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Transcript of UAF Sun Star: March 1, 2011
The Sun StarVolume XXX Number 20
March 1, 2011
StaffEDITOR IN CHIEF
Andrew [email protected]
(907) 474-5078
LAYOUT EDITORHeather Bryant
[email protected](907) 474-6039
COPY EDITORRebecca Coleman
MULTIMEDIA EDITORJeremy Smith
AD MANAGERAlex Kinn
[email protected](907) 474-7540
DISTRIBUTION MANAGERDaniel Thoman
ASSISTANT DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Ben Deering
REPORTERSKelsey Gobroski
Elika RoohiAmber Sandlin
Jeremia Schrock
COLUMNISTSJR Ancheta
Jamie HazlettJeremia Schrock
PHOTOGRAPHERSJR AnchetaDillon Ball
ADVISORLynne Snifka
2 In This IssueMarch 1, 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, people’s
opinions, and events (whether extraordinary or
ordinary) are expressed honestly and fairly.
The UAF Nanook Hockey Team poses with the Gover-nor’s Cup trophy after defeating the UAA Seawolves in shootout to take the title. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
Sports
Perspectives
West Ridge
This Week
EDITORIAL OFFICES101G Wood Center
P.O. Box 756640Fairbanks, AK 99775Tel: (907) 474-6039
Ads Dept: (907) 474-7540Fax: (907) 474-5508
www.uafsunstar.com
Weekend Wanderlust concludes the Memorabilia Mishmash series and Random Errors brings you
another column dedicated to technology and modern life.
3
14
5
A busy week in national and world news and three new entries in to the blotter.
An Ice Age child challenges much of what we know about ancient Alaska history plus a week
full of other major scientific news.
UAF brings the Governor’s Cup home for another year and a recap of game results.
Politics 4Nookraker explores majors that should and
shouldn’t be and we recap this week’s ASUAF senate session.
Campus Life11The Community and Technical College gets downright “Cosmo”politan.
Search KG KATE
University-friendly Clothing & accessories
Visit us on
A & EUAF graduate Chinonye Chukwu comes back to make a movie and the week of
entertainment that was.
6
98
NewsAn app for UAF, journalism students embed with the Strykers down in Cali., and why UAF’s
power plant is starting to fail.7
Editorial 15Leaky roofs. Nasty water. Asbestos. It’s time for the
Legislature pay for maintenance.
3This Week www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
Amber SandlinSun Star Reporter
Towing services end badly
One truck was trying to tow another to the Water Wagon to get it out of traffic since it wouldn’t run. During contact with the par-ties involved, an officer smelled marijuana. During questioning of one of passengers, a 24-year-old woman admitted to having marijuana and gave it to the officer. She was issued a summons to appear in court for MICS 6. The driver of the vehicle, a 25-year-old woman, was on parole for a felony and part of her conditions included no drugs and no association with persons who have drugs. She admitted to knowing about the marijuana and was arrested for violating her release conditions.
News BriefsCompiled by Amber SandlinSun Star Reporter
American hostages murdered by pirates
Pirates off the coast of East Africa
shot and killed four American hostages on
Tuesday Feb. 22, after negotiations for the
hostages’ release fell apart. Navy SEALs took
control of the ship, killed two of the pirates
and captured 15 more. After taking control of
the ship, SEALs found two more dead pirates,
evidence that the hostage-takers had turned
on one another.- yourdailynewsfix.com
Gaddafi’s last stand Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi’s roughly
40-year hold on the north African nation of
Libya is rapidly dissolving. Protesters seized
control of the city of Kufra in the southeast
of the country, and the turmoil has spread
to the capital of Tripoli. On Monday, Feb. 21,
Ali El-Assawi, the Libyan ambassador to the
U.S. resigned in protest of Gaddafi’s actions,
including ordering fighter pilots to target the
protesters.-New York Times
All persons referred to in the blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
- Washington Post
Domestic violence
A boyfriend and girlfriend got into a physical altercation on Saturday, Feb. 19. Although Alaska state law says if a domestic violence is called, one person must be taken to jail, the district attorney directed that no one be arrested. Both people had minor physical injuries that required photos to be taken and were removed from each other’s presence for the night.
Drunken WickershamA man was found shivering and shaking
with his pants unzipped in the main en-trance of Wickersham Hall on Sunday, Feb. 20. The man was barred from Wickersham previously due to other alcohol related events. He was transported to FCC to the drunk tank and arrested for criminal tres-pass.
Obama will no longer defend DOMAAttorney General Eric Holder an-
nounced on Wednesday, Feb. 23, that the
Obama Administration will no longer defend
the Defense of Marriage Act, a law passed in
1996 that defines marriage as the union of a
man and a woman, against challenges to its
constitutionality. “I have been to this point
unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage pri-
marily because of my understandings of the
traditional definitions of marriage,” Obama
said, “Attitudes evolve, including mine.”
- MSNBC
New Zealand earthquake “Mommy, I got buried” was the first of
many texts sent by a young woman trapped
in the rubble of her college building on
Tuesday Feb. 22, when a 6.3 magnitude
quake hit Christchurch, New Zealand. With
hundreds of people missing within the first
few hours, more than 2,500 were injured. The
current death toll has risen to 113.
- MinnPost
Toyota recallOn Thursday, Feb. 24, Toyota recalled
more than 2 million vehicles due to a
sudden-acceleration problem where the gas
pedal became trapped in the floor mat. The
problem has sparked around 3,000 com-
plaints and dozens of lawsuits.
Long nights No weekends off Stressful deadlines Angry letters
One day, this could all be yours…
Apply online at www.uakjobs.com to be the next Sun Star Editor-in-Chief.
Posting #0061414
4 The Sun StarMarch 1, 2011 Politics
Nookraker
Jeremia SchrockSun Star Reporter
Getting something changed at the
university level can be a grind. It took the
better part of three years for UAF to insti-
tute a film major and now there’s a good
chance the program won’t begin accepting
students until Fall 2012. Just in time for the
apocalypse as foretold by the Mayan cal-
endar.
The new program (approved by the
Board of Regents on Feb. 18) still needs to
be developed, then reviewed and approved
the Northwest Commission on Colleges
and Universities (NWCCU), the body re-
sponsible for accrediting the colleges in
the UA system. For Chancellor Rogers,
the major “is an example of how we can
respond to a specific workforce need and
focus an existing program to better serve
our students.” The state and the univer-
sity are making a concerted effort to help
diversify Alaska’s economy by investing
in cinema. Just look at SB 23, which, if it
passes the State Legislature, will extend the
state’s current film tax credit program for
an additional 10 years, to 2023.
Before the regents’ decision to move
forward with the new major, no infrastruc-
ture existed to help Alaskans develop their
cinematic muscles. With that in mind, I
asked around campus to see what other
programs and classes students would like
to see added – or cut. The list was intriguing
and, at times, brilliant, funny and sur-
prising.
