2-16-2016

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 GRANT HAYES HONORARY DEGREE

Drinks and creativity flow in Pittsburgh

Page 6

February 16, 2016 | Issue 106 | Volume 106

Dale Shoemaker News Editor

At its 40th annual Honors Convocation at the end of February, Pitt will award poet Terrance Hayes an honorary doctorate in fine arts.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher will award Hayes the degree at the ceremony at 3 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 26 at the Carnegie Music Hall on Forbes Avenue. “[Hayes’] contributions of poetry and service make him one of the treasures of our region, and I’m humbled to be able to recognize him with an honorary doctorate at Honors Convocation,” Gallagher said in a statement.

Hayes, an award-winning poet and English professor at Pitt, will also deliver the keynote address at the ceremony, according to Sharon Malazich, who works in Pitt’s special events department.

In September 2014, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded Hayes a MacArthur fellowship, commonly referred to as a “genius grant.”

Hayes has published six collections of poetry.

His 2015 collection, “How to be Drawn,” was a finalist for the National Book Award, and his 2010 collection, “Lighthead,” won the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry. His 2006 collection, “Wind in a Box,” won a Pushcart Prize, and his 2002 collection, “Hip Logic,” won the 2001 National Poetry Series, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a runner-up for the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets.

See Hayes on page 3

Mike Domitrz presented “Can I Kiss You?” hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Monday evening in Benedum Hall. Wenhao Wu| Senior Staff Photographer

STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT CONSENT Andrew O’Brien For The Pitt News

College students are drilled on the definition of consent over and over — but many of them don’t understand how to apply these lessons to their daily lives.

On Monday, Mike Domitrz, founder of The Date Safe Project — an organization that dedicates itself to educating people about consent as well as supporting survivors of sexual victimization — instructed about 30 students in Benedum Hall on how to recognize consent and obtain it in everyday life.

The Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity and Inclusion sponsored the talk, which Domi-

trz sprinkled with questions and anecdotes from his personal experience as a proponent of consent.

For example, Domitrz challenged the trope of kissing a person after a first date without asking.

“Why don’t we just say, ‘May I kiss you,’ instead of going for it?” Domitrz asked.

“Fear of rejection,” a member of the crowd called out.

“Right. So don’t give them a choice, it just messes everything up,” Domitrz responded, lampooning the mindset of someone who doesn’t ask for consent first. “Does that sound horrible, by the way, what I just said?”

Domitrz’s talk comes about a week after Pitt police reported four sexual assaults during a two-week period in Oakland.

For its part, Pitt has increased its focus on addressing sexual violence on campus since the beginning of the school year. In September, Pitt released the results of the 2015 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct.

The survey showed female, transgender and gender-nonconforming students were more likely to experience harassment or sexual assault on campus. While many respondents were aware of resources on campus like the See Consent on page 3

News

Correction: In a story published Friday, Feb. 12, in The Pitt News’ Sex Edition titled “Trans Students Outsourcing for Health Care,” The Pitt News misgendered junior Madeline Barber and referred to em with incorrect pronouns. The corrected version reflects Barber’s preferred pronouns, ey, em and eir. The Pitt News regrets this error.

SENATE TALKS CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

Danni Zhou Staff Writer

The Educational Policies Committee of Pitt’s University Senate is exploring different avenues to incorporate new technology, such as virtual reality and smartphones, into Pitt’s classrooms.

At the Committee’s meeting on Monday, representatives from the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education — a staff and student organization working to promote innovation in teaching — proposed new ideas for long-term planning.

Cynthia Golden, the director of CIDDE, and Michael Arenth, the director of classroom and media services for CIDDE, said some of those ideas include a virtual reality oculus models along with 3-D printing, gesture-based computing and cloud-based clicker systems.

Golden and Arenth proposed these gadgets as part of the educational technology portion of their presentation.

Arenth hopes to bring virtual reality to Pitt classrooms, but does not know when it will be possible. The new technology will enhance students’ learning experience by bringing the material to life instead of falling flat on a Pow-

erPoint. He explained how a student could use her iPhone for virtual reality.

“Users first have to download the app that is associated with virtual reality. You place your iPhone into the slit of the cardboard. The built-in oculus device allows you to virtually experience the [particular] subject students are learning,” Arenth said.

Arenth also said CIDDE plans to introduce cloud-based student response systems, so students can use phones in place of iClickers, which are a separate device that students must purchase. Arenth said the Center didn’t have a set date when it would introduce the new systems.

