The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | november 6, 2018 | Volume 109 | Issue 56
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF STUDENT CANVASSING
STUDENTS STAND TOGETHER
Emily Wolfe Senior Staff Writer Forty-eight hours before election day, Alex Rose rapped on the front door of a house in Penn Hills. Not many people on his list had answered his knocks — Sunday afternoon is time for church and brunch for most people, he joked — but this house seemed promising. The inner door was propped open, and the sounds of conversation and television floated from inside. Sure enough, a few seconds later he heard a yell — “Is that the Latter Day Saints?” — and a man appeared at the door. Rose gave a short, practiced, friendly spiel. He was with the campaign to elect Democrat Conor Lamb to the U.S. House of Representatives, he told the man. The election was this coming Tuesday and Alex and his fellow volunteers were walking around the neighborhood to make sure people knew where and how to vote. “The Steelers game’s on, man!” Rose apologized. “But can we count on your vote?” he asked. “Yes, you can,” the man said, and closed the door. Back on the street, Rose tapped at the screen of his phone, marking the man as a Lamb voter in the canvassing app MiniVAN. Lamb and his Republican opponent, Keith Rothfus, both sitting congressmen from Pennsylvania who were redistricted into the 17th District earlier this year, were nearing the end of the fight — and volunteers for both campaigns were out in droves. “A lot of people just ignore us,” Conor Guiser, public relations director for the Pitt College Republicans, said. “If they’re home, they just suddenly go quiet and wait until we walk away. The
Close to 3,000 people attended the Stronger Than Hate vigil on the Cathedral of Learning Lawn Monday afternoon. Sarah Cutshall | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PITT STUDENTS GATHER TO SUPPORT JEWISH COMMUNITY Christian Snyder Editor-in-Chief
On the grass between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel Monday, nearly 3,000 people gathered to mourn the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. Students and elected officials wearing T-shirts with “Stronger Than Hate” printed on the front spoke to the crowd about their feelings surrounding the past week in Pittsburgh. “I could not be more proud of the people of the City of Pittsburgh,” Mayor Bill Peduto said. “I could not be more proud of our Jewish community. I could not be more proud to be the mayor of this City than I am today. Because we are See Canvassing on page 3 showing the world that we do not have to
fight hatred with hatred.” In the week following the shooting there were several vigils which, like Pitt’s, honored the victims. At the funerals for the deceased last week, thousands from the Pittsburgh community gathered to mourn. A demonstration Tuesday also protested President Donald Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh, which many Pittsburghers thought he should have postponed until after the funerals. “I wish he would’ve let Pittsburgh mourn before he came,” senior biology major Josie Baker said, “because it’s hitting so close to home.” Baker grew up in Greenfield, a suburb about 30 minutes away from Pittsburgh. She and her friend Parker Denz, a senior
microbiology major, attended the vigil to show support — but the issue was closer to home for Denz, who has Jewish family members in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. “My grandmother … lived around the time of the Holocaust, so it definitely hits very hard,” he said. The event, which ran from noon to 1 p.m., also hosted student a cappella groups The Songburghs and C Flat Run, which performed Beyonce’s “I Was There” and Frances’ “Grow,” respectively. Before The Songburghs took the stage, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher shared a few words about what the Pitt community means to him. See Support on page 3