4-10-24

Pitt News

‘COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN’:

PYMATUNING VISITORS RECOUNT MONDAY’S ECLIPSE

On Monday morning, all bets were wagered on two words — “partly cloudy.” Families, amateur astronomers and Pitt students alike made the journey into the path of totality for the 2024 North American solar eclipse, the area of the earth cowmpletely in the moon’s shadow.

Around 400 people made a gamble that Pymatuning State Park, approximately 90 miles north of Pittsburgh, would have clear enough skies to witness the astronomic event. Eclipse viewers were glued to weather forecast updates all morning, hoping the clouds overhead would blow away just in time for the eclipse to begin.

Groups staked out the perfect spot hours before the total solar eclipse was set to begin at 2 p.m. Jonathan Bliss, a Pitt alumni from Imperial, Pennsylvania, was situated near the reservoir with his family. They packed lawn chairs, snacks

and a Pitt-themed cornhole game in preparation for the special event.

“[I’m excited to] be able to spend time with family and have the kids experience this opportunity,” Bliss said.

By 1 p.m., the largest clouds moved to the southeast, leaving an unusually sunny spring afternoon in its wake. A sense of anticipation began to build along the banks of the reservoir. Amateur astronomers used paper plates to focus their telescopes on the sun. Latecomers lined the rock wall barrier of Dam Road.

Junior computer science majors Austin Bustos and Ben Gradeck and junior political science major Azriah Crawley found a spot on the grass next to Pymatuning Dam just before the eclipse began. The group chose Pymatuning in the hope it would be less hectic than driving north to Erie.

“My mom is from around the area,” Gradeck said. “And I knew about this lake. I’ve been coming here for a while.”

Bustos was in Missouri during the 2017 solar eclipse and expressed

excitement to see an eclipse for the second time. Despite it falling on a school day, many of his professors canceled class to allow students to travel for the eclipse.

The moon’s progress across the sun was leisurely, talking almost an hour. But slowly, the sunlight dimmed. Shadows no longer had harsh edges and the light paradoxically took on a twilight glow.

Cheers echoed throughout the park as the sun fully disappeared. Viewers took off their solar eclipse glasses to be greeted by an awe-inspiring experience. The corona, the outermost layer of the sun, emanated behind the moon, silhouetting it with a flicker of light. Totality only lasted 2 minutes and 58 seconds at Pymatuning State Park, according to NASA. Before the awe could fully settle, sunlight began to peek from behind the bottom left of the moon.

Many families immediately folded up their blankets, leaving almost as quickly as totality itself. Cars flooded the single lane road as most groups

left to beat the impending horde of traffic down I-79.

Senior biology major Kieran Brennan stayed behind with his friends to recount the eclipse with each other.

“It was the coolest thing I've ever seen,” Brennan said.

He was grateful for the great weather and the opportunity to spend the day with friends. Brennan said he had little expectation going into Monday, but felt it was well worth the trip to Pymatuning and felt sorry for people who didn’t get to see it.

“You missed out,” Brennan said. “It was totally worth it.”

For those unable to make it to this year’s total solar eclipse, the next one will take place in Europe on Aug. 12, 2026, according to NASA.

Third-year pharmacy student Kolbe Bien was still reeling from the experience.

“Nothing could have prepared me for that,” Bien said. “That's gonna be a memory I’m going to hold on to for the rest of my life.”

The total solar eclipse as seen from Pymatuning, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Bronco York | Senior Staff Photographer

Amanda Yu Staff Writer

PLANT2PLATE STILL AWAITING UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE THREE YEARS LATER

The Plant2Plate student-run garden that produces fruits, vegetables and herbs from a plot of land located on Oakland Avenue, across from Bouquet Gardens. Bhaskar Chakrabarti | Staff Photographer

In 2021, the University promised a student-run community garden, Plant2Plate, one more season before development on their new land would begin. Years later, members are still waiting amid concerns over the garden’s prospective new location.

Located at 246 Oakland Ave., the Plant2Plate garden provides a rare green space for students and residents alike. The garden, initially created by Pitt students in 2010 as a sustainability project, rests on an 11,600 square foot lot owned by the university.

Inside, student members of the Plant2Plate club grow a large variety of fresh produce to donate to local food insecure populations, primarily through the Pitt Pantry, a Pitt-operated food pantry located in the O’Hara Student Center.

