The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | November 13, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 66
Asian-American entertainer talks representation, mental health
Hannah Schneider For The Pitt News
After her sister committed suicide in 2007, Anna Akana felt she had no purpose in life — until she was drawn into the world of stand-up comedy. “It’s the only thing that made me feel alive,” Akana said. But she wasn’t even aware comedy was a viable career path for her until she saw Asian-American comedian Margaret Cho performing on Comedy Central. Seeing someone who looked like her on television made Akana realize she could become an entertainer, too. “And that is the power of representation in media,” Akana said. “Being able to identify with someone on screen who looks like you ... affects everything that you believe that you can do from when you’re a child onward.” More than 200 students gathered in the William Pitt Union Friday night to listen to Akana speak about Asian-American representation in entertainment. Akana, who was invited by the Asian Student Association, is a rising Asian-American filmmaker, producer, actress and comedian. She is most well known for her weekly YouTube show, which has more than 1.9 million subscribers. Besides Cho, Akana also cited Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee as the handful of childhood role models available to her. She attributed both “yellowface” — a white person playing an Asian character — and the casting of white people in roles originally meant for people of Asian descent as causes of the lack of Asian representation in media.
Sophomore Nika Markovic celebrates during the volleyball team’s victory over Duke Sunday afternoon. Thomas Yang | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PANEL SHEDS LIGHT ON REFUGEE MENTAL HEALTH Amanda Finney Staff Writer
If you had to make a list of your four most important things, tangible or intangible, what would they be? This is the question panelist Sarah Faulx posed to 40 audience members Friday night in William Pitt Union Dining Room B. After encouraging them to take out their phones and make the list, she said to imagine America is in crisis, and to then delete one item from the list. The audience members deleted each item until only one remained. Faulx then said to imagine having to flee the country and to imagine how dear the last item becomes — whether it be friends, family, education or See Akana on page 4 security.
This activity intended to help the audience understand the gravity of the panel’s discussion topic — mental health in the refugee community. The panel, which the student club Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment put together, included three speakers — Faulx, Ashok Gurung and Gemma Marolda — who all discussed refugee mental health. Caroline Smith, a junior international and area studies and political science double major, is the co-president of FORGE. She said FORGE hosts two events each year outside of their general body meetings, including a fall panel, which is typically related to political issues. “I was like ‘what can we focus on that
would be interesting to our organization members, because most of them aren’t polisci majors?’ Most of them are biological science majors, so I thought that it would be really interesting to do it from a mental health perspective,” Smith said. Marolda, a Pitt political science professor, gave background information about international immigration to preface the discussion. She said immigration shouldn’t have a negative connotation because it moves the global economy — and the pushback against globalization is rooted in fear. “The greater the flow of migration, the greater the risk that you are going to lose your identity,” Marolda said. Faulx, a licensed clinical social worker of See Refugees on page 3
News
Pitt alum potential CNN Hero of the Year Anna Bongardino Contributing Editor
Eco-Soap Bank employees use a machine to compress bars of soap during the sterilization process. Photos courtesy of Samir Lakhani
Cambodian children wash their hands with bars of soap provided by Eco-Soap Bank.
Pitt alum Samir Lakhani founded the nonprofit organization, Eco-Soap Bank during his senior year at Pitt in 2014.
