The Lumberjack--March 29, 2018

T H E L U M BE R JACK

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018

A SPECIAL ISSUE

Online at JackCentral.org

From the Editor

T

ime is fleeting. This is a concept that we have all heard over and over again.

But time also changes. I think it is safe to say that through the years we all learn, grow and become new versions of ourselves. For me, change is addicting. I love the feeling of learning something new or reinventing myself. Each town I live in, each new hobby I pick up and every time someone walks in or out of my life, I grow and evolve into who I am supposed to be.

For many, change is scary. The idea that in one second your life can be flipped upside-down is terrifying, but imagine what life would look like without change. I have seen change bring people together, even when change is painful. In the past three years, the Greek Life community at NAU has experienced devastating losses, including the deaths of three Greek Life members, but it has pulled the community together in a way I did not think possible. Change, though hard, can be beautiful. There would be no growth, no innovation and nothing to work toward without it.

Time does not just change us as individuals, but can change the world around us as well. Look at Flagstaff. In 1890, the reported population was just over 900.

MARYANN According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, the reported population was over WITT 70,000. As discussed in the story “Southside neighborhood changing directions” in ASSISTANT the Culture section, the Southside neighborhood has seen major transformations FEATURES EDITOR throughout the decades.

As a city, we have grown immensely, and NAU has done the same. The school opened in 1899 with 23 students and has grown to accommodate over 20,000 students in Flagstaff.

Old Main was the only building at the time, and now the campus stretches over 1.1 square miles. If it were not for the revolution NAU has undergone since its birth, I would not have the education I am receiving today, and for that I am grateful.

Here at The Lumberjack, we have had many changes as we grow as a publication. In the issues to come, you may notice an adjustment in our style guide. We have adjusted some old stylistic rules to fit with the ever-evolving “Associated Press Stylebook.” This is an exciting time to be a journalist as the industry is changing, but it is important to me that the history of supplying the community with meaningful and factual news, remains constant.

My grandfather was quite the history buff, and he always taught me that if we don’t know where we have been, we are already doomed in where we are going. Innovation and the evolution of our nation, community, as well as ourselves as individuals, is key in creating a world to live in, but my hope is that we never lose sight of the value in the past.

Learn from your mistakes along with the mistakes of others, and allow that history to transform you into who you will be tomorrow.

Thank you for reading.

Phone: (928) 523-4921 Fax: (928) 523-9313 Lumberjack@nau.edu P.O. Box 6000 Flagstaff, AZ 86011

THE LUMBERJACK VOL. 106 ISSUE 10

Editor-in-Chief Megan Troutman

Managing Editor Lance Hartzler

Copy Chief Emma Helfrich

Web Chief Ariel Cianfarano

Faculty Advisor Mary Tolan

Faculty Advisor, Visuals Jennifer Swanson

Sales Manager Marsha Simon

Print Chief Matthew Strissel

Media Innovation Center Editorial Board News Editor Conor Sweetman

Op-Ed Editor Elizabeth Wendler

Sports Editor Bailey Helton

Director of Illustration Colton Starley

Asst. News Editor Mikayla Shoup

Asst. Op-Ed Editor Peggy Packer

Asst. Sports Editor Quinn Snyder

Director of Photography Shannon Cowan

Senior Reporters Adrian Skabelund Chandler Coiner

Culture Editor Katie Sawyer

Features Editor Darrion Edwards

Asst. Director of Photography Maxim Mascolo

Director of Circulation Asst. Culture Editor Luis Gardetto Ashley Besing

Asst. Features Editor MaryAnn Witt

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Senior Photographer Michael Patacsil

“We’re going to have some kids show us how to be adults, and that’s not the first time in history.”

- Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans, 2018

Students, families and community members gather outside Flagstaff City Hall to protest gun violence March 24. Maxim Mascolo | The Lumberjack

On the cover A lot has happened in Flagstaff since 1876, when the town was founded. This special issue of The Lumberjack covers changes in Flagstaff as well as NAU. Illustration by Colton Starley

Corrections & Clarifications The Lumberjack is committed to factual correctness and accuracy. If you find an error in our publication, please email Megan Troutman at mlt273@nau.edu.

PoliceBeat March 12 At 8:52 a.m., a staff member called to report the odor of gas in McKay Village.

NAUPD and FFD responded and discovered the odor was from exhaust from the water heater. Fire Life and Safety was notified of the issue.

At 9:24 a.m., a staff member in the Health Professions building called to report the theft of an item from their office. An officer responded and took a report, but the case was closed after all leads were exhausted.

March 13 At 11:15 a.m., a student called to report a suspicious person at The Suites. An NAUPD officer responded and found an attempted bike theft and took a report. The officer didn’t find the subject.

The bicycle was brought to NAUPD for safekeeping.

March 14 At 9:48 a.m., NAUPD assisted with crowd control at the Communication building for a walk-out of approximately 100 people, advocating gun control.

March 15 At 11:38 a.m., a staff member called to report another staff member had passed out at the Facility Management building.

NAUPD, FFD and Guardian Medical Transport (GMT) responded. The staff member was transported to FMC for treatment.

At 10:46 p.m., a subject at Cline Library reported having facial injuries due to an assault that took place off campus.

NAUPD, FFD and GMT responded, and the person was taken to FMC for treatment.

Since the assault happened off campus, FPD will handle the

Compiled by Mikayla Shoup

subsequent investigation.

body in an apartment at Hilltop Townhomes. NAUPD March 16 and FPD responded, and the At 11:25 a.m., an investigation into the death is NAUPD officer reported a ongoing. (See page 4.) student on a skateboard in parking lot 68. The student March 22 was cited for obstructing a At 10:12 p.m., a student roadway and resisting arrest. at Gabaldon hall called to report that they were vomiting March 17 and possibly dehydrated. One At 8:13 p.m., an RA NAUPD officer responded and called to report the odor of transported the student to the marijuana at Sechrist Hall. A FMC. student was cited and released for possession of marijuana At 11:43 p.m., a student and drug paraphernalia. reported someone was sleeping on the ground outside The March 18 Suites. FFD, GMT and an At 7:39 p.m., a staff NAUPD officer responded, member at the Drury Inn called and after speaking with the to report a subject sleeping in individual, the person was a hallway. NAUPD, FFD and transported to the FMC. GMT responded. The subject, who was not a student, was March 23 transported to FMC and At 3:21 p.m., a staff banned from campus. member near lot 46 reported a person in an unknown March 19 uniform on campus. An At 12:32 a.m., an officer NAUPD officer searched the reported checking on three area and found a wild Arizona subjects in a vehicle in parking Game and Fish employee who lot 44. Two students were had wandered outside their criminally deferred for use of natural habitat. marijuana. One student was referred for a violation of the At 10:48 p.m., a staff code of conduct. member at McConnell Hall reported the theft of two fire At 11:46 p.m., a student extinguishers. One NAUPD called to report that they had officer took a report, but all been sexually assaulted. The leads were exhausted and the student said the incident had case was closed. occurred at an off-campus location but decided not to March 24 pursue the matter.

At 7:06 p.m., an RA from Wilson Hall reported the March 20 odor of marijuana. NAUPD At 9:44 a.m., a staff responded, and four students member called to report two were criminally deferred for subjects acting suspiciously possession of drugs and drug around the bike racks at the paraphernalia.

Performing and Fine Arts building. The area was checked March 25

by NAUPD officers, and At 11:36 a.m., a basketball everything was fine. coach called to be let in to The Skydome. An NAUPD officer March 21 responded and let them in.

At 1:50 p.m., a staff member called to report a

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 3

NEWS

Passengers board a plane at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport in the late 1980s, prior to the construction of the new terminal in 1993. Photo courtesy of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport

Airport expands from early roots to new routes Owen Sexton

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lagstaff is a year-round destination, and Flagstaff Pulliam Airport Director Barney Helmick and Flagstaff’s Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen want to expand the airport to bring more people to the city. The airport has been vital for many years, and it has also evolved and changed locations before becoming the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.

The current airport, built in 1948, was named after Clarence T. Maggie Pulliam, former Flagstaff city manager who, after working for the city for 44 years, retired in 1963. However, the Pulliam Airport is not Flagstaff’s first airfield.

“Pulliam Airport was first built in 1948, but Flagstaff has had three different airports,” said Helmick.

