2-27-18

The Pitt News The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | February 27, 2018 | Volume 108 | Issue 120

FALUDI DISCUSSES GENDER IDENTITY

“OM” MY WAY TO AN A

Katie Gingerich For The Pitt News

Tisha Samuels, an instructor at Yoga Flow in Shadyside, teaches a yoga class in the William Pitt Union for Project HEAL Monday afternoon. Sarah Cutshall | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Yellin takes Pitt behind the scenes of Netflix

Remy Samuels Staff Writer

It’s 3 a.m. and you’ve just watched two straight seasons of “Stranger Things” in one sitting — even though you have a test later that day.

But for Todd Yellin, vice president of product at Netflix, watching hours of shows and documentaries is part of his job description.

“I’m blessed to be able to watch as much TV as I want and never feel guilty about it,” Yellin said.

On the seventh-floor auditorium of Alumni Hall, Pitt’s Film and Media Studies Program, in collaboration with Steeltown Entertainment Project and the Center for Behavior Health and Smart Technology, presented “A Conversation with Todd Yellin.” Yellin spoke to a crowd of about 300 students and faculty about what it’s like to work for a company like Netflix, which is now offered in 199 different countries and whose content can

be watched on a range of devices.

Yellin said getting a job at Netflix was a long, arduous journey. While he majored in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, he spent most of his time in the basement of the dining hall where the TV studio was, creating comedy shows with his friends. This was when he realized he wanted to enter the entertainment business.

“You don’t get into the entertainment business because it’s lucrative,” Yellin said. “You get into the entertainment business because you can’t control yourself.”

After going to film school, working at a laser disc store in Sunset Valley, California, and shooting some of his own movies, Yellin landed a job at Netflix in 2006. He eventually worked his way up to vice president of product.

He described his role in the company as being on the “Silicon Valley side of Netflix,” meaning

he is involved with exposing viewers to interesting content — which includes using complicated algorithms and personalization techniques that entice viewers to binge episode after episode.

Yellin also said the average viewer looking on Netflix for a new show flips through 40 to 50 titles.

The algorithms, though, are not purely based on age and gender — so if there’s a 17-year-old boy, Netflix does not assume he just wants to watch action shows.

“There’s 17-year-old guys watching videos about wedding dresses,” Yellin said. “Finding the right content and organizing this mess is something we work really hard on.”

Netflix contains numerous categories of shows, from documentaries about science to serious, intense dramas, and Yellin said his team works hard to organize content in a way that is See Yellin on page 2

When Susan Faludi stood in front of a large crowd at the Carnegie Music Hall Monday night, she asked more than 1,000 people to consider refugees.

“Around the world today are unintentional monuments to the truth that we live in the age of the refugee and the elusiveness of the refuge they seek,” she said.

Although the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist was referencing the millions of refugees forced to flee their homes in the last decade, she was also including a lesser-known kind of refugee — those seeking an accepted gender identity.

Faludi’s lecture, an installment of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series, focused on her father’s struggle with identity throughout his life and his experiences as a Holocaust survivor, Hungarian-American immigrant and transgender woman.

Faludi referred to her father as her “father” throughout the entire lecture — also acknowledging her father transitioned to become a woman later in life. To communicate the timeline of her story, Faludi used masculine pronouns when talking about her father before the transition and feminine pronouns after the transition. For this article, The Pitt News will use pronouns consistent with the speaker.

Faludi is known for her 1991 best seller “Backlash: The Undeclared War See Faludi on page 2

News

the destiny or story line of different characters.

“We’re constantly looking in the rearview mirror,” Yellin said. “We have to fail more, and we have to push more.”

When offering advice to aspiring filmmakers, Yellin warned that passion can only get one

so far and encouraged students to think about what they can offer a company.

“If you want to make movies and TV shows, make movies and TV shows,” Yellin said. “If you want to put money on your table, it’s not the same thing.”

Senior film studies and fiction writing major Noah Wilps said he enjoyed Yellin’s attitude, at once matter of fact and lighthearted. He also said he was fascinated by the ways in which Netflix is expanding globally.

“I didn’t realize how much effort they put into the global aspect and having films and series from other countries,” Wilps said. “I really enjoyed that. But I think I’m a subtitle guy. I’m not about the dubs.”

Zachary Ferguson, a staff member and videographer for the University, said Yellin’s speech inspired him to make more of his own content.

