1-27-15 by The Pitt News

Vol. 105 Issue 100

@thepittnews

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

WINTER WONDERLAND

Internship Week kicks off with information panel Dale Shoemaker Assistant News Editor

Pitt dealt with the snowfall throughout Monday in different ways. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer, top left and bottom, Colin van ‘T Veld | Staff Photographer, top right

Pittnews.com

All Pitt students are guaranteed an internship, but only if they complete the internship preparation program first, according to Alyson Kavalukas. Kavalukas, internship coordinator at Pitt’s Office of Career Development and Placement Assistance, said the internship team is responsible for Pitt’s internship guarantee, which guarantees undergraduate students internships in return for attending group workshops and meeting independently with career and internship advisers. The CDPA is currently hosting Internship Week to educate undergraduate students on how to obtain an internship. The Internship Team of the CDPA coordinates Internship Week programs once each semester, Kavalukas said, which includes various panels, info sessions and mock interviews with recruiters who demonstrate interest in being on campus to connect with students. This year’s Internship Week involves three panels that help students from specific disciplines better understand their experiential learning options, which can include the onthe-job training received in an internship, as well as 11 internship info sessions with various job recruiters and all-day internship walk-in hours with career and internship advisers on Wednesday. Later in the week, the CDPA will host scheduled and walk-in mock interviews with recruiters and career consultants, and two internship prep programs on resumés,

cover letters, interviews and research. Internship Week began Monday with several events, including a talk on engineering internships and an internship presentation by Booz Allen Hamilton, a national management consulting firm with an office in Pittsburgh. Fifteen students attended the engineering internship panel in the O’Hara Student Center Ballroom where Maureen Barcic, director of Cooperative Education at Pitt, gave a talk titled, “Creating Successful Graduates and Partnerships Through Industry and Cooperative Engineering Internships.” In her talk, Barcic outlined how engineering co-ops — a program in which students take several semesters off to work full-time in the engineering area of their choice — work, and how students can become involved in Pitt’s engineering co-op program. Though the program started small, Barcic said, 296 students worked a summer job as part of the program last summer. All of Pitt’s campuses are involved in the program, and Barcic regularly travels to the Bradford and Johnstown campuses to meet with students, she said. “[Co-op] benefits the students,” she said during her talk. “It’s been a great program for everyone involved.” Barcic said even if a student decides to not go into the field he or she co-oped in, the program can still benefit that individual. During her talk, Barcic told the story of a civil

Interns

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Cavemen or ancestors? Lecture defends origin of species Nerine Sivagnanam Staff Writer

When learning about anthropology and human evolution, few people stop to think that the subjects studied are not simply foreign creatures of the past — each one of these individuals is someone’s ancestor, according to Elisabeth Daynès. Daynès, the cofounder and director of Atelier Daynès, an art studio in Paris, spoke in Pitt’s Frick Fine Arts Building on Monday night to shed light on society’s biases about the appearance and roles of human evolution and prehistoric humans. The event, titled “Original Humans: What Did Extinct Humans Really Look Like?” was the first of a three-part series of lectures detailing topics on race, sex and human evolution. The event was sponsored by several organizations and departments, including Pitt’s Honors College and Department of Anthropology, as well as The Gender Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program

at UPMC’s Health Services Division. The audience overfilled the roughly 200-seat Frick Fine Arts auditorium, and members of the audience included both the general public and Pitt students. The two forthcoming talks, which will be held on Feb. 16 and March 2, will focus on the gender issues in human evolution and race and the biopolitics of human ancestry, respectively. Daynès said society feeds a depiction of extinct humans that detach us from the fact that these were real people. “Early hominids are represented as chimpanzees. They are shown with huge eyebrows, they are habitually given dark skin, and noses were wider,” Daynès said. “All of this was used to distance us, as much as possible, from our own ancestors.” Daynès called prehistoric humans “creators of beauty,” and questioned why they can’t be beautiful themselves. She said one of her goals is to raise awareness about the diversity of the human species. The three-part series was organized by

