Theo Schwarz | Visual Editor
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In case you missed it... With one foot already on the pedal, Pittsburgh will soon gain another way to get around. In the next few weeks, Pittsburgh Bike Share, an organization that will rent bicycles ride by ride, will launch a city-wide bike sharing program. David White, executive director for Pittsburgh Bike Share, expects the program, called Healthy Ride, to launch by late May or early June, but could not give an official start date for the program. Pittsburgh Bike Share has installed 10 bike docking stations in Oakland, with one on Atwood Street and one on South Bouquet Street — none have bikes available for rent yet. “We want to do something fun for the launch,” White said. “We are working closely with all of our partners to finalize plans before we announce.”
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
Medical marijuana gains momentum in Pa. ointments, tinctures, liquids, gels, pills or similar substances made from the cannabis plant and intended for medical purposes. The bill would also create a new regulatory board, the State Board of Medical Cannabis, which will exist under the Department of Health. According to section 301 of the bill, Pennsylvanians will be able to apply to the Board for licenses to grow, process, sell and test marijuana. Anyone found with marijuana
Mark Pesto Staff Writer
Last week, the Pennsylvania State Senate took a major step toward making the Keystone State even greener. On May 12, Senate Bill 3, which would legalize medical use of cannabis in the state of Pennsylvania, passed the State Senate by a 40-7 vote. Now, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will consider the bipartisan bill, which State Senators Daylin Leach (DEDWARD GAINEY, Montgomery/Delaware) and Pennsylvania state representative Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon/ Dauphin/York) sponsored. If the House passes it, the bill will land on the desk of Governor Tom Wolf, who will likely sign it into law, according to members of Wolf ’s staff. SB 3 would legalize the use of medical and no license will be breaking the law, cannabis for patients diagnosed with the bill says. any of 15 “qualified medical conditions,” Jeffrey Sheridan, Wolf ’s press secreincluding cancer, multiple sclerosis, tary, said he didn’t want to speak for the HIV/AIDS and “chronic or intractable House, but indicated that Wolf would pain where other methods of treatment likely sign the bill if it reaches his desk. no longer have therapeutic or pallia“[We] don’t want to speculate on the tive benefit.” The bill broadly defines actions of the House, but Gov. Wolf is “medical cannabis” as not only the committed to the legalization of maricannabis plant itself, but also any oils, juana and looks forward to discussion
with members in the House from both parties,” Sheridan said. Now that it has passed the Senate, SB 3 has been referred to the House Health Committee for discussion, a development which dismayed some medical cannabis advocates because Health Committee Chair Matt Baker (R-Tioga/ Bradford/Potter) has spoken out against medical cannabis reform. “We were kind of crushed when [SB 3] went to the Health Committee, because Representative Baker has made it clear he won’t hear anything about medical cannabis,” a member of the audience at a roundtable discussion on medical cannabis with Wolf, Leach, Folmer, and a panel of experts and advocates, said on Monday in Harrisburg. In the wake of SB 3’s passage, Baker voiced his disapproval. “I was disappointed that the Senate voted to approve a drug that is illegal by federal definition and law,” Baker said. But Baker isn’t against all forms of cannabis. While the current bill legalizes all cannabis for medical use, Baker advocates for a stricter model, called the
Once we get it to the floor, you will see for yourself. We have the votes. If we get it to the floor, it passes.
Marijuana
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Pitt staff questions Chancellor at conference Dale Shoemaker News Editor Kathy Hansell-Prigg has noticed that some of her colleagues are leaving Pitt — for higher pay in their fields elsewhere. At a public meeting yesterday, she got the chance to ask Chancellor Patrick Gallagher what he plans to do to keep Pitt competitive. At the Staff Association Council’s spring development assembly on Tuesday, both she and other members of Pitt’s staff asked Gallagher about losing staff because of pay and working after hours. Gallagher addressed Hansell-Prigg and a crowd of about 200 other staff members to respond to their
questions. Hansell-Prigg, who manages a Pittowned bioengineering lab on the South Side, said Pitt has good benefits, but she’s noticed some employees leaving Pitt for Carnegie Mellon University. “What are your plans to improve Pitt’s competitiveness?” she asked Gallagher. Gallagher said that while salary is important, benefits are often more important. “Compensation and benefits, these matter. Pitt has an obligation to be competitive. Unfortunately, in a competitive market, there are some winners and losers,” Gallagher said. “I think the other thing that’s good is we’ve been very good about looking beyond just the salary.”
