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In This Issue
October 16, 2012
The Sun Star
Staff
Speechless
EDITOR IN CHIEF Elika Roohi editor@uafsunstar.com (907) 474-5078 COPY EDITOR Lakeidra Chavis
The Sun Star Volume XXXII Issue 8 October 16, 2012 The Sun Star’s mission as a campus voice for UAF is to report the news honestly and fairly, announce and chronicle events and provide a forum for expressions of opinion. 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
LAYOUT EDITOR Galen Lott layout@uafsunstar.com (907) 474-6039 PHOTO EDITOR Maleaha Davenport ADVERTISING MANAGER Eli Carlson ads@uafsunstar.com (907) 474-7540 MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Ian Larsen web@uafsunstar.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Shaun Nesheim distribution@uafsunstar.com REPORTERS Alan Fearns Alisha Drumm Brix Hahn Daniel Leahy Lakeidra Chavis Erin McGroarty Annie Bartholomew Lex Treinen PHOTOGRAPHERS Erin McGroarty Alan Fearns Allen Obermiller Carolyn Deskins Maleaha Davenport Lauren Fisher ADVISOR Robyne
A side view of the wooden bowls done by Ken Whitten at the museum artisan expo held at the Uinveristy of Alaska Museum. October 12, 2012. David Spindler/ Sun Star
Fernanda Chamorro Sun Star Reporter
Flaptop
Oct. 7- A woman reported an assault that occurred at Starvation Gulch. The Bartlett Hall Resident Director reported the incident to police. The victim was unwilling to talk with the officer. The officer gave her the campus police’s contact information.
Light green, red light
Oct. 1- A complainant reported their Oct. 7- A 19-year-old Fairbanks man laptop went missing from an employee desk was arrested after police stopped his vein the Patty Center. hicle for a traffic violation on Yukon Drive and discovered that he was in possession Toasted and roasted of marijuana. The police transported him to Oct. 5- Someone nearby reported the Fairbanks Correctional Center. He was people possibly smoking marijuana in a charged with the possession of marijuana vehicle in the Skarland Hall parking lot. An and trespassed from all UAF property. officer found the vehicle and the owner, an 18-year-old Skarland Hall resident. The ofDude, where’s my bike? ficer summoned him and two other men for Oct. 7- A complainant reported a bike the possession of marijuana. theft from the Moore Hall bike rack. Police are investigating the theft.
Behind clothes doors
Oct. 5- A Bartlett Hall resident reported I did it to campus police that their jeans were stolen Oct. 8- A 52-year-old man from Fairfrom the laundry room. The investigation is banks called campus police from the wood ongoing. center to turn himself in for an outstanding warrant. He was transported from the Wood Center to the FCC by police.
This week on the website: Technophobe • The Sun Star podcast is back, • The age of ads being uncool baby! Check it out on the website on Facebook is over. Sorry, Justin or listen to it on KSUA 91.5 FM. Timberlake.
Corrections In last week’s issue, we said the guy on the cover was Frank Olive. It was actually Jason Theis who was participating in the crosscut log saw competition. We also called the Far North Sports Festival the Lumberjack Fair. We apologize for the errors.
Politics
www.uafsunstar.com
October 16, 2012
3
ASUAF Recap- October 14, 2012 Senators present Will Collingwood, Bryant Hopkins, Virginia Miner, Michael Golub, Nathaniel O’Connor, Ayla O’Scannell, McKinley Zakurdaew, Matthew Dakus, Olivia Bowen, Michael Magnan and Bake Burley
Senators absent Sarah Walker, Andy Chamberlain and Rusty Young
Voting is important
which seat they can run for. The legislation on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. in Schaible auditorium. The legislation was expedited Fred Brown was nominated to serve on was sent to the internal affairs committee. since the forum takes place on Tuesday. The the elections board. The board oversees the Nothing says a party like senate passed the legislation by a 10-1-0 elections by advertising about the elections, vote. Magnan abstained. tallying up the votes and holding voting pizza booths in the various locations on campus. Hopkins sponsored legislation “SB The nomination was sent to the university 179-006 Funding for Pizza: 4th Candidate relations committee. Forum.” The legislation would allocate $300 from senate projects to purchase pizza for Amendments make the the 4th candidate forum that will take place
world go ‘round
Walker sponsored “SB 179-005 Amendment to the Elections Bylaws.” The legislaMari Freitag and Dillon Ball tion would change the current section of the bylaws that restricts what the elections Moving on Frietag announced that ASUAF public board can change in the elections manual. relations director, Joshua Banks will be re- The legislation would omit the part of the signing from his job. Banks received an op- bylaws that requires members of ASUAF to portunity to work with Senator John Coghill. run for specific seat on the ASUAF senate. As a result, the elections board would have His last day will be Oct. 24. more say in how senators are elected and
Officers present
NIH Grant Gives CANHR Boost for Next Five Years Lex Treinen Sun Star Reporter The Center for Alaska Native Health Research announced on October 5 that it received a $5.3 million five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. Bert Boyer, the Director of the ten-yearold research center said that the grant is crucial in the center’s transition from building a foundation in Alaska Native communities to doing more research projects The National Institutes of Health awards $30.8 billion in grant funding per year to 2,500 universities and research institutions, according to its website. Boyer said that despite the large funding, the grant application is extremely competitive. Less than ten percent of the total applicants receiving the funding. To get the grant, the CANHR had to prove that its researchers and the university had the resources and knowledge to make projects successful. Boyer said the Center’s Boyer said that the pilot programs will most likely continue to focus the research centers’ special interest areas like of metabolic disorders, mental health, suicide prevention and obesity. CANHR wants to conduct more cancerfocused research. Alaska Natives face huge disparities with cancer. For example Boyer
pointed out the colorectal cancer rates in Northwest Alaska, which are the highest in the nation according to Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium numbers. Of the $5.3 million the research center will recieve, a third will fund three or four pilot projects.The rest will go to fund core operations of the center, which Boyer said give support to those researchers unfamiliar with challenges of doing health research in rural Alaska. An out-of-state review panel composed of research scientists will decide which of the projects have the most potential and which ones to fund Ashley Strauch, an undergraduate Junior psychology major currently involved with CANHR cancer research, said that she thought the NIH grant provides a great opportunity to expand research. “They do a good job of conducting good research,” Strauch said. Boyer stressed the innovative way that CANHR conducts research--community based participatory research--as well as the large disparities in Alaska Native health issues as reasons that the center and the grant are so important. Boyer will travel to Washington D.C. later this month to present CANHR’s methods.
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News
October 16, 2012
The Sun Star
A big splash Four Decades and two bottles of champagne later, UAF’s Sikuliaq launches in Wisconsin Robin Wood Sun Star Reporter
the Sikuliaq. Professor Emeritus and co-sponsor of UAF’s Research Vessel Sikuliaq speaks to the
Marinette, WIS. -- In 1973, professor crowd during the official launch ceremony emeritus Bob Elsner wrote the original pro- at Marinette Marine Corporation Oct. 13, posal for an ice-capable ship. Saturday his 2012 in Marinette, WIS. Robin Wood/Sun dream came one step closer to completion Star during the Sikuliaq’s official christening and
Elsner and co-sponsor and professor
launch. Now, after nearly four decades of
emeritus Vera Alexander shared the honor
hard work, multiple proposals and designs, of launching the 261-foot Research Vessel Elsner said the important thing to do is pre- Sikuliaq at Marinette Marine Corporation pare for the research that will take place on
in Wisconsin. After the first bottle of cham-
The Research Vessel Sikuliaq will set sail in Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. Photo courtesy of UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
pagne slipped from Alexander’s gloves, state-of-the-art, multi-beam sonar and crashing to the pavement below, she broke conducting fisheries studies. Getting time a replacement bottle across the ship’s bow.
aboard the vessel will prove difficult for as-
MMC workers moved Alexander to a safe
piring researchers. Dan Oliver, former com-
distance. Then Elsner pulled the trigger that
manding officer of the United States Coast
tipped the National Science Foundation-
Guard Cutter Healy and Sikuliaq project
owned and UAF-operated vessel into the manager said there’s already a backlog of Menominee River. In less than 10 seconds, the Sikuliaq
projects. The Sikuliaq can move through ice up
slid down the launch ramp and entered the to two and a half feet thick. Still, it will avoid water at a roughly 60-degree angle before multi-year ice. “It just doesn’t have the snapping back, bobbing up and down like a cork in a Jacuzzi. “The ability to get there,” excites School
horsepower,” Oliver said. Winter operations will be limited in areas north of St. Lawrence Island in the
of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Dean Mike Bering Sea. However, joint expeditions into Castellini. Castellini said he’s equally ex- thicker ice will be possible in conjunction cited about the two-way interaction capa- with true icebreakers, such as the Healy. bilities that will enable real-time conversa-
The first ice-capable research vessel
tions between scientists and people all over
owned by the National Science Founda-
the world. “It’s a whole new dimension to it,”
tion derives its name from an Inupiaq word
Castellini said. It’s a different world from the meaning “young sea ice.” days before modern satellite technology. Castellini recalled communication difficulties during his own science expeditions. Though it’s in the water, the Sikuliaq is not scheduled to begin its voyage to Seward until July 2013. It will then be another six months before scientists will begin research. Research will include taking core samples Professor Emeritus and co-sponsor of UAF’s Research Vessel Sikuliaq speaks to the crowd during the official launch ceremony at Marinette Marine Corporation Oct. 13, 2012 in Marinette, WIS. Robin Wood/Sun Star
directly from the ocean floor, mapping floor terrain up to depths of 4,500 meters using
www.uafsunstar.com
News
October 16, 2012
5
News briefs Oct. 16, 2012 Compiled by Brix Hahn
Multimedia more popular than sex
A new study shows that it is harder for adults to resist Facebook than sex. University of Chicago assistant professor Wilhelm Hoffmann conducted the survey. Hoffman included 205 participants in Germany, each were instructed to contact researchers every 30 minutes and report their desires, such as hunger, sexual urge, nicotine yearning, etc. The top reported cravings were eating and sleeping, followed by drinking, and finally the longing to access the Internet to check emails or Facebook. Having sex was the ninth over all wish on everyone’s list. -Wired
Strokes for all folks
UAF’s 261-foot Research Vessel Sikuliaq sits on the dock at Marinette Marine Corporation Oct. 13, 2012, Marinette, WIS. Oct. 13, 2012. Robin Wood/Sun Star
According to the American Academy of Neurology Journal, One in five stroke victims have reportedly been under the age of 55 in recent years. Their study included 1.3 million people who were 55 or younger. Nineteen percent of them had a stroke in 2005, which is up thirteen percent since 1993. The Stroke Association is now looking at several possible causes, but are considering the rise in diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol as main contributing factors. -BBC
Cause of panda club death determined
A giant panda that was born in the Smithsonian’s Nation Zoo in Washington D.C. died in September. Recently, the zoo released the bear’s cause of death, a lack of oxygen because of its underdeveloped lungs. The cub was 4-ounces and six days old at its time of death. -CNN
Novel Prize literature winner announced
This year, Mo Yan of China has been announced as the 111th winner of the Nobel prize for literature. Yan uses dark humor and imagination to convey his views of modern China to the rest of the world. His most recent work is “Frogs,” a novel that discusses China’s family planning policies. Yan is the first Chinese author to wince a Nobel prize since 2000. -New York Times
UAF’s Research Vessel Sikuliaq crashes into the Menominee River on a rainy day at Marinette Marine Corporation, Marinette, WIS. Oct. 13, 2012. Robin Wood/Sun Star
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News
October 16, 2012
The Sun Star
My Life in College The perils of working out Moral Mildred Sun Star Reporter I planned to spend my Tuesday night studying. I have two midterms next week that are going to make me cry. Instead, I was forced to watch other girls undress. My roommate and I go to the Student Recreation Center six days out of the week to do what she refers to as WTFOYA 2012 (“Work The Fat Off Your Ass 2012”). I usually refer to them as anti-obesity sessions, but the premise is the same. After stepping on the scale one day, and being unimpressed, we decided to be proactive about our weight. It’s been a painful and rewarding experience thus far, emphasis on the painful. I highly recommend going to the gym for many reasons. One, winter is coming and it’s really easy to gain an 15 extra pounds in the dreary depression that is Fairbanks’ winter. Two, it’s a great stress reliever and I read somewhere that exercise actually helps you focus. The SRC is full of lots of fun ways to
make your muscles ache, and the people there are usually non-judgmental. Or at least they keep their thoughts to themselves. More importantly, the locker room is a relatively safe place to keep your personal things without fear of them being stolen. In fact, recently my stuff was so safe not even I could get to them. Earlier this week, my roommate and I headed to the SRC. After walking past the basketball players and praying all the basketballs stayed very far away from our faces, we entered the locker room, changed into clothes we felt better about sweating through, and put everything else into a locker. I distinctly remember my clothes being locker number eight. After our workout though, locker number eight had a nice, little lock on it. We both thought that this was super unfortunate, since the lock belonged to neither one of us. We then checked every other locker, talked to the lovely young lady at the front desk. We discovered that we had two options. We could wait in the locker room
for someone to come realize their mistake or harass every female in the SRC until someone owned up to it. We picked the option that probably wouldn’t get us arrested, picked a bench in the locker room and immediately began to do what I imagine anyone would do in this situation: swear creatively. My roommate decided she was MacGyver, and was going to open that lock with a bobby pin. So we searched the floor of the locker room and picked up any pieces of metal we could find. We found a single bobby pin. After aging a good 10 years, I stopped being frustrated with the situation and defaulting into my normal state of being: really bad jokes. While my roommate still fuddled with the lock, her actions peppered with some not-so-very-nice words, I mentioned to her the possibility that the owner of the lock was some ninety year old woman. If that was the case, we wouldn’t be able to be angry at her because she survived the depression. My roommate giggled a bit, and
turned around to give me her, “You’re IQ is probably low” look, when in walked an elderly lady. Three guesses to which lock her key went to. The woman was very nice and apologized for mistakenly locking the wrong locker. As it turns out, she had put her stuff in the locker next to ours but after closing the locker door but accidentally put the lock on the wrong one. We thanked her for unlocking it, assured her it was no big deal, grabbed our stuff and left. So I guess the moral of the story is this: if you don’t lock your personal items safely into a locker at the SRC, someone else might. This will probably not make you a happy bunny. Also, you’re roommate is probably not MacGyver. Moral Mildred writes a student life column detailing the ups and downs of living in Fairbanks and attending UAF.
