Point Park University Globe Spring 2017 Issue 1

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THE

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@PPUGlobe January 11, 2017

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Point Park social media reaches new level of achievement Alexander Popichak carries the Globe to its 50th year Basketball bounces back after winter break losses ppuglobe.com

Celebrating 50 years of covering the world of Point Park University news

Issue 1

Point Café still under construction Point Park employs amid start of semester for students new email system By Kayla Snyder Co-News Editor

Over the winter break, both of Point Park’s dining amenities, the Point Café and the Residential Dining Facility (RDF) underwent renovations as part of a project brought on by CulinArt and Point Park administration. The construction project that started Jan. 19 included minor changes to the RDF, as well as a complete renovation of the Point Café. At the time of publication, the plans for the new Point Café were to remove the wall, reshuffle stations and add a new setup area for a convenience store option, according to Dean of Students Keith Paylo. “You’re going to see a lot of changes because we are making improvements,” Paylo said. “The façade of the area is going to be different.” In addition to space changes, the Point Café is also going to provide more offerings for students based on what has worked for students in the last semester.

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By Matt Petras Staff Writer

Students can now store 50 gigabytes of data in their school email account, which is 250 times more than before, thanks to an updated system. This improvement comes alongside other new features. “Don’t think of [the new system] as just email,” Director of IT and Security Will Elmes said in a phone interview Monday. The new system offers students a wide array of features through the Office 365 suite of services, all offered, free. This includes Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Students can now also set up a mobile phone number and/or alternate email address to retrieve their password on their own; before, students had to call the IT Help Desk to do so. These additions come alongside the increase in storage. “There is not a single person on campus using a Chloe Jakiela | The Globe

USG Vice President Bobby Bertha passes by the Point Café as construction goes on during the first day of classes Monday. Students will not be able to eat in the Point Café until next week.

USG rolls out stricter funding policy, swears in new senators USG By Alex Grubbs USG Beat Writer

United Student Government (USG) swore in two new senators as the student government rolled out stricter funding period windows for clubs and organizations. Senior sports, arts and entertainment management major Priscilla Nevarez and sophomore broadcasting major Samiar Nefzi join USG as it cracks down on funding submissions after weeks of persisting PointSync problems. “We’re not opening it again. I know in past semesters, we… let things slide,” Treasurer Amedea Baldoni said. “We’re getting stricter regarding that policy.” During the fall semester, PointSync issues persisted for almost three weeks after initially closing its funding window. Club and organization budgets were not submitted correctly under the new system. The first budget window for this semester closed Jan. 10 at midnight and will not reopen until the second funding period.

Due to the new semester, enrollment numbers may have shifted, which will lead to the adjustment of money that can be given out to clubs and organizations. Dean of Students Keith Paylo told USG he will provide the current enrollment after the add/ drop period ends next week. “If there is an adjustment [in enrollment], it will be really slight,” Paylo said. Continuing the meeting, USG approved Active Minds, a new organization regarding mental health. “Their purpose is to establish and express mental awareness of students, faculty and staff on campus,” Senator Hayley Hoffman said. According to its website, Active Minds is a nonprofit organization and has chapters at universities and colleges across the country. Its goal is to remove stigma regarding mental health problems and create an open dialogue about them. The student government also looked into the future as President Blaine King’s two year tenure is coming to a close. “With about ten weeks

left, I already planned out what we are going to do for the rest of the semester,” King said. Upcoming events include a visit from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Monday, Jan. 23, a State of the Union address similar to the one given by the U.S. president, USG elections and Pioneer Community Day, which is an opportunity for students to volun-

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quarter of [their new storage limit],” Elmes said. Increasing the storage through the new system was “substantially” less expensive than adding the storage through the old program would have been, according to Elmes. IT Director Tim Wilson is also involved in the update. “We’ve been looking into doing this for a long time now,” Wilson said. The previous email system, which was an older version of Microsoft’s Outlook service, only allotted students 200 megabytes of storage. This amount of storage is substantially less than the new 50 gigabytes of storage, as one gigabyte is equivalent to 1,000 megabytes. This is helpful for students like Colten Gill, who is the executive director of the Campus Activity Board (CAB), and United Student Government (USG) President Blaine King.

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WPPJ notches four national radio awards By Michael Richter Co-News Editor

WPPJ, Point Park’s student-operated radio station, was nominated for four 2017 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) awards, marking its seventh-consecutive year in which it has earned nominations. “It’s an honor,” WPPJ member Brandon Cross said regarding the radio station’s nominations. “It’s akin to a college football team going to the Orange Bowl for a seventh time in a row.” WPPJ station manager Vinnie Ferrainola, Cross and the Globe’s Editor-in-Chief Alexander Popichak were

nominated for Best Celebrity Interview, as they interviewed Sarah Koenig, the host of the popular podcast “Serial.” Miranda Van Bramer garnered a Best Promo Series nomination for her promos about her WPPJ show “Girls Overboard.” “It’s great to be recognized for something we’ve worked so hard for at WPPJ,” Ferrainola said. Ferrainola earned another nomination in the Best Station Promo category, and Cross also notched a second nomination for Best Public Service Announcement (PSA). “To be nominated for

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Chloe Jakiela | The Globe

Miranda Van Bramer edits portions of her radio show, “Girls Overboard,” in the WPPJ studio Monday. Van Bramer is the Assistant General Manager and was nominated for an Intercollegiate Broadcast System’s Best Promo for her show.

Weather Forecast Today: Light Rain H 52, L 48

Thursday: Rain, H 61, L 41 Friday: Cloudy, H 41, L 29 Saturday: Rain, H 38, L 33

Sunday: Showers, H 38, L 36 Monday: Showers, H 53, L 44 Tuesday: Showers, H 47, L 39

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