In the perfect world of those polled,
UAF would expand its foreign languages
department to allow undergraduate de-
grees in Chinese and Arabic. Currently,
UAF offers two elementary and two inter-
mediate classes in Chinese and two intro-
ductory Arabic classes taught “as demand
warrants.” In addition to languages, liberal
arts students would like to see expansions
in justice (to a doctorate), sociology (to a
master’s) and women and gender studies
(to a bachelor’s).
In the sciences, students would like
web development classes become a part
of the computer sciences program. They’d
also like to declare themselves majors in
botany and paleontology. Speaking of pa-
leontology, UAF already has the world’s
foremost collection of polar dinosaurs and
some excellent faculty members (Patrick
Druckenmiller and Sarah Fowell among
them) at its disposal. If there is one thing
almost everybody living in a post “Jurassic
Park” America loves to read about and see,
it’s dinosaurs. If there was ever a way to at-
tract people to the sciences at UAF (and to
inspire charitable contributions to the uni-
versity) it’s to make everything UAF does
just a little more about dinosaurs.
While there are plenty of courses and
programs people want to see added, there
are several that students wish to see axed.
As far as programs go, the first that would
be given over to the guillotine is communi-
cations. Several people who answered the
survey felt that while communications is
important, it doesn’t warrant its own pro-
gram. Another program that inspired sim-
ilar feelings was (and it hurts me to write
because it’s my own minor) philosophy.
Respondents felt that philosophy lacks
practical value.
Two classes that were met with equal
disdain were Library Science 100X and
Art/Mus/Theater 200X. On the flip side,
two students were more then ready to
begin taking Underwater Basket Weaving
100X and the Art of Maiming 201. I have
a pretty good feeling that those classes
would be both lucrative for the university,
as well as totally awesome.
The apocalypse, SB 23 and the Art of Maiming
ASUAF Weekly UpdateJeremia SchrockSun Star Reporter
Jeremia gives his opinion on university, state and national issues in the Nookraker: a weekly political column which tackles issues relevant to Nanooks both at home and abroad.
PresentJesse Cervin, Robert Kinnard III, Sophia
Grzeskowiak-Amezquita, Arthur Martin,
Jennifer Chambers, John Netardus, Chelsea
Holt, Ean Pfeiffer, Josh Cooper, Tachit
Chairat, Ryan Duffy, Mary Strehl and Hollie
Seiler.
Senator confirmedHollie Seiler, a journalism student, was
confirmed to the senate. She stated that
although she is graduating this May, she
intends to enroll in a class next year so she
can continue to serve. When asked by Sen.
Jennifer Chambers on what she wanted to
do as a senator, Seiler responded that she
intended to reach out to students in order to
better understand their needs.
Smoking outside HessYuzhun Evanoff addressed the senate
about a lack of smoking stands outside of
Hess Village. Evanoff’s primary concern
was over the cigarette butts that he feels
are carelessly flicked around the area. Sen.
Sophia Grzeskowiak-Amezquita stated that
she believed such stands did exist and that
it was possible they had been removed for
maintenance.
Masquerade BallIn her Executive Committee report,
Sen. Chambers stated that they were having
difficulty finding a venue for this year’s Mas-
querade Ball.
Senate meeting cancelledNext Sunday’s (Mar. 6) senate meeting
has been cancelled. The Chancellor invited
the senate over to his house for a pizza
party during the senates regularly sched-
uled meeting time. A special session may be
called.
Sun Star funding The senate read SB 176-010: Sun Star
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2011, which
would provide the Sun Star with an ad-
ditional $15,000 from the ASUAF rollover
account. One projection has the Sun Star
running $20,000 in debt by the end of the
semester. Sen. Arthur Martin moved to
dismiss the legislation. By a vote of 7-4, the
legislation was not dismissed. A two-thirds
majority vote was needed. The bill has been
sent to the Executive Committee.
Alternative Spring BreakSB 176-007: 2011 Alternative Spring
Break was passed by a vote of 9-3. The bill al-
lotted $1,750 to the Alternative Spring Break
program in order to help defray the cost. The
funding will come from Senate Projects.
Each week, the Sun Star does its best to bring you the highest quality stories, photos and commentary. We are able to provide this service primarily through funding from the ASUAF Student Government Fee. We receive approximately $32,000 a year from ASUAF, and we put that toward putting out the best-looking paper that we can week in and week out. Although we are a student paper, we strive for professional quality.
Unfortunately, that level of quality is not cheap. We project that we will end this year facing a several thousand dollar def-icit and may be forced to suspend printing unless ASUAF pro-vides us with an emergency allocation of funding for $15,000. We’ve done everything we can to contain costs yet still pro-vide you with a quality paper.
Now we need your help. If you like what you read in the Sun Star, if the stories we’ve told have touched you, then we need your voice now more than ever. A bill is in the senate to provide the funds that the Sun Star needs. Please email the ASUAF senators and tell them to support it. Tell them what the Sun Star means to you. Tell them that it’s YOUR paper, and without funding it will go away. You can find a copy of the bill at uafsunstar.com and the email addresses for the ASUAF senators.
5West Ridge Report www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
Science BriefsCompiled by Kelsey GobroskiSun Star Reporter
Permafrost heats upIn 20 years, permafrost that’s stuck
around since the Ice Age will begin to melt. In
210 years, 60 percent of the Northern Hemi-
sphere’s permafrost will have melted. Scien-
tists in Boulder, CO stamped these numbers
onto a phenomenon that once again brings
the Arctic to the forefront of climate change
concerns. As permafrost melts, frozen roots
begin to decay and release carbon. This will
release amounts equivalent to a fifth of the
carbon that is in the atmosphere today. The
process will add to the world’s warming
trend, and is irreversible.
- Discovery News
Bears hibernate cozilyBlack bears drop their metabolism
instead of their temperatures when they hi-
bernate. The Alaska Department of Fish and
Game captured nuisance black bears and
brought them to artificial dens to be studied.
While metabolism dropped to 25 percent the
normal rate, the bears’ temperature barely
dipped, the study found. A reduced metabo-
lism normally brings temperature down with
it. If science can unlock how bears can lower
their body temperature so minutely, the find-
ings could solve the mystery of how to induce
short-term body temperature decreases in
stroke patients.- New York Times
- Popular Science
Camera changes focus after shotA cell phone camera in development by
Pelican Imaging will rescue image quality by
holding to the adage of safety in numbers.
The new camera splits up the work by taking
25 overlapping fragment photographs of a
larger picture. This method makes it possible
to adjust a photo’s focus after taking the shot.
- BBC
Reefs bleach under pressure Thirteen years of fishing noticeably
destroyed polyp communities responsible
for the health of coral reefs. Researchers re-
cently revisited coral reef sites from the 1998
Reefs at Risk project. Warming temperatures
and ocean acidification will play a part in
the death toll soon. Both the temperature
and ocean pH changes are side effects of
high atmospheric carbon dioxide. Only five
percent of the world’s coral reefs will remain
unbleached 40 years from now.
Kelsey GobroskiSun Star Reporter
(L-R) Justin Rains, Kevin Bartley, Rob Bowman, Katie Blood, Danielle Ellis, Jill Baxter-McIntosh and Lisa Smith work on excavation at the Upward Sun River site in Alaska. Summer 2010. Photo courtesy of Ben Potter/UAF.
