Insight: Balance

Spring 2017 VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3

BALANCE

12 Travelling through self-realization

Diversifying a skillset with foreign challenges

22 Art in trump's america

Creating within a changed society

42 Drive

A surreal roadtrip of reflection

From The Editor

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y time as Editor of Insight is coming to a close, and while it is a bit unfortunate to leave such an opportunistic position, I resonate with my choices daily because of the balance I know I will further obtain in my final year at UNR. This is probably the most applicable value I’ve learned out of any growing up. My parents always told me, “Everything in moderation.” I think this was a good strategy in parenting, for often times we are inclined to lash out when restrictions are imposed on our expressions in lifestyle. Rather than telling me, “No,” my parents acknowledged the indulgences in life, as well as the traumas.

Of course, by the time we get to a certain age, most of us become aware of things that are easily obtainable, providing great satisfaction in the progression of existence. I personally struggled with over-indulgence—my life was in complete focus of celebration. While this isn’t necessarily negative, I think the fact that it isn’t the most sustainable is what should be noted.

Balance is everything, and when all the celebration in your life seems like it could never end, the standards have

Davis goicoechea Editor-in-Chief

“People with great gifts are easy to find, but symmetrical and balanced ones never."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson changed for you. What is it to return to your schoolwork, your labor, your hobby—your truest intentions, when you’ve only focused on what makes you feel good?

Sure, negativity isn’t great. Feeling uncomfortable is exactly that; we usually can’t wait to flee the grips of these emotions. Without them, we wouldn’t have the capacity to comprehend positivity though. It comes back to your standards of living. If you have familiarity, experience, and openness to both the positives and negatives of life, you’ll handle surprises, and unexpected situations much better. I suppose this could be disregarded if life isn’t constantly throwing a wrench in your plans.

For me really, it always comes down to a bittersweet moment. That moment of full-fledged acceptance—a potent

mixture of resistance to change, and the hopefulness of progression ensued. Often times I think we all have situations in life that we don’t want to encounter, either unexpectedly, or mulling around our minds for weeks, months, perhaps years on end.

Insight’s contributors have captured moments that ponder the loss of political balance, propose situations allowing for a personal loss of balance, and how one can fight to gain the equilibrium of happiness. It’s been a mission, but it’s been one that put all of us back on a balanced path.

Nicole Skarlatos Art Director

Andrea Heerdt

Ana Hurt

Art Director

Copy Editor

Volunteers

Katherine Larsen Copy Editor

Janessa Holman Social Media

about the cover To me, Spring means blooming orchids and luscious colors in nature. This year, brightness was nowhere to be found. Instead, I discovered floods and dark storms looming around every nightfall—it was still so beautiful.

The raging 'monsoons' amongst peaceful foliage inspired me; I spent break capturing my new perspective of the season. I came across a lived-in motel with shining floral growth outside of it, so perfectly contrasting the new and old, represented in complimentary balance.

- Kellie Sasso

Faith Delfin Caroline Ackerman Cameron Beck Andrea Wilkinson Even Muth Jana Sayson Jarrette Werk Kenny Taboada Kellie Sasso Tori Todd Crystal Pulido-Lugo Taylor Harker

corrections Insight Magazine works to correct any errors. If you find a mistake or misprint, please contact the editor at insighteditor@asun.unr.edu.

Insight Magazine is proud to have placed Fifth in the 2017 National Associated Collegiate Press Conference in the category of Feature Magazine.

Pack Profile: Assistant Professor Ben Birkinbine 6 Young journalism professor inspires students in a law course typically found mundane.

By Andrea Heerdt

Traveling Through self-realization 12 While most spend breaks avoiding challenges, this undergrad visited another country to diversify her skills.

By Tori Todd

The opiod Epidemic 16 Uncovering truths about widely-spread legal drugs.

By Taylor Harker

The continuing evolution of Women's rights 18 Some of the new challenges females face amongst a divided society.

By Faith Delfin

Art in trump's America 22 Creative expressions stemming from the recent election.

By Jana Sayson

Local business Reviews 28 Exploring wo heavy-hitters in Reno's coffee scene.

By Katherine Larsen

Book Reviews 30 Just kids by Patti Smiet and Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

By Crystal Lugo

The Purge - Fashion Edition 34 Letting go of pastimes to provide for those in need.

By Janessa Holman

Ford Corl ExposÉ 38 A progression through Corl's music in both style, and equipment.

By Cameron Beck

Drive 42 A normal road trip turns into much more as a young female explores difficulty.

By Ana Hurt

striking green in the cannabis room 48 Peeking inside NV's marijuana industry as all prepare for recreational business.

By Caroline Ackerman INSIGHT 4

5 INSIGHT Photo by Kellie Sasso

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LITERATURE AND MEDICINE Words by Andrea Heerdt Photo by Jana Sayson

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r. Susan Palwick has been teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno since 1997. As an English Professor, Palwick has taught everything from first year composition, to women in literature, to graduate seminars. Her specialty is creative writing, especially science fiction and fantasy. She is also a published author. She also teaches courses at the university’s medical school and plans on earning her masters in social work after her final year of teaching at UNR. Palwick’s love for English began to

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sprout when she was a young child who loved to read books, and continued through her college education when she majored in English at Princeton.

After college Palwick wandered around for some time, trying to figure out what to do with her life. The idea of becoming an English professor hit her, and she decided to attend graduate school at Yale.

It was a natural fit for Palwick to teach creative writing, considering she herself has always been a natural writer. She has published several science fiction novels including “Mending the Moon,” “The Fate of Mice,” and “Shelter,” along with a collection of short stories and a book of sonnets.

With an atypical teaching job in the

PACK PROFILE: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BEN BIRKINBINE

Words by Andrea Heerdt Photos by Even Muth

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rofessor Ben Birkinbine may be considered relatively new to teaching at the Reynolds School of Journalism. He has been a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno since 2014, yet he’s considered to be a fan favorite among students for his knowlegde of freedom, journalism, and pop culture references. Birkinbine teaches several courses at the Journalism School including ‘Foundations of All Things Media’, ‘First Amendment and Society’, and a graduate course called, 'The Future of Journalism’.

According to Birkinbine, the desire to become a professor can be traced back to a couple things—one of which includes coming from a family of educators that taught at public schools back in Wisconsin and having the teaching trait in his blood. Birkinbine also noted that during his freshman year of college at the ​University of Wisconsin-Green Bay​, he took a course by the name of ‘Freedom and Social Control’ that he considered ‘life changing’.

“That [course] really inspired me to continue investigating more complex issues. Issues in history, politics, culture and all of the rest of that stuff. I was just amazed by the stuff that I was reading, and it was just a big awakening experience,” said Birkinbine.

He recalls the first day of class when his professor wrote, “What is freedom?” and, “What is social control?” on an old fashioned chalkboard as he and his fellow students wrote their ideas down on paper—a familiar assignment he’s implemented in his ‘First Amendment and Society’ course here at the University. Birkinbine remembers the course as being one of those special classes; an awakening experience that would later inspire him to go on and pursue graduate studies.

However, in the run up to the financial crisis, Birkinbine took a job as the director of sales and marketing for an

for the First Amendment course under a professor infamously known for being an authoritative source on First Amendment law in the United states, according to Birkinbine. Over the course of a year and a half as a teaching assistant, Birkinbine became intrigued by the ideas of the course and tried to formulate the knowledge he was acquiring into his own teaching style. Later on, the professor from the University of Oregon became rather ill, and Birkinbine was asked to step in and fully teach the course. It was during this time that his experience teaching the law course landed him a job here at UNR on a visiting appointment. He then went on to become a tenured professor in media studies. What’s rather unique about Birkinbine’s First Amendment and Society course is the complete dive into the case law.

He teaches students to not take freedom for granted, expanding young minds to larger ideas about freedom and social control.

“I’m not trying to get you to talk about the social contract,” said Birkinbine.

“I’m trying to get you to think about what would absolute freedom look like, just even put yourself in that headspace, right? And it’s disheartening when students can’t even imagine.”

To Birkinbine, total freedom would be the absence of control and influence from any level. He notes that for some, you can never really become detached from all of those things that

"I’m trying to get you to think about what would absolute freedom look like." international translation company right after his undergraduate studies.

