2-19-16

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

Wise beyond her years

February 19, 2016| Issue 109 | Volume 106

Logan Hitchcock Staff Writer

In the same sphere that thousands of golden-clad students have shimmied and shrieked at dangerous decibel levels, a single player and ball graced the hardwood Tuesday morning.

An unusually tranquil scene, the sound of her few dribbles and the swish of the net echoed against the Petersen Events Center’s walls.

“Every time I hear a ball bounce outside my office, I look out and it’s Brenna Wise on the court,” Suzie McConnell-Serio, head coach of the Pitt women’s basketball team, said.

Sure enough, Wise was the court’s lone companion that morning.

A Pittsburgh native and a freshman forward on the Pitt women’s basketball team, Wise highlights an energetic rebuilding project under McConnell-Serio. Despite a losing record, the team — with new, young talent — seems headed for a bright future. Returning three starters now in their sophomore year, the team added a freshmen class of seven, which Wise spearheads.

Robert Oshaben, a chemical engineering major, was one of hundreds of students networking with potential employers at the Spring Career Fair. John Hamilton | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

KEEPING THE PEACE In Oakland, a neighborhood that’s nearly an even split between students and permanent residents, Pitt police keep it personal.

Saskia Berrios-Thomas Staff Writer

As Pitt Police Officer Charles Welsch approached the South Oakland porch, the students who saw him started to run.

He walked past those who stayed frozen still and knocked loudly on the front door of the Bates Street home. When a student answered, he and his partner entered the house to find the leaseSee Wise on page 10 holder.

It was 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 30, a frigid Saturday night. Welsch had stopped by the house on Bates Street after hearing blaring music from a block away while he patrolled the neighborhood to avoid complaints about students from permanent residents in South Oakland.

Seeing Welsch’s navy uniform, handcuffs and gun in holster, more students fled, pouring out of the house at a faster rate than the officer could stop them.

It wasn’t until Welsch found the residents someents of the home that one finally turned the music off.

It was just another Saturday night on the job.

In South Oakland, a neighborhood that is approximately 57 percent renters and 43 percent permanent residents, according to Pittsburgh SNAP, an online data center which gathers census See Police on page 2

News Police, pg. 1

data on Pittsburgh, tension is inevitable.

On the weekends, students throw house parties. At monthly community meetings, residents complain that students are loud and throw trash in the streets. The Pitt police work to resolve these issues between Oakland’s two populations, a job that requires balancing students’ and residents’ interests with the law.

All in the neighborhood Part of that job includes the Pitt police’s impact detail, which means increasing patrolling during high conflict times — specifically, the weekends.

Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., four more Pitt police officers patrol Central and South Oakland — the area around campus and where most students reside — by car and on foot to curb and deter underage drinking, excessive parties and other dangerous or disruptive activities.

When residents call in a complaint about excessive noise or parties, officers respond and break up parties or issue citations. They also issue citations for underage drinking, public drunkenness, public urination and open containers, among other offenses.

Welsch, who has been with the Pitt police for three years, said officers aim to genuinely improve community relations — they don’t simply want to bust students and get them in trouble. Officers aim to keep residents and students at ease throughout the process.

“It makes residents happy to see us out and being proactive,” Welsch said. “It creates visibility and deterrence. We’re not just out here to issue citations.”

Community policing is not new to the city. The Pittsburgh Police are pushing for more community policing to try and familiarize officers and residents of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods with one another.

Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay made the call for community-oriented policing in 2015, emphasizing that residents should know officers personally so they know who to call when they have a complaint.

The Pitt police have followed this lead with its impact patrol and knock and talks, which involve

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Needing even more space, the University officers going to homes that have had complaints lodged against them to discuss their actions — an moved to Oakland in 1908, according to Pitt’s webinitiative to get police officers more personally in- site.

But the small space and large volume of people volved with Oakland residents.

There are other organizations that also work to led to a difficult transition for both residents and develop community relations, such as South Oak- students, Pitt Magazine reported in 1994.

For example, Zach Grewe, a junior majoring land Neighborhood Group, a community organization that works to improve relations in South in psychology and a student living in South Oakland near Meyran Avenue and Louisa Street, said Oakland and the Pittsburgh community.

