The Lumberjack -- April 20, 2017

T H E L U MBE R JAC K

APRIL 20, 2017 - APRIL 26, 2017

From the Editor

Online at JackCentral.org

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uring the first 90 days of President Donald J. Trump, the country has gotten a taste of what the next four years are going to be like. In an era of fake news and uncertainty toward the media, I still believe in the power of the written word. I am still confident that a solid photograph has the ability to move people, as we saw with the photo of the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey by photojournalist Burhan Ozbilici, which won the World Press Photo of the Year Award last month.

Photos will always be important because they offer an insight into a moment. While each individual photographer has their own method and will produce different work, the image itself is a glimpse into the past. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying photos are not capable of lying. Like anything else, photos can be used to manipulate or to push an agenda, but I am confident in looking to photographers to tell the critical stories. It’s a matter of determining whether the source is credible, which is the crux of the issue right now for all mediums.

Last week, Art Cullen of The Storm Lake Times in Iowa won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. It warms my heart that a local writer can win a Pulitzer for challenging big agriculture business in an Iowa town of 10,000 people. I think for local journalists across the country, The Storm Lake Times’ win poses the question: “Why not me?”

As we approach graduation, I find myself looking back on my career with HALIE CHAVEZ The Lumberjack. I started as a staff photographer unsure of whether I wanted to DIRECTOR OF actually pursue a career in visual storytelling. Through covering Bernie Sanders’ PHOTOGRAPHY and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns, the Flagstaff Women’s March and a plethora of breaking news here in Flagstaff, I have fallen in love with telling political stories.

Now, at the end of my year as Director of Photography, I feel that strong journalism is more necessary than ever before. While I may have absolutely no idea where I’m going after graduation, I do know that I want to stick with photojournalism and wherever the stories take me.

Thank you for reading.

“People don’t think about it, and people might think it’s a little weird, but digging in the dirt for two hours on a Friday is a really good catharsis.”

— Theresa Rizza of NAU Botany Club, 2017

The NAU Botany Club sells succulents at their biannual plant sale April 12.

Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

LJ

Phone: (928) 523-4921 Fax: (928) 523-9313

T HE LUMBE R JACK

Editor-in-Chief Scott Buffon Faculty Advisor Mary Tolan

lumberjack@nau.edu P.O. Box 6000 Flagstaff, AZ 86011

VOL 104 ISSUE 13

Managing Editor Rachel Dexter Faculty Advisor, Visuals Jennifer Swanson

Director of Visuals Jacqueline Castillo Sales Manager Marsha Simon

Student Media Center Editorial Board Director of Photography Halie Chavez Director of Illustration Alanna Secrest Copy Chief Hannah Noelle Cook News Editor Sunday Miller

Asst. News Editor Conor Sweetman Sports Editor Peter Kersting Asst. Sports Editor Lance Hartzler Features Editor Ariel Cianfarano

Asst. Features Editor Makenna Lepowsky Culture Editor Kari Scott

Asst. Opinion-Editorial Editor Elizabeth Wendler Director of Social Media Allysia Lara

Director of Multimedia Asst. Culture Editor Gabriel Granillo Darrion Edwards Print Chief Opinion-Editorial Editor Matthew Strissel Emma Helfrich

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On the cover Photo Illustration by Alanna Secrest

Corrections & Clarifications The Lumberjack is committed to factual correctness and accuracy. If you find an error in our publication, please email Scott Buffon at swb53@nau.edu.

In the culture section in our April 13 issue, we misstated the number of NAU Swing Jacks Dance Club members. There are 50.

PoliceBeat

Compiled by Chandler Coiner

At 11 p.m., staff in Sechrist Hall reported the odor of marijuana. NAUPD responded after obtaining a warrant to search the suspected residence. Two students were cited for minor in possession of alcohol, and one student was cited for drug paraphernalia.

observed a subject at the intersection of Beaver Street and Franklin Avenue who was soon after arrested. The arrest was for failure to obey a police officer, resisting arrest, threat to use physical force, aggravated DUI and fleeing from an officer.

At 1:16 p.m., a student April 13 reported a damaged bulletin At 9:19 a.m., NAUPD board in Reilly Hall. NAUPD received a panic alarm in the responded, and all leads were Old Main building. Upon exhausted. The case was closed. arrival the alarm was found to be accidental.

At 2:19 p.m., a subject reported a student possibly At 4:20 p.m., NAUPD taking a large amount of issued a citation to a subject medication at the Social and in parking lot 32. The citation Behavioral Sciences building. was for failure to obey a traffic NAUPD responded. The control device, no proof of student said they had not taken insurance and driving on a any medication. Everything suspended license. was fine.

At 11:09 p.m., staff in April 11 Wilson Hall reported the At 10:30 a.m., a subject odor of marijuana. NAUPD at the San Francisco Parking responded. Upon arrival two Garage reported two gates were students were referred for a damaged. NAUPD responded, code of conduct violation. and the investigation is ongoing.

April 14 At 12:29 a.m., a subject At 12:27 p.m., a subject requested a welfare check on in the Gammage building a student in Wilson Hall. reported being threatened NAUPD responded and found on the phone. An NAUPD the student in good health. officer responded, and the investigation is ongoing.

At 10:16 a.m., a student reported a subject was yelling At 8:12 p.m., a student at people passing by McKay reported a drumming noise Village. NAUPD responded, coming from somewhere but the subject was gone upon within the Science Lab Facility. arrival.

NAUPD responded, but no noise was heard. Everything At 1:49 p.m., NAUPD was spooky. and FFD responded to a smoke detector alarm at the South April 12 Village Apartments. The area At 8:27 a.m., an NAUPD was searched, and the cause of officer educated a subject near the alarm was burned food. the Gateway Center about keeping their dog on a leash.

At 11:32 p.m., staff in Wilson Hall reported At 10:09 a.m., an intoxicated students. NAUPD NAUPD officer warned a responded. Four students were subject about not holding cited and released for minor in onto moving vehicles while consumption. skateboarding in the area of Knoles and McConnell drives.

April 15 At 12:22 a.m., NAUPD

At 2:38 p.m., staff in Cline Library reported a subject refusing to leave. NAUPD responded. The subject was removed from the building and warned about trespassing.

April 10 At 12:58 p.m., an NAUPD officer responded to a report that a vehicle had been sitting idle all morning at the intersection of Beaver Street and Franklin Avenue. The vehicle was gone upon arrival.

At 6:42 p.m., a student reported a vehicle doing doughnuts in the parking lot of McKay Village. NAUPD responded, but the vehicle was gone on arrival.

At 9:57 p.m., a subject reported an unidentifiable odor and smoke inside the San Francisco Parking Garage. An NAUPD officer responded.

The issue was caused by a machine malfunctioning.

Maintenance was advised to handle the situation.

At 11:15 p.m., NAUPD made a traffic stop outside the Social and Behavioral Sciences West building. The subject they stopped was cited and released for possession of marijuana and for speeding.

April 16 At 12:51 p.m., a subject reported two dogs locked in a vehicle in lot 7B. An NAUPD officer responded. The dogs were not in any distress, and the owner was contacted.

At 11:49 p.m., an NAUPD officer made a traffic stop at the intersection of Butler Avenue and Milton Road.

The student was booked into Coconino County Detention Center for DUI to the slightest degree, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a fictitious license.

NEWS

As City Council looks ahead, the Hub faces uncertainty Adrian Skabelund

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n April 21, Flagstaff may see the conclusion of a controversy that began over a year ago: The Hub, a 591-bedroom student-housing development under construction in the Southside neighborhood.

This is because the construction of the development is being challenged in court. The suit, brought forth by 120 Cottage Place, claims the city was wrong when it determined The Hub fit under the existing zoning regulations.

Judge James Marner, who is hearing the case, rejected the city’s claims that the case did not have standing and should have been thrown out in February. Marner said the hearing should only take a few hours and is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.

