nevada sagebrush archives 11/29/11

5/27/2018 Nevada Sagebrush Archives 11/29/11

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TAKIN IT TO THE

SLOPES

Find out how onestudent is balancinghis responsibilitiesas a studentwith his role as acontender for the2012 Winter XGames.Page B1

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 VOLUME 118 NUMBER 14SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

nevadasagebrush.comFirst copy free, additional copies 50 each

BREAKFAST IN RENO

Readaboutgreat yetoverlookedthings inReno, suchas Gold Dust Wests thriftybreakfast.Page A7

THATS WHAT SHE SAID

See how oneprofessoris usingthepower ofimprovisation toimprove the livesof students.Page A10

Tuition:Watch for updatesfrom a Thursday and Fridaymeeting about a possiblefee increase.Mens basketball:Keep upwith scores and statistics

from the game Friday againstWashington.

ONLINE THIS WEEK AT

NEVADASAGEBRUSH.COM

WEATHER FORECAST

Information gathered from the University of Nevada, Reno chapter ofthe American Meteorological Society.

Follow @TheSagebrush for breaking news updates

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WEEKEND

Tuition couldrise next year reaking the bankBreaking the bank

School plans to

end fire program

Sexual assaults increase, stay unsolvedBy Riley Snyder

The groping of two Universityof Nevada, Reno students sincethe beginning of summer hasconcerned the institutionspolice services but remainsunsolved.

One groping happened nearthe 200 block of University Ter-race during the summer andthe other happened in an alleybetween Eighth, Ninth, Sierraand Virginia streets. So far, nosuspects have been identifiedfor either case, University of Ne-vada, Reno Police Department

Cmdr. Todd Renwick said.Because such crimes usually

happen at a low frequency, theincrease could potentially beevidence of an emerging pat-tern, Renwick said.

I would say its right in themiddle of an anomaly and re-

vealing a trend, he said.Although there isnt any hardevidence connecting the twocases, police noticed simi-larities in how the attacks wereperformed and the physicaldescriptions of the suspects,Renwick said. Investigationsinto the gropings have been

met with little public assistance.Officers have been able to gleanlittle information from videosurveillance and canvassing thearea for potential witnesses, hesaid.

Identifying suspects aftersexual crimes can be difficult be-

cause traumatized victims oftenhave difficulty noticing identify-ing traits from the perpetrator,Reno Police Department Lt. Mo-hammed Rafaqat said. However,officers from both UNRPD andReno Police Department oftenshare information in order tohelp identify patterns of attack,

he said.Anything sexual in nature

is very important to us and is apriority, Rafaqat said.

As a whole, Nevadans aremore susceptible to sexual as-sault, Nevada Coalition AgainstSexual Violence President Ben

Felix said. Rape happens toNevadans with a frequencyabout 8 percent higher than thenational average, Felix said. Col-lege campuses are also targetsbecause of the large numbers of16-24 year old women, who are

By Ben Miller

Nevada higher educationleaders will consider raising tu-ition and fees for the Universityof Nevada, Reno for the 2012-13academic year at a meeting thisweek, a measure students saidcould make college more dif-ficult for them to afford and forprospective students to reach.

UNR interim President MarcJohnson said the proposal couldput the average undergradu-ate yearly tuition at $6,008, up

from about $5,300 currently.The increased price is about$180 lower than the medianprice of institutions in Westernstates last year, a number thepresident said has increased.But according to AssociatedStudents of the University ofNevada President Casey Stiteler,fee spikes could close doors forlocals who want to go to collegein Nevada.

I think it is a little bit of an is-sue when weve got students whotheir only concern is whether ornot they can afford to go to schoolhere, and then weve got theadministrators and the regentstalking about whether or not itsjust cheaper than California, hesaid. California or Oregon or

By Riley Snyder

University administrators willsubmit a proposal to close theinstitutions Fire Science Acad-emy to the higher educationleaders at a meeting Thursdayand Friday.

The academy, located about250 miles east of the main cam-pus in Carlin, has spent about adecade attempting to get itselfout of $36 million in debt, FSAExecutive Director Denise Ba-clawski said. But nine years ofcontinual financial issues andstudent payment toward the

academy have left the universitywith few options, University ofNevada, Reno interim PresidentMarc Johnson said.

If you run something soclose to the operating marginthat youre just barely coveringyour expenses, not taking careof overhead and all that sort ofthing, then the least little thingcomes up and poof, youre introuble again, and youre gener-ating more debt, Johnson said.

And the university just cant af-ford to take on a lot more debt.

In the 2009-10 academicyear, a full-time undergradu-ate students annual tuitionwas about $4,163.This year, that number hasincreased to $5,317.In the 2012-13 academicyear, if higher education lead-ers pass a University of Ne-vada, Reno fee increase pro-posal, the same figure couldbe as high as $6,008.

PAST FEE INCREASES

By Stephen Ward

Since his freshman year of highschool, Robert del Carlo knew hewanted to be a neurosurgeon.

Aware of the price of educationattached to his dream, he scraped togetherall the money he could and worked multiplejobs to pay for school. He managed to enrollat the University of Nevada, Reno last yearwith about $6,000 in savings.

I always knew I wanted to go to school,he said. I dont know if it was necessarilywhat my mom had said, or if it was some

kind of family intent, but every Christmas,every birthday, every time I would get anykind of money I would put it in an account.Every penny except for gas money went into

that account.Soon, the 19-year-old neuroscience major

will have to do something he wanted tostave off until graduate school apply fora student loan.

The loan will be challenging but manage-able for del Carlo. Attending Truckee Mead-ows Community College and its magnethigh school tamped down the cost. Withan estimated $6,000 in debt by the time hegraduates in 2014, hell miss the averagestudent debt level in Nevada of $16,622 indebt (according to the Institute for CollegeAccess and Success) with room to stretch.

Compared with the national average of$25,250, hell fare even better.

But his story doesnt end there.Despite the financial hurdles, del Carlo

remains sure of his goal. He has his academicfuture lined up and refuses to stray from thepath. To receive the best education for hisfield, hell go to the University of California,San Francisco, where he expects the cost ofhis education to wrack up $400,000 in debt,not including the cost of living. He plans topay for his higher education almost entirelywith student loans.

Thats a beautiful Aston Martin rightthere, quipped del Carlo, a self-proclaimedcar enthusiast.

In this sense, del Carlo is similar to manystudents across the United States who shell

out thousands of dollars to attend college.Whether its a way to evade the sluggish

See TUITIONPage A5

See LOANSPage A5

is the average amountof debt among collegestudents in Nevada in

2010.

$1 trillion

is the average amountof debt among collegestudents in the United

States in 2010.

is the level of outstandingstudent loan debt that the

United States is expected toexceed this year.

is the proportion of collegestudents in the United

States who graduated withloans in 2010.

2/3

8.8%is the percentage change in the national student loan default rate from 2008-09.

$25,250 $16,622

COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

Firefighters train at the Fire Science Academy. If closed, only onelocation for advanced fire training in the nation would remain open.

FIRE IMPACTS STUDENTS

See GROPINGPage A5

ILLUSTRATION BY TARA VERDEROSA AND LAUREN DICK /NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

See FIREPage A5

FIRE SCIENCE ACADEMY

For the full proposalto close the Fire ScienceAcademy, go online.

NEVADASAGEBRUSH.COM

ll l

ONLINE

Members of the University of Nevada, Renocommunity took action during the Caughlin Fire.For more on how the blaze in southwest Renoimpacted students, go to A4.

RILEY SNYDER /NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

Source: the Institute for College Access and Success

Growing student loan debt creates future obstacles


2/16

By Ben Miller

As the University of Nevada,Reno considers changes thatcould turn three Greek organiza-tions into clubs, an undergradu-ate student government senatoris working to help the groups

regain status as social chapters.The proposed changes mean

the university would changethe statuses of the Lambda PsiRho and Nu Phi fraternities andLambda Phi Xi sorority fromsocial Greek chapters to UNRclubs. Greek Life CoordinatorJeanine Menolascino said therules are partially necessary tobring the institutions policiesinto agreement with f ederal law.

But Shirley Diaz, College ofLiberal Arts representative inthe Associated Students of theUniversity of Nevada Senate andpresident of Lambda Phi Xi, saidthe designation of those groupsas social Greek chapters insteadof clubs makes a difference inwhat the groups do. Clubs dont

always participate in philan-thropy like Greek groups do, andarent held to the same academicstandards, she said. Also, theability of groups to provide asocial atmosphere is importantto the student experience.

Sometimes with organiza-tions that are already established,students dont feel that they fitinto those organizations, shesaid. So then they have the op-portunity to create their own.

Diaz is focusing on two piecesof legislation that would opendoors for non-national Greekchapters at UNR to meet thenew policies. One would be aresolution urging administra-tors to help groups establisha multi-chapter structure, aTitle IX requirement. The other

is a bill that would loosen bud-get restrictions to assist chapterswith satisfying UNRs $2 millioninsurance requirement.

Navigating this path towardfull university recognition is of-ten a struggle for budding Greekchapters, Diaz said.

Organizations that donthave nationals, they are startingeverything from scratch, shesaid. Its all new to them andtheres a chance they wont be ontime or ... they wont understandhow to do everything correctly.So theyre definitely at a hugedisadvantage.

