The Pitt News
T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | January 15, 2019 | Volume 109 | Issue 84
PITTSBURGH NOTABLES MAKE FORBES 30 UNDER 30
OAKLAND ZOO BREAKS LOOSE
Mary Rose O’Donnell Staff Writer
Fans in the student section cheer during Pitt’s 75-62 victory over Florida State Monday evening Knox Coulter | staff photographer
HADAR GALRON SPINS COMEDY FROM ORTHODOX ROOTS Maggie Young Staff Writer
After the age of 12, Orthodox Jewish women are told they can’t sing because the sound of their voice is “indecent.” Jewish comedian and playwright Hadar Galron is familiar with Orthodox traditions like this. She was raised with them. More than 50 people gathered in the Frick Fine Arts auditorium Monday night to listen to Galron discuss her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and how she defied the restraints she felt the community imposed on her. Born into an Orthodox Jewish family in London, Galron was raised under the traditions of Jewish law and felt restricted because of her gender. After hearing a rabbi on the radio turn those strict customs into jokes, Galron realized she could share her experiences through stand-up comedy.
“I felt I was growing up in a space where everything I wanted was considered impossible,” Galron said. “Everything I wanted to do is, ‘No, you can’t do that because you’re a girl.’” Monday’s event was organized by the Jewish studies and religious studies programs, along with the gender, sexuality and women’s studies program. Haya Feig, a lecturer for the Jewish studies program and a personal friend of Galron, invited the comedian to speak at Pitt. Feig hoped learning about Galron’s theater and film career in person would complement a new course Feig is teaching this semester on Israeli film and TV. “I think it’s good to see someone who comes from the outside and explains something we all probably ask ourselves [about],” Feig said. “It’s very important to talk about the diversity within the Jewish community.”
Specifically, Feig said, Galron offers a personal look into the controversy surrounding Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox communities as someone who lived the experience. Galron saw firsthand the effects marriage had on the Orthodox Jewish women around her. The rules of marriage in Orthodox law permit only the husband to request separation, Galron said, and if a woman wanted to leave the marriage, her husband would often blackmail her into staying married. “Women’s status in Jewish law is the status of a belonging of your owner. Your owner is your husband,” Galron said. “The whole ceremony of getting married is a ceremony of being bought.” After explaining the steps she took to distance herself from the Orthodox community — See Galron on page 2
From manufacturing to health care, from computer science to cuisine, Pittsburgh holds its own when it comes to sending new products and ideas into the world. This year, three young innovative Pittsburghers have made it onto the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for contributions to their respective fields, including two Pitt researchers. Inmaculada Hernandez - Age 28, Healthcare List Inmaculada Hernandez was raised in a STEM household — her mother is a pharmacist who owns her own independent pharmacy and her father is an economist. Both had a hand in curating her passions. “I have always loved science and math with all of my heart,” Hernandez says. “I knew I was going to do something, probably medical-related, but my final decision on pharmacy was because it was a family tradition.” Hailing from Soria, Spain, Hernandez has recently made great strides in pharmaceutical research, in addition to fostering and educating the next generation of pharmacists. She has been working as an assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy for two and a half years after receiving her doctorate in Health Services and Research from Pitt in 2016. After graduating from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, she chose to pursue her doctorate at Pitt for its emphasis on research and its commitment to training its students and supporting their work. She is currently pursuing three topics of See 30 Under 30 on page 2