Welcome Back 2017 pt. 2

OPINIONS

35 column: be professional

36 column: life as a transfer

38 column: the doctor is in

39 column: social cleanse

41

page 33 Column: summer out west Column: PGH goes green

column

TO REALIZE YOUR PASSION, GO INTO THE FIELD Levko Karmazyn, for The Pitt News As I watched the sun fall behind the mountain peaks surrounding the K BAR Z Guest Ranch in early July, the valley below was an uncharacteristic shade of blue, unlike the past few nights. Something else felt different, too — it was the last night of Pitt’s Yellowstone Field Study.

I already knew I would remember it as one of the most important experiences of my life and undoubtedly the most important class I would take at Pitt. It’s the type of adventure we all need more of to help us realize our passions, and an undertaking that needs to become a staple of college curricula for all students.

The class description was simple enough.

We would travel to Yellowstone, stay at a ranch, hike throughout the Absaroka Mountains while studying equal portions geology, ecology and policy.

In Wyoming, the coursework reached beyond the topics at hand. Studied in the context of the western landscape, these topics revealed insights more profound than if read from a textbook. The course prompted me to see this

pittnews.com

country, its people and even my personal journey in a whole new way.

My standard class lectures in environmental studies can be fascinating, engaging and challenging — but there are times when I feel like I’m missing out on a deeper connection to the topics at hand. The classroom sometimes feels distant from the world at large.

Learning about the Permian extinction

Levko Karmazyn captured these photos during his time at the K BAR Z Ranch in Wyoming. happened stretches the ability of your mind to comprehend time. Learning about preserving bison populations with one in front of you, all 1400 pounds of one, changes the feeling from

"It is the American soul land, a sort of mecca for people who are committed to learning about the natural world and our interactions with it." while touching the exposed, discolored layers pity to awesome respect.

My biology professor, Carlos Martinez del in sedimentary rock at the exact point where it Rio — from the University of Wyoming — captured my fascination with trail-side, hands-on explanations of mutualisms, keystone species and plant sex. Though important, traditional classes often teach us the theory behind things while missing the real-life, tangible context that drives us to deeper understanding.

As an environmental studies major I am expected to intern with local businesses, government agencies or nonprofit organizations — jobs that don’t always put you in direct contact with the outdoors. This field course was perfect as it brought me back to being that kid in love with the woods and helped me retreat from the race to begin a career that can dominate the college mentality.

Those, like me, who have been slow to settle into a career path need to be inspired more than anything. We need to be awoken to the

August 21, 2017

possibilities that can define our lives should we choose to access them.

Future nurses need to remember they are more than just pre-health students in hospitals — they are catalysts of life. Accounting majors aren’t just doing paperwork — they quantify a dynamic, living economy into comprehensible numbers.

When I first arrived in Wyoming, I was shaken by the vast alien openness of the western landscape. Once I returned home I felt claustrophobic in suburban D.C., but strangely re-centered and focused. I kept an outsider’s perspective, and found awe and wonder in the novel ecosystems of local parks or small streams I hadn’t felt for a long time.

It felt like going to the moon to take an astronomy class and then realizing you could see the stars from your backyard all along. It was truly a spiritual recharging — and I have never described a class in that way until now.

I experienced another curious side effect.

Away from LTE service or a reliable Wi-Fi connection, I rapidly detached from my usual media, and therefore some of my other usual thinking patterns. It was often just me, Yellowstone and my video camera, taking footage just to prove the grandeur of the park. This exposed me to points of view that city-residing college students usually aren’t privy to.

Take, for example, how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone wasn’t all positive — it almost eradicated the hunting business of the ranch we stayed at. It is easy to tout their reintroduction as a victory from afar, however, living with wolves is difficult, and those who have been living on the land for years need to have their voices heard.

See Field Course on page 49

33

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

34

column

BEING UNPROFESSIONAL IN THE CLASSROOM HURTS YOUR FUTURE Mariam Shalaby Columnist

“Hey, Jordan!” yelled one of my classmates from the back of the room, grabbing the instructor’s attention.

An unconventional way to call the teacher.

The disrespect we show in class seems to increase every day. When I saw this kind of thing happen as a freshman, I figured it would improve as I went through college. But three years later, we still wear pajamas to class and eat piercingly strong-smelling hoagies during lectures. These things are no doubt unique to the college experience, but if we want to get and keep jobs, we need to get our acts together. Disrespecting our professors and classmates could ruin our professionalism in the future.

According to a 2015 study conducted by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College, college graduates differ greatly from their older coworkers — in fact, over 70 percent of employees polled stated that they believed the level of professionalism displayed in the workplace differed between generations. It should come as little surprise that older workers said their younger coworkers lacked social communication skills,

pittnews.com

fall of societal standards. Norms and habits change and respect and work ethic.

We need to step up our game and be more respectful what is “acceptable” is subjective and evolves over time. in the classroom. If not for our professors’ and class- But keeping habits considered disrespectful by the majority of the professional world only harms us — particularly our effectiveness as business-people, health care professionals and workers in general.

For example, especially in big lecture halls, many students — myself included — arrive five, 10, 15 or even 20 minutes late. We’ve developed the idea that lateness is not a big deal.