Instability in the company due to rapid expansion also persuaded Birkinbine to further pursue his academic career by getting his ​master of arts in Media Theory & Research from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, as well as a doctorate degree from the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon, where his teaching career began.

During his time pursuing a PhD at the University of Oregon, Birkinbine was assigned to be a teaching assistant

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influence you. But at some point in college—hopefully—you should encounter an existential crisis. According to Birkinbine, it’s here where you can begin to question what it all means, and why you’re here. To him, when you reach this point it can become very empowering because you feel comfortable with the direction you’ve chosen for your life. You become imbued with your own sense of self-worth.

“What would you do if your parents

thinking about freedom, control and where the two meet. He doesn’t want his students to take these ideas for granted. He wants them to understand the richness of thought that goes into law. To Birkinbine, it’s important to ponder the ways in which you’re free now, and how that translates to concepts like freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Another component to Birkinbine’s academic background is the research

" it [death] could really happen at any time, and so what’s going to give your life meaning?” wouldn’t tell you you couldn’t? What would you do if your church said you could do whatever you want? What would you do if the government said you could do whatever you want? What would you do if money was no option? What would you do if anything?”

Birkinbine asked. “It’s Freedom of mobility, freedom of opportunity, freedom of anything.”

According to Birkinbine, once you get yourself in that headspace, you start to make particular decisions about your own life, and only by pushing yourself outside of those constraints can you really appreciate it. This is where his course on the First Amendment tends to dive into a deeper meaning about larger, more complex ideas. He often ponders the question: What would you do if you could do anything? as well as the concept of freedom and how you would live your life to give it value.

“The kind of dark side of that is the very humble recognition that we’re all going to die. And so if we’re all going to die, we know there’s an end to this whole journey that we’re on,” said Birkinbine. “The question for you is what are you going to do until that point? You never know, it [death] could really happen at any time, and so what’s going to give your life meaning?”

To Birkinbine, these are the broad subjects you have to wrestle with when INSIGHT 8

and writing he takes part in. The main area of research he’s involved in is called, ‘political economy of communications,’ which is primarily concerned with investigating the structures that enable the production, distribution, exhibition, or consumption of media resources. Birkinbine, along with two other editors and 27 other contributors, published “Global Media Giants” last year. According to Birkinbine, there were other texts similar, yet outdated, and the time was right for another volume that would investigate specific companies, analyzing the ways they have political, cultural, economic, and other power.

In addition to his recently published book, Birkinbine says he’ll be traveling to London this summer for research similar to his dissertation, focused on free and open sourced software that will he hopes will lead to a solo authored book.

As an authority on the First Amendment, Birkinbine doesn’t actually believe that it’s in danger despite concern being rather prevalent. He describes it as being one of the hallmarks of American democracy with a longstanding tradition of being there. Yet to Birkinbine, the more that organizations sprout up and pedal fake news, or distort some of the facts—it undermines the credibility of the media as an

institution and does become a threat.

Birkinbine, along with other colleagues at the Reynolds School of Journalism and local activists, have recently been asked to give talks about the first amendment to the Reno community by request from the Nevada Humanities Council and Action Together Nevada. According to Birkinbine, people come who are concerned about threats to freedom of speech and to freedom of press on behalf of the current administration.

“We fielded the questions and talked about our own experiences with free speech, the press, etc., and just answered questions from the community, and I think that was really impacting,” said Birkinbine.

In addition to the studious work and research Birkinbine does as a professor, he is also the bass player for Fine Motor—a local, independent rock band composed of himself and several members from the English Department at the University. According to Birkinbine, Fine Motor has been described as sounding similar to The Velvet Underground with a dreamy, poppy, surfy, shoegazey sound.

Birkinbine and his band do mostly originals with a few covers thrown into their shows at the Holland Project and Sundance Books. They even have an album coming out through Exotic Fever Records around July. To Birkinbine, it’s great to have a creative outlet simply because he grew up

around music, taught himself to play and went to punk rock shows in the midwest in his yout.

According to Birkinbine, when it comes to the band or shows, he shamelessly promotes them in his lectures and highly encourages people to check out Fine Motor.

“I think it was at the end of last semester. There were actually quite a few students who showed up. They made signs. It was quite embarrassing," Birkinbine said, laughing. "For them, not for me.”

Yet, if Birkinbine and his band were to make it big in the music business, he said he wouldn’t quit his day job.

After briefly being in a band with De’Mar Hamilton, drummer for the

Plain White T’s, and being friends with their tour manager—Birkinbine says that he knows just too much about the music industry and how temporary it can be. Plus, he really enjoys being a journalism professor.

What Birkinbine likes about teaching is getting students excited about communications, journalism, media, and trying get them to see why it’s important; why they shouldn’t feel like it’s an undervalued subject area.

When it comes to his love of teaching Birkinbine said, “It may be a cliche answer, but I do think it’s that seeing the progress of students and seeing students get interested in a topic.”

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10 Delfin PhotoINSIGHT

by Faith

11 INSIGHT Photo by Kenny Taboada

traveling through SELF-REALIZATION

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Words by Tori Todd Photos by Tori Todd Design by Andrea Heerdt

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iberation—a complex and formidable word that contains several layers of meaning according to the person it possesses. What does pure liberation mean? Is it never having to face oppression or inequality? Could it be never staying in one place and experiencing life according to the direction the winds are blowing? How about being completely in tune and comfortable with yourself to the extent which no other person’s opinion or judgment has the potential to impact you? The true meaning can only be defined on a person-to-person basis. Liberation is something that one has achieved for themselves regardless of the path it took to get there.

One’s sense of self is composed of countless experiences and hardships that then become a part of the rewarding aspects of liberation. But, how does one just obtain a pure and true knowledge of thyself? The answer is simple. Travel. And I don’t just mean to a nearby part of town either. I’m talking about a place that will push you out of your comfort zone and challenge your current perspectives.

How do I know this methodology is effective? I put it to the test myself.

Yes. I— a then 20-year-old, inexperienced girl—decided it would be a good idea to travel abroad in order to take part in a medical internship in Pula, Croatia, despite the apprehension I received from my family.

Looking at my itinerary on paper, it all seemed so easy. I had never visited a different continent before, but how bad could five connecting flights and over 24 hours of travel time be? With my two suitcases in hand, I stomped inside my hometown airport trying to exude confidence. The truth was, I had never been so scared of something

access. This was the first time in my life that I had no communication with the outside world. It was just me, myself, and I at this point—so I naturally started to panic. While waiting for my fourth plane to arrive, I watched the countless blobs of faces that passed me by. I wondered where they were going, and if they felt as lonely and afraid as I did. Not knowing the languages or places around me, the unfamiliarity started to suffocate me. Not wanting to cause a scene, I began to breathe deeply and remind myself that this is what I signed up for. I wanted to be challenged, and above all else, I wanted to be brave. This is when I made the conscious decision to embrace the culture shock I was experiencing instead of resisting it. I took in any slight difference in the behavior of the people around me, the smells of the cuisine wafting down the terminal hallway, and even the infrastructure that I was enclosed in. I documented it all.

Although frightening and unfamiliar, I knew this was something I never wanted to forget.

Fast forward twelve hours and I had finally arrived at my target destination: Pula, Croatia. I trudged off the plane and into the terminal to meet with the program coordinators I signed up with. I had reached a whole new level of exhaustion at this point

" I wanted to be challenged, and above all else, I wanted to be brave." in my entire life. It was my responsibility to make it to Croatia in one piece, as I was the only person I could depend on for this journey to be a success. I shook off my fears long enough to make it to New York.

Already feeling a little homesick, I texted goodbye to my parents as I really didn’t know the next time I would have access to Wi-Fi in order to talk to them. Once I arrived in Germany, it was just as I had expected—no internet

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and couldn’t wait to exit the airport in order to draw in fresh air. While being driven to my living quarters, my eyes were glued to the window. I didn’t want to blink or move. My brain was taking in sights faster than I could process them. I was in pure disbelief at the amount of green, grassy meadows that engulfed my surroundings, the hundreds of sailboats that grazed the deep blue water nearby, and the antiquity of the tall buildings that were dispersed evenly throughout the city.

