Volume 129, Issue 4

Students Visit the Nevada State Legislature and Lobby for Student Rights

Dean Al Stepping Down From Position At Reynolds School Of Journalism

By Emerson Drewes

Al Stavitsky, dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism, will be stepping down from his position as announced by Brian Sandoval, president of the University of Nevada, Reno, in an email announcement sent to students on Monday.

“I announce today that Al Stavitsky will be stepping down as dean of the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism,” said Sandoval in the email. “It is no exaggeration to say that the 11-year tenure of ‘Dean Al,’ as he is affectionately known by so many, has been on of record-setting achievement.”

Stavitsky will remain in his position until it is filled; after he will serve as a professor at the RSJ. According to the email, in his new position as a professor “he will be able to spend more time in the classroom” and continue his research.

“This is a bittersweet moment. I’m so proud of the Reynolds School and it’s been an honor to serve it as dean,” said Stavitsky in a statement sent to the Nevada Sagebrush. “However, I am also excited to get back to my

By Lizette Ramirez

The Associated Students of the University of Nevada went to the Nevada State Legislature on Feb. 20 to lobby for students rights and introduce bills they are writing with legislators help.

This is the first time students are advocating and communicating with legislators for bills to be written and passed. Amanda Vaskov, director of government affairs, arranged for students to visit legislators in Carson City.

ASUN is working on two bills. One bill is to target sexual misconduct on campus. Two years ago during the 2021 session — a similar bill Senate Bill 347 came up and it aimed to address sexual misconduct on campus but there were gaps in the implementation process.

“On an anecdotal level college students know that it’s an issue, right. But policymakers often need data to support that,” Vaskov explained.

This new bill is to ensure the provisions in SB 347 are enforceable. Another problem the 2021 bill encountered is NSHE institutions were supposed to conduct a climate survey to understand how bad sexual misconduct is on college campuses.

The survey wasn’t funded nor mandated, so no NSHE institution completed it. Vaskov’s goal is to fund the survey this year.

Vaskov explained the purpose of the new bill is to “ensure that the proper resources are provided to an individual who may report an instance of sexual misconduct to that service.” Selena Torres, Nevada legislator for District Three, is sponsoring this bill.

The second bill ASUN is working on focuses on establishing a regulatory structure for private student loan lenders and affirmative borrowers’ rights.

At the beginning of the day, Vaskov, Dionne Stanfill, president of ASUN, and Andrew Thompson, speaker of the senate, gave a presentation to the Government Affairs Committee.

In this presentation, Vaskov revealed about 6,700 students took out more than 81 million dollars in student loan disbursements in 2021 to 2022.

D’Silva Reuben, assembly legislator for District 28, asked the three representatives what the most difficult thing college students face today.

Vaskov replied with the cost of education.

In the 2021 session, it was bill SB 382 and it was the Borrowers’ Bill of Rights. It didn’t make it out of the assembly by one vote. This bill has a fee in it, and any bill with a fee triggers a two thirds vote. Sarah Peters, Nevada legislator for District 24, is sponsoring this bill.

“It had a higher threshold, which is why it failed by one,” Vaskov said.

The legislative session lasts for 120 days. It started on Feb. 6 and Vaskov isn’t expecting both bills to be seen until a month from now.

teaching and research interests.”

He is unaware of what classes exactly he plans on teaching, but says he enjoys the introduction level courses like Journalism 103: Introduction to Media and Society.

Emerson Drewes can be reached via email at edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.

“This is why we have to resort to taking out loans,” Vaskov stated, “you graduate from high school. You’re an 18 year old kid and also you have to understand a lot of financial technical things that you’ve never had maybe thought about before… It’s scary.”

The second bill is to ensure students aren’t falling victim to predatory practices with loan disbursements.

Brian Sandoval: The Students’ President

By Gabe Kanae

When starting my first ever profile interview, the first words said were “diversity, equity and inclusion is a big priority of mine” was exactly what I was yearning for — yet almost immediately after sitting across from Brian Sandoval, University of Nevada, Reno’s current president and Nevada’s ex-governor, those words were delivered beautifully.

On an early morning following an intense snowy night in late February, I sat in the vestibule

next to the slick wooden dutch door with a medal label shouting the words “President’s Office.” Across from these doors had to be the most beautiful bathroom I have also ever seen on campus. One that was the size of a small classroom with heighted float glass windows that allow the forecasted morning light to fill in the ambience.

After watching university administrators and executives enter and leave the office, nothing

compared to the sound of the Sandoval Sandoval’s Doc Martens climbing up the stairs, accompanied by a smile students know too well. Standing, faceto-face, Sandoval’s instant vulnerability and kindness was immediately apparent, along with the handshake that exclaimed power and leadership.

After walking through the doors of the office, past the structured and calm entrance hall with a small-scaled reception desk, I

entered his office. Much like I had expected, the spacious design with a roof tall enough to support a strong reverb, was not only professional but also a vision of Sandoval’s personality. Filled with historical paintings, old newspaper excerpts and memories from the university’s past but also his own, it is instantly recognizable how proud Sandoval is of his endeavors.

Lizette Ramirez can be reached via email at lizetteramirez@sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

I’m so proud of the Reynolds School and it’s been an honor to serve it as dean.

SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

VOLUME 129, ISSUE 3

Editor-in-Chief: Emerson Drewes edrewes@sagebrush. unr.edu

News Editor: Lizette Ramirez lizetterez@unr.edu

Asst. News Editor: Madison Wanco mwanco@nevada.unr. edu

A&E Editor: Peregrine Hart peregrineh@sagebrush.unr.edu

Opinion Editor: Gabriel Kanae gkanae@nevada.unr. edu

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LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Letters can be submitted via email at edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu

CORRECTIONS

After offering me a Gold Peak Iced Tea, we sat in gold accented leather office chairs with soft pillows that showcase the university’s school pride and just like that, the profile was off to the races.

“Forty-nine percent of the Freshman class this year come from diverse backgrounds, which is great. I want this campus to reflect what is in the community and what’s throughout the state” is what Sandoval added after mentioning the essentiality of diversity, equity and inclusion at the start of our conversation.

On where he would like to see the university to progress in the future, he recommends that students look into the strategic plan for the university for the next six years. It didn’t take but a moment for him to explain that “first and foremost, my top priority are students.”

Sandoval explains that he wants all students to “have the best academic, interpersonal social experience that they could possibly have at the university.”

To explain the intensity of his efforts on making sure these experiences are possible, he talks about the very undeniable fact that “we’ve been in a very difficult time because of the pandemic and budget cuts.” To help counteract and progress further, Sandoval divulged that just the day previously, he had been to Carson City to restore funding to allow for 42 new faculty positions. This will allow students to have more class choices and graduate on time.

“We’ve hired a lot more student advisors to get below even the recommendations of the Board of Regents for student to advisor ratios, we’re doing a lot of improvements on campus. We’re in the planning stages of building a new business building, which will be on the south end of campus.” Sandoval explains that the location of this new building will exist in the area known to students today as the Jimmy John’s, and his excitement for this new structure and opportunity is evident.

Surprisingly, he says this in a way that only inserts the guarantee that it’s true but also with the mannerisms recognized best by expressing honor.

“I really want this to be a destination university where you, or any other student can come here, get a great education and have a great experience. Just importantly, when you do graduate: to have an opportunity within the workforce to do what it is you aspire to be.”

Brian added.

With such an intense start to our conversation, I had to ask how he prefers students to address him. In response, he explained that “it’s never wrong” and that he enjoys spending his time interacting with students on campus when he goes on multiple walks everyday. He always does enjoy asking students how they are doing and he mentions that in return, “a lot of them do call me Brian.”

he married in 2018. Sandoval is immensely proud of his wife and her accomplishments — herself also being an alumna of the university. She frequently is brought up in conversation and each time is accompanied with a welcoming and loving smile, despite her not even being in the room.

have some technology mixed in.”

He then joked, with a bright and expressive smile, about maybe having classes about hiking or snowboarding to enhance the experience. It’s almost apparent that if he could, he himself would take the classes. Intriguingly, being the previous governor of Nevada, students at the university grew up watching Sandoval’s political races, discussions and actions on the television or hearing about him through their family growing up. I had to ask, how does being the governor compare in both similarities and differences to being the president?

