Volume 129, Issue 7

Remembering Sky Russell: Vigil Held to Honor Their Life

By Lizette Ramirez and Emerson Drewes

On a chilly Sunday night, the University of Nevada, Reno and local community came together to honor and celebrate the life of Sky Russell, 21-year-old, soon to be graduated, environmental science student.

Warm lighting, the sweet smell of the candles and the chirping of birds in the trees encapsulated the event as many came to mourn the loss of a beloved family, friend and community member. Russell took their own life after a long struggle with mental illness and their body was discovered on the northeast end of the Quad on May 4. Since the discovery, the campus and local community quickly came together to support Russell, their family and friends.

A fundraiser was set in place to help raise money for Russell’s memorial and other expenses, as well as a vigil, arranged by Barstool Nevada and Old Row Nevada on May 7; both were assembled within a day of the news.

“With this devastating tragedy, the Russell family needs our help,” Michelle Wallace Leutzinger wrote, the organizer of the fundraiser and close family friend. “…With everything they’re going through, having to worry about money shouldn’t be added to their suffering.”

Within a day of the fundraiser being erected, it had amassed $22,000.

Hundreds of people, including many who

knew Russell, congregated at the Mackay Statue starting at 8 p.m. to leave small mementos of remembrance for Russell’s life — including flowers, candles and letters — or to give condolences and remember the person. Scribbled on the letters and candles were things like “for Sky to read only!” or “you’re loved.” One small note was left that read “the smartest environmental scientist I knew.”

Meika Onigkeit, a co-worker of Russell’s from their time working at Habit Burger on campus present at the vigil, said they had seen them only a week ago, and the death was “pretty sudden.”

“It was really upsetting to realize it was my friend that I knew,” said Onigkeit. “They were just about to graduate and they were so excited for their future. For it to be gone now, is really, really sad.”

Body Discovered On UNR Campus

By Lizette Ramirez and Emerson Drewes

A deceased body was found on the University of Nevada, Reno campus at 7 a.m. on Thursday. According to UNR officials, there is no current threat to campus and police presence has been increased.

“There is currently an increased police present at the north end of the Quad between the Paul Laxalt Mineral Engineering and Mackay School of Mines buildings,” said the email sent to students at 8:46 a.m. “Please avoid this location at this time.”

A cause of death has not been released.

Update as of 10:42 a.m.

According to Scott Walquist, director of communications for UNR, at approximately 7:10 a.m. there was a body assigned female at birth found at the north end of the Quad between the Paul Laxalt Mineral Engineering and Mackay School of Mines buildings.

“There is currently an ongoing investigation by the University Police Department,” Walquist wrote in an email. “There is no threat to campus.”

The area between the Paul Laxalt Mineral Engineering and Mackay School of Mines buildings is now open.

Update as of 11:42 a.m.

The next of kin of the deceased person has been notified.

Update as of 12:09 p.m.

Eric James, chief of police for UNRPD, revealed the deceased woman was found by a construction worker. The body is with a medical examiner and

there are no signs of trauma or violence. James explained UNRPD is waiting for the medical examination and toxicology report to move for ward with the investigation.

James stated it may take four to six weeks to determine the cause of the death, but could take longer.

While UNRPD is waiting for the cause of death, James stated they can do their due diligence with the last 12 hours of what the person’s life looked like.

“Where they were, who they were with, those types of things,” James ex plained. “Kind of trying to put together the last few hours, we can kind of see what happened.”

James reassured there is no ongoing threat on campus and there never was a threat. If any individuals need assistance, they are urged to go to counseling services on campus.

Update as of 5:24 p.m.

Brian Sandoval, president of the university, sent an email confirming the deceased indi vidual was a student.

“The death of a student affects our entire University. We mourn this tragic loss,” Sandoval wrote.

Out of respect for the student and the family, the university is honoring their privacy. Sando val provided campus resources for students and faculty who need help during this grieving time.

Onigkeit said they were disheartened to see many on the internet not using Russell’s proper pronouns and being “nasty.” Russell went by they, them and theirs pronouns, however many large media outlets used improper pronouns, including Barstool Nevada in their post about the arranging of the vigil. Talking about the situation with their partner has been a way of coping for Onigkeit, however they are trying to celebrate rather than be sad.

“We’re trying not to be sad, because that’s not what they would want; they would want us to celebrate them,” said Onigkeit. “We’ve been trying to find, like, things that they love to do and putting that in our lives, so we can always have a piece of them.”

Onigkeit will miss Russell and cited them as “the best coworker ever,” as they would sing together in the kitchen while they worked.

Logan Atkerson and Rudy Gonzales, members of Phi Delta Theta, came with their fraternity to show support.

“We’re very big on community,” Atkerson said. “We thought it was best we show our support for the community and for someone that sadly lost their life.”

Gonzales added, “We’re the Wolf Pack family, so we all just need to be here for one another.”

Atkerson revealed he’s tried going to the university for therapy but it’s not as easily accessible as advertised to be. Whenever Atkerson has tried receiving therapy he’s been put on a waitlist because of the amount of people who are also attempting to receive mental health help.

“I mean, it’s pretty pathetic,” Atkerson expressed. “There are people clearly that need help, and it’s like, you’re going to put me on a waitlist?”

Atkerson understands resources are limited but wishes there were steps taken to address the issue.

Russell will be remembered as a bright individual with a strong passion for the outdoors and deeply loved by their family and friends.

Fundraiser Being Held For Deceased UNR Student

By Emerson Drewes

After the body of deceased University of Nevada, Reno student Sky Russell, formerly known as Quincy Russell, was discovered a fundraiser and vigil has been organized to honor their life and help their family during their time of grieving.

“On May 4, 2023, we received the devastating news that a dear member of our community was found dead on the UNR campus,” said the fundraiser hosted on GoFundMe by Michelle Wallace Leutzinger. “Sky Russell (originally named Quincy) was the child of Sarah and Brandon Russell and sibling to Newt Russell.”

Russell’s body was discovered on the

both inpatient and outpatient, and while they had their good days, they also were struggling with a lot of darkness inside,” said Leutzinger on the fundraiser page. “Things just got to be too much and their taking their life was their way of ending their suffering and pain.”

Russell was newly 21 years old and was planning to graduate soon; they had a special passion for the outdoors and limnology, the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The page called them “extraordinarily smart” and had strong wit, creativity and curiousity. “Sky was deeply loved by not only their biological family, but a wide family of friends who saw them grow up over the years,” said Leutzinger.

In three hours, the fundraiser has fulfilled a fourth of their $20,000 goal, with many generous donations from anonymous donors.

The vigil, organized by Barstool Nevada and Old Row Nevada, will be held on Sunday, May 7 at the Mackay Statue “to remember a fellow student.” They are asking community members to bring candles and flowers in their rememberance.

northeast end of the Quad on May 4 at 7:10 a.m. by a construction worker. According to the fundraiser, Russell had struggled with mental illness and cited their cause of death as a suicide.

“They had gone through a lot of therapy,

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

A flower pot with a note saying “Rest easy Sky” written on the front at Russell’s vigil on May 7. Russell took their own life after a long battle with mental illness.

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

Sky was deeply loved.

Gabe Kanae / Nevada Sagebrush

Lizette Ramirez and Emerson Drewes can be reached at edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

VOLUME 129, ISSUE 7

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

News Editor: Lizette Ramirez lizetterez@unr.edu

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

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

Sports Editor: Derek Raridon draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu

Co-copy Editors: Jessica Cabrera jessicacabrera@sagebrush.unr.edu

Aria Frey alfrey@sagebrush. unr.edu

Design Editor: Brooke Germain bgermain@sagebrush.unr.edu

Photo Editor: Rachel Jackson rachelljacksonn@ gmail.com

Multimedia Editor: Patrick McNabb pmcnabb@sagebrush.unr.edu

CONTRIBUTING STAFFERS

Dominic Gutierrez, Jalen Robinson and Anthony Miranda

DISCLAIMER

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UNR Students, Faculty Stand In Solidarity Against The Killing Of Mahsa Amini

By Lizette Ramirez and Jessica Cabrera

Members of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Iranian Student Association and of the Iranian community gathered in front of the Joe Crowley Student Union building on Sept. 28 at approximately 1 p.m. to show solidarity against the killing of Mahsa Amini.

Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, was detained on Sept. 13 in Tehran, Iran by morality police due to her hair sticking out of her hijab. After the detainment, she was beaten, tortured and entered a coma. She died on Sept. 16.

Amini’s death sparked an uprising in Iran and protests against the regime. Iranian diaspora groups are also participating in protests against the Iranian government across the globe.

The Iranian Student Association posted about the event on their Instagram to “amplify the voices of brave

Iranians fighting against misogyny and suppression! Bahram Vahedi, research faculty of civil and environmental engineering, talked to The Nevada Sagebrush about what the ultimate goal of the protest was.

“So today, we gathered here to show our solidarity with our friends and family inside Iran… fighting against this brutal regime,” Vahedi said. “We want to be the voice of these unheard people.”

Tayebeh Goli, an Iranian PhD student at UNR, shares the same goal as Vahedi with an added political element. In 2015, the United States and other nations signed a deal with Iran as a nuclear non-proliferation agreement.

Goli hopes the protests will urge elected officials to end cooperation with Iran for nuclear power.

“If you can’t help us, at least don’t

support the terrorists,” Goli said.

“Don’t support the government that has taken 80 million hostages.”

Vahedi explained the Islamic Regime of Iran came into power in 1979 after the Iran Revolution. After coming into power, the regime enforced strict laws, one of them enforcing all women to wear hijabs — the reason for Amini’s detainment and killing.

Iranian students are directly affected by the protests overseas. According to Goli, a friend received news during the protest that her friend was killed on the street. The government shutdown of internet services limits the contact Iranian students have with their families.

“We don’t know how they’re doing. We don’t know how they’re going. We just know they are on the streets protesting,” Goli said. “Sometimes … you just hear who’s killed, who is injured,

and you don’t know what’s going on.”

The country is coming together to protest and spread awareness about Iran and Amini’s killing. Los Angeles is having protests about the death of Amini, and a human chain was formed on the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Iranian Student Association plans to have a club meeting in roughly two weeks to discuss the history of Iran.

“Iran is a country with 6,000 years of history, and we want to just tell that these 40 years does not represent us,” Goli said.

The Iranian Student Organization did not get back for immediate com-

ASUN Vice President Bayla Fitzpatrick Resigns Jada Maglinao Inducted As New ASUN Vice President

By Lizette Ramirez

Bayla Fitzpatrick, vice president of the Associated Students of University of Nevada, resigned from her position on Nov. 14—effective immediately.

Dionne Stanfill, ASUN president, read her resignation into record during the Nov. 16 senate meeting, where Fitzpatrick was not present.

“President Stanfill and Speaker Thompson, please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation from the office of Vice President for the 90th session of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada,” Stanfill read into the record emotionally. “This resignation takes effect immediately.”

The resignation is due to unexpected family circumstances.

Fitzpatrick wrote she will always support the university’s athletics and student media, where she served as a liaison, and the community the university sponsors. She is proud of her accomplishments within the association and alongside Stanfill and the cabinet.

Before serving as VP, Fitzpatrick was a senator for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources. She served as the chair for the Committee on Government Operations and helped increase accessibility and pronoun inclusion for officers within ASUN.

Stanfill’s voice was cracking while reading the resignation letter, and made comment after delivering it.

“I just want to thank Bayla for her contributions to the association.”

Stanfill said. “I only wish, and I know that the president’s cabinet only wishes her the best of luck on her endeav ors.”

As for fill ing the vice presiden tial va cancy, Stanfill will start the process of appointing a new Vice Presi dent. Stanfill is expecting to have an of ficial appoint ment by the next senate meeting on Nov. 30.

According to the Con stitution of the Associated Students, when there is no Vice President the President can nominate who they see fit. The nomination has to be approved by a two-third vote by the senate.

Police Respond To ‘Swatting’ Hoax At UNR

By Emerson Drewes

Jada Maglinao was instated as vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada during the Nov. 30 senate meeting after the resignation of Bayla Fitzpatrick, former ASUN vice president.

The nomination of Maglinao to the office of the vice president was sent to the senate by Dionne Stanfill, ASUN president, on Nov. 17—Fitzpatrick sent in her resignation letter on Nov. 14. Fitzpatrick resigned effective immediately due to unexpected family circumstances.

“I encourage the senate body to review her portfolio, which is outstanding for this position,” said Stanfill in her nomination letter to the senate. “Given her experience in assisting the Vice President role, she is well pre-

“Do It The Nevada Way:” VP Harris Visits Reno, Speaks On Reproductive Rights, Gun Violence

By Emerson Drewes By Lizette Ramirez, Jessica Cabrera and Emerson Drewes

Around 20 police cars and SWAT were present at the north end of University of Nevada, Reno campus on April 9 around 8:40 p.m.

According to Joshua Reynolds, deputy chief of the University of Nevada, Reno Police Department, they were responding to a “potential threat” on campus which was ruled out as a “hoax.”

“We received information tonight about a potential threat to campus and out of an abundance of caution, there was a large police presence,” said Reynolds in an email correspondence. “The officers were able to fairly quickly determine that there was no actual threat on campus and this was the result of a hoax.”

Reynolds further added the campus is safe.

Update as of April 10

UNRPD posted an update on their Instagram saying the incident was due to a “swatting” hoax.

“This incident has been confirmed as a ‘swatting’ hoax and there is no threat to campus at this time,” said the Instagram post.

According the post by UNRPD, swatting happens when “swatters” call in false reports to emergency lines and claim incidents like active shooters or a hostage situation.

Continued online at thenevadasagebrush.com

On an abnormally snowy mid-April morning, students of the University of Nevada, Reno and locals awaited the arrival of a special guest — Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States. Harris visited the Nightingale Concert Hall on April 18 at noon to discuss reproductive rights with moderators Hillary Schieve, Reno mayor, and Rosario Dawson, actress.

Sandoval announced the visit via email on April 14 and included a link for community members to sign up for attendance. The event featured a group of speakers selected by the White House.

“I am beyond excited to announce that on Tuesday, April 18, the University of Nevada, Reno will welcome Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, to our campus,” said Sandoval in the email. “This is an historic official White House visit for our institution.”

A Wolf Pack Welcome

The event started with a short speech from Samantha Glover, a senior at the Davidson Academy and abortion advocate. Glover started her speech by thanking the Biden-Harris administration for allowing her to speak and fight for reproductive rights. Continued

pared to fill this necessary position in our Association.”

Stanfill joined the meeting virtually to show her support for Maglinao during the senate meeting, calling her the “perfect candidate.”

“I present to you one of the most qualified students for this position, one of my best friends: Ms. Jada Maglinao,” said Stanfill via Zoom as she introduced Maglinao for her presentation.

Prior to her induction as vice president, Maglinao served as a programmer during the eighty-ninth session and the chief of internal affairs, ASUN’s newest executive position, during the current session. Additionally, she is an active member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and a member of Blue Key Honor Society. Her goals as vice president include student engagement, future Nevada students and community outreach. Maglinao was inducted by unanimous vote.

Classes Cancelled Due To Poor Air Quality

By Lizette Ramirez

It is a rare occurrence for the University of Nevada, Reno to cancel classes, but September 14 is one of those days. As the Mosquito Fire rages on, air quality in Northern Nevada has become “hazardous,” leading to a cancellation of all classes.

The fire is burning near Foresthill, California, west of Reno. The decision to cancel in person classes came from an early morning assessment where the AQI was over 300 or “hazardous.”

On Wednesday at 8 a.m., students, faculty and staff received an email from the Office of the President, stating that classes have been cancelled.