Although disruptive students are the minor- he dislikes the makeup of the neighborhood since he moved into his ity, Mark Oleniacz, home in the fall. marketing chair He worries that for SONG, said students have unhe appreciates fairly disturbed the community the once-strong policing efforts of connections the Pitt police. within the com“We are OK munity. with, and even “I think it’s like the interacreally sad to see tions with stuwhat’s become dents, but obviof the Oakland ously we prefer neighborhood,” the clean and Grewe said. “It quiet ones that probably once realize they live had a strong in a neighborcommunal hishood and respect tory and a lot the community,” of people were Oleniacz said. probably dis“[The police] obplaced, and I viously provide a think that history more authoritais very sad.” tive voice in what Riding along: is proper and Proactive versus acceptable, and reactive policing in explaining the Annabelle Goll STAFF ILLUSTRATOR On Jan. 23, consequences for another bitter Saturbeing disruptive.”

But long before house parties and knock and day night, Welsch and Officer Ravi Wilcher, who talks, Oakland was just another tight-knit neigh- has been on the force for two and a half years, pile into a marked Ford Explorer just shortly after 11 borhood.

Founded in 1787 and originally called the p.m. It is 19 degrees.

The four-wheel-drive vehicle accelerates Pittsburgh Academy, Pitt’s original campus was in Downtown Pittsburgh. The campus moved to Al- through the narrow streets of South Oakland, legheny City, now known as the North Side in the which are covered in two inches of unplowed late 1800s due to increases in the student popula- snow. Christmas lights illuminate several houses on Parkview Avenue, a street the officers explain tion.

February 19, 2016

is home to a mix of permanent residents and students.

Because of this, Parkview is one of the officers’ more heavily patrolled streets — more students and residents living together means greater likelihood of conflict, according to Welsch and Wilcher.

Other streets, such as Atwood Street, house mainly students, and places like Lawn Street house mostly permanent residents.

“There is more conflict where you have a mixed population of students and permanent residents,” Welsch said.

Weaving in and out of the one-way streets, small talk and the police scanner eat up the silence.

The officers monitor Police Zone four, which houses Pitt’s campus and South Oakland, through the car’s scanner.

Most people call in a complaint directly to the Pitt police’s dispatch center, but if someone calls 911 instead, Welsch and Wilcher can respond to the call from the scanner.

When officers receive a complaint, they respond to address the issue, keep it from escalating any further and keep it from happening again.

Sometimes this means breaking up a party, or giving warnings or issuing citations for public drunkenness, excessive noise and other violations. Police then report those parties or violations to Pitt’s Office of Community Relations.

Most citations officers issue during impact detail are summary offenses, and students can choose to plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, they pay a fine. If they plead not guilty, the city magistrate schedules a hearing in the municipal court system.

Welsch said students usually get 10 hours of community service, and when they come back with proof of completion, the citation is expunged from the system.

The day following a complaint from a permanent resident, whether officers issued a citation or not, Community Relations Officer Guy Johnson will go to the residence to do a “knock and talk.”

During knock and talks, he talks to students about the consequences of their actions, both to the neighbors and to themselves.

“We don’t want them to graduate and go to get See Police on page 3

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Police, pg. 2 a job and have a background check and have something come up,” Johnson said. “Sometimes I try to get them to talk to the elderly residents who have complained to try to keep the relationship.”

Rebecca Keller-Tarczy, a senior majoring in biology, lives in South Oakland, where about half of her neighbors are permanent residents. Johnson wouldn’t give any names of students who he had visited during a knock and talk to protect their privacy, but Keller-Tarczy said she has seen them patrolling and delivering knock and talks near her home.

“If [a knock and talk] happened to me, I’d definitely be scared and I’d try to keep it down next time,” Keller-Tarczy said.

Knock and talks, a reactive form of policing, are distinguished from impact detail, which is more proactive, and aimed at reducing the number of complaints. Knock and talks happen only after a complaint, and police use them to check in with students and residents. They can only address existing problems, while impact detail can stop problems from occurring at all or keep them from escalating to the point of disturbing other neighbors.

“You can’t have one without the other,” Welsch

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said. “We hope that being proactive rather than reactive helps, but unfortunately most of law enforcement ends up being reactive.”

Discretionary policing: an influencer in citation distribution The night of Jan. 23 continues on. It’s 17 degrees at 11:56 p.m. as Welsch parks the SUV near Sennott Square and the two officers put on hats and gloves to begin patrolling on foot.

It’s a routine night for Wilcher and Welsch.

Within five minutes of getting out of the car, Wilcher spots two students with open containers of beer across the street.

“Stop right there!” Welsch yells.

The officers ask for the students’ IDs and read them to a dispatcher who checks for a prior record.

Ass one stuhiss mom, o f cers ers

dent texts den t h e fiex-

plain the citation and hearing i process to the students, their pens dying halfway through from the cold.

