Eric's Trip

Faddy Sabra works at his job on campus

Julian Rhodes, a 20-year-old journalism major, has skimmed through countless ads this year with hopes of finding a job. Unfortunately for Rhodes and many other students, landing a job is a lot more difficult than it has been in the past.

Job employment has been in a decrease this past year in Nevada because of the economic struggles that our country is facing.  Many Nevadans are having a tough time finding jobs in the area that will provide a steady income for themselves and their families.

“It has definitely been harder this past year,” Rhodes, said.  “I have less money for school, my living situation, and I have no money to spend on myself.  I feel like I just go to class and then just sit around.  People keep telling me that the economy will turn around but I do not see that happening any time soon.”

It has been reported that Nevada’s unemployment rate has reached an all time high for the state with 13.2 % of its inhabitants out of work. With this staggering unemployment rate, students are having an even harder time landing jobs than anyone else.

Since there are fewer jobs on the market, the competition of landing a job has been fierce.  More people with degree’s are taking jobs that would normally go to a younger crowd, such as high school and college students.  These jobs include: fast food restaurants, mall jobs, and movie theaters.

“It is kind of embarrassing to be working at the theaters,” Allen Johnston, 34 said.  “I have to work with a whole bunch of college kids that don’t know anything of the real world.  They think they have it hard, but they still have their parents for help.  I see them complain about their life, and then the next minute I see them on their iPhones.”

The student unemployment is affecting many aspects of the college student.  Many students need to work in order to pay for their classes or living expenses, but many cannot find work.  This means that students will either have to take out loans, or take fewer classes.

“I hate the idea of taking out loans, especially in my first year of college, Vanessa Garcia, an 18-year-old English major said.  “I mean that’s like starting off my college career already in the hole.  How can I enjoy my college experience when I already know that the day I graduate, I have all of this money to pay back.”

There are many programs that try to help students land a job.  The University of Nevada, Reno has an online program called Career Navigator that students can go on and search job openings.  Career Navigator posts jobs that are available on-campus, and as well as jobs that are in the Reno-Sparks area.  The best thing about Career Navigator is that the jobs they offer are for students only.

“I feel like we are making a difference with students finding work, Stephanie Cordova, a 22-year-old math major who works for Career Navigator said.  “There are not many places that are strictly open for college students, so the fact that we are open gives them a better chance than finding a job on their own.  Finding a job is hard, but not impossible.”

There are also other outlets for job hunting such as Craigslist and other online employment sites.  These websites however, are open to the public and not strictly for college students.  Employers will usually hire someone with a degree, opposed to someone without one.  People are having harder times using their degree’s and cannot land jobs that they went to school for.

Students who are lucky enough to land jobs say that they feel fortunate.  “I am very thankful for my job, Faddy Sabra, a 20-year-old Engineering major said.  I am gaining a lot of experience that will hopefully benefit me in my future career.  It’s also nice to be able to have a little bit of money in my pocket.”

Video and audio interviews:

“Its not about helping banks, its about helping people,” Obama said.  “Slowly but surely, our economy will recover.”  Obama plans to submit a budget to congress.  He calls this budget a “blueprint” to helping our country with our ecomonic problems.  Obama asked the Congress for quick legislation for his stimulus pacakge.  “The budget will foucus on three things,” Obama said.  “Energy, health care, and education.”

Obama said that the stimulus plan is just “the first step” to save our economy from its crisis.  “We need to fix the credit issue,” Obama said.  Obama stated that we as Americans still need to have trust in banks and investing in our economy.  Obama believes that there is not just one source to this problem, there are many.

Obama’s economic plan that will help or country get back on track is now a reality.  “Because of this plan 95 percent of Americans will see a tax cut,” Obama said.  This stimulus plan will also assist college students and their families to help them pay for college.  The plan will help create and save jobs and relieve familes with their taxes.

Obama’s message was quite clear today at his address to the congress.  “We will rebuild,” Obama said.  Obama was quite clear of the problems that led us to our economic woes and is determined to lead America out of this crisis.

