Going Global: Museum employees to stand trial for damage to King Tut mask

Eight employees of the Egyptian Museum will stand trial for negligence after a yearlong investigation into the botched reattachment of a piece of King Tutankhamen’s mask.

The over 3,000-year-old artifact is not only revered historical artifact in Egypt, but is also one of the nation’s biggest tourist attractions.

Though there are differing accounts of how the beard was initially damaged — ranging from loosening with age to breaking off when the mask fell during a routine cleaning — it is agreed that the reattachment process was hasty and reckless, and carried out using excessive amount of the wrong type of glue.

“The (museum) officials dealt recklessly with a piece of an artifact that is 3,300 years old, produced by one of the oldest civilizations in the world,” the Administrative Prosecution said in a statement to Ahram Online.

The cover-up left a noticeable gap between the face and the beard — one that the accused later made four attempt to remedy before the truth came to light.

Prosecutors were quoted in The Daily News Egypt as saying, “Ignoring all scientific methods of restoration, the suspects tried to conceal their crime by using sharp metal tools to remove parts of the glue that became visible, thus damaging the 3,000-year-old piece without a moment of conscience.”

The staffs to face trial include six restorers and two former heads of the museum’s restoration section.

The mask has since been correctly restored by a team of German conservators, and as of the December is back on public display.

Chatham seniors celebrate 116 days until graduation

On Friday, Jan. 22, in what is quickly becoming an established campus tradition, Chatham University hosted its third annual “116 Days Until Graduation,” a mixer and motivational event for graduating seniors.

The intimate affair, hosted in the Mellon Board Room, drew a crowd of approximately 30 people.  Starting with hors d’oeuvres and drinks, the event allowed seniors to mingle with the staff in attendance, including event organizer Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Dana DePasquale and Assistant Dean for Career Development Dr. Sean McGreevey, as well as several Chatham alumni.

After a half an hour of mixing and mingling students were encouraged to make their way towards a seating area in the back of the room in anticipation for the evening’s main event, Keynote speaker and 2013 Chatham alumna Emily Cassel.

Introduced by Chatham Student Government president Sarah Jugovic, who took the opportunity to plug the senior class gift of Adirondack chairs and picnic tables for the quad, and to promote the fundraising event “Moonlight Boozy Breakfast” on Thursday, Feb. 18, Cassel — an entrepreneur, Women’s Leadership Coach, and Sisterhood Expert — took the floor amidst a round of applause.

Cassel began by saying that not too long ago she was sitting in the exact same place as the student’s in attendance.  She explained that there is a space between the “now” and any big event, adding, “how infrequently we appreciate the time between, because we’re so focused on that big event.”

She then encouraged students to close their eyes and imagine meeting themselves 116 days in the future. She asked them to think, “What do I need to know right now that would help me become more like [my future self].”

After giving everyone a chance to think for a while, Cassel asked the audience for words and themes that described their future selves, and received answer like “balanced,” and “stress-free.” She went on to say this is a technique that professional athletes often use, and one that she use with her clients.

Cassel then went on to give a little bit of her own background, explaining that her passions in college were positive psychology — how to move someone from their baseline mental and emotional state, to a better and more positive one — and nutrition, and how her first job out of college, working at Whirl Magazine’s Edible Allegheny publication, was fun, but didn’t feel like “it” for her.  

“Our purpose is a line,” she explained, “ and everyone once in awhile our path crosses over that line and we feel really good and exciting and enthusiastic.”

So, as she said, she thought back about what made her excited, and the answer was positive psychology and coaching, so she took a risk and decided to start her own business.

As she said, “the quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can handle.  

“Taking those leap of faith the best things you can do,” she added.  “We’re kind of risk averse as human, but you don’t have to say yes to that human monkey mind that says that any time to take a risk you will die.”

Cassel said that as soon as she branched out on her own the opportunities came flooding in, and with it the lifestyle that she wanted that allowed her to have clients, take care of herself, work from home if she wanted to, and generally be an activist and coach for women.

“My challenge for you over the next 116 days is to not be afraid to ask for what you want,” she said, adding, “what do you want your day to look like, how do you want to feel, what kind of impact do you want to have on the world at large?”

