3-10-21

The Pitt News

T h e i n de p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | march 10, 2021 ­| Volume 111 | Issue 74

brown embraces role in pitt rebuild See page 10

Pamela Smith | Staff Photographer

News The 48 hours that changed an SGB election Ashton Crawley, Rebecca Johnson, Martha Layne, Jon Moss, Mary Rose O’Donnell and Millicent Watt The Pitt News Staff

Elections every spring for the following year’s Student Government Board are usually full of little fanfare from the student body.

That is until SGB’s elections committee convened last Monday at 6 p.m. to hear a complaint about allegedly unauthorized distribution of shot glasses in a primarily first-year residence hall by a slate of candidates running in last week’s elections.

The elections committee’s ruling later that night to disqualify the Vision slate from the election would ultimately set off a sleepless night of phone calls, texts and a Zoom appeal hearing from the board’s judicial committee kicking off at 1:45 a.m. Tuesday. When they awoke the next morning, enraged students would launch a firestorm of comments at SGB, asking how it could be that candidates were removed from the ballot at 5:10 a.m., in the dead of night and less than three hours before students would begin casting votes.

The students took to social media to personally attack Vision’s rival, Brightside slate — the only other slate which ran a presidential candidate in this year’s elections — and its presidential candidate, Tyler Viljaste. Viljaste filed the shot glass complaint and a separate complaint about unauthorized posting of posters in two residence halls. He would later say that he filed police reports due to threats, and Pitt officials said late last week that they had received a conduct referral related to behavior targeted at Viljaste.

SGB officials only settled the confusion over why exactly Vision had been removed from the ballot — at one point officials had publicly stated three different, competing reasons for the disqualification — five hours after polls opened, at 1 p.m. Tuesday. But by that point, SGB and the two committees charged with adjudicating the shot glass complaint and its appeal were placed under the microscope. The chaos Tuesday ended with

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sophomore Harshitha Ramanan elected as next year’s SGB president by a two-to-one margin over the favored Viljaste. Heading into election day, she only had four official campaign endorsements, compared to 40 for Viljaste and 23 for Landsittel.

Duo of complaints filed Sunday Viljaste filed two complaints with SGB’s elections committee on Sunday, Feb. 28. The first complaint alleged that Vision posted promotional fliers in residence halls without permission from the elections committee chair, which would

sion broke the section of Pitt’s Student Unions’ Policies and Procedures Handbook, which states “the simulation of alcohol consumption is prohibited as merchandise sales or event activities,” which includes “shot glass sales.” This handbook only applies to the William Pitt Union, O’Hara Student Center or other rented spaces on campus.

Viljaste also claimed the Vision slate did not disclose purchases of Hershey’s Kisses, which the slate distributed inside the shot glasses, as required by SGB’s elections code. SGB’s public

Student Government Board’s elections and judicial committees each held hearings less than 24 hours before polls opened at 8 a.m. on March 2 after two complaints were filed against the Vision slate.

Thomas Yang senior staff photographer violate SGB’s elections code. Viljaste learned of the posters from an Instagram story post showing a Vision poster hung in Sutherland Hall.

Viljaste filed the second complaint, which discussed the shot glasses, after first-years living in Sutherland Hall — a primarily first-year residence hall — contacted him. Viljaste said he filed the infraction because not only did Vision break SGB’s elections code, but the shot glasses were “very problematic” and promoted binge drinking with their “now I’m seeing double” inscription.

In the second infraction, Viljaste claimed Vi-

elections finance log states that the Vision slate received the candy as a donation from the National Residence Hall Honorary.

Based on the two alleged infractions, Viljaste “strongly” suggested the elections committee either disqualify Vision or refer the matter to the Office of Student Conduct for possible violations of the Student Code of Conduct. These are among the several sanctions that SGB’s elections code empowers the committee with.

According to Aboli Kesbhat, a Brightside slate board candidate and current SGB allocations committee chair, infractions are filed regu-

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larly throughout election campaigns, and this process works “to keep candidates in check” and ensure a “free, fair election.” Kesbhat also said any Pitt student can file infractions against candidates at any time during election campaigns.

Ravi Gandhi, a junior and Vision’s campaign manager, countered and said the committees had a “poor policy interpretation” that led to “undemocratic and unprecedented steps.” He said the committees treated Vision like they were “guilty until proven innocent” and the charges amounted to a “witch hunt.” It is unclear the last time SGB has disqualified an entire slate.

Elections committee processes complaints Sunday, Monday evenings According to Olivia Bartholomew, the chair of SGB’s elections committee, the committee met Sunday afternoon for a hearing about the poster complaint. According to a letter from the committee posted to the SGB website Monday evening, the committee found the slate guilty and required it to remove the posters as soon as possible. It also cut the slate’s tabling time last Monday in half, from one hour to 30 minutes.

Later that same day, the committee received another complaint filed by Viljaste, this time regarding the shot glasses.

The elections committee did not hold a hearing Sunday night about the shot glass complaint due to scheduling conflicts among members, Bartholomew said, and instead scheduled one for 6 p.m. Monday. Per a recently revised section of SGB’s elections code, the committee must schedule a hearing within 24 hours if it receives a complaint within 72 hours of election day and one-third of the committee votes that it “merits” a hearing.

The hearing notice repeated Viljaste’s allegation that Vision had broken what he referred to as “student affairs official guidelines” and the committee referred to as “Student Affairs Policies and Procedures,” but was actually the Student Unions’ Policies and Procedures Handbook.

Bartholomew said it is not her place to conduct any “interpretation” on complaints alleging infractions, and she must only copy and paste it as received into a hearing notice.

The elections committee hearing lasted about See SGB on page 3

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SGB, pg. 2 two and a half hours Monday and ended at about 8:30 p.m., according to Bartholomew.

After the committee deliberated for about 45 minutes, it unanimously concluded that the Vision slate was guilty — but not of the alleged infractions Viljaste listed in his complaint.

The committee found Vision guilty of not following its shot glass distribution plan submitted Feb. 12, which stated that the slate would drop the shot glasses with “no-contact distribution” at the South Oakland houses of the friends of Vision slate members. Bartholomew said while distribution plans are not formally part of SGB’s elections code, she has the authority under a recently revised part of the code to change election procedures, including activities during targeted campaigning, depending on Pitt’s current COVID-19 operating posture.

