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Cover by Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR Tom Brady photo by Jason Pohuski TNS
Researcher SGB HOSTS MASTER PLAN sues Pitt for MEETING FOR STUDENTS wrongful termination Madeline Gavatorta Staff Writer
Salina Pressimone Assistant News Editor
A former Pitt researcher is suing the University, alleging she was wrongfully terminated after reporting the escapes of an infected lab monkey and rabbit in 2016. In a lawsuit filed Jan. 15, 2018, in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Kelly Stefano Cole — a former immunology professor and associate lab director at Pitt — is claiming the University retaliated against her after she reported safety violations. The lawsuit was first reported by Penn Record. Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the University does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit is claiming Cole is protected under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law because of her “good faith reports of safety violations.” She is seeking back pay and damages for embarrassment, emotional distress and damage to her reputation, the lawsuit says. According to the lawsuit, a fellow researcher’s negligence allowed a monkey “infected with a select agent to escape its cage” in January 2017. The lawsuit does not say what the agent was. See Termination on page 9
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Nico Bernstein took issue with the Campus Master Plan presented by Owen J. Cooks Tuesday night at Student Government Board’s weekly public meeting, saying the plan emphasizes athletics and neglects the arts. “[Cooks] talked a lot about creating new spaces for athletics but not new spaces for students in terms of humanities,” Bernstein said. “I was more interested in just how are we creating space for students and not just for the athletic teams that already have an immense amount of space.” Bernstein, a senior theater arts and natural sciences major, is president of Performance Collaborative and part of the Red Eye Theater Project. Bernstein recalled noticing neglect in some classrooms he had acting classes in. SGB’s meeting Tuesday featured a 30year Master Plan presentation given by Cooks, assistant vice chancellor of planning, design and construction. SGB President Max Kneis set the event up after only seven students attended a student presentation about the Master Plan last Wednesday. But this Tuesday, about 100 students came to discuss and provide their input about topics like crosswalks and student space. “I know one of SGB’s roles is to really facilitate that student input and grow the student voice on campus, so I saw that we could combine it with an event we already have weekly that we know some students, especially from SGB, are already attend-
ing,” Kneis said. The Campus Master Plan is intended to guide the next 30 years of campus development, and although most students won’t be around to see the changes, Cooks spoke on why current students in the Pittsburgh community should take the plan seriously. It came down to one word — transparency. “We have all these institutional partners, we have all these community groups and community itself and neighbors and so on,” Cooks said. “I just feel like making sure everyone understands our thinking and informs our thinking is a part of that transparency process, and it’s critical.” During the presentation, Cooks also discussed the problem of limited student space. He mentioned a recent inventory which revealed only 5 percent of the campus — 210,323 square feet — is currently considered student space. Student space, according to Cooks, is defined as student organization, study and reactional space — including gyms and club sports fields. Cooks said the Master Plan will look to change that. Eva Gockowski, a sophomore international and area studies major, said there is a limited focus on the facilities for music students. “If we had better funding for the arts in general, I think that a lot more people would be willing to participate, and then I would be doing shows definitely, [which] in turn could bring in more of a profit than people might expect,” Gockowski said.
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Cooks said that one specific student space the plan intends to address is recreation facilities. “We know that our recreation facilities, as one example, are in poor condition and are inadequate in terms of size and so we are committed to introducing more rec facilities in order to address that,” Cooks said. The Master Plan, Cooks said, will support of a nationwide initiative to improve pedestrian safety, called “complete streets.” The plan will make Pitt part of the city-wide effort to improve pedestrian safety, possibly resulting in a new crosswalk between David Lawrence Hall and the stairs to the quad. “Well it’s a safety issue, I guess at its base,” Cooks said. “We wanna make sure pedestrians are safe crossing the street, we wanna make sure bicycles have the ability to get around ... We wanna make sure public transportation has [a] route.” Kneis said that focus groups for students will be themed by different issues. Everyone who attended, signed in and indicated an area of interest will receive an email for future meetings that correspond to the theme they indicated. “I think at the end of the day we are the prime users of all these spaces,” Kneis said. “Classrooms, students spaces, recreational facilities are primarily intended for students and if we want them to meet our needs we have to share what we need instead of leaving it up to people at the University to think of what we might need.”