“As governor, you’re responsible for the entire state. I think part of what makes me a better president is I am familiar with the entire state and as governor, I visited over 300 schools. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and all the campuses in higher education,” said Sandoval in response. “I want the best for our students as governor. I sponsored the largest tax increase in Nevada history to infuse that money into K-12, because I want to improve the quality of education in the state. Serving as president is the opportunity to really put that into action and continue to improve education in Nevada.”

With similarities came differences but Brian addressed them with responsibility and respect.

She makes him happy and that is a detail you cannot miss.

“I love spending time with my wife. We love to hike. We love to be outdoors,” he said. He even mentions that they both have plans to attend an art and musical performance on campus the next day that they are both looking forward to because it “really makes me proud, I feel like you’re all my kids.”

“Everyone has all these different interests. I’m going to be a judge in a three minute thesis for some of our graduate students. I like to watch our band perform. I love to see students conduct research and change the world,” said Sandoval Sandoval talked with me about growing up in the area, specifically Sparks, Nev. He attended Reno High School before he and his brother both attended and graduated from the university. Shockingly to me, he also mentioned that while growing up in Sparks, they spent their time raising sheep by themselves and that is how the two of them paid their tuition. Today, his brother is a veterinarian.

“I love this town. I tell people I’m a son of Sparks because I grew up in Sparks, but I’ve lived in Reno my entire life, besides the three years where I went to Ohio State [University] for law school. I was born in California and my dad worked for the federal government,” Sandoval explained. “So, we moved around a lot. We first moved to Fallon, Nevada – in 1969. I spent some time there and then moved to Sparks. I’ve spent a lot of time in Las Vegas, and a lot of time in rural Nevada. For my previous jobs it was really important to get throughout Nevada and it is really just a special place.”

Hearing Sandoval talk about his youth, I began to think about the amount of learning, the amount of connections and the amount of experiences he has had. His posture is so comfortable and his voice is vulnerable. His suit and tie rested calmly in place and his arms relaxed on the arm rest.

“Northern Nevada has come a really long way. When I was growing up, it was a tourism based economy because Nevada and New Jersey were the only states with legalized gambling. As gaming proliferated, the market really narrowed, and really hurt our economy. That was one of my goals, as the governor, was to diversify our economy,” he said.

“Natural disasters such as the horrible tragedy that occurred in Clark County, with shootings, floods etc,” he said. “As President, it’s more like being in charge of a large city, we have 20,000 students, faculty and staff.”

However he also explained why he took the position as president in the first place. The number reason being: he loves it here.

“I do believe in my heart that everything that I’ve had the opportunity to accomplish, and be involved in started on this campus,” said Sandoval. “I made my best friends in the world here. I had mentors here from faculty and staff. When I was a student here, I interned for Paul Laxalt, who was a [United States] senator.”

He explained that he is “really passionate about this university, and what it has done and what it can do.”

He mentioned that after serving his time as the governor he was the president of global gaming for MGM which meant he was traveling frequently because of MGM’s plans to potentially develop an integrated resort in Japan. It was in Japan that he was made aware of the opportunity and applied.

“I’m a non-traditional candidate. I don’t come from an academic background, I didn’t come through a faculty appointment, and then a chair of a department and perhaps a dean, and then a provost: which is the traditional pathway. I bring a different skill set: a real familiarity with higher education and how it’s budgeted,” said Snaodval on his skill set. “When I applied, that’s when we were in the teeth of the beginning of the pandemic. We also had a budget crisis. I felt like I really had demonstrated the skill set to lead this university at a time of crisis. My understanding is that over 100 people applied, it was a very in depth search process and I was very blessed and fortunate to be selected.”

Following Sandoval’s introduction as president of the university, the COVID-19 pandemic was unexpectedly life altering for everybody. I asked him how the pandemic changed what his vision of his first year as president would be like and how it impacted choices.

“It was hard because,” he said. “I had to watch our students, faculty and staff and all the struggles that they had to go through trying to balance the best educational experience that they could provide, but obviously, with health and safety.”

With Sandoval being such a large member of the community both in Reno but also in Nevada, it is extremely easy to forget that he’s a typical person.

He talked to me about his love for music and movies, especially the classics that he grew up with because of the connection and foundation he has with them.

He explains that he was a “child of the 70s and 80s” and when I mentioned the reliable Sony Walkman from the past, his face lit up. “Yeah! I still have some of my cassettes. No more eight tracks.”

Sandoval added that the big moves to bring Tesla, Google Apple and Amazon provide a lot of opportunities for students and residents. However, he still worries about other issues like affordable housing and water challenges. Nonetheless, he acknowledged Northern Nevada as a whole being a great place to live.

“It’s where I raised my family, my three kids and I want our students and the people in this community to have the same opportunities they did.”

Sandoval also discussed the unique and recent acquisition of the formerly known Sierra Nevada university, now called the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. He mentions that

He talked about the difficulties of having to teach staff and faculty how to transition to online learning and work environments, as well as the issues with implementing social distancing in smaller lecture rooms. Not all was bad, he did discover some things in the process.

“One of the things that we discovered during the pandemic was there was no digital equity. Not every student had a device, not every student had access to WiFi,” said Sandoval. “So, we partnered with Apple. Now, every incoming or transfer student gets an Apple iPad, pencil, a keyboard and the training.”

The Nevada Sagebrush fixes mistakes. If you find an error, email edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu. Nevada Sagebrush @NevadaSagebrush @NevadaSagebrush

“I like a little bit of everything. I try to watch the award winners and the nominees for the Academy Awards. Lauralyn And I will meticulously watch each one of those.”

Lauralyn McCarthy is Sandoval’s wife, whom

SOCIAL MEDIA

“We’re going to have our first cohort of students. You’ve heard about studying abroad, we’re gonna have a semester at Tahoe,” said Sandoval excitedly. “Students from it will be multidisciplinary and that tuition will be no different at Lake Tahoe as it would be here. It’ll be a curriculum based on sustainability. We’ll

Gabe Kanae / The Nevada Sagebrush

Gabe Kanae / The Nevada Sagebrush

Gabe Kanae / The Nevada Sagebrush

Empower Nevada Campaign Hopes To Give Students The Power To Speak Out

The art behind running for president at the University of Nevada, Reno

From houseless to running for ASUN President

By Lizette Ramirez

The ninety-first session of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada is approaching and Empower Nevada is a campaign run by two individuals hoping to empower students to be their own leaders.

Boris Carpio Guerra, presidential candidate, and Hannah Alquiza, vice presidential candidate, are running as a duo for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Both Carpio Guerra and Alquiza are currently involved in the association: Carpio Guerra as the director of campus wellness and Alquiza as the assistant director for marketing and interns. Alquiza started with ASUN as an intern in 2020.

The Empower campaign deeply resonates with Alquiza because she says Carpio Guerra is the one who empowered her when she first arrived at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“I was a little shy Asian girl who didn’t feel empowered enough to speak out and speak up,” Alquiza explained, “I want to be the voice that Boris was to me in terms of empowering students to make them feel like they have a voice to do anything that they want to do.”

Carpio Guerra on the other hand has felt empowered since his freshman year. He said he has been visiting the university for 12 years now as part of the Dean’s Future Scholars Program; he has visited the campus every year since sixth grade.

“I felt like this was actually home so that when I came here, I didn’t feel discouraged,” Carpio Guerra stated. “I already felt empowered by all the resources that were available, and all the programs that helped me find my voice, my leadership skills, and all that good stuff.”

Carpio Guerra hopes the campaign will lead students to discover the university’s opportunities and resources to use them at their fullest potential.

Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 made Carpio Guerra and Alquiza feel like they lost their way in terms of leadership. Alquiza explained she lost the confidence to go and speak out because COVID-19 halted everything for a whole year; Carpio Guerra also felt discouraged.

“When I applied for ASUN, so last minute like a day before the deadline because I felt discouraged just because of the situation we were in, which is no one’s fault,” Carpio Guerra said. “But I’m glad I did it. I found my own little community out of all the many communities that I found, and I think it kind of helped relieve all the pain that COVID brought.”

