The Pitt News 11-24-14

Vol. 105 Issue 77

@thepittnews STEPPING OUT

Monday, November 24, 2014

Pittnews.com I don’t like labels, man

TNS

Jessica Craig on why TIME’s banning of feminism is justified

page 6

Christine Lin | Staff Photographer

Four-headed monster

Rushing attack leads Pitt football to win

page 10

Soloist Emma Laurash preforms with the Pitches and Tones in Frick Fine Arts on Saturday. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer

Correlation: What your playlists say about your intelligence Lauren Rosenblatt Staff Writer Nickelback, Lil Wayne and Kenny Chesney fans may want to turn down the music, at least while studying, suggests new data from a California Institute of Technol-

ogy software designer.

Virgil Griffith, a software writer who reached semi-infamy in the hacking world when he hacked the online education system BlackBoard in 2003, said there is a correlation between music preferences and SAT scores.

In the hunt

Two weekend wins bring a tournament bid closer for Pitt volleyball

Griffith looked at the most popular types of music at different universities around the nation, using data from Facebook, and then looked at the average SAT scores of that university and com-

Music

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Nate Smith | Staff Photographer

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November 24, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

NEWS

Parental involvement still important for high schoolers Cristina Holtzer News Editor A study by Pitt researchers found that parents should have strong relationships with their children’s teachers throughout high school, despite the potential embarrassment of the students.

Ming-Te Wang, a Pitt researcher and assistant professor of psychology in education, studied the relationship between parental involvement in children’s schoolwork past elementary school and the children’s academic success. Child Development, a monthly academic psychology journal, published the study in its December issue.

The study measured “parental involvement” by the frequency and quality of communication between parents and teachers, how much parents encouraged

children to problem-solve on their own, study time scheduled by parents at home and how much parents discussed the importance of education for success.

The research showed that all types of parental involvement correlated to higher GPAs from seventh- through 11thgraders, and that a “high level of parental structure” particularly benefitted the grades of black students.

While most people know parental involvement through elementary school is important, Wang, who also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology, said secondary school can be just as important.

“It is far more complex than that, and there are many variables that go into how parents interact with their children over time,” Wang said in a release last week.

Home structure and discussion of the

importance of education at home were also associated with decreased problematic behaviors and future success in school.

The research team, which consists of Wang, Tara Hofkens, a graduate researcher in Pitt’s Learning Research and Development Center, and Nancy E. Hill, a professor of education at Harvard University, asked more than 1,400 families in the Eastern region of the United States about how involved the parents were in the school lives of their teenagers.

Using questionnaires and interviews, the team gathered data from seventhgraders, ninth-graders and 11th-graders and their parents, 56 percent of whom were black and 39 percent of whom were of European descent..

“The key findings here are that parents should always be involved but need

T P N S U D O K U

to give great thought as to how they are involved and the manner in which they stay involved as the child ages,” Wang said.

Parents, Wang said, should adapt their methods as their children age and progress through school. What works while students are in elementary school is rarely effective throughout secondary school, he said. Quality communication between parents and teachers, parents challenging students to figure out their own solutions to homework and pressing the importance of education to children’s futures also linked heavily to “lower depressive symptoms” in adolescents.

“Our findings highlight the importance of adapting the level and nature of parental involvement in education to adolescents’ changing psychological needs,” said Wang.

Today’s difficulty level: Medium Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com

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Nickelback fans scored in the 996 range for average SAT scores for math and reading. | TNS

FROM PAGE 1

MUSIC

pared the results. Griffith assembled his findings in a chart he made when he was a graduate student at CalTech.

A correlation is a relationship between two variables, such as music and intelligence. Causation means that one variable changes as a result of the other variable.

However, correlation does not imply causation, something Griffith said he wanted to make clear.

Griffith said the primarily negative reactions he received to the chart online surprised him. He said many people accused him of implying a causal relationship between music tastes and SAT scores and also questioned whether SAT scores are the best measure of a student’s intelligence.

“If you accept the SAT is a good measure of intelligence, then you can discuss really what it means for there to be a correlation between the average intelligence at a college and the most popular music at that college,” Griffith said.

Artists such as Lil Wayne, Beyoncé

and Jay-Z were correlated with lower SAT scores, while Beethoven was at the higher end. Most artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Kanye West and Rage Against the Machine, were toward the middle of the graph, correlating with an SAT score between 996 and 1156.

The graph also mapped genres of music.

Overall, jazz and classical music fans often had lower SAT scores than classic rock lovers. Rock, country, R&B and rap showed similar scores between 900 and 1000.

Tyler Jeavons, a sophomore majoring in finance, said he prefers alternative music but his tastes also include music on the other side of the spectrum, like country.

“Most people listen to lots of artists and can’t be defined by just one or two artists,” Jeavons said.

Jeavons said he interprets the data to be more related to a person’s social surroundings and socioeconomic status.

“So many people listen to so many different types that you can’t really correlate [music tastes with intelligence levels]” Jeavons said. “You’re gonna listen to what

Music

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MUSIC

your friends listen to and if you’re in a white suburban neighborhood, it might end up being Jay-Z, but most likely not.”

David Panasiuk, owner of Dave’s Music Mine on East Carson Street in South Side, said he couldn’t imagine one of his customers making a music selection based on the idea that it would help or hinder their intelligence.

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“You would never hear someone say, ‘Oh “A lot of mothers or pregnant women that reggae album come in to buy clasmade me so smart.’ sical music for their I don’t know of any “Most people listen to lots of kids. They say they relation between want to get their type of music and artists and can’t be defined kids started early,” how smart someone Panasiuk said. is,” Panasiuk said. by just one or two artists.”

A study pubThe one exceplished in the Janution to this would be ary 2011 Journal of a mother or soonBehavioral Decision to-be-mother shopMaking showed ping for classical music. that those who listen to classical music

Tyler Jeavons

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were typically more intelligent as children than those who listened to other music.

The researchers theorized that this may be because classical music is entirely instrumental and was “evolutionarily novel” when humans first invented instruments.

Panasiuk said he couldn’t pick a genre that was most popular for his store because customers bought a little bit of everything.

“You’ll get just as many people buying a Beatles record as a Nas CD. And just as much reggae and jazz. There really is no trend,” Panasiuk said. advertising@pittnews.com

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EDITORIAL

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OPINIONS

Sorry, your FB profile is on your resumé

College admissions officers seek information on your race, date of birth, the clubs you’re involved in and your GPA. But should they also know your beer of choice, the movie you saw last Friday or your favorite swear words?

With the increasing use of social media among millennials, college admissions boards have used platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to gauge whether an applicant would fit well at their institutions.

According to research conducted by Kaplan Test Prep in 2013, nearly 31 percent of college admissions officers have checked the social media profiles of prospective applicants. This has grown significantly from 2008, when only about 10 percent of admissions officers checked social media.

Since roughly 96 percent of university students use Facebook, according to a University of New Hampshire study, there are endless opportunities for young adults to post content about their lives that they wouldn’t normally share on a college application.

With this rise in unorthodox college applicant material, there are some surprising benefits. Students can learn now — rather than later, when they apply for jobs — that their social media conduct is up for critique.

According to a 2013 study by the popular job search site CareerBuilder, roughly two out of five employers visit prospective employees’ social media pages for further research.

At least 19 percent of these employers said they found something that caused them to hire the applicant.

Evidence of great communication skills on Facebook or a unique layout on a blog can advance an applicant’s chances in gaining a job.

However, we know that not all of the ramifications of social media can be positive. Of these employers, about 43 percent noted that they found disagreeable content on an applicant’s page that deterred them from hiring. So, where do we draw the line?

It comes down to a matter of transparency — colleges should leave a disclaimer on their application to warn students that they may be checking their social media.

Furthermore, if a college declines a student based on his or her social media conduct, it should notify the student of the reason.

Colleges currently do not inform students that this was why they were rejected.

How can we correct socially unacceptable behaviors if we don’t pinpoint them? It is sometimes difficult to say what constitutes “bad” content on a Facebook wall. Is it posting photos of underage drinking or posting photos of drinking at all, even if you are of age?

If college admissions boards regulated this practice and trained their officers in what to look for, social media scrutiny would be more level and objective.

