FEATURES PAGE 2
Ghosts in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium?
A&E PAGE 4
Need a break? Netflix’s Top 10 in the U.S. Today
Seawolves Volleyball extends overall record to 12-1 after defeating two teams at home, UAA ranked
16th
By Avery Williamson sports1@thenorthernlight.org
The Seawolves defeated Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon in three straight sets to extend their overall record to 12-1 and maintain their perfect GNAC conference record of 2-0 this weekend at the Alaska Airlines Center.
in GNAC Conference
Senior Eve Stephens helped carry her team to victory both nights and also set a new GNAC record of 1,630 kills.
The Seawolves faced off against the Saints on Sept. 8.
The Seawolf victory handed the Saints their first loss of the season. Senior Eve Stephens led the Seawolves to victory by securing a double-double with 10 kills
Exhibit in Hugh McPeck puts you faceto-face with reality of war in Ukraine
By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org
Last spring, after Russia began a full-on assault to take over Ukraine, UAA’s history department held a public talk on the background of Ukraine as a country and some of the steps leading up to the escalation.
During it, a Ukrainian woman made an emotional comment about her anger toward the Russians and abhorrence for the feelings overwhelming her.
“I have become hateful towards [them], and I hate in my heart … it’s no joke … it’s scary what the war [brings] into you.”
How can we understand this anger, and the resolve of Ukrainians to stand their ground against the Russian invasion?
An anger and resolve we’d no doubt feel if our country was attacked, our homes and cities
were bombed, our friends and family killed or wounded.
Bringing these grim realities to our attention is “Freedom from the other side of despair,” an exhibit in the Hugh McPeck art gallery.
Photos of the conflict, taken by fourteen different war photographers, line the walls of the gallery. Images that we may have quickly scrolled over on our phones – a pregnant woman being caried out of a hospital on a stretcher, an apartment building being bombed – are given a new, substantial reality, not so easily dismissed with a swipe.
Oksana Artz selected the photos and put together the exhibit. She was helped by Tetyana Kowach and Carole Anderson.
Artz said she worked with an organization called Soul of Ukraine to get access and permission to use photos from the Ukrainian National Independent
and 11 digs. Stephens also recorded three of UAA’s ten aces. Outside hitter Lisa Jaunet added eight kills to the Seawolves stats.
“We were very fortunate the service game went our way on a night when our offense was not running well otherwise,” said head coach Chris Green, who recorded his 750th career coaching victory after the Seawolves’ victory.
The Seawolves won the first set 25-15, but the Saints gave them a run for their money in the first half of the set. Tied 12-12, UAA used two straight Saints attack errors to start a 6-0 run. The Seawolves then closed the set with five straight points, including a pair of kills by setter Ellen Floyd.
The Seawolves extended their lead gradually throughout the second set with the help of sophomore Leilani Elder, who returned to the lineup this game after facing an injury that kept her out last week. Elder pro -
Shuttle service delayed, potentially starting in October
By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org
UAA students have been without a shuttle service since the pandemic began in 2020.
Two shuttle vans, with a passenger capacity of 11 people, or nine and a wheelchair, have been ordered, but they have been delayed in arriving.
In a recent email to The Northern Light, Director of General Support Services Kim Standford wrote that they are looking for a launch date in early October. According to her email, one vehicle should be here soon, but the other has yet to ship.
In addition to the vehicles, they are waiting on other things as well. Stanford wrote, “I am still hopeful for an early October startup, but it will depend on when the second vehicle arrives, when we receive the license plates … and when the drivers are hired and fully trained.”
The shuttle service was originally expected to be ready at the start of the fall semester. At a presentation to USUAA on July 20, Standford said that the shuttle vans “are anticipated to be here in August sometime, so ideally we’ll have the shuttles running the first week of classes, could possibly run into September.”
Agency of News. Also, she said that she got permission from one of the photographers by reaching out to him directly.
The exhibit opened Aug. 24; the same day as Ukraine’s independence day. The opening was accompanied by the playing of Ukraine’s national anthem and music by Ukrainian artists.
Artz and Kowach gave some
remarks to the roughly 15 people who attended, and a moment of silence was observed.
The pictures show the devastation wrought by bombs and other modern weapons of war: a destroyed shopping mall, a building reduced to rubble, streets lined with broken glass, twisted metal and debris.
Among the carnage are peo -
ple. Some fighting, some mourning, some trying to comfort and distract others from the war around them.
There are extremely graphic pictures too: noncombatants who just happened to be too close to a bomb, mass graves.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
Pictures from the front lines in the war in Ukraine line the walls of the Hugh McPeck.
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF USUAA’S FACEBOOK PAGE. The new shuttles will receive a graphic wrap.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SKIP HICKEY Madison Galloway, left, and Eve Stephens, right, playing against Western Oregon.
FEATURES 02
Ghosts or just the wind? Paranormal activity reported in UAA’s largest auditorium
By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org
Shane Mitchell, the general manager of the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, told The Northern Light in a recent interview that he gets 30 to 40 reports of unexplained and strange phenomena related to the Wendy Williamson Auditorium each year.
The number of claims fell during the pandemic, yet they have picked up since they have resumed operations, he said.
While he attributes most reports to a fanciful imagination, people working themselves up or genuine tricks of the eye, he has had enough of his own uncanny experiences not to dismiss every account.
“I’m skeptical but also skeptical of my skepticism.”
Mitchell has been working at the Williamson since 1997, though his experience with the auditorium extends back to his undergraduate days at UAA while pursuing a major in theater. Construction of the theater began in 1973 and the contract to build it was awarded to the R.C. Hedreen Co., a contractor out of Seattle who initially bid to do the project for $2 million dollars, according to an article from the Anchorage Daily Times.
Mitchell said that the project faced budget shortfalls and delays. Eventually the municipality of Anchorage agreed to provide funding to finish it, he said.
The Williamson opened March 21, 1975, roughly 18 months after construction started. Opening night had a concert featuring “The Redeemer” by Martin Shaw, as reported by the Anchorage Daily Times.
Mitchell said that the audito -
rium didn’t start booking shows until the following year.
The auditorium was originally called the Performing Arts Center, before the one downtown opened. Eventually it was renamed to the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, honoring UAA piano teacher Wendall “Wendy” Williamson, who passed away in 1988.
One of the first times Mitchell had an experience that he could not explain happened shortly after he started working at the Williamson. He was waxing the stage for a show that needed the floor to be reflective. He noticed a woman in the reflection of the wax. When he looked up, no one was there.
It was such a jarring experience that he simply left the building without finishing his work, not worried if he would be fired or not.
Another time he was helping with the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, which uses the auditorium for their event. He was standing by the doors in the main lobby, a few feet away from the bottom of the southern
set of stairs leading up into the seats.
He said there was a contender standing on the midlanding of the staircase who suddenly fell forward. He and some of the other women in the pageant rushed to help her. Someone joked that she couldn’t walk in heels, to which the woman replied that she had been pushed.
The next day, she was on stage wearing a dress with an open back. He said you could clearly see what appeared to be two bruises on her back.
This experience of women being pushed at the pageant is not uncommon, especially if they are tall, pretty and have long brown hair, he said.
Zoey Griener, Miss Alaska winner of the pageant in 2015, recounted a similar story in an interview that she did for the auditorium’s virtual ghost tour.
The incident happened the first time she participated in a contest being held at the Williamson. She said that she was on the stage preparing for the main competition. One of the previous title holders, who was sitting in the auditorium in front of her, appeared to fall out of her seat.
Later, Griener overheard the woman talking to her executive director saying, “it really, really felt like I had been pushed.”
In the same video tour, Erin Dagon Michell, theater director, recounted a time where she was telling scary Williamson stories with other staff members on Halloween night before a show. She said that there was a single candle used to light the room, and that it appeared to sponta-
neously extinguish and reignite while she was in the midst of a story, frightening everyone present.
Events Manager Megan Addis, also in the tour video, said that while working in the lighting booth during a production, she and the lightboard operator experienced intense shaking that seemed to last over a minute and felt like an earthquake.
After the shaking was done, they called down to the soundboard operator and asked if everyone was okay. The soundboard operator said that he didn’t experience any shaking, and Addis said that no one else did either aside from her and the lightboard operator.
“The Williamson is a weird place to work … We walk around and we’re like, ‘I don’t believe in ghosts, and I hope they leave me alone.’ And that’s how you feel there.”
Wayne Mitchell, Shane Mitchell’s twin brother who also works at the Williamson, said that had witnessed an unexplained phenomenon firsthand.
At a graduation ceremony there was an arch made of balloons on the stage.
Wayne said that one of the balloons came loose and started to drift up into the air. Then it went back down to the stage and started bouncing over toward the speaker, before totally changing direction and bouncing over to a little girl in the audience, as though it had a will of its own.
He also told of a production where the entire audience had witnessed a woman floating above the performance. Wayne didn’t realize that there was something strange going on until afterward when someone asked how they did the special effects and made the woman float.
Even though the play itself was about ghosts, that wasn’t a part of the show, he said.
No one seems sure who the ghosts are, though according to the webpage for the auditorium a psychic identified at least 6 different entities.
Mitchell said that people of different cultures experience different types of beings. He said that an Native Alaskan of Yupik descent who worked in the seam shop described the entities as some kind of non-human beings, who are just best ignored.
Some, on the other hand, take a more direct approach. Take for example the Pennsylvania
Dutch hex sign hanging up in the light booth overlooking the auditorium – a symbol meant to ward off evil spirits.
One of the entities could be Wendy Williamson himself. There are a couple of reasons to suggest this, said Mitchell. He has reports of someone playing music on the auditorium’s piano, when there was no one present.
Also on several occasions, Mitchell has tried to hang a portrait of Williamson and found that it just won’t stay on the wall. Initially, he tried to put it in the main lobby, only to find it on the ground the next day. He has also tried it hang it in one of the back rooms – with the same thing happening.
What accounts for the paranormal activity? Mitchell offered up a few explanations. He was told flat out by a member of the Confucius Institute that the building has evil Fung Shui.
Potentially contributing to that are some odd architectural elements, such as the treads of the steps in the lobby having varying depths, an elevator shaft that never got an elevator installed, a wall framed out for a door – and no door. Perhaps most bizarre is a catwalk that is too short for anyone to walk along and mostly useless anyway.
Mitchell also speculated that one thing possibly attracting spirits – which must be made of some kind of energy – is the fact that the auditorium is host to events with high emotional energy, such as plays, weddings, funerals, tests and beauty pageants.
Whatever the reason, Mitchell said that you can count on odd things happening. He said that he’ll go months without seeing anything strange and start to doubt that he ever saw anything credible to begin with, only to get an uncanny reminder that the Williamson is full of the unexplained – such as a light that he knows was off turning on again when he was turned around.
Another way to explain the occurrences could be the location of the building. Is it potentially built on the site of an ancient battle or burial ground?
According to an email from Diane Hanson with UAA’s archeology department, there are no known sites located under the Williamson. Also, Jeffery Weinberger, Alaska Heritage Resources Survey Manager, said their system does not have any archaeological records either.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
The Wendy Williamson Auditorium is home to at least 6 separate paranormal entities according to a psychic.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
A catwalk that is both too low to pass through and largely useless.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
More than the audience may be watching you if you’re on stage at the Williamson.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
The portrait of Wendy Williamson that just can’t seem to stay on the wall.
You’re paying for it, what do you get with your student fee?
By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org
Students pay $36.50 per credit hour each semester under the Anchorage Campus fee. That can add up quickly: Take 12 credits and you’re paying $438.
This charge came into effect fall of 2021. Prior to that the charge was broken down into individual components: student activities fee, student government fee, student health and counseling services fee, etc.
So, what exactly do students get for shelling out this cash? Below are some of the resources that students have access to in return for the fee. In addition to this, part of the fee also goes to support initiatives and opportunities important to students, such as student government, student media and environmentally beneficial projects.
Discounts and services
What’s better than live sports? How about getting in for free? The campus fee covers the cost of admission to UAA sporting events for students. And if you have some friends not attending school, you can get up to two discounted tickets for guests, at $5 each.
Another freebie, which might be good given the cost of gasoline, is the U-Pass to ride the People Mover. To use, just swipe your Wolfcard when getting on the bus. Interested in testing this out? The number 10 makes a pass through campus roughly every ten minutes – sometimes more frequently. Hop on at the Consortium Library and get off in front of the Wendy Williamson Auditorium.
There are opportunities to get discounted rates on movies, concerts and other events
as well. For example, playing at this year’s state fair were Blue Oyster Cult and the Barenaked Ladies, and students could purchase discounted tickets half off, provided for by the campus fee, via the Concert Board.
And don’t forget to carry your Wolfcard around with you; clubs, organizations and various UAA departments will host activities and events around campus, which often include free food for students with a Wolfcard.
If you are ever in need of a jump or unlock for your vehicle, or a safety escort to walk with you across campus then you can call parking services who provide these services, which are covered by the fee.
Education
There are numerous educational resources available through the Consortium Library provided for by the Anchorage campus fee.
One that nursing students, or anyone in a medical program, might find useful is Anatomy TV. This application, accessible through a web browser, shows detailed 3D anatomy figures that can be moved and rotated, with muscles, bones and other anatomical structures labeled.
The Consortium Library also has access to educational videos under a streaming service called Academic Videos. There are full length documentaries on many subjects, which students can use to study.
No one likes to hit a paywall when trying to read the news, and luckily being a student at UAA allows you to get around this inconvenience for most publications in Alaska and many major national papers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wallstreet Journal. Unfortunately,
you still have to jump over to the Consortium’s website to access the articles.
In addition to physical books, the library also has audio books that can be checked out and listened to through the app Libby. The library’s database is also a great resource for quickly finding published, peer-reviewed papers, which professors are always pestering you to cite.
All these library resources can be accessed via the Consortium’s website.
Technology
There are computer labs available to students all over campus. The benefit of these labs is that the computers are loaded with dozens of professional programs. For example, the lab in the Consortium Library, room 105, has computers with programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Audacity, Final Cut Pro, Finale, Microsoft Office, Autodesk 2017 Suite and SketchUp, just to list a few.
Students also can use the Microsoft Office Suite on their own computers with Office 365. This comes with Microsoft’s cloud storage OneDrive, offering five terabytes of data storage.
In addition to that storage, student’s Gmail account also comes with five terabytes of storage. That means, between the two services, students can store up to 10 terabytes of data in the cloud.
The IT department also offers a free 30-minute inspection of devices if yours is acting up.
There is no charge if they fix it within those 30 minutes, otherwise they will give you an estimate to repair it at their normal rate, which is $100 per hour.
Health
Who needs Planet Fitness or the Alaska Club when you’re a student at UAA? The campus fee also allows students free access to athletic facilities in the Seawolf Sports Complex, which include a swimming pool, Olympic weight room, cardio equipment and other exercise machines. To use, just stop by the desk at the bottom of the west set of stairs in the Sports Complex.
There is a health clinic here on campus that takes same day appointments for students at no charge. While the initial consultation and information is free,
there are charges for any work or labs performed.
The clinic is run by Student Health and Counseling Services, which also offers brief therapy sessions run by licensed counselors for students suffering from emotional and psychological distress. Students are given a free evaluation to see if the services offered by UAA would be a good fit, and for students with more intensive needs the counseling service can make referrals to providers outside of UAA.
Student Health and Counseling also has food available for food-insecure students, offering three days’ worth of calories in the form of non-perishables. They also have free Diva Cups available at the Consortium Library.
SCREENSHOT BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ Anatomy TV lets you take a look under the skin and see the structures that make up the human body. Great to find that muscle that is bothering you.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
Students can ride the People Mover for fee with their Wolfcard.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
UAA has a variety of work-out equipment in the Seawolf Sports Complex.
&
Need a break? Watch one of the ‘Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. Today’ on Netflix
By Carlee Rizzo arts1@thenorthernlight.org
A new semester is starting for university students who may already be overwhelmed looking at what is ahead of them in their classes. In the next coming weeks, it will be healthy to take a break time from time. If you realize you have been studying or working on homework for hours, watch an episode of one of the Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. Today on Netflix to refuel your brain and take a break.
The Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S Today as of September 1st are:
Echoes I am a Killer Partner Track The Sandman High Heat Selling the OC Stranger Things Never Have I Ever Virgin River Mo
Number one in the U.S Today is “Echoes” starring Michelle Monaghan. As read on Netflix, it is a series about identical twins who have secretly switched places for years, but suddenly one of them goes missing. It is categorized as a mystery, a drama, and a thriller. You will be on the end of your seat to know what happens next. Despite being so high on the list, the reviews have been relatively poor. On Rotten Tomatoes, the scores are shown to be low with the critics rating on average 25% and the audience rating on average 46%. However, you can also make the judgment for yourself after watching at least one episode.
Number two in the U.S Today is “I am a Killer,” a documentary series. “I am a Killer” Netflix describes, “Death row inmates convicted of capital murder give firsthand accounts of their crimes” in this series. If you are looking for crime TV or a documentary series, this may be the one for you. On Google Reviews, it receives an average of 3.8 out of 5 stars with the majority of the votes being 5 stars. An average rating for a TV series, but it might just come down to your personal preference.
Number three in the U.S Today is “Partner Track” starring Arden Cho. As explained on Netflix, the show follows the story of Ingrid Yun fighting to make partner at an elite NYC law firm. She must hold onto her principles “while balancing romance, friends, and family expectations.” The series is based on Helen Wan’s 2013 novel The Partner Track. It has been adapted into a TV Drama that is said to be heartfelt according to Netflix. “Partner Track” has a higher rating than the first two on the list. On Rotten Tomatoes, the scores by critics are at 56% while the audience scores are close behind at 52%. Perfect for those college students who want to take a break from actually studying law.
Number four in the U.S Today is “The Sandman” starring Tom Sturridge. The description on Netflix describes the series as “Morpheus—the King of Dreams—embarking on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.” Earlier in the week, “The Sandman” was higher on this list, but still has amazing reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the scores are impressively high with the critics score at 87%, followed by an audience score of 83%. If you like dramatic fantasy series, this is the world for you to take a break in.
Number five in the U.S Today is “High Heat” starring Edurado Capetillo. As read on Netflix, “when clues to his brother’s murder lead Poncho to a fire brigade, he joins it to investigate further and finds
romance, family… and a serial killer.”
This is a special show for Netflix as it is a Spanish language crime drama. Since this is a fairly new series to Netflix, there are not many reviews. IMDb has a rating of 5.7/10 and OTTplay rates it 2.5/5. On average, it rates at 54%. If you end up watching this series, write a review and help others know if it is worth the watch.
Number six in the U.S Today is “Selling the OC,” a reality TV show. The description on Netflix reads, “The Oppenheim Group expands to Orange County, where an all-new real estate team shows off lavish oceanfront listings and big personalities make waves.” The ratings for this series is the lowest so far on this list.
On Google Reviews, the average rating is 1.4 out of 5 stars with most reviews rating it with one star. This is the only reality TV series in the top 10 on Netflix right now. Don’t let the reviews scare you away if you like reality TV. This may be the series to help you take a break.
Number seven in the U.S Today is “Stranger Things,” a popular TV series. It has been highly rated by views and stands at a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google Ratings. “Stranger Things” recently ended on their Season 4 finale and has been moving steadily down the top 10 list. If you have not watched “Stranger Things” or know what it is about, Netflix explains, “When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.” It is
categorized as Sci-FI and Horror. If you want something ominous and scary, this might be the series for you.
Number eight in the U.S Today is “Never Have I Ever,” a TV dramedy. As read on Netflix, “after a traumatic year, an Indian-American teen just wants to spruce up her social status—but friends, family and feelings won’t make it easy on her. As we get lower on the list, the ratings are getting higher. “Never Have I Ever” has received a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google Ratings and an average rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want a casual viewing that is quirky, this may be the series to help you destress.
Number nine in the U.S Today is “Virgin River,” starring Alexandra Breckenridge. “Virgin River” Netflix explains, “searching for a fresh start, a nurse practitioner moves from LA to a remote northern California town and is surprised by what — and who — she finds.” This may be perfect for those who are coming from the rurals towns to attend school in a bigger city. It is categorized as medical TV and romantic TV on Netflix. If you want something heartfelt, intimate and emotional, this series has it all. It has average high ratings. Rotten Tomatoes has an average critics score of 84% and an average audience score of 58%. That is a significant difference so you may have to be the judge.
Number ten in the U.S Today is “Mo,” starring Tobe Nwigwe. As read on Netflix, “in Texas, Mo straddles the line between two cultures, three languages and a pending asylum request while hustling to support his Palestinian family. It is categorized as social issue TV, TV dramas, and TV comedies by Netflix. Although being the last on this list, “Mo” has the highest ratings so far. Rotten Tomatoes has an average critic score of 100% and an average audience score of 91%. It has the reviews and if this sounds like an show you would be interested in, it might be worth the watch,
These are the Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S Today as of September 1, 2022. If you need a break from studying, try watching an episode or two of one of these series. If not one of these, Netflix and other streaming services have something for you. Take a break and then get back to studying!
PHOTO COURTESY OF NETFLIX
“The Sandman” is based on a graphic novel by famed sci-fi author Neil Gaiman.
Ukraine:
I asked Artz on the opening night why she organized the exhibit, and she said she felt compelled to do something. If not her then who?
At a later interview with Artz and Kowach, Kowach said, “our roots are there, we gotta do this for our people, our country.”
Kowach and Artz were born in Ukraine but live in Alaska.
The goal of the event is to educate people about what is going on, she said. And they went with photos because images speak louder than words.
She also said they want to remind people that there is still
a war going on, describing encounters with people that have expressed genuine surprise after learning the fighting is ongoing.
Artz said she had organized a similar exhibit in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. For them, this latest escalation is just a continuation of a war that began eight years ago.
Both still have family there.
Artz has a brother who is waiting his turn to be called into service and defend the country. Her mother just recently came to Anchorage.
Kowach has cousins with
small children. Shortly after the fighting broke out in February, some of her family members left for Poland and others to the Czech Republic. The men had to stay behind, by law, to help defend the country.
After a few months they returned to their home of Kiev. Kowach said they were motivated by several reasons. They did not want to be a burden on their host countries, she said. They also wanted to help support war.
“My cousin says, ‘we’re needed more here than there, this is our home.’”
She also said that growing
food is an important part of Ukrainian culture.
She said humorously, “That was a season of gardening, everyone is concerned about making sure their tomatoes and potatoes are growing, before anything else. Bombs are flying but potatoes and tomatoes have to grow.”
Just recently a bomb exploded near enough to one of her cousin’s homes to shatter the windows.
Kowach said that the war is largely about Russia trying to secure resources in Ukraine, especially in the eastern part of the country. She also said that Russia has made it clear they want to restore the borders of the Soviet Union, which Ukraine was once a part of.
The war will not stop in Ukraine, she said, and it will eventually come here.
In addition to the natural response of being attacked, Kowach said simply giving up is not an option given the Russians attitude towards Ukrainians, looking down on them and considering themselves superior. What might happen if Russia succeeds could be understood by looking at history, both recent and long past.
Artz explained her family history. Her grandmother was from Belgerod, a city Russia invaded and took over in 1918. Her grandmother’s last name was changed to a Russian one when the Russians took over.
Many of her grandfather’s relatives were also killed and he was sent to work on a farm as a small boy.
The fear is that Russians coming in today will take similar actions against Ukrainians, suppressing their culture, taking their resources, and using Ukrainians to fight in Russia’s next war as they have done with other people they’ve conquered,
such as the Chechens, and send Ukrainians to work camps.
Kowkach said, “In the east with Mariupol … because it is fully destroyed there are a lot of orphanage kids … They have relatives in Ukraine for those children. They don’t want them to be back with relatives. They take them to Russia to assimilate. That’s it.”
And in Crimea the Russians kicked Ukrainians out of their apartments and set up the members of Russian intelligence and their families in their place, she said.
She emphasized that Ukrainians do not have the same political views as Russians, that many of the freedoms enjoyed in Ukraine do not exist in Russia, such as freedom of the press.
“[Ukraine] is still a democracy, people have a say, people have a way to go out into the square and protest. What’s happening in Russia? Do they protest? If they do they’re gone.”
While most of the pictures in the exhibit show the brutal side of the war, there are images of hope.
Maping Hong, a student here at UAA double majoring in Mathematics and Anthropology, works in the art gallery as an attendant. She pointed to a picture of a Ukrainian soldier walking past a field of sunflowers as particularly moving. She said there were so many sad pictures, yet for some reason that one gave her hope.
Attached to the pictures are QR codes that link to the charity Come Back Alive. Kowach said that they included information for anyone who might be inspired by the exhibit to help. Come Back Alive was established in 2014 in response to the initial invasion of Crimea and provides support for front line troops.
Meet the new Arts and Entertainment Reporter for The Northern Light
By Carlee Rizzo
I am Carlee Rizzo, the new Arts and Entertainment Reporter for The Northern Light. I am just getting started writing for the student run newspaper and a new semester at University of Alaska Anchorage.
I recently transferred from Utah Valley University where I was pursuing a degree in Communications. After transferring this year, I have decided to pursue a degree in journalism and public communications.
When I first started college, I decided to be a communications major and no one was surprised. Not my teachers, not my peers, or even my family. Growing up, I spent most of my time in our family-owned playhouse theatre called Triumvirate Theatre where I performed and directed plays, worked as a backstage manager, and learned the ins and outs of working behind the scenes.
As I continued, I learned I liked working behind the scenes more than actually being in the spotlight. Though I may have had the motivation after almost being impaled by a fencing
sword in a production of Pirates of Penzance.
In the opening scene, I was supposed to enter as a pirate swinging on a rope across the Nikiski auditorium stage. I would practice jumping from this 10 to 15 foot platform to make my entrance. It wasn’t until the week before the show when I was almost impaled by one of my fellow actors running across the stage with a fencing sword as I made my entrance. Luckily the collision was not as threatening as it could have been and I walked away with minimal injuries.
After avoiding what could have been a hospital visit, I went from starring as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz to writing scripts for a mental health radio show produced by Triumvirate Theatre. This was the time that my passion for communications was sparked. However, it was actually my dad who started me on my career path. He was the one who taught me everything I know. He was my English teacher in high school, my director for most of my play productions, my drama debate and forensics coach, and my example of a journalist. I went along with him as he did
interviews, recorded advertisements, and edited radio shows. To me, my dad did it all and he just brought a great passion to his work. That’s what I always aspired to do.
Going into my first year in college, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with a communications major, but I thought I would find out along the way. It wasn’t until I came to the University of Alaska, Anchorage that I was reminded of what inspired my path and my desire to tell a good story. Journalism has been the spark that I have been looking for and now I am pursuing it as the new Arts and Entertainment Reporter for The Northern Light.
If you have a passion for the work, chase that passion. There are so many opportunities for you to seize. If you are a Journalism and Public Communications major at the University of Alaska Anchorage, I encourage you to come join us at The Northern Light. You may just find your inspiration too.
PHOTO COURTESY CARLEE RIZZO
The new A&E reporter for The Northern Light, Carlee Rizzo.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ
From left to right: Gallery Manager Nicole Pendleton, Student Activities Coordinator Corey Miller, Oksana Artz, and Tetyana Kowach
Coach Ryan McCarthy and Women’s Basketball Team Hopes to Bring UAA Another GNAC Championship
By Avery Williamson sports1@thenorthernlight.org
Women’s Basketball Head Coach Ryan McCarthy has high hopes for this season, including winning another GNAC conference championship and securing an NCAA berth. The Seawolves have won six GNAC championships in the past seven years and have made it to the NCAA championships nine seasons in a row. The team plans to add more championship banners to the walls in the Alaska Airlines Center this year.
McCarthy started coaching for UAA in 2012. For him, Alaska has always been home. McCarthy was born in Anchorage and lived in Alaska until he was 12. He finished up his education in Oregon before playing professional basketball in Germany.
McCarthy played a few seasons before he was asked to volunteer as the
coach of the amateur league. He quickly fell in love with coaching. “I really enjoyed it,” said McCarthy. “I just kind of fell in love with the process of developing players and working with young people. So that was kind of what stimulated me to pursue a profession of coaching.”
When McCarthy was offered the job in 2012, he said he was eager to head back to Alaska. “It’s home,” said McCarthy. “I grew up getting to watch ‘The Great Alaska Shootout’ and watching the Seawolves play as a kid. Coming back and just being part of Seawolves athletics was just always something that I had aspired to do.”
While pre-season rankings have not been released yet, McCarthy said the UAA women will be at the top of the list. In the last seven seasons, the ladies have an overall record of 208-22. But the Seawolves aren’t satisfied with this impressive record. Their season goal is to secure a GNAC championship and head to the NCAA championships this spring. “We want to have an NCAA berth, I mean, that’s always the goal,” said McCarthy. “And we want to make a deep run into the national tournament.”
McCarthy believes that Western Washington will be the Seawolves’ biggest competition. “[Western Washington] played for the National Championships last year,” said McCarthy. “We finished second to them in the league.”
The Seawolves will kick off their season on the road against the La Sierra Eagles in Riverside, California on November 6. The home opener games begin on Nov. 18 when UAA will host The Great Alaska Shootout. The Seasolves will take on UC Riverside and, if they win, they’ll advance to the championship game to face off either La Salle or Pepperdine.
Volleyball: Continued from cover
duced kills on all three of her attacks in the second set and finished the game with a team-high of four total blocks.
Trailing 2-0, the Saints continued to fight to keep their undefeated record. They managed to tie the third set at 1919, but then the Seawolves benefited from the Saints final service error and took the lead for good. The Saints fought to stay alive and trailed 23-22 after consecutive blocks by Maddy Gooding and Loredana Fouonji, but UAA’s Emma Patterson delivered a kill moments later to lead the Seawolves to victory.
Floyd finished the game with 25 assists and two aces, and Makana Eleneki had a pair of aces and no service errors. Senior libero Talia Leauanae led UAA with 13 digs. Stephens raised her career kills total to 1,621, drawing closer to the GNAC record of 1,628, set by Western Washington’s Abby Phelps from 2015-18.
The win against the Saints - who have not beaten UAA since 2007 - also extended the Seawolves’ longest head-tohead win streak to 28.
Following the win, the Seawolves returned to the court on Sept. 10 to take on Western Oregon. Once again, Stephens led UAA to victory with a recordsetting high of nine kills and five aces. Stephens also surpassed the GNAC kills record, finishing the night with 1,630 career kills. Lisa Jaunet added seven kills and Floyd produced 28 assists, eight digs and three block assists.
“That wasn’t our prettiest offensive effort again, but we will take the result,”
said coach Green.
“I’m really happy for Eve to achieve the GNAC kills record. Since her first day as a freshmen, she’s worked hard to improve every facet of her game. You can’t attain a record of this magnitude without great dedication, and she is a testament to that.”
Tied 5-5 in the opening set, Stephens tipped a kill off a Western Oregon block and followed with three straight aces, sparking a 9-0 Seawolf run.
Western Oregon trailed by four points halfway through the second set but lost their momentum after a service error. This error opened the door on anoth-
Five New Seawolves Join the Team
Hayley Berfield Guard
Berfield is from Northridge, California. She was the John Wooden Award winner in high school. Berfield went on to play two seasons for Iowa Western Community College and was a junior-college All-American. She then transferred to High Point University in North Carolina and played Division I basketball.
Anaiah Moore Guard
Moore is from Rockford, Illinois. She was named MVP her senior year of high school after leading her team to the regional finals in the Illinois state tournament. Moore is a Division I transfer from the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin.
Natalia Beaumont Forward
Beaumont is from Emu Heights, Australia. She’s a junior-college transfer from Northwest Florida State College.
Beaumont was ranked as No. 9 juniorcollege recruit nationally by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report in fall 2021. She also earned All-Central Conference honors that season.
Vishe’ Rabb Guard
Rabb is from Springfield, Minnesota. She was a three-time all-conference selection in high school and became Springfield High’s all-time leading scorer - for both men and women - with 1,728 career points. Rabb is a Division II transfer from Augustana University in South Dakota.
Kate Robertson Forward
Robertson is from Casper, Wyoming. She played both basketball and volleyball in high school and earned multiple allconference and all-state honors in both sports. Robertson then played two years at Casper Junior College. She helped her team earn the NJCAA Region IX title in the 2021-22 season.
er huge Seawolf run as UAA scored ten consecutive points to finish the set. The Seawolves held Western Oregon to hitting -0.269 percentage in the set, meaning they forced Western Oregon to make more errors than kills.
The Seawolves fell behind in the third set, but Stephens helped her team come back from behind with her GNAC record-tying kill. Western Oregon fought to stay in the game, drawing with 17-16 after a kill by Haille Hartsook, but UAA’s Stephens answered with her final kill and teamed up with Elder on a block to make it 20-16. Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Blue sandwiched kills around Stephens’ final ace to close the match.
Blue finished with six kills and four digs, Elder had five kills and four total
blocks, and Leauanae had eight digs and two aces for UAA. The Seawolves held Western Oregon to negative hitting for the first time since Oct. 2018.
Floyd also climbed another rung up the GNAC’s assists ladder, moving past Western Washington’s Liz Bishop and securing the third place spot on the list. Already UAA’s career leader, Floyd finished the weekend with 4,202 assists.
The Seawolves will make their first GNAC road trip of the season next week with matches at Montana State Billings on Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. Alaska Standard Time and at Seattle Pacific on Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. Alaska Standard Time. You can find links to live video and stats at GoSeawolves.com.
PHOTO COURTESY SKIP HICKEY
UAA Women’s Basketball guard Rachel Ingram.
PHOTO COURTESY UAA ATHLETICS
UAA Women’s Basketball Head Coach Ryan McCarthy
PHOTO COURTESY SKIP HICKEY Guard Rachel Ingram.
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