Complete and utter disbelief. Nothing else mattered to me in this moment. I was consumed by the unknown that surrounded me and I loved it. Looking back now, it was a memory that can’t be described in any other way besides actual bliss.

While in Croatia, I tried to keep up the same mindset I had while in the airport—soak up every moment, even if fear is present. I tried the local cuisine, went to the beach by myself regularly, traveled to other cities in

that I had my own aspirations and I was going to abide by them. Was there a time when I was unbearably lonely?

Of course. But for the first time in my life, I was able to listen and comprehend my loneliness, instead of fight it.

I became in touch with my emotions in a way that allowed me to feel deeply, but also be completely content with those feelings—good or bad. I came to appreciate solitude and reflection periods in order to better myself and learn what I really wanted out of life. Because I was essentially a human sponge in another country, I was able to learn a lot about the culture that engulfed me. I listened to the conversations being exchanged around me even if I couldn’t understand

"I was able to determine my own mindset regarding my future, aspirations, and morality."

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Croatia, took tours of local monuments, and fell in love with a place I never knew existed six months prior.

I was living my life based on my own agenda. I had no outside pressures of society telling me how I should spend my time, so I capitalized on the fact

them, I talked to people with the few words I knew in Croatian, and above all, I learned humility about things I had been taking for granted my whole life. Croatians didn’t center their lives around material items. They were all about experiences. Experiences with one another, experiences with nature, and experiences with their own culture. No one cared if you had a nice car because guess what? A bus got you to your destination just as fast. The people were about the people, and I never realized how little I had been living my life like this up until this turning point.

Being American, I had always dreamt of having material things in order to indicate success in life, but my ideals were completely turned upside down when I observed Croatian society. I couldn’t get happiness via a car or a big house. I needed it through human interaction. Through human decency, or through the indulgence of nature.

These people were completely content with the lives they had. They weren’t striving for more stuff, rather, they were striving for more happiness. More self-fulfillment. With this observation, I knew that my aspirations had shifted to ones that didn’t involve materials. I wanted to travel more, learn about the values of other cultures, and ultimately, become a person that appreciates experience over materials.

Traveling to a different country popped the bubble of conformity I was consumed with for the entirety of my life. Before Croatia, I was walking a path that all of society approved of. It told me to fear the unknown and not to question the progression of American life. By finally leaving behind this society and the means to communicate with it, I was able to determine my own mindset regarding my future, aspirations, and morality. I drew in a fresh breath of perspective and originality that cleared my mind of previously conceived notions put into my head.

This intake led to a confidence in the person that I wanted to become when I returned home. I was self-aware, and completely content with myself because I wasn’t tainted by others’ opinions. I was able to free my mind from the judgments that were subtly bestowed on me throughout American culture and be the person that I truly wanted to be. I finally felt complete liberation.

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What a Trump Presidency

Means for Women’s

Reproductive Rights Words by Faith Delfin Illustrations by Andrea Heerdt

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s the country continues to transition into Donald Trump's presidency, women should be aware of how their abortion rights could change.

Currently, women are legally allowed to get an abortion in the U.S. under Roe v. Wade. However, if Trump does as he says, he will appoint Supreme Court Justices that are in favor of overturning the 43-year-old Roe v. Wade court decision.

The first course of action Trump needs to take in order to overturn Roe v. Wade is appointing a new, conservative Supreme Court Justice to replace Antonin Scalia. Scalia served in the Supreme Court for 30 years until his death in February of 2016. Before Scalia’s death, the Supreme Court’s opinion about abortion was split. Half approved of Roe v. Wade, while the other half opposed the law. Even with Trump’s pick to replace Scalia, which INSIGHT 18

will most likely be a conservative, the Supreme Court will remain deadlocked over the issue.

As of now, Roe protects the right to an abortion until the fetus can live outside the womb. Twenty-seven states have at least one additional regulation, including mandatory waiting periods, restrictions on health insurance coverage and bans after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Trump says that if Roe v. Wade was overturned, the decision to make abortion either legal or illegal would return to each individual state's will.

When asked what women seeking abortions would be left to do, Trump simply said, “Well, they’ll perhaps have to go—they’ll have to go to another state.”

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota have laws to automatically outlaw abortion if justices overturn Roe. Eleven states have retained their pre-Roe bans, which would again take effect in such an event. Seven states, meanwhile, have laws that protect the right to obtain an abortion prior to viability or when

necessary to protect a woman’s life.

According to studies conducted by Planned Parenthood, 7 out of 10 Americans are in favor of safe, legal abortions. Despite that, the Trump Administration is persistent on making abortion illegal on the federal level. His Vice President, Mike Pence, is equally notorious for his pro-life stance as well.

“I’m pro-life and I don’t apologize for it,” Pence said. “We’ll see Roe v.

Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”

Planned Parenthood remains willing to fight for women’s reproductive rights as they have said on their website. Former Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Alison Gaulden, stresses that even if abortion was made illegal, risky abortion procedures will ensue.

“Abortions will never go away; women will always have abortions.

What happens is if the safety goes away then they will die of abortion, they will die of inadequate care,” Gaulden stated. “Making it illegal or hiding it, doesn’t make it go away. It

makes women more vulnerable.”

Before Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court in 1972, 17 percent of all deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth were the result of an illegal abortion. These procedures were often done in unsanitary, unsafe environments and performed by people who were not experienced health professionals. After Roe v. Wade was passed, only 0.3 percent of women who have legal abortions die from procedure.

Gaulden is confident that Planned Parenthood will continue their commitment to providing safe healthcare for women.

“Planned parenthood will always find ways to help women in need,” Gaulden said.

Many women would end up struggling financially if the right to an abortion was taken away. For example, some may not be able to afford a child in the first place but in other instances, having a child means it is harder for women to find work and/or keep a job. Ann Crittenden, an author and former reporter for T ​ he New York Times​explains in her article “The Mommy Tax,” that most companies

seek workers that are unencumbered.

Those who can’t devote all of his or her time to their career have permanently lower lifetime income. For women, this means that they will no longer have a chance to decide between motherhood and a career. If women are not allowed to terminate a pregnancy they will automatically carry a financial burden for the rest of their life. Sociology Professor Dara Naphan

of child care on women because they have no choice but to have the child.

“If child care disproportionately falls on women, then you know that society has a high level of gender inequality,” said Naphan.

Gender, Race and Identity instructor Alissa Surges, at the University of Nevada, Reno says that this is an obvious representation of how women’s health is seen by the government.

“To many of the men who oppose abortion, the message is the obvious one: women’s health does not matter,” Surges said. “(Because) abortion rights are not seen as a health issue, it shows their limited understanding of socioeconomics, health, and women’s rights.”

Naphan echoes that statement adding that the social constructions about gender are a major reason why the struggle for women’s rights and equality is ongoing.

“If you look at politics and how men dominate politics, it shows that it’s a huge part in the social construction of everything,” Naphan said.

"What happens is if the safety goes away then they will die of abortion, they will die of inadequate care." at the University of Nevada, Reno agrees with the article by Crittenden.

“It (abortion) has a lot to do with economic dependence for women and I think that’s key,” Naphan said.

Child care is an important factor in determining gender inequality. It is common for men to leave a woman they impregnated because they don’t want to be responsible for the child. If abortion rights were taken away, that would automatically put the burden

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21 INSIGHT Photo by Jana Sayson

Art in Trump’s america Words by Jana Sayson Photos by Jana Sayson Graphics by Andrea Heerdt

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any in the nation woke up the morning of November 9 in a sort of hangover, dazed with complete disbelief.

They were waking up to Trump’s America.

Never before has it been “Insert-President’s-Name-Here’s America” as much as it is now Trump’s America. Since election day, there has been a constant chorus of, “People are scared,” “What just happened?” and “What now?”

For artists like Joseph DeLappe, who is also the former director of the digital media program at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Art, it’s no different.

“I guess I have mixed feelings about what has happened,” he said. “It’s been heartening on the one hand to see so many artists having a wake-up call in a way, sort of like, ‘Oh, crap! We’ve been fiddling while Rome burns,’ type of thing.”

Like many elections in the past, there definitely was no shortage of art. Artists kept busy, pumping out diverse works from portraits of Trump painted with menstrual blood, a naked Trump statue, and countless pieces of street art, to Saturday Night Live satire and comedy.

