IN THIS ISSUE:
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Photography students exhibit their senior thesis
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Laura Byko provides tips to survive finals week
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Point Park baseball wins two games, loses two games
Issue 14
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
University announces Conte as the director of media center
STUDENTS RING IN SPRING
USG analysis recommends changes to senate action USG By Margaret Davis
By Iain Oldman
Staff Writer
Point Park University announced in a press release that adjunct professor Andrew Conte will be named the director for the new Center for Media Innovation. “The media industry continues to rapidly evolve in the digital age, and it’s critical the Center be led by someone who has lived professionally in that world,” said Paul Hennigan, president of Point Park, in the press release. The 4,000-square-foot Center for Media Innovation was announced last semester as a new facility on campus for students to interact with media professionals and new multimedia tools that they will encounter once they enter the industry. “The University brought in an audiovisual team to bring in all the newest tools for TV and radio produc-
An advisor to Point Park’s United Student Government (USG) presented an analysis of strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats during Monday’s meeting. Student Activities Involvement and Leadership (SAIL) intern Andre Roberts found in his analysis that USG’s greatest strengths were its enthusiasm and relationships with its constituents. Roberts found that USG’s most glaring weakness is the low number of members, which currently stands at 10 senators. It was recommended by Roberts that USG increases to 35 to 40 members. “I don’t think you do an effective job of communicating what you do, to the student body,” Roberts told USG at the meeting, reminding the delegates they all get a portion of the student activity fee. Additionally, he said he feels as though some members of the executive cabinet bear too many responsibilities,
Co-News Editor
photo by Chloe Jakeila
CAB members Megan Thorpe, freshman SAEM major, Jess Baker, graduating junior dance and business major, and sophomores Maggie Stasko, PR and Ad major, Olivia Barnett, SAEM major, took part in making CAB’s 2016 Spring Fling a success Friday afternoon in Village Park. Festivities included a taco bar, sand art and shuffleboard.
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Trump draws thousands, controversy to Downtown By Matt Petras Co-Sports Editor
Point Park students were present at a recent Donald Trump rally downtown to both support and protest the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. The large crowds on both sides eventually led to confrontations and police involvement. “There is tremendous love in what we’re doing,” Trump said during his rally. The campaign announced Monday, April 11 that Trump would be giving a speech at this rally in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center at 7:00 p.m. Before the rally, at 5:30 p.m. Fox News’ Sean Hannity hosted a town hall roughly an hour long with Trump at Soldiers and Sailors in Oakland. Trump called the town hall a “big, beautiful show” in his speech. The previous week Hillary Clinton held a rally at Carnegie Mellon University and the week before that Bernie
Sanders held a rally in the same venue as Trump. This is the first time Trump has held visited Pittsburgh during his 2016 presidential bid. As for the speech at the rally, Trump acclimated much of his speech to the Pittsburgh audience, explaining that he went to school in this state. “Everyone really knows my relationship with Pennsylvania; it’s a special relationship and we’re going to keep it going,” Trump said. After promising to bring back the steel and coal industry, he offered less substantive proclamations. “This is the town of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which we love,” Trump said. “And you’re gonna have a good season coming up, we gotta keep Ben [Roethlisberger] healthy and you’re gonna have a good season.” Trump brought up Joe Paterno and Penn State, recalling the Penn
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photo by Emily Bennett
Trump speaks to a reported crowd of 4,500 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
City amends marijuana bill, university stays put By Kimberly Prokurat For The Globe
After Ezal Pavlichko was fined heavily and tossed out of his dormitory for breaking Point Park’s drug policies this year, he was shocked to find out that Pittsburgh City Council has recently voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana within city limits. Following the passing of the Marijuana Decriminalization Bill, if a person is found in Pittsburgh in possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less, they will receive a summary citation punishable by a fine of $25 . However, this does not affect Point Park’s existing drug policies on or off campus. Despite the liberalization of marijuana policy in the city, rules for marijuana possession at Point Park will not be modified, leaving individuals like Pavlichko wondering if he is being unfairly prosecuted. By living on campus, Point Park students consent to searches if administrators have reason to believe drug laws are being broken. If evidence is found or turned over, administrators charge students with violations and put them into the university’s judicial review process through the Office of Student and Resident Life. If found guilty of drug possession, students face a tiered reprimand system, with results ranging from fines to housing termination with the potential for suspension or expulsion. “When a student gets fined or caught with marijuana on campus, it does not go on any kind of police record, and the only thing that is kept on file is the number of offenses the student has so the police can track that,” said Point Park Narcotics Officer Jeremy Bogdanski.
Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Paylo said these policies will not be changed to fit the new city ordinance. “In the state of Pennsylvania, it is an illegal substance and I guess it all depends on where you sit on the fence of the impact that a drug like marijuana can have on someone’s life, body and welfare,” Paylo said. We have crafted and carry out policies that show that we do not subscribe to or allow illegal drugs on this campus.” Pittsburgh city councilman and sponsor of the Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Daniel Lavelle hopes places, such as Point Park, will reconsider such stances. “I think for so long our country has been led to believe certain things about marijuana, and now, as our populace becomes more educated, and people begin to dive deeper into the motives behind governmental ban of marijuana, the war on drugs and things of that nature, they’re beginning to see that the ban is not really due to health concerns, but that it’s because of social issues,” Lavelle said in a phone interview. His motivation behind this bill was to spread equality and fairness to people throughout the city who deserve better treatment. The councilman has been in support of this movement for a long time, and firmly believes that marijuana use should not be treated as a criminal offense. While he agrees that the university can set its own policies, he hopes it will reconsider them. “I can certainly understand the University saying that you cannot smoke within our dorm rooms and you cannot smoke within our build-
Weather Forecast Today: Mostly Sunny H 76, L 54
Thursday: Showers, H 71, L 56 Friday: Rain, H 62, L 42 Saturday: Partly Cloudy, H 69, L 46
Sunday: Partly Cloudy, H 68, L 46 Monday: Showers, H 72, L 47 Tuesday: Showers, H 66, L 49
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