��ϲʿ��

Pitt Faculty Union votes to ratify first labor contract with university

By Abby Lipold, News Editor — Thu, 16 May 2024 18:51:29 +0000

After more than two years of negotiations with the University and nearly a decade of organizing, the Pitt Faculty Union has ratified.��

Faculty Union representative and organizer Melinda Ciccioppo said the voting process for the contract’s ratification, which concluded on May 10th, demonstrated an “overwhelmingly positive response” from the 3500 members of Pitt’s Faculty Union.��

“88.4% of our members voted, and of those 98.3% voted in favor of ratification,” Ciccioppo said. “We’re really happy about that.”

The United Steelworkers (USW), who have helped to facilitate the Union’s organization and negotiations, announcing the contract’s ratification.��

“Our members should be proud of all their hard work, perseverance and solidarity that paved the way for this historic win,” USW spokesperson Bernie Hall said in the press release.��

The Union, which was formed in the fall of 2021 and had its first bargaining session in March of 2022, has been in the midst of negotiations with the Pitt administration for over two years. On April 26th, the Union held a protest outside the Cathedral prior to their last bargaining session.��

According to Ciccioppo, Pitt’s administration worked with the Union on April 27 to reach a tentative agreement about the contract in response to the protest, although it took going back and forth with proposals all day.��

“At the end of the day, the administration was willing to move off of the strict language that they had, saying they would have unilateral control over our raises and whether or not we got those raises if there was a decline in enrollment, or in the state appropriation money,” Ciccioppo said.��

The final contract included pay raises for faculty across all of Pitt’s campuses, which Ciccioppo said was a primary goal for the Union’s first contract.��

“We were able to get a $60,000 floor for all full-time faculty with Professor titles,” Ciccioppo said, “and then for those without Professor titles, if they had a visiting prefix or an instructor title, and they don’t have a terminal degree, then they have a floor of $50,000.”

Additionally, the contract offers job security for part-time faculty and visiting lecturers. Previously, faculty without Professor titles would have to reapply for their position every semester. The contract will ensure that faculty can automatically retain their position as long as they are in good standing with the University.��

“[These are] substantial improvements, considering the fact that we currently have faculty who are making $25,000 a year. So some faculty are seeing as big an increase as over 100%,” Ciccioppo said.��

Tyler McAndrew, an adjunct professor with the English department and member of the Faculty Union, said that the new renewal process for non tenured faculty will have an “enormous” effect on faculty job security.��

“I think one of the biggest things that will have a direct impact on me and on other adjuncts that we want in this contract is there is now going to be presumptive renewal for adjunct instructors,” McAndrew said. “Just having that sort of security is enormous. It takes a lot of stress off.”

McAndrew, who has been a member of Pitt’s faculty since 2014, said that when he first started the English department, adjunct professors had to reapply for their position every semester, compiling class syllabi, OMET surveys and cover letters for their application.

“There was never really a very clear process in place,” McAndrew said.“It’s just so bizarre, like we have to apply for one job, and then maybe we get this other job that we already have.”

McAndrew also added that every semester, he would have to first apply for a visiting lecturer position before requesting an adjunct professor title.��

McAndrew, who has been a part of the Faculty Union organization effort since 2015 before the Union went public, said in recent years the English department has made the application process much easier for adjunct professors. However, the new contract will ensure a stress-free process across all Pitt departments.��

University spokesperson Chuck Finder released a statement expressing “sincere appreciation to both the union representatives and the administration whose hard work and dedication contributed to reaching this agreement.”

“We are very pleased that the faculty union has ratified our first collective bargaining agreement,” Finder said. “This historic agreement demonstrates the University of Pittsburgh’s commitment to our world-class faculty and their key role in supporting our students’ top-notch, accessible educational opportunities.”

According to the USW, the contract will run through June 30th, 2026. Ciccioppo said that in the meantime, the Union will focus on implementing the contract and ensuring that the University is complying with the contract’s demands.

