10-15-14 by The Pitt News

Vol. 105 Issue 49

@thepittnews

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

GUEST SPEAKER

SNL cast member performs on campus

Pittnews.com

BOOK WORK

Kathy Zhao For The Pitt News After her first audition in New York City, Sasheer Zamata ended up standing in the street crying on her cell phone. Today, she’s the first black female cast member NBC’s sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” has had in seven years, and the fifth black female to ever be cast in the show. Zamata performed a stand-up routine in the O’Hara Student Center Ballroom Tuesday night, complete with jokes about being named after a “Star Trek” reference, having an “accidentally racist” white stepmom and why she isn’t yet fit to have a child, let alone take care of one. Pitt’s Campus Women’s Organization sponsored the event, and president Eleanora Kaloyeropoulou

Zamata

“It’s a different thing everyday, new books everyday and I get to see new people everyday, but the regulars also

5 make for a good time.” - Kris Collins, manager of Caliban Books on South Craig Street. Zach Schaffer | Senior Staff

@mmoconn

Photographer

“i could study for my midterms FOOD OR i could channel goddess energy from stevie nicks + sasheer zamata who are BOTH in pittsburgh 2night”

Joe Mamaʼs bought by Fuel and Fuddle owners, will reopen as new restaurant

@monikayingling

“I can't believe I got to see a cast member from my favorite show tonight! @ thesheertruth was amazing and she's beyond perfect on SNL”

Cristina Holtzer News Editor During the last week of this month, Joe Mama’s Italian DeLuxe will close briefly only to reopen as Olio Trattoria under new ownership. Brandon Smith, Greg Ripper and Dan-

iel Sutton purchased Joe Mama’s, located on the corner of Forbes and Oakland Avenues, from Mike Hanley and Jerry DiLembo. Smith, Ripper and Sutton also purchased Fuel & Fuddle from Hanley and DiLembo in July so that the pair could focus on their other restaurant, Burgatory. Hanley said he and DiLembo plan to

expand the Burgatory chain in the future. Smith said his group will take control of Joe Mama’s on October 27, after Pitt’s Homecoming weekend. Joe Mama’s will then close until November 4, the scheduled date for the opening of Olio Trat-

Joe Mama’s

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FOOD

Gluten-free: Students feel relief from dietary worries Anjana Murali Staff Writer

When Paige Haring goes to Market Central, she says she finally feels normal. Haring, a freshman with Celiac disease and a member of the Gluten Free Awareness League, said the group has made a lot of great changes around campus since its creation in 2011 — efforts that reflect a growing desire to change the food options at Pitt for students who either have Celiac disease or choose to not eat gluten, a protein found in wheat or grain. “Because of this group, I can go to the Tutto Fresco at Market [Central] and get gluten-free food, and I can go to the Cathedral Cafe and get sandwiches that are labelled as gluten-free,” Haring said. “I don’t have to explain why I need to eat gluten-free.” Celiac disease is a medical condition in which eating gluten causes inflammation in the small intestine. It affects one in 133 Americans, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. The only remedy for this disease is a glu-

ten-free diet. But other people — who identify Sodexo began offering more glutenas non-Celiac gluten sensitive — don’t have free foods in the spring Celiac and simply feel better after cutting gluof 2012 after the ten from their diet. student group reOne of the reasons Haring viewed campus decided to come to Pitt menu options was because of the with Sodexo Gluten Free Awareworkers and ness League. suggested alDhanu Thiternatives lacking yagarajan, a gluten. senior bioenAccording to Meg gineering maMayer-Costa, a regjor, started the istered dietitian at Gluten Free Pitt, gluten intolAwa r e n e s s erance can cause League during Gluten-free foods are often more calorie-dense than a variety of health her freshman foods than include gluten, experts say. MCT Campus problems. year because “Not all gluten she is allergic to wheat and found a lack of intolerance shows up as a [gastrointestinal] meal options. concern; for some people it’s migraines, in“I was getting sick all of the time, lost tons flammation and pain in joints, short stature, of weight right off of the bat,” Thiyagarajan anemia or osteoporosis,” Mayer-Costa said. said. “It was really ruining my college expeAn article by NOVA Next, published in rience.” May on the PBS website titled, “Unless You

