October 25, 2016

NEVADA SAGEBRUSH SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

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NEWS in REVIEW

By Madeline Purdue

INTERNATIONAL

VOLUME 123, ISSUE 9

ALL THE CANDIDATES’ MEN

FRENCH OFFICIALS CLOSE CALAIS MIGRANT CAMP The French government closed a migrant camp known as the “Jungle” in Calais, France, on Monday, Oct. 24, despite calls to delay the action by humanitarian groups.

Most migrants housed at the camp were from war-torn countries and were seeking asylum in Europe. The camp has been growing for over a year and contained nearly 10,000 people at one point. When authorities cleared the camp Monday, 8,000 people were recorded living there.

“The immense majority of migrants present at Calais are eligible for international protection,” said the Interior Ministry in a statement, as reported by The New York Times.

French officials began to tear down what remained of the camp on Tuesday. There were shacks, tents and piles of garbage in the 1.5 square miles of the camp that festered there for over a year.

The camp has been largely ignored by the French government until now. It is considered a humanitarian failure by the people at the camp and the humanitarian groups that support it.

Buses will continue to take campers to designated areas throughout the country during the week so they can disperse evenly.

Jacob Solis /Nevada Sagebrush

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to a crowd outside the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Sanders endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton in July and has been stumping for her ever since.

As Election Day draws near, surrogate visits to Nevada spike

NATIONAL BUS CRASH LEAVES 13 DEAD ON CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY A tour bus crashed into the back of a semi-truck near Los Angeles Sunday, Oct 23. The incident killed 13 people and left 31 more injured.

The bus driver was killed on impact, but the truck driver left the scene with minor injuries.

The cause of the accident is unclear. The bus was last inspected in April and there were no mechanical failures reported.

Traffic was slow due to construction on Interstate 10 when the crash occurred. Witnesses said the bus was going considerably faster than the truck.

Authorities told the Associated Press the bus plowed about 15 feet into the semi-truck, demolishing the front end of the bus.

Emergency responders had to climb ladders to remove people from the bus.

LOCAL TEEN DIES AFTER DOWNTOWN SHOOTING Three teenagers were shot in the early morning of Sunday, Oct. 23, in downtown Reno. The 17-year-old girl died later that day from her injuries.

Reno police officers heard gunshots around 1 a.m. and found the teenage girl and one boy shot on the street. They were rushed to the hospital. The boy went into surgery upon arriving and is expected to live.

The second teenage boy went to the hospital himself later that day and was released after receiving treatment for minor injuries sustained during the shooting.

The Reno Police Department suspect the shooting was gangrelated and are investigating further.

Madeline Purdue can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @madelinepurdue.

By Jacob Solis Every four years, Nevada becomes the belle of the electoral ball. Celebrities and high-powered politicians alike descend on the state in droves, all in hopes of securing its precious electoral votes.

It’s an intricate dance, and it’s one that’s intensified in the past month as each campaign ratchets up its Silver State operations. And while Nevada does receive proportionately less campaign attention than other swing states (it does, after all, only offer six electoral votes to Florida’s 29), it hasn’t

stopped everyone from Jennifer Garner to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders from stopping in Reno to campaign for Hillary Clinton, while even bigger names like Katy Perry and President Barack Obama hit the trail in Las Vegas.

And even the Trump campaign, which has been notorious for relying on rallies with the candidate over traditional ground-game operations, has started sending more surrogates to the state.

This includes visits just last week from both Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence.

But is it a dance that works?

According to assistant professor of political science and campaigns and elections expert Kevin Banda, the answer is yes, and it’s for a couple of reasons.

“First is just simply because the candidate can’t be everywhere at once,” Banda said. “So if you want to have events that people are interested in going to, you have to use surrogates to get

See CAMPAIGNS page A2

Sigma Nu passes after weeklong fight for life

By Emily Fisher

Andrea Wilkinson /Nevada Sagebrush

Samuel Sinyangwe, data scientist and policy analyst for Black Lives Matter gives a presentation on campus on Monday, Oct. 24, 2016. Nevada is ranked the fourth in the nation for police violence.

Black Lives Matter data analyst visits university

By Madeline Purdue Michael Brown was shot dead by police in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 19, 2016. Out of the anger and confusion incited from the national attention the case received came Black Lives Matter, a movement to shine a spotlight on racial inequality and police brutality that most of the country thought was left in the 1960s.

Since the protests led by the forming BLM group in Ferguson, there have been three times as many protests than any other time period in U.S. history, including the height of the civil rights movement.

The informal organization needed data in order to back its claims and gain politicians’ attention to

THE EVER-CHANGING ‘WEEN

start changing the policing systems in the U.S. Samuel Sinyangwe, a student at Stanford studying racial relations and suppression, became the person to start collecting the data BLM needed and co-founded platforms to start the change the movement sought.

Sinyangwe came to the University of Nevada, Reno, on Monday, Oct. 24, to present his findings to students and other members of the community.

“Many individuals, on and off campus, really do not understand the reasoning behind the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Blane Harding, director of The Center Every Student. Every Story.

“This will give them the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the issues and perspectives of this national movement. I am hop-

See BLM page A2

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TRICK-OR-TREAT

Ryan Abele, a freshman at the University of Nevada, Reno, sustained lifethreatening head injuries after falling down the stairs of his fraternity house on Sunday, Oct. 16. He died the following Friday after his family decided to take him off life support and donate his organs.

Ryan was rushed to Renown Regional Medical Center and received an emergency operation immediately after his fall. He lived close to a week past the doctor’s expectations.

Despite having extensive bleeding on the left side of his brain and a ruptured main artery to the brain that caused severe swelling, Ryan showed hopeful signs. However, the results from an MRI conducted Thursday revealed

the tissues on the left side of his brain had died.

Ryan’s brother, Matt Abele, shared these details about his brother’s passing in a Facebook post on Friday, along with the news of the family’s decisions to donate Ryan’s organs.

During Ryan’s nearly weeklong fight for life, thousands of people rushed to support Ryan and his family, raising over $70,000 on his GoFundMe page.

Prayer services held in Reno and in his hometown of Concord, California, brought together hundreds of people.

People began wearing green #RyanStrong T-shirts that were made to raise more money for the family’s medical expenses.

UNR Police Services investigated

See RYAN page A3

Clown sightings cause concern for Reno public

By William Yepez In a chaotic year featuring heated elections and social unrest, the most recent and strangest phenomenon of 2016 so far is the nationwide creepy clown sightings.

What appeared to be an isolated incident in August with a boy in Greenville, South Carolina, has swept the country and even extended its reaches overseas. The clown outbreak has reached the University of Nevada, Reno, and the community in two different incidents.

Although few arrests or incidents

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have occurred, it is clear that people are on edge about a possible clown epidemic.

While it is unclear how the clown scares began, one possible spread of fear could be blamed on social media. Since the first incident, several clown sighting pages have appeared and allow people to post videos or sightings, confirmed or not.

Earlier this month, Sparks police responded to an apparent clown sighting near Reed High School, but when they arrived there was no clown in sight.

Witnesses had reported seeing a clown

See CLOWN page A2

WHAT TO MAKE OF GANGI

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A2 | NEWS

NEVADA SAGEBRUSH

THE

Student voice of the University of Nevada, Reno, since 1893.

Volume 123 • Issue 09 Editor-in-Chief • Jacob Solis jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

Managing Editor • Jordan Russell jrussell@sagebrush.unr.edu

News Editor • Rachel Spacek rspacek@sagebrush.unr.edu

Asst. News Editor • Madeline Purdue mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu

Sports Editor • Neil Patrick Healy neil@sagebrush.unr.edu

Asst. Sports Editor • Jack Rieger jrieger@sagebrush.unr.edu

Opinion Editor • Ali Schultz alexandraschultz@sagebrush.unr.edu

A&E Editor • Blake Nelson bnelson@sagebrush.unr.edu

Design Editor •Nicole Skarlatos jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

Photo Editor • Andrea Wilkinson jsolis@sagebrush .unr.edu

Copy Editor • Dominique Kent dkent@sagebrush.unr.edu

Copy Editor • Daniel Putney dputney@sagebrush.unr.edu

Multimedia Editor • Bailey MeCey bmecey@sagebrush.unr.edu

Web Manager • Willis Allstead wallstead@asun.unr.edu

Illustrator • Zak Brady jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

Social Media Manager • Alana Ridge aridge@sagebrush.unr.edu

Staff Writer • Emily Fisher efisher@sagebrush.unr.edu

Staff Writer • Brandon Cruz bcruz@sagebrush.unr.edu

Distribution • Michele Cardnuto jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

Distribution • Natalie Delbecq jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

Media Adviser • Blythe Steelman bsteelman@unr.edu

CONTRIBUTING STAFFERS Lauren Gray, Lila Reeves Hampton, Stephanie Rosauri, Joey Thyne

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 jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

CORRECTIONS The Nevada Sagebrush fixes mistakes.

If you find an error, email jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu

SOCIAL MEDIA The Nevada Sagebrush @NevadaSagebrush @SagebrushSports Nevada Sagebrush nvsagebrush nevadasagebrush.com

BLM

Continued from page A1

ing that the use of data can provide clarity and urgency to this matter.”

Sinyangwe said people began to question whether this was an isolated incident or if this was a national epidemic. What they found was that the federal government didn’t collect sufficient data about people who are killed by police. This led Sinyangwe to start collecting data and searching for non-government databases with this data.

Brian Burghart began to question the same thing after noticing an unusual amount of police cars on Arlington Avenue in May 2012. He began to research how many people were shot by police officers in America. What he found was that no one knew how many killings by police officers there were.

“I was offended, to be honest,” Burghart said. “The FBI had been allowing the American news media to report inaccurate numbers without correction for decades.”

That’s when Burghart started the database Fatal Encounters.

He wanted to find out the correct number of people shot by police in the U.S. By the time BLM started to mobilize, the data the group needed to support its cause was already there. Sinyangwe said the FBI denied the data existed, but it had been collected on Burghart’s database for years.

Sinyangwe started to collect data of his own. The FBI reported under 500 people killed annually by police officers in the country. Sinyangwe found

the number was actually more than double: Around 1,200 people are killed by a police officer each year. Three hundred forty-six people killed by police officers in 2013 were black.

“This shows that Ferguson is everywhere,” Sinyangwe said.

