Vol. 105 Issue 96
Pittnews.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Board exceeds Allocation Committee caps
Cathy climbers
: p to
sweatpants and sneakers and re-tied my laces as the smells of coffee and pastries from the Cathedral Cafe wafted to my nose as I stood on the ground level. I restrained myself. Food would be waiting for me as my reward. It was the first day of classes, Jan. 5. It was freezing outside but the Cathedral stairwell was hot, as usual. As a frequent runner, I expected the climb to be like any other workout. However, the heat, elevation and unusual repetitive motion made the trek more grueling than expected. I took my first step, and hoards of students poured through the outside door on the west side of the building. Some looked at me strangely, wondering why I was poised for a workout, but most ignored me and continued on their way. I quickly shuffled along with them. 3rd floor - 12th floor: It turns out I chose the wrong staircase. I reached the third floor only to find a dead end, forced to abandon my path. I wandered around the halls, admiring the view of the Christmas trees illuminating the Commons from below, as I peered over an open ledge to scan for one of two staircases that continued
the
to Trek Lauren Rosenblatt Staff Writer The 764 steps in the Cathedral of Learning break down into 36 flights of approximately 21 steps each. I know this, because I’ve climbed every one of them. I’m not the only one, though. Danny Chew, a lifelong Pittsburgh resident, currently holds the record time for climbing the Cathedral stairs — three minutes, 38 seconds. He is one of a group of Pittsburghers who Chew calls “the stair climbers,” as they regularly use the stairs as a form of exercise. It’s a physically rewarding yet grueling experience, which causes Chew to endearingly call the Cathedral the “Tower of Pain.” I came prepared to join their ranks. I exchanged my jeans and blouse for
Emily Ahlin Staff Writer to the fourth floor. Once found, my new stairwell was better lit, with the sun streaming through the windows. It was almost pleasant, but I rounded the corner and faced another dead end in this medieval labyrinth. The third staircase was dark, dank and steep. The number of stairs in each flight had increased, I thought, and there were three flights, instead of two, between floors. My feet were grateful that I brought a change of running shoes, but my back regretted the decision as I lumbered on with books, a laptop and a spare set of clothes strapped to my shoulders. My hands clenched the rail. Signs posted on each floor reminded me that I should use stairwells in case of emergency, and not as a form of exercise. Most people in the staircases, I found, ignored this demand as they lunged upward, and I only found out the sign’s purpose days after my indoor hike. Rebecca Findle is one of those scurrying forms ignoring the warning and climbs the stairs once every few weeks in the winter. “In the winter, on the extra cold days, I opt to run the stairs instead of outside,”
Climbers
2
When it comes to matters of money, the Allocations Committee has caps the Board can brush off. At last night’s public meeting, the second of the new Board’s term, the Board allocated more money than the Allocations Committee recommended in two of the six allocations requests. In both requests, the Board went above the conference cap of $2,000, listed in Section 3.04 of the Allocations Manual. Allocations chair Nick Reslink said the manual establishes caps to ensure the Committee equally distributes funds to student groups.
SGB
2
President Meyer explained the Board’s allocations decisions Tuesday night. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer