11-6-19

The Pitt News

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 6, 2019 ­| Volume 110 | Issue 59

ELECTION DAY

MORE THAN 1,000 SIGN SGB GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION LETTER Nicole Marzzacco Staff Writer

A student enters their polling location in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room on Tuesday afternoon.

Kaycee Orwig seniot staff photographer

ELECTIONS QUIET AS INCUMBENTS HOLD SEATS Brian Gentry

Senior Staff Writer For students like Emma Morganstein, Tuesday’s general election was an important opportunity to express their political voices.

“I think voting is the most important thing people can do, especially in local elections, because most decisions that affect me happen on the local level, not on the federal level,” Morganstein said. “I just wanted to come here and cast the ballots for the candidates I cared about.”

Morganstein, a first-year early childhood education major, was one of 263 people to vote at the William Pitt Union in Tuesday’s elections, which featured contested races for local offices as well as two ballot initiatives.

But overall, it was a quiet election night in

the county, with no major upsets in any of the races Pitt students voted in.

In the Pittsburgh City Council race for the district that includes the University of Pittsburgh, incumbent Democrat Bruce Kraus, who is the current City Council president, successfully fended off a challenge from Jacob Nixon — an independent candidate and a former construction worker. Nixon ran on a platform that focused on growing small businesses and cleaning up the neighborhoods he’d represent, but was defeated by more than a 30-point margin.

In one of the most-watched races in Allegheny County, incumbent Democrat District Attorney Stephen Zappala defeated a progressive challenge from independent candidate Lisa Middleman, a career-long

public defender.

“Don’t take this as a race,” Middleman said in her concession speech. “Take this as a stepping stone.”

More than half of Zappala’s votes in Tuesday’s election came from straight-ticket ballots, a practice where voters press a single button to vote for all candidates of a single party. The Pennsylvania General Assembly voted this week to eliminate this practice.

Zappala appeared as the candidate on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, meaning he benefited from each straightparty vote from anyone registered in the two parties in Allegheny County.

Zappala, who has held the district attorney’s office for more than 20 years, faced See Elections on page 3

Student Government Board provided updates on several ongoing initiatives at their meeting Tuesday night, including their gun violence prevention letter and proposed recommendations for changes to Student Organization Resource Center naming guidelines.

SGB member Scott Glaser said more than 1,000 students signed the gun violence prevention letter following its release last Tuesday, surpassing his original goal of 1,000 signatures total. The letter calls on Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to take action on several pending bills regarding gun violence, including the Background Check Expansion Act. “Over the next three weeks I hope to get more signatures so we can deliver that letter to the desk of Sen. Toomey and Sen. Casey,” Glaser said.

SGB President Zechariah Brown announced the board will soon accept grant proposals from student groups for projects to prevent sexual misconduct on campus, about a week after the University made up to $250,000 in funding available to faculty and staff for similar projects.

Brown said he met last week with Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner and representatives of both the Graduate and Professional Student Government and the College of General Studies Student Government to discuss the grant proposal See SGB on page 3

News

ZAPPALA RETAINS DISTRICT District 3 City Councilor Bruce ATTORNEY SEAT AFTER Krause retains seat STRONG CHALLENGE

Stephen Zappala retained his position as Allegheny County district attorney after Tuesday’s elections. Caela Go staff photographer Incumbent Bruce Kraus beat independent Jacob Nixon in Tuesday’s election for the District 3 City Council seat. Sarah Cutshall visual editor

Erica Guthrie

Assistant News Editor Incumbent Bruce Kraus beat independent Jacob Nixon in Tuesday’s election for the District 3 City Council seat, which covers several neighborhoods, including Central Oakland, South Oakland, South Side Flats and South Side Slopes. With 95% of precincts reporting, Kraus leads Nixon by about 1,775 votes, 3,152 to 1,377.

Kraus, who has been serving in the District 3 seat on City Council since 2008, was elected City Council president by his fellow councilmembers in 2014.

