SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
VOLUME 126, ISSUE 3 ESPAÑOL
Esvástica pintada en Wolf Pack Tower See ESPAÑOL page A3
A&E
File Photo/Nevada Sagebrush
A student climbs aboard a PackTRANSIT bus on Feb. 12, 2018. PACKTransit transitioned to a single service line that operates one continuous loop around campus, beginning Aug. 2019.
Change in PackTransit route raises concerns for students By Kennady Pine University of Nevada, Reno, students can expect several changes to transportation options around campus. As of the beginning of the 2019 fall semester, PACKTransit transitioned to a basic service which operates one continuous loop around the campus. The service line, called PACKLine, serves eleven stops from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Last semester, the silver and blue lines each ran from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Michelle Horton, Director of Facilities Services and Parking and Transportation Services, said the new transportation service is meant to be more cost-effective for the university. “Three years ago, we identified that the shuttle operation was not sustainable with the current funding model and the ‘basic service’ was formed,” Horton told The Nevada Sage-
brush in an email. “This ‘basic service’ included a continuous one-loop service from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Understanding that this was not ideal for some students, we went to both ASUN and GSA to gain support of an annual student fee (somewhere from $6 to $8) to fund the extra service. In the end, while the student leadership groups appreciated the PACKTransit service, they chose not to move forward with a student fee with the understanding that the service would transition to the basic service in the fall 2019.” The cost savings resulting from the new transportation system has allowed the Parking and Transportation Services to operate within its budget, including providing necessary funding for deferred asphalt projects that have been delayed due to a lack of funding. “The single one-loop system allows two buses to service the campus instead of three buses and the reduction of hours in the morning and evening has
saved the department over $300,000,” Horton said. According to Horton, no complaints have been brought to the attention of the Parking and Transportation Services Department. Despite no complaints being brought up to the department, students and former university employees have expressed their concerns to The Nevada Sagebrush. Rachael Reyes, a junior at the university, said she is unhappy with the change in transit that has taken place. “The university’s decision to make one line instead of two is one of the most illogical decisions that the university has yet to make,” said Reyes. “Last year, when there were separate lines for the east and west sides of campus it took only about twelve to fifteen minutes for the bus to make its rounds. Now it takes about 20 to 25 minutes. It also only runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. which doesn’t benefit my roommates or I at all considering a
lot of people have class before 8 a.m. and most of my classes end at 5:45 to 6:45 at night. I just don’t understand why they would change a perfectly fine system.” When the university made the transition to single-line transportation system, bus drivers were laid off. According to Meike Verebely, one of the bus drivers laid off due to the new transit route, three drivers, including her, were let go from a staff of eight. Verebely said she feels bad for the students and is concerned for their safety. “It really hurt,” said Verebely. “The new system doesn’t do anyone any good. The change is all about profit and it compromises the safety of the students. The kids have to wait for thirty minutes or more, and they can’t all rely on campus escort. Around the medical building and The Republic Apartments there’s very little light and it worries me. For the
ASUN starts year with Welcome Week Concert See A&E page A4
OPINION
Tune in for the next debates
See PACKTRANSIT page A2
See OPINION page A6
SPORTS
OTA Photos / Flickr
An individual types data on their laptop on Aug. 23, 2013. MyNevada will experience a system outage on Wednesday, Sept 18 to upgrade its technology.
MyNevada 2.0 to undergo update By Taylor Johnson MyNevada 2.0 will receive a technical upgrade on Monday, Sept. 23 in order to have better navigation, efficient log-in and to be more mobile-friendly. MyNevada 2.0 will experience a system outage from Wednesday, Sept 18 to Monday, Sept. 23. “Current and prospective students, where now they may have to log in to MyNevada 2.0 several times and when they go back and forth, it’s not smooth,” said University of Nevada, Reno,
registar Heather Turk. “It’s as smooth as we could make it and it’s functional, but it’s not a great experience.” Because the second fee payment is due Monday, Sept. 23, Enrollment Services is expanding the payment due date to Wednesday, Sept. 25. Turk said no negative actions for missing the Sept. 23 deadline.
See MYNEVADA page A2
File Photo / Nevada Sagebrush
A house in Reno’s Gateway District as it stands on Dec. 11, 2018. UNR started the design process for two academic buildings and a parking garage set to occupy the area of the current Gateway District.
UNR begins designs for Gateway construction By Andrew Mendez The University of Nevada, Reno, started the design process for two academic buildings and a parking garage set to occupy the area of the current Gateway District. The Gateway District refers to 12 homes located near Interstate 80, Evans Avenue, Virginia Street and Ninth Street and the relocation or potential demolition of the homes. Currently, one home has been relocated and three are under contract to move before construction takes
place. There has been no negotiation by the university about the other eight homes. The three homes under contract are expected to be relocated by the end of this year. Mark Johnson, President of the university, met with the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents on June 7 for approval of a Master Plan Update. The updated detailed the university has plans to
See GATEWAY page A2
Wolf Pack falters in Eugene See SPORTS page A7
Title IX launches new anonymous reporting feature By Kennady Pine The University of Nevada, Reno, launched an updated version of a feature on the Title IX section of the website which allows students to report violations of Title IX anonymously. The new software system implemented a way to make the site more campusfriendly and assists the Title IX office with functions such
as getting out notices and tracking and maintaining cases. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex, which includes sexual misconduct. The Title IX also allows students to report acts of hate and discrimination.
See TITLE IX page A2
@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com
A2 | NEWS
Student voice of the University of Nevada, Reno, since 1893.
Volume 126 • Issue 3 Editor-in-Chief • Olivia Ali oali@sagebrush.unr.edu
News Editor • Taylor Johnson tkjohnson@sagebrush.unr.edu
News Editor • Kennady Pine kpine@sagebrush.unr.edu
Spanish Editor • Andrew Mendez andrewmendez@sagebrush.unr.edu
Sports Editor • Ryan Freeberg rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu
Opinion Editor • Vincent Rendon vrendon@sagebrush.unr.edu
A&E Editor • Rylee Jackson rjackson@sagebrush.unr.edu
Photo Editor • Jayme Sileo jsileo@sagebrush.unr.edu
Copy Editor • Alex Pereyra apereyra@sagebrush.unr.edu
Copy Editor • Sarah Strang sstrang@sagebrush.unr.edu
Multimedia Editor • Austin Daly adaly@sagebrush.unr.edu
Multimedia Editor • Rachael Jones rjones@sagebrush.unr.edu
Social Media Manager • Laura Rivas lrivas@sagebrush.unr.edu
CONTRIBUTING STAFFERS Julia Bell, Isaiah Burrows, Matt Hanifan, Crystal Logo, Austin Paschke,
DISCLAIMER The Nevada Sagebrush is a newspaper operated by and for the students of the University of Nevada, Reno. The contents of this newspaper 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 display advertising and rates, please call the advertising department at 775-784-7773 or email adnevadasales@gmail.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters can be submitted via email at oali@sagebrush.unr.edu
CORRECTIONS The Nevada Sagebrush fixes mistakes. Email them to oali@sagebrush.unr.edu.
SOCIAL MEDIA The Nevada Sagebrush @NevadaSagebrush @SagebrushSports Nevada Sagebrush nvsagebrush nevadasagebrush.com
PackTransit Continued from A1
students that are forced to walk home from night classes, it’s a safety concern.” Verebely worked as a university bus driver from 2014 up until the point she was laid off in 2019. She currently works for Keolis which took over the operation of RTC Ride service in July 2019. “When we found out about the change to PACKLine, the students didn’t even know. People relied on the buses, it’s just not right. I needed my job,” said Verebely. In addition to the PACKLine, Campus Escort runs a shuttle that continuously stops at various high-traffic locations, including major residences and central locations, around campus. Campus Escort, however, only runs nightly from 5:0010:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Campus Escort has to run a longer shuttle and now has a significantly more demand for their service since the change. Campus Escort student worker Adrian Hastings said
due to the cuts, he now works a longer route. “We have to run a longer shuttle and have more demand. Instead of having kids rely on PACKTransit we have to begin at 5:00 so kids have a way to get home,” Hastings said. “This new system has affected a lot of the way a lot of the ways things are run on campus,” Reyes said. “While the bus stops running at 4:30, campus escort begins at five and runs as the bus does. However, the problem with that is campus escort is maybe a nine to ten seater van. There are hundreds of people that rely on the bus to get home so it takes around fifty minutes for campus escort to make its rounds from five to six in the evening, which i s when a majority of students get out of class, causing them to just walk home anyways.”
