4-21-21

The Pitt News

T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | APRIL 21, 2021 ­| Volume 111 | Issue 92

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Pitt Synapse, Student Government Board meeting pittnews.com

Students reflect on first full academic year during pandemic

Suln Yun

Staff Writer As the end of the first full academic year with COVID-19 comes to a close, many Pitt students are preparing for upcoming finals and sharing their thoughts on this year's primarily virtual learning experience.

For Ashumi Rokadia, a senior information science major, her last finals week is nerve-wracking yet exciting. Rokadia said taking her last final as an undergrad is bittersweet knowing she will soon graduate from Pitt.

“Obviously I would have loved to have everything in person, but I am

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happy that it was virtual,” Rokadia said.

“I do miss the in-person aspect of it, but one thing I love about classes being virtual is I can do my classes outside, with a friend, at a coffee shop, and I’m not confined to a classroom.”

Like Rokadia, many students have conflicting feelings about the end of the semester. Peter Dadson, a first-year chemical engineering major, said he has complicated emotions about the end of this year. He said the most challenging part of this year is accepting how fast time has flown this semester while it also felt painstakingly slow at times.

“As the semester comes to a close, I feel a smorgasbord of contrasting emo-

tions,” Dadson said. “Part of me is elated that this semester will finally end and another part of me is somewhat sad and nostalgic of what I will miss after I return home to Texas and could’ve been if we hadn’t been affected by COVID-19.”

Though Dadson feels stressed with upcoming finals, he said he hopes to go back to in-person classes in the future after students are fully vaccinated.

Dadson said adapting to remote learning during the pandemic definitely presented a lot of social and mental challenges.

“I don’t think that I’ll be the only person to say I’ll be beyond glad when classes will return to normal,” Dadson

April 21, 2021

said. “Trying to network with different people in your class or build a relationship with your professor [through Zoom] is a bit more difficult but not impossible. Maintaining focus over an extended period of time while staring at a screen is mentally draining, especially when taking many math and science courses where tons of information is released for you to absorb.”

With the difficulties of online learning and limited social interaction, many students said they have been struggling.

Still, as summer break nears, students like Meghan McGrory, a first-year undecided student, are excited to enjoy the long break as well as make plans for summer. McGrory said she has been planning what she should do for the upcoming summer when she finishes her finals.

“I have a job set up for over the summer at Target, and I am going to California with my family if COVID-19 is better by then,” McGrory said. “Next year I am taking the emergency medicine technician course and I am very excited for that because I have hopes of getting into an EMT program for my junior year in the future!”

Though this year has been tough, Dadson said he feels grateful for interacting with new students who are also attending college during a pandemic.

“I feel like it's taken so much time to get to the end of the semester but in the big picture I’m already nearly a sophomore,” Dadson said. “I’m grateful for all the intelligent, wonderful, lovely people I’ve connected with and I’m glad to call my friends within and outside the Swanson School of Engineering and I hope to strengthen my connections with these people next semester as well as create new ones.”

2

‘On fire for over a year’: Pitt leaders reflect on pandemic year

Katie Cassidy Staff Writer

Communicating, planning and adjusting are key traits of successful elected officials. Add on the unprecedented nature of a pandemic, and a leadership role becomes a whole new ball game.

Three elected shared governance leaders at Pitt reflected back on the 2020-21 pandemic year and what it meant to hold a top position during unprecedented times.

Eric Macadangdang, Student Government Board president, said he entered into his role last year with a lot of question marks and was unsure of what the next few months would look like following his inauguration in April. He said his reaction to the circumstances was “an evolution of sorts.”

“It was constant trial and error in a lot of ways in terms of adapting to things. Just basics with meetings and project development and shared governance,” Macadangdang said. “We had to adjust, but sort of on a moment’s notice be able to pull the scales a certain way. It was challenging to say the least.”

Malena Hirsch, Graduate and Professional Student Government executive board president, also entered her role at the start of the pandemic last April. Hirsch said she was “cautiously optimistic” about serving during the unprecedented time, but also worried about participation in a virtual setting.

“I was definitely intimidated. A lot of the things GPSG does is hold in-person events for students, in-person professional development, networking, social events, things to help build community,” Hirsch said. “I was really nervous about how we would be able to do that in a virtual environment. Were people going to be so

burnt out that there would be nothing left in the tank?”

Hirsch said she looked forward to serving during a critical moment in history, despite the uncertainty that came with it. She said she wanted to be a guide for her community and help people.

“I think it is important to have strong leaders during years of adversity,” Hirsch said. “I was ex-

expected to have as GPSG president.

“I got hit with a ‘posture’ question and what it would mean if we switched to a new posture,” Hirsch said. “Thankfully I had it pulled up on my screen, but I was basically just reading it. And I was like ‘I need to have a better, deeper understanding beyond just reading the text of what it means.’ I need to be able to pull in from when I talked to the chancellor and the vice provost for

Eric Macadangdang (left) and Malena Hirsch both served in student governing roles on campus this academic year. Clare Sheedy staff photographer cited to step into that role and be in a leadership position during such a pivotal year, everything COVID-wise, social justice-wise, politically.”

Hirsch said she quickly realized her peers needed her to be the direct line of communication for information. She said her first meeting showed her the level of understanding she was

graduate studies.”

Even leaders who had years of experience in their role were forced to adapt and shift their perspective during the pandemic. Chris Bonneau, University Senate president, served his third and final year as president during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the past year has been unlike

any prior experience.

“In the normal course of being president, there are things that come up and you deal with them, there is a regular schedule. But, we have been on fire for over a year,” Bonneau said. “Just the sheer number of things to figure out, obligations, figuring out externalities, unintended consequences. The sheer volume of decisions that had to be made in a short period of time. The urgency with which things had to be done. It was exhausting.”

Bonneau said he could have either completely delegated all tasks, or he could have stepped into the role like a full-time job. Bonneau said he chose the latter. In doing so, Bonneau said he was forced to learn about aspects of the University that he never understood prior to the pandemic, such as building access and ventilation. He said he came to understand that everyone has different concerns and compromise is essential.

“I have had to learn a lot in order to participate meaningfully in conversations. It has taken a lot of time and thought and it was something I didn’t fully appreciate beforehand,” Bonneau said. “We all have different things we are focused on. How can we accomplish what we need to in a way that works for both of us? Well, that’s not always going to happen.”

Being in a leadership role during a pandemic comes with constant challenges and forces one to grow in unexpected ways, the leaders said.

Macadangdang said this past year has taught him to be “an advocate through listening.” He said he works to be as informed as possible before he speaks on issues, an especially useful skill during

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April 21, 2021

3

SGB approves governing code changes, defers elections bill to fall

Millicent Watt

Senior Staff Writer After this year’s tumultuous Student Government Board election, the board voted Tuesday evening and passed a major governing code reform package released last week, but deferred voting on elections code reforms to the fall.

One bill proposed last week — Bill 2021-4 — was spearheaded by Ben King, vice president and chief of finance. The board’s Election Procedures Review task force, which convened after this year’s turbulent election to suggest reforms, wrote the bill after interviewing various parties involved in the election, as well as collecting student feedback and recommendations through a public comment form.

King said the Election Procedures Review task force wrote the bill without the consultation of SGB’s elections committee or the board itself — two groups who must pass the bill in order for SGB to implement the changes. According to King, the board and elections committee received the bill “around the same time everyone

else did.” King said there will likely be modifications to the bill and the proposed revisions before board and elections committee votes.

“It’s not necessarily, does not necessarily have their support in its current form, because they basically received it at around the same time everyone else did,” King said. “They had a couple days notice but … the elections committee has to approve it, and the board has to approve it, and both of those are ongoing discussions.”

The task force recommended delaying the announcement of election results by a day, expanding SGB’s lists of punishments for elections code infractions and conducting independent investigations for filed infractions.

According to King, a major proposed revision is to postpone the announcement of election results by a day and release them on Wednesdays, so students can file complaints on possible infractions committed during election day and allow the elections committee to hold meetings and hearings in a timely manner.

Joe Landsittel, former presidential candidate and incoming co-chief of staff, also proposed a

revision, which called to expand SGB’s sanctions and focus on handling the infraction instead of “punitively” punishing candidates. For example, according to King, if candidates are hanging posters in unauthorized areas, the elections committee would tell the candidates to remove the posters or limit where that candidate can hang posters.

Landsittel also recommended making hearings and investigations limited to whatever is in a filed complaint. The task force’s final report suggests that if a new violation is discovered, the defendant should be informed of the new infraction before another hearing would take place. He also urged the task force to restructure judicial hearings so defendants will have a rebuttal period before the judicial committee’s speaking period.

Landsittel and his slate were disqualified only hours before polls opened in this year’s SGB election after a sleepless night of elections and judicial committee hearings. Opposing presidential candidate Tyler Viljaste filed an infraction against the slate for distributing shot glasses in primarily first-year residence halls and breaking distribution policies.

Olivia Bartholomew, outgoing elections committee chair, said allowing defendants to prepare for hearings would make hearings less “messy,” and allow the defendants to gather and prepare their evidence and sources.

Viljaste, former presidential candidate and incoming co-chief of staff, proposed making complaints anonymous and having the elections committee conduct an independent investigation on reported infractions. He said it’s not about who filed the complaint, as the punishment should be the same regardless of the complainant.

“I think removing the complainant, or whoever files the complaint from the process, is really important because it’s not about who filed it, it’s about whether or not elections code was broken and it shouldn’t matter who filed the complaint,” Viljaste said. “If you’re being completely honest, the punishment should be up to the discretion of the elections committee.”

Additionally, the bill proposes that if an infraction violates a non-SGB policy, the elections committee can “defer” to the “interpretation” of the group who maintains that policy, something brought up due to the Vision slate originally being accused of breaking a Student Union policy.

While King believes many of the revisions are doable, he said one task force recommendation — increasing communication with Pitt’s student body — is out of SGB’s control because there are “only so many ways” to reach students.

“There’s so many students who get their information from so many different places, and there’s just so many, there’s only so many ways we could try to reach out to them,” King said.

Bartholomew said while she is unsure of the specific modifications she wants to make to the bill before voting, there is a “general agreement” among the elections committee on most issues presented in the changes.

“I think overall there is like a general agreement on most of the things,” Bartholomew said.

“Just some things I think they’re just not aware of our perspective, which is fine. So that’s why we’re able to make these changes now, so it works for us.”

Landsittel said he is “largely happy” with the

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April 21, 2021

4

‘Finding that joy in their life again’: Student org helps traumatic brain injury patients

Katie Cassidy Staff Writer

For people who experience traumatic brain injuries, their lives are dramatically and permanently impacted. Pitt Synapse aims to support these individuals as much as possible as they begin their TBI recovery journeys.

Pitt Synapse is the University’s chapter of Synapse National, a national nonprofit organization that focuses on raising public awareness about TBIs and providing resources for people dealing with TBIs. The organization hopes to eliminate the stigma surrounding TBIs by providing educational resources to the general public and increasing their knowledge on the depth and complexity of the injuries. Synapse National has chapters at 18 universities around the United States, each founded by undergraduate students at those schools.

Abigail Skeel, a junior history of art and architecture major, said Synapse National was still relatively small in 2019 and only had chapters at MIT and Stanford. Skeel said students wanted

to start a group at Pitt in order to contribute to Synapse National’s goal of removing stigma around TBIs. Skeel and Nishant Agrawal co-founded Pitt’s chapter of Synapse National in 2019. She said they started by working with patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville and mentoring TBI students in the BrainSTEPS program.

“The whole idea of Synapse is to reduce the stigma of traumatic brain injuries and to offer programs to people in the community who have undergone TBIs, such as support groups and buddy programs,” Skeel said. “At Pitt, we are glad to be a part of the larger organization.”

Skeel took over as the organization’s president when Agrawal graduated last December and is now in charge of all operations, such as the buddy program and guest speaker events. She said her main goal now is seeing the group grow so members and the community alike can learn more about TBIs. “We have a program at the Children’s Hospital where our students can go and visit children in both the trauma units and the neurological

surgery and neurology units and offer support through mentoring and tutoring,” Skeel said.

“Our work with BrainSTEPS is more of a oneon-one partnership between students and kids.

We also offer a lot of speaker events for members to educate themselves.”

Pitt Synapse has six members on its executive board and about 30 members total. Vaish Bandari, a senior neuroscience major, serves as the organization’s vice president of general operation for the 2020-21 academic year. Bandari said she got involved her junior year with Synapse, and that the opportunities and her personal connection to TBIs drew her to the club.

“I was a neuroscience major and someone who actually works in a research lab studying TBIs, trying to mitigate the effects of TBIs, so I thought it would be really cool to be a part of it,” Bandari said. “The club was just starting out, but it had a lot of interesting opportunities.”

As VP of general operations, Bandari runs the buddy program, where club members can match with patients recovering from TBIs in the UPMC Children’s Hospital. Bandari said

the program helps members get more comfortable discussing TBIs and interacting with people with TBIs. She said her favorite part of the club is helping people learn about TBIs and working to reduce the stigma.

“I think a lot of people just don’t really understand TBIs. It is such a general term, but each one is unique,” Bandari said. “I think being a part of the club has opened my eyes to that, and helping other people become more aware of that is a really cool thing.”

Elisha Sidhu, a sophomore english writing and communications major, joined Synapse at the start of the fall term and became the organization’s director of technology and marketing.

Sidhu is in charge of creating graphics and running the club’s social media account. She said it is “one of the most meaningful experiences” she has been a part of, even though she is not prehealth or involved with any STEM field.

“Pitt Synapse is so unique compared to other

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Teaching Surveys Open April 5-25.

Look for an e-mail, or you can find survey links in My Pitt or Canvas.

Instructors want your feedback, responses are anonymous.

Go to teaching.pitt.edu/omet for more information or email omet@pitt.edu teaching.pitt.edu/omet/

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April 21, 2021

5

Pittsburghers mourn, protest after guilty verdict in Floyd murder

Rebecca Johnson and Jon Moss A crowd of about 150 people gathered Tuesday evening at Freedom Corner after a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd. Jaime Ely staff photographer

The Pitt News Staff

Jerry Dickinson has only been able to watch one second of the video of George Floyd’s mur-

der.

Dickinson, a professor in Pitt’s School of Law and candidate for a local U.S. House seat, said he can’t watch any more of the video because of his own experience with the Pittsburgh police. He said 10 years ago, a police officer threw him to the ground “for being Black.”

“I was thrown to the ground by a police officer — Pittsburgh police. Me on my back, arrested not for doing anything, but for being Black in Pittsburgh. I will never forget that moment,” Dickinson said. “Anytime I see a video now, that same incident we know this is happening to men and women, every single day. It's happening to your neighbors, it's happening to your family. We need change now.”

Dickinson joined a crowd of about 150 people Tuesday evening at Freedom Corner in the Hill District after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the murder of Floyd. The crowd marched down Forbes Avenue chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot” and, “Say his name, George Floyd.” It eventually reached Pitt’s campus before dispersing at about 9 p.m. near Flagstaff Hill.

Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a white police officer, pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine and half minutes, a graphic killing that spurred worldwide protests and one of the largest civil rights movements in decades in the United States. The effects were also felt at Pitt, such as when the Black Action Society and 17 other Black Pitt student organizations released demands to administrators in the wake of Floyd’s murder.

The demonstration started with an organizer pouring water as libations to “remind ourselves that we are everlasting” and to acknowledge Black people who lost their lives violently — Antwon Rose II, Marquis Jaylen Brown, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and numerous others.

Brandi Fisher, an organizer with the Alliance for Police Accountability, said while she celebrated today with Floyd’s family, it’s “hard to feel victorious” when there will inevitably be more trials

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April 21, 2021

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April 21, 2021

7

Opinions Anne Marie Yurik

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An ode to my future self

Senior Staff Columnist Future me, you are probably in Chicago right now. Odds are you are impulse buying something, thinking about ordering food because you always think about food, and taking on more work than you can realistically handle.