The requirement to keep amulti-chapter board is necessary

for the universitys rules to alignwith federal anti-discriminationlegislation, Menolascino said.Though the institutions historyof enforcement is unclear, thecurrent policies do not reflectTitle IX requirements. The legis-lation set aside fraternities andsororities as some of the onlygroups in the United States withthe ability to discriminate basedon gender. It also required thatsuch organizations maintainstatus as a legal nonprofit groupand follow the lodge system,which the Nevada RevisedStatutes defines as having a gov-

erning body with subordinategroups that meet at least once a

month.Menolascino said UNR might

not have employed the appropri-ate staff in the past to examineits policies and see that it wasntholding social organizations tofederal standards.

Despite the gap in federalcompliance, the alignment isnonetheless necessary, she said.

As a university we cant justgrant single-sex status to groupswho want to be single genderedjust by allowing them to go inagreeance with us as a socialfraternal organization, Meno-lascino said.

Other Greek groups around thecountry have run into problems

with Title IX compliance andinsurance in recent years, shesaid. But problems might havealready cleared up for many.President and CEO of the NorthAmerican Interfraternity Con-ference Peter Smithhisler saidthe last cases he can rememberof such problems was about adecade ago. Kyle Niederpruem,a spokeswoman for the NationalPanhellenic Conference, saidall sororities in the associationhave insurance coverage.

Ben Miller can be reached [email protected].

news nevadasagebrush.comA2 NOVEMBER 29, 2011

Contributing Staffers:

Jenna Benson, Ben Clark, Nathan Conover,

Tony Contini, Brent Coulter, Casey Durkin,

Joel Edwards, Lukas Eggen, Amy Harris,

Lauren Hober, Leanne Howard, Thomas

Levine, Michael Lingberg, Jennifer Mabus,

Raquel Monserat, Brin Reynolds, Marcus

Sacchetti, Devin Sizemore, Steph Smith,

Caitlin Thomas, Cory Thomas, Eric Uribe,

Sabrina Valdez, Austin Wallis, Aaron

Weitzman, Zoe Wentzel, Kyle Wise, Charlie

Woodman

VOLUME 118 ISSUE 14

Student voice of the University of

Nevada, Reno since 1893.

[email protected]

Editor in Chief Juan Lpez

News Editor Ben [email protected]

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CONTACT US:

Office: 775-784-4033

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Mail Stop 058 Reno, NV 89557

The Nevada Sagebrush is a newspaper operatedby and for the students of the University of

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do not necessarily reflect those opinions of the

university or its students. It is published by the

students of the University of Nevada, Reno and

printed by the Sierra Nevada Media Group.

ADVERTISING:For information about

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[email protected].

In the Nov. 15 article, TVbroadcasters death raisessafety issues, The NevadaSagebrush printed thatJK Metzkers friends wereacross the street when he

stepped into it. Metzkerwas already in the street.Also, the intoxication ofthe driver who hit Metz-ker hasnt been proven in acourt of law.In the Nov. 15 article,Committee pushes formore blue light phones,The Nevada Sagebrushwrote that members of thecommittee had stopped try-ing to install the blue lightkiosks. The senators are stillworking on the project, butare considering alternativefunding methods.The Nevada Sagebrushfixes mistakes. If you find anerror, [email protected].

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AttorneyGeneralto resign

Staff Report

The attorney general of theundergraduate student gov-ernment will resign Dec. 16,potentially leaving the groupwithout an official voice tointerpret its laws.

Christina Gunn, attorneygeneral for the AssociatedStudents of the University ofNevada, is graduating with adegree in secondary educationthis fall and will leave Reno theday after her official resigna-tion, she said in an email. Shewas aware of her graduationdate when she applied for thepresident-appointed position.

I felt that what I had to offerthe position was worth apply-ing for the job and workingfor the Association while pos-

sible, Gunn said in an email.The resignation comesbefore the ASUN elections, atime of typically high activityfor the position. Last year, for-mer Attorney General TrevorMacaluso brought chargesagainst four people for violat-ing portions of election code,according to the associationswebsite.

Speaker of the ASUN SenateJoe Broad said applicationsfor the position will close onDec. 7. However, the Senatemight not confirm a new at-torney general until the springsemester.

Gunn served as the directorof programming last schoolyear before taking on theposition of attorney general.

She applied for her presentposition after becoming morefamiliar with the associationslaws during her time on theFlipside events programmingboard, Gunn said. Duringthat time, she developed aninterest in making those lawsmore efficient. This semester,she helped the ASUN Senateidentify and change manyredundant sections of theStatutes of the AssociatedStudents.

The news desk can be reached [email protected].

ASUN reaches out toprospective leaders

By Ben Miller

When the undergraduatestudent Senate held its elec-tions in March, the ballotremained empty for the Collegeof Agriculture, Biotechnologyand Natural Resources. No stu-dents campaigned to representthe college, which had been atarget for budget reductions inthe past. Candidates for threeother colleges ran unopposedbecause of a lack of competi-

tion for the seats.This year, Speaker of the As-

sociated Students of the Univer-sity of Nevada Senate Joe Broadis recruiting members-at-large,a position the association hasoverlooked in years past, to fixthe problem.

Members-at-large are stu-dents the Senate has appointedto give input into the legislativeprocess. They do not vote, buthave the ability to providerepresentation for the Sen-ates constituents. This year,the Senate has more than 10members-at-large, somethingthe Director of ASUN SandyRodriguez said she has neverseen in the body in her 14 yearsat the university.

On Nov. 16, the Senate passeda resolution that raised themaximum number of members-at-large from about 39 to 45.

Broad said he hopes themembers-at-large will developan interest in campaigning forthe Senate next year as well asfamiliarity that will help themhit the ground running.

Unfortunately we see peoplerunning for ASUN positions whoarent familiar with the policies,the procedures that affectsthe way they campaign and theway they choose to spend theirtime while in office, he said.

Rodriguez has seen the pro-cess of new senators learningthe ropes many times. Senatorswho already have experiencedealing with the process behind

the association including the41,800-word statutes, the 2,600-

word constitution and RobertsRules of Order tend to movefaster when it comes to solvingproblems, she said.

Imram Hussain, an 18-year-old biochemistry and molecularbiology major, is one member-at-large who is consideringrunning for the Senate nextyear. Hussain said he used theposition to see if being a senatorwould be a good fit for him. Af-ter getting a behind-the-sceneslook at some issues facing the

student body, he decided itwas.

One memorable incident forhim was a presentation givenby the director of campus well-ness and recreation explainingwhy Lombardi RecreationCenter needed a fee increasein 2013. In the speech, Hussainsaw comparisons betweenLombardi and local gyms thatsurprised him.

I knew I was getting a gooddeal from Lombardi, but I didntknow I was getting a great deal,he said. And I had actually hada dry spell, I hadnt been to thegym in a couple weeks. So I said,You know what? Im going to gojust from that.

College of Liberal Arts Sena-

tor Darryl Deraedt decidedto run for his position afterparticipating in a Senate taskforce last year that providedinput to the body. Duringhis tenure in the position, hedeveloped an interest in theproblems facing the universityand helped come up with ideasto address them.

But for students who donthave direct contact with ASUN,whether on a task force or as amember-at-large, input usuallydoesnt make it to the ears of theSenate, he said.

As a student, unless youvoice it, theres not going tobe anything you can do aboutthose ideas, Deraedt said. Youkeep them to yourself.


Senate could protect Greeks

FILE PHOTO/NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

The Lambda Phi Xi Sorority step team performs a routine at a past Stompin With the Pack step show put onby the Multicultural Greek Council. The sorority could lose its status as a social Greek chapter in the future.

Assistant Sports Editor Now Hiring

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Central account@TheSagebrush

Editor in Chief: Juan Lpez@JuanVLopez

Managing Editor: Stephen Ward@Srmward

Sports Editor: Eric Castillo@EricLeeCastillo

Assistant News Editor: RileySnyder

@RileySnyder

Design Editor: Tara Verderosa@Taragreenrose


3/16

For a full listing:nevadasagebrush.com/calendar

WEDNESDAY/30DOCUMENTARY SCREEN-

ING: PATAGONIA RISING

When:7 to 8:30 p.m.

Where:The Theatre on the

third floor of the Joe Crowley

Student Union

The Student Association for

International Water Issues issponsoring the screening of

the documentary Patago-

nia Rising: A Frontier Story

of Water and Power. The

Pantagonia region of Chile

has been in the middle of a

conflict to build five large hy-

droelectric dams on two local

rivers, a move that could

forever alter the culture and

environment of the area. The

Screening is free.

For more information, visit

www.PatagoniaRising.com.

THURSDAY/1THEATER: THE BEACH

PLAYSWhen:7:30 p.m.

Where:Church Fine Arts

Redfield Studio Theater

The Nevada Repertory

Company will assist in the

performance and production

of The Beach Plays, which

is a series of 15 short plays,

each set in the same beach

location. The plays were orig-

inally written by Playwrights

Unit at the HB Playwrights

Foundation and are all about

10 minutes in length. Tickets

are $5 at the door.

For more information, contact

CJ Walters at 775-784-4278.

MONDAY/5UNIVERSITY WIND EN-

SEMBLE

When:7:30 p.m.

Where:Church Fine Arts

Nightingale Concert Hall

For their last concert of the

semester, the ensemble will

pay tribute to the work of

composer Clifton Williams,

who died 1976. Faculty Mem-

ber and trumpeter Paul Q.

Lenz will join the ensemble

for a portion of the event, and

will perform the trumpet por-

tions of Williams Dramatic

Essay. The event is free.

For more information,

contact CJ Walters at 775-

784-4278.

CampusEvents

STUDENT UNION COLLECTS PRESENTS FOR LOCAL LOW-INCOME CHILDREN

CAMPUS NEWS

PSYCHOLOGY:

UNIVERSITY AWARDS FIRSTGLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AWARDTO BEHAVIOR ANALYSISPROFESSOR

Faculty at the University of Nevada,Reno have selected psychology profes-sor Linda Hayes as the first recipient ofan award that honors contributions toglobal education, according to a state-

ment from the university.The selection of Hayes for the GlobalEngagement award at a Nov. 17 cer-emony is a recognition of her scholarlycontributions and application of herstudies in psychology, the statementsaid. Hayes, who has worked at UNRfor more than 20 years, is the founderof the behavior analysis program atthe university and has used grants toresearch autism treatment.

The award came with a $1,500 prize,which Hayes said in the statement sheplans to use to fund a student trip toSpain and a project in Jordan.

MUSIC:

CHORAL STUDIES APPOINTSNEW DIRECTOR

The Department of Music has an-

nounced Paul Torkelson as its newdirector of choral studies, according toa statement released Tuesday from theuniversity.

Torkelson was conductor of the choirat Wartburg College in Iowa for 25 years

and holds a doctorate degree in musicalarts from the University of Colorado,the statement said.

Torkelson said in the statement thathe accepted the position because hemissed working with students. Hisposition will make him the conductorof the symphonic choir and chamberchorale. He also will teach classes inchoral methods and conducting, thestatement said.

Torkelson will kick off his career atthe University of Nevada, Reno with afree performance of George FridericHandels Messiah on Tuesday in the

Nightingale Concert Hall in ChurchFine Arts.

NATIONAL HIGHEREDUCATION NEWS

AGRICULTURE:

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTAPROFESSOR PROJECTS FOODDEMAND WILL DOUBLE BY 2050

A professor at the University of Min-nesota predicted Nov. 21 that globalfood demand could double in the next40 years, according to a statement fromthe institution.

UM ecology professor David Tilmansaid the increasing production couldmean serious problems if agriculturaltechnology doesnt spread to poor coun-

tries and if nitrogen fertilizers arentused more efficiently.Agricultures greenhouse gas emis-

sions could double by 2050 if currenttrends in global food production con-tinue, Tilman said in the statement.

Global agriculture already accountsfor a third of all greenhouse gas emis-sions.

Technology used in more wealthy na-tions could help developing countriesget more out of existing land insteadof expanding farming operations tolarger areas, he said. According to thestatement, crop yields in rich countrieswere 300 percent higher than in poorcountries in 2005.

UNR POLICE BLOTTER

THURSDAY, 11/24/11:Police responded to a report of petit lar-ceny of a bicycle at the Reynolds Schoolof Journalism.

Officers arrested an individual for anoutstanding warrant at East Ninth andNorth Virginia streets.

TUESDAY, 11/22/11 :Police responded to a report of embez-zlement at Fitzgerald Student ServicesBuilding.

MONDAY, 11/21 /11:Officers responded to a report ofdestruction of property of a window atAnsari Business Building.

Police responded to a report of grand

larceny of a hot saw at 1664 N. VirginiaSt.

Officers arrested an individual fortrespassing at the Joe Crowley StudentUnion.

SUNDAY, 11/20/11:Police responded to a report of an alco-hol violation at Argenta Hall.

SATURDAY, 11/19/11:Officers responded to a report of petitlarceny of a purse and currency atArgenta Hall.

Police arrested an individual for drivingunder the influence at North Virginiaand 14th streets.

FRIDAY, 11/ 18/11:Police responded to a report of commer-cial burglary of clothing and blankets atMackay Stadium.

Officers responded to a report of petitlarceny of a wallet, a fishing and hunt-ing license, a student ID and currency atthe Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.

THURSDAY, 11/17/11:Police responded to a report of com-mercial burglary at 1 Verdi Peak Rd.

Officers responded to a report of pos-session of a controlled substance andminor in possession and consumptionat Lincoln Hall.

WEDNESDAY, 11/16/11 :Police responded to a report of petit

larceny at Edmund J. Cain Hall.

TUESDAY, 11/15/11 :Police responded to a report of petitlarceny at Manzanita Hall.

STEPHEN WARD/NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

Staff at the Joe Crowley Student Union are asking the public to donate gifts for students at a local high-risk, low-income elementary school, Joe Programmer Claudia Agbor-Bessem said. Union staff will remove the tree Saturday, but Agbor-Bessem said they might extend the trees presence on the first floor of the building. To participate in theprogram, donors can choose a cutout on the tree, buy the gift the child has listed and bring it to the JCSUs front desk.

News Roundup

nevadasagebrush.com NOVEMBER 29, 2011 A3

Weekly UpdateCheck out asun.nevadasagebrush.com for our live blog of Associated Students of the University of Nevada Senate meetings, regularly s cheduled for 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday.

ASUN THIS WEEKThe Senate will discuss aresolution to abolish any mentionof Roberts Rules of Order.

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, JCSU Senate Chambers

thisweekTHEYLEARNEDTHEIMPERFECTVERBSINITALIAN,STUDIEDTHE

ANDMADEGNOCCHIINA

INTERNATIONALMARKETINGPROJECT

FOUR-CHEESESAUCE.

POLITICSOFTHEEU,WORKEDONAN

whatareyoudoingthisweek? Discover where youll study abroad at usac.unr.edu


4/16

By Ben Miller

When Josh Hope looked outover the fence at the end of hisbackyard at about 1:45 a.m. onNov. 18 and saw a massive wallof fire approaching the hill lead-ing to his house, one thoughtraced through his mind.

I had a chem test at 8 a.m.,recounted Hope, a 21-year-oldcommunity health sciencesmajor.

Then his mind shifted gears how would he and his fatherprotect the house? The crest ofthe hill and a metal fence stoodabout 35 feet from his home.There were two 40-foot-tall pinetrees the fire could jump onto. If

they soaked the trees and kept

embers out of the yard, theycould avoid destruction.

For about the next three hours,Hope and his father fought backthe advancing flame with ahose. The inferno, whipped intoa frenzy with gusts of wind up to80 miles per hour, came within20 feet of the house.

They were one of the onlyfamilies on Piccadilly Street,a small offshoot of SkylineBoulevard in south Reno, notto evacuate. One house on thestreet almost completely burneddown and charred the fences ofa few others. Hope kept lookingat his father and asking if it wastime to pack up and leave, but

he assured him: As long as the

trees didnt burn, they were fine.It wasnt the first time Hope

had experienced his fathersunwavering calmness, and to acertain extent it rubbed off onhim. Even in the face of danger,the two have an attitude thatspeaks to the inevitability of asituations outcome.

Me and my dad, we dontget scared, he said. The bestway I can describe it is, we weredriving home from hunting oneday he slid off the road andlaunched his truck like 10 feetacross a ditch. And we rode itout, we were able to get out ofthe ditch. But just before it hap-pened, hes like Hold on, this

might hurt. And thats how we

both are.Finally, at about 5 a.m., the

pair felt as though they were safe.Hope went to bed, determinedto do well on his test. But he wasrepeatedly woken as firefightersand reporters scoured the area.

He made it to his chemistrytest, running on a few hours ofsleep, an energy drink and a sug-ary muffin.

I know I did horribly, Hopesaid. I was like sitting there andliterally staring at the pages, justlike, I know I studied this. Whatis it?


Student battles fire, keeps house untouched

nevadasagebrush.com NOVEMBER 29, 2011 A4 aughlin FireCaughlin Fire

Help desk employee keepspublic informed with map

ASUN donates to fire victimsBy Riley Snyder

It was about 4 a.m. whenMisha Rays fianc woke herand told her that a fire wasconsuming part of Reno.

Ray, who works as the direc-tor of public relations for theAssociated Students of theUniversity of Nevada, checkedthe Reno Gazette-Journalthrough her phone and wasimmediately taken aback withthe vastness of the fire.

Sitting on her bed, Ray beganscouring local media outlets

and Twitter for informationabout the blaze until going backto sleep about an hour later.

This wasnt the first time Rayhad dealt with fire. She workedas a logistics dispatcher for theBureau of Land Management inNorthern Nevada the past foursummers, helping gather andsend out information aboutwildfires in the areas aroundWinnemucca, Battle Mountainand Tonopah.

However, it wasnt until lastsummer that she dealt with a

fire that could threaten homes,and the experience frightenedher.

Usually were just in themiddle of nowhere fightinggrass and trying to preventthe growth, Ray said. So thataspect was stressful for me be-cause I had never really had todeal with houses. I was puttingmyself in the dispatch officethinking how I would feel ifthere were houses involved andbeing destroyed.

After learning about the fire,ASUN President Casey Stiteler

emailed Ray asking her if adonation drive for items to gotoward victims of the fire waspossible.

Ray decided to run with theidea and sent out informationabout the event through socialmedia outlets. After working atanother job for several hours,she had no idea what to expectin terms of student response tothe announcement, Ray said.

I walked into the room whenother people were bringing instuff, and I was almost moved

to tears by it, Ray said. Wehad only announced it on Twit-ter four hours earlier that wewere doin g this, and pe ople allover campus were bringing inthings.

On the ASUN Facebook page,the group announced it hadcollected 1 truck load and1 van full of donated items,ranging from water to blanketsto food.

