Students contend with Christmas
By Rose Luder | Staff Writer
December 8, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The Cathedral of Learning is adorned with tinsel and stringed lights, Schenley Plaza is lined with luminescent Christmas trees and holiday songs can be heard in almost every building on campus. For many, this show of holiday spirit is part of the buildup to the biggest holiday of the year — Christma...
Pitt upgrades physics resources
By Anish Salvi | For The Pitt News
December 7, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science
Pitt’s Department of Physics and Astronomy has received a new gadget that will help students make massive academic strides in the near future. Pitt acquired Extrel’s educational mass spectrometer, IQ-2000, in October. The device — which identifies gases based on their molecular mass to charge rat...
Toomey’s got mail: Grad students deliver letters
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
December 7, 2017
The Grinch is best known for stealing Christmas, but he left Whoville and showed up on the doorstep of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s Downtown office Wednesday. It was a blustery day, windy and in the low 40s, but Ph.D. epidemiology student Abby Cartus attributed the conditions to something other than ...
SGB reflects on meeting with administration
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
December 6, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
At Student Government Board’s last public meeting of the semester Tuesday night, SGB President Max Kneis discussed the board’s lunch earlier that day with Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, Senior Vice Chancellor and Provost Patricia Beeson and Senior Vice Chancellor for Engagement and the Secretary of...
Pitt alum speaks about science policy
By Amanda Finney | Staff Writer
December 6, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Tech Science, Uncategorized
Women in STEM often leave their jobs mid-career to spend more time with their families, but then later struggle to integrate back into the workplace. To help women in this situation regain their careers, Martha Merrill worked to implement a STEM reentry workshop. This job is just one of the posi...
Athletes, educators discuss activism in sports
By Brian Salvato | For The Pitt News
December 6, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Sports, Sports Features, Top Stories
When former third-string Pitt kicker Ian Troost took a knee during the national anthem at the team’s Oct. 14 loss to NC State, his motivation was rooted in his background. “My reason, other than to highlight police brutality and social injustice in the United States, was because I came from a b...
Police arrest man after continued harassment claims
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
December 5, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, Crime, News
Pitt police arrested a man Tuesday night after issuing a bulletin alerting students of his potential presence in Oakland and citing several female students who said he “made them feel uncomfortable.” “We would like our community to be aware of a suspicious subject identified as Daniel Dintin...
Pitt police use Taser on woman
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
December 5, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
Pitt police deployed a Taser on a woman who fled from UPMC Presbyterian Monday morning. A video aired on WTAE shows the woman wearing a hospital gown walking along Forbes Avenue in the direction of traffic on the road. Pitt police shouted at her to stop moving, but she continued to walk. A University...
Hurricane brings Puerto Rican law students to Pitt
By Laura Howe | Staff Writer
December 4, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
When Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico in September, it left almost the entire island without electricity, and residents had limited access to food and water. David Canino was thankful for the bare essentials. “Even though I didn’t have water or light, nothing happened to my house. S...
Pitt professor placed on Forbes “30 Under 30” list
By Remy Samuels | Staff Writer
December 4, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science, Top Stories
Hao Sun sees little difference between monitoring the health of buildings and bridges and monitoring the health of human bodies. “In the human body, we have the nervous system so when you feel something abnormal or if you’re sick, your nervous system can tell this information,” Sun said. “I...
Holiday open house features plans for new Nationality Room
By Elise Lavallee, Contributing Editor
December 4, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Adorned with Christmas decorations, filled with the aroma of food and ringing with music and conversation, the Cathedral’s atmosphere matched that of a holiday bazaar. The Nationality Room and Intercultural Exchange Programs hosted their 26th annual Holiday Open House Sunday from noon to 4 p.m....
Union organizers talk tax bill, moving forward
By Remy Samuels | Staff Writer
December 4, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Graduate students sexually harassed or assaulted by a faculty member have the option to file a claim with the Title IX office.But Hillary Lazar said a graduate student union would help hold Title IX and the University accountable, pressing the office and the administration to investigate these types ...
Asian student groups craft culture showcase
By David Soloman | Staff Writer
December 4, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Several students engaged in matches of Rock, Paper, Scissors on Saturday to see who would ascend Mount Everest first. This did not take place in the Himalayas, but rather as a game held in the O’Hara Student Center as part of the XSA Asian Culture Fair Saturday. Groups of students roamed around ...
Students reconcile religion, identity
By Sid Lingala | Staff Writer
December 1, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Bridget Duffy felt uncomfortable practicing her family religion of Catholicism when she found out same-sex couples could not get married in Catholic churches and infants of same-sex couples were not allowed to be baptized. “I’m a traditional person. But I need someone else to tell me that God does...
