Dems use pizza to represent candidates in caucus simulation

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

The smell of free pizza wafted through the Jot Travis Student Union Auditorium Thursday night as groups of students and community members vied to represent the best pizza.

The University of Nevada, Reno Young Democrats hosted the “mockus” and used pizza to show students and the public how the Jan. 19 Democratic caucus will work.

“Nevada will have extraordinary power in choosing the next presidential candidate,” Jill Derby, the Nevada Democratic Party chair, said.

Derby said the vote of every single caucus participant “counts big time.”

“(The caucus) is democracy in the raw,” she said.

Carole Anderson took over the proceedings, said people can register to vote at the caucus and need to be registered Democrats to participate come Jan. 19.

Anderson explained the math behind the proceedings, helped with a head count and then asked the crowd to form into groups based on favorite pizza types. The mockus organizers used the pizza toppings to represent Democratic presidential candidates.

Jack Homeyer, one of the event organizers, said anyone can submit a “plank” for the Democratic party’s platform. The platform is a statement of beliefs and the plank comprises a part of the statements of beliefs in the platform.

After head counts of each group, those with too few members were asked to join other groups or recruit to make their group “viable.”

Each group broke into a deafening roar when someone joined them. The people in the defunct pizza groups joined the remaining groups.

Three of the four delegates from the “Pepperoni” group gave heartfelt speeches as to their lifelong allegiance to pepperoni pizza and the pizza’s dominance over all other varieties.

Mike Wiwchar, a 23-year-old pharmacology major, said he thinks the caucus is a pretty simple process and that the mockus went smoothly.

Joseph Kay, a 59-year-old political science major, said the Democrats put on a good mockus.

“I came here because I want to be a temporary chair at my precinct caucus,” Kay said. “I also wanted a T-shirt.”

Rachel Miller, the UNR Young Democrats president, said she thought the mockus had a very good turnout.

“It’s really important to educate yourself about the caucus,” Miller, 20, said.

Miller said if Nevada’s Democratic caucus does not have a good turnout the state will lose its early caucus Democratic position.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/30/dems-use-
pizza-to-represent-candidates-in-caucus-simulation/

Nevada plays host to both the and Democratic early caucuses this year

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Nevada holds the caucus to send delegates, or people from the state representing a candidate, to the respective party’s national conventions. The most supported candidate at the convention becomes that party’s presidential candidate. A presidential caucus groups registered voters of the same party by their geographic precinct.

The first step’s the same but the parties split soon after:

Step 1: Getting to the caucus

Call or visit the Web site for the Washoe County headquarters for the party you want to caucus for. Both caucuses are Jan. 19. Republicans start at 9 a.m. and Democrats start at 11 a.m.
Democratic process
Step 2: Sign in

You must be a registered Democrat to sign in. You will then check a box for a candidate you lean toward, or check uncommitted.
Step 3: Electing a chair

The caucus members elect a permanent chair to lead the caucus.
Step 4: Delegates

The chair announces the number of delegates, or people who go to the county convention representing their candidate. The number of delegates is determined before the caucus and is based on the number of registered Democrats in the county.
Step 5: Viability

The chair does a head count of the participants and tries to match the number with the number of caucus members signed in. The number of people who attend the caucus help determine the viability number, or the number of caucus members a presidential candidate needs for at least one delegate.

If the precinct has one delegate, then the candidate must be elected by the whole precinct.

If the precinct has two delegates, viable candidate groups must have 25 percent of the attendees.

If the precinct has three delegates, viable groups must have 20 percent of the attendees.

If the precinct has four or more delegates, viable groups must have 15 percent of the attendees.
Step 6: Alignment

The chair announces the number of participants needed for a candidate or group to be viable.

The chair gives the participants 15 minutes to get into groups based on noncommitment or presidential candidate.

The chair announces which groups have enough members and which do not.
Step 7: Realignment

Groups with not enough members are given time to try to recruit more members to make the group viable. Already viable groups are allowed to try to convince members of nonviable groups to join their viable group.
Step 8: Giving Out Delegates

After the groups have settled and nonviable groups have disbanded, the chair allots delegates to each remaining group based on size.