Bartholomew added that the Student Organization Resource Center, an arm of Student Affairs that provides student organizations with shared administrative services, told her that any physical products handed out during this year’s SGB election needed to have a distribution plan submitted for approval.

“It was not distributed at all as was stated in their distribution plan,” Bartholomew said. “And there was no correspondence to me about wanting to change that at all, or nothing like that. We just didn’t receive any change in that distribution plan.”

With regard to a potential Student Code of Conduct violation, Bartholomew pointed to a new rule recently added to the code, which states that students and student organizations must “comply with guidance set forth by the University, federal, state and/or local authorities regarding public health and/or safety.” Student Affairs spokesperson Janine Fisher said Pitt received a conduct referral late Thursday related to the elections committee.

“It was not approved activity by the school,” Bartholomew said.

Joe Landsittel, a junior and the Vision presidential candidate, acknowledged that his slate could have “done a better job communicating” with the elections committee, but said violating its shot glass distribution plan is “nowhere near close enough to a good reason” to disqualify the slate. Landsittel also said the distribution plan violation has “no basis” because it was not part of the original Sunday evening notice violation levied against them.

He added that the Feb. 12 distribution plan focused on South Oakland houses because according to the distribution plan, “shot glasses are

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not permitted on University property.” But Landsittel said Vision used this language because Pitt was still in its shelter-in-place period at the start of the spring semester. He said once the shelter in place ended on Feb. 16, Vision received approval to distribute shot glasses in residence halls from an assistant residence director.

In terms of COVID-19 safety, Gandhi said Vision focused on “no-contact distribution.” He said they sanitized all the glasses before handing them out. Gandhi added that the elections committee provided “no guidance” on how to create a distribution plan, and most of this planning occurred over texts and phone calls between him and Bartholomew.

“We were told that we just need to make sure we’re being COVID safe. We made sure we’re being COVID safe, we made sure to go to higher admin and make sure we’re staying COVID safe.

We did it in very much good faith,” Gandhi said.

“We didn’t just say, ‘Alright look here’s the plan technically Joe is not introducing any new contacts let’s just go YOLO.’” Members of the Vision slate also slammed the elections committee hearing as “biased” and not “impartial.” Gandhi said the committee openly mocked his slate in the proceedings.

“They were laughing at us and mocking us, and they made statements that clearly showed they were biased. At one point they started yelling at us and said … essentially that this is personal for me and I have a stake in these alcoholrelated issues,” Gandhi said. “The common sense of the Pitt community was able to see through their quote-unquote independent and fair process because it wasn’t.”

Bartholomew said she did not see any laughing or mocking behavior from the committee, and would have “insisted that this behavior would cease” if she saw it.

Gandhi added that the elections committee structure needs to be overhauled so they don’t have “unlimited” and “unrestricted” power. He said there were only five people on the committee — which highlights the “flaws” in the process that allowed them to be taken off the ballot. According to SGB’s governing code, the number of committee members is determined by the chairperson up to a maximum of eight members, but there can be no fewer than six members after the second week of the fall semester.

“The actual infrastructure of the elections committee and code is extremely weak in controlling them and gives them almost unlimited power,” Gandhi said. “It highlighted the flaws in the elections committee process and how significant the people in it there rather than how important the code is in controlling those people. It took five people who did not have a solid policy

interpretation or understanding of University policy.”

Daniel Rudy, a junior and Vision board candidate, also said the committee hearing demonstrated “structural issues” within SGB. According to SGB’s elections code, the elections committee must not “endorse or take bias towards any candidates, slates or issues.” But the president is part of a team of people that choose the elections and judicial committee chairs and members.

“They work together with SGB throughout the year, if not in title at least informally.

Like these people know each other,” Rudy said.

“While I don’t claim that they were outwardly and explicitly biased because of that there’s always going to be some level of bias when people you’ve been working with are bringing a case against people you’ve never heard of. I don’t see how they can claim that the process was independent and bias-free.”

Bartholomew said she highly values the full adjudication process outlined in the elections code, and thinks it fully played itself out.

She added the elections committee operates as an “impartial body” and “thought really hard” about what was presented to it and how best to respond.

The elections committee announced its verdict in a one-page document posted only to the SGB website at 10:11 p.m. Monday. Bar-

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tholomew said at the time, she did not think to share the announcement on social media and thought people would gravitate toward SGB’s website. She added that the elections committee only created social media accounts this year, and that she runs them herself.

“I think we just thought that putting the statement on the website — the first one, that’s just from the elections committee itself — would have been suffice and we thought [it] would have spread,” Bartholomew said. “In hindsight, maybe it was not.”

Bartholomew said she did not consider postponing the election to a later date. The elections code states that any changes to the elections timetable must be announced 24 hours prior to the originally scheduled event, making 8 a.m.

Monday the deadline to push back the following day’s elections.

“The elections committee did … take a lot of time out of their schedules, especially within the last Sunday, Monday leading up to the election, and they’re committed to getting things done as soon as possible,” Bartholomew said.

Judicial committee hears early morning appeal The judicial committee logged on at 1:45 a.m.

Find the full story online at

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Students with disability accommodations adjust to virtual learning environment

Rashi Ranjan

Senior Staff Writer Most first-years ask questions about the dining hall food or dorm rooms on their campus tour, but not Taylor Russell. Russell prioritized verifying that Pitt had substantial accommodations for her learning disabilities.

As a student with dyslexia and ADHD, Russell, a first-year neuroscience and psychology major, said she’s thankful that staff from Pitt’s Office of Disability Resources and Services spent ample time assuring her that Pitt would fully support her. Because of this support, Russell said she felt confident committing to Pitt.

“I was able to sit down with someone in DRS and talk through the process of getting and keeping my accommodations in college, which I thought was really, really helpful,” Russell said.

“It was really nice that they took the time to sit down with just a potential student.”

For many students like Russell, DRS determines and provides accommodations and services for a variety of disabilities, including learning disabilities. According to the National Institutes of Health, learning disabilities are disorders that affect people’s ability to understand or use spoken or written language, do mathematical calculations, coordinate movements or direct attention.

