Editorial: Murphy’s abortion hypocrisy helps no one
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
October 4, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Politicians can often debate the issues — even the most emotional ones — into a state of almost humdrum normalcy. There’s only so many times you can revisit a public outrage and still realize the issue’s real impact. One of Pennsylvania’s pro-life members of Congress appears to have reach...
Editorial: Puerto Rico deserves better than Trump
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
October 4, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
President Donald Trump’s criticism of Puerto Rico’s pre-Hurricane Maria infrastructure compelled The Pitt News to speak out against his divisive rhetoric last week and emphasize the real need for aid in Puerto Rico. We feel compelled yet again this week to speak out against the president’s commen...
A new iPhone in a post-innovative age
By Levko Karmazyn | Columnist
October 4, 2017
A decade before Apple released the first iPhone, the hottest new technology included the Tamagotchi virtual pocket pet, Motorola's StarTAC — one of the first widely popular cell phones — and the trusty mp3 file. When the iPhone was introduced 10 years ago it shook every aspect of the technolog...
Chipotle queso cheats cheese science
By Bianca De | For The Pitt News
October 3, 2017
You’re in line at Chipotle, going over your order in your mind. Imagining your perfect burrito bowl, you consider several qualifications: how spicy you want your salsa, skipping the guac unless you really want to pay extra and — until recently — being forced to forgo queso altogether. For years,...
Editorial: Don’t ignore the politics behind gun violence crisis
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
October 3, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
For President Donald Trump’s administration, sensitivity in the face of tragedy hasn’t been the norm — just last week, Trump took to Twitter to insult the mayor of an American city ravaged by multiple hurricanes. So when voices everywhere — from the conservative blogosphere to Washington, D.C., ...
Editorial: Now’s the time for redistricting reform
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
October 1, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
After nearly six years, Pennsylvania residents dissatisfied with the current scheme of representation for the commonwealth in the House may finally get some relief. A lawsuit from the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, originally filed in June, received new attention last week as a Republican staffer in the state legislature came forward in...
CIA constricts debate at Harvard
By Maggie Durwald | For The Pitt News
October 1, 2017
When Edward Snowden appeared via internet connection for a speech in the William Pitt Union this February, students reacted to the presence of the controversial figure, best known for leaking documents from the CIA, with both curiosity and distrust. But while Pitt allowed the event to go forward, st...
Let’s do fast casual right
By Will Schulman | For The Pitt News
September 29, 2017
Students at Penn State one morning in 2014 were shocked to find the Chipotle in State College, Pennsylvania, closed. On the door a sign read: “Ask our corporate offices why their employees are forced to work in borderline sweatshop conditions,” followed up with “People > Profits.” Constant pr...
Editorial: The Pitt News bids 7-Eleven farewell
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 28, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Today is the last day Pitt students can get Slurpees, cheap coffee, pizza, cigarettes and condoms on campus, 24/7. Pitt will open a University-owned grocery store in 7-Eleven’s place, which has a few clear positives for some students. But closing 7-Eleven is a blow to every student who studies ...
Editorial: Trump’s revisionist history leaves everyone behind
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 28, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Presidential endorsements of Senate hopefuls can often make the difference between a candidate winning and losing the election — though that wasn’t the case in Alabama this week. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence publicly supported Republican Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama’s...
Ending whitewashing is simple: just look at Ed Skrein
By Thomas Wick | Columnist
September 28, 2017
Hollywood has a complicated relationship with racial injustice in America, and for good reason — minority actors still struggle for representation in the industry. But when I heard controversy brewing about whitewashing yet again, I couldn’t believe that our nation hasn’t made more progress. ...
The American prison system: justice or exploitation?
By Vaibhavi Patria | For The Pitt News
September 27, 2017
In Washington, Pennsylvania, a county jail captain was charged this week with stealing more than $2,000 from inmates. Charges like this are nothing new — especially in Pennsylvania. According to Prison Legal News, at least 14 Pennsylvania prison and jail guards were arrested between 2012 and 2014. Som...
Editorial: Don’t forget about Puerto Rico in wake of Maria
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 27, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
When it made landfall in Puerto Rico Sept. 20, Hurricane Maria was the largest storm the island faced in the last 80 years. Almost the entire population of the island — nearly 3.5 million American citizens — still do not have electricity. Many also do not have running water, and 95 percent of ...
