The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | february 28, 2018 | Volume 108 | Issue 121
Religious studies chair,
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
mentor dies John Hamilton Managing Editor Linda Penkower — the chair of the University’s religious studies department known for supporting students and faculty — died Tuesday night, the department’s undergraduate director said in an email. In the email, which was addressed to religious studies majors and recent graduates, professor Rachel Kranson said Penkower had been fighting cancer for several years. “She engaged in this struggle while working tirelessly for the religious studies department, for her colleagues, and for her students,” Kranson wrote. The department also shared the news on Facebook, sending condolences to her friends and family. “We are sorry to have to share the news of the death of our department chair, beloved colleague, dedicated and inspiring teacher, and noted scholar of early Chinese Buddhism, Linda Penkower,” the post read. Penkower mainly taught courses related to religion in Asia, according to her faculty bio. She spent nine years living in Japan and one in China and has published numerous research papers on Buddhism. She earned her PhD from Columbia University in 1993. She’s received numerous awards and grants — including two Fulbright-Hays faculty research fellowships. See Chair on page 4
Madison Renner, a junior natural sciences major, receives assistance while registering to vote at Planned Parenthood’s My Body is My Own Art installation outside the William Pitt Union Tuesday afternoon. Sarah Cutshall STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
SGB CALLS FOR EXPANSION OF MEDICAL AMNESTY LAWS Noah Manalo
Government Board believes adding legal protection to the state criminal code for the perAt Student Government Board’s final pub- son receiving medical attention in an incident lic meeting before spring break, SBG President involving alcohol will create a safer environMax Kneis introduced a resolution calling for ment for college students across the commonthe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to ex- wealth,” the resolution said. The resolution notes the Pitt policy that pand medical amnesty laws. says the person seeking help for someone and The resolution states that approximately the person experiencing the alcohol emergen1,825 college students in the United States die cy won’t be charged with violating Pitt alcohol each year from alcohol-related injuries. The and drug policies. resolution notes that Pennsylvania’s medical But Kneis mentioned in an interview after amnesty policy does not provide protection the meeting that students can still receive a for the person receiving medical attention for conduct violation from other authorities. alcohol related overdoses, unlike drug over“People don’t want to call for help because doses. they don’t want to get their friend in trouble,” “The University of Pittsburgh Student Staff Writer
he said. “This essentially does not de-incentivize people calling for help.” Kneis said he has been in communication frequently with the presidents of the student government at Penn State and Lehigh University. Lehigh’s student government started the push for the legislation in October. The resolution is also co-sponsored by the presidents of Pitt’s three Greek councils. The resolution is being introduced after Dean Kenyon Bonner placed Pitt fraternity Sigma Chi on suspension in January because of a “serious alcohol incident” involving a Sigma Chi member. All of Pitt Greek Life was also put on social probation because of the See SGB on page 2
incident, meaning they cannot host, sponsor or participate in any social activities in which alcohol is present. Bonner said he will lift the Greek life probation after “meaningful progress” is made in improving the safety of Pitt sororities and fraternities. SBG will be sending a copy of the resolution to all members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. After the first open forum, Executive Vice President Zuri Kent-Smith announced he has been appointed by Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Pamela Connelly to create a committee to consider renaming Parran Hall. Parran Hall is named after Thomas Parran Jr., the nation’s sixth surgeon general and the first dean of Pitt’s School of Public Health from 1948 until 1958. The name of the building has recently come under scrutiny due to Parran’s involvement in the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study, where treatment was withheld from hundreds of African-American men suffering from the disease for the purpose of research. The graduate student organizing committee started a petition to rename the building, which had 546 signatures Tuesday night. “I found out about Thomas Parran’s history and controversy over the summer. The name has been on people’s minds for a while,” Kent-Smith said. The first meeting of this committee will be in March, after spring break. SGB also discussed internal changes at the public meeting. The board introduced a resolution that would update the process of selecting University Senate Council Representatives. The current process simply selects the three board members who received the most votes in the SGB elections. The bill would instead appoint the executive vice president, the title given to whoever receives the most votes in the board member elections, as well as the chief of finance and and chief of cabinet, two appointed positions. “We just wanted to ensure SGB was as best represented as possible,” Kneis said. “Questions come up and the vice president have a better knowledge of specifics happening in various committees, as opposed to just general board members.” Allocations Committee Chair Cory Stillman announced that “Allocations 101” videos have been filmed. They will be posted on the SGB website to show student groups the processes for requesting allocations and filling out supplemental forms.
