Point Park Globe Spring 2020 Issue 13

IN THIS ISSUE: PAGE

@PPUGlobe April 8, 2020

4 PAGE 5 PAGE 6 Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967

Name (Pen)ding, a new creative writing club, will launch on campus this fall Co-Opinions Editor Shannon Hartnett questions the stimulus package Basketball alum Justice Cuthbertson now serves as an NBA skills trainer ppuglobe.com Issue 13

WE WEAR MASKS MADE OF STEEL University offers

grading options

Students may opt for pass, no credit option in place of letter grades Jordyn Hronec Editor-Elect

Jared Murphy | The Globe North Side resident Patrick Wolf looks down Fifth Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh while wearing his homemade Steelers print facemask on Monday, April 6, 2020.

SGA candidates debate via Zoom, election results expected Monday SGA Sarah Gibson SGA Beat Writer

This past Wednesday, the Student Government Association (SGA) of Point Park University hosted its very first virtual debate just before voting opened for the presidential election. Alex Popichak, Point Park alumnus and producer at Erie News Now, hosted the debates over Zoom, which were then live streamed on YouTube for students to access.

Vice President Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel’s opening statement was characterized by a want to improve Point Park.

“I am running for president because I want to be at a school I can be proud to call my own...and at the moment, I don’t feel as if I can say that with any pride,” she said.

Senator Dennis McDermott, who was running against Frank-Rempel for the presidential position, noted several times throughout the debate that a big issue he was planning on working with and advocating for in the coming year would be food insecurity, which according to a 2018

study from the University of Pittsburgh, is an issue that affects a large amount of Point Park students.

For President Pro Tempore Bryce Hayzlett, a candidate for vice president, a goal that SGA needs to work on is communication with the student body and using that in tandem with the student government to create change.

“I believe with the right guidance, we’d be able to create a lot of positive change around campus,” Hayzeltt said. “I also believe we need to work harder on making sure that our communication with students is stronger.”

Recording Secretary Jordyn Hronec noted that communication wasn’t just a problem for SGA, but for Point Park as a whole, citing their handling of the COVID-19 crisis as evidence of this.

“I think that Point Park needs to be more forthcoming in their communication from the get go...but they also need to stop worrying about PR when there are genuine student concerns to be answered.” she said.

One of the final questions during the debate regard-

ed the return to in-person classes following this current online semester and SGA’s role in this return. Vice President Frank-Rempel suggested that SGA, along with the school’s other clubs, focus on the freshmen.

“I think it’s important for SGA as a whole to allow clubs and to push clubs to continue to do events because, although their events have been cut short this semester, it’s important for them to engage with students, especially with students who will be coming in as freshmen who maybe got their senior years cut and don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing next year...it’s gonna be a rocky transition, because no one knows exactly how we’re going to be doing things, if things are going to change, are we going to be able to have events? But make sure that laws permitting and rules permitting that we are able to do as much as possible to engage with people,” she said.

For more information on the candidates’ stances, a recording of the virtual debate

On Friday, March 20, students were first informed in an email from the Office of the President that a decision to “amend the academic grading policy temporarily” in response to having all classes be moved online would be made over the weekend and announced on Monday. On Monday, March 23, students were introduced via email to the new, optional “pass/no credit” option that they could optin to at the conclusion of the semester.

In the email correspondence from the Office of the President, the pass/no credit policy was described as “a temporary measure that reflects the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives, work, and education.”

Once faculty post letter grades at the end of the semester, students will have the option to change grades of A, B, C or D to a “pass” and grades of an F to “no credit.”

The March 23 email stated that taking the pass or no credit option for a course or multiple courses would not affect students’ overall GPA. However, according to both an informational YouTube video put together by Assistant Provost, Jonas Prida, as well as a webinar held on Monday, April 6 by Prida and Angelo Gargaro, a Center

Thursday: Rain H 53, L 34 Friday: Cloudy, H 44, L 32 Saturday: Partly cloudy, H 56, L 43

GRADES page 3

A Pioneer’s Guide to Pass/ No Credit

SGA page 2

Weather Forecast

Today: Rain H 68 L 49

for Student Success coordinator, there are several pros and cons to weigh when considering when to opt-in for the pass or no credit option.