In high school, administrators emphasize punctuality. Lateness by a few minutes has been linked to lowered high school performance. According to a University of North Texas Ph.D. dissertation study on tardiness and high school achievement, 25 percent of the variance in state math test scores were due to tardiness to class.

At a large university like Pitt, no one calls us out when we show up late. But it sends signals to the professor that we don’t value their time and effort enough to show up on time. And, it makes it seem like we don’t care about the class.

Furthermore, it translates to our future success. A mates’ sakes, at least for our own.

I’m not saying that our behavior is a sign of the downSee Professionalism on page 46

August 21, 2017

35

column

FINDING YOUR PLACE AS A TRANSFER STUDENT Saket Rajprohat Columnist It was a cold and snowy January day. With my backpack and suitcases heavier than they seemed leaving home, I stepped into my new dorm.

I was excited to finally be at Pitt. After my short and easy semester at Robert Morris University, a private school in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I was ready to move out of the house, have a roommate that wasn’t my sister and maybe even make some friends at school.

In my head, my intentions were clear. I transferred to Pitt for better opportunities, and to find the challenges and prospects I felt RMU lacked. I would go the gym every day, hit my books hard and make the most of my time — it would be different.

But I hadn’t accounted for the unwavering question of purpose that threatened to consume me, nor the peace and meaning I found through the unlikely outlet of clubs at Pitt.

As I moved from each class throughout my first couple weeks, I realized the challenge I was hoping for definitely existed, but not in the way I had expected. School did get harder as I struggled to keep up with assignments and exams coming my way, but the real challenge came from somewhere else.

A fear of becoming aimless slowly began to overtake me, forcing me to question whether I’d made the right decision in coming to Pitt.

While I was supposed to be studying and searching for my greater purpose, I began to realize the animosity I felt toward my classes, and that I wasn’t enjoying the pre-med track like I was during my first semester at RMU. As I contemplated moving back to RMU or choosing a new field of study, I couldn’t stop questioning why I transferred to Pitt.

My goals of pursuing greater opportunity and making myself into a success remained unfulfilled and my purpose seemed nonexistent.

Luckily, some good friends of mine suggested I join some clubs. I was stubborn — I thought that joining organizations would

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

limit my ability to pick up my grades, but one of my friends recommended talking with a community engagement advisor at the Honors College.

I eventually agreed to making an advising appointment and met with Holly Hickling, the Honors College’s academic community engagement advisor. After talking for a bit about the difficulties I faced during my transfer process and the opportunities I was seeking, she also told me I should be actively seeking out a club to fit my interests.

After doing some of my own research, I found a lot of sources pointing me toward the positive effects clubs have on students.

One study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that students participating in extracurricular activities have fewer absences, higher GPAs and significantly higher chances of completing college. Another study by the University of Albany said the majority of students that were involved with clubs throughout college felt greater “autonomy toward interdependence and establishing and clarifying purpose.”

With this information, still somewhat reluctantly, I agreed with Holly and decided to look into something that aligned with my interests. I knew I wanted to be involved in community service in some capacity, so taking Holly’s advice, I joined FORGE — Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment.

It was awkward at first, since I joined halfway through the semester and most of the members already knew each other, but over time the dynamic began to change. I listened to the presentations that were given at each meeting and enjoyed the lively discussions. I made friends that had more in common with me than simply living on the same floor. I also started getting involved with some of the volunteer work FORGE did over the weekends with refugee students, tutoring them for their high school classes and preparing them for higher education.

My involvement with FORGE brought a sense of clarity to my decision to move See Transferring on page 52

36

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

37

column

DR. WHO TAKES ON A NEW ENEMY: Elise Lavallee Columnist

Jordan Mondell CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

pittnews.com

Dr. Who has faced many adversaries over the past 54 years — daleks, cybermen, weeping angels — all of which the Time Lord has defeated.

But this year, in the show’s thirteenth season, the Doctor is up against a new kind of rival — sexism.

This year, Dr. Who will be played by Jodie Whittaker, the character’s first female form.

For a show with such a long standing theme of equality and fair treatment regardless of gender, race, religion, sexuality or planet origin, the most shocking thing about the 13th doctor being a woman is the fact that it took so long.

“Doctor Who” tells the story of a space alien known as a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who goes by The Doctor. Using his TARDIS, a time machine, he and his companion, travel the universe with little plans other than to solve the problems that come their way.

The BBC series first aired November 23, 1963 and continued to run until 1989. The series relaunched again in 2005 with the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, and modernized the series for younger generations.

Instead of dying, the Doctor regenerates in a new form. In the original series, the Doctor was only meant to regenerate 12 times, meaning that his thirteenth appearance would be his final. Because of the shows popularity, an episode in 2013 surprised viewers with the announcement that the Doctor would have twelve more regenerations, breaking from the original series. Still, it’s fitting BBC used the prominence of the thirteenth regeneration to introduce the first female Doctor.

When I started watching the show about ten years ago, a female doctor would have been something out of my wildest dreams. Yet as the show continued to portray women in more groundbreaking roles — such as scientists, prime ministers and spies — it began to feel like the show was missing something.

Even with the regenerated doctor being slightly different from the lasts, and the frequent switching of companions, the show’s dynamic needed something new — and a female doctor is just that.