“This is not a St. Louis issue; it is not a Baltimore issue. People are being killed everywhere across the country, a range of three to four people every day.”

There have been over 900 killings in 2016 so far, 234 of them black people.

Sinyangwe then created a data and policy platform for the movement. The platform is called Mapping Police Violence.

It tracks who was killed, where and why they were shot, what agency is responsible, whether the officer was charged, a brief description of the incident report, and a link to its source.

It also gives other data that backs BLM. Black people are three times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts, and 30 percent of black victims in 2015 were unarmed.

Only 19 percent of white people were unarmed.

The platform ranks states based on their police violence.

Nevada has the fourth highest rate of police violence. The platform also lists the top 100 cities where police violence occurs, Reno being No. 20.

Madeline Purdue can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @madelinepurdue.

Clowns

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holding a machete near the high school.

An alleged clown sighting was reported on campus in the William J. Raggio building this October. The sighting is unconfirmed and is believed to have been a prank. Nonetheless, many students are worried about this spread of clowns, including Asiarae Booth, a business major at UNR. “I do believe there is a big clown problem,” Booth said.

“I am more nervous walking home, especially at night.

I am also worried about Halloween. I think I probably won’t go out this year because of the possibility of clowns.”

Several other students disagree that the clown sightings are dangerous and believe they are nothing more than pranks. Ian Mastick, a civil engineering major, and Henning Kelly, an international affairs major, believe the clown sightings are pranks promulgated by social media.

“It seems to be a case of mass hysteria, and people are just getting involved to be part of a current fad,” Mastick said.

These clown sightings have not only affected schools and neighborhoods but the professional clown community. Some in the professional clown community have concerns that the creepy clown publicity could negatively affect their

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 business.

Earlier this month in Tucson, Arizona, the community prepared for a “Clowns Lives Matter” march to reassure people that not all clowns are scary or violent. The march was canceled after death threats and harassment were directed at the organizer of the event, Shelly Guitierrez, through social media.

Gutierrez told Arizona’s ABC 15 that they would plan another “Clowns Lives Matter” event after things “settle down a bit.”

In Mississippi, Kemper County has taken a direct approach to the clown situation. They have implemented a local law that states, until Nov. 1, all clown makeup, clothes and masks are banned. Violating the law could lead to a fine of $150. The county claims the purpose of this law is to ensure the safety of everyone in the community during the Halloween season.

The Halloween season is a time for fun and festivities, but it is important to stay safe.

“It is not illegal to be in costume, but putting on a costume and then going up and trying to scare people in this day and age wouldn’t be the best suggested outlet of your energy,” said Ray Price, Washoe County School District Deputy Chief.

William Yepez can be reached at rspacek@sagebrush. unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

SENATE RECAP OCT. 19

By Emily Fisher

PUBLIC COMMENT NEW LIBERAL ARTS DEAN DEVELOPS PROGRAM The Associated Students of the University of Nevada welcomed the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Debra Moddelmog, to speak about her work in developing three areas of the program related to students.

The first is stronger advocacy for the importance of liberal arts. “If we forget the value of the humanities, we are actually not going to be at the cutting edge of research or development in the future,” Moddelmog said. Moddelmog also stressed the importance of a balanced education for all students and reached out to the senators to help with advocating for the liberal arts.

Secondly, Moddelmog is hoping to better prepare liberal arts students for the careers that will be available to them by developing pre-professional training, classes and workshops. The college is developing specific tracks to help liberal arts majors who want to enter the education field or even attend a medical or law school.

The third area Moddelmog discussed was advancing the diversity of the university. Four new gender, race and identity studies staff members are going to be hired, and the GRI program is currently being expanded to hopefully include a major, Moddelmog said.

BUSINESS RECENT PACKFIT RESEARCH SEES SUCCESS

Campaigns Continued from page A1

people interested enough to show up, which is why better-known surrogates are better. Who would I rather have, Catherine Cortez Masto show up here or Bill Clinton?”

It’s a phenomenon that’s easy to observe in the real world. When actress Jennifer Garner came to help the Clinton campaign with voter registration, it drew a crowd of several dozen students eager to take selfies. But when Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley came to campus to energize student volunteers, it drew a crowd of fewer than five.

There’s also the matter of mending broken primary fences, something Banda says the right surrogates can do pretty effectively.

“If you get the people that you beat [in the primary] to stump for you, that can be electorally advantageous,” Banda said.

“You’re going to be more likely to be able to make successful overtures to those people’s supporters, the supporters of the losers, to show up and vote for you.”

This too is easily observable, says Banda. One need look no further than last week’s visit by Bernie Sanders to the University of Nevada, Reno. It’s just one of many similar stump speeches the independent-turnedDemocrat has made since he formally endorsed Clinton back in mid-July.

But has the wave of campaign surrogates made a measurable difference in either campaign’s efforts?

There likely isn’t a single

Jacob Solis/Nevada Sagebrush

Tim Kaine speaks to a crowd of students and community members at the University of Nevada, Reno on Sept. 22, 2016. He is one of the many surrogates that have come to Nevada to campaign for Hillary Clinton.

answer nor a way to tell because, according to Banda, the data to see what’s most effective in driving voter turnout just isn’t there.

“In the presidential context, it’s usually hard to test [what’s effective] because both campaigns are doing basically everything at similar levels,” Banda said.

“That’s not true this year, so I guess we may be able to test that a little bit because the Trump campaign has, basically, no ground game and they’re not advertising that much.”

He added that Trump is especially hard to pin down because Trump’s not running a professional campaign.

Among other things, Banda says that Trump’s lack of political experience, ground game and advertising operations, and

often offensive statements are driving the real-estate mogul down in the polls.

Trump was once up in Nevada polls, if only briefly and by a few points. Back in late September, Trump had a two-point lead in the Silver State and had nearly closed the gap to Clinton in national polls. Flash-forward to now though, and that lead is evaporated, replaced with a four-point Clinton lead in Nevada and a six-point lead nationally, according to the Real Clear Politics average.

And with early voting already underway, the Trump campaign and the GOP more generally are running out of time to win the election. Early voting, which started on Saturday, Oct. 22, is showing an early lead for Democrats. Even so, there are a

few caveats to this data, notably the fact that early voting often leans Democrat and that early voting is indeed just early voting and may not reflect the outcome of Election Day. However, Democrats are still punching above their weight in these early numbers with a lead five points greater than their registration advantage in the state, according to Nevada politics reporter Jon Ralston.

They’re also leading in early absentee ballots, which usually favor Republicans. It’s an early result that is, while not wholly representative of what will happen on Nov. 8, certainly not comforting for Nevada Republicans.

Jacob Solis can be reached at jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Vice President of the Associated Students Jacob Springmeyer reported the success of the recent PackFit mental health survey with over 700 responses and is now working to set up interactive programs and events to increase awareness of mental health and disabilities on campus.

Springmeyer also talked about finalizing details with Campus Recreation to coordinate a “bike-off” against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for Beat UNLV Week.

Also, Senator Barragan updated the senate on the re-branding of the student voice program formerly known as What to Fix Nevada ASUN. A speaker’s task force has been set up with important people and organizations around campus to discuss what changes they would like to see in the program.

There is no official meeting date for the task force at this time.

LEGISLATION NEW BULLETIN BOARDS AND INCREASE OF JUDICIAL INTERNS Two acts of legislation were given a second reading. Both an act to amend the agenda posting procedure and an act to increase the number of interns within the judicial branch were unanimously approved by the senate.

According to Senator Margaret Duvall, new bulletin boards are set to be put up in both the Ansari Business Building and the Pennington Student Achievement Center, and there will now be five judicial interns instead of the previous three.

Emily Fisher can be reached at efisher@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

The experience you want in your senator.

Julia believes in...

Tackling our state’s teacher shortage.

Protecting a woman’s right to control

Limiting tuition fee increases.

her healthcare.

Ensuring adequate pay for professors

Expanding vocational training and

and staff.

workforce development.

Go out and vote! Early voting has started at a polling station near you. Visit JuliaRatti4nv.com for more information.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

Voters skip over nonpartisan races in the general election

By Rachel Spacek As Nov. 8 draws closer, presidential candidates are targeting battleground states like Nevada to call on voter participation and support. As voter attention to the presidential race increases, voters may be drawn away from focusing on the nonpartisan races farther down the ballot.

In Reno’s City Council at-large race, two candidates face off in an election that decides which candidate will represent the entire city, rather than just one ward. Incumbent David Bobzien won the primary election in June for the Reno City Council at-large seat by 63 percent.

In the four-way primary race, Bobzien’s challenger in the general election, Sam Kumar, received just 16 percent of the vote.

Bobzien served four terms in the Nevada State Assembly and was appointed to his current position on the Reno City Council in 2014. Even though the “D” that recognizes a Democratic candidate will not appear next to Bobzien’s name on the Nov. 8 ballot, he is a registered Democrat. According to his campaign message, Bobzien plans to address Reno’s resurging economy with his expertise and experience to ensure a greater quality of life for the Reno community.

Kumar is a registered Republican and served as chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party. He is currently the program manager at a tech firm in Reno. Kumar has criticized the Reno City Council for lacking the expertise needed to make decisions that impact

NEWS | A3

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

the community.

“Typical nonpartisan elections are not nonpartisan; typically candidates tell people what their party is,” said Kevin Banda, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno. “They may not stick it on their signs, but when you go to one of their events they will tell you, ‘I am a registered Democrat or Republican, and the reason they do that is to give people a party cue so they know. This person is a Democrat, so am I, so I am going to vote for them.’”

Historically, the farther voters go down their ballots, the less likely they are to vote. Nonpartisanship adds to the decrease in voter participation.

“In a world where people do not have access to the candidates’ partisanship, nobody votes,” Banda said. “When you combine going down the ballot with not having those party labels on the ballot, that confuses people. People get down there and they see the two names and have not heard of either and they do not see a D or an R. They do not know what to do so they skip.”

According to Kumar, the nonpartisan race takes more research from the voters and increased efforts from the candidates.

“It is definitely a challenge, but therein lies the fun,” Kumar said. “It gives me an opportunity to go out there, not be biased or have to take a biased view based upon my political view. It is a clean slate.”

