Point Park Globe Fall 2019 Issue 7

IN THIS ISSUE: PAGE

@PPUGlobe October 9, 2019

6 PAGE 5 PAGE 12

SPECIAL COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH THE GLOBE AND THE PITT NEWS Honors Program holds events all month as part of their Pink Feet Campaign Men’s soccer is on a nine game winning streak and undefeated in RSC play ppuglobe.com

Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967

MUMMIES ON DISPLAY AT SCIENCE CENTER

Issue 7

Security updates met with frustration Hayley Keys Co-News Editor

Jordyn Hronec | The Globe

Carnegie Science Center presents Mummies of the World: The Exhibition. The temporary exhibit features 40 real human and animal mummies and 85 related artifacts and will run through April. The mummy pictured above is “The Sarcophagus of the Woman of High Status.”

This past Tuesday, Assistant Vice President and Chief of the Point Park Police Department Jeffrey Besong announced to students via email that the university would be implementing turnstiles in an attempt to improve security in Lawrence Hall.

The email stated that the new turnstiles would be installed throughout the coming weeks and in the future would be added to other buildings around campus. Besong also wrote that visitors will still be required to sign in with the desk attendant in Academic Hall.

“Our goal is to provide a safe environment for students, faculty and staff, and we are always looking for ways to upgrade security on campus,” Besong said. “We are asking for everyone’s patience as we implement these changes.”

The email garnered immediate backlash from students, many of whom felt that Besong had ignored their voices and made the decision too hastily.

SECURITY page 3

Center for Media Innovation prepares for Dis/ Ability Show & Tell: A Community Symposium Amanda Andrews Co-News Editor

On Oct. 22, the Center for Media Innovation (CMI) is hosting a symposium focused on disabled artists, activists and their work from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The event is completely free to the public and to students. Unabridged Press, a frequent partner with the CMI, is holding this event for the first time as part of their project, All-Abilities Media. Unabridged Press is also working in coordination with the university’s Center for Inclusive Excellence along with several

other faculty members and administrators to make this event possible.

“We are very pleased to be hosting this event, and we really hope the Point Park University community comes out and gets behind it,” Andy Conte, Director for the CMI, said. “This could stimulate very meaningful dialogue for everyone connected to the university and with the community.”

The All-Abilities Media project was announced on Unabridged Press’ website in 2017. Founder and producer at Unabridged Press, Jennifer Szweda Jordan, explained how the project and

Dis/Ability Show & Tell: A Community Symposium came together.

“This project grew out of three years of work with the CMI after Unabridged Press began focusing on coverage of disability issues, with an intention to include people with disabilities in host interviewers, and in production of podcasts, video content, written work—and soon ad/sponsorship sales,” Szweda Jordan said. “We also welcome people who do not identify as disabled to participate. This creates an integrated and inclusive opportunity to create strong content in this sector.”

IN THIS ISSUE: A collaboration on mental health with

Szweda Jordan said that the partnership between the CMI and Unabridged Press has been key in the success of the All-Abilities Project.

“Andy and the CMI, in conjunction with the development department led

by Kristin DeLuca, have worked with us to secure $90,000 in grant funding this year for workshops, production and distribution, and events like the symposium,” Szweda Jordan said. “Workshops continue through 2020, and we are seeking additional funding for more production and professional development of our participants so that they

can have more of a voice in leading this project.”

Unabridged Press also partnered with the university’s Center for Inclusive Excellence. Jayme Kerr, the Coordinator for Inclusive Excellence, said that over the summer she worked with two of the event’s organizers, Szweda Jordan and Stacey Federoff, a graduate assistant at the CMI. “We were kind of bouncing off ideas and we thought it would be a good idea to reach out not only to students, but the community in general,” Kerr said.

“A symposium I think is a

SYMPOSIUM page 3

The Pitt News and The Point Park Globe teamed up in a collaboration through the Center for Media Innovation’s Bridge Pittsburgh project to present this joint project on university mental health resources.

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

Read the full stories at mentalhealth.pittnews.com

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Thursday: Sunny, H 68, L 46 Friday: Sunny, H 69, L 49 Saturday: Showers, H 62, L 37

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Point Park

GLOBE

2

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

NEWS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Students embattled by barrage of local crime Amanda Andrews Co-News Editor

Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, three women were physically assaulted by a 34 year-old man at Market St. and Third Ave. according to Pittsburgh Police. One woman was taken to the hospital for reportedly minor injuries. Two of the women are Point Park students.

Seniors Patience Karan and Hannah Stawski were walking through PPG Plaza when they were unexpectedly approached and touched by the man for a solid minute from behind.

“We were walking through PPG when all of the sudden, we see him running up, jumping over the bench and then kind of jumped on us and grabbed our hair and was just trying to pull us to the ground,” Karan said.

“And then we fought him off and pushed him away.”

Karan also said that it was as though he was trying to “get us to fight him back.”

Karan and Stawski did not know the man, despite onlookers initially thinking that this was a friendly interaction. The students then said that the unknown man proceeded to make intense eye contact with them.

“It was weird though because he was just standing there making so much eye contact with us. Like he was dumbfounded that we even got him, like really pushed him off,” Karan said. “Because after he was there, he was just staring at us for the longest [time]—he was like debating ‘should I try again, or should I go away’.”

Stawski then began to use expletives against the man, and he darted across the plaza to the intersection of Third Ave. and Market St. and subsequently tackled the third woman.

“He literally tried to get us, couldn’t get us, ran over here and got her. It was all right away,” Stawski said. “We were still processing it whenever we saw her on the ground with him, so we ran over.”

The students rushed over along with other bystanders to come to the woman’s aide. One of those bystanders played an instrumental role in restraining the man but requested not to be identified by his real name, so he is referred to by his preferred alias, Clark Kent.

“I was walking by Five Guys, approaching Point Park, and I noticed the gentleman tackling the two, I guess, teenage-early twenties girls. I first thought they were playing around until I heard them screaming ‘who the f**k are you’, ‘get away from me’. At that point, he ran through the square. I knew something was weird so I picked my pace and followed him up,” Kent said.

“Then I saw him grab the other girl. She screamed.

I ran up. By the time I got there, there was probably about four or five people kicking and punching him, trying to get him off of her. I dove in, pulled my knee over his throat and pushed on his temples until he let go. I restrained him until the security people came over and I walked away.”

“We were all hitting him.

I was literally—I had my heel on him and I kicked him in the face, and he didn’t even budge,” Karan said.

One of the security guards on the scene was Todd Finch. While he did not personally restrain the man, he helped to create a perimeter around the assaulter. Finch commended the actions of the two students, Karan and Stawski.

“The girls did what they had to do,” Finch said. “I don’t blame them, especially because I feel like women need to protect themselves more because there are men out there that are like that.

They’re just really disgusting men.”

Police officers from Zone 2 arrived at the scene just after 3 p.m. according to Assistant Public Information Officer Cara Cruz.

In an email statement, Cruz gave the details of the incident that could be released to the public as of a little under two hours following the incident.

“When they arrived on scene, they found a male on the ground who was being held there by two private security guards assigned to PPG Plaza,” the email stated. “Pittsburgh Police say the male became physically combative with them when they tried to talk to him.”

The third woman who was attacked also said that she did not know the man.

The man threw her to the ground, and she hit her head upon impact. She “was conscious and talking” when she gave her statement and loaded into an ambulance to the police according to the email.

Finch said that violent incidents like this typically do not occur at PPG Plaza in his experience.

“That’s like the first incident that was major that I’ve seen here. You get your homeless that come through here, you might get your strays that maybe talk to themselves, but it’s never too hectic,” Finch said. “It’s not a bad place. Kids come down and run through the water.

It’s a great place. I love my job. And that’s why I come here every day because I love my job. But when I see stuff like that, that makes me just want to be more on point with my job. Make sure I pay attention to people because, say, he could have really harmed that girl.”

The assaulter was a white man in a black t-shirt with print on it and pants that were riding down, exposing his underwear. Kent was able to give a description of the man as Kent saw him when he intervened.

“The gentleman was not in his right mind, definitely on drugs,” Kent said. “He was laughing, foaming at the mouth, spitting. He was definitely enjoying himself.”

Kent is a native Pittsburgher and has moved back and forth between cities in his lifetime. He reflected that this incident is an indication of the deteriorating state of Pittsburgh.

“What’s happening with our city right now is just disgusting,” Kent said. “I commute Downtown every day for work. I work in the city usually every day, and I am harassed for money, I’m called a cracker, I’m chased down the street almost at least once a week. Maybe sometimes twice a week ...Just drug use and people just doped out of their mind, passing out in the street, it’s Amanda Andrews | The Globe just sickening. ...I’ve worked Pittsburgh police took the assaulter to the squad car at 3:22 in major metropolitan cities p.m. on Oct. 2 near PPG Plaza. throughout the east coast, herself in daily situations. [in the] Northeast as well, ran away,” Schlimm said.

Schlimm and her friend Since her experience, she and our city is quickly becoming the armpit of Ameri- found Pittsburgh Police now carries pepper spray and reported the incident and said she has learned that ca right now.”

While Kent’s sentiment and were able to corrobo- “you can’t always give peois that Pittsburgh is in de- rate that report with a local ple the benefit of the doubt.”

“I just think it’s really cline, Assistant Vice Presi- storeworker who had witdent and Chief of Police Jef- nessed the event. Schlimm’s sad. I think it’s a shame that frey Besong said that Point friend gave Pittsburgh Po- people go through this stuff,” Park was experiencing less lice the description of the Schlimm said. “I mean we man: in his 40s-50s wearing come here to go to school, crime than a year prior.

“Actually, our incidents a red shirt and a bandana. and we get an education, but are slightly lowered from Schlimm herself could not not every campus has to deal this time last year. However, recall the details, stating with problems like this.”

None of these incidents this summer has been busy that she was in shock about described above were sent for both PPU & Pittsburgh what had happened to her.

“I was just scared be- out via the PointAlert sysPolice,” Besong said.

While Karan and St- cause I didn’t know if he was tem. An attempted robbery awski intervened in the third like grabbing for my wallet of two Point Park students assault, they said that they or for my phone or like if near the Mon Wharf was rewished someone would have he was going to try to pick ported via PointAlert on Oct. tried to stop what happened me up and take me away. 1. Besong said that an incito the two of them before it I didn’t know what he was dent must fall in line with doing because just his arms a strict definition of what escalated.

