Point Park University Globe Fall 2016 Issue 14

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6 PAGE 8 PAGE 10

Globe Point Park

@PPUGlobe December 7, 2016

Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967

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IRS form shows administration saw raises amidst freezes in full-time faculty pay

By Iain Oldman Co-News Editor

Despite longtime salary freezes to faculty members, Point Park’s president and top administrators have received consistent raises to their base compensation pay, other means of compensation and nontaxable benefits for at least three straight years.

Top in salary is Point Park President Paul Hen-

nigan, who tax records say earned $358,943 in base compensation, followed by Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations Bridget Mancosh at $232,808 and former Provost Karen McIntyre at $224,936.

According to the university’s Form 990, financial information required by the IRS from nonprofit organizations, the administration’s pay increases have paralleled

significant revenue gains by the university.

The pay increases come in the midst of negotiating sessions with the adjunct faculty union, which ended with a contract last November, and the full-time faculty union. The bargaining discussions for the full-time faculty union contract are currently ongoing.

President Hennigan’s base compensation in the

2014-15 fiscal year – the last year information was available – was an increase of approximately 4.3 percent from his 2012-13 salary.

However, in that same time period, Hennigan’s total compensation that includes a wide assortment of benefits rose at a more pronounced rate. The total compensation calculates bonus and incentive compensation,

FINANCES page 5

UNIVERSITY DRESSES IN HOLIDAY SPIRIT

photo by Chloe Jakiela

Holiday decorations outside of Academic Hall light up campus with only a handful of days remaining in the 2016 Fall semester.

New online program for logging NEW COACH work study hours ‘Kronos’ causes tech issues for some students

By Nicole Pampena Copy Editor

After acquiring a program called Kronos to log work study hours in replacement of timesheets, some students have experienced issues throughout the semester regarding the new system’s efficiency.

Most commonly, work study students have struggled logging into the system despite entering the correct username and password as well as accurately tracking hours. As a result, supervisors have had to manually edit the hours not properly logged through the system.

The university decided

STUDENTS SIGN THEMSELVES INTO POINT PARK HISTORY photo by Julian Kovacs

Students and faculty sign final beam for the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Wednesday Nov. 30.

Weather Forecast

to switch to Kronos in response to the “unreliability of the timesheet” leading the university to “seek other means for capturing hours worked,” according to an email sent to the Globe by student employment coordinator Joan Dristas.

Timesheets in previous years were completed on paper and in a spreadsheet that would later require the work study supervisor’s signature before submission.

“While Kronos added minor expense, it allowed the university to be more efficient and to improve the timeliness and processing of timesheets,” Dristas said.

“Once time is logged, stu-

dent workers submit their timesheet electronically, and supervisors approve electronically. The supervisor has easy access to the timesheet and can check, edit and approve it right through the Kronos website.”

In practice, a handful of students have encountered difficulties accessing the server.

Catherine Huffman, a sophomore technical theater and dance double major, said she was unable to log in during the first two weeks of using Kronos.

“There have been multiple situations where my supervisor had to edit my hours,” Huffman said.

TIMESHEETS page 4

G Today: Partly Cloudy H 42, L 31

Thursday: Cloudy, H 36, L 23 Friday: Cloudy, H 33, L 23 Saturday: Partly cloudy, H 34, L 27 Sunday: Cloudy, H 40, L 34 Monday: Showers, H 47, L 40 Tuesday: Showers, H 39, L 24

Students prepare jingles for annual holiday concert Longtime staff members, editor-in-chief say goodbyes to the Globe Men’s basketball goes 2-0 in weekend conference play

photo by Josh Croup

Men’s basketball interim head coach Gabe Bubon watches over his team on Dec. 2. Bubon replaces 27-year head coach Bob Rager for the 2016-17 season. Read more on page 9.

ppuglobe.com Issue 14

Hennigan reflects on 2016, looks to future

By Josh Croup Editor-in-Chief

A primary goal for Point Park President Paul Hennigan in 2017 is to finish fundraising the $14 million needed to complete the Pittsburgh Playhouse, he told the Globe Friday as he reflected on 2016 and looked ahead to the next calendar year.

“Spatially, to see it now, I’m jumping out of my skin,” Hennigan said of the Playhouse.

The construction of the new Playhouse is slated to conclude in 2018. Hennigan said the university has already fundraised $46 million for the Playhouse, which includes donations from trustees, foundations, corporations, alumni and a $5 million state grant.

The final beam for the Playhouse was on display for the Point Park community to sign last week. According to a media release from the university, the Playhouse is about 30 percent complete.

The work site will be covered this month so construction can continue throughout the winter season.

Additional work on the Playhouse is currently being completed off campus, including the restoration of the stained glass ceiling in the Stock Exchange Building, and the three Forbes Avenue facades that are being restored to use in the Playhouse outdoor courtyard.

The Playhouse construction will create challenges for the university that Hennigan said the school would have to work through in the next calendar year, including increasing housing options on

PRESIDENT page 2

Easy fix exists for issues with broken elevators

By Hannah Walden For The Globe

Despite frequent malfunctions, Point Park’s elevators – whether they are in Lawrence Hall, Conestoga Hall or West Penn – usually require quick fixes and maintenance repairs, according to the university.

Most of the time the elevators require low-level maintenance, and depending on how fast a Point Park University engineer gets to it, it can be reset and ready to go in a matter of minutes.

Something such as the elevator doors staying stuck open, the elevator getting stuck between floors or just being overcrowded with people only requires a fast restart

Globe Point Park

by any of the operating engineers on campus.

The most noticeable and problematic elevator has proven to be the second elevator in Lawrence Hall, the car closest to the stairs on the first floor, which has been out of service for the majority of the semester.

Problems with the second elevator have persisted throughout a large portion of the semester, though it is now operating normally, according to the university.

The maintenance required to fix this elevator could not be done by an operating engineer and Industrial/Commercial Elevator company (ICE) was called in to fix the

ELEVATORS page 2

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THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Hennigan hopes for residential increase

photo by Robert Berger

A line of students wait for an elevator in the West Penn Building before classes Dec. 5.

Overcrowded elevators, holding open doors among causes for closures from ELEVATORS page 1 elevator. One of the elevator’s vital parts was broken and needed to be replaced.

Shortly thereafter, a different mechanism on the same elevator broke, causing the company to return, requiring further maintenance.

On Nov. 2, Dean of Students Keith Paylo emailed students thanking them for their patience and cooperation as the work on the elevator was taking longer than expected.

“While we understand that having one of these elevators out of service is inconvenient, please know that we are working hard to rectify this situation,” Paylo wrote in the email to students.

Paylo also reassured students in the same email that he was open for any questions students have and that hard work was being done to fix the elevator.

According to Christopher Hill, vice president of opera-

tions at Physical Plant, things like overcrowding, holding the door open too long and even jumping in the elevator will cause it to malfunction and require a restart.

In Lawrence Hall from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, the “up” button was pushed a total of 3,173 times and the “down” button was pushed a total of 3,925 times, according to Hill. A time chart of Lawrence Hall’s elevator usage shows that the “up” elevators are the most busy between 10 a.m. and and 5 p.m., and the “down” elevators are most busy between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

During that time, the “up” button was pushed on the first floor elevators in Lawrence Hall 1,082 times.

Now that the second elevator at Lawrence Hall is operational, Hill says there has been a better response from students.

However, some students, like freshman theater arts major Emma Cumberledge,

have had to adapt to the inconveniences that nonoperative elevators have presented.

“I have been late to class and missed the bus, all due to having to wait 10 minutes for an elevator,” Cumberledge said.

