Pitt’s first female AFROTC commander encourages leadership
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
October 30, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Hidden from civilians on floor 29 of the Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh's Air Force ROTC detachment is only accessible from two elevators. Tight hallways decorated with training schedules, cadet headshots and motivational posters lead to several small rooms. The cadet wings at Pitt are organized the wa...
Event explores conflict over climate change
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 30, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Highlighting the existing political lines at Pitt was not what Samuel Ressin had in mind while planning his Polarization vs. the Planet event. Ressin — the president of the Climate Stewardship Society — said the event was supposed to showcase climate change and ways to show bipartisan support on the ...
Governor approves state-related funding
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 28, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, News
Governor Tom Wolf signed an appropriation bill passed by the state legislature into law Friday morning — meaning Pitt is officially funded. The signing of the bill — which the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Wednesday by a margin of 181-5 — marks the end of a more than four-month stale...
Oakland victims robbed at gunpoint
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 28, 2017
Filed under Crime, News, Top Stories
Pitt police issued a crime alert after two suspects were involved in an armed robbery Friday night. Pitt and city police responded to the crime, which took place on the 300 block of Ophelia Street, Oct. 27, at 11:24 p.m. A black male approached the two victims and asked them where a party was, according...
Art Commission recommends relocating Foster statue
By Caroline Bourque and Rachel Glasser | News Editors
October 26, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, City, News
Dippy the Dinosaur might be losing a pal in the near future. The Pittsburgh Art Commission reached a unanimous decision Wednesday to recommend the removal of the Stephen Foster statue — located on Forbes Avenue next the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s diplodocus dinosaur statue. Sarika Goula...
Pitt procures state funding, ending tuition scare
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 26, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, News, Top Stories
Update: Gov. Tom Wolf signed the appropriation bill Friday, officially funding Pitt and the other state-related universities. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed an appropriation bill to fund Pitt, warding off the fear of a tuition hike — for now. The bill passed Wednesday by a margi...
Engineering the time warp again: Engineering Student Council puts on Rocky Horror Picture Show
By Amanda Finney | Staff Writer
October 26, 2017
Filed under News, Top Stories
It’s not every day Pitt students gather in a campus building to watch performers in lingerie. But on Wednesday night, a girl in a bright red wig and patent leather knee-high boots danced seductively onstage as a giant pair of red lips, projected on the screen behind her, sang the show’s opening ...
Social work dean steps down
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 26, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Pitt’s dean of the School of Social Work Larry E. Davis will step down at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. Davis is the third University dean this year to announce he will step down in the spring. Swanson School of Engineering dean Gerald Holder and School of Law dean William M. Carter, Jr. annou...
Scan brings brighter outlook for brain injuries
By Anandhini Narayanan | Staff Writer
October 26, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science
What seemed like harmless fun riding ATVs with friends took a turn for the worse when Daniel Stunkard was thrown from the vehicle and hit the road. Stunkard wasn’t wearing a helmet at time, and ended up in a coma for three and a half weeks. When he woke up, he was partially paralyzed. “The [...
Professor discusses gun violence with students
By Xinyu Lu | For The Pitt News
October 24, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Richard Garland, an assistant professor of Public Health Practice at Pitt, has spent a total of 23 years incarcerated — almost two-thirds of his life. “Believe it or not, I have a real good relationship with law enforcement,” Garland said. “Never thought I’d say that.” Today, Garland w...
Pitt’s 10th PMADD highlights culture of service
By Caroline Bourque and Janine Faust | News Editors
October 24, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Shea Krause is confident she and about 50 other members of Pitt’s Jumpstart chapter had the Brightwood Civic Group’s Pumpkinfest under control Saturday morning. “If anything, there were maybe too many people. I don’t think there were enough jobs,” she said. Krause and her peers helped ma...
‘Guardian’ helps people on the brink
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 24, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Kevin Briggs thinks his unofficial title — “guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge” — sounds “egotistical.” “I’m not a big fan of the name,” Briggs said in an email. “I think there are many ‘Guardians’ all over the world, both first responder and citizen.” Briggs, a Californ...
Sigmas scrutinize race, masculinity
By Sarah Frumkin | Staff Writer
October 24, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Gabby Yearwood said he tells people all the time he wasn’t born a feminist. Toxic forms of masculinity impacted his own life as a youth, he said. But going to college helped undo his preconceptions that cultural constructs had taught him — such as his aversion to gay people. “I was homopho...
