pitt News
October 3, 2017
The screen fades to black after the character of Meriwether Lewis gets impaled — by his future self. Lewis uses a power strip as a makeshift time machine and travels back to when he launched a knife into the woods. When he arrives in the past, he appears in the woods and inadvertently becomes the tar...
Thrival revival: fall music fest returns to Pittsburgh
By Dieer Hu and Luke Stambaugh / For The Pitt News
October 2, 2017
Filed under Culture, Music, Top Stories
“Here’s to my city!” Wiz Khalifa said to thousands of elated festivalgoers as the melody of his Pittsburgh Steelers-inspired anthem “Black and Yellow” began to play. The Pittsburgh native and award-winning rapper performed as headliner of the 2017 Thrival Innovation + Music Festival this week...
Co-opportunity: Co-ops thrive in East Liberty
By Marissa Perino / Staff Writer
September 29, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
At a farmers market in East Liberty, customers flock to stands lined with red-capped apple cider jugs and stacked wooden crates filled with fresh fruits and vegetables to cross grocery shopping off their to-do list for the week. In Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhood, two farmers market cooperatives ...
Local eats in Oakland, around Pittsburgh
By The Pitt News Staff
September 28, 2017
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink
If you are looking for eating options in Pittsburgh, checkout one of the many restaurants listed below: Qdoba Mexican Eats 3712 Forbes Ave. Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 412-802-7866 $ Qdoba offers the best in Mexican cuisine from burritos to quesadillas...
Talk Amharic to me: Pitt offers new language
By Salina Pressimone / Staff Writer
September 27, 2017
Filed under Culture
“Kä, ku, ki. Rä, ru, ri. Tä, tu, ti.” Junior Ruth Dereje sounds out each letter as she transcribes the intricate Amharic symbols on the chalkboard inside the Irish Room with precise delineations of each of their most minute but crucial features. Behind her, professor Waganesh Zeleke expands an...
‘Pitt Tonight’ remastered: Andrew Dow hosts season three premiere
By Luke Stambaugh / Staff Writer
September 26, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
“The bread here is incredible — you have to try some,” new Pitt Tonight host Andrew Dow said as he threw dinner rolls at the audience of the Charity Randall Theatre Sunday. Dow pretended he was on a date with the crowd at the season three premiere of “Pitt Tonight,” Pitt’s student-run late night show. Kicking off the episode with a monologue, Dow intro...
‘Just in a rut’: The Killers’s new album disappoints, but not without hope
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
September 26, 2017
In the chorus of “Rut” — the third song off The Killers’ new album “Wonderful Wonderful” — front man Brandon Flowers croons against a catchy beat, “Don’t give up on me / ‘cause I’m just in a rut.” And it’s hard to hear the words as anything other than a direct plea to the lis...
Crawling through the city: Gallery Crawl comes back to Pittsburgh
By Emma Maurice / Staff Writer
September 20, 2017
For one night every season throughout the year, the streets of downtown Pittsburgh teem with artistic events, music and art fanatics. A free and public event since 2004, the quarterly Gallery Crawl yields nearly 30,000 visitors annually and showcases art, music and entertainment throughout downtown Pittsburgh. The Pit...
FEM: Equality and empowerment
By Rachel Lombardo / For The Pitt News
September 20, 2017
Filed under Culture
Feminism has become a buzzword, and along with the attention comes stereotypes — that feminists are crazy man-haters and women who don’t shave their legs or armpits. Here on Pitt’s campus, The Female Empowerment Movement, or FEM for short, aims to break these stereotypes and bring feminism b...
WPTS creates playlists after hectic day at Pitt
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
September 18, 2017
With the Cathedral flooding and Pitt students standing up to homophobia in a counter protest at Towers yesterday, our news writers had more than enough to write about. The hectic Monday inspired the new media director of WPTS, Josh Chamberlain, to create two playlists to match the mood — Cathy ...
