12-3-15

The Pitt News T h e in de p e n d e n t st ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh

Armed candy: Pitt professor talks Bond girls Page 6 December 3rd, 2015 | Issue 74 | Volume 106

Researcher texts to curb drinking Zoe Hannah Staff Writer

To recover from the stress of a busy week, Shaina Pomerantz and her friends let loose on the weekends, beginning at home and ending the night at an Oakland bar.

Pomerantz, a 22-year-old senior sociology major, said she knows binge drinking is unhealthy, but that it’s an inherent part of the college environment.

“There’s a whole issue in college culture where you have to drink to get drunk or drink to blackout,” Pomerantz said.

Brian Suffoletto, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Pitt, and the StuStudents of the Musical Theatre Club perform their final rehearsal of “Drowsy Chaperone” in Heymann Theatre culture through another constant in stu- Wednesday night. Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF WRITER dent Health Center have tapped into this dents’ lives: text messaging.

Pitt’s Student Health Service worked with Suffoletto for two years to design and implement PantherTRAC, a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board-funded text message intervention system. PantherTRAC uses positive reinforcement to discourage binge drinking among Pitt students.

On Thursdays, PantherTRAC texts students who have signed up for the alerts and

Students back faculty union at panel Emily Brindley Staff Writer

dream, and it seems like I should be living the dream.”

Now, Leavens is a part of the Pitt faculty’s push to form a campus-wide

When Sarah Leavens got a teaching

Leavens is only guaranteed a full-

job at Pitt, she thought it was a good fit.

time job for the rest of the year, which

Three years later, she felt constricted.

means that next year she may not have a

As part of her involvement in the

“I got into teaching because I’m a

job. Leavens said her situation feels like

union push, Leavens spoke at a panel

writer and I love teaching and I love

exploitation, especially because she has

See Binge on page 2 writing,” Leavens said. “It seemed like a

little job security.

union, an effort English professor Robin Clarke announced publicly in October.

See Union on page 2

News

Union, pg. 1

discussion Wednesday night. Fight Back for Pitt Faculty, a student organization that advocates for the rights of faculty like Leavens, hosted the panel.

Students founded Fight Back for Pitt Faculty this semester. The group falls under the umbrella of the United Students Against Sweatshops, a national organization on more than 150 campuses that advocates for the rights of garment and campus workers, as well as for educational justice.

In addition to Leavens, the panel consisted of Pitt faculty members Peter Campbell, assistant professor in the English department, and Beverly Gaddy, associate professor of political science at Pitt-Greensburg. Titas Chakraborty, a history graduate student, and Alyssa Lieberman, president of Fight Back

Correction: In a caption for two photos in the Dec. 2, 2015, print edition, The Pitt News incorrectly identified a Student Government Board member and an SGB committee chair. In the photos on page 2, the individual on the right is Board member Natalie Dall, and the individual on the left is Joe Streets, environmental committee chair. The Pitt News regrets this error.

goals of the University would be to con-

“A union, especially one with faculty

tinue working together within the col-

of all ranks, will work against precarity

legial and constructive environment that

and contingency in general,” Campbell

defines our University community,” Ser-

said.

vice said.

Although Campbell sees potential

Although Leavens became a full-time

benefits in unionizing, the panel said not

lecturer in the English department this

every faculty member will be supportive

school year, for the previous two years she

of the unionization efforts.

taught part-time at Pitt and also worked

“There are going to be people who re-

a night job at Allegro Hearth Bakery in

sist, I’ve already talked to some of them,”

Squirrel Hill.

Gaddy said. “Some people feel pretty safe,

It seemed like a dream, and it seems like I should be living the dream.

-Sarah Leavens, professor

for Pitt Faculty, also sat on the panel.

The panel members explained why the faculty wishes to unionize, citing the $13 to $14 per hour wage for adjunct professors and new visiting lecturers, as well as the difficulty some faculty members have said they face in obtaining tenure.

Pitt spokesperson Ken Service said Pitt has made progress with faculty in the past through working closely with them, though the University hasn’t released a formal statement about the union.

“Moving forward, it would seem that the best path to achieve the collective

pittnews.com

feel pretty secure and don’t want to share that with others.”