“The Reno/Sparks area is continuing to experience hazardous air quality… a decision has been made to cancel in-person classes, Wednesday, Sept. 14,” the email read.

The email linked an air quality guide to help reduce exposure.

The smoke has been affecting students in a variety of ways. Shawn Dorado, junior and resident assistant at the Nevada Living Learning Community, has been experiencing multiple cancellations due to the smoke.

“I run intramurals for the [Living Learning Community], so the smoke cancelling the games was really disappointing,”

Lizette Ramirez and Jessica Cabrera can be reached via email at edrewes@unr. edu or via Twiter @NevadaSagebrush.

Photos courtesy of Maryam Goli

Members of the University of Nevada, Reno community gathered on Sept. 28 to stand in solidarity against the killing of Mahsa Amini. Amini was a 22-year-old detained and killed in Tehran for having hair poking out of her hijab.

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

Lizette Ramirez can be reached via email at lizetterez@unr.edu or via Twitter @Lizzie_RSJ

Arts Entertainment

MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023

Spring Dance Concert a lively, endlessly inventive season finale

By Peregrine Hart

Just off the heels of the cheekily experimental play “Stupid F***ing Bird”, the University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Theatre and Dance ended its uniquely hindered season with a brilliant Spring Dance Concert.

Readers familiar with the department’s struggles will know that lack of technical support confined the year’s plays and musicals to the intimate-at-best, cramped-atworst Redfield Studio Theater. Dance takes to the Lombardi Recreation Center, where its venue seats only 82. Such limits proved a bugaboo to wouldbe audience members: all five nights of the Spring Dance Concert sold out a day before the showcase opened. Which is a shame, really; dance this good deserves to sell out a theater thrice that size.

The Spring Dance Concert, which opened April 19, does for faculty and visiting choreographers what its fall counterpart does for student-devised work. Professors Eve Allen Garza, Cari Cunningham and Nate Hodges each get a showing; as do guest artists Shinichi Iova-Koga, Philip “Flick” Flickinger and Maggie Stack.

As Cunningham, also the concert’s coordinator, promised in her introduction, “You are definitely in for a smorgasbord of dance delights.”

Flickinger’s work, to a propulsive mashup of songs by jazz ensemble BADBADNOTGOOD, opens. With a slow build, a willingness to phase in and out of synchronization and a frankly beautiful use of the human form, it’s a true stunner.

Laserlike focus from the dancers makes it ultra-satisfying when the choreography finally breaks down and lets them move at the same time. At others, suspense and mesmerism take hold. Intricate lifts and

a versatile use of props phase the viewer through spontaneous duets, trios and quartets.

It’s one of those artistic experiences where you’re not always entirely sure of how you’re supposed to feel — but the ambiguity only makes it better.

In a testament to the department’s ever-impressive range, Flickinger’s tone gives way to a wildly different answer in Eve Allen Garza’s. “Visage Heureux,” a highly charismatic number for six, takes after mime to the silky tones of 20thcentury French Pop singer Charles Aznavour.

Garza’s approach is to dial up character and physical -

ity to delightful technicolor extremes, and the result is sweet, sincere and tongue-in-cheek all at once. Mariana Delgado Ceniceros, Lucas Moir, Tullia Rosa and company are so intensely fun to watch that you can’t not follow them wherever they lead. In fact, their charm is almost deceptive: the choreography’s effortless look belies some pretty intense physicality. You can only really see it, though, when one of them falls into a splits like it’s nothing. With another genre nosedive, the concert turns to the work of Shinichi Iova-Koga for what might be its strangest and most ambitious number.

Besides its solemn opening — with haunting vocals from dancer Maddy Regrut — the piece eschews music entirely. Viewers are brought into a barren world strongly implied to be post-apocalyptic, and gray jumpsuits carry the dancers through a ritual exhumation.

Crystal Holmes, as the unearthed corpse du jour, gives a performance as eerie as it is impressive. A stone-faced ensemble, meanwhile, falls into abrupt, sometimes inexplicable repetitive action. More skeptical viewers no doubt struggled, but they likely found it memorable all the same.

After intermission comes a

sprightly, hopeful-tragic number that opens with The Beatles’ “Two of Us,” choreographed by Maggie Stack. Brightly colored plainclothes, a prop suitcase and origami planes carry the piece, “Home,” through a dynamic portfolio of music and yearning. The choreography is complete with a motif that takes a few exposures to recognize, but is immediately potent once you do.

Its final third, marked by a change of lighting and tone with Jóhan Jóhannson’s “Flight From The City,” speaks beautifully to how desperately so many of us want to leave home, and often can’t. Dreams give

way to practical constraints: there may be seven people on stage, but there’s only one suitcase.

For the night’s only solo, graduating senior Petra Warburton takes the stage to solo harp. Choreographed by Cari Cunningham, the piece, “Figure of Eight,” showcases Warburton’s strengths, yet feels like it’s missing the dimension and excitement of an ensemble. But that might just be because the Spring Dance Concert was unfairly good at making every member of a group shine.

That more than holds for the last number of the night, a sea-tossed, theatrical pirate odyssey choreographed by Nate Hodges. Hodges, who also contributed choreography to this spring’s “Cabaret,” weaves together a quest for treasure, a tragic love story and no small role for comedy.

Some familiar talented faces don pirate wear for the adventurous number, from its raucous use of a sea shanty popular on TikTok a few years back to its absolutely jubilant finale to “Come Sail Away” from Styx. Crystal Holmes is again excellent, but in an entirely different and riotously funny way. She’s joined by Danielle Hunt and Alyssa Von Eberstein, who broke legs in “Cabaret” and “Stupid F***ing Bird,” respectively.

This year, the Spring Dance Concert proved a powerful showcase of what dance can do. As evidenced by the rest of the season, the department has myriad talents and surprises in store — all the more reason they should get the resources and venues they deserve.

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

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Drama, defiance take the stage at Wolf Pack Drag Show

By Peregrine Hart

Students piled into the Joe Crowley Student Union on March 29 to see a night of wig reveals and death drops on a portable stage at the annual University of Nevada, Reno drag competition.

The event, in its second year of rebound after the pandemic, puts student and local drag artists in the spotlight alongside a famous host. This year, the witty and wildly fabulous Mo Heart, from Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 10 and All Stars season four, made her entrance to a rousing cover of Jill Scott’s “Hate on Me” in a stunning costume adorned with flowers and an even more stunning wig.

As part of her opening slate, she asked the crowd how many had never been to a drag show before, and got a fairly substantial sea of hands. Thanks to free student admission, anyone who wanted to show up for the sparkly and campy art form could do so.

Students were encouraged to bring dollar bills to tip the drag queens as a source of payment and show of gratitude to the performers. And tipped they did, green was the color of the night as dollar bills flooded the aisles. Students were lucky if their favorite performer hand-picked their money, if not polo-shirted Joe Crowley Student Union employees worked hard to collect it all.

The support that night was visible: Mo Heart made no secret of drag’s function as a place of support within the LGBTQIA+ community, and her affirmations of its importance got some of the night’s loudest applause.

“Queer people have always provided a safe space for ourselves,” she said in her opening slate as host.

It’s a stark contrast to the attacks and bans on the art form that have weathered this past year. Just four weeks before the show, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee governor, signed into law a bill criminalizing drag performances in public spaces. Here in Reno, public comment at a County Commissioners meeting Feb. 28 took aim at Washoe County Libraries’ Drag Queen Story Time, a diversity-angled program that looks to increase LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance among the library’s youngest patrons.

In such a climate, “Hate on Me” might be more than just a gutsy needle drop. Drag may be a playful performance of gender and defiance to the binary, but it is facing very real threats. These threats are, in part, why it’s so crucial to support events like this in an official capacity.

One such performer, Kitamine, flipped the script and turned masculinity into a performance of jeans and a button-up. Mo Heart kept them on stage after the fact for a short interview, in which they revealed both their nerves and newness to the art form.

“I just wanted to do this for the first time,” Kitamine said.

