6-19-19

The Pitt News

PLRB orders hearing on faculty union complaint pittnews.com

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T h e i n de p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | June 19, 2019 ­| Volume 110 | Issue 6

COMMUNITY LEADERS DISCUSS RACE, JUSTICE

WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS.

Lauren Bruckstein For The Pitt News

Pittsburgh has been the center of a considerable amount of discussion about race and justice since an East Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed black teen Antwon Rose on this day last year.

Pittsburgh politicians, artists and officials came together to further these discussions at a Friday panel hosted by The Atlantic at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty.

Issues discussed by the panel included the fairness of the criminal justice system, policing in Pittsburgh and how race affects these topics, while also speaking about what can be done at both the community and individual level.

Panelists included 1Hood Media founder Jasiri X; Brandon Flood, secretary for the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons; Rep. Summer Lee, D-34; former district attorney candidate Turahn Jenkins and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Scott Schubert.

Jasiri X, a Pittsburgh-based rapper and founder of 1Hood Media, talked about using art and media to communicate the experiences of African American men and the prison system. 1Hood Media is a website featuring African American artists and their work revolving around social justice.

X has written widely-played songs about the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin and other black men killed in police shootings. He said his work puts him in a position to be both an artist and

Mahogany Browne (center), Artistic Director of Urban Word NYC, speaks at Pitt’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics “Won’t You Celebrate With Me” event on Saturday evening. Thomas Yang | visual editor

‘WALK FOR LOVE’ TO HONOR ALINA SHEYKHET George Smith

For The Pitt News

In the aftermath of former Pitt student Alina Sheykhet’s death in the fall of 2017, family, friends and peers have come together to honor and continue her legacy.

Sheykhet’s family formed Alina’s Light in late 2018, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting those who share Sheykhet’s passions while raising awareness and promoting education on domestic violence. Alina’s Light will be hosting a Walk for Love on Sunday, July 7, at Settler’s Cabin Park in Robinson Township to honor Sheykhet and raise funds to continue the work of the organization. The event begins at 9 a.m., following registration for participants at 7 a.m. The cost is $25 for See Panel on page 2 adults, $15 for children ages six through 12,

and free for those five and under.

Sheykhet was passionate about the performing arts, animals and children. Alina’s Light is meant to honor her memory by providing scholarships to students of her former high school who share her love for performing arts, as well as raise funds for charities that benefit children and animals.

A 2015 graduate of Montour High School in nearby McKees Rocks, Sheykhet spent time dancing, acting and singing musical theatre. After high school, Sheykhet attended Pitt’s Greensburg campus, where she spent time as part of the Outdoor Adventure and Community Service Living Community, eventually becoming its vice president. Additionally, she joined the Animal Lovers Club.

After two years, Sheykhet moved to finish

college at Pitt’s Oakland campus and pursued a physical therapy major.

Ember Holmes, the secretary of the board for Alina’s Light and the family’s attorney, said the charity aims to support legislative action to try and prevent future instances of domestic violence.

“The goal is to help people that Alina wanted to help, and support and work towards the passage of Alina’s Law,” Holmes said in a phone call.

Alina’s Law, or H.R. 588, is sponsored by state Rep. Anita Kulik, D-45, and centers on bolstering current protection-from-abuse laws that Kulik says ultimately failed Sheykhet.

Sheykhet used the current PFA system in hopes to protect herself from her ex-boySee ‘Walk for Love’ on page 2

News Panel, pg. 1

an activist.

“It was really me doing art out of the passion that I had, which was servicing my community, helping the next generation of folks develop and grow,” X said.

“It came organically out of the activism I do.”

Aside from just using media, X believes people of all ethnicities, as well as those in office, should participate in community conversations about these issues, and show up for families like Rose’s.

Lee said policy ideas originate from many different parts of people’s lives.

“Politics starts on the street,” Lee said.

“Politics starts in your home. It starts wherever the conflict is.”

Similarly, Flood said he thinks much change can be accomplished at the local level, while also influencing legislators at

Former Pitt professor wins appeal in federal ethnic discrimination lawsuit pittnews.com higher levels of government.

“The ordinances and policies that are crafted on a local level usually force the hand of state legislators, as well as Congress,” Flood said.

Jenkins, who lost a primary battle to unseat Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, also shares this view. After previously working as a public defender, Jenkins said he noticed there are people in government who don’t fully understand the consequences of their decisions.

