3-16-18 by The Pitt News

The Pitt News

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | March 16, 2018 | Volume 108 | Issue 128

Qdoba closed after lawsuit, health violations

A DAY IN THEIR SHOES

John Hamilton Managing Editor

The Forbes Avenue Qdoba closed after the Qdoba Restaurant Corp. sued the franchise’s owners for breach of contract because of numerous code violations. Qdoba filed a lawsuit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Feb. 28 against Brooks Hospitality, Chad Brooks and Sally Brooks. The suit alleged the Forbes location owners breached their contract with the franchiser for “failing to maintain the highest health standards and ratings applicable to the operation of the restaurant.” Court filings from March 6 show that the Brooks consented to Qdoba’s injunction request and the court ordered the owners to close the restaurant. The court also ordered the Brooks to hire a pest-control company and said that, at Qdoba’s discretion, they could reopen the restaurant for up to six months in order to find a buyer. But a sign put in the restaurant Tuesday said the location was permanently closed, leading to strong reactions from students who frequented the Oakland staple. Owner Chad Brooks said Tuesday that the closure was a corporate decision. He made no mention of the lawsuit and didn’t answer phone

Junior economics major Jordan Koupal attempts to place boxes of necessities into a backpack within ten seconds at PEACHS homelessness simulation at the William Pitt Union Thursday afternoon. Chiara Rigaud STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

PITT CHALLENGES GRAD UNION ELECTION Janine Faust and John Hamilton

Pitt will try to convince the board that graduate students aren’t employees. The labor board ruled in February that gradThe Pitt News Staff Pitt administrators have told the uate students at Penn State were considPennsylvania Labor Relations Board they ered employees and could unionize. In a post on Facebook, the Pitt Graduplan to challenge the graduate student ate Student Organizing Committee called petition to hold a union election, union the move an “attempt to drag out the proSee Qdoba on page 4 organizers said Wednesday. cess in hopes of busting our union.”

Beth Shaaban, a union organizer and Ph.D. student in the department of epidemiology, said the organizers learned about the news in a conference call with Pitt administrators Wednesday. She said the University’s challenge has “made [organizers] more determined than ever to

See Union on page 4

News

GET YOUR GAEILGE ON:

PROFESSOR PRESERVES IRISH LANGUAGE

Cassidy Power Staff Writer

Marie Young left her home in Galway, Ireland, in 2001, intending to visit her brother in Pittsburgh for only three months. But what was meant to be a chance to see a little more of the world turned into a permanent change after she fell in love with the City — and a local Irishman. Young ended up turning down a permanent teaching job in Dublin and accepting a position at Pitt. She has no regrets — she’s been teaching Irish at Pitt for 12 years now and considers instructing students about culture and native language a dream opportunity. “I never in a million years thought I’d come over to Pittsburgh to teach Irish at a university. It’s very much in my culture at home and it’s hugely my connection to my home,” Young said. Young teaches Irish Culture and Traditions along with levels one, three and five of Gaeilge — the predominant language of the Irish people for most of their history — in the fall. During the spring semester she teaches the culture course along with Gaeilge two, four and six. She is currently the only instructor at Pitt teaching courses on Irish language and culture. Pitt has been offering Irish courses since 1991. Currently, the Irish curriculum includes the six levels of language, Irish literature and history courses and 11 study abroad programs, serving a total of 140 students. Young said Irish Culture and Traditions is her pet course. Unlike the language courses, her culture class is free-form –– she is constantly updating the curriculum and doesn’t follow a rigid structure. She says this allows her to keep in contact with her home country and stay on top of current events and pop culture. “With the culture class, the world’s your oyster, and Ireland has so much going on that you want to cover,” Young said. Young spends the first 10 minutes of each of her classes chatting with her students about