Her final advice was to say that success is about more than just the end goal, and that everyone in attendance should give themselves permission to “be in the process,” and to remember to take care of themselves.

After the address Cassel spent some time answer audience questions, after which McGreevey took the stage to give closing remarks and remind student that the office of Career Development exists to do more than just edit resumes.

As he said, “interviews are resumes are about telling your story.  Thinking about the things that are behind, and being able to tell that story to the people in front of you.”

McGreevy concluded by saying how proud he is of the people that the senior will become, and initiating a toast to the senior class.

After the speakers, students were once again encouraged to talk o the alumni in attendance, and ask for advice for their futures.

Cassel also encouraged student to contact her with any question via email at Emily@EmilyCassel.com.

Chatham prepares itself for its fifth annual Relay for Life

Chatham Relay For Life Association (RFLA) will be hosting Chatham’s fifth annual Relay For Life event on Friday, Feb. 5 from noon until midnight in Chatham’s Athletic and Fitness Center.

This is the first year Relay For Life has been spearheaded by a student organization. RFLA became a student organization in the fall of 2015 with the hope of making Relay For Life a student-driven event.

The Relay For Life Committee has worked since August in conjunction with the local American Cancer Society chapter to plan an event that is not only tons of fun for the Chatham Community; but also draws attention to how cancer has touched each and every one of us and commemorate those who have fought cancer and lived to tell about it. RFLA has fundraised so far with events such as the Squirt Gun Hunger Games, The Talent Show, and the Willy Wonka-themed Sarris chocolate bar sale to help reach the goal of $25,000.

Relay For Life is a 12-hour fundraiser benefiting the American Cancer Society. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to make or join teams. Chatham Relay has 21 teams and counting. Some established teams include Girl Up, FACE, SASB Faculty and Staff, Chatham Student Government, Chatham MSA, and many others.

Many of the teams will have a table during Relay with an activity to further reach their fundraising goal.  New this year is a team gift basket raffle. Teams have the opportunity to make gift baskets and the money generated from the basket goes to that team’s fundraising goal.  

The survivor’s ceremony will occur once again. The ceremony is meant to celebrate those who have survived cancer. There will be a speaker followed by a survivor’s lap around the track.  

Those wanting to pay tribute to a loved one who fell victim to cancer can purchase a luminaria bag. The bags are being sold currently and will also be sold during the Relay For Life event. Luminaria will be placed out on the Athletic and Fitness Center’s staircase so as participants walk up to the track they can see all of them.

The whole day is fully packed. The event kicks off at noon with opening ceremonies. Lunch will be provided in the gym by Parkhurst dining services. Local bands such as Karma and Chatham’s own Chris Bollinger will perform in the evening.  The much-enjoyed game of Extreme Musical Chairs has returned with the possibility of a life-sized version of your favorite childhood board game. Last but not least, one can watch three Chatham students chop off their ponytails to be made into wigs for cancer patients.

Students and faculty can help support Chatham Relay by registering for the event and fundraising, and joining the twelve hours of games, activities and celebration as we work to end the fight with cancer once and for all.

For information on Chatham University Relay For Life Association, follow them and Facebook  for updates and visit the official Relay page at relayforlife.org/pachatham.edu.

CWE gives entrepreneurs a lesson in the basics of running a business

On January 16, the Center For Women’s Entrepreneurship hosted their Small Business Basics workshop in the Mellon Board Room. Entrepreneurs filled the seats, eager to learn about the ins and outs of starting a business.

The workshop began with an introduction from Anne Flynn Schlicht, the Assistant Director of the Center For Women’s Entrepreneurship who gave a brief overview of the day’s agenda, pointing out the various professional speakers and and better business workshops on the schedule.

The first of these speakers was Joyce Pearl, a counselor from the Pittsburgh chapter of SCORE.

SCORE is a counseling service for entrepreneurs through which individuals are paired up with mentors in their industry. SCORE also hosts workshops, including topics like, “How to Grow Your Business with Social Media” and “Building a Winning Business.”

The workshops also highlighted another resource for small business owner—the Small Business Association or SBA.  Headquartered in Washington D.C., the SBA has 68 district offices, and offers services to small businesses including counseling and financial assistance with low interest loans.