“When only two or, if we’re lucky, three of the four elevators in Lawrence Hall [were working], it gave me a little bit of a set back, especially when I live on the 20th floor,” Cumberledge said.

Criminal justice major Lindazah Jones-Jordan also expressed her disappointment in the operational tendencies of the university’s elevator systems.

“The elevators have their days when they work perfectly and others were I am waiting for an elevator, until I have to run down the stairs to make it to my class,” Jones-Jordan said.

Hannah Walden hwalde@pointpark.edu.

Conversion therapy ban introduced

By Matt Petras Co-News Editor

Pittsburgh City Councilmen Dan Gilman and Bruce Kraus crafted a bill that would ban conversion therapy, a harmful practice implemented to change sexual orientation and gender identity for minors in Pittsburgh.

“It’s something I’ve been looking at since I took office three years ago,” Gilman said.

The bill was introduced by the councilmen on Nov. 29.

Gilman and Kraus expect the bill to pass; preliminary voting is Wednesday, Gilman said.

“This is quite a progressive council,” Kraus said.

Taffie Bucci, a counselor at the university and a bisexual woman, is a strong advocate of the bill. Whenever Silmari Muñoz, the president of the Gender and Sexuality Spectrum Alliance (GSSA) heard of the bill, her reaction was to say “thank God.” “It was a relief that something was happening so soon [following Trump’s electoral victory],” Muñoz said.

Muñoz said she was invited by students from the University of Pittsburgh weeks ago to become involved in a Facebook group called “Ban LGBTQ Conversion Therapy in Pittsburgh,” but by the time she was going to join, the bill was already announced.

In the past, conversion therapy included implementation of physical pain and

discomfort, such as electrocution, but such efforts have become taboo following the removal of homosexuality’s classification as a mental disorder, according to a 2014 article by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Still, conversion therapy exists, mostly used by those of a fundamentalist Christian persuasion through verbal therapy, according to the APA article.

Gilman told the Post Gazette that he believes it exists in Pittsburgh, but would not name any people or organizations because he had not “seen any investigation and -- at the time -- it wasn’t illegal.”

The suicide of teenage transgender girl Leelah Acorn in late 2014, who experienced conversion therapy, as well as the support of the practice

by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, have raised awareness of the therapy.

LGBT youth with “low levels of family acceptance” are over three times likely to have suicidal thoughts or to attempt suicide, according to a 2010 study by the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University.

Bucci is very careful when dealing with LGBT students who come to her office.

“If they’re questioning, I validate and support them,” Bucci said.

While anti-LGBTQ sentiments are at the core of the support of conversion thera-

py, some are concerned about the relationship between conversion therapy bans and free speech rights. “[Government bans of conversion therapy] go above and beyond regulating and forbidding practices that are scientifically certain to be harmful (like prescribing inappropriate and dangerous medicine) to actually censoring and forbidding types of discussion,” wrote Scott Shackford in Reason, a libertarian magazine.

Gilman is aware of this argument and identifies with where it comes from philosophically.

“I consider myself very concerned about government overreach,” Gilman said.

However, he finds the argument insufficient, stressing the ban is put in place to protect children, not dissimilar to other regulations like those concerning car seats for kids, for example.

He supports the decision of consenting adults to engage in conversion therapy.

Whereas people like Shackford are content to see the practices naturally die out in the marketplace, people like the councilmen and Bucci think government has a vital role in protecting LGBT youth who may fall victim to this practice.

“It better pass,” Bucci said.

Matt Petras mapetra@pointpark.edu.

from PRESIDENT page 1 campus and securing the facility and its three entrances.

He said the next need for the university facility-wise is leasing more property for student housing, preparing for an increase in on-campus enrollment as the Playhouse moves from Oakland to Downtown.

“I do think more and more students will want to live here if we can get the price point right,” Hennigan said. “Once the Playhouse gets here and everything’s down here, I think more students will want to live here.”

He said the Point Park’s police department, which introduced body cameras and began carrying Narcan in 2016, must next prepare for the opening of the Playhouse.

Students will all enter the Playhouse through the University Center on Wood St., patrons will use the Forbes Ave. entrance and a service entrance is on Fourth Ave. The department will have to figure out its strategy in securing those three entrances, along with the inside of the structure.

Point Park police have dealt with an increase in on-campus harassment in the weeks following the Nov. 8 presidential election, Point Park Chief of Police Jeffrey Besong said in an email to students Nov. 14.

Multiple campus leaders expressed their concerns with safety in last week’s Globe story detailing the rise in harassment, particularly on Wood St. and in the ground covered between Lawrence Hall and the University Center.

Hennigan said to now expect a regular Point Park police officer patrolling Wood St. Point Park police use the same safety system as Ohio State University (OSU), which had to put its training into action when a man drove his car into a group of students and stabbed others with a butcher knife Nov. 28.

ALICE, which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evaluate, includes the “Run, hide, fight” instruction OSU Emergency Management sent out to students during the attacks.

Hennigan said the university trains regularly for the possibility of an attack or threat on campus.

“You talk about it, you plan for it, you train for it, but when something bad like

that happens, you hope that all of the training kicks in,” Hennigan said. “We can get a lot of the right people here very quickly. We have a lot of them around who know what they’re doing. I’d like to believe that if something unfortunate were ever to happen downtown, that all of these first responders would do what they’re trained to do.”

Point Park also began negotiating with its full-time faculty members for their first union contract in 2016.

Talks began in earnest in May 2016 after Point Park chose to recognize its fulltime faculty’s right to form a union in July 2015.

Negotiations have continued since between the university and the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh/Communications Workers of America, which represents the fulltime faculty members.

“Both parties are working in good faith and the process continues,” Hennigan said. “Collective bargaining was not designed to be efficient. It’s unfortunate. It’s a very old law. It’s a clunky way of doing it. We have to work with it.”

The Guild negotiators informed faculty members last week that they secured a “temporary” benefit in the negotiations.

Michael A. Fuoco, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, told faculty in an email that their health insurance costs will not increase in January, as previously expected.

The sides temporarily agreed to hold off any increase in health insurance costs. The Guild argued there should not be an increase in health insurance costs until there is a wage increase.

At the end of January, the sides will assess their progress and the state of the negotiations to determine if the health insurance costs will rise.

2016 at Point Park also featured the opening of the Center for Media Innovation and the food service provider transition from Aramark to CulinArt. Among other goals in 2017, Hennigan said he hopes to continue implementing the new strategic plan and improving the Pathways for Success program.

Josh Croup jdcroup@pointpark.edu.

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, musicians’ union reach terms new bargaining agreement

By Robert Berger Staff Writer

After 55 days of picketing, free concerts and negotiations, business as usual has returned as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) musicians and management have come to terms in a new collective bargaining agreement, putting an end to the seven week strike.

On Nov. 18, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Inc. (PSI) met with the American Federation of Musicians to negotiate a contract. They came to terms with a five-year deal that includes a 7.5 percent pay cut during the first year, a salary freeze in the second year, a 3.3 percent increase during the third year and a 2.0 percent increase in the fourth. In the fifth year, musicians will return to earning the $107,000 they were making before. The first year pay cut was originally to be 10.5 percent, however, thanks to an anonymous donor, the cut reduced to 7.5 percent figure.

“We are grateful for [PSO musicians’] support and sacrifice,” CEO Melia Tourangeau said in an online statement released Nov. 23.

“We recognize that there is a tremendous amount of work ahead for all of us.”

On Sept. 30, the PSO musicians declined the last, best and final offer made by management. The offer would have resulted in a first year pay cut of 15 percent. A $16,000 pay dif-

ference making their first year pay from $107,239 to $91,153. Small increases were to follow the next two years. The offer was also to cut staff workers and eliminate the musician’s pension.