“As a filmmaker — and this is true for all filmmakers — you start to have your doubts,” Ferguson said. “In the back of your brain, you say ‘I’m going to keep on going,’ and this was like a fuel to the fire.”

Susan Faludi, a feminist journalist and author, spoke to a large crowd Monday night in the Carnegie Music Hall about her book, “In the Darkroom,” about her father’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor, Hungarian-American immigrant and transgender woman.

Isabelle Glatts | ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR figure who often abused his wife and his orders. My father’s mood turned increasingly dark, explosive and then children.

“He ruled our home as the household physically violent,” Faludi said.

She had a tense relationship with her despot. We feared his wrath and obeyed

father, and after her parents divorced and he moved back to Hungary, Faludi did not hear from him for more than 25 years. But then she received an unexpected email from her father in 2004.

“At the age of 76, and without telling anyone in the family, my father had flown to Thailand and undergone gender reassignment surgery to become a woman,” Faludi said.

At this time, Faludi was already an accomplished feminist writer, and her father invited her to Hungary to write about her new identity. Faludi, however, was skeptical.

“I wondered if this was another act of flight — my father seeking refuge in yet another identity reinvention,” she said.

Faludi recalled her father initially trying to use her new gender identity to “absolve her past crimes, as a man.”

Eventually, though, Stefanie Faludi — Faludi’s father’s new identity — reconciled with her daughter. Faludi said she was able to eventually forgive her father for the abuse during her childhood.

See Faludi on page 8

Yellin, pg. 1

not overwhelming.

“We don’t put the word ‘recommendation’ anywhere on the Netflix experience,” Yellin said.

“People don’t want that shoved in their faces.”

Yellin also weighed in on the debate of releasing entire television show seasons at a time — which Netflix does —versus making viewers wait week after week to see the next episode of a show aired on television. He argued that forcing people to wait for entertainment is old-fashioned and not innovative.

“Typically [with] a TV series, you have to give exposition [before each episode] because people forget things from week to week,” Yellin said. “We trust the consumer to watch as they will.”

Following his presentation, Yellin answered questions onstage from Carl Kulander — a Pitt film professor and co-founder of the Steeltown Entertainment Project — as well as from audience members.

Yellin described the nature of Netflix as both innovative and disrupting. Netflix went head-

Todd Yellin, vice president of product at Netflix, spoke to Pitt students and faculty on the seventh floor of Alumni Hall about what he’s learned from the internationally acclaimed company. Anas Dighriri | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER to-head with Blockbuster in 2007 because both services allowed people to rent DVDs online and shipped them to customers’ houses. Netflix took its work a step further in 2011 with streaming and is now branching out to choose-your-ownadventure-style games, where people can choose

Faludi, pg. 1 Against American Women.” The author also recently published “In The Darkroom,” which memoirs her father’s life and discusses broader themes of gender identity.

Throughout the talk, she likened her father’s lifelong struggle with gender identity as a “search for refuge.” Her father was born as Istvan Friedman to a wealthy Jewish family in Hungary. The Friedmans were separated into different concentration camps during World War II and then reunited when Istavan used a stolen fascist armband to free his parents. The family survived the rest of the war by impersonating Romanian Christian refugees.

Faludi’s father eventually emigrated to Brazil, where he spent many years as a photographer. He then moved to New York, officially changed his name to Steve Faludi, bought a red Ford convertible and started a family.

Faludi described her childhood perception of her father as a patriarchal

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February 27, 2018

2

Opinions

column

from the editorial board

CNN should switch out sensationalism for substance Whether it’s TMZ, Buzzfeed or the National Inquirer, we Americans love celebrity gossip. And in the age of President Donald Trump’s tabloid presidency, it seems only natural that more mainstream news outlets — like CNN — would want in on the game.

That’s why it came as little surprise yesterday when CNN anchor Chris Cuomo spent a significant chunk of his morning show on the channel gossiping about the state of President Trump’s relationship with his wife Melania since a story broke earlier this year about an alleged affair between him and adult film star Stormy Daniels. Along with CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett, Cuomo was discussing possible interpretations of the first lady’s public activities since the scandal broke when he started to laugh out loud.

“We’re looking for clues,” Cuomo said, letting out a snicker. “All I’m saying is, whatever happens with them happens, but we don’t have to hunt for clues.”

Cuomo is probably right to suggest the first couple’s recent public distance reflects private conflict between the two. It’s also hard to blame him for laughing. The story, after all, is overwhelmingly absurd and reflects the political surrealism that’s become an ever-present element of daily life in 2018.

