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Student, national activists speak on gun violence solutions pittnews.com
T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | november 5, 2019 | Volume 110 | Issue 58
PITT STUDENT CHARGED WITH ASSAULT AFTER TOWERS INCIDENT
SLOVAK SOIREE
Emily Wolfe News Editor
A Pitt student faces charges of strangulation and assault after allegedly attacking a fellow student in Litchfield Tower B Friday evening. Pitt p olice ar reste d Grace Ha l l, 19, shor t ly b efore 11 p.m. Fr id ay, charg ing her w it h one count e ach of st rangu l at ion and simple ass au lt. Police had responded to a report of a verbal altercation between Hall and a male student on floor 18 of Tower B. After meeting with the resident assistants who made the report, police questioned Hall, who said she and another person had a personal argument and that it was not police business. Police next questioned the male student involved, who said he and Hall had gotten into an argument after drinking, which became a physical argument. The student told police Hall grabbed his neck and began to strangle him after he pushed her away. Police observed red marks and scratches on his neck. Hall was taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where she set nonmonetar y bail Saturday. Her preliminar y hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14.
Vendors sell Christmas ornaments and other knickknacks in the Cathedral of Learning during the 29th annual Slovak Festival on Sunday. Carolyn Pallof | staff photographer
LOCAL ELECTIONS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW Mary Rose O’Donnell Contributing Editor
Early November is a busy time for Pitt students, as midterm exams are often in full force in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and finals. Luckily, voting in the general election this Tuesday, Nov. 5, is one excuse to skip out on studying for a few minutes. For citizens who need to reorient themselves, Pennsylvania voters can find their polling locations online at pavoterservices.pa.gov by entering their address in the database. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone who is in line when the polls close is entitled to vote. Here is a rundown of a few major local elections appearing on the ballot today. Allegheny County Executive Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald
has not faced an opponent in a midterm election since he first became county executive in 2011. Fitzgerald, a Democrat, has spent his past two terms working to increase job creation and, according to his website, has communicated with directors of various governmental departments to find ways to make work more efficient to save tax dollars. He has also aimed to improve public transportation, promote diversity and inclusion and increase jobspecific training throughout the county. Fitzgerald ran unopposed in 2015, though this year he will face an opponent in the form of Republican Matt Drozd. Drozd was an Allegheny County Council member from 2005 to 2013. According to his website, he has “never voted to raise your taxes and never will.” Allegheny County District Attorney Lisa Middleman is running against longtime
incumbent Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in the race for Allegheny County District Attorney. Middleman, who is running as an independent, has worked as a criminal defense attorney in the Public Defender’s office for the past 30 years. Her platform is focused on issues such as mass incarceration, racial justice, police accountability and the end of cash bail. Zappala, a Democrat, has served as Allegheny County District Attorney since 1998. Over the course of his 21-year tenure, he created Pennsylvania’s first domestic violence unit and animal cruelty unit, as well as the county’s first child abuse and elder abuse units. His priorities include using the latest technology — such as surveillance cameras — to keep the county safe, and improving reintegration into society for recently released offenders. See Election on page 2
News NYT COLUMNIST BARI WEISS STOPS IN PITTSBURGH ON BOOK TOUR
Carolyn Brodie Staff Writer
Bari Weiss is a Squirrel Hill native, a controversial New York Times columnist and, according to The Jerusalem Post, the 7th most influential Jew in the world. She returned to Pittsburgh Monday evening, where she addressed an audience of about 200 on the topic of how to fight anti-Semitism — also the title of her latest book. Former Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg joined Weiss at Chatham University for a discussion of “How to Fight Anti-Semitism.” The event’s reserved tickets and large turnout were like “my bat mitzvah on steroids,” Weiss said. The October 27th massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue last year was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack on American soil. Though the shooting renewed nationwide conversations about acts of hatred toward Jewish communities, Weiss maintained that the rising anti-Semitism today is a return to deep-seated and centuries-old stereotypes about Jews. The New York Times reported Monday that a man had plotted to bomb a Colorado synagogue, but his attempt was thwarted. “Just today someone tried to blow up a synagogue in Colorado. The reality we are living in is a return to the norm for Jews,” Weiss said. “That I almost never had to think of [anti-Semitism] growing up was a blessing. [The past years of safety for Jews in America] were a holiday from history.” Weiss’ personal experiences with anti-Semitism are largely confined to when she was “a grade school student at Community Day School and the kids on the Catholic-school school bus would drive by the bus stop and call her [epithets related to her Judaism],” she said. However, her views have elicited hatred and criticism from those on both sides of the political spectrum who deem them to be too controversial. Her discussion at Chatham did not draw any
