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Christine Salas oral history interview, 2024 July 30

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Christine Salas conducted by Claytee D. White on July 30, 2024 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Salas recalls what she witnessed on December 6 while working in the World Languages department in UNLV’s Beam Hall (BEH). After going to retrieve something left in the copy room, she heard three gunshots on the floor above her, footsteps running away from the shots, more footsteps, and someone yelling, "Active shooter!” The first text alerts came minutes later. She shut the door to the windowless copy room, texted her sister, let another faculty member in, and waited with them in what seemed like the longest hour of her life. They heard pounding on the doors and feeling someone trying to break in, but finally saw an arm of the police officer who had broken through, telling them to walk a certain way. Salas speaks fondly and shares memories of her murdered colleague, Professor Naoko Takemaru. Salas speaks to her lifelong love of soccer, her past trauma and a close friend's recent death and describes her sense of safety being ripped away, her confusion, therapy, and the healing process. Digital audio and transcript available.

Archival Collection

UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shooting interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03923
Collection Name: UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shooting interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00 (Restrictions apply)

Archival Component

Derek Ellison oral history interview, 2024 August 16

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Derek Ellison conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on August 16, 2024 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Ellison, a junior majoring in physics, shares how his father works in the Physics Department at UNLV so Derek knew the campus well even before he became a student. He describes how he was on the second floor of the Student Union, using the computer lab to write his final paper when the alerts began. Students in the lab, a glass-enclosed room, began to hide. He talked to his parents all the while thinking about his essay in the back of his mind. Because Beam Hall was so close, police came to the Student Union quickly and asked everyone to leave. Derek exited the building from the Maryland Parkway side and took refuge near the apartments to the south. Ellison's father picked him up and they went home. He recalls returning a few days later, seeing the memorial that had been erected, and reading the tributes honoring the three faculty members. He and his father discussed the racism aspects of the shooting since all those murdered were people of color. Digital audio and transcript available.

Archival Collection

UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shooting interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03923
Collection Name: UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shooting interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00 (Restrictions apply)

Archival Component

Michael Newcomb oral history interview, 2024 July 12

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Michael Newcomb conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on July 12, 2024 for the Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, Michael Newcomb recalls his childhood in Connecticut and watching the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels games on television. In 1990, Newcomb moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend UNLV. He worked as an usher at outdoor athletic events at Caesars Palace and The Mirage, and eventually became supervisor and then personnel director of the company. Newcomb talks about starting work at the Thomas & Mack Center in 1996 managing the parking lot and the events. He recalls the experiences and people who have shaped his nearly 30 years at the Center, as he became Executive Director in 2011. Newcomb discusses events at Sam Boyd Stadium and its eventual closure. He describes the community-wide effort required to host such major events as the National Finals Rodeo and Cowboy Christmas, the Super Bowl, the NBA AllStars Weekend in 2007, NBA Summer League since 2004, Team USA Basketball in 2006, and plans to host the Final Four in 2028. He closes the interview recalling how the T&M was a reunification center after the 1 October shooting in 2017 and again on December 6, 2023, as other buildings on the UNLV campus were evacuated. Digital audio available.

Archival Collection

Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03922
Collection Name: Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00

Archival Component

Daniel Allen oral history interview, 2024 June 21

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Daniel “D. J.” Allen conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on June 21, 2024 for Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, D. J. Allen describes growing up in Henderson, Nevada and playing baseball and basketball as a young person. He recalls listening to radio stations and learning to love the Los Angeles Dodgers and UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. He volunteered to write about Little League for the Henderson Home News and was hired as the full-time sports journalist. He parlayed his "Crazy Dance Man" persona into an internship in media relations with the Las Vegas Thunder hockey team, and from there, at 21, became Director of Media Relations for the Las Vegas Stars, all while he was still an undergraduate UNLV student. In this wide-ranging interview, he talks about working with Jim Livengood to help erase Las Vegas's "gambling" stigma with the NCAA and professional sports, get the NCAA athletic directors to begin talking about Las Vegas as a sports city, and about how Cisco Aguilar and Andre Agassi helped make these conversations happen. Among other topics, he talks about the Vegas Golden Knights, the Raiders, the Thunder, and the Stars and using sports as a platform to do good in the community. Digital audio available.

Archival Collection

Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03922
Collection Name: Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00

Archival Component

Mason Gordon oral history interview, 2024 September 04

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Mason Gordon conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on September 4, 2024 for the Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, Gordon recalls his childhood and early years in California playing basketball, later earning a B.A. in Philosophy and History from Claremont McKenna University. After graduation, he began writing for Tollin/Robbins Productions, co-founded by Mike Tollin, as the company's weekend basketball commentator. Tollin then co-founded Mandalay Sports Media, which became Mike Tollin Productions, a sports-focused media company. At Mandalay Sports Media, Gordon served as producer, executive producer, and eventually, president. Gordon describes later approaching Tollin about creating a new sport: SlamBall. The partners built a court in a warehouse in East Los Angeles, became certified to train, developed new equipment, and recruited athletes for their new sport. In 2023, Gordon moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the hopes of riding the “new sports wave” in the city. To that end, Derek Stevens (Circa) is a founding partner in the first SlamBall league. Besides relaunching SlamBall at Cox Pavilion in 2023, Gordon also wants to help write a curriculum for sports business. Digital audio and photographs available; no transcript available.

Archival Collection

Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03922
Collection Name: Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00

Archival Component

John Saccenti oral history interview, 2024 September 20

Level of Description

File

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with John Saccenti conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on September 20, 2024 for the Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, Saccenti recalls his childhood in New York and attending Runnin' Rebels basketball games at the Thomas & Mack Center while visiting family in the city. He enrolled at UNLV in 1993 as a Communications major, and was recruited to work for the Las Vegas Thunder indoor hockey team. Saccenti shares that after graduating from UNLV, he worked in marketing and sponsorships for the Thunder and the Las Vegas Stars minor league baseball team, owned by Ken Stickney and operated by Don Logan. When the hockey league folded in 1999, Logan encouraged him to be Vice President of Business for Vince McMahon's new XFL football league. Saccenti recalls that while the XFL League lasted only one year, he then was hired as the ESPN sports network employee representing UNLV, a position that grew to the Assistant Executive Director for Murphy and ESPN Events. In 2014, he became the Executive Director of the Las Vegas Bowl. He talks of Marc Badain, Don Logan, Rossi Ralenkotter, Dana White, and Marc Ratner and of the Las Vegas Bowl breaking Allegiant Stadium's attendance record. Digital audio available; no transcript available.

Archival Collection

Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: OH-03922
Collection Name: Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00

Archival Component