3-03-21

The Pitt News The independent student newspaper of the U n i v e r si ty o f Pi ttsb u r g h PIttnews.com | March 3, 2021­| Volume 111 | Issue 71

RAMANAN WINS PRESIDENCY IN UPSET See page 3

SHOT GLASS HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD Rebecca Johnson, Martha Layne, Jon Moss and Mary Rose O’Donnell The Pitt News Staff

Shruti Talekar | Contributing Editor

Two Student Government Board committees removed the Vision slate from Tuesday’s SGB elections ballot shortly before 6 a.m., about two hours before polls opened, saying its members violated campaign rules that merit their disqualification.

SGB’s elections committee made its ruling at about 10 p.m. Monday, and after a series of meetings throughout the night, the judicial committee affirmed the decision at about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday.

The dispute arose over Vision-branded shot glasses that the members distributed as “Hershey’s cup holders” to first-year students in primarily first-year residence halls as a way of drawing attention to their slate, which includes presidential candidate Joe Landsittel and three board candidates.

Under the procedures of campaigning, the committee chairs said in a joint statement issued at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Vision was required to get elections committee approval for all of its planned targeted campaigning actions. The committees said Vision did not request approval before distributing See Vision on page 2

News Vision, pg. 2

the shot glasses in this manner, and was “in direct violation of the approved distribution plan” that the slate previously submitted.

Landsittel acknowledged that his slate could have “done a better job communicating” with the elections committee, but that it is “nowhere near close enough to a good reason” to disqualify the slate. Landsittel also said the alleged distribution plan infraction has “no basis” because it was not part of the original Sunday evening notice violation levied against them.

Tyler Viljaste, who ran for president on the opposing Brightside slate, submitted the complaint because he said he was “uncomfortable” with the actions Vision was taking.

“To hear that the students that I serve as a mentor to — minors who are barely 18 in some cases — were given shot glasses that actively condone underage drinking by their own RAs is unacceptable and appalling,” Viljaste said, “and raises further concerns regarding the quality of

Grad union election upheld pittnews.com

character of individuals running who will serve as student leaders and representatives for the entire student body.”

Landsittel said Viljaste filing the complaint was the latest in “unprecedented hostility” toward the Vision campaign and candidates who aren’t current board members.

“They have been threatened by our campaign, the idea that we are not within SGB at the moment and that we are running for these positions,” Landsittel said. “This goes to show their mentality, that they are not welcoming towards outsiders, they’re not an institution that is looking to bring in a diverse range of opinions.”

The Vision slate spent Tuesday campaigning for Harshitha Ramanan, the only other presidential candidate besides Viljaste left in the race. Their efforts paid off when Ramanan won the presidential election Tuesday evening with 62.72% of the vote — a margin of 1,222 votes.

After Ramanan was declared the winner, Landsittel said the Vision slate is “thrilled” she won the election.

pittnews.com

The joint statement arrived after representatives from SGB gave conflicting accounts of why Vision was removed from the ballot. Some said it was due to a Student Code of Conduct violation, but Student Affairs spokesperson Janine Fisher said no referrals have yet been received as of Tuesday morning. Others said it was due to violating a passage from the Student Unions’ Policies and Procedures Handbook while in a residence hall, while others have said it’s due to not updating the board about its campaign materials distribution plan, given ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Landsittel said it is “shameful” that SGB claimed in its Tuesday joint statement that the slate has possibly committed a Student Code of Conduct violation and that the committees should “know better.” Fisher confirmed Tuesday morning that no conduct referrals have yet been received.

“I think it’s shameful that the elections committee and the judicial committee are continuing to propagate this idea that there is some violation of the Student Code of Conduct. They should know better,” Landsittel said. “It’s one thing that the elections committee made this claim at 11 p.m. last night, but they have since had plenty of time to verify that the Student Code of Conduct is not relevant to this case study.”

The violation in the joint statement is also not the original violation that the elections committee told Vision that it had committed.

