The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | October 25, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 54
FACE YOUR FEARS
Pitt’s 10th PMADD highlights culture of service Janine Faust and Caroline Bourque | News Editors
Students grab straws in a bucket of ice water using only their toes during the Pitt Psychology Club’s Fear Factor game night in the William Pitt Union Tuesday. Issi Glatts | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PROFESSOR DISCUSSES GUN VIOLENCE WITH STUDENTS
Lydia Lu
For The Pitt News Richard Garland, an assistant professor of Public Health Practice at Pitt, has spent a total of 23 years incarcerated — almost two-thirds of his life. “Believe it or not, I have a real good relationship with law enforcement,” Garland said. “Never thought I’d say that.” Today, Garland works with police departments and community groups in Allegheny County to educate troubled youth on avoiding gang involvement and gun violence. In a Cathedral of Learning classroom Tuesday night, Garland discussed his work and his personal views on gun violence, the opioid crisis and the cycle of incarceration with about 30 people during an event hosted by the Pitt Democrats. Garland said no matter how many laws are
created, guns are easy to get in certain places. He believes innocent people should to be taught how to use them to guard themselves. “The easiest thing for me to get in the hood is a gun. You can put all the regulations you want on it,” he said. “For me, I want people to learn how to use guns to a certain degree to be safe with them.” As director of the BCHS Center for Health Equity’s Violence Prevention Project, Garland said his experiences with gunshot-wound victims in hospital trauma units have made it clear that gun safety education is crucial to reducing violence. “Everybody wants to be safe,” Garland said. “When they talk about that white picket fence, nice home, no cares in the world — everybody wants that.” He said gunshot victims will often claim
they were just walking down the street, but their Facebook page often tells another story. Garland looks at the social media accounts of victims to identify signifiers of gang affiliation or illegal activity — sometimes the evidence is as obvious as a photo of a person beside a duffel bag of money or drugs. “I’m good at connecting the dots,” he said. Grace DuBois, a first-year political science major at Pitt, came to support Garland, who she said is a good friend. After listening to his talk, she said she still hasn’t changed her desire for stricter gun control laws, although she appreciated hearing a view different from her own. “I understand his views and where he’s coming from, especially since he’s had a personal, intimate experience with gun violence,” she said. Alexis Takoushian, a sophomore political science See Gun Violence on page 2
Shea Krause is confident she and about 50 other members of Pitt’s Jumpstart chapter had the Brightwood Civic Group’s Pumpkinfest under control Saturday morning. “If anything, there were maybe too many people. I don’t think there were enough jobs,” she said. Krause and her peers helped make and sell food, gave kids airbrush tattoos and helped them pick out and paint pumpkins as part of the University’s 10th annual Pitt Make A Difference Day. Organized by the Students for Civic Engagement Council and the Office of PittServes, thousands of Pitt staff, faculty, alumni and students went out into the Pittsburgh region and beyond to work on service projects for a few hours. “I think that any service is helpful, regardless of whether it’s one day or prolonged,” Krause, a junior psychology major, said. The 2017 PMADD drew more than 4,000 people from Pitt’s main and branch campuses to 99 sites — including ones in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., which were staffed by alumni. Students, staff and faculty at Pitt’s main and regional campuses boarded buses around 9 a.m. that took them to the sites they would be volunteering at, staying until around 2 p.m. Pitt’s first PMADD was held in 2008, according to Shawn Ahearn, director of communications for the Division of Student Affairs. More than 1,100 resident students volunteered at 42 sites across the city. The idea for the day came from the Student Government Board after it learned about Make A Difference Day — an organization that orchestrates a nationwide day of service each year— and wanted to create something for Pitt specifically. “The goal basically was to get first-year students involved and connected to the community and to each other,” Ahearn said. See PMADD on page 2
News PMADD, pg. 1
After the service day became more popular, PittServes began sending out surveys for student feedback. In 2012, 96 percent of 2,556 PMADD attendees reported that they planned to continue volunteering, Ahearn said. In 2013, 70 percent of the 3,037 participants said they felt more concerned about the needs of others after finishing their projects. In 2015, 84 percent of the 3,274 surveyed said they felt they had made a difference in the lives of others. In 2016, 97.5 percent of 3,850 survey respondents said they would continue participating in community service following PMADD. According to Misti McKeehan, director of PittServes, another survey asking similar questions has been sent out to students who signed up for PMADD 2017. Five students who complete the survey will be awarded a prize in honor of PMADD’s 10th anniversary. Another five have already been
