2-20-20 by The Pitt News

The Pitt News

T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | February 20, 2020 | Volume 110 | Issue x

ARE WE HUMAN OR ARE WE DANCERS? TWO BOMB THREATS MADE AT FIVE GUYS IN

THREE DAYS Jon Moss

News Editor City and Pitt police responded to two similar phoned-in bomb threats at the Five Guys location on the 100 block of Bouquet Street. One occurred late Monday evening and another late Wednesday afternoon. City police spokesperson Maurice Matthews II said the Monday incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. The building was already empty of customers and employees when City and Pitt police arrived. Matthews said a Pitt police explosive detection dog searched the area with negative results. “Zone 4 officers were told the caller may have been a member of recently fired employees or a friend of one,” Matthews said. A similar threat occurred Wednesday afternoon around 4:50 p.m. City police spokesperson Chris Togneri said in a statement that after officers cleared the building, a K-9 officer searched the premises with negative results. Police are still investigating both incidents.

Members of Attack Theatre, a Pittsburgh-based dance company, began an open rehearsal in the Frick Fine Arts University Gallery. The event is sponsored by Pitt’s Year of Creativity and is meant to showcase the process of dancemaking. Attack Theatre and the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery will continue to cohost open rehearsals from 10am-4pm on Thursday and Friday. Hannah Heisler senior staff photographer

Catalog of visitng black poets’ work on display in Hillman Library Brenden Rearick

for African American Poetry and Poetics. Colorful chapbooks — small colHillman Library doesn’t typically allections of poetry centered on a theme low visitors to write in its books — un— currently line the featured shelves in less you’re a poet visiting with the Center Hillman’s new African American poetry For The Pitt News

exhibit. Though the content of each of these books may vary, all were written and signed by black poets who have visited Pitt’s campus. The special collection exhibit was See Poetry on page 6

News

Hydroponics in Homewood: Pitt students at the farm next door

Priya Ray

For The Pitt News Besides numerous health benefits, produce such as kale, lettuce and parsley all share one thing in common — Pitt Hydroponics club has already farmed enough of these vegetables to overflow local food pantries. Inside a 900-square-foot church garage in Homewood, Pitt students work to construct and maintain PVC-pipe hydroponic systems capable of producing 20-50 plants in a single growth cycle. These systems shuttle nutrientrich water through pods containing plants encased in growth medium made of corn husks, an alternative to soil. Club members recently used the staggered vertical growth system — a space-efficient farming system where crops are grown in vertical “stacks,” as opposed to horizontal “beds” on the floor of the greenhouse. This system has so far yielded 300 heads of lettuce — an unexpected surplus. Currently, they are working on building an additional vertical system funded by a grant from the Pitt Green Fund. William Sauerland, the club president and a sophomore computer science major, has been with the club since his first year. Sauerland has long been passionate about hydroponics, and stressed the club’s physical presence in Homewood. “Homewood is considered a food desert,” Sauerland said. “We work with the Oasis Project within the Bible Center Church in Homewood. Their mission is to give the Homewood citizens a place to get fresh produce.”

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According to Allegheny County Analytics, Homewood has more than double the eligibility for food stamps than the rest of Pittsburgh. Luke Persin, a senior biology major and former club president, also believes that outreach is critical in promoting club visibility. Like Sauerland, he has also been with the club since his first year. “The main idea behind our mission is education and outreach. We do different things around campus, like building minisystems,” Persin said. “This teaches our members a lot about trial and error. Our [adviser] is really into problem-based learning.” In its intent to help the community around Pitt, the club wants to increase student visibility and engagement both on and off campus. Part of the club’s educational outreach includes hosting a sustainability class at Community Day School in Squirrel Hill, where members are helping to build a brand-new hydroponics system. Sauerland hopes to get students talking about using science to affect change in the community. “As of right now, we are a lesser-known club,” Sauerland said. “One of the things we are trying to do is get one of our more efficient systems onto campus and educate others about hydroponics and the Mascaro Center.” Pitt Hydroponics first sprouted in 2015 from the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, its primary financial backer. The Center’s collaboration with the club is centered on addressing the food shortage in lower-income Pittsburgh areas, especially in colder weather. At one point, the club was able to donate 25 pounds of lettuce to the Pitt Pantry.