According to Prida, for students looking to boost their GPAs, taking a pass option would not positively affect grade point average. He also stated that for students looking to attend graduate school, a “pass” grade on a student’s transcript may be interpreted as a “C” grade by the prospective school.

“Many graduate and professional schools, like law and medical schools, might calculate undergraduate GPA themselves, converting a grade of a ‘P’ to a 2.0, some do not,” Prida said in a YouTube video explaining the pass/no credit option.

“The number grade, especially if it’s a C roughly, or higher, is always going to work out better for your GPA,” Prida said during the webinar. “A ‘pass’ has no real advantage for the grade point average, it simply means you pass the course and got the credits for it. So if you need a 2.0, for example, to remain eligible for a sport, or if you need a 3.0 for a scholarship, and you’re doing well, you’ve got A’s and B’s, then please take the A’s and B’s, or in the case of a 2.0, take a C.” For students who are looking to opt-in to the

Sunday: Rain, H 58, L 45 Monday: Rain, H 54, L 38 Tuesday: Rain, H 54, L 38

Alysse Baer | The Globe

2

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

CMI launches collaborative media partnership 20 local media outlets unite for coronavirus coverage Dara Collins Editor-in-Chief

Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation (CMI) is launching the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, according to a press release last Tuesday.

The partnership is supporting 20 news organizations of the Greater Pittsburgh region and their journalists as they report on the COVID-19 crisis to local communities.

“Some stories are bigger than any one newsroom can accomplish on its own, and so the collaboration brings together a diverse group of media outlets from across the region to provide varying perspectives that add up to more thorough coverage,” Andy Conte, Director of the CMI, said via email.

According to Conte, the CMI determined whether local media outlets would be interested in participating in a collaboration last year, and the enthusiastic response led to a series of discussions with journalists and the public.

Lisa Cunningham, Editor-in-Chief of Pittsburgh City Paper, has been involved with Bridge Pittsburgh meetings since the planning stages last year and says it’s been rewarding “to share space with so many talented journalists in the city.”

“Learning more about how other organizations’ newsrooms operate and working with them closely in meetings and workshops has been a huge learning experience,” Cunningham said. “It’s really nice [that] in such a competitive field that journalists have been able to work together towards a common goal.”

According to the press release, the partnership was

formed earlier this year “in response to dire economic challenges facing the local news industry, with a mission to support a vibrant, diverse and independent media ecosystem.”

While still discussing the first project of the partnership, the members decided to focus on COVID-19 due to the nature of the coverage and the resources needed to cover it.

“This process has taken a while to come together, and it has been rewarding to see it move into the public phase,” Conte said. “While we are still planning to pursue a joint regional story after the pandemic, we felt it was important to address this emerging crisis and to support local journalism at this critical time.”

In addition to collaborative coverage of COVID-19, the partnership is seeking additional support including technology, grants and funding projects pitched by freelancers.

According to Cunningham, the pitch to freelancers was sent out recently, so the collaboration’s direction is still very new.

Project Editor AmyJo Brown also asserts that specifics of the project are still being figured out, but the outlets have a general idea.

“We’re looking at ways that we can help relieve the pressure on the newsrooms in places where that might make sense,” Brown said.

“We’re also looking for ways still to slow it down when we can and really look at how can we step away and keep coming back and looking at the bigger picture and making that bigger picture available to our audiences as well, kind of help our audiences also slow down and see how things are changing, especially because they’re going

Jared Murphy | The Globe Pittsburgh City Paper’s April 1-7 issue in one of the city’s newspaper boxes. Pittsburgh City Paper is one of 20 organizations involved in the Pittsburgh Media Partnership.

to be changing so rapidly.”

Brown said there were two benefits of media collaboration that immediately come to mind. COVID-19 will be a topic of newsrooms for a long time, according to Brown, and multiple outlets can “relieve the pressure” and maintain information flow to the community.

“The flip side of that is for the community and audiences, the more that we are talking to each other and trying to reduce duplication, that means there will be more stories for each of them,” Brown said. “They’re just getting more and better information because everyone has more time to spend to get it.”

Although the collaborative project is still in its beginning stages, Cunnigham has already seen how greater

numbers in a collaboration can improve coverage.

Unaffiliated with the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, Pittsburgh City Paper partnered with The Incline, NEXTpittsburgh, Kidsburgh and PublicSource to publish two collaborative resource guides related to COVID-19.

The outlets worked together and then published the pieces on their own sites.

“It was a way for our organizations to share resources and do something for the better of the community, and I can’t say enough about the leaders in each of those media organizations,” Cunningham said. “It’s a really, really difficult and trying time for news media, especially print publications, and anything we can do to help save this industry while helping readers get even

more valuable information in the process, I’m here for it.”

The outlets involved are 90.5 WESA, Ambridge Connection, Environmental Health News, Homewood Nation, McKees Rocks Gazette 2.0, Mon Valley Independent, New Pittsburgh Courier, NEXTpittsburgh, Pittsburgh Business Times, Pittsburgh City Paper, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Postindustrial, Presente Pittsburgh Media, PublicSource, Soul Pitt Quarterly, Storyburgh, Trib Total Media, Unabridged Press and YaJagoff!

The partnership is funded by the Heinz Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation.

Dara Collins

dmcolli2@pointpark.edu

Voter turnout for 2020 SGA election larger than years prior from SGA page 1 can be found at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=UfpUnvQ13EI&t=6216s.

Following the debate, SGA president Jake Berlin made several tweets endorsing Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel and Jordyn Hronec for president and vice president. One of these tweets

regarded how important diversity and inclusivity was in a president. This tweet caught the attention of McDermott.

Berlin’s tweet read: “This is a very important moment in history for PPU, specifically in COPA. Diversity and inclusivity discussions are going to shape the

future of our campus. @GTFRforPres is a Jewish woman from the LGBTQ+ community, and frankly, I trust her to lead us more than a straight white man.”

McDermott made a Twitter thread of his own to respond, and in this thread, noted that while he is an atheist white male, he is

not straight. McDermott’s tweet read “Yes, I’m an athiest white male, but as some of my close friends know, I’ve debated and struggled with my sexuality for a while, and thought this is the last place I’d like to come out, I am in fact bisexual, but I don’t think this matters.”

Screenshot from YouTube Point Park alum Alex Popichak moderates the 2020 Student Government Association’s debates via YouTube Live. Presidential candidates Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel and Dennis McDermott and vice presidential candidates Jordyn Hronec and Bryce Hayzlett discussed their positions on topics and questions submitted via the live chat option or Twitter using the hashtag #DebatingAtADistance.

In a statement to The Globe, McDermott noted that Jake Berlin reached out to him after the tweet was sent and offered to delete the tweet, but, in McDermott’s words, “what’s done is done.”

McDermott stated that while he does not endorse the concept of a president endorsing a candidate, and assured that if he were elected, he would not do the same, he wanted to highlight that Frank-Rempel had been incredibly amicable throughout the entire election process. In an interview with Berlin, he argued that he felt like he had every right to endorse a candidate, as President Obama did for Hillary Clinton while he was still in office.

Voting took place right after the debates, starting on Thursday, April 2nd through Friday, April 3rd.

According to an email sent out to all of SGA from Dean Michael Gieseke, results for the election can be expected Monday, April 13.

Gieseke also mentioned in his email to Hayzlett that voter turnout for this election had been larger than most years prior.

DISCLOSURE: Jordyn Hronec is the Editor-Elect of The Globe

Sarah Gibson

sagibso@pointpark.edu

NEWS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

3

DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH’S GHOSTLY RUSH HOUR

In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic Downtown Pittsburgh is left nearly empty on Monday, April 6, 2020. Most people walking around were wearing facemasks, many being homemade. Some cars were seen on the Tenth Street Bypass and 376 East, but nothing in comparison to normal rush hour traffic.

All photos taken by Jared Murphy for The Globe

Students have questions about more than grades from GRADES page 1 pass/no credit option, Prida stressed that the first step would be to finish the semester. Then, after grades have been posted, students will have from May 1 to May 7 to fill out a form notifying both the Registrar’s Office and the Center for Student Success that they are converting one or more grades to pass or no credit. If students choose not to opt-in to these options, their earned letter grades will remain.

Students, so far, expressed their satisfaction with the communication from the university regard-

“I don’t really care about pass/fail. I want updates on proration of housing and to talk about why my tuition is still the same as if I was at school.”

ing this potential grading option.

“I think [the pass/ no credit option] is very straightforward,” Kasey Newman, a junior education major, said. “However, I was told by another Point Park student that the Duquesne School of Education is not allowing their students to have pass/no credit because the Pennsylvania Department of Education said it doesn’t count for Teacher Certification, which I wonder if this is truly the case because students should be told. I personally am keeping my grades as they stand, and this policy of letting students decide is the fair way to go.”

Kate Griffith, a sophomore cinema production major, said that she believes that the school’s communication efforts would best be suited for answering other questions.

“My main question is what is Point Park planning on doing to help the student body,” Griffith said.

“I don’t really care about pass/fail. I want updates on proration of housing and to talk about why my tuition is still the same as if I was at school...as a student, I need answers, and if I’m not getting answers, at least give me a timeline to put me and the other students here at ease.”

Kate Griffith

Sophomore Cinema Production

Jordyn Hronec

jthrone@pointpark.edu

JOIN THE GLOBE THIS FALL! The Globe is hiring!

Are you interested in writing, photography, videography, graphic design, social media and more?

Contact the 2020-21 Editor-in-Chief Jordyn Hronec at jthrone@pointpark.edu

4

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

FEATURES/A&E

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Students to launch creative writing club this fall

Name (Pen)ding will encourage more ‘organic’ creative writing Sara Cronin Co-Copy Desk Chief

A group of inspiring writers recently came together to create Point Park’s newest club, Name (Pen)ding, a creative writing group that allows students to share their work in a constructive environment to help improve their personal storytelling.

The group was created after students shared two poetry readings for class, and Dr. Sarah Perrier, the chair of the literary arts department, was shocked by the number of those in attendance and the success of the readings.

Perrier spoke to Christopher Girman, an assistant professor in the Department of Literary Arts and Social Justice, and suggested to Girman that they allow the students to run the poetry meetings. Soon after, Name (Pen) ding was born.

“There’s a certain way of writing for a classroom workshop that is less organic and more measurable...”

Chris Girman

Assistant Professor in Department of Literary Arts and Social Justice “The classroom is a great space, but the omnipresent ‘instructor’ can sometimes - no matter how hard we try not to - stifle real creativity by insisting on certain grammar standards or agreed-upon standards of narrative discourse,” Girman said, who now serves

as the club’s advisor. “There’s a certain way of writing for a classroom workshop that is less organic and more measured than just throwing some crazy ideas against a wall and seeing what sticks.”

Name (Pen)ding became officially recognized as a club on campus a week before classes were moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the club plans on meeting and recruiting more students during the upcoming fall semester.

“The club isn’t restricted to just English and creative writing majors. It’s [for] anyone who is interested in writing, has stories they want to workshop or who just want to meet like-minded people.

Anyone’s free to come by,” Asher Ohms Winnie, treasurer of Name (Pen)ding, said.

Ohms Winnie explained that the group won’t solely consist of poetry readings, but instead provide more of a laid back atmosphere for students to share their work with others to receive constructive criticism.

“Since our club has been pretty small, even before we were even officially recognized, we’ve mostly [been] writing in between weeks and working on stuff that we were already doing for homework and sharing it,” Ohms Winnie said. “Most of it [has been] prose so far, but that’s subject to change when more people join.”

Once Name (Pen)ding becomes more established in the fall, Winnie explained that the club will focus on facilitating signups for members to meet with three or four other people and then split off into smaller groups.

“It’s really great to get feedback from people, but it’s hard to give accurate feedback [for] 20 people. We’ll probably [create] smaller groups, they’re more intimate, and

‘The Platform’ fosters different interpretations Tia Bailey Co-Features/A&E Editor

A new gory Spanish thriller “The Platform” was released onto Netflix on Friday, March 20.

The movie is about, obviously, a platform. The platform is in a tiered prison, with two prisoners able to walk freely in their open cell on each floor. Food is placed on the platform, and it goes down to every floor. The thing is, the prisoners on the higher levels of the prison get all of the food, and, by the time it gets to the bottom, there is no food left for anyone on the lower levels. The prisoners are sedated and placed on a new level every month, so there is a chance that they will be on a higher level one month and a very low level the next.