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awarded prizes such as a Pitt T-shirt, blanket and a Pitt Athletics gift bag for their participation in the event. McKeehan attributed PMADD’s decade-long popularity to the University’s strong commitment to investing in outside communities. “This started as a strong focus for first-year students. We haven’t lost them, but we’re now engaging at all levels of the University. This shows that the University is really committed to service,” she said. McKeehan said this was also a special year for PMADD because the University had been awarded $10,000 from Make A Difference Day for their work during PMADD 2016. The cash was used to fund three special large projects this year — Brighton Heights requested help turning an abandoned building into a community center, Beechview wanted compost bins built and Millvale needed assistance in creating a natural play
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Gun Violence, pg. 1 major, said she came to the talk to hear the perspective of someone who was well versed on the gun control debate and had personal experience with gun violence and the criminal justice system. “You won’t hear these kinds of things from a congressperson,” she said. Takoushian said it is important for people with different views on major issues in society to discuss them in a civil manner in order to learn more on the subject. “Gaining info is so important if you want to see any change in the future,” she said. “The benefit is that we’re young, we still have the ability to make a change.” Through direct counseling with victims, Garland said he aims to avoid repeated emergency room visits for gunshot wounds primarily by stressing education as a way to break out of the cycle of violence, which often leads to
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incarceration. Following the lecture portion, audience members prompted Garland with questions about high rates of prison reentry, which he cited as a symptom of poor rehabilitation programs. “Rehabilitation — it’s a farce. It just doesn’t happen,” he said. “If we really want to talk about rehabilitation, come up with some programs that a guy can use when he gets out, so he doesn’t have to go back to the streets and do the same thing that he did.” Takoushian said what she took away from the talk is that more needs to be done to address the societal issues that require people to own guns for their own safety. “He said with some communities it’s necessary to have guns,” she said. “What can we do to make safer communities so we don’t need them?”
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Opinions column
from the editorial board
Sen. Flake denounces, yet forfeits to, the ‘new normal’ Republican Sen. Jeff Flake from Arizona delivered a 17-minute speech on the Senate floor Tuesday denouncing “the new normal” and declaring he won’t seek reelection in 2018 — but his powerful political call to action was a resounding forfeit. In a Washington Post op-ed the same day, Flake defended the classical conservatism he prescribes to by evoking political figure Joseph Welch. Welch was chief legal counsel for the Army when it took Sen. Joseph McCarthy to court in 1954, and during a televised hearing, Welch famously stood up to McCarthy for his nationalist agenda. “You have done enough,” Welch told McCarthy, looking the senator straight in the eye. “Have you no decency?” And by Flake’s account, at least, it worked. He writes Welch “reawakened the conscience of the country,” and seemingly tried to echo that in his speech. “Mr. President, I will not be complicit or silent,” he said. “I rise today to say, ‘enough.’” The op-ed was even titled “Enough.” But then he declared he wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2018, before taking the time to see if saying “enough” would win him any more support. In some ways, his decision is logical. Seeking reelection in Arizona would
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be incredibly difficult without the full support of the Republican party, and to gain the support of the party would, in his mind, require him to be complicit in the face of evil. Many Democrats may see this as a victory, along the lines of a boycott or strike. He even tried to make it clear he plans to spend his remaining 14 months in office being “unafraid to stand up and speak out” against the rise of nationalism and brash, unreasonable policy — yet even then it seems like all talk. As recently as yesterday, he voted for a Trump-backed effort to block citizens’ ability to sue banks, granting a victory to the Republican party he rallied against a few hours earlier. But rather than inspiring action, his speech tacitly acknowledges that change has occurred in the Republican party since the rise of Trump. Flake likes to think of himself as a reasonable Republican, but the very definition of Republican has changed — and if he thinks he can no longer cooperate with the party, then it must have changed beyond recognition. He may think he made a resounding blow against the administration, but all he did was acknowledge the gravity of our situation — the political world he and Welch fought for may simply no longer exist.
BUSH 2020?
