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The Pitt News

SIGNING DAY COVERAGE Page 9

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | february 2, 2017 | Volume 107 | Issue 114

PWSA: two days to drinkable water James Evan Bowen-Gaddy

EDWARD SNOWDEN BEAMS IN TO PITT Page 2

Assistant News Editor

Mayor Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and other safety officials outlined their plan Wednesday night to flush out the remaining “water of concern” in the eastern part of Pittsburgh’s water supply.

The press conference came as a response to the PWSA statement Tuesday night instructing residents in the eastern and central parts of Pittsburgh not to drink tap water without first running it for one minute and then boiling it. The advisory has affected about 100,000 people over the past 24 hours.

Peduto opened the press conference by assuring the public that the affected water has been tested today, and shows no trace of Giardia — a bacteria that can cause vomiting and diarrhea, among other digestive ailments. He continued by thanking the public workers who delivered water across the city to public water distribution sites.

Peduto also said the water quality of the Highland Park water filtration plant was in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s national requirements for water safety — it was Pennsylvania’s own regulations that forced them to issue the boil water advisory. Pennsylvania has stricter guidelines for the acceptable level of chlorine in water than See Water on page 3

The William Pitt Union Assembly Room was full-to-capacity for Edward Snowden’s talk John Hamilton VISUAL EDITOR

signed, sealed, committed: panthers finalize 2017 class The first fax of National Signing Day arrived at Pitt’s football facility on the South Side at about 7:04 a.m., from local offensive lineman Gabe Houy. By 7:45 a.m., more than half of the team’s 18 unofficial commits had signed and faxed their National Letters of Intent.

Pat Narduzzi finalized his second full recruiting class as Pitt’s head coach a little more than six hours and 19 faxes later. Barring any

unforeseen additions, it’s even stronger than expected.

The Panthers already had four recruits graduate high school early and enroll at Pitt for the spring 2017 semester — quarterback Kenny Pickett, offensive lineman Jerry Drake Jr., defensive end Deslin Alexandre and punter Kirk Christodoulou.

Narduzzi and his staff welcomed the rest of the team’s verbal commits Wednesday

Steve Rotstein

Sports Editor

morning, along with two crucial last-minute pickups — four-star running back A.J. Davis out of Lakeland, Florida, and three-star defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman from Washington, D.C. The Panthers received signed Letters of Intent from all 18 recruits who had verbally committed to join the team, while bolstering the class with the pair of previously See Signing Day on page 9

News

Snowden weighs in on activism, objectivity Stephen Caruso

Contributing Editor As his face appeared on the projector’s huge screen, overlooking a cheering room of Pitt students, Edward Snowden smiled sheepishly.

“It’s good to be home,” he said, to a big laugh from the fully packed William Pitt Union Assembly Room.

Facing federal charges for espionage and theft, Snowden couldn’t speak in person. The whistleblower and transparency advocate has not visited the United States in four years.

Instead, Pitt Program Council hosted Snowden through Google Hangouts Wednesday night. From an undisclosed location in Russia, he answered pre-selected questions from the audience and praised activism as a virtue to meet the “challenge of our generation” — battling against attacks on privacy from government surveillance.

Andrew Lotz, a senior political science lecturer at Pitt known for his class on the politics of Game of Thrones, introduced Snowden by referencing his controversial position in modern American politics.

“The University is the place to ask hard questions of the complex people who shape the world,” Lotz said.

Students questioned Snowden’s commitment to his transparent ideals considering his asylum in Russia and why privacy rights deserve respect in an age of terrorism and cyber crimes. Snowden replied with his support for personal liberty and government accountability.

Despite the media storm surrounding hacking in the 2016 election, and President Donald Trump’s proclaimed emphasis on cyber security, Snowden stuck mainly to his own history Wednesday.

The former National Security Agency contractor became famous in 2013 when he stole 1.7 million classified U.S. docu-

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intelligence work with the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006. He had family members strewn throughout the government, in the military, intelligence agencies and courts.

But as Snowden moved into the NSA as a contractor, and evidence of the government’s misuse and abuse of its surveillance apparatus grew, his early faith in government was destroyed.

“The government lies,” Snowden said.

“That was something that was very difficult for me to accept.”

His disillusionment continued after the election of former-President Barack Obama in 2008, who promised throughout his campaign to cut down on NSA surveillance and instead expanded the NSA’s capabilities.

Snowden also expressed concern about the government’s ability to withhold information to control citizen’s opinion of the government. He also criticized terms like “national security,” which he said government officials use Snowden beams in from an undisclosed location in Russia. John Hamilton to hide the danger of their increasing VISUAL EDITOR power.

