2-11-15

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Vol. 105 Issue 111

@thepittnews

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Spillin’ Salt: Pitt’s winter maintenance

Pittnews.com

WORK SOCIALLY

Anjana Murali Staff Writer Keeping the streets and sidewalks safe for Pitt students and faculty is no easy — or cheap — task. High concentrations of sodium can mobilize or release calcium and magnesium from the soil. This transports the particles into the groundwater or the surface water, depending on the flow passage through the dirt, according to Robert Rossi, a graduate student researching how road salt impacts roadside soils. Similarly, exhaust pipes and worn tires from cars deposit heavy metals such as lead, zinc and arsenic, and high concentrations of sodium can mobilize and transport these into the stream waters or ground waters. Rossi said the excess salt affects aquatic life, vegetation health, animals and water quality. “If we are thinking of the environment as that which can support humans, [salting the roads] is probably worth the cost in terms of human safety,” Daniel Bain, assistant hydrology and metal biogeochemistry professor, said. “But it’s probably going to affect everything else negatively.” For an average snowfall of two to four inches, Pitt’s Buildings and Grounds Department covers 30 miles of campus sidewalks, more than 2,000 steps and 40 cam-

Salt

Dr. Richard Barth, the Dean of Social Work at the University of Maryland speaks about child welfare services in the Cathedral Tuesday afternoon. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer

Board adds two student groups to assembly Abbey Reighard Assistant News Editor

The Student Government Board is increasing student representation behind closed doors. At Tuesday’s public meeting in Nordy’s Place, the Board introduced Bill 027, inducting to its Student Assembly two additional groups, Rainbow Alliance and Campus Women’s Organization. Student Government Board Presi2

dent Graeme Meyer said the Student Assembly meetings “will be closed unless noted otherwise.” The meetings will be private, he said, and predominantly “conversational” between the Board members and the student groups. Meyer compared the Student Assembly meetings to the private Student Government Board planning sessions. Meyer added that students can request to attend the meeting, however, and any initiatives the students and Board

member discuss at the assembly meetings will be introduced at the SGB public meetings before the Board votes on the initiatives. A referendum that the student body voted on established the Student Assembly last term. Upon its creation, the Student Assembly included the Student Affairs Affiliated Groups. Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.


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