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November 18, 2016

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Correction: In The Pitt News’ Nov. 16 edition, a photograph that accompanied “Students break boards, stereotypes during Islam Awareness Week” was incorrectly captioned. The photograph was not of Sohail Sadique, but of Sana Mahmood, an undergraduate student at the University. The Pitt News regrets this error.

Working together: shared office spaces take off

Mortuary school students, New York Times best-selling authors and meat traders have all worked in East Liberty’s The Beauty Shoppe. Left, Courtesy of The Beauty Shoppe, RIght, Courtesy of Revv Oakland

Brady Langmann

Culture Editor It’s like the setup to a classic joke: An office manager assigns a toymaker, book editor, marketing director and a New York Times best-selling author to a four-desk grouping in a tiny space.

But instead of a punchline or antics worthy of “The Office,” the members of The Beauty Shoppe in East Liberty — a shared office building that offers membership on a month-to-month basis — ended up getting along.

Marissa Fogel, The Beauty Shoppe’s general manager, said the group takes walks during lunch breaks, meets for dinner some nights and schedules playdates for their children to play with each other on weekends.

“That opportunity would otherwise never have been available to those four people in their individual silos,” Fogel said. “But now, suddenly, when thrust into this co-working environment, they’re exposed to these peo-

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ple who they didn’t have a choice of who they sat next to. They were assigned a desk and then out of it these kind of beautiful relationships developed.”

Friendships like those budding at The Beauty Shoppe are becoming more common in Pittsburgh, as demand for co-working spaces increases amongst freelancers, local small businesses and entrepreneurs.

According to a June 2016 Forbes article, the popularity of shared workspaces has risen as millennials continue moving to major cities and the amount of U.S. freelancers soars. According to a Deskmag survey, the number of co-working spaces has risen from about 5,000 to 7,800 offices worldwide, a 36 percent rise between 2014 and 2015.

There are about 15 shared offices in Pittsburgh, including The Beauty Shoppe, which has two offices in East Liberty, as well as Revv on Meyran Avenue, which houses Uber and NoWait, a restaurant reservations app. There are also co-working spaces that

have turned into startup incubators over the last five years, like Allentown’s Work Hard Pittsburgh.

Desks and small private offices at The Beauty Shoppe — which takes its name from the office’s past life, a beauty salon on Penn Avenue — range from $45 for a desk, to $350 for an office that holds up to 20 people, all on a monthly membership basis. The Beauty Shoppe makes most of its money from membership dues, but it occasionally rents its conference rooms to out-of-towners looking for a space to meet. This price range is typical in Pittsburgh — Uptown’s HackPittsburgh charges $30 a month for membership, while Lawrenceville’s Catapult offers flexible desks for $50 a month.

Pittsburgh’s working spaces aren’t just for laptops and the business casual crowd, either. Sharpsburg’s La Dorita is a shared kitchen — meaning about 25 culinary startups share a commercial cookery. Gaston Oria, La Dorita’s chief operating officer, said

November 18, 2016

that although he sometimes wishes he had a kitchen of that size to himself, La Dorita has saved him money and introduced him to peers who now give him business advice.

“All of us, we [want] our own brick and mortar space, but the reality is much different.” Oria said, adding, “It puts you in contact with other people in your shoes that will advise you.”

According to Fogel, working in a shared office space has advantages over telecommuting, or a large, business workplace stuffed full of cubicles. Instead of 40 levels of similar-looking floor layouts like a traditional corporation’s office, The Beauty Shoppe looks like it would fit right into Silicon Valley, California, with a red-gray color scheme and floral arrangements scattered across high-top wooden tables. For about $100 a month, a small business or entrepreneur can have amenities such as high-speed internet, unlimited printing and unlimited coffee, not See Workspaces on page 11

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Pittsburghers and the affordable housing crisis Janine Faust

working and increased competition for residential and commercial space, as causes of the decrease in affordable housing.

“Concurrently, an economic shift toward the service sector, a widening wage gap and slow growth in real wages across the country have created conditions that make paying for housing more challenging for an increasing portion of the country’s population,” the report said.

McMillan said she came to the Housing Summit to call attention to the poor housing in many Pittsburgh communities and to meet other individuals working to improve their neighborhoods.

McMillan and her neighbors formed the De Ruad Residence Council in Uptown in 2013 to fix the problems themselves. Together, they pool funds and appeal for grants from community and government programs to raise money to address their needs.

“We try to get actual professionals in to fix up our utilities, and whenever we get a new resident, we welcome them with cleaning supplies and a list of local cleaning and handyman services and the like,” McMillan said.

In addition to issues with utilities and cleanliness, the housing crisis has led to homelessness, housing instability, the “doubling up” of two or more families in one house and gentrification, according to Desiree Fields, an urban geographer and lecturer at the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.

While the housing crisis primarily affects low-income families, the middle class also suffers repercussions through negative equity –– which occurs when the assessed value of a home falls below the amount still owed on the mortgage. Negative equity, combined with a severe loss of mortgage credit available for borrowers to pay off debts, can leave members of the middle class unable to afford new homes. Younger generations, including college students, also feel the effects of the crisis.

“The burden of student debt and the difficulty of finding jobs combined with the rising cost of rent and house pricing is causing more students to delay moving out of their family household and becoming homeowners,” Fields said.

Staff Writer

When Mischelle McMillan was a teenager growing up in early ‘70s Pittsburgh, she lived among rats, roaches, mold and sparking electrical plugs.

McMillan said she lived in unsafe and unsanitary housing with her family because it was all they could afford. After moving from Mon Valley to Uptown, McMillan — now 60 years old — is still living in affordable Pittsburgh housing.

According to Malcolm Torrejon Chu, a member of the National Homes for All coalition, rising rents, gentrification and a shrinking pool of landlords and companies with control over an increasing number of properties are some of the causes behind the affordable housing crisis both in Pittsburgh and nationwide. Because of the crisis, many people are unable to afford decent homes and are forced to find cheaper housing in unsafe environments.

“Low-income groups are the most at risk,” Chu said. “People of color, single moms and the elderly are groups that are often forced to live in harsh conditions.”

Activists, scholars and Pittsburgh community members gathered in front of Posvar Hall on the morning of Nov. 11 for a press conference by the Pittsburgh Housing Summit. The Summit kicked off on Wednesday afternoon and continued throughout the weekend with panels, workshops and discussions focusing on the affordable housing crisis and its effects on Pittsburgh, the nation and the world.

The global studies center co-sponsored the summit, and Jackie Smith, a sociology professor and member of the Pittsburgh Human City Rights Alliance, coordinated it.

“Pittsburgh as a community needs to get out the word that housing is a right, not a privilege that goes to the highest bidder,” Smith said at the press conference Friday afternoon.

According to the Affordable Housing Task Force’s May 2016 report, in Pittsburgh there is a shortage of approximately 17,241 rental units that are both available and in a reasonable price range for households at or below 50 percent of the area’s median household income.

The report cites broad economic trends, such as a growing preference for urban living and

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Jordan Mondell ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR

November 18, 2016

See Housing Summit on page 5

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Housing Summit, pg. 4 According to the National Center for Education, the median earnings of young adults with a bachelor’s degree declined from $54,900 to $49,900, and the median earnings of young adults with a master’s or higher degree declined from $65,900 to $59,100 from 2000 to 2014. The Institute for College Access and Success states that the average debt levels for all graduating seniors with student loans rose from $23,450 in 2008 to $29,400 in 2012.

Besides tough living conditions, residences affected by the housing crisis face difficulties with transportation. Molly Nichols, the director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit — a grassroots organization campaigning for a farther-reaching and more consistent bus service in Pittsburgh — said the lack of affordable housing causes people to look for homes outside of the city, making transportation a major hurdle.

“A lot of the people who live in these areas don’t own cars and are reliant on public transit,” Nichols said. “These are places with very limited service or no service at all.”

Lisa Gonzalez, a member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit, moved into the Borough of

West View seven years ago after unsuccessfully seeking affordable housing for her and her son elsewhere. According to Gonzalez, the bus service was expansive when she first moved in, but now, only one bus can take her out of the neighborhood to run errands.

“I have to take that bus and then transfer to another bus in town to get to Oakland or Ross Mall to do grocery shopping, see the doctor and go to the laundromat,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t drive, and since there isn’t a reliable bus service, it’s hard for me to get all this done.”

Adam Brandolph, a public relations representative for Port Authority, said that rising costs of labor, health care, gas and other amenities, paired with the loss of state funding, led to bus service cuts in certain areas.

