PG.8
News
ONLINE Student charged with assault, strangulationpittnews.com
FAILED CONNECTIONS: PITT’S NEW WI-FI MET WITH MIXED RECEPTION
Jon Moss
Assistant News Editor Two weeks into the semester, Pitt’s new Wi-Fi system is being put to the test — and is falling down, according to some students. Over the summer, Pitt replaced the all-free, University-managed WirelessPittNet system in residence halls with MyResNet, a product of Apogee, a technology services provider for universities. Students were promised “reliable … guaranteed” speeds of 60 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps, for free per device, on up to seven devices. For faster speeds, students can pay $69 per semester for speeds of 100 Mbps for downloads and 50 Mbps for uploads, per device, for use on up to 10 devices. [Read: Pitt outsources dorm Wi-Fi, will charge for faster speeds] Alexi Zukas, a sophomore physics and astronomy major, said he was upset about the MyResNet change and frustrated that speed tests he ran from his computer did not reach the speeds promised by Pitt. A speed test recorded by Zukas at 10:57 p.m. on Aug. 26, the first day of classes, shows 6.94 Mbps for downloads and 8.48 Mbps for uploads. Zukas said he spoke with a MyResNet representative last Friday and was told the slowdowns were likely due to the large load of the first few weeks of classes, as well as “a bug in their system that throttles speeds of important applications versus unimportant ones.” “MyResNet has had extremely shoddy service the first few days on campus,” Zukas, a Ruskin Hall resident, said. “ResNet
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has assured us time and time again that we’ll be guaranteed these 60/20 speeds no matter what we do.” Another student, Ayli Paolucci, a sophomore linguistics major, said he has experienced slower speeds during late night hours during the first week of classes. “When it’s between the hours of 7 and midnight, and my internet throttles down to less than 10% of [the promised speeds], there’s a problem,” Paolucci, a Lothrop Hall resident, said. Paolucci added that he reached out to Pitt IT to set up an ethernet connection in his dorm room. University spokesperson Meg Ringler said in an email that students may experience slower speeds due to not properly registering devices with the service or by connecting to the MyResNet Legacy network instead of MyResNet. “It’s important that any student who is experiencing slower than expected speeds contact our 24/7 IT Help Desk at 412-624-4357,” Ringler said. “This allows us to troubleshoot and take corrective action.” For other Pitt students, the service has been working as promised. Edward Loveday, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said MyResNet has largely worked for him. “Sometimes when I run speed tests on my computer, it’ll come through as the advertised speeds, sometimes it’ll come in a bit lower,” Loveday, a Lothrop Hall resident, said. “But it’s been generally consistent from what I can tell.” Pitt Computing Services and Systems Development still operates the free
Pitt recently outsourced Wi-Fi services for students living in residence halls. Sarah Cutshall visual editor Wireless-PittNet and Wireless-PittNetFast Wi-Fi networks at all academic buildings, which offer speeds of up to 300 Mbps per wireless access point, as opposed to individual devices. In an FAQ, Pitt IT described MyResNet as being a significant improvement over PittNet in residence halls since PittNet Wi-Fi speeds varied depending on how many other devices were connected to an access point at that time. At the time of the announcement, University spokesperson Kevin Zwick said the MyResNet migration was a result of feedback and CSSD Help Desk requests from students over the past few years. But some students were upset at the move by the University, wondering why tuition — which was just increased by as much as 7% for some students — as well as room and board fees, did not fully cover Wi-Fi costs. Every semester, students pay a mandatory $175 computer and network services fee, which the University uses for “upgrading and maintaining the University’s computer systems, equipment, and facilities,” ac-
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cording to the Student Payment Center. Concerning MyResNet, Ringler added that the University is looking into a service interruption that occurred last Thursday night and has not yet determined the cause of the interruption. “It was immediately recognized when an intermittent network interruption appeared to affect some students on campus,” Ringler said. “All systems were back online within 10 minutes and Apogee continues to monitor and manage the network to ensure full availability.” Ringler also said more than 29,500 devices are registered across more than 8,100 users, but fewer than 1.25% of users have reported issues with MyResNet. She also said only 2% of users purchased the premium MyResNet plan which includes upgraded speeds. “As with any project of this scope, we expect some network adjustments to be necessary to ensure expected speeds in all corners of the more than 30 residence halls across campus,” Ringler said. “Field tests conducted by CSSD consistently show that speeds of 60 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload are being realized.”