Unearthed tot declared oldest Alaskan
Last summer, archaeologists uncov-
ered the 11,500-year-old skeleton
of a cremated Ice Age toddler, the oldest
subarctic North American to date. UAF ar-
chaeologists discovered the remains inside
a structure built 10,000 years before the
region’s earliest known house. Older arti-
facts also rest on the site. Scientists worked
closely with Alaska Native groups to pre-
serve the scientific and cultural implica-
tions of the discovery.
“People have been doing work up here
for 80 years, and we’ve never found any-
thing like this,” Potter said.
The findings appeared in the Feb. 25
edition of Science. Authors Ben Potter and
Joel Irish, along with Alaska Native commu-
nity representatives Joann Polston and Jerry
Isaac, announced the find in the Brooks
Building Gathering Room last Thursday,
Feb. 24.
Over time, ancient Alaskan camps
sprung up south of the Tanana
River at a place known as Xaasaa Na’ [haw-
saw naw], or Upward Sun River, beginning
during a warm period about 13,000 years
ago. Another temporary camp popped up
during a cold snap 11,800 years ago. Three
hundred years later, a family constructed
a house and lived there until their toddler
died.
People here probably didn’t build vil-
lages in the Ice Age. The fact that this family
even built a house challenges notions about
the mobility of early Alaskans, Potter said.
The family probably didn’t live in the house
more than a couple months, but the usual
shelters of the time didn’t last longer than a
few days.
Life back then probably centered
around the hearth, Potter said. When the
family’s 3-year-old died, they placed their
child’s body in the pit, knees drawn up and
back against the earth, Isaac said. They had
transformed their hearth into a funeral
pyre. Immediately after the cremation, they
abandoned the house. The family may have
moved elsewhere on the dunes, Potter said.
The archaeologists found one other site,
a fourth and final camp that was abandoned
10,000 years ago.
Researchers credit Alaska’s most
ancient human to a railroad
survey. Xaasaa Na’ rested near a proposed
route from Fairbanks to Delta Junction. In
2006, archaeologists flagged the area when
they found traces of artifacts. They returned
in 2007 and found three settlements.
In 2010, the National Science Founda-
tion’s stimulus funds provided $106,000
for further excavation, with an additional
$13,000 for helicopter transportation, ac-
cording to Potter’s website. They had three
weeks. They discovered the house, and on
the last day, a student stumbled upon the
child, Potter said.
The human remains changed every-
thing. The scientists stopped working and
applied for permission to continue digging
in the area. When the archaeologists re-
turned, they uncovered a skeleton mangled
by fire. They used teeth to determine the
child’s age and surrounding ash to date the
cremation, Irish said.
well, but this site was full of them.
The archaeologists would sometimes
dig as long as light allowed. “We were trying
to get in all the work that we could,” Blood
said.
Joann Polston is Healy Lake Tradi-
tional Council’s first chief. The Salka-
chet Band eventually settled Xaasaa Na’.
Many of the band’s living descendants are
members of Polston’s council, according to
press materials.
The scientific findings solidify Polston’s
oral history. Her grandmother told her that
people would cremate their dead when the
weather was too harsh for a burial. This Ice
Age family “used what they had available,”
and transformed their home into a burial
site, Polston said.
Polston serves on the Tanana Chiefs
“This individual represents the second
youngest individual found for this time
frame in the western hemisphere,” Potter
said.
Katie Blood, an anthropology senior,
traveled with about a dozen people to Delta
Junction to attend a field course near Gerstle
River last summer. The experience prepared
her for Xaasaa Na’, Blood said. Blood worked
for Northern Land Use Research Inc., which
sent her to help Potter’s team when he re-
turned to excavate the child.
The mood there was different than Ger-
stle River, she said. There was an underlying
tone of awe. “It took a while for it to sink in,
exactly how significant this find was,” Blood
said.
Each student excavated a square meter,
she said. Later, she worked with a doctoral
student to identify animal remains. Bird and
fish bones are fragile and rarely preserve
Conference (TCC), a consortium of Inte-
rior Alaska Natives. “I am truly impressed
with the level of respect and honor that the
remains have been given to date,” Polston
said.
No one knows whether the child’s
family has any living descendents.
Scientists are waiting to see whether DNA
extraction is possible.
The actual skeleton could be dated,
instead of just the surrounding ashes. They
could find out the toddler’s sex. Scientists
could track the diet of the mother if the
child was weaned, Potter said. Ecosystem
dynamics could be recreated.
Potter plans to return this summer for
another three weeks. Only 42 square meters
have been excavated on one dune. “This
is the beginning of the story,” Potter said.
“We’ve got a lot of good information, but
stay tuned.”
6 Arts & EntertainmentMarch 1, 2011 The Sun Star
Mominees tweet the OscarsThe Academy Awards are going for a
more family friendly approach this year. As
a part of that approach, the mothers of Oscar
nominees have been asked to tweet about
it. These Moms, dubbed “Mominees” will
include host James Franco’s grandmother as
well.
It was her bacon firstA bacon enthusiast is seeking a lawsuit
against her former agent for stealing her
cookbook idea. Lisa Skye, author of “I Love
Corn,” came up with the idea to write an “I
Love Bacon” cookbook. She and her agent,
Jayne Rockmill, worked to come up with the
book. Over the course of the negotiations,
Skye became disenchanted with Rockmill’s
aggressive style and fired her. A year and a
half later, Skye found a copy of “I Love Bacon”
authored by Rockmill on the shelf of a San
Fransico bookstore. Skye is seeking legal ac-
tion forcing Rockmill to withdraw the book.
There are gnomes in NYCGnome Life sounds like your typical
Tumblr. A guy in plaid posts a lot of pictures
of himself staring meaningfully into the dis-
tance. But there’s a twist: he’s a 108 year old
gnome in Brooklyn. Every entry features a
dramatic entry with a cryptic caption about
the struggle of fitting into to New York while
being a gnome.
-NPR
-New York Post
-CNN
A & E BriefsCompiled by Elika RoohiSun Star Reporter
Northern Alaska Tour Company is a Fairbanks-based tour operator specializing in excursions featuring the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska's Arctic. Our one-day and multi-day excursions combine Dalton Highway ground touring with air and river experiences. Destinations visited include the Yukon River, the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Wiseman, Anaktuvuk Pass, Deadhorse, the Arctic Ocean and Barrow.
We are now recruiting guides, guest services, reservationists, bookkeepers and cleaners for the upcoming summer visitor season. Ideal positions available for high-energy, people-oriented, hard-working individuals eager to share love of Alaska with visitors. Guide candidates must be 21 years old and have a good driving record. Guest Service candidates must be 19 years old.
Stop by to meet us at our booth - UAF Wood Center: Wednesday, Mar 2th - Career Expo 2011
APPLY ONLINE: www.northernalaskajobs.com
J.D. Salinger liked Burger KingNearly a year after the reclusive author’s
death, letters between Salinger and a friend
shed some light on what J. D. Salinger might
have been like. Salinger liked Burger King
better than other fast food chains. He also en-
joyed being a tourist, taking bus trips to Nan-
tucket, Niagara Falls, and the Grand Canyon.