“We need to be mindful of the people we put in these positions because they affect all of us,” Jenkins said. “[The system]’s too concerned about convictions and not treating people like people.”

Jenkins said that these officials do not worry about giving convicted people, and their families, the tools to help put their lives back together. Lee echoed these remarks, noting it costs more to

fund a prisoner than it does to fund a college student.

“Are we prioritizing building up citizens who are well-rounded, well-educated, who have the resources, the tools to not even come in contact with the criminal justice system in the first place?” Lee said. “Or are we preparing for a state that’s bloated, with folks who we need to house?”

Lee added that she is working with other legislators to make the County justice system more fair and efficient. Lee’s colleague, Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-19, is working on a bill that would create a licensing process and form an oversight commission for setting state police standards. Currently, Allegheny County’s many small municipalities have different training standards and resources for police.

“There is no professional board for policing right now,” Lee said.

But those in City and County govern-

‘Walk for Love’, pg. 1 friend, Matthew Darby. Following a break-in attempt less than a month before her murder, her ex-boyfriend was released on bail, and Sheykhet petitioned for a PFA, which was not granted until three days before her death.

PFA laws don’t employ physical barriers to stop a defendant from violating the order — only the threat of fines or imprisonment.

Darby would later be sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering Sheykhet.

Alina’s Law, if passed, would provide courts with broader authority to deem whether the defendant poses a substantial risk to violate the order or commit a crime against the victim. If the defendant is found to be a viable threat, a judge would have the ability to order the defendant to wear a tracking device that would notify both the victim and local police if the defendant enters the space protected by the PFA. This would allow the victim time to reach safety and give police the ability to resolve the situation.

State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-43, is a cosponsor of the bill, and, like Ku-

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The Alina’s Light charity organization will hold a “Walk for Love” to honor Alina Sheykhet (pictured) on July 7. photo courtesy of isabel scrabis lik, said he believes Sheykhet’s death could have been prevented.

“I’m a cosponsor because I believe it could’ve helped Alina, and it should be enacted to help protect more potential victims of deadly domestic violence,” Costa said to The Pitt News in 2017.

The passage of the law is still in progress, Holmes said, as they work through its legal wording.

“The law was reintroduced earlier this year, and we are working through some kinks with the language,” Holmes said. “We are coming up with some revisions to parts worded as ‘electronic monitoring’ because it is not an electronic monitoring device … it only tracks when the defendant gets within a certain proximity of the victim.”

Holmes added that the tracking capabilities of Alina’s Law benefit the defendant as well.

June 19, 2019

US Steel fire cuts power to pollution control systems pittnews.com

ment say they are already trying to improve their abilities on their own.

Pittsburgh Bureau of Police chief Scott Schubert spoke at the event about a Bureau unit whose sole job is to review national best practices and review incident responses.

“I think we have pretty good policies, but policies change based on incidents that occur to include things that happen to us over the years,” Schubert said. “We put a lot of emphasis on training now.”

Schubert added the Bureau places an emphasis on training its officers and ensuring they understand the community before they walk the streets on their own.

“We have invested a lot with engagement in the community, we’ve opened it up, we want to hear,” Schubert said. “We may not always agree, but you need that input from the community … We are all in this together. Everyone wants a safe community.”

“While it gives the victim an opportunity to get to safety, it may also protect the defendant from false allegations of violating the PFA,” Holmes said.

In the wake of the tragedy, friends of Sheykhet keep her memory alive. Zach Brandner, her former roommate and a senior marketing major at Point Park University, said he considered Sheykhet to be a special person.

“She was so much fun to be around,” Brandner said. “I miss her every single day.”

While the walk next month will raise money for scholarships given by Alina’s Light, it will also honor Sheykhet as a celebration of life, Holmes said.

“Afterwards there will be a DJ, food trucks, bounce houses, a craft table, live bands, a petting zoo and yoga sessions,” Holmes said. “It’s going to be a really great event.”

The event hopes to be as memorable as Sheykhet. Her close friend Nicole Ricchiuto said she lit up every room she walked into.

“She always saw the good in people,” Ricchiuto said. “She was always there when I needed her.”

2

Opinions Allison Dantinne

Editorial: Pa. politicians need to take Clairton pollution seriously pittnews.com

JUNE HOROSCOPES

Senior Staff Columnist Summer is upon us. The weather becomes hot. The air becomes sticky.

