1-9-20

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 | January 9, 2020 ­| Volume 110 | Issue 197

PITT RELEASES LATEST HAZING REPORT

HUNGRY HUNGRY HUMANS

Jon Moss

News Editor Pitt released its biannual hazing report earlier this month, detailing seven incidents of possible hazing on campus beginning in April 2019 and extending through the year. The University has resolved all but one of the investigations resulting from the incidents, with no hazing violations filed.

The hazing report, which is published twice a year, is required by the state Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law. The death of Pennsylvania State University student Timothy Piazza while pledging the Beta Theta Pi fraternity drew national attention to the issue of hazing and led to the law’s creation.

The hazing report included two previously unreported September 2019 incidents — one involving Pitt’s chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and another involving the Mastana Fusion Dance Club.

An anonymous report, filed in early September, stated that members of Kappa Kappa Gamma allegedly “hazed” members on Sept. 1, 2019.

The second previously unreported incident, this time involving the dance club, occurred on Sept. 15, 2019. An anonymous report alleged that organization See Hazing on page 2

Students play a life-sized version of Hungry Hungry Hippos at Life-Sized Game Night, sponsored by Student Affairs in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room. Joy Cao | staff photographer

PITT EMPLOYEE SUES UNIVERSITY FOR ALLEGED DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Benjamin Nigrosh

and the lawsuit was filed on Dec. 9, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of An employee of Pitt’s Graduate School of Pennsylvania. Hinkson alleged that the UniverPublic Health filed a civil complaint against the sity’s actions violated the federal Americans with University for allegedly discriminating against Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Rehim on the basis of disability. lations Act. He asked the court to award him back Daniel Hinkson, a GSPH employee since and front pay, compensatory damages, punitive 1999, filed the complaint with the Equal Employ- damages and legal fees. ment Opportunity Commission on June 7, 2019, Pitt spokesperson David Seldin said the UniAssistant News Editor

versity believes the case is “without merit.”

Hinkson has Asperger’s syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication. He was initially diagnosed with autism in approximately 1973 or 1974, according to the complaint, and was later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2018.

See Lawsuit on page 2

News

Lawsuit, pg. 1

Phi Gamma Delta was placed back in good standing after a hazing probe in October. Caela Go | staff photographer

Hazing, pg. 1

members forced new members to consume alcohol, according to the University hazing report.

After investigations of both incidents, the hazing report said, there was insufficient information to support hazing violations. The University did not assign sanctions to the sorority or the dance club.

The hazing report also provides additional details on the string of Greek life hazing investigations from last fall, of which all but one were closed with no hazing violations filed.

Pitt’s chapter of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity originally suspended new member activities last October, before moving to a full suspension later that month. At the time, Pitt spokesperson Kevin Zwick said an anonymous report led to the status changes and an investigation, which is still ongoing.

According to the University hazing report, the anonymous report alleged that organization members forced new members to consume alcohol and relinquish their cell phones.

The sanctions remain in effect while the investigation is still ongoing.

Pitt also suspended new member education for chapters of the Chi Omega

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sorority and the Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Phi Gamma Delta fraternities in late October following anonymous reports of alleged hazing.

Two similar anonymous reports alleged that members of Chi Omega and Delta Sigma Phi allegedly forced new members of their respective organizations to consume alcohol and kiss strangers, according to the University hazing report.

The University hazing report also said an anonymous report alleged that members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon allegedly forced new members to perform a dance, while another anonymous report alleged members of Phi Gamma Delta forced new members to consume a carrot after members urinated on it.

After investigating the allegations against the four organizations, the hazing report said, there was insufficient information to support hazing violations.

The University assigned sanctions of holding a mock social event by Feb. 10 to Chi Omega and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, while Delta Sigma Phi has until Sept. 30.

Chi Omega and Sigma Alpha Epsilon are also not allowed to participate in activities where alcohol is present until Jan. 31, while Delta Sigma Phi cannot participate until April 30. The University did not assign sanctions to Phi Gamma Delta.

According to the complaint, beginning in August 2017 and the following months, Hinkson spoke with his supervisor, David Givens, to complain about the strong chemical odor resulting from the office’s cleaning materials.

Hinkson complained again to Givens in January 2018 that the situation had become unbearable. He suspected his sensitivity to strong odors, such as the chemical smells from cleaning products, was related to his autism. He also informed Givens that he had scheduled an appointment with a psychologist for an autism evaluation.

According to the complaint, Givens became visibly upset, putting his finger in the plaintiff’s face, and demanded that the plaintiff be seen by Pitt’s Employment Assistance Program, citing that he was the plaintiff’s supervisor and this was the course of action he was mandating.

Hinkson met with Andrea Kellman, the manager of EAP, on Feb. 5, 2018, and recounted the “explosive conversation” he had with his supervisor. Kellman referred Hinkson to Holly Marra, a psychotherapist who works with patients with autism, who diagnosed him with Asperger’s syndrome and drafted a report to support his diagnosis.

Hinkson later met with Jane Volk, the director of employee and labor relations on Feb. 23, 2018, after which his interactions with Givens improved, according to the complaint. The plaintiff received a satisfactory job review from Givens and was given an increase in pay in July 2018.

But Given’s treatment of the plaintiff “reverted back to hostility and confrontation” in August 2018, according to the complaint.

“Givens was overly demanding and constantly belittling towards the plaintiff and, on at least two occasions, again stuck his finger in the plaintiff’s face in fits of anger,” the complaint said.

The complaint claims Givens was aware that this gesture was triggering for Hinkson and that he did it purposefully.

Givens became upset with Hinkson in early October 2018 for missing work due to illness, according to the complaint, citing that he had not followed the office protocol for such matters. According to the complaint, Hinkson had followed the appropriate protocol in calling off work. “[Givens’] constant demanding and belittling behavior towards me in the weeks prior to me

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reaching out to you makes my autism symptoms worse and has caused me many stress-related shutdowns during the past few weeks,” Hinkson said in an email to Volk. “I think it’s best probably best for me to get set up with FMLA for my autism and to prevent any further retaliation from [Givens] which could jeopardize my employment.”

Volk referred Hinkson to Stephanie Varholak, an employee relations specialist in the employee and labor relations department.

Hinkson’s colleague, Mack Friedman, was present for a meeting between Givens and the plaintiff on Oct. 8, 2018, during which Givens placed Hinkson on a Performance Improvement Plan to complete by the end of November 2018.

According to the complaint, the purpose of the PIP was retaliation against Hinkson for bringing Givens’ behavior to the attention of human resources employees.

Varholak said the best the plaintiff could do was to complete the PIP successfully.

Following Friedman’s meeting with Givens to talk about the situation, the complaint said, Givens became more upset.

“Throughout October, Givens was even less congenial towards the plaintiff in one-on-one settings,” the complaint said. “The plaintiff reported this to Varholak and advised her that he was concerned that Givens was retaliating against him.”

Givens extended the deadline for the PIP through Dec. 6, 2018, scheduling a meeting with Hinkson the following day to discuss his performance and continued employment.

“Despite the plaintiff’s continuing diligent efforts during the last week of November into the first week of December, Givens determined that the plaintiff was not making progress and that he was not fulfilling the goals of the PIP,” the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Hinkson met with Givens and Hinkson’s colleague Sarah Krier on Dec. 11 or 12, 2018, where he was told he did not satisfy the terms of the PIP. Givens placed Hinkson on paid administrative leave.

While Hinkson was informed that HR would contact him in regard to his change in status, no representative ever contacted him, the complaint said.

Givens sent the plaintiff a termination letter on Jan. 29, 2019.

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Opinions

Column: Patriarchy keeps female films from succeeding pittnews.com

THE PARTISAN POLITICS BEHIND VOTER PURGING COULD DEFINE AMERICAN ELECTIONS

Loretta Donoghue

Promiti Debi | staff illustrator

Staff Columnist

The United States government affirms that one of the most important American rights is the franchise, yet in the hundreds of years that our country has existed, voter suppression has never been fully eradicated.

Important decisions related to voter registration have been made in recent weeks.

This past month, a federal judge backed Georgia’s removal of nearly 100,000 names from the state’s voter rolls. Similarly, the Wisconsin Elections Commission is deadlocked after a judge ordered the expunging of 200,000 voter registrations.

The debated practice of removing voters, commonly known as voter purging, occurs when states remove citizens from voter rolls in order to update registration rolls. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty — a conservative group who filed the lawsuit in support of Wisconsin’s purging — praised the decisions. Rick Esenberg, president of the institute, stressed that the purging is necessary and protected under state law. On the other hand, groups like Fair Fight Action, who was the lead plaintiff against the state of Georgia, remained against the massive purgings, which it viewed as suppressing voters’ rights. Conservative groups are right to say that some voter purging is necessary, but state governments are misusing the practice. This issue must be addressed before this November’s congressional and presidential elections.

The controversy over voter purging begins with the reasons why a citizen may be purged. Under federal law, states are required to “clean up” their registration roll by removing people before an election. Two of the main reasons a voter may be removed from the roll is because they have moved out of the state or died. In these cases, the voter can clearly no longer vote in the state, and they should be removed.

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It’s important that states keep up-todate registration lists in order to reduce inaccuracies and prevent anyone from voting twice. However, the 2018 Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute Supreme Court outcome reaffirmed that states were legally allowed to purge voters simply because they had not voted in recent elections and had failed to respond to a one-time mailing alerting them of this removal, within four years. By allowing these “use it or lose it” policies, the Supreme Court has allowed states to remove voters simply because they have not voted in the recent past. Citizens’ right to vote should not have an expiration date — people should be able to vote whenever they choose.

Unfortunately, the imperfections of voter purging do not stop with unjust reasons for removal. Once removed, the process to reregister is impractical. In Wisconsin, for example, the main solution is allowing citizens to “same-day register.” However, as Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben

Wikler explains, there is a “higher burden to proving your place of residence when you same-day register.” Those looking to sameday register need to bring more documents with them — like utility bills — so if they do not know they have been removed, there is no way for them to know they need to bring additional proof of residence.

To make matters worse, only 21 states allow same day registration. In states where citizens must register weeks in advance, like Georgia, people may not know they have been purged until they show up to cast their ballot — and by then it is too late to reregister. Conservative groups defend this, saying that notifications sent to citizens, like the one-time mail sent to Georgians, should be enough to inform them of the purge.

This goes against Congress’s own statement when passing the National Voter Registration Act, which states people should not be removed “solely due to their failure to respond to a mailing.” Failing to open one envelope shouldn’t take away someone’s right

January 9, 2020

to vote.

Unnecessary voter purging does not affect all citizens in the same ways. Certain cohorts, including low-income people, young people and people of color, are disproportionately removed from voter rolls.

These injustices occur for a number of reasons, such as the fact that minority voters are more likely to share names than white voters, which raises the risk of data being mixed up and accidentally being purged.

Young people are more likely to move around, which similarly raises their risk of being purged. These groups tend to lean Democratic, which means purgings are unfairly suppressing votes that would’ve gone to Democrat candidates.

In states like Georgia, where the 2018 governorship election saw the narrowest margin of victory for a Republican in nearly 20 years, hundreds of thousands of Democrat-leaning purged voters could decide the fate of elections. This will certainly hold true for Wisconsin, where fewer than 23,000 votes handed President Donald Trump victory in the crucial state. With the state’s Republicans pushing for the removal of 200,000 voters, it is almost certain that some will be improperly removed. The biases of purging could impact how Wisconsin votes in 2020 presidential and congressional elections.

The goal of updating voter rolls is to keep voting efficient for all citizens, but presently, we are seeing Republicans misuse the practice in order to subdue Democrat-leaning groups. Partisan suppressionary efforts should not keep citizens from exercising their right to vote, and they should certainly not impact elections. As we approach the Nov. 3 presidential election, referred to as one of the most important elections of our lifetime, citizens’ votes — not conservative politicians and organizations — should determine our nation’s future.

3

Culture

Mac Miller album to be released posthumously pittnews.com

Review: Cat(s) fight: The scariest horror movie of 2019 pittnews.com

YEAR OF CREATIVITY BRINGS GRANT APPLICATIONS TO AN UNPRECEDENTED HIGH Charlie Taylor

Senior Staff Writer It may seem difficult for students and scholars to get in touch with their creative side as the stress of classes and research eats away at their time, but as part of the Year of Creativity, a surprising number of Pitt community members have been looking to pursue creative endeavors.

One major facet of the Year of Creativity is the Year of Creativity Funding Opportunity, which provides grants of up to $5,000 to students and faculty starting creative endeavors during the 2019-20 academic year. Deane Root, a professor in the music department and the head of the grant review committee, said the number of proposals for “Year of ” funding is unprecedented and poses a challenge for the committee.

“I’m a little overwhelmed by all the

numbers, because when we [the committee members] all signed up for this, we were not expecting such an enormous pile of applications. It’s far more than any of the previous committees received,” he said.

During last year’s “Year of ” initiative, the Year of Pitt Global, 64 total proposals received funding. This year, a large number of proposals have already been submitted just halfway through the academic year. According to Kit Ayars, the Center for Creativity’s director of strategy and partnerships, the grant review committee has received more than 130 funding applications, although more have come from staff and faculty than from students. She said even though the application volume has been large, there is no set limit to the number of proposals that will receive grants and the committee is still looking for more student-run

projects to fund.