David Sanchez, assistant director of the Mascaro Center and the club’s faculty adviser, has been around since the initial student founding. He said he takes a relatively hands-off approach to the club in order to keep Hydroponics a student-run program. “I want the students to have freedom and creativity. One of the things I provide is resources and technical guidance. We triangulate between me, the community and the students,” Sanchez said. “There is a very deep educational component to it. The students have a lot of responsibility and oversight. I act as a filter to help question and probe.” Sanchez’s research into water quality and bioremediation — the practice of stimulating the growth of microorganisms in an environment to combat pollutants — ties into larger applications of the club’s hydroponic systems, which could have positive effects on environmental health. “Water covers everything from energy to food to landscapes,” Sanchez said. “Looking at the water quality that goes into hydroponics allowed us to take a deeper exploration into more meaningful problems.” Water quality in Pittsburgh’s three rivers and surrounding basins has long been a source of controversy, especially with the amount of runoff and toxicity from coal mines and fracking in rural areas. A 2016 article from The Guardian reported that nearly 22 parts per billion of lead had contaminated Pittsburgh drinking water, and a 2019 article from StateImpact Pennsylvania reported that widespread coal ash contamination has increased arsenic amounts in local groundwater by 372 times past the safe

February 20, 2020

consumable limit. According to Sauerland, Sanchez’s research is helping the club conduct its own tests. “His research is with water quality testing within local rivers. He wants to merge that with our data and collect real-time information on pH and other growing conditions,” Sauerland said. “This will also help with growing efficiency.” Persin said Pittsburgh’s climate is one of several obstacles the club faces in managing its hydroponics systems. “We work in a garage without heating, so we can only grow during certain months of the year,” Persin said. “During the winter we grow kale, as that is a colder weather plant.” Sauerland added that one key issue is maintaining the systems the club currently has in place. The setup is very technical, and more experienced club leaders have to attempt to pass on their knowledge to newer members. “Designing systems and building them is give and take. It’s not an exact science — you grow a crop, you look at yield. It’s a lot of trial and error,” Sauerland said. “Most people don’t know a lot about hydroponics. It’s a lot of teaching.” Despite its limitations, Sauerland believes hydroponics represents the future of farming due to its advantages in energy efficiency, retained nutritional value and space. “You use less water and get a better product,” Sauerland said. “We were able to grow a lot of lettuce in very little space. If you blow up that scale, that’s ridiculous compared to what traditional agriculture can do.”

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Opinions column

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Yes, I’m an English major. CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION No, I’m not stupid.

Sarah Connor

Contributing Editor As an English major, I am aware that there are certain stereotypes I fit into. I love “Harry Potter,” “The Catcher in the Rye” changed my life, I enjoy spending my free time in libraries, I used to work at Barnes & Noble and now I work at a Starbucks. I might be the perfect example of a “Coffee Shop English Major.” Recently, I was behind the espresso bar at my Starbucks, working with a friend of mine who is also an English major. As we were making coffee, we discussed authors we mutually dislike. We laughed when we learned that neither of us are fans of Vladimir Nabokov. It was a lighthearted conversation among two literature lovers. Most English majors I know love Nabokov, so I joked with my friend, saying, “Wow, we’re disgraceful English majors.” At this point, a middleaged customer decided to approach me. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” she said. “But you’re talking about being a ‘disgraceful English major.’ I just have to say, what did you expect? You got an English degree and now you’re working in a coffee shop. Did you really think you were going to come out of college with a real job?” I froze. It seems this customer only heard my last comment in our conversation and jumped to an immediate conclusion that I was a recent college graduate with an English degree, angry about not having a “real” job — whatever a “real” job is. I kept my composure and told her that we were not even talking about jobs and that I had not yet graduated with my English degree. I also told her that though I had received a job offer, I had made the decision to attend graduate school next year.

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Of course, I was pretty angry after this interaction, but not because this woman had been rude to me. However, I am no stranger to being judged for being a liberal arts major, as many have deemed liberal arts majors the “dumb majors.” I am a double major in English nonfiction writing and communication, and I come from a family of scientists. Naturally, family gatherings are not fun for me. I get asked all of the “English major” questions, such as “are you getting a teaching certificate?” and “why didn’t you major in marketing? You could still use your writing skills.” In my head, the answers to those questions are simple. No, I am not getting a teaching certificate. I want to be a writer, not a teacher. Yes, I actively made the decision to major in English over marketing because I value using my creative skills over getting a job in the business world. It does not seem very complex to me, but to many others, it’s rocket science. Their questions are valid, however, as CBS News reports 29% of English majors will be underemployed after graduation, compared to 18% for engineering and computer science. The English major will not lead to an immediate job in lucrative fields like tech or health care like a major in engineering or computer science will. Despite this, I firmly believe that the skills of writers will always be needed. For example, I am currently a writing and communications intern at the Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering. I write stories about the work scientists are doing so they can share their accomplishments with colleagues all over the world. This is the perfect example of the STEM field needing help from the liberal arts field, and vice versa.

