4-12-16

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

TRUMP COMING, STUDENTS TO PROTEST

Online: See video of Rainbow Alliance’s Drag Show April 12, 2016 | Issue 141 | Volume 106

Dale Shoemaker and Lauren Rosenblatt The Pitt News Staff

To usher presidential candidate Donald Trump to Pittsburgh, Pitt students are preparing to push back against what they call Trump’s negativity.

By the end of the day Monday, at least three student groups and one local organization had posted on Facebook that they would hold counter events to Trump’s Wednesday rallies in Oakland and Downtown.

While one student-led demonstration is focused on countering what they see as offensive language and violent actions, other individuals are crying foul over the presidential candidate’s misalignment with the Republican Party.

According to its website, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland will host the Republican presidential candidate and Fox News host Sean Hannity for a town-hall style event beginning at 5:30 p.m. Trump is also scheduled to appear Downtown for a rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center at 7 p.m., according to his campaign website.

Fossil Free Pitt Coalition, a group working toward Pitt’s divestment from fossil fuels; The Fourth Wave, a monthly feminist magazine; and WHAT’S UP Pittsburgh, a city-wide antiracism group, are organizing one event together.

USAS #31, Pitt’s chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops, posted on Facebook that it

Rainbow Alliance hosted its annual drag show as part of Pride Week in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Monday night. Alex Nally | Staff Photographer

PRIDE WEEK STRUTS IN WITH DRAG SHOW Zoe Hannah

Assistant News Editor

Tootsie Snyder isn’t afraid to spread her legs in front of a crowd of college students.

The local drag queen — a person who puts on feminine airs, dramatic makeup and skimpy swimsuits or glittery gowns for intense dance and lip sync battles — emceed the 16th annual Rainbow Alliance Drag Show alongside drag queen Amneeja 8 p.m. Monday in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room. Raising money See Trump on page 3 for Cafe Con Leche’s Latin@ Pride festi-

val, which celebrates the Latin American LGBTQ+ community, RA kicked off Pride Week 2016 with rainbow flags wrapped around painted bodies, free condoms flying through the air and 12 colorful drag queens with tightly rehearsed performances.

Including three student performers and nine local drag queens who donated their time to RA, the show drew in about 250 attendees, according to RA President Marcus Robinson.

The drag show, Robinson said, usually takes place on the last day of Pride Week,

but because of booking issues, the group scheduled this year’s performance for Monday.

The planning worked out perfectly, Robinson said — there’s no better way to kick off the week than with sequins and dancing. “[The drag show] gets us a started on talking about what gender identity is,” Robinson said. “It’s a space to defy [gender roles].”

RA Business Manager Peter Crouch, who performed first in a black mesh shirt See Drag Show on page 2

News

STUDY DETAILS HOW HEART DISEASE AFFECTS BLACK WOMEN Emily Brindley Staff Writer

When it comes to heart disease, a Pitt study has found race and sex play a significant role.

On March 30, Pitt researchers published a study that has the potential to lead to a new method of screening for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged black women.

The study, which compared menopausal black and white women, found black women have higher blood levels of a protein called C-reactive protein.

That protein, also known as CRP, is associated with inflammation and risk of heart disease, Norman Wang, assistant professor in the department of medicine, and Samar R. El Khoudary, assistant professor in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, found in their study.

Wang and his team are currently revisiting the manuscript from a follow-

Drag Show, pg. 1 and dark eyeliner, said the group chose to donate all proceeds from the event to Cafe Con Leche because it wanted to support the cafe’s owner — a member of the local LGBTQ+ community.

Owned by Tara Sherry-Torres a transgender Latina woman, Cafe Con Leche is planning its June Latin@ Pride event with help from the show’s attendees — donation collectors ran up and down the aisles throughout the show, collecting dollar bill tips from the crowd and delivering them to the performers.

Crouch, who will serve as RA’s president for the 2016-2017 school year, said the drag show is a great way to kick off Pride Week because it fosters such a lively environment.

“It’s one of those events that gets everyone at Pitt pumped up,” Crouch said.

Crouch and his girlfriend, Bailey Hartge, kicked off the event, dancing as

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up study, and said he hopes to have the research published by December 2016.

“Right now one of the main issues is trying to figure out sex- and racespecific screening for coronary artery disease, because we know that people of different sex and race have different risks of coronary disease,” Wang said.

“It’s basically trying to figure out what else might be going on in these specific subgroups that leads to a higher risk.”

The study showed that black and white women without plaque buildup, or calcification, in their hearts had similar levels of CRP. A difference in CRP levels emerged between black and white women who did have plaque buildup. As a result, black women at risk for heart disease will likely have high CRP levels in their blood, a phenomenon not seen in white women.

This indicates that future research could focus on developing a new heart disease screening method for meno-

pausal black women.

“Among white women and black women who do not have calcification, the CRP levels are the same,” El Khoudary said. “If the woman was black and had higher CRP levels, then the calcification would be higher.”

According to the United States National Library of Medicine, one in four women die of heart disease each year.

