Spring Welcome Back 2019

JANUARY 2020 MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

WEDNESDAY 1

PG. 2

3

9

10

In case you missed it: News from winter break

FRIDAY

new years day

6

happy of first day classes!!

13

20 no class!

MLK day

PG. 27

7

8

honors advising meeting!

pg.3 making changes

PG. 14

How watching 122 movies in one year changed my life

15

16

17 add drop period ends

21

22

23

24

28

29

30

31

WELCOME BACK

Coming in 2020: Whats new in city and campus culture

In case you missed it:

The Pitt News

News from Winter Break Jon Moss

News Editor Students are heading back to campus to find that some local businesses closed or moved, several top Pitt executives got a pay bump for 2020 and the president was impeached. We’ve rounded up a few of the break’s biggest headlines, in case you missed them.

Jimmy John’s moves to a new location The Oakland Jimmy John’s location will move to a new storefront closer to campus by March, according to Jimmy John’s spokesperson Nathan Louer. The store, currently located at 3444 Forbes Ave., between McKee Place and Coltart Avenue, will move to 115 Oakland Ave. between Forbes and Fifth avenues. The space was previously occupied by Jester’s Court Tattoos, and Jimmy John’s applied for a permit in October to convert it for its usage. The sandwich shop’s current building is the proposed site of a controversial 13-story office tower.

Editor-in-Chief JANINE FAUST

pittnews.com

manager@pittnews.com

editor@pittnews.com

SisTers PGH fire SisTers PGH, a non-profit organization that serves trans and non-binary Pittsburghers, is without a home after a fire struck its Squirrel Hill offices on Murray Avenue. The blaze began on the second floor of the building by an unrelated resident, and the City Public Safety Department said it was able to contain the fire to the second floor before it was extinguished. The organization is raising money to help with relocating to a new space — nearly $30,000 was donated as of Dec. 21, 2019.

Local protests follow President Trump’s impeachment The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Dec. 18, 2019, to impeach President Donald Trump on two articles of impeachment, by votes of 230-197 and 229-198. All nine of Pennsylvania’s House Democrats, including Rep. Mike Doyle, who represents Oakland, voted in favor of both articles. The impeachment is the third in the United States’ 232-year history — the other two presidents impeached by the House were Andrew Bruegger’s on Forbes Avenue closed Jackson and Bill Clinton.

Bruegger’s Bagels, located at 3714 Forbes Ave., Pittsburghers made their voices heard on between Oakland Avenue and Atwood Street, impeachment — hundreds gathered at the Cityclosed in mid-December. Henry Schwartz, coCounty Building downtown and at Rep. Conor managing partner of the Oakland Real Estate Lamb’s nearby Mount Lebanon district office.

Company, the building’s owner, did not respond Many held signs that read “Impeach,” “Impeach to a request for comment. & Remove,” and “No one is above the law.”

Raises approved for several University executives The compensation committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved a round of 2.25% raises on Dec. 16, 2019, for Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and eight University executives.

Gallagher’s total compensation package will equal $829,000 this year, with a base salary of $669,738. He also received an additional $500,000 last year as a deferred compensation bonus — $100,000 of his base salary was withheld each year for five years, a practice that will now end.

The committee previously approved a round of 1.5-2.5% raises for five of Pitt’s top executives, as well as the chancellor, in December 2018.

Managing Editor CAROLINE BOURQUE

#NoWarWithIran Protest About 200 Pittsburghers protested Saturday in Schenley Plaza as part of a national day of action, urging President Donald Trump not to further escalate the nation’s conflict with Iran.

The protest followed the United States’ Friday killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general and head of the country’s elite Quds Force, near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. American officials say, without providing evidence, that Soleimani was planning attacks that would endanger U.S. armed forces and officials. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States should expect “harsh retaliation” in response.

Opinions Editor LEAH MENSCH

News Editor EMILY WOLFE

news@pittnews.com

opinions@pittnews.com

Sports Editor TRENT LEONARD

Culture Editor DELILAH BOURQUE

sports@pittnews.com

culture@pittnews.com

Visual Editor SARAH CUTSHALL

Layout Editors ELI SAVAGE & ELISE LAVELLEE

Online Editor MATT CHOI

Copy Chief BAILEY SASSEVILLE

layout@pittnews.com

visuals@pittnews.com

copy@pittnews.com

tpnonline@gmail.com

Maggie Young | Assistant Copy Chief

Jon Moss | Assistant News Editor Eri Guthrie | Assistant News Editor Maggie Durwald | Assistant Opinions Editor Stephen Thompson | Assistant Sports Editor Thomas Yang | Assistant Visual Editor Knox Coulter | Multimedia Editor

Copy Staff Ben King Nick Rivera Sarah Stager Rachel Wonder Riley Kleemeier

Kellen Kolar Kayla Romanelli Sofia Ackerman Jane Patz Lydia Chlpka

Digital Staff Mary Rose O’Donnell | Digital Manager Gennadi Ryan | Online Visual Editor

Editorial Policies

Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor-in-chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration.

Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter intended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to editor@pittnews. com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and

January 6, 2020

Sales Manager KYLE GUINNESS

student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is published Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations Committee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The editor-in-chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor-in-chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, faculty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and editorial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

Business Manager FORREST BLONDELL

advertising@pittnews.com

Inside Sales Manager ALEXANDRIA REA

Marketing Manager

Production Manager

Account Executives

VICTORIA KLINE

THOMAS TOURE

Paige Eritz Mark Machado Chris Stuchell Steven Moran Constantina Garganos

2

Honors program making further changes Fall 2020 Jessica Steinberg Staff Writer

The University Honors College had a busy year in 2019, welcoming a new acting dean, moving first-year Honors Housing from one side of Sutherland Hall to another and adding a new honors joint-degree program.

Now that these changes have settled into place, the UHC has announced plans to introduce “scholar communities” and to continue to adjust its Honors Housing offerings.

UHC administrators moved the first-year housing program at the start of this academic year from Sutherland Hall’s west wing to the smaller east wing, as it rolled out a new admissions-based joint-degree program for incoming first-year students. The academic program required first-year students in the program to live in Honors Housing.

Parker Werns, the Honors Housing manager, said the transition was fairly straightforward, and honors students still have access to West’s new common areas.

“Sutherland just went through a bunch of really great renovations,” Werns said. “They got a

pittnews.com

to living in Honors Housing. In response to this feedback, Acting Dean Audrey Murrell said the UHC will remove the requirement next academic year that first-year honors students live in the Honors Housing living learning community.

“They wanted more flexibility for engineering students to live in the engineering LLC or business students to live in the business LLC,” Murrell said. “Based on that feedback, we relaxed that as a requirement.”

In order to improve the Honors Housing experience, the UHC will move upperclassmen Honors Housing from the second and third floors of Irvis Hall to Brackenridge Hall next academic year, according to Werns.

“It’s going to be much closer to the Cathedral The Honors College offices are located on floor 36 of the Cathedral of and much closer to the Quad, and hopefully it’s Learning. Caela Go staff photographer going to be a better experience for students so kitchen and all these new lounge spaces. It ended being with people who are academically driven they don’t have to be trekking up to Irvis,” Werns up being really great because they still have access — like-minded people,” Bayer said. “I got more said. to all those nice spaces.” interested in the other programs later on, but it Priority access to Honors Housing is one of Quincy Bayer, a first-year engineering major was mostly housing, building a community, the the benefits of the new joint-degree program, in the honors joint-degree program, said he ap- connections.” which requires students to complete 24 credits, preciates the opportunities for community that But while some students view Honors Houswith 18 through honors classes and six through Honors Housing offers. ing as a beneficial part of the joint-degree proSee Changes on page 5 “The main reason I joined Pitt Honors is for gram, other students did not want to be restricted

January 6, 2020

3

HILLMAN REMODEL TO FINISH BY 2023 Rebecca Johnson Senior Staff Writer

Some students had difficulty finding an open study spot in Hillman Library during finals week this year, including Rachel Gillmer, a first-year nursing major. Gillmer said she wishes the third floor would have been open during this particularly hectic point in the semester.

“During finals, I wish the third floor was opened because I feel like more kids could get a spot [in Hillman],” Gillmer said. “The other morning I had to go searching all over campus for a place to study.”

While the third floor remodel is expected to be completed soon, Gilmer and other underclassmen will still have to wait a couple years for construction to finish before the entire library is open to students. Pitt plans to remodel the second floor after the third floor opens, followed by the first and ground floors.

Fourth floor renovations were completed in fall 2018. The renovations are targeted to be finished entirely by 2023. Jeff Wisniewski, the director of communications and web services for the University Library System said this schedule is in keeping with the University’s five-year plan of closing and remodeling one floor per year.

“We are trying to do a floor a year,” Wisniewski said. “So, our best estimate at this point is that [the third floor] will open sometime in the spring before students leave for summer break.”

The third floor will be home to new tech-savvy amenities including a 20-footlong interactive digital wall similar to the one located in the Global Hub in Posvar Hall and a room Wisniewski said Pitt is unofficially calling the “text and context lab.” The lab will include equipment for bookbinding, papermaking and letterpressing. Archives and Special Collec-

tions will also be moved to the Forbes Avenue side and will feature a reading room, classroom and exhibition area.

Wisniewski said these additions mark Hillman’s emphasis on technology-based learning.

“The idea is that it’s a space where people can interact with text in many different formats including text and digital,” Wisniewski said. “We can take a building that was built before the digital era and update the space to reflect what a modern library can and should be.”

New technology is also anticipated to be added on the ground floor, including more audio and visual production spaces and a Pitt Information Technology computer lab. This is on top of a more centrally located information desk. Carrie Donovan, the head of public services for Hillman Library who oversees 35 librarians and the employees at the service desk, said this new information desk will

help students be more independent when conducting research in the library.

“We’re really hoping that all of our services will be connected organically through the spaces, so that when you come into the library it’s barrier-free in the sense that it’s kind of intuitive where things are located,” Donovan said. “We want to empower students to be independent and confident in their research and academic pursuits while being here to help as needed.”

At the end of the project, the bathrooms, elevators and stairwells will also be renovated. Wisniewski said waiting until the end of the remodel instead of updating them floor by floor makes the most sense from a construction perspective.

“Even though the fourth floor has been renovated, the bathrooms haven’t.

That will be at the end of the project, but See Hillman on page 6

Pitt Telefund 30 open positions for

Fundraising Representatives Student Callers Starting salary of $8.50/hr Contact alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends to spread the good news about the university and secure donations to Pitt!

Flexible Hours, Opportunities for Promotions

Apply on PittWorx.com pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

4

Changes, pg. 3 experiential credits of research, internships, co-ops or study abroad. In addition to Honors Housing, participation in the program includes perks, such as priority access to class registration and an assigned honors scholar-mentor.