The elections committee said in a Sunday hearing notice that Vision had violated a passage from what it referred to as a “Student Affairs Policy and Procedures” document. The passage cited by the committee can be found in the Student Unions’ Policies and Procedures Handbook, which only applies to Pitt’s two student unions on campus — the William Pitt Union and O’Hara Student Center, not to all “University property,” as ultimately applied by the committee in its Monday hearing decision.

The elections committee announced Monday at 10:11 p.m. that the shot glass distribution was in “direct violation of the approved distribution plan and Student Code of Conduct.” Vision slate members said they have not received any information about potential Code of Conduct violations.

After processing an appeal from Vision about the elections committee’s ruling, the judi-

March 3, 2021

cial committee said in an early Tuesday morning report that it did not find “substantial errors” in the elections committee’s decision or hearing process conducted. It further said the actions taken by Vision were “willfully, purposefully and flagrantly” in violation of election procedure, though it did not list what actions it was specifically referencing.

Daniel Rudy, a junior and a Vision board candidate, said Viljaste, an opponent, having the ability to file the complaint against the slate is “absurd.”

“The fact that he has now been able to submit this complaint and have us thrown off the ballot less than a day before the election is absurd,” Rudy said. “And the fact that he is now poised to potentially be in the highest elected position on this campus as a student is frankly extremely concerning to all of us.”

Viljaste said early Tuesday morning, following the Vision slate’s removal from the ballot, that he doesn’t think the elections and judicial committees came to their decision lightly.

“I’d encourage voters to still go on and vote, even if some candidates may not be on the ballot that were running in this election,” Viljaste said.

“I would encourage anyone who still has questions about the Brightside platform to reach out to me or any of my running mates.”

Eric Macadangdang, the president of SGB, said the timeline for the Monday and Tuesday hearings was “not ideal,” but added that this matter “has gone through the appropriate process, in full.”

“From my end, I commend Olivia and Stephen and their respective committees for being able to do such things through the night,” Macadangdang said. “Obviously some of these students had early morning classes and they’d dedicated hours in the middle of the night to seeing this process through, which is important for the sake of transparency, justice and fairness.”

Macadangdang said later on Tuesday that SGB will work with the parties involved and Student Affairs to further investigate the situation.

He added that the current president and board members do not influence the outcome of judicial proceedings, and that judicial and elections are “independent standing committees of SGB” and are separate from the “functions and struc-

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

2

Students react to Ramanan wins in upset over Viljaste Vision’s disqualification Millicent Watt

Senior Staff Writer Harshitha Ramanan will serve as president of Pitt’s Student Government Board during the 2021-22 school year, after beating favored candidate Tyler Viljaste in Tuesday’s elections with 62.72% of the vote — a margin of 1,222 votes.

Ramanan declined to comment when reached by phone after the results were announced. Viljaste did not answer a phone call placed at about 9:15 p.m.

Danielle Floyd, Ryan Murphy and Caroline Goodwin of the Elevate slate will also join the board, along with Matt Moore, Aboli Kesbhat and Nikhita Chakraborty of the Brightside slate, Brennan Conway of the Betterment slate and independent candidate Daniel Temmallo. Of the nine candidates ultimately on the ballot for eight board seats, Jack Ruotolo of the Betterment slate did not win enough votes to secure a spot on the board.

In total, 4,804 students, or about 20.5% of the undergraduate student population, voted in Tuesday’s election, compared to last year’s turnout of 4,604 student voters, or about 24% of the undergraduate student population.

The Vision slate — consisting of presidential candidate Joseph Landsittel, and board candidates Daniel Rudy, Nadine Sadaka and Jessie Rindfleisch — was taken off the ballot due to violations of campaign rules. Rival presidential candidate Tyler Viljaste submitted the complaint to the board’s elections committee, which started the hearing process. After multiple hearings late Monday evening into early Tuesday morning, SGB’s judicial committee upheld the decision of the elections committee to disqualify Vision and remove it from the ballot.

Landsittel said the Vision slate is “thrilled” that Ramanan won the election, and he is grateful that his slate put its support behind Ramanan.

“We are thrilled that she was able

pittnews.com

to have this success. This is more votes than I’m ever aware of being cast in an SGB election,” Landsittel said. “I think it’s unprecedented to ever cross 3,000 votes.”