Yes, 29% underemployment is significant, but what about the other 71%? Should I give up on pursuing what I love because the statistics are less than ideal? No, I’m going to keep working until I become one of the 71%. I am not lazy, and I am not stupid. I’m working just as hard as other college students. For me, working hard just means writing all night and working at one of my jobs all day as opposed to memorizing algorithms or studying for organic chemistry exams. As an English major, I don’t sit around thinking, “Wow, I hope all these books I’m reading for my degree will get me a highpaying job one day,” and I don’t know any other English majors that actually do think that way. We aren’t delusional. We know our field of study does not lead to a direct job like an electrical engineering or nursing major will. For my fellow English majors and I, it’s all about making your skills work for you and creating your own path. I created my own path by adding a second major, getting my writing published by four different news outlets and working internships since the first semester of my junior year. I haven’t stopped working at becoming a better, more successful writer since I decided this was what I wanted to do with my life. If you want to “make it” in any liberal arts field — whether it be journalism, theater, creative writing, music, politics or film — you have to really want it and be willing to work for it. I have worked for it, and it has paid off in a graduate school acceptance that I’m incredibly proud of. I plan to keep perfecting my writing until I never have to work at a Starbucks again. It might take a while, but it is a welcome challenge.

February 20, 2020

IS MORE THAN VEGANISM Julia Kreutzer

Senior Staff Columnist I’ve been striving to cut down on my animal protein consumption for quite some time. As a stereotypical liberal, millennial political science major, I am disturbed by the environmental, physical and moral consequences of factory farming — defined by Merriam-Webster as “a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost.” But as a cheesesteaklovin’ food enthusiast, I’ve struggled to make the leap into veganism and cut out animal products cold turkey — pun intended. As of late, however, I’ve realized I don’t need to force myself to give up all of the foods I love to make an impact. In order to make substantive changes to the global climate crisis and limit our carbon output, we need millions of people to cut back on their consumption of red meat. To incentivize factory farmers to change their dangerous and morally condemnable practices, we need millions of people to shop for organic, freerange, ethically raised animal products. We need millions of conscious consumers — we don’t need a few thousand vegans. But it seems this all-or-nothing approach has seeped its way into the mainstream. At the Democratic debate in September, moderator Jorge Ramos asked Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., about his vegan diet.

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Culture

Pitt Stages final Mainstage play ‘Appropriate’ opens Thursday Diana Velasquez

estranged members of the Lafayette family who return to their ancestral homestead in Arkansas following the death of their famOn the stage of the Richard E. Rauh ily patriarch. As they go through their faStudio Theatre is a set mirroring the style ther’s home that’s packed to the brim with appropriate for a Southern homestead livdifferent heirlooms — a real hoarder’s paring room — floral couches, old-fashioned adise — they unearth a few family secrets. wallpaper and a quaint bookshelf. The Lafayette family’s ancestral home But this is no typical house, and the just happens to be an old slave plantation. family in it has a lot of baggage to work And when the Lafayettes discover some through. “Appropriate,” written by Bransecrets related to this dark family history, den Jacobs-Jenkins, an American playthey have to figure out how to acknowlwright and MacArthur Fellow, and diedge it. Vila-Roger said these heinous and rected by Ricardo Vila-Roger, a professor horrible secrets cannot be ignored by the in Pitt’s Department of Theatre Arts, will Lafayettes because the shiny, joyful version premiere Thursday at 8 p.m. and continue of their family can no longer stand. through March 1. “How they’re willing to overlook their “Appropriate” chronicles the lives of the Staff Writer

family history to maintain this sanitized version of their family, and when they figure out that some of the things they find are valuable, how does capitalism affect their view of racism? If they can make money off of it suddenly, is it OK to do so?” he said. The theater arts department chose “Appropriate” as its final Mainstage play of the 2019-20 academic year because it wants to acknowledge these themes of race, according to Vila-Roger. He said he likes to explore issues of race in his plays, but due to a lack of diversity in the department, he does not always get to. “One of the things I really like to do is discuss issues about race and be able to

have these difficult conversations that we don’t often get to have. With the school and our department being 75% white it’s hard, we can’t really produce works starring people of color because we don’t always have the actors to fill those roles, so our students miss out on these opportunities,” he said. The apparent lack of diversity was not a problem when casting “Appropriate,” which, according to Vila-Roger, is deliberately all white. He said when JacobsJenkins, a black playwright, wrote “Appropriate,” it was in response to the idea that all-black family dramas often revolve around race when white family dramas See Appropriate on page 7

