Response
Podcast: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AVGkHz6EL-xbkMz4sHXbbpsoGilKM8Go
For my Blog-proj I followed the University of Pittsburgh’s student run newspaper, The Pitt News. During the time I was keeping my eye on the paper there were a few stories of interest that I watched develop, these being issues revolving around the school’s endowment and the worsening situation of COVID-19.
The board of trustees was having meetings surrounding their endowment. The University of Pittsburgh’s endowment is 4.3 billion dollars, not a measly sum. There was debate revolving around the decision of the school to invest in oil, and a student group, Fossil Free Pitt protested this decision by occupying the Cathedral. This occupation would go on for 12 days until the students decided to leave on their own volition. The main reason they were protesting was because they wanted student voices to have a say on the matter of where the school’s massive endowment is invested.
The University of Pittsburgh’s reaction to COVID-19 reflects much of what happened across the nation. First there was much discussion of preparations. Study abroad programs were cancelled. They put handwashing stations all over the school. This article posted on March 5th feels like everything is going to be fine. On March 11th an article was posted detailing the decision to move online. An incredible shift in only the span of a week.
The Pitt has articles that feel professionally written and they post on a wide variety of topics. It’s very impressive that a student run newspaper can operate on the level of The Pitt News. I know that they have strong Journalism and Communication departments, and it really shows.
March 11th, 2020
This is another article coming from The University of Pittsburgh’s student run newspaper, The Pitt News. In this article The university’s decision to move their classes online is addressed. This is something that’s currently happening to university students all over the country including myself. The article starts with quotes from the school’s chancellor Patrick Gallagher. He states that this is a new challenge and thinks that moving online is a good way to keep their academic mission coming. The university is allowing students to return to campus to retrieve belongings and is restricting domestic travel and those going abroad. This is fairly standard with whats happening across the nation. Residence halls and other facilities will remain open for students who can’t return home. There is currently an appeal program they’ve put in place for students who wish to remain on campus. The leaders of the university made this decision after Harvard and Penn State decided to close. There are 113,000 cases confirmed worldwide, so many are being forced to make these decisions. The University is updating students more than daily on what was happening with the school, and this decision is no surprise. Pitt also cancelled all of their study abroad programs during spring break a few weeks ago. They cancelled programs to study abroad in China in late January. There are also major things happening in the city of Pittsburgh. The Saint Patrick’s Day Parade has been cancelled and there is talk about suspending business travel within the city. Indubitably, this virus is beginning to affect everyone.
March 6th, 2020
Pitt’s Women’s Basketball lost a game to Georgia Tech that kicked them from an ACC tournament following the second round. They had already lost to the team by 29 points in January so i wasn’t looking hot for the team. The Pittsburgh Panther’s couldn’t sink as many three’s as the Georgia Yellow jackets so they were at a disadvantage. They also got a lot more fouls than the Yellow Jackets, 22 to 12 respectively. During the first quarter the game was close. Georgia Tech’s Senior Guard scored seven points in that period. At the end the score was seventeen to sixteen, Yellow Jacket’s lead. The second quarter was all back and forth. Over the course of the first half there were a total of 14 lead changes. At the end of the half the score was thirty one to twenty six with another Yellow Jacket’s lead. Within seven minutes of the third quarter The Yellow Jackets had reached a 38 to 30 lead. The Panthers managed to make a bit of a recovery, getting the game to forty five to forty eight with the Yellow Jackets still in the lead. The fourth quarter didn’t go so well for Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets managed to get a lead of sixteen but Pittsburgh managed to get it back down to ten by the end of the game. This marked the end of their season, and what a season it had been. The Panthers finished with the least amount of wins and most losses in program history. They hope for some improvement next year.
March 5th, 2020
In this article the university of pittsburgh’s preparation for the cornoavirus epidemic is discussed. Mostly it consists of descriptions of whats going on around campus to prepare and what faculty members are saying about it. It starts with stating that their alert level is currently at Level B: High Alert. The intro also discusses the current worldwide state of Covid-19. The university feels that it is only a matter of time until they are personally affected by the outbreak, so they must prepare now. Preparations include the distribution of hand sanitizing stations and the cancellation of study abroad programs. Also they’re urging students at the school to practice standing 3 feet apart from each other and washing hands as much as possible. They are also prepared to start testing people for the virus if symptoms do arise. All the measures that the university is taking are in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization.
March 4th, 2020
I believe I mentioned this event in my last blog-proj. Students from the university of pittsburgh staged a sit in at the cathedral commons, and they just ended it. They did a sit in so that the board of trustees would end their investment into oil from their endowment. This all started when they were protesting a board of trustees meeting relating to UPitt reaching carbon neutrality by 2037. The organization leading this was the FFPC, or Fossil Free Pittsburgh Coalition. When the group left it was their own decision, and they were planning on making that the case since the start. The administration was attempting to get them out beforehand, by removing signs and attempting to get rid of their overnight supplies. They intend to do a lot more between now and the end of the school year. This seems to be just the beginning for a group that many would consider extreme.
February 28th, 2020
For this Blog-proj I checked out the university of pittsburgh’s paper, “The Pitt News.” The article I read was concerning their commitment to being carbon neutral in 2037. Students of the school’s fossil free movement attempted to get more student voices heard by the board of trustees. It seems like there are lots of cases where schools make investments using their endowments towards the fossil fuel industry. Their next goal is 50% less carbon being produced by 2030. This is a difficult goal for an organization this large. The journalism team got some great quotes for this article and it is written very well. The article starts with a brief explanation of the situation, and then continues into a more storytelling oriented approach. I think this is an incredibly effective way to ease a reader into a concept. I feel that the article could have been a bit more focused, as it had a tendency to jump between ideas a bit quickly.
https://pittnews.com/article/154927/news/pitt-professors-compile-pittsburgh-human-rights-stories/
February 11th, 2020
The second article I have is about the university of pittsburgh taking part in a study that involves 190 member states across the world. The Study is called the “universal periodic review,” and it concerns the conditions that people who live in these nations experience. The report that they will submit to the federal government is based on testimonies of those who live in Pittsburgh and data collected by other organizations. In Pittsburgh, historically affected groups are more affected by issues like poverty. The report details how over the past 4 years 7000 African Americans were displaced. In Pittsburgh many of these issues are based in financial problems. Those with more are given more rights while those with less are often left to the fringes. The article then goes on to discuss using data based on human rights to find solutions for the world’s problems. I think solutions to inequality are necessary and displayed best in human rights related data. The article ends by explaining that human rights don’t fit cleanly into any political viewpoint, so it would be difficult to get support for it on a national stage.