Jeffrey Schwartz, an anthropology professor at Pitt. “I’ve always been interested in the history of ideas, and what went from assumption to fact in people’s minds,” Schwartz said. Schwartz said the series aims to shed light on ideas that have been reconstructed about human evolution. “There are these biases about, ‘If you’re from Africa, you must look like this, or if you’re male or female, you must have certain roles.’ I wanted the series to talk about these biases from different perspectives.” According to Schwartz, attending these lectures is important to Pitt students to gain perspective about their place in nature as human beings. “One of the things we have to understand is where we came from. We can’t keep going ahead with these stereotypes of race or gender roles,” Schwartz said. As part of her work, Daynès sculpts hyper-realistic reconstructions of hominids based on fossils. These reconstructions are

displayed in museums worldwide, including the Neanderthal Museum in Germany. In 2006, Daynès’ reconstruction of Tutankhamun, or the Egyptian pharaoh King Tut, was displayed on the cover of National Geographic Magazine. Her reconstruction process is unique in that she makes sure to depict prehistoric humans in a way that makes them more comparable to the appearance of humans today, rather than a stereotypical animalistic depiction. Daynès said she prides herself in paying attention to each detail to ensure the depictions of these extinct humans have similar features to today’s humans. “Attention to detail is what makes this complexity possible. In visual arts, one cannot stick to generalities,” Daynès said. Sophia Taborski, a senior majoring in history and classics, attended the threepart program last year and was in attendance again Monday night. “It seemed like an interesting cross-

Evolution

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

INTERNS engineering student who completed his two co-op rotations, but still had several years of school left. He came to Barcic’s office, she said, and said he wanted to leave the program because he had decided he wanted to be a doctor. “I said to him, ‘I’d still say the program was a success for you because you figured out what you don’t want to do,’” Barcic said. Barcic said one of the greatest benefits of the co-op program is the confidence it gives the students who complete it. “When you go out and interview, you’re not going to be nervous. You’ll be able to say, ‘This is what I want to do, this is what I don’t want to do,’” Barcic said. Participating in the co-op program and getting internships is important, Barcic said, because students need experience to get jobs. “You’ve got to have experience, or you’re going to have trouble getting a job. It’s imperative. Our co-ops have no problem getting jobs,” Barcic said. Kavalukas was one of the organizers for the Internship Week. All programs are open to Pitt undergraduate students free of charge, according to Kavalukas. Recruiters volunteer and are not paid to participate. As many as 700 students have participated in previous Internship Weeks, but Kavalukas could not give an estimate for how many she expects to attend this year. Kavalukas said the office works with students through workshops and individual appointments to provide them with resources for success. “We provide comprehensive support for resumés, cover letters, searching, applying, research, interviews, networking and social media,” Kavalukas said. “In addition to providing programs and working with students, we also build relationships with recruiters to consistently increase internship postings in our online career management software, FutureLinks.” James Fabrizio, internship associate and career consultant for math and engineering majors, gave a presentation specifically on internships after Barcic spoke. He explained that unlike co-ops, internships are not academic, but are still beneficial because students gain experience and do hands-on work. Kavalukas said the importance of internship week stems from the necessity to raise awareness of experiential learning for all Pitt

undergrads. “In addition to marketing our unique Internship Guarantee, we want students to become more aware of all of the services and resources that [CDPA] can provide throughout their internship processes,” Kavalukas said. Kavalukas said it’s important for students to be well-prepared for their interactions with employers at the upcoming Spring Career Fair on Feb. 18 and 19. Student Kelsey Knox, a senior industrial engineering major, attended the Booz Allen

Hamilton internship information session. She said she wants to “get into industrial technical consulting,” meaning she wants to work for engineering companies and help make them more efficient. Last summer, Knox said, she did similar work during her internship with Pepsi and added that she benefited from the experience. Knox said she wants to apply for an internship with Booz Allen Hamilton because it will utilize her skills as an industrial engineer. “It’s important to apply education to real life,” she said.

3 FROM PAGE 2

EVOLUTION disciplinary topic that I didn’t want to miss,” Taborski said. Daynès plays her part in trying to rectify these biases in her reconstruction of prehistoric humans and said that she is happy to have made her own small contribution in changing our view of prehistoric humans. “It’s our own ancestors we are representing. Not an inferior species,” she said.

EDITORIAL

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

OPINIONS

COLUMN

Academy Redefining police presence in Pittsburgh Awards don’t signal social change After a controversial 2014, the New Year reminded us that good cops are on our side. This realization came in the form of a simple cardboard poster held by Pittsburgh police chief Cameron McLay during Pittsburgh’s First Night parade. The sign read, “I resolve to challenge racism @ work. #EndWhiteSilence.” For his resolution, McLay received an unprecedented volume of backlash for his display. When the photo went viral, Howard McQuillan, Pittsburgh police union president, sent McLay an email voicing dissatisfaction, accusing McLay of calling the whole department racist, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, we should not misconstrue McLay’s speech as negative. The End White Silence group on Twitter originated to “create a world that is free of destructive white privilege and oppression,” as CBS Pittsburgh reported. There is more to hail in McLay’s solidarity than to critique. His voice on institutional racism mirrors his noble mission as a police chief — namely, his focus on accountability. Notably, McLay said that Pittsburgh’s police force typically struggles to relate to and build rapport with its black community. In an email from McLay to the Bureau of Police, reprinted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, McLay noted that the “disparities in police arrest and incarceration rates that follow are not by design, but they can feel that way to some people in those communities.” To negate this, McLay hopes to utilize surveys and other forms of research to document and reverse trends in disparate treatment of black citizens. “My job will be to close the gap be-

tween the police and the community,” McLay said as he met the press. The main tenets of his platform as police chief, set in September, include restoring accountability, dispersing leadership, conducting community surveys and rebuilding confidence and pride in the police bureau. It seems he has been living up to his standards, as evidenced by members of his bureau speaking at the 17th Annual Summit Against Racism on Saturday. Cmdr. RaShall Brackney, major crimes, and Zone 2 Cmdr. Eric Holmes each participated in a panel on police-community relationships in East Liberty. The foremost wins that the bureau described at the summit included several efforts to improve police accountability. This included McLay’s cooperation with Pittsburgh City Council — which committed to spending $650,000 to outfit most officers with wearable cameras — and discipline of officers who fail to use dashboard cameras and microphones to capture encounters. In addition, McLay created an in-progress draft for a new Office of Professional Standards, which he did not detail extensively, but assured would work closely with the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations. Similarly, members of Pittsburgh law enforcement attended a panel held by Black Action Society in the William Pitt Union on Jan. 16. Members present included chief of Pitt police James K. Loftus, Deborah Walker, manager of the office of municipal investigation, Brackney and Beth Pittenger, police citizen review board director. Students posed questions to the group on notecards, and the general sentiment of the panel members’ responses reflected the need for an open, transparent

conversation on issues regarding law enforcement and race. In the last two months, the compliance of police during multiple protests in Pittsburgh have highlighted officers’ tolerance and understanding. Rather than taking violent measures, they gave peaceful protesters the space they needed to express their viewpoints and exercise their First Amendment rights. Holmes said he took a “passive approach” to working with the demonstrators, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. By doing so, the authorities gave the people lying in the streets room to “breathe,” a reflection of the slogan popularized by protestors in support of Eric Garner, whose last words were “I can’t breathe.” So, McLay’s actions resonate as loudly as his words. Transparency in government should not be limited to politicians — police should be just as visible in community conversations. If the Pittsburgh police continue to exhibit growth as a bureau, it will strengthen ties between civilians and authority. For this reason, we hope to see more summits against racism, improved education and collection of statistics on racial arrest disparities, more panels creating dialogue between students and law enforcement, continual tolerance to peaceful protesters and of course — increased accountability. Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Police is laying the mortar for improved accountability in interracial relations and tolerance for officers nationwide. Future summits and continual upheaval in the police department can only revitalize relations between citizens and officials. Police presence should not be connoted negatively, and McLay is revitalizing that ideal.

