The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | September 2, 2016 | Volume 107 | Issue 18
panthers kick off season saturday
PAGE 2 Students enjoy kickoff bonfire
Steve Rotstein Sports Editor
The Pitt football team will face a grueling three-week stretch against a dangerous trio of opponents in Penn State, No. 21 Oklahoma State and No. 22 North Carolina beginning Sept. 10. But even though tougher teams loom, head coach Pat Narduzzi reminded Pitt fans this week that winning Saturday’s season opener against Football Championship Subdivision — formerly I-AA — opponent Villanova will be no easy task. “We’ve got a very accomplished football team in Villanova coming into Heinz Field this weekend,” Narduzzi said, stressing earlier this week that focusing on the Penn State game too soon would be a mistake. “They not only have an accomplished football team, but a decorated head coach in Andy Talley as well.” Pitt’s season begins at Heinz Field at 1:30 p.m. as the Panthers take on the Wildcats. Student tickets are already sold out for the season. Four years ago, the Pitt football team got off to one of its worst starts in program history, dropping a 31-17 stunner at home against See Nova on page 8
Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Old Pittsburgh makes room for new housing Erin Hare
nesses, such as Logan’s Pub across the street. But while other neighborhoods have sourly dismissed similar projects, people in Oakland, In North Oakland, new Pittsburgh, that of both those of old Pittsburgh and new, are emstudents, young professionals and blooming bracing the latest addition. industry, is colliding with the old as a 17-story Take Logan’s bartender, Terri Barreneche, luxury apartment complex goes up next to a 51, of Bloomfield, who has worked at Logan’s cozy dive bar filled with regulars who rememoff-and-on for six years. While the students ber the steel economy. who will ultimately occupy the apartments may The artist renderings of the new building, only remember Pittsburgh’s industrial past inwhich Humphreys and Partners Architects tellectually, Barreneche saw it firsthand. designed, depict it dwarfing neighboring busiShe grew up in a mine town in Indiana Staff Writer
County and was an adolescent in the late ‘70s when the steel industry in Pittsburgh collapsed. “I saw people lose everything,” Barreneche said. “That area still hasn’t recovered. Most people my age and younger moved away. When you’ve seen that … any kind of progress is a sign of a healthy economy.” Construction on the apartment complex -aimed at nearby college students -- is currently underway at the corner of North Craig Street See Craig on page 3
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See more photos of Thursday’s bonfire at pittnews.com
Editor’s Note: In a story published Aug. 31, The Pitt News reported that the Pitt Program Council will host its annual Battle of the Bands Sept. 9. The event will be on Sept. 8. The Pitt News also reported that the Pitt Program Council will hold therapy dogs, Steelers photo-op and food truck events. The anti-smoking group truth will host those events.
pitt is lit: bonfire sparks students’ school spirit Andrew O’Brien Staff Writer
Less than forty hours before the first football game of the season, head football coach Pat Narduzzi rallied Pitt students and alumni into a school spirit frenzy. In front of a blazing bonfire, a crowd of students and alumni chorused along to Pitt’s alma mater, as Narduzzi took the makeshift stage to let his audience know what the Panthers plan to show them this year. “We’re going to let the Panthers out of the cage,” he yelled to deafening cheers. “We expect our guys to play for four quarters, and the fourth will be the best!” On Thursday night, Pitt fans of all ages swarmed onto the lawn of the Cathedral of Learning to show their school spirit in anticipation of the upcoming football season. Pitt Program Council’s Annual Bonfire and Pep Rally
drew a crowd of nearly 2,000 people, chanting “Hail to Pitt!” in unison and dancing to blaring music. Pitt’s marching band played upbeat anthems as people continued to trickle onto the Cathedral lawn and, by 8:45 p.m., the crowd reached into the thousands. Though Pitt’s season begins at Heinz Field at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, as the Panthers take on the Villanova Wildcats, the crowd wasn’t shy about its feelings for the week-two matchup against Penn State. As the bonfire’s flames rose, so did a chant of “F--- Penn State!” Narduzzi’s energy was infectious. Though Madeline Mitchell had only been on campus a little more than a week, the first-year pharmacy major said she couldn’t wait to attend her first Pitt football game. See Bonfire on page 10
