3-15-23

1 Pamela Smith and Ethan Shulman, The Pitt News Staff

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The Pitt News

March 1 The inde p e nde n t student newspaper of 15, the2023 University of Pittsbur g h | PI ttn e w s.c o m | march 15, 2023 ­| Volume 113 | Issue 116

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THE PITT NEWS SPORTS DESK PREDICTS MARCH MADNESS WINNERS WBB

Indiana stuns South Carolina 83-80 // Jack Markowski, Staff Writer Betting against Staley’s South Carolina team probably isn’t smart, but I’m going for it anyway.

Indiana fell short in the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State, but it earned a No. 1 seed and the No. 2 spot in the AP poll for a reason. Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes is one of the best players in the nation, and the Hoosiers’ offense as a whole is lethal. Stepping up to the Gamecocks on both sides of the ball will prove tough, but Indiana is one of the few teams in the country that can do it.

South Carolina repeats, knocks off Virginia Tech 73-60 // Richie Smiechowski, Sports Editor Is there a more dominant team in college sports right now than South Carolina women’s basketball?

Since the beginning of last season, the Gamecocks are 68-2 and won the 2022 National Championship with virtually no resistance. This season, South Carolina is arguably even better than they were last year — a scary proposition for any team that stumbles into their March Madness warpath. Clark, Iowa best Indiana in Big Ten grudge match 81-77 // Anthony Speciale, Staff Writer South Carolina defeats UConn in 2022 rematch While choosing to have the powerhouse of 78-64 // Mason Carter, Staff Writer the sport in South Carolina NOT advance to the South Carolina will cap off their perfect season, National Championship may be a decision I soon knocking off UConn in a championship rematch regret, the red-hot Hawkeyes are fully capable of from last season. Head coach Dawn Staley and her handing the Gamecocks their first loss of the 2022Gamecocks have dominated the country all sea- 23 campaign. son.

Iowa is arguably playing their best basketball After narrowly defeating the Huskies earlier this season following a Big Ten title. Led by player this year, South Carolina has only improved their of the year candidate Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes play. The Gamecocks are looking to extend their will bring their explosive offensive ways to the dynasty with another championship against leg- National stage. Also providing elite offensive proendary UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. duction is their Big Ten counterpart, the Indiana Hoosiers, led by seniors Mackenzie Holmes and

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Grace Berger. The two teams split their regular season matchups this season, with Iowa winning the latter match in a thrilling 86-85 victory. Both of these Big Ten powerhouses should make an exciting, deep run into March.

on Houston to watch two historic rivals duke for the title.

West Virginia dominated Pitt earlier this season, downing the Panthers 81-56 back in November. But that was before Pitt emerged as one of the nation’s top teams. In a national title rematch, expect no couch Notre Dame defeats Indiana 78-73 // Will Chris- burnings in Morgantown, West Virginia. tie, Sports Writer The “Lady Irish” of Notre Dame fought hard Gonzaga defeats Alabama 81-76 // Jack Markowski, their entire season to stay in the running. With Staff Writer Notre Dame matching up against Indiana in the Gonzaga has built somewhat of a dynasty in recent final game, these two schools will play for Indiana years under head coach Mark Few — yet the Bulldogs women’s basketball supremacy. still haven’t won their first National Championship.

Although Indiana dominated the Big Ten con- Despite the tournament letdowns, this is their year, ference for the 2022-23 season, Notre Dame has exorcizing their March Madness demons once and for a long tradition of boasting a successful women’s all. basketball program. With Notre Dame’s star player The Bulldogs own the best offense in the naOlivia Miles possibly returning from injury, Indi- tion along with a deep roster led by senior forward ana will have to play their best basketball of the Drew Timme and junior guard Julian Strawther that year to knock off the Irish. oozes experience and upside. The road through the tournament isn’t without its difficulties, but this GonSouth Carolina achieves perfection, beating zaga team has what it takes.

UConn 66-52 // Alex Porter, Staff Writer While everyone loves the Cinderella stories Alabama dominates Kansas 83-67 // Mason Carter, that capture the nation’s attention every March, it’s Staff Writer still important to appreciate greatness.

Alabama brings its football success to the hardNo word better encapsulates South Carolina wood. After blowing out Texas A&M in the SEC women’s basketball than greatness. championship, Alabama is in full stride earning a No. No matter how hard America may pull for an 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. upset, the Gamecocks will not care. They steamDespite all the offcourt controversy surrounding rolled through the regular season, going 32-0 with first-year forward Brandon Miller, the Crimson Tide an average point differential of +30.3. They will still played excellent basketball down the stretch. Alacontinue to dominate in the postseason, laser fo- bama will carry its momentum from the SEC Champicused on achieving their season-long goal of be- onship into the NCAA tournament, capturing its first coming back-to-back champions. title in school history.

So instead of rooting for an underdog or praying for a favorite team, simply sit back and witness Texas defeats Alabama 78-74 // Matthew Scabilloni, the beginning of this Gamecocks dynasty.

Staff Writer.

Guards win in March, and Texas features one of the Read the rest online at Pittnews.com. country’s best backcourts.