Wang said many studies into cardiovascular disease use white men as subjects, which has led to a set of “traditional risk factors” for heart disease such as age, history of smoking and hypertension. The problem with this, according to Wang, is that non-white, non-male individuals with heart disease may never have the traditional risk factors.

“When you look at middle-aged women who go on to have either a heart attack or require a stent for heart disease leading to chest pain, about 10

percent have no traditional risk factors, and over 33 percent have [only] one traditional risk factor,” Wang said.

Because diseases affect various demographics of people differently, medical research must be conducted with a variety of racial and gender groups, according to Kathryn Berlacher, assistant professor in Pitt’s department of medicine. Berlacher said without such research, doctors may fail to correctly identify patients’ risk for diseases such as heart disease.

“What this study is potentially calling us to say is that we potentially would have missed a 60-year-old black woman, who we would otherwise have applied the traditional risk factors of cardiovascular disease [to] and said, ‘Oh, good news, you’re not at risk,’” Berlacher said.

Patients who are misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, such as women with See Study on page 3

queens Dick Hillman and Silicone Cathy, respectively, to the K-Pop song “Tell Me.” The only duet in the show, Crouch and Hartge said they’d been preparing for the performance — Crouch twerking to the beat and Hartge shaking her studded bra — since December. “ I t ’ s fun to celebrate being queer, even though we’re perceived as a straight couple,” Hartge, a sophomore studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, said.

Monika Herbst, a junior math major, has never been to RA’s drag show before, but this year, she made it to the second round of the walk-off competition among audience members that kicked off the show.

Herbst volunteered alongside five other audience members to strut their stuff down the stage in a sacrificial walk-off competition. Though she didn’t garner enough applause to win the competition — which was separate from the drag show — the crowd

went wild when Herbst whipped her hair at the end of the catwalk.

“I’ve never actually danced except for, like, in my room,” Herbst, who advanced to the second round of the walk-off along with two other dancers, said.

She isn’t involved in RA or the LGBTQ+ community, she said, but she came to the show at her friends’ suggestions.

“My friends went last year, and they said it was amazing,” Herbst said. “It was.”

Out of breath from her brief, off-thecuff performance, Herbst reflected on the importance of colorful, loud events like the drag show.

She said one of her friends, someone who hadn’t been to a drag show before, felt uncomfortable with the performers’ gender-bending outfits and sparkling makeup.

“The more you’re exposed to something, the more comfortable you get with it,” Herbst said. “There’s no hiding. It’s great. It’s really nice.”

It’s one of those events that gets everyone at Pitt pumped up.

-Peter Crouch April 12, 2016

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Trump, pg. 1 planned to organize a second event. ANSWER Pittsburgh, a local political organization, is also organizing a protest at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

In addition, some members of the Pitt College Republicans said they planned to demonstrate against Trump unaffiliated with the organization, and Pitt’s Campus Women’s Organization will host a safe space — a place where students can discuss sensitive and personal issues privately — in the William Pitt Union during Trump’s town hall.

Fossil Free Pitt Coalition, The Fourth Wave and WHAT’S UP Pittsburgh plan to hold a gettogether where students, families and children can “counter [Trump’s] negativity,” according to Andrew Woomer, Fossil Free Pitt Coalition’s president.

Calling their demonstration “Stop Trump,” Woomer said the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition and the other groups wanted to show students and families “what a positive, inclusive space looks like.”

“We want it to be counter to the negativity that’s coming out of the Trump campaign,” Woomer said. “It’s going to be a positive, loving space.”

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Amanda Chan, president of The Fourth Wave, said although Trump has specifically offended women in the past, the organization is mostly protesting his event because of the violence she said he champions. For example, Chan said Trump’s references to anti-Islamic sentiment have put Muslim women in danger, citing instances where Muslim women have been assaulted or their hijabs have been forcibly removed.

Chan said while she is coming to protest Trump, she is also attending the event to show support and solidarity for the marginalized groups that Trump singles out.

“I’m tired of giving him attention, but other people don’t have that privilege, other people don’t get to ignore him,” Chan said. “I know Donald Trump’s words are hurting my friends.

I’m showing an act of solidarity by going out there and protesting.”

At a meeting Monday night, Woomer and members of the other organizations outlined their “Love Trumps Hate” event and decided they will use flyers, social media and word of mouth to inform students. Chan said prior to the meeting that she expects news of the event to “spread like wildfire.”

According to Rosemary Geraghty, the business manager for Pitt’s College Republicans, the

group does not have any plans for a counter protest because it does not want to officially endorse or oppose any specific candidate.

But Geraghty, a sophomore political science and communication major and self-described anti-Trump supporter, said she would support any individual members that choose to protest as an unaffiliated group.

Daniel Wright, a senior computer science major and self-described Trump supporter, said he plans to attend the protest with about six other Trump-supporting friends.

He said he would be open to a calm, rational discussion with anti-Trump voters, but he did not want to engage with the protesters as they were rallying.

Although Wright does not want to limit anyone’s freedom of expression, he said that it was important to expose college students to non-mainstream opinions in order to prepare them for life outside the bubble of the University.