Kai Pang, a senior majoring in economics and philosophy and the secretary of Fight Back for Pitt Faculty, served as moderator during Wednesday night’s panel. Pang said the panel allowed faculty a chance to express their concerns and to explain the need to unionize.

“One of the primary purposes is to give faculty the chance to speak directly to an audience

While working at the bakery, Leavens

of undergrads,” Pang said. “It’s really a

had no control over her teaching sched-

chance for [faculty] to say what they want

ule. Leavens said that one semester she

to say.”

taught a night class, then worked at the

Although the faculty has attempted to

bakery afterward and the next morning

unionize in the past, the efforts have nev-

had to teach early classes.

er been entirely successful. Gaddy said

“Worst case scenario, it just exhausts you on all realms,” Leavens said.

she thinks this time, with backing from student organizations like Fight Back for

According to Campbell and the other

Pitt Faculty, the efforts will succeed.

panel members, the way to ensure that

“This time is different, and I think that

Pitt treats faculty fairly and gives them job

this time with the support of the commu-

security is to create a union of faculty of

nity, of parents, of students, of others, it’s

all employment statuses including part-

going to happen,” Gaddy said. “This time

time, adjunct and tenured professors.

is the charm.”

December 3, 2015

Binge, pg. 1 asks if they plan on drinking during the upcoming weekend. If students reply, “Yes,” the system sends back messages like“Be safe.”

The Health Center invited 1,000 freshmen to sign up for PantherTRAC in the fall after promising results from a UPMC study.

Suffoletto led the nine-month study in which 765 young adults 18 to 25 years old all used text message intervention. The results, which came out Nov. 18, showed a decrease in instances of binge drinking for up to six months after the texts stopped. “[Text message intervention] is an evolution in how we help young adults achieve better health,” Suffoletto said.

PantherTRAC became available to all students beginning in August as part of the Panther Bridge program to promote responsible drinking. Since then, Marian Vanek, the director of Student Health Service, said it has had an 85 percent success rate in lowering instances of binge drinking.

The binge drinking threshold, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is four drinks for women and five drinks for men in the span of two hours.

If a student’s response is over the binge drinking threshold, PantherTRAC warns them about the risks of heavy drinking, which Suffoletto said include illness, injury or poor health in the future.

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

2

Center director to step down

Elizabeth Lepro

Assistant News Editor After more than 20 years of enhancing Pitt’s research, Richard Schulz will step down from his role as the director of the Center for Social and Urban Research in September 2016.

Schulz, who is also a member of the Council of Deans, announced in a press release on Nov. 24, that he will leave his position as director of UCSUR, effective Sept. 16, 2016. He said on Wednesday that he will take a yearlong sabbatical before returning to Pitt in a fulltime research position. Pitt said in a release that it will find the next director in the summer of 2016.

Pitt recruited Schulz in 1984 to work as an associate professor in the department of psychiatry, and he became director of UCSUR in 1999. He said his leave will make room for more energy in the department.

“I’ve been in the position for many, many years and I think it’s time for some new blood,” Schulz said.

Over the course of his time at the University, Schulz increased the funding and database for faculty researchers, according to the press release announcing his departure. He has also conducted his own research on dementia in collaboration with the University’s Aging Institute.

Schulz’ success is most evident, Patricia Beeson, provost and senior vice chancellor, said in a release, in the 2015 creation of the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center. The WPRDC is a collaboration between Pitt and the city that made data easily accessible for all of western Pennsylvania.

“Under Rich’s leadership, UCSUR has become a resource for faculty and community leaders who need data or analysis on policy issues facing the region,” Beeson said. “His vision and commitment have helped UCSUR contribute to advancing the University and the region.”

Schulz said he is confident that whoever fills his position will continue to foster the research-oriented environment he’s put in place.

“I think [the University] appreciates a lot these pieces we have in the program and I think they will carry into the future,” Schulz said.

pittnews.com

December 3, 2015

3

Opinions

ONLINE

Read a guest columnist’s perspective on the Million Student March and free college tuition.

Christmastime revives jazz legends

from the editorial board

Affirmative action brings necessary minority voice As protests rage on college

ronment treats students of color

more and more students of color

campuses across the nation, they

unequally, causing them to feel be-

attend high-profile universities.

force us all to confront the issues

littled or even unsafe in the class-

surrounding racial discrimination

room and on campus.

in academia.

