Helen Jarosz, an administrative assistant at Barco Law Library, stayed on Pitt’s parking services waitlist for 13 years before she received her parking spot in 2017.
“I’ve worked at Pitt for 38 years,” Jarosz said. “If there’s one lesson I’ve learned working here, it’s that Pitt works on its own timeline.”
Commuters can pay for parking at a garage or meter on campus, or try their luck searching for an empty spot in South Oakland. However, these options are often dif ficult or costly — which is why University parking per mits are in high demand.
Pitt’s Office of Mobility allocates parking permits for Pitt staff, faculty, campus residents and commuter students at University campus parking lots and ga rages. People looking for parking permits can request passes online and join the thousands of people already on the waitlist. According to Jonathan Pearson, director of mobility for the University, there are approximately 4,300 parking spaces located on campus.
However, some professors claim they got tenure be fore a parking spot.
Jarosz applied for a parking spot in March 2004 so
she could easily get home to take care of her mother in Lawrenceville, who relies on her in case of emergency.
During Jarosz’s 13-year long wait, she took a bus to cam pus, carpooled and often parked at Panther Hollow — a parking lot that is now a transportation corridor.
Panther Hollow is not the only lot lost to construc tion. Building for the future recreation and wellness cen ter began after the demolition of the garage on O’Hara St., and Jarosz mentioned she remained on a waitlist for a parking lot that is now Nordenberg Hall.
According to Marc Coutanche, who has remained on the waitlist for seven years, Pitt must recognize the importance of existing parking and consider the possi bility of expanding it.
“Every year you lose a few spots here, a few spots there, a hundred spots there,” Coutanche, associate pro fessor of psychology, said. “And, obviously, the number of people at Pitt is the same or increasing.”
The number of Pitt students in 2021 rose from the previous year by more than 1,000 people — a total of 29,238 students.
Coutanche said inaccessibility to parking services affects where faculty and staff choose to live.
“There are a number of implications when one
can’t commute by car,” Coutanche said. “You can't live in places that the buses don’t go or you can’t walk to. It significantly restricts the houses you can live in.”
Because of fewer housing options caused by park ing, Coutanche chose to live in South Side. The Hot Metal Bridge allows him to safely go across on his electric scooter — which he often takes to work when weather permits
Pearson said the University is working with local developers and real estate experts to identify additional mobility and parking space opportunities around cam pus, which includes plans for parking space at a pro posed hillside residence hall. The University is also ac tively searching for additional park-and-ride locations to provide area parking and shuttle services to and from campus.
Aside from parking expansion and park-and-ride options, the mobility department encourages Pitt com munity members to download the ParkMobile app, which increases awareness and access of available park ing spaces. Pearson also said people should consider eco-friendly alternate modes of transportation, includ ing carpooling and vanpooling.
Raja Adal, an associate professor in the department of history, immediately applied for a parking permit when he joined Pitt in 2015.
“I was told that in time I would get a place, I think I was told three to five years.” Adal said. “I checked back in 2020 and I was told I didn't have a spot yet.”
Adal sought out a parking permit not only because meters are expensive, but because it would allow him to easily take his three children to school.
“Most of the time I either bike to school or take the bus,” Adal said. “But I also have to juggle taking kids to school.”
Adal’s electric bike has helped him “get a taste of what having adequate parking services would be like,” but admits he often needs a car to help transport his children.
According to Pearson, the University encourages cy cling as an alternate mode of transportation and exercise that reduces greenhouse gasses. However, some said they feel there are not enough bike lanes on campus.
When Coutanche gave his opinion that cycling in Oakland is not entirely safe, he referenced an acci dent that occurred in 2015, where a Pitt administrator
Romitadied after her bicycle was hit by a car.
“There aren’t as many bike lanes as there should be,” Coutanche said. “I used to live in London and I felt more comfortable cycling there than I do here.”
Public transportation is another alternative mode of transportation for faculty and staff — however, not all buses travel where faculty and staff may need them. Because of the lack of bus routes, some commuters use multiple modes of transportation to get to campus.
“There are quite a few staff members in my depart ment that take two buses to get here,” Jarosz said. “I give them a lot of credit because they make it here early every day.”
Coutanche said that as construction increases and parking spaces decrease, permit-holders are holding onto their spots to avoid the chance of never having one again.
“As the parking becomes more and more difficult, which it is, it’s getting worse, faculty and staff, under standably, hold onto that space.” Coutanche said.