A crowd favorite was the visit by local entrepreneur, Jennifer Mrzlack. Mrzlack is one of the founders of the organic food company Naturi. She shared the ups and downs of starting her business, and advised new entrepreneurs to see their business as more than the product.

“The trick is to sell the story,” says Mrzlack. “It’s more than a yogurt company.”

Financial advisors from Kiva and Bridgeway Capital made presentations on how to finance a business. Kiva is a non-profit lender that provides entrepreneurs with access to loans with no interest. The loans are crowdfunded by lenders around the world. Bridgeway Capital is an unconventional lending source for small businesses.

“I used to work at a bank and our job was to sell loans,” said Business Education Director, Aaron S. Aldrich. “Here at Bridgeway Capital my focus is to help small businesses be successful.”

Other business advisers spoke including Tracy Zihmer, a business lawyer from The Lynch Law Group. The focus of her presentation was how to choose a business structure.  Zihmer discussed common entities of structure, such as sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnerships, Limited Liabilities Company (LLC), and corporation. In addition, Pamela Falkner, the Director of Business Development for Bookminders, provided tips on bookkeeping.

“When it comes to good bookkeeping practices remember RECORD. Reporting requirements, Establish the financial tool,  Chart of accounts, Organized, Reevaluate, Determine if you need help.  For bookkeeping, remember to keep it SIMPLE.  Separate, Information gathering, accounting Method, Professionals, Look Evaluate,” said Falkner.

The day concluded with the Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship, Rebecca Harris.  Harris advised entrepreneurs that, “a business cannot be a hobby,” and to know what niche their product serves.

“For a business to be successful, a business must have the right product, at the right place, at the right time, at the right price,” Harris said.

The Center For Women’s Entrepreneurship will be hosting more events throughout the semester. For more information about the center visit the second floor of Braun Hall or visit their website at chatham.edu/cwe.

Chatham unites for annual Thanksgiving dinner

Laughter and smiles filled the AFC gym on Wednesday, November 18, as hundreds of Chatham faculty, staff, students, and community members sat around tables for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner.

The dinner is one of the many traditions that the Chatham community looks forward to around the holiday season.

The event kicked off with Hunter Milroy, President of the Class of 2016, and Sarah Jugovic, CSG Executive President, welcoming everyone to the festivities. Milroy also explained that there were a number of seniors walking around the gym selling 50/50 raffles tickets benefitting the senior class gift.

After the initial welcome, Jugovic invited President Esther Barazzone to the stage. Barazzone also welcomed attendees, as well as recognized members of the Board of Trustees and extended a special welcome to international students experiencing their first American Thanksgiving.

President Barazzone kept her speech brief — saying that she didn’t want to keep anyone from the fabulous Parkhurst food that was being held behind a large black curtain near the back of the gym.

There was a general sigh of relief when the food began to circulate — guests waited nearly an hour after the event began to actually begin filling their plates. Servers brought out large plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and sweet potatoes to each table. The dishes were served family-style.

After everyone seemed to be finished with the main meal, servers cleared the tables and brought out dozens of apple and pumpkin pies. The sweet treats brought a collective smile to the gym.

As a whole, many students felt the food to be a bit disappointing.

“I was slightly disappointed with the food, but the pie was great,” said Junior Corrin Walker.

Parkhurst did provide a vegetarian options for those students with dietary restrictions.

“I am vegetarian and lactose intolerant, so I was able to get the vegetarian plate as well as the meal everyone else was eating,” said sophomore Teri Bradford. “The vegetarian plate wasn’t warm which wasn’t great…I think that it’s awesome that they even tried.”

Bradford also saw the potential for other issues regarding dietary restrictions.

“When I was give the vegetarian plate, they didn’t tell me what it was or what was in it which could be bad if I had another allergy,” she said.

Regardless of the food, attendees were in high spirits because of the nature of the event itself.

“I loved the atmosphere and being with all of [my friends],” Walker said.

Bradford agreed.

“I thought that Thanksgiving dinner at Chatham was great,” she said. “It’s more about the friends and family than it is about the food.”

Students with dietary restrictions voice their concerns about the dining menu

With sixty percent of American adults having at least one food allergy, dietary restriction, or religious restriction, Chatham prides itself on catering to students that fit into this demographic. Chatham also heavily reflects on how these lifestyles affect the environment. Anderson Dining Hall uses a compost system; the napkins and straws are biodegradable, and, since 2009, Chatham has gotten rid of using trays.