In Nevada, there are around 235,000 registered nonpartisan voters and over 56,000 registered Independent American voters, according to the Office of Ne-

vada Secretary of State. The amount of registered nonpartisan voters in Nevada is half of the amount of both registered Democrats and Republicans. There are over 470,000 registered Democrats and around 424,000 Republicans.

“In Nevada, we have a culture that thinks nonpartisanship is good; however, we see that it is bad because no one really knows what they are doing,” Banda said.

Incumbent candidate Bobzien has an advantage over his opponent due to his name recognition.

“I’ve found in talking to people and going door to door, people don’t really expect a council person to be partisan one way or another,” Bobzien said.

Compared to candidates in partisan elections, nonpartisan candidates are required to do more public events and go door to door talking to voters.

This election’s presidential race has been categorized as unusual and has made a great impact not only on voter turnout but also on candidates in Senate and Congressional races. The two candidates for the City Council at-large seat have differing opinions on how the abnormal, highly partisan presidential race has affected their race.

“There are few people that are confident in either presidential candidate, there are some, but the majority of people are not engaged and are thinking ‘Is this the best we can do?’” Kumar said.

“I hope at that point they take a look down the ballot and see that not everyone on the ballot is as unacceptable as the candidates at the top of the ballot.

There are many acceptable candidates at the different levels.”

Bobzien said he hopes the presidential election will drive a better turnout across the board.

“I think, if anything, the response people have had to the national election will drive greater interest in all areas of politics and in all areas of the ballot,” Bobzien said.

According to Banda, nonpartisan elections are confusing and lead to a decrease in voter participation.

“Nonpartisan elections are very bad democratically if you think it is important for people to make informed choices,” Banda said. “They are bad because they do not send that clear partisan signal. A lot of people do not like that signal, but it turns out that’s how most people make up their minds about politics in the United States and those party afflilation.”

Rachel Spacek can be reached at rspacek@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Andrea Wilkinson/Nevada Sagebrush

Reno City Hall as it appeared on Monday Oct. 24. Voters will decide which candidate will represent the city on Election Day.

Sagebrush places third in college competition

By Rachel Spacek The Nevada Sagebrush placed third in the top 10 of the Best of Show award category at the Associated Collegiate Press’ National College Media Convention last weekend in Washington, D.C. ACP is a nationally recognized community of college journalists and media advisers and students dedicated to advancing journalism and media education through connecting students and advisers to professionals through national events and competitions.

The Sagebrush finished in the competition behind The Observer, the first-place winner and a weekly newspaper from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. The second-place newspaper is The Peak from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

The Best of Show competition is held at all ACP conventions. The award recog-

nizes the overall excellence of the entries.

The National College Media Convention began last Thursday, Oct. 20, and continued through Sunday, Oct. 23, in Washington, D.C. The convention included keynote addresses from interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile, Pulitzer Prize-winner Bob Woodward and a video conference with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The convention also included hands-on workshops and informational sessions with media professionals.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s literary magazine, Brushfire Literature & Arts, won first place in the Best of Show competition in the Literary Magazine category.

Wolf Pack Radio, UNR’s college radio station, placed fourth in the Best of Show competition for its website.

Rachel Spacek can be reached at rspacek@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.

Ryan

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the incident at the Sigma Nu fraternity house and did not find anything suspicious.

“We responded to the hospital after receiving a call from them that this young man had fallen down stairs,” said Assistant Chief Todd Renwick to the East Bay Times. “… We’ve looked into the incident, and it appears to just be an accident.”

Friends of Ryan told the Reno Gazette-Journal he was at the house to clean up with other members of his fraternity when he fell.

Almost immediately after the accident, friends, family and acquaintances took to social media, sharing their prayers for recovery and support. They described Ryan as a caring and loyal friend.

“There is not one person who Ryan wasn’t friends with or there for,” said Lauren Harrison, a lifelong friend of Ryan, to the RGJ. A tremendous amount of support flooded in from Ryan’s high school, UNR, Greek life and the Reynolds School of Journalism. Individuals inside each community, including professors and past mentors of Ryan, all emphasized the power of prayer and hoped for a miracle.

Those closest to Ryan shared updates from the doctors and signs of hope.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, Ryan’s mom, Wendy Abele, reported on www. ryanabele.com that the active bleeding in Ryan’s brain had stopped and he had been moving his fingers and toes.

A prayer service Thursday night at Our Lady of Wisdom church on campus brought more than 200 people together to sign baseballs and UNR flags before joining some of his closest family members and friends in prayer.

Matt Abele thanked the nurses and doctors at Renown in a Facebook post on Friday, Oct. 21, as well as the hundreds of family members and friends who had reached out and shown their support for the Abele family.

Matt Abele had one request for those who knew Ryan. He told people to “take a moment, recall your fondest memory with Ry and smile, because he’s always been good at making people smile.”

As of Sunday, Oct. 23, Ryan remained on life support while his family said their goodbyes and met with the donor team.

“I’m just not ready to let him go.

Thank you for the tremendous amount of love, support and prayers that each and everyone has shown,” Wendy Abele said in an update on Ryan’s website.

Emily Fisher can be reached at efisher@ sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

PACK N THE EVENTS THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS WEEK

By Blake Nelson

CANADA HALL'S 21ST ANNUAL SAFE TRICK-OR-TREAT DATE: Tuesday TIME: 6:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Canada Hall INFO: A safe trick-or-

treating event will be held for low-income children in the area at UNR's residence halls.

The theme this year is Pokemon; children will be able to participate in activities related to Pokemon while collecting candy. Parents are welcome to attend with their children.

INVISIBLE GIRL DOCUMENTARY DATE: Wednesday TIME: 7 p.m.

LOCATION: Potentialist

Workshop INFO: Our Town Reno will be screening their 30-minute documentary about a woman who was homeless while attending classes at UNR. A discussion about homelessness and gentrification will be held afterward for all to participate. The screening is free to all who attend.

HAUNTED LASER TAG

A look back on the history of Halloween and how it's change Right in the middle of Autumn and Winter, Halloween is a tradition that millions of Americans across the Blake country Nelson Hot Take Blake c e l e b r a t e every year.

But beyond the costumes and beyond the candy, the holiday has deeper roots which span into the modern day.

Before America was even a twinkle in our ancestors' eyes, the Celts were laying the foundation for what would eventually be Halloween. It was 2000 years ago and the holiday was a religious festival meant to ward off spirits.

The ritual, held on Oct. 31, marked the end of the Celtic year. On the date, they would get swill alcohol and dance around in costume, much like today's Halloween. However, rather than a fun event for chil-

dren, the Celts would use this ceremony to not only welcome the new year but to also divine what the year would be like, a deeply religious event with very few of the trappings of the secular holiday we celebrate today.

The holiday was celebrated and changed for centuries, with Irish, Welsh and Scottish descendants of the Celts celebrating it every year. As the years progressed and the Gaelic religion faded, the tradition morphed into a costumed caroling event; participants would dress as the spirits of the dead and sing to people for food and money.

Children were known to dress as well, often playing pranks, otherwise known as the trick half of "trick-or-treat."

Christianity in the U.K. is thought to be responsible for the treat part of "trick-or-treat."

People of the community would go out "souling" on All Hallow's Eve, collecting soul cakes for dead spirits.

All Hallow's Eve is what would

eventually be called Halloween. As Christian ideas supplanted Celtic traditions in the U.K., the two would blend together, mixing guising, pranks and souling to create a primitive version of modern Halloween.

It wasn't until the 19th century, when Irish and Scottish immigrants came to America, that the traditions associated with Halloween took hold. By the 20th century, most of America would be celebrating Halloween.

It wasn't until the last part of the 19th century that Halloween became a secular holiday based on community. By the 1920s, Halloween had all of its religious symbology stripped away.

Jump to today and Halloween is now filled with costumes, horror films, jack-o-lanterns and candy. Both commercialized and commodified, Halloween is now a commercial holiday even more than a secular one.

With one-fourth of all candy sold in America being sold for Halloween and pop-up stores

DATE: Thursday TIME: 7 p.m.

LOCATION: Joe Crowley

Student Union, Milt Glick Grand Ballroom INFO: Dress up and arm up for laser tag at the Joe. A free event for those who want to expend some energy before Halloween.

Come with friends and form teams to dominate the competition so you can be crowned winner at the end of the night.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS DATE: Sunday TIME: 2 p.m.

LOCATION: Joe Crowley

Student Union Ballrooms INFO: Come celebrate either your heritage or the culture of your peers.

Events will be held in all of the ballrooms in the Joe so there is definitely going to be something for everyone to do. Come out and maybe you'll learn something. Free to all those who attend.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.org

TIME: 11 a.m.

LOCATION: Joe Crowley

Student Union INFO: With stops all over the Joe, you're bound to get a lot of candy.

Undoubtedly you'll get a stomach ache, but that's beside the point because the candy is free. Dress or not, your call, but be prepared to have some jump scares along the way.

Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@nevadasagebrush. unr.edu or on Twitter @b_e_nelson.

As for adults, a whole new culture has sprung up around Halloween. Whether it's a crawl-type event like the recent Zombie Crawl here in Reno or just regular parties, Halloween is beginning to be more and more about adults.

This can be attributed to a few things, but first and foremost, look to the millennials. It was the millennials who, just a decade ago, were the ones gorging themselves with free candy on a night of revelry. Now it's just booze rather than candy.

Millennials spend more on Halloween, spending on average 25 percent more on costumes than previous generations. So there's no wonder the amount spent for this year's festivities is predicted to be $8.4 billion. Attribute it to millennial nostalgia or millennial nihilism, either way, millennials are making a change.

It seems that Halloween is once again changing into something else. Unlike most holidays in America, Halloween seems to constantly be in flux. Although today's Halloween is a far cry from the Celtic tradition it once was, the thing that seems to stay the same throughout all these years is Halloween's uncanny ability to bring people together for revelry before the seasons inevitably change.

Blake Nelson can be reached at bnselson@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @b_e_nelson.

D.R.A.M. feel good album of the year

TRICK-ORTREATING AT THE JOE DATE: Monday

specializing in cheap plastic costumes, Halloween has become one of the most widely celebrated holidays in America.

Now the holiday is mostly aimed at children who wish to disguise themselves and trick-or-treat — children going door-to-door to collect candy from strangers, something that is usually a parents' nightmare.

Parents have been checking their children's candy for decades, searching for the suspicious package which could be filled with poison, or the iconic razor blade. Or traveling with their children, diligently looking over their shoulders for the child abductor just laying in wait.