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protesters, but her opponents have been vocal in antagonizing her in the past. Vanity Fair described her as “a favorite punching bag for lefties with itchy Twitter fingers.” Nordenberg, who is a fan of the book and has read “How to Fight Anti-Semitism” three times since it was published earlier this year, commented on her distinction between anti-Jewish discrimination and anti-Semitism — the former, according to Weiss, is prejudice against Jews and the latter is seeking erasure of Jews. Nordenberg also noted her distinction between anti-Semitism from white nationalists and anti-Semitism from the far left. “Marginalization is not murder, but both are destructive,” Nordenberg said. Weiss agreed that though discrimination and especially leftist anti-Semitism were not genocidal, both can eventually lead to Jewish erasure. “From the right, we see a threat of destruction from white supremacy. From the left that cloaks their anti-Semitism in familiar language [that calls us to denounce our Judaism and Zionism] with words like ‘social justice’ and believes that Jews are handmaidens of white supremacy, we see a threat to our Jewish souls, rather than to our Jewish bodies,” Weiss said. Weiss also spoke to the complex political party engagements within the Jewish community. While many Jews are liberal, many also support President Trump for his pro-Israel policies. “Seventy percent of Jews vote Democrat, so it is more emotionally difficult to see antiSemitism from the left,” Weiss said. “I also don’t think [allegiance to Trump’s] policies is worth what he is doing to the world. If it were not convenient for Trump to support Israel, he would bail. Look at what he just did with the Kurds — that is how little alliance and loyalty mean to this president.”
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Students vote at Posvar Hall during the 2018 elections. Theo Schwarz | senior staff photographer
Election, pg. 1 Allegheny County Controller Democrat Chelsa Wagner has served as Allegheny County Controller since 2012. During her time as controller, Wagner’s priorities have included examining the county’s property reassessments and improving invoice payment processes. Republican candidate Brooke Nadonley acquired her spot on the ballot through a successful write-in campaign back in May. Nadonley is a member of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County and is the chair of their 2nd District City Committee. She is a gun rights activist and was in the news in February for filing petitions calling for Mayor Bill Peduto’s impeachment after he announced a proposed a city-wide assault weapons ban. Pittsburgh City Council - District 3 Independent candidate Jacob Nixon will run against incumbent Democrat Bruce Kraus for a seat representing District 3 on Pittsburgh’s City Council. Kraus has been a City Council member since 2008 and has served as its president since 2014. As a councilman, Kraus has supported renovation projects of various Pittsburgh neighborhoods and worked to improve public safety efforts — specifically in the City’s nightlife — as well as transportation. He is the first openly gay Pittsburgh elected official. Nixon is a former construction worker and father of two. He is a member of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 37 and an associate director of development for the Pennsylvania College Access Program. According to his website, if elected, his focus as councilman
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will be on parking issues in Oakland and South Side, fixing flooding problems and keeping Pittsburgh college students working in the City after graduation. Home Rule Charter Amendment for Parks Trust Fund (aka Parks Referendum) The Parks Referendum asks voters if they are in favor of increasing property taxes and using the money to fund local parks via the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization. If passed, property taxes would be increased by 0.5 mills — $50 per $100,000 of assessed real estate value. Pennsylvania Marsy’s Law Crime Victims Rights Amendment The Pennsylvania Marsy’s Law Crime Victims Rights Amendment is a referendum that, if passed, would add a section with crime victims’ rights to the Pennsylvania constitution declaration of rights. These proposed amendments include providing crime victims with notification of the release or escape of the accused, timely notice of public proceedings involving criminal conduct and the ability to be present at all public proceedings involving the accused. Though this question will be on the ballot, voters will not know the results until a future date. This is due to an injunction filed by Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler last Wednesday blocking the ability to count the vote until there is a ruling in the lawsuit League of Women’s Voters of PA and Haw v. Boockvar. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this order was affirmed on Monday, Nov. 4 by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and votes will not be tallied until the lawsuits are complete.
