Volume 129, Issue 6

“DO IT THE NEVADA WAY:” VP HARRIS VISITS RENO, SPEAKS ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, GUN CONTROL 91st ASUN Session Speaker,Convenes;Senate Officers,ElectedChairs

By Emerson Drewes

The ninety-first session of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada officially convened on Wednesday to inaugurate the president and vice president, as well as administer the oath of office for the senator-elects.

After an eventful ninetieth session, it came to a close on April 12 with Dionne Stanfill, former ASUN president, Jada Maglinao, former vice president, and Ashley Martinez, former chief of staff, giving a farewell on the ASUN Instagram.

“Thank you for allowing us to execute the Stronger with Nevada administration,” said the post. “Together we worked hard in areas of advocacy, association, opportunities, community, and history; and ultimately, we were Stronger with Nevada.”

The post also outlined the accomplishments of the Stronger with Nevada presidency which included: writing a “real” bill sponsored by state legislators, record attendance at the Welcome Week concert, partnerships with the Multicultural Center and reviving the yearbook, the Artemisia.

Hannah Day Alquiza, ASUN vice presidentelect, took the podium first to give her inaugural address.

She mentioned when Boris Carpio Guerra, ASUN president-elect, asked her to be his vice president, she declined due to the love of her ASUN department, programming. However, she said Guerra saw a potential in her she did not see. Through her election and hopefully in her vice presidency, she hopes to lead with “peace, love and positivity and a ‘Go Pack’ attitude.”

Alquiza acknowledged being a person of color and how her election is important for representation and future members of ASUN and the university.

Guerra followed suit with his inaugural address, mentioning the first time he stepped foot on the University of Nevada, Reno and how empowered he felt as a sixth grader at the university.

Guerra, the Reno native, mentioned in his address he comes from a large Guatemalan family of over thirty people. Growing up low income, he said he worked as a janitor and cleaning offices and now he has his own office as the ASUN president. During his presidency, Guerra hopes to empower students to connect and use their own voices within the association and at the university.

“Let’s just do that, let’s empower,” said Guerra at the end of his address. Speaker, Speaker Pro Tempore, Parliamentarian Elects Fayza Salah, senator-elect from the College of Science, ran for speaker of the Senate uncontested. During a quick discussion, she was highly praised by many senator-elects, calling her the best person for the role. Salah also served as a senator for the ninetieth session of ASUN as a College of Science senator.

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By Emerson Drewes, Lizzie Ramirez and Jessica Cabrera

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.”

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. She stated that young people have the most at stake in the national debate over bodily autonomy.

The host introduced Sandoval to the audience. Sandoval delivered a small introduction to those visiting the campus and a warm hello to students. He speculated this is the first White House visit to the university campus.

“It’s not often that our campus is the site of an official White House visit,” Sandoval said. “We think that, actually, it might be the first, official White House visit to our campus. So, you’re all a part of history today.”

Sandoval described the campus in a quick introduction and mentioned the 150-year anniversary of the university. Additionally, Sandoval noted that UNR is the flagship university in Nevada.

Wrapping up his portion, Sandoval encouraged everyone to give Harris a “Wolf Pack welcome.”

Casey Wolf, counselor to the Secretary of Reproductive Rights, advocated for bodily autonomy and accessible healthcare on a national level. Nevada passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 2022 to ensure equal rights to all Nevadans “regardless of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”

Wolf believes citizens should not be required to rely on another state’s policy to access reproductive healthcare.

“Abortion care is healthcare,” Wolf said. “… You are entitled to that care — even in states with restrictive abortion laws.”

Nasser Paydar, assistant secretary of education for postsecondary education, spoke next. He expressed excitement to be on a university campus as a former college chancellor. Paydar’s statement emphasized the importance of accessible reproductive healthcare for students.

Police Respond To ‘Swatting’ Hoax At UNR

By 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.”

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. This draws a large police presence, like the one on campus this Sunday, to the scene of a false incident.

Swatting has gained traction in recent years, and has affected many other university campuses such as Harvard University, Oklahoma University and Boston University. Swatting is considered a criminal offense.

Brian Sandoval, UNR president, released a statement on the incident further clarifying the details.

“At approximately 8:24 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, University

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Police received a call claiming there was an active shooter on the Quad,” said the statement. “University Police Services mobilized and responded with several first-responding agencies in the community.”

The statement went to affirm the incident was due to swatting which led to the police presence; however, the area was cleared within 15 minutes.

“As a reminder, the University Police Department offers active assailant training year-round to our faculty, staff and students,” said the statement. “Safety is our top priority and we encourage our community members to understand the actions they can take to ensure personal safety.”

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

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

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Hillary Schieve and Rosario Dawson speak on stage at the Kamala Harris event on April 18. Schieve is the mayor of Reno and Rosario Dawson is an activist and actress.

VP Harris

SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO SINCE 1893

VOLUME 129, ISSUE 6

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

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continued from page A1

“Students need access to healthcare to thrive, and that includes access to reproductive care,” Paydar said. “Poor access could close [the] doors to higher education.”

Paydar emphasized again how student’s success relies on their health and ability to receive accessible reproductive healthcare.

Payder ended his talk with “If we want to see students’ success, we have to be committed to students’ health.”

Kamala Harris arrives, talks abortion policies

After a short intermission and adorning the stage with American flags and banners of the U.S. seal, the host introduced Schieve to the stage. Despite her nonpartisan stance, Schieve explains her center position is because she values the freedom of choice.

“I like the choice to choose,” Schieve said. “I like the choice to choose with my body.”

Schieve stated Nevada is poised to lead the way for reproductive rights. Additionally, she revealed some facts about many majority led Nevada organizations: the Reno city council, Washoe County Commission and Nevada Legislature is majority female, currently.

Schieve then welcomed Dawson to the stage mentioning many of her acting accolades including “Rent” and “Men in Black II”. Dawson made a joking comment about the long line of people wrapped around Church Fine Arts in the snow.