Netflix stars talk ‘I Am Not Okay With This’

Siddhi Shockey Senior Staff Writer

Sydney (Sophia Lillis) glared across the table at Brad (Richard Ellis) as he smuggly took a bite of his food, while Sydney’s best friend Dina (Sofia Bryant) smiled at him. And last night in Alumni Hall, Dina and Brad looked across a room full of Pitt students. The Pitt Film and Media Studies program hosted Bryant and Ellis, actors from the upcoming Netflix series “I Am Not Okay With This.” The actors answered questions about their experiences during the production of the show. The series is based on a graphic novel of the same name by Charles Forsman, and will preSofia Bryant (right) and Richard Ellis (left), actors from the upcoming Netflix series “I Am Not Okay With This,” spoke to students Wednesday about their miere on Feb. 26. experiences with the production of the show and in the film industry in an “I Am Not Okay With This” tells the event hosted by The Pitt Film and Media Studies program. story of Sydney, a 15-year-old struggling Sarah Cutshall visual editor to traverse the ordinary world of high Bryant plays Dina, Sydney’s badass, career actors including Ellis, Bryant, Lillis school when she suddenly discovers she bubbly BFF and girlfriend to Ellis’ charand Wyatt Oleff, who plays Stanley Barhas superpowers. The series — filmed in acter, Bradley Lewis, the embodiment of a ber. Brownsville — features a number of early-

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February 20, 2020

stereotypical jock. Together the two help, and hinder, Sydney’s journey as she learns to come into her newfound powers. Bryant said the story encompasses themes from films of all eras. “It’s like ‘X-Men’ meets ‘Lady Bird,’ all wrapped together in a John Hughes bow,” Bryant said. Throughout the discussion, the actors frequently told stories of their time on set for the series and their journeys through the film industry. Bryant discussed how she appreciated having such a small cast and how close they all were able to get with one another. Growing up with a musical theater background in Manhattan, Bryant said it was exciting to be doing more serious film projects as well. Ellis began as a kinesiology major before deciding to switch to acting — ultimately leaving college to pursue acting full-time, first in New York City and then Los Angeles. During one of his first See Netflix on page 8

Poetry, pg. 1 created in partnership between the CAAPP and the University Library System. Robin Kear, library liaison for the English department and Lauren Russell, a poet and assistant director of CAAPP, worked together to coordinate the exhibit. Since the inception of CAAPP in 2016, they’ve gathered extensive bibliographies of the poets who have visited Pitt, such as lyrical poet Simone White and Harryette Mullen, author of “House Envy of All The World,” having them sign copies of their work before they’re placed into the library system. Kear curated 41 of her favorite works by African American poets to display out of the library’s extensive collection for Black History Month. “Whenever people are coming — the artists and the poets — Lauren will send me a list of items that we need from them,” she said. “I’ll work with Acquisitions to get them. We’ll buy out-of-print if we can if it’s a smaller edition or limited edition.” The idea for the book signings came

Colorful chapbooks — small collections of poetry centered on a theme — line the featured shelves in Hillman’s new African American poetry exhibit. The featured books were written and signed by black poets who have visited Pitt’s campus. Kaycee Orwig senior staff photographer

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from CAAPP cofounder Dawn Lundy Martin. After a visit to the University at Buffalo, Martin took home its English department’s idea to honor visiting authors by getting an autographed copy of their work into the university library. “When you give a reading [at University at Buffalo], it’s similar. They buy all the books you’ve written, including the smaller chapbooks with a limited press run if they can get them, you sign them in a special room with a special pen and it’s really lovely,” she said. Martin said the tradition has been a great way to extend the University’s African American poetry collection while keeping an archive of the CAAPP programming thus far. In addition to campus readings, the visiting writers often get a chance to interact directly with the student body. Russell said CAAPP has organized hands-on work between the visiting poets, such as Rickey Laurentiis, and students through the Studio in African American Poetry & Poetics course. See Poetry on page 8