Have Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity is in Your Head,” brought up a lot of controversy. According to Mayer-Costa, consumers should question food advertisements and packaging because they can often convey information that is incorrect. “I would say the carbohydrate is the most maligned macronutrient at the moment,” Mayer-Costa said. “Very few people who follow a gluten-free diet do so because they have absolute lab values that correlate to them having to need a gluten-free diet.” According to a list by Udi, a gluten-free food company, Pitt is an “Honorable Mention” university, meaning the University placed just outside of the top ten, on their Top 10 Gluten Free Accommodating Colleges list released this year. “That’s due to what the club did over the past three years,” Thiyagarajan said. The club’s goal is to try to make the Top 10 list, Haring said. Many people who don’t have gluten intol-

Gluten

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 2

JOE MAMA’S

GLUTEN

toria. “Our concept is traditional upscale, but affordable,” Smith said of the new restaurant. “We’re getting away from the concept of a cheesier Joe Mama’s and showing people that we’re serious about food and wine here.” While the restaurant is closed, Smith plans to acquaint himself with the existing staff. He said he hopes to retain the staff to work in the new restaurant, and he also wants to work on indoor and outdoor renovations. The majority of the renovations will be cosmetic, Smith said, but the entire menu will change. “This is a concept flip and a new restaurant,” Smith said. “But it’s not like we’re changing from Italian [food] to Chinese.” Hanley said Smith and his partners approached him roughly six weeks ago to talk about the possible sale of Joe Mama’s, and they have signed an agreement that both parties wish to keep private. Neither Hanley nor Smith would provide details on the price at which the restaurant sold.

erance are eating gluten-free foods because they think it is synonymous with good health. In a study conducted in 2013 by the NDP Group, a global information company, 30 percent of U.S. adults want to cut gluten out of their diet. “It’s definitely a misconception that glutenfree means healthy. It just means no gluten,” Haring said. Mayer-Costa said she believes that glutenfree products have a halo effect, meaning if something is gluten-free, then it must be acceptable to eat it. The reality is that gluten-free cookies are still cookies and are still unhealthy to eat, Mayer-Costa said. In fact, gluten-free items tend to have more calories in them because they have increased amounts of fats and sugars to make the food taste better. For example, according to Mayer-Costa, a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie has twice the calories as a regular chocolate chip cookie.

Joe Mama’s will reopen as Olio Trattoria in early November. Jeff Ahearn | Assistant Visual Editor

in Italian — came after brainstorming Italian restaurant names that were, according to Smith, “not too hard to pronounce,” and focused on the ingredients involved in Italian cooking. “One of the problems with Italian restaurants is that there’s a lot of them in Pittsburgh,” Smith said. “And the names tend to sound similar. We wanted a name that people could remember.”

The Pitt News Crossword, 10/15/2014

“Brandon, Greg and Dan have been looking for space to do Olio Trattoria for some time,” Hanley said in an email on Tuesday. “Brandon is a good friend and is aware of our expansion plans for Burgatory.” Smith, who previously worked at Fuel & Fuddle in various roles for 13 years, said he has no plans to make any major changes to the hours operation for Olio Trattoria. Olio Trattoria — meaning “oil tavern”

ACROSS 1 Common telenovela theme 5 Travel needs for many 10 Lose, in a Vegas game 14 Amplify, in a way 15 Not available 16 Fit 17 *Media member with a curly tail? 19 Word with barn or storm 20 Sorceress jilted by Jason 21 “Not interested” 23 Seahawks’ org. 25 *With 50-Across, travel guide that touts Oranjestad’s worst hotels and restaurants? 26 “Time to split!” 30 Ore. setting 31 José __: frozen Mexican food brand 32 Sitar selections 34 Santa __ Mountains: coastal California range 38 *“Whatever you say, wise goddess!”? 42 In-land link? 43 Henie on the ice 44 Grammy-winning “We Are Young” band 45 Cybernotes 48 Six, for many 50 See 25-Across 54 “King Kong” studio 55 Franklin’s note 56 “Cheers,” e.g. 60 Qatari potentate 61 *Refrigerator on the front lines? 65 In __ parentis 66 What a shin guard protects 67 Legendary galley 68 __ school 69 How-to units 70 Actor Gosling DOWN 1 Digital clock toggle 2 Squishy area