Wasteland-scapes: Frick Fine Arts Building hosts environmentally-conscious art exhibits
By Prachi Patel / Staff Writer
September 18, 2017
Filed under Art, Culture, Top Stories
Floorboards creaked as visitors shuffled around to get a closer view of the medley of landscapes, which included underwater photographs, silk Chinese scrolls depicting sloping mountains and an Inuit print of a sea-goddess. The University Art Gallery hosted a joint opening of two art exhibitions ...
Pitt alum publishes serialized email novel
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
September 15, 2017
Filed under Culture
With a growing number of people flocking to Kindles and iPads for reading, publishing novels online seems to be the modern— and eco-friendly — option for contemporary literature. Adam Dove, who graduated from Pitt in 2014 with a degree in fiction writing, decided to tap into this trend and releas...
Creating careers: Pitt grads start their own businesses
By Salina Pressimone / Staff Writer
September 15, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
On any weekend night on South Craig Street, passersby can hear the sounds of wails accompany the tune of pop songs emitted by the karaoke house on the corner. Wedged tight among Irish cuisine and artisan jewelry, KBox Karaoke’s dim purple curtains bring private karaoke culture to musically incline...
College is hard, but it’s just the start
By Taylor Pecarchik / Staff Writer
September 15, 2017
Filed under Culture
There’s no doubt that people go to college so they can get a good job. It’s why I go to college. It’s probably why you do, too. But for a lot of students at Pitt, future plans are still a little cloudy. While every student at some point declares a field of study, that doesn’t mean every stu...
‘Six a breast’: an exploration into the absurdities of womanhood
By Connor Wurst / For The Pitt News
September 13, 2017
Filed under Culture, Theater, Top Stories
A woman — illuminated by a single spotlight and clad in a bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her head and a pale green face mask — stands alone on stage and releases an enraged scream. The opening scene of CorningWorks’ fall 2017 production “six a breast” launched a theater full of Pittsbur...
Riding the party wave with Surf Bored
By Luke Stambaugh / Staff Writer
September 11, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
In an Oakland basement adorned with Christmas lights, a two-person “mosh-pop” outfit jams in front of a sweaty crowd of college students. The crowd moshes to the fast-paced, resounding tunes as the guitarist wipes beads of sweat from his forehead. Surf Bored, a prominent Do-It-Yourself band...
Tailgate tunes: Pitt vs. PSU game day playlist
By Jack Mulligan / For The Pitt News
September 7, 2017
Filed under Culture, GameDay, Music
Every college football fan in Pennsylvania has a reason to get excited for this Saturday’s game. Thousands of fans from both teams will meet at the massive Beaver Stadium for the in-state matchup. After Pitt’s stunning victory last year at Heinz Field, a lot is riding on this game for both teams....
Retro Oakland: Pitt’s catwalk of football fashion
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
September 7, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, GameDay
Sporting black long-sleeved turtlenecks and dark pants, Pitt’s 1899 football team looks like a bunch of brooding postmodern writers. But the beatnik era didn’t happen for another 50 years, making our athletic predecessors look like fashion-forward icons. And as our school went from the Western...
Asian-American film festival comes back to PGH
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
September 6, 2017
In an age when the United States prides itself on diversity but is plagued with racism, it’s important to support arts from all different cultures. Opportunities to do just this are everywhere, as long as we keep an eye out for them. The 12th annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival will sc...
“Rick and Morty” fan base flourishes as millennials continue to embrace dark humor
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
September 4, 2017
Filed under Art, Culture, Television
“Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody’s going to die. Come watch TV.” Morty Smith says this to his sister Summer in season one, episode eight of “Rick and Morty,” referencing the show itself along with its nihilistic and existential premise. “Rick and Morty” ...
Cats cradled in Schenley Plaza for First Caturday
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
September 4, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
On the grass by the Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain, a crowd of several dozen people parted down the middle as a retired show cat, looking remarkably like a small lion, strutted down the path. The cat who stole everyone’s attention — Snickers — was later passed around gently from person to person ...
