8-26-19

The Pitt News

T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | August 26, 2019 ­| Volume 110 | Issue 12

NEW TRIALS ...

Pitt’s class of 2023 is touted as the University’s most ethnically diverse class ever and consists of 42% out-of-state students. Hannah Heisler | staff photographer

... AND OLD TRADITIONS

A student receives a lantern before Pitt’s annual Lantern Night ceremony.

Hannah Heisler | staff photographer

2023 FIRST YEARS GET THE BIG PICTURE

Nicole Marzzacco

the Petersen Events Center Wednesday afternoon, carefully arranged so For The Pitt News their blue and gold Welcome Week TSamantha Solenday and about 4,000 shirts formed an image — the snarling of her classmates stood on the lawn of Pitt panther logo.

The class photo is one of many tra“I don’t think other schools would ditions Solenday, a first-year planning be able to create their logo the way Pitt to major in public and professional did,” Solenday said, “and it was so cool writing, experienced for the first time seeing the finished picture at the end.” last week. For her, it was a standout.

See 2023 on page 4

News

99 YEARS PROUD: ANNUAL TRADITION GLOWS AT LANTERN NIGHT Benjamin Nigrosh

First-year women exit the Cathedral of Learning after receiving their lanterns. Hannah Heisler | senior staff photographer

MEET THE EDITORS: LAYOUT pittnews.com

Layout Editors Hello from the layout desk! Despite living in a digital world, we still believe paper copy helps to make news more accessible. As the editors responsible for designing the physical publication you may or may not be holding in your hands right now (hi, social media users), we’re happy to serve people who still prefer to read their news on paper.

Because of the nature of the layout desk, the work we do can only be seen in print copies of The Pitt News — found in news stands around campus or online at https://issuu.com/thepittnews. Make sure to keep an eye out for our special editions!

Elise Lavallee, co-layout

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For The Pitt News As Linda Wharton Boyd looked out over a sea of first-year female Pitt students on Sunday night, she asked each attendee to look to the person to their left and the person to their right and repeat a three-word phrase.

“Pitt women rock.”

The words of Boyd, a 1972 graduate of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and representative of the Pitt Alumni Association, echoed out over 1,300 first-years on Sunday night. They funelled out of the Cathedral of Learning and into the courtyard of Heinz Chapel for Pitt’s 99th annual Lantern Night. As the University’s oldest tradition, the event was created to welcome the female students of each year’s incoming class, and introduce them to a community of Pitt women.

Lynne Nincke, a 1986 graduate of the Dietrich School of Arts and SciSee Lantern on page 7 I’m Elise, a senior political science and gender studies major and part-time Twitter enthusiast. This will be my second year as layout editor and fourth year working at The Pitt News. In addition to layout, I write for the news desk and occasionally illustrate or take photos for the visuals desk.

Eli Savage, co-layout I’m Eli, a junior studio arts major. I started out on the visuals desk doing illustrations, became assistant layout editor my third semester at The Pitt News and now I’m thrilled to be the co-head layout editor with Elise. Doing layout helps scratch my itch for obsessive neatness, and it’s super satisfying to make something look slick and easy to read.

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MEET THE EDITORS: NEWS

News Editors

Did Market Central pass its latest health inspection? (Yes.) Which 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are planning a stop near campus? (None currently.) And what’s that protest in Schenley Plaza all about? (Look, we’re trying to figure it out.)

On the news desk, we want to find and tell the stories that are important, interesting and relevant to Pitt students.

The three editors on our team work with a staff of between 10 and 20 reporters to cover events, profile neat figures, publish strongly reported features and break news on campus. Is there

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something we should know about? Do you think we’ve missed something important in a story? We hope you’ll reach out to us at news@pittnews.com.

Head News: Emily Wolfe I’m Emily, the news editor and a sophomore English writing and French major from northern Virginia. I joined The Pitt News early last fall as a student government beat reporter and worked as an assistant news editor in the spring before becoming sports editor for the summer. Now I’m back where I belong, on the news desk. I’ve found that journalism gives me the chance to hear stories from people I never would have

met otherwise. This campus, and its City, are full of interesting people doing interesting things, and I hope that through the news desk, our readers will get to meet them too.

Assistant News: Erica Guthrie I’m Eri, an assistant news editor and dual major in linguistics and Russian language from Montgomery County, Maryland. After doing journalism in high school, I got involved with The Pitt News as soon as I began my first year of college. Journalism has opened so many doors for me, but my favorite aspect of being a reporter is getting to meet so many people in the community

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with vastly different backgrounds and stories.

Assistant News: Jon Moss I’m Jon, an assistant news editor and sophomore business major. I started at The Pitt News last year writing in-depth feature stories before serving as this summer’s news editor. My favorite part of being a news reporter is working on accountability reporting — holding Pitt accountable for its actions — and doing my best to explain how the University’s inner workings will affect students and the wider Oakland community.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the year’s headlines!

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2023, pg. 1 The 4,150 students in the class of 2023 make up Pitt’s most diverse class ever — and the highest-ranked academically. But before classes begin, Pitt keeps first-years busy with a full schedule of events designed to help students settle into life at Pitt. This year’s schedule, organized in part by Pitt’s cohort of upperclassmen First Year Mentors, ranged from a glow-inthe-dark yoga session to an ice cream

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social.

Solenday said the events helped her meet new people. Her favorite was the Friday night “Late Night Breakfast” at Market Central.