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phy quizzes with personal anecdotes and jokes day, the entire class broke into a catchy Irish folk song. Following along with a viral video of about Irish memes. During a Culture and Traditions class Tues- a drunk wedding party, they sang 12 verses of “The Rattlin’ Bog.” Andrea Kleckner, a sophomore English writing major, said one of the best aspects of the course is having fun together as a class. Kleckner grew to love Irish culture and recently spent spring break in Ireland. When in Dublin, she was sure to visit a local ice cream shop, bars and tourist attractions that Young discussed in class. One of the highlights of her trip was eating the famous Dublin 99 ice cream, an ice cream cone with a Cadbury Flake bar in it. Young said she was pleased that a student of hers had indulged in the treat she often cited as the hallmark of the Irish experience. “It’s full circle for me that one of my students was able to eat a 99 and believe me,” Young said. Students cited Young’s warm personality Marie Young lectures in her Irish Culture and Traditions class Tuesday and casual demeanor as reasons for sticking afternoon. Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR with a lesser-known language. Ethan Moser, a junior English literature and writing major, sees Young as almost more of an encouraging friend who nurtures a love of learning than a traditional professor. “Marie is one of the coolest professors at Pitt because she engages with students on a level that isn’t like the hierarchical systems that other professors have,” Moser said. Although Gaeilge is a required subject in Irish schools, only 41 percent of Ireland can speak the language. Galway, the region Young is from, is one of the few surviving areas of Ireland where Gaeilge is the primary language, though these areas have been facing a steady decline in the number of Gaeilge speakers. While not all of Young’s students have the personal tie to the language she does, Young said they have developed great respect and apMarie Young, instructor of the Irish Culture and Traditions course at Pitt, preciation for it. laughs with a student while showing her class videos of Irish songs. “It’s a full circle in the idea of bringing my Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR See Gaeilge on page 3

everything from vacation plans to local elections. In her Culture and Traditions course, she integrates mini Irish history lessons and geogra-

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Gaeilge, pg. 2 students home to Ireland and showing them the appreciation that I have and watching their appreciation grow,” Young said. “Watching them have that impact with the Irish language would truly make my grandparents proud.” While Young says her language classes have the appropriate workload for a four credit course, they have a more relaxed atmosphere and smaller class sizes. She describes them as a “breath of fresh air” to students bogged down by formulas and research papers. For many students, Gaeilge is different and exciting. Caitlin Rieger, a junior communication major, said she was “sick of Spanish and French” and didn’t even know Irish was a language until she came to Pitt. Now that she’s in the class, she discovered she has a passion for Irish. Although she’s undecided about completing the Irish minor, Rieger is glad she’s taken Irish courses. “I’m super interested in the Irish culture in general. [Gaeilge] can be a little challenging, but it’s a lot of fun,” Rieger said. Young’s classes may soon be incorporated into an Irish minor, which would include four semesters of language and one related elective, totaling 17 credits. The Less Commonly Taught

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Young describes the 1916 Irish Easter Rising to her Irish Culture and Tradition class Tuesday afternoon. Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR Language Center has been drafting a proposal for the minor since 2016. The process involved researching existing programs, creating a list of related courses throughout the University and ensuring that the minor would be achievable for students within a variety of disciplines. Young describes the cohesion between the Irish language, history and culture classes as necessary. She believes language is shaped by culture and that a key component of culture

is language. It’s this necessary relationship that will be represented with the minor. “You can’t do a language class without introducing the culture and vice versa,” Young said. The minor has already been approved by the Dietrich School Undergraduate Council and the Dietrich School Council and now just requires approval by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate studies.

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Gretchen Aiyangar, the Less Commonly Taught Language program coordinator, said the center submitted the proposal in November along with proposals for Hindi, Modern Greek, Persian, Quechua, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese. Moser is planning on completing the Irish minor if it becomes available. He loves Ireland and hopes to write novels featuring the country. Moser visited Ireland on a study abroad program and plans to return for his graduate education. In his mind, an Irish minor will give him a competitive edge when applying to Irish programs. Most people have never been exposed to Gaeilge before, he said, which can make it initially challenging, but extremely rewarding. “Spanish is something that a lot of people are surrounded by. Irish is very different — it’s very shocking to get into a language where you don’t know how to pronounce anything,” Moser said. Young is grateful that her students are as enthusiastic about Ireland as she is. She says it can be hard to find a connection to Ireland in America, but that her job as an Irish teacher helps her keep in touch with her culture. “To have this as a job, as an occupation ... I’m very lucky,” Young said.

