Point Park Globe Spring 2019 Issue 9

IN THIS ISSUE: PAGE

@PPUGlobe March 13, 2019

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“Pittsburgh Bleed Black and Gold Tattoo Expo” hosts busiest year yet Jess Paterchak discusses concerns with breaking USG Debate tradition Meet the interim track and field head coach, Jeff Spisak ppuglobe.com

Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967

Issue 9

USG executive cabinet under scrutiny

New resolutions drafted due to alleged lack of transparency

By Carley Bonk Editor-in-Chief

The United Student Government (USG) Rules Committee approved a resolution in concern that executive cabinet meetings were being closed more often than not, and minutes from the meetings were unnecessarily redacted and incomplete.

Resolution 03182019 and Resolution 03182019.1 were drafted primarily by Senator Mathew Johnson, Senator Alexa Lake, Senator Jake Berlin and Senator Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel, to be voted on in next Monday’s Legislative body meeting regarding accusations of a lack of transparency by the executive cabinet.

“New senators were told at the beginning of the year and given the perception that it wasn’t their right to attend executive cabinet meetings,” Johnson said.

“Before the first forum, we had decided which senator was going to play music and it was just his name redacted. That’s what gave away the fact that executive cabinet was redacting information that was unnecessary.”

The current USG consti-

tution sets out governmental responsibility under the Sunshine Act as follows: ● 106.1 This section shall be known and may be cited as the United Student Government Sunshine Act. ● 106.2 In reflection of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, it is the right of the public to be present at all USG meetings in order to witness the deliberation, policy formation, and decision making, and secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public’s effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society. ● 106.3 Official action, deliberation, and policy formation at an official meeting of the USG shall be open to the public unless closed with specific cause. ● 106.31 Any USG meeting can be closed if the public disclosure of information at that meeting would violate federal or state laws or the rights of a particular person. ● 106.4 All USG documentation, including but not limited to documents of operation, resolutions, voting records, finance reports, minutes, and agendas, shall

USG faces pushback during open forum USG

By Mitchell Drake USG Beat Writer

The United Student Government (USG) met on Monday to discuss details concerning the Meet Your Candidate town hall event, Election Board nominations and transparency.

The Rules Committee has worked on assembling an Election Board and how to fix elections to “better suit our needs and the needs of students” according to Senator Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel.

Senators nominated Montana Gabriele, Justin Stocklas and Nicole Pampena to the Election Board.

Last week’s Student Concerns Forum yielded over 50 reported concerns, yet Recording Secretary Sophie Burkholder stated that the event failed to generate public discussion over any concerns they wanted to submit.

She detailed that students would walk to the center table that had empty concern slips and a box to drop them off at. Once the students would fill out a slip, they would just drop their concern in the box, get pizza, then leave. No senators were present at their stations in the center to greet them, so students and senators did not have direct engagement.

“I was not pleased with how everyone treated the forum in terms of a social event with senators and not a social event with students and senators,” Burkholder said.

Senator Jake Berlin asked Burkholder whether the event’s inefficiency was to blame on the students or the other senators. She maintained that students were not to blame, as they were essentially told that free pizza was an incentive to writing down a concern and had no senators speak with them to work anything out with their concern.

“You know what the forum is for,” Burkholder said.

Senator Mary Shelly of the Communications Committee released more plans for the Meet Your Candidate town hall event. Shelly detailed graphic designs for the event and that former USG President Robert Bertha was approved to moderate the event. Shelly also noted that the candidates will be asked confidentially-held, pre-formulated questions.

The topic of the formulated questions fueled a debate on the transparency of USG’s operations.

Senator Alexa Lake stated her concerns about the pre-formulation through a scenario. She said that the average student may not

USG BEAT page 3

be considered matters of public concern.

Both resolutions add another layer of accountability to executive board members and the decision to close meetings, redact information, and included language that focused on public access to documents.

Statements in the resolution include: “Any official USG document can be withheld or redacted with the written consent of a USG advisor if the public disclosure contained information that would violate federal or state laws or the rights of a particular person... Only that information which must be closed from public concern as defined in this section may be withheld... Other matters in official documents must be open to the public….All signed and written agreements from an Advisor for reasons mentioned previously shall be attached to the meeting minutes or official documents to which it pertains.”

Lake elaborated on the need for such a document to be added to the constitution.

“The problem is that ‘rights’ is very loosely defined and the current exec-

utive cabinet is taking it to mean the mention of anybody’s name,” Lake said.

“We understand that personal issues do have to be withheld because that is the rights of an individual.

They’re using their discretion very broadly.”

Berlin also expressed concern for what exactly has been withheld in closed executive meetings.

“They’re not personnal in the private sector that are identified by numbers for confidentiality,” Berlin said.

“We were elected to serve the students, not hide from them. I want to know why senators who are not in the room are mentioned so frequently.”

The USG Executive Cabinet released executive cabinet Slack conversations, as well as executive cabinet meeting minutes on March 10, according to emails leaked to The Globe by legislative body members.

The email, sent by Communications Director Shelby Fink, was a response to multiple Sunshine Act requests filed on March 7 from members of the legislative body, representatives of U-View and an email sent by The Globe requesting inter-

views with President Kaylee Kearns and Vice President Brittany Arp. “We understand that some senators may be frustrated by executive cabinet, but we cannot fix an issue if the issue is not presented to us,” the email read. “I think it is important to remember why we all joined USG and to remember that we are here for the student body.”

The statement is in contrast with concerns brought to executive cabinet members, according to multiple senators who went on the record to express their grievances to The Globe on the apparent lack of transparency within executive cabinet this semester.

“The transparency is just opaque at this point,” Senator Hattie Charney said.

“People have to realize that what they’re saying is going to be taken down. They need to realize that they are still a public figure and what is said will be recorded. You can’t go back later and say ‘this will hurt someone’s feelings, let’s just redact it.’ That’s not how anything works.”

Incomplete meeting minutes have also surfaced

USG page 2

New work order app coming soon

By Hayley Keys For The Globe

“Patience - you need to be patient,” Jana Glover, freshman musical theater major, said. “I put in a work order at the beginning of the school year to remove a dresser out of my room. I had to put two in. The first one I put in I guess they didn’t see.”

Glover isn’t alone. Response times by Physical Plant staff to work orders has been a steady source of student complaints this school year, as some residents have reported waiting weeks, or even months, for maintenance orders to be fulfilled.

Some, however, have managed to have reason-

able success with the system.

Sadie Luckenbach is a freshman dance major whose roommate put in a work order earlier in the year when they experienced problems with their shower.

“She put it in because our shower faucet was stuck

WORK page 2

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S STRIKE DOWN-

Gracey Evans | The Globe

This past Saturday the day after International Women’s Day, the International Women’s Strike took over the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh. The strike was organized in protest against inequality and oppression under capitalism.

Weather Forecast Today: Cloudy H 59, L 44

Thursday: Rain, H 65, L 54 Friday: Partly Cloudy, H 57, L 34 Saturday: Mostly Cloudy, H 39, L 27

Sunday: Mostly Sunny, H 44, L 31 Monday: Partly Cloudy, H 46, L 28 Tuesday: Mostly Sunny, H 49, L 33

Point Park

GLOBE

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

USG Senators discuss grievances with leadership from USG page 1 as a concern for those not previously allowed to attend executive cabinet meetings.

In minutes released last weekend, meetings would run for nearly an hour and a half at times, with records kept in only 2-3 pages. For contrast, finance committees’ full minutes for a 40 minute meeting were about the same length. That would leave nearly half the meeting unaccounted for.