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Board member Ian Callahan announced a new grade-change system that would reduce the time it takes for a professor to change a grade. He said the registrar’s office is still working on finalizing the system. Callahan also announced that the Dietrich School’s course descriptions site will no longer be used and updated. He said the reason it is shutting down is because the school is no longer able to continue investing in maintaining it. The registrar’s office will be expanding the enrollment information on Peoplesoft instead. To start the meeting, Kneis also gave his congratulations to next year’s Board members, including incoming SGB President-elect Maggie Kennedy, and announced that the transition process has officially started. “Maggie, I am excited to pass my gavel on to you, but I’m going to hold on to it for a few months,” Kneis said. Communications Director Sana Mahmood was absent at Tuesday’s meeting. Allocations: Political Science Student Association requested $3,264.04 for ground transportation and lodging for their annual trip to Washington D.C. The board approved in full. Phi Beta Lambda requested $1,989.95 for ground transportation and lodging for its State Leadership conference in Harrisburg. The board approved in full. Pitt Women’s Rugby Football Club requested $1,076.48 for competition expenses. The board approved in full. Pitt Women’s Club Soccer requested $175.00 for competition expenses. The board approved in full. Panther Airsoft Club Team requested $866.00 for general travel. The board approved in full. Pitt PanthEARs requested $1,522.71 for airfare and lodging their annual trip to the American Academy of Audiology 2018 Conference. The board approved in full. Pitt Rugby Football Club requested $1,302.48 for lodging for its NashBash Rugby Festival in Nashville. The board approved in full. Bass Fishing Team requested $500.90 for competition expenses. The board approved $217.00 and denied $283.90. Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club requested $2,225.24 for their Stanford Invite. The board approved in full. Kappa Kappa Psi requested $2,628.81 for registration, ground transportation and lodging for its Northeast District Convention. The board approved $916.43 and denied $1,712.38.
The Pitt News SuDoku 2/28/18 courtesy of dailysudoku.com
The Pitt news crossword 2/28/18
SGB, pg. 1
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Opinions
Editorial: PM Jacinda Ardern’s inappropriate interview pittnews.com
DON’T PIN BLAME ON VIOLENT GAMES Thomas Wick Columnist Imagine being able to punch a ninja through the chest, rip out their heart and then squeeze it to drink the remaining blood left for nourishment. All it takes is two fatal words — “finish him” — to violently kill an opponent this way while playing “Mortal Kombat.” In fact, the violence in this 1992 game was so excessive that it resulted in the ESRB rating system, which assigns age and content ratings to video games in order to protect children. But we know the tragic truth — that senseless killing doesn’t exist only in video game fantasy worlds. It rips apart and ravages lives in classrooms across the nation. The recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has opened up a myriad of responses from government officials on how to stop school shootings. Of all the possible causes, President Donald Trump believes that violent media, specifically video games, has a significant negative impact on young minds and connects to shootings. “We have to look at the internet, because a lot of bad things are happening to young kids and young minds and their minds are being formed,” Trump said. “And also video games. I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts.” Pulling a causation between violent video games and increased violence in minors is not only shortsighted and unnecessary, but doing so bypasses an opportunity to address other more relevant and deep-seated issues. Whenever these shootings happen, they are usually the result of other factors such as gun control, school safety and mental health problems. And while finding the real root of a shooting is complex, blaming video games is hardly the way to address the problem. Of course, it is understandable why some people are eager to point fingers at video games for these school shootings — they’re far more interactive than movies, comics or social
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media. Watching a violent Quentin Tarantino movie or viewing graphic imagery in a comic are passive experiences, but the player is the one gunning down enemy soldiers in “Call of Duty,” slicing and dicing demons in “Devil May Cry” and committing heinous crimes in “Grand Theft Auto V.” It certainly doesn’t help that most of today’s popular video game franchises are M-rated games with graphic violence — “Call of Duty,” “Battlefield,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Kombat” and “Resident Evil” are just a few examples. This rise in M-rated violence might seem like a reasonable connection for the recent school shootings. However, Liam McFadden a little common STAFF ILLUSTRATOR sense is all you need to find that there is no causation. Plenty of scientific studies show no link between violent video games and criminal behavior. For example, researchers from the American Psychological Association found that while there is evidence of a link between violent video games and increased aggression, it’s not sufficient enough to say that playing violent video games leads to criminal behavior. A study at the University of Missouri came to this same conclusion, adding that no link
exists between the games and violence in teenagers with attention deficit disorder or depression. If these studies don’t speak loudly enough against video games’ undeserved bad reputation, there may be more that suggest they actually have a positive impact on players. As games become more and more violent, crime rates can actually drop. A study
published in 2016 showed that according to violent crime logs from weeks after a violent video game release, general violence actually decreased. Some have theories about violent video games possibly causing this decrease. Maybe the catharsis provided by violent games provides a way for people with violent tendencies to release their anger and aggression to virtual
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characters rather than at real people. In the wake of a tragedy, it’s easy for Trump and concerned parents to point to media for the source of these shootings — it does have a lot of influence in our culture, and therefore a lot of influence on our actions. But in doing so, they neglect the more crucial areas of discussion. In order to prevent school shootings, experts such as Ron Avi Astor proposed several ideas. More attention needs to be placed on stopping unhealthy obsessions with firearms — especially from those who have thoughts of murder — reducing weapons on school grounds and limiting powerful weapons that can kill lots of people quickly. Video games are a wonderful medium that have had tons of positive effects on young children and people around the world, such as improved problem-solving skills critical thinking, and in some cases, better social skills. In fact, violent games such as “Spec Ops: The Line” have used their depiction of violence in war to persuade gamers that the actions they do are wrong and that there is no honor or justice in war and violence. It’s far past time for the video game controversy to be put to rest — just because overly graphic video games are popular and influential doesn’t mean they are to blame for school shootings. If parents are concerned that violent video games will have a negative influence on their kids, they simply need to take better care and be sure they do not buy or play them. The ESRB rating system is in place for a reason — to make sure that children cannot simply go to the store, buy the latest “Mortal Kombat” and be exposed to graphic fatalities. The sooner Trump rejects these ill-conceived notions of violent media being the motivator of these shootings, the sooner we can start looking at the real causes and the sooner we can find solutions. Thomas primarily writes about visual media and gaming for The Pitt News. Write to him at tmw79@pitt.edu.
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Chair, pg. 1 Rebecca Denova, a senior lecturer in the department, said Penkower always had the department’s best interests in mind. “She always went to bat for everyone in the department all the time,” she said. “It’s really quite a loss.” Responding to the department’s Facebook post, Jason von Ehrenkrook, now an assistant professor of religious studies at University of Massachusetts-Boston,
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said Penkower was a guide and mentor when he was a lecturer at Pitt from 2010 to 2014. “She was enormously supportive while I was at Pitt, and even after I left,” he said. “My deepest condolences to my former colleagues and to her many friends and family.” M. Cooper Harriss, also commenting on the department’s post, expressed his appreciation of the kindness and support Penkower provided him during his time as a postdoctoral fellow at Pitt from 2012 to 2013.
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“She was good and excellent in ways that few can be at the same time,” Harriss wrote. “My condolences to the department, her friends, and her family.” One of Penkower’s students, Lianghao Lu — a doctoral candidate in the department — said Penkower was a “dedicated professor and advisor” who provided her with valuable guidance, carefully reading all her work and offering detailed feedback. “This is the way she treats all her students,” Lu said in an email Tuesday night. “She will always be my mentor.”
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Sports
Recruit spotlight: Chase Brown pittnews.com
NARDUZZI ROUNDS OUT STAFF FOR 2018 SEASON Trent Leonard Staff Writer Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi announced three coaching appointments Saturday, finalizing his 2018 staff. Narduzzi promoted defensive line coach Charlie Partridge to assistant head coach, hired Cory Sanders as safeties coach and brought in Paris Johnson Sr. as assistant director of player personnel. Partridge’s promotion comes just one year after he came to the program in 2017. However, this is not his first stint with the Panthers — Partridge was on the staff as a defensive line coach and special teams coordinator under head coaches Walt Harris and Dave Wannstedt from 2003 to 2007. Between his tenures at Pitt, Partridge worked as an assistant at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Florida Atlantic from 2008 to 2016. “In only a year’s time, Charlie Partridge has made a tremendous impact on our program,” Narduzzi said in a press release the day of the hiring. “Charlie is universally respected for the type of leader, coach and person he is.” In addition to his new responsibilities as assistant head coach, Patridge will continue to oversee the Panthers’ defensive line, which will return all four starters from last season. In Sanders, Narduzzi saw a relentless recruiter and a coach with ambition, shown by his quick ascent through the tiers of college football coaching. “Cory Sanders really impressed us during the interview process,” Narduzzi said. “We will be adding a young, up-and-coming coach who
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Pitt football defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was promoted to assistant head coach. Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics
New defensive coordinator Randy Bates answers questions at a press conference Jan. 29. John Hamilton CONTRIBUTING EDITOR has outstanding football knowledge and really excels at teaching the fundamentals.” A 2005 graduate of Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana, Sanders coached at his alma mater in the Division II ranks from 2010 to 2014, spending his first year as defensive coordinator and the next three as head coach. He then moved on to become the first defensive coordinator at the University of West Florida, which played its inaugural season in 2016, before spending last season as defensive backs coach at Western Michigan. Sanders’ hiring filled the 10th and final as-
sistant coaching position. Narduzzi’s appointment of Johnson as assistant director of player personnel fills the position left open by Da’Vell Winters, who elected to rejoin the Oregon football program a few weeks ago. Johnson’s profile includes a successful college playing career and a short stint in the NFL. He played defensive back at North Iowa Community College before transferring to Miami University in Ohio, where he earned all-MAC honors as a senior in 1998. The Arizona Cardinals selected Johnson as
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a first-round pick in 1999. After one season in Arizona, he also spent time as a practice squad player for the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys before leaving the league for a career in law enforcement in 2003. Johnson came back to college football in 2012 and eventually crossed paths with Narduzzi at Michigan State University, where he worked under Narduzzi as a graduate recruiting assistant. Johnson is also the father of one of the top high school linemen prospects in the nation — Paris Johnson Jr. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound offensive tackle is currently a sophomore at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Johnson Jr. has already received offers from top schools such as Clemson, Georgia and Penn State.
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