Good gaming journalism needs know-how
By Thomas Wick | Columnist
September 25, 2017
As I watched the video game character move back and forth on the screen, struggling and failing to make a simple jump, I couldn’t help but cringe. I was shocked to discover the identity of the player grappling with a game tutorial with so much difficulty was an “experienced” gaming journalist. Video gam...
Editorial: St. Louis police endanger freedom of the press
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 25, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Conventional wisdom proposes that it’s difficult to truly care about an issue until that issue affects you personally. For journalists in St. Louis, the controversy surrounding police brutality in America is coming to that point. In the light of protests during the past week and a half, local, national...
Editorial: Critics of anthem protests aren’t patriotic
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 24, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
When the Steelers walked onto the field before yesterday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the booing they received wasn’t just because they were the away team. Shortly before the game began, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told Jamie Erdahl of CBS Sports that Pittsburgh’s NFL team would rem...
No mercy for Menendez
By Ben Sheppard | For The Pitt News
September 24, 2017
The last time the U.S. Senate had to expel a member, the country was tearing itself apart in the Civil War. With a country that feels almost as divided today, 2017 may see another Senate expulsion — Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Federal prosecutors in Menendez’s home state opened a trial again...
Don’t tempt Amazon with tax cuts
By Ben Sheppard | For The Pitt News
September 22, 2017
In the struggle between American cities for economic dominance, an influx of 50,000 new jobs seems too good to be true. But that’s exactly what tech giant Amazon is offering. More than 100 cities — ranging from Boston, to Toronto to a collective of several small North Carolina towns — have signale...
The Blame Game: Trump’s simple, yet divisive rhetoric
By Vaibhavi Patria | For The Pitt News
September 21, 2017
In his mind, President Donald Trump can never go wrong — his actions are justified, his words are nothing but the truth and his band of followers is loyal and ever-growing. And when he’s not praising himself, he’s shifting the blame to others. “I inherited a mess, it's a mess at home and abroad. A mess,...
Editorial: Graham-Cassidy plan ruins progress and instills division
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 21, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
On one side of the aisle, U.S. lawmakers are tackling the issue of health care with the broadest strokes possible by introducing a constitutional amendment that affirms access to health care as a basic human right. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are attempting to repeal and replace former ...
Maduro vs the world: Venezuela’s hopeless crisis
By Saket Rajprohat | Senior Columnist
September 20, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Uncategorized
The streets are filled with protesters. The shelves at grocery stores are empty, and pockets are even emptier. Right now, Venezuela looks bleak — and Veronica, a Venezuelan immigrant living in Pittsburgh who requested that her last name be withheld for her family’s safety, said the country is f...
Editorial: Pitt must condemn professor’s threats
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 20, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
More than 200 students gathered at the base of Litchfield Towers Monday to protest a group that spewed homophobia, racism and sexism on our campus. Thankfully, no one was hurt — students drove the bigoted group across the street and off campus. But it seems that if it were up to State Rep. Aaro...
Climate change should hit close to home
By Brian Gentry | For The Pitt News
September 19, 2017
The apple core I had just tossed had no sooner hit the bottom of the bin when I heard the familiar scolding from my mom. Once again, I had forgotten to put it in the compost bin. As a kid, I didn’t really know why I needed to be environmentally conscious, whether it was recycling water bottles, ...
Pitt students’ protest represents model of free speech
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 19, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
When protesters descended on campus yesterday afternoon to push a controversial message, they weren’t the only ones ready to exercise their freedom of speech. Members of Christian Interviews, an organization from the Philadelphia area, appeared on the Fifth Avenue-side patio of Towers around 1 p.m. ...
Don’t count out conservative Democrats
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
September 17, 2017
With a mix of fear, anger and sheer disbelief, I watched the television screen in my friends’ apartment as CNN’s correspondent tapped an interactive map, coloring Pennsylvania red. Last fall’s presidential election came as a shock to many, but for me the blow came when my home state cast its ...