Salinger was a tennis fan, with strong political
feelings. Did Salinger dupe the media and
his fans into believing he was a recluse so he
could enjoy fast food and watch tennis?
-The Week
Feature film coming to Fairbanks, seeks actorsJeremy SmithSun Star Reporter
Former Fairbanksan and UAF student
Chinonye Chukwu is returning for two
weeks to film her first full-length feature,
“alaskaLand.” Approximately six speaking
roles and 200 extras will also be cast in the
film.
Chukwu is Nigerian-born and Alaska-
raised. Previously she had taken a film class
at UAF, and decided to build upon that in-
troduction and venture out into the world
of film-making. She enrolled at Temple Uni-
versity and earned her masters in film and
media arts.
Chukwu’s early work included 2009 Di-
amond Screen Festival winner Igbo Kweno!,
a comedic drama about what it can mean to
be a part of a second generation in America.
Her most recent film, The Dance Lesson, was
a Regional Finalist for the 2010 Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Student
Academy Awards and received an Honorary
Mention at the Los Angeles International
Film Festival. The Dance Lesson concerns a
13-year-old black girl who wants to be a bal-
lerina in her gentrified community of North
Philadelphia.
According to Chukwu, artistically she is
most concerned with, “images that are rich
with cultural nuances.” Her themes often
deal with the complex and contradictory
issues of ethnic identity, dual identity, and
cross-cultural interaction.
Her first feature-length film, “alas-
kaLand,” is a story of a young Nigerian-
American man attempting to find his place
between cultures in Fairbanks, Alaska.
According to a recent announcement,
the film will be casting for the following
speaking roles:
• Anthony - male of color between the ages
of 18 and 22
• Anthony’s Little Sister - 14-year-old girl of
color
• Assistant Dean - white female in her 30s
• Dean - black female in her 40s
• Stranger - white male in his 50s - 70s, an
“Alaskan Man”
• Emily – Alaskan Native female that is
between the ages of 20 - 22
You can learn more about the film, the
casting announcement and the director by
searching Facebook for AlaskaLand: the
Movie or visiting www.uaf.edu/film/news-
1/.
Approximately 200 extras from Alaska
will also be cast in the film. Auditions are
open to the public and will be held at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in
the Fine Arts Complex, Regent’s Great Hall
on Saturday, March 5 from 12 – 6 p.m.
“alaskaLand” will be shooting between
March 27 and April 10 in and around Fair-
banks.
Chinonye Chukwu
7News www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
Women’s basketball ends with loss to rivals
The Nanooks women’s basketball
season is officially over, ending with a 70-40
loss to the UAA Seawolves on Feb. 24. Alaska
kept the game close throughout the first half
by playing extraordinary defense. They held
the lead until 7:12 in the half, but lost mo-
mentum after that. What kept the Nanooks
down was their shooting. As a team, they
shot 20.4 percent for the game. Senior Nicole
Bozek led the team with 10 points and 10
rebounds. Alaska ended the season with just
one win: a 76-71 victory over Central Wash-
ington on Jan. 6.-Alaskananooks.com
National rifle team chosenTo determine the final member of
the five-member rifle team for Nationals,
coach Dan Jordan held a match on Feb. 19.
The match was essentially between Scott
Franz and Aaron Holsopple, but other team
members also shot for the fun of it. At the
end of the day, Holsopple out shot Franz
576-574 in air rifle and 582-573 in smallbore.
He will join teammates Cody Rutter, Cole
Bures, Anna Hjelmevoll and Mike Liuzza
in Georgia, March 11 and 12. Ida Peterson
used the match as her key to qualifying as
an individual All-American in the smallbore
competition. Before this match, she had
been one meet shy of qualifying. Being an
All-American means that she is one of the
top four shooters in the nation for smallbore.
-Alaskananooks.com
-Alaskananooks.com
Men’s basketball gives seniors a sad farewell
The Nanooks men’s basketball team lost
to the UAA Seawolves in the rivalry games
Feb. 22 and 23. Feb. 22 was Senior Night for
the Nanooks. Alaska kept the game even with
the Seawolves throughout the first half, but
UAA was able to take over the second half
and win the game 74-65. The following night,
the Seawolves, fueled by the energy of their
721-member crowd and home-court ad-
vantage, dominated the perimeter and took
a 118-82 win against the Nanooks. This loss
knocked the Nanooks out of playoff conten-
tion, so their season is now over.
Sports BriefsCompiled by Rebecca ColemanSun Star Reporter
There’s an app for UAFElika RoohiSun Star Reporter
There is an app for everything. In-
cluding UAF.
UAF Mobile is an application that has
been around since the beginning of this
semester. It allows students to access the
UAF directory, look up courses, view a map
of campus, watch videos, browse the news,
call the shuttle and more.
The first college campus app was origi-
nally developed by students at Stanford,
according to Karl Kowalski, the Executive
Director of User Services at OIT.
From there Blackboard, the UAF online
class supplement, started working with the
students at Stanford to develop a standard
interface for college apps.
The UAF app is far from being finished.
OIT has some big plans on what will happen
next.
“We’re currently working with the li-
brary and incorporating the catalog,” said
Kowalski. OIT is also working with on-
campus dining services to get menus to be
a part of the app.
best UAF-related app.
“There was a lot of feedback on it,” Kow-
alski said. “But there ended up only being
two submissions.”
The first was Pender’s app, which pres-
ents a searchable course catalog that allows
students to save the schedule of potential
classes to their phone. The other app was
submitted by the drama department, and
gave a virtual tour of the department.
Pender’s app should be a part of UAF
Mobile soon. “It’s not ready to go against
live data yet,” Kowalski said.
For students that want to check Black-
board from their smartphones, there’s a
Blackboard mobile app. The app only works
with certain platforms at the moment, but
it should work with everything by spring
break.
Anyone with good app ideas should get
in touch with OIT.
“By all means, bring it forward,” Kow-
alski said.
A screenshot of the mobile app available in the iTunes app store.
Another future addition to the UAF
mobile app will be an app designed by John
Pender, a junior computer science major.
OIT held a contest in the fall to design the
Governor’s Cup8 The Sun StarMarch 1, 2011
Helping others can be meaningful work. Flexible hours are available—full-time or part-time—while you’re in school.
Job opportunities are available all over Alaska. Jobs where you will make a positive difference for people of all ages who have developmental disabilities, mental illness, chronic alcoholism, or Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Earn money, help others and learn about a growing industry—all from a part-time position.
Find Meaningful Work.
Tina Woods, Anchorage and Saint Paul Island. UAA graduate, Ph.D. student in UAF-UAA Joint Ph.D. Program in Clinical-Community Psychology.
www.mhtrust.org
The Alaska Mental HealthTrust Authority
Curious? Find out more at aadsc.orgJoin us on Facebook
Sea Wolf Run, Sea Wolf Lose
Rebecca ColemanSun Star Reporter
Governor’s Cup stays home ‘where it belongs’
Once upon a time, 143 games ago back
in 1979, the University of Alaska Anchorage
and University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey
rivalry began. At the time, neither UAA nor
UAF was a part of an NCAA conference,
so they played each other as often as eight
times per season due to a lack of opponents.
