The Pitt News
Election guide Online
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | November 7, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 63
Gubernatorial candidate gives take on economy, health care
STUDENTS
SIMULATE
MARGINALIZED
EXPERIENCES Elise Lavallee
Contributing Editor
College Republicans. Three of the club’s leaders attended the event, dressed in formal wear. Lorenzo Riboni, the vice president of the political club, had a clear reason for organizing the event. “As a club we don’t support a candidate until the primaries are over, but right now we wanted the club to get to see what they’re voting for,” Riboni said. Riboni, who is a junior studying communications, said the club also hopes to bring fellow Republican candidate Scott Wagner to speak at the University. Wagner is polling 29 points ahead of Mango — second in the race at 16 percent — according to a late September internal poll from Wagner’s campaign. Mango’s presentation was short and to the point, lasting a little over twenty minutes. He
A young man sat at a table behind two black curtains in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Monday night. Across the table, two individuals intensely interrogated him. “What religion do you practice?” asked one. “What does your name mean?” followed the other. This scenario was part of Boxes and Walls, an event held Monday from noon-9 p.m. About 200 people attended the event — organized by Assistant Director of Resident Life Phil Badaszewski and Pitt Aquatic Programs Coordinator Alycia Miller, working with Pitt’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Monday’s simulation was Student Affairs’ third Boxes and Walls event since the first in 2015. The idea came from a previous resident life director, who had been part of a similar project at another school. Attendees walked through seven stations, each created and staffed by one of the participating student organizations — Campus Women’s Organization, Pitt Global Affairs, Students for Disability Advocacy, the Asian Studies Center, Muslim Students’ Association and PittServes. During the 35- to 40-minute tour of all seven stations, at each station participants were asked to complete tasks that simulated challenges and prejudices a marginalized group faced. Afterwards, students were invited to to talk about their experiences and share their thoughts on the simulations. The Muslim Students’ Association simulated what it is like to be racially profiled and questioned by the the Transportation Security Administration at an airport. Saman Hasan,
See Mango on page 2
See Simulation on page 2
Republican candidate Paul Mango spoke to a crowd of about 40 people in room 837 of the William Pitt Union Monday night about his campaign for Pennsylvania governor. Sarah Cutshall | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rose Luder Staff Writer When Paul Mango was at U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he had calculus six days a week. “I hope sitting here and listening to me is less painful than calculus at West Point on a Saturday morning,” the Republican primary candidate for governor joked before a crowd of Pitt students Monday night. Mango — who is currently running against two other declared opponents for the Republican nomination for governor, including Pitt alumna Laura Ellsworth — made his case to about 40 Pitt students about why he should replace incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf in 2018. All attendees of the event had been invited personally by either the College Republicans or
the Students for Liberty, making it an intimate gathering. Mango began his speech with a jab at Wolf. “Who knows my nickname for our current governor? Thomas the Tax Engine,” Mango said of the Democratic governor. Mango, a West Point and Harvard Business School grad, has not been in politics long. He spent most of his life after serving in the army as director of the business consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Mango used his experience with business to justify why he felt that Pennsylvania needed a new, business-centered governor. “Not enough people are talking about growth of the economy or businesses,” Mango said. “I hope to be considered the growth candidate in this race.” Mango’s appearance was scheduled by Pitt