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Fantasy author captivates pittsburgh fans at CMU lecture

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On a cold October afternoon Pittsburgh readers both young adult and practiced adults ventured to Carnegie Mellon University to see Maggie Stiefvater.  The New York Times Bestselling author of “The Scorpio Races,” “The Raven Cycle,” and the “Shiver” series captivated Creative Writing majors and fans with enthusiasm and humility, with stories of her life and career, and with insight into her works of fiction.

Maggie Stiefvater, who was born Heidi Hummel, could have potentially had a promising career as a stand up comedian. From tales of taking unfortunate photographs of “ugly babies” to recounting the academic programs she was rejected from the writer was very open with her audience. She spoke of her life in chapters of a memoir she never plans to write.

Describing her younger self as if she were a character in a novel she recounted to the audience stories about herself as a “horrible child,” then a “horrible” Wednesday Adams-like teenager “mourning modern society,” and now an adult who watched fellow Young Adult novelist John Green be pulled from a burning car like “a baby calf” twice.

Considering the audience’s responses (not to mention her book sales), it can be said that Maggie Stiefvater is as captivating a storyteller in person as she is on paper. That could be attributed to the fact, that in her own words, she has been telling them her entire life. Some more innocent than others as she admitted that she used to make up stories to entertain her siblings, saying, “It’s not lying it’s storytelling.”

She then kindly informed the writers in the audience, after they’d identified themselves, that they were terrible: “You’re all terrible, just so you know.” She claimed to know this from personal experience as a writer having roughly thirty unfinished novels by the time she started college.

Although she can laugh at herself and get others to laugh about the days when she and her husband that she affectionately referred to as “lover” were, “living off dried pasta and broken dreams,” Stiefvater did not have an easy road to success. In spite of being a history major and lover, she studied it because the Creative Writing Department rejected her, going as far as to suggest she major in business.  Additionally, she has had bouts with writer’s block, too, saying that she started writing her series “The Raven Cycle,” published in 2012, at nineteen (she is thirty-three now).  And with books that top that bestsellers list can come a great deal of pressure. Stiefvater described her experience ending her first trilogy as writing with, “one million mom’s watching.”

“I learned after that I really needed to write books for myself,” she said after recounting having to rewrite an eager to please manuscript.

Now with eight finished novels and several short stories, two children, quite a few farm animals, still a lot of black clothing, and a car that caught on fire after a possibly illegal drag race, she still considers her protagonist to still be developing.   Making Harry Potter references and begrudgingly describing herself as a “grown up,” she signed books and gave aspiring writers in the audience humor filled advice.  

Her newest addition to “The Raven Cycle” will be released in February 2016.

Lights dazzles and connects with crowds across the globe

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This piece originally appeared on The Odyssey.  It was republished with the author’s permission.

Canadian singer-songwriter Lights has the undeniable magic of the Aurora Borealis in her bones. When she performs, she illuminates the stage with her incredible energy and positivity, drawing in fans across the world—her LIGHTS ARMY. Some of these fans have been following her throughout her entire career, which astonishingly started at the young age of 15. Now 28, and a new mother, Lights is going stronger than ever with her latest album—“Little Machines”—having been released last year. Recently, Lights came through Pittsburgh for the Thrival Innovation and Music Festival before she heads out on tour with The Mowgli’s. With her stopping by so close to Chatham, I decided to reach out for an interview.

Indigo: You were first signed when you were 15. How did that feel, being so young?

Lights: It was exciting for me when I was young but also kind of chaotic. I think I had been writing for so long on my own and suddenly I was introduced to co-writers and producers and A&R. It was really eye-opening for me and I was really thankful that it folded after a year when the label I was with at the time merged with another one. I kind of fell through the cracks, but was quickly picked up by Sony Publishing as a writer. But it made me quickly realize that if you don’t have a vision for your craft and what you’re all about as an artist, someone else is going to put that vision there for you. And if that hadn’t folded, someone else would have continued trying to develop me into something. So that gave me the time afterwards to really concentrate on songwriting and my music and my genre, and really find my pocket. And it actually took years after that, until I found that, but I was able to get it out in my own time as opposed to under the supervision of the label.