“That’s one thing we’re trying to learn as we’re going,” President Kaylee Kearns said. “Sophie is only a freshman and has only been in this job at the beginning of this semester. She’s learning to listen to the conversation and take minutes, as well as modeling off of what Hannah [Steiner, former USG recording secretary] did - summarize as briefly as you can and get direct quotes when necessary.”

Errors have also come to light regarding legislative body meeting minutes that were approved for archiving.

“There was a meeting where minutes were up for approval with over a dozen inaccuracies. Senator Lake brought this to the attention of legislative body and suggested that they should be fixed and brought back at a later date,” Berlin said.

Lake cited incomplete sentences, repeated misspellings of senators’ names

and inaccurate titles.

“In my mind, I thought it wasn’t the quality or standards to file in an archive, so I moved to postpone the minutes,” Lake said. “The vice-president questioned my motion, but her job is to chair the meeting and remain impartial.”

Kearns and Vice President Brittany Arp said they will consider uploading recordings from executive cabinet meetings with the new recorder just purchased with USG’s budget, per Berlin’s recommendation.

The emails were brought up during Monday’s legislative body meeting, where there were disagreements among senators as to the importance of open executive meetings.

“It’s important for the executive cabinet to be able to talk about things and to be able to talk about a particular senator or any senator or any person without feeling like they’re going to be judged and be vilified or lifted up based on those statements,” Senator Dennis McDermott said during open forum. “They need to be able to do these things with a certain degree of autonomy without worry. It protects the students and it protects them.”

Kearns also offered a reasoning for closing meetings outside of individual privacy.

“One thing I thought

about when we were sitting in this meeting was that this Sunshine Act doesn’t involve things we talk about regarding Point Park confidentiality,” Kearns said. “There’s stuff that comes down to us through the administration that we talk about that in executive cabinet and how we are going to present it to the student body that can’t be public yet. It still has to be kept confidential until the university announces it.”

Former senators - now members of the student body - have weighed in on the issue of transparency with the current executive cabinet.

“There are things in the constitution that they haven’t followed in years,” Former Senator Montana Gabriele said. “But there are some things in there that they need to stick to, like making sure everything is documented that should always happen.

There shouldn’t be secret meetings between anybody I don’t agree with that.”

Former Senator Emily Harnett could see the importance of both sides of the argument.

“There’s always room for improving transparency, but I never felt that I was actively not being told certain things or actively being pushed away,” Harnett said.

“They do have the obligation of doing the best they can to follow the constitution. That being said, I don’t think the

constitution is perfect and there could be improvements. But if we are focusing so much on words we are ignoring so many issues students have on this campus.”

Lake mentioned the importance of bringing these kinds of grievances to public forum.

“To even have the aura of representation, there needs to be disagreement, especially in public,” Lake said. “In training sessions at the start of the semester, we talked about ways to work out disagreements before meetings, behind closed doors. That sounds all well and good except for the fact that we are accountable to constituents.”

Kearns did express regrets that the issue wasn’t addressed earlier.

“Mat brought forward the resolution and I feel like that needed to be more of a conversation first in understanding where the executive cabinet was coming from,” Kearns said.

But Johnson said he did bring concerns to executive cabinet before the resolutions were even drafted.

“I asked Brittany [Arp] about it and she said executive cabinet decided that unless a senator was present at the meetings, it was a violation of their rights to speak their names,” Johnson said. “But senators weren’t allowed to be present unless requested by the cabinet.

Speaking their name isn’t a violation of their rights because they’re holding public office.”

Arp did say the concerns were heard and the executive cabinet will work toward a solution.

“Moving forward after the meeting, I think we have a lot to learn and a lot to reflect on,” Arp said. “Obviously we are trying a compromise that the executive cabinet came up with for our meetings but we are open to what the senators have to say in trying to implement their ideas too, especially in regards to executive cab meetings.”

Johnson said he did believe in the institution and the organization moving forward.

“This has been the most active USG in years and so I think things are going to get fixed,” Johnson said. “It’s moving in the right direction. It has been continuously said that change takes time. Change only takes as much time as you allow it to.

Change takes effort.”

Both Resolutions in their entirety will be available on The Globe’s website.

Carley Bonk cmbonk@pointpark.edu

Newcomer director team debuts with “Silent Sky”

By Mitchell Drake Staff Writer

Last weekend, Pinnacle Productions presented the Lauren Gunderson play “Silent Sky” in the Lawrence Hall Ballroom.

The play details the story of Henrietta Leavitt, an aspiring astronomer that

joined an all-female group of “human computers” that computed data to be used in astronomical theories and studies. The play looks at Leavitt’s struggle to juggle work, passion, family and love, while pursuing a career that was hardly attainable by women in the early 1900s.

The play featured the-

Jordyn Hronec | The Globe

The cast of Pinnacle Productions’ “Silent Sky” stand and face the audience during the last scene of the show.

matic lighting to accentuate stars and filmed video segments along with the stage actors. It also featured musical accompaniment by composer and sound designer Peter Brucker, which the playbill boasts as his “largest score to date.”

The production was joint-directed by Jordan Beltz and David McMaines, members of Pinnacle Productions, as their directorial debuts. The student-run theatre company purportedly receives minimal budgeting as a club, and acts as a way for students to get involved in theatre outside of COPA productions. Pinnacle Productions allows entry for any major and usually performs 3-4 main stage performances a semester.

“Pop-up shows and cabarets give us an opportunity to be flexible,” McMaines said.

Beltz said she chose “Silent Sky” to direct because she is a fan of Gunderson’s works, and is an avid fan of sci-fi and feminist literature.

“It had some really interesting ideas - using lighting to personify the stars,” Beltz said.

Beltz was also very excited to combine the skills of a stage manager, cinematographer and film editor into a stage play.

“I’ve always wanted to get a film director, and in ‘Silent Sky’ we tried to do everything a film student would do,” Beltz said.

They detailed that the production took a week of technical rehearsal, a week of filming and then two weeks of rehearsal before spring break with the combined efforts of at least 15 people, an abnormally high number when compared to other Pinnacle productions, according to the duo.

The tandem described that joint directorial work is like “putting out a list of fires when they start” and that having a second person to put them out is a “big help.”

Allie Duncan, a theatre major from Shenandoah University, came to see

her friend Sabina May, who played Willamina Flemming in the play, and enjoyed the show. She praised how the story was similar to the 2016 film “Hidden Figures” with its focus on important and unknown women in the field of astronomy and science.

“I really like how it touches on the hardships that women had to face in the 1900s, and not just in the workplace,” Duncan said.

Junior cinema production major Kelly Tran praised the use of interactivity of lighting and was “a big fan” of the score. She also praised how the acting allowed for “magic” moments of light-hearted quirkiness that still existed to make the show feel alive.

“Jordan Beltz’ directorial debut has a reputation as one of the most respected - a great transition from acting to directing,” Tran said.

Mitchell Drake mjdrake@pointpark.edu

University plans to use new app to receive work orders Physical plant encourages students to file work order requests from WORK page 1 in shower mode,” Luckenbach said. “They got back to us really quickly, I think they came the day after. So that was nice” Currently, work order requests that students make online or through a phone call are sent directly to Physical Plant Technicians via their mobile devices.

“Technicians are also able to update the work order requests while they are onsite,” Christopher Hill, Vice President of Operations for the Physical Plant Staff, said. “There is no need for multiple phone calls from the coordinator

to the technician, thereby saving time and the potential for miscommunication.”

Problems are separated into three levels of service: routine, urgent and emergency.

The university’s website lists the categories that different problems fall into so students can determine the speed of response to their issues.

According to that page, routine problems will be fixed before four business days, urgent problems could be fixed in two days, and emergency problems are to be completed within one hour.

Hill stressed that stu-

dents are discouraged from attempting to fix problems themselves.