Quick Zone decreases prices, extends hours
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 24, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Quick Zone is extending its hours and dropping its prices after 7-Eleven closed Sept. 28. Panther Central announced Oct. 13 that Litchfield Towers Quick Zone would be extending its hours from a 24-hour, five-day-a-week schedule to 24 hours, seven days a week, beginning that day. “Do late-nig...
Poet connects race, culture with verse
By Lauren Forsythe | Staff Writer
October 22, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The bumping and bouncing beat of rap music filled Nordy’s Place Saturday evening as students snapped and clapped along to live music and slam poetry. G Yamazawa rapidly spit lyrics rooted in personal stories about race and culture. “When you forget where you’re from, you truly become America...
Student struggles illuminated at mental health vigil
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 22, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
After sustaining a concussion playing street basketball during his junior year of high school, Wyatt Macejka’s life would never be the same. The senior psychology major was diagnosed with depression and anxiety as a result of the concussion, and he struggled through his recovery. “I couldn...
Students wrestle with returning home
By Nina Kneuer | Staff Writer
October 22, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Aarthi Pookot remembered her first moment of “reverse” culture shock when she returned home from spending a year abroad in Japan. Pookot — a first-year Japanese major — was at an airport in Atlanta, Georgia, and was trying to buy a hot chocolate while waiting for her connecting flight home. ...
Author advocates for immigrants
By Remy Samuels | Staff Writer
October 20, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
From watching “Dennis the Menace,” “Beverly Hills, 90201” and “Saved by the Bell,” Julissa Arce’s American dream began at a young age. Growing up in Mexico, Arce watched American television shows with wonder and curiosity. She especially identified with Dennis from “Dennis the Me...
Israelis and Palestinian find common ground in the environment
By Nina Kneuer | Staff Writer
October 20, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
From a Palestinian point of view the Arava Institute is located in Palestine, and from an Israeli point of view the Institute is located in Israel. Students and faculty from the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies — a university that focuses on intercultural research and environmental work — led a ...
Senate council focuses on funding
By Nolan Roosa | Staff Writer
October 19, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher opened his report at the University Senate Council meeting Wednesday by addressing the killing of Pitt student Alina Sheykhet. This was the chancellor’s first public statement regarding the tragic death. “Our community was heartbroken at the loss of Alina Sheyk...
Husband relates story of wife’s Holocaust survival
By Laura Howe | For The Pitt News
October 19, 2017
Renee Sachs was hardly old enough to read when she realized that, if she made a mistake, it could cost two lives — hers and her aunt’s. When she was 4 years old, Sachs went to live with her aunt in Vichy, France, so she — a young girl of Jewish descent — could escape the genocide being car...
Students speak out about mental health
By Amanda Finney | Staff Writer
October 19, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Emiola Jay Oriola said he’s not native to writing poetry — and he didn’t used to like art — but in the eulogy he wrote for his father’s funeral, he found that a poem came out. “It was very brand new, so I started to cultivate it, seek God and ask ‘what is this?’ and more poetry cam...
SGB continues to focus on state budget impasse
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 18, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
Pennsylvania representatives “really got an earful” last week from Pitt students, Student Government Board President Max Kneis said at Tuesday’s meeting. SGB held a phone banking event last Wednesday to Friday outside the William Pitt Union. The event gave students the opportunity to call co...
Takei recounts experiences, encourages activism
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
October 18, 2017
Shortly after his fifth birthday, in 1942, George Takei and his family were forced out of their home in Los Angeles at gunpoint. Along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, Takei’s family was sent to a Japanese internment camp. Takei and his family spent a few months in a camp on the West Coast before m...
Taking back the night: students share stories of abusive relationships
By Bailey Frisco | Staff Writer
October 17, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Dana Good held a handmade sign above her head that read “I’m not ovary-acting” as she marched through the streets of Oakland Tuesday night. More Pitt students walked alongside her, waving posters saying “reclaim the streets” and “I march for those who can’t,” while being escorted by Pitt Po...
Podcast hosts return to talk traveling
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
October 17, 2017
Reality TV stars and podcast hosts Susie Meister and Sarah Rice think they might be qualified for Donald Trump’s current job — given that he also has a reality TV background. “This is just the beginning. Podcast at Pitt, next thing you know I’m running for president,” Meister said. ...
