The Pitt News
The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com |September 21, 2016 | Volume 107 | Issue 30
CITY POLICE ALTER RESPONSE POLICY Rachel Glasser For The Pitt News
Members of the Pitt Chess Club focus intently during matches held in the William Pitt Union Tuesday evening. Jordan Mondell ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR
UNION PLANS STILL NOT FINALIZED Alyssa Bessasparis For The Pitt News
Though it’s been nearly a year since Pitt faculty and graduate students first whispered plans to form labor unions, both groups have yet to take the first formal step of sending out voting cards to see if forming a union is feasible. But that’s because both campaigns are still continuing to spread the word about their efforts and garner faculty interest in the unions, a crucial step before sending the cards. Even though the delay seems lengthy, organizers say they have high hopes for this school
year. “We are hoping for and expecting it to be a big year,” Benjamin Case, a fourth-year graduate student in the sociology department, said. Last October, Pitt faculty and graduate student employees informally announced their plans to form two separate unions to address concerns of job security and low wages. After formally announcing their efforts in January this year, the campaigns began spreading awareness and garnering support among faculty and staff. Since the formal announcement nearly 10 months ago, both the faculty and graduate student unions partnered with the Academic Work-
ers Association of the United Steelworkers union, which provides the campaigns with legal support, guidance and basic supplies such as fliers and buttons. In recent years, USW has also aided Point Park University, Robert Morris University, Duquesne University and Chatham University employees in their unionization efforts. Point Park University’s adjunct faculty employees also voted to unionize in June 2014 and negotiated a contract with the university in November 2015. At Robert Morris University, the adjunct faculty passed a vote to unionize in See Union on page 3
In cases of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats, a Pittsburgh police officer will now be required to respond to the scene of the incident. Before, they didn’t always have to. Under the rules governing the city police’s crime response system, a 911 operator could relegate 14 crimes, including simple assault and harassment, to an auxiliary system called the Telephone Reporting Unit. As long as no one was in danger, the TRU would file a police report on the caller’s behalf, which an officer would follow up on, though none would be sent to the scene. At a public hearing on Tuesday, city council members, public safety Director Wendell Hissrich and police Chief Cameron McLay, among others, met with a handful of community members to discuss narrowing the scope of this police response policy. If a Pitt student, for example, called 911 to report verbal threats from their significant other, the old policy would have rerouted the call to the TRU, and an officer would only have been sent to the scene if the TRU operator determined the student was in physical danger. With the new policy changes, an officer would be sent to the student’s location regardless of the operator’s determination of danger. Under the considered changes, simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats — previously among the 14 specified crimes — are being removed from automatic routing to the TRU. The new policy is drafted but not finalized, according to Sonya Toler, a Pittsburgh public safety spokesperson. The new policy will be finalized in the coming weeks. See Police on page 4
News
health & science
STUDENTS ADD DIVERSITY TO DONOR REGISTRIES Jace Bridges
For The Pitt News After her family friend was diagnosed with leukemia, Jessica Cohen saw her community of family and friends come together. So following their example, she signed up to become a bone marrow donor, adding herself to a list of people who could provide life saving marrow or stem cells to cancer patients. Cohen, a senior at Pitt, registered as a bone marrow donor after she realized this simple act could one day lead to a match and a chance to save another person’s life. “I watched a lot of the adults in my life join all these big donor drives, and I realized it was important,” Cohen said. Now, the national groups that register people to donate bone marrow are expanding, and two of them working to connect donors to patients have reached Pitt’s campus. These groups — Gift of Life and Be The Match –– are broadening their work amongst Pitt students to get people from diverse backgrounds onto the bone marrow donor registry. On Monday, Gift of Life held their first donor drive of
the year outside the William Pitt Union, where students completed an online survey, swabbed their own cheeks and sent their information to a lab to be officially entered into the Gift of Life donor registry. “We just want to find people who would likely be willing to donate if they got the life-saving call,” Alyssa Berman, Pitt’s Gift of Life president, said. Last year, the Gift of Life Club registered 892 people on Pitt’s campus. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 60,140 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with blood cancer in 2016. Around 70 percent of patients cannot find a suitable donor for bone marrow in their own family, and over 3,000 people die each year due to the inability to find a bone marrow donor match, according to the Institute for Justice. Daniella Ortiz, president of Pitt’s chapter of Be The Match, said the organization has increased its efforts to enroll college students to increase the diversity of the overall registry.
ethnicities of bone marrow donors * in be the match registry
70% white
10% latino
7% black 6% asian
See Bone Marrow on page 4
SGB GETS MORE FUNDING FLEXIBILITY Leo Dornan Staff Writer
With a new classification, Pitt’s Student Government Board will now have more funding and more flexibility with the funding it receives each year. Previously, SGB was categorized as a Student Affairs Affiliated Group, which included seven other groups campus-wide, including Resident Student Association, Black Action Society and the Nursing Student Association. As a SAAG, SGB members would draft and propose a budget at the start of the fiscal year in January. This effectively forced the next Board to wait until January of their term to make any of their own additions to the budget and caused funding restraints for previous Boards. Now, SGB will be categorized as a Formula Group. With a classification of Formula Group,
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each new Board could make a budget to meet their own needs at their first retreat of the term in May. Unlike previous years, the new status could allow SGB m o r e financial f l e x ibility if a new idea or issue arises. As a Formula Group, SGB will now receive 2 percent of the Student Activities Fee each year,
or roughly $56,000 in funding this year. Last year, as a SAAG, SGB received 1.21 percent of the Student Activities Fee, according to SGB President Natalie Dall. According to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, the Student Activities Fee is currently $160 per student — totaling more than $2.8 million. SGB arrived at its new funding sum by averaging its budgets from the past five years.