Andy Boschert Columnist This year’s Academy Awards delivered a pretty serious snub to Ava DuVernay for her role in directing the critically acclaimed movie “Selma.” Just released earlier this month, doubt pervades about “Selma”’s chances at any awards this year, despite nomination. And, considering the turbulent year in race relations, what should have been a simple gesture of giving acknowledgment where it was due has turned into an ugly matter. While it’s disheartening, I don’t entirely understand the surprise at the snub. The academy itself is 94 percent white and 76 percent male. The average age for the 6,000 voters is a spritely 63 years old . It’s not that I want the Academy Awards to become the Social Justice Awards, but the makeup of the academy voters does reflect a certain perspective. The academy relies on its fundamental assumption that media can foster change. Selecting films such as 2009’s “The Hurt Locker,” which addresses bomb disposal during the Iraq War, and 2012’s “Argo,” which was about the Iran hostage crisis, allows The academy to influence society. However, the academy doesn’t always prove an agent of social justice as it perceives itself to be. While the academy, for me, seems to artificially attempt to affect change, I feel conflicted about the Oscars. It’s hard to ignore the overt self-congratulation, the bias toward certain kinds of films and actors, sentimentalism and the alleged petitioning of the academy rules in the voting process. But occasionally, the good guys do win, as “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture only last year. So, “Selma” got snubbed at a bad time,

Boshert

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 4

BOSCHERT considering the social content it possessed. If “Selma” had been produced before “12 Years a Slave,” perhaps racism could have been on the academy’s agenda this year. Instead, I predict that “Boyhood” will take the gold since it creates dialogue about millennial life, an issue not yet touched upon by the academy. However, social change motivations aren’t the only culprit for “Selma” tanking. DuVernay herself has admitted that she lacks the connections to academy voters needed for a win.

THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com

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T P N S U D O K U

“I know not one person in my branch,” DuVernay told Entertainment Weekly, referring to her networking shortfalls. Much of this is due to the fact that the academy is comprised of old, white men who DuVernay has less in common with, hence, less reason to fraternize with them. The nearly uniform white, male makeup of the 6,000 voters suggests gender and racial disparities behind the scenes. In spite of this lack of diversity, the awards show never cease to be entertaining. The glamour and opulence certainly gleam during the ceremony. Predicting the winning film ahead of time is exhilarating.

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

Danielle Fox, Managing Editor manager@pittnews.com

Abbey Reighard, Assistant News Editor Dale Shoemaker, Assistant News Editor Courtney Linder, Assistant Opinions Editor Dan Sostek, Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Ahearn, Assistant Visual Editor Mason Lazarcheff, Multimedia Editor David Gardner, Social Media Editor Sam McGinley, Assistant Copy Chief Emily Hower, Assistant Layout Editor

Copy Staff

Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das Kinley Gillette Johanna Helba Emily Maccia

Bridget Montgomery Sarah Mejia Michelle Reagle Megan Zagorski

The academy can continue to exist in a bubble as long as it has support. And, when the film industry commands hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide for garbage like the “Transformers” series and washed-up actors like Johnny Depp still have a career, the Academy can do as it pleases. Even the most liberal of critics in the press, who call for even greater social justice, will sit and watch the entire four-hour program, technical awards — which merit contributions to the actual process of filmmaking rather than content — and all. Last year’s Oscars commanded a whopping 45 million viewers, the largest non-sports entertainment

show of the decade. Whether we like it or not, we agree with the academy by consensus. What do I do? Well, I just zone out and try and be happy for the beautiful people. If I’m lucky, maybe Ricky Gervais will provide true entertainment and find a way to have a “wardrobe malfunction” in front of Meryl Streep. We can only hope. Andrew Boschert writes about a variety of topics, including pop culture and college, for The Pitt News. Write to Andrew at amb306@pitt.edu.

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January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT CINEMA

Depp walks the plank in ‘Mortdecai,ʻ one of his worst flops yet Matt Maielli For The Pitt News Imagine Johnny Depp as the Sherlock Holmes of the underground art world. Now imagine that he is impossibly bad at his job, then drop him into an unfinished “Pink Panther” movie, and you’d get “Mortdecai.” Charlie Mortdecai (Depp) is in debt. A lot of debt. Approximately $8 million in debt. You may ask: How did an affluent art dealer who knows his way around the black market amass such an astronomical amount of debt? To get an answer, you’re going to have to track down the screenwriter or the novel on which the film is based,

“Don’t Point that Thing at Me” (1973) (Ewan McGregor) employs Mortdecai by Kyril Bonfiglioli, because the movie to track it down with the help of his illoffers nothing in named servant the way of an exJock Strapp “Mortdecai” planation. (Paul Bettany). M o r t d e c a i ’s Directed by: David Koepp M e a nw h i l e , debt is the main Mortdecai Starring: Johnny Depp, grows the movconflict propelling “Mortdecai,” trademark Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan ie’s but it’s also conmustache, a McGregor, Paul Bettany hybrid facial cerned with the case of a stolen tuft resembling Grade: F Goya painting that both handlehas eluded art afibar and walrus cionados for decades. The lost paint- mustaches, much to the dislike of his ing is rumored to hold codes to a vault wife, Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow). of Nazi gold, which Mortdecai hopes The film’s jokes are paced to match can clear his debt. Inspector Martland the quick, albeit lackluster, action, but,

unfortunately, they’re just not funny. Bettany’s performance as the loyal henchman with an “excessive intercourse problem” is funnier to watch than Depp’s Mortdecai, which doesn’t provide much competition. Not even McGregor’s Martland could redeem the film with all his boring, suave hindsight. Most of the plot legwork is left to Paltrow’s Johanna, since the male stars are caught up in ridiculous antics. Depp’s Mortdecai should be able to carry the movie, right? Nope. Mortdecai is presented as an expert in the underground art world and, for the most part, well-respected by the community.

Mordecai

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

MUSIC

The Decemberists emerge from darkness with consistent, personal new album Grace Kelly Staff Writer

But they don’t leave all the darkness behind, and brief flashes of the deep un-

The Pitt News Crossword, 1/27/2015

The Decemberists descended into Dante’s nine circles of hell and just returned, enlightened and with a new album in hand. It’s not that The Decemberists’ past albums have been poor — on the contrary, they were deep, heady and profoundly dark, but they had tunes that were occasionally a bit stale. The folk lifers commendably emerged from this pit of darkness with their latest album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, markedly different from all their past endeavors. The title alone seems to signify a shift in the band’s mentality, a tale of tough times passed but also of the sweet pulp beneath the bittersweet rind that encases it all. ACROSS 1 Parking lot fillers 5 “Me too!” 10 Cutlass automaker 14 Nike competitor 15 Valuable violin, for short 16 Genesis or Exodus, e.g. 17 Like the 1920s’30s, economically 19 Wild revelry 20 Audition hopefuls 21 Enjoyed a sail, say 23 Indian melodies 24 Excellent work 27 Dean’s email suffix 28 Japanese sash 30 Back of a flipped coin 31 2,000 pounds 32 Uncooked 34 Greek messenger of the gods 35 Dramatic weightloss program 38 Geek Squad member 41 Fireworks reaction 42 EPA-banned pesticide 45 Roger who broke Babe Ruth’s record 46 Refusals 48 Prior to, in poems 49 Deadeye with a rifle 53 “A Doll’s House” playwright 55 Decorative inlaid work 56 Watchful Japanese canines 57 Comet Hale-__ 59 Hectic predeadline period 61 Thought from la tête 62 Hayes or Hunt 63 Slaughter in the Baseball Hall of Fame 64 Surrender, as territory 65 Grab 66 Emailed DOWN 1 Musical set at the Kit Kat Club 2 Guacamole fruit

contrasts blend smoothly, shining a mild rose light on lyrics that sing of the simple things in life. The album starts out with the mildly humorous “The Singer Addresses His Audience,” which begins quietly and then builds and crescendoes with strong riffs, revving up the rest of the album. Heavy guitar bursts and a chorus add power and a crashing finale closes the album intro — unabashedly and with style. “Cavalry Captain” continues this animated attitude while remaining true to the band’s desire to reference historical figures and terminology. As you listen, you can’t help but imagine a cavalry captain figure, such as General Custer of Little Bighorn fame, astride on his

What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World The Decemberists

B+

Grade:

Decemberists

1/26/15

By Clement McKay

3 Tear gas weapon 4 Margaret Mead subject 5 Georgia and Latvia, once: Abbr. 6 Horseplayer’s haunt, for short 7 Island near Curaçao 8 Perry in court 9 Convention pinon 10 Section of a woodwind quintet score 11 Conrad classic 12 Guard that barks 13 Big __ Country: Montana 18 Approximately 22 One-to-one student 24 Prejudice 25 Corrida cry 26 Undergraduate degrees in biol., e.g. 29 Scottish hillside 33 Detective’s question 34 Sunshine cracker 35 Massachusetts city crossed by four Interstates

dertones that laced the band’s past work adds heft to this newfound freshness. The

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

36 Insurance covers them 37 “Please stop that” 38 Film lover’s TV choice 39 Corn serving 40 Hardly roomy, as much airline seating 42 Preordain 43 “It’ll never happen!” 44 Most uptight

1/26/15

47 Many a Punjabi 50 Goldman __: investment banking giant 51 New employee 52 Eyelike openings 54 Tugs at a fishing line 56 Clearasil target 57 Clic Stic pen maker 58 Poem that extols 60 Pince-__ glasses

8 FROM PAGE 6

MORTDECAI Instead, he stumbles through most of the plot accidentally — being abducted by Russian mobsters, who unknowingly use him as an art mule, and giving up as soon as the painting is seemingly destroyed in a hotel fire. The only person who shows any investigative skill at all is Johanna, which makes it seem like her name should’ve graced the title of the film. Mortdecai also has no discernible personality aside from annoyingly whining about every situation in which he finds himself, coupled with his odd mannerisms and a grab-bag of catch phrases. Depp also helped produce the film, which makes it his worst and most forgettable venture since 2012’s “Dark Shadows.” There is no real reason to sympathize with this character, especially since vices or any other manner of human qualities never explain or take credit for his enormous debt. Instead, it seems the movie expects the viewer to react with, “Oh, he’s in debt? That’s sad and relatable! Did he

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com just use a catch phrase? Let’s watch the whole 106 minutes and hear more!” However, Mortdecai isn’t alone on the screen — none of the characters really get any back story. Martland is a hopeless romantic with an affinity for poetry. Strapp’s loyalty goes unexplained, which is especially odd considering Mortdecai accidentally shoots him several times and almost lets Chinese gangsters cut off his fingers. The movie and its relentless advertisements expect you to have been familiar with these characters for quite some time. To be fair, if one thing attempts to salvage “Mortdecai,” it’s the film’s soundtrack. Handled mostly by English DJ and producer Mark Ronson of recent “Uptown Funk” fame, the filler music used during travel montages and between scene cuts alternates between funky and grungy. The music’s good enough to have you waiting for the scenes to end in hopes of getting some sound relief. “Mortdecai” was a flop of masterpiece proportion, and, as Mortdecai would often say while running from danger, “I don’t like it!”

