The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | NOVEMBER 3, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 61
Professor unveils underwear’s history
ANGELA DAVIS VISITS PITT SEE ONLINE
Zoe Pawliczek Staff Writer
Activist and author Angela Davis answers students’ questions after speaking Hall Thursday night. John Hamilton MANAGING EDITOR
Jessie B. Ramey showed more than 170 strangers a picture of herself in her underwear Thursday at the Frick, a Pittsburgh art museum in Point Breeze. “Don’t get too excited, this is me at the age of nine in my Underoos,” Ramey told the crowd — plus a Facebook live audience of more than 1,300 people — during her noon lecture “Underwear, Gender & the Body.” Director of the Chatham University Women’ s Institute and gender and women’s studies to several hundred people in Alumni associate professor at Chatham, Ramey gave the hour-long lecture in conjunction with the museum’s new exhibit, “Undressed: A History of Fashion in Underwear.” The Frick is the only North American venue to host the exhibit, orgabefore. Bannow said he came to solely observe nized by London’s Victoria and Albert museum. the meeting, explaining that after OGV did a The exhibit reflects the evolution of men’s and formal presentation for the City in June and women’s underwear from the 18th century to had a follow-up meeting three months later present with a gallery of more than 200 objects. in October, the City said they did not like the During Thursday’s lecture — part of the plan. Frick’s “Art at Noon” series — Ramey shared “We’re in the process of rethinking the photographs of pieces on display at the Frick project,” Bannow said. State Sen. Jay Costa said “truthful dialogue” and other museums and galleries. An image of was important in these conversations and one a particular tightened corset — one of the most thing that stood out to him during the town controversial undergarments throughout history, according to Ramey — elicited a collective hall was “a lack of trust.”
COMMUNITY CONCERNED ABOUT BATES DEVELOPMENT Madeline Gavatorta and Caroline Bourque The Pitt News Staff
City Council President Bruce Kraus asked if, by chance, anyone from the development group Oakland Gateway Venture was in attendance at a town hall Thursday evening. William Bannow, whose presence was unknown for the first hour of the meeting, stood up to defend his company against Oakland residents’ criticisms. OGV bought a strip of properties on the 3400 block of Bates Street in 2014, which the
company has said it plans to turn into an apartment complex. But the company’s ambitions grew, and it now wants to build a 3,000-car garage and an office space, widen Bates Street and rework the Interstate 376 ramps in the process. About 70 community members packed into a small room at the Oakland Career Center on Semple Street to express concern about the development to a panel of officials. At the start of the meeting, Wanda Wilson, the executive director of the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, announced that a formal representative from the development group opted out of the meeting days
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See Underwear on page 2