“I feel like he shouldn’t were around me,” Schlimm could be potentially dangerhave been able to make it said. “I didn’t know if he was ous to campus.

“In the event that there over here,” Karan said. “Like going to try to like touch me. he attacked us over there, It was just really scary. I’ve is a confirmed significant multiple people saw it, [and] never had somebody that I emergency or dangerous nobody did anything until he didn’t know come up and put situation constituting an immediate threat to the took the girl to the ground their arms around me.”

Initially, Schlimm said campus community...[Point over here.”

Police arrested the man she internally blamed her- Park Police Department] and took him to Allegheny self when trying to rational- will, without undue delay, ize the incident before real- and taking into account County Jail.

Karan and Stawski were izing that what had occurred [the] safety of the communinot the only Point Park vic- what not her fault. She want- ty, determine the content of tims of physical assault. ed everyone in any similar the notification and initiate Three weeks ago, fresh- kind of situation to come to the immediate notification system,” Besong said. “Inciman undecided major Gina that same conclusion.

According to Schlimm, dents must be on campus or Schlimm was walking onto Wood Street at night with Pittsburgh Police later told pose an immediate threat to her friend when an unknown her that the man who had the campus, and we must be man repeatedly groped at assaulted her “was on some- aware of the incidents.” thing. Don’t worry about it.”

In the event of a potenSchlimm.

“This guy comes up to They also said that the man tially dangerous situation, me, and he like puts his arm had claimed Schlimm was students can call dispatch on me and I just hit it away. the initial aggravator in the at 412-392-3960, request an And then he puts his arms situation, but they did not escort or contact Pittsburgh Police by calling 911. around me and he goes, ‘Hey believe his story.

As someone from a baby girl, do you want to go across the street?’ And I just small town in Pennsylvania, pulled my shoulders back and Schlimm did not feel she had Amanda Andrews kind of knock[ed] him off and to take measures to protect aaandre@pointpark.edu

SEPT. 30, 2019 - OCT. 2, 2019

Monday, September 30th 11:54 p.m. - Mon Wharf Attempted Robbery

Tuesday, October 1st 8:33 a.m. - Village Park Suspicious Person

Wednesday, October 2nd 1:15 p.m. - Lawrence Hall Drug Violation

Alysse Baer | The Globe

NEWS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

3

Students demand better communication about security from SECURITY page 1 Emily Harnett, a sophomore acting major, also mentioned her concern with the lack of communication between administrators and students.

“I think the first step could have been a survey sent out to students asking where they feel unsafe, that kind of thing,” Harnett said.

“Just getting the email was very alarming considering there wasn’t that much information.”

Harnett said her biggest fear was that the new turnstiles would cause problems for those with mobility disabilities, a fear she said was only heightened by the lack of details in Besong’s email.

“When you think of the equipment they’re implementing, you think of the one that has the bar,” she said.

“There are some that open, but there was no information given.”

While Besong did not mention in his public email what the turnstiles would look like, he gave The Globe a more detailed description of the equipment.

“There will be two sets of Barrier Optical turnstiles with swinging glass panels, one standard and one ADA,” Besong said. “They have a tailgating detection; an audible and visible alarm will be activated when an unauthorized person attempts to pass through.”

According to their website, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. It helps ensure that those who have disabilities are provided the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

However, Harnett suggested that even special ADA turnstiles could still cause problems because it could potentially limit crowd control.

Alum to speak about disability in CMI from SYMPOSIUM page 1 way of working it so everyone feels like it is a more open space and less of an intimidating space, and that’s been good.”

Federoff said that two Point Park theater students are speaking at the Dis/Ability Symposium as well as Alicia DiGiorgi of the Pittsburgh Playhouse Accessibility and Inclusion Committee. The featured speaker is Point Park alumnus Brian Rutherford, a costume designer formerly employed at Walt Disney World. Rutherford lost the majority of his sight after a series of strokes but continues to work in his desired profession. “...one in five people have a disability, so this human condition is simply a part of life that affects all of us in one way or another, particularly as we age and lose some function. Many of our loved ones (in society) have a disability or will,” Szweda Jordan said.

Besides speakers, the symposium will showcase art, research and choreography about disabilities. The submission to be included in the showcase is available

through tomorrow, Oct. 10.

As of Monday, Unabridged Press was working on fixing issues with the link to submit submissions. In the meantime, Federoff said that anyone interested in sending in their work or speaking at the event cancontact Federoff at her Point Park email.

Kerr and Szweda Jordan said that the event creates an opportunity for students and the Pittsburgh community to speak about their experiences with disabilities in an informal, comfortable setting.

“Students always say, and it’s disheartening, that they aren’t sure if their story counts or if it is enough of a disability, but it’s their story and their experience, so absolutely it’s enough to speak on,” Kerr said.

“Coverage like this can educate people about the lost human potential when we marginalize people with disabilities,” Szweda Jordan said. “Well-being increases for people with disabilities— and for us all—as they are more active and integrated in the community.”

Amanda Andrews

aaandre@pointpark.edu

“This system provides a lot slower time period for people to get into a building, and some people with mobility issues have a hard time standing for long periods of time as well,” she said. “If you have someone who has a connective tissue disorder, and let’s say [their] knee pops out. They fall and they’re fine because they know how to get their knee back in, but now there is a giant crowd around them, which provides more danger. We just don’t know how quick the system is.”

Outside of disabilities, Harnett also talked about size discrimination and how she felt it was inappropriate for the university to ignore the topic entirely.

“Fat liberation is really important and so making people feel uncomfortable because they can’t fit through a certain space is discriminatory,” she said. “It’s nerve racking and it’s really messed up that there are no details and then suddenly they implement something without talking to the student body.”

Megan Ortega, a junior cinema production major, said she wrote a list with her friends that explained why they felt the turnstiles and the email itself could be a problem for the students.

“We aren’t being notified and we aren’t being giv-

en details about what’s going on,” Ortega said. “I wish [Besong] would hear out the students more.”

Ortega said she initially questioned why the university didn’t spend the money used for the turnstiles on desk attendants.

“We don’t want a bajillion hoops we have to jump through just to get into our school.”

Megan Ortega Junior Cinema production “My thing is, why not just use the money that they are using to build the turnstiles and instead just hire extra security,” she said. “I think that’s all we really asked for when we talked about safety. We don’t want a bajillion hoops we have to jump through just to get into our school.”

In an interview with The Globe, Besong alluded to the idea that turnstiles would actually save the university

money in the long run.

“The turnstile is a onetime expense compared to yearly costs for desk attendants,” Besong said.

Harnett and Ortega both made it clear that they weren’t opposed to security, they just felt that students were being excluded from the conversation. Ortega even suggested that Besong attend a USG meeting so student representatives could talk to him and express concerns.

“It’s just about more communication before something big happens,” Ortega said. “That way the administrators could hear the student’s cons, because I assume they thought of their own cons.”

Harnett called for Besong to be more open to the students in the future so problems with communication could be avoided. She also said she wanted to talk to him because she felt like the new turnstiles posed problems for students and she wanted to understand his point of view.

“Let’s have a discussion because right now the disabled body of this campus feels ignored and neglected, and [Besong] has an obligation to think about everyone’s life here on campus,” Harnett said.

Hayley Keys

hekeys@pointpark.edu

Hayley Keys | The Globe

Barrier optical turnstiles will be implemented near the entrance of Lawrence Hall in the coming weeks, according to Public Safety.

New vape and e-cig ban causes mixed reactions Zoe Esperseth For The Globe

The owner of Vapor Galleria, a popular vape shop in the South Side, said that a ban on flavored products would cause the demise of his store and create new problems for those who vape.

“It would put us out of business,” said Gary D. McBurney, owner of the Vapor Galleria on 2747 East Carson Street in the South Side.

In the wake of seven deaths across the U.S. that have been connected to e-cigarette and vape products, the Trump Administration proposed a ban on flavored products. A similar action was taken in 2009 against cigarettes, where all flavors but menthol were banned from being produced.

According to the Washington Post, the Trump Ad-

ministration plans to place a ban on all sales of flavored vaping and e-cigarette products until the FDA issues approval for the products.

Only tobacco-flavored products will not be banned.

Some states have already taken steps to ban flavored vape and e-cigarette products.

Massachusetts has not only banned flavored products as of Sept.

24, but the state also declared a public health emergency and banned sales of all vaping products.

About 12.9 percent of college students admitted to having vaped within the past 30 days, according to a survey conducted by the American College Health Association. Their data also shows that perceived use of these products is about 79.9 percent Vince Rugani, the Alco-

hol and Other Drug Educator at Point Park, said that vaping is not the largest concern at the moment, but it is still a problem for students.

“Since these products contain nicotine, I would definitely consider them addicting,” Rugani said.

He also said he is concerned that certain students may be more susceptible to vaping.

“First-year students may be the most at risk, since they’re away from home for the first time experiencing newfound freedoms, trying to fit in,” he said.

His recommendation is that students be informed about the products they are using.

“Read up, look at current events, make the choice yourself,” Rugani said.

Although McBurney said his customer base has a

wide variety of ages, he estimates that the majority of his sales come from people aged 18-30. His business offers approximately 105 flavored products and that the flavored products make up nearly 100 percent of his business.

“We have very few unflavored products, and not many people buy them,” McBurney said.

Hayley Farrell, a sophomore and frequent Vapor Galleria customer, said she started vaping in January of this year to stop smoking cigarettes.

“It’s honestly much healthier. I noticed [that] I’m more in shape, and I also don’t have the cigarette smell clinging to my hair and clothes,” Farrell said. “And overall it’s much cheaper.”

Farrell said that if the

ban on e-cigarettes passed, she would most likely go back to smoking traditional cigarettes.

“I just think a ban would be counterproductive because it’s the THC vapes making people sick,” she said.

McBurney shares a similar opinion on the ban.

He argues that if flavored products were banned from stores, people will only find ways to create it themselves or purchase unsafe products from unknown sources.

“All a ban would do is create a black market.

There’s a lot of misinformation about vaping out there,” McBurney said. “Vaping isn’t bad. Buying off the street is bad. People need to think about what they’re putting in their lungs.”