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At the age of 22, Samir Lakhani spent several long and laborious days cleaning, sanitizing and compressing used bars of soap with one young Cambodian woman. The woman, Prornh Thearang, spoke no English, but the duo sat side-by-side for hours, listening to Cambodian folk music as they worked. Lakhani, a Pitt alumnus, is one of 10 nominees for CNN’s Hero of the Year award, which recognizes normal people for their world-changing initiatives. He is the founder of Eco-Soap Bank, a nonprofit that collects and recycles used bars of soap from hotels in Cambodia so they can be used in rural villages where families lack access to sanitation. “I was extremely startled when I heard the news. I thought it was a prank call honestly,” Lakhani said about his nomination. “I watched the program as a kid. I loved that program … Now that I get to be one myself, it’s crazy. It’s surreal but special at the same time.” If Lakhani receives the most votes, he will receive the title of CNN’s Hero of the Year and the organization will receive a prize of $100,000. Lakhani’s plans for the future include opening branches in Ethiopia and regions such as sub-Subharan Africa and Pacific islands that demonstrate a dire need for access to sanitation and are greatly affected by climate change. Lakhani founded Eco-Soap Bank in 2014 during his senior year as an environmental studies major at Pitt. He traveled to Cambodia every two or three months to manage the organization during his last year at Pitt and often returned to class with 12-hour jetlag. “I was foolish to start this when I was a student, but it’s very much a Pitt-founded organization. I was just crazy enough to see it through,” Lakhani said. “I was a personality. I wasn’t much of a student. I’d rather be doing something.” The soap sterilizing process — which was developed with the help of Dan Bain, an engineering professor at Pitt — only takes about one minute after used bars of soap are collected from the hotels. Eco-Soap Bank’s employees peel off the bars’ top layer, dip it in a chlorine wash, rinse it and use a machine to compress
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the bars into their final form. Lakhani first traveled to Cambodia in the summer of 2013 to spend a month with his sister, who was studying abroad. Lakhani returned to the country the following summer to pursue an internship during which he built fish ponds. He witnessed mothers bathing their children, tending to the animals and then cooking dinner for their families without having any access to soap. “When people talk about clean water, there’s not always an easy solution for that. I think for the most part, Cambodians have access to clean water because there’s been a lot of NGO activity before me, but nobody has really addressed hygiene specifically,” Lakhani said. Eco-Soap Bank’s first donors primarily consisted of rotary clubs in Pittsburgh, volunteer clubs and professors who had connections to companies willing to donate. Lakhani sought the advice of several professors about logistics during the early stages of the organization’s founding. Ward Allebach, an adjunct professor for environmental studies courses, taught Lakhani in his sustainability class in the spring of 2014. Allebach met with him outside of class to advise him about if and how he should obtain a 501(c)(3) — a classification which exempts nonprofits from paying federal income tax — as well as how to construct and use a board of directors and manage volunteers. “If you don’t set realistic goals, you stand the chance of being demoralized. When he and I first got together, he was talking about reaching so many millions of people over the first five years,” Allebach said. “My initial response was, ‘That’s sounds a little ambitious,’ but he said, ‘I don’t think it is.’ So if you don’t think it is, go for it. And look what he’s doing.” Mark Collins, a former environmental studies professor, was Lakhani’s professor and adviser while he was a student at Pitt. Collins frequently met with Lakani outside of class to discuss the project. “You realize it’s like dominoes. The number of factors that go into it is breathtaking,” Collins said. “I didn’t do anything. People like Samir take care of themselves.” See Hero on page 5
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Refugees, pg. 1 Highland Park, followed Marolda and spoke about her work helping refugee kids work through their trauma. “Refugees have to make huge sacrifices for safety and for loved ones,” Faulx said. Faulx said sacrifices and traumatic experiences — such as undergoing persecution, fleeing one’s home country and being placed in a completely different culture — are emotionally scarring and can trigger mental illness such as anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. According to the Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center, studies have shown the PTSD rate in settled refugees to be 10 to 40 percent in adults and 50 to 90 percent in children, compared to about 8 percent of American adults and about 5 percent of American children. Faulx said refugee trauma can be especially damaging to teenagers as their brains are still developing. “Sometimes it takes a long time before kids will start to talk and discuss their journey and maybe a traumatic experience, so having that opportunity [to listen], I feel very fortunate for that,” Faulx said.