“As the week went on the events were more fun, since I started making friends now,” Solenday said. “I’m excited to get involved since Pitt offers so much.”

First-year biology major Lydia Meade described convocation, the annual welcome ceremony held at

the Pete, as “slightly overwhelming.”

Outside, first-years were greeted by students in Greek life and other extracurricular activities trying to recruit new members.

“I didn’t expect to see so many people involved in the University welcoming us up at the Pete, and it was amazing to see so many people involved with Pitt,” Meade said.

Inside the Pete, things were more formal. First-year students heard an address from student government president Zechariah Brown and lis-

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tened to Chancellor Patrick Gallagher characterize Pitt’s values and expectations for its students. Afterwards, each member of the class of 2023 received an official University pin and sang the alma mater before heading outside for a barbecue — another chance to talk to new people.

Meade said the convocation ceremony made her feel closer to Pitt.

“I really felt invited into the Pitt community and ready to continue my journey to see what this City offers,” Meade said.

Though convocation was mandatory, many students took advantage of the optional events as well, including the activities fair at the Pete on Sunday.

First-year Rachel McLoughlin said she felt more comfortable at Pitt after seeing the many groups, clubs and societies represented at the activities fair. McLoughlin is a pre-physical therapy bioengineering major, but hopes to explore her other interests, like soccer, through clubs.

“There were so many clubs offered

by Pitt that I think it’ll be easy to find your niche,” McLoughlin said. “It gives us the opportunity to meet more upperclassmen and people with other interests outside our major.”

Alyssa Kline, also a first-year prephysical therapy major and McLoughlin’s roommate, said Welcome Week helped her overcome some of her nerves about coming to Pitt.

“I was nervous about meeting people at first and not sure what to expect,” Kline said. “With all the events it was easy to meet people and make friends, though.”

Welcome Week concluded Sunday night with the 99th annual Lantern Night, the ceremony where Pitt alumnae pass the torch of learning on to the new class of female students.

And although classes start Monday, McLoughlin said the events of Welcome Week helped her feel more prepared for the year to begin.

“Having so many events early in the week really helped me meet people,” McLoughlin said. “I like how we had a week to explore the campus, rather than just be thrown in classes on Monday.”

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SECOND OAKLAND SOCIAL CLUB BUILDING FOR SALE

Jon Moss

Assistant News Editor Faced with dwindling membership, The Twentieth Century Club has placed its four-story building up for sale, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Located at 4201 Bigelow Blvd., diagonally across Parkman Avenue from the Chevron Science Center, the Oakland social club was originally founded as a private women’s club in 1894.

Club President Joan Nilson told the Post-Gazette that members voted to close the building Dec. 31, but did not go into great detail about the reasons for the closure.

“I think we’ll get all of that information out,” Nilson said. “It’s premature for me to go into details.”

The club features numerous rooms for meetings, weddings and other

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events, as well as a weekly lecture series on Mondays. According to its website, the club’s Art Deco Ballroom is “one of the finest examples of the style” in the country.

The Twentieth Century Club is not the only Oakland social club to close in recent years — the Pittsburgh Athletic Association entered bankruptcy in 2017 before Shadyside developer Walnut Capital stepped in with a 2018 reorganization plan for the club’s building.

Pitt agreed in June to lease 30,000 square feet of the PAA building, at an annual cost of about $1.2 million. The 15-year agreement provides space for the Learning Research and Development Center, which is moving from its current location on O’Hara Street due to the construction of a new recreation The Twentieth Century Club, located diagonally across from Chevron Science Center, was recently put up for sale following dwindling membership. center.

Thomas Yang | assistant visual editor

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OPINONS 6

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Lantern, pg. 2 ences, said she was proud to be part of this long-standing tradition.

“For a female alumna to be passing on the flame of learning to an incoming female freshman I think is so powerful and so poignant,” Nincke said.

Nincke was one of 38 alumnae acting as flame bearers for the Lantern Night ceremony. This group of Pitt graduates — all of them mothers and grandmothers of incoming students — lit the lanterns of their daughters and granddaughters, as well as all other students participating in the ceremony.

Maddie Morrow, a first-year biology major, said the event emphasized the importance of creating a community of women to support one another and to commemorate their achievements.

“For a long time, women weren’t allowed in college,” Morrow said. “This is celebrating how far we’ve come.”

Provost Ann Cudd, the last to speak before the lanterns were lit, reminded the audience of the progress made since Lantern Night began — this year’s ceremony marks the 99th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote in the United States.

“Lantern Night is special as it symbolizes women’s progress through education,” Cudd said. “Lantern Night reminds us that even good and great institutions need to reinvent themselves to ensure justice.”

Cudd also reflected on the generations of hardworking women and students that came before her, highlighting her mother’s experiences.

“My mother was a trailblazer in her family,” Cudd said. “As a first genera-

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tion student, she achieved a college education through sheer determination to overcome the many obstacles that women faced.”

Following Cudd’s speech, the students were led into the Chapel. Holding metallic lanterns hanging from blue ribbons, the flame bearers lit the students’ lanterns — symbolically passing on the light of their knowledge to the new students with each lantern lit.

Lisa Nazar, a 1993 graduate of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, said taking part in this event was her way of expressing her pride in being a Pitt alumna. She said that she still holds dearly the values and community that she found at Pitt and was excited to pass that on to her daughter and many more generations of students.

“It’s part of the sacred tradition of Pitt. It’s part of being a member of this community, of being proud of who we are and what we stand for,” Nazar said.