“I think it would be hurting students to not have this experience happen,” Wright said. “If people despise Trump over what he says, don’t go.”

Find the full story online at

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April 12, 2016

Study, pg. 2 undiagnosed heart disease, will not receive the care they need to treat or prevent their health issues, according to Berlacher.

“If you can’t identify somebody as a slightly higher risk, then they get poor treatment,” Berlacher said. “This type of research is really important for [doctors and researchers] to identify what our shortcomings are.”

To continue research into this topic, Wang said he and his team conducted the second part of the current study and looked at how plaque buildup changes with various treatments, such as taking aspirin.

Berlacher said she hopes studies like Wang’s will allow for better, more specialized assessment and treatment of cardiovascular disease for a wider range of patients.

“This type of research, where we actually look at what different risk factors are for each population, really personalizes and customizes medicine,” Berlacher said.

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Opinions column

from the editorial board

Pitt must unite to stop Trump The political rallies and marches that take place on campus are usually comprised of the same crowd — progressives fighting for social justice.

But Donald Trump, the antithesis of progressivism, has succeeded in involving members from every area of the political spectrum.

Trump, the infamous Republican front-runner, will be visiting Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for two events this Wednesday, and you can expect that he’ll bring his usual polemic that millions have openly denounced.

Standing together to oppose his usual unabashed vitriol, multiple student groups’ members across the political spectrum — Pitt College Democrats, Pitt College Republicans, The Fourth Wave and Fossil Free Coalition — are meeting in the middle.

According to Monmouth College of Illinois, 49.6 percent of people ages 18 to 24 view Trump unfavorably, and in Pennsylvania, according to a Franklin and Marshall College poll, Trump has an unfavorability rating of 62 percent.

While we can’t change Trump’s uncouth rhetoric or agenda, we can use this visit from the division diva himself to unite our student body against him. We don’t all agree on free college, raising the minimum wage or other issues that have tugged and pulled at the differences that exist between our student body. But many of us do agree that despite beliefs that often do not mesh, we don’t welcome Trump’s views here at Pitt, and his visit should be the catalyst to express our disapproval.

Conservatives, liberals, feminists, students against fossil fuels — this is the chance to attend an event in solidarity and start a meaningful, productive conversation we otherwise may never reach.

Sure, Trump is a tool, but he’s one we can use to rally together and unite against in order to engage in the meaningful discussions that our differences have kept us from starting.

We are a community against the sexism, racism and bigotry that Trump is attempting to disseminate, and it’s time we discuss our solidarity.

While Trump may have an “R” next to his name, many Republicans have chimed in to de-

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nounce Trump, even participating in #NeverTrump on social media. Devout conservatives, such as political commentator and syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro, journalist Michelle Malkin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have all bashed Trump.

Here at Pitt, Dominic Zboyovsky, a member of the Pitt College Republicans, told The Pitt News he won’t be in attendance at Trump’s speech, unlike many of his fellow Republicans who plan to go, because he’s tired of hearing Trump speak.

“He’s managed to tarnish the reputation of the [Republican] party. Under no circumstance will I back Donald Trump after everything he’s done. He has no regard for conservative values,” he said.

Kevin Burk, president of Pitt College Democrats, told TPN that he saw the event as an opportunity to unite with fellow students across the political spectrum.

“Although [campus political organizations] may sometimes disagree, this is a time for a good portion of Pitt to come together against a dangerous campaign and a dangerous candidate,” Burk said.

Amanda Chan, president of The Fourth Wave, a monthly feminist magazine at Pitt, plans to attend in protest of Trump’s hateful remarks toward Muslims and the violence that his remarks subsequently caused. Along with Andrew Woomer, president of Fossil Free Pitt Coalition, Chan and others are planning a positivity event to counter Trump’s negativity.

During an election year, discourse among students is critical — we are facing a demagogue who does not represent our interests — conservative or liberal.

It is our opportunity to exercise our civility and engage in productive discussion with the peers we don’t regularly see at the rallies or protests that take place at Pitt, who we never thought would be holding the same #NeverTrump signs as the usual protest attendees.

While Trump is permitted on our campus, we concur that his sexist and racist bigotry is not.

The only way we can stump the Trump is when we unite against him.

A PLEA FOR RETURN TO INTELLECTUAL CONSERVATISM Marlo Safi

Assistant Opinions Editor One month ago, our school hosted Milo Yiannopoulos.

The dainty man who wielded his Louis Vuitton bag and bleach-blond hair managed to spark controversy on our campus. With a polemic perceived to be drenched in mockery and ignorance, the crowd lingered on his every word, and with every word came one of three responses — a sense of pride in one’s own conservatism, complete detestation of conservatism or the poignant realization that your fellow conservatives did not actually understand the ideology that they and the man in the royal blue suit and crocodile loafers claimed to tout.

A majority of the attendees fell under the first two categories, as expected. Since then, I have spent the last month searching for fellow young conservatives who fell under the third, who felt muffled under the bells and whistles of the tantalizing lure of Yiannopoulos’ grandiloquence and felt as if their peers had bastardized conservatism and the great minds who founded the intellectual breed.