FROM PAGE 7

DECEMBERISTS horse, horns trumpeting behind him as he swoops down to rescue his lover. Poppy horns, light background vocals and silky lyrics shape this image as frontman Colin Meloy drawls, “I am the cavalry captain/ I am the remedy to your heart,” and “we’ll away at the break of day/ and if only for a second/ and if only for a time ... we’ll be alive.” True to his promise, the song ends with the cavalry captain spiriting you away in his velvet arms. While the preceding tracks introduce The Decemberists’ intentions for a lighter, sprightlier album, the track that truly hits the mark is “Philomena.” It is a breezy song about a man with a simple fantasy: “All I wanted in the world/ was to live to see a naked girl.” He then has a growing realization that there is more out there than his youthful desires — “But I found I quickly bored/ I wanted more.” Meloy’s singsong tune draws the listener into its swing with images of never-ending summer, linens fluttering on

a clothesline and the incessant hum of the birds and the bees. This is joyful Decemberists at its best, with lush dips, staccato piano taps and a newfound playfulness. The one straining attribute of an otherwise refreshing album is that it’s unnecessarily long — fourteen tracks isn’t something everyone can pull off, unless, perhaps, the album is the Greatest Hits collection of some award-winning band. Here, the excessive number of tracks is a drag, with some dead weight including “Mistral” (muddled, flat and sinking back into the band’s former melancholy) and “Better Not Wake the Baby.” The latter has a pleasant tune, but the lyrics make it seem like a perversely dark, rhyme-heavy folk song by a morbid children’s singer. It’s like an Irish folksong, complete with accordion, but with lyrics like, “use your skull like a cannonball, but it better not wake the baby.” Even with these drags, The Decemberists are moving upwards, exiting the netherworld and its dark imagery, slowly ascending the steps to heaven. The band does so with a bounce in its step, a trumpet in hand and a catchy soundtrack along the way.

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SPORTS

Panthers not overlooking challenge of Virginia Tech

Dan Sostek Assistant Sports Editor Louisville head coach Rick Pitino wasn’t afraid to say what was on the mind of countless Pitt fans following the Panthers’ 80-68 loss to the Cardinals Sunday at the Petersen Events Center. “This [Pitt] team is not as good as other Pitt teams,” the esteemed coach Rick Pitino said in his postgame press conference. “They’re gonna lose a few.” Pitino isn’t the first coach to express this gloomy sentiment after a Pitt game. Oakland University coach Greg Kampe made similar statements after their game in Pittsburgh last month, and these coaches won’t likely be the last. The Panthers sport a different roster makeup than in years past. There is no big center in the post. There’s no go-to scorer to look to when the team is in dire need of a big bucket. But, perhaps, the starkest difference is the lack of consistent defensive performances. While sometimes showing flashes of defensive dominance, such as holding Holy Cross to 39 points in December, the team’s defensive inconsistency was on full display Sunday. Pitt allowed Louisville to shoot 65.2 percent from the field, the highest-ever mark surrendered by a Jamie Dixon-coached team. As is often the message from Dixon after a rough outing, though, the Panthers’ head coach wants the team focused on their next game: Tuesday evening’s matchup against Virginia Tech (8-11, 0-6 ACC). “We’ve got to get ready for Virginia Tech,” a hoarse Dixon said after the loss to the No. 10 Cardinals. “We’ve got a quick turnaround. They played today as well, and we’ll

both be coming off of a loss. I believe we’re going to get better in

Buzz Williams — who shocked the college basketball world this

mightily, losing their first six conference games.

JAMES ROBINSON

AND

BOUNCE BACK AGAINST

PITT LOOK TO VIRGINIA TECH.

