7-15-15

The Pitt News

2

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

My summer reading list

Catch up with Jamie Dixon

Harrison Kaminsky Editor-in-Chief

editor@pittnews.com Dale Shoemaker, News Editor Theo Schwarz, Visual Editor newsdesk.tpn@gmail.com

photos@pittnews.com

Courtney Linder, Opinions Editor

Sydney Mengel, Copy Chief

Elaina Zachos, A&E Editor

Sydney Harper, Multimedia Editor

tpnopinions@gmail.com

tpncopydesk@gmail.com

aeeditors@gmail.com

pittnewsmultimedia@gmail.com

Dan Sostek, Sports Editor

Stephen Caruso, Layout Editor

tpnsports@gmail.com

Copy Staff Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das

tpnlayout@gmail.com

Bridget Montgomery Amanda Sobczak

17

18

20

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac

23

24

Medicine or football?

Citiparks movie guide

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

16

Summer road trip guide

Randyland

THE PITT NEWS

14

AnthroCon 2015

12

Picklesburgh preview

10

Reflections on music festivals

9

Pittsburgh summer events

6

Volume 106 | Issue 10

Summer recipes

4

Hipster summer bucket list

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover by Theo Schwarz advertising@pittnews.com

Matthew Reilly, Business Manager Advertising@pittnews.com David Barr, Sales Manager advertising@pittnews.com

Account Executives Frany Tish Calvin Reif Alli Soenksen

Inside Sales Victoria Hetrick

Ad Designer Matt Hyre

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

3

4

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Red hot hipster summer

COLUMN

How to have a unique, DIY, Corporate-Free vacation from the mainstream Marlo Safi, Columnist

1

The scent of sunscreen fills the air. The neighborhood kids are trying to pass off lemonade they made with Kool-Aid powder as homemade in their first business endeavor.

You are avoiding laying out in the sun with your friends at the beach to tan because it’s too

START A GARDEN Grocery shopping is expensive, especially at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, where you insist on shopping for your gluten-free, meat-free and kale-rich diet. Fortunately, not only are seeds inexpensive and easy to grow, but starting a garden gives you yet another topic to discuss with the cashier at your favorite Urban Outfitters.

3 4 5

bourgeois — pale skin is edgier.

This must mean summer is upon us — and you must be a hipster.

As a hipster, you’re not going to have things like “road trip with my besties” or “get infinity sign tattoo on wrist” on your bucket list. In fact,

2

calling it a bucket list may even be too mainstream.

Whatever you decide to call your summer list of things to do as the angsty, counter-culture adolescent you are, here are a few ideas to spark some inspiration.

6

KALE JUICE STAND Those pesky kids down the street won’t win you over with their sly sales strategies in the lemonade stand business. Use all that kale you grew in your garden and start your own stand.

After all, didn’t someone from that film class you took — because it only used VHS tapes — say citrus causes intestinal irritation?

SELL WARDROBE TO A THRIFT SHOP, RESTOCK ENTIRE WARDROBE FROM ANOTHER ONE

There is no way you’ll survive summer with your vintage denim mom jeans and the Bill Cosby-esque sweater you fished out of your grandpa’s closet. It’s time to revamp your wardrobe for the hot summer weather, and this method kills two birds with one stone. Donate the clothes you — and probably your grandpa or mom from the ‘80s — wore out to one thrift shop, and then go to another thrift shop and buy what someone else’s parents and grandparents used to wear out.

COLLECT SEASHELLS

You’re on the beach and by now everyone knows you’re a hipster because you’re wearing swim bottoms that reach as high as a diaper on a baby. Use this opportunity to spread a positive message about nature to the others on the beach. Collect all the seashells you can and return them to the water so no one can pick them up. You read in an obscure, underground study that collecting seashells damages the ocean ecosystem and the prospect of not having raw trout ice cream as readily available is frightening.

HACKY SACK You’ve been training. You’re close to nailing that flick of the ankle and your dexterity has improved ever since you started playing tetherball — after all, kickball is for the conventional-minded conformists.

TAKE A KNITTING CLASS Your local nursing home is hosting knitting classes, and buying your own scarves and beanies is really downing your anti-consumerism vibes.

78

START YOUR OWN ETSY STORE

All this talk about kale and hacky sack tournaments is really inspiring your inner artist. Those cigarette boxes you collected and made a collage out of and sold really took off. Your part-time job at that artisan herb shop isn’t going to fund your pricey, all-organic diet. Start an Etsy store, and in no time someone will come across the art you made from empty Pabst Blue Ribbon cans — your favorite — and hopefully think it’s profound enough to buy.

HOST A BACK-PORCH POETRY SLAM

You have your garden in full bloom, kale juice and PBR in the mason jars you got from the thrift shop where you bought your summer wardrobe, and your friends are back from their road trip following that post-current experimental tribal funk band no one has really heard of. Invite them over for a poetry slam on your back porch and read them that poem you wrote about how big corporations are blood sucking leeches. But, make sure to read it off your iPhone so you can show off the case you knit for it.

Marlo Safi primarily writes about politics and public policy for The Pitt News.

Write to Marlo at mes260@pitt.edu.

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

5

Covered pavilion seats

6

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Public Property Northside resident finds hope at bottom of trash cans Kelechi Urana

Walking down Jacksonia Street in Pittsburgh’s Northside, a bright yellow house greets visitors from the corner of Arch Street. Sporting giant artificial butterflies, larger-than-life Coca-Cola bottle caps and dozens of potted plants scattered across the sidewalk, Randyland is a beacon of explosive creativity in an otherwise ordinary neighborhood.

Staff Writer

The colorful museum sits in the backyard of Northside resident Randy Gilson’s property. Decorated like a castle, the “hands-on” locale opened in 1998. Gilson funds Randyland mostly through tips from his day job as a waiter, with a small percentage of its upkeep coming from visitor donations.

The free museum, which sees about 200 visitors a day, is located at 1501 Arch St. It features an eclectic assortment of recycled toys, plastic buckets and shovels on a sand floor meant to evoke images of the beach. Artwork that Gilson painted himself is also a staple.

Gilson greets visitors to the museum with an emphatic “hello” and a handshake, and he encourages them to play with the art and move pieces around.

While Randyland is a technicolor home of reclaimed art, this whimsical mecca started from tragic beginnings.

Despite his reputation as one of Pittsburgh’s most influential artists, Gilson, 58, did not discover art until much later in life. His childhood was a tumultuous one — his parents were ministers in the Salvation Army who went on to have six kids, including Randy. When he was nine years old, his mother took custody of him and his siblings and left for Homestead, where they received support from welfare and bounced between temporary homes.