Marner is not from Flagstaff and usually works in Pima County, but he said he understood this was “a huge issue of great public concern.” Coconino County judges recused themselves from hearing matters on The Hub due to potential conflicts of interest.

But just as the issue of high-occupancy housing is heating up in the courts, it’s seeing some real deliberation outside as city planners, community members and nonprofit organizations work to update the city’s high occupancy plan.

Sarah Dechter, comprehensive planning manager for the City of Flagstaff, is heading up the project.

Currently the plans are still being developed, but the city has sought public input at every turn and has held a number of community meetings on the subject since August 2016. Most recently, two meetings were held April 10 and 11 with a number of interested parties.

Marie Jones was one of those and is the chair of Stand Up For Flagstaff, a nonprofit organization originally created in opposition to The Hub. Now, however, Jones said she was extremely pleased by the meeting.

“I left there feeling like, for the first time in probably two years, things looked hopeful,” said Jones. “It looked like the city was really trying to solve a real problem.”

During the meeting, Jones said Dechter presented eight scenarios of what could coalesce into the city’s new plan on high-occupancy housing. Jones said a few neighborhoods in Flagstaff have their own development reports that are taken into account with the city’s regional plan and the new high-occupancy housing report would be much the same. “[The report] is addressing a specific area or a specific problem,” Jones said. “[The] goal is to write that kind of report and then to have the city council actually pass it as an ordinance so that would make it something that actually has to be considered and has more weight when it comes to decision making.”

Among the topics discussed at the meeting were traffic and parking when it comes to highoccupancy housing and ways to encourage public arts around high-occupancy housing developments.

Charlie Silver, who also attended the meeting and represents the Townsite neighborhood just west of downtown, said another idea brought up was breaking high-occupancy housing developments from massive buildings into several smaller buildings.

Another point that came up during the meeting was the difference between high-occupancy and high-density housing.

High-occupancy housing is “generally buildings that house more than 75 persons per acre or have more than 30 units per acre in dormitory or apartment-style units,” according to city documents.

By contrast, high-density housing may be anything less than that and is usually apartment-style housing as opposed to dormitory.

Jones made it clear that though she and Stand Up Flagstaff oppose The Hub, they do not oppose high-density housing in general, or high-occupancy housing, depending on the circumstance.

“High-density housing belongs everywhere, it’s completely appropriate,” Jones said. “But highoccupancy housing, private dormitories, don’t belong in any neighborhood anywhere because they’re too disruptive to neighborhoods.”

Jones said she believes there are circumstances when high-occupancy housing is appropriate and sometimes even helpful, but not where the current city code allows: in the historic downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

“My contention has always been that [high-occupancy housing developments] do not belong anywhere near historic districts,” said Silver. “In fact, in any neighborhood there needs to be heavy discussion [about building high-occupancy housing].”

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Silver said this meeting is just one part of a larger shift happening on the issue of high-occupancy housing.

“This was one of the major issues the [local] election turned on and why we have a new city council,” Silver said. “It was this type of growth and development that people have seen and aren’t happy with it.”

Jones said, based on recent meetings, she is hopeful for the future.

“I’m optimistic,” Jones said. “It’s hard to say how things will turn out, but based on what [the city] brought forward and based on the discussions I heard, I’m optimistic.”

Top: The Hub On Campus apartments in Southside will take up 2.43 acres of land in between downtown and NAU’s campus. Bottom: The Hub has a total of seven locations ranging from Tucson, Ariz., to Madison, Wis. Wyatt Rutt | The Lumberjack

NEWS

Political Update: new Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch Chandler Coiner

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ollowing an unprecedented act in the Senate to achieve political expediency, the United States Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court as an associate justice April 7 in a 54-45 vote.

President Donald Trump’s nomination of the 49-year-old in January came concurrently with a surge of executive orders and cabinet appointments. But after Democrats in the Senate attempted to block the conformation, Republicans opted for the nuclear option, which has now caused its own stir.

The nuclear option overrides Senate rules for the need for a supermajority of 60 votes in favor of requiring only a simple majority of 51 votes to end debate on a bill or nomination.

The requirement of the supermajority helped to curb partisanship and, prior to April 7, has only been overridden once in 2013.

The move results in a stop to the filibuster and a more-easily dividable Senate. Assuming roughly equal representation from the two parties, the regular system requires the support of a sizable portion of the opposing side to move on from debate. This no longer holds true.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut spoke on the Senate floor April 6 against the turn of events.

“As we finished the vote just hours ago, I could not help but notice a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle high-fiving each other,” said Blumenthal. “That image stays with me as I stand here now. It saddens me. There is no cause for celebration in what happened in the Senate just hours ago. No one should sleep well tonight. No one should underestimate the magnitude of what happened here.”

The senator said the Supreme Court, as well as the court system in general, commands the respect of U.S. citizens because of its freedom from partisanship. Blumenthal said he fears the precedent of partisanship could now bleed into all of the courts.

Going nuclear on a nomination or appointment did not start with the Republicans. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts advocated in 2013 for the first use of the nuclear option when Republicans filibustered some of President Obama’s nominations to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“It is the job of the Senate to confirm highly qualified, independent judges,” said Warren in 2013. “That’s how our system works. That’s what the Constitution demands. Republicans these days don’t seem to like that. They keep looking for ways to keep this president from doing his job … if Republicans continue to filibuster these highly qualified nominees for no reason other than to nullify the president’s constitutional authority, then senators not only have the right to change the filibuster rules, senators have the duty to change the filibuster rules.”

The nuclear option was ultimately used by the Democratcontrolled Senate under former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the federal judge appointments.

The precedent was set by the Democrats, and now the Republicans have retaliated by invoking the option with Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the highest court.

The confirmation comes as a sign of relief for some top Republicans who supported Trump in the election for the sake of keeping the Supreme Court conservative. There are currently five

Left: President Donald Trump watches as Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy administers the judicial oath to Judge Neil Gorsuch, while his wife Marie Louise Gorsuch holds the Bible at a swearing-in ceremony re-enactment at the White House April 10.

Evan Vucci | Associated Press

Republican to four Democrat justices on the court.

“It’s clear that he has the qualifications, and as recently as [the] last administration, that was really all you needed to be on the Supreme Court,” said Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma on the Senate floor. “But what the Democrats have done to block his nomination has never been done before. And this is significant.”

However, during Obama’s tenure in the White House, Republicans blocked a vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

The qualifications of Gorsuch Inhofe mentioned include graduation from Columbia University, Harvard Law School and the University of Oxford. Gorsuch worked as a judicial clerk for three years, served as the principal deputy to the associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and was appointed by former President George W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 2006.

Gorsuch’s conservative views have often shined through in his rulings.

He was on the side of religious freedom in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. in 2013. The case involved the private company Hobby Lobby, headed by the Green family, arguing against being forced to cover some contraceptive costs to employees under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate on the grounds of

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religious beliefs.

In writing for the majority opinion, Gorsuch said, “no doubt, the Greens’ religious convictions are contestable. Some may even find the Greens’ beliefs offensive. But no one disputes that they are sincerely held religious beliefs. This isn’t the case, say, of a wily businessman seeking to use an insincere claim of faith as cover to avoid a financially burdensome regulation.”

The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the appeals court ruling.

At his confirmation hearing in March, Gorsuch defended his ruling and his defining of a company as a person with the same rights to religious freedom as an individual.

“If we got it wrong, I’m sorry, but we did our best,” said Gorsuch. “And we were affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, and it’s a dialogue like any statutory dialogue between Congress and the courts.”

Gorsuch also said he supports the idea that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as intended by the original authors.

“I have one client; it’s the law,” Gorsuch said. “And it’s a great joy, and it’s a great privilege, and it’s a daunting responsibility to come in every day and to try and get it right.”

Both Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake voted to confirm Gorsuch.

NEWS

Mayor Evans aims to make Flagstaff a water-wise city Kayla Rutledge and Adrian Skabelund

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pril is water awareness month nationwide, and this year, Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans is seeking help from the community to conserve water as part of the National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.

The challenge is being held in cities across the United States, and mayors are encouraged to reach out to their communities in an effort to conserve water, energy and other natural resources.

The winner of the competition will receive the title of the most “water-wise” city as defined by population size. The winner will also receive other prizes such as a new 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, more than $50,000 in eco-friendly prizes and home-improvement gift cards.

The mayor’s competition has been recognized as one of the most engaging tools to spread awareness of water conservation needs at zero-cost to both the Wyland Foundation, other contributors and the participants.

Flagstaff is competing in the 30,000 to 99,999 population range. Alongside Flagstaff are nine other cities from across the U.S., including cities in Washington, Ohio, Illinois, Montana, Virginia, Colorado and Minnesota.

The challenge is being hosted by the Wyland Foundation, which has hosted this event nationwide for the last six consecutive years. The foundation was created by an environmental artist named Wyland. The organization’s purpose is to help children, families and people of the general public rediscover the importance of healthy oceans and water resources. The organization funds art programs, classroom science programs and live events to help educate others about healthy water environments. The nonprofit has worked with more than a million children to help instill how valuable and fleeting water is in future generations.

In order to make the competition possible, the Wyland Foundation has paired with other organizations including the National League of Cities, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, the U.S. Forest Service, the Toro Company, Bytelaunch Inc. and Wondergrove Kids.

Flagstaff City Council is also hosting events throughout April to promote water conservations and efficient water usage. Upcoming events for this month include a rainwater harvesting workshop at Warner’s Nursery April 21 and an Earth Day celebration at Heritage Square April 22.

According to the Water Management Summary of 2015, NAU utilized 162 acre-feet of reclaimed water, the equivalent of 52,787,932 gallons.

Reclaimed water accounts for 19 percent of the total water produced by the city. NAU also accounts for 523 of 6,971 acre-feet of potable used water, which comes to 170,420,299 gallons of water. Data for the 2016 year was not available.

Brad Hill, Flagstaff Utilities Director and hydrologist, is on board with Evans’ waterconservation initiative.

“Water conservation has been a huge part of our community over the past several decades,” said Hill.

According to a report by the Water Commission submitted to the City of Flagstaff in May 2015, water consumption has decreased in the city by 46 percent despite the population nearly doubling since 1990. The Water Commission reported this may have been a cause of the addition of a Water Conservation Program enacted in 2003 and a massive rebate expansion program in 2005.

“Water conservation has been a huge part of our community over the past several decades” -brad hill, Flagstaff utilities director and hydrologist “The mayor’s water conservation initiative reinforces the city’s commitment to water conservation today and into the future,” Hill said.

The Flagstaff Utilities Division recently began to host water forums to create a more intimate setting for community members to express their water concerns and ideas for water conservation. The most recent forum was Feb. 13. There is not a set date for the next meeting, but community members are encouraged to attend city council meetings and express their water concerns.

The Utilities Division and Evans are working together to create a more waterconscious Flagstaff. Though the competition to become the most water-wise city ends the last day of April, Flagstaff will continue its efforts toward conserving as much water as possible, Mayor Coral Evans brings Flagstaff City Council together after a long and heated debate March 21 and willing participants are encouraged to sign- about the future of Flagstaff’s minimum wage proposition, which was passed during the November up through the end of April. election at a city council meeting. Ryan Vanderpool | The Lumberjack

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OPINION-EDI TORIAL

Cutting budgets for the arts will not make America great again alie wilkins

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ince Donald Trump’s presidency started 90 days ago, the United States has taken some serious blows. Besides the blatant racism, sexism and general ignorance that’s making a comeback, Trump has also attacked the funding for some of the country’s most beloved programs. With the country on the brink of war, the border wall possibly becoming a reality and the travel ban creating enemies for us around the world, cuts to arts funding might seem trivial.

However, these cuts will not only affect millions of people whose professions and passions fall under the organizations being targeted, this will also affect the cultural identity of the U.S. Trump recently submitted his proposed budget for 2018, and it includes the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Even if you think you have no reason to care about these organizations, I promise you do. Even if you’re an accounting major and you don’t have a passion for the arts. Even if this article is the first time you’ve ever heard of these

programs. Even if you voted for Donald Trump, you have a reason to care.

The NEA and NEH are organizations that get a sum of money from the government (an endowment), which they then put back into arts and humanities programs around the country.

That’s anything from specific schools offering courses and programs in these areas to galleries to independent groups that apply for grants. The Institute of Museum and Library Services helps libraries and museums stay innovative and keep people coming through their doors. The CPB, according to their website, is the single largest provider of funding for public television and radio.

Would you want your kids to watch PBS when they grow up? Sesame Street could be gone if this budget gets approved. Funding for libraries, museums, public radio and art galleries will be gone. If you really need some motivation to feel upset about this, just look for the video of PBS explaining to Elmo why he won’t have a job next year.

Funding cuts to the arts might not seem like the most important priorities right now, but in the midst of violence, protests and hate, issues like these give people passion and should be on the top of the list.

Not to mention the effects budget cuts nominated the secretary of education. Your new might have on students. Imagine you started boss is now a woman whose continued support your undergraduate degree four years ago in of the voucher system, and charter schools looks the arts because that’s what you loved, and now like a lot of bad news for the public school you’re being thrown out into this world. Maybe system. it’s your dream to become a music teacher The worst part of these cuts is that the or open your own pottery shop or have your money used to fund these programs that own show on National make our country so amazing is now being Public Radio. What if reallocated to defense spending, the that was your dream, border wall and the school voucher and two months before program. you were supposed to In the last 90 days, Trump has graduate, your president given a lot of people reason to be tried to not only cut your scared about the what the following funding, but eliminate 90 days will look like. He’s incited these programs entirely? fear and hatred, he’s proven we’re Or let’s say you went weaker when divided and with to school to be a teacher missile strikes and a bombing because you feel during his first three months, he’s like you were put put us on the brink of what many on this planet to people are calling World War III. shape the minds of And now he’s trying to take away the future. A profession the creativity and imagination that you chose to do despite Illustration by Katie Dobrydney make up so much of the culture and how little you’ll make and foundation of this country. If this is how much work you’ll what it looks like to “make America be expected to do for such little recognition. great again,” I don’t know why anyone would Imagine that was you, and Betsy DeVos was just want to be a part of it.

structured the way it is. I also believe Trump does as well (as a president, he would have to), but one thing I’ve realized is that, in an age when communication happens at an increasing rate and technology is evolving, our political model also needs to keep up.

Obviously we don’t want a dictatorship, but using his executive power, Trump is hitting the reset button on this country in a big way. One of the hallmark examples of this is the “repeal and replace” action on the Affordable Care Act. This was a theme throughout the Trump campaign and, true to his word, he signed this into effect hours after being sworn in. However, the Republican majority Congress prevented its passage. This order would absolutely cause stress to citizens that rely on this coverage; however, unless more abrupt action is taken, a change in healthcare policy has the potential to be juggled around the political system for years where it would do no good to anyone.

Trump’s other priority throughout his campaign was border security, which has been incredibly controversial. For years, illegal

immigration and the war on drugs has been a problem for the United States, but some people believe little was ever done to combat it effectively, and Trump went about bringing awareness to the problem in the only way he knows how: by being Trump. Keep in mind, there’s already a wall. It not a complete wall, with the usage of natural borders in some places and nothing at all in others. This legislation may take more time to process in the journey through our democracy, but, given his methods, you can bet Trump Illustration by alanna secrest will see this happens.