T h e re are certain regulations for issuing citations. When it comes to open containers, officers can only cite a student drinking from a marked open container, such as a Four Loko or a Coors Lite can. If a student is using an unmarked container, such as a water bottle or coffee mug, the officer can not issue a citation unless they can determine alcohol is in the container by sight or smell, according to Welsch.

We’re not looking to ruin people’s lives.

-Officer Charles Welsch

February 19, 2016

As far other citations go, the line to determine when to take legal action is not clearly drawn, according to Welsch. At a party, for instance, it is impossible for two patrol officers to cite every single person there, especially when many run away. Officers can decide to cite the leaseholders or not, depending on the size and intensity of the party and whether there was a complaint.

Similar standards apply to marijuana and public drunkenness violations — the violation has to be obvious for an officer to issue a citation. Some officers choose to cite regardless of the situation, while others are more lenient and try to focus on deterrence for the future, according to Welsch.

Since many situations come down to an onscene decision, officers must think quickly about which citation, if any, is appropriate. James Loftus, chief of the Pitt police, said discretion is a difficult issue to deal with, and one that is heavily managed and observed.

“That’s a huge amount of power to give to a police officer,” Loftus said. “You’re essentially deciding whether to ostensibly deprive someone of their freedom or not.”

So, the police manage discretion in two ways: training and supervision.

See Police on page 4

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Police, pg. 3 Once an officer has graduated from the police academy and applies to work at the Pitt police, he or she enters a formalized training program. Each officer goes on three different one-month shifts with three different field training officers experienced in, among other things, discretionary training. Officers must show they are capable of making quick decisions and be approved by their field training officers before the Pitt police officially hires them, Loftus said.

From there, all officers must undergo yearly state-certified Mandatory In-Service Training, totaling 16 hours of continuing education per year in order to maintain their certification. Classes always cover diversity and sensitivity training. Classes are held by the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission, which is the organization that certifies all Pitt police officers.

Classes are held at certified Municipal Police Academies across the state, according to Welsch.

Higher officials also supervise officers in a very structured system that allows difficult discretionary cases to go up the chain of command so an unsure officer isn’t left on his own to make a hard decision, Loftus said.

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Loftus calls the supervisory system “quasimilitary.” You start out as an officer, work your way up to sergeant, followed by lieutenant, commander and then chief, Loftus said.

“We mandate that there’s always a minimum number of supervisors there and they supervise the discretion,” Loftus said.

On any given impact mpact detail shift, there are always officers, sergeants and lieutenants on duty at thee same time. Like officers, sergeants and lieutenants nants respond to calls butt also make themselves available ailable for advice, especially ly on discretionary matters. s. Loftus calls sergeants thee most important rank in the he police department because of all of the questions they field in terms of discretion and best practices. ctices With the discretion the Pitt police are given, officers must decide how rigorously they want to cite students, according to Welsch.

Deterrence and preventing future problems is what most officers prefer, according to Welsch.

Welsch and Johnson agree that the Pitt police, as

well as other departments at Pitt, want to improve relations in the community, but they don’t want to unreasonably punish students in a way that could harm their futures.

As Johnson pointed out, if a student is cited for underage drinking, the state can expunge it from a criminal record, but not a driving record. While other citations can b be expunged eventually, there is still the possibility of being denied a job or internship if an employer finds out about a emp citation. citat Welsch said when he does W issue ccitations, he issues city ordinance violations rather ordinan than crim crimes code violations bethey incur lower penalties cause the to expunge from and are easier e with community service a record wi and/or payment of fines. City ordinance violations include open containers, loud noise and public urination. Crimes code citations, on the other hand, include underage drinking, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and can carry heavier fines and penalties, according to Welsch.

An open container citation, for instance, can be easily expunged from a student’s record with

February 19, 2016

payment of fines and typically 15 hours of community service. Underage drinking, though, which is a crimes code violation, carries a suspension of the student’s driver’s license for 90 days, and the court will not erase it from that student’s driving record, Welsch said.

“We’re not looking to ruin peoples lives,” Welsch said. “Normally it just takes one warning.”

Issuing citations is the last effort in a three-part plan to keep the community in Oakland unified.

Citations and impact patrol more generally are the third part of the Be a Good Neighbor Campaign, called enforcement. The first two parts, educate and engage, work to prevent problems, according to the Student Guide on Campus Life, issued

by Pitt’s Office of Community and Governmental Relations.

The Community and Governmental Relations office at Pitt developed the campaign, which works to maintain positive relationships with governments within Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, community organizations and the members of the community within Oakland.

Educating students includes discussions with first-year students during Pitt Start about expectations for living off campus and workshops on See Police on page 5

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Police, pg. 4 tenants’ rights for students living off campus. The University engages students by hosting block parties with students and residents to foster positive relationships between the two groups, according to Kannu Sahni, director of Pitt’s Office of Community relations.

