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Table of Contents ICYMI: News . . . 4 Gap Years . . . 5 Editors’ Picks . . . 7 2017 in Photos . . . 7 New Year . . . 8 Oakland Lifers . . . 9
Men’s Basketball . . . 12 Women’s Basketball . . . 12 Holiday Vignettes . . . 14
Assault in Sports . . . 17 Jazz in PGH. . . 18 Aquaponics . . . 21 Musical Women . . . 23
ICYMI: Sports . . . 10 Cover: Thomas Yang V I S UA L E D I T O R
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WINTER BREAK NEWS Here are some of the changes, appointments and news that happened locally and nationally while Pitt students, faculty and staff enjoyed their winter break. | by The Pitt News Staff
December 13 Former Pitt professor Carol Stabile published an article in Ms. Magazine claiming there was widespread harassment and discrimination within the University’s communication department in the early 2000s. University spokesperson Joe Miksch told The Pitt News Dec. 16 that Pitt’s Title IX office would begin an investigation into Stabile’s claims.
December 19 Mayor Bill Peduto named City Councilman Dan Gilman his new chief of staff, leaving Gilman’s District 8 seat empty. Gilman began working at his new position Jan. 3 — the first day of Peduto’s second term as mayor. City Council President Bruce Kraus scheduled a special election for Tuesday, March 6, to fill the now-open seat to represent District 8.
December 13 and 18 University of Pittsburgh chemistry professor Theodore Cohen and history professor and writer Donald Goldstein passed away. Cohen passed away Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the age of 88. Goldstein died of heart failure Dec. 18, at the age of 86.
December 18 The Board of Trustees’ Compensation Committee approved an increase in salary of 2.25 percent for the 2018 calendar year for eight of Pitt’s senior leaders.
December 20 Congress passed the Republican tax plan, marking the largest overhaul of the tax system in more than 30 years. It passed in both the Senate and the House without any Democratic support.
January 3 Mayor William Peduto was sworn in at Soldiers & Sailors to serve his second term after winning re-election in November.
January 4 January 7 A waterline broke in the William Pitt Union Sunday morning, causing flooding in the bottom two floors and closing the building for the day.
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The City of Pittsburgh hosted the Western PA Mobility Showcase on Thursday at the University of Pittsburgh. The showcase featured alternate transportation options such as self-driving vehicles, bicycles and public transit to encourage residents to choose different methods of mobility.
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Going for the gap:
Taking time off before college
Anna Bongardino Senior Staff Writer
After realizing she waited too long to apply for a visa that would be ready in time for her first semester at Pitt, Iolanda Neto had a decision to make. She could either apply for entry in the spring 2015 semester — like her mother urged her to do — or take a gap year. “I didn’t have a pressing urge to take a year off,” Neto said. “If it had all aligned, I wouldn’t have had a reason to not go to school.” Each year, high school seniors around the world await the day an acceptance letter from their dream school arrives in the mail — but some students, like Neto, postpone dorm shopping and the stressors of first-year biology classes for international travel, part-time jobs or the military. Neto, a junior student studying health services and the history and philosophy of science, spent the 2014-2015 school year traveling between family in the United States, England and Portugal. She also took noncredit Chinese and Arabic classes at Rice University — where her mother started a new job after the family moved from England to the United States — and attended a 10-day program with the British Film Institute at which she wrote a screenplay for a short film. “I was looking for something to fill my time productively,” Neto said. “It gave me a taste of what [screenwriting] would be like if I pursued it as a career. I still consider it.” Pitt’s associate director of admissions, Barry Duerr, drew a distinction between students who take gap years — which requires that students apply to Pitt one or more years after graduating high school — and those who accept their admittance to the University and defer for a year. According to Duerr, there are very few firstyear Pitt students who defer their admittance each year. Of the students who defer, many cite international travel and community service as their reason for doing so. Duerr said there were 47 defers this year, but in the last three years, there were 24, 10 and 11 defers from first-year classes of about 4,000. “There’s nothing that we do that would dis-