However, some students who fall into the category of having dietary restrictions of any kind still often find themselves struggling. Monii Peters, a sophomore student, has multiple restrictions that Chatham fails to cover.

“I have a very restrictive diet now and am extremely limited at both Anderson and Cafe Rachel,” Peters says, “If it doesn’t have nuts, it has soy or dairy and vice versa. Those of us with food allergies and sensitivities are struggling to eat while wasting money on a meal plan we don’t use. That’s the story of my life.”

Rob Coyne, who became the General Manager of Parkhurst Dining Services at Chatham in February of this year, has been working with the Chatham community to make changes to the meal experience to accommodate new students and make the dining services more efficient.

“[The meal experience] is based on what the students tell me. I encourage anybody who presents to me with dietary restrictions to let us know that they have those restrictions so we can work with them,” he said. “We can’t offer every item for every student every day based on everyone’s dietary restrictions. There just wouldn’t be enough food for everyone to like. So if we have something they are allergic to, if we have a breaded chicken, and they’re allergic to gluten, they are a celiac, they let the server know, the Chef and we’ll make sure they get something to eat. I guess the best way to put it is the student meal experience is what they want to make of it.”

However, students such as Fiorella Nicoloso, a senior who is a pre-diabetic, say it’s not that easy.

“When I’ve tried to bring up health related things, nobody has emailed me back, ever. Which is frustrating, when I’m just trying to be healthy,” said Nicoloso.

Lynzy Groves, a junior student with a gluten allergy, agrees and says she’s also been trying to see change for nearly three years. When Groves started as a first-year student at Chatham, she was a size 4. Since then, she says she loses around 10 pounds every fall when she comes back to school due to lack of options. She is now a size 00 without attempts to diet or exercise.

           “Having a gluten allergy makes eating at Anderson very difficult. I have been trying for the three years that I have been here to get more gluten free (GF) options at all of the meals,” Groves said. “Unfortunately, it has only gotten worse every year. Every time I or any of my friends who aren’t GF write a comment card asking for more GF options, we usually get negative feedback with the statement that there aren’t enough people with gluten allergies to make changes to the menu.”

“This is ridiculous,” Groves continued. “I am not asking for everything to be GF. I just want to eat something other than the salad bar and cooked vegetables. Every week I waste between 3 and 5 meals on my plan just because Anderson doesn’t offer anything that I can eat other than lettuce and veggies. One cannot survive on salad alone.”

Coyne admitted that, unless the Chatham population in need of this special menu presents itself, there will not be much of a menu change.

“If I know that within our student population I’ve got 35 percent people that are celiac, that gives me [the ability] to focus on the menu a little more.” said Coyne. “But for 2 to 3 percent of people it’s easier to do one on one instead of trying to design a menu around 4 or 5 people when we’re feeding 400 at lunch, 300 to 400 at dinner.”

“I am lactose intolerant, allergic to radishes and mushrooms and have an intolerance to gluten,” said Kelly Nestman, a senior who is also allergic to all seeds and nuts. “At Anderson, it is very hard for me to find things to eat that fill me up and are healthy. To find food that is filling I find myself bringing Lactaid pills to every meal, which costs $18 for 60 of them, and I take two every time I eat dairy and that adds up quickly. Or I have to eat gluten, which then makes me sick later. While yes there are arguments that there is a salad bar, it is rarely changed, and the food sits out all day, and I constantly find flies on the things on the bar. There is a ‘gluten free’ section of items, but every time I check they are stale, old, and sometimes moldy. I have had such a hard time being able to eat a meal there that is healthy and doesn’t make me sick.”

Though it’s not clear exactly how many students it will take for there to be a meal change for students with a gluten or wheat allergy, more common restrictions such as vegan and vegetarian have more attention. Even Chatham’s Office of Sustainability expresses that many students fall into this category. The Sustainability Culture page states, “The dining hall provides vegan and vegetarian selections at all meals to accommodate the large population that prefers this low-carbon diet, as well as to reduce the campus footprint.”

