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Cover by Thomas Yang | Visual Editor
table of contents
6 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 8
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NEWS CULTURE
OPINIONS
SPORTS
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8 Summer news recap 10 Year of creativity: what’s ahead 12 A look at the class of 2023 13 A talk with UHC’s new dean
14 Fall break is no more 15 Pitt students are making Oakland “bee” friendly 16 Changes made to Pitt WiFi
18 Introducing Pitt’s new jazz studies director 20 Fall into fall events 20 Pitt Stages’ fall lineup
21 Pittsburgh record store guide 36 Staff picks: ways to conquer homesickness 37 A look at Pitt’s history
40 5 tips for student self-improvement 40 Gen eds to spice up your schedule 41 A Pittsburgher’s thoughts on Pitt 44 UVA game: what’ll happen?
48 Best Oakland restaurants 46 We can make South O. beautiful 48 Best Oakland restaurants 48 Satire: The columnists are back
62 Volleyball prepares to dominate 68 Chik fil a moves to the Pete 64 Football season preview 70 Recruitment roundup 65 Three rivers reform 76 Summer staff spotlight encourages inclusive skating
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letter from the
editor
Welcome back everyone! Wherever you’re coming from, welcome back to the country, welcome back to the city, welcome back to campus. You’ll find that plenty of notable changes occurred while you were gone, and plenty more are likely in store for the fall semester – and you can trust us to report on how these events and issues affect the Pitt community. Our 2019 Welcome Back edition touches on some of the summertime happenings you may have missed reading about. Pitt declared the 20192020 academic year the Year of Creativity in June,
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while a new jazz director and a new dean of the honors college assumed their posts. There’s been some changes made to Pitt’s dining options, while a tuition increase was approved in July. We’ve also included previews of big events this fall, including a look at Pitt football’s chances at defending their Coastal title and a lineup of Pitt Stages’ autumn productions. The Pitt News will be back in daily publication on Aug. 26. While it’s hard to tell when news will appear or what it will look like, expect some more coverage of ongoing campus issues, like the graduate students’ and faculty’s respective unionization efforts, the search for a new dean of the School of Medicine, and planned discussions between students and the administration about updating the Student Code of Conduct — be sure to read about it at pittnews.com. Our culture section will continue rolling out new features on Pitt’s creative types and housing reviews of the season’s hottest movies, fashion trends, and more. Expect our columnists in the opinions section to provide commentary on issues from the hyper-local to the international. Our sports section will again sport extensive coverage of Pitt’s evolving teams, including Volleyball’s near-undefeated underdogs and the new faces of Pitt men’s basketball. The Pitt News itself is undergoing internal
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changes – we’re continuing our efforts to engage our readers in more creative and fulfilling ways online. Expect a host of new blogs, awesome graphics and even more videos from our burgeoning digital team. Follow us on social media, download our app or subscribe to our e-newsletter, which rounds out the most important and entertaining stories we put out each week. And while we want to make sure our stories are reaching you in the ways you want to receive them, we’d also love for you, our readers, to reach out to us. While all of us at The Pitt News are students, we can’t claim to know everything the rest of the Pitt community wants to read about. Message us on Facebook or Twitter, shoot a specific section editor an email, or stop by our office on the fourth floor of the William Pitt Union. Give feedback, ask questions, provide tips or submit a letter to the editor. Better yet, apply to work with us – whether as a news reporter on the student government beat, a columnist with a hot new take on local politics or a sportswriter who can juggle features and game recaps, we’d be glad to have you. Here’s to another big year ahead. H2P!
Janine Faust Editor-in-chief
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News WHAT YOU MISSED THIS SUMMER: TUITION HIKES, UNION
DEVELOPMENTS, ETHAN KOZAK Emily Wolfe
Contributing Editor
Pitt’s Board of Trustees met in July to approve a tuition increase for the 201920 academic year. Thomas Yang | visual editor
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Students are flooding back to campus from all corners of the world to find that their tuition has been raised, Bigelow Boulevard is slated for construction and the campaign for Pitt faculty to unionize is still moving through the appeals process. We’ve rounded up a few of the summer’s biggest headlines, in case you missed them. Students face tuition increase Committees derived from Pitt’s Board of Trustees met in July to confirm the University’s $2.4 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year, ultimately approving a tuition increase for the 2019-20 academic year. In-state students will face an average tuition hike of 2.75%, while out-of-state students will see an average increase of 5%.
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The increases will be steeper for students in the Swanson School of Engineering and the School of Computing and Information, where tuition will increase by 4.75% for in-state students and 7% for out-of-state students. Tuition has been increasing steadily over the past several years, barring last year, when tuition remained the same for most in-state students. Faculty organizers still fighting for union Pitt faculty members hoping to form a union faced a major setback in April when the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled that organizers had not collected enough signed cards from faculty members to move ahead with a union election. The organizers swiftly responded with claims that Pitt had orchestrated the outcome by submitting an See News Recap on page 23
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PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR YEAR OF CREATIVITY Vaibhav Gupta Staff Writer
During Pitt’s “Year of Global” in 2018-19, students, staff and faculty were encouraged to consider the world beyond their campus. Now heading into its sixth year, the “Year of ” initiative wants the Pitt community to take a look inward. The Year of Creativity will be the sixth incarnation of Pitt’s “Year of ” series of themed academic years. Last year’s Year of Pitt Global kicked off with the Global Carnival, followed by workshops and lectures focused on enhancing the community’s international connections and understanding.
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The forthcoming Year of Creativity is led by a 33-member steering committee, chaired by the University Center for Creativity’s Kit Ayars and Jeanne Marie Laskas, an English professor and the Center’s founding director. Ayars, the Center’s director of strategy and partnerships, said the theme of creativity was chosen in an effort to help encourage interdisciplinary learning among students and faculty. “It is a perfect time because the University has really begun to embrace interdisciplinary work and creativity as a factor in all of the University’s disciSee Creativity on page 24
Pitt’s “Year of Creativity” for 2019-20 will be the sixth theme in the University’s “Year of” series. image via university of pittsburgh
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WHO’S IN THE CLASS OF 2023? Vaibhav Gupta Staff Writer
New students from all corners of the country — and the world — will soon enter as Pitt’s class of 2023. According to Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, the students of the class of 2023 will be one of the most ethnically diverse cohort of students in the university’s history. In his remarks at the June meeting of Pitt’s Board of Trustees, Gallagher highlighted the demographic composition of the incoming class. “As we draw less from Pennsylvania, more from the rest of the country, we’re starting to look more like the rest of the country,” Gallagher said. “Once again, we are likely to welcome one of the most racially, ethnically diverse classes on record for the University of Pittsburgh.” According to statistics provided by Pitt’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, more than 1,200 students of the 4,131 students of the incoming first-
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year class — or around 28% — identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or two or more races. A record 14% of the incoming class are from underrepresented minority groups — Latino students make up 7% of the incoming class. More of Pitt’s students are also coming from outside of Pennsylvania — a record 42% of students are out-ofstaters. Gallagher also noted in the June Board of Trustees meeting the incoming class’s high standardized test scores and high GPAs — the middle 50% of their high school GPAs run as high as 4.31 and 4.44. “We’re seeing an incredibly accomplished class of young people coming in who, once again, will best our topline numbers in all the academic achievement areas like GPA and test scores,” Gallagher said.