With the exception of one or two people, this was to little avail.

This is not to say that I wholly disagreed with Yiannopoulos or found him unentertaining, or that I am pompous enough to eulogize a holier-than-thou and self-righteous edict denouncing his lecture.

I can honestly say I found him entertaining, and I did appreciate the dialogue he began on my campus. I

April 12, 2016

digress, however, that Yiannopoulos did signify the advent of the possibly imminent end of intellectual conservatism, or at least he did when interpreted with my neuroticism.

Allow me to elaborate on the breed of conservatism I am referring to that Yiannopoulos conjured — the type that is saturated in bombast and shock value. The type that says and does the unimaginable to showcase their own bravado under the guise of conservatism while being utterly devoid of gravitas. The type that pays no homage to the intellectuals who crafted modern conservatism, who is not privy to the ideological contributions of William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

No, owning a Reagan-Bush ’84 shirt does not count, and no, watching Breitbart News Network and Fox News will not make you an intellectual conservative.

What will?

Turn off “The O’Reilly Factor,” and go check out some books. Pretty old-school, but we’re conservatives, aren’t we?

According to Pew Research Center, since 2008, whites with less formal education have shifted to the Republican Party. This statistic, along with many people’s perception of conservatives as uncultured swine, can only be reshaped or debunked by reading the works of Buckley’s “God and Man at Yale” or Russell Kirk’s “The Conservative Mind,” for example.

The media, politicians and professors too often portray us as havSee Safi on page 5

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Safi, pg. 4 ing our ideology rooted in our romance with dirt roads and moonshine, the uncouth and unabashed narratives of people such as Donald Trump and his henchmen and Jesus’ unadulterated word. This is not a plea for anyone to be ashamed of their affinity for dirt roads, moonshine or Jesus, as I have indulged in the first two and owe my life to the third, as many devout Christians do. But, we are more than these things. We are more than what the left often skews to be a blind cult following white Jesus and the NRA. But, while we unapologetically focus all our attention to Yiannopoulos’ boorish behavior, rather than people such as Buckley and Goldwater, we are subsequently repressing conservatism. We are allowing people who don’t extol these values and principles because they don’t grab you by the throat to overwhelm the intellectual minority. Why would you read Friedrich Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom” when you could instead watch the circus unfold at Breitbart after the recent resignation of several reporters and editors?

While, as conservatives, we often are derided because of our zeal for what has become vastly unaccepted — a stringent observation of the principles underlined in Reagan’s New Federalism, the adherence to an unalienable right to bear arms and our resentment of political correctness — our opposition more often than not completely bypasses us and renders us insufficiently intelligent. We are classified as a species of human unlike the rest, with coal and soot in lieu of a heart, and a vocal and uncontrollable desire to eternally damn the poor, the gay and women.

We are not the hateful cretins that MSNBC, Lena Dunham and Hillary Clinton try to fashion us as for the sake of their conniving agendas. We are not inbred oafs — our ideology was finely crafted by scholars and sages such as John Locke and Edmund Burke, and we must harness the plethora of resources available to us to assure that Buckley’s, Reagan’s and Goldwater’s conservatism is unadulterated and pure in order to educate those keen to learn. If we antagonize the feeble-minded even as intellectuals, then they have, in turn, boasted their

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own ineptitude.

Hate the income tax? Read Goldwater’s books. Think capitalism is the only system that champions individualism?

Read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.” Think the Constitution needs abided by and upheld? Read Justice Antonin Scalia or Justice William Rehnquist’s dissents, “The Federalist Papers” and, most importantly, the U.S. Constitution.

Cling to your God, cling to your guns and cling to your trucks. But do it because Buckley inspired you to, not Breitbart.

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Culture

BILL NYE CHARMS STUDENT AUDIENCE Lexi Kennell Staff Writer

Capping a lecture that transported audience members back to the third grade, Bill Nye tied his signature bow tie on stage, prompting a standing ovation from the audience.

Nye rose to fame in elementary school science classes around the country in PBS and Disney’s “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” which ran from 1993 to 2011. Last Friday night, he took Pitt students on a didactic nostalgia trip at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, sponsored by the Pitt Program Council, which focused largely on climate change but also managed a few jabs at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump along the way.

PPC’s Facebook page announced the free event, which was originally scheduled for April 18, but was moved to last Friday because of an undisclosed emergency. Zach Linn, PPC’s advertising director, said some students returned their tickets, which were

free, but Nye still managed an impressive turnout, giving away 1,800 tickets in under five hours.

“Our committee chose Bill Nye because he is a great combination of a childhood hero and a very relevant public figure with a great message,” Linn said. “Due to a combination of these factors, we were confident he would draw a great crowd from Pitt undergraduate students.”

Nye’s show isn’t the only reason he has managed to stay in the limelight. In 2013, he danced with professional dancer Tyne Stecklein to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” on “Dancing with the Stars.” He also held a theological debate with creationist Ken Ham in 2014, which quickly circulated around the Internet — the video, “Is Creation a Viable Model of Origins?,” has reached more than 5 million views on YouTube.