Texas’ three talented guards Marcus Carr, Sir’Jabari Rice and Tyrese Hunter all average over 10 points per game. These three Longhorn scoring threats will help Duke edges Kansas, 74-72 // Richie Smiechowski, Texas repeat what Kansas did last season by winning Sports Editor the Big 12 Tournament before becoming the National After watching Duke demolish Pitt and the rest of Champions. the ACC in Greensboro last week, it’s become clear the Blue Devils are the most talented team in the confer- Pac-12 rivals rematch in championship game — Arience and are red hot at the perfect time. zona defeats UCLA 65-63 // Will Christie, Staff Writer First-year center Kyle Filipowski is a monster, and After a very successful regular season for Arizona the team’s combination of youthful talent and experi- and UCLA, both teams have the potential to play for an enced leadership in junior guard Jeremy Roach is ee- NCAA Championship. rily similar to championship Duke teams of old. Head With Arizona’s 61-59 win over UCLA in the Paccoach Jon Scheyer deserves a lot of credit — filling 12 Tournament, the Wildcats proved they can make a Coach K’s shoes isn’t an easy task. run in the tournament. Although UCLA led the Pac-12 during the 2022-23 season, Arizona was not far behind Pitt trounces West Virginia 130-90 in Backyard and brought more fight to the Pac-12 Tournament than Brawl rematch // Brian Sherry, Assistant Sports Edi- the Bruins. With Arizona’s fierce play style and passion, tor UCLA may be in over its heads and suffer its second This is a wild “pick,” but crazier things have hap- championship game loss to the Wildcats this season. pened. Imagine all of northern Appalachia descending Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

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March 15, 2023

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BREAKING DOWN KEY MATCHUPS IN EVERY MARCH MADNESS REGION Will Christie Staff Writer

With opening weekend of March Madness beginning this weekend, college basketball's top teams are actively assessing their bracket placement, diligently preparing for their first round matchups starting March 16 to 17. Here’s a preview of what to expect as the madness kicks off.

South Region As predicted, Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed after an impressive regular season and SEC tournament showing. They’re widely regarded as the tournament favorite, but will face early tests in the region.

One notable matchup to look out for early is No. 9 West Virginia versus No. 8 Maryland. West Virginia struggled against No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament, but has otherwise looked strong against tough conference competition. Both teams have similar resumés, creating an enticing first round matchup.

No. 2 seed Arizona will take on the Ivy League champions, No. 15 Princeton. The Wildcats are riding high off of their Pac-12 tournament championship win against No. 2 UCLA and are poised for a long tournament run.

No. 5 San Diego State versus No. 12 College of Charleston should make for an interesting upsetwatch game, as College of Charleston recently secured the CAA tournament championship after a strong

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31-3 regular season showing.

Two other possible upsets to look out for are No. 6 Creighton against No. 11 NC State and No. 7 Missouri against No. 10 Utah State.

Midwest Region The Midwest Region is headlined by No. 1 Houston facing off against No. 16 Northern Kentucky.

Houston looked incredibly strong during the regular season but is coming off of a shocking loss to No. 8 seed Memphis in the AAC championship.

Great middle-seed matchups to look forward to are No. 7 Texas A&M against No. 10 Penn State, and the winner of Pitt versus Mississippi State’s play-in game against No. 6 seed Iowa State. The Aggies and Nittany Lions are both coming off of incredible conference championship performances and are both hitting their strides at the right time.

A potential upset to pay attention to is No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 13 Kent State. Kent State previously secured the MAC tournament in an upset against No. 1 Toledo 93-78. The Hoosiers looked strong this year, but are coming off an upset loss to Penn State in the Big Ten tournament.

West Region No. 1 Kansas will face off against No. 16 Howard in the first round. The reigning NCAA Champions look as strong as ever this season, and may have some extra motivation with head coach Bill Self returning to the

A referee holds a basketball in the Petersen Events Center. Pamela Smith | Visual Editor court after health complications kept him off the floor in the Big 12 tournament.

Gonzaga is another heavy hitter in the region, earning the No. 3 seed and facing off against No. 14 Grand Canyon in the first round. The Bulldogs looked spectacular in the WCC tournament — they might have all the momentum to finally secure their first championship this season.

No. 5 St. Mary’s on the other hand, looked outmatched against Gonzaga in the WCC tournament final, losing 77-51. Atlantic 10 champion No. 12 VCU might have the upper hand in terms of confidence going into their first round matchup.

No. 4 UConn against No. 13 Iona is another wildly

March 15, 2023

intriguing matchup. Led by head coach Rick Pitino in potentially his last season with the Gaels, Iona is a popular upset pick, despite the Huskies’ strength and strong showing against Big East champion No. 2 Marquette.

East Region Finishing with the East Region, Purdue secured the No. 1 seed. Led by junior center Zach Edey, the Boilermakers won the Big Ten title and are certainly a title contender heading into the tournament.

Meanwhile, No. 2 Marquette has momentum going into the first round after easily beating No. 3 Xavier in the Big East final. They face off against No. 15 Vermont, who won the American East conference four out of the last five years.

Fan favorite No. 5 Duke will play No. 12 Oral Roberts. Oral Roberts might be one of the tournament’s most popular upset picks after easily winning the Summit League tournament. Duke on the other hand looks unstoppable after winning the ACC tournament as a No. 4 seed.

No. 4 Tennessee versus No. 13 Louisiana is also another compelling matchup. Tennessee disappointingly lost in their conference tournament to No. 7 Missouri.

The Volunteers were strong early in the season, but injuries put them on the back foot in the tournament, possibly leaving them susceptible to an early exit.

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column

PITT FANS OWE JEFF CAPEL AN APOLOGY Mason Carter

Looking at how the season turned out, al- received throughout the year. With the Panmost all Panther fans owe Jeff Capel an apol- thers finding success again, fans made sure to show up at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt Coming off his fourth season, which was ogy.

Capel managed to block out the calls for his was one of five ACC teams with attendance his worst at Pitt so far, Panthers head coach job and complete a 10-game turnaround from numbers of more than 10,000 people for conJeff Capel was in a prove-it year.

