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October 4, 2018
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behind the scenes:
PPC’S EXPLOSIVE HOMECOMING TRADITION Emily Wolfe Staff Writer
Bigelow Boulevard will briefly go completely dark at 9 o’clock Friday evening. Faculty, students and electrical company officials will extinguish every light in and around the Cathedral — creating a blank, black canvas for an explosive display of light and sound. Pitt’s week of homecoming traditions has included a Friday-night laser and firework show since 1990, when Pitt Program Council’s faculty adviser Tom Misuraca was inspired by a similar show at Epcot in Disney World. “Lasers and fireworks, all synchronized to music, lighting that changes … it’s the best in the world,” Misuraca said of the show at Epcot. “I said to the students, ‘What would you think about doing a show like that instead?’” Pitt’s annual homecoming parade, held between 1955 and 1988, brought problems for PPC. The parade was expensive. Closing the streets of Oakland for the parade to pass by was difficult. And because Oakland didn’t have space to hold flatbed trucks for students to
decorate in the weeks leading up to the parade, it didn’t include student-made floats. By the late 1980s, PPC was looking for alternatives. That’s when Misuraca suggested a fireworks display like the IllumiNations fireworks show at Epcot that had launched a few years earlier. So PPC replaced its Friday-night parade with a laser and fireworks show — one that looked much different than this Friday’s will. It featured only green lasers — today they’re multicolored — and there were no pyrotechnics on the Cathedral of Learning itself. “You only had so many lasers, so you would bounce them off of mirrors to make them look like you had more,” Misuraca said. “Technology has changed significantly.” In the show’s current form, after a lively finale of music, lasers and fireworks, the Cathedral lights up in silence for 30 seconds, followed by a laser panther stalking up one side of the Cathedral and down the other — a feature that has become a signature of the night. A picture of the Cathedral lit up in red, taken the See Fireworks on page 4
Fireworks lit up the Cathedral of Learning last October for Courtside at the Cathedral — a celebratory event for homecoming and the season commencement for Pitt’s basketball teams. Sarah Cutshall | staff photographer
Phi Delta Theta under investigation Christian Snyder Editor-in-Chief
The University of Pittsburgh chapter of fraternity Phi Delta Theta is under police investigation after this weekend, when a Pitt community member reported alleged hazing at off-campus fraternity events last week. “While we do not have all the details, the Pitt police have started an investigation, and the fraternity in question, Phi Delta Theta, has been placed on interim suspension,” University spokesperson Joe Miksch said in an email. Phi Delta Theta declined to detail the alleged incident, as did Miksch, who, when asked whether any injuries resulted, cited privacy concerns and the ongoing investigation. Pitt police directed all inquiries to Pitt’s media relations department. Pitt’s Phi Delta Theta chapter provided The Pitt News with an official statement regarding the incident. “At this time and while this matter is being investigated it would be inappropriate for us to offer comment. Phi Delta Theta is a values-driven organization; among our highest values is moral rectitude. To that end our Chapter, its leadership and all of our members are working in com-
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pliance with the University to ensure all appropriate measures are being taken towards a factual outcome,” it read. The statement also included a link to Phi Delta Theta’s hazing prevention resources website. A member of the Louisiana State University chapter of Phi Delta Theta died in September 2017 after an alcohol-related hazing incident, prompting the organization to institute new bystander education programs and mandatory new member programming. 10 other chapter members were arrested in October 2017 on charges of hazing, and one of those 10 also faces a felony charge of negligent homicide. Two Greek life organizations at Pitt were suspended last year for alcohol- or hazing-related incidents — Sigma Chi and Alpha Kappa Alpha. Sigma Chi was indefinitely suspended in January after a student was hospitalized due to excessive alcohol consumption. Following the incident, Pitt placed all Greek organizations on modified social probation, barring them from serving alcohol at social events. Student Affairs also said it would reevaluate the future of Greek life at Pitt. Following this, Alpha Kappa Alpha was suspended in February after a group of 12 pledges filed a police report in Penn Hills, alleging other members of the organization
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drove them to a house and hazed them. Dean Kenyon Bonner lifted the probation at the beginning of the fall 2018 semester after Greek life student leaders and University officials developed an action plan that he felt adequately addressed the changes that needed to be made. “We could play around with this safety blanket for another year, another semester, another couple of months, but that’s all it is,” Bonner said at the Aug. 30 meeting. “At some point, you’re all adults, you’re all leaders, you’re all responsible people — and I think reasonable people — and you have a responsibility to manage your organizations.” The final action plan included measures to address alcohol abuse, sexual assault, hazing and other Greek-lifespecific issues. Among the measures was a new way for affected students to anonymously report hazing. As part of the action plan, Pitt also held a hazing prevention training Sept. 9, which Greek life chairs responsible for recruitment, intake and new member education were expected to attend. Phi Delta Theta has not yet confirmed whether its appropriate chairs attended the hazing prevention training.
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Fireworks, pg. 3 first year there were pyrotechnics on the building itself, hangs on the wall of Misuraca’s office. “You need to see it from the middle of the street,” he said. Niki Iyer, PPC’s executive director, said she likes to stand on Bigelow and watch other people watch the show. “This is one of the best moments to people-watch,” Iyer said. “There are certain surprises that you don’t know are going to happen and then all of a sudden, it happens! It gives me a lot of joy to see other people acting like a little kid again.” Each summer, students on PPC make a list of songs they think would suit the show. Misuraca takes songs from that list, along with a few from his own favorite artists, and creates a show around them, picking out moments in the music with a particular energy and matching them to fireworks. Misuraca relies largely on his instincts here, he said. “It’s ears and eyes,” he said. “Nobody gets to hear the soundtrack before the show.” Once Misuraca decides to use a song, he has to cut it down to below a minute and a half. All the technical pieces required to bring the show together safely make it difficult for Pitt students to be directly involved in the process, but this step is one they can help with. Iyer, who has served as PPC’s executive director since the beginning of last year, edited the shortened version of Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” that played during last year’s show. She has edited two more songs for this year. “You want songs that make anyone, alumni or students, go, ‘Oh my God, I know this song!’ and start dancing,” she said. Misuraca takes the completed track list and meets separately with representatives from Zambelli Fireworks — located in Warrendale, which has provided the show’s fireworks since its first year — and the laser company Lightwave, which has a local office in Washington County. “Tom has an excellent knowledge of fireworks, and a lot of ideas of what he’d like to see happening in the display,” Kim Ceyrolles, the project manager at Zam-
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belli who worked with Misuraca on this year’s show, said in an email. PPC uses Zambelli Fireworks at its annual bonfire and pep rally as well. Pitt’s 30-year partnership with Zambelli is part of a long, rich history for the company that began in New Castle, PA in 1893. Lightwave is a newer company, but it has its own claim to fame — the Phenom Laser. The Phenom is a lightweight, high-tech laser that the company debuted in 2014. With the Phenom, Lightwave can send beams scanning over the crowd without endangering the audience. The company’s operating manager, John Walker, said Pitt’s show uses the Phenom alongside more standard beams and projectors. “It’s an industry exclusive,” Walker said. “Nobody else has anything like that.” Ceyrolles sends the script — complete with the exact timing of fireworks to music — to Zambelli’s plant in Edinburg, where the fireworks are packed. On the day of the show, Zambelli technicians unpack the fireworks at Mazeroski Field across from Schenley Plaza. Then, shortly before the show begins, police close down Bigelow and laser technicians set up screens and lasers. Keeping the show safe is a laborious process with a lot of moving pieces. The 3-inch firework shells require a 300-foot radius clear of people and vehicles in every direction from the field, so nearby street parking is closed on the day of the show. University engineers stand on the roofs of Mervis Hall, Posvar Hall and the Frick Fine Arts Building with fire extinguishers at the ready for embers that land on the roofs. A fire truck pumps a mist onto Schenley Plaza’s tent to ensure it won’t catch fire. And that’s just the beginning, Misuraca said. “This is a thumbnail of what we do for safety,” Misuraca said. Twenty-five minutes after the first fireworks flare up in the sky, the show ends. The lights on the street come back on so the audience can walk to their next destinations in safety. A year of work comes to an end and the process of dismantling begins. “The minute after this year’s show, we’ll start working on next year’s,” Misuraca said.
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For more stories... visit pittnews.com Homecoming is for alumni, not students
By: Anglea Koontz, For The Pitt News
Students talk homecoming festivities and memories
By: Siddhi Shockey, Staff Writer
Cover Credit: Janine Faust | managing editor
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Homecoming candidates canvas for the crown
Seniors Kendall Oakley and Davis Weaver filmed a cover of Cardi B’s song “I Like It” as a part of their campaign for Homecoming Queen and King. Sareen Ali | staff photographer
Senior economics and Africana studies major Oluwatobi “Tobi” Ajimoko is using her campaign for Homecoming Queen to represent Pitt’s Black Action Society. Sareen Ali | staff photographer
Senior history and political science major Jake Harwas tabled, handed out flyers, hung posters and sold T-shirts for his campaign to be crowned as Homecoming King. Sareen Ali | staff photographer
Sid Lingala and Sarah Gross
of getting academic resources for kids, you can go to Rite Aid and get $500 worth of resources. That’s incredible to get out to so many different kids.” Current students and alumni come together to celebrate their Pitt pride during Homecoming with events spanning the whole week. The homecoming game and a laser show end the week, with the homecoming court announced at the end of the show. The weekend has a large focus on alumni this year, especially those of the Pitt African American alumni council, since it is the 50th anniversary of the creation of Black Action Society. Ajimoko, who mentioned the anniversary was a large influence for her, was appreciative of the platform that homecoming gives alumni. “I see alumni saying, ‘It’s going to be a [fun] weekend because I get to see all my friends, or all the people I don’t really talk to anymore,’” Ajimoko said. “I think it’s very cool to see like a sense of community, and just coming back, hailing to Pitt.” Despite the opportunities and excitement associated with winning, the campaign process is one of the biggest aspects of homecoming court. Jake Harwas, a senior history and political science major, said his campaigning process is based around tabling, flyers and direct engagement. He has sold T-shirts, hung posters and handed out candy to students. “My residents have been [a big support],” Harwas said. “I’ve had over 135 residents total and it’s just been all those people that I met as freshman, that are now