Finally, Schieve introduced Harris to the audience.

“We’ve all been waiting for this next wonderful woman that needs no introduction,” said Schieve. “I don’t think there is anyone bigger, better, badder, risk taker, ceiling breaker than this woman to lead us on this incredible, important issue.”

Harris entered to a roar of applause from the audience and start ed off the talk saying “we are in many ways living in uncertain times.”

Harris recounts the various issues Americans believed were settled long ago. Among the political issues, she cited the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court. The landmark decision, overruled by the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, allowed states to independently decide abortion policies.

Harris states laws are being proposed around our country by extremists who call themselves leaders.

“Laws are being proposed around our country by ex tremist, so-called leaders, that would criminalize health care providers,” said Harris. “Laws that would punish women. Laws that don’t even make an exception for the violence and violation of rape and incest.”

Harris also mentioned her background as a courtroom prosecutor who specialized in cases against women and children. She stated these laws would “deprive” these women of their liberty and

Additionally, Harris believes if someone calls themself a leader, they should have some level of empathy and understanding of words and actions.

Further into the talk, Harris talked about how students are leading the efforts in abortion care and reproductive rights. She tied it back to her parents, saying when they were students they fought in the Civil Rights Movement.

“Some of the best moments in our country that have been about the expansion of rights have been led by students,” Harris recalled.

Harris encouraged students to lead the movement in advocating for reproductive rights. Students are at the head of this movement and it requires their leadership, said Harris.

“Around our country, people are suffering,” said Harris. “Please lead in this movement and build up the energy and the momentum to defend our democracy and to make decisions about their own lives and about their own government.”

According to Schieve, when she asked people what they wished to see Harris talk about they answered: Mifepristone, more widely known as the abortion pill. The Food and Drug Administration determined the safety of the drug, but lawmakers and lobbyists — specifically in Florida — are challenging the efficacy of the medication based on a political agenda, according to Harris.

“They [politicians] went to this court in Texas, believing that that judge would do exactly what that judge did,” said Harris. “Which is to attempt to invalidate this medication.”

Harris indulged everyone to “look in your medicine cabinet” and imagine what it would be like to have medicine taken out of that cabinet by a political agenda.

One of the moderators said Mifepristone also helps aid women in miscarriages, to which Harris agreed and said the case will ultimately fall hardest on their shoulders.

Harris said there is a political attack on the public health system in America. Furthermore, Harris talked to health care professionals and they are concerned about the trust between patients and doctors.

Additionally, Harris mentioned Mifepristone was approved 20 years ago. The medication has been prescribed and was deemed as safe and effective for its prescribed use.

Harris told the story of Amanda, a Texan woman, who went to the emergency room three times in need of reproductive care after a miscarriage. The hospital denied care until she developed sepsis, a life- threatening systemic infection. Amanda’s story is not an outlier. In March, five other Texas women sued the state after being denied abortion care.

ASUN

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Salah was elected unanimously and the gavel was passed along to her to where it will remain for the rest of the session.

Mackenzie Tracy, senator-elect for the College of Liberal Arts, and Erin Schaffer, senator-elect for the College of Liberal Arts, both ran for the speaker pro tempore position. Both Tracy and Schaffer are new to the senate body, however, Schaffer has served in the association in other departments.

In a close vote, Schaffer received the majority vote for the position of speaker pro tempore and will serve in the position for the remainder of the session.

Juliana Giradello, senator-elect from the College of Public Health, and Joel Martin, senator-elect for the College of Liberal Arts, both ran for the position of parliamentarian. Giradello is new to the senate body and Martin served as a senator in the ninetieth session for the final two months of the session.

Giradello was elected for the position of parliamentarian and will serve in the position for the remainder of the session.

Committee Chair Elects

Chair for the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs: Mark Meizburger, senator-elect for the College of Business

Chair for the Committee on Budget and Finance: Diana Landazuri Nova, senator-elect for the College of Business

Chair for the Committee on Democratic and Civic Engagement: Leaf Acklin, senator-elect for the College of Liberal Arts

Chair for the Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

(also known as IDEA): Aween Ali, senator-elect from the College of Engineering

Chair for the Committee on Government Operations: Joel Martin

Chair for the Committee on Safety, Sustainability and Wellness: Tori Beaulac, senator for the College of Science

The senate is still looking to fill empty seats in the body for the ninetieth session: one seat for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources; one seat for the College of Engineering; one seat for the College of Science; one seat for for the College of Education; one seat for the Orvis School of Nursing; one seat for the School of Public Health.

Going forward, all senate meetings will be held in the Rita Laden Senate Chambers every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

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

“We have to hear them and see them even if they may not have the ability to be on the local news every night,” Harris said. “We have to know what’s happening, to feel a responsibility — to stand up.

Mayor Schieve described “a bounty in Texas” for women who want to exercise their right to their body. The Texas Heartbeat Act, officially known as SB. 8, prevents physicians from performing an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected and criminalizes performed or induced abortions. The act only allows exceptions for medical emergencies. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not considered exceptions. People in violation of the law must pay at least $10,000 for statutory damages per abortion in addition to court costs.

Schieve speculates this encourages rape and is a fall back for the country.

“You know you can rape them, get them pregnant, hold them hostage basically for the rest of their lives.” Schieve explained.

Harris is an opponent of six-week abortion bans. The restriction takes place in one of the earliest stages of fetal development. Research published by the National Library of Medicine found women, on average, discover pregnancy at 5.5 weeks. Barriers in healthcare access make it difficult for women to receive an abortion in the designated time frame. Moreover, most women do not know they are pregnant until much later. Harris discussed national legislative efforts. Harris mentioned the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. Under the act, no person can be denied access to emergency services. The Biden-Harris administration seeks to reinforce the obligation described in EMTALA for patients who are experiencing pregnancy loss. Additionally, the vice president called for the codification of Roe v. Wade to protect bodily autonomy from further attacks.