Sahni said all three parts are essential to maintaining the well-being of both the residents and the students in Oakland.

“Pitt police are just one of the parts,” Sahni said.

“It’s obviously our least preferred piece. We would really like to develop the kind of relationship between students and long-term residents that that kind of thing doesn’t happen at all. So in order to do that, we’ve developed this coalition.”

The efforts have been successful so far. Sahni reported that residents of South Oakland said this past fall has been the quietest fall they could remember.

Larry Davis, director of the Center on Race and Social Problems and the dean of the School of Social Work, said the difference in age and responsibilities makes it difficult for the two groups to share the same space. “[The permanent residents] are working class people here — they may not see themselves as having a bright future as you do, so there may be some jealousy there,” Davis said.

Threats to life on impact detail Around 12:30 a.m. that Saturday in January, impact patrol pulls up to the corner of Atwood and Bates Streets where fire crews and other Pitt police are already on scene. A male Pitt student had passed out in the gutter, highly intoxicated.

Officers remark that he is probably mildly hypothermic, as EMTs pull up to the scene to care for the student.

Not needed at the scene, Welsch turns and continues his on-foot patrol. He recalls an incident one winter night when he first started on the Pitt police force. A female student had been at a fraternity house all night and she fell coming down the steps near Eberly Hall. A male student who was with her couldn’t get her up and left her.

“Grounds crew found her at 6:30 a.m.,” he said.

“She was in cardiac arrest. We performed CPR and used the AED on her.”

She was brought to the ER where they used warming blankets to bring her body temperature up. She survived, but Welsch is reminded of the real dangers he sees on his beat.

False alarm: an end to the evening

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The officers retreat back to the car at 12:43 a.m. to warm up and drive the streets again, stopping and getting out to investigate houses or incidents occasionally.

Wilcher is talking about how bad the coffee is that he got from a local convenience store when the SUV rounds the corner to show other officers issuing a parking citation to a vehicle that is parked haphazardly, about three feet from the curb. Welsch then follows another Pitt police car that pulls over a red car that has been spotted repeatedly driving recklessly all night.

As an officer is writing the citation, Welsch and

Wilcher get a call over their radios and run back to the SUV. Welsch flips the lights on and speeds down Bouquet Street toward Semple Street where a fight had broken out at a bar.

Upon arrival, the situation had already broken up and half a dozen other officers had already diffused the situation.

“Extremely code 4,” Wilcher said, meaning everything is OK. It is 10 degrees at 2:02 a.m. as the officers head back to the station to finish the paperwork for the night. The statistics of the night will then go to Pitt and community groups within South Oakland in

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the form of a police blotter, Welsch and Wilcher said. “[This lets community groups know] that the University cares what its students are doing,” Welsch said.

Despite students covering the streets and underage drinking and house parties claiming a large number of their concerns, Loftus is aware that Pitt police are working in more than just a college town.

“This is very different type of policing,” Loftus said. “I come from a municipal background, and this is more attune to that than I imagine a typical university policing would be.”

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Opinions

column

from the editorial board

Casual Fridays Sucker for a tasty gal You weren’t the only one alone on Valentine’s Day. The Seattle Aquarium canceled a scheduled mating session between its giant Pacific octopus, Kong, over concerns that he would eat his potential mates. The female octopuses the aquarium planned to impregnate were only around 30 to 40 pounds, compared to Kong, who weighs 70 pounds. Kong’s mating was originally part of the aquarium’s Octopus Week, which people could buy tickets to attend. Aquarium representatives have yet to confirm whether cephalopod sex would be more or less horrifying to young viewers than watching one slowly consume another.

Too-valuable meal Would you like fries with that waste of money? A bottle of McDonald’s special Big Mac sauce has sold in the United Kingdom for 65,900 pounds — or $95,394. The 25-ounce bottle of secret sauce comes with a sauce gun similar to the ones McDonald’s uses in its restaurants and a voucher for one free burger. According to the eBay listing, “This is the only bottle of Big Mac sauce that’s ever been available to the public in the UK and isn’t available for sale anywhere else in the country.” McDonald’s said the proceeds will go toward its Ronald McDonald House Charities. One thing is for sure: Someone has some Mac sauce in their bag, swag.

Joaquín García’s years off A Spanish man became eligible for a length-of-service award after completing his 20th year at a wastewater treatment plant, but it quickly became clear that all he had done for the past six years is plant lies.