MEGHAN SUNNERS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

these 48 hours in preparation for Virginia Tech.” Under first-year head coach

offseason by jettisoning Marquette University to head to Blacksburg, Va. — the Hokies have struggled

Williams’ team hung tough with No. 2 Virginia on Sunday, though, falling by a slight margin of 50-47

to the undefeated Cavaliers. Despite the solid play against such a skilled opponent, Virginia Tech has yet to register a quality victory, with no wins against any major conference team this year and a winless start conference play. The Hokies do sport two extremely efficient guards on offense in freshman Justin Bibbs and junior Adam Smith. Both are very effective in shooting from beyond the arc — each boasting 3-point percentages over 43 percent — something the Panthers struggled to defend against Louisville on Sunday and Duke in the game prior on Monday. Williams’ team’s Achilles’ heel resembles Pitt’s: both teams rank among the worst in the ACC in rebounding, with Tech ranking last (30.8 rebounds per game) and the Panthers ranking third to last (34.4). Regardless of the Hokies, junior point guard James Robinson said that after the loss to Louisville, the Panthers are focused on themselves. “We definitely have to get back to work tomorrow, get ready for practice, get back to making sure we’re rebounding,” Robinson said. “Getting on lockdown and back to our principles, and then be ready to execute on the offensive end. On defensive, if we play up to our capabilities, we’ll be able to score points in transition.” Dixon offered reassurance that the team would bounce back after the disappointing performance against the Cardinals. “We will get better,” Dixon said. “And we will play better on Tuesday.” Tip-off is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The game will air on ESPNU.

January 27, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

RECRUITING

Narduzzi, staff finishing recruiting season at a sprint Dan Sostek Assistant Sports Editor

Since taking over the Pitt football program after the sudden departure of Paul Chryst, new head coach Pat Narduzzi has been busy on the recruiting trail. Narduzzi and his newly assembled staff have already received six commitments. Here is a rundown on the sextet of future Panthers. JAY STOCKER The first commitment Narduzzi landed, Stocker is a talented safety from Coatesville High School, located in suburban Philadelphia. The defensive back weighs in at a good-sized 6-foot-2, 186 pounds. Schools like Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Syracuse, West Virginia and Wisconsin all offered the three-star recruit a spot on their team, but Stocker

chose Pitt on Jan. 21. SHAWN CURTIS Hours after Stocker announced his commitment, Curtis, a defensive end from Florida, became the second Panther commit under the new Pitt football regime. At 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, the two-star commit from Ronald Reagan/ Doral High School wasn’t overly heralded by scouting websites, but still garnered offers from Duke, Illinois, Mississippi State and Wisconsin. ANTHONY MCKEE Perhaps the most notable recruit that this new staff has snagged, McKee is a high-end, three-star linebacker from Columbus, Ohio. With offers from top programs like Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin, McKee seemed potentially out of reach for Pitt. Now

that it’s official, expect Narduzzi and linebackers coach Rob Harley to utilize the talented linebacker early on. ALLEN EDWARDS The only junior college commit of the group, Edwards is an intriguing defensive line project. Originally from Miami, Edwards thrived at Dean College in Massachusetts, recording 11 sacks last year. Still, he only managed to garner an offer from UMass. Edwards stands at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds and, as a junior college transfer, looks to make an impact sooner rather than later. SALEEM BRIGHTWELL Brightwell was another pleasant surprise of a pickup for Pitt, as powerhouses like Oregon, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State and Missouri were all looking to grab the 6-foot-2, 205-pound line-

backer. Brightwell, a three-star recruit out of Paramsus Catholic, committed at the same time as the Pitt men’s basketball team game against the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, and elicited a significant amount of excitement from the Pitt fanbase on Twitter. BEN DINUCCI The local quarterback out of PineRichland High School was an important commitment for Narduzzi to land, as the team recently lost commit Alex Hornibrook, who flipped to Wisconsin. DiNucci was verbally committed to University of Pennsylvania, but, upon receiving an offer from Pitt, decided to decommit from the Quakers and join the Panthers. DiNucci set a Pennsylvania state record this year for passing yards in a season with 4,269 yards for the Pine-Richland Rams, leading them to a PIAA state championship.