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Vol. 104Issue 149

Thursday, April 17, 2014

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Students simulate death to protest deaths of factory workers.Subhana Chaudhri | Staff Photographer.

LYING DOWN TO TAKE A STAND

As Mick Brennan lit the cigarette dangling from his lips, he commented on a potentially looming reality: a tobacco-free Pitt campus.

“I like being able to smoke on campus,” Brennan, a sophomore majoring in informa-tion science, said. “It’s convenient.”

Student Government Board member Graeme Meyer, a sophomore majoring in bioengineering, is pushing a tobacco-free policy on Pitt’s campus, starting with an on-line survey to gauge students’ opinions on going tobacco-free. The survey has garnered 154 responses since it went live April 15 on the Student Government Board website.

In the 19-question survey, Meyer asks if students would be comfortable with any of three options: creating designated smoking areas, making Pitt completely smoke-free or banning all tobacco products on campus. The survey also asks whether students use tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and other smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco.

After evaluating student responses, Meyer will decide which of the options, if any, would be best to include in a proposal to Pitt admin-istration. Meyer has not started drafting a proposal as of April 16.

Meyer said the initiative comes from a health standpoint, particularly the correla-tion between smoking and lung cancer and the e! ects of secondhand smoke.

Meyer is also concerned with upholding Pitt’s title as one of the healthiest college cam-puses in the country. According to Greatlist.com, Pitt ranked 12th on the list of healthiest colleges in 2012.

“With such a medically attuned commu-nity, it just doesn’t seem right to not have that

policy,” Meyer said. Meyer’s policy would come in the wake of

Pitt’s failure to make Greatist.com’s list in 2013 of the healthiest college campuses, of which Virginia Tech was the only Atlantic Coast Con-ference school. Greatist.com compiles the list using nominations from readers, information on the Internet relating to health services at schools, student surveys from College Prowler, a site of college reviews written by students, The Princeton Review and a value-based scor-ing system for each school in consideration for the list.

Meyer said he worked closely with Marian Vanek, the director of Student Health Ser-vices, to assemble the survey, which is cur-rently aimed at students. Faculty may take the survey as well, but Meyer said students are the primary concern at this stage in the surveying process..

Meyer said the Wellness Committee, a Stu-dent Government Board committee, Student Health and the Healthy U, a Student A! airs health initiative, will assist with the distribu-tion of paper copies of the survey through tabling, fl yer distribution and social media.

“We support the fi ndings of the Surgeon General that tobacco use in any form, active and/or passive, is a health hazard,” Vanek said in an email. “Thus, we support Graeme and his team with their e! orts to evaluate the poten-tial of the University becoming a tobacco-free living and learning environment.”

Meyer said he did not want to bombard stu-dents with emails about the survey, but rather, hopes they will fi nd it on the SGB website.

“It has the potential to render them inef-fective, as people begin to ignore the emails,” Meyer said.

Since Meyer’s project is in the survey phase,

Student initiative for a smoke-free campus goes live

Macie Ellis For The Pitt News

The lifeless bodies strewn across the Wil-liam Pitt Union on Wednesday were actu-ally standing up.

Ten students took to the ground for a second “die-in” protest by No Sweat: Pitt Coalition Against Sweatshops and Ameri-cans for Informed Democracy. Instead of staging a sit-in, the students lie down as if they were dead to represent the 1,129 workers who died when the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh that col-lapsed last April.

The groups are trying to persuade Pitt to require its licensees — anyone who pro-duces Pitt apparel — to sign an accord so that Pitt apparel is not made in factories with unfair or dangerous working condi-tions. The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety will make corporations responsible for the workers in factories in Bangladesh.

Joe Thomas, co-founder of AID and No Sweat, said signing the accord is an impor-tant step for Pitt and that students have the power to change the apparel industry.

Students lie down, protest again for workers’ rights

Jessica IaculloFor The Pitt News

Smoke-Free 2 Read the rest on pittnews.com

2 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

he said he has not contacted many administra-tive members besides Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey. Meyer said he’ll determine his next step based on the survey responses.

“When you smoke around other students, you are subjecting them to secondhand smoke,” Meyer said. “It’s about respecting people’s right to clean air.”

Brennan expressed confl icting sentiments.“I don’t think I harm others with second-

hand smoke,” Brennan said. “There’s other air.”

Meyer said he’s researched many successful tobacco-free campaigns, including those at University of Maryland, Ohio State, University of Michigan and Michigan State University, which do not impose harsh punishments, if any, and said this approach seems more ef-fi cient than strict enforcement policies em-

ployed by other universities. For instance, at Ohio State University, smoking is prohibited on all university-owned and operated prop-erties, and students or faculty who eitness direct repeat o! enders can report them to their Student Conduct Councils.

