2-16-15

Vol. 105 Issue 114

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Pittnews.com

Monday, February 16, 2015

IF YOU CAN DODGE A RADIO...

Pitt student found dead The Pitt News Staff

WPTS played in its annual staff dodgeball tournament at Bellefield Hall Sunday. Nate Smith | Staff Photographer

American Authors to headline Bigelow Bash Harrison Kaminsky News Editor American Authors, an American rock band based in New York City, will headline the 20th annual Bigelow Bash on April 11, Pitt Program Council announced Monday.

Bigelow Bash, which PPC organizes every spring semester, will now be held on a Saturday to make the concert more

convenient to students, according to Kim Nguyen, PPC’s special events director.

Magic Man, a synth-rock band based in New England, will accompany American Authors, as well as the winner of PPC’s Battle of the Bands, which will be held on March 18. The Bigelow Bash performances will begin at 1:30 p.m.

American Authors, which formed in 2007 under the name The Blue Pages, re-

leased its debut single “Believer” in 2012.

Its second single “Best Day of My Life” has been featured in television ads, movies and video games.

Magic Man formed in 2010 and released its first EP You Are Here in 2013, before signing with Columbia Records. It released its first album Before the Waves

Bash

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A Pitt student was pronounced dead at the scene Thursday night in an off-campus apartment.

A supervisor at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said sophomore George Daly, 20, was found at 11:34 p.m. on Thursday at 3436 Ward St. in Oakland.

The cause of death was suicide, according to the supervisor.

Daly was a chemistry and molecular biology double major, according to Pitt’s People Finder.

Jay Kim, a sophomore biology major and one of Daly’s best friends, said there wasn’t a single bad thing you could say about Daly.

“He was the smartest, goofiest and most caring kid I ever met at Pitt,” Kim said.

“I’m just glad he’s in a better place now, and I know he’s doing great wherever he might be.”

Friends and family seeking counseling can contact the University Counseling Center at 412-648-7930.

Those who wish to honor Daly’s memory are encouraged to email newsdesk.tpn@ gmail.com for a later tribute.

Editor’s Note: It is always difficult for a newspaper to report a student’s passing, but to prevent misinformation about this tragedy, The Pitt News feels obligated to do so.

2 FROM PAGE 1

BASH

in 2014.

Nguyen and her special events committee began planning for Bigelow Bash in October 2014, according to a PPC release.

After coming up with a list of performers it believed would appeal to students at Pitt, PPC ultimately chose American Authors as the headliner.

Because Coachella, a music and arts

February 16, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com festival in Indio, Calif., is the same weekend as Bigelow Bash, PPC was limited in choosing artists that were available, the release said.

“We consider a wide variety of artists so we were not limited too much,” Jon Lehan, PPC’s executive director, said in an email.

Although PPC’s scope was more limited than usual, Lehan said PPC was not disappointed in its ultimate decision to go with American Authors.

“We believe they are a well-known,

well-liked artist that will attract a significant number of students,” Lehan said.

Lehan said PPC was limited in its ability to change the date of Bigelow Bash as to not conflict with Coachella.

“The number of available weekends was slim,” Lehan said. “Since Bigelow Bash is an outdoor show, the dates are then limited to late in the spring semester.”

Lehan said PPC did not settle for American Authors — instead, it was the best fit.

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

Chancellor Gallagher sends memo on sexual assault Dale Shoemaker Assistant News Editor Chancellor Patrick Gallagher issued a memo on Friday to Pitt’s faculty and staff addressing his and the University’s position on sexual assault and violence.

In the email, Gallagher said “sexual violence has no place” at Pitt. He announced a new online program called Preventing Discrimination and Sexual Violence: Title IX, VAWA and the Clery Act. Gallagher did not say when the University would launch the new program or what it would focus on specifically, but said it would be available online to all faculty and staff.

The memo follows an announcement from Ken Service, vice chancellor for communications, sent last week, which said Gallagher would be sending out the memo.

Gallagher’s email comes amidst the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ recent investigations into sexual assault on college campuses. The investigations of 95 schools across the United States began last May and opened as part of President Obama’s White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. The Obama administration created the Task Force after Obama introduced the It’s On Us Initiative in September.

Though the OCR is not investigating Pitt, it is investigating several neighboring schools, including Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University.

Gallagher did not elaborate in the release on how the specific programs he mentioned will work, and University spokespeople were not immediately available for comment over the weekend.

In the memo, Gallagher called on faculty, staff and students to take responsibility for reporting any and all instances of sexual assault and violence on campus. He outlined directions for reporting sexual assault and training resources available through the University.