During the parade of students moving up and down the aisles of the Chapel to light their lanterns, the flame bearers whispered short snippets of advice and words of encouragement to students, continuing the night’s tradition of encouraging female students.

Once all of the lanterns were lit, Boyd looked out at the crowd and took a short moment of silence for attendees to reflect and appreciate their place in the community. She then called upon the students to stand, raise their newly lit lanterns and join her in repeating a short stanza.

“Hold your light high / I pledge my word / In my own heart / To sing both for myself and for those who follow me in the light of truth,” Boyd said.

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Opinions

MEET THE EDITORS: OPINIONS

Opinions Editors With so much news happening here at Pitt, in Pittsburgh, in the country and around the world, more and more people seem to be shutting it all out as a sort of coping mechanism. It can be taxing — not to mention impossible — to dissect and think about everything that’s happening in the world.

That’s where the opinions desk comes in.

We’re proud and excited to analyze local and world news in a way that stimulates conversation and debate on campus. We’ve been hard at work this summer, publishing col-

umns about a wide range of topics — from the pros and cons of PittStart to residence hall horoscopes to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.

Our columnists are ready to continue that hard work to bring you a variety of liberal and conservative viewpoints on anything and everything that touches student life. But it’s our goal to provide a platform for not just our columnists, but the rest of the student body too.

We’d love to hear from you. If you have a viewpoint you’d like to share with other Pitt students, send us an email at tpnopinions@

gmail.com. We’re always accepting op-ed submissions and letters to the editor.

Welcome to opinions, and happy first day of classes!

Head Opinions: Maggie Durwald I’m Maggie Durwald, a junior linguistics and French major and Buffalo, New York, native. I’ve been with the opinions desk since the beginning of my first year, when I worked as a columnist, but you might remember me from last year, when I was opinions editor. I’m back this year in the same position, and I’m very much looking forward to continuing and expanding on the

work we’ve done at a section that’s become my second home.

Assistant Opinions: Leah Mensch I’m Leah Mensch, a junior nonfiction writing and English literature major. I started writing for the opinions desk last fall and served as the opinions editor this past summer. I’ll be hanging out in the office two nights a week this semester, serving as the assistant opinions editor. I’m thrilled to be part of the editorial board this year, but I’m most excited to work at the best desk, alongside an editor as fun as Maggie — who, by the way, loves having her picture taken.

ACTION NEEDED TO CURB TUITION INCREASES Josh Beylinson Staff Columnist

It was disappointing, but not surprising, to most students when Pitt announced tuition was increasing for the 2019-20 school year. Tuition rates have been steadily rising at schools across the country for the past two decades, and Pitt is no exception.

While high rates have become common, they should not be accepted as inevitable. Universities can and should look for innovative solutions to the college tuition crisis, especially when the money students are paying is funnelled into administration-driven projects. In order to curb tuition increases, Pitt should find ways to make money that don’t rely on students bearing the financial brunt of every project the school decides to pursue. While this is easier said than done, many univer- Tuition will be increasing again for the 2019-20 school year. Sarah Cutshall | sities around the country have discovered visual editor

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new ways to raise money other than digging it out of students’ pockets.

Pitt increased the tuition for in-state students this year by 2.75% and 5% for out-of-state students on the Pittsburgh campus. While the numbers may not seem like much at first, they add up. If an in-state resident entered the University as a first-year in the 2015-16 academic year, they paid $17,292 per academic year. When they graduate at the end of the 2019-20 academic year, they will pay $18,628. That’s a 7.7% tuition increase. For out-of-state students, the tuition increase for those four years was 16.38%, an even more dramatic change. Even though the state of Pennsylvania increases the amount of money given to the University by about 2 to 3% each year, the tuition keeps climbing up.

People who came into the University See Tuition on page 9

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Tuition, pg. 8 four years ago are now paying thousands of dollars more than they initially thought they would have to pay, especially outof-state students. This seriously hurts people, like junior marketing major Enlin Carow, who are either struggling or are on a very strict budget to pay for college.

“Even a 5% tuition increase adds to my financial burden,” Carrow said. “I already have so many loans to pay off.”

According to Pitt spokesperson Joe

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Miksch, the money will go toward increased financial aid and also cover the long-term Pitt Master Plan, which includes building renovations and a new fitness center. However, many current students won’t reap the benefits of these investments. The Master Plan, which has only just begun, will take seven years to complete, and not every struggling student will qualify for the financial aid options Pitt has rolled out.

Pitt’s tuition is already the highest among public universities, making it hard for low and middle income students to af-

ford attending. Despite the fact that students are paying more every year, a lot of their complaints have not been addressed.

Pitt recently rolled out a new Wi-Fi deal, which offers students the option to pay $69 per semester for faster Wi-Fi on more devices through Apogee, a thirdparty supplier. The University said it switched to Apogee’s MyResNet service in order to improve Wi-Fi speeds per individual device, but the change still stings considering it was announced about a month after the most recent tuition increase. And although the University as-

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serts that the paid option will only be necessary for a few “hard-core” internet users, it’s upsetting that some students will have to pay more for their internet when the previous, University-run PittNet was free all around.

The tuition increase and wireless internet plan just add to the services, some optional and some not, that students often have to pay for — such as printing, laundry and books. Students who still live in residence halls on campus can be charged if they accidentally lock themSee Tuition on page 13

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from the editorial board

Emphasis on higher test scores won’t help diversity This year’s incoming class is already breaking records. Pitt’s class of 2023 will be one of the most ethnically diverse groups of students in the University’s history, as well as the group with some of the highest standardized test scores.

While the higher level of diversity is encouraging, the higher test scores are not as beneficial to the University as they might seem. It’s the goal of any institution of higher learning to collect the best and brightest amongst their pools of applicants, but focusing on standardized test scores isn’t necessarily the best way to do so. Since test scores aren’t the only measure of a person’s intelligence, depending on them can stall Pitt’s efforts to diversify.

During the June meeting of Pitt’s Board of Trustees, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher noted the composition of the

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incoming first-year class.

“As we draw less from Pennsylvania, more from the rest of the country, we’re starting to look more like the rest of the country,” he said. “Once again, we are likely to welcome one of the most racially, ethnically diverse classes on record for the University of Pittsburgh.”

Statistics from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid show that about 28% of students in the class of 2023 identify as American Indian/ Alaskan Native, Asian, black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or two or more races. Fourteen percent of students are from underrepresented minority groups — a record number.

These are positive statistics for Pitt. However, another remark Gallagher made at the same board meeting should provoke some hesitation.

“We’re seeing an incredibly accomplished class of young people coming in who, once again, will best our topline numbers in all the academic achievement areas like GPA and test scores,” he said.

The middle 50% of the incoming class’ high school GPAs run as high as 4.31 and 4.44. Grades and test scores can be a good gauge for intellectual intelligence, but not for everyone. Many students show intelligence in ways that can’t be or aren’t accurately measured by testing, like those with more creative intelligence whose unorthodox problem-solving skills don’t fit within the rigid structure of standardized tests. Higher test scores don’t necessarily indicate smarter, more driven individuals, and setting a higher standard for these scores can shut out many applicants who would be valuable assets

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to the University.

A greater focus on test scores can also contribute to lower levels of diversity. According to a study released this year by Georgetown University, if universities were to admit only prospective students with the highest test scores, the student body would become much more affluent and much less diverse.

Gallagher’s remarks were meant to praise the University on its latest incoming class. The fact that it’s one of the highest-scoring classes we’ve seen in a long time isn’t a bad thing, but going forward we should be careful with how we think about the importance of test scores and GPAs in deciding who gets accepted to Pitt. Placing increased importance on those two criteria could ultimately bring our rising diversity numbers down.

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Summer of Creativity:

Vignettes from summer break The Pitt News Staff Genna Edwards, For The Pitt News I went to the ER for the first time this summer. Long story short: golf cart accident. After I got 16 stitches on the index finger of my dominant right hand, I had to relearn how to do basically everything. I couldn’t hold a spoon, brush my teeth or comb my hair. The three weeks the laceration took to heal became a creative experiment, a test of patience. I was my own lab rat.

Re-teaching yourself basic skills with only one functioning opposable thumb quite frankly blows. It took me three days to master brushing my teeth without swiping mint toothpaste all over my face. I opened peanut butter jars by sitting down, placing the jar between my feet and twisting the cap off with my working hand. Since I couldn’t cook — open wounds and flames don’t mix — I quite cleverly resorted to a diet of delivery and ice cream.

Now healed and sporting a wicked scar, I’m confident if a ninja ever slices my hand off I’ll be totally fine.

Leah Mensch, Assistant Opinions Editor I painted my bedroom door this summer because the only thing more boring than doing yard work is a plain white door with a classic silver door knob.

The only other thing more boring than doing yard work is watching paint dry. Unless, of course, it’s a mural of a sunset’s progression — a clear, blue sky fading into a sherbert rainbow and finally collapsing into a starry night sky — which is exactly how I painted my door. I learned the hard way, a few years ago, the importance of using painter’s tape to keep the edges of the painting straight, and the importance of using quality brushes — read, brushes that don’t come out of a children’s watercolor book — to get the job

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done. First I painted the background, which was the blue sky, the progression of the sunset’s colors, and the night sky.

Afterwards, I added clouds in the blue sky with a sponge brush, and painted stars into the night sky with a finetipped paint brush.

I’m not artistic by nature, but painting the door was a surprisingly enjoyable experience. I won’t be seeing the door again until I come home

of time. But I had to produce a creative project for my summer class, a literature course called Words and Images, and it was one of the hardest tasks I accomplished this summer. And it was strangely practical.

For my creative project, each person from the class had to reimagine a myth or monster as it may appear in today’s contemporary society. I chose the dragon as my monster of choice

Assistant opinions editor Leah Mensch painted her bedroom door over the summer. Leah Mensch | contributing editor for Thanksgiving break, but I plan on painting some more for the time being.

Probably on paper next time, rather than a door or a wall. I can’t imagine my landlord being thrilled with a sunset mural on my South Oakland bedroom door.

Grace McGinness, Staff Columnist Being creative is hard. There, I said it, and that is my unpopular opinion of the summer. It’s easy to brush creative projects like scrapbooking, ceramics or robotics aside as flimsy, idyllic wastes

and based my research on its mythology. I thought it would be interesting to visualize today’s dragons as firewallbreaking computer viruses that hoard people’s online information. Naturally, the only way to express this interpretation was through a stop-motion animation video.

Pitt has a green screen for students to use for video recording in Hillman Library, and while I had zero experience in either animation or video production, I thought that I might as well

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make use of it. After eight hours of production, more than 250 images, 20 well-worn pieces of tape and six hours of video editing, I managed to make a 27-second stop-motion video.

There were so many practical things about the creative production for which I would have never thought to prepare — like the way the light hits the green screen to eliminate glare or shadows, what order to take the pictures for easy assembly or how to resize each image to fit together without losing clarity. In spite of all this work for what seems to be such little payoff, I was so proud of those out-of-focus 27 seconds because I could say, “Yeah, I did that.”

Ana Altchek, Staff Columnist Arriving in Pittsburgh with painful jet lag in the midst of a thunderstorm gave me a slight culture shock after spending the last three and a half months in a literal desert. About four days ago, I returned from my summer trip to Israel, where I immersed myself in Middle Eastern culture and explored my Jewish heritage.

My summer consisted of working at a political research center during the morning, sunbathing at the beach in the afternoon and discovering the variety of Tel Aviv nightlife in the evenings. I stayed with family on the weekends, and during the week I resided in an apartment in the center of Tel Aviv with two strangers I now consider my best friends.

While the experience sounds incredible, and it was, there were obviously setbacks. Aside from a cockroach infestation and tarantula sighting in my apartment, I also struggled to cover expenses for an entire summer abroad, had to adapt to cultural differences, dealt with a language barrier and put up with the distance from my close family and friends for months.

With that being said, I would not See Vignettes on page 13

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Tuition, pg. 9 selves out of their own living quarters one too many times. There is a $10 fee after the third time they are locked out of their dorm and a $20 charge for the next three subsequent lockouts, as well as a $50 charge for any subsequent lockouts after the ninth lockout.

In an attempt to offset some of the cost of tuition, Pitt has increased the amount of money going towards financial need — some of which also happens to come from tuition payments, along with money from the state. As explained by Miksch, the University has committed $130 million to support students with financial need.

“While it’s impossible to determine tuition years in advance, the University remains dedicated to keeping rates as low as possible while maximizing the value of a Pitt education and providing financial assistance to those in need,” Miksch wrote in an email.

However, many students that don’t qualify for financial aid still struggle to pay for college, and Pitt remains the public university with the highest in-state tuition in the country. And it’s hard to focus

Vignettes, pg. 12 change anything about my creative experiences and am forever grateful for the life lessons it taught me and the way it allowed for me to grow. Not only did I learn about another culture, but I expanded my personal connections and became close to people who I would have never met had I not been forced into this self-sufficient environment. All in all, if the opportunity presents itself in any capacity, I encourage everyone to go abroad at some point — and more so, to do it alone.

Mackenzie Oster, Staff Columnist Summer is when we are finally free from priorities, and the opportunities are limitless. It’s when that stack of books on your bedside table can finally come to life. That paint brush that you haven’t touched since highschool has patiently awaited for its moment.

The days feel infinite because you are no longer tied to the demands of

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on helping students pay their bills when the bills themselves keep getting higher and higher. In 10 years, receiving $5,000 to help pay tuition costs likely won’t have the same impact as it does now. The University needs to focus on keeping tuition down so students aren’t faced with such daunting costs in the first place.

To combat rising costs, the University should try to diversify its income further.

Many smaller universities have done so by renting out spaces during the summer or partnering with startups in the private sector.

Smaller universities aren’t the only ones innovating to combat rising budget costs.

Harvard, a university with a $35.7 billion endowment, sells unfilled seats in its classes and also rents out their main campus for corporate gatherings and weddings. Dartmouth College runs seasonal sports camps and athletic training, while the University of Chicago not only rents its premises but assists in the event planning.

A university as large and resourceful as Pitt should be able to find ways to diversify its income as well. Pitt should not have to continuously increase its tuition every year, forcing the students to take on a larger financial burden. school work or structure.

Until, of course, you have to find a summer job.

Summer is now all work and no play. Don’t get me wrong, I love the hot Georgia days I have back home, but I spent the majority of this past summer attempting to save for the upcoming school year by fulfilling the demands of two jobs. The freedom just isn’t there anymore. In its place, there’s structure, priorities and things that have to get done. The summer of a college kid is used for saving, internships and resumé builders.

All I have to say after my summer full of maintenance is thank you, Pitt, for making my summer as an adult a bearable one, because I knew that when it was over, I’d come back to a place that made me appreciate the creative opportunities of a city. Especially because after four months of work, I know I’d return to school and the weight of being an adult would dissipate into my favorite persona — a broke college kid.

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MEET THE EDITORS: Delilah Bourque Culture Editor

Here’s an early introduction to the culture section — you’ll find us in print and online on Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall. We cover everything involving music, theater, art, literature, movies and television happening on campus and around the City. You can catch us hanging out at cool cultural events around town and reviewing

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new projects from your favorite creators.

I’m Delilah, the culture editor. I’m a senior English writing major and while I’m culture editor now, I started at The Pitt News my sophomore year as a columnist on the opinions desk, writing mostly about politics and world events.

The Pitt News is where I’ve found a home on campus to explore doing what I love and make new, lifelong friends in the process.

I love the culture section because culture is

CULTURE

so essential to the betterment and enjoyment of people’s lives. Culture can start conversations and friendships, it can also be shared, adapted and moved to match our progression as people.

We have a lot of fun and interesting stuff coming up this year in the culture section. Pittsburgh has such a rich cultural scene, from art galleries and music shows, to great restaurants and festivals. There’s no shortage of great things going on for us to share with you. We are fea-

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turing some fantastic members of the Pitt community who can’t wait to spread the word about their work.