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Opinions
ONLINE Editorial: Flavored e-cigs have got to go pittnews.com
column
Keep Pitt Real: student orgs shouldn’t have to change names
Hayden Timmins Staff Columnist
Student organizations at Pitt might have to rebrand themselves, thanks to a new University policy. The policy could force hundreds of student organizations to remove the words “Pitt” and “Panther” from their official logos and names. The organizations would be able to distinguish themselves from other national groups of similar names by using “at Pitt” or “at the University of Pittsburgh” in their official names. Pitt’s attempt to control every aspect of a club is insulting to the student-run organizations in accordance with Pitt policies and will be devastating to their brands. Pitt student organizations are separate entities from the University, so the University has legal power to mandate how its intellectual property — trademarks, patents and copyrights — is used. While legally separate entities, student organizations are still subject to University rules. Registration guidelines for student organizations say that independent student organizations do not represent nor are part of the University and that the off-campus activities of said organizations are the “sole responsibility of the organization, officers and members.” While the registration guidelines make it clear that clubs aren’t a part of the University, they also require that these groups maintain a close connection to the University. They must be comprised of at least three-fourths currently enrolled Pitt students and have a full-time faculty or staff advisor to be recognized.
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These organizations are managed by the Student Organization Resource Center, which gives many groups funding, and are so closely connected to Pitt that it makes sense for them to be allowed to carry the University’s name. This isn’t the first time the University has tried to disassociate itself as much as possible from student organizations by removing all trademarks. Only three years ago, the University implemented new requirements on logo designs, which mandated that organizations must adhere to strict designs, such as using Helvetica Bold font and placing “Pitt” above the organization name. This second design change within four years is putting unnecessary strain on the resources of clubs, since all designs on stickers, posters, table mats for the activities fair and letterheads must be redesigned and reprinted. Justin Fernsler, the technical director of Panther Racing, said members of his club are concerned that changing their name would affect their name recognition as well as their relationship with sponsors. “We have a lot of expensive equipment and a lot of our stuff is branded as Panther Racing, too,” Fernsler said. “Depending on how far they want to take it, we might have to replace a lot of equipment.” While larger clubs are going to be hit financially, smaller clubs will also carry the burden of rebranding. Kayla Ortiz, president of Pitt Bioethics Society, said that she is concerned about changing the way her club must present itself to the student body.
“We just redesigned our logo last year and now we are going to have to re-edit it,” she said. “We also have a Facebook group and Twitter so we are going to have to go through and make sure that those accounts have the appropriate naming. It’s clunky too. ‘Pitt Bioethics Society’ is already a big name, and now ‘Bioethics Society at the University of Pittsburgh’ — it’s going to be so clunky.” Ortiz’s club is one of hundreds that will have to spend needless time and resources redesigning their brands. A petition on behalf of University organizations on change.org, which has accumulated more than 700 signatures, echoes these concerns. “Many students dedicate their entire campus life to representing their school through these organizations and must be able to continue to do so,” the petition says. “Additionally, organizations have invested school allocated money in building their professional image through their names and are recognized sometimes internationally by their name.” Pitt Archery President Julia Lam said in an email that changing her club’s name would change the branding of the club, but also the image the club portrays. Pitt Archery has competed at the U.S. Indoor National Championships and Outdoor
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TPN FILE ILLUSTRATION Collegiate Nationals in the past, and won All-Academic and AllAmerican awards. Plenty of other clubs at Pitt have represented the University at conferences, contests and competitions at the state, national and international levels, bearing the words “Pitt” or “Panther.” “I founded the team and am proud of my past 3 years’ work on developing this club’s brand recognition within USA Archery, and changing it now would feel like a loss,” Lam wrote. “Our leadership has been discussing options to change our name in a way that would comply with the new rules but still preserve the identity of the club and are waiting to hear more about this development.” Regardless of their independent status, these student organizations have put in the work to show that that belong to and represent Pitt. Yet Pitt is being unrelenting in its attempt to micromanage every organization on campus. The University should allow student organizations, whether they are independent entities or not, to use “Pitt” in their names and logos. Hayden primarily writes about politics for The Pitt News. Write to Hayden at hwt3@pitt.edu.