“I am hopeful that this is not going to be acrimonious in any way,” Ciccioppo said. “If there are sort of situations in which the contract is not being followed, I think especially early on, a lot of it will be more just due to a lack of communication or misunderstanding or something like that, that we can resolve amicably.”

Ciccioppo added that the contract’s ratification will improve student experiences on Pitt’s campus.

“Increased pay and job security means that Pitt will be better able to attract and retain the very best faculty and students can more reliably count on their instructors being around in the future to teach other classes and write letters of recommendation,” Ciccioppo said.��

Ciccocioppo said the contract’s ratification bodes well for future negotiations between Pitt Unions and the University administration.��

“This contract is demonstrable evidence that we can win the things that we push for,” Ciccioppo said. “We’re increasing job security, particularly for non-tenure-stream faculty, and increasing pay for the lowest paid faculty.”

The post Pitt Faculty Union votes to ratify first labor contract with university appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Senate Council holds final meeting of semester, recaps recent events

By Anna Kuntz, Senior Staff Writer — Wed, 15 May 2024 03:46:28 +0000

The final Senate Council meeting of the semester took place on Thursday afternoon in room 2700 Posvar Hall and over Zoom. At the meeting, the group discussed safety culture on campus following the Victory Heights construction accident and recapped the year’s accomplishments, including new leadership appointments and the passage of six policies.

Chancellor Gabel began Thursday’s Senate Council meeting by thanking the Pitt community for being “welcoming and helpful” in her first year as Chancellor.

“You helped us identify our new provost. We set a plan for the future of the institution. We’ve centered our students in their education and in their lives. We’ve engaged in some really meaningful research and discovery, served our communities, and we’re looking forward to welcoming our next group of students,” Gabel said. “Now we navigate into the summer amidst some very obviously some very challenging days, but also some thoughts of optimism as a tip next academic year.”

Gabel also addressed the accident that fatally injured a UPMC employee near the Victory Heights construction site on May 3. She expressed condolences to the family, friends and community partners who have been affected and announced that the Pittsburgh City Government and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will lead two separate investigations of the accident. Gabel then held a moment of silence for the victim and her loved ones.

“I want you to know that we’re fully committed to construction safety and worksite safety,” Gabel said. “Safety is our number one priority, and it’s a very difficult time for our community. Many members of our community are very directly impacted by what happened [or] were there. We have mental health resources available.”

One attendee expressed their concerns surrounding safety culture on campus after the incident and encouraged leadership to “re-examine” student safety measures with the many current construction projects on campus.

“It just seems that safety culture is extremely important with a lot of construction going on on campus,” the attendee said. “I think that this is an opportunity for us to re-examine that culture, especially with new students coming in the fall term who are unaware of the risks that exist in our environment, which with no construction are meaningful risks…I think we need heightened awareness of the safety elements associated with our [campus].”��

Gabel also addressed the “liberated zone” in Schenley Plaza that occurred during the last week of classes and finals week in response to the Israel-Palestine conflict.��

“In partnership with the city, with Carnegie Mellon and other community stakeholders, [the protest] is respected as an expression of voice as part of people’s First-Amendment rights,” Gabel said. “We are hearing a variety of points of advocacy right now, [and] as you might imagine, a very wide set of opinions. We are working very closely with Student Affairs to both support our students and their expression of voice and also make sure that they’re aware of the sources of support and the liaisons that we have.”

Gabel also announced new leadership in the School of Education and updated attendees on the dean searches for the Schools of Engineering and School of Law.��

“Eboni Zamani-Gallaher has been named the new Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the School of Education, effective May 1,” Gabel said. “Eboni has been the interim dean since August, and prior to that, she was the Associate Dean for Equity, Justice and Strategic partnerships.”��

Gabel also discussed recent accolades and honors by students and alumni, which include achievements at the 2024 Big Idea Competition held in April.