Students disconnect to connect to people
By Lauren Forsythe | For The Pitt News
October 16, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Your social media activity can’t ever really be deleted, Kathleen Bracken learned in her computer science classes at Pitt. “Usually whenever you click the delete button it’s not actually taking the thing out of memory, it’s not like you take an eraser and you smear it out and it’s gone,” B...
New Pitt office to encourage communication across faiths
By Sarah Frumkin | For The Pitt News
October 16, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Kyle Wyche was peacefully meditating in the prayer and relaxation room on the third floor of the William Pitt Union when a group of Muslim students walked in to pray. The junior ecology major struck up a conversation with one of the Muslim students afterward, who turned out to be as interested i...
Native American author talks race, poverty, reading
By Sid Lingala | For The Pitt News
October 15, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
Sherman Alexie entertained an audience of fans Sunday as he talked about growing up with hydrocephalus, a condition where fluid builds up in the brain and swells the head. “My head is enormous and hypnotizing. I couldn’t wear a little league hat as a coach because my head's too big,” Alexie said. ...
Alina Sheykhet remembered by friends as kind and loving
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 15, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
In a seventh grade stage production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” Isabel Scrabis’ grandfather mistook Alina Sheykhet — who starred as Millie — for his granddaughter. “The whole entire time he thought I was Alina, and he was so impressed. My mom had to break it to him that I was just swa...
Pitt, CMU researchers redevelop software for academic publishing
By Sid Lingala | For The Pitt News
October 15, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science, Top Stories
Benjamin Ogrodnik said he is often frustrated when traditional publication methods he uses are unable to include films and project methodology as part of the final product. “A finished article is just a really refined argument. The story is in the creation of it,” Ogrodnik said. “There is so m...
Students face encouragement, difficulties when coming out
By Remy Samuels | For The Pitt News
October 13, 2017
Decked out in suits and dresses, Pitt’s LGBTQ+ alumni and current students congregated in the Gold Room of the University Club Wednesday, reminiscing about the evolution of the community and discussing plans for future growth. Pitt’s LGBTQIA+ Alumni Affinity Council hosted a reception at the University Club...
Alumni reflect on Cathedral’s youth
By Bailey Frisco | Staff Writer
October 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, Top Stories
As a child, Edward Murphy used to walk through the muddy construction site of the Cathedral of Learning on his way to Schenley Theater — the current site of Hillman Library — with his younger brother to watch movies. Murphy often wondered what the inside of the structure would look like, but he didn...
Big changes may come to Bigelow
By Madison Hook | For The Pitt News
October 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, City, News
The City of Pittsburgh closed Bigelow Boulevard in 1996 for 29 days. Then-Mayor Tom Murphy said they felt closing Bigelow “would make for ... a more attractive campus.” The trial program didn’t continue after those 29 days. According to city councilman Dan Gilman, “it posed a lot of issues f...
Pitt architect plans campus future
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
October 13, 2017
Filed under Administration, News, Top Stories
Any Pitt student who has lived in Nordenberg or Panther Hall — or who has had class in Benedum or Salk Hall — can thank Canard Grigsby for planning and overseeing the execution of the buildings’ designs. Grigsby, the University architect, reviews almost all facilities management projects involving...
Gallagher meets with Gov. Wolf amid Pitt funding uncertainties
By Rachel Glasser and John Hamilton / TPN Staff
October 12, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, Campus, News
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf met with Chancellor Patrick Gallagher Thursday morning amid a state budget impasse that's making Pitt's state funding uncertain. Wolf met with Gallagher to "reassure him of his commitment to the state-related universities," Wolf's Press Secretary J.J. Abbott said in an email....
Chancellor: mid-year tuition increases possible
By Rachel Glasser / News Editor
October 12, 2017
Filed under Administration, News
A mid-year tuition increase for students is not out of the question if Pennsylvania fails to fund its state-related universities, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said Tuesday. [Latest: Gallagher meets with Gov. Wolf to discuss Pitt's funding] In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the chancellor expressed his con...
Ex-boyfriend suspected of killing Pitt student arrested in South Carolina
By Rachel Glasser and John Hamilton | The Pitt News Staff
October 11, 2017
Filed under Crime, News, Top Stories
The ex-boyfriend charged with homicide in the death of a Pitt student was arrested Wednesday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Matthew Darby, 21, was charged with homicide Tuesday after his ex-girlfriend, Pitt junior Alina Sheykhet, was found dead in her Oakland apartment Sunday. Myrtle Beach police...
