2-11-16

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

Pitt to merge SIS school, CS department

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” Review Page 7 February 11,2016 | Issue 103 | Volume 106

Taylor Mulcahey Staff Writer

Within the next year and a half, Pitt’s computer science department and school of information science will become one.

The new undergraduate school, the School of Computing Informatics, is slated to accept its first students in the fall of 2017 and will combine the 32 SIS faculty with the 18 CS faculty and distribute the 50-person staff in three new departments: computer science, informatics and network systems and information culture and data stewardship.

The school will also develop new classes within these departments, but exact courses have not yet been solidified, Ron Larsen, the current dean of SIS, said.

Pitt will launch a search this summer to choose a dean for the new school, and Larsen is stepping down from his position in the summer of 2017. Larsen said he’s using his remaining time to help out with the new school’s structuring and planning.

To steer the launch of the new school, Larsen and Taieb Znati, the chair of the CS department, organized four committees — education and curriculum, research and collaboration, organizational structure and vision and identity — to plan how Pitt should structure the new school.

See Merger on page 3

Steve Famularo, Julia Strother, Giancarlo Iannarelli and Elena Cimino play board games during Italian Club’s game night. Matt Hawley STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Who is, ‘Sarah Dubnik’ Amanda Reed Staff Writer

Sarah Dubnik is frustrated at what transpires before her.

“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek queries contestants of the show’s annual College Championship semifinal round: “The [Nobel] Peace prize went to the National Dialogue Quartet of this North African coun-

try,” for $1,600.

As the contestants struggle on the television, Dubnik mutters the answer — Tunisia — as the timer buzzes. Though her response was correct, Dubnik didn’t earn any money — this time.

Dubnik, a Pitt senior chemistry and computer science double major and physics minor, won the show’s third semifinal

round in last night’s episode, advancing to the championship final, which will air tonight at 7 p.m. on NBC. Having already taped the entire tournament in early January, Dubnik sat in Nordy’s Place Tuesday night rewatching the second semifinal round, in which Sam Deutsch, from the University of Southern See “Jeopardy” on page 6

Pitt partners with Beijing University Dale Shoemaker News Editor

Pitt’s Innovation Institute announced a new partnership with Tsinghua University in Beijing Tuesday that will kick-start collaborative projects in technology, commercialization and research.

According to the Innovation Institute’s agreement with Tsinghua University, the partnership will facilitate travel between the United States and China, through which professors from both universities will explore potential innovation and research projects. The trips will include Innovation Institute seminars at Tsinghua, semi-annual “technology showcases” in Beijing, opportunities to explore and examine one another’s innovations and businessplan competitions and entrepreneurship events for faculty, students and staff.

Jin Qinxian, dean of the Office of Technology Transfer at Tsinghua, said the new partnership will open a pathway between the two countries’ business industries.

“Students and faculty from both universities can innovate and build successful startups and produce collaborative research,” Jin said in a statement.

“Through our cooperation, we will provide access to the market, government and enterprise resources we possess in China.”

Evan Facher, director of enterprise development at the institute, said one facet of the partnership allows student entrepreneurs to travel to China and present their ideas for startups, projects and businesses — and potentially receive funding dollars from Chinese investors at Tsinghua.

The Beijing university is also send-

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February 11, 2016

ing potential investors to Pitt Feb. 12, where Innovation Institute students will pitch ideas and lobby for investment dollars, according to Facher.

This student-based aspect of the partnership is just one aspect of the program — the partnership also facilitates research, seminars and more for students, faculty and staff at both schools.

“While they have investors to send over, we don’t have that kind of venture arm,” Facher said.

He said Pitt offers workshops on commercializing research in return for the investment opportunities the Chinese school is offering.

According to the release, this isn’t Pitt’s first partnership with Tsinghua. In 2011, Pitt’s School of Medicine began a research partnership with Tsinghua for Chinese medical and graduate students.

The program facilitated the students’ travel to Pitt for two years of training in biomedical research.

The Innovation Institute, which has pulled in $750 million annually for sponsored research on nanoscience, computer science, engineering energy and education, will facilitate a more technology- and business-based relationship.

Marc Malandro, founding director of Innovation Institute, said in a statement that the schools are bound to work well together for their second partnership.

“This relationship will build on the strengths of both our universities and represents an opportunity for the University of Pittsburgh to create a cooperative educational model with one of China’s premier universities for the training of faculty, staff and students in global innovation and entrepreneurship,” Malandro said in a statement.