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

10/31/14

By Doug Peterson

3 Didn’t deny 4 Feel offended by 5 Itinerary word 6 India __ 7 Fashion designer Anna 8 Buzzing with activity 9 Close securely 10 Run of lousy luck 11 Threat to a WWII destroyer 12 Splash clumsily 13 Clipped 18 Trip to see the big game? 22 Birth announcement abbr. 24 Climbing challenge 25 Subject for da Vinci 26 One may go into an empty net 27 Earthenware pot 28 Bluff betrayer 29 Words of disgust 33 Holiday song closer 35 S&L offering for homeowners 36 Word on the Great Seal of the United States

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

37 Novelist Grey 39 Shower harbinger 40 Cracked open 41 Have words with 46 Dept. head 47 Workout garb 49 Beyond reasonable limits 50 Young wolf 51 One may be going around 52 Ready if required 53 Not turn away

10/31/14

57 Not right 58 Multigenerational tale 59 Suffix with Jumbo 62 Mount Rushmore figure, familiarly 63 Tang 64 Smallish batteries, and a hint to how the answers to starred clues are formed

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

ZAMATA Z

Sasheer S ash shee eerr Za ee Zama Zamata mata ma ta p performed erfo er form fo rmed rm ed a sstand-up tand ta nd-u up routine at Pitt Tuesday night. Christine Lim | Staff Photographer

T P N S U D O K U

s said the group was eager to bring Zamata to Pitt as soon as she was hired m by “SNL.” b “We think the power of comedy is uuniversal, and we knew [Zamata] would be universally appealing,” said Kaloyb eeropoulou. “What we try to do as an orgganization is create space for different oopinions and life experiences, and Sassheer is so hilarious and on everyone’s rradar right now so she was perfect.” Zamata started her routine talking aabout how she had never been to Pittsburgh. b “In fact, I still haven’t really been tto Pittsburgh,” she said. “But the drive ffrom the airport to here was great.” Zamata’s routine was rife with jokes aabout living in New York City and dealiing with things like men masturbating iin their cars in Central Park. Ben McClymont said his favorite joke of the night was about “the guy with his [genitals] out in the park.”

Today’s difficulty level: Very Hard Puzzles by Dailysodoku.com

“I like the way [the joke] progressed,” said McClymont, a sophomore majoring in Japanese and Theatre Arts. “She was like, ‘I was in a park, and in the park was a car, and in the car was a man and in the man’s hand was his d*ck.’” McClymont also said Zamata’s story about rising from a failed audition was inspiring, citing the anecdote Zamata used to close her routine. Zamata said when she was still in college, she drove, then took a bus and a train to New York City to audition for the part of “big band jazz singer” for Tokyo Disney. She then elaborated on how many things she did wrong during the audition: wearing one casual outfit rather than bringing a change of clothes for the separate singing and dancing auditions, having a black and white head shot rather than a colored photo and greeting the casting director with an excited “konnichiwa” because she thought she was “so hilarious and original.” She was quickly dismissed from said audition with nothing more than a “thank you” from the casting director.

5 “If I knew then that I would be where I am now though, I would just say ‘thank you’ right back,” Zamata said. Many of Zamata’s jokes dealt with race, like one about “changing [her] hair and looking like a completely different person.” “It’s like a superpower,” Zamata said. “I could rob a bank or something. I could go in and put on a wig and come out and people would be like ‘I saw one black girl walk in, but then Rihanna came out. I don’t know if we’ll ever find that one girl, but I’m glad Rihanna showed up so I could get a selfie.” Sophomore Ashley Larson, said she loved that Zamata made jokes about race at her own expense. “I love the joke about someone asking her if she wanted chicken and thinking he was racist and then her realizing that she was in a KFC,” Larson said. Larson said she really enjoyed the event. “I always get nervous when I see stand-up because there’s a chance that it’s going to just flop, but it was hilarious and so well executed,” she said.