We need to find a balance between respecting freedom of speech via social media and being socially correct on public platforms that could influence our future.

Universities should be open forums for the free flow of ideas — but they can only do so if they are transparent, even during the application process.

Dylan Fisher | Staff Cartoonist

COLUMN

TIME Magazine: Maybe we should ban words like ‘feminism’ Jessica Craig Columnist

On Nov. 13, TIME Magazine released its fourth annual “word banishment poll.” At the time of its initial publication, the article’s preface instructed, “If you hear that word one more time, you will definitely cringe. You may exhale pointedly ... What word is this? You tell us ... we’re

asking readers to vote another word off the island.”

Voters nominated words and phrases such as “bae,” “basic,” “I can’t even,” “literally,” “like” and “kale.” Voters also nominated the more politically charged word “feminist.”

National controversy and public backlash ensued, and, only a few days after its publication, the article’s preface was

updated: “TIME apologizes for the execution of this poll; the word ‘feminist’ should not have been included in a list of words to ban. While we meant to invite debate about some ways the word was used this year, that nuance was lost, and we regret that its inclusion has become a distraction from the important

Craig

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CRAIG

debate over equality and justice.”

My initial response to the controversy: I literally can’t even handle another debate about gender equality. Like, it’s the 21st century!

Then I realized that this whole wordbanishing thing doesn’t mean anything at all. So go ahead. “Banish” the word.

The movement will still exist.

Despite its lack of real-world significance, I found myself agreeing with the poll — maybe the word “feminist” should be banned.

While “banishing” a word is completely unenforceable and vague , it holds a symbolic power. By banishing a word, we are vowing to banish the idea behind that word.

Every year at my high school, the graduating class organized a “Shred the Word” ceremony. Every student of the graduating class wrote a derogatory, defamatory, or otherwise harmful word, including “retard,” “n*gger” or “b*tch,”

on a piece of paper. Students took turns explaining to the school why this word should no longer be used. Then students ripped up the paper and threw it in a trash bin at the center of the school’s

groups. Words and labels divide our society. Black, white, yellow, brown.

Working class, middle class, upper class, the 1 percent. Science people and humanities people. Pro-gender equality

“Words can be used to put someone down, to label someone...Words and labels divide our society.” gymnasium.

The principal ended the annual ceremony with a speech about the power of words. Words can be used to put someone down, to label someone, to cast them as other. Words isolate people or

and anti-gender equality.

Whether you call yourself a feminist or vehemently deny all associations with feminists, you place yourself into one of two divided groups. You are a feminist, and others are misogynists. You are

7 right, they are wrong. There is also a dichotomy of people fighting over the label, the word “feminist” and what it means to be a feminist. You have people denying that they are feminists because they do not want to align themselves with other feminists. It is the label that has sparked this odd debate over the word, not the idea or purpose of feminism.

I am not so naive to think that by banishing the word “feminist,” we are going to instantly affect the discourse on gender inequality to whatever extent you believe it exists today. Instead, we will remove this obstacle of diction so we can focus on the underlying social movement.

The public banishment of such a word does not warrant an apology. It should be a celebrated feat. By banishing the word, maybe we can stop fighting each other about whether or not one is a feminist. And, instead, maybe we can focus on the real issues facing gender equality — rather than on superficial semantics.

Email Jessica at jnc34@pitt.edu.

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SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

Committee Pitt begins Maui Invitational with Chaminade rules

Pitt backs rush for 258 yards in win versus Syracuse

Theo Schwarz | Visual Editor

Jasper Wilson Senior Staff Writer Chris James has become more patient as a runner throughout the football season, but the change hasn’t come easily.

“That’s been something that I’ve been working on all year. Coach [John] Settle calls me ‘Happy Feet’ in the backfield ‘cause I get the ball and just want to take off,” James, a freshman, said. “I tell myself ‘Just be patient. It’s gonna be there.’”

James’ growth as a runner was necessary for Pitt on Saturday at Heinz Field.

Needing a win to keep the possibility of bowl eligibility — and, by connection, its season — alive, Pitt rode a career day by the young player to a 30-7 victory over Syracuse on Senior Day. “We needed him,” head coach Paul Chryst said.