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Culture
ONLINE Mike Chen talks food, YouTube and travel pittnews.com
PITT TONIGHT AND ANDREW DOW:
YEAR 3 Maggie Young
Contributing Editor Andrew Dow, the host of Pitt Tonight, remembers being featured in The Pitt News after his first opening night in 2017. While he’s come to peace with it now, Dow said he was frustrated when he first read a quote given by a fellow student. “I was described as nervous,” Dow said. “I remember I was just so angry when I read that, ‘what do you mean I’m nervous? I worked so hard.’ And now I [realize I] was so nervous, it was true.” Now a senior communications major, Dow hosted the first episode of Pitt Tonight’s fifth season on Aug. 25, beginning his third and final year as show host. Dow and his fellow staff said they hope the new season comes with opportunities for more creative projects — and fun — during the show. The season’s first episode was lighthearted and centered on a welcome-back theme, according to the show’s staff. Many delighted in a sketch featuring Dow and head writer Clare Donaher, where Dow’s character prepared a frightened first-year portrayed by Donaher for the aftermath of hot girl summer: “ugly boy fall.” Dow said he was happy with the first episode — which also featured interviews with SGB President Zechariah Brown and Pitt business professor Ray Jones, followed by a musical performance from local artist Treble NLS — as well as his progress as a host. He based this progress on the anxiety he experienced during his first season last year. After a nervous first year, Dow said last year was much more enjoyable. “I think last year I started to have fun,” Dow said. “Now I’m just in this place where I’m like ‘I know what I’m doing, it’s okay.’ I just love how much fun I have on stage.” Those working behind the scenes want to ensure
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Senior communications major Andrew Dow is beginning his third and final season as host of Pitt Tonight. Issi Glatts senior staff photographer that Dow continues to have this kind of fun on stage. Donaher mentioned that Dow does especially well on the show when he is tasked with acting a part. “His strengths are definitely when he’s able to do character work. Something of more where he is kind of the joke,” Donaher said. When writing the show’s script, Donaher and the other writers said they like to give Dow the opportunity to channel his background as an improv comedy performer. “Andrew’s a great improviser,” Charlotte Bloys, sophomore English writing and film double major and writer, said. “Whenever he has an opportunity to do that is definitely good for us.” Dow agreed with the lead writers’ analysis and emphasized how much he enjoys improv as opposed to other comedic forms. Before succeeding Jesse Irwin, Pitt Tonight’s founder, as the show’s host, Dow wasn’t even involved with Pitt Tonight. He was involved with Ruckus, an improv performance group at Pitt, and some of those who were members of both clubs at the time encouraged Dow to
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audition for the host role. Dow said he’s participated in both improv and the traditional standup comedy associated with late night television, but definitely prefers one over the other. “I did standup for a while, and I hated it. I’m just an improviser, I’m just a sketch person,” Dow said. “I love characters. I love to change what I’m doing. I like to be myself, but I don’t like to be this other, weird kind of being myself and delivering monologues.” Because Dow has more fun being in character, he and the lead writers hope they can implement more sketch comedy into the show this season. While they don’t plan on changing the general format of the show or making it any longer, Dow has some ideas on how to toy with the general outline they already have. “There’s going to be more interaction with the audience — I want to really engage. I don’t want anyone to say they’ve seen Pitt Tonight and that be the reason why they don’t have to see it a second time,” Dow said. In addition to trying some new things during the See Dow on page 7
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Dow, pg. 6 live show, the staff said they hope to start creating more comedy content outside of the live show. Executive Producer Jack Habib, a senior English writing major, hopes to work with Dow and the writing staff on producing more content on various platforms, such as the show’s YouTube channel. “There are 60 people working on this show month to month. We can create weekly content on YouTube, on Facebook, Instagram. We can make so much content digitally. Because of that, we can create an actual audience on a digital space,” Habib said. Habib explained how the show’s staff has a few
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things in mind on which they want to start filming some digital content. One of the ideas was working on an interview-type video that highlights Dow’s talents as both an improviser and a great one-on-one communicator, according to Habib. Pitt Tonight has experimented with this kind of interview before. Back in February, the Pitt Tonight crew filmed Dow interviewing the owners of a vintage store in Lawrenceville. Habib said this kind of interview format was much more relaxed and displayed Dow’s talents as an interviewer, which he wants to capitalize on beyond Pitt Tonight’s regular episodes. “There’s a different aspect of an interview that’s happening, other than just speaking about each oth-
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er’s careers or what have you. I want to add a different dynamic to it, so stuff like that, other than just Pitt Tonight content,” Habib, who’s also entering his senior year, said. “If I’m going to put any kind of mark on Pitt Tonight, it’s making [digital content] a part of Pitt Tonight.” Dow, on the other hand, will spend his senior year hosting Pitt Tonight for the third season in a row. Although he is comfortable with this year being his last and confident that an excellent host will take his place when he graduates, Dow understands the gravity of this being his final season. “There’s no later for me now,” Dow said. “Everything I ever wanted to do with Pitt Tonight, I’m doing now.”
