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Transcript of UAF Sun Star: January 25, 2011
The Sun StarVolume XXX Number 15
January 25, 2011
Staff
EDITOR IN CHIEFAndrew Sheeler
[email protected](907) 474-5078
LAYOUT EDITORHeather Bryant
COPY EDITORRebecca Coleman
MULTIMEDIA EDITORJeremy Smith
DISTRIBUTION MANAGERJeremia Schrock
ASSISTANT DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Daniel Thoman
AD MANAGERAlex Kinn
[email protected](907) 474-7540
ADVISORLynne Snifka
REPORTERSJeremia SchrockAmber Sandlin
Ben DeeringDaniel Thoman
Elika RoohiKelsey Gobroski
COLUMNISTSJR Ancheta
Jeremy Smith
PHOTOGRAPHERSJR AnchetaDillon Ball
Shannon BaarlaerJeremia SchrockHeather Bryant
This Week’s Highlights2 In This IssueJanuary 25, 2011 The Sun Star
The Sun Star’s mission is to provide a voice for the UAF
campus and be a written record where news, peo-ple’s opinions, and events (whether extraordinary
or ordinary) are expressed honestly and fairly.
Brett Barkman score during the first half of the game. The Nanooks and Western Oregon Wolves scored side by side until the game ended. Satur-day, Jan. 22, 2011. JR Ancheta/Sun Star.
EditorialCampusLife
SportsNews
This Week
EDITORIAL OFFICES101G Wood Center
P.O. Box 756640Fairbanks, AK 99775Tel: (907) 474-6039
Ads Dept: (907) 474-7540Calendar: (907) 474-6043
Fax: (907) 474-5508
www.uafsunstar.com
JR talks clubs and student organizations. Random Errors talks Angry Birds.
3
10
6
5
11
An epitaph for a former Snedden speaker, Con-gress resurrects healthcare debate, there’s a new (old) face at Google, the FBI busts over 100 mob-sters, and this week’s crop of crime in the blotter.
UAF’s response to students with psychiatric prob-lems and the university takes out the trash (with
brand new janitors).
A bad week for Nanook women’s basketball, while Nanook men set a record.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful semester.
Advertise with the Sun Star!
Call our ads deptartment or go online to find
out how you can advertise with us. We offer
both print and online advertising opportunities.
Ads: 474-7540www.uafsunstar.com
Politics 4A preview of the upcoming state legislative ses-
sion, 8 questions for ASUAF President Nicole Carvajal, and the Nookraker debuts with a recap of
Gov. Parnell’s inaugural reception.
3This Week www.uafsunstar.com January 25, 2011
Compiled by Daniel ThomanSun Star Reporter
January 11
On Taku Drive, a vehicle was driven into
the ditch. When the driver asked UAF em-
ployees for assistance, the driver was sus-
pected to be intoxicated and UAF police
were called. Officers tested and failed the
subject on all three field tests. The subject
had refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.
The driver was taken to the Fairbanks Cor-
rectional Center and booked on charges of
DUI and refusal to submit.
January 10
A University grounds vehicle hit a privately
owned parked vehicle in the Irving Parking
lot. No one was hurt, and the owner of the
other vehicle was contacted.
January 11
On College Road, a routine traffic stop re-
vealed the driver to be driving under a
suspended license. The driver was taken to
Fairbanks Correctional Center for multiple
charges, including driving with license sus-
pended or revoked. When booked at the
Correctional Center, the driver admitted to
being in possession of marijuana.
News BriefsCompiled by Amber SandlinSun Star Reporter
-New York Times
More than 125 mobsters arrestedIn a major one-day raid by the FBI, fed-
eral charges were brought against over 125
people in more than seven mob families
on Thursday, Jan 20. Charges range from
murder, including a double homicide over
a spilled drink in a Queens bar, to rack-
eteering, extortion, loan-sharking, money
laundering and gambling. Members of the
infamous five families of New York (Geno-
vese, Gambino, Colombo, Luchese and
Bonanno) were charged. Also charged was
Luigi Manocchio, 83, the former boss of
New England’s Patriarca crime family, who
was said to have once dressed as a woman
to avoid police capture decades ago.
Google CEO to changeA decade ago, Larry Page, co-founder
of Google, was replaced by Eric Schmidt,
a technology veteran, when investors in-
sisted on a “more mature leader” to oversee
the company. On Thursday, Jan. 20, an an-
nouncement was made by Google that the
young co-founder would again rise to the
CEO position, taking back his original seat
in Google.-USA Today
House votes to repeal health care law
On Thursday, Jan. 20, the House of
Representatives began drafting a measure
that would replace the Affordable Care
Act. According to CNN, the repeal vote
was mainly symbolic due to Democratic
control of the Senate, and it has virtually
no chance of clearing a presidential veto.
Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada,
has said he will prevent the chamber from
voting on it.-CNN
This program, administered by the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research in partnership with the Cooperative Institute for Alaska Research and the University of Alaska Anchorage provides support for UAF and UAA undergraduate and graduate student research on global change presented in an interdisciplinary context, with an arctic or subarctic focus.
Undergraduate and graduate proposals will be evaluated separately.
Research may involve:
Amount: Graduate: up to $10,000 for 1 year; $20,000 for 2 years; Undergraduate: up to $10,000 for 1 year
Application Deadline (EARLIER than past years):
**Friday, February 11, 2011**
Guidelines have been tightened consid-erably and students are advised to read them very carefully before preparing and submitting a proposal.
More information, including the an-nouncement of opportunity with com-plete guidelines, is available at http://www.cgc.uaf.edu. Copies of the an-nouncement can be picked up from the Center for Global Change, Rm 306 Akasofu (IARC), or the Graduate School, Rm 202 Eielson.
Social Sciences / EngineeringEnvironmental Sciences
Global Change Student
Research Grant
Competition – 2011
Recent Snedden lecturer dies
All persons referred to in the blotter are pre-sumed innocent until proven guilty.
Parnell appoints University RegentsGov. Parnell has appointed two new
regents: Mike Powers, CEO of Fairbanks
Memorial Hospital, and Jyotsna “Jo”
Heckman, President of Denali State Bank.
Both Powers and Heckman are from the
Fairbanks area and will replace outgoing
Fairbanks-based regents Cynthia Henry
and Erik Drygas. “Ms. Heckman and Mr.
Powers possess exceptional levels of man-
agement skills and community involve-
ment,” Governor Parnell said.
-Press Release Office of Governor Parnell
Search KG KATE
University-friendly Clothing & accessories
Visit us on
Heather BryantAndrew SheelerSun Star Reporters
Ceaser Williams, 61, died on Tuesday
Dec. 21, 2010. He was a lifelong journalist
and teacher. Williams traveled extensively
around the world, frequently through Eu-
rope and Africa. Most recently, his journey
brought him to UAF in Sept. of last year.
The Pulitzer Prize winner gave a lecture on
journalism at the Morris Thompson Visi-
tor’s and Activity Center on Sept. 29.
His lecture “Iron Williams: Life and
Times of a Dinosaur Journalist” covered
his journey from a cub-reporter during the
civil rights movement to a veteran reporter
and copy-editor at publications such as the
Buffalo Evening News, The Philadelphia
Inquirer, Newsday, The Atlanta Journal/
Constitution and the Kansas City Star.
“My lecture was in the format of a
news story,” Williams said in the Oct. 5
issue of the Sun Star. “I wanted to reach
everyone, whether they’re student, jour-
nalist or teacher, from the perspective of a
journalist.”
Following his journalism career, Wil-
liams taught journalism classes at both the
high school and college levels. His obituary
in the Kansas City Star stated that Williams
said his goal in life was to “preserve the
beauty of the English language, one young
mind at a time.”
Williams was the 16th Snedden lec-
turer to visit UAF. He said during his visit
to UAF, he wanted to become the Snedden
Chair so that he could revisit UAF and
share more of his knowledge.
“He embraced the idea of coming up
to Alaska as being a great, huge adventure,”
said , Chair of the UAF Journalism Depart-
ment. “His death really jolted us all.”
A link to a vdeo of Williams’ lecture at the Morris Thompson Visitor’s Center
will be available on www.uafsunstar.com
An undated photo of Williams from the UAF Journalism Department’s Facebook page.
4 The Sun StarJanuary 25, 2011 Politics
Nookraker
Jeremia SchrockSun Star Reporter
Jeremia SchrockSun Star Reporter
For Governor Sean Parnell and Lt.
Governor Mead Treadwell, “Fairbanks” is
synonymous with “education.” Not only
did the Governor and Lt. Governor visit
UAF Friday afternoon to thumb through an
original copy of the Alaska state constitu-
tion, but also our own Chancellor Rogers
was the Master of Ceremonies at an inau-
gural reception thrown in their honor.
“I believe Alaska needs a powerhouse
university,” Treadwell said during the re-
ception. “There is nothing we do in this
state, that doesn’t happen better, without
knowledge,” he added.
As the Governor and Lt. Governor
spoke in turn, one noticed certain words
and themes that were struck upon over
and over again: God, Family, State, Service.
Only a bingo card could have made the
evenings discourse any more lively.
Friday’s reception at the Carlson
Center was just one in a series of recep-
tions across the state aimed at welcoming
the newly elected administration into of-
fice. The speeches (and there were four of
them) were short and sweet, yet they felt
unquestionably boilerplate.
“There’s so many things to be done,
I’m just ready to roll up my sleeves to help,”
Treadwell said after thanking Chancellor
Rogers and President Gamble for dis-
cussing with him ways to better UAF.
In 1978, Treadwell (or as I think of
him, “Mr. Education”) received his BA from
Yale followed by an MBA from the Harvard
Business School four years later. For the
past nine years he has worked as a
member, and later appointed the chair, of
the United States Arctic Research Com-
mission established by President George
W. Bush. Treadwell is also no stranger to
public office, having worked as Deputy
Commissioner of the Department of En-
vironmental Conservation under former
Governor Wally Hickel. Treadwell was also
a prize-winning political reporter for the
Anchorage Times during the late ’70s and
early ’80s.
The governor, it should be noted, is
an interesting man. This may come as a
surprise to some people, like Laura Fitz-
patrick writing for TIME, who feels that our
10th governor has a “a low-key demeanor
that verges on bland.” Don Young labeled
Parnell “Captain Zero” and the Anchorage
Daily News dubbed him the “oatmeal gov-
ernor.” While the “Parnell” that smiles and
shakes our hands may border on the unin-
spiring, to accuse him of rote blandness is
to do him a disservice.
While Sarah Palin’s larger-than-life
personality provides cover to an other-
wise shallow and pedestrian individual,
Parnell acts as his own Puss-in-Boots. Not
the adorable Antonio Banderas-voiced
kitty from the Shrek films, but the fairy-
tale feline who used guile and cunning to
gain power and wealth for his poor and
lowly master. He did it all with a click of the
tongue, leaving no one the wiser.
Parnell’s life prior to the governor-
ship was one of a corporate man, lobbyist
and politician. Before becoming Palin’s Lt.
Governor in 2006, Parnell acted as both a
state representative and a state senator,
lawyer, government relations director for
Conoco Phillips and as a lobbyist for the
Washington D.C.-based firm Patton Boggs.
I met Parnell at the soiree and asked if
he had time for a question.
“What’s it about?” He asked guard-
edly. I told him it was about education to
which he responded with a clipped “sure.”
It was a simple question: What is UAF’s
role in Alaska? “UAF’s role in Alaska, to me,
is in becoming one of the economic en-
gines for Alaska. If UAF can produce gradu-
ates that can take the jobs of tomorrow then
UAF will have fulfilled its role.” He paused,
“that’s about as simple as I can put it.”
Governor Sean Parnell at the inaugera-tion ceremony Friday, Jan. 21, 2011. Jer-emia Schrock/UAF Sun Star.
8 questions for ASUAF President Nicole Carvajal Education and oatmeal
Using a letter grade, how would you rate this past semester’s senate?
C. We got things done, but not enough.
We didn’t always do it the right way.
Do you have any recommenda-tions for this year’s senate?
I would like to see the senate be a little
more proactive instead of reactive. I’d like to
see them reaching out to different people a
little more and being more willing to work
with them. It was a bit of a struggle to get
senators to work with some of the groups,
Concert Board in particular. I would like to
see that changed.
Do you have any semester goals of your own?
Part of what I want to do is get a good
infrastructure in place so that next year
ASUAF can continue to grow. I would like to
see us, first of all, get our own office taken
care of. Get computers that are needed for
everyone who is employed, get job descrip-
tions and jobs so that everything is filled so
that there is somebody for everything. Right
now, we’re in kind of a weird in-between
phase with the paid positions that we have
and making sure the RISE Board gets their
governance agreement signed.
What would you say was ASUAF’s biggest success this year?
Well, we found out how much money
we had in our carry-forward account, we
allocated enough money to start building
an outdoor education this summer, we al-
located $60,000 to Concert Board, so they’re
going to have a big Spring Fest concert. Just
the way we’ve been spending our money,
we have way too much in our savings ac-
count. And I think we’re starting to find the
balance between having a good cushion
there and still spending the students’ money
the way that we feel we should spend it and
the way the students want us to.
What would you say was ASUAF’s biggest failure?
We gave ourselves a really bad name
by being slightly uncooperative with the
Concert Board, in particular. We could have
done things a lot better and a lot differently
and I wish that we had, but in the end, ev-
erything worked out. We came to a solution
that everybody was comfortable with, but
that doesn’t excuse the way the Concert
Board was treated.
Is there anything you’d like to see changed about the ASUAF student government fee?
I’d like to see the governance groups
working together on figuring out a way
to possibly raise the fee. I think all of the
groups are coming to the consensus that
we just don’t have enough money to do the
things that we need to do. We’re not able to
provide the services that we need to provide
to the students anymore and I think we all
need to work together to raise the fee a rea-
sonable amount.
How much do you think it should be raised?
I haven’t looked at the numbers hard
enough yet, so I can’t answer that. But, I can
tell you that none of the groups have enough
money and we’re all fighting over a pot of
money that’s way too small.
Is there a legacy you’d like to leave UAF?
I’d like to see students more aware of
ASUAF and I’d like them to have the infra-
structure in place for them to continue to
grow. I think we’ve been stagnant for way
too long and I’d like to see this year, and my
term as president, as kind of a rebuilding
year and setting the groundwork for us to be
better.
For more questions for Carvajal, go online to www.uafsunstar.com. Got a question about politics at UAF? Email us at [email protected].
University-friendly clothing & accessories
Visit us on
Search KG KATE
5 www.uafsunstar.com January 25, 2011News
Science BriefsCompiled by Jeremia SchrockSun Star Reporter
-Yahoo Science
Why teenagers binge drinkGenetics appear to influence whether
or not a teenager will resort to heavy
drinking in order to cope with negative
feelings, a recent study suggests. Re-
searchers analyzed DNA data collected
from teens in the Netherlands who had
consumed alcohol at least once in their
lives. The teens were asked about their
reasons for drinking and if they had expe-
rienced any alcohol-related problems. The
study found that binge drinking and al-
cohol abuse among the group was strongly
associated with drinking to cope and with
variations in the dopamine D2 receptor
gene that plays an important role in the
brain’s reward pathway, as well as in be-
havior, motivation and sexual gratification.
The death of a faminePhytophthora infestans, the pathogen
known for starving one million people
and driving a million more to exile during
Ireland’s Great Famine, is still alive and
evolving. The organism is infamous for
its resistance to pesticides and equally
notorious for its ability to adapt to plants
other then the potato. However, scientists
believe they have finally found its “Achilles
heel.” The bacteria contains to different
regions that evolve at different speeds: one
changes rapidly, while the other barely at
all. Scientists hope to use this genetic trick
to develop plants resistant to the bacteria.
-Popular Mechanics
Face to face with chimpanzeesIf a picture is worth a thousand
words, then so is a chimpanzee’s face, a
new study suggests. Researchers in Wales
believe that people have the ability to tell
whether a chimp is dominant and physi-
cally active by simply looking at a picture
of the ape’s “expressionless” face. “The
fact that chimpanzee facial signals can be
read by humans suggests that our ability to
read others’ faces accurately is not solely
acquired through culture, but is part of
an evolved system,” said scientist Robert
Ward. The ability to discern key person-
ality traits through faces evolved more
than 7 million years ago from our shared
ancestors.
-Discovery News
UAF’s evolving mental health responseAndrew SheelerSun Star Reporter
Before April of 2007, colleges and uni-
versities across the country were unpre-
pared for how to respond to a student like
Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech.
After Cho went on a shooting rampage that
took over 30 lives, Virginia Tech and schools
across the country reconsidered how to
deal with students whose mental health
problems made them a threat to both them-
selves and their peers. When Pima Com-
munity College in Tuscon, Ariz. received
numerous reports from concerned students
and teachers about a student named Jared
Loughner, they responded by suspending
him indefinitely and barring him from
campus.
poses goes up, the level of privacy restric-
tion goes down. In the event that a student
needs to be involuntarily committed, the
UAF police are called to commit them.
McGee said that he has involuntarily com-
mitted students in the past, but that “every
effort is made to make this a voluntary com-
mitment.”
Dr. BJ Aldrich, Director of the Health
Center, echoed that sentiment.
“We try and get them to commit them-
selves for further evaluation,” Aldrich
said. However, getting psychiatric help in
Fairbanks can be a challenge for students,
especially students of limited means. Al-
drich said that while she and the medical
providers at the Health Center can and do
prescribe psychiatric medication, the
Foley, with Student Life, is often the one
on the front lines when students are having
problems. He said that it is rare for a student
to self-report a serious mental illness. There
are “maybe one or two a year,” Foley said. He
said that more often, he gets reports from
concerned friends, students or faculty.
Foley said that he and the other mem-
bers of the BIT are considering whether or
not to formalize the reporting process. Foley
is concerned that doing so could potentially
turn some people off from otherwise voicing
their concerns.
“What is going to make people more
comfortable reporting something that is
concerning,” Foley said. The BIT plans to
make a decision on formalization later this
year.
Students can speak with counselors at the Center for Health and Counseling, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center can be reached at 474-7043. For 24-hour emergency psy-chiatric service, please call the Fairbanks Community Behavioral Health Clinic at 452-1575.
Loughner later
went on a shooting ram-
page that left six dead
and Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords seri-
ously wounded.
Following Lough-
ner’s shooting spree,
colleges across the
country are once more
evaluating how to dealwith students with mental health problems.
The North Carolina State Board of Com-
munity Colleges amended their policy to
allow state colleges to refuse admission to
prospective students who present “an ar-
ticulable, imminent and significant threat,”
according to the Charlotte Observer.
UAF does not have a formal response to
students who, like Loughner and Cho, could
pose a potential threat to their classmates
and teachers. Instead, they have formed
an informal Behavioral Intervention Team
(BIT) that deals with this issue on a case-
by-case basis. The team consists of Sean
McGee, UAF Chief of Police; Don Foley,
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life;
Sharon Hollensbe, Associate Director for
Counseling Services at the Health Center;
and Kevin Huddy, Director of Residence
Life.
Chief McGee said that the members of
BIT coordinate and share information where
they can regarding students of concern.
There are limits though. Confidentiality
laws, especially regarding medical privacy,
can prevent BIT members from discussing
students’ mental health status. Chief McGee
said that as the apparent threat a student
counselors on staff there cannot. So students
needing counseling as well as treatment are
forced to venture off campus. There are only
a handful of private practice psychiatrists in
Fairbanks, and their prices and insurance
policies vary. Low-income students can go
to the Fairbanks Community Behavioral
Health Center, but the waitlist to be seen
can sometimes be months unless the need
is urgent. Aldrich said that a further compli-
cation is the imperfect ability to diagnose a
student as a danger to themselves or others.
“When someone is acting out, you can’t al-
ways commit them,” Aldrich said.
Foley said that there is a “learning curve
for all of us” when it comes to figuring out
how to deal with student mental health. He
said that UAF is a big, diverse campus. “We
have this interesting mix of everything from
welding to astrophysics [students].”
When someone is acting out, you can’t always commit them
-Dr. BJ Aldrich“
”
Sports6 The Sun StarJanuary 25, 2011
Women’s basketball falls to the Vikings and the Clan
Rebecca ColemanSun Star Reporter
Western Washington dribbled past the
Alaska women’s basketball team for a 76-50
victory on Thursday, Jan. 20. The Nanooks
kept pace with Simon Fraser on Saturday,
Jan. 22, but weren’t able to grab a win, losing
71-82.
Throughout the first half of Thursday’s
game, the Nanooks tried to keep up with
Western Washington, but couldn’t edge
past them. The mascot attempted to pump
up the small crowd with dance moves and
high-fives, but it didn’t help the ladies on
the court.
In the second half, the Vikings’ lead
quickly increased from 20 to 30. Western
Washington gave Alaska numerous free-
throw opportunities, but the Nanooks
weren’t able to make much of a dent into
the Vikings’ lead, and Western Washington
walked away with a 76-50 win.
Alaska was ready for action as they
headed into their game against Simon
Fraser on Saturday. When the game began,
the Clan picked up an early lead. The Na-
nooks fought back and kept the Clan’s lead
to within 10 points throughout the half.
The Nanooks played a tight, clean
second half. They increased their double-
teaming and made it hard for Simon Fraser
to increase their lead. However, Alaska was
never able to close Simon Fraser’s lead due
to the Clan’s 3-pointer accuracy. In the last
few minutes of the game, Alaska kicked their
defense into overdrive, gaining momentum
with great shots and steals. Despite all their
hard work, the Nanooks fell short of the win,
losing to Simon Fraser 71-82.
Even though they lost, the Nanooks
played well. Senior Nicole Bozek scored
28 points and shot 100 percent on her free
throws, making all 11 of them.
“We had 15 offensive rebounds, we
were good with our free throws, and we had
a strong second half,” Burgess said, high-
lighting the successes of the game.
Next week, the Nanooks will take on
Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific
on Jan. 27 and 29, respectively.
Freshman Emily Johnson from Juneau, AK, and junior Whitney Anderson listens to head coach during a timeout. Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. JR Ancheta/Sun Star.
Above left: #14 Kyle Smith defends the ball from #24 Jamaal Veal at a neck-and-neck game Saturday night.Above right: #11 Jessica Harrison and #33 Nicole Bozek attempt to steal the ball from Simon Frasier’s Rebecca Langmead (#14) on Saturday’s game where Alaska Nanooks lost 82-71.Right: Jarrett Miller attempts to shoot during the game. Nanooks lost from Western Oregon University 89 - 85. Photos by JR Ancheta/Sun Star
www.uafsunstar.com January 25, 2011Sports 7
West breaks school record in overtime victoryRebecca ColemanSun Star Reporter
UAF men’s basketball pulled off a
96-93 overtime victory over Saint Martin’s
on Thursday, Jan. 20. This nail-biter of a
game included the breaking of a 43-year-
old school record by senior Parrish West.
On Saturday, Jan. 22, the Nanooks battled
against Western Oregon and were barely
overtaken in an 89-85 loss.
Thursday night, the Nanooks were
solid on their free throws and smooth with
their steals, but sloppy with their passing,
keeping the game tight with SMU. Midway
through the first half, West dove after the
ball and landed in the SMU sideline chairs.
He hobbled over to the Alaska bench and,
after a quick time-out, was back in the game
and scoring baskets.
Alaska pulled up a lead for most of
the second half, but SMU wasn’t willing to
quit. With 7:30 left in the game, SMU took
the lead. They gained momentum and with
less than three minutes left in the game,
they had an eight-point lead. The Nanooks
played solidly and with 41.3 seconds on
the clock, West was fouled while sinking a
3-pointer. He made his free throw, bringing
the score to a tie. 15 seconds later, he got the
lead for the Nanooks with another free
throw, but SMU wasn’t giving up and made
a free throw of their own, sending the game
into overtime.
“Coming back from being down by
eight was an awesome point for the team,”
said senior Aaron Kohring.
SMU claimed the first points of over-
time, but back and forth action from both
teams kept the score tight. With 0.6 seconds
left in overtime, West made a 3-pointer,
giving the Nanooks a 96-93 victory.
“I had to get the ball out of my hands,”
West said. “I just had to shoot and luckily it
went in.”
West scored 43 points, breaking the
previous school record of 42 points in a
game, which was held by Milo Griffin from
the 1967-68 season.
“It felt good, but the win felt better,”
West said of his new record.
“It’s enjoyable to have this young man
in the midst and say that I coached him,”
said Coach Clemon Johnson of West.
West might be the leading Nanooks
scorer, but it took the whole team to come
up with the win.
“It was a full team effort,” Johnson said.
He pointed out that until this semester,
the team has been without a “pure” point
guard. “Since Nico (Matthews) arrived [last
weekend for the game against Western
Washington], the team started developing
into a unit.”
From tip-off until the last seconds on
the clock, Saturday’s game against Western
Washington was tight. The lead changed
back and forth with nearly every possession.
The largest lead throughout the game was a
six-point spread, which only lasted about 30
seconds before the score was tied up again.
For the rest of the game, there was solid
pressure from both teams. It was anyone’s
game. Through fouls and free throws, steals
and baskets, Alaska fought until time ran
out, but when the buzzer went off, Western
Washington had earned an 89-85 win.
“We knew it’d be a tough game, and
we battled them,” Johnson said. “Our re-
bounding was good, theirs was just better.
The opportunities were there, we just didn’t
win the ball game.”
“It was a team effort, and at the end of
the day, we played a good game,” West said.”
Next week, Alaska will take on Central
Washington and Northwest Nazarene on
Jan. 27 and 29, respectively.
Freshman Emily Johnson from Juneau, AK, and junior Whitney Anderson listens to head coach during a timeout. Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. JR Ancheta/Sun Star.
Above left: #14 Kyle Smith defends the ball from #24 Jamaal Veal at a neck-and-neck game Saturday night.Above right: #11 Jessica Harrison and #33 Nicole Bozek attempt to steal the ball from Simon Frasier’s Rebecca Langmead (#14) on Saturday’s game where Alaska Nanooks lost 82-71.Right: Jarrett Miller attempts to shoot during the game. Nanooks lost from Western Oregon University 89 - 85. Photos by JR Ancheta/Sun Star
Advertisements8 The Sun StarJanuary 25, 2011
www.uafsunstar.com January 25, 2011News 9
2011 legislative preview Changing of the guard
Ben DeeringSun Star Reporter
The custodial services on campus are
sold on contract; each contract runs for
three years with two one-year options.
The company previously responsible for
the contract was ABM Services. UAF is
switching to a contract with GCA Services
Group, a company that has “numerous
Fortune 100 companies as… clients,” ac-
cording to their site.
ABM’s contract expired June 30, so
the custodial contract went up for public
bid in July, with proposals closed in Au-
gust. According to Martin Klein, the busi-
ness manager for Auxiliary and Contract
Services, “the contract is awarded with
two parts: proposal is 50 percent, price is
50 percent.” Each company submitted a
proposal that “told us how they planned
on cleaning,” Klein said. GCA scored the
highest in the proposal category, as well as
having the lowest price.
Responses to the switch have been
mostly positive. “We have to give them a
little more time,” said Wendy Frandsen,
Fiscal Manager at the Rasmuson Library.
“It’s a switch, and there are going to be
some glitches. But no serious problems at
all. And I will say that it’s nice to call and
there’s someone around during the day.”
There are also some changes in the
contract structure. Previously, there have
been building inspectors, but the frame-
work was spotty at best. In the new con-
tract, the building inspectors will double
over all the buildings, and build a “com-
prehensive report,” Klein said. “Every
quarter, we’ll sit down with them and go
over missed points… you did well with the
bathrooms, but the water fountains are
getting missed…”
The new contract will not cover all of
UAF’s buildings. The CTC and the main
campus will be cleaned by GCA, but an
additional seven off-campus buildings will
be cleaned under a separate, local con-
tract.
UAF gets new janitors
$UAF STUDENTS
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One of them might be just for you.• Toseewhatscholarshipsareavailablevisit www.uaf.edu/finaid/types/scholarships.html
• Toapply,logontohttp://uaonline.alaska.edu andchoose“FinancialAid,”thenchoose “Scholarships.”
Apply by Feb. 15, 2011
Andrew SheelerSun Star Reporter
The 2011 session of Alaska’s 27th Legis-
lature began in Juneau on Tuesday, Jan. 18,
and UA President Patrick Gamble and Gov.
Sean Parnell have released their Redbook
and Bluebook respectively. The Redbook
and Bluebook represent the budget priori-
ties of their authors, and the two have much
in common. The university has requested
$350.8 million in general funds for the cur-
rent year, with the governor recommending
a smaller $347.1 million.
For President Gamble’s priorities, “De-
ferred maintenance is the really big one,”
said Kate Ripley, the UA Statewide spokes-
woman. Gov. Parnell has allotted $37.5
million in funds to repair aging buildings
throughout the university system. The gov-
ernor has also recommended $2 million for
regular, annual maintenance, a fraction of
the $25 million requested by the university.
That isn’t the only place where the Parnell
and Gamble disagree.
Gamble requested, and Parnell re-
jected, $2.3 million in funding for high-
priority programs, including heath and bio-
medical, teacher education and programs
to support student success. Finally, Parnell
rejected the university’s request for $12 mil-
lion in funding for state-sponsored research.
For all the areas where Parnell and
Gamble’s priorities differ, the university
hopes to lobby the Legislature for support.
Ripley said that the university was
pleased with Parnell’s decision to approve
operating funds that would pay for a 50-
cent increase in wages for student workers.
Parnell also recommended that the state
spend $8.2 million to fund the newly created
Alaska Performance Scholarship, a merit-
based scholarship that Parnell was a major
advocate for. Finally, Parnell proposed an
additional $1 million for needs-based finan-
cial aid.
One person who thinks Parnell isn’t
doing enough in pushing for needs-based
aid is Rep. David Guttenberg, whose district
includes UAF. Guttenberg said that students
in Alaska are facing increasing costs of going
to school.
“The state has a vested interest in cov-
ering the cost of that,” Guttenberg said.
Although Gamble is taking a low-key
approach to the budget this year following
last year’s bruising legislative battle for the
life sciences building, Rep. Scott Kawasaki
of Fairbanks has different ideas. Kawa-
saki wrote HB 38, a bill that would create a
school of medicine at UAF and a school of
law at UAA. Ripley said that the university
currently has no comment on the bill, but
that the University Board of Regents has the
ability to start a new school at any time.
Campus Life10 The Sun StarJanuary 25, 2011
Where’s the Clubhouse?JR AnchetaSun Star Reporter
In a clubhouse excitement can be
contagious, as a group of people shares a
common interest or goal.
“It’s an opportunity to make the most
of your university experience,” said Ginny
Austin, Student Organizations Coordi-
nator. “It’s a good way to connect to other
people and find a practical outlet for the
skills you’re learning in the classrooms.”
UAF has over 115 recognized student
organizations. These clubs have different
goals, missions, and activities, but all have
one thing in common: engaging their
members to practice and improve their
skills or focus on their interests. Subjects
vary from academic fields to physical ac-
tivities organizations.
It is easy for students to start a new
student organization that is recognized by
the university, Austin said. A pre-recog-
nition process must first be completed by
the students. This entails gathering 10
signatures from supporters, having organi-
zational meetings, creating a constitution,
and electing officers.
The Student Organization Spring Fair,
which will be held Feb. 9-10 from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. in the Wood Center, is a perfect way
to meet these clubs in one location. In the
past, 30-50 clubs have participated, Austin
said. People can “find out what’s going on
on campus, so they can get involved, make
connections, and get information.”
The Capoeira Club and the Inu-Yupiak
dancers are ideal examples of student or-
ganizations, not because of their culture-
based programs, but because of their open-
ness to share their interest, knowledge,
and excitement. Out of all the benefits of
joining clubs, being part of a community
is an integral part of experiencing college
with fellowship. Find a club that suits you.
Forms and more information can be
found at the student organization website:
http://www.uaf.edu/studentorgs
Jeremy SmithSun Star Columnist
2011: year of the tablet, Angry Birds
2011. The year after we made contact
and the year before the world ends. It is also
going to be known as the year of the tablet,
as in, almost everyone reading this will ei-
ther own or will have used one and realized
a deeper need to possess ‘my precious.’ Or
so the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show
(CES) would have you believe. Also, 3D --
and Angry Birds -- everywhere!
After Apple cornered more than 85
percent of the tablet market in 2010 with
their April release of the iPad, other manu-
facturers decided that it is time to give the
people what they want the most: options…
and make lots of that sweet, sweet tablet
money. In late 2010, Barnes & Noble un-
veiled their NOOKcolor, which is a seven-
inch e-reader that has a touch-screen and
runs Google’s Android operating system.
At this year’s CES, it walked off with awards
from multiple publications as the best new
tech that is currently available. Granted,
Barnes and Noble doesn’t position their
NOOKcolor as a rival to the iPad, but in-
trepid hackers have removed various re-
strictions and created an inexpensive,
touch-sensitive tablet that can access every-
thing an Android-based cell phone can do.
And play Angry Birds.
At this year’s CES, more than 20 manu-
facturers were showing off their version of
the ‘iPad killer’ to a not-so-impressed press.
However, Motorola revealed two products
that work to fill that niche between full com-
puter and simple e-reader and seemed to
light a fire under those tech journalists’ cold
hearts.
The device making much of the industry
take notice is Motorola’s Xoom Tablet. Com-
plete with a dual-core processor, memory
card slots, two cameras, Wi-Fi and 3G/4G
support all running on version 3.0 of the
Android operating system, the Xoom checks
off all of the boxes that the iPad seems to be
missing.
Motorola’s TRIX 4G phone approached
the niche by cramming all of the features
present in the latest smartphones, along
with the ability to play and record HD-level
video, into the candy-bar form factor… but
with a slick twist. The phone can be plugged
into a dock and become a full-featured net-
book, complete with keyboard and monitor.
On the low-tech side, Rovio announced
and released not only a PC version of their ri-
diculously popular bird versus egg-stealing
pig app Angry Birds, but also a board game
version. As in, one you play at home with
a slingshot, some birds, some blocks and
some pigs. I am excited.
Of course CES also had the necessary
explosion of gigantic televisions and in a
nod to last year, continued to herald the
belief that we all want 3D, without glasses,
in every facet of our lives. Toshiba was the
closest to offering glasses-free 3D in the
living room through two TV prototypes, but
actual prices and availability are several
years away. Nintendo showed off their new
3DS, which provides portable 3D gaming,
sans-glasses as well. This has been priced at
$250 and is dated for a mid-2011 release.
I picked up a NOOKcolor myself over
the holidays and I will definitely give you
an update on how that works as an e-reader
and low-cost Android tablet… and just how
awesome I am at Angry Birds.
Jeremy talks and takes on technology at gpfault.org.
Clubbing with JR
True or False • A flu vaccine can’t give you the flu.Answer: True.The flu vaccine cannot cause flu illness. The viruses in the vaccine are either killed (flu shot) or weakened (nasal spray vaccine), which means they cannot cause infection• Getting a flu vaccine in January or later is not too late.Answer: True.CDC recommends that people get vaccinated in January and beyond. Influenza activity usually peaks in February most years, but disease can occur as late as May.• Flu viruses change constantly which requires a new flu vaccine to be produced each year.Answer: True.The viruses in the vaccine change each year based on worldwide monitoring of influ-enza viruses.• The flu is not a serious illness.Answer: False.Flu is a serious contagious disease. Each year in the United States, on average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications and 36,000 people die from flu• You can spread the flu to others before you have symptoms.Answer: True.Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms de-velop and up to 5 days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.
Q: Has the flu hit Alaska yet?A: Yes. We are just beginning to see it here at the clinic. Q: Is it too late to get a flu shot?A: No! We are still recommending people get the flu shot. We have them available to UAF students, at no cost, at the health center. You do not have to make an appointment. Just stop by Mondays or Wednesdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 or 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
Sponsored by UAF Center for Health and CounselingFor additional information, contact the
Center for Health and Counseling at 474-7043 or visit our Web site at www.uaf.edu/chc
Division of Student Services
Say “Ah” Donna Patrick, ANP
Letters to the EditorHave something to say? Say it here. The Sun Star welcomes reader commentary.
Letters to the editor should be no more than 250 words in length. Please include the author’s full name and contact information (phone number, e-mail or ad-dress). E-mail your letters (preferred) to [email protected], fax them to 474-5508, or mail them to to PO Box 756640, Fairbanks, AK, 99775. All letters are subject to editing for brevity and grammar.
Spring preview11Editorial www.uafsunstar.com
Andrew SheelerEditor-in-ChiefUAF Sun Star
January 25, 2011
What? You thought we were finished? That the
Sun Star had closed up shop and gone away? You,
sir or madam, are sadly mistaken. We’re just getting
warmed up.
First, take a moment and head to a computer.
Go ahead, I’ll wait. Once you get there, open up
Firefox and go to www.uafsunstar.com. Notice our
brand new website? This semester we’re planning to
fill it up with content, including online-only articles,
web-exclusive photos, an audio archive of the weekly
ASUAF senate meetings, audio slideshows, video
podcasts, and more. That’s in addition to the weekly
updates of our print edition. For news on the go, our website looks fabulous on your
smart phone or tablet. While you’re at it, “Like” us on Facebook for breaking news and
story updates.
Now let’s talk about the paper. We have big plans for this semester. We’re going to do
five big theme issues tackling subjects near to all of our hearts: sex, the internet, humor,
money and graduation.
The Feb. 8 issue of the Sun Star will take on sex, love and college life and will feature
a special romantic advice column. Got a question for our very own Dr. Love? Email it to
We are increasingly living in a digital world. Facebook and Google have become
verbs as well as nouns, and require no introduction as to what they are. What you say or
do online can affect you for the rest of your life. In the March 3 issue of the Sun Star, we
will focus on the digital realm, with stories that seek to answer some of the questions you
have.
We’ll take a break from dealing with the weighty issues of the world in the March
29 issue of the Sun Star, better known as the incredibly popular Fun Star. The laughs will
be plenty and none shall be spared from the equal parts scorching satire and slapstick
comedy that the Fun Star is known for.
Every student works toward the same goal: graduation. The final Sun Star of the
school year, coming out on May 3, will be packed full of content for graduating senior
and incoming freshman alike. We’ll send you into the summer in style with our blowout
graduation issue.
By now, hopefully you’ve gone through this issue of the Sun Star and noticed a
few things are different. We’ve expanded our coverage of national news, the arts, and
science. We’ve introduced the Nookraker, a political column by Jeremia Schrock. The
Nookraker will provide reporting and commentary on all levels of government, from the
university all the way to the state and federal level. We’ll be covering the ASUAF senate
better than ever before, with a concise recap of their weekly meetings.
Lest you think it’s out with the old, all your favorites will still be here, including our
weekly Sudoku and XKCD, our columns, and the police blotter.
Now that you know what we’ve got in store, mark the next 14 Tuesdays on your
calendar and get ready for one exciting ride.
UAF students required to have health insurance
U of A students were going through fee
payment at the exact moment Congressman
Don Young voted that the new health care
bill is unconstitutional because of the man-
datory purchase of insurance stipulation.
Yet, students were being forced to purchase
health insurance at the same instant!
Our governor and Senator Murkowski
are united firmly with Young, insisting that
mandatory health insurance is unconstitu-
tional, knowing full well that our state ada-
mantly maintains the opposite policy!
Unconstitutional is one of those terms
that means for everybody, not for just some.
It is right up there in the universally wrong
category like crimes against humanity.
Yet there are two universally wrong
things about our setup in Alaska. There
are so many Cadillac health plans, that,
according to Lisa Murkowski, Medicare pa-
tients can’t even go to the doctor for routine
check-ups. Doctors prefer the privileged
patients, who, secondly, don’t have to pay
taxes on these life essential services like ev-
eryone else is required to. (I guess this
shouldn’t be so surprising in a place where
all state employees are also exempt from
paying social security taxes).
U of A employees, like many others
here, have a mandatory Cadillac plan. One
would think that a true fiscal conservative
would start by eliminating unconstitutional
mandatory plans at home first.
Most Cadillac plan recipients would
prefer to just be paid the money for these
benefits in their salary if they were going to
taxed on it, (like last year’s health care bill
will require). If they could get a decent basic
hospitalization plan, many would fend for
themselves for the rest. Then the preferred
patient who doesn’t care how much any-
thing costs would vanish, resulting in the
Medicare patient problem vanishing. Low-
ered medical costs would naturally follow,
too.
Our elected republicans maintain
the absurd, “unconstitutional, but just for
some” axiom, because it really just benefits
the privileged ones that they are actually
representing.
Sincerely misrepresented,
Randell L Clark
Sudoku
xkcd
Coffee Break
UAF Bookstore | Constitution Hall
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