Pitt’s ability to effectively run the ball wasn’t a surprise. The team ranked 15th nationally in rushing offense before this weekend and averaged 253 yards a game

Football

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Dan Sostek Assistant Sports Editor

The Pitt men’s basketball team prepares to kick off the tournament portion of the 2014 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational beginning on Monday. This is a breakdown of the rest of the field.

Chaminade: Serving as the host school for the invitational, the Division II Chaminade Silverswords are Pitt’s first-round matchup. The team is 2-0 to start the year, defeating fellow Division II schools Regis University and Saint Katherine College.

With 12 of the team’s 15 players at guard, the Silverswords are one of the most undersized teams the Panthers will face all year. Their leading scorer so far is sophomore guard Kiran Shastri, who is averaging 17.5 points per game on 63 percent shooting, including an 8-14 mark from 3-point range.

BYU: The Cougars sport a 3-0 record heading into their first-round contest against San Diego State. BYU features one of the top offenses in the nation, thanks in large part to guard Tyler Haws. The senior is averaging more than 17 points per game this year after averaging more than 20 points per game the last two seasons. He’s joined in the backcourt by junior guard and Wake Forest transfer Chase Fischer, who is averaging 15.3 points and three assists per game on the year.

San Diego State: Head coach Steve Fisher once again has the Aztecs positioned as a top-25 program, as his No. 16 team already boasts a victory over No. 25 Utah. The team relies more on its depth than one particular player, but is led by senior forward JJ O’Brien, who is averaging 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Aztecs are a tough defensive team, holding CSU-Bakersfield to just 27 points in its last contest, and haven’t allowed more than 58 points per game all season.

Arizona: As the clear favorite to win the invitational, the 3-0 Wildcats head to Maui ranked No. 2 in the nation. Head

Jamie Dixon’s squad begins the Maui Invitational tournament on Monday night at 9 p.m. Heather Tennant | Staff Photographer

coach Sean Miller has countless weapons at his disposal. Senior point guard T.J. McConnell fills the stat sheet on a consistent basis, averaging 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 4.0 steals per game on the year. Offensively, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley pace the team, averaging 16.0 and 15.0 points per game respectively.

Missouri: The Tigers’ 2014-2015 season got off to a rocky start, as Mizzou fell to Missouri-Kansas City at home 69-61 in the team’s first game of the year. Since

the loss, the team has won two straight, but did not look overly convincing in either. Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar has been a bright spot for the team, leading in scoring so far this season, as well as being their second leading rebounder. He’s shooting just 38.3 percent from the field, a problem for the Tigers in general, as their 42.6 percent field goal percentage is 199th in the country.

Purdue: The Boilermakers have been

M Hoops

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November 24, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

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VOLLEYBALL

Panthers win twice to keep NCAA tournament hopes alive Caitlin Hinsey Staff Writer

Volleyball

Pitt’s seniors played their last home game on Friday. Nate Smith | Staff Photographer

The Pitt News Crossword, 11/24/2014

Entering this weekend having lost two straight, the Panthers knew they needed to win both weekend matches to salvage their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.

“We definitely needed the momentum back,” senior libero Delaney Clesen said.

On Friday, which was also Senior Night, Pitt (23-6, 11-5 ACC) defeated NC State 3-0. The team traveled to Charlottesville, Va., to take on Virginia on Sunday, where it won 3-1.

“We’re having a really good year, and we had a good year last year due to the five seniors for accepting me and my staff,” head coach Dan Fisher said. “[The team] really bought in, so it’s important to recognize not only tonight, but what they did the last two years.”

NC State

The Panthers gave their five seniors a proper send-off Friday night by sweeping NC State 25-22, 25-13 and 25-17.

“We were all ready for a win,” freshman outside hitter Mariah Bell said.

“When we needed to execute everything, we did.”

Pitt outperformed the Wolfpack (1513, 4-12 ACC) on both sides of the net.

The team recorded 43 kills to NC State’s 31. Bell led Pitt with nine kills, while seniors Mechael Guess and Kate Yeazel were close behind with eight and seven, respectively. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jenna Potts recorded six kills.