After a disappointing 2021-22 season, last season, culminating in the Panthers reach- ference play. The Oakland Zoo also was overmany Panther fans hoped for athletic director ing the NCAA tournament for the first time in flowing this season, causing trouble for many Heather Lyke and the University to write the seven years. The Panthers finished the regular opponents. Some even called it the No. 1 student section in the ACC this $15 million buyout check and season. send Capel on his way. HowWhile maintaining sucever, Lyke held faith in Capel cess for the Panthers on the and announced his return for court, Capel still was able to the 2022-23 season, despite do damage on the recruiting the outside noise. trail. The Panthers currently The athletic department have the No. 26 ranked class hired Capel in 2018 to rein the country for 2023, inplace Kevin Stallings, who cluding two top 150 players, failed to win a conference Jaland Lowe and Carlton game in his final season as Carrington, according to head coach. At the time, 24/7 Sports. he was the top assistant on The Panthers did end the coach Mike Krzyzewski's season a little rocky, losing staff at Duke. Capel was two of their last three regutheir top recruiter, playing lar season games. They were a significant role in securin the running for first place ing multiple No. 1 recruiting in the conference throughout classes while at Duke.

Head basketball coach Jeff Capel watches from the bench as a penmost of the season, until the Before returning to his alty call dashes the Panthers’ hopes to upset Louisville in January 2020. last day of ACC play, when alma mater, Duke, Capel TPN File Photo the worst scenario for the was previously head coach of Oklahoma. He reached the tournament twice season with an overall record of 21-10 and a Panthers occurred. Seeded No. 5 in the ACC during his four seasons coaching the Sooners, 14-6 record in the ACC. This performance by tournament, the Panthers beat No. 13 Georgia including the Elite Eight in 2009. Capel also the Panthers earned Capel ACC Coach of the Tech, before losing to the eventual champion coached at VCU, winning the CAA conference Year honors and Naismith Coach of the Year No. 4 Duke in the quarterfinals.

Despite the late-season meltdown, Capel's championship and making an NCAA tourna- semifinalist.

Coming into the season, many predict- team did enough earlier in the season to earn ment appearance in 2004.

With Pitt basketball at one of its low- ed Pitt to finish second to last in the ACC. them a spot in the NCAA tournament as a No. est points in history, many hoped that Capel The Panthers returned only two starters, 11 seed. The Panthers are matched up against would bring Pitt basketball back to national graduate guard Jamarius Burton and junior Mississippi State in the First Four.

Panthers fans should have seen enough prominence. In his first three seasons, he went forward John Hugley, who was the Panther's 40-48, failing to capture one winning season. leading scorer last season. Capel went out in from this season to feel confident in leaving Heading into his fifth season, Panther fans the transfer portal and secured four players the program in Capel's hands. After the Dixon expectations were low for Capel. As Pitt’s sec- — graduate student guard Nelly Cummings, era, Pitt spiraled into some dark days under ond game of the Legends Classic finished, junior forward Blake Hinson, graduate stu- Stallings. With the hiring of Capel, many fans most fans finally gave up on the Jeff Capel dent guard Greg Elliot and sophomore center were eager to see change, but didn’t have the experiment. After suffering an embarrassing Federiko Federiko. These players were from patience to stick it out. Changing a program loss to rivals West Virginia days earlier, Pan- smaller schools or had limited action in Di- from the bottom up is a process, and Capel ther fans desperately hoped to see improve- vision I basketball. These little known play- understood this all. ers made a huge impact for the Panthers this Panthers fans can start believing in the fuments for this upcoming season.

The Panthers left Brooklyn, New York, with season thanks to Jeff Capel's ability at finding ture of this program, especially the way Capel has it trending right now. back-to-back losses to Michigan and VCU. talent.

Capel earned his right to remain the PanSitting at 1-3, it was clear that head coach Jeff thers’ head coach and deserves the support he Capel needed to get his act together.

Staff Writer

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PITT STUDENTS EMBRACE EXCITEMENT, UNPREDICTABILITY OF TEAM’S FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT IN SEVEN YEARS

Katie Booth AUTHOR

The Invention of Miracles: Language, Power, and Alexander Graham Bell’s Quest to End Deafness

Richie Smiechowski

don’t get tickets, they make the tournament.”

As this season progressed and fans started to realize that Pitt basketball might contend in the For current upperclassmen and students who’ve ACC, the atmosphere at the Petersen Events Center followed Pitt athletics since they arrived on campus, became that much more exciting. According to Kemen’s basketball was an afterthought. neally, the team brought in new fans not just from Most students come to Pittsburgh with no prior their increase in wins, but because of their playstyle affiliation to the University, therefore garnering no as well. vested interest in the Pitt teams of old. Teams that “You can get these fans who wouldn’t generally for most of the 2000s and early 2010s drew raucous come to a game to come because we’re an exciting crowds and garnered national attention for their team, ” Keneally said. “We are fast paced, we push on-court success. the ball, we shoot deep threes, Hinson takes awful Instead, this generation of students became used shots and it’s beautiful. All of those things are aweto Pitt basketball teams providing an inferior prodsome. ” uct on court, constantly in turmoil and always fallFor many students, Pitt’s success this season ing well short of preseason expectations. sparked a personAfter seven al interest in basyears of letdowns, ketball that never mediocrity and a previously existconcerning lack ed. Junior anthroof excitement pology major from students, Emily Brown is Pitt basketball an athlete on the finally returned track and field to the NCAA team who genertournament. Acally pays close cording to senior attention to Pitt’s finance major teams — but priKevin Keneally, A basketball at the Petersen Events Center. or to this season this is the first Pamela Smith | Visual Editor basketball wasn’t time he’s experion her radar. enced genuine excitement following the program in “I've never been like a huge basketball person,” four years.