upperclassmen, are leaders in their own organization and are excited for me to come in and talk with them.” Weaver utilized his involvement in theater to diversify his campaign with a music video. Kendall Oakley, a senior communication and nonfiction writing major running alongside Weaver, described how they covered Cardi B’s song “I Like It” to and filmed themselves at popular spots on campus. “[Davis] rewrote the lyrics and he incorporated things that we were both involved in,” Oakley said. “So we talked about Pathfinders and we talked about things around campus that everyone can relate to.” Candidates can also gain support for their campaign through their sponsors — organizations the candidates are members of — and will partner with them if they win the contest. Oakley said her sorority Delta Phi Epsilon is her primary sponsor and biggest source of supporters. “They know me the best. They’ve seen me at the good times and they’ve seen me at bad times, but they’re definitely my biggest supporters,” Oakley said. “They’re advertising for me on social media. A lot of sisters also bought T-shirts that Davis and I are selling.” The campaign, as much work as all of the candidates have put into it, has led the way to a lot of positive experiences. Harwas says Pitt’s sense of community, especially in the clubs, was a positive element of his
The Pitt News Staff
Across campus, blue and gold splatter sidewalks, windows and stairs. From chalk in the quad to paint in the Union, the school-spirited art marks the time of year — homecoming. But to candidates running for the 2018 Pitt homecoming court, winning the titles is about more than a crown. It’s the perfect platform to represent and highlight their communities. Oluwatobi “Tobi” Ajimoko, a senior economics and Africana studies major running for Homecoming Queen, said representing Black Action Society was a large driving force in her campaign. “I think when it’s just two people, a king and a queen, and even if they do or don’t know each other, they sort of have the spotlight on them so they can shine it on other things,” Ajimoko said. “I feel like every king and queen were different each year so you can put your own flavor on that.” Another candidate, Davis Weaver, a senior majoring in political science and international and areas studies, also appreciates the opportunity to give back through a service project. The crowned Homecoming King and Queen are each awarded $500 to support a community of the winner’s choosing. “I think the inclusion of the service project is just so special and so incredible and $500 can go so far,” Weaver said. “For instance, like with my service project
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October 4, 2018
See Court on page 7
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Court, pg. 6 campaign — and the service project prize is a strong motivator. “As a freshman I felt comfortable at Pitt. But I didn’t feel like it was my second home, and it didn’t become my home until I joined more organizations and became an RA and got involved in Residence Life,” Harwas said. “I wanted to be able to give that same experience to other people.” But no matter how much candidates promote themselves on campus, one central worry remains — making sure students actually know how to vote. “That’s one of the questions I’ve gotten a lot like,
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‘Oh, how do you vote? I’d love to vote for you but I don’t know how.’” Ajimoko said. “It’s not like misinformation, but just for some reason it’s not getting out there.” Harwas shares similar worries. “You can talk to people all day, all you want. You can get as many endorsements as you want, but if nobody goes onto their pitt.edu and logs in, and you know puts in that they’re voting for Jake and Erica, there is no way that we’re going to win, or even get on court.” Voting for Homecoming King and Queen is similar to voting for SGB. The poll is held on the my.pitt.edu page, and is open from noon on Oct. 4 to noon on Oct. 5.
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“I definitely had moments where I remember that feeling of excitement and passion for school that you forget about sometimes,” Weaver said. “I’ve definitely learned to re-appreciate Pitt as well, through the campaign, just from going to all these different places, talking to so many different students and why Pitt is so special to me as well.” Based on her experience campaigning, Oakley advised future Pitt homecoming candidates to have fun with their campaign. “Don’t take yourself too seriously. You know at the end of the day this isn’t like a presidential race or anything like that,” Oakley said. “I think the simple act of running shows that you do have a lot of pride for your school. So I think that’s one thing to be proud of.”
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‘Sweet Caroline’: A touching tale of Pitt t�adition
Tessa Sayers Staff Writer
Justin Acierno and Corey Hartman have never met. But they will always be tied together by one thing — their love for “Sweet Caroline.” Hartman, a 2011 Pitt grad, loved the tradition so much that when he became a father in April 2018, the name for his new baby girl was an easy choice — Caroline. But that name wouldn’t have any meaning without Acierno, a 2007 Pitt grad — the father of Pitt’s “Sweet Caroline” tradition, which he and a team of Pitt students and athletics employees created over lunch at Hemingway’s Cafe in the summer of 2008. “As I was thinking of different songs, I proposed ‘Sweet Caroline’ as one of them,” Acierno said. “Rather than it being just ‘Sweet Caroline,’ you could make it into a Pitt cheer and that is what I think really sold the other students on it.” Acierno knew what it was like to play and coach at Heinz Field for the Panthers. He played fullback from 2001 to 2005 and accepted a graduate assistant coaching position at Pitt following graduation. But during his time with the football team, Acierno realized there was something missing. Pitt didn’t have a game-day experience or tradition. So after receiving his master’s in 2007 and accepting a job with the athletic department focusing on football and men’s basketball fan experience, he decided to change that. “I was fortunate enough to get that position and that’s when I really started focusing on how to improve the game-day experience and fan interaction,” Acierno said. “And that’s where ‘Sweet Caroline’ really kind of came from.” Acierno’s inspiration to have a gameday song came from Texas A&M and Ohio State University. Though he can’t remember the song, Acierno can easily recall how impressed he was once while watching Texas A&M’s entire stadium sing and perform chants in unison. He was further impressed at his sister-inlaw’s graduation at Ohio State when attendees sang “Hang on Sloopy.” Seeing how it had became an anthem for Ohio, Acierno wanted to emulate that.