The dining hall contains a deli for sandwiches, a station for pizza or single serve dinner dishes, a grill, a bar for the main entrees, a Vegan and Vegetarian bar, a salad bar, and, during lunch, Casey’s Kitchen. However, with the food that is currently in Anderson, students say that it’s not quality, and there are few options.

“I’ll eat cucumbers and fruit as a meal because I have no other options,” said Peters, “[Chatham’s] ‘vegetarian’ and ‘vegan’ options are such a joke. It’s always squash and pasta.”

A typical meal on the vegan and vegetarian bar consists of cooked pasta and marinara sauce, and an entree that is usually Middle Eastern such as baba ganoush or falafel.

Nestman agrees that there isn’t much when it comes to the options for those who do not eat any animal byproducts, whether by choice or for medical reasons.

“The vegan options are not high quality and seem to be considered an afterthought with whatever ingredients that are extra or lying around,” said Nestman.

“All too often [the vegetables] are very overcooked or very undercooked, and when that is one of my only ‘healthy’ options available, this is incredibly frustrating,” said Nicoloso.

Nadia Frock, a first-year student, is also frustrated with what is considered an acceptable meal.  “Half the time the vegetarian soup isn’t actually vegetarian, and they think that cheese is a meal.”

“The cafeteria is our only option because we don’t have a stove,” said another first year Melanie Landsittel, who is a vegetarian who lives on upper campus in Fickes residence hall. She is also a part of the Vegan/Vegetarian committee. “The quality of the vegetarian food is not good.”

For those residents who live on lower campus, in graduate housing, and are commuters, the meal experience can be very different from upper campus residents. Instead of eating every meal in the dining hall, they often only experience one or two meals in Anderson. Some don’t experience any meals at all.

For Bethany Hagensen, a commuter, she has the option to eat at Anderson but chooses not to.

“I live off campus and ate one meal at Anderson one time,” she said. “I was told there were vegan options when I toured the campus last spring, but the only vegan thing on the menu was the salad bar. I wouldn’t complain if there weren’t students locked into a meal plan that have to eat three meals a day, every day basically from an Eat’n’Park quality salad bar. More options, please. How about putting a few vegan and allergen-free entrees that change routinely on the regular menu?”

There has also been an issue in the dining hall where, on nights when there are specials such as a taco bar, French fry extravaganza, or a hot dog bar, the food is put on the designated vegetarian/vegan bar. Coyne says that in these circumstances, it really comes down to space.

“That’s kind of the way it’s been done here for a while now. While we always keep a vegan or a vegetarian option over there, when we do bars and things, the space is very limited for what we have and what we are able to put out,” he said. “You know, I don’t have an additional area where I can set up another bar and put some of those things so yes, there are times when we need to [repurpose the space].”

Having non-vegan and vegetarian food on this bar happens to be a factor within another frustration of students with restrictions and even students without: labeling. An issue that has been brought up amongst students is the labeling, or lack thereof, in the dining hall.  There are small signs that state whether a dish contains nuts, fish, soy, etc. or is vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free approved. However, when staff inappropriately use these signs, students with restrictions get the worst of it.

“Anderson needs to label the dishes with allergens or applicable dietary restrictions. I know a lot of people that expect vegetarian food in the vegetarian serving area. Instead, there are salads or sauces with alcohol, meat, or pork,” said Maryem Aslam, a junior commuter student who relies on labeling for religious purposes.

“The major problem with Anderson is that they do not understand what GF means,” said Groves, “Many items are mislabeled if they ever are labeled, and items in the GF section are actually not GF. Rice Krispies contain malt, which is wheat/gluten. And, the Rice Chex were mixed with Corn Chex in the same cereal dispenser which makes it no longer GF.  Gluten allergies are a real thing. Don’t write it off as a diet until you get violently ill with an allergic reaction from eating something that was mislabeled. If Anderson took wheat and gluten allergies as seriously as they take nut allergies, the world would be a better place.”

The meal restrictions don’t stop at Vegan/Vegetarian. Nicoloso says she just recently learned she was pre-diabetic and tried to reach out to the dining hall over the summer but has yet to be able to get in touch with anyone.

“Hardly any, if any options in Anderson for any meal are diabetic-friendly. Basically no options in Cafe Rachel are,” she said. “Having recently received a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, I’m hyper-aware of this, and I’m really upset that I basically can’t use my meals to eat things that I physically should be eating.”