Pitt students Madison Gongaware and Hunter Stape at Thursday’s bonfire. Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pitt researchers continue to fight against Zika Erin Hare Staff Writer
Zika researchers present their preliminary findings at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health Thursday afternoon. John Hamilton STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Amidst the public’s rising fear of the Zika virus, Pitt researchers are on the forefront of those digging for explanations and cures. On Thursday afternoon, researchers from Pitt and from the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, also known as FIOCRUZ, a Brazilian biomedical research and development institution, presented the first results of their preliminary research into the Zika virus. The researchers are following different lines of investigation toward understanding the mechanisms and processes the virus uses to wreak havoc on the human body. Although the research presented on Thursday was still in its early stages, Isabelle Viana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health,
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is confident that her yellow fever vaccine can be modified for use against the Zika virus. Viana has created a DNA-based vaccine — originally used for yellow fever — that can also be used for Zika. The vaccine forces cells to present the virus’ identifying molecules so the immune system has a chance to recognize the virus and build resistance. Viana’s vaccine, though only experimental, would enable the immune system to more quickly shut down the Zika virus upon future exposure. According to Viana, the biggest technological barrier up to this point for a Zika vaccine is that the body may not expose the immune system to the virus’ fingerprint, preventing it from being able to identify and attack the virus in the future. See Zika on page 4
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Craig, pg. 1
ing that is safe and affordable for our students,” Miksch said. “We ... believe a wider selection to meet student needs is good.” According to Wack, the project will benefit more than just students. Because the first floor will be entirely dedicated to retail space, it will bring more jobs to the neighborhood, too. Will Terry, 46, of East Liberty, said he’s been a regular at Logan’s for 10 years. Sitting in the pub on a Tuesday afternoon, Terry said he’s excited about any development that creates jobs. “It’s about growth,” Terry said. “You can’t stand in the stone ages forever. Especially Pittsburgh, they need all the growth they can get.” And Barreneche, the bartender, sees the development as an opportunity to rejuvenate
Photo courtesy of Craig Wack North Oakland. Even if established business in the area see a rent hike, she said the new retail shops and foot traffic from apartment residents would offset the increased overhead. “I’ll tell you what, if you had known Pittsburgh in the ‘70s when we lost all the steel mills and coal mines, you would be happy for any development and progress,” Barreneche said.
The Pitt news crossword 9/2/16
and Centre Avenue. The high-rise will house apartments, shops, a parking deck and common areas consisting of a fitness center, study lounges, rooftop pool and an indoor-outdoor lounge on the roof. All apartments will be fully furnished. The building is primarily designed to house Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University students. The national college housing developers heading the project, EdR and Park7 Group, expect to complete construction in summer 2018. Despite concerns that new development in Pittsburgh is pushing out locals and low-income housing, mainly in neighborhoods such as East Liberty, the new complex hasn’t heard any protest from neighbors. “We have not experienced any resistance from the community,” said Craig Wack, public relations coordinator at EdR. EdR’s partner, Park7, Wack said, received letters of support for the project from both the Bellefield Area Citizens Association and the Oakland Task Force. Like traditional dorms, the apartments will have security in place to keep residents safe, such as security cameras and key fobs.