John Ufer, a junior chemical engineering major and co-chair of agriculture for the club, said he believes that without any major supermarkets in the Oakland area, the garden helps students consistently access fresh food.

“Its main purpose is to donate food to insecure communities in the Oakland area, because as you and most people know, Oakland is a food desert. There is not much opportunity for produce, especially fresh food, to enter the community,” Ufer said. “Pitt Pantry is mainly shelf-stable produce, which is great for sustenance, but the aspect of having fresh fruits and veggies is a very important and nutritious part of people’s meals.”

Ufer said Plant2Plate also serves as a green area that helps mitigate feelings of pollution and drag in the dense Oakland area.

Despite the opportunities Ufer believes the garden offers, he said Pitt plans to evict the garden within the next few years. They’ll be moved to an area above Upper Campus on Vera Street as part of a relocation plan.

“Our current location in Oakland Avenue is currently under transformation to a dormitory, and the garden will be erased probably in 2-3 years. We’re be-

ing evicted,” Ufer said. “In compensation for that construction, we are being moved to Vera Street, which is in North Oakland, bordering Pitt’s campus with the Hill District,” Ufer said.

Sustainability students originally received permission to use vacant University land in 2010 on Oakland Avenue. The University agreed to a minimum twoyear contract and said it would give the club a minimum one-year notice “prior to University groundbreaking.” In 2018, Pitt presented its Institutional Master Plan and Campus Master Plan, which said the garden would “officially be slated for development for sometime in the next 5-10 years.”

In the time since then, housing development for the Oakland Avenue lot has been pushed back to a slower time frame. In 2019, Plant2Plate said they were in talks with the Office of Campus Planning to purchase vacant lots in Oakland to turn into gardens, which ultimately became the land on Vera Street.

Club members are still waiting on a clear development deadline from the University. University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said “there is no near-term planned development activity on the space and thus no timeline for relocating Plant2Plate.”

“The University has confirmed with the Plant2Plate organization that it is extending the use of the Oakland Avenue location through at least the end of 2026,” Stonesifer said.

Although the timeline remains unclear, the University has a clear goal for development. Elise Rinke, a senior and student garden manager, said “eventually the plan is for [the Oakland Avenue lot] to be athletic housing.”

Neeha Kolli, a junior environmental science major and co-chair of agriculture with Ufer, said she believes the convenience of the current Oakland Avenue garden is part of the appeal.

“Between South Oakland and the actual campus, our garden is right between those two, which makes it really accessible,” Kolli said.

Kolli said the garden serves students outside of providing produce and a refreshing green space, which is potentially in jeopardy given the new location.

“Classes will come and meet in the physical garden space, which is a really big thing that we're sad to miss in a couple years when we lose that space. It serves as an outdoor classroom, just a great overall space for people to sit and spend time and hang out,” Kolli said.

Kolli said she has concerns about the Vera Street location.

“The main problems are the quality of the land they gave us, the size of the land they gave us in comparison to the [less than] half acre we have now, and the location in comparison to where the student body is actually found,” Kolli said. “We did soil testing on it, and there’s a lot of salt in the soil, which makes it not ideal growing conditions.”

Ufer echoed Kolli’s concerns about where Plant2Plate is being moved to, emphasizing its inaccessibility compared to the current garden on Oakland Ave.

“The Vera Street garden was on a greyfield – which is previous construction, there were already buildings there – and they did not do a good job of removing the baseline foundation,” Ufer said. “It is not where the brunt of students are populated, and it also has poor soil quality and is on a very large slope.”

The Vera Street lot has a history of construction that also poses a roadblock for planting produce, and Ufer said club members have found miscellaneous construction pieces when inspecting the area.

“There are bricks in the soil, there are concrete pieces, you turn up random industrial supplies every single time you try to fish down in the dirt for soil. And the acidity is out of control,” Ufer said.

The University noted it was of the club’s soil concerns.

“Like many urban garden projects on formerly developed land, including the Oakland Avenue garden, soil quality is always a concern. We are committed to getting the [Vera Street] plot ready for student use, in-

cluding soil remediation,” Stonesifer said.

Kolli said there have been club efforts to negotiate a different relocation.