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

OPINIONS

EDITORIAL

Effective referenda requires energetic Board Student Government Board’s Constitution only requires three percent of the student body to vote in a referendum, and only half of those who vote need to approve a measure for it to pass. SGB recently passed two referenda that were open for students’ votes for three days. One referendum proposed the elimination of Saturday finals, and the other proposed to change the Board’s term to align with the academic year. Although more than 80 percent of people who voted approved the measures, they still amount to roughly between six and eight percent of 18,371 undergraduate students. The results are great for that majority who actually voted, and of course, for SGB, in the interest of implementing change. But what about for the rest of us? SGB should raise the minimum number of votes to pass a referendum, and with a higher standard, bolster student engagement in voting. That way, SGB can ensure that change on campus reflects the interests and concerns of its students. Limitations also still exist after SGB passes a certain referendum, which doesn’t necessarily guarantee that anything will come of it. On the elimination of Saturday finals, the Board now plans to present the results to

COLUMN

University administrators, who will review and decide whether to alter University policy. It’s probably safe to say that most students would be in favor of eliminating Saturday finals (it’s harder to know what the average student would say about term lengths), so why did less than 10 percent of the student body vote on the issue? A comprehensive representation of the student voice should be vital to administrative change. A low bar of three percent of students willing to vote simply lacks numbers that demand action. The problem lies within a lack of motivation and effort by SGB to engage students and involve them in issues that they should, and most likely do, care about. Of course, SGB lacks incentive to strive for more than the three percent of the student body’s participation required by its Constitution. And one can’t expect the average college student to sacrifice a lot of time to vote. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying, though. Board members can utilize grassroots efforts outside of Internet blasts to determine whether a more significant number of students support or oppose a change. Much like campaigns during SGB elections, Board members can visit student

organizations’ meetings, table outside of the Union or in Towers or even create and place physical advertisements in popular campus locations. Besides raising the minimum number of votes to pass a referendum, the Board should give students more time to decide on referenda by advertising the issue earlier and more effectively. SGB advertised the open vote for the most recent referenda through its usual channels — social media, email and MyPitt — but this was not enough to prepare and draw a substantial amount of students. Additionally, the referendum that changed the SGB’s term to align with the academic year means that potential Board candidates now face an extended, three-semester term. This extension cuts rather close to the elections, which are about a month away, and it may dissuade some potential candidates. So why wait to do it now? Board President Mike Nites said SGB proposed the referendum before elections to ensure that prospective candidates would know the length of the upcoming term. It’s fair to hold the referendum before elections, but why didn’t the Board announce the proposed changes publicly until Sept. 16? According to Nites, the Board original-

ly brought up the idea to change terms in March but decided it wasn’t the right time to announce it to the student body. “We needed to spend time evaluating the possible benefits and issues with it, so we decided to put it to rest over the summer,” said Nites. The summer was ample time for SGB to weigh the costs and benefits and relay them to the student body. But the Board didn’t revisit the idea until September. Nites said he “rekindled” the idea over Labor Day weekend after attending the ACC Student Body Presidents’ Conference. There, he learned that most schools student governments’ terms aligned with their respective academic years. It doesn’t seem the Board spent much time “evaluating” the benefits — perhaps to the dismay of some potential SGB candidates. If the aforementioned referendum voting standard was higher, maybe we would have seen more effort on the part of SGB over the semester to actually convince and motivate students to care about this particular issue. A larger pool of votes will allow the Board to fairly evaluate students’ positions on any matter.

Presidential economics: Causation is dead

Thomas Helgerman Columnist “Correlation does not imply causality,” has become a mantra of the statistics community and is often heard in economic and political discussions. This is undoubtedly a positive trend, as ignoring it can lead to ridiculous observations — like the claims that the divorce rate in Maine drives changes in per capita consumption of margarine.