Ashok Gurung, co-founder of the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh, was one of three panelists in an event Pitt FORGE hosted about refugee mental health. Issi Glatts | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER One method she uses when counsel- father was jailed for speaking up for human ing refugee children is called “sand tray” rights, Gurung fled his home in Bhutan at therapy — a therapy technique in which the age 9. He said being a refugee was high-stress, child creates scenes and plays with toys in the sand. How children play and what they especially with the poor conditions of the create gives Faulx insight into what trauma different refugee camps in Nepal he lived in they’ve gone through, and the tactile play is for three years. He said he even became sick a few times because his stress levels were so also therapeutic. Gurung, the final panel member a Pitt high he was unable to adequately digest food. Gurung — a co-founder of the Bhutaalum, was a child refugee himself. After his
nese Community Association of Pittsburgh — has recovered with the help of medical treatment, meditation and yoga, and he now works with Bhutanese refugees in Pittsburgh. He said he wanted to shed light on the refugee troubles that are sometimes overlooked, such as mental health. Smith said it’s important to remember refugees need more than just basic necessities like food, water, a house and a job. “Vulnerable groups are even more vulnerable to these kinds of [mental health problems]. Every step for them is just gonna be 10 times harder than someone who is born here,” Smith said. Smith also said President Donald Trump’s refugee policies will have a negative impact on refugee mental health. Trump plans to cap refugee admission at 45,000 next year, a historically low number, the Wall Street Journal reported in September. “From the resettlement organization, it’s not good, because resettlement agencies get funding depending on how many refugees they receive,” Smith said. “If they don’t get funding next year, refugees who are here who need services aren’t gonna get it.” Faulx said it’s important for refugee See Refugees on page 5
The Pitt News SuDoku 11/13/17 courtesy of dailysudoku.com
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Akana, pg. 1
Anna Akana spoke to more than 200 students in the William Pitt Union about Asian-American representation in entertainment Friday night. Issi Glatts | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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“The list of movies and TV [shows] in which [producers] insert a white actor into our roles is just endless,” she said. The topic of whitewashing — casting a white actor to play a non-white role — is gaining more attention and scrutiny in Hollywood. Recent castings accused of whitewashing include Tilda Swinton as the Asian “Ancient One” in Marvel’s movie “Doctor Strange,” Emma Stone as the Chinese character Allison Ng in the 2015 film “Aloha” and Noah Ringer as protagonist Aang in the 2010 film adaption of “The Last Airbender.” Akana said something similar had happened to her when she was originally cast, but later cut, for a lead role in a recent major movie. “[The producers] said, ‘No, I’m sorry. Casting a person of color as a lead role is just too big of a risk for us right now,’” Akana said. Akana said accurate representation can grow if more Asian-American artists create and tell their own stories in film and more support is given to actors of Asian descent playing complex, non-stereotyped characters. “No matter where you are or what you
do, you have stories to tell and there are infinite mediums to tell them on,” Akana said. Courtney Yu, a junior political science and economics major and ASA President, said she has been a fan of Akana’s for several years, thinking it was “so cool” to see someone like her in the entertainment industry. “Not only is she a woman, but she’s also Asian American ... the fact that she’s in both of those groups, and the fact that I’m in both of those groups ... it says a lot,” Yu said. Akana encouraged the audience to start a dialogue with her and ask questions. One student asked Akana — who suffers from depression — what advice she would give to people with mental health issues. Akana said to find what works for yourself and to be kind to yourself. “It’s stupid, but make sure you exercise, make sure you eat well, make sure you have supportive friends,” she said. “The smallest, stupidest things day-to-day affect your mental health more than anything else.” Sophomore biology major Jenny Xiao has also been a “huge fan” of Akana since high school and finds her advocacy work
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regarding mental health issues within the Asian-American community to be inspiring and groundbreaking. “Most Asian Americans are very quiet about their views and their opinions, but she’s very outspoken,” said Xiao. “She talks about stuff that is almost kind of forbidden in Asian cultures, like suicide and mental issues that are not really talked about.” Akana said if she didn’t speak up and give advice on self-confidence and advocacy, she is afraid no one else would. “In my opinion, it’s always been like, I have a voice, and I want you to hear it,” Akana said. “Even if I feel like I’m super annoying right now, or I’m speaking out of turn, if I don’t do it, nobody else is going to.” One student asked Akana how she has found the courage to create and upload content with the possibility of it attracting little attention or being received negatively. She said people need to view failure as a learning experience. “You never learn to get better unless you do it. Like if I wanted to be a basketball player, if I never go to the court, I’m never going to be better,” she said. “No one who’s successful has [never] failed.”
