The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | October 25, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 54
FACE YOUR FEARS
Pitt’s 10th PMADD highlights culture of service Janine Faust and Caroline Bourque | News Editors
Students grab straws in a bucket of ice water using only their toes during the Pitt Psychology Club’s Fear Factor game night in the William Pitt Union Tuesday. Issi Glatts | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PROFESSOR DISCUSSES GUN VIOLENCE WITH STUDENTS
Lydia Lu
For The Pitt News Richard Garland, an assistant professor of Public Health Practice at Pitt, has spent a total of 23 years incarcerated — almost two-thirds of his life. “Believe it or not, I have a real good relationship with law enforcement,” Garland said. “Never thought I’d say that.” Today, Garland works with police departments and community groups in Allegheny County to educate troubled youth on avoiding gang involvement and gun violence. In a Cathedral of Learning classroom Tuesday night, Garland discussed his work and his personal views on gun violence, the opioid crisis and the cycle of incarceration with about 30 people during an event hosted by the Pitt Democrats. Garland said no matter how many laws are
created, guns are easy to get in certain places. He believes innocent people should to be taught how to use them to guard themselves. “The easiest thing for me to get in the hood is a gun. You can put all the regulations you want on it,” he said. “For me, I want people to learn how to use guns to a certain degree to be safe with them.” As director of the BCHS Center for Health Equity’s Violence Prevention Project, Garland said his experiences with gunshot-wound victims in hospital trauma units have made it clear that gun safety education is crucial to reducing violence. “Everybody wants to be safe,” Garland said. “When they talk about that white picket fence, nice home, no cares in the world — everybody wants that.” He said gunshot victims will often claim
they were just walking down the street, but their Facebook page often tells another story. Garland looks at the social media accounts of victims to identify signifiers of gang affiliation or illegal activity — sometimes the evidence is as obvious as a photo of a person beside a duffel bag of money or drugs. “I’m good at connecting the dots,” he said. Grace DuBois, a first-year political science major at Pitt, came to support Garland, who she said is a good friend. After listening to his talk, she said she still hasn’t changed her desire for stricter gun control laws, although she appreciated hearing a view different from her own. “I understand his views and where he’s coming from, especially since he’s had a personal, intimate experience with gun violence,” she said. Alexis Takoushian, a sophomore political science See Gun Violence on page 2
Shea Krause is confident she and about 50 other members of Pitt’s Jumpstart chapter had the Brightwood Civic Group’s Pumpkinfest under control Saturday morning. “If anything, there were maybe too many people. I don’t think there were enough jobs,” she said. Krause and her peers helped make and sell food, gave kids airbrush tattoos and helped them pick out and paint pumpkins as part of the University’s 10th annual Pitt Make A Difference Day. Organized by the Students for Civic Engagement Council and the Office of PittServes, thousands of Pitt staff, faculty, alumni and students went out into the Pittsburgh region and beyond to work on service projects for a few hours. “I think that any service is helpful, regardless of whether it’s one day or prolonged,” Krause, a junior psychology major, said. The 2017 PMADD drew more than 4,000 people from Pitt’s main and branch campuses to 99 sites — including ones in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., which were staffed by alumni. Students, staff and faculty at Pitt’s main and regional campuses boarded buses around 9 a.m. that took them to the sites they would be volunteering at, staying until around 2 p.m. Pitt’s first PMADD was held in 2008, according to Shawn Ahearn, director of communications for the Division of Student Affairs. More than 1,100 resident students volunteered at 42 sites across the city. The idea for the day came from the Student Government Board after it learned about Make A Difference Day — an organization that orchestrates a nationwide day of service each year— and wanted to create something for Pitt specifically. “The goal basically was to get first-year students involved and connected to the community and to each other,” Ahearn said. See PMADD on page 2