But, even with the ubiquity of this advice, it seems to be ignored more often than not. This has been especially apparent in the recent evaluations of President Obama’s economic record, which are skewed due to the lack of attention paid to economic trends and the overemphasis of comparisons between Obama and presidents past. Over the past month, analysts and pundits have bickered over the President’s performance, specifi-

cally in comparison to the Reagan administration. Proponents have been eager to point to comparisons of employment statistics — especially unemployment, which is at a six-year low. For example, Adam Hartung of Forbes, writing in conjunction with the commentary of Bob Deitrick, CEO of Polaris Financial Partners, responded to last month’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment report.

According to Deitrick, “President Obama’s job creation kept unemployment from peaking at as high a level as President Reagan and promoted people into the workforce faster than President Reagan.” Indeed, the graph presented in the article seems to corroborate this story. However, this analysis is as simplistic as saying, “Well, the unemployment rate under President Obama looks better than the

corresponding rate under Reagan, therefore President Obama has ‘outperformed’ Reagan,” i.e., correlation must imply causation. But Deitrick fails to even mention the different economic climates each president faced during his administration. During the ’70s, the United States faced persistently high inflation because of supply shocks from OPEC oil embargoes.

Helgerman

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 10

HELGERMAN In response, the Federal Reserve, headed by Paul Volcker as of August 1979, tightened monetary policy to curb inflation in the early ’80s during the Reagan presidency. As any economics student knows, such a policy maneuver will result in a drop in growth as well as in a rise in unemployment. What this analysis suggests is that, perhaps President Reagan would have outperformed

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

Cristina Holtzer, News Editor news@pittnews.com

Nick Voutsinos, Opinions Editor letters@pittnews.com

Shawn Cooke, A&E Editor

aande@pittnews.com Chris Puzia, Sports Editor sports@pittnews.com

Theo Schwarz, Visual Editor photos@pittnews.com

Ellie Petrosky, Copy Chief tpncopydesk@gmail.com

Stephen Caruso, Layout Editor tpnlayout@gmail.com

President Obama in the absence of Volcker’s maneuvers, which were presumably outside of Reagan’s control. That’s not to say that Volcker’s aggressive policy stance was mistaken, though — the taming of inflation is hugely beneficial to economic stability. In his article, Hartung does mention that inflation has remained low over the past six years, but he fails to acknowledge this related move towards stability under Reagan. The takeaway here is that the economic conditions during a certain administration

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

Mahita Gajanan, Managing Editor manager@pittnews.com

Danielle Fox, Assistant News Editor Harrison Kaminsky, Assistant News Editor Matt Barnes, Assistant Opinions Editor Dan Sostek, Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Ahearn, Assistant Visual Editor Zheru Liu, Multimedia Editor Joelle Smith, Social Media Editor Becca Nagy, Assistant Copy Chief Emily Hower, Assistant Layout Editor

Copy Staff

Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das Kinley Gillette Johanna Helba Emily Maccia Sam McGinley

Bridget Montgomery Sarah Mejia Shivani Pandit Michelle Reagle Michael Wilson Megan Zagorski

may not entirely be the result of that president’s policies. In fact, one of the tenets of the “Jackson Hole consensus,” which many members of the central banking community subscribe to, maintains that executive and legislative policy is almost entirely ineffective at guiding the economy. This leaves the task to central banks and their monetary policy toolkit. Consequently, criticism of the same sort directed at the president is somewhat pointless. In August, Tracy Miller, who teaches at Grove City College, wrote a piece for The Daily

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left. The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

Caller titled, “The Obama Economic Record: The Worst Five Years Since World War II.” To the credit of Miller, his assertions are supplemented with a narrative describing how the President’s policies caused the slowest five-year period of growth since World War II. However, his simple comparisons of growth rates fall short, as they too miss a few crucial economic factors. First, the United States has previously experienced and is now facing huge demographic shifts. Read the rest online at Pittnews.com. advertising@pittnews.com