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So he reached out to Student Affairs and different campus organizations that were heavily involved in celebrations on football game days. The final group that would eventually pick “Sweet Caroline” was made up of athletic department employees, members of Greek life, Student Government Board, the Panther Pitt and the Oakland Zoo. Once he had his team, Acierno asked them what songs got people the most excited on weekend nights in bars. They came up with two — “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. “We kind of felt like ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ wasn’t a good message to be sending when you were going into the fourth quarter and trying to win a game, you don’t want to necessarily be living on a prayer,” Acierno said. “So we looked at ‘Sweet Caroline’ … and people old, people young, all can recognize the song, they can all understand it and it was one of those unifying songs we knew everyone would know.” So, as Acierno’s assembled team had lunch at Hemingway’s, it was settled — ‘Sweet Caroline’ would play at the end of the third quarter at Pitt football games. The next challenge was making sure fans knew what was going on and would participate. Acierno’s team put together a YouTube video and passed it around to different student organizations. The video explained what they were doing, how it was going to work and how cool it would be. They also passed flyers around to students before the game so they knew what to do and the lyrics were put on the video board so the crowd could sing along. The big moment was initially scheduled for the first game of the 2008 season against Bowling Green University at home. But the Panthers were losing, so Acierno’s team decided to postpone the launch. They finally had their opportunity the next week against the University of Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 6. “The second game was a very similar situation,” Acierno said. “We weren’t playing very well, but we were still having
Panther Pitt fans cheer “let’s go Pitt” while “Sweet Caroline” played during Pitt’s game against Georgia Tech Sept. 15. Sarah Cutshall | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER a pretty good game and it felt pretty good, so we did it. The whole crowd got into it right away, they knew exactly what was going on.” Following the crowd’s enthusiastic sing-along, the Panthers pushed hard during the fourth quarter and won the game. “From there on [we] solidified that as something we should be doing,” Acierno said. “All the students had fun, they enjoyed it and we really saw some success from it.” Dave Wannstedt, former Pitt football head coach, didn’t know what was going on during the first few games when the tradition was still new. And while he thought the sing-along was a good idea when the Panthers were winning, he wasn’t as much of a fan of Neil Diamond when the game wasn’t going well. “Honestly I didn’t realize what was happening the first few games,” Wannstedt said. “Then if we were winning, players singing along and dancing was great! If it was a tight game or we were losing I wasn’t really amused.” But it didn’t matter. “Sweet Caroline” had made an impact on students and was around to stay. Corey Hartman never knew why “Sweet Caroline” started playing at Pitt football games, but he remembers
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thinking how cool it was, especially with the words “Let’s go Pitt” subbed for the “bomp-bomp-bom” in the chorus. It wasn’t until a couple years after he graduated that he decided if he ever had a daughter, he was going to name her Caroline. “I just loved the song and how much of a tradition it was to Pitt football,” Hartman said. “I was thinking, ‘man, if I’m ever lucky enough to have a daughter I want to name her Caroline, just so I can sing that song to her.’ Every time I sing it I’ll think of Pitt football and every time I talk to her I will think of all the great times I had there.” Lucky for him, his wife, Kristy, was a Pitt fan growing up and was on board with the idea. “I was like, ‘it’s a really pretty name, I love the song,’” she said. “So I was like, ‘I’m not going to tell him no.’” The family of three has Pitt football season tickets and Caroline went to her first game Sept. 1 against Albany. While the Hartman family was late to the game, they were able to roll their car windows down as the song played in the stadium and sing the lyrics to Caroline from the parking lot. But they’ll be at the homecoming game this week — and hopefully before kickoff. “This weekend, my dreams will be fulfilled,” Hartman said.
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ROC-ing the Mascot: Dancing, cheering and more Ben Zimmer
teams achieve victory. This means being on site for game hours before, during and after play. “Ninety percent of the Pitt athletic teams will request Many people believe they’re the most die-hard fan of ROC at least once or twice throughout the season, so we Pitt sports, going to extreme lengths to show off how crahave to make sure someone is there to meet the fans, zily obsessed they are. But despite their efforts, there is greet the team and cheer everyone on,” the second fornothing one fan can do to match the enthusiasm of the mer ROC said. Panthers’ number-one fan — ROC. The busy schedule never brings the team members ROC, a human-sized bipedal Panther, has been at down, however. The experiences they get to take part the center of Pitt athletics for more than a century now, in while at the center of Pitt athletics are a chief reason bouncing around the field, waving his arms and enterthey love being a ROC team member. The taining fans with his goofy antics and uncurrent team member mentioned previassailable school spirit. The mascot came ously described ROC as an extension of Pitt to life in 1909 when the Panther was selectteams, drawing cheers from some and boos ed to represent the school. He earned the from others. name “ROC” in the 1990s to honor former “I went to the ACC Championship footplayer Steve Petro, whose nickname from ball game last year. It was Miami versus his playing days was “The Rock.” Clemson. All the ACC mascots were there To have Pitt’s cheery, energetic mascot … I realized, walking in there, that I was unfor dozens of games and events requires wanted by anybody there,” he said. “The year the recruitment of several highly talented before, we upset Clemson and messed their individuals to suit up as ROC. This is the season up. And a week before that, we upset ROC team — a group of students who inMiami and ruined their perfect season. Nodividually become ROC but together act body wanted to see ROC.” under the same mindset we see all the time It was at this game where the current from the Panther. team member also experienced one of the The group is a highly secretive one, as hindrances that can come with getting into all members past and present want to concharacter as ROC. tinue giving the impression that ROC has “I walked out and hopped on a bike-taxi. his own enthusiastic personality rather I didn’t expect [the driver] to go anywhere than risk imposing their individual perand he just took off. I couldn’t say ‘Slow sonalities onto him. It’s all part of the down!’ or ‘We’re going in the opposite directransformation these team members untion of where I’m supposed to be!’ He took dertake to become ROC. me on a little trip around Charlotte and I One former ROC team member, who was trying to use all the body language to asked to remain anonymous, explained the get me back,” he said. purpose of the team’s anonymity as crucial Eventually he did return in time to rev to the overall function of ROC, as well as up the crowd and experience the distinctive the extreme pride members of the team euphoria that comes from being at the core take in keeping themselves secret. of Pitt sports. “It’s definitely a tight-knit club. We try “It comes down to two main things — one to keep anonymity and make sure we ad- Panthers’ mascot ROC dances on Heinz Field during Pitt’s game against is being in the moment at a big game. At that here to that,” he said. “It’s neat when you Georgia Tech Sept. 15. Sarah Cutshall | staff photographer point in time, every student and every fan and three or four other people are the only and the entire emotion, ROC is supposed ones who know that you do it. It definitely member, who requested anonymity as well, explained to capture that. It’s an out-of-body experience. The secis a really cool club that only a couple people are lucky that the role that all members of the team must be ready ond thing is for the kids. They have these huge smiles enough to be a part of.” on their face and you know you made their day,” he said. to accept is a crucial one. A current ROC, who also wished to remain anonyBeing a ROC team member is a challenging respon“Essentially, you’re acting as an ambassador for the mous, first became aware of ROC tryouts when a flyer school, so you show up at a lot of events — not only for sibility, but those who have undergone the endeavor and ended up in his dorm during his first week at Pitt. After sports, but at activities throughout the community,” he come out on the other side believe it was instrumental in witnessing ROC’s run-out at the first football game he their college careers and identities. said. went to, he knew he wanted to get in the catsuit. He took No matter when the game starts, ROC must be ready. “It’s hard to relay that to people because it’s such advantage of the opportunity and started the process. All team members must put aside the goings-on in their a niche way to go through college, but it’s the great“We would create situations and put on a dance roulives and completely adopt the ROC mindset when they est college experience I could’ve had here,” the current tine to see how you feel without any training and coachare needed in order to keep fans’ spirits up and help Pitt’s ROC said. Staff Writer