During his tenure in office, Kraus has worked on tightening open container laws, passed the first municipal ban on public urination, and sponsored legislation that requires the proper reporting of lost and stolen handguns.

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Nixon, an Oakland resident who is new on the Pittsburgh political scene, currently serves as the associate director of development for the Pennsylvania College Access Program. Nixon’s platform focused on small businesses and in a press release at the beginning of his campaign, he said he was motivated to run because he believed that Kraus was not accessible to his constituents.

“What I mean by that is, if we are going to change our community, we need someone who is on the ground in the communities,” Nixon said in the press release.

Less than 10% of registered voters turned out the three on-campus polling locations — Posvar Hall, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and the William Pitt Union. The voting sites received 6.87%, 9.61% and 5.31% of their registered voters, respectively.

Rachel Romac Staff Writer

Stephen Zappala Jr. retained his position as Allegheny County district attorney, defeating independent candidate Lisa Middleman in Tuesday’s elections after she conceded at about 10 p.m.. With 98.6% of precincts reporting, Zappala leads Middleman by about 36,000 votes, 147,610 to 111,689.

Middleman has been one of Zappala’s strongest challengers in the 20 years he has served in office.

At the polls Tuesday, Pitt students largely expressed support for Middleman, who focused her campaign on progressive social and economic reforms. Middleman has criticized Zappala for the March acquittal of former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld in the death of Antwon Rose II, a black, unarmed teenager.

Some voters also criticized Zappala for what they believed to be an unjust acquittal of Rosfeld and went to the polls to vote for Middleman’s more progressive stance in areas of police accountability and prison overcrowding.

November 6, 2019

Alex Jones, a senior environmental science major, said he supported Middleman because of Zappala’s role in the Rosfeld trial.

“I am a supporter of Lisa Middleman due to how the shooting of Antwon Rose was handled and our DA did nothing about it,” Jones said, “I don’t really support him in what he’s doing at all and I don’t think that he really upholds the values I have as an American or as a Pittsburgher.”

First-year psychology student Asha Edson said she voted for Middleman because she wanted a more progressive district attorney for the county.

“She seems levelheaded, she seems like she is ready to get involved with the community to make sure her decisions are justified and supported by the community of Pittsburgh,” Edson said.

Local defense attorney Turahn Jenkins challenged Zappala in the May primary for the Democratic nomination, but lost by about 18%.

Middleman secured a high percentage of votes in Pittsburgh, but Zappala ran up a large lead in the rural suburbs of Allegheny County.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

2

SGB, pg. 1 process.

“The proposal is currently being edited and will be completed in terms of its editing by Friday,” Brown said. “I will have much more information for you guys as to the final proposal with us by next Tuesday.”

The grants are part of a community-driven response pushed by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher in response to the Oct. 15 release of a survey analyzing sexual assault and misconduct on 33 university campuses.

Brown also provided an update on the ongoing effort to preserve the names of independent student organizations in the wake of updated Student Organization Resource Center naming guidelines.

SORC announced in late August that beginning fall 2020, its registration guidelines would prohibit the names of independent student organizations from including University trademarks or wordmarks like “Pitt” and “Panther,” — instead encouraging clubs to use phrases such as “at Pitt” or “at the University of Pittsburgh.”

He said the board decided on three possible solutions to the problem, which could affect as many as 393 of the 639 student organizations on campus.

The board’s preferred solution is to utilize SORC to approve names and marketing materials for clubs that want to “co-brand” with the University — allowing the use of University trademarks or wordmarks as long as sponsorship is not implied or stated. This model is currently in use at Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Miami, according to the board.

Two other proposed solutions are to allow independent student organizations to sell their existing merchandise and have the University provide financial assistance to help organizations move into compliance, or grandfather the student organizations created before a less-strict version of the rule was introduced in 2012.

Brown said the board is accepting feedback from students and faculty and will dis-

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cuss the issue again at its next public meeting on Tuesday.

Other SGB board members provided updates on their respective initiatives at Tuesday’s meeting.