Editorial: Recognize the consequences of comedy
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 17, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
On the sidelines at the football game between Pitt and Oklahoma State this weekend, a female Pitt fan likely had little idea she would be one of the highlights from the game on social media. But that’s exactly what happened. A clip of Gianna Rockoff, a sophomore psychology major at Pitt, taking part in a ra...
Unlivable wages: why the federal minimum isn’t enough
By Elise Lavallee | Contributing Editor
September 15, 2017
If you were on campus last Friday, you might’ve seen an RV sporting a cartoon photo of Donald Trump hiding behind a smiley face mask. This unusual RV serves as the mobile headquarters for the 2017 Trump and Walmart Make America Worse Tour. Dighan Kelly, a sophomore urban studies and French major, organi...
Blue collar to green collar: Pittsburgh’s sustainable future
By Jaime Viens | Contributing Editor
September 14, 2017
A Pittsburgh skyline dominated by smokestacks once denoted the bane of environmental destruction to some — but to many, it was a livelihood. More than ever before, Pittsburgh is shedding its long-standing status as the “Steel City” as it continues to transition from a City that is economically reliant on fossil fuels toward a City with more sustainable future in renewable energy. But our local economy is fa...
Editorial: On union, University should stay on sidelines
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 14, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
The push to unionize grad students at the University, while in the works since the beginning of 2016, has heated up significantly in the past few months. When Pitt graduate students arrived in the common room of the Cathedral of Learning on Tuesday to deliver a list of demands, the police presence seemed ...
Editorial: Health care proposal detracts from urgent issues
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 14, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
The last health care bill Congress voted on would have left 22 million Americans without health care. Thankfully, it failed — but in its place are radical new suggestions. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) introduced a new bill in the Senate today that he’s calling Medicare for All, and for the first ti...
Piazza case should be a lesson: to be an adult, be accountable
By Anne Marie Yurik | For The Pitt News
September 14, 2017
Imagine you’re an average college student at a fraternity party. It’s cold — February in central Pennsylvania always is. Suddenly, someone falls down the stairs. They’re drunk enough that they don’t wake up when they hit the floor of the basement. Through the rest of the night, you see ...
Editorial: House revenue plan threatens Pennsylvania
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 13, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
In an email sent to the student body Friday, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher warned Pitt students that if the state fails to pass appropriation bills that fund state-related universities, our school will face serious consequences. But this merely demonstrates the broader issue at hand. The state has y...
Scared to study abroad? Do it anyway
By Sarah Shearer | For The Pitt News
September 13, 2017
I was in the candy aisle of a bookstall April 19 when I first heard the emergency alarms and looked up to see the main concourse of London Euston Train Station in a dark frenzy. I grabbed my bag, shuffled out the nearest exit and stood outside with other travelers for almost half an hour before someone announced ov...
DeVos takes backward step on sexual assault
By Erica Brandbergh | Columnist
September 11, 2017
For a cabinet member who’s already one of the most controversial in the Trump administration, it would have seemed difficult for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to become even more divisive. Then she started to talk about rape on campus. DeVos gave a speech on Sept. 7 at George Mason University...
Editorial: Racism in humanities isn’t the problem
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 11, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Race relations in the United States are rapidly returning to the foreground of the public’s consciousness. It seems nowhere is immune from the rising tensions — not even the study of classical antiquity. At Reed College in Portland, Oregon, student protesters are at the center of a controversy dealing with...
Clinton’s focus on 2016 doesn’t help Democrats
By Ben Sheppard | For The Pitt News
September 11, 2017
Letting go of the past can be difficult. And no one, it seems, knows that better than Hillary Clinton. Last year’s Democratic presidential candidate still appears to be reeling from her stinging defeat by Donald Trump. In her new book, “What Happened” — set to hit bookshelves Tuesday — C...
Editorial: Recognize student debt’s real toll on campus
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 10, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
With grades, a fluctuating social life and life after graduation all weighing heavily on our collective conscience, any college student can tell you they’re no stranger to stress. And according to research released recently by collegiate contracting giant Sodexo, students in the United States ...
Don’t punt on LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
September 7, 2017
Filed under Columns, GameDay, Opinions
When Pitt’s football team faces off against Penn State tomorrow at Beaver Stadium, both teams will continue a tradition which began in the 19th century — but in a vastly different culture. At the teams’ first meeting in 1893, Pitt had yet to integrate, and Penn State had never admitted a black s...
