Vol. 105 Issue 9
90°|69°
@thepittnews
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Not so fast: Nordenberg to remain at Pitt in new role Abbey Reighard Staff Writer Chancellor Nordenberg may be stepping down from his role as chancellor, but he won’t be leaving Pitt any time soon. Ken Service, vice chancellor for communications, said in a statement released June 16 that Nordenberg has been selected to be the chairman of the Institute of Politics, a new position within the institute. Service said in an email that University administrators chose Nordenberg for the position.
Nordenberg will begin a new role at Pitt in 2015. Bobby Mizia | Visual Editor
“It was the consensus of current and future leadership at the University that having Chancellor Nordenberg serve in this capacity would be beneficial to the University and the community,” Service said. Nordenberg, who will step down as chancellor after 19 years in the position on Aug. 1,
will begin his role as chairman of the Institute of Politics on Jan. 1, 2015. According to the statement, the institute provides a neutral forum for public and private decision makers to study and discuss issues. The institute can then deliver information on the issues discussed to community leaders, elected leaders and the public. The Institute of Politics, which is a component of the chancellor’s office, is made up of seven staff members and 58 members on the Board of Fellows, who provide the Institute with knowledge and guidance, according to the Institute’s official website. According to Service, Nordenberg hasn’t announced any specific projects he plans to pursue, but he intends to bring many of his interests to the institute, including community safety, economic development, education, the efficiency and effectiveness of the government, immigration, infrastructure, public health, transportation and workforce development. Stephen R. Tritch, chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, announced Nordenberg’s appointment to the new position and praised him or his accomplishments. “Mark Nordenberg set a new standard for the active engagement of a sitting University leader in meeting the shared and never-ending challenge of building an even stronger region,” Tritch said in the statement. Tritch added that as the new chairman, Nordenberg “will be able to invest even more of his time in this important work, which will be good for Pitt, for our home communities and for the Commonwealth.”
Pittnews.com
SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS
PrideFest celebrates LGBTQ equality in the community. Sarah Police | The Pitt News
Pittsburgh celebrates LGBTQ community with PrideFest Sarah Police For The Pitt News
Donning a “God Hates Figs, Mark 11:12-14” t-shirt, Michael O’Brien celebrated his first Pittsburgh Pride March, feeling overjoyed with the amount of support the city had garnered for the LGBTQ community. The celebratory weekend, dubbed “2014 PrideFest,” kicked off Friday with a pub crawl of 13 LGBTQ-friendly restaurants and bars located Downtown, including Cruze Bar, Spin and Brewer’s. The festivities continued Saturday with Pride in the Street, a concert featuring Chaka Khan, a singer known by many as the “Queen of Funk” and for her dominant stage presence. PrideFest closed Sunday with a Pride March parade that made its way Downtown and was organized by the
Delta Foundation, which creates events that are attractive to the LGBTQ community. According to the PrideFest website, more than 130 groups and organizations participated in the parade. PrideFest has been an annual event in Pittsburgh since 2006, but in light of recent events, this year’s PrideFest served as a celebration for the local LGBTQ community. On May 14, the state of Pennsylvania legalized gay marriage. Many at PrideFest were overjoyed about the new change. “We’ve been waiting for it to be legal and we’re so happy,” Greg Calvimontes, a participating vendor, said. “This [event] lined up perfectly.” Gwen Prybock, a 22-year-old from Butler
PrideFest
2
2
FROM PAGE 1
PRIDEFEST who attended PrideFest, echoed Calvimontes’ sentiments. “In all honesty, I thought [Pennsylvania] was going to be one of the last five states to do it,” Prybock said. “When it was announced in May, I was at work and my colleagues came over and pulled up the news article online and I just lost it.” O’Brien, vice president of Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance, attended the annual parade for the first time this weekend. “I’ve always wanted to march in the parade, really ever since I came out. And of course I wanted to show my support for our group,” he said. O’Brien enjoyed the parade the most out of all the weekend’s events. “I loved everything about it,” O’Brien said. “There’s such a sense of unity and pride and love. It’s incredibly powerful.” While the parade served as an opportunity for members of the LGBTQ community to celebrate, local vendors saw it as an opportunity to show their support. Roughly 150 vendors lined the streets of
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