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Students stream State of the Union
PSSA, said the event functioned more as an academic gathering than a partisan one. While Pitt College Republicans and “We think that our role is to complePitt College Democrats hosted separate ment the political science department,” State of the Union viewing parties, Pitt’s Merker said. “We just felt the need to Political Science Student Association throw it together ... for people that aren’t held an event appealing to students of necessarily that partisan, we thought that any political association. we would have a viewing party for them.” Around 20 students gathered in PosIn his speech, Trump spoke on topics var Hall Tuesday evening for a viewing including veteran care, unemployment party, hosted by PSSA, of President Donrates and prison reform. One of his main ald Trump’s 2018 State of the Union adpoints was the recently passed Republidress. Jonathan Merker, a junior studying can tax plan, which he said “enacted the politics and philosophy and president of
Hannah Schneider Staff Writer
biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history.” He also discussed his plan for immigration policy reform, which he said is a four-part plan intended to be a fair compromise across partisan lines. The first part of the plan extends a path to citizenship to 1.8 million “dreamers,” undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. According to Trump, those who “meet education and work requirements, and show good moral character,” will be eligible to eventually become citizens. See Union on page 9
Pitt students watch President Donald Trump give the State of the Union address on a projector screen in Posvar. Issi Glatts ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR
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January 31, 2018
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PITT SPOTLIGHTS SAFETY Christian Snyder
“My favorite part [about being on the Inglimpse of how some of that specific fee is vestigations Unit] is if you can solve the enspent. Members of the Pitt police investigative tire case,” McDaniel said. Dogs on campus usually attract dozens McDaniel said students can increase the of students, nearly all of whom have their unit, including Detective Michelle McDaniel iPhones ready to capture brief interactions and Detective Patrick Laughlin, stood at the likelihood of their burglary case being solved table next to Nanz. Laughlin stood in front of by keeping the serial numbers of their elecwith the stress-relieving pets. But Sam, a 3-year-old German short- an open briefcase — which included a DNA tronic devices. Doing so increases the likelihood the Investigative Unit can track any haired pointer trained to detect explosives, collection kit and various microscopes. didn’t draw that kind of attention at the annual Safety Fair Tuesday afternoon in the William Pitt Union ballroom. Sam obediently sat by his handler, Pitt police Sgt. Dave Nanz, while students and faculty members browsed more than a dozen booths dedicated to a broad range of other safety- and security-related topics. Priscilla Morales, assistant to the assistant vice chancellor, greeted each student as they arrived and asked them to check in before explaining the event she put together with the help of the Student Government Board. The Safety Fair was intended to cover a broad range of safety-related topics, including crime, fire, sexual assault, alcohol abuse and bike safety. “We just want to give more awareness to the campus community,” she said. Sgt. Dave Nanz pets his K-9, Sam, a 3-year-old German shorthair pointer. Representatives from more than a dozen This is Sam’s second year on the force, joining the department’s other K-9, departments dedicated to public safety and Filo. Christian Snyder MULTIMEDIA EDITOR community wellness stood around the peMcDaniel displayed Pitt police’s finger- stolen goods sold to pawn shops. rimeter of the ballroom. Morales said the “[Pawn shops] have to keep receipts, and free pizza on one side of the room was only print technique with a blank sheet of paper and a small glass dish of magnetic dust. After they have to take IDs,” she said. fair to provide to students. Other Pitt police special units at the event “I know what it’s like,” she said. “I know pressing a volunteer’s hand to the paper, she brushed the magnetic dust over it, revealing included the Special Emergency Response how much money we spend on school.” For Pitt students, some of that money the handprint left behind. These methods Team, comprised of 10-15 officers including goes toward mandatory fees, including the are often used in burglary cases and can be four medics. The team is trained to respond $180 security, safety and transportation fee. crucial in closing a case — which can be dif- to any life-threatening situation including active shooter situations and bomb threats. Students who attended the safety fair got a ficult. Contributing Editor
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January 31, 2018
Sgt. Charles Welsh, one of the tactical medics for the SERT team, hosted a display about opioid abuse and emergency first aid. He said Pitt police was one of the first departments in Allegheny County to equip its officers with naloxone, a widely used antidote to opioid overdose. The program began in 2016 when Dr. Ronald Roth, chief of Pitt’s EMS division and professor of emergency medicine, approached Welsh. Roth pushed the department to keep naloxone in every police car. Welsh said, though, Pitt police have administered the antidote only “five or six times” since the program’s introduction. “It’s mostly the transient community,” Welsh said, making sure to note Pitt police have never administered naloxone to any Pitt student. Raina Bradley, a senior administrative criminal justice major and intern for Pitt’s Title IX office, didn’t have any battering rams or dogs to attract visitors to her booth. She had fliers on the table and a colorful wheel students could spin to spark conversations about relationship violence and sexual assault. For many, she said, those conversations struck close to home, like for one student who spun the wheel and landed on a specific type of dating violence her friend experiences. Although the prospect of going to the police or Title IX may seem daunting, she and other representatives at the fair want students to realize people like them are trying to help. “There are a lot of services available,” Morales said. “You just need to know how to use them.”