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ing. And see, ‘Can you put the suit on and be something that you’re not?’ Overall, the process took a month or two with a couple of tryouts and individual meetings with the coach,” he said. The pride these team members feel for their role as ROC shows in the duties they perform across the University and the entire City. The team, which usually features four or five members at a time, must each commit plenty of time to the role if ROC is to make it to every event where he’s requested. A second former ROC team
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Performers celebrate Homecoming with concert Victoria Pfefferle-Gillot
and neighboring universities. Faculty, staff and members of the community are also involved. Staff Writer “We mostly perform in Bellefield Hall, someThe intricate Gothic stone walls of Heinz times we perform [in Heinz Chapel], churches Chapel reverberated with music for Tuesday that have concert series usually. If they have a night’s Sounds of Pitt Homecoming Concert, good organ that they want to feature we can do which welcomed the Pitt community with an organ concerto,” Zahab said. three on-campus groups — The University of Zahab also discussed how he asked Clark — Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the PalPITwho graduated summa cum laude in 2017 in both Tations and the Women’s Choral Ensemble. music and computer science — to perform since The audience gathered inside the chapel he wanted to feature an alum for Homecoming. was comprised of students, parents and alumni “We play chamber music a lot and he helps of all ages. While rain poured outside, the auout with the orchestra sometimes. Since he’s still dience was entertained within by the sounds of The University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the PalPITTations in Pittsburgh it was easy to get in touch with violins and singing and the Women’s Choral Ensemble performed at the Pitt Alumni him,” Zahab said. “Christian’s a talented musician The concert opened with the University Association at Heinz Memorial Chapel Tuesday evening. and we are glad to have him.” of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra — but the Levko Karmazyn | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Following the orchestra was PalPITTations first piece wasn’t overseen by the strings. Pitt — a co-ed a cappella group made up of students Roger Zahab — director of the orchestra for 25 years graduate Christian Clark commanded Bach’s in mostly health-related fields — which performs at vari— expressed his enthusiasm for the group and his role in it Prelude in E flat minor “St. Anne” on the organ. ous philanthropic events around Pittsburgh. Evan Keller, Following this was the symphony’s performance of the following the performance. a student at Pitt School of Medicine and the group’s music “They’re very good and they like to play for their friends, composition “Quiet City,” inspired in part by the 1939 play director, introduced the group. of the same name. The mixture of strings, trumpet and so this is a good opportunity for them to do that,” he said. “We are the oldest-running, newly-running co-ed gradEnglish horn was a soft counterpart to the opening organ, “I believe everyone performed well tonight.” The orchestra only practices Wednesday nights and is featuring a warmer, brighter tone. See Concert on page 13 comprised of both music majors and non-majors from Pitt
Pitt’s Homecoming: Past and present Madeline Gavatorta Staff Writer
Pitt Homecoming didn’t look very much like it does today when it first began in 1928. The earliest homecomings were nothing more than students hanging out in fraternity houses, smoking cigarettes during their “Open House Smokers.” Since then, floats, parades and dances have been added to the homecoming festivities — all leading up to the annual homecoming football game. Pitt’s first homecoming took place the weekend of Nov. 9-10 in 1928. According to Sports Reference, Pitt won its first homecoming football game against Washington and Jefferson 25-0. While researching the history of homecoming across the country, Pitt University Library System archivists Zachary Brodt and Kathleen Donahoe found that the firstever homecoming took place at the University of Missouri in 1911. Chester Brewer,
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the university’s football coach and athletic director, commented on the event to The Missouri Student back in the 1930s. “As I remember,” Brewer said, “Missouri was the first school to sponsor the idea of an annual reunion on the day of some important football game, and Missouri unconsciously developed the idea way back in 1911.” Brewer came up with the idea of homecoming in 1910 after the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association said college campuses must host conference games — meaning the game would move from its original location in Kansas City, Mo., to the University of Missouri’s campus. With the game moving to the much less populous Lebanon, Brewer decided to encourage alumni to come back to the university as a strategy to keep attendance and Phi Sigma Sigma and Phi Kappa find out they’ve won the float parade revenue high for the annual game — and so contest. Photo courtesy of University Archives, University Library System the first homecoming was born. See Homecoming on page 13
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Concert, pg. 12 uate health and science a capella group in western Pennsylvania,” Keller said, laughing. “We’re excited to share our music.” The group performed three songs, each with different leading soloists. The tunes included Zedd’s “The Middle,” Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis” and Panic! at the Disco’s “Death of a Bachelor.” While all three songs showed off the group’s ability to provide impressive harmony and bass behind a strong leading soloist, “Death of a Bachelor” featured soloist Tim Petty continuously hitting the sharp high notes leading into each chorus. “He’s the dentist of the group,” Keller said, smiling. The final group to perform was the Women’s Choral Ensemble, which is comprised of undergraduate, graduate, faculty and staff women of the University community. Only one member of the group is a music major. The lineup of five songs began with “The Little Road” and “Only in Sleep” which had the women in an unusual formation. Rather than standing in rows at the front of the chapel, they formed a perimeter around
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the inside chapel walls, their voices echoing off the chapel’s stately walls. Following this, the ensemble reformed at the front in usual rows and director Lorraine Milovac apologized good-humoredly for the next piece, “Dodolske Pesme” — a Serbian rain-bringing song — and admitted they likely practiced it too much. They closed in high energy with the songs “Hosanna” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” The concert ended with loud applause and one final song — Pitt’s Alma Mater — sung both by the choral ensemble and members of the audience. “I felt really good about our performance tonight,” ensemble member and undeclared first-year Megan Pfeifer said. Once getting to Pitt, Pfeifer, who sang in a women’s choir in high school, decided to audition for the WCE. While she is new to the homecoming scene, Pfeifer was excited for the rest of the festivities and has enjoyed her experience thus far. “I’m definitely planning on going to the game on Saturday,” she said. “Since I’m a freshman I haven’t gone through this before, but it seems really cool and this was a great event to perform at.”