“There is a liability issue and additionally we have the tools/equipment and expertise to fix the problems,” Hill said.

The United Student Government has previously talked about the effectiveness of the work order system after some students expressed frustration with the response time of staff members.

After listening to these issues, the work order program has decided to create an app that could be available to students and staff during the Fall 2019 semester.

“Currently the app is being tested and if all goes well it can be implemented for the fall term,” Hill said.

The app will allow the student to enter a work order, check the order’s status and receive confirmation when the job is completed.

Both Lukenbach and Glover believe that the app will be an effective way to smooth out any kinks between the workers and students.

“Hopefully it’ll be more convenient to get to us quicker and more efficient for them,” Glover said.

“Students can figure it out either way.”

“I think that would honestly be really helpful,”

Lukenbach said. “I’d love to just tap on my phone.”

While the app has the potential to make the process less stressful for both students and technicians, Hill mentioned that students still need to be responsible for their work orders.

“We cannot fix a problem if we do not know there is one,” Hill said. “If someone is having problems with the work order system, that needs to be communicated.”

Hayley Keys hekeys@pointpark.edu

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

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Golden Quill Award winners discuss work with students Jordyn Hronec Co-News Editor

Unveiling an aspect of the opioid crisis in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood was no easy feat. Neither was constructing a five-episode podcast detailing two mysterious deaths in the Pittsburgh rivers. And nor was constructing a 14 article series on the city’s air quality or a four-minute news package revealing fire drill malpractice in the city’s schools.

But regardless of difficulty, these pieces of journalism were constructed. And the writers behind them were recognized for their hard work and for the quality of their pieces.

On Thursday, March 7, the writers of these pieces, which were all best-in-show Golden Quill award winners last year, visited the Center for Media Innovation (CMI). The presentation was titled “How they did it,” and students had the opportunity to discuss with the writers what it takes to create an award-winning piece of journalism.

The Golden Quill awards are given out by the Western PA Press Club every year, and are meant to recognize excellence in all aspects of journalism, including print, broadcast, photography and videography.

Present at the discussion on Thursday were: Steve Mellon, who wrote “Life and Death on Santron Avenue,” published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and complete with interactive photo elements by Stephanie Strasburg; Julia Fraser, who along with Jeffrey Fraser and Mike Wereschagin, researched and wrote “Up in the Air,” a 14 article series published by the Pittsburgh Quarterly Maga-

zine; Ashley Murray, who produced the five episode podcast “Three Rivers, Two Mysteries,”; and both Rick Earle and Lauren Silver, the reporter and producer (respectively), of the KDKA investigative report “School Failures: Fire Drills.”

Presenting and mediating the discussion was both Western PA Press Club president, Kimberly Palmiero and CMI graduate assistant, Stacey Federoff.

Mellon began the discussion by talking about his piece, “Life and Death on Santron Avenue,” which examines the impact of the opioid crisis in Pittsburgh by detailing the lives of Carrick residents who live on Santron Avenue.

Mellon detailed the process of communicating with and developing relationships with the individuals featured in his piece, specifically Glenn Jeffries of Carrick.

Mellon, while acknowledging that the story does not have a happy ending, also discussed the triumphs in constructing the piece.

“This to me is the type of journalism that I feel driven to do,” Mellon said. “The reason I’m still doing this at 59 years old, despite the chaos of the industry and the declining paychecks, is because of this type of thing.”

Julia Fraser discussed her piece, “Up in the Air,” next.

Julia Fraser, along with her co-writers, Jeffery Fraser and Wereschagin, spent about six months conducting over 50 interviews, looking at several dozen studies and constructing the piece. “Up in the Air” focuses on Pittsburgh’s air quality in the past and the present, as well as what the future may hold.

“The biggest challenges are just the sheer volume of data and lawsuits,” Julia Fra-

ser said. “It takes a long time.”

Julia Fraser also said that research in itself presented difficulties to the team.

“The other challenges are things like proving a causal link,” Julia Fraser said. “That is really difficult, but there is some good research out there.

It’s just important to report what is out there, but also to note what is unknown.”

Julia Fraser also gave some advice to the students.

“Just talk to people,” Julia Fraser said. “I think that is the biggest thing […] don’t be hesitant to reach back out to a source for additional questions.”

Silver and Earle then discussed their broadcast piece “School Failures: Fire Drills,” also including the amount of research they conducted. According to Silver and Earle, the piece took four to five months to construct, and began with Silver filing a Right to Know request for public school fire drill records in the city. According to Silver, the data was suspicious.

“It was dates and times, that’s it,” Silver said. “I knew something was wrong because they just listed evacuation times, and some were like 38 seconds.”

Upon further investigation, Silver was able to uncover when the fire drills were being held.

“They were doing fire drills on Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, 2 am on a Saturday,” Silver said. “I don’t think kids are in school then.”

Silver and Earle then discussed the process of obtaining sources for the story, which included the superintendent of the Washington School District, the chief of school performance for the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the state’s auditor general.

Jordyn Hronec | The Globe

They discussed specifically the difficulty in obtaining sources who will appear on camera.

“It took awhile for them to sit down and go on camera with us,” Earle said. “Usually they just issue a statement. But we need someone on camera.”

The discussion then shifted to Murray’s podcast, “Three Rivers, Two Mysteries.” The podcast, which is available in five episodes with several live bonus episodes and a written piece, discusses the mysterious disappearances and deaths of Pittsburgh residents Paul Kochu and Dakota James. The podcasts feature both the families of the victims, as well as the Pittsburgh Police who investigated the disappearances. The project, altogether, took nine months to complete, with Murray citing the audio recording and

editing elements as taking up most of the time.

“It was a ton of work, but definitely rewarding,” Murray said. “We got the voices of those families out.”

Murray also cited the project’s emotional aspects as being tough to overcome.

However, the project has been well-received, and combined with another one of Murray’s podcasts, has exceeded 200,000 downloads.

The presentation ended with a question and answer session for students.

The entries for this year’s awards are currently being judged. The 55th Golden Quill awards will be held on Wednesday, May 29, at the Rivers Casino.

Jordyn Hronec jthrone@pointpark.edu

USG meets to discuss forum, student concern proceedings from USG BEAT page 1 know what a town hall event is, so they would most likely search for what they are online. Lake pulled the definition from Wikipedia to supplement her point.

“Town hall meetings, also referred to as town halls or town hall forums, are a way for local and national politicians to meet with their constituents,” Lake said, citing the definition from Wikipedia.

According to the definition, she believes that the event should have direct engagement between the candidates and the public audience by allowing them to ask their own questions to see what kind of reactionary responses they can give “on the spot.”

Berlin agreed with the sentiment that the confidential crafting of questions and a third-party advisor could potentially make the situation seem biased. ”I hope you can also understand that there’s people who think that you may be biased just by proximity of your position and that you are appointed by people who may be on that stage,” Berlin said.

Senator Dennis McDermott defended the use of the pre-formulated questions, saying that those questions are not the only questions being asked. The pre-formed questions are planned to spur conversations about different issues and not address the anticipated popular questions referring to CulinArt, elevators and other common

areas of issues.

Senator Mathew Johnson spoke about an email sent by Communications Director Shelby Fink that discussed concerns with the openness of Executive Cabinet meetings, mentioning that students are currently only able to attend the beginning of the meetings. This contradicts a bylaw that only makes meetings private if they violate federal or state law or an individual’s rights to privacy.

President Kaylee Kearns stated that the private meetings do not entail major decisions and leave decision-making to take place during legislative body meetings. Parliamentarian Matthew Spadaccia added that President Pro Tempore Me-

gan Ortego’s position is that of a liaison between the legislative body and executive cabinet, releasing details and knowledge only talked about during the private meetings.