Brown said. “I’ve gone to a game here and there, but “For me, it’s just one of those really cool things this year it’s been really exciting because they really to have a basketball team you can wake up excited have been playing so well … the atmosphere has about,” Keneally said. “It was what I thought about just been so much more exciting than in years past.” most — even during the middle of the week I would While older students on campus who’ve folput on a Pitt game for once instead of like an A-10 lowed Pitt for several years are finally experiencing game or a good Big-12 game, it’s crazy.” their first successful basketball team, current first Keneally is just one of an entire generation of years are spoiled by immediately experiencing a Pitt students and fans who have gone their entire winning atmosphere. academic career without optimism for Pitt basketAccording to first year finance major Theo Orball. They’ve instead devoted their support to teams este, his first few experiences as part of the Oakland like football or volleyball, disregarding the program Zoo this season were unforgettable. that once commanded Oakland’s attention.

“During the Miami game, when they made that Some older students, like senior economics macomeback, the Zoo was absolutely insane,” Oreste jor Drew Bean, actually started off their time at Pitt said.

“It was a great experience for me, it was loud, it with high enthusiasm for the basketball team. As was fun, and that’s what I’m here for.” the years progressed, Bean’s excitement waned, and Oreste also mentioned that going into gameso did his interest in attending games. days, students plan days in advance how they’re “I paid attention to Pitt basketball more in my planning on watching, regardless of if the game is earlier years compared to now,” Bean said. “When home or away. they were just losing and tanking at the end of the “You don’t even have to look up when the games season, it just made me lose hope. I was actually a are, that’s how popular Pitt basketball is around season ticket holder for each of the last three years.

I’m a senior now and this is the one year I decided See Fan Reacts on page 9 not to get tickets … lo and behold, the one year I Sports Editor

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STUDENTS SEEK ADVENTURE, RELAXATION FOR SPRING BREAK A United States passport in front of a world map.

Image via Spc. Michael Camacho, Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Pine Staff Writer

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After enduring endless midterms and Pittsburgh’s strange, irregular weather, students traveled all around the world for spring break this year.

Kit Vogel, a sophomore environmental science major, traveled to Switzerland with his mom. Vogel traveled all around the country, visiting Zurich, Zermatt, Lucerne and more to see Switzerland’s incredible mountains.

“We went to the mountains, which I think was the highlight of it,” Vogel said. “You take this really pretty train up, and there’s a lot of skiing there. When you get to the top, it’s super high up, and you can see this crazy view.”

For Vogel, his trip to Switzerland was not only an opportunity to see incredible nature but to also connect with his roots.

“My parents were acquaintances back in the day, and my mom was going on a one-month trip to Europe. Then my dad, who was just friends with her, was just like, ‘Okay, I’ll come with you,’ so that was kinda their origin story, when they went to Switzerland together,” Vogel said. “We actually saw the same hotel that they stayed at, so it was a little surreal to see all that.”

One way that Vogel relaxed and enjoyed the views during his trip was, surprisingly, on Switzerland's trains.

“The trains are honestly half the experience because they are very pretty, and you can see a lot of cool views,” Vogel said. “The public transportation with the trains was very punctual and easy to use, even though we didn’t speak the language, and they were very clean.

It’s a little bit easier than the Port Authority.”

Vogel also tried some new foods in Switzerland.

Although he said he didn’t try anything extremely adventurous, he enjoyed Switzerland’s iconic dairy products.

“I tried cheese fondue, which was pretty good. It was a bubbling pot of cheese, and you dip vegetables and potatoes in it, and it was good,” Vogel said. “I feel like it’s not too out there in terms of new stuff, but it was good. And we tried the swiss cheese and the swiss chocolate because they have a lot of dairy cows.”

Although spring break was only a week, it was still

March 15, 2023

a great chance for students to recharge and experience new things. For Vogel, the short break didn’t stop him from having life-changing experiences.

“Seeing those mountains was honestly life changing. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I’ve traveled to quite a few places, but these were honestly just life changing to see. The whole trip was amazing,” Vogel said.

Some students took spring break as an opportunity to visit friends and explore nearby cities. Lilyann Bailey, a junior biological science major, went to Chicago to visit a friend. She was only there for a few days, but she still explored a lot of what the city has to offer.

“We did a lot,” Bailey said. “We were only there for four days, but we visited an art institute, we tried a lot of food, we visited a 360 Observation Deck, so we were able to see all the city.”

Bailey, who has lived on the east coast her entire life, said she was excited to see what the Midwest has to offer. Although Chicago is less than 500 miles from Pittsburgh, according to Bailey, the city was very different from anywhere she visited before.

“It gives a small town feeling, depending on what neighborhood you’re in,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot of cute shops that make it feel a lot more authentic in a way, and there’s a lot of food that is native to the area, like the Chicago dog, or a deep dish pizza, which is something you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”

Bailey also noted the differences in Chicago’s transportation system. Although Chicago’s metro system is very different from Pittsburgh’s, Bailey navigated the city well by the end of her trip.

“One challenging thing was navigating. It was a lot of taking the metro and the blue line train, and there’s a lot of trains that run throughout the city,” Bailey said.

“I’m not familiar with all the neighborhoods, but I feel like the more time I was there, the easier it was to navigate.”

Trying new things was a common theme for many students this spring break. For Bailey, her trip to Chicago taught her more about Chicago’s geography and culture.

“One thing I didn’t know is that Chicago is right on the border of Lake Michigan, so it was kind of a surprise to me to see the water so close to the downtown See Spring Break Trips on page 9

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‘PUTTING STUDENTS IN DANGER’: TRANSGENDER STUDENTS AT PITT SHARE THOUGHTS ON UPCOMING ‘ANTI-TRANS’ EVENTS

Punya Bhasin News Editor

Laura Mcneil, a transgender student and first-year digital narrative and interactive design major, said she initially applied to Pitt because she believed it was welcoming to queer students. Now she’s reconsidering that assumption.