According to Murrell, if the requirements are met, graduating students will receive a diploma that is jointly conferred by their academic college as well as the UHC. “Your diploma would say ‘Bachelors of Arts with Honors’ or ‘Bachelors of Science and Business Administration with Honors.’ It’s on your actual diploma,” Murrell said.

Priya Shah, a sophomore neuroscience and political science major, said she thinks the new joint-degree program is a positive change for the UHC. “While it does promote a certain level of exclusivity, I do think it’s a good addition and I wish it was something I had when I was a freshman,” Shah, an Honors Housing resident, said. “I know a lot of the freshmen get to schedule much earlier, which would have been nice.”

For students looking for less of a commitment, the UHC also rolled out an honors distinction program this academic year, which has smaller credit and GPA requirements than the joint-degree program. The distinction program awards an honors designation on the student’s transcript, but not their diploma.

With the addition of the new programs to the intensive Bachelor of Philosophy degree program, the UHC now offers three credential programs with varying levels of commitment. But Murrell said the UHC is open to all Pitt students — any student can apply for the BPhil, the Brackenridge Fellowship, the joint-degree program, the honors distinction, attend Community Cafe events or take University honors courses.

“We don’t have a membership model,” Murrell said. “Membership makes people think that if you are not in the joint-degree program that you can’t apply for Brackenridge or that you can’t, at some point as a sophomore or junior, decide to do a Bachelor of Philosophy, and that’s actually not accurate.”

With the housing changes and the programming additions going well, Murrell said the UHC is preparing to launch a series of “scholar communities.” According to Murrell, the scholar communities are an opportunity for students who are interested in research to participate in an interdisciplinary group of students and faculty focused on a particular topic, such as food insecurity.

“It’s a perfect way to understand the notion

pittnews.com

of crossing boundaries,” Murrell said. “It’s a place where all different kinds of scholarship and the different types of disciplines can come together and collaborate toward solutions.”

According to Murrell, the inaugural scholar community will look at food through the lenses of waste, insecurity, policy, health and economics, with the help of Food21, a non-profit organization with expertise in food sustainability efforts. As part of the scholar community, Amanda Little, a journalist and Vanderbilt University professor with an interest in sustainability and food, will speak at Pitt’s campus this year.

In addition to the scholar communities,

Murrell said the UHC will add two new staff positions, a director of experiential and global programs and a program manager. The UHC is also assembling an alumni board to provide more opportunities for UHC alumni to engage with current students.

Murrell said all of the changes underway on floors 35 and 36 of the Cathedral of Learning are

January 6, 2020

intended to empower students with advanced academic opportunities.

“It’s just amazing to me, some of the research projects that students are doing, some of the original things that they are creating in all different kinds of disciplines with all different kinds of project work,” Murrell said.

PREPARE FOR MINISTRY IN THE WAY OF JESUS Explore our Master’s and Certificate programs.

www.pts.edu/admit

5

Hillman, pg. 4 it is happening,” Wisniewski said. “It’s the most time- and cost-effective to do the entire core at the same time.”

The total cost of these projects is unknown. Daniel Marcinko, the assistant vice chancellor for administration and design at Pitt’s Facilities Management office said he can’t disclose the projected cost of the remodel.

“We are still very much in construction on phase two of the project and are just getting started on design of phase

pittnews.com

three which will be floors one and two,” Marcinko said. “Therefore, we are unable to provide the cost and projected cost information you are requesting at this time.”

While Hillman Library pivots to a digital format, data shows students might not be entirely on board. A 2015 study reported by the American Psychological Association found that 92% of students surveyed preferred physical text over electronic versions. A 2016 study conducted at Duke University also found that while a majority of students

prioritize the need for technical help and delivery of books, a much smaller minority find data visualization and writing studios important.

Students at Pitt have said they would like more basic additions to the library.

Gillmer said she would like more whiteboard rooms and group study spaces because she “feels like they are so effective and there isn’t enough of them.” Peter Lovecchio, a law student, said he would like new tables on the ground floor and outlets on the tables similar to those at University of Illinois, where he attended

January 6, 2020

undergraduate school.

The same students enjoy the fourth floor remodel. While Lovecchio said he doesn’t study on the fourth floor because he prefers a louder environment, Gillmer said she prefers the fourth floor’s new look and believes it has helped her studying.

“I really like the fourth floor. I think it’s a great space for students to focus on their work. It’s nice and quiet, and I like the lighting,” Gillmer said. “I feel like when I come down [to the ground floor], it’s a lot more of a social environment, but upstairs I have to be more focused.

Wisniewski said he hopes the excitement students feel about the fourth floor will continue throughout the entirety of the remodel.

“What we’re looking at is creating more spaces for people – study space, collaboration space, creation space,” Wisniewski said. “We want to make the library a hub on campus for creation and collaboration and study.”

6

FEDERAL PROBE INVESTIGATES ALLEGED PITT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Jon Moss

News Editor The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into two possible violations of federal disability laws by Pitt, according to the department’s list of pending cases.

The investigation was prompted by a female sophomore student filing a 10page complaint with OCR on May 15, around a month after she concluded her first year at Pitt. She is alleging that the University discriminated against her on the basis of her disability — a life-threatening dairy allergy she has had since birth.

A July 17 letter from OCR to the student listed the five specific allegations filed in the May complaint, including that the University failed to make rea-

sonable accommodations to permit full participation in programs and services.

In the July 17 letter, OCR agreed to investigate two of the student’s five allegations. The University has said it has not violated federal law and asked that the complaint be dismissed.

OCR enforces, in addition to other federal laws, Title II of 1990 Americans with Disability Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities, and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that received federal financial assistance.

The Pitt News filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the department for numerous documents, including copies of any complaints, the University’s narrative position and any notification letters to the complainant or the Univer-

sity. The department fulfilled the request with many documents redacted either partially or fully — including removing the student’s name and any other personally identifiable information — under FOIA exemptions for privacy concerns and ongoing law enforcement actions.

The first allegation the OCR has agreed to investigate states that Pitt was not “ensuring that [the student] had access to its food service and meal plan system during the 2018-2019 academic year; requiring [her] to pay club and activity fees for food [she was] unable to eat; and denying [her] the opportunities to live on campus, attend special events, and register for the fall 2019 semester.”

The second was that the University “treated [her] differently than non-disabled students during an exam on March 7, 2019, when a professor was not available to answer [her] questions about the

exam, but he was available to respond to other students’ questions during the exam.”

The office declined to investigate the three remaining allegations put forward by the student.

The third allegation was that the University “retaliated against [the student] after [the student] advocated for [the student’s] disability-related rights when a Dean told [the student] that [the student] did not belong at the University and should “just go” if all [the student does] is complain.”

The office dismissed this allegation because it felt the action “does not rise to the level of a lasting and tangible harm.”

The fourth allegation was that the University “failed to have a process to provide disability-related services to students with See Investigation on page 9

Large 16” 12 cut cheese pizza +tax

$6.00

All day, every day 247 Atwood St, Oakland now accepting credit cards

2019

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

7

New to Pitt Dining January 2020

g

up

Market Central

g

vi

n

ne

Ser

w

te

Pa

her Pla t n

in

Handcrafted NEW! Create your own Sandwiches and Wraps

Kale to Pitt - Green Bar Bella Trattoria - Signature Strombolis and Calzones Magellan’s - Carving Station Flying Star Diner - Nacho Bar and signature Burger Buns 360 Degrees - Mongolian Monday’s Tower’s Treats - Warm Desserts

Schenley Café

The Perch at Sutherland

someth

Cathedral Café

Tres Habaneros Buenos Sabor Empanadas, Mexican Street Corn, and Loaded Churros for Dessert

Nicola’s Garden NEW! Smoothies and Frozen Coffee Creations

Red Hot - Daily Pasta Bake Fresh Daily Grill and Deli Specials Soup Compliments NEW! Housemade Dessert Variety Hot Chocolate Bar

SubConnection Freshly baked Artisan Breads Auditions Arepas: South American Style Cuisine Schenley Fare: House Original

Coffee Carts

Housemade Pastries baked fresh daily

Quick Zone Litchfield Towers - Salem’s Halal entrées Sutherland Hall - Kosher to Go

The Pete Food Court

Forbes Street Market

Full Service Chick-fil-A

Meal Kits coming soon!

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

8

Investigation, pg. 7 food allergies.”

The office dismissed this allegation because it said there is no requirement under the laws and regulations it enforces that universities need to have a specific process for providing disabilityrelated services to students with food allergies. In addition, Pitt now has a process to provide accommodations to students with food allergies — students can utilize the University’s housing/ dining accommodation request form through the Office of Disability Resources and Services.

The fifth allegation, and the office’s reason for its dismissal, were fully redacted.

In an Oct. 10 letter to the office, Ste-

pittnews.com

phen Gilson, an associate legal counsel at Pitt, said the University had met all requirements under federal law and asked for the complaint to be dismissed.

“The University has met and exceeded the applicable legal requirements in serving the Complainant,” Gilson said.

“Complainant has continued her successful career at the University, receiving an A+ in every course thus far.”

Pitt spokesperson Kevin Zwick said the University takes all disabilities very seriously and has worked with the student to accommodate their needs.

“The University has taken this student’s needs seriously, and worked hard to accommodate her condition,” Zwick said. “We strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community.”

January 6, 2020

9

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

10

satire

TOP TEN SMALL RESOLUTIONS FOR A JOYFUL NEW YEAR

Alex Dollinger Staff Columnist

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the beginning. We are now staunchly in the ’20s, and it’s time to go through the ageold January ritual of trying to completely change our lifestyles and subsequently failing. Every year there’s a vicious cycle — you vow to yourself that you will not live like the tired, sad college student that you are, you fail to do this and live to meet the needs of a tired, sad college student, and then you become disappointed in yourself, which makes you even more tired and sad.

I know that things look bleak, but I come bearing solutions, i.e. 10 small and easy resolutions that are exactly what you need to have the best year ever.

10. Experience Pittsburgh

I am about to finish my third year living in Pittsburgh and all I’m really familiar with are the sights and smells of Oakland.

After all the pain and suffering we incur within this neighborhood, why do we never escape her confines? It is quite common to barricade yourself inside this noisy patch of land with poor air quality. Why don’t we go breathe diseased air somewhere that has a cat cafe and a 7-Eleven? If you go downtown, you can find the Colony Cafe, a 7-Eleven and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. The best part is that you can take a bus there for absolutely zero dollars. I think a lot of people don’t know how, which brings us to resolution number nine.

9. Learn how to take the bus I’m sure that a great deal of you know how to navigate the endless blessing that is

the Port Authority bus system. For zero dollars (but also thousands of dollars if you think about it) we can get on a bus and go anywhere.

We can go to the theater, go to a mall, we can even go into a sinkhole. All these opportunities at our fingertips, yet many people don’t know how to grasp them, and by that I mean use a series of apps — Google Maps, Transit, TrueTime, screaming on Facebook Live — to calculate when the bus is actually coming. Alas, most bus schedules, through no fault of their own, are notorious liars.