Berlin stated that last week’s minutes had redacted names and details that were only censoring complaints about other senators or complaints about professors from executive cabinet members.

The open forum towards the end of the meeting was largely consumed by a discussion regarding privacy in executive cabinet meetings.

Dannys Marrero, of U-View, and Prim Green, of Black Student Union both attended the legislative body meeting, along with several other students, and expressed their displeasure with the

current closed executive cabinet meetings and redactions from meeting minutes, and questioned what and whose privacy was being protected.

Johnson suggested that USG define privacy in the constitution so executive cabinet meetings can either be opened to the public, or closed for a specific privacy issue.

The meeting was moved to adjourn by Berlin after an ongoing exchange between students attending the meeting, senators, and executive cabinet members lasted for approximately half an hour.

Mitchell Drake mjdrake@pointpark.edu

ALMANAC OCT. 19, 2018 - NOV. 10,2018

Friday, March 1

11:54 a.m. - Conestoga Hall Criminal Tresspass

Saturday, March 9

11:28 p.m. - Lawrence Hall Alcohol

Monday, March 11

7:00 a.m. - 100 Wood Street Harassment

March 16, 1963 During the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade through Downtown Pittsburgh, 16 members of the Point Park Drill Team, nicknamed “the coleens”, marched and performed routines. Point Park’s school colors at the time were green and white, so the team fit the theme in their uniforms. The girls were received by the largest crowd in Pittsburgh since Bill Mazerowski’s famous ninth inning home run. Included in the crowd was a rowdy Irish Setter wearing a green top hat to celebrate the holiday.

Submitted | Point Park Archives The Point Park Drill Team marches in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 16, 1963.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

FEATURES

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Pittsburgh tattoo expo returns for third year

By Dara Collins Editor -Elect

Walking down an aisle of booths with tattoo artists from Pennsylvania to California, a woman laying on a table caught the attention of passers-by with her extended leg covered in bright blue ink from the top of her foot to her hip.

In another aisle, an artist sat two inches from a man’s chest while tattooing a black and grey portrait on his right pectoral.

The Bleed Black and Gold Pittsburgh Tattoo Expo returned to the Sheraton Hotel in Station Square last weekend to boast the best of the best tattoo artists locally, nationally and internationally.

“We have a really diverse crowd here of artists [and] of clients that come through and that’s really what we’re trying to push,”

Greg Piper said. “We want to show that diversity, we want to show that kind of love and I just want [the public] to come in and enjoy it. Get different perspectives and spend some time with some of these artists, and kind of change these people’s minds because tattooing has changed so significantly in the last 20 years, and it’s cool. I dig it.”

Hosted by Piper and Baller Inc., the expo invited artists, local venders and tattoo enthusiasts alike to the Sheraton’s extensive showcase on March 8-10.

Guests could purchase tickets for $25 per day or $50 for a three-day pass, a $5 increase from last year.

Students could snag a day pass for $20 by presenting their student ID. Junior criminal justice student Jared Ross took advantage of the discounted

pass and walked out of the convention with a new tattoo.

“It was a good experience, and it’s cool to see a lot of the other tattoo artists’ work,” Ross said. “I went there knowing I was going to get one, so I was examining a lot of people’s stuff to get an idea of what I like, and I was talking to a few artists.”

Mike Salazar from Knuckle Heads Tattoo in California caught Ross’s attention, and a recommendation from a previous artist solidified his choice in Salazar. Ross sat for two hours and received a Pittsburgh-themed bicep piece.

Ross found himself in just one of 125 booths.

“This is as big as I want to make it, so it’s a comfortable 125 booths,” Piper said.

While the amount of artists lined up in the Sheraton’s ballroom remained

STUDENTS OBSERVE ASH WEDNESDAY

Jared Murphy | The Globe Nick Poprocky, senior public relations major, receives ashes for Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, in the Lawrence Hall lobby from Pastor Jennifer McCurry.

PIONEER PUBLIC Drew Praskovich

By Nicole Pampena Online Editor

As a filmmaker, Drew Praskovich prefers telling stories about women, feeling more appreciation for the female perspective than the male perspective.

But when the senior cinema production major finally came around to making a movie about pregnancy, he made the main character a pregnant man.

“Something I really enjoy doing with my movies is sort of subverting and flipping sort of expectations of the audience,” Praskovich said.

This final film is his

strive toward creating work that forces people to pay attention—a happy ending to a journey that began the complete opposite.

“Point Park wasn’t my first choice, so I think I came in with a bit of a sour attitude,” Praskovich said. “I think I let that cloud my artistic creativity.”

By sophomore year, he decided that no matter what, he was doing what he loved. And thus, “Pop Rocks” was born.

Over the course of six minutes, the film begins with an “urban-legend-y” girl talking to a boy on an innocent, sundrenched playground and later shifts to a room with hazy red lighting where the main character performs oral sex while eating Pop Rocks.

“I’m making bold choices and I wanted people to notice what I’m making,” Praskovich said.

So did they notice?

“Yeah,” he laughed. “People are still like, ‘That movie!’”

He even showed it to his parents (but had them wear headphones, of course.)

Later that year, Praskovich directed a more personal

film called “Shepard,” which recounts the anti-gay hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard on Oct. 6, 1998 when Shephard was beaten, tortured and tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming. Growing up as a Catholic, Praskovich paralleled this with the stations of the cross in Jesus’s crucifixion.

He described it as “the first time something really spoke to [his] identity of being a gay man.”

Praskovich himself didn’t come out until his last week of high school, but he didn’t want to make the same mistake of not being who he was in college.

“If no one’s going to tell my story, then I’m going to have to do it myself,” Praskovich said.

As for this final film, titled “Seahorse,” the concept comes from a long-time fascination with pregnancy-- something he describes as a “magical thing.”

“It’s literally my child,” Praskovich said. “Like the characters giving birth, it’s like me giving birth to this movie.”

Filming wrapped in ear-

Dara Collins | The Globe Junior criminal justice major Jared Ross attended the third annual Pittsburgh Bleed Black and Gold Tattoo Expo and received a Pittsburgh-themed bicep tattoo.

the same as last year, the amount of guests and clients increased.

“We were busy,” Piper said. You should have been here [Saturday], you couldn’t move. It was crazy packed in here…It’s just been slammed busy. Our contests had a record number of entries [Saturday].

Piper said more people are discovering the expo as their advertising changes and word of mouth increases, and his team is really focused on growing the show, showcasing Pittsburgh culture and keeping tattoos as the heart of the show.

“The artists, which is what it’s for, want to keep it about tattooing,” Piper said.

“I don’t want it to turn into a flea market, I want it to be an actual tattoo expo.”

Nonetheless, Piper, a McKeesport native, enjoys inviting a smaller amount of local vendors to his show.

“I want real artists and stuff at our show, and that’s what we get, so I think the people appreciate that as well,” Piper said. “People would much rather spend their money on someone

who’s an artist and someone who’s local.”

Piper is passionate about serving the public a family-style, cultured event.

When asked why he refuses to upgrade the venue of his show, his answer is simple.

“It doesn’t feel like Pittsburgh when you’re in the Convention Center,” Piper said, gesturing to the massive windows in the Sheraton’s lobby with a view of the city. “You’re stuck in there, you don’t have a view of the city, you just feel like you’re in a big ass building.

I don’t want that feeling. I want more of a family-type feel when these artists come.”

Piper’s views must align with the artists and guests, as the expo has already secured the same weekend in March of 2020 to return for a fourth year.

“I want the quality of art to stay high, and I want the artists to be able to have the opportunity to come in and make a living as well,” Piper said.

Dara Collins dmcolli2@pointpark.edu

Submitted | The Globe

ly February, but Praskovich wrote the first draft in April 2018. He said the entire film should be finished this April.

