FALL SEMESTER 2021 | EDITION I

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History

Founded in 1896, The Associated Students of the University of Nevada began as one of the only student organizations on the Nevada campus. In 1908, The Student Body became the Associated Student Body, which later became the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN). Later in 1931, a building abandoned by the Nevada Historical Society was given to the students to conduct their business there. This marked the first form of a Student Union. In 1958, the Jot Travis Student Union opened and included reading and recreation lounges, a snack bar, game room, meeting rooms, a ballroom, offices, and the newly purchased bookstore, which later became the Nevada Wolf Shop. The new Joe Crowley Student Union opened in 2007, finally bringing all components of ASUN under one roof, including offices, a full time faculty and staff, clubs and organizations, and programs and services. Since its founding, ASUN has worked to faithfully represent the 17,000+ students of the University of Nevada, and is continually working to better the Reno community, as well as the great state of Nevada. 

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BrownMurphy Update: Building a Better Nevada

From President Austin Brown & Vice President Keegan Murphy…

 We have been working diligently among ourselves and our cabinet to bring our campaign platform of Building a Better Nevada to life. The 5 pillars to our campaign include a Safe and Accessible Nevada, an Inclusive Nevada, a Spirited Nevada, a Community Oriented Nevada, and an Engaged Nevada. 

Safe and Accessible: We have been working with the IT Department, UNRPD, Scheduling Services, and other entities to increase the physical, educational, and financial transparency & accessibility to our campus. Through meetings with Parking Services we have been brainstorming new ideas to make parking more affordable and accessible to our campus. We have also been collaborating with the Provost and Dean of Libraries to increase implementation of Open Educational Resources in more courses. 

Inclusive: We have been continuing to work towards a more inclusive campus, partnering with the Multicultural Center to jointly host events tailored for a variety of underserved students. We also meet with staff members from the MC monthly, working closely with our Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Kaeli Britt, to promote our student veterans, non-traditional students, LGBT+ students, Indigenous populations, and many more groups. 

Community Oriented: This year, the Pack Internship Grant Program has seen hundreds of applicants for a record number of positions this year. We have been meeting regularly with regents, legislators, city council members, and other elected officials from across the state to express the needs of Nevada students. Through this, we have been able to build many connections and are continuing to build support for students. 

Spirited: This football season, you all showed up to the football games like never before! We saw record turn out to the home games, a fantastic student-organized tailgate with a sold out UNR vs. UNLV game! Many ASUN officers marched in the Nevada Day and Veterans Day Parades to show our spirit for Nevada, and we continue to find ways to show our support and love of our great state and school.

Engaged: Voter registration on campus has reached 86%! We are so proud of the Wolf Pack Community and all of the work done through the Center for Student Engagement to increase this number from 58% in 2016. Intramural Sports have seen great participation this semester and free entry for all teams. Our programming department has also planned some of the best attended events in many years, with our most notable event being a T-Pain and Sage the Gemini concert. Students have shared with us the importance of engagement, and we have done our best to amplify that. 

Outside of our campaign goals, I sat on the search committee to hire a new Executive Vice President and Provost for our University. I am also helping with the new University Strategic Plan, as well as representing students on the State level through the NSHE Board of Regents. Keegan has been supporting student-athletes and working on athletic engagement through luncheons, giveaways, and much more! He has also been working on expanding ASUN’s partnerships with local businesses and creating more Pack Friendly Business for students. We are both working hard to expand Pack Provisions and move it to a space that can better serve the growing need for an on campus food pantry funded through the American Rescue Plan. Each day brings new challenges, but we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve the University of Nevada. 

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Executive Branch (President’s Cabinet)

Chief of Staff 

Our Chief of Staff Parker Samuelson planned an in-person and virtual retreat to prepare our 70+ officers for the upcoming session. She also coordinated a week-long interview process to hire ASUN interns across each department, who are being overseen by their respective coordinators. The three of us will be reaching out to local high schools to begin recruitment for the following year’s internship.  Coming up, Parker will be hosting a Gala for the John Mackay Endowment Fund Scholarship, as well as a winter retreat to refresh our officers and interns of their goals and duties.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Chief of Staff Samuelson.

Department of Event Programming

This semester, our Department of Event Programming hosted some of the best events we have seen on campus. Our Welcome Week concert was a great way to kick off the year! We sold a whopping total of over 4,000 tickets and can’t wait for the Spring Concert in April 2022. DM us your guesses of who you think it will be 👀 The Programming Board also held several other successful events including Taste of Reno, Pack Midtown, the Homecoming tailgate, and Howl Harvest. We are looking forward to seeing everyone for Welcome Back Week 2022, Mackay Week, the Annual Drag Show, Family Weekend, and more!

Department of Clubs & Organizations

The Department of Clubs and Organizations has had a busy semester under the direction of Director Marimberga. They had a successful Club Fair with over 6,000 students, and are actively supporting over 230 clubs on campus, reaching over 5,100 involved users on PackLife. Funding hearings for the spring semester will be on Fridays at 4 pm, with the first funding hearing of the spring semester being on Friday, January 21st. Spring Club Fair is also scheduled for Monday, January 24th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm in the JCSU. The department is planning on implementing exciting and free incentives to attend the event. We hope to see you there! 

Department of Legislative Affairs 

Our Department of Legislative Affairs kicked off the semester with voter registration drives for National Voter Registration Day. This department hosted a series of Coffee with Councilor events, designed to connect students with local city representatives from Reno and Sparks. The Department also published a collection of policy briefs debriefing the previous legislative session. Email Policy Director Lara legaffairspolicydirector@asun.unr.edu to be added to The Weekly Breakdown. Most recently, the department approved a budget for a trip to advocate for affordable education in Washington D.C. this spring semester. There has also been active work from department members, and ourselves, to get student interests better represented on the NSHE Board of Regents. Contact Director Resnik with any questions, concerns, or suggestions! 

Department of Diversity & Inclusion 

Through the month of November, the Department of Diversity and Inclusion planned their first town hall, “Proud to Be Indigenous at Nevada.” The Department has also begun planning for their first ever “Diversity Week,” which will be taking place in the spring. Over winter break, the drafting of an ASUN DEI Strategic Plan will also begin. The plan will include steps of accountability and follow-up for the next four years to come. Contact Director Britt with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. 

Department of Campus Wellness

The Department of Campus Wellness has been working to address the overall wellbeing of students. Outreach was conducted to gauge student perspective on the proposed Mandatory Student Health Insurance Policy, and tabling occurred for National Suicide Prevention Month in collaboration with Crisis Support Services of Nevada. The department also hosted the “Out or Not You Are Loved” campaign. Three pieces of legislation sponsored by both Directors of Campus Wellness and Diversity and Inclusion are in the works to advance the wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community. The department is currently working on the Pack Protected campaign and consolidating health and medical related resources for students to host pop-up events. 

Department of Sustainability

The Department of Sustainability has spent most of the fall semester spreading awareness about EdPASS, which is a service that lets any student ride all RTC buses for free. The Department wrote a budget proposal to the Nevada State Treasurer in order to cover the operating costs. As a backup plan, the department is looking into putting a new student fee of $3.50 per semester to pay for the program. UNR Undergraduates should apply for the Sustainable Nevada Initiative Fund (SNIF), which is a grant awarded to any group of undergraduates pursuing a sustainable project. Reach out to Director Guillen or select the “Sustainability” tab on the ASUN website. The grant is open right now and will close on January 18.

