The Pitt News
T he i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | january 8, 2020 | Volume 110 | Issue 196
SGB ANNOUNCES COOKIETHEDRAL RESIGNATION OF JUDICIAL CHAIR GRACE NELSON Benjamin Nigrosh Assistant News Editor
Student Government Board kicked off its first meeting of the semester Tuesday night with an announcement from President Zechariah Brown that SGB’s judicial chair Grace Nelson is resigning. “In her time as SGB’s judicial chair, Grace has energized, inspired and led her committee with the same enthusiasm that she brings to each and every meeting,” Brown said. “Under her leadership, Grace’s committee has increased judicial presence both internally as well as externally, taking on really important issues for SGB.” Nelson said she is leaving SGB to pursue a full-time position working for City government. Before her resignation becomes effective this Sunday, Nelson said, she and Brown will interview candidates to take the position, which they hope will be filled by the next SGB meeting. “It’s been a pleasure considering myself a member of your team,” Nelson said at the meeting. Following Brown’s introductory remarks, board and committee chair members introduced themselves, promoted open positions on their committees and stated their initiatives for the year. Nick Bibby, the elections committee chair, announced that SGB election petition packets became available to students Monday and can be found at the SGB office in William Pitt Union room 848. Applications are due on Jan. 28, Bibby said.
Students use rice crispies, graham crackers, frosting and other sweets to construct replicas of the Cathedral of Learning at Tuesday evening’s “Cathy Cookie Bake-Off” in the William Pitt Union. Caela Go | staff photographer
KEVIN KRAMER: PITT PITCHER TURNED PROFESSIONAL PLAYER LOOK-ALIKE Trent Leonard Sports Editor
The Washington Nationals won their first MLB World Series in franchise history on Oct. 30, knocking off the Houston Astros in Game 7. They celebrated the accomplishment among thousands of fans on Nov. 2 in a parade ceremony that cruised through the main streets of our nation’s capital. To the surprise and excitement of many fans, star pitcher Max Scherzer left his teammates and joined the crowd, where he was promptly mobbed for pictures, autographs See SGB on page 2 and high fives. Entrenched by admirers,
Scherzer required a police escort to make way for his escape. All the while, people snapped photographs and cheered him on. Or so they thought. The real Scherzer spent most of the parade dancing around with a commemorative WWE Championship belt atop the team bus. So who, then, was this indistinguishable imposter? It was actually Kevin Kramer, a 45-yearold Arlington, Virginia, resident who happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to the three-time Cy Young Award winner. But before he rose to minor fame as Scherzer’s dop-
pelganger, Kramer was an exceptional pitcher in his own right for the Pitt baseball team. Like Scherzer, Kramer is a righty. But the similarities end there — Scherzer has made his name as a hard-throwing starter while Kramer was more of a junk-throwing middle reliever. “When we were playing, we played at Trees Field. And the left field fence was really short,” Kramer said. “Unless you threw 90 [miles per hour] or above, it was tough to get guys out.” Kramer relied instead on a steady diet of See Kramer on page 6