Vol. 105 Issue 44
@thepittnews
Pittnews.com
Monday, October 6, 2014
FALL FEST
Fight to the death?
Bethel Habte on partisan politics
page 3
In free fall
Late comeback not enough for Pitt
page 5
Meghan Summers | Staff Photographer
Hoodie Allen freestyled to a crowd of students on Bigelow Boulevard Sunday at Pitt’s annual fall concert Hunter Bergman and Dale Shoemaker The Pitt News Staff A few hours before he threw a cake into the crowd on Bigelow Boulevard, Hoodie Allen learned facts and trivia about Pitt in his William Pitt Union dressing room. Steven Adam Markowitz, also
known as Hoodie Allen, of Long Island, N.Y., headlined this year’s Fall Fest on Sunday, which Pitt Program Council sponsored. Allen delivered some of his most popular songs along with a mix of freestyle raps about all things Pitt: the Cathedral of Learning, Primanti Bros. and Pitt’s school rivals Penn State University and West Virginia University.
While on stage, Allen also took the opportunity to celebrate his drummer’s birthday. “We have a surprise for you,” Allen said to the drummer. “But first we have to sing. I need everyone to sing along.” He held his mic out to the crowd
Fall Fest
2
Nail biter
Pitt Volleyball struggles against ranked opponent
page 5
2
October 6, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com “Hoodie Allen just threw a cake at the audience during Cake Boy #aminlove” @kittentacos
“Hoodie Allen doing a Sweet Caroline rap, okay you’re kinda cool” @684PDV_vitaminK “Casually taking a library break going to a chiddy bang and hoodie allen concert across the street” @breeet31 FROM PAGE 1
FALL FEST and, together, they sang “Happy Birthday.” “Okay, we have something for you,” he said to the drummer. A stagehand came forward with a birthday cake. He handed it to Allen, who hoisted it above his head. “We got you a cake,” he said. He walked to the front of the stage and threw the cake into the crowd. It exploded into fragments of icing and landed in the middle of the crowd. The crowd cheered again, and someone tossed pieces back at the stage. One chunk almost landed on Hoodie’s shoes. Allen wasn’t the only performer at Fall Fest. Chiddy Bang, an American hip-hop recording artist whose real name is Chidera Anamega, opened for Allen. Though both acts are currently touring together, Kim Nguyen, PPC event director, said PPC didn’t plan them as a package deal for Fall Fest. Chiddy Bang performed his songs “Mind Your Manners” and “Ray Charles,” among others, to a crowd jumping and singing along. “It was a great way to take your mind off of things,” said Jacky Chen, a junior majoring in neuroscience. The Brothers Craig, a band comprised of three Pitt roommates, started the show. The band won PPC’s Battle of the Bands competi-
tion on Sept. 25 to earn their spot to open for Chiddy Bang. The Brothers Craig — Stephen Kraus, Paul Carey and Jack Loeffler — performed songs about Pitt’s social scene and Greek life. Loeffler, a junior communication major and singer and guitarist and percussionist for The Brothers Craig, said the crowd was much bigger than anything they’ve played before, which made it an unforgettable experience. “My favorite part was playing our ‘Billie Jean’/‘Get Lucky’ mashup,” Loeffler said. “Stephen and Paul brought the house down with their epic djembe and guitar duet they did towards the end.” Kraus, a junior information science major and also a singer, drummer and guitarist for the band, said the experience was incredible. “I’m a huge fan of both Chiddy [Bang] and Hoodie [Allen], and being given the opportunity to open for such talented artists was awesome,” Kraus said. Students at Fall Fest also had free access to spin art, airbrush tattoos, caricatures and caramel apples on the WPU patio area prior to and during the concert. Brittany Wilson, PPC’s public relations director, said approximately 2,000 people attended the event, which ended at 4:30 p.m. Fall Fest takes months to plan, Nguyen said. PPC began organizing the event last semester, and Nguyen said they decided on Allen and Chiddy Bang after whittling down a list of more than 100 possible artists. After brainstorming possible artists, Nguyen and PPC contacted their talent manager, who is not affiliated with the University, to get in touch with artists and discuss pricing information. PPC then chose Allen and Chiddy Bang. “They’re just really normal,” Nguyen said. “And they really love their fans.” For some students, Fall Fest can be an event to look forward to every year. “For a Sunday afternoon, the whole school gets together to listen and hang out,” freshman Anita Shim said.
Did you know? After graduating from University of Pennsylvania, Hoodie Allen quit his job at Google to become a rapper.
October 6, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
EDITORIAL
3
OPINIONS Plastic bags: Itʼs time to put up or shut up
Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a bill of global proportions, banning an item that has caused copious amounts of environmental degradation. The newly banned item is the dreaded plastic bag. California has officially become the first state in the nation to fully ban single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores. At first glance, this may seem like an overreaction — plastic bags don’t seem all that threatening. Yet, in passing this ban, which will take effect in July 2015, California has taken a monumental step towards ensuring the integrity of the environment. That’s because plastic bags really are extremely threatening. And their danger lies not in the amount of Nutella they can hold without breaking but in what happens before and after we use them at the grocery store. Approximately 100 billion plastic
shopping bags are used in the United States every year, and it takes about 12 million barrels of oil to make them. Of course, the use of oil presents environmental concerns in and of itself — the burning of oil releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and burning 12 million barrels of it must produce a huge amount of greenhouse gases. But this also poses an economical concern: why are we wasting so much oil on producing something that we don’t even need? Post-production and post-grocery store, the plastic bag poses further environmental and economic threats. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean. It’s self-evident why this poses a threat to the environment. But imagine how much this could cost a government to clean up, or even how much it costs businesses like the
fishing industry when marine animals mistakenly ingest these bags and die as a result. Also, only 1 to 2 percent of plastic bags in the United States ever get recycled, leading to the production of more plastic bags and a larger appearance in our oceans. Taking environmental issues into consideration, it is easy to see that the negative effects of plastic bags far outweigh the minor convenience of using them. Thankfully, the people of California have realized this but has Pitt? Currently, the University has a policy of BYOB, or Bring Your Own Bag, for all campus restaurants and convenience stores to encourage students to bring their own bags, rather than using plastic. But, as long as they use fewer than 15 per semester, students can still receive plastic bags when checking out. Think about it this way: when you go
to a BYOB party, do you expect to drink if you don’t bring your own? No, that would defeat the point — no one’s going to say, “Oh it’s cool, you can have some beer as long as you limit it to three or four.” That wouldn’t be a BYOB party then, would it? Pitt needs to initiate an actual BYOB policy, one that doesn’t provide plastic bags at all — like that in California. Pitt should do this not because we, as college students, take the concept of BYOB seriously, but because of the environmental consequences listed above. And if we as a University want to come forward and say that we are environmentally progressive, then we should be willing to inconvenience ourselves slightly for such a pertinent issue. Seeing how much damage plastic bags cause, we can’t take a middleground on this issue if we are serious about protecting the environment. It’s either all or nothing.
COLUMN
Surviving partisan politics will take compromise Bethel Habte Columnist
When children misbehave, you give them a time out. When Congress misbehaves, you strand its members on a remote island and allow the threat of imminent death to reconcile their differences. That’s exactly what the Discovery Channel plans on doing with its new show, “Rival Survival,” which premieres Oct. 29. “Rival Survival” is hardly novel in design. It follows the typical reality television model by fulfilling our desire to watch people endure life in “remote” locations. But it’s inventive in presenting contestants who aren’t competing
for love, money or even a sense of unity with nature. Instead, the show will pluck two U.S. senators of opposing political parties from their daily lives and drop them with minimal resources on Erdu in the Marshall Islands . The senators must survive on the island for a week without outside aid or contact. The central idea is that the contestants will ultimately set political differences aside if they hope to survive the week. Although it’s encouraging to think that opposing political parties can work cohesively, I still hope that bipartisanship is presented not only as a survival tactic, but as a viable means of achieving legislative goals.