Besides voting for next year’s board, students also voted on proposed changes to the SGB constitution. These proposed changes included changing the definition of a student, including a diversity and inclusion statement and adjusting the vice president election process. The changes passed with 4,085 students, or 89.47% in favor.

Speaking about Vision’s disqualification, Macadangdang said Tuesday night that candidates, current president and board members do not influence the outcome of judicial proceedings, and that judicial and elections are “independent standing committees of SGB” and are separate from the “functions and structures of SGB at large.”

Macadangdang also said SGB will work with the parties involved and Student Affairs to further investigate the situation.

“Due to the nature of this situation, SGB will be working closely with parties involved and Student Affairs in the coming days, to further evaluate and investigate several issues that were brought up to us,” Macadangdang said. “I and others have received messages regarding the timeline of events, along with intricacies revolving the nature of infractions during an election.”

Concluding his opening statement, Macadandang said Pitt students should come together to solve problems instead of fixating on resentment.

“We do not have to follow the path of unproductive rhetoric that makes politics and government toxic and offputting and unattractive to so many people,” Macadangdang said. “What we can do is learn the facts, listen to one another and work to find solutions in the present and in the future, not resentment rooted in the past.”

Martha Layne

Assistant News Editor Students took to social media to voice opinions regarding the removal of the Vision slate from Tuesday’s Student Government Board elections ballot following a complaint by Tyler Viljaste — some praised the board for upholding the rules of campaigning, while others saw it as an underhanded move to eliminate the competition.

The Vision slate — composed of one presidential candidate and three board candidates — was officially removed Tuesday morning at roughly 6 a.m. following a night of hearings with the board’s elections and judicial committees, after Viljaste, the presidential candidate from the Brightside slate, filed a complaint regarding the Vision slate. The Vision slate was removed after posting unapproved posters in residence halls as well as handing out slate-branded shot glasses to first-year students in primarily first-year residence halls without approval from the elections committee.

Joe Wright, a junior mechanical engineering major who planned on voting for the Vision slate, said he found out about the decision from a texting group for the Vision campaign Tuesday morning. He said although he has spoken via Instagram comments to Viljaste, who explained his perspective, Wright still believes Viljaste and others in SGB worked in a “corrupt way to try to win this election by suppressing the voice of many students without any substantial reason.”

“From my perspective with the current information I have, it appears that Tyler and some others within SGB have acted with their own

self-interest by removing the Vision slate in its entirety from the ballot the night before the election,” Wright said. “This is extremely concerning to me as a student, as I no longer feel like any of the remaining candidates represented what I wanted to see from SGB members.”

But Jacob Strenkowski, a first-year intended physical and political science double major and a member of SGB’s First-Year Council, said he agreed with Viljaste’s decision to shine a light on the actions of the Vision slate. Strenkowski said he returned home to Sutherland Hall on Sunday night to find posters from the Vision slate hanging up on his floor, which he “suspected” were an election violation. These suspicions were confirmed to him when Viljaste asked him to serve as an infraction witness at the hearing. At the hearing, Strenkowski said he felt the Vision representative “unnecessarily attacked” Viljaste with false accusations.

Strenkowski found out about the distributed shot glasses at a First-Year Council meeting, where one member brought the glasses up to Viljaste. He said Viljaste, being “someone who cares about a fair election,” asked the student to serve as an infraction witness at another hearing.

Strenkowski spent Tuesday creating videos in support of the Brightside slate and engaging with those with opposing viewpoints in Instagram comments. He said he was “surprised” to see others not doing the same, considering how important the SGB presidency is.

“In my experience with the Student Government Board, I have found that many students

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

LOOKING FOR A WAY TO GAIN REAL WORLD SALES EXPERIENCE?

APPLY TODAY! FOR INSIDE SALES STAFF

WE MEAN BUSINESS ...