One great speech can’t erase eight years
Former President George W. Bush gives a speech during the 2014 Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. TNS
Brian Gentry For The Pitt News Defying all expectations of his speaking ability, former President George W. Bush gave an eloquent speech last week criticizing the Trump administration. “We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism — forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America,” he said. The former president gave this speech at the Spirit of Liberty event in New York City on Oct. 19. This event, hosted by the George W. Bush Institute, sought to “affirm American values of freedom and free markets,” and featured speakers including Laura Bush and former Secretaries of
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State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. Bush spent his 16-minute speech condemning the rise of populism within both the Republican and Democratic parties. He remarked on the downfalls of isolationism, on the negative impacts of xenophobia and on the importance of freedom — after all, it was a Spirit of Liberty event. A sample of comments on a New York Times video of the speech reveals widespread praise for Bush. “Couldn’t stand Bush when he was in office, but I would gladly put him back in the [White House] over what we have now; at least he is an adult and has a See Gentry on page 4
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Gentry, pg. 3 conscience,” writes one reader. “I would’ve never thought I’d say this, but I’d much rather have Bush in office right now than Trump,” writes another, garnering over 800 likes. These former Bush critics lauded Bush for the speech, and even said they’d rather have him in the Oval Office than President Donald Trump. To them, words speak louder than actions — this one speech erased all of his past mistakes. But this mindset just holds our country back. We cannot forget his missteps — we must keep holding our presidents, both former and present, accountable. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a brief recap of the lowlights of the Bush presidency. He won the presidential election in 2000 against former Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes in Florida, a state in which Gore lost 6,607 votes because of the “butterfly ballot,” a format of ballots where the boxes are in the middle, causing confusion as to which candidate they correspond. And by the end of his first term he
preemptively launched the Iraq War because our nation’s intelligence agencies had “no doubt” Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction — a 2008 Senate report found no evidence of any development of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. In his second term, his administration failed to properly respond to Hurricane Katrina, a storm that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people in New Orleans and more than $100 billion in damages. Trump’s first nine months haven’t been any better. During his campaign, he called “for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” The original statement has since been removed from his campaign site, but he followed through on his promise with multiple bans on travel from Muslim-majority regions. His administration also repeatedly attempted — and failed — to repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care bill. Some of the repeal bills would take health care away from 29.8 million people.
None of these actions deserve any praise. But when most people discuss these two presidencies, they don’t quote statistics — they quote the presidents themselves. And they don’t quote them at their best — they quote them at their worst. Bush was arguably the least eloquent president at the time of his tenure — though he’s losing that title by the day. Among his most memorable are the following gold nuggets. “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” he questioned in Florence, South Carolina. “Yesterday, you made note of my — the lack of my talent when it came to dancing. But nevertheless, I want you to know I danced with joy. And no question Liberia has gone through very difficult times,” he remarked to the president of Liberia. Though embarrassing, these remarks are at least palatable to the average American. We can laugh at him and remember his speaking blunders, but this sometimes ignores his tarnished legacy. He can still give speeches, like the one at the Spirit of Liberty event, and receive praise
if he conveys a powerful, clear message. Meanwhile, Trump has made vulgar remarks that actively discriminate and insult. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” he said in his opening campaign speech about Mexican immigrants. “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” he said in 2015 about Sen. John McCain. We cannot forget the eight years of atrocity we faced under Bush, not even after one good speech. Bushisms were results of absurdity or poor grammar, while Trumpisms are often vulgar and directly offensive — perhaps that’s part of the reason that Bush’s approval rating rests comfortably at 59 percent, up from 34 percent in 2009 at the end of his presidency. But in the end, the public’s response to Bush’s speech shows the blindness hindsight affords. Instead of heralding Bush for one public speech, let’s use this as an opportunity to remember that we should hold our presidents accountable for their actions, not just their words.