I: A lot of musicians who started at an early age tell stories about problems with the industry. Did you ever feel taken advantage of or mistreated as a young artist?

L: I never felt pressured into anything. I think everyone was just trying to make something happen with the talent that I had and that they saw in me. And they tried to figure out what to package you as because if you don’t have that sense of self, they’re going to need to package you as something because the world needs a grid. Then you can know what you are all about. So they’re just doing their job in the sense of just making sure that you’ve got your thing going. But in such an early stage of a career there was no money to be made or way I could’ve been taken advantage of. I never felt like that. It was just people trying to develop an artist and figure out where you’re going to get. And that takes a long time. There’s actually some young people—people like Lorde, for example. She’s got this great sense of self and power as individual, and that’s amazing. Not many people have that at a young age. So that’s always my first advice for young people getting into the music industry: find out what your sound is and what your vibe is and what you want to say to the world; what you want to wear and what you want to make your show like. And then someone’s going to want you for that.

I: How did you choose the name Lights? You even changed your name to it legally, what prompted you to do that?

L: It was a nickname for a long time. And it’s just a shorter, easier version of my last name. And legally changing my name made my life so much easier in terms of legality. And it’s awesome. Why the hell not? You only live once. May as well add another name into the picture.

I: You play a variety of instruments. Which is your favorite to play? Which do you feel is your strength?

L: I’m probably the most natural on acoustic guitar. I’ve been playing that the longest. But live I play a lot of synth. There’s a lot of creative freedom when it comes to building a patch on the synth. You can do anything. There are no boundaries. You can make whatever sound is in your head or whatever fits the vibe. And that’s why I love the synth. It doesn’t really come down to playing talent. It comes down to creativity and understanding. The way that the synth works because you’re really just doing chords. And I play piano live and I play electric guitar, and I play bass when I need to, and I play drums when I need to—not live, but when I’m in the studio and I’m recording. It’s easy to pick up one instrument after you’ve already learned another. I can play a lot of instruments, but I’m not incredible at one single instrument. I disperse my time on all of them to get what I need out of them.

I: One of your early and unique pieces of merchandise was a limited run comic book. And you made a series of comic-style videos a few years ago—the Audio Quests. Even now, your posters that you sell have a comic-style to them. It’s something very unique about you as an artist. Was it something intended or something you just came up with as you went along?

L: I think the most obvious thing is that I’m a big fan of graphic novels and comics. I still read graphic novels and manga. I don’t have the time that I used to, to collect individual comics, but it’s inspiring to me because it’s such a surreal environment that you end up in. You can read a book and be teleported somewhere else and that’s the beauty of art. That’s the beauty of music. And that’s the goal—they have to give you that vacation. And it’s nice to open your mind and believe there’s something bigger out there when you create art. It keeps you happier and it keeps you young and keeps your mind open. I never want to be too fully stuck in the real world.

I: How did the LIGHTS ARMY come about? What all does that entail?

L: I’m pretty sure that the fans named themselves. People were like, “Should we be ‘light balls?’ Should we be ‘glow sticks?’” But then everyone just settled on LIGHTS ARMY because it spurred from the name “soul-dier” because “Drive My Soul” was a song that moved a lot of people. They felt like they were soul-diers in the LIGHTS ARMY. And they’re dedicated and they care so much and they’re so strong and powerful. They can do a lot of good and make a lot of change when they band together and I know that. It’s been incredible watching them grow with me. We’ve grown together. I’ve seen relationships form within LIGHTS ARMY. I’ve seen people get married and people become best friends and people get pulled from the dark side. It’s really incredible to see. And they do this little “LA” symbol with their hands that’s cute as well.

I: How has being a mother changed your career—if at all?