After the question and answer session, Hansell-Prigg said she’s satisfied with her benefits package, but she wishes her and her coworkers’ salaries were higher. “The salary is something we’re just hoping we’re the most competitive in,” she said. Monika Losagio, too, who’s been at Pitt for 28 years and now oversees seven language departments, including French, German and East Asian, said she doesn’t want to see her employees leave. But, she said, job satisfaction has always been more important. “We can always do better, but for me it’s always been not about the salary but about job satisfaction,” Losagio said.
May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 2
MARIJUANA “Epidiolex model.” Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia established the model, which is based on the medication Epidiolex, an epilepsy treatment derived from purified cannabis that contains no THC. According to a document Baker forwarded to The Pitt News, this model would “[s]et up a statewide expanded access program with a research univer-
THE PITT NEWS
sity and FDA that enables children with epilepsy to obtain Epidiolex.” “I think I can support this approach as it seems to be the most reasonable I have thus far seen,” Baker said of the model. According to Leach, although some of SB 3’s definitions are broad, the bill would strictly regulate Pennsylvania’s fledgling medical cannabis industry. Leach made it clear that SB 3 is not meant to legalize recreational use of marijuana, emphasizing that teenagers
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The Pitt News Crossword, 5/20/2015
Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das
ACROSS 1 “Shake a leg!” 5 Deprive of one’s nerve 10 __ noire: dreaded thing 14 Sharpen 15 Herman’s Hermits frontman Peter 16 Skip over 17 Cash source, redundantly 19 Gull relative 20 Sweet-talk 21 Ethiopia neighbor 23 Refine, as ore 25 Flirtatiously shy 26 Half of sechs 28 17-Across access code, redundantly 33 Speaks too well of oneself 35 Sign before Virgo 36 Spanish explorer Hernando de __ 37 Compact submachine gun 38 College entrance exam, redundantly 41 “I thought so!” 42 Tennis great Lacoste 44 Apt. coolers 45 Large __ Collider: particle accelerator 47 Adobe file spec, redundantly 50 Empties (of) 51 Frequently, in poems 52 Drivel 54 Dickens miser 58 Gracious 62 Berth place 63 PC linking system, redundantly 65 Los Angeles-toPhoenix direction 66 Novelist Jong 67 Lip balm additive 68 Things to connect 69 First name in TV talk 70 Longings
Bridget Montgomery Amanda Sobczak
5/26/15
By Gareth Bain
DOWN 1 Wad of tobacco 2 Clothes closet pest 3 “You can count __” 4 Luthor and Zod, to Superman 5 Ben or Sam 6 Like vague hints, usually 7 “Little ol’ me?” 8 Author Rice 9 __-do-well 10 Bell-__: flared pants 11 Manicurist’s buffer 12 Run out of gas 13 Sicilian volcano 18 Opens the door to 22 Post-op setting 24 Attacks, knightstyle 26 Slept for a bit 27 Amazonian ecosystem 29 Alumna bio word 30 Small snack 31 Cultural values of a group 32 Colorful horse
Monday’s Puzzle Solved
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
33 Tupperware sound 34 German coal region 39 Film buff’s sta. 40 Mammothpreserving locale 43 Serious attempts 46 Wane 48 Oklahoma native 49 Hypnotic state 53 “In other words ...” 54 Risked a ticket
and other common recreational marijuana users rarely suffer from most of the qualified medical conditions listed in the bill. Despite Baker’s clear disapproval, Representative Edward Gainey (DAllegheny) is optimistic about SB 3’s chances. The Senate passed a similar bill, SB 1182, in a 43-7 vote last September. Once SB 1182 made it to the House, it died because the House did not vote on it before the end of the legislative session. “I believe last year if it had come up
5/26/15
55 Florentine farewell 56 TV musical comedy that ended in 2015 57 British peer 59 Tree trunk 60 Dianetics creator __ Hubbard 61 Endures hardship to make, with “out” 64 Zero, in soccer
3 for a vote, we’d have voted it in,” Gainey said at Monday’s roundtable discussion. “Once we get it to the floor, you will see for yourself. We have the votes. If we get it to the floor, it passes.” If Gainey is correct, Pennsylvania will skip over the Epidiolex model on its direct route to full legalization of medical cannabis. “We’re going to get [SB 3] to the floor [for a yes-or-no vote], because if we get it to the floor, the promise of a better tomorrow passes,” Gainey said. advertising@pittnews.com
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
EDITORIAL
OPINIONS
Pittsburgh Pride would have one less problem without Iggy Azaleaʼs performance
Iggy Azalea might rap about being fancy, but shortly after the Delta Foundation announced she would be performing at Pittsburgh Pride in the Street on June 13, the LGBT community made it quite clear that they didn’t fancy the white cisgender performer headlining their fest. Azalea is most widely known as an Australian rapper, songwriter and model, but a growing number of people also know her as a public figure that repeatedly made racist and homophobic comments on her Twitter page a few years ago before she gained mainstream fame. A Tumblr blog dedicated to Azalea’s slurs, PiggyAzalea, highlights some of her worst lines on Twitter. In October 2010, Azalea tweeted, “When guys whisper in eachothers [sic] ears I always think it’s kinda homo.”