EMAIL BUSINESS MANAGER, ALEX REA (AJR178@PITT.EDU) FOR MORE INFORMATION

March 3, 2021

3

Opinions

Stop shaming guilty pleasures

Anne Marie Yurik

Senior Staff Columnist I have two functioning brain cells — Freddie and Mercury. At their best, they aren’t much, but lately they have been feeling extra worse for wear. They weren’t trained for the new expectations and daily realities, so anytime I have a chance to remember to breathe, I take it.

When I can take a breath, I usually put on my Spotify playlist designed to make me cry, watch an episode of “Bob’s Burgers” or walk around Target just to feel something. These activities are my holy grail, because being anything during a global pandemic is hard. It isn’t easy to be a student, a teacher, an essential worker, an engaged club member or a functioning adult.

The world sometimes feels like a flaming garbage fire, so we should all be given the space to shamelessly partake in our guilty pleasures. Guilty pleasures refer to shows, movies, books or other forms of media that don’t necessarily add to your academic horizons or stimulate you intellectually.

Guilty pleasures frequently get equated with junk food — we love it, but it doesn’t add any nutrients to our diets. But the idea falls flat because just like our bodies cannot run all day long, our mind needs a break too — and sleeping just isn’t enough.

Finding distance between work and relaxation is not easy considering that both happen within the same four walls.

A survey conducted by national nonprofit Active Minds showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted 80% of college level students’ mental health, so making space for our preferences is essential.

But the harsh truth about guilty pleasures is that they typically refer to hobbies, media or other activities targeted toward women. The definition of guilty pleasure on dictionary.com gives readers examples

pittnews.com

of trashy novels and rom-coms as something worthy of being dubbed a guilty pleasure. It’s nearly impossible to imagine sports video games listed as a guilty pleasure, even though sports games rarely expand the watcher’s base of knowledge.

I am here to tell you that the thing you think is your guilty pleasure really isn’t one. It is just the way in which you choose to relax. Some people may opt for golf on Saturday morning, others for late night

is easy to say that I am mentally and physically exhausted. Even after the countless classes I have taken via Zoom, I still find the platform unnecessarily tiring. My heart shudders each time I need to click the unmute button and actually say something to my virtual peers.

The Zoom-sphere is a terrifying place.

Nodding your head when the professor asks if you can see their screen, watching a classmate unmute themselves incorrectly

Shruti Talekar contributing editor cartoons and some will choose mindless sitcoms. Regardless of how you allow your mind to rest, it is not a waste nor a guilty pleasure.

The last thing I or anyone else needs is to have to explain or compensate for the things we enjoy in our free time. As Tabitha Brown says, that’s your business.

If my relaxation comes from the dollar section of a Target or 20-minute episodes of “Bob’s Burgers,” kindly leave me to my business.

After nearly four years of college, countless law school applications and hundreds of pages of reading per week, it

and waving goodbye at the camera at the end of literally every class for no reason is draining. But that’s why we need to give ourselves space to exist, even if that existence is decorated with various meaningless platforms of entertainment.

Pointless rom-coms, sports TV and mainstream music are meant to be safe havens for yourself. They are little pockets of joy that you can’t really explain but love anyway, and even if they’re wrongly dubbed as guilty pleasures, they are good for you.

But the things you do for yourself and your own sanity need no introduction,

March 3, 2021

no explanation and no condonation from others. You should never feel bad about liking what you like, even if it’s watching bowling.

The idea that people constantly need to be analyzing John Donne’s poems or parsing through Judith Butler’s scholarly works perpetuates the notion that taking a brain break is selfish. You can be intelligent, thought-provoking and hardworking even if you enjoy watching “The Bachelor.”

I have to admit, it isn’t easy to bite my tongue when someone tells me they like country music. But if I can do it, you can too. How people choose to spend their free time is — and this might be a surprise to some of you — not a topic that requires your commentary.

If someone’s preferred mode of relaxation doesn’t harm somebody else, it simply does not concern you. No one needs to play gatekeeper with someone else’s relaxation methods. Why judge me for the nights that I spend clad in my blue, star covered nightgown eating Pop Secret and drinking cheap moscato, when you could metaphorically join me?