But what’s even more absurd is the fact that the network continues to cover it as if it were real news — and the real journalism its reporters do suffers immensely because of it.

Ever since the president called CNN “fake news” at a January 2017 press conference, the network has boasted the distinction of receiving the brunt of Trump’s

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tirades against American media. Like it or not, that dynamic makes it vital for CNN to maintain a serious, credible image to the general public. And performances like yesterday morning’s on Cuomo’s show aren’t exactly shining beacons of objective reporting.

There is, of course, the possibility of a real story in the Daniels case. Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a story in a February interview with the New York Times that he paid Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket to stay quiet about the affair. He unconvincingly added that the Trump campaign never reimbursed him.

But that has nothing to do with the drama now between Donald and Melania Trump. In other countries, like France, where the French press largely ignored then-President Francois Hollande’s 2014 affair with an actress, Trump’s infidelity likely wouldn’t even register as a story.

It’s not necessary that every story CNN runs has to feature only the hardest-hitting political journalism or only the hottest, most opinionated takes. But it’s undeniably demoralizing to see the network that’s been thrust to the forefront of the debate surrounding freedom of the press in America choosing to give breathless coverage to stories like socialite Kylie Jenner’s Snapchat return after a brief hiatus.

Cuomo’s on-air laugh was a rarity compared to the serious coverage his program typically does, but that itself isn’t the only thing that made the moment seem unprofessional. If CNN wants to avoid the same problem in the future, it needs to refocus its attention — from the fluff issues to the stuff that truly matters.

How Trump uses diction to divide

Abby Katz | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR ness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.”

Immigrants were “customers” in this transWe are no longer a nation of immigrants. In action to whom we owed a service — they were fact, it seems we’d rather not entertain the tired, human beings. poor and huddled masses — or their better-off, That isn’t the case with the new mission more educated peers — at all. statement. In a striking about-face, it reads, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advices said as much in an email sent out to staff ministers the nation’s lawful immigration sysFeb. 22, announcing that it would be changing tem, safeguarding its integrity and promise by its mission statement. efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for According to the old statement, “USCIS immigration benefits while protecting Amerisecures America’s promise as a nation of immicans, securing the homeland, and honoring our grants by providing accurate and useful inforvalues.” mation to our customers, granting immigration See Durwald on page 4 and citizenship benefits, promoting an aware-

Maggie Durwald Columnist

February 27, 2018

3

Durwald, pg. 3 The change has stricken America’s history as a nation of immigrants cleanly from the USCIS’s mission. It now advertises itself as an organization that is proAmerican, at the expense of the immigrants it’s expressly meant to serve. And once again, this shift against a marginalized group of people in the United States is being executed through a seemingly innocuous, yet highly effective, means — language.

Evidently, U.S. immigration services are no longer for immigrants. In fact, in no uncertain language, the new statement turns immigrants into an enemy — one that warrants protecting American citizens from the evils foreigners bring into our homeland, including questionable cultures and morals that would destroy the pristine values of our country.

Given the xenophobic, exclusionary language that’s been lobbed around by politicians at an increasingly frequent rate lately — just days ago at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump brought back his rendition of “The Snake,” a song that he’s repurposed as an anti-immigration anthem — this most recent move by the USCIS is hardly surprising. But it’s still incredibly troubling.

Historically, the purpose of the USCIS was never to protect Americans or secure the homeland. The Immigration and Naturalization Service split into three smaller organizations to control immigration in 2003. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection were created to enforce immigration law and protect Americans from border threats. USCIS was meant to be in charge of assisting people in their quest for citizenship. The new statement describes more accurately the function of ICE and CBP than USCIS. And this isn’t the first time Trump’s Washington, D.C., has used political language as a weapon. In the last weeks of 2017, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would no longer be permitted to use seven terms: “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.” In some cases, replacement words were not suggested.

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Striking these words was an Orwellian show of force that greatly limits the breadth of dialogue we can have on issues such as abortion rights and gender identity. In forbidding these words, the CDC is effectively silenced from providing information on these topics in an informative, beneficial manner — which is the purpose of the organization. It’s hard not to see the move as an attack on the LGBTQ+ community and women’s reproductive rights.

