The Sun Star - November 15th, 2016

Volume LXX, Issue #12

T H E

V O I C E

O F

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

T H E

N A N O O K ,

Y O U R

S O U R C E

F O R

S T U D E N T

N E W S

Pop Con 6 pg. 3

Regents approve tuition hike Erin Granger Staff Writer

Women celebrated at Pub’s ‘Babefest’

Continued on pg. 4

Fairbanks local band Kittiwake took the stage as the second musical act of the third “Babefest” music festival. Kittiwake comprises of Laila O’Sullivan (piano), Josh Jefferies (guitar) and Matthew Harris (drums). This was one of the final Kittiwake shows to feature Harris on the drums. The band will be undergoing a major revamping in sound subsequent to Harris’s exit. O’Sullivan described the band as going in a more “experimental/electro direction,” and that all of their songs will be reimagined. Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

Title IX office sees reporting increase Erin Granger Staff Writer

Reporting of campus Title IX cases, such as sexual harassment, assault, or other gender-related crimes, is up, according to Kevin Canderara, UA Title IX director. However, not all cases are quickly resolved. The longest case still under investigation has been open since early 2015.

Title IX is a federal law passed in 1972 which mandates that individuals may not be discriminated against on the basis of sex or gender. The provisions of this law include equivalent spending on men and women’s athletics, as well as the investigation and handling of any gender-based discrimination or assault. The UAF Title IX office handles any report made regarding such incidents.

“All sexual assault or contact cases would be Title IX sexual misconduct cases, but not all Title IX sexual misconduct cases are sexual assault or contact cases,” Marmian Grimes, UAF spokeswoman, said.

Between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016, 80 sexual misconduct cases were reported to the UAF Title IX office. Of those 80 cases, only 18 were sexual assault cases.

Only one of those sexual assault cases proved to be founded, according to the Title IX office. No sexual assault cases were reported to the police during this time.

Four major sanctions were administered during the time period between July 2015 and June 2016; one suspension and three expulsions. All 80 cases reported between those dates have been concluded, but two cases remain open from before that period.

The remaining 17 unfounded sexual assault cases could have been left un-pursued for a number of reasons, including anything from a lack of evidence to the complainant no longer wanting to continue the investigation, Calderara said.

Major sanctions associated with sexual misconduct cases can include Tweet us! @ uafsunstar

Title IX reports, police reports and university sanctions 80

75

Total Title IX reports

50

Suspensions and Expulsions for sexual misconduct 28

Sexual misconduct cases reported to police

25 4

0

0

0

July 2015 - June 2016

4

July 2016 - October 2016

July 2015 - June 2016* 80 total cases*

July 2016 - October 2016 28 total cases

Sexual assault Title IX cases 22.5%

Sexual assault Title IX cases 57.1%

All other Title IX cases 77.5%

All other Title IX cases 42.9%

Completed cases 100%*

Completed cases 71.4% Ongoing Cases 28.6%

*Two cases reported in June of 2015 are still under investigation.

Infographic by Molly Putman / Layout Editor

suspension or expulsion from the university while minor sanctions may include moving students to another dorm or administering a no contact policy between the complainant and respondent.

Sexual misconduct covers a wide range of things, from verbal sexual harassment to sexual assault and other types of interpersonal violence, according to Title IX guidelines.

Continued “Title IX” pg. 5

Tution was hiked 5 percent across the UA system by the Board of Regents at their latest meeting. The increase, proposed by UA President Jim Johnsen, was approved by the regents at their meeting Thursday, Nov. 10.

The 5 percent rise in tuition will be take effect for the 201718 academic year. Original plans had placed the tuition increase at 10 percent, but this was dropped due to student outcry expressed in a campus wide ASUAF survey.

A re s i d e n t u n d e rg r a d u at e taking 12 credits of lower division classes would see a cost increase of $115.20, where a student taking the same number of upper division classes would pay $139.20 over current rates. Students expressed mixed feelings about the increase.

“It’s a necessary treatment for UAF’s struggling budget, though not a permanent cure,” Adam Hall, a former biological sciences student said.

Continued “Tuition hike” pg. 3

School of Education restructure on hold Erin Granger Staff Writer

At their meeting last week the Board of Regents pushed back consideration of a plan to centralize the school of education p ro p o s e d by UA P r e s i d e n t Jo h n s e n e a rl i e r t h i s m o n t h .

Johnsen’s plan included placing the school’s administration at UAF while still maintaining faculty and programs at UAA and UAS. UAF was proposed as the central location for the program based on its focus on research and technology, according to Johnsen.

After deliberation, the regents decided to hold off on making any immediate decisions reg arding the reorg anization of the school of education, expressing they were hesitant to choose a central location just yet.

“I think having UAF be the center of the school of education would help UAF,” Alisha Drumm, an English student said. “But with that we should think of the effects.

Would we need more general classes offered? Would we hire new professors to cover those or would we expect current professors to have to take on more courses? I definitely think the education program should always be offered at all main UA campuses.”

Regents from Juneau expressed their chagrin with the proposal to centralize the program at UAF, stating they felt the best education program currently sat with UAS. “ I c a n’t u n d e r s t a n d why we’re taking it from the best and giving it to the worst,” Regent Dale Anderson said. “It just does not make sense to me.”

The issue will be up for discussion again at the next meeting of the regents in March.

Like us on Facebook!

2

The Sun Star

November 15, 2016

NEWS

www.uafsunstar.com

The public safety report is compiled from police blotter information and interviews with UAF police officers. Individuals named as arrested and / or charged with crimes in this report are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Ben Ellis

Web Editor

Agency Assist 11/1/2016 2:21 p.m. - An officer arrived at Wood Center to help an unresponsive woman and transported her to Fairbanks Correctional Center.

11/9/2016 5:36 a.m. - The Office of Child Services reported a young child possibly left alone at their home at the MacLean Housing. Campus housing checked for the family name, but found a different current address, with nobody there when UAF officers tried to make contact with them.