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don’t. “Even though it’s all white folks it is still about race, and we’re not used to seeing that because the things that they experience — family history, a plantation — that would not happen with people of color. It’s the issue of race that white folks have to deal with, and come to grips with their history,” Vila-Roger said. According to Tyler Lentz, senior theater major and assistant director, “Appropriate” addresses uncomfortable topics, leaving little unsaid. He said if these themes are not discussed properly among the cast and crew offstage, it can really take a toll on people’s mental state. “We’re handling very difficult topics here with difficult words and things like anti-Semitism or having characters who are saying things that are very racist or anti-Semitic or just very questionable in general,” he said. Xiao Han, a senior studying theater arts and political science and stage manager for the show, said the cast and crew put up a piece of paper in the work space every day full of motivational reminders for everyone because of the difficult nature of the content. “For example, don’t bring negative energy, leave the negative emotions here in theater. Walk out feeling fine, and leave the story here. Things like speaking from your own experience, bring ‘you’ to this space,” she said. Lentz said the production of “Appropriate” was done well because of the amount of discussion required of the whole team beforehand. “This process has just been about building relationships and setting up com-

fort levels before we even brought it to the stage,” he said. After the performances this Saturday at 8 p.m. and next Friday at 8 p.m., there will be a roundtable hosted by the cast, where the play’s dramaturges will discuss issues addressed in the play like racism, capitalism and anti-Semitism. Vila-Roger said he hopes the people who attend these performances take the time to stay afterward and talk about the issues out loud because the play brings them up in such a brutal, confronting manner. “The audience can stay and talk about the play and talk about what they saw and the issues it brings out, because we thought it was especially important with this material,” he said. Lentz agreed that talking about the difficult themes of the show is important. He predicts that audience members will find the emotional content of the play staying with them long after they leave the theater. Lentz said “Appropriate” is a show audiences see to gain perspective in modern day discussions considered taboo by some. “This is not the kind of show where the audience is going to leave happy, they’re not gonna say, ‘Wow, look at that show!’ They’re going to leave and take a deep breath and sigh and be like, ‘That’s a lot to take in’ or, ‘That’s really powerful.’ Like when you see a horrifying story on the news and you just think, ‘How did we get here?’” he said. Han saw the show as a critique for society, which she said is something that is sorely needed for many of us who turn a blind eye to the problems plaguing others in favor of remaining in our own bubble. “This play is like a mirror for society, if you’re watching someone else’s story that could be your story actually,” she said.

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Netflix, pg. 5 projects as an extra in a film, Ellis said he learned an important lesson about the film industry meaning of “lunch.” “I remember they called lunch and so I went over and grabbed some of the salmon they laid out, literally bumping elbows with the stars of the show,” Ellis said. “And I just remember being yanked back and getting yelled at because when they call ‘lunch’ they don’t mean [the extras], they mean the stars.” Both actors recognized how different being in “I Am Not Okay With This” was from larger projects. Being part of a small cast made the experience more intimate and refreshing. “We went climbing in caves for Wyatt’s birthday and it was just a few of us and all of our inside jokes and best memories were from that trip,” Bryant said. Since the series was shot close to Pittsburgh, a few of the extras from the show were also in attendance. One extra recalled watching Ellis throw a “perfect spiral” through the air during a scene at a football game. Ellis also recalled this scene, but from a slightly different angle. “I remember watching the stunt double get hit and I was just sitting [on the side] drinking a La Croix thinking, ‘Oof that looks like it sucks,’” said Ellis. Both Ellis and Bryant discussed the harder aspects of nonsequential filming such as staying true to the characters and doing stunts safely. Hillary Demmon, the event moderator and senior lecturer in the film studies department, said having filmmakers, crew members and actors gives students perspectives on the process of making a film.

Demmon also addressed that showcasing a series that specifically featured younger actors gave an important perspective to Pitt film students. She said showcasing speakers who are in the early stages of their career offered a valuable reference for students. Even the plotline of the show struck a chord with some audience members like Raina Nanavaty, a first-year psychology major. Having just come out of high school, Nanavaty said she felt a connection to the themes surrounding being an adolescent and exploring who you are at a young age. “Looking back on what high school means and what it is, it’s interesting to see people go through what I just came out of,” she said. “It gives me a really good perspective that nothing lasts forever, and I want to watch this because I feel like it will give me messages that will help me as I grow up too.” Ellis admits that the show strongly plays off of the themes of how horribly uncomfortable high school can be, and how coming into your own can be a painful but necessary journey. According to the actors, the show hopes to show audiences how acceptance and inclusion are the ways to succeed together, and that — despite the title of the show — everything will be okay, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first. Ellis wants viewers to walk away from the show understanding that having empathy and listening to others can change everything. “And the fact that you have these superpowers that you have no control over make it [high school] that much harder, so it’s like a metaphor for growing up,” Ellis said.