She says one of her main struggles is not being able to know the nutrition facts of the food she’s eating which forces her to take risks when trying to watch her sugar intake. Coyne says Parkhurst is working on it.

“As a company, Parkhurst Dining is working on a system that may not roll out until the middle of spring. There will be a website students can go to that will list all the stuff that we do on a daily basis,” he said. ”All the salad bar stuff will be listed there, all the different types of cereal options will be listed there. We’re also working on trying to plan our cycle menu. As long as the menus are in our database, there will be limited nutritional information about it.”

Coyne also says that Anderson is already making moves in cutting sugar.

“As a diabetic myself, I have to watch sugar and what kind of intake and what goes into my body,” he said. “They can always ask us, they can ask myself, they can ask any of the supervisors, they can ask Chef Dan. We generally tend not to use a lot of sugar in what we do depending on the cuisine.  A lot of the Asian sauces are higher in maybe sugar. They do use some things in the sauces, but we tend not to use just sugar as an additive to sweeten something. We have a few pre-made dressings that we use. They tend to be a little higher in sugar like the raspberry vinaigrette. The low fat [dressings], yeah they take the fat out of it, but they make up for the flavor by adding a ton of sugar to it. Actually, along the salad bar, they have little stickers with [nutrition information] about most of the things in the salad bar.  The best thing is just to ask, and then we can give them the answers they need.”

Unfortunately, this doesn’t address foods such as ketchup, potatoes, bread, fruits, and most carbs that are problematic for diabetics. However, Coyne does speak to the students who may feel like they don’t have an option at the dining hall.   

“Talk to us. I don’t want anyone leaving here hungry,” he said. “Like I said to start, we can make something differently so that they don’t feel singled out.”

Coyne reiterated that there are too many types of restrictions to be able to cater to them all on a daily basis.

“Like I said, if we tried to do everyone’s onesy twosy dietary restrictions there wouldn’t be any place for food.”

Coyne says that he is working with Chatham Student Government to get more Vegan/Vegetarian options for students. He also says students can send in recipes.

“Right now Chef Dan plans most of the vegan and vegetarian options when he does his weekly menu planning. We are working with CSG to create a new vegan and vegetarian committee to get some more feedback. I know there’s been some concerns out there. We’re hoping to get that committee started sooner. If somebody gives us a recipe and says ‘hey, would you try that’ Chef Dan always does that. We’re definitely open to trying things and if they’ve got ideas for us [we’ll try them]. We want to plan around what the students want, some ideas on what they want to see. I know we’ve done that in the past.”

Maryann Fix, the head of the Vegan/Vegetarian Committee for CSG, confirms that the dining staff is working with her to create a better meal experience.

“I have been working a lot with Rob and Chef Dan, and they generally try to make sure I can find something to eat in Anderson. But I think a lot more could be done to meet the needs of gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan individuals,” said Fix. “For example, Pitt has a whole station dedicated only to gluten free including a gluten-free grill and a different dish every day. We should have something like that because something that is gluten-free can also be easily vegan or vegetarian, like a quinoa dish.”

Though Fix compares the Anderson Dining Hall with the University of Pittsburgh’s Market Central, she makes it clear that she is not looking for anything out of the ordinary.

“None of us are asking for special treatment; we’re just asking to get what we pay for like everybody else does,” she said. “Just because someone has a dietary restriction, whether it is their choice or not, we are paying for these meals, and we should be able to find something that we are happy with at any time. We shouldn’t have to eat such similar things every day, either.”

Coyne welcomes students to bring their concerns to his office in the back of the dining hall. There are also comment cards in the dining hall that receive feedback and staff members who will provide students with something if specifically asked for such as a bowl of pineapples.

A student’s meal experience has a huge impact on their college experience. With studies, work, and co-curricular activities, having to worry about what one is going to eat should be the last thing on the list of priorities. Some would say that the current ways of the dining hall wouldn’t be so hurtful if the university didn’t advertise a diverse menu.

On the Chatham University and Parkhurst Dining Services webpage, Chatham says, “Parkhurst Dining Services understands that dining is an integral part of the college experience. That’s why we offer students a number of delicious and healthful dining options. Our dining plans provide the ultimate in flexibility and offer something to satisfy even the most discriminating tastes.”