MyNevada Continued from A1
PeopleSoft Campus Solution is a student information system used for MyNevada 2.0. PeopleSoft does all transactions and stores all of the student data. For three years, Oracle, the company which controls PeopleSoft, planned to update the system from a 9.0 version to a 9.2 version. In December, Oracle will cut support for the 9.0 version. All institutions in the Nevada System of Higher Education use this system to share information about students and stay uniform with one another. There are three separate databases in PeopleSoft. The University of Nevada, Reno has one, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has another and the rest of the institutions in NSHE shares a final system. “UNLV did their upgrade over Thanksgiving last year. We learned a lot from what they did. Our team went down to Las Vegas and spent a day and a half meeting with them and learn-
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
ing about their successes and struggles. Not everything is going to go flawlessly [...] different things are going to break. When the system comes back up on that Monday, Sept. 3., clear your cache because your computer will look for the old system.” MyNevada 2.0 will move towards a new functionality called Fluid. Fluid is a new navigation system, which provides homepages with tiles for what the student, faculty, administrators and staff need to do. Fluid also provides a different level of security to the system, which will be regularly updated. “MyNevada 2.0 was a band-aid that was put into place to get us to where we are going to be with MyNevada, the PeopleSoft 9.2,” Turk said. “Students will know it as MyNevada.” MyNevada 2.0 is a separate system, which uses OneCampus. The system has tiles but it points to the student information system rather than navigate within it. Students will now experience the PeopleSoft system directly.
MyNevada and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions will combine, with the new upgrade. The update is being carried out by the Office of Information Technology and Enrollment Services. Office of IT and Enrollment Services worked on this upgrade for approximately a year and a half in order to get the structure in place prior to the outage. “When I describe this to people I describe the vision of: think about picking up your house and then moving it completely down the street, building a whole new foundation, putting the house down,” Turk said. “They have to reconnect all the plumbing, electrical and everything that broke along the way. It’s still the same house, it’s just on a completely different foundation.” Taylor Johnson can be reached at tkjohnson@sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush
Kennady Pine can be reached at kpine@sagebrush. unr.edu, or on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush
Gateway Continued from A1
onstruct a new College of Business Building, two Life Sciences buildings and a parking garage. Construction is expected to take place in the summer of 2021, starting with the new business building and parking garage. Buildings are expected to be no taller than six stories, according to the updated Master Plan. The new business complex is estimated to cost $99.7 million and will feature a center for entrepre-
neurship, the Nevada Small Business Development Center, classrooms and labs for students to use. Heidi Gansert, Executive Director of External Communications for the university, said designs for the business building are meant to meet the needs of the college. Andrew Mendez can be reached at amendez@sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.
Jayme Sileo / Nevada Sagebrush
The Equal Opportunity and Title IX office as it stands Monday, Sept. 9. EOTIX launched an updated feature which allows students to report violations of Title IX anonymously.
Title IX Continued from A1 The updated anonymous reporting feature that is offered while submitting an incident report allows students to submit an incident report with the types of misconduct and description of incidents without having to include their name if they don’t want to. Maria Doucettperry, Title IX Coordinator at the university encourages students to report any instances of discrimination or misconduct to the Title IX office, whether it’s anonymous or not. “A lot of people don’t want to report. We can alleviate some of that hesitance that comes with reporting if it’s anonymous,” said Doucettperry. “I think that there would definitely be incidents that we would not know about if we didn’t have the anonymous reporting option. It gives people a way to report to us confidently. The Title
IX office is able to do more programming when more reports are submitted and university officials have a clearer idea of what is going on on campus. “The goal is to at least be aware of what’s going on. If we know that there’s an issue, we can do some programming or preventative work to try to address that as an issue for our campus,” said Doucettperry. Additional resources are offered on the Equal Opportunity & Title IX section of the university website. The university offers confidential resources for students, including on-campus counseling services and the Student Health Center. There is also a crisis call center located off campus that is available 24/7. Kennady Pine can be reached at kpine@sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush File Photo/ Nevada Sagebrush
Dr. Seungil Ro, Ph.D., studies the correlation between obesity and Type 2 diabetes on Friday, March 23, 2018. Nevada is ranked ninth for adult obesity rates.
Nevada ranks ninth for lowest adult obesity rate As the adult obesity rate continues to rise in the nation, Nevada ranked ninth for the lowest obesity rate but has the twenty ninth highest obesity rate in children ages 10 to 17. Nevada’s adult obesity rate is currently 26.7 percent, up from 16 percent in 2000, according to The State of Obesity. Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. One in four people are considered medically obese in Nevada. Currently, Nevada ranks the ninth-lowest for obesity rates in the nation. According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, West Virginia currently has the highest obesity rates in our nation. Approximately 38 percent of adults are obese. The Nevada Obesity
Prevention and Control Program was made to reduce and prevent obesity by changing behaviors that can lead to unhealthy lifestyles. This program makes an effort to promote healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle. This effort is statewide and has set standards in education centers and worksites by offering healthier food options and increased time for more of an active working environment. According to The Harvard Gazette, television has a large impact on the culture surrounding obesity. The Gazette made the claim that people tend to snack more while watching television. Obesity has continued to climb since 1985. Obesity accounts for approximately 18 percent of deaths in our country and as this number continues
to increase, the impacts of this disease have become more and more apparent to doctors and medical professionals. Obesity affects every organ in a person’s body and often leads to a lower quality of life. A study that was conducted by the American Psychological Association explained before the obesity epidemic, about half of U.S. students walked to school. This number has changed drastically throughout the years. Today, less than 15 percent of students walk or bike to school. Julia Bell can be reached at tkjohnson@sagebrush. unr.edu, or on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush
Noticias
MARTES, 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE, 2019
@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com
ESPAÑOL | A3
ESVÁSTICA DESCUBIERTA EN WOLF PACK TOWER Por Kennady Pine Traducido Por Andrew Mendez Wolf Pack Tower fue víctima de un acto de vandalismo en el que se encontró una esvástica pintada en el hueco de la escalera en el piso decimoséptimo de la torre, dentro de una semana de la apertura de la torre. Según Toby Toland, director residente de Universidad de Nevada, la Vida Residencial de Reno, se encontró una esvástica en Wolf Pack Tower, el sábado 24 de agosto, una semana después de la apertura de la torre. En respuesta al vandalismo, Wolf Pack Tower convocó a una reunión obligatoria el domingo 25 de agosto para abordar el incidente. Los residentes y el personal estuvieron presentes. “Los Servicios de Policía de la Universidad no están 100 por ciento seguros de que la esvástica aún no estaba en la escalera antes de nuestra transición del edificio a viviendas para estudiantes, University Residential Life and Housing está promulgando todos los protocolos debido al compromiso de la Universidad con la inclusión y la diversidad”, dijo Nicole Shearer, Oficial de Comunicaciones de la universidad. No hay imágenes de video disponibles en el área de la escalera donde se encontró la esvástica, de acuerdo con los Servicios de Policía de la Universidad “La esvástica representa a los nazis y otros grupos de odio actuales que fomentan la discriminación y la violencia contra muchas poblaciones subrepresentadas y no tiene lugar en la comunidad de nuestro campus”. dijo Toby Toland, director residente de Residential Life, en un correo electrónico. “Este y otros actos de odio y discriminación no solo crean un ambiente de hostilidad, sino que constituyen una violación de la política universitaria”.
Foto De Archivo/Nevada Sagebrush
Una esvástica pintada sobre grafitis en el Edificio de la Iglesia de Bellas Artes el viernes 13 de octubre. Una esvástica fue descubierta en Wolf Pack Tower el sábado 24 de agosto.