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Opinions
DARK TOURISM SHOULDN’T BE USED FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CLOUT
Remy Samuels
Staff Columnist Some of the most horrific sites of human atrocities have recently experienced a resurgence in tourism. Unfortunately, this new brand of tourism is more centered on snapping selfies and jumping in the air for perfect Instagram photos than simply learning about the history of these places. Recently, a post circulated around Facebook from a page entitled “I Love Poland” that shows a series of photos of children and young adults posing at the Auschwitz museum in Poland. Some show tourists walking across the train tracks like they’re on a balance beam or posing for a selfie with their friends on the tracks. Another shows a young girl jumping for joy under the entrance sign of the Auschwitz camp, which says “Arbeit macht frei” — a German phrase meaning “work sets you free.” These train tracks were used to deport thousands of Jews to concentration and extermination camps, where they were starved and systematically murdered by the Nazis. Having a fun photoshoot at a place like this is not only extremely insensitive and disrespectful, but it also displays a blatant ignorance of a time in history that should not be taken lightly. This behavior, mainly from millennials and Gen Zers, is reflective of a disconnect with the past and simultaneously reveals a dangerous aspect of social media. There is a certain etiquette that tourists should take into account when they are strolling through places like Auschwitz or the Holocaust memorial in Berlin. An Israeli artist — Shahak Shapira — decided he was fed up
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Promiti Debi | staff illustrator
with the disrespectful photos people posted from the Holocaust memorial in Berlin. As a response, he launched a project in 2017 called the “Yolocaust” — a play on words which combines the Holocaust with the previously popular hashtag “YOLO,” short for “You Only Live Once” — in the hopes of shaming people who took and posted these disrespectful photos. “Over the last years, I noticed an
interesting phenomenon at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin: people were using it as a scenery for selfies,” Shapira said. “So I took those selfies and combined them with footage from Nazi extermination camps.” Essentially, Shapira took a series of photos that people posted on Facebook, Instagram, Tinder and Grindr of themselves smiling at the memorial site — doing yoga poses on the me-
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morial and taking selfie stick photos — and replaced the background with actual photographs from the concentration camps during the Holocaust. “About 10,000 people visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe every day,” Shapira explained. “Many of them take goofy pictures, jump, skate or bike on the 2,711 concrete See Samuels on page 4
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Samuels, pg. 3 slabs of the 19,000 m² large structure. The exact meaning and role of the Holocaust Memorial are controversial. To many, the grey stelae symbolize gravestones for the 6 Million Jews that were murdered and buried in mass graves, or the grey ash to which they were burned to in the death camps.” Although Shapira’s “Yolocaust” project depicts deeply disturbing images from the Holocaust, he is showing the reality of the situation for Jewish people back then. He is reminding people that we need to remember the past and reflect on it, rather than using it for likes and followers. The issue of Holocaust education also plays an important role in this controversy. According to the Washington Post, a study released on Holocaust Remembrance Day revealed that 66% of millennials could not correctly identify what Auschwitz was, and 22% of millennials said they hadn’t even heard of the Holocaust. In the United States, there are currently only 12 states that require Holocaust education as a part of their secondary school curricula, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Clearly, a lack of education is part of the problem. The tourists who are taking these inappropriate photos don’t only misunderstand the harsh reality that was the Holocaust, but they also do not understand their privilege of even being able to stand in these places. These people are able to go home after visiting the concentration camps or memorials. The Jewish people who were killed at these places in the late 1930s and early 1940s did not have this choice. But this trend of posting disrespectful photos does not simply end here. Recently, social media influencers have been flocking to Chernobyl in Pripyat, Ukraine, to take photoshoots at the site of the major nuclear explosion that occurred in 1986. This was a catastrophic event that caused toxic radiation to spread, leading to both cancer and death. Since the popular HBO show “Chernobyl” came out in May, this 1986 explosion has become a trendy topic, and wealthy influencers