ASUN also offered specialhelp to students who were di-rectly impacted by the tragedy.

Although none of her family

or friends lived in the area, Raysaid her efforts to help thosethe fire had affected were anexample of Renos tight-knitcommunity. After spending theentirety of Friday coordinatingthe drive and spreading infor-mation about the fire, Ray saidthe experience was entirelyworth it.

It just felt like the right thingto do, she said.

Riley Snyder can be reached [email protected].

By Ben Miller

Bryce Leinan shared the con-fusion he noticed around theInternet as reports of a growingfire in southwest Reno emergedat about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 18. OnFacebook, people were postingstatuses curious about exactlywhere the blaze was.

But with the click of a button,

the man who lived more than30 miles driving distance fromthe inferno began a processthat would help people gatherinformation about it in secondsno matter where they lived.

Leinan created a map usingGoogle technology.

Ive had a computer sinceI was six, so the computingcomes kind of second nature,said Leinan, a senior help desktechnician at the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center at theUniversity of Nevada, Reno.

This is the first time, however,Id ever done anything like this it kind of came on a whim.

Seeking information to markthe boundaries of the fire, the28-year-old general studies ma-jor listened closely to the Renoareas police scanner channelonline. But the amount of trafficcoming over it was overwhelm-ing, he said.

So Leinan opened the map tothe public for editing, a tech-nique known as crowdsourcing.Later, users of the map wouldtell him that he might have cre-ated the first crowdscourced firemap.

Usage of the tool exploded.Eventually reaching more than600,000 views, users beganmarking spots on the map wherethey had seen fire and updatingthe locations of evacuation cen-ters. Comments began pouringin, thanking him for creating it

and offering to help him spreadinformation.

After everything, Leinan saidhe is happy that the map seemsto have helped people in a timeof need.

I personally think it prob-ably did save lives, having it, hesaid.

Leinan said he wouldnthesitate to create a similar map

for fires in the future, but thathe might not crowdsource itbecause of instances of falseinformation that cropped up.Instead, he would leave the ed-iting to members of the mediaand those with direct knowledgeabout the event.

It was very invaluable,Leinan said. Comment aftercomment said how invaluablethe map was.


COURTESY OF JOSH HOPE

Fire approaches University of Nevada, Reno student Josh Hopeshouse on Nov. 18.


5/16

news NOVEMBER 29, 2011 A5nevadasagebrush.com

the most frequent targets ofsexual assault, Outreach andAwareness Coordinator of theJean Nidetch Womens Centerat the University of Nevada,Las Vegas Many sexual assaultsoften go unreported, whichdistorts statistics about similarcrimes, Felix said.

There are issues of batteryand harassment that dont riseto the level of being reported,he said. (And) because it dealswith sex or sexuality, this is nota topic people rally aroundbecause its a taboo issue.

There are several resources

available on campus for pre-venting similar crimes fromhappening, Renwick said.These include Campus Escort,the Student Cadets program,self-defense classes offered bycampus police and the bluelight system, he said.

Carol Oswald, an 18-year-oldjournalism major, said she feelssafe on campus. But becauseshe has to park her car in theparking garage at Circus Circus

Reno and doesnt get out of classuntil 6 p.m., Oswald said shefeels less safe heading back.

Night is a kind of securityconcern, Oswald said.

Riley Snyder can be reached [email protected].

UNR students pay a $6.50per credit fee to help pay offportions of the debt, but thereport recommends splittingthat fee into a $2.50 fee tocontinue paying off debt, whilethe additional money would goto future on-campus projects.The fee has been in place since2002.

Closing the facility wouldmean a loss of about $4million and laying off about 26employees, the proposal said.But according to the report,the sale of the property andequipment from the site couldcut the debt substantially andallow for decreased student

payments.The problems began whenthe facility was moved toits current location in 1999,Baclawski said. Issues with theinitial construction as well as anunachievable business modelmeant the facility was doomedfrom the start, she said.

Any other business wouldhave exited the marketplace,Baclawski said.

Losing the academy wouldleave only one facility in thecountry to train industrialfirefighters at an advanced level,Baclawski said. And becausethat program, which is locatedat Texas A&M University,doesnt have enough capacityto completely fill the need forindustrial-trained firefighters,

a shortage could emerge, shesaid.

Thats going to be a pretty bigblip on the radar when we exitthe marketplace, Baclawskisaid.

The Board discussed closingthe facility in 2008, but decidedto give the facility a three-yearwindow to come up with analternative financing plan,Chairman of the Board ofRegents Jason Geddes said.

Although the continuedexistence continued to plaguestudents, the time span wasnecessary to finalize deals to

decrease the financial burden,he said.

I think it was a good decisionat the time, Geddes said. (But)Ive always hated that theycharged the students for thefacility.

For the area around theacademy, the loss will have anegative economic impact, ElkoCounty Commissioner GlenGuttry said. The site, which wasmoved from Stead to Carlinabout 10 years ago because ofnoise and pollution complaints,would cause the county to loseabout $5 million in revenue, he

said.Both Elko County and Carlin

contributed financially to reliefefforts three years ago in aneffort to keep the facility open,Guttry said. But a decade offinancial burden and increasingdebt meant the academy wasa better concept than fully-realized project, he said.

It was a chance for us todiversify our economy a little,Guttry said. It was just cursedfrom the beginning.

Ben Miller contributed tothis report. Riley Snyder can

be reached at [email protected].

Washington or Utah if thoseplaces are already more expen-sive, then those places arenteven on the map for some ofNevadas students. So why arewe constantl y continui ng tocompare ourselves?

Johnson will present a pro-posal that includes plans for a5, 8 or 13 percent increase to

the Nevada System of HigherEducation Board of Regents.The document emphasizeshiring faculty to decrease classsizes in high-demand programssuch as psychology and biol-ogy. It will also spend millions

on strengthening strategic sec-tors jewels in the crown, asJohnson calls them.

As is customary, the univer-sity will put 15 percent of theincrease toward financial aid.However, Stiteler said this maynot be enough, as the statesMillennium Scholarship fundand federal financial aid facethreats of diminished funding.

For some students, the ben-efits of another fee increase areacceptable. Dario Callegari, a

27-year-old MBA student whohas seen numerous tuitionspikes in his six-year historyat UNR, said he supports themove as long as it producesthe results administrators areaiming for.

It wont discourage me fromcoming to UNR, Callegari said.Im here to get my degree. Butit is something to be aware of,be cognizant of, if I dont seechanges and I just see a con-stant increase.

Angela DeNardo, an 18-year-old pre-nursing major, said itwould increase the financialburden she already struggleswith in paying for her education.DeNardo, a freshman, is payingher own way through college

but has to rely on her parents topay for this semesters tuition.She is working 30 hours perweek while payin g them back.

The increase could force herto pick up a second job andreconsider which classes she is

taking, she said.Im definitely going to take

fewer credits, DeNardo said.I was thinking about taking fun credits like maybe drawingand stuff I like or dance. Butnow, with this increase, I guessIm not.

Johnson announced theproposal to the ASUN Senateon Nov. 16, about two weeksbefore the Board of Regentsmeeting. At the meeting, Stitelerexpressed surprise that student

leaders werent informed ear-lier of the statewide decision topursue a fee hike.

Chair of the Board of RegentsJason Geddes said NSHE hasbeen planning on the feeincrease for some time. When

the state Legislature adjournedin June, it asked only for thesystem to increase its fees by13 percent once. But doing sowould have left higher educa-tion institutions with largerbudget holes to fill amid statefunding reductions, so NSHEleaders decided to pursue asecond increase, Geddes said.

I can only assume a mis-communication on my part,he said. (In June) we had adiscussion about the second

13 (percent), and we said wewould talk about it in the fall.

Stiteler said the announce-ment was nevertheless disap-pointing.

Even though it was kind ofa misunderstanding, I think

it was a disservice to studentsthat weve gotten to this point,he said. We walked away withthe feeling that this would be aone-time thing.

The Board of Regents couldvote for any of the universitysproposals, a different percent-age increase or no increase atall, Johnson said.

It is not uncommon for theboard to vote for fee increasesseveral years in a row, he said,as the Regents voted for two

10 percent increases in 2009and 2010 and then another 13percent spike for this academicyear.


economy or a call to somegreater good (as in del Carloscase), the amount of loans stu-dents have taken out has grownexponentially within the lastfive years. By the end of the year,

outstanding student loan debtwill exceed $1 trillion morethan the outstanding creditcard debt level in the UnitedStates, according to the FederalReserve Bank of New York.

And unless measures aretaken to curb the growingstudent loan default rate, thenumber could translate intoan expensive problem for thecountry, according to UNR De-partment of Economics chairElliott Parker.

When students dont pay backtheir loans, the loan providerloses expected income. In thecase of federally backed stu-dent loans, the cash-strappedgovernment bears the brunt.

As of 2009, the most recentyear for which economic data

is available, the Department ofEducation tallied the averagedefault rate for student loansin the country at 8.8 percent.Thats a 7 percent increase fromthe previous year.

The percentage of studentborrowers as a share of theoverall lending market is stillpretty small, Parker said. Itsnot a real threatening problem,but its still expensive.

According to Tim Wolfe, direc-tor of the Office of Financial Aidon campus, Nevadas averagedefault rate of 3.8 percent liesbelow the national average.