Obama recieved a standing ovation at the start of his address to the Congress today at 6:15 p.m.  The first issue that Obama touched upon was the economic crisis.  “It is the source of sleepless nights,” Obama said.  “The impact of this recession is real. “

Jeffrey Scott, founder of Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetic

While working in one of his golf shops in Gainesville, FL, Jeffrey Scott never thought that he would have anything to do with bull riding.  But after meeting his wife and gaining new perspective, Scott decided on a new career path; magnetic jewelry.

Jeffrey Scott Dunmire, the co-founder of Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics now works as the official designer of the Professional Bull Riding belt buckles.  Belt buckets in the PBR are the prizes that you win after a event.   Scott also designs therapeutic magnetic bracelets which are said relieve pain in the wrist.

Scott’s designs every single belt buckle that Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics produce.  Not only does he design the belts, Scott is also in charge of all the advertising, marketing, and organization of all events that the company does.

Scott and his wife Rose founded Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics in 1998 in San Diego.  Scott first started selling the therapeutic braclets at covention centers and trade shows.

“I knew that there was a market in therapeutic jewelry so Rose and I decided to go for it,” Scott said.  “Selling the bracelets at those shows, I knew that we could make some money.  We were just trying to make a living.  I never thought that we would ever be as big as we are today.”

After the trade show circuit, people started to notice the quality of his product.  One of the admirers worked in the tennis and told Scott that he should try to sell his product at tennis tournaments.  The Scott’s decided to give it a try.

The company sales greatly increased once they started selling at the tennis tournaments.  Scott believed that their bracelets went well with the tennis lifestyle.  Scott was right and sales were never higher.  This was the turning point for Scott and the company.

It was chance that brought Scott to the PBR.  One customer of Scott’s was a bull rider named Luke Snyder that had pain in his wrists.  A friend of Snyder recommended Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics to help heal his pain.  Snyder bought a braclet and his pain was greatly relieved.

“It was pure chance that the rider came to us, “Rose Dunmire said.  “If it wasn’t for him, we definitely would not be making buckles for the PBR.  It just shows you that opportunities always present themselves when you least expect them to.”

Snyder introduced Scott to the PBR which eventually led to Scott new area of his company.  Scott started sponsoring bull riders at the PBR including Snyder.  The company would design custom belt buckles and bracelets for the riders.  Scott even started owning bulls that would go against the bull riders.

Scott’s bracelets and buckles impressed the PBR and in 2009, Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics became the official Belt Buckle of the PBR.  The company just finished designing the final belt buckle of the 2009 season of the PBR which was held in Las Vegas in early November.

Student musicians find a way to balance their love for music and their schooling

John Grindy wakes up every day at 7 a.m, gets ready for the day, and is out of his house by 7:45.  He then goes to class from 8 a.m til 2 p.m.  John then gets 30 minuets to himself, until its off to work. Grindy stays at work til 6 working his minimum wage job.  After his eventful day, Grindy gets to do what he loves, playing music.

Student musicians are becoming more common in Reno  now than ever before.  Students from high school to college are putting down their books and picking up guitars, drums, and mics.

“People are always talking about student athletes, and no one even mentions the student musicians,” Todd Watje, 19, an art major said.  “We as musicians work just as hard.  We have to practice just as much, we have to book shows, and perform live.  There are a lot of parallels between the two.”

The work of a student musician is that of much work. Countless hours of practicing go by every week.  It is not a rare feat to have a band practice 5 times a week.  Practicing is not the only time consuming part of the life of a musician.

Booking shows are an intricate part of being a musician.  The act of booking can be very stressful; there are many more bands than venues to play.  As a band, you must prove to the venues that you are marketable and have the talent to entertain an audience for a set amount of time.

“It is very hard sometimes being in college and playing music,” Grindy said.  “I have exams and homework due while working on new songs with my band.”  I know that school is important, but sometimes, I’d rather just rock out.  Music really helps as a way to release the stress of life and is a must for me every week.”

There are other parts of being a student musician that are not commonly thought of.  Advertising is a huge part of playing and booking shows.  Since student musicians are not signed to a music label, the students have to advertise themselves.

Printing flyer’s and advertising shows is just as important as actually playing music.  These musicians will have to put hours of work into getting people to attend and watch their performance.  The musicians will go to places all around the community to pass their flyer’s  out for upcoming shows that they are playing.

“Advertising your band is so critical in building a fan base,” Mark Nygard, 21, a music major said.”  If people don’t attend your shows, then you will never get booked.  It’s a catch 22 type of thing.  All you want to do is to play and perform, but you have to worry about passing flyer’s out and talking-up about your show.  Sometimes I wish that there were people to do that for us.”

Venues are opening up that have the student musicians in mind here in Reno.  The Reno Music Project has teamed up with the Maytan Music Center to provide a place for Reno’s students to perform their music.  Every Friday night, Maytan Music Center opens its doors for an open mic night that anyone can perform in.  Many high school and college students use this open mic as an easy way to play their music.

Maytan’s open mic provides musicians amps and equipment for musicians who cannot haul their own equipment around.  The program also advertising all around the greater Reno area so that the performers do not have to worry about anything except for their performance.

The Reno Music Project gives musicians who don’t normally play live a chance to perform for the first time.  It provides an outlet for a stress free environment for the young musicians.

“I believe that the Reno Music Project provides a great opportunity for students who love to play music,” Todd South, the creator of the Reno Music Project said.  “We provide a place for anyone who has a voice and wants to share.  We get a lot of student musicians and that is great for us and for our community.  Reno has a voice and we are showcasing it.”

Music in Reno is still as lively as ever and is becoming more and more diverse.  The city of Reno is not normally known for its music, but is growing and branching out more than ever before.

With of of the diverse musical genre’s out there in music today, Reno is finally getting with the times.  Reno has been known to house very little diversity with music.  Cover bands,metalheads, and folk singers have inhabited Reno in the past.

“We are definitely putting ourselves on the map,” Grindy said.  “People all over the United States will be listening to Reno music in a couple of years.”

More venues have opened up for musicians to showcase their music.  Many venues that have opened are aimed specifically for high school and college crowds.  These venues offer a diverse array of music to the younger public.  Anything for Screamo to Hip Hop can be enjoyed at such venues.  These youth oriented venues book local bands that need a way to showcase their music to Reno and beyond.

“I have seen more local shows these past couple of years than ever before,” Chad Flores, a 19 year old Music major said.  It’s nice to finally see some diversity in Reno.  I remember a few years back when the only decent shows here in Reno were at the Casinos.  That is not the case anymore.”

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John Grindy, 21 a drummer poses for a shot

Numbers for after school programs are decreasing due to the economic problems of the community

Kathleen Smith has the same routine every morning.  She wakes up at 5:30, gets ready for work, packs her son Jack’s lunch and drives to the Boys and Girls Club to drop off her child all within one hour’s time.  The Boys and Girls Club provide Jack with his breakfast and dinner, as well as help with school and an opportunity to play on a basketball team with his friends.

Jack will stay at the Boys and girls Club til 9 a.m, go to his school, and then return to the Boys and Girls Club until his mother picks him up at 6:30 p.m.  Kathleen and her son then go home and finish the days work until the next day, which has the same schedule planned out.

This system worked out for this single parent family, until economic difficulties started taking place.  This crisis is now taking effect on families like this, who use these affordable child care programs all around Reno.

Before and after school organizations in the greater Reno area are hurting vastly this year due to the economic problems that Americans are facing.  Programs such as the YCMA, City of Sparks and Reno, and the Boys and Girls Club are all having trouble with children’s membership.

Since times are hard, many parents do not have the money or resources for these programs and the kids are the ones who are losing in the end.  Most of the kids who use these programs are from lower income families who depend on the YCMA and the Boys and Girls Club for child care.

“I only pay $10 a week for my 8 year old son.” Smith, a 30 year old administrative assistant said.  “Even with my financial aid package, I still have a heck of a time finding money to pay the fee.  Its almost like I have to choose between paying for child care for my kid, or putting food on the table.”

Most of these before and after school programs charge anywhere from $40-$80 a week.  These charges pay for food, programing, field trips, and many other opportunities that the kids get to enjoy.  The kids that attend these organizations come from all over the Reno and Sparks area.

The demographics of the children are very diverse, ranging from different races and economical backgrounds.  Even with the different backgrounds, the majority of the kids who go to the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA are living in poverty.

All of the before and after school programs offer financial aid to their families, however the amount of financial aid is decreasing due to the the recent economic crisis.  Most families that are in need of the financial aid can’t even afford the discounted financial aid price, and must hope for free membership.

“We just can’t afford the fees,” one Boys and Girls Club parent said.  “With buying groceries and other essentials for my family, I just don’t have enough money for my child care.”

This is a common trend for parents struggling to provide a good life for their kids in a difficult economic time.   These money problems aren’t just impacting the parents and kids going to programing.  The before and after school programs are also taking a big hit.

The YMCA of Reno is struggling to keep afloat in this tough economic time.  Most of the child care programs get their money from donors all around the United States.  With all of the activities and resources that these organizations provide to the public, donations are essential to keep them running.  Since the economic crisis of the past two years, people have been spending, and more importantly, donating less.  Because of the lack of donations, the organizations are taking a hit.

“There is definitely a money issue from an organizational standpoint, Danielle Dana, an ex employee of the YMCA said.  “The organization is not getting enough money from our board and past donors, and it is trickling down all the way to the kids.  It is unfortunate for the board, the directors, the staff, and all the families that we provide for.  It is truly a sad day for our children in our community.”

Membership is gradually decreasing for all of these organizations.  Some of the organizations are closing, like the YMCA.  Others, are running at about 75 percent functioning level.  The Boys and Girls Club, for example, are about $700,000 over this year’s projected budget.  The City of Sparks and Reno are closing days during the week in which they’re traditionally open for the kids.  This is becoming more of a trend for other organizations around Reno.

“We are definitely seeing a decreasing trend in our membership,” Berttina Kogan-Hill, the Director of Youth Services of the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows said.  “Our numbers are way down from last year, and its only looking worse from here on out.”

“Our organization, as a child care provider are trying to offer as much as we can to the public and the youth, but we are handicapped with what we can actually do.   Our budget is being cut and that’s means less for our kids who come to the Club. There is money problem in our community, but there is also a problem within the organization.  We are trying our hardest to find a compromise between the two problems for the better of our community.”

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The students get free breakfast, snack, and dinner while attending these programs.

Martin Haris, 21 of South Lake Tahoe, came to the University of Nevada Reno for one reason and one reason only: to ski.

After his first successful year of collegiate skiing, things were looking bright for Haris and the UNR ski team. However, things were destined to change.

The UNR Ski team is threatened of being cut from UNR’s budget starting in 2010.  This means that unless the ski team can find a way to fund themselves, there will be no more team for UNR.

“This is a tragedy for UNR’s sports,” Haris said.  ”It takes away something that is a pastime of the Reno/Tahoe area.”

Haris, who has been skiing since he was two, came to UNR off a full ride scholarship.  Haris had been racing individually all around the country in his youth and teen years.  After competing by himself for quite some time, Haris joined the UNR ski team in 2009 for more of a team feeling.  Last year was his first year riding for UNR.  Haris liked the team feel that he felt with the other skiers on the team.

“We definitely have potential to be one of the great teams in our division.”  Haris said.  “It would be a shame to see the program be cut.”

This is not the first program that has been cut from the UNR budget.  UNR has already lost programs such as the Marching Band, and the Tutoring Center.  This ski team cut does not appear to be the last.