Joaquín García simply stopped showing up to work in 2010, instead spending his time reading philosophy at home while still col-

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lecting a government paycheck. His town’s government is now fining Garcia $30,000 — the equivalent of one year’s salary. Apparently nobody noticed García’s absence, which could probably back up his claim that he had no work to do anyway. Unnamed staff members of The Pitt News are reportedly willing to trade one bottle of Big Mac sauce for García’s secret. We’ll wait for your call.

Pushed-up into crime A group of Chinese drug traffickers gave new meaning to “chemical support” on Monday, when Australian authorities burst their bubble. Police captured $890.5 million worth of liquid methamphetamine, which the traffickers hid in gel bra inserts and unspecified art supplies. The laced inserts, reportedly only a bit more expensive than a standard Victoria’s Secret bra, make up the largest liquid meth bust in the country’s history. There is still no definitive answer from police on whether the bras function better as meth compartments or places to hold snacks.

The caroling dead Apparently rising from the dead is only acceptable for full-grown adults. Sycamore Township charged Jason Dixon with several zoning violations in December after he put a nativity scene featuring zombies instead of biblical figures on his front lawn — RE: zombie baby Jesus. This was the third year Dixon put his decorations up, and he was facing thousands of dollars in fines. According to officials, they “aren’t anti-zombie” but clearly are pro-buzzkill. The county has now dropped its charges against Dixon, in what his lawyer claimed is a victory for free expression. This is truly one small step for man, one long, staggering lurch for zombies.

students should help welcome refugees Mariam Shalaby Columnist

How do you respond when a friend tells you her relatives were killed in a war zone?

That the church she was baptized in has been obliterated? That the paradise she once knew no longer exists?

The horror is silencing — and far too common. These situations are becoming part of everyday life for friends and family of Syrians.

“It’s beyond terrible. It’s devastating,” said Heba Mahjoub, a Syrian-American who is president of Pitt’s Muslim Student Association.

“It” is the Syrian refugee crisis, which worsens by the day.

“It’s so sad to think that this beautiful place that you once knew is now gone,” Mahjoub, a biological sciences major, said. For the people seeking safety, Pittsburgh can look almost as beautiful.

But only after we open our doors.

The city stands to benefit by resettling more refugees within its borders. Mayor Bill Peduto plans to resettle 500 Syrian refugees in our city per year, but he faces major opposition.

While no longer the top headline every day as the 2016 election draws near, initiatives protecting these people still deserve support.

As Pittsburghers — and Pitt students — we need to support and encourage the rehoming efforts here.

Last September, Peduto and 17 mayors from across the country urged President Obama to accept more than the planned number of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year.

They pledged to work toward resettling them in their cities.

February 19, 2016

Since the beginning of the 2011 fiscal year, the United States has admitted 2,234 Syrian refugees, according to the State Department.

Since October 2014, Pennsylvania as a whole has accepted only 169, according to the Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program.

That’s only about half the capacity of a typical Foundations of Biology class at Pitt.

But lack of interest from city officials hasn’t caused slow intake. Last Thursday, Peduto and about 110 others gathered at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church to attend a summit on the Syrian refugee crisis. The mayor stood firm in his plans to provide refugees with a fresh start — and there are plenty of people who need one.

As a result of the Syrian conflict, which has ravaged the region since 2011, half of the country’s total population — more than 11 million people — have died or fled the country, according to an article by MercyCorps.

Peduto told the crowd he “couldn’t live with himself ” if he didn’t help the refugees.

As the grandson of Italian immigrants, the mayor has said that Pittsburgh has a history of accepting refugees, so it’s important we keep our arms open.

That’s all well and good, and as a sensitive person, that rhetoric appeals to me.

But it isn’t enough to fully persuade the opposition.

According to a November article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the mayor’s office has received an overwhelming amount of backlash over Peduto’s plans. Many worry that the mayor is focusing his attention on people whom he has no responsibility to help, while neglecting the safety and concerns of his curSee Shalaby on page 7

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Shalaby, pg. 6 rent constituents in the process. Questions, like where refugees will be housed, persist.

His latest strategy to engage the public has been to highlight the benefits that resettlement of Syrian refugees in Pittsburgh will provide for the city as a whole.

“We have areas of the city that have lost 80 percent of its population since the 1980s,” Peduto said at the summit. “We have the opportunity to rebuild communities. To rebuild neighborhoods.”

Besides rebuilding the city’s lacking pockets, Pittsburgh’s taking in of refugees can increase diversity in the city and bring new businesses and perspective to the Pittsburgh area.

The plan and its benefits are all great in theory — community revitalization is hard to argue against. To gain footing, though, real citizens need to demonstrate that they are committed to making it a reality.