the parade, which ended at Liberty Avenue and included both local and larger Pittsburghbased corporations, including PNC. Booths were set up from Sixth Street to Tenth Street. Justin Warner, a 26-year-old employee of the LGBTQ apparel company FCKH8 ran a booth at PrideFest to promote its website. Warner said his goal of being a vendor was to spread the word against those opposed to the LGBTQ community. “We’re just trying to end hate,” Warner said. “Last week I was out in Columbus [Ohio] and I was just holding hands with my boyfriend and these guys just passed by in a taxi and was like ‘look at those stupid f*gs.’” Warner came out to his parents about a year ago. He said his family’s reaction was a little rough at first, but that they have accepted his sexuality over time, because he has proven himself to be a responsible person. For Warner, “growing up and making important choices, the right choices” is the most valuable thing. Warner said a lot of people generalize about the LGBTQ community and he hopes to change that image. Calvimontes, 55, attended the parade and ran a booth which promoted a wedding expo featuring LGBTQ-friendly DJs, wedding planners, catering services and other services for
weddings in the Pittsburgh area. Calvimontes initially got involved in the LGBTQ community through his daughter, who identifies as bisexual. He said many of the vendors at PrideFest are involved with the LGBTQ community in some way or another, and that even if they personally are not, they are still friendly toward it. “People don’t have to come out [as gay]. Everyone already knows, they don’t care and you’re treated with respect,” Calvimontes said. Adrienne Vita, 23, worked as a stage manager for the stage on Sixth Street and was responsible for taking care of the needs of the performers, making sure they arrived on time, providing them with water and making sure the music was prepared. After the parade, the stage on Sixth Street was full of performers for the rest of the evening, switching acts about every 30 minutes. Most of the acts had choreographed dances, which drew cheers and catcalls from audience members. Vita has worked alongside several volunteers since the 2013 PrideFest to make sure this year’s celebration would be a success. Roughly 150 volunteers, not including the vendors, worked throughout the weekend to
keep PrideFest running with minimal hiccups, according to Vita. “This definitely would not have been able to run as smoothly and be as great as an event if it wasn’t for all the volunteers,” Vita said. Vita said her favorite part of volunteering as a stage manager was meeting the performers. Many performers in the parade wore flashy and colorful attire from head to toe. Glitter, rainbows, smiley faces and pop music poured from the floats as several participants danced in the street. “They’re very personable and very humble people,” Vita said. “It’s nice to see them step out of the limelight and be real people.” While the parade marked the celebration of a single change in how the state recognizes LGBTQ couples, O’Brien noted that there are bigger issues ahead. O’Brien said those in Pitt’s LGBTQ community are doing a great job supporting themselves, and that it is most important for students to maintain an active, accepting and loving presence on campus. “We can’t do it without the support of allies and we hope to keep increasing the number of allies we have on campus in order to make [Pitt] that much more aware of and proud of diversity,” O’Brien said.
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
EDITORIAL
3
OPINIONS COLUMN
Starbucks provides private Parental negligence: Scarier funds to fix a public issue than Slender Man
Along with the skills to make an iced caramel macchiato, there’s now another benefit now to working for Starbucks — a free college education. The colossal coffee company recently announced that it will provide a free online college education to thousands of its workers through an online program with Arizona State University. Baristas with at least two years of college credit will have their tuition paid for in full by Starbucks and the company will pay a large portion of the cost for those with fewer credits. To gain acceptance into the program, Starbucks employees must work at least 20 hours a week and have the grades and test scores to gain admission to Arizona State. This news comes at a time when nearly 50 percent of college students in the United States fail to complete their degrees because of the high costs of education and lack of safety nets. According to the company’s employee surveys, 70 percent of Starbucks employees do not have a degree. Many of those employees want to earn a degree, have dropped out of college or are in school but find it difficult to keep up with finances and education. Starbucks employee Tammie R. Lopez embodies these dismal numbers. “My dad lost his job during the recession in my first year of college and my parents were really struggling for money,” Lopez said in an interview with The New York Times. “They were on the verge of losing their home, so I stopped going to school so I could get a second job and help them.” With the new program, Starbucks employees like Lopez now have the opportunity to finish school without being forced to drop out due to financial burdens. The news is fantastic for both the employees and the Starbucks corporation. Starbucks can expect to see a large financial return for investing in their employees. Basic economics tells us that investment in human capital through education will lead to an improvement in production, in both
