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In This Issue
March 22, 2011
Staff EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Sheeler editor@uafsunstar.com (907) 474-5078 LAYOUT EDITOR Heather Bryant layout@uafsunstar.com (907) 474-6039
The Sun Star Volume XXX Number 22 March 22, 2011 The Sun Star’s mission is to provide a voice for the UAF campus and be a written record where news, people’s opinions, and events (whether extraordinary or ordinary) are expressed honestly and fairly. EDITORIAL OFFICES 101G Wood Center P.O. Box 756640 Fairbanks, AK 99775 Tel: (907) 474-6039 Ads Dept: (907) 474-7540 Fax: (907) 474-5508 www.uafsunstar.com
COPY EDITOR Rebecca Coleman MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jeremy Smith web@uafsunstar.com AD MANAGER Alex Kinn fyads@uaf.edu (907) 474-7540 DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Daniel Thoman distribution@uafsunstar.com ASSISTANT DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Ben Deering REPORTERS Alyssa Dunehew Kelsey Gobroski Elika Roohi Amber Sandlin Jeremia Schrock COLUMNISTS JR Ancheta Jamie Hazlett Jeremia Schrock PHOTOGRAPHERS JR Ancheta Dillon Ball ADVISOR Lynne Snifka
The Sun Star
This Week Politics West Ridge News Campus Life Sports Perspectives Editorial Online Alaska tops 700,000 people in the news briefs and crime doesn’t leave campus for Spring Break.
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ASUAF has their first post-Spring Break meeting and this week’s Nookraker.
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Are sea butterflies in Svalbard the canary in the coalmine? Plus, a dinosaur discovery headlines the science briefs.
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The weekend in Fairbanks goes to the dogs and firefighters and storm troopers come together to raise money for cancer.
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Culinary arts students slice and dice some ice and UAF is set to get an Outdoor Education Center
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Nanooks go to nationals.
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In the wake of the earthquake in Japan, Weekend Wanderlust takes on dark tourism. Random Errors 11 talks about the challenge of shipping to Alaska.
A Sun Star spring cleaning has unearthed some fascinating historical tidbits.
Ian Pearce uses a chisel on a scultpture of a seahorse. Pearce was glad to have an opportunity to learn how to sculpture. “This can make or break getting a job. Not a lot of people can do this,” Pearce said. March 16, 2011. Heather Bryant/Sun Star
Check out the award winning Sun Star website for our calendar. Its packed with all the event info you need to know.
Elika blogs all the way from Ecuador and This Week In Music brings the Aerosmith love.
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This Week
www.uafsunstar.com
Amber Sandlin Sun Star Reporter All persons referred to in the blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Hot sheets
Many minors
In front of Skarland Hall on Thursday, March 10, an officer noticed a 2002 Chevy Tahoe matching the plates and description of a stolen vehicle reported by the Fairbanks Police Department. The SUV’s owner was located and their vehicle returned. Every day the UAF Police print off papers called “hot sheets” that give a plate number and description known stolen vehicles.
An officer pulled a car over for swerving on Saturday, March 12 and found a 15-yearold girl driving the car drunk, on her permit, with three passengers. One passenger, a 24-year-old man with an outstanding warrant, gave the officer a false name, fled and was captured. Another passenger, a 14-yearold boy, had marijuana and claimed to have given the passengers alcohol. The minors were released to their guardians, and the man was arrested.
Police academy hijinks
Not in my Cache you don’t
Shower time
On Monday, March 7, a UAF employee witnessed a police academy car hit another car then drive off. The 28-year-old academy student was witnessed on camera outside MBS leaving the scene of an accident without providing information and driving under a revoked license. The suspect, driving a police academy car, was not difficult to track down. The police academy is a 13-week program that has very high standards, one of them being, “Must possess a valid Alaska Driver’s License.”
A 20-year-old man stole a Pepsi from the Campus Cache on Thursday, March 10. When an employee confronted the man, he claimed to have bought it in the vending machines. Police were called and when the officer arrived, he observed the surveillance tapes. The alleged thief stuck to his story even though vending machines in MBS are Coca-Cola products. The officer made him pay for the drink and apologize to the workers. The man was banned from the Cache for one year.
The Wood Center was closing for the evening on Sunday, March 13, when Wood Center employees discovered a man and his visiting girlfriend in the showers. The couple refused to leave when asked, so employees contacted UAF Police. When the officer arrived, the man was hostile but agreed to leave. Both the man and woman have been banned from UAF.
Say “Ah” University-friendly clothing & accessories Visit us on Search KG KATE
Donna Patrick, ANP
Q: I am worried my roommate may have an eating disorder. What should I do? A: Having an eating disorder (ED) is a scary, dangerous thing. It can lead to depression and even suicide. If you know someone who you suspect might have one (you notice drastic changes in eating habits, she starts to become more private, etc) do not assume that it’s just a phase and she’ll get over it. If caught early, EDs are easier to treat. DON’T: Make accusations. She’ll feel personally attacked and won’t want to listen to what you have to say. So don’t say things like “You never eat!”, focus more on how her behavior is affecting your relationship: “You never go out with us anymore, we miss you.” DO: Prepare to be rejected. Girls with EDs will not usually acknowledge that they have one or admit to anyone else that they do. She may reject your help initially. DON’T: Give up on her. Let her know that you genuinely care about her and her well-being and she may eventually start to open up. An ED is not a choice. It goes much deeper than just wanting to be thin. Those affected by an ED will have low self-confidence, self-worth, and a severely distorted body image that “just starting to eat” will not fix. DON’T: Forget to look at your own habits. Think about how often you talk about other girls’ or celebrities’ bodies, or if you complain about gaining a pound or two and “being fat.” Sponsored by UAF Center for Health and Counseling For additional information, contact the Center for Health and Counseling at 474-7043 or visit our Web site at www.uaf.edu/chc Division of Student Services
March 22, 2011
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News Briefs
Compiled by Amber Sandlin Sun Star Reporter
Alaska population tops 700,000 According to the 2010 United States Census, Alaska’s population has risen to more than 700,000 people. This marks an increase of roughly 80,000 people in a 10-year period. The Fairbanks North Star Borough population now stands at slightly less than 100,000. - The United States Census Bureau
Japanese companies hid nuclear problems On Thursday, March 17, news that the Japanese power companies potentially knew the reactors were unstable was released. Five TEPCO executives resigned in 2002 over suspected falsification of nuclear plant safety records, and five reactors were forced to stop operations. Leaks of radioactive steam and workers contaminated with radiation are just part of the disturbing catalogue of accidents that have occurred over the years and been belatedly reported to the public, if at all. - The Associated Press
Temporary spending deal to be voted on The House voted to approve a stopgap spending bill on Tuesday, March 15. The bill would fund the federal government for another three weeks. Although both political parties are arguing about a new budget, the House is set to vote Tuesday March 22, on the newest stop-gap proposal. This would fund the government for and additional three weeks while cutting another $6 billion from the budget. If tension keeps building and neither side comes to an agreement, it could derail efforts to keep the government funded. A government shutdown would halt the flow of money to federal agencies. - LA Times
Alaska Legislature considers banning ‘robocalls’ Automated phone calls, nicknamed “robocalls,” are often used in political campaigns. They would be banned under a proposal being considered by an Alaska Senate committee. Senate Majority Leader Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, claims thousands of unsolicited calls were made to Alaskans in last fall’s elections. Meyer said with social networking and e-mail, invading someone’s privacy in their home is not necessary. The bill also would ban automated calls offering goods or services for sale, soliciting information or gathering data. - Anchorage Daily News
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Politics
March 22, 2011
ASUAF Weekly Update
Nookraker
Jeremia Schrock Sun Star Reporter
The political life
March 20, 2011 Meeting in the Alumni Lounge. ASUAF did not meet last week due to spring break.
Jeremia Schrock Sun Star Reporter It’s easy to assume that once a political campaign season ends, whether it be for a local or national election, that the politicking ceases right along with it. As the cliché goes, however, to assume will make a you-know-what out of “u” and “me.” “Politics affects everything, and our government was set up with the express intention of having people participate in the decision making process,” James Shewmake said. Shewmake, a master’s student in natural resource management, is also co-founder of the UAF Campus Democrats. He established the group toward the end of the 2010 campaign season with the express intent of getting more students involved with political activism. For Shewmake, the club is about encouraging participation and activism in politics. “Political parties and democratic forms of government are only as effective as the people who are involved,” Shewmake said. “Simply sitting back and criticizing both parties while remaining apathetic really accomplishes nothing,” adding that a group such as the UAF Campus Democrats allows “young people” the opportunity to become involved. Shewmake also said that joining such organizations gives students the chance to become better acquainted with both local and state officials and helps them to better understand what goes on behind the scenes during a political campaign. Ashley Briggs, an undergraduate in broadcast journalism, produces Fairbanks Focus: Alaska View, a weekly round-table program hosted by former Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker. Briggs said that prior to becoming involved with the program she felt “out of the loop on anything current.” Hosting the show has given her the opportunity to become better informed. “Anytime someone brings up something about a bill being discussed or any kind of new legislation, that is always new to me,” Briggs said. “[It’s] something I wouldn’t know about without the round table.” Briggs added that she rarely takes sides in political debates and, in spite of
The Sun Star
Senators of the year
SB 176-015: ASUAF Senators of the Year. This bill was sponsored by Sen. Arthur Josh Cooper, Ean Pfeiffer, Ryan Duffy, Martin and would set up an award to annuTachit Chairat, John Netardus, Chelsea Holt, ally provide three senators with a $25 gift Jennifer Chambers, Arthur Martin, Robert card to Amazon.com. Martin believes that Kinnard III, Jesse Cervin, Mary Strehl, Paul this will encourage senators to be proactive. Pharr. Promoting ASUAF
Present
Elections board role as producer of a political talk show, has never really been into politics. ASUAF Vice President Mari Freitag feels just the opposite. “I love following politics!” she said in an email. Freitag, a political science major, said that even if she hadn’t been elected vice president of the student government, she would still have been just as politically aware as she is now. She stated that she ran for the VP slot after her friend Nikki Carvajal (the current ASUAF President) asked her to be her running mate. She ran with Carvajal because she felt that being VP would be a “good challenge.” After she and Carvajal won the election in a landslide, Freitag began to see just how much of a challenge her new role would become. “This job has taught me how to deal with people more than anything. It’s showed me that I can’t make everyone happy and that I need to be ok with that.” Freitag added that her tenure as VP has better exposed her to the inner workings of the university system which she says helps her better explain issues to students. Keeping all this in mind, the political life of UAF is alive and well. Not just because student government elections are around the corner (this April), but because for several students, politics is infused directly into life.
Have questions or comments for the Nookraker? Email them to: editor@uafsunstar.com Jeremia gives his opinion on university, state and national issues in the Nookraker: a weekly political column which tackles issues relevant to Nanooks both at home and abroad.
Two bills were in discussion concerning the promotion of ASUAF. SB 176016: ASUAF Bling (sponsored by Sen. Arthur Martin) would allot money to promote ASUAF during both the spring elections and during SpringFest. It was sent to the Public Relations Committee. The second bill was SB 176-003: Masquerade Ball Redux (sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Chambers) would allocate $750 for ASUAF to hold a masquerade ball. Sen. Mary Strehl stated that she “would feel very uncomfortable” with strangers wearing masks and Sen. Paul Pharr added that such events are “irrelevant” to proSenate chambers a mess moting ASUAF and would only provide Sen. John Netardus said that it was his students with a “chance to grind with each opinion that the senate chambers needs to other.” The bill was sent to the Public Relabe cleaned up. He cited students who had tions Committee. came into the chambers and remarked on Troop support legislation the general state of its untidiness. SB 176-017: Operation Troop Support Vice President Mari Freitag has resigned as Elections Board chair in order to run in this April’s election. Freitag will be running for ASUAF president. Sen. Robert Kinnard III was confirmed at Freitag’s replacement. Ashton Compton and Yuzhun Evanoff were nominated to the Elections Board. The board has the power to amend the elections manual and is a “pretty important function of ASUAF,” according to Sen. Ryan Duffy. The nominations have been tabled for a week pending the candidates acceptance of their nominations.
Retreat now paintball tournament
The Internal Affairs Committee decided to allocate money from contingency to hold a paintball tournament instead of the traditional retreat.
Earth day legislation missing SB 175-022: Earth Day. This bill would allocate $250 to the Sustainable Campus Task Force for them to host an Earth Day event on April 22. Sen. Jennifer Chambers believes that the bill may still be in the University Relations Committee, but added that there was no record of it having been voted on.
was sponsored by Sen. Arthur Martin and would provide $2,500 in order to send care packages to US soldiers abroad and would fly up Keni Thomas, an ex-Army Ranger who is now a motivational speaker. The bill was sent to Executive Committee.
Rise Board resolution
SR 176-003: RISE Board Accountability Directive was sponsored by Sen. Arthur Martin and would halt the organizations SRC solar panel project. Martin further stated that the project was a “gross misallocation of the student sustainability fee.” Duffy said that the senate did not have the Gerrymandering documentary authority to stop the project, but added that SB 176-014: Gerrymandering Docu- the resolution could be amended to reprementary. This bill would allocate $205 to sent the senate’s opinion. The bill was sent purchase and show a film concerning gerry- to Executive Committee. mandering, the restructuring of voting dis- Bill alteration tricts. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Robert SR 176-002: Amendability of LegislaKinnard III. Sen. Jennifer Chambers wants tion Purpose was sponsored by Sen. Jento table the bill for a week, saying that even nifer Chambers and would amend the rules though the fiscal impact is not very much, of procedure in order to prevent a bill’s purshe wants to make sure that student money pose from being altered on the senate floor. is well spent. The bill was sent to the Student After a lengthy debate, the bill passed by a Affairs Committee. vote of 6-4-1.
West Ridge Report
www.uafsunstar.com
March 22, 2011
Science Briefs
The sea butterfly effect Distorted oceans could shatter ecosystems Kelsey Gobroski Sun Star Reporter When you catch a fever, a few degrees can be the difference between life and death. The oceans are the same way: a few more hydrogen ions and a slightly higher temperature can have catastrophic consequences. UAF is waking up to the reality of changing oceans alongside the rest of the world, resulting in local research and guest lecturers. German oceanographer Silke Lischka talked about her ocean research at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, an arctic archipelago, in the Vera Alexander Learning Center on March 11. Lischka works at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Kiel, Germany. She traveled to Svalbard to study the impacts of global ocean changes on the sea butterfly, a type of shelled plankton in the pteropod group. The Arctic will be among the first areas to feel the effects of a phenomenon called ocean acidification, which led to the recent establishment of the Ocean Acidification Research Center on West Ridge at UAF. “It’s a busy time in the Arctic, I would say,” said Bodil Bluhm of the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS). Ocean acidification doesn’t mean the ocean becomes acidic, but gets less basic, or alkaline, on a 1 to 14 pH scale. Battery acid has a low pH. Bleach, a basic substance, has a higher pH. Normally seawater hovers around a pH of 8.2, but dropped to 8.1 since the Industrial Revolution, according to the European Project on Ocean Acidification. This might not seem like much, but pH is logarithmic. That decrease leads to a 26 percent increase in hydrogen ions floating around. Oceans suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide reacts with seawater in two ways: making oceans drop in pH and locking carbonate used in pteropod, or sea butterfly, shells. Although Lischka regularly looks at copepods, tiny shrimp-shaped plankton, her boss needed someone for a pteropod project in Svalbard in 2009. Lischka, who based her doctoral research there, took the opportunity. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago east of Greenland. The international research settlement Ny-Ålesund is embedded on a fjord on the warmer western coast of Svalbard. Lischka and her colleagues caught specimens of the sea butterfly Limacina helicina, plopped them in seawater of different
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temperatures and pH levels, and watched what happened after 29 days, she said. Sea butterflies look like tiny black dots in a glass of seawater, Lischka said. These snail-like plankton flutter up the water column with two wing-like feet, their coordination a little uneven under the weight of a cumbersome calcium carbonate snail shell. These dots are food to fish, which in turn are eaten by birds, sea lions, and orcas. Lischka studies whether sea butterflies, and thus the oceans’ food chains, are in danger in this rapidly changing world. This study makes pteropods the poster children for ocean acidification, much as the plight of the polar bear displays the effects of sea ice retreat. The oceans are also warming, and Lischka compared the effects of changing temperatures with changing pH. Lischka studied how much pteropod shells grew and how much their shells dissolved. She found carbon dioxide had more of an effect than temperature on pockmarking the shells with holes, but rising temperatures raised death rates.
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will not be immediate. Think of an animal that migrated to Alaska from farther south, such as beavers, Hopcroft said. Over time, they adjusted to the cold, but if you took a southern beaver and let it loose at the northern extent of beaver territory, it would have trouble acclimating. Lischka’s studies are a worst-case scenario -- a world where pteropods can’t adjust in the time it takes for oceans to change. “We know the potential of what ocean acidification might do, but it’s very hard to disentangle what it’s actually doing,” Hopcroft said. Next, Lischka plans to look at how ocean acidification might affect pteropods’ abilities to last through the winter. They need extra energy to survive the cold temperatures, but there isn’t much information on how much energy they need or how susceptible they are to changes. “I think as they are probably most vulnerable to ocean acidification during winter we should know how they overwinter,” Lischka said. There is a new species of sea butterfly migrating to Svalbard with the
Compiled by Kelsey Gobroski Sun Star Reporter
Angolan dinosaur discovered Scientists in the central African country of Angola discovered fossilized pieces of a 90 million-year-old new dinosaur species, according to a paper published March 16. This dinosaur, Angolatitan adamastor, was found in an area that would have been underwater back then. It may have been washed to sea and killed by sharks, the scientists said, because they found shark teeth and fish remains with the fossil. The dinosaur was among the largest to walk the earth. The scientists unearthed the fossil in 2005 as part of a collaborative project to Angola, PaleoAngola, after decades of the country being closed because of civil war. The fighting didn’t end until 2002, and discovery of oil led to interest in the area. Despite dangers of land mines in the past, the team said they were safe when visiting. - Mail Online
Agriculture meets ecology
We know the potential of what ocean acidification might do, but it’s very hard to disentangle what it’s actually doing. - Russell Hopcroft
Although ocean acidification is observable, and pH changes affect sea butterflies, it’s hard to know the end result of a changing ocean on pteropods. Russell Hopcroft, of SFOS, studies plankton communities. He worked with Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC), which studied the possible effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. To study effects, you need to know where you started. This is called a baseline, and scientists are still working on one for pteropods and a lot of other ocean dynamics. GLOBEC worked on finding a baseline, as will UAF graduate student Ayla Doubleday. Doubleday will culture and study pteropods and larvaceans, another type of plankton. Lischka’s results were based in experimentation. Even if the oceans become the same pH as the experiments, the changes
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warmer waters. Lischka plans to compare how they deal with winters. The newcomer might not have enough fat storage for long winters. This ties into Doubleday’s studies: a focus on the baseline. Ocean acidification hits the Arctic faster and harder because cold water absorbs more carbon dioxide. UAF’s Ocean Acidification Research Center, founded in the fall of 2010, works toward becoming a resource on Alaska’s changing oceans. With Hopcroft and Doubleday, UAF is beginning to establish baselines for ocean ecosystems, but the university also closely tracks ocean acidification’s effects through Mathis and his students. “We know the potential; we don’t know the outcome,” Hopcroft said.
The United Nations (U.N.) released a report on the state of global food production March 8. The primary investigator, Olivier De Schutter, addressed the concept of peak oil, or the idea that oil will reach a maximum rate of extraction. Agriculture needs to be less based in oil, he said. Oil prices have soared from turmoil in the Middle East, and this will lead to higher food prices, Abdolreza Abbassian said, the senior economist of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Food production will need to rise by 70 percent before 2050 to keep up with demand. Last century, this was solved through new methods of production such as genetically modifying crops in the “Green Revolution.” The report suggests that this is not the way forward, but instead farmers should implement “agroecology,” by relying on ecosystems and benefiting organisms to control problems, rather than chemical supplements. The process is cheaper and increased yield 80 percent in 57 developing countries. - Wall Street Journal
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March 22, 2011
News
The Sun Star
Good and evil set aside differences at St. Baldrick’s Firefighters and storm troopers join forces to save lives Rebecca Coleman Sun Star Reporter Ten fire departments, a band of storm troopers, and many supportive community members gathered together March 19 to support children’s cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation at Pioneer Park. More than 120 people volunteered to have their heads shaved by volunteers from Elements and Dimensions salons after gathering pledges. Throughout Alaska, nine St. Baldrick’s events took place. About $25,600 was raised by the Fairbanks event. Every year, the Fairbanks event is organized by the Fraternal Order of Leather-
head Society (FOOLS), said Justin Boddy, the event coordinator. FOOLS is the collaboration of Fairbanks firefighters. In the past six years, Fairbanks’ St. Baldrick’s has raised more than $205,000. The UAF Fire Department was well represented. About 15 members of the department participated, according to firefighter senior Josh Novinska. He said they raised about $4,000 as a team. “It’s a fun opportunity to raise money,” Novinska said. He has taken part in St. Baldrick’s for the past five years. “It’s a tradition,” said firefighter sophomore Cameron McKay. “Firefighters help
people and this is a great opportunity to help childhood cancer.” McKay has a few family members who have passed away from cancer. He said that they are a big part of his motivation to shave his head at St. Baldrick’s. “It’s a rare occurrence,” he said about the frequency of his head being shaved. “But it’s for a good cause.” In addition to firefighters, there was a group of storm troopers from the 501st Legion, an international costume club that depicts the bad guys from “Star Wars.” The organization takes part in several charity events every year. One of their members, William Scott, 32, decided to donate his mid-back-length hair to Locks of Love at this year’s St. Baldrick’s. Scott came to his current situation as a now-bald storm trooper when he originally just wanted a storm trooper suit. He found out about the 501st Legion and thought that everything they did for charity “sounded awesome.” As for his hair, he had planned to cut it off at some
point when he heard about St. Baldrick’s and that his landlord’s daughter was a cancer survivor. He thought St. Baldrick’s was a great cause, so he waited until the event to say goodbye to his blond locks. He and his team raised $2,000. Many other people stepped up to shave their heads in support of children’s cancer research, including friends, community members, and a handful of children. In addition to head shaving, there were many donations to Locks of Love. One commentator mentioned that this was the most Locks of Love donations he had seen at a St. Baldrick’s event. St. Baldrick’s originally began on St. Patrick’s Day in 2000 as a challenge among a few friends who pledged to raise “$17,000 by the 17th,” according to their website. Since then, St. Baldrick’s has raised more than $95 million, becoming the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research.
Major Mania & JOB FAIR! Friday, March 25, 2011 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wood Center Main Level Discover the 160+ majors
and programs UAF offers
Connect with faculty and
students from the majors that interest you most
Explore graduate school,
internship, student job and career opportunities
Brought to you by the Division of General Studies, Career Services & the Academic Advising Center. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/ advising/majormania or call 474-6396.
www.uafsunstar.com
News
Dogs tear it up at downtown race
Top: : Luke Sampson’s dog trips at the start the second day of the 66th Annual GCI Open North American Championship in Fairbanks, Alaska on Saturday, March 19, 2011. The three-day sled dog sprint race has a cumulative distance of 70 miles held from March 18-20. JR Ancheta/Sun Star Bottom Left: Bonus who is one -fourth pointer and three -fourths husky peers out from his kennel after running the first day at a 20-mile race during the 66th Annual GCI Open North American Championship in Fairbanks Alaska. The sled dog sprint race has a cumulative distance of 70 miles in three days. Bonus belongs to Jason Dunlap who placed fourth on Friday, March 18, 2011. JR Ancheta/ Sun Star Bottom Right: Musher Egil Ellis, from Willow, Alaska, takes off with his team in the 66th Annual GCI Open North American Championship on Friday, March 18, 2011 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Ellis came in second place. Photo by Audrey Palacios
March 22, 2011
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March 22, 2011
Campus Life
The Sun Star
www.uafsunstar.com
Campus Life
Trading pots and pans for chisels and chainsaws Culinary arts students took a break from the kitchen to hone their ice-carving skills on March 15 and 16. On the first day of instruction, students learned how to use chainsaws, chisels and grinders. They practiced on small blocks of ice to create a variety of shapes. Ice sculptures can range from smaller, flat creations that showcase a logo to much larger, three dimensional creations. As the sculptor adds depth and dimension the value of the sculpture increases. Nice event sculptures can go for as much as $300, estimates Julio Martinez, the workshop instructor. Martinez is from Mexico and traveled to Alaska for the Ice Art Championships. This workshop is his third visit to Fairbanks. “At least we got the opportunity to do this. In our field this is a moneymaker. Not a lot of people can do this,” Ian Pearce said. Pearce is finishing his final semester of the program, and is eager to add more skills to his resume. He brought his daughter,
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Madyson, 11, to join him at the workshop. On the second day of carving, Pearce and two other students worked on a series of seahorses. The bigger blocks, measuring approximately 40 inches tall and 20 inches wide, are the size typically used for sculptures that are displayed with food presentations at events. Martinez appreciates the work that goes into hand-sculpting a display. “Some people use molds, but that’s not artistic,” Martinez said. “They have to know how to choose the correct tool to create an effect,” Martinez said. He spent the first day of the workshop teaching the students what task each tool is suited for. Chainsaws are best used to remove large sections of ice and for creating gaps, such as between the spines along the seahorses’ backs. Chisels are used to refine those areas. Grinders are used for details and lettering. Ice sculpting is a valuable skill to have in the food industry. “This gives the students an opportunity,” Luis Martinez [no relation]said. He is the program assistant for the culinary arts and hospitality program. “For those who are able to and have the time, this [workshop] gives them something different and gets them out of the kitchen.” The World Ice Art Championships provided the program with the perfect venue to offer this special opportunity. Last year, they held a smaller version of the workshop in the classroom. Student Kevin Macz is in his second year of the culinary program. Macz attended both days of the sculpting workshop. “It’s fun, [I’ve] learned tons,” Macz said as he chiseled away at the base of his seahorse. Melissa Raimer found the whole experience to be fun. “I though it would be nice to get out in the sun,” Raimer said. “I think my second day is going better than my first.” Raimer is in her second semester in the program. As each student chiseled away at their sculptures, Pearce and Macz talked about shopping lists and foods for an upcoming event. “It’s all we do is talk food,” Macz said.
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A & E Briefs
Culinary arts students learn the craft of ice sculpture Heather Bryant Sun Star Reporter
March 22, 2011
Compiled by Elika Roohi Sun Star Reporter
Too much bacon to be kosher A chef in downtown Los Angeles is serving matzo balls wrapped in bacon. Top Chef Ilan Hall is famous for dishes that meld Jewish and Scottish cuisine. A critic of Hall calls his food “confrontational cooking.” But Hall said it’s not for the sake of being offensive. “Pork belly lends itself really well to sweet cooking preparations.” - NPR
Larry King, a Daily Show correspondent? The Daily Show might be getting a new correspondent. Larry King has been talking to producers at the show about becoming a regular contributor. He wouldn’t be around for every show, such as Jon Oliver or Wyatt Cenac. Instead, he would be the type of occasional contributor that Lewis Black is. Those who have never really thought of King as a comedian might want to check out thecomedy tour that he’s headlining this spring, and then make up their minds about whether they want him on the Daily Show or not.
Melissa Raimer uses a chainsaw under the direction of Julio Martinez. This is Raimer’s second day of carving. “I think my second day is going a lot better than my first.” Heather Bryant/Sun Star
- Hollywood.com
Whitewashing the ‘Hunger Games’ heroine
Above: Keven Macz, uses a chisel to round the front of his seahorse sculpture. Macz participated in both of days of carving. March 16, 2011. Heather Bryant/Sun Star
Left: Instructor Luis M Martnez chisels away at a seashorse ice carving, Wednesday March 16, 2011. Students in the culinary arts program were offered the opportunity to take an ice carving class during the Ice Alaska World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. Heather Bryant/ Sun Star. Above: A sign directing people where they can take lessons in ice carving at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. This year is the 22nd time the event has been held in Fairbanks. The month-long event draws more than 70 carving teams and approximately 45,000 visitors from all over the world. Heather Bryant/ Sun Star
You can see the seahorse sculptures at the Ice Alaska World Ice Art Championships. The culinary arts sculptures are located in the multi-block section across from lot #604.
The popular young adult novel “The Hunger Games” is coming to the big screen, and there’s a lot of talk about who’s going to play the lead role of Katniss Everdeen. The casting call asked for a Caucasian actor between the ages of 15 and 20, who could portray someone “underfed but strong” and “naturally pretty underneath her tomboyishness.” The rumor mill is saying that Jennifer Lawrence, a blonde-haired blue-eyed 20-year-old, is the definitive frontrunner for the role. In the book, Everdeen is described as having ‘olive skin and dark hair,’ a description that should have left the call open to other ethnicities. - Jezebel
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Campus Life
March 22, 2011
Sports Briefs Compiled by Rebecca Coleman Sun Star Reporter
Hockey season over after second round of playoffs After defeating Michigan State in the first round of the CCHA playoffs, the Nanooks headed to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami for round two, March 11 and 12. Two nights in a row, Alaska took the first goal of the game, but was shut down by the Red Hawks 4-1. In Friday’s game, senior Bryant Molle tallied the only goal for the Nanooks. In Saturday’s game, that honor went to sophomore Chad Gehon. Both nights, Miami doubled Alaska’s shots on goal: they outshot the Nanooks 36-18 on Friday, and 36-15 on Saturday. -Alaskananooks.com
Rifle takes sixth place at nationals Six Nanook shooters voyaged to Columbus, Ga. March 11 and 12 for the NCAA Rifle Championships. Senior Cody Rutter, sophomores Aaron Holsopple and Cole Bures, and freshmen Michael Liuzza and Anna Hjelmevoll made up the five-member Alaska team. Senior Ida Peterson represented Alaska as an individual for the smallbore competition. Rutter led the Nanooks on the first day of competition with his 580 score in smallbore. On day two, Hjelmevoll’s 592 in air rifle made her the only Nanook to make it to a 10-shot final. She shot 102.2 in the final and placed fourth of the eight shooters. Alaska finished fifth in smallbore and sixth in air rifle, giving them an overall sixth-place finish.
The Sun Star
UAF to build outdoor education center Jeremia Schrock Sun Star Reporter By fall of 2011, university students and community members will have a new way to stay active. Both Chancellor Brian Rogers and the ASUAF senate have invested $50,000 each toward the construction of an outdoor education center. $100,000 has been invested so far. The university is taking the new center seriously enough that an outdoor recreation expert was flown up to consult with both the administration and student leaders. Mike Anderson, who runs Petra Cliffs, a climbing center and mountaineering school in Vermont, discussed building locations and the potential types of recreation that the center could offer. Ideas for the center include a zipline system from upper campus to lower, as well as structures for year-round ice climbing and bouldering. A zipline system incorporates a series of pulleys that are mounted on cables then strung high up in the air. An individual is then strapped to the cable with a harness, giving one all the fun of Tarzan without the worry of a snapping vine. The center would also offer rock and ice climbing certification. In addition to the center, Mike Sfraga, Vice Chancellor for Students, added that the university plans to install snowboarding rails beneath the Butrovich building.
People use the sledding hill next to the student recreation complex on a sunny afternoon. Currently this is one of the few outdoor winter recreation options on campus. The new outdoor education center will be located just west of this hill, where a stand of trees are currently located at the roundabout where Thompson drive meets with Tanana Loop. March 20, 2011. Photo by Greg Culley
“Make the life center of the campus be the outdoor education center,” Anderson said during a January meeting with the student government. Sfraga couldn’t agree more, adding that when he attended UAF as a student in the 1990’s, he was often at a loss for what to do on campus in the winter. Sfraga alleviated student concerns when he stated that the cost of the center did not justify an additional fee. The goal is to make the center financially self-reliant,
drawing in revenue from community and tourist use of the center. The university administration intends to have “something significant” up by this coming fall semester. The center will be built between the lower slope of Butrovich and Beluga Field. The area is wooded and is the site of an old and ungroomed ski trail. Facilities Services maintains a multipurpose trail that currently cuts across the future build site.
-Alaskananooks.com
Pavlovskaya swims solo at nationals Senior Mariya Pavlovskaya took the trip to San Antonio, Texas by herself March 9-12 for the NCAA Division II Championships, as she was the lone Nanook to qualify. She competed in the 200 Yard IM on day one, but didn’t qualify for either a final or consolation final. She swam much faster in the 400 Yard IM on day two, qualifying for a consolation final and a 13th place finish. On the last day of competition, she swam in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and the 200 Breaststroke. With the 200 Breaststroke, she qualified for the final and swam the fastest of her career and just shy of her lifetime best, earning a 12th place finish. -Alaskananooks.com
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Perspectives
Weekend Wanderlust
March 22, 2011
11
technician? Have you ever had to perform what you can do to assist their efforts. in high-stress, high-risk situations? If you Sign up for disaster preparedness courses answered no to more than one of the above through recognized organizations and questions, the odds are astronomically then practice what you learn so that if your on the side of you being little more than a hometown turns out to be the next breaking burden once you arrive. Even if you man- news location, you’ll be more likely to both Jamie Hazlett aged to not have an immediate breakdown survive and be of aid to others afterwards. Sun Star Columnist when confronted with the sheer level of Finally, remember that a disaster, even awful to be found on what’s left of the streets one that registers as a 9.0, doesn’t spell I have lost count of the number of times wreaking amongst our fellows. With any of Sendai, you probably wouldn’t even be the end of a destination. The biggest thing this last week I have heard someone talking luck, dark tourism on this level makes us any good at shifting rubble. Especially if you that you will be able to do for Japan in the about how they wish they could go to Japan better, kinder human beings. There is an don’t know enough Japanese to call for help months and years to come is to keep your and lend a hand with that nation’s current extreme, however, that should only be ven- or ask where you should concentrate your eyes and ears open, because sooner or later crisis. The same ineffectual lamentations of tured into by those who have the neces- efforts. they’ll be inviting the world to come eat would-be do-gooders were made after the sary skills, foresight, and mettle to not only This is not intended as a mockery of sushi rather than to lug emergency supplies. earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the humani- survive the trip, but to be of use to the real people who are compassionate enough to When the nation and its people are ready for tarian issues in Darfur and in the aftermath victims rather than becoming one of them. want to do something to alleviate the suf- travelers to return, they will make it known. of a thousand other disasters. The desire to This is the extreme that those purporting fering that we are being constantly told is The return of foreign visitors not dressed in help other people in desperate need of aid is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. If all the goodwill of the people wanting to do something to help the latest group of victims could be transmogrified into needed material goods and the ability to get said supplies where they were in the shortest supply, that would be phenomenally useful. Unfortunately that isn’t how things work. Some of you may have heard the term “Dark Tourism” before. For those who have not, the phrase is used to describe traveling to places that have an air or history of death or destruction. It also applies to situations like the one unfolding in Japan, where a new chapter of pain is being written. Even if yoiu do not travel to a place specifically because it has a bloody past or present, you are still engaging in dark tourism, unless you’ve somehow managed to make your way to Auschwitz without knowing anything whatsoever about the Second World War. The only people who might be exempt from this are seasoned aid workers who have seen so many apocalyptic scenes that it’s no longer exciting, the people who come home and don’t want to talk about what they saw or did or how things were because they’ve become OFUNATO, Japan (March 15, 2011) A Mickey Mouse doll lies among debris in Ofunato following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. (U.S. Navy photo by numb to it. The rest of us must face the fact Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Matthew M. Bradley/Released) Flickr: creative commons. that we are driven to help first-hand at least desires or intents to venture into war zones, present in this week’s cause celebre. Quite blaze orange is a sign that a place ravaged by partly by a perverse need to experience an plague areas, and disaster sites “just to help” to the contrary, it is meant to be an encour- disaster is on the road to an economic upextreme that we simply are not equipped to have to realize they are facing before they agement to think, and then to act. If your swing. Perhaps more importantly for an inunderstand. set out to do good. first thought is that you want to help, that’s ternational hub like Japan, such a return will This is not necessarily a bad impulse. Take Japan as a case in point. Do you great. Now step back and realize that your foster a sense of normalcy for the residents Like anything, in moderation, dark tourism speak Japanese fluently? Are you familiar non-fluent, untrained self can do much who remember when badly-dressed tourcan be an extraordinary – and in some cases with Japanese customs beyond taking more good if you don’t immediately try to ists were an everyday sight. That, seatmates, necessary - tool. Visiting places like Aus- your shoes off at the door? Have you been get to Japan to “pitch in.” Give some of that is when those of us whose Japanese ends at chwitz or Hiroshima serves to both make us trained for disaster aftermath management, airfare to a charity that is sending over sup- “domo arigato” will be able to do our part. more aware of the past and to begin to rec- or do you have some specialized skill or plies and people who are trained for these ognize the incredible amounts of damage knowledge that would lend itself to the situ- types of situations. Contact local charitable and pain we are far too easily capable of ation such as being a doctor or nuclear groups like the American Red Cross and ask
Dark tourism
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March 22, 2011
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Perspectives
March 22, 2011
The Sun Star
Letters to the Editor Have something to say? Say it here. The Sun Star welcomes reader commentary.
Jeremy Smith Sun Star Columnist
Stop smoking out smokers
The shipping bruise Sometimes living in Alaska is just a huge pain. It’s not only the 40 below temperatures or the lack of sunlight, but also the sheer costs that we are forced to accept when having something delivered. How many times have you been researching a product online, found the perfect price (with free shipping no less), only to discover that either: a) it is only shipped next day air at a price higher than that of the product itself, or b) only available in the “continental 48 states”? I always question the company when it comes to the latter. If you look at a map, I argue, you will see that Alaska is indeed connected to the “continental 48 states” via a little tract of land called “Canada,” which is a part of the continent called “North America.” Of course, they tell me they just don’t ship to Alaska, or if they do, they won’t honor the free shipping price. I’ve had three recent events that just hammered this home to me, each one more ridiculous than the last. First up is game publisher Ubisoft, maker of electronic fare such as “Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood” and “Prince of Persia.” Attempting to purchase one of these games through Ubisoft’s site is impossible if your credit card is from Alaska. There is no option for choosing Alaska. Thinking it was a programming oversight, I contacted customer service, assuming a quick correction and someone eager to take my money. Two weeks and five email exchanges later, you still cannot select Alaska as a billing option and I was forced to go to a local store to make my purchase. Then there is Amazon. Granted, if you look up products with Amazon’s “free shipping” option they will ship to Alaska for
free… usually. But it is their Amazon Prime service that drives me up the wall. Offered free to students, the normally $79 program provides special prices and offers on college essentials along with free second-day shipping on all orders. Well it does… except to Alaska. After asking them why, they pointed to their clearly worded “available only to the contiguous 48 states” buried in their terms of service. Basically, Amazon Prime for students in Alaska nets you extra spam messages. My final incident deals with a technology I was going to review called OnLive. It’s a pretty slick idea of bringing games to you via streaming technology, requiring nothing more than the OnLive software and a fast Internet connection. This could potentially mean no more upgrading of components or purchasing game consoles in order to play the new digital hotness. After sending me multiple offers about their new TV adapter, which is free of charge with a game purchase, and seeing that my Internet speed was up to the challenge, I signed up and awaited my unit. Imagine my surprise when the company said that not only was my connection too slow to run the streaming software, but they don’t ship the hardware anywhere outside the lower 48. Thankfully, OnLive refunded my money quickly and without any hassle, so kudos to them. But no shipping to Alaska, or Hawaii for that matter, again? Maybe it’s time for us to form a trade alliance with the Aloha state and cut off access to salmon and pineapples. Jeremy talks and takes on technology at gpfault.org.
Support green energy Dear Editor, It has recently come to my attention that a department within this university pulled travel funding from a student after notifying said student that the department would fund their travel. The reason? The department decided that due to the “political nature” of the event that the student wanted to attend, they could not afford to appear as “supporting” the politics involved. This particular student was going to attend Power Shift, a convention that focuses on leadership and organizational skills as well as shifting awareness away from Big Oil and King Coal towards alternative energy methods such as wind, solar and geothermal sources. So in light of this, this particular department does not want to show support for alternative and innovative ways for renewable and sustainable energy. Rather, the department seems to want to continue with the status quo and think within the box. How can a university department NOT support green and alternative energy? How can it deny its students the opportunity to learn new methods of power? I would think that a department with a budget and a student population that is probably very nearly the largest on this university would encourage their students to travel to conferences such as this and support green energy, especially with the degree this department offers; but this demonstrates to us how politics can impede progress. I just want the department to know that Green Energy is on its way, regardless of the politics involved, and if you want to support your students in their degree choice and ensure that they are on the front lines of innovation, effectively spearheading the push towards alternative and sustainable energy, thus broadening their career field, then support them in going to conventions such as these. Politics be damned. Ryan Sanders
In March 8’s issue, the police blotter reported an increasingly common story: an individual charged with marijuana possession. What concerned me about the “Out for a Smoke” report was that a man tries to start smoking outside Lola Tilly Commons, and “police were contacted.” I would like to take issue with the anonymous tipster who felt compelled to ruin this guy’s day. Seriously, ignorant sir or madam, what did this have to do with you? Someone chooses to consume a harmless plant within your line of sight, and your first instinct was to punish him for it. What is wrong with you? People like you, who blindly help enforce immoral laws, need to wake up and recognize that these “criminals” are normal people, whose favorite herb happens to be illegal. You’ve obviously never smoked, but imagine that you had to sneak outside to drink your morning coffee, more dangerous and addictive than Marijuana for its caffeine, and someone called the police on you. You would ask yourself the same question every Marijuana smoker asks: Why? Although decades of government propaganda have done terrible things to the reputation of Marijuana, it is every individual’s responsibility to be properly informed before taking action. Whoever called the police in this instance lives in fear of a substance less harmful than coffee, alcohol, or cigarettes, and should read some factual evidence concerning the subject, instead of whatever propaganda motivated them to smoke out this smoker. Ryan Fleharty
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Editorial
www.uafsunstar.com Campus Research Day Let’s do an experiment: Ask somebody “what is research? who is a scientist?” I predict that most will respond with something from the natural or physical sciences. Admittedly, Alaska’s only research university has highly visible indicators of important STEM research that typify the images in the public mind of science and research. However, expanding the science literacy of the public requires viewing research through a different lens, understanding science in a different context. Consider the phrase ‘research university.’ How apropos we use a humanities term used to describe ourselves. The term research first appeared in 1539 to describe the act of searching closely (Old French rechercher: Cercher- “to seek for” and re- an intensifying prefix, “closely”). Research at UAF also occurs in less visible settings-faculty offices, archives, studios, rural villages, as well as laboratories. There liberal arts scientists (Latin scient for “knowing” “skillful”) are researching topics as fascinating and varied as the world in which we live. Research, by computer artist Miho Aoki culminated in a supercomputer tsunami animation featured
on NOVA. Science by historian John Heaton contributed new understanding of efforts to produce hydroelectric power in Southcentral Alaska during the Cold War era. Campus Research Day is UAF’s showcase for undergraduate research. In addition to the possibility of a cash prize, a student poster presentation is a good resume item for employment or graduate school applications. No fooling! The application period opens April 1. I particularly challenge CLA undergraduates and their faculty mentors to consider this a teachable moment. Anita Hartmann, PhD Associate Dean UAF College of Liberal Arts
Congratulations Sun Star Congratulations to the Sun-Star and especially Andrew Sheeler on a great earthquake report. I would also like to thank the person who commented on the News-Miner EQ report, directing readers to the Sun-Star for further coverage. As a UAF graduate, I’m proud to see the university continuing to excel. Sincerely, June Cook
Letters to the editor should be no more than 250 words in length. Please include the author’s full name and contact information (phone number, e-mail or address). E-mail your letters (preferred) to editor@uafsunstar.com, fax them to 474-5508, or mail them to to PO Box 756640, Fairbanks, AK, 99775. Letters must be received by Friday at 5 p.m. in order to run in the next issue. All letters are subject to editing for brevity and grammar.
Coffee Break
xkcd
Sudoku
March 22, 2011
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Spring cleaning For the Sun Star, Spring Break meant spring cleaning. It was time to finally do something about all those stacks of old Sun Star issues. My goal was to organize the large pile of clutter on my desk into several smaller, neater piles of clutter. I had no idea going in to this that I was set to unearth the mother lode of UAF history. Part of cleaning involved going through old Sun Star issues, sorting them and archiving them in boxes. I admit, I am terrible at this sort of thing, mainly because I am so easily distracted. Such a treasure trove of history is irresistible to me, and I spent more time reading than I did sorting. Here are a few things that I found: • UAF student apathy is not a new thing. An editorial written by Sun Star Editor Genezaret Barron in the Oct. 4, 1994 issue lamented about the inability of UAF students to give a damn. He wrote, “UAF is well known for its apathetic student body only interested in getting THAT piece of paper at the end of four years.” Barron was disturbed by UAF students lack of concern or even awareness about the “program assessment” that was going on, where UAF programs were being evaluated and, in some cases, terminated. With UA President Patrick Gamble declaring a zero growth strategy for the coming years and the recently released Fisher Report calling for a streamlined university system, could we be entering another period of program assessment? • Speaking of Genezaret Barron, I learned that he was more than just a name of a dark room on the lower level of the Bunnell Building. Like me, he was an older student who became editor of the Sun Star. He was a prolific photographer and a fixture of the UAF campus. On Oct. 4, 1994, he was murdered, along with a fellow student and a professor. I was shocked. A Sun Star editor was murdered. I went back and read his last editorial, which came out the same day that he died. Barron had written about the perils of student apathy, that they shouldn’t be so quick to cheer the possible de-funding or termination of the UAF police department. Chillingly, he even mentioned the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie in Bartlett Hall. When Barron died, UAF students took a rare break from their apathy to tie black ribbons around trees across campus and to gather and mourn. • An issue from Feb. 4, 1997 caught my eye with the following headline: “Student stripper making the grade.” The story profiled a student named Joanna who was putting herself through college by working as a stripper. No really. What was most fascinating about that article is that it ran parallel to a story about a student sexual assault survivor speaking out. Was this juxtaposition intentional or accidental? Either way, it highlights one of the darker truths about UAF and the state of Alaska: we have a serious problem with rape. The article, and the accompanying sidebar entitled, “UAF struggles with reality of sexual assault,” calls in to stark relief that UAF’s problem with sexual violence is not new. That problem is a symptom of a greater problem with women. Case in point, the April 25, 1995 issue of the Sun Star. The headline was “Mac and Women’s Center face off in forum.” The story was accompanied by a photo of student Mike Branif keeping it classy by reading a copy of Penthouse during said forum. The residents of McIntosh Hall were protesting the hall becoming co-ed, a concept that seems positively medieval today. One Mac resident defaced the co-ed announcement memo with, “Bitches better stay home.” To be sure, the UAF community has come a long way since then. We’ve made great strides in integrating our dorms, and UAF has shown considerable support for the Women’s Center and its mission. But as far as we’ve come, there is further still to go. For example, UAF has a long way to go to address the discrepancy in pay and senior faculty positions between men and women. More than anything else, my spring cleaning adventure highlights just how important newspapers are to the communities they serve. The Sun Star provides a record, a context for the events that shape history. From Sophie Sergie’s death inspiring the current Residence Life rules for signing in to the passage of Alaska’s concealed handgun carry laws motivating the University of Alaska weapons ban, the Sun Star was there reporting and recording. Imagine what people will think of us 20 years from now.
Andrew Sheeler Editor-in-Chief UAF Sun Star
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