To understand injustice, listen to the lawyers
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
September 7, 2017
In most American courts of law, a raised voice or an opinion stated too aggressively will typically earn you the censure of the presiding judge. But that certainly wasn’t the case Tuesday night in the Teplitz Memorial Moot Courtroom, nestled deep within Pitt’s Law School. A panel of five memb...
Analysis: How a 1999 NATO operation turned Russia against the West
By Christian Snyder, Assistant Opinions Editor
September 7, 2017
The name Boris Yeltsin should ring a bell, whether it brings to mind images of him leaping upon a tank during a coup in 1991 Moscow or standing drunk in his underpants in Washington, D.C. in 1995. Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation, may be remembered for his drinking habits, but...
Editorial: Stand strong to protect DACA recipients
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 6, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions, Top Stories
Imagine living in the United States your entire life — from your earliest memories, you’ve been here. And in 2014, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protected your status, keeping you safe from the ever-looming threat of deportation. But as of Tuesday, because your parents immigrated illegally sho...
Next-day shopping? How Whole Foods and Amazon could change the game
By Levko Karmazyn | For The Pitt News
September 6, 2017
You could never accomplish today what John Mackey and Renee Lawson did in 1978 Austin, Texas. The college-dropout couple opened what would eventually become Whole Foods, which Amazon bought in August for $13.7 billion. Many criticized the natural food marketplace for “selling out” to Amazon, and feel tha...
Eradicating racism is about responsibility, not statues
By Elise Lavallee | Contributing Editor
September 5, 2017
With racial violence gripping Charlottesville, Virginia, last month, the nation’s moral conscience was transfixed. The full scale of hatred on display from white supremacists and neo-Nazis was enough to persuade communities across the country to reconsider the continuing public position of racially i...
Editorial: Elephant death is tragic, but zoo does more good than harm
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 5, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
With Labor Day signalling the end of the summer season for many Pittsburghers, a number chose to take the day off to visit the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. Most came to see the animals. But after the deaths of a three-month-old elephant calf and the zoo’s oldest male tiger in rapid succession la...
On Sharing Beliefs: Do It With Tact
By Mariam Shalaby | Senior Columnist
September 1, 2017
As a Muslim, I feel like everyone thinks they have something to say about who I am. But because I’d rather not waste my time protesting in a world saturated with fiery opinions, I stopped on my path to becoming a boisterous activist about a year ago. Instead of being continuously outraged at th...
Editorial: Toomey isn’t listening to constituents
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
September 1, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
After months of relentless pressure from voters all across the state, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey finally attended a town hall meeting last night to hear his constituents’ grievances — sort of. In a PBS-organized special, Toomey appeared for an hour on stage in front of an audience of about 50 c...
Travel in college to help gain perspective
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
August 31, 2017
As my car sped across the plains of northwestern Ohio — passing open fields, red barns blazing in the sunset and the distant impression of neon — the only thing my mind could focus on was that I wasn’t back in Pittsburgh yet. With summer coming to a close, I had decided to take a road trip with a fri...
Editorial: Florida university should let professor speak
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
August 31, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
In the aftermath of last fall’s elections, many on Twitter who had opposed President Donald Trump’s campaign blamed Florida — one of the states that gave the Republican an electoral victory. But Floridians, it seems, are just as quick to condemn the residents of other states that voted red. Kenneth Stor...
Column: Poetry now: why today’s world makes poetics shine
By Christian Snyder, Assistant Opinions Editor
August 29, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Uncategorized
I remember the first time a line of poetry caught me by surprise. I was sitting in the Cathedral of Learning mouthing the words of Ross Gay’s poem “catalog of unabashed gratitude” to myself. The poem turns when he addresses the reader, and says thank you, “for moving your lips just so as I s...
Editorial: Don’t let presidency divide the same side
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
August 29, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Religion often claims to be the moral compass of a society. But when religious leaders take political sides, rather than moral, the people are left with a compass that points in two different directions. Leaders of multiple faiths convened on the 54th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “...