In 1993, UAA became a member of the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and
UAF joined the Central Collegiate Hockey
Association. Being members of different
leagues posed a problem for the rivalry:
both teams had very full schedules and were
allowed few non-conference games. But it
would be unheard of for Alaska’s only col-
lege hockey teams to not face off throughout
the year; thus, the Governor’s Cup was born.
The inaugural series took place during
the 1993-94 season, with one game played
at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks and the
other at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.
The UAA Seawolves won game one in Fair-
banks, but the Nanooks would take game
two, led by the opening goal of then-sopho-
sophomore Dallas Ferguson, UAF’s current
head coach. The series would be deter-
mined by a shootout, which UAF won.
“The Governor’s Cup games are some
of the greatest memories I have had in col-
lege hockey,” Ferguson said. “The competi-
tion it brings and being part of a game that
means so much to our university and com-
munity is very special.
Fast forward to 1999. The coaches of
UAA and UAF determined that there was
room in both of their schedules to play each
other four times instead of just two. The
1999-2000 season’s Governor’s Cup would
be determined by a weekend played in Fair-
banks in October, followed by a weekend
played in Anchorage in March. UAA would
take the cup the first year of this change, but
UAF would soon outshine their domestic
enemies, earning a five-year winning streak.
Two years ago, the series went back to being
the best out of two games instead of four.
This brings us to today. Throughout the
17-year course of Governor’s Cup history,
UAA has won the cup eight times to UAF’s
nine. The weekend of Feb. 25 and 26, both
teams were determined to take the cup. UAF
was the current owner, having won the cup
last season, but the Seawolves had owned
it for three years prior to last and wanted it
back on their campus.
“It’s exciting because it is a big event
for both communities,” said captain senior
Kevin Petovello. “It’s such a rivalry, and the
fans show a lot of passion.”
“Everyone knows how important it is,”
said assistant captain senior Derek Klassen.
“It’s a weekend of pride, so we want to put
our best foot forward.”
“This is our biggest rivalry,” said UAA
head coach Dave Shyiak. “We’re playing for
bragging rights.”
“Let’s beat the Seawolves!” said assis-
tant captain senior Bryant Molle.
Friday night was Senior Night for the
Nanooks, so the night began with senior in-
troductions and a starting lineup comprised
of mostly seniors. UAA made a quick effort
to thwart the positivity of the Nanooks by
scoring a goal only 25 seconds into the first
period. It took the Nanooks a little while to
get into the groove of the game, but they
UAA’s #13 Quinn Sproule demonstrates proper stick usage to Nanook #14 Adam Henderson in Friday night’s Governor’s Cup game in Fairbanks. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
UAF’s #27 Derek Klassen and UAA’s #11 Mitch Bruijsten duke it out for the puck in the Sullivan Arena during the second game of the Governor’s Cup Saturday Night. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011Governor’s Cup 9
came back in the second period with lots of
scoring opportunities. Just when it seemed
that all of Alaska’s efforts were for not, “Cap-
tain Kevin” saved the day by putting the Na-
nooks on the board after a pass from junior
Carlo Finucci.
In the third period, Alaska faced a
5-on-3 penalty kill for two minutes, but
successfully held the Seawolves at bay.
Petovello said this was the “turning point”
of the game. Not long after the penalty kill,
freshman Colton Beck put the puck behind
UAA goalie Rob Gunderson. Seconds later,
sophomore Andy Taranto picked up another
goal. With more than six minutes left on
the clock, the Seawolves pulled Gunderson
to have a six-man advantage, but the only
advantage was to the Nanooks. Taranto
and freshman Cody Kunyk wrangled the
puck away from the Seawolves and gave
it to Beck, who easily skated to the empty
Seawolf net, flipping the puck in with gusto
for his second goal of the game. To close out
the night, after receiving a pass from sopho-
more Jarret Granberg, Petovello fired the
puck into the net for his second goal of the
game, giving Alaska a 5-1 victory.
Hundreds of Fairbanks students made
the pilgrimage to Anchorage for Saturday’s
game and were given many warnings from
building security not to pound on the glass.
This didn’t affect the mood or cheers of the
loyal Nanook crowd, even when the game
opened with a three-goal first period for the
Seawolves.
“It was a lot of little mistakes on our
part,” said junior Joe Sova. “They were capi-
talizing on every shot.”
UAA picked up another goal in the
second period, giving them a 4-0 lead.
Kunyk took advantage of a power-play op-
portunity in the third period to put the Na-
nooks on the board, preventing a shutout
for UAA goalie Chris Kamal. At the end of
the night, the Seawolves claimed a 4-1 win.
“The 4-1 loss was a downer,” said goalie
junior Scott Greenham. “But we knew we
still had a chance to win [the Governor’s
Cup] with the shootout.” The shootout is the
standard tie-breaker of the Governor’s Cup
in the event that each team wins a game.
Each team picked three shooters. Beck
was up first of the Nanooks, and he made
his shot with ease. Jordan Kwas made an
attempt for UAA, but was shut down by
Greenham. Petovello’s shot was turned
away by Kamal, but Greenham blocked
UAA’s Tommy Grant’s shot, keeping the
Nanooks ahead. Taranto took the final shot
for Alaska and bested Kamal, giving the
Nanooks the shootout win and continued
ownership of the Governor’s Cup.
“It was a great feeling to get that
shootout and having our name on the cup
for the second year in a row,” Molle said.
“Now we’ll bring it back to Fairbanks
where it belongs, and we’ll celebrate,” Sova
said.
Next up for the Nanooks is the first
round of the CCHA playoffs against Mich-
igan State on March 4 and 5 at the Carlson
Center.
UAA’s #13 Quinn Sproule demonstrates proper stick usage to Nanook #14 Adam Henderson in Friday night’s Governor’s Cup game in Fairbanks. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
UAF’s #27 Derek Klassen and UAA’s #11 Mitch Bruijsten duke it out for the puck in the Sullivan Arena during the second game of the Governor’s Cup Saturday Night. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
Nanook #17 Jarret Granberg and Seawolf #19 Nick Haddad square off in the second period of the final game of Gov. Cup. Feb. 25, 2011. Dillon Ball/Sun Star.
10 NewsMarch 1, 2011 The Sun Star
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Power struggle with UAF plantDaniel ThomanSun Star Reporter
A new and horrible screeching noise
pierced the afternoon. An email was sent out
with a cursory explanation and a request to
conserve power. These were the only clues
that most at UAF had that something had
gone wrong at the university power plant.
According to Charles Ward, Director
of Utilities at UAF, the power plant’s issues
started on Monday afternoon. One of the
circuit boards that monitors the voltage reg-
ulation of the main turbine failed outright.
This led to the turbine having to be shut
down; thus, no electricity or heat could be
generated. Ward said that while this was the
biggest problem the power plant has faced,
he also cautioned that the power plant was
going to have more issues as it is in the
47th year of its original projected 50-year
lifespan. “Life-extending” procedures have
been done in some areas and are underway
in others, but the ultimate determining
factor for the plant’s life is the state of the
pipes. It is unknown exactly when they will
fail.