Beyond that, he wants to give himself a year to move and find work either in his field or in theater directing.

Praskovich was also the first cinema major to direct a show for Pinnacle Productions, a production company that’s entirely student-run.

“I’m ready to know who I am outside of Pittsburgh,”

Praskovich said. “I think Pittsburgh has taught me everything I know and I want to show the world what a Pittsburgh person can do.”

Despite this city’s affordability, Praskovich emphasized he wants to be in New York where he can still enjoy winter days.

“LA’s a bit sunny for me.”

Nicole Pampena nmpampe@pointpark.edu

Send suggestions to admyers@pointpark.edu or pbcomun@pointpark.edu or reach out to the Globe on our social media pages.

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

A&E

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

5

Warped tour turns 25 with 3-city celebration

East, West coast, Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame host Warped

By Matthew Bright For The Globe

In true punk rock anti-fashion, the Vans Warped Tour has retired about as long a single Ramones song; and aging dads with residual angst are lacing up their Doc Martens and moshing with delight.

The summer of 2018 was billed as “the final cross-country Warped Tour ever” – although Kevin Lyman, the promoter of the annual punk rock sweat fest, had openly said that the tour would move into the future as a destination festival, hosting three special events in celebration of the its 25th anniversary.

Late last year, Lyman teased three potential dates and locations for the festival on Twitter and now the details have been confirmed.

Each of the events will have a unique lineup. Fans can expect some overlap between the bands appearing, but they will be largely different. Within a single weekend, the bands will play on either Saturday or Sunday, but not on both days.

The first date of the 2019 Vans Warped Tour will kickoff at the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on June 8. This event is primarily the grand opening of the “Forever Warped: 25 Years of Vans Warped Tour” exhibit that opens to the public at the historic venue the same day. The display will offer fans a look at documents and history from the tour’s 1995 inception to its final cross-country run in 2018.

On display are instruments from Fall Out Boy, No Doubt and Rancid, along with stage clothing from Joan Jett and Ice T. In addition to the new exhibit, fans attending will get an abbreviated version of the music fest with special performances by Los Angeles hip hop artist Chali 2na and mainstream DJ Cut

Chemist. In support, Emery, Simple Plan, Hawthorne Heights and We The Kings will also be performing.

The second stop on the anniversary tour will take place at Atlantic City Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey for a two-day blowout later that month on June 29 and 30. This weekend is sure to satisfy any Warped Tour purist ready to brandish board shorts. The lineup is an eclectic throwback to the nineties and the bands who made the annual festival a summer institution.

Topping the bill are Warped Tour veterans Blink-182, Bad Religion, 311, The Offspring and Quicksand (who played the inaugural Warped Tour in 1995).

“On display are instruments from Fall Out Boy, No Doubt and Rancid, along with stage clothing from Joan Jett and Ice T.” Matthew Bright For The Globe

The pool of supporting acts for the Atlantic City dates is deep, packed with well over 100 acts. Punk rock legends and Pittsburgh natives Anti-Flag top the list which includes party aficionado Andrew W.K., The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, Thrice, The Aquabats, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, A Day to Remember and Good Charlotte.

If the music and atmo-

sphere at the Atlantic City event are a little too upbeat for you, then change your mohawk and grab your spiked leather; the third and final celebration is the auditory road rash you’ve been skating for. It will take place on July 20 and 21 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. Artists include punk stalwarts NOFX, The Offspring, Bad Religion, Face to Face, Fishbone, The Vandals, Lagwagon, Jawbreaker and Tsunami Bomb. As usual, the list of supporting acts is lengthy with Anti-Flag, The Used, Sum 41, Dance Gavin Dance and Memphis May Fire leading the pack.

Fans of the Warped Tour will be the first to tell you that it’s more than just a concert. Since its inception, part of the appeal of the festival has been its dedication to extreme sports like motocross, BMX and skateboarding. This year will be no different, with the official website promising even more skate ramps and demos, a freestyle motocross tournament and even adding professional wrestling to the list of this year’s on-site attractions.

The buzz has been palpable since the lineups were announced and as predicted, tickets are moving quick. Due to the size of the venue, the kick-off concert in Cleveland was limited to 2,000 tickets and has already sold out.

Fans looking to attend the two-day events in Atlantic City and California may be surprised to find that single-day admission passes are not currently available.

In fact, the official Warped Tour website states that there is no guarantee that a single-day admission pass will be made available at all; urging people to purchase a two-day general admission ticket or VIP option.

The VIP option, which

Saturday in the Park with George

-March 15 - March 24 -2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

-Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, 350 Forbes Ave.

Gab Bonesso: Manic and Panicked

-March 15 -8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

-Arcade Comedy Theater, 943 Liberty Ave.

My Favorite Murder Live -March 14 - March 15 -Benedum Center, 7th Street and Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh Penguin’s vs. St. Louis Blues -March 16 -1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

-PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave.

ARTLab

-March 16 -1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

-Mattress Factory, 500 Sampsonia Way is only being offered for the Atlantic City weekend, includes a private entrance, access to a shaded lounge, air-conditioned comfort stations and more for $199.00. If that’s too much for your taste and you want the traditional experience of sweating on hot asphalt, standard general admission tickets can be purchased for $129.00. The weekend in Mountain View, CA does not currently have a VIP option available, but twoday general admission tick-

ets can be purchased for $121.00.

The promoters have taken care to not hide the tour’s age but embrace it. In doing so, they’ve curated three unique events that will give fans the Warped experience they’re looking for. The Tour may be slam-dancing off into the sunset, but it’s impact on the alternative music scene will be felt for decades to come.

Matthew Bright mbrigh@pointpark.edu

Brie Larson defies critics in ‘Captain Marvel’ A warm welcome for the newest heroine in the MCU

By Amanda Myers Co-Features Editor

For all the kerfuffle caused by critics and incessant social media commentators in the weeks before its release, “Captain Marvel” was set up to be the downfall of an entertainment empire. Instead, the first female led Marvel movie gives rise to a pertinent new hero fit to helm the next wave of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Before we get to the emotional pit of despair coming to cinemas with “Avengers: Endgame” in April, we meet Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel).

She predates the knowledge/existence of all our favorite heroes. Danvers is discovered by a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who wears a new CGI complexion. Their relationship is one of the strongest points of the film, and establishes grounds for how Fury reacts with future he-

roes (i.e. Iron Man).

“Before we get to the emotional pit of despair coming to cinemas with “Avengers: Endgame” in April, we meet Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel).”

Amanda Myers

Co-Features Editor The Globe Like any superhero origin story, there is the questioning of one’s powers and

identity, but in Danvers’ case, it comes as a more immediate element. She has spent most of her life with a foggy memory of her past under the assumed name of Vers. She’s an alien of sorts, living on the planet Hala with a burgeoning mentor (played by Jude Law), waiting to realize her true potential.

The first act of the film features sequences that shift back and forth from Danvers former life as an air force pilot to her current plight as a member of the galactic army Starforce.

These foggy moments are a reminder that Danvers has yet to discover who she really is, or who she wants to be.

When she’s not contemplating her life’s trajectory, the world around Danvers serves as a cultural escape through a whole lot of 90s nostalgia. Our hero crashes into a Blockbuster upon her arrival on Earth, dons a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt for most of the movie and has

some killer action sequences to songs like “I’m Just A Girl” and “Come As You Are.” If there was any doubt that Larson couldn’t deliver as the strongest superhero in the MCU, you may want to check her out in “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” for reference.

She plays a jilted lover with a penchant for electro pop. Now, swap out lover with fighter and electro pop for alt rock and you’ve got a new brand of hero.

Larson brings a charm to Danvers and relishes in her abilities. She has fun defying expectations, like embracing help from Fury and turning on those that she thought she could place her trust in.