“There were nine winning teams with different student innovations that were awarded nearly $80,000,” Gabel said in regards to the Big Idea Competition. “Several teams proposed new medical devices, [while] others tackled environmental, educational, and social challenges.”

One graduate student and four undergraduate students won Boren Awards to study abroad in Senegal, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Croatia and Taiwan and learn about different languages and cultures. Gabel added that Pitt has been recognized as a 2024 Boren Fellowships top producer.��

Gabel introduced the two Pitt alumni who recently won Pulitzer Prizes for their respective career achievements.

“Two alumni recently received Pulitzer Prizes, one in poetry and one in public service,” Gabel said. “Brandon Som, who earned his MFA in poetry from the University, was recognized for a collection of poems published in the Georgia Review, and Brett Murphy, a graduate of the Dietrich School, was recognized as part of a team of journalists at ProPublica that produced a series on wealthy individuals seeking to influence the Supreme Court justices with gifts.”

Senate Council President Robin Kear announced the passing of six policies, which are “applicable to all members of the university community.” The policies include Research Data Management, Access To and Use of University Computing Resources, Vaccination Immunization Requirements, Access To and Release of Education Records, Assistance Animals, Therapy Animals and Pet Policies and Unit Level Payments for Research Participants, Students and Other Activities, which was approved at the meeting.��

Joy Hart gave the report on the Unit Level Payments policy proposal in place of Staff Council President Lindsay Rodzwicz.

“For students, that addresses a mechanism for protecting payments when traveling for university activities,” Hart said. “It’s not meant for purchasing. It’s a mechanism for university payments to individuals who are not students or employees, that is, persons potentially needed to be interviewed for a study.”

Hart said the policy will improve the process of paying individuals for their participation in a study.��

“In terms of the payment processing entity, the responsibilities are for managing the process of the payments, providing a secure payment system to the university and then monitoring or auditing the system periodically to ensure proper payment initiation,” Hart said. “For the units, researchers’ responsibilities are to maintain the proper documentation for the payments made to keep the payment-related data secure.”

Kear closed her report by reflecting on how current issues have affected the academic year and urged her colleagues to continue to “be part of the path of compassion and dialogue.”

“I look over all my notes from the year…and several times I could see in my notes just pain and sorrow [at] some of my comments related to the state of the world,” Kear said. “War and devastation have brought us social upheaval once again, so I encourage us to try to listen to each other, to try and understand views that are different from our own and work toward coexistence.”

The post Senate Council holds final meeting of semester, recaps recent events appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Op-Ed | An open letter to my signatory colleagues and to the silent ones

By Diego Holstein, Professor of History — Sat, 04 May 2024 17:05:53 +0000

In an open letter to the Chancellor published on Apr. 25, a group of 49 educators claimed that Pitt students’ dedication to human rights and justice displayed in the Palestine Solidarity Encampment should be celebrated by the University.

That same day, I aimed to open a dialogue with these students by distributing a letter of my authorship, which will be available in an abridged version at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday, May 5. But I cut my attempt short once I read the “Camp Rules,” specifically rule 2, “Don’t talk to Zionists.” These Zionists who may have approached the camp to talk are, most probably, fellow students and professors of those at the camp. I find this rule discriminatory against most Jews. I find it antithetical to the , as it imposes on our students an echo chamber instead of the spirit of free and open inquiry and free exchange of ideas. I find this rule sectarian, polarizing and contrary to the goal of community building.

To my fellow educators, the signatories of the open letter, and all, I will stress that this is not how we foster conscientious citizens or civility. Rather than leaving the campers’ problematic slogans, stances, rules and silences unproblematized, we should call them into question as needed by enquiring about their assumptions and repercussions. As long as the release of the hostages is not demanded, our students are not dedicating themselves to human rights. In their one-sidedness, they are dedicating themselves to a national cause. I have no objection to their dedication to such a cause. But you should be clear about what it is exactly that you have been endorsing here. Human rights as an inclusive agenda, it is not.