“Our former president, Abhi, sat in on meetings, had meetings with assistant deans [and] heads of planning, to try to advocate for a better space. It’s literally us butting heads with the Pitt Master Plan and all of these administrative blockades,” Kolli said.

Ani Nangunoori, a junior computational biology major and Plant2Plate’s current president, said the club hopes to expand into other Oakland locations to keep it active in South Oakland.

“There’s a group of students on campus who are involved with the Lawn Street Garden in South Oakland, and there's another lot over in South Oakland that’s been an abandoned garden space. We’re looking to work with the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation to take stewardship of those garden spaces and provide a space for students and Oakland residents to collaborate in garden endeavors,” Ani Nangunoori said.

In the meantime, Abhi Nangunoori, a senior economics and biology major, said Plant2Plate has plans to mitigate the effect of losing the Oakland garden within the community.

“We’ve actually partnered with some other organizations, in both the community and on Pitt’s campus, to create what we call pocket gardens. When we do eventually lose [the Oakland Avenue] location, we’ll be able to grow things and keep the club active in these smaller gardens,” Abhi Nangunoori said.

University spokesperson Stonesifer cited the pocket gardens concept “as a way to expand Plant2Plate’s presence on other areas of campus.”

Kolli said she is optimistic about also continuing the club’s community-building aspect.

“We know how to create community. We were able to do it down here, we’ll find a way to do it up there,” Kolli said.

JID AND OPENERS RING IN THE SPRING AT A SUNNY BIGELOW BASH

Irene Castillo Senior Staff Writer

After days of rain, the sky over Pittsburgh cleared up for Bigelow Bash, the annual free music concert organized by the Pitt Program Council. By 1 p.m. on Sunday, the smell of fried rice, corn dogs and tacos and the bright, warm sun called students forth to the stage on Schenley Drive next to Posvar Hall.

9FiftySeven opened the event, followed by rappers My Favorite Color, Luh Tyler and headliner JID. Even if the students got antsy waiting for the performances, there wasn’t a quiet moment in the crowd. The stage’s screen entertained the audience with Hillman Library’s construction machinery, zooming in on a crane and forklift and receiving hoots and cheers in response.

The opening act was Pitt Factor winner 9FiftySeven, an indie band consisting of four undergraduate Pitt students. The band’s friends were the first ones to show up at the barricade, joking that the sky had cleared just for the event.

“Of course, it’s going to be cloudy for the eclipse but 9FiftySeven gets sun … As they should!” said Alex Borg, a sophomore German and linguistics major.

9FiftySeven were confident on stage, bopping their heads and fiddling with their instruments in matching red and black outfits. Yanelis Yelibeth Figueroa, the lead singer of 9FiftySeven and sophomore at Pitt, says she didn’t feel nervous but was more worried about crowd work.

“It was scary because I had to write down a ton to do crowd work and stuff, but they had to cut it out, but the crowd seemed to be having an amazing time,” Figueroa said.

Following their performance was WPTS Radio’s opener My Favorite Color, a local Pittsburgh rapper, who began his show with a resolute “F--- Dan Schneider.” His entourage, consisting of rappers and DJs, danced and sang with him. One of the performers, Elias Ferguson, offered his Cashapp QR code to the camera hoping to get some money to “fund Black creators.” He then received a request for $100 from a user named Hannah, which he mistakenly accepted. Apparently, this was a common occurrence at their concerts.

“This always happens!” Ferguson said, as the rest of his friends laughed with him.

My Favorite Color began his set with a combination of witty lines, playing jokes at his stage name and a strong flow of words to accompany him. He showed off his Burberry shark-themed sunglasses and readjusted his grills through his set. At the end of his set, the rapper gifted his laughing audience oranges, admitting that orange was his favorite color.

The final opening act was Luh Tyler, an 18-year-old rapper from Florida who signed to Atlantic Records after his song “Law & Order” went viral on TikTok. His performance was much shorter, consisting of four quick songs.

JID, the headlining rapper from Atlanta, brought up

the energy quickly when he strutted onto stage, wearing his classic headband and oversized varsity jacket. He walked in calmly, only accompanied by his DJ and Pittsburgh producer, Christo Welch, and quickly got straight into rapping for the excited crowd. While he did have a setlist entirely planned, he was more excited about having students request music.

“I just wanna go with the flow here,” JID said, as students screamed for their favorite hits such as “Costa Rica,” “Stick,” “Big Black Truck” and “Kody Blue 31.” “Surround Sound,” his recent hit, blared halfway through his performance as well as Imagine Dragons collaboration “Enemy,” which according to the rapper is his “most famous song.” Most of his songs featured smooth soul samples transitioning into trap beats through the production of Christo, who stood behind JID with laptops and turntables.

JID joined the crowd twice, hopping off the stage to dance with the students by the barricade. Malia Roberts, a junior English literature major, said she got up close and personal.

“He jumped right in front of us. We moshed with JID,” Roberts said as she left the venue with her friends. Roberts was one of the first people to show up for the event.

JID left the stage after signing vinyl records, T-shirts and Kirby backpacks fans brought, as well as the few Bigelow Bash shirts students threw at the stage. A poster asked the rapper to sign the holder’s shoe again, saying

that their dog ate the last one the artist had signed.

JID’s performance marked another year of a Pitt tradition that, especially with finals in a few weeks, allows students to relax and enjoy their campus in the warmer weather. Past Bigelow Bash headliners include Yung Gravy and Carly Rae Jepsen. Saniah Tuck, a firstyear public health major, plans on coming back for next year’s Bash.

“JID literally did his thing. He can rap, he can sing, he had the energy. He had the crowd jumping even when not everybody knew his songs,” Tuck said. “Pitt did their big one with the Bigelow Bash. I’m definitely coming back for the next one.”

photos by Liam Sullivan and Bhaskar Chakrabarti | The Pitt

PITT TRACK AND FIELD COMPETES ACROSS MULTIPLE MEETS

Aidan Kasner Senior Staff Writer

Pitt track and field is on quite the tear recently. In their last few meets, the men and women’s teams have racked up successful finishes, broken records and won honorable titles.

The Panthers’ busy schedule dates back to late March when the teams traveled to three universities for a triad of meets over one weekend.

Pitt’s athletes etched their names into program history by breaking all-time records and earning multiple medals.

Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays

Three Panthers shined in the heptathlon for the women’s team at the 96th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Senior Ilse Steigenga took home first place in the long jump after landing a 6.25 meter leap. Steigenga came through the finish line fourth in the 200 meter as well, giving her an overall fifth-place finish and personal best time in the heptathlon. She now holds the second all-time program record, jumping up from her previous fourth-place spot in Pitt history.

The ACC named Steigenga Athlete of the Week for her accomplishments, which is her second of the season. Graduate student Lydia Bottelier set two personal records, winning the 200 meter with a time of 24.21 and throwing 12.32 meters in the shot put for third place in the event. Bottelier finished seventh overall on the day.

Sophomore Taylor Newton rose one spot to ninth on Pitt’s all-time heptathlon list with new personal bests in the 200 meter, which won her the event, and the shot put, which granted her a third-place finish.

In the shot put, first-year Norrah Lemongo and sophomore Niya Crawford threw 15.14 meters and 14.55 meters, respectively, a new best for both women. This gave Lemongo a silver finish and Crawford fourth place.

On the men’s side, the 4x100 relay, composed of junior Nigel Hussey, junior Stephon Brown, sophomore Darren McQueen Jr. and first-year Thomas

McDonough, combined for a 40.19 finish — the thirdbest time in Pitt program history.

Raleigh Relays

The distance group traveled to ACC foe North Carolina State to compete in the Raleigh Relays. A slew of Panthers left with new personal bests. For the men, four events led to five new program bests.

In the 1,500 meter, sophomore Luke Simpson ended the day as the ninth-best Panther in program history with his time of 3:46.14 — a personal best.

Junior Luke Miller dropped the hammer in the 5,000 meter, running a time of 13:57.15 and solidifying himself as the second-best in the event in the history of the program.

Three Panthers set records in the 10,000 meter. Junior Luke Henseler ran 29:15.16, a new personal best that pushed him to second in Pitt history, four spots above his previous time. Senior Sam Otis ran 29:29.48, placing himself fourth on the program list. Junior Peyton Geehrer finished in 30:08.60, now ninth in program history.

For the women’s group, the Panthers broke one school record and set two additional historic times of their own.

In the 10,000 meter race, junior Winnie Incorvaia set a new program record of 33:47.53, placing seventh overall and breaking Gillian Schriever's record time from 2017. Senior Sadie Carey-Tharp recorded the third-best time in program history at 34:17.74.

Incorvaia and Carey-Tharp are now ranked 31st and 41st in the nation, respectively, for the 10k race.

Carnegie Mellon Invitational

In the final of three consecutive meets for the track and field program, three first-year runners took home wins in their respective events at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.

First-year Taylor Forbes recorded 11.19 meters in the women’s triple jump, winning the event. Sophomore Jana Bruses followed suit, winning the 100 meter

YOUR FIRST-YEAR ROOMMATE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE YOU WILL EVER KNOW, BOTH GOOD AND BAD

Grace Harris Staff Columnist

College is a daunting and, quite frankly, terrifying experience. I would be lying if I said the day before I drove eight hours from Chicago to Pittsburgh, I was calm. I was a mess. Most of the fear stemmed from the fact that I was going to a school with no one from home. I was the only student from my graduating

hurdles with a personal best 14.39 — the only athlete to run under 15 seconds in the event. Bruses also claimed bronze in the 400 meter hurdles.

In what was her first steeplechase competition of her career, junior Caroline Rusinski ran 11:08.41 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, ousting the other competitors by more than a minute.

Junior Mia Ingalls, a steeplechase rookie as well, ran 12:17.14 in the same race, posting a second-place finish.

In the discus throw, senior Lanie Bainter took second with a personal best of 39.89 meters, and first-year Mollie Carpenter took sixth with 35.78 meters. This was not Bainter’s only second-place finish of the day, however, with a new best of 50.77 meters in the hammer throw.

For the men, sophomore Ryan Cook placed second in the shot put with 15.81 meters and fifth in the hammer throw with 49.42 meters.

Sophomore Uri Arnon lept 13.92 meters for second in the men’s triple jump as well.

South Florida Invitational

This past weekend, the Panthers traveled to Tampa for the South Florida Invitational. Pitt was well-represented on the podium with eight finishes and three event wins.

Junior Daniel Amaya won the men’s hammer throw with 61.65 meters.

McQueen Jr. and Hussey continued their dominance with second-place finishes (10.14) and fourth-place finishes (10.26), respectively, in the 100 meter dash. Brown raced in the 200 meter, running 21.31, placing his name at the 10th spot on the all-time program ranks.

Junior Malik Ricketts, senior Raymond Oriakhi, McDonough and sophomore Devin Nugent formed the first-place men's 4x400 meter relay team, which ran a time of 3:10.50.

For the women's team, senior Foluke OlujideAjibade had a silver finish with 58.33 meters in the hammer throw. Bainter set a personal record of 51.78 meters, granting her sixth place and the eighth-best mark

on March 7.

Courtesy of Pitt Athletics in program history. A throw of 51.08 gave Crawford the eighth-place spot. Crawford continued her success later in the discus throw with a sixth-place finish of 44.48 meters, placing her seventh in program history.

Lemongo used her personal best 15.68 meter throw to win the women's shot put. Steigenga posted a season's best mark of 6.45 meters in the long jump and finished second.

In the high jump, sophomore Alesia Rengle set a personal record of 1.75 meters, and sophomore Eva Baldursdottir hopped 1.70 meters to place third and fourth, respectively. With her mark, Rengle is now tied for fourth in program history.

First-year Somiyah Braggs excelled in the 100 meter and the 200 meter, running 11.61 and 23.86 respectively. Braggs finished second in the 100, setting a new best and tying for the sixth-best time in Pitt history.

To finish the meet, the 4x400 relay of junior Logan Neely, junior Caleia Johnson, sophomore Success Duruzor and Bottelier ran a time of 3:42.04 for a silver finish.

The Panthers are back on April 12-14 at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

class going to Pitt, so I feared I would never feel the sense of comfort home gave me. While I did move here with no one directly from my hometown, I came with one person I knew — my roommate.

The girl who slid into my DMs from the class of 2027 Instagram page a couple of months prior was the only person I felt I knew enough to ease some of my nerves. I instantly clicked with her and felt like I had known her for years. As my first year comes to an end, I have come to realize that she has become one of the most important people I have had in my life.