She forms an unlikely alliance with Talos, a Skrull who have a rivalry with her supposed race of people: the Krees. Ben Mendelsohn plays the unsupposing extraterrestrial who gives the movie a jilt of “Guardians

of the Galaxy” type humor. He has some of the best one-liners in the film (watch for that subtle “Pulp Fiction” reference).

And lets not forget another scene stealer: Goose the cat. Who thought the MCU needed a furry companion to save the planet?

“Captain Marvel” gives Larson all the tools she needs to establish herself in a universe where she is the first Marvel hero. There is no link to the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” save for a particular post credits scene, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for her in the post-apocalyptic world.

It should be fun to see her interchange banter with the likes of Captain America. The jokes write themselves, with Danvers and Larson - set up well for upcoming changes in the galaxy.

Amanda Myers admyers@pointpark.edu

OPINIONS

Remembering the real story of St. Patrick

By Mick Stinelli Columnist

This weekend, thousands will line the streets of Downtown to witness the St. Patrick’s Day parade. For 250 years, Pittsburgh has hosted one of the country’s biggest parades in honor of the patron saint of Ireland.

Festivities usually include drinking green beer, dressing in green, wearing plastic shamrocks - just as St. Paddy envisioned it. (Yes, it’s Paddy, not Patty; he was a man, not a burger.)

As we gather around the bars this weekend, it’s unlikely many of us will be discussing the life of the man we celebrate. For many, St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday to honor Irish heritage more generally. Patrick, however, wasn’t from Ireland.

Patricius, as he called himself, was born in Britain sometime in the fifth century. According to his writings, he wasn’t actively religious. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland, where he remained for six years. He worked as a shepherd and began praying regularly. In time, he heard voices.

One night he heard a voice saying he would return to Britain, then “after a very short time, I heard the answer [of God] saying to me, ‘Lo, thy ship is ready.”

He returned home and

studied Christianity further.

After a few years, he had a vision of a man with letters approaching him. As he opened a letter titled “The Voice of the Irish,” he heard the voices of the people of the Emerald Isle, saying, “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.”

It was then that he returned to Ireland, where he would spend the rest of his life as a missionary. He claimed to have baptised thousands, and made enemies with local royalty by refusing their gifts.

After his death, the Irish perpetuated many legends, most of which are probably false. One states that he used the shamrock as a parable for the Holy Trinity, though this story doesn’t appear until hundreds of years after his death.

A more hardcore tale has him fasting for 40 days atop a hill, after which he is attacked by snakes. After this, he banishes all of the snakes from Ireland. However, there is no evidence that there were ever any snakes in Ireland following the Ice Age. So what did Patrick really do? He effectively, and nearly single handedly, converted Ireland from a pagan state into a Christian nation.

But he didn’t do so by forcing the native Irish to give up their Celtic traditions.

Instead, he incorporated

those traditions into his Christian teachings, making the religion more palatable to newcomers.

It’s an odd legacy to have in a religion which is so often associated with coercion, such as the forced conversion of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

That a slave boy should be freed, only to return to the island of his captivity, is a story in itself. That he should return not with vengeance, but with compassion and a desire to share the knowledge he had acquired is, well, saintlike.

When we gather in the streets this St. Patrick’s day, we should not only celebrate the legacy of Irish-American culture, but the legacy of the titular man of the holiday.

Remember his compassion, and his willingness to accept and tolerate different cultures.

Lo, thy ship is ready.

Mick Stinelli mfstine@pointpark.edu

’S GL BE POINT

Ink does not define us This week, The Globe published a features piece about the third annual Pittsburgh Tattoo Expo. Naturally, a common concern as young professionals about to enter our field came to mind: tattoos in the workplace.

The question of whether or not tattoos and piercings affect the professionalism of an individual has always been up for debate, more so in recent years considering young people are choosing to modify their bodies more than ever before.

Tattoos are seen as mainstream during this day and age, especially here on our own Downtown campus.

Returning to the earliest roots, tattoos existed for different religious and cultural purposes. Nowadays, individuals get tattoos for a variety of reasons: expressive freedom, memorial artwork or pure fun.

36 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo, and 30 percent of all college graduates in the United States have tattoos, according to the History of Tattoos website.

A number of individuals at The Globe, WPPJ and U-View fall into this category, which brings us back to the question

Traditions are usually events that are not questioned, not variable in their path. They are something to be held to the highest regard because of the respect they obtain during their stature and curriculum.

So, what about here at Point Park? This university openly advertises its tradition of training students to become professionals in their area of craft. They advertise the city’s tradition in its dedication to sports, to the arts, and to history unto itself. This university also has a known reputation for hyping up its regarded clubs, like United Student Government (USG).

USG has said and done many things to have a reputation, both good and bad.

Something cool about this university is that students are given a platform to make their positions known. And here’s mine: USG is straying from a tradition formed with U-View Television for the annual United Student Government debates. During my time here, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of being part of multiple live broadcasts for the USG de-

bates. I remember running camera for it my sophomore year. I was on camera one, which meant I had to quickly switch my shot live to get the position of both candidates. It taught me how attentive you have to be when participating in a production like this.

Then last year I had the opportunity to co-host. Being part of both of these productions have taught me invaluable skills when it comes to doing actual live shows. There are so many students that coordinated and put in countless hours to make these productions good quality and objective for their viewers, and that’s exactly what we did. We put in the work to give the viewers all the information they needed to make an educated decision on who should run USG. So why is this tradition being discontinued as of 2019? It has come to my attention that USG would prefer and is doing a town hall-styled seminar in which someone that is not eligible to vote will moderate the event. Now, we see town halls on television all the time, right? So, what’s the issue?

This is an absolute misfortune for two reasons. One, this is taking away a huge opportunity from so many students to participate and produce a

live broadcast on behalf of the university’s television station, which is that real-world experience this university so commonly refers to, whether it be on-camera or on the production side. These last two years so many people came together.

Not that this town hall won’t require teamwork, it absolutely will, but with the professionalism and consistency the debates required, I’m left unsure as to how this town hall will be able to replicate that.

The other question I’m left with is with USG taking control of the event in this manner, how will it be insured that this town hall will be objective? The fact that U-View will take no part in preparing this is an absolute atrocity.

Fear has driven USG to undo the debates to avoid truths from being uncovered, truths that they rather wish to be left unsaid.

We typically do not break traditions, or stray away from their path. Traditions are created and maintained to uphold a reputation and obtain credibility. So where does this leave USG? Well, with breaking one of many traditions.

Jess Paterchak jlpater@pointpark.edu

By Shannon Hartnett Staff Writer

Looks like old Phil was wrong with his predictions, which leaves me to sulk around Point Park with my enormous fluffy coat and scarf wrapped around my entire face because I refuse to be cold. I saw a post on Twitter that outlined the different seasons according to Pittsburgh rather than the normal seasons we know.

They were listed as: winter, fools spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, mud season and then actual spring. As of right now I currently believe we are in the third winter. Hopefully, unless Mother Nature decides to really throw us for a loop and put in another fake spring followed by yet a fourth winter.

On top of the snow, the wind has just been flat out brutal. I could have sworn I was going to be blown away the other day as I walked down Wood Street. At least we have spring break to look forward to, oh wait no, ours is over already. I know someone else here has got to be thinking it, because everyone I talk to says the same thing. “You’re already done with your spring break?!” Yes. It’s over, gone, and what did I accomplish?

Well I finished a paper, and I binge watched all the Fast and Furious movies and that’s

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about all folks. All the things I planned on doing went down the drain that first day I woke up way too late in the afternoon.

And now, with the returning half of the semester to go everyone needs to hike up their sweatpants so they don’t drag through the snow that is still here and power on.