The best reaction to the long awaited announcement came in the form of a twitter video posted by @jenny_trout, of her daughter crying tears of joy after finding out Whittaker was set to play thirteen.

Unfortunately, a portion of the male fan base struggled to grasp how a woman would fare in the

August 21, 2017

SEXISM

role. Some have gone as far as refusing to watch the next few seasons because they believe a female doctor obstructs the show’s integrity. For some reason — sexism maybe? — men still struggle to grasp that women are capable of playing the same rolls as men, both on and off the screen. To actually cast a woman in a role previously held by 12 different men is the kind of equal representation women have been demanding for years.

And although men and women are said to be equal, there is a large disparity in what’s being said and what’s actually being done to ensure this equality.

“It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World,” a 2016 report, found women accounted for just 29 percent of protagonists and 37 percent of major characters in the top 100 films of that year. Overall, women accounted for just 32 percent of speaking roles that year.

Though these numbers seem bleak, 2016 was a progressive year for women in film. The number of female protagonists increased by 7 percent and the number of major female characters increased by nearly 3 percent from 2015. And hopefully, these numbers continue to grow.

Even with more women playing lead roles, the characters they play are usually made to be female.

By this I mean that the roles intended for women are often shaped by gender roles and stereotypes determining how they dress, carry themselves and even what jobs they hold.

Women on screen accounted for 89 percent of nurses, 81 percent of secretaries and 53 percent of waitresses, but accounted for less than 28 percent of executives, 13 percent of lawyers and 5 percent of engineers from 1985 to 2015, according to a Statista study.

The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found women protagonists on screen were younger than their male counterparts, and more likely to star in comedies (28 percent) or dramas (24 percent) than science fiction (14 percent) or action films (3 percent).

We’re at the point where right now, if you picture a doctor, pilot or CEO, most people would picture someone male. That’s not to say that those people don’t believe that women could hold these roles — the problem is that due to a lack of female representation in these fields and in the media, people assume male rather than female.

See Dr. Who on page 52

38

column

DEAR SOCIAL MEDIA:

IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S MY MENTAL HEALTH

Audreela Deb

For The Pitt News Ah, summer. The season of vacation getaways and seasonal internships. Afternoon barbecues and late night bonfires; Fourth of July pool parties and sunbathing trips to the beach.

And there’s proof of it all on social media — at least, if this year was anything like last.

Instead of devouring the summer social media slurry, I decided to take a break from it all. I called it my social media cleanse.

All it took was one short video on Facebook to hit me in the gut — a three minute video of watching people twist the truth on social media. Although the video was likely the doing of a campaign against teenagers and their gadgets, it worked.

The segment that struck me the most was one in which some friends were out to eat at a restaurant. They were just eating without conversing while scrolling through their phones. They looked like zombies. Later on they asked the waiter to take a picture of them — they posed to look like friends who’d just enjoyed a dinner full of enjoyable conversation and connection, posted their photos to Instagram, and went right back to scrolling.

It was then that I realized I needed to change something. We are so caught up in appearing a certain way that our online selves and real selves have never been further divided. The mindfulness and presence that I felt like I needed was caged in this online realm, so I needed a break.

We’ve heard of all different types of cleanses — the juice cleanse, the tea detox, the master cleanse — and I’m sure we’ll hear about a new trend within the next few months. I’ve fallen prey to a few of these trends, but none ever stuck long enough to make a long-term impact on my lifestyle.

Due to struggles with mental health, I was wishing for a change in some aspect of

pittnews.com

my life. So I decided it was time to let go — and here I am two months later with no Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.

Throughout the spring semester, I began to realize that I was less efficient and less creative than ever before. I thought that because college is a busy time, it was normal not to have time for other important recreational activities.

I love reading, and I have always wanted to learn how to cook. At the beginning of the semester, I made a bucket list of projects like this, but as time

life offline was on pause.

Addicting is one word that comes to mind. The small, uneventful moments of riding the bus, walking to class and eating in Schenley are fruitful times for the mind and body — time to be present and connect with people and places outside the screen.

I can’t blame social media as the villain behind all of these internal crises, but it was one thing I was able to control. Moderation is key to any aspect of life — thus, the social media cleanse.

It was almost too easy, but I

think passed, Liam McFadden STAFF ILLUSTRATOR it was benone of cause I was craving them were even it for a long time. No one forced started. The reason was the first thing I woke up to and last thing I went to or guilted me into tearing myself from these bed with was my phone and social media. apps except for me. When you cannot venI was online between classes, during class ture into a life without an entourage of apps and during me time. Studying at my desk is when you should consider the time for a was no longer efficient and neither was Hill- cleanse.

I let go of one thing at a time: no muman, because it was my own focus, not the environment, that was the problem. I was sic during my runs, phone off while studyso involved in having a life online that my ing, phone in my purse while at work. And

August 21, 2017

I saw more results, such as feeling more connected to nature when I went on daily runs. Focusing on breathing air through my lungs, hearing my feet against the concrete, and smelling the oak trees are all little things that I missed while engrossed with my phone and what song I should play next.

I was able to finish readings and deadlines faster when I wasn’t checking my phone every ten minutes. Out of sight, out of mind.