Alum studies safety of nuclear energy
By David Solomon | For The Pitt News
December 1, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science, Top Stories
Sola Talabi always had a vision that one day he would “turn the lights on in Africa.” “Five thousand children die every day in Africa because they don't have access to power,” he said. “I call that an emergency.” Talabi’s vision motivated him to spend the last 20 years pursuing a cost-effectiv...
Student immerses in African cultures
By Hannah Schneider, Staff Writer
December 1, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Speaking about his travels to Africa, Derric Heck described his experiences researching African cultures as “amazing.” “It was not only informative for me, it was transformative,” Heck said. About 20 students gathered in Posvar Hall Thursday afternoon to attend a discussion Heck led, titled ...
Share your experiences of hate and bias on campus
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
November 30, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
The Pitt News is joining ProPublica’s Documenting Hate project to better report on incidents of hate, bias and harassment at Pitt — and we want to hear your stories. Reports of hate crimes are up nationwide, and college campuses are no exception. The Federal Bureau of Investigation received rep...
ASA, BAS explore racial identities, histories
By Anandhini Narayanan | Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
When Olivia Carter asked the 20-something students gathered in a single-file line in the William Pitt Union to step back if they’d ever “endured physical or verbal abuse due to [their] race,” the majority of them moved out of line. This “line game” was part of a larger conversation about rac...
Committee to consider sustainable investment
By Madison Hook | Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Filed under Administration, Campus, News, Top Stories
Student activist Sarah Grguras says people often ask her what the money Pitt invests in the fossil fuel industry could go toward. Her response? “Literally anything.” “They could invest in the Pittsburgh public schools, or they could invest in us,” the junior environmental science and ...
Interactive crime map Nov. 21 to Nov. 28
By The Pitt News Staff
November 30, 2017
Date Time Building Address Summary Nov. 21 12:49 a.m. Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Pitt police confiscated a small amount of marijuana during a traffic stop. Nov. 21 1:30 a.m. Lothrop Hall 190 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 ...
Grad students rally against GOP tax plan
By Salina Pressimone | Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, Campus, News
Andrew Bellesis faces new decisions about his career prospects as the recently introduced Republican tax bill looms over the potential cost of his next five years at Pitt. “We will defeat this bill,” Bellesis, a first-year biophysics Ph.D. student, said through his megaphone. “And in the lo...
Pitt political groups face off in first ‘great three-way debate’
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
November 29, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Ben Sheppard, president of Pitt’s Libertarian group Students for Liberty, went after both major political parties in his opening remarks during the first-ever three-way debate with the College Democrats and the College Republicans Tuesday night. “Tonight on stage, there are two other parties — on one hand...
SGB announces new student safety measures
By Rose Luder | Staff Writer
November 29, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
Student Government Board member Ian Callahan announced at Tuesday’s meeting that the Rave Guardian app — an app created by Rave Mobile Safety that connects users with local security resources — is now available with features for Pitt students. Students who download the “blue light” app will be ...
Professor unearths Israeli heritage
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
November 28, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Professor Jodi Magness embarked on a mission in 2011 to excavate the Huqoq synagogue in Israel with little idea of its contents — and with only an ancient village as its possible location. Unsure of whether they would find anything, Magness’ team randomly picked a square as their first dig site and d...
Students discuss porn industry’s repercussions
By Jaime Weinreb | For The Pitt News
November 28, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
According to the Pornhub’s 2016 Year in Review, nearly 92 billion videos were viewed in on the porn streaming website in 2016 alone. “We’ve all watched it, it’s everywhere,” junior Elena Stains said after presenting the statistic. About 10 people attended the “Let’s Talk About ...
Latino youth well-being lacking in Pennsylvania, study finds
By Lauren Forsythe | Staff Writer
November 27, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Health, News
Monica Ruiz said people are often unwilling to give funding to help the Latino community — which can include undocumented immigrants. “I say it’s easier to find funding for a box of puppies who are left on the street corner to help them than it is to find funding to help undocumented folks,”...
Study looks to link brain activity, suicidal thoughts
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
November 27, 2017
Filed under News, Tech Science, Top Stories
After contributing work to a study on brain activity, Marcel Just described the effort to better understand human thought as “a psychologist’s dream.” “Scientifically, it is fantastically interesting if you could assess the content of a thought,” Just, the director of the Center for Cogn...
Students dedicate time to developing drone
By Anish Salvi | For The Pitt News
November 20, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News, Tech Science
Levi Burner had dreamed of making a flying machine since he was 8 years old. The junior electrical engineering student finally got his chance when he started to build a drone for the International Aerial Robotics Competition more than a year ago. “The fact that we have found a competition that ...