The group then elects a delegate for the county convention.
Step 9: Results

The chair calls the state party and reports the caucus results. The caucus repeats on county and state levels before delegates are sent the Democratic National Convention.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/30/
nevada-plays-host-to-both-the-and-democratic-early-caucuses-this-year/

Achoo? Flee from the flu

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Sniffles, heavy breathing and non-stop coughing ring through lecture halls as colder temperatures slam the university. Students stay in bed with high fevers and feel horrible.

“Feeling like you want to die” marks the flu, Carol Scott, director of Sports Medicine Fellowship, said.

The flu can be a crippling blow to grades, but with proper hand washing, free flu shots, exercise and enough sleep students can ward off the flu blues and trade in their slippers for some running shoes.

When to get flu shots

Must present a valid student ID when getting a flu shot.

All flu shots are free, Carol Scott said. The flu shot does not immunize against all forms of the flu, and proper hand washing is the best way to avoid getting sick.

Flue shots are available anytime during the week at the Student Health Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays.
Flu shots will also be provided on campus during the following days in these locations

Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m

Fitzgerald Student Services building
Thursday Nov. 8, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Fitzgerald Student Services building
Thursday Nov. 29, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Crowley Student Union, Grad Student Lounge
If anyone has a severe allergy to eggs then he or she one cannot have the flu vaccination
How to avoid getting sick

Wash hands after using the restroom, coughing, sneezing or being in a crowded area.

Avoid touching nose, mouth or eyes with hands.

“Regular hand washing is the best way to keep from getting sick,” Scott said.

Exercise regularly – Exercise helps relieve stress and keeps the immune system healthy, Scott said.

Sleep regularly – The immune system needs rest to function properly. Not getting enough sleep equates to a weakened immune system.

Eat healthy – eat less fast food, more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meat.

Things that weaken the immune system

Stress suppresses the immune system. Stress can be reduced by relaxation and exercise.

Smoking suppresses the immune system. Scott said smokers should either decrease the amount they smoke or quit.

Urban Myth

No credible study says vitamin C helps in preventing the cold or the flu, Scott said.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/23/achoo-flee-from-the-flu/

Secular director visits

Nontheists are the only minority in the United States still looked down upon in society, said Lori Lipman Brown, the director of the Secular Coalition for America.

“From claiming that we’re immoral, depraved and unethical, to making atheist military heroes invisible . . . Americans are not shy about admitting that they feel comfortable treating nontheistic Americans as less patriotic, less respectable and less deserving of equal treatment than any other minority,” she said.

Brown spoke to a crowd of 30 students and members of the public Tuesday in the Jot Travis Student Union’s Pine Lounge as a part of the Nevada Speakers Series put on by Flipside.

Brown said she is best known for “making sex legal” by authoring a bill to overturn Nevada’s sodomy laws during her tenure as a state senator. The sodomy laws classified consensual sex not for the purpose of procreation as a felony, she said.

Brown now works as the director of and lobbyist for the Secular Coalition of America. Some of her recent fights include trying to remove a Department of Defense spending bill amendment that would allow military chaplains to try and recruit soldiers to the chaplain’s religion, she said.

“The chaplains who lobbied for this amendment claimed that their particular religion required that they work at all times and in all places to save all non-Christians,” she said.

Brown said she also fought against religious hiring discrimination in the federal Head Start bill. Religious hiring discrimination happens when a church refuses to hire qualified people because they do not hold the same religious beliefs. The Head Start program gives grants to organizations to help lower-class children and families, according to the Head Start Web site.

If Congress stripped the bill of its religious hiring discrimination protection, a single mother could be denied a job because of her unmarried status, Brown said.

She said she lobbied against repeated attempts to strip the Head Start bill of protection against religious hiring discrimination.

The Head Start bill passed with its protection against religious hiring discrimination intact when Congress restarted the program for the first time in six years, she said.

In addition to the Head Start bill, Brown and others currently are working to investigate and correct the issues of President Bush’s faith-based initiatives.

“Those who believed they were following the administration’s wishes began a concerted effort to shift social service grants away from proven secular organizations,” she said.

She said she also fought against the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment brought before Congress last year because of its theological implications.

“We must not impose a theological definition on a civil contract,” she said.

Brown ended her speech with an appeal to the members of the audience.

“And vote,” she said. “You are living in a state where many races are decided based on a handful of votes.”

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/16/secular-director-visits/

AP week shows history

To walk, skip or jump down the golden path in journalism, one must have a developed voice, Associated Press correspondent Brendan Riley said.

“The golden path in journalism is your voice,” said Riley, who’s been stationed in Carson City since 1972. “Our higher-ups keep on telling us to develop our voice.”

Riley, along with Martha Mendoza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and Ellen Hale, AP’s vice president for corporate communications, spoke to a large crowd last Wednesday night in the Reynolds School of Journalism.

The speakers came to campus as part of an AP exhibit in the RSJ atrium.

“We think it’s important for journalism and communications students to learn about the legacy and history of AP in understanding the broader role of the media today,” Hale said.

Mendoza won a Pulitzer Prize for her work on a team that uncovered the deaths of hundreds of civilians during the Korean War at the No Gun Ri Bridge.

Mendoza most recently covered the friendly-fire death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

“I like it when I make a palpable difference,” Mendoza said. “But when I hear the Pentagon is launching an investigation, it doesn’t do much.

However, when I got a call from one of the survivors of the No Gun Ri killings when U.S. army soldiers shot South Korean civilians, that’s what really made me feel.”

She said 40 new versions of a story in an eight-hour workday are common.

“When you’re working for AP, you’re always on deadline,” Mendoza said.

Riley answered questions of a lighter note.

Riley works in close proximity to a couple of Las Vegas newspaper correspondents and said he finds the thrill of keeping his stories secret until they hit the wire fun.

“In trench warfare among reporters, we don’t tell each other what we’re working on,” he said.

Riley said he finds his entire job to be a hoot.

“Journalism is the most fun I can have and still make money,” he said. “Even the grind is fun.”

Bob Felten, a journalism professor, said he could have talked with the speakers for hours.

“I appreciated how both (Martha Mendoza) and Brendan Riley talked about how much fun their work is,” Felten said. “It reminded me of my days as a reporter and the fun I had then.”

Chris Dudash, a 20-year-old journalism major, said he thought the lecturers shared a wealth of information.

“I thought the speakers were interesting and intriguing,” Dudash said.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/09/ap-week-shows-history/

Greek Perception

Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Staff Writer
Note: Never ran.
Note: Dated: Sept. 8 2007


“Animal House,” “Van Wilder” and “Old School” conjure images of horses killed by heart attacks, uncontrolled drinking, surprise-filled pastries and Will Ferrell’s disastrous run down to the quad.
For Greeks on campus, this stereotype of Greek life represents a problem. Incredible drinking and outrageous parties are the crux of the stigma, campus Greeks said.
Cody Wagner, 22, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said dealing with non-Greek’s preconceived notions is always a battle.
Wagner said he wants to talk to non-Greeks who have open minds so they can see what Greek life is about.
A majority of incoming male freshmen have misconceptions about fraternities, said Gary Schott, 21, current president of Sigma Nu
“Kids are always looking for the Animal House,” Schott said.
Michael Pennington, 35, chairman of the Alpha Tao Omega Alumni Association, said ATO used the animal house stereotype to its advantage.
“We would correct people about the negative aspects of the stereotype and use the positive aspects to bolster our reputation,” Pennington said. “We had a party at the beginning of the school year with 700 people.”
“It’s hard for [Greek members] to get away from the stigma,” said Tiffany Pack-Baleme, a 27-year-old finance major not involved in Greek life. “It’s not like TV helps.”
Another non-Greek, Crystal Pack, echoed Pack-Baleme’s message.
“When someone says ‘Greeks’ I think of immature behavior, drunkenness, sex and no regard for grades,” said Pack, a 23-year-old international business major. “I don’t think of them going out and doing community service.”
Philanthropy or community service, contrary to Pack-Baleme’s vision, is one of the main tenets of Greek life, according to the University of Nevada, Reno Greek Life Web site.
“People get caught up in the stereotypes,” Ryan Kenney, 22, Phi Delta president, said. “[People] fail to realize the good Greeks do on campus”
Sigma Nu raised over $10,000 last year for St. Jude Research Children’s Hospital Schott said.
Sigma Phi Epsilon raised an estimated $2,000 for charities last year Wagner said.
Sigma Kappa Theta raised an estimated $6,000 for charities last year and did 900 hours of community service.
Robin Reaney, president of sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, said, “The positive aspects of Greek life aren’t highlighted.”
Though Greeks emphasized a changing image, Jake Wiskerchen, a founding member of SigEp, said many of the fraternities are making the same mistakes they did during his tenure.
“They throw parties during dry rush, act irresponsibly during tailgaters and emulate the behavior of ‘Animal House,’” said Wiskerchen, 29.
When it comes to academics, Pack said she thinks Greeks do not care about grades.
However, Reaney said, “Academics is one of our main priorities.”
Pennington said raised GPA standards are a positive trend for the fraternities.
Sally Morgan, director of student conduct, said ten years ago the IFC started a program of scholarship recognition awards.
“Academics has been a major goal of the interfraternity council for the past ten years,” Morgan said.