More importantly, I was no longer comparing my life to others. I am now more comfortable with just living my own life — watching Netflix on a Friday night without feeling like I should be doing something more fun, or going to a concert without feeling this pull of watching it through a screen versus my own eyes.

It is now been two months since I’ve been social media-free, and I’ve found that the longer I spend away from it, the less I crave it. Though I returned to Facebook for professional reasons, I waited until I felt I was ready to do so.

And even though I’m back, the mindless scrolling through my timeline isn’t. At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll return to Instagram or Snapchat anytime soon, and that’s all right with me.

That’s not to say that my habits instantly changed forever — there were certainly times where I had to actively remind myself not to check my phone, or times when I typed “www.faceb” before closing the page. But now, it’s far easier to recognize when I need to take a step back.

This is a pretty life-changing thing to realize. You can rid yourself of these apps, but it won’t magically change your life — unless you want it to. You, and only you, have the mindset to change your ways in order to create a balanced dynamic in your routine and life.

And in a world where control is the key to staying sane, this is one easy step toward sanity.

39

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

40

column

PITTSBURGH GOES GREEN, DESPITE WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD Levko Karmazyn

who said that Pittsburgh will in fact continue to abide by the Paris agreements.

For The Pitt News Peduto’s commitment to fighting climate When President Donald Trump decided change in Pittsburgh may have shocked to pull out of the Paris climate agreements, many who don’t live here. Pennsylvania’s he said that he was elected to represent the media presence seems to focus on its coal people of Pittsburgh, not Paris — a statemines, farmland murders or poor air qualment that was met with fiery outlash from ity. important figures such as Mayor Bill Peduto,

pittnews.com

But things like these — murders aside — are merely evidence of the city’s historically crucial role to the American industrial economy. Today, Pittsburgh is at the forefront of fighting climate change, visible everywhere from Pitt’s campus to some of Downtown’s most iconic buildings.

But when I arrived in Pittsburgh as a

August 21, 2017

first-year student, my impressions aligned with those others had impressed upon me.

Simply, I noticed Oakland’s garbage. Cans littered the streets on Saturday mornings, the racket of Fifth Avenue filled the air with grease and gasoline and evidence of the city’s history of steel was still present in the Cathedral’s preserved sooty section, showing how polluted the air once was.

This grit, even more evident farther from the city center in places like Braddock, Somerset and New Kensington, isn’t blameworthy though.

It was merely adaptation to an era, an era that people like Trump think Pittsburgh is still in.

The places where Pittsburgh shines revealed themselves to me slowly, but without much effort. All it took was me h o p p i n g on my Amanda Nichols trusty biSTAFF ILLUSTRATOR cycle for a ride downtown.

I started on Bates Avenue and soon found myself on a bike trail that led me to Point State Park, a triangular convergence of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. The park served as a hub for transportation and industry throughout the 1900s long after it served as a crucial strategic fort — Fort Pitt — where many campaigns began during the Revolutionary War. Clearly, Trump hasn’t been to Point State Park, and the last photos he saw of it might’ve See Green PGH on page 49

41

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

42

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

43

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

44

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

45

Professionalism, pg. 35 2012 York study surveyed a national sample of human resources professionals. The survey asked them about professionalism of new hires who recently graduated from college. One question asked for the most common mistakes applicants make at interviews. “Arriving late” made up 29 percent of the answers, just second after “inappropriate attire,” at 39 percent.

I try not to check my phone during

class but some days, when I’m sleepy or preoccupied, it can be hard. I can’t count how many times I have seen classmates doing distracting things on their laptops. I’m sure we’ve all browsed Facebook once or twice during class, or discreetly responded to a text or two. But I’ve even seen students shopping during class and playing games online.

Let me tell you, it’s difficult to concentrate on learning about lipid metabolism when you keep seeing the cute dresses the girl in front of you is buying on Forever 21’s website.

If we’re going to distract ourselves and peers, why even go to class?

If you don’t buy that we’re disrespecting our teachers and peers, know that it’s a fact we’re doing ourselves a disservice.

A 2015 study by the Center for Professionalism at York found that 96 percent of the HR respondents reported that one’s professionalism affects the likelihood of being hired. And 92.9 percent of managers stated that professionalism impacts promotion chances.

Unfocused behavior was one of the most disruptive unprofessional behav-

iors observed, according to the study.

The most common of these behaviors was use of technology at inappropriate times.

How we present ourselves to our professors and our classmates indicates our attitudes toward our work. Simple things like sitting properly, wearing clean clothes and keeping hair neat matter.

Ladies, many of us are small enough to curl up onto our chairs. But that doesn’t mean we should while listening to our professor lecture about Spanish verbs. Would we do this at a business meeting?

It’s easy to say, “I do these things in class, but I definitely wouldn’t do them at work.” But the numbers say we will.

Habits developed during school are not easily shed once we start work.

According to a 2012 article in Psychology Today, “We may like to think we have free choice in what we elect to do, but in reality conscious thought determines only some of our decision-making. Blind obedience to habit, [...] is at the root of much of our conduct.”

We need to pull ourselves together and start forming good, professional habits — and fast. We can create a more respectful learning environment, and help us be effective, likeable and proud professionals.

Mariam Shalaby primarily writes on social change and foreign culture for The Pitt News.

