1-30-15

Vol. 105 Issue 103

@thepittnews LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

Pittnews.com

Friday, January 30, 2015

PITT PART DEUX

Postbac students return to expand their education Emma Solak Staff Writer Kameron Sanzo is getting her bachelor’s degree in English literature in just one calendar year.

Sanzo, who graduated with a degree in engineering from Pitt in 2011, is now back for round two as a second-degree student in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

“I thought to myself, I’m still pretty young, and I was fortunate to have had a scholarship the first time, so I figured maybe I’ll go back,” said Sanzo, 26.

Students pursuing a second degree through Pitt continue on their same transcript, according to the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, as well as adding to their previously established GPA. These students can apply up to 90 applicable general education credits to their second degree, if they also complete a minimum of 30 new credits.

Sanzo was originally interested in the sciences because she enjoyed “the speculative nature and learning about the world,”

she said. After she graduated, Sanzo worked in the aerospace industry designing aircraft parts, but found herself missing an element of humanity. She decided to return to school to pursue a deeper education for herself.

This past May, Sanzo started back at Pitt. The application process as a second degree student posed no problems, according to Sanzo. All she had to do was fill out a form and pay a small fee. Since she already completed a degree at Pitt, most of Sanzo’s general education credits were already complete, so she plans to graduate this April with a bachelor of arts degree.

Coming back to Pitt includes all the perks of being a student. Sanzo can ride Port Authority buses and access museums for free, just like all other undergraduates.

She also has a print quota, the option of having a meal plan and access to Student Health.

The majority of undergraduates at Pitt are between the ages of 18 and 24, but Sanzo

Pitt releases 2015 Football schedule Steel Impressions, a steel drum group, brought the sound of the Caribbean to Nordy’s. Christine Lim | Staff Photographer

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Postbac

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January 30, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

POSTBAC has had no problems making friends. The only difference is she doesn’t really hang out with anyone from her classes, because she lives off-campus as a commuter.

Sanzo, unlike most of her peers who work as engineers at various companies like Rolls Royce and Westinghouse, doesn’t have a job. Sanzo, who goes to school full-time, said she has enough money that she saved up from working over the summer to cover her rent and groceries. However, this time around, she’s paying for her tuition with student loans.

“It’s crazy. I didn’t appreciate, before I started working full-time, how much variability there is in my schedule. Every day is different,” said Sazno. “I have all this time to study and do other stuff.”

Sara Mercer, who graduated from Pitt in 1974 with a degree in philosophy, is also back to school again — but not to pursue a degree.

Mercer has taken two classes, a history course on World War II and a geology course, in which she is currently enrolled, through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Pitt.

Adults ages 50 and older can audit two undergraduate courses and take as many courses through the Osher program as they would like for an annual fee of $225, according to Jennifer Engel, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. By auditing a class, the student and professor agree on the level of participation required from the student. Currently, more than 1,100 members are enrolled in the Osher pro-

gram, Engel said.

Mercer, who works as an estate lawyer in Pittsburgh, is trying to “slow down” her professional life but still keep her mind active.

“I’ve always loved school,” said Mercer.

“It’s terrific to be able to come back and take stuff I didn’t take before, purely for pleasure.”

As part of her geology class this semester, Mercer leaves the office on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to attend a 50-minute lecture. She doesn’t have to go to recitation or take exams, but she said she does try to keep up with the reading.

Mercer said the biggest change from when she was an undergraduate student at Pitt is the price. For her, a semester of tuition only cost $900 for an in-state student, compared to the almost $17,000 it now costs. She also said students are required to participate more and that classes are taught on a wider variety of media, such as videos and PowerPoint presentations.

“In my geology class, we can print out the pictures and questions with space to write next to it,” said Mercer, who has access to the class CourseWeb page. “That wasn’t available back then, because computers were just getting started.”

Mercer said her experiences with Pitt’s current undergraduate students have been very pleasant, and she is enjoying being back at school.

“When you’re in college you’re so focused on what you’re studying, there’s no time to branch out,” said Mercer. “And once you graduate you’re so busy with life. Once you slow down, there’s time to investigate, and it’s fascinating.”

“It’s terrific to be able to come back and take stuff I didn’t take before, purely for pleasure.”

Kameron Sanzo

January 30, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS COLUMN

Casual Fridays The meowing dead A few weeks ago, one cat from Tampa, Fla., proved that it was truly bad to the bone.

