LANTERNS LIGHT THE WAY FOR FRESHMAN WOMEN WHILE FRESHMAN MEN RECEIVE GIFT OF STRENGTH AT PITT

PITTSBURGH, August 10 -- University of Pittsburgh freshman women will walk the path of their predecessors to receive the "Gift of Light" during the 80th annual Lantern Night Ceremony, while freshman men receive the "Gift of Strength" at the sixth Night of the Panther Ceremony on Sunday, August 27.

The women will gather in the Cathedral of Learning Commons Room at 7:30 p.m. and process to the Heinz Memorial Chapel for the ceremony at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, the men will assemble at 7:45 p.m. in the William Pitt Union Ballroom for a procession to their ceremony in the Commons Room at 8:15 p.m.

The women carry unlit lanterns to their ceremony in the chapel and illuminate the walkway as they return with lighted lanterns to the Commons Room for a joint reception with the Night of the Panther participants. Men receive a symbolic panther pin during their ceremony.

The lanterns symbolize the women's quest for knowledge and truth, and lanterns serve as an inspiration for the "light of learning." They are replicas of the lanterns used at the time of the University's founding in 1787 and are gifts to the women from Pitt alumnae interested in preserving this proud tradition.

The Night of the Panther Ceremony is intended to convey to the men what Lantern Night has represented to the women. Since the late 1700s, the panther has stood for the strength and beauty of the Pitt community, its buildings, and its traditions.

Betty Jane McWilliams, former director of Pitt's Cleft Pallet Craniofacial Center and professor emerita in Pitt's Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, is the 2000 Distinguished Alumna Award winner. McWilliams, who earned her masters and doctorate from Pitt, will address the Lantern Night participants. Sharon Johnson, vice provost and dean of students, is the Night of the Panther speaker. Johnson, who has extensive experience in student services and student affairs, joined the University in July.

The Night of the Panther ceremony is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and the Pitt Alumni Association. Lantern Night is sponsored by the Alumnae Council of the Pitt Alumni Association, the Pan Hellenic Association, and the Office of Student Activities.

The media are invited to attend both ceremonies and the reception in the Cathedral of Learning Commons Room. For more information, call 412-624-8229.

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