Poetry, pg. 6 “The guests will circulate work in progress to the students ahead of time, and then the students present responses to the guest’s work in progress,” she said. “For some of the guests, that’s been really meaningful in helping them think about their own work.” CAAPP has brought dozens of black writers — activists and artists like poet Fred Moten and photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier — to campus for events centered on different topics such as black futurism and poetic form. According to Martin, the process for selecting prospective visitors is fairly intuitive. She said when the time comes for picking authors to visit, the CAAPP board thinks of a theme that Martin and her cohorts from the center find interesting. Potential speakers are selected based on that theme. “I like to invite people who [have] some interesting juxtaposition in the work that they’re doing and maybe the genres they’re working in,” she said.

Though Black History Month is over at the end of February, CAAPP has a full lineup of events throughout the rest of the semester. For those who still may not “get” poetry and are intimidated by the exhibit, Martin recommends starting with “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine as a starting point because of her prominence in the poetry community. Kear suggests picking up a book by poets Carl Phillips or Saretta Morgan, while Russell said Jonah Mixon-Webster’s “Stereo(TYPE)” is a book well worth diving into. Multiple books by Martin and Russell themselves feature on the shelves of the exhibit as well. Martin said this particular exhibit serves as a way for students unfamiliar with the medium to become more familiar both with poetry and black artists. “Most people don’t read poetry. A lot of people don’t teach poetry,” she said. “So this is an opportunity for them to learn about some poets that they don’t know about, to learn about some black poets they don’t know about, and to maybe incorporate those poets into their syllabi.”

The Call of The Wild (PG) No passes through 3/8/20 Fri: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15 Sat & Sun: 12:55, 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15 Mon & Tue: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15 Wed: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15 Thu: 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15 Downhill (R) No passes through 3/1/20 Fri: 1:50, 3:40, 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 Sat & Sun: 12:00, 1:50, 3:40, 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 Mon & Tue: 1:50, 3:40, 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 Wed: 1:50, 3:40, 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 Thu: 1:50, 3:40, 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 The Lodge (R) Fri: 3:05, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Sat & Sun: 12:50, 3:05, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Mon & Tue: 3:05, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Wed: 3:05, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Thu: 3:05, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 Knives Out (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 1:55 PM Parasite (R) Fri: 4:25, 7:00, 9:35 Sat & Sun: 11:20 AM, 4:25, 7:00, 9:35 Mon & Tue: 4:25, 7:00, 9:35 Wed: 4:25, 7:00, 9:35 Thu: 4:25, 7:00, 9:35

pittnews.com

February 20, 2020

Sports

AAI AWARD NOMINEE MICHAELA BURTON LEADS PITT GYMNASTS Hope Matyas

For the Pitt News American Athletic Inc. presents its AAI Award each year to “the most outstanding collegiate senior female gymnast in the country.” Essentially the Heisman Award of women’s gymnastics, the AAI Award nominees this year — as announced Monday — include Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross of UCLA and NCAA gymnastics legend Maggie Nichols of Oklahoma. The list also includes Pitt senior Michaela Burton, who was surprised to find her name among the best in the business. “I don’t think I did anything to be on Senior Michaela Burton holds the highest individual scores for the season on both bars and beam with a 9.850 and 9.925, respectively, and she has there, but obviously somebody saw someearned 10 individual event titles so far. Thomas Yang assistant visual editor thing,” she said.

What qualifications the AAI might have seen include her career-high scores, which can be found in the video announcement (0:06) with an all-around of 38.850 out of the elusive perfect 40. NCAA head coaches will soon vote to narrow the list to the top six finalists. The pressures of gymnastics as a sport can be enough to lose sight of one of the essential pieces to a successful season — everyone working as a team — but according to Burton’s teammates, her leadership ensures that everything runs smoothly. Burton arrived at Pitt just this season, making the move from Arkansas and the SEC to the EAGL conference for her senior year in See Gymnastics on page 10

PITT DUO PACES FIELD FROM NORTHWEST TO NCAA

Dominic Campbell Senior Staff Writer

As the NCAA indoor track and field season approaches its final weeks, two Panthers are looking to put an exclamation point on what has already been a historic year. Senior Shyheim Wright and sophomore Eddita Pessima have etched their names into the program record books and established themselves as some of the top hurdlers in the nation. Wright placed first in the 60-meter hurdles at three straight meets earlier this season, including a 7.67-second finish to win the Penn State National Open on Jan. 31. That gave him the second-best time in school history, just .06 behind the school record set by Mike Wray in 2007. Wright’s time currently ranks third in the ACC and seventh in the NCAA this season. Joining Wright on the women’s side, Pessima not only placed first at the Penn State