Pitt and CMU students pitch products
By Nina Kneuer | Staff Writer
November 19, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Christopher Dumm made an auditorium of 50 people laugh when he pulled an old surgical retractor out of a bag and tossed it on the ground in front of him. Dumm wasn’t a comedian, but rather a student innovator trying to pitch his idea for a new form of surgical retractor in less than 90 seconds ...
SASA, BAS converse about colorism
By Hannah Schneider, For The Pitt News
November 19, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Until about two weeks ago, Anvit Rai wasn’t familiar with the concept of colorism. “I had heard of [colorism], but I didn’t know how pervasive or important it was,” Rai said. “To a degree, I always thought that colorism was racism. I didn’t know it was a completely separate entity.” ...
Students demand disarmament
By Janine Faust, Assistant News Editor
November 19, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
A group of students marched throughout Oakland Friday afternoon waving flags and signs with slogans such as “Disarm the police, arm your desire” and chanting “A.C.A.B., all cops are bastards.” Their words elicited varying reactions from observers. “Go home commies!” someone yelled fro...
Student rally concludes “occupation” peaceful
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
November 18, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
About 50 students participated in a rally held on Towers patio Friday afternoon. The rally marked the end of an “occupation” of the Cathedral of Learning which began. A small group of students went to Chancellor Patrick Gallagher’s office Tuesday with a letter of 15 demands, including disarming the Pi...
Student renters raise the bar off-campus
By David Solomon and Olivia Kolesar | For The Pitt News
November 17, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
In his spare time this summer, Garrett Heid got crafty with some IKEA furniture he had lying around, a few pieces of wood and a 22-gauge stainless steel door from a fridge he found during his part-time construction job. “I don’t know if you know what 22-gauge steel is?” Heid said. “It’s basic...
Try before you buy: rentable items in Oakland
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
November 17, 2017
For Pitt students of all ages, the end of the fall semester is a time for studying, planning vacations and searching for rentals — and not necessarily housing rentals. Students looking to try before they buy can check out a variety of rental services that fit into a college budget. While some ...
Student arrested in Hillman
By Janine Faust and Caroline Bourque | News Editors
November 16, 2017
Filed under Campus, Crime, News, Top Stories
Pitt police charged a student with obstructing administration of law or other government function and tampering with evidence at Hillman Library Tuesday night, according to University spokesperson Joe Miksch. Miksch said officers were investigating suspicious activity on a computer on the first floo...
Like father, like son: Barry Goldwater Jr. visits Pitt
By Brian Salvato | For The Pitt News
November 16, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
After college, Barry Goldwater Jr. decided to become a stockbroker, while his best friend studied to be a doctor. Their lives diverged from this point forward — and so did their income. “Does that mean that the government should come and take much of what he has earned? I say no,” Goldwater Jr. sai...
Student protestors stage Cathedral sit-in
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
November 15, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A small group of students entered Chancellor Patrick Gallagher’s office Tuesday morning with a letter of 15 demands, including disarming University police. The letter also demanded the University vocally endorse a graduate student union, divest from fossil fuels, install a $15 Pitt-wide minimum wage ...
SGB plans to make diversity initiative permanent
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
November 15, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
Student Government Board Executive Vice President Zuri Kent-Smith announced Tuesday that the SGB Diversity Committee will be making the transition from an ad hoc committee to a prospective standing committee — a permanent committee within SGB. “[The committee is] looking at new ways to make SGB m...
Panel discusses women’s menstrual hygiene
By Anandhini Narayanan | Staff Writer
November 15, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
When Pittsburgh City councilwoman Natalia Rudiak received an email from the Department of Public Works — an organization dedicated to maintaining Pittsburgh’s infrastructure — about putting pad dispensers in the vicinity of public pools, she had to explain to them why their idea wouldn’t work....
Club hosts series on dating violence
By Remy Samuels | Staff Writer
November 14, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A Pitt student’s death is still leaving a mark on campus, more than a month after her passing. In light of Alina Sheykhet’s death, Pitt Unmuted — a club created for survivors of sexual assault to share their stories — held a series of three events discussing the topic of intimate partner viol...
Law student sues Pitt, claiming Title IX complaint was mistreated
By The Pitt News Staff
November 13, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, Campus, News
A former Pitt law student has sued the University, claiming Pitt employees mistreated her when they responded to a Title IX complaint she filed. Hannah Rullo filed a lawsuit Oct. 25 in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh against the University of Pittsburgh saying she was subjected to gende...