8. Download Touch Tunes Let me paint you a picture.

You’re sitting in Stack’d trying to have a nice meal with your family. Ambient pop

music is playing softly in the background as you eat the most delicious fried pickles you have ever encountered. A song by Post Malone is playing quietly, until it fades out. You have only a second to be confused before the intro to Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” begins to play at full volume, and the song continues for all of its six minSee Dollinger on page 16

NOW LEASING

1, 2, and 3 Bedroom Apartments

412.219.6754 | walnutcapital.com pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

11

column

Cutting down on diet talk in 2020 Leah Mensch Opinions Editor

There are a lot of things I want to talk about in 2020 — books, writing and cumin, to name a few. There are also a few things I don’t want to talk about this year. Mainly, weight loss and dieting.

If your New Year’s resolution is to fit into a smaller pair of jeans or to cut carbohydrates, then that’s your personal choice. Talking about it over a cup of coffee with a friend, or mentioning it to the grocery store cashier may seem like casual conversation, but diet talk is not only unnecessary, but often harmful to the people around us. Dieting isn’t effective or emotionally healthy for many people, and since everyone’s body is different, what is healthy for one person often isn’t healthy for everyone else. We would all benefit from cut-

ting discussion surrounding diet and weight from conversation.

While it’s always present, every New Year, diet culture infiltrates the media with Twitter ads for intermittent fasting and celebrities pledging to lose a certain amount of weight by December. Diet culture, according to dietician Christy Harrison, is “a system of beliefs that worships thinness and equates it to health and moral virtue” and “promotes weight loss as a means of attaining higher status, which means you feel compelled to spend a massive amount of time, energy and money trying to shrink your body.”

People choose to pursue weight loss for various reasons. It’s not up to me, or to anyone else, to decide whether or not that reason is valid. But what is healthy mentally, physically and emotionally for one person isn’t always healthy for everyone else.

Take for example, the Whole30 — a detox diet which prohibits consumption of all added sugars, grains, alcohol, legumes, MSG and baked goods for 30 days. It has become a popular diet for the month of January, though a strict detox and food rules can be quite harmful for some people, as Colleen Reichman, a doctor of psychology and nutrition explains.

“I know [the founder of the Whole30] markets [the Whole30] as a way to find ‘food freedom,’” Reichman wrote on Instagram.

“Yes, I know some people have discovered food sensitivities through doing it. I am speaking to the risk factor that comes with this diet — if that hasn’t been your experience, that is totally ok too! Just know that there are many people who have developed disordered eating through doing this — I am speaking to that population and attempting to provide a warning about the fact that this may happen.”

It’s true that diets with strict rules — like the Whole30 or keto, which eliminates carbohydrates and focuses heavily on increasing fat and protein intake — often catalyze disordered eating. Researchers estimate that about 35% of “normal dieters” eventually become disordered eaters — which means they experience heightened anxiety around food, ingredients and weight. About 25% of these people will eventually meet the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder.

Biologically speaking, some people are more prone to developing eating disorders than others. Which is to say, while some people can handle dieting without becoming obsessive and transitioning into disordered eating, other people can’t. People in active recovery from disordered eating are often acutely sensitive to conversation surroundSee Mensch on page 17

column

THIS YEAR, EMBRACE THE “WORK IN PROGRESS”

Julia Kreutzer

Senior Staff Columnist I’m striving to be more candid. With that in mind, it’s time for me to make a confession — I really don’t know what I’m doing.

I’m nearly halfway through my college career and haven’t worked out all the nitty-gritty details of what my political science concentration is — or what a concentration actually is. I work two jobs, but still haven’t figured out this whole budgeting thing, especially when it involves food. I think I’m doing my laundry properly, but I don’t know why my Tide Pods sometimes leave this weird blue residue on my T-shirts. I love tea but I’m definitely oversteeping it — unless I’m understeeping it. The list goes on.

I’m nearing 20, yet I feel like I have the experience of a toddler and willpow-

pittnews.com

er of a elderly woman who’s been over it for a decade and a half. In short, I feel like I’m wandering through life without a map while my peers have Waze premium with six different GPS narration offerings. This feeling of inferiority can be a challenge when part of your job is writing columns advising others on why they should listen to your opinion or follow your advice.

Yet according to Gill Corkindale, executive coach and writer, I am not alone in feeling that I have to put on a facade of expertise.

“Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success,” Corkindale explains. “‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.”

About 70% of people will experience

imposter syndrome at one point or another, especially women viewed as highachievers, according to a 2011 study from the Behavioral Science Research Institute. Rather than silently suffering with this anxiety alongside so many of our peers, it’s time we stop invalidating our successes and learn to appreciate the things we have yet to master.

I, and many others like me, feel the weight of missteps or shortcomings far more than the triumphs of my successes or acclaim. I’m often more upset when I get a C on a quiz than I am excited about an A on an exam. One bad review sticks with me more than countless comments of support. My resumé often reminds me of the roles I didn’t get rather than the ones I adored playing. I beat myself up over missing a day at the gym, regardless of how many times I did go that week.

Especially at this time of year, when millions worldwide make a list of their

January 6, 2020

shortcomings and aim to cut their bad habits cold turkey, it is easy to believe that everyone else is perfecting themselves instantaneously while you are still struggling. But in actuality, according to U.S. News and World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.

When the clock hits midnight, we don’t suddenly get the power to flip a switch and fix the things we don’t like about ourselves. Frankly, I’m sick of feeling inferior for not knowing, sometimes coming up short and being a fallible human being just like everyone else.

This year, I’m foregoing the traditional New Year’s resolution list and instead opting for candor. I’m aiming to lean into my inadequacy, knowing many others around me are struggling with the same thing. I am an expert in not knowing everything and, at some point, we all must See Kreutzer on page 18

12

www.pts.pitt.edu/commuting

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

13

BOX OFFICE BINGE: How watching 122 movies in

BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS

Boléro!

January 17,18 & 19

Manfred Honeck, conductor Seong-Jin Cho, piano

one year changed my life

Aidan Segal

Staff Columnist If Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert said, “Film can take us where we cannot go,” then I have been all over the world in the past year.

I was a love-sick nightclub owner in “Casablanca” and a hard-nosed detective in “Chinatown.” I was a “Rebel Without a Cause” in Los Angeles and a deranged “Taxi Driver” in New York City. “Once Upon a Time in America,” I was a merciless Jewish gangster, and “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” I was a fading TV cowboy.

And I have gone to the moon a few times, too.

It was a New Year’s resolution of mine to watch as many movies as time would allow me and it turned out I had more than I thought — enough to watch 122 movies.

It probably sounds ridiculous, and you would be in good company with my parents for thinking in such a way — though I suspect a lot of the animosity stems from my relentless Al Pacino impression whose excellence they refuse to acknowledge — but I wanted to undergo a year-long journey of purpose and meaning that I couldn’t find in losing weight, becoming more environmentally conscious or reading the Bible in its entirety — I’m a bad Jew, I didn’t even make it through Genesis.

For me, this journey of sorts was not a way to challenge myself, but a means of setting aside time to focus on something I am passionate about, and that is not something that should be exclusive to cinema.

You know you have signed up for a life of pretentiousness when you become a cinephile — the word itself sounds exclusive and pompous. It describes a person who is passionate about film, and it’s the kind of word the so-called profound intellectual Holden Caulfield would call him-

pittnews.com

self in “The Catcher in the Rye.” But that is a book, and quite famously, never-to-be-amovie per J.D. Salinger’s refusal to sell the movie rights and apparent dying wish, so I am not sure why I brought that up. Maybe it is because I am a cinephile, and I like to say things that sound smart.

How do you watch 122 movies in a single year? It’s easy and only takes two steps.

First, you must watch an average of about three movies a week and then you must become a really good liar.

You tell your friends you are sick and cannot hangout tonight, because really you will be in bed with a bowl of popcorn watching Martin Sheen’s face rise from the swamp in the Vietnam War epic, “Apocalypse Now.” You tell your parents that you are looking for a job, but really you are at Rowhouse Theater in Lawrenceville watching Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”

You email your professor apologizing for waking up late and missing class because you were writing an essay all night for another class, but really you couldn’t remove yourself from the comedic genius of “Borat.”

Hollywood is becoming increasingly dull and unoriginal. The past decade is littered with “nostalgia porn” — pointless sequels and live-action remakes of animated films for a sentimental audience made by studios with every intention of making a quick buck and not creating something new.

And as much as I appreciate the streaming service era for offering film buffs like myself access to a collection of critically acclaimed movies all on one platform, Netflix and company are destroying the movie-going experience. Movies belong on the big screen, and because we are at a cultural crossroads, it might not be long

BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 2 RAVEL: Boléro

TITLE SPONSOR

PNC POPS

Blockbuster Broadway!

February 7, 8 & 9

Stuart Chafetz, conductor The Hamlisch-Page Student Choir

TITLE SPONSOR

The only thing better than spending an evening at a hit Broadway show is spending an evening with ALL of them. Celebrate Wicked, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, Annie, The Phantom of the Opera and more in one thrilling performance!

BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS

TITLE SPONSOR

Valentine’s Romance February 14, 15 & 16

Vasily Petrenko, conductor Ray Chen, violin ELGAR: Cockaigne Overture SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé - Suites No. 1 & 2

TITLE SPONSOR

PNC POPS

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony 30th Anniversary Edition March 20, 21 & 22

George Daugherty, conductor “What’s up, Doc?” An enormously fun blend of classical music and classic animation! Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes pals return for the 30th anniversary of the landmark Bugs Bunny at the Symphony concerts.

The world’s most iconic Looney Tunes will be projected on the big screen, while their exhilarating original scores are played live. TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s19)

Student tickets start at $15!

Visit www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pitt or call 412.392.4819 for more details!

See Segal on page 19

January 6, 2020

14

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

15

Dollinger, pg. 11 utes.

This is a true story, and I was there.

I clapped. I was also the one playing the music from the glorious app, Touch Tunes, which allows you to play music of your choosing in several Oakland venues.

My personal resolution is to use this app to ruin as many vibes as possible. I once played Joni Mitchell’s discography the entire time I was at a restaurant. The vibe was abysmal. Power is power.

7. Go to Student Health at least one time The best thing you can do for yourself and others is stop going to class with the flu. I’ll never understand how we all never go to class but also always go to class when we’re sick. I’m most certainly guilty of this, for some reason, but imagine how much easier all our lives would be if we just bit the bullet, got a doctor’s note and were miserable in peace. The best part is that if you go on a Monday, there is usually a beautiful angel in the form of a therapy dog to offer support in trying times.

However, you don’t need to go to Student

Health to see therapy dogs. This is a segue to number six.

6. Go to Therapy Dog Tuesday You may notice that there’s a running theme of hidden gems here, and this one might take the cake. Did you know that almost every single Tuesday, we can all go pet several licensed therapy dogs? For free? In Cathy? It’s more likely than you think.

