Issue 28 04/10/2018

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NEVADA SAGEBRUSH SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

THE

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018

FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES $1.00 EACH EACH

NEWS in REVIEW By Karolina Rivas

INTERNATIONAL VAN CRASHES INTO CROWD IN GERMANY Two people have died after a van crashed into a crowd of people outside a popular bar in Muenster, Germany, on Saturday. The death toll rose to three after officials reported that the driver of the van shot himself inside the vehicle. Twenty others were injured. According to ABC News, witnesses recalled watching people running away and screaming from the city square after the crash. Moreover, they said that police were quick to cordon off the area as ambulances rushed to the site. Officials have also reported that there is no indication of an Islamic extremist motive but are not ruling it out completely until the investigation is completed. According to the regional interior minister, the individual acted alone and appeared to face mental health problems.

VOLUME 124, ISSUE 28

University student contracted measles from Bay Area By Karolina Rivas

The Washoe County Health District confirmed Thursday the University of Nevada, Reno, student diagnosed with the measles was vaccinated for the virus and had a booster. “With the vaccine it is 90 percent effective, with two doses 97 percent,” Spokesman Phil Ulibarri said to the Reno Gazette-Journal. “But that means there is a 3 percent chance.” The WCHD announced Wednesday, April 4, they had confirmed the student had the virus, but indicated the student does not

pose a threat to the safety of the community. They are advising those who are not vaccinated to do so immediately. “We want to get this message out because people who may have been exposed have a limited window for a prophylactic,” Ulibarri said. According to the California Department of Public Health, the student has been connected to a measles outbreak in the Bay Area. “In the current outbreak, there are six confirmed cases and one suspect case

among California residents. There are no other known measles outbreaks in California at this time,” a spokesman from the health department, Jorge De La Cruz, told the RGJ. There are a total of six cases from the Bay Area. Five of the six cases are in Santa Clara County, involving individuals who were not vaccinated, the Santa Clara County Department of Health reports. The sixth case is located in Alameda County. “All cases are linked to an unvaccinated traveler who was exposed in Europe and developed measles after returning to the

‘THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN’

NATIONAL ONE DEAD IN TRUMP TOWER FIRE A blaze broke out on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in New York on Saturday. One resident, Todd Brassner, 67, was pulled from the flames and died later at the hospital. “We don’t know the cause of the fire yet,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in an interview with ABC News. “Units went up with the Secret Service afterwards to check the president’s residence. Some smoke reached the rest of the building, whether it’s in the apartment, I don’t know right now. But the floors above the fire of course as they usually do will have some amount of smoke.” Nigro said that the residential floors did not have sprinklers. Moreover, President Trump was not in the building at the time. “Fire at Trump Tower is out. Very confined (well built building),” Trump tweeted. “Firemen (and women) did a great job. THANK YOU!”

LOCAL GOV. SANDOVAL ON TRUMP’S BORDER PLAN Spokeswoman for Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Mary-Sarah Kinner, told the Associated Press in an email on Friday that the Trump administration has not contacted him regarding President Trump’s proposal to send around 4,000 National Guards to the Mexico border. Kinner told the Associated Press that Gov. Sandoval believes that the proposal would not be “an appropriate use” of the Nevada National Guard. President Trump’s proposal includes deploying thousands of National Guard troops to the U.S.Mexico border in order to help battle immigration and drug trafficking while the wall is being built. According to the Hill, Arizona and Texas have announced that they are on board with the proposal. Karolina Rivas can be reached at karolinar@ sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @karolinarrivas.

Kerry, Reid talk student protestors, climate change at UNR event Jacob Solis/Nevada Sagebrush

Former Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a joint discussion with former Sen. Harry Reid on Tuesday, April 3 at the Joe Crowley Student Union. Kerry spoke about his time in office, dealing with North Korea and more.

By Ryan Suppe In a discussion with former Nevada Senator Harry Reid at the University of Nevada, Reno, on Tuesday, April 3, former Secretary of State John Kerry defended students’ right to political action and recommended voters focus on climate change in the coming midterm elections. Speaking to an audience of 850 students, professors, politicians and other community members at the Joe Crowley Student Union, Kerry referenced Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin’” and said younger generations have always had the power to

enact change. He said that change is happening now, referring to young protesters who are demanding gun control legislation in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. “Shame on any adult who has the gall to challenge young people’s veracity or bonafides,” Kerry said. “They have a right to stand up after their classmates are slaughtered in a classroom.” Reid, who was a senator from Nevada for 30 years and senate majority leader for eight years, applauded Kerry for being a young advocate for change in his own life after serving in the Vietnam War

and later speaking out against the war. Reid also said he and Kerry believe in the Second Amendment, but voters should shift their attention to issues like climate change before the coming midterm elections. “Our existence depends on our doing something about focusing on climate change,” Reid said. “Not only for our children, our grandchildren, but the very existence of our planet.” A lifelong Democrat, Kerry served as a senator from Massachusetts for nearly three decades before being named secretary of state under President Barack Obama in 2013.

At the State Department, he was instrumental in the Iran nuclear deal and a fervent advocate of the Paris Climate Agreement, both of which have been frequent targets of President Donald Trump. Kerry was Reid’s guest at the inaugural Harry Reid Public Engagement Lecture, a planned biannual series hosted by UNR and the Office of the President. The topic of the discussion was “Bipartisanship and Public Service.” The discussion, moderated by Associate Professor of History Hugh Shapiro, spanned

See REID page A2

UNR puts parcels of Main Station Farm up for sale By Madeline Purdue The University of Nevada, Reno, has put 104 acres of land up for sale for a minimum bid of $20 million. The Main Station Farm sits between Mill Street and McCarran Boulevard. “Proceeds from the sale will be used for capital improvement projects to benefit students, research and community outreach,” said a university press release. “The more than 700 remaining acres will be preserved and protected for long-term agriculture research and education.” The 104 acres is approximately

16 percent of the land’s total acreage. The land was annexed in the City of Reno in 2011, and has belonged to the university since 2013. The university said it has self-funded renovation projects by liquidating some assets for higher value goals as it pursues its goal to be a Carnegie Research University. The classification means that UNR would be one of the top universities in the country for research activity. Only 10 states in the country do not have an R-1 institution,

See FARM page A2

Andrea Wilkinson/Nevada Sagebrush

Cattle graze at the Main Station Farm on Sunday, April 8. UNR is selling part of the land to liquidate assets to fund research at the university.

San Francisco Bay Area,” the Alameda Public Health Department posted on their website. The student visited several locations within Washoe County over an approximate time frame of six days in which they were deemed infectious. Besides the university, the student visited a ski resort, a grocery store and a restaurant. “Measles is a highly contagious viral disease,” Washoe County District Health

See MEASLES page A2

UNLV president announces new job after ouster By Karolina Rivas In a three-page letter distributed to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas community, on Tuesday, April 3, UNLV President Len Jessup announced that he will be accepting the position of president at Claremont Graduate University in California. This announcement comes after a series of reports from the media claiming that Jessup was being pushed out of his position at UNLV early last month. Jessup deemed these reports as “misleading,” but announced he had plans to leave the position in the near future. Due to his departure from the university, a $14 million donation was rescinded. The donation was originally granted by the Engelstad Family Foundation to UNLV’s medical education building. A trustee of the foundation, Kris Engelstad McGarry, said the donation was a compromise with the condition that Jessup and Barbara Atkinson, the founding dean of the medical school, would keep their positions at the university. “Part of our proposed commitment to them was predicated on the fact that leadership did not change,” trustee of the foundation, Engelstad McGarry, said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.” We are completely dedicated to the scholarships we have in place for the undergraduate and medical school students, but we don’t trust the stewardship of the board of regents to handle our money, sadly.” The donation and conditions of its terms brought Jessup’s ethics into question as described by a lawyer from the Nevada System of Higher Education. “The MOU, as detailed above, specifically confers a significant financial benefit on Dr. Jessup by conditioning the gift on his continued employment with UNLV through December 31, 2022,” the memo obtained by the Nevada Independent reads. “Dr. Jessup’s execution of the MOU, in view of his patent conflict of interest, is made even more egregious given its timing.” In Jessup’s resignation letter, the university president details the difficult relationship between the university and board of regents. “Events over the last several months have clearly signaled that the Regents and the Chancellor have decided upon a vision and implemented a management structure for UNLV that is inconsistent with what I believe is in the best interests of UNLV,” the resignation letter reads. “I have expressed my disagreement consistently, and have, unfortunately, been met by personal and professional attacks by the Chancellor and some Regents, unfounded and unjustified opinions, and media ‘leaks’ that appear to be calculated to damage not only me, but UNLV and the UNLV Foundation….,” Jessup further detailed the ultimatum he was given by Chancellor Thom Reilly and Regent Chair Kevin Page on March 16. Jessup claims that he was given the choice to either resign or be fired. “ […] there are several significant factual inaccuracies in President Jessup’s statement that do not accurately reflect the events that occurred over the past few months,” Page said in an interview with Las Vegas TV station KSNV. Jessup says that he will stay at UNLV until commencement ceremonies in May before beginning his new position on July 1. Karolina Rivas can be reached at karolinar@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @karolinarrivas.


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