Union supporters and organizers cook out at Camp David Lawrence in September. Thomas Yang VISUAL EDITOR board to establish its view that graduate students aren’t workers. pg. 1 “The University of Pittsburgh refight for our rights.” mains committed to the success of all The Facebook post also says Pitt hired students, and we will continue doing a law firm known for “union busting.” what we do best: partnering with graduPitt spokesperson Kevin Zwick would ate students — individually and collecnot confirm that Pitt hired a law firm or tively — to support their growth and respond to questions asking if tuition or success,” he said. taxpayer funds are going toward payGraduate students filed a petition in ing the lawyers. Zwick said Pitt is go- October with the labor board to hold a ing through the process set by the labor union election, indicating that organiz-

Union,

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ers collected union cards from 30 percent of students. But Pitt maintains that graduate students are only students, not employees, a position strongly opposed by the organizers. “Grad students, researchers and teachers are considered employees in various places,” Shaaban said. “It says so when we log into our pay stubs ... we get a W2 IRS form from the University.” Shaaban said GSOC and University legal representatives talked during a conference call Wednesday. The call was held so that the University could either agree with GSOC’s ability to hold an election or challenge it, she said. “The administration could have reported at that call that they were agreeable to the election, but they chose not to,” she said. “Instead, they decided to contest our ability to hold an election. ” Shaaban said the administration and GSOC will argue their cases in an upcoming labor board hearing. If the board determines that Pitt graduate students are employees, the administration will be required to present an Excelsior list — a list filed by the employer stating the names and addresses of all eligible bargaining unit employees. The board

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will then be able to check the filed union cards and certify if 30 percent of graduate students have signed union cards. If they unionize, grad students will be part of the United Steelworkers union. Shaaban said a date for the hearing is currently being arranged by both parties’ legal representatives. “Both the Pennsylvania state law and the recent board determination are on our side, so we feel confident we will make our case, and it will be very clear that grad student employees are employees,” she said.

Qdoba, pg. 1 calls Wednesday evening. An Allegheny County Health Department inspection in November cited the location with seven food safety violations and three general sanitary violations. Two were “high risk,” including finding seven dead mice and numerous droppings throughout the restaurant. All four reinspections found further pest management violations. Though the most recent inspection Jan. 17 downgraded the violation to low risk, it noted droppings near the taco shells in the service line area.

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Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to let-

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March 16, 2018

Opinions letter to the editor

from the editorial board

The Shamrock Shake debate

So, Shamrock Shakes — let’s get one thing straight. The Shamrock Shake is not a middleof-the-road food group. One cannot simply “take it or leave it.” Whether you think the shake is a collision of toothpaste and green highlighter fluid with a milkshake base or a blended miracle sent from God, we all have some opinion on the matter. Here’s the be-all-end-all, official pros and cons list of the Shamrock Shake, so we can all finally stop debating it. The Pros: 1. They’re Green. Yeah, we know — green foods don’t always have the best reputation. But the Shamrock Shake clearly exists on a level above that green Heinz ketchup from the ‘90s we’d prefer to forget about — in the case of the shake, its vibrant green tone is a symbol of wealth, prosperity and luck. We’ll take 30. 2. They’ll remind you of the good ol’ days. Sure, we’re probably not spending the holiday cutting out four-leaf clovers from green construction paper like in the second grade, but all it takes is one sip of that shake goodness for the shamrock memories to come flowing back like a minty, dairy river. 3. Let’s be honest. They taste really, really good. “Shamrock Shakes are incredible. Green, minty, seasonal. There’s a maraschino cherry. They clear your skin and maybe your bowels,” online engagement editor Amanda Reed said when asked for her opinion. The Cons: 1. They’re kind of overrated. Shamrock Shakes are a novelty, and their limited-edition status makes them a hot