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Sports
column
PITT FOOTBALL TO AGREE TO DISAGREE: REBOUND AGAINST OHIO PITT FOOTBALL
OVERREACTIONS
Michael Elesinmogun Staff Writer
Pitt football (0-1, 0-1 ACC) will look to bounce back after a demoralizing Week 1 loss to Virginia when it hosts the Ohio Bobcats (1-0) this Saturday. In the season opener last Saturday, the Panthers weren’t able to get consistent offensive production and put their defense in tough situations, which led to easy scoring opportunities for the Cavaliers. Entering this season, Pitt’s biggest question was how the revamped offense would look under new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. Skepticism also arose on the defensive side after star junior defensive end Rashad Weaver tore his ACL in training camp, leaving Pitt without the anchor of its front seven. Even though it’s enticing, you can’t make assumptions about a team after one game. Still, this week will add to the narrative about what the Panthers can be this year. Pat Narduzzi put voice to disappointment that was week one for Panthers team and fans. “Obviously not what we planned from the opener,” Narduzzi said. “Disappointing start to the season. Obviously, it was a different opener than most.” And that scheduling wrinkle might have contributed to Pitt’s poor offense. This season the ACC decided to schedule a few conference games during Week 1 to help promote the new ACC Network. But on the football side of things, this provides a lot of challenges, especially for a new offense — mainly because in a typical season, teams open with a lesser opponent to try and work out some kinks with real game snaps. The Panthers didn’t have that luxury but have this week to continue to improve on
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Sam Krimins and Sean Tierney For The Pitt News
they were able to sort out the issues, Pickett’s internal clock was so rushed that he appeared scared to stay in the pocket. Despite the difficult situations it was put in, Pitt’s defense was its strongest phase. Narduzzi raved about his young defensive studs following the game. “Deslin [Alexandre] played really, really well,” Narduzzi said. “We were impressed with him, and obviously he’s the new end that was taking over for Rashad [Weaver]. He played well. Inside Devin Danielson played well, young guy that maybe played 10 snaps … Obviously [Jaylen] Twyman has been in there.
With Pitt football losing its season-opener came the age-old tradition of fans casting their doubts and aspersions on the program. Two of our writers picked out some of the more drastic Pitt football opinions — both good and bad — and deliberated over which takes are reasonable (hint: not many) and which are simply outrageous. Head coach Pat Narduzzi will be on the hot seat if he can’t crack .500 again this season. Sam Krimins: Agree. Narduzzi has gone 1214 over the past two seasons, losing to Stanford in the Sun Bowl in 2018. His first two seasons were respectable — Pitt went 8-5 in both years, but also lost both bowl games. This season must be a success or else a new coach could likely be hired. If not, Pitt will be stuck with college football’s Marvin Lewis. Sean Tierney: Disagree. Narduzzi’s performance to date doesn’t warrant such a quick trigger on the “hot seat” tag. At this point in his tenure, a below .500 season would certainly be a disappointment, but starting over new seems like a much riskier path to go down. In his four seasons at Pitt, Narduzzi has four blemishes to speak of — a 5-7 record in 2017 and three bowl game losses. Excluding these, he has amassed a 23-18 record, two second-place ACC Coastal finishes and one ACC Championship berth. In my eyes, the good outweighs the bad, and a below-.500 season doesn’t do enough to change the balance dramatically. Not only do I not think that Narduzzi deserves the hot seat, but I don’t think that there’s any chance that Pitt’s athletic administration would actually put him there right now. After Narduzzi’s worst season at Pitt in 2017, his contract was extended seven years, showing the faith that the University has in his leadership.
