The Pittsburgh Citizen

School closures during the G-20 Summit are giving students a chance to learn from the conference. In response to concerns about traffic, demonstrations, and security, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Point Park University, the downtown campus of Robert Morris University, and all 66 Pittsburgh public schools have canceled classes during the G-20 Summit. The West Mifflin School District has also canceled classes.

This decision seems to have met with the support of the student population. “Having classes closed is a good thing,” Pitt student Jeff Dintzis said. “It will give students an opportunity to see and experience new things.” The editorial board of The Pitt News endorsed the decision, saying “the logistical nonsense in keeping Pitt open is less important than the scholastic imperative that Pitt should allow students to involve themselves in the summit’s events.”

Students will also be free to join in various protests, as a result of class cancellations, which has raised some concerns. Seven months ago the University of Pittsburgh disciplined 24 students for vandalism, disorderly conduct, and other acts following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl win. Groups planning to protest the G-20 Summit have even accounted for the probability of arrests, with the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project holding a jail solidarity encampment outside the Allegheny County Jail. Students are actively involved in the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project, which has released a call for student occupation and disruption.

A University of Pittsburgh student organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, has endorsed the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project, which has also taken the time to post a menu of protest locations – ranging from every Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants in the city to the Institute of Industrial Research at Carnegie Mellon University to the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation and East Liberty Development, Inc.