The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | october 2, 2018 | Volume 109 | Issue 32
JAPANESE HISTORY REMEMBERED IN LOCAL FILMMAKER’S DOCUMENTARY
YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?
Kim Rooney Contributing Editor
Blue and gold cupcakes read “120” in honor of the building’s 120th birthday hosted by William Pitt Union staff. Bader Abdulmajeed | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WILLIAM PITT UNION CELEBRATES 120 YEARS Hannah Schneider Assistant News Editor Built in 1898, Hotel Schenley was designed to reflect entrepreneur Franklin Nicola’s vision for the Oakland community to become a center for culture and education. Fast-forward 120 years and Nicola’s dream has manifested — now through the presence of student organizations, affairs and activities. The William Pitt Union turned 120 on Monday and the building’s staff hosted a 120th birthday party to celebrate. More than 150 students passed through the Union, taking advantage of free food, trivia, prizes and other interactive activities. The first floor featured a board that said “I love my Union because,” where
students were able to post heart-shaped cards to the board. According to Olivia Lynch, one of the assistant managers for the Union, the building has a complex history. It began as a hotel, with guests such as Babe Ruth, Lillian Russell and numerous U.S. presidents. Pitt purchased the building in 1956 — and after a $1 million renovation, the top four floors were converted into a men’s dormitory called Schenley House, while the floors below were repurposed into a student union. In 1983, the Schenley House was renamed the William Pitt Union, with the sole purpose of housing student activities and organizations. Lynch said it’s important to recognize the history of the
building in celebrating its age. “The William Pitt Union’s such a historic building,” Lynch said. “I don’t think it gets recognized a lot, so I think it’s great to kind of celebrate the 120th.” During the Union’s 100th anniversary celebration, Lynch remembers people dressing up to honor the Union’s original design as a hotel. She said that celebration partially inspired the decision to host a 120th anniversary celebration. “They actually dressed up, just like it would be at the Schenley Hotel,” Lynch said. “They had carriages and it was a time period, so we decided to do something just a little special for the 120th birthday.” See WPU on page 2
For 23 Japanese fishermen, the sun rose in the west on March 1, 1954. An enormous cloud rose from the ocean near the Marshall Islands, filling the sky with light. The fishermen argued over what it could be, but the truth would ripple through the rest of their lives as pain, hospitalization and stigma. They were victims of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, the largest thermonuclear bomb the United States would ever detonate. Japan’s relationship with nuclear weapons usually brings to mind events such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or even popular characters like Godzilla. But the damage of nuclear weapons extends much further and director Keith Reimink’s new documentary, “Day of the Western Sunrise,” focuses on the personal fallout. The film premiered at Row House Cinema over the weekend, with a showing Saturday night and two on Sunday. “It’s a small theater and kind of intimate,” Reimink said. “So rather than have one big screening, [we had] three smaller ones so people have more access to the film and the filmmakers and there’s a bit more laid-back feeling about it.” Reimink stumbled upon the story of the 23 fishermen and their boat, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru — or Lucky Dragon No. 5 — in Eric Schlosser’s “Command and Control,” which investigates the mismanagement of U.S. nuclear weapons. Nestled among the 656 pages are 10 paragraphs about the Lucky Dragon No. 5, which Reimink honed in on as another story in its entirety. See Documentary on page 5