I can’t say for sure if the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be over, if you will feel comfortable dining in large restaurants or if you will feel more secure in yourself than you do now. But I can say — in full certainty — that I’m proud of you.

You’ve accomplished so much. Instead of eating at restaurants, you invented a new and improved form of dining — the Park and Eat. This food experience is not to be confused with Eat’n Park, a restaurant you have only seen in the Midwest. Your infamous park and eats involved ordering take out and parking next to parks in the Pittsburgh area to people-watch.

Your mundane yet unhinged behavior allowed you to make appearances at Schenley Park, Frick Park, Highland Park, Allegheny Commons Park, Point State Park and Herrs Island Park. During these visits, your judgey faces rivaled those of Dan Levy in literally any of his acting roles. You were able to eat pizza, pretzel sticks, salad, chicken marinara sandwiches and more as people jogged, strolled or skated past.

You may not have gotten comfortable enough on Zoom to be in the bathroom off-camera during class, but you were innovative. I hope you take that unhinged behavior with you into law school. Surely doing the exact same thing in Chicago will be equally as fun when you can add Millenium and Grant parks to the list.

Future self, I hope you are better at balancing work and fun. I know that Zoom school messed with your mental health and made balance hard to achieve, but I hope you learn from that lesson. Buying plants doesn’t replace therapy sessions

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Senior send-offs

and sometimes it’s okay to ask a professor for an extension.

I remember when you got pit stains from asking your professor if you could have 24 extra hours to type your final exam. Although I can appreciate a good anxiety sweat, I hope that wherever you are now, you know that it’s okay to take a break, ask for help and be honest, even if you think people are going to say no.

I know reaching out and taking a chance is scary, but you’ll be 23 in September, and you have more wisdom than you think. You also have more life lessons to learn than you know. But you’ve made it this far — at least give yourself some credit.

You have done so much and sometimes it’s crazy how much adulting goes on in one day. You’ll soon be living with two bandmates from The Brainstorm, and you will be the only feminine energy in the house.

But at least when you feel like pulling your hair out from stress, there will be marimba and piano in the background.

My hopes for you, future self, are that you get more hand-eye coordination.

While it is possible that your body has already reached its peak, you have the athletic ability of a visually impaired squirrel.

Even though you tried running, yoga and Zumba, your inability to keep up is astounding, maybe even a little impressive.

Regardless of how slow you run, how hard it is to touch your toes or how rhythmically challenged you are, keep dancing and running and trying new things because it’s better to try and write a column about your failure than to never try at all.

Looking back at the four years that I thought would be the most transformative time of my life and looking forward to the three years that most lawyers like to forget, I hope you enjoy the middle. As it turns out, the most transformative things aren’t the transitions but the random moments in between.

I think I learned the most from chasing dreams that flopped and falling into

new dreams. Even though applying to grad school left a mark on my ego and a lot of tears on Hillman’s fourth floor, it also forced me to get thicker skin and learn how to cry softly to avoid disturbing the other students.

Wipe away your tears, future me. I don’t know when you got soft, but I will blame birth control. Some things are worth crying over, but seeing a water centipede in your house isn’t one of those reasons. You don’t need to search the shower before stepping in, you’ll be okay — at least I think.

Once you’re back in Chicago, I hope you talk about hot dogs and deep dish pizza a little less and focus on expanding your personality traits. Instead of your personality consisting only of John Mulaney quotes and being from the Midwest, maybe you can add plant propagator and Trader Joe’s groupie to the mix. I mean, you deserve a hot granola girl phase.

But let’s just call it like it is, future me — you love to plan, and the universe likes taking your plan, shredding it, lighting it on fire, throwing it into the Pittsburgh sinkhole and then washing it into the deep abyss. I know you hate it when that happens, but your washed-up plans are the whole reason you ended up going to law school.

In the moment, it feels like all your work and effort and trials and tribulations were a waste of time. I can’t deny that. But future me, wherever you are, whatever you end up doing and however you feel in any given circumstance, give yourself the gift of patience. Maybe at the end of it all you will see why things work out the way they do.

I look forward to meeting who you become, future me — as long as you don’t become a white second-wave feminist type.

Anne Marie typically writes about unapologetically doing her thing. Write to her at any41@pitt.edu.

April 21, 2021

8

Top 10 things I will miss about Pittsburgh Alex Dolinger

Senior Staff Columnist Pittsburgh has been a part of my life for many years now. I have fond memories of going to weddings at Soldiers and Sailors as a kid and the inclement weather that always made the weddings suck. I have no idea how long I’ve been enjoying all the splendor Pittsburgh has to offer, but I do know that I’m saying farewell to this cruel mistress of a city at the end of the summer, and I’m heartbroken.

It’s pretty surreal, but I’m graduating college next week. It feels absolutely fake, especially because I still don’t even know what homecoming is. I’m so excited to go spread my immense and bizarre knowledge with the unsuspecting citizens of Buffalo, NY, through the City Year program, but saying goodbye to Pittsburgh is going to be a huge bummer. Pittsburgh is special. She is not like other girls. Thus, here are the top 10 things I’ll miss the most about her.

10. Lawrenceville dogs I’ve been blessed to spend time in most of Pittsburgh’s lovely neighborhoods, and I’ve no-

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ticed something delightful about one of them.

Lawrenceville is just filled to the brim with adorable dogs. I love dogs. The people who walk the dogs always see me fawning over the dogs and bring them over to me for some pats. It’s amazing.

I think I’ve mostly met doodles in what I call ‘Larryville,’ which is unsurprising because you can also make candles and purchase rolled ice cream.

You get it. My favorite dog that I met in Larryville was a greyhound named Hank. Hank, if you’re reading this, don’t forget me.

9. Themed PAT busses Port Authority and I are like lovers on “The L Word.” She is constantly leaving me out in the cold, both emotionally and literally, but I keep coming back for more. She also connects me with some of the strangest people I have ever met in my life, if only for a moment. Despite the raw fury I have felt every time I realize I am waiting for a 54 that is simply never coming, I soften immediately once I see a 71 that is covered in little hearts. I love art just as much as I love public transit, and despite the fact that I know it’s a silly little capitalistic venture, I fall prey to the pride busses every time.

I think, “how nice!” and then I text the same thing

to my mom.

8. Colorful locals I have had some of the most impactful interactions of my life on the sidewalk after 8 p.m. I have a denim jacket with a rainbow that I painted on the back, and a girl that I had never met before came up to me while I was waiting for a bus and had a 15-minute conversation with me about how I should start an Etsy shop. I also once had to tell a woman that her boobs had fallen completely out of the underboob cutout in her dress, and she looked me in the eyes and said “YOLO.” Honorable mention to the man who yelled at me out his car window just to say “I see your soul.” I’m gonna miss that.

7. Milkshakes I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Pittsburgh is full of delicious milkshakes. We’ve got The Milkshake Factory, Stack’d, Fudge Farm, Burgatory, Five Guys and probably a bunch of other ones that I can’t remember. There are milkshakes everywhere. And they’re all pretty different from each other? Somehow? It’s my dream come true.

I am a boy and I have come to the yard. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

April 21, 2021

6. Sorrento’s Sorrento’s and I go way back. On my 19th birthday, I told my friends that all I wanted was to go to Sorrento’s and take pictures in front of the Oakland mural, and I do not regret that for a second. Sorrento’s was my go-to depression meal for an entire year. That ranch got me through some of the worst moments of my life, like the time I slipped on ice and fell all the way down Bates Hill in front of someone and their parents and they laughed at me. The recipe has changed now, but so have I, you know? It’s like we changed together.

Now I’m 22 and Sorrento’s is finally on UberEats.

It’s all very profound.