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ning to get your masters degree,” Bell said. “Don’t just work. Don’t just travel. Divide your time wisely and spend your money wisely, because you can save up and save yourself a lot of hassle.” For other non-traditional students such as Dave Loughlin, a senior majoring in fiction writing, taking time off after high school was the only option he ever seriously considered. Loughlin, now 26, enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 17, and spent four years serving in the military — including nine months on a joint ship deployment with the Navy and seven months in Afghanistan. “When I graduated high school, I was just so done with school for a while,” Loughlin said. “I wanted to go to school eventually, but my goal at the time was to join the Marine Corps.” Loughlin returned to his hometown in Oregon in May 2013 where he taught local high school marching bands and received his associate’s degree from Portland Community College. His then-roommate, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon, convinced him to apply to Pitt for the Fall 2016 semester. Loughlin said the age difference between him and his classmates can be a little disconcertSenior fiction writing major Dave Loughlin spent four years in the ing. Despite this, Loughlin is glad he waited a few military after graduating high school. years before entering the classroom himself. “I definitely think there’s a benefit to starting Courtesy of Dave Loughlin college a few years later. I guess I was a smart kid, from them, I think that’s when I was just like, courage or encourage [gap years],” Duerr said. but I was not emotionally intelligent or mature Duerr didn’t have access to the number of ‘I’m not going to try to rush this.’” enough yet to handle college and take it seriBell was admitted and offered a full-tuition students who decided not to come to Pitt after ously, ” Loughlin said. they deferred. According to Gap Year Asso- scholarship for the 2015-2016 school year after With 1 percent or fewer United States stuciation, only 10 percent of students who defer she contacted the Office of Admissions and Fidents opting to defer, gap years may seem reladon’t return to college within one year. Of those nancial Aid and submitted her final transcript tively uncommon here, but Neto estimates half surveyed by Gap Year Association, 98 percent that summer. While her peers went off to class, of her English classmates took gap years. Most reported personal development and personal Bell kept her job at McDonald’s and worked opted for this choice because of stringent A-level nearly 40 hours each week over the span of what reflection as benefits of taking a gap year. requirements — subject-based tests students Dominique Bell, a junior biology major, ap- would have been her first year of college. complete when they graduate secondary school Her gap year allowed her to take a break plied to Pitt — the only school she wanted to atand apply to university in the United Kingdom. tend — in January of her senior year. But a miss- from school, remain close to her high school “I’m definitely pro- ‘end the stigma against ing high school transcript left her without an friends who went to college locally and visit her gap years.’ I’m pro- ‘people taking the time to figacceptance or rejection letter from the Univer- sister in Baltimore. But she wishes she had saved ure themselves out,’” Neto said. “It’s not like you sity and led to her taking an unexpected gap year. more money and spent some of her time volunhave to have a life-changing experience when “I didn’t want to deal with the stress of ap- teering. you take a gap year, but it’s nice to take time for “Manage your time really well. You can use plying to a bunch of different places,” Bell said. yourself. ” “When I applied to Pitt and didn’t hear back it to build your application if you are ever plan-
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MOST VIEWED STORIES OF 2017 5. Students tackle gun-toting assailants on Friday Jan. 31, 2017
4. Pitt student in stable condition after fall at Sutherland Feb. 1, 2017 3. Stop straightening gay bars Feb. 14, 2017 2. Pitt student’s death being investigated as a homicide Oct. 8, 2017 1. Relief of Pitt wrestling coach Jason Peters came after incident in Evanston Jan. 19, 2017
THE BEST OF THE BEST: Editors’ picks of 2017 The Pitt News Staff Janine Faust, Assistant News Editor Graduate Student Union Organizing Committee Coverage by The Pitt News Staff Although this isn’t a single story, our overall coverage of graduate students’ efforts to start a union at Pitt is what I’ve enjoyed the most this year. We kicked off the year by writing about the organizing committee’s decision to begin collecting union cards in February 2017. We then went on to report on Pitt Provost Patricia Beeson coming out against a graduate student union in July, the Committee’s march into Chancellor Gallagher’s office with letters of political support for the union effort in September, and a grad student rally — attended by many union supporters — against the GOP tax bill in November, among other events and developments. The year closed out with the news in December that union organizers have officially filed for an election. I’ve enjoyed being able to read about and report on graduate students’ efforts to form a union as they have happened throughout the past year — and I’m interested in seeing what developments will occur in 2018.