Then, while endorsing the campers’ national cause, you should question its precise terms — “From the River to the Sea Palestine Will Be Free” is the backbone of the conflict. If not for that maximalist demand, the Palestinians could have , , or in Gaza and some . One can claim that the backbone of the conflict is, instead, Zionist settler colonialism. Even if granted, with much to be discussed on that, such a claim is a non-starter. Today, between the river and the sea, there are more than 9.5 million Israeli citizens and 5.5 million Palestinians. These two communities equally deserve their human rights, civil rights and right of self-determination. There is no going back to Poland or Belarus.

The challenge to this maximalist version of Palestinian — or Jewish — nationalism must be coupled with the utmost rejection of the means to attain it. Our encamped students should have denounced the atrocities on Oct. 7 long ago. Sadly, far from that, the national committee of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), , , “Today [Oct. 7], we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air and sea.” The “historic win” that SPJ refers to in its statement was the attack consisting of the , attempted murder, rape, torture and/or kidnapping of about . SJP deemed the victims as settlers and, as such, “military assets used to ensure continued control over stolen Palestinian land.”

Students critically engaged with the world are willing to enter open-ended conversations with arguments different from theirs and with people differently positioned on whatever the subject, not entrenched in unquestioned assumptions and enclosed in echo chambers of one-sidedness.��

Can we educate beyond one-sidedness while adopting a one-sided perspective ourselves?

The post Op-Ed | An open letter to my signatory colleagues and to the silent ones appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Woman dead after large steel cylinder rolled away from Petersen Events Center construction site

By Spencer Levering, News Editor — Fri, 03 May 2024 20:30:04 +0000

A woman after she was hit by a large cylindrical steel drum that rolled away from the construction site by the Petersen Events Center on May 3.

The woman was walking with her colleagues when the cylinder rolled down the construction site, broke through construction fencing and struck her on the sidewalk, according to a from Pittsburgh Public Safety Public Information Officer Emily Bourne. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene at 10:45 a.m.

“The City of Pittsburgh and Occupational Safety and Health Administration will lead the investigation with the full support of the University,” said University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer in a statement. “We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim.”

Stonesifer said “no other injuries have been reported” due to this incident and added that and the are available to support University community members.

The post Woman dead after large steel cylinder rolled away from Petersen Events Center construction site appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather on Pitt’s campus, demand action from University

By Kyra McCague, Staff Writer — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:39:55 +0000

of student protesters and community activists gathered in front of the Cathedral of Learning and William Pitt Union throughout Sunday evening for a march and subsequent rally in support of Palestine. The protesters ��

The protest is a continuation of the sit-in in support of Palestine that began at Pitt on Apr. 23. The protest at Pitt is occurring in tandem with a number of , which are demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and for universities to divest from Israel. The encampment at Pitt is entering its seventh day as of Monday.��

Brian Sherry

Two students were arrested on Sunday evening and later released for unclear reasons.

Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt, which helped organize the protest along with other Pittsburgh-based groups, Tuesday. The post reaffirmed the group’s solidarity with other student protests across the country and demanded “an end to institutional investment in the colonization of Palestine and institutional repression of [their] movement.”

Organizers led several different chants throughout the protest, such as “Free free Palestine” and “Cease fire now, let Gaza live.” The organizers also led a chant demanding that Chancellor Gabel negotiate with them. A number of police officers stood nearby protesters monitoring the situation.

During a pause in the chants, one of the organizers spoke to the crowd of protesters about why they were continuing to protest.

“I know everyone is tired, but we’ve been negotiating, and we’re trying to bring [Pitt Chancellor] Joan Gabel or [Pitt Associate Vice Chancellor] Costello here,” the organizer said.

The organizer also said they want “a real feasible divestment plan,” among other demands listed on a cardboard sign in the encampment, including “full disclosure of all university investments in the Israeli apartheid regime” and “an acknowledgment of genocide and a statement in solidarity with the Palestinian people by the university administration.”