quality and quantity and will lead to higher rates of retention among employees. As Howard D. Schultz, Starbucks chairman and chief executive, said, “I believe it will lower attrition, it’ll increase performance, it’ll attract and retain better people.” The new program will attract motivated employees to Starbucks and keep them engaged with the company that is actively increasing their well-being. According to Gallup, companies in the top quartile for engaged employees — employees who are involved, committed and enthusiastic about their jobs — compared with the bottom quartile had 22 percent higher profitability, 10 percent higher customer ratings, 28 percent less theft and 48 percent fewer safety incidents. Starbucks definitely has profit motives in mind here, which is scary for some — like Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Goldrick-Rab referred to ASU Online and Starbucks as two businesses and said both “have gotten together and created a monopoly on college ventures for Starbucks employees.” Goldrick-Rab is right that Starbucks employees will not exactly have the widest range of choices for a college degree, but what choice did they have before? The interest rates on student loans, the rising prices of tuition and the defunding of public education by many states has left many without any other choice but to join the workforce rather than get a college degree. So, even if Starbucks is doing this all for profit, the ends justify the means. More people will be able to gain the degrees needed to compete and move up in the workforce. As Schultz said, “There’s no doubt, the inequality within the country has created a situation where many Americans are being left behind.” So if the government isn’t going to alleviate the situation, why not Starbucks?
Brian Kocak For The Pitt News It sounds fictional. Two 12-year-old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, lured their friend out into the woods one Saturday evening and stabbed her 19 times in homage to a dark figure they allegedly revere. Sends chills down the spine, doesn’t it? Though I would very much like to claim this as a ghost story passed between small children, I can’t. This was an actual event that occurred on May 31. It’s not totally tragic. The victim survived, after she dragged her bloodied body through the woods all night to the side of the road. The next morning, a bicyclist found her, half-dead. Geyser and Weier were apprehended shortly after and now await trial. The dark figure the girls said they follow is a fictitious Internet meme known as Slender Man — a tall, lanky, faceless man dressed in a business suit who wan-
ders around the woods at night killing lost children. But images of Slender Man tossed around by the media point fingers in the wrong direction. Several news outlets claim the Internet is to blame or that the culture surrounding the girls led them to commit the crime. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote on the issue, “[Ours] is a culture that takes fantasy symbols of evil — the vampire, the witch — and transforms them into heroes of great virtue. It is a culture where dark magic is celebrated, but religion is considered bothersome. We reap what we sow.” The girls reportedly received instructions to kill their victim from shady online sources. If they carried out the deed, they would be worthy enough to become Slender Man’s followers and live in his mansion. The Internet and popular culture
Kocak
4
MCT Campus
4
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
FROM PAGE 3
KOCAK
For the girls, it seems the worlds of reality and myth were blurred by technology and their imaginations. Who is in a position to monitor the children and raise questions about the alarming material they access online? Their parents. It is bad parenting to allow a 12-yearold to run rampant on the Internet without supervision. The amount of darkness and depravity located on the web and its relative ease of access as evidenced by this tragedy, should be common knowledge. The stabbing was not a spur of the moment occurrence. The girls had planned to stab their friend since Feb-
shouldn’t be blamed for containing such dark material. Unrestricted Internet access and the people who allowed this are the real culprits. Those who unknowingly let the girls access material such as this should bear the brunt of the blame. Young, vivid imaginations cannot distinguish between the fact and fiction found in media and online. It’s easy for a child to think he or she is serving a dark deity after viewing some questionable online webpages.