Vice President and Chief of Finance Ashima Agarwal said she is making progress on her initiative to strengthen relations between current students and Pitt alumni.

She reached out to Cheryl Finlay, director of the Career Center, to see how the Center’s current career consultant program could be augmented to include alumni.

“We’re hoping to learn more about the information of the career consultant program the office has and how student and alumni connections can be overlayed and taken farther than they are already,” Agarwal said.

Vice President and Chief of Cabinet Caroline Unger announced that applications will open Sunday to serve as mentors or mentees for the Panther’s Women Leadership Retreat, which will take place this academic year from Feb. 29 to March 1. She added that applications will close at the end of the semester.

SGB member Eric Macadangdang said he met last week with students about improving the University Counseling Center and the Office of Disability Resources and Services. The Counseling Center has faced backlash in the past for long wait times due to high demand by students, but recently increased staffing and cut its waiting list to zero.

He added that students should reach out to him if they wish to share their experiences.

Macadangdang and Unger said they are in the process of selecting members for their new Campus Planning and Design Task Force, aimed at providing a way for students to voice feedback about Pitt’s Campus Master Plan. The group hopes to announce a finalized list of members before Thanksgiving in two weeks and meet with University administrators before the end of fall term.

Contributed reporting by Jon Moss.

Incumbents won big in Tuesday’s elections. Caela Go staff photographer

Elections, pg. 1 Turahn Jenkins in the Democratic primaries earlier in May, but fended off the challenge and won by 18 points. He has recently faced criticism for his handling of the prosecution of former police officer Michael Rosfeld, who fatally shot Antwon Rose II in 2018.

This was enough reason for Mo Elfayoumi, a sophomore molecular biology major, to vote for Middleman.

“I didn’t like Zappala’s handling of the Antwon Rose case, so I decided to go for the independent,” Elfayoumi said. “[Her] endorsements seemed to be aligned with my political views.”

Morganstein voted for Middleman as well, citing Zappala’s track record on criminal justice reform and her desire for change.

“I feel that the current district attorney is severely lacking and hasn’t done his job,” Morganstein said. “That’s what led me to support the independent candidate.”

Morganstein noted that this year’s election was even more important to her than presidential-year elections, since the candidates voted into office today have much more of an impact on her life than federal office-holders.

Of the two ballot initiatives, only one had its votes tallied. The other, a statewide ballot initiative to create an amendment enshrining Marsy’s Law in the State Constitution, cannot have its votes officially tallied after a Commonwealth Court judge ruled the votes can’t be certified.

Marsy’s Law would expand the legal rights of crime victims, including the rights to legal standing and protection from the accused. The ACLU has criticized the law, say-

November 6, 2019

ing it “undermines due process and upends presumption of innocence.”

The other initiative, which would levy an additional $50 tax for each $100,000 of property value, passed by a narrow, 1,975vote margin out of more than 60,000 ballots cast. The initiative represents a property tax increase of almost 6%, and the funds will be diverted to Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, a private non-profit that provides funding for the maintenance of Pittsburgh parks.

The initiative was denounced by four sitting members of the City Council, with councilperson Deb Gross calling the initiative “unacceptable,” saying the initiative circumvents City control over parks maintenance. Gross was joined by councilpeople Anthony Coghill, Darlene Harris and Theresa Kail-Smith.

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy spokesperson John Pepper told the Post-Gazette that “every park” in Pittsburgh would be improved by 2020 with the additional funding.

Democrats won other races by comfortable margins, such as County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, County Controller Chelsa Wagner and County Treasurer John Weinstein. This is a result that Madison Leonard, a third-year pharmacy student, hoped for.

She said the most important thing to her was keeping Republicans out of office, which is why she voted for Democrats when she could.

“I’m transgender, so I like to vote against the Republican party when I can,” Leonard said.

But regardless of outcome, Elfayoumi said voting is an important right to exercise.

“I think it’s important to vote in every election that you can, to have a say in all forms of government,” Elfayoumi said.

3

Opinions

column

Personal essays are never just personal Leah Mensch Opinions Editor

Pitt’s campus was screaming and burning Monday night, and it had nothing to do with a dumpster fire outside of Posvar this time.

Writer Leslie Jamison paid Pitt a visit on the last stop of the tour for her new collection of essays — “Make It Scream, Make It Burn.” She livetaped an interview for the Longform podcast, talking about the creation of her new book. Critics often refer to her as the writer who brought forth a new definition of the essay — though it’s hard to redefine something that most people didn’t really understand in the first place.

Personal essays conjure shuddering images and bad feelings for most of us — writing the Common Application essay senior year of high school about “overcoming a hardship,” or perhaps the middle school essay about why skiing over Christmas break is just so much fun. “So you just write about yourself?” is the question I most often hear when I talk about creative nonfiction. And maybe writers of this genre do write about themselves, to some extent. But creative nonfiction is about looking squarely at the world and subsequently looking inside yourself, to find something that will help explain an interpretation of both life and the world. Like all art, creative nonfiction is never about a singular element. Even the personal essay isn’t personal.

“When I deploy myself on the page, I’m always asking some sort of question,” Jamison said.

“Writing about myself is an effort to make meaning out of something bigger. It’s never really just a story about myself … it’s a meditation, a tethered presence in a vast thing.”

The genre of creative nonfiction is what writer Lee Gutkind defines as “true stories well told.”

It’s a broad definition, though that’s quite fitting, since essays are oceanic entities. Jamison’s work exemplifies the idea that creative nonfiction has no boundaries. In her new book, she writes an essay about the loneliest whale in the world, using the obsessions of others to tell the story, rather than her own obsessions. She ends the collection on a deeply personal note, with an essay about

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Eli Savage contributing editor pregnancy and childbirth in the aftermath of an eating disorder.

However, even this essay was largely about the idea of one seeing ghosts of their past selves and a story about finding oneself in an experience. In Jamison’s case, this experience was pregnancy and childbirth, though it’s different for all writers and for all essays.

Another writer who uses the personal essay to ask larger questions about the world is Margo Jefferson, as in her essay “Scenes From a Life in Negroland.” The essay is a series of vignettes

a new horizon of knowledge, too. Essays tackle questions that are unanswerable and seek to answer them anyway. What we get when we read the essay isn’t the answer, but the search for the answer. Even more so than fiction perhaps, essays articulate the honesty in the human journey, the idea that most things don’t really have a definitive ending. Essays also look at life as a continuation, rather than a story with a beginning, middle and end.

“In a way, this book is just a continuation of the first essay collection,” Jamison said, referencing her 2014 book, “The Empathy Exams.” “In a lot of ways, it’s asking the same questions and searching for the same answers. Now, by a woman in her 30s instead of her 20s, a woman who has grown and sees the world differently. But writing — my writing — is always a continuation.”

The title essay of the collection sums up what it means to be an essayist quite well. In “Make It Scream, Make It Burn,” she writes about the job of the writer, which is to take a normal element of life, something one might walk past everyday, and bring it to life — to make it scream, and make it burn. And in order to make something scream and burn, a writer can’t just write about it from their perspective — they can’t write an essay that is just personal. The writer has to look at the world outside of themself first, and then perhaps, look inward and incorporate themself into the essay.

“The quest to keep speaking, the inability to ever say enough,” Jamison writes of art, in “Make It Scream, Make It Burn.”

This is what an essay is. Not a singular faceted story about oneself or a pleading for pity, but a piece of art that reaches for something that the writer looks at and wants the world to see. It’s an attempt to grasp a concept that is largely ungraspable. The essay knows this, the essay acknowledges this. The essay keeps reaching for the unreachable thing anyway.

about growing up in a middle-class black family — what she refers to as “the third race.” But the essay is really asking questions about the difference between black and white privilege and the intersections between race and wealth. Essays aren’t statements or answers as much as they are pieces of writing asking discrete questions — this is something Jamison also touched on Monday Leah Mensch is the opinions editor. She night.

