Vol. 105 Issue 98
@thepittnews MARCO!
Pittnews.com
Friday, January 23, 2015
Don’t keep the change
Pittsburgh restaurant trades tips for salaries Lauren Wilson Staff Writer
Men’s and women’s intramural water polo team scrimmaging in Trees Pool. Heather Tennant | Staff Photographer
Pitt starts online child abuse prevention program Dale Shoemaker Assistant News Editor Twenty-three days after Act 31 took effect in Pennsylvania, Pitt’s School of Social Work has announced a free, comprehensive, online training program to help prevent child abuse. The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource
Center developed the course in conjunction with the School of Social Work in response to the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection’s recommendation for improvements to child protection throughout the state, according to a University press release. The course is free, and users can access it 24 hours a day. Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.
As Bar Marco gains recognition for being the first restaurant in Pittsburgh to pay servers by salary, industry employees and experts wonder if the move actually helps wait staffs. This April, Bar Marco, located in the Strip District, will ask patrons not to tip servers and will, instead, pay their serving staff a salary. All full-time employees, including cooks and bartenders, will receive a salary of $35,000, health care benefits and company shares. Kevin Cox, co-owner of Bar Marco, said he thinks server salaries could encourage waiting staff to stick with one restaurant. “There’s a lot of turnover and a lot of jumping around in the restaurant industry,” Cox said. Cox said he and the other co-owners are seeking wage stability and long-term benefits for employees, many of whom have worked at Bar Marco for multiple years. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Pennsylvania’s hourly minimum wage is $2.83 for tipped workers. This is higher than the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is $2.15. Consumers have always been expected to make up the difference in tips until a few individually owned restaurants across the country started refusing tips. The discussion began when an employee mentioned hearing national news of restaurants making similar moves, Cox said. Restaurants that pay servers a salary will
employ fewer people and increase menu prices to make up for costs, according to James Craft, a professor of business administration. Price hikes may not serve as a deterrent to consumers in expensive restaurants, Craft added. “I go [to expensive restaurants] with the expectation of paying a lot of money, anyway,” he said. Instead of tacking on a service fee for menu items, Cox said, Bar Marco will “add more depth to the menu and start serving dishes that require more skill to make.” The most desirable payment methods for staff at restaurants can still vary as significantly as in-house recipes. While some restaurants are adopting a salary or management-paid hourly rate, Craft predicts a majority of the industry will stick with the current tipping standard. Clientele at upscale restaurants won’t mind an increase in prices if the owners start paying the staff minimum wage, Craft said, especially if more restaurants choose to follow this trend. Less-expensive restaurants, where the clientele are accustomed to low prices, however, will probably stick to standard tipping, according to Craft. Another consideration is that servers may not like having a salary. Bar Marco owners seek to provide employees with wage stability, but others in the restaurant industry say tipping is one of the primary appeals of serving.
Tips
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TIPS
Without tips, servers would treat their jobs differently, according to Katie Vilord, who waits tables at Mad Mex in Oakland. “There’s just no incentive for people to work as hard [with a salary],” Vilord said. While servers in restaurants with wealthier clientele enjoy collecting tips, the average restaurant worker is typically not this fortunate. In March 2014, the White House released a report, “The Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage on Women and the Importance of Ensuring a Robust Tipped Minimum Wage,” to push lawmakers toward minimum wage reform. According to the report, servers are three times more likely than the rest of the American workforce to live in poverty. Mike Hartman, a server at Waffles INCaffeinated in South Side, enjoys working at restaurants because of the flexibility and said a change in payment would probably mean longer hours. “It would be just like any other job,” Hartman said.