The story centers around Goreng (Iván Massagué), a man staying in the facility willingly for six months in exchange for a diploma. The level he is first placed on is 48, where there is still some food, but it is very picked through.

He meets his cellmate, Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor), who explains to him the system of the platform.

We meet a few more characters throughout the movie, but the main focus is Goreng.

Others he meets are Miha-

ru (Alexandra Masangkay), a woman who rides down the platform once a month in search of her child. Another is Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan), the woman who admitted him into the facility and Baharat (Emilio Buale Coka), another cellmate of Goreng’s.

The movie, in its core, is about gluttony and inequality.

The prisoners at the very top levels trash their food and eat way more than they are supposed to, and they think it is justified because they were on a lower level the month before.

Goreng and others try to portion out food to the lower levels, but the people below do not listen. Baharat and Goreng decide to ride the platform all the way down and force everyone to eat only their portion so that the system becomes fairer. The movie has an ambiguous ending, and people online have been giving their own interpretations of it.

The movie is gory and shocking. There’s violence, cannibalism, suicide and animal abuse, so keep that in mind.

“The Platform” currently has an 84-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is available on Netflix and is dubbed in English.

Tia Bailey tbaile@pointpark.edu

Alysse Baer | The Globe

people can sort of be themselves,” Ohms Winnie said.

The club’s past few meetings have been successful, and Name (Pen)ding plans to continue to host these meetings at Point Perk in the upcoming semester.

“Even in a few meetings, I’ve seen how students have taken the lead in learning about publishing opportunities, contemplating group trips to local readings, scheduling creative readings at Point Perk Cafe and sharing their work in more informal settings, like someone’s apartment,” Girman said.

As the faculty advisor to the club, Girman also explained that his goal is to help give Name (Pen)ding the resources they need to thrive in the club’s future, including guest writers, local speakers, audiovisual

projects, on-campus creative readings and more.

“I’m most excited to get people to be more excited to share their work in public, both in terms of getting feedback for their stuff to improve, but also in terms of getting people comfortable with sharing,” Ohms Winnie said.

“Hopefully we can get more people to the readings, those are really nice for everybody involved.”

Karen Dwyer, an associate professor of the creative writing program at Point Park, explained that there had been a creative writing group on campus nearly ten years ago, but the group had disbanded.

“I love that it’s coming back. Anything we can do to support the arts, but specifically this type of art I think is deeply important,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer explains that as a creative writing professor, she hopes that as Name (Pen) ding develops as a club, it will be able to reach out to other creative writing programs to potentially open up the opportunity for cross readings.

Even though the club is being postponed until the fall semester, Dwyer explained that she believed it is the perfect time for students to engage in the art of creative writing.

“I think it’s fantastic that they have self initiated the creation of [the club],” Dwyer said. “Anything we can do, especially in 2020 with so many different kinds of suffering going on, to produce empathy voluntarily in the world is an exercise on some level, and that’s what all writing is.”

Sara Cronin scroni@pointpark.edu

Pandemic pastime: podcasts Jared Murphy News Photo Editor

Spending so much time in my apartment, I’m quickly running out of things to occupy my time. On the upside, my home has never been cleaner, but, most days, I’m left bored out of my mind.

I’ve gone through everything I want to watch on Netflix and Hulu, I’m burning through my book collection and I’m unemployed until further notice, so I can’t even go and buy a new video game. For those of you in a similar situation, here are a few podcasts that’ll entertain you for an hour or so and will help pass the time.

Start The Beat with Sikes — Started in 2014, Start The Beat with Sikes is a podcast highlighting underground arts, entertainment and culture in Pittsburgh and beyond.

With over five years of hosting the show, Brian Howe (Sikes) has released more than 250 episodes. Start The Beat is a great way to find new artists that you might not have heard of before, or listen to some interesting conversations about art, culture and the city.

Ghoul on Ghoul — Ghoul on Ghoul is a self-described “supernatural sex-positive, horror-comedy podcast featuring first-person encoun-

ters with the paranormal” hosted by Amanda Waltz and Sarah Cadence Hamm. The two hosts have great chemistry, and the conversations are all over the place. This podcast is great for anyone looking for a more light-hearted podcast about ghosts, cryptids, serial killers and beyond.