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are using the site as a destination for Instagram modeling. There are several photos of different social media influencers, such as Luis El Crack and Kate Snap, posing in the paper hazmat suits that Chernobyl tour companies give to tourists who go to Chernobyl, and many of these photos are very disturbing. A few in particular show young models in rolled-down hazmat suits, revealing their bikinis or matching bra and underwear sets. Even the creator of HBO’s “Chernobyl,” Craig Mazin, has advised tourists to be more respectful at the radioactive site. “If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there,” he tweeted. “[Comfort] yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed.” This situation is also reminiscent of when Logan Paul, a popular star on YouTube, posted a video showing the body of a dead person in Aokigahara — a Japanese forest that has become known as a site for numerous suicides. In the video, Paul was laughing and making jokes while vlogging in the forest with his friends. The video cuts to a shot of a body hanging from a rope in a tree and Paul says, “Bro did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest?” Paul has since taken down the video and apologized for it, claiming that he was trying to raise suicide awareness. But despite the fact that the video was demonetized, Paul was accused of exploiting a person’s suicide for the sake of views and attention. The freedom to post anything on social media can become a very dangerous thing. It’s one thing to visit a place where something violent or upsetting occurred in the past, but it’s another to go there and pose for photos for clout and recognition. These tourists clearly don’t understand the history behind these places, nor do they recognize their privilege in even having the opportunity to visit. With this new wave of influencer tourism, people need to be more wary of their surroundings and what they are documenting for the world to see. It’s about time people started thinking before clicking “post.” Write to Remy at ras288@pitt.edu
from the editorial board
DeVos shouldn’t shy from responsibility for low reading proficiency The National Center for Education Statistics, a research arm of the federal Education Department, released the results of their national assessment last Wednesday, revealing that American fourth and eighth graders’ reading proficiency is getting worse. According to the assessment, two out of three children in the United States don’t meet reading proficiency standards as set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That’s a majority of students across the country who aren’t up to par with their reading of literary and academic tests. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, however, doesn’t concede that increased funding to poor-performing schools would help resolve what she calls a “student achievement crisis,” preferring to place the onus for the dismal test scores on low-income parents. While only 37% of fourth grade students were proficient in reading in 2017, this year’s results — called the “nation’s report card” — show that 35% of fourth graders are proficient in reading. Only 36% of eighth grade students were proficient in reading in 2017, compared to 34% of eighth graders in 2019. The average reading score for fourth graders decreased in 17 states this year from 2017, and the average eighth grade score decreased in more than half of the states. Evidently, there’s something — or several things — wrong with the way we teach reading proficiency across the country. DeVos responded to the low results in a statement. “Think about the mom or dad who cannot read, and so does not read to their own children at bedtime,” DeVos said. “Think about what that portends for their lifelong learning.” DeVos unsurprisingly but still disappointingly seems not to grasp the issue at hand. She has consistently ignored calls
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to increase school funding at the worstperforming schools around the country, instead favoring programs that funnel tax money into private, religious and charter schools. And in this statement, she puts the blame for poor performance on parents. Whether parents can’t read to their children at bedtime because they can’t read or because they work several jobs to make ends meet, the fact that American students did poorly on reading tests isn’t their parents fault. As the head of the Education Department, DeVos should know that schools are responsible for teaching children how to read at a proficient level, and putting the onus on parents is a way for DeVos to distance herself and her department from the responsibility they must take for poor academic funding and policies. According to Peter Afflerbach, a reading and testing expert at the University of Maryland, recent research on reading education reveals many schools across the country aren’t challenging elementary students enough. Many give younger students short passages rather than longer, more complex texts. DeVos called the results evidence of a “student achievement crisis,” implying that students aren’t trying hard enough. But it’s DeVos and the Education Department who are failing students and not the other way around. She should focus more on providing funding to schools with struggling students than on her privatization agenda. And she should also make it a priority to work with states on their curriculums to ensure that their programs are challenging enough to promote learning — the entire point of education. DeVos needs to hold herself and states accountable for the failing grade on our nation’s report card, but she unfortunately doesn’t seem to be doing either.
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Culture
Review: ‘Jojo Rabbit’ pittnews.com
SLOVAK HERITAGE DIG DEEP WITH THE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ARKHAIOS ARCHAEOLOGY FILM FESTIVAL 29TH ANNIVERSARY Charlie Taylor
Diana Velasquez Staff Writer
A gaggle of young cheery-faced children dance out from under a curtain covering the Cathedral of Learning elevators. Slovakian folk music accompanies their steps as the crowd coos over the last toddler to emerge, who squeals in excitement. The Pitt Slovak Studies Program and the Pitt Student Slovak Club celebrated their 29th annual Slovak Festival on Sunday. Attendees packed the Cathedral common room from 1-5 p.m. for an afternoon of pierogies, traditional dancing and various friendly competitions. In the center of the first floor, a makeshift stage was set up for dancers and others to perform. They started with a traditional folk dance performed by the Pittsburgh Area Slovakians, and transitioned into a classical piano performance and a best Baba contest — “Baba” is the word for grandmother in Slovak and other Slavic languages.
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Vendors lined the sides of both halves of the room, selling traditional Slovak dance dress, handmade jewelry and knickknacks, kitchenware, books and even a whole table dedicated to Christmas ornaments. Melanie Malsch, a senior environmental studies major and a student employee in the Slavic language and literature department, said she was delighted to see attendance spike for the event this year after attending last year’s event. “This is my second year here and this is way more people in the Cathedral than I saw last year, which is really exciting,” she said. The common floor became increasingly filled as excited attendees poured in from the front. The line for traditional Slovakian food, including Pittsburgh’s famous pierogies, stretched almost all the way around the room by 2 p.m. Christine Metil, festival coordinator
Staff Writer
Most Pittsburgh residents’ knowledge of archaeological films likely doesn’t extend beyond the “Indiana Jones” movies. That might have changed when the Arkhaios Film Festival came to the Frick Fine Arts building Saturday and Sunday, screening a series of nine documentaries focused on archaeology and cultural heritage. The festival, which was founded in 2013, has been hosted at Pitt for the past three years and is sponsored in part by the department of anthropology. According to the Arkhaios website, the event aims to educate the public on new developments in archaeology and provide a platform for less-recognized independent films, which, while culturally significant, are often not typically commercially successful. Jean Gilleux, the festival director and founder, said he recognized the need for an American archaeological film festival while on an excavation in France, where he researched the paleolithic Solutrean people. There, he attended an archaeological film festival, and discovered that universities and museums across Europe held several each year. Upon returning to the United States, he said he was See Slovak on page 6 disappointed to learn that the only such American
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festival was held exclusively in Eugene, Oregon. “I said, ‘OK, we’ve got to do something about [the lack of festivals in America],’” Guilleux said. “And that’s how Arkhaios was started.” Before the festival arrived at Pittsburgh this year, the entries were screened in front of a committee of 22 academics and media professionals 一 including archaeologists, historians and filmmakers 一 who decided on the official selection. This selection then screened at the University of South Carolina in early October, where a jury of five anthropologists and filmmakers awarded prizes to the best films, such as “Eating Up Easter” directed by Sergio Mata’u Rapu, which won the festival’s grand prize. The selections screened this past weekend contained many winners of the South Carolina festival with a few notable exceptions. The South Carolina festival showed several films related to underwater archaeology, as the University of South Carolina specializes in maritime archaeology. In addition, each festival showed films related to state history. Films pertinent to South Carolina’s cultural heritage were not screened in Pennsylvania and vice versa.
