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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
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NEWS in REVIEW By Madeline Purdue
VOLUME 123, ISSUE 21
REFUGEES IN JEOPARDY
INTERNATIONAL CHANCE OF FAMINE RISES IN SOUTH SUDAN
The United Nations tweeted on Monday, Feb. 20, that the Republic of South Sudan is facing a famine crisis and almost 5 million people are in need of help. “#Famine hits parts of #SouthSudan: 100,000 [people] facing starvation. 5 mil [people] need food, #ag & nutrition assistance,” said the UN’s twitter account on Monday morning. The UN’s World Food Programme also said that 1 million people are on the brink of famine and that people are already dying of hunger. Another million children are facing acute malnutrition. “Our worst fears have been realized,” said Serge Tissot, of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to CNN. “Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive.” The UN is attributing this crisis to the years of civil war that has led to a refugee crisis and economic collapse since South Sudan gained independence in 2011. Uganda is taking in most of the refugees that are fleeing South Sudan. The UN estimates 1.5 million people have crossed the Ugandan border in search of help.
NATIONAL EMPLOYEES FIRED AFTER IMMIGRATION PROTEST
People around the country participated in “A Day Without Immigrants” on Thursday, Feb. 16, a nationwide protest to show how the economy would be affected if immigrant workers were deported. When they returned to work the following Friday or Monday, some were fired. Colorado’s Jim Serowski told CNN that he warned his employees they would be fired if they did not show up for work on Thursday. Over 30 didn’t, and Serowski followed up on his promise, insisting the decision wasn’t political. “They were warned: ‘If you do this, you’re hurting the company, and if you go against the team, you’re not a member of the team,’” Serowski said to CNN. Serowski said he has known his employees for over 20 years and has always been in support of immigrant labor. Employers across the country reacted the same way, some citing that their workers never told them they wouldn’t be at work. However, other employers told CNN their employees were welcomed back after the protests and will continue to be supported.
LOCAL WCSD ENDS WEDNESDAY EARLY RELEASE
The Washoe County School District announced Friday, Feb. 17, that it will end the early release program on Wednesdays to make up for school days lost due to weather conditions. This will start Wednesday, Mar. 1. Schools in Washoe County release students 45 minutes early every Wednesday in order to make time for professional development for teachers. State law requires that schools must have 180 days of instruction during the school year. WCSD has canceled school four times this year. The school district puts three days in their schedule every year to make up for lost academic time due to unforeseen cancellations. The 13 Wednesdays between Mar. 1 and June 7 will now make up for the lost time. Madeline Purdue can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @madelinepurdue.
INK PIECE
Infographic by Nicole Skarlatos
New ban could threaten Reno refugees By Rachel Spacek Hadia Kalsoom’s immigration story is similar to many stories of immigrants who anxiously wait for years as their immigration visas are processed, unsure of what might await them in the United States once offered permanent residency. Kalsoom waited three years before she and her four siblings were offered permanent residency in the U.S. Kalsoom and her family moved from Pakistan,
her home for the last 19 years to Reno, Nevada last year. Before coming to the U.S., Kalsoom heard from her fellow Pakistani people that Americans had a tendency to be rude and negative toward them. Those comments added to her unease about making the trip. Kalsoom was also expecting to pursue her Associates Degree in psychology, having to learn in a completely different language than she was used to. Shortly after arriving in Reno, Kal-
soom enrolled at Truckee Meadows Community College. “I was excited and a little bit nervous,” Kalsoom said. “You spend 19 years in one culture and then suddenly you have to change your culture and learn a new language and all of this stuff. I was worried that maybe people wouldn’t like us and that maybe they would not respect us. After I got here and [I did have problems with the] culture and language, but I didn’t think that people were negative toward us at all like we were
told in Pakistan.” In recent years many immigrants have made Reno their home; Kalsam is but one. The Northern Nevada International Center has settled 63 refugees since Oct. 2016. Their goal was to resettle 75 to 100 refugees by Sept. 30, 2017, however, President Donald Trump’s travel ban put a halt on all operations to resettle refugees in Reno.