Editorial: Don’t equate Stephen Foster, Confederate statues
By The Pitt News Editorial Staff
August 29, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
In southern cities, from New Orleans to Orlando to Baltimore, the only thing hotter than the record-breaking weather this summer was the heated debate surrounding the removal of Confederate statues. Minority residents of cities across the South have repeatedly expressed discomfort with these statues, and many are finally coming down. Controversy over the attempted remova...
Conservatives don’t recognize real threat to free speech
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
August 29, 2017
When far-right agitator Jason Kessler took to the stage outside the city hall in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month, he made reference to a political tradition born centuries ago in that very city. That tradition — freedom of speech — gained official legal status in the United State...
Editorial: Safe roads require more than just bike lanes
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
August 28, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
From the lack of parking in front of the Cathedral, a safer Bigelow Boulevard crosswalk or the freshly painted white and yellow lines — the new bike lanes are pretty hard to miss. The City of Pittsburgh opened the lanes Aug. 15 on portions of Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard — a much-needed development as Oakland is the city’s second most-biked neighborhood, after Downtown. The lanes...
When representatives don’t represent, don’t reelect
By Saket Rajprohat | Senior Columnist
August 28, 2017
How does something extremely unpopular become law in our democracy? Congress. Over the past few months I have attempted to keep up with fast-paced news like the GOP’s health care bill’s rapid push through Congress by Mitch McConnell or the votes on the Restoring Internet Freedom Act — two b...
Identity politics: finding my heritage in a hometown I never knew
By Kim Rooney | Contributing Editor
August 28, 2017
When talking about adoption, people approach me with a delicate curiosity, like when enquiring about the sick or the dying. Apologies, whether for the assumption that my parents are my birth parents or for the adoption itself, are common. People don’t quite know what to say to me. They ask more...
Finding your place as a transfer student
By Saket Rajprohat | Columnist
August 22, 2017
It was a cold and snowy January day. With my backpack and suitcases heavier than they seemed leaving home, I stepped into my new dorm. I was excited to finally be at Pitt. After my short and easy semester at Robert Morris University, a private school in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I was ready to move out of the house, ha...
Being unprofessional in the classroom hurts your future
By Mariam Shalaby | Columnist
August 21, 2017
“Hey, Jordan!” yelled one of my classmates from the back of the room, grabbing the instructor’s attention. An unconventional way to call the teacher. The disrespect we show in class seems to increase every day. When I saw this kind of thing happen as a freshman, I figured it would improve as...
Dr. Who takes on a new enemy: sexism
By Elise Lavallee | Columnist
August 21, 2017
Dr. Who has faced many adversaries over the past 54 years — daleks, cybermen, weeping angels — all of which the Time Lord has defeated. But this season, the 13th Doctor is up against a new kind of rival — sexism. The character will take its first female form this year, as Dr. Who will be played b...
Dear social media: it’s not you, it’s my mental health
By Audreela Deb | For The Pitt News
August 21, 2017
Ah, summer. The season of vacation getaways and seasonal internships. Afternoon barbecues and late night bonfires; Fourth of July pool parties and sunbathing trips to the beach. And there’s proof of it all on social media — at least, if this year was anything like last. Instead of devouring th...
To realize your passion, go into the field
By Levko Karmazyn | For The Pitt News
August 21, 2017
As I watched the sun fall behind the mountain peaks surrounding the K BAR Z Guest Ranch in early July, the valley below was an uncharacteristic shade of blue, unlike the past few nights. Something else felt different, too — it was the last night of Pitt’s Yellowstone Field Study. I already knew I ...
Pittsburgh goes green, despite what you might’ve heard
By Levko Karmazyn | For The Pitt News
August 21, 2017
When President Donald Trump decided to pull out of the Paris climate agreements, he said that he was elected to represent the people of Pittsburgh, not Paris — a statement that was met with fiery outlash from important figures such as Mayor Bill Peduto, who said that Pittsburgh will in fact continue to abide by the Paris agreements....
Letter to the Editor | There is no third party. We, the students, are the union
By Beth Shaaban / PhD student
July 30, 2017
Filed under Letters to the Editor, Opinions, Top Stories
Surprise! I just returned from presenting some of my research at a conference to a union busting email from the provost. One of my personal favorite lines: “The education, not the financial support, is the goal of graduate study.” Buckle up kids, if you can’t afford your medications, rent, food ...