Students nationwide are finding it more difficult to find support for their learning disabilities because of remote learning — something DRS is working to address. Leigh Culley, director of disability resources and services, said DRS is providing different accommodations, such as increasing time limits on Canvas and other learning platforms. The office is also utilizing a new live transcript feature on Zoom.

“As course design and delivery of instruction continue to evolve, it is necessary that we identify barriers that exist at the intersection of student’s disability and course design, by using a case-by-case analysis with students,” Culley said.

For students to receive any kind of accommodation, a disability specialist — a professional with a master’s degree in fields such as counseling, rehabilitation counseling or social work “[The Disability Specialist] sat down with me and walked me through what I needed to submit,” Russell said. “I have ADHD and dyslexia, so for my testing accommodations I get

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50% extra time, a small group environment and for essays, I get to type them.”

But Russell’s experience with DRS hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing. Russell said the DRS system locked her out of her account for the first three or four weeks of classes this semester — leaving her unable to prove to professors that she needed the accommodations she was asking for.

After being locked out of her account, Russell said she couldn’t select her spring classes in the portal to notify her new professors of her accommodations. Even after emailing her professors and explaining the situation, Russell said they couldn’t grant her accommodations with-

tions. But Russell said she was proactive, contacting DRS a month before fall classes started to set up an account with the office and providing documentation.

Russell said she tried her best to get a hold of DRS, but it was difficult.

“I’d call them and email them, and I just couldn’t get anyone to get back to me until like a couple weeks into the semester, which was pretty frustrating,” Russell said.

Culley said DRS will promptly review a problem a student has communicated. She said even if a file is locked, reactivating it is easy.

“Reactivating a file can be resolved quickly so long as the student communicates with

member can assist students if they have any difficulties.

“DRS regularly evaluates processes and procedures and welcomes feedback from students in order to enhance our services,” Culley said.

Students must fill out the portal every semester to notify professors of the accommodations they need. Ivanov said when students select the classes for which they would like accommodations in their DRS portal, emails are automatically sent to the respective professors.

While DRS approves accommodations on a timely basis, Ivanov said applying them to classes was more challenging because professors, not DRS, must manually add the accommodations to assignments and assessments.

“Most of the time, my professors did email me like, ‘Hey, just checking in, I got your DRS letter,’” Ivanov said. “But like I said, it wasn’t all the time. A couple of times, I’ve literally emailed my professors 10 minutes before the exam like, I’m trying to get my extra time and Canvas does not say I have that time.”

Besides the inconveniences surrounding the portal, Ivanov has had minimal problems with DRS since signing up last semester. When Ivanov first reached out to DRS, he said he knew what accommodations would help him succeed — namely, increased time on assessments — so the process with DRS was “simple.”

“Once [DRS] receives the paperwork from your provider and it’s approved, you can log in Lev Ivanov, a sophomore bioengineering major, has ADHD and receives ac- to your portal and apply for services,” Ivanov said. “The final step for getting approval is you comodations from the Office of Disability Resources and Services.

Alanna Reid staff photographer have to get on a phone call with them. I think I was pretty lucky because it took five seconds — out going through DRS. She noted that profes- DRS,” Culley said.

I was like, I just want extra time. And she said sors were quick to reach out about her accomOther students have had difficulties with they could do that right away.” modations in the fall semester, and that she has the DRS portal, too. Lev Ivanov, a student with Russell said while getting in contact with had a good experience with DRS other than the ADHD, said DRS could definitely improve the DRS can be difficult, her individual DRS adaccount lock. “archaic” portal. He said small issues make it viser makes the experience much better.

“When I got to campus, I actually went “annoying,” but not excessively difficult to ar“The individual DRS advisers — at least down to their offices, but they’re all working range accommodations. mine — are the best. She’s amazing, and once remotely through the semester,” Russell said.

“When you’re selecting classes for accom- I can get in contact with her, she’ll go through “One of my pod mates has been trying to set up modations, they don’t say it’s a recitation or lec- everything she has to do,” Russell said. “But I an account with them this semester, and she’s ture, it’s just the class numbers … small things think getting registered and getting in contact had the same issue where it’s really hard to get like that,” Ivanov, a sophomore bioengineering with them is a little harder than it should be.” in contact with them.” major, said. “We also have to refill out the portal DRS is operating remotely on weekdays from Culley said students may be locked out of every semester.”

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can make an aptheir accounts for many reasons, such as not In response to Ivanov’s concern, Culley said pointment by calling 412-648-7890. having logged in to the portal for more than a students are introduced to the portal in their year or not submitting additional documenta- first appointment and can access “how-to” vidtion to support the request for accommoda- eos on the DRS website. She added that a staff

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‘We’re still here’: Fossil Free Pitt continues organizing after Board divestment decision Nathan Fitchett Senior Staff Writer

Nick Suarez made clear the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition’s stance on the Board of Trustees’ recent decisions regarding fossil fuel divestment.

“Fossil Free Pitt is not going to accept the results of the report or the results of the last Board of Trustees meeting,” Suarez, an FFPC member, said. “It’s utterly atrocious.”

FFPC’s years of protests, occupations and presentations culminated in a Board vote on the afternoon of Feb. 26. The Board of Trustees voted to adopt all of the suggestions made by its ad-hoc committee on fossil fuels regarding the University’s divestment of the endowment from fossil fuels.

The Board of Trustees formed its ad-hoc committee on fossil fuels last June to address student concerns surrounding divestment and investigate the University’s continued investment in fossil fuels. After several months of hearings from investment experts, students, faculty members and financial advisors, the committee published its findings and suggestions to the Board on Feb. 19.

It recommended the Board gradually divest by 2035 to avoid between $65 million to $100 million in financial losses, as well as committing to increased transparency with future investments.

Suarez said the plan for divestment is “too slow.”

“The intergovernmental panel on climate change estimates that we have until 2030 in order to take drastic action on climate change,” Suarez said. “The timeline the Board is laying out says we’ll be down to 1% of our endowment, which is still a lot of money, by 2035. They’re doing far too little and they’re doing it far too late.”

But for FFPC, Suarez said this outcome was not at all what it was looking for. Suarez, a fourthyear physics and astronomy doctoral student, said the Board’s final decision wasn’t really changing much in terms of divestment.

