Nov. 12, 2014

Vol. 105 Issue 69

@thepittnews

Pittnews.com

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

AND THE WINNER IS...

Conflict Kitchen reopens following death threats

Graeme Meyer wins SGB Presidential election

Cristina Holtzer News Editor Oakland restaurant Conflict Kitchen will reopen today at its normal opening time, 11 a.m., after closing on Nov. 7 because of death threats received in a letter.

The restaurant announced on its Facebook page Tuesday morning that “after consultation with local law enforcement agencies,” it would reopen on Nov. 12 and remain open during normal hours, seven days a week.

Pittsburgh Police spokeswoman Sonya Toler said “the investigation remains open,” regarding the person who sent Conflict Kitchen the death threats.

The owners of Conflict Kitchen could not be reached for comment regarding the Facebook post via email or by phone on Tuesday.

“We greatly appreciate all of the incredible support that we have received during our closure, and we are eager to reopen our Palestinian iteration,” the Facebook post said.

Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer

Cristina Holtzer, Abbey Reighard & Danielle Fox The Pitt News Staff Talk about a drum roll.

Pitt’s African Music and Dance Ensemble heightened the drama last night in Nordy’s Place before Elections Committee Chair Lauren Barney announced the results of the 2015 Student Government Board election.

Pitt students elected Graeme Meyer as the new Student Gov-

ernment Board president and eight new Board members to the 2015 Student Government Board after the vote on Tuesday.. Voters elected the entire 87’s slate and select members from other slates.

The new Board will take office in January and serve until the end of the spring 2016 semester. The current Board passed a referendum in early October to change the SGB term from a calendar year to an academic year, so the newly elected Board will serve for a year

and a half to transition between the two term lengths.

Barney said 4,127 students voted, compared to 2,520 students the previous year — a 63.7 percent increase in voter turnout.

About 24 percent of Pitt’s nonCollege of General Studies undergraduates voted.

Barney said 48 percent of voters selected Meyer to be the new president.

Elections

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End of regulation

Men’s soccer beat writer Mark Powell reflects on the season

page 8

Bobby Mizia | Senior Staff Photographer

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November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

NEWS

Board aims to relocate student group offices Abbey Reighard Senior Staff Writer

The Student Government Board voted last night to approve grammatical changes to its governing code.

Board President Mike Nites said the changes involved fixing a “couple of missed prepositions.” The governing code contains SGB’s bylaws, allocations manual and other governing documents such as SGB’s code of ethics.

Board member Mona Kazour said the bill contained “nothing too dramatic or controversial.” The changes will add an official procedure for SGB’s public meeting and create a uniform attendance policy.

Nites also introduced a bill that “formally recommends” Vice Provost and Dean of Students Dr. Kathy Humphrey and the Office of

Student Affairs reallocate space on the fourth floor of the William Pitt Union, where WPTS Radio and The Pitt News offices are located.

Editor-in-Chief of The Pitt News, Natalie Daher, said she appreciated the time Humphrey and Kenyon Bonner, associate dean of students and director of student life, took to meet with her and Nites.

“I disagreed with a lot of Mike’s criticisms in the limited time I had to review the report,” Daher said. “But I look forward to continuing the discussion with Dr. Humphrey, Kenyon and the Student Government Board.”

Rachel Mauer, WPTS station manager, could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The Board will table the resolution for one week, and then discuss and vote on the resolution next week.

ALLOCATIONS Exercise Science Organization: $1,962.80 Pitt Rowing Club: $4,041.66 Pitt Ski and Snowboard Team: $1,474.00 Asian Student Alliance: $12,980.00

November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

ELECTIONS Meyer said he was “ecstatic” after hearing the results of the race, read by Barney.

“At about 2 p.m. today, I realized the number of students who came out to help,” Meyer said. “I’m just so grateful for the amount of support from the students.”

Each non-College of General Studies undergraduate student could cast votes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for up to three Board members and one president, as well as vote “yes” or “no” on two referenda to alter the SGB Constitution.

The first referendum would make the first chairperson, or president pro tempore, the vice president of the Board. The second referendum would create a student assembly as a “lower legislative body” to SGB. Students voted to pass both referenda.

The SGB Elections Committee advertised the election through Campus Connects and a video about the election on the screens throughout campus, as well as Meet the Candidate events in the dining halls.