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Merger, pg. 1 Each committee has at least two co-chairs, one from computer science and one from information science. Committee meetings occur on an irregular basis but are open to CS and SIS faculty, as well as other Pitt faculty interested in the restructure. Attendance at these meetings has varied from five to 20 people, according to Larsen.

The committees work to develop the new school’s curriculum, sort out practical problems — such as location and budgeting — and create a plan aligned with Pitt’s strategic plan. The committees are submitting a formal proposal to the University this fall.

Along with planning curriculums and sorting out logistics, the committees must physically restructure the schools.

The CS department is currently housed in Sennott Square, while the School of Information Sciences is located in its own building on North Bellefield Avenue — the steering committee has not yet decided on the school’s new location.

“I think we came to the conclusion that collocation is essential. The face-to-face meeting and the spontaneous ability to create just by knocking

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on the door of your neighbor is great,” Znati said.

Although both departments have been thinking about their roles in a changing context for many years, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and Provost Patricia Beeson prompted the exploration of a new program in April 2015.

A “shift from a singular focus on high performance computing to embracing big data, data analytics, [and] the interaction between computation and information, is driving the department merger,” Larsen said.

A growing number of other universities around the country, such as University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan, Indiana University and Drexel University, have reorganized their programs in similar ways.

For Pitt, the change comes as the University looks to shift its focus to big data projects.

In March 2015, Pitt teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University and UPMC to form the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance, a partnership to find new ways to use large sets of patient data in health care.

In October 2015, Pitt collaborated with UPMC, CMU and other city and county officials to open the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, which has published city and county

data, such as logs of the city’s 311 calls and information about opioid deaths, online.

“We can build on the existing strength we have right now to really make impacts on things that are high on the agenda. They are aligned with the objectives and the strategic priorities of this institution,” Znati said.

Before any changes take hold, the provost and chancellor must approve the proposal, which the committees are drafting now. They hope that this process will be complete in time to welcome the first cohort of students in the fall of 2017.

“Ultimately, the greatest benefit may be that this will be an opportunity to restructure the computer science curriculum to be more appropriate for the 21st century, rather than the 20th,” Daniel Brusilovsky, a senior computer science major, said.

Znati also said the change will give students skills, such as problem solving, to be more competitive in future job markets. The school intends to reorganize the curriculum in a way that students will develop computational thinking skills and be able to use their skills in informatics and programming to solve problems that will impact the University.

They have used the slogan, “contextually situ-

February 11, 2016

ated computing” to describe this problem-solving approach that will support the University’s goals.

“One of the fundamental questions is that if we bring these groups together, and aggregate their resources in a way that they can collaborate on a daily basis, what are the things that we can accomplish that we couldn’t before?” Larsen said.

Pitt’s 2015 strategic plan outlined a move toward personalized health care and education, and the reorganization will allow CS and SIS to use their knowledge of personalized computing and informatics to aid with these developments.

“I think it’s really an opportunity to build on the synergies that exist across these different areas — computing and information,” Vice Provost Laurie Kirsch, who is working with others in the Office of the Provost to facilitate the process of development, said.

Seizing what Pitt sees as an opportunity, the new school will be able to capitalize on the things that both the CS department and the SIS are good at separately and do things better together.

“I think the way we’re doing it, we have the ability to do big things with this school because of the ability to work with health and education, and we have very strong expertise,” Znati said.

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Opinions

column

from the editorial board

Students must step up to improve housing conditions By 2018, two upscale apartment buildings will stand in Oakland where two empty lots currently reside.

One of those projects, from Texas developer Campus Advantage, will be a 197-unit apartment building at 3407 Forbes Ave. The other, SkyVue Apartments, is constructing their 389-unit complex at 3333 Forbes Ave. While both buildings are in the heart of student-concentrated Oakland, they’re catering to a young professional’s budget rather than a student’s — SkyVue’s lowest available rent is $1,585 per month, and Campus Advantage’s ranges from $750 to $1,350 per month, depending on the unit.

Pitt students do not stand to benefit from these two new buildings. There’s a stark contrast between a South Oakland home and the luxury apartment complexes Campus Advantage and SkyVue are erecting on Forbes.

If we want improvements in the South Oakland housing market, we need affordable alternatives to create competition in the market — and students need to make that known.

To build a better community for students to live in Oakland, students need to make their demand for alternative, affordable housing apparent to developers. More competition in the affordable housing market between new, non-luxury housing and existing South Oakland housing will, in turn, incentivize landlords to improve conditions and provide better service to their renters.