“Part of why I applied to Pitt is because it seemed like a diverse and welcoming kind of school, and the fact that they would host these sorts of events is just very disappointing to me,” Mcneil said.

In the wake of the upcoming “anti-trans” events scheduled to take place on Pitt’s campus, some transgender students are raising concerns over safety and say they are disappointed by a lack of support from the University. On Monday, Rainbow Alliance released a statement saying that if the University were truly committed to supporting trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming community members, they wouldn’t “allow these individuals to propagate their harmful ideas.”

“As an educational institution that hosts such a wide variety of marginalized people, it is truly heartbreaking, as students, to see your administration continue to fail us again and again,” the statement said.

Pitt’s chapter of Turning Point USA will host Riley Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer and vehement critic of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, on March 27 at 5:45 p.m. in the O’Hara Ballroom.

Turning Point USA will also host Cabot Phillips, an editor at the right-wing website The Daily Wire, on March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral of Learning. Later, on April 18, Pitt’s College Republicans and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute invited Michael Knowles to debate “transgenderism and womanhood” in the O’Hara Ballroom. Knowles recently called for an eradication of “transgenderism.”

Mcneil said she plans to avoid these events out of fear of what the people attending might think or say.

“I really am not comfortable being near events where people are demonizing and criminalizing my own existence and my own happiness,” Mcneil said.

“And it’s not just even about my safety, but these events are trying to take away from other people's happiness.

Hosting these kinds of events and allowing this sort of discussion to be propped up on a podium here on campus is just upsetting.”

Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition created on March 7 urging the University to cancel these events. In a media statement released Friday, Pitt said it understands the events are “toxic and harmful” for people in the Pitt community, and is committed to “support” people who might be “negatively affected” by the upcoming events.

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The Transgender Pride Flag flies on the Foreign Office building in London on Transgender Day of Remembrance, Nov. 20, 2017.

Image via Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Wikimedia Commons University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said registered student organizations have the right to invite “highly provocative” speakers on campus “without University administration deciding what is acceptable and what is not.”

While Mcneil said she’s glad a lot of people signed the petition, she’s still “disappointed” that the University is allowing the events to occur on campus.

“I feel like they're inherently supporting it by allowing these events to occur, and also when students are asking the university to cancel these events and they say no, that's inherently a sign of support,” Mcneil said.

Dylan Mitchell, the president of College Republicans, said those that are “shocked” by the topics of the events should “get used to conservative voices.”

“There is no plan to cancel the event whatsoever,” Mitchell, a sophomore law, criminal justice and society and politics and philosophy double major, said. “In fact, those who are shocked by the idea of their beliefs being challenged should get used to conservative voices. We are only beginning to assert the right to speak our beliefs and stand up for truth, and we have no plans to slow down any time soon.”

Liliana Orozco, president of Pitt’s Turning Point USA chapter and a junior law, criminal justice and society major, also said “our voices will not be silenced just because some students might not agree with us” and that the events will be conducted in a “civil manner.”

M., a transgender fifth-year student, said the statement will only further make queer students feel “unwelcome” on campus. The student asked to remain anonymous due to privacy and safety concerns. M. is her first initial.

“I feel like this statement is honestly even worse than saying nothing at all, as they have effectively doubled down on saying that they're okay with spreading hate speech, making students feel unwelcome on campus and potentially putting students in danger,” M. said.

M. referenced the University’s nondiscrimination policy, which states, “The University does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on these bases and takes steps to ensure that students, employees, and third parties are not subject to a hostile environment in University programs or activities.”

“But even outside of written rules, I feel that a precedent has been set across the country within the past few years, with universities rescinding admissions decisions to students who engaged in racism on social media, that Universities ought to combat hate and margin-

March 15, 2023

alization within its student body,” M. said. “So, I think at a bare minimum, Pitt should bar these events from being held within University buildings.”

Cat, another transgender student at Pitt, said the upcoming events will “disrupt education.” Cat asked that her last name be omitted due to privacy and safety concerns.

“They are events which are designed to intimidate and encourage violence against transgender people and transgender students on campus,” Cat, a junior computer science major said. “It's designed to disrupt the education. It's just going to bring hateful people to campus which risks the safety of transgender students on campus.”

Cat said canceling the event is the “simplest” way to resolve the issue.

“I mean, the simplest solution would be to just cancel the events, but if they want to provide safety I mean, other than just giving each trans person their own personal bodyguard, which would be absurd, otherwise I don’t know what they could do to improve the safety of trans people on campus” Cat said.

Cat said the University’s actions show that they “are not an ally to queer people” and that if “they were committed to diversity, they would cancel the events.”

M. also said she plans to “stay away” from campus and “skip classes” during the days of the events, to feel safer and avoid running into “transphobic people” on campus.

“My experiences at Pitt as a trans person have never been super positive, but I believed that to a limited degree that there was like a baseline standard of protection against hate speech and discrimination on campus that would prevent things like these events from happening,” M. said. “It's really disappointing to see that Pitt would protect hate speech like this, but I'm not entirely surprised.”

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PITT’S CHANCELLOR SEARCH REMAINS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Elizabeth Primrose

Senior Staff Writer The committee searching for Pitt’s next chancellor gathered feedback through a survey and open forums from the University community in the fall — but the Pitt community has not received any updates since then.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher announced in April 2022 that he will leave his position this summer. Board of Trustees Chair Doug Browning appointed a search committee in September 2022 and selected executive search firm Storbeck Search to assist in the process. This firm also assisted in Pitt’s last search for a new chancellor in 2013.

The search committee and Board of Trustees have not provided any public updates on the progress of the search. The “timeline” section of the chancellor search web page lists two items for spring 2023 — “applicants interviewed confidentially” and “nineteenth Pitt chancellor announced” — but does not elaborate on exact dates for these items.

