February 20th, 2024

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 4, 2024

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

FEATURES PAGE 3

A&E PAGE 5

UAA Spring Career Fair: What to know

UAA music majors perform in the Fine Arts Recital Hall

‘Six The Musical’ Turning history into her-story.

By Tanner Croft reporter3@thenorthernlight.org

“Six” is a Tony Award winning broadway musical brought to Anchorage by the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts – referred to as the PAC – and the Nederlander Organization.

“Six” is a retelling of the story of King Henry VIII and his wives, from the perspective of his wives, giving them the power to speak for themselves. This musical is extremely energetic and fun, with a relatively short runtime of only 80 minutes with no intermission.

Each of the six Queens are modeled after a unique pair of female singers – for example Beyonce, Avril Lavigne, Adele, Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Alecia Keys. This is the perfect entry level broadway show for younger audiences who have no prior experience with watching

live theater because it uses familiar music styles that many grew up listening to.

With the amount of different singers that influenced each of these characters, you are able to get a unique amalgamation of genres. The dynamic contrast from rock to soft pop portrays the emotional depth and gives context to what these women went through. At times, the vocals enter a soft dulcet signifying the intensity of the situation, allowing for a much more empathetic feel to be conveyed onto the audience. At other times, the music blasts out into the audience and the Six have every member of the audience clapping in rhythm along with the song.

The story of the Six is not one that could necessarily be considered a happy one – however, the cast does an amazing job of bringing humor to such a dark topic, all while returning the power to the

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women, allowing them to tell their own stories in their own ways.

Each of the Six share the stage the whole performance, allowing each actress to bounce off of each other – which allows for genuinely funny interactions.

In the beginning of the play, it brands itself as a competition to see which of the Queens had it worse when dealing with King Henry. Throughout the play however, we begin to see that this is a story of independence and shared trauma. What else do you remember about the wives of King Henry VIII, except that they were his pawns? This returns the

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX

The six queens posing for the audience at the completion of the performance.

power and importance to the women who suffered at his hands, and had lives of their own which were valid and important.

In an interview with The Northern Light, Terica Marie – who plays Anna of Cleves – said that if she could convey one thing to her audience, it would be: “Being yourself and finding power in who you are and standing in that power. There is something powerful and beautiful about that.”

Toward the end of the

show, the energy in the audience was electric. They were clapping, cheering and dancing all the way to the upper levels – all while the Six were being showered with confetti during their final moments on stage. The encore was rewarded with thunderous cheers and applause from a happy crowd.

Six will be showing at the PAC until Feb. 25, and there are advance student rush tickets available for $29 at CenterTix.com with the code DIVAIS-

SANCE. UAA students are required to show their ID at ticket claim, while younger students simply undergo an age check.

Only tickets marked yellow or red on the website may be purchased at the discounted price.

“Six” is 80 minutes of fun and energy, and is the perfect event for a date night or time out with friends.You do not want to miss “Six,” live at the PAC!

Consortium Library closes after water main burst Although the flooding was stopped, the library closed Monday Feb. 19 because of safety issues, and it was announced via university email that it would remain closed the following day.

By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org

The north parking lot and north entrance of the Consortium Library saw heavy flooding the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 19, after an underground water main broke.

As water bubbled up from the ground, a steady flow worked its way west through the parking lot.

The sidewalk of the north entrance was also submerged in water that flowed into a storm drain near the ARLIS section of the library.

UAA facilities arrived around noon to survey the damage and begin work to stop the water. In a few hours, the valves leading to the damaged section of pipe had been closed and the flooding was stopped.

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In an interview with The Northern Light, Philip Bacher, associate director of maintenance and operations, said that the damaged pipe was an underground freshwater water line supplying water to

the library.

He said that they think the damage occurred because of a failed underground valve that controls the supply of water; though, to know for sure will likely require an ex-

cavation of the damaged section.

“We’ll almost certainly need to dig something up,” said Bacher.

He said it’s likely the library will be shut for a few days.

PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ.

UAA facilities department works to clear water and mud from the north entrance of the Constium Library following flooding from a burst water main.

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Bauker said that UAA would be responsible for the cost of replacing the damaged pipe because it is university property.

Some water found its way into the library, soaking carpet along the northern wall of the building and getting into the north entrance and a stairwell in ARLIS. Loreli Sterling spoke with The Northern Light following the incident.

Sterling is the head of access services for the library and the library building manager.

She said that none of the library materials were damaged, noting that all collections in the library are elevated 4” off the ground for this very reason.