Harris addressed the concerns of pro-choice legislation breaching their First Amendment right to practice their religion. She clarifies that people can choose to practice their faith with their religious leaders, but the government does not have a place to restrict individual freedom.

“This is not about converting people …” Harris said. “It’s just saying the government shouldn’t be doing this.”

Harris also reminded the audience to remember the importance of elections in a democratic society, especially local elections. The overturn of Roe v. Wade gave state and local governments a chance to enforce unfair reproductive policies.

“Who your sheriff is matters,” Harris stated. “All your prosecutors matter, who your general attorney is, and then it matters who your governor is.”

Har - ris encouraged students to use their ability to tell people they’re not judged and have rights. Throughout the talk, Harris focused on the role of younger generations to create political change. At the University of Nevada, Reno, 54 percent of the student population are female, something Schieve mentioned at the beginning of the talk.

“The largest cohort to be affected by this are college-aged women,” Harris said.

Harris explained all of this lands at the United States Congress because this is where federal legislation is passed.

Gun violence

The conversation shifted to discussions about gun violence and gun control, which Harris sad is the number one killer of children in America. According to a Center for Disease Control study conducted in 2020, firearms were concluded to be the number one cause of death for children, with over 3 thousand children killed by one.

Additionally, Nevada is the site of the United States’ deadliest mass shooting: the October 1 Harvest Festival mass shooting, also referred to as 1 October by Nevadans. In the attack, the gunman killed 60 people and wounded at least 400 people.

Harris advocates for universal background checks and more stringent gun control legislation.

“We should have universal background checks because you might want to know if someone is a danger to themselves or others before you let them buy a gun, red flag laws,” said Harris.

Harris talked further about how students are scared to go to school or certain classrooms if there is not proper coverage for them. She also acknowledges the psychological trauma this causes for people.

“You know, I grew up in California. We learned to duck if there was an earthquake, not because there was a shooter,” said Harris. “I talked to students, younger students in particular … talk about ‘well, you know, I don’t like going into fifth period because that classroom doesn’t have a closet.’”

Students also feel unsafe if they’re sitting in a position where their back is facing the door. Harris urged the audience the country has to act on this trauma.

Additionally, Harris believes gun control laws and the Second Amendment can exist at the same time.

Wrapping up the conversation, Harris said she has met with over 100 world leaders as a representative of the U.S. and how as one of the best, self-proclaimed democracies in the world we must all be role models of that behavior.

“Do it the Nevada way, because you know how to get stuff done.”

Emerson Drewses, Lizette Ramirez and Jessica Cabrera can be reached via email at edrewes@sagebruhs.unr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Rachel Jackson/ The Nevada Sagebrush Fayza Salah waits outside the Joe Ballrooms as she awaits the speaker election results on April 12.

Rachel Jackson/ The Nevada Sagebrush Fayza Salah is inagurated. Salah was elected as speaker without contest.

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.

On a lighter note, events like this also enable new student performers to take the stage and hone their craft — some of them for the very first time.

One such performer, Kitamine, flipped the script and turned masculinity into a performance of jeans and a buttonup. Mo Heart kept him 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 high-octane 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 bassboosted 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 in lip-sync to 1994’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” from classic Tejano singer Selena. Abyne’s act, immediately following Deevina Veloure’s, ultimately won — an honor well-deserved. 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.

Food industry veteran wants to bring a taste of jazz back to Reno

Night at this location. Tim Healion has just arrived at the restaurant and he immediately starts helping out other staff with serving food, handling dishes, and taking orders.

Tim Healion is a familiar character in Reno, having been in the food industry for more than 40 years now. He says the industry has changed so much since he first started, but he mentioned the pandemic had the greatest impact on it.

“People pick up food to-go way more often,” said Healion.

“It used to be just pizza and Chinese food. Those were the things that were already there. I mean, they were geared for to-go food, and they had it down, and now people pick up just about anything.”

Even with more people either picking up their food or having it delivered, Healion knows how to attract customers to the restaurant on Jazz Night. It’s a call back to the much larger jazz scene once found in Reno.

partment at UNR, which Healion says is part of how he’s able to attract a younger audience.

“The university promotes it within the music department, and through social media and stuff. We got flyers around some places for sure could do a better job of that, probably,” says Healion.

The idea of having college students playing for a restaurant didn’t start with the Laughing Planet. In fact, Healion says he had started doing it decades before he ended up at the Laughing Planet.

“You know, I’ve always kind of done stuff that I liked and I thought was fun, and I incorporated it into the world I’m in, and so we would, similar deal, have kids play jazz like once a week or so at this other place called the Pneumatic Diner, and often they were students, because nobody hired jazz musicians in town, nobody listened to jazz anymore,” says Healion.

Reno was, at one time, a thriving jazz community, with casinos, hotels and restaurants having a large role in attracting jazz musicians. In the year 2023, the jazz scene is much smaller, but at one restaurant in town, Tim Healion is playing a role in bringing the art of jazz back to life in the community. People are flowing into the Laughing Planet Cafe, located near the University of Nevada, Reno. It’s Wednesday Jazz

“There were amazing musicians that lived here through that time of the big cabaret shows and all the big shots coming to Reno, and so they, you know, they play for the shows, the cabaret shows, and then afterwards, they go jam somewhere else,” says Healion.

On Jazz Night, just about anyone can come in and perform in front of a crowd. But what makes the experience special is that the performers are typically students from the jazz de-

Nowadays, Healion has learned some tricks on getting students to show up to Jazz Night with the use of social media.

“Letting people know about stuff now is pretty easy. You just have to figure out how to have that catch their eye, you know, when they’re scrolling through their phone whammo. There’s something cool to look at.”

By Nick Stewart

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Mo Heart introduced the night’s contestants with charismatic flair.

Rachel Jackson/Nevada Sagebrush

Abyne brought wig reveals and intricate chreography to the stage.

Photo by Nick Stewart

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

Donna Sux Does Moore returns to the stage during her number.