Homecoming, pg. 12 According to Brodt and Donahoe, the idea rapidly caught on at other universities. It isn’t clear why Pitt didn’t host its first homecoming until 18 years after Missouri, but lack of finances may have been what held the administration back. The Cathedral of Learning was under construction during this time, which Donahoe said may have caused Pitt to fall behind the homecoming trend. From the 1920s to the 1960s, homecoming was a year-round event that included smokers’ parties and formal dances. The first Pitt homecoming in 1928 wasn’t widely celebrated, but when Pitt played Ohio State University in 1929, the popularity of the celebration soared. Pitt’s homecoming took a hiatus during the 1940s following the advent of World War II. Upon its return in the 1950s, the University began a homecoming court and started the tradition of parades with floats made by Pitt sororities and fraternities. “The ‘50s seems to be this period where things kind of start to evolve from
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the initial kind of fraternity-driven activities to university-wide [ones],” Brodt said. Pitt didn’t have a consistent set of homecoming traditions during early celebrations. Sometimes, Pitt would invite the opposing team of the homecoming game to a big celebration — like the game against Ohio State University in 1929, when Pitt found OSU alumni living around Pitt and invited them to the festivities, including smoking parties. “In the early traditions, they would actually invite Ohio State alumni to come to the smoker and they would have the Ohio State coach there to make a speech,” Donahoe said. “It was more of a community thing rather than a Pitt thing.” An article in The Pitt News from October 1955 noted the tradition of including live animals in parades — even real versions of the school’s mascot. “In 1933, Pitt was given a live panther cub to fight Navy’s goat,” the article said. “At another homecoming celebration ‘Jock’ Sutherland was presented with a baby lamb with blue and gold ribbons See Homecoming on page 23
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COULMNS:
Last-minute homecoming court picks Brian Gentry
Contributing Editor The nominees for homecoming court are decided, and it’s too late for any last-second additions. But there’s so many contestants who were disqualified just because they’re not students — and many would totally win if they could enter. If I could decide Pitt’s homecoming king and queen, these would be my choices. THE LIKELY CONTENDERS Pitt Football Team and Dark Sky Above Cathy It’s been a rough start for the Pitt football team. So far, we have a 2-3 record, and two of the losses were absolute blowouts. But there’s a clandestine relationship hidden in this sports tragedy, something that makes for a great love story — the Pitt football team seems to be protecting the sky above the Cathedral of Learning from the blinding victory lights. Sure, it’s great for students to see the victory lights turned on, but it’s clear that the football team is truly in love with the dark skies. The protective
boyfriend trope is such a classic that this pair can remember. Since 1998, tuition and fees would be bound to win homecoming couple. have almost tripled thanks to the Board’s Even better, this couple is environmental- approval. And they certainly model their ly conscious. The fact that we don’t turn on relationship off of similar ones across the the victory lights means that we can country, like Cornell’s $13,000 increase save on power — after all, leaving in tuition in the last seven years. lights on for an entire weekend It’s possible that things may have takes a lot of electricity! Maybe gotten a bit rocky recently. This year, it’ll compensate enough that we tuition only increased for out-ofcan turn up the air conditioning state, graduate and engineering stuwhile it’s still hot out. Regarddents, hinting that perhaps the Board less, this couple would b e and tuition increases had a falling stark competition in out this year. But this is surely the race for the temporary — there are crown. similar relationships between universities Pitt’s and tuition increases Board Of across the country, Trustees and and Pitt’s Board of Tuition Increases Trustees will defiThese two have nitely catch up with been in a committhe national trend. ted relationship for It’s this steadfastness as long as anyone Sylvia Freeman | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
DOWN
Grace McGinness Staff Columnist
This past year has been hard for popularity contests. Even the faithful Miss America pageant has seen some reform, focusing more on skill rather than beauty. So this might be the time for Pitt to reflect on its own little popularity contest and make some changes. There is no place for homecoming court in 2018. That may sound harsh, but after all it’s just a silly tradition for students who want to have fun. It’s not actively hurting anybody, but it’s not really accomplishing anything either. Instead of keeping around ineffective showboating for tradition’s sake, we should take the opportunity to try out something different. Homecoming court is a competition for juniors and seniors to win over the rest of the student body through their
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in their relationship that makes them such an attractive choice for homecoming king and queen. Roc and Gritty It may be cliche, but relationships modeled off of Disney movies are absolutely adorable. And that’s why Roc, Pitt’s mascot, and Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot, should be homecoming king and queen. By looks, they’re about as compatible as toothpaste and orange juice — which is to say they aren’t. Roc is a tall, athletic, speedy panther. Gritty, on the other hand, is an ugly, bright orange, hairy space beast. Did I mention he’s ugly? But there’s something in the relationship that could work — something that wasn’t there before. It’s like Beauty and the Beast, where a conventionally attractive and a conventionally unattractive character fall for each other over their shared interests. And the two mascots certainly have a lot See Contenders on page 17
WITH THE MONARCHY crown and sash for one night. “I’ve voted for whoever my sorority sponsored, but I’ve never really known or took the time to get to know the contestants for the court,” said Claudia Haines, a junior art history major. Right off the bat, let’s make something clear — this is not a call to eliminate everything homecomingrelated. In fact, if someone were to try a get rid of the fireworks and laser, I myself would be ready to throw hands. Homecoming has been a tradition among u n i v e r s it i e s Sylvia Freeman | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR since the ear-
merits of school spirit and activity. It’s almost like voting for who represents the school the best among those who decide to throw their hat into the ring. Each year, a few dozen people attempt to convince the thousands of other students at Pitt — most of whom have likely never heard their name before and know nothing about them — to pick them to wear a
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ly 1900s, when alumni football players were invited back for another game to celebrate school spirit. Since then, different areas of the country have developed their own takes on how they host homecoming, with some of the most common activities being a school parade with student clubs and marching band, a student dance and the homecoming court. As it stands, Pitt officially celebrates homecoming with a football game, dance and the competition to get into the homecoming court. Most of the homecoming events are organized by Pitt’s Blue and Gold Society and the Pitt Alumni Association. Candidates for homecoming court must join the Student Alumni Association and applications start as early as August. One could argue the homecoming See Monarchy on page 20