She said that the library had to close because the water to the building was

shut off, and it supplies fire suppression systems and the bathrooms. She said the building would not be able to reopen until water pressure was restored.

Sterling said that it’s not likely there will be long-term impacts to library operations.

“It will be short term, we just don’t know if it will be hours or days.”

Sterling said that her main concern going forward was the potential for mold developing and getting into the library’s collection. She said that UAA’s janitorial service worked quickly to clean up the water and they were currently working to dry the wet areas — noting how problematic mold in libraries can be.

At time of publication it isn’t clear how long the library will be closed.

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NEWS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Anchorage’s new Costco Business Center ushers in the age of wholesale-wholesale The opening day of this new location’s operation gave practically-minded Alaskans, high-volume grocery shoppers and local businesses a novel way to partake in the wholesale shopping experience.

By Mark Zimmerman news4@thenorthernlight.org

The Issaquah, Washington-based Costco Wholesale Corporation opened the doors to a brand new location in one of its longest-served cities on Feb. 1. Though the national chain has an almost four-decade history with this city — Anchorage’s Dimond Boulevard warehouse was only the tenth Costco when opened — Alaska’s first Costco Business Center is a different experience. This enterprise-focused parallel chain of Costco warehouses offers larger quantities with steeper bulk discounts as well as a number of exclusive items fit for commercial use.

Same-day in-house delivery service and earlier store hours are also key features.

A day after its public grand opening, the store was flooded with shoppers — baptized by the franchise-standard industrial heaters tuned to counteract the chill of the Tikahtnu parking lot outside.

An immediate difference between this store and its more pedestrian consumer counterparts were the show-floor-style front kiosks. Large commercial refrigerators and chest freezers took the space occupied by flat screen TVs and laptops in standard Costco warehouses.

Behind the front registers were lines of carts stocked with bulk goods.

The Northern Light spoke

PHOTO BY CIAN ABAD.

The main entrance of the Business Center at day.

to a couple hauling dry foods to the manual checkout. Local resident Aoua was generally impressed by the prices offered — mostly on frequentlyused bulk foods like instant noodles. Though she wasn’t the business customer the store is optimized for, the standard membership still granted her and similar patrons entry.

Behind them and around the checkout sat large pallets stacked with various snack foods and candies — offering them in fold-out display containers commonly seen on store shelves. Past these features – and a decidedly more vertical liquor section – sat rows of commercial food-grade cleaning supplies, large quantities of shelf-stable food and assorted commercial furniture and accouterments.

Display items were more sparse than standard Cost-

co stores — the few that were displayed included food-service prep tables, mop buckets, open signs and a display leg of Spanish jamón.

These business-tobusiness-exclusive items constituted the majority of bespoke goods at the Business Center. Buffet service trays sat across the store from mop heads. Multigallon containers of foodgrade cleaners were only several aisles down from rows of commercial appliances. TNL spoke to another shopper near the soft drink section at the store’s rear.

“We were looking at the [food prep appliances], and that’s gonna be useful for the sorta stuff Alaskans do,” said Joel, a local resident still browsing with a mostly-empty cart.

He was referring to rows of large, mostly stainlesssteel appliances used for vacuum-sealing, meat-

packing, freeze-drying and other food processing practices common in remote communities of Alaska.

Most shelf-stable goods sat in their own corners of the store. Notably present were five-gallon pails of Kikkoman soy sauce and opaque fourpound jars of Kalamata olives. When not in dedicated containers, these goods were stocked in standard wholesale vessels but collated in pallet-style boxes for easier bulk pickup, such as Kewpie mayonnaise.

Journeying to the store’s rear, past the array of open produce and bulkquantity frozen foods — we entered the roomscale combined refrigerator. This wing of the store housed meat, dairy and produce in one continuous room, each section marked by plastic flaps hung from the ceiling.

This is a unique staple of the location — contrasting with the distant, segregated refrigerators of its consumer counterparts.

While items in the refrigerated section were set apart by their quantity and price, the meats displayed outside were novel for their diversity. Whole halal lambs hung inside of nearby refrigerators, offering a stark contrast with the meat sections of other Costco warehouses in town.

“We’re gonna offer a lot of different items that are very unique to Alaska and at considerable savings to them, especially out of the bush communities [in rural Alaska],” said manager and 25-year Costco veteran Jim Griffith. “[The Business Center has] been able to offer them a lot of great value to their staples, their soaps, paper towels, just your normal food items.”

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Returning to the front, we encountered two more shoppers browsing the large stainless steel commercial refrigerators near the AT&T kiosk.