L: I get asked a lot about how it has influenced my music and I have to say it hasn’t because everything that was written for “Little Machines” was written before I had a baby. I was pregnant for a lot of the recording process, but you have no idea what it’s like to become a parent until you become a parent. I think it expanded my horizons a lot while I was writing though. It really forces you to look at everything from the big picture because you know you’re having a baby. You know your life is going to be different. You just have to decide in what ways. And I didn’t want to let go of my music career. I didn’t want to let go of everything we built and the things that I love so much about life. I knew it had to remain part of my world and I just had to find a place in my mind where I could find a balance. And I’ve been making it work ever since and it’s incredible. There’s a freedom that comes with being a parent. It’s a powerful reminder that if you fail, you have something powerful that’s got your back the entire time. And the biggest catalyst for bad decision-making is the fear of failure. And if you’re not afraid of failing anymore, you’re free to create the art that you want to create and let it carry you wherever it’s going to take you.

I: Is it hard to leave for tour now that you have a family?

L: She [Rocket—Lights’ daughter] has to come on tour with me every time I go. I haven’t had to leave her yet.

I: “Little Machines” was a long time in the making. What did you do in the interim?

L: There was a three-year gap. After “Siberia” we toured the world basically. It took us to Australia, all of North America, Europe, the UK. We were just touring constantly and I was unable to find a balance at the time between maintaining productive creativity between tours and on the road. So when it came to the end of that record cycle and into the time that I had to start writing again, it had run a little dry because I hadn’t been practicing. Songwriting is a muscle just like anything and if you let it go cold, you have to rework it back into use. And so I was really frustrated when I started writing again. I didn’t know what I wanted to say, I didn’t know what I wanted it to sound like, and I didn’t know where I was in music. And that’s what it became all about—this transition back into the enjoyment of creating music and back into that feeling of excitement when you sit down with your guitar and write something. It took 43 songs to get there. I wrote 43 songs and 11 ended up on the record. And it was just the process of that. It was painstaking at times and very deeply emotional at times and really frustrating. There were nights where I thought it was all going to be gone. But those kind of nights have to happen because it forces you into a solution and I started to work the muscle in different ways and just stopped writing for a minute. I started doing poetry and I started doing painting, and just flexing the different facets of my creativity and working myself back into the feel of enjoying art. And then suddenly at the end of 2015, I realized that we had 11 killer songs. That suddenly just happened, and a month later we were in the studio recording and the record came out that fall.

I: “Little Machines” branches out a bit from your usual sound and experiments with other styles. Where did you end up drawing inspiration for “Little Machines?”

L: A lot of it was what our live shows have turned out to be. Our live shows are really really dynamic and powerful and my band is incredible. So you suddenly are subconsciously thinking about how you come off live. Like my first record, when I hadn’t really toured ever, I was just making music. So when that didn’t translate live, we were kind of like, “Oh this part could be better live. This part could be more dynamic live.” That starts to influence the way you write. With “Little Machines,” a lot more organic elements were introduced as well as synthetic elements. I love the blend because that’s what feels the best live. That’s what creates the most dynamic live. We have live drums, live guitar, analog synth—and that’s very powerful live. So that all became the base point for the production on “Little Machines”—this sort of classic, electronic sound that is really dynamic.

I: Which song is your favorite on the album?

L: I think the most powerful one for me is “Up We Go.” It came at a time when I really needed it and actually took a few months to write because I was really at the bottom of my creative inspiration. I began that song and months later, when I found myself kind of drunk, standing up in the tub, working on music by myself in a hotel room, the record just started pouring out in the moment of inspiration. That was the transition from a very dry time to a suddenly inspired time. So that song did exactly what it’s about for me. And when I play that live, everyone goes up. It’s good. It’s a good feeling. Because I think everyone experiences that feeling of, “From down this low, It’s only up we go.” That’s what you really want to believe and I think it’s true.

