9-12-17 by The Pitt News

The Pitt News

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | September 12, 2017 | Volume 108 | Issue 22

Local leaders address sexual assault STUDENTS WATCH IRMA FROM AFAR Rachel Glasser News Editor

Attendees of the Southwest PA Says NO MORE event give Maggie Kennedy a standing ovation after her speech. Sarah Cutshall STAFF PHOTOGRAHER

Luke Stambaugh Staff Writer When Alexandra Hope Erickson took her own life during her senior year of high school, her friend Maggie Kennedy couldn’t comprehend it. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Numb and empty, I shook and I wept and I clung to my family and friends,” Kennedy said. “How could she be

gone?” Erickson had been sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend before her suicide, Kennedy said. “Alex was so afraid that he was going to kill her, so she didn’t let him,” Kennedy said. Kennedy, a junior political science and communication major and Pitt’s representative for It’s On Us — an organization that has tasked itself with changing the way sexual assault is discussed

— was the only student to speak at the Southwest PA Says NO MORE event Monday night. But she received a standing ovation for her testimony on the prevalence and consequences of sexual assault. Also attending the event — held at Pitt’s University Club — were more than 80 community leaders, university presidents and elected See Sexual Assault on page 3

Catalina Acebal remembers when Hurricane Wilma blasted the doors of her grandparent’s home open in 2005. Her father and her grandpa rushed to push the family’s piano against the doors, stacking a few tables on top and taping the doors shut. “For me it was like, I had no school, I was like coloring, you know,” Acebal said. “Growing up I didn’t really realize how bad [the hurricanes] can get.” Acebal, a native Floridian and University of Southern California student, is currently studying abroad in Dublin. She has family in Key Biscayne — a barrier island of Miami — and Puerto Rico. She, like other students far from home, is anxiously tracking Irma and its destruction from afar. Acebal called her parents yesterday and said her family traveled to a hotel farther inland in response to a mandatory evacuation. During the height of the storm, they left their room because debris was flying around outside the windows. “They were all in lobby with my cat, my birds and my sister, and the hotel was pretty full,” Acebal said. Malik Henderson, a junior administration of justice major, is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His family, who still lives there, decided to See Irma on page 3

News

Near, far: Pitt students’ diverse origins Anandhini Narayanan For The Pitt News ws At Audrey Jonas’ nas’ high school, students celebrate “Tractorr Day” — a day in which students drive their eir farm tractors to school and spend time marveling at the assortment of tractors in n the parking lot. Jonas grew up p in Bernville, Pennsylvania, which has a population of about 1,000 residents. “Tractor or Day” is just one of the small town’s activities vities that Jonas, a junior biology major aatt Pitt, experienced. “We had thee best Future Farmers of America program in the country, and people would transfer to my high school just to be in the program,” Jonas said. “I even had friends who used to race dairy cattle.” Three generations of Jonas’ family lived in Bernville — that is, until Jonas decided to make the decision to attend Pitt. Her story represents one of the many diverse backgrounds that Pitt’s students come from. Students come from distinct geographical and cultural environments across the country, with origins ranging from rural farm towns to Pittsburgh’s own backyard. Krithika Pennathur — a junior English writing and history double major — didn’t make the rural to urban transition like Jonas, but rather made one that was down the street. Pennathur is from the South Side flats neighborhood of Pittsburgh. “Sometimes when you’re in that college bubble you forget there’s a real world,” Pennathur said. “People say they’re going to South Side to party, and I’m like ‘damn, you’re going to my neighborhood.’” Both Pennathur’s and Jonas faced criticism from friends for their college decision