The Pitt News SuDoku 10/25/17 courtesy of dailysudoku.com
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Sports column
Bye-bye, Barstool:
Sexist site doesn’t deserve a platform Jordan Mondell Assistant Sports Editor If you’re a sports fan who appreciates quality writing, in-depth coverage and analysis, you may follow ESPN, Sports Illustrated and FiveThirtyEight. If you’re a sports fan who loves lukewarm memes, ridiculous hot takes and articles and photos that degrade women, you might follow Barstool Sports. Barstool Sports is a popular satire site that focuses on lewd listicles and repugnant rants to summarize the classic “locker-room talk” all manly men love. The outlet also boasts a popular Twitter account — which has nearly 1 million followers — and a college brand, BarstoolU, which has branches at nearly every major university in the United States, including Pitt. After a failed attempt at a show with Comedy Central earlier this year, the guys at Barstool wiggled their way onto the airwaves again by partnering with ESPN for a new late-night talk show. The program was called “Barstool Van Talk,” and aired on ESPN2. They failed, again. After one episode, ESPN cut ties after realizing the cringeworthy content that makes Barstool so popular was now poorly representing their company. “I erred in assuming we could distance our efforts from the Barstool site and its content,” President of ESPN John Skipper said in a statement released Monday, after news of the show’s cancellation. Though Barstool’s time at ESPN was short, there was major uproar over their partnership right before the debut episode aired last Tuesday. It sparked a heated debate between ESPN Sunday
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Liam McFadden | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER NFL Countdown host Samantha Ponder and Dan Katz, the host of Barstool’s new show. Ponder sarcastically welcomed Katz to the ESPN family the day before his new show aired by tweeting a photograph of an article Barstool published in 2014. Barstool President David Portnoy wrote the article about how Ponder’s only job was to “make men hard.” Based on their history as a site, no one should be surprised Barstool is in the headlines — once again — for publishing content that is pointlessly crude. Portnoy published a piece in 2011 that sexualized Tom Brady’s newborn baby. He also pushed for “bringing back” the c-word three years later, after getting into a Twitter argument with “some fem-
inist” writer at Jezebel. Portnoy has even hit Pitt recently. On the sidelines of the football game between Pitt and Oklahoma State in September, a female Pitt fan was filmed participating in a sideline activity — taking part in a race as a “hopper” on a bouncy ball — which aired during ESPN’s coverage of the game. As the footage played, the network’s announcer remarked, “I should probably end by saying that and not add anything else that I am perhaps thinking.” Portnoy picked up the bizarre commentary on Twitter, adding a comment that suggested the ESPN commentator was sexually fantasizing about the Pitt student. The tweet collected more than 150 retweets and 1,300 likes — and an abun-
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dant amount of disgusting replies. An ESPN spokesperson later told The Pitt News the commentator did not intend to make a sexual remark and was simply commenting on the absurdity of the activity in general. It was the comment from Portnoy that took the video out of context and opened the door for dozens of people to make predatory remarks. As a woman who writes sports, I cringe when I see Barstool pop up on my Twitter timeline. It’s not about Sam Ponder, it’s not about Tom Brady’s baby — it’s about the whittling down of sports to a gross masculine by-product. It should make sense now why ESPN would drop the ridiculous brand — it shouldn’t have even given Barstool a chance in the first place. But ESPN isn’t the only problem. Every single one of Barstool’s followers on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook is at fault. There is no reason Barstool should be as popular as it is. Aside from the blatant sexism, it is plainly unfunny. Portnoy has defended himself on numerous occasions, citing that Barstool “has made fun of every single race, religion, creed and gender.” Two wrongs do not make a right, and that is a deeply flawed way of thinking, and ignores that most of their “jokes” come at the expense of women. If you’re a sports fan, take a page from ESPN’s playbook — distance yourself from Barstool. If you want comedy and sports, follow the Onion Sports Network or — my personal favorite — Pitt Basketball Shouting on Twitter. They make sports funny, without exploiting people for cheap laughs.
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ZIPS HOLD PANTHERS AT NIL, 3-0 Trent Leonard Staff Writer The Pitt men’s soccer team couldn’t manage a single goal Tuesday night, dropping a match to their out-of-conference neighbor to the west, No. 14 Akron, 3-0. The Panthers (8-8-0, 2-5-0 ACC) couldn’t keep up with the Zips (11-3-1, 2-1 MAC) in their second-to-last game of the regular season on a chilly and drizzly evening at Ambrose Urbanic Field Tuesday night. “It was the perfect storm tonight,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said. “That puts you on your heels for sure.” Before the game even started, the Panthers faced adverse circumstances. Junior midfielder Javi Perez and redshirt first-year Tim Ekpone, both regular starters, could not play this match because of NCAA disciplinary standards. Perez earned his fifth yellow card of the season in the team’s previous match against Virginia, while Ekpone received a red card. Pitt started the game unfocused, allowing the Zips to score their first shot just two minutes into
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the game. Akron redshirt senior Manuel Cordeiro found a gap in the Pitt defense and sailed a pass into enemy territory. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Mikal Outcalt raced out to clear the ball, but Zip sophomore forward Nick Hinds beat him by a step to chip the ball into the net as the two collided. The Panther defense settled down after that, and only allowed one more shot on goal for the remainder of the half — a free kick from first-year Joao Moutinho, which Outcalt swatted away for his lone save of the first frame. Pitt sophomore forward Josh Coan broke away for a one-on-one chance at the goalie in the 19th minute, but failed to convert. Akron’s lanky, 6-foot-6 junior goalkeeper Ben Lundt thwarted another potential equalizer with a diving save on first-year Colin Brezniak’s shot in the 22nd minute. Things got dicey near the end of the half, though, as Akron redshirt junior Ezana Kahsay received a yellow card for taking down senior Bryce Cregan. When Pitt trainers came out to provide water for the injured Cregan, Kahsay
Senior defenseman Bryce Cregan breaks up a play in Tuesday night’s game against Akron. John Hamilton | MANAGING EDITOR took one of the water bottles, prompting a hostile confrontation between several players. Cregan, who started every game for Pitt this season, would miss the remainder of the contest, dealing the Panthers another devastating blow. The half ended with a vital Pitt man down and the Zips up, 1-0. Despite the one-goal deficit, Pitt’s offense matched the production of its opponent, as both
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teams finished the half with five shots. For the first thirty minutes of the second half, Akron bullied Pitt’s defense. They put eight shots on goal but couldn’t work their way into the net, as Outcalt kept the Panthers in the game with five saves.