Flagstaff’s first airfield was just that: a field. The exact location is not known, but it was most likely located north of downtown near what is now Coconino High School’s football field.

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Flagstaff’s second airfield was built in 1928 and named Koch Field, on Flagstaff’s east side in Doney Park. It was named after the Flagstaff mayor at the time and sawmill executive Ignacio “Tony” Koch. In March 1928, the first airplane touched down there.

While the airfields suited the needs of the locals in Flagstaff, the decision to move the airfield south of town was likely influenced by United States Army officials conducting training at Fort Tuthill who wanted it moved from Doney Park so it could be more accessible.

“During World War II, Fort Tuthill was the training facility for what would be the invasion of Japan. That’s just across the road from [the airport],” Helmick said. “Having an airfield this close to that base would make sense.”

Since then, the airfield has undergone multiple expansions and officially became a commercial airport complete with an air traffic control tower. This makes the airport the most pilotfriendly airport in all northern Arizona.

“It’s got 8,800 feet of runway at 150 feet wide, and it does have a control tower. Any airport north of Prescott, other than us, does not have a control tower. Our runways are also stressed for heavier aircraft,” Helmick said.

The current runway and control tower do help facilitate both small and large flight traffic, however, there are some issues with the current terminal. It was constructed in 1993 but was not built under Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines. And while the scenic-viewing windows may provide a beautiful view of the San Fransisco Peaks, in a post-9/11 world, the terminal is not as streamlined as it could be.

“We have security being conducted by the TSA that doesn’t flow well in this building. For example, you come in the main door and go to the ticket counter to get your ticket, then you take your bag and walk to the far end of the building and give them your bag, so they can x-ray it. But then you must come Continued on Page 6

NEWS

Sources reveal new information about student’s death Megan Troutman and Adrian Skabelund

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umors have been spreading rampantly about the unattended death of business major Joseph Michael Bock, known by his friends as Joey.

Bock’s body was discovered March 21 at 2 p.m. in an apartment at Hilltop Townhomes, a housing complex not directly affiliated with NAU, but right off NAU campus on San Francisco Street. His body was found underneath a bed. There was blood in the bathroom and the bedroom, and the apartment’s windows were boarded up so no one could look inside or take pictures of the scene.

Sources said he was found underneath the bed with stab wounds to his abdomen.

An anonymous source, who knew Bock, expressed concerns with misinformation being construed about the death.

According to the source, Bock was in communication with at least one person approximately 12 hours before his body was found. Bock was last seen outside his apartment at approximately 2 a.m. on the day his body was found, the source said.

“I saw him outside. He was sitting outside at 2 a.m. — that was the last time I saw him,” said the anonymous source. “They found him at 2 p.m., but he was probably dead before that.

They were just doing [apartment] rounds.”

Initially, NAUPD said that Bock had been presumed dead for approximately a week prior to the body’s discovery. According to the anonymous source, this analysis conflicts with what the source witnessed.

NAUPD Chief Kelli Smith sent an email to students the evening of March 26, confirming that “his body was discovered less than 12 hours from the time he passed away.” Smith sent the email “due to the number of unfortunate rumors and misinformation that are causing unnecessary concern.”

The email also said that “The Coconino County Medical Examiner’s report and toxicology screen can take significant time (often as much as 60 days)” and that the incident was “deemed a contained, isolated incident.”

The anonymous source got to know Bock well over spring break because both of them stayed in Flagstaff.

“I texted him in the morning at 9 o’clock [March 21], and I said ‘Good morning, how are you doing?’ And I never got a response,” the source said.

Police have released minimal information

Top: A sign announcing a safety meeting is posted on the door of the Hilltop Townhomes apartment March 27 where Joseph Michael Bock lived. His body was discovered underneath a bed in the apartment March 21. Shannon Cowan | The Lumberjack Bottom: NAUPD officers stand outside Hilltop Townhomes March 22 during the ongoing investigation.

Adrian Skabelund | The Lumberjack

about the incident, but rumors have spread with students feeling unsettled about the death.

“A girl just posted [on] Facebook about all this ... [and how] there’s a murderer running around on the loose and all this happening. I was like, dude, stop commenting on things you know nothing about. It’s making everything worse,” the source said. “There’s not a murderer running around.”

Two days after the incident on March 23, in an email sent to students, faculty and staff, NAU President Rita Cheng said she had full confidence that the police would uncover what transpired after a thorough investigation. Cheng

also assured students that, despite the death, there was no threat to students or employees on campus.

“Let me assure you, there is no known imminent threat or concern on our campus,” Cheng’s email read. “The safety of our students, as always, is our top priority.”

Smith reiterated this statement in her March 26 email.

Cheng continued that her thoughts and prayers went out to Bock’s friends and loved ones.

“Our thoughts are with the family of our deceased student, and I hope you will respect

their privacy during this difficult time,” Cheng’s email read. “We are sensitive to the emotions and concerns of all our students as they come back to campus from spring break, and we understand the concerns of their families.”

Junior environmental science major James Phillips was a roommate of Bock’s since January.

Bock moved into the apartment halfway through the school year.

“He moved in at winter semester. I talked to him every day, we went out to eat a few of times, I met his family, he was a nice guy,” said Phillips.

Phillips was in Tucson for spring break and first found out about the incident through the NAU Alert system.

He did not find out it was his roommate, however, until returning to Flagstaff. “[I knew] that someone died at the apartment complex that I live in, [but] I didn’t really know it was my roommate,” Phillips said.

“I didn’t really have any confirmation that it was Joey until they sat me down with the detective at the police station and said, ‘Hey, it was your roommate.’”

NAUPD asked Phillips about the other roommates and the people he knew. “[I was] very shocked, like I said I didn’t know anyone would want to do that to Joey.

He seemed like a very live-and-let-live kind of guy, he didn’t have any enemies,” Phillips said.

“So when I learned that it was him I was very shocked.”

An emergency dispatch recording on the day of the incident, at approximately 1:50 p.m., said that there was “blood all throughout the apartment,” and that “a body that was found under the bed.” Five minutes after the call, medics arrived at the scene.

The official cause of death has not been released. Police are not speculating on the cause.

“They said it looked like it started in a bathroom, they wouldn’t tell me which bathroom, and that it ended with him underneath the bed. They wouldn’t tell me which bed,” Phillips said.

Since returning to campus, Phillips has not seen the inside of his apartment. He has been relocated to the SkyView Apartments on central campus, and Hilltop employees moved his belongings out of his room for him.

“They’ve removed the tarp and the tape from around the apartment so I’m assuming they cleaned it up for the most part,” Phillips said. “As far as they’ve told me, that room is closed indefinitely.”

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 5

NEWS

Photo (c. 1950s) courtesy of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport Continued from Page 4

back through the ticket line crowd ... to get to personal security screening so you could actually get on your flight,” Helmick said.

“We didn’t have these issues in 1993.”

The size of the terminal itself is an issue too, as the aircraft landing there 25 years ago were much smaller and carried fewer travelers than what is currently landing there.

“At the time, we were flying 19-seat and 38-seat aircraft.

We’re now seeing this month a 79-seat aircraft. We could ... conceivably in the next two years see two of these flights coming in at a time, coming in and out twice a day,” Helmick said. “That’s close to 320 passengers alone, not counting all of their family and friends picking them up and dropping them off here too. This building maxes out quickly with these 79-seaters.”

While there are talks of future land expansions at the airport, the land purchased would be U.S. Forest Service land and would

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be procured to further secure the airspace that surrounds Pulliam.

The airport administration’s current focus for growth is adding more direct flights to major business cities. This summer, the American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle will start offering weekly direct flights to both Los Angeles and Dallas.

Direct flights to Los Angeles start May 5 and to Dallas June 9. The target customers are both business and international flyers according to Hansen.

“We have business needs, and connecting our business people faster is key to their day-to-day productivity and growth.

International travelers need connections, and Los Angeles and Dallas make good fits to connect them from all over and to land them in Flagstaff where they can easily travel to the Grand Canyon,” said Hansen.

The tourism business itself is vital to Flagstaff as the Grand Canyon and many other natural wonders in the northern Arizona

area attract millions of tourists from around the world every year.