Meyer said he is not prepared to make a fi rm statement on how repeat o! enders would be punishe d until he has the survey results, but said that they would likely go through the University judiciary system just like those who break other campus rules

For Meyer, the main priority isn’t the University’s enforcement but to “promote awareness and use peer pressure to enforce the policy.”

Meyer’s initiative comes at a time when the University System of Georgia, an organi-zational body of public institutions of higher learning in Georgia, will enact a ban on smok-ing, including e-cigarettes. The ban will apply to all 31 universities in the system and will begin Oct. 1, 2014.

Marion Fedrick, the USG’s vice chancellor

for human resources, said in a press release on the organizational body’s website that the pol-icy aims “to preserve and improve the health, comfort and environment of employees and any persons occupying USG facilities.”

The USG policy applies to all employees, students, contractors, subcontractors and visitors and is applicable 24/7. According to the statement, all USG-related events shall be tobacco- and smoke-free. To follow suit with the USG, Meyer plans to use his “peer pressure” model to encourage students to use the resources of Pitt’s QUIT program, which stands for “Quit Using Irritating Tobacco.”

Megan Stahl, a health educator at Student Health, said the QUIT program is a free service o! ered by The O" ce of Health Education and Promotion as part of Student Health services to help students quit using tobacco.

According to Stahl, the QUIT program is available to Pitt students regardless of the type or amount of tobacco they use and includes weekly one-on-one counseling sessions for students.

A health educator helps the students to understand their use, to develop a QUIT action plan and to transition to a tobacco free-lifestyle during their appointments, according to Stahl.

QUIT o! ers students nicotine patches at no cost. The QUIT program is based in the O" ce of Health Education and Promotion inside the Student Health o" ce at Nordenberg Hall.

A question in Meyer’s survey asks if stu-dents know about QUIT because he plans to assess students’ knowledge of the program and, if awareness is low, to develop a PR plan with Student Health and the environmental committee

Becky Brown, a sophomore majoring in biology, said she doesn’t like smoking or sec-ondhand smoke.

“It’s gross,” Brown said.But Lindsey Guerrini, a freshman studying

athletic training, said she felt that smoking does not a! ect nonsmoking students.

“I don’t really care about smoking as long as it’s not directly in my face,” Guerrini said.

SMOKE-FREEFROM PAGE 1

In an article published Monday, April 14, titled “Board goes public with student groups’ budget appeals,” The Pitt News reported that the Allocations Committee approved the Board’s request for the cost for Board members to attend the Professional Association for SQL Server conference. This information is incorrect. The Al-locations Committee approved the Board’s request for the cost for Board members to attend the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students conference. The Pitt News regrets this error.

I n an article published Tuesday, April 15, titled “Nordenberg celebrated, praised on honorary day,” The Pitt News reported that “members of the Resident Student Associated marched to the event carrying signs.” This is inaccurate. Those marching with signs were Resident Assistants, not members of the Resident Student Association. It was also not the inten-tion of The Pitt News to imply that the Resident Student Association was the only group responsible for the planning of the event. The third paragraph of the article states the other student groups involved in the planning of the event. The Pitt News regrets these errors.

I n an article published Thursday, April 10, titled “Books and bakes: Hillman hosts a cake party,” The Pitt News reported that Leam Bridge, a male, won “overall favorite” at the Edible Book Fest competition for a “The Giving Tree” cake. This information is incorrect. Leann Bridge, a female, is the name of “overall favorite” winner. The Pitt News regrets this error.

3April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

4 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

OPINIONSPitt must work to implement

sustainability office

EDITORIALEDITORIAL

Students and faculty mem-bers gathered Wednesday at the William Pitt Union to discuss the importance of environmental sustainability. Mark Dixon, producer of the documentary “YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip),” headlined the symposium. Dixon passion-ately advocates the pursuit of “your environmental road map.” He wants individuals to think deeply and proactively about not only what they use, but also how they use it.

University students have taken to this message.

Especially in the past year and a half, students and student groups have worked to actualize environmentalist plans, which prompted the University to make considerable progress. Pitt has led sustainable e! orts, including plastic bag quotas and real food calculations, the latter of which concluded last Friday. Now, the University is altering positions within the school administration to implement more widespread environmental policy.

On Tuesday, the Student Gov-ernment Board introduced a bill that calls for the creation of a University o" ce dedicated to sustainability. The o" ce would help student environmental groups with green initiatives under the coordination of a cur-rent administration sta! mem-ber and with assistance from the SGB environmental chair.

Student activists have made similar calls for a sustainability o" ce in the past, but with little e" cacy. It is now time for Uni-versity administration to match this student enthusiasm for sus-tainability with action.

