3-14-18

The Pi News The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | March 14, 2018 | Volume 108 | Issue 126

SGB calls 18th District election too close for medical to call, Lamb declares victory amnesty extension Madeline Gavatorta Staff Writer Student Government Board returned from spring break and unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night urging the Pennsylvania state government to extend medical amnesty — a pardon on criminal charges for medical reasons — in the case of alcohol incidents to the underage person experiencing the crisis.

“We want to reduce barriers that students may see in getting help in an alcohol emergency, and I think being afraid of some sort of legal charge is definitely a large barrier for calling for help. So anything we can do that makes it easier for people to call for help and stay safe we fully support,” SGB President Max Kneis said.

Medical amnesty, as of right now, covers an individual calling emergency resources for an underage consumer of alcohol who is at risk for death. Stated in the resolution, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware have extended their medical amnesty to the underage individual who is having the crisis.

Kneis said a PDF copy of the resolution would be sent to every representative in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. According to the resolution, Cornell University saw an increase in on-campus calls for alcohol emergencies after enacting a full medical amnesty policy.

Lehigh University reached out to SGB in November about the idea and a letter in support to change the law was sent out and signed in January. Penn State and Temple University also signed. SGB will lobby for the change during Pitt Day in Harrisburg March 20.

“I think I would bring up the issue, talk about why it’s important to us and ask for their perspective to see where they stand on the issue, if they’ve ever considered the issue,” Kneis said. “And just See SGB on page 4

Democrat Conor Lamb gives a victory speech at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday in Canonsburg, though no outlet had called the race yet. John Hamilton | MANAGING EDITOR

John Hamilton and Christian Snyder The Pitt News Staff Voters in Pennsylvania’s 18th District cast their ballots Tuesday for Conor Lamb or Rick Saccone, but election workers couldn’t count absentee ballots fast enough to declare a winner by midnight.

But at Lamb’s election party, the Democrat — who held a lead, though no major outlet called the election — gave a victory speech to a crowd of supporters at 12:45 a.m., after being introduced as “Congressman-elect Conor Lamb.”

“It took a little longer than we thought, but we did it,” he said, confident in his lead, despite thousands of absentee ballots being uncounted.

Lamb held a 579-vote lead Wednesday at 1 a.m., but absentee ballots remained uncounted in Washington County. The Republican Saccone was waiting for the absentee votes to come in from the county which favored him in live voting. Experts said it seems unlikely — but possible — that he could overcome Lamb’s lead.

The district — which includes parts of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland and Greene counties — is a heavy Republican district that favored President Donald Trump in 2016 by 20 points.

Lamb, a 33-year-old running as a conservative Democrat, and Saccone, a 60-year-old Republican who ran a campaign embracing the president’s agenda, are fighting for a U.S. House seat vacated after Tim Murphy re-

signed in October.

In his speech, Lamb thanked labor unions, a group that gave major support to the candidate.

“Side by side with us, each step of the way, we’re the men and women of organized labor,” he said to the loudest cheer of his speech. “Organized labor built Pennsylvania.”

That Lamb even ran a competitive race was an achievement according to many of his supporters, who haven’t been represented by a Democrat since 2003. But the election party in Canonsburg was tense around midnight, with supporters hoping Lamb could hang onto his narrow lead.

“I’m biting my nails,” said Emilio Abate, 67, who drove to the party from Washington, See Election on page 3

News

International students stay stateside for spring break

ing to the 2016-2017 Open Doors Report by the Institute of International Education, STEM majors are the most popular Pitt’s Student Government Board anfields of study with international students. nounced last summer that the UniverLooking to go into health care, Qin was sity’s winter break would be extended by attracted to Pitt’s prestigious medical a full week. The extension was applauded school. by most students — but for Pitt’s inter“It [was] really my parent’s decision,” national student population that doesn’t Qin said. “Before, I was thinking about gogo home, this may have meant a longer ing to medical school, and medical school time away from family and friends both at home and abroad.

According to Pitt’s Office of Institutional Research, there are 3,129 international students from 103 countries at Pitt’s main campus, who make up 10.9 percent of the total student population. For many of these students, traveling home could take more than a day, and airfare could cost hundreds of dollars. This combination of so little time off at such a high cost often discourages international students from traveling home.