John Hamilton, Managing Editor Inauguration and Women’s March coverage, in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. by The Pitt News Staff After piling into a small car with four other Pitt News reporters, driving four hours to Washington, D.C., and walking about five miles to try to enter the National Mall, I watched Donald Trump take the oath of office on a phone screen at a metro station. Though I didn’t see the inauguration in person, being in D.C. that weekend felt like witnessing history. On the day of Trump’s inauguration, we covered protests featuring flaming newsstands and flying bricks. The next day, we watched one of the largest protests in American history as the Women’s March peacefully took over the capital. The rest of our staff documented the Women’s March and Inauguration in Pittsburgh. In all, more than a dozen of our staff contributed to our coverage those two days. See Best of on page 37
2017 in photos continued online
Receiver Jester Weah celebrates a touchdown in the endzone during a loss to North Carolina State Oct. 14. Thomas Yang
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A woman yells for fellow protesters to “make a wall” during a protest in Washington, D.C., on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, Jan. 20. John Hamilton
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column
Dream both
Henry Glitz
Opinions Editor When I joined this newspaper’s editorial staff around this time last year, I spent my first night on the job writing a column about how I thought our readers should approach the new year. The rapidly approaching prospects of a new president and a new job, along with my natural impulse to set grandiose start-of-the-year goals, led me to recommend a head-on collision with the problems in our lives. The massive challenges of a year marked by the return of nuclear anxieties and the individual stress that comes with balancing school, personal relationships and a job, seemed to demand a massive response. Idealism at the beginning of a new year is justifiable. And it’s true in 2018 that North Korea will still have a bomb, President Donald Trump will be outrageously incompetent and we will all face
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BIG and
small
in 2018
worth living. Despite growing financial inaccessibility, college students still inhabit a fleetingly privileged existence. It can be hard to notice it on late night walks home from the library in the cold, with obligations looming early in the morning, mere hours away. But on those days without classes or work when you can sleep til noon (please tell me you’ve done this too), the bizarre beauty of college life is hard to deny. When you walk into an academic building, there’s a temptation to envision yourself temporarily entering a prison. That’s even more so the case when you can only think about the big picture — what a class will do for your career, how it might look on a resumé. Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR Over the course of the past year, I’ve undoubtedly had experiences that would the increasing stresses of everyday life in the upcoming 12 months distract us appeal to future employers. That’s not as emerging adults. But we can’t afford from the quotidian moments that make why they matter, though. Through all the to let the immensity of life as it faces us collegiate life a singular experience that’s See Glitz on page 32
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LIFELONG RESIDENTS REMINISCE ABOUT OLD OAKLAND
The Merante family has owned and operated Groceria Merante since 1979. TPN file photo
David Solomon Staff Writer
At the corner of Bates and McKee streets sits Groceria Merante, an Italian grocery that’s been situated in the neighborhood for nearly four decades. Walk inside and Salvatore Merante, age 86, may be there to ring you up or reminisce about the Oakland he used to know — a calm family neighborhood, very different from the bustling hub for college students its turned into today. Merante emigrated to Oakland 67 years ago with his family to seek business opportunities. His family has run Groceria Merante since 1979. He said plenty has changed since his nieces started running Groceria Merante — many familiar faces have left his community and thousands of new ones have poured in. “Oakland used to be Italian. All of these houses were Italian homes and the kids would play in the streets. A lot of our older friends left [...] now it’s all strangers,” Merante said. He said Oakland used to have some of the best food in the city — and it
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wasn’t always just pizza. While Merante had trouble remembering the names of the eateries he used to frequent, one in particular stood out in his mind. There used to be a famous saloon — now no longer in business — that drew in a friendly crowd of important people and local politicians such as the district attorney who used the restaurant as a way to decompress after work. Leica Sciulli, 53, has been a friend of the Merante family and a member of the Oakland community for more than 30 years. She is also from an Italian background — her family runs Sciulli Pizza on Fifth Avenue in Oakland. She’s also a landlord for a few apartments in the area and understands why many people left, but thinks Oakland has since adapted to its new residents. “I mean everything is up for change and the younger Italians should’ve stayed here instead of deserting us, but it would’ve changed anyway. That’s life,” Sciulli said. “It used to be a regular neighborhood with families. The kids used to play in the street. Now college See Lifelong on page 26
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RECAP: WINTER BREAK SPORTS PERFORMANCES see online
ICYMI: SPORTS OVER BREAK December 11 Junior defensive back Jordan Whitehead declares for the 2018 NFL draft.
December 14 Backup Pitt quarterback Ben DiNucci announces his decision to transfer, later stating it will be to James Madison University in Virginia.
December 15 Redshirt junior offensive tackle becomes third Pitt player to declare for the NFL draft, joining juniors Quadree Henderson and Jordan Whitehead.
December 19
Pitt lands two recruits — Marquis Williams, a senior cornerback at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and V’Lique Carter, a senior defensive back from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida — ahead of early signing day.
January 2 Pitt confirms football defensive coordinator Josh Conklin will be leaving the team for a head coaching position at Wofford College.
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Senior diver Meme Sharp took first in the 1-meter springboard at the USA Diving Winter Nationals Dec. 13. Jordan Mondell | CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
December 19 December 22
Pitt’s Athletic Director Heather Lyke announces that Randy Waldrum will be the new women’s soccer coach for the Panthers.
16 of 17 potential commits sign to the Panthers football team during the first early signing period in NCAA history.
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analysis
analysis
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Team of young players work on rebuilding POISED FOR POTENTIAL UPSETS
Junior guard/forward Jared Wilson-Frame has emerged as the Panthers lead scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game. Thomas Yang | VISUAL EDITOR
Trent Leonard Staff Writer
At the beginning of the season, The Pitt News — along with most other sports media outlets — placed the Pitt men’s basketball team at the bottom of its preseason ACC basketball rankings. The Panthers’ prospects didn’t seem too promising, considering they were bringing back just two players from last season — the fewest returning this year in college basketball. Midway through the season, the Panthers have more or less met the low preseason expectations set before them. The team stumbled through non-conference play with losses to Navy and Montana, finishing with an 8-5 record. For perspective, last year’s squad — which finished with a 16-17 overall record — still went 11-2 in non-conference play. And after suffering doubledigit losses in each of its first three ACC games, Pitt’s record now stands at 8-8 overall — dead last in the ACC. But if you’d rather look on the bright side, Pitt did beat Duquesne in the annual City Game — something last year’s team failed to do. The Panthers also set
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a team record, although it wasn’t for any on-court achievement — the team’s 3.32 combined first semester GPA was the highest in program history. And the young Panthers held their own against the No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers, taking them down to the wire before ultimately losing 69-60 in the Backyard Brawl in December. Those first three ACC losses come with an asterisk next to them. Pitt’s leader in points and rebounds — senior Ryan Luther — has been out with injury to his right foot since Dec. 9. Since Luther went down, junior guard/forward Jared Wilson-Frame has emerged as Pitt’s leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game on the season. Wilson-Frame’s experience and scoring ability have been a steadying presence for the Panthers. Of the team’s 16 games, Wilson-Frame has scored double-digits in 12 of them. At the same time, though, it’s not a great sign when your leading scorer averages just 12.9 points per contest. That mark ranks 34th among all ACC players, and it’s the lowest average for any ACC team’s leading scorer. See Men’s on page 36
Junior forward Kalista Walters is made all 12 field goal attempts during the Panthers win against Chicago State. Thomas Yang | VISUAL EDITOR
Alex Lehmbeck For The Pitt News
The Pitt women’s basketball team came within one point of North Carolina before a heartbreaking 68-67 defeat on Sunday. Pitt’s most recent loss was its second in a row and fourth of the winter break. The Panthers are now 8-8, going 2-4 during the break. They earned wins against Bucknell and Chicago State, but stalled against Virginia, Wake Forest, and North Carolina, putting their ACC record at 0-3 shortly after the new year. The Panthers traveled to Charlottesville on Dec. 28, for their first ACC bout of the season against the Virginia Cavaliers. The team got off to a slow start — falling behind by 16 at halftime — and really showed no signs of life until the fourth, when they went on a 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 8. Still, the Cavaliers shut down the freshman guard Pika Rodriguez for the rest of the night to come out with a 62-50 victory. Rodriguez, who fueled the Panthers’ comeback with five three-pointers off the bench, was held to only one shot attempt in the final eight minutes.
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Rodriguez has made an immediate impact in her first year. As evidenced in the Virginia game, her sharpshooting can provide a spark off of the bench for the Panthers. Her 48 percent three-point field goal percentage ranks fifth in the NCAA, and best in the ACC. Following the loss to Virginia, Pitt responded with a dominant 87-49 win over a winless Chicago State team on New Year’s Eve. Junior Kalista Walters had a historically significant night, finishing with 24 points on a perfect school record 12-for-12 shooting. Walters became one of four ACC players ever to make all 12 field goal attempts in a game, the last being Duke’s Sheena Mosch in 2001. “I’m proud of Kalista,” Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said after the game. “I said her career high was not as important as the 12-for-12 being a school record.” Walters has been Pitt’s most valuable player midway through the season. Her spectacular 67.9 percent field goal percentage ranks third in the country, and best in the ACC. Walters is also fourth in the ACC in blocked shots with 29. See Women’s on page 36
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HOMES FOR THE HOLIDAY:
Vignettes of winter break
It’s a strange feeling to realize that each person passing you on the street has a complex life all their own — but hardly an exclusive one. It’s so common, in fact, that in 2012 writer John Koenig coined a new word, “sonder,” to describe it. As throngs of students return to the sidewalks on campus, many might wonder how the people streaming by experienced winter break distinctly and differently. For us on Opinions desk, we experienced the same feeling at our last meeting of the semester back in December. We were all looking ahead to the time off from school and work, yet all for different reasons. With academic life returning in full swing, most of us are returning to the shared, routine existence of college students. Before we move on, however, here are six glimpses into the various lives of college students on break. Ana Altchek, Columnist Driving is one of my favorite parts of being home. Even on a small trip across town, I am reassured by the familiarity and warmth of the different cultural symbols that separate my town from others. Six churches, two synagogues and one mosque populate Lawrenceville, New Jersey. All are representative of the different backgrounds that give my hometown its nickname — “the mini melting pot.” Passing by each one in less than a 10-minute drive is a reminder of the acceptance and tolerance of my home. In every winter chorus concert I performed in elementary school, I’d have to learn a song representing each holiday. Even though Christmas was the main holiday being celebrated, parents of every religion came in to teach a segment on the holiday they celebrated so that each student would feel proud to celebrate their religion’s winter holiday. This is my town in a nutshell — a place that embraces the differences among one another and uses it a uniting factor. A microcosm of what this country
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Courtesy of Brian Gentry
Courtesy of Brian Gentry
was originally built upon. Brian Gentry, Columnist Portland, Oregon. It’s the hipster capital of the country, home to dozens of microbreweries and independent bookstores. It’s the setting of the hit TV show, “Portlandia.” And coincidentally, it’s the least religious city in the country, according to a 2015 study by the Public Religion Research Institute. Accordingly, the holiday season is markedly unreligious. Returning home to the city after finals week, I came face to face with this unorthodox attitude, celebrating “Christmukkah” — a portmanteau of the Christian and Jewish holidays — with my best friend and his family. On the seventh night of “Christmukkah,” we dimmed the Christmas music and donned our yarmulkes. Almost everyone, including the dog, was stuck with traditional black yarmulkes. My friend’s brother sported a version that looked more like Santa’s hat. It was time to light the candles. My friend stopped, confused. “Do you light the candles from left to right or right to left?” he asked. You can’t blame him for not knowing. After all, he’d only done it eight days each year for all 20 years of his life. My friend’s dad then recited the Hanukkah prayers. “Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu…” he began, only to realize most people there didn’t know the words. So we did the rest in call-andresponse style, pausing every two words to allow people to catch up. We let the candles burn out as we enjoyed matzah ball soup, latkes and gluten-free kugel in the next room over. We laughed and talked, thankful for each other’s presence. The combined holiday was not so much about expressing devotion to God — it was about appreciating friends and family. Neena Hagen, Columnist Certain expectations come with being raised as the product of an Indian mother from a Hindu household and a See Vignettes on page 40
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