“If they don’t come, we stay here,” the organizer said.

Ethan Shulman

Sophia, a rising senior law criminal justice and society major who chose not to give her last name, attended protests earlier in the week and “had friends that have been camping out for days.”��

“I feel like a lot of students left, but everybody here now seems to be members of the community that have come out,” Sophia said.

Sonny, a local community member who chose not to give their last name, said they joined the protest “to support the Pitt students who are protesting and to support Palestine.”

“I’m glad to see a pretty big turnout of people supporting the students,” Sonny said. “I’m curious to know what the situation is. I’ve heard bits and pieces. I hope it doesn’t escalate.”

A small group of counter-protesters stood near the protest waving Israeli flags. Junior exercise science major Ilan Gordon was part of the group.��

“I’m praying for my friends and family in Israel here because I am a proud Jewish person on our campus,” Gordon said.

Gordon also attended a counter-protest on Thursday night, where he said they were yelled at and “told to go back to Europe as Jewish people.”

“I am here against hatred of any kind, and I just want the Israeli hostages to come home,” Gordon said.

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the protestors or their demands.��

Ethan Shulman

The post Pro-Palestinian protesters gather on Pitt’s campus, demand action from University appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

SGB releases statement in support of Pitt Gaza solidarity encampment

By Abby Lipold, News Editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 04:55:40 +0000

Student Government Board released a statement on Sunday “regarding the Pitt Gaza solidarity encampment,” in which the board offered its support for student advocacy on campus and expressed solidarity with the protest taking place.��

“We condemn University investment into genocide and any association with entities furthering Israel’s endless abuse and murder of Palestinians,” SGB said in the statement posted on Instagram. “We call on the University of Pittsburgh to listen to encampment student organizers, divest from Israel and aid Palestinians.”

The sit-in protest, which began on Tuesday, involved advocating for Pitt to “divest from any entity associated with the Israel apartheid regime.” On Sunday, the protestors hosted a rally in front of the Cathedral of Learning. Two protestors were arrested and later released.��

SGB’s statement reiterated the protestors’ demands for divestment and public acknowledgment of genocide perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. The statement also demanded that the University respect the protestors and their encampment.��

“We vehemently denounce any action to forcibly remove members of the encampment,” the statement read. “We encourage the right to protest on campus for any and all student groups.”

The post SGB releases statement in support of Pitt Gaza solidarity encampment appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Pitt faculty union reaches agreement with university administration��

By Abby Lipold, Assistant News Editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:49:56 +0000

Around 80 protestors from the Pitt Faculty Union and United Steelworkers gathered outside of the Cathedral of Learning on Tuesday to deliver a letter to Chancellor Joan Gabel with their demands. As of Wednesday, the University has reached an agreement with the union on their labor contract after three years of negotiations.��

Pitt faculty union voted to organize with the United Steelworkers in the fall of 2021 and represents more than 3,000 members of Pitt’s faculty. Since then, the union has advocated for wage floors for part-time and visiting faculty, as well as protections on work hours and better job security.

On Wednesday, the United Steelworkers Union announced that a “tentative agreement on a contract between the University of Pittsburgh faculty and the university’s administration” had been reached.��

Faculty union spokesperson and associate professor with the psychology department Melinda Ciccocioppo said the Union’s goal for the Tuesday protest was to make the administration aware of their frustrations with the drafted contract prior to going into the bargaining meeting on Wednesday.��

“We are inches away from getting a tentative agreement with the administration that we can then bring to our members to vote on to ratify our contract,” Ciccocioppo said on Tuesday. “They are holding everything up because they want to have a clause in there that says that if enrollment declines or if the state appropriation money declines by just 5% they don’t have to give us the raises that we’ve negotiated as part of our contract.”