Una vez que se recogieron las pruebas y las fotografías, el personal de las instalaciones reparó el vandalismo. Este no es el primer incidente de vandalismo de la esvástica que ha ocurrido alrededor de la universidad. Los actos de antisemitismo en el campus han ocurrido desde 2011. El 13 de octubre de 2017, el mismo día de un tiroteo en una sinagoga en Pittsburgh que dejó 11 muertos y otros seis heridos, un estudiante desconocido talló una esvástica en una pared con un lápiz en Peavine Hall. También se encontró una esvástica dibujada en el Juniper Hall a principios de este año el 8 de marzo. Además, un estudiante desconocido etiquetó la escalera de graffiti de la
Church Bellas Artes, (Church Fine Arts en inglés) un lugar donde los estudiantes decoran las paredes con murales, con esvásticas y un mensaje que decía “es esto suficientemente político”? ”En octubre de 2017. En respuesta, el Colegio de Artes Liberales invitó a artistas de la comunidad a pintar sobre las esvásticas. “Es una locura que este incidente ocurriera justo después de que nos mudáramos”, dijo el residente de Wolf Pack Tower Maximus Moore. “Escuché que otras cosas como esta ocurrieron en años anteriores en la UNR, pero es diferente cuando sucede en su hogar. La gente puede pensar que dibujar una esvástica es divertido, pero no es una broma y no debe
tomarse a la ligera. Hay mucho odio asociado con ese símbolo hacia el pueblo judío. Siento que la universidad debería tomar más medidas para prevenir esto y asegurarse de que todos los estudiantes se sientan seguros y bienvenidos”. En adelante, el personal del Departamento de Vida Residencial, junto con varios socios, brindará oportunidades educativas en torno a las áreas de diversidad, justicia social e inclusión para estudiantes. “Una de nuestras mejores formas de combatir incidentes de odio e intolerancia es a través de la educación. Alentamos a los estudiantes a asistir, y ofrecemos sugerencias para eventos adicionales que creen que serían beneficiosos. Además, con-
tinuaremos haciendo todo lo posible para monitorear y confrontar las declaraciones y actos de discriminación”, dijo Toland. “Necesitamos su ayuda como individuos y como comunidad”, dijo Toland en un correo electrónico enviado a los asesores y directores de salas de residentes de Wolf Pack Tower. “Pedimos que todos se unan y se responsabilicen mutuamente. Si usted o alguien cercano a usted está sujeto a alguna forma de discriminación, comuníquese con un miembro del personal estudiantil o con sus directores residentes para obtener apoyo adicional. También puede informar a través de la oficina del Título IX en el edificio de Educación Continua o a través de su sitio web”.
La Asociación de Residencias trabajará en conjunto con los Estudiantes Asociados de la Universidad de Nevada para proporcionar una respuesta de apoyo en reacción a este evento y están evaluando formas en que pueden abogar por todos los estudiantes. Se alienta a los estudiantes a aprovechar la oportunidad para que ASUN escuche sus inquietudes y cómo les gustaría que sus defensores electos respondan a este incidente en su nombre. Mande sus comentarios a Andrew Mendez: andrewmenez@sagebrush. unr.edu o sígala en Twitter: @NevadaSagebrush.
Beattie asume como coordinador del programa FITP Por Andrew Mendez
James Beattie, ex Director Asociado del Centro de Participación Estudiantil, ha asumido el cargo de coordinador del programa para First In The Pack para el año académico 2019-2020. First In The Pack es un programa dedicado al avance de estudiantes de primera generación en la Universidad de Nevada, Reno. Antes de Beattie, Desirae Acosta se desempeñó como coordinadora del programa durante dos años. Desde que ingresó al puesto, Beattie ha creado un curso de WebCampus para los miembros de FITP. Beattie dijo que es una forma de programar mejor las citas con los mentores, realizar un seguimiento de los registros de los participantes y mejorar la tutoría. “Ha hecho mucho más fácil ponerse en contacto con los estudiantes”, dijo Beattie. “Está configurado como un salón de clases. Nuestros estudiantes de primer año se reúnen siete veces al semestre (...) así que ahora todo el contenido que van a cubrir para cada reunión está allí. WebCampus nos ha permitido diseñar un plan de estudios de siete reuniones cada semestre que recibe cada estudiante. Por lo tanto, nos permite asegurarnos de que todos reciban el mismo servicio en todos los ámbitos, y en cualquier momento podemos ir a comprobar eso”.
Beattie agregó que espera seguir el éxito con las pruebas y asociarse con la Oficina de Investigación de Persistencia Estudiantil para obtener datos para servir mejor a los estudiantes en el futuro. Los participantes de FITP toman en cuenta puntos que pueden haber obtenido durante la semana usando de los recursos del campus o el servicio comunitario. Beattie dijo que espera refinar el proceso con un nuevo protocolo de mentoría. “Tenemos un sistema de puntos para los estudiantes si utilizan diferentes recursos en el campus o si se involucran a través del servicio comunitario”, dijo Beattie. “Me gustaría refinar ese proceso un poco. Creo que básicamente se hizo en autoinforme el año pasado, por lo que creo que nuestros estudiantes hicieron muchas cosas que no informaron. Parte de la nueva estructura de mentoría será cuando se reúnan con los estudiantes, repasarán lo que han hecho en la última semana que podría contar para obtener puntos, y los mentores se los pondrán. A menudo sé lo que sucederá que un estudiante salga al servicio comunitario y no pensarán en iniciar sesión en el web campus y marcarán que hicieron servicio comunitario. Así que los rastrearemos mucho mejor este año “. El programa ha crecido a aproximadamente 300 estudiantes para el año académico y hay 14 estudiantes
Jayme Sielo/Nevada Sagebrush
La oficina de TriO/McNair tal y como está el lunes 9 de septiembre. James Beattie ha asumido el cargo de coordinador del programa para First In The Pack.
en la lista de espera desde las orientaciones de estudiantes primer año en julio. Para el año académico 2018-2019, FITP atendió a 178 estudiantes. Beattie dijo que ahora se trata de servir a todos los estudiantes de manera efectiva. “Una de las cosas que hicimos nuevo este verano ... [FITP] creó un
almuerzo de primera generación”, dijo Beattie. “Las aplicaciones se dispararon en ese momento. Con el personal que tengo; ¿Cómo vamos a servir a todos estos estudiantes? ¿Cómo les vamos a servir bien? En este momento estoy buscando contratar a otro estudiante mentor”. Beattie agregó que si el programa creció, espera comenzar a hacer re-
uniones grupales cada dos semanas. FITP espera crear un plan de divulgación y centrarse en la retención entre los participantes. Mande sus comentarios a Andrew Mendez: andrewmendez@sagebush.unr.edu o sigalo en Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.
@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com
A4 | A&E
PACK N THE EVENTS THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS WEEK
Review: Welcome Week Concert delivers a fun—and awkward—experience By Vincent Rendon
By Rylee Jackson
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE EXHIBITION DATE: Sept. 11 TIME: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. LOCATION: Nevada Museum of Art INFO: “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Faraway Nearby” is a look into the visionary’s art, fashion and style. The showcase features her New Mexico paintings between 1936 to 1949, which were inspired by the area surrounding her home at Ghost Ranch as well as her camping trips to other sites in the Southwest like Glen Canyon and Utah. The exhibition also has fifty objects from her own camping gear including her flashlight and her thermos. MOVIE SERIES: YESTERDAY DATE: Sept. 12 TIME: 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. LOCATION: Joe Crowley Student Union, Gateway Plaza INFO: ] Throughout the semester, the Joe Crowley Student Union hosts a movie showing every week. This week’s film “Yesterday” is about Jack Malik—a struggling musician—who wakes up from an accident and realizes that The Beatles never existed. It is encouraged to bring your friends to this free event. Free popcorn will also be provided. APEX CONCERTS: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY DATE: Sept. 12 TIME: 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: Univesity Arts Building, Hall Recital Hall INFO: Opening its ninth season, Apex Concerts will host a performance featuring Bohemian composers Antonin Dvorak and Erno Dohnanyi at the new University Arts Building. The university’s woodwind faculty–– Mary Miller, Aaron Hill, Joshua Anderson, Eric Fassbender and many more––will be a part of the exciting opener with Martinu Nonet. NEVADA HUMANITIES LITERARY CRAWL DATE: Sept. 12 TIME: 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: California Avenue INFO: Get ready for a day of storytelling sessions, poetry slams, performances, art and readings. The sixth annual Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl will feature many local and national authors. There are many other perks on top of the day of fun––street food, live music and all of the events are free!
Rylee Jackson can be reached at ryleejackson@sagebrush.unr. edu and on Twitter @ rybyjackson.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
“Can I get a ‘Lil Boat?’” “Lil Boat!” “Lil Boat!” “Lil Boat!” Our war cry, the boisterous chant of an army pledging allegiance to their captain. For about an hour and a half, Lil Yachty enscripted a legion of loyalists to dance and mosh on his behalf. Yet like on any voyage, the trip alternated between smooth sailing and being stuck in dead air. Customarily, when a new ship prepares for its first launch, a bottle is smashed across its side to christen the voyage. In this sense, the openers for the concert, local hip hop group Curl Gang smashed a giant bottle across the Reno Event Center. They warmed the crowd up with a high-octane performance, loads of charisma and good stage presence. Impressively, the young performers rapped along to almost all the words of every song, demonstrating a knack for performing that doesn’t come easy. They ran into the inherent problem of being openers, however. The audience was not yet at full capacity, and few members of the crowd were familiar with their songs. Even during a passionate performance of their biggest song “Suck My D*ck” only a couple of voices were singing along. Sauron was heralded by the mouth of Sauron, a ghastly figure who struck fear in their enemies and built up hype for their armies. Yachty, more contemporarily, was heralded by a DJ. Having a good DJ is underrated, their role in building suspense and loosening up the crowd can make or break a concert. The DJ for Yachty’s set was impressive—a medley of popular hip-hop with no real surprises. Playing popular songs that everyone knew meant that the crowd happily engaged with him, singing the choruses and jumping when their favorite song came on. When
he played “Bad and Boujee” the energy was higher than some of Yachty’s own songs that he was performing live. Finally, not too late but not too early, Yachty bolted out onto the stage. His stage production was nothing too fancy, but he still made an entrance jumping right into his harder songs. As a performer, Lil Yachty spent most of the night in great form. He rapped along to enough of each song to seem engaged, and knew when to let the crowd or the backing track take over to catch his breath. In between songs he wavered between being cool and being awkward. He made multiple comments about all of the “pretty girls” in the crowd, which might be cool if he was Trey Songs but just felt weird—though some of the crowd loved the shout-outs. The quality of the concert seemed to directly correlate with the quality of the song Yachty was performing. During his hits, like “I Spy,” “Broccoli” and “Minnesota,” the crowd got off their feet and Yachty wowed with an infectious energy. When he played his lesser known songs, however, both him and the audience seemed bored. After one song that left the crowd dead he even admitted that he didn’t really know the lyrics to it—a casualty of not really having a well enough received catalog of music to fill up an entire set list with hits. Despite occasional rough waters, Yachty docked the ship at port successfully with a powerful string of closing songs that brought the crowd together. During “One Night” he got
the entire crowd to turn on their f lashlights and people gladly sang along—the highlight of the concert to me. And then at the end of “66” the stage erupted in confetti, a celebratory send-off that made the concert feel bigger than it was. It wasn’t perfect, but no endeavor is, and as far as Welcome Week concerts go this one rocked the boat. Vincent Rendon can be reached at vrendon@ sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @VinceSagebrush.
Lana Del Rey: The Evolution of Miss America By Crystal Lugo
performing in New York clubs and bars and penning Elizabeth Grant—known as Lana Del Rey— from her trailer park in has always experimented and encapsulated New Jersey—may seem like stages of her life through visuals and sounds. a figment, but remain the The singer-songwriter introduced herself core of her artistry. with her first studio album—2010’s “Lana Although the singerDel Ray A.K.A Lizzy Grant”—a playful, songwriter has traded lounge-like album written mostly inside her her East Coast lens for trailer home in New Jersey. Youthful tunes West Coast shades, her like “Queen of the Gas Station” and “Brite gravitation and fascination Lites,” along with smooth, sultry tunes like with Americana and love “Yayo,” set a foundation for Grant and her remain the same. impressive career to come. Produced by Jack When Grant released “Blue Jeans” and Antonoff, Del Rey’s newest “Video Games” on Youtube in 2011 as Lana record “Norman Fucking Del Rey, she became an internet sensation. Rockwell” displays the A year later, her newest era was captured recurring themes with in her first major-label studio debut album a fresh, mature take—proving that the titled, “Born to Die.” The record displayed once self-proclaimed “Miss America,” has her captivating, honeyed voice joined by mourned, learned and loved in California. melancholy and retro melodies, but despite California symbolizes a promised land its hits, critics called the record “boring” and and safe haven from the America she once “awkward,” along with Pitchfork comparing knew—accepting its downfall in “The it to a “fake orgasm” and a torch with no Greatest” with murmuring vocals. The flame. Yet, people gravitated toward the Atlantic compared it to a “wedding band singer and listened on. soused on redwine” as she sings: “L.A. is in Del Rey began experimenting with dream flames, it’s getting hot/Kanye West is blond pop and psychedelic rock, adding elements and gone/‘Life on Mars’ ain’t just a song/Oh, of retro surf sounds and hinting at her the lifestream’s almost on.” new love for California, in her third studio In her newest record, Del Rey shatters her album, “Ultraviolence” in 2014. What many old love narratives and proves she’s now the would call one of her saddest records yet, strongest of all her partners with tunes like “Ultraviolence” displayed her willingness “Mariner’s Apartment Complex” and the to experiment and write honestly. Hits like title track—joined by a mixture of delicate, “West Coast” and “Shades of Cool” showed tender surf sounds, soft rock and shameless the most authentic Del Rey yet. lyrics. In “Mariner’s Apartment Complex,” It wasn’t until her fifth studio album Del Rey juxtaposes her old lyrics by refuting in 2017—”Lust for Life”—that she broke her sadness and now serving as her romantic her “sad girl” reputation and shared an interest’s compass: “You lose your way, just optimistic perspective on love and America, take my hand/You’re lost at sea, then I’ll while sharing a big smile on the album’s command your boat to me again/Don’t look cover. A side effect of Trump’s America, Lana too far, right where you are, that’s where I Del Rey shared “Change” and “Coachellaam/I’m your man.” Woodstock In My Mind”—commenting She further demonstrates her romantic on what she fears but hopes for America’s growth in “California” and “Happiness is a future. “There’s a change gonna come, I Butterfly.” In “California,” Del Rey addresses don’t know where or when/But whenever it a past lover—hoping he’s alright and inviting does we’ll be here for it,” Del Rey sings on him back into her life as she sings: “Honey, “Change.” you don’t ever have to act cooler than you Del Rey’s nights on the East Coast—
think you should/You’re brighter than the brightest stars/You’re scared to win, scared to lose/I’ve heard the war was over if you really choose.” Del Rey certainly chose to end her own war. This change in her artistry has not gone unnoticed by critics. Critics are calling the album “elegant,” an “obituary for America”—comparing her to the likes of Lou Reed and Bob Dylan and calling her one of the greatest living songwriters. Pitchfork— who has previously called her “awkward” along with other distasteful things—has rated the album a 9.4, which is the highest rated album in the last decade behind Kanye West’s “Yeezus.” When writing “Norman Fucking Rockwell,” Lana Del Rey wanted to create something easy to listen to on the freeway—writing most of it during her commutes—or to leave it on in the room next door. This album and all its Californian imagery, experimental guitar riffs and elegant, self-aware lyrics did just that. Elizabeth Grant from the East Coast is no more. Lana Del Rey has traded Coney Island for Laurel Canyon and in doing so, has delivered an ode to California—and the California album of the decade.
Crystal Lugo can be reached at ryleejackson@ sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @rybyjackson.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
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Showtime’s “Hitsville” highlights the timelessness of Motown By Rylee Jackson Celebrating the 60th anniversary of one of the most successful and impactful recording labels of all time, Showtime released the documentary “Hitsville: The Making of Motown” on Aug. 24. The star-studded documentary is the first with founder Berry Gordy’s involvement and is implemented with tons of exclusive footage and anecdotes from the artists themselves. Founded in 1959, Motown developed an immensely talented and generationdefining group of artists. This included Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Jackson 5 and many more. Not only were these artists the cornerstone of the emerging scene of popular music we see today, their remarkable success arrived at the center of the civil rights movement. At the time of the label’s creation, Gordy discusses how working at a Ford Motor Company in Detroit inspired him to run his company with an assembly-line mindset. “Hitsville” offers viewers an insight into Gordy’s business sense as he explains the process of finding writers and producers, developing artists and marketing the artists through booking appearances and tours. Instead of sequencing an order of events, the documentary implements the Gordy assembly-line model as a foundation for navigating the story. Most of “Hitsville” revolves around the perspective of Gordy and legendary singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson. Shot at the original Hitsville U.S.A headquarters—now incorporated into its own museum—in Detroit, viewers get to see Gordy and Robinson reminisce fondly on the golden years of the label in front of the piano in Studio A where a lot of the magic happened. From casually namedropping all of the talent that walked through those doors to little arguments about which version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was recorded first, the portrait of their long-standing friendship is delightful to see. Besides stories from Gordy and Robinson, the documentary also features ref lections from artists Stevie Wonder, the Jacksons, the Temptations’ Otis Williams and more. One of the most impressive parts of the film was their inclusion of the
Revered fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh dies at age 74
songwriters, arrangers and producers that truly shaped the era like the trio HollandDozier-Holland. They are most well-known for creating 10 out of the Supremes’ 12 U.S. number one singles—”Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” to name a few. As incredible as they are, the main artist or group usually gets all the recognition so it was exceptional for them to honor the ones behind the sound. Part of Gordy’s assembly-line method were quality control meetings on the creative output from the artists. The documentary featured a few tape recordings from these meetings and hilariously enough, one of the topics discussed was whether or not The Temptations’ “My Girl” was a hit— obviously having no clue what the infectious song would soon become. For those who love to deep dive into the music, the way “Hitsville” broke down certain tracks like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” was very elaborate and impactful—showcasing the original studio tracks layer-by-layer. Seeing footage of a young Stevie Wonder performing “Fingertips” and a 9-year-old Michael Jackson channeling James Brown during the Jackson 5’s audition reminded us once again how remarkable these visionaries are. It’s difficult to think of any other label that had this much natural talent and pure artistry. As much as “Hitsville” covered, they only focused on 1959 to the early 1970s and not much else after that era. With as many iconic artists as there was on that label, it seemed to skim through a lot of crucial moments in regards to defining aspects of their work. For time’s sake, they couldn’t really dive into all of them—separate documentaries could be made on each one of them alone. There is no denying that the impact Motown’s music had on not only America, but the world was unforgettable. This celebrated era of music was soulful, upbeat, ref lective of the world and most of all, had a forever kind of quality to it that was paramount. Rylee Jackson can be reached at ryleejackson@sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @rybyjackson.
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A&E | A5
By Rylee Jackson Peter Lindbergh—recognized as one of fashion’s most sought after photographers—passed away on Sept. 3 at the age of 74. Lindbergh shot some of the most recognizable photos for publications Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar along with high-end brands Calvin Klein and Lancôme. Acknowledged for his classic black and white style, Lindbergh’s work is often held in high regard for its classic execution and simplicity. Lindbergh grew up in Duisburg, Germany and attended the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. After realizing how much he cherished taking photos of his brother’s children, he soon began to take the art of photography seriously. In 1973, he opened his first studio in Düsseldorf before moving to Paris in 1978 to work for Vogue—kickstarting a remarkable journey. He is often credited for catapulting the original era of supermodels. The January 1990 British Vogue cover featured models Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington—defining the new decade and ushering a movement of worldwide prominence. Lindbergh’s striking depiction inspired George Michael to cast the five women in the “Freedom! ‘90” music video, which instantly became a phenomenon. The colossal response from Lindbergh’s cover and Michael’s video soon carried over to the runway. Campbell, Evangelista, Crawford and Turlington—now recognized on a first name basis—took the fashion world by storm by strutting in different colored dresses and lip-synching to Michael’s soulful voice at Gianni Versace’s Fall-Winter 1991-1992 show. To this day, that moment is still talked about and it’s all due to Lindbergh’s influence. In addition to shooting fashion’s biggest stars, Lindbergh also captured a multitude of famous women in Hollywood over the years, including Lupita Nyong’o and Emma Watson. On top of magazines and brand deals, he also shot the album covers for Tina Turner’s “Foreign Affair” and Beyoncé’s
“I Am...Sasha Fierce.” His most recent work was in collaboration with guest-editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, for the September 2019 British Vogue issue—featuring photos of climate activist Greta Thunberg and author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. What made Lindbergh’s work stand out was his way of capturing the true essence of the women through minimal makeup and diminishing the thought of retouching. His effortless style was a dramatic change from the electricity of the 1980s—highlighting their natural beauty first and foremost. Plenty of tributes on social media have rolled in from those who worked closely with Lindbergh. Crawford—previously mentioned—perfectly described what he embodied to those who were in front of the camera and those who were admirers of his work. “When @therealpeterlindbergh shoots, it’s about the women,” wrote Crawford on Instagram. “It’s not about the hair, makeup, or styling, really. He had a way of turning your imperfections into shomething unique and beautiful...and his images will always be timeless.” Rylee Jackson can be reached at ryleejackson@sagebrush.unr.edu, or on Twitter @rybyjackson.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
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A6 | OPINION
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
You should watch the next debate
B
iden. Sanders. Warren. Harris. Buttigieg. Booker. O’Rourke. Klobuchar. Yang. Castro. Ten names face off in the September Democrat primary debates Thursday on ABC and Univision. The winner gets nothing. It’s two hours long. You should watch it. “Why should I watch this?” you ask. After all, it is only the third of twelve debates, and the actual primaries are still months away. Some of the debaters are polling at barely two percent, and ABC isn’t exactly Sunday Night Football when it comes to splashy presentation. Surely, it will be a dreadfully boring event? Perhaps you’re right. You should still watch it. For one, it’s on a Thursday, you’ve probably got nothing better to do. Parties don’t start until the next day, after all. Chromecast it onto your TV while you do homework and absorb it through osmosis if you want. The stuff they are talking about is important. S e r i o u s l y, t h e y ’r e going to talk about healthcare, c o l l e g e affordability, climate change, gun conVincent Rendon trol and more. Even t h o u g h they are all democrats they differ wildly in opinions on these topics. In the civics sort of sense, it’s worth knowing who stands where and which candidate deserves your loyalty, or at least your curiosity. What’s that? You fell asleep as soon as I started talking about “civics”? Okay, fine. We want action, and the debates are going to have it. I promise, it’ll be juicy. Already, in the earlier debates Kamala Harris called out Joe Biden for working with segregationists, Joe Biden called Kamala Harris a cop. Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg
DonkeyHotey/Flickr
The ten candidates appearing ABC’s September democratic primary debates. Watching the debates can be both informative and fun.
all tried to speak Spanish for some reason. The point being, anything can and will happen with so much at stake for these candidates, and you owe it to yourself to see it happen live. Besides, some of these candidates have some pretty big ideas. Bernie Sanders wants to erase all college debt. Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a thousand dollars a month. Multiple candidates support large initiatives like the Green New Deal, universal healthcare, tuition free college, universal preschool, wealth taxes and others that would be transformative if they were to be enacted. The policy jargon they will use to discuss them can be dry sometimes but what they are discussing is genuinely interesting to learn about. Take the time to watch them explain these ideas and then use the information to sound smart about things at Thanksgiving dinner. It will make it worth it. “But I’m not even a
Democrat, why should I watch this?” you say. Good question. You should watch this because it will be a mess. It will be one of those messes that you can sit back and just relish in. Everyone there is desperate to get an edge in, most of them aren’t naturally charismatic and it will almost certainly get catty. Treat it like a sports game when the other team has the ball, root for their failure and cheer when they slip up. Yet also, listen to what they are saying. “Know thy enemy” and all that. One of them will probably be the candidate running for election in 2020, get a feel for all of them and try to form some sort of opinion on them. It will feel good to make your own judgements based on seeing them in action as opposed to getting it second-hand from pundits or the media. The debates are like a bad movie, you need to make it fun to get the most out of it. Sure, politics shouldn’t be treated
as entertainment, and you should seriously listen to the points being made, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Grab your friends and have a watch party. Laugh every time a candidate makes a shocked face when someone calls them out. Crack open your last White Claw and grumble at your roommate whenever they say something stupid. Order a pizza and force the delivery person to tell you which candidate they prefer. Get weird with it. Make it bearable so that you can scoop all the content into your brain without falling asleep. I think you’ll find that it can actually be a lot of fun, and you’ll learn something at the same time. Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or of its staff. Vincent Rendon studies Political science and can be reached at vrendon@ sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @VinceSagebrush.
Antonio Brown deserves some credit “Free! Fly like an eagle! Let’s go!” screams Antonio Brown, streaking through his backyard in his underwear, miming a bird flapping its wings, filmed by his constantlyrolling camera crew. The joyous cry of a man who escaped the fate of being an Oakland Raider. For days that felt like months, every sports pundit speculated that the superstar wide receiver formerly of the Raiders had lost his mind. Surely he’d gone crazy, in one offseason alone, he froze his feet getting cryotherapy, allegedly called his general manager a cracker and tried to fight him, went through about 30 different helmets, and probably broke the law by seemingly recording a phone call without consent. Now he’s a New England Patriot and perhaps it was all a ruse. I mean, if you were on the Raiders, wouldn’t you try to leave at all costs? Odysseus once tried to avoid fighting in the Trojan War by pretending to lose his mind. He took an ox and tried to plow a field of salt like it was dirt. The man sent to retrieve him, Palamedes, wisely did not buy this act. The Raiders are no Palamedes. Or even if they were, what choice did they have? Either they could play him and look weak, suspend him and let the media storm rage on or cut him and bite the bullet. Brown snared them in an impossible trap, and all it cost him was $30 million and his reputation as a sane man. Now that he gets to play with Tom Brady and Bill Bellicheck, I doubt he cares. Vincent If you needed a footRendon ball team to cut you, you should do exactly what Antonio Brown did. Sure, there are ways to escape a team that don’t involve dying your moustache blond and almost assaulting your boss, but usually they don’t give the player freedom to choose their destination. Brown never tasted freedom in his entire career up until this point. He requested a trade off one team he didn’t want to be on and they just sent him to another squad he had no affinity for. To defeat the system he was stuck in, he simply had to not play by its rules. That video, of Brown running around in his underwear? He sent that to the media himself. Things that seemed crazy when there was uncertainty now seem calculated in light of where he ended up. Brown dubbed himself “Mr. Big Chest” for his antics but I think we should call him Mr. Big Brain instead. He’s the guy who turned complaining about a helmet into a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal. He knew what he was doing. He fanned the media wildfire with deliberate intent, and it forced the Raiders’ hand. His gambit means that he’ll get a chance at a Superbowl and another mega contract when it’s all over. For all of us, let his story serve as inspiration. Sometimes you will have to take drastic measures to escape a bad situation, but Antonio Brown proves it can be done.
Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or of its staff. Vincent Rendon studies Political science and can be reached at vrendon@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @VinceSagebrush.
Elite gymnastics needs to bring back the performance quality it once had As gymnastics fans are in preparation mode for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole of YouTubewatching just about everything. Every four years, gymnastics changes the way they score different skills with the Code of Points. Since the end of the perfect 10, being rewarded for difficulty gives you a leg up in regards to scoring. However, this era of gymnasts—with the exception of a few—have seemingly put proper technique and performance quality on the back-burner. Let’s take it back to the golden era of U.S. gymnasts who were captivating performers—the 1990s. Dominique Dawes instantly comes to mind as one of the most engaging floor exercise performers of that time. Dawes was one of many gymnasts who did back-to-back passes. The first tumbling pass would consist of a round-off, whip-back, whip-back, back handspring into a double twisting layout—wait, it doesn’t end there. Right when she lands, she executes a punch front step-out into a roundoff, three back handsprings, a two-and-a-half twisting layout and finally has the energy to add in another punch front. Exhausting, right? Sadly, there’s nothing in the current code that would make it worth doing these back-to-
back passes. What Dawes did was electrifying, unexpected and beyond that, she had an undeniable star quality to her. She wasn’t called “Awesome Dawesome” for nothing. Another thrilling element that floor routines don’t incorporate anymore is the whip—a back handspring without any hands, lacking the height of a back tuck, but still providing the proper launch for the bigger skill. Much like back-to-back passes, the whip doesn’t have much of an additional value to the score. The repetition of this skill is what made Kim Zmeskal’s floor routines–especially her 1992 Olympic Trials performance— absolutely stellar. Zmeskal was known for her power, but the dramatic salute at the end of each pass made the crowd roar with excitement. During that time, gymnasts were all about the presentation. Arms up, head back, wrists flicked, one leg stepped out—it was all about making the tumbling pass look effortless. Now, we mostly see this in college gymnastics. College gymnastics is more focused on technique and less complex skills, which is why there is more leeway in regards to the performance itself. They still use the perfect 10 scoring system–this might be the reason college routines are less robotic. Take UCLA’s Katelyn
Rylee Jackson Ohashi and her routine that went viral this year. There’s more dancing, time to breathe, better music and more joy displayed. This isn’t to say that this era of gymnastics is bad—it’s far from that. Come on, we are witnessing the era of Simone Biles–the greatest of all time. There is no denying that what she’s doing in the sport is next level. However, on top of the incredible difficulty, there should be more U.S. athletes that possess the extra performance dazzle like Dawes, Zmeskal and even Dominique Moceanu did. This will help the sport flourish year round, not just every four years. Rylee Jackson can be reached at ryleejackson@sagebrush. unr.edu, or on Twitter @ rybyjackson.
Photo/Wikimedia Commons
The 2016 Olympic team. There have been many exceptional performers throughout the history of gymnastics who have graced our television screens with excitement and this new era of gymnasts need to keep that same quality of presence.
Sports
TUESDAY, SEPEMBER 10, 2019
SPORTS | A7
@SagebrushSports | nevadasagebrush.com
MW football has already proven its worth
Image courtesy of Nevada Athletics. Running back Devonte Lee runs the ball versus Portland St. Lee carried the ball five times for 43 yards and one touchdown.
Nevada Wolf Pack running back Lee anxious to hit the field By Isaiah Burrows Nothing could get in the way of Nevada’s sophomore running back, Devonte Lee, not even a torn ligament in his knee. Lee suffered an ACL injury last season, but he battled through the pain and remained a constant force for the remainder of the 201819 campaign. Wolf Pack running backs Jaxson Kincaid, Toa Taua and Kelton Moore offered plenty of depth to help fill in for Lee to shift his focus toward recovery. But he stayed on the field and helped the Pack clinch its first 8-win season since joining the Mountain West Conference. Nevada topped it off with a victory in the Arizona Bowl over the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Lee’s physical toughness and selfless attitude during his freshman year helps paint a vivid image of his love for the game. “It was just a mindset of mine to battle through the pain and hurt,” he said. “I wanted to help the team any way I can. I knew my role and I could take on the load, so it wasn’t hard for me to play and be the best I can be.” He underwent off-season knee surgery and is aiming to return for Nevada later this season. “Rehab has been pretty intense,” he said. “I’ve been putting the work, hoping to make it back sometime this year.” Playing through pain is nothing new for Lee. Growing up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he started the last three playoff games at John Marshall High School with an injury to help the Bears take home a state championship in 2017. Lee was already sprinting down the sidelines in Pop Warner leagues. No matter what happens on and off the field, it doesn’t deter his determination toward a potential football career. “I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old, it was the one thing I really ever had,” he said. “I just love this game so much and everything it’s done for me.”
Football wasn’t the only sport Lee participated in at John Marshall High School. He spread his athleticism to wrestling, track and field and basketball. Lee flourished in all four sports, but his senior year caught the attention of thousands worldwide. It wasn’t the 2,175 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns he scored that season—or his 6,681 yards and 89 touchdowns during his high school career—but a highlight reel that really opened some eyes. He hurdled over defenders or simply ran through them with a unique blend of speed and power. Lee’s senior highlight tape has been plastered all over the internet, and it had hundreds of spectators calling him the next big thing. “I knew it was a good highlight reel, but I didn’t know it’d blow up like that,” he said. “It really caught me by surprise. I’m hearing people call me the next Marshawn Lynch and stuff like that… It really helped give me that recognition.” Despite the hype from spectators, collegiate offers from Lee’s top hometown schools including Oklahoma and Oklahoma State didn’t come. Nevada football head coach Jay Norvell— who served as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach with Oklahoma from 2008-14—pounced on the opportunity to snag him away from several other collegiate programs. Lee’s personality and attitude have made an immediate impact on the rest of the team. “Devonte has made his presence known since he first stepped onto the field,” Norvell said. “He’s got such a team-first mentality and he wants to do it all for the rest of the guys, no matter what he’s going through… It’s been great to really watch him mature into a special player.” In just one season, Lee flashed the potential that garnered the national spotlight. Primarily used as the goal-line back, he rushed
Dec. 6-7, 2019
FOO KACEY FIGHTERS MUSGRAVES
for 193 yards on 45 carries and scored seven touchdowns. The 5-foot-8, 230-pound thumper uses his physical strength between the tackles. But he has a quick burst and speed to bounce outside and pick up yardage in the open field. Coming off a strong freshman year, Lee’s focused on adding to his skillset in the backfield. “I think I’ve found my own style,” he said. “I try to bring that toughness and get dirty between the tackles. I’ve put in the work this off-season to shed a couple of pounds and be more agile to become more of a dual-threat.” Lee and Taua entered Nevada together as freshmen last season. Taua stole the show with 872 rushing yards in 13 games and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year. Taua has a tight hold on the starting spot, but Lee isn’t overshadowed. He and the rest of the Wolf Pack running backs have formed a special bond over the last two years. “I really look to Devonte and the rest of the guys for advice,” Taua said. “With us being such a young group, it’s good for us to work with each of our strengths.” With a healthy Lee back in the fold, the Wolf Pack have a dangerous group of playmakers. “We’ve got a real diverse group here,” Lee said. “Jaxson (Kincaide), Kelton (Moore), Toa (Taua) and myself make a four-headed dragon of sorts. We all have a unique skill set and it’s something we look to build off of.” Lee is away from the action for the time being, but his eyes are set on making the most of his return. “It was just a warm feeling as soon as I came here,” he said. “It just felt like home to me and I’m blessed to be here, I can’t wait to be back out on the field.”
Isaiah Burrows can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports
Las Vegas, NV
BECK
ANDERSON .PAAK & THE FREE N AT I O N A L S
PHASE ONE LINE UP (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER )
BRANDI CARLILE CHVRCHES FLYING LOTUS (3D) GESAFFELSTEIN H.E.R. JAMIE XX KAYTRANADA LEON BRIDGES SPOON THUNDERCAT UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA + MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
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By Ryan Freeberg To many college football fans, Mountain West Conference football is seen as a joke. Specifically, when compared to the Power Five conferences. MW football has been a punching bag for ridicule online, and in person. It’s time to end the stigma. Prior to this past weekend, the last 11 games played between MW schools versus Power Five opponents, the MW has eight victories. This includes the last two times Nevada has played Power Five opponents. Last season the Pack played Oregon St. in Reno, the game came down to a missed field goal by Oregon St. giving Nevada the victory. A semisimilar series of events happened in week one of this season with Nevada edging out Purdue on a 56-yard field goal. The other program on that list of eight that has two victories, is Fresno St. The Bulldogs pulled out victories last season against UCLA and Arizona St. Between these two games, Fresno St. outscored its opponents by a combined 35 points, while outpacing them by just under 300 yards. Admittedly, Fresno St. did stumble in week one of this season against the University of Southern California, a Pac-12 team and Power Five team. The game was at least close, coming down to a one-score game at the end. The other teams on the eight-win list include Boise St. and Wyoming, followed by Hawai’i and San Diego St. Boise St. opened their season this year on the road against Florida St. Even though they only won the game by five points, the game was no way as close as the final score made it seem. The Broncos offense put up 621 yards on the Seminoles, but that’s not the craziest stat. Florida St. had a time of possession of 19:57, Boise St. more than doubled that 40:03. These factors are what propelled Boise St. to hold the Seminoles out of the endzone in the second half, leading them to victory. As for Wyoming, Hawai’i and SDSU, all of their games ended in a similar fashion, with each team winning by a touchdown or less. However, there is one stat between the Hawai’i and SDSU games that sticks out, the turnover margin. Between these two games, Hawai'i and SDSU combined for a plus-five
turnover margin. A positive turnover margin can often sway the tide for any team in the positive range. For example, look no further than Nevada’s match against Purdue—the Wolf Pack forced five turnovers in the win. The outlier to everything that has been addressed thus far, is the Wyoming victory in week one of this season. In the Cowboys’ matchup versus Mizzou, Wyoming threw an interception and fumbled twice. They forced zero turnovers of their own. Wyoming was outpaced in yardage, lost the time of possession battle and converted 12 less first downs than Mizzou. It actually doesn’t really make sense how they won their game, but they found a way. As the MW seeks to establish itself as a marquee conference in the NCAA, its football teams will continue to schedule up for tougher opponents. This is to build a respectable resume for the eyes of the college football fans, and more importantly, the AP. Unfortunately for MW schools, they didn’t do themselves any favors this past weekend. Three programs had matches against Power Five opponents—Nevada, Fresno St. and Hawai’i. The Wolf Pack had the roughest time of it by a wide margin, losing 77-6 in Eugene, Oregon. Fresno St. was barely edged out by Minnesota in an overtime loss. The lone winner of the group was Hawai’i, who shut out Oregon St. in the second half. If the MW is to grow, they will need more wins like the Hawai’i fashion.
Ryan Freeberg can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports. The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect that of The Nevada Sagebrush or it’s staff. All opinions are those of the writer, and theirs alone.
Gameday at Oregon L 6-77
vs Weber State Mackay Stadium, at 4 p.m.
@SagebrushSports | nevadasagebrush.com
SPORTS | A8
vs. Purdue W 34-31
THIS WEEK’S GAME
vs. Weber State 4:00 p.m. 9/14
at UTEP 5:00 p.m. 9/21
vs. Hawai’i TBD 9/28
vs. San Jose State 1:00 p.m. 10/12
at Utah Sate TBD 10/19
at Wyoming 11:00 a.m. 10/26
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
vs. New Mexico TBD 11/2
at San Diego St. TBD 11/9
at Fresno State TBD 11/23
vs. UNLV 12:00 11/30
Kyle Pulek/Nevada Athletics. Nevada’s offense, led by quarterback Carson Strong, huddles before a play against Oregon in Eugene, Oregon on Sept. 7, 2019. Strong completed 13-25 of his passes for 89 yards and two interceptions.
No. 16 ranked Oregon crushes Nevada football in first loss of season By Isaiah Burrows
players scored for Oregon. The Ducks’ vicious defensive front Nevada football’s season opener magic held Nevada to just 192 total yards. didn’t carry over in a 77-6 blowout loss Carson Strong completed 13-of-25 on the road to the No. 16 ranked Oregon passes for 89 yards and two intercepDucks on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Autzen tions. Jaxson Kincaide led the team with Stadium. 52 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Junior The Wolf Pack scored the first points of running back Kelton Moore added 36 the game and trailed 7-6 with just under rushing yards while Toa Taua was held to nine minutes left in the second quarter, 13 yards on just six attempts. but the Ducks dominated with 63 unanFreshman kicker Brandon Talton— swered points over the remainder of the who nailed the game winning field goal first half and final two quarters. over Purdue on Aug. 30—was a perfect Oregon rattled off 623 total yards of 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts with a offense and held a commanding lead for long of 45 yards. a majority of the game. The Ducks atOregon’s pass rush forced Strong out of tacked Nevada’s 3-3-5 zone defense early the pocket early and often, which lead to with a dominant air attack from the arm errant throws to safety Steven Stephens of senior quarterback —and Heisman and linebacker Sampson Niu. Nevada trophy candidate —Justin Herbert. backup signal-caller Hamish McClure Herbert completed 19-of-25 passes came in for Strong and completed all for 310 yards and five touchdowns. three of his passes for 20 yards. He shredded the Pack’s zone scheme The Wolf Pack struck first after recovwith pinpoint darts down the sidelines. ering a muffed punt to take over at the His composure was on full display, step- Oregon 12 yard line. Despite the great ping up in the pocket while keeping his field position, Nevada only came away eyes downfield and going through his with a field goal. Herbert and the Ducks progressions. responded with a 66-yard touchdown Backup quarterback Tyler Shough took to tight end Jacob Breeland on the very over midway through the third quarter next drive. Oregon led 7-3 after the first and kept stacking the points in Oregon’s quarter. favor. The redshirt freshman had 89 Nevada trimmed the deficit to 7-6 passing yards and two touchdowns. with Talton’s 45-yard field goal attempt. Running back Darrian Felix had 80 The Ducks took over the rest of the way. rushing yards and one touchdown on Running back CJ Verdell punched in the eight carries. Including Felix, 10 different score from two yards out to cap off a six-
Two heartbreaking games put Nevada soccer at 1-4 on the year By Austin Paschke Monday, Sept. 2 vs. Sacramento State University Nevada soccer took on Sacramento State on Monday, Sept. 2 in Honolulu, HI to wrap up their final game in the Rainbow Wahine Soccer Invitational. A hard-fought battle on both sides resulted in the Pack ultimately falling to the Hornets 0-1. The lone goal from the Hornets came from a penalty kick in minute 50 by Aubrey Goodwill. The goal from Goodwill was her only shot and goal of the night. The Pack had multiple chances to tie up the match but were unable to find the net. Nevada struggled early, allowing the Hornets to outshoot them 7-1 in the first half. The Wolf Pack out-shot Sacramento State 7-5 in the second half thanks to a late offensive push, but it was too little too late. Three Wolf Pack players took on the heavy offensive load on Monday, with sophomore Kylie Minamishin leading the way with three shots and one on goal. Senior Sara Olanda and freshman Gabby Brown each recorded two shots of their own on the
afternoon. Ball possession was a bright spot for the Pack, as they held the ball for 55 percent of the contest. Despite being outshot in the match, Nevada spent 67 percent of their possession in Hornet territory. Outside of the lone score, Kendal Stovall was excellent with two saves. The bright spot in this game was the Pack’s defense allowing only one goal on 12 shots. At the time of the game, Stovall was tied for first in the Mountain West Conference with 22 saves and fourth with a .846 save percentage. Additionally, Gabby Brown sits atop the conference with 19 shots on the season. Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Weber State University After a week-long stay in Hawaii, Nevada soccer returned to Reno for their home opener on Sept. 7 in Mackay Stadium. In a hard-fought double-overtime match, the Pack fell to the Wildcats 0-1. This loss drops the Wolf Pack to 1-4 on the season while allowing the Wildcats to pick up their first win of the season. The Wolf Pack held the Wildcats scoreless for the entire 90 minutes plus an
extra 10 minutes of overtime. Weber State’s Rachel Twede then found the back of the net with 3:20 remaining in the second overtime giving WSU the 1-0 victory. For those looking for a bright spot, Nevada did outshoot the Wildcats 14-8, while also having five more corner kicks. Freshman Lizzy Hairston led the Pack in shots on goal with four, while redshirt freshman Annika Bergstrand and junior Mady Hairston added three of their own. The Pack’s defense is something they can hang their hat on, only allowing four shots in the two periods of regulation. Stovall continues to be the bright spot on the team, saving five shots while only giving up one goal in 106 minutes of play. Nevada looks to bounce back from the three-game slide against the University of Utah on Sept. 13. This game will be in Reno but will be played at Truckee Meadows Community College. TMCC just finished construction on a new pitch last month. Austin Paschke can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.
play, 75-yard drive. On the next possession, Strong’s first interception helped Oregon take over at the Nevada 35 yard line. Two plays later, Herbert connected with Ryan Bay for a 16-yard touchdown. Following a Wolf Pack punt, Oregon struck once again with Herbert’s third touchdown of the contest. Nevada trailed 35-6 at the half. The Ducks kept piling on the points in the second half. Nevada punted to open the third quarter, Herbert found Daewood Davis for a 16-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession. Wolf Pack tight end Reagan Roberson fumbled the ball on the Nevada 18 yard line. Oregon took advantage with a four-play drive ending in its sixth touchdown of the game. Strong was intercepted for the second time on Nevada’s next drive. This led to the Ducks tacking on seven more points, extending their lead 56-6. Moore was then stripped by Oregon defensive end DJ Johnson en-route to an 11-yard scoop-and-score. The Ducks held a commanding 63-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Nevada couldn’t find any rhythm offensively with two punts in the final quarter of play. The Ducks scored two more touchdowns for added measure, sealing a blowout defeat for the Pack. Looking Ahead Nevada returns to Mackay Stadium on Sept. 14 to face Weber State. The Wild-
cats are currently tied for first in the Big Sky Conference following a 41-24 victory over the Cal Poly Mustangs. Along with a potent offense, Weber State holds a solid defense as well. The Wildcats held the San Diego State Aztecs to just six points, but lost 6-0 in the season opener on Aug. 31. Junior linebacker Conner Mortensen leads the team with 14 tackles. Weber State is susceptible to the big play in the secondary, Cal Poly wide receivers hauled in 17 receptions for 134 yards. Nevada’s air attack can take advantage and force the Wildcats to adjust on the fly. Offensively, Weber State is led by a two-headed rushing attack. The Wildcats have already rushed for 300 yards on the ground this season. Sophomore running back Josh Davis has 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Junior halfback Kevin Smith is right behind him with 121 rushing yards. For the Wolf Pack to come away victorious, they must contain Weber State’s run-reliant game plan. Nevada has the bodies up front to get the job done, but it could be a matter of extra effort to see which team wants it more. Coming off a brutal loss to Oregon, Nevada may be hungry to get back in the win column. Isaiah Burrows can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.
Nevada volleyball takes two of three in the San Francisco Tournament By Matt Hanifan Sept. 6 versus Purdue Fort Wayne Nevada volleyball swept its first match of the three-game tournament. They posted a season-high .283 hitting percentage across the three sets of the match. They out-hit the Mastodons with 39 kills as opposed to their 38. Nevada also held Purdue Fort Wayne to a .178 hitting percentage, including a .111 percentage in the final set. Kayla Afoa lead the team with eight kills. Camryn Rocha added eight kills, along with Sydney Peterson’s seven. Dalyn Burns led with a team-high 18 assists, her lowest assisttotal on the year thus far. For the third time this season, Nevada out defended their opponents at the net, blocking eight shots compared to the Mastodons’ season-low mark of one. Sept. 6 versus UC Riverside The Wolf Pack fell in their first three-set loss in the second match of Saturday’s slate. It was Nevada’s second loss of the season, falling in all three sets 25-23. Nevada had a .151 hitting percentage, compared to the Highlanders’ .183 hit percentage. Afoa and Rocha were the only two to tally double-digit points for the second consecutive contest, as they both recorded 11 points on ten kills apiece. Ryan Blackwood and Mandalay Rennon were the only two Pack players to tally double-digit digs. Burns had a team-high 31 assists, adding six digs of her on the evening. The Pack had a plus-five block total compared to the highlanders with Sydney Peterson leading the Pack with five of Nevada’s
eight blocks. Peterson, appearing in her fifth collegiate game ever, recorded her fourth five-block game of the season. Sept. 7 versus San Francisco Nevada pulled through in four sets versus San Francisco in the final match of the San Francisco Tournament, this time against the host. After falling in the opening set, 25-21, the Pack sent them down 25-16, 25-23 and 25-16. With the offensive dominance of Afoa, Kili Robins and Brianna Souza, Nevada tallied its fourth 50-kill game of the season. Afoa added a team-high 13 kills—the junior’s sixth game with double-digit kills this season—as Robins and Souza followed with 12 kills of their own. Nevada had six aces on the afternoon, three of which came from Afoa. Mandalay had two, and Souza had one. Burns eclipsed the 40-assist mark for the fourth time this year, racking up a team-high 47 assists. The Pack held San Francisco to a .188 hitting percentage, the highest percentage an opponent had this weekend. For comparison, the Pack had a .231 hitting percentage. After finishing the weekend 2-1, Nevada improves to 4-2 on the season. The Wolf Pack now heads to the Portland State Tournament next weekend, opening against California State Northridge University on Friday, Sept. 13.
Matt Hanifan can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.