The Geminis finally crawl back into the wretched pits from whence we came.

There is a sense of calm. Check your horoscope to see what else the stars have in store for you this Cancer season.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Press, press, press, Cardi don’t need more press. But you do need press attention, Aquarius. You’re a little pressed about your lack of press. So the next time someone asks you about your burgeoning stand-up comedy career or your booth at the National Model Train Show, feel free to brag. All press is good press!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Consider the comforter on your bed during your youth, Pisces. Was it covered in multiple evolutions of the popular Pokemon, Eevee? Or possibly checkered flags and race cars? Dinosaurs? The things we own as kids say a lot about our interests and ambitions and really put into perspective how quickly those dreams fade as we all resign to being mid-level managers somewhere in the midwest.

So break out that dinosaur comforter and enjoy youth again. The dinosaurs may have been pelted by meteors, but that doesn’t mean you were.

Aries (March 21-April 19): Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And if you can’t see it, look closer, until you find what should look like a small metallic square with neon wires. It’s very tiny, so it’s easy to miss. Once you find it, Aries, you’re going to need a scalpel and a pair of forceps to dig it out. But when you do, we will all understand true beauty once and for all.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): So Hannah has some dirt on Rachel that would totally ruin her chances of becoming

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UGG boots gained widespread popularity in the mid 2000s. image via wikimedia commons

homecoming queen. I mean, it would help you win while also totally turning off Blake and sending him running back to Hannah, so it’s a win-win for everyone. You know, except for Rachel and maybe a heartbroken Blake. Oh, and of course the sanctity of the West High homecoming elections. But that’s a small price to pay for Rachel’s demise, isn’t it, Taurus?

Gemini (May 21-June 20): A haiku titled: Steve There are fresh cookies Moist, chewy, warm and gooey Inside the break room Three chocolate chunk Steve took all three to his desk Thus starting a war Cancer (June 21-July 22): Stare at the moon and let it stare back at you, Cancer. Consider it’s beauty. Allow it to consider yours. What if there were two moons? What if the moon, in all its silvery, languid wisdom, thought about there being two of you? The moon can think, just like you can, and it spends a

fair amount of its time thinking about your beauty.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Do you remember when owning a pair of calfhigh Ugg boots was the most important endeavor in your young life? Do you remember the biting, cold feeling of not feeling cool enough without that khaki-colored fur security blanket? Well look at you now, Leo! You never needed those boots after all. The world has moved on and you moved with it. Apply this principle to whatever thing you think you need right now to feel like you’re enough, especially if it’s those neon orange jelly sandals. Take them out of your cart. Now. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Do you ever just think about the fact that you can get up and just leave, Virgo? You could drive out into the desert and become a different person, a person with no obligation to show up for your shift at Chipotle. You could become a cattle rancher or a forest nymph or even an artisanal jewelry maker. The only thing

June 19, 2019

that’s stopping you is a slew of consequences and reality. But otherwise, you can be anything! TLDR; I’m thinking some existential things.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Here’s how to build credit. First, imagine an exotic animal you’d like to own — say, a tiger.

Then, save as much money as it costs to own a tiger. Dedicate your life’s work and all your savings to buying this tiger.

Later on, when you’re at your bank, trying to be an adult and get a mortgage but don’t have good enough credit to be approved, casually mention that you own a tiger, that is currently sitting in your car and can maul on command.

Soon you’ll have all the credit necessary to make big purchases. See how easy that was, Libra?

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It all comes down to this, Scorpio. This is the final rose. Who will it go to: Duke Whiskers the Third or Lasagna the Cat? Who will lay in your lap until you move 2 centimeters or until they get bored?

We’ll find out after the break in the most iconic, dramatic, fence jumping, ear scratching finale of the Cat-chelor ever.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Time flies when you’re having fun, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch where it’s flying. All your time could be wandering around the Target parking lot, sipping a caramel frappuccino, questioning why you abandoned it there and when you’ll come back to get it. You said you’d be back in an hour, Sagittarius.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A fortune for Capricorn: “Only listen to fortune cookie, disregard all other fortune telling units. Lucky Numbers: 19, 10, 24, 49, 55, 38.” Well … I guess you should disregard this horoscope then.

Allison Dantinne primarily writes satire and humor for The Pitt News.