Barney credited the Elections Committee for the increase in turnout as well as the “fierce” presidential contest.

Barney said her committee polled “all day” in Towers, the Perch and Market Central, and had voting guides and computers for students to use.

Barney, who the Board dismissed and then reinstated as elections chair, said the events put the election “in the spotlight.”

“It brought more cognizance that the election was going on in the first place,” Barney said.

Nasreen Harun, current allocations chair, received the most votes as a Board member candidate and will serve as vice president. As vice president, Harun would replace Meyer if he could no longer fulfill his responsibilities.

Harun, who received loud cheers from the audience upon the announcement of her vice presidency, despite Barney’s request to hold applause until the end of the announcements, said she’s very prepared for the long term length.

“I’ve already done more than that,” Harun said, “and my passion for SGB hasn’t fizzled out at all.”

The 2015 Board members, listed in the order of highest number of votes received are Harun, Everett Green, Meghan Murphy,

Natalie Dall, Matt Sykes, Lia Petrose, Jacky Chen and Jack Heidecker.

Jade Diamond, who ran independently, and Jessica Snyder, who ran with the Pitt United slate, were not elected to the Board.

Snyder said she would like to see more communication between the new Board and the student body and has no plans to run again.

Because Harun, Green and Murphy received the largest shares of total votes, they will serve as representatives to the University Senate Council.

Meyer said the first thing he wants to do as president is help the “new Board come together.”

Presidential candidates Wasi Mohamed and Andrew Stefanick expressed disappointment with their losses to Meyer, and both agreed that they will not run again in the future.

Stefanick said that he was “glad,” and did not have any regrets about his campaign.

Mohamed said the loss was “upsetting,” but he also expressed relief. Because Mo-

3 hamed is a senior, he said he has no plans to run again.

“I can graduate in the spring,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed was also pleased with his campaign, saying that the only thing that could’ve improved it was “more time.”

Harun said she is very optimistic about results.

“We’ve all really come in with the idea that we really do have the power to do something,” Harun said. “As long as the passion is there, the motivation will be.”

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EDITORIAL

November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

OPINIONS

Conflict Kitchen dishes out awareness

After four days of closure, Schenley Plaza’s Conflict Kitchen is set to re-open today.

Conflict Kitchen is a permanent food stand that rotates a menu of food from nations with which the United States is in conflict — currently, it’s serving Palestinian food. The restaurant was forced to close last week upon receiving a death threat, according to its website.

The closing was coupled with the recent controversy that Conflict Kitchen displayed “anti-Israeli” messages on its food wrappers, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In response to this controversy, Conflict Kitchen clarified on its website that the wrappers “contain interviews on food, culture, the Palestinian Authority, settlements, dating, resistance olive trees, Nakba, movement and travel and food customs.”

Conflict Kitchen has had similar wrappers along with the other foods it has served — including cuisine from Iran, North Korea and Cuba.

All of these wrappers contained perspectives of the people and cultures from which these foods came — in fact, before the restaurant changes the food it is serving, the owners and employees travel to the featured areas to learn more about the food and strife within these areas.

Palestine was no different.

Conflict Kitchen representatives traveled to Palestine to interview locals about their way of life and culture and then brought the Palestinian people’s perspective to Oakland to share with us.

Yet, people in opposition to the restaurant punished it with controversy and fearmongering. When Conflict Kitchen reopens today, it’s important to note, despite our political dispositions, just how valuable this service is and why it is such a shame that the restaurant closed in the first place.

By providing food and perspectives from nations that the United States is in conflict with, Conflict Kitchen gives us an opportunity to better understand the people from various countries. Their voices are often underrepresented within mainstream media, as the people in these countries are often overlooked by the conflicts that surround them.

This type of exposure is essential to open discourse on a college campus. Students need these perspectives to gain a better understanding of the world. This is why roughly 200 people surrounded Conflict Kitchen Monday in a demonstration organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, a Pitt student group.

As it reopens, let’s continue to recognize the restaurant’s value in a neighborhood that values diversity and understanding.

COLUMN

Who’s soft?

Social sciences are, in fact, sciences Thomas Helgerman Columnist One day last semester, I was sitting at Hillman Library with some friends, looking over the requirements to apply for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program through the National Science Foundation (NSF).