See REFUGEE page A2
Student helps others overcome homelessness By Rachel Spacek It was a morning like any other. Susy Ramirez woke up in her car in Reno, Nevada and began to get ready for her day. As she drove to work, Ramirez looked into the rear view mirror to see a police car following behind her. She felt uneasy. The officer pulled her over just as she could see her workplace in the distance. He accused Ramirez of driving with expired registration, even though she had just renewed it. Ramirez begged the officer to let her go, saying she was already late for work and needed to get there as soon as possible. Eventually he agreed let her go, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Ramirez had spent over a month living in her car and showering at friends’ houses when she could, the last thing she needed was to be delayed by police and end up late for work. Susy Ramirez prefers to go by her Nawat name, Xōchítl Pāpalōtl Ramirez, because she takes pride in her indigenous culture. Ramirez’s family is from Mexico City and she grew up in Washoe County where she lived in various locations in the Pyramid lake and Lake
Tahoe areas. When she was 8-years-old, Ramirez moved to Reno after a divorce between her mother and father. Shortly after moving to Reno, Ramirez’s mother ran out of money as maintaining a home, working two jobs and taking care of two children became too much to bear. “When I was in high school, my mom remarried,” Ramirez said. “But her relationship became abusive, so my mom had a divorce and after that we were homeless again and ended up moving back in with my grandparents.” Ramirez moved out of her family’s home when she was 19 and began taking classes at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the time, she was living with a partner who quickly became abusive. She left the relationship and, once again, her home. When she finally had enough money, Ramirez began renting an apartment on Third Street and took the bus from her neighborhood to downtown Reno and from downtown to the university to attend classes. Once her lease was up, however,
See HOMELESS page A3
Jacob Solis/Nevada Sagebrush
Noah Teixeira listens to constituents on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the weekly senate meeting. He heard from student supporters and those opposed to his candidacy as president.
Speaker answers tweets By Meaghan Mackey
After several old tweets containing derogatory language from Speaker of the Senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada Noah Teixeira resurfaced earlier this month, Teixeira took the time to respond to the backlash from these tweets. The ASUN presidential hopeful posted a brief statement on Twitter addressing the old tweets, but students still had questions about his leadership as Speaker and campaign for presidency.
Last Wednesday, Teixeira sat among his fellow ASUN senators in front of a crowd of about 50 students at the weekly senate meeting. Teixeira began the meeting by publicly apologizing to the student attendees. His comments were followed up by the reading of a letter from former ASUN President Caden Fabbi. “To those hurtling insults at Noah, I’m sorry to tell you that your understanding of him is misguided. Noah is not only a
See ASUN page A3
UNLV, UNR athletic departments report opposite FY17 projections By Madeline Purdue
The University of Nevada, Reno, athletic department is projected to make a small profit at the end of this fiscal year, a report released on Thursday, Feb. 16, showed. Conversely, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletic department’s report stated it is expected to rack up a $5 million deficit. UNR’s athletic department made a $140,000 profit at the end of fiscal year 2016. They are expecting
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to make a similar profit at the end of fiscal year 2017, which helps decrease the deficit the athletic department has. Athletic director Doug Knuth inherited a $3.2 million deficit when he was hired in 2013. After ending fiscal years 2013 and 2014 in the red, and with the added surplus of fiscal year 2016, the deficit remains at around $3 million. The report states that Knuth has requested $400,000 of student fee revenue in order to help
PROS & CONS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
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pay off this debt. Additionally, any surplus from the 2017 fiscal year will be added to help reduce the deficit. “For the current year, football season ticket revenues did not meet projections; however, Men’s basketball is exceeding budget estimates,” said the UNR report. The report also states that the athletic depart-
BASEBALL PREVIEW
See BUDGET page A3
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