“If the route wasn’t getting an adequate amount of use, we pulled out of there,” Brandolph said.

According to Brandolph, Port Authority used the funding it got from Act 89 — also known as the Pennsylvania Transportation Bill — to extend their services to new streets, although they have been unable to establish new routes. This expansion is dependent on logistical outcomes.

“We can’t accommodate some requests if

we don’t have enough available vehicles or if a request for more service reduces service in another area,” Brandolph said.

Alyssa Lieberman, a senior politics and philosophy major and president of Pitt’s United Students Against Sweatshops chapter, said college students are both victims of and contributors to the affordable housing crisis.

In her speech at the press conference, Lieberman — who has previously worked as a columnist at The Pitt News — cited high costs in housing as a factor placing financial stress upon student workers.

“I’ve had student workers express to me that they can’t pay their rent or their utility bills because the prices are so high,” Lieberman said. “You can’t expect a full-time student to be able to pay a $600-a-month rent on a wage of $8.15 an hour.”

Lieberman also said students are exacerbating the crisis by moving into off-campus housing and that the University is contributing by buying land for office space that might otherwise be occupied by “traditional residents.”

“As a University, we need to be more conscious of what we’re doing and take part in efforts to keep the cost of living in Oakland down,” Lieberman said.

The University has also played a role in affordable housing loss in the Hill District, according to Carl Redwood Jr., chair of the Hill District Consensus Group — which works with low-income and working-class residents of the Hill District to advance racial and economic justice. As it expanded, the University has been buying up properties.

“I live across from a practice field that used to have several houses on it,” Redwood said. “And the Sutherland dorms, there used to be houses there as well.”

According to Joe Miksch, a Pitt spokesperson, the University has not expanded into the Hill District since Sutherland Hall was built in 1992, and the University has not received any complaints or concerns about expansion into the Hill District.

Until residents in her community can afford to buy the properties they live on, McMillan said she will continue working to improve her neighborhood. Eventually, though, she wants to return to her old neighborhood in Mon Valley.

“I want to see new houses there,” McMillan said. “That’s where I grew up. I want to go back home.”

The Pitt News SuDoku 12/9/15 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

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November 18, 2016

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Pitt students escaped to the Bates Hardcore Gym for punk music. Photo courtesy of Zach Nellis

PAST LIVES The apartments above Forbes IGA were once a late-night venue, Club Laga. Courtesy of Pittsburgh City Archives Oakland is a nomadic place. Students, businesses and trends come and go, but the one thing that stays the same is the architecture.

There’s a strange and rich history left behind in each home by the residents who pass through.

Relics of Oakland’s past can be found in surprising corners of homes — a fireplace in the bathroom, a mural in the basement, a pong table hanging from a ceiling — yet often, there is no one to explain the origins of these curios.

Past tenants or landlords can offer insight into the lives of these Oakland homes. Between doit-yourself music venues, multi-story nightclubs and even quiet dentist’s offices, Oakland homes have been just about everything.

The Bates Hardcore Gym Through Oakland, across the Boulevard of the Allies and down the long Bates hill, there is a vacant home next to the Highway 376 on ramp.

Neighbors are few, barring the one nightclub next door.

But as recently as two years ago, the soft hum of punk music would leak through the home’s walls on weekend nights. Students and fans of Pittsburgh’s do-it-yourself music scene would make the long trek through Oakland to experience a night of musical debauchery. The residents called it the Bates Hardcore Gym. The tenants, four Pitt students who met

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From nightclubs to dentist’s offices, Oakland apartments have been just about everything.

James Evan Bowen-Gaddy | Staff Writer

through the University radio station, WPTS, knew they wanted to host shows when they started looking for homes in their sophomore year, but they didn’t know where to do it. Zach Luettgen, one of the four tenants, said it was difficult to find a space that would work.

“One of the largest problems with a house venue is obviously noise,” Luettgen said. “If you are in a heavily residential area, people call and complain.”

After searching long enough, they found the perfect spot.

“We found this cool house, but it was really far away,” Luettgen said. “We were so secluded. On the sidewalk you couldn’t hear even the loudest band. There was nothing.”

Over the next year, the Bates Hardcore Gym hosted shows as many weekends as it could, showcasing everything from soft acoustic solo acts to blaring hardcore punk bands — sometimes in the same night. Huddled in sweaty proximity, kids would mosh just feet from the bands playing, bashing into the walls and trying not to level the band members to the ground. Off to the side of the bands there was a bathroom without a ceiling. In the back, there was a circle of couches for showgoers to catch their breath. If they needed more of a break, there was always a calm gathering outside on the backyard patio. Never too

much of punk fan himself, Luettgen said he liked to stand above the patio and admire the scene below.

“I enjoyed the fact that we provided that space for people,” Luettgen said. “It was good to see.”

As the Gym got more popular, people turned to Facebook for information. The hosts spread their plans through social media and word of mouth, and, quickly, the Bates Hardcore Gym was becoming a household name. The showrunners were not prepared for how popular the space would become.

Luettgen said after one year, the venue’s Facebook page hit over 1,000 likes.

“My roommate’s proudest memory was getting those likes,” Luettgen said. “In relative terms for a house venue, that’s pretty big.”

Eventually, the venue could be found on websites including Songkick and Bandsintown, bringing in both popular local acts such as Trash Bag, a punk outfit, and more well-established touring acts like the lo-fi band, Homeshake.

Popularity, or perhaps notoriety, became too much for the hosts midway through October 2015, and eventually the Bates Hardcore Gym came to an end. Luettgen said he was home alone washing dishes when a knock came on the door.

“It was someone from a state liquor, firearms and tobacco board,” Luettgen said. “It was basical-

November 18, 2016

ly them saying, ‘People have launched complaints against you,’ and ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t put on another show.’”

After posting a somber status declaring, “an indefinite hiatus” for shows on their Facebook page, the Gym members never put on another show. Luettgen said the group has all moved out at this point, and no one has occupied the space since.

“Only the ghost of the Gym’s past lives there now,” Luettgen said.

From Teeth to Tattoos Tattoo and piercing spots litter Central Oakland. There are multiple parlors in South Side and two on campus, but there’s only one that does its work in retired dental cubicles.

Today, Empire Tattoo and an apartment above it share the duplex that was once Thomas Blaze’s dentistry office.

Blaze opened his dental practice at 230 Meyran Ave. in 2001 after purchasing the century-old home that now resides next to the vacant AD’s Pittsburgh Cafe. When he opened the practice, he didn’t expect to interact much with Pitt students and said they typically don’t seek out Oakland dentists.

“Undergrads go home to see their dentists, so I expected more local residents,” Blaze said.

See Past Lives on page 7

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Past Lives, pg. 6 When first looking at the home, Blaze learned an apartment had been split away from the downstairs unit years before. It came as an extra challenge to Blaze then, that now he’d be adopting a second profession — he would become a landlord.

Blaze said adjusting to the job wasn’t too difficult. It all came down to the residents.

“I quickly learned how to evaluate the tenants — if they were good kids,” Blaze said.

For the next few years, Blaze cleaned teeth by day and managed the property upstairs by night.

After a decade, he decided he was ready for retirement, selling most of the dental equipment to another Oakland dentist and the downstairs space to the owner of Empire Tattoos.

Walking through the home’s basement now, there are empty file cabinets that once held patient records, used office furniture and old signs that read, “PARKING FOR DENTAL PATIENTS ONLY.” The upstairs apartment has been through several renovations in the past 110 years, leaving bizarre hints to the building’s past. The closet has an unusual amount of depth due to its origins as a staircase. The bathroom is carpeted.

Haley Timple, one of Blaze’s current tenants,

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said people are always surprised at the oddities of the house, especially the bathroom.

“It’s the first thing that everyone notices when they come in here,” Timple said.

Today, most of the dental equipment has been moved to a new dental practice, but the tattoo parlor still uses the dental cubicles to do tattoos. Blaze said the house had been through many changes before he got there and would probably go through many more.

“It’s old,” Blaze said. “There’s a ring outside where you can tie a horse.”

Club Laga Farther up Meyran and around the corner is the Strand building, home to the Forbes IGA, which overlooks the heart of Pitt’s campus. Students today visit the building to buy groceries or grab a six-pack of beer from the owner, Ron Levick. Some students even live above the grocery store and rent their apartments from Levick as well.

Scanning the entrance to IGA, however, reveals a bit about the building’s history — a Macy Gray poster signed “Ron” with a heart, a clock with the signatures of Public Enemy and a photo collage of sweaty 20-somethings dancing under a stage. Levick wasn’t stocking shelves 15 years ago — he was running a nightclub.