If you had an idea in the fall, it might have to wait until spring. -Rohit Anand September 21, 2016
By reclassifying as a Formula Group, both SGB’s term and funding begins at the start of the fall semester. In October 2014, the SGB passed a referendum changing the term length of its members from a calendar year to a school year. “If you had an idea in the fall, it might have to wait until spring,” Rohit Anand, vice president and chief of the cabinet, said. “We just might not have been able to get funding.” The funding determines what events SGB can support each year and how many initiatives they can work on. If the budget does not cover all the costs, SGB applies for grants and gets other funding like any other student organization. The current board drafted their budget this summer and plans to have it approved within See SGB on page 5
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Union, pg. 1 March 2015. Because Pitt is much larger than the other universities in the city, its unionization campaigns require more time, organizers say. The time it takes for university employees to unionize depends on how many employees a university has and how the university responds. In the fall 2015 semester, there were 7,539 graduate students enrolled at all Pitt campuses, according to the 2016 Fact Book. In the same term, there were 5,281 full-time and part-time faculty at all campuses. So far, the University’s administrators have not been hostile to the unionization effort, Tyler Bickford, an English professor, and Case said separately, but administrators also have not taken a stance on either campaign. “We definitely do not expect the University to actively help us unionize,” Case said. “We hope that they will allow us to organize unhindered and will voluntarily recognize the union when we do.” For its part, Pitt declined to comment on the specifics of either union campaign. “We really don’t have anything to say on the matter,” said University spokesperson Joe Miksch. Now, the next step toward unionization is sending out voting cards — also called autho-
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rization cards — to all eligible faculty and staff in order to gauge whether or not a union vote would succeed. If the cards indicate 30 percent of faculty or more approve of the union, the campaign organizers would present the cards to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. They would then hold an official vote to allow all faculty and staff to vote either for or against a union. Unions at other universities in the area have been quicker to form, but are significantly smaller than Pitt. The campaigns at Pitt slowed down over the summer months, since there were fewer faculty and staff on campus. Case said he expects efforts to pick up again because the fall semester has begun. But both Case and Bickford say that neither campaign has an immediate plan to send out voting cards. Instead, Bickford said, campaigners have been and will continue to table on campus, pass out literature and hold panel discussions to create more visibility for their campaigns. At the time of publication, campaign organizers were unable to disclose the specific number of employees involved in either campaign. They were also reluctant to disclose any numerical information they did have, based upon employees’ varying levels of participation in the campaigns. “The idea behind organizing is to unite communities so that they can define which issues are important to them, and address them collective-
ly,” Jeff Cech, a USW organizer working with Pitt employees, said. As Case puts it, graduate students work in a form of apprenticeship, dreaming of graduating and finding a secure, tenure-track position. “In reality, universities in the US are gradually eliminating the tenure track,” Case said. “There are more and more adjuncts, who often work for poverty wages with little job security.” At Pitt, 67 percent of the University’s 5,500 faculty are not on a tenure track and a little over one-third are adjunct faculty, Damon Di Cicco –– a staff organizer at USW –– said. Adjunct faculty receive approximately 30 percent of what full-time faculty employees are paid. Some part-time faculty make $2,500 per course, which translates to $13.08 per hour, on average, as compared to $42.60 per hour for fulltime faculty employees, according to Di Cicco. According to Pitt’s Faculty Handbook, tenured professors have additional duties not imposed on non-tenured professors, such as selecting new faculty members for their department as well as creating and protecting an atmosphere of academic freedom within the University. According to Di Cicco, the two separate faculty and graduate student employee campaigns allow the groups to address differential concerns. While the faculty unionization campaign is focused on wages and job security, Case said Pitt’s graduate student employees, who work as teaching or research assistants as part of fellow-
September 21, 2016
ship programs, are focused gaining a voice in their working conditions. For graduate student employees, fellowship positions are granted by individual schools or programs within Pitt. For instance, the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences grants graduate fellowships that include a tuition waiver, a TA appointment and monthly stipends, among other benefits. Governmental or private agency grants may also be used to employ graduate students at Pitt and other universities. According to Bickford, campaigners are working toward a union that would include faculty in all of Pitt’s schools and branch campuses. Going forward, Case said if the unionization efforts fail, he would worry about Pitt’s rankings dropping. “Some of the best students might start making decisions about where to go to graduate school based on whether or not a university has a union,” Case said. “If the University and graduate students work hand-in-hand, both will do better.” Case said unionization will give graduate student employees greater confidence in their future, allowing them to do their jobs more effectively and to better the University as a whole. “The movement of graduate students and faculty unionization is moving across the nation. It is a growing trend, and we want to be part of it,” Case said. “We love Pitt and want it to be as good as it can be.”