Letter to the Editor | Grad student: How can I produce my best work if I can hardly afford to eat?
By Andréa Hanna, Graduate Student
July 29, 2017
Filed under Letters to the Editor, Opinions, Top Stories
Dear Editor, I read the message from the provost, Patricia Beeson, about the graduate student union yesterday with some interest and reservations. My first concern, and I quote the provost's message here, is when she says, it is "the education, not the financial support, is the goal of graduate study." It is indee...
Editorial: Leaving Pittsburgh for the summer? Maybe think twice
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
July 19, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Since we still operate over the summer, many Pitt News editors and writers get the chance to spend their school-free months in Pittsburgh. And in our last print edition of the summer, we wanted to reflect on a trend we’ve noticed here year after year — we’re far lonelier in Oakland from May to...
Traditional treats trump trends
By Jordan Mondell | Contributing Editor
July 19, 2017
It's a sweltering Friday evening in Oakland as I sit on my porch. I'm craving something sweet, creamy and icy. I pull up Google and dig into my recent searches — yes, this is a weekly occurrence — for "ice cream near me." The options abound. I could pay $8 for a fancy, not-so-fantastic double chocolate ...
Editorial: In age of ‘fake news’ we must hold the president accountable
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
July 12, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Fake news is like a bad game of telephone — one source reports their truth, then everyone else runs with it, imparting their own spin upon it. Serious problems arise when people get their news from just one source, because that source could be the last person in the line. And when the presiden...
Column: U.S. shows hypocrisy toward Puerto Rico
By Christian Snyder / Opinions Editor
July 12, 2017
Since the Spanish claimed Puerto Rico for their own in 1493, the land saw independent rule from July 17 to July 25 1898. Eight days. The American invasion of Puerto Rico on July 25, 1898, changed the land, politics and people forever. And today, it’s for the worse. Puerto Rico is in serious eco...
Column: Greek life promotes dangerous, elitist culture
By Christian Snyder, Opinions Editor
July 4, 2017
At Penn State’s fraternity Beta Theta Pi’s Bid Night, on a cold February night in State College, Timothy Piazza fractured his skull and ruptured his spleen when he fell down a flight of stairs. His fraternity brothers called an ambulance nearly 12 hours later after slapping him, sitting on him ...
Editorial: Pitt’s new board shows that it recognizes the importance of diversity, but there’s a long way to go
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
July 4, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions, Uncategorized
The Board of Trustees at Pitt has some serious power — by its own words, the Board “retains ultimate responsibility for all University affairs,” meaning its diversity is all the more important. Pitt appointed four new board members on June 30, three of whom are women. And while there’s st...
Editorial: Toomey is either lying or misinformed, and it will hurt Pennsylvanians
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
June 28, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
Regardless of what Sen. Pat Toomey may say, the new Senate health care bill does cut federal spending to Medicaid, and does so in a significant way. Medicaid is a federal program designed to provide health insurance to those who otherwise cannot afford it, and as of April 2017 nearly 75 million Ame...
Young voters: Lead by example to fight nationalsim
By Christin Snyder / Opinions Editor
June 27, 2017
“I mean, I voted, but why does it matter? London will never listen.” When I asked my new Scottish friend about the United Kingdom’s recent election, he responded with pure ambivalence. He truly cares about the issues at hand, but he, like many other Scots, has long struggled with misrepresent...
Column: Dear Ben Shapiro, You’re wrong about Trump
By Saket Rajprohat / Senior Columnist
June 20, 2017
Dear Ben Shapiro, You have been completely wrong since May 10, the day after Trump fired Comey. In the June 8 episode of The Ben Shapiro Podcast, one of the most popular conservative podcasts in the nation, you declared you were “exactly correct” in your wildest theory to date — that Donald Trump fired James Comey not because ...
Editorial: The Port Authority is ignoring important BRT stakeholders
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
June 20, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
The Port Authority has promised people that live on the lines of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit project faster commutes, new electric buses and safe bike lanes. But the proposal isn’t perfect, and the people that might be negatively impacted by the project are being ignored. Some 3,000 riders a...