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

February 16, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS COLUMN

Bruce Jenner can play key role in transgender progress He’s an Olympic gold medalist, a Wheaties box athlete and a reality TV star — and, now, he may become a she. Bruce Jenner’s gender transformation has been ubiquitous among celebrity gossip in recent weeks.

On Feb. 6, The New York Times reported that Jenner may have a reality show about his transformation in the works. The media plays a major role in shaping public opinion — sometimes for good, and sometimes for bad.

While reality television is often antithetical to actual reality, the public could benefit from a program that chronicles the change from a man to a woman.

Our society has made gradual legislative progress on samesex marriage equality, though social prejudice against minority sexualities still lingers.

We cannot let transgenderism fall behind. In showcasing Jenner’s transformation, we have an opportunity to tear down the unfortunate taboo surrounding transgenderism.

Jenner is an ideal individual to chronicle because he demonstrates the many dimensions that surround gender. For decades, many have viewed him as an exemplary stereotypical male because of his masculine looks and athleticism.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, he won the gold medal in the men’s decath-

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lon, a combined event that consists of 10 track and field events.

Traditionally, the decathlon winner is dubbed the “world’s greatest athlete.” The world’s top athlete became a national hero and was the 1976 Associated Press Athlete of the Year.

If reports are true about Jenner’s possible gender transformation, hopefully more people will understand that gender is more complicated than athleticism and gold medals. It involves complex cultural and social positions that cannot be defined solely by others’ perception.

A program detailing Jenner’s position, whether in the format of a reality show or documentary, can play a major role in desensitizing a public that too willingly ignores or dismisses the struggles of transgender individuals.

Jenner’s transformation to a woman can play a crucial role in societal integration of transgender people. For this to happen, those behind his program must accurately and truthfully portray his story, free from the shallow conflict that often comes with reality TV. Even if you liked watching him in Montreal or with the Kardashians, perhaps Jenner’s most important contribution to society lies ahead.

Let’s hope we’ll have something to tune in to.

Wanted:

Stable families for foster children Bethel Habte Columnist Stability is the most important thing for a child.

I’ve moved around a bit. Well, a lot. For me, answering the question of where I’m from is a conversation that typically goes along these lines: “Where are you from?” someone asks.

“Originally?” I inquire. Prompted by their nodding head, I reply with “Eritrea.” Which, of course, leads to a conversation on Eritrea’s location, culture, etc.

At some point, they deduce that, because I am no longer in Eritrea, I must have come to the U.S. at an earlier point. Smiling knowingly, they continue with, “And then you came to the U.S.?”

“Well, no. First, we went to Sweden.”

Partly to save myself from further impromptu deductions, and, to a greater degree, save myself from a drawn-out conversation, I launch into a rushed narrative.

“Then we went to San Diego, Sunnyvale, Tennessee, back to San Diego, back to Sunnyvale, North Carolina, back to Sunnyvale, and now I live here — here, currently, being Pittsburgh.”

I went to three different elemen-

tary schools, three different middle schools and three different high schools. A considerable number of moves left me standing awkwardly next to a teacher during introductions to a room full of adolescent strangers. Is it surprising that I was a very shy child?

Suffice to say, I didn’t have the most consistent living situation while growing up. Still, I prefer the inconsistency of my upbringing to that of the many children placed in foster care.

Amidst all of that instability, there was one thing that was consistently stable: my family. If it hadn’t been for their support, love and eternal linkage, I wouldn’t have turned out half as competent as I hope to seem.

But that’s the unfortunate case with children stuck in the foster care system: a life of instability with nothing to serve as a constant anchor except, arguably, the government and the system itself — an absolutely impersonal, inefficient alternative.

Currently, 402,378 children are in foster care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the past year alone, 254,904 children were placed in foster care. While 238,280 children also left the system over the past year, they did so by a variety of means.

Fifty-one percent were reunited

with parents or primary caretakers.

Twenty-one percent were adopted.

Ten percent were emancipated, meaning they had turned 18 before being placed in a permanent home.

The rest of the discharges resulted in placement with a relative, guardianship, transfer to alternate agencies, runaways or deaths.

The foster care system, while certainly working to the best of its means, is obviously not the best option for child development. It is, after all, meant to be a temporary situation. Ideally, children would return to their parents and, ultimately, about half of the cases do.

However, a significant number of foster children are unable to return to their parents and are placed, instead, into personal homes, group homes or institutions.

According to a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics report, foster care has a lot of negative impacts on children. Outside of the emotional pain carried from whatever situation resulted in their placement within the system and, at times, treatment to abusive conditions within the system, foster children often bear severe developmental issues.

These issues can manifest in lapses in physical health, cognition,

Habte

Fatima Kizilkaya | Staff Cartoonist

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February 16, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 3

HABTE academic functioning and social well-being.

Studies have also linked the degree of placement instability to the severity of negative developmental outcomes.

What’s disheartening about these realizations is that there are many stable adults eager to start families, but unable to do so through conventional means. Rather than consider looking into adopting children who desperately need stable, loving homes, these families choose to pour money, energy and emotion

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into fertility treatments to produce genetic offspring.

Recently, Wired published an opinion piece in response to a new IVF procedure meant to prevent the passing of mitochondrial disease from mother to child by using a third surrogate embryo. Travis Rieder, author of the piece, opposed the treatment, calling, instead, for parents desiring to start a family to adopt. His opinion was grounded on the rebukement of our cultural fetishism with genetic relationships.

Rieder’s concept about our cultural fetishism with genetic relationships is something that has often troubled me.

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A genetic relationship does not a relationship make. My love for my parents does not come from our genetic bond, but, rather, from the effort they poured into that relationship over the years.

When that effort isn’t made, as is often the case with foster care, the relational lapse shows.

Like Rieder, I believe that parents desperate to start genetic families ought to seek out adoption instead, especially within the foster care system. For a foster child, placement within a stable home is not only beneficial — it is vital for proper development.

When people ask me now about my moving

experience, I always reply that it’s one of those experiences that you hate at the moment, but later realize what a profound impact it has had on your worldview.

Moving put me into contact with a number of people, a number of cultures, a number of lifestyles and it made me a better, more tolerant person.

But it also left me with major issues with attachment, along with, of course, acute shyness.

So, I’m not going to lie, I absolutely hated it.

And I’m not alone in that sentiment.

Bethel primarily writes about social issues and current events for The Pitt News.

Write to Bethel at beh56@pitt.edu.

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The Pitt News Crossword, 2/16/2015

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ACROSS 1 Fall follower?

5 Ophidian menace 8 Brightness stats 11 Arts supporters 14 Frat letter 15 Akhenaten’s son 16 On the level 17 Battle of Khafji conflict 19 “Battle it out” quintet 20 Plasma particle 21 Loafer’s lack 22 Some audiobooks 23 Pro shop supplies 26 Opposite of bids 27 Kool-Aid alternative 28 “__ Eterno”: 2004 sports documentary 29 Boorish 30 Detergent with Oxi Booster 31 Bone: Pref.

32 “Seasons in the Sun” songwriter 33 Dot on an MTA map 34 “Love in the Time of __”: García Márquez work 36 ICU staffer 39 “Can’t argue with that!”

41 Former carfinancing org.

42 It may come after you 43 Court attire 45 Rooting sound 46 Hardly bright 47 “Agreed!”

48 Title girl in a 1965 #1 hit 50 Sushi topper 51 Mall draw 52 Sci-fi suffix 53 Signs of dissatisfaction 55 Appears ... and the contents of this puzzle’s circles?

57 “Missed your chance!”

59 Brief facilities?

60 Zing 61 Early Alaskans 62 Memphis-toNashville dir.

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2/27/15

By John Farmer

63 Year abroad 64 Payroll deduction, perhaps DOWN 1 The Police, most of the time 2 Bit of deception 3 A, in Argentina 4 ISP option 5 Shoptalk 6 Treats as persona non grata 7 D.C. figure 8 Realization often preceded by “Whew!”

9 Charlatans 10 Hardly gloss over 11 Still-life subject 12 Swallowed one’s pride 13 Rodgers and Hart title lyric that precedes “I get no dizzy spells” 18 Roadside warning 20 James Brown memoir 24 Inclusive pronoun 25 Quartet member 29 One way to lighten the mood

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

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32 Word before or after name 35 Key of Dvorák’s “New World Symphony”: Abbr.

37 Before 38 They can’t be beaten 40 Get Wired again 43 Fight in the sticks 44 Fred Astaire, by birth

2/27/15

48 President François Hollande’s birthplace 49 Whale relative 54 Bulldog fans 56 Facial spot 57 Brother of Jack and Bobby 58 College Football Playoff champion crowned Jan. 12, 2015

February 16, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

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SPORTS

BASEBALL

Torrent of 3-pointers helps Pitt upset Pitt drops No. 12 North Carolina two of three in season opener

Jasper Wilson Senior Staff Writer

It was a surprise in and of itself that the Pitt men’s basketball team put forth its best offensive performance of the season against then-No. 12 University of North Carolina over the weekend. One particular key to the success in the 89-76 upset made the feat even more impressive.

Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Panthers (17-9, 6-6 ACC) ranked as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in Division I: 315th out of 345 D-I schools in 3-pointers made per game (4.6) and 223rd in 3-point percentage (33.2).

How, then, did they convert 6 of 10 attempts from outside the arc before halftime — their best marks in a single period all season — and then make 2 of 5 after the break to tie their singlegame high? Note that this was against an opponent that had the seventh-best 3-point field goal percentage defense in the country, holding teams on average to 28 percent.

“With the shooters we got, it’s all about confidence, and that’s what it came down to today,” Sheldon Jeter said.

According to the sophomore forward, who made 2 of 4 threes as part of his game-high 22 points, the team lacked that trait earlier in the season, often passing up open looks.

That didn’t happen much against the Tar Heels (18-7, 8-4 ACC), with Pitt shooting the best it has from 3-point territory in terms of both quality (53.3 percent) and quantity (8 of 15) since its Maui Invitational victory over Kansas State in November.

Most of Pitt’s made threes came from uncontested opportunities, something UNC guard Marcus Paige lamented post game.

“They had the offense rolling on all cylinders, and we didn’t do anything to take them out of that rhythm,” Paige

JOSH NEWKIRK JUMPER AGAINST

SHOOTS

Mark Powell Staff Writer

A

UNC. NATE

Pitt’s pent-up energy to start its 2015 baseball season quickly fizzled out during its opening weekend.

After an offensive outburst to begin the weekend, Pitt baseball was shut out in its last two games at the Snowbirds Classic in Florida.

The Panthers opened their season on Friday with an 18-1 win over St. Louis. T.J. Zeuch pitched six strong innings, giving up only one run and striking out nine.

Based on last season’s performance, Pitt may have expected Zeuch to lead the rotation this year as well. He certainly played like it to earn his first win of the year. The sophomore led the Panthers in ERA last season and could be the anchor of the rotation as early as this season.

But Zeuch wasn’t the only star on Friday. Pitt’s 18 runs were the most it’s scored in a game since April 9, 2013, when it hung 24 runs on Youngstown State.

Senior infielder Jordan Frabasilio led the way with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Junior infielder Ron Sherman also contributed with four RBIs and a triple.

The team also displayed great patience at the plate, drawing 14 walks to go with just as many hits.

The offensive outburst was encouraging for the Panthers, but it would be the only excitement of the weekend for a team trying to figure out its own identity with so many new players in the fold.

SMITH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

said.

Junior point guard James Robinson — who shot a perfect 2 of 2 from 3-point

territory — said many of his teammates,

M Hoops

6

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

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February 16, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 5

M HOOPS regardless of their position, have the sort of passing ability to create those uncontested chances for others: an invaluable skill.

“It makes it easier when you’re just taking open shots and just [focusing on] knocking them down,” Robinson said.

The stats support his claim. Pitt recorded 30 assists — the most ever

against a team coached by UNC head coach Roy Williams, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee — and made 64.9 percent of all its shots, both season-highs.

Finding success from far out was especially key initially, because it came at a crucial moment. The Tar Heels had tied the score for the second time in the first half, having come back from a 10-0 hole, and might’ve gone on to take their first lead if not for back-to-back Pitt threes.

But, instead, they never led.

The first make came courtesy of sophomore forward Jamel Artis, who converted a wide-open look from the right side to break the 18-18 tie midway through the period. He’d finish 2 of 3 from that range. Jeter followed from straight on — just his third made and 10th attempted 3-pointer of the season — which increased the lead to six. He’d make his second a couple minutes later, facing minimal defense, to push the lead back to seven.

“It makes it easier when you’re just taking open shots” James Robinson With UNC players again failing to pressure the shooter until the last second, Robinson sank his first triple, which widened the gap back to double figures.

He and sophomore guard Chris Jones added two more between them to help the hosts enter halftime with a 14-point advantage, 48-34.

“We just couldn’t stop them to save our lives,” Paige said, speaking about Pitt’s overall offensive performance.

There’s no way yet to tell whether this showing was just an aberration or if the Panthers have actually improved their shooting from range in time for this crucial, final stretch of the regular season.

Monday night’s 7 p.m. game at No. 2 University of Virginia, with it’s 19thranked 3-point defense (29.6 percent), will be a good evaluator.