Some of Nye’s many other achievements include being titled the CEO of the Planetary Society and authoring two books, “Undeni-

Bill Nye lectured at the Carnegie Music Hall Friday.

See Bill Nye on page 7

Jordan Mondell STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WHAT NOT TO MISS ON CAMPUS THIS WEEK Jack Trainor Culture Editor

Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit may be grabbing all the local headlines, but his isn’t the only event worth noting this week.

The second to last week of class doesn’t usually garner the same amount of excitement as the last, but it’s hard not to get excited, as this week offers, among other events, an Academy Award-winning film screening and a guest lecture

by Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL player — all free to students. Check out our list of the most noteworthy events happening on campus this week.

Guneeta Singh Bhalla and the 1947 Partition Archive Where: William Pitt Union Lower Lounge When: Today, 8:30 p.m.

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Cost: Free to all Pitt students What: The South Asian Student Association and Pakistani Student Association are putting on a joint event that brings eyewitness stories from the 1947 partition. The partition, in which the British Empire broke up to form India and Pakistan, is known for being the largest mass migration in history, which displaced more than 15 million people and took 1 to 2 million lives.

The 1947 Partition Archive is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization whose mission is preserving the partition’s oral histories through recorded interviews.

Guneeta Singh Bhalla, the archive’s founder and a California physicist, will speak in addition to presenting select archive stories.

Michael Sam lecture and The Pitt LGBTQIA+ Experience: Past, Present and

Future When: Today, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Where: William Pitt Union Assembly Room Cost: Free to general public, but RSVP required on Pitt Alumni Association website What: The Rainbow Alliance is presenting a panel discussion on Pitt’s LGBTQ+ climate on campus, featuring current student, alumni, faculty and University leader speakers. The panel will share their personal experiences and discuss Pitt’s efforts to accommodate its LGBTQ+ members in the past, present and future.

Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL player, will follow the panel with a lecture.

“The Invisible War” screening and panel discussion

April 12, 2016

When: Wednesday, April 13, 4 to 7 p.m.

Where: Nordy’s Place in the William Pitt Union Cost: Free What: The University is screening Academy Award nominee, “The Invisible War,” which documents the epidemic of sexual violence within the U.S. military.

The screening is part of the University’s Sexual Assault Awareness Week, which runs until Friday, April 15.

Italian Film Festival When: Thursday, April 14, to Saturday, April 16, all movies start at 7 p.m.

Where: Frick Fine Arts Auditorium What: The Italian Film Festival is screening one Italian movie, with English subtitles, per day in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Thursday’s offering is See Events on page 7

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Bill Nye, pg. 6

publican presidential candidates John Kasich, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

In one of the strongest jokes of the evening, Nye commented on Trump’s anti-climate change remarks as a conspiracy created by the Chinese. He also made fun of Trump’s view that Hawaii is not a real state and criticized Trump’s skepticism of the credibility of President Obama’s birth certificate.

For many students, just being in the same room as Nye — the king of educational entertainment — was reason enough to attend. “[I came] to post an Instagram picture, so I could say I went to see Bill Nye,” Grady Martin, a junior geology major, said.

By the generation that largely grew up watching his TV show, which taught many of today’s undergraduates how to build a paper mache volcano or capture and study fruit flies, he’s remembered for making science class fun.

“He is an iconic childhood hero,” Birmingham said.

Although Nye discussed mature matters Friday, he still managed to reward the childhood sentimentality that drew people to the event.

“It was good,” Martin said of the event.

“He got me excited about science, which is always a good thing.”

Events, pg. 6 “Palio,” a documentary that examines the oldest horse race in the world, the Palio, which takes place in the city of Siena, Italy, twice per year.

On Friday, catch “Another South,” the story of a Sicilian nurse serving a humanitarian mission in Iraq during the second Gulf War, who ends up discovering just as much about herself as the foreign Iraq.

Saturday’s finale, “I, Harlequin,” follows Paolo Milesi, an actor forced to tend to his ailing father, himself an actor and Harlequin performer, while rehearsing for one final play in Italy’s masked Commedia dell’arte.

Pitches and Tones present Petals and Gnomes: a free a cappella concert When: Friday, April 15, 8:30 p.m.

Where: G24 Cathedral of Learning What: Pitt a cappella group Pitches and Tones will be joined by Miami University of Ohio’s Open Fifth group for a free a cappella concert. Its flowery spring theme is delightfully titled “Petals and Gnomes,” and will feature a raffle after both groups’ performances. All proceeds go to Pitt Science Outreach Student Club.

The Pitt news crossword 4/12/16

able: Evolution and the Science of Creation” and “Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World.”

Nye’s presentation began with a bit of personal history, crediting his father as the reason he became the beloved Science Guy. His father, Edwin “Ned” Nye, developed an interest in sundials after spending time in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, where there was no electricity or a way to tell time.