January 23, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com Hartman said he would simply find another job if his employers decide to pay a fixed salary. After working as a restaurant server for over 20 years, from large franchises to family-owned joints and higher-end restaurants, he still prefers to count his tips. “You’re going to have no motivation to make sure you’re taking care of your table because you’re getting paid an hourly rate,” Hartman said. Xaz Walker, who works with Hartman at Waffles INCaffeinated, feels differently. After working as a server for three years, Walker has grown accustomed to receiving roughly $130 a day in tips. Yet she still disagrees with the payment method and said a salary would not reduce her incentive to provide good customer service. “I don’t like that customers are in charge of how much money I take home,” Walker said. “I’m one of those people who just takes pride in my job.” Many waiters, like Walker and Hartman, have worked at several different restaurants. In November 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published the “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release,” which found that food service held an in-
dustry turnover rate of 5.6 percent, the second-highest rate among all industries. The entire private sector turnover rate during this period was 3.7 percent. Christian Kamensky from Munhall has worked as a bartender, server and server’s assistant in the foodservice industry. He began his career at Buckhead Saloon in Station Square. Since then, Kamensky has held a variety of serving positions at eight different restaurants, including McFadden’s and Town Tavern. “I just go where the money is, you know?” Kamensky said. “That’s where you end up staying.” In eight years of waiting, Kamensky has served customers who gave him generous tips, while others didn’t leave any tip at all. “Not everybody, but a select population come into the establishment, think they’re owed the world and should be waited on hand and foot. People treat waiters like animals. There’s no respect,” Kamensky said. Kamensky added that if management decided to give him an average hourly wage, rather than tips, he would not do his job well. For him, serving is not a profession, but a short-term occupation.
If his boss offered a $35,000 salary, he said he’d stay with the company “because of job security.” According to Craft, more expensive restaurants tend to have lower turnover rate. For Bar Marco, some employees have been working at the restaurant since it opened in 2011. Justen Burrell has been waiting tables at Bar Marco for two and a half years. He called the $35,000 salary “standard for a place like [Bar Marco].” In May 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that waiters and waitresses on average make an annual wage of $20,880. Burrell, who also works at the restaurant’s wine bar, looks forward to the restaurant’s changes. “People don’t realize what a big deal it is for waiters to have health care,” Burrell said. For him, benefits like health care provide incentives to remain loyal to the company. Cox said he’s all for a health care plan for the employees at Bar Marco. “Hell, you know if we’re going to go this far [by paying a salary], we might as well go all the way and treat [serving] like a true profession,” Cox said.
January 23, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
3
OPINIONS COLUMN
Flag burning: The best method for change Rebecca Peters For The Pitt News
Fatima Kizilkaya | Staff Cartoonist
EDITORIAL
Casual Fridays Dirty money On Tuesday, a California man discovered what it meant to get trashed. While sifting through a garbage bin in hopes of finding his lost wallet, the man was scooped up by a waste truck and taken on an hour-long ride to a landfill. He survived, though a bit trucked up, and is currently being treated at UC Davis Medical Center for severe back and neck pain.
Death by chocolate A New Hampshire animal expert is calling for the elimination of baiting practices that he can no longer bear. Last September, four bears died after eating 90 pounds of chocolate and doughnuts that a hunter left to lure the giants. Theobromine, the toxic ingredient in chocolate, brought the bears to their bittersweet end. It was revealed at the scene that the cocoa culprit was Bear-ardelli
— and it wasn’t a beary sweet surprise.
Paste in haste On Wednesday, staff at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo made a royal mistake. King Tutankhamun’s 3,300-year-old death mask was ruined when a member of the cleaning staff knocked a chunk of his blue and gold beard off. Since other methods of repairing the mask would be a pain in the Tut, they opted to use glue. Tut, Tut, experts at the museum were furious. When asked for comment, the staff member in question said they have been experiencing great de-Nile.
Highway to cholestorhell Frying down the highway, Georgia man Madison Turner learned a lard lesson. Turner ordered a Double Quarter Pounder from a local McDon-
ald’s and proceeded to eat it while driving. After two miles, he was apprehended by police. Turner was cited for “eating while driving” under Georgia’s distracted driving law. Police asked whether Turner had any fries with that, and he did. The two shared a greasy treat, and there is currently no beef between them.
Gator grubs on gatos Last week, investi-gators found an eight-foot reptile being kept in a local home. The alligator was found in a box with two cat carcasses. It is suspected that the 40-year-old gator has been scaling California homes for these purr-fect treats for quite some time now. The owners would not tail authorities if this was true or not. It is pawsible that Los Angeles Animal Services Commander Mark Salazar-Slytherin used Parseltongue to locate the reptile.