This tweet is one of many others littered with racially or sexually insensitive content. In a community where acceptance is so pivotal, it’s no shocker that LGBT people felt uncomfortable with Delta paying Azalea to perform at Pittsburgh Pride. Over 500 members of the local LGBT community joined a Facebook group, “Shut it DOWN (No ICKY at Pride 2015),” in hopes of removing her act from the parade. This dissonance is indicative of the unrest some LGBT members feel in supporting artists that don’t necessarily promote their ideals. Delta should be more selective in its process for choosing a headliner. The event supports the LGBT community, so it’s important to gain its insight on what sorts of headliners members would definitely like to see and which ones might be offensive or triggering. While we understand that Delta was try-
ing to book a popular headliner to draw a larger crowd — potentially gaining new allies for the LGBT community — we feel that it’s more merited to endorse a headliner who is valuable to the movement that already exists, rather than cater to potential members and promote the commercialization of LGBT pride events. Pittsburgh City Paper’s “Blogh” reports that the Delta Foundation did not find Azalea to be racist or homophobic. “If we believed that Iggy Azalea was racist or homophobic, we certainly would not have selected her to headline Pittsburgh Pride,” Delta’s statement said. Delta continued to list African-American and trans artists that headlined the event in previous years, including Patti LaBelle and Kimberley Locke. If Delta didn’t find Azalea’s tweets to be
homophobic, just what were they, then? The process for selecting artists to play at such an important event needs to be tightened — Pittsburgh Pride engages in a critical dialogue about homosexual, transgender and African-American lives. By booking an artist who makes these people feel uncomfortable, we’re being counterproductive to the larger movement. Iggy Azalea has publicly apologized for her comments, insisting she is not homophobic or racist. Whether or not this is true, by booking her for Pride, Delta is not promoting diversity in their program. Why not book a black trans woman or someone with less of a platform? Ultimately, Azalea has plenty of chances to be seen and heard in the public eye, why not lend the mic to a voice that’s been silenced?