Zoe Esperseth

zesper@pointpark.edu

4

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

USG announces CAB PRESENTS FLAG FOOTBALL new Treasurer to executive cabinet USG

By Sarah Gibson USG Beat Writer

In their seventh meeting of the year, the United Student Government (USG) of Point Park University announced that they had chosen their new standing Treasurer. Laura Draghiciu, a senior business management major, will be appointed next week. While the agenda originally planned for her to be appointed and confirmed at this week’s meeting, Draghiciu was unable to attend this week’s meeting.

Two candidates who applied for Treasurer both expressed an interest in being in the senate though they did not get the position of Treasurer. President Jake Berlin moved to establish two of the three allowed atlarge seats by senate majority. He noted that this would serve as his 100 hour notice of the recognition of the candidates for the two atlarge seats. The legislative body unanimously passed the motion for the establishment of these seats.

Megan Corder, an alumni engagement officer from the Office of Alumni Engagement and Giving was this week’s guest speaker.

She took a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting to explain a little more about her role in the Office of Alumni Engagement. She also explained that the office had recently undergone

a name change from Alumni Relations and also the fact that she comes to USG meetings every week to better understand the group in case an alumnus from USG were curious of the current events of the club.

USG also allocated $350 to their internal budget in order to provide polos for the senators who did not yet have one.

During one of the open floor segments, Senator Mathew Johnson requested clarity on committees and how senators may join them, and whether or not a legislative body member could change their committee without the approval of the Vice President. Vice President Lake said that that offer still stands for students, but that she hadn’t heard anyone ask to have their committee changed yet.

Next week’s guest speaker will be Chris Hill, the Vice President of Physical Plant. President Berlin alerted the legislative body that Chris Hill would be a great source for questions regarding work orders and renovations, and he urged members to speak with their constituents in order to come prepared with concerns to discuss.

Vice President Lake also announced that the newly-appointed senators would soon be assigned to their Faculty Committees. She said that she would assign two senators to each committee.

Sarah Gibson

sagibso@pointpark.edu

Megan Gloeckler | The Globe Students participate in CAB’s flag football game last Wednesday in the Student Center Gym.

Head coach leads men’s basketball team in China Athletes compete against international teams, lose four games in preliminary round Austin Alkire Co-Sports Editor

Pioneers’ basketball head coach Joe Lewandowski led three of his own players to China to represent Team USA in the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup. Juwan Willis, Mark She-

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hady and R.J. Fairrow were the three Point Park athletes who traveled to China with Lewandowski. They were joined by Cleveland State junior David Payne who led the team with 5.5 ppg (points-per-game).

The International Basketball Association (FIBA) played host to their annual three-on-three under-23 World Cup in Lanzhou, China. The tournament began in early October where teams participated in preliminary play with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

Lewandowski’s USA team lost their four games, ending their tournament run. They were one of 40 teams who participated in the tournament.

They began the tournament with a tout against Romania. It was Romania’s second game of the tournament. Earlier on in the day, Romania fell to China 21-16.

USA kept the game close and traded possessions with Romania throughout the game. Payne put up three two-pointers to give the USA a 14-9 advantage. However, Romania battled back and buried a two-pointer to take the lead with under a minute left. The American squad fell to Romania 21-18.

Against Romania, Payne led the team with nine points while Shehady posted five points of his own. Team USA committed 10 fouls which Romania capitalized on some of the free throws awarded to them, leaving the game going 4-for-10 from the line.

Later on in the day, Team USA found themselves matched-up against Latvia who had beaten Kazakhstan 21-15 a few hours beforehand. Latvia took silver in last year’s tournament.

Latvia proved to be a more difficult battle for the Americans. Latvia conquered Team USA 21-14.

While the USA squad stayed within reach of the Latvians, with the score being 1211 with less than five minutes to go, the latter team took off with the ball and dominated possession, outscoring the Americans 9-3 to close-out the game.

Willis and Fairrow both dropped five points each in their tilt against Latvia.

Two days later, Team USA was set to face Kazakhstan. The red, white and blue started the game off strong, going up 6-1 to start the game. Kazakhstan came back, outscoring the USA 9-2 to take their first lead of the game.

However, the lead kept exchanging hands with the USA’s final lead being 18-17.

Kazakhstan responded with a 4-0 run to win the game 21-18. Willis racked in seven points for Team USA. To close out the preliminary round, Team USA played the host team, China. After China went up 8-1 to start the game, the USA failed to come within reach of their hosts. Despite Shehady’s seven points, the visiting Americans fell to China 21-15.

With a final record of 0-4, Team USA was left behind in their group while China and Latvia moved on to the quarterfinals.

Lewandowski and his team left China without a win but managed to make an impact in the games they played, amassing a total of 65 points throughout the tournament.

Whether or not Team USA will make an appearance in future FIBA tournaments is unclear as of publication. Lewandowski and his players will look to get back to work for the upcoming NAIA basketball season.

Austin Alkire

apalkir@pointpark.edu

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

5

STUDENTS TAKE A BREAK FROM ‘RUFF’ COLLEGE SCHEDULE

Jared Murphy | The Globe (LEFT) Information technology major Bryce Hayzlett enjoys the company of Lady, and (RIGHT) theater arts major Brianna Dougherty enthusiastically pets Presto on Oct. 3, during the month’s first Campus Canines event. Campus Canines come to campus every first Thursday and every third Wednesday of each month.

On Wednesdays we donate to breast cancer

Honors Student Organization kicks off Pink Feet Campaign

By Zoey Angelucci For The Globe

This past Oct. 3rd, “Mean Girls” fans joined together in the JVH Auditorium to watch the classic movie. The movie night was the kickoff to a group of Pink Feet activities all taking place this October.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To show support, Point Park’s Honors Student Organization created their Pink Feet Campaign.

“Pink Feet is a breast cancer research fundraiser that the Honors Program has participated in for many years,” senior business management major Rhianna Davis said. “We raise money through events, donations and selling breast cancer research merchandise such as pink scrunchies, etc.

It’s a great way to get not only honors students but the whole campus involved in a really important initiative.”

Davis is the Social Events Coordinator for the Honors Student Organization. It is

PIONEER PUBLIC Jared Ross

By Hannah Walden Co-Features/A&E Editor

Track and field wasn’t Jared Ross’s first choice of sport, but once he was introduced to the sport, he stuck with it.

During Ross’s freshman year at Greensburg Salem High School, he played football. The football coach was also the head track and field coach and introduced Ross

part of her job to plan activities sponsored by the Honors Program. For the month of October, Davis planned a handful of activities to support Pink Feet, starting with “Mean Girls” movie night.

“Mean Girls” movie night consisted of snacks, friends and a viewing of “Mean Girls” on the big screen.

Admission to get in was $1 and the funds went directly into supporting breast cancer awareness. Viewers were also able to donate more and receive scrunchies and ribbons in return.

“We started ‘Mean Girls’ movie night last year after someone had the idea to screen the movie on Oct. 3 (aka National Mean Girls day),” Davis said, hoping it will continue to be an annual event. “The event fits perfectly into our Pink Feet campaign, in which we fundraise all month long for the Susan G. Komen foundation.”

Like any event held at Point Park, planning and

setting up took time and hard work.

“Planning the event consisted of requesting funds through USG, reserving the space with Conference and Events Services, purchasing snacks from Giant Eagle through SAIL, marketing the event and executing the event,” Davis said.

Sophomore dance major Rosalie Anthony helped Davis with the project, and they were joined by Sirenia Davis and Ben Reinke. They set up the projector, snacks, other items to sell for the fundraiser and a small photo booth with props for the event. Most items were bought in advance, leaving setting up the only task.

To spread the word, Davis and her team posted about it on Facebook in the Point Park Class pages and the word spread from there. The honors students were also informed at their meetings.

“I would say I was really happy about the turn out

to running track later that year. He has been running ever since, making Ross a runner for the past eight years.

Ross, 22, is a senior criminal justice major and psychology minor and is a sprinter for Point Park’s track and field team. He is also a participant in relays and the long jump, according to his biography on the Point Park Sports website.

“I have goals of beating all of my personal records this year,” Ross said. “Last year was my first year throwing javelin and I placed sixth in the conference. I plan to improve on javelin and my sprints for conferences this year. For the 100 meters, my best is 11.5 seconds, I want to prove that I am a lot faster than that.”

According to Ross, he has been dealing with inju-

ries throughout his time at Point Park, and he is looking to bounce back from these injuries to make an impact.

On top of this, his goals motivate Ross through practices and meets.

“I push myself through everything I do to reach my goals every day,” Ross said.

Students like Ross find that being a student athlete helps with the student side of life as well as the athlete side. According to Ross, running track has made him more motivated and determined to reach his goals on and off the track.

“Being a criminal justice major, I believe that I have developed leadership skills and those have helped me to be a leader on the track team,” Ross said.

Hannah Walden hwalde@pointpark.edu

as the movie is classic, fun to watch and has so many fun, memorable quotes,” Anthony said. “We have a lot of other fundraising events people should check out including, Pinknic, bake sales, Books for Boobs, a fashion show and Pie for Pink.”

For the rest of October, students can attend a plethora of other fundraising events put on by the Honors Program such as Pie for Pink on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 12-2 p.m. in Lawrence Hall lobby. This will give anyone the opportunity to pie an honors member for a donation.

Pinknic is on Friday, Oct. 11, from 6-9 p.m. in Village Park. A pink celebration with games, raffles, snacks and more with participation from other clubs like SWSG and Knitting Club.

Books for Boobs Book Sale is on Oct. 14, from 1:305:30 p.m. outside Point Cafe.

Used books and textbooks will be on sale with proceeds going

toward breast cancer.

Pink Feet Bake Sale will be on Monday, Oct. 21, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 1-5 p.m. in the Lawrence Hall Lobby. Baked goods will be on sale for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Pink Feet Fashion Show will be on Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 8-11 p.m. in Lawrence Hall 200. In the show, rugby players will be modeling the latest pink fashion. Admission is $3 and donations will be accepted to vote on your favorite model of the evening. Pink lemonade and pink cookies will also be available.

The Honors Organization is using all of these activities to try to reach their goal of raising over $500 this year for breast cancer.

DISCLOSURE: Rosalie Anthony is a staff member of The Globe.

Zoey Angelucci zaangel@pointpark.edu

Emilee Fails | Submitted

Send suggestions to hwalde@pointpark.edu or tbaile@pointpark.edu or reach out to the Globe on our social media pages.