Write to Mariam at mas561@pitt.edu

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

46

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

47

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

48

Green PGH, pg. 41

Field Course, pg. 33

been from the 1940s or ‘50s, when it was still littered with warehouses and freight yards.

The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and renovated. Today the Point, as Pittsburghers affectionately call it, is home to some of the city’s largest cultural events and is teeming with activity. But it doesn’t always draw visitors into the city — the Point also serves as the western terminal of the Great Allegheny Passage, a nearly 150-mile bicycle and walking trail connecting Pittsburgh with Washington, D.C. But I chose to go downtown, riding past buildings like the David Lawrence Convention Center, a sprawling, beautiful building that was the largest green building in the world when it opened. Others like it include the new Energy Innovation Center at the edge of the Hill District, home to Pitt’s laboratories that rake in numerous, wellrespected awards.

Soon, I realized that I didn’t have to go all the way to Downtown to find innovative projects and beautiful landscapes. Pittsburgh’s sprawling neighborhoods, each with their own unique personality, all are homes to beauty. Here in Oakland, places like Phipps Conservatory show our neighborhood’s commitment to empowering every generation with the knowledge necessary to live and succeed in a global world that is concerned with the environment. Phipps recently completed construction of its SEED Classroom. Only the second of its kind, this modular classroom generates its own energy, recycles water on site and even is home to an observational beehive, educating children and adults alike about the importance of living sustainably.

My perception of Pittsburgh quickly flipped on its head — I arrived believing the myths that Pittsburgh was a dirty coal and steel city still or that you couldn’t swim in the rivers. But I kept an open mind and remembered to keep my eyes open. Our city is rapidly changing, and has been for quite some time.

Maybe our president doesn’t notice that, or maybe he’s choosing to ignore it and trying to force Pittsburgh back into the mold of old industrial success. But I now know that Pittsburgh, with all its dirty history, is a city that’s proud to uphold the Paris climate agreements, and a city that will continue to lead our nation in a more sustainable direction.

Playing bait and switch with locals with conservation being the only objective without regard to the local economy is dishonest.

Successful conservation requires mutual trust from all parties, national and local.

Living in Wyoming can be paradise, but it is also a fringe way of life that requires a lot of sacrifices. I really began to understand this when I came face to face with the Wyomingites. This sort of understanding of the complexities of human life wherever they are

pittnews.com

is an attribute I think is necessary in order to conquer any of the immense current issues we face.

This sense of empathy will stay with me more than anything else from this trip. Like the bubbling, boiling water in the numerous hot springs of Yellowstone, empathy rises from deep inside us, the causation being the places and people you encounter on your journey through life. I really hope that classes like this one will become an integral part to the college curriculum, as I know I will always remember it as one of the most important events in my academic life.

August 21, 2017

We talked a lot on the trip about the “myth” of the west, the stories and images we hold of that land in our minds that do not align, or leave out, important parts of the reality. But the mythical aura of the place is real. It is the American soul land, a sort of mecca for people who are committed to learning about the natural world and our interactions with it.

What are the meccas for other fields of study?

It is of the utmost important that our students find themselves at this personal mecca at one point or another.

It is not extracurricular, it’s essential.

49

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

50

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

51

Dr. Who, pg.38 And while TV and film are not the root causes of sexism, these industries can affect serious change.

Because media of all kind portray societal norms, continued representation of oppressed and minority groups can deconstruct stereotypes. Stereotypes that portray firefighters or police officers as male discourage young girls from pursuing these careers. Representation leads to inspiration, and inspiring young people

pittnews.com

to disregard archaic gendered stereotypes will lead to a more equal and empowering world for all.

A female Doctor is a step in the right direction, and joins recent projects like “Wonder Woman,” “Hidden Figures” and “Game of Thrones” in casting women in commonly male roles.

No matter her performance, Whittaker will take us where “Doctor Who” has never been before — not an easy feat for a character with an interdimensional time machine.

Transferring, pg. 36 to Pitt. My ability to connect to a group of students that shared my common interests made me more willing to reach out and join other student organizations like The Pitt News and First Class Bhangra. I had to dedicate time to these other organizations, but it made me realize that my pre-med efforts and previous desires did not fall in line with the actual path I wanted to take.

So now, with a marketing major and new interests, I feel my move to Pitt was worth-

August 21, 2017

while. I enjoy the campus a lot more knowing I contribute to a plethora of the efforts that students care about, and that I have a sense of belonging at Pitt.

It took me awhile to get to the point where I felt happy with Pitt. First going to Pitt with some heavy luggage and ambitious goals, I now go walk with a greater sense of clarity, and a lighter load on my back. I was definitely able to discover my initial ambitions of greater opportunity and finding a challenge for myself, but it was only my sense of purpose on campus that allowed me to chase those ambitions.