5. Puccini’s One of Sorrento’s neighbors also got me through many tough times. Puccini Hair Design has turned all of my bad hair decisions into good ones. They gave me my first pixie cut, making my butch lesbian dreams a reality. Then, I dyed that pixie cut orange because I was beginning my quarter-life crisis. I hated it so much that

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9

My thoughts on the college experience Ethan Tessler

Senior Staff Columnist College is often thought of as a time for introspection, exploration and of course, finding a career path. But can a time for self-growth and discovery actually also be a time for finding a career path? Yes — but not when you have to pay thousands of dollars in the process.

I grew up a lot throughout my four years at Pitt. Even in my three semesters at The Pitt News, I think I’ve changed a lot since I was first hired as a staff columnist. I can tell based on the topics I used to write about versus the topics I write about now. I’m not a completely different person, but interests and curiosities change in a year and a half — especially if you have months of quarantine to do some soulsearching.

It’s safe to say that when I first entered Pitt as a wide-eyed 17-year-old, I legitimately was a different person. I’ve made a lot of mistakes during my tenure here, but that’s turned me into the person I am today. I often felt boxedin at school because of the enormous pressure I put on myself to study something practical

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so I could find a good job. When I first made friends at school, it took me a while to branch out and find what I wanted to do, instead of just going with the group. In this column, I want to impart the lessons I’ve learned as well as give my thoughts on the costly and rigid academic structure of college.

When I came to Pitt, I thought I wanted to study computer science or something in the business field. I quickly realized that business wasn’t for me, but I tried to make computer science work for about three semesters. By the time I took advanced prerequisites in my third semester, I knew I was in over my head. I was struggling to get my GPA to where I wanted it to be and I was running myself ragged for a subject in which I ended up losing interest.

I had reservations about changing my major, mainly because of the money I “wasted” taking those classes. My family told me not to think about it like that, but it’s hard not to when you see how much money these classes cost. That’s why when I finally did change my major, I again chose something practical — information science.

I’ve been taking information science class-

es for a couple of years now. I liked them at first, but now as a second-semester senior, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is not a field I want to spend my time in. If I had to do it over, I’d pick something that suits my interests and strengths as a student. I’d probably pick something like political science, philosophy or another subject that reflects the way I think and puts my writing skills to good use.

Being so consumed with the enormous costs of college and my future job prospects, I was pressuring myself to pick a “viable” major. I do not recommend boxing yourself in like this — it does you no good as a student, and you’ll probably hate yourself in the future.

What’s funny is that the job market looks so bleak for my class that no matter what major I picked I’d probably struggle to find work.

Picking a major you enjoy will give you the best chance at a solid, fulfilling career.

That’s why it’s important to keep your options open as a first-year. Perhaps I was too restrictive with the courses I took, but I was just a 17-year-old who was thinking about securing a high-paying job for the future. I don’t think it’s right for children to be making such important decisions for their futures when they’ve experienced and learned so little in life.

At least in some European countries like Germany or Norway, college is virtually free.

This would make incoming students feel more comfortable with exploring all of the fields of study that universities have to offer. It also puts less pressure on you to graduate on time because you won’t be breaking the bank to find out what you want to do in life. Putting aside how much American college costs, I don’t think high school adequately prepared me for making such a monumental decision at such a young age.

In America, you need to ask permission to use the bathroom as a 17-year-old. At the same time, you are expected to pick a career path and decide what your future will be like. That’s a ludicrous notion. Looking back, a gap year might have helped me figure out what I wanted to do, or perhaps taking general education courses at a community college.

But I was young, inexperienced and uninformed — a gap year was too crazy for me to even fathom. It’s also worth noting that taking a gap year will most likely relinquish your financial aid and/or scholarship. And if I went to community college, I don’t think my experi-

April 21, 2021

ence would be as great as my time at Pitt was — even if I was at community college for just a few semesters. After all, I made a lot of my friends during my first year.

Like I said earlier, I don’t regret any decision I’ve made. Everything I’ve done has brought me to this moment. Overall, I’m happy with what I’ve chosen to do with my four years here at Pitt. I began my education here as a relatively shy and somewhat anxious person. I sometimes felt awkward when I wanted to venture out and do things alone. I often just hung out with my friends instead of exploring other things Pitt had to offer. It took me a few semesters before I finally got comfortable being by myself and doing what I wanted to do. Now, I am comfortable with doing things alone. I don’t choose to do things alone, but if none of my friends want to do something that I want to do then I’m not afraid to do it myself.

Getting comfortable with yourself and what you want to do is an important part of growing up. Embracing risk and the uncomfortable will help you discover things about yourself that you never knew before. Ultimately, no matter what I say, this is something you need to figure out for yourself, or you may never realize the benefits that you reap when you escape your comfort zone.

Staying in your comfort zone is fine, but if you do that for too long you’ll miss out on what life has to offer. We often try to psych ourselves out if we’re scared to try something.

That’s why it’s important to listen to your gut — the intuitive feeling you get when you know something is right but can’t explain it.

Of course, I’m just a 21-year-old. I don’t have all the answers. I’m going to make more mistakes in my life and so will you. Learning from them is what will make you a better person. Unfortunately, the structure of our society preys on those who are inexperienced and unprepared. Until something changes, you’re going to have to learn as much as you can so you can make informed decisions in life. Whether you are older or younger than me, I hope that this column will help you become more informed about the college experience.

Ethan Tessler is a senior and writes about issues that don’t seem to be at the forefront of media attention. If you enjoyed the column, hated it or have any other thoughts, write to him at ezt2@pitt.edu.

10

It’s OK to not have a job lined up for after graduation Ana Altchek

Staff Columnist As finals approach and the semester comes to an end, college seniors are wrapping up their academic careers and preparing for post-grad life. While this may sound like a seamless transition, for many students it’s not that simple.

The reality is that graduation doesn’t equate to having everything figured out.

In fact, it’s extremely stressful to simultaneously juggle the nostalgia of ending the last four years, the stress of finishing classes and the pressure of finding a career. The intensity of this timeline can be overwhelming to say the least — and the seemingly new culture of posting every professional update on LinkedIn makes this process even more anxiety inducing for those who don’t have everything figured out.

As a 22-year-old, though, it’s okay not to have a definitive plan upon graduation. Given the ongoing pandemic and subsequent uncertainty of this time, it should be normalized to feel unsure about the next step. While recent graduates should make an effort to stay productive and active after they finish school, they should also cut themselves some slack if they don’t have an exact plan figured out yet.

While it can be difficult to stay optimistic when job searches seem to be going nowhere, it’s important for students to keep in mind that they’re not alone.

As of this past December, the job market hit one of its lowest points since the Great Depression.

Similar to many other students, Emma Gitterman, a senior engineering major, has had trouble devoting herself to job searching while coping with the daily stressors of school.

“I have a hard time looking towards the future when I’m barely surviving the present,” Gitterman said. “Looking for a job is a full-time job.”

With the ever-growing social media culture and growing online presence of young professionals, it can be difficult to keep a high morale. When scrolling through sites like LinkedIn, it can seem like everyone has their lives perfectly in-

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tact. However, these posts don’t reflect the hundreds of thousands of recent graduates around the country who are currently in the same boat. They also don’t serve as a full representation of the process it took each individual to get to where they are.

College graduates who end school with a job or intention to attend an academic program should be proud and relieved to have a plan for the next chapter of their lives. However, those who don’t shouldn’t allow the unknown to make them feel less qualified or accomplished.

Even though it’s normal to feel stressed about this change of lifestyle, it’s important to remember that this period is temporary and a job will eventually turn up. While having a job upon graduation is ideal, being unemployed short term and taking time to find the right position can have its perks.

Nonetheless, if students feel like they need to settle for the first offer they get because of financial reasons, this decision also doesn’t need to define their

long-term career trajectory. The average person changes their career about five to seven times in their lifetime. In 2016, CNN published a LinkedIn study that found people will change jobs at least four times by the time they’re 32.

Thus, it’s important to remember that nothing during this time needs to be permanent. If graduates want to change their lives, they can. It’s merely a matter of time and effort, which is why this time should be used to experiment with different roles and figure out what they want to do.

