April 18, 2017

APRIL 18 - APRIL 25, 2017

FEATURES

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

FEATURES

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Prof-iles: Struggle leads to discovery with UAA geology professor

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Local business opens, equipped with recording studio, boutique and more

Senate education plan cuts deep into university budget, eliminates Alaska Performance Scholarship

By Alexis Abbott

news2@thenorthernlight.org

GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

The Alaska Senate recently announced a series of bills that would cut tremendously into the University of Alaska’s budget and eliminate a statewide scholarship program. The money that funds the Alaska Performance Scholarship would go to K-12 education throughout the state.

The Senate introduced a new education plan, stating that there is an “enormous achievement gap for many Alaskan students and outcomes are not where they should be for students to be ready for life after high school.”

The goal of the proposed bills is to prioritize resources for Alaskan students in the 21st century.

The Senate Finance Committee created an updated FY18 operating budget that would cut $22 million from the university, a $5.7 million addition to the already proposed $16.3 million.

The UA budget cuts have previously resulted in the loss of copious faculty, staff and programs — while cutting scholarship

opportunities may add a loss of prospective students.

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen referred to the legislative cuts as “devastating.”

Bills proposed by the Senate to alter state education include SB 96, 102, 103 and 104.

“The overall purpose of SB 96 is to provide the school districts with tools through offering grants that school districts can use. The bill will also create the virtual education consortium, which will allow school districts to offer classes virtually to students in other districts,” Joshua Banks, Senate Education Committee aid, said.

SB 102 regards funding for internet services for school districts, which would increase internet access and speeds in the state and in the rural areas of Alaska. SB 104 highlights the Board of Education and improvement of school curriculum.

The bill that caused the most controversy was SB 103, which involves eliminating the Alaska Performance Scholarship and Alaska Education Grant,

and instead creates “innovation grants” within Alaska school districts. If enacted, the APS and AEG would be cut by the 2020-2021 academic year.

Students that are eligible for the APS after high school could receive up to $4,755 per year for up to four years to study at a participating in-state institution. More than 5,200 Alaskan high school graduates have benefited from the APS, according to Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education.

Since created in 2011, the APS has increased enrollment at the University of Alaska, and has encouraged many students to pursue higher education instate. The APS costed the state about $11 million last year and helped a little over 3,400 students pay for school. Cutting the scholarship program could cost the UA system up to $10 million each year.

Out of the APS recipients that graduated in the 2015 academic year, 750 students earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, 150

SEE APS

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UAA freshman balances full course loads at two universities

Niurguiana Lukovtceva’s first semester enrolled in college consisted of taking 14 classes in two countries

By Sarah Tangog

stangog@thenorthernlight.org

For Niurguiana Lukovtceva, a double major in business administration and accounting, her difficulties were increased twofold last semester as she was enrolled at the University of Alaska Anchorage and online at Technical University of Moscow.

“In May, last year, I got a letter from UAA saying like, ‘Congratulations, you’re attending UAA!’ I was so happy for this,” Lukovtceva said. Growing up in Siberian Russia, she had been fascinated with life in America.

“If I have an opportunity like that, if my parents helped me with financial aid… It was a huge decision for me,” Lukovtceva said. “My uncle told me about the program, UAA, in Alaska – in America! It’s kind of a different part of the world, and I was interested.”

Her excitement about coming to UAA wasn’t deterred by the tasks she needed to do to come here, no matter how challeng-

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ing they were.

“Half a year I was preparing for this, because of exams for English and a visa.

It was kind of hard, and really tough,” Lukovteceva said.

Because she wasn’t just attending college for the first time, but also a college in a different country, her father suggested a backup plan just in case her plans at UAA didn’t work out.

“He told me, ‘You can go to the Russian University.’ There’s distance education, no attendance, just on a computer online. You can speak to a professor through Skype, it was really good,” Lukovteceva said. “It’s really cheap, this distance education. It’s really cheap in Russia.”