“They’re trying to present what they’re already doing, the status quo that they're already upholding as sufficient to deal with this crisis,” Suarez said. “They're not even saying they're going to take some other action, they're saying that what Pitt’s already doing is enough when it's clearly not.”

University spokesperson Kevin Zwick said the Board will continue to update the Pitt community on the state of its fossil fuel investments.

“The Board of Trustees was clear that they

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expect an ongoing engagement around fossil fuel investments, and continued progress on reducing these investments will be monitored by the investment committee and shared with the Pitt community,” Zwick said.

Ellen Oordt, another member of FFPC, said members expected this kind of response from the Board, but it disappointed them nonetheless.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised that the Board decided to go that way,” Oordt, a junior ecology and evolution major, said. “But honestly it feels really bad because we put in a lot of hard work to advocate for immediate divestment. Then they pose it as some great achievement that they did, in

to market to those consumer preferences.”

Following the FFPC sit-in at the Cathedral of Learning last spring, the Board of Trustees finally acknowledged the coalition’s demands through the creation of its ad-hoc committee. Suarez said FFPC hoped the Board would come to the decision to divest immediately.

But after the Board’s vote on Feb. 26 to continue gradual divestment by 2035 — an outcome that opposes the FFPC’s goal of immediate divestment — members have been forced to start their lobbying efforts all over again from a new angle.

Oordt said FFPC will shift away from the more bureaucratic methods it’s been using to try

Fossil Free Pitt Coalition organizers stand in front of the coalition’s billboard off Boulevard of the Allies. Alanna Reid Staff Photographer a very self-congratulatory way.”

The FFPC has spent years lobbying the University to fully divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry. Suarez said it has been continually arguing to the University that the value of fossil fuel investments is on its way out.

Carey Treado, a lecturer in the economics department, agreed with FFPC’s conclusion, adding that a changing investor demographic could lead to a decreased interest in fossil fuel investments — and thus a drop in their value.

“The financial industry is very influenced by the movement towards sustainable investment because the group of people who are their next source of investment dollars are millennials,” Treado said. “The boomers are taking their money out of their retirement account and the millennials are putting money in, so they want to be able

to achieve divestment over the past few years.

“We’re tired of engaging with Pitt as a university through these institutional means of com-

municating, through ad-hoc committees and going to Board meetings,” Oordt said. “From the past couple of years on this campaign all of these things that the Board of Trustees provides for Fossil Free Pitt to communicate with them have all been pretty performative.”

Oordt did not specify what FFPC’s new approach to achieving divestment would be, but Suarez said FFPC is looking to shift its focus from just divestment to looking at where the money divested could be reinvested back into the Pitt community.

“In the past we weren’t really as concerned with where that money that's going to be divested is going to be reinvested,” Suarez said. “Going forward we’re also going to be concerned with where that money that is divested is going to be reinvested, because we don’t want to see that money that is divested from fossil fuels get reinvested into something that is equally harmful.”

As far as future actions, Suarez said FFPC plans on collaborating with groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America Ecosocialists, Pittsburgh Sunrise and Free the Planet @Pitt for a climate strike on March 19. It also plans on taking part in an Earth Day action in collaboration with the College Climate Coalition, a network of divestment campaigns from college campuses across the country.

Suarez said just because the Board has finalized its decision, that doesn't mean the work of FFPC is done.

“To use one of our taglines — ‘We’re still here,’” Suarez said. “Fossil Free Pitt’s not going to dissolve away because the Board has not seen reason and made the right choice.”

Suarez is a former digital writer for The Pitt News.

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5

Opinions

Myth overcame merit in SGB elections Jack Troy

Staff Columnist Eric Macadangdang, the president of Student Government Board, looked drained on Tuesday night when the results of the day’s elections were to be announced.

I don’t blame him.

Up until Feb. 28, SGB elections were a tale of robust debate and productive disagreement, if not a bit of apathy from the student body. Tyler Viljaste — the Brightside slate’s presidential candidate, as well as the current vice president and chief of cabinet — appeared to be on track to win the board’s highest office. The Vision slate’s Joe Landsittel and independent Harshitha Ramanan seemed to offer only token opposition.

Then the wheels fell off. SGB’s elections committee received a report of Vision distributing slate-branded shot glasses in a predominantly first-year residence hall on Sunday night, a violation of both the board’s election code and common sense.

Vision was found guilty and disqualified on Monday night, a verdict they unsuccessfully appealed in a process that lasted from Tuesday at 1:45 a.m. to 5:10 a.m.

Landsittel was livid and quickly took to social media, imploring students on the Pitt subreddit that “we must elect Harshitha Ramanam [as] the next President of SGB.” Ramanan, a long-shot candidate with a background in residence life, largely remained silent online. Landsittel’s post was laced with incendiary language and helped seed a variety of threats against Brightside candidates, who had no hand in the elections committee’s decision.

Unfortunately, the hate translated into votes. When Macadangdang ended his prepared statement before the results and ceded the floor to Elections Committee Chair Olivia Bartholomew, she announced Ramanan as the next SGB president.

I love a good progressive populist victory as much as the next guy and I’m will-

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ing to bet more. This story seems like it falls into a neat David and Goliath dichotomy.

Unfortunately, that is not at all what happened here. In reality, an inferior candidate rode a wave of ignorance and misinformation to the SGB presidency.

For starters, Ramanan’s platform is vague and oddly peripheral when juxtaposed with Viljaste’s. Her signature proposal seems to be increased disability access both on campus and through Flex@Pitt, a legitimate issue for many Pitt students. But both her posted platform on the SGB website and her debate performance offered little in the way of solutions.

She also leaned on a philosophy of prioritizing awareness surrounding clubs and student resources over increases in more tangible resources. This led to a bizarre and troubling ambivalence on the debate stage towards the creation of a larger LGBTQ+ resource center in the William Pitt Union. Statements such as “space is just, like, a quantifying thing” indicate that she is quantifiably uninformed and clumsy at best when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues on campus.

In contrast, Viljaste’s platform spoke to his expertise and focus on core issues.