While no one off-campus receives
power from the UAF plant, the campus re-
ceives almost 97 percent of its heat and 85
percent of its electricity from the plant. The
rest of the power is bought from Golden
Valley Electric Association. As the plant
was down, all of the power and heat had to
be bought, resulting in a bill of more than
$130,000 to the University.
Ward also said that the university
has been looking into various alternative
sources of power for some time. Options
include not only solid fuel, but also natural
gas, which would be significantly cheaper if
the proposed gas pipeline becomes a reality.
UAF isn’t the only group interested in
changing how the power plant functions.
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center
is also looking at the impact that a coal-fired
plant has on the environment especially in
a location that is “the epicenter of climate
research,” according to Jessie Petersen, the
Renewable Energy Program Director at
the Center. Petersen pointed out the large
amounts of sulfur and other pollutants that
the power plant puts out daily. She hoped
that UAF would pursue a green energy pro-
gram, but admits that finding a workable
energy source was a “billion-dollar ques-
tion.” She also said that biomass, solar
during the summer, wind, and even tidal
energy could be looked at as possibilities.
Petersen expressed hope that this would be
one more step that UAF takes on its road to
being a greener university.
One thing everyone agrees on is that
any of the changes that will take place
cannot and will not happen overnight. Ei-
ther a major renovation or a completely new
building would be required, which would be
expensive. Petersen said that the university
should look at the overhaul as an invest-
ment rather than anything else because they
are protecting themselves from the environ-
mental hazards of the plant and the cost of
future repairs.
11News www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
4.6x7_SYK_Affordable_K.indd 2 2/2/11 9:53 AM
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The ‘Cosmo girls’ of FairbanksAmber SandlinSun Star Reporter
UAF Community and Technical College
is currently conducting a review of the pilot
program for cosmetology. Seven months
into their third year, the new class of 18 stu-
dents is driven by a passion for the art and
community of hairdressing. Due to it being
a pilot program, the university is looking at
cosmetology to determine whether they are
going to continue it in the future.
The program, directed by Tina Christo-
pher, began three years ago. Members of the
Fairbanks community asked UAF to start the
program due to the lack of training facilities
for future cosmetologists. Before, aspiring
cosmetologists had to ask licensed beauti-
cians and barbers to accept them as an
apprentice for a minimum of two years.
Only one apprentice per licensed cosme-
tologist is allowed.
In order to become a cosmetologist,
one must take the State of Alaska Board of
Barbers and Hairdressing Exam. Not just
anyone can take this exam. One must first
complete 1,650 hours of practical and theo-
retical training. That is approximately 218
days, seven and a half hours a day.
“It’s been a challenge [because] this
is not an easy program,” Christopher said,
standing in a room filled with busy women
affectionately nicknamed “Cosmo girls.”
In the program, the women learn as
much about the human body, such as mus-
cles and bones, as nurses in the nursing pro-
gram; they must learn anatomy before
they are allowed to work in the beauty
world. In the classroom, every student is
performing some task. Nobody is sitting, all
are in uniform.
“This is my community and I love [the
community],” said Louise Morris, an in-
structor at the cosmetology program. “That
is why I do it.”
This 13-month program starts in July
and ends in August the following year.
They hope to change start the program to
September, and end in July or August, com-
pleting exactly 11 months.
Community is a main drive and pas-
sion of these students and instructors. In
previous years, they have traveled to Ne-
nana for a day and provided perms and
cuts for the local community. The students
discovered a girls’ boarding school and pro-
claimed, “We want to go there!” Tina Chris-
topher said. “So they went, and had a blast!”
Helping small cities and towns with no sa-
lons has been just a small amount of what
the students have done for the community.
They have helped in the “Connect homeless
connect” program in Pioneer Park, and did
a half-time show for the Roller Derby girls,
among other things.
“[Cosmetology] isn’t an easy thing, you
know,” Christopher said, “You’ve got to be
tough as nails.” She told a story of a woman
from the Dominican Republic, a janitor
and mother of six children. The woman
had started off speaking broken English,
and by the end of the 13 months, she was
determined to take the State of Alaska test
in English “She said ‘I’ve already learned
this in English, I’m not going to re-learn it
in Spanish!’ Now that woman was tough as
nails.” Her husband and children had moved
their schedules to support their mother in
her dream of becoming a “Cosmo girl”.
Mothers who pursue their dreams are
common in the beauty industry. Susan Mer-
rill, a 37-year-old wife and mother of four,
had dreamed of becoming a cosmetologist
since she was in high school. Originally
from Colorado, she married young to a man
rooted in Alaska. The timing wasn’t right to
return to school until now. “It was a family
decision,” she said. “It wasn’t just my hus-
band and I, the whole family agreed.” She
hopes to turn her rental home in Salcha into
a salon, naming it “Salcha Cuts.”
Most cosmetology students are looking
for the freedom to break away from the tra-
ditional nine to five standard jobs, to take
control of their schedule and work when
they want. “Every student that wants a job,
gets a job,” Christopher said. Of this pro-
gram’s alumni, three are now managers of
salons around Fairbanks. Last year, every
student graduated from the program. Chris-
topher has full confidence that every stu-
dent this year will graduate as well.
The cosmetology program is difficult to
get in to. Out of the 200 prospective students
Christopher sees in a year, only 50 will be
interviewed and only 18 will be admitted.
12 NewsMarch 1, 2011 The Sun Star
From snow to sand, UAF students embed in Stryker training in Mojave DesertSpecial to the Sun Star
Bright and early Friday morning, our
first day “in the box,” we met with Col. Todd
Wood, commander of the 1-25th Stryker
Brigade, in the Tactical Operating Center, a
series of connected tents, in Forward Oper-
ating Base Denver in the Mojave Desert. He
welcomed us, answered questions and as-
sured us we would have unfettered access to
the soldiers and their training.
The students walked out of the tent and
into the sunshine. Inspired by their access
to the colonel, they were excited to get to
work. The colonel rolled away in a Stryker
convoy for a meeting with provincial Afghan
leaders.
And we spent the rest of the morning
and well into the afternoon waiting for our
rides, waiting to embed. Over the next few
hours, we had several test runs at embed-
ding. We’d run and gather our gear for an
imminent departure, only to learn plans had
changed. We rearranged our two-person re-
porting teams several times. At one point,
we had Options A, B, C and D.
By early afternoon, Matt Anderson and
Jeric Quiliza embedded with the 3-21 In-
fantry Battalion, “The Gimlets.” They piled
into a Stryker, the ramp closed and the
convoy headed southeast toward the sce-
nario’s Pakistani border.
JR and I eventually embedded with the
1-5 Infantry Battalion, “The Bobcats.” We
met LTC. Brian Payne, the commander, late
Friday afternoon when he and his soldiers
returned from a successful mission after
recovering a missing United States State
Department official. A mission we’d missed
because we were sitting in an office, waiting.
We were upset we’d missed the story.