The University’s action would

align Pitt with many other ACC schools, such as the University of North Carolina and the Uni-versity of Virginia, that have al-ready opened o" ces dedicated to sustainability.

Despite student groups’ ef-forts, true and lasting sustain-able initiatives can only develop with the support of top Univer-sity o" cials. Students should be commended for their e! orts in recent years to promote respon-sible environmental policies. But now the University must respond from the top, namely through the implementation of an o" cial University sustain-ability o" ce.

By doing so, Pitt would rep-resent the e! ectiveness of a true joint venture between students and administration. Student leaders are excited about this prospect. Jess McDonald, a se-nior majoring in environmental studies, summarized this idea: “There is defi nitely room for improvement, but I believe that Pitt students and the Pitt admin-istration are ready to really get to work. Since great strides were made in just this last semester, there are even more amazing projects yet to come.”

Ken Arble, also a senior ma-joring in environmental studies, put it clearly: “An O" ce of Sus-tainability would help to bring administration and students together.”

With the e! orts of student leaders and the backing of school administration, Pitt can prove a national leader and com-pete with its ACC counterparts in addressing the increasingly relevant issue of environmental sustainability.

A dvertising is changing. Spelling out “bologna” and using a cuddly polar bear to sell soda doesn’t cut it anymore. Nowadays, if you re-ally want to sell your product and attract a large audience, you have to get creative, and a lot of com-panies are doing this by jumping on the social justice bandwagon.

In reaction to these cam-paigns, a pivotal question has emerged: Are the messages of social justice behind these ad-vertisements somehow degraded because their primary purpose is to sell us something?

Personally, I don’t think it matters.

Let’s look at Honey Maid. Honey Maid’s newest ad shows an array of families — including homosexual couples — enjoying

graham crackers. Apparently watching homosexuals eat gra-ham crackers is really upsetting to some people, and Honey Maid received a slew of angry letters. Instead of throwing away the hate mail, Honey Maid hired two local artists to create a sculpture out of it that spelled out “love.”

It was a smart move for Honey Maid. The response cemented Honey Maid’s status as a progres-sive, liberal company — and also got its name in the public spot-light. And the move was low-risk. Since nine out of every 10 letters Honey Maid received were in sup-port of the company’s original ad, Honey Maid knew that pushing its progressive angle even further would isolate few consumers.

Victoria’s Secret is another company that recently joined the social activism brigade with

its “Pink Loves Consent” adver-tising campaign. The ads feature models — all of whom represent di! erent races and body types — wearing underwear with slo-gans such as, “No means no” and “Consent is sexy.” The website even goes as far as having a “Then and Now” page in which Victoria’s Secret reveals how some of its underwear used to promote rape culture. According to the “Pink Loves Consent” website, Victo-ria’s Secret previously made un-derwear sporting slogans like “No peeking” and “Sure thing,” which the company now says promotes rape culture.

It is social advertising at its fi nest — the key word being ad-vertising since both companies are still trying to promote a prod-

Modern advertising: It’s not so bad Channing Kaiser

Columnist

MCT Campus

KAISERKAISER

Kaiser 5

5April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

uct. But I don’t see that as problematic. The companies ultimately want to make money from these campaigns, but their aim for profi t does not diminish the importance of the messages behind the advertisements.

The ideology of tolerance and open-ness, which the advertisements address, requires greater publicity and demands further discussion. And what better way to place such ideologies in the spotlight than

to have them touted by big-name brands? The question of advertising intention

came to the forefront with the video “First Kiss,” which features 20 strangers meet-ing for the fi rst time and then kissing. The video is fi lmed in black and white and set to depressing, sappy music. The video went viral almost instantly, gaining nearly 77 million views in just four weeks.

But people became upset when they realized that the video was all part of a campaign for Wren clothing, an indie clothing line based in Los Angeles . Wren

never tried to hide its involvement with the advertisement — the video opens with “Wren presents.” But people were shocked that the video’s primary goal was to sell clothes using models who play strangers meeting and kissing for the fi rst time.

Does that make the video any less mov-ing, any less important?

It doesn’t matter why the video was produced. If people like the message and fi nd it inspiring or emotional, does it mat-ter what the company’s intent was?

Also striking is that people are more

upset with the Wren clothing campaign than they are with the Honey Maid or Vic-toria’s Secret campaigns, as though social issues are allowed to be commercialized, but romance and love are not.

Advertising campaigns with messages of social justice force the public to think and refl ect upon important issues, and that is ultimately the most important facet to take away. Yes, companies aim to make a profi t, but that doesn’t change the impor-tance behind their messages.