Sports Journalism needs, deserves more female representation
By Jordan Mondell | Contributing Editor
June 14, 2017
It’s halftime during the Pitt vs Duke game at Heinz Field. The photo room is warm and abuzz with chatter — most Pittsburgh-based photographers know one another and are sharing inside jokes and quips as they upload their first half shots to their respective publications. I felt remarkably out of place for no discer...
Editorial: Pitt’s public funding should result in public accountability
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
June 14, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
“Tell your elected officials: With Pitt, PA Wins.” So begins the University’s recent plea for students to lobby on its behalf for state funding. And while the statement is true — many of the state’s greatest achievements have come from Pitt, such as the recent development of a new HIV detector or t...
Column: When abortions could save lives, Catholic hospitals fail women
By Christian Snyder / Opinions Editor
June 7, 2017
When Tamesha Means entered labor with her first child in 2016, she was only 18 weeks pregnant — not even halfway through her pregnancy. So she did the logical thing and rushed to the nearest hospital. When she arrived at the Mercy Health Partners hospital, doctors diagnosed her with preterm prem...
Editorial: New UHC dean has opportunity to refocus college
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
June 7, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
If it weren’t on the 35th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, you might be able to hear the crickets from outside in the University Honors College lounge. But it wasn’t always this way. Founded in 1987 by Dean Alec Stewart, the UHC once was a place where true intellectualism fostered, a place where students with or without pre-professional majors could come debate, disc...
Editorial: PA moratorium doesn’t solve costly death penalty problem
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
May 31, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions, Uncategorized
Execution proceedings happen in the state of Pennsylvania five times each year — yet the state hasn’t executed an inmate since 1999. Mock executions are routinely performed to ensure that in the event of an execution, the prison guards and doctors would be prepared. But right now the state isn’t ...
Among short-term fixes, Pitt develops long-term plan to combat nationwide opioid crisis
By Rashi Seth | Columnist
May 31, 2017
Two months ago a couple from Lower Burrell mourned the loss of their son who didn’t live to see his 25th birthday. David Makara’s refusal to get treatment drove him to move out of his parents home as he could not pass a drug test to get a job. Without any notice he moved out to Light of Life she...
Xanax: an unforseen danger in college
By Tim Murdoch | For The Pitt News
May 30, 2017
Its thunderous footsteps can be heard the instant it decides to return from the kitchen. Approaching the worn leather couch, it loses its balance. Flailing for a moment, then collecting itself, it manages to plop down onto the cracked sofa cover, slowing sinking into the cushion with a mumbled chuckle ...
Being a good roommate is easy: just be open
By Andrea Spatig | For The Pitt News
May 30, 2017
There’s the roommate that has super loud FaceTime conversations with their significant other, the one who never showers and spews an unfavorable odor wherever they go, the one who is too clingy and over-involved in your life and the one that snores like a chainsaw or talks in their sleep through th...
Column: When hitting the sheets, communication makes it easy
By Christian Snyder, Columnist
May 30, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Uncategorized
If there’s one thing that movies get right about college, it’s that people have sex. In fact, in one study published in the Review of General Psychology, over 60 percent of college students in North America reported having some kind of sexual “hookup” experience. But of course, there’s ...
Column: Tired of house parties? Try house shows instead
By Christian Snyder, Columnist
May 30, 2017
There were too many people, the music was too loud, the cooler was empty and it smelled like sweat. I think that might describe every party I attended my first year of college. No matter where it was or who was there, I have no fond memories of piling into someone’s basement with what seemed lik...
Making the most out of living alone
By Thomas Wick | Columnist
May 30, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Uncategorized
I could keep the lights on whenever I wanted. I could listen to music and not have to bother with pesky headphones. I could toss my clothes in the corner and worry about them in a few weeks. I could nap at all times of the day, have people over whenever I wanted and be in a quiet environment at a mom...
College magnifies eating disorders, learn to see the signs
By Elise Lavallee | Columnist
May 30, 2017
$0.93. That’s the value of all the research done per person on eating disorders in 2011, compared to the $44 per individual on autism or $81 per person on schizophrenia. Yet the Academy for Eating Disorders reports the risk of death for those with anorexia nervosa is three times higher than it ...