52

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

53

55

CULTURE

revisitng photos of pgh

59

page 60 filters and flour

talk artsy to me

62 leaving your pawprint

64 staff picks: cheap eats

67 retro oakland

73 indie theaters in pgh

Elliot Erwitt publishes forgotten Pittsburgh photos

BY JOHN HAMILTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Top: Crowd at Armistice Day Parade, Pittsburgh, November 1950 © Elliott Erwitt Courtesy of CarnegieLibrary of Pittsburgh Middle: Boundary Street, Pittsburgh 1950 © Elliott Erwitt Courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Bottom: Gateway Center Demolition area, Pittsburgh 1950 © Elliott Erwitt Courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

pittnews.com

Elliott Erwitt left his rented room at the downtown Pittsburgh YMCA in the fall of 1950, cameras in hand. The 22-year-old photographer walked up either Forbes or Fifth Avenue, documenting the people and places of the transitioning city along the way, before arriving at the Pittsburgh Photographic Library on the 30th floor of the Cathedral of Learning.

Erwitt documented scenes at parades and Pitt football games. He took portraits of workmen, beggars and children. He was tasked with documenting a city transitioning away from its gritty, purely industrial past — but his images were left largely unseen until now.

When Vaughn Wallace was a history major at Pitt in 2012, he was looking through photo archives at the Carnegie Library when he came across negatives, contact sheets and proofs created by Elliott Erwitt — by then a famous documentary photographer.

“It was pretty amazing to just get to be working with his original stuff,” Wallace, a former visual editor at The Pitt News, said.

“It’s pretty cool to see his original annotations and captions.”

Roy Stryker, best known for leading the Farm Security Administration documentary photography program during the Great Depression, was hired to build a photo collection — the Pittsburgh Photographic Library — that would show Pittsburgh in an era of transition. Stryker hired Erwitt as part of his team. “[Stryker] had been hired to come and build up a core of photographers to document Pittsburgh in its post-World War II retooling, to put a new face on the city,” Wallace said.

Erwitt’s four month-long documentary project was largely forgotten after he received his draft notice in December of 1950.

More than 60 years after the photos were

August 21, 2017

taken, Wallace was interviewing Erwitt for an unrelated project for Time magazine’s LightBox. He told Erwitt, now in his 80s, about the Pittsburgh archives containing hundreds of his photos. Wallace and Erwitt worked together over the next few years to compile and edit the photos, recently publishing them in a book — “Pittsburgh 1950.”

The project was commissioned by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development as business leaders and community members were worrying about losing talent and population in Pittsburgh after World War II. Their goal was to have photographers document four big initiatives to improve the city — getting rid of the smoke, cleaning up the water in the rivers, stopping the flooding and fixing blighted areas, according to Bill Flanagan, chief corporate relations officer at the conference.

“It eventually led to a treasure trove of photography — of the community, of the big civic changes, of the transformation that was underway in Pittsburgh at the time,” Flanagan said. “[The conference] was doing something that was really big, something that had never been done before. They wanted to make sure there was a photographic record of it.

Wallace spent much of his junior year at Pitt looking through that record and trying to learn more about Erwitt’s role in the project. Wallace said Erwitt’s work documents Pittsburgh’s transition away from a dirty, industrial city, but also focuses on the people living here at the time of transition.

“There’s a lot of straight documentary of a city in transition — buildings being torn down, new highways being built,” he said.

“But interspersed in that is a lot of what’s notable in Elliott’s career — his humanist eye.”

In addition to the human focus of his work, Erwitt’s photos also document the See Erwitt on page 57

55

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

56

Erwitt, pg. 55 physical transition of the city as well — specifically the transformation of the Point into Point State Park as Pittsburghers know it today. This development was one reason the Allegheny Conference on Community Development hired Stryker and his photographers.

The redevelopment of the Point from an industrialized area to a park was a focus of the Allegheny Conference’s effort to rebrand Pittsburgh, said Gil Pietrzak, who runs the Pittsburgh Photographic Library in Carnegie Library’s Pennsylvania Department.

punch the negatives he didn’t like, rendering them useless. For whatever reason, he didn’t do that in Pittsburgh, allowing history buffs like Wallace to dig through the photos decades later.

“Pittsburgh is a really awesome city in terms of being able to really see and feel its history,” Wallace said. “As a history buff it was a really neat city to live in.”

As Wallace points out, Erwitt’s Pittsburgh work focused on the people in the city more than the developments. Many of his photos are found in the human interest category in the library’s collections, which Wallace calls “an ironic understatement of Elliott’s timeless visual approach to the

Workman on wrecking project at The Point Pittsburgh 1950 © Elliott Erwitt Courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh “[The conference] came up with this idea of a photo collection to, more or less, use it as a PR tool to attract business and industry to come here and people to live here,” Pietrzak said.

Wallace notes that Stryker — who was leading the project for the Allegheny Conference — filed many of the Pittsburgh Photographic Library’s photos in the “kill file” if they didn’t meet the project’s mission. Stryker was known to frequently hole

pittnews.com

world” in an essay at the end of the book.

“I think Pittsburgh has a sound,” Wallace quotes Erwitt in the essay. “Pittsburgh conjures up something. Maybe it’s just the name — but I don’t know Springfield would do the same.”

“Pittsburgh 1950” by Elliott Erwitt is available through Gost Books for $65.

August 21, 2017

57

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

58

PITT ARTS MARKS 20 YEARS OF ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

PITT ARTS offers discounted tickets to performances around the city. Pitt News File Photo

Marissa Perino Staff Writer Occupying the penthouse floor of the William Pitt Union, the PITT ARTS office is ready for another year of Pittsburgh culture and entertainment. Freshly printed neon flyers are scattered on the coffee table and the lineup for the upcoming school year is pencilled on the calendar.