In what many consider turbulent times, art can change the narrative, according to DeLappe.

“In these kind of circumstances, I

Despite the flood of creativity sparked by the election, DeLappe believes the art world could have done more—a lot more.

“The art world has always been a kind of separate entity,” he said. “It would be interesting to see whether this translates into concrete action or results on the part of artists.”

It’s no doubt that artists are aware, but to DeLappe, the question lies in the decision to ignore reality.

“I think artists tend to be some of the most … engaged in terms of what’s going on in a kind of zeitgeist sensibility,” he said. “There is a responsibility on the part of artists to not disengage from this world. I think we can’t afford to. The stakes are too high.”

Definitely, in the last 15 years, DeLappe himself immersed his work in politics more than anything else, working on projects like “Liberty Weeps,” a collaboration with 3D artist Charlie Becker for a Los Angeles exhibition called Manifest Justice.

The cardboard sculpture reflects Lady

“I think artists tend to be some of the most… engaged in terms of what’s going on in a kind of zeitgeist sensibility”

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think what artists do becomes very important,” he said. “It becomes a way of not just reacting, but perhaps helping form other ways of dealing with our contemporary situation.…[It’s] giving opportunities for dialogue, giving you information that allows you to make up your own mind, and opening those gates in a way that are not always addressed typically.”

Liberty with her face buried in her hands, weeping. It expresses a “sense that things have gone wrong in this country,” according to DeLappe. Originally intended to portray feelings toward police shootings of young black males and its issues of justice, its meaning has morphed since its inception in 2015. Now, it means the current state of immigration to Antonio Varga, who came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines. To many more, it personifies this election.

Undoubtedly, the President’s campaign over the last election cycle raised fears that under his presidency, First Amendment rights could be restricted and even threatened.

“When you have someone like Trump coming in who’s uniquely unqualified and really doesn’t seem to be even aware of that basic tenants of our legal system, justice system, constitution, it’s scary,” DeLappe said. “I think we need to be ever vigilant.”

With Trump’s claims to “open up libel laws,” threats to revoking

citizenship of flag burners, and Tweets about shutting down “boring and unfunny” shows like Saturday Night Live for their criticism, Trump has talked the talk. But, can he really walk the walk?

Patrick File, a professor in the University of Nevada’s journalism program with a specialty in media law and policy, highly doubts it.

“Broadly speaking, some of the claims that the president has made, his direct ability as president to do that is relatively limited,” he said.

“It’s a stretch to assume that the election of Donald Trump automatically starts to erode the specific legal principles or protections under the First Amendment because those rely on court rulings.”

According to File, Trump would have to appoint a series of justices that completely align with his ideology, which is never guaranteed, to overturn a Supreme Court precedent like those set in New York Times v.

Sullivan. This case reinforced cornerstone First Amendment values.

Even if Trump does manage to secure these like-minded justices, File said, the most that can happen is a weakening of those legal standards over a long period of time.

“If you’re a public official in this country, thanks to the First Amendment, you have to put up with a great deal of criticism,” File said.

File said that the standard set for the First Amendment is what Supreme Court called “a commitment to wide open, robust … conversation about political issues.”

“The president doesn’t get to just change [Supreme Court rulings],” File said. “The point of checks and balances is having these separate but co-equal branches of government so that the president, for that very purpose, can’t just say, 'Well, we’re gonna have a new law…as far as what can be protected by the First Amendment or what cannot be protected by the First Amendment.”

So, despite the talk, artists should be okay—legally.

“The landscape of American law is 23 INSIGHT

one that makes it more difficult than other places around the world … to just crack down on art that the government doesn’t agree with or that people find offensive, troubling, or opposite to the dominant views,” File said.

He also believes that in many cases, it’s less about the law. “[The presidential administration] can set a landscape and a tone, as the campaign did, that is either accepting of ideas … that are themselves not necessarily censorship and aren’t necessarily the government censoring the people’s speech, but that make it so people don’t feel comfortable speaking up,” he said. “So if you’re an artist

Department of Music, shares the a similar sentiment.

“I think now is the time to make art, honestly. Some of the most repressive times have produced some really interesting and completely different art.”

Here, she references the birth of a particularly unique and novel art form in the late 80s and early 90s: hip-hop.

This new genre was bigger than just catharsis. It was also “a direct reaction to the Reagan administration … [and] how the urban areas and cities were left behind.”

“I think that’s a fundamental and important part of art making, to address your particular circumstances but also

“Some of the most repressive

times have produced some really interesting and completely different art,” who’s a person of color, a Native American, a Muslim, or even for that matter a woman, you may feel less comfortable talking and speaking up … not because there’s any explicit legal ban on you doing so but because you feel like there’s a stronger social backlash.”

The hateful rhetoric seen throughout Trump’s presidential campaign is already cultivating this kind of atmosphere, with CNN reporting several hate crimes post-election.

To Cullen Wegman, a second year graduate student at the UNR’s Fine Arts program and a self-proclaimed political artist, art is the weapon to fight back.

“I think that art is a tool that will help those [minority] communities to find one another and find solidarity and strengthen the resistance,” Wegman said. “Trump is never going to listen to anybody who thinks differently from Trump. But, if you find enough other people who will listen to you because they’re genuinely interested in what you have to say, that’s where their art becomes a very powerful tool.”

Dr. Julianne Lindberg, Assistant Professor of Musicology at UNR’s INSIGHT 24

speak to the powers that beat,” Dr. Lindberg said.

In a time where most people see history repeating a very grim part of itself, she believes this is absolutely the time to continue making art, not stop it.

“There’s different reasons to do it,” Dr. Lindberg said. “Part of it is to express yourself, to have your voice be heard. Some other reasons are because art, depending on the context, heals and speaks to communities in larger ways, not just simply looking at the facts of whatever repressive political climate that you’re in.”

Art is here to stay, then, and artists are definitely finding a lot to say as President Trump’s administration pushes onward. Who knows what can come out of it in the next four years?

Weird times call for weirder measures.

“I think there is a prevailing view that art should be there to please and to entertain,” Dr. Lindberg said. “I think there needs to be more discomfort and analyzing why you feel uncomfortable. Ultimately, art is about expression of individuals, of groups, of societies. Listening is always better than not.”

INSIGHT Photo by25Jana Sayson

LOCAL BUSINESS REVIEWS Words by Katherine Larsen Designed by Nicole Skarlatos Photos by Even Muth

W

hat started in a small garage at 32 Cheney Street seven years ago has now become a dominating coffee culture at 727 Riverside Drive. This family-owned business—Hub Coffee Roasters, aka “The Hub”—provides knowledgeable and fantastic staff within a cozy, brick-covered atmosphere.

Originally, The Hub only had what I refer to as a “coffee side” (even though tea and hot chocolate is available), but they have now expanded to take up two spaces, with a ‘slow bar’ that includes a beautiful variety of teas, crisp décor, and a succulent to join your homework or meeting adventures. What’s a slow bar? Baristas tell me it’s the side to go to if you want to find specialty drinks, get educated on The Hub’s products and techniques, or simply sit and relax as more seating is available.

Each bean is roasted to perfection at their current roastery off of Evans Ave. They specialize on medium roasts, making sure each has the proper color and oil, to make your pour perfection.

If that wasn’t enticing enough, their location is right across the street from our Truckee River and, rain or shine, you have a beautiful view from the large windows of what is now a thriving river. (Thank you Mother Nature.)

You may recognize the name from their newest location by the University of Nevada, Reno. Snuggled into a two-story building on Virginia Street, you have another choice in caffeine before dashing to class or to finish up on that last-minute essay you forgot about.

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Photos by Evan Muth

Photo by Kellie Sasso

Words by Katherine Larsen Design by Nicole Skarlatos

L

ocal and unique, the Coffee Bar on Mt. Rose Street provides anything from lavender lattes to wine, soups to gluten-free donuts, and all in between. Coffee Bar uses local farms’ produce and a specialty-grade coffee to make your dining experience one for the books. Every item that touches your lips is carefully thought out and crafted by the

baristas and cooks, all made with you in mind. Consider trying a different drink every time you visit!