Dean speaks about student death at SGB meeting
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 11, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
While it’s common at Student Government Board meetings to hear from students, Associate Dean of Students Steve Anderson took the opportunity to address the recent death of Pitt junior Alina Sheykhet at Tuesday night’s meeting. “I just wanted to obviously take a short minute here to acknowledge wha...
Students Cope with Invisible Illnesses
By Amanda Finney | Staff Writer
October 11, 2017
Filed under Campus, Health, News, Top Stories
Most people wouldn’t say walking with a cane is glamorous. But to Pitt grad student Jessica Benham, “it’s a fashion statement.” Sporting her bedazzled cane — black with sparkly rhinestones — Benham shows she is not ashamed of her connective tissue disorder. But she is quick to point o...
Attorney calls on Darby to turn himself in for questioning
By John Hamilton | Managing Editor
October 10, 2017
Filed under Crime, News, Top Stories
David Shrager, the attorney of Matthew Darby — a 21-year-old for whom the police have obtained an arrest warrant in connection to the murder of a Pitt student — called for his client to turn himself in during a press conference Tuesday at noon. Latest: Police charge Darby with homicide Tuesday night] Shrager spoke to his client through members of the media gathered in his office, rea...
Pitt Students Pitch Against the Clock
By Madeline Gavatorta, Janine Faust and Caroline Bourque | The Pitt News Staff
October 9, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
In the corner of the O’Hara student lobby Saturday morning, Jacob Saletsky practiced his pitch for an app, stopping to listen to the critiques and suggestions of his teammates. “You speak too much on this slide,” Veysel Gokbel said. “Can I just — real quick — we never directly asked that...
Pitt student found dead in Oakland homicide, police charge ex-boyfriend
By The Pitt News Staff
October 9, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Crime, News
A homicide investigation is underway after Pitt student Alina Sheykhet was found dead in her Oakland apartment Sunday morning. Pittsburgh police have obtained an arrest warrant for 21-year-old Matthew Darby — Sheykhet’s ex-boyfriend whom she filed a protection-from-abuse order against in September. His...
Pitt student found dead in Oakland, police confirm homicide
By The Pitt News Staff
October 9, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Crime, News
Pittsburgh police are investigating a homicide in Oakland after finding a deceased Pitt student Sunday morning. The Allegheny County medical examiner's office said Sunday night that the student was Alina Sheykhet, a 20-year-old woman. University spokesperson Joe Miksch said her family is aware...
Pitt student’s death being investigated as a homicide
By The Pitt News Staff
October 8, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Crime, News
Pittsburgh police are investigating a homicide in Oakland after finding a deceased Pitt student Sunday morning. The Allegheny County medical examiner's office said Sunday night that the student was Alina Sheykhet, a 20-year-old woman. University spokesperson Joe Miksch confirmed she was a Pitt stud...
Original Milano’s Pizza receives consumer alert for code violations
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
October 7, 2017
Filed under Campus, City, News, Top Stories
Original Milano’s Pizza was issued a consumer alert from the Allegheny Health Department Friday for numerous code violations. Malfunctioning refrigeration, evidence of mice and a lack of soap at the handwashing sink were among the violations the health department found at the restaurant located on the 3600 b...
Susan Rice discusses U.N., Iran Deal
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 6, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The crowd burst out laughing when Susan Rice pointed out that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden talked at another Pitt Program Council event held last year. “That guy pissed— ruined a lot of my days,” Rice said. Rice — a former United Nations ambassador and national security advisor to the ...
Christensen concentrates on couples conflict
By Sarah Frumkin | For The Pitt News
October 6, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Couples looking to get to the root of their problems may have found just the man to help them. Andrew Christensen — a professor from the University of California Los Angeles and a licensed clinical psychologist — shared his latest research on a method of couples therapy he developed at the Weste...
‘It rained for a reason:’ Westboro Baptist Church ends protest early, one counter protester arrested
By Bailey Frisco / Staff Writer
October 5, 2017
The Westboro Baptist Church cut its planned protest route short Thursday for reasons unknown to Pitt. “All we know is they didn’t come,” University spokesperson Joe Miksch said in an email. The Westboro Baptist Church protesters — four women toting multiple signs each — arrived at the cor...
Gallery: Westboro Baptist Church counter protesters
By The Pitt News Staff
October 5, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, News, Visual
...