Another student performer, Scottlynd, succeeded them with a laid-back lip sync number both coy and clever to Victoria Monét’s “Coastin.” Her act proved a delightful answer to the form’s bombastic musical expectations: you don’t always have to pick a highoctane pop track and pair it with breathless physical feats to put on a good show.

Her approach proved award-winning as well. A panel of judges presided over the event, and granted crowns to both a student performer, as well as a winner in the local category. Scottlynd won the student competition.

At the same time, physicality stuns for a reason. Zamantha Veloure, the first of the show’s local drag queens, incorporated brightly colored fabric fans into an ambitious number anchored by cartwheels through the audience. The cartwheels were, of course, done in heels.

The Haus of Veloure was well represented throughout the event, as four family members worked the stage and audience throughout the night.

Speaking of shoes, the stylings of Cici Orchid were loud from the get-go. Bright pink, over-the-knee boots carried her through “Fergalicious” with pure bravado. In a crowd-pleasing move, Orchid was one of several to incorporate her tips into the performance — making it rain in a cheeky moment on stage.

Following Orchid, the indomitable Ari Meadows energized with a bouncy number full of somersaults, each more shocking and impressive than the last. Meadows, in a bright pink and black motor jacket, made a resourceful use of the space. She paused a few times in front of the near-stage fan for a windblown effect.

Deevina Veloure, meanwhile, utilized Beyoncé, so bass-boosted that the music’s pulses could be felt in one’s solar plexus.

Of Deevina’s costume, Mo Heart put it succinctly in her introduction: “Do you know how bold you have to be as a drag queen to wear white?!”

Ever attentive to apparel, Deevina Veloure’s act was full of perfectly-timed, dynamic costume changes. She was one of two in fierce competition for the local category crown.

In the end, it came down to her and Abyne, who faced off to 1994’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” from Selena.

Abyne’s act, immediately following Deevina Veloure’s, ultimately won — an honor welldeserved. Her fluid, endlessly inventive dancing

made an encore showing when she was crowned local winner, but it played a starring role in her spirited tribute to Shakira in vibrant red.

Her joy in the number was absolutely infectious once the chorus of “Whenever, Wherever” hit. Any viewer would be hard-pressed not to catch the giddiness as she skipped through the aisles.

Donna Sux Does Moore took an actor’s approach, with the power of suspense on her side. Her routine — and the one that answered hers, from Victoria Veloure — spent plenty of time away from the stage and in the audience, but it was well worth the effort it took to crane one’s neck to catch her talent.

Victoria Veloure’s piece was a high-energy, exuberant number with a heavy debt to Ariana Grande’s 2015 single “Break Free”.

Finishing the lineup was Norvina Veloure — the only one to make her dramatic entrance from the side door. Her tireless number made a commendable commitment to the theme. With Charli XCX’s “Vroom Vroom” at the helm, she even brought a racing flag and appropriate sound effects to the act.

Before the show came to a close, Mo Heart brought a coterie of volunteers on stage. Some were already in costume, but a few, in t-shirts and jeans, seemed like the last people you’d expect to make a bold showing on stage. The volunteer’s performed in their own impromptu LaLaPaRUza for the audience.

The spirit of the night, however, proved powerful, bringing out supernatural confidence in even the shiest-looking participants. In giving students the space to cheer for their own, Mo Heart landed the show with a conclusion as spontaneous as it was sincere.

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 with enthusiasm as the poem is being read. Snaps and hums of approval 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!”

‘Stupid F***ing Bird’ a sincere, sometimes too-heavy riot

By Peregrine Hart

This spring, the University of Nevada, Reno’s season of live theater came to a close with many f—s to give.

The potty-mouthed play in question is Aaron Posner’s “Stupid F***ing Bird.” A loose retelling of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” the play follows Emma, an aging actress, her son Con, a struggling aspiring playwright, and a string of supporting characters who either love them unrequitedly or don’t love them back.

If this sounds complicated, it’s all in keeping with the original. Emma loves Trigorin, a famous author. Con loves the aspiring actress Nina, who doesn’t love him back. Trigorin also loves Nina — who reels with guilt as she finds she returns his feelings. Mash, a young, ukulele-playing pessimist, loves Con — who, heartsick over Nina, barely knows she exists. Finally, Con’s pithy friend Dev loves Mash — who might be able to settle for him — maybe.

In short: everyone’s feelings are misplaced. Everyone’s set up for misery. The universe doesn’t care.

Besides, there’s a mounting modern crisis to worry about. Posner’s adaptation lifts “The Seagull” from its original setting at a nineteenth-century Russian country estate to the present day. On top of being lost in love, the play’s young characters stare down the barrel of a bleak economic and ecological future. As many of us have already loudly proclaimed: f— this s—.

If hearing those words on stage will validate your feelings, “Stupid F***ing Bird” is the play for you.

And it is said. Often. But, thanks to great performances from UNR’s student actors, “f—” never loses its f—ing power.

The play’s small cast of seven is well-fitted to the task. They’re

loud about their characters’ mundane problems, but it never feels overblown. They make convincing strikes at their characters’ deep flaws, but manage to entirely avoid the impression that they’re looking down on them. Under the compassionate direction of UNR acting instructor Rosie Brownlow-Calkin, that last skill really gets a chance to shine. Anson Wapstra Scott helms as the play’s fumbling aspiring playwright, Con. He’d be a standout if his peers weren’t so f—ing good. He takes a deeply volatile, needy leading man at his word and gets his insecurity across with full

force. Con’s drastic emotional changes can sometimes set in over the space of a few lines — a perilous transition that only a fullycommitted actor can handle.

Similar demands fall effortlessly under the feet of Alyssa Granger, who plays Nina. Much like her delightfully dialed-up performance in last semester’s one acts, Granger anchors a larger-thanlife aspiring actress in unabashed need. Big gestures and a big voice generally evade modern, realist acting, but they can play beautifully off of other, more grounded players. Granger knows this well, and she’s a joy to watch because of it.

Meanwhile, Maya Wolery, who played Big Pharma in the one acts last semester, returns to medicine as the middle-aged doctor Sorn. Sorn is Con’s kindhearted uncle and Emma’s older brother. He’s the only character free of the play’s romantic angst — though not entirely of his own volition. His are the regrets of a cautious, prosperous life already lived. How did I get here? How can I go back? Wolery is an unconventional choice for Sorn, but that only works in their favor. They imbue him with age without ever resorting to “old man” tropes. Though usually a quiet presence on stage, they make him shine when his solemn moments finally come. This season, what would already be in-your-face talent is even closer than usual. Without technical support, “Stupid F***ing Bird” takes to the Redfield Studio Theatre with intimate seating and only minimal lighting at its disposal. Like Cabaret, it’s a script well-chosen for the venue, though for slightly different reasons.

Continued online at nevadasagebrush.com

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

Collage by Brooke Germain; Photos by Rachel Jackson & Gabe Kanae / Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Brushfire literary editor Abigail McDiarmid reads poetry at the journal’s inaugural poetry night.

Photo courtesy of Trisha French , UNR Theatre and Dance

Dangerously Fast, Deeply In Love: Bird Scooter Review

By Gabe Kanae

It shouldn’t come as a giant surprise that the hyped up and anticipated electric scooter and bike generation has finally arrived. With an increase in energy-based transportation products in stores and online retailers, these newer electric scooters and bikes are available to use and access on streets within a moments reach.

Driving around town, it typically doesn’t take more than ten minutes to spot multiple electric scooters made by the company Bird Global Inc. The gray scooters with a blue logo sticker attached can be seen standing in place on sidewalks or even better – lying flat on the cold, hard ground.

Using the scooters isn’t technically a difficult issue. When intrigued, all the user has to do is install the accompanying Bird app, sign up and add a payment method. Once in, you are shown a map of all the Bird scooters locations that are not currently in use. Of course, if you are in the presence of one at that moment, you can simply just scan the QR code on the scooter’s handle.