Nye himself still harbors an interest in sundials, he said, following his father’s plan to turn the Washington Memorial into an enormous one.

He listed his successful inclusion of a sundial on the Mars Exploration Rover missions, explaining that the shadows’ colored tints indicate the color of the atmosphere.

Nye was playful with the audience throughout his presentation, both asking questions to the crowd and responding to the crowd’s impromptu answers. In one instance, after Nye made his student audience confront their own age by announcing he is 60 years old, a student from the first balcony called out that he is a “silver fox.” The ever-cool Nye, unphased, responded with a simple “thank you,”

prompting the audience to once again erupt in laughter.

Although Nye kept the night comedic and light, he reached a more serious tone when the lecture arrived at climate change, a topic of great concern for the comedian and scientist.

In urging students to take care of our natural environment, Nye constantly told students in attendance to “change the world,” pointing to rising sea levels and global temperatures as evidence for action.

He also made the case for renewable energy — which he said would bring 480,000 new jobs — while combating issues, such as how tropical storms cost taxpayers money and plummet gas prices, both of which are bad signs for the environment.

“I was expecting the climate change talk honestly, but I liked how he talked about a lot of other things,” said Sarah Birmingham, a fifth-year physics senior at Pitt. “I almost cried — [the talk] was really good.”

Just like in the era that made him famous, Nye demonstrated he can still connect to his audience — mostly liberal young adults. In addition to incorporating hip lingo in his lecture such as “dude,” “are you high?” and “btw,” he also made humorous remarks about Re-

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April 12, 2016

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Sports

BASEBALL PREDICTIONS AFTER ONE WEEK Dan Sostek Sports Editor

Former Pitt gymnast Katie O’Rourke is reaching for dreams of becoming a member of Cirque du Soleil.

Courtesy of Katie O’Rourke

STRETCHING FOR CIRQUE Phoebe Gilmore Staff Writer

Three-year-old Katie O’Rourke was on vacation in Texas when her parents first realized her natural talent for sticking a landing.

“I was bouncing on the bed and flipped off and somehow landed on my feet,” O’Rourke, a former Pitt gymnast, recalled, “so my parents put me in gymnastics.”

O’Rourke, a Washington, D.C., native, surrendered all of her free time to gymnastics, with her commitment reaching a fever pitch in the eighth grade. Seven total hours of daily practice — from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. — forced her to quit

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both soccer and softball. While she recalls that friends stopped inviting her to events because they knew that she would decline, she does not regret her commitment to the sport.

“I think that [gymnastics] was chosen for me, just because it was the [sport] in the end that always made me happy, whereas the other ones were more of recreational fun,” O’Rourke said.

In high school, multiple Division I universities, including Ohio State University, West Virginia University and Iowa State University, sought O’Rourke for their teams.

She committed to Pitt after attending a summer gymnastics camp with a former assistant

coach.

“It’s a sacrifice, but in the end, it’s all worth it when you can say you’re a Division I athlete,” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke, a 2014 Pitt graduate and one of the first recipients of Pitt’s ACC postgraduate scholarship, is currently in graduate school at Pitt for her MBA with a focus in marketing.

Like most students, she does have a backup plan, though hers is more unconventional than most — performing in Cirque du Soleil.

“When I tell people about the Cirque thing, they ask what I’m doing with an MBA,” O’Rourke said. “I would say Cirque is the backup plan because it’s so hard to get See O’Rourke on page 9

April 12, 2016

In April, hyperbole and overreaction in the baseball season are as common as a rain shower.

But, a week in, I feel confident enough in asserting these five takes as absolutely, 100 percent correct. One week’s worth of games is more than a sufficient sample. There is no way any of them will ever prove incorrect.

TREVOR STORY IS THE GREATEST BASEBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME: Forget Bonds, Gehrig, Williams, Ruth and DiMaggio.

The Colorado Rockies’ rookie shortstop Trevor Story has hit seven home runs in his team’s first six games. None of those other guys have done that, therefore, Story is better than them. Story’s first week has also guaranteed that he should win the National League MVP, Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger and even the Cy Young Award, because his contributions transcend position. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred should also consider resigning and handing his position to Story — Story has earned it. At this rate, he is on pace for 189 home runs this season, meaning he’ll likely break Barry Bonds’ all-time home run record in just his fifth season. That’s just incredible.

THE PIRATES CANNOT SCORE WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION: Are two games a small sample size? I don’t think so. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense struggled immensely with runners in scoring position against the Cincinnati Reds, going just 5-35 in this series. This is definitely going to continue, because teams never improve in a category like this. Ignore the fact that they had 35 opportunities with runners in scoring position. They’ll never convert. Unfortunately for Pirates fans, it looks like the 5-2 Buccos are doomed.

THE MINNESOTA TWINS WILL NEVER WIN A GAME: Based on the law of averages, the 0-6 Minnesota Twins will never find themselves in the win column. Disclaimer: I don’t know what the law of averages means. Joe Mauer has one home run, the only highlight thus far for Minnesota and likely the only highlight for the rest of the season. No one in their promising core of Byron See Baseball on page 9

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O’Rourke, pg. 8 into, even though that’s what I really want to do.”

