10-26-2016

The Pitt News

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | October 26, 2016 | Volume 107 | Issue 64

COST CENTER, TREES UPGRADES UNDERWAY Emily Baranik Staff Writer

With more than $13 million in approved funding, the Trees Field Complex is getting a makeover with a new sports dome facility set to be finished by February.

The Property and Facilities Committee of the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees approved a $13.2 million sports dome behind Trees Complex in June to accommodate the increased interest in and diversity of sporting clubs. Construction for the dome began in August.

While the renovations are still underway, several intramural and club sports teams said they have experienced irregular or inconvenient practice schedules since the semester began. In addition, the Department of Campus Recreation — which organizes club sports, intramural sports and group exercise classes — is not offering intramural football this semester.

As plans for the dome show, the complete facility will be large enough for a regulation football field indoors that can be split into three smaller fields by curtain dividers, so the inconvenience is temporary. There will also be three outdoor fields surrounding the dome that will be part of the complex. Both the indoor and outdoor fields will be made of artificial turf, and the indoor field will have controlled temperature that will allow

Lauren Fabrizio, left, and Anastasia Desimone perform as Columbia and Frank-N-Further as a part of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tuesday evening in Bellefield Auditorium. Anna Bongardino STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BIDEN STUMPS FOR DEMS AT CHATHAM Emily Brindley

media reports. His visit came only a few days after Democratic presidential candidate Clinton campaigned in Squirrel Hill and just a day before MasContinuing the Democrats’ Pennsylvania sachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pennsylvablitz to ensure they win the state in November, nia Senate candidate McGinty visit Pitt’s campus.

Vice President Joe Biden took his turn in PittsThe visit was Biden’s second stop in Pittsburgh burgh Tuesday to stump for Hillary Clinton and in recent months, after he spoke alongside DemKatie McGinty. ocratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine at At a campaign stop at Chatham University Pittsburgh’s Labor Day Parade. Kaine and Clinton Tuesday morning, Biden spoke to a crowd of campaigned together at Taylor Allderdice High See Cost Center on page 4 about 600 students and other voters, according to School Saturday, in their second stop together in Assistant News Editor

Pittsburgh. In July, the duo campaigned together at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown.

So far this month, Clinton has maintained a steady lead ahead of Republican candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania polls. According to realclearpolitics.com, she currently leads by an average of 5.7 points across all polls.

Though Biden focused on Clinton’s candidacy See Biden on page 5

News

Editor’s note: In Tuesday’s story “Students waste 1,145 pounds of food daily,” The Pitt News reported that Food Recovery Heroes had not yet started recovering food from Market Central. The organization began recovering food from Market Central on Sept. 19, and has recovered about 740 pounds of food. The story has been updated online to reflect this change. The Pitt News regrets this error.

STUDENTS LEARN SUICIDE PREVENTION

Wesley Hood Staff Writer

When Jennifer Sikora’s younger sister Christine stopped taking her depression medications, skipped appointments with her therapist and started partying, Sikora didn’t recognize the warning signs.

But Christine, who was 26 at the time, committed suicide in 2001.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face in my life,” Sikora said. “I didn’t realize the warning signs were all there for my sister until that day that I found out about her death. I only wish I had the realization beforehand.”

Sikora, now the associate area director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s western Pennsylvania chapter, said had she known how to recognize warning signs and to speak up about her concerns at the time, it could have changed the outcome.

After her sister’s death, Sikora struggled with her own suicidal thoughts. If she’d realized it was OK to talk about her thoughts and feelings, Sikora would have gotten treatment sooner, she said.

In Pennsylvania, suicide is the 11th-leading cause of death, with an average of one person dying by suicide every five hours here, according to the AFSP. In an effort to help curb that number, the AFSP’s western Pennsylvania chapter held Talk Saves Lives — a one-hour suicide prevention presentation — in the Union Ballroom at 5 p.m. Tuesday evening. The event aimed to teach students about the warning signs of suicide and how suicide can be prevented.

The warning signs, according to Jenna Heberle, chairperson for the AFSP’s western Pennsylvania chapter, include changes in behavior, changes in mood and the at-risk individual talking about death and suicide. As Heberle spoke to the crowd, she openly discussed her personal involvement with suicide and, though she didn’t specify many details, said she wished she had learned about warning signs earlier.

“I didn’t know a lot of this stuff, and I wish I had,” Heberle said. “I didn’t even know to look for these things, and I wish I had.”

Along with providing practical information, her lecture was interspersed with perSee Talk on page 5

Jennifer Sikora from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention speaks to students about mental health. Julia Zhu STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SGB BRINGS BACK PANTHER OF THE MONTH Leo Dornan Staff Writer

With two projects, Pitt Student Government Board is aiming to highlight student achievement and diversity, Board members said Tuesday.

The first project, Panther of the Month, is a program SGB is reintroducing to recognize and reward students who embody “Pitt pride.”

Pitt Voices, SGB’s second project, is moving forward as the SGB Diversity Committee continues to meet and discuss the implementation.

The concept for Panther of the Month originated last year from former Board

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member Meghan Murphy who wanted to highlight the students who make a positive impact during their time at Pitt, but SGB implemented the idea too late last year, and there was only time for one Panther of the Month award last year. Board member Sam Jankowitz implemented the project again at Tuesday’s meeting.

“The idea is to recognize students

“

who are passionate about making Pitt better for everyone here,” Jankowitz said.

Students can nominate themselves or someone else any time before Oct. 31. Each month, the application will be available until the last Alyssa Laguerta day of the month SGB member and the winner will be announced in the next week or two.

Initially, students had to be involved in three different organizations, but this

Pitt Voices will celebrate diversity in a really impressive way.

October 26, 2016

year the Board decided to emphasize the quality of involvement more than the quantity. The only criteria for students is that they must be enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at the Pittsburgh campus.

“The number is not as important as involvement,” Jankowitz said. “If students show drive and leadership to improve Pitt, they can apply for the award.”

SGB set up an assembly to judge all the applications for Panther of the Month, made up of representatives from every group affiliated with Student Affairs and other organizations on campus, See SGB on page 3

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SGB, pg. 2 such as Rainbow Alliance. The assembly will review applications and vote on which student they will crown Panther of the Month. SGB member Sydney Harper, who is on the judging committee, said they are still working on prizes but ensured the prizes “will be cool.”

“We’re hoping for a good number of applicants,” Harper said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people are doing.”

Pitt Voices, the second project, is a photojournalism project culminating in a published magazine, led through SGB, that aims to highlight the experience of minority and marginalized groups on campus.

Based loosely off the Humans of Pitt project, the publication will be made up of portraits and more in-depth interviews with Pitt students. The project will culminate with a magazine published by March 2017.

Anish Kumar, a senior linguistics major, co-founded Humans of Pitt and is leading Pitt Voices.

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“[Pitt Voices] is a diversity campaign focusing on the minority identity present on campus that people don’t always know is there,” Kumar said.

Kumar became intrigued with the idea of doing a larger project on diversity after a conversation with some of his friends led Kumar to think people at Pitt are not aware of the minority groups present at Pitt.

“My one friend said they wanted something exotic to eat and my other friend just said she should try Indian food,” Kumar, who is Indian, said. “I was just thinking, ‘Really, I’m right here.’”

Since this year is Pitt’s Year of Diversity, Kumar said the Pitt Voices project is coming at a particularly good time.

SGB agreed to help spearhead the formation of the publication and created a committee to work on making the project a reality.

The SGB Diversity Committee this semester has been working to assemble photographers and writers interested in the project. They do not yet have a count of the number of people involved. Board member Alyssa Laguerta said she is excited about the legacy a published work

Allocations Club Golf Team: The Pitt Club Golf Team requested $7,927.68. The Board approved $7,103.68 and denied $824.

Men’s Club Soccer: The Pitt Men’s Soccer Club requested $2,060. The Board approved $1,970 and denied $90. on diversity will have.

“Pitt Voices will celebrate diversity in a really impressive way,” Laguerta said.

“It will also make diversity sustainable and help continue the conversation after this year.”

SGB plans to invite the University to potentially collaborate and help fund the project.

Pitt Voices aims to wrap up the preliminary meetings and planning by the end of this semester. They may release periodic online publications next semester leading up to the print version.

“We have a solid group of photogra-

October 26, 2016

phers and people excited about the project,” Laguerta said. “We’re hoping for a big response, especially in this year of diversity.”

Allocations: Club Golf Team: The Pitt Club Golf Team requested $7,927.68 for registration and airfare to the national championships. The Board approved $7,103.68 and denied $824.

Men’s Club Soccer: The Pitt Men’s Soccer Club requested $2,060 for registration and lodging for a regional tournament. The Board approved $1,970 and denied $90.

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Cost Center, pg. 1 for year-round use.

Marilyn Ross, director of the Department of Campus Recreation, said Pitt wants to have the dome completed for the spring semester because it is the most active time for club and intramural sports.

According to Ross, the base has been laid for the dome and the ground is now being fixed for the turf inside the dome. She also said it is important to the project that this winter is mild.

Ross said the University wanted to have the dome finished for next semester so that the spring sports will be unaffected. “[Building the dome] is kind of contingent on the weather, which is beyond our control,” Ross said.

Pitt is also planning to undergo renovations at the Cost Center on upper campus in May. Shawn Ahearn, the director of communications for Pitt Student Affairs, said in an email that the construction of the dome and the renovations of the Cost Center are two different yet related projects, as both are intended to improve the athletic facilities on Pitt’s campus.