Currently, thousands of students live in South Oakland, where housing is more affordable than on-campus University housing. Bouquet Gardens, for example, one of Pitt’s apartment style housing options, carries a $4,300 per semester price tag for a single-person room.

It’s understandable that Pitt charges as much as it does, given the quality and location of the building. In addition, students often group their

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on-campus living costs with their student loans.

But we don’t need more alternatives to oncampus housing provided by Pitt, but rather, cheaper housing with acceptable living conditions.

Students who do choose to live in South Oakland often deal with the drawbacks and rationalize living in the disheveled community because it’s temporary and they have nowhere else to go — at a reasonable cost. Many students plan to leave Pittsburgh upon graduation, so a flooded basement or perpetually freezing house in the winter isn’t going to be a problem in a few months.

But students need to see themselves not as temporary squatters with one-year leases, but as members of the Oakland community. Students need to realize that, even if our time here is limited, this neighborhood is our home, too.

Last Wednesday, Oakland’s permanent residents expressed their concerns at community development meeting, claiming large projects are forcing small investors out of South Oakland. Yesterday, residents also expressed their grievances to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, worried that the expansion of housing would impede business. Students need to join with these community members and demand affordable — rather than luxury — apartment buildings.

Indeed, student voices are lacking. We need widespread support from the student body to bring in affordable alternative housing if we want to improve South Oakland’s housing across the board.

Until we raise concerns about housing options in Oakland, our options remain slim and not optimal.

It’s basic economics that demand creates competition, but it’s up to students to make that demand apparent.

Socialized health care isn’t new, hasn’t worked Arnaud Armstrong Columnist

When the Affordable Care Act passed six years ago, the issue of health care in America was supposed to be resolved. It wasn’t.

Since the passage of the ACA, the cost of health insurance premiums has risen substantially, and for some groups, it has reached a staggering 78.2 percent price increase, according to a HealthPocket report. Deductibles for the so-called “silver plan” — the most common plan and the second-least expensive — averaged more than $2,900, according to HealthPocket.

So now the left, still unwilling to admit defeat, advocates even more federal regulation of the health care industry.

The most popular bold new idea to be championed by the American left? Socialized medicine.

The problem is, socialized medicine is about the furthest thing from a novel idea since the lobotomy.

Here’s the hard truth — any time the government controls an industry, the quality of the service provided drops dramatically. There’s a reason we wait in line for two hours at the DMV and two minutes at the Wal-Mart. So why would we trust the government to run our health care?

The answer, very simply, is that the left has convinced people across the globe that if a problem exists, it is the responsibility of the government to solve it. In this case, the problem was people who lacked health insurance and were unable to receive care. In nearly every Western European country, the people decided that it

February 11, 2016

was, indeed, the business of the government to solve it.

This has given us a wealth of information about the effectiveness of government-run health care. The results, unfortunately, are often deeply troubling when one looks behind the rosy picture these governments paint.

Take Britain for example, a country whose National Health Service was rated the best health care service in the world in 2014 by the Commonwealth Fund. This was a result of excellent scores in fields such as providing “safe care,” “patientcentered care” and “short waiting times.”

In fact, it only scored poorly in one area: “keeping people alive.” No, I’m not kidding.

You see, in the British system, unlike in the private market, the state must decide its health care priorities and work within its assigned budget. This manifests in several disturbing ways.

The first major problem patients in Britain face is actually getting the care they need, when they need it. According to the Daily Mail, as of July 2015, there were more than 3.4 million patients waiting for treatment. Additionally, in 2014, there were about 924,000 patients who had to wait longer than 18 weeks — the NHS target for providing treatment — to receive medical care. In other words, close to 1 million people are waiting more than four months to get treatment for their conditions.

Additionally, according to Forbes, from 2008 to 2009, the average wait time for a coronary artery bypass was 57 days.

See Armstrong on page 5

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Armstrong, pg. 4 Is it, therefore, any wonder that the per capita heart disease mortality rate is 37 percent higher in Britain than in the United States?

Another disturbing issue in the British system is the quality of the care — provided you can get it. Take cancer care, for example. In the United States, according to the Daily Mail, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer has a 97 percent chance of being alive five years after a diagnosis versus only a 78 percent chance of survival for British women. The Daily Mail also reports that five-year survival rates for colorectal cancer were only 70 percent in Britain versus 90 percent in the United States.