The Panthers had more blocks and digs than their opponent, with Clesen leading the team with 15 digs. Pitt also returned to its basics by serving well.

The team aced NC State 11 times thanks to five players. According to Fisher,

ACROSS 1 Netherlands export 5 “500” initials on Wall Street 10 Important time periods 14 Outfielder Crisp nicknamed for a cereal box character 15 Acting award 16 Night in Nantes 17 Modest abode 19 Armory supply 20 Galena or hematite 21 Currier’s partner 22 One in a congregation 24 Winnebago owner, briefly 25 Defendant in a defamation case 26 More orderly 29 Weak 30 Grads 31 Tusked porcine animals 32 Spot for rest and relaxation 35 Gimlet fruit 36 Urge forward 37 Help to withdraw 38 Neighbor of Isr. 39 Attorney general under Reagan 40 Map out 41 Seize, as a chance 43 Grab greedily 44 __ City: Oz locale 46 Tiny energy source 47 Title for Bovary and Butterfly 48 Landed 49 ROTC school near D.C. 52 Good buds 53 Windblown desert plant 56 To be, to Bizet 57 Prop for Picasso 58 Inland Asian sea 59 Like Easter eggs 60 Gin berries 61 Lock maker DOWN 1 Reverberate 2 Sullen

12/2/14

By Bernice Gordon

3 Top 4 Unruly group 5 In any way 6 Peter of Peter and Gordon 7 Cpls. and sgts.

8 Aswan or Hoover 9 Opening night showing 10 Tooth cover 11 Folding feature of an old roadster 12 Actress Anouk 13 Put away for the future 18 Exists 23 Recedes to the sea 24 Hoarfrost 25 Sailor’s time off 26 Hard to believe, as a story 27 Nastase of tennis 28 Hogwarts headmaster 29 Force unfairly (on) 31 Naan, for example 33 Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple

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Monday’s Puzzle Solved

©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

34 Lit. collection 36 Seriously reduces 37 “Kapow!” cousin 39 Respectful address 40 100 bucks 42 Wiped off the board 43 Motion picture frames 44 Fix firmly

12/2/14

45 Title role that won Borgnine a 15-Across 46 “Tiny Alice” dramatist Edward 48 “Are not” retort 49 Wang known for wedding gowns 50 Supper, e.g.

51 Out of a job 54 Delta rival: Abbr.

55 Method

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FOOTBALL — and it did so largely without starter James Conner.

In the first quarter, Conner scored the first points on a one-yard rushing touchdown and, in the process, set an ACC record for most rushing touchdowns in a season (22), tying Tony Dorsett’s school record for the same statistic.

After a play midway through the second quarter, the sophomore didn’t receive the ball again. It was announced at the beginning of the second half that he had a hip injury and wouldn’t return for the rest of the contest.

Other than the points from a now-sidelined player, Pitt had managed just 14 yards on nine carries in the opening period.

Although the Panthers (5-6 overall, 3-4 ACC) struggled initially against the No. 24 rush defense in the country, they eventually had success, something Chryst said patience and persistence allowed.

In Conner’s absence, James received the bulk of the carries and made good use of them, collecting 122 yards on 19 carries, both

November 24, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Rushing yards vs Syracuse Chris James Issac Bennett = 20 yards

James Conner Rachid Ibrahim career highs.

“I knew eventually, at some point this season, I’m gonna have my chance,” he said.

“As soon as he went down, James came over and told me ‘Hey, it’s your time to shine.’”

The key to his and others’ success, James said, was the play of the offensive line, which

did well despite starting left tackle Adam Bisnowaty missing the game due to injury. In his place was redshirt freshman Jaryd JonesSmith, making his second start of the year.

This was the second time this season following a Conner injury that other running backs stepped in and made positive

contributions. During a portion of the loss last month to Georgia Tech, James gained 23 yards on five carries. Rachid Ibrahim finished that game with 66 yards rushing on three attempts.

This week, senior Isaac Bennett finished with 77 yards on 11 touches, his best output of the season. After, receiver Tyler Boyd spoke on the offense’s ability, through depth, to maintain consistency.