Paige Branagan, a sophomore digital narrative and interactive design major, said both her and her sister, a Pitt graduate student, were late to class multiple times because of poor parking conditions. Branagan’s sister, who commutes to campus from Avalon, is frequently late to class due to the combined conditions of traffic and limited parking.
Branagan, who lives on Parkview Ave., said the parking congestion goes deep into Oakland.
“Parkview is better because it’s more residential, but it’s still kind of hard.” Branagan said. “The entire street is usually lined up.”
She said although her road is often filled with cars, she knows roads closer to campus such as Meyran, Oakland and South Bouquet are even more difficult to park on.
“As you get closer to campus, you know you’re not going to find parking,” Branagan said.
While Pitt encourages community members to use alternative services, Coutanche observed that these practices affect his efforts to recruit faculty.
“Understandably, they ask how you get to work — and we tell them the truth,” Coutanche said. “They get the information that,unless you want to spend a lot on leasing a spot, you have to be okay with taking the bus or walking or cycling in a somewhat unsafe environment.”
Marily Nixon said she’s “struck” by how many problems arise when students rent property and said it’s worth going through the entirety of the lease before signing it.
“The language can seem very formal and complicated, but it’s worth making your way through [the lease], paragraph by paragraph,” Nixon, a professor at Pitt’s School of Law with expertise in property, said. “It doesn’t matter what the landlord says to you or what you say to them. After you sign, the lease is the agree ment between the parties.”
About 58% of students at Pitt live off-cam pus, and experts say they may run into prob lems when they don’t understand their rights or the terms of their lease.
In the case of needing external help with their housing situation, students can find resources, such as tenant and landlord me diation, through Allegheny County’s Tenant Resource Guide. On the Allegheny County website, tenants can also file a formal com plaint with the county.
Lizabeth Gray, a quality of life consultant for Oakland Planning and Development Cen ter, said students often get into conflicts with their landlord because they don’t understand their lease.
“Students don’t read their leases and or don’t understand what they are agreeing to by signing the lease,” Gray said. “Students need to realize that their responsibilities are also defined in the lease.”
While the terms of the agreement are all laid out for the tenant in the lease, Matthew Feinman, a lawyer in Pennsylvania and le gal consultant for the Student Government Board, said student tenants are often unaware of their responsibilities, such as maintaining the rental unit.
“I can safely say I get between one and two students a semester who want to cancel their lease because the landlord didn’t put new light bulbs in the bathroom or didn’t put batteries in the smoke detectors, and my response is ‘too bad,’” Feinman said. “Do it yourself, that’s a tenant’s responsibility.”
In the case that the landlord ignores main tenance issues for longer than two weeks, Feinman said the tenants have two main op tions. Either the tenants can choose to with hold rent from the landlord, or they can pay
to repair the issues themselves and reduce the amount from their rent, effectively reimburs ing themselves.
Feinman also recommended that students not renew their lease before winter.
“I see so many contracts that you sign in July to start in August and then you have to renew in November. You haven’t been there for a winter. You don’t know what the winter in the house is going to be like,” Feinman said. “If you can get the landlord to change that to 90 days before the end of the lease, that’s more fair.”
Besides the shared responsibility between the landlord and the tenants, there is also a shared responsibility between the tenants themselves, Feinman said. In most cases, all of the tenants share a common liability for pay ments and pay rent all together. This means if a single tenant refuses to pay rent, the land lord can sue all of the tenants, even if it’s just one that’s not paying. This principle is as sumed automatically in the lease unless stated otherwise, and it is known as joint and several liability, according to Feinman.
Nixon said there could also be important conflicts between a student’s lifestyle and the terms of a lease. She encouraged negotiation between students and landlords in this sce nario.
“Leases cover things like whether you can have a pet, smoking, quiet hours, parking and overnight guests,” Nixon said. “Prospective tenants shouldn’t be shy about trying to work with the landlord to revise the document to meet both sides’ needs.”
Gray also said negotiation is a viable op tion, and said students have the right to “ques tion anything they find in the lease.”
Feinman said landlords often try to take advantage of the ignorance of students, name ly, by refusing to return security deposits in full. For example, if tenants paid a $1000 se curity deposit, landlords can get away with only paying back $600, according to Feinman. Feinman said this is because landlords are not legally required to justify all of the costs that they have in order to keep some of the deposit.
“[Landlords] assume that students will not know tenants’ rights, finding ways to get around the law, or ways that they can talk themselves out of the law,” Feinman said.
Kickoff forKid s G
Sydnee Ruley has saved hundreds of dollars over her four years at Pitt by getting her textbooks from the library — Z-Library, that is.
