10-12-17

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The Pitt News

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | October 11, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 45

GREEN LIGHT TO GO GREEN

HOMICIDE SUSPECT ARRESTED IN SC John Hamilton Managing Editor

Mayor Bill Peduto discusses the importance of Pitt’s Take Back The Tap club with junior Kory Gentle at Wednesday’s Sustainability Fair in the William Pitt Union. Elise Lavallee | CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Chancellor: mid-year tuition increases possible Rachel Glasser News Editor A mid-year tuition increase for students is not out of the question if Pennsylvania fails to fund its state-related universities, Chancellor Gallagher said Tuesday. In a recent interview with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the chancellor expressed his concerns that nearly $600 million in funding for Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities has not been secured. While this is not a new concern for the chancellor — who has even sent out an email to the university community regarding this issue — University spokesperson Joe Miksch confirmed Gallagh-

er is considering a mid-year tuition increase if it comes to that point. The state passed a $32 billion budget over the summer, but revenue legislation to fund and balance the budget is at a standstill. Funding for state-related institutions was uncertain in past years when the appropriations bills funding the universities weren’t passed on time. But this year, the situation is even more perilous — Pennsylvania faces a $2 billion deficit and the appropriations bills still haven’t been passed. Even if Gov. Tom Wolf borrows more than $1 billion, as he has promised, Gallagher is worried the fate of spending bills to fund the four state-related universities — Pitt, Penn

State University, Temple University and Lincoln Memorial University — will remain uncertain. While there does not seem to be active opposition from Pennsylvania legislators to fund state-related universities at this time, staterelated funding is essentially frozen until additional means of gaining revenue are passed by the state congress. Miksch said Pitt has received state funding for more than 50 years, and the state funding that the University stands to lose this year — $147 million — directly supports reduced tuition rates for in-state students. “If the state fails to fund the University of See Tuition on page 2

The ex-boyfriend charged with homicide in the death of a Pitt student was arrested Wednesday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Matthew Darby, 21, was charged with homicide Tuesday after his ex-girlfriend, Pitt junior Alina Sheykhet, was found dead in her Oakland apartment Sunday. Myrtle Beach police arrested Darby Wednesday at 12:45 a.m. after police received a tip that he was “tampering with a window at a residence.” After apprehending Darby at the scene, police soon learned he was wanted for homicide in Pittsburgh, according to a video statement by Myrtle Beach police. Sheykhet was found dead in her apartment on Cable Place in Oakland Sunday morning by her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Sheykhet traveled to her apartment around 8:30 a.m. to pick her up. One of Alina Sheykhet’s roommates let them into the residence. After they called their daughter several times with no answer and knocked on her bedroom door with no response, Mr. and Mrs. Sheykhet forced their way into the bedroom. Mr. Sheykhet discovered Alina on the floor of her bedroom. The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office called the death a homicide Monday and said the cause of death was “sharp/blunt trauma of the head.” Surveillance camera footage shows Darby dropping a shiny object into a sewer gate near Sheykhet’s residence See Arrest on page 2


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10-12-17 by The Pitt News - Issuu