MARCH 1 - MARCH 8, 2016
SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
FEATURES
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Nude models strike a pose in drawing classes
Alaskan grown Seawolves
Strategic Pathways: A path of uncertainty By Victoria Petersen
vgpetersen@thenorthernlight.org
In the times of falling oil prices and a state budget crisis, the University of Alaska system, a system that relies heavily on state aid, is rethinking the framework of their universities. President of the UA system, Jim Johnsen proposed Strategic Pathways as a money saving plan to restructure the UA system to focus each home school on their specific strong points. This could mean programs lost at each school to be streamlined to another school, or possibly programs lost all together. A loose list of strong programs was created by President Johnsen based on the strengths of each University. Programs related to health sciences are being proposed to be streamlined throughout the state to the University of Alaska Anchor-
age campus. While natural and physical science programs may be relocated to the University of Fairbanks campus, and the University of Southeast becomes marine science oriented. After reviewing the framework of Strategic Pathways President Johnson provided for the public, 21 year old Madeline Neel, a natural sciences student at UAA, began to worry about her stance as a UA student. “I didn’t know about this. Is it actually going to go through? This all just sounds ridiculous,” Neel said. “If that happens, I don’t know what I’ll do. If science classes are provided in Juneau, then I would go there or transfer to APU, but maybe move to another state. I’ve never been interested in living in Fairbanks, not to mention I would have to move my whole life. I feel like this is going to ruin my
SEE PATHWAYS
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What each University of Alaska school will focus on under the Board of Regent’s Strategic Pathways.
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
March First Friday rundown By Victoria Petersen
vgpetersen@thenorthernlight.org
Celebrating art through a downtown stroll is an excellent way to show support for the community and a fun way to go out on the town. Every month in downtown Anchorage, boutiques, restaurants and bars open their doors to their community to highlight local artists in our diverse city. This month is special in particular, with Fur Rondy events happening the same day. Wherever the evening goes, this March 4, there’s sure to be something downtown for everyone. “I love that first Friday is a designated evening for boutiques, galleries and other venues to entertain the public. There’s a strong sense of local pride and community and it’s just an all-around good time. I also love the added perk of being able to walk so easily from once place to another,” Annie Obrochta, a UAA sociology student, said. Starting at the popular downtown brunch spot Snow city Cafe is showcasing Shiree Farmer’s paintings from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. She incorporates earthy elements into her paintings, such as pumice, real birch, moss and mica flakes. There will be snacks prepared by Chef Becky, and a bar stocked with beer and wine available for cash purchase. In a more residential area of downtown, the Bootlegger Cove condos from 5:30 to 8 p.m. are featuring art by Vonnie Gaither. Refreshments will be included. Be sure to check the railroad depotfacing side of the Sunshine Plaza for
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GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
Anchorage’s newest art gallery, Heart of the City. From 6 to 10 p.m. they will be highlighting art from Bisco and their own employee Mark Eaker. DJ Mach Zero will be providing music and entertainment from the Illaskan Assassins breakdancing group. The night is ending
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with comedian Brett Rawalt, who will be recording the show for a live album at the time. There will be food, as well as a bar. For an Iditarod themed First Friday event, check out HM Bark on Fifth Avenue. The pet shop will be hosting a handful of Iditarod mushers and their
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dogs from 5 to 7 p.m. The August Foundation will be at the event with adoption information for retired dogs looking for homes. These dogs participated in either the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod. Brown Bag Sandwich Company will have a unique First Friday hosted by Forrest Dunbar, who is running for Anchorage Assembly. The event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and will include food, drinks and music, all free of charge. This is a non-partisan event and everyone is invited to attend and encouraged to share their ideas. Along Fourth Avenue, by the old theater, the eclectic Sevigny Studio will be featuring live music from UAA music student, Jonathan Cannamore. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will also feature L. Wadleigh Photography’s jellyfish collection. The photos will include a series printed on metal for purchase. Refreshments will be provided. Fur Rondy events in downtown Anchorage are plenty. The Rondy Carnival will be open until 9 p.m. to satisfy your funnel cake and carnival game needs. The Great Alaska Talent Competition preliminaries will be hosted at The Anchorage Lofts Hotel. It is free to attend and runs from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. The competition will include Alaskans aged six and up. Register in the competition at www.greatalaskatalentcompetition.org. The Melodrama is a Fur Rondy staple. Catch the evening show at 7:30 p.m. at the Snow Goose Theatre. The price var-
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NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 02
Brush up on dental hygiene
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
By Jake Johnson
jjohnson@thenorthernlight.org
UAA has numerous branches of education, including the School of Allied Health that in of itself offers numerous health field programs. One of which is their very own dental hygiene clinic. UAA offers something unique that other schools may not have in its very own dental clinic located in the Allied Health building on campus. The 27 student den-
tal assistants use this as an opportunity to gain critical clinical hours required for them to graduate. It looks, feels and even operates like any other dental clinic, but for a much more reasonable price. A cleaning will only cost you $50 versus a private practice clinic price of roughly $250. The dental hygiene program requires students to go through a rigorous amount of training in the dental clinic. Trainings can range from cleanings to X-rays and patient treatment plans. The students
PATHWAYS: What it means for your major
CONTINUED FROM COVER
life.” Liberal art majors’ fear not, in the presentation given by President Johnsen to the Board of Regents on Feb. 16, it guarantees that programs under the umbrella of liberal arts and humanities, career and technical education, Alaska Native studies and developmental education will be available in schools across the state. The framework and details of strategic pathways is lacking and is vague at this point. It is unknown at this time when programs will be chosen for streamlining or cutting. Johnsen emphasized in a teleconference that the timeliness of the Strategic Pathways is correlated with the state’s budget. “We would be required, just on a budgetary standpoint to really move forward much more quickly and make much more dramatic budget reduction decisions and would need to do them much sooner, than later,” Johnsen said. While students and faculty are concerned with cuts to programs, the UA system is looking to save money in other ways. “Strategic Pathways will be implemented in phases over the course of several years, and although the focus is primarily on academic programs, the university is working to reduce costs by streamlining processes and administrative services,” Roberta Graham, associate vice president of public affairs and federal relations for the UA system, said. For Tess Calvin, medical laboratory science major at UAA, moving from her hometown of Sitka to Anchorage was necessary to get the health science education she needed to reach her career goals. “While I love Sitka, I definitely needed to leave for my studies. I think for medicine it definitely is important for it
to be in Anchorage because that’s where the big hospitals are concentrated,” said Calvin. “We have to do two semesters of clinical rotations and because we’re in Anchorage a lot of people can do it all in town. Smaller places just don’t have the diversity of facilities necessary. Specializing campuses totally makes sense for some fields, like health in Anchorage and marine sciences at UAS. I’m not so sure about trying to force all the natural sciences and engineering to UAF though, since those tie into a lot of fields it’s important to have access to them at both the major campuses. So collaboration is important and easy to do when we don’t specialize as much. But we do need to do some focusing. Right now UAA is kind of a cluster-fuck.” For students and faculty interested in participating in the progress of Strategic Pathways, Johnsen and the Board of Regents are hosting multiple events in the future to get students and staff involved in the decision making processes. “It’s important to note that Strategic Pathways is a work in progress and that the aforementioned university stakeholders, including alumni and donors, will have extensive opportunities to participate,” said Graham.
More information about the structure and goals of Strategic Pathways and updates on further events can be found on the Strategic Pathways website. ht tp://w w w.a l ask a.e du / pathways/
first began working in the clinic after two years of prerequisites and use the following two years to hone their hands on dental skills. “This semester has been hard for us to find patients we can use for our requirements,” Jaci Blossom, a senior and dental hygiene major, said. These patients could determine whether her and fellow senior Christy Widman graduate on time. In order to receive a degree in dental hygiene, a program where more than 90 percent of graduates are already placed into jobs, students need to work on very specific patients. As if the stresses of everyday college courses weren’t enough, relying on patients you’ve never met, with rare dental cases can be taxing. Making their graduation rates almost directly relevant to their amount of patients per semester. These issues place added stress on the future grads. “I can study for tests, but having my patients numbers out of my hands, out of my control, that is very very stressful,” Widman said. The clinical staff has gone as far as Craigslist ads and fliers made available to the homeless community, trying to solve their patient problem. They are attempting to lasso up a few patients, in need of serious flossing lessons. Serious, being the key, in that they actually need clients who have problems managing their dental health. A large part of the dental exams they need to graduate require them to deal more with unhealthy
teeth than pearly whites. Rena Queja, the front office manager who just started working in their clinic last August, has seen this first hand. Queja admitted that the overall numbers of patients are fine but they are mostly return patients. What the students in the clinic are in need of is new patients to receive their necessary hours. “We need specific patients,” Queja said. Queja and both students agreed they need the type of patients who have greater tartar build-up on their teeth. Tartar is a case of plaque on your teeth hardening, becoming impossible for you to remove on our own. Tartar must be removed by proper dental treatment plans that the School of Allied Health’s and UAA’s very own Dental Hygiene Clinic offer. “We could typically see up to 52 customers a lab day, but not all of those match student requirements, “ Queja said. The UAA Dental Clinic offers catered treatment plans for people with severe calculus buildup or simply terrible morning breath. These plans are ones that fellow students must complete to graduate. All 14 seniors in the program nearing graduation are doing everything they can to recruit these new patients in order to receive their diplomas this spring.
Hours and clinical hours are both available on the UAA website by searching Dental Clinic.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 03
Apple is right to make a stand against the FBI
SEAWOLF
SLUG
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 When I arrived on Earth almost three years ago, I couldn’t have given a wild zalgaar’s behind about security. Even when it was disclosed that the United States was basically living in a cybersurveillance dystopia, I didn’t mind so much. I’ve already spent the better part of my life living in an alien hive mind. Why should I care about what the government knows about me? However, I’m going to make this personal for most of you. If you don’t care about security, and you don’t use computers or smartphones at all, good for you. You can stop reading. This may not concern you. I’d fathom that most of you, however, have some kind of computer, if not a
really small one that fits snugly in your pocket. I’d also fathom that you have a lot of really important information saved on that computer, right? Bank details? Phone numbers of friends and family? That copy of “Spiceworld” that you’re ashamed to admit that you listen to on a daily basis? All of that is at stake at the moment. The FBI wants to get inside the phone of one of the shooters from the terrorist attack in San Bernardino late last year, and they want Apple’s help to get in. Let’s elaborate on what “Apple’s help” means in this case. The FBI wants Apple to create a backdoor to the iPhone. For those of you not fluent in nineties-hacker lingo, a backdoor is a program that allows illicit individuals to bypass security measures on a computer to access it. They can take many forms, from programs to physical chips, like the Clipper chip that the NSA developed back in 1993. Yes,
that’s right. This isn’t the government’s first attempt to bypass this kind of thing. Now, Apple is refusing to cooperate with the FBI for the same reason that the Clipper wasn’t adopted. It was a horrendous idea. The government may have the best intentions when they ask for a backdoor, but “the government” means a whole lot of people. Who’s to say that there’s not at least one bad apple in that lot? If that bad apple is on the Internet, you can bet that this backdoor isn’t going to be a secret for very long. If someone wants in on your iPhone’s data, and you set a better password than “password” or “12345678,” they can use that backdoor to get in. I don’t care what the government’s morals are on the issue. The FBI’s intentions don’t matter here. Once you put a backdoor on the iPhone, you’ve opened Pandora’s box. There’s no going back. If the FBI succeeds in getting their way, what’s to stop them from doing the same thing on the Android OS? Windows? Hell, security vulnerabilities were even discovered in Linux Mint. Soon, there will be nowhere to hide your precious porn stash. (Everyone has one. Don’t deny it.) “But Klax, you handsome, slimy rascal!” I hear you undoubtedly saying. “You’re a brain slug! You don’t care about this kind of thing. Your thoughts have been wide open for all of slugdom to see because of the hive mind!” I’ll admit that that’s true. We slugs think as one. As one mind, though, we’re not about to let our massive stores of data fall into the hands of some grimy hacker just because someone committed a crime. Our Empire’s operating system is a com-
mon one throughout the galaxy. If we decide to create a backdoor on that OS to try and get inside a criminal’s computer, we open ourselves up just as much as we did the criminal. We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot. People at intelligence agencies use the same operating systems you do, for the most part. Some of the more classified documents are probably stored on obscure systems to help secure them, but you can bet that a lot of the government’s important information is stored on common systems like Windows or OS X. By opening up those operating systems to take a peek inside, you’re providing the tools for illicit thugs to do the same thing to you. A hack against them would be inevitable with or without the backdoor, though, right? That’s also true. However, if they open up common phones for hackers and intelligence agencies to bypass, they’re also painting a big fat target on their own systems. Hackers are not known to be merciful with people they hate. It’s also an insane idea morally, too. Yes, I shouldn’t care about that kind of thing. I’ve lived in a hive mind since my inception. Forget me for a second, though. Consider that the FBI wants to create a tool that can worm its way into your own phone and feed the FBI information about you without your consent. What separates the government from the Empire at that point? Patriotic fervor? I don’t know. The Empire doesn’t want another hive mind competing with it anyway.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.
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04 | FEATURE
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
Iditarod: An Alaskan tradition
The last great race celebrates its 44th year
The northern route of the Iditarod is used during even numbered years like 2016.
By Casey Peterson
cpeterson@thenorthernlight.org
The 44th Iditarod starts this coming Saturday. With 86 mushers and over 1,300 dogs it truly is the “the last great race.” The ceremonial start on March 5, will be, as always, down Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage. The racers leave in two minute intervals starting at 10 a.m. At a banquet held two days before the ceremonial start, the mushers randomly draw out their starting number to determine the order. The teams of both dogs and mushers will then make their way to Willow, where a restart for the race takes place the following day at 2 p.m. The teams then head into the interior where they make their way towards Nome. The first teams will begin to arrive starting about nine days after the ceremonial start. This year marks the 44th annual Iditarod, with the first race dating back to 1973. 2016 will see eight more racers than the previous year, making the total 86. Of these 86, 18 will be rookies competing in their first Iditarod. When the race began in 1973, it was in response to the threat to the sled dog tradition that the invention of the “iron dog” — or snow machine — posed. For hundreds of years, Native Alaskans had used teams of dogs to pull them from place to place during the inhospitable winter months. This tradition found its way into the lives of early Alaskan settlers from the lower 48 as they needed to ship supplies to some of the more remote parts of the state. The invention of the snow machine threatened the tradition of sled dogs, but it also threatened the dogs themselves. In the 1960s, when the snow machine was invented, the following years saw a decline in numbers of the Alaskan Husky breed. The Iditarod was a response, not only to the threat to the tradition of dog sledding, but
also the preservation of a strong breed of dogs. The modern Iditarod race now lays along a common route that freight runners would take from Anchorage to Nome to deliver much wanted winter supplies to the settlers and natives there. This modern route is divided into two different tracks. During even number race years, the teams go along the northern route to Nome, which has them traveling a total distance of 975 miles. During odd number years, the racers use the southern route, which is a total of 998 miles. Both routes pass along many of the same check points and both pass over the Iditarod river, which is the name sake of the race. The Iditarod river is a tributary of the Innoko river and the word Iditarod is said to be derived from the Ingalik and Holikachuk words that mean “distant place.” The race, regardless of the northern of southern routes, is nearly 1,000 miles, which is indeed a journey to a distant place. It is a great distance for the dogs to run, and as they run for a large part of the day, they need a lot of calories. According to the official Iditarod website each dog, all 16 on the team, need to consume about 10,000 calories a day. This provides them with the energy they need to sustain long distance runs for very long periods of time. Historically, when mushers would run the freight trails, like the one that passes over the Iditarod river, there would be a lantern lit at each of the stops along the way. These lanterns would provide the team with a direction to go and allow the team to get some rest along the route. The modern Iditarod patterns one of its own traditions after this one. The Widow’s Lantern is lit in Nome on the first Sunday in March, coinciding with the restart of the race in Willow that same day. The Widow’s Lantern stays lit until the last of the racers passes the finish line, symbolically guiding the way of all the teams to
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
their final destination of Nome. Though 86 mushers and their teams of dogs, usually comprised of 16 total dogs will start the race on March 5, not every team will complete the total distance. Some teams will drop out early. There has never been a year where all the mushers finished the race, but 2004 came close. A total of 77 of the teams finished the race that year, another 10 did not. The Iditarod is not an easy race, the mushers and their team of dogs train all year to make the near thousand mile journey, and every single one of them that finishes shows a level of tenacity. A red lantern is awarded to the last team to finish to commend them on their determination. Though the red lantern started as a gag prize, it has evolved to be a symbol for the strength and never-giveup attitude of the last musher and their team. The first person to finish the Iditarod does not walk away with a lantern. The winner will get a purse of nearly $70,000. The funds have been going up in recent years as the race has grown in its attention and international appeal. Similarly, more and more of the racers have sponsors, which only adds to the growth of the event over the years. What started as a very Alaskan race now has racers from all over the United States as well as International participants all hoping to be immortalized in Iditarod glory. For anyone interested in keeping up to date on the race or following the progress of their favorite race team, the official Iditarod website offers a GPS tracking map that shows the progress in real time. Each team is wearing a GPS chip that sends the signal that is uploaded to the Iditarod website. Not all finish the race, and not all place first, but every musher and team of dogs share in the spirit and hardwork that Alaska was founded upon. This race is a fitting tribute to the traditions, the dogs and the state that it represents.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 05
UAA student gearing up for a future in the Iditarod
Robert Forto mushing with his sled dog team, Team Ineka.
By Victoria Petersen
vgpetersen@thenorthernlight.org
Robert Forto, a testament to the commuter demographic of UAA, drives to school from his home in Willow four days a week to study outdoor leadership, full time. Choosing to go back to school for fun Forto, 44, uses his studies to his benefit. “I decided to go back to school just because. I like to torture myself.” said Forto, laughing to himself. Taking care of a team of 38 sled dogs and going to school full time is a quite a feat. Forto spends everyday working towards either his goal of the iditarod or his goal of completing his degree at UAA. “We do a couple of hours of chores in the morning and a couple hours of chores in the evening. We typically train at night, so we are getting by on as little sleep as
PHOTO BY BRITT CONN
possible. It’s just sort of the lifestyle, we get up and it’s either work or school, and then the dogs on the other side.” Taking care of his team requires hours of preparation and a food budget fit for a family of six. “we have to feed, pick up, chop meat, mend equipment, make sure everything’s in working order, shovel snow, we have to trail groom, all those types of things. We feed (the dogs) about 30 pounds of raw meat a day, and a bag of kibble a day. We have a food budget of about 2000 to 2500 dollars a month.” Mushing since 1994, Robert loves his team and has gradually been getting ready to compete in the Last Great Race. Robert’s team, called Team Ineka, have participated in multiple expeditions to train for the Iditarod, which Forto hopes to compete in by 2018. “I got my first Siberian Husky in 1994. It’s the love of the breed. My daughter did Jr. Iditarod for
A couple members of Team Ineka.
the last couple years and pretty much said “dad, it’s your turn”, she’s been mushing since was three years old.” said Forto. Whether it’s part of training for the Iditarod or just to stay in shape, Forto makes sure that every expedition he participates in with his team is promoting something worthwhile. “We always have a purpose for our expeditions whether it’s to promote healthy lifestyles or promote a cause.” Forto said. Off the trail, Forto hosts a mushing radio show that can be found on mushingradio.com. This has given Forto and opportunity to gain experience with the trails, the people and the
PHOTO BY JEFF SCHULTZ
passion of the Iditarod. On his show he shares stories, tracks mushers, and hosts multiple mushers. The show does nightly coverage of the Iditarod. “I’ve got lots of experience with people running it and helping with it and training for it. We spend a lot time talking about the middle to the back of the pack folks. Nobody knows anything about those guys, they only know about the people that are winning.” Forto said.
Forto will be giving sled dog rides as part of UAA’s Winterfest Monday through Thursday from 11:30-1:30 in front of Cuddy Hall. Come out for Winterfest and support our UAA mushers.
ILLUSTRATION BY INNA MIKHAILOVA
06 | FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
Grandma’s Alaskan blueberry crumble
By Victoria Petersen
vgpetersen@thenorthernlight.org
We all have those homemade desserts that bring you back to home. They make you feel like a kid again. Maybe you get it every year on your birthday or when you got good grades in school. It’s hard to beat the taste of something so familiar, that even the first bite ignites vivid memories of grandma plating you up some blueberry deliciousness and vanilla ice cream after you finished crying from losing your first tooth, or the time your mom requested it for her birthday and you helped yourself to thirds, all the way to the time you shared it with friends in your college apartment. For me these recipes are a part of our story and are worth documenting. My grandmother, Sylvia Butcher, a true Spenardian and Alaskan in her own right has
been living in Alaska since the early 1960s. She met my grandfather, who grew up in Anchorage after his parents homesteaded here in 1943, in California and started a life together in the city of Anchorage. One of my grandmothers favorite Alaskan pastimes is blueberry picking. She knows all the spots, from the shores of Seward to the mountainsides of Broad Pass. Of course she would never permit to say where her favorite spot is, as that’s a heavily guarded family secret. She claims that the peninsula is the way to go. She notes t hat Girdwood blueberries are wormy and that Seward and Whittier are good places to explore. Claiming that coastal blueberries are better in taste and easier to pick than their alpine cousins. Don’t even think about buying blueberries for this recipe. Grandma scoffs at the mere thought of store bought blueberries, lacking in taste and authenticity. “They have to be Alaskan blueberries, not store bought. There’s no comparison,” said Butcher. Grandma pulls out of a bag of frozen blueberries she’s been letting thaw, she holds it in the air and examines it, as if she was checking if a nugget of gold was actually just pyrite. The bag, with the date “8/15” written in sharpie on the side, is gently poured out into the baking dish.
As I begin to spread the blueberries evenly in the dish grandma tells me about picking those berries with my mom last summer while they were in Seward. “We picked them until we couldn’t pick anymore, brought them back to the cabin, and went out and did it all again the next day,” said Butcher. The recipe for blueberry crumble was given to my grandmother in a cookbook published by the women’s club of Anchorage in the late ‘50s. My grandma received the cookbook from my great-grandmother, her motherin-law, as a wedding gift. My great-grandmother was part of the women’s club and had her own recipes published in the book as well. My grandma tried the “blueberry crunch” recipe as it’s called in the recipe book, and has been in love with it ever since. “Some of the recipes in this book I’ve changed, but not this one. This one is perfect,” said Butcher. The recipe is relatively simple, despite the delicious and crowd pleasing results it receives. Make sure to let the dessert completely cool before serving, as it’s too runny and messy if served right after it’s taken out of the oven. The perfect way to serve it, the way it’s been served to me my entire life, according to grandma is to “warm it up and serve it with vanilla ice cream.”
PHOTO BY VICTORIA PETERSEN
Ingredients 4 cups of blueberries (“they have to be Alaskan” said Grandma Sylvia) 1 cup of sugar 3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of brown sugar 1 cup of butter (melted) 1 and a half cups of flour 1 cup of oatmeal
Directions 1. In a baking dish, pour in the blueberries. Stir in the sugar and flour with a spatula until the blueberries are covered in the sugar and flour. Spread evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. 2. In a separate bowl, add the melted butter, the brown sugar, the flour and oatmeal. Mix until evenly distributed. Once they are mixed well, spread across the top of the blueberry mixture with a spatula. 3. Place in the oven, set for 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Let the dessert cool completely. Serve warm and with vanilla ice cream.
Nine in the Spine: A hole-in-one when it comes to connecting
PHOTOS BY CASEY PETERSON
One of the many holes that alumni and UAA club members had to putt their way through. This hole was put together by Alpha Eta Rho.
By Jordan Rodenberger
jrodenberger@thenorthernlight.org
UAA’s Alumni Association hosted their third annual Nine in the Spine on Feb. 24 - a friendly round of mini-golf among current and former Seawolves. The event is designed to provide networking opportunities. A total of 18 student clubs designed their own mini golf hole for the event, creating two nine-hole courses that stretched from Rasmuson Hall to the Social Science Building. Teams composed of Alumni members and students were greeted by different clubs as they putted their way across the spine. “[It’s] a chance for teams to come together for a purpose, be creative, support one another, and yet still learn the critical project management skills that are going to help one another as they
build careers after school,” event co-chair Walter Williams said of the student organizations who designed holes. Jayson Smart, an alumni and the other co-chair, came up with the idea while working at UAA in the 1990s. “There were many times when I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if I could hit a golf ball from one end of the campus to the other,” Smart said. About two decades later, Smart’s fantasy became a reality, with more benefits than just the pure enjoyment of playing mini golf in one’s school. Walter Williams helped start up “Nine in the Spine” to give more opportunities to both current and former students. “It is a great way to get Alumni back on campus and get the clubs excited about interacting with the Alumni, which gives them opportunities to network, build relationships, and get creative.” said Williams.
The engineering department started the course off with this creative hole.
The event is also a fundraiser for the Alumni Association. According to Smart, the money it raises supports the Alumni scholarship fund. Every year the fund awards six $1,000 scholarships each academic year. Comparing it to other Alumni events, Williams appreciates the freedom of this fundraiser. “It is one everyone can participate in, you don’t have to dress up for it,” Williams said. “Also, the students don’t have to pay anything, in fact they get prizes.” Dottie Ochoa of the Marketing and Management Club has already seen the advantages to the event. “Our golfer last year is now with a PR company, so it was a good networking opportunity,” said Ochoa. Not only is it a great way to meet former members of clubs, but it can help bring additional attention to them. Robert Labrec, co-president of the Social Aware-
ness Club, was one of the participating clubs this year. “It brings awareness that our organization exists, because we are a fairly small club,” Labrec said. “Hopefully we get more participation; a bigger club means more events we can put on and more money we can raise.” However, it is not all fun, games, and socializing. “We actually put a ton of work into this. We met several Saturdays to build it,” said Meghan Carson of the Accounting Club. As “Nine in the Spine” continues to grow, more clubs will compete to be one of the 18 organizations that build a hole and connect with former club members. It seems of all the great Alumni events, this is one will continue to be one of the more fun, artistic and beneficial to all those involved.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 07
Undressing the highest-paying campus job: Nude modeling
PHOTOS BY KATHRYN CASELLO
Artist Sydney Daniels made these drawings of Dylan Kenyon herself. Kenyon is proud to show them off to her friends and family.
By Kathryn Casello
kcasello@thenorthernlight.org
In the Fine Arts Building in room 101, adjunct professor David Pettibone teaches Life Drawing and Composition, where twice a week, a model stands up on a platform surrounded by budding artists, completely naked. For $14.86 an hour, models stand on the stage and pose for anywhere from a minute to 20 minutes to give the artists an in-depth experience with figure drawing. Some may think it’s taboo or uncomfortable, but for nude model Dylan Kenyon, a cultural anthropology major who works about once a week and occasionally on weekends, it’s a sweet gig. Kenyon said that she felt less nervous once the professor explained that the students have been studying models for weeks and that the environment is very mature. The artists should know not to be inappropriate or make anyone uncomfortable because models are there to aid the learning process. “I’m glad I’m doing it because it’s a great experience, I can look back at it and know I was a nude model in college,” said Kenyon. “It’s a cool job, you just have to try to get over the fear of it. I had to sit in the office for about ten minutes before I went out for the first time just trying to gather my thoughts and not freak out, but once I got up there it was totally fine. This guy model told me a story about how another male model once got a boner on the stage and it was the most embarrassing thing, but he said some comment like ‘my girlfriend gets back into town tonight’ to break the ice and not have it be so awkward, and everyone laughed and that was the end of it.” All around the room, posters of the human body with detailed diagrams of muscular and skeletal structures hang on the walls. During one class period, Kenyon did one pose at a time in between five-minute breaks. In between poses, the models can wear a robe and mingle with the artists. “Using the figure itself is a great way to learn all the elements of design, composition, line, and weight. If I
This art was created by artist Bryce Fredrick with detailed shadowing and color to express character and emotion.
could get all types of shapes and sizes and colors of people in here that would be ideal. A good model is someone who is able to hold their pose and also give us some sort of energy in their pose, like a twist of the rib cage in relation to the pelvis which gives the students a rhythm to work from. First we did gesture and now we’re doing specifically anatomy, so we’ve covered the skeletal system and now we’re doing the superficial muscular system, so all the muscles that you see on the model.” While the students sketch the model, Pettibone had Johnny Cash and the Beatles playing quietly from speakers in the room creating a comfortable and respectful vibe. Occasionally, the artists held up their pencils to estimate the proportions of the model or take a moment to check out the angles. The professor casually roamed the room to check on the drawings or give advice. “Models are great, models are really appreciated,” Bryce Fredrick, a print-making major who also does some nude modeling herself, said. “I know how it is, in terms of getting naked in front a bunch of people you don’t know. My other model friend Iris really said that she gets meditative because it’s all about directing attention and being okay with eyes on you.” Fredrick has been doing life drawing for over six years and appreciates nude modeling as crucial to the learning process for artists. “The best way that you can connect with people is to draw people. It’s much easier than looking at a flower and being like ‘what is this flower feeling?’ We’re so tuned in to body language and facial cues and even tiny, subtle gestures that having live models is really essential,” said Fredrick. “Every single time you learn something different, and something new and awesome. It’s not just skinny girls like in fashion, it’s every single shape that you can imagine, every age you can imagine, and you learn something from absolutely everyone so it really helps deepen your appreciation for people in general.” Even as an artist Fredrick has had to grapple with some of the awkwardness about nudity, but through supportive friends and confidence in her own work she was
These drawings are also of Kenyon, depicting a serious of gestures that the model held for about two minutes at a time.
able to feel more comfortable. “I just put up two pieces in Middle Way Cafe and it’s a nude portrait of myself and my boyfriend, and I’m getting a lot of people who tell me they’ve seen my pieces and could recognize that it was me. It is sort of weird, but a friend of mine commented on an Instagram post and said something really nice: ‘if anyone complains about it they need to look in the mirror at their own humanness.’ Like, everyone is naked at some point, it’s about vulnerability and recognizing beauty.” Kenyon said she feels more comfortable in her own skin and about nudity in general as a result of being a nude model, even though being naked is often considered a taboo topic in society. “Some people are really against this whole thing, like my grandma freaked when she found out. She was like ‘I cannot believe you’re letting people see that, that’s sacred.’ I think this generation takes it differently, which I’m glad about because I do really think it’s helps people learn. I think the human body is beautiful in every shape and size and I’m glad that they have to learn that. They paint everything and they think everything is beautiful and they make it beautiful in their art. I feel comfortable getting naked, so everyone else should too.” Fine arts and modeling plays a big role in self-exploration and understanding the world, and nude modeling is one way to see a whole new side of art and humanity.
Student-run life modeling sessions hosted by the Art Student Association will start around mid-March on Saturday evenings in the Arts Building room 101. The first session is free and all are welcome.
08 | FEATURES NEAR THE BEAR R
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
Opening reception 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 4 This all-ages exhibition explores the Arctic through animals and science Image: Alvin Eli Amason, “Good to See You,” 1985
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A&E
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 09
ALBUM REVIEW
Animal Collective’s new album is more of the same By Felipe Godoy Diaz Contributor
For many years, Animal Collective has had a large discography of primarily experimental music. “Painting With” is the band’s tenth release in the band’s impressive seventeen-year run. Their last release, 2012’s “Centipede Hz” was a step forward in their experimental direction, but a step back in meaning. The album lacked substance and was unlike like their 2009 magnum opus, “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” which happened to be the band’s most accessible album. The lead single for this “Painting With” is the crazed out acid trip “FloriDada.” However, unlike their last album, “FloriDada” is actually about the antagonism towards Floridians by the outside world by conveying influences of Dadaism. As band member Avery Tare described it, “I heard a radio show in L.A. and they started talking about how the name of the program was ‘What All the Dumb Things People Are Doing in Florida Right Now.’ I was just like, ‘That sucks.’ Why does
everything have to be so negative? Why is everything so ‘I’m from the South, you’re from the North?’” With such a well thought out single, it was expected that similar music would continue on “Painting With.” The answer was no. The album follows more in the direction of the exploratory “Centipede Hz” than the classic “Merriweather Post Pavilion.” The rest of album continues in search for something, if anything as long as it sticks, even if it’s momentarily. Songs like “The Burglars,” “Bagels in Kiev” and “Spilling Guts” have all colorful and absurd psych-pop influences, but as each track progresses, the songs become more and more like white noise. As bands age, their defined sound becomes their staple for new releases. Perhaps this is what Animal Collective wants, experimental music that is preferably combined with illegal substances that might or might not resonate with their fans. Unfortunately, “Painting With,” at least musically, remains in the same place that it did four years ago with “Centipede Hz” and that just might be good enough for Animal Collective.
ARTIST Animal Collective
LABEL Domino
ALBUM “Painting With”
RELEASE Feb. 19, 2016
GENRE Experimental
5102_16276 9.75 x 4.725 4c
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10 | A&E
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
The sometimes bland ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ garners laughs
By Jacob Holley-Kline Contributor
“What We Do in the Shadows” has more in common the 1978 mockumentary “The Rutles: All You Need is Cash” than with a horror-comedy like “Shaun of the Dead.” Through and through, the movie is a character study. While its broader comedy falls short, “What We Do in the Shadows” finds hilarity and grace in its characters. Living alone in a New Zealand flat, four vampire roommates, Viago (Taika Waititi, “Green Lantern”), Vladislav (Jemaine Clement, “Don Verdean”), Deacon (Jonny Brugh, “How to Meet Girls from a Distance”), and the 8,000-yearold Petyr (Ben Fransham, “The Cure”), allow a camera crew to follow them around leading up to the annual Unholy
Masquerade Ball, an annual meeting of Wellington’s hard-partying goblins and ghouls. The central foursome is immediately charming. Even the ancient Petyr, with his exasperated slow blinks, manages sympathy. Providing the brunt of the humor is his three younger counterparts. There’s the dutiful and lovesick Viago. Vladislav, implied to be the historical Vlad the Impaler, is a quintessential ladies man. And the youngest, Deacon, is a brash rapscallion with a terrible sense of humor. As vampires, their problems are many. The movie fails when it forgets this. Broader moments of comedy, such as the various mundane tiffs the roommates have and the Unholy Masquerade sequence, fall flat. The best gags are specific to being a vampire. Viago’s gut-busting attempt to contain a victim’s
spurting artery is just one example. Don’t be fooled, however. “What We Do in the Shadows” reveals its dark heart quickly. Moments of brutal violence, sometimes funny, other times grim, pepper the movie. Sometimes, those bursts kill the comic momentum and turns the movie to horror. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, the movie is a horrorcomedy. More than that, however, it is a mockumentary. If mockumentaries are primarily concerned with their subjects, “What We Do” falls short. Intimate character moments
are undermined by generic gags and the various players become like any other roommates in a suburban comedy. It’s a shame, too, because when the movie hits, it really hits. With an interesting premise and some hilarious moments to boot, “What We Do in the Shadows” ultimately falls short. The chemistry between the cast members is terrific, but it’s often wasted on sequences that could be in any other comedy. When it abandons the specificity that makes it work, it becomes a generic, clumsily structured mess.
TITLE “What We Do in the Shadows”
DIRECTORS Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement
RELEASE DATE Jan. 9, 2016
COUNTRY New Zealand
GENRE Comedy
FIRST FRIDAY: Celebrating Fur Rondy CONTINUED FROM COVER
ies from $18 to $23 per person. The show is “Pirates vs. Gold Miners: The Realest Alaska Reality Show.” Be ready to be pelted with popcorn. Despite a lack of snow this winter, the snow sculpture competition is in full swing from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. along Ship Creek Ave., directly across from Comfort Inn. The Anchorage Museum, at the heart of Anchorage’s Downtown First Friday, is open and admission is free to the galleries on Friday March 4. “The museum is a cornerstone of downtown Anchorage. It’s a great spot and we have free general admission from 6 to 9 p.m. every First Friday,” Laura Carpenter, Anchorage Museum public relations manager, said. This month the venue is hosting events ranging from Belgian-style beer tasting at the Battle of the Breweries from 6 to 9
p.m. ($5 for a flight, for 21 and older), to Astronomy Alive, a guided tour through space and time from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6 and can be purchased online through the museum’s website. In addition to the above events, the museum is celebrating “Elevator Music” and showcasing local artist Angeline Moore from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the museum’s over sized elevator. This event is free. “Near The Bear” is a new family friendly exhibit that looks at the Arctic through a museum curated collection of animals and environments. This reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. and is free of charge. The Anchorage School District art exhibition is having a 44th annual grand opening at the museum with an overall theme of “Selfie: Culture through Self Expression.” The exhibit coincides with National Youth Art Month. Live music will be provided by local ASD students
at the reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and the event is free of charge. With the Iditarod coming up, the museum is hosting local author and Iditarod racer Debbie Moderow, who will read from her new book, “Fast into the Night.” The event is from 7 to 8 p.m. and is free of charge. With many more venues hosting First Friday events, a jaunt downtown on March 4 will be a great way to explore Anchorage culture and maybe even be surprise you. For Jake Hamaker, UAA English major and local musician who has played multiple First Friday’s in Anchorage’s downtown, First Friday offers both artists and explorers an experience that they may never forget. “It’s a chance to share their craft with an audience that they might not have otherwise been able to reach,” said Hamaker. “What it offers the community is the opportunity to meet the artists walking around them that they might not have
known about. I remember I once played a First Friday and after singing this tune I wrote, this guy was real impressed. He later got a hold of me and asked if he could read the lyrics at his father’s funeral, which really kind of blew me away. I don’t know what kind of word you put on something like that, but that’s community right? I guess there are others who go out on First Friday, without any kind of expectation of being affected in some heartfelt way, but then something catches their ear… I guess maybe it has a way of strengthening the community in the way that we’re sharing experiences.” Coinciding with Fur Rondy, this month’s First Friday is an excellent opportunity to get out and explore downtown and experience local artists as they share their craft, and experience a traditional and cultural Anchorage event at the same time.
SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 11
Hometown hockey heroes Athletics
standings for UAA Hockey
Updated Feb. 24
Conference
PHOTO BY JAKE JOHNSON
Chase Van Allen, Connor Wright and Alex Jackstadt are all from Anchorage. Brad Duwe calls Soldotna home.
By Jake Johnson
jjohnson@thenorthernlight.org
Hometown boys The Seawolves hockey team has witnessed an abundance of talented studentathlete’s careers, recorded a studious dynamic among its booster club, tallied over five 20-plus win seasons, and gone 491-657-117 all-time in its 36-year existence. It’s no wonder many young Anchorage hockey players grow up idolizing the Seawolves. Young athletes can be seen flooding the Sullivan Arena gates after their own games and practices let out at the nearby Ben Boeke Ice Arena, hoping one day they might play for their hometown college. For four current Seawolves, this dream came true. Anchorage natives Alex Jackstadt, Connor Wright, Chase Van Allen, grew up playing with and against one another at various times in their childhood. Brad Duwe was also a familiar teammate to the other three, traveling from hometown Soldotna a few weekends each season for tournaments. Brad Duwe “Its really nice playing locally. You get a few friends and family members that come out to see you play,” Duwe said. Duwe played for an Alaska All-Star’s traveling hockey team with Van Allen and Wright. He later played much closer
to home for the Kenai River Brown Bears with Jackstadt in 2012-13. Alex Jackstadt Jackstadt’s career began in Anchorage playing for multiple traveling organizations in town before he packed up and moved to Kenai in pursuit of a hockey career. Jackstadt spent time in three very competitive junior hockey leagues from 201315: the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, and the British Columbian Hockey League. Together, these three leagues make up a good portion of the NHL’s draft prospects. Jackstadt said he was more than happy to accept an invite to play with the Seawolves. “I didn’t have a lot of other quality offers. When UAA called it was pretty special,” he said. He received that phone call while a Kenai River Brown Bear — facing off against fellow Anchorage player Wright in the North American Hockey League. Connor Wright Wright spent four years also playing junior hockey in the North American Hockey League. Wright got the call in a much more challenging way as the truest version of a walk-on athlete of the four. He showed up to captain skates during the summer workouts on his own time after personally contacting UAA’s coaching staff. “I actually got dressed in the public locker room for like a month,” Wright said.
Multiple guys dropped off during this test of character, but Wright wouldn’t give up an opportunity to play for his home town. He was rewarded for his overwhelming dedication when he was given a full roster spot and athletic benefits in 2014-15. Chase Van Allen Wright played with Van Allen in 201011, when the pair spent time playing for the Alaska Avalanche in the North American Hockey League. Van Allen made the jump to the British Columbian Hockey League in 2011-12, before finding his home with the Seawolves the next season. He received his opportunity much differently than some of his teammates in the form of a two weeks notice to report to camp where he would find a roster spot. Joining forces The athletes all agreed that this season has been a great time despite team’s losing record. No one on their team wants the season to end yet, and try to work harder each day. Tenacious freshman like Jackstadt and the wisdom of veterans Duwe and Van Allen also testify to the team’s character. “Everyone buying into the same idea, the same goal, thats what its gonna take,” Van Allen said. All four of these Alaskan hometown hockey heroes once had their own favorite Seawolf, and now look forward to being someone else’s inspiration. Wearing the green and gold jerseys they cheered for as kids and hoping to leave their own mark in Seawolf history.
Chase Van Allen, Connor Wright, Alex Jackstadt and Brad Duwe all called Alaska home long before they joined the Seawolf hockey team.
Minnesota State
15-4-7
Bowling Green
15-6-5
Michigan Tech
16-7-3
Northern Michigan
12-9-5
Ferris State
12-10-4
Bemidji State
10-11-5
Lake Superior State
9-12-5
Alaska Anchorage
8-16-2
Alaska Fairbanks
6-16-4
Alabama Hunstville
4-16-6
Men’s Basketball Updated Feb. 24 Conference Western Oregon
18-2
Alaska Fairbanks
15-5
Alaska Anchorage
14-6
Seattle Pacific
14-6
Central Washington
13-7
Western Washington
9-11
Saint Martin’s
9-11
Montana State Billings
8-12
Concordia
5-15
Northwest Nazerene
4-16
Men’s Basketball Updated Feb. 24 Conference Alaska Anchorage
18-2
Western Washington
16-4
Montana State Billings
15-5
Simon Fraser
13-7
Central Washington
10-10
Northwest Nazarene
10-10
Seattle Pacific
9-11
Alaska Fairbanks
7-13
Saint Martin’s
5-15
Concordia
4-16
12 | SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
Run down of the Governor’s Cup Elusive Governor’s Cup up for grabs this weekend Five ways to get to the Gov. Cup By Nolin Ainsworth
sports@thenorthernlight.org
The Seawolves round out their regular season this weekend in games 3 and 4 of the 23rd annual Governor’s Cup series. The Friday and Saturday night matches in Fairbanks will mark the third and fourth meetings between UAA (8-16-2 WCHA) and the Alaska Nanooks (6-16-4 WCHA) this season. The Seawolves salvaged only a single point in their two-game home stand with the Nanooks the first half of this season. UAF won 2-1 during the Friday night contest on Dec. 11 before the teams skated to a 1-1 tie the following night. The Seawolves cannot afford a loss either night if they plan on winning their first Governor’s Cup in 6 years. The Seawolves last took home the Governor’s Cup when Sarah Palin was still in office: 2009. The two Alaska teams have been regulars on each other’s calendars for over three decades, but the victor of the season series was not awarded a shiny trophy — the
Governor’s Cup — until the 199394 season. The tournament has fluctuated between a two-game, single-weekend series, into a four-game series that takes place over the length of the season. The tournament is currently in the latter form, following the substantial realignment of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association prior to the 2013-14 season. “It’s a natural rivalry because they are the only two hockey-playing [higher education] institutions in the state,” Tim McDiffett, UAA associate athletic director, said. The Nanooks have a 11-8 advantage in Governor’s Cup titles, despite UAA holding a 31-28-7 edge in the Cup’s 22-yearhistory. UAF vacated cup titles in 2010-13 due to NCAA violations. “We’re looking to go up there and get four big points and bring home the cup,” Blake Tatchell, senior forward, said. “We definitely get fired up because there’s always pretty big crowds there.” Both teams haven’t given their fans much to cheer for this season. Without the scoring punch of many of their WCHA counterparts, wins have been hard to
come by and now both are at risk of missing the postseason. The Seawolves sit just above the Nanooks in the conference standings with 18 points. Both Alaska teams were swept last weekend against league-leaders Minnesota State-Mankato and Michigan Tech respectively. Goal tending and defense will likely determine who gets the upperhand this weekend. “We got to come and play a gritty-style of game,” senior UAA defenseman Blake Leask said. “They’re a very high-risk, highreward team. Everything they get, they get off of turnovers.” “There is just so much at stake when both teams happen to play, that guys seem to bring their game to a new level,” UAA head coach Matt Thomas said. “You hope your team finds a level that’s a little more superior than your opponent.”
Friday and Saturday's games can be streamed on WCHA.tv at 7:07 p.m AKST.
By Nolin Ainsworth
sports@thenorthernlight.org
1. Road trip For the die hard Seawolf fan and college student, this is likely the most feasible option. By inviting two buddies to come along, one can cut the gas bill in three. With the right friends, junk food and music playlist, 359 miles of highway will be a breeze. Don’t forget to call 5-1-1 in advance to learn of the road conditions you’ll be facing. 2. Fly 15,000 air miles may not seem like a lot, but its enough to buy you a round trip ticket to Fairbanks this weekend. There are four Anchorage departures to Fairbanks on Friday morning alone. Where else can you even travel for that amount of miles? No where, that’s where. 3. Ice skate What could be a more fitting way to travel to a hockey game? It can be easy to forget the usefulness of our network of rivers here in Alaska when we tend to ogle that glaciers that spawn many of them. There’s the Copper, Tanana, Yukon, Susitna and the list goes on. Get some exercise by taking one of these original “Alaska Highways” to the Golden Heart City. Don’t forget your headlamp and toe warmers! 4. Stowaway Guess who’s joining our 22 student-athletes to Fairbanks? Their hockey gear. If you’ve ever seen the size of a hockey bag, you know there is plenty of room to fit a human being inside one. Just ask the team’s equipment manager to “volunteer” packing the hockey gear up, and then when the opportunity presents itself, zip yourself inside and hold on tight. Just try not to traumatize an unsuspecting Seawolf! 5. Television I lied. This is actually the most feasible option for a college student on a tight budget. Check your local listings and kitchen cupboard for the popcorn ahead of time!
Which teams won the Governor’s Cup during these govenor’s terms?
GRAPHICS BY JIAN BAUTISTA
Women’s basketball loses by 1 on Senior Night
PHOTOS BY CASEY PETERSON
Seven seniors were honored prior to Saturday’s game; Jessica Madison, Jenna Buchanan, Christina Davis, Megan Mullings, Keiahnna Engel, Dominique Brooks, and Adriana Dent. The #1 Seawolves 19-game winning streak was snapped by Simon Fraser 67-66 led by Ellen Kett’s triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). Megan Mullings had 28 points and 8 rebounds for UAA while Alysha Devine chipped in eight points and seven board.
Guard Christina David walks onto the court with her mother.
Guard Jessica Madison and her parents.
SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 13
Travis Parrish: The long journey to the last frontier
PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVIS PARRISH
Travis Parrish rises for a lay up in a contest against Concordia in Nov. 2014.
By Jordan Rodenberger
jrodenberger@thenorthernlight.org
Travis Parrish, a junior forward for UAA Men’s basketball team, has had many stops on his way to becoming a Seawolf. It began in West Bountiful, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, where Travis would spend his days doing odd jobs and playing a plethora of sports, including baseball, football, basketball and running track. Parrish’s love for sports is credited to his father, Norm, who was the head basketball coach at Salt Lake City Community College for 20 years. Norm led his team to a Junior College National Championship title in 2009, the first in school history. Norm later became the director of basketball operations at the University of Utah, and is now the head coach of Westminster College. Watching him coach and being around organized programs helped shape Parrish into the ath-
lete he is today. “I always watched his players, and you could see what kind of kids were successful,” Parrish said. When Parrish became a senior, he had to decide which sport he wanted to pursue at a collegiate level. “When the offers came in, we gave him his choice of sport,” Norm said. “I was getting recruited a little bit for both sports [basketball and football],” said Parrish. “Utah State is Division I, they were the biggest school I was talking to for either sport.” Parrish decided to stay in his home state, and play as a linebacker for the Aggies. However, before he went to his first practice, Travis had a more important goal he had to complete. Belonging to the Mormon faith, Parrish planned to do a missionary well before he ever put on a helmet. Parrish had to step away from sports for two years after high school to embark on his mission to Malaysia.
“I was always planning on the mission since I was young so [stepping away from sports] wasn’t hard,” Parrish said. Parrish spent much of his time in Singapore, as well as smaller neighboring towns. He taught several subjects to different tribes in his two years, and it has benefited him more than anything else he has ever experienced. “I loved it over there, I didn’t want to come home. It changed me a lot and humbled me a ton,” Parrish said. “When you tell someone from Malaysia you play football or basketball, they do not care or hardly know what it is. It puts everything into perspective a little bit.” Those who have met Parrish after his mission, notice many qualities about him that stand out. “He has a really good sense of humor, and he is a very kind, smart and honest guy,” Cass Mattheis, a former roommate of Parrish, said. Parrish’s time in Malaysia soon came to an end, and reality struck. After two years of being away from the game of football, Parrish returned home weighing only 165 pounds — far from the ideal weight of a Division I linebacker. He got back in the weight room, and gained nearly 70 pounds in his time playing football. He redshirted his first year, and in his second year, Utah State defeated Northern Illinois 21-14 in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl. With a successful team comes successful players. Parrish played behind Kyler Fackrell, who was invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and is expected to be drafted within the first three rounds, according to many mock drafts. Playing behind such a big shadow, Parrish’s future with the team was uncertain and he began to consider making the switch to the other sport he was all-state in during high school — basketball. “I’ve always loved basketball. I love football too, but I didn’t like the weight I had to gain. I didn’t think it was worth it, I really did not like weighing that much,” Parrish said. “I loved the games, but it was practice I did not like.” Regardless, Parrish’s ability to switch from playing one sport to another at any college level is very impressive. “Not many people can play DI football and then turn around and play basketball for a DII school,” Mattheis said. Then came another huge life decision. He had to choose where he was going to start his collegiate basketball career, and it came down to UAA and BYU Hawaii, but his final choice was not too hard for him.
“I liked coach Osborne and this arena. I thought I had a better chance to come here and make an impact,” Parrish said. “I think I wanted to try something a little different. Alaska sounded adventurous.” As most people who have never been to the 49th state, Parrish did not quite know what to expect. “On my first official visit, Coach Osborne took me to Applebee’s and I was like ‘hey, it is still a regular place,’ because honestly I had no idea what was going to be up here.” Parrish knew the transition to basketball was not going to be easy, especially since going on a mission and playing football were his two recent priorities. “I remember his first game in Anchorage, it had been over five years since he suited up for a basketball game, which is pretty wild,” Norm said. Parrish learned a lot about being an athlete, balancing academics, and about himself during his time at Utah State. He met his wife, Lexie, there, who plays soccer for the Aggies, and they got married this past summer. As for football, even that helped him become the basketball player he is today. “In football, you lay yourself out there more. I think it actually translates to basketball sometimes, because I end up on the floor all the time,” Parrish said. “He is a really hard worker, he does not give up.” said Mattheis, who regulary played with Parrish and attended games. “He is the kind of player you want on your team.” His basketball teammates appreciates his football background, as Parrish is the tough scrapper that gives energy off the bench for the Seawolves. Thankfully for the team and the fans, Parrish plans on returning next season to play his senior year. Norm had endless positive things to say about Parrish, and rightfully so. His engagement in the classroom, his commitment to his team, and his involvement in not only his community but others have made his father very proud. “He is just living a good life. He has a good wife... and I know last semester he got a 4.0. I can’t say there is one thing I am proud of,” Norm said. Parrish is completing a degree in economics, and plans on starting his master’s the following year. Although he is unsure what he wants to do with the degree, it is safe to say that his intelligence, adaptability and heart will lead him wherever he so pleases.
Hockey loses in final home games
PHOTOS BY YOUNG KIM
Seawolves sophomore Matt Anholt battles with a Mavericks defender for puck control.
Sophomore Tad Kozun attempts to skate past a Mavericks defender for chance to score. The seawolves lost the first game of the series 0-3 and then lost the next night 1-2.
OPINION .
THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
| 14
Consent: It’s everybody’s business
By Demry Mebane
By Jonathon Taylor
If someone told you they wanted a cup of tea, but changed their mind after you brought it to them, you wouldn’t force them to drink it. Similarly, If that same person ignored you when brought them the tea, was asleep, or unconscious, or so drunk that they have trouble keeping their balance, you wouldn’t force their mouth open and make them drink tea. It’s the same with consent for sexual encounters. If the person is sleeping, unconscious, drunk, no longer interested, or doesn’t tell you that they want to have sex, don’t have sex with them. They can’t consent. Which means that you’re sexually assaulting them. Or possibly raping them. Alaska has a problem with sexual assault and domestic partner violence: we lead the nation in the number of reported rapes at almost 80 per 100,000 people. That’s reported rapes. There are countless numbers of individuals who never report that they were raped or sexually assaulted because they don’t know how, or don’t feel safe doing so. In 2014, then-
Governor Sean Parnell called it an “epidemic”. Statistics also indicate that rape and sexual assault occur at abnormally high rates on college campus when compared with the rest of the population at large. There’s good news, though: college campus - including UAA - have been the locus of a movement towards “affirmative consent”. Affirmative consent has several features: “Yes means yes”. You’ve probably heard of this before. Basically, it means that if you communicate to someone that you want to have sex with them, if they don’t actively say “yes” or provide some other clear indication that they would like to as well, you shouldn’t have sex with them. If you can’t tell, presume that they don’t want to. It is mutual. Both - or all - individuals involved in the sexual interaction must provide their consent to the other party or parties. Consent can be withdrawn by any part at any time. Suppose you get con-
uaa_ombud@uaa.alaska.edu
uaa_pres@uaa.alaska.edu
sent from your partner and you start having sex. Both of you agree that you want to have sex and...well...things proceed accordingly. However, at some point, your partner tells you to stop, or says they don’t want to do it anymore. They’ve withdrawn their consent, and you should stop immediately. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, and don’t know what to do, you should be aware of the many resources and support structures that UAA has for students. The UAA Care Team The UAA Care Team functions as a central point of contact for individuals reporting aberrant student behavior or behavior that deviates from an established baseline. Submit an Anonymous Care Report at https://www.uaa.alaska. edu/careteam/submitting-care-report. cfm , email care@uaa.alaska.edu, call UAA’s Care Team Coordinator at (907) 786-1214, or go to the Care Team office located in PSB 119. University Police Department (UPD) The University Police Department consists of a group of professionals working together to provide a safe environ-
ment for the UAA community through the confident application of education, rule enforcement and creative thinking. Call (907) 786-1120 or go to the department’s room located in Eugene Short Hall 114. Title IX Coordinator The Title IX Coordinator oversees the prompt investigation of complaints alleging sexual assault or sex discrimination by students, employees, faculty and reviews findings to determine whether or not sexual harassment occurred reviews proposed remedies, eliminating hostile environments, and serves as consultant to any disciplinary hearing panels where sexual harassment has been determined. The Acting Director and Title IX Coordinator, Bridget Dooley can be emailed at bdooley2@uaa.alaska.edu, called at (907) 786-1424, and located at the University Lake Building in Room 108. The most important thing is to make sure that you and your partner(s) feel safe and comfortable enough to continue your sexual encounter. And, if you’re ever not sure what to do, just substitute “tea” for “sex.” It’s that simple.
Jonathon Taylor is the President of USUAA Student Government, and serves as the official voice of students to the UAA and University of Alaska administration. He can be reached at uaa_pres@uaa.alaska.edu Demry Mebane is the Student Ombudsman, and serves as the protector and defender of UAA student’s rights and interests, and advocates for students during difficult times. He can be reached at uaa_ombud@uaa.alaska.edu.
Kesha was set to fail By Kathryn Casello
kcasello@thenorthernlight.org
The Dr. Luke vs. Kesha battle is in full swing (and yes, she changed her name back to the regular spelling while she was in rehab). The latest installment of the legal battle rooted in sexual assault allegations against Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) features Judge Shirley Kornreich denying Kesha’s request for a temporary injunction. Just to clarify, the injunction in this case is a restraining order — Kesha was requesting that the man who allegedly coerced her into dropping out of high school, drugged and raped her, emotionally abused her until she developed an eating disorder and went into rehab, and is now claiming Kesha is making all of this up just to get out of her contract, stay away from her. Even after reading all 94 pages of the court proceedings for the injunction the entire legal situation is still confusing and unsettling. The court proceedings detail a pretty weak legal defense for Kesha and a strangely dismissive testimony from Dr. Luke’s representative. (Note: he’s not actually a doctor.) The most effective lawyer apparently was Sony’s representative, who was insistent that the interests of Sony are to maintain Dr. Luke’s position as a profit-generating machine, and, oh yeah, also to protect Kesha, I guess. Hidden in defensive rhetoric from Sony and Dr. Luke’s lawyers was a vague offer to allow Kesha to work with a different producer, and as Kesha’s attorney rightly pointed out, is a suggestion was both unclear and unenforceable. Sony has no incentive to carry out their own loose suggestion because no profit-making strategy would allow an artist to switch producers when her initial producer creates multi-million-dollar hits. Ultimately, Kesha is definitely not free. She’s stuck
working for a company that sides with and protects her alleged abuser, who is still legally permitted to produce at least six of Kesha’s songs in any upcoming album, while profiting from any of the work she does. It is important to have a basic understanding of how contract law works. There needs to be a significant breach of the contract for it to be invalidated, which dictates that the burden of proof was overwhelmingly placed on Kesha. Secondarily, Kesha had to prove that she would suffer ‘irreparable harm’ if she would have to continue to stay within the bounds of her contract, which is pretty difficult to prove anytime, especially when you’re fighting against one of the most powerful companies in the music industry. Sony and Dr. Luke’s strategy was crafty and successful, discrediting Kesha’s story and assuring everyone that they will totally still support Kesha, they won’t make any legal promises, but you should take their word for it. The reason that this strategy works so well is because of the social environment and context that this situation is unfolding in. American consumer culture collectively gravitates towards questioning the credibility of Kesha’s claims even though an estimated 2-8 percent of rapes are ever provably false, and Kesha stands to gain very little from falsely accusing; pop stars have a very replaceable status within the music industry, along with the social backlash that a person receives from speaking up about assault, regardless of if it’s true. Even if you think Kesha is lying, at this point it doesn’t matter because the decision has been made. Sony’s representative appeared to be much more concerned about the potential harm done to contractual relationships instead of the actual harm alleged by Kesha.
PHOTO BY BECKY SULLIVAN
Kesha has had one of the most successful careers as a female pop star, but her success couldn’t save her from the music industry.
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THENORTHERNLIGHT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
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CORRECTIONS For the Feb. 16 issue, we printed that the artist of Unprotected was Maya Daniel. The artist of Unprotected is an Indianopolis based ceramic artist named Stephanie Dishno.