Rachel Jackson/Nevada Sagebrush

Zamantha Veloure’s stunning performance creatively incorporated fans.

UNR Comedy Night full of both laughter and awkward silence

By Patrick McNabb

Walking into the Joe Crowley Student Union theater, a single microphone stood on the stage with a massive sign behind it that said “comedy night.” Students waited in the theater for a night of laughs and knee-slappers as the University of Nevada improv club performed to an almost full house for comedy night, hosted by the Joe Crowley Student Union.

Comedy night started with a performance from the improv club. This quintet, led by club president Noah Ahmed, started the night with a lot of crowd work. According to Ahmed, that’s what improv is all about: being able to take suggestions from your audience and come up with a skit on the spot.

“Improv is something weird,” said Ahmed while coaxing the shy audience into participating.

After Ahmed used his high energy levels to break the audience out of their shells, the show began. The four other members of the UNR improv team walked out from backstage to begin their first game of the night called “What?”

The premise of this game is simple: the audience gives the performers a scene and relationship, and those performers have to act it out. However, when the host, Ahmed, says “what?” they have to redo whatever the last thing they said was, and make it the opposite.

The designated scene and relationship for this were cousins from south Florida, even though the audience wanted them to be from Alabama — Ahmed had to make some changes to keep the game relatively family friendly. This game was the shortest of the night, but it did give some good laughs.

The next game of the night was “Replay,” a game in which the audience would give a suggestion for a scene, then one minute later they would have to do it in a different genre. The scene given to the performers was a clown going to mime school. Then, after one minute, the performers did the same scene, except this time in a murder mystery genre. After this, they did the same scene, as a nature documentary. As a final scene, they performed a musical. This game was probably my least favorite of the three they played, but the audience interactions definitely helped.

The final game that the UNR improv team played would be “Four Square.” In this one, the actors were separated into four different individual scenes, and every time the performers switched positions, the scene would change.

The first scene given to the performers was a meet-cute between a butcher and a customer. The next was finding your girlfriend’s husband, and the scene after that dealt with a pumpkin and a fairy godmother. The final scene was at the entrance of a K-pop concert.

This game was definitely the highlight of the improv team performance. Each scene had high energy, and the jokes and interactions that the performers had made were unique and very creative. My favorite of the four scenes was the K-pop scene due to how random the interactions were.

Overall the performance by the UNR improv team was pleasantly surprising. Their next outing, on April 15 in the theater on the third floor of the Joe, will be in head-to-head competition with the University of Nevada,

Las Vegas improv team.

Then, the headliner for the night took the stage. Fumi Abe was born in Ohio and moved to New York when he was a kid. After going to school in New York, he moved to Los Angeles where he now lives and performs. Abe has never been to Reno, which he made clear in the first lines of his act.

“What’s the vibe in your city?” he said in his introduction. “Are you guys horny?”

A highlight of Abe’s performance was definitely his crowd work. In almost every joke that he made, he interacted with the audience in some way. He would tell his joke, and once he saw how the audience reacted to it, another would roll off.

A lot of his humor was very raunchy, for the first 15 to 20 minutes of his 45 minute set, most, if not all, of the jokes he told had something to do with sex. Whether it be sexting, dating over the pandemic or losing his virginity at 22, sex was a consistent theme in the opening of his set.

After those 20 minutes however, Abe could

tell that the audience was getting tired of innuendos and explicit sex jokes, so he transitioned to his next theme of the night: talking about how old he was. Abe is 33 years old and he made it known to the audience. In almost every joke for the rest of the night, he would bring up his age. While some of these jokes were funny, the effect of hearing about how old he was kind of grew old — pun intended.

Despite his overused shticks, Abe seemed to be a crowd favorite of the night. His jokes were funny, his stories were intriguing, crowd work was top notch and the crowd was consistently laughing.

The night took a turn at the start of the open mic session. In this, students from UNR were able to come onto stage and tell jokes that they had written to see if the crowd liked them — here is where awkwardness ensued.

The first comedian took the stage and had a promising start. He told a few jokes that got some chuckles out of people, but then he started doing accents. Accents in comedy tread very, very thin ice, due to the possibility of racism if you do not do them properly, or say the wrong things. Unfortunately, our comedian said all of the wrong things, and definitely stereotyped several groups of people.

The next two comedians were honestly nothing special. Thankfully, In their sets they didn’t stereotype marginalized groups of people, but they weren’t exactly saying anything funny either.

The next set was another problematic one, with our comedian coming on stage and immediately pretending to be a blind person. His set was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable due to his mannerisms. He talked very quietly, and didn’t really make any jokes, but told more strange anecdotes.

The final comedian of the night was more of a motivational speaker than a comedian. He was very affirming to the audience with him calling multiple people beautiful and telling us that we are worth it. While it was great being able to hear that, it wasn’t really comedy.

The open mic session was a very strange experience. Between the racism, the ableism, and the awkward laughs, UNR comics definitely need to work on their material.

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

By Quay Skankey

Despite being on its fourth installment, the “John Wick” franchise shows no sign of slowing down.

Like many others, I did not watch the “John Wick” movies until they arrived at HBO Max. I watched the first movie and was deeply unimpressed.

While its premise is iconic — a retired hitman loses his puppy to mafia members and seeks revenge — its execution was lackluster. Keanu Reeve’s line delivery left a lot to be desired and the fights had yet to shine as the ones in later installments do.

Despite this, I am glad I continued watching the later installments because, with each movie, the action became more creative, and the story more engaging.

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 fully-committed 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-than-life 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

“John Wick: Chapter 4” does not stop that trend, as it is easily the best movie in the franchise.

Taking place six months after the events of the third movie, John Wick hunts down members of the High Table with the help of The King, played by Lawrence Fishburne, when he finds out he must face a new foe, the Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgård.

The action in this new installment is just as good as you’d hope for. The cinematography by Dan Laustsen, who had previously worked on the 2018 Oscars Best Picture winner, Shape of Water, enhances the fight scenes greatly. They are only made better by Keanu Reeve’s physical acting and the numerous stuntmen and women who did excellent

work making the fights seem brutal and exhausting.