“We would love to receive more student-led proposals that actively engage the Pitt community in creating,” Ayars said in an email. “We’re receiving an unprecedented number of applications for funding, so it really makes a difference if the proposals are in line with the call.”

Successful projects have also taken care to involve students from outside the field of creative arts. Livia Rappaport, a sophomore film studies major and producer for University of Pittsburgh Television, helped fund a live broadcast at Pitt Studios through the funding opportunity. UPTV LIVE! featured short performances of several of the production group’s shows, like the Pittiful News Network and Pitt Tonight. She said when the organization applied for the grant, they took care to demonstrate that particiSee Creativity on page 5

Artist and activist Zahra Noorbakhsh will come to Pitt in early February to hold a creative narrative workshop as a part of a grant through the Year of Creativity. image via wikimedia commons

CATHY COOKIE CONTEST TAKES THE CAKE Diana Velasquez Staff Writer

For college kids, the biggest draw to any event is the promise of free food. But Pitt students love only one thing as much as they love free treats — Cathy.

They had the opportunity to combine the two with The Cathy Cookie Bake-Off, hosted by Pitt Residence Life, which transformed the William Pitt Union Ballroom on Tuesday into a candy wonderland. For the main event, students formed teams to make Cathedrals of Learning out of slates of rice krispies and brownies.

There was no actual baking involved in the event, and the only cookies featured were premade sugar cookies shaped into the Pitt logo, which could be decorated by attendees not competing with sprinkles, food dye and frosting. But that didn’t stop students from trying their hands at sweet architecture.

Immanuela Obisie-Orlu, a sophomore psychology major, said she came to the event with the hope of making cookies, but was quick to bounce

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Students construct confectionary cathedrals. Caela Go| staff photographer back from any disappointment when tempted with the rice krispies and other sweets to consume.

“Honestly I thought we were gonna be making Cathy out of cookies. I don’t know why I thought that, but I don’t mind, I’m here to eat too,” she said.

In the middle section of the ballroom, stu-

dents constructed their Cathy cookies on long tables, while at the table in front, chef Randolph Russell from Sodexo, Pitt’s dining contactor, made his own model out of gingerbread. For two hours, students labored over their respective creations, supplied with Rice Krispies and brownies for the

January 9, 2020

structure and icing and other colorful candy for decoration.

At the end of the event, three winners were crowned — one each in the categories of structure and integrity, styling and creativity. DaVaughn Vincent-Bryan, assistant Director of Pitt Res Life and one of the three event judges, said it was important to have judges who could critique the pieces properly, so Res Life made sure to get specialists in food and marketing.

“Our criteria are around things like height, creativity, stability, just different takes on building Cathy,” he said. “In addition to myself as a judge we have the marketing specialist from Sodexo [Hannah Dudash] and then the executive culinary director [Sean Minahan] because we should have someone who judges food daily on the judging panel.”

Though there may have been experts on the judging panel, the Pitt students were channeling their inner clueless college student stereotype, as most attendees had little experience in cooking See Cookie on page 5

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Creativity, pg. 4 pants represented a wide array of fields.

“It was really important that we showed diversity in terms of the majors within UPTV, so we got quotes from everyone about why they wanted to do [the broadcast], and each quote had [their] year and major, because we had people from different majors in the organization,” she said.

The funding opportunity allowed UPTV to produce an almost entirely student-run broadcast, something Rappaport said the group wouldn’t otherwise have been able to accomplish.

Despite the high volume of proposals, students and faculty can still apply for grants for new creative projects. According to the Year of Creativity website, the steering committee is looking for proposals that actively engage community members in producing something new and focus on bringing students together outside of a conventional lecture format.

Vikram Mukherjee, a senior neuroscience major and copresident of Pitt Sangeet, is one Pitt student whose proposal has already been approved. He is working with his Indian classical music group on a collaborative music project that received funding from the Year of Creativity. The organization will host jam sessions throughout the new semester with the Jazz Ensemble and the African Drumming ensemble, culminating in a public concert in March.

According to Mukherjee, the project aims to demonstrate the similarities between the three different music genres, foster long-term collaboration between music groups on campus and bring Indian music into the larger context of music at Pitt.

“I hope that this relationship holds continuation and that Indian music is more coordinated into Pitt’s musical groups, because Pittsburgh has a long history of Indian classical music traditions,” he said.