“Our contract expired September 4th, and the musicians signed an extension until the 18th because we had our annual gala concert which is the biggest fundraiser for the PSO,” percussionist Jeremy Branson said. “The day after, management gave their last best and final offer.”

PSO management released a statement Sept. 30 where they claimed to be facing a $20.4 million cumulative cash deficit in the next five years. They also stated they will be losing a $400,000 subsidy from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

However, the musicians were skeptical about these claims as ticket sales and attendance has been up.

According to a statement released Nov. 3, management restructured their expense plan and cut $800,000 from the administrative budget during the strike. This includes the elimination of 10 staff positions and a pay reduction of CEO Melia Tourangeau.

“These were painful and substantial concessions, but we agreed to work with management to face our financial challenges head-on,” said PSO committee chair Micah Howard in the Nov. 3 Statement.

Throughout the strike, PSO musicians performed for free throughout the city to gain support. Musicians

performed in spaces from the Franktuary hotdog shop to the Carnegie Library Music Hall in Munhall. Due to the strike, all performances in October and November were canceled.

During the strike, fellow musicians showed their support by refusing to cross the picket line and cancel concerts at Heinz Hall. Elvis Costello canceled his Nov. 1 performance at the venue, which was to be his first scheduled appearance in the city in five years.

“A diverse music scene is important for the city’s cul-

ture,” said junior musical theater major Davion Heron. “Through music is how we heal and having an orchestra is an important aspect.”

To celebrate sides coming to terms, BNY Mellon presented two free concerts at Heinz Hall Dec. 2nd and 4th, both shows filling the hall to capacity. Concerts will resume as scheduled starting Dec. 9, beginning with a Highmark Holiday Pops concert.

Robert Berger raberge@pointpark.edu.

photo by Robert Berger

The Pittsburgh Symphony resolved a 55-day strike Nov. 23 that halted concerts throughout October and November. The orchestra will resume concerts Dec. 9 with a Holiday Pops concert.

Financial dispute among student organizations, USG halts meeting USG

By Alex Grubbs USG Beat Writer

COPA DIRECTOR, STUDENTS ADD TOUCH TO FINAL PLAYHOUSE BEAM photo by Julian Kovacs

Artistic Director for the Conservatory of Performing Arts and Pittsburgh Playhouse Ronald Allan-Lindblom signs the final beam for the Pittsburgh Playhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The Playhouse construction is about 30 percent complete and is expected to finish in 2018. The work site will be covered so construction can continue throughout the winter season.

Confusion hit United Student Government (USG) as a money dispute between Black Student Union (BSU) and Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) emerged.

BSU Treasurer Alannah Owens brought the money concern for its bake sale event to USG’s attention.

According to Owens, Kate Shipley, assistant coordinator of Student Involvement, allowed SWSG to purchase the items for the event using BSU’s allocated budget.

SWSG spent almost $50 of BSU’s $25 event budget, but SWSG had no involvement in the bake sale.

Owens admitted her confusion, as she did not authorize SWSG to use BSU’s budget.

“There’s a bigger problem here,” Vice President Bobby Bertha said. “One club shouldn’t be buying items for another club.”

USG Treasurer Amedea Baldoni said she will look into the situation.

“We can’t really do anything until we figure it out,” Baldoni said. “We need to figure out if it’s an issue regarding Kate Shipley, an issue regarding other clubs buying things, or if it’s an issue with some getting permission.”

Continuing the meeting, USG amended its bylaws concerning funding. Due to late budget submissions this semester, Senator Hayley Hoffman moved to add penalties for late budget requests from clubs and organizations.

The club or organization is open to new ideas, especially then must go to the USG of- from students, citing the prefice to complete a late form vious food service Aramark’s and have a representative wing night in the dining hall. come to a legislative body Parliamentarian Charles meeting to plead a case for Murria and Recording Secbudget approval. retary Davion Heron anWithin these bylaws, if ap- nounced that electronic copies proved, the finance committee of public USG documents are will deduct 25 also moving percent of all to hard copy. late budget USG shifted requests and to digitized rerecommend a cords recently new number. but decided to “The reahave a physison we are docal copy of the ing this is we information. want the form Bobby Bertha Students to be closed Vice President can access the completely,” United Student Government public hard Hoffman said copy informaof closing the tion through budget window on time. the USG office on the 7th Sen. Dan Murphy op- floor of the Student Center. posed this legislation.

USG also almost failed to Bringing awareness to reach quorum, starting the mental health, Sen. Kacie- meeting two minutes after Jo Brown detailed a plan scheduled time. However, the to spread recognition into student government reached next semester. the total amount of senators “I worked with Student needed for the meeting.

Concerns and with CAB last According to the USG week,” Brown said. “I’m going constitution, “in order for to work with the mental health votes to be cast at a Legislacounseling services this week.” tive Body meeting, a quorum, Brown plans to roll out consisting of one half the towith the hashtag “#ItsOkay- tal members of the LegislaNotToBeOkay” and give out tive Body plus one, must be lime-green ribbons to signify present.” awareness.

The legislative body Discussing the food com- currently consists of 12 senmittee meetings with Culi- ators including the presinArt, Vice President Bobby dent pro tempore.

Bertha said Phase II of its Point Park’s student govrenovations to the café and ernment body meetings will dining hall will take place start back up at the start of over winter break. Bertha the spring semester. also said that CulinArt posts its daily menu onto its FaceAlex Grubbs book page. aagrubb@pointpark.edu.

Brown said that CulinArt

“One club shouldn’t be buying items for another club.”

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

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THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Kronos will continue unchanged I M do no t cEro Rs EPs OR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 T 11:08 a.m.

Pioneer Hall Theft Under Investigation

9:08 p.m.

Wood Street Harassment Under Investigation

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 1:40 a.m.

Smithfield Street Drug Violation Arrest

from TIMESHEETS page 1 Working toward the completion of her apprenticeships, Huffman is employed at both the dance and playhouse costume shop; only the former has allowed her to successfully log in on the computer.

Lou Corsaro, managing director of marketing and public relations, addressed the issue via email.

“The university was made aware that a small number of students, primarily at the Playhouse, were having difficulties with the Kronos system,” Corsaro said. “As a result, we are offering students access to a phone app that will correct the issue.”

Huffman was one of the select number of students permitted to use the Kronos app due to the limited number of computers at the Playhouse. While it allows quick,

convenient access to clocking in, Huffman has yet to experience success getting past the home screen.

Junior funeral services major Patrick Fischer has also downloaded the app, but has yet to test its efficiency.

While traditionally clocking in on the computer, Fischer has also repeatedly asked his boss to edit his hours and had to revert to using the old timesheets. “[Kronos] saves a lot of time and paper, but I feel like there’s something better that allows us to change something if we need to,” Fischer said, noting Kronos is “good in theory.”

Other issues can be addressed by emailing timeclock@pointpark.edu, although the program was described as “just a big adjustment” at the beginning of the semester along with

“a learning curve in the process to log in, change a password, and clock in,” according to Dristas.

Nicole Pampena nmpampe@pointpark.edu.

Happy Holidays from

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 10:12 p.m.

Thayer Hall Drug Violation Referred to Student Conduct

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Data compiled by Alex Grubbs Design by Emily Yount

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photo by Matt Petras

A laptop dedicated to the Kronos clock-in and clock-out system to track student work hours sits in the Student Center fitness center. Some student workers have had issues with the new software.

Coming Spring 2017...

Celebrating 50 years ...of award-winning collegiate journalism.

NEWS

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

University increased revenue, cut liabilities from 2012-15 under President Hennigan from FINANCES page 1 retirement and deferred compensation, other reportable compensation and nontaxable benefits.