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According to Ross, renovations are being held off until after the school year, as the track teams use the Cost Center for practices. The $5.3 million renovations include basic maintenance, such as new heating, air conditioning and painting. The Board of Trustees approved the funding in March, and Pitt also plans to put new fields in the Cost Center to be ready for August of 2017.

“It just is really, really old, and it needs a facelift,” Ross said.

The dome is being built on the outdoor fields of the Trees Complex, which prevented intramural football from playing their season this semester. The fields are entirely torn up, according to Ross, and the team was unable to use them. “[The intramural football team is] kind of sad that they can’t play, but when they see [the new field], it’ll be great. It’s just a minor inconvenience,” Ross said.

Bill Wallace, the intramural sports coordinator, said some teams — such as intramural soccer and several club sports teams — have been using the lawn outside the Baierl Recreation Center in the Petersen Events Center for practice space while the renovations are underway.

“We have to be patient and wait,” Wallace said.

Ross also said Pitt is trying to figure out a way for the intramural football team to still play some games this year. Plans are uncertain as of now, but Ross said they have about six to eight weeks they can work with. Normally, the season starts in October and runs for about six weeks.

“We’ll probably modify the schedule a little bit, so they can have some football,” Ross said.

Andrew Earle, a junior economics major and president of club soccer, said that finding practice space is difficult right now because the fields of the Trees Complex are torn up from construction. All the club and intramural teams are fighting over practice space in the Cost Center until the dome is completed.

“This is the semester where we’re sort of hurting for field space and time,” Earle said.

According to Earle, the tight schedule forces them to only practice Mondays and Fridays. This is inconvenient because they have games on the weekends, so this usually accounts for four straight days of soccer, then nothing during the week.

Matt Mutone, a sophomore exercise sci-

October 26, 2016

ence major and previous member of the intramural football team, joined the club football team once he heard of the intramural team’s season cancellation. Mutone said that he considers the renovations to campus facilities an inconvenience because the team can only get field time late at night.

Though the team practices at the Cost Center three to four times a week, their practices sometimes last until as late as 12:30 am.

Mark Chajkowski, a senior industrial engineering major and former member of intramural football, said that he misses playing on the team but knows the renovations aim for a larger goal than just his time on the field.

“I definitely want to play this year, but I understand that the University isn’t going to stop plans for some senior’s last year of intramural football,” Chajkowski said.

Despite the difficult practice schedule and the inconvenience, Earle said he’s accepting of the displacement since it’s temporary and will result in improvements to their facilities.

“It’s something we really wanted,” Earle said.

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throughout his speech, he also stumped for McGinty, who is running a tight race against incumbent Republican Pat Toomey that has garnered national attention. “[McGinty] understands,” Biden said. “I put the greatest faith in people who arrive at their decision on policy starting in their gut, moving through their heart and then being able to articulate it by a sound and brilliant mind.”

If McGinty wins the Senate race against Toomey, she could help tip the balance of the Senate toward the Democrats, which Biden said would allow Republican senators to vote with more freedom instead of feeling pressured to play it safe by voting along party lines.

After a healthy post-Democratic National Convention lead, McGinty has fallen behind Toomey in the polls in recent weeks. According to realclearpolitics.com, Toomey currently leads by 1.8 points across all polls.

“When we take back the Senate, I promise you –– remember I said this –– I promise you it’ll free up about 30 Republican senators to begin to function again, because the pressure will be off them to have to be so recalcitrant about everything and abusing the power of the Senate,” Biden said.

Talk, pg. 2 sonal stories of the speaker’s lives surrounding mental health and suicide.

Heberle explained that those warning signs could have prevented the loss experienced in her own family, but said she hopes talking openly about warning signs will prevent losses in others’ families.

“You can prevent suicide,” Heberle said.

“If you come away with one thing, I hope that thing is that there is never anything to be ashamed of with talking about mental health issues, especially here on a college campus.”

The event on Tuesday was the second time the foundation and Pitt’s Student Government Board held the event. Max Kneis –– SGB member and sitting member of the mental health task force on campus –– helped organize the two events.

“We wanted to bring in the foundation to talk about prevention on a couple of different days so that students had several opportunities to get this training and learn that things can be done to prevent suicide,” Kneis, a junior accounting and finance major, said.

Kneis said there were about 100 students in attendance between the two lecture times.

They planned to host the lectures over Mental Health Awareness month and before International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, which is Nov. 19, to reduce stigma about mental

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At the beginning of his speech, Biden also took a few minutes to discuss Republican presidential candidate Trump and his “ridiculousness,” including his tweets about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado and the recently publicized hot mic video from 2005 that recorded Trump saying his fame and power permitted him to grab women and kiss them indiscriminately.