Contrary to what parents and children alike have been told, there has never been one recorded instance of a person handing out poisoned candy.

Besides the various incidents of people with foreign objects in their candy, most of which were proven false.

Also, police remind registered sex offenders that they cannot handout candy on Halloween as well as advise parents to check sex offender databases. As far as abductions go there isn't a considerable spike in kidnappings, although the danger still exists.

Nowadays, children safety websites try to shed light on myths surrounding poisoned candy and sexual offenders. The real hazards of Halloween lie in pedestrian-related accidents or drunk driving accidents.

Bullying is even being warned against, as well as property damage.

‘BIG BABY D.R.A.M.’ Release Date: Oct. 21 Genre: Hip-hop

By Joey Thyne Prior to the release of his first majorlabel album last week, the public did not know much about D.R.A.M. Aside from his summer smash single “Broccoli,” his claim to fame was his song “Cha Cha” being allegedly ripped off by Drake on “Hotline Bling." In some minds, “Big Baby D.R.A.M.” would decide if he was a gimmick or the real deal.

In reality, he is a 28-year-old man with a respectable career. He already has

two projects (#1EpicEP and Gahdamn!) under his belt and he has an impressive catalog of features on other artists’ work.

Everything about D.R.A.M. is adorable.

His sing-along “Cute” is exactly that. For Pete's sake, his cover shows him cheesing while hugging a golden doodle. This charming disposition may rub cynical hip-hop heads the wrong way.

“Big Baby D.R.A.M.” features a sincere enthusiasm that is far too rare in modern hip-hop.

In this sense, it is reminiscent of Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book” earlier this year, minus the religious overtones.

Joey Thyne can be reached at bnelson@ sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @b_e_nelson

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

A&E | A5

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

SAGEBRUSh Staff picks

Halloween M O V I E Rachel Spacek “Beetlejuice” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Ali Schultz “Halloween Town” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Blake Nelson “Blade II”

Brandon Cruz “The Nightmare Before Christmas” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Neil Healy “The Silence of the Lambs”

Jacob Solis “Evil Dead 2” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Jordan Russell “The Exorcist”

Nicole Skarlatos “Twitches” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

photo provided by Wikipeadia.org

Blythe Steelman “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Dominique Kent “Young Frankenstein” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Daniel Putney “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Madeline Purdue “ Hocus Pocus” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Andrea Wilkinson “Hotel Transylvania” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

Jack Rieger “The Curse of Chucky” photo provided by Wikipedia.org

A6 | A&E

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ a tradition that continues to last

By Stephanie Rosauri “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has been a tradition for many different generations of people. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is loved by so many because it is a chance for them to be able to go out and let loose.

The film is loud and the costumes are fun with a theatricality that appeals to a broad audience. Many dress up in costumes from the movie when they go to see it, to express themselves and have a good time. There are not many events where people can go and dress up to watch a movie. RHPS is the adult equivalent of children dressing up like the characters from the movie “Frozen” and going to watch the sing-along version at the movie theater.

Participation is another reason that “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is so popular. To participate, people dress up and yell commentary out at the screen or the actors. It is the longest running audience participation show and the audience plays a huge part. If people did not dress up and yell out commentary the show would not be the same.

What better time to have a live showing of ”The Rocky Horror Picture Show” than during Halloween time? UNR is lucky enough to have the Bawdy Caste, a

theater group from San Francisco, come and perform as the live body cast for the show every year. The live body cast for RHPS dresses up like the cast from the movie and reenacts what is happening on-screen. The Bawdy Caste is special because they have a lot of props and costumes that look just like the movie.

This is the fifth year Wolf Pack Radio has brought the cast to our university and every year more and more students and community members venture to the Joe to watch it.

This year’s event was hosted in the Glick Ballrooms in the JCSU. About 800 students and community members were in attendance, an astounding number when you take into consideration that the ballrooms were set up to host 807 audience members.

The show was free for students with a UNR, TMCC or Reno-Sparks high school student ID and it only cost $5 for community members. The Bawdy Caste sold goodie bags for $3 with things to help the audience participate in the show.

These bags included newspapers for the “There’s a Light” number, toilet paper for when they say “great Scott” and more.

There were many Rocky Horror “virgins” in attendance and there were also people who had seen the show a plethora of times and knew all of the right things to

yell out.

If you wanted to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show, you might also have tuned in to the premiere of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s do the Time Warp Again,” a remake produced by Fox and choreographed by Kenny Ortega. The new film functioned as less of a remake and more of an homage.

The new movie was set in a theater playing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” so that the audience could pop up from time to time and make commentary. The audience in the movie was dressed up and appeared to be people who had seen Rocky Horror more than one time. To pay homage to the original movie, they first had to honor the original story. In the beginning of the movie, we meet Brad and Janet, a young couple at a wedding. In the remake, after the wedding, Brad proposes to Janet in front of Mary Shelley’s grave. A nice touch and a foreshadowing of what is to come in the movie.

Before we get too far into what was exceptional about this recreation, we must first discuss the unexceptional. Christina Millian’s performance fell flat and left the audience wondering why a person would choose to play Magenta with such over-the-top bad acting that it didn’t fit into the movie. Millian’s accent for Ma-

genta changes throughout the show. Her performance was cringe-worthy at best.

One of the most famous parts of the movie is when Dr. Frank-N-Furter snaps his gloves. Usually, the audience will participate by snapping their own rubber gloves at this part. However, the snap was incredibly lackluster and left the audience wanting more. The snap in the original movie is loud and the tension builds for a moment before it is let loose and snaps ostentatiously. This theatrically with the glove is representative of all of the sexual undertones of the movie.

To gloss over it is to do a disservice to the movie you are making an homage to.

Laverne Cox, in her first number as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, sings the song “Sweet Transvestite.” Cox had a lot of vocal fry in this song which was unpleasant but also shocking, since she sang the rest of the songs well, with no vocal fry. Her final scene was amazing.

The last, but not least, problem with this remake was Rocky’s costume. The costuming in general was superb and helped to show the eccentricity of the show, but Rocky’s costume, which is usually tight gold short shorts, was loose gold basketball shorts. This seemed like an odd choice for the production.

All in all, “Let’s Do The Timewarp Again” was a good production. It was fun

and upbeat. The breakout performance was by Ryan McCartan, who portrayed Brad Majors. McCartan was hilarious in every scene and stole the show from the people around him. The original will always be the best, but if you want to see a fun version of it I recommend watching this remake.

Stephanie Rosauri can be reached at bnelson@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @b_e_nelson.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.org

The Nevada Student Ambassadors and Student Nutrition Association Presents

TOURS BEGIN OUTSIDE THE JOT TRAVIS 100

3 CANNED FOODS

all proceeds go to society of st. vincent de paul

f /nevadaASUN

@nevadaASUN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

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“Let’s make debt-free college available to everyone. We need to liberate the millions of Americans who already have student debt.”

Vote for Hillary Clinton for President.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.

Early Vote in Nevada is Saturday, October 22 to Friday, November 4.

For more information about voting location and hours, visit:

iwillvote.com/locate Paid for by Hillary for America

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Opinion

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A8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

Make the right choice at the polls A vote this Novemeber must be an informed one

I

n recent memory, there has been no election more contentious, more outrageous and more deeply frustrating than this year’s. It’s not hard to feel disenchanted with the political process and to feel left out in the cold by the people who should be representing your best interests.

And in 2016, it feels hard to compromise. There’s actual data to back this up. According to the Pew Research Center, Americans are more polarized than ever. Some 94 percent of Democrats are more liberal than the median Republican, while 92 percent of Republicans are

more conservative than the median Democrat.

But just because the parties are polarized doesn’t mean a vote should be cast without research. Positions matter. Policy matters. Ethics matter.

Blind party loyalty doesn’t matter.

You must read the ballot before you vote. It’s a simple thing, an obvious thing, but it’s something that is too easily overlooked. One need look no further than the “regrexit” that immediately followed Britain’s exit from the European Union this summer.

Voting is a serious business that must be taken seriously.

If you want to vote Clinton, fine.

Know that she not only supports free college for those making under $125,000, but also a no-fly zone in Syria — something that experts and laymen alike worry might aggravate Russia unnecessarily.

If you want to vote Trump, go for it. Know that he’s not just a political outsider who wants to build a wall but also someone whose tax plan would benefit the wealthy at the expense of the lower and middle class while decimating federal revenues.

And if you’re angry and want to protest with your vote, go right ahead.

But you must do it bearing in mind your own civic duty to be informed.

Do not let a hatred for the major party nominees steer you onto a path that you don’t really believe in.

If you want to vote for Gary Johnson, truly know his platform. Know that he stands not only for criminal justice reform and the protection of civil liberties but also for the elimination of the Department of

Education and for a one-size-fits-all regressive consumption tax to replace the current tax code. You should also know that his party, the Libertarians, booed the man when he had the gall to suggest people still need driver’s licenses.

And if you want to vote Jill Stein, know that she’s not on the ballot in Nevada and you can’t write her in.

When you head to the polls, ask yourself a question: “What do I care about most?” Whatever the answer is, your next question must be this: “Would the candidate I’m about to vote for make sure my best interests are represented?”

The answer must be yes. Maybe not a resounding yes, as politics is, after all, a game of compromise. But at the end of the day, you need to be sure that the person you send to Capitol Hill will do what you want to be done, or at least try to get it done.

Outside the ballot you’ve been mailed, easy places to look up any

ballot-related information include Ballotpedia or even Google, which will pull up your very own ballot with plenty of handy links if you type in your address.

The Editorial Board can be reached at jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Please join me in voting yes on Question One

L

ike many people, I hope to reach the end of my life having seen and accomplished everything I wanted to. For people like Christina Franklin, that goal was cut short by a preventable tragedy.

This past May in Las Vegas, Christina was dropping her two kids off at daycare when she was confronted by her ex with a gun.

He shot Christina, both of their children and Lila Reeveshimself. ChrisHampton tina had pressed charges against him in the past and had a protective order against him — something that would have prevented her killer from purchasing a gun from a licensed dealer.

However, he was able to get the gun without a background check from a private seller, no questions.

Christina’s children survived, but will now grow up without a mother.

This kind of tragedy has become all too common in our country. Every day for 91 Americans the hope of a full life is lost when they are killed in acts of gun violence.