Cracker plant creates controversy
By Remy Samuels | For The Pitt News
October 5, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, City, News
Despite the promise of creating 600 permanent jobs, the ethane cracker plant being built about 40 minutes northwest of Pittsburgh by car continues to face scrutiny from environmental groups. Shell Chemical Appalachia decided in 2012 that Beaver County would be the site of a new $6 billion plant to...
Poets and performers explore black futures
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
October 5, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Projected onto a screen behind the stage of the Frick Fine Arts building, images of demolition were overlaid with the slow motion image of a woman twirling in a bright blue skirt. Colors shifted from negatives to sepia tone to a washed-out golden color which reflected the clouds of dust and destruct...
Commission and community considers statue’s fate
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 5, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
At yesterday’s public hearing, three minutes wasn’t enough time for Marshall Goodwin to express his opinion about the Stephen Foster statue. After presenting his viewpoint, Goodwin — an on-and-off resident of Pittsburgh for 50 years who now resides in Schenley Park — asked multiple times...
SGB, Rainbow partner for fundraising counter protest
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
October 4, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, News, Student Government
Max Kneis, president of Pitt’s Student Government Board, requested a moment of silence for those injured and killed in Las Vegas at the beginning of the SGB meeting Tuesday night. Nordy’s Place was momentarily suspended in silence — before Kneis transitioned to the topic of the “hateful...
Pitt, Rainbow prep for Westboro protest
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
October 4, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
With the Westboro Baptist Church planning to protest on Pitt’s campus Thursday, the University and campus organizations are preparing. The WBC is known for its hateful speech against the LGBTQ+ community, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews and American soldiers. According to its onlin...
Pitt students minds at work, hearts at home
By Ellie Yoon | For The Pitt News
October 4, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Audrey Chen can’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia every time she walks into the Subway on Forbes Avenue and sees how thin the sandwiches are. “Whenever I go to Subway — we also have the same store called Subway in Taiwan — it makes me think about the difference in thickness,” she said...
Interactive crime map Sept. 23 – Sept. 29
By The Pitt News Staff
October 3, 2017
Filed under Crime, News, Uncategorized
Date Time Building Address Summary September 23 12:11 a.m. Litchfield Towers Lobby 3990 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Pitt police cited a student for underage drinking. September 23 12:15 a.m. Holland Hall 3990 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Pitt police cited a ...
Pharmacy students told to the break rules
By Amanda Finney | For The Pitt News
October 2, 2017
Filed under Health, News, Top Stories
Students gathered in a lecture hall Monday night to hear a health care professional tell them to defy authority. Looking out at about 30 students assembled before her, Jesabel Rivera-Guerra summarized her entire talk in six words. “Life is short. Break the rules,” Rivera-Guerra said. Phi Lambda Sigma, Pitt...
Students talk cultural beauty perceptions
By Bailey Frisco | For The Pitt News
October 2, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Maria Beniaminova said many Americans have an interest in big butts that people in her home country of Russia would find peculiar. “There is a small population [in Russia] that is into curvier women, but I think that has to do with the fact that Russia used to be the USSR, so there are people fro...
Degrees of age: Professors young and old talk teaching
By Nina Kneuer | For The Pitt News
October 2, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Some professors look like they should be sitting with their students rather than standing in front of them. Others fit the teen movie stereotype of the gray-haired intellectual with wire-rimmed glasses. Professors on both sides of the spectrum have different ways of using technology and interactin...
SGB hosts fair for student safety and wellness
By Xinyu Lu | For The Pitt News
October 1, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Nicole Gormley was strolling out of the Cathedral when she saw people putting out fires on the Union lawn. With her interest piqued, the first-year English writing and communications major walked over and allowed a demonstrator to show her how to pick up an extinguisher, aim it at the base of the ...
Sweet success: Donut Dash exceeds $500,000 goal
By Bailey Frisco | For The Pitt News
October 1, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, City, News
Fried dough and philanthropy were on people’s minds this weekend in Schenley Plaza. Crowds of people dressed in donut costumes and donut headbands — even a man wearing a sparkly silver dress adorned with donuts — packed into the plaza Sunday morning for the ninth annual Donut Dash. The event wa...
