THENORTHERNLIGHT JUNE 25, 2013
A&E
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
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SPORTS
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Fossman making the most of his offseason
Breaking down the beats of today’s rap artists
Planetarium as UAA head director soars to hockey coach new adventures
Thomas tabbed
Andy Puckett bids UAA farewell
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROCKY WIDNER
Matt Thomas mans the bench of the Stockton Thunder during Game Three of the Kelly Cup Finals earlier this year.
By Thomas McIntyre PHOTO BY TIM BROWN
Assistant professor and Planetarium Director Andy Puckett is leaving UAA to instruct at Columbus University in Georgia.
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Juneteenth celebrates freedom, inspires action
PHOTO BY ASHLEY SNYDER
Dennis Rahiim Watson, honorary guest at UAA’s Juneteenth celebration June 19, talks to students about how diversity is key to a better world.
By Ashley Snyder
Editor@thenorthernlight.org
The sweet sound of jazz music and the alluring aroma of soul food permeated the air in front of the Wells Fargo Sports Complex Wednesday. The occasion? UAA celebrated the national holiday, Juneteenth, commemorating the abolition of slavery nearly 150 years ago. Student Activities, Student Life and Leadership and AHAINA cooperated to pull the event together under the direction of Dewain Lee, dean of students and associate vice chancellor for student development. Juneteenth has been an annual tradition at UAA for nine years. Students, staff, faculty, and community members were all invited to come out and enjoy the sunshine and celebrate. The festivities featured over 12 different dishes including catfish, sausage jambalaya, red beans and rice, corn fritters and pecan pie. “I just had to try a little bit of everything,” Amanfacebook.com/northernlightuaa
Wherever he goes, he wins. There were other candidates who boasted gaudy win totals, After a prolonged and dra- but none of them did it at a promatic search, Matt Thomas fessional level. Thomas did. The first thing Spindle notes has been chosen to spearhead the new era of Seawolf hockey. in the press release sent out by UAA vice chancellor Dr. Bill the university is Thomas’ expeSpindle made the announcement rience. No other coach could last Tuesday that Thomas landed rival the kind of experience he has built up during his time in the head coaching job. Thomas comes to the pro- the ECHL. In that same press release, gram fresh off an appearance in the ECHL Finals as head coach Thomas stresses his commitof the Stockton Thunder. He’ll ment to success and sends a end his time in Stockton with message to the players that “they will be an a 163-127-39 integral part of record. “My goal is to bring restoring a winPrior to back the passion ning tradition.” the Thunder, But he also Thomas was for UAA hockey and shows an acute acting as both understanding of head coach produce a winner for and general the community, alumni what he’s getting into. manager of the and our fan base.” “I have always ECHL’s Fresadmired the sense no Falcons. In -Matt Thomas of community almost four and pride that seasons manning the two roles, he made the is associated with Anchorage Western Conference finals and and the entire state of Alaska, and our entire family is excited tallied a 173-76-33 mark. Thomas’ origin story starts about the move,” Thomas said. “It truly is a ‘hockey state,’” in Atlantic City with the Boardwalk Bullies — yet another he said. “My goal is to bring ECHL franchise. He won a back the passion for UAA hockKelly Cup in 2003 as the club’s ey and produce a winner for the assistant coach and director of community, alumni and our fan hockey operations. A year lat- base.” The mission of this whole er, he was given the reins and coached the team to a 42-22-8 search was to hunt down a coach capable of re-igniting the Seaseason. There is a trend here. There’s wolf hockey program. Thomas one thing Thomas has done in certainly has the credentials and every city and in every front desire to do so. Thomas said it’s always been office position. his dream to coach college hockHe’s won. At Thomas’ public forum, he ey. Now it’s a staggering and said winning is his foundation. demanding reality.
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da Reece, an accounting sophomore, laughed as she carefully carried her plate to a table. “Everyone should splurge on good eats every once in a while.” The music, provided by Robert Arms’ band, combined a mix of saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, bass and drums to create smooth jazz beats. Patrons swayed and danced to the rhythm. Many patrons didn’t even realize what the Juneteenth celebration was really about and came primarily for the free food. Amidst the grub, laughter, sunshine and music, it all appeared as one big outdoor barbecue. “As a college student, I will go where the free food calls. I don’t know all that much about the Juneteenth celebration, but I do respect it,” said biological sciences junior Nick Wells. However, it was all put into perspective when Dottie Ochoa, a student activities programming team member, announced the event’s motivational speaker. The guest of honor was Dennis Rahiim Watson, the CEO of the Center for Black Student Achievement and chairman of the National Youth and Gang Violence Task Force. twitter.com/tnl_updates
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Watson has earned over 250 awards for his work with black youth all across the nation and has received praise from both President Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton. He kicked off his speech by having fun with the crowd. He had them help complete his sentences and even had a little James Brown thrown in. But then he got serious, discussing his life and how he was kicked out of high school over 37 times, and overcame the odds to be where he is today. He now speaks at universities across the country and motivates others to follow his footsteps and beat their odds, just as their ancestors did before. “We all are connected in some way, either through music or through culture through communication through all of the stuff we go through,” Watson said to the crowd. “It was no joke back in the day to be a slave, and so for those of us who are children and our ancestors were slaves, we take this opportunity to make our
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