COLUMN
Addicted to nicotine or tech? E-cigs an accessory, not a solution Courtney Linder Opinions Editor During my freshman year, I met most of my friends on “the patio.” While I didn’t smoke personally, a few of my friends did. The cement slab facing Forbes Avenue was quite the hotbed for other smokers — new friends to kick ideas around with while taking a cool, three minute break from the hustle and bustle to kiss a nicotine mistress. Did any of these smokers, congregated around the metal tables on Towers Patio, use e-cigarettes or e-hookahs? Sure. But the e-cig was never a replacement for traditional nicotine. With one hand pulling a strange tube to his lips and the other hand clawing a pack of cigarettes, I watched a guy at my apartment alternate between nicotine options. Electronic smoking devices are convenient and
supposedly a safer alternative to smoking, but in reality, most smokers just use both. So why even bother using the e-pen to quit smoking? My friends complain that it just doesn’t hit like a real cigarette, it just doesn’t satiate the urge to smoke. Why double fist nicotine delivery methods like you’re relying on them for dear life? Put simply, it’s not just the nicotine that we’re addicted to — it’s also the allure of new technology that we’ve been absolutely hooked on since vaping technology hit the scene in 2006. Think about it — there’s no hard evidence that suggests e-cigarettes are actually better at helping smokers quit than any other treatment, like a patch or placebo. According to a LiveScience article published earlier this week, after three to six months, there was no difference in the quitting rates among people who smoked e-cigarettes and those using alternative
quitting methods. In a 2014 report, Linda Bauld of Public Health England similarly asserted that e-cigarettes aren’t the best method for quenching nicotine addiction. Nicotine doesn’t enter the bloodstream as quickly when it is vaporized instead of smoked. Still, knowing that they only work just as well as other quitting methods, people still choose the e-cigarette over patches. Why? Because it’s new. For the smoker whose heart rate quickens with a glance at the colorful packs of cigarettes behind the 7-Eleven counter, the selection of e-cig and e-hookah accessories is mind-boggling. Not only can you choose between different e-pens in different colors, sizes and patterns, but you can buy different flavors and cases for the supposed “quitting tool.” If the Marlboro Man of the 20th century enticed children to smoke, e-cigs in the 21st century surely roll off the shelf into willing
adults’ hands. Just as with other technologically-revamped items, e-cigs take something dirty and make it trendy. Just like a handbag — it’s an accessory. A cool e-cig is like an overpriced designer purse. A sack will do the same job as a Louis Vuitton, but do you really want to be seen with it? Similarly, e-cigs seem to take away the shame of smoking a cheap, dirty cigarette. In an ad for its electronic cigarette, South Beach Smoke creates a nearly laughable platform for why its e-cig is the right choice. The ad reads, “Smoking tobacco is lame, but vapor cigarettes … are stylish without all the carcinogens and mess.” Subsequent selling points about vapor cigarettes being “socially acceptable,” “versatile” and “state-of-the-art” equally baffle me. Are we talking about smoking
Linder
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 4
LINDER or buying a new car? But e-cigs can’t be a trendy, techy solution if they’re a health disaster. When your smoking device is pink with geometric patterns on it, your friends may ooh and aah at your beloved new toy. Why would you quit? Or rather, why wouldn’t you start? E-cigs are often adopted by people who never even smoked conventional cigarettes to begin with, according to Gizmodo, a technology blog. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN that while e-cigs “may have the potential to benefit established adult smokers … [they] should not be used by youth and adult non-tobacco users because of the harmful effects of nicotine and other risk exposures.” An e-cig is only less harmful if you quit using other tobacco products. Otherwise, you’re just experiencing the dual effect — where people continue to smoke cigarettes
Courtney Linder | Opinions Editor
and supplement their use with a vape. If something is too good to be true, it probably is. Vaping technology is not necessarily a safe alternative to smoking because it
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tends to complement it rather than replace it, creating a whole new market. While a tango with an electronic cigarette might satisfy your need for all that’s
5 new and trendy, there’s just no substitution for a night out with a good oldfashioned cancer stick, it seems. Rather than accessorize your Newport with a Blu e-Cig, forget them both. Electronic smoking devices are an accessory, not a solution. E-cigs still have nicotine in them, and people still love to smoke. Even if by some miracle e-cigs completely replace traditional cigarettes in 20 years, Pitt students will find a “patio crew” of their own, charging up their vapes and puffing out clouds of nicotineenhanced air. So what ’s really changed, then? The rat still presses the lever. Courtney Linder is the Opinions Editor of The Pitt News and primarily writes on technology and social issues. Write to Courtney at cnl13@pitt.edu.