Due to COVID-19, many students didn’t have the opportunity to obtain an accurate glimpse of what they wanted to do because of canceled internships over the last year. So taking time to see what’s out there and explore different paths may be a necessary step in the next direction.

Rather than let the post-grad anxiety become consuming, students should construct some kind of schedule for the meantime until they find a job. This will

April 21, 2021

help students feel productive in their period of unemployment and will ultimately give them a long-term plan.

While this doesn’t need to be specific, students should begin to figure out their goals and make sure they are following specific steps to get to where they want to be. By taking time to figure out what they want in the future and refusing to succumb to the stress and pressure that’s surrounding them, students may actually be grateful that they took time to think clearly and figure out their aspirations.

Regardless of where graduates end up after the first few months of finishing college, this period doesn’t need to dictate the rest of their lives. While many students may feel lost and directionless, the time stamp to have everything figured out is illusionary.

Ana writes primarily about cultural issues and gives lifestyle advice. Write to her at aea51@pitt.edu.

11

“The Pitt News is ultimately what helped me land my dream job.”

Culture Jonathan Van Ness talks ‘Queer Eye,’ activism with PPC

Anna Ligorio

Senior Staff Writer While Jonathan Van Ness is best known for his makeover skills and radiant personality on the show “Queer Eye,” he’s also an aspiring figure-skater in training. For Van Ness, acquiring this new skill hasn’t come without a struggle.

“Well, skating has not been easy,” Van Ness said. “It's so much scarier than I thought — you're definitely like 4 inches off the ground, moving really fast, and my hips have seen and felt some things that I didn't know I could feel.”

Van Ness discussed his ice skating experience and more on Monday night, when he participated in “A Conversation with Jonathan Van Ness,” a lecture held

by Pitt Program Council in collaboration with Rainbow Alliance. The organizations hosted the event as a part of Campus Pride Month, which colleges celebrate in April rather than the national Pride Month in June, and it was PPC’s last lecture event of the year.

Students had the opportunity to pre-submit questions for the event via Instagram DMs as well as submitting questions during the event while it was happening. Quincey Johnston, PPC’s lecture director, and Barrie Wiener, president of Rainbow Alliance, co-moderated the event.

During the hour-long lecture, Van Ness discussed his career, hobbies and activism interests. Van Ness identified his role models as trans rights activists Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, comedian Margaret Cho and Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan.

He also addressed the impact of reality TV show “Queer Eye,” Netflix’s revamp of the 2003 series “Queer Eye for

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April 21, 2021

The Straight Guy,” in which Van Ness stars as one of the Fab Five. Along with his four other co-stars — including Antoni Porowski, who visited Pitt in 2018 — Van Ness meets individuals around the United States and attempts to change their lives for the better.

Van Ness discussed his passion for activism within the LGBTQ+ community throughout the event. Van Ness, who identifies as gay and nonbinary, said Pitt students must get out and vote in significant states like Pennsylvania to be an ally to the community.

“Vote — your state is pivotal,” Van Ness said. “There are 38 state legislators who are trying to enact transphobic legislation right now, we still don’t have enough access to the HIV social safety net, and there's so much more work to do.”

Along with voting, Van Ness said students should explain systemic issues such as transphobia and homophobia to their families in order to increase awareness of the harm those things do to the LBGTQ+ community.

“Explaining to your families the existence of white supremacy, racism, homophobia, transphobia and the many ways that those things continue to kill our fellow people is really important.”

Van Ness said.

Additionally, Johnston asked Van Ness how he feels about the use of the word “queer.” For Van Ness, the word isn’t inherently derogatory at all.

“I love the word ‘queer,’ I think it's a fabulous word,” Van Ness said. “I've had people yell that out their windows at me in a derogatory way throughout my life, but I don't think it's a dirty word — I think it's a gorgeous word, so if someSee Van Ness on page 13

12

Van Ness, pg. 12 one's going to insult me with a gorgeous word, the joke is on you.”

According to Van Ness, he and his co-stars on “Queer Eye” wanted to make sure that the reboot was on par with the original series.

“I think I hoped that we would do the original justice, and I wanted people to like our show,” Van Ness said. “I think it's fair to say that I felt pressure, but it wasn't really from any one person — I just think that all of us really wanted to do a good job with the opportunity.”

According to Van Ness, he’s excited that he’s had the opportunity to work with Netflix, and he’s looking forward to filming the next season in the upcoming days.

“Well, I mean I feel really happy to have that opportunity to still work with Netflix,” Van Ness said. “Actually we're starting shooting season six this week, so that’s really exciting.”

Even though the show has been popular since 2018, Van Ness said he is still processing the fact that he’s a celebrity.

“When people ask me what it’s like being famous or what it's like working with these people and opportunities, it feels like I’m in a constant state of shock,” Van Ness said. “I can't even believe that I get to have these opportunities.”

Along with discussing his career with “Queer Eye,” Van Ness also gave some self-care tips to Pitt students to take the stress out of upcoming finals.

“One thing I’ve learned is that selfcare doesn't have to be this thing where we have to put on a hair mask or do a face mask. For some people, self care is going to a virtual yoga class, doing yoga in the park, going on a walk or volunteering somewhere,” Van Ness said. “Self-care doesn't have to be an aesthetic.”

According to Wiener, a French and politics and philosophy major, Rainbow Alliance helped PPC write questions for the event. Wiener said moderating the event was a helpful learning exercise for the future lectures that Rainbow Alliance is planning.

“It’s really nice to partner with an organization like PPC, because they have a lot of funding and resources so they can do some really cool things,” Wiener

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said. “It's also really helpful since we're trying to run a lecture later in the year, so it’s nice to see how to interact with big celebrity guests.”

According to Nicholas Jones, a junior majoring in media and communications and the public relations director for PPC, it made sense to partner with Rainbow Alliance for this event to celebrate Pride Month.

“We're really excited to be partnering with Rainbow Alliance for this event,” Jones said. “As a part of Pride Month, we think it is really important to highlight the community in a positive way and we

thought that this partnership just made sense.”

Throughout “Queer Eye,” Van Ness has met people from all across the country who are all in their own diverse situations. In his experience with the show, Van Ness said he’s learned a universal truth about all of the people he’s met.

“I think what I would say is the most universal thing that I've learned is that at the end of the day, we all really want to be loved,” Van Ness said. “We really want to be loved, and we want to be loved for just living our authentic truth, which looks different to everyone.”

PHI BETA KAPPA THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH CHAPTER OF PHI BETA KAPPA PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE NOMINATION OF STUDENTS FOR ELECTION TO THE CLASS OF 2021 Jill Feinstein Annie A. Abernathy Cara Maya Fleseriu Ashima Agarwal Emily H. Fogel Sarika Aggarwal Emma Mary Frank Veronica Alday Nitya Anantharama Alexandra N. Geyfman Charles G. Gish Uma Balaji Ram S. Goli Navi S. Baskar Kaley A. Grooms Deanna M. Gross Sai Bhatte Rachel M. Guarinoni Anna Bondonese Vaishnavi Guddeti Kara Bosilovich Pooja Gupta Noah Bowser Destynie O. Harris Noah Bright Kathryn M. Haynes McKenzie E. Brown Kaitlin Marie Healy Janetta Brundage William F. Heck Francis M. Burk Cecelia J. Hembrough James Carnevale Alexis Henderson Zachary W. Case Maya E. Heuman David J. Holovac Sabrina Catalano Kevin Q. Hu Anna Chen Dane K. Hudson Daniel J. Cheston Daria Jelic Stephanie A. Jimenez Jamie Cheung Daniel J. Kelley Alison Chilcott Dinah Kim Victoria C. Childers Naina Kohli Angela Ardis DeRose Jacob T. Kuzy Kruthika Doreswamy Jared Lashway Joshua Lee Ana Clare Driscoll Talia J. Levi Emily A. Duque Argirel G. Lion Kyle A. Edwards Mathew Lipkin Noelle Eghbali Amy Liu Loretta Wanda Liu Quincy Erickson-Oberg Alyssa M. Long Lauren A. Escher Armari L. Long Chibundum Ezenwukwa Kacey S. Lopes Maura C. Fagan Keanne Marcelo Noah M. Feder

Brooke Marshall Madelyn McAndrew Connor McFadden Gabriella McGillin Chase McKellar Anthony Medure Dylan Michael Megan A. Miller Alessandra Mora Mary Morcos Michelle Morris Isaiah Moten Samantha Marie Mull Pallavi Muluk Ethan Murphy Madeleine R. Nawrocki Zachary Nitsch Alexander Novara Jasmine Kaur Pabla Akhil V. Pallerla Aarti Patel Hetvi Patel Virali Patel Kanchan Paudel Jaris Pedlow Kathryn Elizabeth Ratner Matthew C. Reslink Brittaney Richards Alexia G. Richie Ronald T. Rineer Ella K. Roberts Mia N. Roberts Joshua D. Sabala Quinn P. Scanlon Kristina E. Schwab Julia Seraly Olivia Shapiro Martha Smee Alison Smith Jay P. Solgama

Oluwatobi Sogebi Adele Stefanowicz Derek M. Stein Neil Sudan Michelle Lynn Sun Pavan Suresh Michael Sutton Swathi Tata Lance Taylor Neiva Teka Sean Tierney Kouadio Dixon Toukou Nnemoa Uzoukwu Jemy A. Varghese Margaret Elizabeth Verrico Emory Natasha Verstraete Nathan Villanueva Daniel J. Volpone Jelena Vorkapich Caila Wagar Sydney Walter Eric Wei Isabella Weiler Trevor M. Weis Brianna C. Weissman Joshua M. Wiener Dennis Han Zhan

If you believe you meet the chapter’s requirements published on our website at http://www.pitt.edu/~pbk/reqs.html, but may have been overlooked please email Prof. Michael West (mikewest@pitt.edu) with a copy of your transcript and an explanation of how you think your record satisfies the published requirements. Please also consult the website’s two-page mentoring sheet.

April 21, 2021

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April 21, 2021

14

Sports

Soccer selection, Spring football game preview pittnews.com

Panthers’ historic tournament run ends in heartbreaker Alex Lehmbeck Sports Editor

Pitt volleyball’s historic NCAA tournament run came to an end on Monday afternoon, and it happened in possibly the most heartbreaking way imaginable. After winning the first two sets of the match, the Panthers (19-5) lost the next three games, falling to No. 6 Washington (203) in the team’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance.

Pitt entered Monday’s match riding an upset streak in postseason play. After an undefeated spring portion of the regular season, unseeded Pitt beat its first three NCAA tournament opponents — LIU, No. 14 Utah and No. 3 Minnesota.

The sweep of Utah marked Pitt’s first win in the second round of the tournament in program history, and the team followed that up with a shocking five-set comeback against the third-ranked Gophers.

After becoming one of two unseeded (not in the top 16) teams to make the Sweet 16, no team outside of the top eight seeds qualified for the quarterfinals except for Pitt. But the Panthers didn’t come in looking like underdogs, storming out to a 10-5 lead in the first game. Washington couldn’t get within two points for the rest of the game, falling 25-20.

“I thought they came out a little flat and we jumped on them,” Pitt head coach Dan Fisher said.

The Panthers carried the momentum straight into the second frame, jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Although the Huskies successfully evened it at eight, Pitt went on a crucial run during redshirt senior setter Kylee Levers’ serve to take a 15-10 advantage. The Panthers would hold on to win the second game 25-21, thanks in large part to sophomore middle blocker Chiamaka Nwokolo’s five kills.

With a 2-0 lead, full momentum and what looked like an unstoppable defensive rhythm, Pitt stood on the brink of an unpredictable Final Four appearance. But anyone who declared the game over must not have watched the Huskies for the past week. They by no means coasted to this stage, going five sets in its first two matches of the tournament.

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Against Louisville on Sunday, Washington looked unrecoverable multiple times. The team went down 2-1, before dominating the fourth game to force one more. Down by six points in the final set, the Huskies mounted a powerful comeback to send the Cardinals home.

“I think it just shows how gritty this team is,” Washington junior setter Ella May Powell said.

“It’s just really fun to see people show up in those moments.”

The Huskies dominated the third set against the Panthers from start to finish, cruising to a 2516 result. The Panthers only hit a .148 hitting percentage in the frame, while Washington shined with .522.

“We were kind of just waiting for them to lose it,” Fisher said. “We kind of went away a little bit from what got us here, just playing really aggressive volleyball.”

Washington got out to another strong start in the fourth game, taking a 10-6 lead. Any time Pitt would start to claw back, the Huskies seemingly got a timely boost from junior outside hitter Claire Hoffman and senior outside hitter Samantha Drechsel. But the set became truly dramatic when the referees received more scrutiny.

With the Panthers trailing 19-15, play stopped when Pitt players sought an over-thenet violation on the Huskies. Instead, officials called a violation on Pitt for touching the net.

Fortunately for Fisher, he could challenge the call because a Washington player had made contact with the ball when going over the net. Pitt won the challenge, resulting in a two-point swing on the scoreboard.

Ndee had painted the line. He lost that one, tying the set at 23. Washington successfully overturned another call on the next play, giving the

Huskies set point. Nwokolo responded with a kill to tie it 24-24.

During this crucial moment of the match, a Pitt rejection appeared to set up a match point.

Washington challenged and officials ruled that Lund had made contact with the net earlier in the rally, setting up a game point for the Huskies instead. They capitalized, putting it away to tie the match two sets apiece.

“We had some gritty performances, but I don’t think anybody really had the game of their lives,” Fisher said. “We had a lot of good, but it just wasn’t quite enough. It would’ve been nice to get one of those to go our way in the fourth, though.”

Suddenly, Pitt needed to win the final set or

Find the full story online at

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April 21, 2021

15

Dalton Coppola

Final year with Pickett provides chance to return to former glory

Senior Staff Writer

Spring sports wrapping up, Pitt students moving back home for the summer and the weather warming up all mean one thing — college football is back on the horizon. The Panthers are preparing to conclude their spring practices with a final scrimmage in their annual spring game at Heinz Field on Saturday.

Pitt is coming off of a 6-5 season that was the embodiment of average — there wasn’t much to get excited about. The Panthers rattled off three eye-opening wins to start the season, earning the No. 21 ranking in the country before losing four straight games and falling into a tailspin back toward college football mediocrity — a state Panther fans have become well accustomed to in recent decades, as the program has reached the 10 win threshold just once this century.

The second half of this abysmal stretch

saw the Panthers play without their junior quarterback and leader, Kenny Pickett.

Despite being eligible to test his luck in the NFL Draft, on Dec. 15 Pickett took to Instagram to let Panther fans know he’s returning for his super senior year, posting a picture of himself in the Pitt uniform, number eight on his chest and a ball in his gloved right hand with the caption: “One more year. #H2P.” Pickett’s return leaves Pitt’s window open to reemerge into the conversation as a contender to win the ACC, consistently be ranked in the top 25 and potentially a national title.

Pickett introduced himself to Panther fans in 2017 as a first-year when he took down the No. 2-ranked Miami Hurricanes in his first career start — making an astonishing first impression on the Panther faithful. The New Jersey native would go on to provide Panther fans with show-stopping performances and several upsets over the past several years, solidifying himself

as Pitt’s leader and one of the faces of the program.

Panther fans caught a glimpse of life without Pickett after he injured his ankle in an overtime loss to Boston College last October and was forced out of two key games.

The following week, redshirt sophomore Joey Yellen filled in for Pickett in a loss to Miami and although he played fairly well, it was evident the Panther offense was missing Pickett’s mobility and experience.

Yellen played well enough against Miami to get the start the following week against Notre Dame — a game Panther fans would like to forget.

Yellen completed just 10 of 27 passes and threw three interceptions while the offense failed to find the endzone in a 45-3 loss against the Fighting Irish. The offense had to be simplified as a result of Yellen’s lack of mobility and experience, making the offense very predictable in his two games under center.