To fight misinformation, he praised last time in May 2013 to travel to Hong journalists for their dedication to pubments, then leaked them to the press.

The documents revealed the NSA’s Kong with two journalists, where he lishing the truth and educating the pubmassive effort to gather Americans’ per- then began to release some of his files. lic. sonal information — a violation of the Snowden then traveled to Russia in June “If we only knew what the govern4th Amendment. They also sparked new 2013 looking for asylum, where he has ment wanted us to know, we wouldn’t debates over government surveillance in stayed to this day. know much at all,” Snowden said.

One question asked Snowden why he the United States, as well as new legisSnowden said constitutional rights lation limiting the NSA’s ability to col- chose to stay in Russia as a privacy activ- cannot be preserved by one person, and lect information on private individual’s ist, a nation whose surveillance laws he urged the public to resist passivity and criticized in his presentation and has a continue to fight to create influence in phone calls.

That constitutional controversy is the poor civil rights record overall. society.

His current residence has more to do main reason why senior finance major While some critics worry the release Brian Miller attended the event Wednes- with necessity, Snowden said. He applied of sensitive documents might endanger for asylum in 21 countries, all of whom American lives and interests, Snowden day.

“When I vote, a big part of my vot- rejected his plea. said the U.S. government has never “People seem to think I showed up [in proven that a leak caused any death or ing choice is my 4th Amendment rights,” Miller said. He voted for Libertar- Russia] and said ‘Hey, I’m good here,’” he destruction. ian candidate Gary Johnson in the 2016 said, to the audience’s amusement.

Alessandra Roberto, a senior Snowden’s faith in the government election.

See Snowden on page 3 Snowden left the United States for the was near ironclad when he started doing

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Snowden, pg. 2 psychology, communication and linguistics major, said Snowden’s revelations matter far more than any security concerns.

“Even if you don’t agree with his beliefs and actions you have to admire the battle he’s fighting and the actions he’s still taking today,” Roberto said.

His final question addressed the transparency activist’s feelings on Trump.

In response, Snowden referenced a document he found particularly troubling: a report describing the United States’ and other nations’ intelligence agencies sharing methods to discredit and break up protest movements.

Noting that “nobody’s gonna save us,” the whistleblower ended his speech with encouragement for the street activism he’s seen in response to the election, and a call to not give up the fight.

“Let’s not complain about the times we live in,” Snowden said. “Let’s get ready.”

Zoe Pawliczek contributed reporting.

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Water, pg. 1 national regulations.

“If you lived in any other state, you’d be drinking the water,” Peduto said. “We wouldn’t be closing down schools.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection instructed the PWSA to issue the boil water advisory after noting low levels of chlorine at the Highland Park filtration center, according to Bernard Lindstrom, interim executive director of the PWSA. Lindstrom also said these concerning measurements began as early as this past Sunday.

“You have to realize that data comes in every four hours,” Lindstrom said. “It was a concern, however, we didn’t address it as a risk until Monday.”

Lindstrom went on to say that the first troubling measurement came Sunday, but that it was considered a routine “inconsistency” until the low levels had been measured enough times to consider it a risk.

Lindstrom also said at the press conference that PWSA was working closely with the DEP to resolve the issue within

the next few days. In order for the DEP to lift the boil water advisory, the PWSA must demonstrate that chlorine levels are safe, and in addition, must flush out all of the “water of concern” from the water system.

Lindstrom said they’ll be flushing the water by opening fire hydrants “at locations that are safe and that do not create public hazard.” He was unable to give an exact timeline of how long this would take, or where those locations will be.

“My best engineering guess is that we will have at least two more days [without clean water],” Lindstrom said.

In the meantime, city officials have equipped distribution sites with 2,500 gallon water tanks of safe drinking water.

Uber has been offering free rides to each of these tanks as long as customers are within a $10 distance of the site.

Lindstrom also said while the advisory remains in effect, the PWSA would work on increasing chlorine levels in the water, which could affect the flavor and smell once the advisory is lifted. “[The water] is going to smell more like a swimming pool, and it’s gonna taste a lot like it too,” Lindstrom said.

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“For a little while.”

So far, the taste seems to be the only serious reported effect of the undrinkable water. Wendell D. Hissrich, director of the Department of Public Safety, said after examining 911 calls and hospital records within the past two days, city officials have determined that there has not been any increase in “patients exhibiting any symptoms similar to what would be present with this kind of potential contamination.”

Kevin Acklin, Peduto’s chief of staff, said the city’s reaction to the low chlorine levels has mostly been extraneous caution.