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I N D E X
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For Rent South Oakland **2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Bedroom Houses/ Apartments in South Oakland. Available for rent August 2018. Very clean with different amenities (dishwasher, laundry, A/C, washer and dryer, 1-3 baths, off-street parking, newer appliances & sofas). Check out my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KenEckenrodeRealEstate/. Call Ken at 412-287-4438 for more information and showings. **AUGUST 2018: Furnished studios, 1,2,3,4 bedroom apartments. No pets. Non-smokers preferred. 412-621-0457. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Bedrooom Houses. August 2018. Bouquet St, Meyran, Semple, Neville, Chesterfield. 412-287-5712. 2-3-4-5-6-7 bedroom apartments and houses available in May and August 2018. Nice, clean, free laundry, includes exterior maintenance, new appliances, spacious, located on Meyran, Bates, Oakland, Semple, Wellsford, Dawson, Juliet. 412-414-9629.
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Employment • CHILDCARE • FOOD SERVICES • UNIVERSITY • INTERNSHIPS • RESEARCH • VOLUNTEERING • OTHER
South Oakland 4 BR Home - Semple Street, located near Louisa. Equipped Kitchen, Full Basement. New central air added. Renting for August 2018. (412) 343-4289 or 412-330-9498. Apartments for rent. 2,3,4, and 5 bedroom apartments available. Some available on Dawson street, Atwood street, and Mckee Place. Newly remodeled. Some have laundry on site. Minutes from the University. For more info please call Mike at 412-849-8694
August 2018 rental. 3 BR/1 BA apartment. 2 off-street parking spaces included. Large storage room. Wall-wall carpeting, Kitchen w/dishwasher, Washer/Dryer in laundry room. $1800/ month+ utilities. 724-934-0653.
South Oakland Student Housing: 2, 4 & 5 BR House. Updated Kitchen, Baths, A/C, Laundry, some with parking. August 2018 Availability. 412-445-6117.
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Shadyside 2 single rooms available immediately. Street parking, unfurnished. Utilities included except for cable. Gary 202-271-9231
Squirrel Hill 1BR FURNISHED apartment. Large living room, Bedroom with queen bed, complete Kitchen. Laundry optional. Private parking. Near bus stops to CMU/PITT. Non-smoking. Available immediately. $750+ utilities. CALL 412-606-8052.
Rental Other 1,2,3 BR. Apartments, prices range from $450-$750 per person. Some include utilities, some you have to pay. Call Jarrad 814-403-2798
Employment Employment Other GENERAL LABOR. Need workers for light-duty construction, renovation, painting, landscaping. Part-time and weekend work available. Must be 18. Experience not required but helpful. Immediate openings. 412-738-1618. bigtfeight@earthlink. net
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Employment Other The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Neurobiology seeks a Student Office Assistant to perform clerical duties, such as filing, running on-campus errands, and typing/ printing labels. The right candidate will be detail-oriented, responsible, and good at following directions. Must be self-motivated and capable of working independently. Submit your application here: http://www.pittsource. com/postings/142452. Want to get a great discount and work flexible hours over the holiday season? American Eagle and Aerie are now hiring at the Ross Park Mall location. Great Discount. Competitive Wages. Apply at aeo.jobs
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Notices Events More than 1500 souls are lost in the Haunted Doll House. Will yours be one of them? Go to www.HauntedDollEscape.com for Special Halloween Discounts Call 412-586-8345 for details. Startup Weekend Pittsburgh November 10-12, 2017 @ AlphaLab, East Liberty For tickets, Google search “Startup Weekend Pittsburgh” Use Promo Code PITT2017 For $25 off your ticket
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