Being trans at Pitt: my story
By Madeline Barber | For The Pitt News
May 30, 2017
As a child, I was a stereotypical boy. I played in the dirt, my favorite toys were my Tonka trucks and I loved to break things. I wasn’t interested in “girl” things like sewing or nail polish, and my favorite color wasn’t pink. To my mother, there was no way I could be trans because I so eag...
Pitt leads the pack in cultural cooperation
By Mariam Shalaby | Columnist
May 24, 2017
It’s a chilly Saturday, the sky is gray, and some 15 bikers are gathered to begin a 15 mile race. Why would anyone in their right mind do such a thing? For the sake of building friendships, learning something new and feeding the community. I work as a volunteer director of the Food Pantry at the Islamic...
Editorial: PA still has room to grow with medicinal marijuana
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
May 24, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
It’s impossible to get a majority of people to support anything it seems — except marijuana. Franklin & Marshall College recently found that 56 percent of registered Pennsylvania voters think the state should make recreational marijuana legal, mirroring a nationwide trend of increased support for the drug. ...
Column: Pittsburgh takes steps to reduce violent crime
By Jeremy Wang | Columnist
May 16, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Top Stories
Nearly every night last year, gunfire rang out in Pittsburgh. And nearly every week, someone was killed. The city launched the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime in 2010 to combat this issue, but the initiative had mixed results. Homicides climbed from 43 to 71 between 2011 and 2014, and forme...
Editorial: Ransomware infects thousands using government tools
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
May 16, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions, Uncategorized
How much is all of the information stored on your computer worth? A ransomware that spread to more than 100 countries in just a few hours faced thousands with this very question. When infected users opened their computers on Monday, they were met with nothing. All of their files were encrypted by the WannaCry ran...
FEMA fails minority communities
By Saket Rajprohat | Columnist
May 10, 2017
A lot of volunteers pick up litter, serve food or build houses. But not all are backdropped by the snow-capped peak of Mount Adams in southern Washington state. Third-year rehabilitation science major Bethany Lindsey saw this scenery firsthand when she volunteered with Sacred Road Ministries, a group un...
Editorial: Pitt listens, but only when it’s easy
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
May 10, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
It was a sunny day in April, the grand opening of the University of Pittsburgh’s new sports dome. Pitt is rightly proud of this achievement that addresses a pressing need for a game and practice facility for club sports teams on campus. At the grand opening — and publicized in videos shown d...
Long nights, loud protests and the truth: A four-year career at The Pitt News
By Stephen Caruso | Contributing Editor
April 24, 2017
I’ve always struggled to articulate why I work at The Pitt News. In the four years I’ve spent working here, my friends have consistently commented on how much time I spend at the office. When I miss out on a night of drinks or a day in Schenley, they are understanding. They know my passion, an...
Op-Ed: The Babcock Room symbolizes Pitt’s ivory tower
By Sage Lincoln | Op-Ed Contributor
April 24, 2017
I first entered the Babcock Room in 2013. Guided by a friend of a friend, a few other Pitt students and I made our way to the back elevator on the 36th floor of the Cathedral at dusk. Two picked locks later we were there: the 40th floor, practically the top of the world. We didn’t pay much...
A final push for more journalism at Pitt
By Elizabeth Lepro | Editor in Chief
April 24, 2017
In the late 1700s, Benjamin Franklin — at the behest of King Louis XIV — served on a French Royal Commission to investigate some rather absurd claims by a German scientist. The back story is unimportant, what is important is a line from Franklin’s official report, in which he wrote, “Truth ...
Editorial: One final call for more transparency
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
April 24, 2017
Filed under Editorials, Opinions
As an editorial board, we publish our collective opinion on a relevant topic every day. It might seem like we’re bashing the government, administration and authority in general, but that’s not why we do it. We don’t publish editorials just to shout into the void or to place blame. We do it bec...
Column: Broken contracts harm passengers’ rights
By Christian Snyder, Columnist
April 21, 2017
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Uncategorized
Everyone has their price — even the guy on his way to a funeral, a retired United Airlines pilot said in the face of the airline’s recent viral controversy. But United simply couldn’t figure that price out last week. The airline chose four passengers, at random, to involuntarily bump from a United...