“That’s what we do as public servants,” Acklin said. “We assume the worst.”

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Opinions

column

from the editorial board

pro-life feminists deserve Hold city, PWSA accountable for water woes room in movement By now, everyone in Oakland knows we’re in hot water. But that doesn’t mean the city’s water problems are anything new.

An advisory put out by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority Tuesday night urged residents of areas serviced by the water filtration plant in Highland Park, including Oakland, not to drink tap water before boiling it. According to Bernard Lindstrom, PWSA interim executive director, low levels of chlorine used to purify the drinking water were to blame.

Lindstrom called the advisory a “super, super cautious” measure, put in place in case the lack of purifying chemicals in the water had allowed dangerous parasites to infect the water supply. But as City Council Members Theresa Kail-Smith and Dan Gilman pointed out, the crisis is hardly an anomaly for the city’s utility management.

From 2012 to 2016, Pittsburgh outsourced its water utilities to private contractor Veolia North America, a multinational company based in Paris that provides utility services to municipalities across the country.

Notable among these municipalities is the city of Flint, Michigan, where the company currently faces prosecution by Michigan’s attorney general for professional negligence, public nuisance and fraud. According to the state, the company “knew or should have known that high chloride levels” in the water treated by the company would corrode pipes and allow dangerous levels of lead to enter the drinking water supply.

The city of Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit last October for damages the company may have done to the water utilities, including allegations that the corrosive chemicals Veolia used to treat water had similar effects to city pipeline’s as they had in Flint.

The lawsuit against the contractor has yet to be decided. Regardless of the outcome, the

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concerning policies that have characterized the PWSA’s management over the past several years have yet to cease.

Payments on the massive debts Veolia ran up during their control of Pittsburgh’s water system continue to consume nearly half of the agency’s budget. Money shortages led to regular staff cuts that have continued even after the city and the contractor chose to part ways.

While it’s impossible to draw a direct connection between the cutbacks in personnel at the utilities department and this week’s crisis, it’s hard to see them making future water problems any easier to avoid.

Mayor Bill Peduto, who spoke in Point Breeze Wednesday night, called the advisory overcautious.

“If you lived in any other state, you’d be drinking the water,” Peduto said. “We wouldn’t be closing down schools.”

But this shouldn’t assuage our concern.

The water advisory does not represent an overabundance of prudence — true caution would require the greatest amount of concern for the safety of drinking water before, not after, public health crises occur.

City Council Member Darlene Harris called on PWSA Tuesday to refund customers who had paid for and been exposed to the potentially contaminated water. This should be the agency’s first step to rebuilding trust with the city community that it is meant to serve. City officials should be committed to giving PWSA the resources it needs, but leadership in the agency itself must also show greater judgment — there’s enough blame to go around for everyone.

Water is not a luxury. We’re not “proud” of PWSA or the city for their cautious approach to the most recent blunder in our supply, and hope this is the last time we have to drink from the pot.

Women marched on Pittsburgh over inauguration weekend. In Washington D.C., pro-life groups were the subject of criticism. John Hamilton VISUAL EDITOR

Kirsten Wong

Senior Columnist In the current political climate, women’s health issues need all the defense they can get — and feuding between pro-choice and pro-life feminists can only hurt the cause.

The Women’s March on Washington made history Jan. 21, when over 5 million women from around the world came out to protect women’s rights and march in solidarity with every vulnerable community threatened by our current president.

But while the march was successful in making women’s voices heard and showcasing the resistance that is about to ensue, it also exposed a deep divide between pro-life feminists and pro-choice feminists on the issue of reproductive rights.

The controversy began when many prolife organizations such as New Wave Feminists requested to be partners for the march about a week before it was held. Various

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women’s groups across the country complained about pro-life organizations being included once they saw these groups as partners, and the organizers reiterated the Women’s March’s specifically pro-choice platform. Because of this, several prolife organizations were dropped from the march’s partnerships.

Although every woman was welcome to join the march, some pro-life women felt ostracized and excluded from the event’s purpose. The march failed to provide an inclusive space for both sides of the abortion debate. And in doing so, it missed the opportunity to unify women on the issue of reproductive rights and capitalize on the similarities we share in supporting all mothers.

The contentious debate surrounding abortion has always focused on the procedure’s legality and access, but we must work See Wong on page 5

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Wong, pg. 4 toward a common goal — to help all mothers prosper by having the resources to provide for their children.

Whether it’s legal or not, abortion is always going to exist. If we want to preserve life, we should focus on eliminating the need for abortion through policies such as paid family leave, universal childcare, access to contraception and family planning services.