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Opinions p from the editorial board
Trump calls for unity but shows none
President Donald Trump took a brief hiatus from Twitter Tuesday night to deliver his first State of the Union address, touting high hopes for unity across his audience — which seemed divided and stiff with discomfort. It took no more than a wide pan of the camera around the room for Nancy Pelosi’s disapproving glare in Trump’s direction to smash any illusion of bipartisan support. Though painfully obvious to any viewers, Trump seemed to barely notice the tension as he made a familiar call upon his audience. “Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve,” he said. Yet it’s clear from this speech that Trump has miles to go before he can even start to toe the line of true bipartisanship. Trump admonished us to remember that the military “reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.” With lines directly attacking Democrats who support NFL national anthem protests, it’s hard to believe Trump could actually expect to have bipartisan support. The address had a kind of optimistic, lukewarm undertone to it which is noticeably missing from Trump’s online voice and his tone in previous speeches — usually marked with
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harsh, divisive language. Perhaps Trump is trying out a new, softer approach. Or, more likely, he’s enamored with the idea of being “presidential” for a night and simply wanted to act the part. Trump’s presidency in front of an audience and a microphone can, from time to time, look vastly different than the one we see emerge from behind the screen at all hours of the day. Tuesday night was one of those times when Trump embraced the pomp and political politesse of the presidency — if for no other reason than to prove his competency at reading from a teleprompter for 80 minutes. But not derailing from a written speech cannot be the only grounds on which one can qualify as ‘presidential’ — that would be setting the bar far too low. In fact, the pomp and pageantry of the evening, in which Trump flashed a smile and hid behind the facade of his own excessively loud clapping, further proved a truth that has been developing for over a decade — the State of the Union address is growing less and less relevant or necessary. And Trump only made that truth more evident. Now a full year deep into Trump’s presidency, Americans are well aware of the power a single Trump tweet can have. And it’s become even clearer that 140 characters can better display Trump’s views and policies better than an hour and 20 minutes of scripted talking points.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joe Haden (21) leaves the game after a firsthalf injury against the Indianapolis Colts Nov. 12, 2017, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. TNS
NFL: HEIGHTEN SAFETY OR HAMPER THE GAME
Will Schulman Columnist
Getting into formation with teammates, you stare across the field at the quarterback’s eyes and hear him shout “Green 18” and “54’s the mike,” signaling players to move around the field. A few seconds later, a crisp “set...hike!” cuts through the noise — the game has begun. Now you’re on the move down the field, when suddenly you see what might as well be a sentient refrigerator barreling straight at you. As you’re about to lead with your head and hit high — he’s got 60 pounds and six inches on you, so going for the mid-section isn’t going to work — you see that yellow flag in the back of your mind. You know that 15-yard penalty will be costly, and you can practically hear coach chewing you out in practice tomorrow. So you get as low as you can go and hit him as hard as possible in the knees. He topples —
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torn ACL. He’s done for the season. Far too many players in the National Football League know this scenario or a similar one all too well. In fact, injuries in the NFL have become so common that it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that this Sunday’s Super Bowl features two teams whose success could be in part due to their ability to suffer fewer injuries than their opponents. The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots — two injury-stricken teams playing in the Super Bowl because of their relative lack of injuries. It’s a Super Bowl paradox. Football’s violence is part of the sport’s appeal, but the sport has become too injury-ridden. Even when one problem is addressed, another one begins. Since the revelation surrounding chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the devastating disease caused by sustaining multiple concussions, the NFL See Football on page 6