Owner Ellis Hutson discovered the ultimate cat-astrophe — his beloved cat, Bart, stiff and cold after being hit by a car, resting on the road in a pool of blood.

Hutson buried the cat, assuming it was one cat scratch that couldn’t be fixed. Nine lives and five days later, Bart clawed out of its pet semetery and scampered over to Hutson’s neighbor’s house. While a bit disheveled and facing the prospect of losing an eye, Bart is feline a little better and is expected to make a full recovery.

From boat to throat Spongebob, normally residing in a pineapple under the sea, took a vacation to the warm depths of a child’s trachea this week. A 16-month-old Saudi Arabian child swallowed his sister’s Spongebob pendant and made a visit to the hospital.

Ghofran Ageely, his doctor, was “not ready” for what he saw in the X-rays. Spongebob, in full detail with his tongue sticking out, was captured in the black and white image. The child will stick to a strict diet of Krabby Patties from now on.

How to eat fried worms Last Sunday, a British woman saved her daughter from a slimy surprise. The culprit: a

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chicken McNugget — complete with one pink worm.

Nikki Sanders bought the McMaggot Unhappy Meal for her 4-year-old daughter, but ended up eating it herself when the child wasn’t hungry. A bit of an optimist, Sanders was glad to have gotten some extra protein.

Head, shoulders, knees and coke On Monday afternoon, a drug suspect from Delaware thought he was a leg ahead of the competition. But 39-yearold Marlow Holmes was arrested during a police stop when the K-9 unit sniffed out a bone that seemed out of place. The kicker — Holmes was concealing over 28 grams of cocaine in his prosthetic leg. Although he didn’t have any joints, he was still arrested, and bail was set at $81,000.

Barbecue bandit On Wednesday, a burglar took the ultimate brisk-et and stole over $4,000 worth of ribs, chicken, wings and fries from Jerome Brown Barbecue in Jacksonville, Fla. Although it seems he’s quite a pig, investigators believe the haul was for a Super Bowl party this weekend. The suspect seemed to be winging it, though, since he was caught on surveillance.

Authorities are still looking for the beef thief. Hopefully his cooking will smoke any competition.

Workin’ for the dough

Why minimum wage work spices up your skill set Courtney Linder Assistant Opinions Editor So, you didn’t land that internship at Children’s Hospital. Or, maybe, you just didn’t have the right qualifications for that prestigious internship with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

You applied for a cushy work-study job at Hillman, but, instead, someone else is getting paid to sit behind a desk and do homework.

Don’t fret. Many underclassmen don’t land their ideal internships or work-study jobs that directly relate to their prospective fields. That doesn’t mean you should sit around, jobless, in the meantime — even if you can afford it.

Instead, you should work in pizza. Yes, pizza.

Why? The pizza industry — and the food industry in general — is a subtle indicator of life beyond education, or life as an adult. Working a less-than-glamorous job reflects the challenges recent grads face in the first few years after graduating, including fruitless job hunts, pay disparities and a lack of necessary “people skills.” Most importantly, minimum-wage work exposes a sad reality — not all in the workplace are treated equally, as we’d like to believe. Women, in particular, are subject to workplace inequality.

In short, there are more commonalities between grunt-work jobs and careers than we might acknowledge.

The influx of Hogwarts letters that Harry Potter received had nothing on the paper storm I was unleashing on local businesses prior to finding my first pizza gig.

I put out what felt like dozens of applications.

To my dismay, no one called back for months. Surprisingly, this is not an anomaly.

Just as 16-year-olds with no work experience struggle to find minimum-wage jobs, college grads struggle to find careers after graduation. According to government data analysis conducted by The Associated Press in 2012, about 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree holders under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed.

Just as college grads must laboriously seek jobs and subsequently interview for them, so must the minimum-wage workers. It’s not just research labs or newspapers that will ask you cliché questions about what your greatest flaw is or what your skills are — pizza shops do, too. Consider these interviews necessary practice. Being comfortable sitting across the desk from a superior and selling yourself is an invaluable quality.

Interview skills are just a part of a larger pool of interpersonal skills, though.

When I finally got hired by Sbarro pizza in a local mall, my boss nearly fired me. Although I was intelligent, I was backward shy.

I’d hide in the corner by the cash register and only make eye contact with customers when absolutely necessary.

Of course, I eventually picked up on workplace behavior and expectations — although with delay.