Despite this, business and international travel remain the focus for new flights coming into Pulliam, and next year, both Hansen and Helmick want not only more weekly direct flights to Los Angeles and Dallas, but also new direct flights to San Francisco and Denver. They believe getting these routes is essential for Flagstaff businesses.

“I agree with Barney that San Francisco and Denver are the routes we want,’” said Hansen.

Having started as a dusty airfield, the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport now sees flyers from around the world, and while Flagstaff grows, both Hansen and Helmick will continue to try and facilitate the growth of the city with Pulliam. According to Helmick in 2017, the airport saw 72,000 travelers land and take off there, a 9 percent increase from 2016, despite losing over 40 flights in 2017 due to construction.

NEWS

NAU gets $500k grant for childhood education Alexandria Vallejo

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AU recently received the Kellogg Grant of $500,000 to strengthen earlychildhood education within Native American tribes, such as the Navajo and Zuni Tribes. The grant can be used starting in August and extends through July 2021.

The Kellogg Grant was founded in 1930.

It is an independent and private organization founded by the breakfast cereal giant Will Keith Kellogg. The organization works throughout the United States, internationally and with sovereign tribes. It is among the largest philanthropic foundations in America.

They are committed to helping communities have opportunities to reach their full potential, support thriving children, working families, equitable communities, racial equity and engaging communities.

In addition to advancing racial equity in the U.S., the Kellogg Grant works to help communities embrace racial healing and uproot unconscious and conscious beliefs in racial hierarchy. They also work to address historic and contemporary effects of racism and to bring transformational and sustainable change.

This grant is the first one NAU has received from this organization. The organization is going to fund the Building Tribal Early Childhood Education Capacity program within the Native American Cultural Center and the College of Education.

The goals of this grant are to increase engagement and access to quality early childhood education programs, intersect tribal nations regarding early childhood education.

Additionally the grant plans to help NAU partner with childcare and schools to educate teachers who will teach children from birth through grade three and provide high-quality professional development to tribal, earlychildhood professionals already working.

This program plans to further advance the teaching of academics relevant to Native American tribes not only in northern Arizona, but also in northwestern New Mexico. It is predicted to enhance early education, and a part of this program will be to educate teachers on better ways and practices when it comes to teaching.

The program is expected to also educate teachers to show appreciation and understanding of Native American culture to better teach young children.

Students that are engaged in ways that

Artifacts and maps from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians are displayed in the Native American Cultural Center at NAU March 26.

Shannon Swain | The Lumberjack

relate to their culture and language are more responsive to the material being taught. Their culture reflects who they are, and having the sense of appreciation and knowledge of their culture in the classroom is beneficial to how well they will do.

Early-childhood years and experiences have a large impact on the trajectories of children in school and also in life. Because of this, it is imperative that schools have qualified teachers.

Chad Hamill, vice president for Native American initiatives at NAU, and Pamella Powell, the associate professor and chair of the department of teaching and learning in the College of Education, are the co-principal

investigators for the Building Tribal Early Childhood Education Capacity Program.

“Because this grant focuses on early childhood [birth through grade three], culturally responsive and respectful pedagogy can be offered to our youngest children infusing and honoring them with their rich language and culture as a basis for learning,” said Powell.

The hope is that the program will collaborate with tribal colleges.

“This program will stand apart from early childhood education programs at other universities because of its emphasis on interinstitutional collaboration with tribal colleges,” said Hamill.

The grant focuses on Native American tribes and works to close the achievement gap.

The achievement gap is reflected in the 17 percent of Native Americans able to continue their education after high school, and only 13 percent of Native Americans who earn a college degree.

This grant’s funds help close that gap by starting education at an earlier age. Working to teach early-childhood development better is imperative to closing this gap.

Hamill and Powell hope to obtain more grants like this one to help fund the program.

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 7

COMIC SPOT

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MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 9

OPINION-EDITORIAL

See color to end racism and societies. Revisiting these times throughout history to understand the societal value of skin color on structures of power grew up in a diverse school on the west side of Tucson. My and opportunity is important.” classmates were brown, black and white. As a kid, I didn’t To understand different views of United States citizens on think about what the skin color of my classmates around me racial discrimination today, I looked at a national survey done meant. Rather, I thought my black friend sitting next to me had by the Pew Research Center in 2016. The survey found, “By the same exact chance to pursue her dream of being president large margins, blacks are more likely than whites to say black as I had. I appear to be just white, but I am Mexican-American. people are treated less fairly in the workplace (a difference of 42 Then, I learned about the real world. The real world is not percentage points), when applying for a loan or mortgage (41 the happy-go-lucky, fifth-grade reality that I wish it could be. It points), in dealing with the police (34 points), in the courts (32 is a place where the skin colors of two fifth-grade girls does play points), in stores or restaurants (28 points), and when voting in a role in the odds facing them when running for presidency, or elections (23 points).” when pursuing anything else for that matter.

Why is there such a big gap here? Because This perspective is not shared by people of color that experience racial everyone, though. Some ignore discrimination in society or the fact that skin color plays institutions say it exists, any sort of role in people’s while white people who experience in society. This don’t experience it is called colorblindness. simply don’t.

People believe this I am going to vision that simply have a different saying, “everyone experience in this is a human being, society because and everyone of the color of has equal my skin. I do opportunity” can not hesitate to end racism and say it because promote racial I acknowledge harmony. that the notion The truth is, of white privilege this is wrong. Race and supremacy is and color matter. embedded into our Colorblindness society due to the disregards the fact U.S.’ history. that the fifth-grade In order to black girl and the fifthbecome an equal grade white girl are going society, all individuals to have different racial have to see color and what privileges throughout their it entails. lifetime.

There was a colorful National Geographic will release mural painted on the wall of my “The Race Issue” in April, which I elementary school that I can still picture highly recommend everyone read. The writers to this day. The mural had a quote that discussed the science of race and racism. In an read, “I have a dream that my four little children article by Elizabeth Kolbert, the issue answered will one day live in a nation where they will not be the question: “What is race, exactly?” judged by the color of their skin, but by the content “It is a social construct used by those in of their character.” It was said by perhaps the most power to dehumanize others,” wrote Kolbert. important civil rights leader, who was assassinated “To instill a bias of ‘less than’ because of the April 4, 1968, only 50 years ago.

Illustration By Dominic Davies color of someone’s skin, for the purpose of That leader was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gaining real or perceived power.”

One day, I hope for this, too. One day, I hope Race is a social construct. The physical differences between that a black person doesn’t have to fear for their life when pulled black and white people shouldn’t matter. Why does society treat over by a police officer, or that a brown teenager isn’t asked for it the way it does? their papers when they shouldn’t have to be. But it cannot be According to National Geographic, “Throughout history, the done without every member of society on board. Because if shade of a person’s skin has been a symbol of status in cultures people “don’t see color,” they are hurting rather than helping.

Vanessa Savel

Dating etiquette 101

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avigating the dating world has always been a struggle.

Therefore, I want to address several issues people face on an average date and how to tackle them.

Let me begin with a disclaimer. Dating doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. It all depends on you and the other person. With this in mind, the ideas I’m going to explore here are based on my own experiences and my beliefs about dating.

Without further ado, it’s time to ask someone out!

Don’t wait for them to make a move.

ELIZABETH We can no longer afford to wait for the guy WENDLER to take the initiative. That just doesn’t work OP-ED EDITOR these days, especially not if you and/or your partner aren’t heterosexual. So, take a chance.

Rejection is painful and embarrassing, but it’s a great teacher. If someone says no, respect their wishes and let it go. And if they say yes, then the next step is getting ready for your date.

People tend to underestimate the importance of hygiene.

Give what you’re hoping to get out of a date. Smell plays a pivotal role in attraction, so make sure you smell like a snack before you leave the house.

This next tip might not make sense to some, but it’s a rule I now follow like my life depends on it: Don’t let anyone pick you up. Meet them there. Some people don’t have reliable transportation, but safety should always be a priority, and there are other options. Call a friend, use Uber or Lyft for a ride — the risk is just not worth it. It would be far too easy for someone to drive off with you, never to be seen again.

So, you’ve made it safely to your date. Now what? One of the most prevalent questions people have before a date is, “What do we even talk about?” Start the conversation small with how their day went, then slowly introduce topics of interest to you.

The only thing more important than starting a conversation is avoiding a potentially offensive one. Please, don’t ask what your date’s race is. If they bring it up, sure. But if you go out with a person of color, the first question out of your mouth shouldn’t be, “So, uh, what are you?” To put it simply: Avoid controversial topics unless your date brings them up first.

And finally, the goodbye kiss.

If you feel weird about kissing on the first date, don’t feel like you have to. If you do want a goodbye kiss, ask your date first. If you’re both feeling each other and want to make out or even go home together, there’s no shame in that. Be safe, use protection and have a good time.

For now, just put your best foot forward and show your date you care. A little hygiene, good conversation and respect can go a long way.

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OPINION-EDITORIAL

Let’s talk about NAU’s tuition inflation HARRISON DOWNING

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ccording to our parents and grandparents, a college education is the most important commodity to have under our belt. A college degree gives individuals opportunities for successful careers and makes attendees educated to a higher level. This may be true, but college prices for our parents and grandparents were on completely different levels than ours.

So, is our college education still as valuable? Carol Mandino, an active professor at NAU in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, went to NAU as an undergrad from 1975 to 1980. She told me that her in-state tuition was around $150 per semester.

I currently pay $4,278 per semester for my in-state tuition with no scholarships. That is an increase of 2,852 percent in tuition since Mandino attended NAU. This was 43 years ago, and this is only the price of in-state tuition.

According to an inflation calculator from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, $1 in 1975 is worth $4.78 in 2018.

This means that Mandino paid approximately $716.86 for tuition per semester.

So then why has college tuition increased exponentially?

And why is the tuition rate so inconsistent with the inflation rate of the U.S. dollar?

U.S. universities blame the radical increase of tuition on the fact that public funding for college education has been cut

dramatically over the years. Because of this, universities needed under my belt, I would owe a little less than $44,000. Although, to increase tuition costs and fees and rely on private donations. because I took out student loans from Sallie Mae with ridiculous Economist and writer for Forbes Magazine Pascal-Emmanuel interest rates, after I graduate I will owe about $80,000, nearly Gobry stated, “If you artificially inflate demand for something double the amount I should owe. Thanks, student loans. and don’t let supply adjust, prices will go up.”

Our parents and grandparents used to work minimum-wage It is actually a brilliant concept. Colleges have been increasing restaurant jobs in the summertime to cover their college fees. their prices but still have the same product: A piece of paper — Now, we have to find high-paying jobs right out of college just whoops, I mean a college degree. to pay our student loans fees, and those jobs hardly When their product is known to be extremely valuable, why exist. not up the price? Clearly, the public will still pay it.

U.S. colleges are a business.

Sallie Mae is a very popular bank for loaning students They realized they could charge more for money, which owns “nearly 20 percent of all student their schooling and made a business out of debt in the country,” according to studentlabor.org. giving us an education. This created increased I personally receive my student loans from them. tuition prices and the invention of student According to the Student Labor Action loans that put many of us in immense debt Project, between 1998 and 2012, Sallie Mae before our adult lives even start. spent nearly $37.5 million lobbying to political It is messed up, it is corrupt and it should figures. Sallie Mae also spent more than $1 be illegal. million in lobbying expenditures in 2017.

College is an investment that rarely pays According to the same project, “The for itself in today’s age. It is a profitable business company spent $5,969,322 on political that must be acknowledged. Most U.S. citizens contributions from 1992 to 2012.” do not even go into a field compatible with Once a CEO gets the taste of money and their major. Think about what you are getting greed it only gets worse. And that makes perfect yourself into before you enroll in college. sense.

And for the rest of us, unfortunately it Illustration By Alia Krueger After I graduate with four-and-a-half semesters is too late.

The real victims of Flagstaff’s gentrification BECA BAPTISTA

O

n Oct. 29, 2017, the Arizona Daily Sun published an article that featured an anti-gentrification banner hung from a crane over the Hub, NAU’s recently developed off-campus housing settlement. In emboldened black-letter print, the words “gentrify in hell” accompanied a large portrait of a Klansman with a noose around his neck, his body suspended and slumped over.

Despite the vulgarity of such a political piece, the antigentrification sentiment is one that many in Flagstaff can get on board with.

It’s not mind-blowing that the term gentrification has become unsuitable because it only takes into account rent increases and displacement. Of course, the poor are still victims of this merciless, thievish cycle.

In his 2017 study, “Intersections of Gentrification,” Jeffrey W. Breshears, an NAU master’s student in sociology said, “The presence of a competitive capitalist market is seen by some to outweigh arguments concerning the social inequality that often results.”

Unable to afford the soaring price of basic living, lowerincome demographics are given two choices: move out or make more. Minority populations are being targeted — surprise, surprise — by the macroeconomic cesspool flooding urban

Flagstaff. Despite speculation that the increasing cost of living is fundamentally detrimental to the United States economy as a whole. The up-and-coming young people are left to relocate to places where jobs aren’t as prevalent, opportunity is minimal but housing is cheaper.

Probably the worst realization when it comes to living in an increasingly gentrified area is the monotonous business and people that are replacing what once was a community of culture. The local graffiti tags have more soul than the up-scale, pro-establishment institutions seeking to set up business here. Nowadays, the privileged tread obnoxiously into Instagram-worthy thrift stores and Snapchat the aesthetically pleasing downtown mom-and-pop shops. This trend, while also highly annoying, speaks to a much larger problem indicative of long-running inequalities.

These hipster, new age travelers turn a profit from the “discovery” and repackaging of the under-privileged facets of life.

In an analogous situation, “raw water” was given a comparable fate — it appropriated a deprivation that poverty-stricken people are forced to live, marketed it, skyrocketed the price and stripped it of its syndicate: poverty.

Of course, some believe in the potential for gentrification to improve the lives of an already established neighborhood. It can lead to renovation, improvement and a cleaner, increasingly modern locale.

The truth is this: A great deal of the benefits associated with

the gentrification process are advantageous. Unfortunately, the better part of these advantages are experienced by the newcomers, while the locals continue to find themselves economically disenfranchised. This is evident where the Southside/Sunnyside community in Flagstaff is concerned.

In 2013, associate professor Julie Piering published a study titled “Gentrification in Flagstaff.” In it, she discussed the multidimensional aspects of gentrification — the consequences, the causes and the benefits.

According to Piering’s study, “The majority of the owneroccupied households in the Southside (124 households, or 21%) are occupied by families who represent the historically ethnic fabric of the community, and it is these longtime residents who are most vulnerable to the pressures of gentrification.”

(See story, page 17.)

If the economic contrast isn’t as severe as the statistics represent, a persisting grievance about the process of gentrification is that the heart of a community is demolished. The grimy essence, the ethnic diversity and the multi-faceted soul that once acted as an urban pioneer magnet, are now local deflectors. In exchange, Flagstaff has been given a set of chain stores and overpriced breakfast selections.

While these are not the evidential social effects that can be expressed or measured by quantitative data, it does feed an evergrowing contempt for gentrification.

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 11

FEATURES

A pedestrian crosses the intersection of North San Francisco Street and East Aspen Avenue in downtown Flagstaff March 26. Michael Patacsil | The Lumberjack

A city divided: the slippery slope of student growth Darrion Edwards

D

uring the slow Saturday evening in Flagstaff’s historic downtown, the aftermath of the city’s nightlife could be seen. Businesses opened and curious tourists and families ventured into the quiet shops.

The local residents offered smiles and gratitude welcoming people who looked for ways to spend money. This was a scene that was very opposite to Flagstaff’s nightlife; a nightlife that some of the locals claim has been overrun by the NAU students.

As the number of students enrolled continues to increase, some Flagstaff locals have taken notice of how the students have taken over their once-beloved locations. However, some of the local business owners expressed their appreciation for the students as well as the continued love for the locals.

“Downtown is not the same to me,” said Flagstaff local Kevin Barrett. “The past few years it has become too overcrowded.”

Barrett is one of the many locals who feels his experiences downtown have been hindered by the increased population of Flagstaff.

However, Barrett does not place the blame on only NAU students.

“I would not say it’s because of the students, but because of the overall population increase in town,” Barrett said.

Mountain Sports co-owner Lisa Lamberson has experienced a diverse evolution of Flagstaff throughout her years as a local business owner.

She also does not view the students as a major issue for downtown. In fact, Lamberson enjoys the students presence in downtown Flagstaff.

“I love the overall cultural benefit of the students in our community,” said Lamberson.

“The diversity of students to locals makes

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Flagstaff special.”

Blake Neighbors, owner of AZ Segway and Pedal Tours and general manager of Flagstaff Sports Exchange, said he believes that students are used as a scapegoat for some of the issues that many locals complain about.

“The students get unfairly blamed for the housing market,” said Neighbors. “The reason I say unfairly blamed is because NAU is in the top three in the country of students living on campus. NAU is doing their part. Now, all the people in Flagstaff are complaining saying that all the students are taking all the housing.”

Flagstaff’s evolution from a small town to an established college town began when the city’s logging industry was shut down partly because of environmental concerns. As a Flagstaff local himself, Neighbors said Flagstaff had to find an economic solution for the local businesses to continue to thrive.

“We’re nothing really special ourselves, but we’re adjacent to about 12 world-class tourist destinations,” Neighbors said. “What [the city] realized is that there are a ton of people that come through here on their way to somewhere else. So, they said let’s now try to work on that market.”

Neighbors explained that one of the solutions for increasing foot traffic in downtown Flagstaff was the installment of brick inlays at the corners of the sidewalks. However, this created new problems for the city.

Seventy-four parking spots were replaced with the brick inlays, making parking in downtown more of a problem than before.

Many of the parking spots left were filled all day by the people who worked downtown.

“The complaint was that we don’t have anywhere to park so we’re not going to go downtown. Now, fast forward, they’ve

FEATURES implemented this parking plan. What it does is it makes people move. What that has done is open a ton of parking spots all the time. Now, you can come down, park really quick, do some business and get out of here,” Neighbors said.

Parking and construction are two of the continuous controversial problems in Flagstaff that spark debate between members of NAU and the Flagstaff locals.

Along with that, the increase of students at NAU seems to create concerns for the locals.

However, complaints are aimed more toward NAU than the students.

KatyLu Peterson is the president of the Flagstaff Independent Business Alliance and owner of Flagstaff Sports Exchange. She believes that the tensions created between locals and students is a result of NAU’s expansion.

“I’ve heard a lot of sorrow that the powersthat-be at NAU have decided to turn it into a growth machine as opposed to keeping it at a level that the town can absorb because we can’t absorb things like the Hub and keep it at a level where the academics are the priority over the growth. It seems apparent that the growth has become a priority over the academic rigor,” said Peterson.

Although Peterson believes that many of the older locals do not clash with the lifestyle of the students often, she noticed that some of the locals do avoid areas that attract the college students.

“Certainly, at my age bracket, that is true.

You know, we’re not out at one in the morning too often under any circumstances,” said Peterson, a baby boomer. “But there are many concerts and events that attract the younger NAU crowd. I’m sure that the local residents tend to steer clear.”

The evolution of NAU throughout the years has caused downtown Flagstaff to evolve as well. The recent installment of parking meters was implemented to solve the parking crisis created from the overpopulation from the increased student enrollment in the city.

However, some locals believe it generated issues that have sparked tensions with locals and the NAU students.

“A lot of the people in Southside complain that all these students park there because they don’t want to pay for a parking permit on campus. So, now [their] neighborhood is full of parking,” Neighbors said. “So, we put in parking meters to get that to stop, or to get revenue from it ... People in Flagstaff just love to hate on anything.”

Although some people have been displeased with the actions of NAU and feel the city is overcrowded as a result of the amount of students, Neighbors and Peterson both expressed their appreciation for the students.

“As a business owner, I am grateful that we are a desirable destination, obviously to college students as well. I’m not complaining about the foot traffic. I’m complaining, if I complain at all, about NAU,” Peterson said.

One element that Flagstaff business owners appreciate about the increase in population in the city is the increased tourism. Neighbors said that, from an economic viewpoint, the students are not as impactful as the tourists.

Neighbors said the tourism businesses have been affected by the revenue from tourists and that students are not as big of a problem as some make them out to be.

“Twenty years ago, NAU ran this town. It was student-centric and Lumberjack territory, all that idea,” Neighbors said. “Now that the tourist market is so big, the difference between students and tourists is that tourists have money, and they have money that they want to spend.”

Neighbors expressed his understanding that students budget much more than tourists and are limited to their experiences in some of the high-end businesses located in downtown Flagstaff.

Although the spending habits and lifestyles of the students may not be as bothersome to certain business owners, the amount of students does impact the economy. Peterson said the ongoing increase in students has created problems that are unmanageable.

“NAU is growing too fast, and it’s not sustainable and it’s not pleasant,” Peterson said.

“NAU has been led to explode our population.

Having a population explosion makes things more crowded. It changes the character of things at a pace that’s not absorbable. We’re adjusting, but it’s not the same and it never will be.”

Although some tensions and controversy have been created between the Flagstaff locals and the NAU students, business owners value both groups’ impact to the city.

To improve experiences in downtown Flagstaff, the Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance created Locals’ Night, which is an event held every third Tuesday of every month. The event provides residents with live music, special offers and discounts in select stores. Neighbors and Peterson both said that this event was tied into the idea that people can experience downtown anytime at their convenience.

From an established lumber town to an inclusive college town, Flagstaff has transformed into a city reliant on the its variety of personalities and businesses. It is impacted by both the local residents and the NAU students, and some business owners explained that the future of the city includes a transformation into a high-density city.

Top: Lisa Lamberson, co-owner of Mountain Sports Flagstaff, believes that NAU students add to the diversity of Flagstaff March 15. Madeleine Dill | The Lumberjack Bottom: Cars and pedestrians pass by Flagstaff Sports Exchange, a locally owned business located in downtown Flagstaff March 26 Michael Patacsil | The Lumberjack

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 13

FEATURES

Less money and more problems Brittany Viar

S

ome college students worry about getting to class on time, some worry about acing the next midterm and many find themselves worrying about their financial situation.

According to an article by Ohio State University, “7 out of 10 college students feel stressed about their personal finances, according to a new national survey. Nearly 60 percent said they worry about having enough money to pay for school, while half are concerned about paying their monthly expenses.”

In college, students may be responsible for paying for monthly rent, textbooks, groceries and any other commodities they might need while in school.

Over time, tuition rates have increased at NAU and other universities, and so have supplies and tools students may need for success in school.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, college expenses from January 2006 to July 2016 increased significantly.

College tuition and fees increased 63 percent, college textbooks increased 88 percent and cost of housing at schools has increased 51 percent.

In order to accommodate for the expenses in college, some students have resorted to some unorthodox ways to make money.

Lilliana Alulema, a 2017 NAU alumna, described how she dealt with financial worry throughout her time in college.

Alulema’s parents were unable to give her financial support through her college career, so she used all the resources she could to collect extra cash.

“Donating plasma helped me pay for bills such as electricity, water, et cetera, since I was living paycheck by paycheck for a good five months,” said Alulema.

She donated plasma at a local facility, Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) Plasma Donation Center.

The BPL Center gives the option of referring a friend to donate with, and it usually means extra money for the individual that made the referral.

“I also had friends join me or told them about plasma so I could get a bonus,” Alulema said.

According to an advertisement on the BPL Center’s front window, donators can earn up to $250 from their first five donations.

“About 65 percent of our donors are actually students,” said Christian Marcum, BPL Plasma business development specialist.

Marcum explained that because much of Flagstaff is comprised of NAU students, the number of college student plasma donors is higher.

Marcum said that donating plasma truly does save people’s lives, but money is just easier to advertise, especially for students that may not have a substantial income.

“You can walk to our center from campus within 15 minutes.

There’s a bus that goes to a bus stop almost exactly by our center, so it’s pretty convenient,” Marcum said.

The first time a person donates, the process can take a while because it is important to make sure the person’s body is equipped and healthy enough to donate. Once this process is done and it

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can be confirmed that a person is in good health, they are allowed to partake in a plasma donation.

Donating plasma is not the only way students have been able to make money to help for expenses while in college. Some students have also resorted to selling their clothes to thrifts stores and resold their school supplies as a means to help pay their way through college.

“Working only part-time and being a full-time student, I also resorted to selling my clothes at Runway Fashion Exchange, selling books back, having to pull a loan of $500 since I didn’t have any type of refund money from scholarships,” Alulema said.

Alulema said part-time jobs are not always going to pay the bills and that there are other options.

Some organizations have been created to assist the students who are struggling financially to get through college.

Savethestudent. org is a website that was created in 2007 and is geared toward aiding students during their financial journey in school.

“Save the Student is the student-money website,” said Jake Butler, Save the Student’s operations director. “We’re all about helping students to save money, make money and hunt down the latest deals. Our goal is to reach as many students as well [as we] possibly can with our tips and advice.”

The website’s home page offers opportunities for making money, saving, financing, banking, jobs and other accommodation options that students can choose from.

“We’ve hosted the largest petition against increasing university tuition fees, given students a voice against the government on numerous occasions as well as built a community of over 1 million students,” Butler said.

While this organization can certainly advise students, it cannot solve all financial issues they may be experiencing.

“I think it’s best that students take time to think about how serious the situation is. Sites like Save the Student can offer some great advice but unfortunately can’t help on a case-by-case basis,” Butler said. “Students should seek advice from their university for this.”

While finding different ways to make money can be one

problem, managing the money can be another.

There have been instances in which students experienced a loss of their financial aid, resulting from a phishing attack.

Phishing is when a hacker attempts to gather sensitive information of people like usernames, passwords and bank information for personal gain.

Some people have used a students’ NAU username and password to get into their Louie account. The Louie account is usually linked to a person’s banking information to pay school fees.

Steven Burrell, NAU chief information officer and vice president of Information Technology Services (ITS), explained that it is crucial that students do not share any personal information or credentials with anyone, because this could lead to a phishing attack.

“We run into scenarios all the time where students have unknowingly or voluntarily given up personal information,” said Burrell.

Personal and university accounts should not be linked or have a shared password because this can be one way for a hacker to access someone’s account.

Burrell discussed that all students’ information is kept confidential and that ITS does not give personal information to other partners.

“Some of our faculty, staff and students have been victims of phishing attacks, where people have stolen their credentials and then used that to gain access to payroll system and have their bank accounts rerouted to the criminal’s bank accounts,” Burrell said.

Burrell explained that ITS does not allow people to change their direct deposit accounts electronically, which in turn lessens the risk of potential hacking.

“People come up with very elaborate schemes to basically Illustration Dominic Davies trick you to [giving them] your username and password,” Burrell said.

If a student loses their financial-aid money for school due to phishing attacks, the university and the banks work together to refund and repay the money back to the person.

NAU plans to create more methods of improving security for students, faculty and staff, inlcuding the use of “multifactor identifications to add that layer of process of security,” Burrell said.

Although money continues to be an issue for students, they have proven to be resilient in surviving college.

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CULTURE

The expanding universe of Lowell observatory Kendra Hastings

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owell Observatory, located at the very top of Mars Hill just west of downtown Flagstaff, was established in 1894 and is one of the oldest observatories in the United States. It was founded by astronomer Percival Lowell, who studied mathematics at Harvard University and was a member of the wealthy Boston Lowell family.

Lowell Observatory’s historian Kevin Schindler said that most observatories in the 1890s were located in large cities and at universities, which were mostly along the East Coast. At the time, there was both air pollution from factories and, as electricity became more widespread, light pollution. So Percival Lowell decided to get away from the cities.

“He sent an assistant out to Arizona territory in 1894, 18 years before Arizona was a state,” said Schindler.

Lowell’s assistant, A. E. Douglass, took a telescope with him on a train through Arizona.

He traveled to Tombstone, Tucson, Tempe and Prescott, where he would set up the telescope at night to gauge how clear the stars and planets were through his lens.

Douglass eventually settled on Flagstaff in April 1894, as it offered easy access with the train nearby, and the higher elevation meant clearer and darker skies, exactly what the two astronomers were looking for.

The observatory was established later that year, although Lowell initially built it to study the planet Mars.

The observatory is home to many discoveries, but in Schindler’s opinion, the most important discovery was finding evidence to support the theory of the universe continually expanding.

“That’s probably the most important discovery ever made here, because it really changed our understanding of the universe,” Schindler said.

The observatory, however, is most well known for the discovery of Pluto. Lowell had predicted that there was a ninth planet in our solar system, which he called Planet X, later identified as Pluto. Lowell didn’t live to see the discovery of Pluto, as he died in 1916, but later, in the 1920s, scientists went back and analyzed the information Lowell found regarding Planet X. In 1930, 24-year-old Clyde Tombaugh was working for the observatory and discovered Pluto near the same location of Planet X.

The Clark telescope March 18 is located at the Mars Hill campus of Lowell Observatory and is regularly open for visitors to look at the stars. Hunter Weiler| The Lumberjack

“The discovery of Lowell’s Planet X really put Flagstaff on the map of the world, because Pluto was the first planet in our solar system to be discovered in America,” Schindler said.

The observatory was also a part of mapping the moon for the Apollo program as well as the rings of Uranus and the atmosphere of Pluto, according to their website.

In 2006, Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet following a recategorization of the definition of a planet. Flagstaffians still mourn the loss of its planetary status.

Today, the observatory researches an array

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of topics, such as planets around other stars, comets, unusually large stars, galaxies and the formation of galaxies. There are several telescopes in operation at the three different research facilities within the Flagstaff area.

The main location on Mars Hill is home to the Pluto Discovery Channel Telescope, which recently reopened to the public mid-March after a year-long renovation project. This was the telescope that Clyde Tombaugh used to discover Pluto.

Also located at Mars Hill is the Clark Telescope, initially used by Lowell to further his

investigation of the existence of life on Mars.

“The telescope was built in 1894,” said Josie Schindler, a Lowell Observatory educator and cousin of Kevin Schindler. “The telescope alone weighs about six tons, but the weights on the opposite side weigh another six tons because it has to be perfectly balanced.”

In later years, the Clark Telescope was used to study moons, comets and most importantly, it was used in the 1960s by the Apollo astronauts to create mappings of the moon. The telescope also receives about 100,000 visitors per year.

Since the 1980s, the Clark Telescope has been primarily used for educational purposes.

Lowell Observatory also operates four additional telescopes at their Anderson Mesa Station, which is located 12 miles outside of Flagstaff and across from Lake Mary.

Thirty miles past the Anderson Mesa site, in Happy Jack, Arizona, is the observatory’s Discovery Telescope. Initially a project planned between Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications, the project then extended to include support from Boston University, the University of Maryland, the University of Toledo and NAU. Today, Lowell Observatory offers visitor services and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Sundays, when they close at 5 p.m. During the day, they focus on the history of the observatory and provide tours of the Mars Hill facility. Visitors are also able to tour the grounds solo with access to places like the exhibit hall and gift shop.

The observatory offers the Pluto Discovery Walking Tour, which gives the visitors the opportunity to see a scale model of our solar system.

In the evening, the observatory’s staff focuses on studying the night sky, and if the skies are clear, the telescopes are open for visitors to see the stars. The staff also sets up smaller telescopes along the sidewalks and carries laser pointers to point out certain stars and constellations directly into the sky. They provide astronomy presentations in the evenings as well.

Even when the skies are not clear, the observatory still offers many indoor programs.

One such program is similar to a planetarium, which simulates the night sky and enables visitors to learn about the universe beyond our planet.

Lowell Observatory serves as an outlet for visitors to look beyond the issues happening in our world, and instead look at our place in the universe.

CULTURE

Southside neighborhood changing directions Gabriella Johnson

F

lagstaff, and particularly the historic Southside neighborhood, has undergone extensive changes over the years. The houses in the Southside neighborhood now stand as a representation of both past and present residents, and their different perspectives on the changing neighborhood.

Ruth Neal is a 65-year-old Flagstaff resident living in the Southside neighborhood. Her home has been passed down through her husband’s family since 1945 when the family built it.

She has been in Flagstaff her entire life and has seen changes that have taken place over the years.

Neal said that her experiences with students living in her neighborhood have not been positive.

“For the most part, I think a lot of them are disrespectful,” said Neal.

Flagstaff homeowner Lottie Wallace said she believes that the students who now live on her street change the dynamics of the historic neighborhood.

Wallace, a 93-year-old resident, said the neighborhood she calls home used to be peaceful. Now, there is construction for new student housing and student parties spilling out onto the neighborhood streets.

“It used to be quiet,” said Wallace.

Both explained that, though the addition of The Hub apartments will relieve some of the student-housing issues, there is not enough parking for the complex. This can affect homeowners because students, not having much space to park their vehicles, already park in front of Southside residents’ homes.

“They just park everywhere because there’s no parking. They need somewhere to park,” Neal said. “They’re just putting up these apartments everywhere. They’re not considering the people that have been here all their lives.”

Wallace spoke about how, before NAU grew, the Southside neighborhood was mostly inhabited by individuals with low income and people of color. Now, because students want to live near the school and will pay more money to rent the properties, landlords are trying to buy homeowners out who have lived in Flagstaff for their whole lives, only to rent those homes out to students.

“I don’t intend to give [my home] to them. I don’t think it’s right,” Wallace said. “Where am I going at my age? I’ve got to live somewhere.”

Wallace described how there are only three other original homeowners on her street besides her and her family’s home.

“These are people who have been here for years, played on this street,” Wallace said.

Wallace also spoke about one of the original homeowners on her street whose home was bought out. She believes that he was cheated out of the real value of his home so that owners could make a profit on students’ rent.

Wallace said her husband used to work at the Cady Lumber Company, now a luxury shopping area located at Aspen Place at the Sawmill.

Sara Dechter, comprehensive planning manager for the City of Flagstaff, described Southside’s past.

Student housing is changing the deeply rooted culture of Flagstaff’s historic Southside neighborhood March 17.

Emily Burks | The Lumberjack

“The Southside was organized where there was the Cady Lumber Mill, which is kind of where The Grove sits now,” said Dechter. “That was where people went to work.”

Neal explained the isolating effect segregation had on the Flagstaff community and across the United States.

“South Beaver school was for the Hispanics. Where the Murdoch center is, that’s where the blacks would go to school, at the time it was called Dunbar,” Neal said. “We weren’t allowed to go across the tracks. The only time when we went across the tracks was when we went to high school or junior high.”

Southside residents are not segregated anymore, however, and now Neal said it feels strange to be one of only a few black people living in a predominantly white, student area.

“It’s strange to see a lot of people that are not of the blackAmerican race,” Neal said. “This street and this neighborhood, we never did have that.”

Dechter explained how people of color were segregated in the U.S. and Flagstaff at the time, using redlining, in which renters artificially raise the prices of neighborhoods to discriminate against people of color and low-income individuals.

“For folks who lived in Southside, even as children they knew they could not go north of the tracks to go downtown,” Dechter said. “Things are different now.”

Long-term residents can now make money off their property because the value has increased, but many who have been in the Southside most or all their lives want to stay.

“Some of these historic families [weren’t] cashing out because their property values were being artificially held down by the banking practices and mortgage practices of the time. Now that those have been lifted and they are in a great location ... their land

is more valuable,” Dechter said. “Some of those folks have said that they want to die in the house, but they want their children or grandchildren to sell the house to have money to invest in their lives because that wasn’t an option for them before.”

Dechter acknowledged that gentrification in the Southside is a concern for the city. Most fellow Southside residents, those who have lived in the southside for a longer time, typically don’t go to the Aspen Place shopping area. Students, however, are frequent patrons of the shops.

“The neighborhood is absolutely experiencing gentrification, which is where people buy the property and they turn it over to be housing for people of a higher economic situation,” Dechter said.

While Dechter admitted that this is a complicated issue that the city is trying to work through, she maintained that there are benefits of Southside homes being turned over to student housing and student-focused businesses, especially considering the past of Southside.

Now it is a challenge for long-term residents of Southside to allow for change without losing identity, and to know what would be the least harmful for them.

The Neal family has not been offered to be bought out, but with the construction of student housing around where they call home, they have received a notice of the interest in their property.

“You can’t buy a house at our age. You won’t have the history anymore, if we should sell,” Neal said. “[My husband’s] grandparents lived here, his mother lived here, he lived here. This is a home. It’s not just a house.”

They may still change their minds, but it seems that the Neal and Wallace families are in Southside Flagstaff to stay, no matter the changes that they have witnessed around them.

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CULTURE

The curious history of the Monte V Kaylin Dunnett

T

he large, red, neon sign of the Hotel Monte Vista is a prominent feature of downtown Flagstaff, and for many residents, unmistakable. Known to many as Monte V, the hotel is known today for its bar scene and accommodations, but its historical value has sometimes been unappreciated.

Sophomore psychology major and artist Lance Chandler was inspired by the iconic sign.

“The large neon sign above the town has been featured in a few of my artworks, and I really couldn’t think of the town without that hotel,” said Chandler. “I think the hotel is beautiful and a huge influence on my perception of Flagstaff.”

Upon entering the hotel, visitors are greeted by elaborately decorated rooms, complete with exposed wooden beams and crown moulding.

Maintenance worker Ron Watkins has been at the hotel for the past 10 years and knows much of the hotel’s long history, particularly the building’s construction.

Watkins has goals for restoring the steel awnings over the hotel’s entryways.

“That’s our current big project that I’m working on,” said Watkins.

Watkins has a background in welding, and with the help of another welder, will remake the units and reattach them to the building in the original location.

“One of the first projects I did when we got here was that we restored the entry to what it had been,” Watkins said. “Sometime around the 1950s, [former management] had moved the entry on Aspen.”

Ron Watkins stated that the hotel has gone through several phases. There were 73 rooms when it first opened, and each room had little more than a bed, sink and chair inside.

“They had a shared bath, shower and toilet on each floor. It lasted that way for several years,” Watkins said. “Some construction was done in the middle 1930s, and that’s when they started combining rooms.”

The hotel’s current owner, James Craven, acquired the building in the 1970s. Since then, the hotel has seen multiple modernization projects.

“We’d like to take room 206, which has a bath, knock the wall down next to 207 and make that a much nicer room,” said Watkins.

“The things that make the rooms nicer make them more desirable.”

Sean McMahan, the previous general

Hotel Monte Vista has been open for business since New Year’s Day 1927, and is one of the oldest hotels in Flagstaff, March 18.

Taylor Hamilton| The Lumberjack

manager of the Hotel Monte Vista, had much to say regarding the hotel’s cultural history.

“When the Monte V was built, it was built by the citizens of Flagstaff,” said McMahan.

McMahan said there was a community idea that the Monte Vista would raise awareness of Flagstaff, but in reality, the hotel only managed to raise awareness of the train that passed through town. The citizens helped to pay for the structure as a community trust, but McMahan claimed that the community idea was a scam.

“The people who put together the Monte Vista could have paid it on their own,” McMahan said.

The hotel had a large kitchen at the time and sold sandwiches and box lunches when the train would stop in Flagstaff, according to McMahan. Then, when the Great Depression hit, the Monte Vista served as a significant value to the city.

“The Monte Vista showed the whole town that tourism was not only a viable economic model, but an essential one,” McMahan said.

The Monte Vista also provided jobs for

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Flagstaff locals and garnered an interest in the field of hospitality.

There was also a restaurant housed in the Monte Vista at the time — McMahan referred to it as a “chop house,” an old-timey nomenclature for a steakhouse. He said that in contemporary times people might find it an obnoxious place to be, as it would’ve been a small room of cowboys smoking cigars, filling the room with smoke.

“People would go in, scrape their boots off, go in and have a steak,” McMahan said.

While the rooms were small, McMahan maintained that the quality of the hotel was considered a top-notch getaway at the time.

An attribute McMahan said continues today is the energy of the guests — it’s a boisterous environment at the hotel, and it is not geared toward relaxation.

McMahan said it’s a hotel for people who want to have fun.

The building was also the site of the Coconino Sun, the predecessor of the Arizona Daily Sun. “Where the dance floor is in the lounge, there used to be the Coconino Sun publishing

company ... [the Monte Vista] sort of absorbed the Coconino Sun,” McMahan said.

McMahan was able to see the steel reinforcements that held the company’s printing machines during a project in which the floor of the dance floor was being replaced.

The hotel’s history with media does not stop there.

“One of the first women in broadcasting in America broadcasted out of room 105 in the Monte Vista,” McMahan said.