See Ohio on page 11
See Reactions on page 12
Sophomore wide receiver V’Lique Carter (19) pushes for yardage against Virgina at the season opener on Aug. 31. Thomas Yang assistant visual editor both sides of the ball. Narduzzi also noted in his press conference on Monday that the Panthers beat themselves. “Really when you look at it,” Narduzzi said, “it’s a lot of self-inflicted wounds as far as what we did, not what they did.” The offense had opportunities to keep drives alive and score touchdowns, but made silly mistakes. For example, a key drop from redshirt junior Taysir Mack in the first half was followed immediately by an interception from junior quarterback Kenny Pickett, putting the defense in a precarious situation. The offensive line was also unable to give Pickett time in the pocket and once
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A REQUIEM FOR THE PITT-PENN STATE GAME
Dominic Campbell Senior Staff Writer
With the Penn State game approaching on Sept. 14 at Beaver Stadium, it brings to an end — for now — the on-and-off historic rivalry between the Pitt Panthers and the Penn State Nittany Lions. The 2019 meeting will mark the 100th all-time between the Panthers and Nittany Lions as well as the final regularly scheduled Pitt-Penn State football game for the foreseeable future. Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said last May the rivalry would most likely be shelved until “some point after 2030.” The rivalry, which started in the 1890s, came to a halt in 2000 when the two schools couldn’t reach a deal. They finally negotiated a four-game series in 2012, with the inaugural game set for Pittsburgh in 2016. As a lifelong Pitt fan who was a first-year
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student when the rivalry returned, I was thrilled to see it come back. The stories told by older Pitt fans, alumni and football stars about this rivalry made me even more impatient to see what it was all about. I remember getting to Heinz Field at 5 a.m on Sept. 10 to get the best seats I could for the game, when it was still dark out. This seems ridiculous until you consider that some fans started showing up the day before. Eventually, the sun began to rise and the line went as far as the eye could see. People ended up rushing the gates and into the seats prepared for the biggest Pitt football game to be played in years. The game didn’t disappoint as the Panthers jumped out in front and built a 28-7 lead in the second quarter. Penn State battled back and continued to gain on Pitt toward the end of the game. With Pitt up 42-39 and fewer than three minutes to go, Penn State
The last time Pitt beat Penn State was in 2016, when Pitt won with a lastminute interception and a final score of 42-39. TPN File Photo quarterback Trace McSorley threw what looked to be the game-winning pass to wide receiver DaShae Hamilton, who dropped what would’ve been a sure touchdown. Less than a minute later, McSorley overthrew his pass and it was intercepted by cornerback Ryan Lewis, ending the game. The first game of the series still ranks as one of the best college football games I’ve
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ever seen. Pitt played some great football and earned a big win for the program, one that became even bigger as Penn State went 10-2 on the season and won the Big 10 conference. Since 2016, though, the Nittany Lions have thoroughly dominated the Panthers. They easily beat a pitiful Max Browne-led offense in 2017 at Beaver Stadium, 33-14, to See Penn State on page 14
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CRISSY SHANNON:
Ohio, pg. 8
Bending over backwards for Pitt band
Trent Leonard Sports Editor
First comes the trot. A high-striding, flamboyant prance to midfield with all eyes in the stadium on you. There’s nothing else to watch — it’s pregame, after all, and Pitt football has yet to take the field for its 2019 opener against Virginia. There’s nothing for fans to do but watch this yellow-clad, tall-hatted spectacle of a person marching ostentatiously downfield to the 50-yard line. “The strut is very taxing,” senior Crissy Shannon, Pitt band’s drum major, said. But the strut is part of the job, so the show must go on. Next comes the hard part — the bend. All the way back until your head touches the ground, like a handless crab walk. Some drum majors use the tall plume of their cap as an advantage — not Shannon. She removes the cap and pauses, either for dramatic effect or to compose herself for the ensuing feat of showmanship. Legs spread at shoulder width apart, hands on her hips, she begins to bend her knees forward while simultaneously leaning backward. “This was like, two years ago, but I used to think to myself, ‘If I ever go out there and I’m not sure if I can make it, that would be horrible,” Shannon said. “That would be a terrible feeling, I’d be so scared.” But there’s nothing for Shannon to be scared of now — not after countless sessions of trial and error in her bedroom, placing pillows on the floor and practicing the backbend until she no longer needed the cushioned landing. She keeps bending under an invisible limbo bar until her back is parallel to the ground, then finally cocks her head back and touches it to the turf, even adding a fist pump as a show of confidence. After waiting in tension, the Heinz Field crowd erupts in applause. “I’m told that girls would have an easier time doing a backbend because, I don’t know, something about your center of gravity,” Shannon said. “Because
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Crissy Shannon is Pitt’s first female drum major. Thomas Yang assistant visual editor