Currently, Nevada law only requires licensed gun dealers to conduct criminal background checks. Criminals can shop online and at gun shows where private sellers are able to hand over a gun without any questions asked.

We have the opportunity to close the loophole this November by voting yes on Question 1, the Background Check Initiative. This is a common sense, responsible measure that will save lives. Our right to bear arms comes a responsibility to use our guns safely. Question 1 will level the playing field and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. That’s it.

Question 1 allows for a broad range of exceptions such as family transfers, hunting and self-defense.

This is not a gun grab. This is not a registry. Question 1 will only expand the same law that licensed dealers have been abiding by since 1998. Nobody wants to sell a gun to a prohibited person

who may do harm to themselves or others.

Much of the NRA-backed opposition to Question 1 challenges that the law will inconvenience “lawabiding gun owners.” Such avid gun owners should understand that the “burden” that requires gun owners to act responsibly comes along with their right to carry. Most background checks take less than two minutes to complete and 97 percent of Nevadans live within 10 miles of a licensed dealer. The lives that background checks will save are far more important than any minor “inconvenience” that the law might bring.

We know that background checks work. In states that have passed similar laws, there have been 48 percent fewer police officers shot and killed with guns, 46 percent fewer women murdered by their partners using a gun and 48 percent fewer gun suicides.

In Nevada, gun deaths exceed motor vehicle-related deaths. We have the fifth highest gun suicide rate in the nation. Women in Nevada are six times more likely to be shot to death by an intimate partner. The facts speak for themselves. Gun violence prevention is a no-brainer.

I became involved with the Background Check Initiative just five months ago and I have gotten to meet members of our own community whose family members have been murdered in preventable tragedies. When my uncle took his own life with a gun, I saw first hand the dark cloud preventable gun violence brings to the lives of the families left behind.

I know that one law will not prevent every tragedy but it can help save lives. Question 1 is simple, but the consequences of not passing it are personal. We cannot afford to lose more lives by the hand of someone who should not have a gun.

We can’t afford more tragedy.

Please take the time to read the initiative yourself and join me in voting YES on Question 1.

Lila Reeves-Hampton studies journalism and is a volunteer intern for Nevadans for Background Checks.

She can be reached at alexandraschultz@unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Photo Courtesy of flickr

This Halloween try to sit back and enjoy the fall season. There is no reason to continue to fast-track to Christmas.

Stop fast-tracking to Christmas

N

othing gets my gears grinding like seeing Christmas decorations on the shelves before Halloween and Thanksgiving have passed. Christmas is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like it steals the spotlight from two other fantastic holidays.

I love Halloween!

Madeline It’s seriously Purdue looked over as a holiday. You get to dress up as someone other than yourself for an entire day.

Maybe that sounds childish, but maybe that’s the point of Halloween — to take you back to your childhood.

You get to have the silly fun most people frown upon other days in the adult world.

Some of my best memories come from going to the store, deciding my costume of the year and then collecting a ton of candy I ate way past its recommended expiration date. That can’t just be me.

And Halloween is so much better in college, especially in Nevada. Thank you, Abraham

Lincoln, for making Nevada a state on the same weekend as Halloween so that we get an entire extra day to dress up and celebrate than the rest of the country. Three nights of full-out Halloween fun. There are guaranteed multiple parties on every night of the weekend, and your worst nightmare is that the best parties fall on the same night.

Plus, that’s three costumes you get to wear in one year, making Halloween three times better than it already is.

What is not to love about Halloween? Why would we want to skip this weekend of crazy fun to fast-track to Christmas? We need to appreciate and celebrate Halloween with the same energy and delight we has as children.

I can’t pinpoint when I started to hate Christmas music, but I’m pretty sure it started to burn my ears when I realized most radio stations and department stores started getting everyone in the Christmas spirit in July.

Not really, but you get my point. I have never received as much backlash as when I started voicing my opinion.

My family, friends and random people I don’t even know started referring to me as the Grinch, un-American, etc. Whatever, I stand by my

opinion. So I lied — nothing gets my gears grinding like hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Can you really blame me? It’s the same 10 songs over and over for months! I get tired of really great albums in a matter of weeks.

Moving on. In November, we celebrate Thanksgiving. I understand the argument as to why we would kind of look over this holiday and move on to Christmas. It’s racist, and the Pilgrims aren’t as nice as we were told while we were making hand turkeys.

I get it.

However, who doesn’t love to sit down with a bunch of people you’re obligated to love and stuff your face with helpings of yummy food? I savor the day I get to inhale my uncle’s green bean casserole and my grandma’s Thanksgiving turkey and not be judged when I look pregnant after getting up from the table.

And if you have more than one side of the family to celebrate with like I do, you get to eat even more Thanksgiving food on the day after. Really, there’s nothing like Thanksgiving leftovers. I like food, sue me.

I really do love my family.

Thanksgiving is the time I get to go home and see my

parents and my little sister for the first time in months after struggling to feed myself on a single box of mac and cheese during midterms.

It’s not a crime to miss your family, your home and most importantly, your dog. If anything, Thanksgiving should be a time to celebrate family and fortune. We all have something to be grateful for.

Plus, the next day is Black Friday, a fantastic day for brave discount enthusiasts to go nuts. Even the spectacle of these activities is enough to make you appreciate the fall holidays.

Again, I love Christmas, but I’m just stating the facts.

Halloween and Thanksgiving are the bomb. It’s not a coincidence these holidays are spread almost evenly a month apart. You have that time to prepare and celebrate the designated holiday of the month. I suggest we use this time to properly give each holiday the effort it deserves.

Who’s with me?

Madeline Purdue studies Journalism. She can be reached at alexandraschultz@ unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

OPINION | A9

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

Do’s and don’ts to a wicked costume

T

rick-or-treat, trick-or-treat, give me something good to eat. It’s that time of year again. As the pumpkin spice lattes are made by the dozens, it seems our Instagram feeds simultaneously flush with hundreds of costume pics.

What do they say?

With great power comes great responsibility?

Something Ali like that.

Schultz As you Schultz Happens know, you have the power to make the ever-so-crucial decision- ‘What am I going to dress up as this Halloween?’

Trust me, I too have encountered my fair share of costume conundrums. But after a few

carefully crafted Halloween garb choices, I’m basically an expert.

So here are my two cents on this years Halloweens do’s and don’ts: Do: Do leave the cat ears at home.

I get it, people. The cat ears are an easy, go-to costume. I mean for 99 cents you have a costume.

Right? No wrong. Instead of throwing on the makeshift cat ear headband, throw together a costume using things you have around your house. It isn’t that difficult people. Throw on a white button up, some black jeans and invest in a jet black wig with front bangs. Ta-dah!

Now you’re Mia Wallace from “Pulp Fiction.” And if you want to get really crazy you can even hold a stog and snag a tube of fake blood and recreate the famous nose bleed.

Don’t: Don’t let your girlfriend or boyfriend coerce you into a costume you are not about. If

you needed to be told by an outside source, you don’t have to be the dalmatian to her Cruella Deville. When you really think about it, there were 101 of them.

Guys, you can do better than that. So, unless you’re justifiably in the doghouse, you can always say no. Ladies, same goes for you. Don’t let your man make you do the “Blue’s Clues” thing.

Don’t let him convince you to be Blue while he’s sitting all sound in his thinking chair!

Couples, instead maybe try an equal approach. Some good options could be Darla and Alfalfa, Michael Jackson and his monkey Bubbles, Austin Powers and Foxy Cleopatra, Veronica Corningstone and Ron Burgandy or simply, the Wayne’s World Duo. Do: Do try to leave the slutty nurse/firefighter/police officer/ etc. costumes at home. I’m not sure who you’re arresting with those pink fuzzy handcuffs. The

XXX movie production company called. They want their prop back. Come on, people, you can do better than this. No fires are going to be fought when your costume is a 2-foot wide piece of flimsy fabric. Halloween or not, talk about bad burns. Instead of sporting one of these overplayed personas, shoot for something more original or current! These cop-out costumes are so 2007.

All I am saying is originality trumps the “sexy” blue collar costume any day. Instead, try something cutesy like a TBT Cher Horowitz (“Clueless” is a classic). Or try something more relevant like one of the thousands of Kardashian personas.

You could even channel your inner Beyonce and play tribute to the ever-so-notable Lemonade video.

Don’t: A big Halloween don’t is choosing a costume in poor taste. Recently, a costume distributing website, Cos-

tumeish, received some serious backlash for their costume based on Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery. As many people know, Kardashian’s Paris hotel room was broken into. She was held at gunpoint and robbed of millions of dollars in jewelry. A lot of things are funny. Will Ferrell movies, Saturday Night Live, the 2016 Presidential election- now those things are funny. Armed robbery, not so much. On another serious note, actor Seth Myers said it best: “Don’t wear blackface. The risk just isn’t worth the reward. Think of the happiest you’ve ever been in a good Halloween costume, and then think of the saddest you’ve ever been when everyone called you a racist. That’s like breaking your sobriety for an Amstel Light. It’s not worth it.

Just don’t do it.” Black face is nothing more than a symbol to further a type of fallacy that black people are an inferior race.

So for everyone that says it is

“just Halloween” and “people can’t take a joke” unfortunately, you can’t deny blackface being an emblem for oppression. Let’s just all agree we are leaving the distasteful costumes at home this Halloween.

Do: Above all, do have fun with your Halloween costume.

Whether you’re dressing as the cast of “That 70s Show” with your closest friends or flying solo in a totally original costume, make sure you’re having fun with it. Remember, Halloween is meant to be spooky, spunky, festive and fun. Don’t be afraid to get decked out and be different. Go big or go home.

But really, if you are wearing cat ears, just go home.

Happy Halloween!

Ali Schultz studies journalism.

She can be reached at alexandraschultz@unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

The reason America is

cuckoo for the creeps

Y

The real science behind why people like to get scared

ou enter the first dark corridor and immediately you notice the walls are covered in spider webs and chains. You look down and fake fog crawls across the floor and the smell of fake blood fills your nasal cavity. Flashing strobe lights disorientate you and a man dressed as a zombie waits around the corner to launch in your direction and make you jump out Lauren of your skin.

Gray Creepy music and screaming drone in the background as you make your way past gory animatronics and horrific scenes. You are in one-of-athousand haunted houses scattered across America, and as you run out of it screaming your head off, one has to wonder why being scared out of your wits is so much fun.