“This man is thoroughly unqualified, based on his conduct, his abuse of power and his lack of substance and knowledge,” Biden said.

Since the Washington Post released the hot mic video came on Oct. 8, Trump has called the comments “locker room talk.”

Despite his denunciation of Trump, Biden focused his speech on the change and progress that Clinton and McGinty could make if elected.

Tailoring his speech to the college students in the crowd, Biden said one way to provide lowercost college education to Americans is by closing loopholes in the tax law.

No matter their education status, social status or financial status, Biden encouraged everyone in the audience to vote in the upcoming Nov. 8 election.

“Remember the Gore election. Remember elections that have been literally decided by a handful of votes,” Biden said. “Folks, there’s only 14 days left until election day. I know you’re all going to vote. We need you.” health and “get people talking,” Kneis said.

According to Suicide Prevention Resource Center research, there are more than 1,000 suicides that occur on college campuses per year, making the placement of this talk at Pitt even more necessary in the fight to prevent suicide.

Ian Snyder, a junior neuroscience and political science major, attended the lecture unsure of what to expect, but said that the points regarding prevention of suicide reminded him of times he has been with individuals who have contemplated suicide.

“Being on a college campus, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we’re supporting the community around us in any way that they might need support,” Snyder said.

Snyder said his main reason for attending the lecture was to prevent discussions around suicide from being uncomfortable.

“For me, more than anything, it’s about starting a thought process about looking for signs and making sure they don’t lead to something more drastic,” Snyder said.

Tuesday evening’s lecture, according to Heberle, was about teaching students not only how to talk about suicide and suicidal thoughts, but that it is acceptable to do so.

“Not enough people, not enough places are talking about it,” Heberle said. “That’s why we are here and we are talking about it — to save lives.”

The Pitt news crossword 10/26/16

Biden, pg. 1

October 26, 2016

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Opinions from the editorial board

column

Justice not served with Kane’s light sentence Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s former Attorney General, committed a crime.

She was arrested, tried before a jury of her peers and convicted. And this week, she was sentenced to prison. But justice was not served.

On Monday, Kane was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in jail after she was convicted of two felony counts of perjury and seven charges of lying and abusing her power of office. In August, Kane was charged with illegally leaking records from the grand jury and then lying about it under oath.

Kane could have faced maximum sentence of 12 to 24 years in jail, but instead she received a tiny fraction of that.

The sentence may seem like a victory for holding corrupt public officials in the state accountable, but the light sentence proves we still have a double standard when it comes to punishing criminals.

Kane rose to political power in 2012 when she became the first female and first Democrat elected as Pennsylvania attorney general. Vowing to shake up the establishment as an outsider, her work in office focused on scandals of retaliation and corruption.

After inheriting an undercover case that found four legislators and a judge accepting illegal gifts, Kane shut the case down, stating it was racially charged and insufficient to prosecute.

Later, local prosecutors found evidence of wrongdoing for four of the five the Democratic officials and proved her wrong.

In an attempt to discredit her political opponents, Kane leaked information that belonged to a grand jury investi-

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gation to the Philadelphia Daily News regarding Frank G. Fine, a former state prosecutor in charge of the sting case.

The illegal leak would ultimately lead to her public downfall and put her behind bars.

Her lawyers argued that her damaged reputation and loss of career was enough punishment for her in their plea for leniency. Everyone convicted of a crime, though, has their reputation damaged.

Given that she received a fraction of the sentence, her plea served more as an apology for her privilege. Those who are convicted of low-level street crime are often punished to longer sentences than Kane’s, with even more to lose than a reputation.

When a person in Pennsylvania charged only with marijuana possession could face a similar sentence, the punishment of her crime seems ludicrous in comparison. Filing a false tax return can result to up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. A person caught vandalizing could face up to two years in prison if the damage is valued at more than $1,000.

Whether you are a politician, business executive, celebrity or someone of power, the position or name you have should never be an excuse for serving a lighter sentence. A criminal justice system that allows such an inequality to exist fails to properly fulfill its purpose: justice.

Kane got off easy, but we shouldn’t let this go. It should be a call for more accountability.

Justice will not be served until we treat all cases equally, regardless of income, race and gender.

OPPOSING LANGUAGE SHOULD NEVER LEAD TO VIOLENCE

Raka Sarkar STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Tim Nerozzi Columnist

Words and swords are not the same weapon — at least they’re not supposed to be.

But the rise of politically correct, sensitive policy-making in recent years has contributed to the decline of academic freedom and intellectual discourse. In the most extreme cases, this trend has led to violent confrontations.

In their most common forms, conservatives have long argued that the rise of safe spaces and trigger warnings are inhibitive of free discussion, but the trend of violence is proving to be just as harmful.

The redefining of words and their meanings is nothing new in academia. Words like “gender” and “sexuality” are constantly shifting in meaning to the whim of students and faculty. Simple terms we all grew up with have now become abstract, dimensional constructs that vary from person to person. While gender has traditionally been a dichotomous term meant to distinguish between male and female, now it is deemed whatever an individual wants it to mean, offending anyone who ques-

October 26, 2016

tions it otherwise.

Those who question these types of nuanced meanings and symbols are simply making semantic arguments, and they don’t threaten to harm students, faculty or speakers directly. But there is one push against a particular word’s accepted definition that could be even more dangerous: violence.

Progressive activists are trying to label anything and everything as violence, whether it’s Trump’s latest remark or not using a person’s preferred pronouns. Collegiate academics continue to dilute the meaning of the word “violence” and push the narrative that lectures or speakers that make students uncomfortable are “unsafe.”

Traditionally, violence has always been the intention to hurt, damage or kill someone using physical force, not a controversial idea or opposing viewpoint.

In doing so, we are running the risk that progressives will react with exaggerated aggression toward their conservative counterparts, in some cases physically.

See Nerozzi on page 7

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Nerozzi, pg. 6 In August, John Ellison, dean of students at the University of Chicago, issued a public notice letting students know the school doesn’t recognize “trigger warnings” or “safe spaces.” It was a move meant to discourage political correctness and encourage healthy debate. But not every college has been so straightforward about addressing this matter.

Language that is deemed as “unsafe” or “dangerous” has come to mean anything that questions the effectiveness of Black Lives Matter, takes a nuanced look at gender politics, puts forward the idea of the existence of only two genders, supports the Washington Redskins or any slew of other topics deemed too holy and righteous to be tainted with simple debate.

When discussing free speech and violence, it is important to make clear the types of speech that are already deemed “violent” or otherwise unsafe. It’s true that certain types of speech can be considered actions in and of themselves, usually in how the words serve in involving another group of people.

This is why direct threats made to individuals or groups are illegal. They’re not illegal because of the words or ideas used, but because the threats are actively trying to intimidate and control through the use of physical harm to another person.

Calling on others to commit violent acts — such as encouraging one person to attack another or yelling “fire” in a crowded theater — or soliciting help in committing an illegal act are already considered crimes in the United States, as they go beyond the exchange of ideas to the point of being violent speech.

The laws against speech that directly call for physical violence or that could physically harm another person are almost universally seen as having a positive impact. However, there is an inherent danger in conflating physical harm and threats with simply controversial speech — speech that is legal and does not invoke physical harm. In recent years, this danger has been most present on American college campuses that treat unpopular ideas as genuine threats to student safety, whether it being denying that a culture of rape exists on a campus or questioning Islam as an ideology.

If non-aggressive speech, free of threats, is considered a form of violence on par with assault in the minds of those who protest it, then it becomes acceptable for these “victims” to react in “self-defense” — perhaps even physically. When you paint yourself as being genuinely harmed by nonviolent speech, you’ve also unfairly painted someone as an assailant, and your like-minded allies could feel justified in retaliating.

In February, Ben Shapiro, a notable con-

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servative activist and editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire, was threatened with bodily harm on a visit to University of California, Los Angeles, where a police escort was necessary to keep him away from violent protesters. His speech was on the simple topic of sensitivity on campus, an ironic situation, given the overly emotional reaction. According to ABC7 news, the protestors blocked entrances, shouting and pushing those who were attending the event where he was speaking.

Instead of contributing anything meaningful to the public sphere, these people brought down their own side of the discussion by painting a desperate and violent picture of themselves and similarly disposed students.

Furthermore, on Oct. 15, New York University College Republicans invited conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on their campus in November, and the event was canceled due to security concerns and threats to the community’s well-being.

“On other campuses, his events have been accompanied by physical altercations, the need for drastically enlarged security presence, harassment of community members both at the event and beyond and credible threats involving the presence of firearms or explosives,” NYU’s Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Marc Wais wrote in an email about the event.

These are only a few of the examples where we see offense and upset of one’s beliefs or sensibilities manifested into outburst and attack, both on the part of politicians and public figures, as well as on an individual basis on college campuses. While the progressive left uses outrage culture and hostility as mechanisms to drum up supporters, they recklessly disregard the damage they’re leaving to public discourse in their wake. Not only are they harming the individual, but they are dismantling the conversation at hand to barbaric tribalism.

The left is far from the only movement with wild, aggressive people. Unwarranted violence and hatred is nearly universal in ideologies, and groups cannot be expected to answer for the sins of renegades carrying their banner. However, this particular form of escalating violence, justified as retaliation against individuals who have not harmed others, is a purely left-wing problem, and has reared its ugly head most frequently in institutions of higher learning, schools that thrive and feed off of healthy debate and discussion.