This isn’t limited to Britain, though. According to a survey by Lancet Oncology, general five-year cancer survival in women is 7 percent higher in the United States than in Europe — 63 percent versus 56 percent — and 19 percent higher among men — 66 percent versus 47 percent.

Perhaps the most disturbing reality of socialized medicine, however, is the terrible treatment of elderly patients. Take, for example, a British survey by Macmillan Cancer Support showing that more than 80 percent of elderly patients thought they had been discriminated against by the NHS. The report also showed that patients over the age of 75 were five times less likely to be offered life-saving cancer surgeries and are often incorrectly told that they are ineligible for cancer screenings.

One particularly troubling occurrence of ageism in the NHS is the Liverpool Care Pathway — a set of care guidelines that the Royal College of Liverpool designed to provide quality end-of-life care. While this may sound good on paper, the reality was more akin to an Orwellian nightmare than a compassionate system for end-of-life care.

In recent years, a growing number of doctors, patients and families of the deceased have made startling claims regarding the pathway.

First, many patients were placed on the pathway without any thorough justification for doing so. In one case, as the BBC reported, a 90-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and developed pneumonia shortly after arriving.

Without any consultation with her doctors, she was placed on the pathway. Per the doctor’s instructions, she was medically sedated, prevented from eating and drinking and ignored by hospital staff. In other words, she had been left to die. Luckily for the woman, her family arrived and managed to convince the doctors to start feeding her. She made a full recovery.

Shockingly, this wasn’t a limited occurrence, and horror stories about the LCP abound. A 2013 internal investigation found multiple cases of patients being denied food and water, with some patients driven to the point of “desperately trying to suck sponges used by staff to dab their faces,” the BBC report read.

In the aftermath of this report, more has come out about the brutal treatment of these patients by hospital staff.

In fact, one member of parliament, Norman Lamb, declared the LCP to be not only uncivilized, but “a national disgrace.” As a result of the scandal, parliament introduced new reforms ending the LCP. Unfortunately, the new guidelines appear to have changed very little.

According to a neurologist interviewed by the Telegraph, he continues to receive “reports from relatives desperately trying to obtain ‘active’ care for patients who were denied it because they were deemed to be dying.”

So why would socialized medicine result in this?

The reason is simple. When government controls an industry, competition is nonexistent. The health of the patient is at the mercy of bureaucrats, leaving patients without choice or freedom regarding their health care.

It’s no secret that the American health care system isn’t perfect, but the solution doesn’t lie with increased governmental regulation. It lies with greater economic freedom.

Socialized medicine is about the furthest thing from a novel idea since the lobotomy.

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culture “Jeopardy”, pg. 1 California, won. The pair, joined by first semifinal round winner Niki Peters from UC Berkeley, will compete for $100,000 in tonight’s episode.

Although this tournament is Dubnik’s first time on the game show’s annual College Championship, in which 15 college students from around the nation compete, it wasn’t the first time she auditioned for “Jeopardy!”

Dubnik first began watching the show with her grandmother when she was younger.

However, it wasn’t until middle school — after realizing she could outperform the adult contestants on the show — that she decided she would take the online test for the show.

“I took the online test for the teen tournament when I was in high school [my sophomore year],” Dubnik said. “And then I took the college test at least once before when I was a freshman or sophomore, and I didn’t make it through. I took the test again [this year, and] I did much better.”

Dubnik did well enough to receive an email Oct. 15, inviting her to a “Jeopardy!” College Championship audition in Columbus, Ohio.

At the audition, Dubnik took a timed written test and participated in a mock-up game that tested her ability to speak clearly, how she carried herself and knowledge of the game’s rules.

Afterward, she put her buzzer down and answered general questions about herself, much like contestants do on the show. She then went home to wait for results.

On Dec. 1, Dubnik received the call inviting her to be on the show. While she didn’t start studying for the competition until after finals week, she was already somewhat prepared thanks to years of practicing “Jeopardy!” questions and her involvement in Pitt’s Quiz Bowl chapter, a nationally recognized trivia organization that has periodic state and regional tournaments.

“Jeopardy!” covers the cost for its contestants’ flight and lodging, and provides a per

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said Melanie Riland, a graduate assistant at diem for food and ground transportation to its West Chester University and Sarah’s best Culver City, California, studios. Five matches friend for 12 years. “I made her a document of were filmed per day, with the quarterfinals the things that I know a lot about that she may filmed on Jan. 5, and both the semifinals and not have known a ton of details on. Of course, I finals on Jan. 6. gave her all the encouragement I could.”