A COLLABORATION WITH

An exploration of the pros, cons of group therapy Jordyn Hronec and Andrew Brinker Editor-Elect and Former Co-News Editor

Gabby Ritterson, 19, from Old Bridge, N.J., attended group therapy for two years due to ongoing experiences with mental illness.

Grace McAfee, 19, from the North Hills of Pittsburgh, attended several group therapy sessions with her immediate family in an attempt to sort out issues amongst themselves.

Group therapy is also often used to treat serious addictions. In fact, as of 2017, the Alcoholics Anonymous organization, a popular provider of group therapy for individuals battling addiction, estimated that approximately 2.1 million people actively utilize their services.

On the collegiate level, the use of group therapy is also expanding quickly. But, the explanation for this growth is mixed.

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State conducted a survey in 2016 regarding the demand of mental health services on college campuses, the results of which were published in the Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. The survey found that usage of college-provided mental health services was up 38.4% (29.6% of which was student usage) over a five-year period.

The article also detailed a study conducted at an unnamed university in the mid-Atlantic region, that aimed to discover whether group therapy programs could save “clinical” time. The university’s counseling center ran seven different therapy groups over the course of the semester. Groups included sexual assault survivors and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The study revealed that group therapy did not definitively save time or improve efficiency.

But at the collegiate level, group therapy appears to be the way of the future.

On college campuses in the Pittsburgh region, several counseling centers are expanding their programming to include group therapy. This includes Robert Morris University, Duquesne University

and Point Park University.

The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have intricate existing group therapy programs that include multiple specialized groups. Some Pitt students, however, feel as if they are being pushed into group therapy rather than being allowed to meet with counselors one-on-one. In an interview with the Pitt News in April, Pitt’s new counseling center director, Jay Darr, said the idea that Pitt’s counseling center forcing students into group therapy is a “myth.”

“A student can always come back, and say, ‘Hey, this sort of combination of services is not working,’ so they can come back during our walk-in hours, or during their scheduled appointment, and meet with a clinician and say, ‘hey, can we talk about adjusting some things?’ or the clinician can say, ‘Hey, I can see that this is not working for you.

Let’s talk about adjusting what’s best for you,’” he said.

Kurt Kumler is the current director of counseling services at Point Park University. Kumler previously served as the executive director for counseling and psychological services at CMU. Under Kumler’s direction, the Point Park University counseling center shifted last year to include group therapy in its list of services, which also includes individual therapy and outbound referrals.

“We did have a lot of student input, which is something I’m always interested in seeking,” Kumler said. “It was kind of real-time...a lot of students were coming in for counseling. And we didn’t have enough space or enough therapists, so this would be a relatively standard idea to try and offer additional services that can touch more students.”

Kumler stated that about midway through the Fall 2018 semester, demand for counseling services was higher than what the center was able to provide. During this time, the center began to offer additional services, including group therapy.

Adding group therapy to the menu of services offered by a counseling center is a “real-time strategizing effort,”

Dara Collins | The Globe

THE POINT PARK GLOBE CONTRIBUTORS Carley Bonk, Editor-Emeritus Andrew Brinker, Former Co-News Editor Dara Collins, Editor-in-Chief Jordyn Hronec, Editor-Elect

that is currently rising to popularity among universities nationwide, according to Kumler.

But Ritterson, who utilized Point Park’s counseling services during the fall semester of 2018, said that the existing program was not helpful.

“I did not gain one thing,” she said. “It was a waste of my time and a waste of my effort. I put too much trust in the university and in the program.”

Ritterson detailed a lack of availability, ineffective therapists and a limited time period with a counselor per student as her main issues with the school’s program.

On Pitt’s website, there are details regarding their group therapy programs and what students should expect upon joining. The Point Park University counseling center also provides information regarding group therapy programs on its website.

The website also highlights the importance of confidentiality in a group setting.

Dean of Students Keith Paylo worked with Kumler to implement the new program.

Paylo stated that the uses for group therapy are most often situational, but also made it a point to highlight the positives of group therapy.

“Peer support is a big benefit,” Paylo said. “You’re sitting in a group therapy session and the light bulb goes on that says ‘I’m not alone.’

There are other people that are experiencing the same exact or very similar thing that I am and in many things in life, that’s good to know.”

But the growing practice also has its negatives.

“You’re going to have that person who always raises their hand and monopolizes the time,” Paylo said. “In an atmosphere such as this, the person’s level of anxiety probably is at its highest because you are starting to share very personal things. And so human nature, you start to talk a lot and you start to ramble.”

In McAfee’s experience with the group therapy model, time restrictions were a prevalent issue. While the therapy aided her and her father’s relationship by creating an environment for them to listen to each other, her and her stepmother’s relationship became more strained.

“It was mostly just my stepmom talking for 45 minutes, and then my dad and I talked about how she took up most of the time for five minutes, then we’d leave... It was a damper on my and my stepmom’s relationship, because when I gave feedback, it wasn’t really respected,” McAfee said.

Ritterson, in her personal experience, also saw issues with the model.

“I found myself asking these therapists one day, what makes you qualified to talk to us about depression, anxiety, Tourette’s, OCD, self-harm, eating disorders - what makes you qualified?” Ritterson said.

Paylo indicated that resources and cost required for individual therapy partially

Dara Collins | The Globe

accounted for Point Park’s introduction of group therapy.

“You’re never going to be able to match the needs of what is coming to us with the services that are available,” Paylo said. “This is just where we’re at in society today. There is a much bigger ask than there is the ability to meet those needs for that ask. What group therapy can do is get an individual a quicker response and therapy than waiting for a one-on-one.”

McAfee is a current student enrolled at the Community College of Allegheny County’s North campus. CCAC does not currently offer group therapy through its counseling centers.

“When I went, especially because it was family therapy, and for my family, I feel like it was forced feedback,” McAfee said. “Because there’s this stigma where you go to therapy and things have to be immediately solved or there’s something else wrong. So I don’t feel like the feedback I received was helpful.”

McAfee, who has also experienced extensive one-onone counseling, recognizes group therapy’s potential to be time-saving, whether it be at the cost or benefit to the patient.

“Sharing my feelings with my family in the room was one of the most awkward things ever,” McAfee said. “With group therapy, you can sit down a bunch of kids and give them some vague topic and let them hash it out. Because oneon-one counseling is time consuming.”

“The idea, in my mind, of group therapy is to make you feel like you’re not alone and to learn from other people,” Ritterson said. “And these people have definitely had an impact on my life, the other people

that I was in therapy with, but they didn’t make you feel less alone.”

According to Ritterson, while peer support is beneficial, a fundamental issue of the practice lies in the therapists.

But Ritterson, echoing the reasoning of Paylo and Kumler, did find some elements of the group dynamic appealing.

“It [the group] made me realize that there was more wrong with me than I thought,” Ritterson said.

“When these people [other group members] would say they were bad, they were feeling the same exact things as me, and I’d be like ‘oh, okay,’ like that actually is really bad.

It helped me work on myself more because I realized a lot of underlying factors.”

But ultimately for Ritterson, the extended list of cons of group therapy outweighed the potential positives. Since her experience in a group environment, the college freshman has only participated in therapy in a one-on-one setting; and she plans to keep it that way.

“It [individual therapy] was all around better,” Ritterson said. “I benefited so much more because I found my one therapist that made me feel really good. I feel like group therapy could be more helpful than it is, and I get why colleges are moving in that direction, but at least in my experience, the execution of it really made it something bad to me. They need to work out the kinks before they make this big push.”

Read the full story online at mentalhealth.pittnews.com Jordyn Hronec

jthrone@pointpark.edu

Andrew Brinker

anbrinker7@gmail.com

TEAM UP WITH US FOR THE SPRING 2020 COLLABORATIVE EFFORT!

A COLLABORATION WITH

Stories from the ground floor of Nordenburg Hall: Pitt students discuss their experiences with the University Counseling Center Christian Snyder Editor-Emeritus of The Pitt News

I am a recent graduate; I started at Pitt in the 20142015 school year. I have bipolar disorder, and I’ve struggled with self-harm and suicidal thoughts. This made my education difficult, but for my first two years at Pitt, I was able to visit the counseling center for regular psychiatrist and therapist visits...

After my first two years, the counseling center changed to limit the number of sessions a student could have, and I was dropped from their system.

It was difficult, but I found a new psychiatrist elsewhere.

A year or so later, I came back to the counseling center to find somebody to talk to for a few therapy sessions to help me through a personal issue. At the triage appointment, they determined that my bipolar disorder and the thoughts of self-harm that came with it were too severe for their services. The referral system wasn’t very helpful and I ended up just not seeing anybody through this difficult time. I think it’s great that the counseling center wants to help more students, but I felt like they were leaving behind students whose problems were “too severe.”

- Eli ‘18

Here’s my story. I first started to noticed I was falling into a depression toward the start of my junior year. I eventually signed up to speak with a counselor who then referred me to a therapeutic group. I found my experience with mental health services at Pitt to be wonderful, and I still think about to it today. I am currently a social worker, and I work as a facilitator in therapeutic groups. While I was already on my path to social work in my junior year, my time as a client in a group at Pitt really encouraged me to take a risk and accept my current role on the clinical side.

Mike Rosenberg, School of Social Work ‘13

I’m currently a junior on campus majoring in rehabilitation science and psychology.

Mental illness has affected me throughout my entire life...I have sought help many different ways since high school, through the Pitt counseling center, hotlines, text lines and private therapy. During my freshman year at Pitt, I lost a friend to suicide.

The Pitt counseling center does what it is capable of, but it has its limitations. One center responsible for treating over 20,000 undergrad and grad students can only handle so much, but many students and staff are working to try to make changes. As both a recipient of care and advocate with the club Active Minds, I talk with a lot of students that have both good and bad

Eli Savage | The Pitt News

experiences with the counseling center. We talk through the bad experiences, as well as reach out to other students about their experiences, try to fill in the gaps of care, provide education and resources and connect people to off campus counseling. We are working on communicating these issues to our advisor in the counseling center, and plan to work with the new director in the future to voice what we have seen on campus...

As for my own mental health care, I have settled happily into off-campus therapy. The Pitt counseling center actually also can do referrals via email (without an in-person appointment), which I think is really under-advertised and would greatly ease the waitlist. A lot of students already know they just want private therapy but don’t know where to look, and the counseling center has staff that can be emailed for referrals. At Active Minds, we have developed one presentation/ workshop on finding a therapist that we will be trying to bring to different student groups in the fall.

