College Articles

Below are all of my featured articles from my time with the Pitt News.

Local ‘Standing Wave’ coffee truck energizes the Pitt food scene

On the corner of South Bouquet and Sennott streets sits a white coffee truck, bedecked in brightly colored stickers, with a line of eager customers typically forming on the sidewalk. “Standing Wave,” a local coffee truck that sells a variety of items, is a staple for Pitt students looking for a pick-me-up during the week.
The coffee truck began with Colin Frye, a Pittsburgh native, and opened about four years after he opened his first coffee shop, Silver Horse Coffee, in Donegal. Right before th...

Graduating Pitt students plan for their futures amid economic uncertainty

Graduation for Pitt students is less than four weeks away on Sunday, May 4. With recent Trump administration policies, many seniors are feeling uncertain while stepping into the next stage of their lives due to an unreliable labor market and recession indicators.
Various Pitt students were able to secure jobs early in their final year, even in an uncertain job market. Paige Weitzel, a senior nursing major, landed a post-grad job in the fall as a trauma nurse at the Allegheny General Hospital. We...

Pitt workers agree to new one-year contract

The Pitt service workers union agreed to a new one-year contract amid uncertainties about the University’s financial future.
At the beginning of March, Pitt service workers, represented by the SEIU Local 32BJ, agreed to a new contract after negotiations began in December. The contract guarantees a pay raise of $1.25 per hour with an additional 3% increase retrospective to Jan. 1 and additional benefits for over 400 cleaners, housekeepers, groundskeepers and others. 
Pam Rall-Johnston, a union st...

Students recount ‘immediate pandemonium’ at Semple Street roof collapse

A sunny, festive day during St. Patrick’s Day weekend filled with people dancing, drinking and taking pictures was brought to an end when a porch roof fell onto partiers, causing chaos and a swift emergency service presence.
The roof of a porch on Semple Street collapsed during a St. Patrick’s Day party on Friday, March 14, sending 16 people to the hospital and injuring at least a dozen more. At least 20 people were standing on the roof when it appeared to disconnect from the house, falling onto...

Pitt unions express concern for the future of Pitt faculty and staff under the Trump administration

The Trump Administration’s first month in office has brought a flurry of executive orders and cutbacks coming from the White House, all of which are finding their way to Pitt’s campus.
Pitt’s faculty, staff and graduate student unions, which together represent a large portion of employees at Pitt, are concerned that federal cuts in NIH funding and the federal rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion could impact faculty and staff jobs at the university. 
On Feb. 7, the Trump Administration an...

Student Unions construction study completion date pushed back a semester

The hum of construction is a constant on Pitt’s campus that won’t be ending anytime soon, with a new but delayed programming study that brings with it the possibility of more construction in the coming years. 
One year ago, the Office of Planning, Design and Construction began looking into renovations for popular student buildings such as the William Pitt Union and O’Hara Student Center with a new Student Unions Programming Study, with reports that the study was to be completed in the fall of 20...

Student groups supply free menstrual, sex supplies

Within the past year, multiple student organizations have worked around the clock to help students at Pitt with their essential intimate needs and are now seeing the results of their efforts.
Various student groups on campus have been working to get personal resource stations up and running to provide necessary sexual health and menstruation supplies to Pitt students.
One of these organizations, Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGen) at Pitt, has worked since last semester to put in a reso...

Pittsburgh Latino organizations provide support amid new executive immigration policies

The recent inauguration of President Donald Trump brought with it a flurry of executive orders, many focused on immigrants and mass deportations. 
Trump quickly expanded the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has since increased the number of arrests made by the agency. On Trump’s first day in office, the number of immigration-related arrests was triple the average arrest count per day of the Biden administration. Most of these new orders target immigrants from Latin America, c...

Fifth Avenue welcomes a new boba shop, TAPILAB, to Oakland

Nestled among Oakland favorites, including Raising Cane’s and Insomnia Cookies, the newest addition to the dining scene along Fifth Avenue is a bubble tea cafe, TAPILAB. 
The new boba shop opened up in late December 2024 with a “soft launch,” taking the spot where Gussy’s Bagels & Pizzeria used to sit. TAPILAB joins in competition with the other 12 boba shops that already reside in Oakland, including Fuku Tea and Tsaocaa, with its official grand opening last Wednesday.
Aaron Chen, the owner of T...

New mid-week start to classes brings irritation and ambivalence from students 

Hundreds of vehicles flooded into Oakland this past weekend as Pitt students prepared to start the spring semester, which began on a Wednesday rather than a Monday for the first time in seven years.
Pitt has implemented a new academic schedule for the 2024-2025 school year with classes and finals beginning on a Wednesday. Some students said this change has brought about frustrations as they adapt to the new schedule.
The first day of the spring semester has started on a Monday since 2017, while...

DePasquale, Democrat watch party brings feelings of optimism in the community

As time passed on election night, the energy at Eugene DePasquale’s watch party ebbed and flowed with the changing of Pennsylvania polls. 
DePasquale, Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general, gathered Pittsburgh citizens at a watch party on election night at the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers building.
About 30 attendees counted down together as Pennsylvania polls closed at 8 p.m. and continued to watch as the votes were tallied.The night began with a high optimism that could b...

Students share fears about possible election outcomes

The upcoming presidential election will be the first for most undergraduate students. George Collins, a junior business analytics major, said that makes this election and its effects even more important.
“This election is the first one I’m voting in, but it feels really consequential for the first time because I’m old enough now to understand,” Collins said. “So I’m definitely worried, but all I can really do is my part and go out and vote.”
With the presidential election less than a week away,...

‘Week of Rage’ draws interest from campus bystanders, protests war in Gaza one year after Hamas attack

The “Week of Rage,” organized by the groups Pittsburgh to Palestine and Pitt Apartheid Divest, coincided with the one-year marking of the attack on Israel by Hamas. The week of scheduled vigils and demonstrations aimed to reflect on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and continued to demand that Pitt divest from Israel. 
The events began with a community vigil on Oct. 7 in Schenley Park to honor the estimated 42,000 people killed by Israel in Gaza in the past year. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, students and c...

Vice presidential debate sparks satisfaction from students at on-campus watch parties

Hundreds of students attended watch parties across campus to see Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz face off on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., 5 weeks before election day. 
The Pitt News attended on-campus watch parties hosted by College Democrats at Pitt, Pitt Votes and the Political Science Student Association (PSSA) to ask students their thoughts on the debate as it progressed. College Republicans at Pitt held a private watch party off campus.
The two vice presidential nominees debated...

The Hub helps students, Oakland residents get vaccinated for the upcoming winter

The Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub, also known as “The Hub,” sits under Nordenberg Hall and is next to the Pitt Pharmacy and Student Health Services. Inside, they offer flu shots, COVID vaccines and other medical services.
With flu season quickly approaching and the importance of a vaccinated campus growing, The Hub is open every weekday to all students, faculty and residents of Oakland. The Hub will also be holding its annual flu shot clinics on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 at the Petersen Eve...