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Even though there are many things the said. “People who look and think differ- students enjoy about Pittsburgh, they also believe the City has its faults. Pennathur ently.” B o t h raised the issue of financial disparity that K a r m a z y n is present in Pittsburgh. Since the majorand Jonas ity of students reside in the Oakland area, were amazed and mostly visit areas such as Downtown at the avail- and the Waterfront, she said they fail to see ability of low-income neighborhoods. Pennathur finds this somewhat alarmgreen space in Pitts- ing, and says it is something she is trying to burgh, giv- become more aware of. “You can live here without seeing the en that it is an urban area. poor neighborhoods,” Pennathur said. “It’s Liam McFadden | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR Karmazyn also said a really segregated City and there is a lot Kar he did didn’t expect bike- of work that needs to be done in terms of integration.” changed my val- friendly areas. Karmazyn also noticed Pittsburgh’s “I expected there to be very little green ues,” Jonas said. “Some of my Frick Park, Schen- financial disparity problem. “When you opinions have changed but my space,” Jonas said. “But Fr ley — I was surprised to se see areas like that.” go out to East Liberty and see these isidentity is pretty much the same.” Contrasting with Jonas’ situation, Pennathur’s friends thought that she was limiting herself by remaining in the same area she grew up. “My friends “ f d were giving me a tough h time because they thought I would hang out with the same crowd,” said Pennathur. “They thought I wasn’t going to have a real college experience.” Despite their friends’ concerns, both Jonas and Pennathur described their experiences positively. Both students were amazed at the opportunities Pitt had to offer, as well as the sheer number of people at the school. “I didn’t expect people to be doing a lot of different things academically, but everybody is studying something really different,” Pennathur said. “Tractor Day” is an annual event for high schoolers in Bernsville, Levko Karmazyn — a junior environPennsylvania. Courtesy of Audrey Jonas mental studies and business major — was Even after living in the City since she sues happening, I didn’t expect that,” said also surprised at the variety of people who reside in Pittsburgh. Karmazyn, who has was seven, Pennathur said she hadn’t seen Karmazyn. Regardless of this concern, Karmazyn written columns for The Pitt News, is from close to all of the City. “I originally I wanted to get out — I said he might be in Pittsburgh to stay. a suburban town in the Washington, D.C., “I can see myself coming back here in didn’t want to be in Pittsburgh,” she said. area. “I didn’t expect there to be as much “But on my tour at Pitt I didn’t realize how the future,” Karmazyn said. “It’s more of a city I can see myself settling down in.” counterculture-type people,” Karmazyn much I haven’t explored Pittsburgh.” — one for going away and one for not going far enough. Jonas said people from her small town are more against moving to a metropolitan area. home“People from my hom me town think moving to the C i t y h a s

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Sexual Assault, pg. 1 officials from around southwest Pennsylvania. The event’s purpose was to showcase the important prevention-focused work happening in the region. It also aimed to serve as an example for other individuals and organizations to stop gender-based violence. In collaborating with other organizations, the FISA Foundation — a group which provides grants to non-profits in the area to focused on helping women, girls and people with disabilities — organized the Southwest PA Says NO MORE event. Speakers gave their own reports and opinions on how the specific organizations they represented have been working to prevent this epidemic and what steps should be taken in the future. Carlow University President Suzanne Mellon touched on the programs and efforts currently underway, while addressing the importance of being thorough in the fight against sexual violence — a sentiment that was repeated throughout the presentation. “Videos can be impressive, but as a leader it is not enough to just say inspiring things,” Mellon said. The event introduced a series of videos that featured the presidents of 13 colleges and univer-

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sities in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, including Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. Each of the videos talked about the importance of addressing and preventing sexual violence while making a plea for those who have been victims or witnesses of sexual violence to come forward. This event comes as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos reexamines Title IX — a section of the federal rights law passed in 1972, which prevents sex and gender discrimination in education. She plans on reviewing the Obama-era policy which extended Title IX guidelines to protect against any sexual misconduct, in addition to gender-based discrimination. Representatives from the office of Gov. Tom Wolf — such as Pennsylvania Department of Health Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine — were adamant the governor would fight these rollbacks. “While it is hard to specifically comment on what Secretary DeVos intends exactly, the Wolf Administration and Governor Wolf is committed to Title IX and prevention of sexual assault on campuses and we don’t want any diminishment on the emphasis on this incredibly important issue,” Levine said. Gov. Tom Wolf recently expanded his “It’s on Us PA” campaign Wednesday, announcing six new bills focused on improving reporting

for sexual assault and harassment in public K-12 schools and colleges and calling for House and Senate support. One of the bills would require all colleges in the state to give amnesty from drug and alcohol offenses to students who reported a sexual assault. Kennedy spoke about how sexual violence is an issue not just confined to campuses but prevalent even before students come to college. “The toxic entitlement to other people’s bodies and the misogyny of rape culture begins even before high school, but is certainly cultivated within those four years and made worse by sending everyone off to respective colleges and other environments,” Kennedy said. The statistic brought up by a majority of the speakers was that one out of every five female undergraduates and one out of every 16 male undergraduates have reported experiencing sexual assault while in college. Kennedy expressed how glad she was that leaders and elected officials from around the region were taking sexual assault seriously. “It’s really encouraging to see all these colleges and universities come together on this issue,” Kennedy said. “Obviously I know what Pitt is doing to help but it is really encouraging to not only see representation from the other schools, but representation from their presidents.”