Last Podcast on the Left — Now a household name in the podcast world, Last Podcast on the Left is a must-listen for anyone into the macabre. Hosted by lifelong friends Ben Kissel, Henry Zebrowski and Marcus Parks, this trio takes deep dives into anything from serial killers like Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins to paranormal hotspots like the Skinwalker Ranch.

The three personalities of the hosts play great against each other. Parks does a fantastic job of research, assuring the audience gets as much information as possible, while Kissel and Zebrowski come in for comedic relief.

Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories — Hosted by Carter Roy and Wendy Mackenzie, Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories explores the world of cold cases and unsolved murders. With the help of a crew of voice actors, this podcast takes the listener through the crime scene, investigation and the attempt to solve each case that helps paint the picture of what really happened.

This podcast tells a story and takes listeners through each case rather than talking about it from an outside perspective.

Alysse Baer | The Globe

jgmurph@pointpark.edu

Jared Murphy

OPINIONS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

THE

GL BE’S POINT Looking forward to the future

Right now, things are not so great. Whether Pioneers are worried about themselves or their family members contracting COVID-19, we’re simply starting to develop cabin fever, and all under tremendous strain and stress.

Part of this stress stems directly from the fact that our future is unclear. We do not know how long this pandemic will ravage our population or for how long we will be stuck inside or unemployed. There is no timeline that we can provide you with. However, we can say one thing for sure.

Some day, this will be over. Some day, you will be able to emerge from your quarantine, and hopefully, make your way back to campus, either as a student or as a visiting graduate. Some day, we will sit in Village Park together and will attend on-campus events and classes. There’s no telling if there will ever be a complete return to normalcy.

The current events are vastly described as “unprecedented,” and this is true. As a result, things are happening that no one ever thought possible once. A walk through Downtown Pittsburgh is ghostly and haunting. Unemployment has skyrocketed.

Universities everywhere have gone fully online. There’s no telling what kind of effect these things will have on our future or even how we will feel once this is all over.

It will end, and The Globe, both our little newspaper and the one we inhabit, will continue to spin.

We encourage you all to take care of yourselves, both mentally and physically during this time. Your mental well-being is just as important as anything else. We hope that, if nothing else, you can lean on our reliability during these confusing times.

Point Park Globe globe@pointpark.edu

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

5

Art proves more important now than ever Jake Dabkowski Co-News Editor

It is extremely disappointing that the Kennedy Center would furlough hundreds of employees days after receiving a $25-million bailout in the recent government stimulus bill. That money was easily the most controversial part of the bill, as many of the pseudo Libertarians in Congress opposed it. Ultimately, even if the Kennedy Center refuses to actually support the arts, nothing is more important in times of peril than art.

In these trying times where we are trapped inside, television, movies, music and even video games (for some, especially video games) have become some of the most important parts of our lives.

This year, my Intro to Broadcasting professor said that there would never be a show that everyone in the country watches again. One quarantine later and pretty much everyone in the country has watched a docu-series about a meth-addicted, attempted murder for hire committing, private zoo owner. Without media like Netflix, we’d all be dying of boredom, and the case can be made that we all are dying of boredom

and that’s why “Tiger King” was so successful.

Television has become an even more powerful medium in these times. It’s perfect for binge-watching, and what better time to bingewatch than now? If you aren’t currently watching a show, I’d recommend picking one up. “Community” just got added to Netflix, and that’s a perfect lighthearted comedy with enough depth and character development to occupy your time.

With movie theaters shut down, it’s going to be a bleak year for movies. Studios are releasing their movies that were already in theaters to On Demand services, as an attempt to not have those films flop. Marvel was supposed to come back into full swing with “Black Widow,” after almost a year with no new movie. Now that film has been delayed until November. In addition, other upcoming films have also been delayed. At this rate, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is going to sweep the Oscars.

With all this time, however, it’s a great time to watch movies you’ve never seen. Are you one of those people who think that saying “I’ve never seen Star Wars” is a personality trait? Now’s the perfect

time to finally see what you’ve been missing. The same goes for those “never had time for Marvel movies” people. For those of you that only watch “Star Wars” and Marvel, well, there’s a lot of movies out there. Some recent movies I’d recommend checking out include “Parasite,” “Uncut Gems,” “Knives Out,” “1917” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” (you can see our campus in the movie!)

Lastly, in my opinion, the most important art: music.

As a certain cartoon dog that shares my name would say: “Music is powerful, man. It speaks to a primal pit in our brains.” Music has the ability to spice up a generic day. Lately, a lot of musicians have been holding DIY shows on live streams. AJJ’s Sean Bonnette has played a set every single night for the past three weeks, and every night the comments are full of people thanking him for the music. As a big fan of his music, it’s personally helped me to destress about the state of the world, and I’d recommend that everyone find a musician they love and see if they’re doing any streamed concerts.

Jake Dabkowski jcdabko@pointpark.edu

Stimulus package fails to cover college-aged dependents Potential financially unstable young adults will not receive government funds Shannon Hartnett Co-Opinions Editor

As we settle into the fourth week of the quarantine; businesses, families and people all over the world are taking hits across the board. The unemployment rates have hit a historical high with the most ever claims for unemployment. The numbers reached up to 6.6 million and are only increasing. Even as individuals file for unemployment the business industry is taking hits with more to come.

At the Waterfront alone, Rockbottom, Bar Louie and Bravo’s are rumored to have said that they are closing their doors for good with no intention to reopen after quarantine.

Many people were relieved when the stimulus package passed through the

legislature. For many Americans, this means that they will receive $1,200 for each adult and $500 for each child that they have under 17. The guidelines say that any individual that has an income of over $75,000 or a combined income of $150,000 will have a reduced package. For many middle and lower-class Americans, this won’t be a problem and they should receive the aid as promised.

There is a group of people who are still confused about how this is going to help them at all: college students.

I think we are taking a lot of the heat throughout this entire quarantine. Colleges were some of the first places to close down, we are the majority of people who have started navigating the waters of online learning and now many college-aged students are not go-

ing to be getting any aid from the government, because people over the age of 17 who are still claimed as a dependent on their parents’ tax forms do not qualify.

This includes students who have off-campus housing, students who filed their own tax forms and even students who have their own job and contribute to their family dynamic.

Why is this happening?

Why is it that one of the most financially unstable groups in the nation is not able to qualify for any aid? Apparently, once you turn 18 in the eyes of the government, you should be an independent person who has everything figured out and knows how to support yourself financially.

If you did exactly that then you would not be claimed as an independent and you

could receive aid. Apparently it doesn’t matter if you are still claimed as a dependent to stay on your parents’ health insurance, or if you still live at home or you chose to go to college instead of being thrown into the workforce right after graduation.

I just want to know who made these guidelines. I just wanna talk. Or if you feel that there is a better solution to our problems, please share it, I will be the first to read about your idea, I promise.

Not to mention that as colleges began shutting their doors, many students did not have their summer housing lined up and ready. I understand that in this case, you should just go home, as in go back to the house that you were raised in, but it’s not that simple. Some people move across the country for college,

get a job out that way and begin to build their own life.

Some people leave home and go to college because they are escaping the toxic community and family they grew up with. I understand that these situations are not the concern of the government who is currently dealing with a probable recession on the way, but I find it astounding that not one member of our legislative body saw the gaping hole in this package.

Point Park students, wherever you may be, if you find yourself in a situation similar to the one I laid out above, I wish you all the luck in the world. May you find a solution to your troubles and rise from this situation stronger than you were before.

Shannon Hartnett snhartn@pointpark.edu

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6

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

All In with Allison

How to stay active while at home and practicing social distancing Advice from Jim Spisak Men and Women’s Cross Country Coach

Allison Schubert Sports Columnist

Go outside for a walk or run. This is a great time to enjoy the spring weather and explore new neighborhoods, parks, or trails. Just be sure to be mindful of your proximity to others and maintain a safe distance.

Q&As With The Coaches With the rest of the 20192020 school year moved online and the cancelation of the remainder of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), content to fuel the Point Park athletics website has been sparse.

That being said, our sports information director Kevin Taylor has been doing an amazing job keeping everything up-to-date and content flowing through the website for those loyal Pioneer fans.

One step he has taken is providing question and answer sessions with the coaches in regards to how they took the news and what they have planned for the future.