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Campus Life
October 16, 2012
7
Mahjong society is a game of skill and luck Alisha Drumm Sun Star Reporter UAF’s Leadership, Involvement Volunteer, Experience hosted a student organization fair last week where student organizations on campus had the opportunity to spread the word about who they are and what they do. Forty-three different student organizations were a part of the LIVE Student Organization Fair, including the Mahjong Society. The Mahjong society is a new student organization that focuses on the fairly underground game of Mahjong. Mahjong is a four player game where the objective is to make hands and to win points from a variety of tiles with different face values. The game of Mahjong was originally developed in China around 500 B.C, but it is played all around the world, in many different versions today. The game is a combination of skill, strategy, calculation and luck, and is similar to “Gin Rummy.” Mahjong is played with 144 tiles that are either suits, honors or flowers. The main goal is to be the first person to get a com-
On Thursday October 11, the Mahjong club met to play a few games of their beloved game. After shuffling the tiles, club members arranged the tiles face down in a square in preparation for the start of the game. Carolyn Deskins/ Sun Star
plete hand: four sets of three and a pair. Mahjong is a complex game that takes time and practice to master, but once you know the ins and outs of the game it is hard to put down, according to the members of the Mahjong Society. Players first begin the game of Mahjong by sitting in a circle and forming a hand with their tiles. The players look at their hands
and at the tiles the other members have laid down and decide what is the most tactical move. “My favorite part of this organization is being able to see a lot of different people come in and start playing Mahjong who have never heard of the game or you think would never have an interest in the game and then end up loving Mahjong” said Andrew Ivey, a
member of the Mahjong Society. Linnea Doumas, a member of the Mahjong Society has only known about the game of Mahjong for about a month. “I heard about the game in my Japanese class, and decided to come to a meeting and see what it was like. I really enjoy it now,” Doumas said. The Mahjong Society has only been around for about three weeks. The club meets on Mondays at 5 p.m. and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in Greuning 306. “Eventually we plan on having a tournament in the ballroom where we will offer prizes to those who rank high. Anyone is welcome to come out and be a part of the tournament,” Ivey said. The ancient game of Mahjong, a game of skill, calculation and tactic is celebrated through the Mahjong Society. The Mahjong Society welcomes anyone who wants to exercise their strategy skills and test their luck by joining them at the Mahjong Society in Greuning 306 on Mondays and Thursdays, where they keep the ancient game of Mahjong alive.
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October 16, 2012
News
The Sun Star
Solar goes polar SRC’s new solar panels’ efficiency in question Alan Fearns Sun Star Reporter The Review of Infrastructure, Sustainibility and Energy Board is almost finished installing solar panels that will cover the Student Recreation Center. The solar panels will cover 4 percent of the building’s electrical demand. This is the first large scale solar sustainability project at UAF and is completely student run. In 2007, Charles “Chinook” Ward, Utilities Division Director and Mike Ruckhaus, Manager of Design and Construction
provided $28,000 to fund the project Although the project is located at the student funded SRC, the solar panels will not be lowering the athletics fee until further actions are taken. The SRC is currently not paying for electricity, so reducing their electric bill is not applicable. The state of Alaska currently pays for all the electricity. The campus energy grid is a whole, and all buildings’ electricity will need to be further separated and charged by the individual energy usages. Until this goes into effect, lowering student fees remains a long term goal. “The panels are expected to be in use
SRC needs. If any power is unused by the SRC it will be transferred through the campus’ energy grid system to some place else. The were many deciding factors when it came to choosing whether to put the panels on the roof or side wall of the SRC. The Cold Climate Housing Research Center did studies finding that in Alaska, the sun sits relatively low, and placing the panels vertical would not change the energy payoff. Since the SRC wall is south facing, the power will not decrease, but may increase in Spring with additional reflections from
made to change out the building’s light bulbs and installing bicycles that produce electricity. As the overall energy consumption is lowered, the solar panels intake will become more noticeable. “Once the ball started rolling, everybody could get on board and be like ‘Yeah, lets put solar everywhere,’” Huff said. The SRC Solar PV project has spurred other solar powered projects at the Sustainable Village and the University Ave firehouse. Four solar arrays were completed October 5 at the village, and the firehouse array is estimated to be finished in three
The Student Recreation Center boasts its newly installed soloar panels (pictured left) on the west side of the building amongst the construction on the Beluga feild on Oct 4 2012. Cordero Reid/Sun Star
worked together to set up UAF’s first solar array on the Taku Lot’s bus station. The goal of the installation was to observe the potential for solar energy on campus. According the Office of Sustainability’s website, the 510 watt system consisting of 3 panels, provided an estimated 60 kilowatts per hour of energy. These results caused Ward and Ruckhaus to push for a larger project. “They wanted to do something bigger, but were denied by the university,” said Jessie Huff, SRC Solar PV project leader. In the summer of 2010, UAF grad student, Jessie Huff proposed the idea for 15 kW solar panels at SRC, as a graduate student in the summer of 2010 to the Director of Sustainability, Michelle Hebert. “It is my job to help students get their ideas out and assist as much as I can,” Hebert said. The RISE Board and collective Student Initiative for Renewable Energy Now fees
for the next 50 years, eventually students will see the money from electrical savings of running the SRC,” Huff said. Huff’s research shows that solar photovoltaic technology, the use of converting sunlight to electricity, is an effective way to harvest energy due the campus’ northern altitude and low solar density. Although energy yieldings will be diminutive in the winter’s short daylight hours, the SRC requires more energy during the summer months to circulate air throughout the buildings. UAF’s current source of energy is the campus power plant. The plant burns coal to provide electricity and heat to the campus year round. Only thirty percent of the potential energy from burning coal is turned into electricity while the rest is turned to steam that supplies heat. During summer months solar-thermal technology would be excessive with the leftover heat from coal. Therefore, solar PV technology is used to contribute to the electricity that the
snow. Placing the panels on the roof would have allowed the panels to be larger, but risks of leaks and snow gathering finalized the decision to put it on the side wall. “We decided on the wall system, because of the location of everything, it seemed more natural, and easier to run the electrical into the building. We went with it, and kept moving forward,” said Huff According to Mark Oldmixon, Director of Recreation, Adventure and Wellness, the SRC staff does not have a part in the project other than it being on their building. The installation has caused disruptive noise, but it “pales in comparison” to the other campus construction, Oldmixon said. “Every once in awhile the building will shake, but I have no complaints whatsoever. It adds aesthetic to the building,” Oldmixon said. Along with the south-sun-facing walls, RISE chose the SRC for solar panels for greater energy efficiency. Plans have been
weeks. The new projects did not require as much approval, since the panels are attached to poles instead of a building. “When you want to touch a university building, you need a lot of approval. People have to sign off of things, engineering plans need approval,” Huff said. “Where if you want to put a pole on the ground and stick solar panels on it, you don’t have to go through all the hoops. With buildings, its like a remodel.” The mission of these projects are to progress UAF in becoming a model for sustainability in the far north and conserve energy. Average expected energy accumulation can be viewed based off the Taku’s solar panel charts from the Office of Sustainability web page.
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News
A worker roots through his bib searching for a tool to work on the wiring of the newly installed solar panels on the west side of the Student Recreation Center (SRC) building on Oct 4 2012. Cordero Reid/Sun Star
October 16, 2012
9
www.uafsunstar.com
Arts & Entertainment
October 16, 2012
11
Alaskan artists display their works at annual artisan expo Claire-Elise Baalke Sun Star Reporter With 18 vendors selling their wares at the UAF’s Museum of the North, the 2012 Artisan Expo was a hit starting at 10 a.m. and going until 5 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 13. The artwork spanned from jewelry and scarves,
to pottery and paintings. The artisan expo is an annual event where Alaskan artists come together to display their works and sell them. “There might be a few UAF students,” said Codi Burk, a theater student and museum attendant. The percentage of UAF students was low, but the turnout was high. According to Burk there was a surprisingly big turnout at only 11 in the morning because they had good advertising. “You have to be known to become a part of the show,” said Chelsey Curry, a museum attendant and UAF student. Artists
like Dee Carpenter, who was selling paintings and bags, said that this was her first year at the show. Whereas for other artists, such as Terra Shideler, who makes baskets, said she’s been attending for 3 years. Wendy Smith-Wood, who designs textured scarves, says she’s been taking part in the expo for 2 years.
“If you talk to the artists, they love this show,” Curry said. Burk stated that most of the artists that come to the expo have pieces of their work for sale in the museum store, so they come to the show to promote their work. UAF students may not have been represented at the expo, but can still promote the artistic community through the Museum of the North. Looking forward to next years’ artisan expo Burk says she would like to see more pottery because the pottery is her favorite part.
A beautiful glass display of a single diamond is shown at the University of Alaska Museum during the artisan expo. October 12, 2012. David Spindler/Sun Star
An Athabascan doll stands among many others at the artisan museum expo held at the University of Alaska museum. October 12, 2012. David Spindler/Sun Star
Terra Shideler who is into basket weaving does a theme for each basket at the University of Alaska Museum during the artisan expo. October 12, 2012. David Spindler/Sun Star
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Arts & Entertainment
October 16, 2012
The Sun Star
Ingenious improv Students laugh and act at SDA event Sam Allen Sun Star Reporter Lil’ Wayne, Thor and Typhoid Mary are vying for the affections of one lucky bachelor. Carrot Top, Whitney Huston and Popeye are answering questions about things they found in the garbage. People were rolling on the floor laughing at the student drama association’s evening of improv. Host Melissa Buchta, a theater student, and approximately 20 students crammed into a small room in Gruening on Wednesday evening for over two hours. The SDA event introduced improv to beginners and veterans alike with games such as celebrity jeopardy, the dating game and freeze. Freeze is a game in which a person can yell out “freeze” during a scene, tap one of the actors on the shoulder, replace them and completely change the direction of the action. MJ Rosenberry, a petroleum engineering student, asked his friend Zac Rohan to attend the event with him. Rohan did an impressive imitation of Lil’ Wayne said. “They were like very fun, creative games we used to play when we were kids,” Rohan said. Ground Squirrel Improv, UAF’s improvizational troupe is currently on hiatus according to veteran performer Sam McKernin. McKerin said improv was a “gateway drug to theatre.” Buchta said the event was about “making each other laugh and goofing around.” The environment was really encouraging and even the zaniest of ideas were
Stephanie Sandberg looks much braver than her partner in the Sweedish Action Sci-Fi Film “The big What?” - Lauren Fisher / Sun Star Reporter
supported and cheered with delight. People were accepting of each other and would run with each others ideas without any hestitation or judgement. “This is a good stress reliever,” McKerin said. “Everyone can do it, you can drag someone in off the street and have people laughing,”
The Improvers lift a dead man off their friend - Lauren Fisher / Sun Star Reporter
Stephanie Sandberg and Tiana Hanson act out their newfound romance at the SDA Evening of Improv on Oct. 9. Lauren Fisher / Sun Star Reporter
Perspectives
www.uafsunstar.com
October 16, 2012
13
Alaska Book Week shines light on Alaskan’s creativity Ian Larsen Sun Star Reporter In order to spread interest of Alaskan novels and poetry to students, UAF held an event celebrating Alaska Book week at the Wood Center on Oct. 8. The Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Press, the Alaska Native Language Center, Permafrost and the UAF Bookstore put together the event. In order to get writers and poets interested in the event, book readings and an open mic were held. The booths set up in the Wood Center showcased Permafrost, the creative writing graduate short story book, library informa-
tion on Alaskan text and Alaskan titles sold at the UAF bookstore. Joan Braddock, the Director of the University of Alaska Press helped organize the event for UAF. The celebration of ABW is statewide, but for a while has mainly been celebrated in Anchorage since the host of ABW, 49 Writers, headquarters is there, Braddock said. This is Fairbanks’ first year hosting the event. The event went much better then expected, Braddock said. 49 Writers held a raffle in which two Alaskan novels were given away each day during the week in celebration of the event. “This is a good event for students who
write to get their name out there,” said Daryl Farmer, an English Professor at UAF. Published writers from Alaska such as UAF English Professors, Gerri Brightwell, Derick Burleson and poet laureate Peggy Shumaker read from their novels and poems for students during the book reading. Open mic was held from noon to two. Students were able to go up to the four seasons wall and recite their own or published works Although the theme of the event was “Alaskan books,” many of the speakers did not stick with that theme. Eric Alain Parker, a Creative Writing Graduate Student, shared two self-penned about freight driver accidents. This was his
first time taking part in an open mic reading. “I normally write about human insignificance, disasters,” Parker said. “I’m trained as a science major, so I wholly believe in evolution and specie’s ups and downs. We are definitely on a down, I guess that’s my inspiration.” “I think there is a lot of things going on campus with writing and books that people don’t know about,” Braddock said. “It’s nice to showcase established authors, like faculty writers and to encourage student authors with things like the reading and open mic.”
to a series of sexually based questions of his own devices and tailored to his personal desires which culminates in and eventually produces one ultimate question. “Would I have sex with her?” Ask any male. If he denies this fact, he is currently formulating a plan to get in your pants. If he does not, he is either gay, has already had sex with you, is uninterested in you or has supreme confidence that his admittance of this fact has no bearing on whether or not he can sleep with you. Welcome to college. 8. Judging by your tone, as you judged Ms. Mildred, it seems to me that you could benefit from a Titanic-esque moment in your life. 9. To suggest that Ms. Mildred has lost pride in her womanhood, especially after recognizing the article’s attempt at humor, is preposterous. 10. I don’t know and I don’t care whether Ms. Mildred will regret her actions or her article, but thoroughly judging and dressing down an individual based on a handful of paragraphs in a college newspaper precludes any form of respect as well. Live and let live. Jon Hochendoner
died and murdered for it, and some of us are still relatively new to this right thanks to Women’s Suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement. We have a choice to make, and to choose nothing is irresponsible and lazy! Unfortunately, it would seem it is our right to choose who would lead us, but not to choose from whom we are allowed to pick. We do not seem to have much power in deciding the pool from which our benevolent leaders are drawn, which leaves us with fewer and poorer options. Though our system is ostensibly accessible to anyone, we know this is not the case. Our presidential election is a spectacle one must pay to take part in, and the less cash you have to pony up, the less you get to play for. Thus, we are presented a narrow choice between two barely-different warmongers, with third-party voices marginalized by the two-headed Republicrat party. The common argument that one ought to “pick the lesser of two evils” is a cop out to an uncomfortable truth; voting a little bit less against your interests is still against your interests. When a product or service is bad, we boycott it. When workers are treated poorly, they strike. Refusing to participate in a broken and rigged system is a time-honored human tradition. This is ultimately a question of representation, and if you dare to declare that none are fit to represent you and choose to be led by nobody, you will not be alone. Forrest Andresen
Letters to the Editor I challenge that definition! Dear Editor, First of all, I support a person’s right to free speech. I applaud anyone who is willing to speak their mind, regardless of whoever they might offend, even if it is distasteful. However, I feel that the Sun Star’s posting of the Urban Dictionary’s definition of Fairbanks, Alaska was not just distasteful; it was completely uncalled for. Speaking as a lifelong resident, I found it incredibly offensive that a Fairbanksbased publication would actually publish such an insulting definition of my home town. I tried to take the joke with a salt shaker, to no avail. Just to point of a few of the more insulting comments: I don’t appreciate the insinuation that the soldiers stationed here are nothing more than statutory-rape time bombs. I don’t appreciate my home being compared to the setting of several Stephen King novels. And I especially don’t appreciate the definition of “Fairbanks good.” Many of the events held here are the result of many men and women working hard to put on a good show. But saying that because they can’t compare to what occurs in any other city, they are good in comparison because we are second-class citizens who don’t know any better. Then, if that weren’t enough; the 2 “definitions” (I’m using that term loosely) are accompanied with a headshot of Sarah Palin: the only person in recorded history to suffer a brain fart after being asked, “What do you read?”
There, that’s my piece. Sincerely, Freddy Fingazz
Re: Last week’s letters Dear Editor, I am writing in response to both Timothy Bledsoe and Kayla Harrison. Mr Bledsoe: We are currently caught in a middle eastern quagmire for one reason. Oil. Oil to sustain unsustainable lifestyles and to perpetuate a grossly disproportionate standard of living that citizens of this country have become accustomed to. Our government is absolutely willing to sacrifice American lives to that end. Additionally, war is extremely profitable to the corporations that vet the politicians who we elect. Ms. Harrison: I have several points to make regarding your letter. 1. Women love douchebags. 2. Women love attention. 3. Women love attention from douchebags. 4. Drunk women really love attention, douchebag status withstanding. 5. Arm chair criticism is useless, and in this case, likely misinformed. 6. If you think that dressing whorish and abusing alcohol deems Ms. Mildred inexperienced in that realm of socialization, maybe you need to spend some more time at the bar. Any bar. 7. In your daily activities across campus, know that every male that interacts with you, or even sees you, is judging you sexually while simultaneously subjugating you
Legitimizing the no-confidence vote Dear Editor, We are constantly reminded that voting is our sacred duty to our greatest of nation-states. To spurn this duty, to dare to refuse participation, is tantamount to heresy and treason. And after all, why not? This right was hard-fought for, people
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Perspectives
October 16, 2012
The Sun Star
UAF celebrates Ally Week This week, the Student Activities Office and Gay-Straight Alliance are working together to host Ally Week at UAF. Many campuses across the United States are bringing awareness to harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and the importance of support from their allies through events during this week. The week will kick-off with a talk by Pete Pinney, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Rural, Community and Native Education at UAF. Pinney has a long history with LGBT issues on campus. He’s been involved with the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance since 1998. In the fall of 2010, during the “It Gets Better” initiative,” Pinney posted a video encouraging LGBT students and telling the tale of his own coming out. He moved to Alaska before telling his parents, who were still in California. One of the highlights of the week is the “Safe Space Training” on Thursday afternoon. During the seminar, students will learn about how to make campus a safe place for LGBT people to feel comfortable and accepted. Juan Cruz, an SAO student worker is helping organize the event. According to Cruz, it’s not that UAF isn’t a safe campus, but there are always things we can learn. Ally Week is a unique event, in that it focuses on people who don’t necessarily define themselves as LGBT, but still support the community by standing up for LGBT people who are being bullied and harassed. There are seminars on how to become an ally, what it means and why it’s import. Concentrating on ways others can support
LGBT people is an important and essential part of shaping this issue in a positive way. Several years ago, I was studying different supreme court cases on gay rights issues for a class. A comment one of the other students in my class made stuck with me since then. She said that when reading through these cases and learning about the events surrounding them, she was consistently surprised by how recently these cases had occurred. Issues surrounding gay rights are still being discussed and decided right now. We can still have a profound impact on the direction they go. Which is the reason why UAF spending a week to open this discussion is important. Slowly, our campus has been gaining more ground in protecting the rights of LGBT people. In spring 2011, the UA Board of Regents added sexual orientation to their non-discrimination clause. Although it took them a little while to get to that point and the clause still doesn’t expressly protect the rights of transgender people, every step forward helps. All week at The Pub, there will be note cards out where people can write positive statements. Starting on Friday night, the notecards will be put on display. Events for Ally Week happen every day until Saturday night, the week will end with the Campus Couture Benefit Show at The Pub. Schedules can be found online and on posters around campus.
Elika Roohi Editor-in-Cheif
UAF PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT CLINIC •Services are private and confidential •Sessions are $10.00 per visit •Therapy is conducted by Graduate Student Therapists from UAF Psychology Doctoral Program
UAF is an AA/EO employer and educational institution.
Letters to the Editor Have something to say? Say it here. The Sun Star welcomes reader commentary. 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 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.
Say Ah Hand-foot-mouth disease Q: I have this weird rash on my hands and on the bottom of my feet. And I have some sores in my mouth. What’s going on? A: We have recently seen a few cases of Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) , on campus. It is a contagious viral infection. It causes painful sores to form in the mouth, on the hands, feet, buttocks and sometimes genitals. HFMD has no relation to hoof-and-mouth disease in cattle. It sounds like you may have contracted it. Q: How did I get it? A: The virus can travel in body fluids of an infected person. For example, the virus can be found in: • Mucus from the nose • Saliva • Fluid from one of the sores • Traces of bowel movements People with HFMD are most likely to spread the infection during the first week of their illness. But the virus can live in their body well after the symptoms have gone away. A: Q: Is there an antibiotic treatment for it? A: No. It usually goes away on its own within 2 to 3 days. Q: Should I see a health care provider? A: You should see a health care provider if you are very uncomfortable or have underlying medical conditions which may cause you
to be immunocompromised (e.g. taking steroids for a disease or have HIV). In addition, if you have high fevers which don’t resolve, a stiff neck, confusion, chest pain or mental status changes you should see a health care provider immediately. Q: How is hand, foot, and mouth disease treated? A: The infection itself is not treated. If you are in pain you can take Tylenol® or ibuprofen. The sores in the mouth can make swallowing painful. It is important to make sure that you get enough fluids so you don’t get dehydrated. Cold foods, like popsicles and ice-cream, can help to numb the pain. Soft foods, like pudding and gelatin, might be easier to swallow. Q: Can hand, foot, and mouth disease be prevented? A: Yes. Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water is not available, use hand sanitizer. It’s also important to keep your home clean and to disinfect surfaces often. Q: Should I go to school or work? A: If you have hand, foot, and mouth disease, it is best to stay away from other people during the first week of the illness. It is especially important to stay away from babies while you are ill.
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(907) 474-1999
Sponsored by UAF Student Health and Counseling Center 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
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Leisure Duly Noted
October 16, 2012
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October 16, 2012