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Jon Moss | contributing editor
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NEW ACTING UHC DEAN TALKS ADMISSIONS, OUTREACH
Jon Moss
News Editor After serving for six years as the associate dean at Pitt’s College of Business Administration, Audrey Murrell is moving on — to the University Honors College. Murrell recently relocated from Sennott Square to the 36th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, home of the UHC. She was appointed acting dean of the Honors College on June 17 for the next two years, tasked with rolling out a new admissions-based honors program and expanding the UHC’s global research programs while doubling down on the UHC’s successes in fellowships, the Bachelor of Philosophy degree and national scholarships. She is the first African American and woman to hold the UHC dean title. Her appointment follows the June 1 departure of the previous UHC dean, Brian Primack, who is now the dean of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas.
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Looking back on her time at CBA, Murrell said she was proud of the work she had done to expand certificate and accelerated degree programs. She also highlighted the number of business students who have been able to study abroad while at Pitt, referencing CBA’s tagline, “from the classroom, to the city, to the world.” “We had 48% of the business students who, by the time I left, had some international experience. Twenty-five percent had done international internships, the national average is 1%,” Murrell said. “We provided significant scholarship funding to make sure that people who needed gap funding to be able to do study abroad had it, so 100% of students who qualified received some funding from us.” Murrell said she was approached in the spring by Provost Ann Cudd about taking over the UHC. The two talked about the future of the Honors College and how Murrell could contribute to that vision.
“I think we really got on the same page about what we could do to support honors students at Pitt,” Murrell said. “Since the Honors College is just such an extraordinary unit within the University, it was hard to say no.” The Honors College is rolling out a new admissions-based program this fall, in which students will receive a “with honors” credential, in addition to their regular diploma, upon completing the program and graduating. The application process for the program — which includes 24 credits and a number of hands-on elements like internships or study-abroad trips — is similar to that of honors housing from previous years, with an academics component and two essay questions. The program was created, in part, due to prospective students asking Pitt administrators why the University didn’t have an admissions-based honors program, like those at other universities. With the new program, Murrell said, Pitt
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See Dean on page 25
Audrey Murrell, former associate dean at Pitt’s College of Business Administration, will serve as dean for Pitt’s Honors College. image via university of pittsburgh
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THANKSGIVING BREAK TO LAST FULL WEEK Jon Moss
News Editor Pitt students will have more time to ready themselves for their mashed potatoes and turkey this year, thanks to a new schedule change. Thanksgiving break will last a full week beginning this academic year, two days more than students were given off in the past. The week off in November will be students’ first respite during the fall semester as fall break, traditionally a three-day weekend in October, has been removed from the academic calendar. Pitt spokesperson Kevin Zwick said in an email the University decided to make the scheduling change after looking at the calendars of peer institutions
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and discussing the move with members of SGB and Provost Ann Cudd’s Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Programs, an administrator advisory body. “We also took a look at levels of campus activity during the fall break and found that many students did not leave campus at that time,” Zwick said. “This change has the added benefit of aligning both the fall and spring calendars so that there is one full week off in each semester and there are the same number of class meetings in each semester.” Zwick added that the University is working to make the annual Parents Weekend happen on or before the time Thanksgiving break will last for a full week as of the 2019 fall semester. when fall break would normally occur. via wikimedia commons
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PITT STUDENTS BUILD SUSTAINABLE NEW HOMES FOR BEES Emily Wen
For The Pitt News Returning Oakland residents might notice some new tall structures around their neighborhood, shaped like birdhouses and filled with thin, rolled up cardboard. These aren’t birdhouses--they’re bee houses, built by five Pitt students in June with the Bee Friendly Pitt project, which provide safe places for bees to nurse their young and raise awareness about solitary bees. The seven bee houses are located in green spaces around Oakland, including the Marlie Gardens and the Posvar Hall Pollinator Garden. Matthew Golub, a junior environmental studies major and member of the project, said the idea to build bee houses around Oakland started when he took a sustainability course taught by Ward Allebach, an adjunct environmental studies professor, this past spring. The Solitary bee species have difficulty surviving in urban environments. image via premise of the course is for students wikimedia commons to create a project that aligns with the
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University’s Sustainability Plan, released in 2018. Golub and Sarah Hart, a senior environmental studies major and fellow group member, were both interested in bees. Golub has harbored an interest in insects since seventh grade, and Hart’s mother works with beehives and is a member of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild. They and their peers discovered that solitary bees, which are native to the Pittsburgh area, were prime subjects for their project since they are more efficient at pollinating than honey bees, which are from Europe. Furthermore, they can pollinate a wide range of plants, creating a stronger ecosystem in urban areas. “It helps with air quality, habitats for other animals, preventing erosion with some of the trees and stuff like that,” Golub said. See Bees on page 27
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Jon Moss
PITT OUTSOURCES DORM WIFI, WILL CHARGE FOR FASTER SPEEDS
News Editor Beginning in fall 2019, Pitt WiFi services in residence halls and University-owned housing units will be run by a third party, with a fee charged for higher speeds on more devices, according to an email sent August 6 to students and an August 8 announcement on my.pitt.edu. “The University recognized the need to improve Wi-Fi access in our residence halls and has worked with a third-party vendor to make enhancements to the system over the summer,” the announcement said. MyResNet, a product of Apogee, a technology services provider for universities, will offer “reliable… guaranteed” speeds of 60 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps, for free per device, on up to seven devices. Students can purchase speeds of 100 Mbps for downloads and 50 Mbps for uploads, per device, for use on up to 10 devices, for $69 per semester. Pitt spokesperson Kevin Zwick said in an email
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on August 8 that the University will see none of the optional $69 fee. Zwick said that the migration was a result of feedback and CSSD Help Desk requests from students over the past few years. He said students who have previously used a wired connection for Internet access, using an Ethernet port, can still do so by calling the CSSD Help Desk at 412-624-4357. He was unable to make a representative from CSSD available for questions. CSSD, Pitt’s IT department, previously provided free WiFi services at all residence halls and University-owned housing units for 300 Mbps per wireless access point, which multiple students’ devices would connect to. CSSD will still operate the free Wireless-PittNet and Wireless-PittNet-Fast WiFi networks at all academic buildings, which offer speeds of up to 300 Mbps per wireless access point. In an FAQ tweeted out August 9 clarifying information about the new Pitt has outsourced WiFi services for all residence halls and University-owned service, Pitt IT described MyResNet as being a sig- housing units beginning this fall, and will charge students for faster speeds. See WiFi on page 28 Thomas Yang | visual editor
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Culture
NICOLE MITCHELL: JAZZING UP PITT’S JAZZ PROGRAM Isabella Colaianni
Staff Writer When Geri Allen passed away in 2017, members of Pitt’s music department not only mourned their friend and fellow faculty member, but were also faced with an enormous task — finding a new director of the Jazz Studies program. After considering numerous applicants on an international scale for more than a year, the University finally found the new director it’s been looking for. Nicole Mitchell, an internationally acclaimed jazz flutist, composer and educator, was named the University of Pittsburgh’s William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair in Jazz Studies in January. She officially took Nicole Mitchell, an internationally acclaimed jazz flutist, composer and edu- over the role on July 1, becoming the third cator, was named to the director of Pitt’s Jazz Studies in January. image via director in the program’s 49-year history. An university of pittsburgh award-winning musician in her field and a
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university professor for more than 18 years, Mitchell will also teach as a professor in the music department. Deane L. Root, a current professor in the music department at Pitt and the former chair of the department, assisted in the search for a new director of the Jazz Studies program. As a key figure in choosing who would take over the program, Root said no other candidates came as highly endorsed by their peers than Nicole Mitchell. “I talked to some leading people in the field of jazz and they all said one name — Nicole Mitchell Gantt. We did an international search, but, in the end, she really was the one who stood out as the most creative — the one who helps to build strong programs and communities and brings people together,” Root said. “She’s a real builder See Jazz on page 29
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FALL EVENTS YOU REALLY “AUTUMN” KNOW ABOUT Sara Nuss Staff Writer
From hitting up music festivals to attending sporting events, there are many ways for returning students to entertain themselves in the bustling City of Pittsburgh. With fall just around the corner, it’s best to keep in mind any upcoming opportunities to attend concerts, fall festivals and other celebrations that come with the change of the weather. Thrival Festival From Sept. 18-20, the Thrival Festival, which explores the intersection of humans, technology and creativity, will be in Pittsburgh. It is comprised of three different events, including the Innovation Summit, Thrival Interactive and the music festival. Thrival’s goal is to explore and adapt the learning process of the Fourth Industrial Revolution through presentations, discussions and workshops, with plenty of food and music involved along the way. The Innovation Summit takes place Sept. 18-19 at the Carnegie Museum of Art and focuses on how technology has influenced humans, businesses and the culture we live in. The Summit’s primary focus this year will be on Pittsburgh innovators, dominated by the theme of “By Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh. For the world.” Some topics of discussion include the future of work, the future of health care and technology, social innovation and sports and entertainment. Speakers include Hans Brown, head of International Technology at BNY Mellon, and Amy Blackman, founder and CEO of the innovation consultancy Fruition. Thrival Interactive will also take place in the Carnegie Museum of Art on the See Events on page 31
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PITT STAGES’ FALL SEASON FOCUSES ON MODERN ISSUES, RELATIONSHIPS Justin Gardner For The Pitt News
It can be hard for the student theater-lover to catch a show at a decent price, what with a lack of time, money and means of transportation. Fortunately, Pitt Stages, the flagship production company of the Department of Theatre Arts, provides students with several opportunities each semester to see high-quality shows at a decent price on campus. The company stages public performances throughout the school year, allowing students to take part in the creation and consumption of theater. This upcoming semester, Pitt Stages is offering a total of four different shows. Two are Mainstage productions, directed professionally, while the others are student labs, which are directed by students at the University of Pittsburgh. “next to normal” // The first Mainstage production of the fall is “next to normal,” a 2008 pop-rock musical written by Brian Yorkey that contemplates the struggles of familial relationships and mental health disorders. The story revolves around the Goodmans, a suburban family of four. On the surface, they appear to be the quintessential middle class American family. In reality, past family trauma and the mother’s struggle with bipolar disorder is testing the resolve of their bonds. “next to normal” is a story largely about attempting to lead normal lives in spite of trauma, while also challenging assumptions about what “happy” looks like. Its complex plot isn’t limited to those themes, though — it addresses issues surrounding medical ethics, stigmas associated with mental health and childrearing. It is a story both about navigating adulthood and coming of age. It is a musical that is thoughtful and emotional, but capable of lightheartedness. Richard E. Rauhl Teaching Artist-in-Residence Niffer Clarke will direct this production. Clarke is a theater/vocal instructor and coach who has also appeared in various off-Broadway Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne will and regional theater productions. This is not her perform at the Roxian Theater in first time directing for PittStages — she directed McKees Rocks on Oct. 8. dennis van “Into the Woods” in Spring 2019. tine/abaca press/mct “next to normal” will run from Oct. 3-13 at
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the Richard E. Rauh Studio Theatre. “The Wolves” // Sports have been represented in fiction innumerable times, so at this point it often feels like a theme that has been reduced to a lazy metaphor for overcoming hardship. Sarah DeLappe reassesses how sports can be used to frame stories in her 2016 play, “The Wolves.” The plot focuses on the titular indoor girls’ soccer team and takes place during pregame stretches over the course of their season. In this play, soccer is not the focus of the plot, but a backdrop for its events. It is used to embody an interesting social climate that is central to the high school experience. Loose comradery, cliqueness, gossip and angst are apparent throughout “The Wolves,” as well as unity and personal growth. The play is an intimate narrative of adolescence with a distinct storytelling perspective. For many college students, it may shed a new light on ideas and feelings from their not-sodistant past. Visiting assistant professor Kelly Trumbell will direct “The Wolves” in the fall. In addition to her work at Pitt, she also lectures at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music and Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts, as well as acting in productions at the Pittsburgh CLO, Quantum Theatre and Pittsburgh Public Theater. “The Wolves” will run from Nov. 14-24 at the Richard E. Rauh Studio Theater. “Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights” // The first student lab of the fall is “Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights,” a 1938 play written by Gertrude Stein which is regarded as a hallmark of avant-garde theater. Its roots lie in the classic Faust legend, in which a man makes a pact with the devil, exchanging his soul for knowledge. “Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights” infuses the ideas of this legend with the issues of its time, namely rising facist leaders and the dangers of technology. But given its unorthodox structure, the play allows the audience to make various interpretations about its meaning. There are several similarities between Stein’s world and modern society, but the eccentric aspects of her play help it transcend time. Framed See Stages on page 33
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A RECORD OF PITT’S RECORD STORES Melanie Pantano
Staff Writer Despite the rise of streaming platforms and other accessible forms of finding music, record collecting has seen a recent resurgence. Peer into any Urban Outfitters and fresh pressings of classic hit records reside alongside vinyls of some of the hottest modern artists of today. Any Pittsburghers who’ve fallen under the spell of the “vinyl revival” have a plethora of places to choose from that sell both new and used records, catering to customers seeking a legendary grail record or just their favorite album. Not everyone collects vinyl, but keep reading — some of these locations host books, CDs and other offline entertainment mediums. Be sure to keep this list handy next time Record Store Day, held the third Saturday of every April, rolls around. Jerry’s Records 2136 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. See Records on page 34
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Records on display at Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill. Thomas Yang | visual editor
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Recap, pg. 8 inflated list of faculty eligible to be in a bargaining unit. So far, organizers’ attempts to appeal the process have been successful. The PLRB ordered a series of hearings to examine the validity of the organizers’ claims. When Pitt, claiming privacy concerns, announced it would not turn its list of eligible faculty over to union organizers, organizers denounced it as a stalling tactic. Organizers then successfully convinced the PLRB to renew its demand for Pitt to disclose the documents at the hearings in late July. The hearings wrapped up on the second day, when the board ruled that Pitt must release the documents by Nov. 1. Union organizers will have a month to examine the documents for evidence of the alleged violations. Organizers said they’re still hoping for a union election in spring 2020. SkyVue fire kicks students out of bed A June 2 electrical fire at the SkyVue Apartments on Forbes Avenue left residents couchsurfing around Pittsburgh while they waited for management to restore power to the building. While some tenants were able to move back in later that week, others claim their units were left without power for nearly a month, leaving them unable to
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move back in until early July. Kozak charged after racist messages When a black Pittsburgh resident posted racist threats he’d received from Pitt student Ethan Kozak to Twitter in late June, the messages’ spread led to investigations from Pitt and local law enforcement. In mid-July, Kozak was criminally charged with ethnic intimidation, terroristic threats and harassment. Kozak, a junior political science major, used racist and homophobic slurs in the viral messages he sent to 20-year-old Mt. Lebanon resident D.J. Matthews. Over Snapchat, Kozak threatened to shoot Matthews “legally … just like George Zimmerman,” repeatedly using the “n-word.” The messages to Matthews led Mt. Lebanon police to charge Kozak with one count each of ethnic intimidation and terroristic threats. Other threatening messages which Kozak sent to Indiana University of Pennsylvania student Colin Welling resulted in a count of harassment. A group of 27 student leaders, including Black Action Society President Jenea Lyles and Student Government Board President Zechariah Brown, sent a letter to top Pitt officials calling for Kozak’s expulsion. Although Pitt cannot legally disclose details about any disciplinary proceedings involving Kozak at this time, officials have emphasized that the University is cooperating with local law enforcement agencies. Kozak’s preliminary hearing will be held Oct. 30 at 1:30 p.m.
Construction coming to Bigelow Starting Nov. 1, Bigelow Boulevard will be closed between Fifth and Forbes avenues for nearly a year while the street is remodeled as part of the University’s Campus Master Plan. The planned changes — which will cost about $23.5 million — include a redesigned front lawn for the William Pitt Union, a safer central crosswalk and modified bike and traffic lanes. The University projects construction will last until Aug. 1, 2020. Until then, pedestrians will be able to cross Bigelow at both ends of the block. Route adjustments for Pitt’s shuttle services have not been published yet. Police charge suspect after two attempted sexual assaults Eric Hernandez, a 23-year-old resident of South Oakland, was arrested July 30 and charged in two cases of attempted sexual assault reported by women earlier that month. One woman, who lives on North Craig Street, said she was attacked in her apartment July 11 by a man who had visited her residence earlier that day to fix her air conditioning. The other woman said she was walking home shortly before 4 a.m. on July 30 when she was stopped by a man who threatened her at gunpoint and attempted to rape her before taking her bag and running. Both positively identified Hernandez from a photo array.
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Hernandez has been charged with a total of 12 criminal counts, including two counts each of false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and simple assault. He is currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail, awaiting a mid-August preliminary hearing. Police officer on trial for assaulting, harassing two black Pitt students A white police officer, Anthony Ricchiuto, awaits trial after an October 2018 incident that occurred while he was off-duty. Two black Pitt students, Aaron Hill and Stanley Umeweni, both seniors at the time, were allegedly assaulted and harassed by Ricchiuto and his brother on Fifth Avenue in Oakland. According to a criminal complaint filed by Pitt police, Anthony Ricchiuto approached them and put his hand on his gun. His brother then moved forward, said, “I don’t need a gun,” and struck one of the students on the arm. Brian Ricchiuto pled guilty to two counts of harassment in February. Anthony Ricchiuto faces six criminal counts in his August trial, including two counts each of simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Ricchiuto worked as an officer for the Braddock Hills Police Department and as a police supervisor at UPMC at the time of the incident. After he was arrested, Ricchiuto was suspended by UPMC and later resigned.
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Creativity, pg. 10 plines,” Ayars said. “I don’t mean just the academic disciplines, those are obviously key, but also the whole University makes use of creativity.” According to Ayars, there will be numerous programs throughout the academic year for students in the Center for Creativity, which will lead most of the Year of Creativity’s initiatives. The Center, which opened in 2016 as part of the Year of the Humanities
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and is located in the basement of the University Store on Fifth, offers an inclusive environment for students to engage in art, music, writing and other activities that nurture creativity. Upcoming programs include Bound & UnBound, a series of text-based workshops hosted by the University Library System which focus on different themes, from making your own journal to experimenting with creating zines. Another planned program is Sunday Stanza in the Center for Creativity, which hosts informal poetry
workshops focused on incorporating other forms of art. According to Ayars, the Center is open to nurturing all kinds of forms of creativity. In the past, faculty members across disciplines, from marketing to sciences, have used the Center as a resource for learning. Ayars explained a History of Medicine class used the Center to create some of the medical artifacts that students they learned about in class. According to Josh Groffman, a member of the Steering Committee
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and an assistant professor of music at Pitt Bradford, students can get involved at multiple levels for the Year of Creativity. He said in an email students can also propose new ideas that the University can help fund and implement. “One of our biggest hopes for this initiative is that we will get lots of proposals from students and student groups! I would encourage everyone to check out the Request for Proposals, which gives a sense of what sorts of activity can be funded and how to apply,” Groffman said. The Year of Creativity will also offer students, faculty and staff resources for pursuing their own creative projects, whether they are events, performances, productions or experiments. Pitt community members can apply anytime before March 31, 2020, for up to $5,000 from the Year’s Steering Committee to fund creative projects hosted in line with the Year of Creativity’s mission. Aishwarya Ramesh, a rising sophomore studio arts and neuroscience major as well as a photography enthusiast, said creativity is not only representative of artistic ability, but also includes an inventive component. “A lot of people are creative, and they’re creative in ways that aren’t just in artistic ability, because you can be very creative in an original and innovative way and not be creative in necessarily artistic ability,” Ramesh said. According to Evan Fracher, a member of the Steering Committee of the Year of Creativity as well as the vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and director of the Innovation Institute, the Year of Creativity will help have a plethora of events reflecting different aspects of creativity on campus. “I think that the Year will help students in that it will provide a full year platform for students to see all the creative aspects the University has to offer. This runs the gamut of art and music to philosophy and science to innovation and commercialization. All of these areas have creativity aspects and will be showcased during the academic year,” Fracher said.
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Dean, pg. 13 will be more competitive with other universities and the UHC will now be able to be ranked against them. “If you want an enhanced experience — where there is a clear pathway and a destination to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree with honors distinction — we now have a program, a deliberate and intentional program for students who want that, because other schools that they’re looking at have that, and Pitt doesn’t,” Murrell said. “It honestly makes us more competitive, not more exclusive.” Murrell added that all existing UHC opportunities remain open to all Pitt students, regardless of whether or not they are part of the new program. “I would see them not as a hierarchy, but as a menu of options, and the value is based on what is the best fit for what you want as your destination,” Murrell said. According to Murrell, about 300 first-years are participating in the first run of the program, resulting in the Honors Housing Learning-Living Community moving from the west to the east wing of Sutherland Hall this year due to fewer students being involved. About 400 students lived in Honors Housing last year. “Moving forward, we’ll start to gradually increase the number of students that are getting accommodated in the new model, but since it’s a new model, we set the target to be reasonable,” Murrell said. “We wanted to make sure we executed well during this first year.” In addition to the new honors program, Murrell said she is also focused on bringing new life to the UHC’s global research program, which was popular in past years. “The staff and I are working to bring that back, so that the research opportunities — which honors students have really taken advantage of locally — can be extended globally,” Murrell said. She added that the UHC will be conducting more outreach activities with the Pitt community, both through service and research. “We are going to really strengthen what we are doing, not just in terms of community service, but in community-
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based research,” Murrell said. “To ensure that students understand that there are a lot of different ways that scholarship can be expressed, and community-based research is one of those valuable outlets.” Murrell mentioned her own interest in sustainable food systems as an example of work that impacts local communities and features interdisciplinary conversations. When asked whether she was staying on as Honors College dean past her twoyear appointment, Murrell said that it See Dean on page 26
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Dean, pg. 25 was not her call, and she was focused on the upcoming academic year. “I don’t want to look too far down the road,” Murrell said. “I want to make sure I keep all of us focused so that we deliver an impactful experience for this group of students who are joining the Pitt campus in the fall.” As the Honors College prepares to enter its 32nd year, Murrell said it can still be a challenge to educate Pitt community members about all of the
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different opportunities available at the UHC, besides the more well-known programs. “I think part of it is that they were already there, but there wasn’t the level of awareness,” Murrell said. “We’re going to do better at telling that story so that students know that if you want to do research, if you have a project in mind, if you want to look at things from an interdisciplinary perspective — that those are welcome, and they’re valued, and they’ll be supported in the University Honors College.”
What exactly “honors” means has changed over the UHC’s history — its founding dean G. Alec “Doc” Stewart emphasized intellectual curiosity and creating a place where students could pursue high academic attainment for its own sake. After Stewart’s unexpected death in 2010, neuroscience professor Edward Stricker was appointed as the new dean and began to move away from that philosophy to one of academic accomplishments — drawing the ire of students. Murrell said that under her watch, all
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disciplines, majors and perspectives will be welcomed and valued at the Honors College. “We have a whole portfolio of ways for students to imagine themselves as part of the UHC, at a course level, at a project level, at a global experience level,” Murrell said. “The other thing that we say in the Honors College is that, ‘we cross boundaries,’ be they disciplinary boundaries, or geographic boundaries or thought boundaries. And if we don’t have it, and it’s a good idea, we’ll help you create it.”
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Bees, pg. 15 Solitary bees, which are about the size of a fingernail, make up about 90% of the different species of bees in Pennsylvania. Female solitary bees like to nest in tiny holes they build in the bare ground. Unlike honey bees, which have a social grouping with a queen, worker and drone bees, solitary bees don’t like to interact with other bees, even if they live near them. “I like to think of it as a neighborhood,” Golub said. “You’re not in your neighbor’s house all the time, but you live in the same area.” These bees prefer unkempt gardens to live in, but those are hard to find in urban environments like Oakland. Richard Heller, Pitt’s senior manager of electrical utilities and energy initiatives, said that’s partly explained by the appearance of unkempt gardens. “Nobody [in an urban setting] is going to tolerate ‘unsightliness,’” Heller said. “So those untidy stems and dead wood and unmulched, unmowed grounds that bees need to raise their young in ― we need to find an aesthetically pleasing way to do that.” The solution to that are the bee houses, made of untreated plywood with roofing, with cardboard tubes and bamboo on the interior for the female solitary bees to lay their eggs and raise their young. The houses are mounted on 8-foot-tall wood posts to avoid dampness and predators. But the bee houses have a longer history on campus than when the Bee Friendly Pitt group took up the project. According to Allebach and Heller, the project traces its roots back to 2016 and 2017, when pollinator gardens were first proposed and installed in Oakland by students like Anna Greenberg, cofounder of Thriftsburgh. Over the past few years, different student groups, like Burgh and the Bees, have followed in each other’s footsteps to move the project forward. Past attempts at installing bee houses weren’t realized due to time constraints, but provided foundational stepping stones for future related projects ― such as getting permission to set up houses or demonstrating the safety of solitary bees, which don’t sting unless handled
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roughly. “There have been a lot of projects like that,” Allebach said. “From one project grows another.” In addition to habitat loss due to urbanization, other factors impact bees in urban settings. Nevin Cullen, a graduate student studying pollen transfer dynamics in the Ashman lab, said black asphalt and concrete replace flowers and bare ground and increase urban temperatures. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, solitary bees, which have a lower
thermal tolerance than social bees, might be at greater risk towards these warming temperatures. “Right now, urbanized areas are a pretty harsh landscape for insects,” Cullen said. “And it breaks up the landscape around surrounding urban areas.” Cullen said it’s important to not only use sustainable resources, but also to provide friendly environments — such as the bee houses — for insects, plants and other wildlife to establish habitat connectivity. Golub and Hart are currently writing a manual for Pitt’s Students For Sus-
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tainability club on how to easily make and maintain the bee houses. They also intend to establish signage to educate curious pedestrians and hopefully erase stigma towards bees. “People say ‘Let’s save the bees!’ But when they think of bees, they think of honey bees, and honey bees are only one type of bee,” Hart said. “To ‘save the bees,’ they have to know what they’re trying to save.” Editor’s Note: Sarah Cutshall, the visuals editor at The Pitt News, is a member of the Bee Friendly Pitt project.
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WiFi, pg. 16 nificant improvement over PittNet in residence halls since PittNet Wi-Fi speeds varied depending on how many other devices were connected to an access point at that time. “As more devices connected, less bandwidth was available per device. MyResNet provides a consistent wireless experience per device — on up to seven devices per resident,” Pitt IT said in the FAQ. Some students were outraged at the move by the University, wondering why tuition — which was just increased by as much as 7% for some students — as well as room and board fees, did not fully cover
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WiFi costs. Every semester, students pay a mandatory $175 computer and network services fee, which the University uses for “upgrading and maintaining the University’s computer systems, equipment, and facilities,” according to the Student Payment Center. Dighan Kelly, a rising senior urban studies, French and English triple major, said she was shocked when she heard about the changes being made to the WiFi. “I was honestly very flabbergasted that Pitt thought that making WiFi on a paid scale at a university was a good idea. But also thought that that would go over well with students,” Kelly said. “Especially after this giant tuition increase.”
Twitter user @mikeytheasian said he was upset the University downgraded the speeds available to students, and will now be charging for speeds that are less than what was available before. “If you’re gonna charge extra for a service, fine – keep what you already have (good) and charge extra for improvements on top of that,” the user said in a tweet. “Don’t cut back on service, charge the same for it, and have the nerve to ask for extra for worse service.” Pitt IT also stated in the FAQ tweeted out August 9 that the basic level of service offered by MyResNet “should be more than adequate for most uses—including web browsing and streaming.” The
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FAQ also asserted that MyResNet speeds should not decrease as more devices connect. “The infrastructure is robust enough that those speeds should remain consistent regardless of how many other devices are connected at a given time or location,” Pitt IT said in the FAQ. Zwick said students are provided the basic MyResNet plan for free, and that the $175 persemester fee, which has not risen since the 2010-11 school year, provides students with access to a wide variety of software at below-market prices. The change also caught some students by surprise because the email notifying them about the MyResNet migration was sent two weeks before most students are set to move in, and the migration had not been discussed publicly before an announcement on its completion. Zwick said the undertaking to replace wireless access points in 2,900 rooms across Pitt’s 38 residence halls began the day after move-out in April so the service would be available by move-in in the fall. “We announced the service early to allow students to register their devices in advance so they’ll be able to connect upon arrival to campus,” he said. Editor’s Note: This story was updated to better reflect that the WiFi speeds provided by MyResNet are offered on a per-device basis, as opposed to the per-access point speeds provided by the Wireless-PittNet and Wireless-PittNet-Fast networks. It was also updated to include statements from Pitt IT.
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Jazz, pg. 18 and community-maker, an amazing internationally recognized musician, composer and leader of ensemble. She’s the complete package.” Mitchell shares Root’s excitement and said she couldn’t be happier to be at the University of Pittsburgh. After living in multiple cities and doing various kinds of work, she feels that Pittsburgh is the perfect place for her to flourish and not have to sacrifice anything she wants to do academically, musically or with the community. “Being at University of Pittsburgh gives me the opportunity for the first time to be my full self at one job,” Mitchell said in an email. “Here at the University of Pittsburgh, I have the opportunity for collaborative leadership on a new vision to invigorate the Jazz program, while I can also facilitate partnerships on campus and with the greater Pittsburgh community. It’s a win-win!” Before starting at the University of Pittsburgh, Mitchell served as a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, where she worked primarily in the music department’s PhD Program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology, advising PhD students and teaching courses in music composition and improvisation. She was also the vice co-chair of the university’s Council on Climate, Culture and Inclusion, in which she worked to create connections across various groups in the campus community and different initiates to support the inclusion of underrepresented groups at the university. She cites learning to handle the hardships she experienced growing up as the reason why she knows how to be a good educator. From experiencing violence and ridicule as one of the few African American children living in her Californian neighborhood after the civil rights movement, to graduating college as a single mother, Mitchell finds these experiences have made her a more compassionate and understanding person. “I was an untraditional student, so I can understand the types of hardships in life that may make it difficult for a student to navigate the university setting. I finished college as a single mother, having just gotten off of public aid. As an educator, I believe my goal is to facilitate, not force learning,” Mitchell wrote. “Learning is not information, it’s a skill of being able to think critically and ex-
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pand one’s consciousness through exposure to new ideas and interaction with others. For music students, I’m happy to facilitate each student’s unique vision of how they can contribute to humanity through their work in music.” This fall, Mitchell will introduce a new class called Creative Arts Ensemble, which will be offered to both undergraduate and graduate students. The course is open to all creative artists and will teach students about interdisciplinary work through experience and research by collaborating in mediums such as music, poetry, movement, film and/or visual art. In the spring, Mitch-
ell will teach the music department’s History of Jazz class, which is the largest course offered by the music department and is open to non-music majors. Beyond her abilities as an academic, Mitchell is widely known in her field for her work as a jazz flutist. While the flute may be the instrument she’s internationally known for, it wasn’t the first instrument Mitchell was exposed to. “I was introduced to the flute in 4th grade. When I first heard it, the sound went right through me in a startling way. But my parents told me ‘No.’ They had already bought me a viola just months before,”
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Mitchell wrote. “So, I started playing ‘air flute’ with my imagination from then until 8th grade, when I happened to win an art contest. My parents offered to give me art lessons and I said: ‘Can you take that same money for the art lessons and give me a flute?’ I was really into it right away.” As a professional, her list of awards and honors for her contributions to the jazz field are numerous, and include Top Flutist by Downbeat Magazine’s Jazz Critic’s Poll every year from 2010-2017, Flutist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association See Jazz on page 30
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Jazz, pg. 29 nine times since 2008 and, more recently, the Champion of New Music Award by the American Composers Forum in 2018. Mitchell has also founded several music groups during her career, including Sonic Projections, Ice Crystals, Maroon Cloud and Black Earth Ensemble. BEE, which was founded in Chicago more than 20 years ago, is the most well-known of her various groups, having performed at art venues and jazz festivals throughout
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Europe, Canada and the United States. Currently, the group is in Lisbon, Portugal, performing Mitchell’s Mandorla Awakening project for the Jazz Agosto festival. The current chair of the music department, Mathew Rosenblum, said Mitchell is an exciting addition to the music department at Pitt and looks forward to helping her achieve her goals. “I find her work to be very refreshing, eclectic and also challenging for the listener in the best way, because
it makes you think about music and the role of the artist,” Rosenblum said. “She is full of ideas about so many things, including ways that music can build community and address issues of our time, and also ideas for public facing initiatives.” His colleague, associate professor in the jazz department Michael Heller, said he couldn’t imagine a better director of the Jazz Studies program. “She’s everything we could have hoped for in a new director: a world renowned performer, celebrated edu-
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cator, experienced organizer of community music engagement through her work with the [Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians], and possesses a powerful commitment to linking music and social justice issues,” Heller said. “While we continue to mourn the passing of our previous director Geri Allen, there is no one on the planet who I could be more excited about working with that Nicole Mitchell Gantt. I can’t wait to see where her leadership takes our program in the years to come.”
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Events, pg. 20 evening of Sept. 18. Now in its third consecutive year, Thrival Interactive’s goal is to intertwine art with technology. In the past, local artists and innovators gathered together to showcase technology demos, art installments, cross-industry collaborations and other interactive activities throughout the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Music Hall and the Music Hall Foyer. The Thrival Festivities will conclude with the music festival in Schenley Plaza on Sept. 20. While the main focus of the festival is to support economic and local development, the music festival is a place for all of Pittsburgh to gather and enjoy what the City has to offer. Two of the performing artists are Buku, a DJ and producer, and Beauty Slap, a techno-funk band, both of whom have roots in Pittsburgh. Wicked Pittsburgh, a local art collective with the goal of empowering the creative community of Pittsburgh through donations, live painting, concerts and art installations, will also be a part of the Thrival music festival this year. It will bring more than 50 local artists to the festival to sell and create new work as well as perform. Wicked Pittsburgh plans to give more than 20% of the proceeds it makes at the festival back to a local charity. While the price for the Innovation Summit and Thrival Interactive is more than $250, the music festival is free for everyone to enjoy. More information about the events can be found at thrivalfestival.com. Avril Lavigne in concert Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne is coming to Pittsburgh with multigenre singer Jagwar Twin to promote her 2018 album “Head Above Water.” Lavigne will play the Roxian Theater, located in McKees Rocks, on Oct. 8. This is Lavigne’s first tour in five years and it’s fairly exclusive, consisting only of 15 stops around North America beginning Sept. 14. Her sixth studio album features the lead single for which the album is named, “Head Over Water,” followed by “Tell Me It’s Over,” “Dumb Blonde,” featuring popular rapper Nicki Minaj, and the latest single off of the album, “I Fell in Love With the Devil.” The album debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Top 200 in March. “Head Above Water” was written during Lavigne’s battle with Lyme disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2014 shortly af-
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ter turning 30. She has announced that a portion of the proceeds from every ticket on the tour will go to the Avril Lavigne Foundation, which helps people suffering from the disease who are unable to pay for the treatment as well as efforts to find a cure. Currently, tickets start at around $85 on ticketmaster.com. Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkin Festival Nothing quite says autumn like giant pumpkins. The aptly named Monster Pumpkin Festival is taking place along the North Shore Riverwalk Oct. 19-20. There,
Pittsburghers will be able to view gigantic pumpkins and witness the weighing competition to determine which Monster Pumpkin is the most monstrous of them all. Other events include the Great Pumpkin Paddle, where rowers race along the Allegheny River in pumpkins that weigh at least 1,000 pounds — and are surprisingly buoyant. Participants, or “Pumpkin Pilots,” usually paint and decorate their individual pumpkins. Pumpkin pie lovers can take part in the Pie Eating Plunge contest. A local bak-
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ery in Pittsburgh, Bella Christie and Lil Z’s Sweet Boutique, generously bake the pumpkin pies that are devoured during this event. The pies are weighed before and after to make sure that the event is fair for all players. There will be numerous vendors selling homemade food of all sorts, including sweet treats like pumpkin pie, breads and cookies. There will also be a kids’ station for pumpkin decorating and a giant pumpkin pinata that weighs 1,500 pounds. For more information, check out the festival’s website at monsterpumpkin.com.
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Stages, pg. 20 in the context of the 2010s, “Doctor Faustus Lights The Lights” speaks to how technology can alienate us from one another, a pressing topic in an age of social media. The director for the fall production of “Doctor Faustus” is Christopher Staley, a third year PhD student in the department of theatre arts who is currently researching the intersection of theater and performance with actor training methods and cognitive science. Staley previously directed last spring’s student lab “Woyzeck”, a 1913 play about a German’s soldier’s struggle with relationships and mental illness. Staley felt drawn to put on “Doctor Faustus” due to its avant-garde-ness and historical importance. “One of the main reasons why I’ve chosen this play is because it completely terrifies me, both in its operatic scale, its history, and (anti) structure,” Staley wrote in an email. “Stein wrote it in 1938 amidst rising fascism and Nazism, with the atomic holocaust burning on the horizon. Its messages are both overt and hidden, and now more than ever, I believe, we ought to heed these warnings from the past to prevent further repetition of the worst moments in our collective history.” “Doctor Faustus” will run from Oct. 2-6 in the Henry Heymann Theater. “Ordinary Days” // The second student lab and last Pitt Stages production of the fall semester is “Ordinary Days,” a 2008 musical written by Adam Gwon that follows the lives of main characters Deb, Claire, Warren and Jason in the frenzied city of New York. The twists and turns of their relationships are the center of the plot, capturing both the serendipity and disappointments of life. “Ordinary Days,” as the title suggests, does not attempt to tell a story with a contrived plot. It welcomes the mundane and aims to tell a character-driven story with emotional depth, making it fairly relatable for any audience member. Pitt Stages’ production of this musical is spearheaded by student director Josee Coyle, a junior majoring in psychology and theatre arts. She became interested in directing “Ordinary Days” because of the realness of the characters. “I love that each character is so human,” she wrote in an email. “There’s no lead, there’s no superhero character that solves everything. The issues don’t have to be “solved”, the characters just have to figure out how to cope with them.” “Ordinary Days” will run from Nov. 20-24 at the Henry Heymann Theater.