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April 21, 2021

Pickett provides the Panthers with experience and much-needed flexibility in the offensive game planning — the offense is simply much more versatile with Pickett under center. But this is Pitt’s last year with Pickett at the quarterback position and the time to make the leap back into the elite stratosphere of college football is now.

The Panthers will be waving goodbye to one of the nation’s best defensive lines in the coming week as the NFL Draft rapidly approaches. The defense is going to look much different than last year with five starters departing from the program, not including former All-ACC defensive tackle senior Jaylen Twyman who opted out of the 2020 season in preparation for the draft.

Although the defense will look different, there are players waiting in the wings ready to fill in immediately in the absence of some of the team’s former stars.

The Panthers don’t have this luxury at the quarterback position — it doesn’t seem there’s another quarterback on the roster who is ready to succeed Pickett.

Pitt can’t afford another year of mediocrity if it wants to start pulling big-name recruits away from the perennial powerhouses. If this team can’t put together a solid season, it will have to start that process all over again — this time with Yellen.

The time for Pitt football to return to its former glory starts with a big year from Pickett. He has the weapons on offense and a defense that is chock full of potential in order to make a serious run into the top 25 this year.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi needs to coach as if his job were on the line this year. Pitt is certainly back on the upswing, but another disappointing year could continue what seems like a never-ending run full of struggling young quarterbacks, no five-star recruits and a small-market bowl game. Pickett returning for another goaround gives this program the opportunity to break this cycle.

This team and program will go as far as Pickett can take it — Pitt football’s future lies on the shoulder pads of number eight.

16

Ron Idoko

Lifting up those around him Written by Griffin Floyd Photos courtesy of Ron Idoko Pitt football taught Ron Idoko lessons that still impact him long after he’s finished playing.

Idoko played for the Panthers at defensive tackle from 2002-05, walking on in his first semester at Pitt and eventually earning an athletic scholarship.

“I really understood the value of teamwork and dedication … as a walk-on, you really have to scrap,” Idoko said. “You know you’ve gotta grind a lot to get results.”

Idoko obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Pitt, graduating with a degree in communication in 2005, before earning a master’s in public administration, regional and urban affairs two years later.

Idoko emphasized the importance of work ethic frequently, as did Penny Semaia, his former teammate turned professional colleague. Semaia, Pitt’s senior associate athletic director for student life, knows how hard Idoko works firsthand, both in their work with the University and as workout partners. “[Idoko’s] going to work and fight for what he believes in, and he’s going to lift up anyone who’s

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willing to be in the fight [along with him],” Semaia said.

Idoko now serves as the diversity and multicultural program manager for Pitt’s Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. He works to increase awareness of and accommodate the issues faced by marginalized groups and cultures.

“There are systemic challenges facing various social identity groups that experience marginalization, whether it’s based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity or ability status, that we need to be conscious of to best engage across our differences,” Idoko said. “We endeavor to build awareness and understanding of the ways in which we are different, working to elevate different cultural experiences and perspectives.”

Idoko said he doesn’t want to force compliance — he aims to advance these narratives in a constructive, organic wa“We don’t want to mandate everyone to participate in [EDI] programs … the goal is to continue fostering an environment where everyone values and embraces the opportunity to participate in these programs,” Idoko said.

Semaia said Idoko knows how to get everyone on board, even if they aren’t comfortable

with his discussions at first. “[Idoko] creates an environment where you can freely ask questions, whether it’s on biases or experiences, or areas where you just have questions that you haven’t been exposed to,” Semaia said. “He isn’t afraid to be in spaces where there will be discomfort, especially when it comes to [topics of] equity, diversity and inclusion.”

To get everyone on board, networking plays a huge part in Idoko’s EDI work. Idoko said the office partners with different organizations in the community, such as Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, working with them to create opportunities for EDI-related programs.

Holly Hickling, the associate program evaluation specialist for Pitt’s School of Pharmacy, said she’s worked with Idoko since she joined the University in 2014.

“When I met him, I could tell that he was a rising star,” Hickling said. “I see Ron as a visionary leader.”

Hickling sees Idoko’s ability to reach out across campus organizations as one of his biggest strengths.

“It’s not just what he believes — he’s able to communicate it and he’s able to bring other people on board and get other people excited,” Hickling said.

It all circles back to teamwork for the football-minded Idoko.

“Many hands make for lighter work,” Idoko said. “Fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive University community can’t be the work of just one office alone.”

Idoko said his EDI work is similar to the position he used to play — a lot of hard work, often without much fanfare. He doesn’t mind working in the background because he’s used to it.

“It’s not about seeking praise or recognition for what we do — it’s about results, about really moving the needle forward,” Idoko said.

Even so, Idoko said that with hard work, there’s always a chance for upward mobility.

His example? Another former Pitt defensive tackle. Aaron Donald, who bartered his play in the trenches into three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, recording 85.5 sacks at a position not known for rushing the quarterback.

“The grind, the commitment and the hard work actually get you to a position where work is noted,” Idoko said. “We understand the value of being deeply engaged in the community, being active and finding every opportunity to advance our collective DEI agenda.”

With a focus on outreach, teamwork and collaboration, the ability to adapt is crucial to what Idoko does. Even among the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the switch to online life created new opportunities to advance

April 21, 2021

EDI work.

The office hosts an annual forum on diversity, opening the door for members of the Pitt community to learn about diversity and inclusion concepts. Idoko said this occurred after the University switched to a remote posture, and so the conference moved online as well.

He said the office’s previous best showing consisted of 350 participants, but the accessibility afforded by an online event meant it could reach more than 13,000 people during the three-day conference.

“It was a very distinct moment for us, something we’re certainly very proud of,” Idoko said.

Idoko’s latest work in the online world is a seven-part workshop open to all members of the Pitt community called “Developing Diversity Consciousness to Foster Antiracist Practices, Cultures and Communities.”

“It’s focused on educating folks on the concept of diversity consciousness, which is the understanding, awareness and skills to think through and value human differences,” Idoko said. “It’s meant to help folks foster open, thoughtful and productive dialogue around one of our core differences — race.”

Idoko wants to educate people on structural racism to better combat it, noting that racism is a far more complex issue than what people might normally think.

“When many people think of racism, they think of the most explicit forms of prejudice or hatred, which makes it easier to excuse ourselves from having to address it,” Idoko said. “We think, ‘Well I don’t engage in explicit forms of racism or hatred and not too many people that I know do that sort of thing.’”

Fostering a better understanding of race, bias and discrimination helps people to understand and improve both themselves and their communities, Idoko said. It’s important to him because of the grave consequences bias creates.

“Implicit bias is a primary engine of structural racism,” Idoko said.

The series is designed to educate people on implicit bias and how racial inequality manages to persist and to educate on race through examining different racial identities. With any forum, though, there’s a danger of creating an echo chamber, preaching to a choir of people already open to these concepts and on board with advancing the narrative. Idoko’s goal is to push his platform past that.

“The challenge is trying to reach those who

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17

LILY NONG

The human side of emergency medicine Written by Rashi Ranjan Photos by Wu Caiyi

In the weeks before Christmas, Lily Nong was working in the emergency room, mostly aiding patients suffering from COVID-19. As yet another patient was put on BiPAP — a machine to help push air into a patient’s lungs — Nong recalled realizing the severity of the situation.

“I was in the ER. We had a patient transported from their home, and they were positive for COVID. We tried additional oxygen, but they were still decompensating, so we switched to BiPAP, which is the last step before you intubate someone,” Nong said.

While this patient was able to use BiPAP, other patients would not be so lucky.

“After the respiratory team came down and switched them to BiPAP, I could hear her from my desk, calling her — I assume — supervisor, and she was saying, ‘I just used the last five BiPAP machines in this hospital. I have one extra here, but I don’t know what to do,’” Nong said. “Hearing the panic in her voice, seeing the patient suffering, trying to breathe, that’s when I was like, COVID is still here.”

Though they didn’t anticipate a pandemic, Nong did anticipate working in the health care field from a young age. While Nong attended grade school, their mother was attending school to become a nurse practitioner.