THE PITT NEWS
E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0
Natalie Daher, Editor-in-Chief
Mahita Gajanan, Managing Editor
Cristina Holtzer, News Editor
Sheldon Satenstein, Visual Editor
Nick Voutsinos, Opinions Editor
Ellie Petrosky, Copy Chief
editor@pittnews.com
manager@pittnews.com
news@pittnews.com
photos@pittnews.com
letters@pittnews.com
tpncopydesk@gmail.com
Shawn Cooke, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Nikki Moriello, Layout Editor
Jasper Wilson, Sports Editor
Rebecca Nagy, Assistant Copy Chief
aande@pittnews.com sports@pittnews.com
tpnlayout@gmail.com
Copy Staff
Emily Maccia Sarah Mejia
Shivani Pandit Megan Zagorski
ruary. The parents didn’t notice anything troubling about their daughters, indicating parental detachment and indifference. I’m not saying parents need to sit down with their child and have the “stabbing talk.” Instead, a more proactive and invested role in the child’s life could avoid great tragedies. If the parents played a significant role in their childrens’ lives, they would have noticed some troubling things and subsequently acted on them. The large discussion pertaining to the girls and whether they should be tried as adults misses the main point.
Editorial Policies 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, car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in - than 250 tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University- affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left. The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business- and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.
TPN
While I recognize that not all the facts are out yet, I believe the parents should be thrown into the mix for negligence. We are all products of our upbringing. How we are raised determines largely how we act today. Though not all the details about the girls’ home lives are out yet, it blows my mind that the parenting in this situation has not been discussed. While people will argue nature versus nurture and question which is more important in this case, nurture definitely played a big role in this tragedy and needs to be addressed. Write to Brian at brk64@pitt.edu advertising@pittnews.com
Kevin Vanover, Business Manager Advertising@pittnews.com
Dave Barr, Sales Manager
Kelsey McConville, Inside Sales Manager
Account Executives
Inside Sales
Maxwell Hine Jordan Bullock Robert Capone
Marketing Manager
Digital Manager
Marketing Assistant
advertising@pittnews.com
Stephen Ellis
advertising@pittnews.com
Erik Taskin
Kristine Aprile
Rachael Hoge
Today’s difficulty level: Very Hard Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
5
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville offers modern twist to vintage style. Nikki Moriello | Layout Editor
Row House Cinema finds synergy between the old and new Vincent Smith Senior Staff Writer Suppose you weren’t alive — or were just too young — to see “Citizen Kane,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Mad Max” during their original theatrical run. Some of these larger-than-life classics demand to be viewed on the big screen, and Lawrenceville’s Row House Cinema seeks to give moviegoers a chance to relive some of their favorites in a theatrical setting. For the theater’s opening night, set for this Saturday, June 21, the classic “Pulp Fiction” will be shown on the big screen. In the future, customers can expect a repertory lineup of films that stick to themes chosen by the staff and the public. Not only are movie theaters making a comeback, but the classics are now finding a new home at the Row House Cinema. Brian Mendelssohn, the proprietor of the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville,
paints a picture of the glory days of film and its recent revitalization. He sees his new theater as another part of that growing trend. For Mendelssohn, movie theaters were a staple of urban environments in a time not so long ago. But when urbanites moved en masse to the suburbs after World War II, they took with them the great movie houses. “Cities have been losing their walkability and their urban-ness in the last 40 or 50 years,” said Mendelssohn. “Lawrenceville alone used to have three movie theaters and since 1965 has not had one.” But Mendelssohn believes that urban living is again becoming popular, and in turn, the local movie theater is due for a comeback. “I think times are changing,” he said. “People want to live in cities again. They aren’t as interested in the mall and in the megaplex.” Consider the Row House, a new sin-
gle-screening theater right on Butler Street, a product of the changing times and a reawakening for local theaters. “People want something a little more personal and local,” Mendelssohn said. .A visitor to the Row House will find an elegant hallway leading to the concession area, which is complete with five craft beers on tap and a vintage pinball machine. When asked what makes the Row House unique, general manager Geoff Sanderson said, “It’s the environment itself — the theater itself, everything about it. We are giving people another option.” The Row House, combining new age simplicity with “1920s Hollywood glam,” as Mendelssohn put it, is much different from a normal theater. The goal, Mendelssohn said, was to “transfer the person into another world.” Pittsburgh has a few smaller-sized theaters spread throughout the city
