Jake Siazon oral history interview, 2024 September 10

Oral history interview with Jake Siazon conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on September 10, 2024 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Jake Siazon describes walking in his December 2023 UNLV graduation ceremony, sitting with his friends and celebrating, just two weeks after the campus shooting. Siazon recalls the morning of December 6, when his photography class was meeting for the last time in the Alta Ham Fine Arts (HFA) building near Maryland Parkway. As the first student's presentation concluded, students began receiving texts telling them of a shooting near the Student Union. They locked the doors to shelter in place. As students received texts of others being evacuated to the Thomas & Mack Center, they knew they would evacuate soon. Police came to escort them out after about three hours, telling them to leave with what they had in their hands and on their person. As they walked across the grassy mall toward Lied Library, Siazon remembered he had his camera and began taking pictures to document the moment, understanding that it was UNLV history. He captured images of students walking, SWAT, students gathering at Thomas & Mack, and the cityscape. After leaving, he realized the lot with his car was closed off, and he retraced his steps back to Tropicana and headed west down to the Excalibur Hotel, where he caught the tram to the Mandalay Bay and met his ride. He captured the city skyline and a deserted Tropicana Avenue while he walked, returning the next day to retrieve his car and his belongings from the classroom. The events of the day taught him to be patient, and that he can support those who need it. He waited to develop his film from December 6, but displayed three images from that day in a student art exhibition in March 2024. Digital audio and transcript available.