Write to Allison at and163@pitt.edu

3

Culture

SETH MEYERS BRINGS ‘LATE NIGHT’ COMEDY TO HOMESTEAD Elizabeth Martinson Staff Writer

As the host of the fourth iteration of Late Night on NBC and a former Saturday Night Live cast member, Seth Meyers has spent a good amount of time in New York City. But the comedian found some time Friday to visit his “ancestral home” of Pittsburgh, hosting back-to-back stand-up shows in Homestead.

Meyers regularly visits the City and considers it his family home, as his father and many generations of the Meyers family came from here. The 120-year-old Carnegie Library Music Hall in Homestead hosted the shows, although it might not be the first place you’d think to go for stand-up comedy.

Meyers and his opener Brooks Wheelan commented on the unlikely venue early in their routines, with Meyers making fun of its rather grandiose name and Wheelan expressing amazement about the sheer number of disparate entities housed within the building, which includes a pool, gym and bingo hall in addition to the library and music hall.

Their show on Friday was so popular that a late show was added to handle demand.

Along with opening act Wheelan, Meyers visited Pittsburgh with his parents, who were in the crowd during his performance.

After Wheelan’s opening set, Meyers came out to raucous applause and emphasized his family connection to the City. His father grew up in ’SLiberty (East Liberty for you non-Pittsburghers) and Meyers still can’t understand why East Liberty is pronounced the way a drunk would talk about the Statue of Liberty.

In a departure from his days at SNL and Late Night, Meyers spent the majority of his set talking about his family rather than the political jokes most fans are used to.

He told stories about growing up in Massachusetts and his father’s unique parenting style where punishments were psychological

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Comedian Seth Meyers. tns rather than physical. This included one story where his father lay in front of a bulldozer requesting to be driven over in order to get a tree stump removed from his backyard.

He and his brother were quite alarmed by their father’s tactics and, as Meyers explained, the phrase, “everything will be fine,” is the least reassuring string of words in the English language to hear when going into a situation where you never thought things could possibly turn out not fine.

Wheelan also introduced himself to the crowd in Homestead by talking about growing up poor in a Midwest meth town and not learning until last year when visiting Times Square that Red Lobster is not, in fact, fine dining, but is rather “the Applebees of the sea.”

As his friends talked about getting a bite at Red Lobster, Wheelan attempted to explain to them that he was not dressed for the occasion. As he put it, it’s “a khakis only establishment” and Wheelan was, at the time, wearing shorts.

Wheelan, who had a brief stint on SNL during the 2013-14 season, felt a Midwest connection to the City, which may have bristled some Pittsburghers who consider it to be

more East Coast than Midwest. He opened his set talking about the “witch houses” of Pittsburgh, with their pointed roofs and unusual number of chimneys — who needs that many chimneys? Where do they all go?

Continuing with the fine dining theme, Wheelan recounted the first time he ordered a bottle of wine for a group. It’ll save you a few bucks over the cost of individual glasses, but you better know what you’re doing going in because there are a lot of unspoken rules.

After choosing the bottle, the waiter complemented Wheelan on his choice, which caused Wheelan to think he might secretly be a savant sommelier. Wheelan then pointed out that although the joke was funny, if you understood it, you’re probably a bit of an a******. And as someone who did understand the joke, I can confirm the a****** bit too.

After Meyers finished reminiscing about his childhood during his set, Meyers moved on to his own children, recounting their rather epic birth stories that he previously shared on Late Night. Regardless, the stories were appreciated and enjoyed by the parents in the audience who were able to relate to the

June 19, 2019

feelings of a new parent.

He wrapped up the stories about his wife by recounting their wedding day and his own penchant for mansplaining.

After the rehearsal dinner, his wife felt ill and thought she had food poisoning. Meyers interpreted the situation slightly differently and said she just thought she had food poisoning, but it was actually pre-wedding jitters. The next morning, he gave her a call and learned that she was in the hospital because — surprise, surprise — it was food poisoning after all.

Fortunately, as with most stand-up stories, this one had a silver lining for Meyers.

Before the food poisoning incident, his wife wanted to do a choreographed couple’s dance to kick off their reception in front of a large group of friends and family which included many of Meyers’ peers — professional comedians. Meyers was less interested in the choreographed number, as “the only person in the world who is a worse dancer than [him] is [his] wife” and he knew the jokes would be merciless.

However, on the way back from the hospital, his wife decided that she was not feeling up to the dance and he was saved. Meyers hid his delight behind a Daniel Day Lewis-esque performance of sorrow and annoyance.