“I was able to save a lot of money just using ZLibrary and using that for textbooks instead of pay ing like $70 for a textbook I was only going to use for one semester,” Ruley, a senior mechanical engineer ing major, said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized a se ries of domain names from Z-Library, one of the largest and most popular sources for pirated books and articles, in early November. According to Tor rentFreak, Z-Library held almost 12 million copies of digital books in its free internet archive.
Many seem to believe the social media site Tik Tok, home to the “BookTok” community, is to blame for Z-Library’s demise. BookTokers have widely pro moted the shadow library as “the go-to place for free ebooks,” as the Authors Guild said in a complaint to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative on Oct. 7. However, Jacqueline Lipton, an associate professor for legal writing who specializes in digital technology and intellectual property law, said the FBI may have begun their investigation a long time ago.
“If the FBI is taking action now, they've probably been investigating for some time,” Lipton said. “We may be seeing action now, but it doesn't mean they weren't investigating prior to now.”
Some textbooks require online codes to com plete homework assignments on websites such as Sapling and cannot be pirated. However, Z-Library published many other textbooks in PDF or ebook form. College students across the country — in fact, across the world — used Z-Library in lieu of buying textbooks for years.
Liam Beckett, a sophomore mechanical engi neering major, said he used Z-Library for personal and academic books, and also pirates movies, video games and more. He said college students shouldn’t have to pay as much as they currently do for text books.
“[The price is] super inflated,” Beckett said. “They
should not be that much — or, if they are, then the University should pay for them and just lend them out like a high school, but they don't.”
College Board’s 2022-23 Trends in College Pric ing report says four-year institutions estimate an average student expense of $340 per year for course materials. According to the Education Data Initiative,
there's less copying,” Lipton said. “None of that means that the people doing the copying aren't doing anything illegal.”
The typical defense for copyright infringement is fair use, which may allow use of a copyrighted work for purposes including criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. Lipton said this defense likely would not apply to a student copying an entire textbook.
“It's probably the case that a lot of individual stu dent copying would not amount to fair use, because probably a lot of it is just copying the whole book,” Lipton said. “To the extent that it might be a couple of pages of an article, there might be a stronger fair use argument.”
Lipton also pointed out that while college stu dents in the U.S. may be able to buy textbooks or access academic texts through their University, stu dents at international universities may not have the same access. Lipton said international students’ use of websites like Z-Library or SciHub may be more likely to count as fair use.
Toni Jackson Staff WriterBreaking into the television industry seems impossible for many, but Kelechi Urama has found success in the industry.
Urama is a Nigerian-American and a 2017 Pitt graduate who is currently a story editor on the SYFY series “Resident Alien.” Previ ously, Urama was a staff writer on Season Two of “Run the World,” which is set to air soon on Starz. CBS Studios has optioned her original pilot “I Need Black Friends,” which focuses on a young Black woman in Pittsburgh who sets out to find Black friends. Urama is originally from Maryland and currently resides in Los Angeles.
The Pitt News: What is a skill that you learned while attending Pitt that you still use today?
increases in the cost of textbooks outpaced inflation by 238% from 1977 to 2015.
Opal Armstrong Zwicky, a sophomore law, crimi nal justice and society major, also said they used ZLibrary for textbooks and personal use. They said high textbook prices frustrate them even more if they don’t end up using their textbook in class.
“It's often the classes that assign the most ex pensive textbooks [that] have the least use for them, which is very frustrating,” Armstrong Zwicky said. “Because then it's like half the stuff is online anyways, and the textbook kind of just becomes redundant, and you're like, ‘What did I just spend $220 on?’”
According to Lipton, students commit copyright infringement by downloading PDF or ebook text books from websites such as Z-Library. She said the FBI’s decision to go after Z-Library instead of its indi vidual users was a practical decision, not a legal one.
“It's easier to shut down the source than to go and sue the millions of individual people who are doing [the copying]. It's easier, it's cheaper, it's more effective, because once you shut down the platform,
“Some of the access seems to be from countries where the material isn't otherwise available, you know, so there might be a really strong fair use ar gument there,” Lipton said. “There might be an ar gument there that there's not a commercial market anyway, so that's not going to impact the bottom line of the North American publisher.”
Ruley and Armstrong Zwicky each said they will buy textbooks next semester if they have to, but each of them will try other methods first. Armstrong Zwicky said they will look to other pirating websites, while Ruley said she will ask her classmates for help finding free materials.