After I learned to be vocal, I asked my boss to teach me managerial skills, alongside cashiering. I was employee of the month five times and was offered a management position at 18. This was the first step

in my journey to becoming a writer, I just didn’t realize it yet.

Having “people skills” is invaluable — not only in pizza, but also in white-collar jobs. A 2009 study on 348 IT managers revealed that “interpersonal skills” were among the most important “soft skills” employees can possess. It makes sense — what is the use of “hard skills,” such as the ability to interpret data, if you can’t present your findings to peers?

In developing my skillset, I came across complicated barriers — typically ones that intersected with gender.

On one occasion, after finally becoming a manager and expecting proper recognition, I was disgruntled to learn that titles meant nothing, unless that title was “male.”

On a typical workday last year, a tall, chocolate-brown man approached the counter.

“Hi, how are you, sir? Is there anything I can get for you today?”

I asked, eagerly.

He looked at me with wide eyes, released a bit of air and scoffed.

Shaking his head and laughing, he said, “Sweetie, I’m a dominant male.”

Confused, now, I raised an eyebrow.

“So that,” he continued with emphasis, “means I only want to speak to a manager.”

“Oh of course, I’m a manager.”

“No, I want to speak to another man,” he said, pointing to my coworker.

My years of experience were somehow inadequate because I had been blessed with two X chro-

Linder

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January 30, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 3

LINDER mosomes. Somehow this customer equated “manager” with “male” in a way I still don’t want to comprehend.

Seem far-fetched? Think again.

Despite legislation against workplace discrimination, professional women often face not only sexual harassment in the workplace, but gendered standards in hiring, promotion and salary. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, on average, women make 81 cents to the whole male dollar.

Similarly, many fields — mine prospec-

THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com

Harrison Kaminsky, News Editor news@pittnews.com

Matt Barnes, Opinions Editor letters@pittnews.com

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Theo Schwarz, Visual Editor photos@pittnews.com

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Stephen Caruso, Layout Editor tpnlayout@gmail.com

tively is journalism — are male-dominated.

Approximately 37 percent of writers are female as of 2012, according to Women’s Media Center.

At my second pizza job with Vocelli Pizza, I am one of two female employees. I thoroughly enjoy working with the majority of the men, but I notice that they expect me to answer the phones while they fill out paperwork. When I lift something heavy, they want to take it from me. Would they assume another man is great at communicating just because of his gender? Would they take a 50-pound bag of flour out of another man’s hands? Although they are great people, I don’t appreciate the assumption that a woman is

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

Danielle Fox, Managing Editor manager@pittnews.com

Abbey Reighard, Assistant News Editor Dale Shoemaker, Assistant News Editor Courtney Linder, Assistant Opinions Editor Dan Sostek, Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Ahearn, Assistant Visual Editor Mason Lazarcheff, Multimedia Editor David Gardner, Social Media Editor Sam McGinley, Assistant Copy Chief Emily Hower, Assistant Layout Editor

Copy Staff

Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das Kinley Gillette Johanna Helba Emily Maccia

Bridget Montgomery Sarah Mejia Michelle Reagle Megan Zagorski

dainty or destined for a communications position.

Adapting to gender expectations in the pizza industry has prepared me for the inevitable “othering” I will face in a professional setting. I believe it’s better to enter a field with expectations rather than to blindly stumble through. When I eventually do become a professional writer, I will bring these lessons along with me.

Of course, pizza shops aren’t the only setting for unemployed college students to learn about the often-harsh realities of the real world. Any participation in the food industry will equally baffle, irritate, astound and educate you.

Participation in the minimum-wage food industry can help prepare college students — especially underclassmen — with broad skills and knowledge that can be applied in almost any field. By developing general skills, students will be better prepared for the interviews that matter when they are upperclassmen applying for internships and careers.

So, rather than spending your evenings frivolously, dedicate a few hours at a local pizza shop — there’s more to learn than how to make a delicious pie.

Courtney Linder is the Assistant Opinions Editor of The Pitt News and primarily writes on social issues.

Write to Courtney at cnl13@pitt.edu.

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,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended 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 letters@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.

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Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, 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, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

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January 30, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

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SPORTS

Poor shooting Pittʼs detriment in 62-45 road loss to Duke Logan Hitchcock Staff Writer

The Pitt women’s basketball team has battled teams to the final buzzer all season long, often leaving their eventual fate undecided until the final minutes.