While I was at the table, one of the people sitting with me asked me what I was working on. As an ecomomics major, I informed her that I was applying for a NSF grant to pursue graduate study in economics.

She replied, “but it’s the National ‘Science’ Foundation.”

Unfortunately, the attitude that the social sciences don’t constitute legitimate scientific work is widespread, even in an academic setting. This disdain has manifested itself in academia through the usage of the term “hard science,” to describe the natural sciences, whereas the social sciences are merely referred to as “soft sciences.”

Social science departments are really not helping the matter. At Pitt, students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Economics, Linguistics, Political Science and Sociology — all of which are considered social sciences, broadly construed.

Additionally, the claim that social sciences are somehow “less scientific” than their natural counterparts is naive and misguided. In particular, I will examine and refute two sentiments regarding the social sciences.

First, many students and

academics believe that natural scientists have a much better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in their field of study. This is particularly pronounced in economics — following the financial crisis in 2007, even prominent economists were wondering how confident they should be in the field’s predictions.

Nevertheless, this attitude conflates macroeconomics with the discipline as a whole, which is understandable, as the news is usually dominated with coverage of macroeconomic fluctuations. However, this false identification misses the large strides made in other subfields of economics, such as applied microeconomics and behavioral economics.

Further, in addition to overstating the problems in the social sciences, this belief understates the problems in the natural sciences.

Take physics for example.

Academics and intellectuals hold physics as the purest of the sciences, having a rich history of successfully explaining physical phenomena. Yet, quantum mechanics — a well-known subfield of the discipline — has incredibly important problems that have remained open for the last half-century.

Additionally, the mathematical development of chaos theory in the 1960s and 1970s exposed our shallow understanding of seemingly simple phenomena in the natural world — such as turbulence in water flow or even weather patterns.

Second, the results in the nat-

ural sciences are generally seen as more definite than those in the social sciences, as conflicting evidence seems to appear more often in the latter.

This is especially prominent in psychological research, as many of the findings from the field over the past couple decades are, in light of replication problems, being called into question by modern researchers. Take, for example, the open letter written by psychologist Daniel Kahneman warning of a “train wreck looming” over the “robustness of priming results,” referring to recent work on social priming. As the journal Nature reports, “this skepticism has been fed by failed attempts to replicate classic priming studies, increasing concerns about replicability in psychology more broadly.”

However, this “replication crisis” has been taking place throughout the sciences, including medical and biological science. In fact, the 2005 article “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” argues from a probabilistic standpoint that the push for novel results and lack of replication has grave implications for scientific work.

Further, it is actually the case that the social sciences are in a better position to tackle such statistical challenges. This stems from an increased emphasis on learning the intricacies of statistical tools.

This emphasis is immediately evident following an examination of the requirements for ma-

Helgerman

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November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 4

HELGERMAN joring in the natural and social sciences at Pitt. The mathematics-economics major, designed to prepare students for graduate study in economics, requires students to take an introductory class in statistical methods, as well as probability theory, mathematical statistics and econometrics, or statistics for economists.

On the other hand, biology majors are

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The Pitt News Crossword, 11/12/2014

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ACROSS 1 Cup of joe 5 Slow-moving critter 10 British sports cars, for short 14 “Woe is me!”

15 Neigh sayer 16 Clarinet cousin 17 Flat-topped landform 18 Where to get cash 20 Foamy brew 21 Korean cars 22 Put in a chip for a hand 23 Turn topsy-turvy 25 Meaner than a junkyard dog 26 Where to see splits and strikes 30 Sci-fi subject 31 Replacement grass, perhaps 32 Dollop 35 Under the weather 36 Highlander’s hat 39 Part of a journey 41 Id controller 42 Young man 43 See 38-Down 45 La Scala production 47 Where to keep needles and thread 51 Theater district 54 Like San Francisco’s terrain 55 On the ocean 56 Leslie Caron title role 57 Cleft site 61 Where to find valuables 63 Bring on board 64 Latin 101 word 65 Photographer’s request 66 Sci-fi subjects 67 IRS IDs 68 __ Martin: British sports car 69 Things associated with 18-, 26-, 47- and 61-Across