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Irma, pg. 1 stay put for the storm. Despite losing power and sustaining flooding outside the house, everyone stayed safe and no significant damage was done to the house. Still, it isn’t easy for Henderson to be away from them during the storm. “It’s a little worrisome,” he said, “especially because throughout my day I have to keep checking on them to see if anything has changed with the status of their safety and stuff.” Louise Comfort, a GSPIA professor at Pitt and the former director of the Center for Disaster Management, said that this situation in Florida was well-managed compared to other storms, such as Hurricane Harvey, another recent major hurricane which hit Houston. Comfort said it boiled down to differences in geography and overall preparedness. “I honestly think Florida, first of all, it’s wellprepared in the first place, and the state has invested a lot of effort and money in preparedness efforts,” Comfort said.

Find the full story online at

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Opinions from the editorial board

column

Not black and white: Reed protesters miss the nuance

DeVos takes backward step on sexual assault

Race relations in the United States are rapidly returning to the foreground of the public’s consciousness. It seems nowhere is immune from the rising tensions — not even the study of classical antiquity. At Reed College in Portland, Oregon, student protesters are at the center of a controversy dealing with the liberal arts school’s mandatory first-year humanities program, Hum 110. The course — which covers ancient history and literature from the beginnings of Mesopotamian civilization through the end of the Roman period — faces accusations from student organizations at Reed of “implicitly uphold[ing] and gently reinforc[ing] imperialist capitalist white cisheteronormative patriarchy.” It’s true that a humanities class like the one required at Reed is Eurocentric, with texts written mainly by white men. But calling the course materials supportive of white supremacy is simply unfounded, and whatever legitimate concerns protesters may have about the curriculum are lost in those claims and in the protesters’ actions in August. Student groups have protested Reed’s humanities gen ed for about a year, mostly respectfully. But this year, dissatisfied with the school’s progress in updating the course’s reading list, activists took it upon themselves to inject their own ideological spin into the class. At the class’s Wednesday and Friday meetings two weeks ago, protesters distributed what they called “supplementary readings” to entering first years. And when student activists attempted to speak over the professor during class on Aug. 28, the professor got up and left the lecture hall.

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Students in the lecture on Friday — which was also cancelled due to protester interference — showed up en masse to the guest lecturer’s office later, resulting in an impromptu lecture. Most students clearly had an interest in hearing what would have been said. And the lecture notes from the professor, which were later published in Reed Magazine, suggest the protesters’ approach to fixing the course needs a little more nuance. “I’m female, mixed race, American and Peruvian, gay, atheist and relatively young,” the lecturer, an assistant English professor at Reed, wrote in the magazine. “I study poetry that is basically the opposite of me: male, white, British, straight, God-fearing, five hundred years old. And I love it.” Moreover, many of the questions of “whiteness” and “blackness” that protesters want included in Hum 110’s coursework doesn’t necessarily make sense in context of ancient societies, Jay Dickson, Chair of the English department at Reed, explained. “The idea that Hum 110 is a ‘white’ course is very strange to me,” he told Reed Magazine. “It presupposes that our contemporary racial categories are timeless.” While sympathetic, the move to refocus a general humanities course away from Greece and Rome fundamentally misunderstands the reasoning for reading the writings of white men from those societies. For better or for worse, the writings of figures like Aristotle and Aeschylus influenced the foundation for modern society, and understanding them is vital to understanding where all aspects of society come from — prejudiced or otherwise.

Erica Brandbergh Columnist For a cabinet member who’s already one of the most controversial in the Trump administration, it would have seemed difficult for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to become even more divisive. Then she started to talk about rape on campus. DeVos gave a speech on Sept. 7 at George Mason University in Virginia regarding her plans to develop new rules on how universities should respond to sexual assault complaints made under Title IX. And her words were truly frightening. DeVos’ education department’s new approach will harm assault survivors by reversing progress made during the Obama administration. In an interview with CBS News immediately after her speech, DeVos said the intention of her review would be to rescind the previous administration’s guidelines which implemented Title IX protections on campuses across the country. DeVos claims she intends to take into consideration not only the rights of survivors, but also the accused, in order to revamp the system into one that she claims will be fairer. The issue, however, is that the aim of her speech seemed to focus much more her perceived victimization of the accused than the protection of survivors.

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Multiple times throughout her speech, DeVos emphasized the idea that sexual assault cases lack “due process” for everyone involved. One sentence in her speech stuck out in particular. As DeVos went on about how definitions of assault were too “broad,” saying, “If everything is harassment, then nothing is.” While DeVos’ speech was ridiculous on a whole, this might have been the low point. Essentially denying the fact that much sexual assault on college campuses continues to go unnoticed or unpunished, she only stands to delegitimize the experience of survivors who have been treated unjustly. It’s disheartening for someone in a position of so much power to do such a disservice to young women across the country — telling them that perpetrators of sexual assault are the ones being wronged. DeVos seems to be entirely uneducated on the truth about sexual assault. False accusations only make up about 2 to 8 percent of all reported rapes — about the same as other crimes, according to research from the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence against Women. Yet DeVos sees to believe that the accused are constantly treated unfairly by the law. The fact is that most of the time, sexual assault perpetrators aren’t even tried See Brandbergh on page 5

Brandbergh, pg. 4 or punished for their crimes. Statistics from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network show that only six out of every 1,000 perpetrators is ever incarcerated. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey statistics from 2008 to 2012, an estimated 60 percent of all rapes are never even reported to the police. And it’s no surprise — survivors often fear that they will not be taken seriously or that they will even be told that their experience is “not a big deal” by those who were meant to help them. These would only get worse if DeVos’ rhetoric and ideas are put into practice. All these statistics show that sexual assault on college campuses is still a very serious and prevalent issue. As many as one in five women are assaulted on campuses across the country, according to a 2015 study from the American Association of Universities. Policies under Title IX were enforced under the Obama administration to address this epidemic, but DeVos intends to reverse

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Betsy DeVos listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump in April. TNS

all that progress in order to make some sort of point — at the cost of Over the past few days, countless survivors have come out and protested her plans to roll back federal law regarding

campus sexual assault investigations. According to Laura Dunn, a lawyer and national director of the non-profit ServJustice, the education secretary’s concerns about the rights of the wrongly accused are misplaced at best. “At most colleges and universities, the system still skews sharply in favor of accused students, especially those who are athletes, fraternity members and legacy students,” Dunn wrote in a column in The Washington Post this week. DeVos’ proposal seeks to give further protection to sexual assault perpetrators, and is essentially an attack on sexual assault survivors that have fought hard to be heard by those who delegitimize their experiences. Survivors deserve a secretary of education that is going to fight for their rights, not try to invalidate them. The rights of the accused seem more valid to DeVos than the rights of survivors. She is further contributing to a culture where men believe they can treat women however they want, and where women should take it without any backlash for men. Fortunately, lawmakers in our state

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are doing something to fight back against attempts to rescind Title IX on campus. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that six bills dealing with the issue of sexual assault on college campuses would be introduced on the floor of the commonwealth’s House and Senate soon. Among the policies to be proposed in the upcoming legislation is a rule that colleges in the Pennsylvania give amnesty from drug and alcohol offences to students who report a sexual assault and that colleges adopt affirmative consent standards. In a time when the federal government is looking to roll back protections for survivors of sexual assault, it’s vital to support legislative projects like these. Other states and colleges around the country should look to Pennsylvania as a leader in the fight to defeat DeVos and her dangerous agenda. Erica primarily writes about social issues and mental health for The Pitt News. Write to Erica at elb116@pitt.edu.

Culture

RIDING THE PARTY WAVE

with

Surf Bored Luke Stambaugh Staff Writer

Ia two-person “mosh-pop” outfit jams in front of a sweaty

n an Oakland basement adorned with Christmas lights,

crowd of college students. The crowd moshes to the fast-paced, resounding tunes as the guitarist wipes beads of sweat from his forehead. Surf Bored, a prominent Do-It-Yourself band in Oakland, features Pitt sophomore computer science major Ryan Hartman and Chatham sophomore marketing major Joziah Council. The band brings a classic pop sound to the house shows where it plays — only a lot louder and faster. “When it’s just me on guitar, it sounds like a pop song. But then when you add in Joziah on drums, it becomes something totally different, and the performance has an entirely different energy,” Hartman said. Some of their pop sound comes from the genre of surf rock — a retro blend of rock and pop popularized by bands such as The Beach Boys in the early 1960s. Council said they pull a lot of inspiration from surf rock — the inspiration for the duo’s band name — though their music doesn’t fit perfectly into the genre. “I think we are a little darker with the drums and baselines, and you can’t really mosh to surf rock,” Council said. “So I think moshpop is a pretty good name for what we are now.” Their mosh-pop sound comes from the combination of Hartman and Council’s drastically different musical backgrounds. “[Hartman] definitely brings the rock side of things, but oddly enough I come from a gospel background and I was trained to be a gospel drummer,” Council said. “I think what makes it Surf Bored is that we can bring these things together. We can kind of just get together and create.” Hartman said his inspiration for Surf Bored’s musical style comes from bands and artists he describes as his heroes, like the group Waves and solo artist Jackson Scott, whom Hartman recently got to meet. “Last May I was [...] at Mr. Smalls and [Scott] was there behind me for some reason. I introduced myself and now we’re friends, I guess,” Hartman said. “He actually played at my house a few weeks back.”

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Surf Bored perform at a house show at the Bushnell in Oakland. PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN HARTMAN genres, Surf Bored at its heart is still inspired by its members’ high school roots. Hartman and Council met at Beaver Area High School and first formed a group called Danny and the Wolfgang, where they served as the main act in a collection of weddings, wine tastings and local festivals. After their junior year of high school Hartman recruited Council as his drummer to perform in his solo project, and the two have been Surf Bored ever since. Surf Bored’s success continued after high school, and they soon graduated from performing at prom to taking over the venues of Pittsburgh’s DIY scene — a community of local bands who record their own music. “I’ve noticed that as far as [the DIY scene] everyone has been just really nice and inviting,” Hartman said. “You can tell that everyone there just really cares about supporting the arts and it doesn’t really matter what how big you are Surf Bored features Jaziah Council (left) on drums and Ryan Hartman on or what your notoriety is.” guitar. COURTESY OF RYAN HARTMAN Bands in the DIY scene — like nothing I would ever create myself,’ but even in that stuff I can which is made up of artists around the city, especially in Oakland recognize what works and try to adapt it to whatever we’re work- — can be heard at venues such as the Bushnell or Roboto, or just ing on,” Hartman said. See Stambaugh on page 7 While most of that inspiration comes from other artists and With their particular tastes and upbringings, they say that all music — even the stuff that may not necessarily be in line with their sound — can be inspiration. As the music director at the Pitt radio station WPTS, Hartman describes himself as someone who appreciates all kinds of music. “There’s a lot of stuff I love where I listen to it and think ‘this is

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The Pitt News

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Editor-in-Chief ASHWINI SIVAGANESH

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Stambaugh, pg. 6 a random Oakland basement. The communal nature of these venues breeds a kind of camaraderie and mutual support system among groups, making animosity a hard thing to come by, the band has found. Surf Bored has only had one run-in at a show — a mystery perpetrator at Bushnell’s Pitt Fest stole Surf Bored tapes from the band’s merch table. “It’s weird because you need to know what they were, have a facility to play cassette tapes, and also want to steal them,” Hartman said. “We only have beef with literally one person, and we don’t even know who they are — which says a lot about how friendly and inviting people have been.” Beside all of the friendly people and memorable stories, the DIY scene mainly focuses on the performances. Hartman and Council attend a lot of shows outside their own, and consider themselves huge fans of the other bands around Pittsburgh. “I think that as far as the other acts that stick out, Jack Stauber is like nothing else I’ve seen,” Council said about the prolific Pitt musician. “Like he’s just such a unique performer, and on top of that his voice is insane.” As far as their own performances go, the band has a real knack for making a lot of noise and energy. “We are only a two piece group, but in our past few shows we are getting the crowd just as hyped for us as they are for the other four and

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five piece acts around,” Hartman said. “It’s really a cool thing to be able to fill up that same room with the same amount of sound even though we’re so much smaller.” Ben Hoover, a junior at Pitt majoring in film studies, films live shows for WPTS. As a regular attendee of the DIY duo’s shows, he can attest to their stage presence. “Surf Bored is one of the most energetic bands performing in Pittsburgh now,” Hoover said. “Every time I see them perform I think, ‘there is no way they can top that energy next time,’ but they always do. They never disappoint and they always rock.” Council and Hartman both agreed that their favorite songs to perform are “Black and Blue,” “Phantom Love,” and “Crawling” off their previous albums, but are having the most fun with the tracks they are working on now. “I think every song on this new album we are working on is our hypest thing yet,” Council said. “Like it feels like we are really finding our creative space, and this new stuff is what we really want to be doing. It’s been the most fun we’ve had performing yet, and we are really excited about it.” Their album “Molly Cool” will be out sometime in late January or early February, but they intend on releasing an EP of three to four songs at some point in October. They plan to play Juke Records on Sept. 16 and at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy on Oct. 6. “We love everything that we’ve done so far, but I think that the best is still on its way,” Hartman said.

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Sports

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Pitt Football

Following Saturday’s game against rival Penn State, The Pitt News sports staff looked at a few specific aspects of the football team’s game — offense, defense and head coach Pat Narduzzi’s — and how they will need to adjust as they take on Oklahoma State this weekend. Here are a few of our takeaways on the Panthers two games into the season: lenge the team and make them step up if they want to contend for a postseason bowl game. -Adin Link At some point Narduzzi does need to prove his reputation as a defensive coach. Three years should be enough for Narduzzi to implement his culture on the field, but the tendency to give up big plays isn’t encouraging. Still, Pitt can’t ask for more than eight to nine wins a year. If he can do that again this year, he should feel secure. -Grant Burgman

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game: If you thought what Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley did to Pitt was bad, quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington are going to (at least) double the stats they posted. McSorley Pitt’s defensive efforts were not enough to slow down Penn State’s play during the Panthers’ loss Saturday. finished Saturday’s game with 164 passing Wenhao Wu | ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR yards while Rudolph threw for 171 in the allowing him to let it rip against a mediocre solid performances Saturday. The defense first quarter alone in his matchup against Pitt’s Oﬀense: Oklahoma State secondary. -Adin Link was better than it should’ve been consider- South Alabama Friday evening. Pitt’s offense is caught in a very weird Pitt was able to suppress Barkley’s proing Penn State’s great field position all day. quarterback limbo. Redshirt senior Max After Pitt’s explosive offense last year, Also, the team can look forward to defen- duction in the first half of Saturday’s game Browne’s inability to throw the ball effecthis year looks completely different. The sive back Jordan Whitehead coming back with designs committed to stopping the tively cost them last week. And when he team lacks depth, and if running back Qa- against Georgia Tech after his suspension. run. Washington, on the other hand, plays did throw the ball well, receivers dropped dree Ollison gets seriously injured this unit -Grant Burgman wide receiver, a position Pitt has tremenhis passes. From what we’ve seen so far, is going to suffer due to lack of experienced dous difficulty suppressing, especially withredshirt sophomore Ben DiNucci runs the replacements. The Panthers got a preview of The secondary is still terrible, and so is out Whitehead. -Abbot Zuk offense better, but for reasons unknown to what could happen when he was hurt and the coverage from linebackers. Pitt will have us he hasn’t earned the keys to the car. Afout for a series of plays against PSU. -Kevin one of the worst pass defenses in the counThe Panthers are preparing to play anter this week I expect that to change. -Abbot Bertha try this season — again. They simply give other top-ranked team — No. 9 Oklahoma Zuk State. In the Cowboys’ two games, they up too many big plays. -Kevin Bertha dominated offensively. Their first game Pitt’s Defense: A few times during Saturday’s game against Tulsa ended 59-24, and their second Oklahoma State might hang a crazy Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi: against Penn State, offensive coordinator game against South Alabama ended 44-7. score on Pitt Saturday, but it isn’t time to Narduzzi seems like a motivator and Shawn Watson opened up the playbook and Pitt will need to step up both its defense and panic yet. Linebackers Oluwaseun Idowu a players’ coach above all else. Narduzzi started having his team throw the ball past offense to avoid a crushing loss at Heinz and Saleem Brightwell and defensive lineneeds to sit his team down and do just ten yards. Hopefully Watson lets his quarField Saturday. -Mackenzie Rodrigues man Dewayne Hendrix both turned in that — motivate. Narduzzi needs to chalterback try to make some plays this week,