11/10/2016 3:18 p.m. - UAF Police helped Alaska State Troopers attempting to locate a suspect in several sexual abuse cases. The suspect was not found on campus, but turned themselves into Alaska State Troopers. They were banned from all University of Alaska system campuses.

Intoxicated Person 11/4/2016 8:28 p.m. - A man found sleeping in the Wood Center Pub refused a cab ride off-campus and yelled at staff. An officer responded and the man was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by an ambulance.

11/10/2016 7:45 p.m. - Pub staff found the same person from a previous event passed out outside of the Pub again. An ambulance arrived along with an officer, they were banned from campus and the Wood Center was contacted for a follow-up.

Moving Vehicle Accident 10/31/2016 10:50 a.m. - A gray SUV repeatedly hit a car in the Signer’s Hall parking lot while trying to park. A UAF officer responded and contacted the owner of the SUV. 11/2/2016 11:57 a.m. - A report was submitted of a car damaged in the CTC Parking Garage. An officer responded and investigated the issue.

11/11/2016 7:08 a.m. - A UAF police of ficer’s vehicle was involved in an accident on Cowles Road. The Fairbanks Police Department responded.

11/12/2016 1:36 p.m. - A multicar accident happened on Farmer’s Loop Road. One of the vehicles involved was an official UAF vehicle.

The 29-year old driver, Elliot M. Cruikshank of Fairbanks, was found to be driving while intoxicated.

Cruikshank was transported to Fairbanks Correctional Center and charged with a DUI, Driving While

License Revoked and No Insurance.

Theft

Reckless Driving

11/5/2016 1:23 p.m. - A contractor from the UAF Power Plant came to the police department to file a report concerning items that had been stolen from the work site. An officer went to the scene to collect evidence and take pictures. Investigation ongoing.

11/4/2016 2:10 p.m. - A car was reported to be doing donuts in the Museum of the North parking lot.

An officer responded, but they had already left. Using video surveillance of the car, the officer was able to contact the owner of the vehicle and set up a time for them to come to the station for an interview.

Suspicious Circumstances 11/2/2016 8:53 a.m. - A report was submitted of two men in the flag of circles the day before. An officer contacted the primary person involved who said that the men had been intoxicated and were harassing people for food and money.

11/3/2016 9:42 a.m. - A report was submitted of research items missing from the Murie building. An officer investigated and found they had been moved by staff while they were cleaning.

11/10/2016 9:17 a.m. - A resident of Hess Village found strange tracks and disturbed snow leading up to the deck. An officer responded, and found that an animal had made the tracks.

Welfare Check 11/8/2016 10:40 p.m. - A caller reported an intoxicated woman at Hess Village. An officer responded to find her screaming.

E m e rg e n c y M e d i c a l S e r v i c e s arrived to evaluate the situation.

11/9/2016 2:27 p.m. - UAF Police helped Res Life and Health and Counseling with a welfare issue and risk assessment.

Found Property 11/4/2016 2:31 p.m. - Bikes that have been reported missing over the last few months were found in the woods near West Valley High School and were picked up by the police.

11/10/2016 11:56 a.m. Another of the bikes that had been reported missing was found to have been left at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

ASUAF is the elected student government of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The student government recieves around $500,000 per fiscal year in student fees and provide funding for the Sun Star, KSUA and the Concert Board as well as student groups and services. Meetings are held weekly and open to the public.

ASUAF funds endowment, views new UAF budget proposal Josh Hartman Staff Writer

The meeting started out with a presentation from Neurobiology Professor Abel Bult-Ito, who described “A New Vision for the Univeristy of Alaska.” Bult-Ito developed the plan to restructure UAF’s administration and to reinvest the savings.

The plan details how UAF should be focusing on “The academic mission of research, teaching and service, and student services and tuition scholarships,” according to the petition Bult-Ito set up to demonstrate support for his proposal.

The petition has 391 out of its goal of 500 supporters at the time of print.

“We need to reinvest and refocus on the academic mission of the univer sity,” he said.

Some of the main aspects of

SUN STAR The Sun Star’s Mission is to provide UAF and Fairbanks with a reliable, stimulating, student-produced news publication; maintain a forum for expression and offer practical journalism experience for students.

Main Office:

305 Constitution Hall, Tok Lane, UAF Fairbanks AK, 99775 (907) 474-7540 www.uafsunstar.com

the proposal are cutting managerial and administrative positions and adding more student services positions; funding more scholarships for tuition; adding more research faculty; resulting in an increase in student enrollment and retention, according to the proposal website.

“None of this will cost more than the savings,” Bult-Ito said.

To date, ASUAF has received 130 responses to the Title IX survey that they distributed in late October, according to ASUAF President Colby Freel. Government Relations Director Matt Mertes as well as Freel will be sorting through the responses and removing identifiable infor mation for the responses which are being sent to the UAF administration and the Sun Star.

Staff

During the meeting, Senate Chair Anderson-Agimuk suggested keeping the ASUAF deficit in mind when voting.

“We’ve had a concern about our budget, we’ve been pulling a lot out of rollover, while we’re running a deficit,” Anderson-Agimuk said. “We just need to be cognizant of how much we’re pulling out of roll-over.”

The senate discussed donating $10,000 from the Rollover Budget to support the establishment of the Erica Keiko Iseri Memorial Endowment. T he funds will be used to create a scholarship for the study abroad program.

-

Editor-in-Chief Spencer Tordoff (907) 474-7540 editor@uafsunstar.com Copy Editor Kyrie Long edits@uafsunstar.com

Freelance Cartoonist Mason Schoemaker

Web Editor

Ben Ellis web@uafsunstar.com

Photo Editor/Ad Manager Sarah Manriquez photo@uafsunstar.com Josh Hartman Erin Granger

Staff Writers

Appointments Matt Mertes, ASUAF’s government relations director, was appointed to the Sun Star Publication Board.

Attendance Present: Ben Anderson-Agimuk, Ivik Henry, Raymundo Lopez, O’Scannel, Diane Murph, Ryan Cain, Dawson Mann, Georgia Durden, Patrick Namwembe, Cordero Reid (late) and Joe Altman

The senate debated a bill to Freelancers Max Erickson Ellamarie Quimby Aaron Crabtree Aaron Walling John Aldabe Mark Melham

Layout Editor Molly Putman layout@uafsunstar.com

fulfill ASUAF’s responsibility to fund the clubs. This bill will provide the remaining $5,750 for the Club Council. The funds are coming from the Club Grants and Projects Budget.

They voted on the bill with eight in favor and one abstaining.

Tiffany Lehnerd

Archivist

Columnists/Contributers Alan Fearns George Krinkle Faculty Advisor Brian O’Donoghue bpodonoghue@alaska.edu

Letters to the Editor T he Sun Star welcomes commentary from our readers!

Please include the author’s full name and contact information (phone, e-mail or address), as well as a preferred title for your piece.

E-mail your letters to editor@ uafsunstar.com or submit them at www.uafsunstar.com. Letters must be received by 5 p.m. Friday in order to be run in the next issue. All letters are subject to editing for brevity and grammar.

In recognition of the 70th anniversary of independent student journalism at UAF, the Sun Star has amended this year's volume number to reflect the continuing legacy of the Polar Star.

November 15, 2016

NEWS

The Sun Star

3

www.uafsunstar.com

Let It Snow: Skiing lives on Aaron Walling Sun Star

The Alaska Nanooks men’s and women’s skiing teams celebrated the decision handed out by the Board of Regents not to cut skiing from UAF. After an announcement made by UA President Johnsen on the morning of Nov. 10, the Nanooks athletes came out for a celebration march.

“Fairbanks as a community not only offers many skiing clubs event and facilities for all ages but also is a big supporter of the UAF ski team,” senior Hannah Rowland said before the Board of Regents decision was made.

The board decided not remove skiing from UAF, or to remove any sports from either UAF or UAA for now. For the past few months college athletes have waited to find out if their sport would be affected by cuts.

A march to protest the cuts was slated for Thursday evening, but after the decision was announced, the ski team and members of the community marched to thank the administration for its decision to preserve the sport.

Student athletes, coaches, alumni and members of the Fairbanks community came out to show support of the skiing community at UAF. The crowd cheered in the dark night holding signs of support.

“We just got word that there’s going to be no sports eliminated at UAF or UAA,” Nick Crawford, head coach of skiing and cross country, said.

“A large part of this I guess w a s f ro m t h e outcry support from our c o m m u n i t y. ” “ I t ’s awe - i n s p i r i n g, absolutely awe-inspiring to see how much support we have ... that is what Alaska is,” junior Sarissa Lammers said. “Just knowing that these people came out to show us support. It warms your heart, you don’t see in other places. Everybody is just so loving here, they’re so excited to come out and show their support.”

Despite the chants of “Alaska skiing!” there are still some concerns on how the state legislature is going to tackle the budget. But in the moment, the skiing community celebrated.

“You see people, the community

As the sun set, UAF skiiers, coaches, students and members of the Fairbanks community gathered with home made signs to march in support of UAF’s ski team. Erin Granger / Sun Star

come out, and they’re bundled up,” Lammers said. They might be going out for their ski trails, but they come out as you’re racing and cheer you on the trails. And they don’t know your name, but they still go and cheer for you.”

“This is great to see this many people come out, not unexpected. I am very hoarse from cheering,” Ross Wildemann, a member of the crowd, said. “Snow baby, just snow.

That’s right, that’s what we’re about here. I am Nanook alumnus, from way back. There’s been skiing since as far back as I can r e m e m b e r, and I’ve been a resident since 1980.”

Wildemann was yelling into the night sky, along with many other student athletes and the skiing community.

O t h e r UA F s p o r t s t e a m s arrived to show their excitement.

There was the rifle team, crosscountry team and other athletes who came out for their comrades.

According to Assistant Head Coach Christina Turman, c u t t i n g s k i i n g w o u l d h av e placed distance between UAF and the Fairbanks community.

“It’s pretty emotional for me, having grown up so ingrained in this community, and seeing them come

“It’s aweinspiring, absolutely awe-inspiring to see how much support we have ... that is what Alaska is.”

- Sarissa Lammers

Local skiier Karin Gillis (left) and Kristan Kelly, a member of the booster club and mother of a hopeful UAF skiier Logan Mowry (right), talk before the march begins Thursday evening.

Erin Granger / Staff Writer

together and rally behind us, it’s pretty phenomenal,” Turman said.

“It sends a powerful message to the regents that it’s not just a few people on the team that want the team here,” This all happened nine days before the season starts for the men’s and women’s skiing teams, as they will face UAA on Nov. 19 in Fairbanks. Even though they are

rivals with one another, both sides can sigh a breath of relief with no sports being cut in the UA system.

“This shows how Alaska skiing is,” Crawford said. “We’re literally walking through four inches of snow right now on our way over to the Board of Regents gathering. It just demonstrates how critical skiing is, and how much of a great sport it is for our state.”

you think students supported this, walk around your campus or let themselves select if they want to pay for extra tuition. This is a facade to say the university supports it.”

Fisher was one of the two votes opposing the tuition hike.

“I think if you pose the question, ‘Do you want to pay more or do you want to pay the same?,’ of course everybody is going to say the same. But if you ask, ‘If you want to pay a little bit more or not have a class to go to?,’ everyone is going to pay a little bit more,” Lucason responded. “Students are willing to put it in when they see results.”

The newly appointed tuition increase was included in a budget proposal formulated by the regents

Thursday and Friday to present to the legislature later this year.

Regents approved a proposed operating budget of $341.1 million.

This budget would be split into three categories, according to regents, with $324.9 million for the base budget, $13.2 million for investments and $3 million for fixed costs such utilities.

Johnsen clarified these investments could include anything from building up student enrollment to placing a more significant focus on expanding research endeavors at UAF. If legislator s decline this budget, Johnsen says several smaller contingency budgets are under construction but his hopes are high.

The next Board of Regents meeting will be held in March in Anchorage.

Tuition hike Continued from pg. 1 “It has to be taken care of at the source, from the administrators and the board of regents themselves.”

“It’s not going to hurt as much as increasing it by 10 percent,” Colin MacDonald, a political science student said. “In my opinion, Alaskans have lived high off the oil hog for so long, now it’s time to pick up some of the slack themselves.”

Even with the hike, UAF tuition will still be under the national average based on other universities in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

“Our commitment to students is to ensure that [the] tuition increase continues to be

invested in quality,” Johnsen said.

Both Johnsen and student regent, Stacey Lucason, emphasized the need for efforts to ease the affects of the tuition increase for community college students, firsttime and non-traditional students.

“A lot of students are concerned with the sticker shock of tuition,” Lucason said. “Especially students that come from households that don’t have a lot of experience with college.”

While the majority of the regents supported the increase some opposition was voiced.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t let the charade of students approving tuition go forward without a response,” Regent Kenneth Fisher said. “Such a slight minority supported that. If

4

The Sun Star

www.uafsunstar.com

NEWS

November 15, 2016

Babefest Aaron Crabtree Sun Star

On Friday, Nov. 11, The Pub hosted the third “Babefest” music festival, a celebratory event for women in music. The Pub quickly hit capacity for a staggering lineup included singer-songwriter Paige Compton kicking off the night with a set. Compton was followed by Fairbanks local band Kittiwake and Termination Dust from Anchorage.

What made this “Babefest” different from previous years was the inclusion of choreographed ladies wrestling organized by F.L.O.W. (Fairbanks

Tara Chrisman aka “Darla Aphrodite Lover Gurl” stands victoriously over Sarah States aka “Freya tha Slaya” with Brooks Lawler aka “Cindiana Jones” by her side. This was the championship round of the choreographed ladies wrestling, Friday night at The Pub. Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

Ladies of Wrestling). Each of the music acts was punctuated with one of the three performances of an epic battle for the championship belt.

The event’s participants included Mary Fagan aka “Thunder Thighs,” Brooks Lawler aka “Cindiana Jones,” Tara Chrisman aka “Darla Aphrodite Lover Gurl” and Sarah States aka “Freya tha Slaya.” Judging by the audience’s reactions to the excitement, the choreographed wrestling was a welcome addition to the already popular annual event. The night was closed with a set played by DJ Ga$h Money.

Last Friday at The Pub, Fairbanks Ladies of Wrestling organized a choreographed wrestling event for the third annual “Babefest.” A wrestling ring was constructed for the event out of wooden pallets, tree trunks and gym mats. The ring was designed and built by electrical engineering student Mickey Zakurdaew as well as Eli Garland. Pictured is Zakurdaew, contemplating the ring’s design. Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

Last Friday at The Pub, Fairbanks Ladies of Wrestling organized a rousing choreographed wrestling event. Pictured is referee Jake Chavez declaring Brooks Lawler aka “Cindiana Jones” the champ of the first of three rounds after defeating Mary Fagan aka “Thunder Thighs.” Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

Anchorage band Termination Dust performed Friday night at The Pub. (From left to right) On guitar and vocals are Stefanie Vigoren and Jaybird Parkhurst. The band also includes Jacob Dee on bass guitar and Chubbz Ireland on drums. The band was one of the opening acts for Modest Mouse this past June, in Anchorage.

Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

Pictured are just a few of the many people that dressed up Friday night for the third “Babefest.”Electrical engineering major Mickey Zakurdaew was one of the minds behind the design and building of the wrestling ring; constructed for the night’s big choreographed ladies wrestling event. “Darla Aphrodite” was the reigning champ at the night’s end. (From left to right) Zakurdaew, Miles Gibson aka “Lover Boy Manager” and “Darla Aphrodite Lover Gurl.” Aaron Crabtree / Sun Star

November 15, 2016

NEWS

Title IX

Continued from pg. 1

Suspension and expulsion are accompanied with banishment from campus for the amount of time associated with the punishment.

The numbers of campus bans in place for UAF fluctuate too often to nail down a specific number, however there are often more than 100 bans in place at any given time, according to campus police. Only one to two percent of those trespasses are related to sexual violence or harassment, according to police.

Between July 1 and Oct. 31, 2016, 28 sexual misconduct cases have been reported to the Title IX office. Of those cases, 20 have been concluded and eight remain under investigation.

Twelve of those cases were sexual

assault cases with only one founded and five unfounded. Four of these cases were reported to the campus police station. No major sanctions have been administered for any of these cases.

“The sanctions may or may not be related to the reported cases during the same time period,” Grimes said.

“For example, if a case were reported on June 15, 2016, it would show up in the “cases reported” section for that year, but if that case resulted in a suspension or expulsion, that may not show up until the following year.”

Title IX cases on campus between 2011 and 2014 were not handled correctly, with no sanctions being carried out on offenders.

Have you reported an incident to the Title IX office?

We want to hear about your experience.

Visit http://bit.ly/SunStarTitleIX and fill out our contact form.

SUN STAR

The Sun Star

5

www.uafsunstar.com

Science Spotlight: Attempting to understand the ‘carbon bomb’ Science Spotlight is a preview of upcoming speakers, presentations and trending research issues at the university. The spotlight serves to distill what’s the most engaging research that week.