A division of Student Affairs, PITT ARTS offers Pitt students a chance for discounted tickets and exclusive access to planned events both on and off campus, such as jazz performances and excursions to the Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Arts Encounters — the main program PITT ARTS runs — consists of student hosts accompanying about 40 Pitt students to free programs and events, and includes tickets, food and a chance to meet the cast.

In addition to the Arts Encounters program, PITT ARTS offers Pitt faculty and students free admission to major museums in the Pittsburgh area, including the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory and the recently added Carnegie Science Center.

PITT ARTS also organizes Artful Wednesdays, where students can enjoy

pittnews.com

live music and free food weekly at Nordy’s Place in the William Pitt Union. Ten events are offered each semester.

Annabelle Clippinger has served as director since 2001, with the program beginning a few years prior in 1997. Since 2001, Clippinger has seen the program grow not only in event numbers, but also in student participation.

“In years past, there is a student fanbase for certain types of programs,” Clippinger said, adding that she’s recently seen a following for jazz and ballet. “And that changes with every cohort. It’s really interesting to me.”

Clippinger handles scheduling with participating art organizations, and works alongside Assistant Director Linnea Glick — who orchestrates marketing — and Programs Assistant Diane Cromo.

Along with scheduling, Clippinger oversees the training of student hosts.

These hosts, who are paid as student employees or offered work study, accompany participating students to Arts Encounter events.

“The Arts Encounters are really the jewel in the crown of what we do at PITT See PITT ARTS on page 76

August 21, 2017

59

Baking her cake and eating it, too!

Photos courtesy of Elaine Khodzhayan

pittnews.com

August 21, 2017

Pitt business student Elaine Khodzhayan combines filters and flour through her successful baking blog and Instagram.

by Rachel Lombardo, for The Pitt News With three vanilla pound cake rounds cooling in front of her, Elaine Khodzhayan combines the perfect concoction of peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar into her signature frosting.

Khodzhayan, a rising senior majoring in human resources management and business information systems, is the baker and brains behind And A Chocolate Drizzle, a baking Instagram page and blog she started in 2015.

Almost two years and over 27,000 followers later, the Instagram world cannot seem to get enough of her perfectly frosted cakes, gooey cinnamon rolls and artfully crafted cookies.

Her mouth-watering desserts — each racking up thousands of likes and dozens of reposts across Instagram — are all made in the small, galley kitchen of Khodzhayan’s Oakland apartment. This inventive culinary dynamic — along with her love for rap music and inclusion of rap influences in some of her cakes — has led to her being referred to as the love child of Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.

“It’s a funny story,” Khodzhayan said, explaining how her blog started. “In high school, I started taking pictures on my phone of what I was baking just to be like ‘oh look what I made’ and I’d post it on my personal Instagram page with a description of what it is [...] and a chocolate drizzle on top.”

Many of Khodzhayan’s peers in high school made fun of her for her baking instagram, claiming that baking was a waste of time and potential for a girl as intelligent as herself. But Khodzhayan did not allow the discouragement to stop her.

One day a coworker brought up the idea of Khodzhayan creating a separate blog for her baking. So that same month Khodzhayan launched the Instagram page with a name that came ever-so naturally — And A Chocolate Drizzle.

“It was a very organic growth, which to this day is so surprising,” Khodzhayan said.

Khodzhayan scurries between her kitchen and hall closet. Her hall closet, she says, is the baking closet — full of piping bags, bulk containers of mini M&M’s and anything a baker blooming into culinary stardom could need.

Khodzhayan remembers her first post to reach over one thousand likes distinctly — three Oreos with the cream scooped out and replaced with cookie dough.

Within the sixteen hours following that post, her account gained over a thousand followers from all over the world.

“I want my followers to feel like we’re friends,” Khodzhayan said. “It means a lot that so many people get excited when I post.”

60

One day, one of her followers — a girl named Abby who is not much younger than Khodzhayan herself and a prospective student at Pitt — direct messaged And A Chocolate Drizzle to tell Khodzhayan how much of an inspiration she was and ask about the business school at Pitt.

It seems as though many portions of Khodzhayan’s life — as a baker and Pitt Pathfinder — collided into one. Khodzhayan enthusiastically sent Abby a variety of information about Pitt. A few months later, Abby found herself on campus and asked to meet with Khodzhayan.

The two ended up meeting, sitting and talking about baking and their mutual love for Pitt. “[Meeting Abby] made me so happy,” Khodzhayan said.

“And I would trade it [And A Chocolate Drizzle] all. I would trade everything for that one interaction.”

Luckily for the Instagram world and anybody who has had the privilege to taste her delicious treats, she doesn’t have to.

She grew up in the food business. Her parents are owners of two pizza shops, SteveO’s Pizza and Fresco Pizza and Wings in Jamestown, New York.

From early on, it was clear that cooking and baking were much more than jobs or hobbies for Khodzhayan. Always surrounded by family and food, the kitchen became her natural habitat, stress-reducer and happy place.

“I collect cookbooks. I’ll read a cookbook like an actual book,” Khodzhayan said, citing Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” as her all-time favorite.