The office of the secretary of the Board of Trustees and the communications staff in the Office of the Chancellor did not respond to email requests

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. TPN File Photo. for comment about the search process.

University spokesperson Nick France did not have any information to share when asked about the process the selection committee is using, if there currently is a narrowed down list of appli-

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cants or if the committee has a timeline on when the new chancellor will be announced.

“I asked those at hand about these questions and they say there’s nothing to share at this time,” France said.

The 26-person search committee, chaired by Eva Tansky Blum, former chair of the Board of Trustees, includes trustees, faculty and administration. Blum also led the search to replace Mark Nordenberg in 2013.

The committee also has one undergraduate student in Danielle Floyd, president of the Student Government Board, and one graduate student in Varbi Mridha, vice president of finance for the Graduate and Professional Student Government.

When asked for an update on the search process, Floyd directed questions to Geovette Washington, senior vice chancellor and chief legal officer at Pitt, who assists the search committee.

“The Committee is not in a position to share anything about the search at this time,” Washington said. “When that changes, we will reach out.”

When asked why the committee will not share any information, University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer did not provide any explanation, and said the search committee will not share any further information prior to naming a finalist.

“As previously noted, there will be no comment on the search until the finalist is named,” Stonesifer said.

Not all searches to fill positions in University administration have been so secretive. According to an email message from Joe McCarthy, vice provost of undergraduate studies, the search committee for the new dean of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and College of General Studies will bring four finalists for the position to campus to interact with the University community.

March 15, 2023

In the announcement, McCarthy, chair of the search committee, said the DSAS/CGS Dean Search SharePoint will share candidate information, locations of the meetings and links to provide feedback. McCarthy said the SharePoint will share information on the candidates 48 hours prior to each candidate’s visit to ensure confidentiality.

Ryan Young, vice president for governance of SGB, said he understands why the selection process for the new chancellor may be opaque in the beginning since candidates may not want to interview for the position if they know their name will be public. However, Young, who is a candidate for SGB president, said he hopes the Board of Trustees will release a list of finalists before making a final decision.

“They’re so private that they won't even tell you what they are thinking about in terms of procedures or timeline, which I think is also a little disappointing,” Young said. “I really hope to see them open up the process at the very end. I don't think that's out of the question.”

Corbin Makar, another board member who is also running for SGB president, said during a presidential debate last month he can understand the lack of transparency in the initial stages of the chancellor selection process. But he said the final candidacy stages should be open to the Pitt community.

“I would obviously prefer more information released to the public,” Makar, a junior communication rhetoric major, said. “There’s no reason as to why this process should be so secretive when we have other administrative officials noticeably involved with other candidate processes at other universities that are entirely public.”

Young, a junior physics & astronomy and math double major, said he appreciates the process Portland State University used in the selection of their new president, which included three publicly announced finalists. Portland State’s Board of Trustees voted to appoint Ann Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor of Pitt, as the university's next president.

“You have a private process up until the last three finalists, then those finalists come to campus and they interact with students,” Young said. “I think that is the model we should use.”

Young said he thinks it is “weird” that the selection committee has not provided much information this semester, given that Gallagher is set to step down in only a few months.

“I will say, I will be extremely disappointed if the next chancellor is chosen without the finalists ever being published,” Young said. “If that doesn’t happen, that will be a complete failure [of] the selection process.”

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Fan Reacts, pg. 5 here,” Oreste said. “Everybody wants to follow them. Even if we’re not going to the game, there’s watch parties.”

Oreste’s friend, first-year marketing major Cale Stover, said even away from gamedays, the student body is constantly following the basketball team, especially around March Madness.

“There were tons of people talking about if we were going to get into March Madness,” Stover. “It was up in the air, but especially the freshmen because they’re coming in and didn’t know what to expect … Everybody’s talking about them, even my family.”

For Pitt’s First Four contest against Mississippi State, even students like Bean who became frustrated by the team’s lack of success over the past few years will have their eyes glued to the TV, hoping that the Panthers can make a run.

“Oh yeah, I’ll be watching the First Four game,” Bean said. “If they do make a run, I’ll follow them a lot more than I did throughout prior seasons, that’s for sure.”

For Keneally and other Pitt students who’ve remained diligent in their support of Pitt basketball, even through the tough years, making the trip to Dayton and potentially to Greensboro was a nobrainer.

“This year, I’ve got a bunch of my friends tex-

ting me or texting other people like ‘Are we going to Dayton?’” Keneally said. “[Last year’s First Four] were two of the best environment games I’ve ever seen to this day.”

As for predictions, most of the student body isn’t sure how far the Panthers will go. According to sophomore biology major and track and field athlete Sarah Hurst, March Madness is naturally unpredictable, especially for a bubble team like Pitt.

“I mean, it’s March Madness, anything can happen,” Hurst said. “You never know who’s going to win, any chance is a good chance.”

Some students, like first-year undeclared student Emmanuel Okoro, weren’t optimistic about Pitt’s chances and thought that the Panthers’ jour-

ney would end in Dayton.

“I know they have their first game against Mississippi State, so they might get beat by 20,” Oreste said. “Mississippi State should definitely win the game, 20 points might be a stretch, but I’ll give them at least 10 points.

But other students — the more optimistic ones who just weren’t ready for Pitt’s season to end — felt that some March magic might be in store for the Panthers.

“I’ll tell you what — underdog story,” Oreste said. “They’re winning March Madness and I’ll be right there watching. Everybody make your brackets, put your money on Pitt.”

Spring Break Trips, pg. 6 area,” Bailey said. “And a new thing I tried would be food, like the Chicago dog, which I recommend — it has a lot of different toppings on it.”