Analogous to resident assistants, the building will also offer discounted rent to residents who operate as community assistants. CAs will work about 20 hours a week helping out around the office and will receive compensation, in addition to discounted rent. Although the apartments are being built for a student lifestyle, Wack said that any qualified person can live there, as per federal fair housing laws. There will be 329 units that include 64 one-bedroom apartments, 136 two-bedroom units and 129-three bedroom apartments. Each bedroom will have its own bathroom. In Oakland, the EdR project is the third of its kind. Last year, Texas-based Campus Advantage announced it would complete a similar, 137 bedroom building — aimed at students — along Forbes Avenue by 2017. And the planned Skyvue apartments nearby, set to open this fall, are seeking student tenants as well. According to University spokesperson Joe Miksch, there is an adequate amount of housing in Oakland, but the quality may be lacking. He expects the new development, like the EdR project, will elevate off-campus housing choices while not directly competing with the dorms Pitt already offers. “The University welcomes additional hous-
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Zika, pg. 2 “We all know that we need a vaccine against [the] Zika virus,” Viana said. “However, the knowledge gap against the Zika virus infection hampers the development of traditional immunization strategies. We believe that we have a potential solution for that.” Zika, a virus spread through sexual contact or mosquito bites, typically causes only mild symptoms in adults, but can cause severe brain defects in infants whose mothers contracted the virus during pregnancy. In late July, the first cases of the virus borne in the United States were diagnosed in Florida. The partnership between Pitt and FIOCRUZ led to a program called Cura Zika, which provides rapid funding from Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health and schools of the health sciences, in addition to pledge money. The funds are used to accelerate time-sensitive Zika research into its later stages. Cura Zika distributed its first round of funding to six research labs, in amounts ranging from $30,000 to $40,000. The funded labs must submit final reports on their projects by
Sept. 1, 2017. “It’s a multidisciplinary problem,” said Ernesto Marques, professor of infectious disease and microbiology at Pitt and FIOCRUZ and the driving force behind the collaboration between Pitt and Brazil on the Zika initiative. At this point, Congress has authorized funding for Zika research, but it hasn’t actually allocated any funds yet. Until the federal funding arrives, Pitt is filling the gap with private donors and University money, according to Donald Burke, dean of the Pitt School of Public Health. An anonymous donor gave an initial startup grant of $200,000 earlier this year, which Pitt matched, and then the donor vowed to raise the total to $1 million in support of Pitt’s efforts to address the Zika crisis. This money has so far funded six different labs across Pitt and FIOCRUZ, who presented their early-stage results Thursday afternoon. As Viana is gunning for a vaccine, Vishwajit Nimgaonkar — a Pitt professor of psychiatry and human genetics — is focusing on learning how the Zika virus Students and faculty purchased produce and baked goods at the farmer’s attacks the brain. market in the William Pitt Union driveway. Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF See Zika on page 10 PHOTOGRAPHER
The Pitt News SuDoku 9/2/16 courtesy of dailysudoku.com
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Opinions
column
from the editorial board
Casual Friday “Handalism” Road rage made a different gesture in Houston as residents walked the streets this week. To their surprise, the red “Don’t Walk” sign at the crosswalk flipped them the bird, rather than the angry driver who usually almost runs them over. The vandal has yet to be found, but word has it they were sponsored by that no good “MTV” and trashy “rap” music. Children are crying, grandmothers are appalled, but at least the crossing guard had a good laugh. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s better than the “Wait to cross Fifth at University” lady who makes us cringe every time. Alligator and the bees talk On Tuesday, a four-foot alligator roamed a woman’s backyard in the Penn Hills with a few friends. Right when firefighters tried luring him into a metal garbage can, a large bees nest interfered in swift defense. It took several bee stings and a Pittsburgh Zoo animal handler to catch the menace. According to the reptile, he did it in the name of Harambe, slithering the words, “Free Harambe!” The real question is: Should they have shot the bees to get the alligator, or should they have shot the alligator to get the bees? Manvasion A man named Vladimir Putin was arrested in a Florida grocery store after screaming at employees and refusing to leave. Even with no relation to the Russian president, the man still succeeded his own invasion
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of the shop. Police had a hard time getting him off his horse shirtless, but they managed to put him behind bars. Luckily, his next door neighbor Donald Trump bailed him out and his friend Julian Assange gave him a ride home. Gravy Wrestling Championship The World Gravy Championship took place in England earlier this week with 20 competitors wrestling each other in a pool of gravy. The fundraiser sought to determine the top gravy wrestler, meanwhile the loser gets served for dinner next Thanksgiving. After months of gravy training, competitors were seen stuffing and mashing each other to the ground in the heated competition. Gravy Gaga and Slim Gravy also made musical appearances at the event. Turtle Studies An independent study by the Institute of Scholarly Turtles finds that turtles have more problem-solving skills than we originally thought. A Canadian pet owner stuck his tortoise on a wooden beam to see if he could manage his way out, but the turtle, while originally stuck, didn’t give up. The turtle may not know how to balance equations, but he sure knew how to balance on that beam — Simone Biles better watch out. Though seemingly shell-shocked by the study, further research will have to determine if the turtle can duplicate his feat.
Underneath the trump supporters veil
Julia Aldrich
For The Pitt News Fear is a dangerous notion, but hope could arguably be worse. Presidential candidate Donald Trump is notorious for utilizing bigotry and fear as a means of self-promotion. The billionaire businessman has been rising to the top and gaining supporters all while boasting his famous slogan “Make America Great Again,” a phrase that implies America needs to be redirected quickly. Last June, in reference to undocumented immigrants from Mexico, Trump said those people were drug dealers, criminals and rapists. Only “some,” he said, “are good people.” Since then, though arguably with less pungnancy, he has centered his campaign on inspiring fear, and his supporters echo his threats. When he accepted the GOP nomination, his speech painted a dark, twisted picture of America after 16 years
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TNS of democratic leadership in the Oval Office. He described our present point in history as a “moment of crisis” and went on to talk about rising crime and poverty rates, airports and bridges in “third world” condition and a country on the brink of attack from a litany of outside enemies. But are Trump’s hatefully charged views shared by every voter who checks the Republican nominee’s name on the ballot? Perhaps not. Although his supporters seem like a group fueled simply by hatred, they’re all motivated by something even the most left-wing citizen can relate to: suffering. In a Pew Research Poll, 62 percent of Americans who make less than $30,000 a year said they would vote for Trump as opposed to the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His campaign has been See Aldrich on page 7
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Aldrich, pg. 6 notorious for bringing out low to lowermiddle income first-time voters and blue collar workers or workers from rural areas hit hard by job loss. Throughout his speech at the convention, Trump promised to “lead [the] country back to safety, prosperity and peace.” Trump supporters look to the man, so much unlike the moral standard bearer of Republican nominees past, as a beacon of hope, someone who can pull them from their financial struggles. As the self-made epitome of prosperity and wealth and the “law and order” candidate, Trump has painted himself as the perfect candidate to promise an economic revitalization and drive out potential foreign attackers. According to a study by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, 77 percent of Trump supporters — compared to 50 percent of Americans in general — are bothered when an immigrant speaks little to no English. Additionally, about 68 percent of Trump supporters believe that immigrants increase crime in neighborhoods. Trump notoriously uses this fear-inducing rhetoric — with full knowledge that fear drives his supporters closer — to fuel his campaign. Because of its contagious nature, his popularity continues to rise. Though using bigotry as a mode of self-promotion is unjustifiable under all circumstances, it’s important to realize how easy it is for people to support a candidate like Trump. People fearing for their safety and struggling financially finally have their answer. “Trump” is more than just a name — he’s a brand. His character alludes to a notion of wealth and success. His name floats through the hearts of his supporters who are struggling and they look to him for hope. These Americans, who don’t necessarily fill the bigot image Trump’s supporters are painted as, would rather bet on something unfamiliar than four or eight more years of same-oldWashington. “America needs a change. Once he wins, I strongly believe he will make a great president,” a Trump supporter told The Pitt News when the candidate held a rally in Pittsburgh. “He’s a businessman,
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not a politician,” she said. “He speaks differently,” mentioned another supporter during Trump’s second visit. Looking back on eight years of the Obama administration, the economy overall improved, but not everyone prospered. Businesses closed doors, people lost jobs in the recession and left the labor force and many Americans struggled to find ways to provide for their families. President Barack Obama’s bailout following the financial crisis made many lowermiddle and middle class Americans feel abandoned by the federal government. A Pennsylvania family — who asked not to be named in The New York Times — lost their small medical supplies business. Once prosperous, they were forced to shut their doors because they could not afford to keep open due to insurance policies under Obama’s Affordable Care Act. That’s where Trump is stepping in. Trump, or so he says, asserts himself a time of national crisis, painting himself as poised to be the people’s champion. Americans who didn’t prosper during Obama’s time in office are jumping into Trump’s ranks quite blindly. Sure, he doesn’t have a well-conceived plan, but he’s bold and he’s promising prosperity. He’s promising a turnaround. He came to Pittsburgh and promised an incredibly improbable return to the steel industry because he knew there were blue collar workers in the audience waiting for him to stand up for them. He’s more than just a candidate: he’s their savior. To some, he’s their only hope. Can we blame them?
The Pitt News
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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, cartoons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to 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
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Sports Nova, pg. 1 FCS opponent Youngstown State. Last year, the team narrowly avoided a repeat performance, escaping Heinz Field with a 45-37 victory against the Penguins. This year, another FCS school is coming to Pittsburgh to try to spoil the Panthers’ season opener. Fans will get to see one of Pitt’s most talented teams in years take the field, including junior running back James Conner –– making his triumphant return after recovering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a torn MCL. One player on Pitt’s team who won’t be underestimating Villanova is senior middle linebacker Matt Galambos. “My high school [The Haverford School] is a mile down from Villanova … so I know how good they [have been] the last few years,” Galambos said. “Any time you play a team you don’t want to overlook anyone.”
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for full coverage of Pitt - Villanova
Pitt senior wide receiver Dontez Ford is tasked with replacing Tyler Boyd and leading an inexperienced group of wide receivers this season. He thinks that the scout defense did a great job preparing the Panthers –– and their younger wide receivers –– for their first game. “We try to simulate [the speed of the game] as much as we can in practice. I think we got a lot of good looks from our defense,” Ford said. “I don’t think it will be too much of a struggle for [the first-year receivers] to go out there and get used to the speed of a real game.” The two main players for Galambos and the Panthers’ defense to contain are dualthreat quarterback Zach Bednarczyk and 5-foot-7, 155-pound tailback Jarrett McClenton. “[McClenton] is a utility guy –– does a little bit of everything. Not the biggest guy, but he can fly,” Narduzzi said. If Pitt can bottle up Villanova’s running See Nova on page 9
TPN file photo
No repeats of 2012 opener in forecast for pitt Steve Rotstein Sports Editor
Pitt fans know all too well the perils that can come with taking the first opponent of the season lightly just because it is a Football Championship Subdivision — formerly I-AA — team. In 2012, Paul Chryst was in his first game as head coach of the Panthers, and a win -- good start to his tenure -- seemed to be a sure thing with FCS opponent Youngstown State coming into town. Instead, it was Pitt who looked like the FCS team. Neither Chryst nor the Pitt fans in attendance at Heinz Field expected 5-foot-7, 160-pound running back Andre Stubbs to rack up 132 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 31-17 Youngstown State victory, but that’s exactly what happened. Fast forward four years, and another FCS opponent is coming to Pittsburgh for the regular season opener Sept. 3 at Heinz Field. The Villanova Wildcats, led by coach Andy
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Talley, will travel to Pittsburgh for the 1:30 p.m. contest, having put up a competitive battle against the last three Football Bowl Subdivision — formerly I-A — teams they’ve played. The Wildcats are no ordinary FCS team, and Talley –– in his 32nd and final season –– is no ordinary coach. All that being said, the 2012 Panthers bunch that fell flat against the Penguins is no comparison for this 2016 group. On both sides of the ball, this team is too talented to fall into the same trap of four years ago. At quarterback, redshirt senior Nathan Peterman gives the team all the leadership Tino Sunseri once provided, plus an added dimension of the ability to scramble and make plays outside the pocket. At running back, Ray Graham was a stud for the Panthers, but there’s a reason James Conner is already on the Wall of Greats at Pitt’s South Side practice facility. Also, the depth provided by sophomores Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall
— along with true freshman Chawntez Moss — gives the team a bevy of options if the 2014 ACC Player of the Year, Conner, needs a rest. At wide receiver, Dontez Ford might not have the numbers to produce like Devin Street, but he is definitely capable of matching the current Dallas Cowboys receiver. And with Pitt’s offensive line being ranked the best in the ACC by ESPN, the 2012 group is no comparison. On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers no longer have NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, but they do have loads of playmakers at every other position. This year’s unit should be a much more well-rounded bunch. Led by senior defensive end Ejuan Price and sophomore safety Jordan Whitehead, the 2016 Pitt defense is much better equipped to handle a speedy back like Stubbs –– which they will encounter in Villanova’s Jarrett McClenton. Most importantly, Pitt has the continuity of