Spring is on the way and we don’t want to miss it while we bury ourselves in homework, complaints and pessimistic views.

With daylight savings this past weekend, the weather, as well as spirits, are beginning to look is a little brighter. Just think, now the sun won’t be setting until close to seven. It is going to leave room for so many more activities throughout the day that hopefully will include some outside fun.

This is the point in the semester where students start to feel tired and drained by the long winter that just sucked the life out of us, but unfortunately this is the exact opposite of how we need to be feeling. This is the crucial part to our semester, where our final projects start to unveil themselves, we begin registering for classes and finals week starts to ever so slowly creep up on us. So my fellow Point Park students, don’t give up.

Shannon Hartnett snhartn@pointpark.edu

News Editors: Jordyn Hronec, Andrew Brinker Photo Editor: Gracey Evans

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Editor-in-Chief: Carley Bonk Editor-Elect: Dara Collins Business Manager: Cortnie Phillips Faculty Adviser: Christopher Rolinson Administrative Adviser: Dean Keith Paylo The Globe board consists of Carley Bonk, Dara Collins and fellow editors. Opinion articles, letters to the editor, columns and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the position of the newspaper or editorial board. The Globe reserves the right to refuse advertising and edit all submitted articles and letters to the editor. Letters to the editor must be signed and include author’s contact information. The Globe offices are located at the corner of Wood Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard. Writers should address letters to:

at hand.

Do our tattoos affect our professional appearance or ability?

In our opinion, absolutely not. We are young professionals performing the same tasks we would be performing if we were out in the real world. Our staff, some tattooed and some not, successfully put together a paper every week.

The ink on our skin does not impact our skills in writing, interviewing, producing or editing and it absolutely does not affect the level of professionalism we are able to bring to the table. Our professional talent is affected by our attitude and our ability to actually perform the tasks given to us.

If anything at all is affected by the markings on our skin, it is the people around us with the traditional professional image plastered into their brain.

There’s no need to automatically dismiss someone based on their desired choice of artwork, as they could potentially be exactly who you need in the office. Point Park teaches its students how to thrive after graduation, whether they’re tattooed or not.

Spring finally approaches

USG refuses televised U-View debates

By Jess Paterchak For The Globe

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

THE

6

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

Graphic Design: Alysse Baer

Opinions Editor: Jordan Slobodinsky

Copy Editors: Nick Horwat, Tia Bailey, Ian Brady, Nathan Vrablic

Online Editor: Nicole Pampena

Delivery Assistant: Mitchell Drake, Kortney Lampel

Social Media Coordinators: Joie Knouse, Tia Bailey

SPORTS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

All In with Allison

By Allison Schubert Sports Columnist

Sliding Into the Spotlight With the basketball season behind us, a lull in the track and field world and dance finishing up their season eighth in the nation, we have officially reached the transition point to spring sports.

With the spotlight seemingly empty at this point in the semester, this is when baseball and softball slide in.

Softball has not done anything since going 3-7 in Florida, so I will focus on baseball this week and we can delve into softball in a future column once their season has officially started.

Baseball, on the other hand, has gone 4-2 since coming home from spring training over spring break.

Coming into this season, Point Park was voted No. 16 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Top 25 Poll and has flexed their veteran roster since then.

Last year, the Pioneers made it to the NAIA National Tournament thanks to their impressive pitching staff, which was ranked second in the NAIA with a team ERA of 2.85. This year is no different for head coach Loren Torres, who has 13 total arms to go to throughout the season, most of which are returning from that showing last year.

Seniors Nick Beardsley and Felix Castillo lead the returning pitchers this season, with eight other pitchers-only and three two-way players adding to the depth of pitching roster.

Junior two-way player Cole Horew is arguably the most versatile player in the lineup. Horew is the only returning starting outfielder, with transfers and one freshman in contention for

the remaining corner outfield spots. He also is one of the best returning pitchers in the rotation and boasts a .493 slugging percentage over his three seasons so far.

The infield took the biggest hit at the end of last season, but recognizable names to those who followed the team last year include senior third baseman and cleanup hitter Erik Montero, who also lead in RBIs last season, and senior Yuri Sucart, who will start at first base.

Both catchers this year have transferred in after graduating Chris Hernandez and Joe Spalick. Sophomore Luis Mujica from Lawson State (Alabama) CC and Junior Levi Martin from Cornerstone (Michigan) will sit behind the plate for the Pioneers, with Mujica getting the nod from Torres to begin the year.

So far, Point Park has gone 2-1 against WVU Tech and did the same in Rio Grande, leaving the Pioneers with their 4-2 RSC record thus far into the season.

I do think that Point Park has a deep, talented roster that will lead them to success this year, but I am definitely interested to see how the new players mesh with the preexisting fluidity of last year’s team, specifically with talent behind the plate.

Hernandez was a backbone of last year’s team and I think it is too early to say for sure how Mujica and Martin will fare as the season progresses.

Point Park was ranked No. 16 for a reason, but I hope they can hold onto the hype.

Allison Schubert alschub@pointpark.edu

Robert Berger | Point Park Athletics Senior third baseman Erik Montero fields a ground ball during a 2017 game. The senior is one of the few returning starters from last year’s team which won the River States Conference Championship.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

7

Spisak molding into his own New head coach preparing for outdoor

By Rachel McKriger For The Globe

The last few months have been a whirlwind for James Spisak.

After joining the Point Park University track team as an assistant coach, with focus on the distance runners, Spisak was named interim head coach on Feb. 18.

Spisak, who replaced former five-year head coach Kelly Parsley, has been taking advice from his former coaches to mold into his own.

Spisak was a distance runner at Duquesne University and then went on to the University of Pittsburgh as a volunteer coach. Meanwhile, he spent a brief period of time in Rhode Island, where he coached at the middle school level.

This past summer, Spisak joined back into the ranks of collegiate coaching. Like most track and field coaches, he helped out with the cross country season. Now, in his group of distance runners for track and field, Spisak says he has about 20-25 runners.

But now, he has to focus on the whole team, not just a small group.

Spisak said the first week was busy with logistics and “letting the dust settle.”

“We had a meet the next day when the whole change happened,” Spisak recalled. “The next week we were taking Anna Shields to the National Championship meet. But, it’s been a pretty smooth transition. I think the morale and attitude of the kids has been great. Last week was really positive.”

Spisak understands the complexity of the situation, with everything happening so quickly. However, he has expressed his appreciation for his runner’s dedication not wavering. His own dedication hasn’t wavered either — and neither has his confidence.

“I was in contact with John Ashaolu, the athletic director and Dean Keith Paylo,” Spisak said. “They asked if I was confident, if I could hold down the ship.

I said absolutely that I was confident of doing a good job in this position. We have a great staff around me with the assistant coaches. The team itself is a great group of people. Getting to work with these kinds of people with such good attitudes is something that I was excited for. It’s a good team to be around.”

Those assistant coach-

Submitted | Point Park Athletics Jim Spisak poses for a photo after being hired as the assistant track and field coach last September. Spisak was recently named interim head coach of the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

es he mentioned includes fourth-year coach Oronde Sharif, John Walsh and Tim Creamer. Sharif mainly works with sprinters while Creamer works with jumpers, former coach at Seton Hill University.

“Their help and them playing a big role in what we are doing as a unit has been really good,” Spisak said. “When I first was given the position of interim coach, I said to them that we’re all in this together.

It’s not a total dictatorship and we’re going to work together as a unit.”

Not only is Spisak learning from his assistant coaches, but he’s taking what he’s learned from his own coaches. Spisak has been a runner since his early days, but admits to being “bullheaded” in his youth. Now, he’s learned how to maintain and establish taking the ups and downs in stride. That’s a lesson he’s passing on to the Point Park team.