that show independent films as well as a few hard to find new releases. The Row House has a different approach to the small theater set-up. “The other [local theatres] will play older films from time to time but that’s not their main purpose or their main cause,” Sanderson said. “Our whole thing is all older films.” Mendelssohn considers Row House to be a curation just as much as it is a theater. There is most certainly an openness to show a wide variety of films and material at the Row House. Last weekend, the HUMP! Erotic Film Festival was in town — a compilation of homemade pornographic shorts made by ordinary people to win cash prizes. Originally scheduled to be at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, the festival had to find a new venue last minute
Row House
7
6
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com MUSIC
Passenger transcends hit single ‘Let Her Go’ with masterful new album Evan Malachosky For The Pitt News
Passenger “Whispers” Grade: A
Whenever artists enter the mainstream, some of their most devoted fans feel they’ve sold out or altered their sound completely to appeal to a wider audience. Rosenberg has actively avoided this phenomenon. He explains in “27” that he “Don’t want the devil to be taking my soul/ I write songs that come
Unlike the title of his most recent release, the past two years have been nothing to whisper about for Passenger. Still riding the coattails of his breakout single, “Let Her Go,” Michael David Rosenberg, the man behind Passenger, has stepped out of the song’s enormous shadow for his second album, Whispers. There may not be a hit to carry it to the top of the charts, but all 11 songs come together for a more fluid and well-crafted album than Rosenberg’s previous release, 2012’s All the Little Lights. Passenger’s new album takes an upbeat Whispers is a more upbeat collection of step forward. tunes than Lights. The records share only two similarities: vocal reflection and the from my heart/ I don’t give a f*ck if they get number of studio tracks. In contrast to the into the chart.” deep, soulful and often-sorrowful releases Rosenberg’s storytelling is currently unof the past, Whispers is more cheerful. matched in mainstream music. On songs like The album begins with “Coins In A Foun- “Riding to New York,” “Bullets” and “Scare tain,” a song that explodes with metaphori- Away the Dark” it is nearly impossible not cal explanations of love and favors the catchy to get wrapped up in the storytelling. The over the sappy. Rosenberg sings of love being warmth of his words and comfort of the “the last unicorn.” Although it may be quite melodies resemble a midnight bonfire, a a stretch, it’s a promising sign — Passenger Passenger 7 hasn’t lost his gentle soul or eloquent speech.
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 5
ROW HOUSE due to “conservative concerns” from the community in Dormont, according to Tracey Cataldo, who ran the HUMP! tour. Row House accepted the festival with open arms. “It’s nice to have a theater that is so cool and laid back in this type of neighborhood — it is exactly what we wanted,” Cataldo said. Cataldo praised not only Row House’s FROM PAGE 6
PASSENGER group of close-knit friends belting out in harmony or a grandfather sharing stories of better times. In “Riding to New York,” Rosenberg recalls a scene where, “I asked where are you going to?/ He said, ‘I’m the wind, I’m just blowing through.’/ He lit up a cigarette and began to talk.” Rosenberg can turn a minuscule conversation into a wondrous narrative. The deluxe version of the album features 10 acoustic versions. Only one track, “Scare Away the Dark,” is left without an acoustic rendition. Despite not having an alternate version, it stands out as a highlight with another gripping narrative. In the song, Rosenberg gives his take on modern day technology: “We’re scared of drowning, flying and shooters,/ but we’re all slowly dying in front of f*cking computers.” Despite his condemnation of Internetaddiction, Rosenberg owes much of his success to it. Passenger’s newest album is all over the web, but Rosenberg doesn’t seem to care if you buy it — just that his songs still come from the heart.
hospitality, but also talked about the theater’s overall quality. “It sounds amazing,” she said. “It’s great – it has a very intimate feel.” Along with its intimacy, Mendelssohn also takes pride in the theater’s deceptively savvy technology. “Our movie theater – although it looks like the 1920s – is, from a technological perspective, the latest and greatest in digital cinema,” he said. That is the truly alluring aspect of the Row House: it’s a movie theater
that pays homage to some of cinema’s greatest accomplishments while utilizing the best technology available. Although Mendelssohn described the theater as a throwback to America’s cinematic roots, the Row House still aims to be a sleek and modern take on the local theater. If you come and see a movie at the Row House, make sure to take advantage of the perks not available at the multiplexes: real butter for your popcorn, craft beers that you can bring into the theater and vegan pastries.
7
8
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
Pitt basketball finds assistant Ryan Bertonaschi
SPORTS
TRACK & FIELD
Five Panthers compete at Nationals
and Jasper Wilson The Pitt News Staff
In the Vatican City, when a new pope is chosen, white smoke exits through the roof of the Sistine Chapel. Nothing of the sort was evident at the Petersen Events center on Tuesday, but “Smoke” will soon come to Oakland. Marlon “Smoke” Williamson, assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for the past two seasons, will join Jamie Dixon’s staff to serve in the same capacity, replacing assistant coach Barry Rohrssen, the University announced Tuesday. The Detroit native was given his nickname by his godfather in reference to Williamson’s dark skin tone, Williamson said. Williamson first interviewed for the position two weeks ago and then had subsequent phone conversations with Dixon as well as current assistant coach Brandin Knight. “We are excited about Marlon becoming a member of the University of Pittsburgh community and I know he is ecstatic to be coming aboard,” Dixon said in a statement released June 17. “As a former point guard with strong knowledge of the game, Marlon will help us in recruiting, scouting and player development. We are fortunate to have a coach with his well-rounded background. Marlon is also extremely excited to be a part of our staff, considering his family ties to Pittsburgh.” Williamson played the position for four years at Youngstown State from 1999 to 2003. As a starter, he averaged 8.1 points, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game. That season he was named to the Horizon League’s All-Defensive Team and Youngstown’s team MVP. Prior to his time coaching in college, Williamson oversaw The Family, a Detroit-based AAU program where he served as president of youth operations and head coach, for nine years. His father grew up in Pittsburgh, graduating from Peabody High School. Pitt has had a coaching vacancy since Rohrssen left in late April to take a similar position within the men’s basketball program at the University of Kentucky-Lexington, the national runner-up this year.
Senior sprinter Brycen Spratling finished his college career as a first team All-American. Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics
Megan Boyle Staff Writer Time proved to be the toughest opponent for the five Pitt athletes who traveled to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the NCAA Outdoor National Championships. “There is a very small margin for error, especially competing at this level,” head coach Alonzo Webb said. “A lot of races are won or lost by hundredths of seconds and even thousandths of seconds.” Two of Pitt’s youngest runners, freshman Desmond Palmer and sophomore Evann Thompson, ended their seasons during day one of the event, held last weekend in what is known as Track Town, USA. Thompson, who ranked No. 1 in the ACC for the 400-meter hurdles, was the
only female representing Pitt out West and was seeded 10th heading into the semifinals. It was her first appearance on the national stage. “It was a breathtaking and a surreal moment because it felt professional, like I was competing at a professional track meet,” Thompson said. The sophomore ran 58.89 seconds, finishing sixth in her heat and placing her 17th overall. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the finals, joined by the next two fastest times overall — Thompson missed qualifying by over a full second. “I didn’t really realize what I was doing until the second half of the race,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m at Nationals; I need to step it up.’ I tried to give it everything I had that second half of the race.” Desmond Palmer, also competing in
the 400-meter high hurdles, was the No. 14 seed heading into the semifinals — and that is what he placed. Running 51.12 seconds, Palmer did not advance to finals, and he missed qualifying by 0.44 seconds. “I think the nerves got to them a little,” Webb said of Thompson and Palmer in a statement released June 12 . “They both didn’t run like they’re capable of running, but it was still a great experience for them to be here and compete.” Also racing on day one of competition was senior Brycen Spratling in the 400-meter dash. Spratling was the only Panther to qualify for finals, finishing first in his heat with a time of 45.41 seconds. “I was very fortunate to make it to
Nationals
9