“I'll probably just ask… people who have taken the class before, to see if they still have the PDF ver sion of their textbook, and then I guess if it comes to it I'll just cave and buy the textbook,” Ruley said.
Meanwhile, Beckett said he isn’t even considering buying his textbooks next semester.
“If you can find it online for free, it's way better,” Beckett said. “There's always options out there. Don't pay for something that's [available] for free.”
Kelechi Urama: When I was at Pitt, I wrote at The Pitt News for a bit. At the time I was thinking that I was going to become a journal ist professionally, so I was a media and pro fessional communications major. I did a lot of interviews going up to random people strangers that I had never met before and asking them to basically tell me about them selves.
I got a lot of experience just having to con nect quickly to people, but also getting to talk to all types of people and getting to hear the different ways that people express themselves. A lot of what we do as screenwriters or TV
writers is tuning into character voices, mak ing them feel like real people, making them feel different.
TPN: After deciding you didn’t want to be a journalist, what made you pivot to comedy and TV writing?
KU: While I was at Pitt, I fell into screen writing… Carl Kurlander [and the] Steeltown Entertainment Project were running a short film competition. I found out about it and decided to do it. I think it was my first time writing a script… and then we ended up get ting a $5,000 production grant to make it. So I think that experience really steered me to wards screenwriting. I’ve always loved televi sion, I've always loved film. So once I clued in to the fact that people were actually writing these things, I really felt like that was what I now wanted to do.
TPN: Do you have any comedy icons? Is there anyone you admire for their work as a writer?
KU: Yvette Lee Bower, who created “Living Single,” is definitely one of my heroes. “Living Single” is a show that I loved so much grow ing up and still love today. It was a full circle moment when I staffed on “Run the World,” which is a show that she helped create. “Living Single” is something I reference frequently in my writing since I typically write about Black women, Black friendships.
TPN: What was it like to work in a writing room versus creating an original series?
KU: With both [“Run the World” and “”Resident Alien”], they were pretty estab lished, like the world has already been set. So I was able to just jump in. When you’re writ ing for yourself and you’re creating an origi nal pilot, you are the architect of the entire world. You as a writer are in charge of coming up with what is the premise of the show. Who are the characters? What do they want? What's against them? What do they sound like? You really have to think about all of that. So it's very, very hard to do. When you're coming into a room, all of that is already there for you.
When you're in a room, something that I think is very surprising, or at least it was very surprising to me, you really don't do that much writing. You're in a writers room for the most part outside of your own episode. Let's say the writers room is going for 20 weeks, you'll have maybe two to three weeks to work on your episode.
For most of that time, you're just in the room and you're contributing and you're just helping to create stories, helping to come up
with certain character arcs… You’re pitching jokes, you’re pitching turns for the season. You’re really just sitting there talking and then when the day is done, you go home and log off your computer and go on with your life. I think it’s just always surprising for people to learn that before you get staffed or start work ing professionally is when you’re constantly trying to turn out new samples, new scripts. But once you’re in the room it’s just a lot of talking.
TPN: Because you’re originally from Mary land, then attended Pitt and now reside in Los Angeles, were there any major culture shocks for you?
KU: I'm originally from Silver Spring. It was a very Black area but it was also heavily Nigerian, which, I'm also Nigerian. So I feel like during that period for the most part I was just constantly surrounded by Nigerians. So that transition from that atmosphere, I went to school in New York for a little bit at Ford ham University before I transferred to Pitt. So then I was in New York which of course, is this huge melting pot where I met so many people from literally every corner of the world and then, of course, transferred to Pitts burgh, which is maybe a little less diverse, but those two places are much more like seg regated in some ways. That was surprising to me… sometimes I was the only Black person in a class.
Now living in LA, it’s also very culturally diverse but it’s very spread out. It's a place where every neighborhood has a very distinct atmosphere or vibe. It’s a different atmosphere where you have to be very intentional about socializing because everything is so far away in any direction.
TPN: What is your greatest accomplish ment so far?
KU: I think just being able to say that I am a TV writer. I'm a working TV writer. I think that's a really big accomplishment. Just from that first job, “Run the World,” it was some thing that I wanted for so long. I started TV writing, or at least learning the art of TV writ ing back in 2013. It was something I knew I wanted to do, but it felt like such a huge risk and leap. When you join the [Writers Guild of America], they always tell you, “It’s easier to become a professional baseball player than it is to become a professional TV writer,” be cause there’s so few people that get the chance to do it compared to how many want to do it.
I’m proud of myself for setting my mind to something and then actually getting to do it.
