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@PPUGlobe October 31, 2018
IN THIS ISSUE: PAGE
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Amanda Meyers reviews a weirdly wild performance by legendary Alice Cooper Meet Vanessa Vivas: International student embracing social activism Staff members reflect on Tree of Life Synagogue massacre ppuglobe.com
Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967
Issue 10
City mourns, remembers mass shooting victims By Carley Bonk Editor Elect and Mick Stinelli Co-News Editor
An attack which killed 11 people in a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood has left many in Pittsburgh and across the nation in a state of mourning. The tragedy set off a wave of tributes around the world, and raised new questions about the presence of anti-Semitism in the United States. Grace Tyler Frank-Rempel, a freshman intelligence and national security major at Point Park, said she was appalled when she caught wind of the events on Saturday. Frank-Rempel practices Reform Judaism. “I think it’s sad that society still has negative beliefs towards minorities,” Frank-Rempel said. The news of the shooting left her terrified. For some, the idea that such potent anti-Semitism was so close to home was too much to comprehend. “As someone who has been very open about being Jewish, living in Pittsburgh for the first few months,
knowing that someone less than fifty miles away had that much hatred was very hard to think about,” freshman theater major Sara Buchdahl said. It’s part of a larger reality of increased anti-Semitism in the U.S. Anti-Semitic incidents saw a 53 percent increase from 2016 to 2017, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In a press release Saturday, the ADL called the Pittsburgh attack the “deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.” The victims of the attack were identified Sunday morning: Joyce Fienberg, 75, of Oakland; Richard Gottfried, 65, of Ross Township; Rose Mallinger, 97, of Squirrel Hill; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, of Edgewood Borough; Cecil Rosenthal, 59, of Squirrel Hill; David Rosenthal, 54, of Squirrel Hill; Bernice Simon, 84, of Wilkinsburg; Sylvan Simon, 86, of Wilkinsburg; Daniel Stein, 71, of Squirrel Hill; Melvin Wax, 88, of Squirrel Hill; Irving Younger, 69, of Mt. Washington. A vigil was held Saturday evening, just hours
Carley Bonk I The Globe Isabel Smith exchanges an embrace during the vigil for the victims of the Tree of Life shooting Saturday night. Smith, alongside other high school students, organized the impromptu vigil. following the shooting. A crowd of hundreds gathered at the intersection of Murray and Forbes, where police blocked the streets and rerouted traffic so the community could mourn together. Families and friends gathered together to sing traditional Jewish songs, burn candles and partic-
ipate in a moment of silence to remember the 11 members of their neighborhood that were killed that morning. Students from Taylor Allderdice High School worked alongside Sixth Presbyterian church Saturday afternoon to organize a gathering where community members wouldn’t have to
be alone in their grief. “We need to allow ourselves to grieve and comfort other members of our community,” Cody Murphy, who helped organize the event, said at the opening of the vigil. The students gathered at a local Starbucks around 2 p.m. to plan the gathering
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Free speech activist visits CMI USG discusses struggles By Carley Bonk Editor-Elect
Free speech activist Mary Beth Tinker visited the Center for Media Innovation Oct. 23 to share her story with students regarding her role in the historic 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District Supreme Court case. Tinker fought for the freedom to wear a black armband in protest of the Vietnam War at school and won her case in the Supreme Court at the age of 13. “You don’t have to be the most courageous person in the world,” Tinker said. “You can just be you. You can just have a little bit of courage to speak up about something.” Over 50 people crowded in the main conference room of the CMI to hear Tinker share her life story in an event co-sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the Honors Program. Her visit was one stop in a nationwide tour to advocate for the rights of youth. Helen Fallon, director of the Honors Program, said she believes there is a real benefit for students to have the opportunity to interact directly with historical figures. “Bringing people like her to campus makes histo-
ry come to life,” Fallon said. “We can read about what people do, but when we hear directly from them, that is a whole other thing.” Nick Tommarello, president of SPJ and sophomore broadcast reporting major, said he remembered learning about Tinker in high school history classes. “I was really excited to actually get to meet her,” Tommarello said. “Just seeing how personable she was, how kind and nice she was and how open she was to meeting everyone… honestly, throughout the whole thing, we were asking her questions, but I noticed that she really wanted to ask us questions and pick our brains.” Tinker not only spoke about her experience defending her First Amendment right before the highest court in the nation, but also spoke of her upbringing in a Methodist family that contributed to the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960s. “It was the way I was raised, to speak up for what you believe in,” Tinker said. “My father said we have to try to reach out to our enemies also. That’s what our religion tells us to do.” Passionate about young people’s role in the democratic process, Tinker has spent the last few years
traveling to advocate for youth to speak up for what they believe in. She shared stories of students she met across the country who have followed in her footsteps of defending their First Amendment freedoms. “So many young people in history have taken democracy forward,” she said. “You have a tendency to take action, you see when things are not fair and you’re willing to take risks. Young people see through hypocrisy.” Tommarello said this was the most engaging part of her presentation. “What I thought was so interesting was learning about what she’s doing now, traveling to all of these schools and talking to kids,” Tommarello said. Tinker inspired students and faculty alike, decades after challenging what freedom of speech really means within the school system. “I’ve always admired her for her courage in stepping up,” Fallon said. “To have that presence of mind as a young person, to understand what she was doing, standing up for her rights, was remarkable.” Tommarello said that as a journalist, Tinker’s advice was essential. “What I took from her is to never stop fighting for free speech,” Tommarel-
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to fill seats, committees USG By Amanda Andrews USG Beat Writer
The United Student Government (USG) discussedstudent representation and student organizations during Monday’s Legislative Body Meeting. Also discussed was an opportunity for USG members to serve on committees at Faculty Assembly meetings. Concerns about the Faculty Assembly meetings ranged from the ban on non-USG members to serve on the five committees, to scheduling conflicts with USG Legislative Body Meetings, as the Faculty Assembly meetings take place on the third Monday of every month. USG Legislative Body Meetings require a certain minimum number of senators to be in attendance in order to vote on issues. This is known as quorum. Senator Montana Gabriele expressed concerns over how USG senators’ participation in Faculty Assembly meetings could cause quorum at USG Legislative Body Meetings to not be met, thus adversely impacting the student body. “We have to take into consideration what’s more important to us, our representation on our own right here like these meetings or representation on those committees,” Gabriele said. “Because we have
votes every week here, but what are we going to do if say our funding meeting comes up and we can’t meet quorum, then what?” Gabriele raised concern for student-run clubs and organizations, their chance of possible funding issues and their chance of deactivation if USG were unable to meet quorum, emphasizing the importance of the weekly meetings. To meet quorum and still send more than one senator to Faculty Assembly meetings, as was considered ideal by faculty members, Senator Mathew Johnson suggested the idea of filling senatorial vacancies to acquire the maximum number of senators. To facilitate this process, a special election would have to be held. According to President Kaylee Kearns, the special election would not yield an equal mix of senators from all the schools or even the maximum number of positions USG has to offer due to lack of interest. “We did hold a special election in the beginning of the year, and as you can see it didn’t fill all the seats,” Kearns said. “We’re not just going to fill seats just to fill seats. People have to want to be in these positions.” USG did, however, fill a seat at this week’s meeting. Senator Jessica Wrzosek was sworn in at the Legislative
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Weather Forecast Today: Showers H 67, L 53
Thursday: Partly Cloudy, H 55, L 51 Friday: Sunny, H 60, L 41 Saturday: Rain, H 51, L 37
Sunday: Showers, H 56, L 41 Monday: Rain, H 59, L 49 Tuesday: Rain, H 66, L 51
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