In fact, being compassionate with yourself is shown to buffer symptoms of depression, so instead of telling yourself that you should stop reading teen romance novels and study a glossary, allow yourself to enjoy what you truly like.

I know we all have something we enjoy that others would consider cringey or unintelligent. But we do not walk these garbage-covered South Oakland streets just to feign intelligence all day. Own your “guilty pleasures,” love them and let yourself breathe. I can promise you that you earned the break.

Anne Marie typically writes about unapologetically doing her thing. Write to her at any41@pitt.edu.

4

We place too much importance on academic writing Dalia Maeroff

Senior Staff Columnist I have a deep, somewhat unsettling love for learning. I think it is my love of learning that makes me reject the academic nature of school.

My love for school is the learning, not the grades, papers and academics. I am sure that everyone who loves learning will tell you the same thing. People who love to learn despise the structuralization of every act, of every word read and of every paper written.

It reminds me of a computer, a machine, a system. I hate to break it to curriculum designers and teachers, but our brains are not computers.

Learning is not a system or a structure. It is an organic process, an instinct built into millennia of evolution, like breathing, speaking, reading and writing.

Many say that rigid academic writing is necessary in order to standardize how people write to make it easier to grade and read. Strict academic writing is necessary for nothing except killing the individuality and plasticity of thought. This argument is a lazy excuse for limiting the kind of creative critical thinking that makes great thinkers,

pittnews.com

writers and learners.

I wrote a paper this past week about Edgar Allan Poe and his poetry. A fascinating guy, horribly tortured by his own mental illness, which psychologists believe was an undiagnosed bipolar disorder mixed with grief from a lifetime of trauma and an unhealthy dose of substance abuse. I wrote about how his work — in this case, his poetry — was a manifestation of his mental illness, trauma and substance abuse. I actually had fun with my research, reading linguistic journals about the differences in lexicon between manic and depressive episodes, and looking deeper into Poe’s metaphors and poetic devices to see how they reflected how he felt at the time of writing them.

My research was so fun, but writing the seven-page paper was not. I felt like I was being dragged through it. I realized I wouldn’t be able to get creative at all with my work, that I had to follow a near five-paragraph style of essay writing with a thesis in the introduction, body paragraphs detailing my thesis and restating the thesis in the conclusion. That was the first time I’ve had to write such a structured essay since my first year of high school.

I have always hated the five-paragraph essay — it’s reminiscent of book reports. Books and writing don't need reports, they don't need structure and they don't need to be organized. They are organic — a little piece of a writer's neurons and synapses and grey matter. A great writing professor I had said that “the beautiful thing about writing is that your subconscious does most of the work.” I saw that more than ever in my research on Poe’s life and his work.

My English teachers over the years taught me that learning wasn’t just absorbing other people’s ideas and work, but forming your own. They were passionate about what they read and wrote and taught. The lessons from these English teachers make following the five-paragraph essay feel like a chore. I’ve always seen writing as an art, no matter the type of writing I’m doing — whether it be an opinions column for The Pitt News, a personal essay, a lab report on the framing effect and its relationship with emotion or a paper analyzing Edgar Allan Poe’s life and work. The most intriguing part of writing to me is my ability to mold it into any shape I want, while still getting my point across in an effective and impactful way that I will enjoy writing and readers will enjoy reading.

March 3, 2021

That’s part of why every writer writes, I think — to influence their readers in some way. Their writing is their art. It’s a way to paint if you don’t know how, and a way to express feelings, thoughts and ideas in a way that will make them think, make them feel something, make them have an opinion.

It does no justice to the book or to the author to write a seven-page paper without even stating if I liked the work. There is no point in putting my “thesis” in the introduction of my five-paragraph style paper when it can be spread out through the whole essay and make the same argument. There is no point in restating it in the conclusion when my reader just read a seven-page essay about that sentence. It’s repetitive, kind of like Edgar Allan Poe’s poems.

Creativity is essential for smooth and successful cognitive function, which directly relates to how well we function on a daily basis and how well we learn. Creativity is not only essential for cognitive function, but also for success in life in general, whether that be in emotional, social or

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

5

Culture Center For Creativity offers

Nigerian restaurant opens pittnews.com

writing workshop for LGBTQ+ elders

Anna Ligorio

Senior Staff Writer As people get older, getting involved in new programs and hobbies can be intimidating, especially if they have no background knowledge.