It’s become common practice in politics to vehemently promote a party’s personal agenda before acceding to compromise. “Rival Survival” will come during the climax of the midterm elections, and many voters are holding their breath as they wait to see who will maintain control of the House and the Senate. A Gallup poll from September showed that approval of Congress is a low 14 percent. Additionally, 66 percent of voters will be more likely to vote in this election than they were in past elections, mainly because of the widespread disapproval of Congress. The trends seem to show that voters are distancing themselves from political loyalty and focusing more on their de-
sire to see the resolvement of several key issues, like healthcare and immigration. And Congress cannot solve these issues as long as legislators favor ideology over compromise. The current voter disapproval should be sending candidates a clear message: the American people have tired of their impassioned ideologies, preferring the perhaps more revolutionary approach of collaboration. Unfortunately, the representatives in office have, during this past term, disregarded the interests of Americans — leading to a gridlock, filibusters and a government shutdown over the issues Americans expect their legislators to
Habte
4
4
October 6, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
FROM PAGE 3
HABTE solve. This is why “Rival Survival” will attract high ratings, as it depicts a rarity: politicians working together. While it’s sad that, for the time being, we have to turn to television to witness political cohesion, voters can solve the
THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com
Cristina Holtzer, News Editor news@pittnews.com
Nick Voutsinos, Opinions Editor letters@pittnews.com
Shawn Cooke, A&E Editor
aande@pittnews.com Chris Puzia, Sports Editor sports@pittnews.com
Theo Schwarz, Visual Editor photos@pittnews.com
Ellie Petrosky, Copy Chief tpncopydesk@gmail.com
Stephen Caruso, Layout Editor tpnlayout@gmail.com
problem of government inaction this November. To do this, they must elect candidates who are willing to collaborate and dismiss those with fierce attachments to their ideologies. But, if that doesn’t work, we could always move congressional sessions to Erdu. The island apparently has quite the uncanny ability to inspire a spirit of bipartisanship. Write to Bethel at beh56@pitt.edu.
E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0
Mahita Gajanan, Managing Editor manager@pittnews.com
Danielle Fox, Assistant News Editor Harrison Kaminsky, Assistant News Editor Matt Barnes, Assistant Opinions Editor Dan Sostek, Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Ahearn, Assistant Visual Editor Zheru Liu, Multimedia Editor Joelle Smith, Social Media Editor Becca Nagy, Assistant Copy Chief Emily Hower, Assistant Layout Editor
Copy Staff
Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das Kinley Gillette Johanna Helba Emily Maccia Sam McGinley
Bridget Montgomery Sarah Mejia Shivani Pandit Michelle Reagle Michael Wilson Megan Zagorski
Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left. The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff,- fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.
advertising@pittnews.com
Kevin Vanover, Business Manager Advertising@pittnews.com
Kelsey McConville, Inside Sales Manager
David Barr, Sales Manager
advertising@pittnews.com
advertising@pittnews.com
Account Executives Maxwell Hine Jordan Bullock Robert Capone Rosalyn Nye Antonio Blundo Joe Leone Joe Kloecker Mackenzie Walsh Sean Leone Jordyn Aungst
Matt Reilly
Inside Sales Nicole Barrett Victoria Hetrick Julia McKay
Digital Manager Stephen Ellis
Marketing Manager Kristine Aprile
Senior Universal Account Executive
Marketing Assistant
Ad Designer Mark Janavel
Rachael Hoge
October 6, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
COLUMN
5
SPORTS
Pitt must decrease penalties, turnovers after bye week We’re going to make it a good bye week with a chance to come back and play a good Virginia Tech team.” There are many areas on which the Panthers need to focus during their week off, but the one area that appears to be in dire need of improvement comes on the sideline, as the offensive play-calling over the past three weeks has been stale, repetitive and predictable. Every time starting running back James Conner was in the backfield, Virginia was ready for the run, holding the bruiser to just 83 yards on 21 carries. Despite freshman Chris James taking his first carry of the game for 15 yards early in the first quarter, as well as senior Isaac Bennett going for 23 yards on his only rush, Chryst seemed hesitant to run the ball with anyone but Conner. The Panthers also struggled to get star sophomore receiver Tyler Boyd a significant amount of touches. Boyd was well-covered by Virginia most of the night, finishing with
Dan Sostek Assistant Sports Editor The Pittsburgh Panthers, in the midst of a three-game losing streak following their 24-19 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, are entering their first bye week of the 2014 season. And, from the looks of it, it comes at an optimal time. After an explosive and promising start to the season, in which Pitt jumped out to a 3-0 record and averaged nearly 45 points per game, the Panthers have sputtered, unable to thrive in any facet of the game for a consistent amount of time. During the three-game losing streak, the team has seen its fair share of turnovers (four) and penalties (25), while struggling heavily on third down conversions — the team was just 15 for 42 during the span. Pitt head coach Paul Chryst is optimistic about squeezing some productivity out of the bye. “You always want to play again,” the third-year head coach said after the loss. “But we’re going to make the most of it.
A late comeback was not enough, as Pitt lost 24-19. Jeff Ahearn | Assistant Visual Editor
Football
6
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball loses to ranked opponent for second loss of season Caitlin Hinsey Staff Writer
A strong non-conference showing was probably what contributed to the 600plus spectators that packed the Fitzgerald Field House on Friday, but passing and blocking issues spoiled the Pitt volleyball team’s chances to upset the first ranked team it played this year. The Panthers lost their second game of the year Friday evening to the UNC Tar Heels in five sets. The narrow loss ended the team’s eight-match winning streak as well. Members of the Pitt Band, Pitt Cheer and Pitt Dance came to support the team
as it took on the No. 12 Tar Heels. Ultimately, Pitt lost 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25 and 15-10. “We competed really well. Our heart was in it,” middle blocker Amanda Orchard said. “We fell short.” Orchard, who had 10 kills, admitted that “they blocked us a lot.” The Tar Heels recorded 18 blocks on the night, 10 more than the Panthers. Coach Dan Fisher agreed. “I thought our middles offensively were good on the night,” he said. “I didn’t think any of our pins [outsides and right sides] really had their best night ... We were a little off sync offensively the whole night, so that’s something we need to
work on to get better.” Offensively, the Panthers struggled to string together quality plays despite outhitting their opponent, leading the kill count 61-48. Kate Yeazel, Jessica Wynn and Orchard each finished with doubledigit kills, with 13, 11 and 11, respectively. Wynn’s eighth kill of the evening put her over 1,000 in her career. “We didn’t pass the ball well enough tonight, and then we were running our offense way too much from 20 feet,” Fisher said. But Fisher added that passing wasn’t the biggest problem Pitt faced. “That is a lot of blocks, but to me the bigger problem is 14 aces,” he said.
UNC tallied 14 aces through five sets while Pitt, also a strong serving team, had seven, including two from setter Lindsey Zitzke, making her Pitt’s all-time record leader in that category. The Panthers surprised the Tar Heels in the first set by exchanging points throughout most of the set. Late in the set, UNC scored four straight points, including three from errors by Orchard, libero Delaney Clesen and outside hitter/ opposite Casey Durham and went on to win the set. More back-and-forth scoring started the second, but, eventually, the Panthers
Volleyball
6
October 6, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
FROM PAGE 5
FOOTBALL just three receptions for 63 yards and two rushes for eight yards. Pitt should take more advantage of Boyd’s skill and versatility. Boyd was a high school quarterback and running back, and the team could utilize him as more than just a wide out. Whether it be lining him up as a tailback or even creating a wildcat package with him taking the snaps, there are more ways for Boyd to impact the game than just running routes and jet sweeps. “I’m the type of player that wants to make plays for my team and try to win,” said Boyd, who also took one of his two punt returns for 45 yards Saturday night. “I just try to make something happen.” Going into this bye week, the team must
make adjustments on the offensive side of the ball. But the team also needs to maintain — or perhaps regain — a level of focus if it wants to beat the Hokies in the following week. “I feel like we just have to stay tight,” Boyd said. “We’re going to leave, and we’re going to have a couple days off, but I still feel like we need to stay in touch with each other and make sure everybody is doing the right things. Don’t fall into any dumb things that can hurt the team.” Linebacker Todd Thomas was more succinct when talking about the timing of the week off. “It’s going to be all right,” said Thomas, who played arguably his best game of the season on Saturday. “We’re going to get our bodies right and minds right, and we’re going to lock in even more and get ready for this big game coming up.”
There are more ways for Boyd to impact the game than just running routes and jet sweeps.
FROM PAGE 5
VOLLEYBALL took advantage of the Tar Heels’ lackadaisical play and went up 20-8. After eight set points, Pitt finished off the visitors to tie the match up. The momentum of set two carried over into set three for Pitt, who easily handled its opponent and extended its lead to 18-12, with kills coming from six players during that stretch. UNC once again fought back, but service aces from Mariah Bell and Zitzke started and ended the Panthers’ final streak. The Tar Heels returned to form in set four. UNC went up 6-2, causing Pitt to call an early timeout. Unable to find a consistent rhythm on both offense and defense, the Panthers never led in the set, while the Tar Heels recorded seven aces and won the fourth set. “They made some adjustments late and started getting by our middles a couple times,” Fisher said of the set. The Tar Heels also won the decisive final set, taking a quick 8-3 comeback
The Pitt News Crossword, 10/6/2014
6
ACROSS 1 Pinky-side arm bone 5 Vibrate 10 Lurking locale 14 Ferrari parent company 15 Spanish royal 16 Furnish anew 17 “A Total Departure” hotel chain 18 Put into effect 19 Took too much 20 Neapolitan kin 22 Massage beneficiary 24 Sticky stuff 25 Earth, in Essen 26 Cold, for one 28 Anchor man? 31 Occurring as an isolated instance 32 “Me too!” 33 Work hard 34 Baylor Bears’ home 38 “My Honky Tonk History” album maker Travis 39 First note of a tuba solo? 40 Kept from sticking 41 On its way 42 Pour affection (on) 43 Catty 44 Extremely foolish 46 Macbeth’s “fatal vision” 47 Sprint, for one 50 Minor players 51 Color-coded EPA meas. 52 Prefix with athlete 53 Cold one 57 Failure 59 Shows up in time for 61 Sews up 62 Athens apéritif 63 Dante’s love 64 Dundee dissents 65 Bone: Pref. 66 Two sheets to the wind? 67 Villain named Julius DOWN 1 Tabloid craft 2 It can result from favoring one side
to trail only 11-9. UNC scored four of the next five points to beat the Panthers. “We really hung with them but ... we let our emotions get the best of us in the tight situations,” Clesen said. “It’s the first time we’ve really been in a tight situation where we know we can play with this team and just kind of didn’t have it out there.” Fisher said the Panthers wouldn’t have hung around as much as they did against their ranked opponent if not for Clesen. The libero had a game-high 25 digs. “I don’t know what we would have done without her ... her defense was phenomenal,” Fisher said. “We had girls on our team that had two digs and she had 25. That’s a pretty remarkable stat. She was everywhere in the backcourt. It was a great night for her.” Fisher said the loss will be a learning experience for the team. “The positive, I think, is that the girls know that they can win against these kinds of teams,” he said. “We need to have a little bit more composure and pass the ball a little better in the big games in order to win and keep working at it.”
10/17/14
By Pancho Harrison
3 Sitcom sign-off word 4 1973-’74 Jim Croce hit, aptly 5 All the rage 6 1932 Lake Placid gold medalist 7 River inlet 8 1964 Marvin Gaye/Mary Wells hit, aptly 9 Barbara Gordon’s alter ego 10 Good buddy 11 Window __ 12 Ancient theater 13 Title character absent from the cast 21 Round trip? 23 Suffix with pay 27 1989 Bette Midler hit, aptly 28 Droop-nosed fliers 29 Sported 30 Match point, maybe 31 Like a well-used chimney 33 1936 Eddy Duchin hit, aptly 35 Sacha Baron Cohen persona
Thursday’s Puzzle Solved
©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
36 Yield 37 Frankfurt’s river 40 Oklahoma native 42 Something that may hide a key 45 Canadian Thanksgiving mo. 46 Big name in the Big Band Era 47 Verboten 48 Shaffer play about a stableboy
10/17/14
49 Symphonic poem pioneer 50 Ones with “ears” on their trucks 54 Lasting mark 55 Finely honed 56 “That __ last week!” 58 Corn site 60 Keystone lawman