Meyers ended his set by recounting some of his earlier stories, but telling them this time from his wife’s perspective. As he mentioned earlier in the evening, the audience was hearing the stories very much from his perspective and was, therefore, only getting one side of the story. By switching the stories to his wife’s perspective, Meyers was able to tell many jokes about his own shortcomings, mishaps and foibles that would normally be ignored in a comedy routine.

To cap off his trip to the City and celebrate Father’s Day, Meyers and his family stopped by The Original Hot Dog Shop, a favorite of generations of Pittsburghers.

4

CAAPP CELEBRATES BLACK FEMALE WRITERS FROM PITTSBURGH AND BEYOND Emily Wolfe

Contributing Editor Nicole Sealey’s editors once convinced her to remove the last line of a poem before she published it. The poem, “Candelabra With Heads,” meditated on a sculpture by the artist Thomas Hirschhorn, and its final line stated the poem’s thesis question — “Who can see this and not see lynchings?”

Sealey added the line back in for its next publication, she said.

Her audience of about 50, sitting in the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, cheered.

Sealey read both “Candelabra With Heads” and a later work, “In Defense of ‘Candelabra With Heads,’” at a Saturday night reading hosted by Pitt’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics. The event’s name, “Won’t You Celebrate With Poet Nicole Sealey reads her poem “Candelabra With Heads” at Pitt’s CenMe” comes from the title of a poem by two- ter for African American Poetry and Poetics “Won’t You Celebrate With Me” time Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet Lucille event on Saturday evening. Thomas Yang | visual editor

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June 19, 2019

Clifton, who wrote in 1993, “won’t you celebrate with me / what i have shaped into / a kind of life? i had no model. / born in babylon / both nonwhite and a woman / what did i see to be except myself?”

The four women on stage shaped rich, successful lives and careers out of often humble beginnings. Advertised as an evening of “poetry and prose from the director’s chair,” “Won’t You Celebrate With Me” celebrated black female writers who lead various writing-centered foundations and university departments across the country.

Sealey was joined by Salamishah Tillet, the associate director of the Price Institute at Rutgers University — Newark; Dawn Lundy Martin, CAAPP’s co-founder and director and Mahogany Browne, the artistic director of Urban Word NYC and cofounder of the “poetic protest” Black Poets See CAAPP on page 6

5

CAAPP, pg. 5 Speak Out. After each of the four writers featured had the chance to read a selection from her own work, they gathered back onstage for a roundtable moderated by Amanda Johnston, the executive director of Torch Literary Arts — an organization which supports the work of black female creators.

Johnston asked the women whether they feel a greater responsibility to write about issues of race and gender when those issues are having a “moment.”

“When we come to the page and we start writing about issues on race, gender, identity, especially in this #MeToo, Black Lives Matter era, do you feel a sense of responsibility to that?” Johnston asked.

Sealey said decidedly that no, she doesn’t.

The executive director of the Cave Canem Foundation, an organization which supports black poets, and the winner of the 2019 Rome Prize in Literature, Sealey has written extensively about race and gender.

But her need to write about those things comes from a greater place than this spe-

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cific cultural moment, she said.

“Two of my great passions are black people and poetry, and so I explore those things in my everyday life,” Sealey said.

“Even before I was writing poetry, I was thinking about equity and so that shows itself in my creative work. So while these movements are happening, I think when they stop, if they stop — I hope they don’t stop — I’ll still be exploring these issues.”

Tillet said the modern “moment” that black feminism is having makes it easier for the public to understand her work and the work of other black women.

“I think it makes the work that I do easier. There’s a vocabulary, there’s a prevailing discourse,” Tillet said. “I actually think black feminism is a deeply prophetic tradition. Sometimes I think the moments and the movements catch up to these prophetic artists and that’s why it’s easier, because the moment has caught up to those artists who have been trying to say it for a very long time.”

Tillet has authored three books and is in the process of writing two more, one on the musician Nina Simone and one on Alice Walker, the author of the influential 1982 novel “The Color Purple.” Early

on, Tillet read an excerpt from the latter project, recounting the story of a meeting between Walker and Tillet in Walker’s home.

Tillet said Walker is one of those “prophetic” artists whom she thinks about. Celie, the novel’s heroine, endures an agonizing amount of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the men in her life before finally finding freedom, escaping into a new life with her female lover and Celie’s estranged sister.

“Celie became, for me, an epitome of the suffering and salvation that lay ahead

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for us black girls in 20th century America,” Tillet read.