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playing in its second season under Narduzzi, who coached the Panthers to a closely contested 45-37 win in his first game last year against those same Youngstown State Penguins. After avoiding another huge upset in his debut as head coach, Narduzzi guided Pitt to a 6-1 start and a top-25 ranking before finishing the season in second place in the ACC Coastal Division at 8-5. The players seem to love playing for Narduzzi, and, after a full year of playing in his system, they should have a much better feel for what to expect starting in week one. Although this is a much better team than the 2012 iteration, and maybe even better than last year’s group, this game is not a guaranteed win for the Panthers by any stretch. Expect Villanova to hang tough throughout a close first half before Pitt’s depth and experience wear the Wildcats out in the final 30 minutes. Prediction: Pitt 33, Villanova 19
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WOMEN 8TH, MEN 13TH IN ACC CROSS COUNTRY POLL Steve Rotstein Sports Editor
Gillian Schriever is Pitt’s top returning performer on the women’s cross country team. Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics
Nova, pg. 8 attack, defensive ends Ejuan Price and Dewayne Hendrix can be set free to swarm Bednarczyk in obvious passing situations. Narduzzi said the team’s goal is to keep the Wildcats under 100 yards rushing. On defense, the Wildcats are led by senior defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, one of five senior defensive starters for Villanova. “[Kpassagnon]’s a good looking player. He is one of those guys that probably has a chance to play in the league,” Narduzzi said. “Also, outside linebacker Austin Calitro is very physical. He probably will lead their team in tackles. Those are two guys to keep an eye on.” Narduzzi expanded briefly Thursday on
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An ACC preseason poll released Thursday has predicted the Pitt women’s and men’s cross country teams will finish eighth and 13th in the conference, respectively, according to head coaches in the ACC who voted in the rankings. “The ACC is a great conference for women’s cross country,” Pitt women’s head coach Adam Bray said in a press release. “We are excited for the challenge of improving upon our finish from last fall.” Both teams made improvements from last season’s preseason poll, when they were each picked to finish 14th out of 15 teams in the ACC. With 31 athletes returning from last how to attack a team with two premium edge rushers on defense. “The pass rush is one thing, but the first thing we’ve got to do is run the ball,” Narduzzi said. “So, there’s nothing better to do against a pass rush than to run it at them.” Talley –– in his 32nd and final season as head coach at Villanova –– is a two-time FCS coach of the year. He’s led the Wildcats to 11 playoff appearances
year’s team, the women’s squad has a chance to improve on its school-recordtying seventh-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Sophomore Gillian Schriever returns after leading the Panthers at last year’s regionals with a 6K time of 21:51, good for a 30th-place overall finish. She will be counted on to head the team in just her second season along with juniors Melanie Vlasic and Ariel Pastore-Sebring, who are returning after top-50 regional performances as well. After finishing No. 14 out of 28 teams at last year’s regional tournament, Pitt’s men’s team faces a tougher challenge in heading up the ACC. “We’ve grown as a team since last
year, and so have our expectations,” men’s head coach Bryan Jackson said in the release. “This is a highly competitive conference, and we’re ready to show what we’re capable of.” The men’s team returns eight starters to its 12-member lineup –– including senior Chris Montgomery and junior Ryan Hughes, who placed No. 43 and No. 66, respectively, out of 174 competitors in the 10K at last year’s regional championship. The release of the ACC preseason poll comes just three days after both teams appeared in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region rankings, with the women’s team placing sixth and the men’s team placing 14th.
and the 2009 FCS National Championship, where Villanova defeated Montana, 23-21. But the Wildcats aren’t only a perennial FCS powerhouse –– they h a v e proven to be a legitimate test for Football B o w l Subdivision — formerly Division I-A — teams as well, narrowly losing their past three contests against FBS
foes. “They’ve taken the last three [FCS] teams to the wire with UConn, Syracuse and BC,” Narduzzi said. “If [our players] can’t see that, then we’re going to have a problem on Saturday.”
There’s nothing better to do against a pass rush than to run it at them -Pat Narduzzi
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Bonfire, pg. 2 “[In high school] I was in marching band, I was field commander, so I was very into the football scene,” said Mitchell. “Going [to the games] and being spirited with everyone is so fun, and when you win it’s obviously great.” Amid cries from the crowd, fireworks shot up into the air, flashing blue and yellow as they burst. As the volley of fireworks slowed, the scent of gasoline hung thick in the air and the bonfire suddenly flared to life. The fire stretched high overhead –– but only for a few minutes. When flames spread from the wooden pallets that made up its foundation to a patch of grass nearby, a team with fire hoses moved in. They soaked down the lit grass and the entire bonfire, snuffing out the flames less than 10 minutes after they began. The crowd’s passion Thursday night wasn’t limited to football, though. Junior Hunter Stape and senior Madison Gongaware –– both chemistry majors
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–– held hands near the back of the crowd and talked about pH. Gongaware said the two met at Hempfield Area High School in Greensburg and have been dating for three years. “I got a season ticket and I was supposed to buy hers, too,” Stape said. “But I forgot, and now I don’t really want to go. I don’t feel like going without her.” For others, nothing can keep them away from the football games. Before the event started, junior electrical engineering major Justin Pavlick jumped and danced around to the pop music blaring over the speakers in front of the Cathedral. “This is my first time coming to a bonfire … [but] I go to every home game,” Pavlick said. “It’s interesting to see what football does to people, all my friends scream and yell and go crazy.” Pavlick said he’s looking forward to the Pitt vs. Penn State game on Sept. 10 in particular. “I’m going in painted all over,” Pavlick said. “Pitt-blue with yellow lettering.”
Zika, pg. 4 “We feel that there might be actually other risk factors in addition to Zika that are responsible for the mischief in the brain,” Nimgaonkar said. Risk factors include prior exposure to other diseases — particularly a common tropical mosquito-borne illness called dengue fever, which was emphasized in Thursday’s talks — and genetics, which Nimgaonkar’s lab at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC is actively investigating. Nimgaonkar’s lab is working not only on how Zika contributes to cell death but also how Zika impacts neuronal differentiation, the process by which immature neuronal cells develop into a functioning nervous system. His lab is studying this process by growing neurons under various conditions, including exposure to the Zika virus and observing how these neurons develop. Researchers believe Zika is particularly harmful in the first trimester of pregnancy, as this is when the fetal brain is developing. Nimgaonkar is trying to
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figure out why the virus is so harmful at this juncture — whether because the virus prevents neurons from differentiating or because the virus kills them. While the researchers at Thursday afternoon’s panels addressed everything from molecular pathways to neuronal development, nearly every speaker stressed the need to work together in the fight against Zika. “We are very interested in trying to build bridges to Brazil,” Nimgaonkar said. “And we are hoping we can continue working on this collaboration beyond the life of the grant application.”
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