For students like Qin Xiao , the trip here at Pitt is really, really good.” home is more than 20 hours. Qin, a junior Other international students may come biological science major, said he only goes to Pitt as part of international exchange home to Beijing during summer breaks, programs. Boden attended University of since spring and winter breaks are “too Exeter in Exeter, England, for two years short” for him to travel. and is spending her last year abroad at “I go to Chicago, or somewhere that Pitt. In choosing where to study abroad, way to transfer, but the total journey is goshe said Pittsburgh seemed like “quite a ing to be like 20 [hours],” Qin said. diverse city.”

Finding a flight can also impede a stu“There are probably eight choices, and dent’s travels. For 20-year-old literature this is the one that appealed to me the major Nicole Boden, finding a direct flight most,” Boden said. “Exeter is small. It’s from Pittsburgh to Birmingham, England, got everything you need, but it’s tiny. And is unlikely, but when she does find one, here, I just feel like there’s more going on.” a round-trip flight can cost upwards of Marion Hastings, 20, is a French in$700. She doesn’t go home much since ternational major studying international traveling is often expensive and draining. policy. Like Boden, she is spending her “It’s like eight hours if you do it in one third and final year abroad. Originally go. But it’s so exhausting for me,” Boden from Lyon, France, she attended the Paris said. “Once I get to the U.K., I then have Institute of Political Studies for two years. to travel home for a few hours and, by that Hastings, who went home for four days point, I’m exhausted.” over winter break, said going home for Some international students are willing such a short period of time is the “worst to overlook these challenges for the sake thing you can do” because it takes three of a quality higher education. Accordto four days to recover from jet lag — the

Hannah Schneider Staff Writer

same amount of time she was home.

“When I came back in the U.S., I had to adapt to the American hour again,” Hastings said. “If I had been in France for two or three days, I would have not even tried to go back on the French hour. But for four or five days, I tried. So I finally got over it, then I had to adapt again to the jet lag of the U.S.” If they do go home, many international

“

I Skype my family and friends all the time, so I don’t really feel like I’m away from them.

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Eleanor Mackintosh students are unable to see their friends and family because of conflicting vacation schedules. Eleanor Mackintosh, 20, is also a literature major from University of Exeter. Originally from London, Mackintosh said Pitt’s break schedules conflict with her friends’ and family’s vacations.

“It doesn’t map onto any of our holidays back home, so nobody else would be on break,” Mackintosh said. “My family would still either be at work or school, and so would all my friends.”

In China, breaks at universities are planned according to the Chinese New Year, which can be offset from Western calendars by one to two months. Qin said this is the case with many of his friends in China.

“My friends in China, they don’t really have winter break, or their winter break is delayed because we have Chinese New Year,” Qin said. “The break times are different. So if I go back to China, I only see my parents, not really my friends, because they’re still in university.”

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Technology makes it easier for students to stay in touch with their relatives when they’re unable to travel home. For Qin, video-chat apps like FaceTime make it easy for him to connect with his loved ones.

“I do have strong connection with my parents, but I don’t really get homesick ... because of FaceTime ... and you have messages,” Qin said.

Mackintosh is used to being away from her family since Exeter is still far from her home. She said homesickness in America isn’t much different from homesickness at Exeter, especially since she regularly video-chats her family.

“Usually I kind of don’t notice [homesickness]. Just in everyday life, you kind of don’t think about it,” Mackintosh said. “I Skype my family and friends all the time, so I don’t really feel like I’m away from them.”

Hastings said technology allows her to contact her family every few days. She tends to feel homesick when she experiences more difficult times. However, she tries to focus on her studies and traveling to distract her from homesickness.

“There have been some times where it was harder, like at the very beginning of the year it was ... hard being far away. But then it was fine,” Hastings said. “I don’t want to be homesick and missing my family when I should just be enjoying myself.”

Boden, Mackintosh and Hastings all decided to explore the United States over spring break because a week wasn’t enough time to go home. Boden and Mackintosh traveled to New Orleans.

Hastings traveled to cities along the western United States, including Denver, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Qin decided to stay on campus, like he did over winter break.