Culture is what makes us human. What would modern humanity be without creative expression? We share our experiences when we share our art, and with it a part of ourselves. I hope you’ll enjoy what the culture section has to offer you this year — we have so much we can’t wait for you to see!

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Sports WEEKEND SPORTS RECAP: WEST POWERS PANTHERS TO PERFECT START Stephen Thompson Assistant Sports Editor

Women’s soccer Pitt women’s soccer opened the 2019 campaign on a positive note Friday night, edging Loyola Marymount in a high-scoring 5-4 affair at Urbanic Field.

First-year forward Amanda West powered the Panthers to victory by way of a sensational three-goal performance, making her the only first-year Panther ever to earn a hat trick in her debut.

West scored her first goal almost three minutes into the second half, ty-

ing the score at two a piece. Redshirt junior Jackie Fiacco gave the lead back to LMU in the 62nd minute, but West was quick to respond with her second equalizer.

West’s final goal came in the 82nd minute with the game knotted at four all. From there, the Panthers held firm and secured a season-opening for the third straight year.

Redshirt senior Juliana Vazquez and first-year defender Athalie Palomo rounded out the scoring for the PanSee Weekend on page 19

Pitt women’s volleyball was picked for the first time in program history to win the ACC this year. Sarah Cutshall | visual editor

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Weekend, pg. 18 thers. Sophomore forward Anna Rico also contributed to the victory with two assists.

Pitt then made the trek from Pittsburgh to Lewisburg to face the Bucknell Bison on Sunday. It was another close match, but once again Pitt’s young star came through when it mattered most.

The game was scoreless after 90 minutes, and both teams got their

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first taste of overtime this season. After outshooting the Bison for the entirety of the match, Pitt finally broke through in the second overtime when West scored her fourth goal of the season, assisted by Rico. That “golden goal” would give the Panthers a 1-0 win.

The Panthers currently sit undefeated through two games. Their next test comes Friday, when they travel to Hanover, New Hampshire, to face Dartmouth. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

Volleyball

The No. 12 Panthers traveled to Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon for an exhibition match against the reigning Atlantic 10 conference champion Dayton Flyers. Pitt, picked for the first time in program history to win the ACC, rallied after finding itself in an early deficit, but ultimately lost the match 3-2.

The Flyers won the opening pair of sets by identical 25-21 scores. They used strong closing runs of 7-3 and 5-3 to clinch consecutive sets.

But the Panthers responded in the

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third and fourth sets, winning 25-22 and 25-23, respectively, to force a decisive fifth set.

The thrilling final frame featured eight ties and two lead changes as the teams traded points down the stretch.

But with the score tied at 17, the Flyers scored back-to-back points that secured a victory.

Despite the loss, several Panthers who figure to be key parts of the 2019 campaign turned in strong performances. Redshirt senior Stephanie Williams led the visitors with 21 kills, followed by junior Kayla Lund with 10. Senior Nika Markovic also filled up the stat sheet with 10 kills, six digs and five blocks.

First-year setter Lexis Akeo, the younger sister of former Panther Kamalani Akeo, picked up right where her sister left off, manning the back side of Pitt’s lineup and tallying 42 assists for the match.

Senior Layne Van Buskirk contributed a team-high six blocks in addition to eight kills as well.

The Panthers return to action next weekend, when they will officially open the 2019 season with the Panther Challenge. Cleveland State, Cincinnati and South Carolina will travel to Fitzgerald Field House for the event.

Men’s soccer The Panthers concluded preseason play on Friday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where they met No. 17 James Madison and escaped with a 1-0 victory over the Dukes.

A late second-half goal from sophomore midfielder Jackson Walti off an assist from first-year midfielder Valentin Noel was the lone score for either squad.

Though the win won’t count toward Pitt’s regular season record, it’s certainly an encouraging sign considering the talent level of the opponent.

James Madison finished 2018 ranked No. 10 in the country and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Up next the Panthers will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, to face Indiana University and Northwestern for the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic over the weekend. Their first match against the Hoosiers is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. on Friday.

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WHAT YOU MISSED IN PITT SPORTS OVER THE SUMMER

Trent Leonard Sports Editor

Pitt’s sports teams saw limited action throughout the summer months, but that doesn’t mean that the offseason was without consequence. From snagging heralded recruits to hiring new coaches and seeing former players get drafted, Pitt athletics saw several crucial developments take place over the summer. If you weren’t paying attention, we’ve got you covered.

Football It didn’t take long after classes ended last spring for Panther athletes to make headlines. On April 27, former Pitt running back and 2018 leading rusher Qadree Ollison was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round with the 152nd overall pick of the NFL Draft. Though Ollison was the only Panther drafted, his Pitt backfield mates Darrin Hall and George Aston also joined the NFL ranks via undrafted free agency.

Ollison has seemingly carved out a role as Atlanta’s third-string running back after leading the team in carries throughout the preseason. In fact, Ollison’s 35 carries and

129 yards rank third among all players in the preseason thus far. Hall, meanwhile, was recently released by the Green Bay Packers as they trimmed down their roster. Aston continues to battle for a spot on the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster, where he could make his mark as a special teams playmaker.

While Pitt will dearly miss those departed seniors, head coach Pat Narduzzi made significant progress this summer toward stocking up for the future.

A date that Pitt football fanatics may eventually cite as a turning point for the program is June 22 — when the Panthers managed to earn six 2020 commitments in one single day. This includes their two highest-rated recruits of the class — fourstar defensive back Jahvante Royal and four-star wideout Aydin Henningham.