This movie introduces many new faces, but all of them get outshined by the two standouts, Donnie Yen as the blind assassin, Caine and Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody. These two characters steal the show with their creative fight scenes and sympathetic motives, especially for Yen’s character.

Another performance standout was Scott Adams as the outrageous and sleazy mob boss, Killa. His performance was as if Colin Farrell’s Penguin from “The Batman” had a lemon in his mouth the entire time. His performance was so entertaining that I often wished he was the Continued online at nevadasagebrush.com

slightly different reasons.

Playwright Aaron Posner breaks the fourth wall all the f—ing time. This has mixed results.

Some are a committed and effective use of the audience. At one point, Con, befuddled by his romantic misadventures, literally asks the audience what to do. With viewers well trained to sit back and shut the f— up during a performance, he has to press hard to get replies. When he does, it’s a genuine dialogue, embracing the theater’s spontaneity with refreshing results.

Some of Posner’s swipes, however, feel like just a cheap wink in the audience’s general direction. It’s powerful when the characters break from the dialogue’s form to recognize the silliness and futility of their situation, but it’s very easy for the “guess what, we’re in a play!” vibes to stop at the first laugh they get.

Every now and then, Posner’s self-awareness ventures into sobering cynicism about the state of theater, which Con is already bemoaning at the start of the play. Some of it hits hard, but some of it assumes, shakily, that everyone watching is part of a captive audience, desperate to check their phones and move on with their lives. In these moments, Posner is a bit like a professor who starts every lecture with the premise that their students want nothing more than for it to end.

It’s an assumption I can hardly fault theaters for making, especially this one. An outside observer might even think that the University of Nevada, Reno actively wants its theater program dead, what with the state of its funding and facilities and no word of its need for additional faculty ever being met.

That doesn’t mean the modern script’s new responsibility is to assume you think it sucks, though. Far from it — perhaps the opposite is necessary instead.

Rachel Jackson/ Nevada Sagebrush

Students took a chance on the Joe Crowley Student Union’s inaugural comedy night, March 31.

Patrick McNabb can be reached at pmcnabb@ nevada.unr.edu or on Twitter @patrickmcnabb_.

Trisha French / Courtesy UNR Theatre & Dance

(From left) Jackie Haughn as Emma, Elliot Dungan as Dev, Alyssa Granger as Nina and Anson Wapstra Scott as Con.

“John Wick: Chapter 4” endlessly entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking

“Stupid F***ing Bird” a sincere, sometimes too-heady riot

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

Trisha French / Courtesy UNR Theatre & Dance Maya Wolery as Sorn (right), opposite Eberstein, Sincere and Dungan.

Trisha French / Courtesy UNR Theatre & Dance

Alyssa Von Eberstein as Mash (right), opposite Daniel Sincere as Trig.

Courtesy Lionsgate Pictures

Keanu Reeves (center) as John Wick, opposite Donnie Yen as Caine.

“It’s been a long time coming:” Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour

By Gabe Kanae

“It’s been a long time coming” was the opening words to Taylor Swift’s first tour since the record-breaking ‘reputation Stadium Tour’ in 2018. With four new albums and two new re-recorded albums, the concept of Taylor’s return to stadiums was highly anticipated and conceptually overwhelming, but when tickets were released and instantly sold out, success had already been present.

Opening night took place at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ on March 17, 2023, and fans ran to their seats when the legendary song “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesly Gore hit the speakers and an intimidating countdown appeared on the stage’s massive screens. Choosing the song “You Don’t Own Me” was a very specific choice, considering the recent project that entailed Taylor Swift re-recording and owning her previous music masters that were deceitfully re-sold behind her back.

Minutes prior to her first live show in years and the ones following, a wardrobe-dressed Taylor arrived backstage in a janitor’s cart so she could avoid ruining the aspect of surprise.

As soon as the prologue audio compilation that included clips from each of Taylor’s legendary eras, the opening song ‘Miss America and the Heartbreak Prince’ was sung for the first time and you could feel the intensity of every fan’s mind being blown. It is nearly impossible to capture and explain all of the emotions that can be felt during Taylor’s three hour and fifteen minute performance that consists of 44 songs, and it’s an experience that you need to have in person to truly appreciate.

What I can say is that Taylor’s work ethic and admiration to her fans is not only present but also proven by how much exertion she executes.

The show has no breaks. The breaks that are supplied are used by Taylor to do costume changes and despite that, she still does sometimes do magical costume transformations on stage.

The majority of the wardrobe she has on tour are a mixture of expensive custom designer outfits that express the visual elements of the musical era of the show they are present in. From shoes to dresses to body suits, Taylor’s thought process in making sure to make every era seem represented is clear.

The biggest con in Taylor’s set list is the fact that her debut, self-titled album gets no room in the Eras Tour. The only times that a song from every era of her career has been played

was on opening night and the first night in Vegas, when she selected debut songs to be the surprise songs.

The surprise song is a section toward the end of the show where Taylor picks one song to play on guitar and one to play on piano. The song is different every night and it is impossible to predict what will be played. Taylor makes it clear that once a song is played, it will not be a surprise song again unless she messes it up or it is a part of the Midnights album.

Fans love the surprise songs, but also hate them. Having surprise songs makes every show unique but it also means some fan favorite songs have to be sacrificed. Every show, Taylor Swift fans take to social media to express their emotional pain that one of their favorite songs of hers was played when

The Last of Us is video game adaptation perfection

By Gabe Kanae

On January 15, 4.7 million people sat and watched the HBO premiere of the heavily anticipated television adaption of the awardwinning video game: “The Last of Us.” The show and video game exists in the world post apocalypse. However, unlike most forms of entertainment that exists in an infected styled society, The Last of Us is truly a story of connection, love, trauma and expression of sexuality.