According to hauntrepreneurs.com, haunted houses draw an estimated 35 million fright enthusiasts annually and have emerged into an over $300 million industry. Their popularity is only increasing in the United States with the number of haunted attractions ranging around 2,500 in 2013 to a little over 4,000 this year.

And it isn’t unusual for a large haunted attraction to bring in $2-3 million in a season. So it’s clear that America loves to be scared, but why?

The beginning of this answer lies in two different parts of our brain; the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is responsible for the “flight or fight” response. When presented with a threat, the heart rate begins to increase, adrenaline pumps through the body, lungs expand and the body has more energy just in case there’s a need for flight or fight. The rush of chemicals and hormones that flood our brains in this physical state are present whether the threat is real or not. This makes us more attentive and curious and it’s harder for us to look away. The prefrontal cortex is the brain’s evaluator, it assesses whether

or not the threat is real. Once again, even if we know we are safe, the physical state of flight or fight is still there.

Another explanation for our enjoyment of things morbid and gruesome is called “The Boomerang Effect.” It’s basically the idea that things that we try to oppress within ourselves or that society tries to oppress (in this case fear or morbid curiosity) are more appealing because they are socially unacceptable. We use Halloween as an excuse to explore the dark side of our minds, our own morbid curiosity because any other time of year to express such enthusiasm for horror would be considered weird. Haunted houses also provide us with a way to release our real life fears. Throughout our daily lives, we worry about things like bills, societal status, relationships and loans — things that scare us for very different reasons. People can release the fears of real life by being afraid of a teenager in a werewolf mask growling at them through a blood stained bed sheet. It’s therapeutic, in a weird way.

Facing the disturbing, gruesome and downright terrifying is also a way for us to prove our strength. Haunted houses present a challenge for us. Bragging rights and “I survived” T-shirts are distributed among those who can survive the country’s top haunted houses like the Freakling Brother’s “Trilogy of Terror” or McKamey Manor in San Diego. Making it through these terrors is our way of saying “I did it! I conquered something disturbing! I’m stronger than you!”

Haunted houses are about imagination. We know they are fake, that’s why we are willing to enter them. We put ourselves in an environment where we can pretend to be chased by crazy clowns with chainsaws, or thrown in the middle of a hillbilly cannibalistic hell. Ultimately, we are pretending to be in an environment where our imaginary existence is in jeopardy. It is often thought this has to do with our acceptance of our own mortality. It’s a part of us that understands how fragile our lives and the lives of those around us are, therefore,

our desire to challenge that fragility (without actually jeopardizing it) is part of the deeper root of the attraction to haunted houses. Accepting that you could die at any minute in the pretend realm of haunted attractions is a safe way to face your own mortality without having to dive into existential questions like “why is this happening?”

Finally, haunted houses are most often visited in groups. It is a group Halloween attraction after all. Most people would be too afraid to venture into even a mediocre haunted house by themselves, so the idea of “safety in numbers” applies here. But it still goes a little deeper than that. Once again, social acceptance plays a role here. If you jump and scream at a fake spider that drops from the ceiling and your friend screams at it too, your fear of that spider is validated. Most likely you will find comfort in the fact that your fears are equal to that of others. If you jump at the spider and your friend laughs, you might feel a little embarrassed or “wimpy.”

This goes back to what we discussed earlier, using scary things to prove your own strength. So haunted houses are a way for some groups to share in fear while other groups use it as a way to rank themselves. My friend, Sarah, summed this up for me in a quote once, saying, “I’m too Disney for your Rob Zombie.”

So for all of you who are a little more daring and in-tune with your morbid side, I hope you’ve learned a little more about yourself and the daredevil, mortality challenging, freaks that you are. Fright Fest is now open in Reno if you are looking for a good local scare.

It is located at the Reno Aces Stadium and runs until Oct. 31. If you are willing to travel, there is also “Frightdome” and “Trilogy of Terror,” located in Las Vegas. Details are online.

Have fun out there and happy Halloween.

Lauren Gray studies journalis.

She can be reached at alexandraschultz@unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebursh.

Illustration by Zak Brady

Adults do Halloween better

T

he darkness was swallowing the Las Vegas Strip as my first Halloween was about to commence on the night of Oct. 31, 2002. My mother helped me put on my Yoda costume because I decided Yoda was the character who had the strongest Force in the movie, Brandon which would Cruz undoubtedly get me more candy. As I prepared to leave, my escorts, Dad and Mom, quickly stepped in front of me. As is the custom, my mother preached to me, “Don’t eat any candy until we get home and check them.” It was an odd rule to me at the time, but as you grow you begin to see the purpose of all those random rules your parents implemented. Needless to say, my first Halloween went off without a hitch, and my dentist made a fortune the next time I visited him.

I’m sure many people had similar first-time Halloween experiences, but the interesting part about it is as children

we were never truly living up to the Halloween tradition.

Costumes and candy have been a part of the tradition since its origin, but they were used for a different purpose.

According to History.com, Halloween began roughly 2,000 years ago at a festival put on by the Celtics called Samhain.

The Celtics believed that on the 31st, the dead would roam the earth again. In light of this fact, they attempted to ward off the spirits by wearing costumes, most of which consisted of animal parts. They also gave out sweets as a sort of offering to the spirits so that they could protect their families. In addition, the Celtic priests, or druids, built sacred bonfires where they gathered to sacrifice animals and burn crops.

As we get older, I believe we begin living up to the original tradition Halloween was based upon. Now, we obviously don’t wear dead animal carcasses, but as we age we tend to stray away from the treating portion of trick-or-treat, finding out we oddly enjoy being scared and relish the moments that point toward unworldly experiences, usually that of the supernatural.

Granted, we aren’t attempting to ward off evil spirits, but

quite the contrary: We go out of our way to find them. Although it is not what the Celtics did, we are still upholding the tradition by believing there is some ghost or spirit in our midst. This is the thrill of the modern Halloween experience for individuals 17 and up. We pay money to either scream our heads off in haunted houses or keep our cool to show our dates we’re man or woman enough.

Some may say it’s foolish to think there are ghosts, ghouls and goblins in the world, but to those naysayers I ask, “What has happened to your imagination?” Yes, we are getting older.

Maturity comes with the territory, and responsibilities tend to trump interesting endeavors we’d like to find ourselves in.

But life would be pretty dull if we looked at every situation with such a realist attitude.

There are enough sticks in the mud on Wall Street. Think out of the box; imagine SpongeBob moving his head in a half-circle while saying “imagination” if you need to. Go about it however you see fit as long as you find a way to uphold the Celtic tradition in some way, shape or form.

Brandon Cruz studies journalism. He can be reached at alex-

Sports A10

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

Photo courtesy of Kevin McReynolds. Photo illustration by Andrea Wilkinson

College football player-turned-entrepreneur finds success after career

By Javier Hernandez In the world of football, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the length of one’s career — in extension, one’s life — is at the mercy of injuries.

For most players, football is Plan A, Plan B, all the way through Plan Z. For the athletes who make it to the NFL, it is the intrinsic cerebral attitude and unshakable confidence in their abilities that allow them to become successful. For those who come up short, this same characteristic allows for them to develop tunnel vision that tragically becomes their downfall. Far too often, when a player is injured and forced out of the sport, they scramble to channel their focus into a different avenue and often end up without a backup plan. For Kevin McReynolds, a traumatic injury was what jump-started and catalyzed his post-football career.

Choices “Be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” These were the parting words UCLA coach Jim Mora shared with his team before he turned them over to the Navy Seals to undergo a grueling preseason workout. Like many others on that team, McReynolds, who was preparing for the biggest season of his career, made these words his life mantra. He was one step closer to achieving the lifelong goal that he and most football players shared: to make it to the NFL. Prior to his arrival at UCLA, McReynolds excelled in high school as he became a sought-after recruit as the fifth-ranked defensive tackle in the country. Scouts salivated over his physical attributes, most notably his strength that allows him to bench

press over 500 pounds. In addition, he was the heavyweight wrestling state champion in D.C. In his senior year, he received over 40 Division I offers to play football but ultimately chose UCLA. After playing a limited role in his first two years, he was in line for a starting role, and for the time being, he was on the fast track to playing on Sundays.

However, in preparation for the season opener against Nevada, McReynolds suffered a concussion — his second in two years. Throughout his career, including high school, McReynolds estimates he has had five to nine concussions he is aware of.

After his latest concussion, McReynolds began to feel the onset of the effects of concussion-related head injuries.

“The concussion triggered emotions where I could no longer control how I felt about things, and it took a while for that to heal. If I was supposed to laugh, I would cry; if I was supposed to cry, I would laugh,” McReynolds said.

Cognizant of the severity of head injuries, McReynolds was faced with the reality that football would probably not be his career path — a reality most athletes tend to put on the back burner. It takes a great deal of self-awareness and maturity for one to acknowledge this reality. His father, Kevin McReynolds Sr., was supportive of him regardless of the career he cvhose but was ultimately proud of the decision his son made to shift his abilities to a different venture.

“Football would have rewarded him if he continued, but the cost of football has so many people fighting to be destroyed,” McReynolds Sr. said. “Given that he’s had a number of concussions, I commend him on the excellent job of making the right choice.”

Heisman Entertainment Whenever McReynolds enters a room, it’s hard to ignore his massive 6-foot-2, 300-pound frame. One would assume he plays football, which he did. However, once you start talking to him, you begin to notice his intrinsic outgoing personality and an eagerness to network with people who would help him succeed.

“He is affiliated with some very influential people. He’s become good friends and made connections with a number of Fortune 500 company CEOs throughout his childhood and college years,” McReynolds Sr. said.

From a young age, McReynolds had a keen aptitude for connecting with people from different walks of life. When he was 13, McReynolds became his hometown’s unofficial party planner, in the process founding the birth of his first “company,” Heisman Entertainment.

“I recall him starting up a business where he threw parties for the very wealthy, influential kids of Montgomery County. And he rented out places like the Marriott and the Hyatt Regency and threw parties,” McReynolds Sr. said. “I told him he should find a job for the summer, and he told me he didn’t want to work for minimum wage. So instead he was out there working for three or four thousand for an event.”

Though event planning was a hobby McReynolds thoroughly enjoyed in his childhood, he always placed it secondary to football. There was no direction to his party-planning company, but due to his time away from football, it allowed him to rediscover and revive this childhood passion. McReynolds

founded his own company, the HighLyfe Group, which manages two successful subsidiaries. HighLyfe Xperience is a travel company based in Las Vegas, providing full-service travel accommodations for its customers.

HighLyfe Entertainment is an eventplanning and talent-booking agency that caters to the college demographic at over 30 universities. The company plans parties and events, booking headliners such as Soulja Boy, Juicy J, Slim Thug, Roscoe Dash, Wes Walker, Travis Porter, Gorilla Zoe and Juelz Santana, among many others.

HighLyfe Life can be weird in the way things work out. Call it fate, karma or kismet, but when McReynolds’ final undergraduate year at UCLA was coming to a close, an ironic opportunity presented itself. As McReynolds was ready to painfully close the football chapter of his life, things went full circle: after injuring himself preparing for a game against Nevada, head coach Brian Polian offered him a spot on the team.

“I didn’t know that I was going [to] play somewhere else my senior year.

I thought I was just going into the business world and grad school,” McReynolds said. “When teams go for grad transfers, they can decide to pay for a semester, which is technically all they had to pay for, but coach Polian wanted to keep me on scholarship for the whole year. That allowed me to get my first year [of] grad school knocked out and I’m very grateful.”

Polian took a gamble on a player with only one year of eligibility left, but he felt the relationship was mutually beneficial.

“He wanted to come play and also to

start an MBA program at a good school.

We needed a defensive tackle who could stop the run, and it was mutually beneficial at the end because both sides are happy the way it turned out,” Polian said.

Though short-lived, McReynolds’ last year of football was crucial in providing closure to his childhood dream. It allowed him to fully transition from the highlights of football to the HighLyfe goal.

This fall, McReynolds is in the second year of his three-year MBA program. He takes three classes Mondays through Wednesday. On Thursday, he travels to wherever his businesses take him and returns back to Reno on a red-eye flight on Sunday.

Looking forward, McReynolds looks to expand the scope of his companies.

At the rate his companies are succeeding, these goals are not far-fetched.

“Long term for the company, I want to get into hospitality. I want to own restaurants. I want to start a hotel. I want to do things like that. I want to get into owning nightclubs,” McReynolds said. “That’s a long-term goal. That’s something that I’ve been working towards for a long time.”

Reflecting upon his life thus far, McReynolds doesn’t view his football career as a failure. While his NFL dreams did not come to fruition, he was able to take advantage of the doors that football opened for him and use them as an entrance into the business world.

Javier Hernandez can be reached at neil@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @TheSagebrush.

Aunt Janet, Cubs tie family together Second Wolf Pack On Saturday night, my cheerful, loving Italian family celebrated my Aunt Janet’s birthday in San Francisco. My Aunt Janet — one of the nicest, warmest people you will ever meet — would disown me if I disclosed her age, but it’s a year worth celebrating with people you care about.

In case you haven’t been to an Italian birthday party, there are three essential ingredients. The first, of course, is Italian food. Italians are notorious for inhaling massive amounts of carbs, mostly in the form of spaghetti, pizza and variations of bread.

To Italians, food represents the familiar feeling of returning home and sharing a tradition with people you love. That, along with a terminal stomach ache.

Secondly, an Italian birthday requires toasts from family members.

Jack Italians are naturally Rieger great toasters because of our dramatic, gregarious personalities, and a toast offers a perfect stage to unapologetically express love and appreciation for one another. Thanks to years of attending Italian parties, I’ve learned a great toast evokes love, laughter and sometimes even an element of sadness. There were several great toasts this weekend.

Lastly, an Italian party requires red wine.

This is by far the most important element of the recipe. In fact, members of the fam-

ily will immediately leave upon realizing there isn’t any red wine to drink. It’s the lubricant for all of the emotions evoked by family, and it’s the only thing that makes your racist uncle tolerable for three hours.

My Aunt Janet’s party had all of the ingredients listed above, and it even included one more random element: the Chicago Cubs were playing to go to the World Series for the first time since 1945.

This is a big deal in my family.

In 1925, my great-grandfather, Vincent Giovenco — at the age of 18 — left his homeland of Sicily and moved to the north side of Chicago. He worked for Baby Ruth as an assembly line worker responsible for adding chocolate to the chocolate bars.

Vincent met my great-grandmother Nicasia — one of eight children — and was married in 1928. My grandfather, John Giovenco, was born in 1936 not far from his parent’s house.

“We were very poor,” my grandpa said.

“We lived 24 blocks south of Wrigley Field, but were too poor to go to games. The whole neighborhood was Cubs fans. When we played stickball outside, I would pretend I was Andy Pafko, and Bill Nicholson, and Hank Souer. The Cubs’ first baseman Phil Cavarretta lived three blocks away from me. He was a used car salesman during the winter.”

Although the Cubs are a source of immense pride and tradition for many Chicago natives like my grandpa, they are a franchise largely defined by losing.

The Cubs haven’t won a championship since 1908 — 108 years ago. There are four

108-year-olds currently alive in the United States, according to ESPN (none of them attended my Aunt Janet’s party). The Cubs haven’t even been to the World Series in 71 years. In 1945, the NBA didn’t exist, Donald Trump wasn’t alive and sliced bread hadn’t been invented. In other words, Saturday night was a huge deal to not just our family but also the city of Chicago and the entire sports culture.

Luckily, the restaurant that hosted the birthday dinner had a television playing the game. The problem was it was in the bar, which was a 20-yard walk from the dinner room. Because of this, every male member of the family was “going to the bathroom” every five minutes and not returning until the inning was over.

The Cubs got out to an early lead and entered the ninth inning up 5-0, needing only three outs to advance to the World Series — a stage they haven’t sniffed in 71 years. When the bottom of the ninth inning began, I snuck out to the bar with my grandpa, brother and cousin to witness our Cubs end a curse that’s stood since my grandpa was 9 years old.

When the final out was recorded in Chicago, Joe Buck made the dramatic television call, “The Cubs have won the pennant!”

player retires due to concussions

By Jack Rieger Nevada head coach Brian Polian announced after Saturday’s loss to Wyoming that redshirt freshman Riley Brand has decided to retire from football.

Brand was a safety for Nevada and an occasional starter on special teams. “[Brand] made the decision on Thursday after having consulted with his parents, our medical staff and actually a third party on the outside that after having suffered his second concussion in the Hawaii game and not being able to recover from it, is going to retire from football,” Polian said.

Brand is from Anaheim, California, and was recruited to Nevada before the 2015 season. He is 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and he had the potential to eventually be a contributor on defense as well as a special teams standout. Brand finished 2016 with six tackles in two games, including five against Notre Dame.

Brand is the third Nevada player to retire because of concussions in the past two years. Backup running back Akeel Lynch also retired last Tuesday because of repeated concussions.

Lynch was a transfer from Penn State and a significant contributor to the offense.

Retirement because of head injury is becoming a more common occurrence in college football thanks to the somewhat recent discovery of the long-term effects of brain damage to athletes with head trauma.

Former NFL defensive end and Hall of Famer Junior Seau committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies showed Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage that has been linked to other deceased NFL players. Seau’s nephew, Ian, graduated from Nevada last season.

Jack Rieger can be reached at neil@ sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @ SagebrushSports.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT WOMEN’S GOLF Women’s golf took a road trip down to Henderson, Nevada, to play in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.

The Wolf Pack enjoyed one of its best rounds of the season this past Sunday by tying for 16th place going into round two. Jordan Keyser led the team as she played one of the best rounds of her career, at 2-under 70. Out of 105 players, Keyser is tied for 15th place going into round two. The rest of the Nevada team is tied for 60th place and above. The end results of the tournament will not be released until Tuesday night.

RIFLE The No. 12-ranked Nevada rifle team traveled to Colorado Springs this past weekend to square off against Mountain West foes the Air Force Falcons and the UTEP Miners.

It was a relatively strong showing for Nevada, even though their three-match win streak ended. The Wolf Pack split its four matches with Air Force and UTEP. Saturday’s match saw the Air Force Falcons slightly edging out Nevada with the top score of 4673. Nevada was right behind them with 4643. While the Pack improved when Sunday rolled around, so did the Air Force. The Wolf Pack now sits at 5-3.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Nevada soccer’s record dropped to 5-12 on the season and 2-5 in conference play as it lost at home against Boise State. Nevada took 27 shots but ended up scoreless against the Broncos, losing 2-0. Once Boise State gained possession, it cashed in on the opportunity it was given, scoring in the 24th minute.

Brandon Cruz can be reached at bcruz@sagebrush.unr.edu and on twitter @Sagebrush Sports.

SPORTS | A11

@NevadaSagebrush | nevadasagebrush.com

The

According NeiL to

Ty Gangi was great, but don’t annoint him the savior just yet

Well Nevada fans, you got what you wanted. After senior quarterback Tyler Stewart went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, sophomore Ty Gangi took over and gave the Wolf Pack an offensive spark that had been missing for most of the season. In a 42-34 loss to Wyoming on Saturday, Gangi completed 63 percent of his passes for 300 yards and a touchdown, and added a rushing touchdown while keeping Nevada in a shootout against a superior Cowboys team.

With Stewart’s injury sidelining him for the remainder of his career, Neil Patrick it’s Gangi’s time to shine, Healy but be careful in declaring him the savior of Nevada’s season.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE EXCITED Gangi’s mere presence adds another element to the offense that had been lacking over the course of the season: mobility. When he ran the read option and turned it into a 17-yard touchdown run, I knew Stewart had lost his job.

Gangi’s 300-yard performance makes him the first Nevada quarterback to throw for 300 yards since Cody Fajardo threw for 306 yards in October of 2014 against Boise State. That’s the kind of electric offense Nevada became famous for.

The shot of life Gangi provided against Wyoming affected everyone on offense.

Guys like Hasaan Henderson and Jarred Gipson easily had their best games of the season, with Henderson catching seven passes for 87 yards and Gipson catching three passes for 47 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Henderson’s seven catches were a season high and Gipson, who hadn’t caught more than one pass in a game all season, became the security-blanket tight end that I’ve been on record saying he could be.

Besides putting up good numbers and making his teammates better, Gangi makes the offense way more entertaining to watch. Stewart’s role was the game-manager type who wouldn’t make too many mistakes but also wouldn’t be able to keep his team in games.

Gangi made big plays and kept Nevada in a game it wouldn’t have been in with Stewart at the helm.

WHY YOU SHOULD RELAX Sample size is everything in sports, and Gangi just doesn’t have enough snaps for us to truly evaluate if he’s going to be Nevada’s saving grace. He threw 53 passes all year and didn’t have any meaningful playing time until last week. I want to see him put together good performances over the course of the season before I am comfortable with labeling Gangi as the guy of the future.

Nevada was in a shootout with Wyoming not only because of Gangi’s big night but also because Wyoming is bad on defense. The Cowboys are ranked No. 82 in total defense and No. 113 in pass defense, which may explain why a backup quarterback could light up the stat sheet like that. Nevada’s next three opponents (New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah State) currently rank No. 45, No. 6 and No. 31 in total defense, respectively. Only UNLV, which ranks No. 102 in total defense, is a soft opponent that is more than likely to light up the scoreboard again.

Three of Nevada’s remaining opponents are ranked in the top 50 in rush defense, which will put Gangi in more positions like the one he was in against Wyoming where he’s asked to throw the ball 43 times. We’ve seen him succeed in that spot, but he’ll have a hard time putting up numbers like that again against much better defenses. Having him drop back that many times invites the opportunity to be sacked or turn the ball over.

of what happens, Nevada just got a little more interesting.

Neil Patrick Healy can be reached at neil@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NP_Healy.

WASHINGTON VS. UTAH

While Utes fans are hoping for an upset, I can’t foresee that occurring. Washington has had a prolific offense this season, averaging 48 points per game.

The Utes have held most of their opponents to under 28 points the entire season until they squared off against the Bruins in Pasadena, California. UCLA put up 45 points, most of which came during the second half in a last-ditch comeback effort. This game is the Huskies’ to lose. Final game prediction: Washington 41, Utah 30.

WISCONSIN VS. NEBRASKA Now this is the type of upset I can put my faith behind. I understand the Cornhuskers are undefeated, winning in convincing fashion for about half of their games. It is also true that the Badgers have two losses on the record. But we must take into account that both of these losses came against two of the best teams in college football: Michigan and Ohio State. The reason I’m calling for an upset is mainly that the Cornhuskers have not played a single top-25 team the entire year and have yet to be tested. Final game prediction: Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 20.

HAWAII VS. NEW MEXICO The Rainbow Warriors square off against the New Mexico Lobos in Honolulu. The tripleoption is a run-heavy offense, run by two teams within the Mountain West: Air Force and New Mexico. While the Rainbow Warriors did come out victorious from their game against Air Force, I do not see them beating the triple-option twice. First off, New Mexico runs that style of offense better than the Falcons. Second, Hawaii allowed a staggering 389 rushing yards against Air Force. Final game prediction: Hawaii 35, New Mexico 42.

VERDICT Gangi has the potential to provide both a dual threat on offense and an excitement factor Nevada has been lacking at quarterback since Fajardo left in 2014.

He is clearly electric when given the chance, but I think everyone needs to calm down. The schedule is brutal, the defenses he faces get better, the pressure will continue to mount and Gangi will likely struggle down the stretch. He’ll show glimpses of brilliance like he did against Wyoming, but to think Gangi will lead Nevada to three wins over the next four games is a pipe dream. Regardless

NATIONAL PREDICTIONS

Quinsey Sablan/Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada quarterback Ty Gangi (6) rolls out and stares down field and looks for the open man down field in Nevada’s home game at Mackay Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 22. Gangi took the place of injured Tyler Stewart.

Brandon Cruz can be reached at bcruz@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.

Gameday

Bye week

@SagebrushSports | nevadasagebrush.com

A12

vs. Cal Poly at Notre Dame vs. Buffalo W 30-27 (OT)

L 39-10

MEET THE TEAM

W 38-14

at Purdue

at Hawaii

vs. Fresno

L 24-14

L 17-38

W 27-22

at San Jose vs. Wyoming L 14-10

L 42-34

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

at New Mexico TBA 11/05

vs. San Diego State 7:30 p.m.

11/12

it’s getting ugly

Utah State

at UNLV

TBA 11/19

TBA 11/26

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Stewart’s career ends as Nevada loses again

Nevada’s new starting quarterback Ty Gangi (6) stares deep down field looking for an open reciever in Nevada’s game against Wyoming on Saturday, Oct. 22. Gangi threw for over 300 yards, the first Nevada QB to do so since Cody Fajardo in 2014.

WEEKLY TOP 5 Longest Title Droughts CUBS: 108 YEARS

There are title droughts and there’s the Chicago Cubs — a franchise that hasn’t even been to the championship game since 1945, which would still be the longest drought in sports. But starting Tuesday night, the Cubs are in the World Series for the first time since the end of World War II.

2

Cardinals: 69 years

3

Indians: 68 years

The Cardinals made the playoffs just four times from 1949 to 1997. They have never won a Super Bowl, and the franchise has changed homes four times.

Thanks to Kurt Warner and Bruce Arians, the Cardinals have had consistent success for the past eight seasons, but still haven’t captured a title.

Probably the most miserable fan base in sports, Cleveland has been home to losing franchises for half a century. But in June, Lebron James and the Cavaliers broke the city’s title drought. And on Tuesday, the Indians will begin the seven-game World Series in an attempt to break their own drought against the Cubs.

4

Screenshot via Twitter

The Wolf Pack suffered its fourth loss in five games on Saturday night, losing to the Wyoming Cowboys by a final score of 42-34.

Although Nevada (3-5, 1-3) lost the game, the offense seems to have new life thanks to backup quarterback Ty Gangi’s explosive performance. Gangi replaced starter Tyler Stewart, who left early in the game due to a shoulder injury. Stewart’s injury will keep him out the rest of the year, and his Wolf Pack career will end, as Stewart is a senior this season. Stewart finished his Wolf Pack career 11-11, completing 59 percent of his passes and throwing 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Gangi played well in Stewart’s place, completing 27 of 43 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown. Gangi adds a rushing dynamic, something Stewart didn’t offer at a high level. Gangi rushed for 43 yards including a touchdown run, averaging 3.5 yards per rush. Before the season, Gangi was thought of more as a runner than a passer, but Saturday night showed the junior-college transfer has the accuracy and arm strength to keep defenses backpedaling.

“He plays better with the lights on than when he practices,” Polian said. “I was very impressed with the way he handled things and very impressed with how the offense rallied around him.”

Gangi gives a desperate Nevada team and fan base hope for the rest of the season. The offense had its best performance of the season, and Gangi became the first quarterback since Cody Fajardo to throw for 300 yards.

Despite the offense’s improved performance, Nevada’s defense continues to play at an unwatchable level. Wyoming’s Brian Hill ran 29 times for 289 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 10 yards per carry. Nevada’s front seven continues to be the team’s Achilles’ heel, as Mountain West opponents consistently rush the ball up the middle for significant yardage.

“My fear coming into the game was they’d bludgeon us to death, and clearly that’s what happened,” Polian said.

Nevada had an opportunity to tie the game on its final possession after an onside kick, but Gangi threw an interception to Logan Wilson on the first play of the drive.

“I feel like I did well but not good enough,” Gangi said. “I hate to lose. No excuses. I’m disappointed. I wish I could have that last throw back.”

Gangi’s performance and his honesty after the game will go a long way with Wolf Pack fans. Whether it’s fair or not, Nevada fans have expressed their displeasure with Stewart’s run as quarterback dating back to last season, and Gangi showed enough potential on Saturday night to excite a fan base that has had nothing to cheer for the past two months.

Nevada has a bye this weekend and will play New Mexico (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday, Nov. 5.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Brian Hill, 29 rushed, 289 yards and three touchdowns PLAYER OF THE GAME: Spencer Pettit misses a 37-yard field goal with 7:34 remaining.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: “The locker room is disappointed right now,” Polian said. “I want to go on record to say they have not stopped fighting. They hung together and competed and showed emotional and mental toughness against a lot of negativity. They have hung together and continued to fight. The only way we’re going to come out the back of this is to keep fighting. One thing I can guarantee is if we stop fighting and start finger-pointing, it’s going to be a mess.”

Quinsey Sablan/Nevada Sagebrush

1

By Jack Rieger

Kings: 65 years

The Kings are the most dysfunctional franchise in all of the NBA, and they haven’t won a championship since 1951. In 2002, the Kings lost a controversial semifinal series to the Lakers, which turned out to be rigged by referee Tim Donaghy (seriously). The Kings will not be good anytime soon, so this

Jack Rieger can be reached at jrieger@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @JackRieger.

LIONS: 58 YEARS The Lions are only the second team in NFL history to lose every game in one season (2008). They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, and they haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1957 when there were 12 teams. The Lions have been stuck in mediocrity for about six years, and there are no signs of change.

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Quinsey Sablan/Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada defensive linemen Nakita Lealao (55) lines up to rush the passer in Nevada’s home game against Wyoming on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Mackay Stadium. Nevada’s defense gave up 401 rushing yards to Wyoming in a 42-34 loss.

GAME PREDICTION: NEVADA VS. THE BYE WEEK

Neil Patrick Healy

The bye week is usually an easy matchup for teams. No football team in the history of the sport has lost during a bye week. Nevada is struggling on defense and is breaking in a new quarterback now that Tyler Stewart is out for the year, so the bye is a formidable opponent. The bye week is longing for a win after a longer losing streak than the Chicago Cubs, but I think Nevada will eke out a win.

Until next time, bye week. Nevada 44, the bye week 38.

Jack Rieger

Nevada is having its worst season since 2013, but I would argue it’s the worst season since 2004 because 2013 was Polian’s first year and the expectations were low. Despite the disaster season, I think Nevada has a pretty good chance against the bye week. The Wolf Pack defense has a good matchup against a nonexistent running back, and the offensive line should hold up against zero pass-rushers.

The bye week has the coaching advantage, but I like Nevada, 10-7.

Brandon Cruz

With the loss to Wyoming on Saturday, Nevada’s losing streak is extended to two, and it is safe to say they probably won’t get another win this year. I am taking the bye week over Nevada in this week’s game prediciton. This week’s game will be more mental than anything, and I do not believe Nevada has the confidence or the ability to defeat the bye week. I know no team in history has ever lost to the bye week, but I’ve always enjoyed betting against the odds. Bye week 24-10.