For Mukherjee, the process of creating the project proposal involved a fair amount of work before the project itself was even underway. He said that although the application wasn’t necessarily difficult, other students hoping to apply may have to rethink their original

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ideas.

“We went through a lot of revision in terms of what we wrote and trying to get different perspectives on the idea, and sitting with our idea a lot in order to revise it and condense it into something that’s very palatable,” he said.

Faculty-led initiatives are also eligible for Year of Creativity funding. Ali-Reza Mirsajadi, a visiting assistant professor in the theatre arts department, is spearheading a weekly creative auto-narrative workshop aimed at helping students tell their own stories and explore intersectionality and marginalized identities.

Mirsajadi plans for the workshop to kick off with a session in early February led by Zahra Noorbakhsh, an artist, activist and host of the podcast “#GoodMuslimBadMuslim.” Noorbakhsh will also be performing her one-woman show “On Behalf of All Muslims” and visiting classes during her time at Pitt.

The workshop will encourage students to approach advocacy from a variety of different mediums. Although Mirsajadi comes from a theater background, he noted participants won’t necessarily create performance works. “[In the workshops] students can find ways in which they can explore their own identity in whatever creative capacity that may be, whether it’s, like [Noorbakhsh] does, in terms of comedy, or if it’s in terms of theater, writing, creative writing, poetry, fine arts or something that’s more digital,” he said.

Root said the committee is most interested in funding projects that, similar to Mirsajadi’s, invite people to work alongside rather than simply listen to creative professionals. Unlike previous years — like the Year of Pitt Global, when lectures on topics from perceptions of breastfeeding to global poverty received funding — initiatives that involve presentations without audience participation are less likely to receive funding, according to Root.

According to Root, the committee also looks for proposals with well thought-out budgets and detailed plans for the project being funded, but the most important aspect of proposals is adherence to the theme of creativity.

“The real heart of it all is if there is a creative process built right into the center of every experience. And those are the ones we love to fund,” he said.

Cookie, pg. 4 or baking. Mikaela Moore, a sophomore biology major, said she didn’t have any prior experience with baking that would help her team in the competition, but that didn’t stop her from participating. The competition was driven by ingenuity, rather than experience in the kitchen. Moore said the strategy of her team — The Cathy Crafters — was to stack their Cathy up from the inside.

“We started with big Rice Krispie squares and then smaller brownie squares and Krispie squares, which we stacked for structure,” she said. “No one wants a hollow cake!”

Filling up these candy Cathys with an abundance of sweet treats was the name of the game for most contestants, but the team that won the prize for structure and integrity proved Moore’s anti-hollow cake theory wrong.

The Brainy Bunch included sophomores Rebekah Colacot, Cecilia Newhart, Renee Cantor and Obisie-Orlu. The four made their Cathy without the standard stacking method. Cantor, a English literature and writing major, said they accomplished it by placing a long piece of Rice Krispies in the center and stabilizing with brownies.

“Well it’s very structurally sound. This [long piece of Rice Krispies] may actually look like it’s sitting on top of the bottom layer [of brownies] but it’s actually inside of it, standing on its own.

There’s brownie shoved in between the sides to keep it stable,” said Cantor.

And not only was their creation hard to shake, but the outside was intricately decorated, featuring a cameo from Cathy’s famous peregrine falcons that nest on her upper floors made out of mini oreos. The goal, after all, was to make the best Cathy they could, and the key to their success, according to Colacot, a neuroscience major, was accuracy. Colacot said that by adding the signature panther head fountain at the front made out of brownie and blue sprinkles and other details like as landscaping gave their entry a sense of tangibility.

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“We really just wanted to make it look like Cathy so like adding the flowers and the fountain, which we filled with blue sprinkles to be the water, and then adding brownie that could curve around it. We added flowers with the gumdrops, just to add some color,” she said.

It was a lively event, and the ballroom was rife with giggling and smiling Pitt students who were happy to get their hands a bit sticky for some free candy and stress relief after the start of classes.

Vincent-Bryan said the event was created to facilitate community and competition between students, and that the creations would not be wasted after the fact because students would be welcome to eat them. The main tower, constructed by Russell, a pastry chef, may even soon appear in one of Pitt’s dining halls.

“We’re gonna move the tower to wherever the culinary staff thinks makes the most sense, it might be on display at Market, you might see it at The Perch. I think that’s a little secret but they wanna share it with the community from tonight.

So you’ll see it somewhere popped up around campus,” he said.

Students trickled out of the ballroom at around 7 p.m. with hands full of hot chocolate from the event. Cantor said her victorious group would be more than willing to compete again.

“We would come back here, 10 out of 10. The Brainy Bunch is coming back,” she said.

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Sports

Grading the Panthers’ UNC victory pittnews.com

MCGOWENS, CHAMPAGNIE CHASE CAROLINA, PITT WINS 73-65

Stephen Thompson Assistant Sports Editor

Pitt men’s basketball entered the unfriendliest of confines on Wednesday night. Entering last night’s game, the Panthers were 0-7 all-time when facing UNC on the road. But the Panthers took another step toward wiping clean the stain of the Kevin Stallings era with a 73-65 win over the Tar Heels.

Pitt (11-4 overall, 2-2 ACC) traveled to Chapel Hill on Wednesday night for the first game of a home and home series with conference foe UNC (8-7 overall, 1-3 ACC). The Panthers began the night with outstanding ball movement, assisting on their first three made field goals, but long scoring droughts allowed UNC to open up leads as big as 12 in the first half.

In all-too-familiar fashion, Pitt went more than five minutes without scoring and relied on their defense to carry a single-digit deficit into halftime. Sophomore guard Xavier Johnson kept the Panthers afloat on offense in one of his best performances this season.

Johnson scored nine of his 17 points in the first half to pace Pitt before transitioning to the role of facilitator in the second half and recording five assists.

The Panthers, despite being out-shot and out-rebounded in the opening period, kept things tight on Tobacco Road with opportunistic defense. Pitt baited UNC into five firsthalf turnovers, which turned into four points.

First-year forward Armando Bacot dominated the first 20 minutes for UNC. He tallied nine points and six rebounds to aid the Tar Heels’ advantage inside the paint against Pitt’s struggling bigs.

But during the intermission, somewhere in the bowels of the Dean E. Smith Center, Pitt found a 3-point shot. UNC kept the visitors

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at arm’s length for the second period’s initial minutes.

But all of a sudden, first-year forward Justin Champagnie opened a barrage of 3-pointers.

He shot 4-6 from 3-point distance in the second half, the second coming with 14 minutes remaining to give Pitt its first lead of the game.

After tying the game at 56, Pitt embarked on an 8-0 run and gain their largest lead of the game with 5:36 remaining.

They wouldn’t look back. For nearly 30 minutes of game time, the Panthers appeared to be headed for another deflating conference loss. But their second-half flurry of triples changed the game’s complexion in an instant.

Pitt shot a blistering 8-12 from distance in the second half to power the comeback. Sophomore guard Trey McGowens led the way with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a performance reminiscent of his 30-point outbursts from last season. Champagnie added 22 points and eight rebounds.

For UNC, junior forward Garrison Brooks was unexpectedly versatile. He posted a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double and even hit his first 3-pointer of the season. Bacot and senior guard Brandon Robinson were the only other Tar Heels to score in double figures.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel and his squad were not the story entering Wednesday night’s game. Despite losing 22 straight conference road games and holding an 0-7 record at UNC, it was the Tar Heels unexpected mediocrity that dominated the lead-up narratives.

But for now, the Panthers move in the shadows. At 2-2 in the ACC, Pitt is poised to take advantage of a down year in the conference.

Next up, the Panthers head to Coral Gables for a Sunday evening clash with Miami. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

ON PAPER, PITT FOOTBALL SET TO IMPROVE IN 2020

Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and junior defensive end Patrick Jones II announced they would skip the NFL Draft to play one more season at Pitt. Thomas Yang | assistant visual editor

Henry Jackson For The Pitt News

Pitt’s 2019 football season was a wild ride.

The team showed flashes of great potential at times, winning a stunning upset over UCF and a clutch Thursday night overtime victory against UNC. But at other times, the Panthers failed to perform in important situations. Underwhelming losses against Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College ultimately prevented Pitt from returning to the ACC Championship.

After an ugly win over Eastern Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl to close out the year, head coach Pat Narduzzi’s squad is — on paper — set to improve in the 2020 season.

Centered on a strong core of returning starters, and with a number of promising signees already committed, Pitt looks to remain solid on defense and improve its offensive productivity.

Pitt’s stellar defense, which finished the

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season ranked No. 15 nationally in yards per game allowed, should be left largely intact.

On the defensive line, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and junior defensive end Patrick Jones II announced they would skip the NFL Draft to play one more season at Pitt. Both players had breakout seasons in 2019, as Twyman led the team with 10.5 sacks and Jones II led with 18 quarterback hits.

Pitt’s defensive line will only graduate defensive tackle Amir Watts, who recorded seven tackles for loss, setting this unit up to dominate in 2020.