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The Pitt News SuDoku 1/31/18
The Pitt news crossword 1/31/18
courtesy of dailysudoku.com
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Football, pg. 5 now penalizes and fines players who deliver deliberate hits to the head. This is a good thing, but now players are trained to hit low at the knees, resulting in more devastating knee injuries in an already dangerous sport. Though critics — including President Donald Trump — claim that past rule changes have made the sport soft, the league must keep making more changes. American football must evolve to become safer, because if it doesn’t it will face extinction. It’s nearly impossible to imagine football, America’s game, fading into our past. A staggering 37 percent of American adults consider it to be their favorite sport, with basketball, 11 percent, and baseball, 9 percent, following far behind, according to a Gallup poll. Seven out of the 10 most-watched television programs in 2017 were NFL games — so were 19 out of the 20 most watched television programs of all time. Football is still king of the American sports world, but like all kings, its reign will one day come to end. The 21st century has been anything but kind to the image of professional football. We’ve heard stories about NFL players suffering debilitating cognitive symptoms — from confusion, to memory loss, to dementia, paranoia and suicide. We’ve seen off-the-field issues like domestic violence, opiate addiction and even murder dominating the headlines. Social issues also tarnish the league’s image — I wrote about the national anthem NFL debacle in October, a series of protests that upset many fans on both sides of the political spectrum. And along with all this, the injuries pile up year after year. Carson Wentz, the young star quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, tore his ACL in their week 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams. What troubled me the most about this injury was that it occured on a play voided due to a penalty. That’s right — one of the emerging faces of football suffered a catastrophic knee injury on a play that didn’t even count. And he wasn’t alone. Deshaun Watson, another young quarterback who was taking the league by storm, tore his ACL in practice this year. It could be easy to chalk up the multitude of star-player injuries this year to bad
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luck — except these extensive injuries happen year after year. The Eagles are built around their strong defensive line which has remained completely healthy, but the Patriots’ success starts and ends with their quarterback, Tom Brady, who suffered a hand injury during a Jan. 17 practice. The Eagles and Patriots’ relative health is an anomaly when compared to other strong teams, like the Steelers’ — whose linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal injury that went beyond compromising the team and shook the national audience to its core. But the league can do more than just adjust their rules to keep players healthy. The first step would be to eliminate the kickoff, as Giants owner John Mara suggested. The kickoff is the most dangerous play in football, as players start on the opposite ends of the field, before entering a full sprint. This increases the collision force, resulting in more plentiful and more severe injuries. Equipment can also be improved. Researchers at UCLA are working on a helmet that would reduce head injuries and measure collision impact. A study by the Academy of General Dentistry showed custommade mouthguards reduce concussion risk substantially. It’s a travesty that the NFL has not made them mandatory. Offensive and defensive linemen often wear bulky knee braces. If we required these for all players, the game would inevitably lose some of its speed, but it would also reduce the number of knee injuries. The NFL has a concussion protocol, but breeches of this protocol are a regular occurence — and it needs to change. The NFL needs heavily enforced concussion protocol and severe penalties for teams that violate them. Change is always difficult. Improving helmets will be expensive, forcing players to wear custom mouth guards and knee braces will be met with resistance and properly enforcing concussion protocol will lead to healthy players missing playing time. But it’s obvious if the NFL doesn’t make some serious changes like this soon, it could face a serious demise. And as a die-hard football fan, I’ll take slightly less violence and excitement over no football any Sunday. Will primarily writes about politics and sports for The Pitt News. Write to Will at whs21@pitt.edu.
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Sports
PREDICTION: PATS TO PIN 6TH SUPER BOWL WIN Jon Shaiken
For The Pitt News With their offensive and defensive coordinators in line for head coaching jobs elsewhere and quarterback Tom Brady on the wrong side of 40, this weekend may be the New England Patriots’ last legitimate shot at a championship for the foreseeable future. New England will be going for their second Super Bowl in a row and their sixth during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era in a rematch from the 2005 Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles — missing their franchise quarterback Carson Wentz who tore his ACL in week 14 — must rely on their bulwark of a defense and hope quarterback Nick Foles plays above his talent level in order to beat a depleted Patriots squad. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has been out since the preseason with a torn ACL and star linebacker Dont’a Hightower was ruled out for the year back in November with a torn pectoral muscle. Most recently, star tight end Rob Gronkowski is questionable for Sunday, as he is still under concussion protocol after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from the Jaguars’ Barry Church during the AFC Championship game. If Philadelphia, which statistically had the best rushing defense in the league this year at 79.2 yards allowed per game, truly wants to reign supreme this Sunday, Foles needs to have a repeat performance from the NFC Championship. He threw for 352 yards on 26-33 passing and had three touchdowns, and was essentially mistakefree against a Minnesota defense that allowed the fewest yards per game in the regular season.
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The Patriots must rely on Brady once again to win their second Super Bowl in a row. He led the Pats to the league’s best total offense for the regular season at 394.2 yards per game. Fresh off a stellar comeback against the Jaguars in the AFC Championship, the presumptive MVP will have to deliver a stellar performance once again for his sixth ring. This matchup feels reminiscent of the 2014 Super Bowl, which featured Peyton
running backs Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount. Against the 29th ranked defense in the regular season, they should have the opportunity to shine. Though we’ve all heard the football cliche “defense wins championships,” the offensive-focused duo of Belichick and Brady are 5-2 in Super Bowls. Even if the game favors the Eagles early, never count the Patriots out. They came back in the AFC Championship game, scoring 14 un-
New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) goes up for a catch guarded by Detroit Lions cornerback Quandre Diggs (28) on Aug. 25. TNS
Manning’s Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks and their overwhelming defense. Manning was 36 and, like Brady, had an amazing regular season for which he was awarded the MVP award. But the Seahawks dominated that game, defeating the Broncos 43-8. Seattle had the best defense in the league, and Denver had the best offense, according to total yards per game. Of course, the Seahawks also had a great offense led by Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch, and if this year is going to mirror that game, the Eagles will need an inspired performance from Foles and
answered points to win 24-20 against the best pass defense in the NFL, and maybe more notably, they rallied from down 28-3 to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime in last year’s Super Bowl. If former Pitt running back Dion Lewis can have an effective game against the Eagles rush defense, then this should be a victory for the Patriots. Expect Tom Brady to have his way in the air, especially if his offensive line can stave off the Eagles’ pass rush. The Patriots’ defense has the ability to play above their expectations, and if their front line, which tied for seventh in total
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“BOLD” Predictions: The Bud Light “Dilly Dilly” commercial will be great, but by the third time it runs everyone will be sick of it (BRING BACK THE CLYDESDALES!) Justin Timberlake will bring out *NSYNC for a reunion only to rip off Joey Fatone’s shirt in an homage to Janet Jackson. The camera will pan to Gisele Bundchen at least five times, and for three of those she will be on her phone as the announcers talk about how invested she is in the game. The Black Panther and Avengers trailers are going to get more Twitter buzz than the game itself. A company is going to try to capitalize on one of the several impactful social movements going on right now and completely fall flat on its face. (see: Kendall Jenner/Pepsi and #BlackLivesMatter, 84 Lumber and the border wall) sacks for the regular season, can bother Foles into rushed throws and scrambles, then the Eagles’ pass attack will be rendered ineffective. Prediction: Patriots, 27-17. The Eagles will have to lean on their defense if they have any hopes of winning. Foles simply is not a talented enough quarterback to stand a chance against a determined Patriots defense. Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, and even at 40 years old he is able to dissect and handle any defense. This will be a close game, but the Patriots will pull away at the end, and count on a Foles mistake to aid New England to the victory. Oh, and based on Justin Timberlake’s most recent songs, Chris Stapleton seems more likely to be a special guest during the halftime show than Janet Jackson, which is slightly disappointing.