The letter, which was delivered to Chancellor Gabel’s office during the protest, stated that the proposed budget cuts would save the University less than one percent of their annual budget if their funding does decline by 5%. It expressed the Union’s desire to continue negotiations until Pitt’s faculty is assured a fair labor contract.��

“The only thing keeping us from an agreement is your insistence that you retain unilateral authority to cancel our raises if the Commonwealth appropriation or enrollments decline by small amounts,” the letter said. “We cannot agree to cuts that would eliminate key parts of this agreement.”

Tyler Bickford, a professor in the English department and member of the Bargaining committee who personally delivered the letter, made a speech during the protest.

“No union would accept this contract,” Bickford said. “There isn’t another contract in the institution that has terms like this. There isn’t another contract in the Steel Workers with these terms.”

After the agreement was announced on Wednesday, Ciccocioppo described it as a “clear win” for the faculty.��

“This contract provides greater security for faculty, which will result in better educational outcomes for students,” Ciccocioppo said.

United Steelworkers said in a Wednesday press release that the faculty union’s next steps will be to review the details of agreement, then call for a vote to ratify the contract.��

“We remained united through negotiations, and our perseverance paid off with a strong contract that will help us now and provide a firm foundation on which we can grow in the future,” Bickford said.��

The post Pitt faculty union reaches agreement with university administration�� appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Column | A thank you to student journalists

By Betul Tuncer, Editor-in-Chief — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:15:48 +0000

Today is my last official day as editor-in-chief of ��ϲʿ��. Just like that, the four years I’ve spent at this newspaper and in college have come to an end. While I was originally going to use this senior column to just recount my time at ��ϲʿ��, I feel as though there’s a few things I must say first.��

This past week while my fellow graduates and I have run around trying to finalize essays, take grad photos and prepare for commencement, our campus, like many others across the country, has been in a state of protest.

For the past five days, a group of students at Pitt, joined by community supporters, have set up an encampment protest in Schenley Plaza. Similar protests have sparked at other college campuses in the U.S., most notably , and where students have faced arrest. In protesting, they demand that their universities divest from institutions tied to the violence in Gaza and call for an end to that same

These protests have brought a wave of to American college students. Some outlets are focusing on the brutality inflicted on students by police. Others are questioning why students are protesting instead of studying for finals.��

The most on the . Right now, student journalists across the country are working twice as hard to not only report on the protests and student demands, but also to hold their colleges and law enforcement accountable.��

They did so before this week. And they will continue to do so, even when the national cameras turn elsewhere.��

Throughout our history we have seen students and the youth at the forefront of many social movements, trying to enact change. Student journalists are part of that change, working to make the media industry more diverse and minimize media bias.��

While many have looked at the youth with distaste for their will to disturb systems, I’ve heard many others also say things along the lines of “the youth will save us.”��

Sure, the youth with their votes, advocacy and their media will work to improve society. But what about those who sit on government bodies, vote behind closed doors and run the institutions?��

The youth that votes and protests today is the same youth that had to sit through school shooting drills in elementary school, while politicians continued to ignore the root of the problem.��

They’re the same youth that protested in 2020 against racial injustice, while politicians made empty promises to secure their vote.��

When I got to Pitt in 2020, student activists were working to improve the school’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Since then I’ve seen Pitt students protest sexual assaults on campus, a rise in anti-Asian violence, the University’s fossil fuel investments, unethical labor practices, a lack of emergency communication after a hoax shooting incident, “anti-trans” speakers on campus and most recently the war in Gaza.��

Each year, I viewed these protests and political action by students through the lens of a student journalist and editor. I’d compare the way ��ϲʿ�� and other student papers covered these issues to the way traditional news outlets covered them.��

I’m inspired to see the care in which student journalists cover their campus communities, making sure to include nuanced perspectives in their reporting regardless of the issue.��

As a Turkish Muslim woman myself, I grew up watching news outlets perpetuate harmful narratives about minorities — whether intentional or subconscious. So seeing a wave of student journalists in this country cover even high profile geopolitical issues with immense skill and care is truly motivational.��

I’ve seen student journalists, both in my own newsroom and others, spend hours debating everything left in or out of an article down to the individual language they should use to avoid potential bias and misinformation. I’ve seen photojournalists attend campus protests, unafraid to get close to action and disputes for the sake of documenting the events that took place.��

My graduating class is one that didn’t get a high school graduation due to a global pandemic. Our high school years were spent worrying about the state of American politics, while our college years were spent worrying about the state of the world. Our generation is one that was forced to grow up far too quickly.��

Tomorrow, when I walk across the commencement stage in my regalia, I’ll be thinking about all of this and more.��

Additionally, I will be thinking about how thankful I am to ��ϲʿ�� — for giving me the space to grow as a journalist, at a school without a journalism program, for introducing me to the amazing people who I will remember for many years to come, and for allowing me to become a newsroom leader in a saturated media industry.��

Thank you to our dedicated staff of writers, photographers and illustrators, as well as our editors for their commitment to student journalism. Getting to meet and work with every one of them has been an incredible honor. Spending hours in the office on production nights, while draining at times, was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. I especially want to thank my managing editor Pamela Smith for sticking by my side this year and former editor-in-chief Rebecca Johnson for hiring me three times and guiding me through the years. I wish I could list every other person that I’ve come to appreciate at ��ϲʿ��, but that would be too long of a list.��

I will forever be thankful to this community of student journalists. I know they will continue to cover campus issues and student protests with professional care, and will all go on to become outstanding individuals in their respective careers.��

Signing off,

Betül Tuncer, Editor-in-Chief

The post Column | A thank you to student journalists appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

First Place | Product Review: Footage Lost

By Sarah Good-Lang — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:47:18 +0000

Product: Sony Handheld Camcorder��

Rating: 0 stars

Weak Memory: LOST ALL MY RECORDINGS

Reviewed by Donna Linden��

When a company advertises that its product has “ultra-reliable data storage” and has “more memory capacity than ever before” and the catchphrase for its advertisement is quite literally “Keep Your Memories Safe”, one would perhaps expect that the absolute last thing their brand-new, ultra-reliable camera would do is LOSE THEIR RECORDINGS. If anyone reading this is located in Clinton, New Jersey, DO NOT go to the Best Buy store on Donnard Street, and DO NOT talk to Annie Metzger. She is the dimwitted employee I talked to months ago who assured me on the Lord’s name that the recordings of my loved ones were safe in the hands of Sony’s new camcorder. She is a liar, and not only that, she mentioned with an unladylike and quite passive aggressive tone for a girl in high school that “smart phones take videos now” and that if I cared about memory storage, perhaps I should upgrade my iPhone’s storage capacity at their smartphone kiosk. I am not a stupid person, Annie. I know what I like, and I am not one to fall for upselling tricks. Howard liked the DVD recordings better anyway. He liked the way they looked on our television. He and I would sit and watch videos of Rosie, our daughter, playing with her blocks when she was a tot. Those moments were precious. Apparently Annie Metzger does not understand the importance of witnessing memories. What has Annie Metzger from Best Buy ever gone through? I am sure her worst inconveniences involve a boy not noticing her flashy hairstyles or her over-the-top makeup. I am sure she doesn’t go to church but is somehow graced by luck and handed whatever she wants. Do you know how many times I prayed, Annie? Hundreds, if not thousands. I went to every mass, every confession, every trivial church dinner. I sat in the pews alone and cried to the Lord. I cried to him and begged him to bring her back. All he gave me, Annie, was a dusty Bankers box full of DVDs of my Rosie throwing her blocks and learning to crawl. It is all I have. So when Howard fell to cancer, and Dr. Kronaski at Clifton Oncology Center told us he had four months, Annie, the first thing I did was drive to Best Buy, purchase what you called a reliable video camera, and capture as much as I could. We spent our savings and flew to Florence. Howard always wanted to see a Michelangelo with his own two eyes. He kissed me in front of La Fontana dello Sprone. We shared cappuccinos and danced into the night like we were young again. And I filmed it all, Annie. Every last hug and kiss and smile. When we returned and Howard’s chemo drained the red from his cheeks, I showed him our films. He smiled through the battle because of those videos, Annie. It was two days after his wake that I powered the Sony camcorder on and it was blank. I checked the disk and the battery. All seemingly normal. Unexplainable. The memories were gone. In a flash. I am not a young woman, Annie. My brain can betray me and memories do not come easy to me. They are fragmented and foggy, but on the Sony camcorder they weren’t. It turns out your camera betrayed me more than my own tired brain, Annie. I hope your manager has a talk with you on the value of honesty.

The post First Place | Product Review: Footage Lost appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

Second Place | Glory to the Death King!

By Will Roth — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:46:04 +0000

“Ten thousand years of Death King rule!” the crowd screamed and howled. Grumgux didn’t understand that. Obviously, he loved the Death King and would peel the skin from his soul in service of the cause, but 10,000 years seemed pretty extreme. People don’t live that long; why would they agree to a rule that they wouldn’t even be around for? He’d totally understand something like “100 years of Death King rule!” A hundred years is a pretty reasonable amount of time. Ten thousand? Yeesh.

The heralds stood in a perfect circle on the sandy colosseum floor below waving the Death King’s blood-painted flags. In the center, prisoners of war were being eviscerated one after the other by the Death King’s serrated scythe. The crowd roared louder with every head that rolled. Grumgux’s throat still hurt from yesterday’s evisceration. They were doing mandatory eviscerations all the time now, and as patriotic and fun as they were, tax season was coming up, and Grumgux had to get his receipts in order. He watched some more heads roll. “A hundred thousand years of Death King rule!” the crowd screeched and yelled. Now that was just ridiculous. Do they know how much 100,000 is?

He was a little over budget on groceries this tax year, but with all the eviscerations, he hadn’t been going out much, so his balance was looking OK. Sitting at his dining room table, Grumgux checked his total against his credit card bill, then double-checked his math. His neighbor Incinthia had been the victim of fraud, and before she could catch it, her bank reported that she had dipped below the mandatory balance minimum and she was arrested. Under the Death King’s groundbreaking “War on Poverty” policy, that made her a prisoner of war. Poverty rates were at an all-time low, though; administration like this was why people pledged their flesh and faces to lifelong love of the Death King. Grumgux’s bills were in order, so he moved over to his taxes. His W2 was a mess; he hadn’t been fired or anything (that would get him in hot water, given the Death King’s innovative “War on Unemployment” policy), but he’d been moved from the Fracking for Fun department to the Endangered to Extinct department, and all his incentives and benefits were complicated. Part of his new package exchanged some of his pay into interest-collecting bonds, which were financially advisable in an economic boom like this one, but that meant… Grumgux’s heart stopped. He didn’t have his 1099-INT. He scrambled through his papers, flinging forms and files to the sides until only the table remained for him to claw at. Nothing. His work hadn’t sent him one, was he supposed to have requested it? Grumgux gave up on his table and clawed his hair instead. With the Death King’s ingenious “War on Tax Evasion” policy, this made him a prisoner of war.

“One million years of Death King rule!” the crowd shrieked and cheered. Grumgux rolled his eyes and took a couple shambles forward with the line. From this close, he could see the heralds sweating as they kept the Death King’s blood painted flag swinging and swaying. He watched the guy in front of him get eviscerated, with the serrated scythe and head rolling and all that. “Ten million years of Death King rule!” Grumgux stepped onto the chopping block, feeling a bit nervous to be near royalty. Up close, the Death King didn’t look so scary. He looked bored and a little tired, like maybe 10 million years seemed like a lot to him, too.

The post Second Place | Glory to the Death King! appeared first on ��ϲʿ��.

���ϲʿ�������