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT The brush is mightier than the sword ART
Quick Hands, minds dominate the war at ‘artattack’ Brady Langmann For The Pitt News Some artists prepare for their craft by throwing on a smock and grabbing a painting palette. Others strip. At Wednesday night’s ArtAttack, a live painting competition at the Rex Theater on East Carson Street, artist Jake Steele performed the only way he thought was appropriate for the event — in his underwear. Steele, a 24-year-old pop-surrealism artist from Monongahela Valley, said, “Doing this, you couldn’t just sit there and tediously work away your thing. You had to be entertaining.” Even without Steele’s near-naked performance, the innovative art experience captivated the crowd of about 100 people at the Rex. The inaugural event featured 12 local artists competing in three rounds of competitive art-making, with 30 minutes to compose
an original painting in front of a live audience. After each round ended, the event’s organizer, Ed Lightcap, hung the artists’ works on a nearby wall, where spectators voted on their favorite pieces. The next ArtAttack is set for June 17, which will be part of a series of several more battles featuring different competitors. The winners of each ArtAttack are tentatively scheduled to compete against each other in a final tournament later this year. Aside from the lineup of artists, the event featured local comedian Stoph Edison as the emcee and live music throughout. DJ Keeb$, co-founder and resident DJ for the Pittsburghbased LAZERCRUNK, played during each round, blending electronic melodies with hip-hop samples from popular artists such as Kanye West. Indie rock band The Wire Riots performed after the first round, inspiring a few audience members to breakdance to their post-punk setlist. Rap group Fortified PhonetX
took the stage after round two, mixing up the lineup with an old-school ‘90s hip-hop sound. Artists Kendrick DeWayne and Alisa Jacobson won rounds one and two, with Casey Worthing and James Bristol finishing second respectively in the same rounds. All four competitors advanced to round three, where Worthing won the final battle, with DeWayne as the runner-up. At the end of the night’s auction, Worthing’s winning piece sold for $150, and three other pieces sold for over $100. The artists’ work was eclectic to say the least. Their paintings represented both modern artwork and historic art movements, from Japanese anime and comic book art, to impressionism and naturalism. Worthing’s first-place work portrayed a one-eyed octopus projectile vomiting, and Dewayne’s secondplace piece depicted a serene-looking park in the foreground, with blurry skyscrapers
in the background. Lightcap, who saw online videos of live painting matches in Canada, said the competition works well in Pittsburgh’s emerging arts scene, which has been on the rise for the last decade. Although he didn’t have any event-planning experience before ArtAttack, Lightcap wanted to give the city an opportunity to see its artists’ creative processes in person. “When you go to a gallery crawl, you get to see the final piece, you get to talk to the artist, you get to ask them questions about why they did it, how they came up with that, but [ArtAttack] actually lets you see them go from start to finish,” he said. “You’re gonna get to see how they work, how they work under pressure, just, you know, everything about the process.”
Attack
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
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ART
Painting Pittsburgh, one neighborhood at a time Nick Mullen Staff Writer
Local artist Ron Donoughe captured his love for Pittsburgh through his paintings. “This was a visual love letter to Pittsburgh. I wanted to experience this place one painting at a time. I wanted to dig deeper into why I love this place so much,” he said. For a few years, the Lawrenceville-based artist has been painting Pittsburgh, one neighborhood at a time, alphabetically, from Allegheny Center to Windgap. Hundreds of people showed up at the opening of his exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts on May 15. Donoghue’s collection of vibrant and realistic paintings is on display until Aug. 9. Visitors can purchase a 100-page hardback collection of all of the paintings at the gallery, or they can order a print of the painting of their favorite Pittsburgh neighborhood. Donoghue is a self-described en plein air artist, which means his paintings are inspired by the life around him. He even taught painting classes in France — many of his former students who studied his style of painting abroad came to support him at the gallery
Ron Donoughe painted all 90 Pittsburgh neighborhoods. | Courtesy of Ric Evans
opening. “Something happens when an artist is confronted directly with the subject. It probably has something to do with the spirit of a place,” Donoghue wrote on his website. “I believe that spirit can makes its way into the artist and the work.” While painting in Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods, he collected stories and blurbs from
residents who came out to watch him capture the essence of their corner of Pittsburgh. “I engaged people and asked what they thought might be interesting to paint. It was a way to learn about the place I call home,” Donoughe said. “I’ve had the opportunity to discover a lot of the nooks and crannies [of the city].” Donoghue said the city is worth investigat-
ing because Pittsburgh “is blessed with some really interesting neighborhoods.” Many people don’t even know Pittsburgh has 90 neighborhoods, he said. All of the attendees at the gallery’s opening night, many of which were painters themselves, had positive things to say about the exhibition. Ebe Emmons, of Point Breeze, had taken painting classes with Donoughe in France and enjoyed seeing the vibrancy of the paintings in person. “The paintings really pop when you see them in real life, as compared to online. The colors looked 100 times more intense,” Emmons said. Each of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods are represented at the gallery, including all of the Oakland neighborhoods. The painting of North Oakland captures the vibrant red door of the Heinz Memorial Chapel. The painting of Central Oakland shows an iconic red brick house, emblematic of the others in the area. The painting of South Oakland shows houses precariously perched
Paintings
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TELEVISION
‘Mad Men’ advertised vintage appeal to 2015 Nick Mullen Staff Writer
The story of the seemingly picture-perfect life of advertising executive and anti-hero Don Draper came to an end this past Sunday with the airing of the series finale of “Mad Men” on AMC. The show is set in the 1960s at a Manhattan advertising agency and stars Jon Hamm as Don Draper, an advertising executive who struggles with identity and personal problems. Along with other hit series like “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead,” “Mad Men” is credited with revitalizing the network, which is committed to highquality programming. “Mad Men” has enjoyed critical acclaim throughout its run, and has even influenced popular culture through its glamorous and idealistic image of the 1960s.