Write to Channing at clk87@pitt.edu

KAISERFROM PAGE 4

E S T A B L I S H E D 1 9 1 0

Editorial PoliciesSingle copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around

campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns, car-toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in-tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University a!liation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is pub-lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations Com-mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University sta", fac-ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito-rial o!ces of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

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T P NS U DO K U

Today’s di! culty level: EasyPuzzles by Dailysodoku.com

6 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT

Anthony Breznican is widely recognized as an Entertainment Weekly senior movie writer and Academy Award reporter, but his journalistic roots began with The Pitt News in the late ‘90s. The former editor-in-chief makes his fi ction debut in the new coming-of-age novel “Brutal Youth,” which will be released June 10. The story focuses on high school freshman Peter Davidek as he enters the corrupt and dangerous environment of Saint Michael’s Catholic School.

After witnessing an appalling act of vio-lence on the fi rst day, Peter and his friends

learn to stand up to their oppressors and nav-igate their way to survival using unconven-tional and entertaining methods. Through a combination of thought-provoking action and dark humor, Breznican epitomizes the horrors of high school.

The Pitt News spoke to Breznican in an email about the challenges of growing up, his time at Pitt and how to make it as a writer.

The Pitt News: You went to Catholic school around the same time as protagonist Peter Davidek. How much of your experience is refl ected in the fi ctional Saint Michael’s?

Anthony Breznican: A lot of my memo-ries of school and teenage life are refl ected here, although, the volume is dialed up on the dark and demented parts. Growing up

is an ugly, awkward business for everyone. There are always people willing to elevate themselves by stepping on your neck. But what we remember once the dust settles are the people who reached out and helped us through. That’s what I drew on — those vital friends who shielded us when we felt crushed.

TPN: Peter seems to be a bit of an under-dog when he fi rst signs up for Saint Michael’s. Why do you think readers will be able to relate to him?

AB: He’s this 14-year-old kid who just wants to slip by under the radar, go unno-ticed and not make trouble for himself. But right away, he gets drawn into this crisis at the school, and that sets o! a whole chain

of events for him — good and bad. Now, he could have laid low, but he felt compelled to help, to do the right thing.

We all want to do good and stand for something. I believe most people start out that way, and at some point, it gets beaten out us. If we’re not careful, we go from being the one willing to run out and help, to the one pushing over the statues. I think that’s something anyone can relate to. We all know what it’s like to feel scared, and the lucky ones fi gure out how to avoid letting that fear harden into a kind of bitterness.

TPN: The cover image is very powerful.

Former Pitt News EIC prepares to release debut novel, ‘Brutal Britnee Meiser

For The Pitt News

Breznican 9

‘Brutal Youth’ explores the awkward challenges of growing up. Photos courtesy of Anthony Breznican

BOOKSBOOKS

7April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Katie Conway doesn’t see how college-aged audiences could turn down a weekend trip to the theater, especially when its costs rival another weekend staple.

“It’s fi fteen dollars to come see a show,” said Conway, group sales and audience de-velopment manager at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. “It’s cheaper than a pizza.”

“Candida,” the latest pizza-priced produc-tion at the O’Reilly Theater in Downtown, will debut tonight and run through May 18. Ted Pappas, who is in his 14th season as produc-ing artistic director at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, directs the classic British comedy, which George Bernard Shaw wrote in 1894.

The play focuses on one day in a romantic tug-of-war between two men bidding for the heart of the titular character (Gretchen Egolf). Candida is married to a well-respected pas-tor, James Morell (David Whalen), but she’s still courted by Eugene Marchbanks (Jared McGuire), an a! ectionate poet.

The play’s humor and themes of love, Pap-pas said, are what primarily make “Candida” appealing to a younger audience.

“I think if you gave a copy of the play to kids, some would respond to it,” McGuire said. “But to see it and to see how much passion is

in this play, and if there’s anything that kids can respond to — or young people in general — it’s unrestrained desire.”

Conway hopes that these themes, coupled with special discounts for Pitt students, draw a younger audience to the show. Pitt students can receive a discounted $15.75 ticket, which could regularly cost up to $60, for any show when they present their Pitt IDs.

“Getting young people in the theater and making it accessible to them, especially from a price point, is a priority of ours,” Conway said.

McGuire views his character as the perfect foil to Candida’s more straitlaced husband.

“He’s just a poet and a dreamer,” McGuire said. “He doesn’t want to go back to school. He just wants to lie around and dream.”

Eugene, after being taken in by Candida and her husband, falls in love with his hostess even though his feelings aren’t necessarily reciprocated.

“The love triangle is more of a Bermuda triangle. It doesn’t really exist in a sense,” McGuire said. “The triangle, if there is one, comes about because Eugene is very deftly able to put a seed of doubt in Morell’s mind after he pronounces his own love for Candida.”

Pappas argues that Candida is a true masterpiece with themes and humor that transcend its age.

“It’s still funny and exciting because the subjects he writes about and the arguments he makes and the jokes he makes still matter today ... [and] are still interesting and funny,” Pappas said.

Pappas said that Shaw’s development of Candida’s character as an intelligent and infl u-ential woman is particularly groundbreaking, considering the time period in which the play was written.

“This is a play whose leading lady, whose heroine, the title character, is a woman who isn’t even allowed to vote, who really isn’t allowed to hold a position in commerce or in medicine or at a university. And yet, she is incredibly intelligent and incredibly capable,” Pappas said.

While there are two primary male charac-ters, Candida subtly steals the spotlight — and power — from them.

“He has in his play a capitalist, a parson and a poet — three extremes of life — but none of them are the bad guy. They’re all nec-essary for a society to keep moving forward. At the center of it he has a woman, who seems to be lurking in the background, but is truly ruling.”

‘Candida’ strives to bring classic comedy to young audiencesRichard Koppenaal

Staff Writer

THEATERTHEATER

McGuire and Egolf are two-thirds of ‘bermuda’ love triangle. Photo courtesy of Pitts-burgh Public Theater

Laura Jean McLaughlin’s old bookstore-turned-studio is one of the many local trea-sures on display during this month’s Un-blurred, Garfi eld’s gallery crawl event.

“Today’s his favorite day,” McLaughlin said, referring to her cat who was receiving almost as much attention from visitors as McLaughlin’s zany, cartoonish, critter-themed sculptures and prints.

One furry collage of a little grey cat sat back in her workshop among jars of clay and paints.

“That’s real cat hair, you know,” she said, smiling without looking up from her register as she fi nalized a purchase.

Artists, activists, musicians and the gen-eral public convened April 4 on Penn Avenue in Garfi eld for Unblurred, which is held on the fi rst Friday of every month. For more than a decade, the gallery crawl has showcased

Pittsburgh’s a" nity for the arts in an all-night event that features a variety of studio art, free booze and a newly added after-party hosted by Garfi eld restaurant Verde .

Gallery crawlers also fl ocked to see what was inside artist Jason Sauer ’s Most Wanted Fine Art studio, which was advertised by a large infl ated speech bubble with “OMG!” printed across it, hovering above the old brick studio’s doors. The studio housed a collection of Jason Woolslar e’s vibrant pop art prints of robots and superheroes, an acoustic house band playing Bob Marley covers and home-made beer from a friend of Woolslare .Wool-slare, who has participated in the Unblurred event for years, was busy chatting up friends and strangers alike from the moment the doors opened. “You have a lot of people that come out for the free beer,” he said two weeks after the event in a phone conversation . “But it’s a fun time too. Artists are accessible, and people come up and talk with you, which is the

great part. I hope it carries on this way for a while.” At one point, rain briefl y poured over the crawl, causing everyone to fi nd shelter in the nearest gallery. Then, the skies opened up to reveal a rainbow perfectly arched across Penn Avenue that provoked gallerygoers to dance and celebrate in the street. As much of a cultural celebration that it is, Unblurred is more than just an art showcase. Many dif-ferent activist groups posted up within gal-leries alongside artists to raise awareness for environmental issues — most prominently fracking.

Garfi eld Artworks, an art and performance space, put on an art exhibition entirely for the purpose of raising money to support the group Protect Our Parks, whose mission is to ban fracking in local Pittsburgh parks. By 9 p.m. at the April crawl, the donation collector at the door had an overfl owing cup of bills as the gallery space fl ooded with thirtysomethings and their dates.

Mad Science Supply and Surplus, a shop that sells quirky products to satisfy the needs of everyone’s inner mad scientist, also took advantage of Unblurred’s crowds with an in-formational exhibit. The Mad Science Supply exhibit stressed clean renewable energy and water conservation with Green Mountain Energy Company, a national energy company that specializes in sustainable solutions that manned a table outside the shop’s door.

While most of Unblurred’s featured partici-pants have been established in the community for years, the crawl allows new businesses and artists to make names for themselves, too.

Los Sabrosos Dance Company, a dance organization specializing in a variety of styles of dance lessons and performances, moved to Garfi eld from Downtown three weeks ago — hardly having time to settle in — but has already found a broad clientele. Read more at www.pittnews.com

Unblurred, blends art, activism and entertainmentJack Trainor Staff Writer

FEATUREFEATURE

8 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

If you had told me in 2006 that “The Fountain” wouldn’t end up being Darren Aronofsky’s worst movie, I’d have assumed you hadn’t seen it.

