The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | November 2, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 60
PA
SCRABBLE-ING FOR WORDS
granted REAL ID extension Rachel Glasser News Editor
are prohibitively expensive at times, it can be just really inconvenient and really distressing,” Peck said. “I’ve been using the grocery stores in South Oakland more and more. There’s some options there, but I do feel my options dropping more year after year.” Panther Central announced Oct. 20 that some prices at Quick Zone would decrease effective Oct. 21, and new items would be added to the inventory. This came one week after Panther Central announced that Litchfield Towers Quick Zone would extend its hours from a 24-hour, fiveday-a-week schedule to 24 hours, seven days a week, beginning that day. Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch said in an email that prices were lowered on dozens of items including milk, peanut butter, eggs, orange juice,
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted Pennsylvania an extension to comply with REAL ID requirements through fall 2018. The extension — granted Oct. 11 and in effect through Oct. 10, 2018 — means that during this time frame, all current Pennsylvania licenses and identification cards will be accepted for domestic-commercial flights and for entering federal buildings that require identification. Previously, as of Jan. 22, 2018, Pennsylvanians would have needed to present alternate identification — such as a passport — for these purposes. The REAL ID Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005, mandated that states follow specific protocol and satisfy certain requirements when issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards if the federal government is to recognize the documents as valid. The government passed this act following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A Pennsylvania law passed in 2012 prevented the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation from complying with REAL ID. This legislation intended to maintain privacy rights for Pennsylvanians amid concerns about creating a national database of all registered license holders. The PA state legislature passed Act 3 of 2017 — also known as the Pennsylvania REAL ID Compliance Act — in May of this year, effectively repealing the 2012 law. REAL ID licenses and ID cards will
See 7-Eleven on page 2
See REAL ID on page 2
The Pittsburgh Scrabble Club met for three hours at Panera Bread Monday night. Aaron Schoen | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
7-ELEVEN’S CLOSING LEAVES STUDENTS CONFLICTED Nina Kneuer Staff Writer Regina Brecker said 7-Eleven “saved [her] life” on more than one occasion when she pulled allnighters in the library. “Without it, I would have had to walk all the way to the McDonald’s for food,” Brecker said. “This was so important, especially when I was living in the dorms and didn’t have the option to go home and use a kitchen, either.” But Brecker doesn’t just miss the late night snacks and 7-Eleven’s customizable coffees — which she said were the only “palatable caffeine option on campus” for her. She said she sees the closing as more of a community loss than a personal one. “I also thought about the young local cashier [at 7-Eleven] who told me about his life goals, and gave me a free soda at 4 a.m. because I seemed
stressed,” the Pitt graduate student studying behavioral and community health science said. 7-Eleven closed Sept. 29 to make way for a Pitt-owned grocery store, expected to open sometime during the spring semester. But not all students welcome this change, including first-year engineering major Brenna Sweeney. “I wish it hadn’t closed because stuff there was cheaper, and they had a wider variety than places like Market To-Go and Towers,” Sweeney said. “It feels like I’m being forced to go to Market To-Go, because it’s close. Ari Peck, a junior social work major, said he feels he has to travel to other parts of town to buy the basic things that he needs — such as toothpaste — because more Pitt-affiliated stores seem to be replacing cheaper stores that students frequent. “Considering that the on-campus options