I: You’re no stranger to festivals. You’ve even come through Pittsburgh before to play the Warped Tour Festival. So how was Thrival in comparison to the festivals you’ve played before?

L: Thrival was awesome. We’ve played Pittsburgh quite a few times. I think we do on every tour we do. And the shows in Pittsburgh are always fun for us. I have really good memories of energetic crowds and really great fans. So I was expecting no less. You never know what you’re going to get at a festival because there are fans there to see other artists. That’s the beauty of it, but that’s also sometimes an intimidating thing. We had Manchester Orchestra fans. We had Ghostface Killah fans. I had my fans. It’s a blend of people watching you and it’s quite intimidating playing in front of fans who aren’t there to see you. And that’s when you have to step up and put on a killer show. And that’s what we did and it was really fun. The crowd was right along with me and it made me love Pittsburgh even more.

I: Now that Thrival is over, you’re headed on tour with The Mowgli’s. Are you looking forward to that?

L: Yeah! I think it will be good. We’ve never done a co-headline before so it’s a first for us. And it will be interesting to see how it goes down. Both of us are so different. And we have these different fanbases—but I think our fanbases are similar in the respect that our shows are happy and fun and uplifting. I think it will be one big party. I think it’s going to be a blast.

Make sure to catch Lights on her US tour with The Mowgli’s this November and December for an experience of cathartic proportions.

Foodie on the Half Shell: Party food edition

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So I know I said I’d stay away from doing the whole recipe thing in my column, but I am totally breaking the rules. This is actually a public service announcement, and you all should be happy, because this had to be said.

Your party snacks suck. IF YOU EVEN HAVE SNACKS AT YOUR PARTY. Seriously people, just because you are under the age of 30 doesn’t mean you can’t have a good party with some nosh action.

It’s Halloween party season and I am here to advise you all on some easy and lovable snacks to serve at your next costume party. Don’t worry, you can still have your I.C. Light and Doritos, but a dip won’t hurt!

The best kind of dip in the world, according to me, is crab dip. Even those crazy people who “don’t like seafood” will eat crab dip if there is enough cream cheese involved. So here is my Spicy Crab Dip:

What you will need for a big party:

4 Tbsp. of butter

1 small minced red onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

2 minced jalapenos

1 ½ cups of cream

8 oz. of cream cheese cut into pieces (I prefer a light cream cheese to cut the calories)

1 ½ cups of sharp cheddar cheese

1 Tbsp. of smoked paprika

1 Tbsp. of cilantro to sprinkle on top and make it fancy

1 ½ cups of lump crab (add more if you want a very thick dip)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Alright, time to get your hands dirty. Melt the butter over medium heat then add the onion until it is translucent. Now add your garlic and jalapenos along with the smoked paprika. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Now add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Now fold in the cheddar cheese, whisking to combine. Lastly, fold in the crab, stirring for a couple more minutes until it is hot throughout. Finish with a few pinches of salt and pepper, and garnish with cilantro. This is super easy to serve if you put in a crock pot with a plate of pita chips and veggies to dip.

Hearty Vegetarian Nachos (a hit for the carnivores and herbivores alike):

1 bag of tortilla chips

1 can of black beans

1 bag of veggie crumbles cooked and seasoned with chili powder

2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese (more is always okay. Always.)

1 small red onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 avocado chopped

Pickled jalapenos

Salsa and sour cream for daysss

This is simple. Put the chips on a cookie sheet. Put half of the beans down, half of the veggie crumbles down, half of the cheese on top. Now repeat. You should have two layers of cheesy goodness. Pop in the oven with broiler on low for about 5-8 min. Please check regularly. When it is all gooey, take it out. Spread the red onion, bell pepper, avocado, and jalapenos all over the nachos. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. I like to put big spoonfuls of salsa and sour cream right in the middle of the nachos so it easy access for dipping OR buy some ranch dressing in a squirt bottle and drizzle it all over the nachos in a fancy pattern.