After agreeing to certain terms and conditions and going through a short tutorial, you can easily kick the standing mount that’s on the bottom of the scooter up and go on your way by kicking off and pulling down the acceleration lever.

Each minute of riding a Bird scooter is 15 cents, an affordable amount of money considering the amount of reach you can achieve on this transportation method.

Bird scooters became one of Reno’s most popular transportation methods. I have seen dozens upon dozens using the Bird scooters as a fast and cheap method to go from student apartments to their classes on campus. This is a wonderful integration and usage of the scooters considering some walkways and paths could be dangerous to tackle for minorities by foot and to make things better, Bird claims that community members such as students, veterans, teachers, low-income households, nonprofits and hilariously: senior citizens—can get their scooter prices lowered with a 50 percent discount.

The scooters can go 15 miles per hour on a street road and are restricted in pedestrian walkways. The technology involved is very specific and focuses more on ensuring you’re not in pedestrian walkways. This preference could cause misreadings and think you are in an unsafe area for speed even when you may just be in the middle of the road like the app told you to. While this flaw is annoying, it’s more beneficial for it to exist and be wrong. It prevents scooters from accidentally bypassing the limits and putting other walking pedestrians in danger.

Community pricing is actually an amazing step forward for public transportation considering the amount of recent backlash and union controversies other transportation formats are currently suffering from. However, Bird scooters offer their biggest con and issue: not everybody can ride a scooter.

Even though riding a scooter is based on personal skill, Bird scooters are definitely not the safest form of transportation. Though many may have tried and overcome the learning curve of riding a scooter, Bird scooters also act differently than your typical scooter. The scooters do not rely on manually pushing forward and do not have emergency brakes; it can even take an adjusted scooter rider a few minutes to get adjusted to the technology.

The scooter relies on technology to a dangerous extent. For instance, it could be dangerous to slow down the riding when it detects a potential pedestrian walkway while not restricting a scooter that could be next to you, which could potentially cause a crash.

It is also worth noting that you have to place both feet back on

the scooter before pulling down the acceleration when you kick off the scooter, or else your body weight versus the acceleration speed could sweep the scooter from underneath you. This can be very painful and the fall can leave you with some marks (based on personal experience).

The worst and most dangerous side of this scooter is downhill. When doing downhill, the scooters successfully go beyond the speed limit the acceleration lever can go, resulting in you going upward to 25 miles per hour. In my case: going 25 miles per hour downhill, seeing a hole in the road and attempting to slow the scooter down with their electric break may result with you face planting into the road, getting second-degree burns, a nice little visit from the ambulance and scars on your arms that will last

students using it as a form of travel when intoxicated. This simply just risks the lives of the rider or any other people sharing a road, sidewalk or bike lane. It’s a topic to consider and an issue to address, though from the outside it is easily overlooked.

Besides the Bird Scooters, the university started experiencing issues of scooter, skateboard and bike riders risking the lives and safety of our students walking between classes or on campus. These fast riders zip through crowds. All it would take is one student with headphones on to take a wrong step, not knowing what is behind them and then being run over, causing an accident. We need to remember to not speed through zones where crowds of students may be walking or socializing due to their safety, but the riders egos and inconsiderate notions result in different expectations.

After finishing a ride, Bird scooters can be left anywhere. I’ve seen Bird scooters inside my apartment complex behind locked doors, on the side of roads or on the sidewalk. Since the Bird scooters are electric, they do need to be charged.

In a program with Bird, people can be paid for picking up the scooters from locations, taking them home and charging them. According to Inc., “Birds must be collected and recharged every night. Bird pays from $5 to $20 per scooter per charge depending on how difficult it is to locate it and how much juice it needs.” I have seen a lot of trucks picking up Bird scooters near my apartment complex or around town and hauling groups of 30+ scooters home to charge. With the payment that much for an easy task: I cannot blame them! Easy cash! Though I do wonder how they access scooters locked behind or within an apartment complex.

The other issue with Bird scooters is cleanliness. When I fell off my scooter, I was bleeding everywhere and the scooter never got cleaned until it was collected for charging, according to Bird. This is simply why I am honestly disgusted to use the scooter anymore considering how many injuries, accidents or other forms of unhealthy interactions the scooters may come across in a day and a rider wouldn’t know about. The idea that my Bird scooter was still around town that day stained with my blood while another rider uses it is quite frightening.

Bird has become one of the most fascinating and integrated community level electric transportation services of all the new retailers. If you do not want to share your scooter, on Bird’s official shop you can buy a personal scooter for $599, assuming they restock them! You can also from the allotment of electric scooters available across multiple companies and brands from an online retailer or local shop.

years.

This unfortunately isn’t a rare case either. Some students have ended up at the Student Health Center due to a collision, some minor and others temporarily disabling.

Besides the injuries, another one of the Bird scooters unfortunate restrictions is distance. Most of the scooters are restricted by the map and all riders will have to stay within a certain range or area of the map. In our case: downtown Reno for the most part is the only area of town people can ride scooters in. You cannot ride the Bird scooter inside the university, but you can ride them on the outskirts.

With the rise of the scooters, you also begin to question college

Ghosting: Generation Z’s Normalized Epidemic

By Gabe Kanae

It’s fair to say that almost everybody reading this article has intense experiences with ghosting, the practice of someone never responding to your messages, calls or any other form of communication as a way to ignore and get out of a situation.

Unfortunately, we have normalized this practice so intensely that the impact of it is hardly even mentioned and the concept of doing it has become the norm.

Those like me, with high levels of anxiety and other mental health issues, have a hard time understanding ghosting culture. We tend to not comprehend the message sent through ghost ing because it is so indirect and unexplainable.

When we do comprehend it however, it brings a massive amount of pain and anxiety due to never having answers or closure to the situation. People with such high amounts of anxiety begin to blame themselves or find other self-deprecating ways to ex cuse this behavior, which leads to worsened self-worth and love.

I’ve heard many examples of people either considering, or losing their lives because of the impact of ghosting. It’s a cowardly way for a person to handle a situation. It is never the answer unless you have al ready tried multiple forms of cutting someone off.

For example, ghosting could be a reasonable ac tion when you tell someone multiple times you no longer want to talk to them, but they continue to reach out and spam your inbox. Then, you may have a reason because you have addressed the situ ation and explained how you feel.

Ghosting when you see someone’s looks and lose inter est is not a way to handle the situation, nor is it an acceptable way to break up with somebody or end any relationship. If you are involved in a complicated situation with someone and no longer want to be connected, you should find a way to handle it in a way that shows respect to both sides.

Breaking up with somebody or ending an affair via ghosting is a heavily harmful way of handling a situation because that person cares deeply. Disappearing leaves them with no closure and forces them to reevaluate what they did wrong and how what they did was so bad you couldn’t even talk to them about ending the situation.

My experiences with ghosting have been

very hurtful and painful. It has created a mass amount of self-hate and confusion for me, and the consequences of it are ones that take years to fix. Many people on dating apps or social media will ghost someone for any small reason and leave the other person hanging. It’s a very toxic action.

Another reason to not ghost is because communication with the other party could resolve the situation and allow things to continue onward. Expressing your feelings and emotions is a massive part of respect and maturity that all adults should have. It’s also simple human decency to treat someone with the same respect you would want back to you. If you’ve ghosted somebody for a reason that isn’t logical, you Ghosting has shown more than ever that Generation Z is less mature than they claim. Joining into the action of ghosting is simply just proving you are not fit for any form of relationship and that you are not considerate of other people’s feelings.

Generation Z started to find ways to make ghosting a more acceptable form of communication and rejection. In reality, it’s just a way to prevent and hide yourself from confrontation. If you cannot handle a situation without attempting to hide or take accountability, it says a lot about your personal im-

Many people who get ghosted end up feeling very out-of-the-loop and depressed. They are never given closure. The person who hurt them is also never forced to take accountability or deal with the consequences they forced onto you because they couldn’t explain their emotions or feelings to

If you tend to ghost someone, even if it’s because of your personality or social and mental health, consider the consequences even if they won’t hurt you. Ghosting is almost never acceptable and anyone who has given into Gen

Z’s latest social epidemic should consider the damages made and apologize.