Thursday night was a different story for the Panthers, who trailed for all but little more than a minute of their game against No. 17 Duke.

Coming off a close win at home against Boston College, the Lady Panthers (13-7, 3-4 ACC) traveled to Durham, N.C., looking to create a winning streak, only to be thumped by the Blue Devils (15-6, 6-2 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium by a score of 62-45.

The contest started slowly for the Panthers. After a few early Pitt turnovers and easy baskets by the Blue Devils, Pitt was lucky to find itself only down by three points, as Brianna Kiesel knocked down her first basket of the game — a 3-point

field goal to cut the lead to 8-5 in favor of Duke.

Five minutes in, it appeared that the Panthers caught a major break when Duke center Elizabeth Williams, a three-time All-American and reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, picked up her second foul and was taken out to avoid even more foul trouble.

But even without the defensive presence of Williams on the court, the Panthers weren’t able to get anything going offensively, and Duke continued to get points in the paint to widen its lead.

Led by Oderah Chidom and Azura Stevens, the Blue Devils forced coach Suzie McConnell-Serio to call a timeout with 12:04 remaining in the half, as a Stevens jumper put the Blue Devils on top by 11 points.

With Williams still on the bench, Pitt had its chance to climb back into the game.

The Panthers kept Duke scoreless for six straight possessions and more than three

whole minutes, but they were completely unsuccessful offensively, only mustering one Kiesel basket before Duke’s Rebecca Greenwell snapped Duke’s scoreless streak and hit a 3-point jumper to increase the lead and diminish the Panthers hopes at ever getting back into the game.

Pitt, which attempted 29 3-pointers in the game, connected on two of their seven makes during the final minutes of the first half but continued to yield easy buckets to Duke and found themselves down by 16 points as the first half concluded.

Looking to improve on its abysmal 27.6 percent shooting in the first half, Pitt started the second half with a lot of intensity, forcing four straight Duke turnovers.

But the Panthers couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the basket, missing shots and squandering an opportunity to chip away at the Duke lead, coming away with only one point on a Kiesel free throw during Duke’s scoreless span.

Kiesel was one of the lone bright spots

FOOTBALL

Pitt’s 2015 schedule filled with familiar faces Chris Puzia Sports Editor With the ACC’s reveal of football schedules for 2015, one thing appears clear: The Pitt Panthers will have to get used

for the Pitt team on the night. The senior finished with 13 points on 5-14 from the field, pitching in three assists and three steals.

One of Kiesel’s three steals came as she flashed her quick hands and robbed Duke’s Ka’lia Johnson, but Kiesel was unable to convert the turnover into points as Johnson hustled after her and blocked her shot from behind.

While Pitt was plagued offensively, the team thrived on the defensive front, creating turnovers and containing Duke’s best player, Elizabeth Williams, who was coming off of a 33-point, 10-rebound, fourblock performance against UNC. While Williams didn’t make a difference offensively, she made her mark on the defensive end, finishing with a pair of steals and three blocks, including a monster swat on Pitt’s Cora McManus, sending the ball into the crowd and eliciting a large roar from the Cameron Crazies.

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

Sept. 5 - Youngstown State Sept. 12 - at Akron Sept. 19 - at Iowa

to hotels and hostile crowds early on next season.

Five of the Panthers’ first seven games will be on the road, including a Sept. 19 game at the University of Iowa as the second part of a home-and-home series that the teams created.

As was known prior to the announcement, Pat Narduzzi’s first game as Pitt’s head coach will come on Sept.

5 at home against Youngstown State.

The two teams also played in the season opener for both teams in 2012, which Youngstown State won 31-17.

“This has been a really energizing month at Pitt, and the announcement

of our upcoming schedule is one more reason to be excited,” Narduzzi said in a release.

Pitt, which finished each of its last four seasons with a 6-6 record, also has a Thursday night game scheduled against North Carolina on Oct. 29.

For the third straight year — every year Pitt has played in the ACC — Pitt and Miami will play against each other in their final regular season games on Nov. 27.

After not playing last season for the first time since 2007, Pitt and Notre Dame will renew their series in 2015 when they meet in Pittsburgh on Nov. 7.

Oct. 3 - at Virginia Tech Oct. 10 - Virginia Oct. 17 - at Georgia Tech Oct. 24 - at Syracuse Oct. 29 - North Carolina Nov. 7 - Notre Dame Nov. 14 - at Duke Nov. 21 - Louisville Nov. 27 - Miami