He founded and chairs the LGBTQIA+ task force, which has put together a formal proposal for creating an LGBTQ+ resource center. He understands that the Rainbow Alliance’s current shoebox in the Union, a “quantifying thing,” isn’t enough to provide a comfortable space and expansive resources to LGBTQ+ students.

He also campaigned on including more non-SGB students in major decisions through the student leadership database — an underused defense against accusations of a supposed SGB monopoly on power.

Viljaste also planned on using excess funds to endow scholarships proposed by the Black Senate and pushed for more transparency relating to fossil fuel divestment and dining contracts. Ramanan couldn’t

even be bothered to take what had become the in-vogue photo-op for SGB candidates in front of the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition’s South Oakland billboard.

Viljaste’s merits apparently weren’t enough to overcome the tide of misinformation. For posterity, I want to very clearly and deliberately dispel several myths surrounding this election.

First of all, SGB’s elections and judicial committees are standing committees, meaning they’re under minimal influence from the board at large. Furthermore, there is not an iota of evidence suggesting that Macadangdang, Brightside members or anyone outside of the elections and judicial committees had a hand in the decision to disqualify Vision. Viljaste simply reported the unauthorized distribution of branded shot glasses, which was Vision’s second breach of the elections code. This temporary system of distribution approval is in place to keep campaigning compliant with the University’s COVID-19 operating posture and applied to all campaigns, “insider” or otherwise. Vision almost certainly knew in-person campaigning was irresponsible and against the rules, yet they did it anyway. Any defense of this is self-defeating and requires admitting to ignorance, desperation or a disregard for the safety of students.

And why the eagerness to take down Brightside? This year’s SGB, in which Brightside’s four members all rank highly, has done a phenomenal job. Landsittel in particular liked to sling mud at Viljaste over purported issues with the allocations committee. Meanwhile, allocations have been transparent and efficient under Brightside board member-elect Aboli Kesbhat’s leadership. Student organizations are now granted more flexibility in how and when they use funding and allocations procedures have been updated to make more information public about approved requests while protecting the confidential-

March 10, 2021

ity of organization leaders.

Other major SGB initiatives have included creating the Civic Advising Program, which helps connect students with service and organizing opportunities. Additionally, the 2020-21 SGB members lent their support to proposals for a mandatory three-credit Black studies class and increased police accountability in Pennsylvania. This has been a prolific year for SGB because it’s brimming with merit and experience.

That’s not to say there aren’t some underlying issues with SGB. Five out of eight new elected board members are involved in Greek life and the average student remains unaware of SGB activities, whether by fault of the organization or general student apathy. Elections turnout remains strikingly low, only narrowly clearing 20% this year. This is hardly a license to reject experienced candidates who can successfully implement bold and impactful initiatives.

I wish President-elect Ramanan nothing but success. I honestly mean this — I’m not rooting against her. While I firmly believe that she does not measure up to Viljaste, this election was ultimately an indictment of the electorate. Forcing candidates to fear for their own safety is beneath us.

Supporting a poorly thought out and underqualified candidacy is beneath us. Electing a president with few formal plans for advancing the needs of LBGTQ+ and minority students on campus is beneath us.

Acknowledgment of Pitt’s diversity and inclusion shortcomings is common, but apparently that only matters in theory.

We rejected Viljaste on the basis of misinformation and unfounded hate. I just hope we don’t pay too much of a price for this moment of misguided populism.

Jack Troy primarily writes about politics and environmental issues. Write to him at jpt40@pitt.edu.

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The Pitt News

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March 10, 2021

7

Culture

Pitt hosts launch of new book ‘The Water Defenders’ Charlie Taylor Culture Editor

The United Nations declared access to safe drinking water a human right in 2010. Just a year before that decision, activists in El Salvador laid down their lives in order to protect their water supply.

Co-authors John Cavanagh and Robin Broad joined Pitt faculty and graduate students Friday afternoon for the first launch of their new book, “The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed.” The Department of Sociology, the Global Studies Center, the Graduate School of Public Health, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and Pittsburgh Collaboratory for Water cosponsored the event.

“The Water Defenders” will be released March 23 and is now available for preorder. It follows activists in El Salvador as they fight to prevent the Pacific Rim Mining Corp. from operating on the Rio Lempa — El Salvador’s largest river and many residents’ main source of water. The company’s gold-mining process uses cyanide to separate gold from rock, meaning spills can have catastrophic consequences.

The book opens with the 2009 death of Marcelo Rivera, a 37-year-old teacher and leader of the National Roundtable on Mining in El Salvador, or La Mesa, one of the main groups opposing Pac Rim. According to the authors, Rivera’s killers used methods similar to those of the right-wing death squads who targeted grassroots activists in the 1980s and ’90s.

La Mesa earned an award from the Institute for Policy Studies, where Cavanagh acts as director. Reading from the book, Broad recounted how Rivera’s brother, Miguel, and another activist, Vidalina Morales, went to the ceremony

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in his place. Morales’ acceptance speech focused on Pac Rim’s lawsuit against El Salvador, which demanded that the country either grant it a mining permit or pay nearly $300 million in lost profit.

“Vidalina invoked the upside-down world summoned by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano in asking why it was not El Salvador that was suing Pac Rim, since the mining company threatened the water and the well-being of the country,” Broad read. “But that upsidedown world is the reality of global corporate power and economic rules that affect people around the globe.”

World Bank’s International Centre

odds, what the Salvadorans concluded is the only way they can win, is to win over unlikely allies. People who they disagreed with on a lot of things but they might find common ground, in this particular fight,” Cavanagh said.

According to Jackie Smith, a professor of sociology who moderated the discussion, “The Water Defenders” contains lessons for activists anywhere looking to take on large corporations — including those fighting coal mining and fracking in Pennsylvania.

“There’s a similar dynamic at work in regards to the organization of these transnational corporations and the in-

Co-authors John Cavanagh and Robin Broad joined Pitt faculty and graduate students Friday afternoon for the launch of their new book, “The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed.”

Zoom screenshot

for Settlement of Investment Disputes found in favor of El Salvador in Pac Rim’s lawsuit, and in 2017 the country became the first in the world to ban metal mining. Cavanagh attributed La Mesa’s success to its ability to reach across national and political boundaries to gain allies like a conservative archbishop, a governor in the Philippines and a lawyer and former military official named Luis Parada, who attended Friday’s book launch.

