September 14, 2010

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THENORTHERNLIGHT SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

NEWS

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UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

Democratic Nominee: Harry Crawford hosted BBQ

SPORTS

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Cross Country:

Team prepares for another stellar season

Local residents protest Glenn Beck event

WWW.THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

A&E

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The Northern Light

LOGAN TUTTLE/TNL

New teams join GNAC, WCHA With the introduction of Simon Fraser to the GNAC and Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha to the WCHA, UAA teams will have more competition to face in 2010-11 By Taylor Hall The Northern Light

The waters of the GNAC and WCHA just got larger and more difficult to navigate through for the Seawolves. That is because three newcomers to the conferences are now competing for the top spot along with them. None of them will be easy opponents by any means, as all bring forth programs with rich tradition in winning. New to the GNAC this season will be the introduction of the Simon Fraser University Clan. SFU, which is based out of Burnaby in British Columbia, Canada, is the

first Canadian university to be accepted into an NCAA sanctioned conference. They will feature 17 programs within the conference and will do battle with the Seawolves in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country running, volleyball and men’s and women’s track and field. To some, the Simon Fraser name may sound familiar since The Clan has historical ties to the GNAC and the members within it. Before the GNAC was formed in 2001, teams like the Seawolves, Western Washington Vikings and Seattle Pacific Falcons, just

to name a few, were members of the Pac-West conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). When 10 members of that Pac-West conference broke off to form the GNAC, Simon Fraser was left to compete in the NAIA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) due to the fact the NCAA didn’t accept foreign membership. In July 2009, the NCAA finally granted The Clan membership and placed them in familiar territory against familiar faces. “Basically, we’re just

SEE OPPONENTS PAGE 05

Local band opens for Underoath

The Seawolf Debate team challenges racebased admissions By Jerzy Shedlock

More than 50 protestors gathered along 10th and I St. Saturday morning to commemorate the ninth anniversary of 9/11 as well as protest the event Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin held later that day at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.

Thera:

Racism, despite substantial progress over past decades, still permeates the landscape of American culture. It has existed throughout human history and many people around the globe still have a long way to go before diminishing thoughts of hatred based on skin color, language and customs. Young debaters at UAA are not retreating from discussing race-based issues, however. Select members of the Seawolf Speech and Debate team will debate race-based preference for university admissions on Thursday, Sept. 16. The debate will be followed by a faculty forum and facilitated public discussion on affirmative action. The event is part of a series of public policy debates and discussions sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). “There’s a weeklong program about eliminating racism in Anchorage that same week, so we are a small part of a much larger program on race and race relations in the city,” UAA professor and debate team coach Steve Johnson said. “We traditionally work with the Center to come up with a policy debate every year and we are cooperating with them again this year tackling the issue of racism.” To prepare for the debate, Johnson is discussing some of the controversies surrounding race-based admissions to universities at great length to the chosen debaters. They are currently plotting out the best arguments for the notion and the best arguments against the notion amongst themselves to illuminate the issue. The debate should start public discussion rather than conclude it, stated Johnson. “Either side is not judging its

success on whether it wins or loses. We don’t have that judgment,” Johnson said. “We are using debate to open up the issues for an audience and then have a discussion.” For four years CAFE has been using this format of discussion. Generally, participation from the public is split among individuals asking questions, individuals articulating their own beliefs and individuals commenting on what others have said. Despite the openness that Johnson is hoping the debate will encourage, the issue is not being taken lightly, and senior members of the debate team were chosen to partake. As a freshman, Nick Byrne was asked by Johnson to join the debate team. Now a senior, Byrne is well spoken and lax when referring to his involvement with the team. Every successful democracy has an outlet or forum that encourages dialogue rather than partisanship, according to Byrne. “If you were to look at a country that utilizes a parliament, they have an ingrained idea of dialogue that is a far more noble pursuit than simply trying to overpower another person’s opinion,” Byrne said. “The U.S. is entering a phase where the news cycle is dominated by force of opinion. This is antithetical to debate, and if we had stronger communities of people actually sharing ideas and examining how those ideas weigh against one another, we would be better off.” There is a misconception that debate is liberal in nature; that the social good is always strived for. The core of debate is sharing ideas, and effectively and intelligently discussing those ideas, stated Byrne. The structure of the debate is based on the British Parliamentary Debate format, which is the most widely used intercollegiate competitive

SEE DEBATE PAGE 02

Spirit Drive construction coming to a close

DANIEL JACKSON/TNL

Construction on Spirit Drive partially closes off one lane on Providence Drive, stalling traffic during the busiest hours of the school week.

SEE TRAFFIC PAGE 03


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September 14, 2010 by The Northern Light - Issuu