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column
Hating on sports is so last year Jordan Mondell Assistant Sports Editor The biggest mistake I continually make, over and over, is logging onto Facebook during a huge sporting event. This year, I’ll probably slip up again with the 2018 Super Bowl. It isn’t memes about Tom Brady’s bizarrelooking — but also somehow handsome — face or general trash talk from either side of the contest that rile me up. I don’t really care either way — I like to watch the game no matter who’s playing. I grew up kind of weird. In high school, I was an annoyingly enthusiastic art and theater connoisseur, and let everyone know it. My father and brother followed sports, and lots of people in central Pennsylvania go hard for both the Steelers and the Eagles, but I had little interest in sports. Except that one time I joined the golf team as a joke. I did get a varsity letter for that season, though — for the record. When I came to college, I drew the same crowd — semibookish annoying intellectual types. English majors, mostly — people whose Sundays weren’t built around eating hot bowls of chili on the couch and an endless stream of NFL games on the living room television. And that’s fine, it isn’t a requirement to grow up in America with a love of sports. I didn’t even start following sports closely until I got interested in writing about sports. A lot of the reasons I didn’t like sports also stemmed from personal insecurities growing up — I was chubby and unath-
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letic and didn’t like playing the way other kids did. Still, if I have to see one more post on my Facebook feed from an old theater pal or kid I sat next to in my thousand-level literature elective that decides to pull out their virtual wet blanket and smother the Super Bowl with it, I will implode.
mainstream and the exclusivity that came with not liking something everyone else did. Too cool, too intellectual, too sensible. But sports already is all of these things. Every game is laden with high levels of strategy — well-thought-out maps and plans for how each team will
Raka Sakar STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
Variations of “lol did he get a homerun?” and “sorry I don’t follow the sportsball, I’m too busy drinking Kombucha and listening to this Smiths record,” litter my social media on this sacred Sunday. Maybe some of their followers find it cheeky and relatable, but I don’t. I used to be one of these people — I probably posted these in 15-year-old angst at some point, honestly. I liked the idea of being far from the
accomplish its task of winning. Strategy in competition dates back to ancient times and has deep philosophical roots. Sun Tzu — a Chinese general who lived from 544 to 496 B.C. — is one of the most widely studied strategists in academia. His philosophies, which center on the concept of comparing one competitor to another, are still widely applied today. The tactician developed a system for consistently improving one’s relative situation when compared to others. If one consistently improves their situation on a regular basis, winning more
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often becomes inevitable. Sounds a lot like some of our favorite games, doesn’t it? And if this isn’t enough for you, the statistics of sports themselves runs even deeper. “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” written by award-winning nonfiction author Michael Lewis, tells the story of an early 2000s Oakland Athletics team and its general manager Billy Beane. The central theme of the narrative is that the knowledge of baseball insiders — coaches, scouts, managers and trainers — is often flawed and subjective. In order for a team to consistently succeed, time and energy should be devoted to empirical analysis of statistics and sabermetrics. Are sports still too dumb and useless for you? But really, why does everything have to have some degree of high-level intellectual rigor to be valid, anyway? Can we not collectively enjoy something entertaining without explanation? Can we not indulge ourselves in a plate of chips and guac and just enjoy something for once? If you’re a person who has to take out their insecurities about not understanding a widely popular sporting event on Facebook, don’t fret — you can still be saved. Watch the game. Go to a party, go to a bar, enjoy the presence of others around you. Enjoy the free food, the camaraderie. Don’t want to watch the game? Then don’t, just watch the Doritos commercials. Whatever you do — don’t be that person who is too cool or smart for sports.