Mary Costigan, a member of the McMahan family, was a woman originally from Detroit who ran a three-hour show out of the hotel. Her show managed to reach all the way to Winslow — a feat at that time — due to the hotel’s 100watt antennae.

According to the Hotel Monte Vista’s website, over 400 Flagstaff residents listened to her program’s first broadcast, and she was the second woman in the world to obtain a broadcast license in 1927.

The building with the bright red sign continues to shine brightly in the Flagstaff night sky as a symbol of Flagstaff’s history.

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SPORTS

‘When Omar speaks, people listen’ Tucker Marmie

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AU junior guard Omar Ndiaye has been an essential addition to the men’s basketball team since he joined his freshman year. He knew the road wasn’t easy, as he was born with his right arm stopping at his elbow, but this didn’t stop him from chasing his hoop dreams.

Ndiaye finally reached his goal of playing basketball at the collegiate level.

“It’s been great. I mean, since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to do this so I’m definitely living a childhood dream,” said Ndiaye. “It’s definitely a mental game, you got to stay tough the entire time.”

Ndiaye played both soccer and basketball in high school, all while maintaining a 3.5 GPA, which set him up for a variety of opportunities when it came to college. However, one thing Ndiaye knew for sure was that he wanted to be on the hardwood at the collegiate level.

“It all seemed like it was meant to be because my trainer in high school knew Coach Murph while he was at [UA],” Ndiaye said. “So that connection helped me get here, and Murph was really welcoming.”

Ndiaye also switched up his education plan from an engineering major to a finance major.

Ndiaye feels like being educated in finance will allow him to be flexible with his career after college. He is known for his incredible motivation in the classroom as well as on the court.

Head coach Jack Murphy is the first to advocate for the hard work and dedication of Ndiaye on and off the court. Murphy also values Ndiaye as a great shooter as well as his ability to drive to the rim and finish.

“You talk about academics and studentathletes [like] it’s a full-time job, and Omar doesn’t shirk away from any of those duties,” said Murphy. “He is at every practice, goes 100 percent, and then his development in the classroom is unbelievable. This last semester he’d be an academic all-conference kid, he’s close to a 4.0.”

In 2016, Ndiaye was a Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete due to his work in the classroom combined with his work on the court.

Ndiaye is known as a source of inspiration for many guys on the team, according to his coach.

“When Omar speaks, people listen,” Murphy said.

Photo courtesy of NAU Athletics

His arrival to NAU was a different experience for him, as Ndiaye wasn’t able to attend the summer trainings. This resulted in him not being close to anyone once he arrived. He still didn’t shy away from this new opportunity, even with being a new arrival on the team.

Junior forward Corey Brown has become close with Ndiaye over the years due to the two being roommates. Brown said Ndiaye has always been an inspiration to him.

“We’re both African-American males, we relate to a lot of things ... just the fact that we can talk about a lot of things on the court and off the court,” said Brown.

The close connection between the two has taught Brown to always go his hardest. A conversation in their freshman year resonated with Brown ever since. They imagined what Ndiaye’s game dynamic would have been if he had been born with both hands.

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This hit Brown hard because he knows that Ndiaye’s game would instantly become better than it already is if he was able to utilize two hands. This thought has changed Brown’s mindset when stepping on the court.

“He talked about if he was in my position and had both arms, he would do things a lot better himself, and that right there hit me, because I know he’d be able to go 10-times harder in my position ... he’s a hard worker,” Brown said.

One common theme that people tend to say about Ndiaye is that he teaches them the valuable lesson of not taking life for granted.

Everyday tasks that we do using two hands, we never think about what it would be like with one hand.

“Here’s a young man that has had a struggle with some adversity, and it’s never stopped him from ultimately reaching his dreams,” Murphy said. “I’ve learned a lot being around him, and

coaching him and it’s somebody I’m going to use as inspiration for the rest of my life.”

Ndiaye has become not only a role model off the court, but one on the court as well.

People admire his ability to fight through the obstacle of being a one-handed basketball player.

When Ndiaye walked onto the Lumberjack basketball team he knew that nothing was guaranteed when joining.

“I mean, it’s had its ups and downs because being a walk-on, you’re not guaranteed anything,” Ndiaye said. “I still appreciate that I got the opportunity to be here because there’s so many kids around the world that wish they were in my position.”

With this in mind, only fuel has been added to the fire for Ndiaye.

For now, he has another season of basketball to play after appearing in four games over the two seasons he’s been a part of the team.

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SPORTS

forty-nine years of Success Chandler Staley

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lagstaff’s elevation attracts athletes from all over the world; the rigorous conditions offer tougher training, resulting in better performances.

According to flagstaffarizona.org, “Flagstaff is an avid outdoors community, taking advantage of its many trail systems to enjoy the year-round accessibility of the mountains and canyons.”

NAU’s track and field and cross-country programs have benefitted from the advantage of the City of Flagstaff itself having a running culture. Over the years, NAU’s track and field program has been one of the most prominent athletic organizations in the Big Sky Conference.

In one of the Lumberjacks earliest recorded performances, the men’s relay traveled to Mt. San Antonio College April 25, 1969, during the outdoor season. Competing against four other schools in the 4x880-meter relay, NAU was a step too slow, clocking in 0.001 seconds behind the first-place winner.

The following year in 1970, runner Richard Sliney was sent to represent NAU at the NCAA Division I Cross-Country Championships.

He finished as one of the best in the nation in the men’s 6-mile. With a time of 28:44, Sliney placed 12th out of 307 competitors.

In the next outdoor season, NAU sent two athletes to the NCAA championships June 17, 1971. Runner Dave Tocheri ran in the men’s 3-mile and placed seventh in the nation, while Sliney placed fifth in the men’s 6-mile.

Sliney wasn’t done though, as he qualified for the indoor national championships March 10, 1972. Running in the 2-mile, Sliney placed third in the country with a 8:38.6 time.

Jumper Brad Armstrong would be the last Lumberjack to perform at the national level during the 1970s, as he was sent to the NCAA Division I Track and Field championships June 7, 1975. There, Armstrong placed seventh in the nation.

Throughout the years, NAU track and field has boasted several impressive performances.

During the mid-1980s, runner Angela Chalmers dominated the track.

On March 9, 1984, the Indoor National Championships took place in Syracuse, where Chalmers earned second place in the 1,500-meter race with a 4:22.79 run, just one second behind the winner of the race. Chalmers carried that momentum to the Cross Country National

The start of the second heat for the 3,000-meter race Feb. 24 during the Big Sky Indoor Championship at the NAU Skydome. NAU won the Big Sky Conference title for the second consecutive season and 10th time in program history. Raymond Felix Olivarez |The Lumberjack

Championships Nov. 25, 1985. Competing in the 5,000 meter, Chalmers recorded a 16:38.9 and placed eighth out of 129 runners.

However, over the past couple of years, Lumberjack athletes are cramming their names into the record books, and raising the bar has become a standard for them.

The evolution of the program really began when former coach Eric Heins took control in 2007. During his nine years at NAU Heins accumulated 29 Big Sky Championships, eight top-10 national finishes and 27 Big Sky Coach of the Year honors.

During Michael Smith’s, current director of track and field and cross-country, first year as a member of the coaching staff in 2016, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams took home Big Sky Conference championships. The men’s cross-country team won the first national title in NAU history.

As a result, Smith was recognized as the Big Sky Indoor Men’s Coach of the Year and the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association Mountain Region Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.

The next year, the men then repeated as national champions for the second consecutive

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Photo courtesy of Cline Library Archives

year. Later in 2017, Smith, along with the rest of the coaching staff and athletes, secured victory for both the men’s and women’s teams in the Big Sky Conference championships. Smith won the Big Sky Coach of the Year for both teams.

This year in 2018, success has repeated itself as NAU dominated the Big Sky Conference Championships, sweeping the competition with both teams winning first place once again.

Naturally, Smith was awarded the Big Sky Coach of the Year for both teams again, and was

named the Mountains Regions Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year.

Earlier in March, the Coaches Association ranked NAU’s cross country program as the top in the nation. It appears that momentum continues to push athletes to new heights.

After accumulating a pedigree of success, the Lumberjacks continue to shatter records, and there is no coincidence that a combination of hard work, talent and some high elevation have amounted to so many accomplishments.

MARCH 29, 2018 – APRIL 4, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 23