From baby names to men’s fashion, “Mad Men” has influenced the zeitgeist and is credited with making the 1960s cool again. Trendy men began wearing tortoise shell glasses and skinny ties, bar goers began ordering old fashioneds and smoking Lucky Strikes and homeowners filled rooms with mid-century vintage furnishings. “Mad Men” even influenced a number of other television shows, plays and movies set in the 1960s or featuring advertising firms, such as “Pan Am” and “The Playboy Club.” But the show is acclaimed for being more than just a smoky and glamorous display of 1960s fashion, cars and furniture. “Mad Men”’s greatest merits come from its portrayal and discussion of many universal, and sometimes controversial issues, including identity, alcoholism, feminism, race, counterculture and more. The show’s discussion of these difficult
and sensitive issues is necessary to its portrayal of the time period. Despite the vintage fashion and the appeal of smoking at work, the 1960s were an incredibly turbulent time in American history. Society struggled with issues of racial equality, gender equality, gay rights and the “culture wars,” the clash between new and old ideals and beliefs about society. “Mad Men” skillfully and subtly tackled many issues and themes on the show, such as Peggy’s struggles and triumphs in the male-dominated workforce, Betty’s rejection of domestic life and gender roles, Sal’s affair with a hotel bellboy and Roger’s frequent, and often disparaged, racist remarks. “Mad Men” is a show about Don Draper and his struggles with his identity and inner issues, not the 1960s. However, had the show shied away from the more sensitive and difficult issues, it would have read as
an endorsement of the decade, the good parts and the bad. According to Salon and Forbes, “Mad Men,” along with other AMC shows, is even credited as being the inspiration for shows on other platforms, like Netflix and Hulu, which are starting to make original programing with quality that is at or above the level of shows found on premium channels. Saying goodbye to boozy and debonair anti-hero Don Draper is, in some ways, the end of a television era. Shows like “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Wire” and “Mad Men” helped television earn a renewed reputation as a platform for storytelling on par with, rather than beneath, film. With the popularity of so many high-quality shows, television is quickly becoming a preferred medium for distributing high quality and artistic content.
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ATTACK Lightcap added that people can have fun watching the event, and the artists looked like they enjoyed it, too. In the second round, acrylic painter and musician James Bristol danced with — and even kissed — Amanda Pagniello, an upand-coming artist and fire dancer who was a last-minute addition to the competition. FROM PAGE 7
PAINTINGS over the side of a hill, which Donoughe captured from the Technology Center, located alongside the Monongahela River, south of Bates Street. The painting of West Oakland depicts a small, red, family-run convenience store. Each of the neighborhood paintings encapsulates something distinctive about the essence of every neighborhood. Whether it’s the distinctive architecture of homes in Central Oakland or South Side Slopes, or the unique
May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com After he finished his composition, which was an interpretation of Pagniello painting her picture, he had about 15 minutes left until the end of the round. With time to spare, he drew on the back of Pagniello’s dress as she sipped beer and rushed to finish her work. For Bristol, the social element of ArtAttack motivated him to participate in the event. “Being an artist in general is kind of introspective, but coming to events like this is really, really thrilling to me because I can kind of come out of that, do my craft, but also be in
like a social environment,” he said. “I hope to see more of this, for sure.” Pagniello also welcomed the interactive nature of the event, both with other artists and the audience. “I love producing stuff. I love the reactionary things I get from people who look at it and are inspired,” she said. “And they can come up to me and say ‘Oh, this made me think this,’ or ‘This made me believe this.’ That’s really nice to see.” In his jokes throughout the night, Edison
covered everything from sex to Keanu Reeves movies. Given the time constraints, he said that he had low expectations for the quality of the paintings. However, he was surprised by the outcome and is optimistic about the next event. “I was actually pretty surprised to see this many people turn out for this. It’s really amazing. Nice participation, great artists. Expectation-wise, it exceeded mine by a mile,” he said. “Hopefully the next couple [events] retain and get even better than what we have going now.”
remnants of Pittsburgh’s industrial heyday in Hazelwood or South Shore, Donoghue paints something special to represent each neighborhood. Lorenda Wleklinski, of Observatory Hill (Perry North), said Donoughe reflected the neighborhoods beautifully. “He has an eye for composition in a small space, and he accents the characteristics of these neighborhoods. In one of the paintings you can see the roof of my house,” Wleklinski said. Michael Cook, of Shadyside, said Donoughe captured Pittsburgh’s character well.
“He has a feel for the subject matter. He knows Pittsburgh, and what better way to present this intimate knowledge,” Cook said. Donoughe said he chose to paint Pittsburgh because of the turbulent geography, which provided him with many opportunities to discover something new about the city. “The many bumps and lumps allow for unexpected vistas, allowing the artist to paint scenes with extreme perspectives. I chose Pittsburgh because I didn’t know it as well as I thought I did,” Donoughe said. “It is fun to discover so many new places, especially in a city I thought I already knew.” He added that the neighborhood that sur-
prised him the most was Spring Hill. “[The] city view is amazing. Everyone in Pittsburgh should see the city from St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery on Buente Street,” Donoughe said. Many of the event’s attendees agreed that Donoughe had captured a beautiful city, even if it doesn’t fit with Pittsburgh’s previous reputation. Doreen Currie, of Latrobe, challenged people who claim that Pittsburgh is still the smog-filled, ugly city that it was during its industrial years. “All those who say Pittsburgh isn’t attractive should see these,” Currie said.
May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
SOFTBALL
SPORTS
Out but not down
Pitt softball dream season ends despite succesful weekend slate Dan Sostek Sports Editor After a defining season, in which the Pitt softball team set a program high for wins, the Panthers were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament Regional round this weekend. The team went 2-2 overall in its slate of games in Ann Arbor, Mich., from Friday to Sunday. Friday, May 15 California 11, Pitt 3 Pitt senior ace Savannah King struggled against the Golden Bears, allowing all 11 runs in 4.1 innings of play, as the game ended after five innings because of a mercy rule. The sole bright spot of the contest was junior Jenna Modic’s home run in the third inning. The loss meant that Pitt would need to win both its games on Saturday to stay alive. Saturday, May 16 Pitt 6, Oakland 3 The Panthers fell to an early 3-0 deficit after a rough first inning by King, in which she was relieved by freshman Kayla Harris. Harris thrived, allowing no runs, four hits, no walks and striking out six in six innings. Still, Pitt trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. A single by sophomore Kaitlin Manuel would give the Panthers the lead for good in the bottom frame of that inning, as Pitt would take the victory 6-3, setting up a rematch with the Golden Bears. Saturday, May 16 Pitt 6, California 3 Pitt was able to strike in the first inning with a sacrifice fly by McKayla Taylor. But the Panthers surrendered the lead in the fourth inning, allowing two runs to the Golden Bears. But Modic came up with the biggest hit of Pitt’s season in the fifth, a grand slam off Cal ace Katie Sutherland-Finch to give Pitt a 5-2 lead. After tacking on one more in that inning, Pitt was able to hold on, despite
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COLUMN
Curb early expectations for Narduzzi Dan Sostek Sports Editor
Jenna Modic’s grand slam against California on Saturday brought Pitt to the pool championship game against Michigan. Meghan Sunners | Senior Staff Photographer
a bases-loaded scare in the top of the seventh. Harris recorded 10 strikeouts in the outing. Sunday, May 17 Michigan 10, Pitt 3 Despite the magical run to the tournament, there was no stopping the Wolverines, the third ranked team in the na-
tion, particularly at home in Ann Arbor. Michigan jumped out to a big lead right away, scoring a quick five runs in the first inning, then three more in the top of the third. Even with the loss, Modic continued her terrific tournament play, going 2-3 with two RBI. The Panthers finished the season with a 37-22 record.