Included in Hennigan’s total compensation numbers is a paid monthly housing allowance, which is reported as taxable income. It is stated on the Form 990 that the allowance is “in place of staying in a house on campus, the standard for colleges and universities.”

The university reported that “the only personal services for Paul Hennigan provided by the university is dependent care services for his children.” Additionally, travel expenses for Hennigan’s wife are reimbursable for “official business,” as per his employment contract.

This total line of compensation numbers for Hennigan came out to $569,065 in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

This represents a 1.25 percent-increase from the president’s total compensation of $561,920 in 2013-14. Hennigan, who has served as the university’s president for ten years, received a total compensation of $521,622 in the 2012-13 fiscal year.

Point Park also pays for dues for Hennigan and Mariann Geyer, vice president of external affairs, for memberships to business clubs that the university has “identified… as having members yielding significant impact on fundraising and the university’s role in the downtown community.”

The university’s second-highest paid official in the 2014-15 fiscal year was Mancosh, who was paid $232,808 in base compensation with a total compensation figure of $286,003.

These numbers represent increases of 10.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Point Park’s former Provost Karen McIntyre, Vice President for External Affairs Mariann Geyer and former Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Richard Haskins were the only university management officials named in the Form 990 to see a decrease in their total compensation in 2014-15.

The Point Park president’s office declined to comment on questions regarding the administration’s pay sent via email, stating that it is the university’s policy to not comment on information on

individual employees.

Across the board, the university’s management has enjoyed increases to their base compensation pay from the 2012-13 fiscal year to the 2014-15 fiscal year, the last report available to the public.

The seven Point Park administration officials named in all three reports from the 2012-13 to the 2014-15 fiscal year enjoyed a cumulative base compensation pay raise of just over 8 percent.

In that same time period, the university’s faculty members allege that they received almost no pay increases.

Joseph J. Pass, an attorney at Jubelirer, Pass & Intrieri P.C., is representing Point Park’s full-time faculty members as they negotiate a union contract with the university.

Pass sees a disconnect with the administration’s comparative pay raises at a time when some full-time professors are being paid “substantially less” than what he considers a living wage.

“We wish we could make some of that money,” Pass said. “The faculty hasn’t had a raise for quite some years.

I hope we’re able to have the faculty receive significant increases so they’re competitive. [Hennigan’s] salary is at least as comparable and generally greater than those same comparators.”

Several separate data sets back up Pass’ claims. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly print and online publication focused on academic affairs, the faculty at Point Park are considerably underpaid when compared to their peers across the industry.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, professors at Point Park averaged $89,964 in pay in 2014. That is well below the average salary of $119,105 that other faculty made at other four-year private colleges in 2014. On average, faculty members at Point Park make more than 24 percent less than their counterparts at other institutions of higher education.

Meanwhile, administration officials at the university are earning incomes higher than the industry average.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that management at Point Park averaged an income of $120,846 in 2014, more than 15 percent higher than the average in-

come of management at other four-year private colleges.

Matt Pascal, president of Point Park’s Faculty Assembly, pointed to the disproportionate pay between management and faculty as one of the primary reasons that the two sides are currently sitting at the negotiating table. “[Compensation] will be perhaps the most contentious issues in collective bargaining,” Pascal said.

Pass said that the university and faculty union have multiple negotiating sessions scheduled over the next few weeks, but also reported that the two sides haven’t discussed salary increases as of yet.

“The problem with the faculty is they haven’t had any significant raises in 12 years,” Pass said. “Now that they’re organized they have a lot of catching up to do. You have some [faculty] that need significantly more money.”

United Student Government President Blaine King was surprised to hear that the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Point Park’s professors are paid less on average compared to their peers from other private universities.

“It shows that professors care more about their students than their pay rate,” King said. “I’ve definitely seen student-professor interaction on the rise.”

Charles Perkins was the highest paid professor on the Form 990, with a base compensation earning of $120,721 and a total compensation of $134,101.

Pascal and Pass both said they have seen the school’s financial numbers.

“There is data that backs up the argument that paying faculty a fair salary is within the budget of the university,” Pascal said.

There are many monetary figures within the school’s Form 990 that indicate the university is in good financial standing, such as increases in reported revenue and total assets held.

Point Park reported its total revenues in the 2014-15 fiscal year at $120,730,639, an increase of more than 12 percent from the previous fiscal year. Though the university additionally reported that its total expenses increased by more than 3 percent, up to $104,776,970, it still experienced a positive gain in net revenues. Point Park re-

University President’s Salaries In Comparison La Roche College President Sister Candace Introcaso Base compensation: $209,804 Total compensation: $228, 808

Carlow President Suzanne Mellon 2015 Base compensation: $279, 723 Total compensation: $375,977

Chatham University President Esther Barazzone Base compensation: $515,837 Total compensation: $607,213

Allegheny College President James Mullen Jr. Base: $320,362 Total: $458,636

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher Base compensation: $216,269 Total compensation: $370,968

Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh Base: $738,063 Total: $1,038,640

Duquesne President Charles Dougherty* Base compensation: $595,599 Total compensation: $744,193

Washington & Jefferson College President Tori Haring-Smith Base: $308,781 Total: $621,493

Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee Base: $283,049 Total: $347,804

Westminster College President Richard Dorman Base: $247,869 Total: $359,675 *Official is no longer in Office **All Numbers are from 2014 calendar year. Total compensation includes bonuses and incentives, other reportable compensation, retirement and other deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits *** Source: guidestar.org

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

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HIGHEST COMPENSATED EMPLOYEES OF POINT PARK UNIVERSITY President Paul Hennigan Base compensation: $358,943 Total compensation: $569,065 Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Bridget Mancosh Base: $232,808 Total: $286, 003 Senior Vice President and General Counsel Amy Elizabeth McCall Base: $179,669 Total: $205,317 Provost Karen McIntyre* Base: $224,936 Total: $252,601 Vice President for External Affairs Mariann Geyer Base: $187,270 Total: $222,921 Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Sharon Navoney

Base: $145,930 Total: $174,189

Vice President for Enrollment Management Gary Bracken Base: $166,519 Total: $217,127 Vice President for Special Campaigns Richard Haskins Base: $180,194 Total: $202,983 Associate Vice President and Artistic Director Ronald Lindblom Base: $175,235 Total: $205,614 Dean of Conservatory of Performing Arts Frederick Johnson Base: $147,600 Total: $183,152 Associate Vice President Diane Maldonado Base: $141,437 Total: $160,610 Associate Academic Vice President for Graduate Education Helen Sobehart

Base: $111,030 Total: $151,541

Professor Charles Perkins Base: $120,721 Total: $134,101 *Official No Longer in Office **Data collected from 2014-2015 Fiscal Year Form 990. ***Total compensation includes bonuses and incentives, other reportable compensation, retirement and other deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits.

ported net revenues minus expenses of $15,953,669, up 73 percent from the 2013-14 fiscal year.

One of the few negative trends in the university’s 2014-15 fiscal year financial records was a loss of investment earnings. Point Park experienced three straight years of positive net gains on investment earnings from 2011 to 2014 before ending the 2014-15 fiscal year with a negative balance of $571,086.

This trend ended consecutive years of large increases in endowment gains for the University. From 2011-14, Point Park increased its net endowment gains by just over $9 million, but the school reported a gain of only $80,000 from 2013-14 to 2014-15, an increase of just 0.2 percent.

The university said in an email to The Globe that these losses followed a national trend on dried up endowment funds, a claim supported by the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ (NACUBO) annual Commonfund Study of Endowments report.

NACUBO reported that participating higher education institutions’ endowments returned an average of just 2.4 percent, down from the previous year’s returns of 15.5 percent.