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Gilson’ mother could only afford to provide her children with basic necessities, so they spent many Christmases sitting on the barren cold floor around a presentless tree.

“We started school the day after Christmas,” Gilson said. “And the children were asking, ‘What did you get?’

We got nothing, because we were so poor.”

The next year, however, Gilson found old toys in his neighbors’ garbage cans. He washed and repaired them, and put them under the Christmas tree for his brothers and sisters. Since then, Gilson has collected almost everything he comes across, whether it’s toys, old furniture or even paint.

“My suffering was actually my education,” Gilson said.

Gilson moved to the Northside as an adult in the 1980s and noticed the vacant lots, lack of color and strewn-out garbage that plagued his new neighborhood. He took it upon himself to clean up the area, using materials left over from properties that the city was tearing down to build new walkways. He taught himself to garden and replaced the weed-covered lots with more attractive shrubbery and flowery, eventually starting The Old Allegheny Garden Society in the early 1980s. The organization, which Gilson has released control of, has now planted 40 more community gardens in Allegheny County.

He bought Randyland as his home in 1995, when the

community was scheduled to destroy the then-dilapidated house. Soon, he began painting it with bright yellows, blues and purples. He decorated the outside with potted plants in painted vases, recycled toys and sculptures of angels, rats, lions and butterflies. Nearly every inch of the backyard is filled with recycled goods, making it almost impossible to truly take in everything in one visit.

“I call Randyland a scattered museum,” Gilson said.

“It’s just a collection of scattered stuff.”

Marsha Korshik, a Sheraden resident, has visited Randyland four or five times in the last couple months. She treats each new visit like a game of “Spot the Difference.”

“Everytime I come, something is different,” Korshik said. “Nothing looks the same twice.”

There is an equal abundance of art painted by Gilson himself. At the entrance, an elaborate and colorful mural of the Northside greets visitors, featuring cut-outs of 3-D houses, people and trees glued along the painted streets.

Gilson refers to himself as a “self-taught” artist, which is even more impressive when one sees the intricate art all around the park: a mosaic of a winding river in the mountains and black shadow people between theater-like curtains on the walls of his home.

Aside from the art, Gilson’s seemingly endless energy and positivity attracts people to him. His personality has even made him the subject of an upcoming documentary

Photos by Theo Schwarz VISUAL EDITOR

7

by Pittsburgh filmmaker Sean McKeag.

Josh Freyermuth wandered into the park a little over a month ago, after relationship troubles had him feeling depressed. He walked into Randyland on a whim and said he was overwhelmed by its positive energy. He became fast friends with Gilson, who soon offered him a job painting in the museum.

Monica Colberg, a first-time visitor to Randyland, walked away with a similarly profound impression.

“Randyland is [Gilson’s] way of loving the world,” Colberg said.

Although rumors have begun swirling about Gilson selling Randyland, he emphatically denies that will ever be the case.

He is, however, working to establish the park as a trust over the next two or three years to relieve himself of some of its demanding responsibilities. He hopes to build a board of trustees to oversee the park’s management, and allow organizations like City of Asylum and Carnegie Museum of Art to use the space to host events.

For Gilson, the most important part is that Randyland remains open to the public.

“Randyland could never be owned by anybody, ever,” said Gilson. “[Randyland] is the smiles that people give me, the hugs and the handshakes, the conversation.

Randyland belongs to everybody.”

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

The Pitt News Crossword, 7/15/2015

8

ACROSS 1 Hybrid carriers 6 Hardly next door 10 Shelter gp.

14 Functional 15 Winter Olympics event 16 __ Mountains: European border range 17 Rating for a recap?

20 Start to state?

21 Land east of the Suez Canal 22 June portrayer in “Henry & June” 23 Trainees 26 __ Pointe: Detroit suburb 29 Advice on paper size?

32 Rock and Roll Hall of Famers since 2010 34 Word with sick or cold 35 Press 36 Fooled by one’s imagination ... or, another way, what the four other longest puzzle answers are?

41 __ au vin 42 Ornamental fish 43 Stapes, for one 44 Dibs on kitchen space?

49 Artist with the 2011 album “Femme Fatale” 50 Antennae holders 54 Took in 55 Cooperate with in a caper 57 Eggs 58 Displeased wave of the hand?

63 Point-of-view intro 64 It may need cobbling 65 Shafts on the road 66 AAA part: Abbr.

67 Magazine filler 68 Erroll Garner classic DOWN 1 “Can’t you get someone else?”

2 Political surprise 3 Cap

T P N S U D O K U

7/10/15

By Mark Bickham

4 Shade provider 5 Source of shells 6 “Mistresses” costar Milano 7 Big name in film 8 RÌo contents 9 __ cell 10 Call 11 Designate in advance 12 Has the power 13 Either of two space bar flankers 18 Checked out of the store, with “up” 19 Wise teacher 24 Island off Tuscany 25 Bottom 26 Black-clad subculturist 27 Sight, say 28 Image on Idaho’s state flag 30 Detective’s skill 31 Song on a record 32 Renoir’s “Girl With __” 33 Wills 37 A Clanton and a president 38 Fish-fowl link 39 Sacred wader of ancient Egypt

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

40 Seward Peninsula city 41 Engine units: Abbr.

45 Turkey, for one 46 Old smartphone 47 Betrayed, in a way 48 Unwilling to stand up for 51 Some are tightly wound 52 Den focal point

7/10/15

53 Impudent 55 Smashing target 56 Mike holder 58 Girl’s name that’s a verb spelled backwards 59 Serene sounds 60 Org. with Kings and Wizards 61 “I can’t remember it, Miss Ilsa” speaker 62 11th-century year

Today's difficulty level: Easy Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

9

A guide to

Outdoor Movies in Pittsburgh

Katelyn Binetti STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Allison Bradley For The Pitt News

All you need is a blanket and some buttery popcorn to enjoy one of Pittsburgh’s best — and free — summer traditions.

Every summer, the City of Pittsburgh hosts a series of outdoor movies called Cinema in the Park. Screenings take place on Sundays and Wednesdays at dusk in Pittsburgh’s seven major parks, including Schenley Park in Oakland, Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville and Grandview Park in Mt. Washington, among others. This year’s Cinema in the Park, funded by Dollar Bank, runs from June 7 to Aug. 30.

“It’s a great way to get the drive-in experience without having to find those rare drive-in theaters,” Brian Katze, Citiparks special events manager, said.