Golden said students, faculty and staff can visit room B10 in Alumni Hall, where they are currently stored, to try the new technologies.

Golden also plans to host new faculty orientations, create diversity in curriculum — for example, by offering more LGBTQ+ specific courses — and open workshops for faculty.

In regard to University services, Golden announced that the University will showcase the work of University photographers in a gallery inside the William Pitt Union on March See Senate on page 3

Cynthia Golden, director of CIDDE, discusses technology initiatives with the Educational Policies Committee. Will Miller | Staff Photographer

SIMPLER LABELS MAKE FOR HEALTHIER CHOICES

Casey Schmauder Staff Writer

After four years of clinical nutrition and dietetics classes, Pitt student Julia Cohen doesn’t take grocery shopping lightly.

“I pay attention to serving size, to if there’s anything hidden — a lot of times there’s a lot of sodium added or sugar added,” Cohen said. “I pay attention to the saturated fat content, and also I like to look for what something has in it, like vitamins and fiber. I look to see what the food is going to be giving me.”

Luckily for Cohen, a new Pitt study has shown that the Nutritional Value system, or NuVal, can streamline how we determine foods’ nutritional value.

The study, headed by Pitt’s Jeff Inman and Boston College’s Hristina Nikolova, showed customers make healthier food

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choices when grocery stores assign a NuVal number to items. NuVal, which is available in about 1,650 grocery stores nationwide, assigns food items a number between one and 100 based on nutritional content. Nutritious foods get a high ranking, and unhealthy foods get a low ranking.

NuVal’s founder David Katz surveyed nutritionists and doctors about the relative importance of different parts of a nutrition label to come up with one score, prior to the company’s founding in 2008. The system has scored more than 120,000 food products so far. Mott’s Applesauce, for example, is assigned a 23 NuVal score, whereas apples are assigned a 100 NuVal score.

Inman, associate dean of the Katz Graduate School of Business, and Nikolova, an assistant professor of marketing at Boston College, collected data from more than half

of a million frequent shoppers at a grocery chain that implemented NuVal in 100 of its stores. The chain, which remains unspecified in the study, provided the researchers with access to the shoppers’ weekly purchases six months prior to implementation and six months after implementation.

For the study, Inman and Nikolova chose eight categories of food to analyze — frozen pizza, yogurt, granola bars, canned tomato products, ice cream, salad dressing, pasta sauce and canned soup.

The study showed consumers made less healthy choices during months 4 to 6 after NuVal, but those choices still had higher NuVal scores than what they were buying in the months prior to the study.

“We want to do a follow-up and see why consumers fall back,” Inman said. “Do they fall back to the stuff they bought before, or

February 16, 2016

do people jump way up to the healthy end and decide it doesn’t taste too good or it’s too expensive?”

The researchers couldn’t conclude whether the customers stopped buying from a certain category altogether as a result of NuVal. Cohen, president of Pitt’s Student Dietetic Association, said that if grocery stores everywhere implemented programs like NuVal, shoppers would be more likely to educate themselves on what they need in their diets.

“I think the most important thing is for people to recognize their own needs and be able to have the resources to make informed decisions about their health,” Cohen said.

Find the full story online at

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Correction: In a story published Friday, Feb. 15, titled “‘The Vagina Monologues’ spotlight ASL,” The Pitt News misgendered Madeline Barber and referred to em with incorrect pronouns. The corrected version reflects Barber’s preferred pronouns, ey, em and eir. The Pitt News regrets this error.

Consent, pg. 1 Wellness and Counseling Centers, many didn’t know what would happen after they reported an assault.

Domitrz, who has been educating people about consent for 25 years, said he started acting as an advocate and activist for victims of sexual assault when he found out about his sister’s rape 27 years ago.

When his mother had called him and told him, he said only one thought was going through his head — he wanted revenge.

But then, Domitrz said, he realized he didn’t have the right to feel this way if he wasn’t helping all the other victims of sexual assault. He called on his audience to stop “saying, ‘Rape is awful — but I’m not going to do anything about it.’”

Katie Pope, Pitt’s Title IX coordinator, said too many students think about consent in the abstract, and she wanted to bring Domitrz to Pitt to help make the concept more concrete.

“A lot of folks don’t understand consent — we brought [Domitrz] here to change that,” Pope said at the event.

Pitt senior, audience member and former president of the Campus Women’s Organization, Eleanora Kaloyeropoulou, said education about consent is the most important part of combating sexual assault.