Even without that growth in endowments, the university substantially grew its assets while simultaneously cutting its liabilities in 2014-15. By the end of the year, Point Park held $181,591,204 in total assets, a number up 3.8 percent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the university was able to cut its held liabilities by over $7 million, down to $70,400,04.

From the 2012-13 fiscal year to the 2014-15 fiscal

“It shows that professors care more about their students than their pay rate.”

Blaine King

President, United Student Government year, Point Park increased its held assets by more than $18 million. In that same timespan, the university cut more than $3 million in liabilities.

According to the school’s common data sets, which are public record and available on Point Park’s website, the university only increased its number of enrolled students by 252 from the 200708 school year to 2015-16.

During that same time period, the university’s six-year graduation rate rose from 46 percent to 58 percent, where it stands today.

The increased amount of earned revenue for the school offers one explanation for the rise in compensation for Point Park’s administration, particularly President Hennigan.

Pascal claimed he won’t “pretend to know” what the president’s incentives and bonuses are measured by, but he does offer a solution to the question regarding fair wages for faculty pay.

“The determination of one’s value to an institution should be done by looking at outcomes,” Pascal said.

“For faculty, that is student learning and success, a very difficult outcome to measure, contrary to most people’s initial instincts.”

Iain Oldman idoldma@pointpark.edu.

6

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2016

FEATURES

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Point Park Singers to host annual holiday concert

By Kelsey Wolfe Staff Writer

While the rest of the world is decking the halls and rocking around the Christmas tree, the Point Park Singers are getting ready for the holidays in a different way. Throughout the fall semester, the group has been rehearsing every Monday night in preparation for its annual holiday concert.

Jim Overly, an accompanist at Point Park and the director of the Point Park Singers, has put together quite the set list for the concert.

The Point Park Singers will tackle music from Christmas classics to cinematic holiday music, even featuring a Hanukkah song. Stylistically, the concert will be an array of genres from jazz to funk.

“We’re doing some slower songs that are a little bit of a challenge,” Overly said. “We’re ending with a movie/TV kind of thing.”

Overly works in collaboration with Craig Davis, the accompanist for the Point Park Singers, to produce the best concert possible and to push the students to do things they didn’t think possible. “[Overly’s] a great conductor,” Davis said. “He

encourages the kids with loving support.”

Though he is the director, Overly said the group would not be where it is without Davis. The two work together, almost in sync, to make rehearsals as productive as possible.

“It’s so cool,” Overly said. “I love working with him because we’re kind of on the same wavelength.”

Point Park Singers is made up of about 15 students and is always on the look-out for new members. Being the only performing ensemble to allow students of any major, it’s also available to photo by Liz Hunter be taken for a credit. The Point Park Singers rehearsing in the Boulevard Apartments studio. Their annual holiday concert will The Point Park take place in this room Dec. 12 from 8 p.m.-9 p.m., where the students will perfom Christmas classics as Singers can be taken well as songs that you may not hear at other holiday concerts. for either one credit or none at all. It is listed freshmen year. Through the be cooped up in your room, The concert will take under the course codes MUS group, she has made a lot you need to stay involved.” place from 8-9 p.m. on Dec. 12 201 EA and MUS 201 EB re- of friends and even more Zimmerman said she’s in the first floor studio of the spectively. The class meets memories. had a lot of fun rehearsing Boulevard Apartments. For from 7-9 p.m. every Monday.

“I think it’s kept me in- for the upcoming concert and more information on the upJunior sports, arts and volved, and I think that’s the audience will be in for a coming event, visit the Point entertainment manage- the biggest thing when you treat. She said it’s not the Park Singers Holiday Concert ment major Baylee Zimmer- come in freshmen year,” typical high school choir con- event page on Facebook. man has been a member of Zimmerman said. “In or- cert; there are some songs the Point Park Singers since der to meet people and get that people might not expect Kelsey Wolfe the first semester of her yourself out there and not to hear. kjwolfe@pointpark.edu

Winter break an opportunity for professional development of networking opportunities.

“Getting a resume together is a good step,” Boucek Heading home for winsaid. “Students should be ter break can seem like an putting a resume together oasis to college students, pretty early on, especially if and while there is some valthey want to get internships ue in getting that missed or some other kind of experishut-eye, there’s only so ential learning.” much rest necessary, and A resume is the key to students should focus on applying for internships and more this winter break. jobs. Students need to keep it up to date and relevant for future opportunities, according to Boucek.

C O H E N & G R I G S B Y T R U S T P R E S E N T S S E R I E S “One of the things students don’t realize is sometimes experience doesn’t have to be paid,” Boucek said. “So if - Spin Magazine you did it, you have the experience.”

The Career Development Center at Point Park offers a - Chicago Tribune network of professionals and can help students schedule an informational interview with a desired company or professional ahead of time.

Monica Ritter, career counselor for the Conservatory of Performing Arts, suggests students find someone they can trust to help them make sure they are properly branding themselves to potential employers on their social media LIVE ON STAGE accounts.

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Andrew Goldstein, reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2014 Point Park graduate and former editor-in-chief of the Globe, reminds students to relax.

“Take it easy,” Goldstein said. “It’s always important when you’re in college to take a break, blow off some steam. I think it’s very important to be able to chill

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out and get your thoughts in order and relax for a while.

Don’t totally get off track, keep doing what you’re doing every day.”

Alternatively, Elsie Boucek, career counselor for the School of Communication, encouraged students to expand their resumes while they are home for the holidays and to take advantage

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body who’s done some hiring has a different perspective.”

Students can make professional social media accounts such as LinkedIn or Handshake, which allows students to connect with employers and their networks during the job and internship search.

Handshake is a job and internship search website that allows students and alumni to seek and apply for full-time, part-time and internship positions submitted to the website with the aid of more than 300 active employers, according to the Point Park website. The university provides Handshake free of cost to students.

Once students build their account and online portfolio, a career counselor can review your resume offering targeted feedback before it’s approved for employers to see.

Erin Howard, career counselor for the School of Arts and Sciences, sees worth in uploading your resume online for employers to see.

“Many Point Park students have been contacted by employers when they didn’t apply for internships because their resume was already on Handshake and their profile was already filled out,” Howard said.

While building a resume, it is also important for students to relax and unwind. During this time, personal reflection can help a student learn more about themselves and how they want to brand themselves to potential employers.

“I think it’s a good time to stop and reflect also,” Ritter said. “You might have been frantically getting through this first semester of this academic year. You have to find a way to give yourself a break.”

Kimberly Keagy kakeagy@pointpark.edu

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2016

7

Pioneer Records signs Chase and the Barons as newest Pioneer Star

By Carley Bonk Staff Writer

Since Chase and the Barons has been named the latest Pioneer Records star, the band has already seen progress in their ability to build their fan base and develop their image and sound.

“Music development wise, just playing so often has gotten us to be much tighter as musicians, our live shows have increasing energy and our personalities are definitely shining through more,” said drummer Jake Stretch.

The band includes Chase Barron on vocals, Jake Stretch on drums, Mike Saunders on guitar, Jacob Rieger on bass and Tyler Handyside on saxophone.

Saunders said their songwriting in particular has improved.

“Our music and songwriting is becoming a lot more focused and dynamic,” Saunders said. “The way we approach a song, whether we’re learning covers or writing originals, is constantly changing. We always strive to improve ourselves so that we can convey our ideas to the best of our ability.”

The band has also decided on an image to project for their fans.

“As far as looks go, we’re definitely set on paisleys, bright colors and ties,” Stretch said.

“We feel like our music is a fresh take on retro ideas, so we want our brand to reflect that.”

Since being signed by Pioneer Records, reaching out to the music community has been easier for the band members.

“Working with the label has really changed the way we approach social media and how we come across there,” Stretch said. “So we’ve been reshaping that to reflect the goofy, yet serious and groovy mentality we have about the band and life.”

The band has been playing across Pittsburgh and has found a welcoming fan base.

They have been playing at The Abbey on Butler Street in Lawrenceville every other Wednesday since October.

“I’d say the reaction has been great so far, we’ve gotten several new fans and it’s opening the door for future shows,” Stretch said.

Saunders agreed that the crowd has recognized their energy.

“The Abbey is always a fantastic atmosphere to play in,” Saunders said. “They have awesome food, drinks and people. You really can’t beat it. Being that we play a mix of covers and originals, it seems that the crowd digs a variety of the tunes we play.”

Though scheduling proves to be a constant struggle for the band, the members always seem to be able to make it work between school, jobs, practice, gigs and working with the label.

“It’s definitely a struggle sometimes,” Stretch said.

“The band has always been a huge focus and both my jobs and fiancé know what that means when it comes to time.

For the most part though, we are able to practice at least two times a week unless we’re gigging a lot. We make it all work though.”

The band has been working long hours on their new album and is looking towards its release. The date has not been set, but the members have been collaborating with Pioneer Records for a promotional plan.

“The EP we are working on now is perhaps more sophisticated, if that’s the right word for it,” Stretch said. “It’s been so far so good, the recordings are sounding tight.

As for a plan, we have a really good idea of what we are going to do once we have a release date as far as promotions, press kits and shows.”

Samantha Bowes, senior sports, arts and entertainment management major and public relations apprentice for Pioneer Records, is proud of the band’s progress and is

also looking forward to the release.

“The EP is coming along incredibly well,” Bowes said. “We have a very exciting marketing plan in place and will hopefully be able to start executing it soon.

Chase and the Barons put a lot of hard work and effort into self-promoting and expanding, we are just here as guidance for them.”

As far as their fan base goes, it is still expanding.

“I’d say we have wide range of fans,” Stretch said.

“In all honesty, we’ve only been playing seriously for about four months. Since our fan base is relatively new and growing, it’s hard to tell exactly who all we appeal to. I don’t think there’s any groups we can rule out, though, Chase and the Barons are for everyone.”

Point Park’s campus has been an encouraging environment for student musicians.

Freshman mass communications major Ian Brady said it is a great opportunity to have a record label on campus.

“It really says a lot about the environment of Point Park,” Brady said. “I am a musician and vocalist as well, and it’s great to be on a campus that encourages creativity in their students.”

Brady was planning on listening to Chase and the Barons’ music on their Spotify page.

The Barons encourage other musicians to follow their dreams as long as they are willing to work for it.

“No one can be the greatest instrumentalist of all time because it’s so subjective,” Stretch said. “You can be the best at being you. Your own style makes your music great.

Do that, practice a lot and then realize that if you want to make it you got to swallow your pride sometimes and make a lot of compromises.”

Carley Bonk cmbonk@pointpark.edu

Thank You Josh Croup!

Love, The Globe Staff

STUDENT SKATES WITH SMILES

photo by Gracey Evans

Julianna Rink, a sophomore dance major concentrating in jazz, helps skaters to their feet after a fall at the MassMutual Pittsburgh Ice Rink at PPG Place PPG Rink, where she is a skate guard.

8

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

OPINIONS

The Globe’s opinion team bids everyone a fond, weird farewell

The

Globe Point Park

Pittsburgh preemptively protects LGBT residents In the wake of Donald Trump’s election and the spate of hate crimes that followed, marginalized groups across the country reported feeling unsafe and afraid in areas in which they previously felt accepted.

With city councilmen Dan Gilman and Bruce Kraus’s introduction of a bill that would ban conversion therapy for minors in Pittsburgh, those in the local LGBT community, at least, can feel a little safer.

Conversion therapy, which attempts to change a queer person’s sexual orientation, is a terrifying prospect for LGBT people.

Its existence signals that a core part of their identities is viewed by some as both incorrect and fixable. Its effects have been well-documented to increase suicides in LGBT youth. It is a heinous, outdated practice that actively harms people.

Pittsburgh’s city council is being proactive in addressing the issue, which has recently emerged in the national conversation because of our future

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

vice-president’s endorsement of the practice.

That’s a scary conversation, especially for many Point Park students. A lot of our students are still figuring out how they identify or realize their queerness over the course of their Point Park careers. We are proud of our diversity, and the thought that that pride might soon be at odds with national policy is unsettling to say the least.

Ensuring that, locally, our government remains on the side of the marginalized has never been more important. The city council is right to act preemptively in solidarity with the LGBT community, and it deserves to be applauded for it. Hopefully this trend continues through the next four years, with our local representatives fighting to keep Pittsburgh safe for everyone.

The councilmen expect the bill to pass. Let’s hope for the sake of people who might be feeling fearful, especially at Point Park, that it does.

The Point Park Globe globe@pointpark.edu.

It feels like we’re leaving at a bad time.

When we started here at the Globe, Barack Obama was president and the world did not feel as though it were on fire.

Now Donald Trump is our president-elect, and everything feels like it is on fire.

There will be a lot of opinions to have and to write about in the coming years, for sure. And we won’t get to write about them. “We” in this case refers to Laura Byko, Jane McAnallen and Johanna Wharran, three longstanding members of the Globe Opinions team.

This is our collective last semester at the Globe, and this article is our collective goodbye to it.

Over the years, The Globe has been a job to us, a joke to us, a nightmare and a home to us. Five editors-in-chief from our hiring, this newspaper has finally gotten rid of us.

The three of us have become not only friends, co-workers and roommates, but family in this newsroom. It’s safe to say we spent more time laughing than we ever did working.

This opinions section, however, has also remained fairly stagnant in the three years we’ve exercised viselike control over it. We’re all leftist queers who love absurdism, and this sec-

tion has reflected that. It is probably healthy and good for someone with a slightly different perspective to take over, although our opinions remain correct. Remember that, at least, faithful readers of the Globe: Our opinions were always correct, and arguing with them was a waste of time and effort.

We had the great privilege of running and writing some deeply weird pieces, holding our breath when submitting them, and then finding that they were our best-received articles.

(One in particular about a Rat King still gets referenced occasionally.)

It’s truly special when you find someone, or someones, who you can collaborate with in a way that raises the level of everyone’s work.

Having people to bounce ideas off of, whom you can go to knowing that they’ll point you in a better direction or help hone in on your opinion, or even add those last elusive 100 or so words to an article. Even if two of those someones continue to shoot down the third someone’s unmanageably lengthy but incredibly correct and good thoughts on communism.

Working together made us better people with better opinions. Even if we never work together again, we all have a little rat king inside

us now.

Thank you to our five editors: Sara Payne giving us our jobs, Andrew Goldstein for giving us a semester to remember, Jon Andreassi for never being able to say no to us, Kristin for being a friend, and Josh for being a beautiful angel child. Thanks also to the Globe, for giving us the highlights of our college experience.

Here’s hoping we aren’t the last set of editors to make terrible publication choices in the name of comedy and desperation.

So goodbye to the place where we’ve spent our Mondays for the past three years.

Goodbye to the friends we wouldn’t have met otherwise and who have helped to shape us into who we are.

Goodbye to the quote wall and the heinous words written on it.

Goodbye to the Globe.

Be weird, be imaginative, and you won’t believe what they let you get away with in these pages.

For one last time, opinions out.

as editor-elect just three weeks into my sports editing role with a yearlong editor-in-chief position on the horizon.