“Two to three weeks is too short, so I just stay here,” Qin said. “Just hung out with my friends who [were] staying ... it’s not really a big deal.”

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Election, pg. 1 D.C. A Washington County native and former union organizer, Abate supported Lamb for his strong labor stance.

Saccone’s supporters were just as anxious — and although some said they were ready to get some sleep, Mike McMullen, a political organizer and former Trump delegate for the 2016 election, wasn’t.

“I’ll definitely be up all night,” he said.

Unlike Lamb, Saccone addressed the crowd at his election party at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, telling supporters to head home and get some rest to prepare for the big days ahead.

“We’re gonna be working late into the night,” Saccone said. “We’re gonna keep fighting.”

Back at Lamb’s camp, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald had the opposite message for the crowd, urging them to stick around for the absentee ballots to come in.

“Still a little bit more fun to have,” Fitzgerald said.

Before the late-night drama, Lamb supporter Giulio Magrini watched the early results come in with his wife, Barbara. They came to the party because they “love and support Conor” and wanted to see the district flip to a Democrat. “[Lamb would] finally bring righteous representation to this district,” the 69-yearold from Scott Township said. “The district deserves it.”

The race was widely billed as a referendum on Trump and a race that would predict the results of the midterm elections in November. But many supporters, like Saccone voter Steve Barclay, cited the candidates’ ability to represent their interests as the deciding factor.

“I personally think he has what it takes to lead this part of the country,” Barclay, 60,

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said.

Douglas Peer, a 22-year-old Pitt alum, also picked his candidate based on his ability to represent the district. Peer canvassed for Lamb for the past month, urging his fellow voters to turn out for the Democrat who opposed gun control and party leader Nancy Pelosi.

“He’s the perfect kind of Democrat we need to run this district,” he said. “He’s willing to be an independent voice.”

As it got late and the results were close, Peer said he was nervous, but noted Lamb’s performance is still impressive in the conservative district.

Though some voters focused on local issues, Trump was hard to avoid for many others. After voting in Mt. Lebanon, Joel Sansone, 60, said a Lamb victory would “send a message” to the rest of the country and the president.

Also voting in Mt. Lebanon, Mary Roman, 48, said it’d be “nice to see Trump not get what he wants.” The Lamb supporter liked Lamb’s moderate stance, calling him a “reasonable fellow.”

“I like the fact that he is personally prolife,” she said. “But I wish he was stronger on gun control.”

Allegheny County election officials received some reports of citizens showing up to their polling places to vote, only to be told they didn’t live in the 18th District. Michelle Abbott, 30, lives in downtown Pittsburgh, outside the district, but she wasn’t one of those unaware voters. She still supported Lamb, citing his willingness to compromise and moderate stance, even though her beliefs are further left.

At midnight, she was debating whether to stick around to watch CNN announce the final absentee results.

“I should try to do the math on pencil and paper before I go to bed,” she said.

Carol Ferguson (left) and Dale Cable (right), both lifelong Mt. Lebanon residents, have volunteered for campaigns for much of their life — Ferguson for Republicans and Cable for Democrats. John Hamilton | MANAGING EDITOR

March 14, 2018

Saccone supporters await results of the close race Tuesday night at Saccone’s viewing party.

Christian Snyder | Multimedia Editor

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SGB, pg. 1 make it clear to them why this is such an important bill for them to consider.”

SGB also discussed the upcoming Women’s Empowerment Week, which will take place from March 26-30. Former board member Sydney Harper founded the program last year and passed it on to current board member Ciara Barry, who expressed interest in promoting female empowerment.

The event information will be available Wednesday on SGB’s website. One event happening March 26 will highlight women from different countries who will talk about what other women experience internationally regarding what it’s like to be a woman in another country.

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Another event will feature Justin Baldoni, a 2017 TEDWomen speaker who wants to end toxic masculinity.

“Women are important because they contribute to society and have incredible contributions that, I feel like are often overlooked or sometimes prohibited, for different reasons,” Barry said.

After WE week ends, board member Ian Callahan’s TEDx Conference — a localized version of TED Talks — will take place March 31.

Speakers will give approximately two-hour long talks twice — once at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. — with the event expected to conclude at 3 p.m.