- Julia Lam, ‘20

I used the counseling center, specifically Pelin Duzenli who is the main psychiatrist.

She was one of the most awful experiences I had at Pitt.

I started seeing her spring of 2017, and she prescribed me meds, one of which had very bad withdrawal if one day is missed. I was fine on them and had tons of check ins, however when it came to the semester ending, I found out she did not write me enough refills to get through summer...So, I had the worst withdrawal of my life for weeks until I managed to get my PCP who originally prescribed the meds to give me one refill as an emergency. I felt worse than I ever had and was at my lowest on top of the withdrawal that was awful...

It was completely unprofessional for a psychiatrist to be that careless and endanger a client’s life. She also tried to do it again the next summer,

THE PITT NEWS CONTRIBUTORS Matt Choi, Website Janine Faust, Editor-in-Chief Jon Moss, Website Eli Savage, Illustrations Christian Snyder, Editor-Emeritus

but I found out before spring semester ended so I was able to call and get her to refill. Pitt needs more psychiatrists, specifically competent ones. I am not the only one who has had a problem with her.

- Madison Shaftic, ‘18 I found the mental health services on campus pretty frustrating. I got diagnosed with anxiety spring of my freshman year and depression in the fall of my sophomore year.

These were both diagnosed through my really amazing doctor at student health. With her help, I got an emergency evaluation appointment the next day. They essentially said that I wasn’t bad enough to be considered for anything that is more involved than therapy two times per month, but then followed it by saying that they didn’t have any space for me. Then they sent me a list of people to try and told me that I could come for a workshop where they talked about specific coping skills if I wanted to. I tried four therapists/ counselors, and none of them helped at all... Nobody in student health/the counseling center/or otherwise explained to me why therapy is supposed to help, but I just thought it was something I was supposed to do. I think it’s absolutely unacceptable that our services are so lacking when we have a large student population who desperately needs mental health support...

counseling center. I called and made an appointment two weeks from then. I had to wait two weeks while my life felt like it was crumbling down around me...

When I got to the counseling center, fifteen minutes before my scheduled time, I had to wait another half hour past my appointment to even have my name called.

I walked back, and learned that the person I was seeing was not a licensed counselor, but a grad student. I felt like I was being thrown to the side, like I wasn’t good enough for someone licensed to handle these situations. I explained that I felt like I was not good enough, smart enough, capable enough to handle college, and she offered little to no feedback. I started crying and hyperventilating because I had no idea what was going on, and my mind was running through millions of thoughts.

She left the room at one point to go talk to a colleague, and she came back and told me they were going to transport me to Western Psych for a preliminary scan. I just started sobbing more, since that took away from my studying time, but they called Pitt Police to make sure I got there.

Western Psych was a whole other story, but, needless to say, I was there for five

hours, watching HGTV in the waiting room by myself. The doctor saw me for 10 minutes, told me to go to a triage assessment off campus, and let me leave. I went to that triage, and they told me I would have to attend meetings three times/week for three-hour meetings. That was absolutely not doable along with school, so I left and never went back.

Fast forward to junior year, I went back to the health center for a different, but related, problem, which was PTSD from rape and an eating disorder, both of which sprouted from my previous relationship with my ex-boyfriend. I went to the health center first because of the subsequent bodily health issues. I had a wonderful experience with the doctor; she explained why I was feeling faint and why I was always tired. She also told me that I had mental health issues that needed to be straightened out along with the bodily health issues, and she suggested right away to see someone off campus...I was glad to set up an appointment, but still anxious she would send me straight to Western Psych again. I had my first meeting with the therapist, who is in Squirrel Hill, and I’ve been going to her ever since.

I am ashamed to go to a university that has such poor policies for mental health, especially since Pittsburgh is so centered with hospital systems (UPMC, Highmark, AHN). Eight meetings per academic year is absolutely abysmal. It does not even cover one semester of weekly meetings. For some students, like me, having a therapy on campus is absolutely important, since academics are held at a high prestige. However, I see that I get better care elsewhere, so if I have to go elsewhere, so be it.

- Anonymous, ‘19

Read the full story online at mentalhealth.pittnews.com Christian Snyder

editor@pittnews.com

- Madi Scull, ‘19

I am a current senior engineering student. I have struggled with my mental health throughout high school, but it was exaggerated while in college...I came from a “below-average” high school, and I was nowhere near the academic level of most of my classmates.

This took a toll on me, where if I reached out for help, I was always greeted with the response, “You should know this from high school.”

As I became more acclimated to the climate of college life, this mentality did not change. I decided in my second semester to visit the

Eli Savage | The Pitt News

TEAM UP WITH US FOR THE SPRING 2020 COLLABORATIVE EFFORT!

8

A&E

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

Netflix documentary series to bring insight on immigration laws ‘Living Undocumented’ shows harsh reality for undocumented families

By Hannah Walden Co-Features/A&E Editor

On Oct. 2, Netflix released a six-episode documentary series about the lives of undocumented immigrants and the hardships they face. In 2018, eight undocumented families took the extraordinary risk of allowing film crews to chronicle their lives as they faced potential deportation. “Living Undocumented” depicts the struggles many undocumented immigrants endure in their quest to pursue the American Dream.

The first episode starts with a speaker listing the worries many undocumented people have every day: having to explain why ICE deported a family member, being unsure that “everything will be alright” but telling your family that anyway, and not being able to sleep at night as the constant fear of being deported in the night keeps you awake. People can watch a documentary and say that an issue is bad and things should change, but at the end of the day, the viewer can shut off the TV and resume their normal lives after watching.

The main issue depicted in the first episode is that no matter what the interviewed immigrants struggle with, they risk being deported at the hands of ICE powered by Donald Trump’s zero tolerance policy, explaining that ICE has the authority to deport every undocumented man, woman and child regardless if they are criminals or the average family under the Trump administration.

We are introduced to three undocumented immigrants in this episode; Luis Diaz, Ron and Alejandra. While their stories are different, they all have one thing in common: they came to the U.S. for a better and safer life.

Diaz, who immigrated from Honduras in 2012 when he was just 15 years old, has been living undocumented in Odessa and only speaks Spanish. He says that he makes more a day in the U.S. working for a paving company than he would in a week in Honduras.

Diaz traveled into the U.S. by riding on the tops of trains and buses. It took a month and three days, and he started working his first Sunday in the U.S. making $40 a day.

Diaz lives with his girlfriend Kenia, who he knew from Honduras, and her three year old son Noah. Diaz sees Noah as his own son, even though they are not related.

During the time of filming, Kenia was detained by ICE and was being held in a detention facility in Kansas City, Mo., and is to be deported in the next 36 hours.

Throughout the documentary and in between the undocumented individual’s accounts for what has happened and what they face, there are interviews with lawyers and activists. This is to give people information along with the first-hand accounts of

fear and mistreatment, adding information to emotion.

“Many people come to this country not necessarily fleeing persecution from their country,” Immigration Attorney and Former ICE Attorney (1995-2012) Patricia M. Corrales said in the documentary. “They come here for the opportunities that this great country provides. They come here because they can’t feed their families in their country.

They don’t have jobs available in their country, and they see this beacon of hope in our country.”

A number of credible sources give background information on statistics to help explain the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and why the laws passed by the Trump administration harm people and families without due cause.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center, states that statistically, the number of people illegally crossing the border has been going down year by year for over 20 years.

These numbers continued to go down throughout the Obama administration and were low in 2018. It wasn’t until 2019 when the numbers suddenly rose because of the growing violent instability in Central America.

“For the first time, a majority of those coming to the U.S.-Mexico border are not Mexican, they’re not single men, they are not looking for work,” Cardinal Brown said in the documentary.

“They are applying for asylum, and they’re children and families.”

A common misconception that many Americans have about undocumented immigrants is that they have all illegally crossed the border to get here, when in reality, they came to the country on a visa and they overstayed.

The audience is introduced to Ron, an Israeli veteran that immigrated with his wife in December 2001 during the turmoil in Tel Aviv, wanting a safe place for his growing family. Six months after their first child was born, they came to the U.S. on a tourist visa with the intent to apply for a work visa after the tourist visa expired.

After 9/11, many pathways to citizenship were closed off, including tourist and work visas. Ron’s family’s applications were denied, leaving them no choice but to stay and hope something changed so they can apply.

“The idea of America is that here, the sky’s the limit,” Ron said in the documentary.

“You can do much more here than anywhere else I know. I wanted to come here and follow the American Dream … I wanted to have a better life, a better future for my wife, for me and my kids.”

Read the full story online at ppuglobe.com

Hannah Walden hwalde@pointpark.edu

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

POINT PERK

COFFEEHOUSE presents

Alysse Baer | The Globe

Alysse Baer | The Globe

DC’s ‘Joker’ breaks October domestic box office record on opening weekend

By Tia Bailey Co-Features/A&E Editor

On Oct. 4, DC released “Joker” to theaters, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Batman’s infamous villain. The movie is advertised as a drama/thriller film, and it has an R rating with a two hour and two minutes runtime.

“Joker” shows the backstory of the villain before he became the Joker; his name was Arthur Fleck, and he was an aspiring comedian living in poverty with his mother. He has a condition where he will burst into laughter at inappropriate times, which causes him trouble throughout the film.

The movie follows Fleck as he works as a party clown for various jobs, such as holding a sign for a store and dancing for children in a hospital. He is beaten up by teenage boys multiple times, and an array of other things go wrong for him.

Throughout the movie, it is difficult to tell if the events you are seeing are actually happening, or if they

are just an illusion playing in Fleck’s mind. Fleck begins to go insane, and he begins to harm and even kill people. Some family issues are revealed to him, he is constantly being beaten up, he is made fun of by his idol on national television and he is living in poverty. All of this and more attributes to his impending insanity.

The movie is a standalone film, so while not connected to any of the other DC films, it still drops general references in throughout. We briefly meet a young Bruce Wayne, who even as a young boy plays a big part in the Joker’s story, and at the end we see the infamous death of his parents.

“Joker” deals with issues such as mental health and poverty. When Fleck begins to kill, he does so in his clown costume from work.

This causes him to unintentionally become a symbol for the lower class, as he killed a group of upper-class males.

Citizens of Gotham begin to protest around the city and riot against the upper-class

while wearing clown masks.