During O’Rourke’s freshman season, Cirque du Soleil toured in Pittsburgh. After attending the show with a few teammates and touring backstage, she set her sights on becoming a Cirque performer.

“It was in the back of my mind until the end of my senior year because I wouldn’t have been able to do it anyway while I was here.”

O’Rourke said. “So I’d train for things Pitt-related, but at the end, that was always my main goal.”

Mallory Brewer and Mike Rowe, both close friends and previous assistant coaches to O’Rourke at Pitt, recognize that she would excel in the intense gymnastic environment that Cirque has to offer.

“Katie has always been a performer and can steal the show in just about any crowd,” Brewer said.

Rowe offered equal praise for O’Rourke as well, citing her leadership skills and competitiveness.

“Katie has always been a leader by example, regarding getting the job done,” Rowe said. “In the competitive arena, she’s a gamer and you always knew that if she was in the lineup, she’d hit.”

After Alix Croop, another former Pitt gymnast, got hired as a Cirque performer, O’Rourke saw her dream becoming plausible.

Rowe, who coached both O’Rourke and Croop at Pitt, noticed shared characteristics between the two.

“There are similarities in Alix and Katie in that they are both driven, self-motivated and great leaders,” Rowe said. “They are both amazing performers to top it off.”

The Cirque tryout process occurs either as a two-day, in-person audition or a 12-minute video with specific criteria, like dance, tumbling and stretching. The in-person auditions cut down the almost 200 attendees to about 20 potential Cirque performers. O’Rourke plans to complete both an in-person and video audition.

“It’s better to go in person because you’ll know right then, but it’s more intimidating that way. I probably will do both,” O’Rourke said. “So I’ll do the video and when I’m 100 percent ready, I’ll go in person and do it.”

O’Rourke is eager to get back into her home gym to train after a shoulder surgery setback last summer. While she regularly works out, NCAA rules prevent her from using Pitt’s gym to train for Cirque. She plans to audition either in the summer or in the winter when she is finished with graduate school.

But even if she reigns victorious at the audition, O’Rourke still has to wait for her

Cirque debut.

“Once you audition, even if you get in, you technically don’t make it. You just go in their talent bank,” O’Rourke said. “People will sit there for years and never get called. You can make it, but you usually won’t go in right away.”

O’Rourke acknowledges that the amount of potential gymnasts vying for a spot can be intimidating. There aren’t many spots to go around.

“They have so many people in their talent bank,” O’Rourke said. “It’s overwhelming.”

As for now, Brewer suggests that O’Rourke stay patient.

“It is not easy to be chosen for Cirque, but I think that Katie is very capable,” Brewer said.

“She has the look and skill level, but her natural ability to perform for a crowd can set her apart.”

Now, with O’Rourke finishing her MBA, she can’t help but look ahead toward a more rational career in sports marketing.

“I think a sports job is a little more practical to start out with, especially with my degree,” O’Rourke said. “I hope that it comes along and I can go right in.”

Still, fantasies of performing in Cirque are never far from her mind.

“At least I have more options than just Cirque, and if I don’t get it, I won’t be completely lost. But it’s my dream,” O’Rourke said.

Baseball, pg. 8 Buxton, Max Kepler or Miguel Sano will develop, and Byung-ho Park will never acclimate to the Major League game. All hope is lost.

THE ORIOLES WILL NEVER LOSE A GAME: On the opposite side of the success spectrum, the Baltimore Orioles are unstoppable.

There’s no point in playing out the rest of the season — just hand them the World Series trophy right now. Pitching wins championships, and with a rotation as imposing as Chris Tillman,Yovani Gallardo, Ubaldo Jimenez and Mike Wright, how can anyone argue they don’t check that requisite?

Along with pitching, their ferocious lineup is even strong outside of Manny Machado and Chris Davis — of course the slugging of rookie outfielder Joey Rickard and journeyman power hitter Mark Trumbo is tenable.

THE NEW YORK METS ARE NO LONGER A CONTENDER: After splitting a series to the defending world champion Kansas City Royals and losing one to the lowly Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets have blown any chance they had of repeating as NL pennant winners.

There is no way a rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard and a lineup centered around Yoenis Cespedes will ever beat out the stiff competition of the Phillies, Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves in the NL East. In fact, their current average of 1.8 runs per game will likely near zero as the year progresses.

The Pitt News SuDoku 4/12/16 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

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

3 bedroom apartment. $1450 (utilities included). 704 Enfield St. 5 bedroom house. $2200 + utilties. 35 Enfield St. Call 412-969-2790. **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. +++5 bedroom, 2 full baths, huge house, nicely updated, shuttle across street, washer/dryer, $2595+, August 1, photos www.tinyurl.com/pittnewsad4 coolapartments@gmail.com 724-935-2663 1,2,3,5,6, & 8 bedroom houses. August & May 2016.

Bouquet, Atwood, Ward & Dawson.

Please call 412-287-5712.