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Union, pg. 3
Termination, pg. 2
The plan then urges full border security, including the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The third point of Trump’s immigration plan aims to end the “visa lottery,” replacing it with a “meritbased” immigration system. Trump claims the visa lottery, “randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill, merit or the safety of our people.” However, immigrants who come to the U.S. by the lottery system currently still must undergo vetting. “It is time to reform these outdated immigration rules, and finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century,” Trump said. “These four pillars represent a downthe-middle compromise, and one that will create a safe, modern and lawful immigration system.” Kaleb Knowlton, a junior studying political science and business manager for PSSA, said he doesn’t think many students watch the State of the Union address. He also said the group atmosphere and viewing availability could incentivize people to watch the address. “As much as I like to think that people would actually go home and stream it for themselves, I think a lot of people don’t,” Knowlton said. “By essence, in incentivising people ... with just good conversation, I think it kind of gets people out to actually go watch it,” Knowlton said. Knowlton said he strongly disagreed with what seemed to be Trump’s “reauthorization of torture” in regards to illegal enemy combatants. “That really struck me as a pretty big civil rights abuse that could possibly be reauthorized,” Knowlton said. “I’m not entirely sure whether or not that’s what he did, but it sounded to me like that may be what he was intending.” Dillon Shuster, a first-year studying statistics, said he went because he has always been interested in politics. He also wanted to hear what Trump would say in his State of the Union address. He wasn’t satisfied by what he heard from the president, though, because he didn’t think Trump evenly addressed everything he’s done. “I’m kind of sad with it,” Shuster said. “He’s highlighting all the things that he did that are positive, that are just the minority. He’s not highlighting all the people who were pushed out of the way.”
Cole learned about the escape from a student, the lawsuit says, but was told by her supervisor that it was an accident rather than a safety violation. The official University report said the monkey had escaped for a short duration, the lawsuit alleges, but the “monkey actually escaped for several hours.” “Any incident where an animal infected with a select agent escapes should be reported as an exposure in-
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cident,” the lawsuit says. She allegedly reported to her supervisors another safety violation she learned about from a different student in June 2016, regarding a rabbit — also infected with a select agent — that had escaped. The University instructed Cole both times not to report the incidents to the Center for Disease Control or the National Institutes of Health, according to the lawsuit. Cole allegedly received retaliation from the University after expressing her concerns. The lawsuit says she re-
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ceived write-ups for minor violations — not issued to other employees for the same violations — including improper lab attire, sign-in violations and discrepancies in her paperwork found after a CDC inspection. Her supervisor suspended her from using the “select agents” in August 2016 and she received a letter in January 2017 saying she wouldn’t be reinstated, the lawsuit says. She lost lab access and couldn’t complete her research, the lawsuit says, resulting in Pitt firing her.
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3 Bedroom & 1.5 Baths House for rent. 2 car garage. Full house air conditioning, dish washer, self-cleaning oven, full basement. $1650+ utilities. August 2018. Call 412-736-8095.
Apartments for rent. 2, 3, and 4 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
2-3 BR apartments. Central AC. Free laundry on-site. Call 412-38-LEASE. 3 & 4 Bedroom Apartments on Semple, Bates, & Juliet. August availability. $1425-$2600. Call John CR Kelly Reality. 412-683-7300 Visit: www.jcrkelly. com
4 Bedroom 1 Bath House. Large kitchen, new windows and paint. Security System. Available August 16th. Bates and Semple. $1,600 + Utilities. 412-287-5406. Leave a message. 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.
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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. Furnished apartment for rent. 2BR available immediately. Rent includes all utilities except electric and is dependent upon number of
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Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978
tenants. Convenient to schools and hospitals. Call Nancy for appointment 412-681-7201.