Senate, pg. 2 30. Other projects include running a pilot for wireless sharing and hosting a Destination Diversity lunchtime series, which is an array of presentations delivered by experts and researchers, on diversity-related topics for faculty.

CIDDE is currently working with the School of Nursing to develop educational planning, which will include scenarios to better assess skills. According to Golden, CIDDE hopes to finish development this spring.

The center also plans to hold workshops to help professors teach effectively in a large classroom setting.

Hayes, pg. 1 Pitt occasionally awards the keynote speaker at Honors Convocation ceremonies an honorary degree and has awarded two since 2010, according to University news releases.

In 2014, Alvin E. Roth, co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in economics, spoke at Pitt’s Honors Convocation and then-Chancellor Mark Nordenberg awarded him an honorary

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“This is an issue that affects more people than the victims,” Kaloyeropoulou, a history major, said. “These people are our friends. These people are our classmates.”

Jasmine Butler, junior and chair of Student Government Board’s wellness committee, said sexual assault is a real problem at Pitt, and Domitrz’s talk changed the way she’ll act as a bystander.

“So many times you look out at a stranger and think, ‘That’s not my business.’ But they’re human too,” Butler said. “Everyone on this campus has either been directly affected by sexual assault or knows someone who has been.”

Domitrz said the widespread problem has shed light on which schools are truly dedicated to fighting sexual assault.

“Pitt’s doing it,” he said, by sponsoring consent programs and hosting speakers like him. “A lot of schools aren’t even having the conversation.”

He said learning the positive sides of intimacy go hand in hand with learning about sexual assault — asking for consent is a sign of respect, but it’s also a necessity for everyone.

Throughout his lecture, Domitrz repeatedly emphasized the right of everyone to decide what happens to their own body.

“Even if I disagree with everything they do,” Domitrz said, “each person still deserves dignity and respect.”

Last fall, the center helped renovate lecture rooms in David Lawrence Hall to help students see and hear the professor and projector screen from any part of the room and to allow chairs to rotate to ease small group work.

“So far, we have conducted surveys for students and faculties about these renovations. We have received positive feedback,” Golden said.

Arenth said the University should begin implementing virtual reality and the other devices into classrooms at Pitt to follow in primary schools’ footsteps.

“K-12 students are already using these oculus devices. Since they will be our future students, the University should begin using these devices as well,” Arenth said. doctorate. Nordenberg also awarded Jared L. Cohon, the former president of Carnegie Mellon University, an honorary doctorate in 2013.

Hayes did not respond to an email requesting comment.

“We are privileged to have Terrance Hayes as a member of Pitt’s faculty,” Gallagher said.

“His extraordinary achievements and generous teaching enrich our students, University and our community.”

February 16, 2016

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Opinions from the editorial board

Grammys highlight success of diverse ‘Hamilton’ cast After stealing the spotlight on Broadway, the cast of “Hamilton” sold its way to Monday night’s Grammys ceremony.

“Hamilton” — the hip-hop and R&B rendition of the life of Alexander Hamilton — is swimming in awards, acclaim and sold-out shows until January 2017 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City.

Its selling points aren’t just the addictive soundtrack and underdog plot but the show’s use of a diverse cast for a historically white narrative as well.

While characters, such as Aaron Burr, George Washington and Elizabeth Schuyler, were white, LinManuel Miranda — the creator of “Hamilton” — portrays them in his musical as black, Latino and Asian — an initiative many directors never even consider.

In the age of #OscarsSoWhite, “Hamilton” proves that people will pay top dollar to see diversity in music and on stage, and that these shows can take home awards.

But too many pop culture creators, such as the Coen brothers, don’t consider it their responsibility, or of any concern, to cast diversely, with Joel Coen claiming, “You don’t sit down and write a story and say, ‘I’m going to write a story that involves four black people, three Jews and a dog,’ — right?

That’s not how stories get written.”

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Why not? Is the market — or the critics — turned off by diverse casts? “Hamilton” and its recordsetting box office sales say “no.”

In past years, investors have ignored the market for diverse casts. But diverse casts and racially charged music have attracted the attention of millions, financial success and critical acclaim. Hollywood has claimed that shows with black leads don’t do well, but “Hamilton,” along with the immensely popular and recently released “Star Wars” movie, prove otherwise.

Investors don’t have to do what’s right — they are trying to make money. But these productions are raking it in, so why aren’t investors taking note of our interests?