3444 WARD ST. Studio and 3 BR apartments available Aug. 1, 2016. Free parking, free heating. Call 412-361-2695. No evening calls please.

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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

2 bedroom. 343 McKee Place. $1200 (heat included).

2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. 3201 Niagra St. $1200. A/C, dishwasher, washer and dryer.

1 bedroom. 365 Ophelia St. $550+ electric.

Call 412-969-2790.

310 Semple Street, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. $1500 for 2 person occupancy, $1600 for 3 person occupancy including gas, water, and electric. Very close to campus. Off street parking available. 412-559-6073. marknath12@gmail.com

3BR apartment with balcony on Ophelia St. Close to laundromat. Available June 1. $1200+electric.

412-427-6610 4 BR houses, available August. $1600+ all utilities. Laundry in building. Offstreet parking.

412-427-6610 519 Zulema Street.

Female preferred. 1 Bedroom available in a 4 bedroom apartment from beginning of May to end of July. Furnished. Air conditioning and free laundry. $600 but price negotiable. Contact (224)577-8166 or nmm73@pitt.edu

Services

-EDUCATIONAL -TRAVEL -HEALTH -PARKING -INSURANCE

Available 8/1, 1 BR/1 Bath, 5 min. walk to Cathedral, A/C, hardwood floors, newly renovated, starting at $995+, 412.441.1211 Available 8/1, 3 BR/1 Bath, less than 1 mile to campus, updated, Dishwasher and AC, starting at $1325+, 412.441.1211 Available August 1st.

3 bedrooms, 1 bath house. Great location.

Renovated. Central air. Equipped kitchen with dishwasher and microwave. Washer/ Dryer. Starting at $1575+/utilities.

Porch/yard. No pets.

Call 412-916-4777.

FOR RENT AUGUST 1 2016: Completely remodeled, spacious 3BR 1.5 BA home on tree-lined residential street. $1695/mo + utilities. Original woodwork, high ceilings, large bedrooms.

Parking available.

Panther Properties of PA, pantherproperties2@gmail.com.

Photos: https://panther-life.com/properties/oakland/ M.J. Kelly Realty Studio, 1, 2, & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Duplexes, Houses. $775-$1650. mjkellyrealty@gmail.com. 412-271-5550, mjkellyrealty.com South Oakland Duplex. 4 bedroom 2 baths. Central air, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Available August 1.

(412)915-0856.

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

Spacious 2-BR apartments on Dawson Street, 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.

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 4909 Center Ave. Updated 1 BR with new kitchen, dishwasher & hardwood floors.

Laundry, storage and parking available.

Close to Pitt & shopping district. Available now and for August. 412-720-4756.

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)

First floor duplex.

Solway Street. Available 7/1/16. $1595/month +utilities. 3 BR, 2 Baths.

Kitchen. Large dining room/living room/basement.

Washer/dryer.

Garage. Near bus/shopping district.

Ray 412-523-2971, rwiener602@gmail.com.

Real estate advertising in The Pitt News is subject to the Fair Housing Act. The Pitt News will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate which violates the law. To complain of discrimination, call HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or emailfheo_webmanager@hud.gov. For the hearing impaired, please call TTY 1-800-927-9275.

Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unrelated people can share a single unit.

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

412-255-2175.

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

Sacred Heart Elementary School in Shadyside is looking for volunteer Volleyball Coaches and Basketball Coaches for the Varsity and JV Teams for the 201617 Seasons.

Must be at least 18 years of age and have transportation. If interested, please contact Amy Volpe at jaisvolpe@gmail.com or call 412.295.9260

Come work where it's Oktoberfest every day. Now hiring for all positions at Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh.

Apply in person Monday through Friday.

Irish Design Center.

Retail sales assistant needed 1 or 2 days per week throughout the year. Flexible schedule, close to campus. Experience preferred. Respond by email only to paul@irishdesigncenter.com.

Shadyside spacious 2 bedroom, 1 bath.

Hardwood floors.

New kitchen. August 1st move in. Call 412-361-2695.

5 bedroom. May 2016. Sarah St. Large bedroom, new kitchen, air conditioning, washer & dryer, dishwasher, large deck. $2500+utilities. 412-287-5712.

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SUMMER HELP NEEDED, Ice company close to campus. Weekends necessary. Production/driving/maintenance positions available. Good pay, part-time/full time. Contact Mastro Ice Company 412-681-4423. mastroice@aol.com Caregivers and babysitters needed.

FT/PT. Earn $25/hour. No experience required. Will train. Call now.

888-366-3244 ext. 102.

Seasonal Work: Shadyside Management Company needs full-time dependable landscapers, painters, and assistant roofers for the summer.

Must be at least 18 years old. No experience necessary. $10/hour.

Mozart Management, 412-682-7003. Email: thane@mozartrents.com.

HYATT House Pittsburgh Southside Seeking full time and part time valets.

Experience with valet and manual transmission a plus. Must be able to work nights and weekends. Shifts are 7am-3pm & 3 pm11 pm. Pay is $8.25/hr +tips. Apply in person at 2795 South Water St.

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