“If you're in a fight where you're up against what feels like insurmountable

ternational institutions that enable these corporations to supersede national law and democratic processes,” Smith said.

In addition to unlikely allies, Cavanagh identified the “bottom-up” leadership style of Rivera and other activists in northern El Salvador as a key component of the movement’s success. He said that area depends heavily on the Rio Lempa, so the residents took the task of researching the effects of mining into their own hands.

“They went across the river into Honduras and studied a country that was

March 10, 2021

full of mines. Some of them went into the capital city and studied hydrology,” Cavanagh said. “And then they turn that information into fantastic education for the public.”

According to Broad, Pac Rim made alliances with local mayors and other government offices, starting programs under the guise of corporate social responsibility. She said this connection between Pac Rim and the government further complicates the issue of discovering who killed Rivera.

“They were kind enough to offer to go into the local schools and teach the students about all the good things that mining would bring — that was sarcasm in my voice,” Broad said. “When we look in this book at what Pac Rim did, it often is intertwined with, or goes through, the local government officials.”

Rivera would not live to see La Mesa prevail over Pac Rim, and according to Broad, authorities have yet to bring his killers to justice. Emphasizing the dangers that come with activist work in El Salvador, she said Rivera was one of four water activists killed in a short timespan.

“At what point do you decide that the risk is too much? And that's part of what's happened with continuing the investigation,” Broad said. “In Marcelo’s case, some of his family wants to raise it again, and some of the families are, understandably, very nervous.”

8

Artists explore identity, space in ‘Factory Installed 2021’ Beatrice McDermott Staff Writer

A secret society of 23 men with the same face, colorful rooms that test the boundary of human perception and an upside-down horse are all featured in the Mattress Factory’s new exhibition, “Factory Installed 2021.”

The Mattress Factory’s residency program provides new artists every year with the resources to create “site-specific” works at the museum, located in Pittsburgh’s North Side. For up to two months, the artists live in Pittsburgh and work with museum staff to bring their creative visions to life. “FI21” will open on Friday and continue through Nov. 14, and features work by five resident artists — Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Andréa Stanislav, Luftwerk, Meir Tati and Sarawut Chutiwongpeti. Tati’s installation will open in April.

Hayley Haldeman, the interim executive director of the Mattress Factory, said the museum is excited for the new installations and is continuing to follow COVID precautions to make sure the space is as safe as possible for visitors.

“This exhibition really showcases what the Mattress Factory does best,” Haldeman said.

“These installations from the five different artists are a diverse, really dynamic set … we really think, particularly given [COVID-19], will really engage audiences who are returning to the museum for the first time, and really bring curiosity, delight and introspection.”

Songco, one of the resident artists featured in “FI21,” said he had to take a virtual approach to the residency program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of working on-site at the Mattress Factory, Songco completed his installation, “Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room” completely virtually from Grand Rapids, Mich.

“I’m happy to say that it’s quite conceptual, and conceptual art is very much about rules and instructions,” Songco said. “I love the number 23, so we’ve used number 23 as a measurement for some shelves, for some distances … it helps with making decisions, and the complicated nature of working remotely on such a large project.”

Songco’s artwork is a continuation of his multimedia art project themed around a secret brotherhood organization called the Society of 23. Drawing on his background in theater, as well as his fraternity experience at Carnegie Mellon University, Songco acts as each brother, manipulating images of himself to create photo-

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graphic copies.

“I get to perform each individual as I see them, and I use art to guide me in the construction of their own identities,” Songco said. “In a way, the Society of 23 then is a metaphor for how a culture is constructed, or how the American society has been constructed.”

Songco’s work often deals with controversial symbols — in 2011, he created the “GayGayGay robe”, which contains a rainbow-colored Ku Klux Klan robe that he describes as the “the ritual robe of the Society of 23.” “Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room” focuses on red hats, usually associated with the Trump campaign. Songco said he encourages visitors to be aware of their reactions to and possible discomfort with his work.

“I hope that [visitors] are able to be present, move around the space and allow the multiple layers of meaning within the space to sit with them, and they are present with that anxiety, and that confusion, so perhaps new meaning can be made,” Songco said.

Andréa Stanislav, an artist who combines sculpture and video, was meeting the Mattress Factory staff in March 2020 when the governor ordered a state shutdown. As the COVID-19 situation escalated, the museum offered Stanislav a “marathon run,” extending the residency program’s length so Stanislav could work and quarantine at the Mattress Factory.

“The work being there, in this unexpected residency at that time, gave me the time and this solitude to completely recreate the project as it is now,” Stanislav said. “I think that’s also one of the opportunities of the Mattress Factory, and the uniqueness of this kind of institution that is dedicated to installation art. It gives the artist a kind of freedom.”

Inspired by Pittsburgh’s history and her own family ancestry, Stanislav collaborated with the Tamburitzans, a local folk dance and music group, to include Slavic culture in her installation. Stanislav filmed the Tamburitzans performing at the Carrie Blast Furnaces in nearby Rankin when it was safe to meet outside as a socially distanced group.

“Usually, a bright sunny day is not ideal for shooting outside — you want a diffused light, or overcast — but I went with the shadows,” Stanislav said. “The shadows became part of the video. They really become a kind of subject matter. Shadows are, metaphorically, in film, TV and literature, the proof that we are alive.”

Stanislav said working with the Tamburit-

zans allowed her to pay tribute to her Slavic family, even though the COVID-19 pandemic had forced her to cancel her trip to the Czech Republic to visit the town where her grandparents had lived. Filming at the Carrie Blast Furnaces was also meaningful because the steel industry historically employed many Slavic workers.

“As you’re walking through the installation, you’re slowly going up this ramp, so architecturally there’s … a kind of ascent through the entire work. And this concept of ascent continues in the video as well. There’s an ascent to Mars, to the next question mark,” Stanislav said.

“Factory Installed 2021” also features the work of Luftwerk, the “artistic collaboration” of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero. The duo creates immersive experiences out of light and color, often incorporating the story of the space into their work.