For seniors, this was their last chance to enjoy spring break as an undergrad. Sammie Rao, a senior studying neuroscience and communication and rhetoric, used her last spring break during undergrad to spend time with friends in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

“All of my friends wanted to have our senior spring break trip, and just be together for spring break,” Rao said. “So we decided to go to Punta Cana because we knew that other senior spring break groups were going there, and we just thought that it would be a good time.”

Rao and her friends stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which Rao said was something she had never done before. Because the experience was prepaid, they were able to try a lot of new experiences and relax on their trip.

“We already prepaid, so when we were there, we could just kinda get whatever we wanted, which is something we all really enjoyed,” Rao said. “At the resort, there was karaoke in a huge auditorium, so we all went and did karaoke together, which was an experience which I thought was different and new.”

For Rao, issues with transportation arose on the journey back to Pittsburgh. Although the recent wave of delayed flights has settled down, traveling internationally is still a long process.

“A big challenge for us was getting home,” Rao said.

“We had multiple days, and it took all of us one to two days to get back from Punta Cana, which shouldn’t have been the case, but at the end of the day, we all had fun, so it was worth it.”

Despite the travel difficulties, Rao said the trip offered an incredible experience. As it was her final spring break in college, she used the opportunity to gain new experiences abroad with her friends.

“I think that an experience that really stood out from the trip was the boat especially because it was really fun being able to swim in the ocean, as well as spending time with all of my friends all in one area, and having an experience that not many of us have had before,” Rao said.

pittnews.com

March 15, 2023

9

PITT’S MUSIC PRODUCTION CLUB

like folk singers. So there’s definitely a wide variety of music involved with the club.”

Alex Gosek, a senior environmental science major, joined the club during his first year at Pitt. He said the club not only allowed him to continue to pursue his passion for creating electronic music, but it also allowed him to learn more about the music scene in Pittsburgh.

“I thought it was a cool way to meet people with similar interests in Pittsburgh, especially because it was able to get me a little more familiar with the music scene in the city, especially the electronic music scene which was a little smaller,” Gosek said.

For Gosek, the club allowed him to share his music with other members and receive feedback on it.

Through the club’s discord, Gosek said he could send in his projects and see if other members had any advice to give.

“It was my first time showing my projects to other people and getting feedback, and seeing other people’s recording process, how it might be different from mine and then learning from that, taking that and applying it to my own music, which is just huge,” Gosek said. “It was better than just showing all my friends who maybe weren't super interested, I’d send it in the club discord and get feedback, and like tips and tricks to make it sound better.”

While there is no public platform where the club publishes their collaborative music, Herring said many

ALLOWS STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE AND LEARN ABOUT THE INS AND OUTS OF PRODUCING MUSIC Serena Garcia

Senior Staff Writer For Ethan Herring, the music production club at Pitt is a place for students passionate about creating music to share, collaborate and learn techniques from one another.

Herring, a senior neuroscience major and the club’s president, joined the club his sophomore year. Herring said before joining the club, his experience with music was mainly from playing the guitar. However, once he arrived at Pitt, Herring said the club allowed him to explore the world of electronic music production.

“It’s just kind of a place for people who like music or producing music to collaborate or learn techniques together,” Herring said. “I think generally right now, it’s just kind of like a place for people to work together on songs or get ideas for new things or like instruments, things like that.”

Joining Herring on the club’s board is Brandon Rodas, the club’s vice president and a sophomore law, criminal justice and society major. Rodas said because the club has a Discord group of about 100 members, it’s difficult to discern the number of active members in the club, but Herring believes there are between 15 to 20.

Like Herring, Rodas joined the music production club to continue to pursue his passion for music produc-

tion. Before joining the club, Rodas was creating both rap and hip-hop music, but has now divulged into exploring producing a new genre — drill music.

“I started off making rap and hip-hop because I think it’s fairly easy,” Rodas said. “But now I’ve been making a lot of drill music and R&B music lately.”

Herring said the music production club has changed the way he listens and interacts with music. Before joining, Herring said music production wasn’t one of his main interests, but after taking part in and now running the club, music production is a passion in his life.

“I wasn’t really into a lot of production kind of things before I joined,” Herring said. “But afterwards, that’s kind of one of my main interests now in songs I listen to is the production of it. I’ve gotten really into drum and bass music. I feel like my music taste is much more varied now.”

Despite one of the main focuses of the club is the production of electronic music, both Herring and Rodas agreed that the club encompasses a variety of music ranging from EDM to metal to folk music.

“There’s also people in the club who don't just do electronic music,” Herring said. “Like we have guys who will sometimes send recordings of like a metal guitar riff or something and talk about the production on that.

Or like folk people, I think have joined occasionally,

members have their own personal Soundcloud pages, including Herring and Rodas. Herring said he hasn’t posted to his page in a while, and Rodas said while he has two songs, “Dose” and “KAMI KILLAS,” available on the page, typically he creates the beat for another artist to use.

“Maybe around a month ago I had someone from the server come over to rap over a drill beat, and I usually don’t get many rappers,” Rodas said. “Most of the rappers I work with are all over the world — Italy, France, California.”

Despite them each having their own experience with music production, the two said the club is there for those interested to learn. Though they are experienced, both Rodas and Herring said they are still learning new things surrounding music production through the club. Though it may sound intimidating, Rodas encourages students interested in music and music production to come to the club and try it out.

“It’s not as scary as it seems,” Rodas said. “You can just come and we’ll help you out even though you have no experience. You don’t need any prior knowledge to start working. Like I, myself, I don't know music theory, but I can still make music. A lot of people think it takes music theory, but it doesn't.”

The music production club has served as an outlet for both Rodas and Herring to explore their creativity and passion for music, something neither of them do in their studies. Along with the music production club, Herring is also the bassist for Pittsburgh-based band, Valleyview, which helps fill his passion for music.