The program started in the mid-70s, according to Katze. Originally, Flagstaff

Positioned on Flagstaff Hilll, Cinema in the Park gives Yinzers a free movie — and a great view. Stephen Caruso LAYOUT EDITOR

Hill was the only location.

Program coordinator Chris Bashur added that at first, actual film reels were used during the showings, then VHS, DVD and eventually Blu-Ray. It was meant as a way to engage the community and has been successful in its goal ever since.

“It provides a very good opportunity for residents to come out and enjoy a movie under the stars,” Bashur said.

Bashur works with Swank Motion Pictures and Criterion Pictures to obtain the licenses to play the films for the public. Part of this deal prevents Cinema in the Park from showing movies that are currently out in theaters, to avoid direct competition, according to Katze.

Bashur selects the films to play throughout the summer, partly in collaboration with Mayor Bill Peduto’s Welcoming See Cinema on page 13

10

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

My summer reading list

Lauren Rosenblatt

E

Assistant News Editor

ach summer, Marianne Novy rummages through her home, gathering the books she hadn’t had a chance to read during the school year.

Novy, a literature professor at Pitt, said like many others, she gets to read more in the summer because she has more time. She starts at home, then builds a list of new books that she wants to explore.

“I like to find out more about what’s going on in the world and the research people are doing to find that out,” Novy said. “There are real problems and [reading makes you] think about different ways to help.”

This summer, The Pitt News, along with Novy and English professors Cindy Skrzycki and David Bartholomae have compiled a summer reading list for you to catch up on while you relax in Schenley Plaza with a bubble tea.

Professors suggested them.

We read them.

English Literature Professor Marianne Novy • MaddAddam by Marga- • ret Atwood • Station 11 by Emily St. • John Mandel • The Red and Black by Stendhal • • The Love Wife by Gish Jen

Senior lecturer Cindy Skrzycki

Composition Professor David Bartholomae

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel • James Brown Lincoln and the Power of the • Press: The War for Public Opinion by Harold Hozer • The Georgetown Set: Friends and Rivals in Cold War Washington

by Deckle Edge

The Lost City of Z by David Gann Barren in the Andes by Laura Resau Like Butterflies in the Jungle: The Quest for the New El Dorado by Damon Tabo

Photos by Stephen Caruso LAYOUT EDITOR

Read reviews of other books online at

pittnews.com

Read Brady Langamnn’s review of The Boys in the Boat on page 11

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Brown shows swing in ‘The Boys in the Boat’ Brady Langmann Staff Writer

About a third of the way through Daniel James Brown’s 2010 nonfiction book “The Boys in the Boat,” the reader learns of competitive rowing’s equivalent to a hole-inone, a walk-off home run or a full-court shot. It’s called “swing.”

In a sport where every move has the potential to upset the entire boat, swing marks perfect synchronization between all eight oarsman, when each oar is hitting the water at exactly the same time. Romantically put by Brown, swing is when rowing “becomes a kind of perfect language.”

“The Boys in the Boat,” a homage to the gold medal-winning 1936 U.S. Olympic Rowing team, sees Brown explore the period’s issues of national identity, class differences and pre-war anxieties. As with his critically-acclaimed past two works, 2006’s “Under a Flaming Sky,” and 2009’s “The Indifferent Stars Above,” Brown’s latest offering finds him in full swing.

At first, “The Boys in the Boat” is Joe Rantz’s story. Brown meets Joe — a member of the 1936 squad from the University of Washington — in the prologue, with his 6 feet 3 inches tall frame slumped in a recliner, three months away from heart failure. After Brown realizes that Joe’s tale was “squirreled away from sight for too long,” he begins the well-developed coming-of-age tale that dominates the book’s first half.

Coming from working-class parents — much like the rest of the team — the good-natured Joe becomes the outsider in rowing culture. He’s especially poor, malnourished and can hardly pay for school, which doesn’t fit in with the “world of status and tradition, of refined tastes and unstated assumptions about social class, a world inhabited by the sons of bankers and lawyers and senators” that Brown describes as rowing. Brown gives a moving portrait of Depression-era poverty through Joe’s countless odd jobs, from janitoring the local YMCA to shuttling booze during

Prohibition.

Later in the book, after several heartpumping matches between the Washington boys and their rivals at Berkeley and Ivy League schools en route to Berlin, the story shifts to a startling, unnerving glimpse at pre-World War II Germany. By the 1936 Olympics, the Nazis had already begun their well-documented rise to power.

However, they were not ready for conflict should the rest of the world confront them for their attacks on Jews or reoccupation of the Rhineland. They had to convince everyone they weren’t up to anything. It worked.

Under the public eye, Hitler successfully disguised Germany as “something resembling a vast movie set,” building the grand, technologically-advanced Olympic Stadium, while removing anti-Semitic newspapers from newsstands and sweeping Gypsies off the streets and into death camps. Although outsiders were oblivious to this activity, Brown repeatedly foreshadows the oncoming war with chilling,

11

often abrupt anecdotes, from a cheery “Heil Hitler!” to the American squad, to the boos and jeers the team receives at the opening ceremony.

Aside from Joe’s arc and the look at early Nazi Germany, Brown propels readers through the nearly 400-page-long narrative with vividly-drawn, curious characters. There’s Al Ulbrickson, the “Ahab-like” head coach, who chews cigarettes when he’s nervous and is notoriously tight-lipped around the Seattle press. Legendary boatbuilder George Pocock hovers around nearly every scene featuring the team, mumbling Shakespeare quotes in the same breath as racing advice. It’s Brown’s thorough and well-incorporated reporting that does the job here — he begins each chapter with wise words from Pocock, and often shares commentary from Ulbrickson’s terse, blunty-written journal.

Between the character moments and races, however, Brown often breaks up the See Boats on page 13

12

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

CATCHING UP WITH

JAMIE DIXON

Pitt’s men’s basketball coach talks turnover, expectations for new-look roster Jeremy Tepper Staff Writer

Jeff Ahearn ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR

“On paper, with everybody healthy, I think we’ve got some depth, and some experienced depth at the same time.”

A regular season filled with injuries and suspensions preceded a summer of transfers that has given Pi! its most experienced team in recent years.

Change isn’t always good — but as is the case of the 2015 Pitt basketball team, change was necessary.

Following a 19-15 record and a first-round NIT exit last season, head coach Jamie Dixon has seen the makeup of his Pitt basketball roster change drastically, losing Cameron Wright and Durand Johnson to graduation while adding three graduate transfers and two additional recruits.

Now, he will have to make sense of the current team.

One of the most crucial of those three graduate transfers is Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, a forward from the University of Richmond.