Because the tournament was taped more Her boyfriend, Matt Johnson, a 2015 than a month ago, Dubnik had to agree not to graduate of King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, reveal whether she won the tournament until Pennsylvania, quizzed Dubnik with pre-made the final airs tomorrow night. packets and previous “Jeopardy!” questions.

Dubnik said her time with the other 14 “All of her friends contestants was tried to add an area short, but meanof expertise to her ingful. knowledge base,” When they Johnson said. “I am weren’t onstage by far her No. 1 fan.” together, they Ryan Dohn, were sitting in the former Quiz Bowl audience or in the teammate, 2014 Pitt green room watchgraduate and selfing the match. She proclaimed Pitt Quiz now considers Bowl sports junkie, most, if not all, of made Dubnik a 16them her friends. page information The contespacket on professiontants did not get al, and most impormuch time to sotantly, college sports cialize with Trebek, to help her prepare. however, who has “On Sarah’s first hosted the daily show there were no syndicated show applicable sports since 1984. questions, but I have “He came out before our shows Sarah Dubnik watches her competitors a feeling something is going to crop up,” to congratulate at Nordy’s Place. John Hamilton STAFF Dohn said. us and to wish us PHOTOGRAPHER He was right — luck,” Dubnik said.

Dubnik correctly answered a question about “And he seemed very nice, very friendly, and Clemson University’s fight song last night. when we were onstage he was joking around Pitt’s Quiz Bowl adviser, Dwight Kidder, a lot.” put her in contact with “Jeopardy!” alum Craig Though “Jeopardy!” isn’t a team-based Barker, who won the 1997 “Jeopardy!” College game show, Dubnik didn’t go through the proChampionship as a freshman at the University cess of getting there alone. She’s had an entire of Michigan, and worked with 2004 College support network of friends and coaches who Champion Kermin Fleming, a CMU graduate. have gone from helping her prepare to arguing Kidder counseled her on what categories over who her No. 1 fan is. she needed to have nailed down in advance, “Although her loving mother may disagree, like colleges and universities and state and I’d like to call myself the biggest fan of Sarah country capitals. He also helped familiarize her Dubnik and I remind her of that constantly,”

February 11, 2016

with the buzzer system.

“There are probably many questions where more than one person knows the answer and it’s just a buzzer race,” Dubnik said. “People have even written books about it and made systems to practice with. It was difficult for me.”

Dubnik’s friends and coaches may have had different levels of expertise when preparing her, but they all believe she has what it takes to go all the way.

“She’s up against strong players,” Kidder said. “I know other players in this year’s field who will make this a good fight, but she has a strong chance. She played a strong game in the quarters, bet with poise and didn’t get rattled.

Those things help you advance.”

Even Chancellor Patrick Gallagher has chimed in with his support. During the quarterfinal round on Feb. 5, he retweeted tweets wishing Sarah good luck, and even did some tweeting himself.

In an email concerning Dubnik’s performance thus far and beyond, Gallagher said, “The University is really proud of Sarah. She represented Pitt so well. It’s quite an accomplishment to advance this far, and I’ll be rooting for her again Wednesday.”

Although Dubnik can’t say if she won or lost in tomorrow’s finale, she can say what she would do with the $100,000 cash prize.

“Well, student loans first,” she said with a laugh. “ I would love to use it for travel. That’s the most boring answer, but there are just so many places I want to see. I’d love to go back to Spain where I studied abroad and see places I missed, and then also bring someone with me so I can say, ‘Look, here’s where I studied,’ and then see other countries as well.”

The cash prize could change her life, but the money’s value pales in comparison to the experience. “[The money] matters, but being on the show is so exciting, and having people see me on TV,” she said. “I’m not bragging that I have money now, because all contestants got some amount, but I am bragging that I got to be on the show because that’s more memorable.”

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‘Zombies’ resurrects Austen classic Britnee Meiser Staff Writer

If suitors were intimidated by Elizabeth Bennet before, imagine her with a sword.

Balancing Victorian romance and the zombie apocalypse, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is a fast-paced, surprisingly funny genre clash.

Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 bestselling novel that pulls directly from Jane Austen’s original text, the film is as much a genteel representation of the Bennet sisters’ search for love as it is an action-packed fight against the undead that roam the countryside, hunting their next victim.