Hope springs eternal, but unbridled optimism springs sparingly. There is a palpable excitement in Pittsburgh regarding the Pitt football program and the direction in which it is headed. Thanks to the enthusiasm and vigor of new head coach Pat Narduzzi, hired in December following the shocking departure of former head coach Paul Chryst, the Panther faithful are abuzz about how the program’s new leader will navigate the team. I am not here to try to diminish the anticipation. I am not here to try to diminish Narduzzi’s coaching abilities — far from it, actually, as his stays at Michigan State and Cincinnati as a defensive coordinator have already cemented his reputation as a borderline defensive guru. Instead, I come heeding a plea for something that is all too often thrown to the wayside in sports discourse: reasonability. Because, for all the fun tweets and energetic practices that this new coaching regime has boasted, the fact remains that there is still a litany of question marks heading into the season. At least for 2015, expectations for Narduzzi’s first campaign should be fair to the circumstances. While the first-year head coach is entering the season with two of the best playmakers in the nation — junior wide receiver Tyler Boyd and junior running back James Conner — the offense that was dynamic at times in 2014 still is missing some pieces. The offensive line lost its two most dominant maulers — T.J.
Narduzzi
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May 20, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
BASEBALL
FROM PAGE 10
Pitt ends season on high note NARDUZZI with series win against VT Stephen Caruso Contributing Editor
Sitting at 18-31, all Pitt baseball had to play for was pride. With a weekend series win against Virginia Tech (27-26, 13-16 ACC), they accomplished that goal. Out of contention for the ACC tournament with a 9-20 conference record, the Panthers played well against a team fighting for their own tourney spot. Pitt defeated the Hokies, taking two of three over the weekend at Cost Field in the final series of the season. Pitt’s Thursday starter, junior Aaron Sandefur, had struggled lately with a 8.55 ERA in his past five starts, including a three-inning stint in his last start against No. 16 Miami, in which he gave up five runs total.
But length was needed from Sandefur after a win against West Virginia Tuesday, as relievers pitched the entire game. Virginia Tech’s starter and staff ace, senior Sean Keselica, was on the mound opposite Sandefur, but had struggled against Pitt in his career. He gave up six earned runs, 10 total, in four and two-thirds innings in his other career start against Pitt in 2014. Pitt took the lead in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Alex Kowalczyk to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage. The sacrifice fly scored leadoff man and sophomore outfielder Jacob Wright, who worked a walk to start the inning for Pitt. Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.
Clemmings and Matt Rotheram — to the NFL, and aside from Boyd, depth at the wideout position is a huge concern. Chad Voytik will have another year under his belt, but there is no guarantee that the transition from Chryst’s offense to new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney’s will be immediately smooth. While Narduzzi is a noted ace on the defensive front, the current unit’s makeup could limit how much magic he’ll be able to perform. The defense lost senior safety Ray Vinopal and senior linebacker Todd Thomas, two of the most consistent performers on an inconsistent defense, and will rely on young talent to improve a passing defense that gave up the 20th-most yards of any school in the nation. While underclassmen defensive backs Avonte Maddox and Pat Amara impressed as freshmen last season, and incoming freshmen Jordan Whitehead, Jay Stocker and Anthony McKee look to make an impact, the defense is severely lacking a clear leader. This is likely some-
thing Narduzzi won’t be able to make appear out of thin air, and he might potentially need a season or two to cultivate more distinct leadership. There will also likely be a learning curve for Narduzzi. As Pitt fans saw in the 2012 opener, when Chryst lost his first game to former Division I-AA Youngstown State, making the leap from coordinator to head coach isn’t always a seamless transition. With Narduzzi facing the same opening opponent in his first season as Chryst, Pitt fans will have an early barometer to watch Narduzzi’s progress. All of this isn’t to say that Narduzzi wasn’t an excellent hire. The already-apparent enthusiasm and overarching potential he brings made it a home-run choice. There is no reason to doubt that he’ll be able to shift the recent culture of mediocrity and help inch Pitt closer to the glory days of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino. Maybe I’ll be wrong. Maybe Narduzzi will shock the ACC, win 10 games and earn a top-15 finish in his first year at Pitt. But fans should leave those expectations to the players and coaches. Instead, give him time to build something. It could be worth the wait.