Dixon is excited about Nelson-Ododa’s abilities and the depth he adds to the frontcourt.

That excitement, though, comes with a caveat: he needs to remain on the court. Nelson-Ododa has missed offseason workouts because of surgery on his eye resulting from an infection in a fractured cheekbone, which was operated on last season.

“We’re gonna have to get him healthy and stay healthy,” Dixon said. “That’s been a challenge for us the last couple of years.”

Whether through bad luck or conditioning, staying healthy has been a problem for Dixon’s teams in recent years, especially last season. These injuries depleted Pitt’s depth last year, which Dixon believes is a primary factor for his team missing the NCAA tournament.

Pitt’s perimeter depth was especially diminished last season after Durand Johnson was

suspended from the program.

Cameron Wright missed the beginning of the season with a broken foot and Cameron Johnson missed most of the year with a shoulder injury.

“We had an injury, suspension, and another injury on three perimeter guys, so that’s going to take away from your depth,” Dixon said.

Durand Johnson and Cameron Johnson’s absences specifically hurt Pitt’s three-point shooting, as Pitt finished 179th in the country in three-point percentage at 34.2 percent, a .9 percent dropoff from the season before. Dixon called Cameron Johnson Pitt’s best shooter last year, which means that between his injury and Durand Johnson’s suspension, Pitt has effectively lost its most proficient shooters.

With the addition of Sterling Smith, a guard transfer from Coppin State who shot 41.8 percent from three last season, along with Cameron Johnson’s return, Dixon is confident that Pitt will be much improved in that regard. He’s also counting on other players improving from the perimeter, specifically Josh Newkirk and James Robinson, who are currently out because of knee and foot surgery, respectively.

“I think we’ll have some guys improve as shooters. James [Robinson] and Josh [Newkirk], once they get off their injuries, will improve,” Dixon said.

Despite deficiencies in shooting and driving ability, Pitt’s offense last season was effective, ranking 30th in adjusted offensive efficiency, according See Dixon on page 13

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Cinema, pg. 9 Pittsburgh Initiative and the Spark! Film Series. The Mayor’s initiative, which he announced in June, aims to promote a better quality of life and economic wellbeing for both immigrants and natives.

The initiative is part of Welcoming America, a national project which works to increase mutual respect between Americans born both in the U.S. and in other countries. This particular series is meant

Book, pg. 11 narrative with awkward, textbook-style lessons on rowing technicalities. These moments stall the reader instead of adding to the Olympic team’s lore, especially when he goes on about particulars like the type of wood the shells are made of. You’ll finish the book thinking you could grab an oar and win a gold medal yourself.

Still, Brown skillfully portrays Joe and his fellow rowers as representative of the search for American identity following the bloody World War I, relevant amidst today’s post-war struggles. Through his re-

13

to “spark conversations in the community about minorities and civil rights,” Bashur said.

Cinema in the Park chose six of the featured movies for the 2015 line-up for this purpose: Million Dollar Arm, The Refugees of Shangri-La, Cesar Chavez, Selma, McFarland, USA and Cantinflas.

“We try to do a mix, including the Spark! Series, ranging from popcorn blockbusters to classics, and different genres from action to comedy,” Bashur

said. “We try to pick a wide variety for people to enjoy.”

Wednesdays in Schenley Park also feature musical guests before each movie begins. Artists usually seek out the program on their own. Katze said organizers try to give local bands an opportunity to perform.

Autumn Beulah, who attended her first Cinema in the Park movie in late June, was drawn to the movie more than the musical performances — her movie choice, The

Boxtrolls.

Beulah, a senior majoring in health and physical activity and psychology, said the combination of the outdoors and the movie attracted her to the event.

According to Katze, both the movies and their affordability bring people out to the parks.

“Since it’s free, it allows families who want to go out to dinner and a movie to do so even if they might not have the means,” Katze said.

peated commentary on the team’s dynamic and collective growth, Brown documents America’s shift away the countercultural individualism of the 1920s, optimistically looking ahead to the patriotism that would come to characterize World War II-era America.

Brown makes this allegory powerfully clear by the time the rowers pack up for Berlin. He writes that — besides their newfound shared values — “the things that held them together — trust in each other, mutual respect, humility, fair play, watching out for one another — those were also part of what America meant to them.”

Dixon, pg. 12

points per game on 46.9 percent shooting.

Those numbers only got better as the year went on, improvements which coincided with Artis’ move from small forward to power forward. Starting last season, Dixon has been working on the transition of Artis back to small forward, which Dixon plans to continue next season.

“That process has always been in the works and that’s something that we’ve envisioned and is happening as we continue to move forward,” Dixon said.

For all of Artis’ offensive success, he

to NCAA basketball advanced statistics website Kenpom.com. Dixon expects that to carry on as long as his team is able to maintain the qualities which have made his offenses effective.

“We’ve got to be balanced offensively, as we’ve always have. We’ve got to continue to pass the ball well,” Dixon said. “We did a lot of good things offensively, but we can always be better.”

That effectiveness, in large part, was because of forward Jamel Artis’ scoring prowess. On the season, Artis averaged 13.6

See Dixon on page 19

Sugar, Spice, & Everything Nice

14

15

Summer smells like fresh cut grass, neglecting your responsibilities and barbeque.

Even if you’re too lazy to get out your lawn mower or you’re still stuck in classes, there’s nothing that says you can’t lounge in your small, enclosed backyard with your fired-up grill and your ice-cold drink.

And with these hot summer recipes, you’re going to want to invite your friends over and heap on the extra portions.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Pound Cake

Brown Sugar Pulled Pork

• 1 large jalapeño pepper

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of chopped strawberries • 4 eggs • 3 cups of flour • 1⁄2 a cup of shortening • 1 teaspoon of baking powder • 1 1/2 cups of milk • 2 cups of sugar • 2 sticks of butter • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 1 container of cream cheese • 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt•

• 5 pounds of pork shoulder • 1 pound brown sugar • 2 tablespoons of allpurpose seasoning blend • 2 tablespoons of black pepper • 2 tablespoons of oregano • 2 tablespoons of salt • 1 bottle of “Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar”barbeque sauce

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Prepare pan by coating it with butter and sprinkling it with flour.

Add 2 cups of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the brown sugar to the pot and stir.

Wait until it starts to thicken into a syrup. Add more water or brown sugar if necessary. Turn off heat and place it to the side.

Jalapeño Lemonade

• 7 lemons • 2 limes • 2 cups of sugar

Add 2 cups of water to a pot and bring to a boil.

Add 1 cup of sugar to the pot and stir.

Turn down the heat to low.