Salvation was not an uncommon theme in the works read. Even Sealey’s “In Defense of ‘Candelabra With Heads,’” part explanation, part prayer, ends with a dream of a day a hundred years in the future when another black woman contemplates Hirschhorn’s sculpture.

“May that lucky someone be black / and so far removed from the verb lynch that she be / dumbfounded by its meaning,” Sealey’s poem read. “May her imagination, not her memory, run wild.”

6

Sports

Meet Pitt’s 2019 Hall of Fame inductees pittnews.com

point

Pitt, Penn State to face off in women’s basketball pittnews.com

counterpoint

IT’S TIME FOR EQUAL PAY FOR PAY FOR U.S. WOMEN’S TEAM IS THE U.S. WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM ALREADY FAIR Dominic Campbell Staff Writer

Twenty-four women’s soccer teams from across the globe will compete in the Women’s World Cup this summer in France, and the United States will be looking to defend its 2015 title. But that isn’t the only battle that this team is currently facing.

Nearly 30 team members of the U.S. women’s national team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in March. The lawsuit was filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and also under the Equal Pay Act. The lawsuit argues that if there were 20 friendlies — non-competitive international matches — played by both the men and the women’s team, and both teams won every friendly, a women’s player would make just $99,000 compared to a men’s player’s $263,320. For every game, that’s $4,950 for a woman and $13,166 for a man. For a whole year, a woman would get paid 38% of what a man makes playing soccer for the national team.

[Read Neena Hagen’s argument against equal pay for the women’s team here.]

The issue of the gender pay gap has followed the women’s national team for decades. A disagreement over low pay led some players, including star Mia Hamm, to boycott training for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and later refuse to play in the 2000 Australia Cup, right after their 1999 World Cup win, because of a meager pay of $6,300 per game.

The most recent dispute over pay was in 2016, when five players, including star forwards Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan, filed a wage-discrimination action against the U.S.

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Soccer Federation. Although the U.S. women’s team generated $20 million more revenue than the men’s team in 2015, the filing said, they were paid only a quarter of what the men were paid.

Though the new collective bargaining agreement signed by the women’s team gave players a 30% increase in base pay and brought the salaries of some players to as high as $200,000 or $300,000, even in non-World Cup years, the women’s team still didn’t get pay equal to that of the men’s team.

Some argue that because the revenue brought in from FIFA and CONCACAF, the governing body of North/Central American and Caribbean soccer, is much greater for the men’s team, the disparity in pay is fair.

It’s true that in the 2018 World Cup, the total prize pool for the men was $400 million and the winners took home $38 million, while the women’s prize pool was just $30 million, with the winner receiving $4 million.

Another argument for the difference in pay, and the defense used by the USSF, is that the money brought in for games from the U.S. men’s team is much more than that of the women’s team.

But that’s not true anymore. Data analysis from the Wall Street Journal shows that while the men’s team used to bring in millions of dollars more in revenue than the women’s team, the gap has closed in recent years, and the women actually outstripped the men in 2016.

Part of the inequity stems from the fact that the pay structure of the two teams is fundamentally different. While the men are essentially contractors who are paid by the game, female players receive a set salary.

Find the full story online at

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Neena Hagen

Senior Staff Writer The United States’ women’s soccer team has shattered records in recent years — it’s won three World Cups, and, at this year’s World Cup, crushed Thailand 13-0, marking the largest margin of victory at any World Cup game. But now, in addition to crushing their opponents, the team is trying to squash the gender pay gap as well.

Twenty-eight members of the U.S. women’s national team filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in March, alleging that the federation’s failure to pay the women’s team as much as the men’s team is flagrant sexism, and violates the Equal Pay Act. But, when looking at how much money each team brings into the federation, discrepancies in viewing numbers between the men’s league and women’s league fully justify the pay gap — and always have.

These complaints are nothing new.

The women’s team filed a similar lawsuit in 2016, claiming that the U.S. men’s team was unfairly paid more than the women’s team, because the men languished at 30th in the world while the women were consistently on top. Three of the team’s top players even went on the Daily Show to drum up support for their cause.

“We’re just fighting for equal rights,” Hope Solo, the team’s goalie, said.

“Our contributions to the federation should be seen as equal to the men,” Ali Krieger, a defender, added. “We’ve won three World Cups.