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National Open, but also set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.23 seconds, breaking the previous record of 8.32 that was set twice — by Brianna Broyles in 2011 and again by Taranisha Taylor in 2014. Her time is the second best in the ACC this season and 22nd in the NCAA. Maybe it’s something in the water, because the duo’s path to dominance began in the same place — Germantown, Maryland. Both hail from the Washington, D.C., suburb and went to the same Northwest High School. Wright started off as a football player before he began hurdling in high school. He originally wanted to be a great football player because his father had played the sport, but he eventually realized his superior passion for hurdling. “When I got to hurdles … it’s a different feeling when you can get over 10 barriers See Track on page 11

Senior Shyheim Wright (pictured) and sophomore Eddita Pessima have had some of the best seasons for hurdlers in school history and have been two of the best hurdlers in the ACC. Photo courtesy of Michael Shroyer | Getty Images

February 20, 2020

Gymnastics, pg. 9 hopes of finding a more supportive atmosphere. The culture of Arkansas — currently ranked No. 20 nationally — was more focused on individual improvement and success. While Burton follows a strenuous training program to improve her skill set as an individual, team culture and camaraderie were not on the list of skills to maintain. Choosing to move schools and conferences has helped Burton fall back in love with the sport through a thriving team culture with coaches that work hard to do the best for their team, in and out of the gym. “I didn’t want to feel forced to go to the gym my whole last year just to finish it out,” Burton said. Transfering from a big-name SEC school to Pitt is an unlikely move from such a talented athlete in the eyes of NCAA women’s gymnastics enthusiasts — gymnasts will typically stay in the same conference to see the same level of competition from opponents should they transfer. “I think it’s important for people to understand that all these schools are talented,

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just because they don’t have the SEC brand stamp on them, it doesn’t mean anything,” Burton said. “There are so many hidden gems here.” Since the beginning of the 2020 competitive season, Burton has been a highscoring anchor for Pitt’s team. She holds the highest individual scores for the season on both bars and beam with a 9.850 and 9.925, respectively. She has also earned 10 individual event titles so far. Her history at Arkansas is impressive as well, earning a top score of 9.800 on floor during the 2018 NCAA Regionals to help take Arkansas to the championships. Burton could again lead the charge at Regionals should Pitt gymnastics qualify. The team got off to a rocky start this season, losing its first three meets, but teammates Olivia Miller and Alecia Petrikis both agree that Burton’s presence on the team is a main source for the team’s comeback and overcoming the confidence barriers and mental blocks that plague the sport. “I always say you can sink to your weakest link or rise to the highest energy — it goes hand in hand,” Petrikis said. Since Burton’s arrival, her teammates

have noticed an increased confidence among them. The results are higher scores and a collective attitude that Pitt gymnastics is on the come-up. “This year I can feel there’s so much more confidence and poise when we go up and compete as opposed to going up and being nervous and not sure if everyone is going to hit,” Miller said. “I know whoever is up is best suited for the job.” Helping her teammates find confidence in their hours of practices, lifts and workouts has affected the team’s outlook on competition as a whole. Burton believes that the most effective way to lead is by example. “There is nothing that’s going to help your team other than doing what you practice every single day,” she said. Miller added that there will be “big shoes to fill” once Burton graduates. But right now, the team is just focused on finishing this season out strong — and enjoying the fact that Burton is helping accomplish that goal. “You can see that she has so much joy when she does this sport with people she loves, and it’s not her trying to do it on her own anymore,” Petrikis said.

February 20, 2020

Track, pg. 9 faster than anybody else and you cross the line,” Wright said. “In football, you could get tackled, get up and next play make something happen, as opposed to track you get that one chance and then you have to wait a whole week. So it just feels more rewarding when you win a race, especially a hurdle race.” He went on to become a state champion in the 55-meter, 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles as a high school senior and had the third-best time in the country as a junior in the 55-meter hurdles. In his collegiate career, Wright has done well so far, making it to ACC Indoor Championships in his first three years and outdoor Championships his first two years, with an injury holding him back last year. Pessima wasn’t a lifelong track star, only joining the team in her first year of high school. But Wright noticed her dedication early on, and she knew she was destined for big things because of her work ethic and coachability. “To see where she’s at now, I didn’t think she’d be on this level,” Wright said.

Career-focused. THAT’S THE POINT.

