IN THIS ISSUE:
PAGE
4
Students pledge to not use the “r-word”
PAGE
6
Beth Turnbull tackles Islamophobia
PAGE
7
Point Park baseball wins three of four games
Issue 12
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders shares platform at rally with Pittsburghers, students By Alexander Popichak Editor-Elect
Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders brought his populist message to Pittsburgh during a rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Thursday, March 31. Sanders, whose campaign against former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton has been an uphill battle, emphasized trade policy and the differences between himself and his opponent. “Let me begin by introducing myself to the people of Pennsylvania because I think a lot of folks don’t know who Bernie Sanders is,” Sanders said. Sanders went on to give background on his life, the campaign that has grown in the past several months and the issues with which his campaign most concerns itself. According to the most recent poll conducted by Franklin and Marshall, Clinton has a 25 point lead over Sanders. In his remarks, Sanders honed in on his ‘three crises’ in America: campaign finance laws, a ‘rigged’ economy and income inequality. The doors opened to the public
at 7:30 a.m., and Sanders was set to speak at 10:30 a.m., but by 5:45 a.m., the line outside the convention center had stretched into the convention center garage. The crowd at the rally primarily consisted of the white, college-aged students who predominantly make up his follower base. Several Point Park students, including freshman education major and Sanders supporter Alec Ebeling, attended the rally to hear in person what Sanders had to say. “As a college student, I’m definitely in favor of the free tuition. That’s something that he’s pushed pretty heavily,” Ebeling said at the Thursday rally. “My major concern would be in the college sector with free education and everything … [Additionally,] I think there is some reform that needs to be established, in public schools especially. I don’t think the Common Core is working too well, so I’d like to see what he does in the public schools as well.” While Sanders didn’t speak to his views on the Common Core specifically, he did mention his propos-
RALLY page 3
PCD successful despite poor weather, budget By Iain Oldman Co-News Editor
In the face of dreary weather and a budget that was short of what was initially expected, United Student Government’s (USG) Pioneer Community Day (PCD) drew more than 60 student volunteers to work on beautification projects throughout Pittsburgh. PCD is an annual volunteering event hosted by USG, aimed at getting the university’s students, faculty and administration to “give back to the community.” This year’s installation of the event, the sixth annual, took place on Saturday, April 2, beginning with sign in at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers went out into city, primarily the downtown area, at approximately 9 a.m. Volunteers worked with several different organizations for their projects. Students worked with Habitat
for Humanity, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Friends of the Riverfront and Point Park University throughout the day. Sixty-one volunteers showed up for the event, 248 volunteer hours were conducted and 64 shuttle miles were logged throughout the day. Freshman dance and SAEM double major Chelsea Raymond spent the day installing drywall in housing projects with Habitat for Humanity. “It was completely new to me and putting the mud in the wall was weird, but cool,” Raymond said. “It took a while to get it right but once you did it was a really great feeling, knowing that you’re helping to build this house.” Bobby Bertha, chairperson with the PCD planning committee, said that students working with Friends of the Riverfront planted trees.
photo by Julianne Griffith
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a democratic candidate for president, speaks to a crowd of 8,500 during the “A Future We Can Believe In” rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016.
University police ID suspects wanted in Thayer Hall theft case By Iain Oldman Co-News Editor
Point Park Police have identified the suspects wanted in the Thayer Hall theft that occurred on Friday, April 1. The university issued a ‘crime alert’ Monday, April 4 detailing the crime, which is being categorized as a burglary by the Point Park Police. The university’s police force is working in conjunction alongside the City of Pittsburgh Police, Port Authority Police and Pittsburgh School Police on the investigation. “We were contacted this afternoon and informed the juveniles we were looking for were walking down Wood Street,” said Jeffrey Besong, the Chief of Police, in an email in-
photo by Emily Bennett
Point Park students from the Body Christian Fellowship spent Friday night in an abandoned house on the North Side as part of a L.I.V.I.N.G. Ministry outreach. Read more on page 6.
CRIME page 2
Funds requested by Pilates Club denied USG
PCD page 2
STUDENTS “HOMELESS” FOR A NIGHT
terview Monday. The university’s police force worked with the Pittsburgh City School Police to identify the juvenile suspects, per Besong. Besong said that there is no evidence that two suspects identified in the investigation are connected to Point Park University in any fashion. Surveillance photos taken from inside Thayer Hall were attached to the release to assist the identification of the suspects wanted in connection to the crime. The suspects entered Thayer Hall through the Academic Hall entrance and gained access to the room in which the burglary took place because the room was left unlocked, according to Besong.
By Margaret Davis Staff Writer
A week after failing to make quorum due to a lack of attendance, Point Park University’s United Student Government (USG) got back on schedule with its weekly meeting Monday, April 4. The agenda for this Monday’s meeting included allocation of funding for the Pilates Club, an event recap of Pioneer Community Day (PCD) and a referendum to add a new position to the communications committee, which would require a change to USG’s Constitution. Vice President Gabe Dubin called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. and Sen. Bobby Bertha kicked things off with a motion to amend the minutes from last week’s rescheduled meeting, which took place on Wed, March 30. The motion was approved and discussion quickly moved on to bud-
get allocation for the Pilates Club. The Pilates Club requested that the USG allot them a total of $730: $80 for a guest teacher for the master class, $250 for officer training and $400 for a Pilates Certification Scholarship. The Pilates Club currently has only four certified officers, and is seeking further education for those officers, which would take place online. Dubin asked of the senate how many officers would be returning in the fall. A senator responded that the Pilates Club did not indicate how many of those officers would indeed return for next term. Due to scarcity of funds, only one of the three requests was considered. Ultimately, the USG chose to grant a request for $80, but recommended an allocation of zero dollars for both officer training and the scholarship. USG also addressed the proposed resolutions to add a new graphic design coordinator position to the
Weather Forecast Today: Mostly Sunny H 60, L 50
Thursday: Rain, H 63, L 40 Friday: Showers, H 51, L 33 Saturday: Partly Cloudy/Wind, H 45, L 31
Sunday: Mostly Sunny, H 55, L 39 Monday: Partly Cloudy, H 65, L 49 Tuesday: Showers, H 70, L 50
USG page 2