This isn’t the only instance of a linguistic war against women’s health from the Trump administration. A February report from Politico described how the language of the State Department’s annual human rights report has pared down passages on reproductive health, abortion, contraceptives, racial and sexual harassment and family planning. In the past, these issues have been central to the report.

The Trump administration is notorious for carefully filtering the information it releases to the public. But it’s also taken the liberty to pick and choose exactly which public it includes in its chicanery.

Shortly after the president took office, the White House took down its Spanishlanguage website, with the promise that a new one was on its way. More than a year later, we’re still waiting. The Trump administration has left the 41 million American citizens for whom Spanish is a native language without resources, excluding them from the White House’s dealings in a move that feels like purposeful isolation.

Language is power. Any politician knows that and uses it to their advantage. But the ostracizing, belligerent tactics used by the Trump administration are overstepping an important boundary.

The administration is excluding huge demographics from politics, forbidding discussion of race, sexual orientation and reproductive rights and making villains of people who, in spite of everything our president has said against them, still have a vision of the American Dream.

Words are a seemingly innocuous thing, until they’re used systematically against you. Beware the language politics of the Trump administration.

Maggie primarily writes about social issues and economics for The Pitt News.

Write to Maggie at mad338@pitt.edu.

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February 27, 2018

4

Culture

CULTIVATING CURLS AND CONFIDENCE AT THE BEAUTIFUL SUMMIT

Abigail Tesfay For The Pitt News The O’Hara Student Center became a hub of support and encouragement this past weekend as black women gathered in solidarity.

Hosted by Pitt’s offices of Diversity and Inclusion, Students Affairs and Residence Life, the first Beautiful Summit — dedicated entirely to the empowerment and wellness of black women — took place at the O’Hara Student Center Saturday, Feb. 24. The five-hour event featured guest speakers, workshops and networking events for

black women of all backgrounds and ages to come together.

The conference began at about 10 a.m. with a welcome address from the sister of ceremonies Khadijah Adamu, a senior legal studies and communications major, who would regulate the flow of the events for the day and introduce each speaker.

Adamu introduced Linda WilliamsMoore, associate dean and director of Student Life, who welcomed the group of about 50 and shared why she wanted to be a part of the Beautiful Summit — her passion for making black women everywhere feel loved and supported.

Following Williams-Moore, keynote speaker Cheryl Ruffin, manager of affirmative action at Pitt, spoke about the legacy black women come from before attendees were dismissed to their choice of workshop.

The workshops included two options — one titled “The Woman as a Key Player,” focused on the role of women in positions of leadership in society and another called “Moisturizers, Butters, and Oils, Oh My,” meant to inform women about the best ways to

Liam McFadden | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

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take care of natural hair. Participants could also attend “Black Girl in Omm,” a yoga class after the workshops meant to celebrate the beauty of the body and facilitate healing.

Senior chemical engineering major Kayla Williams led the “Woman as a Key Player” workshop, which centered on black women living in a male-dominated world and what that means for both genders. The workshop had a conversational format — the group sat in a circle and contributed to the discussion. Attendees shared their own personal experiences as black women — but more specifically as black women interacting with men.

“I feel like the conversation around women is always around us being a victim,” Williams said. “Even though we are being victimized, I was trying to give us a chance to not talk about ourselves as victims.”

Williams said she hoped to promote wellness among the women who attended her workshop, but also that she felt it was important the event was targeted specifically for black women.

“It was really just to bring black women together in order to network and talk about our experiences, sort of feed off of each other’s energy and just kind of embrace also being a black woman as well,” she said.

Members of the Cultivating Underrepresented Leaders of Success organization on campus led the “Moisturizers, Butters, and Oils, Oh My” workshop, which celebrated natural hair and provided resources for what products might work best.

Ogechukwu Opaigbeogu, the president of CURLS, led a presentation walking attendees through helpful hair tips.

The presentation began by outlining the biological background behind kinky or coily hair and explaining scientifically how it should be cared for — stressing moisturization as a key element. Opaigbeogu then explained some of the best products for moisturizing hair and keep-

February 27, 2018

ing it healthy before going through a slideshow featuring various butters, oils and creams for a variety of hair types and budgets.

Opaigbeogu, a senior neuroscience major with a certificate in Africana Studies, started CURLS to help fellow Pitt students embrace their natural coily hair and to provide them with hair-care resources.

“It was started here at Pitt to give minority students with natural hair — hair that has been defined by the media as ugly and undesirable — a space to embrace themselves and practice self-love,” she said.

Opaigbeogu said she was impressed by the diversity of the attendees at the Beautiful Summit — ranging from undergraduate and graduate students to professionals, all from multiple areas and universities.

“It was so wide-reaching,” she said. “it was the first of its kind focused specifically on celebrating and empowering black women, a group that often gets overlooked.”

Following workshops, PittServes outreach coordinator Shenay Jeffray emceed a networking luncheon. Jeffrey divided the attendees into smaller group discussions while also sharing some of her own story and the reason she felt connected to the Beautiful Summit — a passion for making everyone feel secure in their own skin.

Toward the end of lunch, everyone wrote encouraging messages to one another on canvas boards that had been included in their welcome bags. The conference closed with a few final words from Adamu and Williams-Moore.

According to Adamu, the event stuck out as one of the few — maybe the only — Pitt event in recent years that was entirely organized, taught by and designed for black women.

“It was a true representation of the amount of beauty and success that can be had when black women mobilize against all odds,” she said.

5

review

‘Annihilation’ renovates past sci-fi thrillers Derek Wagner For The Pitt News

Garland. Building on the stunning brilliance and intellectual depth of “Ex Machina” (2014), here Garland engraves his signature style with a refinement quite rare for someone who has only directed one film prior.

Chief among Garland’s trademarks is the visual wonder of the film — the gorgeous special effects and cinematography in “Annihilation” bathe the viewer in luminescent color and sleek reflections. Aided by a simple yet powerful score, Annihilation uses this intense sound in contrast with the deliberate confusion of perception.

When comparing the meticulous and immersive environment of “2001” to that of “Annihilation,” one cannot help but imagine that they are getting a glimpse at what the famed director would have done if he had access to the technology of the present.

The similarities between Garland and Kubrick show promise but also reveal flaws in “Annihilation” where the film deviates

from its course toward brilliance. Among heavy intellectual concepts and jaw-dropping effects, it’s easy to miss the weaknesses of the narrative — but the plot of “Annihilation” has fundamental flaws that cannot be fully obscured by even the dense forest of the Shimmer.

The glory of “2001” is rooted in the purposefulness of each shot. Nothing in the film is shown to simply thrill or make a good trailer — rather, as film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “This is the work of an artist so sublimely confident that he doesn’t include a single shot simply to keep our attention.”

“Annihilation” unfortunately bogs down the narrative with more basic plot elements.

The mutated beasts of the Shimmer, seen extensively in the trailers, add little to the development of the narrative. Introspection is sacrificed for external tension, and with it go countless opportunities to explore the characters within the film.

See Annihilation on page 8

The Pitt news crossword 2/27/18

As my friend and I walked out of the theater after seeing Director Alex Garland’s new film “Annihilation” — both trying to wrap our heads around what we had just witnessed — my friend said, “I feel like this is how audiences felt after seeing ‘2001’ in theaters for the first time.”

This sentiment was spot on, as “Annihilation” is a complex, intellectually challenging film that looks to reshape the science fiction genre. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 novel of the same name, “Annihilation” is centered on a team of five scientists tasked with entering “the Shimmer,” a mysterious bubble-like structure that has been slowly engulfing an area along the shoreline of a national park. The military has already attempted numerous expeditions, with seemingly no survivors.

Enter Lena, played by Natalie Portman, a biologist whose husband, played by Os-

car Isaac, has disappeared on an expedition into the Shimmer, only to mysteriously appear back home a year later. Motivated to find the cause of her husband’s disappearance and hopefully save his life from an unknown illness that has befallen him, Lena volunteers to join the team of women who are about to head into the Shimmer.

The nature of the Shimmer draws a striking comparison to the Monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey” — Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece about a space crew investigating an extraterrestrial object. In “2001,” the presence of the Monolith indicates a drastic leap in human evolution, as seen early in the film, where a group of apes encounters a Monolith and subsequently learns to use tools. In “Annihilation,” the Shimmer also creates great change, as the whole area enclosed by the Shimmer is filled with mutated, distorted organisms.

The film as a whole exudes a Kubricklike perfectionism, clearly flowing from

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February 27, 2018

6

Sports

Wheel City: Pitt groups team up to host inaugural 3-on-3 Adaptive Sports tournament

Members of Pitt’s Department of Campus Recreation went up against members of the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers during the inaugural 3-vs-3 Wheelchair Basketball Tournament hosted by the two organizations in Trees Hall Saturday afternoon. Courtesy of Cheyenne Knight

David Leftwich Senior Staff Writer The Chair Bears claimed the title in Pitt’s inaugural 3-vs-3 Wheelchair Basketball Tournament last Saturday. The tournament featured 14 teams — a significant outcome for a school that had no program for adaptive sports just two years ago.

“We’re hoping to use this as an outreach effort and get people more aware of wheelchair basketball,” Chris Mielo, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers basketball team, said. “Also, we’re hoping to use it as a yearly fundraiser for not only the wheelchair basketball team here in Pittsburgh but also Students for Disability Advocacy.”

Pitt’s Department of Campus Recreation partnered with the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers — an adaptive sports organization that features both a rugby and basketball team in Pittsburgh — to host the double-elimination tournament event at Trees Hall over the weekend. The organizations gathered the teams to compete for the

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grand prize of tickets to the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in March.

The tournament is just the start of what SDA and Pitt Recreation plans to do with adaptive sports. Beyond the weekly practices at Bellefield Hall, the SDA has been raising money through grants and donations to purchase its own wheelchairs and eventually start a competitive adaptive basketball team at Pitt.

“We’ve raised about $17,000 for eight chairs, and we are still fundraising for two more so we can have two full teams play,” Brandon Daveler, a graduate student and the president of the SDA, said.

The Steelwheelers still lend a hand to Pitt Thursday nights, and the University has even had a few games for the Steelwheelers in Oakland.

“We’ve hosted Steelwheeler games up here a couple times, but this is the first tournament we wanted to do to involve the students,” Whitney Jones, assistant director of Campus Fitness, said.

The 14 teams that played in the 3-vs-3 wheelchair basketball tournament competed for the grand prize of tickets to the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in March.

Courtesy of Cheyenne Knight The tournament Saturday not only helped adaptive sports gain more exposure on campus, but donations were given to the Steelwheelers to help them maintain their wheelchairs.

“We’re hoping that with any donations that we get, they can purchase new chairs and we can start this up into our intramural program within campus recreation,” Jones said. “That’s our end goal, hopefully.”

The University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers first connected in spring 2016 as Pitt worked to create an adaptive sports program.

Daveler gained Campus Recreation’s support to begin weekly wheelchair basketball practices in Bellefield Hall in September 2016, but he still needed to find wheelchairs for students to use.

Without the funds to purchase these custom wheelchairs, which can cost up to $2,000 each, Daveler reached out to the Steelwheelers for support.

“Initially, we didn’t have any equipment, and

February 27, 2018

they allowed us to borrow some of their chairs during the practice we have every Thursday,” Daveler said.

In addition to lending wheelchairs, the Steelwheelers often attended weekly practices and provided coaching and mentorship to students looking to learn about adaptive sports.

The Steelwheelers challenged a few students from the crowd to a pickup wheelchair basketball game to raise awareness for the upcoming tournament during halftime at a recent Pitt men’s basketball game. Among the students selected from the crowd to play were first-year students Sam McCarren, Steve Kirk and Campbell Niehaus.

“We got destroyed the first time we played [the Steelwheelers], absolutely demolished,” McCaren said. “They make it look so simple with all of the little mechanics they are doing, but when you are actually in the wheelchair, you realize that it’s much more difficult.”

See Tournament on page 8

7

Tournament, pg. 7

Annihilation, pg. 6

Faludi, pg. 2

While these students may have been “destroyed” in front of thousands of fans, this experience sparked their interest. They had played basketball for years, but wheelchair basketball was a new way to enjoy the sport.

“It’s definitely different, especially because I’m 6’7.” So going all the way down, it’s a little challenging, but it’s a lot of fun,” McCaren said.

These three have since attended the weekly open gyms Thursdays, trying to learn to play the sport.

“At the open gyms, Mielo was kind of our coach and mentor,” McCaren said. “He taught us how to set picks and everything — do all of the basics.”

Campus Recreation and the Steelwheelers tried to replicate the experience of these three for many other students around Pitt at Saturday’s tournament.

While the first installment of this tournament was a success, this is just the beginning of what Pitt and the Steelwheelers hope will be a hallmark event on campus for years to come.

“It’s good for the first year, and we’re hoping for even bigger turnout next year,” Jones said.

The film’s dialogue is surprisingly scarce.

While the awesome presence of the Shimmer can explain much of the melodramatic silence early on, the main characters are all supposed to be scientists — analytic minds who would make for great, if technically unattainable, dialogue. Instead, pretentious brevity limits the development of the other characters.

While poor character development and an anemic script would sour most other films, “Annihilation” weathers these issues through the sheer ambition of Garland.

By tackling concepts like creation, evolution and the nature of both death and life, it would be libelous to say that Garland settles for easy filmmaking. Through his rigorous intellectual commitment and drive to push past even the most revered of conventions, Garland shows the root of his similarity to Stanley Kubrick, one that is not based on stylistic plagiarism or shallow imitation.

Despite his directorial growing pains, “Annihilation” makes one thing clear — Garland understands that great science fiction is not rooted in how deep into space mankind can go, but how much mankind still has to learn about its own depths.

“I came to see how she and I were in many ways on a similar life path, each struggling to free ourselves from the constraints of gender,” Faludi said, referring to her own involvement with the feminist movement.

Faludi also discussed how she conceptualized her father’s change in identity with her own knowledge of the gender spectrum and feminist theory.

“In many ways, what Stefanie was doing was using the cuddle of hyperfemininity to break out of the case of hypermasculinity that Steven had been trapped in — an armor that had come close to suffocating my father,” Faludi said.

Louanne Baily, a community member who has read Faludi’s books, said she enjoyed “how [Faludi] broadened the definition of refugee and refuge and identified many things that refuge is not.”

Francie Robb, a former professor at Waynesburg University, also thought Faludi’s lecture was captivating and thought-provoking. She identified with Faludi’s themes of masculinity because

of her own experiences.

“As a mother of men, [I am] acutely aware of how society forces as many limitations on men as it does on women,” Robb said.

Faludi confirmed that the search for refuge that her father experienced in her gender identity extends to more groups of people today than ever.

“Identity can be liberation — people standing up for who they are, whether that is an oppressed minority, an unacknowledged social caste or a stigmatized sexual identity,” she said. “It is no accident that the age of the refugee coincides with gender border crossing.”

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Kim Rooney | Assistant Copy Chief

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Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News.

Any letter in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to let-

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editors, may be referred to the Community Relations Committee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

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Business Manager JILL BALDAUF advertising@pittnews.com

Sales Manager MATTHEW HOUCK

Marketing Manager KATIE BOZZO

Production Manager MAYA PUSKARIC

Copy Staff Amanda Sobczak Alexa Marzina Kelsey Hunter Aleeza Furman Brian Murray

Account Executives

Mia DiFelice Kelsey Hunter Bridget Duffy Pooja Krishnan Adrea Michael

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Adrinna Moyer

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I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet • NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER

For Rent North Oakland 3764 Bigelow Blvd, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, newly renovated. Equipped kitchen, balcony, washer and dryer provided. Single garage.

Alarm system. Central air-conditioning. $1300+. Available August 2018. Call 412-600-6933.

Awesome and affordable studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments close to campus- renting for Summer 2018 move in. Find your perfect home- call for more info and a tour!

412-441-1400 Two huge apartments close to universities.

Five and four bedrooms. Laundry and dishwasher. Great, large deck. $1,900/

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Employment • CHILDCARE • FOOD SERVICES • UNIVERSITY • INTERNSHIPS • RESEARCH • VOLUNTEERING • OTHER

mo in Panther Hollow.

Contact gbazzi7@ gmail.com

South Oakland 3 & 4 Bedroom Apartments on Semple, Bates, Atwood & Juliet. August availability. $1425-$2600.

Call John CR Kelly Reality. 412-683-7300 Visit: www.jcrkelly. com 3 Bedroom & 1.5 Bath House for rent. 2 car garage. Full house air conditioning, dish washer, self-cleaning oven, full basement.

Steps from campus shuttle. Back deck over garage with view. $1650+ utilities.

August 2018. Call 412-736-8095.

4 BR HOME - SEMPLE STREET, LOCATED NEAR LOUISA. EQUIPPED KITCHEN, FULL BASEMENT. NEW

Classifieds

For sale

• AUTO • BIKES • BOOKS • MERCHANDISE • FURNITURE • REAL ESTATE • PETS

services

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

CENTRAL AIR ADDED. RENTING FOR AUGUST 2018.

(412) 343-4289 or 412-330-9498.

Apartment/house for rent. Available immediately. Newly remodeled 2, 3 or 7 BR, utilities included, laundry available.

37 Welsford St. 412-337-5736 or email hfarah1964@ yahoo.com Apartments for rent.

2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments available. Some available on Dawson street, Atwood street, and Mckee Place. Newly remodeled. Some have laundry on site.

Minutes from the University. For more info please call Mike at 412-849-8694 Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unrelated people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance

notices

• ADOPTION • EVENTS • LOST AND FOUND • STUDENT GROUPS • WANTED • OTHER

with codes. Call City’s Permits, Licensing & Inspections.

412-255-2175.

FOR RENT AUGUST 1, 2018: Remodeled, spacious 3BR, 1.5BA home near Schenley Park. $1725/mo + utilities. Central air, laundry, dishwasher, patio. Parking spot available. Pitt shuttle & bus across street.

Panther Properties of PA, showing: pantherproperties2@ gmail.com, photos: panther-life.com/ available M.J. Kelly Realty.

Studio, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Apartments, Duplexes and Houses.

N. & S. Oakland from $750-$2500. mjkellyrealty@gmail. com. 412-271-5550. www.mjkellyrealty. com STUDENT HOUSING. Updated 4, 5 & 6 Bedroom Houses w/ multiple baths. Dishwasher, laundry, some w/ air conditioning

R A T E S

Insertions

1X

2X

3X

4X

5X

6X

Add.

1-15 Words

$6.30

$11.90

$17.30

$22.00

$27.00

$30.20

+ $5.00

16-30 Words

$7.50

$14.20

$20.00

$25.00

$29.10

$32.30

+ $5.40

(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline:

Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978

and/or parking.

August availability.

412-445-6117.

Studio & 1 Bedrooms Available Fall 2018. Heat included.

412-261-4620.

Ward & S. Bouquet Streets - Studio, 1, 2 & 3BR apartments. Free parking.

Move in May 1 or Aug. 1, 2018. Call 412-361-2695

Shadyside A variety of beautiful studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartment homes- available Summer 2018. Features may include granite, hardwood, parking, and laundry.

Close to restaurants and shopping. Call today! 412-441-1400

Squirrel Hill Stunning 2, 3 and 5 bedroom duplexes on tree lined residential streets. Available Summer 2018. Features may include

February 27, 2018

hardwood, granite, porch, A/C, parking, laundry. Near buses, shopping and restaurants! 412-441-1400

person 700 Lebanon Road, West Mifflin or email guardianangelambulance@msn. com. 412-462-1400

The best studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in town- for the best prices! Close to buses, shopping and great restaurants.

Renting for Summer 2018 move in. Call today! 412-441-1400

Join KEYS Service Corps, AmeriCorps.

Mentor, tutor, and inspire Pittsburgh area youth. Summer and fall positions with bi-weekly stipend and education award. Full and part-time. Possible internship credit.

Call 412-350-2739. www.keysservicecorps.org

Employment Employment Other

Perfect job for current sophomores & juniors, graduating seniors set to enter grad school, returning grad

Comfort Keepers, a Post-Gazette Top Workplace, is seeking caring individuals.

Caregivers work alongside seniors to provide companionship, light housekeeping, personal care services. Flexible hours available. If interested call 412-363-5500

OFFICE INTERN

Guardian Angel Ambulance is actively seeking EMTs and Medics. Immediate openings. Flexible schedules. Apply in

action-central office.

Shadyside Management Company seeks person w/min 2 yrs. college, for upcoming spring semester to interview & process rental applicants, do internet postings & help staff our Part-time or full time. AVAILABLE NOW; full time over summer. $13/hour.

students, and first-year law students!

Mozart Management 412-682-7003 thane@ mozartrents.com Seasonal Marketing Assistant Shadyside property management firm established in 1960 needs two Seasonal Marketing Assistants to work with Excel, Word and the internet from approximately NOW to August; four days/week from 9am-6pm. Saturday and/or Sunday hours a must; some flexibility in days and hours will be considered; most hours will be solitary on the computer with no phone work; 40 words per minute and strong computer skills required; no

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experience needed & we will train you at our Shadyside office; free parking. $13/hour plus generous season end bonus.

Mozart Management 412-682-7003. thane@mozartrents. com

Services Health Medical and Heart Care, Students Welcome, 155 N. Craig Street, Dean Kross, MD, 412-687-7666

Parking GARAGE PARKING available in the heart of Oakland. Protect your car while parked.

Only $80/month! Call 412-692-1770.

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