According to the Center for Disease Control, abortion rates are at a historic low since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, falling from 16.3 percent to 14.6 percent in 2014. Additionally, the rate of unintended pregnancies has declined across all income groups, and teen pregnancy rates have hit record lows.

While Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards attributes these successes to better access to contraception, pro-life organizations such as Americans United for Life point to restrictive abortion laws in various states. One controversial measure that was introduced in December and eventually vetoed in Ohio by Gov. John Kasich, R-Oh., banned the procedure starting as early as 20 weeks into the pregnancy.

It might be unclear at first whether the decrease in abortions is attributable to people being denied family planning services, or if people are able to plan better for having children and thus having less unintended pregnancies. But either way, it’s important to look at the demographics of those receiving abortions to fully understand the report.

In 2014, three-fourths of abortion patients were low-income, with 49 percent living at less than the federal poverty level.

Low-income women are also less likely to

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Marchers take part in the Women’s March on Washington . John Hamilton VISUAL EDITOR

have health insurance, which is why Medicaid is the second-most-common method of payment for patients.

If low-income women are disproportionately getting abortions because of a lack of means and financial support required to raise children, then we should be looking for ways to help support them.

Policies that aim to help working mothers are still minimal in the Unites States.

With nearly a quarter of employed mothers across the country returning to work within two weeks of giving birth, it’s clear that financial security is essential to allowing women to care for their child in their earliest months.

Yet Congress continues to shut down proposals for paid family leave and universal childcare. And the United States remains the only industrialized country that doesn’t ensure paid family leave for all families.

If every family was guaranteed afford-

able childcare, no woman would have to make the difficult choice between staying at home to take care of the children or working full-time to pay for childcare costs.

But childcare costs have grown to become an untenable expense for most families, especially low-income mothers. In Pennsylvania, the average cost of childcare is $10,640 per year. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a minimum-wage worker in Pennsylvania would need to work full time for 37 weeks, or from January to September, just to pay for childcare for one infant. When faced with such high childcare costs, many low-income mothers are forced to make that decision.

Another key element to preventing abortions and protecting women from unintended pregnancies is widespread access to contraception. Despite full legalization over 50 years ago in the Supreme Court case, Griswold v. Connecticut, there are still barriers for women that limit access to

February 2, 2017

contraceptives, including affordability.

This part of the problem was partially addressed with the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which ensured that most health care plans would include free FDA-approved contraception without a co-payment. But as of 2015, 11 percent of women remained uninsured and without access — a low number, but not low enough. And the Trump administration’s plans to scrap the law don’t bode well for any improvements to contraception access.

The threats to women’s health in the near future don’t just stop at an end to contraception access. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wi., has promised to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding as part of his party’s health care agenda.

If they lose such a major provider of contraceptives, a majority of low-income women will be left with limited options to acquire them elsewhere. These women deserve the freedom to plan their families and receive basic health services, and feminists on both ends of the abortion debate should be fighting for these policies together.

Given the chance, Trump’s administration will undoubtedly take advantage of a divided feminist movement and stifle what it has built. If we can look past our differences, we can finally start looking for ways to move forward on the issue and the advancement of women. I may be pro-choice, but that doesn’t mean progress has to stop there.

Set aside your politics — we can’t afford to lose the progress we’ve made on behalf of all women.

Kirsten is a Senior Columnist for The Pitt News. She primarily writes on social justice issues and education.

Write to her at kew101@pitt.edu.

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Culture

forget me not: cmoa gives tours for seniors Lauren Lotka Staff Writer

On a tour at the Carnegie Museum of Art, six visitors sat in front of a painting of a somber landscape, talking.

The painting’s dark colors signal an impending storm as a group of chickens stand under an elm tree across from a barn. The tour guide questioned the visitors about the painting, asking them to describe their thoughts and reactions.

“Chickens always run for shelter in a storm. What was the artist thinking by picturing them oblivious to the storm?” the visitors responded.

Though from the outside it may look like any other tour, this tour is designed The African art gallery (left) and 1700s American and European art gallery (right) at CMOA. John Hamilton VISUAL EDITOR specifically for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s, as tour guides are trained because if anything would make them feel ease Research Center, works with other re- son and acknowledging them even if they to ask straightforward questions and interunwelcome or uncomfortable, they’re not searchers to study the changes in the brain can’t [verbally] respond,” Lehman said. pret responses that may be confusing or The program started in 2008, when caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The center’s going to have a good time.” non-verbal. CMOA holds one such tour per After piling out of the van from Wood- goal is to create a more reliable way of diag- Woodside Place contacted Lehman’s predemonth as part of a program called In the side Place, the senior citizens are given nosing Alzheimer’s and to craft more effec- cessor at CMOA. The community was lookMoment. name tags so the docent can call on and tive treatment plans after individuals have ing for somewhere to take their residents The program has become an integral where they would be both comfortable and speak with them to aid in facilitating con- been diagnosed. part of the CMOA, according to Hattie “Dementia means you have some kind welcome. versation.