To add to these delicious dishes, buy some cookies, some Doritos, and ask your bestie to bring some stuffed mushrooms and you are in business. You only need to pick one of those recipes, and you have already improved your party by 100%. Please eat responsibly.

Did you try one of these recipes out? Hashtag #FoodieOnTheHalfShell on Instagram!

Chatham offers trendy new flavors with the opening of the Carriage House smoothie bar

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On March 26, 2015, Chatham’s Student Government (CSG) met with administrators and Chatham’s architect to discuss changes on campus—including the relocation of the post office and bookstore. When discussing the future use of The Carriage House, it was suggested that a smoothie or juice bar could be added. The proposal gained moderate support and was put into motion.

Rob Coyne, the general manager of dining services at Chatham said, “Residence Life was looking for something to attract students to come to the Carriage House. They had received a lot of feedback from students wanting a fresh fruit smoothie and juice bar.”

When the remodeled Carriage House was opened, there was space for a smoothie bar in the main room. The Carriage House Smoothie & Juice Bar was later opened on September 24. For the first day, the hours were restricted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. but have since been switched to the usual hours of operation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

When asked if it was hard to pull the smoothie bar together in such a short amount of time, supervisor Stephanie Cervi said, “It was not hard at all; we were very organized.”

The menu of the Carriage House Smoothie & Juice Bar offers many options. These range from the Eden Hall Bliss juice (Eden Hall tomatoes, spinach or kale, and fresh-squeezed Granny Smith apple juice) to the ‘Fu Smoothie (silken tofu, fresh bananas, local honey, and organic soy milk) to the Melon Cuke Mint juice (watermelon, cucumber, and mint), and more. There are even options that allow students to create their own drinks from a list of optional ingredients. Students can also always add a “boost” to their smoothies (green tea matcha powder, energy, protein [whey], or immune support).

“Some of the smoothie recipes (the Cougar Cooler and the Going Bananas) were from the McGrady Café Smoothie Bar that was opened when the AFC came on line,” said Coyne. “The others are based on popular trends in smoothie bars. The juice recipes were developed with help of Delicious Raw, a Juice Bar concept as part of the Hello Bistros’ (Eat’n Park restaurants) partnership within downtown Pittsburgh.”

Cervi said, “It’s a great option for all customers. Vegans and vegetarians seem to really enjoy it. The athletes enjoy getting a drink after practice or before going to the gym and adding protein powder to their drink.”

The current menu offers 11 options—seven smoothies and four juices, with two of the smoothies and one of the juices being CYO (choose your own).

“We will tweak the menus around seasonally available fruits and vegetables. We will also make menu changes based on guest feedback,” said Coyne. “So far we have very positive comments around the smoothie and juice recipes.”

Chatham Women’s Soccer continues to raise the bar

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The Chatham Women’s Soccer team continued to move forward as they faced Bethany College on Wednesday, October 7. As a President’s Athletic Conference (PAC) game, the women tried their best to bring the soccer PAC record to 1-1 for the season, and they succeeded. Having scored three goals to Bethany’s one by the time the first half was over, the game seemed to be in Chatham’s favor. However, as the second half began, the Cougars began to become a bit pressured by Bethany’s slightly more aggressive play style.

Bethany scored once again at the midpoint of the second half, but Chatham retaliated by scoring a goal of their own, bringing the game to 4-2. Chatham played a defensive game from that goal on, making sure they were able to box Bethany out and stop them from scoring again, keeping the final score of the game at 4-2; the goals of this game being scored by Kassianna Politis, Megan Sieg—with one assist by Skylar Benjamin—and Cassandra Small.

The game versus Bethany was a big one for the Cougars, in more ways than one. Not only did it help them continue to improve the Chatham University record for goals in a season, which is currently 40, but it also was the game that allowed the team to break the record for “Most Games Won in a Season,” by any Chatham Women’s Soccer team in the past. This means that during the season, the women’s soccer team has broken two records and tied one.