guys have their center of gravity closer to their shoulders, it’s apparently more difficult for them to stay upright.” It’s ironic, then, that female drum majors might actually enjoy a slight performance advantage over men. Because for the first 107 years of Pitt Band, the position was held strictly by male students. Women were not permitted to join until 1972. To Shannon, the whole idea of being Pitt’s first female drum major didn’t occur to her in the beginning. After arriving on campus as a first-year student, she just knew it was something she wanted to do eventually. “When I first saw that run-out, I was like, ‘Oh, that is so sick. I totally want to do that,’” she said. “And it didn’t really cross my mind whether or not a woman had done it before. I didn’t realize that
no one had ever done it.” Becoming Pitt’s drum major just seemed like a natural progression. Shannon had earned the same position as a senior at New Jersey’s Midland Park High School before coming to Pitt. After originally planning not to participate in college marching band at all, she changed her mind and joined the program’s mellophone section in her first year. She switched to tuba as a sophomore before finally becoming an assistant drum major in her junior year, putting her in prime position to take over the lead role as a senior. “It didn’t seem like an insurmountable barrier to me,” Shannon said. In her role as drum major, Shannon’s responsibilities include more than just touching her head to the ground. She See Shannon on page 12
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Haba [Baldonado] played solid. [Baldonado] played what we kind of thought he would, and we are very, very encouraged with Haba, as well.” Unfortunately, this afternoon Pitt lost another one of its more experienced defensive linemen. Redshirt junior Keyshon Camp suffered a season-ending knee injury on Saturday. The defensive line, once thought to be a strength of this Pitt team, has been depleted. Looking toward Saturday, Ohio is far from the cakewalk Pitt fans may expect. Ohio has been picked to win the MAC this year after a 9-4 season last year. The young defensive line will have to step up against a potent Ohio rushing attack that went for 278 yards last week. Tackling is going to be a huge factor in this game if the Panthers want to slow down the Bobcats. Narduzzi spoke to the challenges Ohio will bring. “And then you’ve got Ohio U coming in here, who I think is a 1-0 football team, picked to win the MAC,” Narduzzi said. “It’ll be a challenge at 11 a.m. on Saturday, that’s for sure. Again, preseason MAC champion. That’s what they’re calling for. We get lucky enough to get them.” To win on Saturday, the Panthers offense has to make strides. We saw a glimpse of how good the offense could be in the second quarter when it seemed like everything was working right for Kenny Pickett and the rest of his unit. If it can build on that quarter, the offense can become very exciting and if not, fans will get a preview of a long season.
PREDICTION PITT: 30, OHIO: 21
The Panthers’ offense has playmakers in sophomore running back V’Lique Carter and senior wide receiver Maurice Ffrench. Carter specifically didn’t have a good game against Virginia. Expect a breakout game from him and the offense as a whole. Pitt’s defense will try and find a way to replace Camp’s production and build on a game that had bright moments defensively. An experienced secondary looks to continue to build on chemistry they are starting to form and Pitt will win by more than a touchdown.
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game against Virginia — drives where Pickett had the Panthers moving down the field with speed and efficiency, along with plenty of quick three-and-outs with missed throws. Despite this, something felt different from last year. When offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s system was clicking, it was really clicking, and it looked like the perfect complement to Pickett’s skill set. This being the case, I think that Pickett deserves the opportunity to grow more comfortable with Whipple and show what the two can do together. Whipple’s system is too pass-heavy and won’t work as well as Pitt’s ground-and-pound 2018 offense. SK: Disagree. The Panthers’ air raid offense looked efficient multiple times during the Virginia game. If Whipple can get the offense to execute his game plan, then Pitt could have a high-powered offense. The Panthers’ defense also looked very good in the home opener, which should help the offense. ST: Disagree. I think that Whipple’s system
is exactly what Pitt’s offense needs. From what I saw against Virginia, Pitt will look to keep the tempo up and air the ball out, with plenty of opportunities for Pickett to use his legs to make something out of nothing. When this formula was working, I saw a Pitt offense with an identity. Pickett looked comfortable passing and running, and he led the Panthers down the field with confidence. Not only do I think that this style complements Pickett, I also think that it will showcase Pitt’s talented cast of athletic receivers — senior Maurice Ffrench, redshirt junior Taysir Mack and redshirt senior Tre Tipton. This being said, there were certainly kinks to be worked out after Saturday’s loss, but I’d argue that they had little to do with the system. Dropped balls, missed throws and lapses in pass protection — these are first-game jitters, not systemic flaws. Also, what exactly is to be missed about the ground-and-pound offense of 2018? An underwhelming 25.6 points per game, a concerning 141.8 passing yards per game or maybe the