A collage of words hide beneath your work and cups, so look carefully! Perhaps you will learn something new. Different paintings canvas their brick walls on a regular basis, but their mosaic lion stays above coffee cups attached to a wall, often with hidden notes inside. There are many tables available, inside and out, but plan your visit with care! This place can fill up quick. With a small parking lot

on the side or residential parking, you may need to make a short trek during their busier hours. Worth it though? Absolutely. If all the small tables are filled, make some new friends at the wooden community tables, it’s okay to talk to each other. You can do this.

You never know what you will find in the café, but two things are for sure, their drinks will always leave you craving more and soon enough, you’ll be a regular like the rest of us.

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Book Reviews Words by Crystal Pulido-Lugo During the school year, unless you're an admirable bookworm, you rarely have time to read. Between classes, exams, excruciating papers, and all that required reading, it’s a surprise you have time to sneak in a good lunch. The great news is that summer

is near and so is an open schedule!

It’s time to unwind and indulge, so allow me to introduce you to two personal favorites that will accompany you on those lonesome, boring summer days.

Just Kids Patti Smith

T

here comes a time in your life when you come across something that shapes you.

Patti Smith’s memoir was that special something for me. A singer-songwriter, author, poet, and visual artist, Smith was part of the punk rock movement of the 1970s.

But before anyone knew her name, she was a starving artist in New

York with her best friend, Robert Mapplethorpe, by her side. With her honeyed words, Smith fills the pages and invites us into the world she shared with Mapplethorpe as artists, friends, and lovers. If you enjoy a lovely story set in the ‘60s/‘70s and you're hunting for something that will touch your soul, this is the book to immerse in.

Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon

S

teal Like an Artist took me about an hour to read, but left me motivated for a lifetime.

Austin Kleon, artist and writer, shares his tips on getting inspired and creating. Kleon advises readers on how to go out and find inspiration, create their own inspiration “family tree”, dissect from other’s work to create something original, and well, how to steal like an artist. Kleon’s tips are perfect for

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those who wish to finally write that book, paint that painting, record that song, or simply create. Hey! Maybe you can sneak this book in-between your current schedule. This book is full of tips, personal stories, and quotes from well-known creators—a total treat! Some advice: keep a highlighter in hand or notepad and pen around. You’ll want to remember Kleon’s words throughout your journey as a creator.

INSIGHT Photo by31Kellie Sasso

Words by Janessa Holman Designed by Nicole Skarlatos

How do you accomplish this? Well, I am glad you asked! Here are three ow many of us have felt the simple solutions to rid yourself of inexorable pull of the new, all your closet nightmares and make the exciting...the expensive? room for your new, snazzy suits and Everything costs money business wear.

Photos by Kellie Sasso

H

Welcome to The Purge.

and although we may actually need new clothing for the adult world (let’s face it, leggings and Sperrys are not going to cut it in the office), is it really justified if we cannot even squeeze another sock into our closets?

The simple answer is no. It is wasteful, irresponsible, and quite frankly a bit ridiculous. Why do we buy more things when we already have plenty of the exact same thing? However, having finally landed a job outside of the food industry (an office job, where did my youth go?), I realized that my favorite Tardis skirt and trusted combat boots are not going to work in the professional world. I actually need new clothes, for once. But, how could I get them without being “wasteful” and “irresponsible”? Luckily, I found a solution.

It is time… for the first annual Spring 2017 Purge (*cue sinister laugh*).

But, seriously, part of growing up is letting go, and that includes those favorite jeans that have been worn to shreds, or that super cute Little Black Dress that literally matches with everything and makes your— No. All of it. Gone.

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1. Give it to Goodwill (or Savers).

This seems like an obvious solution, but you would be surprised by how few people actually carry out this advice. That “giveaway” basket or bag collects YEARS worth of clutter before finally being donated, or trashed. Google the nearest Goodwill drop-off (there are tons!) and get that stuff out of your closet and to someone who needs it more than you. Savers will even take stained and/or torn items, and recycle them into rags and clothing. They even have a program to send them to support developing countries. It’s a win for everyone! *Added incentive: Savers will give you a donation discount punch card!

"part of growing up is letting go."

2. Sell it to Plato’s Closet, or a consignment store.

If you are really in a tough spot financially, then selling, or exchanging your clothing might be your best bet. There are plenty of local spots like Plato’s Closet, Clothes Mentor Reno, and Labels Consignment Boutique that would love to buy your gently used, stylish fashion. Swap, buy, and sell to your heart’s content!

3. Make your own wardrobe.

This one sounds intimidating, but believe me, one Star Wars infinity scarf later, I was hooked on my sewing machine. YouTube is truly one of God’s gifts to mankind and it is blessedly easy to find tutorials on how to make anything and everything. Plus, in the long run, it is cheaper! You can recycle and/or upcycle to your heart’s desire, taking anything from pillowcases to jeans and creating something worthwhile.

A friend of mine actually just made a new motorcycle seat out of a pair of old jeans, and it worked wonders for his wallet!

“Purging” your closet is not only good for you, but good for the environment, local businesses, and everyone around you! Be a part of sustainable fashion today, and save your wallet and planet, one swap at a time.

Live long and prosper fashionably, my friends!

35 INSIGHT

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37 INSIGHT

Photo by Kellie Sasso

FORD CORL EXPOSÉ Words by Cameron Beck Design by Nicole Skarlatos Photos By Kellie Sasso

F

ord has really gone off the goddamn deep end now! What was he thinking?” reads the description on the Bandcamp page of local Reno musician Ford Corl’s latest release, ‘Mr. Acid Head’. Over the past decade, Corl has released five solo records—all of which deviate from each other in both musical sound and concept.

INSIGHT 38

With a catalog as dense and spanning as Corl’s, it’d be easy to become immersed past the point of distinction. Yet Corl’s fluidity between genres finds his catalog shifting from fuzzy indie rock, to ambient soundscapes, to feel-good indie pop, with some of his releases combining all of the above.

On his fifth record, ‘Mr. Acid Head’, Corl breaks ground on territories he’s not yet explored— a feat for a songwriter with four eclectic solo records. ‘Mr. Acid Head’ departs from his psychedelic and alternative rock leanings, incorporating interludes between every track.

The record is a concept album; one that tells a story of a ghost named ‘Mr. Acid Head’—a name he came up with one morning while enjoying his morning coffee. His aspiration for the record was to create one that was more enjoyable as a cohesive whole rather than picked apart by releasing singles. “I’ve always been more fascinated with full albums that would flow so seamlessly from the first track to the last,” states Corl.

Corl has been making his own music since age 11, but it wasn’t until college that Corl began taking recording his music seriously.

download the app off the apple and andriod store

"His ambition pushed him to constantly reach for better and hone his craft."

After a move to Reno from Tucson and an upgrade in studio equipment, he put out his first solo record ‘The Robot Detective’ in 2007.

Corl says “as the years passed I continued to upgrade my equipment and microphones, all the while continuing to experiment with writing and recording more complex music.”

His ambition pushed him to constantly reach for better and hone his craft. What further refines Corl’s music is the incorporation of cinematographic elements into his music. On top of recording and releasing solo albums, Corl’s passion also lies within cinematography. Along with making his own feature films, he is the co-creator of the Reno Sessions, a live performance video series hosted on www.therenosessions.com “The Reno Sessions was something I came up with along with my friend David Ware. We, along with audio master Shawn Sariti, create live performance videos for local bands”, he says. “In many ways, it’s the perfect combination of my passions; filmmaking and music production.”

His work with the Reno Sessions landed him and his co-creators a ‘Best Arts and Entertainment Program’ award at the 2014 Emmys. Since then, the Reno Sessions continues to grow and progress as a springboard for local musicians.

His fascination with the symbiotic relationship between music and film is most evident on ‘Mr. Acid Head’. As the title might sugest, it’s his most experimental work to date.

He cites Stanley Kubrick and P.T. Anderson as inspiration on the filmmaking front; “Surreal, psychedelic, and just plain weird.

That's how I like my films.”

For the conceivable future, Corl has his stake planted in the Biggest Little City. Corl mentions putting together a full band for live performances as a goal for 2017.

“I like Reno because it’s constantly changing. When I first moved here I was certain I wasn't going to stay. As the years passed, Reno kept changing and I kept falling in love with it. Eventually I just said, ‘Alright I'm staying and seeing what direction this crazy town takes. I still love it.’ This town has a scene that I root for. I'm constantly thinking about ways to be a bigger part of it.”