Parker said it was importantto understand the student loanissue is not a bubble, as somemedia outlets have deemed it.

Something needs to be an assetin order to earn that expression,Parker said. Moreover, theconsumer needs to purchasethe asset with the expectationthat its price will rise. Case inpoint: the housing bubble inthe mid-2000s.

The move of all feder-ally backed student loanscompletely into the hands ofthe federal government fromprivate institutions in 2010 wasa push in the right direction forfixing the growing issue, Parkersaid.

But when push comes toshove, the change wont makethe student loans issue airtight.Parker said the federal govern-ment controlling loans mightmean tighter funding in harshtimes.

Its preferable to forcingstudents into loan defaults, hesaid.

Parker cited an income-con-tingent loan system wherethe size of a student loan isrelative to the income of theirarea of study as a viablecontender to fight the studentloan issue.

For now, del Carlo is worriedmore about the short-termthan his imminent loans. Fromstudying for hours to attendingconventions and lectures per-taining to his area of interest,hes curating himself to be thebest candidate he can.

His devotion to neuroscienceseeps into every facet of his char-acter. When demonstrating thesteadiness of his hand, he spokefor five minutes about how thebrain is functioning when oneshand is stretched out.

Despite his confidence, thefear of not being accepted intoUCSFs medical school some-times crosses de l Carlos mind.

Yeah, theres a lot of that, hesaid with a bittersweet grimace.Ill go to graduate school, Imight get a job in a sciencelaboratory, I will go to Ph.D.school first, do my research and if I dont get in, then theyresorry not to have me.

He admits graduating witha loan towering over him willbe unnerving, but a virtue hismother instilled in him at anearly age keeps him afloat:resilience.

Debt isnt the biggest issue aslong as you learn to persevere,he said. I think Im kind of a

testament that you dont needto have parents that are well-connected, you dont need tohave counselors that are frombetter schools that know howto get you $88,000 in scholar-ships You dont need to haveall those extra fancy ties topeople.

Its that drive that keeps delCarlos focus on his academics as well as his hand fromflinching.

Stephen Ward can be reached [email protected].

FireCONTINUED FROM PAGE A1

GropingCONTINUED FROM PAGE A1

COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

The Fire Science Academy was moved to Carlin in 1999, but problems with construction and financialexpectations forced the institution to be heavily in debt before opening. University of Nevada, Renostudents have paid a $6.50 per credit fee since 2002 to help pay off the debt from the academy.

GARRETT VALENZUELA/NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

This alleyway in between Eighth, Ninth, Sierra and Virginia streets is where a groping happened this semester.

TuitionCONTINUED FROM PAGE A1

LoansCONTINUED FROM PAGE A1

Trust your instincts and be yourself. If you feel unsafe, oreven uncomfortable in any situation, go with your gut. Dontworry about what others think; your own safety comes first.Use your cellphone as a tool. Make sure its fully chargedbefore you leave home, and if you find yourself in an uncom-fortable situation, shoot a quick text for a friend-assist. Makea plan before you go out just in case your phone dies, so youcan meet up with your friends at a specific location at a certaintime.Be careful when leaving statuses or away messages online

and when using the check-in feature on Facebook or Four-square. Leaving information about your whereabouts revealsdetails that are accessible to everyone. Use common sense sothat someone cant track your every move. If you wouldnt givethe information to a stranger, then dont put it on your onlineprofile.Wait to let your guard down until people earn your trust.A college campus can foster a false sense of security. Dontassume people youve just met will look out for your best inter-ests; remember that they are essentially strangers.Dont be afraid to hurt someones feelings. Its better to makeup a reason to leave than to stay in a possibly dangerous situa-tion. Your safety comes before someone elses feelings.All information courtesy of Rape, Abuse & Incest NationalNetwork.

l l

TIPS FOR STAYING SAFE ON CAMPU S


6/16

Opinion

EDITORIAL CARTOON

The rock that broke the students back.

Student fees should not go toward FSA

STAFF EDITORIALI FIRE SCIENCE ACADEMY

Trip home curesapathetic ways

SNARK ATTACK

What are some assumptions youve heard or thought about Reno?

CAMPUSCHAT

CAUGHLIN FIRE

Personal experience in fire

increases fervor for reporting

nevadasagebrush.comA6 NOVEMBER 29, 2011

After hours of playingvideo games and notdoing my homework,I left my fraternity

house at about 2 a.m. Thurs-day night. A friend texted me

aboutseeing afire some-wherein southReno, butI wasntabout tostop beat-ing on thebastardlycriminals

of ArkhamAsylum for anything.

After everyone in the housewent to sleep and I began thedrive home, I noticed a red glowin the skyline of south Reno.

Despite not having anythingin my possession besidesmy slowly dying cellphone,a partially charged MacBookand about an eighth of a tankof gas, I sped off in the generaldirection of the fire, much likea cat chasing something smalland shiny.

I tweeted as I got closer tothe site, but the only personwho responded was a hi ghschool friend working for theNavy in Virginia.

Eventually, I ended up on

a residential street by SouthMcCarran Boulevard, about 50yards away from the fire. A ti nysquad car lay in the middleof the road, between a hill offire and myself. Smoke filled

the air, and wind gusts droveembers through it. I climbedup on a small, sagebrush-covered hill and began takingphotos of the blaze with mycrappy little cellphone camera.

After about five m inutes ofconstant tweeting and takingphotos, a wave of embers flewseveral feet in front of me, yetno brush took flame.

I took another photo andran back, not wanting to bebarbecued by the surroundingdry brush.

I climbed up another hill,this one on the opposite endof the road, and, despite ash

blowing in my face by 50 mphwinds, I continued uploadingphotos to Twitter.

As the wind conti nuedgusting in random directions,I noticed that most of theonlookers had evacuated, anda number of fire engines hadbegun to enter the area. As thefire marched closer. I decidedto leave.

Smoke filled my car as Ibegan my retreat. As I closedthe door, the road ahead wasfilled with a sea of dancingsparks and embers, curbside tocurbside. As the embers dieddown, I started the engine anddrove away.

I continued reporting on theCaughlin Fire almost nonstop

for the next two days. I sentout about 150 tweets duringthat time, lived at GalenaHigh School between pressconferences and helped writethree stories for Reuters. As

the final numbers of homesdestroyed, people injured andacreage burned began rollingin, I kept running over my ownexperience with the fire.

Numerous what-ifs filledmy head, especially afterSagebrush News Editor BenMiller, who is for some reasontrained in fire safety, informedme that my actions were theopposite of correct protocol.

What if that hill had caughtfire?

What if I ran out o f gas?But after further reflection,

Ive concluded that I did theright thing. I had firsthand

photos of the fire up on Twitterbefore any other news organi-zation in the city.

I was credited by a nationalwire service fo r three stories,and Ive only been seriousabout journalism for about ayear and a half.

Im not trying to brag, butI am extremely proud ofeverything I have accom-plished during my time at thisnewspaper, and Im excited forwhatever the future holds.

If theres one thing Ivelearned this year, its that thosewho take the risks an d trythe hardest to break news areusually the most successful.

Is it dangerous? Yes. Stupid?Maybe.

Is it worth it?Absolutely.

Riley Snyder studies journalism.He can be reached at [email protected].

Idont celebrate holidays. Dont get it twisted, Im not a JehovahsWitness, but my brilliant wit is it never takes a holiday.

I just loathe them. I never cared for anti-climactic Easter egghunts or Christmas songs, which I consider the worst noise

audible to human ears doves crying aside,of course. As if mundane jingles and fruitlesspursuits werent enough, I suffer from painfulflashbacks of being the ugly tot who never gotValentines. Most of all, I hate holidays such asThanksgiving that call for family gatheringsaround pricey pheasants. They serve as a

reminder of how dysfunctional my family i s.But this year was different. After taking five

years off from Thanksgiving, I decided to getover my fear of going back home and return toLas Vegas.

Ive enjoyed two years of blissful apathy inReno, not caring about my less-than-ideal fam-

ily and seemingly forgotten hometown. When situations get tough, Isprint from them. Who am I kidding? Its more of a brisk walk.

As it turns out, my speed-walking marathon led to denial. I fooledmyself into thinking I wasnt bothered by the estrangement from myfamily, or the fact that I hadnt seen my best friend or an H&M storein two years.

But I was.Thoughts of how disastrous this trip could turn out plagued me.

Will my grandma hate me? Does she even want me to come? WillH&M be open? I suffered through waves of nerve-induced nauseaduring the seven-hour journey call it going-home sickness. By thetime I hit Goldfield, my hands felt like a 70-year-olds arthritic digits;Id been white-knuckling the wheel the entire drive. I turned to theHoly Spear-it for support, but not even two hours of listening to the

glorious Britney could save me.The only thing that stopped the unrelenting terror was the thoughtof hanging out with my best friend, the only rational person I know.

Suffice to say, things didnt turn out as expected.My grandma was surprisingly kind and loving. Aside from a snide

remark about how my awful clothes made me look homeless, theO.G. of snark didnt make any other disparaging comments. Ourversion of Thanksgiving dinner went OK, considering my grandmaforgot it was Thanksgiving.

My friend is another story, seeing how our reunion got off to arocky start. Instead of spending hours at our old haunt (the finedining establishment Chilis), engaging in hours of sarcastic banterand quoting Nicki Minaj lyrics, we went to the physical manifesta-tion of my worst nightmare: Insert Coin, an arcade lounge in seedydowntown Las Vegas.

I still suffer from traumatizing memories from that night, includ-ing the overwhelming feeling of secondhand embarrassment,seething anger, hatred for Black Friday, confusion and exhaustion.I was peer-pressured into drinking and dancing, and was told by arandom 35-year-old woman and former journalism student that Ishould go to beauty school (this is the second time this has hap-pened). I would elaborate more about the disastrous night, but my

soul needs time to heal.I still love you, Diana.Surprisingly, I spent most of my trip bonding with my grandma

over our love of Stella Artois and hatred of the disgusting fashionssold on HSN. I also enjoyed sleeping on a bed bug-free mattress foronce and hanging with my main bitch Annie, a Maltese.

Waking up at 4 a.m. on Sunday was painful for many reasons.First, my whole body ached from exhaustion and I dreaded theendless drive back home to my shoddy apartment. But it was theslow defrosting of my heart that was more grueling.

I had finally reconciled with my grandma and started feeling thatweird, tingly thing in my soul I think you all call it sentimentalityor something?

I even feel homesick. Ugh.Dont worry, I havent completely transformed; I still hate holidays.Not all relationships, familial or not, are reconcilable I know

this from years of agonizing experiences. You shouldnt feel pressureto mend unfixable relationships. Ignore people who shame you forbeing your own one-man wolf pack.

At the same time, theres a difference between acknowledging yourproblems and avoiding them. It took me two years to realize that not

going home wasnt an act of defiance, just a weakness.So stop speed-walking away from your problems. Taking off thetacky tracksuit and sweatbands will feel nice.

Enjolie Esteve studies journalism and philosophy. She can be reachedat [email protected].

At the Board of Regentsmeeting Thursday andFriday in Las Vegas, Uni-versity of Nevada, Reno

interim President Marc Johnsonwill make recommendationsregarding the future of the FireScience Academy, which mightinclude the possible closureof the program that UNRpurchased about 12 years ago.

The FSA offers training pro-grams for industrial emergencyresponders and volunteer firebrigades. Participants get

hands-on experience with livefires at the facility.

If youve never heard ofthe FSA, it might be becausethe building itself is in Carlin more than 250 miles eastof Reno. And if youve neverheard of it, you should yourepaying for it.

Since 2002, students havepaid a $6.50 per-credit fee forit, meaning a student taking a15-credit class load would haveto shell out almost $100 forthis. All student fees go toward

paying off the outstanding debtthe FSA has accumulated agrand total of $36.3 million.

But why are students payingfor something theyre notdirectly benefiting from?

Amid rising tuition fees (theBoard is discussing raisingtuition by another 13 percentnext year), students are beingpushed to support somethingthey dont use.

After the Board voted inFebruary 2009 to accept UNRsdebt-consolidation plan and

keep the FSA open, late UNRPresident Milton Glick said, Ithink the students carry thisburden and there are thingsthey are going without. It breaksmy heart.

At this weekends meeting,under UNRs proposal, studentswould pay a $2.50 fee towardthe debt, and the other $4would go to future, student-oriented campus capitalprojects. But nothing has beenplanned yet for these so-calledprojects.

The FSA has been takingstudent money and notcontributing to the universitysbudget while fees were beingraised and UNR was grapplingwith budget cuts.

At this weekends Board ofRegents meeting, the student feethat goes toward the FSA shouldbe eliminated a move thatshouldve been made years ago.

The Nevada Sagebrush can bereached at [email protected].

I heard frommy friends thattheres a lotof homelesscrackheads inReno.Allison Honig

18, nursing

(In middleschool Ithought) itwas a bunch ofoutlaws cominghere to gam ble.Pablo Martinez

25, graduated

I had anassumption thatit was desert andnothing (elsewas) here.

Niesha Jones

20, journalism

The rumorI heard wasthat it is veryconservativeand there area lot of whitepeople here.

Thayvi

Ganeshalingam18, nutrition dietetics

EnjolieEsteve

RileySnyder

WEB

NOTESSTORY:

OPINION:

CAIN PRIME EXAMPLE

OF INTERNALIZED

RACISM, HATRED

On November 22, 11:47 a.m.,TM wrote:

This article was totally onpoint. There is so muchinternalized racism withinthe black community andwe refuse to address it. Evenwithin my own family (myparents are East African)theres dislike of anything thatis too black. My mothertells me not to go in the sun orelse Ill get a tan and becometoo dark like my father, Ihave cousins that bleachtheir skin to look whiter, andnatural hair is considerednappy or kinky. I knowtoo many black women whohave destroyed their hairfrom relaxers (that shi*tBURNS) and hot combs, sowhat do they do when theirhair starts falling out? Theyput a weave in. God-forbid wewalk around with our natural,African hair. We followWhite standards of beautyand behavior without eventhinking about how it effects

us, what it does to our self-respect and identity. Also,Kate: what the hell?

STORY:

TWILIGHT

SEQUEL IS CREEPY,

UNROMANTIC

On November 22, 1:07 p.m.,Guest wrote:

Charlie, great writing. Assomeone whos never reador seen anything Twilight,I love your summation. Assomeone who identifiesas a feminist, I cant allowmyself to read a book where

a woman (Bella) relies solelyon the men around herandas you say, apologize forgetting pregnant and beinga woman.Not to mention KristenStewart only has one facialexpression. While manyfans of Twilight will accuseyou of looking too much intothe meanings, you are righton point. Its the hiddenmeanings that people brushoff that creates ideas ofsociety.All-in-all, awesome review.

STORY:

OPINION:

DONT DEMEAN

WHAT YOU DONT

UNDERSTAND

On November 17, 9:56p.m., Taylor wrote:

To be truthful about Brentarticle, i believe he ismerely making a statementabout how we should allat least try to identify withone another, and ACCEPTeach others sexuality,whether gay, straight,lesbian, or BI-SEXUAL. Tothink that People actuallythink, that someonechooses what theresexuality is, like a fad orsomething, as Ms. Ericsonstates is truly vulgar andi am personally offendedby that comment. I seeno problem with Brentvoicing his opinion abouther in this column. Shehas no right to to voicesuch a rude opinion infront of others about anindividual, especiallysomething that personal.if anything Brent has takenthe first step to ensuringa safe environment towhere people can becomfortable with whothey are and not haveto be worried aboutbullies with insecuritiesof there own.

JETT CHAPMAN/NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

For more opinions, check out The Nevada Sagebrush websitefor blog updates concerning technology, campus etiquette and

witty commentary from our staff.

NEVADASAGEBRUSH.COM/STAFF-BLOGS


7/16

*Editors note: This is the first ina two-part series that will explorethe topic of animal extinction.

Thanks to us thehuman race theplanet is devastated.With each passing day,

it becomes more difficult for usto survive. If something doesntchange soon, I guarantee we

will notsurviveinto thenext mil-lennium.By we Iam not just

referring tohumans,Im talkingabouteverything.

Whilehumankind will probably endup destroying itself, more likelythan not, well be responsiblefor the extinction of every otherinhabitant of the planet as well.Weve already begun.

Man has killed for food sincethe beginning for sport,not long after. And its thelatter that has decimated thepopulations of species thatonce dominated our world. Asof just two weeks ago, we haveadded mileage to our legacy.

Poachers hunting WestAfrican Black Rhinoceroses

for their horns, considered anaphrodisiac in Eastern medi-cine, has driven the species toextinction in the wild. Althougha few still survive in captivity,on Nov. 8 they were declaredextinct. The rhino is not theonly animal to receive this fate.

The dodo, poster child ofextinct species and native tothe island of Mauritius in theIndian Ocean, was pushed toextinction by the end of the17th century. This was a result

of the introduction of non-native species to the islandthat ate their eggs. Stellers SeaCow, the largest of the dugongs(manatees), discovered in1741, was a slow mammal thatlived in the Bering Sea region;hunted to extinction by 1768, amere three decades later.

The same happened to theJavan tiger of Indonesia (1979),the Baiji river dolphin ofChina (2006), and the GoldenToad of Costa Rica (1989). Allgone thanks to habitat loss bydeforestation and industry.

Thankfully, humans havewised up on a few occasions.

Whaling in the 19th centuryalmost completely decimatedthe whale population, withonly a handful left by the early1900s. Theyre still recoveringbut are making a comeback.

The American Bison shared asimilar fate. They were huntedfor their meat, their skins andfor sport. They were completelygone in the wild by the late1800s and only by the extremeeffort of conservationists havethey recovered to their currentpopulation across the GreatPlains today.

The time has come to takeaction, to hold ourselvesaccountable for the things wevedone. Enough is enough. Weare destroying the world we livein our home. Its not just a

home for humans; its also hometo everything else around us.

We all depend on oneanother, from the smallestmicrobe to the biggest tree,the littlest insect to us big, badhumans. One cannot survivewithout the other.

Aaron Weitzman studies speechcommunications. He can bereached at [email protected].

The Biggest Little Cityis a gem. Not becauseReno is miles awayfrom a world-

renowned lake, nor becauseits close to a cluster of major

ski resorts.Reno isa gembecause itis diverse,local andfun. Butmost im-portantly,Renodeservespraisebecause it

supportsitself well.These

past fewmonths have proven that.Shootings, crashes and fires allshowed signs of trouble, andwhat better support did we getthan from the city itself?

More than 400 firefightersheld back the CaughlinRanch fires while UNRstudents began gatheringfood, blankets and water forvictims.

The National ChampionshipAir Races had an unf ortunateaccident this year, leaving bothBrian and Linda Elvin withoutpart of their right legs.

Before leaving Reno, theywrote to the Reno G azette-

Journal thanking the city forthe support and for the abilityto think of Reno as a secondhome.

Many people are quick tonotice Renos faults beforeappreciating everything it hasto offer. Yeah, there are thebums and downtown regularswho look like some thing offPeopleofWalmart.com, yetwhat harm are they really?

The bums arent buildinghomeless empires like those of

San Francisco, and they helpclean the cans out of the yardafter a party.

Stop acting like the bars,slots and prostitutes are all thatReno has to offer. If you missedthe hundreds of balloons in themorning sky in September or

the hundreds of Santas runningthe streets in December, yourenot seeing the community thatReno is holding together.

A walk in Rancho San Raf aelPark in the fall can lead youright into at least four dogs,whose owners always stop totell you all the informationabout their prized companion.

The restaurant Naan andKebob has delicious Greek foodwith a friendly owne r who givesout coupons.

There are food specials thatcater to a college studentspenniless pockets throughoutthe city, such as The Gold DustWests $1.99 breakfast frommidnight to 6 a.m., for all thosegracing downtown with theirpresence at that time.

Theres adventure lurkin g inthe rock wall at CommRow orthe giant swing at the GrandSierra Resort and Casino.There are various hiking trails,including the famous hike tothe N.

The streets of Reno also adddepth to the city. I know whenVirginia Street is busy from4 to 5 p.m. and I want to gethome quickly, I can drive downCenter Street and see the colorsreflecting off the Reno Events

Center onto the road.I know there is art on all the

streets of Reno, where othercities boast boring signs.

I know I can always findsomething new to love aboutthis city. Whether its a morningtrail on Sunday or a Salsa

dance class on Wednesdaynight, theres something therefor me.

When there isnt, I grab somefriends, head outside and findwhat else Reno is hiding. Itsonly for the better.

Ive said it before, Im sayingit now and Ill say it again:Reno is a gem.

Lauren Hober studies journalismand French. She can be reached [email protected].

opinion A7 NOVEMBER 29, 2011nevadasagebrush.com

Iam sure most students haveheard about the Universityof California, Davis pepperspraying incident. There has

been a lot of uproar about howit is completely inappropriate

to pepperspraystudentsprotestingin a freespeech area.

It seemspepperspray hasbecome thestandardpoliceresponseto proteststhroughout

the entire nation. I hear a lot ofauthority officials claiming it isa response to a direct threat topublic safety. I ask to all people ofthe free world: How is a peacefulprotest dangerous to public

safety?The reason these pepperspraying incidents are occurringis not for public safety but for theuse of suppressing our freedomof speech.

When Tea Party protests hadpeople walking around with

loaded automatic weapons,the police did nothing to them.The Tea Party had the right todo that, especially since theydid not use said guns, though itcan be debated that they were

a symbolic threat to liberalpoliticians.

Now, when the 99 percentgathered without weapons orthreats of violence and withoutdisrupting town hall meetingsand others right to free speech,they were pepper sprayed,arrested, beaten and threatened.They even had a fund of nearly $1million raised by lobbyists to at-tack any politician that expressessympathy for their movement.

There is a simple reason forthe difference in behavior by thepolice. The Tea Party didnt wantWall Street reform; it wanted WallStreet deregulation. It wanted toturn a blind eye to what bankersand investors were doing in thename of free trade.

It is worth noting that the UCDavis students were not an Oc-cupy group. They were protestingtuition hikes. Why, then, were theytreated as if they were a directthreat to Wall Street retirementfunds? Because they are.

The rise in tuition results in a

rise in student loans, as manyUniversity of Nevada, Renostudents are sure to have noticedwith our own tuition hikes thisyear. Student loans represent oneof the largest investments Wall

Street bankers have made in thecitizenry of the United States.However, they didnt make thatinvestment because they sawcollege students as the future ofthe country, they saw them asfuture debtors.

Believe it or not, bankers dontcare about most college students.They care about the debt werack up going to college to get adecent job.

They dont want us speakingout against paying for theburdens they placed on society.

Notice that the Reno PoliceDepartment has not abused anyprotestors, be they the Tea Party,Occupiers or college students.While not everyone likes dealingwith police when they get pulled

over, its worth taking the time tothank them for not jumping onthe bandwagon of Wall Streetstyranny.

Ben Clark studies political sci-ence. He can be reached at [email protected].

Ben

Clark

RENO APPRECIATION

Dont be fooled by the grime, Biggest

Little City is a diamond in the rough

ANIMAL EXTINCTION

Humans need torespect nature,

preserve animal life

The Occupy Wall Streetmovement impactedthe United Statesdrastically in such a

short period of time, makingheadlines and changing the

dynamic ofpoliticaldebate.However,many as-pects of themovementhaventbeen posi-tive, makingmany ques-tion themovementsmotives.

OWSis significant because of themany activists fighting againstcorporate greed, caustic powerand social inequality.

Similar to the Tea Party, OWSis challenging the government.

Regardless of the politicalstance in either movement,the realization of the Americanpeople that the government iscorrupt shows this countrysleaders have abused the peoplefor too long.

Those associated with OWS

think of themselves as a leader-less resistance movement madeup of people of all genders andraces, with one important thingin common they make upthe 99 percent. Their actions

are expressions of freedom ofspeech, but lately the move-ment hasnt made the news in apositive light.

Although many who haveparticipated in the protestshavent retaliated in violence,many have committed crime.Women have been raped,people have been beaten andactivists have been runningaround naked, disposing theirurine and fecal matter on thestreets of the cities and on copcars.

It is understandable andeven respectable if people areangry and decide to take astand, but disrespecting lawenforcement while making thestreets unsafe isnt understand-

able or respectable at all.Some believe the brutality ofthe police is unfair since OWSis in favor of freedom of speech,but many activists are doingmore than just talking.

If those involved in themovement want respect from

law enforcement, the people ofAmerica and the big corpora-tions they are primarily fightingagainst, their core value shouldbe respectful.

At a Nevada home football

game a few weeks ago,other cheerleaders and I wereconfronted by a group of youngand excited girls, begging theirparents for a picture with us.As we positioned for the shot,I realized a group of Occupierswere approaching with signsthat had obscenities writtenall over them, along with manyvulgar and demeaning phrases.

This was no longer a fam-ily atmosphere. The moodchanged instantly. Its not thebasis of the protest that myselfand thousands of others have aproblem with its the blatantdisrespect many activists havepresented.

Standing up for what youbelieve in can be honored and

respected, but people will stoplistening to OWS if the corevalue of a protest emanatesviolence, crime and disrespect.

Jennifer Mabus studies engineer-ing. She can be reached at [email protected].

Jennifer

Mabus

Aaron

Weitzman

Lauren

Hober

FROM THE LEFT |POLICE ARE IMPEDING FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

POLITICS: ARE POLICE VIOLATING PROTESTORS RIGHTS ?

FROM THE RIGHT |OWS PROTESTORS SHOULD BE SAFE, RESPECTFUL

Women should be supportive instead of antagonisticI

am sick of all these bitchesand hoes. By bitches andhoes, Im of course referringto the feminists who have

problems with my feminism.Listen

up: Myfeminismis myfeminism.Besides,its such aloose termthese days,I couldfling akitten offa building

and callit feminism of course I

wouldnt.In the past few months Ive

been called little girl, slut,ugly, a misogynist andeven a baby killer. If I didntsuffer from extremely high self-esteem, I might feel the needfor some anti-depressants.

When you call people thesenames, youre a bully. The irony:Some of these attacks are fromother feminists or activists. Thevery people who make It GetsBetter videos and reblog sexpositive affirmations on theirTumblr.

One self-proclaimed feministhero, Michelle, has been

giving me flak about my radicalfeminist lifestyle for more than

a year. Apparently, she took is-sue with my vocabulary and theway I explained my abortion.The truth was I felt like I lostout on something by having it.What a strange concept.

My problem with yourexperience is that you say youlost your child, she wrote.You did not lose it. You choose(sic) to abort that fetus.

She insinuated I couldntwrite articles (that are blatantlysarcastic and satirical) thatencouraged women to havesex like a man. She bombardedme with messages on Facebook,ending with this message:

Well whatever, I think yourea cunt.

Cunt is perhaps the mostdistasteful and patently offen-sive piece of vulgarity today. Andyes, I find it hysterically ironicthat she threw this one at me.

Hoes say I cant strip. I cantfeel loss after an abortion. Icant write freely, no matter howridiculous my message mighttranslate. I cant write. Period.Not without other peoplescreaming how wrong myfeminism is. I cant.

This is what I like to call cantfeminism or cant activism.Its an organic concept Ive beennoticing with local activists.Basically, its the nature of

activists alienating or bullyingother activists because theyre

doing it wrong, which is justfrustrating.

Side note: Sitting on theMacBook your parents boughtyou and reposting somethingyou found on Feministing.comisnt being active.

Activism means being activein your community. Form agroup, watch feminist filmsand discuss. Knowledge iscontagious spread it likeherpes. The revolution will notstart with your MacBook.

If we cant even get activistsin the same room becauseone is a stripper, perhapswe are taking the movement

backward. At the end of the day,we all stand for the same goals

(keeping abortion legal, equalpay for women, etc.) so why arewe using our energy to scorneach other? Bullying is no joke.People commit suicide all thetime because of it.

Im going to let my kitten,Jules Verne, write the lastparagraph. I believe my cat isa bigger feminist than most ofyou.

Stop bullying each other.When us kittens get upset witheach other, we just throw eachother fashion shows. Meow!

Caitlin Thomas studies Englishand womens studies. She can be

reached at [email protected].

FEMINIST BULLIES

Caitlin

Thomas

GARRETT VALENZUELA /NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

Columnist Lauren Hober cites Gold Dust Wests $1.99 breakfast as one of her favorite aspects of living in Reno.


8/16

arts & entertainmentA8 NOVEMBER 29, 2011 nevadasagebrush.com

for any 12mondo subadd a 32 ozfountain beverage

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9/16

nevadasagebrush.com

he ixerTheMixerNOVEMBER 29, 2011 A9

FILM REVIEW

By Nathan Conover

While it is characteristic of Al-exander Payne to create a moviewith old man angst and as manytragic elements as there arecomic (see Sideways or About

Schmidt), The Descendants isdifferent from his past works.

Matt King (George Clooney,Up in the Air), a successfullawyer and sole trustee of anenormous plot of Hawaiian land,makes the startling discoverythat his wife is in a coma after aterrible boating accident.

In addition to now havingto look after his nave 10-year-old daughter Scottie (AmaraMiller) and his troubled teenagedaughter Alexandra (Shailene

Woodley, Final Approach,King is faced with the decisionto either sell his familys land orkeep it untouched.

As if going through all thatwasnt enough, King is told bydoctors that his wife has no

chance of surviving. Shortly af-ter, Alexandra tells him that hiswife was cheati ng o n hi m ri ghtbefore the boat accident.

Throughout the rest of themovie, King is not only dealingwith the imminent death of hiswife, but also with the hard truthof his wifes unfaithfulness.

You would think that w ith s omany sobering elements, thisfilm would be two hours ofnon-stop grief and depression,but Payne somehow man-

ages to maintain an easy-goingfeel.

At one point in the movie, Scot-tie becomes so frustrated withAlexandra that she just flips heroff and walks away. In anotherscene, when he finds out about

his wifes infidelity, King lets goof some steam and simply runsout of the house.

Clooney truly did a spec-tacular job as King. He wasvulnerable, yet strong; funnyin appropriate times, but alsoserious; clever, but also straightto the point.

Woodley also stands out inher role as Alexandra. Not onlyis her performance more realthan any other actors on herABC Family show The Secret

Life of the American Teenager,she breaks the mold of the tra-ditional, rebellious daughter byshedding the moody, broodingteenager persona early on andthoughtfully helping King withall his struggles.

By the time youve reachedthe end of the movie, you willhave laughed, cried and expe-rienced everything in between.You will have died a little in sideduring certain scenes andscreamed during others. Thefull spectrum of human emo-tion is certainly covered, soPayne deserves recognition fora job well done.

Before I saw The Descen-dants, I had heard a lot ofbuzz that it was highly favored

to receive Academy Awardnominations, and now I see why.Payne turns a story of betrayal,loss and family dysfunction intoa story of love, facing facts andbeing honest with yourself.

Its about realizing that thereare still struggles in paradise,and sometimes the best way

to let go of struggles is to meetthem head-on. Other times, thebest option is to stare down ourproblem, give it the finger, andwalk away.

Nathan Conover can be reachedat [email protected].

THE DESCENDANTSRelease Date: Nov. 25Director: Alexander PayneStarring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and AmaraMillerGenre:Drama, ComedyRating: R for language, including some sexual referencesGrade: A-

Descendants a refreshing take on dysfunction

How to builda platform

Dec 6, 4:30 pmRita Laden

senate chambers

@ the joe

For more info visit Asun.unr.eduor contact [email protected]

ASUN supports providing equal access to all programs for people with disabilities. Reasonable efforts will be made to provide accommodations to people with disabilities attending the event. Please call 784-6589 as soon as possible to arrange for appropriate accommodations. For more information contact 702-8245901.

COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURE S

George Clooney and Shailene Woodley star as Matt and Alexandra King, two members of a family struggling to get along, in The Descendants, which is based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Check out this weeks exclusive online Arts and Entertainmentcontent, including a review of the Gym Class Heroes album, The

Papercut Chronicles II.

NEVADASAGEBRUSH.COM


10/16

A10 NOVEMBER 29, 2011

Arts&Entertainmentnevadasagebrush.com

By Stephanie Self

Improv is an acting art known for its often wacky, out-rageous and (maybe) hilarious antics on stage, and Em-pire Comedy is among the few theater companies in thearea doing it. But the members also are the only actorswho gain confidence, creativity and quick-wittedness intheir everyday lives.

University of Nevada, Reno theater professor MichaelLewis, 34, founded Empire Comedy in April of 2007, andEmpire has been performing long-form improv since2008.

Long-form improv is a type of improv that takes onesuggestion or idea that an entire sketch is built around,Lewis said. It can go on for 20 minutes to an hour and ahalf, depending on how long the show is. Its essentiallytaking a world that is unformed, and with every line ofdialogue, youre slowly building the parameters of thatworld. Youre taking one thing and expanding it and ask-ing, What does it mean in that world? A lot of peoplethink that improv is something of invention, but itsreally using whats already there.

As an example, Lewis described a show in which aparticular actor was playing a bully, who asked his part-ner to hold a bag. This act of asking the partner to holdsomething became a way of showing dominance overthe other. Discoveries such as these are what Lewis lovesabout improv, and are what affected him profoundlywhen he started out at the age of 17.

I really found my creative voice through improv,Lewis said. Im an improvisor first and an actor second.I actually get terrified with a script because theres roomfor mistakes there. In improv, theres no right way to doit; you cant make a mistake.

This young theater group might not have made a bigimpact on the Reno community yet, but it certainly has

made an impact on its students and the groups creativeendeavors. Dan Smith, 26, also known as Dan Wise, isone such student. He has worked with Empire sinceJanuary 2011 and has since drawn much inspirationfrom the classes.

My friend Tim Dufrisne encouraged me to take theclass; he thought I would be good at it, Smith said. Iddone acting classes and stuff before and I like being onstage, so I thought, Why not?

Getting his start in stand-up comedy about fivemonths earlier, Smith found the class improved his in-teraction with the crowd as well as thinking on his feet

during stand-up performances, even when these werethings he considered himself to be good at already.Youre basically tackling everything youre insecure

about in improv, Smith said. Im a lot more comfort-able on stage because of it.

Dani Ray, a 23-year-old geography major at theUniversity of Nevada, Reno, also found herself learninghow to improvise at the recommendation of a friendwho was taking improv classes at The Second Cityimprov theater company in Chicago. Since she startedlast May, she has learned many lessons that go beyondthe classroom.

My friend and I went to one performance togetherand I decided to go to one of their drop-in classes, Raysaid. I wasnt even thinking of doing any sort of acting,but I completely fell in love with it.

Ray was shy throughout high school, claiming to haveonce passed out while giving a presentation in front of aclass. However, she said this fear has disappeared sincelearning the art of improv.

Its changed my life and how I do everything, Raysaid. I feel like Im better in social situations and am not

as shy. My whole life I was taught to think before I speak,but improv pretty much taught me to do the opposite.

Ray has started doing stand-up comedy since learningimprov and changed her minor focus to theater becauseof her newfound passion.

Improv also serves as a way to improve personalinteraction and teamwork. Lewis and his students havegained from this through the relationship with theirpeers on stage.

You really have to look out for the other person inimprov, Smith said. You dont have your own intereston stage. Youre always thinking, How can I contributeto the scene? Its that shared collectiveness that reallymakes a scene.

Its also that collaboration that can make improvreveal ones true character. This raw and honest form ofacting becomes a unique way of getting to know people,according to members of the Empire improv troupe.

It creates a very personal atmosphere because yourefacing all your fears at once, Ray said. You learn somuch about a person just through improv, almost on asubconscious level.

Not only is trusting your partner important, but team-building and being able to share the stage are essentialto successful improv, Lewis said. All these techniqueshave profoundly impacted other aspects of the improvactors lives, from facing their fears to learning betterpersonal interactions, truly breaking the fourth wall andgoing beyond the worlds they create with their fellowimprovisors at Empire Comedy.

You have to have this weird faith in others, Lewissaid. Your success is based primarily on collaborating,so you cant have one person doing all the work andstill have a good show. You have to say, Lets create thistogether.

Stephanie Self can be reached at [email protected].

What:Empire Comedy drop-in classesWhere:Good Luck Macbeth Theatre119 N. Virginia St.RenoWhen:Every Sunday at 7 p.m.Cost:$10No experience is required for drop-inclasses.Participants must be 18 or older.For more information about the improvtroupe, visit EmpireImprov.com.

l

EMPIRE IMPROV CLASSES

What:Empire ComedyperformancesWhere:Good LuckMacbeth Theatre119 N. Virginia St.RenoWhen:Every Friday at 10p.m. There will be only twoperformances during thefirst two weeks of Decemberuntil the new year.

Cost:$10

CHECK IT OUT

his headline wasThis headline wastotally improvisedtotally improvisedFor some students the opportunity to work with aFor some students, the opportunity to work with alocal improv comedy troupe has been life-changinglocal improv comedy troupe has been life-changing

COURTESY OF MARIO COLOMBIN

nevada sagebrush archives 11/29/11

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