With the main character, Ellie Williams, being a lesbian teenager and being played by gender fluid actor Bella Ramsey and Joel Miller, a disgruntled older man trying to survive the post-apocalyptic life after be ing traumatized during its inception, being played by Pedro Pascal, the connected chem istry between the actors truly allows the au dience to feel the growing love between the two characters.

the most impressive feats that the show ex ecutes is managing to capture a video game adaption without letting down any audience members, newcomers and video game veter ans alike. It is fair to say that as of today, The Last of Us has been one of critically acclaimed televi sion video game adapta tions.

cess, the show man ages to express LGBTQ+ love and experiences in empathic and emotional ways. Episode three focuses on two gay men who fall in love during the col lapse of society. While this episode strays the furthest from the video game, players of the game have leaned into this new path, falling in love with the new version of Bill and Frank. relationship as she falls in love with her best friend, while they come of age in a world that has already been destroyed and built to pull them apart. While some on the internet would argue these episodes are too accommodating to the world today, actually they allow the show to be more grounded and accurate to the games intent.

The Last of Us has always been more than a

horror game. It was created by Naughty Dog, a company that is well known in the video game industry as being some of the best storytellers around. They made the Uncharted series, an explorative treasure hunting story before The Last of Us, and the games’ success has boosted them to be one of the best companies around.

The Last of Us’ success has let people who are not gamers to experience the game’s story in a way that works for them. It was really unique to watch people experience this story that so many gamers grew up knowing about and see them have conversations about it. versy arose regarding a characters fate. It will be very interesting to see how the creators of the show handle Part II’s unique storytelling and length in a way that works for the

The Last of Us allows for people of all video rience of the original storyline.

they weren’t present. Jokes or not, Taylor just has too many amazing songs to please everyone, but it’s fair to say that most shows have a surprise song that will execute the entire stadium.

It’s important to consider, recognize and praise Taylor for her amazing conditioning. She does these 3 hour long shows twice or three times every weekend. So far, her emotions haven’t changed and she is still giving it her all. Taylor has even attended award shows and visited other cities and countries in between shows. With the amount of massive demand, Taylor truly never fails to disappoint. After going to two shows, just even being in the stadium is exhausting in itself. Each show is emotionally draining and takes time to recover from. However, getting to sing songs that are a mix-

ture of nostalgic hits to alternative melancholy in a stadium of like minded people is an experience you can only have so often. Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is one of the most successful tours to happen since the pandemic. Bringing fans, friends and families together to experience a moment that is legendary with the most infamous artist of all time is an episode of anticipated and thrilling emotions, something you definitely do not want to miss.

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. Gabriel Kanae is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Is radio dying: Nevada radio

aficionados weigh in

By Emily Hess

It’s an ordinary morning, you grab your keys, your coffee and rush out the door. You twist the key and start the car and the stereo pours out the National Public Radio, or NPR, newscast. The sound of the newscaster droning on is unfamiliar. You quickly change the settings to Spotify and begin pumping out your premade playlist, because who listens to the radio anymore?

However, imagine a world without the radio at your fingertips. This might become a reality after NPR laid off 10 percent of its staff, canceled four podcasts and halted their internship program

But what does this mean for public radio?

Members of the Nevada broadcasting and radio landscape weigh in on the issue.

Hidden in the bottom floor of Cain Hall at the university lives KUNR, the Nevada branch of NPR. Brian Duggan, the general manager of KUNR, the northern Nevada public radio, and KNCJ, the classical and jazz radio station, thinks it’s untrue.

Duggan speaks about how KUNR has actually seen an increase of listeners since the pandemic hit in 2020, serving around 77 thousand people a week based on Nielsen ratings.

Friday and they will record: ‘Hey, you’re listening to KUNR, it’s 9:00 a.m.,’ That person actually recorded that message, like, days before that, [we] just put it into our system so it plays at the right time.”

Overall, he believes that when things get rough, people will always turn to public radio.

The layoffs do not only affect avid listeners, but also students considering they suspended their internship programs, as well. At the University of Nevada, Reno, this issue hits home for Sophie Duvall, Wolf Pack Radio host.

Contrary to the evidence from NPR, Duvall has the opposite belief to many society members.

“No, I don’t think radio is dying, in fact I find it very much alive,” said Duvall.

Duvall, a double major in biology and music, created and hosts the show Vignettes: a show which focuses on the underground classical music written and created by women. The importance of recognizing women in classical music is something that she holds close to her.

Duvall hosts the show every Monday at 6 p.m. and every Saturday at noon. Listening to and creating a radio show is something very important to Duvall. In high school, before entering the university, she discovered KWNK, Reno’s community radio station forged from past Wolf Pack Radio workers.

“I am a big fan of community radio and I’m always paying attention to when the [DJ] applications are released,” said Duvall. “It’s been a dream of mine so I was able to follow it real closely and I connected with them mostly at the club fair and then I gave them my information.”

“Being a public radio station makes us different than commercial radio and the biggest difference is our funding models,” said Duggan. “So, unlike commercial radio, which is primarily just through advertisements, the lion share of our funding comes from members, so about 60 percent of our budget comes from donations from people who listen to us.”

He doesn’t believe that radio is dying, as former executive editor for the Reno Gazette Journal, he believes that radio is thriving.

“I do know that the staffing has gotten smaller at some of those stations [commercial broadcast]. They become more reliant on automation just as we are too,” said Duggan. “We use automation too. Meaning we have some part-time hosts who will come in on a

Along with Duvall, they both never see radio dying as distinctly as you would see written newspapers. So, the next time your car decides to tune into the local radio station, let it play. You’ll never know what you might end up hearing.

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. Emily Hess is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

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. Gabriel Kanae is a student at the University of

Gabe Kanae / Nevada Sagebrush

Ameda Uwaifo / 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 three-game 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 lead-

ing 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.

Softball splits series 1-1 with San Diego State

SOFTBALL PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

By Derek Raridon

The Nevada Softball team took on the San Diego State Aztecs in a two game home series on April 15 and 16, splitting the series over the two days.