Lehman, assistant curator of education, To work with Woodside Place, CMOA “We first start with a visual-thinking of progressive brain disease that has renlearning for school students and adults strategy question which is, ‘What do you dered you unable to perform the normal ac- piloted In the Moment to meet the special groups at CMOA. Lehman is responsible see going on in this picture?’ and then it’s tivities of daily living. You have something needs of the senior citizens. In the Moment for the entire program, from recruiting really facilitating that conversation,” Lehm- wrong that has now made you need the help was born from a similar program at the volunteers to communicating with partner an said. “I think you can really see that they of others to get by day to day,” Rodriguez Museum of Modern Art in New York City organizations. called Meet Me, which uses similar tours to said. are responding.”

A tour includes up to six individuals The docents often ask the senior citizens make art accessible to those with AlzheimAccording to Lehman, the program also with dementia, each accompanied by a sends the senior citizens home with a small to describe what they see in a picture, or er’s or dementia. caregiver from Woodside Place — a memSue Cavanaugh, who has been a docent keepsake — such as a postcard — to poten- to describe their general or emotional reory-care community and a part of Presbytially “trigger their memory” of a tour they sponse to a piece of work. Because of their with In the Moment for five years, said the terian SeniorCare Network. The visitors might otherwise forget because of their de- disease, there are times when a resident may tours’ ability to draw in visitors and intertour about six works of art, including painthave trouble responding verbally. Some- act with them has led to an overwhelmingly mentia. ings, sculptures and photographs. The tour Dementia is an overarching term for times, the docents may need to be rephrase positive response from both the visitors and guides, called docents, include some historsymptoms that typically strike in old age a question so the resident understands it or their caregivers. ical information on the art in the tour, for “The majority of participants love to exand affect a person’s memory, their ability accept an emotional response — like laughthe benefit of the resident and the caregiver, perience a change of scenery in a beautiful to think logically and even their personality. ter, crying or agitation — as an answer. but focus primarily on allowing the senior Questions tend to be open-ended and and stimulating gallery,” Cavanaugh said.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the underlying citizens to enjoy themselves. causes of dementia, along with Parkinson’s general so that they are not too challenging “Caregivers and staff often note that these “The initial part is the welcoming, so for the senior citizens, and there is gener- residents seem a little ‘perkier’ the rest of disease and Huntington’s disease. the minute they get out of their van is just the day.”

Dr. Eric Rodriguez, a co-investigator in ally no right or wrong response. making them feel comfortable,” Lehman “It’s just about honoring them as a perthe Clinical Core of Pitt’s Alzheimer’s DisSee CMOA on page 8 said. “I’ve really learned that that is the key

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column

ditch big-name musicians for local jams Emily Brindley Culture Editor

Lauryn Hill continued her long string of canceled shows and late appearances at Heinz Hall Tuesday night, feeding into the stereotype that top-notch fame comes with top-notch arrogance.

The R&B singer/songwriter — who peaked in the late ’90s — did eventually come on stage, but it was at 11:20 p.m. instead of the 8 p.m. scheduled stage time.

During the nearly three-and-a-half hour lag, angry showgoers took to Twitter to vent their rage. “‘Yo, you going to that Lauryn Hill concert tonight?’ Lauryn Hill: ‘Nah you?’” posted Twitter user @pjhoody.

“Just because you thought Lauryn Hill had a concert at a certain date and time doesn’t mean she thought that. Respect people’s privacy,” tweeted @floEBSist.

Hill’s behavior was standard practice for her. This time, she ascribed her late arrival to other band members who’d been delayed for inclement weather.

Hill, though, is notorious for refusing to take the stage until her “energies” align, which means she often doesn’t pick up the mic until hours after the ticket time. In Atlanta last May, she showed up more than two hours late and then played for only 40 minutes. The venue shut the sound off and cut her performance short because of “strict union policy,” according to the Root’s review.

But “better late than never” isn’t a Hillexclusive philosophy. Kanye West showed up more than an hour late to his show at Penn State in September. Madonna took the stage two-and-a-half hours late for a 2012 show in

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Lauryn Hill performs at Sound Academy in Toronto in 2014. Photo courtesy of The Come Up Show | Flickr Philadelphia. On Pitt’s campus, Tyga didn’t much less likely to be stood up.