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commodity — like McDonald’s Szechuan sauce, but probably with less violence. But McDonald’s is hardly the only place to sip the minty concoction. True fans know they can get their fix from Dairy Queen year-round. And that mint chocolate shake from Arby’s out right now? It stands up to its flora-named counterpart — and the Andes mints crushed on top totally propel it into first place. 2. They’re “unhealthy” — OK, but really. No one is drinking one of these because they want to eat clean. You don’t go to McDonald’s expecting to get a shake made with locally sourced milk and cream blended with a simple syrup made with the mint growing in your backyard garden. Sure, a small Shamrock Shake contains 63 grams of sugar, which is way, way more than a person should consume in a day, let alone one sitting. But, as Fergie would say, “a little party never killed nobody.” 3. They have a distinctly toothpastelike quality. We can’t deny it, Shamrock Shakes are extremely minty. And for some people, too much mint is a thing. We don’t know who those people are, but we’re sorry. Honestly, it’s not such a bad thing. Polishing off one of these shakes will leave you feeling fresh out of the dentist’s office, with minty-clean breath to boot. So go on, wave your fists in the air and shout about how these shakes are an Americanized celebration of a religiously rooted, Irish holiday that might kill you in 20 years because of all that sugar — it won’t bother us. Because deep down, like a warm hug or a free afternoon, we all know how much we want one.

IS PITT PRACTICING WHAT IT PREACHES? Pitt’s investment in immunotherapy cancer treatment is clearly in line with the University’s mission. But a growing number of students and faculty are calling on Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and the Board of Trustees to address a number of glaring investments and disinvestments that stand in stark opposition to Pitt’s mis-

ing new chapter in our ability to partner with others to advance the University of Pittsburgh’s mission of using knowledge for society’s gain.” Consider Pitt’s $26 million investment in the fossil fuel industry. Despite several years of consistent pressure from the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition, the administration has

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher speaks at a February Board of Trustees meeting. Christian Snyder MULTIMEDIA EDITOR sion of societal gain. Last month, Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced that their latest partnership includes a $200 million investment in the establishment of the UPMC Immune Transplant and Therapy Center, to be primarily operated out of an eight-story “innovation hub” located in Bloomfield. In the joint statement, Gallagher said the partnership “opens an excit-

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only recently begun to give student activists a seat at the table with the creation of an ad hoc committee focused on sustainable investment. The scientific community, of which Pitt is a proud member, is telling us that our reliance on fossil fuels is contributing to climate catastrophe, ecological disaster and, ultimately, the destruction of our future. See Letter on page 7

Letter, pg. 6

of commitment to Pitt’s stated mission. Pitt should enact concrete action to address issues concerning diversity and inclusion, such as the abysmally low rates of minority students and the refusal to declare Pitt a sanctuary university. Instead of vaguely describing characteristics of shared governance, Pitt should begin making past and future financial records public, including Board of Trustees members’ voting records and the extent of our investments revealed in the Paradise Papers. The creation of new committees and declarations like the “Pitt Principles” mirror corporate remedies rather than transformative change. Nonprofit institutions and public universities responsible for billions of dollars must ingrain high levels of transparency and practices of shared governance into their cultures. While the investment in cancer immunotherapy undoubtedly supports Pitt’s mission of societal gain, we need to look beyond the press releases to more accurately assess Pitt’s commitment to all of its stakeholders. Jeff Migliozzi Senior marketing and Spanish major

The Pitt news crossword 3/16/18

Yet Pitt refuses to enact concrete change in its policies or consider the fossil fuel divestment petition currently supported by more than 5,000 students, faculty and citizens — including Mayor Bill Peduto. Gallagher’s silence on the issue reflects Pitt’s lack of leadership on the matter, especially as other major universities, organizations and governments around the world are divesting at the behest of climate scientists. Attend any one of the Dean’s Hours sessions hosted by Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner, and you’ll hear students also raise concerns about where Pitt’s money goes on campus. Some students doubt the necessity of Pitt’s new $13.2 million sports dome, while others wonder how much the campus shuttles’ new paint jobs cost. For many, the tension of rising tuition is at the core of these concerns. Students question why Pitt spends only 4.25 percent of its $3.52 billion endowment — which is ranked as the 26th largest in the country — while other universities with endowments of more than $1 billion spent, on average, 4.8 percent in 2017. If Pitt spent the national average of 4.8