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Hero, pg. 2 Since the organization’s founding three years ago, it has grown to reach 700,000 people with the use of four recycling centers, and provides 75 women with full-time employment and the opportunity to receive an education equivalent to a GED. Eco-Soap Bank processed about 500,000 bars of soap last year. Thearang, the young Cambodian with whom Lakhani recycled soap in the early days of the organization, was the nonprofit’s first employee. Thearang has learned to speak fluent English through the organization’s educational component and now runs a branch of the organization. “I [speak very little] Cambodian, so for me to form an emotional bond with a village Cambodian woman is a really odd experience, but it’s very rewarding,” Lakhani said. “Cambodians are really, really warm people, so in that sense, everybody I interact with are my friends.” As the executive director of Eco-Soap Bank and a resident of Squirrel Hill, Lakhani’s full-time position within the organization has required him to make about a dozen trips to Cambodia during the past four years. When he is in Pittsburgh, Lakhani oversees changes in the organization by Skyping with members of his board. “It’s my home. I formed a deep connection with the country particularly because the history is so sad. You can see a lot of modernday struggles come from its tragic history,” Lakhani said about the Cambodian genocide in the 1980s. “I wanted to do something in the humanitarian space, so this was actually very fortunate. We blend an environmental initiative with a humanitarian goal.” Lakhani attributes his nomination for CNN’s Hero of the Year to the broad impact the organization is able to have, both on its
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employees and the villagers who receive the soap. The winner will be announced in a show with Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. Voting is open until Dec. 12, and people can vote up to 30 times a day. “It’s a coupling of knowing the issue and knowing personally what I could do about it. I had no other choice but to do it,” Lakhani said. “I feel it’s a little bit unfair because there are a lot of people in the humanitarian space who have been doing this for decades and I have been doing this for so much less. I’ll take the award with the instructions that I need to be doing this for the rest of my life.”
Refugees, pg. 3 children — and all children — to get information on mental health, specifically through school. “That’s part of who they are as a human as well as their physical needs, to be cared for and taken care of, and this [mental health] issue needs to be addressed as well, just like your physical health,” Faulx said. The mental health aspect of the panel attracted some audience members, including Cameron Hoffman, a junior history and political science double major. He said he fre-
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quently discusses refugees in his classes, but often in a different context. “We’ve talked a lot about the numbers and the political aspects of it. We haven’t talked too much about the psychological issues that those refugees have, so I thought it would be pretty interesting to learn that aspect as well,” Hoffman said. Marolda said refugee health is important because refugees are ultimately seeking a better life. “We need to care because these are human beings just like you and me,” Marolda said.
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Opinions from the editorial board
column
GOP establishment enables Moore’s misconduct
“What are you?”
The party of “family values” spent the weekend in a peculiar position — defending a man accused of child molestation. The Washington Post reported last week that four women had accused Roy Moore of making sexual advances on them while they were in their teens. Moore is the Republican nominee for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old seat in the U.S. Senate. At the time of the alleged advances, Moore was in his early thirties. One woman, Leigh Corfman, said Moore took off her clothes and touched her when she was 14. The unexpected news drew mixed reactions from Moore’s supporters and members of his party nationally and in Alabama. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Moore said he “dated a lot of young ladies,” while denying any criminal responsibility and claiming the Post report was a smear campaign by the Democrats. More significantly, a poll released Saturday from JMC Analytics found members of Moore’s evangelical base more likely to vote for him after the allegations than before. It’s obvious Roy Moore’s alleged actions and response render him more qualified for jail than the Senate. But the reaction of the Republican establishment in power in Washington is perhaps even worse. It was this group that allowed Moore to get this close to the Senate and now seems unwilling to prevent an accused child molester who admitted to pursuing high schoolers from sitting as a member of Congress. To be sure, a number of GOP senators noted their disapproval of Moore’s sexual dalliances with children after the allegations surfaced. Among them, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., qualified their state-
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ments with skepticism over if the events actually occurred or not. “If these allegations are true, he must step aside,” McConnell said in a statement released Thursday. Aside from doubts about the authenticity of allegations against Moore, Toomey appeared unprepared to keep Moore out of the Senate if he were to win December’s special Senate election. “I’m not going to, you know, project what we should be doing under that hypothetical,” Toomey said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. According to the Supreme Court ruling in 1969’s Powell v. McCormack, Congress has the constitutional authority to expel a member because of moral unfitness. Either Toomey doesn’t think sexual assault of a child makes a person unqualified for public service, or he cares more about political power than public morality. Of course, Moore wouldn’t even be in the position he is today without the aid of the GOP national apparatus. Prior to his most recent scandal, Moore — who supports criminalizing homosexuality and banning Muslims from serving in U.S. government — had the endorsements of most Republicans in the Senate and the financial backing of the Republican National Committee. It’s alarming, to say the least, that it took this much to make the GOP reconsider its support. If Republicans want to hold onto their moniker as the family-friendly party, they should, at the very least, stop defending a credibly accused child molester by comparing him to Joseph and Mary. Failing to act decisively against Moore would reveal a party that stands for little other than staying in power.