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The Pitt News SuDoku 9/21/16 courtesy of dailysudoku.com
Police, pg. 1 The diversion of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats to the TRU raised concerns among council members when McLay first altered the policy to include the crimes on Aug. 15, 2016. At the time and at Tuesday’s hearing, council members questioned the ability of operators to judge the severity of such cases over the phone, particularly in cases of domestic violence where information may be distorted or underreported. City council member Darlene Harris said the original policy should not have rerouted simple assault, harassment or terroristic threats to the TRU, as it was intended for crimes on property rather than crimes against persons. Harris said that in a closed door meeting with Hissrich, it was agreed crimes against persons would be removed from the policy. Crimes that will continue to be diverted to the TRU include thefts from vehicles, accidents involving damage to vehicles or property with no injuries or tows and criminal mischief, excluding graffiti. For these smaller crimes — which don’t require evidence collection or witness interviews on-scene — the police will still file a report, but an officer will not respond to the scene. The original policy creating the TRU was enacted in December 2005. This policy allowed a caller to ultimately decide whether to report by telephone or to request an officer for these 14 crimes, following a 911 operator’s recommendation. Because Pittsburgh is listed as a financially distressed municipality under the Municipalities Financial Distress Recovery Act, Act 47, the police force is strained by limited money, resources and manpower. The TRU helps to alleviate this stress by addressing calls requiring only a police report, not in-person officer presence, according to Kathy Degler, commander of support services at the TRU. In 2015, the TRU received over 8,000 calls and filed over 6,000 police reports. Degler said the number of calls and reports sent to the TRU
Bone Marrow, pg. 2 “A huge part of what we try to do at Pitt is diversify the registry because we do have a pretty diverse campus,” Ortiz said. According to Berman, one Pitt student was matched with a patient through the registry last year. Because the student’s decision is confidential, it is unknown whether they chose to donate. Nationally, Gift of Life has chapters at 80
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September 21, 2016
are fairly steady every year. So far this year, the TRU has received 4,730 calls and filed 3,515 reports. The calls the TRU operators do not file are sent back to 911 operators to either reroute to the police department or because the call could was not completed. With this in mind, McLay issued an order in August 2016 that took away the option for citizens to request an officer for the specified 14 crimes and declared that these calls would strictly be handled by the TRU. It was possible, under McLay’s order, to avoid having the TRU file a report by requesting to speak with a supervisor. McLay said the concerns were raised to him about his 2016 order were well thought out. Although to his knowledge no incidents have occurred due to a case of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats being diverted to the TRU, he still thinks the latest suggestion to remove those three crimes is a good idea. “It’s a really, really good modification,” McLay said. “I’ve always believed the community does deserve some input into what our police policy should look like.” McLay stressed that the types of calls handled by the TRU are those that have no evidence to collect, no witnesses in the area and no ongoing risk of victimizations. Degler said that calls of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats were rarely taken at the TRU, if they were diverted to them at all. “A lot of times when my telephone reporting unit personnel would start talking to the complainant, they would say, ‘We can’t take this, they need a police car out there at the scene,’” Degler said. Judy Bergamasco, a retired 911 operator, said as long as the public has good information on the policy, there should be no problems. “Remember, these people [911 operators and the TRU operators] are trained to ask specific questions. And if they don’t get the answer they want, they send the police,” Bergamasco said. “No question about it.” universities and has registered 252,000 donors and made match connections for over 5,000 patients. Cohen said she hopes to be one of those 5,000 matches. “I would just love to get that call one day,” Cohen said. Diversifying the donor registry is important because the composition of bone marrow proteins is genetically based, so a patient’s match is usually within their same ethnic group. The probability of finding a donor match drops to 15 See Bone Marrow on page 5
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the first couple weeks of the semester. According to Vice President and Chief of Finance Max Kneis, SGB will present the new budget at the next couple of meetings. SGB is now among several other Formula Groups — including Pitt Program Council and Pitt Serves — in working with a full time advisor to draft a budget and make financial decisions. Their advisor, Associate Dean Steven Anderson, will approve every decision and work with SGB to maximize their budget. Anderson was previously the advisor for SGB but he will now be more involved with financial decisions. “The...advisor will see everything along with the Allocations Committee,” Kneis said. “The whole process will be more structured and official.” The conversation about revising the status of SGB began with last year’s board members, who were well aware of the limitations it placed on their budget.
Bone Marrow, pg. 4 percent if the patient is part of a minority group and below 10 percent if the patient is biracial. Be The Match has a total of 28 million donors on their national marrow donor registry. Of these donors, 70 percent are white while 10 percent are Latino, 7 percent are black and 6 percent are Asian. Because of the low variability of donor ethnicity, a black patient has only a 66 percent chance of matching with a donor, while a white patient has a 97 percent chance of matching, according to Be The Match. If a patient begins looking for a donor through one organization and finds no one, that registry will then connect the patient’s information to other registries to continue the search for a match. Worldwide, there are 72 donor registries. “If you are in one registry, you are in them all because they work together,” Berman said. In order to increase the number of registered donors, Gift of Life and Be The Match also aim to expel the myth that being on the registry means enduring a painful donation procedure. Traditional bone marrow transplants, which uses a needle to draw liquid marrow from the pelvic bone of the donor, only occurs in about 20 percent of cases. The majority of donations are nonsurgical. In these procedures, the donor’s blood is taken from one arm, the healthy
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“It made a lot of things very difficult last year,” Dall said. “A lot of our ideas came in the middle of the semester.” The previous board, under the guidance of Nasreen Harun, looked at budgets from the last five years and drew up the proposal for Formula Group status. At their initial retreat over the summer, the current board unanimously approved the proposal and submitted it to Kenyon Bonner, dean of students. Bonner approved the change over the summer. As a SAAG, SGB relied on several different funding sources to implement new initiatives. For example, in order to get t-shirts and pizza –– items that the Allocations Committee typically does not cover –– for last year’s Safety Fair, SGB applied for several OCC grants. As a Formula Group, SGB will be able to rely less on other forms of funding and do more with their own budget, though they will still have to use OCC grants for food and related items.
Find the full story online at
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stem cells from the blood are filtered out to be given to the blood cancer patient and the remaining blood is returned to the donor’s other arm, according to Be The Match. Ortiz said that she quickly learned that people are very confused when they see advertisements for a “donor drive.” “When we ask people to become a donor, they think that they are going to have their bone marrow taken, like right then and there,” Ortiz said. In reality, agreeing to become part of the bone marrow registry simply entails taking a cheek swab sample and filling out a paper that describes some personal specifics, such as gender and ethnicity. The swab kit and information is sent to the Be The Match lab and entered into the national registry for the organization. According to Be The Match, a sample is a match if both patient and donor have the same HLA proteins –– markers that differentiate between cells that do and do not belong in the body. A donor’s HLA proteins need to be almost identical so that the patient’s body doesn’t reject the donation. Donors remain in the database for a lifetime and will be contacted if their profile matches a patient’s. Ortiz said the effort of registering and then possibly donating is minimal in comparison to its effects on cancer patients’ lives. “In that couple of hours, you have saved someone’s life,” Ortiz says. “[That] is such a cool thing.”
The Pitt news crossword 9/21/16
SGB, pg. 2
September 21, 2016
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Opinions column
from the editorial board
Self-driving regulations provide little reassurance As of Monday, the United States government is officially betting on self-driving cars to be a success. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released its first set of federal regulations on the autonomous vehicle industry. The 15-point guideline creates safety standards for driverless cars, such as uniform policies across states, how to modify current regulations and the tools for developing new regulations in the future. The regulations come on the heels of President Barack Obama endorsing the new technology in an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, celebrating the potential for self-driving cars to eliminate car accidents and open access to those who cannot drive otherwise. He emphasized that the new regulations would guarantee safety for the consumers but also enough flexibility for innovators to flourish new technology. Yet amid all of the support and hype around self-driving cars, it is important for the companies and government officials at the center of this new technology to not forget about the people it will affect. While the technology is still in its infancy, transparency of both the regulatory process and how the cars themselves work is essential. If self-driving cars are to be successful, the public must be able to have confidence that they will be safe. It is up to both the companies making these cars and government regulators to instill that confidence. The broad regulations introduced Monday may provide some assurance, but they are not enough. Take Uber, for example. The company launched its first self-driving pilot program in the city last week but left many questions unanswered. As of today, only 32 states — including Pennsylvania — have statewide regulations on the ride-sharing company that protect consumers. Uber has yet to disclose infor-
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mation about their progress and faults in the process of developing these self-driving cars. The company has also failed to address unexpected environmental and weather conditions that could cause complications. And the company has yet to make a plan on how its drivers will find other work once autonomous cars take over. After several car accidents made news, such as the fatal crash by a Tesla vehicle and 18 accidents reported by Google’s selfdriving operations, the level of uncertainty about the safety of the cars remains prevalent. According to a March 2016 study by the American Automobile Association, 75 percent of drivers said they wouldn’t feel safe in a self-driving vehicle. Surely, the public wants companies to prove that this new technology is 100 percent safe. The potential lives at stake due to an incomplete form of technology is not something to bet on. If Uber and other companies like Google and Volvo want the public to come on board with autonomous vehicles, they will have to do a bit more than receive the President’s blessing. The rush to get these self-driving cars out for the sake of innovation should not be overshadowed by the reasons why they were made in the first place: to make humans safer and technology better. Uber and other companies developing self-driving cars need to be open about possible errors and complications in the process. They need to prove that we are ready for this technology to be in use. They need to address the concerns of its drivers and consumers and how they can serve them better in this transition. Thus far, information about these cars that we’re told are about become widespread for use in our city is scant. As much as we’d like to embrace this new technology, it will take time and answers to have our full support.
PIPELINES HARM LONG-TERM JOBS Isabelle Ouyang Columnist
Whether workers support them or not, the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline are a rallying call not only for environmental justice, but for labor justice as well. The controversial $3.8 billion dollar pipeline, spearheaded by Energy Transfer Partners LP, will harm the environment and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. Protesters have made that clear. But less obvious is the progress toward creating renewable energy jobs the pipeline will delay. Despite claims that the project will create jobs and economic profits, the lack of permanent jobs make those claims empty promises. The DAPL is meant to carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from North and South Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline has been under fire by activist groups for damaging the Standing Rock reservation, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declared a halt to construction while their appeal is being considered. Last Thursday, Pittsburgh protesters marched across Liberty Avenue in a show of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe organized by local environmental group Three Rivers Rising Tide. The event centered around indigenous rights, environmental justice and the Mariner East Phase 2 pipeline, a pipeline in the process of being remodeled in Pennsylvania. Local environmental groups like PennEnvironment and Clean Water Action object to the environmental consequences of unchecked Big Oil, including lack of regulations, construction disturbances and noise and air pollution. Yet, their opponents aren’t just those who are pro-business. Working against these protesters are also labor groups like Laborers’
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International Union of North America, which turned out to support the Mariner East 2 — a pipeline from Ohio through West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware to transport liquefied petroleum gases — in a Pennsylvania hearing on Aug. 8. The environmental discord isn’t simply left and right, as one would expect during this election season. Environmental groups and labor unions are both historically left-leaning. So why are labor groups supporting a generally conservative push for pipelines? Similar to the DAPL, the Mariner East pipeline projects will create 15,000 jobs a year, adding $62 million in taxes over the course of its construction — yet the projects will only sustain around 300 to 400 permanent jobs. Pennsylvania’s Mariner East 2 is a pure example of a larger, national divide. When Obama rejected the long-debated Keystone XL last November, alluding to climate change in his speech, he set a precedent for keeping Big Oil in check. The DAPL is the next test of the precedent’s lasting power. Last Thursday, when the largest national federation of unions — AFL-CIO — backed the DAPL, their support called attention to the friction brewing between environmental groups and labor unions. That the pipeline will be built on Native American land is demonstrative of a long American history of shrinking Native territory. In 1877, Congress passed a treaty greatly reducing Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s land despite not gaining approval from three-fourths of the Sioux. The once-vast Standing Rock reservation, which stretched across the entirety of South Dakota, has been reduced to a measly 5 percent of its original square mileage. The environmental case for the pipeline, See Ouyang on page 7
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR It hurt to read Emily Schoenberger’s column, The Odyssey dilutes journalism, on Monday. Yes, she’s not wrong — we cringe every time we see articles like “Why I’m Voting for Trump” or “Why I’m Not a Feminist” as much as you do. For every piece of fluff, however, there are three pieces of thoughtful work. Just look at our own examples: we write columns about never having been to a football game despite being a cheerleader, pieces about the love we have for
Ouyang, pg. 6 if you could call it that, is weak. The pipeline would reduce purchases of foreign oil, which are costly and require even more energy to import. But, given that last year’s Paris Climate Agreements agreed “on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible,” is a new untapped source of crude oil really what the world needs right now? The biggest issue comes down to jobs. The DAPL would produce 8,000 to 12,000 construction jobs according to official fact sheets. Yet the amount of permanent jobs that the DAPL and Mariner East would create is a fraction of that — 40 and 300 to 400, respectively. And here’s where we need to understand that union members are fighting for their job security and safety. Environmental justice, after all, is first and foremost about protecting our most vulnerable people. Whether we want to trade in thousands of people’s lives and livelihoods for the future of millions shouldn’t be the question. You can’t put a value on either. Laborers face a catch-22. In the short term, pipelines will result in increased employment and spike union membership. Supporting a conservative cause broadens their membership as well. In the long term, however, jobs in the oil industry simply aren’t sustainable with global trends emphasizing energy divestment. The DAPL and Mariner East are only prolonging the oil industry’s slow but inevitable death and allowing corporations like ETP and Sunoco Logistics to reap profits while they can. Once Big Oil stops being profitable, all that will be left are miles of irreversibly damaged land and thousands left jobless yet again.
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our siblings, and funny articles about the troubles of being a cashier. As you can see, these pieces are more thought out than a Facebook rant. We may not all be writers — some of us are science majors looking for a creative outlet — but we have the chops. We wouldn’t be on this team otherwise. We all write mindless articles every once in a while to take a break from the constant seriousness in our heads. Sometimes, getting the silliness out is helpful in writing serious articles like the problems with beauty pageants or news What’s emerging is a national controversy that pits environmental and First Nation activists against big oil companies and laborers. The 1,172-mile DAPL could wreak environmental havoc on First Nations land, given a history of shaky and fallible regulations. A formal complaint by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe asserts that the pipeline “threatens the Tribe’s environmental and economic wellbeing and would damage and destroy sites of great historic, religious and cultural significance to the Tribe.” First Nations objections alone should be enough to stop the pipeline — specifically on the basis that construction would catalyze more destruction of culturally significant land. Continuing to encroach on First Nations land would be a national disgrace and a thousand steps back on our attempts make history right. The construction of the pipeline also crosses the Missouri River, directly upstream from the Tribe’s reservation. The potential for contaminated drinking water due to willful negligence is disturbingly evocative of Flint, Michigan. It’s time for us all to demand immediate and increased investments in green energy. It’s time for us to be transparent about pipelines. Pipelines are damaging to the environment and serve no one but large corporate interests. Though the pipelines create temporary construction jobs, the amount of longterm jobs they create are far fewer. The cost of retraining several hundreds of people for renewable energy will be miniscule compared to the sum spent on either pipeline. If a few decades back, all the money spent on pipelines were spent instead on retraining workers and finding green energy solutions, we would not be in this predicament. The next-best time is now.
you won’t hear from traditional media outlets. We’re writers, just like you, Emily. Don’t dismiss us just because we write for Odyssey. We’re not here for the money or the shares. We’re here for the joy of writing, for having a creative outlet where we can write whatever we want — as serious or as “flippant” as we please — and for the ability to connect with an audience of thousands upon thousands of Content Creators across the nation. And being a part of this organization hasn’t hurt our resumes; in fact, many of our writers
have gotten offers for internships and other writing opportunities from their work with the Odyssey alone. Real journalism outlets take our silly listicles seriously, since we’ve mastered the art of using our voices to engage an audience. So don’t hate Odyssey writers, and don’t hate Odyssey — hate the clickbait culture that puts importance on likes rather than quality content. Best, The Pitt Odyssey Team
the Pipelines: Let’s break it down. DAKOTA ACCESS 470,000 barrels per day COST: $3.8 billion paid for by Energy Transfer Partners RUNS THROUGH: ND, SD, IA, IL JOBS: 8,000 to 12,000 in construction 40 permanent positions
MARINER EAST 345,000 barrels per day COST: $2.5 billion paid for by Sunoco Logisitics RUNS THROUGH: PA, DE, OH, WV JOBS: 15,000 in construction (per year) 300 to 400 permanent positions DAPLPIPELINEFACTS.COM
September 21, 2016
SUNOCOLOGISTICS.COM
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Sports
COMING BACK FOR THE KILL David Leftwich Staff Writer
Theo Schwarz SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Stephanie Williams had been here before, almost one year to the day. It was the Michigan game. The Pitt volleyball team faced a 12-9 deficit in the fifth and final set. Last year, the Panthers lost, and Williams left the court with a broken foot. She would have to sit out a majority of her first season. She would break her foot again. She would get depressed. She would heal. But this time around, it was Michigan that erred. They sent the ball sailing into Williams’ territory, allowing her to slam it into the floorboards for a kill that would spark the Panthers’ comeback. Her teammates won four more points before she came back and nailed down the match-winning kill. Final score: 15-12. The comeback for the team — and more specifically, Williams — was complete. But it was a long journey. Talent was never an issue for Williams, a redshirt freshman outside hitter. But when injuries afflicted her for the first time, she started to question the longevity of her volleyball career. She overcame not only the physical injuries but also the doubt of regaining her form and retaining a starting spot on the team. This season, Williams has emerged as the go-to offensive option for the Pitt volleyball team, averaging 3.53 kills per set — almost an entire kill more than any other player on the team. But her consistency and ability to play a variety of positions on the court are things she’s brought to the team since she started playing com-
petitively back home. Growing up in Eastlake, Ohio, Williams played basketball, softball and volleyball. After choosing to hone in on volleyball, she joined the Junior Olympic volleyball team in eighth grade and was named a starter on her high school team her first year. Throughout her time in high school, she was a dominant and complete player. She played club volleyball for Cleveland Volleyball Company — a funnel for Division I talent — while juggling her high school team and the Junior Olympic squad. Her athletic ability didn’t go unnoticed and brought along scholarship offers from Ohio University, Kent State and Cincinnati before the start of her sophomore year. “Stephanie was always a high-flying kid that could fly and physically dominate the other team,” said Tom Ray, her high school head coach. “The level was a step above everyone else.” During her sophomore season, Pitt joined the growing list of schools trying to tie down Williams. “It actually took me a little bit of time to decide,” Panthers head coach Dan Fisher said. “Then, I went to her final tournament going into her junior year and got to watch her play all day, and was completely convinced she was going to be great.” This decision immediately paid off for Fisher, as Williams had the fourth-highest average on the team with 2.31 kills per set during her first year. As a senior in high school, Williams led Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin to its first ever state championship, finished on the All-Ohio First Team and was a 2015 Club Volley-
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ball All-American. This success on all levels translated to early success at Pitt. She joined an experienced roster full of veterans last season and managed to earn a starting spot. At the end of her sophomore year, Williams verbally committed to Pitt. Besides the proximity to her home in Ohio and the strong healthcare career programs the University provided, she liked the impression she received from the team. “The coaching staff and the team —I could tell — had a family culture, and they always wanted a learning environment, so I knew I could improve so much as a person and a player here,” said Williams. All of this early success and a definite route for the future didn’t go to her head — she just kept pushing forward to improve into one of the best players in Ohio and to lead her high school team to its first ever state championship. Which is why, after a successful preseason and start of the early season tournaments at Pitt, the misfortune that struck for Williams and the Panthers, stung extra sharp. It shattered more than her and the team’s goals. On a tournament road trip in September 2015, in a match against No. 24 Michigan, Williams broke her foot — an injury that forced her to miss the remainder of the season. It was the last match before ACC play that year. She had been so ready to prove herself. But instead of a jersey, she got sweats. Instead of kills, she got crutches. “Breaking my foot so early on, I did not adjust well with that,” said Williams. “I stopped growing [as a player] and was very angry.” See Williams on page 10
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PITT FOILED BY LOYOLA IN OT, 2!1
The Pitt News
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Alec Anselmo (20) scored Pitt’s single goal against Loyola Tuesday night. John Hamilton STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ted Zhang Staff Writer
After holding the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels to just one goal on the road in a 1-0 loss on Friday, the Pitt men’s soccer team had to feel good about its chances back at home against Loyola on Tuesday night. Instead, Loyola (2-5-0) shocked the Panthers (1-5-1 overall, 0-2-0 ACC) with two late goals at the end of regulation and overtime, securing the 2-1 victory over Pitt. “We weren’t able to put them under pressure and close out space,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said. “They got too many looks at the goal in the last 10 minutes, and we stopped pushing for a goal.” Pitt took the pitch with dominance, keeping the ball in Loyola’s territory and
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attacking relentlessly in the first few minutes. “The mentality at the start of the game was to get after it, press the ball,” Panthers captain Bryce Cregan said. “Coming out in the second half, we kinda sat in our shell a little bit. When they came at us, we just sat back— that was our biggest mistake.” Pitt goalkeeper Mikal Outcalt continued his strong play in net from the North Carolina game early on, as he saved backto-back shots by Loyola forward Brian Saramago in the 15th minute. Mistakes plagued the Panthers’ offense in the first half, as they committed three offsides infractions on plays that could have led to goals. Then, halfway through the first period, Pitt got another scoring chance, and this
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
See Soccer on page 10
September 21, 2016
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Williams, pg. 8 She had worked so hard. On top of the general transitioning-to-life-as-a-first-year student-athlete stress, Williams was left with disappointment. “I just really came into myself and was a little depressed,” said Williams. “It was probably the hardest time in my life.” But with the help of the leaders on the team, Williams made it through the season and learned to pass and shoot from outside the front box since she couldn’t jump. As the season closed in January, Williams could finally get back on the court. She rehabbed and started to take part in spring volleyball in preparation for the next season. H e r mindset: if she pushed herself to work as hard as possible, everything would fall into place. Even still, she was just happy to be playing volleyball. She improved by adding a cross-body line shot to her game –– a deceptive shot where she initially looks to hit the ball cross-court but at the last minute hits the ball down the line. With a new perspective and a new appreciation for the game itself, Williams was ready for the team’s summer 2016 trip to Greece — her first opportunity to compete since the injury.
Then, in the midst of the fun and competition of the trip, and after a few months of rehab, Williams broke her foot. Again. Not only was making it back for the start of this season in question, but her career was in jeopardy. “Re-breaking my foot in Greece was just like a stab in the heart after working so hard to get back,” said Williams. Maintaining an impressive level of positivity this time around, Williams kept faith in her coaches as she worked her way back. The incoming players daunted her, but she tried to improve in any way she could. “I actually think I needed to break my foot to get better as a player,” said Wi l l i a m s . “ Wo r k i n g on faster angles and developing new shots in the box really helped me.” By the end of the s u m m e r, Wi l li ams could play and retained her starting spot on the roster despite not even making it back to 100 percent before the start of the season. Even though she is still not back to perfect health, it hasn’t shown on the court. Williams already has seven matches where she tallied double-digit kills, including three matches with 20 or more and 21 against Michigan. “She’s our best offensive player — there’s no question about that,” said Fisher. “I don’t want to say the sky’s the limit, but pretty close.”
I actually think I needed to break my foot to get better as a player
-Stephanie Williams
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Soccer, pg. 9 time, the Panthers executed. Forward Roosevelt Angulo penetrated into the penalty box and found midfielder Alec Anselmo, who sent it into the back of the net from 17 yards out. In the 35th minute, Saramago had a golden opportunity to even the score. But Outcalt stonewalled him again for his third save in the game –– all against Saramago –– to keep the Panthers in the lead. The save resulted in a corner kick for Greyhound midfielder Brennan Goldsmith, but Outcalt whisked the ball out of the air before it could reach the inside of the net. Saramago and Panthers defender Tom Moxham had a scary moment at midfield 37 minutes into the game when they clashed into each other chasing a loose ball. After a tense few minutes, both of the players recovered and climbed back to their feet but didn’t return until the second half. The first half ended with Pitt leading 1-0 against the Greyhounds, but neither team seem to have control of the momentum heading into the second half. “It was the first time we had the lead going into the second half in awhile, so our players were feeling pretty good,” Vidovich said. The second half began with a few stagnant possessions at midfield with neither team wanting to give ground to the other. While Pitt deferred to a more defensive strategy with a one-goal lead, Loyola controlled possession of the ball. In the 55th minute, Panthers midfielder Luca Mellor intercepted a pass by Greyhounds defender Jonathan Sousa and found himself in a one-on-one scenario
September 21, 2016
with Loyola goalkeeper Matt Sanchez. But Mellor failed to capitalize on the opportunity as he shot the ball wide left. The Greyhounds began their counterattack at the 65th minute when midfielder Xander Saling received a beautiful through ball only to be thwarted by Outcalt, who made his sixth save of the game. Loyola stayed on the offensive throughout the final 20 minutes of regulation, searching for the equalizing goal. Then, Greyhounds forward Nico Brown drew a foul with two minutes left in the game, setting up a free kick for Loyola from 30 yards out. Greyhounds midfielder Barry Sharifi took the free kick and fired it into the upper right corner of the net, tying the game at one. Pitt received a free kick chance of its own in the final minute of regulation, but Sanchez made the save on midfielder Josh Coan to send the game to sudden-death overtime. The first 10-minute overtime period began with Loyola taking control of the first few possessions, riding on the momentum gathered from the waning minutes of regulation. Greyhounds defender Jake Campbell then drew a foul less than three minutes into the period, setting up another free kick for Loyola. Again, Sharifi took the free kick from 29 yards out and bent the ball into the top right corner, securing the 2-1 win for Loyola. “The bottom line is those were two savable shots for me, granted [Sharifi] put it on target,” Outcalt said. “I just have to do better next time. I have to look forward and look to fix it next time.” The Panthers will resume conference play against the Duke Blue Devils on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. in Durham, North Carolina.
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I N D E X
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1,2,3,4,5,6 bedroom houses for rent. August 2017. Bouquet St., Meyran, Atwood, Semple, Chesterfield, Neville. 412-287-5712. 3 bedroom apartment for rent on Atwood, and Dawson Street. Call for more info 412-849-8694. Available now. 3 BR, 2 BA, Dawson Street. Newly renovated, dishwasher, washer/dryer, large backyard. Available now. $1000 + electric. Contact (412) 915-0856.
4 BR Home - Semple Street. Equipped Kitchen, Full Basement. Available immediately. Also renting for May and August 2017. (412) 343-4289.
Sacred Heart Elementary School, located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, is seeking volunteer basketball coaches for the upcoming 2016-2017 basketball season. Coaches are needed at both the varsity (7th & 8th grades) and junior varsity (5th & 6th grade) levels. For more information or if interested, please contact Amy Volpe at jaisvolpe@gmail.com.
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The Psychiatric Molecular Imaging Program is seeking men 18-25 years of age for brain imaging research studies. Participants must be in good physical and mental health, planning to stay in the Greater Pittsburgh area for the next 12 months, and willing to provide blood samples to confirm eligibility. The study involves questionnaires, interviews, and brain scanning. The research study will take place at UPMC Presbyterian University Hospital. Subjects will be compensated up to $800 upon completion. For details, call 412-586-9888. Mercurio's in Shadyside is now hiring for full-time and parttime positions. Pizza makers, servers, gelato servers, hosts, cooks, and dishwashers. Apply online: www.mercuriosgelatopizza.com or call 412-621-6220.
Uncle Sam's Submarines, Pittsburgh's best little sandwich joint is looking for fun-loving and hard-working people to work at our Oakland location. Applications for full or part-time positions are now being accepted at 210 Oakland Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15213.
Cashier, part-time/full-time. Must be professional, customer oriented and available days/and or nights and weekends. Ask for Gina 412-521-3530. Christian Home Health Care is hiring home health aids in the immediate area. Supplement your income around your busy class schedule. Nursing students are encouraged to apply. Call 412-323-0203, X 6132 or X 6141.
Part-time administrative position available at Schachner Associates, P.C.; Comprehensive Psychological Services. Responsibilities include: assistance with client services, including greeting, scheduling, and insurance payments; general communication management and client insurance eligibility and benefit confirmation; and basic filing, bookkeeping, and assistance with office projects. Excellent interpersonal skills, multitasking, and computer and typing skills are required. College students and recent graduates are welcome. Please send a resume to admin@schachnerassociates.com. Host/hostess wanted for Church Brew Works. Must be friendly and people person. Apply in person at 3525 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh's Grand Hall at the Priory located on the North Shore offers a breathtaking space for weddings and corporate events. Our venue has been honored with winner of Best Banquet Facility with Pittsburgh Magazine & winner of Best Weddings with The Knot. We are currently seeking part time banquet servers to work evening and weekend events. Qualified candidates should have experience in the food and beverage industry, present a polished appearance, and have a great personality. Compensation for this position will start at $10 per hour plus gratuity based on experience.
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HELP WANTED: Courthouse Clerk. Downtown law firm seeks courthouse/office clerk. Set own schedule! Good experience for underclassmen if interested in law school. Applicant needs to be organized, reponsible, detail-oriented; ablility to follow directions. 15-20 hours/wk. Fax resume to 412-2816302, e-mail to assist@gislaw.com or send to Gismondi & Associates, Suite 700, The Grant Building, 310 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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Direct Service Professional for Residential Program for adults with intellectual disabilities in South Hills. Flexible hours, PT, FT, benefits. No experience neededwe train. 18+ and PA driver's license needed. EOE. Email questions/resume to loril@southwindsinc.org
Looking for retail experience? Now hiring part-time salesperson.Come work at one of Pittsburgh’s premier shoe stores. Must be professional, fun, outgoing. Ask for Justin or stop in. 412-521-3530.
HELP WANTED Painting, yardwork, miscellaneous. Student preferred. Shadyside, Fox Chapel. $12/hour. 412-963-9889. georgebsg@cs.com.
ADOPT: Happily married well educated couple unable to have baby desires to adopt newborn. Call Marisol & Steve 800-272-0519. Expenses paid.
Interested candidates should submit their resumes to Courtney Burns at courtney @thepriory.com. Please no phone calls. College or graduate school students needed to work with elementary school children in a fun, structured after school program in the South Hills. $11.50-$13.50 per hour, flexible hours, must have own transportation. Email resume or letter of interest to jhroberts66@comcast.net
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