“If any guys go down, we have guys ready to come in and pick them up and finish their job for them,” Boyd said.

The team finished with 256 rushing yards, 129 more than the Orange (3-8,1-6 ACC) allowed on average and the most Syracuse had given up all season. That ability allowed Pitt to keep possession for the majority of the game — 38:42 to SU’s 21:18 — and limit chances the Orange had to make any attempt at a comeback.

The Panthers will need that sort of shared production with or without Conner — about whom Chryst didn’t provide an update postgame — against Miami on Nov. 29. The Hurricanes have a strong rush defense, ranked 30th, that holds opponents to 136 yards on average.

November 24, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 10

FROM PAGE 11

M HOOPS

VOLLEYBALL

dominant early on this season, as the team sports a 3-0 record with an average margin of victory of 33 points. They have found success by playing team-oriented basketball, as eight players on the team are averaging at least 5.7 points per game with freshman Vince Edwards leading the way with a 13.7 clip. Their offense has been extremely efficient — their 51.3 field goal percentage ranks 31st in the country — but the Boilermakers have yet to prove they can handle a spike in the level of competition.

Kansas State: The Wildcats will try to rebound in Maui from their loss to Long Beach State on Thursday, a performance that saw the team shoot an abysmal 32.8 percent from the field. Kansas State has struggled heavily on the boards this year, ranking 277th in college basketball with 32.0 rebounds per game. Coach Bruce Weber’s team has been headed by senior forward Thomas Gibson, who is averaging 17 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest, while posting a 68.4 field goal percentage.

Pitt’s improved serving helped the team cope with the loss of former kills leader, senior outside hitter Jessica Wynn, at the net.

Early in set one, the Panthers had trouble finding a rhythm. It wasn’t until mid-set with the teams tied at 10 that Pitt began a run to take a lead that it never relinquished. Set two saw the teams exchanging points. When Maria Genitsaridi served three aces in a row to give Pitt a 9-5 lead, the momentum swung in Pitt’s favor and the team went on to easily win.

Out of the intermission, the Panthers scored the first five points in set three, causing NC State to take an early timeout. Pitt would jump ahead 11-3 before the Wolfpack would pull within three twice, the last coming at 16-13.

The Panthers scored nine of 13 to complete the sweep.

“I’m so happy we get to leave on a win. It’s something I’ll never forget,”

Clesen said.

Virginia Playing on the road had no effect on Pitt Sunday afternoon when it faced the Cavaliers (16-13, 9-7 ACC). Pitt defeated Virginia 25-18, 25-15, 22-25 and 25-14.

The Panthers continued their offensive prowess with 10 aces and opposites Guess and Yeazel recorded 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Bell went a perfect 6-for-6. Amanda Orchard also hit above .400, adding eight kills to Pitt’s total of 55.

“We wanted to hit over .250 and we hit almost .350 so we were pretty pleased offensively,” Fisher said.

Fisher, along with Yeazel, credited the ball placement by his setters, Lindsey Zitzke and Jenna Jacobson, for Pitt’s success at the net. Zitzke had 29 assists, while Jacobson added 22.

“Our offense was really good,” Yeazel said. “Our setters were really spreading out the offense and getting everyone involved.”

Guess believed this was a team win.

“Every position did well throughout the whole game,” she said. “Everything

13 put together [serving, hitting, setting and digging] made a really good match.”

The score in set one remained close before the Panthers went on a run at 17-12 that provided enough room for the team to pull out a win. Pitt ran off six of seven to start set two before Virginia came back to trail 8-6. Virginia was unable to complete its comeback as the Panthers took an 18-12 lead that stretched into 22-13.

The Cavaliers made adjustments during the intermission, which led the team to control set three. Virginia built a 6-2 lead that continued to grow despite Pitt’s efforts. The Cavaliers hung around in set four before Pitt took advantage of timely hitting to pull out an easy win.

The Panthers will continue their road play next week when they face Louisville Wednesday and Notre Dame Friday.

Guess said the wins were important for the team’s hopes of going 4-0 in its final matches of the season before hopefully moving onto the postseason.

“This is leading us in the right direction for next week,” she said.

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