Pitt students can and should get involved in helping Syrian refugees establish themselves in Pittsburgh. Volunteering to help resettlement agencies in Pittsburgh, and donating what we can is a good start.

Mahjoub, whose group has worked with the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, said the Center is “taking clothing donations, food donations, monetary donations — anything to help get the families back on their feet.”

But to provide effective resettlement of refugees in Pittsburgh, the city must increase and improve its organizational capacity and services.

“Right now, there are three refugee resettlement agencies in Pittsburgh,” said Sarah Tolaymat, a first-year engineering student at Pitt.

Tolaymat serves on the committee to create a new refugee resettlement agency at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh on Bigelow Boulevard, right off of Pitt’s campus.

Her relatives, who fled from Syria to Tur-

key, have struggled to enroll in school and find work. The refugees who come to Pittsburgh shouldn’t have to face those hurdles.

“We want to be there to help give them a footing, a place to stay, help them learn English and just help them get started,” Tolaymat said.

“There’s a lot to be done, and it’s very early on in the process.”

Laying a local foundation for that support is key, and students have the opportunity to directly change lives.

Last Friday, Feb. 12, Pitt students completely filled a van with donated clothing and raised $500 for Syrian refugees as part of MSA’s annual campus challenge to fast for a cause.

“Each meal only costs about 50 cents at the camp in Macedonia where the money is going,” Mahjoub said. “So we Pitt students ended up feeding about a thousand people.”

Making a long-term impact is similarly within reach. The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh offers volunteer opportunities, as does the resettlem e n t agency of Jewish Family and Child r e n’s Services in Squirrel Hill.

You don’t have to stray far from campus to lend your support.

Pitt organizations, such as FORGE — Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment — train and transport students to tutor refugee children in the Pittsburgh area.

To make the benefits of welcoming Syrian refugees clear to the general public, we need to continue our own efforts to help. Participating in events like Fast-a-Thon and volunteering our efforts at Pittsburgh refugee resettlement agencies are easy ways to get started and raise awareness.

There are plenty of ways to help, and it’s time the community starts getting behind them.

Maybe then, when we hear about the tragedies sending refugees our way, we’ll at least know that we’re doing as much as we can.

You don’t have to stray far from campus to lend your support.

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The Pitt News Editor-in-Chief DANIELLE FOX

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Sports Wise, pg. 1 At nearby Vincentian Academy, Wise was a high school standout — leading her team to four consecutive WPIAL titles and two state championships. During that time she amassed more than 2,000 career points and became a “Miss PA Basketball” finalist in 2015.

The 13th best small forward recruit in the country according to ESPN, Wise said she committed to her hometown university to help continue the momentum that McConnell-Serio has injected into a struggling program.

Like Wise, McConnell-Serio was a local basketball standout, starring at Pittsburgh’s Seton-La Salle high school before an illustrious career that eventually landed her in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Wise couldn’t resist the lure of staying in the Steel City.

“How do you leave Pittsburgh? It’s an incredible city, with incredible people,” Wise said.

Only 30 minutes from Wise’s front door at home, Pitt and McConnell-Serio have welcomed her enthusiastically.

“She leaves an impression on everyone she meets,” McConnell-Serio said. “She is polite and she is respectful. She does the right thing and says the right thing and is an unbelievable person to have on your team on and off the court.”

Since joining the team this spring, Wise has been immediately dynamic for the Panthers.

Wise has lived up her high school hype and started every game for Pitt.

“It’s certainly been a challenge. The physicality has changed, the speed has changed,” Wise said.

Wise has shined in the opportunity to start from day one, carving out the most minutes of court time — averaging nearly 30 minutes per game.

“She makes things happen. She makes plays at both ends of the floor. It’s very difficult to take her off the floor,” McConnell-Serio said.

On the floor, she’s embodied Pittsburgh’s

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Brenna Wise has made an immediate impact in her hometown Pittsburgh. Wenhao Wu hard-nosed mentality — leading the team with 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while never taking a possession off. Her rebounding mark is currently tied for seventh most per game in the ACC and leads all other freshmen in the conference.

Outside of game time, Wise has also become a vocal leader and a role model for the other players.

“You look at what she brings to our team as far a work ethic and as far as coachability and leadership, even as a freshman,” McConnellSerio said. “She has become a captain on our team.”

Her teammates haven’t ignored Wise’s drive to improve.

“She’s extremely hard working,” said Cassidy Walsh, a point guard and a fellow local product, who added that Wise has pushed herself to be great throughout her career.

Wise and Walsh have played together since they were teammates in eighth grade in AAU basketball, and the pair of freshmen has joined forces after graduation again at Pitt.