below-average 369.7 total yards per game? Change wouldn’t be so bad, and I’m ready to see what Whipple can bring to the table. The Panthers will finish as a top-three team in the ACC Coastal. SK: Disagree. The Panthers just don’t have the talent to compete with teams like Virginia and Miami. Virginia looked nowhere near as good as expected against Pitt and still won handily, 30-14. The Panthers’ schedule also includes Penn State, Syracuse, UCF, Virginia Tech and Miami, which are all very difficult games. ST: Disagree. Miami. Virginia Tech. Virginia. That’s why Pitt won’t be a top-three team in the ACC Coastal. Pitt’s reign as ACC Coastal champions will be short-lived because they simply lack the talent to match up with these conference competitors. Miami will be back with a vengeance to reclaim its top spot after a disappointing 2018, while Virginia looks to follow the lead of dynamic senior quarterback Bryce Perkins. The Cavaliers already showed what they’re capable of in Week 1 against Pitt. Lastly, Virginia Tech is looking to redeem itself from a disappointing 2018 effort. The Hokies have serious offensive weapons in WR duo Damon Hazelton and Tre Turner, as well as an experienced senior quarterback in Ryan Willis. They are poised for major improvement. Pitt just doesn’t seem to have the firepower to match up with these three teams. Additionally, a tough out-of-conference schedule could be detrimental to Pitt’s play within conference.
The drum major is certainly tasked with a lot of responsibility — after the band director and assistant band director, they’re next in the chain of command. It’s the highest position a student can attain without being hired to the University staff. Though it didn’t originally occur to Shannon, some of her bandmates spoke about the significance of seeing a female student reach the highest level within the program. “To have a female finally reach that position is a pretty big deal,” senior mellophonist Annalise Shaffer said. “That was the last thing in Pitt band that a female hadn’t reached … It is a big deal, after 108 years, to finally get a female drum major.” Shaffer also sees a side of Shannon that many aren’t exposed to, considering
the two are roommates. She spoke about her friend’s Napoleon complex and that she often makes people forget that she’s barely 5 feet tall. “She’s like the biggest personality possible in this tiny frame,” Shaffer said. “She also has this really fiery personality, like she’s always really hype. Even if we had a long practice and it’s a hard time, she’s there, still with a positive attitude, making sure that we’re doing our best and succeeding.” Junior piccolo player Bre McVay added that seeing Shannon in the role gave other women on the team a sense of empowerment. “It’s nice seeing representation in that position,” she said. “I’m not sure I’d ever go out for drum major, but I feel more so that I could now that I see Crissy in that position.”
If there was a moment when Shannon truly realized the significance of her achievement, it happened after last Saturday’s pregame performance, when Pitt band alumni from years past came to talk to her. Their stories and words of encouragement reminded her of a notso-distant past when the idea of a female drum major still seemed outright ridiculous. Her accomplishment, in many ways, means more to them than it does to herself. “It’s very, very important to alumni of the band — women who, in the ’80s, tried out and were flat-out just told ‘No. You’re not allowed to be the drum major because you’re a woman,’” Shannon said. “There were alumni of the band who came up to me after the pregame and were like ‘Wow. I cried when you hit midfield.’ That’s crazy.”
Reactions, pg. 8 Lastly, something to plant a seed of optimism: The last time Pitt football had the same head coach for more than three seasons was under Dave Wannstedt from 2005 to 2010. In his first four seasons, Wannstedt amassed a concerning 25-23 record. In his next two years, the Panthers went 17-8 with a 5-2 conference record both seasons. Good head coaches need time to build a program, and I believe that Narduzzi is a good head coach. A below-.500 season with a competitive schedule does not mean that we have to throw everything out and start over with someone new. Narduzzi needs to start seriously considering other options at quarterback. SK: Disagree. Junior quarterback Kenny Pickett showed numerous flashes during the game, especially in the running game. Notably, the wide receiver and offensive line play around Pickett was poor. Getting senior wideout Maurice Ffrench touches is a must to help Pickett. ST: Disagree. Again, I don’t think we need to be so quick to demand people get their jobs taken away. Pickett has shown that he has the potential to lead a football team. Maybe I’m living in an idealized past, but we can’t just forget that in his first start for Pitt he led the Panthers to a 24-14 upset over No. 2 Miami. The guy’s ceiling is high. Despite flashes of brilliance like this, I admit that he’s had a chronic issue of underperforming. We saw some of this in Saturday night’s
Shannon, pg. 11 has to call out commands and help teach new members of the band how to march. She also must get up on the ladder and be ready to conduct the band during performances. As the intermediary between the press box and the band members, this can be a tricky task. Shannon has to start and cut off the band during specific breaks in the action — if they play through the snap, they can be called for a penalty by the referee. “That made me super nervous because people will go on message boards online and talk trash on the school’s drum major if you don’t do a good job,” Shannon said. “Most people don’t know how it works, and they don’t know that it falls on your shoulders. But you definitely feel that responsibility.”
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Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple joined the team this season. Thomas Yang assistant visual editor
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Penn State, pg. 9 level the series. In 2018, Penn State ran over Pitt in the second half of a game filled with an unimaginable amount of mistakes made on special teams by the Panthers in rainy conditions, as they scored 37 unanswered points and won 51-6 at Heinz Field. With the teams’ upcoming matchup being their last for a long time, it’s important to know how we got here and what it means for the rivalry going forward. Both schools have been bickering since the 1980s, when conferences were beginning to dominate college football. It’s imperative to note that Pitt and Penn State were independents in college football up until the early 1990s, but Pitt made a bold choice in 1982 to join the Big East conference. While Pitt joining a conference might seem like a non-issue, it was a big one to former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. He wanted to create an Eastern Sports conference that would include schools like Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College, West Virginia and Temple. The schools would not only be united in geography and sports, but also academics. To Paterno’s chagrin, the schools spurned
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his wish, with Syracuse and Boston College joining the Big East in 1979 and Pitt joining three years later. Because of this, many believe that Paterno held a grudge against Pitt for not joining his conference and led to the rivalry being on hold from 1993 to 1996. Paterno also requested Penn State have two home games at Beaver Stadium for every game in Pittsburgh. His rationale was based on the fact that most of the games were played in Pittsburgh, because the old Pitt Stadium used to have greater capacity than PSU’s Beaver Stadium. Pitt was adamant that the rivalry be hosted at each location every other year and this lead to the rivalry being dormant for 16 years. Conference realignment has also made it more difficult for both teams to play each other. Penn State plays nine Big Ten games, leaving only three non-conference games. Pitt has eight ACC games and four nonconference games. When they were both independents from the 1890s to the 1990s, scheduling wasn’t difficult. But with the amount of conference games that are now played, these rivalries have to be scheduled years in advance. Also, each team having the other as a non-conference opponent makes their
schedule harder than just playing an easier mid-major team or FCS team. With the 2016 season ending and the Nittany Lions missing out on the College Football Playoff despite winning the Big Ten title and beating Ohio State, they still fell short because they finished 10-2 while the Buckeyes were 11-1. This also ties into Penn State having an already tough schedule in the future with in-conference teams like Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State as well as non-conference opponents like Auburn, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Playing Pitt while also playing these teams doesn’t make much sense when it’s evident that having a better overall record is more important than strength of schedule. But don’t give the Nittany Lions too much credit, as their smugness and arrogance toward Pitt has been around for decades. Penn State head coach James Franklin, after the 2017 win, said that Pitt viewed its win against them as “their super bowl,” while beating Pitt to them was “like beating Akron.” This attitude toward Pitt is a sad and ignorant one for those who support Penn State to have. For a rivalry that has so much potential to be great due to prox-
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imity and quality of both programs, seeing that Penn State could care less about the rivalry is tough for a Pitt fan to take. With conference realignment, Pitt doesn’t have many real rivals in the ACC, with Syracuse being the closest, although it’s much more of a basketball rivalry. Long gone are the days of playing the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia every year in the Big East, as well as playing Notre Dame most years, especially during the ’90s, 2000s and earlier in this decade. While the Backyard Brawl is resurrected for 2022 to 2025, the feel of the rivalry during conference years won’t be there and may sadly fall into the same trap that this recent Penn State rivalry has had. Notre Dame, which does play ACC opponents, only plays Pitt sporadically eight times until 2036, lessening the rivalry’s importance. The Pitt-Penn State rivalry could be one of the best in college football. Still, the bitterness between the two that has occurred over the centuries, conference realignment and pompousness has gotten in the way of a great game for all college football fans to enjoy.
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