Pitt alum potential CNN Hero of the Year for humanitarianism efforts
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
November 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, Health, News, Top Stories
At the age of 22, Samir Lakhani spent several long and laborious days cleaning, sanitizing and compressing used bars of soap with one young Cambodian woman. The woman, Prornh Thearang, spoke no English, but the duo sat side-by-side for hours, listening to Cambodian folk music as they worked. Lakhan...
Panel sheds light on refugee mental health
By Amanda Finney | Staff Writer
November 13, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
If you had to make a list of your four most important things, tangible or intangible, what would they be? This is the question panelist Sarah Faulx posed to 40 audience members Friday night in William Pitt Union Dining Room B. After encouraging them to take out their phones and make the list, she...
Asian-American entertainer discusses representation
By Hannah Schneider, For The Pitt News
November 13, 2017
After her sister committed suicide in 2007, Anna Akana felt she had no purpose in life — until she was drawn into the world of stand-up comedy. “It’s the only thing that made me feel alive,” Akana said. But she wasn’t even aware comedy was a viable career path for her until she saw A...
Law professor underscores reproductive rights
By Laura Howe | For The Pitt News
November 10, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
An older man in the audience of a reproductive rights lecture looked around the room and commented on the lack of people like him. “You know, I think Rep. [Tim] Murphy summed up the whole problem, and that is men sort of abandon the issue or exclude themselves from the discussion until it immediate...
Community questions Bigelow plan
By Madison Hook | For The Pitt News
November 10, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
Bigelow Boulevard has always divided campus, but now it’s dividing community members as well. The finalized street safety plan for Bigelow Boulevard — discussed during a community forum Thursday night — left longtime residents of Oakland questioning whether the changes would improve the commuting...
Protestors silently disagree with media mogul
By Sid Lingala | Staff Writer
November 9, 2017
Less than a few minutes into Christopher Ruddy’s presentation at the Pittsburgh Playhouse Wednesday night, about 30 Point Park University students stood up silently with their fists in the air, showing off shirts emblazoned with colorful messages such as “People not Profit” and “Love not Hate....
Student scores scholarship to start LGBTQ+ on campus
By Remy Samuels | Staff Writer
November 9, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Amy Kelley said she was “living the life.” Why? Because she got to hear Hillary Clinton speak and had people drive her around the nation’s capital as part of her invitation to attend the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner in Washington, D.C. Oct. 28. “It was really awesome,” Ke...
Student dissatisfaction aired at Master Plan focus groups
By Elise Lavallee | Contributing Editor
November 9, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
When asked at a Campus Master Plan focus group meeting about what kind of future aesthetic students want Pitt to have, students made it clear that functionality comes before aesthetic for them. “Functionality first,” one student said, before others chimed in agreement. Students convened in the U...
SGB calls Beeson “champion of student input”
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
November 8, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government, Top Stories
In response to Provost Patricia Beeson’s announcement that she will be stepping down from her current position, Student Government Board President Max Kneis referred to the Pitt provost as a “champion of student input” at Tuesday’s meeting. Beeson has spent eight years as provost, following 17 ye...
Students lament low voter turnout at local elections
By Hannah Schneider, For The Pitt News
November 8, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
After last year’s presidential election results, Zoe Kovacs didn’t expect to be one of the only people at the polls Tuesday. But when she showed up at Posvar Hall at 2 p.m., she was “appalled” to find she was only the 40th person to show up. “[The poll workers] were all cheering, ...
Possible peeper arrested in VA Hospital parking garage for spying on students in dorms
By Ashwini Sivaganesh / Editor-in-chief
November 7, 2017
Filed under Crime, News, Top Stories
A nurse at the Veteran Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Oakland was charged Monday with spying on Pitt students in upper campus dorms. Paul May, 56, a nurse at the hospital near Pitt’s upper campus, was charged with loitering and prowling, invasion of privacy and possessing instrume...
Provost Patricia Beeson to step down, return to faculty
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
November 7, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Administration, News
Provost Patricia Beeson will step down from her position in fall 2018, Pitt announced Tuesday. The University currently has three deans who will also be stepping down at the same time as Beeson, leaving a multitude of leadership positions to fill by the start of the next academic year. Beeson wi...
Election guide: Amendments and judgeships on the ballot
By Rachel Glasser / News Editor
November 7, 2017
Filed under News, Top Stories
It’s election day in Pittsburgh — but don’t expect campus polling stations to be as crowded as last year’s election. Mayor Bill Peduto is running unopposed after winning the Democratic primary in May. And Oakland residents won’t have any decision to make on their city council member — incumbent Dan Gilman is also running unopposed. But...