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FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 5, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
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and the former academic coordinator of the Slovak department at Pitt, said Pittsburgh is very lucky to have a group that wants to celebrate Slovak culture and help Pitt in its study of the Slovak language. “The community just loves their food, their culture, they love their music,” she said. “We just have a strong Slovak community in Pittsburgh that likes coming here and they’re very happy that such an obscure language is being taught here at Pitt.” Slovak culture is most prominent today in Slovakia, where Slovak is the official language, but historically this ethnic group inhabited much of Eastern Europe. The United States houses the second-largest community of Slovak speakers, second only to Slovakia. It’s no surprise that Slovak culture is so prevalent in Pittsburgh. According to a flyer passed out at the event, parents of American pop art artist Andy Warhol identified as Slovak. Similarly, in the 2000 Census, 100,000 Pittsburgh-area residents reported full or partial Slovak heritage. The University of Pittsburgh is the only university in the United States where students can earn a minor in the Slovak culture and take classes dedicated to the language. According to Metil, the ability to keep this program going at the University is thanks to the Slovak community here in Pittsburgh. She said their classes still go on regardless of the number of students enrolled due to the endowment given to the department by members of the Slo-
vak community — which funds the pay of a full-time faculty member to teach Slovak language and culture. “University of Pittsburgh is the only Slovak studies program in the whole country. And we have an endowed professor so it doesn’t matter if there are five students in the class or 20. We run all three levels, beginning, intermediate and advanced Slovak,” she said. But Pitt’s dedication to the Slovak culture goes past its language classes and manifests in events like the festival. Marika Olijar, a senior political science major, said that the festival provides a window into a different culture for University students or anyone who wants to experience something new. “I think that it’s good that people learn about different heritages. It’s just nice that people learn about it,” she said. “It’s important that we’re all aware of what’s going on with different people and it’s great that the Slovak people have representation in Pittsburgh.” Malsch said she hopes the attendees celebrate the intricacies and charm of a culture that may be small but has a strong presence in the community. She said learning about the Slovak culture and the people’s way of life has made her proud to assist in creating this festival for the Slovak community of Pittsburgh — as a thank you for all that they do for Pitt and its venture into the study of Slovak culture. “I’ve gotten to learn about the Slovak culture, it’s so beautiful and just lovable I think, it’s important to show this community what they mean to us because they are showing us what we mean to them year round,” she said.
The Pitt news crossword
Slovak, pg. 5
ACROSS 1 Works on a quilt 5 Team that won the Women’s World Cup in 2019 8 Winter skating sites 13 Yawn-inducing 15 Melancholy 16 Love to pieces 17 Burr, to Hamilton 18 Black-and-yellow pollinator 20 Fodder for fantasy football 22 Cause for a handshake 23 Waited to be found, maybe 24 Tense tennis moment 26 Classroom staffer 27 Word after drinking or driving 28 Maple extract 29 Many an eBay user 31 Curtain holders 33 Jack of “Dragnet” 36 Honeycomb units 37 Volatile situation 40 Lion in “The Chronicles of Narnia” 43 Marquee name 44 24-hr. banking conveniences 48 Sits on the throne 50 Picture file suffix 52 Fish-to-be 53 Batting practice area 54 Body part that provides limited motion 58 Fire pit residue 59 “Soldier of Love” Grammy winner 60 Much paperwork 61 Mobile download for single people, and what the starts of 18-, 24-, 37- and 54-Across have in common 64 Takes a breather 66 Kagan on the bench 67 “Take that!” 68 Chuckleheads 69 Guitarist’s aid 70 Moth-eaten
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By C.C. Burnikel
71 “Pretty Little Liars” series novelist Shepard DOWN 1 Pronoun for a mom 2 Way, way back when 3 Sparked, as one’s appetite 4 “Poison” shrub 5 Flash drive port 6 Riyadh resident 7 Jingle-writing guys 8 Veil of gloom 9 Poem from an admirer 10 Ritzy San Francisco neighborhood 11 Hanukkah toy 12 Farm machines 14 Traditional stories 19 Dugout rack items 21 Produce offspring 24 Spoil 25 Opinion pages 26 Echo Dot assistant 30 Prefix with friendly 32 Place for a play 34 Wager 35 North Carolina fort
Monday’s Puzzle Solved
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
38 Place for a stay 39 Court filing 40 Hangouts for video game players 41 Chef’s condiment 42 Not as heavy 45 Dietary supplement once pitched by Anna Nicole Smith 46 Centaur or chimera
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47 __ foot in: enter 49 Fluffy rug 51 Norwegian inlet 55 Twin Falls’ state 56 Mount Everest is on its border with China 57 Layered cookies 59 Piece of cake 62 Once __ while 63 Deg. of distinction 65 Retirees’ benefits org.