So yes, these protests could very well be a result of affirmative

At Pitt’s rally for students of

action — but that’s not a bad thing.

On Dec. 9, the discourse will

color at the University of Missouri,

The protests give the ever growing

make its way to the Supreme

an organizer told The Pitt News,

minority student population a

Court of the United States, where

“We are here to demand that black

voice in traditionally white-domi-

Abigail Fisher will challenge the

students be able to feel safe. To be

nated college campuses. They have

ability of colleges to take race into

able to learn. To be able to grow. If

already led Princeton and Harvard

consideration when admitting

it’s not happening in our schools,

to abolish the term “house master,”

students.

then what next?”

because of the title’s connection to

The University of Texas at Aus-

Many argue that affirma-

slavery. They have even led the

tin denied Fisher, who is white, ad-

tive action is the cause of unrest

University of Texas itself to re-

mission — she will argue that the

among students, and provides the

move a statue of Jefferson Davis,

school’s decision violated the Con-

Supreme Court a solid reason to

the president of the Confederacy

stitution’s equal protection clause

decide in favor of Fisher.

during the Civil War, from cam-

because her race was a factor.

“Students who are recruited,

pus.

In the 2003 case Grutter v. Bol-

because of their race, to colleges

Would schools even consider

linger, the Supreme Court decided

where the average entering cre-

such moves if it were not for the

that the only justification for racial

dentials are significantly higher

relatively new, emboldened mi-

considerations in school admis-

than their own will find them-

nority voices on college campuses?

sions is to create “educational di-

selves at severe academic disad-

Most likely not.

versity so that students of different

vantage,” John C. Eastman, a law

These protests should illus-

backgrounds can learn from each

professor at Chapman University

trate to the Supreme Court that

other,” The New York Times re-

in Orange, California, told The

affirmative action is doing exactly

ported earlier this week.

New York Times. “Basic human

what it’s supposed to do: It allows

The intention is that more stu-

nature suggests that they will then

students and faculty to better un-

dents of color will equate to more

try to blame others for their aca-

derstand the perspective of mi-

racial tolerance and understand-

demic struggles.”

nority students by bringing their

ing on college campuses.

However,

this

argument

voices to college campuses.

It seems, though, that the pro-

gravely misses the point — these

And whether or not the school

tests on college campuses today

protests are not simply a result of

is hearing these voices through

illustrate that affirmative action

academic competition, but of in-

a simple discussion or through

has brought the opposite effect.

stitutional discrimination, which

a megaphone, at least they are fi-

Protestors argue the college envi-

only becomes more apparent as

nally hearing them.

pittnews.com

December 3, 2015

Maddy Kameny STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Marlo Safi Columnist

holiday songs fill us with nostalgia and a feeling of warmth.

Everywhere from the Macy’s

While these genres have faded

shoe department to the gentle-

away over the years, we reignite

man who sits outside Rite Aid on

them during the most magical

Forbes with his radio, people are

time of the year, keeping their es-

spreading holiday cheer.

sential legacies alive.

Yet, a large section of our gen-

Regardless of your religion,

eration meets these yuletide car-

Christmas music gives us a dose

ols with groaning and animosity

of some of the greatest swing and

— we humbugs tend to view clas-

jazz performers otherwise un-

sic holiday songs as monotonous

known to millennials — provid-

and tiresome. Radio has exposed

ing them with an understanding

us to the musical equivalent of

of the sounds of a different time.

an ugly holiday sweater with

Jazz musicians like Frank Sina-

“Grandma Got Run Over by a

tra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby

Reindeer,” and our distaste for

and Nat King Cole are legends

holiday music only starts there

whose timeless crooning has

at such a ho-ho-horrible experi-

found its way onto nearly every

ence.

holiday playlist.

Instead of festive agony, some

See Safi on page 5

4

Safi, pg. 4 Songs like “Baby It’s Cold Outside” by Dean Martin and “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby, both released in the ’50s, invoke the elegance and ease of an era when jazz and swing blossomed. Trust Rolling Stone when it says, “What Jesus is to Christmas, Bing Crosby is to Christmas music.”

Crosby’s cover of songwriter Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” sold 50 million copies, and went on to inspire later renditions of the song by everyone from the ’70s Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers to the American boy band New Kids on the Block.

Ella Fitzgerald, the “Queen of Jazz,” sparks our holiday spirit in “Winter Wonderland” and “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” If you are sick of those songs, try Queen Ella’s 1960 Christmas Album “Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas,” a nostalgic taste unmatched by performers of our day.

pittnews.com

Murray Horwitz of NPR claims, “What

rock ’n’ roll.

saves [Fitzgerald’s Christmas album] from

Nat King Cole, another Rock and Roll

being truly corny is the fact that it swings

Hall of Fame inductee, is also a popular

all the time, and Ella, herself. I mean, she’s

name — not only jazz music but Christmas

just got that great sound. To me, her voice

music, having released an album in 1960,

defines what America sounds like.”

”The Magic of Christmas,” chock full of his

There is a minority of jazz musicians in

swing renditions of traditional Christmas

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and jazz

carols, like “Away in a Manger” and “O

performers like Nat King Cole and Louis

Holy Night.”

Armstrong are inductees who not only

While we may have gotten an ear sore

shaped the genre, but also helped it hit

from listening to Mariah Carey’s “All I

mainstream. Rolling Stone deems both art-

Want for Christmas is You” on blast all

ists’ Christmas albums as the most essen-

month, we can’t forget the iconic artists the

tial to the season.

Christmas season allows us to experience.

Every holiday season, Louis Arm-

So, rather than wallowing in Lil Wayne’s

strong’s, also known as “Satchmo,” gravelly

new album this yuletide, go dig through

vocals embellished with the smooth moan-

your grandparent’s record collection, find

ing of his sidekick trumpet reintroduce us

a Billie Holiday or Bing Crosby Christmas

to a voice of a generation. He is touted as

album, pour yourself a glass of eggnog and

one of the world’s best jazz improvisers,

have a “Mele Kalikimaka” with the musi-

bringing his gifts to fruition in “Christ-

cal legacies who shaped the sounds of the

mas in New Orleans” and “Zat You, Santa

season.

Marlo Safi primarily writes about public

Claus?”

Armstrong is an iconic figure in jazz, having paved the way for future genres like

policy and politics for The Pitt News.

Write to her at mes26@pitt.edu

December 3, 2015

5

Culture

Star Wars see online: Episode IV

kicking out of the bond girls Walter Howard

Staff Writer For every Bond film there is a “Bond girl,” destined to shack up with the secret agent.

Then, cut, roll tapes. Since 1962, Bond has received gadgets and Aston Martin cars, and the actresses have been reduced to vessels of the male gaze. With the latest installment of the daring man’s saga still in theaters, the gender dialogue has thickened in the past six decades, if not the silver-screen plot.

The Pitt News sat down with Emily Deering Crosby, a Ph.D. candidate in communication and instructor in gender, sexuality and women’s studies who uses Bond clips to teach her students about the male gaze in film by discussing Bond girls and their function in gender, power and consent in film.

Q

TPN: The Bond Franchise is more than 50 years old. Outside of the Bond franchise, in Western culture, how has the representation of women changed during this time?

A

Emily Deering Crosby: You have some significant things happening in the ’60s where women were starting to recognize how the media was portraying them in particularly dehumanized ways — as props, as figures — never really a part of the plotline, but more so props to the male protagonist.

And with more recognition of equal rights, gender representation, racial representation, you get a lot more diversity and you get the upswing of genres like blaxploitation films, but with that comes recognizable backlash in some forms of representation. And women in media today, you see a lot more potential in TV than you do in movies, because the movie industry is very much geared toward young white men, 18 to sometimes 25 or 34, so you see a lot of the highest grossing films fulfilling that need.

This year the top films were “Furious 7,” “Age of Ultron,” “American Sniper” and so many of them are sequels. [Hollywood is] just recycling these same narratives that really resonate with young men, because they’re the ones who are predominantly going to these movies ... There’s not as much room for women to star or write their own movies, produce their own movies, but you are seeing huge franchises that are changing that, like “Hunger Games.”

Q

How do you feel about the term “Bond girls?”

A Q

I think historically “girls” is a term to dismiss women’s potential. It’s infantilizing, but when you look at ’90s feminism and the riot girl movement, you see the recycling of the term “girl” as a form of empowerment. So like rebel girl, guerilla girls, the way they’re taking a term that was historically used to dismiss women and reappropriating it into a powerful term.

What stands out to you about the Bond girls in what you’ve seen?

A

Q

I find the camerawork of the Bond franchise fascinating because it is routinely from the point of view of Bond, or pictures of Bond sexualizing the women. You never get the point of view of the Bond girl, so she just becomes the object of our visual gaze. And, more so, in the earlier ones, I find the issue of consent very interesting because sometimes we get this notion of “No means yes” with women and Bond is so enchanting.

That offers confusing narratives in [regard to] romantic exchange between men and women, especially when we have the powerful main character of James Bond who sort of represents the Eurocentric or even Anglocentric [idea of] “Take what you want, it’s yours. You’re entitled to it.”

That’s why I think the character of M in the most recent films has been fantastic because she’s sort of an asexual female who’s a maternal figure but also a leader, so I think she offers a lot of complexity that we don’t get to see very much in film.

In “Live and Let Die,” Roger Moore uses a stacked deck of cards to trick a female character into sleeping with him.

That probably wouldn’t pass today.

A

Exactly. There’s kind of this notion that the Bond girls were sort of all body, no brains. Kind of ditzy. When talking with a student who’s read the books, he actually said that he took a picture of a passage in “Casino Royale.” It was talking about Vesper and how she needs to stay with the pots and pans. [As if] she’s going to slow [Bond] down [or that] it’s embarrassing that they would send a woman for a man’s job.

Find the full story online at

pittnews.com

December 3, 2015

pittnews.com

6

KNOCK OUT

Matt Maielli

‘Rocky’ franchise given one last breath

Staff Writer

Don’t let the trailer fool you — “Creed” is not just another “Rocky” sequel.

At first, another “Rocky” movie, let alone a spinoff, seems ridiculous — at this rate, his retirement comeback count rivals Brett Favre’s. But “Creed” proves that not every comeback has to be one’s own journey.

Shot in Philadelphia, the film follows Adonis Creed, aka Donnie Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), who is the product of legendary fighter Apollo Creed’s extramarital affair. Adonis was born after Apollo’s deadly fight with Captain Ivan Drago, who killed Apollo in the ring in 1985’s “Rocky IV.” As a result, Adonis grew up without his father, hopping from foster homes to juvenile detention centers until Apollo’s wife, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), tracks him down and adopts him. Adonis — with the help of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) — seeks to leave the high-class life Mary Anne offers him behind to pursue a boxing career, just like his old man.

It contains all the usual boxing movie tropes — slow-motion knuckle sandwiches, fight victories set to musical crescendos, press conferences filled with yelling, motivational speeches and, of course, training montages. But when these tropes are in the hands of director Ryan Coogler, they feel as awesome as Rocky’s first adventure in 1976.

The slow motion is crisp, and the dialogue is poignant. Coogler’s one-shot sequences also give a new perspective to the almost 40-year-old franchise. These long takes are both subtle and dazzling, comprising shots of Adonis walking from the locker room to a fight and, in the film’s second act, a single take boxing match that turns the ring into the stage it really is. The final fight scene is back to the traditional quick

pittnews.com

A

Old tropes revived in “Creed”

cut and slow mo-

wouldn’t usually root for the educated, rich

tion,

that’s

kid who wants to fight with the big boys.

not to say it’s not

but

This is Stallone’s first Rocky role reading

masterfully

done.

words that he didn’t write, which allows

Opposing boxers’

him to act as an older, lifetime-beaten

career stats also ap-

Rocky with a seemingly expanded bank of

pear onscreen when we meet them, doing

emotions, conveying grief, regret, excite-

away with clunky exposition and unneces-

ment or whatever else the scene demands.

sary narratives, instead showcasing Adonis’ near-encyclopedic knowledge of the sport.

The movie is truly part boxing film, part sociology lesson. Rocky and Adonis’ re-

These kinds of movies always have a

lationship is one of an old dog and young

subtextual question attached — why do

pup, with Rocky settling into the role pre-

these people fight? Well, Rocky fought be-

viously filled by his mentor, Mickey. Rocky

cause he was a bum, Apollo fought because

trains Adonis to fight through his issues,

he was the best and now Adonis fights

while Adonis helps Rocky fight through

because it makes him feel alive — and be-

some stuff that’s not worth spoiling here.

cause he wants to create a legacy for himself

Nearly every character in this parcel

separate from his father’s, earning the name

of the boxing world is either a father or a

“Creed” in his own right.

son, and their fathers were either fighters or

The cast itself is a charming match. The

trainers. It shows why fathers and father fig-

rapport between Adonis and love interest

ures fight for their sons, what sons do to live

Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is an improve-

up to their father’s name and what they have

ment over the uncomfortable dynamic be-

to do to step out of their shadows.

tween Rocky and Adrian in the original.

This number of themes would usually

Jordan alone is at his best, a perfect rebound

muddle a film, but not “Creed.” It’s a knock-

from his performance in the disastrous

out film that blends them all and works on

“Fantastic Four.”

every level.

The casting decisions are especially important here considering audiences

Is “Creed” the best movie of the year?

Hard to say. Is it a contender? Absolutely.

December 3, 2015

7

pittnews.com

December 3, 2015

8

Sports

Purdue is ranked No. 11 in the country.

Wenhao Wu STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

It’s only december Early season rankings far from absolute Chris Puzia

Assistant Sports Editor When Pitt lost to Purdue — the No. 11 team in the country — they lost to a team

of its first six games — some to middling squads like University of Southern California and the University of Tulsa — and completely dropped from the polls.

that was seemingly one of the best in the

While most writers had the Wichita

nation. But the Boilermakers’ ranking

State Shockers at least in their preseason

doesn’t really say much, at least not yet.

top 15, ESPN writer Myron Medcalf said,

The NCAA Tournament selection

“Right now, Wichita State looks like a

committee won’t care what Purdue was

squad that might need a conference tour-

ranked on Dec. 1, come March. The Boil-

ney title to get into the Big Dance.”

ermakers could be the top team in the

Medcalf highlighted Wednesday’s Syr-

country by the end of the season, or they

acuse University-University of Wisconsin

could hit a wall and self-destruct, making

matchup as the perfect example that it is

Pitt’s loss look even worse in retrospect.

truly too early to evaluate teams. The Wis-

This is because early-season basket-

consin Badgers began the season No. 17

ball rankings are immensely arbitrary

and the Syracuse Orange were unranked,

and based on preconceived notions about

but the roles have already reversed, with

teams, about which some are unwilling to

Wisconsin now unranked and Syracuse

waver.

jumping up to No. 14 nationally.

While the AP Top 25 rankings can

“[The matchup] highlights the hover-

certainly help gauge team performance

ing murkiness — the uncertainty, disap-

relative to other schools, until teams

pointments and surprises — within the

like Pitt have played more than just one

game,” Medcalf said. “After three weeks,

meaningful game — sorry, Kent State —

we’re already wondering. Questioning.

it’s hard to justify setting national rank-

Second-guessing.”

ings in stone.

Some teams certainly do not fit this

About a month into the college bas-

bill, of course. AP poll stalwarts Universi-

ketball season, 10 teams in the preseason

ty of Kentucky, Duke University and Uni-

top 25 have already fallen out of the rank-

versity of Kansas checked in within the

ings to be replaced by early-season af-

top five in the preseason. And all still sit

terthoughts, like Providence College or

within the top seven in the polls, with the

Xavier University. Even Pitt could have

Kansas State University Wildcats jumping

potentially propelled into the top 25 with

to their familiar spot atop the rankings.

a win over the Boilermakers.

Wichita State University, which began the season ranked No. 10, has lost four

pittnews.com

But for the more perplexing teams See Basketball on page 10

December 3, 2015

9

Basketball, pg. 9 around the country — Xavier, from preseason unranked to now No. 12, or Indiana University, preseason No. 15 and now unranked — there are other, better ways to evaluate skill than just the number, or lack thereof, next to their name.

Ken Pomeroy, basketball statistician and

Currently, Valparaiso University is the best team in the country based solely on RPI rankings, and Kentucky is 18th — Pitt is 102. Once conference play begins around the new year, though, you can start looking more seriously at ranking metrics.

The players, at least publicly, certainly don’t concern themselves with rankings early on. In the beginning of the season, Mar yland

cre-

ator of the website K e n Po m , uses

his

own

ad-

vanced and tempo-adjusted metrics

Early season basketball rankings are immensely arbitrary.

to provide alternative judgments, focusing more on offensive and defensive efficiency and strength of schedule.

Pomeroy currently has Purdue ranked No. 6 in his own rankings, with Pitt at No. 39 after Tuesday’s loss. But other schools show a greater disparity from the AP polls.

Syracuse, instead of its top-15 ranking, sits at 27 to Pomeroy, and University of Maryland is at No. 20 instead of its No. 2 spot in the AP poll.

Additionally, using ESPN’s Ratings Percentage Index this early in the season can make for wacky and unusual results — but as the season progresses, the RPI rankings will even out.

pittnews.com

g u a r d M e l o Tr i m b l e said

his

t e a m wasn’t paying attention to the

pres-

sure

his

then-top five squad would carry.

“The expectations really don’t matter,” Trimble said. “Last year, they thought we were going to be bad, and we proved everyone wrong. Next season, they’re going to give us our props, but we’re still going to be humble and hungry.”

This is not to justify or condemn Pitt’s loss on Tuesday. Purdue had hype entering the season due to its extreme length in the post and balanced scoring attack.

But the best way to evaluate the loss will be in about three months, when the dust has settled and the two teams are either solidly in the NCAA Tournament field or on the outside looking in.

December 3, 2015

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-NORTH OAKLAND -SOUTH OAKLAND -SHADYSIDE -SQUIRREL HILL -SOUTHSIDE -NORTHSIDE -BLOOMFIELD -ROOMMATES -OTHER

3 & 4 bedroom apartments. Available immediately. Newly remodeled. Air conditioning. Bigelow Blvd., N. Neville St. Call 412-287-5712 August 2016. Furnished 5 bedroom house in North Oakland. Remodeled.

Close walk to University of Pittsburgh, Shuttle. Utilities included. AC/washer/dryer. Contact: rentalschool22@gmail. com, 412-953-8820. **AUGUST 2016: Furnished Studio, 1-2-3-4 Bedroom Apts. No pets.

Non-smokers preferred.

412-621-0457 1,2,3,5,6,7, & 8 bedroom houses. August & May 2016.

Bouquet, Atwood, Meyran, Ward. Call 412-287-5712.

2 & 3 bedroom houses, Lawn & Ophelia. Available Now. Please call 412-287-5712.

2 nice 3-bedroom houses. Good location. Rent $400/room. Available August 1st, 2016. 412-881-0550 or 724-757-3367.

2-3-4 bedroom South Oakland apartments for rent. For more information or to schedule a viewing, please call 412-849-8694.

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Employment

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Classifieds

For Sale

-AUTO -BIKES -BOOKS -MERCHANDISE -FURNITURE -REAL ESTATE -TICKETS

2-3-4-5-6-7 bedroom apartments and houses available in May and August 2016. Nice, clean, free laundry, includes exterior maintenance, new appliances, spacious, located on Meyran, Semple, Wellsford, Dawson, Juliet. 412-414-9629.

2,5,6 bedroom houses in South Oakland. Available for rent August 2016.

Very clean with different amenities (dishwasher, laundry, AC, washer and dryer, 1-3 baths, newer appliances & sofas). Contact Ken at 412-287-4438.

3444 WARD ST. Studio, 1-2-3 BR apartments available Aug. 1, 2016. Free parking, free heating.

320 S. BOUQUET 2BR, great location, move in May 1, 2016.

416 OAKLAND AVE. - 2BR, hardwood floors. Move in May 1 or Aug. 1, 2016. Call 412-361-2695. No evening calls please.

3BR apartment available for Spring semester. Central air, dishwasher, great location and discounted price.

412-915-0856

4 BR townhouse, Semple St., available May 1st & August 1st, 2016. Equipped kitchen, full basement. 412-343-4289.

Call after 5:00 pm.

Services

-EDUCATIONAL -TRAVEL -HEALTH -PARKING -INSURANCE

3727 Dawson: 2 BR basement apartment, 1 kitchen, 1 bath and living room. $550/student. Available January 1st.

Includes utilities.