The Grammys are all about commercial success, usually featuring the hottest pop stars and flashiest routines with crazy, out there technology. But, the producers invited “Hamilton” with its 18th-century garb and nonfiction storyline to one of the industry’s biggest nights.

What more proof do investors need?

The Grammys are one of the best measures of a performance’s demand, and “Hamilton’s” audience demands more. We want to see more diversity in Hollywood, and investors are throwing away their shots to raise a buck.

TNS

column

HELP WOMEN HAVE A SAY IN CLASS DISCUSSIONS Alyssa Lieberman Columnist

While women may dominate the college population, we are a quiet majority.

Frequently, I leave a classroom as the only woman — or one of the only women — that spoke that day. Though our academic universities are meant to be a progressive learning space, they are still rife with implicit sexism and biases that mute female students.

While women now obtain 57 percent of undergraduate degrees, according to a Columbia University Teaching Center study,

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this percentage isn’t at all proportional to women’s participation and treatment in classrooms.

But encouraging women to speak up isn’t enough. We need to take the extra steps to assure women feel comfortable in our universities by training instructors and male peers to recognize their implicit gender biases during discussions.

By implementing programs to teach professors, assistants and graduate students how to facilitate discussions and manage classSee Lieberman on page 5

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Lieberman, pg. 4 rooms to dispel implicit sexism, we can clear the air for female dialogue.

On that same note, by asking students to step back when they feel they are dominating discussions and choosing women who may only raise their hands halfway, instructors can make the classroom a more comfortable place in which women can participate.

I’m not alone in my classroom observations. According to the Columbia study, male students not only talk more, but also receive preferential treatment in the classroom.

Instructors call on male students more frequently than female students, ask them more abstract questions, use their names as points of reference more often and elaborate on their points more, as well.

On the other hand, instructors and peers often cut off women more than their male counterparts and ask women more basic, factual questions.

Yet, this doesn’t mean that the instructors and male students in classes are necessarily bad people — sometimes they are overtly sexist but, often, they are just expressing implicit sexism.

Harvard’s 2013 Implicit Association Test demonstrates our biases.

The online psychological analysis, designed to reveal prejudices people are unwilling to discuss or are unaware of, measures unconscious associations between concepts. The test revealed that 70 percent of men and women across 34 countries associate science with men instead of women.

According to the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, instructors have a significant role in how much women participate during class. When the instructor of a classroom is a man, male students in the classroom substantially dominated the discussion more than if there was a female instructor.

When the instructor was a woman, female students spoke three times longer, but male students still dominated the conversation.

The study also found that in groups comprised of entirely women, they took turns in an egalitarian manner, each speaking for more or less equal amounts of time. Meanwhile, a group of entirely men appeared to speak more contest-like, rais-

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ing voices and splitting speaking time unevenly amongst the group.

While it will take years to eliminate every drop of implicit sexism in society, there are concrete, immediate steps that we must take to fight back against sexism in the classroom.

Our University needs to implement a program to teach professors, teaching assistants and graduate students how to facilitate a discussion and manage a classroom while keeping implicit sexism in mind.

This means, instead of simply calling on people who raise their hands the highest, taking a more thorough and thoughtful approach.

Often, the ones shooting their hands in the air are white, cisgendered men. While women and other students in the room might also have a response to contribute, they usually do not offer it quite as quickly.

To address this issue, instructors can facilitate and call on students based on nonverbal cues and body language as well.

Women often give non-verbal cues, such as eye contact with the instructor or mouthing an answer, which indicate a wish to respond. If facilitators give more weight to these cues, more women will be included in classroom discussions.

Additionally, universities should teach instructors to be mindful of their own biases. If instructors are made aware of the fact that they cut off girls more than boys or use boys’ names more frequently than girls’, they can all put in the personal effort to combat their own sexism.

We cannot sit by and allow implicit gender biases to affect our classroom experiences. We must demand more from our University and more from our professors, then all work together to try to shed implicit sexism and change the dynamic in our classrooms.

The Pitt News Editor-in-Chief DANIELLE FOX

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5

Culture

TALK ARTSY TO ME

Brian Murray

For The Pitt News

Chancelor Humphrey and Cody Baker, co-creators of Creatives Drink. Courtesy of Cody Baker Two Pittsburgh photographers are offering free alcohol in exchange for a chat and some creativity.

Cody Baker and Chancelor Humphrey draw Pittsburgh’s cultural and artistic community together under one roof to promote collaboration during their three-hour schmooze fests, called “Creatives Drink.”

On Feb. 4, Lawrenceville’s Constellation Coffee hosted the campaign’s fourth event.

Since June, each gathering lures rappers, designers, photographers, musicians and other artists for three hours of music, free locally brewed beer and access to some of Pittsburgh’s most creative minds.

“The original idea was to just bring likeminded people together for a few hours to talk and hope that provoked some inspiration for the people,” Baker said.

Baker’s budding friendship with Humphrey, the photographer behind the popular #KeepPittsburghDope blog, grew into the Creatives Drink campaign.

“We didn’t want to make it so formal,” Humphrey said, “like a stuffy networking event.”

Their goal was instead to create an environment that catalyzed similar business-friendship partnerships with other artists.

“You do the same things [at Creatives Drink] you do at a party,” Humphrey said, “but

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at the same time there’s that networking subconscious.”

In addition to bringing together Pittsburghers “who want to be a part of the community and want to grow,” Baker wants to raise awareness of Pittsburgh’s rich local creative culture outside the conventional visual art realm, such as brewing beer.

More and more local businesses and breweries, such as Pittsburgh Winery and Hop Farm Brewing Co., have helped sponsor Creatives Drink, which Baker said is helping raise attendance, by supplying the free drinks.

“We brought in local sponsors and found we could educate our guests on local alcohol instead of them drinking cheap, largely distributed beers,” Baker said.

Creatives Drink started out relatively small, and Baker estimates that the first event at Howl at the Moon attracted around 50 people. At that point, their now-celebrated free drink campaign hadn’t yet materialized, and they instead charged participants between $1-3 to drink as a fundraiser for future events. “[That] was just a test, and people came,” Humphrey said. “People will come. We might have something here.”

Emily Plazek, a local musician, CEO of Music Industry Connected, Pittsburgh (MIC PGH) and 2013 Pitt alumna, attended the inaugural event because of Baker, who created

Plazek’s cover and website art for her music career.

That friendship and the event’s vibes have made her a regular at Creative Drinks.

“There’s such a gut feeling of excitement when you go to an event with creative people,” Plazek said. “You get the feeling that, ‘I’m not the only one trying to do this.’”

While the event attracts a large group of professional artists, Plazek said students have the most to benefit. She’s met and hired several interns for MIC PGH through Creatives Drink.

“When [students] come and get out of their comfort zone, it’s really good for them to start to see all the options out there,” Plazek said.

When she was a still student, Plazek feared her artistic endeavors wouldn’t survive in Pittsburgh after she graduated.

“I thought that because I was stuck in Pittsburgh, I would have to give up on my dream,” Plazek said, as opposed to the cultural hubs of New York City and Los Angeles.

Tony Resch, a Pitt senior majoring in fiction writing, said he worries that students who are content to stay in Oakland miss the artistic offerings Pittsburgh does offer.

“I feel like Oakland can be a container for a lot of kids,” Resch said.

But attending CD4 — the fourth install-

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ment o f Creatives Drink — opened his eyes to the growing creative opportunities in Pitts-

burgh.

He initially heard about the event as so many have — through word-of-mouth from friends and fellow Pittsburghers.

“I figured it could be a good networking opportunity,” Resch said. “If more kids knew about these kinds of events, then more would be aware of the awesome art and music that’s coming out of Pittsburgh, and then they would go out and see it.”

While many gallery crawls in Pittsburgh offer both conversation and alcohol, Creatives Drink is the only current popular event focusing on the two specifically. Baker said he hopes to see the event continue to grow and influence Pittsburgh’s creative community.

“We have some cool stuff in the works for CD5 and CD6,” he said, which have yet to be announced. “Imagine if more and more unique events were to pop up that all bring our community together. We would grow and flourish like never before.”

6

‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE

‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A ‘PABLO’ UNITES A DIVIDED KANYE/‘PABLO’ UNITES A TNS

Nick Mullen Staff Writer

I consider myself a Kanye West apologist.

When stories of Kanye’s antics — read: the “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!” tweet — pervade the news, I’m jump to defend him, citing his artistry and creative talent.

Besides, Kanye West’s music and his public persona have historically been at odds with each other. His music career hosts a string of popular albums that continuously reveal new side streets of Kanye’s musical talents, with each new release seeing more success than the last. But his public persona is a little more polarizing.

From his remarks about George W. Bush to Taylor Swift, his freak outs on radio shows or his brief Twitter beef with Wiz Khalifa last month, Kanye West knows how to keep a death grip on the spotlight. Whether you like or dislike Kanye, you’re definitely not ignoring him.

But up until “The Life of Pablo,” the two sides of Kanye West have always existed in somewhat separate realms.

After making “808s and Heartbreak,” an album which has forever altered the hiphop landscape and gave rise to a generation of artists like Drake and The Weeknd, Kanye West forced himself into “exile” after a string of public embarrassments, peaking with the Taylor Swift incident at the 2009 VMAs. “808s,” his fourth studio album, became

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a commercial and artistic failure, and his public embarrassments further alienated him from the public’s good graces.

His response to the backlash was “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” an album he and his celebrity rapper-saturated guest list created in Hawaii, where he hid himself in a 24/7 studio. “MBDTF,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, was his “comeback album,” to prove that he can appease the mainstream while making an artistic and critically acclaimed masterpiece.

Since releasing “MBDTF,” Kanye’s stayed chatty. “Yeezus” was the antithesis to “MBDTF,” showing that as much as he can please the masses, he can just as effectively shun them. Since “Yeezus,” his long winded rants are often and increasingly bizarre, from criticizing everyone and everything working against him to bombastic self-declarations of greatness.

It follows that “TLOP” would deliver Kanye’s latest thoughts and musings to the people. The album is a direct and unfiltered lens into Kanye’s mind, from the Taylor Swift incident to Pablo Escobar.

Unlike his past albums, the lyrics on “TLOP” matter more than the production.

Kanye’s ability as a producer is what separates him from many other artists, and his lyrics have always more or less been secondary to the production.

The song “I Love Kanye” sums up the album better than anything else. There’s no music, just Kanye talking about how people

“miss the old Kanye.” He closes the song laughing and saying: “What if Kanye made a song about Kanye, called ‘I Miss the Old Kanye,’ man that would be so Kanye. That’s all it was Kanye, we still love Kanye, and I love you like Kanye loves Kanye.”

Kanye West is nothing if not self-aware — despite what his Twitter persona suggests. From the ever-changing titles and the performance art release and fashion show, Kanye has seemingly planned out everything about this album .

He knows you think he’s crazy, and he agrees. Over “Yeezus”-style beats with beeping synths and snares on “Feedback,” he raps, “Name one genius that ain’t crazy.”

But for all the crazy rants and diatribes Kanye takes on, his artistic talent is still clear.

On “No More Parties in L.A.,” Kanye and Kendrick Lamar spit verses over a groovy and energetic Madlib beat. Kanye’s long and sprawling verse muses on the celebrity lifestyle, and his passionate storytelling is reminiscent of his “Late Registration” days.

“I know some fans who thought I wouldn’t rap like this again / But the writer’s block is over, MCs cancel your plans.”

The album is heavy on features, including — to name a few — Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Andre 3000, Frank Ocean, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, Young Thug and Chris Brown.

In many ways “TLOP’s” overwhelming guest list reflects Kanye’s simple desire

February 16, 2016

for this album to be heard. This album has been one of the most hyped and anticipated records in recent history. Every time Kanye announced a new name change days leading up to its release or tweeted any other clue about the record, almost every media outlet rushed to cover it — including his brief explanation this weekend that Pablo represents St. Paul the Apostle. On Saturday, he tweeted “Paul ... The most powerful messenger of the first century... Now we stand here 20 centuries later... Because he was a traveler.”

“TLOP” is Kanye’s latest platform to air his stream of consciousness. It’s a sprawling, rambling mess, but like all of his preceding albums, it has praiseworthy artistic merit.

The beats come from underground legends such as Madlib and contemporary favorites such as Metro Boomin.

The album is mercurial, revisiting Kanye’s entire career by weaving each album’s distinctly different moods together.

Heartfelt tracks, such as “Real Friends,” recall “808s” confessional lyrics mesh with classical Kanye tracks, such as “No More Parties in L.A.,” and more energetic mainstream hype tracks, “Feedback” and “FACTS.” Defending Kanye’s public persona requires making the case for his artistic ability, which isn’t hard to do. But with “TLOP,” Kanye has managed to fuse his love for selfexpression with his genuine musical talent, giving otherwise pompous tweets, such as “I am consumed by my purpose to help the world,” an entirely different context — one we might even believe after a few listens.

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Sports

Pitt Performance in AFTER FAST START, PITT Non-Conference vs. ACC

LOOKS FOR ANSWERS

Jamie Dixon and the Panthers have lost three straight contests.

Jeff Ahearn |Assistant Visual Editor

Jeremy Tepper

Senior Staff Writer After a 14-1 start to the season, the Pitt men’s basketball team seemed like a shooin selection for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

That record came against a soft schedule, but the Panthers looked good, playing toplevel offense with not completely inept defensive work. Ten games later, and the Panthers are 17-7, now fighting for their tournament lives in their final six regular season games.

The skid, based on the early returns is surprising.

Since the beginning of the season, Pitt proved to be an offensively-inclined squad rather than its typical defense-centric team.

But given that physical deficiencies weren’t the root of the problem, it seemed fixable to

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an extent. Plus, and more importantly, Pitt looked good enough offensively to outscore opponents in most games.

Over a 2-5 stretch, capped by a three-game losing streak, Pitt has crushed any predisposed beliefs. Usually, teams improve over the course of the season. But Pitt has regressed.

The defense has been a sieve. Head coach Jamie Dixon has tried his typical man-to-man defense. He’s tried zone. He’s even tried some press. Nothing works for this team.

The Panthers aren’t lacking much in height or quickness on that end. Instead, the problems seem to be mental. For whatever reason, Pitt hasn’t grasped any sort of defense well enough to execute it for an extended period of time. Its help defense is bad. Its awareness is bad. The whole defense is just flat-out bad.

See Dixon on page 9

Non-Conference Field Goal %

50.5% 37.6% 86.3 62.8 42.7 37.4% 78.6% 20.6 11.6

February 16, 2016

Opponent’s Field Goal % Points per game Opponent’s Points per game rebounds per game 3-point % Free Throw Assist per game turnovers per game

conference play

43.1% 48.6% 69.5 71.2 34.4 36.3% 73.5% 15.3 11.6

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Dixon, pg. 8 Even worse, the requisite effort doesn’t seem to be there. Effort is as important as anything to playing good defense, and when the team finds itself in ruts offensively, players get frustrated. Instead of trying to compensate defensively, the team lets that play seep into their offensive output.

This was as clear as ever against University of North Carolina, when Pitt allowed the Tar Heels to shoot 59.3 percent in a 21-point loss.

North Carolina was clearly a class above Pitt in talent, but the team didn’t shoot almost 60 percent just because it was simply better. All game, quality shots were there, largely because of ineffectual defense.

Pitt’s poor offense might have also contributed to the defensive effort. North Carolina showed the blueprint necessary to stagger Pitt’s offense by extending defense and pressuring ball handlers.

When opponents get aggressive on that end, Pitt doesn’t have enough good ball handlers, and players attack the hoop to overcome that strategy. In college basketball, guards are key to thwarting most defenses. More specifically, guards that can penetrate the basket and get past their defender to create shots for themselves or teammates.

Pitt doesn’t have one player who fits that mold. At times, redshirt junior Chris Jones and freshman Damon Wilson can provide that, but neither are good enough decision makers or dribblers to do so consistently.

Pitt’s best guard is senior James Robinson, a smart player and good decision maker, but a player who’s limited athletically and is a largely inconsistent shooter.

Without the necessary guards, junior forwards Michael Young and Jamel Artis must force their hands. While both are talented offensively, neither possess the skill set to carry a team when opponents focus their attention on

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them with aggressive, pressuring defense.

To give Pitt credit, it can tear through menial defenses that are more relaxed and less assertive. But any smart coach with good enough players isn’t going to give Pitt that look defensively.

As it stands, Pitt is a bubble team, teetering on the edge of making or missing the tournament. Its road wins against University of Notre Dame and Florida State University as well as a win over Syracuse University look solid on its resumé. The Fighting Irish, Seminoles and Orange all have strong cases for tournament berths.

All three, though, are middle-to-lowertype seeds, certainly not statement wins. The Panthers will have a chance to earn one in the next six games, with back-to-back home games against the University of Louisville and Duke University.

Louisville is ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 Poll, so it would be the better win of the two, but Duke’s a good team whose name always carries weight, despite not being ranked for a significant portion of conference play. Just beating one of those two, plus winning three of their four games against Wake Forest University, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Syracuse University would push the Panthers into the tournament.

It’s not a lofty task, as Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are all patently bad teams. And given Dixon’s history of making the tournament — 10 out of 12 times — there’s reason for hope.

Still, assuming anything outside of bad defensive play for this team is a fool’s errand.

And though Dixon has earned the benefit of the doubt, he has missed the tournament two of the last four years.

Perhaps the Panthers will get it together these next six games, perhaps they won’t. Regardless, Pitt’s play is steeply trending down.

That much is unquestionably clear.

February 16, 2016

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I Rentals & Sublet N D E X -NORTH OAKLAND -SOUTH OAKLAND -SHADYSIDE -SQUIRREL HILL -SOUTHSIDE -NORTHSIDE -BLOOMFIELD -ROOMMATES -OTHER

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 North Oakland- 264 Melwood AvenueCute 3 bedroom ok for 4 people- Flexible Lease $1,600.00 + Utilities 412-462-7316 ** 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 412-9222141. Pictures- Info: tinyurl.com/pitthome ****************** Large 6 bedroom house for rent. Fall occupancy.

Atwood Street.

Close to campus.

Please call Gary at 412-807-8058

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Employment

-CHILDCARE -FOOD SERVICES -UNIVERSITY -INTERNSHIPS -RESEARCH STUDIES -VOLUNTEERING -OTHER

Classifieds

For Sale

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

**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. **AUGUST 2016: Furnished Studio, 1-2-3-4 Bedroom Apts. No pets.

Non-smokers preferred.

412-621-0457

**Large efficiences, 1 & 2 bedroom apartments available for August 2016. Clean, walking distance to campus. Great location. $575-$630$900-$1100. Utilities included. No pets/ smoking or parties. 412-882-7568.

+++Spacious 5 Bedroom HUGE house, 2 full NICE Baths, Shuttle at Door, Washer/Dryer, photo tinyurl.com/pittnews ad1. August 1, $2795+.

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

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

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

Services

-EDUCATIONAL -TRAVEL -HEALTH -PARKING -INSURANCE

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.

264 Robinson St. 6 bedroom, 3 bath, $2800+utilities.

Available August 1st. 412-884-8891.

2BR, 3rd Floor apartment. Furnished or unfurnished with laundry. $1000 including utilities. A No-Party Building.

Available Aug. 2016 Call 412-683-0363.

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.

4 Bedroom house, 2 baths, clean, remodeled. Available now or April. Yard, porch, ceramic tile floors in bathrooms, non-smoking, no pets. $1900+ utilities.

412-427-6610.

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

Call after 5:00 pm.

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

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 Completely updated 2BR apartment within walking distance to Pitt for $1850 per month.

Apartment has A/C, stainless steel appliances, washer/dryer in unit, spacious living room & bedrooms, heated bathroom floor, hardwood floors and more! Call 412.682.7622 or email sarah@robbrealestate.com for more info on this amazing apartment for FALL 2016.

Efficiency apartments, quiet building, no partying. Shortterm or long-term lease. Laundry, all utilities included.

Shared bathroom. $400-$450 includes utilities. Available immediately.

412-683-0363

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)

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.

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.

Reasonable.

412-445-6117

Oakland/Atwood St., 1BR, wall-to-wall carpet, fully equipped, $575+ electric.

Available immediately. 412-561-7964.

February 16, 2016

Spacious 4BR apartment within walking distance to Pitt for $2800 per month.

Apartment has central A/C, two full baths, eat-in kitchen, spacious living room & bedrooms. Call 412.682.7622 or email sarah@robbrealestate.com for more info on this amazing apartment for FALL 2016.

High quality, newly renovated one, two and three bedroom apartments in Shadyside and surrounding areas. Colebrook Management 412-441-2696 www.colebrook.net 3 & 5 bedroom. May 2016. Sarah St. Large bedroom, new kitchen, air conditioning, washer & dryer, dishwasher, large deck. 412-287-5712.

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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

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

A private, prestigious country club in the East Suburbs of Pittsburgh is currently searching for candidates to fill the following positions:Ala Carte Wait Staff,Banquet Wait Staff,Bartenders. The proper candidates are energetic, trustworthy, and able to adapt in any situation. Although no prior experience is required, it is certainly a positive. You must have reliable transportation. Along with competitive wages, the club also provides scholarship opportunities, free meals, uniforms, parking and flexible scheduling to all employees. All interested persons should email their resume to nleitzel@longuevue.org.

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

The Pitt news crossword 2/16/16

Undergrads needed to test tutoring system: 18 or older, native English speaker, adequate academic background as determined by a brief questionnaire. 2-5 hrs; $10/hr., possible $20 bonus. Contact rimac@pitt.edu

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 412-2465396 or visit www.SmokingStudies.pitt.edu

pittnews.com

February 16, 2016

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pittnews.com

February 16, 2016

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