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Sports
Panthers surmount self-inflicted setbacks against Georgia Tech
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REST-OF-SEASON OUTLOOK, BOWL PROJECTIONS FOR PITT FOOTBALL
Trent Leonard Sports Editor
With three games remaining in the regular season, Pitt football is largely in control of its own destiny. Stumble, and the Panthers could find themselves playing Louisiana Tech in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl. Finish strong, and they might end up right back in the ACC Championship with a chance to redeem last year’s loss and shock the world against Clemson. Pitt currently stands at 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. For comparison, the Coastal-winning Panthers of 2018 were 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the ACC through nine games. So, the team is in a similar spot as last season but with one key distinction — it doesn’t hold the tiebreaker over its main competition, Virginia. Pitt and Virginia were tied for the Coastal lead throughout much of last year, until the Panthers came into Charlottesville in Week 9 and knocked off the Cavaliers 23-13 to take the head-to-head and full game advantage. That gave the Panthers some much-needed breathing room down the stretch, and they made the ACC Championship despite falling to Miami in their regular season finale. This year was much different, with Pitt and Virginia meeting in Week 1. It didn’t take a fortune-teller to predict that it would be one of Pitt’s most consequential games of the season, with the result having massive implications for the Coastal title. The Panthers lost 30-14 in a game they certainly wish they could replay, considering Virginia now has the inside track on the division crown with a 4-2 ACC record. Since Pitt came to the ACC in 2013, the Coastal champion has finished with a 6-2 conference record four out of six times. Four teams in the Coastal have already lost three or more games, safely ruling them out
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of contention. That leaves just Virginia, Pitt and Virginia Tech — in that order — with the best chance to win the division. Pitt’s remaining games are at home against UNC (4-5 overall, 3-3 ACC), on the road against Virginia Tech (5-3 overall, 2-2 ACC) and at home against Boston College (5-4 overall, 3-3 ACC). It’s not exactly Murderers’ Row, but all three opponents are in the same ballpark of talent as Pitt. For the Panthers to repeat as Coastal
their finale against the Hokies will be very interesting if Pitt beats UNC and Virginia Tech. In the most likely scenario, Pitt wins two of its next three games, either suffering its annual loss to UNC or falling in a tough Blacksburg environment to Virginia Tech. The Panthers would finish with an 8-4 overall and 5-3 ACC record. Assuming Virginia doesn’t do the unthinkable and lose to both Tech schools, the Panthers will finish second
Junior quarterback Kenny Pickett has tossed eight interceptions, all in pairs, this season. Thomas Yang | assistant visual editor champs, they need to win all three games. That’s no small order considering the Panthers have gone 0-6 against UNC since joining the ACC, while Virginia Tech knocked off the same Miami team that beat Pitt. Boston College, in turn, beat Virginia Tech. Even if the Panthers win out and finish 6-2 in the conference, there’s no guarantee that they’ll win the Coastal. They need Virginia to drop one of its final two ACC games, either against Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech. It’s all but guaranteed that the Cavaliers will take down lowly Georgia Tech, meaning
in the Coastal. This is the possibility most pundits are projecting, which would put the Panthers squarely in contention for one of two games — the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27 or the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve in El Paso, Texas. Making one of these bowls would be par for the course for the Panthers — their past two bowl appearances have come in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2016 and the Sun Bowl in 2018. Both are considered “First Tier” bowls within the conference.
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Though these middling bowls are a far cry from the Orange Bowl appearance Pitt looked destined for before falling to Miami, each could provide a notable storyline for the Panthers. The Pinstripe Bowl pits an above-average ACC team against an above-average Big Ten team, and ESPN bowl expert Kyle Bonagura predicts a PittMichigan State matchup. That would pit head coach Pat Narduzzi against his former team, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2007-2014, for the first time since joining Pitt. ESPN bowl expert Mark Schlabach, on the other hand, projects a Pitt-Stanford matchup in the Sun Bowl, which is notable because … it would be the exact bowl and opponent the Panthers played last season. Pitt’s history in the Sun Bowl is less than stellar — the team played one of its ugliest postseason games ever in a 2008 loss to Oregon State, and last year lost 14-13 to Stanford in a similar snoozefest. It would probably be best for everyone’s sake if Pitt stayed out of this cursed game. Of course, the chance remains that Pitt wins out while Virginia falls to Virginia Tech. That’s certainly within the realm of possibility, considering Virginia Tech has beaten the Cavaliers an astounding 15 straight times in the lopsided in-state rivalry. If this happens, Pitt would repeat as Coastal champs and earn a date with Clemson in the ACC Championship, where the Panthers were infamously clobbered last season in an eightyard passing effort for junior quarterback Kenny Pickett. Clemson at least showed some vulnerability this season, eking out a 21-20 win over UNC on Sept. 28, though the Tigers remain one of college football’s most unbeatable teams. A rematch would at least allow Pitt the chance for a major upset and a shot at redemption — and for Pickett to throw for double-digit yards this time around.