Pitt students on wheels deliver meals
By Caroline Bourque and Rachel Glasser | News Editors
September 28, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
On the first night of her new job, Harley McCain witnessed a high-speed car chase. “This big black SUV comes flying by at like 75 mph, and of course it’s a 25 mph street, and I’m like what the heck,” she said. “And I turn around ... like, what is happening. All these cop cars going flyi...
Reduce, reuse, recycle: Pitt community mitigates food waste
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
September 28, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Joe’s decision to dumpster dive for the first time was based on pure impulse. It helped that he wasn’t completely sober. “I wasn’t really looking for anything, I was a little bit drunk and I saw the dumpster and thought, ‘Hmm, I bet there’s some good stuff in there,’” he said. Jo...
Pitt invites input for master plan
By Madeline Gavatorta / Staff Writer
September 28, 2017
Filed under Administration, News, Top Stories
Jim Wehner started his first architectural internship focused on improving Pitt’s campus 25 years ago. Wehner, an architect specializing in institutional facilities and campus design at J-Way Architectural and father of two Pitt students, said this is Pitt’s first actual attempt to renovate ...
Revisiting history: students travel to slave plantation
By Sid Lingala | For The Pitt News
September 28, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, News
According to Rob Windhorst, the colonial kitchen at the Woodville Plantation was “one of the most disgusting” locations in the house. Windhorst, a tour guide at the restored plantation, said the head chef was a slave who was expected to work long hours in the cramped space, cook large meals for...
Gallagher discusses research and in-state students at trustees meeting
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
September 27, 2017
Filed under Administration, News, Top Stories
Pitt’s board of trustees meeting Wednesday began with an interruption. As Chairperson Eva Tansky Blum began her opening remarks, a protester stood in the William Pitt Union assembly room, shouting, “Shame on Pitt, stop cruel mouse testing.” The individual was immediately escorted out of the r...
SGB looks to improve city experience for students
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
September 27, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government
The Pitt Student Government Board said Tuesday night that the new Pittsburgh Student Government Council had begun convening for the 2017-18 academic year. SGB President Max Kneis said in his president’s report the Pittsburgh Student Government Council — which consists of student governments f...
Students soldier on to future
By Jesse Madden | For The Pitt News
September 27, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Caitlyn Gibbs’ schedule requires her to be at Bellefield Hall at 5:45 a.m. three days per week, where attendance is taken. Then she and 150 other Pitt students head over to the Cathedral lawn for running and weight-training activities until 7 a.m. No, she’s not just a fitness freak. She’s preparing for a ca...
Pitt talks tobacco-free at Healthy U Fair
By Madeline Gavatorta and Janine Faust | News Staff
September 26, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Standing among students petting therapy dogs and getting flu shots, Student Government President Max Kneis thanked the CVS Health Foundation and the American Cancer Society for giving the University of Pittsburgh a $20,000 check for one of the University’s health initiatives — curbing tobacco use at Pitt...
City plans to expand smart signals to Oakland
By Sarah Frumkin | For The Pitt News
September 25, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
With the dozens of traffic lights and congestion, driving in Oakland can be frustrating and stressful. But every so often, you can time it perfectly and breeze down Forbes or Fifth Avenue, passing through a string of green lights. Stephen Smith, director of the Intelligent Coordination and Logistics Laboratory at...
Fall Fest fires up Bigelow
By Joanna Li and Sarah Connor
September 25, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Large, green and decorated with white trim and orange circular designs, a Chinese dragon sat in the middle of the William Pitt Union on Saturday. One student held up the dragon’s head while another took the rear. The dragon danced to a quick drum beat, sidling up to the student spectators and ...
Pitt celebrates late professor’s life and work
By Lauren Forsythe | For The Pitt News
September 25, 2017
Filed under Campus, Top Stories
Students studying on the ground floor of Hillman Library Saturday afternoon may have been a bit surprised to hear African drumming, poetry readings and the sounds of stamping feet and clapping hands coming from the Digital Scholarship Commons room. All this performing was in honor of Robert Johnson, a Pittsburgh...
Service dogs help students succeed
By Nina Kneuer | For The Pitt News
September 25, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Claire Ozolek’s best friend, Lexi, has big eyes and a hard-working disposition. She also has a tail and four legs and works as Ozolek’s service dog. “I mean it sounds cliche, but she is really my best friend,” Ozolek said. Ozolek — a senior psychology major at Pitt — and Lexi ha...
Students skate through school streets
By Ellie Yoon / For The Pitt News
September 21, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Some Pitt students trek to their classes on foot. Many more bike or pray the bus comes on time. But a handful can sometimes be seen rolling down Forbes or Fifth avenues with a textbook-filled backpack sagging and a skateboard or longboard beneath their feet. Robert Benjamin, who graduated fro...
Pitt-owned grocery store to replace 7-Eleven
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
September 21, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A Pitt-owned grocery store will move into the 7-Eleven space on Forbes Avenue, University spokesperson Joe Miksch said Thursday. After confirmation from Miksch, The Pitt News reported Wednesday that 7-Eleven will close to make room for Pitt’s Oakland Bakery. He later said Thursday that the 7-Eleven isn’t being turned into just ...
Cato vs. Heritage: Policy analyst and legal fellow debate Trump’s immigration policy
By Nolan Roosa and Bailey Frisco | Staff Writers
September 21, 2017
Protesters held signs, made disruptive noises and yelled the names of people who lost their lives crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at the Cato vs. Heritage debate Wednesday evening. After some protesters left the debate and the Pitt police escorted others out, the Kurtzman room was no longer fille...
Senate council commences academic year
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
September 21, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The University Senate Council kicked off its first meeting of the academic year in room 2700 of Posvar Hall by condemning the hatred that occurred in front of Litchfield Towers this past week. “[A university is] fundamentally a community where everyone has the right to belong to that community a...
Individuals rally to improve accessibility
By Caroline Bourque | Assistant News Editor
September 21, 2017
Filed under Campus, City, News, Top Stories
Disability advocates crowded the sidewalk on the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Forbes Avenue Wednesday, Sept. 20, to spread information on three key issues they want to reform. These three initiatives — distributed to passersby on multi-colored flyers — focused on problems with accessibility in ...
7-Eleven to close with Oakland Bakery moving into Forbes location
By Rachel Glasser / News Editor
September 20, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Editor's Note: We published this story after Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch confirmed Wednesday that the Oakland Bakery would move into the 7-Eleven location. In an email Thursday, Miksch instead said a grocery story will open in the location. Read the updated article, linked here. The 7-Eleven convenience store on Forbes Avenue will close by...
SGB Commends Student Counter-protesters
By Madeline Gavatorta | For The Pitt News
September 20, 2017
Filed under Student Government
Taking the platform in Nordy’s Place Tuesday night, Student Government Board President Max Kneis started with a statement about Monday’s protest outside of Litchfield Towers. “Intolerance and bigotry have no place here at Pitt,” Kneis said. He said SGB supported and approved of the “brave students...
Subjects for a day: Pitt students participate in studies for money
By Anandhini Narayanan for The Pitt News
September 19, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
In the second semester of her senior year, Aditi Kumar said her intensive 21-credit schedule forced her to quit her job — leaving her without a source of income. “This was the the first time I found myself without a job,” Kumar, a 2017 graduate in sociology at Pitt, said. “I like to be ind...
Students drown out bigotry in counter protest outside Towers
By Janine Faust and Amanda Finney / TPN Staff
September 18, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
A crowd of Pitt students jammed the stairway leading up to Towers Patio on Monday, waving rainbow flags and sporting “I [heart] the female orgasm” t-shirts. Others stood on nearby trashcans and benches and leaned over the patio rails, fervently chanting “God loves everyone” and “shame on you...
Water main break shuts down Cathedral of Learning
By The Pitt News Staff
September 18, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Pitt evacuated the Cathedral of Learning at about 10 a.m. Monday morning after a water main break caused the first three floors and the lower level of the building to flood. The break originated from a fire suppression line on the third floor, according to Pitt spokesperson Joseph Miksch, causing...
Protesters address the baby elephant in the room
By Amanda Finney and Remy Samuels | For The Pitt News
September 17, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
“Cruelty is Not Entertainment,” was the protesters’ creed. It was printed, along with the slogan “Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium Enslaves and Kills,” on the signs the protesters held as they stood outside the front entrance of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Protesters gathered outs...
Tailgate Guys company partners with Pitt
By Jesse Madden | For The Pitt News
September 17, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
Peng Su’s first time tailgating at a Pitt game consisted of the usual tailgate staples — KanJam, food and cornhole. But he found his favorite part about the pre-game tradition was the view he and his fellow tailgaters had from their position on the Great Lawn, the grassy area near Heinz Field bet...
Kings and queens captivate audience
By Nina Kneuer | For The Pitt News
September 17, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A runway extended out from the William Pitt Union assembly room stage, lined with rainbow-colored Christmas lights and framed by chairs on either side. It was a setup fit for kings and queens — drag kings and queens, that is. The Office of First Year Experience and Pitt Rainbow Alliance presented Panther Dra...
Pitt police issues alert after robbery on Forbes
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
September 17, 2017
Pitt Police issued a crime alert Sunday after a man was robbed on Forbes Avenue late Saturday night. The suspect — described as a black male with dreadlocks, wearing a white shirt and black zippered pants — approached the victim and implied that he had a gun by motioning as if he were wearing a shoulder hols...
Panthers Past and Present Produce Profit
By Anish Salvi | For The Pitt News
September 15, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Whether its crafting art or creating apps, Pitt students are finding ways to turn their passion projects into profit. For some, the track to success took unexpected turns through cadaver labs and art studios, while for others it was a matter of making life a little easier. Pitt seniors Brian Ama...
Oakland Employees Discuss Work After Dark
By Rose Luder | Staff Writer
September 14, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News, Specials
Antoon’s co-owner Mike Abraham had one thing to say about his late-night shifts as a pizza maker. “Too many drunk students,” Abraham said. Abraham, a 46-year-old from Oakland, has run the popular pizza shop with his brother for the last 20 years. Like many employees around Oakland, Abraha...
Hustling on the holidays
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
September 14, 2017
After the last bus home for the holidays leaves Pitt, few students remain in the dorms and on campus — those who do stay often work, including Nordenberg Resident Assistant Liam Monahan. “I’m looking forward to being productive over the break, prepping for finals and hanging with the other RA on d...
Comedians crack up campus
By Luke Stambaugh | Staff Writer
September 14, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
In the middle of his comedy act, Pitt alum Jesse Irwin asked the audience if anyone had attended Latin religious school. “I went to Latin religious school, and I’m going to sing a quick song for you from Latin religious school,” Irwin said. “If you recognize the song, please sing along.” Irw...
Films Challenge Existing Perspectives
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
September 14, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The theater screen faded to black. Afterward there was no scuffling of feet, no whispers or laughter. Instead, the audience remained relatively quiet as several panelists took their seat at a table on the stage. Elizabeth Miller waited until after Gwen's Girls Executive Director and panel moderator...
Pitt faculty, grads present political support for unions
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
September 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
As grad students and faculty gathered outside Chancellor Patrick Gallagher’s door in the Cathedral of Learning Tuesday afternoon, a Pitt police officer cut a path to the front and addressed the crowd. “Who’s in charge here? Where’s your leader?” he asked the people clutching signs and came...
Pitt professors teach what they write
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
September 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Few students enjoy buying textbooks for their classes, but Olivia Raymond was eager to purchase her elementary statistics textbook last spring knowing its author would also be her professor. “I was happy because I figured that the class would closely follow the book, so the book would be more rel...
SGB introduces resolutions on DACA, state funding
By Madeline Gavatorta | For The Pitt News
September 13, 2017
Filed under Student Government, Top Stories
Pitt Student Government Board introduced its first two resolutions of the year Tuesday, calling on elected officials to support both DACA recipients and state funding for Pitt. The first resolution was a call for the University and lawmakers to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals pr...
Bands compete for Fall Fest opener
By Madison Hook | For The Pitt News
September 12, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News, Top Stories
The crowd hushed as INFLUENTIALJ strode onstage, mic in hand, while his original music video projected onto the wall behind him — featuring eye-catching scenes of the performer throughout Pitt’s campus dressed in an electric blue suit beside the bright red doors of Heinz Chapel. The rapper ma...
Students watch Irma from afar
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
September 12, 2017
Filed under News, Top Stories
Catalina Acebal remembers when Hurricane Wilma blasted the doors of her grandparent's home open in 2005. Her father and her grandpa rushed to push the family’s piano against the doors, stacking a few tables on top and taping the doors shut. “For me it was like, I had no school, I was like ...
Local leaders address sexual assault
By Luke Stambaugh / Staff Writer
September 12, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
When Alexandra Hope Erickson took her own life during her senior year of high school, her friend Maggie Kennedy couldn’t comprehend it. “I felt like I couldn't breathe. Numb and empty, I shook and I wept and I clung to my family and friends,” Kennedy said. “How could she be gone?” Er...