Because of this, Pitt’s Center for Creativity is giving older adults the chance to try something new.

The C4C is hosting a nine-week writing workshop this semester, called “In Our Own Write: Creative Writing for LGBT+ Elders.” Erik Schuckers, the manager of communications and programming at the C4C, created and leads the program.

This workshop is geared towards novice writers with little or no experience, and consists of about 15 participants. According to Schuckers, he wanted to create a space where anyone felt welcome and could freely share their stories to others.

“Most of the people in the program have never taken a writing workshop before,” Schuckers said. “I really wanted beginners and amateurs to feel like they were welcome, and that their stories can be told and that we could work together to shape that experience.”

The workshop meets twice a week, and consists of LGBT+ elders aged 50 and over. According to Schuckers, the workshop revolves around a weekly writing theme on Wednesdays, such as memory or family, and a subsequent Monday discussion.

“On Wednesdays, we've done a session around memory and a session around family,” Schuckers said. “I'll lead students through exercises that are meant to jumpstart their writing, and then on Mondays, we meet together to talk about the writing that they've produced.”

Yvonne Hudson, a former Pitt theater staff member, is a student in the workshop. She said that in the past two weeks, the workshop has focused on primarily autobiographical material.

“We've been doing a lot of memory writing things to kind of trigger our memories and get us to think about places we've been, people we've known, relationships, and our own life stories,” Hudson said.

pittnews.com

For Hudson, this workshop has provided her the opportunity and structure to write creatively, which is something she said she has been struggling with during the pandemic.

“I'm trained as a journalist, so I'm very deadline oriented,” Hudson said. “If I have structure, I can get things done, and I'm looking forward to writing some poetry because during this whole pandemic, I've only written one haiku.”

Hudson also said she is looking forward to sharing stories through writing with her peers in the workshop.

“I'm excited and fascinated by the people in the workshop, because it's a wonderfully diverse group,” Hudson said. “I'm sure we'll learn a lot about each other, and we'll be able to relate to a lot of things in our stories and learn about other life situations that we haven't experienced.”

At the end of the nine weeks, participants will have the opportunity to compile their favorite writing from the workshop into a book of poetry and writing called a chapbook. According to Schuckers, the book will be produced and published at the C4C and archived at the library as well.

“I'm going to ask all the students to submit a few of their favorite pieces, and we'll choose some for a chapbook.” Schuckers said. “We will actually publish a chapbook of everybody's writing at the end at the Center for Creativity, and we'll also archive it with the University Library System.”

In correlation with this workshop, the C4C is also offering weekly guest writer sessions.

According to Schuckers, these are intended to complement the workshop, but they are open to everyone in the Pitt community.

“We are running the workshop, and then there's also our Guest Writer series.” Schuckers said. “The guest writers will be doing readings and Q and As, and it's intended as a complement to the workshop.”

One of these guest speakers is Caroline Earleywine, an Arkansas-based poet who spoke at the first writer session on Feb. 25. She said while she’s still getting used to reading over Zoom, she really enjoyed the feedback from her audience.

“I did a reading from my book called ‘Lesbi-

an Fashion Struggles’ for about 20 minutes, and then I answered some questions,” Earleywine said. “I'm still getting used to doing readings via Zoom, but it was nice because Erik and the audience were so kind and had thoughtful questions.”

Another of these guest writers, Jubi ArriolaHeadley, is scheduled to speak March 4. For Arriola-Headley, the world of poetry and writing was intimidating until relatively recently, which is why he thinks this workshop is so important for elders.

“I’m a living example of why it's important to introduce writing to older folks as well, because I’m going to be 52 this year, but I’ve only been writing for the past seven years,” Arriola-Headley said. “It took me a long time to understand the universe that really is poetry.”

According to Arriola-Headley, this workshop is a necessary space for the voices of LGBTQ+ elders to be heard.