Kevin Vanover, Business Manager Advertising@pittnews.com

Kelsey McConville, Inside Sales Manager

David Barr, Sales Manager

advertising@pittnews.com

Account Executives Maxwell Hine Jordan Bullock Robert Capone Rosalyn Nye Antonio Blundo Joe Leone Joe Kloecker Mackenzie Walsh Sean Leone Jordyn Aungst

Matt Reilly

Inside Sales Nicole Barrett Victoria Hetrick Julia McKay

Digital Manager Stephen Ellis

Marketing Manager Kristine Aprile

Senior Universal Account Executive

Marketing Assistant

Ad Designer Mark Janavel

Rachael Hoge

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

MEN’S SOCCER

SPORTS

Panthers lose heartbreaker despite season-high in shots Chris Puzia Sports Editor

If the heavy winds surrounding Ambrose Urbanic Field Tuesday were an ominous sign for the Pitt Panthers, they didn’t know it at the time. Kevin Murray and the Pitt men’s soccer team expected to score a regulation goal on Howard, which had not shut out an opponent all season — until Tuesday night. A late extra-time goal by Howard gave the Bison their first win of the season against the Panthers, which has now lost four straight games since Oct. 4. The 1-0 defeat was Pitt’s fifth shutout loss this season. Pitt (3-7-3 overall, 0-4-1 ACC) pressured Howard early, attempting to maintain possession in Howard’s defensive zone. Looking at just the stat sheet, it seemed like Pitt blew out its previously winless opponent, as the Panthers led the game in shots (25-12), shots on goal (9-3) and corner kicks (12-2).

“When you keep wasting opportunities, it catches up with you,” Pitt head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “It’s a difficult loss. We deserved to win on the run of play, but we didn’t.” Howard’s goal came in the 105th minute of play, when freshman midfielder Stephen Douba crossed the ball into the middle of the box to a wide-open McKinley Smith, who corralled the ball and calmly shot it into the bottom-right corner of the net, where Pitt goalkeeper Dan Lynd had no chance to save it. “There were three guys unmarked in the middle,” said Lynd, who recorded two saves in the game. “He could have walked his dog, he could have done anything he wanted and he tucked it away.” The game started out back-and-forth with neither team able to establish any offensive rhythm. Howard’s (1-11-2 overall, 0-0-1 MEAC) best chance in the first half came in the 21st minute, when freshman forward Nigel Grant broke free and had a wide-open

Pitt lost again despite taking 25 shots Tuesday. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer

shot on net, but his shot deflected off the crossbar. Pitt stormed down on a breakaway one minute later, and freshman forward Kevin

Angulo took the team’s first shot on goal of the night, but Howard goalkeeper Eric Hamilton

Men’s Soccer

FOOTBALL

Georgia’s big win shouldn’t distract from Gurley suspension Imaz Athar Staff Writer

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. But I wanted them to lose. Actually, I wanted them to get blown out. It’s not because I’m against the Bulldogs or anything. Their dominant 34-0 win just took away from something much more important. Bulldog star running back Todd Gurley was suspended indefinitely two days before the team’s game against the Tigers for violating team rules. Soon after, reports surfaced on ESPN and other outlets that Gurley may have violated NCAA rules by signing 80 autographs for $400 in the spring. There was an uproar, as people from all over argued that this was another example of the NCAA overstepping its bounds and that it reprimanded Gurley too harshly. Several analysts cited the hypocrisy of the NCAA rules, while former high-profile players like Johnny Manziel tweeted their support for Gurley. This isn’t the first time a college athlete has been suspended for accepting money, but judg-

ing by the reaction to the Heisman candidate’s indefinite suspension, it seems like it could be the last. Based on public reaction, it appeared that there was enough pressure on NCAA President Mark Emmert to change the unfair rules against student athletes. But, I was wrong. After Georgia blew out Missouri, the loud voices in support of Gurley and against the NCAA had suddenly faded away. The attention shifted from Gurley’s suspension to the Bulldogs’ impressive win. It’s great for the Bulldogs to continue winning games without their best player, and it’s great for the NCAA that one of its best college teams can still draw ratings through outstanding performances. But none of this is great for Gurley or any other college athlete. The rules are still against them, but no one seems to care. The NCAA refers to college athletes as amateurs and emphasizes that amateurism is the “bedrock principle of college athletes and the NCAA.” Part of being an amateur athlete, according to the league, is to maintain an environment “in which acquiring a quality education is a first priority.”