Both four-star prospects hail from Florida, furthering Pitt’s already formidable pipeline to one of football’s foremost talent mines. Pitt didn’t neglect its hometown talent either, earning a commitment from Westinghouse’s own Dayon Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound, three-star defen-

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Rashad Weaver, 17, tore his ACL in training camp this summer. He will be sitting out this season. Sarah Cutshall | visual editor

sive lineman who chose the Panthers over 25 other suitors including Penn State and West Virginia.

Pitt football’s class of 2020 will also include Miami running back Henry Parrish, who recently went viral with an incredible run that showcased his elusiveness. Over-

all, Narduzzi nabbed 15 three-star and two four-star recruits, securing the No. 32 class of 2020 in the nation, according to Rivals. com. For comparison, that’s 18 spots ahead of last year’s recruiting class.

The summer wasn’t all rainbows and See Summer on page 22

MEET THE EDITORS: SPORTS

Sports Editors Sports. That’s it — that’s the tweet.

Kidding, but seriously, who doesn’t love a good sport? Even if you think you don’t like sports, take a closer look and you’ll realize you do. Whether it’s jaywalking across Forbes, speed-walking to your next class across campus in under 10 minutes or binge-watching a Netflix show in world record time, we all partake in activities that push our bodies to their physical limits.

Here at The Pitt News sports desk, we take

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pride in covering sports of every variety. Last year alone, we published stories centered on skating, sailing, cycling, Muay Thai and Quidditch, to name a few. We’re always looking for fresh angles and perspectives to keep readers on their feet and provide the sort of localized touch you won’t get from simply surfing ESPN. com.

Of course, we’ll continue to provide timely coverage and analysis of all Pitt’s football, basketball and other sporting events as usual, along with columns on sports topics happening in the City of Pittsburgh and beyond. If you

have any story tips please email tpnsports@ gmail.com and to stay up to date with the latest developments and recruiting news, follow @ pittnewssports on Twitter.

Head sports: Trent Leonard As the sports editor, it’s my duty to discover and share these stories with the student population. My name is Trent, and I’m an English writing and history dual major who started working for TPN as a sophomore in 2017. In the world of sports, I’m looking forward to both the NFL and NBA seasons, where both my Pittsburgh Steelers and Golden State War-

August 26, 2019

riors are flying under the radar and will hopefully stun all those who doubted them.

Assistant sports: Stephen Thompson I’m Stephen, a sophomore from Washington DC, majoring in communications and political science. This is my second year of work at the Pitt News and it has opened up a whole new world for me. Family roots from New England granted me a deep love of the Patriots, Celtics and Red Sox as well as Pitt football and basketball. After graduation I hope to work on political campaigns, but for now I’ll stick to sports.

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Summer, pg. 21 unicorns for the Panthers, however, as disaster struck training camp on Aug. 9. Junior defensive end Rashad Weaver suffered a torn ACL during a practice drill and will miss the entire upcoming season as a result.

The injury is particularly devastating to the Panthers, considering that Weaver was set to be their most dominant player after leading the team with 14 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 2018.

Basketball While the football team overachieved on the recruiting trail, Pitt basketball didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations set upon the program at the start of summer.

When four-star forward Gerald Drumgoole committed to Pitt last February, fans figured that more highly touted recruits would join him at Pitt. Capel maintained that momentum by adding three-star forwards Karim Coulibaly and Justin Champagnie last school year.

When the academic year ended, Capel and the Panthers were reportedly in the mix to add several high-profile recruits over the summer. Sure, they missed out on center Ibrahima Diallo in April, but most assumed they’d get Khadim Sy, Julian Champagnie, Oliver Robinson-Nkamhoua or Josaphat Bilau. Long story short, Pitt struck out on every single one.

Instead, the Panthers’ main additions over the summer were a pair of transfer students. Junior Ryan Murphy committed to Pitt on May 8 after playing the previous season at New Mexico Junior College, where he established himself as a capable outside shooter and the nation’s No. 46 junior college prospect. Capel also got another big man to add depth to Pitt’s frontcourt, as 6-foot-9, 250-pound graduate transfer Eric Hamilton joined the Panthers from UNC Greensboro on May 15.

Overall, Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class finished No. 11 in the ACC and No. 50 in the nation after being ranked No. 5 and No. 32, respectively, the previous year.

Baseball Pitt baseball saw three of its former players — pitchers Dan Hammer and Derek West, along with outfielder Connor Perry — selected on the final day of the Major League Baseball Draft on June 6.

Hammer was the first of the bunch to go, as the Baltimore Orioles took the righty in the 13th round with the 378th overall

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pick. Hammer’s junior season wasn’t spectacular — he achieved a 6.55 ERA over 17 appearances — but he finished his Pitt career eighth in program history with 189 strikeouts, so the Orioles took a gamble on his potential.

The Houston Astros selected West in the very next round with the 436th overall pick. Like Hammer, West was a righthanded pitcher who decided to forego his final year of eligibility with the Panthers.

West already declared for the draft the prior year and was chosen by the Atlanta Braves at 832nd overall, but decided to re-

turn to Pitt for his junior year. West led the Panthers with 82 strikeouts in 2019 to go with a formidable 3.82 ERA over 68.1 innings pitched.

Perry was the last Panther taken, as the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 28th round with the 832nd overall pick. As a senior in 2019, Perry led all Pitt batters with 57 runs and 15 home runs while also manning center field.

Women’s lacrosse Though it won’t field a team until 2021, Pitt women’s lacrosse does have a coach.

Athletic director Heather Lyke announced

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on June 28 that Emily Boissonneault will be the one to oversee the Panthers as they develop the varsity program from the ground up.

Boissonneault previously served as an assistant and then associate head coach at James Madison University. During her time on the coaching staff, the Dukes won three Colonial Athletic Association championships, along with a national championship in 2018. Her experience at the highest level should undoubtedly go a long way as Pitt tries to start a new program from scratch.

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MEET THE EDITORS: DIGITAL Digital Editors Hello from the digital desk! This is one of the few times you will be hearing from us via the print edition of The Pitt News, as all of our content lives on the internet.

The digital desk includes blogs, online visuals, our social media pages and (in the near future) podcasts. Check us out at pittnews. com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. See you online!

Digital Manager: Mary Rose O’Donnell My name is Mary Rose O’Donnell, a junior English writing and information science major from West Chester. I started writing for The Pitt News last fall for the news desk and was the culture section editor this past summer. Now that the fall semester has begun, I have switched jobs and am now committed to bringing some great digital content to the website and our weekly newsletter. I’m looking forward to working on blogs and podcasts this year, and I hope you all keep an eye on pittnews. com.

Social Media: Sarah Connor I’m Sarah Connor — yes like “The Terminator,” unfortunately — and I run all of the social media for The Pitt News. That includes writing, planning and scheduling everything on our Twitter, Facebook, Ins-

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MEET THE EDITORS:

tagram and Snapchat. I am a senior double majoring in English and communication.

I was the culture editor last year, and before that I wrote for both news and culture desks. I am a native to the Pittsburgh area — I grew up about 40 minutes east of the city, in Moon Township — and I now reside in Shadyside year-round. This past summer, I was the arts and entertainment intern at Pittsburgh City Paper, where I wrote about music, theater and other elements of the local culture. I spend my free time working at Starbucks, going to concerts and obsessing over my French bulldog. Look for the best GIFs on TPN’s Twitter, and remember they were hand-chosen by me!

Online Visuals: Gennadi Ryan My name is Gennadi Ryan, and I am a sophomore studying computer science and math, originally from San Francisco. I was introduced to the digital desk last spring as a staff graphic artist. Soon after, I found that I enjoyed finding ways to help visually contextualize the numbers and timelines in a story for a reader. I realized I wanted to become more involved with TPN, so when the opportunity arose for me to become editor of the visuals desk this fall, I gladly took it.

I look forward to working together with my digital desk colleagues to bring you a great online TPN experience.

VISUAL Visual Editors In the age of instant social media news and overwhelming amounts of information, we recognize that visuals are likely the first things that draw your interest to a story — and that’s where we come in.

An interesting photo, video or illustration can be a nice mental break, but it can also help immerse you even more in the story. This year, we hope to create even more video content — especially at football games — and continue to present stories visually from new and unexpected perspectives.

Head Visuals: Sarah Cutshall I’m Sarah, a junior environmental science major and this year’s visual editor. I started at The Pitt News as a photographer during my first year, but I’ve been interested in photography since middle school. I’m also interested

August 26, 2019

in sustainability and environmental issues.

Assistant Visuals: Thomas Yang I’m Thomas, a senior microbiology major. I’ve been working at The Pitt News for my entire internment at the University of Pittsburgh and was coerced into becoming a visual editor in the middle of my sophomore year. In my free time I think about graduating, which I won’t be doing this year.

Multimedia/Video: Knox Coulter I’m Knox, a junior transfer student, and I’m the multimedia editor this year.

I started at TPN my first semester here last fall as a staff photographer, and I’m excited to transition into bringing more video content to the news this year. I first got into visuals with music photography and videography as a first-year at Tufts University and have gotten more and more into creating content ever since.

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MEET THE EDITORS:

COPY

Copy Editors Hello from The Pitt News copy desk!

We’re probably the least well-known of newspaper desks, because we aren’t actually writers — most of us, at least. We are in charge of checking any and every story for factual errors, AP Style, grammar mistakes and more. After passing our desk, each article holds up to our perfectionist standards (until our faculty adviser critiques it!).

We are so excited to be a part of making The Pitt News the best student

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newspaper around. We’ve seen so many wonderful and groundbreaking stories pass our desk, and we can’t wait for you to read them. If you have any questions about what it takes to perfect an article, just ask us at tpncopydesk@gmail.com.

Copy chief: Bailey Sasseville I’m Bailey, a senior from northern Virginia double majoring in biology and fiction writing and hoping to go to grad school for genetic counseling.

I started at copy desk more than a year ago, and I’m so excited to be heading

up our staff of dedicated copy editors.

As copy chief, I’m in charge of making sure everyone is properly trained in AP Style and grammar, and I do final checks on every article and paper layout. Even though I’m not planning on going into journalism as a career, I’ve loved every minute of my experience at The Pitt News. In my opinion, copy desk is the best and funniest desk and has all of the nicest people.

Assistant copy chief: Maggie Young I’m Maggie (one of many), a junior

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English writing major. I started working with the Pitt News as a copy editor last fall. In my time here, I have written for the news and culture desks as well.

Now, I do all the final checks Bailey does on the days that she’s not in the office. I look forward to strengthening my writing as a copy editor and bettering my copy editing skills as I write.

There are so many interesting stories to tell at Pitt and so many talented Pitt News staff who write them. Excited for the year ahead!

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