But boy was I in for a surprise when I found out how little I actually knew and how unprepared I actually was. I mean, I prepared as far as lining up a staff, and I did all of the transition work, but I had no idea how many hours I actually would eventually pour into this paper.

I could go on for days about the hours, the unexpected hurdles, the emails, the pay (my work study students make way more than I do), the literal sleepless nights or the sacrifices I made for the Globe, but I’m not going to.

You don’t care about that.

And if you do, let me know, and we’ll grab coffee. I’ll have time to do that now.

Here’s what I will say about this paper: it literally has changed my life. I don’t think I truly know how much of an impact it’s had on me, but I know it’s affected me in ways I won’t fully appreciate until long after I graduate.

It gave me lifelong friends and relationships that I absolutely would not have without accepting the position as editor. I would go to war for any

of the people on this staff.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago what I thought were some of my proudest moments with the Globe.

Watching my staff members/fellow students out in the field interviewing, shooting or covering an event brought me more joy and satisfaction than anything else last year. Going to someone’s portfolio website and seeing a Globe story brought joy to my heart. Seeing photos of staff members out covering events together made me smile and still does.

It was the success and the accomplishments of others that inspired me the most and kept me going over the course of the last 12 months. Even just someone simply sharing his or her published story on Facebook made me proud.

This paper also taught me how to deal with situations I never imagined finding myself in, and how to battle through adversity.

We messed up a few times.

I messed up a few times. Nobody’s perfect.

I accidentally printed “squirrels” in a quote one week instead of “schools.” Nobody caught that error, surprisingly, and it ran in print. Oops.

I’m so incredibly thankful

for the opportunities the Globe gave me and for the doors it has opened up for me.

If anything, the Globe has given me a few life lessons that I will cherish and carry with me forever: - Don’t hold yourself back and tell yourself you can’t do something.

- Give everything you do your best at all times. You never know who’s watching.

- You never know who you meet in life is going to reappear in the future.

So, with that, I’ll head back to the sports desk and turn over chief duties to Alexander Popichak, who has been a phenomenal No. 2 for the past several months. The Globe is in good hands.

It’s time to walk away.

While that warm September night was the best walk I ever set out on, my last walk out of my office when I turn over my keys will be the hardest.

I didn’t want this job, but I’m so thankful that it wanted me.

Because why not?

Laura Byko Co-Opinions Editor Jane McAnallen Copy Editor Johanna Wharran Co-Opinions Editor

Walking away... A final letter from the editor I’m a huge fan of walking. It’s my main mode of transportation, and it’s my go-to method to escape life.

Oh, and it’s free.

I’m also a stubborn and independent person.

I once walked six miles for medicine when I lived in Charleston, W.Va. I was too stubborn to ask for a ride, and it was a nice day. So I walked from my downtown apartment and followed a set of train tracks along the Kanawha River to get to the closest MedExpress in town.

I’ve also walked to and from SouthSide Works five times for various reasons.

One trip included sub-zero temperatures.

The most important walk of my life so far happened in September 2015.

I set out for the North Shore after midnight during the middle of the week, later in the month. It’s my favorite getaway location in Pittsburgh.

I don’t usually stop on my walks. I also don’t always have a destination or a plan.

I just go.

But this time I stopped halfway through my walk. I sat on the left side of a cold wooden bench near the Mr. Rogers statue for about 45

minutes and thought out loud to myself.

I was asked if I would step up to fill the vacant Globe editor-elect position earlier that week. I didn’t want it at first.

I was a few months removed from seriously considering transferring. I didn’t think I had it in me to run a newspaper, especially as a broadcasting major.

I tossed back and forth the idea of running the Globe for days. I didn’t want the job because I didn’t think I could handle everything. I didn’t want the job because I didn’t think I was good enough.

But it was on that bench that I told myself that I could handle the challenge and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I was all in from that moment forward.

“Because why not?” I asked myself.

I called my mom the next afternoon, who was in the loop regarding my flip-flopping, and told her I was going to go for it. I was anxiously pacing back and forth in the laundry room on the seventh floor of Conestoga Hall trying to keep my head straight.

At that moment, I felt so ready and so excited. I was also incredibly nervous to step up

Josh Croup Editor-In-Chief

COVERING THE WORLD OF POINT PARK UNIVERSITY NEWS SINCE 1967

Globe Point Park

The Globe board consists of Josh Croup, Alexander Popichak 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 the author’s contact information. Offices are located in rooms 710 and 712 Lawrence Hall. Writers should address letters to:

ADVERTISING globeadvertising@pointpark.edu All ads must be approved by the university.

The deadline for ads is Friday at 5 p.m.

STORY IDEAS If you have a news, sports, opinions or feature story that you think The Globe can use, email globe@pointpark.edu.

The Globe 201 Wood Street, Box 23 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Josh Croup, Editor-in-Chief Alexander Popichak, Editor-Elect Autumn Barszczowski, Business Manager Dr. Aimee-Marie Dorsten, Faculty Adviser

Emily Bennett, Co-Copy Desk Chief Robert Berger, Staff Writer Sabrina Bodon, Online Editor Carley Bonk, Staff Writer Laura Byko, Co-Opinions Editor Dara Collins, Staff Writer Gracey Evans, Sports Photo Editor Georgia Fowkes, Delivery Assistant Julianne Griffith, Layout Editor Alex Grubbs, Copy Editor Casey Hoolahan, Co-Social Media Editor Chloe Jakiela, News Photo Editor Arianna Khalil, Graphic Designer Julie Kooser, Features Photo Editor Jane McAnallen, Copy Editor Maggie McCauley, Public Relations Coordinator Jonnah Mcclintock, Copy Editor Kayla Novak, Copy Editor

Hannah O’Toole, Copy Editor Iain Oldman, Co-News Editor Isabelle Opsitos, Copy Editor Lauren Ortego, Copy Editor Nicole Pampena, Copy Editor Matt Petras, Co-News Editor Marissa Rayes, Co-Social Media Editor Carrie Reale, Co-Copy Desk Chief Michael Richter, Co-Sports Editor Karly Rivera, Co-Features Editor Jordan Slobodinsky, Copy Editor Kristin Snapp, Co-Sports Editor Kayla Snyder, Copy Editor Gerri Tipton, Online Editor Eddie Trizzino, Co-Features Editor Beth Turnbull, Copy Editor Johanna Wharran, Co-Opinions Editor Kelsey Wolfe, Staff Writer

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

9

CROUP’S CORNER

By Josh Croup Sports Columnist

Men’s basketball moving on without Bob Rager There was no announcement, no celebration and no recognition.

Instead, there was a quiet roster update online that omitted a name that occupied the head coach slot for 27 seasons.

Bob Rager is out as head coach at Point Park University, and his longtime assistant Gabe Bubon has assumed the interim head coaching duties as the 2016 season continues for Point Park.

For now.

No official announcement has been made regarding Rager’s absence and Bubon’s promotion. Instead, university and athletic officials have declined to comment, saying, “The university does not comment on employment-related matters.”

“The Vindicator” in Youngstown, Ohio reported that Rager is on a six-month leave of absence after undergoing surgery on his knees.

There are rumors that Rager could still return as head coach following the 2016-17 season, but it appears that, for now, it’s all systems go for the Gabe Bubon era of Point Park basketball.

“It’s a process. Not a whole lot is going to change,” Bubon said. “I’ve been with Bob for 12 years, and we’ve always thought the same and done things the same way. We’re just taking a little different approach to game planning and trying to stay consistent with what we do.”

Rager has more wins than any other four-year college basketball coach in the city of Pittsburgh with his 381 career victories. He took the Pioneers to three National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournaments.

There have only been four coaches in the history of Point Park men’s basketball that dates back to 1967. Mel Cratsley coached the team in its first season and was replaced

by Carl Rizzo in year two of the program.