Another aspect of Empower Nevada is to uplift the voices of underrepresented students.

“We [underrepresented identities] can make the change and we don’t have to abide by others’ norms or like other stuff that has already been done. We can make a difference,” Carpio Guerra said.

Since Carpio Guerra’s freshman year at UNR, he knew he wanted to eventually run for president at ASUN. During the summer 2022 is when he asked if Alquiza wanted to run with him Alquiza runs her own department of interns and he saw how much she’s empowered them with having them find their voice.

“I see that as VP she’s able to do that in a much higher level and a much more level of impact on larger audiences,” Carpio Guerra explained.

By Lizette Ramirez

The ninety-first session of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada is seeing three presidential candidates — one of them being Luis Galvez, a second year junior standing.

Galvez is currently a senator for the College of Education. When Galvez entered ASUN, he did not initially plan on running for president. It wasn’t until an ASUN colleague asked him to be his vice president. Being asked that made Galvez realize his work in ASUN was being noticed.

“I was actually really excited because I guess my activity in ASUN was being recognized and that, you know, the work that I was doing showed that I was worthy to be vice president and that somebody wanted me on their team,” Galvez explained.

Galvez explained there was no real reason to say no to the colleague — other than the fact that Galvez was also considering running for president.

The ninety-first session is the only session Galvez can realistically be president. During the ninety-second session Galvez will not be on campus often, due to his education program. Galvez decided he wanted to finalize the plan of running for president back in Dec. 2022.

Galvez had four different people in mind to run as vice president with him, but in the end none of those options worked out.

“It turned out by the end of it, that all of those individuals didn’t have goals that were similar enough to my goals or work styles…” Galvez revealed. “So you know, I decided to run alone.”

Galvez recognized he had a chance to work with Hannah Alquiza, vice president elect.

“I know her a bit personally, and she’s lovely. And I haven’t asked her yet, but I think that we both make a great team,” Galvez expressed.

Galvez wants his presidency to be centered around art. Galvez calls himself an artist. He is a theater actor, he writes his own music, and he dances. Galvez was in the recent campus musical, Cabaret. According to Galvez, a lot of students on campus call themselves artists.

“I think that there is so much talent at the university…” Galvez stated. “I’m so passionate about being able to display and advocate and sponsor and find opportunities for showcasing the arts, both within campus and also displaying the Wolfpack talent all the way across the Reno-Sparks area.”

ASUN elections begin on March 15 at 8 a.m. and lasts until March 16 at 5 p.m. Students can vote on Pack Life

News

By Lizette Ramirez

Cameron Rose, presidential candidate for the ninetyfirst session of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada has been gaining traction with the campaign Homeless2President.

Rose is a student on campus who was originally houseless. Rose hasn’t had much history with being in ASUN, but he is passionate about his beliefs and the changes needing to be done on campus.

“I feel that the university has some issues,” Rose stated. “I feel a lot of the students are in the same position I am where we feel helpless and like there’s nothing that can be done. I think that’s bad.”

Students have approached Rose and shared they feel excluded from the university.

Students and Rose himself have felt excluded because of having an issue with a student, or professor, and the university doesn’t solve the problem.

“If there’s issues. We need to discuss those issues and not ignore the issues as we do, and hope that they’re just going to go away, because that just makes the problems worse,” Rose expressed.

This isn’t just a UNR problem to Rose, he feels it’s a problem across the nation. Rose hopes to encourage leadership if elected and values students speaking up and out about issues, something he hopes to mirror for students in his run for president.

“Inclusivity means giving more opportunities for the students to participate,” Rose said.

Rose gave an example of the initiative petition process. If a student feels a representative or themselves can present an issue then students can vote on the issue. Though this allows students to present issues, Rose doesn’t feel this process is inclusive.

“It requires 50 percent of the last general elections, amount of student signatures which is audacious, like That’s ridiculous. That’s not inclusive in any way, shape, or form,” Rose explained.

Despite Rose not having much history in ASUN, he has been attending more meetings since announcing his campaign. Rose wanted to get adjusted to campus life before diving into the organization.

Rose believes in order to be a great leader to the campus, he has to put himself first and get the hang of how UNR functions.

Even if Rose doesn’t win this election, he plans on working with the association to continue to advocate for the issues on campus and to continue to be a representative for students.

ASUN elections start on March 15 at 8 a.m. to March 16 at 5 p.m. on Pack Life. Students can vote for presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates, as well as ballot questions.

Lit AF: UNR students rallying for a news literate Nevada

By Emerson Drewes

On Thursday, March 2 was declared News Literacy Day in Washoe County all due to the efforts of six Reynolds School of Journalism students. These students are a part of the Bateman Case Study Competition where this year they have been tasked with making students more “News Lit AF.”

The students, also members of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the student chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, have been tasked with creating a public relations campaign for The News Literacy Project as a part of the Bateman Case Study Competition.

According to the PRSA website the competition is “PRSSA’s premier national case study competition for public relations students.” Every year the students partner with a client and implement a full public relations campaign for them within a month. This year it spanned from Feb. 6 to March 6.

“It’s by invitation. When I heard about it and when Alison approached me, I was like, ‘Yeah, this sounds like a really fun opportunity,’ especially with what our client: The News Literacy Project,” said Mckenzie Papa, account manager for the Bateman team.

The News Literacy Project is a non-partisan, non-profit, educational organization dedicated to stopping the spread of misinformation.

“Their goal is essentially to create a better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals and ultimately a stronger democracy,” said Papa. “They have tools like RumorGuard that help people find credible news and fact check credible news or fact check news in general.”

Operating as a public relations team, they must bolster the efforts and message of the client through implementation efforts and get students to be News Lit AF, their slogan; the AF stands for “actual factual” a nod to their Instagram handle.

Currently, the team has created an Instagram called @Actu-

alFactualNV where they spread awareness about news literacy and the organizations assets and have had events throughout campus. Their slogan has been plastered throughout campus — News Lit AF — something RSJ students can see as they walk down the stairwell of the journalism building.

“So we’ve been putting on events for the most part every week our campaign launched on Feb. 6,” said Skyler Lacey, publicity manager for the team.

The events that have happened include their Canada Coffee event on Feb. 8 where they passed out coffee in exchange for pledges, a trivia night on Feb. 23 at Slieve Brewery where they tested “people’s ability to identify misinformation,” according to Lacey and a round table talk on March 2 where they partnered with Al Stavitsky, dean of the RSJ, and chatted about misinformation in Nevada.

Also in attendance at the event was Mariluz Garcia, Washoe County commissioner for District 3, where she read the proclamation to make March 2 News Literacy Day.

“I think that this year specifically, we have a really great team of people who all individually bring really good skills to the table,” said Lacey. “I think that I’m really grateful to have this opportunity because it is very rewarding.”

The implementation ends for the team on Monday. After they make a 50-page long document that compiles all of their campaign efforts submitted at the end of March and winners are announced in April. The team competes against over 70 teams across the country.

Editors Note: Lizette Ramirez, Nevada Sagebrush news editor, and Jessica Cabrera, Nevada Sagebrush copy editor, are members of the Bateman team. They were not involved in the writing or editing of the story. This story is written objectively

Lizette Ramirez can be reached at LizetteRamirez@sagebrush. unr.edu or via Twitter @LizzieRSJ.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Rose Rose is running for ASUN president for hte ninety-first session of ASUN. He is running under the slogan “Homeless2President.”

Photo courtesy of Luis Galvez Galvez is running for ASUN president for hte ninety-first session of ASUN. He majors in secondary education, history and theater.

Lizette Ramirez can be reached at LizetteRamirez@sagebrush. unr.edu or via Twitter @LizzieRSJ.

Lizette Ramirez can be reached at LizetteRamirez@sagebrush. unr.edu or via Twitter @LizzieRSJ.

Emerson Drewes can be reached via email at edrewes@ sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @EmersonDrewes.

Arts

Necessity is the mother of invention in UNR’s brilliant “Cabaret”

By Peregrine Hart

For a Department of Theatre and Dance struggling to get by after key staff departures, the technically — and textually — demanding musical “Cabaret” comes as a startling choice of flagship production.

Following last semester’s student-directed one-acts and a stripped-down, tech-lite rendition of the musical “9 to 5,” “Cabaret” sees the department return to the Redfield Studio Theater. The cramped venue doesn’t provide for microphones or extensive sets, and what little professional lighting equipment it has remains out of reach until the department’s vacancies are filled.

“9 to 5” and the student-directed one-acts dealt with this problem by leaving the standard house lights up, as if inviting the audience to an early-stage rehearsal.

True to form, “Cabaret” has quite a different solution.

At the top of the show, the Redfield Studio Theater goes pitch-black. For every lighting cue that would otherwise be a seamless transition in a traditional theater, it is largely the performers, undisguised, who place and operate lights pulled from household sources.

The confined space forces the set to spill into the audience. A front-row seat is literally a table at the musical’s central setting, the Kit Kat Klub.

Ensemble performers regularly and rigorously involve viewers, and the fourth wall is readily permeable thanks to audience proximity.

And when the musical takes its notorious dark turn, the blurred line between reality and revue comes in chillingly effective service of the political context. Following an American writer through his stay in Berlin, the semi-autobiographical book-turned-play-turned-musical sinks the viewer slowly into a climate of rising facism.

While the performers assure us repeatedly that “there are no troubles here,” the musical takes place in 1929, a time in which the Nazis are winning hearts and minds in a dangerous, racist bid for power. We, like the characters, are encouraged to pretend nothing’s amiss: it’ll pass, the country’s just struggling, it’s only happening out there.

It’s to this production’s great strength that the distinction

between “in here” and “out there” is shattered before scene one. Thanks to director Yassi Jahanmir’s inventive use of the venue and the cast’s electric boldness in their interactions with the audience, this rendition of “Cabaret” is precisely what it’s meant to be: great fun…until it’s very, decidedly, not.

In a show with such striking range, the full cast is in for grueling emotional work. A rollicking opening number, “Willkommen”, sees a wickedly charismatic Emcee — played by Lucas Moir — bring 1929 Berlin’s reckless, hedonistic energy to the too-close stage. The ensemble, as the club’s provocative dancers, make short work of enacting a spell of carelessness in the face of coming doom.

Moir, as a performer, strikes the perfect balance between intrigue and in- scrutability. The Emcee is no tidy metaphor for a dema - gogue: Moir layers pretense, sexuality and a faint but distinctive undercurrent of fear to make the character as sincere as he is sinister. The strongest impression he leaves is initially that you’re supposed to ignore the outside realm of politics, but in a subtly-executed turn of pitch, you’re quietly begged to resist it.

By the time you’re loudly begged to resist it, of course, it’s too late.

In what a more traditional framing would offer as our point-of-view protagonists, the English emigré Sally Bowles — played by Jasmine Johnson — and the American writer Clifford Bradshaw — played by Nick Farro — make painfully human bystanders.

Sally, a strapped-for-cash dancer at the Kit Kat Klub, embodies the willful, uninvolved disinterest in politics that the musical expertly indicates. Johnson, however, makes sense of her apathy, digging deep into the desperation that makes her willing to look the other way. She gets the chance to shine as a vocalist often, but it’s when the polish comes off and her voice goes raw that she reaches top form.

Johnson is of course matched in musical prowess by her backing ensemble, a highly courageous lineup of singers and dancers who fill out the staff of the Kit Kat Klub. On top of the show’s dynamic dance numbers, they artfully manage a litany of light cues. Many of these light cues are during such num-

bers, with the arrangement on stage changing so quickly, it’s almost dizzying — and that’s just for the audience.

When the time comes to turn on a dime from oblivious to ominous, the ensemble — with special attention to Nina Ferreira Forline as Fritzie and Coy Romo as Hans — meets the charge without missing a beat. Romo evokes a delicate, lingering horror when the show’s first clear glimpses of facism arrive in Act One’s “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”.

Musically and aesthetically, the production aptly departs from a strict adherence to its 1929-30 setting. Nate Hodges, the show’s choreographer, resists iconic choreographer Bob Fosse’s long shadow over the show, and the cabaret dancers’ costumes evoke modern clubwear.

Aren Long, as music director, uses the stripped-back instrumentation required by the venue as an opportunity to make the score reach eerily into the present moment. The percussion in numbers like “Money” and “Mein Herr” is contemporary and propulsive, asking us as we leave the theater to consider what we’re trying to dance away today.

The show’s subtle treasures, however, can be found in Fräulein Schneider, played with sobering realism by Danielle Hunt, and Herr Schultz, played with boundless tenderness by Luis Galvez, who also served as the production’s dramaturg.

Fräulein Schneider, Clifford Bradshaw’s spinsterly landlady, features in a desperately earnest love story with Herr Schultz. Their three numbers together are among the production’s most resonant moments. And the terror Schultz faces as a Jewish man in a culture of now-overt antisemitism is an awful reminder that seemingly abstract political shifts threaten and kill real people.

Despite the personal moral ambiguity handled deftly by the cast and crew, “Cabaret” lands its warnings loud and clear: this is the dire cost of political indifference.

A look around Reno’s spring theater scene

By Peregrine Hart

Fans of live theater in Reno are in luck this season—from blockbuster Broadway tours to intimate, small-cast comedies, the Biggest Little City offers something for everyone who’s willing to go looking.

To aid your search, here’s a few highlights in the offing:

The University of Nevada, Reno’s sprightly Department of Theatre and Dance takes a darker tone with this semester’s musical, “Cabaret,”playing from Feb. 24 to March 5. As the Nazis rise to power in late 1920s Germany, the goings-on at a Berlin nightclub ominously foretell the coming decade’s horrors, with a cast of demanding roles at the musical’s heart.

“Stupid F***ing Bird,” a modern adaptation of Anton Chekov’s “The Seagull,” anchors the season with performances March 31 to April 9. The department’s website promisingly calls it “gutsy.” Still without a theater design and technology specialist to replace retiree Mike Fernbach, the department will be staging both productions in the Redfield Studio Theatre, likely again without microphones or lights. Confronting this challenge yielded defiantly excellent results last semester: their continued efforts are worth notice.

Dance, meanwhile, takes the stage at the Lombardi Recreation Center April 19 to April 23. The Spring Dance Concert will offer a slate of brand new works from faculty and guest choreographers alike, promising range and variety in keeping with its eclectic fall counterpart.

At Brüka Theatre downtown, the highbrow ethical comedy “Lifespan of a Fact,” running Jan. 20 to Feb. 11, gives way to a heady take

on “Hamlet” in “When Churchyards Yawn” March 10 to March 25.

“Churchyards” follows all the characters in Hamlet’s extensive body count in purgatory.

Brüka ends the spring with a tragicomedy “The Beauty Queen of Lenane” from April 28 to May 20.

Reno Little Theater, in midtown, starts the year with a witty take on Sherlock Holmes in “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”. Rosie Calkin, a University of Nevada, Reno acting instructor, fronts the murder mystery as Holmes, running from Jan. 20 to Feb. 12.

For a more experimental choice, “Small Mouth Sounds,” running April 14 to April 30, gathers a cast of six in a silent wilderness retreat.

Finally, the Pioneer Center Downtown will be welcoming three touring Broadway productions this spring. The jukebox musical “Ain’t Too Proud”, playing Feb. 14 to Feb. 19, traces the journey of R&B group The Temptations through a catalog of their most popular songs. “Come From Away,” playing March 28 to April 2, recounts a true story of stranded flights having to land in a small Newfoundland town in the days following 9/11.

In what might be the most eagerly anticipated of the series, “Anastasia,” based on the beloved animated film, will treat the Pioneer Center stage May 16 to May 21 to the tale of a lost Russian princess uncovering her past.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Members of the ensemble perform an inventively-lit number, “Mein Herr,” in “Cabaret.”

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Jasmine Johnson, as Sally Bowles, in “Don’t Tell Mama,” the character’s first number.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Luis Galvez as Herr Schultz (left) shares a duet with Daniel Hunt as Fräulein Schneider (right).

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Lucas Moir, as the enigmatic Emcee, in “Money” with the stellar ensemble of “Cabaret.”

Peregrine Hart can be reached at peregrineh@ sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @pintofperegrine.

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush “9 to 5” from the University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Theatre and Dance in dress rehearsal last semester.

Peregrine Hart can be reached at peregrineh@ sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @pintofperegrine.

Student-run literary journal brings live poetry back to campus

By Peregrine Hart

Students packed into Laughing Planet on Feb. 7 for the return of live poetry nights, hosted by Brushfire Literature and Arts Journal. Enough spectators piled in that some had to watch from the stairwell.

Twenty-nine poets volunteered to read their work aloud, as well as a few members of the literary journal’s staff.

Phoebe Coogle, Brushfire’s editor-in-chief, exclaimed her excitement for the event.

“The turnout was great,” Coogle said. “For like half the night, we had standing room only — which was amazing.”

With its seventy-fifth edition on the presses, Brushfire is doing this year what it’s done in an almost unbroken stretch since 1950: publish the work of artists and writers, both students and not, in print volumes distributed across campus.

That’s 73 years and 75 editions, a discrepancy originating from extra editions published in the mid-70s. The journal has chosen to celebrate the latter anniversary with an increased page count.

“It was at 64 pages for the last 10 years or so,” Coogle said. “And we scrounged around, got some funds together, and now we’re at 76. It was like, ‘I want us to be at 75!’ That was great, we’re able to feature more artists and writers that way.”

Coogle, however, looks to other horizons, too. Brushfire is first and foremost a publication, but she hopes to bring its community out into the real world, and make it a presence.

“Brushfire has the unfortunate reputation of being a publication that just sits there and judges people’s work […] there is that level of disconnect between the publication and the people who submit to it,” Coogle said. “Having these kinds of live events really does foster a sense of community. And not only from the arts colleges, but we had several people come out from different colleges here at UNR. I think that also helps kind of build this sense of arts not just for, like, the ivory towers, as it were.”

Spectators are encouraged not just to show support as each new poet takes the mic, but to respond enthusiastically as the poem is being read. Snaps and hums are always welcome.

“Clap people up, clap ‘em down, show as much love as possible,” Coogle encouraged in her opening slate as emcee. “We want to annoy everyone downstairs.”

An eclectic and electric selection of poets then stepped up to the microphone, each greeted with a loud ritual before their name was read: “where they at, where they at, where they at!”

Experienced poets from the arts community outside the university contributed their expertise; as did a number of fresh faces from campus. One Laughing Planet patron happened to be there that night who’d never written or watched poetry, but dashed off a poem on a piece of paper and signed up to read it on a whim.

Dionne Stanfill, president of the Associated Students of Nevada, also made a showing with a tender and tidily-rhyming poem in homage to the Silver State.

Despite the excitement that greeted this particular poetry series’ debut, though, it’s actually not quite a new addition to campus.

Another spoken word poetry club, Wolf Speaks, previously hosted readings at the Laughing Planet. After the founders graduated in 2022, the club lost steam, and the university was left without a recurring forum for poetry — until Jaime Gonzalez Aguirre, senator for the Reynolds School of Journalism, who also read at the mic on Feb. 7, brought the opportunity to Brushfire’s attention.

Aguirre was a member of Wolf Speaks, Coogle explained.

“So Jaime was really interested in having poetry nights come back to UNR,” Coogle said. “He actually approached us at the beginning of last semester: would Brushfire be interested in taking over or hosting, and I was like, hell yeah! We’re always trying to bolster student media presence.”

Thanks to an existing relationship with the restaurant and a lively Reno poetry scene’s example to follow, the readings materialized within a semester’s hard work.

“It was kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation for me and my team at Brushfire,” Coogle said. “We hadn’t really done anything like this before, at least as long as I’ve been with the publication, so there’s a bit of a learning curve, but luckily we reached out to different folks like at the Spoken Views Poetry Collective, and they just kind of guided us in the right direction.”

Forthcoming poetry nights through the rest of the semester will be on the first Tuesday of every month. The next to come will be at 7 p.m, on March 7, again at the Laughing Planet.

Poets of all stripes are welcome to share — even and especially if they’re nervous.

“People are wanting you to share your art,” Coogle said. “There’s a lot of encouragement in the crowd, so even if you make a mistake, [or] you want to restart, it’s not the end-all, be-all. People are going to clap you through it; you’re going to be cheered either way.”

Nevada Museum of Art announces expansion, grants college students free admission

developments to admissions, renovation, and expansion plans.

“A generous donation was given to UNR and TMCC students which allows them to take advantage of the museum’s resources. The museum advocates for higher education and a commitment to the arts, education, and culture, so this is the perfect place for students to come and broaden their studies and creativity,” Hunt said.

The Free Student Admission program was made possible by the Wayne L. Prim Free Student Admission Endowment, a $2 million dollar gift which will enable the program to exist in perpetuity.

To receive free admission college students must show their student identification card at the front desk. In addition to gaining free access to the galleries, students can also attend Art Bite talks hosted on Fridays at noon and every first Thursday of the month where singers and songwriters are showcased from 5 to 7 p.m..

Rebecca Eckland, Director of Communications and Marketing for the Nevada museum of Art, explained the expansion project, which will occur on the south side of the building, was announced in May 2022, and entered its third phase in August of this year.

“The museum has a long history of supporting arts education in the state of Nevada.. We wanted to expand that program to offer free access to the museum to UNR and TMCC students so they can experience a world-class museum that is right here in Reno,” Eckland said.

visitors can look forward to when the expansion is complete.

Hunt mentioned she is excited for an increase of school field trips and tours. With the museum’s expanded capacity and infrastructure, the institution will be able to welcome more than 12 thousand K-12 students annually, doubling its current capacity.

“This almost doubled capacity is really special because it allows for students to have the space to learn and become more familiar with art,” Hunt said.

The Center for Art + Environment, the museum’s research hub, will be expanded to grant additional access to its extensive art, archive and library collections.

The multi-phased expansion project is already showing visible progress on the Northwest corner of the museum through the renovation of the Wilbur D. May Sculpture Plaza. The space now features an installation titled “Monument to Sharing,” the creation of the Fallen Fruit Collective, composed of artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young. Monument to Sharing includes twenty-one fruitbearing trees, a berry patch and a series of edible pollinators the public is welcome to harvest, inviting guests to explore ideas of generosity, agricultural production and the meaning behind the word community.

While the expansion project will not be complete until 2025, the museum will continue a full schedule of exhibitions and programs due to the endowment.

By Madison Wanco

The Nevada Museum of Art is undergoing a $60 million expansion project to include 50,000 additional square feet for gallery, education, and other specialized spaces. While the museum has offered free admission to high school students in Nevada for about a

decade, beginning in September 2022 students from the University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College can also enjoy free admission to the museum.

Taylor Hunt, a University of Nevada, Reno art history major and employee of the museum, provided insight to the museum’s recent

As a result of the expansion project, the overall exhibition space will increase from 15,000 to nearly 30,000 square feet for the ongoing display of the permanent art, archive, and library collections. A dedicated art and architecture bookshop, a rooftop sculpture garden with mountain and skyline views and additional classroom and education spaces for school tours are all a part of what museum

Capturing Princess Diana’s story: “The Crown” season 5 review

By Gabe Kanae

In November of 2020, Netflix’s “The Crown” released its most anticipated season yet: season four. The show captures the reign of England’s Queen Elizabeth II who was in power from 1952 until her recent death last year. When the highly-acclaimed season four dropped, the show pulled in existing fans and new viewers with the introduction of the legendary Princess Diana who in the show was played by actress Emma Corrin.

One of the show’s biggest successes is capturing the people these characters were built upon with almost nearly identical looks. With this success, the show gives the visuals of younger versions of these people and chillingly captures those who have died as if they were still alive.

Emma Corrin’s portrayal of the younger Princess Diana in season four was entirely immersive, engaging and impactful. When “The Crown” released its next season on Nov. 9, replacing Corrin with the amazing Elizabeth Debicki was not only a reminder of her predecessor but also provided a nearly perfect re-creation of Diana.

Along with Debicki, the show replaces the entire cast for the third time in order to capture the aging and growth of the Royal Family. In season five, the late Queen Elizabeth II is played by Imelda Staunton, Prince Phillip is played by Jonathan Pryce and Prince Charles by Dominic West.

While Pryce and West received criticism about their portrayals visually, both actors

provide their acting talent in a way that is both engaging and character building.

Staunton’s acting is absolutely grand in this season as she portrays the Queen in what is considered to be one of her most challenging and cursed years.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who love Princess Diana, but it was clear her story would be the main topic when it was confirmed that this season would cover the years of the 1990s.

Filled with dread and honesty, Debicki really does find herself accurately becoming the late Princess of Wales on the screen. It takes a moment for a viewer to adjust to the change from Corrin to her; but while Debicki captures the real Diana, she also looks like an older version

of Corrin’s younger Diana in multiple scenes. Recreating the legendary “Revenge Dress”, the infamous BBC Panorama interview, and Andrew Morton’s “Diana: Her True Story” — this season proves that Diana’s impact on the royal family was not only massive but explains to a new generation the impact she had and how her marriage and life unfolded.

Continued online at nevadasagebrush.com

Gabe Kanae can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter via @NevadaSagebrush.

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Phoebe Coogle, Brushfire’s editor-in-chief, plays emcee for the journal’s inaugural poetry night Feb. 7.

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Abigail Macdiarmid, Brushfire’s literary editor, takes the mic to read poetry.

Peregrine Hart can be reached at peregrineh@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @pintofperegrine.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

The Nevada Museum of Art located on Liberty Street in Reno, Nev. The museum will be receiving a renovation and has recently granted university students free admission.

Madison Wanco can be reached at mwanco@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter via @NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada’s beats SDSU 75-66, historic night for the program

Nevada Men’s Basketball may be in trouble after the regular season

By Derek Raridon

After a lackluster season prior, the Nevada men’s basketball team has made a resurgence in the 2022 to 2023 season. Currently sitting at 22-9 going into the Mountain West Conference Championship, the program has surprised those in and out of Reno with their play. This is especially true for their home games, where they have gone 14-1, something they haven’t done since the 2018 to 2019 season.

Yes, the program has definitely been the major highlight of the Nevada winter sports season. However, all trains must come to a stop at some point, and from what it seems, the men’s basketball one will end after March 4.

Why is this? How will a program so dominant collapse so soon? The answer is simple, the team is just not that good when it comes to away games, especially recently.

Men’s basketball has had 13 road games this season. Of those games, the team lost seven of them, capping off their losing away record with a 71-80 loss versus the University of Wyoming Cowboys. For a team to be virtually unbeatable at home, it’s a strike in the heart to not compete as efficiently on the road.

These losses, particularly those in the last five road games, were not statistically expected. In their last month of road games, Nevada played University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of New Mexico, Utah State University, Fresno State University and Wyoming. Of these five, Nevada lost three of them, dropping to UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming.

Adding salt to the wound is that two of these schools, UNLV and Wyoming, are both sitting seventh and eleventh, respectively, out of 11 teams in the conference, and both of these losses were by six or more points. The program’s recent losses aren’t coming from teams that are at the top of the conference, these are losses coming from the bottom of the Mountain West barrel.

By Jalen Robinson

With the seconds winding down on the clock and the student section on the verge of rushing the court for the second straight home game, the University of Nevada, Reno men’s basketball team had the home crowd of 9,357 rumbling at the game against San Diego State University.

The impressive win over No. 23 SDSU on Jan. 31, marks the first time in program history the Nevada men’s basketball team has won consecutive home games versus ranked opponents. The Nevada Wolf Pack now move into sole possession of second place in the Mountain West Conference, trailing only Boise State and San Diego State both tied at 8-2 atop the conference.

The contributions from key players — Tré Coleman, Will Baker, Kenan Blackshear and Jarod Lucas — propelled the Wolf Pack to a nine-point victory over the SDSU Aztecs, 75-66. This core four tallied up 74 of the winning points.

Lucas, senior transfer guard from Oregon State, put up 26 points with help from Baker, scoring 19 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Approaching the game the Wolf Pack having previously lost every game SDSU since 2018.

Although trailing at halftime by 2 points to the Az-

tecs the Wolf Pack still held onto hope. Grabbing an early lead in the second half the Aztecs looked to secure sole possession of first place in Mountain West, but with 9:27 seconds left in the second half, neither team could secure anything larger than a 3-point lead.

Blackshear secured a layup putting the Pack up 67-62 with 1:57 to play, eventually leading to a much needed conference win.

The Wolf Pack now eye the Mountain West Conference tournament with only eight games left — all being conference foes. Although it won’t be a cakewalk, the Wolf Pack are scheduled to play the University of New Mexico again; a team they just beat and bumped out of the No. 25 spot national ranking. After the Lobos, Nevada look to finish the season out with three home games with senior night set against arch rivals the UNLV Rebels.

The road to the Mountain West Conference Tournament and March Madness is theirs to lose and everything is within reach.

Men’s Basketball beats New Mexico 77-76 in tight conference game

By Jalen Robinson

The Wolf Pack were on the road in Albuquerque, N.M. on Tuesday, Feb. 7 facing off against another in conference foe in the 19-4 New Mexico Lobos. Playing in another must-win game for both teams, the Wolf Pack looked to top the Lobos one more time for the series sweep of the season. As expected, it was a hard-fought battle between both teams with the score being 45-41 Wolf Pack advantage at halftime. For the Lobos, this was the epitome of a must win game. Steve Alford, the Wolf Pack’s head coach, was previously New Mexico’s coach, and had their number since leaving the program, especially now

being back in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack squeaked out the much needed win with 77-76, but at the cost of three key players playing over 33 minutes in Will Baker, Nevada center, and Deron Williams and Jarod Lucas, Nevada guards. Sitting right under Nevada in third place, the Lobos looked to make the standings that much more complicated for all Wolf Pack fans. Being complicated wasn’t in the cards for Lucas. Lucas looked to solidify another conference win and put the Wolf Pack in sole possession of second place. He made a statement by scoring and tying his season high of 28 points while grabbing three rebounds.

Williams and Baker also made key contributions. Williams produced eight points, five rebounds and five assists. Baker scored 10 points while grabbing five rebounds as well.

With the Mountain West tournament on the horizon, the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team prevails again but look to continue their hot streak until seasons end. The Pack face off against the Fresno State Bulldogs next at home. The Bulldogs are on a two-game winning streak although sitting close to the Jalen Robinson can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @ jalenrobinsonn.

The men’s basketball team has not been safe from the premier conference teams either. Utah State, currently third in the conference, has already been brought up, but the program has also dropped games to San Diego State, first, and Boise State, second, on the road. And in both games, Nevada lost by nine and 15 points, respectfully.

Is the men’s basketball team destined to get firstrounded out of the Mountain West conference tournament? Will they be unable to compete in the NCAA March Madness tournament? Not necessarily.

Despite their lackluster performances on the road, the men’s basketball team has still shown some promise during the season. And if San Diego State gets upset by either the eighth or ninth seed in the Mountain West conference tournament, Nevada would play against either Fresno State, Air Force, or Colorado State in the semifinals, which are all teams the program has gone undefeated against in the regular season.

Plus, every game after Saturday will be played at a neutral site. Yes, the conference tournament will be played in Las Vegas, making Nevada public enemy number one while competing due to the in-state rivalry. But UNLV, the host team, will most likely not make it further than the semifinals as, at the time of writing, they will be facing teams that they have lost both home and away games to. And in their only neutral tournament, the Cayman Islands Classic, Nevada went 2-1, only losing to the Kansas State Wildcats, who sit at No. 11 at the time of writing.

In order for the Wolf Pack men to truly be able to compete past March 4, they need to reciprocate their performance at the Cayman Islands Classic. The crowds will be pitted against them, especially as they start to grow and become more rowdy and energetic as the Pack begins their postseason run. The Nevada men will have to look past this and become the team that contended with K-State, that beat Tulane and Akron once more to truly take on the expectations set by their play this season.

So, it’s not that all hope is lost and everyone should turn against the Wolf Pack. However, if trends continue the way they have been and no change occurs, the home dominant men’s basketball team may not fulfill the hype that they have accumulated.

Opinions expressed by Derek Raridon are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Derek Raridon is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. He can be reached at draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada women drop to San Diego State 67-51 in Thursday night shutout

By Jalen Robinson

Like the men’s team last week at home, the Nevada women’s basketball team looked to replicate the same level of dominance over the San Diego State Aztecs at home on Feb. 9.

Looking to continue on a high note after winning their second away victory of the year against the Utah State Aggies, the Pack went into Thursday looking for their third set of back-to-back wins.

Unfortunately, the Pack did not capitalize at home and lost to the Aztecs 67-51. From the tip, the Wolf Pack’s offense shots were not falling like the previous games. The weak offense was mainly due to one of their top scorers Audrey Roden, Nevada guard, being out because of suspension. Trailing 39-22 at the half, the Pack tried to pick up the slack with one of their top players b, Alyssa Gimenez, Nevada guard. Gimenez went for a team-high 13 points with three rebounds, two steals and one assist while also going 9-9 from free throws. Adding on was Victoria Davis, Nevada point guard, who went for 12 points, two rebounds and two steals while also going 6-6 for free throws. With a tough loss at home that now makes the Pack 9-15 overall and stoops under .500 in the conference at

6-7. Amanda Levens, Nevada head coach, encountered many upsides. Off the bench, Gabby Rones, Nevada guard, had a seven point game while having two assists and grabbing two rebounds. Lexie Givens, Nevada forward, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, continuing her amazing rebounding season. With only five games left on the women’s basketball team’s schedule, the Pack still look to finish their season on a high note. Looking to not only win out their remaining conference games but to also finish above .500 in conference play. The Wolf Pack Women’s basketball team looks to bounce back in their next matchup against the 1411 New Mexico Lobos at home this Saturday. The Lobos sit right on top of the Wolf Pack in Mountain West standings, poised to keep their position and also finish above .500 in conference play as well.

Jalen Robinson can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @jalerobinsonn.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Will Baker, Nevada center, jumps to make a basket for Nevada during the Jan. 31 game. Baker, a core four member of the men’s basketball team, helping score almost all of the points for the Pack.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Fans remain shocked at the astonishing win against SDSU at the Jan. 31 game. The over 9 thousand fans kept the energy explosive during the game.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Kenan Blackshear and Darrion Williams jump for the ball at the UNR v. SDSU game on Jan. 31. Blackshear helped lead the game alongside the core four, earing 74 of the 75 winning points for Nevada.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Gabby Rones, Nevada guard, dribbles down the court during the Feb. 9 game against SDSU. The Nevada women’s team fell to the Aztecs 67-51.

Jalen Robinson can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @jalenrobinsonn.

Nevada baseball drops opening series against Abilene Christian, 3-1

By Jalen Robinson

The Nevada baseball team kicked off their season on the road against the Abilene Christian Wildcats in Abilene, Texas this past weekend in a four-game series. With a new head coach, Jake McKinley, now at the helm replacing T.J. Bruce, the Pack looked to get the season kicked off on a good note.

The starter for the first game of the season, Coach McKinley threw out Kade Morris, their preseason All-American right-handed pitcher from Turlock, Calif. Coming off a stellar sophomore campaign, Morris looked to continue his success having eyes on being an All-American but also set on the MLB draft.

After a rough first inning on the hill giving up a run, Morris came back dealing with shutting out the Wildcats in the next three while having run support. The score was 3-1 going into the fifth. The Wildcats would come back and put two on the board now tying the game at three.

The Wolf Pack would put runners on the bases, but couldn’t prevail any runners across after their fourth-inning run. The Wildcats would go on to score two runs at the bottom of the eighth and later closed out the top half of the ninth inning to take game one of the series 5-3.

In game two of the series, the Pack looked to bounce back with their new member of the squad, Jason Doktorcyk, a sophomore starting pitcher transfer from Sonoma State. The Wolf Pack got off to a great start behind great pitching. Doktorcyk went four shutout innings while having two runs for support, Pack was up going into the fifth inning once again.

Although in the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Wildcats put up a crooked number of four runs, now taking them into the sixth inning 4-2. The Wildcats would snag another insurance run to go up 5-2 in the bottom half of the seventh inning as the Pack bats continued to be non-existent in the middle innings. Finally, in the top half of the ninth inning, the Pack put across two runs, but it was too late. The Wildcats recorded the last out of the game before the Pack could complete the comeback. Nevada was down in the series 0-2 after losing back-to-back games.

Looking to win game three and not lose the opening series on the road with their new coach, the Pack look for a mustneeded win. Now with returning junior Cadey Burfield, Starting Pitcher, taking the mound, the Pack looked to get back on track and put some runs on the board early.

Unfortunately after a scoreless first inning on both sides, the Wildcats struck first with one run on the board in the bottom half of the second inning. The Pack would answer in the top half of the third with a clutch double from Nolan Wilson, Catcher, and a three-run homerun from Derek Tenney, Infielder. would put the Pack up by three, now leading the Wildcats 4-1 in the bottom half of the third.

Abilene Christian would answer in the bottom half of the fourth inning with their own crooked number scoring three runs, now tying the game going into the fifth inning. The next two innings were scoreless until the bottom half of the seventh, when the Wildcats would pull ahead 5-4 after an RBI single threw the 5-6 hole. The Pack would quickly answer with a Seth Sweet-Chick, Infielder, bomb, his first of the season, to put the pack up 7-5 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Wolf Pack would add two runs in the top half of the ninth to add to their seven runs to go up 9-5. The Wildcats would answer with their own two runs in the bottom half of the ninth, but it would be enough as the Pack secured their first win of the season and first win under the Coach Mckinley era.

In the finale, the Pack looked to secure their second win of the season and a series tie. Coach McKinley decided to do a pen day, having several pitchers pitch one or more innings depending on the outing. Jacob Biesterfield, Right Handed Pitcher, started the game, but could only get one inning after giving up three walks and two runs in the bottom half.

The Pack were down going into the second inning but responded by getting one back from a Henry Strmecki, Outfielder, home run, his first of the season. Coach Mckinley would then put in Easton Marks, Right Handed Pitcher, to pitch, but would also be a one-inning outing for him after giving up four runs on three hits.

The Pack trailed the Wildcats 6-1 going into the third inning. Neither team would scratch any runs across for the next four innings, getting into a pitcher dual as Alejandro Murillo, Right Handed Pitcher, would shut it down with two punch outs on two hits through two innings. Followed by Michael Sarhatt, Nevada Right Handed Pitcher, pitching four innings, striking out two while only giving up one run off one hit in the bottom of the eighth. However, Sarhatt was unable to receive much run support from the rest of the Pack, only getting two runs in the top of the seventh. Nevada was unable to scratch any more runs across before the final pitch was thrown, ending the finale of the four-game series Abilene Christian 7, Nevada 3.

Although losing the opening series of the Coach McKinely era the Pack looks to bounce back at home and get their first series win under Mckinley’s regime. The Pack takes on a stout Cal Baptist team at home this weekend who are just coming off a tough road trip against two Big-12 Oklahoma teams on the road.

The Pack takes on the California Baptist Lancers for a threegame series on February 25 and 26 with a doubleheader included after some games were postponed due to weather.

Jalen Robinson can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada Softball goes undefeated in Winthrop Eagle Classic

By Dominic Gutierrez

The Nevada Wolf Pack Softball team dominated in their weekend series at the Winthrop Eagle Classic. After beating the Marist College Red Foxes 6-0 on Sunday, the Wolf Pack ended the weekend with a 5-0 sweep.

The Winthrop Tournament began on Friday with a doubleheader for the Pack. Blake Craft, Nevada starting pitcher, led the Pack to an 8-0 victory against Queens University of Charlotte in game one. The mercy rule kicked in, as Craft pitched all five innings, striking out seven while only allowing one hit.

Outfielder Gabby Herrera got the Pack on the board in the first with an RBI double. The offense exploded in the second inning with some help from the Queens’ defense. After Chelie Senini, Nevada center fielder, hit an RBI single, the Wolf Pack capitalized off an error to score two more. Charli Hawkins, Nevada catcher, then hit a two-run double to give the Pack a five-run second inning. They went on to score two more in the fourth, which led to the 8-0 victory.

In game two, the Wolf Pack dominated once again, this time against North Carolina A&T State. Carley Brown, Nevada starting pitcher, started the second game, giving up five hits, two runs, and eight strikeouts in the 10-2 win over the Aggies.

After the Aggies took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Pack took over in the second inning. The team scored three runs off of errors by the Aggies to take the lead. The third inning was no different, as the Pack scored three more to extend their lead to 6-1. Maile Olsen, Nevada second baseman, also stole home to contribute to the three-run third inning. As a team, Nevada tied the single-game record of nine stolen bases. Hawkins came up big once again, hitting a two-run homer in the fourth. The game was called in the fifth after a Haylee Engelbrecht RBI single to close out the 10-2 victory.

Winter Sports Late-Season Recap

The Wolf Pack played another doubleheader on Saturday in some low-scoring affairs. Game one was a tight 2-0 victory against the Red Foxes. Tyra Clary, Nevada starting pitcher, threw a complete game shutout against Marist College, limiting them to three hits with nine strikeouts.

Aaliyah Jenkins, Nevada designated hitter, scored the only two runs for Nevada via a two-run home run in the sixth. The speed continued to be a factor as well, as Senini, Madison Clark, Nevada left fielder, and Bradianne Glover, Nevada pinch runner all recorded a stolen base.

Game two was another close game led by Craft. She threw her second complete-game shutout of the tournament, giving up three hits and striking out nine against the hosting Winthrop University Eagles.

Herrera was the lone scorer for the Pack, hitting an RBI double in the first inning. Hawkins and Clark tallied two hits each, and Senini added two more stolen bases to her season.

To close out the weekend, the Pack once again shut out the Red Foxes on Sunday. Brown flirted with perfection, retiring the first 11 Red Fox batters she faced. The perfect game was lost in the fourth, but Brown went on to only give up two more hits in the 6-0 shutout victory.

The Pack’s offense was more alive this game, with Engelbrecht hitting an RBI single in the first. The team would go on to score a run in each of the final four innings, ending with a Charli McLendon pinch hit solo homer in the seventh. With the 5-0 weekend sweep, the Pack moved to a 9-1 record to start the year.

The Pack will head to the Bay Area to compete in the Stanford Tournament on February 24-26. They’re set to Dominic Gutierrez can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Track and field, swim and dive produce multiple wins in conference

Swim and Dive

By Derek Raridon

In February, both the women’s swim and dive team and women’s indoor track and field team competed in their own Mountain West Conference tournaments, producing five Mountain West championships in a two week span for Nevada.

First, there was the dive events, where Lucia Gabino, sophomore diver, took home two separate diving championships.

On Feb. 15, Gabino took home the gold in the one-meter springboard event, acquiring a score of 348.5 points to secure the win. She was in a tight race with Melissa Mirafuentes, Bailey Heydra and Laura Isabel, Nevada divers, who finished second (347), third (338.85) and fourth (329.5) respectively.

One day later, on Feb. 26, Gabino would go back to back and secure her second championship in the three-meter springboard. Qualifying third for the final behind Heydra and Mirafuentes, Gabino finished the day with a final score of 375.25, finishing comfortably with Heydra (second, 360.85) and Mirafuentes (fourth, 335.65) right next to her.

Then, there was Benedict Nagy, senior swimmer, who secured the 400 individual medley conference championship for the third consecutive year in a row. Nagy qualified second in the qualifiers with a 4:11.49 time. Then, in a tight race with Kristina Murphy, San Diego State University swimmer, Nagy was able to squeeze out a 0.62 second lead and take home Nevada’s third championship of the event.

Track and Field Moving on to the next weekend, the track and field team notched two conference championships of their own. On the second day of the event, Natasha Chetty, Nevada high jumper, would be the first to claim a conference title. The competition was fierce, but after clearing 1.73 meters in one try, Chetty would only have two more women to beat: Lina Schubert from San Jose State and Jenna Fee Feyerabend from San Diego State.

However, it would not take long for Chetty to best her competition. After clearing a 1.76 meter jump, neither Schubert or Fee Feyerabend were to do the same, making Chetty a conference champion. The jump also sets a new personal record for Chetty, as well as places her sixth all-time in school history.

Following up the next day would be the 4x400-meter relay team, picking up the second conference championship for the program. The team consisted of Annalies Kalma, Emily Costello, Lilly Gregg and Halyn Senegal. Kalma, Costello, Gregg and Senegal all competed in the second of three heats, running a collective time of 3:39.62. The winner of the third heat, San Diego State, put up a time of 3:40.5. And thus, the Wolf Pack women were crowned Mountain West champions.

Derek Raridon can be reached via email at draridon@ sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush

By Derek Raridon

Men’s Basketball (as of Feb. 6): 18-6 overall, 8-3 in conference play (T-2nd in Mountain West)

Taking the spotlight of the winter sports season has been the men’s basketball team. Putting up two, five or more win streaks early in the season pushed the team out to a great start. Although the team hasn’t been able to string more than two wins together since then, the men have had very impactful wins versus New Mexico and San Diego State, who were both ranked twenty-fifth and twenty-third respectively at the time of their games. Adding to the accomplishments: the men have not lost at home so far this season. This team is a huge upgrade from last year, and if they continue their momentum, could end up in the March Madness tournament and potentially be ranked in the top 25.

Women’s Basketball (as of Feb. 6): 9-14 overall, 6-6 in conference play (8th in Mountain West)

The Women’s basketball program has been lackluster compared to their previous season. They started out going back and forth between wins and losses, staying roughly around .500 through November. However, going 2-5 in December, and having four of those losses by 10+ points did not help them in the slightest. The program has been going back and forth once more. The women did win their last game against Utah State, but almost choked a 29 point lead in the process. In order to finish the season over .500, the program needs to win their final six games. Any more losses, and they will finish under .500 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Women’s Swim and Dive (as of Feb. 6): 6-1 overall, 2-1 in conference play

Women’s swim and dive has continued to be the hidden gem the program has been over the last decade. The program has six head to head wins, taking five of them by 50+ points. They were even able to win by 75 points or more on three separate occasions. The women did have a bit of a slip right before and after their almost two month break, placing seventh out of 11 in the Utah Tech Invitational and losing to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas 166-133. However, the program did secure a win against New Mexico 159-66 before the Mountain West Swim and Dive championships. If they are able to ride their momentum going into the conference championship, the swim and dive team will have a good chance of bringing home some hardware.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field (as of Feb. 6)

The Women’s indoor track and field program has hoisted multiple top-8 finishes, placements in the Nevada all-time top-10 list, and impressive personal bests (or PBs) through their four meets competed in so far. The program has one more event, the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, before the conference championship, leaving room for more accolades.

Writing out their accomplishments in a paragraph would take a whole page or two, so here is a list of said accomplishments per event:

Spokane Invitational

• First place and new school record in 400 meter run: Emily Costello (54.06 seconds)

• Personal best and eleventh best all time in 60 meter hurdles: Sarah Marske (8.77 seconds)

• First place and personal best in 600 meter sprint: Halyn Senegal (1:32.14)

• Second place in 600 meter sprint: Raegan Gorzeman (1:35.92)

• 5000 meter distance running (three, top 5 finishers)

• First: Emily Clarke (17:16.44)

• Third: Page Penrose (17:50.41) Fifth: Jasper Fievet (18:28.28)

• Third place in 4x400 meter relay race: Nevada ‘A’ Team (3:47.26)

National Pole Vault Summit

• First place: Camrin Dolcini (3.90 meters)

• Seventh place: Samantha Irwin (3.25 meters)

Texas Tech Open

• Seventh best all-time in school and new personal best in long jump: Hanah Smrt (5.76 meters)

• Sixth best all-time in school and new personal best in 400 meter run: Senegal (56.13 seconds)

• Third place in Medley: Kylee Denver Madelyn Shipman, Kylie Burton and Marije Hijman (12:26.32)

• First place and new personal best: Natasha Chetly (1.75 meters)

• Seventh place in pole vault: Dolcini (3.88 meters)

• Third place in 3000 meter distance run: Clarke (9:49.18)

Washington State Open

• Ninth place in the overall pentathlon: Smrt (3,455 points)

• Fourth place and new personal best in high jump: Smrt (1.66 meters)

• Third place in long jump: Smrt (5.50 meters)

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Students get loud during the Jan. 31 men’s basketball game against SDSU.