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It’s no longer the Rebel Yell.
The student newspaper at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will become The Scarlet & Grey Free Press, according to the newspaper’s editor.
Stories in the Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review-Journal note there had been calls from within the newspaper and outside groups to rid it of the apparent reference to the Confederacy.
The name dates back to 1955, and a report by the university’s diversity officer concluded Rebel references that run throughout the school — like the Runnin’ Rebels sports teams — were not born of the Civil War but of the school’s founding as a separate entity from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Nevertheless, the staff at the newspaper wanted a change.
Of more consequence, though, is the student paper’s financial stability.
According to the Review-Journal story, it is looking at several options, including partnering with the state’s biggest paper.
“The Review-Journal is, indeed, considering the possibility of providing financial support and services to the UNLV student newspaper,” Keith Moyer, Review-Journal editor-in-chief, is quoted. “We are attempting to set up a meeting soon with the appropriate school officials to discuss how the RJ’s involvement might work.”
The staff is also looking into grants from the Society of Professional Journalists and is interested in working with the Greenspun Media Group, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, or Wendoh Media, publisher of Vegas Seven.