Later on in the description for Mr. Acid Head on his Bandcamp, it reads “He's made a lot of albums over the past 10 years and he has a tendency to experiment and skip around to different genres.

Perhaps this is just a weird phase he's in.”

Perhaps, but the Reno music scene can only hope it’s just more than a phase.

39 INSIGHT

Photo courtesy of Pexels Words by Ana Hurt Design by Nicole Skarlatos

B

itch better have my money!

Y'all should know me well enough. Bitch better have my money! Please don't call me on my bluff,” I belt out, wondering if the people I’m passing on I-80 are getting a kick out of my half-assed Rihanna impression. At least my oversized sunglasses are covering most of my face, on the off chance I pass another Nevada student heading home for winter break.

My ice-blond hair is pulled into a ponytail under a baseball cap to further complete the disguise. I’m like Leo DiCaprio, hiding from the paparazzi and my adoring fans.

“Pay me what you owe me. Ballin' bigger than LeBron. Bitch, give me your money. Who y'all think y'all frontin' on?”

My voice may be cracking, but I’m really feeling myself. The only other time I’ll sing like this is drunk, or when I know for sure that no one can hear me. Maybe it’s the adrenaline of racing through the turns in the road, or the excitement of Tara finally speaking to me, but for some reason I can’t help but sing my heart out.

Something about the road, especially at the beginning of a long drive, is so freeing.

You’re only responsible for yourself; you INSIGHT 42

have complete control. You can choose when and where to stop, how fast to drive, what to listen to. You could make a sharp turn and throw your car through the guardrail into the ditch below, if you really wanted to.

The Sierras, outlined by the remains of last week’s snowstorm, are rushing towards me, cutting sharply through the blue sky. I’m passing Cabela’s and Boomtown, racing towards California.

I can’t wait to get back; to see my mom, my dad, my sister, my dog. The little red Corolla in front of me is only going five miles per hour over the speed limit in the fast lane. I sigh and step on the gas to pass them. I don’t plan on postponing my homecoming by another second, if I can help it. I’ve got to see Tara. Plus, when I drive somewhere far, I like to play a game with myself, where I try to beat the GPS-estimated arrival time by a good ten minutes or more.

As I begin to pass, the Corolla driver notices me and speeds up, shortening the distance I have to pass. There’s a huge 18-wheeler Budweiser truck in front of me, and I’m gaining on it—fast—so I stomp on the gas and swerve in front of the car, missing the back of the big-rig by less than a foot. The reckless asshole honks at me, but before long they’ve disappeared from my rearview.

I always get myself into things like that,

but God or the universe must be looking out for me, because for some reason I always end up okay. Scared, but okay.

Last year, I was driving home for Thanksgiving in a snowstorm, and I nearly wrecked my little orange Subaru—Frida.

It was my first time driving in the snow, and despite having thoroughly prepared myself with a quick Google search and a call to my dad, the expert driver, I still managed to forget to slow down to less than thirty-five miles per hour.

I couldn’t even see the outline of the mountains, the air around me was thick with white, like the inside of a terrifying snow globe. I half expected a Yeti to jump out in front of me. I had left my music off to focus, so I could only hear the sound of the wind rushing around my car and the ice crunching underneath my tires.

Squinting through the blizzard, I saw a line of brake lights up ahead, and began to slowly tap on the brakes to avoid skidding.

But I came up to the stopped traffic sooner than I had thought I would, and I had to press down on my brake pedal, hard. Underneath me, the wheels lost their grip on the road, sliding over the ice.

I was heading straight for the tan suburban in front of me, with no control.

At the last minute I swerved, slipping through the middle of the two lines of cars and in between the two cars in the next lane over. I finally reached a

stop on the shoulder, shaking. Later, my recounting of the accident would result in a sympathetic look from my mom and a twenty-minute lecture from my dad. They always had their own specific ways of showing concern.

Despite having to be alone for the close calls, these drives are still a lot better than the strained family road trips I used to endure. Every year or so, my parents would find some reason for us to make a five-plus-hour drive, and every time my parents would be tearing each other apart before we even started the car.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but being trapped in a car with them for a long time tends to be a little more than I can handle. Dad will always drive way too fast, cutting it close at least once every time and making us all carsick (a trait I clearly inherited).

Mom will always find something to complain about, like where we’re going or the place Dad and Tara want to stop at for lunch (a trait I also inherited. I’m not picky, but I can’t stand any fast food other than In-N-Out). She gave up on complaining about Dad’s driving, though. And Tara, well, let’s just say I’m glad she always kept her headphones in to avoid fighting with Dad, blasting rap or hip-hop at a level that doesn’t even seem comfortable to me.

Goosebumps are slowly forming on my bare forearms despite the sun beating down on the road, so I turn up the heat in my car a couple notches to warm up. That seems to help a little. Back to my family.

One trip in particular turned out really bad. The summer before my senior year, my parents decided that it would be a good idea to make the eleven-hour drive to the Grand Canyon, since they wanted Tara and I to see it and to have one last family trip before I had to leave for college.

So, from the start, there was sadness and desperation hanging over the whole thing.

Mom nearly cried about ten times, Tara kept pointing out the things she would have to deal with alone once I left, and Dad was straining himself to make sure we

all had a good time, trying to show how much he cared since he could never quite say it himself.

In the car, dad was doing his thing, swerving around, revving the engine, flipping people off when they did something he thought was wrong. Mom tried to focus on her book, but after a few hours she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Brian, could you stop antagonizing people? I actually want us to make it there in one piece, believe it or not.” She was practically gritting her teeth.

Tara and I looked at each other.

Somehow, my mom’s voice had reached

again, I just shrugged sympathetically and went back to reading.

And so we continued to go see that huge hole in the earth. It was pretty incredible, and of course there were a lot of nice moments on that trip, but the thing I remember most is that snap. I can remember all of his snaps, actually, no matter how hard I try to forget.

But despite how scary he could be, I stopped being afraid of him when I figured out that all I had to do was act sweet around him, feign respect, and never argue or insult his intelligence. Once I did that, I could do what I wanted without suspicion, and he would keep treating me like his perfect little angel.

Like most r e s t l e s s teenagers, I would lie about where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with constantly, knowing exactly how to avoid getting caught. If I told my parents I was with someone they didn’t know well, I could go see one of the twenty-somethings that helped boost my low self esteem. If I told them my friends and I were having a sleepover, I could get as drunk or high as I wanted and not worry about having to come home soon after.

Half of me was this depraved, careless person looking for happiness and attention in the wrong places, and the other half was a good student and daughter, working hard to get into college and get my own life. I couldn’t wait to get away from where I grew up, away from all of the people I had fucked or fucked over that I couldn’t face anymore. It seemed like, with every relationship I broke, the town got smaller.

The one relationship I never thought I could break, though, was with my family.

No matter how awful I was, I didn’t think I could be awful enough to make any of my own relatives hate me. But I guess I was wrong about that.

There’s the damn goosebumps again.

My air conditioning is on a dial,

"I could only hear the sound of the wind rushing around my car and the ice crunching underneath my tires." through her music, and she took out one of her earbuds.

“Here we go,” Tara said, clearly under her breath.

“You think I don’t know what I’m doing?” Dad growled.

“That’s not what I said. I just want you to

"We all knew we had to pick our battles with him, and that insulting his intelligence was the easiest way to piss him off." consider everyone else in the car for once.

Tara and Jo are practically green right now; you’re making everyone sick.”

“I’m not the one who’s crashed two cars.

You can tell me how to drive when you haven’t had an accident in ten years.” His tone was hard, definitive; it was clear they were done arguing.

And like that, she went silent. We all knew we had to pick our battles with him, and that insulting his intelligence was the easiest way to piss him off. Tara shot me an angry look, as if to say, “Look what you’re leaving me with.” Not knowing this would be the best we could ever communicate

43 INSIGHT

with half cold and half warm settings.

It’s almost at the halfway point of the dial, so I turn it a couple notches past halfway.

That should work. So—back to the horrible thing I did.