Chop the jalapeño into 56 pieces and add it to the pot.

Bring pot back to a boil for an hour and then turn off the heat.

Hand squeeze the lemons and limes into a bowl and add 1 cup of sugar.

Mix well and add 6 cups of water to the bowl.

Stir until the syrup has dissolved.

Add the jalapeño syrup to the bowl and stir again.

Take the two sticks of butter and melt them. Add the melted butter, baking soda, shortening and sugar into a bowl and begin to stir until mixed together.

Add one egg at a time and beat after each addition. Once the eggs have been beaten, pour the milk into the bowl and stir.

Next, add the flour, salt and vanilla while continuing to stir until there are no more lumps. Add in 1 cup of chopped strawberries and mix well.

Pour cake batter into the bread pan, place the pan into the oven and bake for 1 1⁄22 hours. Once done, take out the oven and let it cool.

After cooling cover the cake with cream cheese and decorate with the rest of the strawberries.

Turn on slow cooker to high. Place pork shoulder in a bowl and season with black pepper, oregano, salt, and all purpose seasoning. Rub in well. Place pork inside the slow cooker and add in the brown sugar syrup.

Let the pork cook overnight for 14 hours. Turn pork while cooking.

After the pork is done cooking, stir it so that it will pull apart. Then drain the pork and place it back in the slow cooker Add the whole bottle of “Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar” Barbeque Sauce and stir. Turn slow cooker on low to serve.

Story by Jai-W Hayes-Jackson Photos by Theo Schwarz Design by Alex Ryan

16

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

—Brady Langmann

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

17

COLUMN

BEYOND JAMMIN’ Summer music festivals offer perspective, growth Courtney Linder

P

Opinions Editor

ersonal confessions in teepees, hippies begging me to register as a voter and free hula hoops hanging from trees — just a few of my favorite things about Electric Forest Festival.

These seemingly unrelated, quirky components of my summer music festival experience made no sense to my family.

From the get-go it was clear that they didn’t understand why I’d want to spend four days in the small town of Rothbury, Michigan under the hot sun, with the four thin walls of my tent as the only refuge from dastardly loud bass music and whackadoodle hippies.

So naturally, there was a checklist of peculiar pieces of advice with which my family bid me farewell.

“Have fun at Partyland,” my grandmother laughed, the skin around the corners of her eyes gathering like thick linen.

“Don’t get arrested,” my mother jokingly warned with one eyebrow raised in genuine concern and the other at rest with assurance that I’m responsible enough.

And lastly, there was, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” from my dad.

The common mantra underlying my family’s goodbyes? Partying. There’s an all-too-prevalent assumption that summer music festivals are just a place to

screw around, listen to questionable electronic music and jam bands and try drugs with funny names.

In reality, though, music festivals are an unparalleled growing opportunity — personally and even spiritually. From political activism, to acts of generosity and kindness, my summer festival experience changed my life in an insurmountable way — and so can yours.

At a festival, some of the most rewarding experiences awaiting your discovery happen outside the direct realm of music.

At Electric Forest, HeadCount — a nonpartisan organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy — had a tent devoted to registering new voters. The volunteers working the tent had great passion — they didn’t simply hold up a black and white form and beg you to vote, they asked if you were registered and explained the role of citizens in a colorful way.

When I told one of the representatives I was already a registered Democrat, he responded with, “Rock on!” and proceeded to shake my hand. Not to mention, he gave me a lollipop — can’t go wrong there.

And while I don’t condone violence, it’s pretty memorable that someone punched a guy who was carrying a Confederate flag around the venue. Festivalgoers’ political stance for the weekend is simple — treat everyone equally. Clearly,

You’ll never be alone in a crowd at Electric Forest. Courtney Linder OPINIONS EDITOR

a symbol for racism wouldn’t be tolerated — music festivals are about positivity.

Outside of political ventures, multiday camping festivals also teach you heaps about friendship — specifically how not to kill your friends even if you really want to by the fourth day. Of course, the idea of camping and going to shows with your friends seems perfect in your mind, but once you actually hit the grass, you realize just how difficult it can become to live around someone for that long.

There will be fights — lots of them.

Whether it’s “who ate my hotdog?” or “you snore like a damn bear” or “you were never my friend, all you care about is yourself,” prompted by someone scrambling their brain under the hot sun — you can count on testing your relationships. Why? Setting up tents sucks, stormy weather is endlessly irritating, you get hungry, you get burnt and true colors show. But by the end of the weekend, most of the blood, sweat and tears will have dried and you’ll be closer to your friends for sticking it out

— or you’ll realize that person was never really a friend.

It’s not just your pre-established friends you’ll become closer to, though — growing alongside others is a staple of the festival experience. At Electric Forest, my favorite way to bond with new people was through The Giving Tree, an old whomping-willow-esque plant.

Protected from the sun under its leafy canopy, forest-goers carefully placed homemade knick-knacks, jewelry, buttons, snacks, hula hoops and messages in the crannies of the trunk. You could observe a number of fluorescent-clad people climbing the tree at any moment, searching for the perfect place to leave their wares.

After, they’d inspect others’ gifts and take the one they liked best. Electric Forest had its own Secret Santa — and you never knew what you might get.

Trading wasn’t the only way to meet new people, though. Throughout the forest, installation art and quirky structures awaited the adventurous. The best way to meet others is by poking your head into any of the little buildings on the grounds.

My friends and I happened upon a quaint teepee and rested in its shade for a while.

Seemingly out of the blue, a pixie-like woman popped in through the front flap.

Smoothing down her short, black bobcut, she explained to us that she had built the teepee herself as a safe place for others. She wanted people to feel that they could escape the busy forest if they felt overwhelmed. It was a place to rest and meet new friends.

See Linder on page 19

18

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

JUST DILL WITH IT

Yinzers to soak up sun and salt at Picklesburgh Chris Estes Staff Writer

Leigh White is looking forward to the “ginormous” floating pickle that will be attached to the Rachel Carson Bridge later this month.

“We were noticing the cool, innovative restaurants around town were doing pickling,” White, the spokeswoman at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), said. “[And] Pittsburgh has such an interesting and strong history of pickles with Heinz.”

So, from July 17-18, the city is hosting the inaugural Picklesburgh: a local celebration of all things pickled, in Downtown. The PDP, a group dedicated to revitalizing Pittsburgh with local events like Light Up Night, is hosting the event.

From 3 to 10 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, local vendors like The Pittsburgh Pickle Company, Happy Camper Cakes and Heinz will serve up pickles and delicacies including ice cream, cocktails and ethnic dishes that incorporate pickling. Local musicians like Norm Nardini and King’s Ransom will perform alongside events like a pickle juice drinking contest.