For her first semester in college, Lukovtceva faced many obstacles, especially juggling between the Russian education system and the American education system.

“It was really hard for the first semes-

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PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM

In addition to a full course load at UAA, business administration and accounting major Niurguiana Lukovtceva was also enrolled online at Technical University of Moscow for a total of 14 classes last semester.

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NEWS

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Another roadblock hits U-Med road

Funding has been pulled from the contruction proposal yet again

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The Edge Update: Methane leak in Cook Inlet fixed, Alabama church police and mounting tensions with North Korea

By Max Jungreis KRUA

The Edge Update can be heard every weekday on KRUA 88.1 FM The Edge, UAA's college radio station.

PHOTO BY JAY GUZMAN

Built in 1962, the Providence Alaska Medical Center operates as Alaska’s largest hospital. There have been plans to develop more access points to combat the heavy traffic in the areas leading to both Providence and UAA campus.

By Sarah Tangog

stangog@thenorthernlight.org

The congestion of traffic around Tudor, from East Northern Lights to Lake Otis Parkway, has had the city of Anchorage proposing a solution for years. However, due to differing priorities as Anchorage grows, the U-Med District Northern Access Project still lacks the funding it needs to proceed.

“When the mayoral office turned over to the current major, the current administration made it clear this was not a priority of theirs,” Stewart Osgood, project manager from DOWL, said. “It’s nothing now; it was a connection to provide relief to traffic congestion and circulation problems to the U-Med district.”

The project was proposed to alleviate the traffic by extending the road.

“The project is an extension of Elmore through Bragaw, connecting another north-south corridor between Providence Drive and Northern Lights Boulevard,” Sean Baski, project manager from the Department of Transportation, said.

Since 2003, the project was already in thought and analyzed to determine the best course to take in order to create a practical alleviation.

“Accordingly, the team examined potential connections between Elmendorf Air Force Base and the Glenn Highway to the north, and Tudor Road and Abbott Loop Road to the south. North of Tudor Road, there were two obvious choices: Boniface Parkway or Bragaw Street,” ZGF Architects, Inc. said in a U-Med road plan prepared in 2003. “The team concluded that either could satisfy regional transportation needs and that issues related to livability should determine the choice of routes.”

The confidence for the project is strong, but with no money, it still won’t be able to move forward.

“The project was a state-funded project; money was provided to the municipality of Anchorage, and then the municipality of Anchorage then passed those funds over to the Department of Transportation, and then we were developing the project, sometime in 2015-2016. The city administration removed their support from the project and since it was their project, the Department of Transportation then archived the project. Now it’s archived and no longer being advanced,” Baski said.

Despite this, there is a clear demand for such an extension in the road.

“I think the project has a clear purpose and need, and benefits the U-Med district and solves problems that are real in the U-Med area,” Osgood said.

“The University of Alaska Anchorage, APU, the different medical organizations in the area all supported the project, so there’s definitely support for the project from the business side and then also from area residents, but there’s definitely some area residents that did not support it,” Baski said.

Though the project may have reached its end, Osgood believes the project is important enough to be considered once again in the future.

“I do believe that the project will be back at some point because there is a clear need for it. And if the U-Med district will continue to grow, they will need construction of a larger infrastructure,” Osgood said.

Plans like the U-Med District Northern Access Project are proposed in order to create a safer traffic pattern.

The goal is to decrease the congestion in traffic, and as the area grows, the goal becomes more relevant. With the U-Med road project at its final end, this goal is still nowhere near completion.

Local On Thursday, the Hilcorp Corporation ended a natural gas leak in Cook Inlet that has spewed methane into the surrounding waters for months after dive crews installed a clamp marine pipeline. The fix required several dives to the seafloor as workers repaired a damaged pipeline 80 feet deep. Thick sea ice prevented crews from fixing the 52-year-old installation for two months.

The leak has generated controversy since it began, with environmental groups voicing concern for local wildlife and accusing Hilcorp of being unable to manage its own properties.