The legendary Jerry Conboy, a Point Park athletics hall of famer, assumed the head coaching duties for the next 20 years. Rager replaced Conboy during the 1989-90 season and stuck around for the next 27 years.

Bubon played for one year at Point Park and quickly carved his name into the record books. He set the school’s single-game points record when he tallied 45 at Shawnee State on Feb. 11, 2000.

He also drained 11 3-pointers in the contest, a single-game school record.

During his lone season on the court with the historically fast-paced and high-octane offense, Bubon averaged 20.1 points per game, which ranked 10th in NAIA Division II. He helped out on the sidelines as a men’s basketball student assistant from 2003-05 and became Rager’s assistant coach during the 2005-06 season.

Oh, and he’s also the head coach of both the men’s and women’s golf teams.

Bubon was without his own assistant through the

first six games as the interim head coach. That all changed when the team returned from Thanksgiving break.

Enter Wayne Copeland.

He began helping out in practices when the team returned from break and brought a different style to the forefront that the Point Park team has long been without.

Copeland, a Pittsburgh native who played professionally in Europe in the early 2000s, is a self-described defensive-minded and handson coach.

But defense and Point Park basketball have only ever historically been mentioned in the same sentence if we were discussing its absence from the court.

“They run and shoot,” Copeland said with a laugh. “I have to get used to the run-andgun (offense). That’s how they play. It’s exciting.”

Point Park is almost always a top-10 team in the country in offense. But this year, with a combination of the coaching change and the team’s absence of a true star player, the focus has shifted slightly to defense – with a healthy dose of run-andgun ball, of course.

The Point Park teams of the past would play at most six or seven players in one game.

Not this year.

“We have a bunch of new guys,” Bubon said. “They’re still learning. We’re a work in progress.”

Point Park won both of its first two River States Conference (RSC) contests by double figures after trailing at the half. It trailed 18-2 after five minutes Saturday against West Virginia Tech.

Bubon utilized ten players Friday night against Rio Grande and nine Saturday. In Friday’s game, three players were in double figures, but nobody had more than 19 points. Saturday saw five players with at least 10 points, and again, nobody put up 20 on the scoreboard.

Sa’iid Allen often found himself as the sixth man on the team in each of the last two seasons under Rager.

He’s had to step up as a starter for his senior year, and is one of the only players that played multiple years under Rager.

“It’s a little different,” Allen said of the coaching change. “It’s good having some young blood in there.

It’s a whole new system. We do miss Rager, but it’s the same program.”

This is a new era for Point Park basketball. The program’s future as far as its head coach is concerned is up in the air, but we’re going to continue with what we see on the court and on the bench.

The student

broadcasters and I joked at Friday’s game about the different style that we saw from the team compared to Point Park squads of the past.

We like what we see so far.

“They’re playing defense,” we said in shock with a laugh.

“They’re passing the ball, too.

Who are these guys?”

They’re the new Point Park men’s basketball team.

And they’re 2-0 in RSC play to start the year.

There’s a lot of talent and secret weapons in the starting lineup and on the bench that, if they stay healthy, will allow them to go up against any team in the conference.

Copeland is one of those secret weapons.

He brought a swagger to the bench that was missing from teams in the past. He danced along to the pregame music during the team’s warm ups and brought a certain hype to the entire bench that I can’t remember seeing during my time at Point Park.

His energy and enthusiasm, combined with Bubon’s knowledge of the system and Point Park’s opponents, create a nice mix on the bench that should take Point Park to new heights.

With all of the uncertainties that surround the future of the program, there’s one fact that we can all recognize and support in the present: This is Gabe Bubon’s team.

photo by Josh Croup

Men’s basketball Assistant coach, Wayne Copeland, and interim head coach, Gabe Bubon, a 2000 graduate from Point Park, shout to their team on Dec. 2. Point Park has started the season 2-0 in River States Conference play.

photo courtesy of Sam Robinson, Point Park Athletics

Josh Croup jdcroup@pointpark.edu.

Senior point guard/forward, Art Christian, handles the ball against WVU Tech on Dec. 3 en route to a 91-80 victory.

10

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

Second-half surge for men’s basketball leads to victory

By Derek Malush For The Globe

It was all about fighting fate this weekend as the Pioneers men’s basketball team surged in the second half of their respective weekend games.

In Friday’s River States Conference (RSC) victory over Rio Grande (Oh.), the Pioneers trailed by just two points at the half as the team was led by junior guard Gavin Rajahpillay, who had a team-high seven points, as well as two assists and two steals in 20 minutes of play. With both teams shooting

40 percent from the field, the first half was neck-and-neck in terms of intensity, but the Pioneers squandered a 24-14 lead to start the game to give up the lead at the half.

The Pioneers started to march ahead on the scoreboard in the second half, hitting five of their first seven 3-point attempts to quickly jump ahead by 10 points. Senior forward Jaylen Mann helped steer his team to victory, converting eight of ten field goals and scoring 15 of his game high 19 points in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Point Park went

on to win, routing Rio Grande in the second half with an 8257 victory and limiting the opponent to only 22 points on 27 percent shooting from the field.

The Pioneers had a rocky start on Saturday as they took on WVU Tech at home in their second conference matchup of the season. Just five minutes after tip-off, the Pioneers were trailing 18-2, shooting 1 for 8 from the field and going bucket-less from the arch at 0-5. Frustrated with the start, senior guard Sa’iid Allen picked up a technical foul early in the first half.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STARTS SEASON 11-1

“The technical [foul] really woke me up though; it sparked a little fire underneath me and the bench,” Allen said.

In the second half, the charge was led by Rajahpillay, who recorded a double-double, scoring a team-high 19 points and dropping 10 assists in his 40 minutes of play.

However, it was senior guard Kenny Strong who managed to bury six three-pointers in the second half to help solidify the win for the Pioneers as they took home their fourth win in a row, defeating WVU Tech 91-80. Strong said that

his unconscious stroke from behind the arc sometimes “comes second nature.” “[We have] a great point guard and great players on the team that can give me open shots,” Strong said.

The Pioneers outscored WVU Tech in the second half 52-39 to help improve their 2-0 nonconference record. After hosting Washington Adventist Tuesday, the Pioneers travel to Shawnee State Saturday for non-conference play.

Derek Malush dwmalus@pointpark.edu.

LAST WEEK’S SCOREBOARD NOV. 29 - DEC. 5 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (11-1) (2-0)

POINT PARK 76, WILBERFORCE 51..........................Nov. 29 POINT PARK 68, RIO GRANDE* 62...........................Dec. 2 POINT PARK 71, WVU TECH* 54................................Dec. 3 Next: Dec. 6 vs. Alderson Broaddus, Dec. 12 vs. Carlow*

MEN’S BASKETBALL (4-4) (2-0)

POINT PARK 82, RIO GRANDE* 57.............................Dec. 2 POINT PARK 91, WVU TECH* 80.................................Dec. 3 Next: Dec. 6 vs. Washington Adventist, Dec. 10 at Shawnee State

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD

YOUNGSTOWN STATE ICEBREAKER...........................Dec. 2 Tyler Carter, Shaun Berry, Jryi Davis qualified for NAIA In door National Championship Meet in triple jump

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

YOUNGSTOWN STATE ICEBREAKER...........................Dec. 2 Anna Shields qualified for NAIA Indoor National Championphoto courtesy of Sam Robinson, Point Park Athletics ship Meet in the 1,000 meters and the mile.

Freshman point guard Maryssa Agurs advances the ball up the court against WVU Tech Dec. 3.

The Pioneers won 71-54. Agurs entered the week averaging 9.1 points per game.

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