FRI, nov. 4-THURS, nov. 10
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (PG-13)
No passes through 11/27/22
Thu: 3:25, 6:35, 9:45
Dear Zoe (R)
Based on novel by Pittsburgh author, P. Beard!
Screenplay written/produced by Pittsburghers!
Filmed entirely in Pittsburgh!
*Indicates Q&A after the show
Fri: 2:50, *4:50, *7:10, 9:30
Sat: 12:50, 2:50, *4:50, *7:10, 9:30
Sun: 12:35, *2:35, *4:55, 7:15, 9:20
Mon & Tue: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15
Wed: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15
Thu: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15
The Banshees of Inisherin (R)
No passes through 11/20/22
Fri: 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:20
Sat & Sun: 12:00, 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:20
Mon & Tue: 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:20
Wed: 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:20
Thu: 2:20, 4:40, 7:00, 9:20
Ticket to Paradise (PG-13)
Fri: 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
Sat & Sun: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
Mon & Tue: 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
Wed: 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
Tár (R)
Fri: 3:30, 6:35, 9:40
Sat & Sun: 12:25, 3:30, 6:35, 9:40
Mon & Tue: 3:30, 6:35, 9:40
Wed: 3:30, 6:35, 9:40
Thu: 3:30, 6:35, 9:40
Movies & Showtimes subject to change - visit manorpgh.com
It’s around that time when Pitt students need to think about finding a place to rent for next year — reminding students of all of the one-year rental players that passed through Pitt sports programs.
In professional sports, players who only have one year left on their contract are usually considered “rentals.” Since athletic depart ments can’t sign players to contracts in the NCAA, the quantity of rental players in col lege is slimmer. But with the new rules sur rounding the transfer portal, that number is bound to go up.
A number of notable rentals have passed through Pitt’s doors. Here are a few of the most successful of the former rentals.
When a diehard Pitt fan hears the word rental, they probably think of Steven Adams. He spent one year with the Pitt basketball team in 2012, starting in all 32 games and making 57.1% of his shots. As a center, he averaged 7.2 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 2.0 blocks per game.
Adams’ performance led the Oklahoma City Thunder to draft him No. 12 overall in 2013. He spent seven seasons with the Thun
der, averaging 9.8 points per game, 8.1 re bounds per game and 1.0 blocks per game. Oklahoma City traded him to the New Or leans Pelicans in 2020 before the Grizzlies ac quired him from the Pelicans in 2021.
Marcus Carr is the only example on this list of a player who didn’t spend their last year of college with Pitt. Carr actually spent his first season with Pitt basketball in 2017, starting in 27 games before transferring to the Univer sity of Minnesota. He spent two seasons with the Gophers before transferring again to the University of Texas in 2021. Carr is still with Texas heading into the 2022 season.
Carr grew as a player in his previous four years and it is likely that he will enter the 2023 NBA Draft. Losing him to the transfer portal was tough for Pitt.
In May 2021, Mo Gueye hit the transfer portal, leaving Stony Brook University and ending up at Pitt. Upon making his move, Gu eye started consistently for the Panthers. He set career highs in three point percentage, free throw percentage and average points at 36.4%, 77.0% and 9.8 points per game.
While Gueye went undrafted after his ca reer year at Pitt, he recently made the Dallas Mavericks’ G-League roster.
Kylan Johnson was a breakout player in 2019. He played three years with the Florida Gators before transferring to Pitt. In his single year with the Panthers, he racked up six and a half sacks and two forced fumbles — more than all three of his Florida years combined.
The Miami Dolphins signed Johnson in early 2021. But the Dolphins waived him later in the year, and he hasn’t signed with another team since.
While Lucas Krull technically played two seasons with Pitt, he really only played one full season for the Panthers. Krull made the most of his only full season with the Panthers, playing a crucial role in the 2021 ACC cham pionship team. He caught 38 passes for 451 yards and six touchdowns.
Krull was one of quarterback Kenny Pick ett’s favorite targets, with his most iconic mo ment coming against North Carolina. With rain pouring down in overtime, Krull pulled in the game winning catch, producing maybe the most iconic moment of the season and moving Pitt to 8-2.
After the season, Krull went undrafted. But the New Orleans Saints signed him as an un drafted free agent this year. He has yet to see playing time, but remains on the team’s prac tice squad.
After playing three seasons at La Salle, Ta tem Levins transferred to Pitt to start at catch er on the 2021 baseball squad. He dominated the 2021 campaign, batting .321 with a .435 on base percentage and an astronomical .613 slugging percentage. For reference, Aaron Judge slugged .686 this year.