“It’s pretty exciting to know that we broke those records,” said first-year player Katie Sieg. “But now we just have to keep working harder each practice and improve every game.”

“It feels great breaking those records,” said sophomore Megan Sieg. “Our team has come a long way and it’s amazing to see all the improvements that we have made this year, so far.”

First-year Morgan Stamm had this to say about the season so far: “It’s an awesome feeling knowing that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are winning with finesse, and in doing so, we are making a better name for the Chatham University Soccer program.”

The Cougars continue their season with a current 7-2 record, pushing forward as their season winds down through the month of October.

For more information regarding Cougar Women’s Soccer, visit gochathamcougars.com

“All the Bright Places”: A brief interlude on romanticizing suicide

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This year has been a bustling one for young adult fiction, and a common topic that has found itself at the surface of these novels intended for teenagers is illness. Ever since the popularization of “The Fault in Our Stars,” young people have flocked to novels that show aspects of hurt, distress, and even death. Authors have glorified death in order to get more readers. Thanks, John Green, for the misconception that illness helps you fall in love.

Jennifer Niven, a writer of mostly adult fiction, has tried her hand at this blossoming young adult trend and has brought suicide to the forefront of her piece, “All the Bright Places.” The novel centers in on two teenagers, Violet Markey and Theodore Finch, who meet and end up engaging in a serious relationship after standing on the same sixth-floor ledge of their high school in order to attempt suicide. This is the glue of the plot. Unfortunately, it is not taken as seriously as it should be. While it is a hard, sad truth that some school officials in the real world do not take these attempts as seriously as they should, the adults in Niven’s novel are portrayed as callous, unemotional creatures with not so much as a heart for their students. Plus, the supporting cast of additional characters are just as bad as the educators are. It is upsetting that there is very little support for these two very ill characters.

Mental illness is often glorified in literature, and I am in no way discrediting “All the Bright Places.” It is an absolutely gorgeous novel. The diction is beautiful, the plot is solid and relatable in some senses, and the novel itself explores all facets of a young adult relationship. However, I feel that this novel just further shows that there has been a fetishization of ill individuals in current literature. Readers often feel that this makes the narrator more vulnerable, but should that not be shown by indirect characterization? Niven sort of shies away from this skewed way of thinking and has these characters wanting to get better throughout the novel, but the main pull of this book is that it focuses on illness and how being sick can get someone to love you. It does not give the actual written word justice.

“All the Bright Places” is going to be made into a major motion picture after countless reviews have said what a heart-wrenching story it is. Sound familiar? Illness and suicide, especially, resonate with people. People crave death in literature, and while these two main characters embody the probable archetypes you could have in any young adult novel, they are further complicated by being suicidal. While it is done tastefully, it still fulfills my argument that writers today are focusing too hard on making the reader “feel” things. My advice to the writers? Stop romanticizing mental illness. Don’t rely on gimmicks to make your pieces better. You don’t need it, and neither do people with mental illnesses.

The Lazy Fashionista: The ever-present struggle of Business Casual

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Allow me to explain something: when I say I am a lazy fashionista, I don’t use “lazy” ironically. Pretty much anyone that knows me understands that I love wearing cute clothes as long as they involve somewhere around 70 to 80 percent spandex.

The resurrection of leggings was a godsend to say the least. Graphic tees are cute now? Count me in. Wearing a beanie instead of washing my hair is a solid option when getting ready in the morning.

So imagine my dismay when I started having responsibilities that required…business casual. It is heartbreaking waking up in the morning and ignoring my comfy leggings in favor of *gasp* slacks.

One of the biggest problems most people have with biz-cas is that they have no idea what it means. While there isn’t a hard-and-fast definition of what the phrase means, I like to think of it as between corporate and relaxed. By that, I mean that jeans and t-shirts aren’t acceptable, but brighter colors, short or quarter-length sleeves, and flat shoes are acceptable.

Through the weeks, I have discovered a few ways to get ready for big-kid events without driving yourself business-casual crazy.

