Point Park Globe Fall 2018 Issue 8

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IN THIS ISSUE: PAGE

@PPUGlobe October 17, 2018

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Rugby Club holds second annual Pie-a-Rugger event on campus Alex Popichak explains that you don’t have to be overwhelmed Women’s soccer aims to get back on track after two straight losses ppuglobe.com

Covering the world of Point Park University news for over 50 years

Issue 8

Playhouse hosts gala with performances, cocktails and alumni By Sarah Gibson Co-News Editor

Donors dressed in black tie and formal attire funneled into the new Pittsburgh Playhouse on Thursday to attend a gala held in honor of the opening. The gala was held for those who donated money towards the efforts to build the Playhouse. A cocktail bar was offered during the beginning of the night alongside live music that was played from the Highmark Theatre, the smaller of the two theatres offered in the Playhouse. President Hennigan, who was in attendance, described what the experience was like to finally see the playhouse finished. “It’s a dream come true for a lot of people,” Hennigan said. The Pittsburgh Playhouse cost $60 million dollars to build and construction took a total of 28 months, according to a press

kit made available at the gala. While 90,411 square feet of new ground was laid for construction, plenty of repurpose work was done during construction, including three former Forbes Avenue facades that were removed, replaced and then showcased at the Playhouse. Following the cocktail bar, a performance was offered in the PNC Theatre, which offers an asymmetrical design and 550 seats. Students from the conservatory of performing arts put on a show with plenty of singing, dancing and intricate costumes. Songs performed included “Dancing Queen,” “Footloose” and “Seasons of Love.” The performance also featured some Point Park alumni including Tony nominated actor Tony Yazbeck and Oscar award winning actress Shirley Jones. Point Park Alumni, both new and old, noted differ-

GALA page 2

USG talks concerns with CulinArt dining options USG By Amanda Andrews USG Beat Writer

CulinArt representatives responded to an informal question and answer session from United Student Government (USG) and anyone in attendance at this week’s USG Legislative Body meeting. The session lasted just shy of an hour as CulinArt General Manager Kristy Weiss and other CulinArt managers fielded questions from students.

Concerns from students covered a variety of areas including, but not limited to, expanding vegetarian and vegan options, ensuring good quality of food, discrepancies with the pricing in the Point Cafe, preventing cross contamination and problems with the weekend hours of all the dining facilities on campus. Last year, CulinArt revised the hours for the Point Cafe on Saturday after pressure from students.

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Gracey Evans | The Globe

From left: Jada Castillo, Hailie Hagedorn and Emily Stoken perform “Dancing Queen,” as featured in the musical “Mamma Mia!” during the inaugural performance of the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Administration clarifies Playhouse funding By Mitchell Drake Staff Writer

The new Pittsburgh Playhouse is funded through multiple distinct foundations, companies and operations, despite unfounded claims from students that the space was funded by increased tuition. The Playhouse consists of ninety-one rooms spanning over 90,411 square feet of new construction, costing approximately $60 million, according to publicly released figures from Point Park. A building of these proportions, with all its proposed amenities and wellequipped theatres, would need adequate funding. However, the Playhouse is classified as a non-profit

percent of voters by age in 2014 midterm election 60+ 45-59 32%

30-44 22%

13% 18-29

Graphic by Alysse Baer Data from Edison Research for the National Election Pool

organization, according to Lou Corsaro, managing director of university marketing and public relations. Corsaro assured the Playhouse is not being funded through student tuition payments, as the Playhouse solely operates on its own individual budget. “We don’t have to raise tuition to cover our day-today expenses,” Corsaro said. Instead, much like the Center for Media Innovation, the Playhouse is funded through various sources. Corsaro detailed that the Playhouse has received funding from alumni efforts, contributions from the Board of Trustees and businesses that make up local corporate communities. PNC is a major contrib-

utor to the Playhouse, as the company has leased ten years of patron parking in PNC Tower. Corsaro says that accessibility to the Playhouse is a key contribution and is much easier to accomplish in the new location with PNC’s help than at the previous Oakland location. “It’s a big gift from PNC,” Corsaro said. PNC is also one of the companies that have theatres named after them because of their aid in funding the construction and maintenance of the Playhouse, tying its name to the largest 550 seat asymmetrical theatre. Highmark was also honored with the name of its company tied to the new transformational theatre space that can allow

FINANCES page 2

Midterm elections weeks away, youth leaning left By Mick Stinelli Co-News Edtor

Young voters have a history of poor turnout in midterm elections. People aged 20-35 added up to 62 million eligible voters in 2016, but only 51 percent of them showed up to the presidential election, according to Edison Research for the National Election Pool. If these midterms follow the same pattern as past elections, young voters will make up a fraction of the voting population; Edison Research reported voters 18 to 29 years-old made up 14 percent of voters in the 2014 election. But for many young voters, it’s an important election. According to a 2017 report by the Pew Research

Center, 54 percent of millennials (aged 18 to 35) lean Democrat. All three branches of the U.S. government currently lean Conservative, often putting policy at odds with what young people want. Here are the basics of what Point Park students can expect in the 2018 elections. INCUMBENT GOVERNOR TOM WOLF FACES OFF AGAINST SCOTT WAGNER Republican candidate Scott Wagner entered politics as the first write-in candidate to ever win a state senate election. As senator, he’s voted in favor of re-

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Weather Forecast Today: Cloudy H 51, L 35

Thursday: Partly Cloudy, H 51, L 34 Friday: Cloudy, H 57, L 48 Saturday: Showers, H 53, L37

Sunday: Showers, H 45, L 33 Monday: Cloudy, H 49, L 38 Tuesday: Cloudy, H 53, L 38

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