Last week, unknown vandals burned a U.S. flag donated to a local Oregon elementary school by 1st Sgt. Reginald Daniels. The burnt flag was left at half-staff. Despite its animosity, burning the American flag is actually an intensely educated and productive idea. The nameless vandals weren’t vandals at all — they were likely only burning the flag with utmost respect for it. Here’s why: 1. Flag burning dampens social injustice and corruption. Traditionally, flag burning has been an effective way to solve issues like police brutality and gun violence. In August 2014, the people of Ferguson, Mo., made sure that no flags were left uncharred as they symbolically voiced their opinions against police brutality. Clearly, burning the flag will immediately stop corruption in positions of authority. It is likely that police will stop using guns entirely as a result of flag burning. We should expand this highly efficient practice to stop all forms of violence. 2. As a harmless and safe act, flag burning will promote world peace. In order for the rest of the world to see America as the accepting, compassionate society it is, we should rid ourselves of any relevant differences. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population was close to 319 million as of last July. By this standard, our flag doesn’t acknowledge about 7 billion other people in the world. By intentionally letting flames engulf our flag, we can
promote the blending of cultures. We can replace our flag with a universal one to represent the whole world. Overcoming communication barriers would be easy. After all, there are only about 6,500 other languages in the world. Hopefully, by banding together as The United World of America, we could selflessly facilitate world peace. 3. Refusing to voice dissenting political opinions is an ingenious use of free speech. Flag burning is a right under the Bill of Right’s First Amendment, falling under the term “symbolic speech.” Since 14 percent of Americans don’t know how to read — and therefore would be uninterested in literary endeavors — leave Facebook statuses and letters to the editor in the past. You can reach a much broader audience by burning the flag. Making the illiterate literate would take too long and prove too costly. A small flag and lighter come to a grand total under $10. Not only is flag burning protected as an absolutely necessary and acceptable First Amendment right — it is affordable for any angry American. 4. Flag burning shows incredible respect for the men and women who have fought for your right to burn said flag. Proper flag disposal involves folding the flag, placing it on a prelit fire, saluting the charred bits and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. By following this practice, political dissatisfaction will be understood correctly and clearly, with the greatest esteem. This is the best way to salute the men and women who protect our freedom of speech.
Peters
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January 23, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
FROM PAGE 3
PETERS 5. Talk is cheap, but fire will catch politicians’ attention. Providing alternative, plausible solutions to the problems you have with America’s political system is pointless. Why propose a theoretical fix when you can tangibly complain through fire? All educated people know that burning the flag is 100 percent more productive than talking to a representative that supports your policy preferences. Normally, it takes two to three weeks for a congressman
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to respond. Flag burning takes only a few minutes, no matter how big the flag. 6. Flag burning is more effective than voting. According to Newsmax.com, President Obama’s approval rating is currently 44.6 percent, which indicates that less than half of all Americans approve of the job he’s doing. To increase these dismal ratings, Obama may want to take the recent flag burning protests more seriously. Burning the flag informs the president, as well as state and local representatives, that you didn’t vote, because voting is a waste of time. It won’t actually change their policy preferences, and you’ll only be
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tossing away energy that could be appropriated to flag burning. Ninety-three million people took the hint in the 2012 election and did not vote. Hopefully, in the 2016 election, more eligible voters will forego their right to vote and burn flags instead. Then, Congress will finally create the much-needed FlagBurning-Problem-Solving Cabinet, in which officials would actively seek out flag burners and ask them for comment on the state of our government 7. Burning flags is cooler than wearing them. The flag burning in Oregon is not an anomaly. It is the beginning of a trend —
even a social movement. Soon, the flag will no longer be oversexualized by Tumblr vixens wearing the sacred cloth as a kimono. Instead, you will find images of burned flags on the site, a new way to express how trendy and liberal you are. Women can trade patriotic outfits for wholesome flag burning demonstrations. Your thirst for change will only be strengthened through the smoke, flames and ash produced by a burning flag. If enough people participate simultaneously, perhaps the mass of smoke will spell out what the people really want, a smoke signal to the executive branch that will undoubtedly result in an infinitely happier population.
Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left. The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.