Campus and Public Relations

Since the semester started, Director Matovina has been working to bring transparency to the Association. She worked to get 30 Pack Friendly Businesses renewed to serve students at a discounted price, with an exhaustive list of these partners on NevadaASUN.com. She has also been working on the “Meet Your Officer” campaign, which is a social media campaign that aims to increase approachability amongst ASUN officers. She also spearheads the “In Case You Missed It” campaign, which goes out on Fridays to recap ASUN’s week. She helps us release press releases to Nevada news outlets to help spread awareness for our civic efforts, and in the spring semester, will be working on overhauling our website to feature a reports section. 

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Senate

From Speaker Schein… 

This year’s senate body has been hard at work writing legislation. These pieces have ranged from a resolution opposing a Lithium mine in Thacker Pass, to a piece opposing a mandatory student healthcare plan. In the following weeks, we’ll be looking at legislation to redo our election process, hopefully making student government more open for everyone. In collaboration with several executive departments, the senate passed pieces in favor of safe spaces and pronoun inclusion on campus. Senate body outreach has ranged from volunteering at events for the other ASUN departments to creating our own events like “Get Baked with Senate.” This collaboration with students has expanded, with ASUN currently lobbying on student concerns such as housing issues, on and off-campus. Total Resolutions – 5

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Judicial Council

From Chief Justice Stanfill…

The Judicial Council has been busy during the fall 2021 semester participating at many social justice events. The Justices are working diligently to revise the Elections Code to make for an election process that is easier and accessible to all students. The council is continuing to review and interpret the association’s governing documents through our curriculum standards. Further, the council is partnering with the Senate to establish the University Police Services Coalition. Other projects include work with the Multicultural Center’s Social Services Coordinator, ASUN legal services, the judicial internship, and more. An important effort of the council is to reduce the credit requirement for ASUN justices to serve in office from 60 to 30. This question will appear on the ballot in the spring 2022 elections. Total Cases – 0

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Resources

We have incredible resources for our students to utilize should they need it. These are just a few of the many offered through ASUN and the University.

Pack Provisions (Food pantry) 

→ app.pantrysoft.com/login/unr

Campus Escort (rideshare/ safety service) 

→ search “PackTransit” in the App Store

Legal Services 

→ Google “Legal Services ASUN”, first link

Emergency Funding 

→ Google “ASUN Marczynski Student Emergency Funds”, first link 

HERF (Be on the lookout in January 2022) 

→ unr.edu/financial-aid/heerf 

Pack Friendly Businesses (Wolf Card) 

→ nevadaasun.com/packfriendlybusiness/

ASUN Budget

 → Google “Budget ASUN” first link

ASUN Resource Guide

 → Nevadaasunstudentresourceguide.carrd.co

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Coming Up

Welcome Back Week	January 18-21
Coffee Crawl	January 18
Sound Body, Sound Mind	January 19
Soup for Success	January 20
Ice Skating Event	TENTATIVE

 

Mackay Week	February 22 – 25
Beat UNLV Basketball  “Mackay Madness”	February 22
Mackay & Cheese	February 23
Nuggets of Gold	February 25

 

Family Weekend 2022	March 25 – 27
Spring Concert	April 9

 

Other Important Dates
MLK  Day (no class)	January 17
First Day of Class	January 18
President’s Day (no class)	February 21
ASUN General Elections	March 9 – 10
Spring Break (no class)	March 12 – 20
DEAD/Prep Day (no class)	May 4
Commencement (Quadrangle)	May 12 – 14

Visit unr.edu/athletics for a calendar of all upcoming sporting events. 

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Mission Statement

The mission of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada is to maximize the educational experience of every student of the University of Nevada. Official positions in the Associated Students are to provide a learning experience of effective leadership, strong integrity, and a conviction for public service.

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Final Thoughts

Thank you for trusting us to represent you this year, it truly has been the honor of a lifetime. We want to wish you the best of luck on your finals and hope you have a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable winter break! 

Go Pack! 

President Brown and VP Murphy

NEVADAASUN.COM

IG: @NevadaASUN  | Twitter: @NevadaASUN