“Like she’s on a way higher level than I was my sophomore year. I’m proud of her for sure, and it’s just crazy how she started and where she’s at now.” Pessima blossomed into the top hurdler in Northwest history, winning four state championships and earning school records in every hurdling event. Wright also played a part in Pessima coming to Pitt. He committed to Pitt after hurdling coach Keith Roberts and head coach Alonzo Webb noticed his performances as a junior, and he managed to put in a word for Pessima to his coaches and encouraged her to come to Pitt as well. Pessima instantly had a major impact in her first year. She competed in both the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, and her 13.31-second finish in the 100-meter hurdles at NCAA East Regionals was the second-best in school history. Unfortunately, the time was .01 short of what would have qualified her for the NCAA National Outdoor Championships, according to Webb. Coming into this season, Pessima said she was confident she could further improve and break the school record. With that record secured, she now has to re-up

her goals. “I’ve accomplished all the things I wanted to so far,” Pessima said. “So I’m setting new goals as of right now, which are to score in ACCs and to participate in Nationals. Those are my two new goals.” The friendship that formed between Wright and Pessima at Northwest has continued at Pitt. The two practice with each other, as Pessima requested to train with the men’s team. Once in a while, she even beats Wright. “She does starts with me, and sometimes she beats me,” he said. Wright says that Pessima’s competitive nature has helped him become a better hurdler, while Pessima says that Wright’s mentorship has been extremely beneficial. “In high school he always helped me with the hurdles, and, coming here, he’s always there,” Pessima said. “He’s always there to help me, to guide me and to pick at me sometimes if I’m not doing certain things during the hurdles. So I really appreciate that and he’s really helped me a lot.” Webb said that when Wright tore his quad in his senior year of high school, it affected his confidence and ability. But after three years at Pitt, Wright is finally starting

to show the massive upside he displayed as a junior in high school. “He wasn’t the hardest worker, and I think he’ll probably tell you he wasn’t, but now since his senior year has come, and even starting conditioning, I’ve seen a different Shyheim,” Webb said. “And he’s been working hard up to this point and it’s paying big dividends for him. For Pessima, Webb noted that she has been on top of her game and has been “on fire” ever since she just missed out on nationals last season. He also believes that she has the potential to become a truly great hurdler. In Pessima, Webb sees the rare potential of someone who can compete on the national stage. “Eddita is really focused … she’s just been on fire,” Webb said. “She’s been perfecting her craft, her technique and everything and each week, especially after she broke the school record, I think the confidence has really taken over. She really belongs where she is and she can continue to get better.” Wright and Pessima will compete in the ACC Indoor Championships next week on Feb. 27-29 at Notre Dame.

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February 20, 2020

I N D E X

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South **August 2020, Oakland Square. We have Studios, 1, 2 & 3BR apartments available. Clean, walking distance to campus. Great location. $600‑$1300 ALL UTILITIES IN CLUDED! Off‑street parking available. No pets, smoking or parties. Call

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412‑882‑7568 or email tsciulli123@ gmail.com 1‑2‑3 bedroom apart ments available for August 2020. Owner Managed. 40+ years on campus. Fully fur nished or unfurnished, most units are newly remodeled Kitchens and baths , located on Atwood, Semple, Oakland Ave., Ward, Mckee Place, Juliet. Call or text Tim @ 412‑491‑1330 www. TMKRentals.com 264 Robinson St. 2 BR, 3 bath, $1000+utilities. Available August 1st. 412‑884‑8891. 3,5,6 bedroom. All newly renovated, air‑conditioning, dishwasher, washer/ dryer, and parking. Most units on busline and close to Pitt. Available Summer 2020. 412‑915‑0856 or email klucca@veri zon.net. 3211 Juliet St. 2 apart‑ ments for rent. Avail‑ able 08/01/2020. 2 BR at $950/mo. in cludes all utilities. 3 BR at $1425/ mo. includes all utilities. Security Deposit required. Call 412‑608‑8581. 322 S. Bouquet.

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people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance with codes. Call City’s Permits, Licensing & Inspections. 412‑255‑2175. Dawson Village Apts. near CMU and Pitt. One bedroom apts. $935 + electric. Avail‑ able for immediate move in. On bus line, close to restaurants and shops. Contact Jerry at 412‑722‑8546 Now renting for Fall 2020. Apartments and houses of all sizes. Conveniently located throughout South Oakland. Rents start‑ ing as low as $620. John C.R. Kelly Realty. Call today at 412‑683‑7300 www.jcrkelly.com Pet Friendly!! Studios ‑ $695‑$705 1Beds ‑ $795‑$815 2beds ‑ $975‑$995 3beds ‑ $1,245 412‑455‑5600 or www.pghnexus.com South Oakland Houses and Apart ments with Laundry/ Central Air. Call or Text 412‑38‑Lease. AMO Management. Spacious, well‑main tained S Oakland 3BR house, $1875/ mo + utilities. Central

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February 20, 2020

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