percent of its own endowment, more than $19 million would be added to the operating budget. This money could be used to avoid tuition hikes or pay faculty, graduate and undergraduate student workers a living wage. Pitt appears to be more interested in deterring students’ efforts to be heard than listening to them. The administration’s strong pushback against the efforts of the Pitt Graduate Student Union signals an utter lack of concern for graduate students’ struggles. In fact, Pitt’s anti-union behavior even prompted a letter from Congressman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., warning Chancellor Gallagher against spending public funds and tuition dollars on anti-union activity. Finally, Pitt recently revealed the working draft of its “Pitt Principles.” Proposed by the ad hoc special Senate special committee on diversity, inclusion and core values, the “Pitt Principles” document highlights five guiding principles for Pitt to follow, including “diversity and inclusion” and “shared governance.” Although not explicitly representative of substantial financial decisions, recent action — or better yet, inaction — also represents a lack

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March 16, 2018

Sports

TAKE 5: TIGER, TOURNAMENT, TOM CREAN The Pitt News Staﬀ

While Pitt may not have qualified for this year’s NCAA tournament … or the NIT … or the CBA, there are plenty of other things happening in the sports world Pitt fans can distract themselves with. The Pitt News sports staff is back with a weekly roundup of the best in sports this past week — and a little bit on the tournament too. Bracket Busting It’s tournament time! March Madness is finally upon us, which means that everyone and their mother has made at least one bracket. I myself made three and fully expect to put all of them in the trash in exactly two days. It’s not that I don’t think my bracket will be wrong, it’s that I know my bracket will be wrong. In 2012, when the No. 15 seed Lehigh upset the No. 2 seed Duke, guess who I had winning the entire thing? Duke. And then when the same thing happened in 2016 with Middle Tennessee upsetting Michigan State, I had the Spartans going all the way. I’ll be watching basketball religiously for the next three weeks, irrationally caring about schools I haven’t given a second thought until now. I can’t wait to wipe tears of disappointment off my face after North Carolina bows out of the tournament two rounds before they’re supposed to. I love March Madness, but I hate March Madness. Now please excuse me while I forgo all of my other responsibilities to watch college hoops. — Jon Shaiken, Staff Writer Not Out of the Woods Yet The Valspar Championship was held at Innisbrook Resort-famed Copperhead Course this past weekend in Tampa Bay, Florida. All attention was focused on the man who finished the weekend tied for second place: Tiger Woods. Many people have preemptively deemed this past weekend to be the return of Tiger. This is the year he turns into his old self — the man set to break Jack Nicklaus’ record for major wins. But that’s not going to happen. Woods will never win another major. That was the Tiger of

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old. Woods hasn’t been the same since his wife put that seven-iron through the back window of his Cadillac Escalade. The mental strength that once put him ahead of the pack is now lagging behind. He has been plagued by a host of injuries notably ones to his back that have held him out the longest. Tiger was destined to be the greatest, but now he will just be another cautionary tale of what could have been. Many golf fans are calling this

other holes on the defense that must be filled. While the defense does need some help, getting rid of Bell doesn’t help anyone. Bell is arguably the best back in the game and also one of the Steelers’ best receivers. He was third in the NFL in rushing with 1,291 yards and also third on the Steelers in receiving with 655 yards last year. For the Steelers to win a Super Bowl next year or anytime before quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retires, Bell has to be on this team. Pitts-

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (26) rumbles for a first down against the Cincinnati Bengals Oct. 22, 2017, at Heinz Field. TNS

past weekend the return of Tiger, but we have seen this before. He has won tournaments since his family struggles became public and after he returned from injury, and he will win more tournaments. But he will never win another major. — Stephen Cuddy, Staff Writer For Whom the Bell Tolls Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell wants the biggest contract for a running back in the NFL, which is about $14 million per year. To put this in perspective for running backs, the next highest paid is the Atlanta Falcons’ Devonta Freeman, who makes an average salary of $8.25 million. Many people have been saying that Bell isn’t worth signing to an extension and that there are

burgh’s defense will also need to improve, but it’s unlikely they’d use the money saved on Bell to get a marquee defensive free agent. Even signing a big defensive free agent, like all-pro cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, wouldn’t be enough to improve their defense. Cutting Bell would just add another hole to the roster, and one that may be harder to replace. — Dominic Campbell, Staff Writer The Greight One? Alexander Ovechkin just scored his 600th NHL goal and is undoubtedly one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. But is he greater than the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, Wayne Gretzky? Let’s crunch some numbers to see. Gretzky comes in at number one in goals with