“I remember seeing [my mom] work hard to obtain various degrees — progressing from an LPN, to an RN, to a nurse practitioner — all while working full time,” Nong said. “I really admired her tenacity, and I knew that I wanted a career that would allow me to impact a lot of people

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and work hard.”

Watching “Untold Stories of the ER,” a TV show re-enacting emergency room cases, sparked Nong’s interest in health care, specifically emergency medicine. Now a student in Pitt’s Emergency Medicine program, Nong is experiencing the fast-paced nature of the ER firsthand.

“I definitely remember watching ‘Untold Stories of the ER,’ a TV show, when I was around 10 years old with my mom while on vacation,” Nong said. “I remember thinking how fascinating emergency care was, and I was drawn to the rapid pace.”

Nong decided to join a student organization — Pitt Student Emergency Medical Services — when they arrived at Pitt. After being exposed to EMTs and paramedics, they found that there was something truly special about this line of work.

“One of my favorite things about EMS is that you’re the first line of the health care system,” Nong said. “You get to see the patient in their home setting, and that’s something that not a lot of health care specialities can say.”

Now the chief of education for Pitt Student EMS, Nong organizes lectures and educational events for club members to attend and keep up with the continuing education requirements for EMTs and paramedics.

But being a health care worker in times of increased racial tension comes with its own set of challenges. A queer Vietnamese American paramedic student, Nong said they have faced racism “every single day” while on the job.

Nong recently spoke at the Stop Asian Hate protest that took place on March 20 in Oakland.

Having heard about the protest through social

media, Nong originally planned to observe.

When the organizer of the protest, Jake B., talked about how they wanted to make the protest a place for Asians and Asian Americans to share their voice, Nong said they made the decision to speak.

“To be honest, I think I blacked out speaking to the crowd. One of my roommates — who I am very grateful for attending the protest with me — filmed what I said, and I haven't had the courage to rewatch the video,” Nong said.

Nong said attending this protest meant not only seeking support from a community they’re a part of but also learning ways to help.

“Many speakers talked about how racism is societal, and it is up to everyone to call people out for the daily racist acts they see,” Nong said. “I would love to see more people, including myself, aware of other people's — and their own — racist behavior, and taking the steps to educate more people.”

Though they have faced racism in health care, Nong said something they love about prehospital care and emergency medicine is that “patients will never be turned away.”

Christina Hogg, their peer and president of Pitt Student EMS, said Nong’s dedication to the club and organization has been “phenomenal,” inviting many speakers to speak at club meetings.

“They got amazing people to speak [at SEMS events] — people love [the speakers] so much,” Hogg said. “They had a wide variety, not just people in EMS — people like physicians, people in other areas of medicine to vary the perspectives that we hear from people.”

While Nong will be applying to medical

April 21, 2021

school in hopes of becoming a physician, Hogg said no matter where Nong ends up, they will succeed greatly. This is, in part, due to Nong’s commitment to social justice issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Referring to #BlackoutTuesday, a collective action to protest racism and police brutality on June 2, 2020, Hogg said Nong was conscientious of how those around them were affected and tried to do more than just “post a black square and [forget] about it.”

“Lily proves that there are people going into medicine who are going to be thoughtful. Being aware of, either with other professionals or on a patient-provider basis, little microaggressions and things like that,” Hogg said. “Knowing that providers like Lily are going in there and they’re going to be cognizant and provide culturally competent health care is amazing.”

Hogg, Nong and others were preparing last summer for this academic year of Pitt Student EMS. Hogg said Nong was eager and prepared to have conversations about Black Lives Matter and justice with the club members.

“We had extensive discussion among the board of how we would approach it as leadership and what our recommendations for members would be like,” Hogg said. “A lot of them wanted to go to protests and provide medical help. We discussed, from a legal standpoint, can we advise what medical care they should be giving to people?”

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18

Ally Hansen Serving on the front lines

Written by Matthew Monroy Photos by Pamela Smith

For most of the COVID-19 pandemic, Allison Hansen worked 12-hour hospital shifts taking vital signs, testing blood sugar levels and guiding patients on laps around the hallways — often in the densest COVID-19 areas of UPMC Passavant.

Despite the nonstop nature of her job, Hansen said she encourages patients to keep her busy — it’s her job to tend to patients around the clock, and the patients’ job to bother her.

“A lot of the older patients, they don’t want to be a bother — that’s a big thing,” Hansen said.

“And I always tell them that ‘it’s your job to bother me, and it’s my job to bother you. So we’re both going to bother each other about this stuff, and we’re just going to have to get along with that.’”

Hansen has been working as a patient care technician at UPMC Passavant in McCandless — located about 25 minutes north of Oakland — since November 2019. Hansen started as a patient care technician but underwent more training to acquire the "advanced" portion of her title in January. About four months into her new position, the pandemic struck, dramatically altering the duties, time commitment and risk factor of her job.

COVID-19’s appearance on the global stage shattered medical protocol and redefined public health guidelines, ravaging areas of the United States with unprecedented hospitalization rates. Allegheny County is no exception — as of Tuesday, about 1,840 people in Allegheny County have died from COVID-19.

Although Hansen’s responsibilities as an APCT — serving food, checking heart rates and temperatures and tending to the general care of patients — remain largely the same, she is working tirelessly with the added pressure of a global pandemic.

Hansen graduated from Pitt in December with a degree in natural sciences and a certificate in community health assessment and works at the hospital full-time. She plans to attend a physician assistant grad school program, where her experience as an APCT will help fulfill the pa-

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tient hours requirement of the application.

UPMC hired Hansen during her junior year at Pitt, and she initially worked at the hospital part-time, commuting from her apartment in South Oakland. But once the pandemic hit in March, she found herself working later and struggling to balance her classes with the hospital’s need for more help as COVID-19 cases surged.

“I just worked and did school when I could.

I would go in for a four- or eight-hour shift and they would be like, ‘Can you stay? Can you stay?’” Hansen said. “So I’d end up being there for 16 hours.”

Hansen works in Passavant’s resource pool, which sends PCTs to work at a different unit each day according to the hospital’s needs. Once Hansen arrives for her shift, she receives her assignment — what floor she’ll work on and the medical information for her assigned patients.

As infection rates began rising in Allegheny County, Hansen said UPMC Passavant designated specific areas of the hospital for COVID-19 patients in March, sectioning these floors off to try to control the virus’ spread within the building. She added that the hospital started by demarcating the intensive care units as COVID-19 zones, but as cases and the need for more space rose, other floors were authorized as “COVID pods.” She said the hospital closed these pods in early February due to a decrease in case numbers.

But when the COVID-19 pods were still in place, Hansen spent most of her time there. These sectors had strict protocols, requiring workers such as Hansen to change into protective gear before entering the pods. Hansen wore a powered air-purifying respirator — a large, tubular air purification machine that pumps decontaminated air into the helmet of the wearer via breathing tubes.

“We wore big beehive suits, which is the best way I can describe it as, and then once we started getting more patients, they closed down entire units and made them entirely negative pressure,” Hansen said. “That’s where you were assigned for the day. We were kinda just going with what we

had.”

Although the PAPR’s glass helmets provided a face-to-face interaction between the wearer and a patient, Hansen said the loud whir of the suits’ ventilation systems made holding a conversation difficult. Workers also wore custom-fitted N95 masks, designed to maintain a sealing fit.

Hansen said the cumbersome equipment compounded the physical exhaustion of 12-hour shifts from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“It completely exhausts you, not just what you do in a normal day as a PCT where you’re lugging people around and cleaning them up, which is already physically exhausting, but you

April 21, 2021

add your PAPR, your N95 — seeing people so sick, it definitely does something to you,” Hansen said. “I was just so tired for so long. I was so heavy and tired and never wanted to do anything.”

Hansen, who is originally from about an hour outside Philadelphia in Doylestown, said she always knew that she wanted to work in health care, although she started college intending on entering Pitt’s emergency medicine program.

Though she did become a certified emergency

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