Another year and another rush

Another year and another rush
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

A new wave of policy enforcement, increased vigilance from police and a fight for more participation in Greek life mark the yearly return of fall rush.

Rush week kicked off Thursday for the fraternities and sororities. The sororities finished Monday and the fraternities will end rush week Sept. 13.

The sororities are expecting at least 250 pledges, said Kate Rice, 21, of Delta Gamma. Most of the fraternities are optimistic about this year’s rush, as well.

“We’ve seen a bigger turnout so far,” said Jeremiah Todd, president of Lambda Chi Alpha.

Sally Morgan, the director of student conduct, said Greek participation in new student orientation is stronger than ever.

The Greeks have also been working with an alcohol-free rush week during the past few semesters.

“We’re stepping up enforcement (of Fraternal Judicial Council rules) from last year,” said Nate Digangi, chief justice of the Fraternity Judicial Council.

The Fraternal Judicial Council didn’t exist until last fall, said Digangi, 24. Because of the judicial council’s existence, enforcement can be stepped up.

“This is the first semester that we’re playing a major role in the Interfraternity Council,” he said.

Digangi said he plans on patrolling fraternity row to make sure all the frats are obeying Interfraternity Council and Fraternal Judicial Council bylaws.

“I hope to have nine FJC members checking up on the fraternities during rush week,” Digangi said. “I expect four or five members to work the parties and events.”

In the past, the university was the only entity doling out punishment, Digangi said.

“(If a violation is found) we file a complaint with the FJC,” Digangi said. “Then we compile evidence about the infraction. We can write a letter to their national headquarters or revoke their charter.”

Sgt. Kevin Stein, of the University of Nevada, Reno Police Department, is not too worried about this year’s rush.

“The fraternities have gotten better over the years,” Stein said.

He said UNRPD will be making sure that no one is doing the “Reno Shuffle” – where someone stumbles and staggers down the street while inebriated – down fraternity row.

“We are more vigilant in the rush areas,” Stein said.

UNRPD is required to make a docket for every call, Stein said. If a student is cited or arrested for minor in possession or minor in consumption, the case also gets forwarded to Sally Morgan, the director of student conduct.

“We’re not here to get people in trouble,” Stein said.

“We’re here to maintain the safety of the people.”

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/09/04/another-year-and-another-rush/

Associated Press exhibit visits Reynolds School of Journalism through Oct. 5

The Associated Press exhibit “Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace and Everything Else” is on display in the Reynolds School of Journalism atrium Tuesday through Friday.

The exhibit displays various AP pictures and the “story behind the story,” said Zanny Marsh, communications director for the College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and the Reynolds School of Journalism.

“The exhibit has the ability to tell the story of modern history from a different perspective,” she said.

The exhibit is composed of a series of giant AP photographs with the story behind the picture as well as the events that caused them.

On Oct. 3, Ellen Hale, Martha Mendoza and Brendan Riley will speak in Reynolds School of Journalism room 101 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. as part of the exhibit’s presentation.

Hale worked as a journalist for almost 30 years before becoming AP’s Vice President of Communications, journalism professor Deidre Pike said. Mendoza won a Pulitzer prize in 2000 for investigative reporting. Riley has been an AP correspondent living in Carson City since 1972.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/02/briefly-2/

Journalism 203 Print Assignment: Coal Plants

The air reverberated with tension Friday afternoon as a stunning blow was dealt to seven environmental groups seeking to stop coal power from advancing in Nevada.
The State Environmental Commission denied a petition brought by an organization of seven environmental groups Friday, Sept. 7.
Seven organizations, led by the Western Resource Advocates, brought the petition against six coal power plants in the process of being given permits.
The power plants are designed for placement in White Pine and Lincoln counties.
As a comprise, the Commission voted to have an agreement signed by the power companies seeking permits. The agreement will request the power companies to make the power plants so carbon capture technology, a process of taking carbon dioxide from a power plant and putting it into the ground, can be easily attached after the plants have been built.
Representatives from the three companies seeking to build the plants, Sierra Pacific Resources, Sithe Global Power, and LS Power Company said carbon capture technology will not be available in a way that does not cost too much until at least 2017 and more likely 2020.
Commission’s legal authority
A representative from the Attorney General’s office said the commission did not have the right to stop the permitting process of the coal fired plants.
The commission recognized its right to regulate green house gas emissions but did not create any regulations. The commission did not ask the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection to draft any regulations pertaining to green house gasses.
Drafting green house gas emission regulations could take up to 18 months, Leo Drozdoff, the director of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, said
“Drafting green house gas emission regulations in 18 months is a conservative estimate,” Allen Biaggi, Director of the Department of Conservation and National Resources, said.
When green house gas regulations would be ready for approval by the commission, the legislature would already be back in session, he said.
Reasons for rejecting the petition
The Commission rejected the petition because of the proposed limits on green house gasses, the state’s reliance on natural gas and imported electricity, electricity transmission lines, economic impact on White Pine and Lincoln counties and the timeliness of the petition, John Walker, Executive Secretary to the Environmental Commission, said.
The level of regulation for green house gasses the petitioners proposed was impossible to be met by coal fired power plants, Walker said.
“The proposed limit on the production of carbon dioxide was ridiculous,” he said.
No coal fired power plant in the world could meet the emission standard the petitioners proposed, he said. Coal power plants produce twice as much carbon dioxide as gas power plants.
According to the petition filed with the Commission, “no more than 1,100 pounds
of carbon dioxide pollution per megawatt-hour can be emitted.”
The 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide standard is based on the amount of carbon dioxide a gas power plant produces, Kyle Davis of the Nevada Conservation League, said.
“We want to stop coal plants completely,” he said.
During the hearing, Commissioner Pete Anderson expressed his disagreement with the proposed 1,100 pounds standard.
“The standard for carbon dioxide production proposed in the petition is not based in science,” Anderson said.
Although the Davis said only gas-fired plants should be built, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada said the state is 75 to 80 percent reliant on natural gas to meet its energy needs.
According to written testimony from the Public Utilities Commission, natural gas prices are volatile and affected by a number of factors outside of Nevada’s control.
To pick up the slack from gas powered plants, Nevada imports over half of its power needs, Gov. Jim Gibbons wrote in a letter to the commission.
“Estimates put the cost of power importation at $1.5 billion annually,” Gibbons wrote. Gibbons called Nevada’s use of imported energy “expensive and unpredictable.”
To transmit renewable power
According to written testimony submitted by LS Power Development, developers of a proposed 1,590 megawatt coal fired plant in White Pine County, the electricity transmission line that would link renewable energy in eastern and northern Nevada to southern Nevada would not be built unless developers built a coal fired power plant with it.
“It takes a large scale power plant to pay for transmission lines,” Biaggi said.
The power transmission line would allow power created by renewable energy sources in northern and eastern parts of the state, such as geothermal, wind and solar, to be brought to the Las Vegas power market, Gibbons wrote.
The petition was late
In 2007, the legislature passed SB 422 which creates a registry for tracking green house gas emissions, Walker said.
“The legislature already made legislation on the issue,” he said.
The petition was brought after the each of the power companies spent 20 million dollars on the permitting process, he said.
“The petition was brought too late,” he said.
The power plants would bring economic benefits to the residents of White Pine County, Todd Koch of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada, wrote in a letter to the commission.
“[The petitioners] asked the Commission to turn its back on the economic needs of White Pine County,” Koch wrote.
The White Pine County Commission is too centered on the economic impacts of the proposed power plants, Bob Fulkerson, State Director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said. “The White Pine County Commission is blinded to the environmental damage the plants could cause.”