National The Alabama state Senate has passed a bill that would grant a local church the ability to appoint its own police force. Briarwood Presbyterian Church is located at the fringes of Birmingham, located between Jefferson and Shelby counties. The church is massive, with more than 4,000 members and 40 ministries, including programs for preschool and K-12 education. The church released a statement stating, “After the shooting at Sandy Hook and in the wake of similar assaults at churches and schools, Briarwood recognized the need to provide qualified first responders to coordinate with local law enforcement who so heroically and effectively serve their communities.” Those in favor of the measure say that a police force is necessary in increasingly dangerous times.

Those against it say the move is both gratuitous to religious forces and unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union objected, issuing a memo saying that the bill will “unnecessarily carve out special programs for religious organizations and inextricably intertwine state authority and power with church operations.” Critics also say that violates the First Amendment, which says that Congress cannot make any law “respecting an establishment of religion.

Global North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrated his grandfather’s birthday this year, not with the usual parade, but with a display of far-ranging firepower. A massive military procession showed off the latest North Korean military equipment, including what analysts say were three different types of intercontinental missiles.

Kim watched from a balcony as the missiles made their way through Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, accompanied by dozens of tanks and thousands of goose-stepping soldiers. It was the 105th birthday of Kim Il-sung, Kim’s grandfather and near-mythic founder of North Korea. World powers like China and the United States were concerned that Kim would ring in the anniversary with a nuclear bomb test or the firing of an intercontinental missile. The United States sent a naval strike group to the coast of the Korean Peninsula in a show of force. The move has led to heightened tensions between the two countries. Cho-ryong Hae, believed to be second most powerful North Korean official, said “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war” and “We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks.”

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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Thousands of meal currencies are going untouched Each semester, around 300 to 400 students have unused meal currencies that expire at the end of the term

By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org

Students living in the Residential Halls are required to purchase a meal plan for the beginning of each semester, and the plan includes a combination of dining dollars — money for Seawolf Dining locations — and meal blocks, which are used for one meal at the Creekside Eatery or $5 at dining locations.

For an estimated 409 students, $87,491 dining dollars and 16,478 meal blocks expired on their accounts, collectively, at the end of fall 2016, according to financial systems administrator Brian deZeeuw. At this time for the spring semester, the total amount of money left over in the form of dining dollars is below the fall total, which deZeeuw said is a good thing. For the meal plan currencies that are left over, deZeeuw said that there is a substantial amount of meal plans that expire or don’t transfer to the next semester.

“Working at the university, we are very aware of the amounts students sometimes have to borrow to go to school,” deZeeuw said. “It’s personally frustrating to me to see all of that money left on the table.”

On March 29, deZeeuw sent out emails to students with a balance left on their accounts and provided them the link to eAccounts, a website that helps students keep track of any meal plan currencies, Wolfbucks or printer allocation on their Wolfcard. deZeeuw said he has no advertising budget, and so he is not sure how new students find out about eAccounts, or how to use that service to budget their meal plan, but that there are other ways students can keep track of the amount of meal currencies they spend or have left.

“Whenever the student buys anything, and the cashier swipes the card, it will generally show the remaining balance. … If they get a receipt it will be printed on there,” deZeeuw said. “They can call the [Wolf]card office anytime that we are open Monday through Friday. At the housing desk, there is a little machine on the counter that will show them both their dining balance and their meal point balance.”

GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

David Weaver, director of University Housing, Dining and Conference Services said that a student not using their meal plan can be a sign that the student is facing some sort of hardship.

“I feel like there are some students, a small number of students, that aren’t using their dining plans because of some anxiety, because they have a bad roommate situation,” Weaver said. “Students who feel depressed… if the student’s not using their meals I think that’s a clue.”

The Spring 2015 semester had around 336 students with leftover meal blocks, and during the Fall 2016 semester, around 409 students had leftover currency on their plans, according to deZeeuw. Weaver said the majority of students with unused meal currencies have leftovers because they are new to budgeting resources.

In the past, Weaver and his staff would reach out to students who hadn’t used their meal plans in the beginning of the semester to see how they were adjusting. Due to budget cuts, Weaver said that project has been put on hold so that staff can compensate for a larger workload.

“We are doing all the same amount of work plus more with two less people,” Weaver said. “Once upon a time, we would take and pull the list of students who hadn’t used their meals by like the third week of school to say, ‘Hey… we noticed you’re not eating on campus, is everything okay? Do you have allergies? Is there something we could do to help?’”

Alec Leighton, natural sciences major, was an incom-

ing student last semester with a large balance of meal blocks that expired on his account in the fall. Leighton said he had around 60 or 70 meal blocks leftover on his account at the semester’s end, and the reason had to do with a lack of time.

“If someone had a lot of time it’s entirely logical for them to eat more or have the ability to eat more,” Leighton said. “However, if someone has a more constrained schedule, they’re probably not going to be able to get to the Commons that much.”

Leighton said he has been able to use more of his meal blocks this semester than the previous one because he has more time. Weaver said that it doesn’t benefit the University to have students leave meal currencies untouched because of how dining services are contracted out to NANA Management Services. NMS doesn’t benefit either, according to Weaver, because of how the bidding process makes potential contractors bid for the lowest price by factoring in how many meal currencies will go untouched. Weaver thinks it is unfortunate that so many dining dollars and meal blocks go untouched.

“It’s problematic, because students are paying for those and the University does not benefit when a student doesn’t use all of his or her meals, and I want the student to have the absolute lowest cost education that they can,” Weaver said.

Meal currencies for the 2017 spring semester expire at the end of the semester and do not carry over.

APS: $22 million to be moved into K-12 education Continued from cover

earned an associate’s degree and 50 received certificates.

Alec Burris, recipient of the APS, thinks that SB 103 sends the wrong message to prospective college students in Alaska.

“I think that the Alaska Performance Scholarship is particularly important in our state because it allows students in financial need to attend college. In a state like Alaska, where a lot of our population is rural, it’s really important that they have those opportunities to gain the education they deserve,” Burris said. “This is just a good tool for students to attend

school and get the education that they need.”

Despite the million of dollars that the state would save by eliminating these popular scholarships, many students may be encouraged to pursue their higher education out of state.

Ashleigh Goplen, junior health science major at UAA and APS recipient, said that the Alaska Performance Scholarship is the only thing that has kept her in Alaska.

“I think [the APS] is important because it keeps the academically strong students, who have options to go to other schools, in state, and then hopefully keeps them

in state in the future for whatever career they transition into. It’s important for future students because it’s a huge motivator to do well in high school,” Goplen said.

The Alaska Education Grant requires less state funding than the APS but provides many students with the opportunity to further their education. The AEG provides need-based financial assistance to Alaska students, typically awarding grants of $500 to $4,000 per academic year.

If enacted into law, the high school graduating class of 2017 will be the last to be eligible for the scholarship and

grant. The Higher Education Fund will be renamed “The Alaskan Innovation Education Grant Fund.”

The purpose of the new legislation is to provide the Department of Education and Early Development and school districts with grants to create academically innovative ways to improve education in the state.

These grants must first be approved by the Commissioner of Education and submitted to the legislature for state funding before the education budget is altered.

WE WANT YOUR OPINION!

We are looking for student input in developing a UA-wide Email, Calendar, and Collaboration Strategy.

Join us for pizza, discussion, and a few short activities to help inform our strategy.

Who: Current UAA Students What: A focus group on UA’s Email, Calendar, & Collaboration needs When: Tuesday, April 25 from 12:30 - 2:00 pm Where: SSB 120

SPACE IS LIMITED - RESEARVE YOUR SPOT TODAY

RSVP to almiller3@alaska.edu to save your seat!

UAA is an EEO/AA employer and educational institution.