But alas, in 2014, Aronofsky gives that stunningly overblown passion project a run for its money with another one — the de-cidedly secular biblical adaptation “Noah.”

Much of the conversation surrounding the fi lm has been obsessed with the cre-ative liberties taken in adapting its sacred source material. But for a piece of narrative and fi lmmaking, accuracy and e! cacy are not always congruous. Aronofsky never pretends to attach any type of a “based on a true story” tag to “Noah,” so the di" er-ences are forgivable, but the bland action, excess and narrative ineptitude are not.

Just like the fl ood he portrays, Aronof-sky’s “Noah” is a disaster — a $130 million disaster.

The story’s a simple one. Maybe you’ve heard it? Noah (Russell Crowe) has a series of visions from “the Creator” (Aronofsky’s spin on “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” ), signaling the apocalypse through an earth-ly water main break. To prepare, Noah and his family build a wooden cruise ship for a co-ed pair of every living creature on Earth.

All the while, Tubal-cain (Ray Win-stone), who brutally killed Noah’s father when he was a boy, rallies up an army to attack Noah and his family. When the fl ood eventually strikes, it sweeps all of Tubal-cain’s army away save Tubal-cain, who sneaks onto the ark. Noah predictably devolves into a state of madness, as most alpha-male authority fi gures do during the apocalypse, and threatens his own fam-ily when they disobey the Creator. Your Sunday school teacher might have left out those details.

Above all else, “Noah” is another gar-gantuan-budget action fl ick with a lot on

its mind, which is a recipe for disaster more often than not. Aronofsky isn’t subtle about his messages: the corruption of man, environmentalism, preserving resources as well as a possible nod to veganism all take center stage. But very little of this navel-gazing can amount to much when giant, rock-encrusted angels are stomping around the earth.

For all of his high-art ambitions, Aronofsky ultimately falls into the genre trappings of other massive action tent poles. The rock-encrusted angels, or “Watchers,” bear a similar stature, de-structiveness and badly written dialogue to those CGI robot cars. For all his auteur-ism, Aronofsky fi lms his action scenes just like the next guy, with copious amounts of chaos, destruction and noise. They can be a mind-numbing blur, which makes the moments of astonishing beauty seem like even more of a letdown.

In the midst of all the pandemonium, “Noah” makes room for some captivating sequences, as we’ve come to expect from all Aronofsky joints. Noah tells his children the story of creation, Adam and Eve and

Cain and Abel, accompanied by a gorgeous and o" -kilter full-CGI visual of the stories. Aronofsky even sneaks in some gorgeous accelerated documentary-style footage of water spreading throughout the earth, along with a POV shot from the fl ood’s fi rst raindrop as it falls onto Crowe’s face.

And somehow, the character drama in “Noah,” which has been one of Aronofsky’s strong suits in the past, falls remarkably fl at. Before the fl ood, we’re treated to some laughable scenes with Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins). Hopkins’ Methuselah plays up the wise and nebulous old man trope to the verge of parody, par-ticularly during a moment when he blesses Noah’s pseudo daughter-in-law (Emma Watson) with the power to conceive.

Methuselah’s blessing inevitably leads to some inner-family turmoil on the ark with a furious Noah, who doesn’t quite approve of intervening with the divine. And in the fi lm’s fi nal act, Aronofsky puts some of the message-making on hold for several scenes of extensive melodrama.

‘Noah’: Darren Aronofsky’s $130 million disasterShawn Cooke Staff Writer

FILMFILM

Noah 9

“Noah”Directed by: Darren AronofskyStarring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony HopkinsGrade: C-

9April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

How does it connect to the novel?AB: That was created by a designer named

Rob Grom. It’s this amazing, abstract rep-resentation of that burning inside you that sometimes gets so intense it just bursts out. The tie is a little clip-on, which fi gures promi-nently in the story as a source of torment. Rob even included a logo I made for the school, with the Latin motto: Sancti Patiuntur, Malo Viget. I’ll let the Latin scholars translate its literal meaning, but it’s a di! erent way of saying “only the good die young.”

TPN: You were once the editor-in-chief of The Pitt News, and now you’re a well-known writer for Entertainment Weekly. How did you get to where you are today?

AB: The Pitt News was my main class-room, and I loved it. Still do. I desperately wanted to be a writer, but my parents were against it. My dad said I’d be writing signs that say, “Will work for food.”

I would never have had the guts to do [it] if not for an instructor at Pitt named Harry Kloman, who in my fi nal year at The Pitt News became the journalism adviser. He encour-

aged me to think about journalism and eventually helped me land an internship at the Associated Press in Pittsburgh — which led to a job with the AP in Los Angeles. I covered cops, earthquakes and politics for a few years, and then gradually picked up some Hollywood stories, since it’s a company town. Eventually that became the main event.

TPN: What advice would you give to people who want to turn their writing into a career?

AB: Know your limitations and push like hell to overtake them. Believe in yourself,

but don’t fall victim to entitlement. A lot of young writers seem to think that a sprig of talent makes them a towering oak. It’s like, you’ve got a long way to grow, buddy. Pay your dues. There are plenty of people who will discourage you. You don’t have to buy what they say, but you better hear it. With the right attitude, they can make you jump higher and run faster. Occasionally, you’ll fi nd someone who reaches back to help you along. Do that same thing for others. If some-one shares your dream, help them if you can. Some day they may be the one helping you.

BREZNICANFROM PAGE 6

Noah makes some crazed threats, and his family responds with appropriate sorrow, but it’s often hard to believe — or care — that any of these threats will materialize.

In his best fi lms, Aronofsky compelling-ly delves into the darkest corners of the hu-man psyche. He grapples with these themes as an afterthought in “Noah,” though, and only after his immaculate destruction and preachiness have waned. Hopefully he’ll have a smaller budget next time.

NOAHFROM PAGE 8

10 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

SPORTS

O ! ense again proved to be a problem for the Panthers baseball team, which only managed two hits in a loss at Kent State, as Pitt was unable to capitalize on starter Casey Roche’s longest outing of the season.

The Golden Flashes (23-12, 9-3 Mid-American) did not allow the Panthers a hit after the fi rst inning as both hits coming in the top half of the fi rst frame, providing Pitt starter Roche with no run support in the loss at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.

The 4-1 loss marks another tough out-ing for the Panthers because of their in-ability to score runs when they need them. Of Pitt’s nine losses in April, seven include games where Pitt’s o! ense could not put more than two runs on the board, includ-ing last night’s game against Kent State. With the loss, Pitt’s road record has now dwindled to 6-13 this season, and the team is now mired in a six-game losing skid.

Through the fi rst two innings of play,

the Panthers’ bats seemed alive and well, forcing Kent State pitcher Michael Clark to throw 46 pitches in his fourth start of the season.

Senior Stephen Vranka led o! the

game with a double to left fi eld, giving the Panthers some life. After a sacrifi ce bunt by outfi elder Boo Vazquez and a walk to starting pitcher Roche, Vranka eventually crossed home plate for the fi rst run of the

game on a fi elder’s choice out at second, which caught Roche attempting to steal from fi rst base.

But Clark, who picked up the win of the night, would not give up another hit during his fi ve-inning performance, improving his record to 2-1.

Pitt struck out 10 times and left nine runners stranded on base. They did not advance a runner to third base after the fi fth inning.

Vazquez spoke about the team’s recent struggles at the plate.

“We have to be consistent in having quality at-bats,” Vazquez said. “If we hit balls hard, good things will happen.”

Wednesday’s loss is the Panthers’ ninth in their last 10 games, dropping them to a 16-20 overall record on the season.

Pitt head coach Joe Jordano provided his thoughts on the Panthers’ current slide.

“Obviously we are in a di" cult stretch

Pitt’s o! ensive struggles continue, drops sixth-straight gameKevin Wheeler

For The Pitt News

Florida State’s softball team rolled into Vartabedian Field on a chilly Wednesday afternoon bundled up in heavy coats and winter hats. The weather has been indica-tive of Pitt’s play as of late: cold, having now lost seven games in a row after drop-ping both games to the visiting Seminoles.

The Panthers knew they faced an uphill battle taking on the eighth-ranked team in the country in a doubleheader, but they were not prepared for Seminole shortstop sensation Maddie O’Brien, who fi nished with two home runs and seven RBI in the two-game sweep of the Panthers.

Florida State 5, Pitt 2The Panthers (13-24, 4-14 ACC) were

enthusiastic and loud from the start, not backing down from the challenge of facing eighth-ranked Florida State (41-6, 18-3 A

CC). Spirits ran high in the home team’s dugout as it kept the pressure on early, having at least one runner in scoring po-sition in each of the fi rst three innings.

Even Pitt starting pitcher Alexa Larkin dealt a quick six-pitch third inning, con-tinuing the scoreless tie. She was throwing at all areas of the plate, keeping batters guessing and working out of jams.

“We made decent adjustments at the plate, and the pitching sta! showed im-provement,” said head coach Holly Aprile.

However, O’Brien hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to jump out to a 1-0 lead, erasing Larkin’s early success. From that point, Florida State’s play started to heat up, and the team didn’t turn back.