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894 scored over a total of 1,487 games played. That averages .601 goals per game. Ovechkin has 600 goals scored in 990 games, which averages at .606 goals per game. Although Gretzky took less time to achieve 600 goals (718 games), the stats do not lie that Ovechkin averages more goals per game so far in his career than Gretzky did overall. Let’s assume he retires at age 38, as Gretzky did, and continues to play his average of 76 games per season and continues to score at a rate of .606 goals per game. This means he would score 280 more goals over the next six years, bringing him to 880. There are more factors at play here, but a look at basic statistics suggests it is possible that one day the Great Eight may replace the Great One atop the hallowed list of NHL scorers. — Max Sirianni, Staff Writer It Was All a Crean After reports that he wasn’t interested in the job, multiple outlets Tuesday reported that former Indiana head coach Tom Crean met with Pitt to discuss the men’s basketball program’s vacant head coaching position. But Crean reportedly signed a six-year deal to become the head coach of Georgia’s men’s basketball team just two nights later. As far as Pitt is concerned, this is probably for the best. When Jamie Dixon left for TCU in 2016, the Panthers were focused on hiring an experienced coach with a big name, and they got Kevin Stallings. Hiring Crean would be making the same mistake twice. Both Stallings and Crean made their names as solid recruiters, but they also both always seemed to disappoint with the talent they had come tournament time. Crean, like Stallings, would likely struggle to find the same recruiting success at a rebuilding program like Pitt. Crean is also at a point in his career, like Stallings was in 2016, where he is too well-established to really stick around for a team that’s rebuilding. Pitt should be looking for a coach that can grow with the program as it restarts its rebuild. Crean is an exciting name, but he would’ve been the wrong fit. — Grant Burgman, Sports Editor

PANTHER SPOTLIGHT:

GIORGIANA ZEREMENKO, MATT PIDICH, LYDIA ROSENTHALL, DOM FORYS Trent Leonard

at just 1.19. Pidich has been a model of consistency so While the Pitt swimming and wrestling far for the Panthers’ pitching staff. He’s gone at teams send their top individuals to compete at least five innings in all of appearances and has end-of-season tournaments, the baseball and softball squads are just beginning to get into the swing of things. Here are some of the Panthers’ top performers during the transition from winter to spring sports. Giorgiana Zeremenko The Pitt softball team stayed busy over spring break, as the Panthers played a grueling 10 games in nine days. Pitt recorded an even 5-5 record over that stretch, and senior catcher Georgina Zeremenko asserted her place as the Panthers’ most potent offensive weapon. Zeremenko leads the Panthers in most offensive statistics including home runs (seven), batting average (.329) and on-base percentage (.407). In the first game of the Panthers’ weekend tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, Zeremenko’s fourth-inning home run helped cement a 6-1 victory over Ball State. Pitt faded down the stretch with losses to Michigan and Stony Brook, but Zeremenko still managed to knock three doubles combined in the losing efforts. Zeremenko and the Panthers will travel down to North Carolina for their next game against the Tar Heels Friday, March 16, at 6 p.m. Matt Pidich Since the baseball season started Feb. 16, the Panthers have cruised through their nonconference schedule with 10-2 record. Redshirt senior pitcher Matt Pidich is a large reason for that— through four starts, his earned run average sits Staff Writer

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yet to suffer a loss or give up more than one earned run in a game. Pidich’s dominance was on full display in a March 3 game versus Butler, in which he pitched six shutout innings while striking out nine batters and giving up just two hits. The Panthers won, 3-0. Pidich will look to keep up his hot streak in the Panthers’ next game, which is set for 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, against in-conference foe Left: Senior catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko (21) leads Pitt softball in most offensive statistics including home runs (7), batting average (.329) and on-base percentage (.407). Kyleen Considine SENIOR STAFF VIDEOGRAPHER Below: Redshirt senior pitcher Matt Pidich (41) pitched six shutout innings at Pitt baseball’s 3-0 victory over Butler.