The zombies in the film, while just as hard on the eyes, are a lot more complex than the ones prevalent in pop culture today. Zombies in “The Walking Dead,” for example, can only moan, wander around and eat people. These zombies sound like normal people, hold conversations, set traps for unsuspecting passersby and don’t start to decay until they have their first taste of human brains.

In the opening scene, a newly turned zombie hides in plain sight at a party by playing a game of cards. He hasn’t fed yet, so he looks like a normal person — the only indication that he is undead being the bite mark he hides under his sleeve.

Despite the intriguing zombies, the film’s strongest aspect undoubtedly is its close con-

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nection to Austen’s novel of manners. Director Burr Steers (“17 Again”) remains faithful to “Pride and Prejudice’s” backdrop to lay the foundation for this world.

For instance, turning main character Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) into a sword-slinging zombie slayer is completely reminiscent of the character she was painted to be in “Pride and Prejudice” — a free-spirited, independent young woman who’d rather retain her integrity than marry for anything other than love. Her place in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” imagines her character’s strength physically in addition to her original mental perseverance.

Burr even changes her nickname from “Lizzy” to the much less cutesy “Liz” for this reason. It’s what makes her romance with the brooding — and now-skilled zombie hunter — Fitzwilliam Darcy (Sam Riley) so entertaining.

Interactions between characters are still filled with Austen’s signature wit and eloquence, only they’re often heightened to meet the movie’s raised stakes as an action-romance flick. A simple walk into town is no longer simple. In this version of Longbourn, characters always yield weapons, not bonnets and ribbons.

Many of these tinkered situations — husband-hungry girls in corsets, dancing at a ball, carrying a bunch of concealed weapons — are inadvertently comical already, but shining

TNS performances from the principle cast make for genuinely hilarious moments. James and Riley are electric on screen together, staying true to their characters while still taking practically every moment of sexual tension to full-on blows.

Matt Smith steals every scene he graces as the farcical Parson Collins. Smith adds a new dimension to “Pride and Prejudice’s” version of Collins, an unlikable busybody who cares little for the feelings of others. Here, he’s melodramatic, superfluous and slightly absurd — but in all the greatest ways. Collins makes even more appearances in this film than in “Pride and Prejudice,” probably because Steers knew just how much the audience would be asking for him.

Genetic lottery winners Bella Heathcote and Douglas Booth are appropriately sweet as Jane Bennet, Elizabeth’s sister, and Charles Bingley, Darcy’s best friend and traveling companion. The dynamic between the two in this film is slightly different than Austen’s text, however, as Jane has been trained for combat and could probably run circles around Bingley in a fight.

It’s a well-deserved trait for Jane, a character whose emotional strength is often overlooked for Elizabeth’s in the original text.

Finally the sisters, much like the previously unrelated zombie and romance genres, are evenly matched.

February 11, 2016

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Sports ACC awards three Panthers postgraduate scholarships Dan Sostek Sports Editor

Despite their Pitt athletic careers coming to an end, three Panthers earned a final victory Wednesday morning.

The ACC awarded football offensive lineman Artie Rowell, gymnast Lindsay Offutt and volleyball middle hitter Amanda Orchard postgraduate scholarships to allow them to further their academic careers.

Rowell, Offutt and Orchard were three of 52 conference athletes who the ACC presented with postgraduate scholarships.

The ACC chooses recipients who have “performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.” All recipients receive $5,000 toward their graduate educations.

Rowell and Offutt received the WeaverJames-Corrigan Award, named after former ACC commissioners Jim Weaver, Bob James and Gene Corrigan.

Orchard was one of three athletes to receive a Thacker Award scholarship, joining University of Louisville soccer player Jerry Ramirez and University of Miami diver Kara McCormack. The award honors play-by-by announcer Jim Thacker, and recipients must demonstrate “outstanding Amanda Orchard, Artie Rowell and Lindsay Offutt all earned ACC-issued scholarships for their postgraduate See Scholarships on page 9 academic careers. Left, Middle: Jeff Ahearn ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR | Right: Nikki Moriello SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Five named to all-acc academic football team Dan Sostek Sports Editor

While Pat Narduzzi’s team put together a successful 2015 campaign on the field, a group of football players thrived off the gridiron as well.

The ACC announced that five Pitt

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football players — redshirt junior offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty, junior wide receiver Dontez Ford, sophomore cornerback Avonte Maddox, junior tight end Scott Orndoff and freshman cornerback Jordan Whitehead — earned ACC All-Academic team status.