NATIONALS the finals,” Spratling said. “For me to be the only one means a lot.” The senior was ranked No. 2 heading into the second day of competition, with the No.1 rank belonging to Deon Lendore, an undefeated junior from Texas A&M. Lendore remained undefeated in the finals, placing first with a time of 45.02 seconds. Spratling placed fourth, finishing in 45.49 seconds. “Overall, I can’t beat myself up about it,” he said. “I feel like I could have ran a lot faster.” Spratling’s fourth place finish earned him a First Team All-American status, the third time in his career that he has gained this honor. Spratling also competed in the semifinal race for the men’s 4x400-meter relay, along with seniors Micah Murray, urrray, rray Carvin Nkanata and freshman Palmer. lm mer. The team was seeded fifth in competimp peti tition and finished eleventh overall. T Their heeir time of 3:06.61 did not qualify th them hem to advance — only the top eight tim times mes qualified for the finals. “We expected to make the finals alls in n the 4x4, but we ended up fourth,” We W Webb ebb said. “I know if they had the opportunity unit ity to run again, they probably would ha h have ave made the finals. It’s just that it wa wasn’t asn’tt as there that day.” Like Spratling, Nkanata also ran n ttwo wo events. Prior to the 4x400-meter relay, rel elay a , ay the senior ran in the semifinals for or the 200-meter dash. Nkanata was seeded eeded No. 20 going into competition and his time of 20.94 seconds placed him 14th
overall. Nkanata missed qualifying for finals by .07 seconds. Both Nkanata and the mens’ 4x400meter relay team earned Second Team All-American status for their efforts. Thompson missed earning Second Team All-American status in the 400-meter hurdles by .05 seconds, but she gained an Honorable Mention for her efforts. “I’m proud of their performance this year,” Webb said. “Any time your athletes make All-American — that’s great. That means they are one of the top 24 athletes in the country.” The most minuscule fractions of time were the ultimate determinates this weekend for the Panthers. Both Palmer and Thompson plan on returning to compete in Nationals next year and making sure that time will be on their side. “Now that I know what I’m actually capable p of,, I expect p to be competing p g at Nationals next year, year,” year,” Th Thompson Thom omps pson o sai said said. aid. d.
@ThePittNews ThePittNews
The Pitt News Crossword, 6/18/2014
FROM PAGE 8
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com ACROSS Cereal dish Defame in print Brink New York City theater award 15 Dutch-speaking Caribbean island 16 Dianetics creator Hubbard 17 Wishy-washy 19 Heating outlet 20 Baseball official 21 Ukrainian city of one million 22 “Othello” conspirator 23 Give up the single life 25 Standard 27 Took the first step 30 Very happy 33 Exxon merger partner 36 Pigeon’s roost, often 38 “Evil Woman” rock gp. 39 Societal problems 40 Thyme piece 41 Not at all wild 42 Agcy. that regulates tobacco products 43 Apple music players 44 Greek island 45 Doe or sow 47 Slalom competitor 49 Utility abbr. 50 Enterprise engineer 54 Lead-in for bytes or bucks 56 Persistently demand 60 Run a tab, say 61 Arabian sultanate 62 Cookie brand 64 Rocker Hendrix 65 Hole __: golf rarity 66 Tilt 67 Valuable rocks 68 Like pet parakeets 69 Prom night wheels
9
1 5 10 14
6/30/14
By Jerome Gunderson
DOWN 1 Paycheck surprise 2 2012 Romney defeater 3 Popeye’s hamburgerloving pal 4 Neighbor of Syr. 5 Peke or Yorkie 6 “Dies __”: Latin hymn 7 Mooches, as a cigarette 8 Flows out 9 Bomb on stage 10 TV’s “Mistress of the Dark” 11 Elite group of athletes 12 Loud bell 13 Within: Pref. 18 Swiss Alps melody 24 Sacred wader of old Egypt 26 Corrida cheer 28 Food for Fido 29 Dweebs 31 Red “Sesame Street” Muppet 32 Performs 33 Annoy 34 Shoppe modifier 35 It’s “played” by finger-pointers
Saturday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
37 40 41 43 44
Floppy __ Explicit Hawaiian root Suffix with infant Religious divisions 46 Grammy winner Morissette 48 Put out, as a publication 51 Marisa of “My Cousin Vinny”
6/30/14
52 Wee hr., and a hint to a feature common to this puzzle’s four longest answers 53 Courtroom question type 54 Magic charm 55 Gulf States prince 57 Mom’s mom 58 Skyline haze 59 Actress Skye 63 Every bit
10
House for rent. 129 Burrows St. 4BR w/ Equipped kitchen, central-air, laundry, 2 car garage. $1225+. Available August 1, Sachs Management Company, 412-4212140.
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
North Oakland, Craig Street, Small 1 BR, Air Conditioning, Laundry, Great Location, $695+ electric, 412-271-5550
North Oakland, Craig Street. Safe, secure building. 1 bedroom, furnished. Newly remodeled, wall-to-wall carpeting, no pets. $775 and up. Heat included. Mature or Graduate students. 412-855-9925 or 412682-1194.
Schenley Farms. Large one bedroom apartment. Newly remodeled. Parking. Close to campus. Security deposit required. $950/mo. and all utilities included. Please call 412-6702036.
1, 2, 3, 4 BR available August 1st on Bates Street/Melba St. Close to campus. Clean, living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and porch. Call 412-4229734, 412-780-8909, or 412-521-7121 2 Bedroom, $850, includes all utilities. 3211 Juliet Street. Call 412-608-8581.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7 bedroom houses, 2 baths, 2 kitchens, hardwood floors. Available August 2014. Please call 412-287-5712. 1-9 bedroom houses, wall-to-wall, washer/dryer, dishwasher. Available Fall 2014. Call 412-609-4340.
2BR, 345 Coltart St, kitchen and dining room, living room, call for more information 412-466-0952 3263 Parkview Ave. Large 7-bedroom house. $1095+ utilities. Call Sachs Management Company. 412-421-2140.
6 BR House. 3.5 Bath. Prime location, 300 block of Atwood Street, totally renovated. Available Aug. 15th. 412-414-9629. A large one-bedroom efficiency located on Oakland Ave. Available in August/September. Call 412-877-6555
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
Bates St. 3BR, livingroom, dining-room, eat-in-kitchen. $995+ utilities. Senior/ Graduate students. Available August 15th. Call Ralph 412-6082543. House for Rent. Beautiful 3-BR house newly renovated-Allequippa Street. Close to Peterson Center & Pitt Dental School. Equipped kitchen, new carpeting, washer/dryer, 2 bathrooms, full basement, fencedin back yard, security system. Looking for 3 students to share/or single family. Discount on first month’s rent. Security deposit required. Students require adult co-sign. Available August 1, $1500+ all utilities. No pets. For more information, please call 412-303-5043. Email: dtm1003@comcast.net.
Shadyside/Bloomfield, 2 bedroom, full bath, large living room, 2nd floor, carpeted, fullyequipped eat-in kitchen, coin laundry, rent $900, Call 412687-2661 or 412-4961014.
Available August 1st.1 bedroom, large furnished 3rd-floor apartment. Near campus buslines. Large living room, kitchen and bath. Bright and sunny. Great location. Grad students preferred. $800+ gas & electric. CALL AFTER 2:00 PM. 808572-6699.
Looking for datenight babysitter for 3 children-7 years, 4 years and 2 months. 412-421-1011
Looking for volunteer to coach basketball at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Shadyside. Clearances required. Contact Michele Cromer m c r o m e r @ g t n l a w. com
Sacred Heart School in Shadyside is looking for responsible adults interested in volunteering their time to coach girls' volleyball teams. Positions available for JV (grades 5th and 6th) and Varsity (grades 7th and 8th). Practices will begin late July 2014. If you are interested, please contact Alyssa Ilov at alyssailov@gmail.com. All volunteer coaches must secure necessary clearances.
Personal, professional masseuse wanted. Permanent position. Washington County. 724-223-0939 or pager#888-200-8116.
WEB DESIGNER STUDENT POSITIION AT PITT MASS SPEC LAB- The purpose is to design high quality web content (e.g. art): Some items include the lab map, photos, descriptions of instruments, pictures of instruments, example of data (chromatograms, etc) requires at least 6 hours a week. Pays ~$7.50 to start. Email resumes & cover letters to coreadmi@pitt.edu.
3 Window Air-Conditioners. 5200 BT-as is-$45; 5000 BT-$65; 8000 BT-$85 with remote control. 412241-5972.
11
Chucks. Blow guns. Cuffs. Billies. Knives. Swords. BB, Stun Guns. Sais. Crossbows. Kamas. Throw Axes. Gold, Silver Chains. Diamond Rings. MARY’S SHOPPE. 4114B Clairton Blvd. 30 Minutes from Pitt. 412-881-2948.
*ADOPTION* Art Classes to Zoo, Everything in between, your baby will be our King/Queen Expenses paid *1-800-989-6766*
12
June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com