A resolution that I encourage everyone to add to their list is to go pet these dogs. On holidays, they sometimes wear cute outfits. It’s most certainly the greatest

thing to ever happen to me, and I know it will bring a lot of joy to your New Year as well.

5. Learn a new skill This is a classic resolution, but I don’t advise it in the classic sense. As lovely as it would be, do any of us have time to learn how to knit, take up photography or even read a book? The answer is no.

However, there are lots of practical skills to learn that take no time at all. For example, you can learn how to prepare a meal that’s not ramen, or learn the best way to clean your shoes after stepping in vomit on Forbes — if you learn how to do this please tell me so my Reeboks can once again step into the sun. My personal goal is to learn how to navigate the Cathy stairwells after they switch around on the third floor so I can stop taking the elevator from three to five and feeling really guilty.

4. Clean your laptop screen It’s so quick and easy, yet so, so satisfying. Are you doing it right now? You should. I bet you didn’t even know how dirty it was. Isn’t it so much clearer now?

You’re welcome.

3. Clean out your social media While you’re at it, take a gander at your socials and make sure people are only seeing what you want them to see. That sounds insidious, but think about it. How many people from your high school can still see your finsta? How many people from your high school do you want to see your finsta?

The numbers are probably different. It may not seem like a big deal, but think about all your transcribed breakdowns that caption unrelated memes. It’s time to clean house.

2. Get a Sorrento’s personal pizza I have wonderful news. Sorrento’s Pizza sells small versions of its iconic large pizzas that are just the right size to eat entirely by yourself. The best part of this knowledge is that the cup of ranch you get is still the same size and you can get it delivered to your house through Grubhub. My resolution last year was to eat one of these pizzas whenever I wanted to, and now the delivery people from Sorrento’s know my name and face. It’s a beautiful thing.

1. Do the reading I’m just kidding. None of us are ever going to do that.

Alex Dolinger primarily writes satire and columns about entertainment. You can write to Alex at ard108@pitt.edu.

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

16

Mensch, pg. 12 ing weight loss and dieting, and since eating disorders, like all mental illnesses, come in many different shapes and sizes, we can never be sure who these people are.

And even if your audience doesn’t seem to be affected, talking about dieting and weight loss sets a harmful example for those around you regardless of age. This is particularly dangerous for children and young adults who are navigating major life changes like puberty or moving away from home.

pittnews.com

“It’s worth bearing in mind that kids are like sponges when it comes to taking in things, plus they look up to adults, so you might be teaching your kids to grow up self conscious about their bodies,” Gillian McConnell, a registered dietician, writes. “When kids hear us complaining about lumpy legs or cellulite-y thighs, legs transform from being what they’re actually needed for which is walking, running, jumping and dancing to being a body part that needs [to be scrutinized for appearance]. When kids hear a certain food being criticised as being bad or that it will make us fat, this may instigate food

restriction or guilt over eating that food.”

Nobody’s body is exactly the same, either.

A 2019 study done by King’s College in London tracked over a thousand U.S. and U.K. adults eating the same common foods. Researchers measured and tracked participants’ glucose levels frequently and found that every single individual in the study had a different bodily reaction to the food. This suggests that there is no perfect, one-size-fits-all diet.

“Just because some diet or recommendation is out there doesn’t mean that you fit it,” Tim Spector, the epidemiologist and professor who led the study, said.

January 6, 2020

Not everyone can diet healthfully, and not everyone should. It’s a personal choice, and one that benefits nobody when brought up in conversation. Talking about dieting and weight loss in casual conversation is not only harmful and unnecessary, but it’s also just not interesting. I’m sorry, but someone had to say it. So please, along with the old texts from your ex, procrastination and vaping, let’s leave diet talk in 2019.

Leah writes primarily about mental health, books, essays and the spices of the world. Write to Leah at LEM140@pitt.edu.

17

Kreutzer, pg. 12 learn to appreciate that expertise in and of itself. I’m not saying we shouldn’t continually work on ourselves, but there is no perfect, completely finished state of being we are striving toward.

So, from one non-expert to another, here’s what helps me come to terms with imperfection.

First, imposter syndrome relies on our belief that we are only the only ones facing it. For me, it’s helpful to tell people how I’m feeling and hear others express

pittnews.com

similar sentiments. My bi-weekly dose of acceptance comes from my favorite podcast, ‘Work in Progress.’ Actress and activist Sophia Bush interviews many of her personal and professional heroes, from journalist Gloria Steinem, to life coach Jay Shetty, to her favorite college professor. She concludes each episode by asking the interviewee what they are currently working on, whether its an exciting new project or a continuous personal goal. Her mantra speaks volumes.

“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultane-

ously.”

I’m the kind of person most people hate — I really like school. Learning is fun to me, yet the more I learn, the more I am reminded of how much I don’t know. Considering I have been in some kind of academic setting for more than 16 years, I am very used to being confronted by my own lack of knowledge. To combat this stress, I need brain breaks, which have been proven to increase productivity, success and overall positivity and can even help reduce the risk of anxiety, insomnia and depres-

January 6, 2020

sion. Instead of constantly absorbing information, prepare yourself to learn by occasionally giving yourself time to simply be. I like to curl up with my favorite comedy specials and a bowl of pasta but napping, exercise and meditation are also great ways to give yourself a muchneeded time-out.

Additionally, offering others help has allowed me to turn my focus from the things I don’t know towards the things I feel confident and capable of doing. Offering to proofread friends’ work or help them with an audition isn’t solely an act of kindness, but kick-starts a relationship of mutual assistance and support.

By making the first step, it’s easier to later ask for help when you need it.

So, yes, I still don’t know what I’m doing. There are countless examples of ways I come up short, but forcing myself to check these things off of some imaginary to-do list has only stifled my personal growth and hindered my ability to celebrate the things I do accomplish.

This new year, rather than listing unattainable resolutions, I’m resolving to accept the things I don’t know and learn a little more every day. I’m working toward celebrating the things I do, in light of what I can’t. I’m allowing myself to be a work in progress. You can, too.

18

Segal, pg. 14 before theaters fade into obscurity and are treated the way record players are today — a nostalgic trend.

I am a snob. When legendary director Martin Scorsese of “Goodfellas” and “Raging Bull” fame denounced Marvel movies as “not cinema” and other franchise pieces of garbage in an interview with Empire last November, I rejoiced.

“Honestly, the closest I can think of them [Marvel movies], as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks,” Scorsese said. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

How many times can you go to the theater to watch the down-and-out guy who acquires superhuman powers only to be faced with more “unexpected” obstacles before beating the bad guy in the end?

My comic book brethren, quit kidding yourselves. It’s the same story, just a different costume.

I, on the other hand, love the classics.

I love the black-and-white film noirs from the ’40s and ’50s like “The Big Sleep” and “Sunset Boulevard” with the heavy cigarette smoke and cocktail drinking, the forbidden romance and the unsolvable murder. I love when filmmakers push boundaries and challenge the audience in films like “Midnight Cowboy” and “A Clockwork Orange.” And I love “The Godfather” — its legacy speaks for itself.

Selecting which films to watch was just as entertaining as watching them. Usually it was as simple as looking up lists of what are regarded as the best films ever made, but after I exhausted my way through the majority of the suggestions from the International Movie Database and American Film Institute, I resorted to other methods.

After having watched almost all of Stanley Kubrick’s works, I became curious as to what movies he watched, which movies inspired him. And I didn’t stop with Kubrick. I researched all my favorite filmmakers’ favorite films.

Woody Allen listed Federico Fellini’s Italian surrealist masterpiece, “8 ½,” and Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” which is always in the ‘best movie ever’ debate.

Quentin Tarantino listed Sergio Leone’s

pittnews.com

spaghetti western epic, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and Howard Hawks classic screwball comedy, “His Girl Friday.”

I would watch any movie that got the stamp of approval from movie critics and it could have been anything from silent films to biblical epic. And every time I watched a movie I logged it in a Google doc along with my personal rating — it’s a bit obsessive, but I couldn’t have done it any other way.

My favorite moments of the year were in some way or another a result of movies.

My friends and I bonded over a love for the aesthetic violence and rapid-fire dialogue of Tarantino flicks like “Inglourious Basterds,” and “Kill Bill.” We impersonated our favorite — and least favorite — actors like Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

We argued over whether or not Star Wars is overrated. It is.

Movies do, in fact, take us places we cannot go, and teach us not just about the world, but about the people we watch them with. Movies spark arguments about our place in the world and they hone in on our rawest of emotions. Cinema is the

January 6, 2020

most effective artform that can do such a thing and if you don’t feel that way, it is because you aren’t watching the right movies.

When I transferred to the University of Pittsburgh this past year, the closest friends I have made can attest to my obsession for movies in that one of the first things they remember me saying is “Wait, you have never seen ‘Pulp Fiction’?”

And now they have. Because of me.

Aidan is a junior majoring in English Writing with a certificate in Jewish Studies.

Write to Aidan @als473@pitt.edu

19

Dispatches from home: Vignettes of winter break 2019 The Pitt News Staff With students returning to campus and new classes in full swing, winter break may quickly seem like a blip on the horizon. Before we move on, however, here are five glimpses into the various lives of college students on break.

Allison Dantinne, Senior Staff Columnist My time at home began with a minor car accident, a slight skid into the guard rails while getting back onto Route 22, right after leaving the mall. There was freezing rain pinging against my windshield and the knowledge that I was not a good driver flashing in my brain in angry red neon. I ended up with dented wheel wells and a deep sense that I was never meant to go to the mall that Monday.

Not to be dramatic, but I have and always will hate ice with enough fiery passion to melt all the ice that has ever existed in all 200,000 years of human existence. And also I thought I was going to die.

This closeness of death — or, the feeling of death breathing down my neck as I attempted to let the plush vocals of Lana Del Rey through the car radio assuage me enough to not have an anxiety attack on the highway — spurred an existential crisis that lasted all the way from Allentown to Bethlehem, and continued days later as I obsessively ran through the accident again, trying to figure out how it wasn’t somehow worse. I was pretty sure I was

pittnews.com

If you can’t keep your plants alive you can sign up for horticulture classes at the Phipps Conservatory. Leah Mensch contributing editor going to get rear-ended while sitting in my own living room, watching Jeopardy.

Death, I know I groaned about how I wanted to die during finals week, under the weight of many a lengthy thesis paper, but please, don’t flirt with me just yet.

Devi Ruia, Senior Staff Columnist My winter break went similarly to how it always goes — I spent the days leading up to break anxious to get home, and then was bored and missing Pittsburgh within a day of getting back home to northern

January 6, 2020

Virginia.

Luckily, my friends soon returned home to entertain me, and it was great seeing them all again. However, seeing them didn’t even come close to comparing to the thrill I felt when I was reunited with the best part of northern Virginia — Peet’s Coffee. Ever since high school, I’ve been addicted to Peet’s because they’re the only coffee place that I think makes a good chai latte.