He was upset, too. We learned that LTC.
Payne had sent a convoy through a “kill
zone” earlier in the day to pick us up, only
to be told we had left with another unit. We
assured him we’d been waiting for them and
had been told they’d left without us. Due to a
series of miscommunications, he’d uninten-
tionally put his soldiers at risk and stranded
a reporting team.
A lesson learned, LTC. Payne said.
Learning from mistakes is an essential
part of training, for the soldiers at the Na-
tional Training Center and the students em-
bedded with them.
The military has its own culture: its lan-
guage, its customs and its terrain are just as
foreign to the student journalists as Afghan-
istan’s culture is to the soldiers.
Over the four nights and three days
on the “embed,” the students and soldiers
learned they share common ground. As
the soldiers seek to conduct an effective
counterinsurgency campaign, they need to
establish rapport with local Afghans. They
learn to establish trust and build relation-
ships. All the while, they maintain situa-
tional awareness and adapt to any changes.
The students had to do the exact same
things—build rapport, created relationships
and adapt to changing circumstances—to
bring home stories for their readers.
Cheryl HatchSnedden Chair
UAF students Jeric Quiliza, from left, John Robert Ancheta and Matt Anderson pose on the rocks outside Fort Irwin, California. They stand over the marker for the 1-25th Stryker Brigade from Fort Wainwright, AK. The students spent four nights and three days on an embed with the 1-25th, covering the soldiers during exercises at the National Training Center in the Mojave Desert. Cheryl Hatch.
Sam Harshbarger (left) and Donavin Smith (right) enter a stryker at a Combat Operating Base in Fort Irwin. JR Ancheta/Sun Star
On Feb. 17, Cheryl Hatch, this year’s journalism department Snedden chair, took three students, JR Ancheta, Matt Anderson and Jeric Quiliza, on an embed exercise with the 1-25 Stryker Brigade in Fort Irwin, Calif.
13News www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
JR AnchetaSun Star Reporter
Before leaving I wanted to know how photographers create intimate photographs. I
was curious on how to establish rapport with people in a small amount of time. In most
situations, I am always reserved when I am uncomfortable. The beginning of the trip was
no different. In our first night, it didn’t help that a sergeant confronted me while trying to
build rapport with a private at the dinner table.
“No. You need to ask permission first before photographing a soldier’s personal equip-
ment,” he said while I was shooting at the table. He sounded irritated and his demeanor
was very intimidating. My professor attempted to resolve the situation by explaining the
total access we were given, but the sergeant wasn’t convinced. I apologized to the private
for putting him in that situation. I was photographing his hat.
The following days were easier once we embedded with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry
Regiment, “Bobcats.” In Bravo Company, I first met Pvt. Josh Knight and Pvt. Edward
Crocker on a guard post and started talking. It was a start to building that relationship and
trust while helping me become confident of my objective. Establishing rapport wasn’t that
difficult; they were the same age as my 18-year-old brother. I could relate to them easily. I
learned their names and I remembered them. Identifying them with or without their uni-
forms was challenging, but it was manageable. They shared their stories and I will share
my photographs in return. This exchange between photographer and subject is essential in
making these intimate photographs.
During full-spectrum training excercises, Pvt. Edward Crocker (left) and Pvt. Josh Knight (right) keep watch at a guard post overlooking a mock Afghani village located inside the National Training Center in the Mojave Desert. JR Ancheta/Sun Star
After singing Garth Brook’s Friends in Low Places, Private Chris Whatley, poses in a stryker vehicle during a role-played mission. JR Ancheta/Sun Star
Perspectives14 The Sun StarMarch 1, 2011
This isn’t to say that you won’t get
pleasure or use out of photo books, funny
t-shirts, or other dime-a-dozen items you
can pick up on your travels. Sometimes
those things do have sentimental value.
The idea is to shift your focus towards
buying mostly or only those items that re-
ally move you, the things that you know
you will regret not getting for the rest of
your life. There are natural limits to this
procedure – namely your budget, since no
matter how much owning the original Bat-
mobile might make you grin, you’ll prob-
ably never be able to afford it – but prac-
ticing it on vacation is a great way to begin
using it in everyday life. Yes, vacation is
a time to let go and do what makes you
happy, but that’s why it’s such a powerful
time to hone skills like smart shopping. If
you can manage to do it on holiday, you
can do it anywhere.
If the idea of having things of great
sentimental and, in some cases, monetary
value around you isn’t enough to get you to
give intelligent consumerism a chance, try
thinking of it this way: the more money you
save by not buying worthless or meaning-
less garbage at home and abroad, the more
money you can put towards planning your
next trip. Besides, who wants to fork over
a hundred bucks to ship home a suitcase
full of pewter statues of every semi-famous
building you saw on your Grand Tour? The
baggage handlers will loathe you eternally,
and so will your back after you finish lug-
ging that thing up the stairs. Don’t be
tempted by trash on your next trip – only
bring home the things that inspire you.
Jamie HazlettSun Star Columnist
Weekend WanderlustMemorabilia MishmashPart II: The Intelligent Consumer
Whether you begin your trip with $50
or $50,000, the one thing you are more
or less condemned to find plenty of on
your vacation is spending opportuni-
ties. Traveling guarantees that you will be
confronted with schlock-filled storefronts
or street-side souvenir sellers aiming to
drain your wallet and leave you holding a
handful of garbage that you will probably
never look upon fondly. You don’t need a
snow globe from Tahiti; not only will you
have no place to put it when you get home,
it also makes no sense. Unless you’re
buying it specifically for the anachronism,
put it back.
Many people make the mistake of
thinking they have to bring back some-
thing from every place they stop to go to
the bathroom on their trip. Each item
should preferably be emblazoned with the
locale’s name in an annoyingly bright color
or unreadable font, and must be either ex-
orbitantly overpriced so the buyer thinks
they’re purchasing quality or so cheap that
we crafty tourists won’t be able to wait to
brag about the deal we got. But what are
you going to do with what you’re preparing
to pay the equivalent of several hours of
labor at your boring/annoying/stressful
job for? If you can’t think of a legitimate
use or reason why that particular item will
bring a smile and good memories to you
or the person you’re intending to give it to,
walk away. You can do better.
A big part of intelligent consumerism
while on vacation is tailoring your wants
to fit your needs. Are there things that you
could use or have wanted for a long time
now that your destination is known for
producing? Do you have an interest, skill
or talent that is important to you? Look for
things that speak to that need or character-
istic. If you find something that has a his-
tory of being made locally in a traditional
style, that’s even better. A musician might
plan on buying a Glockenspiel xylophone
in Munich; a tea aficionado might search
for a unique service set in Tokyo or Beijing.
The possibilities are as endless as your in-
terests.
Jeremy SmithSun Star Columnist
This year’s Oscar information goes to…
It’s Oscar night as I write this column
and I felt a little reflective on the whole
nature of the internet. Not that the Oscars
make me reflective. It’s more how I am able
to learn about the Oscars, and how quickly
I learn that information, that best illus-
trates just how much the online world has
changed our expectations regarding news.