Ron Levick leased the third floor of the

Strand Building on Forbes in 1991, creating the Attic, a sports bar in a time he calls “the days of satellite TV.” “People couldn’t watch things at home, so they came to the Attic,” Levick said. “We were packed for Penguins games and Steelers games.”

Seeing his success, Levick eventually leased the fourth floor in 1996 for Club Laga, an all-ages music venue, and then the second floor in 1999 for the Upstage, a dance club. Overall, he was managing three floors and 35,000 square feet of clubs.

Levick said Club Laga was a massive success.

It had an industrial look, with exposed scaffolding, bright spotlights and a large dance floor. Upwards of 600 people would cram into the club to dance and drink. Levick said that multiple magazines called it one of the top college bars in the country. He disagreed, though, that Club Laga appealed to college students. Although he made a barricaded area where over-21 patrons could drink alcohol, Levick said it still didn’t keep college students around.

“Thing about Club Laga was that it was all ages,” Levick said. “There was a caged-off area where you could drink, so it tried to cater to everybody, but college kids didn’t want to come here because there were high school kids and older people.”

November 18, 2016

As time passed, Levick said, the kind of students that went to Pitt changed.

“It used to be people got drunk seven nights a week, but that doesn’t happen anymore,” Levick said.

When Levick noticed the falling attendance at shows, he eventually decided to move on to a different business venture. Oakland had a lack of grocery stores, and he had an overabundance of space, so in 2004, Levick closed the clubs, gutted the space and transformed the building into apartments and a grocery market.

“I wanted to cater to the Oakland community,” Levick said.

The apartments have large rooms, high ceilings and clean hallways. Students who live there, like senior Sneha Iyer, don’t see many remnants of the building’s action-packed past.

“We had no idea until one day it came up as an Instagram-suggested location,” Iyer said.

“Club Laga came up, and we thought it was a joke.”

Levick has no interest in reopening any kind of club. He said he still gets emails saying he should bring Laga back, but to him it simply doesn’t make enough money anymore — groceries and apartments do.

“Instead of getting people drunk, now I sell produce,” Levick said.

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column

Make room for street parking, or leave car at home Bayard Miller Columnist

It’s a story almost every resident of Central — often erroneously called South — Oakland is familiar with: the anxiety attack that is an inevitable part of trying to find street parking.

As the proud owner of a Ford Crown Victoria — which is notable for not only its prominent usage by police forces and taxi fleet, but for its unreasonable length and fuel excesses — I have a crisis of confidence whenever the groceries run low or I need to leave campus for any reason. This is because whenever I leave my hard-won spot, it gets occupied almost immediately and when I return from my errands, I must undertake a long quest to find another place to park.

The shortage of spaces in Oakland is acute and apparent to any car owner and is a source of frustration for many.

Cars are frequently parked directly in front of fire hydrants on Meyran Avenue, and in some cases, illegally in front of handicapped spots. Most maddening of all are the large swathes of potentially car-friendly curbs that are painted yellow for no clear reason.

The parking shortage is most visible on scheduled street sweeping days.

Since there’s nowhere for cars to go, it’s common to have every single car on the street ticketed for failure to clear out and let the city conduct much needed cleaning services. This refusal to move does not come from negligence or a lack of civic spirit — there’s simply no alternative.

The lack of car accommodation stems from the history of the neighborhood.

According to the deeds of the Oakland Square Historic District, right in the heart of Central Oakland, most of the houses built on Oakland Square were constructed in the 1890s, in the premass-produced-car era. These properties look almost identical to those on Meyran, Atwood and Welsford, a strong indication that these streets’ properties were constructed at a similar time. All

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of these streets have very few driveways.

And why should they? Oakland was built before the widespread ownership of cars.

The antiquated infrastructure of the neighborhood is only one piece of the puzzle: There is rampant abuse of the parking pass system. Generally, each housing unit gets three official parking permits. Although there should only be one parking permit issued per unit ac-

Last year in my house on Meyran, we squeezed eight people into a single unit.

The common practice of illegally overcrowding housing units brings in more cars from students than what was originally intended for families with one or two cars.

I was a part of the problem last year, as I was a user and abuser of the visitor pass. I drove my car to Pittsburgh from

Raka Sarkar STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

cording to city ordinances, this often goes unenforced. In my house last year, we had three official permits and three visitor passes, all of which were used for residents of the house despite the fact that visitor passes are only supposed to be used by visitors for a maximum of three days.

In addition, units in Oakland are unlawfully overcrowded. According to city law, a maximum of three unrelated people can live in a housing unit together.

my family home in Bethesda, Maryland, blissfully unaware that when I arrived in Oakland, there would be no permit for me.

This is definitely a Bayard problem — I could have coordinated better with my roommates and I could have gotten my parents to make the four-hour drive to move in all my stuff. But I was 20 years old and if there’s one thing 20-year-olds are not known for, it’s forethought. In the end, my absurdly long car was clog-

November 18, 2016

ging up our parallel parking spot, just like hundreds of other cars off campus.

To solve this problem, the city needs to crack down harder on people like me.

If a car is seen with a pass for more than three days, slap them with a ticket. Repeat offenders should be towed. If the costs of having a car in violation of the city ordinances outweigh the benefits, then there will be fewer cars.

In a perfect world, landlords would discourage overcrowded housing, but the reality is that landlords profit wildly by charging $500 to $1000 per person for rent in a three-bedroom home occupied by seven people. The University could send out an email to off-campus students before the start of the year, reminding them to be aware of the perils of bringing a car, but in the end, students should take responsibility and keep their cars off campus. As a more specific solution, I recommend combining parking zones B, D and M to open up more potential spots.

There is nothing more frustrating than driving down the Boulevard of the Allies and seeing the wide-open frontier of Juliet Street and not being able to park there. In those moments, I am reminded of the thirsty sailor from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”: parking, parking everywhere but not a spot for me.

Ultimately, I am a massive hypocrite.

I, a former abuser, am prescribing punishments for behavior I am guilty of.

I’m wagging my finger at students like me who take advantage of loopholes in the parking pass system and lug our toolong cars to campus when it isn’t necessary. But hypocrites aren’t always wrong.

And besides, I have a legal parking pass and live in a housing unit that abides by the city code this year. I’m a reformed man.

So think twice before you bring a car with you to school. Unless the root causes of the shortage are alleviated — which won’t happen overnight — you’re in for a headache every time you return from a drive.

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November 18, 2016

9

from the TPN X Pitt Tonight

Top 10 Renting Tips

Top Ten Things First-Time Renters Should Look Out For 1. Ghosts If ghosts don’t bother you, set up secret cameras to videotape your roommates while they sleep and you can make the 17th Paranormal Activity sequel. You’ll rake in millions, or you’ll be arrested for invasion of privacy. Either way, it’ll make a spooky story.

2. Landlords with chain wallets This is a pretty early warning sign, but if he offers you a good deal, you might consider shrugging off his ’90s era fashion choices instead of pointing out how it looks like he’s taking a coinpurse out for a walk.

3. Dysfunctional appliances This is a big one. You ever have one of those air conditioners that’s like working, but you can’t really tell if it’s getting colder? You don’t want that.

4. Neighbors that have unlocked wifi settings Even if the nearest wifi name is “Pugsfortrump,” free internet is free internet.

5. Empty alcohol bottles and other spirits (ghosts, we mean ghosts) If you want a home that wasn’t previously run by frat guys, steer clear of the bottle graveyards. The most telling sign of a party house in Oakland is an impressive array of empty liquor bottles lining the living room mantle.

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November 18, 2016

6. An underground tunnel connecting to the bank vault next door We’re not suggesting theft or robbery. But if you ever need to take out the $0.67 you have left in your bank account, this will be very convenient for you.

7. Neighbors over the age of 30 Don’t let old people ruin the fun.

They might invite you to dinner and get mad when your friends do things like accidentally stumbling into their backyards and frightening their children in the middle of the night. Gross.

8. The words “GET OUT” written in blood on the walls. Like, several walls You know how on those House Hunter shows where the couple knows they’ve found their dream house because the paint scheme matches both of their childhood homes? This is the opposite of that.

9. My Pitt ID Seriously, I left this somewhere a week ago and don’t have the $20 to buy a new one, so if you find it lying around, please let me know.

10. A lack of sufficient locks Make sure your valuables don’t get stolen, like your copy of the classic Keanu Reeves action movie “Speed 2.” And if your house does get broken into, you just know you’re going to hear about it from your parents for the next three Thanksgivings.

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Workspace, pg. 3 to mention a range of up to 200 people with whom to network and share resources.

“What we saw was less that there was a problem and more that there was just a desire. It wasn’t like working from home isn’t good enough,” she said. “It was more in the spirit of: How can we do the work that we’re already doing and make other people’s lives better while doing it?”

The Beauty Shoppe’s members aren’t limited to one business sector or area of interest — at different points, Fogel has housed a student going to mortuary school, a meat trader and a lawyer.

“We end up, I think, attracting a wide variety of people,” she said. “I know because we aren’t an incubator, we aren’t necessarily pushing business development as our top agenda. What we’re really pushing is: Come be a part of our community, come help enrich what’s already happening in Pittsburgh.”

But some Pittsburgh shared offices, like Work Hard Pittsburgh, see other opportunities than simply providing space for separate businesses to fraternize and occasionally network with each other.

Work Hard Pittsburgh, which is also membership based, is a cooperative of freelancers, entrepreneurs and activists who all have an equal share in the company. Josh Lucas, founder of Work Hard Pittsburgh, said each business has say in where Work Hard Pittsburgh invests its money, how it makes real estate decisions, and which new groups join the space.

“Even though co-working in the most traditional sense of it is part of that shared physical space, that’s probably the least important part at this point,” Lucas said. “It’s the idea that you can have a flat organization that shares ownership be-

tween a lot of different kinds of people.”

Lucas said that his model helps close the wealth gap, operating under the idea that to bring more people into the middle class, you need to give them ownership of institutions that generate capital. Work Hard Pittsburgh, for example, has helped grow The Epicast Network, a regional podcast aggregator that now has around two million total downloads, as well as wireless networking provider Meta Mesh.

Ray Jones, a clinical associate professor of business administration at Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, predicts this model is exactly where office spaces are heading. He said that coworking offices offer more opportunities for innovation and problem-solving than a traditional corporate skyscraper, as well as learning opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

Jones did add that coworking spaces pose risk, just like most business ventures — there’s never a guarantee that a new office relationship will lead to an idea or project worth pursuing. Q majority of new businesses fail, so the extra money spent on an office space could put an entrepreneur just starting out in a financial hole.

Jones sees shared workspaces as the future norm for offices. He’s even working with his peers in the business school to sponsor a desk at North Side’s Alloy 26, one of Pittsburgh’s largest co-working spaces, so that Pitt business students can meet and work alongside potential mentors and employers.

“There’s something about that physical space and being in proximate location to others with interesting perspectives that makes you still want to use a physical space,” he said. “Otherwise, I could sit in my living room and do all my work. It is absolutely the future.”

All of us, we [want] our own brick-and-mortar space, but the reality is much different -Gaston Oria

pittnews.com

November 18, 2016

11

Tpn's Cribs: Decked-out dorms

Caroline Bourque, Amanda Reed and Emma Maurice

The Pitt News Staff

It’s almost a cliche at this point: the Target sales, Bed Bath & Beyond checklist, raiding your family’s basement for furniture. But moving into your first-year dorm and the excitement of decorating your room — free of parental oversight — is a familiar feeling for most college students.

For some, it’s as easy as slapping a “Godfather” or Tarantino movie poster on the wall, hiding party supplies in an ottoman and calling it a day. But for others, it’s an opportunity to trick out a new space, “MTV Cribs” style. For this year’s Rental Guide, we scoured some of the first-year residence halls for the best-looking dorm rooms on campus.

Nordenberg As soon as you enter Alexis Abramson and Emily Richards’s room, you immediately feel cozy and peaceful, surrounded by string lights and homemade pieces of art.

“I actually didn’t buy anything for my room,” Richards said. “I literally just took everything off my walls from home and brought it here, which kind of created my own nest or space away from home.”

Although Abramson just recently moved into Nordenberg from Sutherland, she’s already made the room feel personal while perfectly coordinating with her roommate, with

her fairy lights and colorful tapestry tying the whole room together.

Flickering fairy lights strung from the ceiling is what’s likely to catch your eye while walking into Max Smith-Hoffman’s triple dorm room.

“I wanted my room to be a cozy, soft hole,” Hoffman said. “Basically, I wanted to make it as cavey as possible. As long as it turned out dark and snuggly, I knew I’d be happy.”

The room is decorated minimally, with a few framed pictures from home hung on the walls, but its crisp, clean aesthetic is a rare find for a first-year boy’s dorm room.

Alex Abramson and Emily Richards made a sanctuary of their Nordenberg space almost entirely out of things from home. Kyleen Considine STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ruskin With a shark-themed bathroom and a string light curtain, you’d think roommates Rachel Dautel, Michelle Miranda and Libby Di Trapani spent hours searching for the perfect decorations for their Ruskin apartment. But as they’ll tell you, things fell into place without much effort.

“Libby bought the string lights and the tapestry, and my mom bought the light

curtain, so we put it all in the living room, and it sort of just came together,” Dautel said.

Although their apartment looks like something out of a home decor magazine, Miranda said Dautel’s room is the highlight, with a homey feel thanks to plenty of warm lighting and an “R” from the Firefly music festival’s sign, located in her home state of Delaware.

Michelle Miranda and Libby Di Trapani decorated their dorm with a sharkthemed bathroom and string lights. Li Yi STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Sealy the stuffed seal chills out in Kaitlyn Anderson’s Holland Hall room. Jaime Viens STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Holland Hall On the windowsill in Resident Assistant Kaitlyn Anderson’s dorm room, which looks out toward the Cathedral of Learning, sits a statue of a golden giraffe, legs folded criss-cross in meditation.

“My grandma gave it to me, she said it spoke to her,” Anderson said. “And my residents named it Jeffrey.”

It’s the sort of room anyone would feel comfortable wandering into, decorated in hues of pink, orange and gold, the colors

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of the mandala tapestry hanging above her bed. A dozen or so Pitt-themed posters are taped to the wall, which match well with the large Pitt pillow made by Anderson’s friend from home, an architecture major at Temple University.

Sitting among Anderson’s bedding is a pillow resembling a life-size seal, which she got from Sea World and aptly named “Sealy.”

“I know a lot of people hate Sea World, but he’s so cute,” she said.

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Privatization poisoned city water Jaime Viens Columnist

When two-year-old resident of Flint, Michigan, Sofia Waid had her blood tested, the results showed her blood had 14 micrograms of lead per deciliter, according to her father’s February statement to the Detroit Free Press.

Currently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention holds the “blood lead level of concern” at five mcg/dL. The child has since suffered skin rashes, digestive issues, infections, excessive crying, anxiety, irritability and insomnia — and she is only one of 144 children who have suffered detrimental consequences of the Flint water crisis.

In June, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a civil lawsuit against Veolia, a global utility service, and a Texas firm, LAN, for professional negligence and fraud that permitted the continuous and worsening inci-

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dents of lead poisoning in Flint.

“Many things went tragically wrong ... and both criminal conduct and civil conduct caused harm to the families of Flint,” Schuette said at a news conference earlier this year. “Veolia and LAN were hired to do a job and failed miserably ... They didn’t stop the water in Flint from being poisoned. They made it worse.”

Veolia is a private company that primarily provides service and utility in water and waste management, public transport and energy services.

It operates in 68 countries and is the world leader in water management.

In North America, alone, Veolia is responsible for handling systems in 530 cities — including Pittsburgh.

Following its lawsuit in Michigan, company affiliates called the claims, “unwarranted allegations of wrongdoing.” But Veolia’s veracity must be contended, not only within the context of Flint, Michigan, but also with regard

to the steadily declining conditions of Pittsburgh water systems.

Veolia is the archetypal example of privatization of a public commodity gone horribly wrong.

The company has only ever managed to yield its guaranteed savings by sacrificing quality, human well-being and environmental health.

Veolia was hired in 2012 to help manage daily operations over Pittsburgh water systems. Though the city had clean water, with a water system dating back to 1905, its infrastructure was severelyy outdated. At the time, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority was facing backlash for a number off administrative issues — including high service fees, slow response time and poor customer service — and was about $150 million in debt, according to an article from See Viens on page 14

November 18, 2016

Jordan Mondell ASSISTANT VISUAL EDITOR

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Viens, pg. 13 the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Veolia was hired as an interim executive team that would facilitate more effective and efficient management of Pittsburgh water systems. The contract with the city guaranteed the company nearly half of every dollar the utility was able to save.

About 81,000 homes in Pittsburgh received a letter in early August that read, “[PWSA] has found elevated levels of lead in tap water samples in some homes.” The letter went on to detail that — at a lead level of 22 parts per billion being reported at the 90th percentile in June compliance samples — their water did not meet the standards set forth by the Safe Drinking Water Act under which the Environmental Protection Agency enforces an action level of 15 ppb.

Marc Edwards — the Virginia Tech professor instrumental in exposing the water crisis in Flint — gave an interview to WPXI in August in which he said “the levels of lead in Pittsburgh are actually comparable to those that were being re-

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corded in Flint.”

The samples taken this summer represent the first and only time on record that Pittsburgh water has exceeded federal standards.

After PWSA brought in Veolia, the company seemed to be heading in a positive direction — cutting down wait times and reducing complaints — but the positives end there.

After guaranteeing there would be no layoffs in a 2013 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jim Good — Veolia executive and interim director in Pittsburgh — assisted in massive staff cuts in the company. By the end of 2015, 23 individuals had been laid off — including the safety and water quality managers, as well as the heads of finance and engineering — and the PWSA laboratory staff was cut by nearly 50 percent.

Stanley States — the former PWSA water quality director of 36 years who was transferred to an office job in the research department — told WIRED that he believes the staff cuts were highly conducive to degradations in water quality. He argues that without a fully staffed lab the lead levels could never be ad-

dressed properly.

For decades, the city relied on soda ash to prevent Pittsburgh’s lead pipes from corroding and the chemicals from leaching into the water. In 2014, PWSA transitioned to caustic soda — a cheaper corrosion treatment — instead. The process would typically require extensive examination and approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, but it was never informed of the switch. In fact, Mayor Bill Peduto issued a statement in April that the utility’s board itself and the city were never informed of the transition either.

The DEP promptly subpoenaed Veolia for breaking state law and ordered immediate testing. Currently, the city is conducting an internal investigation into whether the change in chemical treatment may have augmented the elevations in lead water content.

But the concerns go even further. In 2013, the water board approved a 20 percent rate increase over four years, making water services unreasonably high.

Bills started to come in weeks late with late-fees attached. They came inconsistently and far exceeded the prices

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they should have been. In 2015, a group of homeowners filed a class suit against PWSA, Veolia and the accounting company responsible for bill management.

They argued that the water meter readers installed in 2013 were producing disproportionately high fees, some with inflations as high as 600 percent. They stated that all parties involved were aware that the bills were erroneous, yet continued to send notices and shut down water supplies. All three companies failed to respond to the charges.

In the wake of this class suit, the state citation for switching corrosion management chemicals and ever-increasing debt, Pittsburgh discontinued its contract with the company last December.

In October, the utility announced that it was suing Veolia for gross mismanagement.

In response, Veolia released its “Statement regarding PWSA’s Demand for Arbitration” in which it said that the company “did not and would not prioritize cost savings ahead of effective corrosion control methods or water quality.”

But, it’s impossible to accept this See Viens on page 20

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renting? here’s what you need to know Burning questions with OPDC Alexa Bakalarski

Assistant News Editor Between studying for classes, applying for internships, participating in clubs and finding time for exercise, many Pitt students have another question on their minds: where to live?

If students are planning to live off campus, the race to get the best house starts early, and the time crunch can mean taking short cuts when reading through a lease or quickly signing a security deposit check. After the rush of securing a place and moving in, students still have to maintain a relationship with their landlord and retain the upkeep of their house. The Pitt News talked to Rebekkah Ranallo, the communications manager for Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, for tips to keep in mind while living off campus in Oakland.

TPN: What’s your best advice for students living off campus at Pitt?

Rebekkah Ranallo: To make sure they ask the landlord lots of questions, make sure they read all the fine print in a lease before signing and … don’t think they have to settle for poor housing.

There are lots of good options. There are a lot of students who will take something that’s not been properly maintained or dirty — has tons of problems — because they think they don’t have other options, but there’s lots of good options and they should not compromise.

TPN: What sort of questions should they ask their landlord?

RR: Clarify who’s responsible for basic upkeep and maintenance, like snow removal. A lot of students don’t realize that it’s written in their lease [that] they’re responsible for removing snow and pouring salt during the winter ...

Making sure they understand how the security deposit works. Clarifying that

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they are to receive documentation within 30 days of moving out about the security deposit, if any of it is being withheld for any reason, why it’s being withheld.

A lot of students end up losing their security deposits because they don’t realize their rights about that We always harp on making sure people know that there is a city ordinance that mandates no more than three unrelated people living in one unit, and a lot of landlords will be dishonest about that and say, ‘Oh, you know, you can have five or six people in this house.’ That’s not true … We see a lot of cases where the landlord tries to say that the dining room — or even the living room, I’ve seen — is a bedroom because they make more money by cramming more people into it.

A really big one is knowing when and where they can store trash and recycling, what days to take it out. If they live in a building, a lot of landlords … the larger apartment buildings pay their own private trash waste management companies to come haul the trash away, and a lot of students who live in those buildings don’t recycle because there’s no clear space where the recycling goes … We try to encourage landlords who also have these bigger buildings to make sure they provide recycling receptacles.

Parking is a big one. Ask a landlord if there’s any parking that’s provided — off-street parking. If there’s not, make sure they understand how to get a parking permit from the city. I always recommend to not even bring your car for students who are living off campus in Oakland because it’s just so hard to find a spot to park the car and we have such good transit options here.

Tips for student renters AVERAGE COST OF AN OAKLAND APARTMENT:

- Numbers from Pitt’s Office of Off-Campus Living.

- The average one-bedroom or studio apartment in the Oakland area costs approximately $700 per month in rent.

- The average two-bedroom apartment shared by two students is about $1,100 — or $550 per person.

- Gas and electric can range from $40 to $150 per month each, depending on the size of the apartment and the tenant’s usage.

RESOURCES FOR HOUSE HUNTING:

When you’re searching for a new apartment or house to rent, there are numerous places you can go to find postings from landlords and management companies. The Office of Off-Campus Living includes a tab for rental listings, which you can search through by neighborhood, cost, amenities and lease dates. Landlords and management companies also take out ads in the classifieds section of the print version of The Pitt News to advertise for available rental units and sublets. If you’re looking for a sublet — particularly useful for students studying abroad or interning away from the city for one of the two semesters — students often post available rooms in the Free & For Sale Facebook group, which currently has over 10,000 members.

RESOURCES FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS:

Oakland houses typically aren’t new, and are likely to need repairs throughout your time as a resident. The Student Guide to Campus Living from Pitt’s Community and Governmental Relations department said it’s important to note in your lease what repairs are your responsibility as a tenant and what the landlord is responsible for. According to the guide, the landlord is responsible for damage that is caused by weather as well as damage from wear and tear from age. If a landlord does not respond to a request for a repair in a reasonable amount of time, you should put the request in writing and keep a copy for your records. Most repairs can be taken care of through communication with your landlord, but if the repair involves building safety or code violations, call 311 or go to the city’s Permits, Licensing and Inspection website. If your house has a health safety violation, report it to the Allegheny County Department of Health.

TENANT AND LANDLORD’S RIGHTS

When you sign a lease for a rental property, you are signing your name to a contract that both you and your landlord are legally obligated to maintain. As a tenant, if you break the contract, the landlord has the right to ask you to vacate the premises and take action against you. According to the Student Guide to Campus Living, landlords can restrict their tenants from having pets, putting holes in the wall, painting or wallpapering and making excessive noise.

See Q&A on page 17

November 18, 2016

See Tips on page 17

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Q&A, pg. 16 TPN: As a student renting in Oakland, what can you do if you have a problem with your neighbors?

RR: We always encourage just trying to have a basic, neighborly conversation first. A lot of misunderstandings can get cleared up by just knocking on someone’s door. You could prevent a lot of misunderstandings by, on day one when you move in, just knocking on your neighbor’s door and introducing yourself.

I’m sure you know about the string of burglaries going around the neighborhood? Knowing your neighbors in those scenarios is so important because you can help look out for one another and say, ‘Oh, over Thanksgiving break while you’re gone, I’ll keep an eye on your house and if I see anyone lurking, I’ll call the police.’ And then when a problem does arrive, we know some folks in our neighborhood who have had success by going next door and saying, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know, it’s my roommate’s birthday. We’re going to have a small party tonight. We want to keep it respectful, but if the noise gets out of hand or something bothers you, here’s my number. Please give me a call before you call the police.’

TPN: What could a student renting in Oakland do if a neighbor has a problem with them?

RR: I would hope they would discontinue the disruptive behavior, or the littering, or whatever is being complained about … Yeah, basically, just remember that you live in a neighborhood where families with children and senior citizens live … just like you would treat your neighborhood and your parents’ house, that’s how we want you to treat this neighborhood.

TPN: What do you do if you feel your landlord is not treating you properly as a renter?

RR: I should’ve said this from the get-go, from your first question, but students need to make sure that they’re keeping really careful documentation of all correspondents with landlords about problems. So first off, as soon as you move into a house, document any

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issues right away. So you get into your house on move-in day and you see a light switch is broken or there’s a hole in the wall or something like that — take a picture of it right away and send it in writing to your landlord so that you have written documentation that shows it wasn’t something you caused, and that you have asked the landlord to fix it, which is legally required to do in a lease.

When you get into these scenarios where landlords don’t respond to complaints, there’s help you can get from local enforcement. So we tell everyone to send all issues through the city of Pittsburgh’s 311 center. So you can do that in a variety of ways: you can tweet at 311, you can call 311 or you can submit a 311 form online. And that can be about any building related issue: it can be about mold, it can be about holes in the roof, it can be about weeds, debris, broken sidewalks — you name it, you can turn an issue into 311.

TPN: Are there any questions renters should ask before they move out?

RR: We’ve kind of already said a couple, but security deposit — make sure you give your landlord your forwarding address so they can send you a letter that explains what they’re doing with the security deposit. Ideally, you get your whole deposit back, but if you broke something or there’s some maintenance that needs to be taken care of, the landlord is required to send within 30 days a document that details why they took your deposit and how much of your deposit they took to fix it –– what they used it for, basically. They can’t just keep the money and not tell you, is what I’m trying to say.

And then just — going back to what your lease says before you move out.

Some leases say that the tenants are required to get the carpets professionally cleaned before they move out. Little things like that, you just want to make sure that you keep a copy of your lease, readily accessible, and you know what you agreed to when you signed up to live there.

Tips, pg. 16 The landlord is required to keep the house in habitable condition and cannot discriminate against tenants. According to the Student Guide, landlords are “legally required to show, sell, rent, sublease or otherwise make housing decisions regardless of a renter’s race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, familial status, marital status, age, gender identity, sexual orientation or receipt of public assistance.”

The landlord is also responsible for making sure the house is up to minimum standards, which include hot and cold running water, sewage and waste disposal, heating, windows, doors and smoke detectors.

RESOURCES FROM PITT’S OFFICE OF OFF-CAMPUS LIVING:

In addition to rental listings and rent estimates, the Office of Off-Campus Living also provides a roommate matching service for students looking for short- or long-term roommates or housemates. The Office also provides a rental checklist of questions to ask your potential landlord and things to watch out for when touring your potential apartment.

QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SIGNING A LEASE:

Is the heat gas or electric?

Does the rent include utilities: garbage, water and electric?

What internet service provider do people in this building/ area typically use?

Is there on-site maintenance?

How do I get my security deposit back? Will I get it back in full?

In what form do you accept rent? Checks only or through an online portal, for example.

Do you own any other properties?

Are pets allowed?

Are all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors working?

Do you allow subletting?

Where can I legally park, and do I have to pay?

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RENTER’S INSURANCE: DO YOU NEED IT? Wesley Hood Staff Writer

It was Halloween, but Kerry Regan got more of a scare than she was hoping for when an intruder broke into her McKee Place apartment.

An intruder burglarized Regan’s apartment in the early hours of Oct. 31, taking her laptop, wallet and car while Regan was asleep. In the days following the break-in, she had to piece together the remnants of the incident by filing a police report and then reporting the incident to her insurance company — making use of a policy she never thought she’d have to use.

“It was an awful experience to be violated like that. But knowing my policy would cover the damages, it put a little ease into my mind,” Regan said.

While Geico — Regan’s insurer — has not issued her a check for the claim yet, it did inform her that it would be covering the cost of the laptop entirely. Regan said once she reported the incident to her insurance company, she had to file forms and copies of the police report with it in order for it to be covered.

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the loss of personal property due to fire, theft or water damage. The renter chooses a set limit for personal property protection, which they usually do not set above $10,000, at the time of purchase. The cost of the policy, however, is dependent on the total amount of coverage the student requests, according to Kevin Stiles, manager of the Office of Off-Campus Living.

Personal property protection covers the value of the item according to the insurance company’s evaluation — which can be lower if the item is worn or old. Replacement coverage goes a step further and covers the actual cost to replace damaged items.

If a guest, visitor or worker is injured in a renter’s apartment, personal liability insurance will cover medical expenses for this person, regardless of fault, and often will prevent a lawsuit.

How expensive is renters insurance?

According to the Independent Insurance These insurance policies generally cover Agents & Brokers of America, the average cost at any moment. When landlords don’t explicitly require renter’s insurance in the lease, students three main things –– personal property protec- of renter’s insurance is about $12 per month — tion, replacement coverage and personal liabil- or $144 per year — for $30,000 of property often ignore the advice to get a policy.

See Insurance on page 19 ity.

What is renter’s insurance?

Personal property protection is coverage for Renter’s insurance is typically a monthly fee Pitt’s Office of Off-Campus Living says on its website that it strongly encourages all student tenants to purchase renter’s insurance, especially for incidents like Regan’s that can arise

you pay to an insurance company that will reimburse you if any of the furniture or appliances in your apartment — or any of your personal belongings –– are stolen or otherwise damaged.

Do not underestimate the amount of money that you have invested in personal property -Kevin Stiles

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Insurance, pg. 18

how much coverage they want, then the agent faxes or emails the final policy to the student.

From there, the student signs the forms and sends them back. Once issued, students can pay insurance online via credit card for the entire year, or through a monthly bill that is mailed.

Julia Gong, a junior psychology major, whose policy is through State Farm Insurance, said the estimate only required her to look at receipts of her furniture purchases from Ikea, and then add in approximately how much she believed her computer and clothing are worth.

The process took her approximately 40 minutes, she estimated.

“I was actually pretty surprised — I signed up online, gave them a total estimate of what I thought my personal property was valued at and then they sent me a quote and that was that,” Gong said.

Most insurance companies can provide a quote — an estimated rate for insurance based on a customer’s information — and even give coverage within a day to those who request it, said Allstate agent Dana Richter.

“The process can take as little as 20 minutes,” Richter said. “We prefer meeting our clients in person, but the ability to sign up online and over the phone are especially attractive to students who don’t necessarily want to spend the time on

obtaining a policy.”

Richter said her company also allows for the policy to be transferred to any other residence in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at no additional cost to “allow for a certain flexibility that is appealing to students.”

Students agree that obtaining a policy is easy, which made them more likely to obtain coverage.

For Verma, the monthly cost was lower than the monthly $12 average quoted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

“I got the plan recommended by Geico that they said most college students get, and it costs me about $9 a month — which I think is extremely affordable given how much it covers,” Verma said.

Although students who have policies said the process is quick and easy, many still question whether or not renter’s insurance is worth it. Stiles said these students should remember to consider the value of personal belongings — and the possibility of unexpected incidents, like Regan experienced when her apartment was broken into.

“Do not underestimate the amount of money that you have invested in personal property,” Stiles said. “Students spend a lot of money on computers, books, clothes, furniture and more.”

The Pitt news crossword 11/18/16

coverage and $100,000 of liability coverage.

Who says I should get renters insurance?

Pitt employees and Oakland landlords alike strongly recommend — and sometimes require — students to buy renter’s insurance.

Stiles said that even if students wouldn’t choose insurance on their own, most landlords require renters insurance.

“We recommend [renter’s insurance] to every student. It typically covers replacement costs of your personal belongings as well as personal liability protection,” Stiles said.

Bob Eckenrode, a landlord who owns properties in Oakland — including on Semple Street and Meyran Avenue in Central Oakland — said he states clearly in his lease that tenants must get renter’s insurance.

“Right in all my leases it states that I’m not responsible for anything, and that tenants need to get their own insurance for coverage,” Eckenrode said.

Eckenrode declined to comment on whether he checks that each tenant at his properties has renter’s insurance, although the damage or theft of his tenants’ personal property is not his responsibility either way.

“At the end of the day, I’m not at fault for anything,” Eckenrode said.

Since students bear full responsibility for protecting their personal property, some renters have taken action and purchased a policy.

Svena Verma, a junior chemistry major, purchased insurance for her apartment for the first time this August, after moving off campus for the first time.

“When I signed my lease for SkyVue [Apartments], it stated that the homeowner’s association required everyone in the building get renters insurance,” Verma said.

Verma said her management company required proof of insurance before giving them keys.

“They wouldn’t give us the key to the apartment until we gave them our policy number, that we had to have faxed from Geico,” Verma said.

OK, so how do you get renter’s insurance?

For students opening new renter’s insurance policies, the process can be done in person, over the phone or online, and often takes less than an hour.

Once a student contacts an agency of his or her choice, the company then reaches out to the student to finalize their request. This entails a phone conversation in which they briefly discuss

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November 18, 2016

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Viens, pg. 14 statement when the company’s blatant misconduct and disregard for public good have clearly and persistently established Veolia as little more than a profitdriven corporation.

Flint and Pittsburgh are not the only two cities to find fault in Veolia’s services over the past year. Two months prior to the lawsuit in Flint, officials in Plymouth, Massachusetts, sued Veolia for enabling 10 million gallons of un-

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treated sewage to spill in and around Plymouth’s harbor last winter.

In both cases Veolia refused to take responsibility, dismissing the leak in Plymouth as a pipe failure which, it argued, didn’t fall under its authority.

The company has no incentive to provide any more than short-term solutions to insignificant issues, all the while ignoring points of more substantial concern such as the health and safety of its consumers. The fact of the matter remains that, under the city’s contract, Veolia’s profits directly corre-

lated to PWSA’s savings.

Since 2012, the utility has managed to save two million dollars — half of which has gone directly into the pockets of Veolia, with PWSA paying the company another 11 million dollars in service fees.

Even if Veolia weren’t so glaringly incompetent, outsourcing public services to private corporations will always be a more expensive and less efficient substitute to stable public management over government responsibilities.

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Pitt slips up against Smu at msg, 76-67 Ryan Zimba Staff Writer

The Pitt men’s basketball team’s lack of depth has proven to be a big problem so far this season — and it showed on Thursday night.

The Panthers (2-1) fell to the Southern Methodist Mustangs (3-0), 76-67, in the semifinals of the 2016 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warriors Project, an annual tournament held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The first half was a back and forth affair that saw five lead changes and multiple runs by both teams.

The Panthers shot the ball poorly to start, only making one of their first five shots from the field. The Mustangs shot much better, starting five-of-nine from the field to take an early 11-5 lead.

Pitt came right back with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back three pointers by sophomore guard Cameron Johnson, to take a 13-11 lead seven minutes into the game.

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Coming out of the media timeout with 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Pitt head coach Kevin Stallings substituted guard Justice Kithcart and forward Ryan Luther into the game. The choice immediately paid off, as both players made layups soon after play resumed to extend the Panthers lead to five.

SMU responded with an explosive 16-0 run to take a commanding 31-20 with six minutes to go in the first half, forcing Stallings to take a timeout.

During the timeout, Pitt went back to its starting lineup of Michael Young, Jamel Artis, Sheldon Jeter, Chris Jones and Johnson and switched from a manto-man defense to a zone. The change made a clear difference as the Panthers went on a 13-0 run behind seniors Young and Artis to end the half with a 33-31 lead.

Young and Artis both ended the half with 10 points, shooting a combined 50 percent. They were followed closely by

Michael Young (2) led the Panthers in points, rebounds and assists Thursday See Men’s Basketball on page 26 night. Meghan Sunners SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Panthers rumble to 5935 win over Ramblers Kauai Bradley tallied nine points, six rebounds and four assists in a 59-35 win against Loyola Chicago Thursday night. Jeff Ahearn SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Steve Rotstein Sports Editor

Three games into the 2016-2017 season, the Pitt women’s basketball team continues to find different ways to win.

This time, height and strength were the keys for the Panthers (3-0) as 6-foot4 center Brandi Harvey-Carr and 6-foot forward Brenna Wise led the team with 13 points and eight rebounds apiece in a 59-35 win over Loyola Chicago (0-2) at the Petersen Events Center Thursday night. Kalista Walters, the 6-foot-1 forward, contributed eight points and eight rebounds off the bench in Pitt’s lopsided victory.

“When you hold a team to 35 points, you’re obviously doing something right,” Pitt head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said after the game. “But for me, I’m greedy ... I thought we put them on the [free throw] line way too many times.”

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November 18, 2016

The Ramblers did make 16 free throws on 21 attempts, compared to only seven makes on nine attempts from the line for the Panthers. But Pitt held Loyola to just nine field goals on 47 shots in a masterful defensive performance.

Wise opened the scoring with a slashing drive to the hoop through multiple defenders, converting a layup for the first bucket of the game. Harvey-Carr, known more for her length and rebounding ability on the low block than her outside shooting, added a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a 5-0 Panthers lead.

“We knew going into this game that they were much smaller and that we had a [size] advantage, so we just tried to go in strong and just tried to finish,” Harvey-Carr said.

Pitt continued to add to its lead as Harvey-Carr controlled the glass See Women’s Basketball on page 27

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PREDICTION: Pitt 40, Duke 23

Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman (4) is coming off a career-best performance against Clemson. Jeff Ahearn SENIOR STAFF PHTOGRAPHER ward.

Dan Sostek “The first thing is the faith and belief that Senior Staff Writer they can go down there and win and win Coming off the biggest win of his head every week,” Narduzzi said. “That’s the first coaching career against Clemson, Pat Narthing you’ d like to bottle. You’d like to bottle duzzi needs his high-flying Pitt Panthers to the energy and emotion that you play with.” refocus.

Narduzzi exhibited that faith and belief Pitt, already bowl eligible, is now looking in his team aft er a missed field goal by Chris to boost its resumé with another conference Blewitt to end the half. Rather than berating victory on Saturday. The young but dangerhis senior kicker, Narduzzi was caught by ous Duke Blue Devils will come to Heinz ESPN’s cameras grabbing Blewitt and kissing Field for a 3 p.m. kickoff after an improbhim on the cheek to help inspire him. able upset of their own against No. 17 North Th e trick must have worked, as Blewitt Carolina. responded by nailing the game-winning field During his weekly media appearances, goal.

Narduzzi discussed reverberations from the “That’s what we do on game days is be Clemson win, quarterback Nathan Peterpositive with our kids and coach them,” man’s success and the challenges Duke is goNarduzzi said. “Not only schematically, but ing to present. emotionally. ” Faith and belief Pretty Peterman Pitt’s win over Clemson last weekend was Since taking the starting quarterback job the most significant victory the program from incumbent Chad Voytik last season, has earned since moving to the ACC, and Pitt signal-caller Nathan Peterman has been the biggest upset it has pulled since defeata consistent, albeit not very flashy, leader of ing No. 2 West Virginia on the road, 13-9, the Panther off ense. in 2007.

Last Saturday, Peterman broke out for the On his weekly ACC teleconference call, game of his life, throwing for 308 yards, five Narduzzi said he wants his team to use the confidence earned on that win going for-

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Men’s Basketball, pg. 23 Johnson, who had nine on three 3-pointers. But despite holding a slim lead, the Panthers lack of depth was apparent as Artis, Young and Johnson scored all but four of Pitt’s first half points.

SMU had much more success against the zone to start the second half as Mustangs head coach Tim Jankovich made several offensive adjustments during the break. SMU took a 54-45 lead early in the half after two consecutive baskets by

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November 18, 2016

forward Semi Ojeleye.

Pitt still managed to keep the game within reach as they cut the lead to five after a putback dunk by Jeter.

But the Mustangs rallied, scoring five straight points to extend the lead to 10 with 6:58 to go in the game. Pitt refused to quit, and the deficit was trimmed to four with 4:52 to go after a pair of free throws from Young.

With just over four minutes to go, the Panthers had the ball and were down by six. Jamel Artis shot a three-pointer that hit off the rim, and SMU forward Ben Moore grabbed the rebound. Luther was called for a foul — his fifth of the game — on the play, forcing him to sit on the bench for the remainder of the game.

The Mustangs made the ensuing free throws to stretch the lead out again — this time for good — as they closed out the game, winning 76-67.

The loss marks the first defeat of Stallings’ short tenure at Pitt. While the new coach has succeeded in getting Young and Artis to produce early on, he’s struggling to get the best out of the supporting players.

Young and Artis scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, on the night, but they were the only players in double figures. Outside of the two seniors, the Panthers only scored 25 points on 10-of26 shooting. In order to stay competitive in conference play, Pitt will need to get production from some of the younger players.

The Panthers will have to settle for a matchup in the tournament’s third-place game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m.

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Women’s Basketball, pg. 24 with ease. The graduate transfer center used her strength and size to corral an offensive rebound followed by an easy putback, then Panthers sophomore forward Kauai Bradley turned a steal into a fastbreak layup. A 3-pointer by first-year guard Alayna Gribble gave Pitt a 14-2 lead late in the first quarter.