At first glance, these are reasonable principles for young adults attending a university. Nonetheless, while NCAA wants college athletes to accept this, it isn’t the truly conveyed message. College athlete lead schedules so busy they are more like full-time employed athletes than students. College athletes are recruited based on their athletic performance in high school. While there are some academic standards that athletes must meet before they can play, they aren’t selected for their ability to succeed in the classroom. Their lives revolve around the sport. According to a study by the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago, college football players may spend up to 50 to 60 hours a week on football-related activities. College athletes can’t be considered amateurs because they’re in school to be athletes. Contrary to NCAA statements, the athletes’ education is not designed to be their top priority. The NCAA and individual colleges are using their athletes’ so-called amateurism against them. NCAA rules state that athletes are not allowed to receive payment or else they will

face consequences, including repayment, suspension and even permanent ineligibility. Universities, on the other hand, are able to make as much money as they want based off of their athletes’ performance from television and merchandise revenue. For instance, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the most successful conference in college football, introduced a 24-hour TV network this year, which it projects will generate more than $600 million. Meanwhile, the college athletes that create this extremely lucrative product do not receive any compensation. Just last year, the NCAA online store sold college players’ jerseys while trying to preserve the idea that college athletes are amateurs. It wasn’t until ESPN analyst Jay Bilas pointed out the NCAA’s insincerity that it stopped selling players’ paraphernalia. Georgia was selling jerseys with Gurley’s number on it for $134.95 on its website but then took them down after Gurley’s suspension.

Football

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com COLUMN

Donald earning more playing time with Rams Alex Fischbein For The Pitt News

Pitt’s name has stayed relevant in the football world beyond college for a number of years now. NFL fans have seen Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka and Larry Fitzgerald — just to name a few — enjoy a great deal of success at the professional level. Now, it’s the latest Pitt player’s turn to make a case. Aaron Donald, now in the spotlight, is determined to exceed all expectations. Donald, the winner of the Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski and the Outland Awards in 2013, enjoyed much success during his four years at Pitt. While playing defensive tackle for the Panthers, Donald racked up 29.5 sacks on top of his 177 total tackles. Calling him a defensive beast is an understateRookie Aaron Donald recorded the Rams’ ment. Running backs would be scared to first sack this season. | MCT Campus run up the middle against Aaron Donald, plugged up big holes and took on two and it looks like Jeff Fisher, head coach blockers at a time. Even the announcers of the St. Louis Rams, is catching on to marveled at plays where Donald ended the trend. According to Nathan Jahnke up taking down the running back in the of Pro Football Focus, Donald played in backfield before he got any momentum. 92 percent of the snaps during the first The coaches are recognizing his presence half of Monday night’s game against the in the trenches and his positive impact San Francisco 49ers and 88.4 percent of on the Rams’ defense more and more the snaps throughout the entire game. each game. If running backs don’t fear That was the highest percentage of snaps him now, they’ll stay away from running played for any Rams defensive tackle up the middle by the end of the season. since 2007. But Donald’s impact is more than just The Rams drafted Donald with the the stats that he racks up. When a playthirteenth pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, er forces opposing teams to plan their and he has seen a greater amount of play- strategies around his presence, then his ing time since the first game of the sea- impact is even greater. Donald was this son. This St. Louis team has been a cellar player in college, and the NFL world is dweller in its division for a long time realizing that he’s working to be this now, and Donald looks like he could be player professionally as well. Right now, part of a recent movement to change that he has 12 tackles along with a sack in his pattern. Donald may have had only four first five games of his rookie season. tackles in his most recent game against Amazingly, he had the team’s only sack the San Francisco 49ers, but he was a through its first five games this season. huge part of the reason that the Rams Increased chances and more experishut down the opposing run game in ence will only allow these numbers to the first half. grow at a faster rate. Aaron Donald just The 49ers have one of the best of- might turn out to be one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, yet Donald still fensive tackles St. Louis has ever seen.

October 15, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 12

SOCCER blocked the shot low and away from the box. The heavy wind blowing around Ambrose Urbanic Field influenced some decisions by both teams. Howard had an early free kick from about 25 yards out, and the Bison attempted a short cross pass instead of a direct shot on goal because of possible concerns about the wind taking the ball away from its destination on a longer shot. Pitt’s best first-half chance came late in the half on another corner kick. Sophomore midfielder Kevin Murray made a nice foot flick on goal off a corner kick by Hamish Law, which required a quick reaction from Hamilton. “As the game went on, it was just like every little thing was not going our way,” Murray said. “I got in behind the defense, looked like the easiest finish of my life and then as I shoot, a defender’s foot hits my foot and it just shanks wide . . . it just got frustrating.” Pitt’s 25 shots in the game are the most the team took so far this season, and the nine corner kicks are tied for second-most this year. The shot total is also Pitt’s second-most since 2001. Ironically, the team’s most shots

within that span came last year, also against Howard, when Pitt recorded 38 shots and nine goals. Despite several late opportunities, Pitt went into halftime with the score tied at 0-0. “In the first half, we had too many needless negative passes, we were stripped in the middle third of the field,” Luxbacher said. “In the second half we adjusted, but it shouldn’t even need to be an adjustment . . . it was always that the final pass wasn’t there.” Hamilton, who averaged about six saves per game for Howard coming into Tuesday night, made eight on the Panthers. Pitt came out in the second half aggressively, resulting in six offsides penalties called against the team. The rain picked up in the last quarter, just as the game started to see more fouls and bookings given. Howard’s Raynard Storey picked up the team’s fourth yellow card of the game as the weather deteriorated. “The chippiness wasn’t really getting to any of us, it was just them,” Murray said. “They were just exhausted and late going into tackles, and we wanted to just push, and unfortunately we couldn’t get it.” Law demonstrated Pitt’s offensive frus-

tration pretty effectively in the 75th minute when freshman midfielder Darcy Bloemen sent a cross out of bounds, and Law kicked the ball hard against the wall after it had already gone out. With only three minutes remaining in regulation, Angulo beat a Howard player in a footrace to the ball, and he could have had a clean look at a goal if the Howard defender didn’t pull Angulo down by his shirt. The play resulted in a free kick for the Panthers, which they missed wide right. Despite some strong late efforts and many fouls, Pitt and Howard still went to extra time after a scoreless regulation. The Bison took three shots on goal in the game: one in the very first minute of regulation and one in the first minute of extra time. The latter goal won them the game. The Panthers, who have not yet won a conference game this season, and have now lost four straight, play next at Virginia Tech on Friday night at 7 p.m. “We just have to forget about the result and come with the fire,” Murray said. “We have to do the little things right and put our chances away, because we’ll get chances against Virginia Tech, for sure.”

14 FROM PAGE 12

FOOTBALL Why should the NCAA and universities profit from athletes, while the athletes — who rope in revenue for these institutions —can’t? Averaging 8.2 yards per carry, scoring eight touchdowns and producing highlight after highlight for ESPN, Gurley should have the basic right to profit from his hard work and performance. Every college athlete should. The NCAA is profiting from players who don’t receive any compensation, while justifying their actions with the facade of amateurism, which simply doesn’t exist in college athletics. And we accept it. For a very short period, we showed our support for college athletes and criticized the NCAA for its unjust rules. Our attention completely shifted when the Bulldogs won on Saturday, and I question whether we care about the players as much as we say we do. The NCAA needs to make some kind of change, but it won’t happen if we continue to let the NCAA’s actions pass. We need to stand up for Gurley and all college athletes while the NCAA, an association that should support the college-athlete, stands against them.