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Rentals & Sublet • NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER
For Rent South Oakland ** 5 Bedroom/2 full bath; HUGE HOME‑ duplex style, three sto‑ ries. COMPLETELY REMODELED, 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 dining rooms, LAUNDRY, DISHWASHER and a huge yard to enjoy! Huge Bedrooms! Located on Dawson Street. PITT Shuttle stops directly in front of house, only 15 minute level walk to PITT/CMU. $3,595+. Available 8/1/2020. NO PETS. Call Jason at 412‑922‑2141. Pic‑ tures‑ Info: tinyurl. com/dawsonhome ***AUGUST 2020: Furnished studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. No pets. Non‑smokers pre ferred. 412‑621‑0457. **2,3,4, 5, and 6 Bedroom houses/ Apartments in South Oakland. Available for rent August 2020. Very clean with different amenities (dishwasher, laun dry, A/C, washer and dryer, 1‑3 baths, off‑street parking, newer appliances & sofas). Check
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out my Facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/ KenEckenrode RealEstate/. Call Ken at 412‑287‑4438 for more information and showings. 2 BR 1 BA on campus bus route. Available November 1st. $750/ month including utilities and cable. On street parking. No pets. 412‑576‑8734 2‑3‑4‑5‑6‑7 bedroom apartments and houses available in May and August 2020. Nice, clean, free laundry, in cludes exterior main‑ tenance, new appli‑ ances, spacious, and located on Semple, Oakland Ave., Mey‑ ran Ave., Welsford, Bates, Dawson, and Mckee 412‑414‑9629. douridaboud propertymanage ment.com 2‑6 bedroom. All newly renovated, air‑conditioning, dishwasher, washer/ dryer, and parking. Most units on busline and close to Pitt. Available Summer 2020. 412‑915‑0856 or email klucca@veri zon.net. 3 BD apartments available in South Oakland from
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$1195‑$1600 M.J. Kelly Real Estate mjkellyrealty@gmail. com. 412‑271‑5550. 4 BR HOME ‑ SEMPLE STREET, LOCATED NEAR LOUISA. EQUIPPED KITCHEN, FULL BASEMENT. NEW CENTRAL AIR ADDED. AVAIL ABLE IMMEDI ATELY AND RENTING FOR MAY AND AUGUST 2020. 412‑ 343‑4289 or 412‑330‑9498. 416 Oakland Ave., Garden Court. Bright and spacious 2BR, 1BA. Hardwood floors, laundry. Move May 1 or Au gust 1, 2020. Call 412‑361‑2695. Apartments for rent. 3 and 4 bedroom apart‑ ments available. Some available on Dawson Street, Atwood Street, and Mckee Place. Newly remodeled. Some have laundry on site. Minutes from the University. For more info please call Mike at 412‑849‑8694 Before signing a lease, be aware that no more than 3 unrelated people can share a single unit. Check property’s compliance with codes. Call City’s
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Permits, Licensing & Inspections. 412‑255‑2175. Dawson Village Apts. near CMU and Pitt. One bedroom apts. $935 + electric. Avail‑ able for immediate move in. On bus line, close to restaurants and shops. Contact Jerry at 412‑722‑8546
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Deadline:
Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978
FLEXIBLE hours and great benefits. Please call 412‑363 5500 to schedule an inter view NOW!
For Rent: 340 S Bou quet Street Pgh Pa 15213 3 bedrooms/1 bath/ cental air/ laundry on site Contact John at 412‑292‑8928 Swisshelm Park. Spa cious 1 BR on quiet cul‑de‑sac, equipped kitchen and laundry available, 2nd floor, hardwood floors and fireplace mantel in liv‑ ing room. Large back yard and off‑street parking. $690 heat in‑ cluded. 412‑600‑1383
Employment Employment Other Comfort Keepers, a Post‑Gazette Top Workplace 2019, is seeking caring indi viduals to provide companionship, light housekeeping and personal care to seniors. We offer
November 5, 2019
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