The Panthers’ 2020 defensive backfield is harder to predict. Redshirt sophomore safety Paris Ford — who led the team with 97 tackles and three interceptions — has chosen to play one more season before declaring for the draft. Pitt is also petitioning the NCAA to grant safety Damar Hamlin one more year of eligibility, though his return is unlikely.

See Football on page 7

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Football, pg. 6 Together, Ford and Hamlin were Pitt’s two most productive backs last season. Senior cornerback Dane Jackson will move on to the NFL draft, and he may be replaced by incoming recruit Jahvante Royal, a four-star safety out of Florida’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

As a final touch, Pitt signed three-star outside linebacker Bangally Kamara out of East High School in Akron, Ohio, a talented player who could become a multi-year starter for Pitt.

The Panthers need to improve the most on offense. They finished 2019 ranked an embarrassing No. 114 out of 130 FBS teams in scoring offense, averaging just 21.2 points per game. Pitt especially struggled to run the ball, averaging only 3.5 yards per carry and scoring 11 rushing touchdowns.

But with a more experienced offensive line, the Panthers should find more success on the ground next season. After losing four of five starting linemen heading into 2019, last year’s unit was young and inexperienced. With every starter returning in 2020 aside from senior tackle Nolan Ulizio, the line should create more of a push up front and be better equipped to defend the quarterback.

In the offensive backfield, first-year back Vincent Davis showed great promise when healthy and properly utilized. He paced Pitt’s backfield with 5.1 yards per carry and five touchdowns and should be considered the No. 1 back entering 2020. Incoming firstyear back Israel Abanikanda, a three-star prospect out of Brooklyn, should also contribute immediately.

Something to watch in 2020 is how offensive coordinator Mark Whipple utilizes sophomore swiss army knife V’Lique Carter, who ran for 243 yards on 65 carries. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Carter made a splash in 2018 as a speedy scatback in former coordinator Shawn Watson’s offense, often taking jet handoffs around the edge. Whipple, however, chose to use Carter as a traditional tailback — a strategy that did not pay off. Carter could be a crucial X factor next season, but only if Whipple deploys him correctly.

Junior quarterback Kenny Pickett will return for his final season in 2020, eliminating any drama about the position. However, the team recently signed Arizona State first-year quarterback Joey Yellen, who is expected to compete with current backups Davis Beville

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and Nick Patti for the job in 2021.

Pickett will lose his leading target, senior Maurice Ffrench, to graduation. But the rest of the unit — highlighted by redshirt junior Taysir Mack and sophomore Shocky Jacques-Louis — is set to return and could even improve with help from a couple new signees and transfers. The Panthers signed Jordan Addison, a talented four-star recruit out of Frederick, Maryland. He’ll be joined

by Aydin Henningham, a three-star signee.

Both receivers made strong showings in their senior seasons, and Henningham demonstrated his athleticism by averaging 21 yards per punt return last year. Also, tight end Lucas Krull transferred from the University of Florida to play his final season at Pitt. He could potentially play a significant role in a Pitt offense that has struggled to get production from the tight end position.

The Panthers’ non-conference schedule consists of games against Miami (Ohio), Marshall and FCS Richmond, all of which should be fairly winnable. Things get tricky with a matchup against Notre Dame, though it will at least take place at Pitt’s home field.

And as the notoriously turbulent Coastal Division has proven season after season, what happens once conference play begins is anyone’s guess.

January 9, 2020

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I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet • NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER

For Rent North Oakland 214 N. Craig Street.

Safe, secure build­ ing. 1BR, furnished.

Newly remodeled, no pets. Rent $850 and up, including heat. Mature or Graduate students.

412‑855‑9925 or 724‑940‑0045. Email for pictures: salonre­ na@gmail.com 3 Bedroom 2 Baths 2nd Floor apartment.

Laundry in basement.

Walking distance to Pitt/CMU. $1,800­/mo. +utilites North Oakland loca­tion. “Country in the City”. Call 412‑999‑3112.

Apartments for rent. 2 and 3 bedroom apart­ ments available. Some available on Dawson Street, At­wood Street, and Mc­kee Place.

Newly re­modeled.

Some have laundry on site. Min­utes from the Univer­sity. For more info please call Mike at 412‑849‑8694 Newly renovated, fully furnished, 4&5 BR, 2‑1/2 BA houses.

Located near Pitt Den­ tal School and Carlow Univer­sity. Laundry ser­vices available.

Rent $600/mo per unit, which includes utili­ties. Contact Chris 412‑656‑5693.

pittnews.com

Employment • CHILDCARE • FOOD SERVICES • UNIVERSITY • INTERNSHIPS • RESEARCH • VOLUNTEERING • OTHER

South Oakland ** 5 Bedroom/2 full bath; HUGE HOME‑ duplex style, three sto­ ries. COM­PLETELY REMOD­ELED, 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 dining rooms, LAUN­DRY, DISH­WASHER and a huge yard to enjoy!

Huge Bedrooms!

Located on Dawson Street. PITT Shuttle stops di­rectly in front of house, only 15 minute level walk to PITT/CMU. $3,395­+.

Available 8/1/2020.

NO PETS. Call Jason at 412‑922‑2141. Pic­ tures‑ Info: tinyurl. com/­dawsonhome 322 S. Bouquet.

Huge 2 BR apart­ ments. Available May 1, 2020 or Au­gust 1, 2020. 412‑361‑2695 3227 Hardy Way. 2BR, 1BA apartment with patio. Laundry in building. $960/mo. plus gas & electric.

412‑596‑8732 3444 Ward St. We have studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apart­ ments. Bright and spacious. Free heat­ ing and free parking.

Move May 1, 2020 or August 1, 2020. Call 412‑361‑2695 416 Oakland Ave., Garden Court. Bright and spacious 2BR, 1BA. Hardwood floors, laundry. Move May 1 or Au­gust 1, 2020. $1395 includes heat. Call 412‑361‑2695.

Classifieds

For sale

• AUTO • BIKES • BOOKS • MERCHANDISE • FURNITURE • REAL ESTATE • PETS

services

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unre­lated people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance with codes. Call City’s Per­mits, Licensing & In­spections.

412‑255‑2175.

Corner of Semple and Bates Street.

4 bedroom apart­ ment. 2 bathrooms, central air, everything newly updated and modern, laundry included. $2400 plus utilities. Avail­ able August 2020.

Please contact at 412‑414‑9629 or visit douridaboudproperty­ management.com Fall 2020 Rentals ‑ 1 and 2 bedroom apart­ments very close to campus, well main­ tained, 24 hour laun­ dry, secured build­ings.

Rates starting at $700 with some utili­ties in­ cluded. Call us today at 412‑682‑7622 Hudson Oakland Apartments. 2BD 1BA Located on Craft Ave, Semple St, & Cable Pl. $1,300‑ $1,495/month +elec­ tric. Within walking distance to Pitt. Tel: (412) 407‑9001 x.1 www.hudson‑oakland.­ com Now renting for Fall 2020. Apartments and houses of all sizes.

Conveniently located throughout South Oakland. Rents start­ ing as low as $620.

John C.R. Kelly Re­ alty. 412‑683‑7300 www.jcrkelly.com Pet Friendly!!

notices

• ADOPTION • EVENTS • LOST AND FOUND • STUDENT GROUPS • WANTED • OTHER

Studios ‑ $695‑$705 1Beds ‑ $795‑$815 2beds ‑ $975‑$995 3beds ‑ $1,245 412‑455‑5600 or www.pghnexus.com

R A T E S

Insertions

1X

2X

3X

4X

5X

1-15 Words

$6.30

$11.90

$17.30

$22.00

$27.00

16-30 Words

$7.50

$14.20

$20.00

$25.00

$29.10

6X $30.20 $32.30

Add. + $5.00 + $5.40

(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline:

Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978

year law students!

Mozart Management 412.682.7003 thane@mozartrents.­ com

Studio, 1, 2, 3, and 4 BD apartments avail­ able in South Oak­land from $800‑$2500 M.J. Kelly Real Estate mjkellyrealty@gmail.­ com. 412‑271‑5550.

Rental Other Studios, 1, 2, & 3 Bedroom apartments available August 2020 & sooner. Oak­land, Shadyside, Friend­ ship, Squirrel Hill, Highland Park, Point Breeze. Photos & current availabil­ ity online, check out www.forbesmanage­ ment.net, or call 412.441.1211

Employment Internships OFFICE INTERN Shadyside Manage­ ment Company seeks person w/ min 2 yrs. college, for upcom­ing spring semester, to interview & pro­cess rental appli­cants, do internet post­ ings & help staff our action‑central of­fice. Part time or full time OK starting in January; full time over the summer. $13/ hour. Perfect job for current sopho­mores & juniors, graduating seniors set to enter grad school, returning grad stu­dents, and first

January 9, 2020

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