In order to earn a spot on the ACC

All-Academic team, players must have maintained a 3.0 GPA in the previous semester, as well as a 3.0 cumulative GPA in their academic career. The requisite for graduate students is a 3.5 GPA. In total, 56 conference players made the team.

“These five young men reflect the

February 11, 2016

very best of Pitt football,” Narduzzi said in a release. “They are achieving at exceptional levels in the classroom and on the field. Our entire program takes great pride in their academic and athletic accomplishments.”

Narduzzi also lauded the fact that See ACC on page 9

8

ACC, pg. 8 these players contributed significantly on the field as well, specifically highlighting All-ACC team members Bisnowaty, Whitehead and Maddox.

“I think it is even more impressive that three of our All-Academic players also received All-ACC recognition for the 2015 season,” Narduzzi said.

This marks the third consecutive appearance on the All-Academic team for Bisnowaty, who already graduated with a degree in communication and is currently pursuing graduate work in health and fitness. The ACC coaches named Bisnowaty to the Coaches’ All-ACC first team this Jordan Whitehead earned his first ACC All-Academic past season. honors. Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Scholarships, pg. 8 performance both in athletic competition and in the classroom and intend to further their education through postgraduate studies at an ACC institution.”

Rowell started 27 career games at center for the Panthers and served as a team captain in 2015, as well as a former president of Pitt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He also serves as one of 15 nationwide student athlete representatives who vote on governance rule change propositions under the NCAA Division I autonomy process.

Rowell graduated from Pitt with a degree in business finance and is currently pursuing an MBA at the Joseph M. Katz

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Graduate School of Business.

Offutt is a two-time All-East Atlantic Gymnastics League first-team honoree on the beam and floor and won the EAGL beam championship in 2015. She currently ranks second in Pitt history in the beam and floor, while sitting tied for second in the allaround.

Offutt will graduate with a degree in political science after earning three berths on the EAGL All-Academic team and recognition as a 2014 National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches and Women All-American Scholar-Athlete.

“I am blessed to be a student-athlete in the greatest conference in the country,” Offutt said in a statement. “The ACC is more than exceptional, and it is an honor

This was Maddox and Orndoff ’s second appearance as AllAcademic team members. Maddox earned All-ACC honorable mention status this season after intercepting three passes and breaking up 12 while compiling 75 tackles and a blocked field goal. Orndoff finished second on the team in receiving touchdowns with five.

Maddox is enrolled in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, while Orndoff is an administration of justice major.

Ford and Whitehead both earned their first All-Academic berths.

Ford, a former transfer from Syracuse University, served as Pitt’s No. 2 wide receiver last season, totalling 26 catches for 505 yards and two touchdowns. Ford

to have been chosen for this award out of the hundreds of outstanding and deserving student-athletes in the conference.”

Orchard has been a star for the Pitt volleyball team over the past two years, nearly boosting the Panthers to the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament in both seasons.

She has earned All-ACC, American Volleyball Coaches Association first-team allregion and AVAC honorable mention AllAmerican each of the last two seasons.

Orchard will graduate with an anthropology degree. She earned recognition as a Senior CLASS first-team member, which recognizes athletes who exhibit high excellence in character, competition, the community and the classroom. The ACC named her to Academic Honor Roll in 2014-2015

February 11, 2016

is a business finance major.

Whitehead’s recognition on the team adds to an already-impressive haul of ACC honors for the freshman. Whitehead earned ACC Overall and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards this past season, while both the Football Writers Association of America and the ACC coaches named him to the Coaches’ All-ACC third team.

He finished his first season with a Pitt freshman record 109 tackles, while also rushing for two touchdowns on offense. He is currently enrolled in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

Pitt had the third-highest number of players make the ACC All-Academic team with five, trailing only the University of Virginia, which had six players, and Duke University, which had 13.

and the Big East named her an Academic All-Star during the 2013-2014 academic year.

“I am honored and grateful to be receiving the Thacker Award,” Orchard said in a statement. “I cannot thank the University of Pittsburgh and the ACC enough for their support during my volleyball career and helping me with my future. I am truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing Pitt family and a great conference.”

The ACC will recognize all 52 of the recipients April 13, at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Season Hotel Imperial Ballroom in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Luncheon.

The Nat Greene Kiwanis Club will host the event, and ESPN will present it.

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

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

4BR Fraiser St. 2 full bathrooms, and driveway. $1550+.