Levins’ monster year with the Panthers and three great years at La Salle culminated in the Seattle Mariners drafting him in the eighth round of the MLB Draft in 2022. That may sound low, but there are 20 rounds in the MLB draft. He hasn’t seen much playing time yet, but he owns a .467 batting average in his lim ited time in the Mariners’ farm system.
Gen Z voters — those between the ages of 18-25 — showed up to vote in record numbers during this year’s midterm elec tions. Young voter turnout is estimated to be at its second-highest since the 1990s, and many Democrats have thanked Gen Z for showing up and voting blue. In Pittsburgh, record student turnout at Pitt contributed to Pennsylvania going blue.
While Gen Z vot ers understood the stakes of this election and turned out to vote, it’s not always because we believe in the mes sage of the Democrats. Many young vot ers know that voting Democrat is an option most aligned with our interests, but it is far from the best op tion. Many politicians set lofty goals try ing to reach Gen Z votes, but rarely follow through on their promises once elected. And we shouldn’t have to settle, especial ly since we’re helping them win elections.
Issues like gun violence — specifically mass shootings — have become a reality for Gen Z, more than other generations. In fact, over the last 20 years there’s been 16 of the 20 most deadly mass shootings. Despite many Democrats saying that they will fight for gun control, much of their legislation has fallen short, which feels discouraging.
When surveyed, people aged 13 to 25 listed gun violence as their biggest concern. Politicians should know the power of Gen Z and make our issues a priority. How many more mass shootings is it going to take for politicians to take gun violence seriously?
Other issues, such as climate change and abortion, that will impact our futures more than anyone else are often pushed to the side. Pitt students found these issues salient, which is the reason why many voted for Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetter man. Shapiro and Fetterman must fight for abortion to be codified in Pennsylvania, and join just four states and Washington, D.C. Additionally, many prominent Democrats have rejected environ mental policies such as the Green New Deal or have had weak stances on fracking. Fetterman made confusing state ments about his stance on fracking during a midterm debate, caus ing many younger voters — including Pitt students — to question his commitment to protecting the environment.
Some Republicans want to raise the vot ing age to prevent young people from vot ing since they tend to vote Democratic. But on the other side of the aisle, Democrats shouldn’t take advantage of the younger generations' vote — they need to listen to what policies and change we actually want, because we’ll soon run the government. Florida elected its first Gen Z politician this midterm, and he definitely won’t be the last.
Gen Z has a powerful voice. We have grown up in a tumultuous political and social climate as technology, violence and political unrest have become increasingly prevalent. We have a pivotal position in history and politicians need to actually make changes for us rather than us having to change for them.
A close up of a Pennsyl vania voter registration form.
Alyssa Carnevali | Staff Photographer
Politicians should know the power of Gen Z and make our issues a priority.
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Lynnette Tibbott Staff Columnist
During my first year at Pitt, I lived in Bracken ridge Hall. The building had no air conditioning, and the busy Forbes Avenue traffic often kept me up at night. When I became an upperclassman, I was excited to finally live off-campus and be able to burn candles, use an oven and avoid paying the University’s inflated expenses for a dorm and meal plan.
If you choose to rent an off-campus apart ment, you’ll likely face a new set of challenges, but you won’t be disappointed. You have more freedom to really make your house your home. Here are eight pieces of advice I learned over my two years living off campus that might be helpful to you.
1. Take pictures of your apartment the day you move in
I moved into my apartment on Parkview Av enue a couple weeks before the start of my junior year. The landlord met me and my mother out side to give me the key. The second we got to the porch, we noticed the screen door was missing. The landlord made a halfhearted promise to fix it later. My mom was scared that the landlord would blame us for the door and steal our secu rity deposit, so she took a picture of it. Two years later, there’s still no screen door.
My mom took photos of every pre-existing carpet stain, every crack in the wall and any part of the house that didn’t look quite right.
Some wear and tear is natural, but don’t get blamed for a problem you didn’t create. Be smart, and take pictures of anything that looks damaged or sketchy before you move in.
2. Unfortunately, you will need a plunger.
The fateful day came for me when I walked into the bathroom and immediately smelled something gross. I opened the toilet lid with a fearful, shaking hand and uncovered the horrid scene before me. I told my roommate what hap pened. Her face held a look of pure disgust, which morphed into a fearless resolve. We went into the bathroom, equipped with plastic gloves, masks and our trusty plunger.
I’d never had to unclog the toilet before. I’ll spare you the details. Long story short, we fixed it after a few minutes. Septic issues are never fun to deal with, but they happen to everyone eventu ally. The faster you learn how to deal with life’s crap, the better off you’ll be.
3. Ants and bugs are going to be a problem.
One morning I walked into my kitchen and noticed what I first thought was a black stain on the tile floor. But stains weren’t supposed to move. I leaned closer, and my heart dropped. We had ants. A lot of them.
The little army came from under the fridge and worked their way to the fridge door, on the countertops and even in my sink.
For weeks after the traps were set, we saw stragglers exploring the area near our dishes and the microwave on the counter for a while until they all died off. You can buy ant traps or experi ment with more DIY methods, but overall it’s bet ter to prevent ants than to deal with the problem.
Ant prevention can be as simple as cleaning up food, especially on the floor. To make a long story short — take care of those crumbs.
4. It’s not a matter of if roommate drama will happen, but when.
When you live with roommates, conflict is not a possibility but a guarantee. Issues could range from simple problems such as leaving dirty dishes in the sink or they could turn severe — such as someone not paying their agreed rent or utili ties. Choosing good roommates is important, but even then you can’t predict the possible problems
that can arise, especially living with friends.
Living with friends could pose the issue that you’re afraid to speak up when something is wrong in the household, in fear that it could dam age the relationship. However, you should never be scared to speak up when it concerns your household. You all pay your rent, and you deserve to feel comfortable in your own home. It’s always best to talk in person about issues, and even hold household meetings if necessary.
The best thing to do in conflict resolution is to not take things personally. Everyone prioritizes different aspects of living. Just because someone doesn’t like that you left a dish out doesn’t mean they don’t like you as a person. It just means that you have to find a compromise so that everyone can feel content in their home.
Your lease isn’t like the terms and conditions on Apple updates. Even though it’s a pain, you need to know the set rules, so you don’t get sued or kicked out. By reading the lease, you will un derstand not only your responsibilities as a ten ant, but you can hold your landlord accountable for anything they fail to do in the lease. Be famil iar with your own rights, as well as theirs.
6. Utility bills are a pain.
Remember when your parents used to yell at you for leaving a light on? Or the hellfire that they would rain down upon you when you touched the thermostat? Unfortunately, these problems don’t go away when you leave your parents’ home.
It’s even more fun when you and your room mates play the game of thermostat roulette, where someone mysteriously turns it up, down or off completely. Regardless of personal temperature preference, it’s best to conserve as much energy as possible — not just for our utility bills, but for the environment too.
Remember to turn off lights when you’re not using a room. If you’re going away from your apartment for a while, such as Thanksgiving break, unplug everything that you don’t need. Even when an appliance isn’t turned on, having it plugged in could still drain electricity and ulti mately drain your wallet.
7. Don’t be afraid to get your parents involved.
If your landlord refuses to listen to you or brushes off problems you tell them about, get your parents involved. Most landlords think we’re nothing more than naive kids. You may need backup, and this is where having a “Karen” type of parent might actually help you.
As young college students, we sometimes don’t have a voice. Yet, it’s always good to have someone fighting in our corners. Don’t be afraid to ask your parents for help if you feel like you’re not being taken seriously.
8. You have more freedom. Use it wisely.
Congratulations, you can almost do whatever you want now! But use this power wisely. Just because you can leave a dirty bowl of mac and cheese on the stove doesn’t mean you should. Try not to create problems for yourself. Practice re sponsible living habits now so you’re not clueless in the future.
Off-campus living doesn’t come equipped with the luxuries that on-campus housing pro vides, such as being close to campus, 24/7 main tenance and included utilities. However, there’s a powerful feeling to having your own place.
Bonus tip: Give yourself plenty of time to look for a rental, typically six months or more in advance! So many of my friends waited un til the last minute and got stuck with the last picks.
Lynnette Tibbott primarily writes about top ics in the sciences and humanities. Write to her at LMT80@pitt.edu.
With two weeks remaining in the season, teams across the FBS are battling for bowl contention and position. The ACC already has seven teams clinched for bowl season and three other teams on the cusp.
These are my predictions for which bowl games eligible ACC teams will end up playing in.
There won’t be any bowling for at least three ACC teams in 2022. Virginia Tech started off 2-1 with a big win at home against Boston College. But after dropping seven games in a row, the Hokies sit at 2-8 with no chance at bowl contention.
Virginia also started 2-1, with two wins over out-of-conference opponents Richmond and Old Dominion. After dropping five of six games in ACC play, the Cavaliers sat at 3-6 going into last Saturday’s game against Pitt, needing to win their remaining three games in order to qualify for a bowl game.
Senior quarterback Brennon Armstrong threw two pick-sixes on the first two plays of their game against Pitt en route to a 37-7 loss. The loss official
ly eliminated the Cavaliers from bowl contention.
Unlike Virginia and Virginia Tech, Boston College started just 2-7. A huge road upset vic tory over North Carolina State gave the Eagles their third win of the year. Regardless, the Eagles are just playing for pride to end the year and are mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility.
On the Cusp: Georgia Tech and Miami
Georgia Tech started its season 1-3. After firing their head coach, the Yellow Jackets turned their season around, splitting their last six games. Up sets over ranked opponent Pitt, along with a win against Duke, showed the country their heart de spite trending downward the past few years.
The Yellow Jackets have an improbable route to bowl contention, though. Sitting at 4-6, they must win their remaining two games to clinch bowl con tention. Those two games are on the road against ACC Coastal division winner No. 13 North Caro lina and SEC East division winner No. 1 Georgia.
Miami has a more probable yet still difficult path to bowl contention. With a 5-5 record, the Hurricanes have to either go on the road and beat the ACC Atlantic division winner No. 9 Clemson or beat Pitt at home to finish the season.
Pinstripe Bowl: Pitt
Pitt didn’t repeat as ACC Coastal Champions in 2022, but they’re still bowling. It’s been an upand-down year for the Panthers, but they won when it mattered most, clinching bowl contention with two ACC wins in a row.
With games against Duke and Miami remain ing, I think the Panthers split these two games and head into the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 with a 7-5 record.
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Wake Forest
Wake Forest is 6-4 and will not repeat as ACC Atlantic division champions. The Deacons started the season 6-1 and reached as high as No. 10 in the AP poll. Dropping three games in a row is an ugly finish, and I think this downward spiral will continue down the stretch. The Deacons will finish 6-6 and travel to Boston on Dec. 17 for the Fenway Bowl.
Military Bowl: Louisville
Louisville currently sits at 6-4, with games against NC State and Kentucky remaining. I think Louisville drops both contests, finishing at 6-6 and clinching the Dec. 28 Military Bowl with a chance to avenge their bowl game loss from last year.
Holiday Bowl: Duke Duke has impressed this season and are cur
NC State got an unfavorable schedule in a load ed ACC Atlantic Division in 2022, having to travel to Clemson, Syracuse and North Carolina. While they lost to both Clemson and Syracuse, the third time's the charm, and the Wolfpack will upset their arch-rival UNC, ending their season 9-3 and clinching a spot in Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30.
Florida State is making their return to promi nence in 2022. The Seminoles are 7-3 with two home games against Louisiana Lafayette and Flor ida remaining. I think they’ll achieve their first nine-win season since 2016 and take that momen tum all the way to the Gator Bowl on Dec. 31.
The UNC Tar Heels have had a good run in 2022, going 6-0 in conference play and 9-1 overall. The Tar Heels will face powerhouse Clemson in Charlotte for the ACC Championship. But before this, UNC hosts two games against Georgia Tech and NC State.
rently 7-3 with games against Pitt and Wake Forest remaining. In their last few games, the Blue Dev ils will drop the road game versus Pitt but finish the season with a win against Wake Forest. An 8-4 record is more than good enough to get the Blue Devils a bid into the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28.
Syracuse started the season an unprecedented 6-0, and were ranked as high as No. 14 in the na tion. The Orange then went on to drop four games in a row after an injury to junior quarterback Garrett Shrader. Shrader’s return should help the Orange win their remaining two regular season games and walk into the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 healthy and motivated.
I think the Tar Heels get upset at home by their arch-rival NC State, finishing the regular season 10-2. Another loss in the ACC Championship ru ins the Tar Heels’ shot at their first ACC champi onship since 1980. The sour finish won’t stop the Pitt footballs.
Pamela Smith | Visual EditorTar Heels from competing in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29, but it will keep them out of New Years’ Six contention.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Clemson
2022 marked the return of Clemson. After a down year in 2021, the Tigers returned to the top of the ACC Atlantic, and I project them to win in Charlotte and claim their eighth ACC Champion ship trophy in nine years.
But what’s next for Clemson? An upset loss against Notre Dame damaged Clemson’s chances to make the College Football Playoff. But head coach Dabo Swinney should still be content with making yet another New Years’ Six bowl game.
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Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis
By Susan Gelfand ©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC