The Senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN) heard presentations for the new AIguide “Ask Wolfie”, the 2026 Civic Engagement Survey, the credit fee proposal from The Nevada Sagebrush, and a resolution regarding institutional accountability on sexual violence cases on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Emilie White, communications manager for the Division of Student Services, presented to the Senate about Ask Wolfie. She said the AI-powered campus guide can help active and enrolled students find information on campus services, resources, support and more.
“Ask Wolfie is designed to be a help agent. It is not an OpenAI LLM [large language model] type model.”
White said the top five topics students use the service for are campus navigation, dining, events, parking and transportation, and housing and residential life.
The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) launched Ask Wolfie in August of this year. Students can reach Ask Wolfie by texting or calling (775) 993-5994 or emailing as*******@*nr.edu.
Luis Aguilar-Herrera, associate director of Student Government and Isabelle Hatch, ASUN director of Government Affairs, then provided a detailed breakdown of the results from the Center for Student Engagement’s 2026 Civic Engagement Survey.
The survey gathered student feedback on civic habits, volunteerism and student well-being, including food, housing and financial insecurity.
3,261 students filled it out.
Hatch highlighted that 50% of respondents reported food insecurity in the past 30 days and had little knowledge about the on-campus food pantry, Pack Provisions. Results also showed 80% reported feeling they belong on campus, and 45% didn’t know enough about ASUN, the student government.
Aguilar-Herrera and Hatch concluded by urging ASUN to use the results to better understand and address students’ needs and priorities.
The executive editor and deputy editor of The Nevada Sagebrush, the student-run news publication, presented a proposal to establish a question on the 2027 ASUN general election ballot asking students to authorize a $0.20 per-credit fee.
The proposed fee would provide needed financial support for the newspaper’s operations and paid student journalist positions.
James Wolfgang Perez, executive editor, opened up the presentation by highlighting the Sagebrush’s financial struggles.
“If we get this question on the ballot and it passes, we will be able to support future Sagebrushers for the years to come,” Perez said. “In our current capacity, the Sagebrush is stretched too thin financially to support the team and bring back print publications to campus.”
Perez said during the COVID-19 pandemic, all print publications by the Sagebrush ceased. This led to the loss of print advertising as a revenue source.
Riley Overstreet, deputy editor of the Nevada Sagebrush, explained the previous two attempts to secure funding for the Sagebrush.
“The Sagebrush needs this credit fee to maintain not only basic operations, but to support a motivated and talented staff,” Overstreet said. “Most other universities the size of UNR have a credit fee funding their student paper, and the UNR student body deserves an independent student newspaper with the resources it needs to keep them informed.”
This wouldn’t be the first time student media has proposed a credit fee for funding support. In previous years, all student media (Sagebrush, Brushfire, Insight Magazine and Wolf Pack Radio) have proposed fees of $0.67 and $1.29 per credit that each publication would have split.
Overstreet said those questions did not receive the supermajority required to pass.
If this new proposal passes, collected fees would only go to The Nevada Sagebrush.
The Senate approved the resolution and referred it to a committee for further review.
Afterwards, the Senate tackled their last agenda item of the night. They fast-tracked the Resolution to Strengthen Institutional Accountability in Cases of Sexual Violence.
In the wake of the Jane Doe case at Cornell University, this resolution calls for greater accountability and an appropriate response to be taken by UNR regarding sexual violence cases.
The resolution condemns Cornell University while holding the University of Nevada, Reno to a higher standard. If a similar event occurred on campus, the resolution requests that the University take more appropriate action against the perpetrators and avoid keeping the case under wraps.