“There were a lot of cool things happening [in Pittsburgh],” White said. “From homemade pickles to kimchi, we just saw this really interesting explosion.”

Local restaurants featuring dishes with pickled ingredients along with Pittsburgh’s historical association with Heinz make Pittsburgh an ideal location for a

pickle-themed event, according to White.

More than 20,000 people are slated to attend the event, and the PDP hopes it becomes an annual affair. For resident foodies, Whole Foods will offer pickling technique demonstrations, which will experiment with pickled mango spears.

Vendors like Gwyn Zollinger, a Jeannette, Pennsylvania native and the owner of the mobile cupcakery Happy Camper Cupcakes, is treating the event as a challenge.

“I love creating new things that no one else thinks of,” she said of her cupcake recipes.

Zollinger will debut three new cupcakes featuring pickled ingredients. This will include “The Local Dip” — a take on Neapolitan ice cream that includes a strawberry balsamic filling and a pickled cherry on top.

Those who don’t think pickled ingredients and cupcakes mesh well together may want to reconsider. Zollinger uses a balsamic vinegar, among other ingredients, to create a rum-pineapple compote filling for her “Pickled Pirate” cupcake, served in a souvenir jelly jar. “[The cupcakes] are all sweet,” she said. “They’re a little tart but have a really nice sweetness to them.”

Zollinger has provided cupcakes to Pittsburgh before at events like Pierogi Fest.

“It’s a great place to have a food truck,” she said. “Every event I’ve done in Pittsburgh has been so much fun.”

Other local vendors are also eager to share pickles with Pittsburghers.

Owned by John and Will Patterson and Joe Robl, will make an appearance with their “Pittsburgh-Style” pickles, nachos and cheese topped with pickles, pickled banana peppers, pickled red onions and pickled jalapeños.

“We source our pickle ingredients locally, when in season and possible,” owner and Pittsburgh-native John Patterson, said. “We don’t have some old family recipe. We just grabbed what made sense.”

John avoids current trends in food, and said his favorite food to pickle is the classic cucumber.

“The cuke is like a blank canvas,” he said. “It’s stiff on the edges, so it can stand up. Its face can absorb anything, allowing you to paint all kinds of different flavor combinations.”

John wants the Pittsburgh Pickle Company to gain some exposure at Picklesburgh.

“We want to let everyone know we’re here to stay, and that we want to be the ones that provide Pittsburghers with their pickle needs,” he said. “We’ve been a part of the recent food scene and [play] our part in feeding Pittsburghers.”

Just as the Pittsburgh Pickle Company is here to stay, maybe Picklesburgh will be a staple, as well.

Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the PDP, said Picklesburgh will be a welcome addition to the city’s festivals.

“We believe Pittsburghers will relish this new festival,” he said.

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Linder, pg. 17

Dixon, pg. 13

Then, she told us how comfortable she felt around us. “This is the best part about the forest — the people.” She could trust us. So, naturally she burst into tears and took her wig off. We were flabbergasted not by her baldness, but by her authenticity and courage.

So, when I see articles like the Onion’s “New Music Festival Just Large Empty Field To Do Drugs In,” I’m a little peeved.

Sure, some people think it’s cool to pay hundreds of dollars to get hammered and pass out in the grass for a few hours. But most festivalgoers just want a place to express themselves and enjoy a oncein-a-lifetime experience — so go, keep your zeal.

And if your parents or grandparents raise their brows at you, let them. It’s only because they know what it once was to be young.

So in any case, I say “Party on, Wayne.”

Courtney Linder is the Opinions Editor of The Pitt News and primarily writes on technology and social issues.

Write to Courtney at cnl13@pitt.edu.

struggled on the defensive end. That was a team-wide trend, as Pitt finished 143rd in the country in points allowed and 330th in rebounding.

Dixon says a combination of factors led to these struggles.

“Health, depth, experience. I don’t think you can put it on one thing. Execution and understanding, that comes with experience,” Dixon said. “I’m looking forward to having depth like we’ve had in the past, that’s what I think can really improve us defensively.”

That depth is what largely gives Dixon confidence in his team’s ability to improve greatly from last year.

“On paper, with everybody healthy, I think we’ve got some depth, and some experienced depth at the same time,” Dixon said.

Along with depth, Dixon likes the versatility of his team, with players having the ability to play multiple positions — especially those on the perimeter.

“I think we’ve got some guys on the perimeter that can play a couple different spots. And if you have a lot of them, you

can spread them around and put them at different spots. But if you’re limited [because of depth] guys get locked into one spot,” Dixon said.

Last season, though, serves as a cautionary tale for Dixon to not get too optimistic, as depth and experience can quickly fade away.

“We thought we’d be older last year, but when you take out your two most experienced guys early in the year, you get young real quickly,” Dixon said, referring to Cameron Wright and Durand Johnson.

If his team can stay healthy, Dixon is confident that his newfound depth and experience can help, to an extent, patch up some shooting and defensive struggles.

Improvement on those ends, especially defensively, will go a long way towards getting back to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve got to rebound and defend and do it at a level that we’ve always done, which is best in the league, if not best in the country, at certain times over the past decade,” Dixon said.

Of course, Dixon is not limiting his team to improving only in those areas.

“We’ve got to get better at everything,” Dixon said.

19

20

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Anthropomania

Furries flock to Downtown for Anthrocon Nick Mullen Staff Writer

Pittsburghers got a taste of the wild side this weekend as ferocious tigers, playful puppies and fox-tailed fursuiters flocked Downtown. The costumed company left behind a layer of fur and dumbstruck awe in their wake.

Anthrocon is the world’s largest gathering of furries — people who belong to a subculture interested in anthropomorphics, which are animals with human qualities, personalities and character. The convention came to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from July 9-12. It featured a slew of activities and events, including a dealer’s room where attendees could purchase furry merchandise, breakout sessions and panels, the first-ever outdoor fursuit parade and a “zoo,” a meeting room where furries could interact and socialize.

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center has

hosted Anthrocon since 2006, and the organizers expected about 6,200 furries to show up this year — instead, 6,389 furries attended, up from last year’s attendance of 5,861.

The convention is more than a costumed get-together. Samuel Conway, the event’s chairman and chief organizer, said Anthrocon has a purpose.

“The gathering is a celebration of the art of cartoon animals, be they in animation, in costume, in puppetry, in artwork or elsewhere,” Conway said.

Furry art and costumes filled the dealer’s room in the convention center, where vendors sold everything from art and literature, to tails and pieces of fursuits.

One of the vendors, Jessica Angus, displayed her inventory of resin head blanks and other plaster fursuits parts. She provides the basic components which make up the “skeleton” of a fursuit.

“Starting from the base is the most difficult part,” Angus said. “Once [customers] have the basic parts,

they can add accessories like claws, paw pads and fur.”

The dealer’s room also included a charity raffle with donated items raffled off to support the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

Brian Harris, charity director and co-founder of Anthrocon, said the board of the convention chooses which charity will benefit from the auction each year.

“All charities are animal-based and located within Pennsylvania,” Harris said.

In addition to the dealer’s room and charity auction, there was also a lineup of more than 150 panels and smaller breakout events that catered to many niche interests. Some of the panels included advice and tips for first-time Anthrocon attendees, while others included lectures on writing, dancing and singing.

One of the main events of this year’s Anthrocon was the fursuit parade, which, for the first time, the organizers held outside of the convention center, rather than inside. Many local Pittsburghers came out to see

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com the parade and were supportive of the furry convention and the culture.

Furry culture originated in the 1980s and expanded throughout the ‘90s, due largely to the Internet. The web helped connect the like-minded individuals and gave them a platform to interact and plan conventions like Anthrocon.

Misha Krul started attending furry conventions in 2009, and she’s been a part of the online community since 2000. She said the convention feels like “one giant homecoming celebration.”

“Many folks here haven’t seen their closest friends in a year or more, so there’s always tons of hugging, laughter and cheerfulness,” Krul said. “I like to joke that you know you’re at a furry convention when your face hurts from smiling so much.”

She added that the community offers its members a tight-knit, accepting community, adding that furries will go to great lengths to take care of their own.

“It is incredibly comforting to go through life having this global support network, and it speaks very strongly of the fandom’s values and generosity,” Krul added.

Bob Passovoy, a physician in Chicago, is part of the Dorsai Irregulars, the volunteer organization that provided security for the event. He said he continues to come to these conventions because he likes the people and the excitement.

“These are my family and friends, and this is what we love to do,” Passovoy said. “[Anthrocon] has the energy of the sci-fi conventions of the 70s and 80s that you just don’t see anymore, since the sci-fi fandoms

have splintered.”

Furry culture and fandom has generated controversy in the media over the years. Controversy has surrounded the sale of sexual art and merchandise at conventions, and critics stereotype conferees as hav-

21

Lions and tigers and smoke-breathing dragons — Anthrocon has it all. All photos by Theo Schwarz VISUAL EDITOR

ing sex with each other while in costume.

Television shows, including an episode of “CSI,” which portray furry conventions as costumed orgies, and mentions of furries and sexual behavior on shows like “30 Rock” and “The Tyra Banks Show” have also contributed to the stereotype.

But, Conway said, the public perception of furries isn’t as concerning as it once was.

“The public’s perception of ‘furries’ got off to a rocky start, but it is increasingly less of a concern,” Conway said. “We have debunked many myths about our fandom and quite frankly, they are old news by now.”

Krul also said the public perception of furries is becoming more positive.

“As society continues to become more open and accepting, I see no reason why the fandom won’t continue to grow in numbers and gain greater support from outsiders,” Krul said. “Someday, dressing up in an animal costume for fun on the weekends might seem no more weird than painting yourself from head to toe in the colors of your favorite sports team.”

Despite the controversies surrounding the fandom, Conway said he has no issue with the tepid public perception.

“People still tend to think that we are rather eccentric,” he said. “That, I cannot deny, and I really do not feel it’s necessary to change it.”

22

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

23

COLUMN

RAMBLING ON

Three summer road trips for those in need of a quick change of scenery Stephen Caruso

Contributing Editor

“Do you like Spoon?”

It was a Thursday morning at roughly 9:30 when I groggily awoke to a text message staring at me from the glowing screen.

I mean, I knew “The Underdog” but

1

Buffalo

hardly any other songs. Still sleepy, I responded “not really, why,” and lied back down, content with my thoughts of a boring day ahead.

My phone then illuminated with an incoming call.

Not three hours later, my friend and I hit the open road, en route to Buffalo for a free concert and a spontaneous,

exciting weekend.

The trip reminded me that outside the streets of Oakland — made insufferable thanks to zombie college pedestrians who saunter across — driving is a really enjoyable activity. Well, at least if there aren’t any speed traps ahead.

But more than that, I experienced a great feeling of independence from the

2

Three-and-ahalf hours away lies a city a lot like Pittsburgh — transitioning from rust belt relic to a modern metropolis. While some still see Pittsburgh as a smoggy steel city covered in a layer of industrial waste, we Pitt students know better. Similarly, Buffalo exceeds expectations, so gear up for a nice highway drive and a day of music and great food in Western New York.

The best time to visit would be on a Thursday for one of the free concerts at Canalside Park. Built on the waterfront, the park has a beautiful view of Lake Erie and downtown Buffalo. It’s worth the drive — especially considering some of the upcoming shows — including Reel Big Fish (July 23), Iron & Wine (July 30), and Umphrey’s McGee (Aug. 6).

If the Fourth of July left you feeling a little militaristic, there is also the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, which features three World War II vintage warships.

Posing on top of a giant gun turret may just earn you a like from that conservative friend from high school who posts Facebook statuses in defense of the Confederate flag.

With such a long drive, you might be left a little hungry.

So make sure to get yourself some Buffalo wings or a beef on weck at a local restaurant — my friend and I stopped at Duff ’s. And make sure you have plenty of napkins to spare.

It’s an easy trip overall. Take Interstate Highway 79 north out of Pittsburgh to Interstate Highway 90 east, and you’re there. Warning though, that mortal enemy of the thrifty driver — tolls — must be paid on I-90.

Fallingwater

Just an hour from Pittsburgh, Fallingwater is one of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous structures.

The site is open every day except Wednesday — which is good to know because a ticket is required, and it costs more at the gate. Don’t worry though — admission includes a guided tour of the building, which is more than worth the $20 pricetag.

Seeing how Wright delicately built the mansion into the rocks and stream making up the grounds without harming any of its natural beauty gives the visitor a glimpse into Wright’s thought process. This same balance can even be seen in the furniture, which Wright also designed. If a chunk of a table has been taken out to allow a window to open, then you know that chunk will show up elsewhere. Once you’ve visited, looking at a cliché exterior photograph of the house will never be a substitute.

Taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike and paying its toll — a necessary evil — is your best option. But if you have time — or don’t fear getting lost — meander through the back roads and maybe you’ll find some more places worth stopping for. A farm stand is always a nice way to save a few bucks and get fresh produce.

3

spontaneity of the trip. Knowing I could, theoretically, just leave everything behind for a day, a weekend, or more, means I know I still control my life. I’m free to live it open ended.

So, if you’re like me and you’re looking for fun and freedom, here are three destinations for any ramblin’ person with a car and a passion for adventure.

Cherry Springs

This trip is the longest at close to four hours, but to make the most of it you’d have to stay overnight. If you love feeling thoroughly insignificant, then the trip will be well worth it. At Cherry Springs State Park in Northern Pennsylvania you’ll be able to see over 10,000 stars — and the Milky Way. That’s because it is one of only four dark sky parks, as named by the International Dark-Sky Association, east of the Mississippi.

Whether you’re a serious stargazer with a telescope or someone only looking for a night of introversion under a beautiful night sky, the park caters to both with normal campgrounds along with special dark sky viewing fields with shelters for telescopic viewing. With the dark sky comes a very serene isolation making a great escape from the congested city life.

To get there, get on Pennsylvania Route 28 — just take Interstate 279 north from Downtown to the first exit — until St. Marys. After that, you’ll want Pennsylvania Routes 120, 155, 607, 872 and finally 44. A bit windy, but as it travels through the northern portion of Susquehannock State Park, the roadside views will be enjoyable.

Of course, you could also just roll the windows down, blast some music and look out on the open road ahead, letting the wind take you wherever you wish. Might I suggest Spoon? Turns out they are pretty good.

24

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

doctor on D

Mark Scarpinato puts medical school on hold for one final collegiate football campaign

Mark Scarpinato, a graduate transfer from Michigan State, is putting his medical schooling on hold for another year of football at Pitt. Photo courtesy of The State News JULIA NAGY/THE STATE NEWS

Jeremy Tepper Staff Writer

Staying in contact with those from your past can be of great benefit — it certainly was for defensive tackle Mark Scarpinato.

Following his decision to forgo his final year of college football eligibility in lieu of medical school, Scarpinato decided to meet with Jeff Mazurczak, Scarpinato’s high school football coach and director of alumni relations at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, grabbing a meal at a local burger joint.

After some small talk, Scarpinato broached a subject Mazurczak didn’t anticipate.

“He said, ‘I want to talk to you about something. I think I’m not done with football,’” Mazurczak recalled.

With that conversation, Scarpinato’s return to college football was in the works, a return which will officially begin when he takes the field for Pitt and his former defensive coordinator and Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.

That return, of course, was never planned. Scarpinato thought he was fin-

ished with football. After playing in fourteen games, starting two and winning a Rose Bowl at Michigan State, Scarpinato was pleased with what he accomplished.

“I felt like I reached the top of the mountain,” Scarpinato said. “I started in the Big Ten, I won a Rose Bowl, won a Big Ten Championship. I felt like I climbed the mountain and it was time to move on to the next part of my life.”

For several years, Scarpinato always knew that next step would be medical school. The son of a doctor, Scarpinato took immediate interest in his father’s

work as a young boy, urging his father to bring his work home with him.

“When I was four he’d bring home surgical gloves and we’d go into surgery on fruit,” Scarpinato said.

With that in mind, Scarpinato got to work on a degree in kinesiology at Michigan State, which he finished in three years. Between his sophomore and junior years, Scarpinato decided to take the MCAT, wanting to get it out of the way since it was changing soon.

See Scarpinato on page 25

July 15, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

25

Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...

Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...

Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...Summer internships... Movies reviews...Pitt summer baseball...Summer study abroad...Oakland restaurants...Book reviews...Breaking news...

WANT MORE CONTENT? go to

pittnews.com Scarpinato, pg. 24 After he received positive test results, his parents urged him to apply to medical school “just to see,” Scarpinato said.

Scarpinato was accepted to the Medical College of Wisconsin and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. It wasn’t long until Scarpinato started to miss football.

“There was something missing. I wasn’t able to even watch the games on Saturday because it would kind of make me sad,” Scarpinato said.

For a short period of time, Scarpinato was happy to forgo the sacrifices and rigors which come with football. But Scarpinato started to miss the opportunities the game presented.

“There’s nothing that you can do in normal life where you can hit someone and it’s legal,” Scarpinato joked. “It’s very instant gratification. There’s nothing in this world like getting a sack in front of

75,000 people.”

It also didn’t help that medical school proved to be extraordinarily difficult, more so than football ever was for him.

“A lot of people said you’ll find it a lot easier than playing Division I sports. It wasn’t for me,” Scarpinato said. “To me, nothing compares to studying 20 hours a day for an exam.”

After some soul searching, Scarpinato decided to return to football, enlisting Mazurczak’s help to find a school and conjure up interest.

The first step was finding the best schools for his master’s degree in health administration. After that, Mazurczak would gauge the interest of the school’s football coach, an easy task after getting past the initial disbelief.

“I think they thought I was crankcalling them,” Mazurczak said. “I called the guy at North Carolina and he was like, ‘are you for real?’”

Along with North Carolina, Pitt was

on Scarpinato’s list of potential suitors because of its strong program for his master’s degree, but he wasn’t favoring any school for a while — that is, until Mazurczak reminded him that Narduzzi was the new head coach at Pitt, making the decision an easy one.

Narduzzi was glad to have Scarpinato back, though he certainly didn’t expect it.

“Coach Duzz was shocked. He caught him off guard. I don’t think those are the type of calls you expect to get,” Mazurczak said.

For Narduzzi, Scarpinato provides familiarity with his defense at a position of need. The first-year head coach is confident that Scarpinato will be able to return to football with little transition.

“He’s a guy that knows our defense,” Narduzzi said. “I think he’ll be able to walk out on the field immediately and go, ‘I know what to do.’”

Despite his solid 6 feet 3 inches, 286-pound frame, Scarpinato’s strength

as a player is not in physical ability, but rather on the mental side, where he uses the same smarts that enabled him to make it to med school.

“If you’re a student of the game, you don’t have to be the strongest or fastest person there, because you know what’s going to happen and you know what move to make off of it,” Scarpinato said.

Once his time is finished on the gridiron, Scarpinato has, at minimum, eight years of schooling left. After that, Scarpinato hopes to work on the administrative side of hospitals, his ultimate goal being to run a hospital.

And when the time comes that Scarpinato is done with football and he moves onto medicine, he’ll be able to look back and reflect with satisfaction, knowing he completed his football journey.

“Being able to play this last year of football will make me whole,” Scarpinato said. “I’ll be able to finish my circle for football and complete this part of my life.”