At the beginning of the fi fth inning, Florida State added another run and grabbed a 2-0 lead. The Panthers re-sponded quickly in the bottom half with a Tori Nirschl single to left fi eld, scoring

junior fi rst baseman Carly Thea all the way from fi rst base on a fi elding error, making the score 2-1.

Junior pitcher Savannah King came in relief at the start of the sixth inning and was very e! ective, shutting out the Semi-noles by only surrendering one hit until O’Brien belted her second home run of the game and 20th of the year, increasing the Panthers’ defi cit to 5-1.

In the end, Pitt was only able to add one more score courtesy of Thea, and the valiant e! ort ended with Pitt su! ering a 5-2 loss.

The Panthers gave Florida State pitcher Lacey Waldrop all she could handle in her complete game victory. Waldrop moved to 27-4 on the season after pitching seven innings of one-run ball . Larkin was pinned with the loss for Pitt, dropping her record to 6-8.

“Even though we were down, we con-

tinuously battled through the game,” Lar-kin said of the fi rst game.

Florida State 10, Pitt 3The Panthers’ late momentum in Game

1 carried over to the earlier portion of the second contest. That continued e! ort can be attributed to the words of Aprile after she gathered the team in left fi eld to speak to the team about its loss in Game 1.

“I told them I liked the way we were swinging the bats, and we need to have the same attack mode,” she said.

King started Game 2 of the doublehead-er on short rest by escaping the top of the fi rst after Florida State loaded the bases.

In the bottom frame, Thea and Nirschl were both stranded in scoring position, one of many missed opportunities for Pitt to claim a lead in both games.

King loaded the bases again in the sec-

Softball team can’t pull off upset of No. 8 Florida StateJohn DeMarco

For The Pitt News

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

Pitcher Casey Roche gets no run support in loss. Heather Tennant | Staff Photographer

Baseball 12

Softball 12

11April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

12 April 17, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.comACROSS

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weekend!”32 Edna Ferber

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alternative62 Pindar product63 Parade member?64 Put into operation65 __ canto

Wednesday’s Puzzle SolvedBy Jeffrey Wechsler 4/24/14

(c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 4/24/14

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ond inning, only to face a red-hot O’Brien. She cashed in with a three-run double, giving her seven RBI for the day and a 3-0 lead for the visiting team.

Pitt battled back in the bottom of the second with two runs of its own. Kaila Ba-latgek scored by a Florida State throwing error, and the next batter, Jordan Fannin, slapped a double down the third base line to trim Florida State’s lead to 3-2.

Once the top of the third inning began, Pitt seemed to run out of steam. What began as hopes for redemption was soon muddled by a long fi nish to the afternoo n.

Florida State cruised to another vic-tory, scoring seven more times to win 10-3. Florida State starting pitcher Jessica Bur-roughs only allowed two hits and struck

out nine in fi ve innings of work. Ashlee Sills’ RBI single to left fi eld in

the sixth provided the only scoring play for the Panthers beyond the second inning.

Consequently, Pitt increased its losing streak to seven games and recorded its 14th loss in ACC play.

The obvious standout of the afternoon was O’Brien, whom the Panthers wanted no part of as the second game lingered o n. The Panthers intentionally walked her four times in game two after hitting for a perfect batting average on the day and smashing two home runs.

Pitt will look to bounce back this Friday and Saturday when it hosts Georgia Tech for a three-game series.

SOFTBALLFROM PAGE 10

right now, and we are working to get through it,” Jordano said. “We have to get our confi dence back and play through it.”

Roche provided the sole bright spot for Pitt in the game, tossing a solid four innings in a losing e! ort, giving up two runs (one earned), three hits and one walk on 57 pitches.

Roche’s two runs came in the fourth inning after Zarley Zalewski reached base on an error by Pitt shortstop Dylan Wol-sonovich. Kent State fi rst baseman Cody Koch promptly smacked an RBI double down the left fi eld line, bringing Zalewski home on the play. Je! Revesz added an RBI

single of his own. Kent State tacked on two more runs before the game’s end.

There’s no telling when the Panthers will get back into the winning column, but they have a golden opportunity to do so at home this weekend against 20th-ranked Clemson in a three-game series with ACC implications.

Senior pitcher Matt Wotherspoon, much like the rest of the Panthers, is look-ing forward to coming back to Pittsburgh.

“I think we’re comfortable at home,” said Wotherspoon. “If we play hard, we will put ourselves in a good position to win the series.”

The Panthers and Tigers will face o! in the fi rst game of a three-game set Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Charles L. Cost Field in the Petersen Sports Complex.

BASEBALLFROM PAGE 10

Taylor Henry and Pitt drop both games to visiting Florida State.ww Bobby Mizia | Visual Editor