4BR Dawson St. $1750+ Both are newly renovated, with hardwood floors, free washer/dryer provided, equipped kitchen, and central air. Available August 1, 2016. Call 412-600-6933.

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Available immediately. 412-561-7964.

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M.J. Kelly Realty Studio, 1, 2, 3, & 4 Bedroom Apartments, Duplexes, Houses. $750-$2400. mjkellyrealty@gmail.com. 412-271-5550, mjkellyrealty.com NIAGARA ST. LARGE 5BR, 2BA APARTMENT. Updated kitchen, dishwasher, laundry, A/C. Across street from bus stop. Available August 2016.

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412-445-6117

February 11, 2016

** 5 Bedroom/2 full bath; HUGE HOMEduplex style, three stories. 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 dining rooms, LAUNDRY and a huge yard to enjoy! Huge Bedrooms! Located on Dawson Street. PITT Shuttle stops directly in front of house, only 15 minute level walk to PITT/CMU. $2,995+. Available 8/1/2016. NO PETS. Call Jason at 412-922-2141. Pictures- Info: tinyurl.com/pitthome

**5 big bedroom house, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, 3 full baths. Laundry, A/C. Great house for Pitt or Carlow students. About 10 houses away from Pitt shuttle stop.

Available August 2016. $2600. Call Ken 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.

Call 412-361-2695.

No evening calls please.

Studio and 1 Bedrooms. 216 Coltart.

Heat included. Parking. Available Aug. 2016. Greve RealEstate.

412-261-4620.

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

Call after 5:00 pm.

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*3 BEDROOM, REMODELED HOUSE -FURNISHED* Beautiful, large, clean and spacious.

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2-3-4-5 BR units available August: most have laundry, dishwasher, carpeting; newly renovated 4BR house features hardwood and tile flooring, sunroom, deck, off-street parking. Rents start at $1200+ utilities; call 412-559-3079.

7 BR house AVAILABLE AUG. 1, 2016.

NO PETS. One year lease. Meyran Ave. 5 minute walk to University of Pittsburgh.

412-983-5222.

ADDITIONAL PARKING SPACE AVAILABLE FOR RENT. Available 8/1, 1 BR/1 Bath, 5 min. walk to Cathedral, A/C, hardwood floors, newly renovated, starting at $995+, 412.441.1211

Large 6 BR house, 2 full bathrooms, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and many upgrades, Juliette St. 724-825-0033.

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1,2,3,5,6, & 8 bedroom houses. August & May 2016.

Bouquet, Atwood, Meyran. Please call 412-287-5712.

Last ones remaining!

1 and 6 BR houses and apartments for rent. Right on Pitt shuttle line. $395 and $515/person. Available August 1, 2016.

TMK Properties.

Deal directly with the owner.

Call Tim 412-491-1330.

Available 8/1, 3 BR/1 Bath, less than 1 mile to campus, updated, Dishwasher and AC, starting at $1330+, 412.441.1211 Available 8/1, 4 br/2bath, Less than 1 mile to campus, Split Level, Updated, Central A/C, $2520+, 412.441.1211

Studios, 1, 2, & 3 Bedroom apartments available August 2016 & sooner. Oakland, Shadyside, Friendship, Squirrel Hill, Highland Park, Point Breeze. Photos & current availability online, check out www.forbesmanagement.net, or call 412.441.1211

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SMOKERS NEEDED! Researchers at UPMC are looking to enroll healthy adult cigarette smokers ages 18-65. This research is examining the influence of brief uses of FDA-approved nicotine patch or nicotine nasal spray on mood and behavior. The study involves a brief physical exam and five sessions lasting two hours each. Eligible participants who complete all sessions will receive up to $250, or $20 per hour. This is NOT a treatment study. For more information, call 412-246-5396 or visit www.SmokingStudies.pitt.edu Hospitality Staff Needed!

Part time openings for upcoming busy season.

Call Callos Resource for same or next day interview!

412-246-4828 OFFICE 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 in action-central office. Part time or full time OK starting now; 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

The Pitt news crossword 2/11/16

*1 & 2 BEDROOM REMODELED FURNISHED APARTMENTS. Beautiful, clean, large, and spacious. Fullyequipped kitchen and bathroom. Wallto-wall carpeting.

Large 2-bedroom, $1200, 1-bedroom, $750. Owner pays heat. Available Aug. 2016. Call 412-2471900, 412-731-4313.

The Pitt News SuDoku 2/11/16 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

February 11, 2016

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February 11, 2016

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