If we limit essays by defining them as writ- writes about books, mental health and the spices ing that is entirely personal, then we are missing of the world for The Pitt News. Write to Leah at the point — and we’re missing a chance to find LEM140@pitt.edu.

November 6, 2019

4

from the editorial board

pittnews.com

sible for a person to know if they are infected unless they visit a doctor and have lab work done. Planned Parenthood offers low- to no-cost STD tests regardless of insurance status. Most college campuses — including Pitt — also offer free resources to those who want to be tested for STDs. A Google search by city will also display other cheap or free places in the area where people can find STD testing and resources. The Allegheny County Health Clinic, for example, offers free STD testing almost every day of the year. They do not require insurance, parental consent, knowledge of immigration status or any other legal information.

The cost of antibiotics for chlamydia is only about $10 for those without insurance and sometimes free for those with insurance. As untreated STDs progress, treatment can become much more expensive, and the effects of the disease much more severe. Medical testing, rather than asking the internet, is also important because of the rate at which STDs can spread. When someone has an STD, they put every sexual partner at high risk of also contracting the STD. It is a sexual partner’s responsibility to be able to confidently say they aren’t infected. The only way to do this is to visit a doctor.

Asking the internet about an STD diagnosis may be easier, faster and a little less embarrassing, but it’s unproductive and dangerous. The costs of ignoring STDs far outweigh the costs of being tested and treated. In general, it’s best not to take advice from the internet. Especially not when it comes to STDs.

The Pitt news crossword

Sexually transmitted disease rates are soaring nationally, and this rise doesn’t exclude Pitt students.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 14% increase between 2017 and 2018 in reported cases of syphilis, a 5% increase in gonorrhea and a 3% increase in chlamydia. But while the rates of STDs are increasing, the amount of people visiting doctors for STD diagnosis is decreasing. Instead, people are turning to the internet.

And while people get immediate responses that are free and require less effort than visiting a doctor for diagnosis, it’s a dangerous gamble, according to a study conducted by the UC San Diego School of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health. There are resources safer than relying on the internet — even for those without health insurance.

Diagnoses offered by internet users are often “wildly inaccurate,” according to the UC San Diego study, and the recommended treatments — like apple cider vinegar — were frequently contrary to what a trained medical doctor would prescribe in terms of treatment. Most STDs aren’t dangerous to the carrier’s health unless they go untreated, which is much more likely to happen if someone doesn’t visit a doctor.

Chlamydia, which is often asymptomatic, can permanently damage a woman’s reproductive system if left untreated. Untreated syphilis can cause dementia, blindness and paralysis.

STDs like syphilis typically require a blood test for diagnosis, which means that it’s nearly impos-

11/06/19

Talk to your doctor about sexually transmitted diseases

November 6, 2019

5

Sports

Waiver Wire Weekly: Ride Carr to victory pittnews.com

PITT VOLLEYBALL’S TOUGHEST COMPETITION IS ITS OWN HISTORY Alex Lehmbeck Staff Writer

With each passing week, it seems that Pitt volleyball establishes another program record. After sweeping Duke on Sunday to avenge last year’s loss and earn its best ACC start ever, it feels increasingly like Pitt is competing more with its own history than it is against conference opponents.

This entire season has been filled with firsts. The reigning back-to-back ACC champions entered the season as the No. 12 team in the AVCA poll before gradually moving up the ladder to a current No. 2 ranking, its best ever.

The Panthers’ 12-0 ACC record is the best start in program history, as are their eight straight sweeps — winning 36 of the 37 sets in conference play so far.

First-year setter Lexis Akeo extended her own team record on Monday by earning ACC Freshman of the Week honors for the sixth time this season.

And with only six matches left on their ACC schedule, the Panthers have a chance to cement themselves as the conference’s most dominant team of all time.

The ACC is not traditionally considered a volleyball powerhouse like the Big 10 or Pac-12, so it’s rare for one of its own to be this powerful of a national contender.

Not only was Pitt’s No. 2 ranking a program record, but it also marked an all-time high for the ACC. If the Panthers can win out the rest of their conference schedule, they will be the first team to go undefeated in the ACC since Georgia Tech in 2004.

It’s worth noting that the ACC decided the conference winner through a postseason tournament since its inaugural season in 1980 until the end of the 2004 season.

From then on, the ACC championship was awarded to the team with the best record in the regular season, eliminating the ACC tournament. Although Wake Forest finished 16-0 in the conference, it lost to

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Zoi Faki (10) returns the ball. Pitt volleyball swept Duke on Sunday and earned its best ACC start ever.

Ally Hansen staff photographer Clemson in its first match of that final conference tournament. This means that Pitt — if it wins its last six matches — would become the first undefeated ACC Champion since Maryland in 1996.

The Panthers’ remaining schedule certainly gives them a shot. No ACC team aside from Pitt is currently ranked in the top 25, and it took a five-set thriller for then No. 4 Penn State to give Pitt its only loss of the season.

Pitt’s players, however, emphasize they aren’t looking ahead to any end-of-season accolades.

“Going undefeated would be great,” redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams said after Monday’s win. “But I think we just want to win out and hopefully keep building our resumé and keep

climbing in the RPI. That’s what really matters.”

The fact that an undefeated ACC season is even a possibility surprises head coach Dan Fisher. Still, he wants the team to stay focused on the immediate future.

“It certainly was not a goal coming into the season, but I would love to [go undefeated],” Fisher said. “We still have some very strong teams on the schedule, and one’s coming next weekend. We’re going to focus on the task at hand.”

Even if Pitt does not finish perfect, the Panthers are well on their way to winning a third straight conference championship. With a three-match lead — and the head-to-head advantage — over second-place Florida State, it would

November 6, 2019

take quite a collapse for the Panthers to not win the title. Assuming it can finish it out, Pitt would be the third program to win three consecutive ACC titles, joining Maryland and North Carolina, the latter of which accomplished the feat twice.

Regardless of how the rest of the ACC schedule turns out, Pitt’s ultimate goal is something no ACC team has ever accomplished — a National Championship title. Since the NCAA added volleyball to its organization in 1981, an ACC team has yet to even make the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four.

Pitt fans are certainly hoping their squad will be the team to break the mold, as the City of Pittsburgh will host the 2019 semifinals and championship in PPG Paints Arena.

6

satire

Completely reasonable expectations for Pitt basketball Trent Leonard Sports Editor

Pitt men’s basketball is garnering national hype for the first time since the Jamie Dixon era.

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas put the Panthers at No. 48 on his preseason rankings, while some have the Panthers finishing as high as seventh in the ACC and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

This comes on the heels of a productive offseason in which the team pummeled some semiprofessional teams in Italy, gave No. 7 Maryland all it could handle in a “secret scrimmage” and smacked Division II Slippery Rock in a preseason exhibition. All the while, Pitt’s new players impressed and the team did nothing to quell its increasing reputation.

With fans and experts alike one-upping each other with optimistic season outlooks for the Panthers, the question becomes, what is really the ceiling for this team? Well, this piece will go about addressing that question in the most sound, logical way possible.

And so, without further ado, it’s time to take a long, winding trip on the Pitt Basketball Hype Train. Choo-choo!

The hype begins with sophomore point guard Xavier Johnson. Ever heard of him? Of course you have. To quote one fictional anchorman, he’s kind of a big deal. Johnson’s apartment might not smell of rich mahogany, but he enters this season as the third-leading returning scorer in the ACC after averaging 15.5 points per game as a rookie.

Johnson was the only player in the ACC last season to average at least 15.0 points and 4.5 assists per game. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently projected him as the No. 44 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. As a point guard whose foremost trait is his strength and explosiveness, Johnson’s most optimistic professional comparison is eight-time All-Star and 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook.

On the other hand, that comparison might actually be disrespectful to Johnson, considering Westbrook averaged just 3.4 points and 0.7 assists in his first year at UCLA. His sophomore numbers before going pro — 12.7 points, 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game — still pale in comparison to Johnson’s first-year stats.