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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

FEATURES

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

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Prof-iles: UAA professor chases dreams and dates rocks

By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org

Walking into Erin Shea’s office, the object that catches your eye first is a model NASA space shuttle, followed by a signed picture of NASA Flight Manager, Gene Kranz. Shea has had many dreams, one of which was to become an astronaut. In many ways, the pursuit of that dream has shaped her future. She went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study physics because that was a school astronauts went to and physics was the subject they studied. During her time as a physics student, she discovered a lack of passion which, in turn, impacted her grades.

“I was a really bad physicist,” Shea said. “I think I struggled a lot with the math, so that was hard for me, and the concepts. I struggled with all of it — except the lab portion — and I had a really good lab instructor who said, ‘You’re okay at the lab part and everything else you seem to struggle with, you should maybe consider geology.’ And I did.”

Shea now has her Ph.D. in geology from MIT and has been an assistant professor of geology at UAA since 2015. The

PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM

With original aspirations to be an astronaut, Erin Shea found a new calling in geology with the help of a previous lab instructor from MIT. Through various projects, she has been able to study different rock samples from the moon.

astronaut dream didn’t work out as planned, Shea said she never even applied, but as a geologist, she was able to get her hands on the moon, at least a piece of it.

“At MIT, when you’re a graduate student, you have to take — it’s like a test. You stand up and give a presentation, and

there is a committee of faculty members who decide whether you can continue to be a graduate student,” Shea said. “They make you do two projects…

I said, ‘Well, I want to study moon rocks and there is a guy at MIT who studies moon rocks and asteroids and meteorites.’ I

UNIVERSITIES: Double major balances hectic schedule

Continued from cover

ter when I came because the education system in America is so different, starting with grades and then finals week,” Lukovtceva said.

The overall semester in Russia is longer, as it usually lasts about five to six months rather than 15 weeks. Furthermore, finals week is expanded into a month of exams and tests. Last semester, Lukovtceva was taking a total of 14 classes: nine online through Russia and five at UAA. “This was necessary. We can’t pick the classes, like ‘I want this, this and this.’ There’s classes you have to take,” Lukovtceva said.

Technical University of Moscow allows an online education similar to the UAA system by also using Blackboard. However, the choices of a major are limited, and certain classes are required to pass to advance to a sophomore status.

“The first two months was kind of easy for me,” Lukovtceva said. “Weekends were free, and that’s

how I got organization, like time management skills. The first part of the week, I was in UAA and the second I was in Russia.”

However, the routine became exhausting. On top of her studies, she was experiencing social difficulties as well.

“First of all, language. When I came here, I was scared about this because my English skills were so bad,” Lukovtceva said. “I can write grammar, easy, but talking with each other was tough for me.

And with teachers, it was awful the first time.”

Lukovtceva decided to take a break from the classes in Russia for the spring semester of 2017.

She realized she wasn’t enjoying her experience in Alaska enough because of her workload, and that taking classes at UAA would allow her to breathe.

Lukovtceva still doesn’t know what’s to come, but she has high hopes about the future.

“I love everything in UAA,” Lukovtceva said.

She hopes to join clubs and be more involved in her Alaskan experience by the next semester.

talked to him and he said, ‘Yeah I have this project.’”

Through that project, she was able to explore the moon, but now she focuses more of her time on Earth. She has two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a son who is eight-monthsold, and she has found success in

various teaching positions. Shea said she’s had many dreams, being an astronaut, working with horses, but she said that it’s always good to try your dreams, even if you realize they won’t work out.

“I highly recommend pursuing your dream at some point and finding out what it’s really like,” Shea said.

As a professor, Shea said her new dream is to make a contribution to her field and her students. In many ways, she’s already meeting her goal. In 2012, she was awarded the MIT Award for Excellence in Teaching. At UAA, she’s showing her dedication to geology and her students, by taking a group of 14 students to Tonopah, Nevada in May with LeeAnn Munk to learn how to use tools and conduct measurements in a real world environment.

In the present and the future, Shea will continue to pursue her new dream. She will also keep, “dating rocks,” as a geology professor, and even though she will never be an astronaut, she has found a way to incorporate space and geology in her life by naming her cat after a geologist whose work centered on lunar rocks.