Even in the tours for prospective undergraduate and graduate students, tour guides are told to point out that Chatham has wonderful options for everyone.

“We definitely have to say that [Chatham] has vegan, vegetarian, and kosher options for every meal when we take a tour through Anderson. It’s on the script,” said McKenzie Gordon, a former student worker at the Admissions Office.

The current system has a lack of options, mislabels food, and causes students to alter the state of their health. Many students ask, what will it take to make a change?

“They need to start considering the ramifications of their actions because someone could die,” said Groves, “I’m not joking.”

By the people, for the people: CSG weekly update

On Thursday, November 12, the Chatham Student Government held their weekly meeting in the Conover Room. The topics discussed were Thanksgiving Dinner and developing ideas for the student orientation for the 2016-2017 year. In attendance was Dean of Students Zauyah Waite, Director of Residence Life Heather Black, Student Activities and Residence Life staff member Stephanie Alvarez Poe, and the members of CSG.

Black started the meeting by talking about the tradition of Thanksgiving Dinner on campus. She explained that this is a time to bring students and staff together to celebrate the holiday.

The conversation then moved to orientation for the 2016-2017 school year.

“We are starting fresh and throwing the old schedule out of the window,” said Black. CSG members were asked to form groups and come up with one program that they would like to see implemented for orientation.

After being given five to ten minutes to think and discuss, each group presented a program they thought students would enjoy. Some students suggested doing a tour of Pittsburgh so students who are not from the area can learn about their new surroundings.

Question were also posed about the necessity mandatory events during orientation

“When everything is mandatory, it makes people exhausted,” said Heathir McIntyre, Vice-President of the Class of 2016.

CSG members believe that if people have the option to come and if events sound interesting, then they will most likely come to events.

The Chatham Dining Experience: Where’s Casey?!

This year at Anderson, Chatham has upped their dining services tremendously.  Much of this has to do with the expansion of Bravisimo’s dining experiences. During lunch hours, Bravisimo features different dishes to tempt your taste buds. Korean tacos, build-your-own broth bowls, firecracker shrimp, and many other unique foods have been prepared by the beloved cook, Casey Haughey. For the first few months of the semester, Casey became a familiar sight to most students, jamming out to music while whipping up something spectacular.

However, lately, Casey has been absent from the Bravissimo scene and students have begun to question: Where is Casey? During the past few weeks, while Casey was missing from the dining room, the question arose as to whether he had left Chatham.  When he was around the kitchen, curiosity struck.

“Casey has been promoted to our PM sous chef position. This is why he has not been at the Bravisimo station,” said Rob Coyne, general manager of dining services at Chatham.

According to Coyne, over the past few weeks, Casey has been cooking and overseeing the kitchen at night, while they’ve been searching for a steady replacement.  

“This is a great opportunity for him,” said Coyne.

Monday, November 9, Casey was seen at Bravisimo one last time. He was training his replacement Megan Elstner, an Art Institute Culinary School graduate.  

Photo: Destiny Reber

Photo: Destiny Reber

“She is just starting her career in the kitchen and this is a great place for [her to] learn and expand her culinary knowledge and also bring some new ideas from the culinary school to us,” said Coyne.

“I used to work at a bar, and as much as I liked it, I needed to expand my horizons,” said Elstner. “Chatham was something completely different than the bar scene.  I’m excited to cook different things each day instead of sticking to the same menu.”

“We all care about serving the best food possible to the students [and] staff,” said Haughey. “As for Megan, our new Bravo cook, she will be just fine. [She] just has to get a rhythm, and I’m sure the students and staff will welcome her as they all did me.”

While Casey and Megan make the transition into their new experiences in the Chatham kitchen, students are told to expect one hundred percent from the kitchen staff. Their goal is to prepare food the same way they would want to eat it and to provide delicious meals. The Chatham Community is also to expect more gluten-free options in the near future.

“Everyone in our kitchen gives their best to provide a welcoming dining experience.” said Haughey.

“I think the students should look forward to having a good laugh when they’re at my station. I love making someone’s day because I know that college can be stressful,” said Elstner.

