Erich Schwartzel Staffwriter

Class of 2009

Articles

  • Stick It to the critics

    Concerned about your safety? You should be, because the entire Pittsburgh SWAT team was out in full force last Wednesday to watch some undersized teen queens handspring, roundoff, and flip-flap their way to victory. Walking into the advanced screening of the new film Stick It, I was stopped outside of theater 10 to have my Puma bag searched by some man who didn’t even ask where I bought it!

    Pillbox | May 1, 2006
  • CarnEVIL?

    The Morewood parking lot has been narrowed by yellow CAUTION borders, fluorescent wristbands have replaced every band fan’s watch, and the Carnival promising to transport us to “Another Time and Place” has produced the kind of campus zeal typically reserved for non-dreary afternoons and misplaced art sculptures. With funnel cakes and rides that make you puke funnel cakes, Carnegie Mellon’s Carniva...

    Pillbox | April 24, 2006
  • A new great schism? The (lack of) separation of church and entertainment

    The message — and the material — is felt. The T-shirt is plain, save for the fabric letters emblazoned down the center: “Sex, Drugs & Christian Rock.” To the right of the mannequin stands a proselytizing Jesus more “illuminating” than usual — this one doubles as a nightlight. Bordering the table are Jesus flasks that just beg the question: What Would Jesus Drink? (Answer: Wine.) Situated across fr...

    Pillbox | April 17, 2006
  • YOU ON YOUR CELL PHONE! Shut up!

    Since it first burst onto the hip couture scene, the cellular telephone, or “cell phone,” or the minimalist’s “cell,” has both driven communication advancements and provoked a wide gamut of controversy. The problem, my friends, lies not in potential brain tumors and avoidable car accidents, but in the awkward social situations cell phones can induce. Until these predicaments are resolved, friendsh...

    Pillbox | February 20, 2006
  • Carnegie Mellon sex culture — where is it?

    The banner hangs, awaiting those groups of prospective students touring the sloped hallway of Baker. When the naive high-school seniors aren’t giving you hot eye-sex in an attempt to get a “feel” for the kind of students who go to Carnegie Mellon, they catch a glimpse of just one of our school’s acclaimed accolades. Large enough to make any Kinko’s employee salivate like Pavlov’s dogs, the Porter ...

    Pillbox | February 13, 2006