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only required to take an introductory sta- of implementing them without running tistics course, while into statistical chemistry and physpitfalls. ics students have the Additionally, “In fact, econometricians opportunity to take this emphasis probability theory have actually developed tools is reflected at and mathematical the professional statistics as elec- that have been accepted into level. The field of tives. As students of economics has a the statistical canon.” the social sciences robust subfield, are better trained in econometrics, statistical methods, dedicated to deit follows that they will be more capable veloping statistical techniques for econo-

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11/24/14

By C.W. Stewart

DOWN 1 Doorframe part 2 On the sheltered side 3 Bouquet holder 4 More often than not 5 How Bond likes martinis 6 Making mention of 7 Warship fleets 8 Beliefs: Suff.

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Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

37 Part of Lawrence Welk’s cadence 38 With 43-Across, umbrella drink 40 Soccer score 44 Repress 46 Inspire with a pregame pep talk, say 47 Comes down as ice pellets 48 And others, briefly

11/24/14

49 Male escort 50 Karen who wrote as Isak Dinesen 51 Indian princes 52 Lines on a list 53 Dam on the Nile 56 Workout centers 58 Old record player 59 Remove creases from 60 Storied loch 62 Cape Town’s country: Abbr.

mists to use in their work.

In fact, econometricians have actually developed tools that have been accepted into the statistical canon. You’d be hard pressed to find work like that being done in a chemistry department.

In light of this, it might be more accurate to say that the social sciences are “more scientific” than the natural sciences — whatever that means. Perhaps we should all simply be content recognizing scientific work as, well, scientific.

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MEN’S SOCCER

SPORTS

Pitt hopes to build on disappointing year

COLUMN

Experience a must in building contenders Imaz Athar Staff Writer

Forward Cory Werth is one of the many seniors Pitt will have to replace next season. Jeff Ahearn | Assistant Visual Editor

Mark Powell Staff Writer After a second straight disappointing season, in which they failed to win a conference game, coach Joe Luxbacher and the Pitt men’s soccer team face the challenge of rebuilding.

The Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 4-9-4, while also suffering another winless conference campaign. While their record slightly improved from last season, based on the high hopes Pitt had coming into the season, it is adequate to look at this season as a disappointment.

“I think, overall, it’s fair to say that it was a disappointing season because we

didn’t get the results that we wanted,” goalkeeper Dan Lynd said. “But, at the same time, I think there are a lot of positive things we can take from it. I think the main thing is how close we were, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how close you were if you didn’t get the results.”

Pitt’s season was highlighted by its inconsistencies on offense, but also by its poor play against the highest level of competition in the ACC. The Panthers opened the season with an impressive 3-0 win over Presbyterian, leaving many to believe that their offensive woes may be behind them. However, a midseason slump cost Pitt their position in the standings, as they lost and drew several winnable games against inferior

competition, such as a loss to Howard and a tie against Niagara, both of which occurred on their home field.

Returning forward Patrick Dixon will likely have something to say about Pitt’s offense moving into next season. Having transferred from Australia just a year ago, Dixon obviously needed time to adjust to the ACC style of play.

“We put together some good efforts and almost won a couple games here and there. Overall, I thought it was very positive and a good basis to work on for next year,” Dixon said.

Pitt showed promise in several games this year, most notably against conference

Soccer

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When LeBron James and Kevin Love signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in July, the team immediately became the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2015 NBA Finals. It seemed like a guarantee that the Cavaliers would bring a championship to, perhaps, the most unlucky sports city in the United States.

The consensus between sports media and fans was that the Cavaliers would dominate the regular season — Vegas had the over/ under for Cavaliers wins set at 58.5. The Cavaliers have played six games so far, and they haven’t lived up to the public’s expectations.

Miscommunication and lack of ball movement have been the major themes in their games, and they fell to teams they should have beaten easily.

It seems shortsighted that we all thought the Cavaliers would be so good so quickly.

However, at the time of our predictions, it seemed to make perfect sense. But why?

Because the NBA is, without a doubt, the most predictable league of the four major professional sports.

Take a look at the MLB. The Kansas City Royals were a wild card team without a major superstar player, but they ended up only a win away from the World Series title. The NFL is just as unpredictable as baseball. The eventual Super Bowl champion isn’t always the team that’s projected to win at the beginning of the season — the 2007 and 2011 Giants, 2010 Packers and even the 2012 Ravens are all recent examples of this. Unpredictability is the definition of the NHL playoffs. At this point, it’s actually surprising if the eighth seed doesn’t eliminate the first seed in the

Athar

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November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

LeBron James and the Cavaliers have been somewhat out of sync to start the season | MCT Campus

FROM PAGE 8

ATHAR playoffs.

While the unpredictability and randomness of the NFL, MLB and NHL drives sports gamblers and die-hard fans crazy, the NBA causes very little uproar. In the NBA, the team with the most talent almost always wins. In past years, the team with the most stars won the most games during the regular season, and the team that won the most games in the regular season almost always won the NBA championship. So, it all made sense when everyone predicted that the Cavaliers would win immediately. They have the most talented and star-studded team in the

NBA and, as history suggests, they should win the most games.

One thing that fans always seem to forget when making predictions about teams is that talent — although very important — isn’t the only factor that determines a team’s success. Perhaps the most important factor when considering how successful a team will be is continuity. Battle-tested teams that have played together for long periods of time and know each other’s tendencies seem to always succeed.

Again, recent history supports this phenomenon. The San Antonio Spurs epitomized continuity. After years of playing together, the team developed an offensive

Athar

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SOCCER opponents Virginia Tech and Clemson, drawing against both. While these teams may not be at the top of the conference, they still represent strides toward the goal the Panthers are still trying to reach: winning their first game as a member of the ACC. “We are trying to overtake a number of teams that are annually ranked in the National Top 10, so even though we were a better team, it did not necessarily show in our win/loss results,” Luxbacher said.

“While we did improve as a team, we are still not at the level we are striving to achieve, and that will be our goal going forward — to turn tough losses into significant victories.”

Even with some reason for optimism, Luxbacher and the Panthers will have to focus on the tough task of rebuilding with the loss of several important seniors.

Defensively, Pitt will have to replace both Ryan Myers and Julian Dickenson.

Myers played a crucial role in moving for-

November 12, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com ward from his right back position. Dickenson, on the other hand, started games at center back in all four of his seasons with the Panthers.

Despite the loss of defensive starters, Pitt will have its goalkeeper back for a fourth season, as team captain Lynd returns. Despite it being his senior season, he does not see a dramatic change in his role on the team.

“I don’t think my role will change all too much,” Lynd said. “I was a captain this year, and that was a big honor. Everyone needs to step up and be a leader ... but I don’t think it really will change that much.”

Replacing defensive starters will be one of the toughest challenges for the Pitt coaches, but they remain optimistic about their prospects for the future.

“We have a solid core group of players returning, even though we will still be a young team, and added to that group will be a talented recruiting class,” Luxbacher said. “We have a good group of men who are willing to invest their time and efforts towards achieving one common goal — fielding one of the more elite teams in Division I soccer. That’s our plan.”

FROM PAGE 9

ATHAR and defensive system in which all the players moved on a string. Every action, pass and defensive rotation was made seamlessly. Even star-studded teams, like the Miami Heat, need time to develop continuity in order to win. In their first year together, the Heat’s stagnant offense was overmatched in the 2011 NBA Finals by the team-oriented style of the Dallas Mavericks. It took a whole year before the Heat realized how to play together.

Continuity isn’t unique to the NBA. Although the NFL, MLB and NHL are all more unpredictable than the NBA, a team’s success depends on continuity. Underdog teams like the 2012 Baltimore Ravens and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings were able to win championships, despite not being the best team during the

regular season, because they played through adversity in the past and had been in situations where they needed to play as a single unit. Things seem to click after all of these experiences — over time, teams establish the continuity necessary to defeat any opponent.

The Cavaliers have a mix of young and veteran players who have never played together before. While it’s certainly true that the team has tremendous talent, history suggests that talent alone doesn’t translate to wins.

The public’s preseason prediction of the Cavaliers winning the 2015 NBA title doesn’t depend on how talented the team is. Instead, it depends on whether or not they’re able to develop chemistry. The question of whether or not they’ll develop continuity cannot be answered right now, but if the first few games of the season are any indication, it may take longer than expected.

“Talent – although important – isn’t the only factor that determines a team’s success.”

T P N S U D O K U

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