South Oakland
2 BR apartment available from August 1st 2018. New kitchen, dishwasher, new carpet and close to campus. $1250 all utilities included. Call 412-414-9629
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Large 5 Bedroom. Mckee & Louisa. 2 bathrooms, free laundry, gas included. One block from Forbes. Available August 2018. 412-600-4219. jwquinn@mac.com M.J. Kelly Realty. Studio, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Apartments, Duplexes and Houses. N. & S. Oakland from $750-$2500. mjkellyrealty@gmail. com. 412-271-5550. www.mjkellyrealty. com M.J. Kelly Realty. Studio, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Apartments, Duplexes and Houses. N. & S. Oakland from $750-$2500. mjkellyrealty@gmail. com. 412-271-5550. www.mjkellyrealty. com New 3 Bedroom on Meyran. Free parking, central air. Available August 2018. 412-600-4219. jwquinn@mac.com
January 31, 2018
South Oakland Numerous 1 & 2 bedroom apartments located throughout South Oakland. Starting from $760-$1,395. Available August 2018. Call John CR Kelly Realty. 412-683-7300. Visit: www.jcrkelly.com Studio & 1 Bedrooms Available Fall 2018. Heat included. 412-261-4620. Ward & S. Bouquet Streets - Studio, 1, 2 & 3BR apartments. Free parking. Move in May 1 or Aug. 1, 2018. Call 412-361-2695
Shadyside 1 bedroom luxury apartment. 2 apartments available in a beautiful brick home with private entry, private laundry, off-street parking or garage, newly remodeled throughout. Kitchen w/
Dishwasher, Granite countertop & more! Located on Morewood Avenue, 15 minute walk to Pitt/ CMU, Walnut Street. 5 minutes to UPMC Shadyside, West Penn Hospital. One block to Buses, hospital/ Pitt/CMU shuttles and many restaurants. Available August 1st, 2018. No Pets. $1195+ g/e. Call Jason at 412-922-2141. Pics/info: tinyurl.com/ morewood1br
Rental Other Newly renovated, fully furnished 4 & 5 BR, 2 -1/2 BA houses for students. Located near Pitt Dental School and Carlow University. Utilities are included in the rent. Laundry services available in the house. Rent $600-$695. Contact Chris at 412-656-5693. Available now till July 31st 2018 and August 1st 2018 till July 2019.
Employment Research Studies Participants Wanted for Paid Psychology Research Participants wanted for an alcohol research study at Carnegie Mellon University To be eligible for this study, you must: •Be 21-25 yrs. old and own a smartphone •Drink alcohol at least weekly •Be able to show valid photo ID •Be willing to consume alcohol You may earn up to $365 for your participation in this multi-session study. For more information, call The Behavioral Health Research Lab (412-268-3029) Note: Unfortunately, our lab is not wheelchair accessible.
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Employment Other Comfort Keepers, a Post-Gazette Top Workplace, is seeking caring individuals. Caregivers work alongside seniors to provide companionship, light housekeeping, personal care services. Flexible hours available. If interested call 412-363-5500
Delivery Driver job in North Oakland. Mon-Sat 8-5 pm. $12/ hr. 313 North Craig St. Contact (412) 621-7215 for more information. Contact within.
Guardian Angel Ambulance is actively seeking EMTs and Medics. Immediate openings. Flexible schedules. Apply in person 700 Lebanon Road, West Mifflin or email guardianangelambulance@msn. com. 412-462-1400 Join KEYS Service Corps, AmeriCorps. Mentor, tutor, and inspire Pittsburgh area youth. Summer and fall positions with bi-weekly stipend and education award. Full and part-time. Possible internship credit. Call 412-350-2739. www.keysservicecorps.org Office and retail job in North Oakland Mon-Sat 8-5 pm. $12/ hr. 313 North Craig St. Contact (412) 621-7215 for more information. Inquire within.
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Employment Other OFFICE INTERN Shadyside Management Company seeks person w/min 2 yrs. college, for upcoming spring semester to interview & process rental applicants, do internet postings & help staff our action-central office. Part-time or full time. AVAILABLE NOW; full time over summer. $13/hour. Perfect job for current sophomores & juniors, graduating seniors set to enter grad school, returning grad students, and first-year law students! Mozart Management 412-682-7003 thane@ mozartrents.com Seasonal Marketing Assistant Shadyside property management firm established in 1960 needs two Seasonal Marketing Assistants to work with Excel, Word and the internet from approximately NOW to August; four days/week from 9am-6pm. Saturday and/or Sunday hours a must; some flexibility in days and hours will be considered; most hours will be solitary on the computer with no phone work; 40 words per minute and strong computer skills required; no experience needed & we will train you at our Shadyside office; free parking. $13/hour plus generous season end bonus. Mozart Management 412-682-7003. thane@mozartrents. com
Services Health Medical and Heart Care, Students Welcome, 155 N. Craig Street, Dean Kross, MD, 412-687-7666
Parking GARAGE PARKING available in the heart of Oakland. Protect your car while parked. Only $80/month! Call 412-692-1770.
Notices Adoption ADOPTION: Loving, stable family hopes for one more blessing to join us in our adventures! Please call Heather/Chris 1 (800) 444-3089
January 31, 2018
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January 31, 2018
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