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Pitt Stages will offer four different productions throughout the 2019-20 academic year. Thomas Yang | visual editor
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Records, pg. 21 Sun. noon-5 p.m. Located in the heart of Squirrel Hill, Jerry’s boasts an impressive collection. Not only does the store host hundreds of standard album selections, but it’s also home to comedy albums, film soundtracks and radio shows. Any genre one could possibly think of has a happy little home in this secondhand shop. The sheer size of the store and the mass of undiscovered music at your fingertips will inspire awe in even the casual record-seeker. As a bonus, any turntable issues can be fixed
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next door at Galaxie Electronics. Dave’s Music Mine 1210 E. Carson St., South Side Mon-Fri 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun. noon-5 p.m. The South Side is known for its secondhand shopping options — but there’s more vintage material than just clothes to be found. Located near 13th Street, Dave’s Music Mine offers a robust selection of used records in multiple genres, as well as CDs and even VHS tapes for any nostalgic freaks. The variety of different mediums adds to the
browsing experience, guaranteeing a diverse section. Amazing Books and Records 2030 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill & 929 Liberty Ave., Downtown Spring/Summer Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.- 8 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sun. noon-4 p.m. Well, the name of the store does not lie. Anyone in the market for either books or vinyl will find that this shop circulates an impressive variety of well-known authors and artists. This is probably the place where you
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might find one of your favorite albums. The store also buys books, so anyone with clutter from the last semester can drop off their gently loved school books at the store and, in return, fill the now-open spots on your bookshelf with some music. The Attic 513 Grant Ave., Millvale Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. If you’re a CD guru, do not miss out on this store. The Attic easily hosts one of the largest compact disc selections in Pittsburgh, with thousands of albums jampacked into its shelves. It also offers an impressive volume of records. Visitors will find artists from all eras and genres on its shelves, with new and used records coming in at friendly prices. One could easily kill a few hours tracking down some rare or renowned albums or simply browsing the eclectic selections offered. Music to My Ear 3003 Babcock Boulevard, Ross Township Mon.-Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thur. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Want to begin a collection but don’t know where to start? Head to Music to My Ear and they’ll be quick to help you out. Not only does the store offer both repressed and secondhand records, it also sells hi-fi stereo systems for high-end audiophiles. Clearly it’s the perfect combo — buy a nice turntable and pick some of your favorite vinyls to go with it. The modernized store is constantly updating their vinyl collection and are currently offering a pretty swell deal — all CDs are 99 cents each Wednesday until Labor Day. Be sure to drop by for a fresh atmosphere and for both old and new vinyl at good prices. Desolation Row (Caliban Books) Oakland 410 S. Craig St., Oakland Mon.-Wed., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Thur. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. 12 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Located only a stone’s throw away from Pitt’s campus, Desolation Row sits inside of the quaint Caliban’s Used & Rare Books. This is a prime place to find freshly pressed records, with classic and modern vinyls from all genres. Although the collection is smaller than others in the ’Burgh, it makes it easier to zero in on the popular records that you probably want in your collection. On top of records, the store also has CDs and, of course, used books.
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STAFF PICKS: TIPS FOR CONQUERING HOMESICKNESS The Pitt News Staff The dawn of a new semester can bring a mix of emotions — excitement, stress and sometimes even homesickness. Leaving family and friends back home for almost eight months can be tough, regardless of whether you live 30 minutes or a continent away. Here are our tips for conquering homesickness this semester.
Taking walks in Schenley Park can help distract from homesickness. Thomas Yang | visual editor Pick #1: Turn on your fam’s favorite movies // Maggie Young The first week or so at school may give you a bit more downtime than you expected, much of which is spent alone. All of this extra time might have you reminiscing about summertime flexibility, when there’s always someone at home to talk to or a friend nearby to keep things interesting. If you miss being with your favorite people at home, try doing something that makes you think of them. Can’t think of anything? Plug in your fairy lights and log into Netflix, because it’s time for a movie. While films almost always come with their own set of indulgences, such as cheesy plots or thoughtfully chosen soundtracks, the best movies are the ones that make you feel nostalgic. If you have some time on your hands and are feeling a bit homesick, be sure to turn on a movie that reminds you of someone from home. My grandmom loves “As Good As It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and the cutest dog ever. I saw it one night while perusing Netflix, and decided to watch it because I knew how much my grandmom loved it. I made sure to call her and tell her how much I adored the movie once I finished watching. Talking to her that night had me in a good mood for the rest of the week. Pick #2: Roam around, then settle down // Janine Faust, Editor-in-Chief You know what keeps you from thinking about old, familiar places? Exploring new, exciting ones. During my first week (ok, fine, my first semester) at Pitt, I took a loooooot of walks around Schenley Park and Oakland. I also used my student ID to get into local See Staff Picks on page 38
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TAKING A LOOK AT PITT’S HISTORY Grant Burgman
Sisters Margaret and Stella Stein, the first women to attend the University, This piece will be featured in Pitt’s graduated with bachelor’s degrees five upcoming 2018 Visitor’s Guide, slated for years later in 1898, tied for first in their class. publication in October. The University finally changed its Long before the Cathedral of Learnname for good 10 years later in 1908, ing stood tall above Oakland and the becoming the University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh’s campus ran The decision was made, among other down both Fifth and Forbes avenues, reasons, to better indicate the Univerthe entire institution was housed in a sity’s location and avoid confusion that log cabin.
Senior Staff Writer
Hugh Henry Brackenridge, an 18thcentury lawyer and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, founded the University of Pittsburgh as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 in that lone log cabin on what was then the American frontier. The original cabin is no longer standing, but a replica was built outside the Cathedral along Forbes Avenue for Pitt’s bicentennial in 1987 and stands there today. The Pittsburgh Academy was reconstituted as a full university in 1819, following a rapid increase in Pittsburgh’s population. This time, the school changed its name to the Western University of Pennsylvania. As the City grew, the University grew with it. The Western University of Pennsylvania was moved into a larger, three-story building in downtown Pittsburgh in 1830. That three-story building would be destroyed in a fire 15 years later, along with all of the University’s records. Luckily, Western University would find another permanent home 10 years after that, in 1855 in downtown Pittsburgh. While Western University was Downtown, an astronomical social club called the Allegheny Telescope Association donated the Allegheny Observatory to Western University. Today, the Allegheny Observatory is still part of Pitt and home to the third-largest refracting telescope in the United States. The institute made one last move before settling in Oakland when it moved to Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh’s North Side, in 1882. Eleven years later, William Hunter Dammond became its first black graduate, earning a degree in civil engineering from Western University in 1893.
