Volume XXXV, Issue #17
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The Sun Star
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UAF Hockey: What even is it? pg. 5
Yukon Quest sled dog race kicks off in Fairbanks Sarah Manriquez Photo Editor
39 year-old Cody Strathe doles out high-fives to spectaters as he goes onto the Chena River. Strathe has been running dogs for eight years. Before they took up running dogs, Strathe’s wife Paige Drobny studied squid at UAF. They were living in a little log cabin that they affectonately called squid acres. After they got a few sled dogs it seemed only right to name it Squid Acres Kennel. - Kris Voronin/ Sun Star
Energy was pulsing through the crisp, cold morning air, Saturday Feb. 6 as thousands of spectators lined both sides of the start chute waiting for 23 mushers to begin tearing down the trail. A fresh dusting of snow rested on the ground in downtown Fairbanks outside of the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. It was the morning of the 33rd annual 1,000-mile international dogmushing race, the Yukon Quest. “10…9…8…7…6…,” the crowd chanted, smiles planted on their rose colored cheeks and cameras firmly rooted in their hands. The mushing teams lined up under the iconic yellow banner designating the start line. Continued “Yukon Quest” pg. 4
Faculty Senate ‘cleans house’ Zach Sherman Sun Star
The Faculty Senate passed three motions during their final meeting of 2015 on Dec. 7. These changes included policy adjustments in B.A. minor requirements and academic probation and consolidation efforts with one masters of engineering program
The clover bowl is a personal favoriten of Kelleher’s that he has kept in his collection. There is a mood created for Kelleher in the piece that makes him curious. “It is an empty landscape that is untraveled, but familiar,” Kelleher said. Photo courtesy of Matt Kelleher.
Visiting Artist: Matt Kelleher Sarah Manriquez Photo Editor
Ceramics artist and professor, Matt Kelleher, will be visiting UAF on Feb. 15 - Feb. 16. Kelleher will be conducting workshops and demonstrations in the UAF ceramics studio in room 415 of the Fine Arts Building. Kelleher has had his hands in clay since he was in high school. He is currently serving as a faculty
member at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in the school of art and design, teaching with an emphasis on functional pottery. He has more than 15 years experience as a studio artist. Kelleher has a MFA degree in ceramics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a MA degree in printmaking from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute. Continued “Kelleher” pg. 6
Language option removal The current UAF catalog system of minors allows for students to avoid the 15-credit minor complex required for the bachelors of the arts degree by taking as few as 12 credits of a foreign language, Alaska Native Languages or American Sign Language. This change was part of UAF’s preparations for the expected streamlining of the UA curriculum as ordered by the UA board of regents. Minutes from the Faculty Senate meeting indicate the discontinued system allowed for a “loophole” that gave students the ability to subvert the current 15-credit minors already available in languages. The removed system did not require students to take any classes above the 100 level or require any of the credits to be taken in person at UAF. “It was really just house cleaning, making us follow our own policies,” Rainer Newberry, a professor at UAF, said about the changes.
Changes to Academic Probation The faculty senate moved to reword the UAF academic probation policy. The changes are adjustments in the language that equate to a need to have both a semester and a cumulative GPA that falls below a 2.0 before students are placed onto academic probation. The changes were made to prevent a single semester placing a student on academic probation and limiting them to 13 credits in the following semester. Those limitations can affect some forms of student aid, such as the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which requires students to take 15 credit hours for eligibility. Additionally, the summer sessions will now be given equal weight as fall and spring semesters in determining academic probation status. Both changes will take effect beginning in the fall semester of 2016. Removal of Master’s Program Changes were made for the removal of the Master of Electrical Engineering program from the UAF catalog. The change is primarily a cosmetic one, as the Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering has been retained and now allows for a non-thesis completion option. The change will take effect in the Fall semester of 2016. The next meeting of the Faculty Senate will be on be held on Feb. 8 from 1-3 p.m. at the UAF Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom and is open to students and the public.
UPD hosts 'Green Dot' to prevent campus violence Matt Mertes Sun Star
The Green Dot Prevention Strategy, commonly reffered to as Green Dot, is being taught to several groups on campus. University Student athletes, resident assistants and resident directors, student ambassadors and many of the faculty have been trained in use of Green Dot violence prevention strategies. Keith Mallard, UAF Chief of Police, believes that this training is very informative and important. He is encouraging more students to take part in the classes. The Green Dot program was devised by Dorothy J. Edwards. Edwards holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas Women’s University. She spent ten years Tweet us! @ uafsunstar
working around and addressing violence in one shape or another. Edwards was dissatisfied with the methods of violence prevention and awareness that had been taught thus far. The Green Dot program was her way of answering a fundamental question, “Are these programs really helping people to not become victims of violence? According to Mallard, the goal of the Green Dot program is not just to help inform people of the problem of power-based personal violence. He and the instructors hope to empower citizens with knowledge, to help intervene and prevent volatile situations from escalating to a “point of no return.” Mallard has worked to help bring this program to the students and staff. He hopes this program can help
establish two cultural norms—the first being that power-based personal violence is not acceptable and second that, as a community, everyone should try and help prevent it from happening. “Often times when people think about intervening, the only thing they think about is direct intervention,” Mallard said. “The reality is there are many other things you can do safely.” Mallard explained one of the principal concepts of Green Dot is the“Three D’s,” which details the different ways someone can intervene to deescalate a violent situation. The first D stands for “direct,” intervention, where an individual involves his or herself directly in a conflict. The second is “delegate.” If a person does not feel comfortable directly confronting a situation, they may find another person to alert. The
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Keith Mallard, UAF Chief of Police. - Image used with permission of Keith Mallard.
third D is “distract,” where a person does something to divert attention from a potentially violent situation. The next Green Dot training class will be held on Feb. 14 from 2-6 p.m, in room 103/105 of the Murie Building. Follow us on Instagram!