Back in 2002, an interview with a cur-
rent president of the Society for Professional
Journalists was asked how the internet
has changed reporting. At that time, few
newspapers were online, but this president
worked at a newspaper that was. One of the
big changes she saw was the speed at which
news was being reported and posted online.
It was no longer a matter of days before a
story was available online, but hours, if not
minutes.
After looking at my Facebook feed, I saw
that Trent Reznor won the Oscar for Best
Score for “The Social Network.” They haven’t
even begun broadcasting the awards show
in Alaska.
As I was growing up in Fairbanks
watching the Oscars, I would often have to
wait a few days until the information was
disseminated in the newspaper. Of course I
can watch it and see who won what, but the
Oscars is not a quick affair. You have to sit
through hours of poorly ad-libbed jokes just
to find out which film takes home the Best
Picture. This doesn’t include all of those
awards that are announced as an aside and
aren’t even televised. The full list of winners
was never available instantaneously and
definitely not on-demand.
A tweet just came in that said, “Toy
Story 3, best animated feature, official.”
The internet has changed not only how
we access information, but how quickly we
expect to receive it. How many websites
have you stopped visiting when you learned
that they updated only once a week? What
about a breaking news site that only offers
updates daily? We go somewhere that is up-
dated regularly, if not obsessively, with all
of the information we want, exactly when
we want it. Without IMDB.com, how would
I know that Annette Benning has no Oscar
but has been nominated four times… and
continues her losing streak this year, thanks
to the gritty ballerina film featuring newly
dubbed Best Actress Natalie Portman.
There were newspapers and magazines
live blogging the Oscars, posting every scrap
of award-soaked information as it was an-
nounced. Looking at my Facebook feed
after the event reminds me of a Variety-
fueled minefield filled with explosions of
“UPSET!” and “BREAKING OSCAR NEWS”
and “WHO IS MELISSA LEO?” For those
who don’t know, People.com informed me
that Melissa Leo, from the TV show Treme,
is the winner of the Best Supporting Actress
Oscar for her work in The Fighter, not for her
role as Sally Jansen in 2007’s Mr. Woodcock.
It’s amazing how much information we
can summon with just a few keystrokes or
swipes across a screen. Less than an hour
after the event ended, all of the winners (and
losers) were posted on the Oscar website at
oscar.go.com and message boards at En-
tertainment Weekly were already howling
with a mix of naysayers and well-wishers.
For good or bad, the internet has forever
changed our expectations regarding infor-
mation dissemination… and made all of us
Oscar and movie trivia experts.
Jeremy talks and takes on technology at gpfault.org.
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Deferred maintenance15Editorial www.uafsunstar.com March 1, 2011
Deferred maintenance: just the words make my eyes
glaze. How can a term be so dry yet so critically impor-
tant for the university and the people who make it their
home?
According to the University of Alaska, there are
more than $750 million worth of unfunded, necessary
and overdue repair projects throughout the university
system. That is deferred maintenance. In practical terms,
it is the leaks in the Wood Center roof as snow seeps
through cracks in the concrete and rains down on the
heads of students, staff and faculty trying to eat lunch.Deferred maintenance includes repair or replacement of boilers, pipes, sprinkler
systems, labs and ceiling and floor tiles. In reality, it’s the reason our water tastes so bad,
why many of our ceilings and floor tiles are full of asbestos and why the university was
forced to spend more than $100,000 to provide campus electricity when the power plant
broke down.
It’s clear the university has an infrastructure that could be described as “decaying.”
There’s work that really needs to be done. Less clear is why money for these overdue proj-
ects has yet to appear.
Every year, the Board of Regents goes to the State Legislature requesting money to pay
for these long-needed projects. Since asking for just shy of a billion dollars is considered
something of a faux pas in Juneau, the regents ask for a substantially smaller amount. For
the fiscal year 2012, which begins this July, the regents requested $37.5 million. That’s not
nearly enough. At that rate, it would take 20 years to get all the existing deferred mainte-
nance taken care of. By that time, we’ll have accumulated 20 years worth of additional de-
ferred maintenance. This is unsustainable. A university with leaky roofs, water that tastes
like it has been sitting in a rusty pot and asbestos in the floor and ceiling is a university
that will repel the potential students and faculty we should be striving to attract.
So what is to be done? It clearly isn’t so simple as asking for more money. The State
Legislature, or at least certain powerful elements of it, has made it clear they are not in-
terested in expanding government largesse toward the university. If anything, they seem
focused on weaning the university off the government teat. The university is told to find
more private donors, more federal grants, make do with less. This is unacceptable.
When the Alaska Constitution was signed, the University of Alaska was enshrined
within it. We are one of the few state universities in the country to be protected by a con-
stitutional mandate. The framers considered the university to be critical as the home of
Alaska’s only true renewable resource: our young women and men. It is the responsibility,
the imperative, of our Legislature to protect that resource and that means cultivating and
maintaining the best possible state university. It means lawmakers stop hemming and
hawing and open up that $20 billion “rainy day” bank account we have and start spending
it on the thing that will not only keep young people here but attract new ones as well: the
university.
It’s time we dropped this stupid regional feud and remembered we’re all in the same
(leaky) boat. It’s time for student governments on all three campuses to speak up. A visit
to Juneau is a great start, now let’s see some protests. Let’s see some action. I call on the
Northern Light student paper at UAA and the Whalesong at UAS to join the Sun Star in
holding our state government accountable. Let’s spend less time asking “What’s a Sea-
Wolf?” and more time asking why people in power seem to think it is acceptable for stu-
dents to have to drink putrid water or for people to work in leaky classrooms and offices.
This rare issue bridges faculty, student and staff. It affects every single one of us. We must
speak with one voice, or else how can we expect anybody to understand us?
Sudoku
xkcd
Coffee Break
Andrew SheelerEditor-in-ChiefUAF Sun Star
The slippery slope fallacyDear Editor,
I would like to point something out
in defense of the two Regents who voted
against the LGBT legislation, and their
stated reasoning (at least, their reasoning
as I understand it from your editorial). You
dismissed the argument presented by Fac-
ulty President Dehn as a “slippery slope
fallacy.” I felt the need to get up on my little
electronic soapbox and address the idea of
the slippery slope argument as a fallacy, so
here goes!
You outlined a few excellent reasons
that transgender students should be consid-
ered among this legislation as well, such as
disproportionate instances of violence,
rape, and suicide. The slippery slope argu-
ment comes in right here. I don’t know what
the University’s specific qualifications are
for inclusion in the NDP, so I will use yours.
You argued that the documented evidence
of transgender victimization “means that
they deserve to be protected.” With this as
our qualification for inclusion in the Univer-
sity’s NDP (and I suspect this is very close
to their own reasoning), it is not at all great
leap to conclude that this will indeed open
the door for future amendment.
Whether or not that is a bad thing re-
mains to be seen, it’s entirely possible that
there will be future amendments that bring
about positive change. My point here is that
Faculty President Dehn’s argument was not
a fallacy, and that a slippery slope argument
(like any argument) is only a fallacy if it isn’t
founded on sound reasoning or evidence.
Thanks for your time!
Forrest Andresen