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September 12, 2017

Narduzzi talks loss and looks ahead Staff Writer Despite Pitt facing another top 10 team in the Oklahoma State Cowboys this weekend, Pitt football Head Coach Pat Narduzzi focused much of Monday’s press conference on last week’s rivalry game against Penn State. The Panthers lost the game with a lopsided score of 33-14, but they came close to making it competitive. The offense struggled all day in the red zone, committing one turnover and settling for field goals twice inside the Nittany Lions’ 20-yard line. Narduzzi reflected on this in his opening comments, relaying an old football cliche to describe the team’s shortcomings: “It’s a game of inches, and really our motto this year is to take it, and we didn’t go out and take it,” Narduzzi said. “That’s the thing that bothers you the most as a coach.” The third-year coach fielded a question regarding Penn State Head Coach James Franklin’s controversial comments after the

game. In Saturday night’s post-game press conference, Franklin said beating the Panthers was “just like beating Akron,” which many saw as demeaning toward Pitt. Narduzzi opted not to say much, but did offer a small response to Franklin in the end. “You’d have to ask him,” Narduzzi said. “They went low and we went high.” Eventually, the conversation switched over to the Cowboys, who beat the Panthers last year 45-38 in what was Pitt’s first loss of the 2016 season. The pass defense struggled in the contest — a common theme throughout the year — giving up 540 yards through the air. Quarterback Mason Rudolph decided to return for his senior season with the Cowboys, along with standout wide receiver James Washington. Even though the Panthers’ pass defense has shown improvement early on this season, it will be a tough task for the secondary to control the Cowboys. “We have another [good team] coming in this week, and it doesn’t get any easier,”

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Narduzzi said. “They’re very, very talented, and our focus has to go to them.” In order to win, the Panthers will have to start by slowing down the Oklahoma State offense. In addition to Rudolph and Washington, the Cowboys boast an impressive rushing attack led by sophomore Justice Hill. So far this season, Hill has averaged over six yards per carry with 159 yards on 26 carries and one touchdown. “I think Justice Hill is going to be the fastest tailback we face this year,” Narduzzi said. “When you watch him, he’s fast.” Last week Pitt faced Penn State junior running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley had quite a bit of success in the game, gaining 133 total yards to go along with two touchdowns. Pitt’s front seven will have to be better to stop Hill this week. But none of this matters if the Panthers can’t find a way to put up more points on offense. In two weeks, Pitt’s offense has only managed to put up 42 points — 35 not counting the overtime touchdown against Youngstown State.

Over the past two weeks, the calls have consistently gotten louder for Narduzzi to bench redshirt senior quarterback Max Browne in favor of redshirt sophomore Ben DiNucci. At Penn State, DiNucci came in partway through the second half and scored the Panthers’ only touchdown of the day on a 3-yard designed run. Still, Narduzzi is deciding to stick with Browne, adding he was encouraged after he watched the film on Sunday. “Obviously, he’s not perfect, but there wasn’t one guy who was on Saturday,” Narduzzi said. “I was pretty happy after watching the tape with him, more than I was maybe after the game. And I wasn’t disappointed with him after the game at all.” Overall, no matter who’s starting at quarterback, the Panthers will enter this game as the clear underdogs. “No, I don’t feel good when I look at James Washington and Mason Rudolph out there,” Narduzzi said. “But I do feel better about the matchup this year than I did a year ago.”

The Pitt news crossword 9/12/17

Ryan Zimba

September 12, 2017

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September 12, 2017

I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet • NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER

For Rent South Oakland 1,2,3,4 BR. Apartments, prices range from $450-$750 per person. Some include utilities, some you have to pay. Call Jarrad 814-403-2798 2 bedroom house available starting September 1st 2017 for $800/month. Five minute walk to Pitt. No pets. 1 year lease ending July 2018. Call 412-983-5222. 3 BR. House, with one and a half baths. Available immediately. $1700/ mo. Completely remodeled. geonjr@ gmail.com. 3,4,6 houses Available now. Lawn St. Ward St. and Juliet. Call 412-287-5712. 5 bedroom house available starting September 1st 2017 for $2000/month. Five minute walk to Pitt. No pets. 1 year lease ending July 2018. Call 412-983-5222. 7 bedroom house available starting September 1st 2017 for $2800/month. Five minute walk to Pitt. No pets. 1 year lease ending July 2018. Call 412-983-5222. House for Rent. Beautiful 3-BR newly renovated-Allequippa Street. Close to Peterson Center & Pitt Dental School.

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Employment • CHILDCARE • FOOD SERVICES • UNIVERSITY • INTERNSHIPS • RESEARCH • VOLUNTEERING • OTHER

Equipped kitchen, new carpeting, washer/dryer, 2 bathrooms, full basement, fenced-in 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 September 1st, $1600+ all utilities. No pets. For more information, please call 412-303-5043. Email: dtm1003@ comcast.net.

Squirrel Hill 3 BR. house, 1 bathroom, living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, basement, garage, and porch. All kitchen appliances, washer/dryer, and central air included. $1550 a month plus utilities. Available October 1st. Please call BEFORE 7PM anyday of the week 412-421-7548. Professors or medical residents only please.

Rental Other 3 bedroom house 3 miles from campus. $1000. 412-225-8723. HOUSE for rent Mt. Washington. 4BR, 2BA, newly renovated, A/C, carpet, tile, and hardwood floors. Appliances including washer/ dryer. Front/back porches. Garage. Near bus. Great location. $1100+ utilities. 412-882-3845.

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Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978

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AAA EAST CENTRAL is looking for energetic, driven, and talented individuals to join our Emergency Road Service team at our East Liberty location, 5900 Baum Boulevard. We are looking for Full Time Phone Counselors. Candidates must be computer proficient and available to work evenings, weekends and holidays. The salary range is $10.95 to $14.60 based on call center experience. Link to apply: https://acecareers. taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=16304&lang=en&sns_id=mailto#. WZ3mx0GNJXs. mailto Busy professional seeking personal assistant 5 hours per week. Please email: nykkiyeager@gmail. com NOW HIRING Looking for fun, part-time employment with flexible scheduling, working concerts, NFL/NCAA football and other major events in and around Pittsburgh? Contact Landmark Event Staffing @ 412-321-2707.

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Pamela’s Diner looking for part-time line cook and dishwashers. Daylight hours. Must have weekend availability. Apply in person in Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, The Strip, & Mt. Lebanon. Personal, professional masseuse needed. Long term position. 2X/week. Washington County location. Call 724-223-0939 or 724-229-8868 any time. WAITER/WAITRESS, DISHWASHER/COOK: 20hr/wk, great working environment. Cafe Sam, 5242 Baum Blvd. Apply Monday-Friday 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

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Phlebotomy Training Centerwww. justphlebotomy.org 2 evening classes weekly, 5 weeks + excellent Clinicals. Call 412-521-7334.

Services Other WOMEN – Improve your safety, strength and confidence! Self-Defense class October 1-22 (four Sundays) 10am – noon at Falk School. $120, financial assistance available. Registration limited. LionessMartialArts. com or 412-241-6519

For Sale For Sale Other Instant cash paid for: baseball cards, sports cards. Game used sports items. Bats. Gloves. Jerseys. Goudey sports cards. Antiques. Gold. Silver. Coins. Diamonds. Watches. Paper money. Old toys. Trains. Comic books. Huge collections. Entire estates. We will pick up and pay CASH! Call Scott at (513) 295-5634.

Notices Events Dr. Morris E. Turner Medical Scholarship For Minority Students $1,500. Deadline date for submission: October 15, 2017. Sponsored by the Highland Park Tennis Club (HPTC). Please go to www. hptc.info, look under “Events” for details.

September 12, 2017

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September 12, 2017