Though I may have scars that will last me for many years, the Bird scooters truly are an exciting and fun way to travel. They offer affordable use to those in the community who are suffering from a lack of transportation methods and provide it in a fun and engaging way. Overall, the scooters have improved the lives, but also harmed the healthy skin, of many as well.

Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Gabe Kanae is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @Nevada Sagebrush

The Danger Of Anonymity –UNR’s YikYak Dilemma

By Gabe Kanae

Starting in the fall semester of 2021, a new app quickly hit top charts among college students –YikYak. The social media platform gives emoji pseudonyms to all of its users and allows them to comment and share posts to a local community of the app users completely anonymously.

Iit didn’t take long before students showed the app to their friends as a way to anonymously share and communicate about the college experience here at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Though the idea seems enticing and important, the damage created by the app has outweighed all of its advantages.

College students tend to be a slightly more mature version of high school seniors – or so you would think. Most college students – especially those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – tend to lack the social skills to understand how society works and the consequences of their actions.

Giving them access to an app of this scale and power was just a disaster in the making.

By the spring semester of 2022, it is fair to say that the majority of students on campus had the app or knew about the app. There were multiple posts made eve ry minute that talk about classes, homework and even the toxic hookup culture on campus. The big gest issue with this app however is the lack of consequences.

Due to the apps anonymity, anyone on campus could spread reputation ruining rumors about a students sex life, social life and health.

Within the first week of school starting this fall, UNR’s YikYak already received hundreds of sexually themed comments and posts targeting mostly women. The app’s biggest issue is the lack of censorship and protection over those who become victims to it. The posts mostly consist of trashing other students’ looks, outfits, personalities and trends that in result cause students to be more depressed, self-conscious, afraid of the campus’s environment and the people around them.

Another issue that arises here is the amount of content being posted. It is fair to say that the majority of YikYak posts are built off simple lies and manipulated experiences. When a post with sexual, social and trending themes get upvoted, other students begin to feel left out of the college experience they desire.

If the majority of posts on the social media app were true, it could easily be assumed that

most college students on campus are hooking up, drinking, doing drugs and having endless fun with friends all day every day. Seeing these posts when a student is simply studying or trying to enjoy time for themselves can easily further their fear of missing out.

If we are looking at college students from a grounded perspective, the majority of them are not consistently out every night trying to do something incredibly fun. A lot of students still spend their nights and days at work, working on homework, understanding their mental health issues and simply trying to relax before the next day.

The app’s uprising has caused many students to feel out of place and sometimes even attacked my anonymous peers. Some students have expressed a decline in their mental health due to the app, which surprisingly created a popular persona for them. The persona would receive a mix of emotions and spiral into a new hybrid of cyberbullying and bullying in person. It’s hard to know who your buillies and enemies on YikYak are when they can be anyone on campus. It discourages students from being active in social events on campus due to fear.

YikYak as an app itself should not be banned on campus. It is a great way for a community of students to come together and share how different the college experience is for everyone, and it can prove to a student that they are not alone in their struggles.

Anyone can say anything on the app without consequences except the person who is targeted. It is a scary thought to understand. If it is abused too much, it could lead to a disastrous event.

Instead of spreading rumors and lies, can students contribute to the app in a way that can have a positive effect on everyone who sees it?

Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Gabe Kanae is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @Nevada Sagebrush

Gabe Kanae / Nevada Sagebrush

Pack Provisions will be closed every Saturday starting 05/06/2023 and will not reopen on Saturdays until Fall Semester.

Our operation hours are Monday Thursday 9am-6pm.

Starting May 15, summer hours for Pack Provisions will be Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.

Pack Provisions is the on-campus food pantry that serves the University of Nevada, Reno community. This is a completely free resource that is available for all members of the Wolf Pack to utilize whenever they are in need. This resource can be accessed by students, sta , and faculty. Our pantry is located inside of the Center for Student Engagement, which is on the third oor of the Joe Crowley Student Union.

Wolf Pack finishes winless in home games, loss to Fresno State

By Derek Raridon

The Fresno State Bulldogs beat out the Nevada Wolf Pack in a 41-14 loss — finishing winless at home versus conference opponents for the first time.

Nevada started the game tumbling out of the gate. The Nevada offense started the game with a three and out. Although they were able to muster up more plays per drive afterwards, the team did not get past their 38-yard line for the entire quarter. Meanwhile, the Fresno State offense capitalized and scored 17 points in their three possessions of the quarter.

The Wolf Pack trailed 17-0 into the second quarter.

The second quarter saw Nevada improve on the defensive side. The Nevada defense held the Bulldogs to one touchdown, not allowing Fresno State past their 40-yard line, for the rest of the drive – with an exception on the scoring drive. However, unlike their opponent in the previous quarter, the Nevada offense was not able to produce any offense for the second quarter in a row.

Nevada trailed 24-0 at the start of the second half.

The third quarter showed promise for the Wolf Pack as their offense pushed Fresno State’s side of the field for the first time, going as far as the 20-yard line. However, Nevada’s first score would come a 73-yard passing touchdown from Nate Cox, Nevada quarterback, to Dalvon Campbell, wide

receiver. With a missed field goal early on and a made one later by Fresno State, the Wolf Pack trailed 27-7 after three quarters.

Nevada combined their performance from the first and third quarters in the fourth. Similar to the third, the Wolf Pack put points on the board on their last drive of the game, ending it with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Cox to BJ Casteel, Nevada wide receiver. Fresno State overshadowed Nevada’s touchdown with rushing touchdowns on two of their three drives in the quarter.

The Bulldogs used their final drive to run the clock down by kneeling down. Nevada lost 41-14.

With this loss, Nevada moved to 2-9 on the year — 0-7 in conference play — going into their final game of the season. The loss also marked the first time in school history that Nevada went winless at home versus conference opponents at home.

The Wolf Pack’s final game of the season will be at Allegiant Stadium, where the program will take on the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas in the Battle for Nevada.

Nevada’s 75-66 Beats SDSU, Historic Night For The Program

Nevada Football First Loss, Shootout With Incarnate Word

By

After an exciting back-and-forth duel, Nevada came up short losing 55-41 to University of the Incarnate Word.

The Nevada Wolf Pack had a great showing on offense as they put up a staggering 41 points. Nate Cox, quarterback, was the starter this game. He had an impressive 302 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game and one rushing touchdown. Cox found success through the air as five different players had three receptions or more in the game.

BJ Casteel, wide receiver, was the top receiver in this game. Casteel racked up a solid stat line of five receptions, 85 yards and one touchdown. Dalevon Campbell, wide receiver, turned in a nice performance as he finished with three receptions for 64 yards.

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 Aztecs 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. program moved to 26-11 on the season, 7-6 in conference play. The team now looks to the west, where they will take on the Fresno State Bulldogs in a three game series on April 21-23 in Fresno, California.

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

Men’s basketball is headed back to March Madness

By Jalen Robinson

The Nevada men’s basketball team is back to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament for the first time since 2018. Despite a rocky end to the season, losing their last three games, including their Mountain West conference quarterfinal game against the San Jose State Spartans, the Wolf Pack squeaked into the tournament for the very last atlarge bid.

The Wolf Pack qualified for an at-large bid and are slated to play the Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday, March 15 in Dayton, Ohio in the NCAA March Madness “First Four” round. What is an at-large bid? There are two forms of bids to get into March Madness, an atlarge bid and an automatic bid.

An automatic bid is given to teams who are the champions of their conference tournament, having the best record and winning the regular season conference title does not qualify as a bid. An at-large bid stands for all the teams that didn’t win their conference tournament, but whose resumes stand out, making them eligible for selection by the NCAA tournament committee. The committee looks at overall statistics, wins, losses, and

strength of schedule when considering who should be an at-large bid.