Embrace the basics: invest (or don’t) in some solid staple pieces. Places like Ann Taylorm Loft, The Limited, and J. Crew are amazing for stylish business casual pieces if those fit into your budget. If, like me, those are a bit out of your price range, check out H&M, Target, and Forever 21 for some low-price options. Pick up a blazer, a nice skirt, a couple of nice blouses, and a pair of nice dress pants, and you’ll be good for weeks.

Pay attention to fit and length: the goal of business casual is to look classy and polished. The goal is not to show off your rockin’ body. Keep skirts to about knee length, nothing should be tight enough to be uncomfortable, and be mindful of cleavage.

Layering is your new BFF: this is especially true for the upcoming winter months. Layering a well-fitting blazer or cute sweater over a collared shirt not only adds some dimension and interest to a plain outfit, but also keeps you warm in chilly weather. And those cute skirts really can work all year round—throw on some thick sweater tights in the winter or a pair of sheer or lace-patterned tights in the fall and spring.

Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize: while a “business” dress code is more limiting to accessories, business casual lets you express yourself through the finishing touches. Throw a statement necklace over that plain sweater, or add some sparkly earrings to add a little bit of personal flare to a potentially boring outfit.

When in doubt, dress up: when going into an unfamiliar environment (interview, new job, important meeting, etc.) it generally better to err on the side of caution with clothing. Keep it neutral and professional for the first day or two until you can get a good feel of the environment you are getting into.

Trust me, you can get used to pretty much anything, including business casual attire. And the best part? You can change into sweatpants the moment you get home!

Chatham women’s soccer team’s success continues

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Chatham University is all about setting records and making history. Many people thought males coming to the school would be the biggest historical change of the year, but they were wrong. The women’s soccer team has continued to live up to the standard of excellence that Chatham expects of its student-athletes.

In their game against Washington Adventist, the Cougars succeeded in breaking the school record of goals in a season, which was previously 33. The Cougars have scored 36 goals this season, a number that will only continue to increase as their season goes on.

About breaking the record during her first-year, Kat Luteri said, “It’s a great feeling. Soccer is such a big team sport and the effort of everyone went into getting this far.”

With a 6-1 record in the season so far, the Cougars Women’s Soccer team still has a lot of time to continue to set records and do great things as the season continues into October.

Chatham supports pride and acceptance for LGBT History Month

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Chatham University is a campus of many different facets, and one topic that frequently springs up good feelings is the acceptance of the LBGTQ+ community. The campus plans to celebrate LGBT History month, which starts in October, with several different events that will spark the interest of everyone.

The “Chalk the Quad” event, hosted by the This Is Me! Queer-Straight Alliance, will take place on October 8. Students will have the chance to express themselves through decorating the quad. The next day, This Is Me! will hold a rainbow flag hand printing event in Anderson Dining Hall to support the LGBTQ+ community, and they will host the Coming Out Dialogues in Rea Coffeehouse where students can share their experiences with their peers. At the month’s end, “Celebrating Stonewall: The Stonewall Uprising”will be screened in Eddy Theatre on October 27. It is a great opportunity for anyone interested in history, equal rights, or good film in general.

These on-campus events will allow students to express themselves.  They assure them that they are not alone, and they provide some fun outside of the normal campus activities.

Cultural Corner: Television plays Pittsburgh

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Hipsters, both old and young, spent the evening of Friday, September 25, watching Television — the band, that is.

The show, at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, was a special one for Television.

“This is this band’s first time playing Pittsburgh,” said frontman Tom Verlaine, which gained a laugh from the audience.  

Television — whose current line up consists of Verlaine on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Ripp on guitar, Fred Smith on the bass, and Billy Ficca on the drums — performed their first album, “Marquee Moon” (1977), in full, along with a few other early songs.

The band, formed in 1973 in New York City, was a pioneer of the punk scene, although their music is cleaner than that of their contemporaries.