First-year roommates, both good and bad, are some of the most important people we will meet in See Harris on page 6 opinion

Senior Lydia Bottelier competes during the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championship

Internships & Fellowships are open through the Elsie Hillman Civic Forum!

GRADUATE STUDENTS

The Ambassadors for Civic Engagement (ACE) Fellowship enables grad students to apply their skills to enhance the quality of life for individuals in the Pittsburgh region. This year, we have partnered with the HEAR Foundation and students will earn $15 per hour. All graduate students are eligible to apply.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Apply today!

Apply today!

Harris, pg. 5

Apply today!

The Elsie Hillman Honors Scholars Program aims to connect students with regional community partners. Students can earn $15 per week for 10 hours per week and obtain 3 credits through the Honors College.

The IOP Internship & Seminar offers students a chance to work with elected officials who are shaping policy in the Pittsburgh region. Earn 4 credits through the Political Science department or the College of General Studies. Intern for 10 hours weekly at the official’s office.

elsiehillmanforum.pitt.edu

@Pitt_IOP

@elsiecivicforum

@elsiehillmanforum

our lifetimes. I am lucky to say that my roommate has become one of my best friends, and I probably would not be in the place I am today if it weren't for her.

It is normal to feel out of place and panic at the start of your first year of college, especially if you are at an out-of-state school. My imposter syndrome was so bad that I constantly had lingering thoughts that I needed to go back home and that was the only way I would feel better. The only thing that kept me from giving up and turning back was Bella — the roommate I was and still am lucky enough to have who felt like home.

Bella reminded me that I was not alone in my extreme homesickness. Our late-night talks were some of the most comforting conversations I have ever had and were there when I needed them most. I never had to explore campus alone, and somehow, she understood how I was feeling without me even having to say it.

College is insanely stressful, there is no way around that. And I am the type of person who often engulfs themself in their work during midterm and finals season and goes — what Bella likes to call — “off-grid.” While this isn't the best habit, Bella is always understanding. She has acted as a constant reassurance that school is not everything and breaks are just as important. She has a way of getting me to better balance school and life, and for that, I am so grateful.

One of the most important things I have learned from having a great first-year roommate is how to be more comfortable with vulnerability. I hate being vulnerable. Crying in front of people makes me extremely uncomfortable, and I am one to cover real emotions with extreme sarcasm. One of my biggest complaints coming to college and living in a dorm was that being alone was a rarity, so if you wanted a good cry, someone might see.

However, crying while at college is inevitable. You're going to get humbled by an assignment, you are going to stress over countless assignments and you are most likely going to cry, with a lack of privacy. But having Bella taught me that it is OK to cry and be vulnerable — she is always there with a tissue

or a pat on the back when I need it most, and when I need to shed a few tears and move on, she lets me know she’s there.

I want it to be very clear, I am not assuming everyone has a great experience with their first-year roommate. While if that were true things would be much easier — that is simply not possible. I know plenty of people with roommate “horror stories,” and I completely understand. Having a roommate that you are not close to can have negative impacts on a person. However, there is something that people with bad roommate experiences all have in common — they are grateful for their roommate in some way or another. Their experience with their roommate is the reason they branched out more and met some of the best friends they have now.

One of my best friends is not very close with her roommate, so Bella and I invited her out to do things with us at the beginning of the year, and now we have become nearly inseparable. She also has a wide variety of friends from different dorms, majors and organizations that she has been able to connect with. While she might not be close with her roommate, it is because of that she was able to expand her circle.

Similarly, my sister did not have a good experience with her roommate during her first year of college, and because of that, she was forced to come out of her shell more independently. As a result, she found a great group of friends who she still stays in touch with post-graduation. Even when a friend leaves while you are still in school, that person may stay a close friend of yours. Fellow columnist Irene Moran noted that she is still in touch and very close with her first-year roommate who transferred and talks to her whenever she can.

The first year of college is scary, whether you have a good roommate or not. And while I was lucky enough to find one of my best friends, those who aren't as lucky still find amazing people and make best friends along the journey. Either way, this relationship is vital because regardless of if they are friend or foe, they have a huge impact on how you navigate your first year and who will be with you for years to come.

Grace Harris, staff columnist for The Pitt News, poses for a photo with her first-year roommate. Grace Harris | Staff Columnist