While I am not going to be putting the entirety of every single session in this column, I do want to include some of the answers from the coaches because I think hearing their positivity in the midst of this chaos is helpful to everyone - not just the athletic department.

What did you say to your team when the news came about?

“I called my seniors as soon as I found out the season was cancelled. Not a text, not an email -- I wanted to hear their voices, and I wanted them to feel in my voice how disappointed I really was,” softball head coach Michelle Coultas said. “It was tough holding back the tears.

I told them I felt for them because their last season was abruptly cut short.”

“We all have to put one foot in front of the other and continue to move forward,” baseball head coach Loren Torres said. “We are taking each player case by case and each day hour by hour so that we can move the entire group forward. The biggest challenge is hoping to bring some closure to the seniors that might not be back.”

What is the outlook for the seniors moving on or coming back?

“A couple seniors expressed interest in coming back and would like to explore their options,” Coultas said. “I don’t make any judgments of the others. I love them all because they are so driven and determined, I want them to reach their professional goals and will continue to support them in doing that. We will always be a Point Park family, and this crisis will keep us bonded and remind us how special playing collegiate softball is.”

“The seniors not returning will find closure from having no regrets in their efforts,” Torres said. “We train and prepare in a way that, win or lose, season-ending injury or pandemic, we absolutely have no doubt about doing our best and untapping all of our personal resources, which allows them to walk away with their heads up. They will move on with their lives with that mentality, their heads up, and proud alumni of Point Park University and our baseball program.”

“The seniors did an incredible amount for the program,” track and field and cross country head coach Jim Spisak said. “The men and women both won a number of River States Conference (RSC) championships in both indoor and outdoor track over their careers at Point Park. All of our seniors played major roles in these wins. This class has set the bar high for what a successful season looks like for our track and field team.”

For the full Q&As that Taylor conducted, you can head on over to pointparksports.com.

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Bodyweight exercises. Things like push-ups, dips, pull-ups, calf raises, squats, etc. can be done without weights and in most inside spaces. Add some core exercises to these to build a full-body workout.

Practice mindfulness. Incorporating a daily mindfulness/meditation practice can be beneficial for a number of reasons. Start by finding a quiet place in the house to sit and focusing on your breath for 5 minutes.

Every time your mind wanders away, do your best to notice this and bring it back to the breath. Don't be frustrated when this happens - getting distracted is totally normal! There are a number of apps that offer guided meditations.

Cook. You can use the added time that the quarantine's given us to learn to cook some different dishes and explore some new types of foods.

Alysse Baer | The Globe

Cuthbertson gives back to game that changed his life Allison Schubert Sports Editor

Justice Cuthbertson only sported a Point Park uniform for one season, but in that time, he racked up a 43.8-percent field goal percentage, was 39.5-percent from beyond the arc and led the team with an average 14.4 points per game.

Not only was Cuthbertson a force to be reckoned with on offense, but on the defensive end, he averaged 4.1 rebounds per game with 73-percent of his career rebounds coming defensively.

His journey was not typical of a student-athlete, traversing five different schools

in five years. The one thing that remained constant throughout all of that was basketball.

“Basketball is life to me; life being played on 94 feet,” Cuthbertson said.

Upon his graduation from Point Park just last year, Cuthbertson took a brief hiatus from the court.

“At first I stepped away and went into the music industry for a little bit,” Cuthbertson said. “My heart brought me back to basketball.”

Following his passion for the sport, he started I.C.E. Academy (i.c.e.academy on Instagram), a skills training academy for all levels of talent.

“I am an NBA skills trainer now,” Cuthbertson said.

“I workout pros all the way down to grassroots athletes.”

The North Carolina native wants to connect his home state to his most recent home of Pittsburgh through his passion, all while passing that passion on to athletes of the future generations.

“It is just about building my own brand and culture from North Carolina to Pittsburgh,” Cuthbertson said. “People are catching on, so I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

Allison Schubert alschub@pointpark.edu

Allison Schubert alschub@pointpark.edu

Submitted | Point Park Athletics ABOVE: Cuthbertson gets the team pumped up before a game against WVU Tech at home. He had a career-high 21 points in the game.

BELOW: Cuthbertson drives around a WVU Tech defender in the same game.