“The historical context of the museum being founded on installation art, and immersive art, was a very important direction for us to create our work,” Gallero said. “It really inspired our work to be this color, light and sound, immersive installation.”

Luftwerk said they drew inspiration from

March 10, 2021

the 19th-century book, “Sound And Colour: Their Relations, Analogies, And Harmonies.”

Their “FI21” installation combines color theory and sonic elements to create the perception that the boundaries of the room are constantly changing, and sometimes even becoming nonexistent.

“It’s a paint environment with a geometric perspective pattern. It’s executed in two different color families, a warm family of color and a cool family of color. Theoretically, those two spaces are the same, they mirror each other, but they have a different color composition,” Bachmaier said. “It’s a very dynamic, color shifting, perspective shifting experience.”

Luftwerk said they hope that the installation will challenge the expectation of space, creating rooms where visitors can feel “transported” and question the limits of their own senses.

“Even with four walls and two rooms, you create an almost amorphous environment, something you cannot hold on to. The corners blur out, the lines blur out,” Gallero said. “I think, for the viewer, it’s a pretty jarring space with the two colors…You have to accommodate your eyes to this environment.”

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9

Sports

In four rocky years with sweeping changes, Terrell Brown embraces role in Pitt’s rebuild

Ben Bobeck

Senior Staff Writer Senior center Terrell Brown stepped onto a court as a Pittsburgh Panther for 117 games.

Nearly 60% of the time, the team he played for lost.

Yet through 72 defeats, a revolving door of 27 different teammates, two coaches and two Pitt color schemes, Brown is still here.

Among it all, Brown has stood as a softspoken 6-foot-10 figure among the Pitt men’s basketball program, working quietly to serve as a brick in the foundation laid by the coach who did not recruit him. “[Terrell is] one of the guys on our team in our program that's really tried to believe and buy into the stuff we’re doing and the way we're trying to change this,” head coach Jeff Capel said.

Brown had seen the worst. He would do his part, no matter how large or small, to change that. In seeing his commitment through, Brown demonstrated the low-key manner and loyalty that would endear him throughout his time at Pitt to friends, teammates, coaches and others.

Brown arrived on campus from Providence, Rhode Island, in fall 2017 as a face in the crowd — quite literally. The Tilton School product was just one member of the 11-man recruiting class that then-head coach Kevin Stallings had assembled in his efforts to rebuild the team’s roster and jumpstart a stagnant program.

Those efforts failed miserably, and the Stallings rebuilding project ended before it had a chance to translate into any sort of success.

In his first season as a Panther, Brown logged about 17 minutes per game in 31 appearances, adding negligible stats to a team who failed to win a single conference matchup. The team finished 8-24 in 2017-18, with the zero in the ACC win column to become a forever stain on the program.

Amid the never-ending chain of losses, Brown turned to his roommate, Parker Stewart, another member of that first-year class. The two had grown close taking trips to the Forbes

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Avenue Dunkin’ Donuts while living in Towers during their first summer camp.

Brown reflected on one particular conversation he had with Stewart following a loss to NC State in late January 2018, the eighth straight in conference play to that point.

“We were just talking about how the year was going at that point,” Brown said. “We were just talking about college and everything else.”

Stewart elaborated on how the tribulations of that eight-win season drew the two friends closer.

“It was a rough year mentally, for all of us,” Stewart said. “Nobody wanted the year to go like that, but I think that’s how me and [Terrell] became close, we would talk all the time trying to figure out what we could do or what was wrong.”

Pitt promptly parted ways with Stallings at the end of the season, and Brown was left with the fork in the road that would come to define his collegiate career — whether to join the exodus of players into the transfer portal and find a new place to play basketball, or stick with Pitt.

Other parties became intertwined in the two roommates’ conversations now. In particular, coaches who wanted to recruit the pair together as transfers.

Brown said one unnamed coach wanted both him and Stewart, and Brown seriously considered his options, along with many of his teammates who had asked for their release following the change at the top.

“I was leaning more towards going with Parker,” Brown said.

Instead, Brown decided that he had started at Pitt and may as well see things through with the new staff. “[My grandfather] told me to make a decision that I feel comfortable with,” Brown said.

That grandfather — Victor Soares — would routinely drive the nine-hour, 1,110-mile journey from Brown’s native Rhode Island to Pittsburgh to see his grandson play.

Brown and Stewart faced adversity off the court together more recently as well. Much like

former teammate Au’Diese Toney, Brown faced the shock of unexpected loss following the death of Anthony Stewart, Parker’s father and coach at University of Tennessee at Martin, where Parker had transferred to from Pitt.

“I feel for him,” Brown said. “I’m real close with his family.”

Stewart talked about sharing meals at his aunt’s house with Brown and how, after not speaking with anyone in the days following the loss of his father, Brown was one of the first people he called.

“I’ll always appreciate him being there when I needed him and he knows I’ll be there if he ever needs me one day. We always say we’re locked in for life,” Stewart said. “That’s my brother and I’m proud of what he has accomplished at Pitt, and how he's stood there through everything even when it wasn’t going his way.”

The two still text or talk nearly every day, according to Stewart, who has since transferred again to Indiana.

Capel also expressed a sense of pride in the center he inherited in a conference call prior to Brown’s Senior Day win over Wake Forest.

“I feel for every one of those guys that had to experience that,” Capel said. “But I'm proud of Terrell for sticking it out. There's something about the University of Pittsburgh that made him want to continue to be here. And I think he's gotten better because of that experience.”

Things on the court rarely did seem to go the center’s way, but there have certainly been moments where the frontcourt “athleticism and skill” that Stallings espoused over the thenrecruit Brown shone brightly. He showed those abilities earlier this month, racking up his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a season-high 33 minutes during Pitt’s loss to NC State.

“It was cool and all, but we didn’t get the win,” Brown said postgame. “I was just trying to do whatever Coach told me to do, and he just says step up … Turned out I got a double-double. I didn’t plan it, but it just turned out I got a double-

March 10, 2021

double.”

Rim protection has always proved a specialty for Brown, who finished the regular season tied for third in program history, alongside Sam Clancy, with 170 career rejections. But he’s focused on getting better at blocking things out off the court as well, practicing meditation on the advice of his grandfather.

“I realized doing it twice a day, when I wake up and before I go to bed, or before or during games … it helps to take 20 seconds to cleanse yourself,” Brown said.

An increased focus on a healthy mind has also helped Brown on the court, as coaches and players expected him to fill a leadership void.

Despite being the team’s eldest statesman, Brown never sought the spotlight or a more vocal leadership role, but following the roster turnover and departures of Toney and Johnson, he has looked to step up out of necessity with a lack of veteran experience and voices around the team.

Capel specifically praised that aspect of Brown’s game as an area he’s improved in the last few weeks.

Brown described himself as a hesitant leader, someone who needed to “get out of [him]self” to fill the need.

“This year I had to be that guy that’s vocal during practice,” Brown said. “I would have to take it upon myself to be vocal.”

With all he has seen and been through in his four-year journey at Pitt, it is fitting that the team has needed his voice. Brown’s dedication to the program and the team never wavered as he quietly embraced the change.

Running through a royal blue tunnel of his teammates in front of a sparse yet energetic Petersen Events Center crowd as the team’s only player honoree on Senior Day, Terrell Brown was finally rewarded. The relieved smile on his face as he was mobbed said it all.

“I’m happy for him that he’s been able to play

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10

Roommates Felix Wolter, Greg Lauray set high expectations ahead of NCAA Championships

Dalton Coppola Staff Writer

When the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships occur this week, two roommates will represent the Panthers on the national stage.

Pitt will send two athletes to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship meet, starting on Thursday and concluding on Saturday. Felix Wolter, a fifthyear transfer from the Technical University of Munich, will compete in the heptathlon event, and senior Greg Lauray will compete in the high jump.

Not only do the two athletes both represent the same school, but they also live together. In a year where no spectators will attend the meet, the two said seeing a familiar face in the crowd will provide them with some much-needed support.

“It’s the dream,” Wolter said. “We talked about it a lot, and to have your roommate and friend going with you, just feels natural.”

Lauray emphasized the importance of their friendship as well, saying that the roommates have set high expectations for themselves as a pair.

“This whole year we’ve been talking about how our house is going to be a legendary household for track at Pittsburgh,” Lauray said. “We all push each other and we have really good chemistry in this house.”

Lauray was part of the first Panther pair since 2014 to qualify for the indoor national championship last season. He didn’t get to compete, though, with the last-minute cancellation of the meet due to COVID-19 concerns — making 2021 the first official participation by two Panthers in seven years.

In order to qualify for the national meet, athletes must have a top 16 score in the nation in their event to earn an invitation — making the meet one of the hardest events to qualify for in all of college athletics.

Pitt has been unable to claim the top spot on the podium at indoor nationals since Pitt Athletic Hall of Famer Lee McRae won the gold in three years straight in the 55m event from 1986 to 1988. Wolter and Lauray hope to end this drought in Arkansas.

Lauray punched his ticket to a second straight trip to nationals with a personal seasonbest jump of 7’1.50” at the Virginia Tech Chal-

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lenge, tied as the 14th-highest jump in the nation.

Although last year’s cancellation initially disappointed Lauray, he has since moved on and looks forward to competing with some of the nation’s best in the coming week.

“I was really upset at first,” Lauray said. “But I knew I had another chance, so I took it with a grain of salt, and tried to stay ready for the next time I had the opportunity.”

Lauray held himself to this standard this year, achieving First Team All-ACC honors. He continued to work with the idea of returning to nationals in the back of his mind. Lauray believes one of the keys to his success is maintaining a positive mindset.

“I know I have a chance to win and compete well if I compete at my best,” Lauray said. “When the time comes I just have to know I can clear [the bar].”

Alonzo Webb III is an assistant coach with Pitt responsible for working with jumpers and multi-event athletes — making him the positional coach for both Panthers heading to Arkansas.

Webb echoed Lauray’s comments on the importance of staying ready for another opportunity.

“He set a standard for himself after last year,” Webb said. “His consistency got him back to the national championship.”

Wolter blew past the field at the ACC championships his first year in the heptathlon — an event consisting of seven different components that are scored and added together for a final score. Wolter’s cumulative score of 5,632 points broke the program record as well and earned him the 11th-best score in the country.

This score dwarfed that of the competition at the ACC championship and Wolter claimed the gold — the first time a Panther has ever accomplished this feat as a heptathlete in program history.

The heptathlon consists of seven events over the course of two days. On the first day each athlete will compete in the 60m, long jump, shot put and high jump. The second day consists of the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m. Wolter attributes his record-breaking performance to a combination of rest and a strong second day of events.

“The weeks leading up [to the ACC Championship Meet] I went into recovery mode. I was feeling great going into ACCs,” Wolter said. “Going into day two, my goal was to be on top of the leaderboards.”

Wolter feels that in order to have a shot at claiming the national title, it’s very important for him to be consistent with most of the scores he accomplished in the ACC Championships. But he also feels that he needs to significantly improve upon his score in the shot put event if he wants any chance of claiming the gold next week.

“I need to improve upon my shot put,” Wolter said, “I’m trying to get to around 14 meters. I’ve had a couple of good practice sessions where I have been able to get 14 [meters] every time, and I just need to carry that into competition.”

Despite criticizing his shot put score and firstday total, Wolter sat in second place heading into day two of the ACC Championships with his strongest events still ahead of him. Webb believes that this mindset speaks volumes regarding Wolter’s competitive nature.

“He’s the ultimate competitor,” Webb said.

“He is very sure of what he is capable of and expects himself to perform to that standard every single weekend.”

Webb was named 2020-21 Mid-Atlantic

March 10, 2021

Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and credits the hard work and dedication of students such as Lauray and Wolter for earning him that accolade.

“This one’s for the kids,” Webb said. “They worked hard to put me in consideration for [the award].”

Lauray and Wolter have put the work in, and they begin to reap the rewards by having the opportunity to compete amongst the nation’s best this week. But the message from Webb to Lauray and Wolter ahead of the meet is simple — have fun.

“Everyone works really hard throughout the year, you wake up early, you stay up late, you work hard in the hours in between, everyone does that,” Webb said. “This meet is statistically one of the hardest meets to qualify for, once you make it there, that’s the glory. The hay is in the

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