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TPN FILE PHOTO

North Carolina. Lydia Rosenthall Despite being on the same squad as talented and accomplished senior diver Meme Sharp, Pitt first-year diver Lydia Rosenthall notched the best finish for the Panthers’ diving team on the first day of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday, March 15, at Ohio State’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Making her NCAAs debut, Rosenthall notched a team-best 33rd-place finish on the one-meter springboard after scoring 262.85 points on six dives. She’ll look to top that performance on the three-meter springboard, which starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 16. Dom Forys Senior wrestler Dom Forys was one of four Panthers to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Wrestling in the 133-pound weight class, Forys was the winningest Pitt wrestler this season, tallying a record of 21-4. In his first-round NCAA Championship match Thursday, Forys pinned Penn State’s Corey Keener in four minutes and 57 seconds to advance to the round of 16. The victory marked the second straight year in which Forys took down Keener in the opening round of NCAAs — he recorded a 10-2 major decision in the same match in 2017. With the win, Forys became one of two Panthers to advance in the tournament along with redshirt sophomore Taleb Rahmani. Forys will look to outperform his 2-2 tournament record from 2017.

SPONSORED CONTENT

THE INNOVATION INSTITUTE

Final Round for Startup Competition Draws Dedicated Teams Andrew Tindall

There’s a student startup competition sponsored by Pitt Trustee Bob Randall and Pitt’s Innovation Institute happening right now, and you would not believe the innovation and creativity that the teams have brought to the table. You can see for yourself at the final judging on March 29, but we’ll try here to convey the excitement and anxious anticipation that’s been poured into this event. If you’re not aware of the Randall Family Big Idea competition, here’s a nutshell description: a total of $100,000 in prize money, donated by Bob Randall and his family, is awarded to the top student startup ideas out of an initial field of over 100 teams composed of nearly 300 students of all levels, undergraduate and graduate, from across the University. The Innovation Institute does its part to help the teams forge their ideas by providing mentors to sharpen up each individual presentation. Matthew Hyre, half of the marketing startup team “I2 Iconic,” says that it’s “like going to school all over again.” This year’s competition, which is the 10th anniversary, is well underway. The most recent event was a round of judging on March 2, where each team gave a five-minute PowerPoint-assisted elevatorspeech presentation on its startup idea and then had a seven-minute Q&A with three judges. This separated the wheat from the chaff, determining which teams would continue in the competition, get a mentor assigned by the Institute, and enter the final round of judging on March 29.

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But the finals didn’t seem to be on anyone’s mind at the judging on March 2— there’s something about an imminent high-stakes presentation that keeps your thoughts in the moment. Before being judged, most students had the quiet concentration you see outside exam rooms. It doesn’t seem like an exaggeration to say there was literally tension in the air, as small sets of sharp-dressed students displaced each other in the judging rooms. The staid focus wasn’t just coming from the competitors either. The handful of judges included local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others in the regional innovation community. They have had to impartially appraise a long string

of 12-minute presentations/Q&A sessions from all of the student teams we mentioned earlier, keeping track of projected revenues and market shares, production costs, and the je ne sais quoi present with someone who speaks and moves like a young entrepreneur. They ask pointed questions, staying gracious and polite without letting anything slip by unexamined. It’s a lot like Shark Tank. Babs Carryer, director of education at the Innovation Institute, says that one of the best things about the teams this year is how much “passion and enthusiasm for disrupting old and outdated markets” she sees from all across the board in terms of fields, including “a lot of impressive in-

March 16, 2018

sights into the healthcare market.” But no matter the market, there seemed to be room for teams to excel, as long as they brought a good idea to the table and the ability to pitch it well. You can see all of the different teams and ideas on March 29, which is free and open to the public at the Charity Randall Theater inside the Stephen Foster Memorial. But if that’s not soon enough for you, you can also vote right now for which team should win the Best Video prize. Video voting kicks off on March 16, so you can get right to it. Pre-registration for the final round, which is open to all, is available online at go.innovation.pitt.edu/rfbicshowcase2018. See you there.

I N D E X

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March 16, 2018