Pro-life Pitt student aims to take hypocrisy out of casual politics
By Matt Maielli / For The Pitt News
August 31, 2017
Filed under Culture
Rosemary Geraghty’s club at Pitt was accused, on social media, of being composed of “radical feminists” and “social justice warriors” promoting “transgenderism.” “And I was like, ‘Absolutely — you got me,’” she said with a laugh. Geraghty — a purple-haired, nose-ringed, q...
Multimedia zine cultivates creativity on campus
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
August 31, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Art, Culture
With the right angle and some adjusting of the photo’s exposure and saturation, Caitrin Bogart made art out of five cracked eggs she saw spattered on an Oakland street. The photograph, aptly titled “oops!,” was featured in ambi- magazine — a multimedia zine at Pitt — in February on the ma...
Game of Thrones awkwardly rushes plot in season seven finale
By Luke Stambaugh / Staff Writer
August 29, 2017
Filed under Culture, Television
Watching the “Game of Thrones” season seven finale was as entertaining as it was frustrating. The creators of HBO’s fantasy and action juggernaut provided six seasons of carefully crafted dynamic characters and complex interwoven storylines. But the finale of season seven was unfortunately rushed...
Transfers make the switch to Pitt but not without struggles
By Sarah Morris / Staff Writer
August 29, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
Not all new Pitt students are having their first college experience — roughly a thousand of them every year are seasoned students who have transferred from colleges and universities from around the world. And while many transfer students find their place in Oakland just like the students who starte...
Bicycles, buses and cars: why students commute to campus
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
August 29, 2017
Filed under Culture, Uncategorized
With playlists and podcasts downloaded for the commute, roughly 800 undergraduate Pitt students make their daily trek to campus, whether it be from as near as Bloomfield or as far as the South Hills. I had that long and traffic-riddled drive from the South Hills over the summer — a journey that took any...
Retro Oakland: Learning about our university’s leaders
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
August 27, 2017
Filed under Culture
Although Pitt students today have grown accustomed to a chancellor who takes selfies with each upcoming class and tweets regularly, past leaders of Pitt had different approaches to interacting with students. There have been 18 Pitt chancellors — and each one impacted the University as we know it t...
Summer Album Analysis
By TPN Staff
August 27, 2017
From the moody, morbid “Melodrama” to the introspective “Witness,” the songs of the summer were filled with self-discovery, disappointment and apologies. And with so many new releases over the course of three short months, it can be difficult to keep up with what’s essential and what you can tune ...
Photographer Elliott Erwitt publishes forgotten Pittsburgh photos
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture
Elliott Erwitt left his rented room at the downtown Pittsburgh YMCA in the fall of 1950, cameras in hand. The 22-year-old photographer walked up either Forbes or Fifth Avenue, documenting the people and places of the transitioning city along the way, before arriving at the Pittsburgh Photographic Lib...
Retro Oakland: taking a look at Pitt campus buildings
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture
Students walk down Fifth and Ruskin Avenues and pass Langley Hall every day, but many have no idea that two people died in an explosion in that very building about 40 years ago. In The Pitt News’ New Student Guide that was published earlier in the summer, I started a series — Retro Oakland — that f...
Pitt club raises awareness for animal welfare
By Amanda Reed / Senior Staff Writer
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture
No meat, cheese, wool or ivory-keyed pianos — basically nothing that comes from or is made from an animal. That’s what Pitt’s animal wellness club preaches on campus. Panthers for Animal Welfare — PAW for short — is an activist club focused on spreading awareness about the effects that fo...
Staff picks: cheap eats in Oakland
By TPN Staff
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture, Food & Drink
With Red Oak Cafe’s closure, Pitt students could go hungry come fall. But here at The Pitt News, we won’t let that happen. There are plenty of restaurants in Oakland to choose from — you just need to find the right spots. We’ve enlisted some editors and writers from The Pitt News to compile some o...