“We just walked in the door, but I mean it had the right soup container we needed, it has the meat station, basically everything we need,” said Kimberly Lemish, who owns City Grind — an underconstruction coffeehouse and sandwich shop in the Anchorage City Hall downtown.

The visibly-excited Lemish was relishing in the opportunities for her new store’s kitchen buildout, which she noted was a key advantage of the inperson experience over all-online retail. “I can get stuff here instead of going on Amazon, and actually see it before I buy it.”

“I think a lot of our excitement is generated from our appliance kiosks,” said Griffith in an earlier remark, “Because that’s commercial-style appliances sometimes they can’t even get in the state of Alaska.”

Between the sameday statewide delivery and wholesale-writ-large quantities, Costco’s 27th Business Center has brought the warehouse chain even further into the state’s fold. After the abrupt closure of the Tikhatnu and Dimond Sam’s Club locations in 2018, Costco using one of those former spaces for this expansion might read as a victory lap in an age where Costco dominates global market share for warehouse clubs and Sam’s — it’s chief competitor — continues to shed store locations.

“I’m super excited [about] what we’re gonna be able to offer the Alaska community,” said Griffith.

Fine Arts Building studio suffers leak — right as the library deals with another Campus maintenance successfully responded to a leak in room 109 of the Fine Arts Building on Monday Feb. 19.

Pepin and Morlan had

By Mark Zimmerman isolated the damage that reporter4@thenorthernlight.org was affecting an adjacent water heater by the time The Fine Arts Build- TNL checked back in at ing became yet another 2:30 p.m. victim of UAA’s February The studio was humbuilding leaks on Feb. 19. ming with activity while Before the Consortium Li- the leak was underway. brary issued a closure no- A mixed-level sculptice for a water main burst ture class led by Profesat 1:44 p.m., Fine Arts sor Mariano Gonzalez Building room 109 report- was proceeding as usual. ed ceiling leakage at 1:00 Students sat at a conferp.m. TNL spoke to Beau ence table in the middle of Pepin and Joshua Morlan the room to watch a digiof UAA Plumbing Main- tal presentation at a safe tenance at the scene of the distance from the drip. incident.

Sculpture technician and “It’s a dielectric union, co-curator of the Kimura and they tend to fail with- and Arc galleries Hans in 20 to 30 years,” said Hallinen was manning the Morlan. “It looks like it’s back to make sure the leak an older style, so it was didn’t damage any work or bound to go.” equipment.

A dielectric union is This leak caught the a screwed-on plumbing students by surprise: “It component, fitted between happened in the middle of two pipes of different met- class,” said one of the artals to mitigate corrosion. ists after maintenance had

left.

Campus Plumbing Maintenance responded quickly, with the crew scaling a ladder placed near the carved-out section of ceiling.

“It didn’t really affect anything [outside the room] actually,” said Morlan afterward. “There’s other forms of heat circulating through the room so it really didn’t shut anything down.”

This leak was the second of three major ones on campus so far in February.

Other than the simultaneous Consortium Library burst, a popped pipe cap caused a flood at the Social Sciences Building Kaladi Brothers Coffee 10 days earlier. The studio was still active after the leak and the sculpture class was held to completion.

PHOTO BY MARK ZIMMERMAN

A multilevel art class is held at the scene of a leak in Fine Arts Rm. 109

FEATURES

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024

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UAA Spring Career Fair: What to know The Career Fair will have many employers who are ready to speak to and network with students.

By Kyle Ivacic & Tanner Croft The UAA Spring Career Fair kicks off in March at the Student Union. The first day – March 5 – will be the “STEM Career Fair” and the following day – March 6 – will be the “Business, Health and Liberal Arts Career Fair.”

The fair is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. both days.

In an interview with The Northern Light, Career Development Coordinator Mike Detmer said that UAA Career Services puts on the Spring Career Fair to give students the opportunity to speak with employers who are actively seeking out UAA students.

Detmer said that the reason for a two-day career fair is to make it easier for students to speak with employers in their desired field. Having a separate STEM-focused day will help students narrow down which employers they should speak with.

There are strategies that students can follow when preparing to speak with employers at the fair. These include doing research beforehand, dressing nice and bringing resume copies.

Students can use Career Services to help “fine tune and polish” their resumes, Detmer said.

Taking steps to go the extra mile can help a student stand out and ease some of the nervousness that can be associated with speaking to a potential employer. While there is no specific dress code, Detmer said students are encouraged to “dress to impress.” However, “all students are welcome,” whether they are professionally dressed or not.