Students and staff alike are curious to see what it is that Haughey, Elstner, and the rest of the Anderson crew will be bringing to the table. Literally.

By the people, for the people: CSG weekly update

On Thursday, November 5, the Chatham Student Government held its hour-long meeting in the Conover Room. In attendance were CSG members, Dean of Students  Zauyah Waite, Director of Residence Life and Student Affairs Heather Black, and Assistant Dean of Students Mary Utter. The topics of conversation included sexual assault, issues with language, winter openings for residence halls, and the differences between new and current students.

Utter started the meeting off by talking about a sexual assault campaign called “It’s On Us.” This organization is designed to spread awareness about sexual assault. “It’s On Us” means, “It’s an environment we all create, not just victim and perpetrator,” said Utter. It is everyone’s job to help those in need. Starting next week, Chatham University and other campuses in America will support this cause and spread the word.

Utter also provided statistics such as one in five women and one in six men are sexually assaulted on college campuses. Eight in 10 victims know their attacker and only 13 percent of rape survivors report sexual assault. These compelling statistics are the reason why campaigns and organizations such as “It’s On Us” are formed. This also allows survivors to talk about their problems. Students can spread the word on social media by sending tweets, making Facebook statuses, and even changing their profile pictures to the “It’s On Us” logo.

With the winter is approaching, Black shifted the conversation to the residence hall forms. All residence hall requests to stay on campus for the winter break are due by Friday, November 5. All residence halls will be open to students for Thanksgiving break.

CSG members talked about the ways in which they can bridge the gap between new and current students. Many members of the CSG feel that there is a line between first year students and older students. They discussed trying to get events that would bring the first year students and the current students together so that no class is singled out.

The language used by students also has a major impact on students, as well.

“We are policing our words but regardless, people are going to say what they want. People talk how they want to. People should call themselves what they want,” said Chloe Bell, a representative for the Class of 2016.

Using words such as first-year instead of freshman is gender inclusive. Dean Waite said, “Once you’ve been recruited by Chatham, we say men and women [and first-year because] you have now reached a level of maturity.”

Many CSG members agreed about using the term first-year instead of freshman. They have also now agreed to use pronouns to refer to people as man and woman because girls and boys are percieved as immature.

“I wish we had these conversations naturally. Remember when Dr. McGreevey (Assistant Dean for Career Development) talked to us and said, ‘It’s not an all girl’s school, it’s an all women’s college,’” said Bell.

The room was silent and heads were nodding in agreement with Bell. CSG members, faculty, and staff would like to spread the word about using proper language when addressing people. Instead of seeing posters, Jackie Stanfield, President of the Class of 2017, said, “Seeing [the issues with language] on video is more powerful than reading it with words.”

Most CSG members agreed that someone watching the video about language is better reading about it. Some ideas were the video to be accessible on MyChatham and screened at Anderson Dining Hall and in the Carriage House.

The members ended the conversation on a positive note making the announcement that there will be a “Real Food Friday.” This allows students to have a taste of real food at the Anderson Dining Hall.

Chatham celebrates Native American Indian Heritage Month

As Chatham is a campus full of rich diversity, we celebrate all sorts of cultures and faiths on campus. November is Native American Indian Heritage Month, and Chatham has established several on-campus events to celebrate.

A traditional Native American tradition is the telling of folklore, which the Global Citizen LLC had set up to kick off NAIHM festivities, with storytelling and cultural information for students curious about Native American History.

Additionally, Chatham will be hosting climate activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez in Café Rachel on November 12. Martinez is renowned for his discussion of climate change on a higher level, starting to advocate for the cause at only six years old. While young, he has embraced both his culture and his passion for environmental sustainability, something that Chatham greatly stands for. The event has no admission fee.

On the following Saturday, November 14, Chatham will be hosting a day at the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History for students. The event will provide a great experience to students, especially with the newest Native American artifact; a Tlingit Totem Pole by Tommy Joseph is now a permanent exhibition at the Natural History museum, providing stories of the Eagle Clan that have been passed down for generations. The exhibit is quite new, so students who are interested but unable to attend need not worry since it will be around for many months to come.

All in all, Chatham is providing several great opportunities to get involved this Native American Indian Heritage Month and urges you to come out to support these events.