From these cookbooks and a long history of family recipes, Khodzhayan adapts her own recipes for And A Chocolate Drizzle.

pittnews.com

Khodzhayan begins stacking the rounds of vanilla pound cake on top of one another, smearing layers of peanut butter frosting and mini M&M’s between each layer.

“Hands down my favorite thing to bake is birthday cakes,” Khodzhayan said.

Ranging from a Minecraft-inspired cake for her younger brother, to a cake decorated with her roommate Gi-

In addition to inspiring her cake-gifting etiquette, Khodzhayan says her mom’s baking inspires her own passion.

“The most famous thing my mom makes is her baklava,” Khodzhayan said. “She’ll always tell me, ‘It’s healthy! It has nuts! It’s good for you!’”

According to Elaine’s best friend Giulia, the baklava does not fall far from the tree.

“My absolute favorite has to be her Armenian baklava,” Giulia said. “It’s so, so good, I absolutely love it.”

Both Khodzhayan and her mother are inspired by their Armenian culture. Not only do they specialize in baklava, but in other traditional

“Ponchik” from her family — meaning “doughnut” in Armenian — after several trips to Armenia and ravenous consumption of those flat, cream filled confections at her favorite Armenian bakery.

“I try to be very open about my culture and background. In my [Instagram] profile I have an Armenian flag because I always get really excited when other Armenians interact with one another,” Khodzhayan said. “You can spot another Armenian from a mile away. We’re like born with a radar.”

After smearing an even layer of frosting across her nearly eight-inch cake, Khodzhayan begins piping swirls of frosting around the edge of her cake and sprinkling mini M&M’s and melted chocolate across the top.

Michael Callahan, a rising senior majoring in environmental science, is Khodzhayan’s friend, designated dessert sampler and the self-proclaimed Kris Jenner to her Kim Kardashian.

“I wish her all the success in the world.

Mostly because she deserves it, but also because I need someone’s coattails to ride to fame and fortune,” Callahan said. “And A Chocolate Drizzle has been such a fun project to watch grow and transform into something that has been amazing accomplishment after amazing accomplishment for Elaine.”

Regarding the future of And A Chocolate Drizzle, Khodzhayan plans to continue to bake for as long as it continues to fulfill her life in some way.

In the meantime, Khodzhayan will be working to finish her senior year at Pitt and continuing to sprinkle joy and drizzle chocolate across every aspect of her life.

“More than anything, the little eightyear-old ‘ponchik’ in me is so, so happy that all of this has happened,” Khodzhayan said.

Khodzhayan assembles a makeshift photography studio around her cake, making sure to use the natural light from her living room window to properly illuminate her cake. With her Nikon D3200 she begins meticulously photographing her creation before slicing away a piece to devour.

“More than anything, the little eight-year-old ‘ponchik’ in me is so, so happy that all of this has happened.”

ulia’s favorite Kinder chocolate candies, to a variety of specialized cakes for her family members, Khodzhayan has mastered beautiful, personalized delicacies for her loved ones.

“My mom would always say whenever you go to someone’s house, you should bring them something sweet as a way to remind them of how much is good in life,” Khodzhayan said. “I think giving someone something sweet on their birthday in a way to remind them all the little good things there are.”

Armenian desserts like karakoul — an apricot meringue and ginger dough cake — and a bird’s milk cake.

“My family is aggressively Armenian — I grew up speaking Armenian. We are very culturally tied to it,” Khodzhayan said.

Khodzhayan even earned the nickname

August 21, 2017

61

DON’T HAVE A COW: PITT ANIMAL WELFARE CLUB RAISES AWARENESS ON CAMPUS Amanda Reed Senior Staff Writer No meat, cheese, wool or ivory-keyed pianos — basically nothing that comes from or is made from an animal.

That’s what Pitt’s animal wellness club preaches on campus.

Panthers for Animal Welfare — PAW for short — is an activist club focused on spreading awareness about the effects that food, fashion and other lifestyle choices have on animals and the environment. The club seeks to educate the public about animal welfare issues through discussions about animal welfare legislation.

Sarah Conboy, a rising senior majoring in developmental psychology and early childhood education, had been a vegetarian the majority of her life, before switching to veganism in the fall of 2015 when she first entered college.

Conboy started researching the dairy industry and her ethical and environmental concerns prompted her to become a vegan.

So she began her search for a group of like-minded

pittnews.com

people who practiced veganism with an emphasis on animal welfare. She went to the first ever VegFest, a vegan food festival put on by PAW, and decided to join the small club in fall of 2015. Three years later, Conboy is now its president for the upcoming school year.

The club was founded five years ago on the premise of advocating for the wellness of animals, meaning veganism and vegetarianism weren’t the club’s only focus.

“Veganism can be about health, but it’s not just that,” Conboy said. “[Veganism] is also about doing things that are healthy for animals.”

Throughout the year, the club often tables at Market Central with information on ways to live a more animalfriendly lifestyle, like using cruelty-free beauty products — products that are not tested on animals — and not consuming goods from companies that use animal byproducts.

“We’re trying to make people conscious of the things they’re consuming, so they can go up to the vegan station and feel good about what they’re doing for the Earth,” Senior Sarah Conboy is entering her first year as President See PAW on page 68 of PAW. Anna Bongardino VISUAL EDITOR

August 21, 2017

62