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the institution existed merely as a western branch of the University of Pennsylvania. At the same time, Pitt began constructing its Oakland campus, having outgrown its accommodations on the North Side. Pitt decided to make its official mascot the Panther the following year, becoming the first college to pick that animal. The ensuing century was one of dis-
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covery at Pitt. Pitt chemistry professor Charles Glen King started the trend when he identified the chemical structure of vitamin C in 1932, a discovery that would eventually lead to the cure for scurvy. The Cathedral of Learning was dedicated just five years later in 1937. The now iconic building is the second tallSee History on page 39
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Staff Picks, pg. 36 museums for free, made a point to visit somewhere new every time I went out to eat and even wandered around some of Pitt’s campus buildings (in the appropriate places). If I had a free morning or afternoon, I looked up coffee shops or parks outside of Oakland and hopped on the bus to go study or hang out with a new friend in a fresh environment. Once I felt I knew how to navigate Pittsburgh a little better, I scoured Facebook for fun events to go to. While ruminat-
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ing a little on old adventures and haunts is fine, if can get to be a little too much, so go make some new memories. Once you feel like you’ve had your share of exploring, though, it doesn’t hurt to establish new routines in some of the places you discover. This will make the area you now live in feel more like the familiar place you left behind and make life easier after returning from breaks back home. Pick a favorite corner in Squirrel Hill coffee shop to do work in, or make it a tradition to grab a coffee or a bite to eat at the cafe you find
you like best every Saturday morning. The nostalgia for your old home will always stick around, but once you get comfortable in Pittsburgh, it’ll become far more easy to manage. Pick #3: Join a club // Leah Mensch, Contributing Editor The best distraction is, well, being distracted. Getting involved in University clubs and activities can seem daunting at first, but it’s one of the best ways to combat homesickness, all the while getting acquainted with campus. Luckily, Pitt has more than 400 student orga-
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nizations and clubs, leaving little room for boredom on campus. From slam poetry to club figure skating to political organizations, there’s something for everyone. It’s within these organizations that you’ll likely meet the like minded people who become some of your greatest friends. To curb the inevitable overwhelming feeling that comes with the option of 400 different clubs, be sure to visit the activities fair in the Peterson Events Center on Aug. 25. There you can browse tables with club information and talk to people who are current members and leaders of the organization. Find what makes Pittsburgh feel like home and pursue it. The busier you are, the less time you’ll have to be homesick. Pick #4: Find comfort in the parallels // Tamara Alchoufete No city may be the same, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find similarities. Returning to the stressful and chaotic environment of college can often leave us disconnected from the world around us. It can especially take a toll on the hobbies and activities we used to find comfort in while in our hometowns. Why let the grind get in the way of who we are at the core? If you love to rock climb and have fond memories of doing that activity with people you care about somewhere else, find others who enjoy it too here. Finding at least one solid activity to pursue throughout the semester will ground you and give you the motivation to push through all the bad vibes. Finding people who share similarities with you will help you make a home out of wherever you are. Most of my family is scattered across the globe, and my roots are all the way in Lebanon. It was hard traveling back and forth between those two worlds until I found other Middle Eastern people on campus that I could discuss our cultures with. I joined the Arabic club and others that made me feel like I was part of a community. You don’t have to stop doing what makes you happy if you’re far away from home. Our campus has many activities and resources to take advantage, but if there isn’t a club you can see yourself in, create your own or even look outside the University for communities you can join.
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History, pg. 37 Following the end of World War II in 1945, Pitt was the site of a string of scientific breakthroughs from its researchers. Perhaps most famously, professor Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine in 1955, effectively defeating the disease in the United States. This run of discoveries earned Pitt membership in the Association of American Universities — an organization of North America’s leading research universities — in 1974. The onset of the 21st century saw Pitt graduates gain recognition on the world stage. Pitt graduate Michael Chabon was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
for Fiction in 2001 for his novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work with the Green Belt Movement, an organization that helps organize and employ Kenyan women to grow renewable resources in their villages. Pitt stands today as a nationally ranked public university by The Wall Street Journal. There are currently more than 19,000 undergraduate students and 9,000 graduate students enrolled at Pitt and for a total of 28,000 students. At this point in its history, Pitt has become a significant institution in both research and education, and has established itself as the largest public university in Western Pennsylvania.
Pitt professor Jonas Salk and fellow researcher Percival Baisley conducting research on the polio vaccine formula in a Pitt lab circa 1954-55. photo via university library services archives
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Opinions
FIVE NICHE COURSES THAT FULFILL YOUR GEN ED REQUIREMENTS Leah Mensch Opinions Editor
Setting a fixed time to wake up in the morning can help the body adapt to a daily schedule. image via wikimedia commons
5 TIPS TO MINIMIZE STRESS AND MAXIMIZE SUCCESS Mackenzie Oster Staff Columnist
Last semester: you’re sitting in your bed at approximately 11 p.m. and it’s the night before a big exam. You’re stressed out because you procrastinated studying until the night before. You begin to start cramming for the exam and morale is quite low. The feeling is all too familiar. So, before you find yourself in the same situation when the new school year begins, here’s a few things
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to do differently this semester to minimize stress and maximize success. 1. Make a morning routine There are many small and simple steps that can be taken to ensure that your day is as productive as possible. One of the most important of these steps is getting into a daily routine, or even just a morning routine. Having an orderly morning routine can set the tone for the rest of your day. One thing that is really helpful when beginning a See Oster on page 49
In theory, general education requirements sound exciting. They provide the opportunity to take classes outside of your major in subjects like sociology, natural science and history. These course subject requirements — give or take a few depending on what year you were admitted to Pitt — force students into new areas of knowledge, sometimes helping them uncover a passion they didn’t know they had. But they can quickly turn into a pesky burden, especially if you’re a senior and still have a couple left. Students who take the time to research and read up on the course offerings will find that there is something interesting in every field. These are a few niche courses that also fulfill general education requirements. 1. Development of Modern Biology: CGS and DSAS Natural Science requirement, SCI Science NonSeq. For those of us who aren’t gifted in the field of hard science or who prefer learning about technical and theoretical topics, it can be hard to find a natural science course that aso ties into your interests. Such students should consider taking Development of Modern Biology in the history and philosophy of science department. This course focuses on the theory and criticisms of evolution and genomics, as well as biology in a social, political and cultural context. It’s certainly not your average science class, but useful and interesting for those who don’t want to study rocks or astronomy. 2. Game Theory Principles: CGS and DSAS Quantitative Reasoning/ Social Science requirement, SSOE Social Sci-
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ence requirement, SCI Social/Behavioral requirement Most students opt to for something straightforward like Basic Applied Statistics or World History to fulfill their Quantitative Reasoning or Social Science requirement, but a class in the economics department might be more useful for someone pursuing political science, law, philosophy or engineering. Game Theory is essentially the science of strategy, in which people look at factors in a situation in order to determine how to manipulate their best outcome. This course provides an introduction to this principle, along with tangible examples that students might face in the workforce, like bargaining over the price of the car — good knowledge for everyone to have. 3. Mass Communication Process: CGS and DSAS The Arts/Historical Analysis requirements, SSOE Humanities requirement, SCI Social/Behavioral, Humanistic requirements For those who aren’t fascinated with memorizing the names of painters or types of instruments, history classes about popular or historical art forms can be burdensome. Consider taking a class in the communication department about the mediums in which we receive art and experience popular culture instead. Mass Communication Process studies the development of modern media, such as television, radio, magazines and newspapers. It also gives students the opportunity to analyze the process of mass media and the way that it affects and has previously affected society as a whole. Be sure to sign up as soon as possible — it fills up quickly. See Mensch on page 51
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