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Contenders, pg. 15 in common. They can talk about their love of sports and bond over the stress of their similar jobs. It may get a bit weird if they ever think about children, but they complement each other perfectly for homecoming king and queen. THE LONGSHOTS Pitt Basketball Team and 1 Single ACC Victory This one might be a bit of a stretch. Pitt’s basketball team used to be good — we’ve
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won our fair share of tournament games, and were seeded No. 1 as recently as 2011. Yet last year, Pitt garnered a shocking 0-18 record within the ACC. Our record outside the ACC was just as bad — at the end of the season, Pitt had a 19-game losing streak. But we like an underdog love story, and this certainly qualifies. The tension between the two is almost unbearable, and when they eventually collide, sparks will fly. Just imagine the excitement of the basketball team’s friends (read: Pitt students) if the team could pull off a single victory against another ACC team. It would be
enough to power the relationship for years — and this is what we look for in homecoming royalty. Oakland and Affordable Groceries Let’s face it — there’s very little affordable food in Oakland. Ever since 7-Eleven closed and Oakland Bakery entered a state of limbo while stores shuffle around, there’s no place in the area to buy groceries. Sure, there are niche markets in South Oakland that sell specialty foods, like Las Palmas and Groceria Merante, but aside from that, affordable food is only accessible at stores like Aldi, Giant Eagle and Target that are
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miles from the neighborhood. This is certainly a relationship students are rooting for — we’re all waiting for the day that we can find cheap fruit and vegetables without hopping on a bus. Fortunately for us, there’s a promising sign that it might happen. The University is opening a grocery store on Forbes, which will hopefully have lower prices than Market-To-Go, where a box of cereal goes for $5. If the new grocery store delivers on its promise, this relationship would finally begin — and its popularity among students would make them a shoo-in.
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PREDICTION:
THE ORANGE TO SQUEEZE OUT VICTORY OVER PANTHERS
Nick Carlisano Staff Writer
Pitt (2-3, 1-1 ACC) will meet the Syracuse Orange (41, 1-1 ACC) at Heinz Field Saturday for this year’s homecoming football game. Syracuse looks to bounce back from a narrow loss against No. 4 Clemson, while the Panthers are reeling from a blowout loss to No. 12 UCF. The Orange emerged victorious in last year’s matchup, edging Pitt 2724, but haven’t been victorious at Heinz Field since 2001. Dino Babers’ Syracuse team presents an opportunity for head coach Pat Narduzzi to get this season back on track. Although a 2-3 record at this point in the season isn’t too shocking, it’s the way the Panthers have lost that’s been unsettling. Pitt has been routed by two top-15 teams and fell to UNC yet again, but a large homecoming crowd and a fairly even matchup give Narduzzi a chance to prove why his job should be safe. The Panthers failed to muster any true success last week against UCF’s defense. While offensive coordinator Shawn Watson’s unit has sputtered in the second half this entire season, it was incapable from start to finish last week. Of Pitt’s two scores, one was a punt return by senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes. The other was a long receiving score by junior Maurice Ffrench late in the fourth quarter with the
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game already out of hand. Six of Pitt’s nine offensive possessions ended in punts, and they failed to pick up a first down on three of those. Sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett threw an interception just outside the red zone in the second quarter, costing the Panthers a chance to tie the game or kick a field goal. In the third quarter Pickett was sacked on a fourth down attempt. Only Pitt’s final, meaningless possession yielded a touchdown. The offense simply has to be better. The Panther defense is giving up too many points, and the offense isn’t responding at all. Pitt’s rushing attack, the most successful aspect to the offense, is severely limited in the latter half of the game because the Panthers have been playing catch up. It’s becoming more and more evident that Watson needs to make a change in his offensive style. A move-the-chains approach isn’t producing, and that won’t change against a Syracuse defense that kept one of the top teams in the country in check. Watson needs to add some creativity to his playbook, and also let Pickett start airing the ball out. The Panthers have big play potential in Ffrench, Araujo-Lopes and sophomore Taysir Mack. If the offense wants to have any hope of keeping up with opponents, they need to start taking shots. This will make defenses respect and fear them, and in turn
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open up the ground game even more for the senior running back tandem of Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. The Orange has allowed at least 170 yards rushing in three of their five games, including 293 to Clemson last week. Clemson sophomore running back Travis Etienne topped 200 yards last week while scoring three times, so Ollison and Hall should rebound from a quiet Week 5. The last game marked the first time since Week 1 that neither back reached the end zone. Pickett, however, may be in for a tough day against the Syracuse pass defense. The Orange has only allowed one passer to reach 200 yards, and has intercepted a pass in every game thus far. First-year safety Andre Cisco has four himself this season and is a player to watch this weekend. The Orange is also up to an impressive 17 sacks this season, so Pickett will have to be careful where he throws it while simultaneously avoiding pressure. Junior defensive ends Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman are up to four and six sacks this season, respectively, and make for a fearsome combination on the edge. Pitt senior captain Alex Bookser and his offensive line will have their work cut out for them. Defensive coordinator Randy Bates’s defense was once again uninspiring against the Knights offense. Most expected See Prediction on page 22
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Monarchy, pg. 15 court is an exercise in marketing and networking, since candidates are entirely responsible for their own campaigning. But at the end of the day, the contest is one of popularity, and one with an anticlimactic ending. Once someone is crowned king and queen, there is a March to Victory to celebrate — just like any other football game — but nothing else. No other goals are achieved nor are further plans made. It leads one to question what the point
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of the title even is. “None of my close friends really pay attention to it. I don’t think anything really happens, it’s not really a big spectacle,” Haines said. “The people running take the opportunity to show their school pride but then nothing happens. They don’t go on to do anything else, it just fades away.” People are allowed to have fun, and students should be allowed to participate in something simply for enjoyment rather than do everything solely for a resumé or higher purpose. But
for an event designed to raise student school spirit, the homecoming court is just not cutting it. Most home games for Pitt only fill up about half of Heinz Field’s total capacity — about 30,000 out of 65,000. For the homecoming game in 2016, the attendance only rose to 40,000, about two-thirds of the total possible capacity. And a good chunk likely weren’t even students. Homecoming isn’t even the most popular game of the season, with the first game claiming the highest attendance.