After the Panthers controlled the first quarter on their way to a 16-6 lead, Loyola came out rejuvenated for the second quarter. A pair of jumpers by firstyear guard Lauren Segars made things interesting, cutting Pitt’s lead to six.

The Panthers managed to push the lead back to 10, but the Ramblers continued to fight.

First, a 3-pointer from Loyola firstyear guard Kaitlyn Williams cut the deficit to five. Williams then converted a tough layup after Pitt stretched its advantage to eight, and a jumper from Ramblers first-year guard Tiara Wallace made it a four-point game.

That was as close as Loyola would come in the first half, as Pitt sophomore forward Kalista Walters grabbed a pair of offensive boards and converted the putbacks to give the Panthers a 30-20 halftime lead.

“My teammates, especially starting with Brenna and Brandi, I definitely think they set the tone early on,” Walters said. “And when they set the tone it’s easy for me to come in and finish what they started.”

Pitt came out strong to start the second half, especially on the defensive end. The Panthers scored the first seven points of the third quarter offensive while keeping the Ramblers off the board for more than five minutes.

A pair of free throws by Loyola gave the Ramblers their first points of the second half, but the game was already slipping out of reach.

Pitt used a balanced scoring attack to extend its lead to 21 on the strength of back-to-back layups by Walters. Loyola added two more free throws with half a second left in the quarter, but the Panthers took a 45-28 edge into the fourth.

After a quick layup made it a 15-point game early in the final quarter, Bradley immediately responded by draining a three. Soon, Pitt’s lead was back over

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20, and the Panthers were able to cruise through the final 10 minutes to a decisive 59-35 win.

Despite the 24-point blowout, Wise believes the team still has many areas to improve on.

“Just continuing to move without the ball. When our outside shots aren’t hitting, continuing to finish at the rim … continuing all aspects of our game,” Wise said.

Pitt will next host Loyola Maryland at the Pete at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21.

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Football Preview, pg. 25 touchdowns and no interceptions. Still, the graduate transfer quarterback thinks he can be better.

“I don’t think it was the best game I’ve played this season ... people are really wrapped up in the numbers I think,” Peterman said Monday. “I think there was a lot I could have gotten better at, could have done better, and I’m hoping to get better at those this week.”

Peterman has been incredibly efficient

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November 18, 2016

this season, throwing for 2,114 yards, 19 touchdown passes and just four interceptions, but he said he’s still looking to play his best game. He’ll get a chance to do so Saturday against a Duke unit that ranks in the middle of the pack in the ACC in pass defense.

“They say you can’t be perfect, but I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be striving for perfection,” Peterman said.

Narduzzi hasn’t been surprised by Peterman’s growth this season. He says he thinks the quarterback is talented enough to play professionally.

“He’s a big-time player,” Narduzzi said. “I believe he’ll play in the NFL.” Jonesing to run After losing starting quarterback Thomas Sirk to injury before the season even started, it seemed like 2016 would be a lost season for Duke.

But his replacement, redshirt freshman Daniel Jones, hasn’t let the Blue Devils go away quietly. After a 3-6 start, he helped lead them to a 28-27 win last week over the team’s bitter in-state rival, No. 17 North Carolina.

Jones has been solid as a rookie, throwing for 2,277 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

“I think the quarterback is a guy that scares you,” Narduzzi said. “Daniel Jones is a guy that’s a big, tall, redshirt freshman guy that can sling it, and he can also run it.”

While Narduzzi said he expects Jones to take deep shots at Pitt’s corners — who have struggled defending the long ball all season — he is also prepared for the Blue Devils’ quarterback to attack with his legs.

“They didn’t run him early in the season because they were trying to protect him, but with two games to go and trying to get to a bowl, their backs are against the wall,” Narduzzi said. “And I know we’re going to get every quarterback run and everything we got out of him because that’s kind of the way they’ll approach this.”

PREDICTION: Duke is likely the weakest ACC opponent Pitt has squared off against thus far, but the Blue Devils have a knack for keeping games close. And when teams keep games close against the Panthers, they do so by scoring in bunches. Duke has only scored over 30 points twice this season, while Pitt has done so eight times. This is an opportunity for Pitt to secure its first wireto-wire blowout of the season.

Pitt 40, Duke 23

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I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet

Employment

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

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1,2,3,4,6 BR. Available August 2017.

Bigelow Boulvd, Truro Place, Craig, and Neville Street.

Call 412-287-5712.

3BR house, 2 bath.

Newly remodeled, wall-to-wall carpeting, equipped kitchen, on busline, 15 minute walk to campus. $250/person+ gas/electric.

Call 412-548-2214.

4 or 5BR house available May or August 2017. N. Oakland.

Laundry on site. To make an appointment call 412-812-9382.

August 2017. Furnished 5 bedroom house in North Oakland. Close walk to University of Pittsburgh, Shuttle. Utilities included.

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Contact: rentalschool22@gmail.com, 412-953-8820.

**AUGUST 2017: Furnished Studio, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 Bedroom Apts. No pets.

Non-smokers preferred. 412-621-0457 1-2-3-4-5 Bedroom Houses & Apartments. 376 Meyran, 343 McKee, & Atwood, St. James, Bates St. $1,095-$2,000. Call 412-969-2790.

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

• EDUCATIONAL • TRAVEL • HEALTH • PARKING • INSURANCE

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1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 bedroom apartments and houses available in May and August 2017. Nice, clean, free laundry, includes exterior maintenance, new appliances, spacious, located on Meyran, Bates, Oakland, Semple, Wellsford, Dawson, Juliet. 412-414-9629.

1-6 Bdr Apt./Houses.

Updated kitchen, air conditioning, laundry. Some w/ parking.Summer 2017.

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2-3-4 bedroom houses. Available now or January 1st.

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3rd Floor Apt, 2 BR, laundry. $800 includes utilities. Quiet building - no partying. Available immediately.

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4 BR Home - Semple Street. Equipped Kitchen, Full Basement. New central air added. Available immediately. Also renting for May and August 2017.

(412) 343-4289.

5,6,7 bedroom houses available. Located on Niagra, Chesterfield, Lawn, and Ophelia.

Contact Brent 412-680-6209.

6,7&8 bedroom

houses available starting August 1st 2017.

Five minute walk to Pitt. No pets. 1 year lease. Call 412-983-5222.

EFFICIENCY apartments, quiet building, laundry, shared bathroom, no partying.

Short-term or longterm lease. $395-$450 includes utilities. Available immediately.

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Newly renovated apartments for rent.

2,3,4 bedrooms available for August/September 2017.

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Please call Mike at 412-849-8694 for more information & for viewing.

South Oakland-Studio 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments available May 1, 2017 and Aug 1, 2017. Various Oakland locations. Free parking. Free heating.

Call 412-361-2695.

AVAILABLE NOWSHADYSIDE/FRIENDSHIP Holden St. 2BR – Roof Deck! $1450 Maryland 3Br $1545 New SS Appliances!

South Negley 1BR – Renovated! Spacious! $825 South Fairmount 1BR Private Entrance – $795 All Apartments are Pet Friendly!

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AVAILABLE NOW – SQUIRREL HILL LUXURY RENOVATIONS! MODERN! GRANITE! SS APPLIANCES! ALL NEW! Eldridge St. – 1Br $895 Studio $750 Shady Ave – 1BR $1150 2BR $1295 Murray Ave – 3BR $1695 4BR $1750 All Apartments are Pet Friendly Call 412-455-5600 for a showing.

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3,4,5 BR. Sarah Street and Wrights Way. Close to Pitt and Duquesne University. Call 412-287-5712.

1-6 bedroom. All newly renovated, airconditioning, dishwasher, washer/dryer, and parking. Available Summer 2017.

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Large private room in North Oakland house.

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2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses available ASAP. Call 412-385-3273.

November 18, 2016

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Participants Wanted for Paid Psychology Research for a research project at Carnegie Mellon University examining physiological responses (heart rate, blood pressure) while individuals perform behavioral tasks.

To be eligible for this study, you must be: •18-30 yrs. old •In good health •Fluent in English You will earn $25 for your participation in this 2-hour study.

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SEASONAL MARKETING ASSISTANT Shadyside property management firm established in 1960 needs a Seasonal Marketing Assistant to work with Excel, Word, the internet from approximately NOW until July 15th; three days/week, Thursday through Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM; most hours will be solitary on the computer with no phone work; 40 words per minute and strong computer skills required; no experience needed & we will train you at our Shadyside office; free parking. $12/hour plus generous season end bonus.

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