“We have to be very level-headed,” Spisak said.

“We don’t need to freak out if we had a bad day, had a couple bad races or feel a little banged up. In the past, I was stubborn with these things and didn’t always take things in stride. Learning from that experience, I can provide more of a calculated, measured approach to the kids. In a sport where you want to succeed so bad, it’s hard sometimes.”

“Everything they’re experiencing, I’ve been through in terms of the rac-

ing and running.”

Spisak also said that being exposed to the sport early helps. While he wasn’t an official college coach until coming to Point Park, Spisak said that his connections in the sport have exposed him to veteran coaches who have given him advice.

Just like every coach, he has some challenges. His biggest has been the logistical, behind-the-scenes, work.

“It’s become apparent that a lot of the behind the scenes stuff that goes into running a program is necessary, but it’s been a challenge,” Spisak said. “It’s been a good crash course, though.

As far any surprises, though, I would say that the reception of feedback and how eager to improve the group in general is, the whole team.

You don’t expect someone to be negative or a bad person, but any feedback on my end, the attitude is really good.

It’s a pleasant thing to be around on a daily basis.”

With the indoor season coming to a close and the outdoor season picking up, Spisak is hoping to help his athletes accomplish more than they already have.

“We, as a coaching staff, are hoping to scaffold them and hope to provide the best experience,” Spisak said. “It’s ultimately about the kids and the team. I’m confident that it’s going to continue and progress from here on.”

Rachel McKriger rakrige@pointpark.edu

Robert Berger | Point Park Athletics Anna Shields competes at the River States Conference Championship. This was one meet before Spisak offically took the team over as head coach. Shields won two National Championships the following week of the hire.

8

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

SPORTS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Baseball team goes 2-1 against Rio Grande Team notches 29 hits throughout doubleheader Saturday afternoon

By Robert Berger Co-Sports Editor

The Pioneer baseball team took two of three games this past weekend in the second conference series of the year facing off in Ohio against Rio Grande University.

Coming off their spring trip to Florida and a series win against West Virginia Tech University last week, Point Park entered the three-game set Saturday with a 6-5 record.

Both Pioneer wins came during a doubleheader Saturday afternoon with Point Park ending the first game of the afternoon victorious 10-6.

Junior Cole Horew started on the mound in the in the winning effort and pitched for 5.0 innings.

Horew ended the game with four strikeouts and six runs given up. In the sixth inning, Horew turned the game over to the bullpen and junior Marco Quintanar finished out the contest.

The Pioneers took an early lead in the second and third innings after posting two runs on the board in each. Scoring began in the second with a two-run home run off the bat of junior Levi Martin. Sophomore Ed Pfluger also scored who reached previously off a leadoff double. In the third, Point Park capitalized on a throwing error made by Rio Grande allowing two more to cross the plate, giving the Pioneers a 4-1 lead heading into the fourth inning.

Rio Grande was quick to

answer back scoring three of their own in the bottom half of the fourth inning to tie it up heading into the fifth. Answering back again, Point Park put four more runs across the plate in the top half of the fifth inning.

The Pioneers did so off four hits and four errors committed by the Rio Grande defense.

Rio Grande rebounded putting two on the board in the bottom half, but that would be the last offense the team would see. The Pioneers went on to score once more in the ninth off a sacrifice fly hit by Pfluger.

Senior Nick Bucci started on the hill in game two and threw a total of 4.1 innings.

Giving up three runs on only four hits, the senior turned the game over to sophomore Ryan Huber to complete the fourth and pitch the fifth inning. Junior Ruben Ramirez closed out the contest.

Rio Grande was first on the board in the second game on Saturday scoring two runs in the first inning.

Bucci got out of the inning only allowing one hit, but the Pioneers defense committed two errors with Bucci hitting one batter as well.

After a scoreless second, Point Park made it onto the scoreboard posting one run in the third inning which came off a single to right-center off the bat of junior Antonio Carrillo. Junior Julio Creazzola scored on the play who pinch ran for sophomore Luis Mujica.

With Point Park trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Rio

Robert Berger | Point Park Athletics Sophomore pitcher Ryan Huber delivers a pitch during a 2017 home game. Huber was the winning pitcher in the second game of a doubleheader the Pioneers played Saturday against Rio Grand. Point Park won the game 16-5.

Grande put up another run in the bottom half of the inning off a leadoff home run.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Point Park put a rally together in the top half of the sixth which began when Mujica doubled to right-center scoring one.

Two more came after senior Erik Montero singled to right-center. The Pioneers put two more runs up before the inning ended and did so off six hits.

Rio Grande scored once in the bottom half of the inning but still went into the seventh trailing 5-4. In the top of the seventh Point Park put two more on the board which capped off the game. Point Park left victorious 7-4.

The series began Friday afternoon with a sin-

gle game that Point Park dropped 13-5.

Senior Felix Castillo started for Point Park and received the loss after throwing for 3.2 innings.

Castillo allowed eight runs on seven hits with one baseon-ball.

The Pioneers got on the board early taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first after a two-run home run from Montero.

Rio Grande was quick to respond putting four men across the plate in the first inning.

Point Park was able to tie the game up in the top of the third scoring two, but it didn’t last long as Rio Grande put up one run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

The Pioneers scored

their last run of the day in the fifth inning when Carrillo singled to left-center scoring Montero who reached on a walk.

Rio Grande took control the rest of the way scoring three more in the fourth and fifth inning, and two more in the seventh.

After the weekend series, Point Park now sits in second place in the River States Conference (RSC) with an overall record of 8-6 and a conference record of 4-2.

Point Park will play a non-conference game Wednesday at Seton Hill and then will travel to Midway, Ky. to resume conference play this weekend against Midway University.

Robert Berger raberge@pointpark.edu

Dance places in 8th in NAIA

Talent returning in All-American athletes

By Dara Collins Editor-Elect

For the second year in a row, Point Park’s competitive dance team placed among the top ten teams in the country at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Competitive Dance National Championships.

On Feb. 23, the Pioneers placed second at the Northeast Regional Qualifier and later received an at-large bid to the national competition.

The Pioneers placed eighth in the nation out of the 12 teams in attendance at the contest in Davenport, Iowa last weekend. Midland (Nebraska) placed first with 86.35 points and host and defending champion St. Ambrose (Iowa) finished second with 85.46 points. Midland

has now won two national titles in three years.

The third best team recorded nearly 10 points less than the top two scoring teams. Oklahoma City, Baker (Kansas) and Siena Heights (Michigan) placed fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, and all finished within less a single point of one another.

Point Park then fell into the ranks at eighth with a score of 70.61 after their second complete national showing. The Pioneers bettered their performance from the preliminary round in which they sat at ninth place with a score 68.91.

The final score considered both performances with a heavier weight on the final round. The preliminary round score accounted for

25 percent of the final score, and the final-round score accounted for 75 percent.

Last season, the Pioneers placed fourth in the nation at their first-ever national showing with a score of 85.42.

The Pioneers finished this season with 12 events, the highest amount in the NAIA. No other team in the NAIA even amounted double digits for event performances. Of the 41 teams in the NAIA, Point Park sits seventh with an average of 80.51 points per event.

Next season should maintain much of the talent from this season as the All-American athletes are freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

Dara Collins dmcolli2@pointpark.edu

Emilee Fails | Point Park Athletics The competitive dance team performs their routine as part of the Pioneer Showcase earlier this year. This past weekend, the dance team competed in the NAIA National Championship and finished 8th of 12 teams.

Emilee Fails | Point Park Athletics Members of the dance team compete at their first home meet that was held earlier this year at Gateway high school in Monroeville, Pa.