In Hill’s case, the audience ended up hearshow up at all for a March 2014 concert at the ing from a local artist while they angry-tweeted Fitzgerald Field House.

It’s a fate that’s fallen on music fans of all about Hill’s absence. Pittsburgh DJ Motorgenres, and it should be enough to make you mane, a member of Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang, consider ditching the national music scene — opened the show and was on stage until 9:30 p.m. to fill time. Hill’s DJ came on the stage afand picking up the local one instead.

Talking purely logistics, national artists ter, stalling even longer.

Pitt students who’ve been around for a have to fly in for every show they play, which leaves them vulnerable to flight delays for any while may find something eerily familiar about reason. “Inclement weather” is the most fre- Motormane’s move. Another Pittsburgh-based quently cited excuse, as Hill claimed with her artist and member of the Taylor Gang record, Chevy Woods, saved Tyga’s 2014 concert. tardy bandmembers.

Reportedly, Tyga missed his flight to the This is significantly less likely to happen to local artists, who are already in the area and Steel City due to, you guessed it: inclement don’t have to make a long trek to the venue weather. Although the crowd was notably — which means you, as a show-goer, are that disappointed, and a rumor spread quickly

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that Tyga was playing a private show for the Kardashians and Jenners, local rapper Chevy Woods bounded onto stage and filled the time.

I was at that show, during my first year at Pitt, and disappointed but mostly incensed when Tyga stood me up. A big chunk of the audience left when they heard Tyga wouldn’t be showing, but those who did stay were happy when a musician actually stood up on stage, even if it wasn’t the musician they came to see.

Tyga, though, earned a bad rap on campus and inspired grudges in hundreds or possibly thousands of students who won’t quickly forget the snub.

Though students only paid $5 for Tyga tickets since the show was held at Pitt, fans paid full-price to see Hill on Tuesday night. With both concerts, audience members first paid the ticket price for a national artist and then ended up seeing a local artist anyway. Hill did eventually show, but not before the majority of the crowd left, crying bloody murder if their tickets didn’t get refunded.

Beyond just logistics, there’s a stereotype that big-time musicians are unreasonably nitpicky — “divas,” so to speak. Sometimes, these stereotypes hold up.

Lady Gaga needs a smoothie station. Mariah Carey reportedly asks for a three-seat couch — but it must be in a solid pattern, no prints.

Jay Z demands seven different changing rooms.

Those demands and particularities remain unnoticed by the audience, until they begin to bleed into the concert itself.

At a Mr. Smalls show on Jan. 18, Deerhunter opened the venue’s doors late as the excited audience waited outside. Through the doors, they could hear the lead singer demanding See Column on page 8

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Column, pg. 7

CMOA, pg. 6

the same few bars be played on repeat, in an extended version of a soundcheck, according to WPTS Radio’s Jake Sternberg. Most of the crowd seemed to forget the debacle by the time the band began to play, but the delay can’t be denied.

Although local musicians can be difficult to work with as well, they also don’t play shows as often or to as large of crowds, which curbs any tendency they might have to take the audience for granted.

So, a simple idea. You could spend all of your rent money on show tickets for national artists who might leave you standing on your feet for hours or who might leave you in a murderous rage because you wasted a good night out on a no-show musician. Or you could invest in the Pittsburgh music scene and find some local artists instead.

Not only are they more likely to actually show up to their gigs — and not leave you stranded while they sort out their inner vibes — but you may even have enough money left over for a few drinks before the show.

According to Rodriguez, the improvement seen in the senior citizens immediately after the tours falls under the category of alternative treatment. In many cases, medicine does not work as well as it should for patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s, so Rodriguez suggests other approaches, such as socialization and cognitive stimulation.

“If you put somebody under an MRI scanner while they’re, say, watching a movie of people interacting, their brain is very active trying to understand the words, the facial expressions, the body movements, they’re visibly scanning that crowd trying to understand them and at the same time they’re trying to formulate their responses,” Rodriguez said.

This type of thinking and processing can get the brain working in ways it wouldn’t on a day-to-day basis, which can improve the mood or functioning of individuals with dementia.

In the Moment tours, and art in general, can be extremely beneficial to the elderly and those suffering from dementia. Ana-

lyzing art can be both a form of cognitive exercise as the senior citizens recognize pictures and faces in the artwork and a form of socialization as they interact with the docents and formulate responses to questions.