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10

opinion

STOP MAKING ME WATCH WOMEN GET HURT

Anna Ehlers

was around every corner. Heads, arms, legs, all sorts of Contributing Editor limbs were rolling on the ground. Blood was absolutely As a woman, I’m always carrying the deadweight everywhere. Most of these terrible images I’ve managed fear of becoming a victim of to block out of my mind, but violence. To acknowledge this one moment has stuck with me, danger fully is nearly imposunforgettable. In the midst of a sible. Occasionally, however, I violent takeover of a castle, the let myself think about how evoffending army raped a woman. ery man I let become a part of It was in the background of a my life could choose to end it. shot, like a throwaway moment, I might meet my death by anjust a small detail adding to the gering a man that I thought I ambiance of the scene. It felt could trust, or by angering one thrown in with such a flippant, Fikayomi Olagbami | Staff Illustrator who doesn’t even know me. I blasé attitude, as if to say “this is don’t think it’s possible to fully come to terms with this just how things go” — when a castle is taken over in a knowledge — it’s just too heavy — but I am confronted battle, the offending army rapes the women who hapwith this threat all the time since the world just loves to pen to be inside. This is realism. see women get hurt.

And while rape has happened in battles, that is Have you ever watched a movie that feels like it’s get- not any sort of excuse to immortalize that image on a ting off on women’s pain? Sometimes it seems that every screen. I am traumatized from seeing that. I can’t get time a woman gets hurt in a film, the director shoves it out of my head. I don’t think I ever will. It felt like a it in my face. Close ups of the screams, the blood, the threat, like Polanski was reminding me that this is what sadistic anger on the face of the man who did it. It’s like happens to people like me — we get attacked when we’re a reminder — “Have you thought about how you could in the wrong place at the wrong time just because of the become this victim at any moment?” bodies we have.

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Violence in movies is quite common. Since the Motion Picture Association of America lifted the Hays Code in 1968, violence has become a staple of film, leading to the modern horror genre. I don’t necessarily INTERACTIVE have gripes with violence being shown at all, but I do wonder sometimes if violence against women needs to appear often and in as much detail as it is.

I watched a film for a Shakespeare class about a year ago which still haunts me — Roman Polanski’s Macbeth.

Usually I love to watch Shakespeare adaptations since I find the adaptation process a great study, but thinking about this movie feels like pushing at a loose tooth with NEW PUZZLES my tongue — a pain that I just can’t stop inciting.

DAILY! In Shakespeare’s plays, almost all violence takes place offstage, even in violent events like coups and Crossword battles, since violence could not realistically and safely appear onstage. Thus, many deaths are announced to the audience after the fact, making the reaction to death much more important than how it happened.

Film, however, is not held to the same limits as the stage.

Camera tricks and post-production special effects can make violence appear very real on a screen. In making Sudoku his movie, Polanski apparently decided that, although the story of Macbeth didn’t necessitate showing violence, it was something he was going to do anyway — and he truly took it to extremes.

As a film major, I have definitely watched my fair share of violent movies. I’ve always had trouble stomaching violence — I fought back tears as a kid after a character got stabbed in Marley and Me — but I’ve definitely built up thick skin these past few years. Despite all my experience, nothing I’ve seen can hold a flame PLAY NOW ON OUR WEBSITE PittNews.com to the relentless brutality in Polanski’s Macbeth. Gore

CROSSWORD & SUDOKU

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Release Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Snorkeler’s destination 5 Challenging H.S. science class 10 Chef’s meas.

13 Musical “Jeopardy!” category that’s tough for many contestants 15 Swampy area 16 Rower’s blade 17 Showers someone with money?

19 Undivided 20 Lead-in to gender 21 Use when there are no better options, say 23 City in northern Illinois 26 Breakfast chain with bottomless stacks 27 “Spit it out!”

32 Sheltered, at sea 33 Beef and pork 34 Clock-setting std.

37 “Top Gun” nickname 38 Poolside structures 40 __ Grande 41 Potato spot 42 Prepares for a recipe, as onions 43 __ one’s time: be patient 44 Cheese, beans, guacamole, sour cream, etc.

48 Car 50 Creamy chocolate dessert 51 Sidelong glances 56 Afore 57 “Is that __?”: “Are you declining?”

58 Voter’s crossover ballot, and what can literally be found in the circled letters 63 Journalist Rather 64 Linney of “Ozark” 65 Peak in Greek myth 66 Portland’s st.

67 Early Mesoamerican 68 Puny pencil

March 15, 2023

DOWN 1 __-com: date movie, maybe 2 Clean air org.

3 Cartoon shriek 4 Skin spot that may be darkened by sunlight 5 Acct. balance, e.g.

6 “The Incredibles” family name 7 Scottish hillside 8 Egyptian fertility goddess 9 “That’s not good!”

10 Wide smiles 11 __ Domingo: Caribbean capital 12 Hosp. stop before surgery 14 “Take me __” 18 Small landmass 22 Free (of) 23 Make late 24 Bilbo Baggins’ age at the start of “The Lord of the Rings” 25 Panda’s diet 27 Domesticated 28 Jumped 29 Kidnapper’s demand

30 Incoming flight stat 31 Pack animal 35 Gnatlike insect 36 Pedicure targets 38 Junk bond rating 39 “That hits the spot!”

43 Divides equally 45 IM pioneer 46 Bard 47 Jewish festival when the Book of Esther is read

48 Pollo __: grilled chicken dish 49 Of a forearm bone 52 Norway’s capital 53 Milky white gem 54 Supermodel Heidi 55 “Your Majesty” 59 Tic-__-toe 60 Assemblyrequired boxful 61 School URL ending 62 Indent key

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Amie Walker ©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

03/15/23

03/15/23

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