Since the Pack was one of the last teams to qualify, they will, unfortunately, have to play an extra game in the first four before the tournaments start Thursday. The Pack will not be admitted into the March Madness bracket officially until then. What are the “First Four”? To keep it simple, the First Four is the first round and the remaining 64 rounds. Consisting of eight teams, the First Four are simply the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifying teams and the four lowest-seeded at-large bid teams in the tournament. Each at-large or automatic bid team will be slotted to play one game against another first four team or their equivalent opponent

to see who advances to play in the March Madness bracket.

This is done to even the playing field of teams who have very impressive resumes, but compare to one another relatively the same.

Once that game is played, the winner will take over the seed that they are fighting for. In this case, Nevada is battling Arizona State University for the eleventh seed. This seed will advance to Friday to face off against the six seed Texas Christian University.

Despite sitting pretty and gazing at March Madness in 2nd place with only five games left before the Mountain West conference tournament, the Pack stumbled to the finish line. Almost giving up their spot to another at-large bid, the Pack dropped four of their last

six games while losing three straight to end the season, two of them being overtime losses.

Even though the Pack’s rough patch came at the worst time of the year and much hope was lost for an at-large bid, the Pack still managed to finish thirty-seventh in the national rankings. This would later have them blessed by the selection committee, granting the Pack the last at-large bid available in the bracket. The decision by the committee left out the Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Big 12, being the first team out.

With that said, Wolf Pack March Madness basketball is back like it never left. The Pack looks to make a statement in their first NCAA tournament game since the Eric Musselman era in 2018. Nevada will play on Wednesday, March, 15th at 6:10 Pacific Time on TruTV, potentially playing in their only game of March Madness and the last game of the 2023 season.

Friday, April 28, and go through the weekend.

Nevada also found great success in the run game as they ended with 176 yards on the ground. The dynamic duo of senior running backs Toa Taua and Devonte Lee continually gashed the Incarnate Word defense. Taua had a marvelous game with 101 yards rushing, a touchdown on the ground, three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown in the passing game. Lee had a great game of his own with 59 yards, a touchdown on the ground and three receptions for 42 yards through the air.

This was an overall great performance from the Nevada offense that can give fans confidence for later in the season.

The Nevada defense did not have their best showing as they got some stops late in the game, but it was not enough to turn the tide of the game.

Tyson Williams, defensive back, had an amazing performance with 11 total tackles, six solo tackles and one sack. SBentley Sanders, defensive back, continues his hot streak with another interception this game, including seven total tackles. Sanders has an interception in all three games this season, putting him at a total of four interceptions on the year.

Tariq Mack, defensive back, turned in a solid performance with seven total tackles and five solo tackles. The Nevada defense did not win the turnover battle as they have done in the first two games. They made stops late in the game but they simply could not contain the Incarnate Word offense.

The game started with an Incarnate Word fumble which was recovered by the Wolf Pack. Nevada could not take advantage of the short field position, and they settled for a 34-yard field goal from kicker Brandon Talton. In the next play following the kickoff, Sanders picked off Incarnate Word to set up the Nevada offense with phenomenal field position. After a short three-play drive, Taua made a nice 11-yard touchdown run to put the Wolf Pack up 10-0. Nevada was out to an early two-score lead when they forced an Incarnate Word punt, but the Wolf Pack fumbled on their next drive which led to an Incarnate Word field goal.

Nevada quickly answered back with a 12-play drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Wolf Pack had a great mix of passing and rushing capped off by a 7-yard Cox touchdown pass to Casteel. The resilient Incarnate Word offense came roaring back with a touchdown of their own before the end of the first quarter.

Nevada started the second quarter with a 17-9 lead, but things began to go downhill from here for Nevada. The two teams traded punts until Incarnate Word used a long 77-yard pass to punch in a 1-yard touchdown run. Nevada turned the ball over on downs before Incarnate Word found the end zone again to take the lead 24-17 with 3:28 seconds left in the half. Nevada’s offense continued to struggle as they were forced to punt again.

The Wolf Pack defense held strong forcing a missed field goal right before halftime.

Nevada was down 24-17 to begin the second half. However, things went from bad to worse as Incarnate Word strip-sacked Cox for a 59-yard touchdown return. This was a definitive play in the game that marked a huge uphill battle for Nevada.

Incarnate Word tried to put the nail in the coffin as they forced a Nevada punt and then scored on a seven-play drive. The Incarnate Word passing touchdown put them up 38-17 with 9:24 seconds in the third quarter. Nevada finally responded with a nice 10-play drive that ended in a 3-yard Cox touchdown run.

The Wolf Pack defense stepped up and forced a punt and the Nevada offense found the end zone again with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Cox to Taua. The Wolf Pack were down 38-31 with 19 seconds to go in the third quarter.

The momentum was on Nevada’s side as they began to mount an unlikely comeback in the fourth quarter. Incarnate Word tried to haunt the Nevada comeback when they kicked a 30-yard field goal to bump their lead to 41-31.

The Wolf Pack put together a nice drive capped off with a 40yard Talton field goal. Nevada brought the game back to a onescore game as they were down 41-34 with 10:33 left in the fourth Anthony Miranda can be reached via email at draridon@unr. edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush The student section going crazy during the San Diego State University mens basketball game. This was a historic win because it could lead the Wolfpack to March Madness.

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

Anthony Miranda

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Running Rebels run away with two wins against the Pack

By Jalen Robinson

After splitting the series with the Oregon State Beavers, the Wolf Pack returned home for a pivotal threegame series against Mountain West rival University of Nevada, Las Vegas Running Rebels. The Wolf Pack looked to make a run after the Rebels had just come off a two-game skid against number seven: Arkansas.

Kade Morris, Nevada starting pitcher, was on the bump for the Wolf Pack in game one of the series at home, but struggled out of the gates. Getting it going early, the Running Rebels tagged Morris for three runs in the top of the first inning from a couple hits and a home run.

The Pack got one back in the bottom half of the first, but the score still stood 3-1 going into the second inning. The Rebels continued to pour it on the Pack as they continued to knock the ball around the park with an RBI single and another homerun making the lead 6-1 after the second inning as the Pack couldn’t retaliate. Morris tried to stop the bleeding, despite his performance not being top tier and the lack of run production. Morris continued to battle, with the Pack’s ace dealing and the bats staying cold, the Rebels looked at this opportunity to put the game to bed.

Tacking on four more runs, the Running Rebels were running away with the game now leading the Pack 10-1 through five innings. Morris would finish his outing after 4.1 innings pitched while giving up 10 runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Jordan Jackson, Nevada right handed pitcher, followed Morris with a 1.1 inning pitched and Clayton Ray, Nevada left handed Pitcher, with 0.1 innings pitched, but the game fell silent. Not much was in motion during innings six and seven, but the Rebels gained momentum at the top of the eighth. Alejandro Murrillo, Nevada right handed pitcher, went to the mound, but the Rebels added another run to make it 11-1 going into the bottom of the eighth.

Henry Strmecki, Nevada outfielder, came back with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth followed by an unearned run scored by Dawson Martin. However, it was too little too late as the Rebels still led 11-4. The Rebels would close it out and come away with game one winning by a large margin of 11-4.

With the Pack looking to bounce back from their opening loss in the series, Coach Jake McKinley gave the

ball to Jason Doktorczyk, Nevada right handed pitcher, for game two. Starting the top of the first with a one, two, three inning Doktorczyk gave the Pack offense just what they needed. Gifting Doktorczyk back the top two batters in the order Nolan Wilson, Nevada catcher, and Taylor Holder, Nevada outfielder, both got on base with a double followed by a single. Wilson would later score on a wild pitch, scoring the first run of the game. Matt Clayton, Nevada catcher, would knock Taylor home on a fielder’s choice to put the Pack up 2-0 early, a lead they needed. Although the Running Rebels would bounce back quickly, scratching a run across at the top of the second followed by a one, two, three bottom half. Making the score 2-1.

Beginning in the top half of the third

score 9-7 going into the top

of the eighth. Michael Sarhatt, Nevada right handed pitcher, would take the ball after Doktorczyk’s four innings and would deal. Going 3.1 innings, Sarhatt would not allow a run while on the mound, striking out five through the eighth inning. Soon, Lucas Gather would follow and record two outs. Still 9-7 going into

crushes a double to center field, scoring one run and making it 10-9, but with runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Pinch running for Clayton, Josh Catacutan, Nevada outfielder, stood on second base as the winning run.

Derek Tenney was up next and was due for another home run. Despite not hitting a home run, Tenny laced another double to center field, scoring Pierce. Following him was Catacutan from second base as he crossed home plate for the winning run.

Then, Derek Tenney double gave the Pack a walk off win at home 11-10 in the final. With a much needed conference victory at home the Pack continued the trend.

The celebration wouldn’t last too long, the Pack had to turn around for the rubber match of the series. Casey Burfield, Nevada starting pitcher, was given the start in the third game against the Rebels.

would go one, two, three locking down his top half of the inning to keep the score knotted 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth.

Taking the opportunity, the Pack offense would put pressure on the Rebels. Starting the inning with a Jaxon Woodhouse, Nevada first baseman, walk, JR Freethy, Nevada second baseman and shortstop would follow with a single down the line, putting runners on first and second. Immediately after, Hirata would come up once again and deliver. Squaring a double into the gap, Hirata would drive in Woodhouse to tie the score up at 5-5.

Stumbo would pitch until the ninth inning and absolutely shoved,giving up no one-on-one hit and four strikeouts in three full innings pitched.

Morgan White, Nevada Right Handed Pitcher, would take the ball from Stumbo and would close the top half of the ninth.

in -

ning the Rebel bats woke up. Scoring seven runs on seven hits with a home run the Rebels took a commanding lead of 8-2 and looked to settle as the Pack failed to score runs in the bottom half. The Rebels con- tinued the on- slaught tack - ing on one more run making it 9-2 in the top half of the fourth inning.

Doktorczyk would go on to finish the inning, but we are all for him this game, going four innings pitched while giving up nine runs on eight hits.

Snagging four runs in the bottom half of the fourth with a Clayton two-run home run after a Jesse Pierce, Nevada infielder and outfielder, walked. Quickly followed by a Wilson two-run double making the game interesting at 9-6.

The bats went cold for both teams during the fifth and sixth innings, until the seventh inning, where Clayton doubled down the line to dwindle the lead down to two runs. Making the

the bottom of the eighth, the Pack looks to close the game and take the lead. Unfortunately, the bats fell silent once again going one, two, three into the top of the ninth inning. To begin the top of the ninth, Dorsey Chatham, Nevada right handed pitcher, took the ball after Gather and would be in a bit of a pickle. With runners on, Chatham would give up a single up the middle, scoring a run, but would gather himself with runners on and get out of the jam. The Rebels collected a much-needed insurance run, making it even harder for the Pack now with a lead of 10-7.

The Pack was relentless and needed a win badly. Wilson got a walk to start the inning. Soon after, Holder would reach on a fielding error and immediately after, Strmecki would walk, making it three runners on with no outs for the Pack to start the inning. After recording an out, Pierce would reach on a fielder’s choice to second base but scored a run now making the score 10-8. There were runners now on first and third with Clayton due up next. Coming in the clutch, the Senior

Men’s Basketball Beats New Mexico 77-76 In Tight Conference Game

Starting the game like Game two, Burfield went a smooth and easy one, two, three. Handing it right to the Pack offense to do their thing. The offense answered Burfield’s call as the Pack put up a crooked number. Scoring two runs off two hits and two walks, only leaving one on base, the Pack led 2-0 after one inning.

The Rebels would quickly answer with a run of their own, cutting the lead in half at 2-1. The Pack wouldn’t be satisfied after giving up a run, scoring right away with a Mason Hirata, Nevada infielder, RBI

Knotted at five, the Pack offense had a chance, but was unable to get a run across for their second straight walkoff win. Their luck had run out.. Going into extra innings tied at five, the Pack looked to get back in the dugout and hit. The Rebels would have other plans putting runners on base, but the Pack prevailed and escaped the top half of the tenth.

The Pack bats looked at another opportunity to walk it off but instead had one, two, or three innings.

In the eleventh inning, the Rebels put the pedal to the metal. Immediately putting runners on, UNLV finally got to White and the rest of the Wolf Pack bullpen. Scoring four runs, the Rebels hit two separate two-run home runs all with two outs in the inning.

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 mustwin 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 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 bottom of the Mountain West standings with an overall record of 9-14.

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

double, and taking the two-run lead back, making it 3-1 after two innings.

The bats fell silent until the top of the fifth inning where Burfield would find himself in some hot water. With runners on, the Rebels singled with two outs and scored a run making it 3-2. Burfield looked to get out of another jam, but the next batter after the single took Burfield deep to left center for a three-run home run. The Rebels would take the lead 5-3 going into the bottom half of the fifth inning.

The Pack would not go out quietly, responding in their bottom half of the fifth and grabbing a run and making close at 5-4 Rebels. Peyton Stumbo, Nevada right handed pitcher, would replace Burfield after going five innings pitched, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks. Stumbo

Headed to the bottom half of the eleventh, the Pack looked for a miracle, but the air had been sucked out of them. The Pack would only rally one hit in the bottom half of the eleventh los- ing the series finale rubber match at home 9-5 to their arch-rivals.

Looking ahead, the Pack will have a couple of tough, but winnable series, being home at Peccole Park. The Pack looks to get back on track, having their next game as a mid-week game against the University of San Francisco that is quickly followed up by a series against New Mexico Lobos at home.

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

Victoria Gailey shines, Nevada Women’s Golf Team finishes fourth at Mountain West Championships

By Dominic Gutierrez

The 2023 Mountain West Championships wrapped up on April 20, as the Nevada Women’s Golf team earned a fourth-place finish. The Wolf Pack shot 293, 5 strokes over par, as a team. Victoria Gailey, Nevada fifthyear golfer, led and boosted their final tournament score to 876, 12 strokes over par.

Gailey carded her third consecutive round below par and finished the tournament with a 71, one under par. She finished in a tie for sixth overall on the individual leaderboard. It was the fourth time in her career that she finished top 10. Gailey and is now one of two players in Nevada Women’s golf history to finish in the top 10 in all four seasons competing at the event. Angie Yoon, Nevada Hall of Famer, is the only other golfer besides Gailey to accomplish such a feat.

Gailey started her round with a bogey on hole one. She tallied back-toback pars before earning a birdie on the par under four at the fourth hole. She picked up her second birdie on hole six before going par, bogey and par over the final three holes of the front nine.

Entering the back nine, Gailey sat at even par. She had an immaculate start, parring the tenth hole before scoring back-to-back birdies on hole 11 and 12. Gailey parred consecutive holes before she bogeyed hole 15. She parred on the next two holes, taking her to hole 18.

Gailey was the last Nevada golfer of the day. Nevada was tied with University of Nevada, Las Vegas prior to her eighteenth hole. Gailey scored another par, pushing Nevada ahead of UNLV by one stroke and earning them the Silver State Series win.

Leah John, Nevada senior, finished second in the Nevada lineup after carding a 221, 5 above par. Anitra Khoth, Nevada senior, carded a 223, 7 above par and parred all nine holes on the front nine. Gabby Kano, Nevada freshman, finished the tournament with a score of 224, 8 over par, with eight pars on the back nine. Kayla Nocum, Nevada senior, rounded out the Wolf Pack lineup. Nocum finished with a score of 228, 12 over par, with 12 pars and one birdie over the full 18 holes.

New Mexico claimed the title and finished with a team score of 853, 11 under par. Napet Lertsadwattana, New Mexico senior, claimed the individual title as she shot 209, 7 under par, across the tournament.

Up next, Nevada will await to see if they are selected to participate in the NCAA Regionals.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush