Issue27 04/03/2018

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NEVADA SAGEBRUSH SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

THE

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2018

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NEWS in REVIEW By Karolina Rivas

INTERNATIONAL LARGE EARTHQUAKE HITS BOLIVIA A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook Bolivia Monday, though no injuries were reported due to the quake’s epicenter striking 346 miles below the surface. According to ABC News, only light tremors were felt in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, and as far as Sao Paulo, Brazil where people evacuated buildings. “I felt a little dizzy. But then I looked at the window and the curtains were shaking,” said lawyer Hugo Vecchiatto in an interview with ABC News. “Soon after, the administration of the building told us to evacuate. Nothing was broken or fell off, though. In the end, it was funny because we never expect these kinds of things to happen in Sao Paulo.” The San Calixto Observatory in La Paz recorded the earthquake as one of the most powerful quakes to have ever struck Bolivia.

NATIONAL IN TWEET, TRUMP SAYS DACA IS DEAD President Donald Trump proclaimed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals as ‘dead’ in a tweet Monday morning. “DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon,” President Trump said in a tweet. “No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime!” This tweet comes after President Trump recently signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that did not include funding for his proposed border wall. This garnered complaints from conservatives who have criticized him for not following through on his promises made during his presidential campaign. Congress was given until March 5 to pass legislation that would decide the fate of approximately 700,000 Dreamers. Congress failed to pass legislation and the program is no longer accepting new applications.

LOCAL RENO RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REMOVED Allegations of sexual harassment and financial misconduct were made against the executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Reno last month. He has since been removed. According to documents obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal, Marty Ozer, 80, was accused of sexually harassing female staffers, misusing the charity’s credit card and a flight voucher, and downloading pornography on his work computer. Tax filings showed that in 2016, Ozer was paid more than $93,000 as head of the organization, the Associated Press reports. Karolina Rivas can be reached at karolinar@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @karolinarrivas.

VOLUME 124, ISSUE 27

NEVADA STUDENT POWER HOSTS UNIVERSITY TOWN HALL

By Olivia Ali Students came together Tuesday evening in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center to discuss issues on campus and possible ways to create positive change. Approximately 50 students congregated in the Knowledge Center Rotunda on Tuesday, March 27, to discuss prominent issues facing students and actions to take to fix them. Issues and topics of discussion ranged from financial concerns to social concerns. The event was by Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Acting in Community Together In Northern Nevada, Young Democrats, and Young Democratic Socialists in addition to Nevada Student Power.

“Our goal is to come together and hear your issues with not only campus, but local as well,” announcer Escenthio Marigny said. “There have been a lot of issues, especially in the last year, that we feel are important to come together to discuss.” The event consisted of speeches by students concerned about various problems plaguing not only the university but Reno as a whole. The primary portion of the town hall consisted of small breakout groups to discuss concerns before coming together to share. Student and Young Democrats President Rosie Gully shared her group’s concerns, which include racism on campus, troubles student experience when trying to find housing and ignorance of

sexual assault within the university. “These things may have been touched on before, but I think that’s because they are things that need to be said,” Gully said. A universal topic of conversation among students was the fear of being targeted by others on campus. Gully discussed her interactions with other students where she was bullied for her sexuality. “I thought bullying was over when I left high school,” Gully said. “I’m LGBT and when I hold a girl’s hand I get called things and I cannot handle it.” On a local level, Gully also feels that homelessness is something that needs to be addressed. “Homelessness is one of the issues that I see the most, but is also one of the issues that I see get

ignored the most,” Gully said. “The issue here is that people are thinking because it doesn’t affect [them], it doesn’t necessarily matter.” According to the Reno GazetteJournal, rents are at an all-time high and vacancies are at an alltime low, leaving students worried about where that will leave their housing situations. A study done by Zillow showed that the average rent in Reno is around $1700 a month, which is not ideal or obtainable for many college students. Student Caitlin Gatchalian expressed concerns for students to find affordable housing, as well for those that are already part of the homeless population. Gatchalian stressed the need for reliable public transportation in the general Reno-Sparks area.

While the university provides some means of transportation such as PackTransit or Campus Escort, students feel this is not adequate. “Sometimes it takes 45 minutes to get from point A to point B,” Gatchalian said. “Sometimes the busses get shut down because of the snow and that causes an even bigger issue than it just taking a long time.” Students also feel that the additional costs required of them, such as access codes and textbooks, after paying tuition are unfair. According to an article from InsideHigherEd. com, the price of textbooks has increased by 161 percent between 1998 and 2014. Access to websites such as MyMathLab.com to complete homework requires access

See TOWN HALL page A2 Olivia Ali/Nevada Sagebrush

A student speaks their concerns at a student town hall in the Knowledge Center Rotunda on Tuesday, March 27. Students voiced their concerns about safety on campus, cost of living and more.

Reno mayoral race Bicycle Alliance proposes Center Street travel lane down to eight By Karolina Rivas

By Karolina Rivas Mayoral applicants for the city of Reno have dwindled from 20 prospective candidates to just eight. The city will host general elections for mayor, city council and city attorney on Nov. 6, 2018, while the primary will be held on June 12, 2018. Candidates on the primary ballot include John Coristine, Chad Dehne, Michael Hagen, Eddie Lorton, William Mantle, Jesse O Razo, Hillary Schieve and Azzi Shirazi. The current city mayor, Hillary Schieve, will be running for re-election for a second term. Schieve plans to keep her focus on one Reno’s largest problems, housing. “I also know we have more to do: housing remains unaffordable for far too many, our homeless do not have adequate services that demonstrate a commitment to our shared humanity, and public infrastructure requires further investment to sustain growth and maintain the quality of life we’ve all enjoyed over the years,” Schieve said in a statement. “These are some of the real challenges that will be among my top priorities throughout a second term.”

See MAYOR page A2

See BIKE page A2 File Photo/Nevada Sagebrush

Bicycles stand in a rack on campus on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. The Truckee Meadow Bike Alliance proposed a bicycle travel lane on Center Street that would make it safer for cyclists to travel to campus.

UNRPD to participate in prescription take-back By Madeline Purdue University Police Services will join other Northern Nevada organizations and the rest of the country for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 28. The national event is put on twice a year to prevent and educate about prescription drug addictions, as well as provide a safe place to dispose of unused medication. University Police Services will be collecting prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the day of the event in front of Lawlor Events Center. There are also drop-off locations at local grocery and convenience stores. Items such as unused prescription drugs in the original bottle with the label on, liquid prescriptions and pet medications will be accepted as part of the round-up. Those who are unable to bring their prescriptions on the day of the event can also drop them off during normal business hours at permanent drop-boxes at the Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office or University Police Services.

See TAKE BACK page A2


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