My sister was a junior in high school while I was a senior, but she’d always been a lot better at making friends than me. Tara played volleyball, basketball, and soccer, and her boyfriend, Carlos, a senior, played football. Needless to say, she was popular.

I, on the other hand, had managed to find the seven most negative people in my class to spend all of my time talking shit, getting drunk, and doing drugs with.

Somehow, though, Carlos and I crossed paths. I can’t really remember now, but we had some class together. Spanish, I think.

Yeah, Spanish. Anyway, we knew each other through Tara, so we were friendly towards each other, and we exchanged numbers in case either of us needed help on the homework.

Up until it happened, I didn’t for one second think that I would be capable of hurting my sister the way that I did. I loved her like crazy, and I considered her one of my best friends since we were so close in age. With the same ice-blonde long hair and tan skin, we were practically twins. I was dating someone at the time, too—but only casually. She was a senior at the rival high school, with dark hair and a sweet face, and we had met through mutual friends. I had cheated on a few people before, but I hadn’t planned on cheating on her.

Then it happened. I was at a small party one of my friends was throwing while his parents were out of town, and I drank and smoked way too much, way too fast. Tara didn’t come with me; she didn’t really

like any of my friends. The girl I was with wasn’t really into parties, so she wasn’t there, either. The night itself is almost completely faded in my memory now, but when I looked at my phone and talked to my friends the next day I was able to piece together what I did.

I texted Carlos, basically asking him to come to the party to “keep me company,” but to not tell Tara. I guess he hadn’t been too concerned about her, either, because he showed up shortly after without asking anything more than the address. He wasn’t there for more than five minutes before I led him upstairs to my friends’ room. About an hour later, he left, I came downstairs

I looked at Tara after she found out. I hardly recognized the person in the mirror.

When Tara found out, she was beyond livid. He told me the day after that he didn’t want to tell her, since it would probably be better for her to hear it for me. When I asked what he would do if I didn’t tell her, he told me we could just forget about it. But I couldn’t just forget about it. I might be a shitty person, but at least I’m open about how shitty I am—for the most part.

So I told her myself, in the car on the way to school. Since I was older, my parents had only gotten me a car, knowing that Tara and I could carpool until I left for college. Needless to say, this thing I did made driving to school for the last four months of the year pretty tense.

Right when I said it, explained what happened, and confirmed that no, I was not kidding, she lost it.

"What the fuck, Jo? How could you be so fucking selfish? I don’t care how messed up you were or what was going on in your head, there’s no reason good enough for you to go and do something like that. What were you thinking? Were you trying to— “ “I know. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Let me fucking finish!” She was yelling now. “You slept with my boyfriend! And I know we weren’t that serious, and I’m not naïve, I know he would have cheated on me eventually, but that’s not the point!

You’ve never cared about how I feel, you’ve always stomped all over me and you never once stop and think about how all of the stupid shit you do is going to affect anyone else! How selfish can you be?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I’m sorry,” I choked out, knowing now that my hope of her forgiving me was just that, a hope.

"It seemed like, with every relationship I broke, the town got smaller."

INSIGHT 44

to drink some more, and passed out on the couch shortly after. I woke up the next morning with a piece of my hair sticking to my cheek, feeling sick to my stomach and vaguely guilty before I realized the extent of what I had done.

After vomiting, I stood in the pale blue bathroom, staring at myself in the dirty mirror. It was summer, so I had on a lowcut black tank top with thin straps and a pair of light-wash cutoff shorts. There’s a little spot of vomit on my shirt, but I didn’t bother to try cleaning it off. My skin was sticky with sweat, and my face oily and bare, with most of my makeup faded off.

Gripping the cold tile countertop, I closed my eyes and dropped my head. Looking up at myself, I saw lifeless, cold eyes and a harsh face, close to what I would see when

Photo by Andrea Wilkinson Judging by her voice and the look on her face, there was no coming back from this. I really, really fucked up.

So I left home, six months later. Those last six months were the most painful ones I’ve been through in all twenty years of my life. Tara and I, who used to go out to eat, talk, shop, and work out together all the time, couldn’t even look at each other, much less talk to one another. I had lost one of my best friends, and it made me constantly anxious and sick. When I asked my friends what I should do, they were stumped.

“I don’t know, Jo, what you did was pretty bad,” Trevor said, shaking his head.

Everyone else was quiet. They were some of the shittiest people I knew, but even they could tell it was beyond bad.

So I retreated into solitude. I focused on school, took a break from dating, and only saw my friends in between classes. I talked to my mom more often since I no longer had Tara, and she knew that I was sad about something but didn’t ask what after I told her I didn’t want to talk about it. I spent a lot of time writing. I went on hour-long runs five or more times a week.

Luckily, Tara felt no need to involve our parents in the drama, so at least they didn’t hate me. I moved into the dorms as early as possible, and decided I would try to use the next four years to become as good a person as possible.

So far, that’s been working out pretty well. I made some genuinely nice friends my first year, and I’ve been doing well in all of my classes so far. I cut my waist-length hair to my shoulders, and continued with running to keep myself sane. Things with Tara haven’t improved much, until today. I called her as I drove out of the parking lot, and she actually picked up the phone.

“Yes?” At first I was startled, and since I hadn’t thought she was going to pick up I hadn’t even thought about what to say. I was trying to get out a simple “hello” but my

voice was stuck.

“What do you want, Jo?” My eyes welled up, and I managed a low, “I’m on my way home.”

“Okay.”

“I’m excited to see you.”

“Yeah.”

“Will I see you?”

“Sure, we can go to John’s after dinner.”

“Thank you,” I clumsily blurted out as my music started to play again. She had already hung up.

Hopefully, she’ll stick to her decision to talk to me this time, and I can finally fix things. It has been three years, after all.

How long can someone hold a grudge?

I think my heater is broken, because I’m practically frozen right now. My car says it’s seventy degrees out, and the sun is beating down on the Sacramento river to the right of me. But for some reason, I’m so cold that my joints are stiff. I lean down to take a closer look at the heat settings, accidentally turning the wheel to the right as I do. I feel my tires scrape the gravel, but suddenly the car jerks back onto the center of the lane as if it was pushed.

Startled, I sit up, looking around me to see if anyone saw that. The road is empty, which is weird for this time on a Friday.

Actually, now that I think about it, there should be way more traffic than this.

And how long have I been driving? I grab my phone to check the GPS, and it says there’s three hours left until I reach my destination. Usually, I would have only an hour left from here.

Weird, I think. For some reason, I really can’t estimate how long it’s been since I left Reno. Bitch Better Have My Money starts playing again, and I realize that this is probably the tenth time I’ve heard it since I started Pandora, which seems a little much.

But that doesn’t explain the lack of traffic here, past Sacramento. And I’ve been on this road for a lot longer than I should have been, especially since the

speedometer says I’m going eighty miles per hour. I look as far ahead as possible, and I see the big curve in the road before the bridge. It doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. I press down on the gas all the way, until it touches the floor, and my speed stays the same. I hit the brake, hard, and nothing happens.

I start panicking; my cold breath shortens. This doesn’t make any sense.

I turn the wheel, hard, to see if that will change anything. It doesn’t. My car stays straight forward, at the same speed, no matter what I do. I try the door, and it’s stuck shut.

What is happening?

I change my car radio from Pandora to AM, hoping to hear some traffic news that will explain where all the other cars are.

Expect considerable traffic this evening.

A fatal accident involving a commercial vehicle occurred on I-80 around 2 p.m. this afternoon, just before the California border.

The commercial driver was not harmed, but there has been report of a fatality.

My phone rings and I grab my phone to answer it. It’s Tara. Her voice comes out over the car speakers, and I can hear stress in her voice.

“Jo? Where are you? It’s been six hours since you left!”

“I’m almost at the bridge! But it’s taking a long time…”

“Jo? Why aren’t you saying anything?

Hello? Hello??”

I look at my phone, and the call isn’t on mute. I turn off Bluetooth to talk directly into the phone, but she still can’t hear me.

“Jo what’s going on?” She sounds scared, and I can hear a quiver in her voice. “We’re all really worried, please just come home. I want to see you.”

“I’m here, I’m here, I’ll be home soon,” I cry. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I love you Tara.”

“I love you Jo, please come home.”

