THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 29, 2020
FEATURES
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
A&E
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Hitbox Impressions — The Order: 1886
Student government moves meetings online and continues student advocacy
A UAA student recounts his experience as an essential worker during the pandemic By Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
Colten Hester is a Junior at UAA getting his bachelors in nursing. Hester is an avid fisherman, and loves to spend time in his cabin. He is also working at Starbucks as a barista, and Providence Hospital as a Patient Care Tech. Hester has been working at the hospital for less than a year, but he has been with Starbucks for almost two years. With COVID 19, both of these jobs have been one in the same. At Starbucks it is now protocol that everyone in the store, whether it be a customer or worker, has to wear a mask. “If we have any contact with our customers, we have to wash our hands immediately,” Hester said. Initially in March when the pandemic was on the rise, Starbucks closed its lobby and served customers using the drive thru. As COVID cases settled and stores started to reopen, they opened their lobby for orders. Precautions such as splitting the bar in two, were taken to ensure customers drinks
weren’t contaminated. “It made it difficult to move around,” Hester said. At his Starbucks location, someone tested positive for the virus. Hester recounted that everyone who was working with them had to get tested, and the store was closed for two weeks. “I think the biggest thing right now is even though Starbucks is such a big corporation I know people have been worried about not getting paid,” Hester said. Thankfully, customers have been supportive and understanding with everything going on. Hester also works at Providence Alaska Medical Center as a Patient Care Tech, or PCT in the Renal Care Unit. “My job is to get there an hour before the day shift nurses do to get patients ready for dialysis,” Hester said. On one shift, Hester and another PCT were helping a patient who was not in the right headspace.
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It was a very tall man who would wander off where he wasn’t supposed to go. Both Colten and the other PCT were around him for more than 12 hours that day. The next day the man tested positive for COVID 19, so he and five other workers in his unit were sent home. Hester didn’t experience any symptoms, but the other PCT began to feel symptoms a couple days after being exposed. “We didn’t need to test unless we were feeling symptoms,” Hester said.
Starbucks has taken drastic measures to ensure the safety of the employees as well as its customers.
Regardless of not needing to test under the hospital’s guidelines, Hester decided to take a covid test. While waiting for his results, he did not work at Starbucks. “What happens at one job will affect the other. Especially if you can’t go to one you don’t want to go to the other and spread it more,” Hester said. Hester mentioned that employees at Starbucks were more emotional and on edge rather than the health care workers.
“The emergency room is one of the more scary places to be because someone comes in, and you don’t know if their COVID positive,” Hester said. “You gotta treat them because sometimes it’s a matter of life or death.” Hester mentioned that the atmosphere in both places were widely different with COVID 19. When working at Starbucks, Hester noticed that people were very intense and scared. They often didn’t know how to handle
their emotions. However, Providence Hospital staff were more professional and on top of their jobs but patients were still nervous. “As health care workers we feel that we are top of it, but patients are still very worried.” If you would like to see how Starbucks has been changing their stores to adapt to CDC guidelines click here. If you or anyone you know is experiencing symptoms of COVID 19, click here to see the closest testing Site to you. .
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NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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Student government moves meetings online and continues student advocacy By Christina Swayney features1@thenorthernlight.org
A student government is responsible for a lot of the important decisions that make up the college experience such as tuition, student wage and safety improvement for the campus. Representatives for student government are voted in by students so that each student has a voice in decision-making that directly affects them. The Union of Students of the University of Alaska Anchorage, or USUAA, is the governing body of students at UAA. USUAA’s goal is to nurture students’ leadership and advocacy skills while responding to student needs and interests. Their priorities include service to the UAA community with events like AdoptA-Road Cleanup, Little Black Dress Doesn’t Mean Yes, Homecoming Dance and the Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship. They are also a transparent agency and advocate for the student body with events such as Meet the Mayor, Ask Me Anything (formerly known as Chat with the Chancellor) and Juneau Advocacy Trips. Events associated with USUAA have been affected by COVID-19 and will not take place this year. Instead, online platforms such as Zoom have been utilized for USUAA meetings, where members discuss issues that affect students such as campus activities, processes and policies.
PHOTO COURTESYVOF THE USUAA FACEBOOK PAGE
The Union of Students of the University of Alaska Anchorage or USUAA hold regular meetings to discuss student and campus policies. Meetings are open to the public and have been moved entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meetings are open to the public and take place online, with the next one happening on Sept. 25, from 3-5 p.m. Voting for USUAA representatives, such as presidents, officers and delegates will take place at the end of April. All voting will be online and the election committee will send out electronic ballots to all students beforehand. Exact dates will be announced once they convene in the spring. Students can be a part of the USUAA
and help be a voice for the student body. Any student can join but there are a few requirements such as a GPA of 2.5, but students can apply with a 2.0 and enter a probationary period. If after one semester their GPA is not at least 2.5, they will be dismissed from the assembly. Students also must be enrolled in at least three credit hours, fill out a candidate packet, follow the USUAA Code of Ethics, UAA Student Code of Conduct and the Election Board Policies.
For more information about the USUAA, visit their UAA web page or Facebook page. Assembly meetings, which are open to the public, are viewable on their Facebook page and upcoming dates can be viewed on the UAA Master Calendar. For more information about the meetings or USUAA, email or contact them through Facebook Messenger. For more information about running for election contact uaa_electionboard@ alaska.edu or call 907-786-1371.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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Get off the couch: Sept. 23-Oct. 1 By Christina Swayney features1@thenorthernlight.org
On-Campus and virtual events: Bakery Curbside Pick-Up What: Pick up some delicious pastries and baked goods made by UAA culinary students with socially-distant and safe pick-up. When: Sept. 23, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Where: Outside of Lucy Cuddy Hall. Parking is free this semester. Cost: Baked goods vary in price and the menu changes depending on what culinary students are learning. The menu and ordering are accessible on Lucy’s Restaurant Facebook page. Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations: Free food at Mochileros Street Food What: Come celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a free meal worth $10 to the first 50 Seawolves that present their student I.D. When: Sept. 24, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: Spenard Food Truck Carnival, 2435 Spenard Road, Anchorage Cost: Free for the first 50 UAA students that have a student I.D. BANFF Mountain Film Festival Online What: Enjoy the Banff Film Festival from the comforts of home. Experience wild locales and breathtaking mountain peaks on an exhilarating visual journey while never leaving the couch. When: Oct. 1, 12 a.m.-11:59 p.m. Where: Online Cost: You have the choice of three different packages ($15/package) or pur-
chase all three in a bundle ($40). Package titles, runtimes, and rental windows are available on the Banff website. To access prices and the film festival, visit the Banff Film festival website. Events around town: Alaska Outdoors weekly evening hike; Upper O’Malley Trailhead What: Enjoy a social hike while maintaining social distancing in the great outdoors. This is a moderate hike of over a mile. When: Sept. 24, 6:308 p.m. Where: 11215 Stroganof Drive, Anchorage. The location may change, so please check the Alaska Outdoors website for updates. Cost: $1 donation Alaska Boo-Tanical Garden What: Enjoy Halloween displays and spooky flora and fauna at the Alaska Botanical Garden at this family-friendly event. When: Sept. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., visit the Alaska Botanical Garden website for further dates and times. Cost: $5 for each entry, free for children under 6 years old Hangover Free Brunch What: Enjoy a healthy morning celebrating National Recovery Month with some yoga, zero-proof cocktails, music and great conversations at this virtual event. When: Sept. 26, 9:30-11 a.m. Where: Virtual Sober Lounge Cost: This event is free, but you must register online.
GRAPHIC BY MICHAELINE COLLINS
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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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Hitbox Impressions — The Order: 1886 By John Novotny arts@thenorthernlight.org
GRAPHIC BY MICHAELINE COLLINS SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF PAYSTATION.COM
The main characters of The Order: 1886: Marquis de Lafayette (left), Isabeau D’Argyll (center) and Greyson (right).
Victorian London, Knights of the Round Table and werewolves, The Order: 1886 has it all.
takes place during the late 19th century in London. There are several moments which offer fantastic views of the city and its architecture. However, that beauty is Developer: Ready at Dawn often undercut when Grayson and comRelease date: Feb. 20, 2015 pany travel through the filthy streets and Platforms: PlayStation 4 alleys. The colors in The Order: 1886 are Price: $19.99 very dull and muted which lends itself to the setting, with its polluting factoThe Order: 1886 is a fairly short third- ries. The sky is almost always filled with person shooter that combines elements of smog. Arthurian legend with London. The playIntriguing, The Order: 1886 runs in er controls Grayson, otherwise known a widescreen format, meaning there are as Sir Galahad. Galahad, along with always black bars on the top and bottom other Knights of the Round Table are of the screen. There’s not really any reaattempting to suppress a rebellion while son for it as far as I can tell. If the intenalso dealing with what are termed “half- tion was to be more like a movie, I think breeds.” These “half-breeds” are essen- Ready at Dawn left too much video game tially werewolves from what I can gather. in the video game. It’s still fairly easy to The first major problem Grayson and tell the difference between a cutscene and his fellow knights, Isabeau D’Argyll gameplay even tC`hough the game never (Lady Igraine), Sebastien Malory (Sir switches from widescreen. Perceval) and Marquis de Lafayette are Don’t get me wrong, the visuals are tasked with investigating a breakout of very impressive. It almost feels like playBedlamites, from a hospital caused by ing during a cutscene with computerthe rebels. In case you didn’t know what a generated graphics, it looks so good. But Bedlamite is, like me, it’s an old word for mostly the black bars just get in the way a mentally ill person; “insane” or a “luna- of the player seeing more of what’s on tic” according to dictionary.com. screen. The restricted field-of-view led to As the name implies, The Order: 1886 a few problems such as not being able to
tell where to climb up to a roof and not being able to see over cover. So how does the shooting feel? Well, it’s fine for the most part. The assault rifle with an underbarrel air cannon looks and sounds exactly like what it is. The variety in weaponry so far has also been pretty generous. There are the usual suspects, like a semi-automatic shotgun, boltaction rifle and a submachine gun. The real standouts so far have been the triplebarrel shotgun that obliterates anything unfortunate enough to get near Grayson and the thermite-rifle, which uses rounds of combustible gas with the primary fire and then ignites it with a magnesium shot. The latter is particularly horrifying when used on rebels. The screams of people on fire are blood-curdling. Those screams are particularly awful because I kind of agree with the rebels. They seem to be trying to abolish the monarchy, which I’m all for, so there is a bit of a disconnect with the story when being forced to take on the role of a knight to defend the established order and the incredible inequality it produces. Nothing about the story is explained particularly well. The best example are
the vials of water, or maybe blood, that the knights wear around their necks. The knights can drink the liquid when injured and their wounds will heal extremely quickly. The healing effect also seems to work on certain lethal wounds. In one instance, Isabeau’s spine is quite literally snapped in half by a werewolf. I say “seems to” because in another life-threatening situation, the liquid can’t be used. So maybe it’s a time-dependent thing. The story of The Order: 1886 seems perfectly serviceable much like everything else about it. The only particularly interesting thing about it besides the setting, is a readable newspaper I found that insinuated that the queen may be dead because she hasn’t been seen publicly in months. The Order: 1886 is one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 4 and for those craving more of this setting with some steampunk technology, then you could do a lot worse, especially if it’s on sale for $5 or $10. The Order: 1886 is one of the most mediocre third-person shooters I’ve played in a while, but it might be exactly what I need right now in between bigger games like God of War and Ghost of Tsushima.
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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF PAYSTATION.COM
Victorian London in The Order: 1886 offers stunning vistas in addition to grimy backstreets.
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF PAYSTATION.COM
The Thermite Rifle fires rounds of combustable gas and then an incendiary round to ignite it.
OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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I watched all the Resident Evil movies so you don’t have to By John Novotny arts@thenorthernlight.org
Before being adapted into a series of movies, Resident Evil was originally a survival horror video game set in the zombie-infested Raccoon City. An evil corporation called Umbrella started the infection by releasing the T-Virus. The movies bear no resemblance to the video games aside from that fact and that the characters have the same names. Main characters from the games like Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine, for example, all make an appearance at some point in the movies. Some characters like Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield have major recurring roles, with Claire being the leader of a group of human survivors. I wouldn’t even really categorize the Resident Evil movies as horror even though they’re clearly trying to fit in the genre with the use of jump scares and eerie music. The later entries in the series mostly devolve into pure action, devoid of horror tropes altogether. Just to be clear, I’m not an expert on the series. I’ve only played the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake for a few hours. Mild spoilers for all of
the movies ahead. The first Resident Evil movie released in 2002 and the final movie, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter released in 2017. In total, there are six movies written by and mostly directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. They’re not worth your time. The main character throughout the series is Alice and is played by Milla Jovovich. She wakes up having been knocked unconscious from a fall in the shower and has amnesia. The first movie is mostly a standard low-budget sci-fi horror flick, except it has a single standout scene. A combat unit from Umbrella is trying to blow up an underground Umbrella research facility called The Hive. I’m just now realizing that I don’t know why, but that’s a testament to how little brain power is needed to watch these movies. Anyway, the team has to move through a narrow glass corridor, when they become locked in because of a security mechanism. All of a sudden, a highpower laser spanning the width of the corridor appears and starts moving towards the people trapped inside. Two of the soldiers
IMAGE COURTESY OF SLASHFILM.COM
manage to dodge it, but the third isn’t so lucky. A line of blood around her neck slowly appears and her entire head slumps to the ground. The next laser cuts another soldier in half as he tries to jump over it. Meanwhile, the unit’s leader manages to pull himself up and over it. However, he’s not so lucky the next time as the laser splits itself into a cross hatch pattern and turns the last guy into cubes. The effects are a little dated, the way the cubes fall to the floor looks a little odd, like they’re suspended in the air with magic, but it’s otherwise a pretty cool scene. It’s all downhill from there. Naturally, as the movies progress, more back-
The first Resident Evil movie also features Fast and Furious actress Michelle Rodriguez.
story is revealed as the writers build out more of the world. Resident Evil gets slightly more complicated but nothing beyond the initial premise really ever matters. At the end of the third movie, Alice essentially unlocks supernatural powers and learns to do cool acrobatic maneuvers. The movies might as well be a video game at that point because Alice just gets more and more powers and fights more and tougher zombies. I’m only being half sarcastic when I say that It might actually be a decent idea to make a game based on the movie that was originally based on a game. Another small note is that the Resident Evil
movies all basically take place right after each other. So unless you watch them back to back, you’re going to feel a little lost. These movies came out several years after each other, so I can only imagine how confusing it must have been to walk into a theatre and see an Aliceclone army attacking another Hive-like facility. Also, Alice is or was cloned dozens of times because she was exposed to the T-Virus and bonded with it to make her stronger in a way that hasn’t happened to anyone else… kind of. There’s also a super-powered bad guy called Wesker. He doesn’t matter all that much though because he’s side-
lined in favor of a mastermind scientist character. That alone, might be the worst offense the Resident Evil movies make. Having the two battle it out in a grand finale in The Final Chapter would have been epic. Instead, it’s just about dispersing an anti-virus that cures the world I think. I really lost the plot towards the end of the series and that’s really emblematic of the entire Resident Evil movie experience. There are way better movies and shows that deserve your time, but if you’re still dead set on watching these movies, don’t go in with any expectations beyond losing an hour and a half of your life per movie.
IMAGE COURTESY OF BLOG.INDIEGALA.COM
REPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
UPD report Sept 1 - 8 Total calls for service: 310 •
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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2020
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