PITT ARTS enters 20th year of affordable access to the arts
By Marissa Perino / Staff Writer
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture
Occupying the penthouse floor of the William Pitt Union, the PITT ARTS office is ready for another year of Pittsburgh culture and entertainment. Freshly printed neon flyers are scattered on the coffee table and the lineup for the upcoming school year is pencilled on the calendar. A division of Student Affairs,...
Pittsburgh’s indie theaters set themselves apart
By Matt Maielli / Contributing Editor
August 21, 2017
Chain theaters and popular franchises are fatiguing after a while — remakes, reboots and sequels, oh my — so why not attend a classic film marathon in a single screen theater to refresh your cinematic palette. Here’s a short list of local, independent theaters that offer both mainstream releases,...
Filters and flour: Pitt student mixes photography and baking
By Rachel Lombardo / For The Pitt News
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture, Top Stories
With three vanilla pound cake rounds cooling in front of her, Elaine Khodzhayan combines the perfect concoction of peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar into her signature frosting. Khodzhayan, a rising senior majoring in human resources management and business information systems, is the baker ...
GALLERY: Summer in Pictures
By Pitt News Staff
August 21, 2017
Filed under Culture, News, Visual
In case you missed it this summer, a lot of things have happened in Pittsburgh. These are some of our favorite photos from the past few months. ...
‘Shall we begin?’: Dragons, the undead and murderous mortals take their final places in ‘Game Of Thrones’ premiere
By Matt Maielli / Contributing Editor
July 19, 2017
Filed under Culture, Television
In the “Game of Thrones” season seven premiere, “Dragonstone,” the remaining pieces of the Great Game finally move into their places on the board. A large part of prestige television — which viewing audiences are drowning in lately — is waiting. That is definitely true of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and also true of S...
Podcasts and prose: TPN’s entertainment picks for the summer
By TPN Staff
July 19, 2017
Filed under Culture
When we’re not busy writing, some of us at The Pitt News try to find time to read a book or listen to a podcast. Here are suggestions to kick back with and enjoy before classes resume in a few short weeks. BOOKS “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” by Michael Chabon — Sarah Morris / For the Pit...
An unparalled syzygy: Pitt team launches test balloon to prepare for eclipse
By Lexi Kennell / Culture Editor
July 18, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture
After an intense downpour the morning of the test launch, the dark clouds parted, uncovering a bright blue sky just in time for the Pitt Shadow Bandits to release their research balloon to float up to the top of the earth’s atmosphere. The Pitt Shadow Bandits — a team of Pitt students, faculty and...
Breaking a leg: Pitt med students archive their plays in art exhibit
By Marissa Perino / Staff Writer
July 11, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Culture, Theater
Nestled deep within Falk Library atop Cardiac Hill sits one of Pitt’s most unknown gems — a small art exhibit comprised of artifacts from past plays performed by Pitt’s medical school. Annually, fourth-year med students perform a pop culture-themed play with a medical twist, called Scope & Sca...
Pets of Pitt: students find furry friends on campus
By Prachi Patel / Staff Writer
July 3, 2017
Filed under Culture
Winston prowls around a house on Bates Street — meowing, knocking things over with his black-and-white paws and chewing on the mail. For Georgia Vidal, a college student with a limited budget, housing space and time, her cat is a handful. Vidal, a fifth-year senior majoring in media and professional co...
GALLERY: Anthrocon 2017
July 3, 2017
Pittsburgh is the annual host of Anthrocon, the world's largest furry convention. This past weekend, more than 200 vendors and 7,300 attendees took part in the festivities which were held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. ...
Slice of life: Dave Pirozzi’s music makes waves at Pitt
By Jack Mulligan / For The Pitt News
June 28, 2017
While most artists draw inspiration from love and heartbreak, Pitt student and musician Dave Pirozzi finds inspiration in seemingly strange places — video games, cartoons and the changing of seasons. “I really have this weird obsession with fall,” Pirozzi said. “For my future writing with...