This is a moot point. Of course the women’s team’s successes at the World Cup are commendable, but only a small part of an athlete’s salary is determined by

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their success in a tournament. Most sports leagues, including the NFL, determine player’s pay as a percentage of the league’s revenue. And when it comes to raking in the cash, the women’s league simply falls short of the men’s league, in an identical tournament format.

FIFA runs the men’s and Women’s World Cups every four years in separate years and in separate locations. Yes, the structure of the tournament is exactly the same — 24 teams from around the world convene in one country to duke it out for the trophy — but the events themselves are completely separate.

The men’s World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world — 3.5 billion people watched it in 2018, and more than 1 billion tuned in for the final. By comparison, only 750 million people watched the Women’s World Cup in 2015, fewer than the number of people who only watched the final game of the men’s event. The result? The men’s World Cup made FIFA a lot more money — $6 billion compared to $73 million in revenue. And more than three-quarters of that $6 billion came from sponsorships and TV rights, which are determined by viewership.

These figures are reflected in the pay statistics. FIFA paid out a total purse of $400 million to men’s teams in the 2018 World Cup, and $38 million to the champions. For women the numbers were $30 million and $4 million, respectively.

And for gross income, women fare much better salary-wise versus men when it comes to non-World Cup games, but the pay scales are different.

Find the full story online at

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I N D E X

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

For Rent North OaKland Craig Street. Safe, secure build‑ ing. 1‑bedroom, furnished. Newly remodeled, no pets, and heat in­ cluded. Rent $850 and up. Mature or Graduate students.

412‑855‑9925 or 724‑940‑0045. Email for pictures: salonre­ na@gmail.com

pittnews.com

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

South OaKland 3408 Parkview Ave. Studios, 1‑2‑3 BRS Available June &Aug. Pet Friendly & Park­ ing. CALL NOW! 412‑455‑5600 Brand new remod‑ eled spacious duplex.

5BR, 2BA, second and third floors with wooden floors.

Laun­dry room in apart­ment. Parking avail­able. Skylight.

Classifieds

For sale

• AUTO • BIKES • BOOKS • MERCHANDISE • FURNITURE • REAL ESTATE • PETS

services

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

Front Porch. Back‑ yard. $3200 + utilities.

Call 412‑871‑5657 LARGE, SOL‑

ID‑BUILD HOUSES FOR 2‑3 PEOPLE, each with spacious kitchen and living room, nice roomy

backyard, enjoyable front porch, some

re­cent renovations ‑ starting August

25. Only $365‑$450 per room. Call

412‑692‑1770 to see houses.

notices

• ADOPTION • EVENTS • LOST AND FOUND • STUDENT GROUPS • WANTED • OTHER

R A T E S

Insertions

1-15 Words

16-30 Words

Stylish Duplex Unit.

3 bedrooms, 2 bath­ rooms plus powder room. Modern fully equipped kitchen with stainless steel appli‑ ances. Large liv­ing room and dining area. Laminate floors throughout. Ceramic tile bathroom floors.

Washer/Dryer. Full Deck. Central Air Conditioning. Nearby Pitt Shuttles. $1495 plus utilities. August

2X

3X

4X

$6.30

$11.90

$17.30

$22.00

$7.50

$14.20

$20.00

$25.00

5X $27.00 $29.10

6X $30.20 $32.30

Add. + $5.00 + $5.40

(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline:

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

1st. Call Caryn 412‑721‑5961.

Shadyside

1X

Employment

more infor­mation, please con­tact Nadait at 412‑624‑7083 or nig48@pitt.edu.

Research Studies

Employment Other

Participants needed for a research study of reading and lan­guage.

You will be asked to come to the LRDC on multiple oc­casions to complete tests.

You will be paid $10/ hour for ev­ery hour of your time. For

Comfort Keepers, a Post‑Gazette Top Workplace, is seek­ing caring individu­als.

Caregivers work alongside seniors to provide companion­ ship, light housekeep­ ing, personal care ser­ vices. Flexible hours available. If inter­ested

June 19, 2019

call 412‑363‑5500 The Pitt News is cur­rently seeking stu­dents to work as In­ side Sales Representa­ tives for the newspa­ per. They will pro­vide advertising ser­vice to all Student, Univer‑ sity, and Clas­sified Accounts, while also complet­ing assigned office duties. Submit re­sumes/applica‑ tions to advertising@ pittnews.­com, or stop by our office at 434 William Pitt Union!

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