Embracing a mixed-roots identity Erica Brandbergh Columnist
I once asked my dad, out of curiosity, whether he put Caucasian, Asian or both on surveys that ask about his race. He paused for a bit and said he didn’t know. I asked if he identified with one more than the other, and he was unsure of that as well. My dad is half-Japanese. He was born on an American Army base in Okinawa and came to the United States at a young age with my grandparents and his siblings. His mom — who we call “Oba” — is from southwestern Japan. My Oba never taught my father Japanese, so I never learned much beyond the basics that she taught me when she was my kindergarten teacher. Despite my diminished interaction with my non-white heritage, it was clear from my experiences growing up as someone with only one-quarter Asian ancestry that white society at large didn’t consider me fully one of its own. That reality is even more pronounced for people who are half non-white, like my father, or even more. People with partial or half-Asian roots often feel a pull between multiple backgrounds. Many feel they don’t truly belong to any background at all. That’s why projects that give multiracial people a community and a place to share their experiences can be vital to their sense of identity. One such project is the Hapa Project, which California artist Kip Fulbeck started in 2001. Fulbeck got the idea for the project as a child when he wished he could share the experiences he went through as multira-
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cial with others. He went around the United States photographing more than 1,200 partAsian and part-Pacific Islander subjects who self-identify as “hapa,” then asking them to identify their ethnicities in their own words. The project challenges the myths of exoticism surrounding multiracial people by allowing them to explain their answer to the question, “What are you?” Fulbeck, who himself has Chinese, English, Irish and Welsh heritage, named the project after the Hawaiian slang word, “hapa.” Once a derogatory term for mixed-race people, it literally means “half ” and has expanded beyond the Hawaiian islands after they became a part of the United States. The term is now embraced by many people throughout the country who are part Asian or Pacific Islander. A Reddit forum devoted specifically to hapas’ experiences counts almost 7,000 members. According to a 2007 University of Hawaii study, as much as 21.4 percent of the state’s population self-designates using the term. Fulbeck’s work allows millions of multiracial individuals of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to define themselves, instead of others doing it for them. It has allowed hapas to embrace their identities and be proud of their backgrounds and has created awareness of a topic people know little about. Cassie Boutin, a senior at Pitt who is part Asian and part white, identified with the same issue Fulbeck targeted in the Hapa Project. Boutin realized that she and her other multiethnic friends had no outlet by which they could discuss their identities or the issues they See Brandbergh on page 7
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Brandbergh, pg. 6
Raka Sarkar | SENIOR STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
The Pitt news crossword 11/13/17
faced because of their backgrounds. In order to foster a community that would allow multiracial people to gather and share their experiences, she founded the Pitt Multiracial Student Association in the spring of 2016. “Since starting the club and getting all these people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together, it’s been a lot easier to put our thoughts into words and talk about our experiences,” Boutin said. This sort of community could have functioned as a beneficial outlet had it existed where my few other multiethnic friends and I grew up. Growing up in a majority-white community in rural Pennsylvania, I was often asked the question, “What are you?” I only knew a few people who shared a mixed-Asian background similar to mine. Although I was only one-quarter Asian, peers and strangers would bring up my ethnicity, asking if I was part Asian. Even a taxi driver even once guessed that I was part Japanese just because his wife was. More recently, a white Uber driver assumed I would understand his wife’s personality just because she is Asian, and without even asking, he assumed I was as well. Many of the questions people ask mixed race individuals are out of curiosity or lack of understanding. Endeavors like the Hapa Project help increase visibility and the understanding that every mixed
person has had his or her own experience confronting identity. It is important for multiracial and multiethnic groups to have a voice, and the project gives individuals that opportunity. It allows people with Asian or Pacific Islander descent to share their stories and what it means to them to be “hapa.” “Honestly, having a mixed identity is just as real and valid as having, say, an African-American identity or an Asian-American identity,” Boutin said. Fulbeck wants his project’s audience to take away the idea that race is a social construct and a complex topic. What it means to be hapa varies from individual to individual, and identity is self-formed. It’s important that children have peers they can identify with and are exposed to others like them. I have come to be proud of my Italian, Irish and Japanese heritage — this mix of backgrounds contributes to my own distinctive identity. Movements like Fulbeck’s and Boutin’s are important, if only to provide members of an underrepresented group with the community needed to form an identity that’s more than simply the sum of its parts. “There’s a lot of this idea that I’m half-white, so I identify as half-white,” Boutin said. “It’s not a mix of both [races], it’s its own separate thing.” Erica primarily writes about social issues and mental health for The Pitt News. Write to Erica at elb116@ pitt.edu.
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Sports
Weekend Sports photo gallery online
WEEKEND SPORTS
Panthers make Wrestling opens season, fatal mistakes cross country wraps up, with wins against Tar Heels
David Leftwich Senior Staff Writer
A kickoff returned for a touchdown, a fumble near the goal line and a trick play touchdown may have been the biggest plays of the day Thursday — and they all went against the Panther football team. A late touchdown by the North Carolina Tar Heels was the final blow to the Panther football team Thursday, but big mistakes throughout the game sealed Pitt’s 34-31 loss. To open the game, the Panthers gave up a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams. Ratliff-Williams didn’t just outrun the Panthers special teams unit, he also broke five tackles on the play. Any one of those Panther defenders could’ve brought him down, but instead, RatliffWilliams capitalized on these missed tackles to put the Tar Heels up 7-0 early. The game moved back and forth between leads — every time the Panthers trumped the Tar Heels offensively, they couldn’t hold on defensively. Instead of taking control of the game when they could in the third quarter, the Panthers gave up a trick play 35-yard touchdown pass from Ratliff-Williams to junior wide receiver Josh Cabrera to give back the lead to the Tar Heels, 2117. This wasn’t a surprise play to the Panther defense. They were supposedly prepared for a play like this and had been studying tape on previous trick plays from the Tar Heels all week. “We saw them call a lot of reverse passes, trick plays,” junior defensive back Jordan Whitehead said after the See Mistakes on page 9
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Junior Gillian Schriever earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for her 16th place finish in the team’s last meet of the season. Courtesy of Barry Schenk
Trent Leonard Staff Writer
Pitt’s revenue teams may not have fared so well this weekend, but other teams made up for it with quality showings. The cross country season wrapped up with top performances from the men’s and women’s teams, while Pitt wrestlers impressed in their season debut. Women’s volleyball collected two more wins to maintain its No. 1 spot in the ACC standings. Volleyball The women’s volleyball team finished its last homestand of the season with a shutout victory over Wake Forest Friday and a 3-1 win over Duke Sunday. With the wins, the Panthers (21-6 overall, 14-2 ACC) sit atop the ACC
standings, tied with Louisville and NC State. The Panthers dominated Wake Forest (1216 overall, 4-12 ACC) in straight sets, outscoring their opponent 28-26, 25-22 and 25-22. Sophomore Nika Markovic — Pitt’s season leader in kills — led the attack with 17 kills, while junior setter Kamalani Akeo facilitated the offense with 41 assists. First-year Kayla Lund was the only Panther to finish with double digits in two areas, collecting 10 digs and 11 kills. Pitt also defeated Duke (16-11 overall, 8-8 ACC) in the team’s final home game to extend their win streak to five games. Pitt jumped out to a two-set lead but conceded the third, 27-25. In the fourth set, the Panthers closed the game in a commanding fashion, outscoring
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the Blue Devils 25-17. Markovic and Lund, along with sophomore Layne Van Buskirk and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams, all chipped in double digit kills for the Panthers. Redshirt junior Angela Seman anchored the defense with 22 digs. The Panthers will look to continue their ACC dominance when they travel to South Carolina to face the Clemson Tigers Friday. Cross Country Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Lehigh University Friday to compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals for their final meet of the season. The women placed fifth — their best finish at a regional in school history — while the men’s team finished See Weekend Sports on page 9
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Weekend Sports, pg. 8 10th, marking their best finish since 2006. In the women’s 6k race, the Panthers battled with 27 other teams in the region — including Penn State, Villanova and Princeton. Their historic fifth-place finish was bolstered by junior Gillian Schriever, who came in 16th, and sophomore Miranda Salvo, who finished 24th. Both earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for their top 25 placements. Also aiding in the women’s effort were sophomore Sam Shields, 37th place, and the trio of senior Amy Kelly, senior Kelly Hayes, and junior Makenzie Zeh, placing 42nd through 44th, respectively. On the men’s side, the team’s 10th place finish came among 25 other opponents in the 10K race. Senior Ryan Hughes led the Panthers with an 11th-place finish, while senior Aaron Lauer finished 22nd. Both performances earned All-Region honors. The only other Panther to finish in the top 50 was sophomore Nick Wolk, at 44th. Wrestling Pitt’s wrestling team kicked off its season at the Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday. The Panthers were competitive across the board, with four wrestlers finishing as individual champions. The Panthers dominated the light classes, producing winners at three of the low-weight levels. Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi, junior Robert Lee and redshirt sophomore Taleb Rahmani each won in their weight classes. Redshirt senior Ryan Solomon made sure Pitt competed at the heavyweight level too, as he emerged as the champion of the 285-pound bracket. Redshirt sophomore Kellan Stout and redshirt freshman Gregg Harvey chipped in third-place finishes in the 197- and 184-pound classes, respectively. The Panthers head west for their next com-
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petition, a dual meet at CSU Bakersfield Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. Men’s Basketball It took the Panthers more than 10 minutes into the second half to score a field goal, a disastrous drought that was too much to overcome as the Pitt men’s basketball team dropped its season opener to Navy. Pitt fell to the Navy Midshipmen 71-62 Friday night in the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Maryland — Navy’s first win against an ACC opponent since 1971 and Pitt’s first opener loss since 1996. The Panthers shot 32 percent in the second half and underperformed at the foul line, shooting 53.3 percent. The shooting woes proved too difficult to overcome. Read the full recap here. Women’s Basketball The Pitt women’s basketball team battled back from an early deficit to open its season with a 66-58 win against Youngstown Friday night. The Panthers (1-0) and the Penguins (0-1) both had relatively lackluster performances at the Petersen Events Center. Both teams made a little over a third of their field goal attempts and no more than a quarter of their 3-pointer attempts. Read the full recap here. Football Despite a four-touchdown performance from junior Panther running back Darrin Hall, the North Carolina Tar Heels outlasted the Pitt football team at Heinz Field. In a nationally televised back-and-forth game under the lights, the Panthers (4-6 overall, 2-4 ACC) couldn’t keep up with two fourth-quarter touchdowns from the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-8 overall, 1-6 ACC) en route to a 34-31 loss. “Nobody wants to lose, just the way we are losing,” junior defensive back Jordan Whitehead said. “We left a lot of plays out there.” Read the full recap here.
Mistakes, pg. 8 game. “We knew it was coming.” It wasn’t ignorance that hurt the Panthers on that play, but instead, failed execution on defense that left Cabrera wide-open. The Panthers bounced back and marched right down the field in their next possession. But yet again, another mistake cost the Panthers. On first-and-goal from the Tar Heel 5-yard line, junior wide receiver Quadree Henderson rushed the ball to the left and coughed up the ball on the 2-yard line. The Tar Heels recovered and returned the ball into field goal position with a minute left in the half. Converting a 51-yard field goal to end the half, the Tar Heels benefitted from a 10-point swing. Instead of the Panthers scoring a touchdown to recapture the lead, they gave up a field goal to extend the Tar Heel edge to seven points at 24-17. By the fourth quarter, the Panthers did manage to retake the lead at 31-27 only to give up a late touchdown to the Tar Heels to put them up 34-31— the final score of the game. Even though it may be easy to blame the Panther defense for giving up the lead late, they were without senior defensive back Avonte Maddox, leaving them vulnerable through the air. “I think our corners still played OK, and I think they rushed for less than 100 yards, but we gave up some stuff in the middle,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said after the game. “It didn’t help that Avonte Maddox is not out there today.” But the Panthers could have easily avoided a close contest with the Tar
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Heels by the fourth quarter. The game should’ve been in hand. The Panthers outgained the Tar Heels 409 yards to 366 yards for the game and dominated on the ground, gaining 267 yards compared to 96 for the Tar Heels. Hall, specifically, had a tremendous game for the Panthers—carrying the ball for 128 yards and a whopping four touchdowns. Even redshirt sophomore quarterback Ben DiNucci ran for more than 100 yards in the game. This run-heavy statline is the game plan for the Panther offense. They are starting DiNucci as backup quarterback, and Hall has put together a string of three straight 100-yard games. Relying on the running game, in theory, should limit mistakes from the quarterback position while allowing the Panthers to highlight Hall and dominate possession of the ball. Just accumulating the costs of the three largest Panther missteps led to 17 Tar Heel points — two touchdowns through the kickoff return and trick play, and a field goal off of the Panther fumble. “No team’s good enough to overcome that stuff, and we certainly aren’t there yet,” Narduzzi said. Without plays like these, the Panthers generally cruise to victory despite giving up some yards through the air. Instead, the Panthers lost to the worst team in the ACC and now have to beat Virginia Tech and No. 7 Miami to qualify for a bowl game. For the Panthers to have a shot of winning next Saturday in Blacksburg, Virginia, against Virginia Tech, they have to play a clean game and hope their running game dominates like it did against North Carolina.
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South Oakland
South Oakland
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.
Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unrelated people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance with codes. Call City’s Permits, Licensing & Inspections. 412-255-2175.
North Oakland 3,4,6 houses available January and August 2018. Lawn St. Ward St. Call 412-287-5712. 6 or 7 BR House on N. Dithridge St. Available beginning in August 2018. 3 full bathrooms. 2 kitchens. 10 rooms total, on 3 levels, with one bathroom on each level. Refridgerators, ranges, ovens, dishwashers included. A/C. Washer and dryer in basement. On Pitt and CMU shuttle routes. $3600/month + gas and electric. Owner pays water, sewer, and city garbage collection charges. Please leave message at 412-372-9185.
South Oakland **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.
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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.
M.J. Kelly Realty. Studio, 1Bedroom Apartments, N. & S. Oakland. $725-$850. mjkellyrealty@gmail. com. 412-271-5550. www.mjkellyrealty. com Oakland Ave. - Garden Court Apartments. Charming 2BR, hardwood floors, free heat. Move in May 1 or Aug. 1, 2018. Call 412-361-2695.
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Monthly rent $1750, with about $100 for utilities. Laundry on-site, parking available. Contact Larry Newman @ 412-421-3720 or lsnsss@verizon.net for a tour.
Employment Employment Other Seeking an experienced, female Elderly Caregiver to start work immediately. $25/hour, she would be working for up to 5 hours daily Mon-Fri for my diabetic Grandma. All applicants email stephen. lamar@outlook.com directly for further details.
(Each Additional Word: $0.10)
Services Other Exclusive Discounted Business Class Air to Europe and Worldwide. Also, coach fare for US Travel and Worldwide. I have 35 years experience. Call 412-884-0543 or email me your request joann.uts@gmail.com.
Phlebotomy Training Centerwww. justphlebotomy.org 2 evening classes weekly, 5 weeks + excellent Clinicals. Call 412-521-7334.
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Ward & S. Bouquet Streets - Studio, 1, 2 & 3BR apartments. Free parking. Move in May 1 or Aug. 1, 2018. Call 412-361-2695
Cell Phone & Computer Repair. Atlas. 4753 Liberty Avenue Bloomfield, Pittsburgh PA 15224. 412-681-2092.
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1655 Shady Avenue, First Floor Apartment: 3 BR, 2 Full Bath, spacious LR, Office, Enclosed Porch. Lovely, large, bright apartment steps from the Squirrel Hill shopping district, an easy bus or bike ride to Pitt.
1X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X Add. R Insertions $6.30 $11.90 $17.30 $22.00 $27.00 $30.20 + $5.00 A 1-15 Words T 16-30 Words $7.50 $14.20 $20.00 $25.00 $29.10 $32.30 + $5.40 E S Deadline: Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978
Services Other Busy? Hate doing laundry? Personal laundry for Shadyside, Oakland, and Squirrel Hill. Call Eva 412-334-1743.
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