The first game took place on April 15, where Nevada lost 10-1 after six innings.

Nevada opened the game on a sour note. Blake Craft, Nevada starting pitcher, gave up a solo home run just two batters in. She grounded herself, only giving up one more run off a single to left field in the third. However, the Pack’s offense was nowhere to be seen. The only player to get on base for Nevada in the first half of the game was Haley Painter, third baseman, who reached on a walk and was left stranded at first base.

The spiraling continued for the Wolf Pack in the second half of the game as the Aztecs continued their push. Blake allowed one more solo home run and a RBI double before finishing her final inning. Tyra Clary, Nevada right-handed pitcher, came in for Blake in the fifth, but instantly had struggles. She gave up three runs — two on a triple from Makena Brocki, San Diego State second baseman, and the other on a sac bunt — while only recording one out.

Brooklin Trujillo-Quintana, Nevada right-handed pitcher, would quickly fill in for Clary, giving up one more run off an error before getting the team out of the inning. She was not the savior of the pitching staff however, as Trujillo-Quintana let two more runs go by, one from a sacrifice fly-out and the other from a single in the sixth, before ending her night.

While the Nevada pitching staff struggled, their offense was still having issues of their own. They got a run on the board thanks to Aaliyah Jenkins, Nevada designated hitter, who drove in Bradinanne Glover, Nevada pinch run -

ner. However, this was the only production the team had for the rest of the game. Nevada left four runners on base before the game was called after the sixth inning. After their loss the day before, the Wolf Pack bounced back on April 16, winning the second game 7-2. Contrast to the first game, Nevada jumped out to an early lead. Charli Hawkins, Nevada designated hitter, knocked in Chelie Senini, Nevada center and right fielder, in the first inning. After a quiet second, the Pack built up their lead. Nevada scored four runs in the third — one off of an error, one from a Hawkins sac fly and two from a Jenkins double. The Pack scored two runs in the fourth — one from a Painter sac bunt, one from a Malie Olsen, Nevada second baseman, solo home run— and held a comfortable lead.

While the offense lit up the Aztecs, the Wolf Pack pitching staff — specifically Carley Brown, starting pitcher — was dealing. In the same four inning span, Brown gave up four hits while blanking San Diego State. Any Aztec who made it on base was dealt with on the base line or left stranded on base.

The rest of the game was relatively quiet for both teams. Both the Wolf Pack and Aztecs put themselves in scoring situations in the fifth and sixth innings, but failed to produce anything, leaving a combined four runners stranded. At the top of the seventh, Brown allowed two runs to score off of a double and single. Despite this, she recorded the final three outs, completing the game and giving the second game to the Pack.

With their win and loss in the series, the Nevada softball Derek Raridon can be reached via email at draridon@unr. edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada swept in three game series against Fresno State

By Dominic Gutierrez

The Nevada softball team were victims of a series sweep to Fresno State. The Bulldogs collected two walk-off wins in the series that went from April 21 to 23, dropping Nevada’s record to 26-14.

Nevada lost 5-4 in game one. Blake Craft, Nevada starting pitcher, only recorded one out before being taken out. She gave up two hits, two runs and two walks. Tyra Clary, Nevada relief pitcher, threw four and two-thirds innings. Clary gave up four hits, two runs and a strikeout.

The Wolf Pack didn’t score until Haley Painter, Nevada third baseman, hit an RBI single in the fifth inning. Down 4-1 in the sixth, Hailey Prahm, Nevada first baseman, hit a three-run home run to tie the game at four apiece.

Carley Brown, Nevada relief pitcher, gave up a walk off base hit in the bottom of the seventh to give the Bulldogs a win. She pitched one and one-third innings. Brown gave up four hits and one run.

Game two was a long one, as the two teams battled until the tenth inning. It was yet another walk off victory for Fresno State, with a final score of 3-2.

Despite pitching the game prior, Brown got the starting nod for Nevada. She pitched five innings and gave up five hits, two runs and striking out two.

Nevada got on the board in the first inning by a throwing

error on a Painter sacrifice bunt. Fresno State quickly took the lead by the third inning, until Aaliyah Jenkins, Nevada catcher, hit an RBI single in the fifth to tie it 2-2.

Clary came in to pitch in relief for Nevada and took the game all the way until the tenth inning. She pitched four and one-third innings. Clary gave up five hits, one run and one strikeout. The single run came from a walk off double by the Bulldogs, as Nevada dropped consecutive games to Fresno State.

Game three didn’t end in a walk off, but Nevada fell short with a final score of 5-1. Craft once again got the start for Nevada and lasted three innings. She gave up three hits, five runs, and three walks before Brown came in for relief. She finished the game and gave up three hits and struck out one.

Gabby Herrera, Nevada right fielder, scored the Pack’s only run of the game on a RBI groundout in the third. Nevada loaded the bases three times but only brought the single run throughout the game.

With the sweep, Nevada is now 7-9 in conference play and a 26-14 record overall. Nevada will stay on the road for a weekend series against New Mexico. Game one will be on

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

All photos by Rachel Jackson

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Carley Brown, Nevada right handed pitcher, hurls the ball at a women’s softball game.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush

A Nevada softball player rushes to the ground for the ball at a Nevada softball game.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Hailey Prahm, first baseman for Nevada softball, catched a ball at a game

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Players cheer on the team via the sidelines at a Nevada softball game.

Rachel Jackson / Nevada Sagebrush Players celebrate during a Nevada softball game. The Nevada softball team has been dominating the entire season.

Sports

Rebels

Continued from page A7

@NevadaSagebrush

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 inning 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 continued the onslaught tacking 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 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 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 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.

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 num-

Nevada drops series to San Diego State Aztecs 2-1

By Derek Raridon

The Nevada Baseball team traveled to San Diego, California to take on conference rival San Diego State on April 21-23, taking only one game out of three in the weekend.