But giving tours becomes significantly trickier when the participants might struggle to even remember where they are. The solution to this lies in the docents — the volunteers who guide the tours — and the special way in which they interact with the senior citizens.

With three active docents for In the Moment and nine in training, numerous individuals over the years have given tours and countless people with dementia in the community have been positively affected by them.

To make sure they can handle the specific challenges that come with dementia, and to teach them how to interact with individuals who have memory loss, all In the Moment docents must go through a training program before they give their first tour.

Training includes a trip to Woodside Place, where the volunteers get hands-on experience communicating with the senior

citizens. “[It’s] more about putting yourself in their place and what are they experiencing even as an elderly person,” Lehman said.

In addition to the visit, volunteers also shadow experienced docents such as Cavanaugh.

“Training for these tours emphasizes how to prepare a thematic tour, how to carefully communicate questions on the tour, good eye contact ... and learning how to redirect questioning when necessary,” Cavanaugh said. “The people on an In the Moment tour have so much to offer. It is important to try to hear from each resident at each stop on the tour.”

Programs like In the Moment are not only important to these senior citizens in particular, but also to communities where there may be a stigma surrounding older people with mental illness. This is true especially in a place like Oakland where the population is overwhelmingly young.

“Art does not live in a vacuum. Making these tours accessible to the various people and groups that make up a community can only serve to enhance how to view the world we live in,” Cavanaugh said.

The Pitt News SuDoku 2/2/17 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

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February 2, 2017

8

Sports

Pitt’s pair of Signing Day steals SEE ONLINE

Top prospect Paris Ford officially a Panther

Dominic Campbell For The Pitt News

Inside a small, bright, cramped conference room at Steel Valley Senior High School in Munhall, Pennsylvania, the most coveted player in Pitt’s 2017 recruiting class made his commitment official.

Surrounded by his head coach, family members and a swarm of photographers and videographers, four-star safety Paris Ford signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Pitt next season.

“The stress is finally over with. I’m glad to finally be a part of the Panther family now, and it’s time to leave my legacy,” Ford said Wednesday at Steel Valley’s National Signing Day event.

Ford made it official Wednesday, but he has remained loyal to the Panthers for

Signing Day, pg. 1 undecided recruits. In all, Pitt’s 2017 class will feature 24 high school recruits, one graduate transfer — former USC quarterback Max Browne — and one preferred walkon, long snapper Cal Adomitis.

“It’s great to have everybody here today. I think Signing Day is a great day for the University of Pittsburgh,” Narduzzi said at his 3 p.m. press conference. “We get to add 26 total football players, student-athletes to this class, with hundreds more family [members] that are going to be new Pitt fans.”

After almost a month away from college football, National Signing Day gives fans a chance to recover, rejoice and reconvene while getting ready for the upcoming season. Recruits who have waited weeks, months or sometimes years to officially sign with their favorite school can finally make those dreams a reality.

This year’s class is an especially important one for the Panthers, who are dealing with the departures of junior

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474 days since tweeting his verbal commitment Oct. 16, 2015.

For such a highly touted recruit like Ford to commit so early to a school like Pitt, he had to deal with more than a year’s worth of temptation from the nation’s top programs. He received offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma, among other prestigious programs.

But Wednesday, Ford said sticking with Pitt was an easy decision.

“I feel like this is always the place I’ve wanted to be,” Ford said. “Ever since sixth grade I’ve wanted to play for Pitt, and I finally had the opportunity, so I took it.”

Ford grew up in Garfield, a neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh just north of Oakland. He joins the likes of NFL Hall of Famers such as Dan Marino running back James Conner and seniors Dorian Johnson, Adam Bisnowaty, Nathan Peterman and Ejuan Price — all projected NFL Draft picks.

Narduzzi and his staff delivered by producing the Panthers’ most star-studded class in years, featuring three Under Armour All-Americans and three fourstar prospects, according to Rivals.

“When you look at it, and you’ve got all these players, and they’ve got these egos, and again, they were the star in their high school, they’ve all got potential,” Narduzzi said. “Some guys will reach their potential, some guys won’t.

That’s our job as coaches to develop them as they get here.”

Including Browne, Pitt’s 2017 class features two quarterbacks, two running backs, three wide receivers, three tight ends, four offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, three linebackers, three defensive backs, one punter and one long snapper.

The centerpiece of the class is local safety Paris Ford, the No. 3 prospect in Pennsylvania and the No. 51 prospect

and Curtis Martin to stay at home and play for Pitt.

“Being able to represent my city is big, because you know I’m going to target anything I do and represent the city to the fullest,” Ford said. “I’ve also got to be careful though, because I know a lot of kids from here, especially my little cousins, that look up to me and I’ve got to be a role model for them.”

Ford has been dominant throughout his high school career, which began right down the road on Fifth Avenue at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.

There, he started as a freshman on the varsity basketball team, but didn’t play varsity football. So he decided to transfer to Seton LaSalle High School in Mt. Lebanon to try to earn more playing time.

His decision paid off, as he saw the

field as a starter on both offense and defense during his sophomore and junior years, racking up 1,585 yards and 27 total touchdowns along the way.

Ford transferred yet again, this time to Steel Valley, where he played for and starred on the Steel Valley Ironmen’s PIAA championship team — considered to be one of the greatest WPIAL teams in history.

The Ironmen “mercy ruled” every single team they played — meaning the teams played the second half under a running clock because the Ironmen led by at least 35 points — en route to a perfect 15-0 season, becoming the first team in PIAA history to accomplish that feat. In the state championship game, they See Paris Ford on page 10

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and Julio Freire, Pitt’s deputy athletic director for external affairs, take a moment during National Signing Day to converse with reporters. Steve Rotstein CONTRIBUTING EDITOR in the entire country according to Ri- as part of the team.

“You just see a quick-twitch athlete vals. He was the first player to commit to Pitt’s 2017 class in October 2015, and that will snap on you,” Narduzzi said.

Narduzzi is excited to officially have him See Signing Day on page 10

February 2, 2017

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Signing Day, pg. 9 “He’s physical, he loves the game ... I don’t know if we’ve got a guy back there in the secondary right now that has the attitude he does.”

Narduzzi said he expects Ford to bring an added level of intensity to his defensive backfield.

“I think you want it to permeate the program, to be honest with you,” Narduzzi said about Ford’s fierce attitude.“You know, I like guys that have got some stuff to them. I’ve got some stuff to me I don’t show you guys all the time ... I want some guys that love the game and have emotion.”

Ford’s demand continued to rise after his standout performance in the Under Armour All-America game. Narduzzi and his staff had to battle with college football’s blue bloods, including Alabama and Ohio State, for his pledge. “[Ford] has been a loyal, loyal guy, since he committed to us,” Narduzzi said. “He had a lot of people tampering with him, calling him, FaceTiming him — doing whatever. He had several schools that came in the last couple of

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weeks to try to switch him, turn him, flip him. Coach [Rodney] Steele and really the whole administration at Steel Valley did a great job securing him.”

Ford started the day as the Panthers’ only commit ranked among Rivals’ top 250 overall prospects, but that list doubled with the addition of Davis in the early afternoon.

Davis is the No. 14 running back prospect and No. 247 overall prospect in the nation, and he wasn’t even expected to be the featured tailback in this class.

Todd Sibley, the nation’s No. 24 running back, already committed to Pitt in June.

Sibley, who originally chose to attend Ohio State before flipping his commitment to Pitt, also earned a trip to the Under Armour All-American game with Ford and Davis. The commits are promising — marking a successful signing day for Narduzzi — but he’s not ready to guarantee their spots on the field right away.

“They’re coming here as high school stars, and they’re starting off at the bottom rung of college football,” Narduzzi said.

Paris Ford, pg. 9 humiliated a perennial powerhouse in Southern Colombia, 49-7.

“Man, it’s history, it probably won’t be done again for another 10-15 years. Mercy-ruled everyone. Never has been done.

It’s crazy,” Ford said.

Ford is not only the top-ranked recruit in Pitt’s class of 2017, he’s one of the most celebrated prospects in the entire country. According to Rivals, Ford is the No. 3 overall prospect in Pennsylvania, as well as the No. 5 safety and No. 51 overall prospect in the nation. He also played and starred in the Under Armour AllAmerican game, delivering a punishing hit that went viral on Twitter.

Because of this, Ford had a host of the country’s premier head coaches trying to convince him to back out of his commitment and come play for their school.

Having legendary names like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer — with eight national championships between them — asking you to join their team must be hard to resist, but Ford never wavered.

“It was hard to turn down those legendary coaches, but I had to do what

February 2, 2017

was best for me and my family, and I just wanted to stay humble and grounded to Pitt,” Ford said.

Pitt defensive coordinator Josh Conklin said Wednesday that Ford will likely slide in at the field safety position next to 2015 ACC Rookie of the Year Jordan Whitehead, who plays the boundary.

Ford, though, said he’s willing to do anything to play next year, and he isn’t really concerned with what position he plays.

“As long as they get me on the field, I’ll do anything they need me to do,” Ford said. “Tackle, run, kick, punt. Whatever they need me to do.”

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