Finding out my first year that Pittsburgh didn’t have a Peet’s almost broke me — luckily I somehow managed to survive. Still, it means that whenever I come home I usually waste a ton of my money and time at Peet’s. Which is exactly what I did this break. Whenever I ventured out of the house to see friends, run errands for my mom or attend physical therapy — shoutout to the stress fracture in my leg that kept me very much homebound during this break — I went through the drive through and got myself an iced chai from Peet’s Coffee.

As much as I’m looking forward to returning to Pitt, I know the first few weeks back I’ll definitely be suffering from chai withdrawal.

Leah Mensch, Opinions Editor In his Book of Delights — which is quite literally a book full of essayettes about things that delight him — Ross Gay writes that, in 2019, the more he shares and writes about his delights, the more delights he sees. I figured break would be an ideal time to start keeping track of my own delights.

I have been trying to write an essay about plants and how they communicate with each other about death for the past three months. It’s also about humans and See Vignette on page 23

20

2019

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

21

Mixing mediums with the Creative Arts Ensemble Diana Velasquez Staff Writer

Many scholars of fine arts consider themselves to be masters of one discipline, such as music, or painting or poetry. Some Pitt students had the opportunity last semester to take a class that challenged that notion.

Creative Arts Ensemble, a class introduced to Pitt’s Department of Music in the fall 2019 semester, allows students to combine their musical and compositional skills with other artistic endeavors, like poetry or visual art, culminating in a physical performance at the end of the semester to showcase their work. The course was created and taught by Professor Nicole Mitchell Gantt, who came in as the new director of jazz studies at Pitt in Devon Tipp, a graduate student who attended the Creative Arts Ensemble, incorporated abstract paintings into one of his live performances for the 2019. class. Courtesy of Devon Tipp Though the class will not be held again this semester, Mitchell plans on reopen- ing together artists of all disciplines, not of work beyond just instrumental music.

“Musically, we had a wide range of ing it sometime soon. Mitchell said she just of music, and have them collaborate created the class with the idea of bring- with one another to create varied pieces aesthetics that were happening,” she said.

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

“You know, that’s kind of a different thing than just making instrumental music, finding a way to balance out the words.”

The class, which was held for three hours every week, created a space where students had to interact with peers who were also artists but who do not all create in the same medium. Students would bring their art to class to share with their peers, rehearse and then try different things to expand upon their work. Some of these sessions even morphed into a kind of “freestyle” workshop.

All of last semester’s work was showcased in a concert on Dec. 3 in Bellefield Hall, where each student exhibited their work live on stage across multiple disciplines of art.

Tamara Das, a senior English writing major, was the only poet in the class and had little experience in creating music, so for her final performance a classmate composed music to accompany her poems. She said the class introduced her See Creative Arts on page 25

22

Vignettes, pg. 20 how we try to communicate with our own bodies. The essay, which I’ve titled, “How To Save a Dying Plant,” is not exactly — as a woke Gen Z might say — “poppin’.”

Though, I’ve been struggling to find the source of why I’m stuck.

A yoga teacher at my studio pulled a plant inside last week because the cold weather was killing it. She told me it might not survive inside either, though, in her words, why not try? I realized then that I don’t actually know how to save a dying plant, that really, nobody does. And so in the spirit of Ross Gay, I delight in my winter break, specifically finding the source of the problem within my essay. In the coming weeks, I hope to delight in finishing this essay. Though mostly, I hope to delight in the survival of that poor potted plant.

Ana Altchek, Staff Columnist When I arrived home from finals week, I had big plans for winter break — Hanukkah in Paris and New Year’s in Munich, topped off with a trip to London before I started my next semester there.

Well, my break certainly felt like a movie, but not the one I had in mind. A few days before I was set to leave, the U.K. consulate informed me that my visa application to study abroad was rejected due to faulty fingerprints. So instead of reuniting with my family abroad, I spent 10 days in what felt like a re-enactment of “Home Alone” while my family wined and dined in Europe for the holidays. As someone who suffers from nyctophobia — a fear of darkness — staying home alone for an extended period of time felt much like a nightmare for me.

Much to my surprise though, my daily routine became rather enjoyable. I went to the gym every morning, took long baths, binge-watched the Netflix series “You” and “Dirty John” and spent my evenings with friends. While I definitely felt envious of my family as they toured the Eiffel Tower, lounged in cafes outside the Louvre and attended catered family parties, the peace and quiet of my home felt surprisingly relaxing and refreshing.

At the end of the 10 days, I was eager to pick up my family from the airport. I gave up my New Year’s Eve plans and drove to Newark Airport, only to crash my car. I then witnessed a shooting occur during

pittnews.com

the three hours I spent waiting at a major intersection for the cops to arrive.

This may seem like a rough start to the new year. But on the bright side, no one broke into my home, the U.K. approved my second visa application and I emerged unscathed from a car crash. So, all in all, this winter break break felt like a success.

Alex Dolinger, Staff Columnist As the year draws to a close, I have been looking back on my greatest achievements, whether they be of the year, the decade or all time. I have a lot to be proud of, a lot of successes that are easy to celebrate.

However, my greatest achievement of the year is something that is not so visible and doesn’t always feel worthy of celebration.

I have spent this winter break adjusting to an increased dose of lithium while I’m stuck in my family home, which is located in the northwest corner of the middle of nowhere. I am no longer able to drive, and my psychiatrist won’t answer my phone calls, so surely you can understand the stress that I am under.

But it isn’t so bad. My friends, the media and the world at large have led me to believe it would be excruciating. I

January 6, 2020

watched “Silver Linings Playbook” with my family right before Christmas and was certain I would rather sink into the floor than watch another second of my disappointing future.

And yet, it isn’t bad. When I sit in my corner of the middle of nowhere, reflecting on this year and all that it has brought me, I realize that this is good. Finally I am taking care of myself, and now I can spend time on other things. I have always wanted to read more books, write more articles and maybe build a shelf. Now I can.

23

Turning over a new page: Books to look forward to in 2020 “Rust,” Eliese Collete Goldbach

Leah Mensch Contributing Editor

Though 2019 was such a wonderful year for books, the book gods are telling me that 2020 might be even better. My only New Years resolution this year is to read as many books as possible. Here are a few I’m highly anticipating the release of in 2020, brought to you by your opinions editor and self-proclaimed Pitt News book reviewer.

Eliese Collete Goldbach might be the only essayist who does footnotes better than David Foster Wallace.

The young writer gained attention back in 2017 when the Alaska Quarterly Review published her essay, “White Horse,” about being a rape victim and searching for justice on a Christian college campus in rural Ohio. Her first book, “Rust,” is about her experience working in a steel mill and revisiting ghosts in her rural hometown. If this book is as brilliant as Goldbach’s essays, then it will be a must-read. “Rust” is due out on March 3.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” Suzanne Collins Collins, best known for authoring “The Hunger Games” trilogy, hasn’t written any-

pittnews.com

thing new since “Mockingjay,” the final book in the trilogy, back in 2010. That’s about to change. On May 19, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” will be released, which documents the fantastical world of Panem 64 years before the first book in “The Hunger Games” trilogy took place.

“Girlhood,” Melissa Febos Febos is a talented essayist and memoirist who’s made a name for herself within

the last decade publishing two works of nonfiction, though she has yet to appear on a best-seller list. Her writing largely focuses on sex work, childhood, feminism, queer identity and the body — exploring how we form our sexual identity and how it changes throughout life. “Girlhood” is a collection of essays that dives into exactly that and is due to appear in stores in late 2020.

January 6, 2020

“Hood Feminism,” Mikki Kendall

“Today’s feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women,” writes Mikki Kendall in a preview of her book, “Hood Feminism.”

Due out on Feb. 25, this book tackles intersectional feminism — the experience of all women, not just white women in the feminist movement — head on. The book gives a voice to those who have been pushed out of the feminist movement — women of color and women who aren’t as privileged as the masses who lead the feminist movement.

The book examines race, class, sexual orientation, ability, mental illness and hypersexualization of the feminist movement — and how all of these factors intersect with See Books on page 26

24

Creative Arts, pg. 22 to spoken-word poetry, as she had only written poems for the page before.

“I’ve never performed my poetry before this class, so I appreciated that experience. And it expanded how I thought of music and art, and how they can be joined together but also stand very strongly on their own,” she said.

Devon Tipp, a graduate student in music composition and theory, said being in a classroom full of students who practiced art forms outside of music, like Das’ poetry, opened up his mind to new creative processes and ideas.

“The thing that’s more important though is finding out the areas where their creative process is not similar to yours and you get to ask them about what they’re thinking, and how they came to that conclusion,” he said. “You’ll often leave with new ideas you never would have thought of without that sort of conversation with other people.”

For his live performance, Tipp incorporated both music he composed and abstract paintings he made. He created a computer program which would display three of his abstract paintings at random intervals on a screen while he conducted several musicians in a small orchestra.

The musicians would change their music according to which painting they saw, and for how long it was displayed.

Mitchell said having artists like Tipp bring forward artistic talents outside of the main area of study was a surprising but welcome aspect of the class.

“What surprised me was different gifts that the students had that you wouldn’t necessarily know,” she said.

The Creative Arts Ensemble brought out many hidden talents and emotions within its students. Jason Belcher, another graduate student in musical composition and theory, said his final piece focused on his epilepsy and the medication he’s taken for it throughout his life. He had a fellow student read descriptions of this epileptic medication off of a Wikipedia article, in accompaniment to the music he conducted. He said when putting together this final piece he had to think about more than just the music, but how the speaker would read the descriptions.

“It is not necessarily dramatic in its delivery and we had a dialogue about

pittnews.com

how to deliver the text,” he said. “How the text should respond to the music and vice versa.”

It was this kind of expression — emotionally or through a new medium of art — that Mitchell said made her really excited about the class. By having her students come in every day and experiment with people of all different artistic backgrounds, the class spawned new art without a more structured lesson plan.

“So this is really exciting, is also very new for a lot of the students here. It was a great process, to have almost like a lab situation

where you could try things out and then go back and try to hone that idea, maybe throw something out, try something new,” she said.

With this class now being offered at Pitt, Belcher said he believes that a new tradition can start, one of an ensemble that approaches music and creativity in a way that enriches artists and allows them to produce their best work.

“I hope that they keep offering it. Because it is wonderful … and I think now having Nicole here, for the long term, that is something that we will have the opportunity to see here at Pitt, a new tradition of inter-

January 6, 2020

disciplinary performances and building a concert program from scratch,” he said.

For Tipp, the class forced him outside of his comfort zone. He said that in terms of his music he is usually a self-described control freak and that the Creative Arts Ensemble, by forcing him to work with other people, brought out more unconventional aspects in his work.

“It’s really great to work with other people and give them these ideas that maybe you wouldn’t give before because you were afraid of losing control,” he said.

25

Books pg. 24 gender. It’s bound to be an important read for everyone.

“Race Against Time,” Jerry Mitchell Over the span of almost 20 years, investigative reporter and writer Jerry Mitchell pursued the Klansmen responsible for dozens of notorious, horrific murders during the Civil Rights era. Mitchell’s investigative work helped bring the mastermind of the Mississippi Burning case — a KKK murder of three civil rights workers in 1964 — to court and cultivated justice for the victims 41 years later.

This book is Mitchell’s journey unearthing secret documents and hunting suspects — building evidence strong enough to take on members of the Klan decades after their crimes. It’s a book of reporting and investigation, but it’s also a book about deeply rooted racial violence and inequalities that still linger in society today.

The book is due to be released on Feb. 4.

“Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick,” Zora Neale Hurston

Image via Goodreads

pittnews.com

Hurston, the writer best known for her 1928 essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” and 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” pioneered modern stories of black women in the early 20th century.

January 6, 2020

Hurston died of heart disease in 1960, though her grave remained unmarked until about 1973. Like her body, many of her brilliant stories were also lost for years.

Harper Collins is publishing an anthology of the writer’s “lost” stories — uncovered years after she died — on Jan. 15.

“Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country,” Sierra Crane Murdoch “Yellow Bird” is the true story of a murder on an Indian reservation and also a work of literary journalism, urging readers to pay attention to Native American communities. Lissa Yellow Bird — whose experience is the main focus of the book — found her home on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation after being released from prison in 2009. Her land was her love, though as she began to make a home on the reserve, she also watched it become burdened by corporate interests, violence and addiction.

This became heightened when she learned of a worker who had disappeared from his reservation worksight — and the lack of people actively searching for him.

“Yellow Bird” is the story of Lissa’s obsessive search for the worker and her navigation through her own changing world. It’s a reckoning, filled with eight years of investigation and immersion, addressing the systematic violence that plagues many tribal nations in America. The book is due to be released on Feb. 25.

26

Basketball, wrestling performances headline winter break Ben Mankowski and Marshall Worth The Pitt News Staff

While the student body at large kicked its feet up around the holiday fireplace, Pitt’s winter athletes stayed active as ever over break. The Panther football team, wrestling team and basketball teams were among those who competed during the three-week hiatus.

pittnews.com

Men’s basketball dominates non-conference competition The Panthers had a successful stretch of wins during break, beating Northern Illinois, Binghamton and Canisius. Their only loss came to Wake Forest most recently on Jan. 4. Pitt is now 10-4 as it enters the next stage of the season.

Northern Illinois gave the Panthers all they could handle on Dec. 16. Sophomore Trey McGowens highlighted the scoring effort with 18 points off the bench. Pitt managed to shoot just 4-17 from three, with all four makes coming from McGowens. Despite the poor shooting, the Panthers held off the upset-minded Huskies to start off the break with a win.

Pitt won its next game handily against the Binghamton Bearcats, 79-53. The Panthers dominated from the opening tip-off, outscoring Binghamton by 20 in the first half. First-year forward Justin Champagnie posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and 14 points to further his reputation as an X-factor.

Following a week-long break for Christmas, the Panthers were back against the Canisius Golden Griffins. The rest must’ve helped, as Pitt’s offense ignited for 87 points to Canisius’ 79. The game featured loads of offense with little defense on either side.

Champagnie was again the star of this game with 21 points, only missing three shots. The Panthers shot an impressive 56.3% from 3-point range — an encourag-

January 6, 2020

ing sign for a team that has struggled from distance all season.

The tides eventually shifted for the Panthers as they fell to Wake Forest, 6965, in the first of 18 straight ACC games to close the season. Pitt will likely want this game back, considering the nature of the loss — the Panthers jumped out to a 16-point lead before folding down the stretch.

Junior guard Ryan Murphy was the team’s bright spot in this one, posting 18 points on 66% shooting from three.

The Panthers will look to get back in the win column when they travel to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Capel’s Christmas present Pitt basketball’s greatest victory over break may have come off the court, when five-star Class of 2022 recruit Jalen HoodSchifino announced his commitment to the program on Dec. 29. Hood-Schifino is a 6-foot-4 combo guard from North Carolina, who would be the program’s third highest-rated commit of all time, according to 247Sports.com. This is a huge boost to the future of the program and speaks to Capel’s recruiting abilities.

Not the merriest Christmas for women’s basketball Pitt women’s basketball fell to 3-11 after dropping all five of its winter break games. This pushed the Panthers’ losing streak to seven games, positioning them last in the ACC standings.

The team played its first three conference games over break, losing to North Carolina, Notre Dame and Boston College. The Panthers kept each game within single digits, but in the end, inexperience prevailed as all three contests ended in close defeat. The stretch featured two additional non conference games against See Sports Recap on page 32

27

STAFF PICKS: BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 The Pitt News Staff Some of the biggest artists in the world released new albums in 2019. From pop sensation Ariana Grande to hip-hop supergroup BROCKHAMPTON, 2019 was a huge year for great music. Read our staff ’s picks for the best albums of the year.

Hozier released his second studio album “Wasteland, Baby!” in 2019.Akron Beacon Journal/TNS

years between albums, coming to grips with a bad breakup and spending time writing in places as close as Malibu and as exotic as Japan. “You said you cared// and you missed me too// and I’m well aware I write too many songs about you,” he sings on “Falling,” one of the album’s slower, sadder ballads. Styles writes with “Fine Line” by Harry Styles // Delilah panache and experience, making “Fine Bourque, Culture Editor Line” a difficult album to miss.

Harry Styles was just another member of a boy band that I didn’t care for — un“Wasteland, Baby!” by Hozier // Ditil 2017. Styles’ 2017 eponymous album ana Velasquez, Staff Writer completely changed the British artist for It had been a long four years for Hozime and catapulted him into even more er fans. Many people only know the Irish ludicrous fame. “Fine Line” is a phe- musician from his famous song “Take Me nomenal sophomore follow-up to “Harry To Church,” which went viral on Reddit Styles” that explores more experimenta- in 2014, but Hozier has much more to oftion musically and exhibits more growth fer. After seemingly disappearing off into lyrically. the woods for a long slumber, Hozier reOf the three singles, “Adore You” leased his second studio album “Wastestands out as an emotional, lovesick bal- land, Baby!” in 2019. lad. “Oh honey// I’d walk through fire for The album is full to bursting with you// Just let me adore you// Like it’s the Hozier’s signature enchanting lyricism, only thing I’ll ever do” Styles croons over alternative rock feel and political themes melodic electronic music. This sets the a fan would come to expect. Hozier tacktone for an album that captures perfectly les climate change and the end of the what it feels like to be young — from the world in the album’s namesake “Wastetriumphs, to the mistakes, to the heart- land, Baby!” then shifts to a celebration breaks. of protest with “Nina Cried Power” feaCertainly, Styles has grown in the two turing Mavis Staples, which earned itself

pittnews.com

a mention on Barack Obama’s Favorite Songs of 2018 list.

With “Sunlight,” Hozier sings a doomed love ballad masqueraded with a metaphor for the greek myth of Icarus.

“Dinner and Diatribes” with it’s fastpaced beat and exaggerated guitar riffs provides something to dance to. Hozier’s return heralded the return of his poetic songwriting skills and, though the meaning of his songs may not be so easily concluded, what matters most is that “Wasteland, Baby!” holds just as much power and magic as any of his previous music.

“When I Get Home” by Solange // Maggie Young, Contributing Editor This past year looked good on Solange, after she released her fourth album “When I Get Home” in March. As the title suggests, Solange gives a dreamy and devastating performance focused on her and her sister Beyonce’s hometown of Houston.

Notable tracks on the album include “Dreams,” which feels almost like a conversation with the younger version of herself living in Houston. In addition to the portraits she frames of her birthplace, Solange speaks poignantly to

January 6, 2020

blackness, especially in “Almeda,” one of the longest songs on the album. With an appearance from Playboi Carti, the track moves faster than others, but serves as a haunting reminder of the importance of black culture.

The album comes in just shy of 40 minutes, which may come as a surprise after looking at the volume of tracks.

With 19 gorgeous tracks of mysticism and strength, Solange solidifies her place as a black female artist who elegantly and powerfully embraces both identities.

“The Center Won’t Hold” by SleaterKinney // Charlie Taylor, Senior Staff Writer The iconic riot grrrl group SleaterKinney released its ninth studio album “The Center Won’t Hold” this year, rekindling the feminist angst they brought to the music scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s in an unprecedentedly polished manner.

The album starts with industrial sounds and edgy lyrics in the titular track “The Center Won’t Hold,” and while political rage is present in much of the album, the band’s sound is less messy than their earlier work. HauntSee Best Albums on page 38

28

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

29

From Phipps to the Carnegie Museum of Art:

All the culture new to Pitt in 2020 Writer’s Name

fers a rotating variety of special flower shows, which change every few months.

Position Past exhibitions include Vincent Van As the spring semester begins and Gogh paintings brought to life in flowclasses resume, finding something to ers, and the conservatory hosts a variety do is a challenge for many in the dreary, of events and special nights with correoften cold and wet weather in the Pittssponding themes to the current exhibiburgh wintertime. Instead of holing up tion. From film screenings to 21+ nights, with flashcards, Netflix or the latest bestthe events calendar at Phipps has a wide selling book, check out what’s going on variety of programming. right in your own backyard.

be able to get up close and personal with mosses and ferns laid out on interactive tables.

Spring Flower Show: Canopy of Color March 21-April 19 Phipps offers a grand display of colorful flowers and other plants year-round, and this year that color is above visitors’ heads with baskets and designs suspended in midair. The spring flower show not only offers colorful blooms, but displays Orchid and Tropical Bonsai show: Out of scented flowers and displays designed Special exhibitions — Phipps Conserof this World to create music as well, such as wind vatory and Botanical Gardens Jan. 18-March 8 chimes made of bamboo rods.

Phipps Conservatory is a quick walk Phipps’ Orchid and Tropical BonPhipps Conservatory is open 9:30 from the main part of Pitt’s campus, losai show is almost literally out of this a.m.-5 p.m. daily, and remains open until cated just past the Frick Fine Arts buildworld, featuring star-shaped orchids and 10 p.m. on Fridays. Tickets are free for ing at 1 Schenley Drive. Though the gara specially curated collection of tropical Pitt students with a valid student I.D. dens have year-round exhibitions, such Bonsai trees. Some of the plants in this as various rooms devoted to different exhibition have been grown under speSpecial Exhibitions — Carnegie Muclimates and a multi-room spread on the cial conditions for years, and visitors will seum of Art culture and flora of Cuba, Phipps also of-

The Carnegie Museum of Art is practically an on-campus institution at Pitt.

The entrance to CMOA is located at 4400 Forbes Ave., and offers a selection of permanent installations that cover everything from Renaissance art to modern art, as well as frequent new exhibitions.

The museum also features a cafe and coffee bar, as well as two-for-the-price-ofone admission, which is free for Pitt students, for both CMOA and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located in the same building.

In Sharp Focus: Charles “Teenie” Harris Jan. 5 Scaife Gallery In Sharp Focus is a new, ongoing exhibition at the museum that features the work of photographer Charles “Teenie”

FEB. 14-23, 2020 at the BENEDUM CENTER

Thrift from the comfort of your home!

PNC Presents

STUDENT TICKETS start at $16 with promo code: PBTPITT FACULTY/STAFF TICKETS start at $22 with promo code: PBTPITTFS ONLINE: pbt.culturaldistrict.org | CALL: 412-454-9101 VISIT: Pitt Arts Office - 9th floor of the William Pitt Union Restrictions may apply. Tickets will be held at Benedum Box Office. Must show valid Pitt ID.

Photo: Duane Rieder

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

30

Culture, pg. 30 Harris. Harris, the photographer from The Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential black newspapers in the country, captured the life and history of the Pittsburgh African American community. CMOA will also host a number of educational events and programs inspired by the new exhibition.

Counterpressures Feb. 21-July 12 Forum Gallery The latest installment of CMOA’s Forum series is Counterpressures, a group exhibition about the urgency of climate change by 10 local Pittsburgh artists, who mix data and documentation with their own lived experiences of an uncertain ecological future. The exhibition takes its name from the work of Pittsburgh environmentalist Rachel Carson’s 1962 work “Silent Spring.” Counterpressures is the 83rd Forum series exhibition, which began in 1990.

The Carnegie Museum of Art is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day except Tues-

pittnews.com

days. Special exhibitions are included with the price of admission, which is free for Pitt students with a valid student ID. Pitt Stages Productions — Various locations Pitt Stages encompasses the productions put on by Pitt’s theater program, which offers BA, MFA and PhD degrees in theater arts through the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. The shows are open to the public, with season ticket offerings as well as tickets for individual shows. Following four productions in the fall 2019 semester, this semester Pitt Stages is offering another three plays, as well as one spring musical.

LAB 3: “Oblivion” Feb. 5-Feb. 9 Henry Heymann Theater Pitt Stages’ lab productions are student-directed programs that cover a wide range of experimental, classic and new theater with three different productions every year. “Oblivion,” directed by theater arts graduate student Sean Cook and originally written by Carly Mensch,

tells the story of secular humanist parents Pam and Dixon and their daughter Julie, who decides to become Christian.

“The Verge” Feb. 6-Feb. 16 The Charity Randall Theater “The Verge,” directed by Andrea Gunoe and written by Susan Glaspell, was originally produced in the 1920s. The show examines the struggles of 20thcentury life, which has recently been wrecked by war and changed by women’s suffrage, through the lense of Claire Archer, a female botanist attempting to create a new form of life. Tensions flare and the show turns away from the comedic as Claire’s family and friends worry that she is slowly descending into madness.

“Appropriate” Feb. 20-March 1 The Richard E. Rauh Studio Theater Originally premiering off-Broadway in 2014 and written by Brandon JacobsJenkins, “Appropriate” tells the story of the Lafayette family, including three adult children who return to their Kan-

January 6, 2020

sas home after the death of their father.

Though they intend to sort through the patriarch’s mementos, junk and debt, a shocking discovery turns the reunion into explosive confrontation. Pitt Stages’ production is directed by Ricardo VilaRoger.

“Head Over Heels” April 2-April 12 The Charity Randall Theater With music and lyrics by ’70s new wave band The Go-Go’s, “Head Over Heels” is a musical based on Phillip Sidney’s “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia.” King Basilus of Arcadia takes his royal court on a journey through the woods to avoid the prophecies of the Oracle of Delphi, who threaten that the kingdom’s “beat,” — the divine source of the kingdom’s prosperity — will soon be lost. Directed by Tomé Cousin, “Head Over Heels” was originally written by Jeff Whitty and adapted by James Magruder.

Tickets for Pitt Mainstages productions are $12 for students, $15 for seniors and $25 for adults.

31

Sports Recap, pg. 27 Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati, which Pitt lost by a less-inspiring 25 points combined.

Junior guard Gabbie Green continued to lead the way offensively, scoring 23 points against Miami (Ohio), 13 against the Fighting Irish and 12 against Boston College. All three performances led the team.

First-year guard Amber Brown continued her stellar work on the boards, recording multiple double-digit rebound-

pittnews.com

ing efforts, including 13 against UNC. Looking ahead, the Panthers will hope to bust out of their funk in upcoming road matchups against Virginia Tech and Clemson.

Comeback in the Quick Lane Bowl Pitt football faced off against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 26 in the Quick Lane Bowl. After trailing throughout the game, the Panthers used one final game-winning drive to win 34-30.

Trailing by three points with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, junior

quarterback Kenny Pickett found redshirt junior wide receiver Taysir Mack in the end zone for a highlight one-handed catch. Pickett showed his ability to operate an offense in clutch moments of a game to push the Panthers to victory.

Pickett finished the game with 361 yards and three touchdowns, one of his best stat lines of the season. Senior receiver Maurice Ffrench and senior defensive back Damar Hamlin finished their careers off right, catching 12 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown and recording 11 tackles and an interception, respectively.

January 6, 2020

Wrestling continues to shine Pitt wrestling started off its break with a trip down to Maryland University to face off against the Terrapins on Dec. 20.

The No. 10 Panthers dominated Maryland 27-10 for their fifth win of the year.

Two Panthers stood out in the dual meet — redshirt first-year Cole Matthews, who pinned his opponent in 6:53, and redshirt junior Gregg Harvey, who took down No. 20 Philip Spadafora of the Terrapins.

The Panthers finished their break by traveling down to Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Jan. 2 for the Southern Scuffle. Pitt finished fourth as a team — its highest placement in program history.

Five Panthers placed in the Southern Scuffle. Redshirt first-year Cole Matthews finished second at 174 pounds. The Panthers had three third-place finishers — redshirt sophomores Micky Phillippi and Nino Bonaccorsi and senior Demetrius Thomas. Redshirt junior Jake Wentzel also placed sixth for the Panthers.

Next up, Pitt will face one of its toughest challenges this season when it hits the road to face No. 13 Oklahoma State Jan. 18.

32

Previewing Pitt basketball’s full conference slate Stephen Thompson Asistant Sports Editor

Pitt men’s basketball is experiencing some deja vu.

Almost one year ago, Pitt ended a 690day winless streak in conference play with a win over the Louisville Cardinals and five days later pulled off another thrilling upset over No. 11 Florida State.

Expectations skyrocketed. The Panthers sat with a 2-2 record in the nation’s toughest basketball conference and observers began to think that the limits of youth had been overestimated. If they were able to compete with that kind of brutal opening schedule, is an NCAA Tournament berth really that much of a reach?

Turns out it was.

Following their win over Florida State, the Panthers lost 13 in a row before sneaking past fellow cellar-dweller Notre Dame on Senior Day. To this day, the Panthers haven’t won an ACC contest on the road since February of 2017.

Now the Panthers are finding themselves in familiar territory after falling to Wake Forest on Saturday and not living up to the expectations that their early results carried.

After wins over Florida State, Kansas State, Northwestern and Rutgers during the nonconference portion of their schedule, Pitt was poised to make a breakthrough as conference play began in earnest this past weekend.

But instead, the Panthers suffered a brutal setback to a Wake Forest squad that was See ACC Basketball on page 35

The Pitt men’s basketball team fell 69-65 to a Wake Forest team that was projected to finish last in the conference.

Kaycee Orwig staff photographer

100 Beers 100 Whiskeys Late Night Cheap Eats 212 Oakland Avenue (412) 682-FIRE • fuelandfuddle.com

Must be 21+ to purchase Alcohol. Valid ID Required

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

33

Q&A:

Tsoukas to explore gender and sport in new class

Writer’s Name Position

Is Serena Williams the greatest tennis player of all time? Is the U.S. soccer team the best in the world? Do your answers require gender qualifiers?

These are the questions raised in the class description for Women, Gender and Sport, which will be taught at Pitt for the first time this spring by senior lecturer Liann Tsoukas. Though the class is new, it’s been a long time coming for Tsoukas, who has spent the past 19 years at the University teaching classes focusing on American history, gender, race and popular culture.

The Pitt News sat down with Tsoukas to discuss her own background in sports, what the class will entail and how it all came about. The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and space.

TPN: Do you have a background in sports?

LT: No, and here’s the interesting thing — I grew up in New Jersey, an immigrant fam-

Senior lecturer Liann Tsoukas will teach the Women, Gender and Sport class that will be taught at Pitt for the first time this spring.

Image via University of Pittsburgh

ily. And because I grew up in New Jersey, there were many sport teams. The whole area didn’t follow one team. Then I went to a very small college — a Division III school where sport was an important part of life for the students but not beyond that. Then, I went to Indiana University for graduate school. While I was there, they won the NCAA Tournament and I got to see how sport coalesced unities in a different way which I never saw growing up.

And when I moved to Pittsburgh is when I really learned what sport can do, because I had never been in one place where everyone — no matter whether you were rich or poor, black or white, female or male — wanted the Steelers to win. I realized the whole City’s mood changed with sports and I realized the power of sport in a different way. And then I became a real fan. I had a lot of athletes in classes and spent a lot of time at football fields and basketball stadiums and that was it.

I also had a daughter who was a swimmer

welcome

BA C K

There are holes in the “college diet.”

visit thriftsburgh!

Pitt’s Student Run

Location:

A free service for Pitt students.

Spring Hours:

Tuesday- Friday Noon–5 p.m. instagram: @thriftsburgh facebook: universityofthriftsburgh

pittnews.com

wants to help.

O’Hara Student Center 111 O’Hara Street

erian Church (4001 Fifth Avenue) Tuesdays & Fridays, 2–5 p.m.

Wednesdays & Thursdays, 5–8 p.m.

pantry@pitt.edu • pi.tt/pittpantry January 6, 2020

34

ACC Basketball, pg. 33 picked to finish last in the conference and are once again below .500 in league play. The ACC, while currently experiencing a down year in terms of overall conference strength as UNC and Syracuse regress, still has the kind of depth that leaves little room for error.

Head coach Jeff Capel echoed that sentiment — one he’s repeated all season — following the Wake Forest game.

“We have to make the right decisions all the time,” Capel said. “That has to be a

pittnews.com

requirement from here on out … No disrespect to the Monmouth’s or the Canisius’ or the Arkansas Pine-Bluff ’s, but this league is a lot different from that. Today showed that.”

The Panthers already relinquished some of that wiggle room against the Demon Deacons, and now their continued climb off of the conference floor is that much more difficult. Before losing to Wake, Pitt had already notched a win over one of the ACC’s powers, but is now left with more ground to make up after dropping a game to one of the conference’s worst.

Fortunately, their schedule sets up as

favorably as possible. Pitt only plays the league’s top five teams in consecutive games on two occasions. The first comes later this month, when Louisville and UNC visit the Pete. The Panthers will also have four days off in between those contests.

They’ll once again have to face a gauntlet of consecutive league contenders in road trips to Virginia Tech and Florida State before returning home to host reigning national champion Virginia and rival Syracuse.

This stretch comes at a critical time. Unless the Panthers drop winnable games to teams like Miami, Notre Dame or Clemson,

January 6, 2020

that four-game stretch in mid-February could make or break their chances of an NCAA Tournament bid.

Last season was about growth, tangible or otherwise, and the Panthers could be satisfied with their progress, even though they finished with a losing record. Now they need to stack wins. Pitt’s players made it clear that they entered this season with high goals, but potential and desire can only carry a team so far.

It’s put up or shut up for the Panthers as they enter the mid-winter grind of conference play.

35

Tsoukas, pg. 34 so I did that swim-mom thing. So I saw it from her perspective too. So in regards to the course, one thing we like to do when we teach history here is find areas of interest that give students more insight into themselves. And when I think of how hard all athletes work, I really wanted female athletes to have the opportunity to learn more about that narrative.

TPN: So, tell us how the class came to be and some topics of discussion.

LT: I realized there needed to be a course on gender and sport because we have a lot of courses that fit the narrative of how sports were built by men for men. As a male institution, women’s involvement in athletics was always sort of on the fringe and they had to work their way in and they didn’t take the same path as men. So, that area of sports studies has grown in terms of understanding the role of gender in sport, appreciation of women with athletic accomplishments and now at the current moment, looking at what is swirling around us to then give us the context from where it came from.

This moment is on fire in terms of women and gender and sport [...] on The New York Times there was a new story about how female athletes are making these enormous contribu-

tions to their former schools for women’s facilities and to promote women’s sports and to grow that at their schools. We talk about women’s pay equity, we talk about Serena Williams, we talk about these top gymnasts, U.S. women’s soccer team. We see it all over the place. Women as symbols and how being an athletic woman bucks up against a lot of gender norms and expectations.

There was another great piece the other day about coaching women versus coaching men.

How it’s really a different science, so figuring out what their bodies do and when. So, sport is an arena for human interaction and we learn a lot of what goes in it. It carries a lot of influence.

It carries a lot of money. It carries a lot of power.

And it’s entertainment, but it also gives us great insight in who we are and what we value. I’m looking forward to this class. I’m experimenting with how we’re gonna do it.

TPN: What inspired you to teach this course?

LT: I went to a small liberal arts college.

Most of my closest female friends were athletes and that was on the heels of many years after Title IX legislation. And we learned that Title IX legislation completely changed the arena of women’s sports. So, right after me, girls grew up assuming they could play sports. I watched that

transition of girls engaging in sports and grew up with sports figures like Billie Jean King, who recognized and made connections that what you learn playing sports translates into the real world in a lot of important ways. And that if girls don’t play sports, they don’t get that, they don’t learn those lessons.

So, recognizing those connections and how you can start at the bottom up and figure it out.

And now we agree that we know the value of athleticism, teamwork, bonding. The difference between a team sport and an individual one. So, I’ve observed from a lot of angles — except I was not an athlete. Sometimes the worst players are the best coaches because they see it from a different angle.

TPN: What excites you most about this course?

LT: What excites me most is that I’m recasting this history, recognizing what it took to be a competitive woman. That you were bucking up against a system that was not designed for you, but that’s what people who are not in the mainstream are always doing. That’s why we learn lessons from it.

The other thing is we are going to do an oral history project where every student will have one subject that they interview and get to know, some of whom are former Pitt players, admin-

istrators, coaches. The opportunity to talk to people who have been on the front lines of this and to put together their story — I don’t think we talk to each other enough. So, I think being able to talk to people who have a shared interest will be great.

So, I think it will be really cool to be in a community of likely student athletes who are learning about athletes, but about a part of the story that is rarely brought to the center. And to help them understand the sacrifices before them because athletic women took a big hit.

TPN: How will you tackle the media and the reinforcement they and advertisements bring in respect to a male-dominated sports world?

LT: Absolutely, the Peloton advertisement is a great example of this and we are like ‘What is this ad getting at?’ So, we will be aware of images and of expectations, power dynamics, who’s bringing in money and how you determine what value really is. And does being the best in your arena mean that you will never be the best ever because you’re not a male athlete?

How do we judge, measure, benchmark and determine role models? Why do we get so mad when Serena Williams pitches a fit? So we’re going to try to figure out how the media makes sense of these images and what it does.

THIS IS

Living

Schedule your tour today!

OneOnCentre.com

4500 Centre Ave | Pittsburgh, PA 15213 | P: 412.385.2011 |

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

36

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

37

Best Albums, pg. 28 ing vocals mix with melancholy beats in songs like “Ruins” while minimalist, uncompromising lyrics — “Eat the weak and devour the sane// From our bones are new monsters made”— keep some facet of Sleater-Kinney’s old sound alive.

Punk, with its visceral outward expression of anti-establishment rage, is associated with youth and masculinity, and there’s something inherently radical in a band comprised of middle-aged

pittnews.com

women singing about their confusion and anger, even if they’ve mellowed out a little over the years. The album closes with the ballad-like “Broken,” which recalls the #MeToo movement and proves that Sleater-Kinney’s old anger and new existentialist tendencies found a perfect place in the social landscape of 2019.

“Cuz I Love You” by Lizzo // Elizabeth Donnelly, Senior Staff Writer I’ve been a fan of Lizzo ever since my friend showed me her song “Good as Hell” in fall 2018. Over the course

of the past year, Lizzo has become a token household name, and there is a very good explanation why. She released her first studio album, “Cuz I Love You,” in April, where it was met with incredible success. “Cuz I Love You” combines slow love ballads with energetic hip hop songs, throwing a sprinkle of funk and rock into the mix. This album is the perfect choice for anyone who appreciates variation within their music experience.

Her hit single “Juice” is about female empowerment and knowing your worth.

With lyrics like “If I’m shinin’, every-

January 6, 2020

body gonna shine // I was born like this, don’t even gotta try,” it’s hard not to dance along with or sing your heart out to this confident bop.

Even other celebrities have become Lizzo fans, like Harry Styles, who covered “Juice” during his time in the Live Lounge for BBC Radio. It’s no secret that Lizzo is a force to be reckoned with.

With a timeless style and powerful messages, “Cuz I Love You” is the album that keeps on giving.

38

For Rent North Oakland 214 N. Craig Street.

Safe, secure build­ ing. 1BR, furnished.

Newly remodeled, no pets. Rent $850 and up, including heat. Mature or Graduate students.

412‑855‑9925 or 724‑940‑0045. Email for pictures: salonre­ na@gmail.com 3 Bedroom 2 Baths 2nd Floor apartment.

Laundry in basement.

Walking distance to Pitt/CMU. $1,800­/mo. +utilites North Oakland loca­tion. “Country in the City”. Call 412‑999‑3112.

Newly renovated, fully furnished, 4&5 BR, 2‑1/2 BA houses.

Located near Pitt Den‑ tal School and Carlow Univer­sity. Laundry ser­vices available.

Rent $600/mo per unit, which includes utili­ties. Contact Chris 412‑656‑5693.

South Oakland ** 5 Bedroom/2 full bath; HUGE HOME‑ duplex style, three sto‑

pittnews.com

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

ries. COM­PLETELY REMOD­ELED, 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 dining rooms, LAUN­DRY, DISH­WASHER and a huge yard to enjoy!

Huge Bedrooms!

Located on Dawson Street. PITT Shuttle stops di­rectly in front of house, only 15 minute level walk to PITT/CMU. $3,395­+.

Available 8/1/2020.

NO PETS. Call Jason at 412‑922‑2141. Pic‑ tures‑ Info: tinyurl. com/­dawsonhome 322 S. Bouquet.

Huge 2 BR apart­ ments. Available May 1, 2020 or Au­gust 1, 2020. 412‑361‑2695 3247 Juliet St. 2BR, with all house A/C. Off‑street parking available. $1160/mo. plus gas & electric.

412‑596‑8732 3444 Ward St. We have studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apart­ ments. Bright and spacious. Free heat­ ing and free parking.

Move May 1, 2020 or August 1, 2020. Call 412‑361‑2695 416 Oakland Ave., Garden Court. Bright and spacious 2BR, 1BA. Hardwood floors, laundry. Move May 1 or Au­gust 1, 2020. $1395

Classifieds

For sale

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

notices

services

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

includes heat. Call 412‑361‑2695.

Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unre­lated people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance with codes. Call City’s Per­mits, Licensing & In­spections.

412‑255‑2175.

Fall 2020 Rentals ‑ 1 and 2 bedroom apart­ments very close to campus, well main­ tained, 24 hour laun­ dry, secured build­ings.

Rates starting at $700 with some utili­ties in‑ cluded. Call us today at 412‑682‑7622 Now renting for Fall 2020. Apartments and houses of all sizes.

Conveniently located throughout South Oakland. Rents start‑ ing as low as $620.

John C.R. Kelly Re‑ alty. 412‑683‑7300 www.jcrkelly.com Pet Friendly!!

Studios ‑ $695‑$705 1Beds ‑ $795‑$815 2beds ‑ $975‑$995 3beds ‑ $1,245 412‑455‑5600 Studio, 1, 2, 3, and 4 BD apartments avail­ able in South Oak­land from $800‑$2500 M.J. Kelly Real Estate mjkellyrealty@gmail.­

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

R A T E S

Insertions

1X

2X

3X

4X

5X

1-15 Words

$6.30

$11.90

$17.30

$22.00

$27.00

16-30 Words

$7.50

$14.20

$20.00

$25.00

6X $30.20

$29.10

$32.30

Add. + $5.00 + $5.40

(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline:

com. 412‑271‑5550.

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

For Release January 6, 2020

Studio, 1BR, 2BR available. Heat in­ cluded. Parking Avail‑ able. Fall ‘20. Greve R.E. 412‑261‑4620. greve.co@veri­zon.net.

Employment Internships OFFICE INTERN Shadyside Manage­ ment Company seeks person w/ min 2 yrs. college, for upcom­ing spring semester, to interview & pro­cess rental appli­cants, do internet post‑ ings & help staff our action‑central of­fice. Part time or full time OK starting in January; full time over the summer. $13/ hour. Perfect job for current sopho­mores & juniors, graduating seniors set to enter grad school, returning grad stu­dents, and first year law students!

Mozart Management 412.682.7003 thane@mozartrents.­ com

Employment Other Medical and Heart Care, Students Welcome, 155 N. Craig Street, Dean Kross, MD, 412‑687‑7666 Personal, profes­sional masseuse needed.

Long term position.

Washington County location. Call 724‑223‑0939 any time.

01/06/20

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

Employment

The Pitt news crossword

I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet

January 6, 2020

1/6/20

1/6/20

39

pittnews.com

January 6, 2020

40