The last point I want to highlight is by far the most discussed, yelled about, fought over and protested of all Trump’s initiatives: the immigration ban. The rejection and backlash from the nation over this executive order was staggering. Riots, protests

President Trump: A politician keeping his promises zach martin

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istorically, politicians have garnered a reputation centered around heavy use of rhetoric and empty promises. It’s impossible to please everyone, and in the game of politics, the ones who win must outsmart the competition by gathering support of those who share their views. Making promises is but one play in the campaign playbook, and President Donald Trump, like all candidates before him, made many promises.

What sets him apart from the rest of the field is that, unlike his predecessors, those promises were not empty. That’s not to say past leaders of this country didn’t keep any of their promises, but in his first 90 days, Trump has completed more tasks and fulfilled more promises than any president in recent history.

From the beginning Trump came out swinging hard and fast, giving the media plenty of juicy content to report on for months. After his election, he didn’t stop there. The list of executive orders he’s put into effect is by no means short. Being a citizen in a democratic country, I understand why our government is

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and unrest swept over the country and even the world as families were kept apart, and even some NAU students were affected by the restrictions.

But instead of stepping back and really looking at what the Trump administration was looking to achieve, people went straight for the racism card. Sure, I can see how this order has a racist tone to it, only countries containing a certain demographic and in a certain part of the globe were included. But considering that the countries initially included in the ban were suspected to have a terrorist population, it makes sense that these countries were included.

The only thing I could say to those who could be affected in the future by it: Don’t make plans to travel during the ban.

Trump’s hard push to reform and change this country is harsh and even insensitive in some cases. He has upset millions of people and will probably continue to do so. The way I see it, he brings a third-party perspective to the table, given he is not a career politician. That is one of the reasons I voted for him. This is only one step toward making changes, and the more abruptly they happen, the faster a result can be reached.

And I’m just fine with that!

OPINION-EDI TOR IAL

LGBT community left reeling from Trump’s first 90 days alex rand

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resident Donald Trump’s iffy position on LGBTQ issues was evident even before he became president. News articles posted right after the election flipped back and forth on whether he’d be good for the LGBTQ community faster than Trump flips back and forth with his opinions on Twitter. A CNN article published exactly one month after Trump was elected president said Trump is, “Regarded by some as one of the most ‘pro-LGBTQ’ Republican presidential nominees ever,” yet a subheading below that in the same article asks, “Is this the end of same-sex marriage?”

The answer to whether or not he’d be good for the LGBTQ community was answered just hours after Trump was sworn into office. In what felt like an ominous harbinger of what was to come, every page containing information about LGBTQ rights and support disappeared from the White House website.

It has still, 90 days later, not been replaced.

The url whitehouse.gov/lgbt used to, according to CBS, show, “A page highlighting [the Obama

administration’s] victories and policy changes LGBTQ citizens of the Chechen Republic. regarding LGBTQ rights. It outlined historic The potential that Trump, who already has court victories and even featured campaigns like an uncertain relationship with the LGBTQ the It Gets Better Project to help LGBT youth.” community, could be close with Russia, is It currently redirects to a page offering links to terrifying to many the homepage or an archived version LGBTQ people in the of the Obama administration’s United States. website.

More directly, This harbinger hasn’t led Trump has also been to anything positive. Part of rolling back progressive what had (and still has) the LGBTQ policies from the LGBTQ community on Obama administration. the edge of our seats Where the Obama is Trump’s close and administration gave us consistent ties with policies such as the one Russia and Russian allowing transgender students President Vladimir to use the restrooms they choose, Putin. Russia doesn’t the Trump administration took have a remotely positive those back. This is especially notable in the history with the LGBTQ case of Gavin Grimm, a high school student community.

Russia Illustration by Katie Dobrydney whose plea to be allowed to use the men’s condemns gay marriage, restroom in his school was taken all the way continues to deny that homosexuality even to the Supreme Court. exists within its borders and is currently under His case is not a new one nor is it one that investigation for kidnapping and torturing arose during the Trump presidency. Grimm

has been fighting for almost two years to have his gender identity and the identities of all transgender students recognized by schools.

While Obama was president, the ruling seemed to be that schools must refer to Title IX, letting transgender students use the bathroom of their choice. However, Trump’s administration has adopted a more hands-off approach.

The Trump administration wants individual school districts and cities to be able to decide for themselves which bathrooms transgender students should use. This hands-off policy is massively dangerous for LGBTQ issues. When individual states can’t even be trusted to uphold the federal same-sex marriage legalization, they absolutely can’t be trusted to endorse other LGBTQ rights.

Overall, Trump’s first 90 days for the LGBTQ community have gone exactly as they were expected to go: terribly. Trump has remained silent on issues he hasn’t completely turned for the worse. For now, all the LGBTQ community can do is wait and prepare to protest whatever decision he decides to hurt us with next.

Who knew all this country needed was a can of Pepsi? peggy packer

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uesday April 4, Pepsi released what they thought was a brilliant ad. The ad begins with thousands of people marching or preparing for protest. In the crowd, you can make out people of all different minorities. The people holding signs are dancing, playing music, cheering and kissing — all appearing happy.

Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner adjusts her blonde wig and continues posing for a photoshoot nearby. She stops mid photoshoot, making eye contact with one of the protesters, and decides to get in on the action. She then rips off her blond wig, wipes off her lipstick, marches through the crowd of partying protesters and hands a police officer a can of Pepsi. The crowd cheers. And there you have it, the protest is over, and the world is free of all prejudice.

What Pepsi failed to realize was how problematic this ad was, especially because we currently live in a time where protests are very common — and necessary. With the election of our new, extremely controversial president, the problems of racism, homophobia and Islamophobia that are so prominent in our country have been exposed. Protesting has become the only way a lot of United States

citizens can speak out against what they feel is a corrupt government. Thousands of people have shown up in the streets to rally for Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, the LGBTQ community and more.

One of the biggest problems with the commercial is that it lacks accuracy and sensitivity when trying to represent all of the protests that have taken place this past year.

In the commercial, the march looks more like a party than it does an actual protest. People are dancing around and having a great time, which is nowhere near what a real march looks like.

The marches’ activists lead today are often violent. Even peaceful people can be met with tear gas or rubber bullets.

These protests are filled with the angry, desperate chants of hurt communities, not people dancing and playing guitars.

On top of that, the idea that a can of Pepsi can solve all of the world’s problems is offensive in itself. In all reality, Pepsi isn’t even a good soda, let alone it doesn’t have the capabilities of ending all of the circumstances that cause people to protest in the first place. It’s offensive to those who march for equality to

display this delusional idea that a soda has more impact on the world than thousands of hurt people taking action.

The last, and probably most aggravating part of the commercial, is Jenner and her role in it. In the ad, Jenner is the golden girl who saves the day. In the moment she decides to join the protest, she rips off her blond wig to reveal her natural brown hair, which many people interpreted as her ridding herself of oppression.

The problem here is this: Jenner is a rich, pretty, straight, white woman. No part of that description screams oppressed. Overall, the entire commercial is offensive to any activist in today’s society, especially in a time where activism is so important and prominent.

After receiving backlash Illustration by colton starley

for releasing the ad, Pepsi released a statement on their social media pages saying, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue.”

The company removed the content and apologized for putting Jenner in such a compromising and controversial situation.

Clearly the company shows remorse, as they should, for acting like their soda could save the world.

At some point in the development of this advertisement, someone should have seen a red flag. Instead, they supported a commercial that wrongfully depicted protests, making them look fun and lighthearted when, in reality, they are the opposite.

Activism is not all smiles and giggles. It’s often dangerous and ugly. People get hurt, and sometimes even killed, in an attempt to fight for what they believe is right. Comparing these people who risk their lives to fight for equality to some pretty teen handing a Pepsi to a police officer is outrageous and distasteful.

Brave people change the world, not soda.

But hey, if only Martin Luther King Jr. had handed the cops a Pepsi, right?

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A toxic world: the potential reality Christopher Moore

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ith the new budget proposed by President Donald Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could lose massive amounts of funding. Potentially, this defunding could threaten the environmental quality of the air and water in national parks. However, the United States Department of Interior is in control of national parks like the Grand Canyon.

According to the proposed White House 2018 budget, Trump recommended cutting the EPA funding by 31 percent. Environmentalists in Flagstaff believe this can have a significant effect on the city and the whole country.

“EPA cuts will affect each and every one of us. We will end up with dirtier air, dirtier water and increased rates of illness. Some of these things that we take for granted in this town may not be givens anymore depending on what happens to the agency,” said Ryan Beam, campaigner and local coordinator for the Center of Biological Diversity at NAU. The mission of the EPA is to ensure mutual health of humans and the environment. Some of the strategic environmental plans listed on the EPA website include addressing climate change to improve air quality by enforcing federal laws and compliances and advancing sustainable developments in communities.

“The natural beauty of our country is one of the best things about our country. So many geological and national monuments are present in our country, and to withhold protection and funding and maintenance of those sites, I think would be sad,” said Zane Holditch, a masters in science and biology graduate student.

Travis Burner, Arizona forests project manager for the Grand Canyon Trust, said defunding the EPA could lead to a rise in air pollution and a decrease in water quality.

Burner said the enforcement office of the EPA would also be defunded and forced out under the proposed budget. The enforcement office is responsible for making sure companies and people follow EPA guidelines about pollution in the environment. This could potentially lead to companies being allowed to pollute more than they have previously.

The Clean Air Act is an example of a federal law that is in place to help regulate air pollution.

The law’s purpose is to help reduce the amount of air pollutants. Without this funding, the EPA will not be able to enforce the act as they have in the past.

Michael Collier, member of the Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Committee, makes a sign April 13 that reads “I believe in science, not lies” for the April 22 March for Science.

Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

“Hamstringing the EPA will affect everybody,” Beam said. “But it’s important to remember that the effects will be felt strongest by the country’s most vulnerable populations. Gutting the EPA is a direct affront to the idea of environmental justice and the work being done to fight environmental racism in this country.”

Environmental racism happens when racial-minority communities are exposed to more pollutants and denied access to clean drinking water and fresh air. This term can be applied to situations in places like Flint, Mich., where the water was found to have had 10 times the amount of acceptable lead in it as determined by EPA standards. In Flint, 41 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the largest economic generating revenue source in Northern Arizona. According to the National Park Service, the Grand Canyon National Park

“Epa Cuts will affect each and every one of us.

We will end up with dirtier air, dirtier water and increased rates of illness.”

-Ryan Beam, campaigner and local coordinator for the center of biological diversity at nau

Ryan Beam is a campaigner and local coordinator for the Center of Biological Diversity at NAU April 14. Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

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generated about $711 million dollars for the economy.

“The proposed EPA cuts will likely affect everyone and all organizations across the nation.

This is a critical time to be involved with conservation and environmental stewardship,” said Jeffrey Bousson, department director for the American Conservation Experience, a national nonprofit conservation organization that works to help the environment with trail construction and habitat restoration.

FE ATUR E S

The Grand Canyon isn’t the only site that will be effected by the defunding of the EPA. This concern is one that is recognized by communities across the country.

“There is always a need for environmental regulation, especially in environments like desert and endemic ecosystems that are pretty common in the lower half of the country. There are so many sensitive and sacred sites [in Northern Arizona] that really need that kind of protection so future generations can enjoy them,” Holditch said.

While the EPA funding may not directly affect the overall state of the geological site, the defunding of environmental research and regulations may impact the ecological species and wildlife in the Grand Canyon. Defunding global warming research and air quality could affect the 447 known species of birds in the Grand Canyon. “[EPA defunding is] unpredictable. There would be alternative ways to procure that kind of funding. It might, I mean this is speculative, but one solution could be that parks services might make their parks more commercial and more appealing to the tourist industry. If they can’t get that funding from the federal government, they will try and get it commercially, and that might imply loosening the kinds of restrictions and uses of that land, which might be environmentally risky,” Holditch said.

Some say the worst part of the proposed cuts is not the cuts themselves. The concern is about what the money will fund.

“To me, prioritizing blowing up the country’s already bloated military budget while eviscerating our public programs aimed at improving the quality of life of our citizens is completely uninspiring, deeply disappointing and points at a pathetically antiquated way of thinking about the world we live in,” Beam said.

The purpose of the March for Science is to advocate for the importance of science in policymaking. Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

Say it, but not on air Montgomery Glaser

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ip-hop music like “Bad and the Boujee” by Migos and “Needed Me” by Rihanna are just some of the few songs from many genres that are frequently played on the radio that feature explicit language. However, to what extent can radio stations use profanities until the “bleeps” start replacing words?

NAU’s radio station, KJACK, is one of the media platforms in the Communication building. It broadcasts diverse music and hosts shows with topics like sports and holds talks with students and public figures.

According to the KJACK website, the station started in 1994, broadcasting on 1450 AM until 2014, when KJACK became a low-power FM station, broadcasting now on 107.1 FM. On Nov. 23, 2015, KJACK was granted a license that makes them a fully operating FM radio station.

With upgrades in tech power comes great responsibility, and this responsibility comes in the form of the FCC guidelines.

Because they are an FM radio station, KJACK is required to follow the FCC guidelines.

One of the rules the radio station must abide by is in regards to the language broadcasted. These rules are set to keep certain entities under protection from offensive content.

“It’s up to each individual version of the FCC, whoever is in office, to decide how strictly it is enforced,” said Brian Rackham, journalism professor of practice and director of the Media Innovation Center, formally the Student Media Center. “It seemed like it was loosened a bit under the Obama administration, and we have no idea what Trump will do. However, the rules won’t really change. Not in the near future.

We follow FCC rules to first of all keep our license, and secondly, we want students to learn how to operate within those rules in case they go into radio.”

The First Amendment protects free speech.

However, the interpretations of it has sparked outrage over what free speech actually means.

Certain arguments and Supreme Court cases like Schenck v. United States have shaped the protections and range of the First Amendment. For instance, yelling “fire” in a crowded room or “bomb” on an airplane is not protected free speech if the threat is not real as it disrupts the general peace.

The same concept applies to radio and the use of profanities as shown in the Supreme Court’s landmark case Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964 on obscenity and pornography, which is the basis for FCC censorship guidelines.

The definition of obscenity, which was debated by the court, influences FCC rules even today.

Justice Stewart Potter’s famous quote during the trial, “I know it when I see it,” is still the official test of obscenity for the FCC. In other words, if you “know it when you see it” and find it offensive, you can tell the FCC and ask them to look into it.

For some people, profanity may not be a bother.

“It definitely changes your tone.

You could be taken more seriously, like Bill Maher when he does swear, or less seriously, because it would be inappropriate if Anderson Cooper started doing that. It depends on the situation,” said f r e s h m a n environmental engineering major Illustration By Katie Dobrydney Grant Batzli.

In accordance with these rules, KJACK is always on thin ice. If a provocative song with offensive language does slip through the cracks, KJACK relies on its employees or DJ’s to inform the radio managers to take it down before a listener hears it.

“If you give someone something they might find offensive, at the end of the show they might not think it’s as offensive anymore, and they’ll be open to hear a new thing in their life. If you can test their patience, test their limits a little bit, then maybe they might get a reward — a nice song they wouldn’t be listening to in the first place,” said David Pogue, senior double majoring in creative media and film and journalism and part time DJ for KJACK Radio.

In the interest of the consumer, changing the rules might improve and bring in more business to the radio.

There is also another option to compromise by setting aside exception rules for college-run stations.

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Trump’s travel ban affecting education?

Katlyn Coveney

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hen executive orders affect education for students, faculty responds. On March 16, an executive order also referred to as the travel ban, was signed to place a 120-day ban on all refugees and a 90-day ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. While this executive order has been considered controversial on a global scale, it has also caught the attention of international students from around the world.

“I am not sure about the impression it is giving students around the world, but it definitely freaked my parents out when it was first implemented,” said Magdelene Lim, an international student from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lim is a junior creative media and film major and has felt the pressure of the travel ban. “[My parent’s] calmed down now, especially since my home country isn’t one of the listed countries. But they definitely told me to be careful when I’m traveling and to make sure I have my documents in order,” Lim said.

In addition to frightening parents around the world, this order has caused students across the United States to protest. U.S. universities, such as Harvard, have declared this ban contradictory to what universities stand for. Harvard is one of many to issue a public statement regarding the ban.

“naturally, any time a policy like this is implemented, there can be an understandable level of uncertainty and uneasiness.”

-Daniel Palm, interim executive director for the NAU center for International Education According to Harvard’s website, the university will continue to put responsibility on policymakers to take into account of how universities depend on open travel for students overseas while honoring the importance of openness, nondiscrimination and opportunity. Some NAU faculty members agree this order is harmful toward the fundamental beliefs of U.S. universities.

“The travel bans attempted by our administration in the White House goes against everything we value at a university,” said Stephen A. Nuño, professor of political science.

According to the Institute of International Education, Trump’s travel ban has impacted more than 16,600 students in the U.S. from the six banned Muslim-majority countries because it limits the students from traveling to and from their home countries. These students entering into the U.S. boosts economic stability in the nation. Sending these students home could potentially affect our nation’s economy.

“Our students are supposed to be the center of everything

Illlustration by Colton Starley

we do, and facilitating growth through a diversity of experiences and exchanges is immeasurably valuable,” Nuño said. “Openness and kindness are the marks of a great society, and it is also an indicator of confidence that our values are strong enough to receive new members of society. Closing our doors to people in need, in no small reason because of our own policies abroad, is unfortunate.”

Some faculty have noticed unrest among international students. However, many don’t know who has been directly affected by the order.

“I think [the travel ban] depends on the international student that you speak with. I think that, naturally, any time a policy like this is implemented, there can be an understandable level of uncertainty and uneasiness,” said Daniel Palm, interim executive director for the NAU Center for International Education.

The number of international students who submit applications to universities has notably decreased. This has been perceived as one of many reactions to the presidential election.

“I have heard a lot of concern among my international students about the atmosphere in the U.S. after this election,” Palm said. “So far, as I have seen on the news, applications to schools have been down in a large number of universities. As far as American students who want to study abroad, I’ve always seen a desire from our students to travel abroad, and I always encourage them to.”

The current travel ban is the second version of the original executive order. The first was blocked by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in February after being declared unconstitutional.

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The current travel ban does not apply to green-card holders from the black-listed countries, nor does it suspend current visas or grant preference to Christian refugees. Iraq has also been removed from the list of banned countries. This ban was also halted, this time by federal judges from Hawaii and Maryland.

Palm said he is confident in how NAU has gone about treating our current international students.

“NAU has been extremely supportive of the international students on campus. Global engagement is part of our strategic goals as an institution,” Palm said.

Nuño, however, believes more could potentially be done in order to solidify university values, and he hopes the school will find a way to reaffirm the values of NAU. Palm said NAU President Rita Cheng sent out personal emails to some international students to affirm NAU’s goal to make campus all inclusive.

While refugees and students from the six countries, currently affected by the ban, may need to reconsider coming to the U.S., Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it clear they are welcome in Canada.

After Trump signed the original executive order, Trudeau tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”

The ultimate purpose of this travel ban is to increase national security or, as President Trump puts it, to stop “bad hombres” from getting into the U.S.

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CULTUR E

“Nasty Women” delivers the goods Rebecca Deacon

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art.

s the country approaches the 90-day mark of President Donald Trump’s time in office, people and organizations across the nation are responding. One such way is through

One particular organization making a creative protest is Together We Will, which sponsored and put on the Nasty Women art exhibition. The inspiration for the title came from Trump’s comment toward Hillary Clinton, calling her a “nasty woman” during his campaign. The Flagstaff exhibition was just a part of the nation-wide movement using art as a method of protest.

The Flagstaff exhibition opened April 14 and continued through April 15. The aim of the show was to give a voice to anyone who identifies as a “nasty woman” and allow them the creative freedom to speak out against deemed injustices in the current political climate.

“I think that a lot of people have gripes and complaints and worries, and this is just another medium for them to express all of the things that they’re feeling,” said Heather Nash, officer of Together We Will and co-curator of the exhibit.

The works were displayed at the Hive, a local music and art venue, which was bursting at the seams with excited artists and spectators who were treated to a variety of pieces in a variety of

mediums.

Artist Sue Wright submitted three drawn pieces depicting three different women wearing “p---y hats”, a type of knitted beanie worn by feminists during protest marches.

“My pieces of art were based on a video called ‘Two Days’, put together by Michael Collier, who’s a local physician and photographer,” said Wright. “I asked him permission to use the portraits that he had taken from one day that he spent at the inauguration and the next day that he spent at the Women’s March. I think what I’m trying to portray here is, just in the eyes of the people, I think we can find a lot of sense of truth and a lot of sense and hope for justice.”

The method of creative protest reached all age groups, including Flagstaff and Arts and Leadership Academy student Chiara Rose Skabelund. Skabelund’s art on display was a mixedmedia portrait of Malala Yousafazi, a Nobel-Prize laureate and advocate for female education.

“The time that we’re at, this is exactly what we need to be doing, just coming together and fighting the good fight,” said Skabelund. “Fighting for women’s rights, fighting for everyone’s rights, and I’m just happy that we’re doing this. I wanted to make a statement about the current world and political stances not allowing migrants in. It’s also in support of women and LGBTQ plus.”

Since his inauguration Trump has made changes to many of the policies affecting women, LGBTQ and immigrants.

Immigrants now face much harsher penalties if found to be visiting or living in the U.S. illegally and visitors may be asked to surrender their social media passwords at the border to allow for much stricter vetting.

Other concerns include policies regarding abortion rights and the issue of transgender bathrooms.

Artist Kathy Uno, who submitted a photograph of a pomegranate as a representation of femininity, believes in supporting all people regardless of identity markers.

“I think it’s important to just demonstrate your support of things that are sometimes out of the box when that’s not what is conventional or deemed important,” said Uno. She also expressed her delight at the beneficiary of the exhibit being Coconino County’s Victim Witness Services, an organization that supports and helps witnesses and survivors of crime.

Nash said it was important that the exhibit not only provide a space for creative protest, but also that it provide support and assistance to a fellow organization with similar goals.

Together We Will achieved their goal of uniting a variety of people with the youngest artist being 8 years old and the oldest being in their 80s.

Left: “You and I” by Diego de Toledo is featured at the Flagstaff Nasty Women art exhibit. Right: Exhibit-goers take a closer look at the art pieces at the Nasty Women art exhibit at The Hive April 14.

Shannon Cowan |The Lumberjack

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CULTUR E

The opposing sides of activism Darrion Edwards

Students gathered north of the University Union April 13 in order to witness something not out of the ordinary. The chants of “Rita’s greed has got to go” coaxed people to surround NAU’s Student Action Coalition group. Members of the group covered their faces with bandanas and carried a paper maché effigy of NAU President Rita Cheng. Demands included changes for an increase in student minimum wage on campus as well as improving student funding. The group also targeted the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). It was evident that the NAU campus was home to yet another protest.

Just north of campus, in the Joe C. Montoya Community & Senior Center, another group of activists were preparing a protest of their own. The local Sierra Club committee was designing posters that read “make our planet green again” and “science is real” in preparation for the April 22 March for Science and the April 29 People’s Climate March. This approach, targeting President Donald Trump’s actions toward environmental sciences, is less aggressive than the effigy of Cheng.

Both the Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Committee and the NAU Student Action Coalition are a part of a rise in concerned Flagstaff citizens participating in protests to demand change in local governments and White House administration.

There have been more than 10 protests in 2017 alone in which NAU students and Flagstaff locals came together in order to voice concerns with government policies and funding. NAU’s blackout protest responding to the racist incidents and student use of “blackface,” the protest during Rita Cheng’s Forum, protests against government actions affecting the environment and the rallies to support Planned Parenthood — these are just a few examples of the rising trend of activism in Flagstaff.

Ryan Beam, campaigner and local coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity, said he was impressed by the number of young people fighting for their beliefs.

“We had a ton of younger students, high school students,” said Beam of the volunteers who participated in the Arizona Environmental Day earlier this year. This event saw people delegating from each legislative district in Arizona trying to set meetings with the state senators.

“I don’t think there’s too early of an age to get politically conscious and involved,” Beam said.

Beam is also a member of two different bands in town, a Sambatuque drum group that leads marches and provides energy for the protesters, and a jam band named the Sap Dabblers.

“We will march for human rights and lead the marches,” Beam said. “When appropriate, that can be just a huge thing to lend that energy to a march.”

Although many people in Flagstaff and around the world are encouraging young people to fight for their beliefs, there are tactics of protesting that differ between groups.

While preparing to make signs for the March for Science, Joe Shannon, assistant research professor for the Department of Biological Sciences and a member of the local Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Committee, said he finds the trend of aggressive

Protesters speak about NAU’s responsibility to provide a livable wage for students, as Flagstaff’s largest employer April 13.

Gabriel Granillo | The Lumberjack

protesting concerning.

“I would like to say that more aggressive is better, but it doesn’t usually work that way,” said Shannon. “You need both [sides], and it usually ends up being two different groups.”

As an experienced activist who has participated in protests as early as 1976, Shannon has been witness to both spectrums of protesting: aggressive and peaceful. He even protested the use of intercontinental ballistic missiles during the Cold War. Now a four-year member of the Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Committee, Shannon believes that respectful protests can yield more results because, if a particular group feels disrespected, they will be hesitant to listen to protesters.

On the other side of the spectrum, the members of the newly formed NAU Student Action Coalition believe that taking a direct

approach will benefit them in gaining both President Cheng’s and the local government’s attention.

During their protest calling for an increase for student minimum wage to match Flagstaff’s minimum wage, a defund of Flagstaff Police Department and an increase in student funding, the members of the NAU Student Action Coalition displayed how protesters can make a difference by being clamorous.

With group-led chants, a volunteer mimicking Cheng’s attire and banter and the paper maché effigy of Cheng, the group quickly gathered more attention than protesters who choose to take more peaceful approaches.

“Especially coming to college, I realized that a lot of my privilege that I grew up with, and the harsh realities of the world continued on page 18

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certainly hit me really hard,” said an anonymous member of the NAU Student Action Coalition group. “It’s important, especially if you have privilege and power, to say something to have your voice heard more than other people to lift up those voices. We have to make sure those people who are being oppressed and are being marginalized, those voices are heard.”

Although the more disruptive methods can gain more attention, it can also lead to consequences that many protesters have to face, such as being arrested. Even then, some protesters participate in civil disobedience in order to be arrested, as was exemplified in April 2016 when eight Fossil Free NAU members were arrested during a sit-in protest in the Student Academic Services building.

“The Sierra Club byline for that is that we don’t do civil disobedience because we litigate,” Shannon said. “It puts us in crossways if we’re filing a lawsuit, but also be the person signing off for a lawsuit with a record of arrest.”

Whereas aggressive protesting can see results sooner,

Shannon and the Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Committee believe that lobbying can result in a better outcome, even though it is a longer process that requires patience.

Being a protester has many responsibilities for participating groups, including being responsible for the outcomes of any unplanned consequences. However, the generational divide has not separated ideas of protesting.

“I think we are a generation in which we’re finally noticing that things aren’t OK,” the anonymous Student Action Coalition member said. “The only way that change is going to happen, because people have tried doing it through lobbying and through legal laws, but really the change can only be made through activism and through these protests and by standing up and saying things are not cool, and we’re going to demand change.”

Although this is not the first generation to use protests in order to demand changes from government, there has been a resurgence in the understanding of how being an activist and protesting can lead to desired changes.

Joe Shannon meets with other members of the Sierra Club Plateau Conservation Commitee April 13. The organization will participate in the Flagstaff March For Science April 22. Victoria Kaschl | The Lumberjack

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Disciplines, resistance and the word “no” MaryAnn Witt

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ocial injustices in the world today have created conflict that has seen consequences that have included protests, riots and in severe cases, death. On April 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., a teach-in will be held in the International Pavilion regarding the power of the word “no.” Gioia Woods, associate professor of comparative cultural studies, will be speaking about how the word “no” has immense power if used in the right way.

“The teach-in is called The Power of No, and it’s about looking into our disciplines to help us understand and unpack the issues of social justice,” said Woods. “We are thinking the collective wisdom can help us say no to injustice and situations that prevent the flourishing of human dignity.”

A teach-in is an event that serves as a forum for students, community members and professors from different backgrounds to sit down and discuss issues that have become hot topics in society.

The Power of No is about breaking up the division that has become apparent in the United States.

“I don’t think Trump is the cause of the divisiveness, but I think his election might be representative of the deep misunderstanding that we find ourselves in,” Woods said. “I think his election is the symptom of the divisiveness, not the cause.”

Although the topic of this event will not directly link to these specific political discussions, it definitely seems to be an underlying subject of the message Woods will try to get across. The idea for this talk came from a conversation that Woods had with philosophy professor Julie Piering.

“We were talking about the way in which a moral resistance to something, one finds unjust is actually quite practical,” said Piering. “Often we think that when somebody wants to resist something that it needs to be a show of force.”

This idea that discourse and disagreement can lead to a better understanding of the presenting issue is a topic that will be highly discussed in Woods’ teach-in.

The teach-in is open to all students and faculty of any major or department.

“I think that the fact that all majors are welcome at the teach-in will allow for an interesting conversation to occur,” said freshman mechanical engineering major Miguel San Martin. “It will be fun to talk to people that have a different way of thinking than I do and see how they view such an important topic.”

Woods said bringing people together from different sides of the university allows for an exchange of knowledge that people don’t get on a day-to-day basis.

“Interdisciplinarity is so important because we learn from those that see things differently than we do,” Piering said.

Open minds and willingness to express opinions in an informative way are encouraged to attend the teach-in, as discussion and discourse are the main points.

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Members of the Badjacks hip-hop team perform in Ardrey Auditorium April 14. Michael Patacsil | The Lumberjack

The Badjacks dance their way to the spotlight Niki Deshazo

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usic blasts, dancers sprawl across the floor and bright lights reflect off the mirrored walls.

The Badjacks dance club embodies hard work, athletic ability, social awareness, artistic expression and friendship.

The debate on whether or not dance is a sport is ongoing. Brittney Rhody, senior hotel and restaurant management major and president and coach of the BadJacks dance club, said dance is a sport because dancers put in just as much work as other athletes.

“We work hard; we sweat; we use muscles that most people don’t use; we work on flexibility; and we work just as hard as everybody else,” said Rhody.

Dance demands athletic ability, but there are aspects of it that sets it apart from other sports.

Brody Kelo, freshman fitness and wellness major, said the team environment makes dance similar to other sports that emphasize team values. Kelo swam and competed track in high school and said he found those sports to be more about personal competition than the team values he gets with the BadJacks.

Makayla Lux, sophomore hotel and restaurant management major, said sports tend to put the athletes face-to-face with their competitors. Though dance is often competitive, it’s more about the team showing their skills to the judges.