George Krinkle Sun Star

Permafrost is a major factor in climate change that has both local and global implications. But why should we care about something that’s been dead and frozen for thousands of years? Geologist Ronald Daanen, of The Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, is explaining why in his presentation on local permafrost and associated hydrologic shifts at the university. Specifically, he’s focusing on the Goldstream Valley.

“Everyone’s afraid of the carbon bomb called permafrost,” Daanen said, “the carbon that’s stored in per mafrost is being released due to warming temperatures. Bacteria attack that carbon and convert it to methane.”

So permafrost, one of the biggest carbon stores in the world (with one estimate at more than twice the global atmospheric carbon), is releasing carbon and converting it into methane. Estimates gauge methane’s efficacy as a greenhouse gas from 4 – 15 times that of carbon dioxide given the same amount of each. In other words, the release of substantial amounts of methane could lead to more serious climatic effects, than the release of the same amount of carbon dioxide. That means the ramifications for permafrost and its conversion to methane are extremely serious.

As you might imagine, a lot of research goes into permafrost

melt. The major difference with Daanen’s work is that he is one of the few researchers examining melt from the bottom of the permafrost. Most studies today focus on permafrost melt from the top.

“Melt at the bottom of permafrost has been happening longer than melt at the top,” Daanen said, “more per mafrost volume has been lost from the bottom than at the top. What that means for the carbon in the atmosphere is what we are trying to answer.”

So how is he able to measure climate impact on something buried well beneath the ground?

Electromagnetic surveys: division flies an electromagnetic system over the ground to measure the strength of electrical current in the ground.

These currents depend on the amount of liquid water present in the ground, if areas are frozen they have much less liquid water than areas that are thawed and thus much less current.

Daanen’s presentation will provide a much more in-depth understanding and is taking place in Akasofu 401 on Nov. 16 at noon as part of the American Water Resources Association meeting.

You can also attend via WebEx, provided you email event contact M o l l y Te d e s ch e b e fo re h a n d .

And in regards to per mafrost, we need to drop temperatures, not (carbon) bombs.

Research examines vitamin D deficient athletes Josh Hartman Staff Writer

Low vitamin D levels have been associated with problems such as depression and lower mental cognition. Alaskans are particularly affected by this issue, given the lack of direct sunlight in winter months, and athletes on campus may be at particular risk. A previous study done at UAF has shown student athletes have lower vitamin D levels than other students. This is one area of research doctorate student Scott Jerome has been working on in his lab.

Jerome and fellow doctorate student Lisa Smith, along with undergraduate assistants Hanna Short and Rebecca Gever, will be presenting on Nov. 21 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Murie Auditorium. Smith and Jerome will be spending the hour giving separate presentations.

“This work is really interesting for anyone who lives in the circumpolar north,” Jerome said. “We know that in the far north we’re not producing as much vitamin D from the sun as our friends closer to the Equator. I think we should be concerned about our vitamin D levels for our overall health.”

Jerome’s part of the lecture will be about how over-training affects athletes, in particular endurance athletes likes cross-country skiers.

Specifically, researchers looked at the vitamin D levels and manual dexterity skills of Fairbanks skiers during the skiing season and out of it.

“Not much is known about [overtraining syndrome] because it’s very difficult to diagnose, but it can be very debilitating for an athlete,” Jerome said.

They wanted to find out if vitamin D levels would be lower and if the skiers had lower dexterity skills during the winter ski season. Jerome

Student researcher Emma Jerome, of West Valley High School, assists with whole blood centrifugation and plasma aliquoting for her father’s PhD research project. Photo courtesy of Scott Jerome.

tested the athlete’s dexterity by seeing how many pegs they could put into a board in 60 seconds with their dominant and nondominant hands.

This may have implications for the mental cognition of the athletes as well, since manual dexterity and mental cognition have shown a correlation. If one is lower, then the other might be lower as well, according to Jerome.

Jerome’s research is adding on to similar research that was done in the past which found that athletes in Fairbanks who were consuming more vitamin D than the average student, however, the athletes still had less vitamin D in their blood.

In the future, Jerome’s lab is looking at using sled dogs as

models for human endurance athletes. Sled dogs are much easier to work with logistically.

“It’s also a lot easier, to some degree, to get 40 subjects at one place and one time if they’re all in a kennel as opposed to trying to round up 40 humans,” Jerome said.

For the other half of the seminar, Smith will be talking about the research that she is doing with undergraduate students Katrina Watson and Gabriel Cartagena.

Their research is about the protein that creates HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and how in some people it affects their mental cognition, similar to other illnesses like Alzheimer’s. The neurons, or brain cells, affected become less

connected to their neighbors and they die out, according to Smith.

“Better understanding the paths of neurodegeneration is beneficial to almost everybody because it’s something that eventually we are confronted,” Smith said.

In the future, Smith and her lab will also be looking at rat neurons located in the hippocampus of the brain and the formation of “rods,” which are misformed proteins that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s.

“I think this idea of HIVa s s o c i at e d n e u ro d e g e n e r at i o n is one that not a lot of people are familiar with,” Smith said.

6

The Sun Star

www.uafsunstar.com

November 15, 2016

SPORTS

Another double-digit holder of the night with a perfect 4-4 from the three-point line, Jaylee Mays scrambles after a loose ball before being cornered. Savanna Burke / Sun Star

Senior forward, Kaillee Skjold gives the Nanooks an early possession after a sky high tip off in the women’s basketball season opening game against the Academy of Art. Savanna Burke / Sun Star

Basketball starts strong, swim team sinks Aaron Walling Sun Star

Women’s Basketball The Nanooks women’s basketball team opened the season undefeated against the PacWest teams. The Nanooks poured on the points against the Academy of Art Urban Knights and the California State UniversityLA Golden Eagles, combining for 168 points in the two matches.

“We had a great turnout tonight from our fans, first and foremost! We had great performances by our seniors, Jordan [Wilson] and Kaillee [Skjold] were top-notch,” Head Coach Cody Bench said following Friday’s game.

The Nanooks offense was sharp over the weekend, as the seniors on

the team set the tone. Senior Autumn Childers opened up the three point shooting for the team, as she knocked down six threes and played excellent defense on the opposing guards. The Nanooks won by 24 points against the Knights with a score of 93-69 using the three point shot to pad the lead.

The Nanooks haven’t started 2-0 on the season since 2014. They also showed their bench will be a force in the Great Northwest Athletic

Conference. They have, in the past, struggled to generate points from the bench, but now they are led by senior Jaylee Mays as they try to move the team into the GNAC tournament for the first time under Bench.

The Nanooks look to their next match against Colorado State UniversityPueblo on Nov. 18 in Colorado.

Women’s Swimming T he Nanooks lost to the Concordia-Irvine Eagles in a tough swim meet. After tying on Friday, the team couldn’t keep up with the Eagles on Saturday.

The Nanooks will be heading to face the Huskies of Washington in the Husky Invitational. So with their match against the Eagles, they were looking to fine tune their events for the invitational.

“We’re only a couple of weeks away from our biggest meet of the fall, where every swim counts, so this seemed like it was our chance to vary our line-up a little bit in different events.”

Head Coach Scott Lemley said.

With the loss on Saturday, 92113, their record is now (2-3-1). But the team record doesn’t reflect some individual accomplishments. The team continued their dominance in events like the 200 medley relay, the 400 medley relay and 200-yard freestyle. With the 400 medley relay, the Nanooks were led by junior Martha Hood and senior Victoria Adams as they took first over the Eagles on Friday, nearly beating the competition by a full five seconds.

The Nanooks go on a few weeks rest as they prepare for the Husky Invitational in early December.

Martha Hood, junior, dives into her lane during the 200 Yard Individual Medley, a race in which athletes swim one lap in each of the four different swimming strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Ellamarie Quimby / Sun Star

November 15, 2016

NEWS

The Sun Star

7

www.uafsunstar.com

Pop Con celebrates games, comics and culture David Jones Sun Star

Vendors, cosplayers, gamers and geeks f locked to Wood Center last weekend for Pop Con 6, the sixth iteration of the yearly pop culture convention.

Visitors to Pop Con were greeted by rows of vendors occupying the downstairs area of the Wood Center.

Pop culture aficionados were able to peruse The Comic Shop’s table, which held everything from comics, to anime and video games. Other comic books featured were “Jeff & Taylor” or upstart “Red,” which are a little less mainstream. Other vendors offered kitsch and crafts like handmade Christmas ornaments or costumes.

Pop Con was sponsored by the Student Activities Office and the e-Sports Gaming Club and featured numerous competitions and contests, a keynote speaker, s eve r a l g a m i n g t o u r n a m e n t s and a showing of the “Suicide Squad” and “Warcraft” movies.

Among the booths was the Aurora Borealis Alaskan Outpost, a local branch of the 501st Legion.

The legion is a organization of Star Wars cosplayers who dress in Stormtrooper uniforms and support charitable causes.

One booth was run by Kelsey Skonberg and her friend Katie Tasky, a duo better known as Mossy Stone Media. Kelsey, who has a background in video and photography, has been selling watercolor prints at the event for several years now.

“I like to do commissions and give them to people within a couple hours

Claire Ketzler, a junior at Effie Kokrine Charter School, poses on stage during the Pop Con cosplay contest on Saturday, Nov. 12. Her hand-made costume of Mercy from the video game “Overwatch” won her third place. Ellamarie Quimby / Sun Star

or the end of the day. This is my third Pop Con selling [prints], and I’ve sold at SenshiCon once,” Skonberg said.

“The first year especially was really surprising because, when I was a teenager I sold art and I never did so well, and then I came to Pop Con and did all these Pokemon things and I did way better than I thought I would.”

In the multi-level lounge, swathes of gamers could be seen clustered

around consoles and computers, either participating in one of the many tournaments being organized by the e-Sports Club or simply playing for fun. Tournaments were split across both days of the event, with “League of Legends” and “Soulcalibur” held Friday, and “Street Fighter” and “Smash Bros. 4” held Saturday.

“This is the first year where we’ve been working a lot more directly

Hannah Foss, the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce’s Artist of the Year for 2016, tables during Pop Con with illustrations, stickers and postcards for sale. Hannah recently won a contest sponsored by Hainan Airlines and Dreamworks Pictures, to design a plane wrap for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner based on the Kung-Fu Panda movie. Hannah is a graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in computer art and now works for the Geophysical Institute as a CGI animator and graphic designer. Ellamarie Quimby / Sun Star

Steven Laszloffy, a digital media student, secured first place in Saturday’s PopC on cosplay contest with an entirely hand-sewn Hunstman costume. His costume was an adaptation of the Snow White character, which he had debuted at SenshiCon in Anchorage this past year.

Ellamarie Quimby / Sun Star

The Wood Center multi-level lounge was taken over by huge flat screen TVs, desktop computers and oversized monitors for Pop Con gaming tournaments. Many attendees did not participate in the tournaments, but brought their own laptops to the lounge to socialize with like-minded gamers. Ellamarie Quimby / Sun Star

with SAO,” Danny Williams, who ran the club’s “League of Legends” tournament, said. “We’ve been going to their Pop Con meetings. They’ve been having us not just as a vendor but more as a partner. It’s a really big upgrade from last year’s [event].”

The competition that garnered the most attendance was the “Super Smash Bros. 4” tournament hosted by Lucas Acker, president of the Smash 4 Club. With 48 participants signed up, the tournament featured some competitors from outside Fairbanks.

“We had one player from Barrow named Len Ahgeak and one from Palmer named Jacob Glatt, who’s ranked sixth in the state of all Smash 4 Alaskan players,” Acker said.

This year the keynote speaker was Zach Lowery, a senior animator at Boss Key Productions. Lowery previously worked as lead animator for “Saints Row 3” and “Saints Row 4.” He spoke about his experiences in game design and what prospective game designers should know that they’re never told.

Upstairs in the dining area of the Wood Center, two “Magic: The Gathering” card tournaments took place: one where players could use their own decks, the other where players had to build decks out of booster-card packs.

Next to the card tournaments were members of the Japan Alaska Club, selling curry and other foods to attendees; one member, Ryan “Bunny” Anderson, dressed up for the event, wearing a full maid’s costume and advertising the event throughout the Wood Center.

“I like the spirit of Pop Con,” Rod Espejo, a member of the Japan Alaska Club, said.

A cosplay contest was held in the Wood Center Ballroom, where anime, cartoon, and video game characters abounded. After lengthy deliberation, the judges awarded third place to Claire Ketzler, who dressed up as Mercy from “Overwatch,” second place to Eric Bennett as Terry Bogart from the “King of Fighters” video game series and first place to Steven Laszloffy, who cosplayed as a version of The Huntsman.

The final note that marked the end of both days of Pop Con was the showing of a movie in the Wood Center ballroom—on the first day, it was “Suicide Squad.”

On the second, it was “Warcraft.”

8

The Sun Star

www.uafsunstar.com

ARCHIVES

November 15, 2016

FROM THE ARCHIVES Originally published in the Sun Star on Jan. 12 1982

November 15, 2016

ARCHIVES

The Sun Star

9

www.uafsunstar.com

The archival materials reproduced in this issue contain the works and thoughts of Polar Star and Sun Star editors and writers from years past. They do not represent the views of the Sun Star as a whole, nor those of its current editorial staff. Archives are collected from Rasmuson’s Alaska and Polar Regions Archives as well as Sun Star office records.

“The Registration Game” was originally published in the Sun Star on Jan. 12 1982.

10

The Sun Star

November 15, 2016

COMMUNITY

www.uafsunstar.com

‘Nook on the Street

Presidential, state and local elections were held one week ago on November 8.

This week, we ask students, how do you feel about the outcome of the election?

Kelly McCartney, geological engineering, junior

Jakob Richter, psychology, freshman

Joseph Kauffman, computer science, sophomore

Allie Gabalski, geography, junior

“Well, it definitely was an interesting election, but in the end they are our president for the next four years and we kind of just have to accept them. And they are going to do the best job that they see fit for America and that’s all we can really ask for.”

“Absolutely awful. I’m not a fan.

I just don’t think Trump will be a very good diplomat and that’s part of his job so hopefully he hires some really good people.”

“I very strongly dislike it. I wasn’t a fan of any of the candidates.”

Keanu Paikai, mechanical engineering, senior

Colin Corsetti, business administration, junior

Eric Fitts, computer science, freshman

Mykayla Nipper, computer science, freshman

“I know there’s a lot of tension with Trump, but for me, I feel like we should see how it plays out instead of judging and being all negative about it.”

“I’m disappointed, but I kind of saw it coming with just the amount of people I talked to who were saying they weren’t going to vote or they were going to vote third party because they couldn’t support either candidate”

“I mean we were screwed either way. Trump is a dick and Hillary is a liar and a criminal”

“I’m disappointed. I didn’t like Hillary very much, but I liked her a whole lot more than Trump, and I just didn’t see it coming because of the polls and it ended up just being a complete landslide.”

Gabriel Narez, wildlife biology and conservation, senior

Kenji Machida, undecided, 10th year

Kimber Harnar, petroleum engineering, sophomore

Daniel Vaziri, petroleum engineering, sophomore

“Coming from a biological background, catastrophic. I feel like Pence himself is more scary than Trump because of some of his legislative history. Clinton wasn’t a great person either, but I definitely would’ve preferred her over Trump.”

“I don’t feel good, I don’t feel it was fair. The votes weren’t counted right.”

“I believe Trump will be a positive move for our country.”

“I don’t feel happy at all with either candidate. There’s a lot of inappropriate talk and a lot of unrealistic talk.”

“I was really upset with the results for a while, but then I kinda came to the conclusion that it is the way that it is and I just have to accept it. And I’m just trying to find the good in it and I hope Trump does better than we are all expecting.”

This week’s ‘Nook on the street was compiled by Max Erickson / Sun Star

Sun Star Picks: UAF and community events The calendar is compiled weekly based on the choices of the editorial staff.

Tuesday / 15 We have one month to go before the end of the semester. Which makes this the perfect time to sit at home with some tea or hot chocolate, get some studying in and then laze around the rest of the day playing video games, listening to music or reading books before the final madness really starts to hit. We’re almost there!

– Ben Ellis / Web Editor

Wednesday / 16 Running Club North is holding their Fahrenheit Be Darned Winter Training Run today from 5-7 p.m. in the Patty Gym Lobby. I won’t be there, though; I’ll probably be in my office trying to make sure I survive this semester. Alternately, I may be doing the same thing in The Pub, but as we already have one Pub entry this week I can’t suggest it or tell you that beer is frequently

cheaper there on Wednesdays. – Spencer Tordoff / Editor-in-Chief

Friday / 18

Sunday / 20

Thursday / 17

The Pub and Alphi Phi Omega are hosting a karaoke canned food drive this evening. For two cans of food you can bump your name to the top of the karaoke list or make your friends sing a song of your choice so grab a friend and plenty of canned food for a good time at The Pub. – Erin Granger / Staff Writer

I’ll be leaving for a brief Thanksgiving vacation, but I’ll do my best to ensure that I’m not totally checked out for our weekly freelancer meeting.

Swing by if you’re interested in an assignment with a little less pressure— after our issue on the 22nd, our next one won’t print until December.

– Spencer Tordoff / Editor-in-Chief

Saturday / 19

Monday / 21

If you play an instrument or a or interested in music check out the Just About Music (J.A.M.) club.

They collaborate and play music on Saturdays from 4 - 6 p.m. at the Honors House. It would be a great opportunity to practice, create or just explore music with other students around campus.

– Josh Hartman / Staff Writer

My brothers are visiting, so I’m likely spending my day dividing time between school work and family. But hey, it’s the holiday season. Which means it’s also football season.

They’re screening Monday Night Football in Arctic Java, Texans vs Raiders, if you’re a fan or, perhaps, if you’re like me and it’s just a tradition you feel particularly fond of during the holidays.

–Kyrie Long / Copy Editor

You know what is actually very nice? Yoga. Given that my usual idea of a fun evening is hunched over a controller and swearing at my TV while playing Overwatch, after taking a yoga class this semester I was pleasantly surprised to find out I like yoga. A lot. The downtown coffee house Venue is hosting a ‘Yoga after hours’ event at 6 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online for $25, which includes food, drinks and the Yoga session, which seems like a pretty good deal.

However if you want to get your Yoga on without coughing up the dough, there’s also a ‘Yoga Flow’ class at the SRC at 6:30 p.m, which is available for students taking over 9 credits who paid the $75 SRC fee. There probably won’t be fancy coffee there though.

–Molly Putman / Layout Editor

November 15, 2016

COMMUNITY

The Sun Star

11

www.uafsunstar.com

Letters from the Editor: Face of the enemy

Spencer Tordoff Editor-in-Chief

One week ago today, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become president-elect of the United States of America. You couldn’t tell that from my social media feeds though; from most of the reactions, one might think a nuke had been set off in an orphanage full of puppies.

A supposed army of plainclothes Nazis hiding en masse in swing states was promptly blamed in response.

This is an extremely troubling line of thought. Democrats, particularly the party elite, are desperate to level the blame for Clinton’s loss anywhere but at themselves. They’ve lashed out at third-party voters, the FBI, Russia and anyone they can identify as

being the source of their failure other than their own choice of message and candidate. Most troubling, they have developed and pushed the conclusion that nearly half of the country is secretly and virulently misogynistic, bigoted and hateful.

Don’t get me wrong, I despise Trump. He is, on his best day, a sexist, xenophobic buffoon who will do literally anything for approval. Trump is a dangerous man and the next four years will require vigilance on the part of opposition groups and parties.

His win has absolutely emboldened people who identify with those values and if “The Donald” possessed an iota of leadership he could cut those people off at the knees with a few wellplaced words—which he, pointedly, has not done.

However, assuming that every Trump voter identifies fully with this message, that their vote indicates agreement if not long-held belief, is disingenuous and dangerous thinking.

Statistically speaking, just under half of the voting populous—our neighbors and coworkers—went for Trump. The narrative publicly pushed by the Democratic establishment (and bought into by so many people) is that every Trump voter is beyond hope, so idealistically opposed to the left that one cannot hope to communicate with them.

Naturally Perspiring

This Alaskan Agent comic originally ran in the Polar Star on Jan. 26, 1973.

The democratic elite did not fail in their attempt to communicate with people who held very real economic and security concerns. Rather, they made no attempt, actively dismissed those concerns and mocked the folks who expressed them. Trump may be a blustery idiot, but he addressed the issues that mattered to an alienated voting block. They didn’t identify with the man’s entire message, but on the topics that mattered to them they weren’t offered an alternative.

Assuming Trump voters universally approve all of the man’s words and stated policies is no different from assuming Clinton voters favor military intervention, drone assassinations or shady contributions from foreign dictatorships.

And yet, more and more people, republicans and democrats alike, are beginning to believe that there is no hope in bridging the divide that exists between the two major parties in America. Friendships between parties are rare in real life and on social media, and nobody seems too concerned about the echo chambers they occupy.

The United States has been antithetically divided in ideology throughout its history. But the last time those divisions were considered totally irreconcilable, a war was fought. And it was won by those who thought

By Mason Schoemaker

that, despite these differences, the country should stick together. (There were, of course, other issues, but the question of secession was one of a number of topics concluded by the Civil War.) If those divisions cannot be bridged, well, then perhaps the United States should not persist in its current form.

Speaking personally, I’m not married to the idea of the Union.

But I can say with some certainty that if one is, they should probably be willing to reach across the aisle, to have those difficult, uncomfortable discussions with people who hold different views and values.

Understanding is the only thing that can possibly fix the split, rally voters and out those groups and elements that are truly reprehensible.

And for those people who aren’t willing to have those conversations, it might be sensible to seek the formal dissolution of the political ties that bind such opposite views together.

12

The Sun Star

November 15, 2016

ADVERTISING

www.uafsunstar.com

Photo of the Week: Baxter Bond Congratulations to this week’s Photo of the Week Winner Baxter Bond - please come to the Sun Star office at 1 p.m. this Sunday, Nov. 20 2016 in Constitution Hall in room 305 to collect your prize!

The Sun Star wants YOUR photos! Post your pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram under #UAFSunStar. If we pick your photo it’ll be printed in the paper and you’ll win great prizes!

Your ad could be here!

To sponsor next week’s Photo of the Week, contact Sarah Manriquez , Sun Star advertising manager at 907-474-6043 or ads@uafsunstar. com.

Have you reported an incident to the Title IX office?

We want to hear about your experience.

Visit http://bit.ly/SunStarTitleIX and fill out our contact form.

SUN STAR

APPLY NOW FOR

SPRING PROJECT FUNDING from

AWARDS UP TO $2,500 PROJECT FUNDING FOR

Any undergraduate student Any year Any discipline

APPLICATION DEADLINE November 20, 2016 INFO AT www.uaf.edu/ursa

UAF is an AA/EO employer and educational institution.

The Sun Star is seeking dedicated

photographers!

Meet us on Sundays at 1 p.m. in 305 Constitution Hall for more info!

SUN STAR Contact: editor@uafsunstar