“LGBTQ+ seniors have specific needs, because we’re not a population that is seen in the same way that other populations are seen,” Arriola-Headley said. “A workshop like this is a wonderful opportunity, because many people don’t recognize that we still have voices and things to say.”

Earleywine also said she believes that this workshop and lecture series is vital for celebrating the voices of elders.

“I think Erik is hitting on something really important with this program, because the elders of our community paved the way,” Earleywine said. “They have stories that are so important, but they have not gotten a chance to tell those stories or be celebrated.”

For Schuckers, this workshop has created a space where LGBTQ+ elders can connect with each other and produce great writing, especially because of the lack of programs for this community.

“It's hard to make connections as you get older, and you don't find the opportunities out there, so they've really appreciated this opportunity and they are creating work that I’m blown away by,” Schuckers said.

March 3, 2021

6

Sports

Men’s bball vs Wake Forest pittnews.com

Women’s basketball hoping for end-of-season run at ACC Tournament

Alexander Ganias Staff Writer

Pitt women’s basketball (5-13, 3-12 ACC) did not have much of a successful season by any means, finishing 12th in the ACC standings. While the campaign featured several high points, the Panthers lost more close games than they won, allowing fouls and free throws to get the better of them. Fortunately for the Panthers, the ACC Basketball Tournament doesn’t care if a team is the best in the country or worse than a DII program — every ACC squad gets a berth and a chance to win the conference.

Last year’s tournament finished just before the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the world. The No. 2 seed NC State Wolfpack won that championship game over the four-seed Florida State Seminoles.

The Panthers qualified as the No. 15 seed of 15 teams, but they showed some fight by narrowly defeating No. 10 seed Notre Dame, 67-65. The game belonged to thenfirst-year guard Dayshanette Harris, who scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hit the game-winning shot with less than three seconds left. But Pitt’s luck ran out in the next round against No. 7 seed Georgia Tech, where the Yellow Jackets eliminated the Panthers on March 5, despite another 20-point night from Harris.

The ongoing pandemic will affect this year’s tournament, however. Both Duke and Virginia ended their seasons early because of health concerns, forfeiting their spots in the tournament. As a result, the ACC has implemented a 13-team bracket, where the No. 12 and No. 13 seeds will play to see who will face the No. 5 seed. The Panthers qualified for that No. 12 seed, which means they will have to win five straight games to take the entire tournament.

The first game of the tournament sees

pittnews.com

Pitt go up against the Boston College Eagles (6-11, 2-11 ACC) this Wednesday, the only conference squad to perform worse than the Panthers in the regular season.

The Panthers and Eagles only met each other once this season, but the bigger story between the teams came when they couldn’t play. BC and Pitt were five minutes away from tipoff on New Year’s Eve when both programs were told the game would not happen due to a positive COVID test on the Panthers’ side.

After over a month of no basketball, the Panthers were scheduled to play the Eagles on Jan. 24 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, but that game also got postponed. This time, Boston College contracted positive cases. The teams finally met at the Conte Forum on Feb. 16, and Pitt won their final game of the regular season, defeating BC 83-80. A win on Wednesday will set Pitt up with a date against the No. 5 seed Syracuse Orange.

The Orange were ranked as high as No. 18 in the AP and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll this season. They won both games against the Panthers, with the Syracuse bench dominating Pitt’s in the first game in an 80-57 Orange victory. But the second game was a bit closer — Pitt had a lead going into the second half, but untimely fouls and several giveaways turned the game in Syracuse’s favor, eventually leading to a 7167 Panther defeat.

Pitt will have a tough time beating the cream of the conference’s crop in Louisville, NC State and Georgia Tech, but it will face a tougher path to get to them. In their entire season, the Panthers have only won back-to-back games once, their first two games of the season against George Mason and Hofstra.

After the BC victory, the Panthers struggled during their final four games, scoring only 54.8 points per game while giving

up 72.3. Pitt shot a paltry 47.7% from the free throw line, and committed an average of 15.8 fouls per game in that span. Fouls and free throws have been cause for concern throughout the season, digging Pitt into holes it could not climb out of.

To make things worse, Harris and senior guard Gabbie Green have missed the last three and two games respectively. Firstyear forward Tracey Hueston said after the Notre Dame loss that losing those key pieces put extra emphasis on the bench players.

“It’s obviously very hard losing two huge hustle players for us,” Hueston said. “Some freshmen have to match that hustle and give us that defensive bounce.”

March 3, 2021

But the Panthers do have junior guard Jayla Everett and her team-leading 15.1 points per game. They also have sophomore forward Rita Igbokwe and first-year forward Cynthia Ezeja, whose combined 12.2 rebounds a night helped Pitt collect 41.4 boards per game as a team.

The Panthers need to capitalize on their rebounding, limit the fouls and cash in at the free throw line to have a shot at the tournament crown. But even if everything goes as planned, they would likely still need quite a bit of luck to make that dream a reality.

NOW LEASING 1, 2, 3, & 4 BEDROOM APARTMENTS close to campus | off-street parking available

7

Classifieds

I Rentals & Sublet N D E X

Employment

• NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER

R A T E S

Insertions $0.10)

1X

1-15 Words

16-30 Words (Each

Additional

Deadline:

For sale

• CHILDCARE • FOOD SERVICES • UNIVERSITY • INTERNSHIPS • RESEARCH • VOLUNTEERING • OTHER

$6.30 $7.50

2X

3X

$11.90 $14.20

4X $17.30

$20.00

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

5X $22.00

$25.00

notices

services

• AUTO • BIKES • BOOKS • MERCHANDISE • FURNITURE • REAL ESTATE • PETS

6X $27.00

$29.10

• ADOPTION • EVENTS • LOST AND FOUND • STUDENT GROUPS • WANTED • OTHER

Add. $30.20

$32.30

+ $5.00

+ $5.40

Word:

Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978

For Rent South Oakland ** 5BR/2Ba Brick Home! Large Patio to enjoy! Large Bed­rooms!

2 Full Baths! Located on Ward Street. PITT Shuttle stops di­rectly in front of house, only 15 minute level walk to PITT/CMU/Car­low. $3,345+. Avail­able 8/1/2021. NO PETS. Email: coola­partments@ gmail.­com or call Joe at 412‑467‑6678. Videos at: tinyurl.­com/wardst

hour laundry, con­trolled access. Rates starting at $775 with some util­ ities included. Call us today at 412‑682‑7622

Employment

Commission: possess a valid Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Li­cense, and other qual­ifications as provided for in the Borough’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations Benefits: Part Time starting wage of 17.73 per hour

Employment Other

An application form and details of the se­lection process may be obtained Full or Part‑Time Po­lice at the Borough Build‑ ing, lo­cated at 221 East Officer Homestead Borough, Al‑ 7th Ave, Homestead, PA 15120, between legheny County, PA the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm, Monday Qualified persons are through Friday. invited to apply to the Homestead Bor­ough A completed applica­ Civil Service Commis‑ 2BR houses and apart­ sion to take competitive tion, no fee, must be ments, both with porch‑ examina­tions leading to filled with the Civil Service Commission by es. Available in August. eligi­bility for appoint­ 3:00pm Tuesday, March Unfur­nished, includes ment as Full Time or off‑street parking. No Part Time patrolman for 9, 2021. The test will pets. Atwood/S. Bou­ the Homestead Borough be held at 10am March 10,2021 quet. Call 412‑492‑8173 Police De­partment.

Apartment for rent. 3BR. Available for 2021‑2022 school year. Located At­wood St., Dawson St. and Mckee Place. For more info or schedule a viewing, please call mike at 412‑849‑8694.

Fall 2021 Rentals ‑ 1 & 2 bedroom apartments one block from Forbes on Atwood St very close to campus, clean and well maintained, 24

pittnews.com

General Require­ments: Us citizen, High School Diploma or equivalency certifi­cate 21 years of age and be physically and mentally fit to per­form the full duties In addition, appli­cants must have suc­cessfully completed Act 120 training, as prescribed by the Po­lice Officers’ Educa­tion and Training

March 3, 2021

8