“I just remember telling her, it’s going to be so great if you come here and we can play together,” Walsh said.

Relationships with friends and family helped keep Wise home to play for the Panthers, with nearly 20 members of friends or family coming to cheer for her at every game.

Her father, Stu Wise, is well-aware of the benefit their family provides Brenna at games.

“It’s been very special for us,” Stu Wise said.

“It’s like a little pep rally for Brenna. She has a great following here and a ton of fan support.”

Brenna is grateful for the local love.

“It’s a lot of support that I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere else,” Brenna said.

“I remember when I was a little girl, I used to come to the Pitt camps and look at the athletes and say ‘Wow.’ I was awestruck by them.

I wanted to be in their shoes.”

In fact, Brenna has had her sights set on Pitt since the sixth grade.

“She has a letter that she showed Suzie from when she was in sixth grade — one of her dreams was to become a Pitt basketball player

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SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

and go to college there,” Stu Wise said.

Having fulfilled that dream, Brenna is thriving individually in her hometown but said her focus remains on the win column.

The Panthers, a team with more youth than experience, have struggled mightily this season, hitting a record of just 12-14. Only four of those wins have come in-conference.

Hailing from a winning tradition at Vincentian, Brenna isn’t used to losing, but has handled the struggles with maturity and optimism.

“Losing doesn’t become easier,” she said, “This is a growing process, and we’re learning from it.”

Humbled by her significance in the program’s rebuild, Brenna will undoubtedly play a large role in the attempts to make Pitt a perennial winner under McConnell-Serio.

Did she make the right decision choosing Pitt? ”Without a doubt. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” she said.

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pitt quidditch plans to sweep up competition

A member of the Quidditch team scores the quaffle at the Cost Center.

Will Miller STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ryan Reichardt For The Pitt News

Clutching brooms between their knees, the members of the Pitt Quidditch team crouched on opposite sides of the field before their in-practice scrimmage at the Cost Center on Friday.

They bounced on their toes. They cockily did push-ups. They waited for a teammate on the sideline to call out “Broom’s Up!” And then, they were off.

Six players sprinted toward four game balls resting at midfield, barrelling forward to try and get the first opportunity to score. For now, it’s only practice, but this Sunday, Feb. 21, the Pitt Quidditch team will start competing against 14 other college teams during its first year in the Great Lakes Conference.

While other students were heading out to the bars or gobbling down Sorrento’s, the players have been readying themselves for their first spring tournament at Carnegie Mellon University, practicing for hours on Friday nights.

Fourth-year player Karen Hranek said she feels like they have the edge for the CMU

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tournament.

“We’ve had good records in the past against the teams that will be there,” Hranek said.

Quidditch, the one-time fictional pastime created by J.K. Rowling for her Harry Potter novel series, has sprouted into a popular club sport across college campuses since the late 2000s. Pitt’s team, founded in 2009, is one of more than 200 teams under the umbrella of U.S. Quidditch — the sport’s governing body.

The game consists of four positions and three types of balls. One of those “balls” is a human dressed in yellow called “the snitch,” who, if caught by a “seeker,” ends the game.

Until their capture, three chasers pass around a volleyball called a “quaffle” to try and get it past keepers, who defend hoops, while avoiding beaters, who throw “bludgers” — dodgeballs — at the chasers to force them to drop the quaffle.

Co-president and three-year player Chandler Larkin said he feels confident about Pitt’s standings against the other teams, such as Carnegie Mellon, West Virginia University and Grove City College.

See Quidditch on page 12

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Quidditch, pg. 11

ence this year does bring on more competition for Pitt, and in a more convenient manner.

The team used to be a part of the Mid-Atlantic Conference, playing teams like Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.

“We are grateful for the change,” Hranek said. “In the past, we have had to travel approximately six to seven hours by car to get to regional tournaments, and we now travel about three to four.”

As a club sport, Pitt’s team is student run and does a lot of its own fundraising for equipment and travel expenses, which the switch cuts down on.

“It’s also nice to get some new competition we haven’t really interacted with before,” Hranek said.

Practices leading up to the tournament start out like that of any other sports team, with a warm-up jog and team stretching. But, after that is when they really start to prep for the tournament, jumping right into scrimmaging.

During these scrimmages, the players execute pre-designed plays and work out special trick plays for later in tournament play. Players get creative, working the quaffle — the main ball used for scoring in Quidditch — around

the field in any way possible.

Players will bounce the ball through the legs of opponents, just like Allen Iverson used to do to the players trying to guard him on the basketball court. Quidditch players kick the ball, toss it behind their backs, smack it through the air, shoot it like a basketball and pitch it overhand, all with hopes of getting it downfield to score.