Gubernatorial candidate gives take on economy, health care at Pitt
By Rose Luder | Staff Writer
November 7, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
When Paul Mango was at U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he had calculus six days a week. “I hope sitting here and listening to me is less painful than calculus at West Point on a Saturday morning,” the Republican primary candidate for governor joked before a crowd of Pitt students Monday ni...
Students simulate marginalized experiences
By Elise Lavallee | Contributing Editor
November 7, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A young man sat at a table behind two black curtains in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Monday night. Across the table, two individuals intensely interrogated him. “What religion do you practice?” asked one. “What does your name mean?” followed the other. This scenario was part of Bo...
Hijab-wearing model advocates for modesty, Muslim women
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
November 5, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Model Mariah Idrissi asked where she could buy a hijab in Pittsburgh while speaking at the William Pitt Union Saturday night. “Fashion is present very prominently in all of our lives, especially growing up in the [United States],” Amal Saeed, a junior molecular biology major and president of Muslim S...
TEDx focuses on feminism
By Anandhini Narayanan | Staff Writer
November 5, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
anupama jain was familiar and passionate about the topic of her TEDx talk, feminism and gender equality, so her biggest struggle was what she wanted to wear for the event. “My biggest crisis is how casual or formal I should dress,” jain said. “That’s probably not what you want to hear, b...
Pitt Board of Trustees approves funding for renovations
By Caroline Bourque | Assistant News Editor
November 3, 2017
Filed under Administration, News
The University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees approved close to $44 million of renovation projects across campus at a Property and Facilities Committee meeting Friday morning. According to University spokesperson Joe Miksch, the approved renovations will include five projects within five Pitt f...
Community concerned about Bates development
By Madeline Gavatorta and Caroline Bourque | TPN Staff
November 3, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, City, News
City Council President Bruce Kraus asked if, by chance, anyone from the development group Oakland Gateway Venture was in attendance at a town hall Thursday evening. William Bannow, whose presence was unknown for the first hour of the meeting, stood up to defend his company against Oakland residents’ cr...
Professor unveils underwear’s history
By Zoe Pawliczek | Staff Writer
November 2, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
Jessie B. Ramey showed more than 170 strangers a picture of herself in her underwear Thursday at the Frick, a Pittsburgh art museum in Point Breeze. “Don’t get too excited, this is me at the age of nine in my Underoos,” Ramey told the crowd — plus a Facebook live audience of more than 1,300 pe...
7-Eleven’s closing leaves students conflicted
By Nina Kneuer | Staff Writer
November 1, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Regina Brecker said 7-Eleven “saved [her] life” on more than one occasion when she pulled all-nighters in the library. “Without it, I would have had to walk all the way to the McDonald's for food,” Brecker said. “This was so important, especially when I was living in the dorms and didn't...
U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants PA REAL ID extension
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
November 1, 2017
Filed under City, News, Top Stories
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted Pennsylvania an extension to comply with REAL ID requirements through fall 2018. The extension — granted Oct. 11 and in effect through Oct. 10, 2018 — means that during this time frame, all current Pennsylvania licenses and identification cards wi...
SGB pushes bill in honor of late Pitt student
By Madeline Gavatorta | Staff Writer
November 1, 2017
Filed under News, Student Government
Student Government President Max Kneis announced a resolution Tuesday night urging the passage of a Pennsylvania bill that he said could have saved the life of Alina Sheykhet, a Pitt student who was found dead Oct. 8. SB 196 says those individuals who have a protection-from-abuse order filed against them can be monitored by a GPS if a judge decides the person is likely to violate ...
Pitt shoots for bigger basketball crowds
By Bailey Frisco | Staff Writer
November 1, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
Tanisha Brown is a longtime college basketball fan — she started watching with her dad growing up. When she began attending Pitt, the Panthers quickly earned a place in her heart and her presence at the Petersen Events Center. “I really got into it when I came to Pitt,” Brown said. “I began root...
Amazon opens pickup location on Pitt’s campus
By Caroline Bourque | Assistant News Editor
October 31, 2017
Filed under Campus, News, Top Stories
A new Amazon pickup location opened on Pitt’s campus Tuesday. Located at 209 Oakland Ave. next to Crazy Mocha, Amazon@Pitt will allow customers to pick up or return their Amazon orders. Amazon Prime members will have free one-day pickup for millions of items and next-day arrival for orders placed be...
Students prepare to scare: Holland haunts with 8 spooky themes
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
October 31, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Campus, News
Students covered in blood shrieked cries for help in the tunnels beneath the Schenley Quad residence halls Sunday night. Other students filed through the tunnels, anxiously clutching each other’s hands and screaming in fear as they awaited lurking figures around each corner. About 800 student...
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...