Nevada would see their first loss of the series on April 21, getting no hit by the Aztecs 4-0.

The game was silent for the first five innings. Starting Pitchers Kade Morris, Nevada, and TJ Fondtain, San Diego State, would trade three-and-out innings for the first four, putting on a pitching showcase. This was only disrupted by Morris hitting Tino Bethancourt, San Diego State first baseman, in the fifth, but he was left stranded when the inning ended.

San Diego State would disrupt the silence in the sixth. Morris would allow four runs to cross the plate, one from a fielder’s choice RBI and three more from a triple hit by Cole Carrigg, San Diego State center fielder. Morris was able to regain his composure, getting out of the inning and producing two more three-and-outs to secure his first complete game of the season.

The Wolf Pack’s offense was completely silent for the entire game. Not able to get a hit for the entire game, the only time the team had someone on base was in the ninth when Taylor Holder, Nevada designated hitter, was walked. He would only get to first before the end of the inning, capping off the no hitter for Fondtain.

Game two on April 22 played differently, but would still see Nevada on the losing end 3-4.

Peyton Stumbo, Nevada right handed pitcher, took the starting bump for the Wolf Pack, stumbling out the gate. He hit two batters in the first, but was able to get out of the inning before the Aztecs were able to capitalize. The same could not be said for the second, as Stumbo would give up two runs off a sacrifice bunt from Cade Martinez, San Diego State third baseman, and an RBI double from Shaun Montoya, San Diego State right fielder.

Stumbo was able to finish out the second and pitch a clean third and fourth innings. However, the Azecs would post another two runs in the fifth. Poncho Ruiz, San Diego State catcher, hit an RBI double to bring in Caden Miller, San Diego State second baseman. Then, Ruiz would be brought home thanks to Carrigg hitting a double of his own. This would be the end of the bleeding for Nevada, as Stumbo, Dillon Holliday and Michael Sarhatt, Nevada right handed pitchers, were able to hold San Diego State off for the rest of the game.

Nevada’s offense was stagnant out the gate, only gaining one hit in the first five innings. Things changed in the sixth, as Matt Clayton, Nevada catcher, hit a solo home run, tallying Nevada’s first run of the game and series. Henry Strmecki, Nevada left fielder, would hit the second home run for the Pack, putting up two more runs in the seventh.

After their explosive sixth and seventh innings, the Wolf Pack would stall out in the final two innings, only getting one hit in that span and failing the late game comeback.

The Pack took the fight to the Aztecs on April 23, taking the final game of the series 10-4.

Both teams went back and forth through the first three innings. Nevada was the first to get on the board, scoring a run in the first off an RBI double from Jesse Pierce, Nevada third baseman. The Aztecs answered back in the same inning, tying it up with a Carrigg RBI double. Nevada and San Diego State would gain another run each by the end of the third, Nevada gaining from a solo home run and an error from SDSU.

After the back and forth, Nevada jumped out to a large lead. The team notched two more runs in the fourth off a sacrifice bunt by Mason Hirata, shortstop, and a triple from Nolan Wilson, right fielder, before Omar Serrano, San Diego State starting pitcher, was taken out. However, the Wolf Pack were able to get to Julian Jackson, San Diego State right handed pitcher, quickly, tallying three runs in the fifth off a wild pitch and a two RBI single from Jackson Waller, second baseman. Dawson Martin, Nevada first baseman, hit a solo home run in the seventh for Nevada before San Diego State answered back.

All while this was happening, the Nevada pitching staff and defense was on point. Jason Doktorczyk, Nevada starting pitcher, took over the middle innings of the game. He only gave up one hit while gathering four strikeouts. Anytime there was not a strikeout, minus the one hit, the defense was right there to get the remaining outs. Morgan White, Nevada right handed pitcher, came in for Doktorczyk in the seventh, which the Aztecs put two runs up on in the seventh and eighth. White and Kolby Kmetko, Nevada right handed pitcher, would close out the rest of the game hitless. Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack offense would tack on two more runs in the ninth, both off of singles from Martin and Waller, giving the Pack the win 10-4.

After the weekend series, Nevada moved to 16-21 on the season, 7-13 in conference play. The Pack now looks to Tuesday, where they start their nine game homestay against the Sacramento State University Hornets at 6:30 pm.

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

ber. 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 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 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 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.

Knotted at five, the Pack offense had a chance but was unable to get a run across for their second straight walk-off win but unfortunately, their luck ran 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 baseball 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. 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 losing the series finale rubber match at home 9-5 to their arch-rivals. Looking ahead the Pack will have a tough couple of series but also winnable series for the Pack 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 fifth-year 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-to-back 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 Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email at draridon@unr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada Softball falls against Sacramento State 4-0

By Dominic Gutierrez

The Nevada softball team suffered a rare loss on Tuesday, April 4 to Sacramento State University, losing 4-0 in their third shutout loss of the season.

Blake Craft, Nevada starting pitcher, got knocked around early in her 15th game of the season. She only lasted two innings, giving up three runs on five hits and did not record a strikeout. Tyra Clary, Nevada relief pitcher, came in after Craft, pitching for four innings while giving up only one run on four hits, two walks and one strikeout.

While the pitching wasn’t the sharpest for Nevada, it was the offense that held them back. Savannah Wahl, Sacramento State starting pitcher, threw a complete game shutout against the Wolf Pack. She gave up five hits total, including one walk and one strikeout.

Haylee Engelbrecht, Nevada shortstop, led the quiet Nevada offense, going 2-3. Madison Clark, Nevada left fielder, Maile Olsen, Nevada second baseman, and Charli Hawkins, Nevada catcher, all collected one hit each for the Pack as well.

One of the brightest spots for Nevada has been the stolen base category. Bridgette Gilliano, Nevada infielder, stole two bases in her short time on the field. Clark also stole a base, as Nevada now has 115 stolen bases on the season.

Nevada will look to break out of this small funk as they travel to the Bay Area on Wednesday, April 5. They are set to play

Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email at draridon@unr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.