“It will be a great opportunity for people to expand their knowledge and understanding of things that are going on within the community.

Whether it is research or activism, it will be a

great platform for people to get a better understanding,” Callahan said.

Former SGB Vice President and Chief of Cabinet Rohit Anand oversaw last year’s event, which followed the theme of “Reach.” This year’s event is centered on the theme of “Rethink.”

“The more informed you are about anything the better off you are going to be in life. And especially when it’s something local, I find that things that are more local have more personal meaning to an individual,” Callahan said.

Once the TEDx Conference concludes, Executive Vice President Zuri Kent-Smith’s Human Rights Conference will begin April 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Kurtzman Room in the William Pitt Union. This year’s conference is immigration themed and is a signature event for SGB’s Diver-

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sity and Inclusion Committee.

“There are probably a lot of students out there that want to find a way to get involved and want to know the best way to get involved,” KentSmith said. “I think that this is gonna be a great way for them to figure out the basics, like the next steps, and to get informed.”

Community and Governmental Relations Chair Jessa Chong and Elections Chair Anastasia Bodea Crisan were absent, unexcused.

Allocations: American Institute of Chemical Engineers requested $187.56 for general travel. The board approved in full.

Pitt Ping Pong Club requested $2,135 for a competition expense. The board approved $1,977 and denied $158.

Best Buddies requested $1,694.40 for their Spread the Word to End the R-Word Event for purchases and honorarium. The board approved $200 and denied $1,494.40.

Panther Hurling Club requested $2,000 for their 2018 NCGAA National Hurling Championship for lodging for 16 people. The board approved in full.

Panther Relations Student PR Firm requested $140 for a program request. The board denied in full.

Panthers for Animal Welfare requested $399.72 for a program request. The board approved in full.

Reformed University Fellowship requested $1,733.20 for their 2018 Summer Conference for registration and ground transportation for four people. The board approved in full.

Information Security Club requested $541.65 for a competition request. The board approved in full.

Club Cross Country requested $506.04 for a competition request. The board approved in full.

The Pittiful News requested $1,022 for a purchase, rental and service. The board approved $511 and denied $511.

The Pitt Pulse requested $683.18 for a purchase, rental and service. The board approved in full.

Pitt Club Field Hockey requested $719.12 for a competition request. The board approved $693.52 and denied $25.60.

Pittsburgh Fencing Association requested $1,395.96 for their USACFC Nationals for ground transportation and lodging for 20 people.

The board approved $1,385.96 and denied $10.

Pitt Ballroom Club requested $985 for a competition expense. The board approved in full.

American Sign Language Club requested $3,085 for general travel. The board approved in full.

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Opinions

satire

from the editorial board

DeVos’ poor school choices affect PA public school success Betsy DeVos said it herself — “We should be funding and investing in students.”

A student focus is certainly necessary, and the statement would have been fine on its own had she not followed it up with the ear-twinging modifier, “not in schools, school buildings, not in institutions, not in systems.”

DeVos’ willingness to invest in students but not the institutions where they learn is a contradiction that raises serious concern.

She plainly displayed her apathy and lack of knowledge on school choice — which is when a state uses tax dollars to fund students’ enrollment in a private school — and the public schools in her home state of Michigan during a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday.

It’s not hard to criticize the choice of DeVos for secretary of education, as she never attended public school and sent all her children to private school as well. And her choices don’t help Pennsylvania’s education system, which is grappling with their own push to promote school choice.

School boards across the state have voiced their opposition to a proposed senate bill in favor of school choice, which would affect schools in the lowest-performing 15 percent of Pennsylvania districts according to Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test scores.

Students in these districts would take part in Education Savings Accounts, a name coined and proposed by Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin. They would receive public funds — the exact amount the state would normally spend per pupil in a public school — to enroll in private school.

Taking money away from these schools is the last thing Pennsylvania legislatures should be doing. DeVos’ answer to a strug-

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gling district may be to simply leave them behind and search for better education in a private school, but clearly, there’s another way to fix this.

Look no further than Chicago, where the graduation rate has risen to 77.5 percent from 56.9 percent in 2011, nearly quadrupling the national average, and the number of public school students attending college after graduation rose 13 percent from 2006 to 2015.