This can only mean one thing — Johnson is a better basketball player than Westbrook. It’s simple math. With that being said, it’s safe to as-

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Promiti Debi staff illustrator sume that Johnson will roughly double his numbers across the board this season, flirting with triple-double averages and sealing a spot on the All-ACC first team.

Sophomore shooting guard Trey McGowens is the second piece of the puzzle for Pitt’s big dreams. He showed salivating potential as a newcomer last season, leading the team with 33 and 30 points, respectively, in wins over talented Louisville and FSU teams. When he led the team in scoring, the Panthers had an 8-2 record.

But McGowens also displayed a habit of disappearing for long periods of time, stringing together several single-digit scoring games that brought his season average down to 11.6 points per game. So, which McGowens is going to show up this season?

“I felt like this summer I worked harder than I’ve ever worked before,” McGowens said in a September press conference. “I’m more confident with my shot, a better leader, a better talker. I just

got better.”

Well, there you have it folks. If McGowens is a man of his word — and he’s given no evidence that he isn’t — then it’s clear his inconsistencies are behind him. Assuming he simply plays every game as he did against Louisville and FSU last season, he’ll easily average at least 25 points per game in the nation’s most fearsome backcourt.

Running down through the rest of Pitt’s roster, it becomes clear that the Panthers might have an ACC Championship contender on their hands.

The team added junior transfer guard Ryan Murphy in the offseason, and he brought with him a reputation as a sharpshooter. He shot 40% from three at UNC Charlotte as a first-year before transferring to New Mexico Junior College, where he once scored 46 points in a game.

“But the ACC is far better competition than Murphy has ever faced,” naysayers might say.

Baloney. Basketball is basketball, and Murphy knows how to get buckets.

November 6, 2019

He instantly made an impact on the team’s Italy tour, leading the team with 16.3 points per game while shooting 50% from three — and that was against grown men who play basketball for a living. Imagine what he’ll do when unleashed in the regular season against unpaid college amateurs. It’s scary to think about.

Pitt added a second transfer in 6-foot-9, 230-pound graduate center Eric Hamilton from UNC Greensboro. He actually started his career at Wichita State, where he played alongside current NBA player Fred VanVleet on a Shockers team that went to NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in 2016. Hamilton brings a tournament pedigree to the Panthers, and his association with VanVleet — who helped the Toronto Raptors win an NBA Finals in 2019 — will help Pitt snag some hardware of its own.

Head coach Jeff Capel also brought in a stacked recruiting class consisting of forward Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, who nearly led his home country of Mali to a stunning gold-medal finish in the FIBA U19 World Cup in July, forward Gerald Drumgoole, whose 17 points were second on the team in Pitt’s Maryland scrimmage, and forward Justin Champagnie, who McGowens said impressed him the most of all the newcomers.

Throw in sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney, who led Pitt in rebounds last season despite standing at 6-foot-6, and junior center Terrell Brown, who led the Panthers with 60 blocks, and you have a team that should be favored in nearly every game it plays.

With Johnson and McGowens scoring at will, Drumgoole and Murphy canning shots from downtown, Hamilton bullying opposing centers in the paint, Toney neutralizing the opponent’s best scorer, Brown swatting any inside shot that teams dare attempt and Champagnie and Coulibaly providing stellar minutes off the bench, it just doesn’t seem likely that Pitt will lose very often, if at all.

UNC might steal a game at Chapel Hill, and Duke and Louisville will also prove to be tough outs on the road. Worst-case scenario, the Panthers lose all three of those games and finish the season 15-3 in the ACC, flipping last year’s conference record.

With all the uncertainties life presents, it’s comforting to know with 100% certainty that Pitt basketball will return to the NCAA Tournament in March — the only variable is what seed.

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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

Classifieds

For sale

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

services

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

$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

notices

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

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

R A T E S

Insertions

1-15 Words

16-30 Words

1X

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

se­niors. We offer 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

November 6, 2019

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