“Leading up to a tournament, we focus more on individual play and strategy,” Vinovskis said.

During a recent practice, one predesigned trick play set up an almost too easy opportunity to a score. As the offensive team drove down the field, one player tossed the ball to a teammate near the sideline, drawing the defense outward.

Without catching the ball, the player on the outside smacked the ball open-palmed, like a volleyball spike, back toward the original player who caught it and lobbed it through the hoop for a 10-point score.

These kinds of plays make Pitt a tough team to beat — something even WVU will admit.

“That will be a tough match for us, but we look forward to the challenge,” Stevens said.

The Pitt news crossword 2/19/16

Compared to Pitt, Larkin said those competitors are Muggles.

“They all kinda stink,” Larkin said. “CMU will probably be our toughest though, but even that should be a blowout.”

Pitt’s rivals are just as eager to duel the Panthers, particularly their Slytherin-level competitors — West Virginia University.

“Of course we’re also looking forward to playing Pitt as well,” WVU quidditch captain Jeff Stevens said. “We’ve only met twice, with Pitt taking both matches, and with the rivalry between our schools, there’s nothing we want more than to beat them.”

Far from fantasy, the sport is full contact and fast paced, as players constantly run from one end of the field to another while dodging speeding bludgers. The sport resembles a mix of handball and dodgeball, only in this version, the players clench brooms between their legs.

Although passion for Harry Potter helps, quidditch requires athletic skill — just like any other sport — with tryouts and cuts each fall.

This year, the best 28 players remained out of an estimated 40 candidates.

The remaining players train together almost all year with hopes of making it to the Nationals tournament field of 60 teams in April, an apex they reached every year until missing the past two.

The team is looking to improve off of its approximately .500 record in the fall tournaments and feels confident about its chances.

“In the past, we’ve always come out ahead,” senior Vice President Micah Vinovskis said.

Vinovskis said the routine at practice changes as tournaments near. Practices morph for different positions, especially for the beaters, the quidditch equivalent of defensemen, who are currently trying to integrate into an offensive scheme.

“I chose beater because I didn’t like the idea of running back and forth,” Vinovskis said.

But with their recent incorporation into the offense, Vinovskis ends up running back and forth anyway.

Instead of waiting on defense for the action to come to them, Pitt beaters are constantly in the action. This change gives more scoring chances for the team, improving its odds to take it all at CMU. Still, switching to the Great Lakes Confer-

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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 ** 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 ****************** Large 6 bedroom house for rent. Fall occupancy.

Atwood Street.

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Please call Gary at 412-807-8058 **AUGUST 2016: Furnished Studio, 1-2-3-4 Bedroom Apts. No pets.

Non-smokers preferred.

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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

**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. *1 BEDROOM REMODELED FURNISHED APARTMENTS. Beautiful, clean, large, and spacious. Fullyequipped kitchen and bathroom. Wallto-wall carpeting. $750. Owner pays heat. Available Aug. 2016. Call 412-2471900, 412-731-4313. *3 BEDROOM, REMODELED HOUSE -FURNISHED* Beautiful, large, clean and spacious.

New fully equipped kitchen. Wall-towall carpeting.

Washer/Dryer included. Whole house air-conditioning. Garage Available. $1600+utilities. Aug. 1. Call 412-247-1900, 412-731-4313.

+++5 bedroom, 2 full baths, huge house, nicely updated, shuttle across street, washer/dryer, $2795+, August 1, photos www.tinyurl.com/pittnewsad1 coolapartments@gmail.com 724-935-2663

Services

-EDUCATIONAL -TRAVEL -HEALTH -PARKING -INSURANCE

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.

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 $950+ utilities; call 412-559-3079.

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

Available August 1st. 412-884-8891.

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.

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

4 BR house for rent. $1800/month. Available August 1.

412-337-9916.

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

Call after 5:00 pm.

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.

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)

Large 1-2-3 BR apartments available August 1st. 3450 Ward Street. 312 and 314 South Bouquet Street.

Free parking. Minutes to campus. Cat friendly. Call 412-977-0111.

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 Spacious 2BR apartments on Dawson St., single or double occupancy.

Partially renovated & improved. August 25 availability. Very affordable rent.

Limited parking spaces also available.

Call 412-692-1770 to see apartment & parking spaces.

February 19, 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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

Dodgeball Tournament on 2/20/16. 6 people and $60 per team. Cash prizes.

E-Mail jeffargyros@ gmail.com FMI Victim of sexual violence? Gilmary has a Christian retreat for you. Visit gilmarycenter.org for details.

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