Call 412-595-7682 or email:daquilantes@ yahoo.com

6, 7, or 8-bedroom house. Washer & dryer available. NO PETS. Available August 1, 2016. One year lease. Meyran Ave. 5 minute walk to University of Pittsburgh. 412-983-5222.

Apartments for rent beginning August 2016. A/C, dishwasher, washer/dryer.

412-915-0856 Brand new, completely renovated 5 BR, 2 full bath house.

All appliances including washer and dryer are brand new and included. Too many features to list. Close to Magee Women's Hospital. On Pitt shuttle and PAT bus lines. 10 minute walk to Univ. of Pittsburgh. $2500/mo.

412-983-0400 Clean, Newly Remodeled Houses and Apartments.

1-9 Bedrooms. Call 412-680-4244 or email s.cusick@comcast.net www.superiorpropertiesgroup.com.

Nice 6BR house available Aug. 1, 2016.

Laundry on site. To make an appointment call 412-812-9382.

Announcements -ADOPTION -EVENTS -LOST AND FOUND -STUDENT GROUPS -WANTED -OTHER

House for RentJuliet Street.

Available January 2016.

Big 3-bedroom, 2story house 1.5 bath, fully-equipped eatin kitchen/appliances/new refrigerator, living, dining room, 2 porches, full basement, laundry/ storage, parking on premises, super clean, move-in condition. Near universities/hospitals/bus. $1700+.

412-337-3151

Renovated Large Three Bedroom Townhome for Rent.

Available January 2016. The kitchen features frost free refrigerator with automatic ice maker, fullsize range, self-cleaning oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal and microwave. The bath has been completely updated. All floor coverings and window treatments are brand new. Your own washer and dryer are included. On University of Pittsburgh shuttle and PAT bus lines. Two blocks to Magee Women’s Hospital. $1,275/mo, contact 724-422-2250.

3 & 5 bedroom. May 2016. Sarah St. Large bedroom, new kitchen, air conditioning, washer & dryer, dishwasher, large deck. 412-287-5712.

R INSERTIONS 1X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X ADDITIONAL A 1-15 WORDS $6.30 $11.90 $17.30 $22.00 $27.00 $30.20 $5.00 T 16-30 WORDS $7.50 $14.20 $20.00 $25.00 $29.10 $32.30 $5.40 E S DEADLINE: TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR BY 3 PM | EMAIL: ADVERTISING@PITTNEWS.COM | PHONE: 412.648.7978 (EACH ADDITIONAL WORD: $0.10)

SEASONAL MARKETING ASSISTANT Shadyside property management firm established in 1960 neeeds two Seasonal Marketing Assistants to work with Word, internet, & spreadsheet files from approximately December 15th to July 15th, four days/week from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Saturday and/or Sunday hours a must; some flexibility on days and hours will be considered; most hours will be solitary on the computer with no phone work; 40 WPM and strong computer skills required; no experience needed & we will train you at our Shadyside office; free parking. $12/hour plus generous season end bonus.

MOZART MANAGEMENT www.mozartrents .com 412-682-7003 College or graduate school students needed to work with elementary school children in a fun, structured after school program in the South Hills. $11-$13 per hour, flexible hours, must have own transportation. Email resume or letter of interest to jhroberts66@comcast.net

December 3, 2015

OFFFICE INTERN Shadyside Management Company seeks person w/ min 3 yrs. college, for upcoming spring semester, to interview & process rental applications, do internet postings & help staff our action-central office. Part time or full time OK starting January 2; full time in summer. $12/hour.

Perfect job for graduating seniors set to enter grad school, returning grad students, and first-year law students!

Mozart Management 412.682.7003. thane@mozartrents.com

ATTENTION OCCASIONAL SMOKERS! UPMC seeks healthy adults ages 18-65 who occasionally smoke cigarettes.

This research is examining how smokers respond to cigarettes that are low in nicotine.

There are up to seven sessions lasting about three hours each. Research participants completing the study will be compensated up to $60 per session, or $20 per hour. For more information, call 412-246-5393 or visit www.SmokingStudies.pitt.edu

Personal, professional masseuse needed. Long term position. 2X/week.

Washington County location. Call 724-223-0939 or 724229-8868 any time.

Pager: 888-200-8220

The Pitt news crossword 12/03/15

I Rentals & Sublet N D E X

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pittnews.com

December 3, 2015

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