A former high-school cheerleader, Lux said she joined the club so she could once again have an

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experience with a team.

Lux said the most important part of dance is the emotion that comes into play whenever they go on stage and perform.

“If you don’t have the emotion to backup a dance then you can’t really portray it, and then people don’t really understand what you’re trying to tell as your story,” said Lux. “Dance brings a lot of awareness to different social aspects.

Lauren Younger, freshman chemistry and physics double major, said dance may require athletic ability, but it is more than that.

“Dance is an art form,” said Younger. “I think you train like an Olympic athlete, and I can imagine that dancers could out-athlete a lot of athletes. What sets dance apart from sports, is sports are a competition. Sports are not necessarily for aesthetics. Ballet provokes emotion, provokes almost a catharsis ideal. It came from the Ancient Greeks, and these ideals have been passed down through cultures since. So it becomes an art form.”

Most of the dancers on BadJacks have no interest in pursuing dance professionally. They do it for the love of dance.

Younger was prepared to become a professional ballerina. When she was 16, she was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet in New York City in their trainee year-round program. She graduated high school early and moved to New York, by herself, at only 17.

An injury changed her path, leading her to NAU. Younger said she tore a major ligament in her

SPORT S foot, ending her ballet career. Even with her past injury, Younger dances with BadJacks to continue doing what she loves.

“I really couldn’t do the whole eight to 12 hours of pointe a day anymore,” Younger said. “But I love to dance. That’s why I joined the dance club. It’s less of a commitment, and I still get to dance every week so it’s really nice.”

Lux said many dances are serious, allowing people to experience new perspectives and becomes aware of vital issues.

These pieces can also be impactful to the dancers themselves and are a major part of why many people choose to dance.

“We have a dance about death, and recently someone passed away in my family, so it really hits home,” Lux said. “I really want to portray that life isn’t easy but you can get through it.”

Lux said dance is more than just learning choreography and executing. Dance also adds value for the dancers themselves.

The club emphasizes team bonding and, through the bonding, creates long-lasting friendships.

Not only in practice, but in their free time too.

Every fall, the team goes on a trip to California and rents a beach house to bond as a group.

They sit down to a team dinner in a nice restaurant, and the coaches will order dessert for them to pass around and share. The idea is for the teammates to learn more about each other through shared experience.

Lux said the memories and experiences she has made with the club will stick with her for life, and she hopes the friendships she made stick with her as well.

“I love all the girls on the team so much,” Younger said. “I never realized how much I was going to mesh with these people. They understand dance is still a part of them even though they are not pursuing it professionally. I love that.”

Bottom left: Freshman Kendall Chapman performs in “Dancing Through Life.” Top right: Freshman Catie Bell showcases her talent in “Losing Control.” Bottom right: Badjacks dancers leap in unison during their performance April 14. Michael Patacsil | The Lumberjack

APR IL 20, 2017 - APR IL 26, 2017 | T HE LUMBER JACK 21

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Presidential impact on sports par for the course Peter Kersting

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arry Bird, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are three legends who are on the short list of athletes who skipped their team’s championship visit to the White House over the years.

Now that the first 90 days of Donald Trump’s presidency are behind us, NBA Playoffs have begun and Major League Baseball is in full swing.

With the talk of championships, there is also speculation every year if teams will RSVP to their invitations to the White House. This year is certainly no different. After the Patriots won Super Bowl 51, there were almost immediate conversations about whether players would answer the call to the White House or not.

The Patriots’ visit to the White House was on April 19, and recent headlines highlight the very same conversation, in which Tom Brady said he planned to attend the ceremony, but released a statement April 19 that he was unable to attend due to “personal family matters.” Brady didn’t attend the White House championship celebration under former President Barack Obama’s administration as well.

“It really is a great experience,” Brady said in an interview with Boston.com about the event in February. “Putting politics aside, it never was a political thing. At least, it never was to me. It meant you won a championship and you got to experience something cool with your team — with your teammates.”

The presidency has always been polarizing in nature, and the commander in chief ’s role in sports, and sports traditions, is one that dates back to the early days of the United States.

The tradition of the White House visit began as early as 1865. Former President Andrew Jackson welcomed two prominent amateur-baseball clubs to the White House that year, the Brooklyn Atlantics and the Washington Nationals, and Ulysses S. Grant hosted the first professional baseball team in 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

Since then a slew of professional baseball teams have stepped foot into the White House. The first World Series championship team to visit is believed to be the 1924 Washington Senators under Calvin Coolidge’s presidency.

It wasn’t until John F. Kennedy’s presidency that an NBA championship team visited, which was the Boston Celtics in January 1963. The first NFL team to visit was in 1980. Former President Jimmy Carter celebrated two Pittsburgh teams that year, the Steelers and the World-Series-champion Pirates.

The president’s involvement in sports is more widespread than championship celebrations, however, and certain traditions are born from presidential involvement.

Former President William Howard Taft is often credited with starting one of the most famous sports traditions. He threw the ceremonial first pitch of the major-league season during a game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910. The first pitch, however, looked drastically different in its infancy than it does today.

For many years the president would toss the ball from the stands into the field, where players would scramble to recover it. The tradition lasted in this form until former President Richard Nixon’s administration, when excessive injuries to players on the field caused the tradition of the first pitch to evolve.

Former President Ronald Reagan was the first to toe the rubber in the ceremony we witness today.

While the Opening-Day pitch is tradition, there have been presidents who didn’t participated.

Some noticeable presidential absences include former President Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII and, most recently Trump, who created controversy with his decision not to participate in the ceremony.

The attention placed on the commander in chief and his participation in sports has not been exclusive of the professional playing field. Often the conversation focuses on the athletic undertaking of the president himself.

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was an avid golfer and is said to have increased its popularity in the United States when he was in office from 1953 to 1961.

“While I know that I speak with the partisanship of an enthusiast, golf obviously provides one of our best forms of healthful exercise accompanied by good fellowship and companionship,” Eisenhower wrote during his first term. “It is a sport in which the whole American family can participate — fathers and mothers, sons and daughters alike. It offers healthy respite from daily toil,

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refreshment of body and mind.”

Presidents in recent years seem to agree with Eisenhower’s statement about the benefit of a good golf game. Former President Bill Clinton and Obama frequented the green, and Trump is following suit. All three have been criticized for their game in one way or another.

Bob Hope, iconic American comedian and actor, had a running joke about former President Gerald Ford’s golf game.

“It’s not hard to find Jerry Ford on a golf course,” said Hope. “You just follow the wounded.”

Some of the most famous presidents in U.S. history were involved directly in athletics.

Reagan played football for Eureka College in Illinois and covered the Chicago Cubs baseball team when he worked for the WHO radio station in Des Moines. Former President George H. W. Bush played first base for Yale in the 1940s, and his son former President George W. Bush completed a marathon at age 43. George W. Bush also delivered one of the most iconic moments in U.S. history, the first pitch at Yankee Stadium before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series shortly after the tragic events of 9/11.

Perhaps one of the longest-lasting impacts on a professional sport by a president was that of former President Theodore Roosevelt on football.

Roosevelt is attributed with saving the game of football. In an era where players were being injured and killed at an alarming rate, Roosevelt called for improvements to be made to the game in 1905.

Roosevelt said in an interview with The Washington Post, he was concerned over the dangers of the sport and sought to make improvements, “especially by reducing the element of brutality in play.” At least 18 people had died that year, and more than 150 were injured playing the sport of football.

Roosevelt’s impact on the sport may not have been as great as portrayed by the stories, but there is no doubt that the presidency in general has had a major impact on professional sports as we know them.

If recent history and headlines are any indication, each president’s polarizing involvement in the realm of sports isn’t going away anytime soon.

Illustration by Alanna secrest

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