[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14608-14609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         UNLV STUDENT NEWSPAPER

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, yesterday an amazing thing happened at the 
University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and it deserves some attention here 
this morning. I will take just a brief time to talk about that.
  The students who operate that newspaper made the bold decision to 
change the name of the newspaper. It has been going on and has been 
somewhat controversial now for quite some time. The newspaper will no 
longer be called the Rebel Yell. There were many who felt that was a 
disparaging name for the paper. The Civil War ended a long time ago. We 
should not harken back to the Civil War and the Confederacy for that 
newspaper.
  Now UNLV's newspaper will be called the Scarlet & Gray Free Press. I 
am happy to have with me today Brian Ahern, who is an able member of my 
press staff. He was the managing editor of that newspaper. He helped 
run the newspaper when he was at UNLV.

[[Page 14609]]

  I am proud of these students who did this. Seven months ago, when the 
students announced their intention to change the name of the paper, I 
publicly supported them. Now that they have followed through, I am all 
the more amazed by their leadership and courage in doing the right 
thing. The name change was not easy. There was a lot of debate swirling 
around this issue on campus and throughout the State. These students 
were more interested in unifying the student body and rejecting hateful 
symbols of a racist and divisive past than in hiding behind tradition.
  Now it is time for the university's administration to do the right 
thing and get rid of the ``Rebel'' mascot. What these young men and 
women have done is a lesson for all of us. Some politicians, State 
legislators, and the National Football League can learn a thing or two 
from these students. I applaud the Scarlet & Gray Free Press for doing 
the right thing. They have long been an independent voice for the 
students at UNLV. I congratulate my able staff member, Brian, for 
urging me to move forward on this matter for many months now.

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