Some of the changes in the Chicago public school system occured at the root, like extending kindergarten to a full day, and emphasize the importance in strong leadership by investing in devoted, reliable and compassionate principals.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of changes that contributed to a shift in educational culture, but there’s simply no way around it — changes and investments like these are impossible without adequate funds.

To ensure more schools don’t fall into an educational pitfall, and to rescue the ones that are already there, we must evaluate how Pennsylvania public schools are using tax dollars. Since local taxes fund local schools, higher poverty areas with less local business and economic prosperity consistently collect less revenue for schools than those with a lower poverty rate.

It’s not a complex — if traditionally low-income districts have less funding to work with, students in those districts won’t experience the same quality of education as others. The answer isn’t to pass bills that pay students to leave, but rather pass bills that evenly distribute funding across public schools.

But of course, it can be hard to see value in the public school system without taking a moment to walk the halls.

It’s Pi Day, again. And no one cares, again — except some.

Abby Katz | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Neena Hagen Columnist Growing up, every child has their favorite holiday.

Maybe it’s Halloween — dressing up in frightening costumes, parading around the neighborhood to collect bitesized goodies from generous neighbors.

For many more, it’s Christmas, a day characterized by torn-apart, decorated wrapping paper and exciting gifts from Santa.

But some children just don’t care for the ordinary drollery of family time or gift-giving. Some children are just different.

To these kids, all this “festive” celebration pales in comparison to another

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holiday that often flies under the radar.

So unless there’s a wrapped integralshaped cookie-cutter sitting under the Christmas tree, they might spend the day hunched over a wrinkled piece of paper scribbled with hundreds of digits, preparing for a holiday a few short months away.

That’s right, these children are giving up their livelihoods to prepare for Pi Day — a holiday no one outside Mathnerdia seems to care about.

But why normal children aren’t interested in a holiday that includes obsessive number-crunching and sickening levels of pie consumption remains a mystery.

Pi Day boasts enough fun activities and See Hagen on page 6

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Hagen, pg. 5 rich tradition to easily rival Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One of those traditions in particular stands alone as every math enthusiasts’ favorite — the infamous pi memorization contest.

Because pi is an irrational value — meaning its digits are infinite and never repeat — no one can possibly memorize every digit. But hopefully the winner can recite more than the first three — three, one and four — as doing so would only require knowing today’s date.

Schools remain the primary hotspots for these competitions. Teachers desperately try to rouse their students’ competitive spirits, with the fleeting hope that this magical number might attract more children to mathematics.

As the day of competition grows nearer, the tension between these students grows stronger — the promise of schoolwide acclaim for the winner is an opportunity too tantalizing to pass up.

And when Pi Day finally arrives, other students and teachers see them shuf-

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fling nervously throughout the hallways, mouthing digits to themselves in a rhythmic pattern.

A hushed suspense falls over the class as the first competitor steps up to recite the digits they’ve poured their soul into memorizing.

At some schools, the winner may memorize as few as forty. At Harvard, that number reaches 224. And at VIT University in Vellore, India, one student rattled off as many as 70,000.

Whatever the number, the outcome is always the same. The winner receives pitiful applause from classmates, their great accomplishment sadly forgotten only seconds later.

Yet the applause merely signifies appreciation for wasting class time — the claps are mostly empty, just like the child’s dreams of one day fitting in with their peers.

“All I got was a mini pumpkin pie, after 300 hours spent memorizing pi,” one winner said. “And my teacher went right back to our algebra lesson 30 seconds later.”

“My classmates just clapped politely

and unenthusiastically,” another middle-schooler said. “It’s almost like they were freaked out by my obsession with memorizing digits, and didn’t appreciate my mad skills at all.”

And they’re completely right — mathematical prowess seemingly has no place in pop culture. Math geeks are not celebrated celebrities. We don’t give them Kardashian-like reality television shows.

Journalists don’t publish columns about them in popular newspapers.

“Loser!” a jock will sneer in the winner’s general direction — an insult representing torment from all of society.

At least on the outside, they manage to brush it off — these kinds of insults are common. But on the inside, these kids are torn apart — and deeply jealous that they couldn’t have the gift of being intellectually average.

But as difficult as life is for math nerds in school, it becomes infinitely more challenging in adulthood. As every business magazine tells us these days, a math degree is practical — too practical.

At all the corporations they will later head, grown-up math nerds will stroll

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through the halls and receive jeers and taunts from old classmates, now job candidates whom they refused to hire. Being at the financial pinnacle of society is just so emotionally draining.

Despite seemingly endless bullying, they still have the same unwavering commitment to Pi Day that they always did. But instead of spending the day in numbers-induced hypertension at the school competition, these pi lovers sit alone in a corner of their office, shovelling fistfulls of pie into their mouths and sobbing through their fourth recitation session of the day.

Even as they pocket their six-figure salary on their way home, they stare off into space wistfully, hoping that one day, after decades of neglect, society might actually appreciate them.

And when that day comes, Pi Day may finally get the recognition it deserves — from all walks of life, not just math nerds.

Neena primarily writes about politics and local issues for The Pitt News. Write to Neena at nnh7@pitt.edu.

6

Sports

column

WHEN IT COMES TO STALLINGS’ FIRING, THE BLAME IS SHARED Brandon Glass Staff Writer In a time of uncertainty for Pitt basketball, one thing is for sure — former head coach Kevin Stallings’ tenure will go down in Panther history as an unmitigated disaster.

In two years, the widely criticized coach managed to win just four conference games, go winless in the ACC during the 2017-18 season and break the school loss record while holding the school record for consecutive losses.

When anything goes as poorly as the last two seasons have for the Pitt men’s basketball team, the first thing the administration wants to do is find who’s to blame. Stallings isn’t the only one bearing the weight, though.

Stallings entered a fan base that was ready to dislike him from the start. He

was caught in the same recruiting whirlwind that started to sink former Pitt and current TCU head coach Jamie Dixon.

His prickly personality rubbed some older players and fans the wrong way and he showed little signs of tangible improvement.

Panthers faithful rejoice, hallelujah.

Former athletic director Scott Barnes hired Stallings on his way out, which is a good place to start in the long-winded travesty. Barnes didn’t block transfers, strike out on the recruiting trail, ostracize his older players in public spats and fail to bring any energy to the Petersen Events Center, but he did give Stallings a platform to do so.

The hiring was ill-conceived from the start and was almost immediately pegged as destined to fail. When the hiring was

Former men’s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings gestures from the sidelines at Pitt’s 59-45 loss to Syracuse Nov. 16, 2017.

Anna Bongardino | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

See Glass on page 8

column

Potential picks for Stallings’ successor Colin Martin Staff Writer Pitt men’s basketball and the athletic administration are officially on the quest for a new head coach.

The mission is straightforward — find the perfect person to rejuvenate the program and return Pitt to its status as a basketball school. Just like any hiring process, a candidate must have proper qualifications — years of experience, proper age, high success and realistic chances as a coach are all factors in who Pitt will hire.

Here is a list of potential coaches that Pitt should have an eye on during its search.

1. Tom Crean, ESPN/formerly Indiana

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The former Indiana head coach has the best track record among all of these candidates, which makes him the top choice. Prior to Indiana, Crean coached at Marquette for nine seasons and went to the Final Four in 2003 — his fourth year with the team. He took over a historic Indiana program in 2008 and went on to coach the Hoosiers through 2017 — winning the Big Ten conference in 2013 and 2016.

Throughout his career, Crean has produced three top-five picks in the NBA draft with Dwyane Wade at Marquette and both Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller at Indiana.

What makes him the ideal candidate is that he is only 51 years old. Age is vital to a candidate for a program looking to have a coach stay for a long enough time.

It was considered strange when Pitt hired Kevin Stallings at age 55 — a retirementworthy age.

Crean has been working at ESPN as an analyst since being fired from Indiana in 2017, deciding to take the year off of coaching despite many schools trying to hire him. Many pundits and fans thought he was a great addition to the ESPN coverage team this past season, but Crean has plenty of time to get back into the coaching game.

Compared to the other coaches on this list, Crean brings a winning culture and great recruiting to Pitt — something that the Panthers need in their program right now. A bonus is Crean was an assistant coach at Pitt in 1994.

2. Dan Hurley, University of Rhode Island

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Hurley is arguably one of the top names in coaching circles right now. His Rhode Island Rams have won 25 games the past two seasons and made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, signaling success for the mid-major program.

Named Atlantic-10 coach of the year this past season, Hurley previously coached at St. Benedict’s Prep High School in New Jersey for nearly 10 years.

He then coached at Wagner College for two seasons before being hired by URI in 2012. He comes from a basketball family — his father, Bob Hurley, was a legendary New Jersey high school coach at St. Anthony’s and his younger brother, Bobby Hurley, is the current Arizona State head coach and a former Duke point guard.

See Martin on page 9

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The Pitt News SuDoku 3/14/18

Glass, pg. 7

courtesy of dailysudoku.com

announced, Stallings wasn’t exactly a hot commodity after a 17-year semi-successful stint as Vanderbilt’s head coach.

His tenure saw him fail to ever take advantage of talented teams in the SEC — a conference that, in recent years, pales in comparison to the powerhouse that is the ACC. Since 2010, the ACC has won four National Championships — Louisville included — and the SEC one.

Yet, it’s hard to separate some of the pitfalls — or just plain pits — Stallings fell in from those the previous staff did.

Dixon saw a downturn in ability to recruit highly touted players in his last years, bringing in only two fourstar recruits in Michael Young and Damon Wilson between 2013 and 2015.

Pitt’s move to the ACC in 2013 also brought with it a strange revelation — Pittsburgh is in a bind due to its Midwestadjacent location. The former coaching staff, which specialized in recruiting the Northeast, wasn’t prepared to compete along an entire coast for players.

For Stallings, who came in with nearly two decades recruiting in the South under his belt, managing to bring in a deep class of first-year players — none of whom had immediate program-altering impacts — was nearly a success.

The issues arrived for Stallings with the

“

2018 recruiting class that seems, so far, like a step back from the 2017 class — which is saying something when the expectations were probably, at best, lukewarm.

But getting players on the court was just the start of a struggle.

For a man touted as old-school and offensively minded, Stallings couldn’t convert his reputation of offensive discipline and execution into victories for the Panthers. After so many missed backdoor cuts and listless passes around the perimeter resulting in contested threes, you come to the conclusion that it was more than simply the growing pains of a young team.

The fatal flaw of the Stallings era was the air of inertness in improvement. If the lows were located in the first half of his unusually short time in Pittsburgh, it would have been painful, but understandable. Instead, the two worst moments — the 55-point loss to Louisville and the seven-point first half against Virginia — were in separate years.

Ultimately, there is more than enough blame to go around. As these things often go, it was a confluence of perfectly terrible circumstances.

It wasn’t entirely his fault, but he didn’t do a ton to help himself either. One thing’s for sure — Pitt needs to make the right decision with its next head coaching hire, because for however bad it is now, it can always get worse.

The Pitt news crossword 3/14/18

One thing’s for sure — Pitt needs to make the right decision with its next head coaching hire, because for however bad it is now, it can always get worse.

pittnews.com

March 14, 2018

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Martin, pg. 7 Hurley has amassed a 147-104 head coaching record and is just 45 years old.

It looks as if both Pitt and UConn will be fighting over who gets to hire Hurley, but Pitt being in the ACC should be an edge over UConn in the American Athletic.

Hurley’s knowledge of top-ranked high school talent from his experience at St. Benedict’s Prep should translate to recruiting better than other coaches on this list.

3. John Becker, University of Vermont An unfamiliar name to many, Becker has had recent success at mid-major Vermont.

Since joining its program in 2011, Becker has led the Catamounts to two NCAA appearances in 2012 and 2017. He has also been named the American East coach of the year three times — in 2014, 2017 and 2018.

With a record of 166-77 at Vermont, winning at least 20 games in each of his seven seasons at the school, Becker would be a solid coaching choice for Pitt. He has built a successful program at Vermont, and most believe he can do the same at a bigger school with more resources to recruit top talent.

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Becker is also a very realistic hire for not a high price, especially with Crean and Hurley taking bigger offers elsewhere. He brings the Panthers a tough defensive attitude that other coaches could not offer as well.

4. Eric Musselman, University of Nevada Musselman, 53, could be the most qualified coach on this list, but again, another the casual fan has never heard of before.

He was a head coach in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors from 2002 to 2004, and for the Sacramento Kings from 2006 to 2007.

He has also served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies, an assistant coach at Arizona State and LSU and the head coach at Nevada since 2015.

Since arriving in Reno, Musselman has gone 79-28 and made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. On top of having a great record, Musselman is known to be a tremendous player developer, with many NBA and college players crediting him with their success.

All of the jobs Musselman has held de-

mand a coach who can get the most out of their players, and help them get better. Pitt is a perfect spot for Musselman to come in and help grow the talent that is already here.

His resumé speaks for itself, and it’s time he gets an opportunity to become a head coach in a Power 5 conference. No other coach being considered has the NBA experience like Musselman, which brings a more mature and helpful skill set to the program.

5. Mark Schmidt, St. Bonaventure University The former Robert Morris and current St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt is ready to make the leap from a mid-major to the big leagues.

Schmidt, 55, has a career record of 273241 with 191 of those wins coming at St. Bonaventure. He has led the Bonnies to three straight seasons of at least 20 wins, and has made the NCAA Tournament this year and in 2012.

His recent success makes him a candidate for the Pitt job, but his age may be a turnoff to fans. Though his local experience at Robert Morris may give him an edge over other candidates, Pitt should only look at Schmidt if other preferred hires fall through.

March 14, 2018

Vermont head coach John Becker calls out a play in the second half as the Duke Blue Devils beat the Vermont Catamounts 91-90 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013.

Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT

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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 North Oakland - 264 Melwood Avenue - 4 bedrooms, fully equipped kitchen, wall to wall carpeting, central air, coin op washers & dryers in basement, on campus shuttle route and bus line, close to universities and hospitals.

Rent - $1,850.00 + G/E 412-462-1296 North Oakland - 335 N. Craig Street - 3 & 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, fully equipped kitchen, Coin op washer & dryer in basement on campus shuttle route and bus line, close to universities ahd hospitals.

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South Oakland 2BR house on Edith Place. Available Summer or Fall 2018. $950+ utilities.

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5/6BR house on Welsford. Available Fall 2018. $3200+ utilities.

Call 412-559-3079 to schedule a viewing.

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

South Oakland 2BR houses available in August.

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2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments available. Some available on Dawson street, Atwood street, and

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Mckee Place. Newly remodeled. Some have laundry on site.

Minutes from the University. For more info please call Mike at 412-849-8694

3BR house on Niagara Street $1000/mo +all utilities. Recently renovated with new windows, wiring, cable installed in all rooms. No pets. On Pitt shuttle route. Near Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Call 412-303-4716.

single unit. Check

4 BR HOME - SEMPLE STREET, LOCATED NEAR LOUISA. EQUIPPED KITCHEN, FULL BASEMENT. NEW CENTRAL AIR ADDED. RENTING FOR AUGUST 2018.

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Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unrelated people can share a property’s compliance 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,

notices

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laundry, dishwasher, patio. Parking spot available. Pitt shuttle & bus across street.

Panther Properties of Pa. SHOWING: pantherproperties2@ gmail.com. PHOTOS: panther-life.com/ available

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South Oakland Ward & S. Bouquet Streets - Studio, 1,

STUDENT HOUSING. Updated 4, 5 & 6 Bedroom Houses w/ multiple baths. Dishwasher, laundry, some w/ air conditioning and/or parking.

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email Ted.Harchick@ gmail.com

Employment Research Studies Participants Wanted for Paid Psychology Research Participants wanted for an alcohol research study at Carnegie Mellon University

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

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To be eligible for this study, you must: •Be 21-25 yrs. old and own a smartphone •Drink alcohol at least weekly •Be able to show valid photo ID •Be willing to consume alcohol You may earn up to $365 for your participation in this multi-session study.

For more information, call The Behavioral Health Research Lab (412-268-3029) Note: Unfortunately, our lab is not wheelchair accessible.

Employment Other Join KEYS Service Corps, AmeriCorps.

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Call 412-350-2739. www.keysservicecorps.org 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 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 TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR SUMMER, Ice company close to campus.

Some weekend work available. Production/ driving/maintenance positions available.

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

March 14, 2018

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