08 | FEATURES

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

A space to create and collaborate Frozen Founders opens downtown location with recording studio, boutique and art gallery for artists to connect

PHOTOS BY YOUNG KIM

With a new storefront on Third Avenue in downtown Anchorage, Frozen Founders hopes to work with, nurture and showcase artists from across different disciplines.

By Brenda Craig

features@thenorthernlight.org

It started as a dream in high school, and then in 2014, Dwayne Carter and Dylan Afusia created Frozen Founders and were making their dream come true.

Frozen Founders is a business created to allow artists from all over Alaska to come together at their location to showcase, create and work with other artists.

They are newly located at 529 West 3rd Avenue, next to Brown Bag Sandwich Company, and are ready to showcase local artists and provide a spot for creativity to take place.

There are spaces at Frozen Founders for artist to place their artwork, clothing, and albums for sale. While Frozen Founders assist the artists by selling their pieces, they also provide spaces for these artists to work, such as their recording studio that can be rented out to musicians with assistance setting up if needed.

“Our facility not only provides the space for an individual or group of individuals to come in, collaborate and create an idea, but the tools to build that idea or product to the point one is ready to showcase or sell it,” Carter, owner and CEO of Frozen Founders, said. “We have several outlets like our storefront, gallery, boutique or website.”

Before they owned an apartment, their priority was set on opening up a location for their business. Although their first studio location on Minnesota didn’t work out, they were able to grow as a business by networking with various artists. Eight months ago, Frozen Founders bought and moved into their recent downtown After remodeling, they officially opened two months ago with a storefront.

“It’s kind of crazy, I feel like most people that were our age were just starting to get their own spot and we were just starting to get to that point, we both had our own jobs, we could have easily went and got our own place to live but it’s what we wanted to do,” Carter said.

Community is emphasized at Frozen Founders. They support the idea of artists coming together and achieving their goals by doing what they love and sharing their work.

“I feel like there is a huge disconnect between local artist and the public.

People don’t know what kind of talent is

Dwayne Carter stands at the entrance of Frozen Founders. Carter and Dylan Afusia saw a need for a local hub for artist collaboration.

here, so our mission is to bring everyone together to not only support each other, but to display what Alaska has locally,” Afusia, owner and president of Frozen Founders, said. “The community needs more positive influences and outlets, not only for kids, but also for adults in the community who have a dreams.”

Andrea Luper, an artist featured at Frozen Founders, supports the idea of helping the art scene grow in Anchorage.

“I would describe the Frozen founders as ambitious, passionate, and dedicated to their cause. When talking to them you can feel their excitement about what they envision, even if they’re exhausted from all the work,” Luper said. “Providing resources and an outlet for people to be able to create is invaluable, and the more we can bring to a small city like Anchorage, the better off the city will be.”

The sense of support that Frozen Founders provides may encourage artists to stay in Alaska to pursue their work.

Artists, like Luper, are able to go to Frozen Founders to continue their work, and may even pick up a new technique.

“My favorite part of what they’re doing is the fact that they’re doing it, the fact that they believe in Anchorage and want to make it a better place for people to stay, and not feel like they have to leave to another, more established city,” Luper said. “I’m looking forward to having somewhere I can go to work that’s outside of my house, and as a place to connect to other artists. I have only dabbled in screen-printing, but I would love to delve deeper into that medium.”

Frozen Founders was based off a dream and now they want to help others pursue theirs by providing this space, assistance and support.

“Everybody has dreams and people feel like because of society that they have to put their dreams off to the side and get a 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. job, I mean, we all have to at some point, but I don’t feel like you have to put your dreams on the shelf, you could still pursue it,” Carter said.

Working together is what Frozen Founders believes will make this community stronger. They want artist to know that they are being supported by other artist and eliminate the thought of competition.

“There is strength in numbers, I feel like the society we live in forces us to think as an individual, but if we work

Equipped with a full recording studio, Frozen Founders offers the space for rent per hour.

The storefront is also the home for the Frozen Founder’s screenprinting operation.

together we can build a future that can benefit all of us here and all to come,” Carter said.

As of now, the recording studio can be booked by appointment and the store-

front is open from 6 - 11 p.m on weekdays and 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. on weekends. As summer approaches, hours are subject to change and Frozen Founders is planning to be open all day.

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FEATURES

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College Cookbook: Summertime marshmallows from scratch

Kick off the beginning of summer with these homemade marshmallows for the campfire

By Victoria Petersen

School may still be in session, but there’s no doubt that spring fever is in full force. With sunnier days and sunnier nights, bonfires and camp outs will soon be taking place. S’mores is a favorite campfire treat to many. Bring your campfire to the next level with these homemade marshmallows. Vanilla was added, but other extracts and flavors can be added to give your marshmallows a unique flavor, like elderberry or rosewater.

Contributor

PHOTO BY VICTORIA PETERSEN

Ingredients

Directions

• 3 tablespoons of gelatin

• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/3 cup of cold water

• 1/3 cup cornstarch

• 3 cups of sugar

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 1 1/2 cup of water

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

In 1/3 cup cold water, soak the gelatin in a small bowl. Set aside to swell for 10 minutes.

Dissolve the sugar in the water gelatin mix in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.

Bring to a boil steadily for 15 minutes without stirring.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In a bowl or mixer, add the vanilla and beat until very thick and white.

Spread across a greased cookie sheet and let set for an hour. Cut into squares and dust with a cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture.

A&E

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

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There’s nothing unfamiliar about ‘The Stranger’

By Jacob Holley-Kline Contributor

You’d think a movie with “Stranger” in its title might have something new to offer. This isn’t the case in “The Stranger.” Guillermo Amoeda’s amateurish bore of a horror movie plods on and on to a conclusion that’s as gory as it is hard to care about. The sensibility is tryhard, the performances forced, and the premise contrived. As I type this, I am rewatching it just to see if anything about it was decent. Not good, just decent. And it turns out, Amoeda, as a director, has potential.

In a truly uninspired turn, “The Stranger” follows Martin (Cristobal Tapia Montt) who’s returned to an unnamed town in rural America. He’s slow to reveal his motives, and it’s hard to know if watching to find them out is even worth it. After he’s stabbed by Caleb (Ariel Levy), the son of the local police officer Lieutenant De Luca (Luis Gnecco), a troubled crack-addicted kid (Nicolas Duran) takes him in and nurses him back to health. After that, a lot of things happen, events engineered for maximum cruelty, and “The Stranger” loses all purpose.

Let’s start with the basics: the storytelling is a nightmare. There are at least three major narrative reveals that happen in flashbacks. Most of them involve Martin’s relationship to other, equally lifeless characters. Amoeda plays these moments like grand revelations when they’re anything but. How can you be surprised by

characters you don’t care about? From the writing to the performances, nothing makes the hour and a half less of a brutal slog.

What makes it even worse is that Amoeda has some inspired moments.

To properly capture what watching “The Stranger” is like, it’s best to describe how watching it feels. There are shots in here that are almost beautiful, Peter pedaling across the street at sunset, for example, that make you feel like it will get better.

It inspires hope in a way few horror movies do. And at every turn, it rips that hope to shreds.

The bulk of that disappointment lies in the performances. Montt, in the lead role, Levy, Gnecco and Duran in the supporting ones, to be fair thought, they don’t have much to work with. The script is a thin excuse for a movie. Any characterbuilding is mostly accidental and serves to bind each needless moment of violence to the next. And even in those moments, there are no stakes whatsoever. Amoeda is well-versed in this kind of horror, having written Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno, yet he still falls short.

If you have “The Stranger” on your must-watch list, X it out right now. It’s a preposterously boring, slipshod nightmare barely held together by bloodless acting and a sloppy script. Amoeda has potential as a director and provocateur, but he ultimately falls short on both counts. Sitting through it is like swimming through molasses except there’s no chance of drowning. Only finishing a sad excuse for a horror flick and wondering where all that time went.

TITLE “The Stranger”

DIRECTOR Guillermo Amoeda

RELEASE DATE Sept. 19, 2014

COUNTRY Chile

GENRE Horror

SPORTS

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Radical Recreation: Tommy Nguyen kicked off his college career by joining UAA Judo and Jiu Jitsu club Psychology and nursing pre-major found his love for martial arts during his freshmen year at UAA

By Brenda Craig

features@thenorthernlight.org

Not all hobbies begin at a young age. For Tommy Nguyen, psychology major and nursing pre-major, his began when he started his first year at UAA and attended Campus Kickoff. This is an event before the semester begins to welcome new and returning students with numerous booths showcasing student clubs and organizations, fun activities and entertainment. Nguyen stumbled upon the UAA Judo and Jiu Jitsu booth and became intrigued. He decided to join the club, and, now, Nguyen is a green belt who has competed in five tournaments.

“I passed by the judo table and then the sensei, Jacob Dempsey, described judo to me and from what I heard it’s similar to wrestling. When I actually got on the mat, I had a lot of fun and I decided to stick with it,” Nguyen said.

Three years later, Nguyen became the president of the UAA Judo and Jiu Jitsu club. The unlimited amount of progression and determination to acquire a black belt keeps Nguyen active in this martial art.

“I’m still interested because it I really like grapplingstyle martial arts,” Nguyen said. “I also want to continue to learn new moves, get better at moves that I’ve already learned before and increase my ranking and eventually reaching black belt.”

Judo and jiu jitsu teaches individuals the ability to defend themselves, while also being able to test themselves in competitions against others “It can be used for practical self-defense and you can

also compete in it as a sport. It relies mainly on throws, submissions and pins,” Nguyen said.

Although judo and jiu jitsu can work out the mind, Nguyen favors the physical aspect of the martial art.

“My favorite part of judo and jiu jitsu is practicing moves, sparring and competing in tournaments,” Nguyen said. “Some difficulties would be learning complex moves and sometimes after many tries, you think you won’t perform the move successfully. You just have to keep practicing.”

Nguyen is attending school and working full-time.

Even though he balances his busy schedule, Nguyen makes sure to dedicate time to attend practice and clear his mind.

“I work full-time as an RA and I’m a full-time student, but I set some time to go to judo and jiu jitsu practice because it is a great stress reliever,” Nguyen said.

Working through a busy schedule between school, work and judo and jiu jitsu practice, Nguyen has big plans for the future pertaining to his career.

“I hope to go through the nursing program and eventually graduate with a bachelor’s in nursing and psychology,” Nguyen said. “I also hope to get my master’s in nursing afterward and eventually become a nurse practitioner.”

Grappling, sparing and being challenging mentally and physically keeps Nguyen interested in judo and jiu jitsu. Starting with no experience in the martial art, the club walked him through and he eventually became the president of the club. Nguyen plans to continue and achieve his black belt and guide others who are participating in martial arts.

Tommy Nguyen battles an opponent from the guard position at the Oct. 17, 2015 Creepy Crawly Newaza Tournament hosted by the UAA Judo and Jiu Jitsu Club. Nguyen was awarded bronze in his weight division.

PHOTOS BY KATHRYN DUFRESNE

Nguyen with Olympian Travis Stevens. As president of the UAA Judo and Jiu Jitsu Club, Nguyen helped to coordinate the clinic with the silver medalist.

Nguyen fights for a grip with silver medal winning Olympian Travis Stevens during a joint judo and jiu jitsu clinic hosted by the UAA club on Feb. 18 and 19.

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PUBLIC TALK: US-RUSSIA RELATIONS

Foreign policy expert Leon Aron shares his perspective on US-Russia relations and Vladimir Putin 7 p.m. Friday, April 21 Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Polar Bear Garden: The Place Between Alaska and Russia

14 | SPORTS

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

CONTACT

THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

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