Researching an employer can be done in many ways. “Research a company’s mission statement … and if they were in the news recently for a positive reason,” said Detmer. These topics can be good icebreakers for conversations with an employer.

Detmer recommends that students use Handshake – which, according to the Career

PHOTO BY DYLAN FLOS.

Students mingle with employers at the 2022 Fall Career Fair.

Services website – “is the University of Alaska’s career management platform for students and alumni.”

A list of attending employers is available on Handshake and students can use the website to create personal profiles that employers can view. These profiles can include such things as re-

sumes and information about a student’s educational history.

In addition to speaking with employers, students will have the opportunity to get professional headshots taken from 1- 3 p.m. both days.

Detmer said that he does not want students to “hit the panic button” when finishing up their

degree. He said that it is good to speak with employers sooner rather than later, and having one-on-one interactions with potential employers is an invaluable experience in today’s hiring process.

Students “shouldn’t be scared of” the fair, said Detmer. It is an “investment in your future.”

GeoGuessr: A fun and easy way to break winter boredom Some students may be familiar with this oddly-spelled and very fun Google Earth-based game.

By Kyle Ivacic managing.editor@thenorthernlight.org

Students, especially those who like geography, looking for a reprieve from the Alaskan cold or endless studying might find just what they need in GeoGuessr.

The game uses Google Street View to drop players into a random area anywhere on Earth.

Players must then guess their location – the closer the guess, the higher the points. Rounds can be set up in various ways: with or without time limits, moving turned on or off, and even with or without the ability to zoom in on details.

A beginner will likely enjoy the game’s easier settings, which turn off time limits and allow moving around the map. In fact, with limits turned off, players can move through Google Street View for as long as they want to get a feel for their location and make a better guess. Once ready to make their guess, the player simply presses a map icon which pulls up a world map on which they can pin their guessed loca-

tion. The game will then show the true location and give the player points based on how close their guess was.

To make things even easier, players can select from maps that might be more familiar to them than the entire globe. For example, there are options such as “Famous Places” and “United States” among many others.

Let’s take a look below at a round I played to see how a typical session might go in the “Ur-

ban United States” map: The game dropped me in what I recognized as a location in the Northeast or Midwestern United States – based on a dense street pattern and brick buildings. A building with a sign for “Hofbrauhaus Newport” displayed a hint to what town this was – possibly Newport, Rhode Island — but further investigation was required.

Wandering around the town revealed a sign for “Interstate

75.” Taking a look at the in-game map showed that this interstate runs through the Midwest, so it wasn’t in Rhode Island after all.

After some meandering around the map, I found my way onto the interstate where I was met with a sign directing drivers toward Cincinnati and a decently large skyline visible in the background. So, this “Newport” must be in Ohio and a suburb of Cincinnati.

Another look at the map

SCREENSHOT BY KYLE IVACIC.

The starting location for the round described in this article.

showed this was correct. It was then time to try and guess the exact starting location to receive the most points possible. Pressing the game’s flag button brings the player back to their starting location – a handy tool to remind you of where to base your guess.

In this case, pressing the flag returned me to the street in front of the brewhouse. Looking at street signs in the nearest intersections let me know that I was located on “Third Street.”

Zooming into Newport on the map, I found Third Street and was able to locate the brewhouse. With the location found, I clicked the mouse to set my marker and pressed the “Guess” button.

This was a very successful round – I guessed only 18 yards from the exact start location and received a full score of 5,000 points.

Each round is played like this, although some are much harder than others. Enjoy this fun game at geoguessr.com.

Hopefully, it will take you to locations much warmer than our Alaskan winter!

Cabin Fever Debates

By Tanner Croft reporter3@thenorthernlight.org

The Cabin Fever debate tournament, hosted by Seawolf Debate, is an annual intramural debate competition where the champions may take home a substantial cash prize. The Northern Light interviewed the program’s director Steve Johnson.

Johnson spoke on how the event benefits students. Johnson said that it “gives [students] op-

portunities to develop critical thinking and communication skills. An important part of education.”

Every year the Cabin Fever Debates draw around 35 participants to compete for the championship title. At this time, with the competition well under way, interested students will only be able to attend as viewers of the competition. However, if a student is interested in participating in the future, recruiting for the event begins around December of each year. The competi-

tion generally starts on the first Tuesday of February each year.

This year, the debates began on Feb. 13 and the final round will be conducted on Feb. 27 from 7-10 p.m. Each debate is held in room 118 of the Social Sciences Building.

The final debate will be on the topic “billionaires should not exist.” While each of the teams that make it through the preliminary rounds will receive $250 dollars, only the championship team will earn the $1,000 grand prize.

COURTESY OF SEAWOLF DEBATE.

Cabin Fever Debates logo.

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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024

05

UAA music majors perform in the Fine Arts Recital Hall The Fine Arts Building’s Recital Hall hosted a small concert of students on Feb. 16 which was open to the public.

By Hannah Dillon reporter1@thenorthernlight.org

UAA music majors performed in the Fine Arts Building Recital Hall on a warm February afternoon. Seven students performed two songs a piece along with Janet Carr-Campbell playing the piano for each.

Bright stage lighting covered the angled wooden walls of the auditorium, creating a rose-gold hue in the background.

The audience was small but the voices and applause were large.

The first song of the night was originally written by an anonymous 15th century French composer. It was beautifully sung by Griffin Lindsay in an opera style.

The soft sound of turning pages accompanying the piano played into the stoicism elicited by the singer through the first song. This student’s second song was lively and demonstrated the strength in his voice.

The second performer, Zion Merrill, sang a melancholy song where she swayed along with her words. Through both of her performed songs she showed much emotion as she held her arms and

facial expressions to match the melody.

Apryl Cardwell was the third performer of the night. The singer walked across the stage and took a purposefully stiff ballerina stance as soon as the first note of the piano hit. Cardwell sang the song “Les Oiseaux Dans la Charmille” by Jacques Offenback while dancing along.

The stiffness of the ballerina stance and the “winding-up” with the notes of the piano felt as if she was a marionette ballerina controlled by the piano. Her performance was enthralling as her vocal control was surprising.

Next up was a more intense piece sung by Kory Callison. The song felt tragic while the singer took deep and strong breaths to excellently sing with power and project intensity.

The fifth performer, Austen Hardy, silently started with a simple nod of his head. The singer began a soft melody with the fading of a deep audible decrescendo through both of the songs.

The sixth performance of the night by Krista Seetomona began with an amazingly controlled, soft voice that portrayed anger and desperation. This singer looked to the audience to establish the deep connection and understanding that the origi-

PHOTO BY HANNAH DILLON.

Apryl Cardwell performing in the Recital Hall.

nal composer intended.

Joseph Butcher was the final performer of the night who sang Mozart and “Tell Me No More” by John Blow. The singer had a raspy voice that worked well with both of the songs.

Each student received loud applause

after their performance and the audience was left feeling pleased.

After their performances, the singers gathered outside of the Recital Hall. The first floor of the Fine Arts building was filled with praise, laughter and whistle tones.

Red Roses and Rhythms: Seawolf Swing!

music and mood lighting. Tables were strewn with rose petals and vases of full red roses, with colorful balloons. Food and drink were also available, with directions for mixing your own tasty mocktail.

Seawolf Swing will be hosted monthly – details on when and where can be found on the UAA Student Activities’ Facebook, or the Anchorage Swing Dancers’ Facebook. More opportunities to dance, or to learn how to swing dance, can also be found on the Anchorage Swing Dancers’ page for those interested in learning a new skill or joining a fun and active local community.

Seawolf Swing hosted a Valentine’s themed dance in the Student Union cafeteria.

By Amelia McCormack reporter2@thenorthernlight.org

Anchorage Swing Dancers taught UAA students how to use West Coast swing moves at the Red Roses and Rhythms Valentine’s dance, hosted by Seawolf Swing. The dance began with a lesson, and then party-goers split off to

dance as individuals, pairs or even groups of up to five people. While the event focused on swing dancing, all dancing was welcome and beginners were free to enjoy the music without worrying about ability.

More-practiced dancers showed off complicated and flowing dance moves, while some preferred to bop or sway along the sides of the dance floor.

Pairs more experienced with swing

dance twirled around the cafeteria floor.

One partner, the lead, supported the other through a series of turns and moves that fit the rhythm of the music. The dancing is done with knowledge of the moves, but no memorized step sequence for the song. Instead, dancers have to improvise together, with the lead directing the main moves to avoid tripping over each other.

The event featured romantic decor,

Clay Body Ceramic Invitational Clay Body members’ artwork filled the Hugh McPeck gallery with vibrant colors and personal stories. Content warning: This story features quotes relating to non-graphic depictions of sexual violence and physical abuse that may upset some readers.

By Amelia McCormack reporter2@thenorthernlight.org

The Clay Body Ceramic Invitational was located in the Student Union’s Hugh McPeck gallery. The display was open from Jan. 18 to Feb. 6, and featured a variety of ceramic pieces created by members of UAA’s student ceramics club, the Clay Body.

A star piece in the show, featured on the promotional poster, was created by Taylor Lee and titled “You Will Never Come Clean.” The piece is very personal in nature, and evokes deep emotions with its beautifully crafted imagery. It features a praying mantis, curled on its side, with the twisted form of a horsehair worm emerging from its abdomen. Lee used a drippy green glaze that evoked a sickly feeling.

The sculpture represents feelings Lee experienced in the aftermath of sexual assault. Lee wrote in an email, “I have been working out how to represent sexual violence in my work without it being overly grotesque/uncomfortable for me to make.

I have found that using parasitism as a symbol for it gets across that idea without having to depict it literally. This was the first time that I was successful working with this idea in a piece and I can-

not be more proud of how it turned out.

It was very empowering for me to make that pain physical in a healthy, thoughtful way.”

Horsehair worms are parasitic animals that grow inside insects after they unknowingly consume the worm eggs.

Once mature inside the insect, “it will influence the host, driving it towards a water source before erupting from the host’s body, and slithering away to find a mate and start the cycle all over again.

The host insects often drown during this process. I felt that this mirrored the way I felt after my assault where I would bathe for hours trying to make myself feel less unclean,” wrote Lee. “Growing up as a queer person and a survivor of sexual trauma often made me feel alienated from my peers and treated as something inhuman. I find that I can express those feelings best through creatures that are misunderstood and insects provide me with a blank canvas in which to project those feelings onto” wrote Lee. “I think we as artists have the capacity to show trust in our work, whether it is truths about ourselves or the world around us. We can share perspectives and ideas in an instant in a way writing and other forms of communication sometimes fail to!”

Many artists used this invitational as an opportunity to share vulnerable

and meaningful artwork like Lee. Avery Krompacky, another member of the Clay Body, displayed a white and blue vaselike piece, named “Confluence.” Krompacky used a cobalt wash and blue underglaze to create bold but also hazy imagery on the surface of the vessel.

Krompacky wrote in an artist statement that the two sides of the vase represent the two sides of their childhood.

“On one side, my mother, brothers, and I bask in sunshine and art, homeschooled and free to make jam together between lessons. This is the childhood that my mother, an artist, created for us.”

“On the other side, however, my family is bound together by a marriage that was doomed to end, carrying the weight of generational trauma. Surrounded by guns, oil, sinister belts, and pain, my family is represented by the image of a pendant my mother used to wear — a family as a harmonious entwinement of shining gold, aptly painted with shades of blue instead. This is the childhood that my father sentenced us to with the lash of his belt and swing of his fist.”

Many of the pieces in the show are vessel forms – such as vases – like the one Krompacky created. One stunning example of artistry in this show was Megan Hughes’ pieces – small, lidded containers shaped like birds. Aptly titled “Feathered Company,” the four pieces

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLAY BODY.

Vase “Confluence” by Avery Krompacky.

feature meticulously detailed feathers covering the birds, and natural coloring. Another example are the two “Bento Boxes” created by Justin Fulkerson.

These cylindrical vessels have fish-scale like textures along their sides and beautiful natural and rusty-looking colors.

These pieces are reduction fired stoneware, while Hughes’ bird pieces are soda fired porcelain.

Many more pieces were featured in the show, with a wide variety of themes, subjects and mediums. Photos of many of these pieces can be seen on the Clay Body’s Facebook page, UAA Clay Body.

The Clay Body will be having a pop-up mug sale on Feb. 22 from 8-5 p.m. near the Kaladi Brothers in the Social Sciences Building.

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A&E

Upcoming events UAA event list for Wednesday, Feb. 21, to Tuesday, Feb. 27.

By Kyle Ivacic managing.editor@thenorthernlight.org

Wednesday, Feb. 21 SFL & ISO Potluck for Peace Join Seawolves for Liberty and the UAA International Student Organization for a potluck at the Consortium Library. Be sure to RSVP (for free) through the link provided on the UAA student calendar.

Consortium Library, Room 307 5 - 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 22 School of Nursing Information Session An introduction to the School of Nursing’s programs, admission requirements, and important dates. Register in advance through the link provided on the

UAA student calendar.

Zoom 12 - 1 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 23 Sugpiaq Art Renaissance Opening Reception Come to the opening reception of this Alaska Native art exhibition by June Pardue to take it in and mingle with other viewers.

Fine Arts Building, Kimura Gallery 5 - 7 p.m.

Alaska Native Arts Student Showcase Enjoy student artistry at this showcase of Alaska Native works.

Consortium Library, Arc Gallery 5 - 7 p.m.

Screening of “My Best Friend” Join the Department of Languages for a free screening of this French-language film.

Snacks provided.

Student Union Den 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Alaska Theater of Youth Presents “Mean Girls Jr.” A family-friendly rendition of the iconic movie and musical “Mean Girls.”

Fine Arts Building, Room 220 7 - 9 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 24 Aloha Days Enjoy Hawaiian dancing, music and a photo booth at this sunny, mid-winter celebration.

Attendees to this free event can enter to win two Alaska Airlines tickets to Hawaii and a threenight stay at the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel.

Dimond Center Mall 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Alaska Theater of Youth Presents “Mean Girls Jr.” A family-friendly rendition of the iconic movie and musical “Mean Girls.”

Fine Arts Building, Room 220 3 - 5:00 p.m. and 7 - 9:30 p.m.

Creek / Rail Yard Overlook 7:30 p.m.

Symphony of Sounds Join the Music Department for an exciting show of student talent. Featuring songs from several genres including Jazz and Musical Theater, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

Fine Arts Building, Room 150 7 - 9:30 p.m.

Alaska Theater of Youth Presents “Mean Girls Jr.” A family-friendly rendition of the iconic movie and musical “Mean Girls.”

Fine Arts Building, Room 220 3 - 5:00 p.m.

Fur Rondy AT&T Fireworks Extravaganza Partake in Anchorage’s annual Fur Rondy festival at this exciting fireworks show. Expect crowds and arrive early to find parking. For information about all Fur Rondy events, head to furrondy.net.

Downtown Anchorage, Ship

Pinch Pot Palooza Let out your creativity to make colorful pinch pots amongst fellow students. These simple pottery pieces are sure to brighten your dorm room!

Student Union Cafeteria 2 - 4 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 25 Great Land Christian Church Sunday Worship Service Fine Arts Building Room 150 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 26

OPINION The ups-and-downs of elevators on the UAA campus Elevators on campus help lift students to their academic goals, but not every elevator is created equal.

By Hannah Dillon reporter1@thenorthernlight.org

This article will exhibit opinions on various elevators around campus. Each elevator has been ranked from best to worst and graded on a scale of 1 through 10.

Some of the criteria for what makes a non-terrifying elevator ride include the lighting, maintenance expiration date, interior aesthetic, sounds, bumpiness of the ride and cleanliness.

I award the best elevator on campus to the Engineering and Industry Building. It feels only fitting that an engineering program would be home to the best and least terrifying elevator experience. This elevator is available nearby most building entry points, offering an easy to find vertical lift when rushing to a class. The elevator is extremely spacious and receives a 10/10 The Natural Sciences Building elevator is not used quite as often as one would expect, offering a private alternative to the nearby stairs. The lighting has modern circular fixtures illuminating a maintenance date that is soon to expire. This elevator is aesthetically pleasing and is loud but stable – this elevator earns an 8.5/10.

The Health Science Building’s elevator is extremely bumpy – even while only gently walking – and the maintenance check date expired in August of 2023. Students have to play a game of tag when trying to get the elevator to reach the third floor. Aside from the obvious shortcomings of this elevator, the atmosphere and interior design earns an 8/10.

The Social Sciences Building elevator is incredibly fast and has the best interior walls on campus. The top panel is a shiny black with a wood base

and round handles attached to the walls. The lighting is dark and ambient, I rate this elevator a 7.5/10 The ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building elevator is large and stable with odd, but aesthetic, orange flooring that does not match the rest of the building. There is not much to fear when vertically traversing the three floor building, but the maintenance date is one year past due. Due to the large staircase in front of the building entrance, the elevator is often empty and allows for ten seconds of privacy before class. I give this elevator a 7/10.

The Student Union elevator near Enrollment Services’ most notable quality is the ever-lingering scent of crayola crayons.

Everytime I enter the elevator, I am met with unavoidable memories of my childhood. For the ten seconds I am surrounded by the pleasant but curiously obtained smell, I am unable to think of anything else than how the smell of crayons forever permeated the carpet of the small elevator.

This elevator also has a larger than life image of one of our own editors from The Northern Light and the maintenance is up-to-date as of February 2024. Even though this elevator is nothing special to be in, the crayon-fueled nostalgia earns it a rating of 7/10.

The Consortium Library has some of the nicer looking elevators on campus with spacious, green coated walls and bright circular lighting. This elevator is up-to-date on maintenance, but occasionally makes a slight creaking sound while arriving at a hard stop that can churn your stomach, which earns the elevator a ranking of 6.5/10.

The Fine Arts Building does not have the most impressive elevator, as it is covered in many scratches on a metal wall and

has the lingering smell of old wood — somehow reminiscent of the first day of elementary school. The elevator is up-todate on maintenance and feels fairly stable. I give this elevator a 6/10.

Allied Health Sciences’ elevator acts as a building centerpiece. The layered black walls encasing the elevator entrance against the surrounding red walls is a very nice touch. The interior of the building is not quite so nice and is rather plain with late 80s wood paneling. I rank this elevator an 8/10.

The Administration and Humanities’ elevator is small and often jiggles with accompanying sounds when stopping or starting – making the two month maintenance inspection expiration date much more noticeable under the dim lighting. This elevator earns a 5.5/10.

Beatrice McDonald Hall has one of the latest maintenance expiration dates – August 2023.

The interior of this elevator is nothing impressive, which is disappointing as the rest of the building is full of color. I rank this elevator a 5/10.

Engineering and Computation’s elevator serves as a counter to the number one spot. The elevator is hidden and took a moment to find after entering the building. It was also covered in three cloth mats, which I assume was used to protect the walls from scratches while moving objects, but made the atmosphere a little odd and dark. The maintenance date came due in January of this year, but the elevator is fast and stable – I give it a 5/10.

The Professional Sciences Building’s elevator is fairly basic and not much can be noted except the slightly daunting lighting which makes you feel as though you are about to be interrogated. The small, gray rum-

bling elevator is up-to-date on maintenance but not a preferable mode of vertical transportation, which earns this elevator a rating of 5/10.

Rasmuson Hall has a surprisingly unpleasant elevator, in my opinion. The carpet on the floor is brown and hairy with gray walls to really make the intense fluorescent lighting glare. There are two elevators on each floor which is a nice addition, but the staircase nearby is much nicer. I give this elevator a 4.5/10.

The elevator that connects the skybridge to west campus is one that is used often when trying to get lunch or get to a class on the other side of campus in under 15 minutes. Of all of the elevators on campus, I would like this one to be updated sometime in the future. The interior has the feeling of being in your grandmother’s house — with the old wood paneling and yellow lighting to match. This elevator is two months past its mainte-

nance check date and is fairly slow when it only takes you two floors. The best thing about this elevator is the aroma of the nearby Subway. I rate this elevator a 4/10.

I have used the Eugene Short Hall elevator very few times but each time has been a horrible experience. Students wait for the incredibly slow door to open up to a horrendous yellow lighting that showcases the expired maintenance date. As you begin moving, often there is a loud banging noise followed by a slow continuous creaking and shaking where you arrive at one more loud bang as you stop.

Most elevators are slightly past their maintenance check date – including this one – but this is a terrifying elevator in my personal experience. I rate this elevator a 1/10 – the worst on campus – based on the fear it strikes in me.

PHOTO BY HANNAH DILLON

Engineering and Industry’s elevator.

CROSSWORD BY KYLE IVACIC.

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SPORTS 08 Seawolves Men’s Basketball defeat Eighth ranked Vikings.

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024

By Justin Cox sports.photographer@thenorthernlight.org

Saturday evening the Seawolves Men’s Basketball team defeated the Western Washington University Vikings 71-69.

While the Vikings took an early lead in the first half, the Seawolves rallied back and ended the first half up by 5. The Vikings took the lead early in the second half, but the Seawolves showed their skills and quickly reclaimed the lead and held it for the rest of the game.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #23 dives between defenders and passes the ball.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #23 shoots

Scan for more photos.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #3 shoots over WWU defenders

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA vs WWU Tipoff.

Seawolves Women’s Basketball fall to the Wildcats

By Justin Cox sports.photographer@thenorthernlight.org

Saturday night the Seawolves Women’s Basketball team was defeated by the Central Washington Wildcats 65-72. The Wildcats took an early lead and managed to hold it throughout the night, ending the first half up by 9. Even with the impressive late game effort from Vishe’ Rabb, who scored 15 points, the Seawolves still couldn’t close the gap.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #5 attempts to get around CWU defender.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #12 attempts to reach the net

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PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA vs CWU Tip off.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COX.

UAA #14 ends up with the ball after a struggle.