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Pitt’s school spirit might not be as high as it could be, but that doesn’t mean the Blue and Gold Society should give up. Rather, this should be seen as an opportunity to try something new. If there’s no tradition worth holding onto that retains student interest, then there is nothing to hold the society back from any other crazy, entertaining ideas it can cook up. It would also be beneficial for it to actually ask what events the students would attend or follow through polling students. Students have some ideas of how to further engage their peers in homecoming festivities. Erin Smith, a junior neuroscience major, suggested that every club could elect a representative to dress up for the homecoming game and participate in the homecoming parade. “This way, it [could be] more inclusive and show off the school’s clubs and activities,” she said. While a parade with all of Pitt’s student activities may be too long or laborious for halftime, it’s new ideas like these that the Blue and Gold Society could integrate into the homecoming celebration — something that gets more students invested than simply the people who run for the court. Pitt’s a big school and there are plenty of groups that could be represented to show off school pride. When it comes down to it, 2019 should be the year we throw out the old and welcome in the new. The homecoming court needs to be shelved but our school spirit can still thrive with some innovation and clever thinking. We got rid of kings and queens centuries ago for a reason — no need to bring them back for the sake of vogue.
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Prediction, pg. 18 UCF to score a lot, but, again, it was the missed assignments and broken plays that disappointed. They routinely bit on pump fakes from junior quarterback McKenzie Milton, and let junior running back Adrian Killins Jr. carve them up for two long receiving touchdowns. The recurring theme is that Pitt’s defense isn’t necessarily terrible — they’re just entirely undisciplined. The simplest pump fake or run fake throws the whole unit off, and every player seems to forget that running backs can also go out for passes. The past two opponents haven’t really made any highlight reel plays — the Panthers simply don’t know their assignments or blow their coverages much of the time. It’s hard to say if this is the coaching or players, but either way, the mistakes have been extremely costly. The Syracuse offense essentially revolves around one man — senior dual-threat quarterback Eric Dungey. He was the main source of offense in the game last year, contributing 365 yards, two passing touchdowns and one on the ground. Dungey has already thrown for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns this season, while adding 365 yards and six touchdowns rushing. If Pitt’s defense lets Dungey have his way like Milton last week or UNC junior quarterback Nathan Elliott the week before, then Panther fans in attendance for homecoming festivities will leave disappointed. Pitt will need to dial up a few crucial defensive stops if they want to stand a chance. Prediction Syracuse: 34 Pitt: 27 Coach Narduzzi’s Panthers have given reasons to doubt this team these past two weeks. After an OK showing against UNC, the offensive production fell off a cliff against UCF. Ollison and Hall had a slow Week 5 and should bounce back, but Pickett hasn’t truly done anything special yet this year, and Syracuse has playmakers all over the field on defense. As for the Panther defense, there isn’t much to say. Pitt hasn’t indicated they can stop anyone, and its play seems to be going in the wrong direction as the season progresses. Although home field advantage and the homecoming atmosphere should play to Pitt’s advantage this Saturday, the Panthers will come up just short against this shockingly stout Syracuse football team.
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Homecoming, pg. 13 tied around its neck. In 1947 alumni released 1,000 homing pigeons on the field preceding the tilt.” Concerts, fireworks and keg-rolling competitions sponsored by different alcohol companies each year became a part of the annual celebration in the 1970s. Chancellor Wesley Posvar, who held the position from 1967 to 1991, participated in the keg-rolling competition as well. A substantial difference between the 1930s and today’s homecoming celebrations, Donahoe said, is the lack of a community celebration. In the 1930s, home-
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coming was all about uniting the University — but since the 1990s, schools within Pitt have focused more on individualized celebrations. “You don’t necessarily have the big ‘come together as a university’ thing anymore, which is what in 1928 it kind of started as,” Donahoe said. Jana Sestili, the current Alumni Association assistant executive director, helps coordinate the homecoming events with the Alumni Association. She graduated in 1992 with a degree in communication and loved homecoming during her time as a student. “My favorite part was the fireworks and laser show produced by the Pitt Program Council, and of course, the football game,” Sestili said.
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With the changing of traditions in Pitt’s homecoming history, Sestili gave insight into how they choose events now — by researching alumni interests. “[The research] creates what we call ‘homecoming signature’ events and programs — programs we feel will put a finger on the pulse of all alumni without regard from their degree or school they graduated from or for their particular affinity,” Sestili said. Sestili said homecoming is important because it connects current students to past ones. “Homecoming is a timeless tradition that brings everyone together and celebrates all the traditions of Pitt and nothing else compares to it,” Sestili said. “It is uniquely ours and why we ‘Hail to Pitt!’”
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