The Pitt News Crossword, 1/23/2015
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ACROSS 1 Ones calling the shots? 5 Rock blasters 9 Californie, for one 13 Apple variety 14 Goal for a runner 15 Renaissance painter Veronese 16 Deep-sea creature, literally 18 Mozart’s “King of Instruments” 19 Seat of Dallas County, Alabama 20 Alternative strategies, literally 22 Churchill, for one 24 “Who, me?” 25 1,000 G’s 27 Goes out for a bit? 30 Fusion, for one 35 Receptionist on “The Office” 37 It’s frowned upon 39 Yellowish tone 40 Infomercial offers, literally 43 Time to say “¡Feliz año nuevo!” 44 Pioneers’ journey, say 45 Unpopular spots 46 Buck 48 1980s surgeon general 50 Dennings of “Thor” 51 __ lane 53 “Who, me?” 55 Toddler’s transport, literally 61 Alley wanderers 64 Certain Middle Easterner 65 Preflight purchase, literally 67 Pirouette, essentially 68 Settled down 69 “Truth in Engineering” automaker 70 First place? 71 Bothersome parasites 72 Block (up) DOWN 1 Steals, with “off” 2 Former “Fashion Emergency” host
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1/30/15
By Paolo Pasco
3 Surface fractures 4 Blockhead 5 Fire proof 6 Courses taken consecutively? 7 Depressing atmosphere 8 Energy 9 “Downton Abbey” title 10 Draped garment 11 The first “A” in A.A. Milne 12 Piles 15 Michael Jackson, e.g. 17 Tip off 21 One on the other side 23 Half a philosophical duality 25 “The Seven-PerCent Solution” author Nicholas 26 Adler of Sherlock Holmes lore 28 Look down 29 Snideness 31 Numerical prefix 32 “Look at this!” 33 Battleground 34 Start over, in a way 36 Sushi seaweed
Thursday’s Puzzle Solved
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38 Layered snack 41 Venue involving a lot of body contact 42 “Right Now (Na Na Na)” artist 47 Rogers Centre team, on scoreboards 49 Majestic display 52 Like some popular videos 54 Big brass
1/30/15
55 “Heavens to Betsy!” 56 Crossword component 57 Collapsed 58 Aware of 59 Where many subs are assembled 60 Really, really cool 62 Stir 63 Pass over 66 Downed
January 23, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
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SPORTS
RUNDOWN
Panthers fall at home to rival Orange 68-60 Gymnastics,
Monica Wignot led the Panthers with 16 points on Thursday. Nate Smith | Staff Photographer
Chris Puzia Sports Editor Having played three out of its last four games against ranked teams, the Pitt women’s basketball team might have been used to facing top-tier competition on Thursday night. But that experience did not help the Panthers against No. 22 Syracuse. After beating Georgia Tech in overtime in their last game, the Panthers (12-6, 2-3 ACC) played another close game, this time with a different result as they lost to the Orange by a score of 68-60 at the Petersen Events Center. Ten seconds into the game, junior guard Brianna Butler of Syracuse set the tone for her team when she hit a 3-pointer to give the Orange (14-5, 4-2 ACC) a quick lead. Both teams played sloppy basketball early, combining for 10 turnovers in the first seven minutes of the game. Still, Syra-
cuse led 15-8 with 12:54 left in the first half. “This was a heartbreaker,” head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “We didn’t defend the way we needed to defend.” With the shot clock running down with 12:00 in the half, senior guard Brianna Kiesel banked in a 3-pointer from straightaway to cut the deficit to 15-11. Kiesel had seven of the team’s first 11 points and finished with 14 points, tacking on a team-high eight assists. Pitt was effective on the boards early, grabbing seven offensive rebounds compared to Syracuse’s one. But the Panthers could not convert many of those boards into second-chance points. Their rebounding success wavered in the second half, when Syracuse consistently grabbed offensive rebounds off of its own missed free throws. A stretch of Syracuse offensive boards late iced the game for the visitors, who tied the Panthers with 40 total rebounds apiece. “We didn’t box out as well as we could
have,” freshman forward Stasha Carey said. “That’s something we’re definitely going to work on in practice.” Pitt made only one of its 10 3-point shot attempts in the first half. The team finished with a 26 percent 3-point shooting rate. Both teams combined for 19 turnovers in a sloppy, often fast-paced half, but the Orange never relinquished their early lead in the half. Syracuse center Briana Day picked up her third foul early in the second half during an 8-0 Pitt run, but Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman kept the sophomore in the game. After jumping out to a hot 75 percent shooting clip, the Orange settled down to finish at 41 percent shooting. The Panthers tied the game for the first time at 34-34 with 15:40 remaining in the contest. Following that, Syracuse employed a fullcourt press in an effort to force Kiesel to turn the ball over, but the Panthers broke it easily, crossing the court after only a few seconds of facing the press. Still, Monica Wignot, a graduate student forward, said that the press “didn’t allow us to run our offense as smoothly.” “When we execute offenses and run plays, that’s when we’re successful,” Wignot said. “We see Syracuse again down the line, so we’ll learn from this, and hopefully next time we’ll be well-prepared.” After the teams exchanged baskets for a few minutes, two quick 3-pointers from Wignot brought the crowd to its feet, giving the Panthers a two-point lead with 12:00 left to play. Wignot had her best series of the night when she blocked Diamond Henderson on one end, ran to the corner of the 3-point line in transition and hit her second consecutive deep ball to tie the score at 52. She finished the game with a team-high 16 points and four blocks. “I definitely had some help getting open,” Wignot said. “The guards did a good job of
W Hoops
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track ready for weekend meets Brandon Duerr Staff Writer
This weekend, two of Pitt’s varsity sports teams will head away from the city to compete in weekend meets. Here is a preview of their weekend action. GYMNASTICS The gymnastics team will travel to the home of its East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) foe New Hampshire in Durham to try to pick up a key victory (2-3, 0-2 EAGL). The women are looking to build on their performance in last Sunday’s event in D.C. hosted by George Washington University, where they placed third out of five teams with a score of 192.625, less than two and three points behind North Carolina and host team George Washington, respectively. Junior co-captain Lindsay Offutt, an all-around event participant for the Panthers, says the team is looking to improve this past weekend’s overall score. “We didn’t get off to the greatest start in our last meet,” said Offutt, who is coming off a career-high in the uneven bars with a 9.750. “We’re looking to improve our overall score from George Washington by around two points. That score is ideal for where we want to be at this point in our season.” Other junior co-captain Tiara Chadran, a participant in vault, floor exercise and uneven bars, said the key to the team’s success is to feed off each other’s energy to succeed this weekend. “We really want to work together as a team,” Chadran said. “We’ve had group assignments all week, so we learn
Weekend
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6 FROM PAGE 5
W HOOPS penetrating and kicking and looking for me on the perimeter.” But, despite grabbing a few offensive rebounds late, the Panthers just could not finish the plays and get baskets when it counted. “Give them credit. They were able to make plays down the stretch and hit shots,” McConnell-Serio said. “We just needed to
January 23, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com hit shots. Once they got a four-point lead, we just couldn’t close the gap. This is a very disappointing loss.” Carey said this experience could help the team later in the season. “It helps us in the long run. It’s going to help us when we get to tournaments,” she said. Wignot added that “we’re only going to get better if we play the best.” Pitt next plays on Saturday against Boston College at the Petersen Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
FROM PAGE 5
WEEKEND to build off each other’s energy and translate that to success in the meets one after the other during the meet.” Offutt understands how crucial a win against New Hampshire would be, as the Panthers try to build some momentum heading into the middle part of their season. “It would be a huge confidence
booster for us,” Offutt said. “The momentum moving forward for us would be huge.” TRACK AND FIELD The men’s and women’s track and field teams also have meets this weekend. They travel to Ohio to participate in the Youngstown State University Invitational today. Field events begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by track at 3:30 p.m. The Panthers will be one of 20 teams competing in the invitational, including Duquesne, Dayton and West Virginia. At last week’s Nittany Lion Challenge, the Panthers posted an impressive four first-place finishes and many personal records as well. One of the first-place finishers was long-distance runner Hillary Boxheimer in the 3,000 meter with a time of 10:13:39. Boxheimer normally runs the 3,000 and 5,000 meter distance, but this weekend will be the first time she runs the mile since high school. “My splits will have to be a lot faster, and I will have to be better and faster overall,” Boxheimer, a junior, said. For she and rest of the team to succeed this weekend, they will have to focus on their individual mindsets heading into each event. “It’s mostly mental,” Boxheimer said. “You have to have that mental toughness to go out and do your best and push through for yourself and your teammates.” Pitt assistant coach Adam Bray says that he has noticed the team improving since the end of last season. “They have all been working very hard, and that progress and effort really shows,” he said. “Now that we are competing we get to see that improvement in person, and that is a fun thing to watch.” With 20 teams competing in the YSU Invitational, it can be easy to worry about what the other teams and competitors are doing. However, Bray and the rest of the staff say the key to both their early season success and success in the future depends solely on themselves. “We have to focus on ourselves, and do that one heat at a time,” Bray said. If we believe in our ability and do what we are capable of, the times will come, and we will be successful.”