There is some controversy surrounding the film, as some people believe that the depiction of violence in the movie is wrong, and that it uses mental health as an excuse for things such as mass shootings and other forms of violence. In the film, the Joker is a symbol for violence, and the film ends with Gotham City in chaos because of his own violent act. People believe this is harmful to put in the movie, especially in our current society where mass shootings happen so often. There were shooting threats made to several theaters around the country during the movie’s release, so some theaters made sure to have extra security the opening weekend during the showings.

“Joker” is a dark origin story for a fan-favorite villain. Despite its controversies, it did exceptionally well at the box office on its opening weekend.

Tia Bailey tbaile@pointpark.edu

OPINIONS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

THE

GL BE’S POINT

Stay safe out there As you’re all probably aware, this past week has been a rough one in terms of crimes happening relatively close to campus.

Also this past week, several Point Park students were victims of these crimes.

It’s not productive or helpful to anyone for Point Park University to ignore these crimes as well as the declining sense of safety that we are feeling living downtown. We will say it blatantly. We are not safe on campus or off. We are located smack dab in the middle of the city, and anyone who pleases, Point Park related or not, can be on campus.

This is the risk we take, and it’s the risk we all knew we were taking when we enrolled here.

However, that doesn’t mean we can’t take as many of our own measures as possible to be safe.

We would tell you all to only go out in the daytime or

with other people, but two Point Park students were attacked this week while together in broad daylight.

It’s not enough to simply try and take precautions. It’s gotten to a point where we need to be even more proactive than normal.

When you do go out, always be aware of your surroundings. In fact, be hyperaware. Cross the street to avoid questionable activity.

Carry mace if you have to.

Carry a coin purse, so that if someone tries to rob you, you can toss the coin purse as far as possible and run in the opposite direction. Have 911 ready to go.

We don’t want to scare you, Pioneers. But you are our loyal readers, and it is our job to keep you informed and in the loop. We love you, so stay safe out there.

Point Park Globe globe@pointpark.edu

Screenshot of PointAlert Text from iPhone A PointAlert was sent out early morning on Tuesday, October 1. Two students were victims of an attepmted robbery near the Mon Wharf.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

9

Gender reveal parties are outdated

By Benjamin Reinke For The Globe

Gender reveal parties are an unnecessary fad that delegitimize the existence of transgender people by supporting the notion that there are only two genders. These parties are commonly expensive, sexist, overly sexual and potentially dangerous.

A gender reveal party is a celebration where expecting parents hold a party to announce the sex of a baby in a variety of creative means.

Some couples fill balloons with colored confetti, others may cut into a cake that’s been dyed pink or blue; however, I have seen many gender reveal parties go terribly wrong.

I have read gender reveal stories where car exhausts filled with colored smoke burst into flames.

I’ve watched countless videos showing boxes full of balloons smack expecting mothers in the face. Worst of all, a gender reveal party in 2018 resulted in a 47,000acre wildfire which caused $8 million worth of damages. These are just a few examples, and a quick Google search will reveal how many more of these parties have ended in disaster.

Seeing all these disastrous gender reveals made me curious. If these parties are so likely to go wrong, then why do they still exist?

And even if the reveal goes off successfully, do they even have a reason to exist at all?

Why is there a need to announce what genitals a child will be born with? It’s simply unnecessary. Throw-

ing a massive party and spending hundreds of dollars to find out something a doctor could write on a piece of paper is extravagant and wasteful. Besides the glaring issues of environmental and financial concerns, there really isn’t much of a point to these parties anyway.

“Gender reveal parties support an outdated idea of the traditional gender binary and reinforce traditional gender roles.”

Benjamin Reinke For The Globe

Knowing what genitalia a child will grow up with isn’t important. A gender reveal doesn’t share anything important about the child, other than what sexual chromosomes they will be born with, which leaves much to be discovered. A gender reveal party can’t share who the baby will be, or what kind of person they may become. It’s just an extravagant way to support an antiquated idea of gender.

Gender reveal parties support an outdated idea of the traditional gender binary and reinforce traditional gen-

der roles. Gender reveal parties only support the ideas of male and female, ignoring all identities that may fall out of the traditional gender binary. As more people begin to rally to fight for transgender rights, a party celebrating the male/female gender binary hurts the cause. It supports the notion that there are only two genders, when advocates for trans rights believe that gender exists on a spectrum. This actively hurts the fight for trans rights, which already meets enough resistance in the realm of politics.

In addition to being transphobic, gender reveal parties also tend to be incredibly sexist. Many gender reveal cakes have text written on them like, “touchdowns or tutus,” “lures or lace,” and even “guns or glitter.” These ideas are extremely outdated.

These cakes say that boys can have hobbies like hunting or playing football. However, these cakes are an entirely different story for girls, celebrating material things like jewelry and clothing.

Overall, gender reveal parties aren’t doing anything productive. All they are is a waste of money to find out an unnecessary piece of information that could be found out at an obstetrician’s office.

These parties are incredibly offensive to women, as well as those in the transgender community, and have no real reason to exist. If expecting parents need a reason to celebrate the miracle of life, they should just throw a baby shower instead.

Benjamin Reinke btreink@pointpark.edu

Conservative student speaks against vulgar comments

By Logan Dubil For The Globe

According to Point Park’s website, one of its most important values is to “foster a community of mutual respect and diversity.” Since moving in, I have been cursed out and attacked with vulgar statements on my door due to a difference in opinion. If anything, I have experienced the opposite of what Point Park has intended.

I am a conservative.

That’s right. I attend a liberal arts college as a conservative. I knew that coming to this specific university would be a major adjustment, but leaving my dorm to find phrases such as “you are racist” and “you can’t have an opinion” written on my whiteboard is not helping expedite the process. I came here to move away from home and to take advantage of the opportunities Pittsburgh has to offer, not for people to make assumptions about me based on the polit-

ical party I affiliate with.

Ever since President Donald J. Trump won the 2016 election, politics have been a major interest of mine. I went from not watching the news to watching it non-stop, and from not having opinions to having nothing but opinions. Taking advantage of my high school paper, “The Knight Crier,” I utilized the idea of an editorial to speak what was on my mind. As expected, I received both positive and negative responses. The positive comments encouraged me to continue writing. The negative comments encouraged me to focus my writing on providing a clear view of my side of the argument, whether the topic was about abortion, the electoral college, the wall at the border, etc. After months of gaining experience and exposure, politics was all I cared about.

Coming into a liberal college in a liberal city, I

knew my opinion would not be popular, but it is my right to express my views, so that is exactly what I did – well, not exactly. These vulgar statements all started with a simple concept – the poll.

As a going away gift, my mom gave me these whiteboards that stick to basically anything. I decided to break the ice and put one on my door, allowing daily polls to be posted, giving others the chance to vote.

The polls started out simple with questions like “what’s your favorite jolly rancher flavor” and “Monsters Inc. or Incredibles.” Being the political junkie I am, I realized that the election is coming up soon, providing me the perfect platform to make my polls political.

I shifted from Pixar polls to political polls, which caused others to shift their responses from respectful to rude. Want to know what makes this situation even better? I never once

expressed my opinion while writing these polls, making each negative comment an assumption.

As a firm believer in our Constitution, I support the First Amendment (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances). Therefore, I understand that others have and can have different opinions than me, but cursing someone out is no way to solve a conflict.

If these people wanted to discuss or debate a specific issue, I would have gladly done so, but instead they wrote false accusations and ran away. These comments didn’t hurt my feelings, since I know they are false, but it does make me fear the way our country is

heading. Due to the number of hours I put into watching the news and reading articles, I am aware of what is going on out there. People have been assaulted for wearing MAGA hats. Conservative college students’ grades are dropped because of most universities’ liberal agendas. It makes me wonder...is speaking my opinion making me a political activist or a target?

From what I have seen so far, Point Park University showcases a variety of people from race to ethnicity to sexual orientation, which is great. Why am I not being accepted due to my political beliefs, though? I am sure over time people will learn to get to know someone before they assume certain things. Yes, I am a conservative, but that’s all I am. I will respect your opinions; I just request the same treatment in return.

Logan Dubil lmdubil@pointpark.edu

Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967 Editor-in-Chief: Dara Collins Editor-Elect: Jordyn Hronec Business Manager: Cortnie Phillips Faculty Adviser: Aimee-Marie Dorsten Administrative Adviser: Dean Keith Paylo The Globe board consists of Dara Collins, Jordyn Hronec and fellow editors. Opinion articles, letters to the editor, columns and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the position of the newspaper or editorial board. The Globe reserves the right to refuse advertising and edit all submitted articles and letters to the editor. Letters to the editor must be signed and include author’s contact information. The Globe offices are located at the corner of Wood Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard. Writers should address letters to:

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10

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

OPINIONS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Student athletes should be paid for endorsements

By Rachael McKriger Staff Writer

Collegiate athletes have an ally in California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Newsom signed a bill, expected to begin in 2023, that

allows athletes to hire agents and make money from endorsements. Previously, collegiate athletes were not allowed to generate revenue, aside from scholarship money given based on athletic performance.

Vaping: to ban or not to ban

By Luke Mongelli For The Globe

Vaping. It’s been plastered all over the news. What started out as an alternative to cigarette smoking, has turned into a recreational activity popular among adults and teens. The government is considering banning it due to recent hospitalization of people across the United States.

The most recent news stories have been focused on the eight people who have died from different lung issues. But how many people are killed by cigarettes? Tobacco kills approximately 480,000 people each year. You don’t see any movements to ban cigarettes though. So by the same logic, if the FDA were to move on this ban of only the flavored vape pods, they should also take flavored alcohol and any sort of flavored cigarettes off the market as well.

What’s the difference? If they are worried about kids getting their hands on vapes then they should make the punishment for anyone caught buying a minor nicotine product more severe, just as they did with alcohol.

I am not saying that it shouldn’t be regulated more, but an all out ban is absolutely outrageous, due to the fact that the government hasn’t banned the things that have caused millions of deaths worldwide. Vaping should not be banned whatsoever.

Banning those things will not stop deadly lung disease from ravaging families. It will only give people addicted to nicotine one less avenue to choose from when it comes to quitting smoking, and it takes away our right as human beings to make decisions for ourselves.

Why was flavored alcohol created? Because some people do not like the taste of pure alcohol. Why were flavored cigarettes added to the market?

Because people didn’t like the taste of straight tobacco. See where I’m going with this?

The hypocrisy in this possible ban is atrocious. I do

believe that more research should be conducted, and more regulations be put in place to make this a safer alternative or hobby for the population. The state of Michigan has executed an all out ban on any e-cigarette device, and guess how that’s going. People are just finding illegal ways to get them, criminalizing something that is by comparison less harmful than cigarettes.

The vape doesn’t combust like cigarettes do, leaving less damage to your lungs, and there are no second hand effects. Out of the 480,000 people that die each year from smoking in the United States, 41,000 of those deaths are caused by the people around them who choose this. 41,000 people who die from smoking involuntary. No one dies from vaping involuntarily.

“The hypocracy in this possible ban is atrocious.”

Luke Mongelli For The Globe

Actually, no one dies from vaping very much at all.

The number 480,000 is just an approximate death toll.

I can count on two hands how many times vaping has been fatal. Any sane person can agree that vaping is one thousand percent the better alternative when it comes to smoking either vapes or cigarettes. I’d love to see no one at all smoke, and everyone in the United States quit every form of smoking because it would be healthier for all of us, but that’s just unrealistic.

So, no, vaping should not be banned in the United States.

Luke Mongelli lrmonge@pointpark.edu

It’s an age-old debate on whether college athletes should be paid. Some athletes can receive full scholarships, paying for classes, room, board and the whole nine yards.

“Every single student in the university can market their name, image and likeness; they can go and get a YouTube channel, and they can monetize that,” Newsom said, via the New York Times.

“The only group that can’t are athletes. Why is that?”

Meanwhile, the NCAA argued against the bill, calling it unconstitutional.

However, the NCAA did say that changes are needed.

“NCAA member schools already are working on changing rules for all student athletes to appropriately use their name, image, and likeness in accordance with our values—but not pay them to

play,” the NCAA said.

It all boils down to the simple question: Should student athletes be paid? Yes. If their image or likeness is used, that is. For the longest time, I was a firm believer of not paying student athletes. Those students were already getting their tuition and so much more paid for, why did they deserve more because they could throw a football or kick a soccer ball? The more that I thought about it and really got to understand the concept of using image and likeness, it made sense to pay players.

These athletes are watching their jersey go flying off the shelves, but they get no part in the monetary compensation. That is just directly unfair.

The bottom line is that players should be compen-

sated if their likeness, image or name is being used for profit. This does not make players greedy, despite what any critics might say. As a photographer, I understand the mindset these athletes have. It all goes back to establishing credit. When athletes post pictures on social media and don’t credit me, it’s frustrating. When these collegiate athletes see their jersey racking up sales, it’s infuriating to not be credited for the sales.

If that student decided to not go to a specific college, that jersey wouldn’t even be up for selection. It’s time that students can make legitimate money off their own image and likeness. Holding that right away from them is cruel and dishonest.

Rachel McKriger rakrige@pointpark.edu

Vontaze Burfict and CTE

By Mason Strawn For The Globe

If you’ve watched the Pittsburgh Steelers play within the last five years, then you know that the two most hated athletes in this city are Tom Brady and Vontaze Burfict.

For those that don’t watch the NFL, Burfict is the reason why the Steelers only have six Super Bowls instead of seven.

He’s also the reason why Antonio Brown has gone absolutely bonkers and is also known as the dirtiest player in the entire league. He practically gives out Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to other players like it’s candy, and I hope his latest action will get him to stop permanently.

Burfict recently was suspended for the rest of the 2019-2020 season after delivering another one of his signature dirty helmet-to-helmet hits that easily concussed Indianapolis tight end Jack Doyle. After the game, commissioner Roger Goddell finally said enough is enough, and suspended him without pay for 12 weeks, the longest suspension given out in NFL history that didn’t have to do with cheating or steroids.

Burfict has lost almost $8 million dollars over the last 5 years of his career due to dirty tackles and other antics, in-

cluding his infamous knockout tackle of Antonio Brown that severely concussed the former Steelers Wide Receiver, and many blame Burfict for AB’s recent behavior and craziness due to that hit in 2017. But even with Burfict’s suspension, there’s something else entirely that the NFL is avoiding. Concussions and CTE in their athletes.

It’s no secret the NFL has never been good about its injuries and concussions.

Several athletes have been cleared to play with massive concussions and other major injuries, while its concussion protocol is one of the most complex yet ineffective in all of sports. One day a player is placed on the injured reserve list, the next, the player is cleared to practice and play in the next game on the team’s schedule.

In recent years, doctors and scientists have come to discover CTE; causing athletes that have suffered concussions to have rapid degenerative disease in their brains.

The NFL barely pays any attention to the disease, even though it’s been found in hundreds of former athletes that had once played football at a college or professional level.

A huge example of this is of former Patriots tight end and also former convict Aaron

Hernandez, who killed himself in his cell after being convicted of homicide during his time in New England. Doctors were able to study and compare his brain to that of other athletes who suffered from the disease, and discovered they were very similar if not the same in their decay.

The NFL’s system is flawed to say the least, and many blame the league for the actions of players like Aaron Hernandez and Jovan Belcher, a former Chiefs linebacker who shot his wife in 2012.

The NFL needs to pay more attention to player’s mental health. It’s as simple as that. Teams, and the league itself, need to do more research and understand that concussions can be deadly if they continue to happen again and again.

Players like Vontaze Burfict have no place in the NFL anymore; players that are headhunters claim that they are simply “playing the game the right way.” I didn’t know the right way to play football involved taking another player’s knees out to tear his ACL, or aiming to take someone’s head off like a medieval executioner.

Mason Strawn mtstraw@pointpark.edu

Tall Girl: A potentially good idea portrayed incorrectly

By Amara Phillips Copy Editor

If a movie has potential and challenges superficial ideas but portrays those challenges in a mediocre and mundane manner, is it truly a step forward?

The movie “Tall Girl” stars Ava Michelle, a “Dance Moms” alum who stars as the protagonist Jodi in the film. “Tall Girl” follows Jodi through her life as a tall teenage girl in high school who is seen as an insecure outcast and is alienated on a daily basis. Jodi soon falls in love with a foreign exchange student which drives the entirety of the plot. Toward the end of the film Jodi begins to truly find herself and faces her insecurities and bullies head on.

When the trailer for this Netflix film aired, it received a ton of backlash. Many claim this film is controversial because the main character is

only 6’1 and the rest of the cast include actresses who are 5’5 to create the illusion that Jodi is extremely tall. This film was also criticized due to overemphasizing superficial hardships of a thin and privileged white woman.

I did not find this film to be problematic, but I did find it to be an overall bad film.

The film’s opening scene begins with a conversation about alienation which sets the mood for the entire movie. Alienation is a problem amongst adolescents attending public school, but this movie fell short of the concept. Instead of focusing on the hardships of truly being alienated, the movie takes a turn about twenty minutes in as Jodie begins to admire the foreign exchange student.

“Tall Girl” not only did a poor job depicting alienation, but also the entire concept of being tall. This movie did not provide much of a backstory on Jodi or go in depth about

her personal insecurities.

This movie had a potentially good concept since more films should depict the challenges of being alienated, but this film disregarded that element and focused on superficial romance which has been seen a thousand times. The only portrayal the audience received of the hardships of being tall were with lines such as, “How’s the weather up there?”

The plot is extremely mediocre, and I am not sure it will have a large impact on society because it didn’t focus on real issues. There weren’t any hard hitting lines, or scenes that sparked any kind of emotional reaction. All of the scenes were similar to any other typical teen romance movie. Even the characters resembled ones that we have all seen before.

Movies constantly write protagonists who lack confidence and are constantly compared with beauty pageant siblings. We have all seen the

underdog who finally gets his chance at the end of the movie and we have all witnessed the classic transformation at the end of the film where the insecure girl becomes beautiful on prom night and is acknowledged by all her peers.

I lost interest in the movie within 30 minutes due to the basic scenarios which triggered multiple eye rolls. I became extremely fed up when I noticed this movie becoming more concerned with romance than concerned with real life issues such as alienation, insecurities and bullying.

Insecurity in this film is focused more on exterior issues than what is on the inside, which contributed to Jodi never facing any internal problems, which more films need a portrayal of. This movie never goes in depth concerning Jodi and her personal thoughts and insecurities which makes her a bland character that lacks character development. This

movie has a light mood to it, which makes difficult, complex situations and emotions seem like they have simple answers, when they do not. This is not an idea a younger audience should be interpreting.

“Tall Girl” also prompts female competition, which has been a theme circulating for decades. What about girl empowerment? The focus on beauty and physical attraction is overrated just like the theme of girl versus girl. If a film has the intent of focusing on intense issues then those issues should be discussed in an uncensored manner with in-depth details and a realistic portrayal, instead of glossing over the issue with superficial romance, mediocre portrayals and common plot scenarios society has been exposed to for decades.

Amara Phillips adphill@pointpark.edu

SPORTS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

All In with Allison

By Allison Schubert Sports Columnist

A Lack-of-Family Affair It happens once a semester, and *typically* for the athletics department here at Point Park, it means free t-shirts and a spike in attendance and concession stand sales: family weekend.

As we all know, Point Park’s weekend begins on Thursday, so if we count this past Thursday as the beginning of the official family weekend, Point Park teams combined for six games over the span of four days.

Between the men’s soccer team, women’s soccer team and volleyball teams, the Pioneers racked up a 2-31 record for those six games.

The weird part about this year’s family weekend is that there were no free shirts being sported up and down Wood Street, and the concessions stand, in fact, made no sales.

All six of the games that occurred over family weekend were on the road.

One could argue that it’s a good thing for some of the teams, I suppose. The men’s soccer team is 6-0 on the road this year. Volleyball seems pretty unaffected by their environment, posting a 4-4 record away.

On the opposite side, though, the women’s soccer team is 1-5-1 on opponents’ soil.

What I think is sad is the fact that family weekend at home has always been a fun weekend for the teams. Between the three teams we have mentioned so far, they represent eight states and 19 different countries. (The men’s soccer team is responsible for 18 different countries alone.)

Having a set weekend to

bring all of that diversity together was so much fun for those working the games, and I can imagine that the athletes felt the adrenaline rush from having the support of all of those proud parents and loved ones as well.

I think all of the athletic department missed the organized chaos, dad jokes and Pioneer Pride that family weekend brings to campus.

The record of the teams reflects that too.

All three of these teams are teams that have been dominant in River States Conference (RSC) play, and non-conference play, for the past few seasons. A combined 2-3-1 record definitely does not highlight what the Pioneers are capable of.

I know that a lot of people put a lot of time into developing the schedules of each team every year, but the corner of Real and World (the student center gym and Highmark Stadium, that is) was lacking the friends, family, and loved ones of the athletes.

The Pioneers’ have combined for a winning record for at least each of the last five years that family weekend has been an all-home schedule, so the proof is in the pudding as they say.

I know that athletics are not as prominent here as they are at NCAA DI schools or even just universities with football teams, but when Pioneer fans come out to support their loved ones on the court, field, etc. there really isn’t anything like it.

Allison Schubert alschub@pointpark.edu

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

11

Women go winless in Kentucky

By Austin Alkire Co-Sports Editor

90 minutes of play was not enough for the Pioneers in their tilt versus the Midway Eagles. The women’s soccer team had found themselves tied at one-a-piece at the end of regulation time, forcing overtime in their first-of-two River States Conference (RSC) games in Kentucky.

Coming off of last week, head coach Bethanie Moreschi wanted her team to not settle with being just good. “[We need to] stay focused, keep the passion for the game, and put in the work during practice sessions and on their own time,” Moreschi said. “We want to continue to be better than where we are at now.”

Point Park showed that they were capable of keeping their passion when Eagles’ forward Destinee Epperson scored in the 27th minute to give the home team the 1-0 lead.

Almost 14 minutes later, Boyd shook off her defender with a step-back move creating an opening between her, Nola McGuire, and the net. Boyd sent the ball over to McGuire who received the ball with her back towards the defender.

Turning around suddenly, McGuire gave herself enough time and separation from the defender to bury the ball in the middle of the net to tie the game.

The second half was less eventful for both sides. After exchanging a barry of shots in the second half, neither team could find the back of the net.

Goalkeepers Ashtyn Webb (Point Park) and Rebekah McKee (Midway) both finished the game with double-digit saves, with the former recording 10 and the latter hitting 11.

The Pioneers had not seen any extra time yet this season as the game went into overtime. They chose to approach the game with a “score quick” mentality, according to sophomore Taylor Goldstrohm.

Nick Koehler | Point Park Athletics Sophomore forward Tia Horew battles it out with IU East’s Kelsea Joseph in a game last week. The Pioneers lost the game 5-1.

“Both teams were dead tired and it was hot so we needed to end the game in the first few minutes of overtime,” Goldstrohm said. “We did have a few really good opportunities in the first couple of minutes, we just didn’t capitalize on them. I think that was the issue the whole game.”

With a ten minute overtime, neither team could possess the ball long enough to create a dangerous scoring chance.

Going into a second and final overtime, the Pioneers, who were already leading in shots, outshot the Eagles four to two.

However, both teams’ shots were misses and the buzzer sounded with neither team coming out the victor.

Point Park began their Kentucky trip with a 1-1 tie.

Two days later, the Pioneers were set to play the Asbury Eagles where they looked to own up to their conclusion from their last game.

“We played our game against Asbury,” sophomore Tia Horew said. “We played a majority of the game very well, but Asbury came out in the second half and put goals in immediately.”

The first half was a battle for the visitors. Asbury outshot Point Park 13-3 in that span of time, but the Pioneers held strong defensively. They did just want they wanted to

in trying to gain control of center field and keep possession of the ball.

The issue in the second half was capitalizing on turnovers and scoring chances, just as it was against the Midway Eagles; different eagles, same problem.

The Asbury Eagles scored four times in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with two goals from Cam Davis highlighting their offensive expedition.

Susannah Terrazas added another tally in the goal column in the 89th minute, vanquishing the Pioneers 5-0.

The final 30 minutes of the game saw Point Park fail to profit from any scoring opportunities that came their way.

“We just need to get creative in the final third and execute when we do get those chances,” Goldstrohm said.

Point Park returns to action at Highmark Stadium to play National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponent Washington Adventist, whom the Pioneers previously beat 3-1 for their first win of the season.

Afterwards, they will travel to Ohio for a RSC matchup against Ohio Christian University for the first time this season. The Pioneers will look to improve on their 1-2-1 RSC record and 2-8-1 NAIA record.

Austin Alkire apalkir@pointpark.edu

Volleyball drops three matches, two in RSC play

By Dara Collins Editor-in-Chief

The volleyball team defended their top spot in the River States Conference East division last week, but winning wasn’t part of its defense.

“We know what it feels like to lose now,” freshman outside hitter Taylor Small said. “We know how hard it is going to be to stay [number] one, and we are willing to put in the effort and work to show we are number one.”

The Pioneers basked in one win last week at the Notre Dame (Ohio) non-conference tri-match in South Euclid, Ohio, on Oct. 1.

Point Park trailed Ursuline College 2-1 before kicking into high gear and winning the last two sets of the match by scores of 2520 and 15-10.

Six Pioneers contributed to the team’s 64 total kills.

Senior Maria Ferragonio crushed 12 balls to set the pace, senior Haley English and junior Jazlyn Rozier put down 11 and Kristy Lippert, Madison Sima and Small chipped in 10 kills each.

English also collected five of Point Park’s nine service aces and 17 digs for a double-double. Also finishing with double-doubles were Ferragonio (22 digs),

Nick Koehler | Point Park Athletics Freshman Taylor Small (left) and junior Jazlyn Rozier (right) go up for a block against a West Virginia Tech attacker last week. The Pioneers went 1-3 and 0-2 in RSC play to finish up this past week.

Rozier (11 digs) and setter Julia Menosky with 27 assists and 17 digs.

The Pioneers dropped the opening game of the trimatch against host Notre Dame. The Falcons swept the Pioneers despite Point Park’s initial leads in sets one and two.

“At the tri-match, our weaknesses were letting our frustration get the best of us which caused us to lose trust in our teammates,” English said. “However, we did a great job of incorpo-

rating our middles.”

With the non-RSC games in the past, the Pioneers got down to business on the road last weekend.

Defending the number one spot in the division is a goal of the Pioneers, according to English.

As of Oct. 7, Point Park is tied in RSC play with Rio Grande University, West Virginia Tech and Indiana University East, this Saturday’s opponent, at 3-2, but the Pioneers maintain the best overall record at 13-5.

“To give us more cushion at the top, I think we need to work on playing together and simplifying the game by taking it one point at a time,” English said.

Point Park lost the first East-West crossover match of the weekend against Brescia (Ky.) University by scores of 20-25, 25-21, 1720 and 23-26.

Rozier proved the most successful hitter with 11 kills, and Ferragonio and sophomore Ashley Castelli tied on defense with 17 digs.

The Pioneers didn’t receive a hint of victory during the second divisional crossover of the weekend as IU Southeast swept Point Park.

No Pioneer made it past seven kills and attack errors proved fatal to the Pioneers’ chance at winning.

“The team fell short in some very close games but was able to stay focused and positive, and worked hard while supporting one another throughout the matches over the weekend,” Ferragonio said.

The Pioneers have a chance to turn the slump around this weekend with another set of RSC road matches against Ohio Christian University and IU East.

“We just need to start working together as more of a team, and we will get back to being us,” Small said.

At the time of publication, OCU is 1-4 (RSC) and IU East is tied with first through third place in the RSC East at 3-2 (RSC). Point Park remains in first place.

This team is ready for what’s coming, and people should be scared,” Small said. “This weekend lit a fire under us, and we are coming back with grit and vigor.”

Dara Collins dmcolli2@pointpark.edu

12

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

SPORTS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Men continue dominant, undefeated streak Pioneers rack up three more RSC wins over span of five days

By Rachael McKriger Staff Writer

Dominant is the best way to describe the Point Park men’s soccer team.

In a hectic week that featured three matches in the span of five days, Point Park racked up three statement wins. Two of the wins were against conference opponents Midway and Asbury. Meanwhile, the first of three victories came in a friendly match against Salem University.

In the last three games, Point Park has found the back of the net 14 times.

Mitchell Roell, a junior striker from South Park, scored a hat-trick against Salem and scored twice against Midway. His five goals added to a season total of nine goals.

“Scoring any amount of goals is always a great feeling, but scoring three goals on a field you’re not used to and in a competitive match feels even better,” Roell said.

Roell said that featuring against a non-conference opponent before heading back to RSC play was a great way for the team to prepare and try out new tactics.

“This game was competitive and we learn and get better with every game,” Roell said. “Continuing our win-streak is great. We had to work hard for the win against Salem when we were up 4-0, because the other team was still battling. We knew the field and it was not the best grass field, so it

was hard to control the ball.

We tried to put pressure on them and force turnovers.”

Wessel Rietveld also found the back of the net against Salem. He said that the Pioneers dominated the match right in the beginning. He scored the first goal for Point Park, coming in the 24th minute.

Rietveld, a senior, also started against Midway, but earned a rest against Asbury. Despite being rested, Rietveld watched and kept a keen eye on the match. He said that Point Park refused to be intimidated by the away fans in Kentucky.

“We just played our own game,” Rietveld said. “We just did what we were good at and it resulted in another win. We are very confident, right now. We believe that we are the best team in the conference.”

The Pioneers aren’t focused on other teams, according to defender Conner Kelly.

“We stick to our game plan each and every game and we keep good chemistry and moral through the team,” Kelly, a sophomore, said.

“Our recent wins have helped with that, so we’re carrying our momentum and confidence into every match.”

Kelly said it’s also important, despite the team’s success, to remain humble.

The biggest message is to not disregard or underestimate other teams.

The Pioneers have a busy week like the last. This

week, the Pioneers will host Washington Adventist on Monday for their second, non-conference meeting this season. Then, on Thursday, the Pioneers will hit the road again to face Ohio Christian University.

Recovery, Kelly said, is a huge part of Point Park’s success. “[Head coach Jeroen Walstra has said] to take care of ourselves and continue to play just like we practice,” Kelly said. “It’s been hot out and we have had small breaks between game days, so taking care of our bodies and knowing our limits is important when we have tough stretches like this.”

Rachael McKriger rakrige@pointpark.edu

Nick Koehler | Point Park Athletics Sophomore midfielder Ndayisenga Emmanuel gives chase to the ball in a game last week held at the Montour Junction Sports Complex.

Nick Koehler | Point Park Athletics Senior forward Abdullah Aloufi launches the ball toward the Red Wolves’ net in last week’s matchup against IU East. Point Park won the match 6-3.