45 INSIGHT

Striking Green in the

CANNABIS Boom

Words by Caroline Illustration by Andrea Heerdt Photos by Jarrette Werk

I

n a small store tucked discreetly behind a shopping center in Sun Valley, Nev., 29-year-old store manager Greg Pulsipher chats with a returning customer. Outside, the pounding rain is repeatedly hitting the black bars that encase the store. The rain outside competes with the sound of energetic rock music from overhead speakers as Greg asks the older woman about her day. She paces around an oak table neatly lined with rows of glass jars filled with marijuana, occasionally picking up a jar and smelling its contents before she makes her final decision: White Sangria. Greg compliments her choice, it’s his favorite strain as well. She exits the locked room and re-enters the reception area, where an employee will pass her a three-ounce jar of marijuana through a bullet-proof glass window.

Every customer at Reef Dispensaries

undergoes the same orderly process to purchase medical marijuana. He or she will first ring the bell front door and wait for an employee to buzz them in. If the customer is new to the dispensary he or she will fill out a brief application and show proof of recommendation and their medical marijuana card. Nevada is the only state that allows out-of-state cardholders to purchase medical marijuana, therefore, the customer may be a cardholder from any state that has

before returning back out to the reception area. The employee then goes to the storage room behind another locked door and gets the product the customer chose. The final interaction occurs with bullet-proof glass in between the employee and customer, as the customer pays in cash—the only accepted payment—and heads on their way. Each medical marijuana cardholder may purchase a maximum of 70 grams every two weeks, to put that in perspective, about 3 grams is an eighth, which is the typical amount sold per visit.

“I’ve got all walks of life coming in here,” Greg says. “Some people come in and you know that they probably do not need to be using. For every one person using recreationally, there’s one person who is using marijuana for a legitimate reason.” However, the dishonest aspect of the industry is okay for Greg because almost daily he will hear a story from someone about how medical marijuana has positively impacted their lives. “People with chronic pain,

"Nevada is the only state that

allows-out-of state cardholders to purchase medical marijuana."

INSIGHT 48

legalized medical marijuana. After signing in, an employee of the dispensary will call the customer back into the locked room that houses all of the products: from edibles, to vape oils, to “the flower,” as Greg would say. The customer will select a product and wait for the employee to punch all of their information into the system

or people previously addicted to opiates come in here and find comfort in a manageable treatment.”

Reef Dispensaries in Sun Valley is one of the five franchise locations in Nevada and Arizona. The chain owner is taking advantage of the booming cannabis industry in Nevada, especially in light of the newly passed ballot initiative which legalized recreational marijuana throughout the state. As soon as June, Reef Dispensaries may be one of the 20 designated recreational dispensaries in Northern Nevada.

But for now, Reef Dispensaries is one of 10 different medical dispensaries that has arrived Reno-Sparks area over the past two years. Medical marijuana has been legalized in the state of Nevada since 2001, however, Silver State Relief was the first medicinal marijuana store to open its doors back in 2015. Since then, dispensaries including Kanna, Mynt, Blüm, and Reef have opened in rapid succession. “It should not take too long to get recreational dispensaries up and running in Nevada, because we’ve had a long history with regulating ‘taboo’ things, like prostitution and gambling,” says Greg. And while it took the state 14 years to license the first medical marijuana dispensary, Nevada made sure that there were good practices in place for when the substance did go recreational. “All 10 of the medical dispensaries will likely be ‘grandfathered’ into becoming recreational dispensaries, and then 10 more licenses may become available,” says Greg.

Northwestern Nevada is allowed 20 dispensaries, while the Las Vegas area is allowed 80 dispensaries, according to Greg. Nevada also requires marijuana to undergo stringent testing. The majority of the “flower” sold at Reef is a product of the company, while the edibles and vaporizing oils are from several different companies that most stores carry.

The Sun Valley location of Reef

Dispensaries is only three months old, and the newness is immediately apparent. The decorations are oceanthemed yet sparse, the new white paint in the reception room is a stark contrast from the basic black chairs that line the walls, and the back office that Greg shares with his staff is empty, given a couple notebooks and lunch bags. But soon enough this location will look like the Sparks and Las Vegas locations, which are decorated in a style that mirrors high-end boutiques.

The director of Reef Dispensaries is coming to “revamp” the location by the end of February, giving it the look and feel of the other locations.

Greg jumped at the opportunity to

"People previously addicted to opiates come in here and find comfort in a manageable treatment."

work at Reef Dispensaries in late July, 2016. He saw a post on Instagram about a team member job opening and applied immediately. He had been trying to find a job that suited him for some time. During the summer of 2016, Greg went from managing a summer day-camp, to driving a tow truck for an insurance company, to working at Reef Dispensaries. He also has experience selling wine at a local wine store. While he seems to be a jack-ofall-trades, Greg has a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nevada, Reno. For a short amount of time, he worked as a P.E. teacher at a public elementary school. However, after 10 years of managing an aftercare and summer camp program, he lost interest in teaching. Maybe elementary 49 INSIGHT

education is something he will go back to, but for now, he enjoys educating his customers on the right way to use marijuana. Greg worked at the Sparks location on Glendale Avenue for three months before being promoted to manager and being tasked with opening the new franchise location in Sun Valley. In August, Greg worked 14 hours a day for weeks straight—he only got one day off.

Reef Dispensaries hopes to begin selling recreational marijuana by the beginning of the summer. Reef Dispensaries is the only dispensary in Northern Nevada without the colors green or black in the logo, and the brand message is straightforward: Reef Dispensaries is simply a marijuana dispensary. While Greg looks forward to having an increase in business, he feels uneasy about the new source of income.

“I don't know how I feel about this issue. It kind of seems contradictory as a society to discourage people from smoking tobacco, while saying it’s okay to smoke cannabis,” says Greg.

“We don’t really know what kind of health effects smoking cannabis could have in twenty years.” Although Greg is excited about being able to “upsell” customers once the store goes

completely recreational.

“When a medical user comes in here, they know what amount of money they have and they know what they want to buy. Medical users have a purpose for buying marijuana, while recreational users are looking for a good time, and we can make them pay more money than they need to for that good time.” Greg’s wife Kari is a pharmacist, and he shared that her opinion of the cannabis industry matches his. She agrees that medicinal marijuana has

marijuana card. In California, it costs about half that. Nevada is unique in that the state allows any medical marijuana cardholder to purchase marijuana at a dispensary People interested in getting a card can easily go to California and get an inexpensive one.

“Nevada is more difficult in giving out medical marijuana cards,” Greg shares. “I first went to California to get mine, but then I came back and got my Nevada one to avoid the risk of being pulled over and heavily questioned.”

Side-by-side, Greg’s driver’s license and his medical marijuana card are identical.

Greg’s experience in management and the patience he learned from working with children has paid off in this new career path. The only curveball for him has been doing inventory of all the diverse products.

But the environment is laidback and friendly, “These guys remind me of everyone from my aftercare days.

Everyone is younger than 25, and we all get along.” In the background, Greg’s coworker Nina jokingly calls him a bad manager. Greg whips his head around and flips her off, just before reaching to hold the door open for an incoming customer.

"We don’t really know what kind

of health effects smoking cannabis could have in twenty years."

INSIGHT 50

its benefits to people using it correctly. “Her moral compass is in the same place as mine. We just don’t know if the recreational ‘good’ outweighs the potential harm,” says Greg.

Not knowing the potential harm of marijuana did not stop Greg from getting his own medical card. “If I’m selling it, I might as well be using it, right?” Greg joked with his staff. They laughed and agreed—most of them had a medical card, too. In Nevada it costs around $250 to $300 to get a medical

You hold in your hands (or on a table or bed or some sort of sufficiently flat surface) the latest iteration of INSIGHT Magazine.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed it; not only is this issue the result of a tremendous amount of hard work, but also a representation of a student publication over a decade in the works (with origins as the Artemisia, the former yearbook of UNR dating back to the 1800’s).

We are extremely proud that, for the past three years in a row, INSIGHT has had the honor of placing in the top five at Associated Collegiate Press’s Conference in their Best in Show category.

Thank you for supporting us. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. If you’re interested in getting involved with us, send an email saying so to editor@insightunr.com.

Thank you, -Editor-in-Chief

51 INSIGHT

This publication is made possible by the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno