FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 1, 2016
NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
SPORTS
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PAGE 13
“Stick and Puck” opens at Anchorage Museum
Declining oil prices affect many Alaskans
Justice Scalia’s legal legacy
Pack Rat Antiques is a blast from the past
PHOTO BY ERIC BRIDIERS
The Pack Rat doesn’t accept donations like a thrift store does. Instead, the antique store hand-selects and purchases each of their items for resale.
PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM
Late Justice Scalia died at age 79 as one of the foremost conservative minds in judiciary politics.
By Kathryn Casello
kcasello@thenorthernlight.org
United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was officially confirmed dead in Shafter, Texas on Feb. 13 of natural causes. Love him or hate him, there can be no doubt the Scalia was influential as a Justice and in setting conservative precedence within the justice system. As the United States’s highest judicial body, the Supreme Court provides decisions for controversial and complex cases. But with the death of Scalia comes controversy and complexity from within
the Supreme Court — a vacancy on the bench has occurred and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that the Republican majority will refuse to entertain a nominee selected by President Obama. “I think it’s interesting that a Republican Congress would outright say that they wouldn’t even consider a nomination by Obama because that would be something that Scalia would have hated,” said Hunter Dunn, political science major. “He’s a textualist! The President has the right to
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PAGE 3
By Kathryn Casello
kcasello@thenorthernlight.org
In midtown Anchorage off Fireweed Lane stands Pack Rat Antiques, a twostory antique store owned by motherdaughter team JoAnn Brandlen and BreAnn Kim. 1938 editions of the Boston Cooking School sold for 15 cents each, floor length fur coats from the 80s, and a whole section dedicated to 50s-style kitchen appliances and decorum are only the beginning. Pack Rat functions as a co-op where Brandlen and Kim sell their antiques along with different ven-
dors who have sections of the store to sell their merchandise. Pack Rat sells antiques ranging from the 1800s to the early 2000s, catering to the niches of all types of Alaskans. “Collecting is kind of an addiction, and a lot of people have been doing it their whole lives since they were young children,” said Kim. “I’ve been collecting vintage clothing my whole life, during the grunge era, and that got me hooked into collecting. At one point I had a whole separate room full of vintage clothes, and
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Seawolves come up short on senior day By Jordan Rodenberger
jrodenberger@thenorthernlight.org
UAA honored two seniors on Saturday in what was an entertaining matchup against No. 1 Western Oregon Wolves (23-3, 16-2 GNAC). Brian McGill and Christian Leckband had their career’s celebrated as family members joined them on the court for a brief moment of recognition. The Wolves crashed the party though, stealing a 64-58 win on the road. Leckband, an Alaskan grown player, has been with the program for five years since becoming a redshirt freshman in 2011. “I love him as a person and he is a credit to Nome and to his family. He is going to be a great man in this community,” said head coach Rusty Osborne. Leckband has stepped on the court in 112 career games for the Seawolves, which places him inside the top-10 on UAA’s all-time games played list. His experience and dedication shaped him into a vital role player each year. With his sharp shooting, he is ranked in the top
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20 on the program’s all-time three-pointers made list. This season, he is third on the team in rebounds and has suited up for every game. As for his future, Leckband is graduating from UAA with two degrees in management and marketing. McGill has also had a storied career in his time with the Seawolves. “He has been a great player for this program and is really leaving his mark,” said Osborne. McGill’s leadership, poise, and determination has landed him on many alltime stat lists for UAA. He is second in assists, in the top 15 in points, fifth in free throws made, while his three-point shooting percentage is in the top 12 (as of Feb. 16). “He is very talented,” said Osborne. “If he wants to, he has a chance to play professionally when he gets through here.” This season, McGill leads the team in assists, steals, and free throw percentage. He is also second on the team in points per game, posting a career-high 34 points against Simon Fraser. Both players will be remembered for years to come. They soaked in the moment while they could, but knew there
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PHOTO BY SAM WASSON
Senior guard Brian McGill is defended by Western Oregon’s Julian Nichols in Saturday’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown. Seniors McGill and teammate Christian Leckband were recognized before the game.
was work to be done on the court. Western Oregon began the game with quick back-to-back three-pointers and took an early 8-0 lead. UAA fired back, spraying three treys of their own, but were getting pummeled on the glass. Overall, the first half was an ugly
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shooting performance on both sides. The two teams combined to shoot just 4 of 23 in a stretch that held WOU scoreless for over five minutes of play.
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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 02
Effects of oil price slumps By Jake Johnson
jjohnson@thenorthernlight.org
Alaskan oilfield employees are shaking in their boots, and not just because of the recent earthquake. In February of 2009 oil prices began to drop at a historical rate. Almost every year since, Alaska has either seen, heard or read about companies like Exxon, BP and ConocoPhillips having major industry layoffs. In a state almost entirely reliant on the price of oil, many Alaskans have had to deal with the heartbreak of losing their jobs or coping with someone they know losing their job because of the current oil market. Many people may wonder what causes the cost of oil to continue to plunder after the previous success of the industry and dependence grown accustomed to it. It boils down to the freshman-level economic definition of supply and demand. During recent booms, the United States has nearly doubled its oil production forcing other oil markets to find a new home. Oil marketing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria are being pushed into competition for Asian oil markets resulting in companies needing to lower their prices. In response many exploratory projects in Canada and the Gulf Coast have been put on hold by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), responsible for maintaining fair and stable prices for petroleum producing countries including many projects in Alaska that were sure-fire boomers. Eli Gallt, a General Foreman of Structural Fabrication for ASRC Energy Services, said he personally has been forced
to layoff over 50 employees within the last six months; something he continually struggles with as a regular part of his construction career that began in 2008. A year when oil had its absolute peak before the recent downfall when prices sat at $136.31 a barrel. A number that stands high above today’s market value of $30.77. Gallt has been with ASRC for eight years, a relatively long period of time for the trade. Gallt said that generally employment in his industry can range anywhere from two weeks to two years depending directly on the price of oil. “If the returns aren’t there the companies won’t spend the money,” Gallt said. As many Alaskans currently in the industry already struggle within the job market, one must consider the spike in 2011 of new engineering students. In 2011, college universities nationwide saw a 30 percent increase in petroleum engineering degree applicants according to the ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) website. Most of these students are now graduated and flooding the market for petroleum engineering jobs. As the oil industry constantly has its booms and busts, many consider this to be just temporary, but with historic lows since the 1990’s companies have been forced to decommission more than two thirds of their oil rigs. Doing so while also deeply cutting back their budgets on exploration, production, and construction. It is estimated that over 250,000 oilfield employees have lost their jobs. Although there are signs that show oil prices may rise with the demand of oil in 2016, it doesn’t look like it will fully
GRAPHIC BY INNA MIKHAILOVA
recover anytime soon. Dean of the College of Engineering at UAA Fred Barlow believes that the market and economy is cyclical and in four years the market will likely look completely different. “We are working hard to equip our students with the knowledge and professional skills that make the marketability of an engineering degree above average under any set of economic conditions.” Barlow said. Although the current job market is struggling UAA has roughly 1,300 students enrolled in its engineering programs according to Barlow. Most of those students are either enrolled in mechanical engineering, computer and science engineering, or civil engineering. All of which can be directly related to the oilfield industry. “I am working closely with UAF’s College of Engineering Dean [Douglas] Goering to explore ways in which we can work together to strengthen both programs.” Barlow said. UAF, unlike UAA, offers a petroleum engineering program. Engineering students at UAF in the petroleum engineering program more directly face the issues
of declining oil prices than most other engineering students. “Students or graduates should reach out to contractors or employers. Find out the answers and the requirements that they like to see in order to be employed by these companies,” said Sean Schubert, a member of the workforce development team at King Career Center. Although the oilfield industry has become grim in recent years, many like Schubert and Barlow have a positive outlook of optimism in that the jobs are available and will become more available. The oil industry of Alaska has a taken a large hit scaring students, employees and companies. The scarring of families affected by recent layoffs is more than fear; it’s a problem many are forced to face to deal with in the boom and busts of oilfield careers. Alaska’s oilfield has become a metaphorical roll of the dice based almost entirely on the price of oil. Families will experience feast and famine while employed in the oilfield. The price of oil directly and indirectly relates to the food on most Alaskan’s tables. Alaska’s economy and state budget almost solely rely on the price of oil.
NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 03
SCALIA: The future of the Supreme Court CONTINUED FROM COVER
propose a new justice, it’s in the Constitution. There’s no clause, there’s no ‘maybe’, it’s completely hypocritical to the legacy that Scalia would have wanted to just outright deny the Constitution and the Constitutional powers of the President.” While the Obama administration has already started putting together a short list of replacements for Scalia, it’s important to understand and establish what Scalia’s legacy is before looking to the future. “He was well-known as a judicial titan and I have lot of respect for him even though I don’t necessarily agree with his political ideology,” said Dunn. “He liked to say the he supports a ‘dead Constitution’, that he interprets it as it was written, not as he thinks it was meant to be, because he thought that the word of law is above any person. Scalia was the modern embodiment of textualism in law.” Scalia’s political record made a massive impact on Constitutional law and judgement precedence. Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger, who has been serving on the bench since 2013, explained Scalia’s views Constitutional interpretation, falling in line with textualism and originalism. “At the time of his death he was well-known for the lively writing style of his opinions and his spirited arguments during oral arguments,” said Bolger. “ He had the opinion that judges should stick close to the text of
the document rather than try to impress their own ideas into the interpretation. Textualism has to do with deciphering the meaning of the words that the founders used, and originalism has to do with trying to determine the intent of the writers at the time that the document was written, rather than any type of gloss or subsequent understanding.” The absence of Scalia leaves three conservative-leaning justices — Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — and four liberalleaning justices — Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Anthony Kennedy has often represented a swing vote in the court. Bolger commented on the irregularities in decisions and judgements during a vacancy. “An example is if there courts are voting on a lower court decision and it’s a tie vote, if the vote is 4 to affirm a lower court’s decision and 4 to reverse, then the tie goes with the lower court decision,” said Bolger. “It would be automatically affirmed even if half the court disagrees. This is very unusual — vacancy doesn’t ensure the same amount of confidence that you can demonstrate with majority approval.” With the spotlight on President Obama and a possible nomination, it becomes clear that competing interests and goals on both sides of the political aisle are making this issue very controversial. James Muller, UAA’s chair for the Department
of Political Science talked about the complications involved moving forward. “If there is a nomination and the Senate does not take any action, or there’s a big fight and the nominee fails to be confirmed, it damages the possibility of that same person being a successful nominee later on,” said Muller. “One question the president has to tackle is what he wants to accomplish by naming someone as a nominee, given the fact that they are not likely to be confirmed.” A possible nomination has many nuanced factors that play into why President Obama might pick a nominee and who that would be, but it all depends on what Obama hopes to achieve - pacifying the Republican Senate, establish another liberal voice in the Supreme Court or bolstering his personal legacy are all underlying considerations. “Because of the composition of the Senate, it’s entirely possible for the Republican majority not to consider the nomination,” said Muller. “What has happened in past situations like this where there is a vacancy during an election year is that no action will be taken until a new president comes into office. There’s been a lot of speculation on whether Obama might pick a Republican who will be hard for his colleagues to turn down. However Obama has been a very ideological and fighting president, always fighting for his party and having no luck with the other party. It’s difficult for
PHOTO BY MATT H. WADE
The Republican-led Congress could stymie an effort by President Obama to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.
me to imagine Obama to pick a nominee that’s a compromise.” Dunn agreed that it seems likely that if Obama did nominate a justice that the Senate majority wouldn’t play ball. “I would never bet against a Republican grandstand because I would be out of money. That’s one of the things they do best in politics, they’re stubborn. I think it would be beneficial for them to save some face by at least pretending like they’ll consider Obama’s selection, but I think the next president will be the one to nominate the next justice.” The outcomes of political debacles like this are nearly impossible to predict and at this point it’s just a waiting game. Justice Bolger brought the discussion back to the goals of the judicial system and the hope
that a resolution creates stability and functionality within the Supreme Court. “My impression is that the President has said that he will nominate a replacement for Scalia, but there is no consensus among the senators on whether they would approve a nomination,” said Bolger. “Since I’ve been appointed and even when I was in practice, I realized that judges try to set aside their political motivations and make decisions based on facts and the law at hand and I hope that practice continues regardless of the nomination.” The country will be closely watching as the vacancy extends and hopefully the situation will be resolved in a manner that promotes the effectiveness of the Supreme Court and affirms cohesive governmental bodies.
House bill requires students to repay grants for failure to graduate By Kathryn DuFresne copy@thenorthernlight.org
As Alaska struggles to deal with a $3.6 billion budget deficit, state legislators look to new ways to save and make money. The bill, entitled “an Act relating to repayment of Alaska performance scholarships and Alaska education grants,” was introduced at the beginning of the 29th Legislative session on Jan. 20. If passed, the house bill would require students who received funds from the Alaska Performance Scholarship [APS] or Alaska Education Grant to pay back the awarded amounts if they fail to complete a qualified postsecondary program within six years. Bill author, representative Tammie Wilson, said the purpose of the bill is to save the state money, as well as ensure that Alaska gets out of students what it puts in. “I think for the State of Alaska, [it] was if we put more money into it beyond over the $350 million of UGF [Unrestricted General Fund] we currently put in, is that they expect also that we would have a better trained workforce to be able to take over those jobs that most of us, especially as legislators, keep saying why are they going to people out of state?” said Wilson. “As money gets tighter, and not as much money might be able to be put into the higher education fund, this is a way to make sure that you’ve got a little skin in the game. If you complete it, everything goes exactly like it is.” Megan Green, an economics and German double major and APS recipient, expressed concern over the proposal. “I hadn’t heard of this [House] bill, but it rather surprises me, since the APS only pays for eight semesters anyway,” Green said. The Alaska Commission on Postsecond-
ary Education [ACPE], who manages the distribution of the APS and Education Grant, has not released an official statement on the proposed legislation, but has concerns that the bill could undermine students. “Added complexity can add cost to administering a program, but just from the impact on the students perspective, I think there’s concerns around it having kind of an adverse impact on students, who might otherwise take up the scholarship or the grant, because of the potential for it to become debt,” Diane Barrans, Executive Director of ACPE and Executive Officer for the Student Loan Corporation, said. “Even those that had qualified for it might have reservations and certainly, with respect to the grant, which is a needs based program, and we already know from national research that low income and middle income students are most likely to be debt adverse. It could have the opposite effect than the sponsor intends.” Barrans also attended the initial House Education hearing regarding HB 264 on Feb. 8, where she shared concerns that the bill also took away from the requirements that the APS and Alaska Education Grant already prioritize. “The threat of repayment is not currently in the program. There are requirements and incentives in both the scholarship and grant program to expedite their time to degree. With the APS program, there’s a minimum number of credits, enrollment level and credit accumulation that the students must earn in order to continue to receive their award. If they fail to, their award status is suspended until they satisfy those criteria,” said Barrans. Both the APS and Alaska Education Grant
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GRAPHIC BY KATHRYN DUFRESNE ON PICTOCHART
04 | NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
GRANTS: Bill pushes students to graduate CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
require students to meet satisfactory academic progress, regardless of full-time or half-time enrollment, as well as have an unmet need of $500 or more. The APS, however, encourages students who had high achievement in high school to continue their achievements through a credit load of 24 credits and a 2.0 or higher GPA in a year for the first year, and 30 credits and 2.5 or higher GPA for the subsequent years. The house bill in it’s current state could pose additional threats to students who have extenuating circumstances, even if students were to receive an allowable extension through the program, or take a year off. “As far as I know, they make no exceptions. Maybe they just have to finish it on their own,” Wilson said. According to the ACPE website, under the APS, students participating in military service or struggling with enrollment delays may be able to hold on to their APS funds beyond the four years of funds and six years of availability that the
scholarship promises. The current language of the bill does not have provisions for these exceptions. “I think that bill is in need of a major overhaul, and it would be better if they didn’t pass it at all,” Alanna Willman, a pre-nursing major — currently on the waitlist for the program — and APS recipient, said. Willman also expressed concerns that the bill punishes students for that which they cannot control. “Frankly, I think it’s a horrible idea to make students pay it back if they can’t use it,” said Willman. “I don’t think that any bill or university can declare what it means to graduate ‘on time’ for any students because everyone’s situation is different and everyone learns at a different pace.” HB 264 has only been to the House Education Subcommittee once, as of publication. With a moratorium on non-budget bills in place in the House, it is unlikely that another hearing will be scheduled until an operating budget has been passed in the House before the end of the session on April 27.
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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 05
The French five: Sauces made simple
By Victoria Petersen
vgpetersen@thenorthernlight.org
The five French mother sauces are known as the base sauces, where all sauces derive from, and are easy to customize for whatever the occasion calls for. The
Bechamel A classic white sauce with a base of milk, usually whole milk, uses roux to thicken it and create that thick comfort food feel. If you’ve ever had or made homemade macaroni and cheese then you have had bechamel. Bechamel is popularly served over pasta, eggs and fish, and most popularly combined with cheese. Food blogger “thecookspyjamas” shares the secrets to her “lovely full-bodied” sauce, which inspired the recipe below. Unlike hollandaise, bechamel stores well in the freezer and can be made ahead of time without risk of losing flavor or binding.
Hollandaise Hollandaise, classically served on eggs Benedict is a thick creamy sauce that is also popular served over cooked vegetables. With a base of egg yolks and butter. Salt, pepper, lemon juice and cayenne pepper are popular additions to the sauce. Inspired by the food blog “seriouseats,” this fast hollandaise uses a food processor/immersion blender as an emulsification short cut. It’s important to note that hollandaise sauce is a sauce that needs to be served immediately. If cooled and served later, the sauce will break and no longer be good.
Ingredients
five sauces are hollandaise, bechamel, veloute, sauc tomat and espagnole. In the 19th century Antoine Careme organized a list of four base sauces as part of a family of building-block sauces. In the following century Chef Auguste Escoffier added hollandaise to the list, while taking down allemande and replacing it with sauc tomat. Each sauce is unique and versatile enough to be created into any savory or sweet sauce of your choosing. With each base sauce I’m going to outline a recipe. Four out of five of the mother sauces are made using a roux. Roux is used to bind together the sauce so that it’s thick. Hollandaise uses a technique known as emulsification, which is combining fats into water. This process can be tricky as fat and water, chemically, do not like to mix. You can make the two products mix by shearing power, mixing, stirring, or blending, to allow the combination to take place. Although these sauces are tricky they are well worth the time and effort.
The five French mother sauces: veloute, bechemal with mozzarella, demi-glace made from espagnole base, hollandaise and pizza sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
¼ cup butter
1 stick of butter
Directions 1. In the blender or food processor, combine the yolk, water, lemon juice and salt and pepper. 2. Melt the butter in the microwave until it is completely liquid. 3. Add the butter to the rest of the ingredients, blending in the food processor. This is where the emulsification process takes place. The sauce should be thick and creamy. Serve immediately.
2. For about two minutes, whisk constantly until the roux browns and bubbles occur. 3. While stirring, slowly add the milk so that lumps do not form.
½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
5. Stir frequently over low heat, for about five minutes, as it thickens. 6. Once the sauce is almost to a boil, add both cheeses and stir until thoroughly
Salt to taste
combined.
Pepper to taste
7. Serve hot or store for later use.
Veloute
Sauc tomat
Veloute sauce is classically made with veal stock, but also can be used with chicken and fish stock. Sort of like a light gravy, veloute can be used in chicken pot pie or in biscuits and gravy. More classically it is used to make a sauce vin blanc, or white wine sauce, by adding dry white wine, lemon, cream, and butter to the veloute base.
Most likely to be the most familiar of the mother sauces, tomato sauce (or sauc tomat), is the mother sauce of classics like marinara sauce or pizza sauce. Sauc tomat is typically made without a thickening agent, like roux, as the tomatoes are typically solid enough when combined with spices to have the desired thickness on their own. Besides classics like spaghetti and pizza sauc tomat is the basis for the Indian classic tikka masala. Inspired by Roberta’s, a Brooklyn pizza restaurant and institution, this extremely easy and simple pizza sauce is sure to be tasty, and easy on the college student budget. Spread the sauce on some pizza dough, add slices of mozzarella, sprinkle basil over the top, and bake for a simple, but delicious Margherita pizza.
Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 2 cups chicken stock Salt to taste Pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne to taste
until smooth. This is your roux.
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon water
Pinch of pepper to taste
1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add flour when melted and whisk
1/3 cup flour
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt to taste
PHOTO BY VICTORIA PETERSEN
Directions 1. In a saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat. Whisk the flour in and cook for about two minutes. Gradually and carefully whisk the chicken stock in at about a quarter cup at a time. Add the salt and pepper after. 2. Bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
1 can of whole tomatoes
1. Pour the tomatoes out of the can into a blender or food processor. 2. Add the salt and olive oil and blend until smooth.
2 teaspoons of olive oil A pinch of salt to taste
Espagnole Known as brown sauce, this mother sauce uses a brown roux as its thickening agent. The difference between a white roux (used for bechamel) is that instead of cooking the flour and oil for a couple minutes until it’s evenly mixed, a brown roux will be cooked longer and is complete when the oil and the flour are browned. The base for espagnole is classically a roasted veal stock, but in modern times chicken stocks are often used. This gravy-like sauce is typically used to spread over meat. Demi-glace, a popular derivative of espagnole, is usually combined with rich red wine and served over filet mignon for a more fancy dinner. Add a demi-glace over any steak to bring your dinner to the next level. This easy demi-glace, inspired by an E-how contributor, takes the task of boiling bones and the wait down to a simple five minute-prep recipe.
Ingredients
Directions
2 cans beef broth
1. Combine two cans of the beef broth, four cloves of cut garlic, and two skinned carrots cut in half, and one half cup of cut parsley in a saucepan over low heat for one hour stirring the pan once at the thirty minute mark. 2. Once it has simmered for one hour add a 1/2 cup of red wine (I used Malbec). Simmer for another 25 minutes. 3. Cut the butter into six parts and stir into the mixture with a whisk. When the butter is melted into the broth the demi-glace is ready. The sauce is able to sit out for about an hour before serving, but should not be stored. This sauce is best served over roasted meats, especially steak.
2 large carrots 4 cloves of garlic, cut in half 1/2 cup of red wine 6 tablespoons butter
06 | FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
Winterfest calendar of events
Feb. 24 5:30 p.m. UAA Spine RH -> SSB
Feb. 24 - March 4 WFSC gym
Feb. 25 6:00 p.m. Student Union Den
Feb. 26 8:00 p.m. Alaska Airlines Center
Feb. 27 6:00 p.m. Goose Lake
Feb. 27-28 ARTS 150
Feb. 29 Cuddy Quad
March 1 7:00 p.m. Student Union Den
March 2 7:00 p.m. Student Union
March 3 7:30 p.m. Wendy Williamson
March 4 7:00 p.m. Wendy Williamson
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 07
Gravitational waves In the year 2013, an alien brain slug from one of the galaxy’s most feared empires crash-landed on Earth and assumed control of a lowly reporter at this newspaper. These are his stories.
By Klax Zlubzecon
Translated by George Hyde In reality though, the relationship between light, time and space is really, really weird. It’s hard to gauge now that I’m on a solid, Earth-ey rock that has mass and gravity, but in a vacuum, massive objects tend to do some really weird things to other objects when they’re in close-ish proximity. One of your more brilliant humans, Albert Einstein put it best: time and space are relative. They are unified. A massive object with its own gravitational force is going to stretch that space-time fabric. Why am I telling you this, though? You know this. You probably learned
about this in middle school science class. Well, a product of this theory — gravitational waves — was confirmed last week when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory — “LIGO” for short — observed two black holes closely orbiting each other. This essentially deconstructs Newton’s theories of gravitation, and supports Einstein’s relativity theory. It doesn’t outright confirm it, but the fact that a prediction made based on that theory has been proven does give it some brownie points. The Slug Empire has been familiar with those black holes for a very long time. At more than a billion light years away, they stand tantalizingly out of the Empire’s reach. Not that we’d want to go there, anyway. Black holes are no fun to be around.
First of all, they absorb all light that passes near them, meaning we have to observe them indirectly, which of course we’re not doing when we’re on a long trip somewhere. The outer-space equivalent of a trucker isn’t going to notice an invisible black hole when they’re desperately trying to stay awake and alert. They’ve claimed much of our fleet, rapidly compressing thousands of slugs, weapons and technology into an uncomfortably small space. Don’t get me started on how they play with light, either. The way they leave ghastly images of their victims’ demises long after they’ve consumed them is really, really creepy. This is an effect that has been posited by humans here on Earth who study black holes, and it was postulated using Einstein’s theory. Crazy things start to happen when those aforementioned victims start approaching the speed of light towards the hole. Since the hole is warping time and space so much, time appears to slow from a bystander’s perspective, which means you’d better not be looking when a close friend is falling in. Traumatic gravitational experiences aside, though, what does any of this have to do with the news about gravitational waves? How did it prove Einstein’s theory? What are gravitational waves, anyway? Well, humans have finally witnessed an event that even we alien slugs almost never see: the merging of two black holes. As these black holes orbited each other, they radiated gravitational energy until they finally merged with each other,
sending massive ripples into the spacetime continuum. These ripples do insane things to time and space around the holes, causing both to compress and stretch and do all sorts of crazy stuff. How does this affect your everyday life? Not too much. The waves emitted by these black holes aren’t noticeable when we’re so far away from them. In fact, they aren’t that much of a threat to the Empire, either, given that our largest fleet is in the Milky Way, on its way here. Even if the fleet is thousands of light years away from us, it still means they’re over a billion light years away from the orbiting black holes. This kind of thing is valuable information for the Empire, though. It’s a somewhat recent discovery for us, too. While we know the nature of gravity and spacetime first hand (it helps us travel at lightspeed) knowing about a dual-black-hole many galaxies away is great. The more we know about a far-away system or galaxy, the easier it will be to conquer. Or stay away from, as we probably will in this case. We’d rather not move closer to a deadly black hole that’s doing this kind of thing, lest we risk getting spaghettified. Besides, it would take us more than a billion years to travel there. That’s a fifth of the sun’s remaining lifespan, all to take a one way trip to a system getting gravitationally wrecked by not one, but two black holes. No thank you.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.
EMBRACE THE SEAWOLF SLUG.
The curse of the man flu A well-meaning column rife with clunky metaphors and horrible advice, Orange Rhymes With is the goto place to break the monotony of classes and laugh at someone else’s misfortune.
I write to you, dear reader, sur-
By Evan Dodd Contributor
rounded by a cluster of supplies that have become increasingly vital over the past few days. Namely, a mound of empty Powerade bottles, two separate heating blankets, a red residue of Nyquil slowly creeping across the floor, and a bucket filled with contents of a dubious nature. It’s a long standing joke that men tend to act like children about being sick. Colds are exaggerated into the flu, the flu itself is retold as an exotic plague, and tales of strep throat are spun into grand epics about a fight with terminal throat cancer. “Man Flu” they call it, as if it’s entirely imaginary. Something about pushing another human being out of one’s pelvis must instill a sense of superiority about bodily ailments, because men tend
to garner very little sympathy for anything that doesn’t require a hospital visit. I’ll admit to having played along with this stereotype, having not been properly sick since Palin was relevant. While I certainly don’t go out of my way to broadcast illness or (god forbid) write a column dramatizing it, if I suspect that a couple feigned moans of agony might convince my girlfriend to drive to Thai Kitchen and get the ginger duck I secretly called in, well, let’s just say I’m an opportunist. When I say I haven’t been really sick since grade school I don’t mean to imply a pristinely clean bill of health. I’ve endured a bottle related plague or two over the years, and had a mysterious throat ailment until I had my tonsils lasered off, but I tend to recover quickly. My girlfriend, the modern Typhoid Mary that she is, must harbor legions of previously unknown bacteria deep within her bones. It’s the only conclusion I can
come to after two years of watching her innocently hide an ongoing case of the sniffles, and knowing with unspeakable dread that I’d soon sound like a walking Nyquil commercial. But even with her continuous viral warfare, I rarely get more than congestion and a headache and the last time I remember contemplating whether to hastily draw out a will on a napkin was when I had swine flu back in 2009. When one Googles the term “Man Flu” (as I did to ensure that I didn’t invent the term in a fever dream and to check whether I was using it correctly) you’ll find that you stumble across a cache of stock photos of attractive healthy men holding tissues in various melodramatic poses. This was not my experience. My experience consisted of list of symptoms that would have made a PeptoBismol commercial feel rather insecure about itself, and a fever so high that I began to wonder if someone had played a cruel joke and swapped the cold medicine with LSD. Shortly after everyone arrived to the housewarming party at our new apartment, I started to feel ill enough to have no patience for my drunken friend’s fascination with my fake samurai sword. Quickly going to bed, and leaving my girlfriend to herd the crowd into a safer corner of the house, I awoke around 2 a.m. shivering so badly that I could barely use doorknobs as I frantically made my way to the bathroom. I’ll spare you all the gory details other than advising you never to eat an everything bagel if there’s even a slight chance of having to see it again. The next 48 hours were a blur of fever, NyQuil, and
failed attempts at consuming anything other than liquids. At the risk of sounding like a paid shill I’ll say that I think my blood may be comprised of mostly melon flavored Powerade at this point, and I’m not entirely sure I’m worse off for it. The fever was easily the worst part of an already unfortunate couple of days. In an experience that may have only made sense to the delusional mind of Kanye West, I was subjected to a fever dream that seemed to be a horrible mashup of the latest episode of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the misremembered ending to the Harry Potter series, and a sex dream. While surprisingly less unpleasant than it sounds it was still disconcerting to fade back into reality every few hours, note that I was pale as a sheet, let slip an involuntary groan as I tried to turn my head, before slipping back into a hellish psychedelic version of Inception. It hasn’t been all bad I suppose, as I think my illness may have elicited a sympathy hire in a job interview, and the combination of high fever and subsisting on negative calories for the better part of a week seems to have partially chased away the beer belly. But from here on out my perspective on Man Flu has been forever tainted. There may be those men who exaggerate illness for personal gain, but make no mistake, I‘ve stared into the face of Man Flu and it’s stared back at me. It’s out there, just waiting to strike some poor soul that doesn’t deserve it. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a bucket that needs to be refilled.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 08
ANTIQUES: 50s kitsch, 60s convenience, 70s spunk and more at Pack Rat Antiques
CONTINUED FROM COVER
I had huge piles of them.” Walking around in Pack Rat feels like a different decade, featuring rooms stuffed full of crystal dishes, ceramic figurines, army hats and coats, typewriters, beaded lamps, dolls and vintage magazines. “I think it’s cool because there’s a generational difference,” said Kim. “I’m a mother now and I have a child who’s going to be four years old and I’m at the age where you can really see the generational differences. It appeals to young people because they’re not used to all those old things, they didn’t grow up with these things some young children have never seen a rotary phone before.” BreAnn Kim has worked for her mother JoAnn at the Pack Rat since Brandlen purchased the store in 2008. They relocated to their current location near West Anchorage High School a few years later for a better market. “I helped her find this building because we’re both born and raised on this side of town and we love it,” said Kim. “We don’t sell necessity items, we are a luxury item type of store here, and we’re lucky to have die-hard customers.” Pack Rat is well known for their vintage and costume jewelry, vinyl records and phonograms and vintage photos. In the front foyer hangs a $16,000 Armond Kirschbaum painting of Sleeping Lady, who was a professor and art teacher at UAA in the 1970s. “It appeals to old people because it’s the past, it’s the way things were when they were more simple, and things were made better and things lasted longer and they were made in this country. The way things are made now, the new generation has no idea that people 100 years ago would play one record with one song on each side with a hand-cranked phonograph and that’s how you listened to music.” Holly Anderson and her husband Phil
are traders at Pack Rat selling vintage jewelry, reels, lures and old toys as well as Alaskan-themed antiques. Anderson agreed that a large part of the reason why people are attracted to antiques is because of the quality of the merchandise. “A lot of the old stuff, especially the furniture lasts a lot longer,” said Anderson. “Our granddaughter is seventeen and she really loves antiques. She redid her room and she refurnished it to the color she wanted. I think antiques are a fun way to decorate because you get different or unusual things, and it’s really fun to find stuff that maybe your grandparents had or things with history and a background.” BreAnn Kim and JoAnn Brandlen aren’t the only ones in Anchorage benefiting from people’s love of antiques. On Dimond there’s another antique shop, Duane’s Antique Market owned by Duane Hill, who’s been collecting since the 70s and selling antiques in Alaska for over 40 years. Donna Haugan, an employee at Duane’s enjoys what Pack Rat is doing. “Pack Rat is really fun and it’s a coop, so it’s full of separate traders who have their own section of things they sell. It’s almost like a museum. We want them [customers] to know about the quality of antiques, instead of a new furniture store, which, yes, it’s new and shiny, but what’s the quality?” asked Haugan. “Think of dresser that’s a hundred years old, and where it came from and who owned it, and why it’s still there; because it’s solid wood, its a piece of art. We get a lot of young people in here, ‘old souls’ I call them, and they love coming here.” The owners at Pack Rat pride themselves on only accepting quality items and don’t take donations. Antiques at Pack Rat are priced at a reasonable market value to be accessible to a wide variety of shoppers. Visit Pack Rat Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to find model 50s cars, 70s beer tap handles, Johnny Cash and Journey vinyl records, original glass coke bottles, 1920s flapper jewelry and much, much more.
JoAnn Brandlen and BreAnn Kim run The Pack Rat together. This April will mark 20 years that the store has been open.
JoAnn Brandlen’s dog Frankie loves working at The Pack Rat.
PHOTOS BY YOUNG KIM
The Pack Rat is jam-packed with all sorts of interesting trinkets. From antique silverware to Alaskan art to clothing, they have it all.
The Pack Rat is home to a rare lamp crafted by Alaskan artist George Ahgupuk.
09 | FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
A&E
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 10
‘The Witch’ is horror at its best
TITLE “The Witch”
RELEASE DATE Feb. 19, 2016
DIRECTOR Rober Eggers
COUNTRY Canada
By Jacob Holley-Kline Contributor
Not many good horror movies come out these days. While the genre is experiencing a renaissance, thanks to movies like “The Babadook” and “It Follows,” tons of horrible, derivative flicks come out of the woodwork still. “The Witch” is not one of those movies. It is, and maybe this is premature, one of the best horror movies of 2016. Beyond that, it’s one of the best horror movies of the last decade. What a treat it is to be scared in the movie theater again. Set in the 17th century, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy, “Morgan”), along with her mother, Katherine (Kate Dickie, “Couple in a Hole”) and siblings Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw, “Oranges and Sunshine”), Jonas (Lucas Dawson) and Mercy (Ellie Grainger) are exiled from the commonwealth after their father, William (Ralph Ineson, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) is accused of heresy. With food running low, and the Fall cold creeping in, strange forces threaten to tear the family apart. As best you can, go into this movie blind. The story is truly surprising. It’s subversive, fearless, and pitch dark. Inspired by numerous fairy tales and using dialogue lifted from period diaries and journals, “The Witch” feels more real than most dramas out there. That the movie works so well, and manages to be so gut-churning, speaks not only to director Eggers’ strength as a horror stylist, but to the genre’s trappings as a whole. “The Witch” is one of those movies that reaffirms the importance and beauty of
GENRE Horror
horror filmmaking. Every sequence, save one near the end, is pitch perfect. Eggers builds patiently, letting the horror mount before it comes crashing down. More than that, he defines early on what’s truly horrifying about the family’s situation. And it isn’t a witch. From top to bottom, the performances are fantastic. Dickie as Katherine carries the lion’s share of poignant moments. With her on-screen, moments of pure terror become intensely moving. But movies focusing on a family live or die by the child actors’ performances. Thankfully, Scrimshaw, Dawson, and Grainger are consummate in their portrayals. Caleb holds himself with dignity, like a boy who grew up too fast. Alongside him, Jonas and Mercy are boisterous and mysterious all at once. But the best performance belongs to Taylor-Joy. Taylor-Joy’s Thomasin is a reactive, angry, and tired young girl who, above all, wants freedom and comfort. Eggers focuses on Thomasin’s plight, and the accusations pitted against her, as a focal point for the family’s madness. Coupled with an uncharacteristically hopeful ending, “The Witch” becomes a once-in-a-generation horror experience. It is patient, escalating subtly, with no undeserved or cheap jump scares. The atmosphere is perfectly crafted, and every performance is beautifully done. Staying true to the classic trappings of horror, and setting the movie in the early days of America, paradoxically makes the movie something wholly new and fresh. Do yourself a favor, and see “The Witch” in theaters. It is, without a doubt, horror at its very best.
UAA THEATRE AND DANCE presents
Feb. 26 - March 6, 2016 Thursday - Saturday at 8pm Sundays at 3pm
Mainstage Theatre
in the UAA Fine Arts Building
UAAtix.com CenterTix.com
SPORTS Hockey
Updated Feb. 21
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 11
Seawolves sink Lakers’ ship
Conference Minnesota State
13-4-7
Bowling Green
13-6-5
Michigan Tech
14-7-3
Ferris State
12-8-4
Northern Michigan
12-8-4
Bemidji State
9-11-4
Lake Superior
8-12-4
Alaska Anchorage
8-14-2
Alaska Fairbanks
6-14-4
Alabama Hunstville
4-15-5
Men’s Basketball Updated Feb. 21 Conference Western Oregon
16-2
Alaska Anchorage
13-5
Alaska Fairbanks
13-5
Central Washington
12-6
Seattle Pacific
12-6
Western Washington
9-9
Saint Martin’s
7-11
Montana State Billings
7-11
Concordia
5-13
Northwest Nazerene
4-14
Simon Fraser
1-17
PHOTOS BY CASEY PETERSON
After helping stop a Lakers’ advancement, Defenseman Eric Roberts takes the puck up the ice.
By Jake Johnson
jjohnson@thenorthernlight.org
In a game where both teams knew that desperation would be the key, the UAA Seawolves (11-16-3, 8-14-2) clawed their way back to a crucial 5-2 victory on home ice. The Seawolves rallied behind their teammate and backbone, sophomore goalie Olivier Mantha, who had 21 saves in what was certainly a Saturday night thriller until a late third period onslaught. A third period when something ignited a fire underneath the Seawolves and sparked 3 unanswered goals to finish off a tough two game home series with the Lake Superior State Lakers (11-19-4, 8-12-4 WCHA). Assistant Coach Louis Mass of UAA says the team found a way to win a game where they again battled from behind. Having scored first in only 12 of their 30 total games so far this season. “Offense in general has been tough for us, to get five tonight was great,” Mass said. The first of which came at 15:07 of the first period to tie the game at one a piece. “It was a back and forth battle all weekend, tough on both teams” Lake Superior’s head coach, and a former UAA assistant coach, Damon Whitten said. In the second period, Lake Superior, once again struck first tallying a
go ahead goal at 5:27 on a questionable shot during a net front frenzy taken by the Lakers Freshman Gage Torrel. Not to be outdone, the Seawolves answered back yet again by a cannon of a slapper from the point by Sophomore defenseman Jarrett Brown. The third period induced even more excitement to a crowd of over 1,400 fans at the Sullivan Arena. UAA struck again back to back to take their first lead of the weekend when freshman Nils Rygaard notched his bedpost for the first time as a Seawolf, giving them the lead late in the third period. From there, sophomore Matt Anholt added another highlight reel goal to make the score 4-2 at the 13:44 mark of the third period. Followed shortly after by his second goal of the evening on an empty netter tap in assisted by Rygaard’s fortunate bounce off the post. Giving Rygaard another accomplishment in his first multi point game this season, and thus capped a 5-2 win for the Seawolves giving them a 1-1 home series split against Lake Superior. Fortunate bounces are something head coach Matt Thomas said have been hard to come by for the Seawolves lately. Coming off only two wins in their last five games. Thomas also said “the powerplay will be huge for us next weekend, they’ll be opportunities we can’t waste,” The Seawolves lackluster power play is 13 for 118 attempts this season and against an opponent like Lake Superior, it wasn’t all that important,
Women’s Basketball Updated Feb. 21 Conference Alaska Anchorage
17-1
Western Washington
15-3
Montana State Billings
14-4
Simon Fraser
11-7
Northwest Nazerene
9-9
Central Washington
9-9
Alaska Fairbanks
7-11
Seattle Pacific
7-11
Concordia
4-14
Saint Martin’s
3-15
Western Oregon
3-15
Players on both sides await to see who comes out with the puck.
while in this next weeks opponent, Minnesota State Mankato (15-10-7 13-4-7 WCHA), it could be crucial factor in gaining four more huge conference points in the race towards a WCHA playoff berth. A race in which only the top eight teams advance their 10 team division. UAA currently sits in the eighth place slot. Right above instate rival, UAF, who sits two points behind them in the standings and is equally eager to gain a playoff berth for the first time in their last two seasons after last years NCAA sanction held them out of the WCHA playoffs. Other notable players were junior Chase Van Allen, with 3 assists and 4 shots, while Anthony Conti, tallied an assist and 6 PIMs. In a knock down, drag out battle between two desperate teams, UAA was able to walk away with a glass half full. Looking ahead to a schedule where the last series of their season against UAF could determine the outcome of each playoff hopefuls, in these situations veteran players like Van Allen know how important the points will be. “It’s make or break time,” Van Allen said. His coaches seem to agree as they’re headed back to the drawing boards to try and solve the problems before next two must win games. As the Seawolves cling onto their eighth seed spot in hopes of keeping their own WCHA playoff chances alive.
12 | SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
UAA overpowers Concordia
PHOTOS BY YOUNG KIM
Suki Wiggs drives to the basket during Thursday’s game against Concordia, where UAA won 93-67.
By Jordan Rodenberger
jrodenberger@thenorthernlight.org
The Seawolves came out of the gates scorching and never looked back in their 93-67 wire-to-wire win over the Cavaliers. Suki Wiggs had a game-high 22 points. while senior Brian McGill dropped 19 points as well as nine assists. Corey Hammell once again had a huge game on the boards, hauling in 13 rebounds to go with his 11 points. “The main thing that stuck out to me
was that we were not dependent on just a few guys, we had a lot of guys contributing,” said McGill. McGill caught fire early, hitting his first four shots, including three from deep. By also finding his teammates for two open buckets, he was responsible for UAA’s first 16 points. The Seawolves (20-8, 13-4 GNAC) kept pace, and climbed to a 19 point lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half. The second half was more of the same,
Lakers take first game of weekend series
Seawolves guard Brian McGill attempts to drive in past a Concordia defender.
as senior Christian Leckband (16 points) and Wiggs maintained the lead for UAA by scoring 13 straight points. The Seawolves drilled their first five shots from three point, and it quickly became an ugly 27-point margin midway through the half. UAA cruised to the finish line, resting starters and giving their young guys a chance to show the Coach Rusty Osborne what they have. “We had good performances up and down the line up,” said coach Osborne.
“Everybody that came in did some good things.” The Seawolves out-rebounded Concordia 32-17, while also shooting a blistering 52 percent (12-23) from the threepoint line. Concordia’s Drew Martin led his team with 12 points and forward Riley Hawken chipped in 11. UAA hosts the No. 1 team in the GNAC Western Oregon on Saturday for senior day, where the Seawolves will honor Leckband and McGill on their great UAA careers.
SEAWOLVES: Western Oregon tops UAA in final home game
PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM
Seawolves senior Blake Tatchell earned his 100th career point during Friday’s 3-2 loss to Lake Superior State at the Sullivan Arena.
By Nolin Ainsworth
sports@thenorthernlight.org
There weren’t many looks of happiness behind the helmet cages of the Seawolves following Friday night’s loss. The same could be said of the 1,403 helmetless fans that had spent the better part of two periods anxiously awaiting a Seawolves’ go-ahead goal that never came. The Seawolves (10-16-3, 7-14-2 WCHA) ceded two crucial points in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings to the visiting Lake Superior State (11-18-4, 8-13-2) in a 3-2 loss. The Lakers have all but guaranteed a spot in the WCHA playoffs next month, unlike the Seawolves who are on the bubble as the eighth-place team. “It becomes a must-win game — as big as they come tomorrow,” said head coach Matt Thomas of tonight’s rematch. The Lakers capitalized on a power play five minutes into the third period that would prove to be the difference. Sophomore J.T. Henke scored deep in UAA’s end after two quick passes from teammates Mitch Hults and Gus Correale. The three forwards have amassed over half of the Lakers points this season, whose paltry 1.65 goals per game is good for last in the WCHA. However, on this night the Lakers scored more than that amount in the first period alone. Lake Superior State went up
two goals in the first period with underclassmen Josh Nenadal and Scott Patterson earning scores. “We had the right response after a very lackluster first period,” said Thomas. “But that’s not enough to be good for a spurt — we have to be way more hungry, way more passionate.” The spurt came shortly after the drop of the puck in the second period when alternate captain Blake Tatchell earned his 100th career point as a Seawolf. Tatchell located an airborne puck shot by Wyatt Ege and deflected it past Lakers goalie Gordon Defiel. Seawolf fans barely settled back into their seats when Matt Anholt and his stick politely asked them to stand once more. The Lakers let the sophomore compose himself with the puck in the slot, and Anholt fired it past Defiels for his fifth goal of the season. The only Seawolf with a letter stitched on his sweater that didn’t score was senior Austin Sevalrud, who skated in his first game back after going down with an injury last month that forced him to miss 6 games. “I think our leadership is doing the right things,” said Thomas. “When it comes down to this [point in the season], it falls on each individual, you have to be a self-leader, you have to lead yourself to be ready to go.” Lake Superior State outshot the Seawolves 29-24 over three periods of action.
PHOTO BY SAM WASSON
Devon Alexander shoots over the outstretched arm of UAA’s Suki Wiggs. Alexander finished with 14 points in his team’s 64-58 win over the Seawolves.
CONTINUED FROM COVER
The Seawolves took their first lead of the game late in the half and went to the locker room at the break leading 26-23. The two teams started the half trading buckets, causing nine lead changes in just seven minutes. UAA’s top scoring duo Suki Wiggs and McGill amounted for 19 of the team’s 21 points to help keep them in the game. Western Oregon took the lead back 58-56 with only 1:39 remaining after senior Devon Alexander nailed a stepback three. Seawolf forward Corey Hammell (11 points, nine rebounds) had a put-back lay up with 13 seconds to go, cutting WOU’s lead to two points. After Western Oregon guard Julian Nichols hit a pair of free throws, UAA junior Drew Peterson missed a three-pointer, all but ending the game. The Seawolves made just one out of their final eight shots down the stretch, which makes it hard to win against any team, let alone the No.1 team in the coun-
try. “They are more committed to winning than we are,” coach Osborne said in his opening statement. “You can’t make the mental mistakes that we made. They didn’t, that’s why they won. We did, that’s why we lost. Period.” Suki Wiggs finished with a gamehigh 22 points, while McGill chipped in 15 points and six assists. Western Oregon’s Nichols tallied with 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. His teammate Tanner Omlid stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals. McGill, Leckband, and the rest of the Seawolves are now in a second-place tie with Alaska Fairbanks in the conference, with UAA holding the tiebreaker. The Green and Gold play their final two regular season games on the road against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, and Central Washington the following Saturday.
SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 13
Michael Conti’s ‘Stick and Puck’ explores violence in hockey
PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM
Michael Conti presents “Stick and Puck” on the third floor of the Anchorage Museum. The exhibit showcases the duality of masculinity and femininity within the sport of hockey.
By Nolin Ainsworth
sports@thenorthernlight.org
It’s hard to be a UAA student for any extended length of time without passing it. The 200 foot long rectangular slab of ice bounded by short white walls and tall glass in the Wells Fargo Sports Complex that comes to life whenever the Seawolves hockey team holds practice or teams in the community come to play there. It was this cutout of ice — and the sport that it’s designed to house — that runs behind every piece of art featured in UAA professor Michael Conti’s solo exhibition “Stick and Puck,” currently on display at the Anchorage Museum. The exhibition offers two very different perspectives on the game of hockey. One room of the exhibition tells the
story of late New York Ranger Derek Boogaard. Boogaard’s picture is silkscreened on flattened Moulsen Beer boxes painted and framed on the walls. Clear polyester resin hockey pucks containing human teeth and Percocet lie in the corner of the room. “Blood Sport” takes center stage in the center of the room. The miniature canvas ice rink is painted, silk screened, and treated with iron oxide and depicts the “gladiator culture” evident in many sports including hockey. Conti learned of Boogaard’s death after watching a New York Times documentary. “I just sat and watched that all the way through and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s tragic, but it’s also a great story.” It was later discovered that Boogaard had sustained serious brain injuries from the countless times he fought as an N.H.L
player leading to Boogaard developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Even though Conti was enthralled by the story, he didn’t want to “live in that whole world all the time.” So for the other half of the exhibition, Conti shows off his photography work. Shot against a black backdrop in vacant locker rooms, Conti captures straight-faced adult and youth female players shortly after they left the ice. In the middle of the room, a montage of scenes of just the puck and blade of a pond hockey player are projected on the floor. The scenes give the room a soothing atmosphere. “Photographs of young women in hockey look to the future of the sport, and images of the experienced female players are a nod to what has already been accomplished,” said Conti in the Anchor-
age Museum’s description of the event. Conti’s “Stick and Puck” exhibit is one of two solo exhibitions on display at the Anchorage Museum currently. “It’s great to have high caliber artists in Alaska and its wonderful to have an opportunity to display that work for visitors to the museum,” said Laura Carpenter, a public relations manager at the museum. There are two other Alaskan exhibitions currently on display at the Anchorage Museum including “Kill the Indian, Save the Man” and “All-Alaska Biennial.” All three will be open through April 10, 2016. According to the 2014-15 USA Hockey registration report, there are well over 8,000 registered hockey players in the state of Alaska, the majority of which play in Anchorage.
UAA Students get in
FREE
Almost as good as free food. Almost.
VS Minnesota State
UAA Seawolves
26 & 27 FEB
at the newly renovated
Sullivan Arena
7:07pm
For tickets, visit
FEB
GoSeawolves.com
On sale at Sullivan Arena box office and all Ticketmaster locations.
FREE TICKETS
at the door with valid student ID. UAA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution.
14 | SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
MEET THE WORLD R
anchoragemuseum.org
Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 Celebrate Anchorage’s diversity with Bridge Builders’ annual cultural festival Admission is free all day thanks to Wells Fargo
Members enjoy discounts in Muse and the Shop. Join today!
OPINION
LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor of The Northern Light, According to a timeline created by USA Today, since 2007 there have been six shootings on college campuses across the country. That number does not include all of the shootings that have occurred at elementary, middle, and high schools since the deadly shooting at Columbine in 1999. We have what was referred to in the LA Times as an epidemic of school shootings in this country. Now Sen. Kelly has reintroduced a bill that was first rejected two years ago which would change University of Alaska policy to allow for concealed carry weapons on University of Alaska campuses. Current University policy states that only on duty law enforcement officers are permitted to carry guns on school property, a policy which is in line with others around the country. According to armedcampuses.org only three states allow for concealed guns on campuses, most other states allow the schools themselves to place limits on the locations where they will be allowed and who is allowed to carry them. Every time that a nationally publicized school shooting occurs there is public outcry calling for greater gun control and this issue once again comes to the forefront of the national conversation. Sen. Kelly has introduced this bill at a time when conversation about gun control is limited and conversation in Alaska specifically is revolving around the state’s fiscal crisis. As UAA students we should speak up and let Sen. Kelly and the state know that we do not want guns on our campus. Christa Cartland ckcartland@alaska.edu
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016
| 15
The Northern Light is a proud member of the ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS. The Northern Light is a weekly UAA publication funded by student fees and advertising sales. The editors and writers of The Northern Light are solely responsible for its contents. Circulation is 2,500. The University of Alaska Anchorage provides equal education and employment opportunities for all, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, Vietnam-era or disabled-veteran status, physical or mental disability, changes in marital status, pregnancy or parenthood. The views expressed in the opinion section do not necessarily reflect the views of UAA or the Northern Light.
LETTERS AND CORRECTIONS POLICY Letters to the editor can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum length is 250 words. Opinion pieces can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum word length is 450 words. Letters and opinion pieces are subject to editing for grammar, accuracy, length and clarity. Requests for corrections can be sent to editor@thenorthernlight.org. Print publication is subject to accuracy and available space. All corrections are posted online with the original story at www.thenorthernlight.org. The Northern Light newsroom is located on the first floor of the Student Union, directly next to Subway.
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