If we continue to treat simple words and ideas as active forms of violence, it will be the social justice advocates that must carry the blame for the true physical harm that will be done in “retaliation” for the violence they claim they experienced by an oppositional viewpoint.

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Sports One Woman Show Alyson Kornberg knows how to tackle an issue head-on, whether that’s starting a club football team or taking down an opponent at the line of scrimmage. | by Ted Zhang |

Alyson Kornberg is both the captain and the starting linebacker for the club football team. Theo Schwarz SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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he Cost Center is never empty at midnight — at least not if Alyson Kornberg can help it.

The rhythmic sound of shuffling feet fill the indoor field, as each movement requires precision and repetition, while each breath fuels the contractions of tired muscles and joints as Kornberg and her club football team run drills and plays.

This is the scene of a typical Monday night for the team. A few vigilant souls running through drills in helmets and shoulder pads, sweat trickling down their face masks, hoping their efforts will pay off come game day.

When they aren’t playing another team, the club football team practices indoors, working on plays and conditioning, with the occasional friendly bantering on the side. This usually means the team shares the turf with the club baseball team during odd hours of the night, but the sound of cracking bats doesn’t steal from their focus.

That’s especially true for Kornberg, sophomore, head captain, president, founder and only woman on the club football team, who is atten-

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tive and eager to improve herself and her team.

Standing at 5-foot-7, she moves like Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu, though with straighter and lighter hair.

“The other guys like to say I’m the mom of the team,” Kornberg says with a grin.

But Kornberg’s journey to the line of scrimmage as Pitt’s only female football player was hardly smooth.

Since coming to Pitt in the spring, she wrote a constitution for the club and gained approval from the University to start a gridiron, tackle football team, the whole process nearly seamless.

Both on and off the field, Kornberg has a lot of responsibilities. She handles the scheduling of games, practices and other administrative work to run a club by herself. On the field, she is one of the player-coaches that creates the offensive and defensive plays that the team runs.

But Kornberg’s passion for the game was put to the test at an early age. While she was playing football in the peewee and modified levels, there was backlash from other parents about whether a girl should be playing in what is considered a predominately male sport, even though her fa-

ther was her coach.

Many parents at Kornberg’s school weren’t comfortable with a girl playing alongside boys.

Josephson said the players’ parents didn’t mind, but other parents that heard of the situation weren’t particularly fond of the idea.

“They would say ‘Isn’t that kind of dangerous?’ and ‘Why do you let your daughter do that?’” Josephson said.

The discontent of Kornberg playing football, at the time, was directed to her parents — mostly. Some parents who didn’t have a kid on the team were disapproving of girls playing football, causing some of Kornberg’s friends, who were initially interested in playing football, to be dissuaded by people saying it was unladylike.

Once she entered junior high, many people thought it was the end of the road for her football career, she said. The other parents wrongly assumed she would stop playing because her dad was not her coach anymore, according to her mother.

Despite the assumption, Kornberg trudged onwards. She would continue to play football throughout junior high and make her way to

October 26, 2016

the varsity stage. It was also during those times that she took on a heavy burden to advocate her position on the team. One of the biggest issues?

Kornberg needed a place to change for practice.

Kornberg changed in a supply closet next to the football locker room while her parents and administrators found a separate locker for her.

But that struggle only added to the discontent surrounding Kornberg playing at all.

“People told me to kill myself. A lot of bullying and other issues,” Kornberg said.

It wasn’t easy for Kornberg as she transitioned to the varsity level. The backlash that her parents faced, now that she had come of age, was directed towards her. The bullying affected her on the field, in the classroom and even within the sanctity of her bedroom in the form of cyberbullying. Classmates accused of her playing football just to “get with the guys,” others told her she shouldn’t be playing because it was a “man’s sport.” She ended up changing schools to avoid the bullies.

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

8

NARDUZZI TROLLS FANS ON TWITTER Ashwini Sivaganesh Assistant Sports Editor

What if Pat Narduzzi, head coach of Pitt’s football team, wrote you a pass to get out of class Thursday night so you could watch the Panthers take on Virginia Tech at Heinz Field?

Well, he did. Kind of.

At about noon Tuesday, Narduzzi tweeted out a permission slip — as a joke, he later said — for students to use to get out of Thursday night class to attend the game. By Tuesday evening, though, he retracted the post realizing students might actually take him seriously.

The permission slip read: “To whom it May Concern: Please excuse [fill-in-the-blank] from all classes after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 27th. Pitt is one of the world’s top universities but I can assure you that this absence is for an important cause.

In front of a national television audience, the Pitt Panthers football team takes on #25 Virginia Tech and we will need the full support of The Panther Pitt behind us. We also would not mind if you take the evening off as well and cheer on the Panthers. Hail to Pitt!”

Narduzzi’s post instantly went viral around campus, gathering over 500 retweets and 700 likes.

The letter appeared to be a response to the Panther Pitt, the football team’s fan section, which tweeted to Pitt’s Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, Athletic Director Scott Barnes and Narduzzi Monday afternoon asking if the University could cancel Thursday night classes so students could attend the football team’s only weeknight game of the season.

Within five minutes of that tweet, Narduzzi retweeted the post stating it was a great idea.

To prove his enthusiasm, Narduzzi fol-

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lowed up the retweet on Tuesday with the permission slip, directing the message at the Panther Pitt saying, “See you on Thursday Night at Heinz Field.” The letter included a Pitt football official logo on top and a signature by Narduzzi at the bottom.

But can students use the permission slip to skip class on Thursday?

Technically, no.

On Tuesday evening, Narduzzi tweeted a statement retracting the permission slip.

“Friendly reminder to the Panther Nation: Just in case you thought my ‘permission slip’ was real, IT’S NOT! We want everyone who can be at Heinz Thursday night to be LOUD and PITT PROUD. You can be our winning edge! But if you’ve got class, take care of business and then get to a TV to root us on! H2P! #BeatVT,” Narduzzi said in the message.

Before Narduzzi tweeted his statement, E.J. Borghetti, executive associate athletic director of media relations for Pitt, confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the permission slip was meant as a joke and would not allow students to skip Thursday night classes.

He encouraged anyone who can to root the team in Heinz Field, but otherwise go to class as planned and catch the game on T.V. afterwards.

“In the spirit of Twitter, [Narduzzi’s] tongue was firmly planted in [his] cheek,” Borghetti said in an email.

Susan Rogers, Pitt’s associate vice chancellor for communications and a spokesperson for Gallagher, also confirmed that the permission slip was meant to be a joke from the beginning.

“Coach loves the game, but he’s also pretty clear about class coming first,” Rogers said in Football head coach Pat Narduzzi Tweeted and later retracted the above “permission slip”on Tuesday. Courtesy of Twitter an email.

October 26, 2016

9

PANTHERS OF THE WEEK mariah bell

The redshirt freshman held Pitt men’s soccer team to a scoreless draw, after a double overtime, against No. 16 Virginia Friday evening at home. The Panther goalkeeper fended off four shots on goal, including a vital game-changing one in the second overtime period.

So far this season, Outcalt has played 1,496 minutes on the field, only letting 20 goals get past him.

Of the 110 shots on goal made against the team, he’s made 88 saves, keeping four of the last six games within a one-point margin.

The Pitt men’s soccer team and Outcalt will wrap-up the regular season in Blacksburg, Virginia, against Virginia Tech at 7 p.m Friday.

The junior outside hitter contributed tremendously to the volleyball’s twogame split at the Fitzgerald Field House against Notre Dame and Louisville over the weekend. Although the Panthers lost to the Fighting Irish, Bell managed 12 kills for the team. She also helped the Panthers secure their straight set sweep against Louisville with 9 kills.

Bell has a total of 127 kills for the season, second on the team only to Stephanie Williams’ 139. Together the duo is responsible for more than half of the 511 kills the Panthers have accumulated against opponents so far and keep the team on track to be serious contenders for the ACC Championship.

Bell and the Panthers will spend next weekend battling NC State at 7 p.m. Friday and No. 8 North Carolina at 1 p.m.

Sunday at the Fitzgerald Field House.

women’s volleyball

men’s soccer

Mikal outcalt

The Pitt News SuDoku 10/26/16 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

pittnews.com

October 26, 2016

10

I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet

Employment

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

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

1,2,3,4,6 BR. Available August 2017.

Bigelow Boulvd, Truro Place, Craig, and Neville Street.

Call 412-287-5712.

2 BR, 2BA apartment, Bigelow Blvd. $900 + utilities.

Available Now. 412-287-5712. **2,3,5, and 6 Bedroom houses/Apartments in South Oakland. Available for rent August 2017.

Very clean with different amenities (dishwasher, laundry, A/C, washer and dryer, 1-3 baths, off-street parking, newer appliances & sofas).

Check out my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KenEckenrodeRealEstate/. Call Ken at 412-287-4438 for more information and showings. **AUGUST 2017: Furnished Studio, 1-2 and 3 Bedroom Apts. No pets. Nonsmokers preferred.

412-621-0457 1-2-3-4-5 Bedroom Houses & Apartments. 376 Meyran, 343 McKee, & Atwood, St. James, Bates St. $1,095-$2,000. Call 412-969-2790.

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Services

Announcements

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

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

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

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 bedroom apartments and houses available in May and August 2017. Nice, clean, free laundry, includes exterior maintenance, new appliances, spacious, located on Meyran, Bates, Oakland, Semple, Wellsford, Dawson, Juliet. 412-414-9629.

2-3-4 bedroom houses. Available now or January 1st.

At corner of Parkview and the Boulevard. Free laundry. Central air. Really nice.

412-414-9629.

2,3,5 BR houses.

Available now.

Bouquet, Atwood, & Dawson. Please call 412-287-5712.

4 BR Home - Semple Street. Equipped Kitchen, Full Basement. Available immediately. Also renting for May and August 2017.

(412) 343-4289.

Oakland/Atwood St. Large house (6 person), walking distance to campus.

6 BR, 3 BA, living room, fully equipped kitchen, basement with free washer/dryer. Available mid-August 2017. $2700/mo +utilites.

412-523-2971 or rwiener602@gmail.com

Classifieds

For Sale

Updated apartments for rent. Most with A/C, some with parking. Available May and August 2017. Dishwasher, laundry, ice makers.

412-445-6117 2 BR Unfurnished, Kitchen, Bath, Washer/Dryer included, 1 car garage. $845 mo. + utilities. Available immediately, 1-2 people. Close to bus stop, Oakland/Downtown/Shopping District. No pets, no smoking. Call Ray 412-523-2971, rwiener602@gmail.com.

AVAILABLE NOW – SQUIRREL HILL LUXURY RENOVATIONS! MODERN! GRANITE! SS APPLIANCES! ALL NEW! Eldridge St. – 1Br $895 Studio $750 Shady Ave – 1BR $1150 2BR $1295 Murray Ave – 3BR $1695 4BR $1750 All Apartments are Pet Friendly Call 412-455-5600 for a showing.

3,4,5 BR. Sarah Street and Wrights

Way. Close to Pitt and Duquesne University. Call 412-287-5712.

AVAILABLE NOWSHADYSIDE/FRIENDSHIP Holden St. 2BR – Roof Deck! $1450 Maryland 3Br $1545 New SS Appliances!

South Negley 1BR – Renovated! Spacious! $825 South Fairmount 1BR Private Entrance – $795 All Apartments are Pet Friendly!

Call 412-455-5600 for a showing.

A nice room in a 3 bedroom house is available for rent within short walking distance to campuses.

Other rooms occupied by students.

Monthly rate is $400+utilities. Contact (412)657-4832 or (412)443-4037.

Residential treatment facility located in Robinson is now hiring!

Gain hands on experience in the mental health field working with children & adolescents!

Looking for full time or part time as needed direct care staff! *We accommodate school schedules!* Interested? Apply at: www.thebradleycenter.org/careers

R A T E S

Insertions

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1-15 Words

$6.30

$11.90

$17.30

$22.00

16-30 Words

$7.50

$14.20

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(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline: Two business days prior by 3pm

Come work where it's Oktoberfest everyday. NOW HIRING: All kitchen staff including Managers at Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh. Apply in person Monday through Friday.

Phlebotomy Training Centerwww. justphlebotomy.org 2 evening classes weekly, 5 weeks + excellent Clinicals.

Call 412-521-7334.

Part-time administrative position available at Schachner Associates, P.C.; Comprehensive Psychological Services.

Responsibilities include: assistance with client services, including greeting, scheduling, and insurance payments; general communication management and client insurance eligibility and benefit confirmation; and basic filing, bookkeeping, and assistance with office projects. Excellent interpersonal skills, multitasking, and computer and typing skills are required. College students and recent graduates are welcome.

Please send a resume to admin@schachnerassociates.com.

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Need extra cash?

Hard working parttime maintenance helper wanted for busy property management company.

Some duties include light painting, cleaning, grass cutting and snow shoveling.

Some related experience is helpful and car/truck is required.

Call Robb Real Estate at 412.682.7622 or stop by 5816 Forbes Avenue.

Want to get a great discount and work flexible hours over the holiday season?

American Eagle and Aerie are now hiring at the Ross Park Mall location. Great Discount. Competitive Wages. Apply at aeo.jobs

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$27.00

$30.20

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Email: advertising@pittnews.com

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Radiology is seeking men and women 18-45 years of age who currently have a problem with cocaine for brain imaging research studies. Participants must be medicationfree (birth control acceptable) and willing to not use cocaine for several weeks. The study involves questionnaires, interviews and brain scanning at UPMC Presbyterian University Hospital.

The study will be conducted over a four month period. Subjects will be compensated up to $1747 upon completion. For details, call 412-586-9633 or email PMIPstudy@gmail. com

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Phone: 412.648.7978

Adopt: A loving couple hopes to adopt.

We would love to hear what your hopes and dreams are for your baby. Please call Jen & Dom 1866-270-6969, text 646-705-2903, www.jenanddomwishtoadopt.info

Restore Victorian home. Painting, yardwork, etc. Shadyside, Fox Chapel. Student preferred. $12/hour.

412-963-9889. georgebsg@cs.com.

October 26, 2016

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October 26, 2016

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